UT pulls its people out of north Mexico
By Melissa Ludwig - Express-News
Web Posted: 04/23/2010 3:00 CDT

The University of Texas System has recalled all students, faculty and staff from northern Mexico because of escalating violence in the region and might suspend university-sponsored travel to any part of the globe with a U.S. Department of State travel warning, including Haiti.

UT officials estimate about 40 people will be affected by the recall, which covers seven Mexican states — Tamaulipas, Nuevo León, Coahuila, Durango, Chihuahua, Sonora and Baja California. UT-Austin officials took a similar action earlier this month, directing all study-abroad students in Monterrey to return home.

In March, the Texas Department of Public Safety took the unprecedented action of warning college Spring Breakers not to cross into Mexican border cities, saying their safety could not be guaranteed.

“The UT System and its institutions value their close association with Mexico. That said, the safety of UT students, faculty and staff is of the utmost importance and we feel these actions ... are prudent given the escalation in violence in these regions,â€