CAS CONNECT 2015

3 Many of the vehicles driving past the Grand Theater of Havana are vintage American models from the 1950s and earl ier. D uring an eight-day journey over spring break in March 2015, the party experienced stunning natural beauty, archi- tectural achievements, structural ruins, a hopeful population, a social- ist country struggling to embrace tourism-inspired capitalism, excel- lent food and an incredible number of 1950s-era American automobiles cruising down city streets. On Dec. 17, 2014, President Obama announced an unexpected major shift in U.S. relations with Cuba. With the OSU trip already organized through a Canadian travel agency, no one anticipated the speech when they enrolled in the study abroad class. Still, nearly everyone in the group expressed a desire to visit Cuba “before it changed.” Department of Geography head Dale Lightfoot and A&S Associate Dean for Academic Programs Tom Wikle led the class. Both are seasoned overseas travelers and frequent study-abroad collaborators at OSU. Cuba proved to be a special destination. “It exceeded all expectations,” Wikle says. CONTINUES