Andrew Mogni went to the University of Iowa.
Circumstances. I ran across his name accidentally and then saw this. Lots out there. Same majors--yes, different home school. All John Cabot. Just found it interesting and thought I should share as this thread just stArted.
Study Abroad in Rome is Dangerous
Andrew Mogni became a memory on Easter Sunday, months after he was critically injured during his study abroad program at John Cabot, an American University in Rome, Italy. Chicago Tribunes story says, Andrew Mogni was an ambitious student at the University of Iowa studying finance and business analytics. Andrew is remembered as a vibrant fraternity brother, full of life and potential as a 20 year old University of Iowa student originally from Illinois.
Sadly, Andrews death is not even a meaningful statistic. If deaths of students abroad were statistically meaningful, perhaps Andrew would have known not to venture out into the part of Rome where he and many other American students were possibly assaulted, robbed and tossed off the Tiber Bridge.
A landmark law in Minnesota, Senate File 1975, Thomas Plotkins Higher Education Sunshine Law, is working to inform and protect students about dangers abroad.
Tragically, there is no mandated public reporting of illness, injury and death elsewhere. Forum on Education Abroad is building a volunteer database membership required. The Forum often states, Most of these students come back safe.
Those words ring hollow if you dont have meaningful data to back it up. How many is most? For anyone who loves Andrew, or any other student who came back with a coffin instead of a diploma, one death is one death too many.
How many American student deaths and critical injuries have occurred via falls while attending John Cabot University? Only they know. These cases were publicly reported:
Andrew Mogni, University of Iowa
Ricky Demello, St. Thomas University, Minneapolis
John Durkin, Bates College (Johns wallet was reportedly not with him.)
Andrew Carr, Marquette University, Milwaukee
Karen Young, University North Carolina
The notorious murder of British student Meredith Kercher in the famous Amanda Knoxguilty until proven innocent case is assigned to John Cabot, followed by the near fatal stabbing of Fabio Malpeso, 19, from New Jersey. Students and their families are often under-prepared when critical injuries happen on foreign soil.
So many deaths are enough to make anger rise about the danger of studying abroad in Rome, particularly when our scholars are under-informed. John Cabot University could change that with a Clery report, in honor of these seven students who were irreparably harmed in Rome. We want to know, how many others?
