In early January, 14 University students moved into an old Victorian house in Manchester, England, hoping to learn about the English lifestyle, but they ended up experiencing more of the culture than they expected.

Within three weeks of arriving in Longsight, Manchester, a series of violent mishaps plagued the touring students. First, two of the students said they were mugged by a local boy riding a bicycle and carrying a paring knife. In another incident, one student said he was beaten up.

But the students remained calm, chalking it up to living in an "industrial city," until a group of locals smashed their French doors and decided to pay a visit.

Laura Zimmerman (junior-speech communications and labor and industrial relations) said as soon as the glass broke, someone let out a "bloodcurdling scream and . . . my heart stopped beating."

Zimmerman, who is one of the 14, recalls someone yelling, "Oh my God, they're in the house."

There was no way to escape, the bay windows were protected by bars, said Kerry McGuinness (senior-English). The students armed themselves with brooms, pots and pans, she said.

Another resident dialed 911, until they realized they weren't in State College, Zimmerman said. Then they dialed Manchester's emergency number, 999.

When the perpetrators were about to enter the house, the rest of the roommates arrived in a cab and scared the burglars away. By Jan. 27, the group decided it was time to move.

The students filed complaints with the Longsight Criminal Investigation Department, which verified the complaints.

But Michael Laubscher, director of the University's Office of Education Abroad Programs, said the incidents were blown out of proportion. One English newspaper reported an armed mugging, but it is questionable whether or not a gun was involved, he said.

One of the students, Ryan Robinson, interned for the Manchester Evening News and wrote a feature article about the incidents. The national media picked up on it, and the next day, the media was calling every minute, he said, adding, "The attention has died down now."

But it's not forgotten. Robinson (senior-journalism) said he received complaints because his feature article gave the University program bad publicity, but he wouldn't specify who complained.

Some University students in Manchester -- not the ones involved -- disliked the media attention, said Robinson, adding there were rumors about the Manchester program being hurt.

Philip Radcliffe, director of communications at the University of Manchester, said the program was not delayed. The students were given one day off to pack up their belongings and move into a hotel, and the media did present some distractions, he said.

Laubscher said the negative publicity may not hurt the program.

"These incidents could obviously cast Manchester in a bad light . . . but it is no more dangerous than a city of comparable size," he said. "We've never had something of this magnitude happen before."

But Robinson does not apologize for what he wrote.

"I reported the facts -- nothing in that article is false. That's what being a good journalist is," he said.

McGuinness said crime is a hot topic in Manchester now and that may be the reason for the media's attention.

Regardless of the publicity, Laubscher said the program is being evaluated. In the past, students were given a week before classes began to find living accommodations on their own and this may be changed.

In the future, students may be assigned living quarters, Radcliffe said.

The University of Manchester rents dorm rooms out for a full year and not by semester -- the usual time period for studying abroad, Laubscher said. It is stressful to find a home in a foreign country, but the students are given a list of suitable homes, he added.

Robinson said the houses on the list were outdated. Most were leased, or only housed two or three people, he said, adding that members of his group checked with a realtor and an accommodations office in Manchester to find a home.

Laubscher said the students' residence was not on the list of suitable living accommodations, but once the alleged break-in occurred, all arrangements were made to remove them from the neighborhood.

Penn State and the University of Manchester put the students up at a hotel for five nights and relocated them, Laubscher said.

But some of the students' parents were still worried about their children across the Atlantic Ocean.

"We felt so helpless," said Sue DelGaizo, the mother of program participant Stacia DelGaizo.

She said it was illegal for the students to carry Mace to protect themselves, and the police don't carry guns.

"They should make Penn State's self-defense class a prerequisite," said Stacia DelGaizo (senior-English).

Laubscher said the study abroad program has the students attend meetings so they know what to expect, but Sue DelGaizo said there should be a course only for students going to the University of Manchester.

"Stacia always used to tell me that they would say, 'Those going to Manchester don't have to worry about this,' " she said.

Now the students have split up into dorms and flats or moved in with families, and they laugh off the threatening situations -- such as the time they encountered "pyromaniacs using our garage as their headquarters," McGuinness said. The gang -- consisting of local youths -- allegedly kept stolen items in the garage and sometimes lit a few buildings on fire.

McGuinness said she went to a dance club shortly after signing her lease at the Victorian house in Longsight. She told a man she met there where she was living and he retorted, "Longsight makes the Bronx look like Kansas."