At least four Penn State students interning in Washington, D.C., were recently tested for anthrax exposure, and more plan to get tested soon.
At a meeting Wednesday night in Washington, D.C., students were given the option to leave their positions and finish their semester credits at home instead, said Keith Fledderman, Washington, D.C., internship coordinator for Penn State.
Interns who choose to leave will still receive credit for the internship, Fledderman said, and the classes they are taking can be completed through distance education.
"Regardless of how many students choose to stay or choose to leave, the program will continue as planned," Fledderman said.
Student interns said the feeling in Washington, D.C., was one of tension rather then fear. While no interns have expressed a desire to leave thus far, interns said they are feeling compelled to return home to family and friends.
"Parents have been putting a lot of pressure on their kids to return home," said Gretchen Gailey (senior-journalism), a former Daily Collegian reporter interning at NBC this semester. "My mother says that it's my decision and that she trusts me to know whether or not I'm in harm's way."
Gailey said she does not feel she is in danger.
"I may be at risk, but it's a risk I'm willing to take," Gailey said, adding that she has been working consistently, but many of her peers in Washington, D.C., are currently not allowed back into the offices where they work.
Gailey was one of the interns tested for anthrax and is awaiting the results. She is taking the antibotic Cipro as a precaution.
Brittany Johnson (junior-public relations) is another intern taking the preventative antibiotic.
Johnson works in the Hart Building and along with the other interns in her office, was advised to get tested on Tuesday after investigators found anthrax spores on Capitol Hill.
"We were told that we would have our test results back within 48 hours, however the results have been held due to the overwhelming number of people being tested," Johnson said.
The interns are taking three pills a day as "a precautionary measure," she said. Johnson added she is still deciding whether or not to remain in the program.
"I'm talking to my parents, and we're going to figure it out together," she said.
Johnson said she feels Penn State is doing an excellent job providing the students with options, while continue things as planned.
"(Robert Richards, associate dean and professor in the school of communications), is doing a phenomenal job," she said.
