As the number of tragic stories and images of refugees fleeing Syria continues to increase, Carleton president Roseann Runte said the university will be seeking ways to offer “volunteer support,” in a statement released on Sept. 10.
Runte said Carleton should use its network of academics already studying refugee and migration issues to “play a role in furthering research, reflection, academic and public debate.”
Students can send monetary donations directly to organizations like the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), CARE, and the Red Cross, said Runte.
On Sept. 16, a new project was posted to Carleton’s Future Funder website encouraging students and faculty to donate to WUSC. Sixty-six people have supported the project so far and have raised $6,735 of the project’s $12,500 goal.
WUSC is “actively engaged” in the university-wide response to the refugee crisis, said Abdulrahman al-Masri, the media coordinator for the Carleton local committee of WUSC.
Al-Masri said Runte’s initiative is “greatly appreciated,” but he also called for a greater response from the university to the crisis in Syria.
“Carleton can do more,” he said.
WUSC began sponsoring refugees to study at Carleton in 1978 and sponsored two refugees this year, including one Syrian. The cost of resettlement for one refugee is about $20,000.
In response to Runte’s statement, Carleton political science professor James Milner said in an email that the university has made a “concerted effort” to develop a “rapid, robust and collaborative response” to the refugee crisis.
“I am eager to see how these efforts evolve in the coming days and to help ensure that the Carleton community can act quickly and together,” Milner said.
If students show a desire to contribute to a scholarship or bursary to sponsor refugees, Runte said that could be another possibility.
In an email, Runte said more information about Carleton’s response to the ongoing crisis will be announced by Sept. 17.
