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Every Campus a Refuge

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Every Campus A Refuge (ECAR) is an American refugee aid organization. It was founded by Diya Abdo, who is the Lincoln Financial Professor of English at Guilford College, in September 2015.[1][2][3][4]

Every Campus a Refuge
FormationSeptember 2015; 9 years ago (2015-09)
TypeRefugee aid organization
PurposeMobilize colleges and universities to host refugees on campus grounds and support them in their resettlement
HeadquartersGuilford College
Location
Founder, Director, President
Diya Abdo
Websiteeverycampusarefuge.net

ECAR was inspired by Pope Francis' call on every parish to take in refugees, and animated by Guilford's history and Quaker testimonies.[5][6][7][8][9] Every Campus A Refuge is based on the idea that university and college campuses have everything necessary to host refugees like housing, food, care, and skills to support them as they begin their lives in their new homes.[5][10][2] Like the Pope's call on every parish to host one refugee family, ECAR calls on every college and university in the world to partner with their local refugee resettlement agencies to house refugees on campus grounds and assist them in resettlement.[5][6][11]

ECAR has expanded to other campuses beyond Guilford College, which are partnering with their local refugee resettlement agencies to host refugees, including Wake Forest University, Agnes Scott College, Rollins College, Lafayette College, and James Madison University, among others.[12][13][14] Since its inception, 21 campuses have joined with 18 campuses actively hosting refugees on their campuses.

Mission

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ECAR Mission Mobilize colleges and universities to host refugees on campus grounds and support them in their resettlement.

ECAR Vision Transform the landscape of refugee resettlement and higher education by creating thousands of sustainable resettlement campus ecosystems.[15]

Activities

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Guilford College

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Since January 2016, Guilford College has hosted 53 refugees (clients of Church World Service [CWS]) in campus houses and apartments; 26 of them have been children between the ages of 10 months and 17 years.[2] The already-hosted refugees include two Syrian families that have successfully settled in Greensboro.[16] Additionally, the campus has hosted refugees from Iraq, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, and the DRC.[17][16]

In fall 2017, the 16-credit ECAR minor piloted at Guilford College.[1][18] The ECAR minor includes two mandatory classes worth two credits each.[1] These courses will allow students to receive training from refugee resettlement agencies and volunteer for 40 hours with recently resettled families.[1] Also, students participate in 10–15 hours of online conversations with Syrian refugees and study topics related to forced displacement and immigration.[1] Along with the two required classes, students also choose one course on causes of forced displacement, one on voices and perspectives of immigrants and refugees, and one on community organizing and advocacy.[1]

Guilford College has dedicated a campus house to ECAR; the program hosts a refugee family, which arrives through CWS every semester.[10][8]

Program

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Under this program, each refugee family is temporarily housed on campus grounds until they can resettle successfully in Greensboro.[5][19] They are provided with free housing, utilities, Wi-Fi, use of college facilities and resources, and a large community of support in the form of the college campus and its friends.[7][4] The daily work of hosting and assisting in resettlement is assigned by CWS, managed and overseen by the CWS case manager, and the ECAR program coordinator, and carried out by over 100 Guilford community volunteers who are trained and background checked by CWS.[2] These volunteers include Guilford students, alumni, faculty, administrators and staff; their spouses; faculty, student, and staff from nearby Bennett College; also local faith communities. New Arrivals Institute also trains the volunteers to provide ESL instruction to the hosted refugees.[2]

Volunteers utilize their skills towards the common goal of supporting refugees and receive an experiential education on pressing global and local issues. Thus ECAR provides a place-based educational experience for its volunteers.[8]

Chapters

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There are many other institutions that are in various stages of mobilizing to become ECAR chapters. Princeton University, Brandeis University, Georgetown University, and the University of Maryland are also moving to become ECAR campuses.[4][20][14][21]

ECAR also works with a number of resettlement campuses[22] – universities which partner with local refugee resettlement agencies to host refugees on campus grounds and support their successful integration. Collectively, ECAR chapters have hosted dozens of refugee families from around the world, with the flagship Guilford College chapter hosting more than 80 as of spring 2022.

Active chapters (selected)

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Former chapters

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Source:[25]

Recognition

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The initiative has been recognized at the White House in the Sixth Annual President's Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge Gathering.[26][27] It has been featured on NPR's All Things Considered, in The Washington Post, and the former State Department's Toolkit on how universities can help refugees.[3][18] Every Campus a Refuge recently won the Gulf South Summit's 2017 Outstanding Service-Learning Collaboration in Higher Education Award, as well as the Washington Center's Civic Engagement in Higher Education Award for 2017.[28][29][30][27] Guilford College and Every Campus A Refuge were invited to participate in the United Nations' Together Campaign and its Summit held on January 9, 2018. Along with nine other colleges and universities (from the U.S., the U.K., Brazil, Cyprus, Germany, and China), Guilford College signed the UN Together Campaign Action Charter pledging active support for refugees and migrants' safety and dignity.[31][32][33]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Redden, Elizabeth (15 Feb 2017). "Every Campus a Refuge,' but Can Refugees Come?". Inside Higher Ed.
  2. ^ a b c d e Stasio, Frank; Barron, Katy (13 December 2016). "Making Every Campus a Refuge". The State of Things. WUNC.
  3. ^ a b "In Bid To Welcome Refugees, Campaign Hopes To Make 'Every Campus a Refuge'"". All Things Considered. Interviewed by Ari Shapiro. NPR. 26 Nov 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Itkowitz, Colby (20 November 2015). "What if every U.S. college campus offered to house a Syrian refugee family?"". The Washington Post.
  5. ^ a b c d "Our Opinion: The Quaker way". News & Record. 22 Oct 2015.
  6. ^ a b "Should You Be Arrested For Cursing. Professor Diya Abdo Wants Syrian Refugees To Stay On College Campuses. Councilman Carl Stokes. BPD Case Files". The C4 Show. WBAL. 24 Nov 2015.
  7. ^ a b Henkel, Clayton (30 June 2017). "Diya Abdo of Guilford College discusses the initiative 'Every Campus a Refuge' – an initiative to get college and university campuses to host refugee families". NC Policy Watch. p. N.p.
  8. ^ a b c Newsom, John (22 May 2016). "Q&A with Diya Abdo, founder of Every Campus a Refuge at Guilford College". News & Record.
  9. ^ Husband, Katie. ""Guilford College Ready to Help Syrian Refugees". Spectrum News. 5 Oct 2015. p. N.p.
  10. ^ a b McDonald, Kent (4 Oct 2015). "Q&A with professor Diya Abdo about Syrian refugee crisis". The Daily Tar Heel.
  11. ^ Redden, Elizabeth (25 Sep 2015). "The Refugee Crisis and Higher Ed". Inside Higher Ed.
  12. ^ Humphreys, Rob (20 Sep 2016). "Rollins Welcomes First Refugee Family". Rollins 360. Rollins University.
  13. ^ Hatch, Nathan (1 Dec 2016). "A message from President Hatch". Inside WFU. Wake Forest University.
  14. ^ a b "List of Schools Interested in ECAR". Every Campus a Refuge.
  15. ^ "Mission & Vision". EVERY CAMPUS A REFUGE®. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  16. ^ a b Sayed, Deonna (1 Feb 2017). "Refugee Resettlement: Greensboro as the Global Gate City". Yes! Weekly. pp. 16–19.
  17. ^ Beroset, Frances. "Hosting refugees: Visiting professor gives talk on how universities can help families resettle" The Chronicle 2017. Duke Student Publishing Company
  18. ^ a b Williamson, Finn. "Campus refugee program spreads, adds a minor." The Guilfordian, 16 Apr. 2017.
  19. ^ Biemiller, Lawrence . "The Week." The Chronicle of Higher Education, 29 Nov. 2015.
  20. ^ Spitalniak, Laura. "A UMD student wants to make the campus a home for refugees." The Diamondback. The University of Maryland, n.d.
  21. ^ Benedict, Catherine. "Princeton Advocates for Justice deliver petition opposing Trump's new executive order." The Daily Princetonian, 27 Mar. 2017.
  22. ^ "Diya Abdo, Guilford College - Resettlement Campuses are the Future of Higher Education". The Academic Minute. 12 January 2022.
  23. ^ Sigafoos, Shannon. "Helping Refugees Transition from Surviving to Thriving: How a group of passionate, dedicated students is helping refugee families find stability, happiness, and hope". Lafayette magazine.
  24. ^ Communications staff (January 4, 2023). "WSU community helps resettle refugees". Washington State University.
  25. ^ "ECAR Chapters & Interested Campuses". EVERY CAMPUS A REFUGE®. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  26. ^ "Every Campus a Refuge Recognized at White House Event." Guilford College, 26 Sept. 2016.
  27. ^ a b Abdo, Diya. "Every Campus a Refuge: Turning Colleges Into Homes for Syrian Refugees" Arab America. May 3, 2017
  28. ^ "ECAR and Diya Abdo Honored with Award by Gulf South Summit ." Guilford College, 6 Jan. 2017.
  29. ^ Kniffin, Lori. "NORTH CAROLINA SHINES AT THE 2017 GULF-SOUTH SUMMIT." Community and Friends . University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 8 May 2017.
  30. ^ "Gulf South Summit." 2017 Award Winners . N.p., 2017.
  31. ^ Scaffidi, Elizabeth."At UN, universities spotlight hands-on approach to integrating refugees" UN News Centre, 10 January. 2018.
  32. ^ "DMU launches involvement in UN's Together campaign in New York" DMU Website, 9 January. 2018.
  33. ^ "United Nations Together" Every Campus A Refuge Website, 10 January. 2018.
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