No numbers given or promotional efforts undertaken
A protester stands behind a Syrian Republic flag as Syrian refugees and local residents take part in a demonstration against Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad, after Friday prayers outside the Syrian embassy in Amman March 30, 2012. Photo: Tiny.cc
In response to the current refugee crisis in Syria, George Brown College president Anne Sado sent out a message to all George Brown employees on Sept. 15 stating the acts of violence and oppression in Syria were events that could not be ignored.
“Our thoughts are with the people of Syria and their families at this difficult time,” said Sado in her email to GBC faculty, which The Dialog obtained from the college.
In her message, Sado also stated that the ongoing crisis compels individuals to do whatever they can to help resolve such conflicts.
So what is George Brown College doing for Syrian refugees?
“Our entire community is really impacted by this, and many staff have come forward to us and indicated that they really would like to help in some way, shape or form,” said Karen Thomson, vice-president of marketing and strategic enrollment management at George Brown College.
“It’s a horrible tragedy, and as Anne said in her message, she is very, very committed to supporting everyone in the College that wants to engage and help.”
The University of Alberta, Western University, Algoma University, and the University of Ottawa have all created funds to assist refugees that have been evacuated from Syria. However, George Brown College has not yet allocated any specific funding.
According to Thomson, this is because the college does not want to put a ceiling on the amount of assistance provided.
“We want to help support any refugees that are coming here and would like to attend George Brown College. We just haven’t put a cap on that,” said Thomson, noting that the sponsorship process is quite lengthy. “We don’t know at this point how large the need will be.
“We don’t want to come up with an arbitrary number on support. At this point, what we have done is we’ve opened the door, but really, anything can happen once that door is open,” claimed Thomson.
But with no promotion of these initiatives to students or prospective students, they may not be aware of the program.
“In terms of communicating with the broader student population, our first step has been to connect with the Student Association to become aware of any efforts they may be taking to respond to the Syrian crisis, and then communication with students will take place accordingly,” said Thomson.
When contacted by The Dialog, SA manager of equity and advocacy Rosalyn Miller and SA interim executive director, Lorraine Gajadharsingh both said that they had not heard from the college regarding the efforts.
“I would hope that if there is any awareness or information meant for the student population we would be advised, but so far we haven’t gotten anything to inform us to shed further light on this topic,” said Miller. “It would either be myself or the (executive) director of the student association that would be the main point of contact for this type of awareness on campus.”
