On April 14, 2019, the Student Government Association of Stevens Institute of Technology signed into effect a declaration to welcome refugees and support the resettlement of refugees in Hudson County. First proposed by Nasir Montalvo, Head of the SGA Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the Refugees Welcome Proclamation is supported by a series of different clubs on campus, chief among them the Stevens chapter of Amnesty International.
Montalvo states, “this proclamation is an important step for Stevens to become a more inclusive community for all… I can only hope now that after the document makes it through upper-level administration, Stevens will take concrete actions to support the rights of refugees.”
As part of the Amnesty International National Week of Student Action from Monday, April 8 to Sunday, April 14, the passing of the proclamation was a rewarding conclusion for the series of events hosted by Amnesty International.
The Stevens chapter of Amnesty International worked alongside other campus and community organizations to stand in solidarity with refugees and increase efforts to protect basic human rights. This year, Stevens has “campaigned alongside 130 other campus-based groups across the nation who also took bold and imaginative action for human rights,” stated the current President of Stevens Amnesty International, Penelope Halkiadakis.
Amnesty International President-Elect and current Events Coordinator Madeline Rys emphasizes that the passage of the proclamation by the SGA raises awareness of the current refugee crisis. “This is the first step in our campus becoming more welcoming, aware, and active on issues like this in the future,” said Rys.
Stevens will be joining fellow New Jersey school, McNair Academic High School in Jersey City, in efforts to “call upon other New Jersey communities to join in supporting a stronger national effort to resettle the worlds most vulnerable refugees,” as stated in the Stevens Proclamation.
Similar proclamations have been passed at several other U.S. universities and colleges in 10 different states through the efforts of the Amnesty International Longer Table Initiative. As of April 15, 2019, 46 Refugees Welcome Proclamations have been passed by a large array of state, county, city council, high school, and college student governments.
Many of these proclamations have been in response to Presidents Trump’s decision to set the number of refugees admitted into the United States to 45,000 for the 2018 fiscal year — the lowest since the U.S. Refugee Act was passed in 1980.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has estimated that 1.4 million refugees will be in need of resettlement in 2019 due to the fear of persecution due to their race, religion, nationality, or political opinions. The current political, racial, and religious climate around the world is only increasing the number of refugees that are fleeing their homes in hopes of finding a host country. In the past five years, the global refugee population has increased by 50% and the number of settlement locations has decreased by 54%. Many fleeing refugees are finding the number of countries and locations to flee to are decreasing and resettlement applications are difficult to come by.
As the refugee crisis continues in many countries around the globe, Amnesty International and other similar organizations have continuously raised awareness of the human rights issues occurring during this crisis. By bringing attention to the refugee crisis to a local and college level, proclamations, such as Stevens’, pledge to fight for basic human rights, welcome more refugees, and join the effort to find safety for those who have been forced out of their homes.
If you would like to learn more about other Refugee Proclamations, please visit: https://longertable.amnestyusa.org
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