U.S. universities should be able to sponsor refugee students | Opinion
In this photo taken on Friday, Sept. 2, 2016, 21-year-old Nourhan Isso, left, from Syria sits at the entrance of her tent at the Souda municipality-run camp for refugees and migrants,Chios island, Greece.As a former secretary of the U.S. Army and university president, I’ve seen firsthand how new opportunities can transform the lives of young people.
This is a matter of recognizing everyone’s human dignity and potential to contribute to our world. Of course, there is no shortage of barriers to such a lofty goal, including and perhaps especially for young refugee students throughout the world. At a time when forced displacement has caused the global refugee population to skyrocket, the U.N. Refugee Agencythat only 5% of the global refugee population accesses higher education. This is eight times less than the overall higher-education access rate around the world.
Many of these students have suffered the upheavals of war, famine and displacement and, in some cases, have lived for years in refugee camps. Yet, despite their obstacles, their drive for education persists. Unfortunately, U.S. policy options to support these potential students’ educations have been insufficient. Since the creation of the federal refugee resettlement program in 1980, there has not been an easy way for universities to sponsor refugees. However, over the past year, our country has taken important steps toward meeting this global need.
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