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MSU close to joining Syria Consortium, university yet to confirm

November 3, 2016

The Syrian Civil War has displaced more than 4 million people. Now, students and administration are working together to make MSU more accessible for them.

MSU is the latest university to join the Institute of International Education Syria Consortium for Higher Education in Crisis, representatives from Books Not Bombs said.

As of July 2016, dozens of colleges and universities have joined the Syria Consortium to assist displaced scholars, according to the Institute of International Education’s website.

Books Not Bombs gathered about 1,100 student signatures on a petition and worked with ASMSU to pass a resolution that said MSU should join the Syria Consortium.

The resolution states that MSU should provide tuition assistance to students who have been displaced by the conflict in Syria, and Books Not Bombs had high hopes for the administration’s response.

“Our initial ask was to have 10 students (receive full-tuition scholarships),” said supply chain management senior Ahmad Abo Al-Borgol, the ASMSU representative for the Arab Cultural Society and Books Not Bombs main campaign coordinator.

MSU has agreed to join the Syria Consortium, and plans to waive tuition for one student, Al-Borgol said.

MSU spokesperson Jason Cody could not confirm if MSU joined the Consortium.

“We have generally agreed to waive tuition for Syrian refugee students (on a case by case basis),” assistant dean for administration of International Studies and Programs Ashley Green said in an email. “There is no final confirmation on a student that is definitely coming to MSU next year.”

Green also could not confirm if MSU plans to join or has joined the Consortium, or if this policy is separate from the Institute of International Education.

When MSU joins the Syria Consortium, it won’t be the end for Books Not Bombs.

“We are in the process of trying to talk to the administration to see whether or not we can expand this program to get not just one student, but four or five,” Al-Borgol said. “This is something that is very doable and something that would be more helpful.”

The organization is also working on an event to raise awareness, and members hope to pass resolutions through the Residence Halls Association and the Council of Graduate Students in the near future, Al-Borgol said.

MSU is an ideal location for a program like this because Michigan has taken in the most refugees of any state after California and Texas, according to the Books Not Bombs website.

MSU would join Eastern Michigan University in the Syria Consortium.

”I’m very proud to be a Spartan at Michigan State University, a university that is doing something about the refugee crisis,” Al-Borgol said.

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