Making JMU a refuge

Each year, thousands of individuals are forced to flee their homeland due to violence, war, persecution, extreme poverty or environmental devastation. Many are internally displaced while others make it to camps and cities in neighboring countries to await permanent resettlement under the guidelines of the United Nations High Commission of Refugees. Harrisonburg, Virginia is one of hundreds of U.S. cities identified as “refugee resettlement” areas, presenting JMU with a unique opportunity to shape public discourse around immigrants and refugees.

In 2023, JMU was designated a chapter of Every Campus a Refuge (ECAR), an initiative that mobilizes college and university campus resources to provide refugees with needed housing and other forms of assistance. For the last three summers, JMU administrators and faculty have worked alongside community leaders and local organizations to help families resettle in the Shenandoah Valley, hosting refugee families on campus.

Students were not involved in establishing the JMU chapter, but were brought on board this past fall when Lisa Porter, associate professor of sociology, created a course based around ECAR with support from a CAL course development grant. For Porter, “the class provides a space for students to learn about key global processes that contribute to forced displacement and immigration while actively shaping the future of JMU’s ECAR chapter.” Many of the students who enrolled in the class had never heard of ECAR, but they took to the work with zeal.

Students divided into on-campus and community-based teams, both coordinating with a local resettlement office called Church World Services (CWS). The campus team was responsible for increasing student and community awareness about ECAR. They established an official student organization; promoted the program through flyers, The Breeze, social media and tables at student organization events; and even represented JMU at the national ECAR gathering in Ithaca, NY.

Their biggest project included planning and coordinating a donation campaign event, the Fall ECAR drive, where various student organizations competed to raise funds for the local non-profit Village to Village, which assists CWS with furnishing residences. JMU’s Honors College hosted a central donation spot, and the class collected winter and fall clothing as well as cleaning and household supplies.

“As we moved into the colder parts of the year, we tried to soften the landing for people who are new to the U.S. and Harrisonburg,” said Abby Horace (‘26).

The off-campus team underwent various mini-trainings as English Language Learner tutors before completing 20-plus hours in the field tutoring children under the guidance of CWS. For Abigeal Cronan (‘24), “It's really fun tutoring, seeing the kids’ enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge. There's a lot of misinformation and misconceptions about what immigrants are like and this class has been incredibly eye-opening into what the reality is.”

Porter's students appreciated the class format because it combined academic views and approaches to immigration with service-oriented work outside the classroom. “You can read every article, but until you experience it, you just don't know exactly what they go through,” added Adin Skrilof (‘25). “You don’t see the hard work they put in until you witness both sides of the cultural divide.”