Holy Cross Delegation Joins Nation’s Jesuit Colleges at Humanitarian Action Conference

When an earthquake wreaks havoc in China or a cyclone ravages Myanmar, how should the students at Jesuit campuses respond? Some actions amount to well-meaning but ultimately ineffectual gestures, others can achieve measurable results, and a few may inadvertently make the situation worse. How can students determine the best course, especially in an increasingly complex world?

Those were some of the questions explored at a conference titled “Engaging Students in Humanitarian Action” and held in mid-June at Fordham University. Sponsored by JUHAN, the Jesuit Universities Humanitarian Action Network, the meeting attracted 160 students from 20 of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. Ten Holy Cross students attended, accompanied by political science professor Judith Chubb and Timothy Austin, vice president for academic affairs and dean of the College — making this one of the largest delegations at the three-day meeting.

JUHAN was created by the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs (IIHA) and Fordham University to exchange ideas and resources, and to increase the effectiveness of individual efforts among Jesuit universities to respond to world humanitarian crises.

An impressive slate of presenters highlighted successive days of the conference. They included a high-ranking executive of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, a senior staff member of the Jesuit Refugee Service, a physician who specializes in tropical infectious diseases, the former Commissioner General of UNWRA (the UN refugee organization for the Palestinians), and a logistical specialist from the Center for International Health and Cooperation.

“Each combined an impressive grasp of the theoretical issues that make humanitarian action so challenging with a breadth and depth of field experience that brought topics alive for the audiences,” says Austin.

The ten students who attended from Holy Cross were: James Brennan ’08 (valedictorian of the Class of 2008), Molly Haglund ’08, Ernst-Wesley Laine ‘10, Meaghan McCormick ‘09, Timothy McCue ‘08, Ani Nalbandian ’09, Jonathan Niconchuk ’09, Gbenimah Slopadoe ‘10, Rachael Stephens ‘10, and Julianna Stuart ‘10.

At the end of the conference, student delegations met to consider how to use what they had learned to enrich their respective institutions.

"Whether a lawyer or teacher, a professor or a politician, a diplomat or a doctor, we can all play a critical role in both preparing for and dealing with both natural and manmade global crises that carry humanitarian consequences,” says Niconchuk, a premed Spanish major and chemistry minor.

He continued: “What struck me most at the conference was how much preventative work can be done; you don’t have to sit around waiting for a disaster to happen. So many students at Holy Cross and at colleges around the country desperately want to help, but the sheer magnitude of the world’s crises can make it hard to know how to start and, frankly, what to do. The conference not only provided us with a solid foundation of practical knowledge (from stats on refugees to battling disease to the working with the media), it also allowed us to meet other students from Jesuit schools around the country who are equally passionate about humanitarian work. The true purpose of JUHAN lies in what our delegation can bring back to Holy Cross, so students can look for us on campus this year spreading the word and getting everyone interested, informed and involved.”

JUHAN is directed by Kevin M. Cahill, who received an honorary degree from Holy Cross and delivered the principal address at the College’s Commencement ceremonies this year.

Related Information:

• Read Ani Nalbandian’s blog entry which she wrote before departing for the conference • Read and listen to Kevin Cahill’s commencement address