A course examining human behavior through the lens of the Syrian conflict inspires students to raise awareness on campus.
BRISTOL, R.I. – As civil war in Syria continues to devastate the country and displace millions of people, a group of Roger Williams University students led a grassroots-effort to make sure it’s not forgotten beyond the walls of a classroom. Inspired by an examination of the human impact of the Syrian conflict in a fall semester CORE Human Behavior course, the students decided to take what they had learned to the greater campus community with a candlelight vigil to spotlight the struggles that Syrian refugees are experiencing worldwide.
As twilight descended over campus on Nov. 15, students and faculty joined the class outdoors, some with candles and others shining cell phone lights, to reflect in solemn silence and to hear about the conflict from a variety of perspectives.
“Here at Roger Williams, sometimes we struggle,” said Anas Alfeez, a sophomore criminal justice major from Saudi Arabia who spoke fondly about Syria as a beautiful place he visited in his childhood. “But our struggles are good ones. We struggle to become educated, to do well on tests, to pursue our interests. Syrians struggle to survive.”
This kind of open and honest dialogue was exactly what Professor Alan Canestrari had hoped to jumpstart by bringing timely social justice issues into the classroom. In previous years, he’s taught the Human Behavior course around general psychological and sociological theories, but has since altered his approach to use current events and contemporary issues as a way for students to internalize the world and their place in it. And the University’s “Quest for Refuge” series – a yearlong series of events and academic programming that reflect critically on the current state of refugees around the world – allowed his classroom to be a springboard for exploring human compassion, altruism, and more through the lens of Syria’s civil war.