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> Asian Tsunami Relief Efforts at the University of St. Thomas

Letter from Deborah Knaust, Director of OISS

Support for St. Thomas International Students - 12/27/04

Dear UST International Students,

The staff of OISS would like to express our support and condolences to students who have family and friends affected by the recent earthquake and/or tsunami in Asia. We know this is a difficult time for you and your family/friends. Please let us know how we can help you during this challenging time. If you need assistance, please contact the OISS at 651-962-6650 or oiss@stthomas.edu. The University and our office will be closed from Dec. 30 to January 2, 2005. If you have an emergency when the University is closed, please contact Public Safety at 651-962-5100.

The University of St. Thomas provides free resources for students. See this information and helpful immigration information below or contact OISS for more information.

Consultation/Outreach
If you would like to consult with someone or have concerns about a friend, Personal Counseling staff can help you find a solution. Personal Counseling staff provide individual consultation, development and training, and organizational development services to students, faculty, staff and the greater UST community. Examples of consultation topics include crisis debriefing, stress management, substance abuse, communication skills, team building, dealing with challenging people, helping friends/faculty/staff confront others with inappropriate behavior, etc. If you have a consultation request on the St. Paul campus, call 651-962-6780. On the Minneapolis campus call 651-962-4763.

Referrals
Personal Counseling can help you find options for mental health services in the metropolitan area if your concerns cannot be resolved in the short term model we use or if you are ineligible for services. We will help you find someone who will be covered by your insurance or who has a sliding fee scale based on your income.
Referral information is available to all students, faculty and staff. Personal Counseling can help you find options for mental health services in the metropolitan area. Typical referrals might include couple or family therapy, psychiatric consultations, or referrals for family or friends of the UST community. We will ask you for information about your medical insurance to help find a referral that will be covered by insurance. On the St. Paul campus, call 651-962-6780. On the Minneapolis campus call 651-962-4763.

Defer your attendance at St. Thomas
International Students who are home or must travel to their home country can be out of the U.S. for up to 5 months without having a break in their F-1 status. If you intend to travel home, bring your I-20 to OISS to have an OISS Advisor sign your I-20 on page 3. If you intend to remain outside the U.S. for more than 5 months, you will need a new I-20 to return to the U.S. Students who travel outside the U.S. with an expired F-1 visa will need to renew their visa prior to returning to the U.S. Students should contact OISS and your Academic Advisor/Department to inform them about your anticipated leave of absence from St. Thomas.

Under-enrollment at St. Thomas
F-1 visa students who are not able to maintain full-time student status (12 credits for undergraduate, 6 credits for graduate) during a Fall or Spring Semester can request an under-enrollment exception by completing the online form: http://www.stthomas.edu/oiss/forms/exception/default.xlm Students who intend to use an exception must have a written letter from their medical doctor or licensed psychologist recommending that the student not take full-time coursework during a specific semester. An exception form should be submitted to OISS before the tenth day of classes during a semester.

Economic Hardship: Off-Campus Work Permission
Students whose financial situation is affected by any natural disaster can apply for Economic Hardship to allow them to work off-campus. It generally takes 2 to 3 months for this type of application to be approved by the Immigration Department. Please schedule an appointment with an OISS Advisor to learn more about Economic Hardship for your personal situation. Tel: 651-962-6650 or email: oiss@stthomas.edu.

Sincere Regards,
Deborah Knaust

Bulletin Article - 01/10/05

UST community contributes to tsunami disaster relief efforts

Two University of St. Thomas students and a faculty member – all from Sri Lanka – and two UST staff members are raising funds for victims of the Dec. 26 tsunami disaster in South Asia that killed some 150,000 people and left many thousands homeless.

Student Eranda Liyanapathiranage is working with the Sri Lankan community of Minnesota to raise funds for selected volunteer organizations to provide disaster relief and reconstruction in Sri Lanka. At least 35,000 in that country lost their lives, and estimates indicate that more than a million people are homeless there.

Liyanapathiranage encourages contributions to the Sri Lanka Tsunami Relief Fund, 8235 Marsh Creek Road, Woodbury, MN 55125. The fund has an account at TCF Bank; the account number is 2867371922 for direct contributions.

For additional information on this initiative, please contact one of the following:

• Srilal Liyanapathiranage, (651) 578-1442
• Mithula Perera, (651) 426-3762
• Baratha Ratnayake, (651) 738-2260

Student Asha De Alwis, also from Sri Lanka , is collecting funds and other donations with the assistance of the Centre for Poverty Analysis in Sri Lanka. The center, she notes, is not a relief agency, but staff there have been helpful in advising her efforts. De Alwis may travel to Sri Lanka to deliver supplies she has collected, but her plans are pending. For more information about her efforts, please send e-mail to De Alwis, aade@stthomas.edu.

College of Business faculty member Dr. Lalith Samarakoon, a Sri Lankan citizen who teaches in the Department of Finance, has set up a Sri Lanka Tsunami Help Fund at US Bank’s Highland Park branch in St. Paul.

Through Samarakoon’s contacts with colleagues, family and friends in Sri Lanka, he hopes to identify specific Sri Lankan children who would benefit from long-term support, such as educational stipends provided by his fund. He also is seeking people here who would be willing to establish relationships with individual Sri Lankan children who have lost their homes and families and need support.

“The immediate relief, such as food, clothing and medicine, are being addressed by many local and international organizations,” Samarakoon said. “There are numerous medium- to long-term needs, such as the welfare of the children who lost their parents, rebuilding homes and reconstruction of damaged schools. Funds will be given to individuals and organizations for specific needs.”

To donate to the Sri Lanka Tsunami Help Fund, you may deposit donations to account 104775118037 at US Bank, 711 S. Cleveland Ave., St. Paul, MN 55116, or send donations for the fund to Samarakoon’s campus mailbox, Mail TMH 343. For more information, contact Samarakoon by e-mail to lpsamarakoon@stthomas.edu or call his office, (651) 962-4246.

South India and Thailand also were affected by the tsunamis, and two St. Thomas staff members are focusing on relief efforts in those countries.

Kerry LeClair, an admissions counselor at St. Thomas, encourages donations to the India Relief Fund of Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry, 122 W. Franklin Ave. S., Suite 518B, Minneapolis, MN 55404. For more information about LPGM’s tsunami relief efforts in India.

LeClair traveled to south India during January Term 1997 to teach at Siloam Boarding School. There she began a relationship with LPGM through its Project Education India. If you are interested in sponsoring a child through Project Education India or would like more information, refer to the LPGM Web site or contact LeClair, (651) 962-6161.

Sarah Armstrong, of UST’s Personal Counseling staff, encourages donations to a fund for the recovery of Phuket, Thailand. Her close friends, the Ebert family of Eagan, were on Phi Phi Ley Beach, just 45 minutes by boat from Phuket, when the tsunami hit. All four of them survived and have established this fund to help the people of Phuket. Send contributions to the Phuket Tsunami Benefit Catastrophe Fund, Att’n: David Barnes, 430 N. Wabasha St., Suite 300, St. Paul, MN 55101. Or, you may make contributions directly to account 137894382 at Wells Fargo Bank.

A host of international and national organizations are involved with tsunami relief efforts. For a list of other reputable agencies, visit these KARE11 News featured links (inactive) or contribute online to Direct Relief International, a nonprofit organization that since 1948 has worked to improve the quality of life for people in need. DRI focuses on health – by providing essential material resources to locally run health programs in poor areas around the world and during times of disaster.

About a quarter of St. Thomas’ 428 international students are from South Asia, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Somalia, Thailand, Vietnam and India. According to Deborah Knaust, director of the St. Thomas Office of International Student Services, the university has not yet heard from all of its students in that part of the world, but so far it appears that they are safe, and none has lost immediate family members. No St. Thomas students participating in study-abroad programs were living or traveling in areas affected by the tsunamis.