28 SOMERVILLE MAGAZINE
A Place of
Greater Safety
In February 2021, Somerville and Mansfield Colleges were recognised jointly as the first University Colleges of Sanctuary in the UK.
B
ecoming a College of Sanctuary sees Somerville reiterate its founding promise to include the excluded, updating it for a world in which forced migration and displacement threaten the lives of millions. In particular, we are eager to redress the drastic imbalance whereby only 1% of those from sanctuary-seeking backgrounds enter higher education. Our new, fully-funded Sanctuary Scholarships will support this endeavour, and you can read more about our second Sanctuary Scholar, Asif, below. Being a College of Sanctuary also means embedding the principles of welcome and safety throughout Somerville, so that we are known as a place of sanctuary and support. It is thanks to this recognition that people such as Dr Anwar Masoud were able to find us, and receive the help Somerville is only too willing to provide.
ASIF, Somerville’s Sanctuary Scholar 2021
Somerville is delighted to welcome Asif (2021, History and Economics) as its second Sanctuary Scholar. Asif came to the UK as a refugee aged 14 having previously never attended school. Now, thanks to his extraordinary tenacity and a chance encounter with a virtual Somerville event featuring Lord Alf Dubs, Asif will shortly begin a degree in History and Economics at Somerville.
Read our full profile of Asif in the forthcoming Report for Donors. Main image: Dr Anwar Masoud
