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How Campus Ministry and Social Action is Addressing Climate Change and Immigration

By Julian Tiburcio

Conor Reidy, who works as the campus minister in Campus Ministry and Social Action (CMSA), met with me at CMSA’s Community Engagement Fair on Wednesday to discuss Manhattan College’s work on climate change and its impact on refugees.

“Obviously, social justice is such an important part of our Lasallian heritage,” he said. “You know, we have these five points on the Lasallian star, which is the star you can see on all of our insignias, and one of the five points is concerned with the poor and social justice. So it’s really so central a tenant to what we think is important for our school and for what we want to teach our students.”

Reidy believes that educating students about current events is essential for an institution to produce well-rounded students.

“We try to do these things where we, like, focus on justice issues that are big in the news right now, but also happen to be very close to our identity as a Catholic Lasallian school,” he said.

One particular cause that CMSA will be exploring throughout this semester is refugee advocacy, a topic that has strong ties to climate change and its effects on people.

Reidy explained that this topic is closely connected to the World Day of Migrants and Refugees, which falls on the last Sunday of September. The Catholic Church created this day in 1914 as a way to focus its attention on those who are most in need around the world due to their refugee status.

Conor Reidy shared some insight into immigration and displacement caused by climate change. He specifically commented on the current climate issues in Pakistan and how the country is currently submerged underwater.

Boats in Johi, Pakistan waiting to transport fuel, food, motorbikes and livestock between flooded villages. (KIANA HAYERI / NEW YORK TIMES)

“Trying to comprehend what that means for folks when they’re just trying to eat, gather water, educate their children, and not die of dengue or malaria, which become so prevalent when you have standing water; it’s really difficult to understand what that means,” he said.

Reidy says that exercising empathy and making an effort to understand what people displaced by climate change are going through is an essential step to help communities that are recovering from these issues.

“I think what we as a community and as a country need to discuss is what responsibilities we have as a country that, you know, has caused 20% of climate change to be occurring…,” Reidy said.

While these climate issues in Pakistan might be taking place across the world, CMSA tries to make a difference locally, organizing programs that educate students and enable them to help disadvantaged people, including immigrants, more directly.

Manhattan College students involved in a LOVE trip. (MANHATTAN COLLEGE / COURTSEY)

Doriz Yari, a senior who has participated in the LOVE program, told me about how she’s developed a better understanding of immigration issues in a more hands-on way through the program. Through her trips to El Paso, Texas, she’s been able to experience these social issues more closely and learn about the struggles that immigrants endure.

“There’s a lot that you can learn from the internet, from a textbook, but it doesn’t really compare to being there in-person and talking to people firsthand,” Yari said.

Manhattan College students advocated for change on Capitol Hill in 2019. (CONOR REIDY / COURTSEY)

Student engagement is a crucial part of the success of all of these programs and for creating change on campus, Yari shared.

All of this work relating to climate change and immigration is only part of what CMSA does, so Reidy encourages students to identify social injustices themselves, and to work proactively against them as a community.

“I would also say if people have a special interest in other areas [of social justice,] we are always open and welcome to talking more about that,” said Reidy.

Originally published at https://jtiburcio01.wixsite.com on September 15, 2022.