Reuben has joined Mansfield and Somerville Colleges as Oxford’s third College of Sanctuary, the first postgraduate college to do so. More than ten Sanctuary Scholars have been supported by Reuben since 2021 through the University’s Refugee Academic Futures and Crisis Scholarship programmes. These scholarships cover living costs and tuition fees, with further funding raised by the college’s student community.
The College of Sanctuary status recognises colleges for their ongoing commitment to welcomeness, safety, and inclusivity for those in unstable situations seeking education. Reuben is also the first college to be recognised by the Oxford University’s own Sanctuary status process.
Reuben’s commitment to being sanctuary-friendly began with its founding President, Professor Lord Tarassenko, who devised the University’s undergraduate scholarship scheme for Ukrainian refugees within weeks of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Lord Tarassenko himself is the grandson of a refugee from eastern Ukraine. He told Cherwell: “We are immensely proud to receive College of Sanctuary status. From Reuben’s foundation, we have sought to build a community in which people from all backgrounds feel that they can belong and flourish.”
Sanctuary scholar Viktoria Podvorchanska, who has completed an MSc in Translational Health Sciences, explained that the environment of “community and care” reminded her that “life was continuing”. Yangdon Tenzing, a sanctuary scholar who completed her MSc in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies last year, described the Graduate Common Room space as one of her favourite aspects of the College. Tenzing said her opportunity at Oxford has helped her navigate career uncertainty.
Reuben has also formalised its support for Oxford Phoenix Rising Football Club, which provides free football sessions to refugees and asylum seekers in Oxford.
The recognition of Reuben’s status comes at a time when refugee and international students’ places at Oxford have been put into question. Since the Home Office’s visa brake policy in March, which prevented nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar, and Sudan from obtaining student visas, at least 15 students with Oxford offers were unable to take up their place at the University.
In response to the visa brake, Mansfield and Somerville issued a joint statement: “Conflating [students] with wider migration challenges is both unfair and misguided.”
