Quick Take:
On Monday, the university announced a goal of raising $100,000 to support at-risk Afghan families and students fleeing the country. Should the university reach its goal, the campus provost and executive vice chancellor have pledged to match it.
As more families attempt to flee following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan, UC Santa Cruz officials announced Monday plans to raise $100,000 to relocate at-risk scholars and their families to the area.
The university has worked with scholars and activists in Kabul to identify individuals to help, said Associate Campus Provost Adrian Brasoveanu.
“When this crisis happened, everyone wanted to help, from outside UCSC and inside UCSC,” he said. “The most direct way for us to help was to target scholars.”
Currently, Brasoveanu and the organizers are looking to bring at least two Afghan scholars and their families to Santa Cruz County, hoping to bring several more.
If the team reaches its goal by Friday, Campus Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Lori Kletzer has pledged that the university will match the amount to enable emergency travel and placement.
“The need is pretty dire — this is the point where we really need the help of the larger Santa Cruz community,” Brasoveanu said. “We’re grateful for any amount at the end of the day, and we’re really amazed by how everyone at the university came together so quickly.”
As of Monday evening, the organization had raised $70,083.
Update: The fundraiser has now edited its language to focus on at-risk scholars.