As Vice-Provost, Global Engagement, I would like to express my ongoing concern for members of the Queen’s community impacted by the terrible events in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and ongoing volatility in the region.
When any type of crisis impacts our community, our Queen's campus activates immediately. Our first priority is to evaluate and reach out directly to faculty, staff, students or scholars who may be in danger or need immediate support. Queen’s verified that we have no students currently registered through the Student Off-Campus Safety Assistance Protocol (OCSAP) in Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. We have provided travel assistance to a faculty member currently in the region. We have also reached out with supports to international students at Queen’s from the region. We encourage all students, faculty and staff in need of support to make use of the resources below.
Read Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane’s Full Statement
As Principal Deane noted in his statement this weekend, Queen’s is committed to providing a safe, inclusive environment that embraces the diversity of all its members.
We are also committed to ensuring the safety of our community when travelling abroad. Students are required to register in START prior to travelling abroad and we strongly encourage all faculty members and staff to register with OCASP through the START app before travel abroad so the university can assist when required. Although we are still able to assist if a traveler has not registered with the START app before departure, we have no reliable way of knowing who may be in a region in crisis and how best to reach out to provide support. The new START app offers a streamlined way to register international travel for university-sponsored travel, even to ordinarily low-risk locations.
Dr. Sandra den Otter,
Vice-Provost, Global Engagement
Resources and Supports
For Students
Academic Supports
- Undergraduate Students: Please contact your Academic Advisor within your faculty.
- Graduate Students: Please contact the School of Graduate Studies or your supervisor.
Health and Wellbeing
Through the Queen’s University International Centre, the university holds drop-in in-person or virtual advising, Monday to Thursday, 10-11am and 2-3pm, either email isa@queensu.ca or book an appointment through the QUIC website.
Student Wellness Services
If you are currently in Ontario, you can call 613-533-2506 from 8 am-4:30 pm, Monday to Friday to schedule an appointment with the counselling team at Student Wellness Services, or 24/7, you can call Good2Talk, 24/7, at 1-866-925-5454 or text GODD2TALKON to 686868 or contact crisis support and counselling through Empower Me.
Cultural Supports, including Queen’s Cross-Cultural Counsellor
Faith and Spiritual Life
Faith and Spiritual Life offers multi-faith, non-judgmental support for religious, spiritual, personal, and financial problems, concerns, or crises. You can contact chaplain@queensu.ca for support.
For Faculty Members and Staff
Support resources for the Queen’s faculty and staff and their family members can be found at any time through TELUS Health One, Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP).
Safety Abroad
Use the Safe Travel Activity Registration Tool (START) to register university-sanctioned off-campus activities.
International SOS (Accessible via Net ID) - Emergency Support for International Travel