This article discusses war, violence, internet shutdowns, and mental health impacts that may be distressing for some readers.
After weeks of meetings with University officials, leaders of the Iranian Association of Queen’s University (IAQU) say Iranian students on campus are still facing significant mental health, academic, and financial challenges linked to the situation in Iran.
In a statement to The Journal, Queen’s said students’ services leaders have been meeting with IAQU to discuss the impacts students are experiencing. These discussions are ongoing and information about resources continues to be shared with Iranian students through the Queen’s University International Centre (QUIC).
The situation has also affected members of the Queen’s community travelling abroad, with a group of 16 students and one faculty member currently being stranded in Doha following airspace closures.
READ MORE: Queen’s students and faculty left in Doha amid regional airspace shutdowns
Student concerns often start with whether loved ones are safe following recent developments in Iran, including military strikes by Israel and the United States, said IAQU co-presidents Sara Hosseinifard, ArtSci ’28, and Aila Payroveolia, ArtSci ’27, in an interview with The Journal.
Payroveolia added there had previously been a 14-day internet shutdown and that another shutdown is ongoing. Landlines have also been cut in the past, she said, describing a situation where “the doctors couldn’t even page other doctors in the hospitals.”
Beyond communication disruptions, there are ripple effects constantly impacting local students’ ability to function day to day.
The IAQU also conducted a survey to better understand how students are being affected, though the results are preliminary as responses continue to come in.
The results show 95.5 per cent of respondents reported mental health struggles, while 81 per cent said the situation has affected their academic performance. 84 per cent said they’re worried about family members in Iran, and 75 per cent reported challenges related to their sense of belonging.
Hosseinifard linked financial challenges to internet shutdowns and banking disruptions which prevent families from sending funds students rely on, and vice versa.
The survey found almost 30 per cent of respondents hadn’t reached out to Queen’s because they felt they had to manage the situation on their own, and 25 per cent of those who did reach out said the support they received was inadequate.
In response to these pressures, IAQU has been meeting with University leadership to secure accommodations and reduce the burden on students.
According to the co-presidents, a recurring issue raised during those discussions was a lack of communication between different parts of the University.
An outcome of these meetings is a two-week academic consideration process without documentation. They also received commitments of flexibility from the Registrar’s Office on a case-by-case basis, including potential tuition deadline extensions and emergency bursary consideration, with Iranian students prioritized. Late tuition fees were also waived for Iranian students.
The University confirmed that students affected by the conflict may request extensions for winter tuition and fee payments and can access emergency bursaries.
Mental health support was another major focus of the discussion.
Melina Doust, events coordinator for the IAQU, said the group has faced “a lot of resistance” when advocating for stronger mental health resources. She said approaches to counselling sessions felt inadequate for the scale of what students were experiencing. She described the services as “laughable how ineffective” referring to breath work exercises they were told to do.
The Association’s priority is accessible one-on-one counselling that is trauma-informed and culturally appropriate.
According to Queen’s, students are being referred to Care Support Services for assistance and Campus Wellness Resources. Students can speak to a Chaplain for one on one support, or can attend Grief Groups and weekly Weight of the World events. Information about Farsi-speaking counsellors available locally and online has been shared with students, along with after-hours support options.
Doust said financial barriers make it difficult for some students to seek outside help. Private therapists can cost hundreds of dollars per session, while student insurance only covers a small part of that cost.
Doust also touched on how some of our community view recent U.S. military action. She said many Iranians have long protested the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Some Iranians see the intervention as an opportunity to end ongoing violence and eventually establish a democratically elected government.
“It seems unfathomable to imagine a group of people wanting their own country bombed,” Doust said, but argued that perspective changes when considering what the IRGC has done over the past decades. She encouraged people forming opinions about the conflict to listen to Iranians themselves, particularly those living in Iran.
Tags
(IAQU, Iran, Queen's University International Centre, QUIC
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Concerned Student
I have a lot of sympathy for the Iranian community at Queen’s and I hope that the school becomes easier to work with to get the supports these students need. I can’t imagine watching a war happen in your country/homeland, no matter how you feel about the regime or the U.S., or any other of the involved parties.
Recently, I found the following via the BBC (https://www.bbc.com/news/live/ceqvwrydzpqt?page=2):
“The president’s social media post signals that US intends to continue the war until the government in Tehran fully capitulates. Trump is also insisting that he should have a personal say in who will become Iran’s next supreme leader. He has said he needs to be involved in the appointment, and wrote in social media post today that “after… the selection of a Great and Acceptable leader… America will work to Make Iran Great Again”. He said that the US had several people in mind who could take over Tehran but they have all been killed in US and Israeli air strikes.
I’m deeply concerned that Trump’s comments indicate that the U.S. is not truly interested in regime change and supporting democracy, but rather forcing Iran’s regime to become more friendly to U.S. economic interests while doing nothing to liberate the Iranian people. I hope I’m proven wrong but knowing the U.S.’s history regarding its interventions, I’m not optimistic; all it will do is hurt millions of innocent people.
Responding to "Concerned Student"
Hi,
Thank you for your interest in this issue. To clarify, Iranians (in Iran, and everywhere) are also scared about US/Israeli intervention. No one believes that they are solely doing to support Iranian civilians. Iranians are the most scared. That said, the living under the IRGC is impossible. Life is impossible. For the past 47 years they have been killing, raping, abducting, torturing, oppressing, and suffocating Iranians and also neighbouring countries. For reference, over their occupancy they would arbitrarily abduct people off the street and rape and torture them to death. This number is in the thousands (at minimum) per year. They would send guards (called “morality police”) to surveil young girls entering school buildings and harass them if they did so much as pluck their eyebrows or wear a tilted headscarf (legally enforced dress code). Please educate yourself on how brutal the IRGC has been. Please learn about the atrocities and crimes against humanity that they have committed. And then, try and imagine (and god forbid) your mother or younger sister living in Iran under these constant threats. Imagine that the country goes into a complete internet blackout and civilians are faced with the army that is instructed to “shoot to kill.” The future is scary, but Iranians will take this fear of uncertainty over the IRGC continuing its occupancy. They will accept this fear, with hope and effort and dedication to make Iran a better country, over the continued slaughtering and torture of their people. US/Israel have bad intentions (obv Iranians know this), but they are happy that they are given a chance to come out from their massacre. Please have faith in the Iranian people during this time. Instead of telling the world what is knows (that Trump is just in it for himself), maybe you could support Iranians and encourage their efforts to establish a new democracy. For instance, most of the Iranian community believes in temporarily re-installing Shah Pahlavi, before electing their own government. Go learn about Pahlavi and the common Iranian opinion. Go listen to him talk. Go listen to Iranians in Iran, and if you’re going to propagate any opinion, please let it be theirs.