Stanford reaching out to disaster-affected students

As it did in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Stanford is in the process of reaching out to students who live in areas affected by Hurricane Irma and the recent earthquake in southern Mexico.

“We are continuing to monitor these latest natural disasters with great concern for everyone who is affected,” said Provost Persis Drell. “We again are working to contact students in the affected regions to see how the university might be able to help as they prepare to head to Stanford for the beginning of the fall quarter.”

Student Affairs staff have reached out to students who live in the Caribbean, which Hurricane Irma swept through last week, and are now in the process of reaching out to those in Florida. The university also is in the process of reaching out to students in the three states of Mexico hardest hit by last week’s magnitude-8.2 earthquake.

The university has reached out to 294 students in Texas and Louisiana who might have been affected by Hurricane Harvey; 372 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Islands or Florida who might have been affected by Hurricane Irma; and 108 in the Mexican states of Chiapas, Oaxaca and Tabasco, where an earthquake recently struck.

Students can contact the university for assistance with their individual needs. New students are encouraged to contact Edith Wu, associate dean for Undergraduate Advising and Research, while upperclass students should contact Koren Bakkegard, associate dean for Residential Education. Graduate students should contact Ken Hsu, assistant vice provost and director for the Graduate Life Office.

The Office of International Affairs has reached out to other members of the Stanford community who registered expected travel in Mexico and has had no reports that any were affected by last week’s earthquake. The Bing Overseas Studies Program has no programs operating in Mexico at this time; its two faculty-initiated summer programs in Oaxaca concluded in July.