Students Learn About American Red Cross at UW-Superior

SUPERIOR, Wis. — Thursday was Red Cross Day at UW-Superior.

Students were given the opportunity to learn what life is like for a refugee, practice compression only CPR, and write out holiday cards to military members. This also got to show students that the Red Cross does more than just disaster relief and blood donations. In the refugee exhibit, students learned more about how the Red Cross operates in other countries to provide aid and support.

“The exhibit itself is based from Afghanistan to Germany. So, we start them off in Afghanistan, ‘why would you want to leave your country’. We begin with that particular question and then take it off through different countries. The reason for this is that a lot of times people see for example at the end, in the U.S. or in Germany or somewhere else and they say, ‘well these people are destitute, these people are poor,” said Haji Dokhanchi, Professor of Political Science. “The exhibit is designed to teach people that these are humans with dignity, they used to have resources, they used to have money, and they had to spend all of that to get here. Now the question is what do we do at that end point?”

The exhibit had lots of statistics and other information regarding refugees. Surprisingly, one section showed how the majority of refugees in the U.S. aren’t from the countries we typically associate with refugees. For example, the majority of refugees in Wisconsin are from Burma and Laos. Students also learned some tips and tricks when it comes to CPR.

“I think it’s interesting when people are walking by, they are a little hesitant to start, but once we walk through the video and then actually having them practice chest compressions you can see that they are a little more confidant with what they are doing. And it is sometimes underestimated just how hard you have to push and how exhausting it can be for just a minute. So yeah, giving people an opportunity to do that is great,” said Anna Silvis, nursing student at the College of St. Scholastica.

Lastly, students were able to write out cards for military members and veterans thanking them for their service. Those get mailed out for the Holiday Mail for Heroes program.