Rallying for Ukraine
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and Mike Chalmers February 28, 2022
Students organize event to show support for Ukraine
When roommates Greg Tarnavskyi and Vlad Krylov saw video of Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine last week, they wanted to show that the 91原创 community is united in its condemnation of the war.
Tarnavskyi, a junior political science major from Ukraine, and Krylov, a senior economics major from Russia, organized a rally on The Green on Monday, Feb. 28, that drew students, faculty and staff demonstrating support of Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces.
鈥淭his is a battle for the basic values of humanity,鈥 Tarnavskyi told demonstrators. 鈥淲e need to stop [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and stop this war.鈥
The rally opened with a recording of the Ukrainian national anthem, and when the music unexpectedly cut out, the organizers began singing instead. There were only a handful of demonstrators at the beginning of the rally, but more people stopped to join the event on their way between classes. Demonstrators held Ukrainian flags and signs reading 鈥淪TOP PUTIN鈥 and 鈥淩USSIA GO HOME.鈥 During the rally, Naoyuki Sunam, who earned a doctoral degree in psychology from 91原创 last year, wrote 鈥淪top Putin鈥 in Japanese on a sign alongside the Ukrainian flag.
鈥淚t just breaks my heart to hear about the suffering on both sides of the war,鈥 said Sunam, who has a friend from Russia.
President Dennis Assanis attended the rally with his wife, Eleni. He thanked the students for organizing the rally and thanked the demonstrators for voicing their support for a peaceful end to the conflict.
鈥淲e stand with the people of Ukraine and Russia who do not want this war,鈥 Assanis said. 鈥淭hank you for coming out and speaking out and standing for freedom.鈥
Brendan Czuczuk, a sophomore political science major whose family comes from Ukraine, also helped organize the rally.
鈥淚t鈥檚 rare to see so many people united around a cause like this,鈥 Czuczuk said. 鈥淎round the world, we鈥檙e seeing more people rallying to support Ukraine. I鈥檝e never been more proud to be Ukrainian.鈥
Brendan鈥檚 father, Ihor Czuczuk, drove from Trenton, New Jersey, to attend the rally and provide the demonstrators with information about the political and historical background of the war. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not really Russians we鈥檙e fighting; it鈥檚 Putin, the Kremlin and his cronies,鈥 he said. 鈥淯krainians need to know that Americans support them.鈥
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