On Wednesday, April 13, the SGA hosted a vigil outside Palmer Lawn acknowledging the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Speakers Leo Maksymenko, Alexander Stanczak, and Nicole Malantchouk gave speeches describing their personal attachment to Ukraine, the ongoing conflict, and ways that the Stevens community can contribute to helping Ukrainians. The vigil was concluded with the Stevens choir singing the national anthem of Ukraine, “Ukraine has not yet perished.”
“Personally, I’ve been following the news… It’s pretty sad to see what’s going on [in Ukraine],” expressed Stevens student Ben. “I just wanted to come out and learn more about it.”
“My grandma actually comes from Ukraine, so I have a bit of a tie there,” said Stevens student Matt. “I think it’s great to support what Alex and the other speakers are doing.”
“I personally am Ukrainian, so this is something that means a lot to me and my family and I wanted to share that feeling with other people and our campus,” said freshman Stanczak, the SGA’s Vice President of Student Interests. “This isn’t something small, it’s an important event going on and people need to know the truth. That was the goal behind the vigil today.”
Russia began its assault on Ukraine over a month ago, and thousands of innocent civilians have been injured, displaced, or killed as a consequence. Students can check out Razom for Ukraine and Friends of Chervonohrad to donate and find resources. In addition to these, students looking to support the Ukrainian people should consider donating to charities such as the non-profit organization Come Back Alive, which uses its funds to purchase non-lethal military equipment and train soldiers, news sources such as The Kyiv Independent, which features gofundme and Patreon sites on their homepage, and the Ukrainian branch of the Red Cross organization. In addition, students may also support the fundraising initiative launched by the city of Hoboken to provide housing assistance to Ukrainian refugees living in the city of Białystok, Poland.
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