FIrst published March 4, 2022 in Stories Beneath the Shell.
by Eve Sampson
Over fifty University of Maryland students – some Ukrainian and Russian – gathered in front of McKeldin Library Thursday evening for a vigil in support of Ukraine. The event aimed to bring campus attention to the nation’s plight.
“Slava Ukraini!” shouted members of the crowd. “Glory to Ukraine!”
“Heroaim slava!” others responded. “Glory to the heroes!”
It’s a traditional Ukrainian Army greeting that has become a rallying cry for Ukranians across the world.
Many of the event’s organizers draped blue and yellow Ukrainian flags over their shoulders. Others pinned blue and yellow ribbons to their clothes or wore crocheted sunflowers. They spoke in front of white small white candles spelling out “stop war.”
“This is the seventh day of war,” Yana Chapailo, an education masters student and one of the vigil’s organizers, said in an interview. “It’s been a week since we haven’t slept, haven’t eaten, haven’t had fun, go out with friends or talked about anything else.”
The speakers urged the community to attend protests, stand in solidarity with Ukrainians, recognize their plight and continue to call their state representatives about the U.S. government’s support for Ukraine.
“I personally struggle to say good morning to my parents and to my friends back in Ukraine because it’s not a good morning to them,” Chapailo said in an interview.
Others chastised Russian President Vladimir Putin at the rally.
“For Vladimir Putin to have the sheer audacity to go on television and say that he’s fighting for nationalism is disgusting,” said Nicholas Marks, a freshman secondary education major.
“If you look on the streets of Moscow, to even the streets of Beijing to Tokyo, there are people who are against the war,” Marks continued. “But my fear is that Putin will not stop. And if we refuse to take a stand, we are just as complicit as those people who are funding him.”
UMD President Darryll Pines also condemned the Russian invasion. Addressing the crowd, he emphasized the need for a diplomatic resolution.
“The University of Maryland is here to stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian people and with our community here at College Park,” he said. “I want you to know that we have your back.”
Pines also expressed concern for Russian students. Speaking about the Russian community, he said, “Many of them are also suffering because they don’t believe in what is happening today.”
One Russian student, Arseniy Braslavskiy, addressed the crowd.
“I wish that Russian people were as brave as Ukrainians right now,” said Braslavskiy, an economics doctoral candidate. “I would say sorry, but I don’t think it [can] be forgiven.”
After Braslavskiy spoke, Ukrainian event organizer Tetiana Tytko hugged him.
On March 2, the United Nations reported 227 confirmed civilian deaths, including 15 children. The exact number of civilian casualties remains unknown.
Chapailo said in an interview that she helped organize the vigil to raise awareness, but also to remember those who have thus far lost their lives.
“When [the war] started, it was so horrific that we couldn’t fit it in our heads.” Now, she said, “the routine of war is killing.”
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