‘We Are ... For Ukraine’: Penn State students, community members continue support amid Russian invasion
They came with sunflowers, Ukraine’s national flower, stuffed into their winter coats. They included children and grandparents, students and community members, and a melting pot of nationalities. They arrived with signs and songs, slogans and speeches, with one singular unifying message.
We stand with Ukraine.
More than 230 people converged in front of Penn State’s Old Main on Thursday evening, braving temperatures that hovered around freezing, to rally for Ukraine as Russia’s war on the Eastern European country persisted. The rally ran the gamut of emotions, with nervous laughter filling the crowd when told it would learn a Ukrainian chant to, later, quiet tears flowing when the realities of war were touched upon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion into the nation of 41 million a week ago. Since then, more than a million refugees have fled, subways have been used as bomb shelters, and the United Nations has confirmed at least 500 civilian casualties as of Tuesday.
“I can say with confidence what we Ukrainians are fighting today for is what we Americans value the most — life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” dual American/Ukrainian citizen Yuliya Ladygina, a Penn State assistant professor, told the crowd. “Hence, the Ukrainian cause is the American cause. Hence, Ukraine’s success in defeating Putin is crucial for America’s success and is imperative for the future of democracy.”
Blue and yellow signs filled the crowd in a nod to the colors of the Ukrainian flag. Some were written in Ukrainian, some in English. One depicted Putin with a Hitler mustache and read, “History repeating.” Another read, “Stop Putin’s Reich.” Others were more personal, with one blue-and-yellow poster reading, “I rally for my grandmother,” and another simply reading in large capital letters, “NO WAR.”
Following an impromptu protest the week before, the Penn State Ukrainian Society, a student group, organized Thursday’s rally with three goals in mind. They wanted to give an outlet for community members directly impacted by the war, so they’d know they were not alone. They hoped to raise awareness so their corner of the global community does not lose focus on the invasion’s ongoing horrors. And they sought to raise $10,000 for good Ukrainian causes — asking for donations via their Venmo account, @WEARE4UKRAINE, to pass on to organizations supporting children, refugees and/or Ukrainian troops.
During the rally, chants rang out of “We are ... Penn State!” followed by “We are ... for Ukraine!” And, between speeches and songs, someone would usually shout “Budmo!” — Ukrainian for let us be/let us prosper — with the crowd yelling back, “Hey!”
“Budmo, Budmo, Budmo!” “Hey, hey, hey!”
Sophia Datsko, a first-generation Ukrainian-American, said she hasn’t been able to sleep since the war started. Instead, in the early morning hours, the student group’s vice president is often surrounded by her phone, laptop and TV — checking on family back in Ukraine and monitoring what new crises unfold. She couldn’t help but tear up during the rally.
“I wish there was something more I could do,” she told the CDT. “I cannot go over there and physically fight. But we are doing the most — I think I’m doing the most — that I can possibly do. ... I’m angry. I’m heartbroken. But I see an inevitable victory. And I hope (war) is short-lived.”
Datsko spotted peers from her classes who chose to attend, in addition to her former English professor, friends and others. She was joined at the top of Old Main’s steps by local officials, State College Mayor Ezra Nanes and Council President Jesse Barlow, who both extended support from the borough.
Nanes — whose great-grandfather hailed from Odessa, Ukraine — spoke loudly and forcefully, emphasizing, “This is not a war of the Russian people. This is a war of a government.” His words especially resonated with some in the crowd, such as Vlad Semerikov, a Russian citizen and third-year Penn State Ph.D. student.
Semerikov, who calls Moscow home, stood at the center of the rally, holding a sign that read, “I am Russian and I stand with Ukraine.” With a blue-and-yellow ribbon pinned to his chest, he explained how the older generations are more susceptible to Russian propaganda, but the younger generation is different because it relies on the internet and independent news organizations.
“I think it is important to let everybody know that not all Russians are like Vladimir Putin,” he said. “A lot of Russians support Ukraine in this very hard and tragic time.”
The rally ended on a somber tone, after holding a brief candlelight vigil and a moment of silence in remembrance of those who have fallen. Before that, one of the more moving moments came during the recitation of a poem — titled “Take” — authored by Serhiy Zhadan and translated/read by Ukranian Society member Ellen Poplavska.
One student bit his lower lip, while others stared ahead, during phrases such as “the silence of graveyards,” and “blood that leaks from women’s shoes.”
Thursday’s rally balanced the realities of the present with the hope for the future. Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, might eventually fall, one speaker acknowledged, but so did Paris (to the Germans) and Moscow (to the French). And, many of those interviewed added, Ukrainians aren’t the type to give up, no matter what might transpire.
“I think the crowd certainly got a taste of what Ukrainians are made of tonight — it’s resilience, it’s bravery and it’s strength,” Datkso said. ”And that was all I could have hoped for.”
