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Prayers, Demonstrations, and Open Mic: Tufts University Students Band Together for Ukraine

By Vishal Manve, MALD 2023 Candidate, The Fletcher School

As the Russia-Ukraine war entered day 12, members of the wider Tufts University and The Fletcher School community — students, staff, and faculty members — organized open mic nights, multifaith vigils, rallies, and fundraisers to support Ukrainians facing a global humanitarian crisis. 

On March 7th, 2022, Nastia Kukunova and Karl Afrikian, leaders of The Eurasia Club at The Fletcher School organized a ‘Ukraine Open Mic night’, providing an avenue for students to narrate their personal stories evoked by trauma, war, and a sense of deep anguish. 

“Although Fletcher and Tufts have fantastic experts on the region, most discussions have focused on geopolitical implications and the history that led up to the war,” Kukunova, a second-year MALD candidate said.

“This way, people who are directly affected by the conflict, whether it be through family, or having worked or studied there in the past, could share what the last two weeks have been like for them as well as their connection to Ukraine,” Kukunova added.

On March 1st, 2022, The Tufts University Chaplaincy organized ‘A Multifaith Vigil For Peace in Ukraine’ that showcased Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Catholic, and Islamic prayers offered to support students struggling with the ongoing conflict. 

Many of the Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian students at Tufts University and The Fletcher School have expressed opposition against the war, and are directly impacted by it as their families struggle to flee. 

Over the last few weeks, Fletcher faculty members, including Professor Chris Miller, Co-Director of the school’s Russia and Eurasia Program, have organized multiple conversations and panel discussions to explain the genesis of the Russian advances in Ukraine, their geopolitical impact, the West’s response, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s future as the war progresses. 

Before this, Fiona Hill, former Senior Director for Europe and Russia at the United States Security Council, visited The Fletcher School and spoke about her recently released book, There Is Nothing For You Here. Hill spoke about Putin, Russia, and the decision-making process in the Kremlin regarding the geopolitical impact of the war in the Eurasian context.  

On March 2nd, 2022, Tufts University Students organized a protest rally, sharing personal stories of their family members struggling in Ukraine to defend their homes, work, and loved ones. 

“Ukrainians stood up with bare hands without weapons against tanks. Those people are real heroes and, hopefully, we can stand up for them here,” a Ukrainian student and one of the organizers said at the rally, attended by over 200 students. 

“My family is in Ukraine working, securing my hometown, my region and my people and I am here volunteering,” Oleksandra Poliakova, a student at the Fletcher School, said at the rally. 

“I am not sleeping, not eating…I want everyone who cares about democracy, about saving Europe. I want to ask with my big Ukrainian heart to raise your voice and support every person in Ukraine you know,” Poliakova further added. 

Walking through Tufts University’s campus, by Jumbo The Mascot, the promenade, and The Fletcher School, students from multiple campuses and countries rallied for stronger student support from the administration amid the ongoing conflict, which has impacted the wider student community and the world. 

“We admire Ukrainian people. You stand up for democracy, your nation…I urge you all to contact your representatives to fight against this war to protect Ukraine,” a Russian student said at the rally. 

The students concluded the rallies with ‘Slava Ukraini’ (Glory to Ukraine), and recitations of the Ukrainian national anthem.

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