EDITORIAL: Where have all the students gone? (10/28/01)

EDITORIAL

Where have all the students gone?

Columbia University's Ukrainian Students' Club recently canceled its scheduled showing of "Neskorenyi" (The Undefeated), a film on the life of Ukrainian Insurgent Army Gen. Roman Shukhevych, citing a lack of funds as an explanation for the screening's cancellation. As most of us well know and understand, financial difficulties in volunteer organizations often are the direct result of poor turnout - without the attendance of participants, usually the same people who help pay for the event, we find less of the necessary financial backing to conduct an organization's activities.

It is with this in mind that many small volunteer organizations unite under an umbrella organization - to help each other promote and further common goals within an entity with a larger, more unified voice than would otherwise be possible. One example of this is the Federation of Ukrainian Student Organizations of America (known by its Ukrainian-language acronym, SUSTA) in which many Ukrainian university student clubs historically had banded together in an atmosphere of mutual cooperation and communication.

SUSTA's activity over the last 10 years has been largely non-existent. A recent conference in Chicago on June 7-10, held with the help of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America's generous donation of $5,000, has attempted to revitalize SUSTA along with its original intent of promoting Ukrainian American issues on college campuses.

But one must now wonder: Why was the Columbia University club left canceling its screening if SUSTA has indeed been revitalized and active in its original intent of helping promote and gather attention for such events?

It is understandable that a newly re-energized student organization needs time to find its bearings, to "learn the ropes," to understand its function and familiarize itself with internal procedures and protocol. Since its "revitalizing" conference in Chicago on June 7-10 there has been no news article mentioning the outcome of the organization's conference - nor did we see advertisements beforehand.

Leaders of large Ukrainian student clubs at Rutgers University, Columbia University and New York University - arguably the first institutions one would expect to be contacted if SUSTA were to revitalize - have not been contacted. Many smaller Ukrainian university student clubs throughout the Midwest and East Coast also claim that there has been no word from SUSTA.

Yet another example of the SUSTA's possible effectiveness would have been in spreading the word about the University of Waterloo Ukrainian Student Klub's (UWUSK) second annual Indoor Soccer Tournament held on October 12-13 in Kitchener, Ontario (see article on page 8).

Although it was a Canadian event, the organizers actively sought participation from Ukrainian university student clubs throughout the United States. Unfortunately, presidents of respective Ukrainian student clubs were not informed of the event through SUSTA, but rather via information spread by circles of friends. There is no doubt that many possible participating universities were left unaware of the opportunity for student networking, social interaction and introduction of new faces.

The education and experiences acquired throughout college deepen as the level of participation and involvement in various activities increases. A participant of a five-member strong club can only accomplish and learn so much, but with the involvement and cooperation of students throughout the United States, united under one organization such as SUSTA, members invariably take in more. The larger scope of activities matures students, readies them for future undertakings, gives them the life experience and depth of character desperately needed to open the doors of opportunity. And, we might add, it also prepares future leaders of the Ukrainian American community.

We here at The Ukrainian Weekly see the benefit an organization like SUSTA has had in the past and can have in the future - provided that SUSTA continues its past history of active engagement. But, at the moment, we are left asking: What has happened to SUSTA's "revitalization"?

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