By Kristin O’Donoghue and Maryann Xue
UVA’s McIntire Amphitheater was bathed in the warm glow of hundreds of LED candles on Thursday evening, as members of the UVA and Charlottesville communities gathered for an hour-long vigil to stand in solidarity with Ukraine. The Ukrainian flag was projected at the front of the stage, a show of support as the country fights off a violent Russian invasion.
People held posters and candles as they listened intently to faculty and Ukrainian students, who shared their personal experiences through songs, poetry, and speeches. Organizers collected donations for The Voices of Children, a Ukrainian-based organization that provides counseling to children impacted by the war, and World Central Kitchen, which is providing free meals to Ukrainian refugees.
Student Lisa Kopelnik spoke about how important it was for governments to provide as much help as possible to protect Ukraine.
“As students at UVA, every day we have the privilege of speaking our minds, advocating for our needs, and working together to achieve our vision,” she said. “The youth of Ukraine deserve the same. They deserve to be able to live freely, love their cities and nation, [and] envision a future for themselves. They cannot be deprived of a basic human right to exist.”
Sophia Baraban, also a student, read a poem from her Ukrainian father and relatives that described how they longed to be able to look upon their native land once more, free of any attempts at obstruction.
“I have neither fate nor freedom. Only one hope is left,” she read.
The vigil ended with a moment of silence, and attendees were encouraged to line up their candles at the front of the stage before silently departing the venue.
Two days earlier, a group of professors held a teach-in to provide cultural and historical background on the events unfolding in Europe.
“The invasion brought together Ukrainian identity in a way we had not yet seen,” history professor Kyrill Kunakhovich told the 250 students and faculty who were there (another 250 tuned in over Zoom).
“This is what it looks like when a war of dictatorship and kleptocracy is launched against a people demanding freedom and democracy,” added history professor William Hitchcock.
The professors tried to offer students and faculty some guidance on how to help those suffering. They suggested making donations to Voices of Children, Kyiv Independent, World Central Kitchen, Care.org, and Razomforukraine.org.
Todd Sechser, who teaches politics and public policy at UVA’s Batten School, offered background on the possibility that the crisis could escalate to nuclear war, and national security expert Philip Potter shared how the “radical transparency” of the Biden administration has encouraged the United States’ allies to quickly coordinate around a package of economic sanctions and other measures.
Philip Zelikow, a history professor who served on George H.W. Bush’s National Security Council, closed the event by urging the students to remain engaged and work to “build a new world order.”
“You are living in a serious world in which serious things are happening,” he said.