Photo by Ali Meizels ‘23
Student organizers gathered a crowd at Blanchard Hall to protest the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
By Sammi Craig ’22
Staff Writer
On Sunday, Feb. 27, students gathered on the steps outside Blanchard Hall to protest Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine. Many from the campus community attended to show solidarity with Ukrainian citizens and condemn the war. The protest was organized by Maïha Klymenko ’23, who is from Ukraine, Anno Kostava ’24 and Mariam Gabidzashvili ’24, who are from Georgia and Ella Jacob ’24, who is a Czech citizen.
The first step the organizers took in preparation for the protest was creating posters that were widely distributed around campus.
“It was just us sitting in a dorm room and coming up with posters and trying to plan it,” Gabidzashvili said.
The four organizers created and distributed all of the posters plastered around campus. Some posters read “First Moldova, then Georgia, Now Ukraine? Who’s next? Speak Up!” while others read, “слава Україні! Glory to Ukraine! Your Support Matters. Open Your Eyes, War Is Here.” The posters included scannable QR codes that led to the website “rescue.org,” a site dedicated to informing people about the war in Ukraine and recommendations on how to show solidarity. In addition, organizers held a poster-making session on the third floor of Blanchard Hall from 4 - 5 p.m., right before the protest started. Creating individual posters allowed community members to express personal sentiments and show their support.
As the Mount Holyoke clocktower struck 5 p.m., the march across campus began. Students walked through campus chanting phrases like “Stop Putin, Stop the War” and “Peace for Ukraine.” Ukrainian flags were distributed to students who didn’t have posters and, as they walked, students handed out flyers detailing the situation to those around them. The protest ended up going off campus as protestors trekked across the street to the Village Commons and Pearsons Hall before turning back to Abbey Hall and Buckland Hall. After circling Mead Hall and Rockefeller Hall, the protestors returned to the steps of Blanchard to conclude the march. Organizers thanked protestors, students, staff and community members for joining despite the chilly winter weather.
The protest itself was “very spontaneous because obviously nobody knew this was gonna happen,” Kostava explained.
Organizers planned and carried out the march within the time span of the weekend. As Kostava noted, all of the supplies for the event were donated by organizers. While this protest was a solitary event, organizers encouraged people to continue to stay informed on the situation, according to Kostava.
“The least [people] should do is educate themselves about the situation,” Gabidzashvilli said.
Klymenko chimed in, noting, “it’s important to double check all of the information — the Russian propaganda is very strong.”