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Kristy Frank and Anna Kharchynska. Provided by Ohio Athletics.

Sept. 23, 2022

Deeper connections on the court

Volleyball: How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has affected Anna Kharchynska and Kristy Frank

In a place halfway across the world, with a conflict that has gone on for over six months, it is easy for many people to ignore what is currently happening to millions of Ukrainians every day. But for Ohio’s Anna Kharchynska and Kristy Frank, that is impossible. It is a part of their lives, and its effects are something they have to deal with on a daily basis.

Kharchynska and Frank are teammates at Ohio, but they were also raised in Kyiv, Ukraine. Frank is a graduate transfer from Utah State and is playing her first season at Ohio in 2022. Although Frank had family in Ukraine, she was living on campus at Utah State during the initial invasion. Kharchynska is a true freshman and has represented her country several times. Kharchynska and her family were residing in Kyiv when Russia invaded.

It was around 4 a.m. on Feb. 24 when the first Russian missiles and airstrikes illuminated the night sky in Ukraine’s capital city of Kyiv. Russian forces had crossed over Ukraine’s eastern border only minutes before, and early that morning Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Russia’s plans for a military operation in Ukraine.

Kharchynska and Frank remember the night well.

“Because my family was in Kyiv, and in the first week, it was the most dangerous place, we hid in basements for three days,” Kharchynska said. “There were huge planes flying near our house and we would hear explosions.”

“For me it was really scary because I was in the U.S. at the time,” Frank said. “I just saw posts on social media, and the first attack was on my city, so I saw explosions and it was like five in the morning. I called my dad, and he was sitting in the kitchen and he said that he had just heard a bomb go off, and one of the houses nearby was being targeted, so it was really scary and stressful.”

Russia’s full-scale invasion had begun and millions of Ukrainian citizens were left scrambling as many of their hometowns were destroyed by Russian missiles and airstrikes. According to the International Rescue Committee, over 7.2 million people have fled Ukraine in the fastest and largest displacement crisis this century.

Many of the refugees left behind most of their belongings and their homes without a plan for where they would live. Although they were out of the warzone that was Kyiv, many parts of western Ukraine were being targeted by Russian planes, and with traffic that could last for days, refugees were stuck in fear for their own lives.

“We took all of our stuff and moved to our friends,” Kharchynska said. “Then me and my mom made the decision to go to Romania.”

“I think they moved out immediately,” Frank said. “Maybe later that morning, and the traffic was really bad. They were just on the bus for a really long time. Almost two days trying to get to another city, it’s really stressful because I can’t do anything to help someone who’s just sitting in anticipation of what’s going to happen.”

Even after making it out of Ukraine, the cold winter nights and increased chances of exposure to crime and violence meant refugees needed to find shelter quickly. Frank’s parents had no idea what their next step was after making it out of the country, until she called them.

Frank was a senior for Utah State at the time, and her teammate and best friend Inka Mehtola had family in Finland. Frank called her parents and told them that her teammate’s family might be able to help in some way. Although Mehtola’s parents had never met Frank’s before, they were willing to help.

“My teammate’s parents were very helpful,” Frank said. “They told them all the directions, they said ‘Yes, … you can come stay at our place’. So, my teammate’s mom even took a long train to go to the capital to meet them there and pick them up, so they really helped them. I don’t know where they would be without my teammate’s family. So I’m really grateful for that. They also helped them get separate apartments so that was really helpful.”

For any Division I student athlete, it can be difficult to balance athletic and academic life. But having to balance those while also worrying about the safety of loved ones and coping with the destruction of your hometown seems impossible, yet that is what Frank was tasked with.

“Definitely at first it was impacting my mental health a lot because coping with school, plus volleyball, plus what was going on in the country and trying to figure out how my family was doing,” Frank said. “It affected me a lot.”

Kharchynska was representing her country in the European Volleyball Confederation’s European Golden League soon after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The invasion created complications around where the team would play its matches.

Dealing with emotions while representing Ukraine wasn’t easy for Kharchynska and the Ukrainian team.

“Mentally it was very hard, but we tried to do all we could and cheer on our country in a hard situation,” Kharchynska said.

Although the war in Ukraine is still ongoing and its impacts are still in effect, Kharchynska and Frank both have had to cope with the state of their home country.

“It kind of grew to a new stage of just representing and playing for our country,” Frank said, “At first it was hard, but now I think we’re coping with it.”

“Here, it’s freer,” Kharchynska said. “I’m not afraid of anything, but in my country it’s really a disaster.”

Although Pew Research shows many Americans care less about foreign policy than they did six months ago, and news coverage of the Ukraine crisis has decreased, Ohio is doing what it can to bring awareness to the problems still faced by Ukrainians. It is making its first match against rival Miami ‘Ukraine night’.

Frank appreciates the impact Ohio is making.

“I think it’s great that we keep pushing the information out to people,” Frank said. “It’s important to remember what’s going on and to support Ukraine as much as possible, and I think it’s fair the University keeps doing this too because sometimes people forget about what’s going on.”

In the digital age we live in, attention spans aren’t built to follow six-month long wars, but the problems faced by Ukrainians are as present now as they have ever been.

“I haven’t seen my father since February and I still really miss him,” Karchynska said. “I’m afraid for my family because most of it is still in Kyiv.”

COPY EDITOR: Aya Cathey
WEB DEVELOPMENT: Jack Hiltner

20 सितंबर, 2022

यूनाइटेड एट उस्तावी

भारतीय छात्र संघ उत्सव का आयोजन करके, समुदाय को एक साथ लाता है

11 सितंबर को, ओहियो विश्वविद्यालय के इंडियन स्टूडेंट्स एसोसिएशन, या ISA ने COVID-19 के झटके के बाद से सबसे बड़े भारतीय सांस्कृतिक कार्याकरम का आयोजन किया। भारतीय पोशाक, भोजन, संगीत, नृत्य और साहित्य की सराहना करने के लिए बेकर बॉलरूम में लगभग 220 लोगों ने हरसो उल्लास के साथ कार्यक्रम में भाग लिया।

कार्यक्रम की उपस्थिति से प्रभावित होकर, आईएसए के अध्यक्ष प्रोथामा मन्ना , जैविक विज्ञान का अध्ययन करने वाले दूसरे वर्ष के पीएचडी उम्मीदवार ने कहा, "इस महान टीम के महान समर्थन के बिना इस व्यापक कार्यक्रम को आगे बढ़ाना संभव नहीं होगा। ।"

ओयू के 22वें राष्ट्रपति ह्यूग शेरमेन और उनकी पत्नी सिंथिया इस कार्यक्रम के विशिष्ट अतिथि थे। अपने संक्षिप्त स्वागत भाषण में, राष्ट्रपति शेरमेन ने आईएसए के वार्षिक आयोजन के बारे में बात की और बताया कि कैसे यह हमेशा साल का सबसे बड़ा और सर्वश्रेष्ठ अंतरराष्ट्रीय आयोजन होता है।

आयोजन के आयोजकों का मानना है कि उत्सव नाम, जिसका अर्थ उत्सव या त्योहार है, भारत में मनाए जाने वाले विविध त्योहारों को शामिल करने के लिए अधिक समावेशी होने का एक प्रयास था। सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रम की शुरुआत अक्षय वेंकटराघवन के साथ हुई, जो पर्यावरण और पादप जीव विज्ञान का अध्ययन कर रहे पीएचडी उम्मीदवार हैं। उन्होंने भरतनाट्यम नामक एक लोकप्रिय शास्त्रीय नृत्य शैली का प्रदर्शन करते हुए शानदार ढंग से नृत्य किया। इसके बाद एथनोम्यूजिकोलॉजी के एसोसिएट प्रोफेसर डॉ. गैरेट फील्ड ने कर्नाटक संगीत के अपने शानदार उत्पादन से दर्शकों को मंत्रमुग्ध कर दिया।

भारतीय व्यंजनों की एक विस्तृत विविधता के साथ, समोसा, मसालेदार आलू, प्याज और मटर जैसी सामग्री सहित एक तली हुई या बेक्ड पेस्ट्री, एक लोकप्रिय ऐपेटाइज़र था जिसे कई लोगों ने कहा कि उन्होंने इसका आनंद लिया। एक प्रशंसक-पसंदीदा उपविजेता बटर चिकन, एक अविश्वसनीय करी सॉस में सुगंधित सुनहरे चिकन के टुकड़े थे, उसके बाद एक क्लासिक भारतीय मिठाई, गुलाब जामुन । गुलाब जामुन मुख्य रूप से दूध के ठोस पदार्थों से बनाए जाते हैं, पारंपरिक रूप से खोये से, जो दूध को नरम आटे की स्थिरता के लिए कम किया जाता है।

मनोविज्ञान का अध्ययन करने वाले एक छात्र डेविड स्पीलमैन ने कहा कि वह बटर चिकन और गुलाब जामुन को आजमाने के लिए उत्सुक हैं।

स्पीलमैन ने कहा, "मुझे कहना होगा कि यह घटना वास्तव में आंखें खोलने वाली रही है, बस सभी विभिन्न संस्कृतियों के बारे में जानने और अपने दोस्तों के साथ इसका अनुभव करने के लिए।" "कंपनी, आतिथ्य अद्भुत है। फ्लैश मॉब, अंत में, कुछ ऐसा था जिसकी मुझे उम्मीद नहीं थी। ”

हेरिटेज कॉलेज ऑफ ओस्टियोपैथिक मेडिसिन में प्रोफेसर और सामाजिक चिकित्सा के अध्यक्ष नागेश राव 1998 से इस वार्षिक कार्यक्रम के समन्वय में मदद कर रहे हैं।

राव ने कहा, "मैं कहूंगा कि यह शायद सबसे अच्छे कार्यक्रमों में से एक है जिसे हमने देखा है क्योंकि इसे बहुत सोच-समझकर किया गया था।" इसे वास्तव में अच्छी तरह से कोरियोग्राफ किया गया है और हर चीज की गुणवत्ता अद्भुत है। रवींद्रनाथ टैगोर की कविता मेरी पसंदीदा कविताओं में से एक है। तो (अभिनील का) बंगाली में, मेरे लिए, वास्तव में शक्तिशाली था। ”

समाजशास्त्र विभाग के एसोसिएट प्रोफेसर टेड वेलसर भी इस कार्यक्रम में शामिल हुए।

"मैं यहां इसलिए हूं क्योंकि मेरे कुछ अच्छे दोस्त कार्यक्रम में मजबूती से शामिल हैं," वेलसर ने कहा। "मुझे लगता है कि यह आयोजन बहुत मायने रखता है क्योंकि यह केवल उन लोगों के बारे में नहीं है जो भारत के पहलुओं के बारे में उत्साहित हैं, बल्कि ऐसे लोग भी हैं जो शायद उतने जानकार नहीं हैं, लेकिन अधिक जानने और अधिक शामिल होने के इच्छुक हैं।"

वेलसर ने कहा कि रात से उनका पसंदीदा व्यंजन चना मसाला था, और उन्होंने दृढ़ता से महसूस किया कि कार्यक्रम के बारे में यह शब्द बेहतर हो सकता था।

"वास्तव में, मुझे इसके बारे में और लोगों को बताना चाहिए था," वेलसर ने कहा। "अब जब मैं इसके बारे में सोचता हूं तो मैं उन लोगों को जानता हूं जिन्होंने इसे पसंद किया होगा (इसके बारे में) सुना होगा, लेकिन मैंने नहीं किया, आप जानते हैं, इस पर कार्य करें।"

कार्यक्रम का समापन तब हुआ जब छात्रों ने अपने जीवंत एथनिक परिधानों में बॉलीवुड पार्टी के लोकप्रिय हिट गानों पर डांस करने के लिए डांस फ्लोर पर धूम मचा दी। भीड़ के पसंदीदा गीतों में "सुभा होने ना दे," "बटामीज़ दिल" और "ज़िंगात" जैसे गाने थे। भारतीय छात्र संघ दक्षिण एशियाई समुदाय और एथेंस के लोगों के लिए भारतीय संस्कृति को प्रत्यक्ष रूप से सीखने और अनुभव करने के लिए इस तरह के और अधिक कार्यक्रमों की मेजबानी करने के लिए तत्पर है।

संपादक: Katie Millard
अनुकृति संपादक: Aya Cathey
वेब विकास: Jack Hiltner