Toronto U. Students Club holds annual Ukrainian Week events (04/12/98)

Toronto U. Students Club holds annual Ukrainian Week events

by Nestor Gula

TORONTO - The Ukrainian Students' Club (USC) at University of Toronto held its annual Ukrainian Week during the first week of February.

Over 75 students and others from Toronto's Ukrainian community attended the opening wine and cheese reception on Monday, February 2, at St. Vladimir's Institute downtown.

According to Ukrainian Week Coordinator Tetyana Lysiak, a second-year student, the idea behind Ukrainian Week is to "acquaint the university's students, staff and faculty with the traditions, culture and history of Ukrainians in Canada and in Ukraine."

On February 3, the USC hosted a panel titled "Memories, Justice and You" at St. Vladimir's Institute. The featured speaker was Olya Odynsky, against whose father, Wasyl, the Canadian government has opened denaturalization and deportation proceedings. Students heard Ms. Odynsky deliver an impassioned plea to give her family its day in criminal court as mandated by the country's War Crimes Act. Ms. Odynsky also urge students to become civic activists.

The rest of the week included a display of works by Ukrainian artists set up in the foyer of Sidney Smith Hall, a Career Night at St. Vladimir's Institute, a pub crawl along trendy Queen Street and a gala show and party with the Veseli Vechornytsi band at the Ukrainian National Federation (UNF) hall on College Street on February 7.

On the opening day reception, USC President Mark Fedorowycz announced that the club would donate $3,000, collected during its annual Pre-Malanka bash at the UNF hall, to several causes.

The club gave $500 to the St. Vladimir Institute (where USC offices are located); $250 to the Ukrainian Canadian School Board's "Matura Fund"; $500 to the Radiation Treatment Ward at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children; $500 to the Petro Jacyk Foundation for Eastern European Studies; $500 to the Ukrainian Canadian Care Center; $500 to Help Us Help the Children; and $250 to an unspecified fund to help out Ukrainian students at University of Toronto.