The album My Universities came off the presses in September, prior to The Day’s 10th anniversary. This compilation of articles about Larysa Ivshyna’s visits to Ukrainian universities and her discussions with students from 1999 to 2006 is the sixth book of the newspaper’s Library Series. All our publications are united under the heading Ukraine Incognita. The book Dvi Rusi focuses on the unknown pages from the history of Ukrainian-Russian relations, while Wars and Peace is about Ukrainian-Polish relations. My Universities is also Ukraine Incognita - about progressive Ukrainian students and their views, needs, and aspirations, something our country knows little about. We call My University a kind of crash course on Ukrainian history and social studies. Some professors, who are also among the heroes of this book, say that this publication is also a reference work on Ukrainian studies and local history. Since its publication our editorial office has received considerable feedback. To us, reader’s responses are more than just letters, so we have decided to publish a few. We also asked some professors who took part in our meetings to comment.
Ihor PASICHNYK, Rector, Ostroh Academy National University:
In my opinion, My University is valuable above all because it conveys a unifying character for all of Ukraine. In fact, it is a practical implementation of the well-known slogan: “East and West Together!” This publication reveals the quality of life of young students from various regions of our country. By the way, I am very pleased to see that a number of pages in the book are dedicated to Ostroh Academy. This is only natural, as our academy is the rightful successor of the first institution of higher learning in Eastern Europe. I should add that Ostroh Academy will celebrate its 430th anniversary this year.
The faculty and student body of Ostroh Academy have established friendly relations with The Day’s editor in chief. The Ostroh Club was founded on her initiative. Its activities include meetings with progressive students from various universities to discuss topical issues and find solutions to them, to share experiences, and finally, to spend time together in an interesting and informative atmosphere.
I often recall a meeting that was organized by Larysa Ivshyna, when she invited students and lecturers from Odesa, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk universities to Ostroh. For many of them it was their first visit to western Ukraine. Our guests from Odesa, for example, admitted that they were traveling to a godforsaken land, but instead found they had arrived in a civilization. After meeting local residents, particularly young people, they became convinced that we are all Ukrainians, that we are united. Here is inner Ukrainian integration for you, as Larysa Ivshyna put it.
My Universities can be described as a reference work for learning about Ukraine and its people.
Volodymyr RIZUN, Director, Institute of Journalism, Taras Shevchenko National University:
The book My Universities is interesting because its author is a journalist and a newspaper editor. It is quite understandable that it raises the question of the role of Ukrainian journalists in the social context. Unfortunately, in the last decade their function has been reduced to supplying information. I think that students majoring in journalism will find materials that elucidate the role of journalism especially interesting. It will also be equally important for them to learn the main principles governing the work of The Day’s editor in chief because Ukrainian journalism wears different coats and the same is true of our society. In fact, the discussion boils down to what Ukrainian journalism should be.
It is important for young students to have examples to emulate. Larysa Ivshyna is one such example. She does not hesitate to discuss important state matters. She is not afraid to voice her opinion, in other words, she takes a stand, and she also thinks like a statesman, which is very impor tant.
Yevhenia SOKHATSKA, Associate Professor, Department of the Theory and History of Journalism, Kamianets-Podilsky State University, Winner of the Ivan Ohienko All-Ukraine Prize:
A VIP woman, self-sufficient, well known in battle-hardened journalistic circles - is this not how the general public visualizes Larysa Ivshyna, the editor of The Day? Her book My Universities, published in conjunction with the newspaper’s 10th anniversary, reveals something else. One is tempted to ask her what drives her, what is that ‘spring’ in her activities, what stirs unrest in her heart? In one interview she waved off such questions in a purely feminine, playful manner, saying, “Life is gayer that way.” However, what she has written and done indicates her profound essence, a firm national orientation, an ideal of Ukrainian self-identification, and engagement in the state-building process. She does not conceal this creative treasure from the world but is sharing it generously.
At a time when national education is being replaced by a civic one, when the slogan of removing politics from scholarship is being cultivated, it is hard to overestimate everything that has been accomplished by Mrs. Ivshyna. Her every visit to a university with like-minded colleagues forces the audience, mostly students, to think about the meaning of life, one’s involvement in the processes underway in Ukraine, and one’s mission as a citizen.
Discussions with university lecturers and students mostly relate to The Day’s scholarly and enlightening books Ukraine Incognita, Dvi Rusi, Wars and Peace, Day and Eternity of James Mace, and Klara Gudzyk’s Apocrypha. All these publications highlight one important problem: love of Ukraine’s past, respect for its celebrated heroes, and attention to sensitive (controversial) issues born of modern Ukrainian realities.
I would say that meetings with Mrs. Ivshyna are marked by a spiritual aristocratism, which was so brutally broken in our chain of natural existence during the totalitarian regime. During such meetings the discussion is invariably held on a high level, at times turning into a debate but it is always tolerant and principled, never lowering itself to banality or naked populism.
I am impressed by the itinerary of The Day’s creative team: Chernihiv, Nizhyn, Ostroh, Lviv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Odesa, Lutsk, Khmelnytsky, and Kamianets-Podilsky. The names of these cities speak for themselves: the idea of a single and united Ukraine being made into a reality. This is also one of the pluses of Mrs. Ivshyna’s endeavors. The newly published book focuses on our current reality, which is so starved for what Taras Shevchenko described as like-mindedness and mutual love. The Day’s editor has become passionately attached to Ostroh Academy National University, which was revived in independent Ukraine. This is only natural. Born in Volyn, she feels at home in this temple of knowledge — it is the call of the blood.
However, I would like to tell her that she is accepted as one of us within the walls of Kamianets-Podilsky University, one of the oldest in Ukraine’s modern period, dating to the Ukrainian National Republic. One of the articles in the book, entitled “The Apotheosis of a Maverick” (about the meeting with the teaching staff and students of Kamianets-Podilsky University in March 2006), was reprinted by the university newspaper and sparked great interest in this book. This is vivid proof of The Day’s fruitful activities. Cultivating an appreciative readership is perhaps the greatest luck that can come a journalist’s way.
Nor is it possible to ignore the masterful photographs contained in the book, taken by The Day’s photographers. This is another component of the editorial staff’s success and innovative approach. Top-quality photographs are featured both in the newspaper and the annual photo exhibits of The Day, which continue to build the newspaper’s image and boosting its well-deserved popularity.
I hope that Larysa Ivshyna’s creative energy never fails her, that it will continue being nourished by the positive energy derived from meetings with interesting, extraordinary individuals, people whom she seems to draw to herself like a magnet and then unites them. May Ukraine always have mavericks! The world relies on them. Mrs. Ivshyna, I wish you further success!
Viktor PUSHKIN, Director, Institute for Humanitarian Problems, Dnipropetrovsk National Mining University:
My colleagues and I were really impressed by this book. I would describe it as a compound portrait of young Ukraine. We talk so much about the future generations, who are supposed to be better than we are; who will live a better life. Are we doing much to this end?
My Universities is a kind of journalistic report on those progressive institutions of higher education that have become close to The Day’s editor as a result of her travels throughout Ukraine. In fact, these universities have become involved in the resonant cases in which the newspaper’s staff specializes (readers’ conferences focused on the materials of The Day’s books; photography exhibits).
Larysa Ivshyna has a good character trait (one of many), namely, her talent for “converting” others, i.e., persuading people to share her views, and surrounding herself with comrades-in-arms and like-minded individuals. I would also like to mention her other traits. When meeting with students, she acts like a leader and professional top manager, who has accumulated much experience during the realization of several effective projects, including The Day and its Library Series. Mrs. Ivshyna always speaks convincingly, backing up her arguments with facts. At the same time, her public appearances or answers to questions from professors and students are sincere and cordial. This is an example of how professors from Cambridge or the Sorbonne, or civic figures addressing student audiences behave. I have attended several of Larysa Ivshyna’s meetings with students — not only at Dnipropetrovsk Mining University, but also at Ostroh Academy — and I saw how students were captivated by her ideas during the presentations and discussions, how they became instantly inquisitive and even excited about asking questions.
A perusal of several chapters of My Universities is enough to convince the reader that Larysa Ivshyna is an excellent orator, polemicist, subtle psychologist, and pedagogue.
The important thing is that meetings with The Day’s editor in chief are not sporadic; each one has a sequel, because we are always in contact. I must point out that today’s students need encounters with extraordinary people; they want to be involved in interesting projects. Unfortunately, higher education in Ukraine gets no special attention from the state these days. We have many statements and declarations, but few dare to initiate concrete deeds.
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To order a copy of My Universities, call (044) 414-64-00. Copies of this album are supplied to university libraries free of charge. Copies are already available at the libraries of Odesa National University, Dnipropetrovsk National Mining University, and Ostroh Academy.
