“I am always in a festive mood when I go to the Ostroh Academy. The intellectual romance of The Day and the university has been going on for many years already. The newspaper gets both new experience and new journalists from such cooperation. Passing by your bulletin board I have noticed that three of our scholarship holders defended their theses,” said The Day’s editor-in-chief opening the meeting with the students of Ostroh Academy.
After learning about the new addition to The Day’s Library – series of books “Armor-Piercing Political Writing,” students majoring in journalism invited Ivshyna to discuss the intellectual bestseller. As always, the meeting hall of the university was filled with those who wanted to participate in the discussion. By the way, the event attracted many new faces.
Rector Ihor Pasichnyk on behalf of all the teachers and students thanked Ivshyna for the friendship and partnership with the University. During the meeting Ivshyna mentioned another emotional thread that binds Ostroh and the newspaper – the photo exhibition. She gave the rector as a gift the photo Map of Ukraine by Volodymyr Falin – photo that gained the support of the university this year. Editor-in-chief promised students that The Day will show some fragments of the exhibition in Ostroh on some occasion because in time when there are many reasons for depression, photos present a country absolutely free of depression.
At the meeting the guest and the audience discussed the issues of modern journalism and education in Ukraine, importance of the ideas of our predecessors and their impact on us, books that should be read especially by young people, and The Day’s new projects. We offer our readers the most interesting fragments of the discussion.
Larysa IVSHYNA: “All the projects of The Day were stimulated by Ukrainian intellectuals. Vice Rector of the Ostroh Academy Petro Kraliuk is the inspirer of many books in The Day’s Library series and some individual materials. Today I want to introduce to you a new book series ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing.’ This collection is extremely important for modern Ukraine, for young people, journalists, and anyone, who wants to engage in social activities. Our editor’s office really likes intellectual environments, that is why, in our work we try to ensure that our young people would develop in cultural context. The world today makes us all realize that we still have to complete our education. Ukrainian education is pretty good in some aspects, but there are many things that are twisted: we study a lot of unnecessary things and instead of that are not exploring, for example, the world of philosophy. I think that we should thoughtfully select means for self-development, that is why like an older and more experienced friend we try to influence what young people read: we have a column called ‘Ukrainians, what do you read?’ there we publish the answers of Ukrainian intellectuals about the ten books that are very important in their lives.
“I would like you all to read ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing.’ There are many things here that you should read with a pencil in your hand. These books show for how long we have been walking in a vicious circle of our problems. Oleh Olzhych’s Spirit of Ruins, for example, obliges the young generation to put an end to this, to break this vicious circle and lead the whole society away from it. No matter how strongly we believe in democracy, Viacheslav Lypynsky wrote: ‘I am not a democrat,’ by which he meant that in every situation there has to be generating minority that produces values and creates a new society. And in this respect, people, who chose to receive higher education, have a special responsibility in that.”
Oksana MUZYCHYSHYN, third-year student majoring in journalism:
“According to UNESCO, more than 60 percent of Ukrainian people do not subscribe to any periodicals. How can we change the situation in order to, let’s say, make Ukrainians read?”
L.I.: “Unfortunately, this is an indication of system degradation. Anyone, who does not want to sink to such level, must constantly work on self-development. Because, if we don’t maintain our intellectual base, we will eventually lose it. Some other people will come to us, provide their interpretation of history, and distort our understanding of Ukrainian society. I think that the universities, as thought centers of every region, should take over the task of warming up the society. You need to organize conferences at schools in raions, get to the most remote villages and have classes using the books from The Day’s Library series and some newspapers in order to support intellectual development regardless of geographical location. Students have to bring new energy to society. Nowadays, all people should think about the real knowledge, real position, and willingness to take responsibility. Only then can we change our society. I know that I am saying this not in vain here in Ostroh Academy, I know that your teachers talk a lot about high standards and are guided by them. Therefore, it is natural for this university to affect other universities through the way you act.”
Liudmyla PANASIUK, second-year student majoring in journalism:
“I have read that at the Lviv book fair one of the first owners of the series ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing’ noted that its target audience is, first of all, young people, students, and also those books must be read by politicians. As we know Vitalii Klitschko assisted the publication of the series. Who was the person who helped you after all: politician, boxer, or simply an ordinary man and a reader of The Day?”
L.I.: “I think that Vitalii Klitschko, when he first found out about this project, responded to it primarily as the reader of the newspaper, who trusts its authority. Perhaps, he did not quite imagine how impressive the publication might turn out to be, but after he looked through the first books, he said that it is a very powerful weapon that can destroy stereotypes. I think that if he continues to be as purposeful as he is now, he will have serious political future. Klitschko has many strong qualities to be interesting to the country. After all, he has the history of personal success and the country needs success because we are all terribly tired of failures and humiliation. I am very pleased that Klitschko supported this project both as a person and as an ambitious politician, who wants to develop and to do important things for the country that nobody has ever done before.”
Yanina ZAHURSKA, first-year student majoring in journalism:
“Is it possible that a book from the series ‘Armor-Piercing Political Writing’ might become an intellectual revolution or at least a starting point for it?”
L.I.: “Such important processes do not happen right away. Serhii Krymsky often repeated the words of Martin Heidegger that everything what is truly important in life goes on pigeon legs. This does not mean that everything happens quietly and gently, but some push occurs only after certain accumulation, which should be preceded by something. Sometimes new aesthetics or new music may perform this function. But something must happen to people to get them out of their cocoons and make them realize that they want a decent life.
“Intellectual journalism is a way to think rationally, build alternatives. We must attack the space with new ideas, projects, and thoughts. Some say that there are no people with ambitions in our society nowadays, and some, despite of this, say that they are still capable of something. However, it is individual work for everyone. The more young people will be ‘infected’ with the desire to do such work, become competitive, the more intellectual journalism will be able to charge the society with exactingness.”
