Overall 132 members of the Kherson State Maritime Academy’s faculty have recently joined the Party of Regions. The party’s primary organization at the academy now includes vice-rectors, professors, heads of departments and bureaus, lecturers, and company commanders. Party cards were issued with great solemnity, and the city’s mayor Volodymyr Saldo took part in the ceremony.
It should be noted that the Kherson State Maritime Academy was created from the Kherson State Maritime Institute by the Cabinet of Ministers’ decree this June. What could be the reasons for a sharply increased political awareness within a single university?
Oleksandr MOSHNIAHUL, head of the Black Sea Center for Political and Social Research, political scientist:
“It is clear that Ukraine is still plagued by remnants of the tradition to press people into joining the ruling party. This case of the Kherson Maritime Academy’s faculty joining the Party of Regions en masse is another proof that this tradition is particularly strong in Kherson region. Suffice it to say that one of our former governors, Yurii Karasyk had pressed many of his subordinates into joining the Agrarian Party through skillfully using his resources in 1996.
Times change, but our ruling elite’s habits remain unchanged. Creativity was lacking in the ruling party’s actions, to put it mildly. This entire business of pressing large group of people into joining the party is a failed publicity stunt, which looks ridiculous and backfires against the party that originated it. Did they think that such actions could be met with popular approval?
As for the maritime academy’s faculty, I am convinced that their choice was not voluntary, even if they had not been intimidated, or given clear hints that they might be got rid of, should they refuse to join their colleagues in this party drive, even if they were just told: ‘You must do it!’ Why do I think so? Our center’s research shows that today’s average Ukrainian is not motivated to join any party. He or she is just not ready to participate actively in political life. His or her interest in politics is limited to watching TV news and talk shows.”
Volodymyr KOROBOV, Head of the Department of Philosophy and Sociology of Kherson National Technical University, Candidate of Science in Sociology, Professor:
“The goals of education and politics are different. Therefore, the education system should stay away from politics. I advocate depoliticizing of our schools. For example, our rector Yurii Bardachov constantly stresses that the faculty should focus their students’ attention on science, the perfect mastery of their future professions, rather than induce them to participate in protests. Students must attend lectures and seminars rather than rallies. Should the faculty members plunge headlong in the politics, too, the education work would stall completely because of lack of teachers as well as students.
“More generally, joining any party en masse looks a little comical and sounds discordantly nowadays. It is just obsolete. Of course, every member of the faculty is a free person, a citizen with right to join any party in his or her free time. This is his or her business, and nobody else’s. But, you see, solemn ceremonies of joining party en masse are out of character for a modern democratic state. I think that the academy’s leadership should thoroughly inquire into names of this ‘mass event’s’ organizers and their aims. In my opinion, to turn a school into a focus of political life is inappropriate.”