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RUSSIA, UKRAINE FIGHT IMPACTS USD CAMPUS
Allison Horkey| The Volante
USD’s political science and history professors discuss current war in Ukraine, as well as the international response. Allison Horkey
Allison.Horkey@coyotes.usd.edu
On Feb. 24, Russia invaded Ukraine from the east, west and north. The re-invasion of Ukraine, the first being in 2014 when Russia annexed Crimea, is the most recent action in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Reports of bombings have been reported all over Ukraine and troops have also invaded. Timothy Schorn, an associate professor of political science and director in the International Studies program at USD, said the outcome for Ukraine seems bleak in facing the Russian military, but Ukraine does have the ability to fight back against Russia. “Ukraine probably cannot win the war, but they can inflict considerable losses on the Russian army, if not the Russian Air Force. And so…it makes the attempt to seize part of Ukraine more costly for the Russians in personnel, in weaponry and in time it
takes to accomplish their goals, in resources to supply the military,” Schorn said. “If the Ukrainians put up the level of fight they are capable of, then we can expect, if not a prolonged contest, certainly a deadly one.” Oleksandra Lukina is the only Ukrainian undergraduate student attending USD right now and said the war scares her because her family lives in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. “I have a lot of friends from my university in Kyiv, and my parents, right now, they live in Kyiv, in the capital of Ukraine. And I have a lot of relatives there and that’s why I’m worried a lot, because it touches me directly,” Lukina said. Schorn said the reason Putin went to war and invaded Ukraine was because Putin is seeking to reclaim the countries that were part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). “President Putin (is) attempting to recreate some aspect or some notion of the Russian Empire which is essentially what the
Soviet Union was. He came of age during the days of the Soviet Union and he was a KGB, (the Soviet Union’s security agency), agent in East Germany during the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union, and he saw that as a low mark in Russian history and so he feels the need to reconstitute parts of the Russian Empire to the best of his ability,” Schorn said. Schorn said Putin’s fears of western European encroachment and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) were unfounded, and more likely, a public relations front for his real goals. “His notion that NATO was a threat is absurd and he knows,” Schorn said. “…But it was a way for him to kind of insert a wedge into American and European public opinion, to make it look like perhaps he was responding legitimately to a perceived threat, but the only people that he was convincing was some of the Western public, he knew that it was false and so did the leaders of the West.”
The United States has put sanctions in place against Russia, but Schorn said sanctions are largely ineffective, especially against Russia, where the system was designed to protect people in power from feeling the effects of sanctions. “Sanctions are oftentimes feel good tools to say, look, we’re doing something, we are expressing our discontentment and disagreement,” Schorn said. “…The Russians have had since 2014 to create an economy that was as immune as possible to sanctions after the first set were put in place in 2014… Will there be some suffering? Yeah, but Putin is not going to suffer. His oligarchs and kleptocrats aren’t going to suffer.” Lukina said there are a few things people here can do to help Ukraine. She said finding and sharing reliable information about the war, donating to the Ukrainian military and pressuring national governments to take action is the best way to help Ukraine. “So we have information, we have
donations and we have influence on our governments. That’s what it can do. And support of Ukrainians, that’s what my friends do,” Lukina said. The Political Science department at USD hosted a panel of speakers on March 1, about the war in Ukraine. Professors Schorn, Eric Jepson, a political science professor specializing in international politics and comparative politics, and David Burrow, professor of history specializing in Russian history, spoke on the panel, with David Ernest moderating the discussion. The panel discussed topics such as the historical context of the war, NATO’s position, the position of the international community, the risk of a larger war with Russia on the scale of a world war and the response of the United States. A recording of the panel’s discussion is available on the Department of Political Science, Criminal Justice and International Studies Facebook page.
Women’s History Month: A time for reflection and advancement Karlee Phillips
Karlee.Phillips@coyotes.usd.edu
Submitted | The Volante Women, Gender and Sexuality program hosts research conference in late March. Women’s History Month recognizes women’s contribution to society.
Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate and reflect on the many achievements of women over the course of American history. According to Molly Rozum, an associate history professor at USD, the United States first declared the observance of Women’s History Month in 1987 after Congress passed a measure to inaugurate the national celebration. Since then, various events and commemorations have taken place in March to honor the importance of women and their work. The Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program at USD will be hosting a conference in late March. The event will include various keynote speakers, an art show and opportunities to connect with fellow peers. Sara Lampert, coordinator of
the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies program, said this year’s theme will be care. “We’ve done different themes for different conferences, and we invite people to put together proposals that can think about care in relation. Looking at that program, you can see all the different ways people are thinking about care in terms of women’s history,” Lampert said. Honoring the contributions women have made to society over the years by incorporating the idea of other hierarchies is an integral part of the annual March celebration. Lampert said it is important to ask oneself if they are thinking about class, race and other aspects of a woman’s identity. “In a very basic level, setting aside a time to ask what about women and what about gender is a practice we should do all the time. It can go a long way,” Lampert said. Sharing and exploring the many contributions women have made is a growing
practice among classrooms across America. Rozum said it is important to continue the teaching of women’s history in classes yearround and not just during Women’s History Month. “We can learn what important contributions women have made over time. There are a lot of people who graduated high school or college who had never had a women’s history course,” Rozum said. Because not everyone may be as informed on the topic, Rozum said some individuals may find Women’s History Month to be especially helpful in understanding the historical impact women have had on the U.S. “If we’re to understand the ideals of the nation of equality and who contributes to building our economy, families or government, we have to know what women have done in the past and present,” Rozum said.
Campus Cook House at capacity Rachel Alexander
Rachel.Alexander01@coyotes.usd.edu
The Cook House provides mental health services on campus to students, but is currently working at capacity, meaning they will still try to see students, but they may not be able to see students on a weekly basis in some cases. Students who may be struggling with mental health today might be put on a waitlist until spots open. The Cook House provides a variety of services for its students including individual counseling, drug and alcohol evaluations, same day appointments and group counseling. There can be multiple benefits to seeking help for mental health. Kaylin Sandall, a communication sciences
and disorders senior at USD, has been going to the Cook House for counseling regarding anxiety and said the services provided to her have helped improve her condition. “I feel a lot better coming here [the cook house.] It has helped me to overcome sickness anxiety gave me and taught me ways to deal with anxiety,” Sandall said. Debra Robertson, director of the USD Student Counseling Center said in an email interview with The Volante that the Student Counseling Center has a waitlist for services because the number of students asking for services is higher than the number of available clinical hours each week, but they are working on hiring more counselors. “We have added counseling staff over the last several
years and will be adding an additional counselor soon as well,” Robertson said. One student reached out to the Cook House in hopes to start counseling sessions but was met with the waitlist. The student said they felt being waitlisted to get mental health help is part of the problem with the system. “There are not enough mental health resources, and it’s not just at USD. Being waitlisted made me feel like they want me to just put my problems on hold,” the student said. (Student asked to remain anonymous). A counselor at the Cook House, Madison Harrington said options outside of the Cook House include the Psychological Services Center (PSC) and the Therapy Assistance Online (TAO) program. Harrington said the PSC and Counseling & School Psychological Services
Center (CSPSC) is offering a program where students in training can meet with students while being overseen by a licensed professional. “These programs are confidential and adhere to HIPPA laws on patient confidentiality and are a good alternative to the Cook House,” said Harrington. Harrington said the TAO program allows students to work at their own pace and on their own. “With the TAO app you can work through therapy programs, techniques, coping skills stuff you can utilize, whether its stuff on anxiety, depression, and there’s even programs on substance use,” Harrington said