Hofstra holds an event to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. // Photo courtesy of Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
“At what point do we stand up to the dictator that has invaded [a neighboring country]?”
Silence.
“Next question.”
This was one of the questions asked by a student after differ-ent faculty speakers gave their professional analyses of the situation in Ukraine.
On Monday, March 7, Hofstra University’s Center for Civic Engagement hosted a panel discussion centered around the Russian invasion of Ukraine, presenting angles from various academic fields to provide context and depth to the situation. At the end of the discussion, students were able to air out various sentiments to the assembly.
Philip Dalton, associate professor of writing studies and rhetoric, organized and opened the panel discussion for the speakers. // Photo courtesy of Michelle Rabinovich.
Topics ranged from the deep history that connects Kyiv and Moscow, the transitionary period between the end of the Soviet Union to the modern-day, independent Ukraine and the current geopolitical atmosphere in Eastern Europe.
One of the panelists was Ben Rifkin, a professor in the department of comparative literature, languages and linguistics. Rifkin, being fluent in Russian and knowledgeable about the nation’s culture, debunked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s reasons for commanding the Russian Army’s invasion of Ukraine.
“Yesterday [Sunday, March 6], [the head of Russia’s Orthodox Church] said that the reason that Russians have special military operations in Ukraine is to protect the Ukrainian people from gay parades,” Rifkin said. “As somebody who really loves gay pride in this country, I also would like to share with you that I’ve never been frightened by anybody with a rainbow flag.”
Ben Morawek, a senior political science and philosophy double major, was happy to have been at the discourse.
“I thought it was one of the best [talks] I’ve been to at Hofstra,” Morawek said. “I thought it was excellent that we can get Hofstra professors’ scholarly and intellectual perspectives on a subject that is really important to understand in the world today.”
Paul Fritz, professor of political science, offered his professional take, acknowledging the importance of understanding this conflict from the perspectives that his colleagues offered.
“My own research suggests that what we’re seeing is a defeated state in Russia,” Fritz said.
To educate attendees, Fritz provided context of the Cold War, which ended about three decades ago. The connection between the Cold War and the current invasion is Russia’s bruised ego, according to Fritz.
“Russia very much identifies itself as a great power and sees that it has been treated unjustly by the West,” he said. “Great powers define themselves as being able to dominate their neighbors. This is one of those great powers who think it’s legitimate to exercise this.”
Some students thought that the wrong approach was taken altogether when it came to talking about this crisis.
“I really thought it should have focused more on how to help the people of Ukraine and not why Russia’s doing this,” said Shai Har-Nov, an exercise science major. “Resources on how to aid [Ukrainians], links to donate money, links to sponsor people to leave their country, [I wanted to see] things like that.”
After reports of the bomb-ing of a maternity hospital in Mariupol and a failed attempt to reach a cease-fire agreement between Russia and Ukraine, the United States has taken action. On Tuesday, March 8, President Biden announced a ban on oil and gas imports from Russia, which has caused a financial blow to the Russian Federation’s economy. As a direct result, gas prices are expected to jump even higher than what U.S. economists have seen in the last two weeks since the start of the invasion, according to a podcast from NPR.
