I'm speaking to you, first-year student!

Recovered resized archival illustration.

Right now, you are submitting, or have already submitted, your documents to a university. That means you will soon plunge into university life and become part of the student community. To make that easier and better for you than it was for me, I want to share my thoughts and my own experience of working with student self-government.

So, hello, first-year student.

I am a fourth-year student at Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics. For more than two years now, I have been involved in civic activity at my university, and beyond it too. And I want to tell you about the first steps you can take as an activist.

About first-year students

For the student community, first-year students always bring something interesting. New relationships, new ideas and proposals, new perspectives on things, and a fresh mind—not dulled, broken, or “suppressed” by principles.

It is a pleasure to encounter new faces, new voices, and new perspectives in your bustling university. Most students understand this, especially the active ones, because with each new generation of entrants, the university itself changes along with its students.

Getting acquainted

So, when you arrive for the first time and take your first steps through your new home—even if it is your second home—you begin getting to know the “system” that operates at the university. The word system can be intimidating, but you want to find out what connections and interactions exist within these walls and beyond them.

Of course, student associations will be the first to inspire you to get involved. That is what I want to tell you about.

The student self-government body

One such student association is your university’s student self-government body. Each institution has its own name for it: Student Council, Parliament, Senate, Alliance, Collegium, or even the Brotherhood of Students, as at Ostroh Academy. They all share the same purpose, functions, and mission: to unite students in exercising their right to decide matters of everyday life, development, entertainment, and the governance of their higher education institution.

Strange, isn’t it? At school, everything is simple: the administration decides everything on its own, while pupils usually interact directly with teachers and little more. At university, things work a little differently: it is a two-way process.

The student self-government body represents you before the university administration. It works in dozens of areas, from organizing entertainment to protecting rights, from music evenings to protests. All this makes students’ lives more active, more interesting, and more useful to the future parts of society, one of which you will join after earning your degree.

The student community

Interested? Then let’s get into the details.

Student self-government bodies need plenty of human resources—person-hours, ideas, and hands—as well as a firm understanding of what working for students’ benefit means and why it matters. Yes, Ukraine’s student community is not going through the best of times right now. A diversity of events and views has led students to distance themselves from working toward a shared future. This is visible both within universities and at the national level.

That is why I am speaking to you, first-year student, with this message:
You are a breath of fresh air in students’ work toward a shared future, principles, and ideals.
You are new life; with your help, long-standing conflicts can be resolved.
You are the new perspective your university and its student self-government need.
You are the new future of a social force as significant as the student body!

Think about it, because every thought along the new path you chose when you became a student at a Ukrainian higher education institution matters! Let us answer Franko together: we “break this rock” so that life can be better and so that we leave only better things behind us.

Join student self-government bodies and make your university better.

Peace!

*The Studway editorial team does not influence the content of blogs and is not responsible for the opinions expressed by the author.