Fellow members of the Ukrainian Students’ Association reflect on the club and their journey. 

The University of Saskatchewan Ukrainian Students’ Association (USUSA) was established in 1929, originally under the name Alpha-Omega Society. Co-president of the USUSA, Aleska Hira, says the student association aims to “preserve, practice, and protect Ukrainian culture on campus.” 

The club hosts many events throughout the year to build community and celebrate Ukrainian culture including, Pysanky (Ukrainian Easter eggs), workshops, and Christmas carolling. Every November, they organize a Holodomor Awareness Week, commemorating the manufactured famine caused by hostile changes to Soviet agricultural policies from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. During this week, members go around the city distributing wheat sheaves along with information pamphlets on Holodomor. 

The club’s executive committee consists of two co-presidents, a treasurer, a public relations representative, a secretary, and a first-year representative and they are looking at adding more members. The USUSA is continually growing and currently has 67 students involved with the club. 

Aleska Hira is a second-year, pre-pharmacy Arts and Science student and co-president of the USUSA. She joined the club in her first year, serving as the first-year representative on the executive committee. Emma Belyk is in her third year majoring in linguistics and serves as the treasurer of the USUSA. 

Hira says she joined the club because she “love[s] spreading Ukrainian culture around campus.” She explained that even before coming to USask, she was very involved in the Ukrainian community in Saskatoon as she dances with one of the Ukrainian dance troupes in Saskatoon, the Yevshan Ukrainian Folk Ballet Ensemble. 

Belyk joined the USUSA after they did a presentation in her Ukrainian 114 class. She says, “I got more drawn as I got in touch with my Ukrainian roots, my grandparents are very Ukrainian, and that line goes all the way back. As I reconnected with those roots, it was really nice to be like, ‘Oh, this is a thing that I can be joining.’” 

When reflecting on their years with the USUSA, Hira and Belyk’s favourite memory is Christmas carolling. Belyk explains how the club carols in December and January are a way to “welcome in the new year with song, community and kinship.” She goes on to express the significance of the unifying nature of being in a chorus, singing songs from your childhood in family and senior homes. Hira adds,“It’s a really great way to get to know the greater community, too.”

This year, the USUSA is celebrating its 95th anniversary. On Saturday, November 2, the USUSA is hosting a zabava at Marquis Hall, with doors opening at 5 p.m. The party will be a night of music, dance, and food. Hira excitedly shares that the menu will include perogies, cabbage rolls, salads, and traditional breads.

There will be dance performances from two semi-professional Ukrainian folk dancing groups, Yevshan Ukrainian Folk Ballet Ensemble and Pavlychenko Folklorique Ensemble. Hira says she is “just so [excited] to bring them together and have those two groups perform at the event.” Additionally, there will be speeches from alumni and staff, including Dr. Nadya Foty-Oneschuk. The night will end with open dancing and raffles. 

Hira says the night is about “uniting everyone and coming together to celebrate the huge history of the USUSA.” Belyk further dives into that historical significance by adding, “We have survived a lot over the years … and being able to be a part of that over in Canada as a student society, being welcoming to students coming from abroad, being able to keep in touch with the roots that we have, not only as an association, but also as a culture established here it is phenomenal, and celebrating 95 years of that, like holy that is beyond incredible.”

If you are interested in getting involved with the USUSA, their next monthly meeting is on November 5 in STM room 160. Belyk encourages everyone, even those who aren’t Ukrainian, to attend events and meetings, saying there is a “fascinating and vibrant culture that can be shared with anybody.”