During my four years at Brandeis, I have accepted that Brandeis doesn’t really care about its international students. I am not here to claim that all international students feel like this, but in my experience Brandeis is not the best place in terms of cultural sensitivity. All of this is to say that I do not hold Brandeis to high expectations when it comes to responding to what is happening outside of the US—or at all really—but especially when it comes to my home country of Ukraine. I’ve even had to sit through a semester of a class on international relations where the professor referred to Ukraine as “The Ukraine.”

But I am not here to discuss that, or what is going on in Ukraine right now, there are people who know more about the topic, are less biased, can express things more eloquently and frankly are better sources all-around. I am here to discuss something that the national media won’t: Brandeis’ “reponse.”

Now you might be asking what response I am talking about—Brandeis has not issued any public response. Well, I received an email in response to the situation. I am not sure who exactly this email was sent to, but none of my American friends have received it, so my best hypothesis is that it was sent to Ukrainian students at Brandeis. But without further ado, here is the email I received:

“Dear Students,

We are writing to acknowledge the current military conflict in Ukraine and want you to know that the Brandeis Community is thinking of you.  We hope that your friends and family are safe.  We can imagine that this is a very difficult time for you.

Please remember the many options for support on campus for both undergraduate and graduate students, including the Counseling Center (which can be reached at 781-736-3730), the Dean of Students Office (781-736-3600), the Center for Spiritual Life, the Office of Graduate Student Affairs (781-736-3547), and the Office of the Vice Provost for Student Affairs (781-736-2005). Faculty, staff, and students can also visit the Support at Brandeis website to review the comprehensive list of resources and services available to all members of our community.     

If you need any assistance during this difficult time, please let us know.  We are hoping that your friends and family are safe and will keep you all in our thoughts.” 

The email is from the International Students and Scholars Office (ISSO), the Dean of Students Office and the Office of Graduate Affairs.

There’s a lot to unpack here but let me address the elephant in the room: the “military conflict.” The fact that this is a Russian INVASION of Ukraine is not a contested fact, unless your source of information is Russian state-sponsored media, in which case I suggest looking into some of the resources mentioned in paragraph two of the email. It has been called an invasion by media on the left, right, north and south. I even brushed up on my French skills to find a French source calling it an invasion; my roommate contributed a Spanish article that calls it an invasion. The president of the US has called it an invasion. So what is this email?

This is the only acknowledgement we get from Brandeis that we got about this, and an “acknowledgement” is a generous term for this pathetic excuse of an email. I’m not waiting for an official statement or anything—I like to think of myself as a realist—but this cannot be it. This was sent to people who are directly impacted by the invasion. Are you actually telling me that you are here for me during this “very difficult time,” while not even acknowledging what is happening? Brandeis really has made a career of giving me reasons to not donate to this place once I leave.

I am really out of line to ask for an actual acknowledgement of what is happening in the place where I was born? That I called home for almost 18 years? Where all my friends and family are? At least in an email addressed to people like me, I expected more. 

A “military conflict” is a term that can be used to describe the state Ukraine has been living in since the 2014 annexation of Crimea, followed by the fighting in Eastern Ukraine. This is an invasion, and the fact that Brandeis is dancing around this topic makes me want to transfer out of this place (for the record, I am half a semester away from graduating, so unfortunately it’s a little too late for me to actually do that). Maybe they’ll call the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic a “period of time where a lot of people got sick” too.  

As for the rest of the email, I guess thanks for the resources. I am sure, based on more horror stories than I can count, the counseling center is well equipped to deal with such cases. Or they will just tell me my case isn’t serious enough. The last bit just gives me “thoughts and prayers” vibes.  

So Brandeis, you asked to let you know if I “need any assistance during this difficult time,” well, let’s start with an actual acknowledgement of what is happening.

UPDATE 2/26: I just wanted to acknowledge that the support and messages I have received from individuals within the Brandeis community have been truly heartwarming and appreciated. My grief lies with Brandeis’ handling of the situation as a whole.