WHS students have been hard at work to show support for Ukraine due to the recent war in Ukraine against Russian forces after they were invaded on Feb. 24, 2022.
Emma Fishman ‘22 organized a rally on the corner of Westlake Blvd. and Thousand Oaks Blvd. in order to actively show support for Ukraine.
“Our main goal is to show support for anyone who is Ukrainian in the community or anyone who is affected by it,” said Fishman. “A rally is our way to conceptualize our support instead of just thinking about it.”
The rally is not to be confused with a protest — while both a rally and protest shows support, Fishman’s intentions differ from that of a protest.
“I thought about what I wanted to do and I realized that most everyone is in support of Ukraine,” said Fishman. “Because everyone is opposed to what Russia is doing, I didn’t feel the need to protest but instead rally support for Ukraine.”
Fishman organized the rally in order to give people an opportunity to support Ukraine, especially those who are limited to their means of supporting, such as high school students.
“We encourage everyone to come,” said Fishman. “I wanted to find a way to show support for Ukraine but there’s not much we can do here to volunteer because everything is going on overseas and I don’t have a lot of my own money to donate.”
The first rally that took place on March 4th was a success with about 20 students showing up in support.
Rallies will take place every Friday on the corner of Westlake and Thousand Oaks Blvd. from 2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. For more information, follow the instagram account @westlakeforukraine.
Unfortunately, because of scheduling, not everyone may be able to make it to the rally. But overall, supporting Ukraine can consist of small actions that can make a big change.
“As students, we can [support] by educating ourselves and spreading the word,” said Ukrainian–American student Anya Alksnina ‘24. “Take the time to research what’s really going on in Ukraine. It’s important to know what’s really at stake here and what consequences the war will have on the rest of the world.”
