‘Unissued Diplomas’ honours Ukrainian students lost to the Russian full-scale invasion
The exhibition has travelled worldwide and made its way to KPU’s Surrey campus
Some of the displays at the KPU Surrey campus remembering Ukrainian students who lost their lives before finishing university. (Mariia Potiatynyk)
Exhibition “Unissued Diplomas” honoured the memory of 40 Ukrainian students who lost their lives due to the Russian full-scale invasion in Ukraine, on Feb. 28 and 29 at Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Surrey campus in the Fir building.
The exhibition, which started in Ukraine and has since travelled worldwide, features short life stories and photos of students from Ukrainian universities. These stories depict the students’ plans, dreams, academic passions, and hobbies of their pre-war lives, and how they ended either on the battlefield or by being hit with Russian missiles.
“It is happening in February because the full-scale invasion started two years ago, on Feb. 24, and that’s why this month is a month of pain for every Ukrainian,” says Tetiana Slyviak, a public relations student at KPU from Ukraine who organized the event.
“I know everyone has their own life, and it’s hard to keep up with all the news and everything. So, it would be nice to remind people about the ongoing war, and what price is paid by Ukrainians just to live.”
Slyviak says the “information front” is important, and since she has a lot of friends and acquaintances at the frontline right now, she feels a responsibility to do everything in her power.
The organization of the project was supported by the Canadian branch of “Unissued Diplomas” together with KPU instructors and faculty, Slyviak says, adding that without the support, she doesn’t know whether the exhibition would ever happen.
“I told my professor, Christina Shorthouse, and then she connected me to Dani Blackett, [divisional business manager, Office of the Provost and Vice President, Academic]. When I got approval, I planned the location,” she says. “After [that], my next step was to raise money for the printing.”
Slyviak says the university helped her a lot as the budget was supported by the office of the provost. Afterwards, she connected with the KPU Print Shop, who helped with printing in a short time span.
KPU student Bobby Gardner found the exhibition very emotional and was happy to see it on campus because it provided insights about the individuals on a personal level and humanized victims in a way that is not usually accessible.
“When you hear about an event, where people have passed away, it just feels like a number, there’s nothing personal about it. When someone in your life that you know about passes away, it’s much deeper and more personal,” Gardner says.
Gardner adds talking about global issues impacting the community is important since Surrey and KPU are both diverse.
“The Russian invasion of Ukraine affects everyone in the world. It affected our economy, the way that we perceive people,” Gardner says. “Everything is so interconnected.”
KPU student Rostyslav Mikhniak says making such exhibitions is the least people can do to honour the fallen students.
“When I was reading articles of students, I realized I cannot complain about my life at all,” Mikhniak says. “Those students cannot be returned. They left lives forever for the struggle for independence.”
The initiative “Unissued Diplomas” plans to establish a new endowment fund and partner with Kyiv-Mohyla Foundation of America to raise $75,000 worldwide to cover tuition fees for one student per year and fund different projects and grants.
Slyviak says she wants everyone to remember “diplomas” are not simply papers — they include photos and stories to help viewers get the sense of a person.
“All the deaths, it’s not just a number, it’s actually people that died, and they all had their life stories, they all had some dreams, and people that loved and cared for them.”
