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Members of the Queen’s community gathered on Friday afternoon for a vigil for peace in connection with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The event, hosted at Grant Hall by Interfaith Chaplain Erin Burns, provided an opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to come together, reflect, and support one another.

Ivan Shapovalov, a PhD student in cancer research from Ukraine, spoke at the event and shared his feelings of being away from his family, friends and loved ones amid the devastation, while also holding out hope for peace.

However, he adds, words of support are not enough for peace. He calls on all of us to take action in our daily lives.

“Some people just find themselves in a warzone one day, but the rest of us have a privilege and perhaps an obligation to choose to fight the small wrongs,” Shapovalov says. “And even though war is tearing apart my Ukraine, there is a lesson and a reminder in it for a moral compass of anyone in Canada too.”

Principal and Vice-Chancellor Patrick Deane, who also spoke at the event, recently issued a statement condemning Russia’s actions.

Learn more about what the university is doing to support those affected by the conflict.