SUSK

SUSK/СУСК
Ukrainian Canadian Students' Union

Established	1953
Affiliations	Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC), SUSTA
Website	http://www.susk.ca

“Cоюз Українськoгo Студентства Канади” (CУСК), “Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union”, or “Union des Étudiants Ukrainiens Canadiens” is a national student organization composed of Ukrainian Students’ Organizations (USOs) at post-secondary institutions across Canada. It was formed in 1953 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Though it fell inactive in 2001, SUSK was revived at the XXII Congress of Ukrainian Canadians held in Winnipeg, in October 2007.^[1][2] SUSK is also a National Member of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress.^[3]

Student/Студент

"Student" or "Студент" is the official publication of the Ukrainian Canadian Students' Union (SUSK). The newspaper has served as a means of communication for Ukrainian Canadian student groups and alumni at universities across Canada for decades.^[4]

SUSK Congress

An annual Congress is held by a USO (Ukrainian Student Organization) somewhere in Canada, usually in May.

The 2016 National SUSK Congress (aka 'SUSKatoon') was held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan at the University of Saskatchewan (St. Thomas More College) from May 5–8. Topics covered include the Holodomor, Ukrainian Immigration to Canada, and effective social media.

The 57th Congress was held by the McGill Ukrainian Students' Association in Montreal, Quebec.^[5]

The 55th Congress was hosted by the Ukrainian Students Society at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta.^{[6][7][8][9][10]}

The 54th Congress was held in Hamilton, Ontario in May 2012. It was hosted by the McMaster University Ukrainian Students’ Association and hosted over thirty delegates. The theme for the 54th Congress was "SUSK is the New Steel" as Hamilton is known for its steel production.^[11][12]

The 53rd Congress was held in Ottawa, Ontario and was hosted by the uOttawa Ukrainian Students’ Club.^[13]

The 51st Congress was held in Toronto, Ontario on February 20–22, 2009 as was hosted by the Ukrainian Students' Club at the University of Toronto.^[14]

^{[15] [16] [17]}

Projects

During the Euromaidan situation in Ukraine, SUSK supported the freedom for Ukrainian people along with many of the 1.2 million citizens of Canada that have a Ukrainian heritage.^[18]

In November 2013, SUSK was one of the finalists of the "Ukrainian Dragons" Project taking place at the XXIV Triennial Congress of Ukrainian Canadians.^[19] Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk invested $10,000 into the project created by SUSK at the "Ukrainian Dragons" competition.^[20]

SUSK helped organize a book tour across Canada for Andrea Chalupa in the Fall of 2013 for her book Orwell and the Refugees: The Untold Story of Animal Farm.^[21]

SUSK has held networking events to connect Ukrainian students and youth with professionals and entrepreneurs.^[22]

In March of each year, SUSK holds a Ukrainian Literature Day to commemorate the famous Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko.^[23]

In 2011, SUSK held a contest to win a spot on the Historical Train of Ukrainian Pioneers to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the first Ukrainians immigrating to Canada.^[24]

In November 2008, SUSK coordinated two projects with Ukrainian Student Organizations across Canada in commemoration of the Holodomor, the 1932-1933 genocide in Ukraine. The first was a 33-hour fast to help raise awareness on campuses while the second was a display of Holodomor: Genocide by Famine.^[25]

Alumni

Vera Watowich (née Zarowski) was the first President of SUSK from 1953-1958. She died on October 21, 2012, in Denver, Colorado.^[26]

Bohdan Bociurkiw was the co-founder of SUSK, alongside Vera Watowich, and was the first Vice-President in 1953. He was one of the founders of CIUS and served as the associate director from 1979 to 1982. He died on October 1, 1998 in his Ottawa home.^[27]

Paul M. Grod is an alumni and past president of SUSK. He is currently president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and vice president of the Ukrainian World Congress.

Donald Sadoway is a Professor of Materials Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and served on the SUSK Executive between 1972-1974. In 2012 he was named one of Time Magazine's Top 100 most influence people in the world.^[28][29]

Bohdan Kupych has worked for many years in the technology industry in Ukraine and Russia. He was a member of the SUSK National Executive and met with Jason Kenney on his June 2015 trip to Kyiv, Ukraine.^[30]

Roman Onufrijchuk is a past SUSK alumni who died in 2015. He was a Professor at Simon Fraser University for several years, specifically in The Faculty of Communication.^[31] He presented "From Datawakes to Paramortals" at TEDx at SFU in 2012.^[32]

Arthur McDonald, a SUSK alumnus, won the 2015 Nobel Prize for his work in the area of physics.^[33]

National Executive

2015-2016^[34]

President: Cassian Soltykevych

Executive Vice President: Andriy Katyukha

Vice President-Finance: Anastasia Hnatyuk

Vice President-Eastern Canada: Borys Bilaniuk

Vice President-Central Canada: Alex Prokopchuk

Vice President-Western Canada: Andrea Dacko

Internal Relations Director: Anton Waschuk

Secretary: Kateryna Gordiychuk

External Relations Director: Darya Naumova

Media Director: Inga Bekbudova

Project Director: Connor Moen

Alumni Director: Nadia Demko

Immediate Past President: Christine Czoli

Notes

External links

• SUSK Homepage
• Current "Student" / "Студент" Issues
• SUSK Meets with Ukrainian Ambassador
• Ukrainian Canadian Congress
• Archives of early SUSK Congresses