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Translated and Condensed by Olha Stasluk EDITORIAL... The summer has slipped away all too quickly and Fall is almost here. During our vacation travels and our stays at places where Ukrainians from different states, countries and even continents congregate for the vacation season, we became aware of various modes of life. Awareness led to comparison and evaluation — evaluation of our own circumstances in this country and reflection upon the degree to which we are taking advantage of what we are privileged to have. Observing the rapture of a Ukrainian long isolated from her ethnic group over a modest Ukrainian program of the kind we often tend to be bored with or take for granted, we reflect upon what it would be like if we no longer had to "endure" concerts and akademiyi and on what it would be like if we had never been able to have them in the first place. While young Ukrainian tourists were collecting impressions of Ukraine and Poland, they also left some. Those Ukrainians "at home" are always impressed with young people from America who are fluent in Ukrainian and conversant on with Ukrainian culture, history, tradition, etc... And so we return to the question of whether we are taking advantage of the resources we have at our disposal to acquire the knowledge that will keep our nation alive and vital. In all honesty — something is wrong. There exist Ukrainian schools, not only of the Saturday variety, but also fully accredited elementary and high schools. And while their academic levels are high, they are now threatened by a shortage of students. A worn excuse is that many Ukrainian families have moved away from Ukrainian centers to areas from which travel to such schools would be difficult — but, are not the results worth the effort? Unfortunately, however, not all Ukrainian schools are run on high academic levels. Methods tend to be old- fashioned, courses of study too shallow. Students' understanding and interest in material is hampered by vocabularies that do not extend beyond the rudiments of the Ukrainian language. The time to prevent abbreviated vocabularies and insure ease of expression is during the pre-school years. It is also the time to instill deep national identity. The UNWLA organizes and runs playschools for both children who speak Ukrainian and children who speak American at home. Even if travel to such a playschool may be difficult, the effort will be repaid in the currency of a child's love and knowledge of its nation. We have courses of Ukrainian literature, language, and history at universities; we have Ukrainian institutes. But often they are inactive because of a lack of participation. Last year Mercy College organized a course of Ukrainian culture. The course however, was never given because in all of New York there could not be found ten (yes, ton) students to enroll in itl So here on the threshold of the school year it is time to re-evaluate our plans. It is not possible to truly love one's motherland without knowing about it. How, after all, can we spread the truth about Ukraine if we ourselves suffer from a dearth of knowledge?! OUR COVER The cover photograph of Carpathian peaks is from a series by Roman Krochmaluk and is entitled "Spyci" (needle-like peaks). Our Life Editor Ulana Lubovych confesses to have made the choice out of sentiment, even yearning. She recalls the joy of hiking and camping in the Carpathians and glorying in their beauty. Ms. Lubovych is saddened at the distance between us and our lovely Carpathians and mourns that the true art of self-sufficient travel on foot is not in vogue. BETWEEN US AND THE TELEPHONE WHO REALLY DOES MOST HARM? THE In this month's column, the subject is a controversial one. There are many Ukrainians who believe that athletes, scientists, performers, etc. from the Soviet Union are working for the glory of Russia and are therefore to be considered Russians and, as such, opposed. With this attitude, those Ukrainians are unwittingly helping the cause of Russification, a cause which they otherwise combat. The Soviet Union contains many nations which face the same plight as Ukraine, and while the professionals may be presented as Russians it is up to those who know better to clarify the situation and place the credit where it is due. To say that Ukrainian notables such as the cosmonaut Popovych or the artist Archipenko are Russian is the equivalent of saying that those born in Western Ukraine during the late 1600's are Austro-Hungarianl Accomplished Ukrainians all over the world, and especially those behind the Iron Curtain are a credit to our nation; we should be proud of them and make sure everyone knows it! THE SUCCESSES OF OUR YOUTH LUBA MAZIAR Young artist Luba Maziar was born in Venezuela and moved to the United States with her parents in 1965. She received her baccalaureate degree from Pratt University. From childhood Luba showed a talent for painting which was nurtured by her father. She devoted much of her free time to Plast, a Ukrainian scounting organization, working with the scouts both in the city centers and at summer camps in East Chatham, N. Y.. At the camps in East Chatham, Luba was inspired by the beauty of the woodlands and saw within them mythical figures out of works by Ukrainian writers. She decided to capture these figures on canvas. After arduous efforts, a series of paintings dealing with characters out of Ukrainian literature was created: " Mavka" (wood-nymph); "Dovbush" (a Ukrainian Robin Hood); "Kateryna" (from Shevchenko's poem of the same name); and others. At the beginning of April 1976, the Plast group to which Luba belongs and the gallery of Mr. Vanczycky in Philadelphia organized the first independent exhibition of Ms. Maziar's paintings. The exhibit proved both uplifting to the morale and financially rewarding in that more that half of the paintings were sold the very first day. We wish the young artist much strength and endurance in her creative work.
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