As the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has escalated over recent weeks, so have discussions among students at MFS. The topic has come up in history classes as well as in the hallways between class periods. As reports of the attacks dominate the news, MFS students share their perspectives on the ongoing situation.

Many students, like Maddie Calixto ’25, are not surprised about the conflict but are concerned about what it could mean for Americans: “The conflict wasn’t really surprising because there’s been a lot of talk about Ukraine…it’s a lot more threatening now [for us] now that Ukraine is actually being invaded.”

Other students weren’t too worried about the dispute when it first began: “At the beginning, it was just troops building at the border…it didn’t affect anything too drastically,” said Maxwell Wang ’25. 

Wang notes how the topic has come up repeatedly among his peers: “In conversations with friends, sometimes the topic just comes up because of how big of a deal it is that a war is going on while we’re in school.”

Chase Konzelmann ’25 added, “It’s such a big event…it’s hard not to talk about it. There’s a lot to talk about and there’s a lot of different sides.” 

Teachers have done their best to facilitate discussions about Ukraine within the classroom as a way of providing the students with a safe space to discuss their feelings and ask questions. Like history teacher Steven Baumann, some teachers said that students demonstrate a great deal of interest in the conflict. Between his 9th grade US History class and 10th and 11th grade World History classes, he stated that he is “really impressed by student reactions… [My] students bring a lot of outside information, [and] they’re asking all the right questions.” 

Agenda co-Clerk Andrew Mercantini ’23 says that he and co-Clerk Roma Jha ’22 have taken steps to discuss the war in the Upper School: “In Agenda, we…openly ha[d] a conversation about [the conflict]…in a community forum,” he explained. 

Other students, like Jason Strauss ’22, say that the school dynamic hasn’t changed much. “Personally, I have not seen or engaged in a lot of discussion regarding the conflict…I haven’t noticed many changes,” commented Strauss. 

Many MFS students stand with Ukraine and are hoping for Ukraine’s success and safety during the conflict.

“I think that Ukraine needs to stand strong during this time of war,” said Avani Verma ’24. Verma noted the importance of discussing the topic. “It’s important for people to talk about this and spread awareness about what’s going on… It affects all of us.”

Konzelmann said that it is crucial to assist Ukraine in this time of need: “I think that sending financial aid to Ukraine is important [and that] Ukraine hasn’t really done anything wrong.” 

Andrew Mercantini ’23 agreed: “I don’t see what’s in it for Russia and I feel like Ukraine is very defenseless at the moment… Personally, I feel for the citizens of Ukraine.”