With recent political events occurring domestically and internationally, it can be difficult to sort out the facts and realize how different life is for our neighbors in and outside of Kennesaw.
In an effort to bring national awareness to college communities about the struggles refugees face, freshman Matthew Tikhonovsky and his sister, Natalie Tikhonovsky, developed the poster series titled “Walk a Campus in My Shoes.”
The poster series visited Kennesaw State on April 9-13 in the Social Sciences building after partnering with KSU’s Muslim Student Association. Posters included information about the life of a common refugee, beginning with their displacement and ending with resettlement.
“Walk a Campus in My Shoes” is a traveling effort that will be making an appearance at Vanderbilt next week. It is also scheduled to display at Yale, Columbia, University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, Emory University and the College of William and Mary this year.
“The goal of the movement is to demystify and debunk common misconceptions surrounding the refugee crisis and also to mobilize college students to get involved with refugee relief efforts in their local communities,” Matthew Tikhonovsky said.
Through empowering those who have the willingness and ability to help, the “Walk a Campus in My Shoes” poster series set out to educate students on the realities of the current crisis and how to aid refugees.
“At KSU, we went one step further by advertising specific opportunities in the Atlanta and Clarkston, Georgia, areas for students to get involved, including by interning at World Relief Atlanta or tutoring refugee children through Paper Airplanes,” Matthew Tikhonovsky said.
The series brought awareness and explained to students where they can contribute to local refugee relief efforts within 35 miles of KSU in Clarkston, a diverse location with more than 60 languages spoken in the area according to the City of Clarkston website.
Welcoming more than 1,500 refugees a year, Clarkston has had an influx of more than 40,000 refugees in the past 25 years, according to The Guardian.
A primary goal of the series is to disprove misconceptions surrounding the vetting process, and Matthew Tikhonovsky said that many students “were surprised to learn about the resettlement and vetting processes, including that refugees must repay their travel loans, and that, on average, the vetting process takes 18 years.”
Matthew Tikhonovsky was grateful to receive such positive feedback on the series and to see how many students expressed their interest in getting involved.
“I enjoyed experiencing KSU’s vibrant student activism and witnessing firsthand how passionate KSU students are about contributing to refugee relief efforts both at home and abroad,” Matthew Tikhonovsky said.
To learn more and to get involved in the Atlanta area, contact mtikhon1@students.kennesaw.edu.
Editor’s Note: Matthew Tikhonovsky is also a staff writer for The Sentinel.
