Alumni of one of Ukraine’s top institutions of higher education, Kyiv National Shevchenko University, were shaken by a scandal involving a journalism professor's offensive personal Facebook comments about a former student.
It started on Aug. 20 when Shevchenko University graduate
Oksana Piddubna posted a column favorably assessing her study at the Danish School of Media and Journalism compared to
her alma matter. She and other graduates discussed the quality of
teaching at Shevchenko when professor Nikita Vasilenko joined the conversation.
“My friend,” he wrote, addressing Piddubna. “If you are
stupid, it doesn’t mean that the rest of the world is, too.” He called Piddubna
“a loser” and criticized her professional skills.
“You, girl, are a loser,” he wrote. “And as every loser you
blame the entire world for your laziness, anger, stupidity and greed.”
When the attacked student responded, he replied quickly:
“Nobody knows about you. You don’t appear on the television screen as well as in print
media.”
Piddubna, 23, is a beginning journalist who has published in
online media. She said she doesn’t know Vasilenko personally and never took his
classes.
Vasilenko has been teaching print journalism at Shevchenko
University since 1985. He is also the father of Sonya Koshkina, chief editor of
popular online news outlet LB.ua.
He refused to comment on the situation to the Kyiv Post,
saying it was “for safety reasons.” Vasilenko hinted that the scandal was “a hate
campaign” against him and said it was linked to critical stories about the government that he posted to his website
This isn’t the first time that Vasilenko’s online comments
have caught the public’s attention.
In 2013 Vasilenko had a Facebook scuffle with public relations consultant
Tetyana Lupova.
“You, Lupova, are a moron. Hope that you are slutty at
least. Because when a moron is ugly and not slutty – it is boring,” he wrote.
But when other users started sharing screenshots of his
comment, Vasilenko said that his account was hacked. He wasn’t disciplined at
work.
And it seems that this time he will get away with offensive
comments again.
Volodymyr Rizun, the director of the Institute of Journalism
and Vasilenko’s supervisor, told media watchdog Mediasapiens.ua that he will
address the situation only if Piddubna files an official complaint against
Vasilenko. He said there were no official complaints against Vasilenko from
students so far.
Meanwhile, he questioned the authenticity of the
professors’ offensive comments and criticized the purported victim.
“If all that happened was true, then the professor’s behavior was rude. And the former student’s position is despicable,” he
said. “Why did she give a public evaluation of the institute after graduating, and did nothing to improve our work during her time here?”
Former students claim that Vasilenko’s behavior always
was controversial and strange not only on social media, but during classes as
well.
Les Dyman, a journalist at Dzerkalo Tyzhnya newspaper,
graduated from Shevchenko’s Institute of Journalism six years ago. He recalled
Vasilenko as “odd.”
“During one of the classes he began to tell students how
much they cost,” he recalls. “He would say ‘You are about $300, and you are
worth only $150. I could have you all work for peanuts,’ he said.”
According to Dyman, students did not take Vasilenko
seriously and attended his classes only because they were obligatory.
Others students don’t think Vasilenko should be punished for his Facebook comments.
Maria Molodyk, a TV journalist and former student of
Vasilenko’s, said the Facebook behavior is not worthy of attention or punishment.
“Yes, he showed himself off as an unethical man. But it was
his opinion, not the official position of the university,” she told the Kyiv
Post. “It was worse when he humiliated female students during classes, calling
them stupid and saying who should better get married than become a journalist.”
She blames herself and other students for tolerating his
behavior too.
“I was in class when he offended my classmates,” she said.
“But I didn’t stand up and answer him back, saying that the state pays him to
teach us reporting and writing, not for giving us those questionable life
lessons.”
Kyiv Post
writer Veronika Melkozerova can be reached at [email protected].
