| In Soviet Russia, Labor Day celebrates you |
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| Written by Andrea Unnerstall | |
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Labor Day in America is celebrated as an end of summer holiday, but in Russia the Spring Labor Day is celebrated on May 1 and is also known as May Day, which is a holiday commemorating the social and economic contributions of the labor movement. On Friday, April 28, students gathered to celebrate the holiday, despite the rainy weather. The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City in 1882 as a holiday for the “working man.” It recognized the solidarity of the worker’s unions and paid tribute to the contributions of the working class in the country. Many other countries adopted the International Worker’s Day, aka Labor Day, after being inspired by the Haymarket Riot which started on May 1, 1886, in Chicago. The violent strike was an attempt to gain an eight hour work day. Other countries fought to make May Day a holiday to honor those who had fought in the riot and to gain an eight hour work day for their citizens. “Communists thought it was appropriate to adopt the tradition [Labor Day], since a worker’s state is what they were trying to create. They wanted a way to honor both city and agricultural workers,” said Irina Ivliyeva, a Russian native and Russian professor at MS&T. “In Russia they celebrate by having a big parade in the Red Square and also in the big cities,” said Ivliyeva. “During the 1980s and 1990s the holiday shifted away from the political holiday it had been, and today it is still an official holiday.” The Russian language students are looking to gather more interest in the language and culture to start up the club again for next semester. “The Russian club was inactive for a couple semesters and we are trying to start it back up again by getting people interested in it for next semester. We are planning a couple of events at the beginning of the semester,” said Mackenzie Sweeney a junior in Nuclear Engineering. The students at the Spring Labor Day were very excited about Russian culture and the language, and urged any other students who are interested to check out the Russian classes offered. “We have a few very enthusiastic students who are organizing and restarting activities,” said Ivliyeva. “You don’t have to take the language to join the club, you don’t even have to be a member to come and enjoy learning about Russian culture,” said Sweeney. The students’ reasons for studying Russian were mostly because the culture, language and history appeal to them. Sweeney is also pursuing a minor in Russian in hopes of using it towards her future career. “I want to focus on the specific aspect of space nuclear engineering which the number one place to do that is in Russia. I will be able to combine my engineering with Russian,” said Sweeney. “I was just intrigued by Russian culture; the architecture there is what first drew me to it,” said David Mullen, a senior in Computer Science. “I hope to work in Russia some day and maybe even move there.” Learning a foreign language may seem like a daunting task to the analytical minds of engineers and scientists, but students say it is much easier than they thought. “You have to learn a whole new alphabet, but you realize that languages are very logical and scientific and it becomes very easy to learn,” said Sweeney. Ivliyeva has been teaching Russian to engineers and scientists for almost 20 years. “I enjoy teaching foreign languages to students of all majors - humanities and non-humanities. My experience shows that engineering and science minded people, because of their practical abilities to create structures, classify and systematize, do exceptionally well in Russian studies,” said Ivliyeva. The Russian classes offer a fun break for students taking a hard engineering course load. “The teacher is awesome and is really a lot of fun; she makes parallels between English and Russian, and it is neat to see how the language reflects the culture,” said Sweeney. For those interested in taking a Russian language, history, or culture course, look to see which ones are being offered for next semester. Also, look out for more Russian club sponsored events coming up next semester. For more information about the club, contact Mackenzie Sweeney or for information regarding the Russian program, contact Irina Ivliyeva. |
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