University student organizations in Ukraine: on-campus youth policy and social participation^*

Organizações de estudantes universitários na Ucrânia: política juvenil no campus e participação social

Organizaciones de estudiantesuniversitariosenUcrania: política juvenil enel campus y participación social

Abstract

There is a widespread view that youth (students) are deeply involved into various social activities during their studies. However, are the majority of university students’ real participants and consumers of the local social agenda? The present paper critically examines the social activity of students in Ukraine. It focuses on several inter-related issues, namely how often students are socially active, how they feelabout their immediate surrounding, and its influence. The author also researches the attitudes of university youth towards student organizations and activities they provide, paying special attention to analysis of universities’ internal youth policy. The paper also seeks to diagnose, describe and explain the behavioural patterns of social activity dominating the social consciousness of students in their local environment. Overall, the results of the study are not very optimistic. They clearly indicate that students experience tangible engagement and interaction problems inside the academic and social environment at their universities.

Students; Youth; Youth NGO; Student Organizations; Student Activity; Social Activity at Universities; Students’ Unions