UK’s Public Relations and Marketing department shared university president Eli Capilouto’s statement on the school’s stance of solidarity with those impacted by violence in Ukraine.

In the statement, which was posted on UK’s public relations website and official Twitter account on Tuesday, Capilouto expressed the university’s belief in conversation over violence.

“We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and those in our community impacted by the horror of what is being perpetrated in Eastern Europe,” Capilouto said. “At our core, we always believe dialogue and discussion lead to better, more sustainable answers than violence.”

The university also announced that the Cornerstone, along with other buildings on campus, will be lit up in the colors of the Ukrainian flag through March 8 as a show of support.

While Capilouto’s statement was shared with a list of organizations such as UNICEF USA, Sunflower of Peace and others that are accepting donations to help the fight in Ukraine, UK does not plan to make any donations in relation to the violence there.

UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said that rather than making donations, UK feels its responsibility is to share information with its students and its community. This allows the campus to make decisions with their own free will on how they want to support Ukraine.

“I think what we could do best is provide education and awareness around issues and then let people on a college campus decide how best they want to use their resources,” Blanton said.

Blanton stressed that the president’s statement was an attempt to express hope towards a peaceful end to the conflict in eastern Europe. 

“I think he’s simply making a statement on behalf of the institution, as its president, to express our support for the people of Ukraine and by extension those in our community who have been impacted by it,” Blanton said.

UK has set up a landing page with links to donate to different organizations sending aid directly to Ukraine as well as Capilouto’s full statement.