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UC-Davis students remember Armenians at vigil

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  • UC-Davis students remember Armenians at vigil

    UC-Davis students remember Armenians at vigil
    By Joanna Tung, The California Aggie; SOURCE: UC-Davis

    University Wire
    April 25, 2005 Monday

    DAVIS, Calif. -- With a new bill signed into law by California
    Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Thursday, April 24 now marks the official
    anniversary of the Armenian Genocide that took place between 1915
    and 1923.

    In remembrance of the genocide, which resulted in the deaths of 1.5
    million Armenians, the Armenian Student Association at the University
    of California at Davis held a candlelight vigil Friday evening.

    Michael Armstrong, an executive member of ASA, was one of the speakers
    at the event who reviewed the atrocities of the genocide and conveyed
    an urgency to prevent such an event from being repeated in the future.

    "I stand here as a UC-Davis student, but in the context of this day,
    I am here as representative of one person in my family who was able
    to survive," Armstrong said. "In my heart and in my veins runs the
    blood of a nation martyred."

    Other speakers at the vigil included Associate Executive Vice
    Chancellor Rahim Reed, Associated Students of UCD President Caliph
    Assagai, ASA President Aileen Babajanian and ASA executive member
    Garo Manjikian.

    Friday's event marked the conclusion of the annual Genocide Awareness
    Week, which included documentary and movie screenings, a genocide forum
    and a March for Humanity to the Capitol in support of the state bill.

    In previous years, the ASA focused its efforts solely on the Armenian
    Genocide, but this year's events also touched on mass persecutions
    that affected other groups, Manjikian said.

    While the Armenian genocide devastated the Armenian nation, the
    systematic elimination of particular groups of people is not limited
    to one culture alone, as history has shown in the Holocaust and the
    Tutsi genocide in Rwanda, to name a few.

    For this reason, the ASA emphasized cultural awareness and respect,
    stressing the importance of understanding these historical crimes
    against humanity to prevent future intolerance and destruction,
    Manjikian said.

    Although 90 years have passed since the genocide, ASA students believe
    much more can be done to educate the public about the Armenian genocide
    to attain future peace and harmony among various cultures.

    After the ceremony, vigil participant and former Turkish missionary
    Melissa McKeand addressed the lack of both religious and cultural
    tolerance that contributes to the ongoing cruelty facing Armenians
    today.

    "People desperately need to develop a greater tolerance for each other,
    not only for culture, but for religion too," McKeand said.

    ASA members announced that for the first time, the week's participants
    included scholars from outside the Davis, Calif., community, thus
    creating a greater sense of unity among several universities and
    their diverse student bodies.

    As the week came to a close, Manjikian said the ASA hoped to spark
    a spirit of open-mindedness, universal acceptance and harmony among
    people.

    "I'm definitely happy the bill passed .... It's going to raise more
    awareness about the genocide," he said. "We're still waiting for
    federal government to recognize the genocide."

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
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