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Armenian Student Association Reflects On Armenian Genocide With Sile

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  • Armenian Student Association Reflects On Armenian Genocide With Sile

    ARMENIAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION REFLECTS ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE WITH SILENT SIT-IN

    Daily Nexus, Univ. of California in Santa Barabara
    Jan 31 2014

    Posted by Wyatt Smith on January 31, 2014 at 5:00 am

    The Armenian Student Association hosted a silent sit-in outside Storke
    Tower yesterday in remembrance of the 1915 Armenian Genocide.

    Mouths sealed shut with duct tape, the 16 student participants were
    part of a statewide effort among Armenian student groups at various
    University of California, California State University and private
    college campuses to bring attention to this ethnic cleansing genocide
    that took place at the start of the 20th Century. Resulting in over
    a million deaths, the incident is a point of contention between
    the Armenian population and Turkey, who currently denies the ethnic
    cleansing by the Ottoman Empire occurred.

    Second-year economics major Simon Elmoyan, a first-generation Armenian
    American, said he takes great pride in his heritage and took part in
    the event because of the effects the genocide had on his family.

    "I've had relatives as well that had their whole families wiped out;
    some of my great grandparents had their entire families destroyed,"
    Elmoyan said. "A powerhouse country like the United States should not
    be ignoring such an important human rights issue simply because they
    have some economic ties to Turkey."

    According to fourth-year sociology major and Armenian Student
    Association Vice President Lusine Davtyan, the ASA hopes to promote
    recognition year-round.

    "I think we did get our message across," Davtyan said. "We had students
    come by, take pictures, read the posters -- it's not like we were
    completely ignored and people just walked by. They did notice us.

    Hopefully it got them thinking."

    ASA usually protests the Armenian Genocide on April 24 but decided
    to hold an additional sit-in yesterday in order to give more people
    a chance to become aware and active about the issue.

    "It's important for the public to know that this did exist,"
    Davtyan said. "I know many states have acknowledged it but ... we
    want Congress, as a nation, to acknowledge it -- to say, 'Yes, there
    was a genocide that took place.'"

    Armenian Student Association President Nick Ohanian, a fourth-year
    biology major, said ASA's protest aims to encourage international
    attention to an issue that has deeply effected many Armenian students
    at the UC and worldwide.

    "I think it's important to understand we're not trying to recognize
    soil that was stolen from Armenia; we're not trying to recognize that
    our land was taken away," Ohanian said. "We're trying to recognize that
    1.5 million people were massacred, inhumanely murdered to annihilate
    the race, and that's all we want the government to do."

    The Armenian Student Association has around 40 members from
    various Armenian ethnic groups, including Lebanese-Armenians and
    Syrian-Armenians, among others.

    In remembrance of the genocide's 99th anniversary, Davtyan said the
    ASA is planning a larger awareness effort called Genocide Commemoration
    Week in April during the week of the 24th.

    Assistant News Editor Peter Mounteer contributed to this report.

    This story is a Daily Nexus online exclusive.

    http://dailynexus.com/2014-01-31/armenian-student-association-reflects-on-armenian-genocide-with-silent-sit-in/

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