by Mary Kandaharian
The Armenian Students’ Association invited parents of Armenian students to campus on Sunday, November 11. The objective: to bring them in as spectators and release them as proud Bruins.
It was a day-long event filled with guest professors, speakers, entertaining slideshows, dramatic documentary, hardworking ASA executives, and a very articulate student panel.
The day started out with welcome speeches by ASA President Khachatur Khachatryan and the cultural director Arine Harapeti. Arine Harapeti worked rigorously with the ASA executives and members to realize her vision of “Family Day,” and idea sparked by UCLA Professor Richard Hovannisian.
Not only was it a great success, but it may very well become an annual tradition in the ASA agenda for years to come. The goal was to give the parents a feel for what it is like to be an Armenian student at UCLA.
Therefore, the event started off with the introduction of the ASA. Each of the ASA executives introduced themselves and explained their individual responsibilities within the ASA and how these responsibilities further the ASA as a whole.
The event was then followed by the introduction of the Armenian Fraternity, Alpha Epilson Omega and the Armenian Sorority, Alpha Omega Alpha, where a representative from each respective affiliation presented their group and their mission.
Perspective students and parents were able to see all the opportunities available for Armenian students on campus. It was later followed by a message from the Armenian Chronicles Editor-in-Chief, who presented the quarterly newspaper.
Subsequently, all the professors of either Armenian language or history gave their speeches to the families and provided them with guidance and wisdom.
After the speakers concluded, the parents were treated to some entertaining slideshows and a film created by our very own UCLA students called “A Day in The Life of a UCLA student,” which really captured what it’s like to be an Armenian student on campus.
Students with different backgrounds and different chosen paths presented their words of wisdom to the wide-eyed students and parents. Transfer students, Engineering majors, Bio and Law Majors all showed up to convey just how diverse and yet unified the ASA is.
Some parents were so moved by the panelists’ words that they got up on stage to suggest their greatest approval of the ASA and its members.
But as Murphy’s Law states what can go wrong will go wrong as was demonstrated when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the Student Panel’s speech. All were forced to evacuate the building.
The ASA were forced to improvise and moved the BBQ picnic to a place all too familiar to Armenians on campus.
The Kerckhoff Patio became the welcoming recipient of the stranded group of Armenian parents and students evacuated from the alarm.
Kerckhoff was filled with proud Armenian parents with their children, enjoying a plate of Kebab and pilaf, which made for a great final touch to the successful event. Campus tours were offered for those interested after the picnic.
On this day, in a water-soaked Kerckhoff patio, it was the love and care of two families, the ASA family and students’ immediate families, getting them through yet another rainy day.
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