Sit-in and Speak Out! (Fall 07)

by Arine Harapeti

At the University of California, Los Angeles, on November 1, 2007, Armenian-American students were joined by students from various other ethnic student groups to participate in a Sit-In at Bruin Plaza from 6:00am until sunset.

Despite it being “midterm week”, 30 students were present at all times protesting the failure of the United States to recognize the Armenian massacres.

Specifically, these students were protesting for the passage of House Resolution 106, which is a non-binding resolution that calls for the recognition of the genocide.

The peaceful protest began in front of Powell Library, moved to Bruin Plaza around noon, and remained there until the end of the day.

“The fact that the school found a political convenience in moving us down to Bruin Walk shouldn’t faze us. The best we can do is stick to our agenda and push as hard as we can,” said Armenian Students’ Association Social Director Armen Rostamian.

Students sat along the bottom of Bruin Walk holding up signs to draw attention from passersby, while others circled the area around Bruin Plaza passing out informational flyers about the Armenian Genocide and HR 106.

The Sit-in resulted in over 200 people stopping to fill out Web Faxes to their respective Congressmen, urging them to vote for the passage of HR 106.

Protesters took time to explain the bill and answer any questions students had as they volunteered their personal information to be sent to their Congressmen.

“Putting pressure on congressmen will just be one more reason to promote change,” said Zach Peterson, a first-year mechanical engineering student, after sending a Web Fax.

Besides pressuring Congress, the sitin was effective in reaching out to students at UCLA and educating them about the humanitarian issues evident within and outside the borders of the United States.

“We know there isn’t a general awareness among students,” Chris
Khachatryan, President of the ASA said, adding, “One of the goals of the sit-in is to educate people by making the genocide a relevant issue, as the HR resolution has done.”

Although the United States has not recognized the Armenian Genocide, it has been accepted by 22 countries and 40 US states.