Girl Saving Her Karmir Khndsor Strikes Back (Summer 08)

Emily Bagdasarian
emilyme52001@yahoo.com

As there is no need for pompous eloquence, I will merely state my opinion in the hopes that it will be welcomed into the opinion section of this newspaper: I am completely disappointed by the recent influx of articles regarding Armenian girls and their chastity.

Sure, they make for an entertaining read; in fact, a majority of readers will certainly recall exactly which articles I’m speaking of, while being unable to name other articles from the same issue. Are we promoting a newspaper or a tabloid? Is this writing supposed to exhibit literary merit or sensationalism?

The purpose of the /Armenian Chronicles/ is to share our culture and experiences with the UCLA student body at large and, in doing so, further establish an Armenian presence on this campus. It is to let others know what we are all about. I’m not suggesting we offer a compilation of synthetic propaganda about Armenia and Armenians. However, there should be and hopefully there are, non-Armenians reading our newspaper.

Instead of letting them know how Armenians feel about virginity (f.y.i. most ethnic communities tend to have conservative values regarding girls and virginity: it’s not just something we need to get over as Armenians, it’s a stigma that we need to get over as a human race), we should be debating Armenian politics or homelessness or the threat of assimilation. While I don’t mean to demean any arguments against double standards regarding sexuality, as such standards present a threat to achieving gender equality on a larger scale, I maintain that in such a newspaper, other principle issues ought to be addressed.

These same authors – whom I fondly regard as close friends, amazing individuals, and undoubtedly the future intellectuals and leaders of our community – have elected to utilize the /Armenian Chronicles/ as a public forum through which they may display their superior sarcasm and wit. Yet as such intelligent young people, I wish they would offer an argument not founded on blatant, incoherent sarcasm and instead on well thought out and carefully expressed eloquence.
Highlighting what is regarded by liberal college students as an ultra-conservative cultural expectation ends up portraying the Armenian community as backwards and narrow minded. What they fail to do is adequately express the inexplicable kinship one Armenian feels towards another.

This kinship whose causes I will not go into detail about though I am certain that every one of you has felt it upon coming across an Armenian in a strange, new place-makes it feasible for us to discuss such issues amongst ourselves in such a sarcastically incoherent manner. However, the Armenian Chronicles is NOT exclusive to Armenians.

If you’re going to criticize a backwards mentality on sexuality, think of the cultures that physically harm their girls upon learning of acts of "indecency" in order to preserve family "honor." I have yet to hear of an Armenian family who so much as kicked their daughter out of the house for such a deed (maybe there is one, I don’t know).

In short, I am disappointed that our newspaper is addressing such issues and in such a tone. It is merely a reflection that we need more writers who are willing to share other, possibly controversial, issues.