Brockton Enterprise, MA
Nov 29 2004

Teacher saw Patriot Act as lesson in civic action

By Theresa Knapp Enos, Enterprise Correspondent

BRIDGEWATER – Raymond P. Ajemian is a history professor at two local
community colleges, but on Nov. 8 he held perhaps his largest class
ever when he gave a civics lesson on the USA Patriot Act to 228
residents at special town meeting.

“It is our responsibility, as local citizens, not only to work out
zoning bylaws but also to look at national laws, and that’s all we’re
asking: For this town to send a message to our legislators that we
want them to re-look at this (Patriot) Act,” Ajemian said.

He is a member of Citizens for an Informed Community, which contends
that portions of the Patriot Act – enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks – violate Americans’ civil liberties.

“We’re not opposed to the Patriot Act, just parts of it,” said
Ajemian, 62, of Bridgewater.

Citizens for an Informed Community is a nonpartisan group formed two
years ago in an attempt to prevent the war in Iraq.

Once the war started, Ajemian said, the group changed its focus and
began to hold forums on a variety of national issues, including the
Patriot Act.

Two years ago, Ajemian suggested to the group that Bridgewater enact
a resolution to ask state and national representatives to take a
closer look at the ramifications of the law. The group was not
interested at the time, but this year jumped on board.

“I presented it to the group and I said that if two or three people
from the group from Bridgewater were interested then I would
proceed,” he said.

Residents Vernon Domingo, Mary Pendleton, Frances Jeffries and Andrew
Harding joined Ajemian in a mission to effect change from the local
level’s effort.

The proposed resolution sparked a 30-minute debate at town meeting,
which ultimately passed the article, making Bridgewater the 47th
community in Massachusetts with such a resolution.

“The Patriot Act probably will have absolutely no effect on people in
Bridgewater,” said Ajemian, who commended town meeting for taking a
stand on a national issue. “But that’s not the point.”

Nationally, since President Bush signed the Patriot Act into law on
Oct. 26, 2001, at least 355 communities, four states and hundreds of
organizations, including the American Library Association and the
National League of Cities, have registered their opposition to
sections of the act and to what they see as a general erosion of
civil liberties since Sept. 11, according to Common Dreams, a
nonprofit news service.

The Patriot Act addresses how government agencies may conduct
investigations “to deter and punish terrorist acts in the United
States.” It loosened protections on electronic eavesdropping and
makes it easier for law enforcement agencies to to gather personal
information on Americans, from library loans to medical records.

Supporters say it is a necessary tool for combating terrorism and is
not a dramatic departure from previous laws, but rather an extension
of existing statutes.

Jeffries, a member of the subgroup, said Ajemian was instrumental in
passing Bridgewater’s resolution.

“There is no question that Ray was the one that had the passion and
the drive on the committee,” Jeffries said. “He’s an ordinary citizen
doing extraordinary things.”

Ajemian, who teaches history and politics at Massasoit Community
College in Brockton and Bristol Community College in Fall River,
first got involved with what is now known as the Citizens for an
Informed Community when he saw two people picketing on the Town
Common. He admires people who take a stand on issues that may not
directly affect them. The group now has about 25 members.

“This thing (activism) had been latent within me for quite some
time,” Ajemian said.

He was born in Detroit, received a bachelor’s degree in Middle
Eastern history in 1964 and a master’s degree in American history in
1970 from the University of Michigan. He served in the Army from 1965
to 1967.

He was a teacher in Taunton from 1970 to 1983 and in Dartmouth from
1983 to 1985. He worked for about 18 years in financial services.

Ajemian lives in Bridgewater with his wife, Cristina, also a teacher
at Massasoit Community College, and two children, Peter, 29, and Ani,
25. He is semi-retired and has been teaching at Massasoit for two
years.

“He is a kind gentleman and a good professor,” said Karyn Boutin,
dean of the public service-social science division at Massasoit. “He
is a person of integrity and great respect.”

Paul Bowman, 66, takes Middle Eastern history with Ajemian at
Massasoit. Bowman says Ajemian is a “great instructor and a credit to
the community at Massasoit.”

“I’m not sure if it was personal experience or not, but in our Middle
Eastern class, he brought in a little bit of Armenia when we talked
about Turkey and the (Armenian) massacre,” Bowman said.

In fact, it was from personal experience.

Ajemian’s parents were born in Turkey and were forced to leave during
the Armenian genocide of 1915-18, when an estimated 1-1/2 million
Armenians died during a campaign of deportation, expropriation,
abduction, torture, massacre and starvation.

“Most people aren’t sensitive to the Bill of Rights,” said Ajemian, a
member of the American Civil Liberties Union for 30 years. “I think I
am because both my parents were immigrants that were forced to leave
(Turkey) and come unwillingly to the United States.”

Ajemian said his mother’s family was killed during the genocide. She
was sent to an American orphanage and eventually found her way to the
United States. Ajemian’s father was sent to the United States, when
his grandfather understood there was no other safe choice.

“There are things you learn growing up the child of immigrants. There
were some things my mother would not talk about. That teaches you
something,” Ajemian said. “I think it made me sensitive to government
that can take away people’s rights.”

Other members of the citizens group have had similar life-altering
experiences, including one man who fled South Africa because of
apartheid. Together, they say, they are champions of the U.S.
Constitution.

“The bottom line is, if people don’t speak up, (lawmakers) could
slip,” Ajemian said.

“A lot of people think that it’s not going to happen but it has, and
it could and we have to be vigilant about that,” he said. “I think
that the Patriot Act, at least parts of it, are dangerous.”

Just as Ajemian is passionate about the Patriot Act, he is passionate
about all things Bridgewater, said Town Clerk Ron Adams, who served
with Ajemian on the Planning Board in the 1980s.

During that time, Adams said, the board established the town’s first
master plan with an eye toward increasing lot sizes, saving open
space and preserving the character of the town.

“He has always been community-oriented,” Adams said. “He’s always
been looking for things to do in the town to make it a better place.
The town needs more Ray Ajemians.”

Since passage of the Bridgewater resolution, neighboring communities
have asked for help in passing resolutions of their own, Ajemian
said.

And he hopes the group will continue to spark local interest on
national issues.

Predicted Ajemian, “Patriot (Act) 2 is coming along, but it’s worse
than Patriot 1.”

Parts of the Patriot Act are set to expire in 2005 unless renewed by
Congress. Critics say the renewed law could contain provisions that
would further erode Americans’ rights.

“We can’t leave it up to our representatives to represent us, to make
all the decisions, because sometimes they’re not going to make the
right decisions,” he said. “We have to be heard.”

More information on Citizens for an Informed Community can be found
at