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Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region
104 North Belmont Street, Suite 200
Glendale, California 91206
Phone: 818.500.1918 Fax: 818.246.7353
ancawr@anca.org
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PRESS RELEASE +++ PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Thursday, May 5, 2005

Contact: Hovig Dimejian
Tel: (626) 523-3454

PASADENA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT JOINS IN COMMEMORATING THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

PASADENA, CA – Members of the Pasadena Unified School District’s (PUSD)
Board of Education moved unanimously on April 26, 2005 to adopt a
resolution marking the 90th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide.
The resolution was conveyed to members of the Pasadena Armenian
National Committee and the Pasadena “Nigol Touman” Armenian Youth
Federation chapter who were in attendance at the Board Meeting.
On April 11, 2005, the Pasadena City Council unanimously adopted
a resolution that marked the Armenian Genocide and decried ongoing
attempts to deny the first genocide of the 20th century.

The resolution passed by the PUSD not only recognizes the crime of
genocide committed against the Armenian people, but also encourages
the District’s teachers to integrate the Armenian Genocide into
their curriculum. Specifically, the resolution praises local State
Assemblywoman Carol Liu and the Pasadena ANC for sponsoring, last
year, an all-day training seminar on the Armenian Genocide for the
District’s teachers.

“We are appreciative that the Pasadena Unified School District’s
Board Members, led by their President Ed Honowitz, have joined
our community and the human rights community in remembering the
Armenian Genocide,” commented Pasadena ANC Chairman Hovig Dimejian.
“The work of our School District in educating schoolchildren about
the crime of genocide is essential. We would be doing our kids in
Pasadena a great disservice if we did not have an active human rights
curriculum in our schools that provides instruction on the Armenian
Genocide and other crimes against humanity.”

The Pasadena ANC has had a longstanding and positive working
relationship with the PUSD. The Pasadena ANC works closely with
Suzanne Berberian, a Community Liasion officer with the PUSD. She has
worked tirelessly to ensure that the Armenian American community
in Pasadena is able to directly share its concerns and convey its
support to the PUSD and its Board Members.

The City of Pasadena is world renown as the home of the Tournament
of Roses Parade, the Rose Bowl, the Jet Propulsion Laboratories and
the California Institute of Technology. The city also is home to a
thriving Armenian American community, which under the leadership of
the Pasadena ANC, is increasingly taking a leadership role in the
civic affairs of the municipality. Pasadena is home to a number of
Armenian day schools and has active chapters of the Armenian Relief
Society, Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Society, the
Homenetmen Armenian General Athletic Union, and the Pasadena “Nigol
Touman” Armenian Youth Federation.

The ANCA is the largest and most influential Armenian American
grassroots political organization. Working in coordination with a
network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout the United
States and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCA actively
advances the concerns of the Armenian-American community on a broad
range of issues.

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