PRESS RELEASE
Date: May 14, 2007
Armenian National Committee of America
Eastern Region
PO Box 419
New York, New York 10108
Contact: Karine Birazian
Tel: 917-428-1918
Email: ancaer@anca.org

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT EDUCATES HUNDREDS OF CLASSMATES ON THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

Amherst, New Hampshire- On Wednesday, May 9, student’s grade 9-12
of Souhegan High School, gathered in the school’s theater to watch
Armenian student Rachel Manoogian-Brayman video, break the silence
of her descendents and share the stories that have haunted her
cultures past for a long time.

The video was originally made for the schools graduation
requirement, "Senior Project". The goal of the project is to make
students pick a topic that they are passionate about, create an
essential question and produce and applied piece that will answer
it. Souhegan High School is apart of the Coalition of Essential
Schools and has been doing senior project for many years.
Manoogian-Brayman picked the topic of the Armenian Genocide and her
essential question was; "What are the intergenerational effects of
genocide on a culture?" As for her applied piece, she answered her
question through a video that made its way through the generations
to show how it affects every Armenian. "My Dad is Jewish and his
family was apart of the Holocaust, and my Mom is Armenian, and her
family endured and survived the genocide. I really wanted to stress
that because I think the world has cast a real dark shadow on the
massacre of the Armenians" explains Manoogian-Brayman.

Manoogian-Brayman and mentor Pam McGrath started forming and
researching her essential question and ideas for the video in
November. In December, she began filming Armenians all over her
area (New Hampshire and Massachusetts). "It was really interesting
to see how the silence became less as you went through the
generations, you can tell that every person is eager to spread
knowledge about this" says Manoogian-Brayman. The video is 20
minutes long and includes authentic footage of the emotions,
effects and issues that connect with the Armenian Genocide. The
schools world studies classes, film seminar and ethics seminar
viewed the video first, and Manoogian-Brayman received very
positive feed back. "It was very informative. The pictures were
real moving and the personal stories were very engaging" comments
11th grade world studies teacher Gavin Sturges. Ethics teacher Chris
Brooks said that "It was outstanding work and there is a lot that
can be done with this." Film student Ali Bower said "It was
unbelievable how she really captured the best parts of the
interviews and got the best emotional standpoints." Students said
that this was interesting to watch, especially because they had no
idea this ever happened. "I didn’t even know about the Armenian
Genocide," says World Studies student Andew Beliveau, "it was
really moving."

The faculty and student body was invited to watch the final
showing; two were shown during the school’s lunch periods. She
received a standing ovation and had over one hundred viewers for
both sessions. "My Grandfather was in the first audience, he needed
to see the school honoring his past and our culture" said
Manoogian-Brayman, "I hope that he and my family left the theater
knowing that more than 100 people were now more knowledgeable about
the genocide then they were before they came into the room."

Rachel has been in contact with Armenian author Peter Balakian
(Black Dog of Fate, The Burning Tigris) and has also been in touch
with Armenian National Committee of America, Eastern Region
Executive Director Karine Birazian. "She got me involved with
petitions and things involving my state. She’s done incredible work
and I’m so glad we’re in contact," says Manoogian-Brayman. Students
and teachers accumulated more than 100 signatures urging
Congresswoman Shea-Porter and Senator Gregg to sign on to H. Res
and S. Res 106, and thanking Congressman Hodes and Senator Sununu
for their support.

Although many people were not familiar with the Armenian Genocide,
they had a great response to the movie. "This was so amazing" says
11th/12th grade biology teacher Melissa Chapman, "Rachel really set
the bar for senior project applied research. I wanted to go
congratulate her afterwards, but I was reduced to a puddle of tears
after seeing her work." 9th grade teacher Tom Sawyer mentioned "It
was the most amazing senior project I’ve ever seen in the 12 years
I have been here." Manoogian-Brayman also found that silence was an
equivalent to a compliment too. "So many people were just silent
after she finished. They needed time to digest it, and then after
awhile, vocalize their thoughts" said Ethics teacher Amy Pham.
Student Carly Walker said "It was so amazing! I cried!" Other
students such as Evan Ommundsen said "I had no idea who ‘the
Armenians’ were before seeing this." School nurse said "I still get
chills when I think about it." Teachers and students both said that
this has not only raised awareness by interests in this topic as
well.

Manoogian-Brayman will be presenting her complete research and
project on May 16th in front of the official panel. However, she
strongly feels that this project will be continued and built upon
far beyond the project date. "I owe this to my family, my
grandparents and to all the Armenians. The survivors are old, but I
am young, and I want to work hard to make sure they get to
experience a sense of recognition and honor before its too late."
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