UCSD GROUPS COMMEMORATE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE
18:01, 09 Feb 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan
The Armenian Student Union, in conjunction with several other student
cultural organizations on campus, hosted the Stain of Denial: Silent
Sit-in Protest on Thursday, Feb. 5. The protest, which was meant to
acknowledge the 100th year of denial regarding the Armenian Genocide
by the Ottoman Empire, was held in front of the Silent Tree outside of
Geisel Library from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
ASU alumni instituted the Stain of Denial protests on the UCSD campus
three years ago. The protests, which were held simultaneously
throughout UC campuses on Feb. 5, aimed to educate students about the
Armenian Genocide and the ensuing campaign of denial by the Ottoman
Empire which is now the state of Turkey.
The event consisted of about 30 student protesters throughout the day
and caught the attention of many individuals who stopped to speak with
representatives from the various organizations.
ASU President Yeraz Kochkarian told the UCSD Guardian that the purpose
of sitting silently in protest was to create a visual representation
of the ongoing denial.
“The silence represents all of the silence around the issue
essentially,” Kochkarian said. “And how politics and governments don’t
talk about it or don’t refer to it as a genocide. This year marks the
100th year commemorating the genocide, so it’s especially important to
make a visual protest demonstrating how this is still important 100
years later.”
Many of the protesters wore red tape over their mouths to further
enhance this visual effect of the protest. They also wore black shirts
to show their solidarity.
Besides being one of the representatives whom those passing by could
question, Kochkarian was also holding a picture of her grandmother, a
survivor of the Armenian Genocide who was rescued by French soldiers
and taken to France before later returning to Syria and sharing her
story. Other protestors held similar photographs and were willing to
share other stories of survivors.
Among the other campus groups that came out to support the event was
the Union of Jewish Students. Vice President of Outreach Yael Kempe, a
senior from Sixth College, shared with the Guardian why it was
important that UJS showed up to the event.
“Our club personally feels a very close connection to the ASU, and we
feel like we need to show our [solidarity] to them as a coalition we
have with them,” Kempe said. “I think also because our cultures are so
similar and we’ve experienced the Holocaust and they’ve experienced
the Genocide, its all one and the same. It’s nondenominational, and
we’re here to show our support with AS[U].”
Other student organizations involved with the protest included the
Armenian cultural Greek organizations Alpha Gamma Alpha, Zeta Chapter
and Alpha Epsilon Omega, Eta Chapter. Also present were members of the
Black Student Union and Kaibigang Pilipino. However, an affiliation
with one of these groups was not necessary to join the protest.
Revelle College junior transfer Asher Alter, who is a member of Alpha
Epsilon Pi, stated that he came out to the event because the genocide
was something that strongly affected him.
“It’s something that resonates deeply,” Alter told the Guardian. “It
was the first genocide of the modern age, and the fact that it’s not
recognized by most countries is a pretty big deal.”