Protesting and mourning genocide
In contrast to the high student involvement of the ’60s, are we now faced with a culture of pervasive student apathy? Student groups on our campus have proven this wrong with their powerful voices and willing efforts for humanity. The Armenian Students Association is concerting their efforts to end the cycle of humanitarian crimes by making people aware of a hidden, open wound amongst humanity. This wound is the genocide of 1.5 million Armenians that until today remains scarred in the hearts of the Armenian people.
Serj Tankian, of the Grammy-winning band System of a Down, worded the message of the Armenians: “Historical truths should never be denied in a democracy.” The members of System of a Down all lost family members to these massacres.
Monday, April 24, the ASA will be joining System of a Down and local Armenian communities in leading a grassroots demonstration outside the gates of the Turkish embassy in Washington at 5 p.m. This Armenian cause is simply calling for a proper mourning.
It is manifested into Armenian lives as well as their history. April 24, Armenians all over the world commemorate this tragedy because it was on this day in 1915 that 300 Armenian intellectuals in Constantinople were rounded up, deported and killed. This crime has been recognized as “genocide” among many countries, including Germany and Canada. However, the United States doesn’t officially recognize this “genocide” because of its ties with Turkey. With the denial, this wound will never heal.
“If elected president, I would ensure that our nation properly recognizes the tragic suffering of the Armenian people.” That was the promise Bush made during his electoral campaign. Survivors are still waiting for the genocide to be recognized. As years pass, dying survivors haven’t lived to see America recognize their oppressions.
The world pledged to prevent such atrocities in the future. Now our generation is witnessing another atrocity: the Darfur genocide. History inevitably has repeated itself.
Maral Melkonian
Junior
English
End the charade, basketball teams should just pay their players
It’s time to end the charade. We should stop pretending that the (male) basketball players are here to get an education. The administration and the Athletics Department have no interest whatsoever in educating the basketball players.
If they did, there is no way they would let them compete as freshmen. Freshman year is about adjusting to college, especially for students whose academic qualifications are weak, and is not about holding a full-time, high-pressure job. In addition to players who have used up their eligibility dropping out, it has been reported in The Diamondback and The Washington Post that two underclassmen (who have as much chance of being drafted as I do) have inquired about entering the NBA draft. Colleges with big-time basketball programs need to pay their players and stop making them go to class.
Peter Wolfe
Professor
Mathematics
