Associated Students Inc. read a resolution on Wednesday to recognize the Armenian Genocide and commemorate its 100th anniversary.
The resolution called for California State University, Long Beach to memorialize April 24, 2015 as a day dedicated to remembering the Armenian Genocide.
ASI Vice President Nayiri Baghdassarian wrote the resolution herself since she is of Armenian descent.
“This is something really important to me,” Baghdassarian said. “We have addressed several issues, whether with animal rights or human rights, and it went along with the theme of resolutions we’ve had to discuss already.”
Members of the Armenian Student Association attended the meeting and spoke out on the importance of recognizing the Armenian Genocide at CSULB.
“Because California recognizes the genocide as a state, it is wrong for CSULB to not do so,” Alique Cherchian, a political science and psychology freshman, said.
The Armenian Genocide occurred from 1915 to 1923. 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the genocide. The Ottoman Empire killed an estimate of 1.5 million Armenian men and women.
The resolution also proposes to educated CSULB students on the Armenian Genocide in conjunction with ASA.
“Being the first genocide of the 20th century, it is a human rights issue and this campus advocates human rights,” Cherchian said. “You are representing every student that comes here.”
ASA reinstated this semester as a student organization and has 28 members. ASA serves CSULB as being an advocate for the Armenian culture and educate students on the genocide.
“I want us to work towards celebrating our culture, celebrating our people, literature, art and celebrate being alive,” ASA President Nare Mnatsakanyan said.
California is one of the leading states in recognizing the Armenian Genocide. California passed Assembly Bill 659 in Feb. 2013 that requires schools to educate students on all genocides including the Armenian, Cambodian, Darfur and Rwandan genocides.
The ASI senate also passed the resolution to support sexual assault awareness on campus.
The resolution initially wanted to bring back the University 100 course but the senate removed it due to the fact that CSULB offers a similar course, University 101.
University 100 is a course designed to familiarize freshman and transfer students to CSULB. The course would also educated students on sexual assault.
University 100 is similar to University 101, but it does not cover everything, ASI Sen. Joanna Yan said. The University 101 course focuses on educating students on the transition between college learning and life at CSULB. Yan said she has not given up on reinstating the University 100 course.
“After talking to administration, they can’t talk about reinstating [University] 100 but do it as a separate resolution,” Yan said. “We decided that might be route to take.”
The sexual assault resolution will also utilize Carlson Bloc Tower to ring a bell every 107 seconds, two times a day, for 30 minutes.
“In addition to the Bloc tower, we are going to be tabling at the Women’s Resource Center,” Yan said. “They are going to be tabling to inform and explain why we are doing this and not just an annoying bell.”
Sources:
Meeting audio
ASI Agenda Package
Alique Cherchian: 714-873-6845
Nare Mnatsakanyan: 323-485-3650
University 100: http://daf.csulb.edu/offices/ppfm/police/security.html
University 101: http://web.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/catalog/current/university_programs/university_courses/univ_courses.html
“The resolution also proposes to educated CSULB students on the Armenian Genocide in conjunction with ASA.”
“University 100 is a course designed to familiarize freshman and transfer students to CSULB. The course would also educated students on sexual assault.”
Just some quick proofing, “educated” should be “educate.” Thanks for the article!