In the aftermath of last Friday’s protest against the Turkish ambassador’s presence at a USC Annenberg event, Armenian students and faculty are calling for substantial actions from the university.
“I wish it could have been avoided,” said Margarita Baghdasaryan, associate director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies. “The university could have taken a stand.”
Turkish Ambassador Hasan Murat Mercan and the Azerbaijani special counsel were invited by students from the Annenberg’s Master of Public Diplomacy program to discuss Turkish foreign policy. The event was guarded by Department of Public Safety and LAPD officers as dozens of Armenian demonstrators came to protest Mercan’s appearance.
The protesters spoke out against the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region by the Turkey-backed Azerbaijani military forces. Over 100,000 ethnic Armenian refugees have fled now dissolved Nagorno-Karabakh, which Armenia has called “ethnic cleansing,” ABC reported.
The tensions between Armenia, Turkey and Azerbaijan originated in the early 1900s due to the Armenian Genocide. From 1915-16, hundreds of thousands of Armenian Christians living in the Ottoman Empire (present day Turkey) suffered through mass killings, ill treatment, exposure and starvation, per the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. This year-long genocide was the root cause of the term ‘genocide’ and its codification in international law.
Over 200,000 Armenians live in Los Angeles as of 2016, making up the largest population of Armenians outside of Armenia itself, per the BBC. The university itself also has a sizable community; there are almost 1,000 Armenian students at USC at any given time, according to former USC Dornsife dean Steve Kay.
The USC Armenian community expressed frustration and hurt at the university’s response to their concerns.
Dr. Sushain Karapetian, director of the USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies, said that the institute “reached out to Robert Banks, to Dean Bay, to President Folt, to President Folt’s comms team — both to keep them in the loop about what’s happening in Artsakh and also how insensitive the timing of this event is.”
“I think I reached out the Friday before the event,” Karapetian said. “The president’s team got back to me Thursday. I don’t think Robert Banks responded to me, nor Dean Bay. No one from this administration responded.”
Banks is the director of the Master’s of Public Diplomacy Program and Willow Bay serves as the dean for the USC Annenberg School of Communication and Journalism.
USC PR did not respond to Annenberg Media’s request for comment.
Prior to Friday’s event, USC Annenberg said in a statement to the USC Armenian Students Association: “We recognize and understand that the USC Armenian Students’ Association has objections to this event. The USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism believes that the freedom to express one’s views are at the foundation of what it means to be part of a research university.”
Baghdasaryan said that the university’s event and subsequent statement was “appalling.”
“It’s also heartbreaking to know that the institution that you’re working with that you trust and believe in … is rejecting you, is rejecting your pain and is saying on the basis of ‘academic freedom’ and ‘freedom of speech,’” she said.
Talia Wansikehian, the president of the USC Armenian Students Association, said that the events have taken a toll on Armenian students, as well.
“A lot of students are still frustrated. We’re struggling,” Wansikehian said. “We’re spending all of our time organizing. You’re obviously emotionally distraught. And there’s just no tangible support coming from the community that’s leaving everyone feeling very alone.”
Wansikehian also spoke about how the Armenian community has come together through the shared experience.
“It’s our culture and it’s our values. And especially when something like this happens, like no one really understands it,” she said. “No one gets it as much as another fellow Armenian, and no one feels that hurt.”
Armenian students have not experienced solidarity from the entirety of the USC community.
Increasing hate towards Armenian students following Friday’s protest has been seen on Sidechat, an anonymous-posting platform for universities.
“PSA to the Armenians! Every Armenian I’ve come across has been so judgemental and racist and just rude,” one user posted. Another anonymous user said, “Reasons why USC dropped to 28 in the national rankings: Armenians.”
Wansikehian said the posts are ”disgustingly discriminatory against the Armenian students on campus.”
“Posts that we are ‘wanting to be oppressed’ or making fun of the protesting efforts, leave our students hurt,” Wansikehian continued. “Mocking us in the time of mourning and grief has shown yet again that USC and its students have not shown solidarity with the Armenian students.”
Armenian students and faculty are advocating for greater resources from the university to spread education on the situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Wansikehian hopes for some collaboration with other student organizations and the administration to ensure that it’s “not just an Armenian issue, it’s a humanitarian issue.”
Karapetian reflected a similar sentiment.
“I think we need all the resources and guidance on really dealing with the impact of both what happened in Artsakh and what happened here on this campus and the kind of tremendous consequences of that,” she said.
The Armenian community remains dedicated to advocating for themselves and being heard by the university.
“I think we need a meaningful discussion,” Karapetian said. “We need to figure out how to repair our relationships and reputation with our community.”