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YEREVAN'S STRIKING STUDENTS: A CLASH OF INTERESTS AND CULTURES HRANT GADARIGIAN
http://hetq.am/eng/news/23886/yerevan%E2%80%99s-striking-students-a-clash-of-interests-and-cultures.html
12:41, February 27, 2013
I got a call this morning to head down to Yerevan State University
to cover the third day of student protests in the Armenian Capital.
When I arrived the opposing camps had already been separated by
police. It was a stand-off as I perceived it.
One the one side, the activists were urging students to join the
ranks. The boycott was to protest what the strikers deemed as the
rigged February 18 presidential election.
The walk-out of college and university students began on Monday.
It now seems that the administrations of Yerevan State University and
the nearby State University of Medicine have effectively clamped down
on the mobility of students.
The strikers aren't being allowed to approach the campuses to get
their message across.
At Yerevan State University, several scuffles broke out between
students on both sides of the divide. Several student "leaders"
from the school called the protestors "outside agitators" who were
disrupting normal school life.
A few school administrators also were on the scene, basically demanding
that the activists leave.
It is apparent that the student activists have a tough road ahead of
them if they plan to continue such actions.
There is a clash of cultures and interests unfolding in the streets
of Yerevan today.
Had it not been for the actions of the strikers and their supporters,
this underlying tension would remain hidden to the naked eye.
But it exists and reveals a true social divide in Armenia.
The strikers are in a head to head confrontation with the "culture
of hegemony", as described by Antonio Gramsci, that permeates all
aspects of life in Armenia.
It is especially entrenched in Armenia's educational institutions
where the ruling regime, as embodied by the Republican Party, holds
sway through a myriad of mechanisms - nepotism, intimidation, pseudo
student councils, etc.
It is evident that many students inside these institutions have
consciously or otherwise bought into this regime imposed worldview
that has been accepted as the cultural and social norm.
The regime has created a system of beliefs, perceptions and values
that are to be taken as valid. Students are exposed to them daily
and are co-opted into the dominant system.
I saw the strikers being castigated as "puppets of the west" and
"enemies of the Armenian people".
While the police tried to maintain some semblance of neutrality,
it was evident where their sentiments lay.
I overhead a few police officials "advising" students opposing the
strikers as to tactics.
One or two of the top cops on the scene, even confessed that the
strike leaders held values that contradicted the traditional beliefs of
"true Armenians".
Mention was even made of Yeghia Nersesyan, a civic activist widely
known for his involvement in the Teghout and Mashtots Park protests.
The police official hinted that Nazaryan, originally from Syria,
was a ring-leader who had imported "alien" values to Armenia.
This, I found most disturbing. Not only was an attempt being made to
create an artificial divide amongst the students (the strikers were
"bad" and those who opposed them as "good"), but there was a subtle
undertone of discrimination between local and outside Armenians.
In the end, the dominant cultural hegemony dictates that to "protest"
is bad, something alien to Armenian society.
It thus follows, that those engaged in protest are "outsiders" and
"provocateurs", trying to corrupt that idealized society.
This is the social process that is unfolding in Armenia today;
whether in Freedom Square or the courtyard of Yerevan State University.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://hetq.am/eng/news/23886/yerevan%E2%80%99s-striking-students-a-clash-of-interests-and-cultures.html
12:41, February 27, 2013
I got a call this morning to head down to Yerevan State University
to cover the third day of student protests in the Armenian Capital.
When I arrived the opposing camps had already been separated by
police. It was a stand-off as I perceived it.
One the one side, the activists were urging students to join the
ranks. The boycott was to protest what the strikers deemed as the
rigged February 18 presidential election.
The walk-out of college and university students began on Monday.
It now seems that the administrations of Yerevan State University and
the nearby State University of Medicine have effectively clamped down
on the mobility of students.
The strikers aren't being allowed to approach the campuses to get
their message across.
At Yerevan State University, several scuffles broke out between
students on both sides of the divide. Several student "leaders"
from the school called the protestors "outside agitators" who were
disrupting normal school life.
A few school administrators also were on the scene, basically demanding
that the activists leave.
It is apparent that the student activists have a tough road ahead of
them if they plan to continue such actions.
There is a clash of cultures and interests unfolding in the streets
of Yerevan today.
Had it not been for the actions of the strikers and their supporters,
this underlying tension would remain hidden to the naked eye.
But it exists and reveals a true social divide in Armenia.
The strikers are in a head to head confrontation with the "culture
of hegemony", as described by Antonio Gramsci, that permeates all
aspects of life in Armenia.
It is especially entrenched in Armenia's educational institutions
where the ruling regime, as embodied by the Republican Party, holds
sway through a myriad of mechanisms - nepotism, intimidation, pseudo
student councils, etc.
It is evident that many students inside these institutions have
consciously or otherwise bought into this regime imposed worldview
that has been accepted as the cultural and social norm.
The regime has created a system of beliefs, perceptions and values
that are to be taken as valid. Students are exposed to them daily
and are co-opted into the dominant system.
I saw the strikers being castigated as "puppets of the west" and
"enemies of the Armenian people".
While the police tried to maintain some semblance of neutrality,
it was evident where their sentiments lay.
I overhead a few police officials "advising" students opposing the
strikers as to tactics.
One or two of the top cops on the scene, even confessed that the
strike leaders held values that contradicted the traditional beliefs of
"true Armenians".
Mention was even made of Yeghia Nersesyan, a civic activist widely
known for his involvement in the Teghout and Mashtots Park protests.
The police official hinted that Nazaryan, originally from Syria,
was a ring-leader who had imported "alien" values to Armenia.
This, I found most disturbing. Not only was an attempt being made to
create an artificial divide amongst the students (the strikers were
"bad" and those who opposed them as "good"), but there was a subtle
undertone of discrimination between local and outside Armenians.
In the end, the dominant cultural hegemony dictates that to "protest"
is bad, something alien to Armenian society.
It thus follows, that those engaged in protest are "outsiders" and
"provocateurs", trying to corrupt that idealized society.
This is the social process that is unfolding in Armenia today;
whether in Freedom Square or the courtyard of Yerevan State University.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress