UC BERKELEY STUDENT GOVT. PASSES RESOLUTION CALLING FOR DIVESTMENT FROM TURKEY
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/131925/uc-berkeley-student-govt-passes-resolution-calling-for-divestment-from-turkey/
A scene from Wednesday's meeting of UC Berkeley Student government
BERKELEY, Calif.- The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
undergraduate student body Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday night
to divest $72.6 million dollars worth of University of California
bonds and investments in the Republic of Turkey for their crimes in
and the continued denial of the Armenian Genocide.
The resolution titled “A Bill in Support of Divestment from
the Republic of Turkey” passed at 11:00 pm at Anna Head Alumnae
Hall at UC Berkeley.
The resolution is part of a larger initiative (#DivestTurkey)
spearheaded by the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States
(AYF), calling on institutions to divest from the Republic of Turkey,
“With the support of not only our Armenian community here at
Cal, but also with the Berkeley community at large, we are so proud
to have been a part of history tonight with the passing of this bill
at UC Berkeley” said Sareen Habeshian, a UC Berkeley student
and Armenian Student Association member.
Raffi Margossian, UC Berkeley sophomore and ASA executive member
stated, “I’m proud to see the ASUC take measures to hold
our Regents accountable. I think it’s outrageous that our
tuition money is invested without student input. This bill sends
a larger message that calls for the need for student voice in UC
investments”
The bill’s passage comes a few weeks after the UCLA student
body government unanimously passed a similar resolution, and just two
weeks after a University of California Student Association (UCSA)
bill that was passed in Los Angeles also demanding divestment from
the government of Turkey.
“I, like so many others, have grown up surrounded by
conversations about ‘Hye Tad’ but it was always so
abstract. What could someone like me do to raise the Armenian Cause,
to move it forward, to fight for it? I am 100 years removed from
the Genocide, I don’t live in the Homeland, I didn’t go
to an Armenian school growing up, yet there has always been a pull
towards something bigger than myself. We, as UC students, were given
the chance to finally raise the Armenian Cause and fight for what
is right and what is just. The Cause doesn’t belong in places
only filled with Armenians. It should permeate every aspect of our
life - our homes, our work place and especially our school - which
is exactly what we did tonight by calling for the divestment of our
tuition from the Republic of Turkey.” said Christina Mehranbod,
UC Berkeley senior and AYF member.
To find out more about the (#DivestTurkey) Initiative contact
[email protected].
[ Part 2.2: "Attached Text" ]
Wednesday, February 18th, 2015
http://asbarez.com/131925/uc-berkeley-student-govt-passes-resolution-calling-for-divestment-from-turkey/
A scene from Wednesday's meeting of UC Berkeley Student government
BERKELEY, Calif.- The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
undergraduate student body Senate unanimously voted on Wednesday night
to divest $72.6 million dollars worth of University of California
bonds and investments in the Republic of Turkey for their crimes in
and the continued denial of the Armenian Genocide.
The resolution titled “A Bill in Support of Divestment from
the Republic of Turkey” passed at 11:00 pm at Anna Head Alumnae
Hall at UC Berkeley.
The resolution is part of a larger initiative (#DivestTurkey)
spearheaded by the Armenian Youth Federation Western United States
(AYF), calling on institutions to divest from the Republic of Turkey,
“With the support of not only our Armenian community here at
Cal, but also with the Berkeley community at large, we are so proud
to have been a part of history tonight with the passing of this bill
at UC Berkeley” said Sareen Habeshian, a UC Berkeley student
and Armenian Student Association member.
Raffi Margossian, UC Berkeley sophomore and ASA executive member
stated, “I’m proud to see the ASUC take measures to hold
our Regents accountable. I think it’s outrageous that our
tuition money is invested without student input. This bill sends
a larger message that calls for the need for student voice in UC
investments”
The bill’s passage comes a few weeks after the UCLA student
body government unanimously passed a similar resolution, and just two
weeks after a University of California Student Association (UCSA)
bill that was passed in Los Angeles also demanding divestment from
the government of Turkey.
“I, like so many others, have grown up surrounded by
conversations about ‘Hye Tad’ but it was always so
abstract. What could someone like me do to raise the Armenian Cause,
to move it forward, to fight for it? I am 100 years removed from
the Genocide, I don’t live in the Homeland, I didn’t go
to an Armenian school growing up, yet there has always been a pull
towards something bigger than myself. We, as UC students, were given
the chance to finally raise the Armenian Cause and fight for what
is right and what is just. The Cause doesn’t belong in places
only filled with Armenians. It should permeate every aspect of our
life - our homes, our work place and especially our school - which
is exactly what we did tonight by calling for the divestment of our
tuition from the Republic of Turkey.” said Christina Mehranbod,
UC Berkeley senior and AYF member.
To find out more about the (#DivestTurkey) Initiative contact
[email protected].