During the daybreak on April 24th, 1915, the vibrant country of Armenia was covered by a dark cloud of terror. The voices of thousands of Armenian men, women, and children went up into the air, crying to God for deliverance and peace. 1.5 million innocent Armenians were viciously massacred, and precious land was ripped away from their hands. 

You would think that such a tragedy would be widely recognized and memorialized. However, the world has failed the small country with countless empty promises and blind eyes. 

Even today, 107 years later, Turkey fails to admit to the crimes of their ancestors. Their denial is the reason why many countries do not even acknowledge the fact that so many people suffered. 

Hundreds of thousands of wives lost their husbands, countless children watched as their mothers and sisters were raped, and millions of citizens were left with nothing but their hopes and prayers. Yet the oppressors are still able to sit back and deny ever having taken part in such heinous slaughters. 

So, what can we as a school do to create a change in the world, starting in our own community?   

After discussing the issue with many Armenian students at GHS, there was one common denominator: the way we can cause real change is by educating our friends and family members who may not know much about the issue at hand. 

We live in a time when access to tons of people through social media is just a tap away. By sharing informational posts, engaging in conversation, or even having classroom discussions regarding the topic, we can cause a ripple effect of awareness in our community. 

Something that Armenians all living in Glendale can do to better help their cause is by refraining from any rowdy or illegal behavior during protests. Many peaceful protests in the past have quickly devolved into car-horn-honking contests or other disruptive behavior, such as street racing. 

“It genuinely makes us look like the bad guys, when we use peaceful protests as an excuse to behave like criminals,” said an anonymous GHS senior. “Even though it is a very small group of people that do this every year, the news is only looking for the dramatic aspects of our marches to present to the media. We need to do a better job at containing the people around us, even if they’re angry.” 

“We can make our voices heard by showing up in numbers instead of being reckless,” she added.

Many Armenians believe that the way to reach people around the world is by remaining peaceful and level-headed during their outings. Although many of us are angry and hurt, remaining peaceful and using our time together to publicly lament and mourn will send a clearer message: we are still standing and still demand recognition.