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Remembering Genocide

To the Editor:

Nearly all elements of history can be contested, except one: history repeats itself.

This is what makes historical study so crucial and the denial of historical facts so dangerous.

April 24 represents a part of history that has been both contested and denied. In 1915, it was the day the Ottoman government systematically executed members of the Armenian intelligentsia. Today, it serves as the day of memorial for the genocide of one million people that followed.

Indeed, the Armenian Genocide is a contentious issue. For the past 93 years, the Turkish government has refused to accept the genocide for what it was.

And though it is true that historical events can be interpreted differently, 40 U.S. states, 22 countries (including France, Canada, Germany and Russia), the European Parliament, the Council of Europe, the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and even the Turkish Human Rights Organization have all acknowledged the Armenian genocide as a fact of history.

That is why we, as members of the Penn Armenian Student Association seek to raise awareness of this historical fact and contribute to demands for its official recognition by both the United States and Turkish governments.

These past five days, we held a Genocide Awareness week, not only to acknowledge the atrocities that occurred but also to apply that acknowledgement to a broader cause: preventing any more Cambodias, Rwandas, Bosnias, Darfurs.

History has proven to us this simple fact: forgotten genocide begets future genocide. So let's not forget to remember.

Ani Gevorkian The author is a College junior and secretary of the Armenian Student Association An unfair and inaccurate article

To the Editor:

Yesterday's article about the swim team, according to the DP Web site, was clearly one of the more controversial pieces in recent memory.

Your characterization of my team as a depraved mediocrity is completely unfounded. Twenty-one out of 29 athletes on our roster were high school All-Americans and they continue to perform at that level as NCAA athletes. All of these swimmers turned down scholarships from big-name BCS schools to go to Penn.

This year's seniors collectively declined offers from Penn State, Virginia, Duke, Indiana and Northwestern, all top 25 programs. That's how much we love our school. We have sacrificed more of our time for the smallest thanks of anyone at Penn and we've loved every day of it.

To those who have so assiduously covered Penn sports I ask you, what have you sacrificed for your school?The answer is us, your athletes.

You may not like us but that isn't reason to drag us through the mud to further your journalistic career.

We compete to win, but the real goal is the same reason you write: to better the name of our school. Isn't that what we're all here for? Aren't we all on the same team?

Alex Keeney The author is a College senior and member of Penn's Swim Team

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