California legislators announce Armenian Genocide scholarships

PanARMENIAN.Net - For the sixth time, the California Armenian Legislative Caucus is awarding scholarships commemorating the Armenian Genocide, Glendale News Press reports.

All California high school students are eligible to apply for one of two scholarships: an essay or visual arts contest. Each contest offers $1,000 to the first-place winner, $750 for the second prize and a $500 third prize. The deadline to apply is April 6, and the Armenian Caucus plans to honor the six winners in the state Capitol during the annual Armenian Advocacy Day on April 27.

State Assemblywoman Laura Friedman, whose district includes Burbank and Glendale, released an announcement about the scholarships last Friday.

According to the criteria, the essay prompt asks students to nominate a notable Armenian American to the California Museum’s Hall of Fame located in Sacramento. The visual contest asks students to create artwork connecting to the theme of “human-to-human interaction.”

Assemblyman Adrin Nazarian, who is currently the only Armenian member of the state Legislature, spearheaded the scholarship, according to his chief of staff, Daniel Savage.

“It was around the same time that we were working on legislation to make sure that the study of genocide, including but not limited to Armenia, was taught in the high schools and textbooks,” said Savage. “The scholarship started as an essay to try to engage students and get them to understand, think about or study and learn about the Armenian Genocide.”

In 2016, the California Board of Education adopted a history and social science standard to discuss human rights violations and genocide, including the Ottoman government’s extermination of more than 1.5 million Armenians during World War I.

The scholarship 2020 winners will be announced on April 16.