Responding to the anti-corruption campaign launched by the "Miasin" youth movement that saw photos of alleged bribe-taking teachers and faculty members pasted on buildings in the vicinity of the university, Aram Simonyan, Rector of the Yerevan State University, stated at a press conference held earlier today that, "I give the action a negative mark since you don't fight corruption in this way. Something smells fishy."

Rector Simonyan added that, "I don't accept it either from a legal or moral point of view. Then again, no movement can assume the right of passing legal judgment, which is the purview of the legally appointed examining bodies. In my opinion this is out and out slander." The university head is convinced that in the struggle against corruption one doesn't shout from the rooftops since such a struggle is rife with danger.

"One doesn't fight corruption using such theater tactics. And I'm not even addressing the moral side of it. They have dealt a heavy moral blow to these individuals, to their families, children and colleagues," he added. While Rector Simonyan didn't deny the fact that corruption exists in our society he rhetorically asked, "From the day you are born you come into contact with bribery, handing out chocolate, taking a bottle. Why are you surprised? It's as if you are seeing corruption for the first time in your lives. Haven't you, your parents or friends ever given a gift, money or a bottle to someone to get your problems solved? Who is it that you want to amaze?" He added that this doesn't mean that one shouldn't struggle against corruption but that, "The press shows these photos being plastered on the walls with a great degree of pleasure but none of you have ever written about the anti-corruption steps taken by the university." Rector Simonyan argued that the value of everybody's life has been reduced to a few cents since, "henceforth anybody that can will get up and say, you take bribes, and no one will be able to put up a defense".

According to the rector, the teachers are the ones most defenseless in this regard. "They are people living a poor life with paltry wages. One of the teachers whose photo was pasted lives in a one room apartment with four family members. What do you want from this man?" As of January 1, the salary of a professor is 160,000 drams.

"These people have individual frailties. It is possible that given their difficult conditions and seeing that students are only interested in getting high grades, these individuals will commit such offenses. Not all of course, the numbers of those in the YSU who take the bait are a minority of teachers," noted Rector Simonyan. He then made a comparison between those students who show up to class in expensive cars costing up to 500,000 drams and the teacher, who leaves the university after a day of classes with students who can't even write their names correctly, wearing a torn jacket.

"What must that teacher be thinking? Why do they raise the salaries of judges to ward off the possibility of them taking bribes but they don't do the same for teachers? Isn't that teacher also a person?"