An interview with Eleonora Manandyan, First President of Yerevan State University’s Student Council.

Victor Hugo believed that whoever opens the door to school also closes the door to jail. Historically, student movements have shook the world and proved Hugo correct. Manandyan believes that student activism, even if it leads to being arrested, isn’t such a bad thing.

Manandyan – Student activism is very important. If there is no spirit of rebellion in the youth, society is sick. Young people must be active to the extreme. It’s the essence of youth. Passions must boil to the point where things turn into a bund (German for union/coalition; here a grassroots movement for change) 

If there is no bund, it’s a sad situation. The bund is the breath of what’s new.

Why isn’t your name noted in the YSU website as student council president?

That’s normal. (Eleanora chuckles) The YSU administration, especially the current one, has a problem with activists like me, especially given my oppositionist political leanings. Thus, their stance doesn’t surprise me

In other words, we can assume that those who created today's student council were the youth calling for a bund?

There was a team of some really great people at the base of the YSU student council. They had different political views but complemented one another. Back in 1994 we all saw ourselves as the builders of our country. But those good relations fell apart during the 1996 election and the council splintered. One group defended the authorities and the other supported the opposition.

Do you believe it’s correct for students to engage in politics? A few days ago, students at Moscow State University organized a protest against Russian PM Putin’s Pan-Russian People’s Front. Ten students were arrested.

Whether we like it or not, all of us are political players. No one can state that they are removed from politics. At issue is the fact that oftentimes we incorrectly comprehend the nature of politics. In 1996, I was very active in political processes. I was a proxy for Vazgen Manukyan and often made speeches at rallies.

For isn’t it true that the students of today are tomorrow’s economists, sociologists and politicians? The fact that a student mustn’t think of defending the specific interests of one party or another, is another matter. Most students haven’t yet matured sufficiently and can become objects to be manipulated and exploited.

Is that the Armenian students of today have nothing to change in the political landscape and thus there is a lack of struggle?

No. It’s just that the student council has turned into an administrative structure, just like the Komsomol of old. Back then, the Komsomol obeyed the government and stagnated along with it. It’s the same with all the student councils today; they’re in a rut.

All the members think about is climbing the career ladder to success. They’re busy calculating how to make their mark in the political system. The true student, however, is the one who can go without eating for days but still have the strength to struggle. That’s how we lived back then. It’s all come apart.

Why did it fall apart?

I believe it was due to the tremendous pressure the government brought to bear. We too felt the pressure. I remember being fired from work in 1996, on the same day we organized a demonstration. That’s the way it had to turn out. I knew that certain doors would close in front of me because I was now perceived as an uncontrollable element.

But the pressures enacted by today’s authorities are stronger and more dangerous. They are leading to an overall sense of despair; one’s hope for a brighter tomorrow is shattered.

So are you saying there are no young people ready to storm the barricades?

Definitely not in the student councils. There are good people and presidents in the councils, but they aren’t ready to fight. They have no passion.

A student must constantly be searching something, pursuing something. This demands energy and that energy must be directed towards an explosion.

Even if we were living in a perfect country with no problems at all, I’d still state they students need a bund, a spontaneous rebellion. Even the most ideal of situations rots and withers if there is no movement.

There are many countries that have experienced a downfall simply because student passions have died out. Even Europe is starting to figure out how to at least create artificial demonstrations. In many European countries, these student movements are artificial and concocted.

In September of this year, protesting students in Greece displeased with the educational budget cuts, didn’t allow the minister of internal affairs to watch the latest Woody Allen film to the end. They kept on chanting “you destroyed our lives” and forced him out of the cinema. Has anything similar been tried in Armenia?

Yes. About three thousand of us organized a three day protest outside the presidential palace in 1996. The government wanted to cut our scholarships. We decided to fight back. I remember sitting on the street day and night. There were many tourists in Yerevan at the time. A few of them requested that we move over to the other sidewalk, but we refused. Perhaps we were a bit extreme, but it was the nerve of them asking that made us refuse. In the end, all our demands were met.

Fear is for old people. Young people must be fearless since they have nothing to lose. I am not calling for a bund, a rebellion. That would be laughable. We must at least serve as a source of energy and commit ourselves to developing this nation of ours.

What about the social internet sites. Are they productive avenue for people to unite?

Absolutely not. I am opposed to all social sites. I would urge all to stay clear of such sites because they are a drain of one’s energy. They’re like power sucking vampires. Each individual, however passive, has the making of a bund inside themselves. It’s a question of expressing that passion.

It’s not enough to log into you Facebook page, express your dissatisfaction with this or that, and believe that you’ve done your bit.

It’s like waging a virtual reality struggle. What about real life struggle?

I’d venture to say that the powers that be find it to their advantage for people to vent their anger in the virtual reality of the internet rather in the real world.