SFU students pay respect to protesters in Iran
By James Lin
The Peak (SFU)
July 8, 2009
 BURNABY (CUP) – In light of the recent political unrest in Iran, SFU students came together last week to hold a vigil in solidarity for students who were victimized or killed in Iran.
Hundreds of students gathered in the Freedom Square of the SFU Burnaby campus for the Students In Black vigil, which began at noon.
Clad in dark clothing and carrying lit black candles with green straps attached to their wrists for respective symbolic meaning, the event attendees stood in a sombre fashion.
Siavash Rokni, a 1st-year communications student and event organizer, said that “the violence in Iran is a fundamental setback to democracy and humanity.”
The event aimed at gathering students of other nationalities and backgrounds, outside of the Iranian community at SFU.
The vigil began with a short speech from Alysia MacGrotty, external relations officer with the Simon Fraser Student Society.
She said that the Student Society believes in the equal access to information in response to the regimental clamping of social media by the Iranian government. MacGrotty also offered her condolences to the protest victims on behalf of the Student Society.
An Iranian student, Setareh S., offered a poem in Farsi in remembrance of Neda Agha Soltan, a philosophy student in Iran who was shot and killed two weeks ago during a protest in Tehran.
Some Iranian students offered different perspectives of the civil unrest, sharing their tragic stories with the crowd. An eight minutes silence was held in remembrance of the eight student victims who were killed. Amongst the crowd, students held up their hands to create a peace sign.
After the moments of silence, there was an exchange of open dialogue between the crowd and an Iranian student representative. The main questions revolved around how the Canadian nation and academic community could assist in reaction to the political turmoil.
Rokni proceeded to play Ey Iran, the national anthem of Iran, with a woodwind flute, prompting Farsi speakers to sing along. Subsequently, he led the English speakers in an a cappella to John Lennon’s Imagine.
Jasprit Bhatia, a graduate student, said he attended the event because he wanted to render support to his Iranian friends. He further added that he understands the frustration when the votes of citizens do not count or are counted incorrectly.
Students departed the scene with grieved and solemn faces.
Following the 2009 Iranian presidential election, citizens held peaceful protests against the government for alleged electoral fraud.
The police force and Basij, a paramilitary group, violently suppressed the protests, firing into crowds and using batons, pepper spray, and other weapons.
Iranian authorities have also closed universities in Tehran, blocked web sites, cell phone transmissions, text messages, and banned rallies. Since the election, a partial recount of the ballots was offered, however, no discrepancies were found.
Officially, 17 people have died during the protests, while CNN has estimated 150 deaths since June 20.
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