UCLA’s Armenian Students’ Association (ASA) held their annual ‘Coachellian’ event on May 24. (Photo: David Arakelyan)

LOS ANGELES—On Tuesday, May 24, the Armenian Students’ Association (ASA) at UCLA held their annual ‘Coachellian’ event, with all donations collected from the night going to the Armenian Youth Federation’s With Our Soldiers (WOS) campaign. This initiative was re-launched  in the aftermath of the April 2nd attacks on Artsakh with the aim of providing financial relief to the families of fallen soldiers.

Arev Hovsepian, the External Vice President of the UCLA ASA and a member of the AYF’s ‘With Our Soldiers’ Committee, said it was important to the students organizing the event that they stand with the people of Artsakh in this particularly trying time. “Right now, we need to support Artsakh, perhaps more than ever, and it is important for students on campuses statewide to mobilize. The families of the fallen soldiers have faced tremendous emotional and material losses, and we are hoping that we can somehow assist them in these difficult times, ” Hovsepian stated.

Raising donations through the sales of shirts and raffle tickets, Coachellian – a play on words that gives “Coachella” an Armenian twist – brought together about 150 UCLA students and local artists for a cause important to the Armenian community. Students gathered at UCLA’s Fowler Amphitheater grass area to watch performances by A Splinter, The California People, Satellite Citi, Ooshatsank, and the UCLA Armenian Dance Group.

“I am especially proud of this annual show because it is rooted in the celebration of Armenian culture, talent, and togetherness as a vehicle for supporting momentous causes in our community such as the With Our Soldiers campaign,” said Celine Vartany, the Cultural Committee Chair of UCLA ASA. “It was an honor to organize an event so spirited and with earnest unity in helping the families of Artsakh.”

Despite the fact that the event included free admission and food, the UCLA ASA was successfully able to collect over $500 in donations for the WOS campaign. As in the past, Coachellian once again proved to be a representation of how students can come together to support a cause important to the Armenian community, in this case through art and through music.

The Armenian Students’ Association at UCLA (ASA at UCLA), founded in 1945, strives to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of Armenian history, heritage, and culture through social, philanthropic, and educational activities
The AYF’s ‘With Our Soldiers’ campaign, originally launched in 2012 was restarted in the aftermath of the Four Day War with the aim of providing assistance to the families of the fallen soldiers. To learn more about the campaign or to make a donation today, you can visit withoursoldiers.com/donate.