Iranian Student Alliance in America
A name that was more reflective of an Iranian-American student group

By Pouya Alimagham
September 10, 2003
The Iranian

Students for Democracy in Iran was established in September, 2002, at the University of California, Berkeley. Its name was given as a de facto title to launch the group. Once the group was underway, the name democratically changed early in the same semester to Students for Progress and Development in Iran (SPDI, spdiran.org). Through the academic school year (Fall, 2002-Spring, 2003) the student group organized a series of events.

For the Fall semester 2002, one of event's message spread across California. As Professor Hashem Aghajari was sentenced to death because of expressing his opinion in Iran, protests advocating free speech erupted in many of Iran's major cities. On November 19, 2002, SPDI organized a demonstration in front of Sproul Hall. SPDI members including Babak Siavoshy gave powerful speeches.

After our speeches an open microphone session followed where people came to express themselves freely. All the while, nearly twenty students held signs with slogans such as "Expression not Oppression" and "Iranian Students, We Support You" in solidarity with free speech in Iran. At the events height, there were approximately 100 -125 attendees.

When the INS detentions hit the Iranian/Iranian-American community, Payam Mohseni was able to interview the detainees in San Diego [See "Get involved or perish"]. He followed the interviews with an article that brought nationwide attention to the plight of these detainees. In the same month of December, SPDI organized a protest at the INS office in San Francisco to object to the treatment of the INS detainees.

In the Spring semester of 2003, SPDI organized a lecture series to be followed by the film: Secret Ballot. Dr. Maziar Behrooz lectured on the history of U.S.-Iran relations and what the future holds for the two nations. Naghmeh Sohrabi spoke about civil society in Iran. SPDI President Payam Mohseni gave a talk pertaining to the INS detainees and the Iranian/Iranian-American community. This event drew a crowd of about 125 people.

In addition to these major events, Sanaz Meshkinpour and Nima Aghdam organized two Iranian poetry nights. What's more, SPDI has also held meetings, a movie night, and published a journal titled Goftegoo in the Spring of 2003. The publication's editor Elnaz Manoucheri set the precedent and the Iranian/Iranian-American community looks forward to continuous semester editions. Pejman Pour-Moezzi put the student group on the map by building website to represent the organization.

Payam Mohseni and I initiated a student taught one-unit course on contemporary Iran for the spring semester 2003 at UC Berkeley. The class met one day per week for one hour and included 32 enrolled students and some auditors. Guest lectures, documentaries, and discussions were integral to the course and brought the student teachers and the class slightly closer to Iran.

At the end of the semester, the name was once again democratically changed to the Iranian Student Alliance in America (ISAA). The projects and activities of the group had nothing to do with "progress and development in Iran" and thus, the students desired a name that was more reflective of the group.

After two semesters, the organization's leadership grew in experience and became more focused on what they can do, and what they cannot do. Pejman Pour-Moezzi built a new extensive and elaborate website to display the new face and orientation of the group.

As a result of our experience, the group has grown. Currently, there are two ISAA chapters, UC Berkeley and Georgetown University. One of the group's main goals is to organize and establish the Iranian/Iranian-American community. The more chapters we have, the more effective we can be. Through the commitment of its members and support from the community, we intend on becoming a student group that transcends university/college campuses, age, gender, and religion.

To learn more about ISAA, its objectives and events, please visit our website.
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Author

Pouya Alimagham is President of Iranian Student Alliance in America. He is a senior in Middle Eastern Studies/Political Science at UC Berkeley.

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