Collegiate Times

A protester shows her support in front of Burruss Hall for Ahmadinejad's opposition.

Iranian students held a protest Tuesday afternoon in front of Burruss Hall, engaging the community in the call for a presidential re-election in Iran.

Pointing to the Iranian government's violent reaction to demonstrations in the streets of Iran, the students and faculty patricipating stood for peaceful, democratic government.

Najma Yousefi, a doctoral student, said the two candidates opposing current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received majority support among Iranians, and the announced results are almost certainly fraudulent. 

"Shortly after the announcement of early results, two major opponents called into question the results," Yousefi said.
He said "ample circumstantial evidence" shows Ahmadinejad's totals were inflated.

"Many people, if not the majority, feel the polls had already been stuffed," Yousefi said.

One piece of evidence was the fast announcement of results. As signs asking "Where is my vote?" indicate, many Iranians living in America don't believe their ballot was counted.

Over 50 people turned out to support the cause, including many non-Iranian protesters.

Ed Spencer, Director of Student Affairs, also stood with the demonstrators.

"I think we want to be supportive of the Iranian cause here at Virginia Tech," Spencer said.

He said the 82 percent voter turnout in the election was impressive for any country.

Iranian citizens in other countries may still vote in the elections.

While Yousefi said the current leader was not completely bad for his home country, he said most voters, especially those in America, wanted a new president.

"To my mind, the vast majority of Iranians living in the U.S. have very little sympathy with Ahmadinejad," Yousefi said. "The remains of that sympathy are eroding because of this recent sham."

Yousefi cites suppression of human rights as another flaw of the current government.

"The fact remains that during his four years, civil liberties have been significantly limited," Yousefi said. "Many reformists have been put under arrest."

He also opposes Ahmadinejad's handling of the conflict in Israel.

"He's caused unnecessary crisis for Iran in his encounters with the outside world," Yousefi said. "His call for wiping Israel off the map was not a wise move."

Physics major Matt Raum, a supporter not from Iran, said he has kept up with the country's election through close Iranian friends here at Tech, and felt concern for their cause.

"I just support democracy, and fair elections," Raum said.

Yousefi said even supporters of Ahmadinejad were surprised by his victory because of the projected voting numbers.

He said the election numbers for Ahmadinejad nearly doubled from the projections.

"Upping that by 100 percent was the biggest lie of this century," Yousefi said.

Most protesters were Iranian citizens who voted in the recent elections.

Iranian citizens at Tech contacted their embassy and asked for a box of ballots to be sent to campus.

Cranwell International Center served as a polling place for voters in the university community.

There are about 120 students of Iranian origin at Tech.

Originally, the group planned a march from College Avenue to Burruss Hall with candles, but changed its plans Monday.

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