“They’re people in consulting and finance who whose own experiences have been shaped by Djerdjian’s teachings,” Vartanian said. “That is why these alumni are so taken aback.”
According to the email, the students said they were dismayed at the decision not to renew Professor Djerdjian’s contract and were collecting signatures from people opposed to the action.
“This will be a colossal loss to his past, present and prospective students, as well as to the marketplace of ideas at Occidental College and the world at large,” the students said via email.
Rayna Singh (junior), another creator of the petition, is an economics major and has been taking classes with Djerdjian since her first year. She said that Djerdjian is her advisor, and that he has helped her with her academic journey.
“A year ago, I was deciding my classes for my first semester of junior year,” Singh said. “I was really confused about if I was taking too many economics classes at once, and we walked through it, and he helped me realize it was fine.”
Singh said that she has also been able to develop a more personal relationship with Djerdjian, and that he has given her advice on how to secure internships, while not putting pressure on her.
“When I go to his office, it’s like we’re friends talking […] he never judges anything I have to say, which I think is really important,” Singh said.
Vartanian said he comes to Djerdjian for advice and that he has an engaging style of teaching.
“He doesn’t teach concepts then simply leave,” Vartanian said. “More than any other faculty member I’ve encountered, [he] directly engages with his students in a very personalistic, one-on-one style.”
According to both Singh and Vartanian, Djerdjian has more conservative views than other economics professors at Occidental. Singh said that this helps her learn about a wider range of viewpoints in economics.
“No other professor teaches free-market economics,” Singh said. “I would never take that class if he wasn’t teaching it, and I learned so much from it.”
Both Singh and Vartanian said that if Djerdjian were to leave the College, they would lose a unique perspective.
“I like learning from professors with different viewpoints […] I think learning from a different viewpoint adds to my understanding of econ and the world in general,” Singh said.
Ava Manier (sophomore) said that she took Principles of Economics 1 with Djerdjian a year ago and did not enjoy the experience.
“I understand the need to have people who aren’t super liberal, but I think it crossed a line,” Manier said. “He kept saying that poor people were ‘lazy.’”
Vartanian said that many people signing the petition do not agree with his political and economic views, but that they still recognize his value as a professor with a different perspective.
“I don’t agree with everything he says or with some of the parables he brings up, but I will fight as much as I can for his freedom to teach and to challenge the views that we hold at this school and elsewhere,” Vartanian said.
Vartanian said that 300 signatories to the petition have raised concerns via an open-response section of the form about what Djerdjian’s departure from the College would mean for the diversity of thought within the economics field.
“Economics, much like international relations, is a science of many, many theories,” Vartanian said. “It’s impossible to call one theory truthful and another a hoax when all these theories exist in constant flux and dialogue with one another.”
Vartanian said that he did not know if Djerdjian’s more conservative views contributed to the College’s decision not to renew his contract.
“I am in no position to gauge or ascertain or assess whether that is indeed the reason for his termination,” Vartanian said. “All I know is that it is unfair. He has served this school for 14 loyal years.”
Vartanian said that he and the other students who created the petition planned to bring the document to the college’s administration.
“We’re hoping to have our first few petitions presented to the department chair, other faculty members and other highly important entities and individuals in the school’s administration within the next week or so,” Vartanian said.
Contact Ruby Gower at gower@oxy.edu.
