Red and White Tulips to Remember Ankara

On request by the Turkish Student Association of Bocconi University, the Bocconi community , on Wednesday 24 February, 12:00 pm, will commemorate the victims of the terrorist attack that caused the death of 28 people in Ankara on Wednesday, 17 February. The event has the support of the student representatives and the University.

The ceremony, which will take place in front of the S. Ferdinando church, will be simple: a brief commemoration speech, one minute of silence for all the victims of terrorism and the distribution of red and white tulips to remember the Turkish flag.

A similar ceremony took place last November following the terrorist attacks in Paris.

"We can't consider such things as business as usual", says Ozan Kutlu, a student at the third year of the Integrated Master of Arts in Law, deputy president of the Association. "When I heard of the attack, I feared for a relative in Ankara and called her, but in the evening of the same day I was doing the usual things... When I realized the contrast I thought that doing something was a civic duty".

An association of Turkish students at Bocconi dates back to 2014 and was re-establised, after a break due to the graduation of the most active students, in early 2016. Turkish students enrolled at Bocconi are 71, Turkish exchange students 11.

"I invite the whole community to participate in the event", Bocconi Rector, Andrea Sironi, says, "in order to bear witness to our condemnation to the use of violence. The respect for cultures and diversity are founding values of our University".