Hye Sharzhoom Armenian Action
By Barlow Der Mugrdechian Advisor
Twenty years ago a group of students at Fresno State decided to publish a special issue newspaper to commemorate the Armenian Genocide. That special issue was published in April of 1979 and became the first in what was to become a twenty-year run of Hye Sharzhoom/Armenian Action.
From its inception Hye Sharzhoom became the Armenian student voice on the campus of Fresno State. Its pages have been filled with opinions, news, and features on a wide variety of subjects. Hye Sharzhoom reflected the attitudes and opinions of students toward their campus, toward the larger Armenian community, and toward the Armenian Diaspora. It also represented the diversity within the Armenian student population, at a time when there were Armenians from Iran, from Lebanon, and Armenians born in America on the campus. And over the years, Hye Sharzhoom changed as it reflected the changing student population.
But let’s return for a moment to 1979 and reflect about what motivated those students to initiate Hye Sharzhoom. First and foremost, students in the 1970s had a keen interest in not only what was occurring on the Fresno State campus, but were also interested in the larger world scene, and especially the Armenian landscape.
The first motivation was the fact that in 1979, 64 years after the Armenian Genocide of 1915, the Turkish Government had still not acknowledged its role in the planning and execution of the Genocide. This fact motivated students to speak out about that injustice. They became aware of the silence of the world and responded to that silence through the pages of Hye Sharzhoom. They wanted the world to know that they had not forgotten and would not forget. The memory of the Genocide would outlive the policy of denial.
As an outgrowth of the denial, beginning in 1973, the Armenian Question entered a new phase, with the political violence movement. By 1979 political violence had captured the attention of the world, through a series of daring and violent attacks on Turkish government officials and institutions. A small number of people had suddenly thrust the Armenian Question into full view once again. This activity coincided with the growing awareness of Fresno State students of their culture and history. Most Armenian students at Fresno State then had grand-parents and great-grand-parents who were from historical Western Armenia, the locus of the Genocide. They became interested in oral history and in learning more about their own identity.
Armenia in 1979 was still behind the Iron Curtain, in the Soviet Union. Very few people visited there. Some dreamt of the day when Armenia would be independent, but this was a far off dream. No one could have predicted the events of 1988-1991 which resulted in the independence of a second Republic of Armenia. And yet those students thought about these issues, about Armenia, her past, present, and future.
Hye Sharzhoom did not start in a vacuum. There was already an Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, directed by Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, offering classes for students to learn about their culture and heritage. The Program provided much information to students to learn more about their culture and history. This educational base combined with the energy and interest of the students led to the formation of Hye Sharzhoom.
And so students Mark Malkasian, Bill Erysian, Bryan Bedrosian, Dale Tatoian, Mark Najarian, and others started a newspaper, a small step, which over the years developed into a voice which today reaches an international audience of more than 6,000 readers, as well as the students on the Fresno State campus. Hye Sharzhoom has remained the authentic voice of the Armenian students.
What remains for Hye Sharzhoom? Has everything that needs to have been said, been said? Are students interested any longer in expressing themselves about the issues which affect them today? There is still much to be said. New generations of students are adding to the Hye Sharzhoom tradition. They are bringing fresh perspectives and new energy and as long as there are students on campus who take an interest in the world, Hye Sharzhoom will continue in its mission.
Hye Sharzhoom is the oldest continuously published Armenian student newspaper in the United States. It has, and will continue to stimulate and intellectually engage future generations. Hye Sharzhoom provides an avenue for involvement that students will continue to take advantage of in the coming years. A new generation of students will lead Hye Sharzhoom into the twentieth century. They will have the responsibility to continue the tradition. We will all look forward to their words.