News

Staff Report Armenian 1A, Elementary Armenian, is an introductory language course for students at Fresno State. The course, offered twice weekly, brings together students from diverse backgrounds to study the Armenian language. Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian has been teaching the course for thirty-eight years and is enthusiastic in bringing his passion for the language to his students. Through the language ...

Benjamin Kirk Communication Specialist College of Arts and Humanities The Fresno Unified School District officially changed the name of Forkner Elementary School to H. Roger Tatarian Elementary School in a ceremony on Sept. 7. As the thermometer found a third digit late in the morning, dignitaries spoke at the podium illuminated by the full intensity of the late summer sun. ...

On Thursday, September 8, 2022, the Armenian Students Organization held their first meeting for the 2022-2023 academic year. After a heated rock-paper-scissors tournament, elections were held for the executive positions. The elections yielded the following results: Sara Beberian, President; Sevana Wassilian, Vice President; Hrayr Kerkezian, Treasurer; Christa Eritzian, Secretary; and Careen Derkalousdian, Public Relations.   Sara Beberian President Business Major ...

Carina Tokatian Staff Writer When discussing the relation-ship between being Armenian and Christian, an Armenian priest living in modern-day Turkey told Dr. Hrag Papazian, “As the apostle Paul has taught us, we cannot separate the body from the soul. In an identical way, we cannot separate Armenianness from Christianity. Armenianness is the body, Christianity is the soul. They form an ...

Careen Derkalousdian Staff Writer “We don’t write these histories from the women’s perspective. These histories don’t allow us to understand how Armenian women experienced being snatched or given up or taken in,” said Dr. Rebecca Jinks. “It doesn’t allow us to understand how they dealt with the violence, the uncertainty, the isolation, and the dependence on their host families. It’s ...

Bryan Tellalian Special to Hye Sharzhoom On Monday, May 30, 2022, His Beatitude Raphael Bedros XXI, Armenian Catholic Patriarch of the See of Cilicia, made the first official visit of an Armenian Catholic Patriarch to the city of Fresno. His Beatitude is the spiritual father for Armenian Catholics throughout the world. In Fresno, His Beatitude led a prayer service and ...

Staff Report There is an exciting new exhibit to see this year at the Fresno County Historical Museum, featuring the works of one of Fresno’s most iconic artists, Varaz Samuelian. On Saturday, September 3, a special preview of the exhibit was held and attracted a crowd of hundreds. This was the first time some of Varaz’s paintings had ever been ...

Lena Maranian Adishian, for copies of Impact of an Ancient Nation: Bridging the Past, Present, and Future with 100+ Facts about Armenia and the Armenians (The 100 Years, 100 Facts Project, 2016), 140 pp., in English, and with lavish photographs. Created by Lena Maranian Adishian and written by Nareg Seferian. The book brings to life historical episodes, notable individuals, diaspora ...

Staff Report Dr. Hrag Papazian has been named as the 19th Henry S. Khanzadian Kazan Visiting Professor in Armenian Studies at Fresno State for the Fall 2022 semester. The Kazan Visiting Professorship was established in Fall of 2000. Dr. Papazian graduated from the Social Anthropology MPhil program at the University of Oxford, and then continued with his DPhil studies at ...

Eddy Thurber Staff Writer Editor’s note: Five students from Fresno State are studying in Yerevan, Armenia this fall, thanks to the generosity of the Kashian Family Foundation. The students are studying for a semester at the American University of Armenia (AUA), where they have the opportunity to learn both in the classrooms as well as from their rich environment in ...