News

Sara Beberian Staff Writer For Armenians, experiencing threats to their culture and heritage is not uncommon. For centuries, Armenians have had to fight to protect their land, monuments, culture, and religion. Even though things should be different in 2021, Armenians are still forced to do this every day. The recent 2020 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, reflects an Armenian people ...

Fresno State News- Benjamin Kirk The Fresno Unified School Board voted on Oct. 13 to change the name of the Forkner Elementary School to H. Roger Tatarian Elementary School in honor of the award-winning journalist, Fresno State alumnus and faculty member. “Roger Tatarian’s career as a journalist and professor demonstrates the transformative power of a Fresno State education,” said Dr. ...

Andrew Hagopian Editor The Armenian Students Organization (ASO) has been very active during the 2021 Fall semester at Fresno State. ASO members gathered for a bowling night on Friday, October 22, held at Bowlero Bowling Alley with over 35 members in attendance. The ASO also organized a Thanksgiving “Friendsgiving” Fellowship night which brought together 40 Armenian students. Members had a ...

Staff Report The Charles K. Pategian and Pansy Pategian Zlokovich Scholarship was established by Charles K. Pategian in 1972 and is the oldest scholarship fund established to support students in the Armenian Studies Program. Scholarships are awarded to students who demonstrate an interest in Armenian culture and who have a financial need to continue their university education. The scholarship provides ...

Michael Mazman Staff Writer On Friday, October 15, 2021, the Armenian Studies Program hosted Dr. Suren Manukyan for the second installment of his three-part lecture series on the perpetrators of the Armenian Genocide, titled “Bureaucrats of the Armenian Genocide: The Mid-Level Perpetrators.” Similarly to his first presentation, “Architects of the Armenian Genocide,” Dr. Manukyan began his presentation by discussing the ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer Imagine a huge, beautiful canyon, with birds flying through it, and the wind whistling through the distance. This was an everyday reality for Sophia Marti (Tatian Spivakova), who grew up in a home overlooking a canyon in Artsakh that her family nicknamed the “Gate to Heaven.” The name was fitting, as the canyon was so beautiful ...

Staff Report A large collection of Armenian themed books and periodicals was received from the estate of the late June Shamshoian. Her daughter Janine Shamshoian Economides and husband Dr. Nicholas Economides made the generous donation in October of this year. The books will be incorporated into the Armenian Studies Program collection. June Shamshoian was born on August 22, 1927, in ...

Staff Report Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Berberian Coordinator of the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State, discussed the newly published book, The Committee of Union and Progress: Founders, Ideology, and Structure, at a special presentation and kinetson on Saturday, November 6, 2021. The Committee of Union and Progress is volume 13 in the Armenian Series of The Press at California ...

Staff Report The Armenian Series of The Press at California State University, Fresno announces the publication of its fourteenth volume, Captive Nights: From the Bosphorus to Gallipoli with Zabel Yessayan. This new collection of translations from Zabel Yessayan’s (1878 – 1943?) internationally renowned body of work presents three of her least-known and most revealing stories: Meliha Nuri Hanum, The Veil, ...

Armenia’s Ambassador to the United States, H.E. Lilit Makunts (center) visited the William Saroyan House Museum on Sunday, October 24. Accompanying Amb. Makunts on the visit were Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia in Fresno, Mr. Berj Apkarian (left), and Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian (right). Ambassador Makunts attended the AMAA Annual Banquet in Fresno on Saturday, Oct 23.