News

Arshak Abelyan Staff Writer “The magician works his alchemy not upon stone and gold but upon something deeper in us, the uniquely human gift to perceive language,” stated Dr. James Russell, describing the poet Misak Medzarents. On Thursday, March 11, 2021, Dr. James Russell, Mashtots Professor of Armenian Studies, Emeritus, at Harvard University, discussed his newly published book, Misak Medzarents: ...

Carina Tokatian Staff Writer A nineteenth century Armenian migrant once wrote in a song, “I have left properties and orchards behind. Every time I say ahh, my heart breaks apart, oh crane wait for a second, let my soul hear your voice, oh crane, don’t you have any news from our country?” It was verses like these that characterized the ...

Staff Report The Bertha and John Garabedian Foundation has made a generous donation of $10,000 to the Armenian Studies Program for 2021. Together with previous year’s donations, the Foundation has awarded nearly $150,000 in grants to the Armenian Studies Program. The gift will be used for a variety of activities, including outreach activities and awarding scholarships to students enrolled in ...

Staff Report Fresno State alumnus Ronald J. Garabed II of Cliffside Park, New Jersey, has established a new annual scholarship fund to benefit students studying in the Armenian Studies Program. The scholarship, to be called the Ronald J. Garabedian II Armenian Legacy Scholarship, will be awarded annually to students enrolled in Armenian and/or Armenian Studies courses within the Armenian Studies ...

Staff Report The Armenian Studies Program held its 33rd Annual Banquet on Sunday, May 2. The Banquet was held virtually and a special video to mark the occasion was prepared. The link is here: https://bit.ly/armenianstudies33rdbanquet “Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Program has a very special place in my heart. I have always said this-that the Armenian Studies sets the gold standard ...

Staff Report   The Armenian Studies Pro-gram awarded scholarships for the academic year 2020-2021 to forty-seven students from twenty-eight different endowment or scholarship funds for a total of $67,000. In addition to providing needed financial support, the scholarships encourage students to pursue Minors in Armenian Studies and to enroll in the various course offerings. We ask our students and our ...

Staff Report As Henry Morgenthau, the United States Ambassador to Turkey in 1915, said “When the Turkish authorities gave the orders for these deportations, they were merely giving the death warrant to a whole race; they understood this well, and, in their conversations with me, they made no particular attempt to conceal the fact.” Despite these words, it has taken ...

Dustin Vartanian ASO President Hiking, walking, racing, and getting together; Fresno State’s Armenian Students Organization had several adventures throughout the past semester. These moments were especially enjoyable because they gave rare opportunities for ASO students to see many of their friends in person since the closure of the Fresno State campus due to the pandemic. Identical to the past, it ...

Sosse Baloian Staff Writer Armenian churches dominate the sphere of Armenian architecture. 3,788 Armenian churches were built in Greater Armenia in the period from the adoption of Christianity in the early fourth century to the early twentieth century. Unfortunately, this number has diminished significantly and only 2.3% of Armenian churches in Turkey survived after the 1915 Genocide. On Friday, April ...

Christine Pambukyan Staff Writer “I did not have an agenda… I did not want to prove anything. I just wanted to bring all the sources from all angles, from all perspectives, from all kinds of organizations and institutions in order for me to draw a picture of Musa Dagh,” said Dr. Vahram Shemmassian, director of the Armenians Studies Program at ...