News

Staff Report On Tuesday, September 21, 2021, the Armenian Students Organization (ASO) at Fresno State celebrated the 30th anniversary of Armenia’s independence. Armenia was part of the former Soviet Union from 1920 until 1991, when it became one of fifteen former Soviet Republics to gain its independence. As students walked by the Kennel Bookstore, they were greeted by ASO members ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer The Smittcamp Family Honors College at Fresno State is recognized as one of the top programs of its kind in the western United States. Only a select 50 students, from a pool of 500 students, are annually accepted into the Smittcamp Family Honors College. High school seniors must meet one of the following two criteria in ...

Andrew Hagopian Editor The Armenian Students Organization (ASO) kicked off the 2021-2022 academic year with their first meeting and annual elections, held by Zoom, on Tuesday, September 7, 2021. More than 35 students were present for the first meeting. Each member introduced themselves by stating their name, major, and year in school. Following introductions, everyone participated in a game of ...

Garo Minasian History Minor in Armenian Studies What encouraged you to take an Armenian Studies course? Prof. Hagop Ohanessian is one of the best instructors at Fresno State because his courses are well organized and very interesting. He was among the first people to encourage me to pursue a Minor in Armenian Studies. On the other hand, Professor Barlow Der ...

Michael Mazman Staff Writer “Coming from a relatively poor background, it feels like a privilege to serve a community like this because you know that you are planting a seed that is going to grow.” Dr. Vartuhi Tonoyan, professor of entrepreneurship and management in the Craig School of Business, has found a home at Fresno State after traveling across the ...

Dustin Vartanian Staff Writer “Unfortunately, we did nothing to avoid this disastrous war.” These are the words of political analyst and author Tatul Hakobyan. Eight months have passed since the war between the Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan began on September 27, 2020 and the Republic of Armenia also finds itself in the middle of a political crisis. On Saturday ...

Christine Pambukyan Staff Writer “Often times, when we think about the Armenian Genocide, we think about destruction, death, deportations, and ultimately… a narrative of massacres. … In that kind of narrative, the role played by Armenian deportees in pushing back against the genocidal policies, in resisting these actions, is often understudied or altogether ignored,” explained Dr. Khatchig Mouradian, Armenian and ...

Sara Beberian Staff Writer “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you” – Matthew 7:12. This well-known verse is the opening to the film “The Last Inhabitant,” which tells the story of an Armenian man Abgar, his daughter Yurga, and their Azerbaijani neighbor Ibrahim in Artsakh. Members of the local Fresno community had the opportunity to watch ...

Michael Rettig Special to Hye Sharzhoom This article initially was published in the March 11, 2021 issue of The Armenian-Mirror Spectator and is being republished with their permission. It was one year ago this March that the world ground to a halt in order to slow the rapidly spreading COVID-19 virus. Institutions and organizations around the world were forced to ...

Michael Mazman Staff Writer With the signing of the ceasefire agreement between Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan on November 9, 2020, several historically Armenian regions of Artsakh were surrendered to Azerbaijan – leaving thousands of monuments exposed and in danger of defacement and destruction. With these historic Christian sites in the hands of the Azeris, the risk of further “de-Armenization” in ...