News

Denise Altounian Staff Writer The area that today comprises Eastern Turkey, holds both enduring and painful memories for Armenians. Many grew up listening to stories their grandparents and great-grandparents told about their lives in places such as Erzerum, Van, Kharpert and many other Armenian inhabited cities and towns within the Ottoman Empire. Unfortunately, the Genocide of 1915 brought a sudden ...

Andrew Esguerra Staff Writer As with many cultures that have a language largely unique to their ancestors, the Armenian alphabet and language helped create a unified cultural identity for the Armenian people and is often cited as a definitive factor in the formation of Armenian identity. Dr. Kevork Bardakjian, Marie Manoogian Professor of Modern Armenian Language and Literature, at the ...

Staff Report Armenian Studies Program Coordinator Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian announced that the Leon S. Peters Foundation has made a generous donation of $30,000 to the Armenian Studies Program at Fresno State. The gift will be used for a variety of activities, including scholarships, outreach activities, an Armenia summer study trip, and general support for the Program. Leon S. Peters ...

Staff Report Armenian Studies Program Coordinator Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian announced that the Thomas A. Kooyumjian Family Foundation has made a generous donation of $35,500 to the Armenian Studies Program and the Center for Armenian Studies. The gift will be used for a variety of activities, including outreach activities, special conferences, and scholarships. This is the fourth year of support ...

Marine Vardanyan Staff Writer One of the interesting aspects of Fresno State’s Armenian Studies Program includes the annual selection of a distinguished professor to visit and offer an Armenian Studies course related to modern Armenian history, including the Genocide of 1915, and the formation of the Armenian Republic. Students have the opportunity to take such a course and to gain ...

Ruzan Orkusyan Staff Writer As the fall semester comes to an end, the leaves have turned a beautiful array of warm red colors, the air is fresh with the smell of autumn, and professors continue to find joy in assigning countless term papers, giving quizzes and tests. Despite the chaos that ensues in the second half of the fall semester, ...

Andrew Esguerra Staff Writer On Sunday, October 14, members of the San Joaquin Valley Armenian community, and Fresno State students, faculty, and administrators, converged in the Henry Madden Library for a reception marking the official opening of the exhibit “The 500th Anniversary of Armenian Printing.” The event was sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program, the College of Arts and Humanities, ...

Suren Oganessian Staff Writer A frequent visitor to the Fresno State campus, Dr. Richard Hovannisian was invited by the Armenian Studies Program to deliver an informative lecture, “Armenian Smyrna” on Friday, October 5, about the terrible inferno that destroyed the Armenian and Greek sections of the city of Smyrna/Izmir in 1922. Dr. Hovannisian is Professor Emeritus of Armenian and Near ...

Editor Tamar Karkazian Layout Barlow Der Mugrdechian Photographers Barlow Der Mugrdechian Erica Magarian Staff Writers Denise Altounian Armen Arikian Andrew Esguerra Tatevik Hovhannisyan Suren Oganessian Ruzan Orkusyan Emma Shaljyan Marine Vardanyan Advisor Barlow Der Mugrdechian barlowd@csufresno.edu

Suren Oganessian Staff Writer The cycle of life on Earth revolves around the sea. Each breath we take, each bite we eat, is all thanks to the sea. It’s easy to forget this when one lives on the land. I only started thinking about it when I moved close to the sea. I walk to the beach again, past the ...