2011_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 2011

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Hye Sharzhoom
October 2011
Review-System of A Down Reunites-But What
Might the Future Hold for the Armenian Band?
suren oganessian
Staff Writer
For fans of alternative rock,
perhaps the most anticipated
news of 2011 was that the band
"System of a Down" was going to
reunite for a world tour. The band
had disbanded in 2006, at what
may have been the very height of
their popularity to pursue other
endeavors. Fans instead had been
quenching their thirst for more
"System of a Down" by f ollowin;
the group's separate projects
since the split-up. Guitarist and
vocalist Daron Malakian and
drummer John Dolmayan went
on to form "Scars on Broadway,"
and Serj Tankian released two
solo albums. Although critically
acclaimed, their solo efforts never
made quite the dent that "System
of a Down" had made on the
mainstream rock scene, like the
five albums they had produced
together since 1998.
"Scars on Broadway" had
a somewhat different sound
from "System of a Down," with
Malakian on vocals. He did
provide background vocals on
"System of a Down's" last two
albums Mesmerize and Hypnotize,
making "Scars on Broadway"
more reminiscent of their later
work.
Serj Tankian'stwo solo albums,
Elect the Dead and Imperfect
Harmonies, have, on the whole, a
more melodic sound than most of
"System of a Down's" work, while
still containing some fast-paced
tracks as well. More notably, his
work lacks the absurdity of many
of "System of a Down's" tracks.
His songs often touch upon deeper
and more serious topics, such as
"Borders Are," a song about the
territorialism humanity engages
in, and "Yes, It's Genocide,"
a song done completely in the
Armenian language dedicated to
the Armenian Genocide.
In late 2010, "System of a
Down" finally announced its
reunion tour to great fanfare;
over the past summer they
toured Europe and western North
America. Currently, they are
touring South America, having
attended the famous Rock in Rio
festival on October 2, 2011.
But, is the reunion permanent?
The band has been very secretive
about its future plans, and has
been silent on the question of
whether or not they might release
a new album.
"We have no master plan
of sorts," said a statement on
their website, "we are playing
these shows simply because we
want to play together again as a
band and for you, our amazing
fans." As it is, Serj Tankian has
claimed in interviews to have
already penned songs for future
albums for his solo project, and
recently contributed a song to the
soundtrack of Batman: Arkham
City. So the future of "System of
a Down" after the tours is still a
mystery to everyone, except for
perhaps its members.
Eench Ga Chga?
Before taking an Armenian Studies course, what did
you know about Armenia or the Armenians?
Marine Vardanyan • Staff Writer
Henry Minh
Freshman
Armenian Studies 20-
Arts of Armenia
Before taking an Armenian
Studies course, all I knew was
that Armenia is a Christian
country, near Turkey. Now I
have learned about Armenia's
ancient history and I know
that they were one of the first
Christian nations and they
have some of the first Christian
churches.
Bryanna Becerril
Freshman
Armenian Studies 20-
Arts of Armenia
I had a friend in high school
who was Armenian but I
honestly didn't know much
about Armenians until taking
an Armenian Studies class.
The information I've learned
is completely new to me, for
instance how Armenian art
and architecture have great
detail is very amazing.
history that I never really
knew about. One interesting
thing I learned was the details
of the conversions of the
Armenians to Christianity.
Maggie Srmayan
Sophomore
Armenian Studies 10-
Intro. to Armenian Studies
I am Armenian, and I already
knew about modern Armenia,
but there's still a lot of
information about the ancient
Cody Rodriguez
Freshman
Armenian Studies 10-
Introduction to Armenian
Studies
Before taking the course,
all I knew was that Kim
Kardashian was Armenian.
Now that I've taken an
Armenian Studies course, I've
learned about the Armenian
Genocide and the strategy
the Ottoman Empire used to
attempt the elimination of the
Armenians.
Photos: Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Opinion-What Defines Being an
Armenian?
Tamar Karkazian
Editor
On a recent trip to Armenia
I found myself gazing out the
window, watching the beautiful
terrain of my homeland, and
reflecting upon the question: what
does it me an to be an "Armenian" ?
I couldn't quite come up with one
definition, one set of guidelines,
one concrete answer.
Looking around the bus, I
was surrounded by 14 unique
individuals, all with different
personalities, interests, and
hobbies, but with one common
link—being Armenian. It was
at that moment that I decided
that there isn't just one way to
prove how Armenian you are.
There isn't one characteristic that
defines your Armenian identity
but rather it's an attitude that
envelopes you.
Being Armenian isn't
necessarily how well you can
speak the language, how well
you can read or write Armenian,
how involved you are, or how
traditional your family is but rather
why you do those things. It's the
effort you make to maintain your
sense of Armenian identity. For
some people, maintaining that
sense of culture comes from the
language, for others it comes
from their involvement. Neither
is right or wrong; it just depends
on you, the individual, and how
you want to define yourself as an
Armenian.
Forme personally, I defined my
sense of Armenian identity with
my involvement in the Armenian
community. For my friend, it was
her sense of family, and yet for
others it was how well they have
Photo: ASP Archive
preserved the language.
Working with various
Armenian organizations over the
past several years, this question
of identity not only sparked my
interest but also my concern.
In our attempt to strengthen
and unify the Armenian people,
are we instead further dividing
ourselves?
To gain a better understanding
of other people's opinions on this
topic I asked members of different
organizations—ASO, ACYO,
and AYF—what their thoughts
were about being Armenian. I
found that despite the differences
in details they all shared the same
idea. In nearly every response I
got I found a common thread—a
sense of activeness in being
Armenian. Some groups felt this
"activeness" was expressed in
attitude, others in participation,
and yet others in the type of
work.
To me, it seems that often
times the Armenians, as a culture,
try so hard to define what it
means to be Armenian, to create
guidelines, that they fail to realize
that by doing so they are closing
themselves off from different
Armenians. We are often too
caught up in the details that we
forget the bigger picture; we are
all Armenian, we all love our
culture and our history, and we
are all trying to preserve and
maintain our culture.
My hope is that in the near
future, we can put these definitions
aside and realize that we all want
the same thing, and in order to
reach those goals we must come
together, as a people, and help
each other thrive.
At; Trainr, ■:, From Page 1
with an extensive overview of
fundamental agriculture issues in
Afghanistan.
"This training provides U.S.
government personnel with
agricultural knowledge and
country-specific issues that will
allow them to better implement
their mission of helping create
a more stable Afghanistan
through economic development,
governance and agricultural
sustainabiliry," explained Dr.
Erysian. "The ADAPT program
supports an emerging U.S. foreign
policy paradigm that promotes
the three D's, namely defense,
diplomacy, and development."
Since 80% of Afghanistan's
population is dependent upon
agriculture for its economic
livelihood, agricultural
development is essential
to    establishing    stable    rural
communities, creating
employment opportunities, and
reducing the threats of insurgency.
Anticipated trainees will include
the National Guard Agribusiness
Development Teams (ADT), U.S.
Army Civil Affairs, the Marine
Corps Civil Affairs detachments,
and US DA and US AID personnel
preparing for deployment to many
parts of Afghanistan.
Central California has
nearly identical agro-climatic
characteristics as Afghanistan
and therefore represents the
perfect location for this type of
training. Nearly all crops grown
in Afghanistan are also grown in
the San Joaquin Valley.
The workshops are designed
to be an integral part of a
broader training that all U.S.
government personnel receive
in preparation for serving in an
agricultural assistance capacity in
Afghanistan.