1998_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 1998

              December 1998
Hye Sharzhoom-20th Anniversary
3
Hye Profile - David Emerzian
Occupation: Student, Student Body President
Born: 8-24-76
Major: Business Administration - Accounting
Why I decided to run for ASB President: I wanted to give back to my university and I saw this as a
chance to do that. There was a clear problem and I wanted to be part of the solution.
What I enjoy most about being ASB President: When I can help people get more involved on campus
and with the university.
My most embarrassing moment was:
When I fell twenty feet off a ski lift
because I wasn't paying attention. The
lift stopped and everyone was laughing at
me.
The person who had the most impact
on my life:
That would be my father because he set a
good example of what is right and wrong.
Favorite Movie: Rocky I and II
Favorite Food: Souborag (Armenian
Cheese Pastry)
Favorite Vacation Activity: Sleeping
Favorite Sport: Basketball
Favorite Hobby: Nintendo 64
Best Gift I ever received: Life
Fondest Memory: Watching my brother
graduate from high school.
What I want to do when I finish my schooling: Be the Commissioner of the NBA.
David Emerzian is a senior at California State University, Fresno. He has been very active on-
campus and is a member of the Armenian Students Organization. Last May he was elected as President
of the Associated Students Incorporated (Student Body). Since then he has done a great job representing
the students and getting them more involved. David has a lot of ambition and is dedicated to accomplishing whatever responsibility he takes. He is a wonderful representative, not only for Fresno State, but of
the entire Armenian community.
Armenian Quiz
By Michael Harutinian
Staff writer
1. Who developed the Soviet Mig?
A) Artem Mikoyan
B) Mikayel Kinosyan
C) Arthur Mamikonyan
2. Who was the football coach for Notre Dame during the
1960's?
A) Jerry Tarkanian
B) Wayne Koligian
C) AraParseghian
3. Who is the only Armenian king buried in France?
A) Levon VI
B) Dickran the Great
C) Levon IV
4. Who was the most heavily decorated Marine Corps officer
in World War II?
A) Lt. Armen Connors
B) Capt. Victor Maghakian
C) Major Jack Arakelian
5. He was an Armenian-American general in Karabagh:
A) Razmik Krikorian
B) George Manoogian
C) Monte Melkonian
6. What is the name of Armenia's national military cemetery?
A) Masis-Ararat cemetery
B) Yerablour
C) Forest lawn
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News about Armenia
" Prague,'23 November 1998
(RFE/RL) — A leading global
economic information and consulting firm has released updated
macroeconomic data on former
Soviet republics and Eastern European countries.
WEFA, a U.S. based company that provides information to
global financial firms, bases the
surveys on reports from .official
national statistical agencies as well
as multi-national institutions like
the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The firm also has a staff of
more than 200 economists and
researchers who correct the official economic indicators for
anomalies. WEFA's clients use
the data to guide their decisions on
investments and possible business
ventures.
The following is a country-
by-country breakdown on some
key economic indicators issued
this week by WEFA. All numbers
are positive unless otherwise indicated (by word 'minus').
ARMENIA
Change in real GDP (Jan-
July 1998 from Jan-July 1997)8.7
percent. Change in industrial production (Jan-Sept 1998 from Jan-
Sept 1997) 0.6 percent. Change in
industrial production (Jan-Sept
1998 from Jan-Sept 1997) 0.6 percent. Change in consumer prices
(Dec. 1997 to May 1998) 4.1 percent, or a monthly average of about
0.8 percent. Unemployment rate
(June 1998) 8.3 percent. Total exports (Jan-June 1998) $120 million. Total imports (Jan-June 1998)
$407 million. Trade balance (Jan-
June 1998) minus $288 million
Exchange rate (Nov 13, 1998)
516.04 drams per dollar. External
debt (year end 1997) $668.5 million. Gold and foreign exchange
reserves (Aug 1998) $328 million.
YEREVAN, Nov 26 (Reuters) -
Armenia on Thursday accepted a new proposal for peace
talks with Azerbaijan over the
mountainous Karabakh region,
over which the two sides fought a
six-year war that killed at least
35,000.
But Azerbaijan, which rejected the proposal from the
Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) a
month ago, again said it found the
plans unacceptable.
A ceasefire between the
sides has held for four years but
there is shooting around at the
front lines.
Armenian foreign minister
Vardan Oskanyan told journalists
his country backed the proposal,
which includes renewing peace
talks over the region under a loose
set of principles calling for
Azerbaijan and Karabakh to form
a "common state."
The government ofthe self
proclaimed independent Karabakh
region populated by ethnic Armenians, which broke away from
Azerbaijan' s rule a decade ago and
declared its eventual goal was
union with Armenia, also said it
was ready to start talks under the
proposed framework.
Both Oskanyan and
Karabakh foreign minister Naira
Melkumyan said they still had reservations about some of the
OSCE's proposed terms, which
could be discussed during talks.
Rouben Mamoulian-Centenary of His Birth
By Matthew Maroot
Staff Writer
When discussing promi
nent motion picture di
rectors in today's day
and age we often hear names like
Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford
Coppola, or Martin Scorcese. Take
that discussion back several decades and the conversation quickly
changes. You're likely to hear
names such as Ernst Lubitsch, Fritz
Lang, and undoubtedly, Rouben
Mamoulian.
To honor the centenary of
Mamoulian's birth, the Armenian
Studies Program at California State
University, Fresno, offered a course
entitled Armenian Studies 120T:
The Films of Rouben Mamoulian,
as a tribute to the career of this
magnificentdirector. In this course,
taught by Dr. Dickran Kouymjian,
Haig and Isabel Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies, students
watched fifteen of Mamoulian's
films, each and every one a masterpiece in its own right. Dr.
Kouymjian was invited to Yerevan
in October of 1997 by the Armenian Ministry of Culture and the
American University of Armenia
to present a ten-day film festival on
Rouben Mamoulian on the occasion of his centenary. "The excitement engendered by the twelve
Mamoulian feature films shown in
the Cinema House in the Armenian
capital was more than even the organizers expected. Audiences averaged 300 a showing and for many
days there were after screenings at
the AUA auditorium," said Dr.
Kouymjian. On his decision to
teach a film course strictly devoted
to   Mamoulian's   films,   Dr.
Kouymjian noted, "Mamoulian's
100th anniversary has passed essentially unremarked in the U.S.,
by Armenians and the American
film industry, it seemed important
and natural that I devoted my film
course to Mamoulian this year."
Born on October 8, 1898 in
Tiflis, Mamoulian began his early
studies at the Universities of Moscow and London, as well as the
Vakhtangov Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre. After arriving in
America, in 1923, Mamoulian began what would become a successful directing career, eventually on
Broadway. "Mamoulian was
called to Rochester New York by
George Eastman, the founder of
Kodak, to head up his American
Opera Theatre. Not yet 25 years
old, Mamoulian directed twelve
operas in three years, then went on
to a Broadway career, directing
again a dozen plays in the following three years," said Dr.
Kouymjian. After establishing
himself as a successful Broadway
director, Mamoulian was lured to
the big screen in 1929 by Jesse
Lasky and Walter Wanger of Paramount Studios.    The advent of
sound in the movie industry or
"talkies" as they came to be called,
created a big push for directors,
Mamoulian's immense talents also
made him a top choice. According
to Dr. Kouymjian, Mamoulian's
experience working with actors and
the theatre was impressive, thus
enabling him to simply apply what
he had learned in the theatre to
film.
Though Rouben
Mamoulian is responsible for directing some ofthe most renowned
actors and actresses in the history
of cinema, it is surprising to realize
that so few people remember him
today. "It is quite amazing how
quickly Rouben Mamoulian has
passed out ofthe public imagination. It's been almost ten years
since his death, and except for the
various articles last year in the press
in Armenia, little has been done to
mark either his 100th anniversary
orhismemory. Mamoulian's films
are such a pleasure to look at," said
Dr. Kouymjian.
Mamoulian's cinematic
achievements speak volumes for
his talents as a director. His films
are wide-ranging in scope varying
from horror to musicals. Each of
his films possesses a certain unique
quality, whether it be his impressionistic use of lighting, a captivating sense of realism, or dramatic
special effects, Mamoulian's films
were certainly ahead of their time.
And when considering all of the
technology at the disposal of directors today, one can come to appreciate Mamoulian's accomplishments even more. Rouben
Mamoulian, one of America's most
dynamic film directors, passed
away in 1987, in Beverly Hills.