1989_03 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper March 1989

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Hye Sharzhoom
^The NfcjvsDaoer of the California State Universitv. Fresno Armen
The Newspaper of the California State University, Fresno Armenian
Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program
Volume 10, No. 2 Supplement to the Daily Collegian
Address,
Correction
Requested
Non-Profit Org.
U.S. Postage
PAID
Permit No. 262
Haig and Isabel Berberian Endowed Chair
in Armenian Studies Established at CSUF
By Barlow Der Mugrdechian
Advisor
The establishment of the Haig and
Isabel Berberian Endowed Chair of
Armenian Studies at California State
University, Fresno was announced by
CSUF President Dr. Harold H. Haak at a
reception held in his home, Wednesday
evening, December 14, 1988. The drive
was initiated two years earlier by Dr.
Dickran Kouymjian, Director of the
Armenian Studies Program.
The fund raising campaign to support
an endowed chair in Armenian Studies at
California State University, Fresno
surpassed its goal of $300,000 with
pledges and gifts totaling more than
$430,000. Dr. Haak disclosed that the
largest single committment to the goal,
$151,000 came from Dr. Arnold and Mrs.
Dianne Gazarian of Fresno and that the
chair will be named in honor of Dianne
Gazarian's parents, Mrs. Isabel Berberian
and the late Haig Berberian of Modesto.
Dr. Haak commented at the reception
that, "The Haig and Isabel Berberian Chair
-—•-■■ of Armenian Studies was supported by
hundreds of those who care about the role
of the Armenian Studies Program at this
university. Through our teaching we play
a critical part in the preservation of
Armenian culture, language, and history.
Especially at a time of great sorrow in
Soviet Armenia because of the earthquake,
this serves as affirmation of the continuity
.    . of the Armenian heritage."
In commenting on their gift, Dr.
Gazarian said, "We are fortunate to be able
to give back to the community, through
this gift to the university, some of what
we have enjoyed. Obviously, as members
of the Armenian community, this program
has particular importance to us."
Dr.   Kouymjian   said,   "During   my
twelve years with the Armenian Studies
Program on this campus, we have enjoyed
support from the Armenian communitv in
Fresno, and around the country. But this
endowed chair means a perpetual level of
financial support for the work of a faculty
member. It reflects too, the high regard of
the Armenian community for education in
general and for the work of this university
in particular. Having met Haig and Isabel
Berberian, it is a personal honor to accept
this named endowment for the Armenian
Studies Program."
The Haig and Isabel Chair of Armenian
Studies is the first endowed chair at CSUF
and only the second in a School of
Humanities in the entire nineteen campus
California State University system. It is
the seventh endowed chair in Armenian
Studies in the United States and CSUF
joins Harvard, Columbia, UCLA, and the
University of Michigan as universities
which house endowed chairs.
Dr. Kouymjian was the instrumental
force behind the campaign and it was
through his diligent efforts as well as
those of Barlow Der Mugrdechian,
Lecturer in the Program that the fund
raising reached the goal set Hye
Sharzhoom, the official newspaper of the
Armenian Students Organization and the
Armenian Studies Program, and in its
tenth year of publication, was also critical
to the success of the drive as it kept its
local, national, and international readership
abreast of the accomplishments of the
Program and its students throughout the
years.
The campaign for the endowed Chair
began in December 1986 at the annual
dinner of Armenian Studies which that
year honored the selection of Dr.
Kouymjian as the 1986 Outstanding
Professor of the Year at the university. At
that banquet donations from the CSUF
Armenian Students Organization, the
National Institute for Armenian Culture,
the Armenian Alumni Association, and
the Armenian National Committee of
Fresno were made. Later, two major
donations were received, a $20,000 gift
See Endowment, page 6
John Garabedian of Fresno
Pledges $100,000 to Chair
Full story in our next issue
Karabagh Update
Hye Sharzhoom Staff
As reported in Hye Sharzhoom's last
issue, the days immediately following the
disastrous Armenian earthquake of
December 7,1989, were filled with reports
of the attempts of Soviet authorities to
take advantage of the situation. Specifically, Soviet authorities undertook to
repress the Karabagh movement and its
leaders the Karabagh Committee. During
the months of December and January the
leaders of the movement were arrested and
many of these have been transferred to
Moscow where they await trial. What
crime were they charged with? According
to reliable sources from within Armenia
the charges center on "organizing group
actions which violate the public order,
violating the public order in meetings and
demonstrations; and violating the equality
of rights of nationalities and races."
It is difficult to see how the public order
was violated by the entirely peaceful
meetings held in Armenia over the past
year. The demonstrations were never a
threat to the order of the system and in fact
Armenians often went to extreme lengths
to make sure that no one would respond to
the provocations caused by the arrival of
Soviet troops.
Were leaders of the riots in Azerbaijan
so swiftly detained? Why did it take three
days for Soviet authorities to respond to
the massacres in Sumgait and prevent
further Armenian deaths? And Armenians
are arrested for violating the equality of
nationalities and races?
The Karabagh Committe had been a
leader in the meetings held in the Opera
square, in the center of Yerevan, calling
for a variety of actions, including the
prompt disposition in the cases of the
criminals involved in the Sumgait
see Karabagh, page 2
Left to Right: Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, Director   of the Armenian Studies
Program, Mrs. Dianne Gazarian, Dr. Arnold Gazarian, and CSUF President
Dr. Harold Haak.
Hye Sharzhoom Staff
Largest in Years
By Paulette Kasparian
Editor
The Spring 1989 Hye Sharzhoom staff
is one of the largest it has been in several
semesters. Close to ten students have
organized themselves into writers, photographers, editors, and advertising managers, with Professor Barlow Der
Mugrdechian overseeing as the advisor.
The Hye Sharzhoom, official publication of the CSUF Armenian Studies
Program, prides itself on original stories
regarding Armenians on campus, in our
community and abroad. The paper is
published two to three times a semester as
a minority supplement of the Daily
Collegian, with this year marking its 10th
Anniversary.
However, as the Armenian Studies Program celebrates this outstanding accomplishment, it is already looking onto the
future. In order to keep the publication
alive, staff people are always in demand.
Staff meetings, to brainstorm new ideas
and review stories, are held every Friday in
the Bedrosian Conference room #390 of
the Peter's Business Building at 2:00 p.m.
All those interested in getting involved are
welcome to attend these meetings. If you
don't have time to be on the staff, then
still feel free to contribute an article
associated with Armenian events. Turn
this article into the Hye Sharzhoom box
located in the Collegian office. The staff
will review it and consider it for
publication.
Every little bit helps to assure the next
ten years of the Hye Sharzhoom.
High School Students
To Visit Campus
By Kristi Harmandarian
Staff Writer
High school students from thirteen
surrounding area schools have been invited
by the CSUF Armenian Students
Organization to attend a planned lectu.e on
Monday, April 24th, at 12:00 p.m. Guest
speaker for the event will be Dr. Richard
Hovanessian, Professor of Armenian History at the University of California, Los
Angeles, who will be speaking on the
topic of The Armenian Genocide:
Remembrance and Denial.
An orientation and tour of the
university will be held an hour before the
lecture for those students attending.