1991_12 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper December 1991

              The Newspaper of the California State University, Fresno
Armenian Students Organization and Armenian Studies Program
Fresno, CA 93740
Address Correction Requested
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Fresno, CA
4.U.3 eu.nd-nMr
Hye Sharzhoom
December 1991
Volume 13, No. 2
Supplement to the Daily Collegian
Zeytountsian, Saroyan headline
6th Annual ASP Banquet
By Armen Aghishian
Staff Writer
The California State University, Fresno
Sarkis and Meline" Kalfayan Center for
Armenian Studies and Armenian Studies
Program (A.S.P.) held their sixth annual
banquet on S unday, October 27 at the residence dining facility with nearly 300 people
in attendance. This year's special guests
were his excellency Berj Zeytountsian,
Minister of Culture of the Republic of
Armenia and Lucy Saroyan, daughter of
writer William Saroyan.
Dr. Dickran Kouymjian, director of the
Kalfayan Center and Haig and Isabel
Berberian Professor of Armenian Studies
was master of ceremonies. The event also
honored and recognized the student recipients of ASP scholarships.
After the Very Reverend Father Muron
Aznikian, Dean of the Holy Trinity Apostolic Church, gave the invocation, Dr.
Kouymjian thanked everyone for the
quality of their participation within the
A.S.P. Dr. Kouymjian stated that, 'The
University's goal is to feach the students -
they are the most important - our future."
He then acknowledged the over thirty
students present by asking them all to
stand.
CSUF President Dr. John Welty, in his
first year as President, was attending his
first A.S.P. banquet. In his remarks he acknowledged that even though there is much
financial trouble on campus(referring to
the budget problems), that, "we celebrate
what is possible" and closed with an uplifting comment, "the future is bright
because we understand the importance of
education." In addition to the President,
the acting Vice President for Academic
Affairs, Dr. Alex Gonzalez, and the Deans
Late breaking
news:
CSUF financial crisis
may lead to faculty
layoff in the Armenian Studies Program in the spring
1992 semester.
Details in
next issue
of the Schools of Arts and Humanities,
Business, and Social Sciences were present. Many faculty from the Department of
Foreign Languages and Literatures were
present including Chairman Dr. Jose Elgor-
riaga. What made the evening special was
also the many friends of the Armenian
Studies Program who had traveled from
San Francisco and Los Angeles to be present at the dinner.
Berj Zeytountsian has written a total
of twelve books, plays, and novels. One of
his books concerns Soghomon Telerian,
the young man who in 1921 shot and killed
Talaat Pasha. Following Dr. Welly's
remarks, Berj Zeytountsian, in the U.S. on
a grant sponsored by AT & T, spoke about
recent events in Armenia. During the first
part of his speech, which was in Armenian, he stated that he was delighted to be
in Fresno, a city he referred to as "little
Armenia." He expressed his jubilation for
Armenia's recendy aquired independence
and popular election and, was specifically
proud of Levon Der Bedrosian's victory
as the first popularly elected President of
Armenia.
The second part of his lecture was in
English and Zeytountsian called for the
resignation of Mikhail Gorbachev who, as
he put it, "is the only one to blame for the
problems in the Soviet Union, specifically
in the Azerbaijan/Nagomo-Karabagh region." He said, 'The events that took
place in August of 1991 took place because of Gorbachev's actions. Recent
events exposed his policies and he was a
victim and also a cause of those events. It
is time for Gorbachev to yield to other
progressive leaders. Human rights violations continue against the Armenians of
Please see ASP Banquet, page 8
From left to right: Lucy Saroyan, Berj Zeytountsian, Dr. Dickran Kouymjian,
and Roxie Moradian at the Fresno Metropolitan Museum.
Armenian Earthquake
remembered three years later
# Library display depicts
the destruction caused
by the 1988 Earthquake
In rememberance of the December 7,
1988 Armenian earthquake, the ASO
prepared and organized an exhibitofphotos
depicting the effect of the tragic and destructive act of nature. The display can be
seen from now to the end of the semester
on the second floor of the Henry Madden
Library.
The devastating eight point plus
tremor, whose epicenter was located near
the cities of Leninakan and Spitak resulted
in the deaths of at least 100,000 people.
According to one ASO member who
helped organize the display, "The purpose
of our display is to give everyone a chance
to see how intense and destructive this
widespread quake actually was."
Armen Aprahamian, who viewed the
display, said, "The display was awesome
- very direct - and carried a very emotional
and touching feeling."
The approximately 20 photos depict
the earthquake and its effects on not only
the land, but also its people.
Inside Hye Sharzhoom
Armenian Myths
0 Take a look at some of the "not-so" enduring
stereotypes of Armenians. Page 2.
Hye Profile
0)   Sarkis Kalfayan, Chairman of the Kalfayan
Center for Armenian Studies Advisory Board, is
profiled. Page 4.
An Infatuation With Armenians
9 Find out what prompted a Japanese
exchange student to enroll in Armenian
Studies courses. Page 5.
Index
Editorials
Page 2
Letters
Page 2
Campus Hyes
Page 3	
Simon
Paze3
Hye Profile
Page 4	
Local Activities
Page 5	
More Trivia
Page 6
THE ARMENIAN
EARTHQUAKE:
A LOOK BACK
The following photo was part
of the CS UF library display.
The earthquake struck
at 11:41 a.m.
Within 60
seconds over
400,000
Armenians
died.