1984_11 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper November 1984

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Hye Sharzhoom
November, 1984
Opportunity for unity: ASO shows versatility
By Vahe K. Messerlian
Politics. Speakers. Dances. Picnics. Culture. Heritage. Religion. Films. Sports.
You name it — we've got it.
The Armenian Students Organization
has always offered an array of activities
for California State University, Fresno
students. It has the reputation as one of
the most diverse organizations on campus. Throughout the years the ASO like
all organizations has been subject to
trends. Several years ago, it could have
been a culturally inclined group. Four or
five years ago, it might have been viewed
as the most political organization on
campus. Last year, social events were
emphasized with parties and dances of
every size and shape.
Whatever the activities of the ASO may
be for any given year, however, the group's
main objectives have always remained the
same — to create a general Armenian
awareness on campus. From its inception,
the intent of the organization has been to
provide a place where Armenians can
come together and share their common
heritage. As one ASO member succinctly
put it, "We want to unite Armenians in an
otherwise disunited community." A vital
part of this belief is the publication of Hye
Opinion
a
By Randy Baloian
nnocence
>i
It is common practice these days to
ascribe the term of innocence to a Turkish
government official who has been assassinated by Armenian militants, w/hereupon
I never fail to hear that apologetic line,
"He wasn't even born during the time of
the massacres." But let's take- a closer
look at this application of innocence.
In this country we have a law which
states - in so many words-that any person
who conceals a crime is guilty of being an
accomplice.
Now assume for the moment we forget
the Genocide Convention of the United
Nations, which states that the guilty party
in the crime of genocide is the perpetuating
state. (State being defined as a politically
organized body of people occupying a
definite territory. That is, the state continues even though it's government may
change.) By the way, the Genocide Convention has been signed by Turkey.
For the moment, let us also forget that
the Turkish government is presently carrying out a policy of cultural genocide on
the Armenian and Kurdish peoples within
Turkey. A policy that has imprisoned
Reverend Manuel Yergatian for 14 years
because of "evidence" proving he undermined the Turkish government. The so
called evidence amounted to a map of
Armenia and on April 24th lecture given
in Jerusalem. (Hayasdan, July 1983)
Let us instead devote our thoughts to
the idea of the Turkish government as an
accomplice to the crime of 1915.
Currently, the Turkish government is
financing a movement to reinterpret Turkish
history, more specifically to distort the
events ot the 1915 genocide. Take for
instance Stanford Shaw's book, History
of the  Ottoman  Empire and  Modern
Turkey, 1808-1975 (1977). In it Shaw
contends that the events of 1915-1918
were nothing more than misfortunes of
war. He also accounts for the death of
only 200,000 Armenians, while holding
the Armenians responsible for the mas-
sacare of thousands of Muslim lives. In
the future such distortions of history will
no doubt increase, due to the backing of
the Turkish government.
Armenians are no longer faced with a
Turkish government content to sit idly by.
Now, it is making an effort to sell its
warped version of history — or at least
instill doubt about the events of 1915 -
1918 — to the historians of the world.
As individuals there is no question that
the assassinated Turkish officials are innocent of the crime of 1915. It seems
obvious they had nothing to do with the
murder of Armenians in 1915-1918. However, as representatives of a government
which blatantly denies and conceals the
massacare of 1.5 million humans; I believe
they can be considered nothing less than
guilty.
We are sometimes led to" believe that
individuals are only responsible for their
personal actions. But as a member of an
organization, an individual's responsibility
does not cease to exist. In most cases, an
individual — who is part of an organization — accepts some of the responsibilities of that organization by overtly
representing it.
I am not condoning the assassination of
Turkish officials, but merely pointing out
some considerations people tend to forget.
I've always felt the ascriptions of guilt and
innocence are dependent upon individual
values and beliefs. However, a clearer
understanding of the issues can only serve
to improve the evaluation of this ascription.
Sharzhoom, now in its sixth year of
publication. The paper, distributed nationally and internationally to 25 countries,
continues to be a driving force in striving
for improved communication in the Armenian
community.
This year, the ASO seems to have a
multi-faceted outlook, incorporating many
aspects of Armenian and campus community life. It feels that although culture
and heritage are very important, other
activities should not be left out of the
club's schedule. One of these new dimensions is the recent addition of the sports
program. In the last two years, ASO has
fielded soccer, volleyball, and football
teams in CSUF's Intramural Sports Program.
The ASO is oriented not only toward
Armenian students as the name might
imply, but toward all students with interests in Armenian issues and culture. "We
have always encouraged non-Armenians
to participate in the ASO and Armenian
Studies," said Dr. Dickran Kouymjian,
Chairman of the CSUF Armenian Studies
Program. Kouymjian stated that students
should be exposed to the richness of
Armenia's past, because Armenians have
played such a vital role in the development
of the San Joaquin Valley.
The ASO is also a unique creature
among organizations within the Armenian community. While many of the Armenian groups are built along either political or religious lines, the Armenian Students Organization has no built-in policies.
"The only two common denominators are
that we are university students and we are
Armenian," an ASO spokesperson said.
"We believe that this is the only place where
we can have free intellectual dialogue discussing Armenian issues without any political or religious constraints."
Last year's activities included a Halloween party, picnics, dances, parties and
participation in the Vintage Days "Boom-
town Carnival." ASO co-sponsored the
premiere showings of three films in Fresno:
the late Yilmez Gunay's "Yol;" Elia
Kazan's Academy Award-winning "America,
America;" and "Hour of the Grey Horse,"
a profile on terrorism by Nigol Bezjian.
The organization participated in such
cultural events as Ethnic Studies Day
hosted by the Ethnic Studies Department,
an Armenian dance seminar conducted by
Tom Bozigian, and a Cultural Day sponsored by the Armenian Relief Society and
attended by over 1,000 students from
Fresno elementary and middle schools. In
addition, Dr. Hrair Dekmejian of the
State University of New York lectured in a
public forum held on April 24,1984. ASO
has also had numerous exciting fund-
raising shish-kebab sales in Fresno State's
Free Speech Area.
In October, the ASO held a get-acquainted picnic for new students to start off-the
year, with all the shish-kebab and kheyma
you could eat. Last week, an inquisitive
group of one hundred students, faculty,
and community members heard His Beatitude Archbishop Shnork Kaloustian, Patriarch of Constantinople discuss present
day conditions of the Armenian community in Turkey in the CSUF Residence Dining Hall. In the near future, ASO is antici-
• See ASO, Page 6
Enrollment
Continued from page 1
Karamanlian eventually came to California State University, Fresno, where he
is presently in his third year as a language
professor. He has also taught French at
CSUF. When asked about the increased
enrollment, he excitedly replied, "I like it
— it's a big challenge for me." Karamanlian went on to say, "The Armenian-
Americans have a great feeling toward the
mother language, and because it's difficult
to learn at home, they take these classes."
One student proclaimed, "I want to
learn my native tongue."
Kouymjian emphasized this and added
that students can, in fact, "learn to read,
write, and speak Armenian in one year."
He also attributes the program enrollment
surge to "word of mouth" and the fact that
the classes fulfill General Education requirements.
III fit 111111B i 111II i11111111 111
"/■ want to learn
my native tongue."
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Although the Armenian students on
campus number almost 500, an enrollment of 100 is generally considered very
good. An enlightening note is that a third
of the Armenian Studies students are non-
Armenian, showing that the Armenian
Studies Program has made its mark in the
university curriculum. There is a clear
indication that students are becoming
more interested in the Armenians.