1989_09 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper September 1989

              Page 4 FEATURES
Hve SharzJioom
September 1989
Summer picnics of Fresno
adds refreshing change
By Jonelle Garo
Staff Writer
Summertime brings so many
wonderful things; a break from school,
vacations on the beach, or maybe that
three month job for a little spending
money. While all of these activities
are relaxing and vital to maintain our
sanity throughout the year, there is
nothing that can renew our spirits of
culture better than the Armenian
picnics in Fresno.
A Sunday afternoon under the fan-
cooled patio at the Armenian Home for
the Aged is the usual site for these
gatherings.
While temperatures push the century
mark, hundreds of people gather for
food, fun, and fellowship sponsored
by the various Central Valley
Armenian churches and organizations.
Every member of the churches and
groups that host these picnics is an
intricate part of the weekend event
Their enthusiasm is directly related to
its success.
All of the Armenian delicacies
prepared are always by skilled hands
that have inherited the traditional
flavors of our foods. The men are a
vital part to this operation since the
destiny of our shish-kebob is in their
hands.
The pilaf is perfect with the
vermicelli browned just to that toasted
hue, along with the tangy vinegar and
oil dressing that tops the salads. Also,
the subtle sweetness of the freshly
baked peda bread, accompanied with
sesame seeds, is the draw to the
delicious lulu burgers.
Beside the traditional food, culture
is probably the most prominent drive
of the Armenian people today. This
idea is magnified with the many
activities offered at these functions.
One of these cultural activities is
tavloo. The players are all skilled with
. the shaking of the dice and the moves
on the board.
If you are not an expert at tavloo,
there is always the cultural dancing
taking place to the music of a popular
Armenian band. True Armenian
dancing involves older ladies and men
passing on the age-old steps to the
younger generations. With a scarf in
hand and pinkies joined, the leader
proceeds in a circle making distinct
movements with each song.
There is also plenty to do for the
children who attend too. The wide-eye
youth usually are found sucking on
snow cones that are slowly melting
down their arms, building up at their
elbows from which it plummets to that
unexpecting pant leg or shoe that will
soon be bathed in the red sticky juice.
Those children who lack in attention
spans are out playing tag on the large
grass area next to the patio.
Whatever the case maybe - food,
dancing, tavloo, snow cones -they are
all major attractions to the picnics.
The Armenian culture has a very rich
background with its traditional
upbrings; picnics are just another way
to reaffirm those acts and celebrate our
heritage with fellow Armenians.
Campus "Hye" Profile
Armenian spirit strong
Three Armenian students on the
CSUF campus were asked to express
their views regarding the following
question: "The Armenian Spirit
has survived many tragedies,
tears,    fears, and     triumphs
throughout the past generations. Where do you feel the
Armenian Spirit in America is
headed with the up-and-coming
generation?
JANICE CAPRIELIAN
Age: 18
Year In School: Freshman
Major: Business Administration;
Marketing
Janice is active in Holy Trinity
Armenian Church in Fresno. There she
serves as an ordained scripture reader
and sings in the choir.
The Armenian Spirit will be long
lived through my generation because I,
as an active Armenian Christian in the
church and outside of the church in the
Armenian community, feel that it's my
duty to carry out the Armenian Spirit
that has lasted so many years.
(The following students have replied
to the question together)
PAM MANOOGIAN
Age: 18
Year In School: Freshman
Major: Business
Pam is active in the Armenian
Church Youth Organization of the St.
Paul Armenian Church in Fresno. She
is a life member of CSF.
GINA MOORIDIGIAN
Age: 18
Year In School: Freshman
Major: Psychology
Gina is also active in the Armenian
Church Youth Organization of the St.
Paul Armenian Church in Fresno. She
is a life member of CSF.
As long as the Armenian youth
keeps involved in Armenian activities, we feel the spirit will survive
forever.
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Hye Sharzhoom
)shagan
Oshagon helps students
with public relations
By Sheri Hokokian
Staff Writer
It's good for students to know their
language and to understand their
culture for the purpose of identity, said
Dr. Emma Oshagan, an instructor from
the CSUF Department of Journalism.
As an Armenian, Oshagan supports
the Armenian Studies Program because
it's educating students about the long
history of their existence. It's also
helping the younger generation to
learn about their self. An important
factor, she said, is the increased self-
respect and self-esteem, which is
significant in identifying with a
cultural group.
"I have lots of experience that I can
share with my students," said
Oshagan, which is why student's
education and their future is important
to her.
After working as a public relations
practitioner, she prefers teaching.
Most of her students aim to get a basic
public relations career going and then
want to work as an independent
practioncr. Since she teaches from a
theoretical background, Oshagan feels
it's her responsiblity to give them a
good foundation and expose them to
the different fields, so they can select
what is best for themself.
She has always seen herself as an
instructor. "Education has no end for
me, Oshagan said. She added that it's
stimulating to work with young
people because their minds are filled
with many new ideas.
Educators have an important role
and a major responsibility. "We are
preparing our students for their careers
and futures," said Oshagan
Being in news profession, Oshagan
felt that the media coverage was fair
and sympathetic for the Armenian
earthquake. She felt is was a humanitarian devastation because thousands
of human beings perished. However,
she added, just like with any other
issue or outbreak, the media quickly
forgets about it.
The American media places more
emphasis on bad news, said Oshagan.
Any kind of abrupt or dramatic
occurrence will attract more coverage
than good news. She said that the
rebuilding in Armenia won't attract the
viewer's immediate attention, so it
doesn't receive coverage.
Oshagan stresses that as Armenian's
we shouldn't depend on American
media for information. She said it's the
Armenian community's responsibility
to find out what's happening in
Armenia and keep the American's
informed.
She is proud to see that "we" as
Armenian's" have reached a good
status and obtained political influence
in California. Oshagan likes living in
Fresno because there is a nice
Armenian communiy, in comparison
to living in Los Angeles, where
Armenian's are more dispersed.
Oshagan, born in Bagdad, Iraq, grew
up in Beirut where she earned her B.A.
at the Beirut College for Women. She
obtained her M.A. in Psychology at
the American University of Beirut
She came to the U.S. as a Fulbright-
Hays Scholar on a sabbatical from
Beirut, in order to work on her Ph.D. at
the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Upon completion of her Ph.D., she
was supposed to return to Beirut;
however, problems    were starting to
worsen there so she didn't go back.
Prior to teaching at CSUF for the
past four years, she taught at
California State University, Fullerton
and Memphis State University.
Related to the communciations area,
Oshagan has done a wide variety of
international travelling to observe the
interaction between different ethnic
groups. She has focused on assimilation and cultural problems.
Oshagan is a mother of two sons.
Her older son, Haig, followed his
mother's foot steps and earned a Ph.D.
at the University of Wisconsin. He's
currently teaching at the University of
Michigan. Her younger son, Ara, is
finishing his M.A. in physics at
Berkeley.
Jim Karagozian
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