1997_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 1997

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The Newspaper of the CSU, Fresno
Armenian Students Organization &
Armenian Studies Program
5245 N. Backer Ave. M/S 4
Fresno, CA 93740-8001
Address Service Requested
HYE SHARZHOOM
Armenian Action
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October 1997
Vol. 19, No. 1 (59)
Supplement to The Collegian
Opinion
Unity in the Armenian Church:
Will we live to see it?
By Arakel Arisian
For many years the Armenianpeoplehave been talking about
the reunification of the Armenian
Apostolic Church. The visits of
both Catholicoi to Fresno, in 1996,
were filled with words of unity and
cooperation between the'Diocese
and the Prelacy. Unfortunately, the
split still exists and many argue that
the gap between the two sides is
widening. The Armenian people
and their Church have endured
countless invasions and wars, a
genocide, uini a seventy year communist occupation. Surviving all
thai, thechurchstill binds the seven
million Armenians in the world together. Yet at the same time the
church itself is divided.
What many Armenians fail
to see is the nature of the division in
the Church. It has nothing to do
with beliefs or religious theology.
As His Holiness Aram I, Catholicos
of the Holy See of Cilicia notes,
"We are onepeople and onechuf eh,
but within that one and the same
church we have two jurisdictional
entities," Another misconception
about the split is that the disputes
over jurisdiction exist all over the
World, but in reality they only exist
in a few countries (United States,
Greece, Iran, and Syria.) Additionally, the division was not caused by
having two Catholicoi. The Armenian Church has had two, and as
many as three, Catholicoi since
144.1. The origins of the division
come from the conflict between
Armenians over the emergence of a
Soviet Armenia. None of that
should matter now that there is free
and independent Armenia.
So what stands between the
church and reunification? The Status Quo. Many people don't see a
reason to push unity. For them it
makes no. difference whether the
church has one administration or
two. The older generations have
grown up through the years of tension between the sides, making
them apprehensive of reunification.
Many people hold grudges and feel
that split is still justified. There
also is a vast majority of people
who like the idea of unity but at the
same time refuse to make the effort. Yet another issue, that ofthe
power structures, makes the situation more complicated. The fear
that one side or one person has to
lose power creates apower struggle.
All of the above mentioned hinder
the reunification process.
So why should wehave unity
See UNITY, Page 8
Armenian Students Organization Challenges
Young Armenians at Fresno State
Executive members of ASO: Standing(L to R.) Raffy Khorozian,
Treasurer; Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Advisor; Arakel Arisian,
President; Michael Harutinian, Historian; Seated-left,
Rita Aramian, Secretary; Sosi Thomassian, Vice-President.
By Arakel Arisian
ASO President
The Armenian Students Organization (ASO) is well into its 24th
year of existence. Coming off a
successful year, the newly elected
executive is focused and committed to making the organization even
better. The ASO of California State
University - Fresno was founded in
1974 in order to encourage students to learn and appreciate Armenian history, culture, heritage
and language. It is a forum for
Armenians to come together as a
cultural group regardless of political orientation, race, religion, or
national origin.
At the first meeting ofthe year
the following individuals were
elected: President-Arakel Arisian,
Vice President-Sosi Thomassian,
Secretary-Rita Aramian, Treasurer-
Raffy Khorozian, Historian-
Michael Harutinian. Since theelec-
tion the ASO has participated in
events such
as: a
fundraising
Car Wash,
Fresno State
football game,
and another
general meeting. The organization has
planned for
October: a
Shish Kebab
sale on October 14, 1997,
a celebration
of Armenian
Cultural
Month, and
will soon begin play in an
Intramural coed volleyball league.
Being that the ASO has so
many upcoming events and fun
activities die executive sees no reason that any Fresno State or FCC
student should not join. Fresno has
one of the larger Armenian communities and the University has a
large Armenian population. Therefore, it follows that the ASO should
have large membership. Unfortunately, membership is not as high
as it should be. This is because of
a number of reasons such as people
not knowing about the organization or people not thinking it is
See ASO, Page 7
Der Mugrdechian Reflects on Summer in Armenia
By Matthew Maroot
Staff Writer
On Sunday September 28,
1997, the lecture hall that many of
us here at Fresno State know as
Industrial Tech 101 was transformed into a beautiful scrapbook
of a summer spent in Armenia.
This illustrated presentation
titled, "Reflections on a Summer in
Armenia" was given by Professor
Barlow Der Mugrdechian of the
Armenian Studies Program.
Professor Der Mugrdechian
marked his eighth trip to Armenia
as a participant in the Marketing
Assistance Program or M.A.P.
which is run by the United States
Department of Agriculture. The
U.S.D. A. which is working in conjunction with the Fresno State Agriculture and Business departments
has established an office in Yerevan.
The focus of this project is to im-
A scene from Armenia looking at the ruined City of Ani
prove the Armenian Agricultural
Academy. Fresno State was
awarded the opportunity to mentor
the academy and has been doing so
for the last two years.
Professor Der Mugrdechian
took two trips to Armenia this summer. Once from May 25th through
July 1st and again from August 8th
to August 23rd, returning home
just before the start of the school
year.
The presentation began with a
brief look at the current state of the
Armenian Republic. Audience
members were given a sheet detailing Armenian's economy to date.
Armenia has a recorded population
of 3.6 million people, however, due
to harsh economic conditions any
where between 700,000 and
1,000,000 of these people have left
in the last three to four years. Much
of this hardship can be attributed to
the switch from a centralized
economy under Soviet rule to the
current status as a privatized
economy.
After mis introduction of the
current events in Armenia, Professor Der Mugrdechian began the
slide show portion ofthe presentation. Some of the sights presented
in the show included the Hotel Armenia in downtown Yerevan. At
the Hotel Armenia a room will cost
you between $30 and $ 100 depending upon which section ofthe hotel
you choose to stay in. The Hotel
Armenia is located in what was
formerly known as Lenin Square,
now known as Republic Square. It
was at this site that a statue of Lenin
See ARMENIA, Page 5
Inside Hye Sharzhoom
Letters ............Page 2
ASO Car Wash
........................Page 2
Gar abed's Suitcase
 ....Page 3
ASP Spring1998
Classes
..„„.♦. Page 3
Armenia Today
....................... Page 5
Oral History Project
Fall Lecture Series