May 2009 • Vol. 30, No. 4 (106)
Armenian Students Organization Commemorates April 24-Armenian Genocide in Free Speech Area
The Arax Dancers performed two dances, "Moush," and "Adana, dedicated to the memory of the Armenian Genocide
Friday,
April 24, marked the 94th commemoration of the Armenian Genocide, and Armenians
all over the world came together to remember
the past, even as students of Fresno State’s
Armenian Students Organization (ASO) held their own commemorative event.
Students fromFresno
State, both Armenian and
non-Armenian, and members of the community, came together in the Free Speech
area, not only to remember
and reflect on the past, but to look at the future.
During the week, the ASO distributed flyers and brochures about the Armenian
Genocide
in order to bring awareness on campus. The Armenian Genocide, which
began on April 24, 1915, lasted up to 1923 and it is estimated
that more than
1.5 million Armenians in the Ottoman Empire
were killed in their historic homeland.
During
the commemorative ceremony,
photographs, and posters about the Armenian
Genocide were placed around the Free Speech area and a replica of the Armenian Martyrs
Monument which
is in Yerevan, Armenia,
was placed in front of the speaker’s platform. With the sound of the duduk
playing in the background, people
gathered around the Free Speech area at noon.
This
year the ASO and the Armenian Studies Program invited the Arax Armenian dancers
ofFresno to perform two dances dedicated to the
genocide, “Moush,” and “Adana.”
The dance ensemble consisting of Arevik Stepanyan, Flora
Mirijanian, Ani
Mirijanian, Faten Myaznih, Michael Rettig, Kevork Gevorkian, and leader Zaroohi
Der Mugrdechian, wore traditional Armenian
costumes. They performed elegantly
and every member in the audience applauded for their fantastic performance.
Students
from the Keyan
Armenian Community School of Fresno recited poetry in Armenian
that had themes of Armenian culture and identity.
Armenian
Studies Program
Director Barlow Der Mugrdechian presented a historical overview
of the Genocide, while Hagop Ohanessian, Vice-President of the ASO
recounted
two survivor testimonies about the terrible events perpetrated by Turkish
generals.
At
the conclusion of the commemoration,
those in attendance placed flowers at the
base of the Martyrs
Monument.
At
7:30PM on Thursday, April 23, the ASO and the Armenian Studies
Program invited
students and members of the community to a screening of the movie “Screamers.”
In the film, director Carla Garapedian
follows the rock band “System of a Down”
as they tour Europe and the U.S.,
pointing out the horrors of modern genocide that began with
the Armenians in
the Ottoman Empire in 1915, up though Darfur
today. Following the movie, there was a march and a candle light vigil
to the Martyrs Monument in the Free Speech area.
Fresno State’s Collegian
covered the Genocide commemorative events with a full front-page
cover in the
Monday, April 27, issue of the newspaper. See the article at
http:collegian.csufresno.edu/ 2009/04/27/a-day-of-remembrance/.
The
ASO
thanks everyone for their support in the Commemoration of the 94th
Anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.