Armenian Genocide Commemoration and Vigil at Fresno Monument

FRESNO — Dr. Matthew Jendian, chair of the Department of Sociology at Fresno State, will deliver the keynote address for the University’s Armenian Genocide Commemoration from noon-1 p.m. Friday, April 22.

The event, which is part of Fres no State’s Armenian Genocide Commemoration Week marking the 101th anniversary of the date when the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians began in the Ottoman Turkish Empire, will be at the new Armenian Genocide Monument dedicated a year ago on the Maple Mall (south of the Satellite Student Union). The program will also feature recitations and musical performances.

A candlelight vigil is also planned at the monument Wednesday night (April 20) after the 6:30 p.m. screening of the 138-minute film “The Cut” in the McLane building (Room 121).

The film is about a man who survives mass murder in the Armenian Genocide but loses his family, speech and faith. When he learns his twin daughters may be alive, he searches for them.

The weeklong observance, with the theme “Use the Overcoming our Past, Forging our Future,” began Monday with an information and photo booth.

The free public events are presented by the Armenian Students Organization and the Armenian Studies Program .

For more information, contact Prof. Barlow Der Mugrdechian, Armenian Studies Program Director at 559.278.2669 or cell 559.917.1382. See www.facebook.com/fresno.aso.