UPDATE 4/24/15: See Armenian Genocide Monument at Fresno State video .

UPDATE 4/24/15: See photo album for dedication of the new Armenian Genocide Monument at Fresno State:  http://bit.ly/FS-ArmenianGenMonPics

UPDATE 4/23/15 (9:45 p.m.): Attendance at #ArmenianGenocide Monument @Fresno_State tonight estimated at approximately 4,000-plus.

UPDATE 4/23/15: Little Armenia Community of East Hollywood commends Fresno State

University President Joseph I. Castro proclaimed Friday, April 24, as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day at Fresno State in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the date when the massacre of 1.5 million Armenians began in the Ottoman Turkish Empire.

At 19 seconds past noon, the carillon in the University Student Union clock tower will play “The Bells of Peace” for 15 minutes (to represent the year 1915) in memory of the victims and survivors of the genocide.

Governor Jerry Brown has proclaimed Friday “A Day of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide” in the state of California.

Castro will speak at the dedication of the new Armenian Genocide Monument at Fresno State at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at the Maple Mall, just east of the Rose Garden. The event is free and open to the public.

Free parking is available in lots P5 and P6 (near the Peters Business Building) and in the Save Mart Center parking lot.

“The monument is a symbol of hope, education, memory and inspiration,” Castro said.

Castro also will also speak at the ceremony at noon on Friday at the monument planned by the Armenian Students Organization. Family members of genocide survivors will share thoughts, and students of the Charlie Keyan Armenian Community School will sing.

Fresno State is the only college campus in the United States with such a monument, and Castro said there are three significant reasons why it is fitting to recognize the Armenian genocide at the University:

  • Fresno State is home to one of the top Armenian Studies programs in the country. Dr. Sergio La Porta and Professor Barlow Der Mugrdechian have worked to advance the program. La Porta is chair of the Armenian Genocide Centennial Fresno Committee, the group established to commemorate the 100th anniversary.
  • Fresno State is a campus committed to diversity of individuals and diversity of thought. The University received the 2014 Higher Education Excellence in Diversity award from “INSIGHT Into Diversity” magazine. Fresno State was recognized as a university that demonstrates an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion.
  • The University is committed to education, which is also at the core of the Armenian Genocide Monument. The monument will inform and educate people about the Armenian Genocide and bring awareness to the problem of Genocide throughout history and throughout the world as a global issue.

Castro said the monument, which was financed with community donations, demonstrates the University’s commitment to human rights and justice on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.