‘The V-Squared Show: Starring Victoria Vartan’ is a student-made production by Victoria Vartan, shot using only an iTouch 4.
Author Archives: vsvartan
A Day in the Life of Sonia Sandaljian
Victoria Vartan documents what it is like in A Day in the Life of Sonia Sandaljian. Avid Media Composer was used to edit this video.
Boat Show gives boost to local businesses
The 30th annual Palm Beach International Boat Show where super-yachts and yachts are actually helping local businesses. Entire video shot on iTouch 4.
Volunteering After Graduation
Victoria Vartan interviews Director of Workship, Kate Magro, and several students about volunteering after graduation. Video shot only using iTouch 4.
Armenian Genocide centennial draws attention to historical tragedy
The first genocide of 20th century
“Who today still speaks of the massacre of the Armenians?” Those were the words spoken by Adolf Hitler in September 1939, just before the invasion of Poland that began the Nazi Holocaust.
Hitler was referring to the Armenian Genocide of 1915, the first genocide of the 20th century, where leaders of the Ottoman Empire systematically murdered millions of Armenians during World War I.
April 24th marks the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, and much has changed. Television was invented, humans walked on the moon and the iPhone was released. But many people do not know about the Armenian Genocide, which began April 24, 1915. On that day in Constantinople, Ottoman authorities started arresting Armenian intellectuals including teachers, writers, doctors and lawyers. That day is now known as Red Sunday, the inception of the eight-year-long extermination of the Armenians from their homeland.
In 1915, under cover of World War I, Ottoman Turks exterminated one third of the Armenian population. Ranging from death marches to concentration camps, the Turkish government nearly succeeded in the abolition of the Armenian population.
This was the first genocide of the 20th century.
The event resulted in the death of an estimated 1.5 million Armenians. In Armenian, it is called Medz Yeghern, which translates into the “Great Crime.”
History of Armenia
Armenia is located in Eurasia and is one of the oldest countries in the world. Armenia is the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion. Today the country is 93 percent Christian, belonging to the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Armenia is the first country in the world to adopt Christianity as its official state religion. This dates back to two of Jesus’s disciples, Bartholomew and Thaddeus after travelling through the region after Jesus’ death.
Armenia’s Mount Ararat is also the place where the Bible says that Noah’s Ark landed.
Stories through generations
Aram Hallacian, 89, remembers his mother telling him about the Armenian Genocide.
“My mother saw and dealt with a lot, both during and after the genocide,” he said.
His mother Arpi saw her parents die right in front of her at the age of seven.
“I could not even imagine the feeling of a seven year old seeing her parents killed,” Hallacian said. “She, her mother and father, along with other Armenians were deported from where they were living.”
When the Armenians were deported, they were separated, according to age and sex.
“All the men, women, and children were forced to walk in the desert with no food and water,” Hallacian said.
He recalls his mother telling him that they were beaten if they did not walk.
“My maternal grandmother collapsed and died during this walk, and my mother saw every little bit of it.”
Just when things could not get any worse, Arpi’s father also passed out.
“My mother saw her father collapse from the distance and couldn’t get to him,” Hallcian said.
Arpi’s father’s body was taken and put on a wagon, along with other people’s bodies to be brought to mass graves.
“My mother was strong and carried through, not eating or drinking anything.”
After his mother walked through the desert, she was taken to a building where Turkish people later adopted her.
“My mother was raised by Turkish people for about seven or eight years,” Hallacian said.
During those years, Arpi tried escaping from her Turkish family three times, but was caught every time because the family notified police, who found her and brought her back.
“There was a neighbor who lived above the family who was Christian,” said Hallacian. “One day, she told my mother to come upstairs because she was going to tell her something. My mother says when she went up there, the neighbor prayed over her and taught her how to make the cross, saying to her, ‘Never forget that you are Christian.’”
That same night, Arpi escaped and succeeded, running away to a church where Armenian orphans were rescued and adopted by Armenian families.
“My mother was adopted by a rich Armenian family who had escaped and were living in Egypt at the time,” Hallacian said. Hallacian added that celebrities like the Kardashians are perfect for educating younger people about the genocide, since that is their main demographic.
“All I’m praying for now is that America joins the 22 other countries in accepting the Armenian genocide, “ Hallacian said.
Activism today
Last week, Pope Francis spoke about three major tragedies of the past century.
“The first, which is widely considered ‘the first genocide of the 20th century,’ struck your own Armenian people, the first Christian nation, as well as Catholic and Orthodox Syrians, Assyrians, Chaldeans and Greeks,” Pope Francis said.
The forget-me-not is the official emblem of the 100th Year of Remembrance of the Armenian Genocide.
Kim and Khloé Kardashian recently visited their motherland of Armenia. Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé’s father, Robert Kardashian, was Armenian.
While Kim and Khloé were there, they met with the Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan of Armenia, visiting the Mother Armenia statue, and laid flowers down at the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument in Yerevan.
Amal Clooney, George Clooney’s wife, recently appealed to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, about how denying the Armenian Genocide violated the right to free expression.
U.S. Rep. Schiff from Burbank, Cali., has pushed for America to recognize the Armenian Genocide since he took office in 2007. Earlier this year, Schiff introduced an Armenian Genocide bill to acknowledge the genocide.
On April 22, Schiff will read off Armenian genocide victims’ names for an hour on the House Floor.
Recognition of the Armenian Genocide today
Turkey, the successor of the Ottoman Empire, to this day denies the Armenian Genocide.
As of 2015, there are a total of 22 countries that have acknowledged the Armenian Genocide, including France, Canada, and Argentina.
America has yet to accept the Armenian Genocide. Only 43 U.S. states have recognized the event.
Inventions by Armenians
- iPhone [Steve Jobs- born to Syrian parents; raised by Armenian parents]
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) [Raymond Vahan Damadian]
- Automated Teller Machine (ATM) [Luther Simjian]
- Single-handle faucet [Alex Manoogian]
- Automatic transmission for automobiles, needleless inoculation gun [Oscar H. Banker]
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET) [Michel Ter-Pogossian]
- Rotavirus Vaccine [Albert Kapikian]
- Wine
- Yogurt
- Coffee
Famous Armenians today:
- Kardashian family
- Steve Jobs (entrepreneur)
- Cher (singer)
- Michael Vartan (actor)
- System of a Down (rock band)
History behind Watergate
PBA professors share their memories and impressions from the Watergate era. (From left: Dr. Gary Poe, Dr. Jack Calhoun, and Dr. Peggy VanArman) (Photo taken by: Victoria Vartan)
Nixon was not the only one who was affected by the Watergate scandal. So, what was Watergate and what were the events that led Nixon to resigning as president?
The History Department held an “I Remember” event where about twenty Palm Beach Atlantic University students heard Drs. Poe, VanArman, and Calhoun share their memories and impressions from Watergate.
“He was worried about winning,” Calhoun said.
Calhoun believes that Nixon did not have to do anything and that he was just paranoid.
“People were shocked when he made his, ‘I am not a crook’ speech,” Poe said. “But I think the people were glad to move on and start with a clean slate.”
Poe said Watergate sticks out in people’s minds. Calhoun said Watergate made us a lot more cynical towards politicians.
“Nixon was seen as the conservative Christian at the time,” Poe said. “He was kind of the standard evangelical person.”
Calhoun said that before Watergate, Nixon was known as “Tricky Dicky.”
“In later years, Nixon tried to purchase an apartment on Park Avenue in New York City,” Calhoun said. “The residents all voted no. While in California, he had a famous quip to the press saying not to bash around anymore.”
Nixon never admitted he did anything wrong till the bitter end, Poe said.
5 reasons to watch the ‘Better Call Saul’ premiere tonight
Over 10.3 million people watched the series finale of Breaking Bad on September 29, 2013. Now, the genius behind Breaking Bad, Vince Gilligan, is back with his new creation and spin-off called ‘Better Call Saul.’
‘Better Call Saul’ follows Saul Goodman starting six years before he got involved with Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
Here are 5 reasons why you should watch tonight’s premiere:
1. Who doesn’t like Saul Goodman? People everywhere fell in love with Bob Odenkirk, who plays the this sleazy and witty lawyer, ever since his first debut in season 2, episode 8 of Breaking Bad. And we can always rely on him, since he knows a guy who knows another guy that can help you with whatever you need.
2. Saul’s hilarious one-liners. Between “Let’s just say I know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows another guy” to “I once told a woman I was Kevin Costner, and it worked because I believed it,” only the writers know how many other hilarious one-liners will be in ‘Better Call Saul.’
3. His commercials. Between his billboards around ABQ and his late-night television commercials, everyone in town knows him as the lawyer to call for anything, from car accidents to selling meth.
4. His office. Who wouldn’t want an office with the Constitution printed on its walls?
5. Saul Goodman and his white 1997 Cadillac DeVille with the license plate LWYR UP are back on television! Better Call Saul was originally supposed to be only available on Netflix. So, for someone like me who doesn’t pay a monthly $8 fee to have Netflix, watching Better Call Saul on television is a reason in itself to watch tonight’s premiere!
Watch the extended trailer of ‘Better Call Saul’ here.
What can the Welcome Desk do for you?
Joshua Conner helps students by answering questions they may have, as well as rent lockers and borrow board games.
Ever wonder what the attendant at the Welcome Desk in the Student Center does? I caught up with Joshua Conner to answer some questions.
VV: How would you describe the Welcome Desk?
JC: “The Welcome Desk in the Lassiter Student Center is a liaison between the SAIL office and clubs and organizations.”
You may borrow any game (above) and if you are a commuter, you will be able to rent a locker for a day (bottom).
VV: What are some things you do at the Welcome Desk in the Student Center?
JC: “I help students who want to use the TV, games, puzzles, organizations and club posters, and other miscellaneous things.”
VV: What do you, as an individual, do at the Welcome Desk?
JC: “I do a lot of student activity co-directing things. I prepare any aspect of student things in marketing, logistics, and programming.”
What was it like to escape from behind the Berlin Wall?
Dora Lange speaks with students at Palm Beach Atlantic University about escaping from behind the Iron Curtain.
Do you know what it was like to escape from behind the Berlin Wall?
Today, the History Department held an “I Remember” event where about thirty Palm Beach Atlantic University students heard from Dora Lange, who was “raised in Nazi Germany and then lived in East Germany.”
Lange spoke to the students in English, while mixing some German words in as well, about what the experience was like to escape.
“My mother told me to stay until my brother returned from the war prison,” Lange said. “In October 1950, I decided to go to West Germany.”
Lange escaped across the Iron Curtain under gunfire at night to West Germany, while leaving her relatives behind in East Germany.
“As a young person, you always dream of the future,” Lange said. “I didn’t give up on that dream.”
Clifford Christians
Victoria Vartan interviews Dr. Stephanie Bennett and Professor Donald Piper, who produced a documentary this past summer.
VICTORIA VARTAN 