Armenian History Month kicks off at USC Armenian folk ensemble performs.

Armenian students celebrate near Tommy Trojan for the first time. For Armenian History Month at USC, folk ensemble Lernazang performed as part of the opening ceremony held Thursday at 1 p.m.

Lernazang means “bell of the mountain” according to Zare Arakelyan, a member of the ensemble and a sophomore applied and computational math major who said the group has been practicing for this event for a few months. The group sang seven songs and performed six dances.

“My heart swelled up when we were dancing and singing the songs,” Arakelyan said. “These are songs and dances that are passed down from generation to generation. They’re passed down from farmers [and] from warriors and the everyday life of those peoples reflected in these songs and dances, so when you sing and dance them, you feel the energy of your ancestors and of your land and there’s nothing stronger than that.”

Satine Cumming, a media arts and practice major who attended the event, said it was clear how much these songs and dances meant to the performers.

“It was very nice to see them show their culture and their dance and their song, and I fell emotional, because I understand what it feels like to have culture be erased in a lot of sense,” Cumming said. “So I’m just proud for anyone or any culture out there who has been erased to have a time to shine and to be in the spotlight.”

Attendee Nona Nersisyan, a computer science major, said the ensemble’s performance was her favorite part of the event.

“[Since] I’ve also previously been a dancer, it was amazing seeing them also how they danced and how they carried everything together,” Nersisyan said.

The afternoon event also featured speeches from USC President Carol Folt and the Director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies, Dr. Shushan Karapetian.

In her speech, Folt spoke about how Armenians have had their culture lost and erased, referencing the events that occurred in Artsakh, a region of Azerbaijan, namely the displacement of more than 100,000 Armenians. 

“It’s just hard to even fathom how hard that is for people and the ensuing humanitarian crisis, the destruction of Armenian cultural and religious heritage,” Folt said. “I think that makes this event even more important and more special for us.”

Karapetian used her speech to call on Armenians to share their stories with the wider USC community.

“We at the Institute of Armenian Studies, along with the Armenian Students Association and our many wonderful partners on this campus, are committed to enriching the Trojan community with the Armenian experience,” Karapetian said.

The next event for Armenian History Month is the Cultural Showcase at the Trojan Grand Ballroom on Monday at 6 p.m.