GSO Awards Turksa

Graduate Student Organization (GSO) of the University at Albany awarded Turkish Student Association with the

2008 GSO Most Culturally Enriching RGSO Award

for "organizing various multi-cultural events with engaging in alternative ways of fundraising, collaborating with various GSO committees and university offices to improve programming capacity and quality, and utilizing creative ways of outreach and advertising."

Turksa vice president Çağrı Özköse-Bıyık received the award from Dr. Ray Bromley, Director of the Office of International Education, at the GSO End-of-Year Gala and Award Ceremony held at a cruise on Hudson River on Sunday afternoon of May 4th, 2008. After receiving the award on the behalf of Turksa, Çağrı sang an Azeri-Turkish song for the event attendees.

Turksa thanks GSO and the award committee for their decision and looks forward to organizing more activities to contribute to UAlbany community.

Board Materials Available

Turkey on Your Board

In the observation of the celebration of May as the "Turkish Month" in US by some cultural organizations, Turkish Student Association composed a set of promotional materials for cultural boards to advertise Turkey and the Turkish culture.

Materials include information about location of Turkey, quick facts about Turkey, celebration of May as the Turkish month in US, Turkish history timeline, examples from Turkish cuisine, places to visit in Turkey, cultural figures, Turkish holidays, and some trivia information.

Although the initial motivation was specifically for the month of May, board materials can be displayed any time of the year with the exclusion of "Why May" document. All of the materials were retrieved from the specified Internet resources and available free of charge.

If you would like to use our visuals in your school or workplace boards designated for cultural purposes, you can download the materials to print from our Web site.

Turkish National Day Reception

88th National Sovereignty and Children's Day of Turkey

Wednesday, April 23rd, 2008
6:00 – 8:00 PM
Patroon Room, Campus Center
Uptown Campus, University at Albany
1400 Washington Ave, Albany, NY 12222

Event Program
6:00 – 6:15 Welcome and initial remarks
6:15 – 6:50 Dinner
6:50 – 7:00 Speaker introductions

7:00 – 7:15
Prof. Ümit Cizre
Levin Distinguished Scholar in Turkish Affairs at State University of New York, Binghamton
& Professor of Politics in Department of Political Science, Bilkent University, Ankara
“Perspectives on Turkey's Achievements and Challenges of Political Maturity”

7:15 – 7:30
Dr. Ş. İlgü Özler
Assistant Professor in Department of Political Science, State University of New York, New Paltz
“Turkey’s Role and Importance in the Region and the World”

7:30 – 7:40
Ambassador Robert R. Gosende
Associate Vice Chancellor for International Programs in Office of International Programs, State University of New York System Administration
“YÖK-SUNY Relations as a Proxy to Turkey-US Relations”

7:40 – 7:55 Turkish folk music performance
7:55 – 8:00 Closure and thanks

Leadership Award to Turksa

Asil Özdoğru awarded International Student Leadership Award for 2008

Congratulations to Asil Özdoğru [Turksa president] for winning the International Student Leadership Award for 2008. Asil is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology who has given a large amount time and energy to improving the lives of students here at the University at Albany.

In 2004, he served as an Orientation Assistant in the International Student & Scholar Services program for new international students. He and a group of friends, then, started the Turkish Student Association in the Spring of 2006. They have organized various cultural events open to the entire University, including movie screenings, a painting exhibition, a cooking class and a graduation party, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Organization.

Asil volunteers his time to assist international students in many ways, such as transporting them to and from airports in Albany and New York City, helping to move furniture, and helping them find apartments or roommates. He also advises them on writing papers and introduces them to new friends from different cultures. He has started two email groups, one for people interested in playing pick-up soccer at UAlbany and the other for Turkish people within the University and the local community, both quite successful with 74 and 84 members respectively.

Asil has taken the initiative to develop ways to help people connect here at the University. Although his main concern has been international students, helping to ease their cultural transition to living in Albany, his activities have benefited the larger community by introducing them to Turkish culture and providing an outlet for physical activity.

By International Student & Scholar Services

Doctoral Alumni

List of UAlbany Turkish Doctoral Alumni*

2010 Asil Özdoğru, Educational Psychology
2010 Sedef Uzuner, Educational Theory and Practice
2010 Burak Dindaroğlu, Economics
2010 Çağrı Özköse-Bıyık, Educational Theory and Practice
2009 Ahmet Güler, Public Administration
2009 Ersan Özkan, Political Science
2009 Bahadır Kazım Akçam, Informatics
2008 Ayhan Bingölbalı, Physics
2008 Sezgin Seymen Çebi, Political Science
2007 Rahmi Bula, Physics
2006 Şehnaz Baltacı-Göktalay, Educational Theory and Practice
2006 Mehmet Akif Ocak, Educational Theory and Practice
2005 Gültekin Işıklar, Economics
2004 Osman Nuri Kureş, Mathematics
2004 Emrah Arbak, Economics
2003 Özlem Çeziktürk, Educational Theory and Practice
2003 Vedat G. Diker, Information Studies
1994 Selçuk Caner, Economics
1988 Candan Karlıtekin, Economics
1982 Ali Mehmet Celal Şengör, Geological Sciences
1978 Mehmet A. Odekon, Economics

* The list is not official and all inclusive. For corrections and additions please contact us.

Did You Know?

Interesting Facts about Turkey

1. The only city in the world located on two continents is İstanbul which had been the capital of three great empires; Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman for more than 2000 years
2. Legend has it that St. John brought Virgin Mary to Ephesus where she spent her last days in a small house on Mt. Koressos (Bülbül dağı) near Ephesus
3. Early Christians escaping from Roman persecution nearly 2000 years ago sheltered in Cappodocia in Central Anatolia
4. Part of Turkey’s southwestern shore was a wedding gift that Mark Antony gave to Cleopatra
5. The famous Trojan wars took place in western Turkey
6. Turkey introduced coffee to Europe
7. St. Nicholas, also known as Santa Claus, was born and lived in Demre, Turkey
8. Turkey is the birthplace of the many historical figures and legends such as the Poet Homer, King Midas, Historian Herodotus and St. Paul
9. Long before the discovery of America, English merchants discovered the Çulluk, a kind of bird in the Turkish countryside, and began exporting it back to England, where it became very popular, and was known as a 'Turkey bird' or simply a 'turkey.'
10. "Turkiya" means "season's beginnings" or "beautiful" in Swahili
11. How was the name of country Turks & Caicos Islands derived? The popular story is the name Turks being derived after the indigenous Turk's Head "fez" cactus, and the name Caicos, a Lucayan term "caya hico," meaning string of islands. A more romantic, origin of the name is a reflection of the Islands' pirate history, when 17th and 18th century pirates used the islands as hideouts and preyed upon the passing Spanish treasure ships bound for Europe. The term "Turk" for a pirate stemmed two centuries earlier when the Ottoman Empire dominated the Mediterranean and Turkish corsaries harried European Atlantic shipping, thus translated "Turks" Islands becomes "Pirate" Islands!

Spring 2008 Events

Turkish Movie Night - 9
Saturday, February 23, 2008
8:00pm, Campus Center Terrace Lounge
Eşkıya “The Bandit”
The epic adventures of the legendary Baran the Bandit following his release from prison. After serving 35 years, it is no surprise that the world has changed dramatically. His home village is now underwater thanks to the construction of a new dam, Baran heads for İstanbul to get revenge upon his former best friend, the man who snitched on him and stole his lover Keje. (IMDb)

Turkish Movie Night - 10
Saturday, April 5, 2008
8:00pm, Campus Center Terrace Lounge
Hacivat Karagöz Neden Öldürüldü? “Who Killed the Shadows?”
Karagöz and Hacivat lived and died during the first clashes of the decaying Eastern Roman Empire and the early Ottomans of the 14th century Anatolia. Their stories and characters have been adapted for the traditional shadow theatre of the later Ottoman Empire, in modern Turkey and all over the Middle East, Greece and western Asia. (IMDb)

Turkish Day Reception
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
6:00–8:00pm, Campus Center Patroon Room
Celebration of the 88th National Sovereignty and Children's Day of Turkey featuring three prominent guest speakers and a Turkish folk musician preceded by dinner.

Fall 2007 Events

Turkish Movie Night - 6
Saturday, September 29, 2007
9:00pm, Campus Center Terrace Lounge
İstanbul Kanatlarımın Altında “İstanbul Under My Wings”
The story takes us back to the 17th century İstanbul, and the powerful times of the Ottoman Empire under the rule of Sultan Murad IV. Interesting life and love story of Hezarfen Ahmet Celebi, one of the first aviators to have succeeded in flying with artificial wings. (IMDb)

Turkish Movie Night - 7
Saturday, October 20, 2007
9:00pm, Campus Center Terrace Lounge
Selvi Boylum, Al Yazmalım “The Girl with the Red Scarf”
A classic and endlessly watchable love story that never dates… Inspired by the novel of acclaimed Soviet writer Cengiz Aytmatov, Atıf Yılmaz adapts one of history's greatest love stories to the screen with the greatest finesse. It is said, in fact, that the French poet Aragon described The Girl With The Red Scarf as "the world's greatest love story." (IMDb)

Turkish Movie Night - 8
Saturday, November 17, 2007
9:00pm, Campus Center Terrace Lounge
Hokkabaz “The Trickster”
In his latest film, the enormously popular Turkish comedian Cem Yılmaz plays the struggling magician İskender. The only person who believes in him is his childhood friend Maradona and together they dream of a better life. They embark on a tour of Anatolia to escape the hustle and bustle of İstanbul's streets, and to make as much money as possible. (IMDb)

Culture through Food
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
5:00pm, Chapel House
The end-of-semester MCAA event with food from different parts of the globe! Prizes for the top three of a 'Show and Tell' (Dürüms “gyros” and lokums “Turkish delights” are served)

Turksa Service

Call for Turksa Service

Turkish Student Association always welcomes people who want to serve the organization. Interested persons can serve either as an officer or a volunteer.

Elections for officer positions are held as long as there are multiple candidates for a position at the designated nomination dates for each academic year. Anyone interested in running for a position should nominate themselves or another person by contacting us between June 1st and August 1st of every year. Elections are organized and monitored by the President, if s/he is not running for a position. In the other case, President appoints an independent person for the electoral process.

We value and appreciate contributions of our volunteers. Volunteers can contact us at any time of the year to serve in various capacities.

Welcome Letter

Turkish Student Association prepared a welcome letter for incoming Turkish UAlbany students as requested by the International Student and Scholars Services.

Letter, written both in English and Turkish, welcomes the newly accepted students, informs them about Turksa, and lists various channels of communication with other Turksa members in order to facilitate new students' transition to their program at UAlbany and life in Albany. Letter is intended to be included within the information package that is usually sent out to students before they arrive campus.

A PDF copy of the letter can be downloaded here.