2000_10 Hye Sharzhoom Newspaper October 2000

              6
Hye Sharzhoom
October 2000
An Interview with City Council
President Tom Boyajian
By John Jabagchourian
Editor
Walking across campus,
students young and old
shout out his first name
with exuberance. It seemed everyone knew him, not because he is a
public figure in Fresno but because
he has somehow touched each person somewhere in life.
He says hello, asks them how
they've been. They talk about the
times they met, and he congratulates them on their efforts in school.
After sitting down and talking
to Fresno City Council President,
Tom Boyajian, I realized he has
done just about every type of job
and has been involved in so many
activities that it was no coincidence
that these students knew him and
were happy to see him.
Boyajian is a native Fresnan
who went to Heaton elementary,
graduated from Fresno high and
got his degree in political science
at Fresno State. Afterwards he
went to Golden Gate Law School
in San Francisco and returned back
to Fresno after he got his law degree.
But Boyajian's story begins
like all other Armenian stories, back
to the Genocide. Both of his parents were from the Ottoman Empire and were able to escape the
fate that destroyed 2 million other
Armenians. Boyajian showed a
family picture of his parents, grandparents and aunts pointing out a
six-year old little girl who managed to save his mother from drowning in a river at the hands of the
Turks.
Family that had been living in
Massachusetts checked survivor
lists, found the Boyajians' among
the survivors and brought them to
America. After working a multitude of jobs, the Boyajians' had
two sons and moved to Fresno to
the lure of agriculture and to be
with more family.
Tom Boyajian was born in
Fresno. As he grew up in the same
district that he represents today in
the City Council, Boyajian was
aware of the prejudice against the
Armenians.
"There was prejudice in
Fresno," Boyajian said. "My parents could not buy property due to
the restrictive covenants. They had
a grocery store on Blackstone and
Olive in which they had to buy the
land through friends."
But now and at that time,
Boyajian saidaboutthe Armenians,
"We were above all that, and the
Armenians were able to achieve a
lot of things."
After graduating from Fresno
State, Boyajian went to San Francisco to study law in the sixties.
However, his plans were stalled
when he was drafted into the U.S.
Army during the Vietnam War.
"I didn't believe in war, but I
believed in the U.S. government,"
Boyajian said.
After serving in the U.S. Army,
he returned to law school in San
Francisco. He commented that he
learned so much by being independent in San Francisco.   Boyajian
worked as a bartender, worked in
gift shops, was a private detective
and worked a number of other jobs
while in school.
"All those jobs give you a perspective on all these people, and I
learned about a lot of people,"
Boyajian said.
Boyajian's variety of jobs and
learned understanding of people
demonstrated why different people
came up to and were happy to see
him during his visit to Fresno State.
He also holds an uncanny respect for students. He was impressed with the activities the students sponsor like the Armenian
Genocide commemoration, and he
tells all students that they had made
the right choice by coming to school
for higher learning.
Tom Boyajian
In interviewing Boyajian, he
speaks as though he is a young
student himself and relates to students' situations.
He particularly gives this bit
of advice to students, "Keep your
life with a lot of different things
going on, that's what makes life
interesting. In life, do the things
you never do."
Once he graduated law school,
Boyajian was enjoying life in San
Francisco, but came back to Fresno
to take care of his mother who had
terminal cancer. The importance
of family and the responsibility of
supporting one another is what
Boyajian said is apart of being Armenian.
Throughout the interview,
Boyajian always referred to family
members, his parents, brothers and
cousins. He really emphasizes the
importance of a strong family connection.
Boyajian then opened a law
practice in Fresno, which he continues today. Aside from that
though, Boyajian practiced what
he preached and also taught courses
at Fresno City College and opened
the Zapp's Park night club in the
Tower district. He then gave up the
teaching and sold the nightclub to
run for City Council.
Boyajian said, "I thought I
could do better," as his reason for
running. "We needed somebody
from the district who liked and
wanted to do something for the
district."
"I thought I was the best person to represent the district, I went
to school and opened a business in
the district."
"I felt I could make a difference," Boyajian said.
Boyajian worked hard to spread
his message to his community. He
rigorously walked the precincts and
did all he could to get people to
believe in him. And they did. Without any support from local organizations and without any endorsements, Boyajian worked harder and
won the general election.
Boyajian enjoys getting things
done and helping people on the
City Council. However, he finds it
disappointing when the bureaucracy
makes it harder to get things done.
"I have so many things I want
to get done and the bureaucracy just
delays things," Boyajian said. "The
attitude around city hall is that it is
more prevalent to say no than to say
yes and get things done."
This year Boyajian became the
City Council President in charge of
keeping things in order and trying
to keep egos in check. He is also
looking to bring more jobs to Fresno
so that students graduating from
Fresno State have the option to find
ajob here.
Spending time in San Francisco also gave him the background
to know that Fresno has too much
urban sprawl. He would like to
develop the inner city rather than
the outskirts.
Tom Boyajian has been a positive influence for students and Armenians. He finds that being Armenian has given him the traits to
be successful in life.
"It's important to give back to
the school I went to and give back
to Armenian kids, maybe encourage or spark something in them,"
Boyajian said.
And by visiting the Fresno State
campus, talking to students and
speaking at the April 24 commemoration, Boyajian did just that by
saying of his Armenianness, "If you
cut me, I will bleed pride."
I thank Tom Boyajian for taking the time to do this interview and
appreciate the advice he gave me
and his openness to speak the truth.
For all that it's worth, it would
be an honor for the Hye Sharzhoom
to be the first to endorse Tom
Boyajian in his future efforts to
help the community, not because
he is Armenian (although it doesn't
hurt) but because of his genuine
dedication to helping others
throughout his life.
Professor Andreas Werz (left) with Vardan Mamikonian
CONCERT, Cont. from Page 1
The crowd clutched their programs tightly, many of them smiling and swaying their heads to
Mamikonian's vibrant interpretation ofthe score's trills and sudden
shifts in mood. From Allegro to
Scherzo to Andante to Vivace,
Mamikonian played dramatically,
leading his audience out of melancholy states to upbeat tempos.
Even though I was sitting in
the serene concert hall with its hardwood floors and walls, I felt as if I
were in a movie theatre listening to
the soundtrack of a tragedy.
The third piece Mamikonian
performed was Arno
Babadjanyan's Poeme
Dodecaphonique, which started out
with short, staccato notes that progressed into a smoother legato.
Mamikonian played this piece very
intensely, almost stopping completely during softer parts and coming back with a fury that captivated
his audience. For a work written in
the twelfth tone technique pioneered by Schoenberg, it was very
lyrical.
After the intermission,
Mamikonian was back to play three
pieces by Franz Liszt, the first of
which was Funerailles, a tame yet
intense   piece   during   which
HYE-LIGHTS -
Hakob Arestakesyan is a senior majoring in Political Science,
who will graduate this semester.
Hakob has decided to study at
Yerevan State University for one
semester as part of the Fresno
State-Yerevan State University
agreement which provides for exchange students from one university to study at the other for one
semester.
Hakob will be studying a variety of courses and will be completing a course in Political Science on changes in Armenia over
the past ten years.
Fresno State students who are
Hakob Arestakesyan
interested in participating in the
study program at Yerevan State
University, may contact the Armenian Studies Program at 278-
2669 and ask for Program advisor
Barlow Der Mugrdechian.
Mamikonian's fingers dove into the
keys as if he was pulling out every
last note the piano had. After letting go ofthe keys for just a second
he came back softly, playing as if
he was nurturing the keys, apologizing for the previous bout.
In the second Liszt piece,
Liebestraum: Notturno III,
Mamikonian used the skill of crossing his arms over one another several times, allowing him to play
notes otherwise impossible.
Moving,on to the Mephisto
Waltz No. 1, Mamikonian again
picked up his audience, starting at a
fast, direct pace, so that he had the
entire row of the balcony on the
edge of their seats.
Abruptly finishing the piece,
Mamikonian received a standing
ovation and came back to satisfy
his attentive audience with an encore by Aram Khatchatourian.
Mamikonian, who was born in
Yerevan, Armenia, was only 6 years
old when he started taking piano
lessons at the Yerevan School of
Music. In 1987 he completed his
studies in the capital of Armenia
and furthered his education of music in Moscow before settling in
Paris, France.
Winner of several first prizes,
most recently at the World Music
Masters Competition in Monte
Carlo in 1992, Mamikonian is
ranked among the most vital of
young musicians in the world today.
This first concert ofthe Phillip
Lorenz Memorial Keyboard Concerts, was co-sponsored by the Armenian Studies Program ofFresno
State and was the second occasion
Mamikonian has played in the keyboard concert with the support of
the Armenian Studies.
Hye Sharzhoom
needs writers,
photographers,
copy editors.
If you are
interested in
applying please
contact the
Armenian Studies
Program office.