Bridgewater State University - Alpha Yearbook (Bridgewater, MA)

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10 NORMAL OFFERING Armenag Glhamirhiem. f' ELGIUM, Poland, Serbia, and Armenia! These are the countries that have been trampled down under the iron hoof of European militarism. But the fate of Armenia has been the most tragic. The year 1915 will be marked in the annals of civilization as the year of martyrdom for the Armenian race. No class of people has been spared-bishops, priests, ministers, and college professors were murdered ruthlessly. Among the pioneers of Christian civilization there were a few who had escaped in some way or other, and they were living in quiet, though subject to all kinds of sufferings in their de- dortation camps amidst the semi-barbarous races of Meso- potamia. Armenag Chamichian, one of the loyal sons of Dear Old Normal, was among these few survivors. But what the Turks left undone, the epidemics are fast finishing. It has been so with respect to Mr. Chami- 1 chian. He passed away on , January 19, 1916, owing to an attack of typhus fever. The i tragic loss of Mr. Chamichian, the young pioneer of American civilization, came as a shock to his friends, both Armenian and ' T- American, for in his zeal for the higher education and the refinements of American life he represented at their best the genuine aspirations of his race.

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NORMAL OFFERING 9 A Elrihniv. O the Bridgewater Normal School and its graduates the name of 1 Albert Gardner Boyden will always suggest an ideal schoolmas- ter, a good citizen, a Christian gentleman, and a personal friend. For more than threescore years Mr. Boyden gave to the school a thoroughly consecrated service. For forty-six years he stood at its head, directing its affairs and shaping its policies. During these many years of service his noble purposes, his kind and genial nature, his firm but just discipline, his positive convictions, and his clear vision made him always a most efficient leader and an inspiration alike to his pupils and his profession. Not to be ministered unto but to minister was the evident purpose of his entire life. For many years he stood as a prominent figure in the educational life of the state and nation, and few have contributed more than he to the efficiency of our present public school system. While his life was one of great power and influence, it was at the same time beautifully simple. As a citizen of Bridgewater and of the Commonwealth and as a faithful church member, he worked untiringly to bring to pass the things that are worth while. It is not, however, as a citizen, a church member, or a prominent educator that the Normal graduate has known him best, but rather, as a kind, personal friend, a wise counselor, and a sympathetic teacher. His youthfulness, preserved to the very last, was due to his sympathetic touch with young life. He could always take the view-point of his pupils and he never lost his love for little children. The great buildings of the institution stand as a fitting monument to the genius of this great man, but a monument of far greater beauty and worth, and one in which we feel sure that Mr. Boyden himself took the greatest satisfaction, is found in the many strong a-nd noble charac- ters which he has helped so efficiently to build. Mr. Boyden was greatly beloved, and ever with an increasing devotion, by the great multitude of graduates, and the memory of his wonderfully true life will now remain a precious possession of every son and daughter of Old Normal. C. P. S.

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NORMAL OFFERING 11 Mr. Chamichian was born in Aintab, May 16, 1880. His parents were poor, but he was a very promising little boy. For this reason the trustees of the Vartanian High School, by means of scholarships, made it possible for him to complete his course in that school.. He went on with his studies in Central Turkey College for two years, and then took a position as tutor in the Vartanian High School. He was very brilliant and remarkably successful as a teacher. At length, in the summer of 1906, he was sent by the Vartanian High School to Venice, to an Armenian monastery, to specialize in Armenian history and classics. After a six-months' stay in Venice, he thought it would be best for him to receive a thorough education in the higher institutions of the United States. Therefore, in 1907, he regis- tered his name in the ranks of Alma Mater's sons. He received his diploma from Bridgewater in 1909, and entered Harvard College, where he elected history and education as major studies. In 1911 he received his bachelor's degree from Harvard, and in 1912 he received his master's degree from the same institution. Although he was still eager to continue his education, yet his friends in Aintab had planned to establish a Normal School for the Armenians and were in great need of a leader. When he was offered the princi- palship of 'the Cicilian Normal School, Mr. Chamichian did not refuse, although he knew that he must leave a country of peace and liberty for a country of despotism. For service's sake in the cause of civilization he did not swerve, and after marrying a young Armenian lady, Miss Mary Kaprielian, he sailed for his home. From the beginning of his career in 1912 'till his tragic death, his life has been a life of sacrifice, hard labor, and noble service. In two years he had brilliantly organized his school and he was hopeful to see it more prosperous with the cooperation of six instructors of Armenian education, two of whom had studied in Alma Mater and then at Har- vard and Columbia, but the world war broke out and let loose the spirit of evil, which swept before it the splendid work and the worker. Mr. Chamichian's death is mourned by all the Armenian students of America. Though he has departed from us forever, yet his spirit and noble inspiration still live among us. KEVORK A. SARRAFIAN.