Tarmac October 2007.pdf - Chaminade High School
Tarmac October 2007.pdf - Chaminade High School
Tarmac October 2007.pdf - Chaminade High School
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TARMAC<br />
Newspaper of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> Flyers <strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, 340 Jackson Avenue, Mineola, New York 11501-2441 (516) 742-5555<br />
http://www.chaminade-hs.org est. 1934 Vol. LXXIV, No. 1 Special AAC Issue OCTOBER 2007<br />
A RED-RIBBON DAY<br />
68,354-Square-Foot Activity-Athletic Center Opens Its Doors<br />
by Michael Strandberg ‘09<br />
F<br />
rom above, it might have looked as<br />
though a large letter C had formed<br />
around the front door of <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s<br />
newest facility, the Activity-Athletic Center.<br />
In reality, over 500 members of the<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> Family had assembled in a large<br />
semicircle there to watch the ribbon-cutting<br />
ceremony for the new building, commonly<br />
referred to as the AAC.<br />
Just a few minutes later, they were filing<br />
through the front door, gathering around the<br />
large letter C at center-court in the new complex.<br />
There, they marveled at the 68,354square-foot<br />
facility as they ate, drank, socialized,<br />
and celebrated the newest chapter of<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s history.<br />
The $20-million complex houses three<br />
facilities under one roof. The centerpiece<br />
of the building,<br />
the gymnasium,<br />
accounts for 27,491<br />
square feet of the<br />
AAC and will become<br />
the new<br />
home court for<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> basketball<br />
and volleyball.<br />
The two-story<br />
arena, with bleacher<br />
seating for 1,400,<br />
will also allow the<br />
entire student body<br />
to gather under one<br />
roof for Masses and<br />
assemblies. A tenthof-a-mile<br />
indoor<br />
track surrounds<br />
the arena.<br />
Just east of the<br />
main arena is a<br />
separate wrestling<br />
room with its own<br />
First Student-Body<br />
Mass in the AAC<br />
Over 500 members of the<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> Family assemble<br />
to watch the ribbon-cutting<br />
ceremony.<br />
page 12<br />
bleacher seating.<br />
Home and visitor<br />
locker rooms occupy<br />
the space beneath the<br />
wrestling room. At<br />
the west end of the<br />
complex is the<br />
Hearst Auditorium,<br />
a 270-seat lecture<br />
hall that will serve<br />
the Social Studies<br />
Club, the Speech and<br />
Debate Club, and<br />
other groups.<br />
The AAC also features<br />
an exhibition hall<br />
for alumni events, dinners,<br />
and other gatherings;<br />
a spirit-sales counter carrying<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> merchandise;<br />
and a concession stand. The<br />
exhibition hall is the permanent<br />
home for <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s<br />
full-scale replica of<br />
Michelangelo’s Pietà, donated<br />
in September, 2005 by<br />
Mr. and Mrs. Mario Zito,<br />
parents of Joseph ’97 and<br />
Pasquale ‘01.<br />
The ribbon-cutting ceremony<br />
for this new facility<br />
was the culmination of one of<br />
the largest construction<br />
projects at <strong>Chaminade</strong> since<br />
the opening of the original<br />
building on September 27,<br />
1931. “It’s stupendous,” said<br />
Mr. Richard Kearns ’68, chair-<br />
An Inside Look at<br />
AAC Construction<br />
Mr. John Kirrane ’01, Bro. Joseph Bellizzi ’78, Mr.<br />
Thomas Dufek, Fr. James Williams ’87, Mr. Richard<br />
Kearns ’68, Fr. Thomas Cardone ’73, Mr. Joseph<br />
Lucchesi ’63, and Mr. Robert Van der Waag ’61 are<br />
ready cut the ribbon, formally opening the AAC.<br />
man of the Board of Advisors.<br />
Later, during the formal<br />
portion of the evening, Mr.<br />
Kearns joked that drivers on<br />
Jericho Turnpike would soon<br />
page13 page 5<br />
be passing signs that read, “Welcome to Mineola<br />
– a Marianist Community.” His witticism reflects<br />
just how large the new facility is and how<br />
it has expanded <strong>Chaminade</strong> from a school building<br />
located at 340 Jackson Avenue to a campus<br />
that now occupies two full blocks along Jericho<br />
Turnpike.<br />
The Saturday, August 25th ribbon-cutting<br />
ceremony was certainly one of the highlights<br />
of this year’s President’s Council Dinner, an<br />
annual event held to thank major donors to<br />
the TORCH Fund, an annual-giving program<br />
that helps defray the cost of each<br />
student’s tuition. This year, the invitation<br />
list included not only TORCH Fund donors<br />
but also those who had contributed to the<br />
construction of the AAC, either financially<br />
or through donated services and materials.<br />
Usually, the President’s Council Dinner is<br />
held at a local country club. This year, the<br />
Activity-Athletic Center hosted the event.<br />
Caterer Richard Allen and his staff worked<br />
out of the AAC’s ample kitchen, fully outfitted<br />
with restaurant-grade equipment.<br />
See “AAC,” page 19.<br />
Activity-Athletic Center<br />
Hosts General Pace<br />
page 16
TARMACEditorial<br />
by Michael Contillo<br />
‘08<br />
“For believers,<br />
Mother Teresa’s<br />
sense of<br />
abandonment<br />
echoes the<br />
abandonment that<br />
Christ Himself<br />
experienced on<br />
the Cross.”<br />
A Light in the Midst of Darkness<br />
Despite Doubts, Mother Teresa Followed Christ and Served the Poor<br />
She bemoaned the dryness and darkness of her soul.<br />
She said that her smile was just a cloak that covered<br />
the truth. She has been called the “Saint of<br />
the Gutters.” But we know her more commonly as<br />
Mother Teresa of Calcutta.<br />
The recent release of Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light<br />
(Doubleday) has ignited a heated controversy over the<br />
inner spiritual life of one of the most beloved and important<br />
religious figures of modern day.<br />
The book highlights 66 years of correspondences between<br />
Mother Teresa and her confessors. In these correspondences,<br />
Mother Teresa speaks of her private dialogue<br />
with Jesus Himself, but more often of the absence of Jesus<br />
and of any spiritual consolation whatsoever.<br />
“When I try to raise my thoughts to Heaven – there<br />
is such convicting emptiness that those very thoughts<br />
return like sharp knives and hurt my very soul,” she<br />
writes. “I am told God loves me – and yet the reality<br />
of darkness and coldness and emptiness is so great that<br />
nothing touches my soul.”<br />
Ironically enough, the book’s editor and compiler is<br />
Rev. Brian Kolodiejchuk – a senior Missionaries of<br />
Charity member who is responsible for presenting the<br />
case for Mother Teresa’s canonization. He published<br />
the book to chronicle the modern-day saint’s faith-filled<br />
perseverance in the midst of spiritual darkness.<br />
According to Rev. Kolodiejchuk, “The compilation sheds<br />
light on what St. John of the Cross deemed as the ‘dark night’<br />
stage in the growth of spiritual masters. She lived with the<br />
darkness without the abandonment of her belief or work.”<br />
Prominent atheists have pointed to Mother Teresa’s<br />
dark night of doubts as further evidence that God does<br />
not exist. In an article published<br />
in the September 10, 2007 issue of<br />
Newsweek, Christopher Hitchens,<br />
author of God Is Not Great,<br />
writes, “. . . [this] is the inevitable<br />
result of a dogma that asks people<br />
to believe in impossible things<br />
and then makes them feel abject<br />
and guilty when their innate reason<br />
rebels.”<br />
“ . . . the Church should have<br />
had the elementary decency to<br />
let the earth lie lightly on this<br />
troubled and miserable lady, and<br />
not to invoke her long anguish<br />
to recruit the credulous to a<br />
blind faith in which she herself<br />
had long ceased to believe,”<br />
Hitchens concludes.<br />
Mother Teresa’s admirers see<br />
things differently. Says the Rev.<br />
James Martin, an editor for the<br />
Jesuit magazine America, “Everything<br />
she’s experiencing is<br />
what average believers experience<br />
in their spiritual lives writ<br />
large. I have known scores of<br />
people who have felt abandoned by God and had<br />
doubts about God’s existence. And this book expresses<br />
that in such a stunning way but shows her full of complete<br />
trust at the same time.”<br />
The Rev. Joseph Neuner, a prominent theologian and<br />
one of Mother Teresa’s confidants, firmly believes that her<br />
spiritual turbulence reflected “a craving for God that validated<br />
His hidden presence in her life.” She felt God’s absence,<br />
but she never abandoned the search for Him. That<br />
search, in itself, demonstrates a belief in God that Hitchens<br />
and other atheists have called into question.<br />
For believers, Mother Teresa’s sense of abandonment<br />
echoes the abandonment that Christ Himself experienced<br />
on the Cross. In 1951, Mother Teresa wrote that she wanted<br />
to share in the Passion of Christ. “I want to . . . drink<br />
ONLY [her emphasis] from His chalice of pain.”<br />
That wish was granted. In an undated reflection from<br />
her correspondences, Mother Teresa cries, “Lord, My God,<br />
who am I that You should forsake me?” Nailed upon the<br />
Cross, Jesus voiced the same sense of abandonment: “My<br />
God, My God, why have You forsaken me?”<br />
See “Mother Teresa,” page 4.<br />
T ARMAC<br />
Established 1934<br />
Published by the students of <strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
STAFF ARTISTS<br />
LAYOUT EDITORS<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> H.S.<br />
Photo Service<br />
WRITERS: Conor Finnegan, Brian Mullin, John Potapchuk, Joe Ross, Brett Wishart,<br />
Philip Lettieri, Brendan O’Shea, Peter Adams, Lukas Bentel, Jonathon Dornbush,<br />
Matthew Hughes, Brandon Pues, Thomas Rooney, Andrew Scarpitta<br />
MODERATOR<br />
Bro. Stephen Balletta, S.M.<br />
ASSISTANT MODERATORS<br />
Mr. Patrick Reichart<br />
Bro. Stephen Ries, S.M.<br />
Louis Stokum<br />
Conor Mercadante<br />
PRINTING<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> H.S.<br />
Print Shop<br />
2 COMMENTARY<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007<br />
TEAM A<br />
TEAM B<br />
Anthony Kolodzinski<br />
Nicholas Plumeri<br />
SPORTS EDITORS<br />
Kyle Blanco<br />
Tyler White<br />
FEATURE EDITORS<br />
Eamonn Cummings<br />
Harry Liberman<br />
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF:<br />
Michael Calceglia Tyler Considine<br />
Salvatore Garofalo Robert Ryan<br />
ASSOCIATE EDITORS<br />
FOR WRITING<br />
Alex Kamath<br />
Michael Strandberg<br />
LAYOUT STAFF<br />
Byron Smith<br />
ASSOCIATE EDITOR<br />
FOR PRODUCTION<br />
Kevin Doherty<br />
EDITORIAL EDITORS NEWS EDITORS<br />
Michael Contillo<br />
Dennis Grabowski<br />
Phil McAndrews<br />
HEADLINES AND<br />
CAPTIONS EDITOR<br />
Allen Buzzeo<br />
Anthony Ferrara, Anthony Mastroianni, Sean Till, Colin Dickinson, Michael<br />
Jacobellis, Ryan Krebs, Jaison Kuruvilla, Dylan Walsh<br />
WRITERS: John Maher, Michael Riley, Michael Gaffney, Desmond McWeeney,<br />
Denis O’Leary, Cody Abbey, Frank Arland, Michael Bucaria, Joseph Dalli, Daniel<br />
Hinton, Anthony Nania, Eddie Parisi, Liam Ray, Troy Sampson, Fred Cucciniello
It All Begins with a Handshake<br />
A Record 494 Freshmen Welcomed to Four Years at <strong>Chaminade</strong><br />
by Harry Liberman ‘09<br />
F<br />
our years of high school for<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s 494 freshmen began<br />
with a handshake at the main entrance<br />
of the school. There, CHS president<br />
Fr. James Williams and principal Bro. Joseph<br />
Bellizzi welcomed each member of the Class<br />
of 2011 to the <strong>Chaminade</strong> Family. Several<br />
Senior Leaders were also on hand to welcome<br />
the freshmen, as was Fr. James’ dog, a gentle,<br />
88-pound Samoyed named Greta.<br />
This warm greeting from faculty, student,<br />
and canine representatives of the <strong>Chaminade</strong><br />
Family was the first of many indications that<br />
3-C Week would deliver on its promise of<br />
forming community, building confidence, and<br />
instilling commitment in the new freshmen.<br />
3-C, a weeklong orientation program to<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, brought the freshmen<br />
into school an entire week (August 27 -<br />
August 31) earlier than their sophomore, junior,<br />
and senior counterparts. Field events;<br />
classes in writing, study skills, and mathematics;<br />
and brief introductions to many aspects<br />
of student life filled the week and<br />
helped ease the transition into a new school.<br />
Field events constituted a major portion of<br />
3-C Week. They provided an outlet for pent-up<br />
energy, an opportunity to meet new friends, and<br />
No Cause for Alarm<br />
... But First Day of <strong>School</strong> Is a Bit of a Wake-up Call<br />
by Cody Abbey ‘10<br />
Wake me up when September<br />
ends.” As August drew to a<br />
close and the beginning of the<br />
school year drew near, most of <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s<br />
1700-plus students probably shared those sentiments<br />
from the musical group Green Day.<br />
But on Wednesday,<br />
September 5, they were<br />
all rudely awakened for<br />
Orientation Day, the<br />
first of 180 official<br />
school days for the 2007-<br />
2008 school year.<br />
Freshmen had to wake<br />
up the earliest. They reported<br />
to school by 8:30<br />
a.m. for a presentation in<br />
the auditorium, where<br />
they were addressed by<br />
principal Bro. Joseph<br />
Bellizzi, dean of students<br />
Bro. Thomas<br />
Cleary, and president<br />
Fr. James Williams.<br />
Fr. James, who doubles<br />
as freshman divisional<br />
moderator, presented the<br />
an introduction to intramural athletic competition.<br />
The competition included matches in various<br />
sports, including<br />
ultimate Frisbee,<br />
dodgeball, soccer, European<br />
handball, volleyball,<br />
basketball, and<br />
water polo.<br />
“Because of the<br />
sports, I got to know<br />
many of my classmates,<br />
which will certainly<br />
help when<br />
classes begin,” said<br />
Brendan McFadden<br />
of homeroom 1H.<br />
When all the 3-C<br />
points were tallied,<br />
however, it was<br />
homeroom 1M, the<br />
“Monstarz,” that<br />
came out on top, earning<br />
them a congratulatory<br />
handshake<br />
Anthony Mascolo ‘08 (foreground)<br />
and Anthony<br />
Mastroianni ‘08 compare<br />
their senior-year schedules.<br />
from Fr. James and a trophy to display in their<br />
homeroom for the rest of the school year.<br />
Over 100 sophomores, juniors, and seniors<br />
were on hand during 3-C Week to<br />
shake hands with the freshmen and shep-<br />
1M “Monstarz” with the 3-C Championship<br />
Trophy. It was a tight race, with a single point<br />
separating each of the first three finishers.<br />
Afterwards, the freshmen reported to their<br />
homerooms; received their schedules; and<br />
experienced an abbreviated school day, meeting<br />
each of their teachers for 15 minutes.<br />
Sophomores, juniors,<br />
and seniors enjoyed the<br />
luxury of a little more<br />
sleep. Their orientation<br />
programs began at 9:30<br />
a.m., 10:30 a.m., and<br />
11:30 a.m. respectively.<br />
As did the freshmen, the<br />
three older divisions reported<br />
to the auditorium<br />
and listened to presentations<br />
from the principal,<br />
the dean of students, and<br />
their divisional moderator.<br />
Chaplain Fr. Garrett<br />
Long led each division in<br />
an opening prayer.<br />
In his address to the students,<br />
Bro. Joseph offered a<br />
point of focus for each of the<br />
three divisions. Speaking<br />
herd them from place to place during their<br />
first week of school. The volunteers helped<br />
out in homeroom,<br />
assisted with extracurricular<br />
activity<br />
presentations, and<br />
refereed intramural<br />
competitions.<br />
“The volunteers<br />
worked well with the<br />
freshmen and definitely<br />
contributed to<br />
the smooth running<br />
of the field events,”<br />
said Bro. Ryszard<br />
Decowski, fieldevents<br />
coordinator<br />
for the week. “We<br />
couldn’t have done it<br />
without them.”<br />
Many faculty<br />
members expressed<br />
a similar debt of<br />
gratitude to the<br />
upperclass volunteers. “We had a core of juniors<br />
and seniors who came out to Meribah<br />
every day to welcome the freshmen to<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s retreat house and serve them a<br />
Mike Falco dribbles past Dylan<br />
Scarpato to score a goal during<br />
3-C Week.<br />
See “3-C Week,” page 9.<br />
to the sophomores, Bro. Joseph alluded to the<br />
parable of the talents from the Gospel of Matthew.<br />
“Take a personal inventory of your gifts<br />
and talents, and make a commitment to grow<br />
and develop,” Bro. Joseph said.<br />
Utilizing still another verse from St.<br />
Matthew’s Gospel – “You are the salt of the<br />
earth. You are the light of the world” – Bro.<br />
Joseph encouraged the juniors to step into<br />
the role of upperclassmen, making the most<br />
of “the year that really counts.”<br />
To the seniors, Bro. Joseph stressed leadership,<br />
advising them to “create a positive<br />
legacy in the <strong>Chaminade</strong> Family.”<br />
Dean of students Bro. Thomas Cleary<br />
summarized the regulations of the handbook<br />
with one sentence: “Common sense<br />
and respect – follow them, and I assure<br />
you you’ll have a good year.”<br />
Following the assembly, the three upper divisions<br />
reported to their new homerooms,<br />
where they received their schedules, identification<br />
cards, and yearbooks.<br />
Afterwards, Fr. James served up a free<br />
lunch of barbecued hot dogs, soda, and<br />
chips. Clear, blue skies and mild temperatures<br />
provided the perfect opportunity for<br />
See “Orientation Day,” page 9.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 BACK TO SCHOOL<br />
3
THEPilot’s Seat<br />
FROM<br />
Lost in Translation<br />
Tutor of English Learns Lesson in Patience<br />
4<br />
by Salvatore<br />
Garofalo ‘08<br />
“Despite the<br />
substantial<br />
cultural and<br />
linguistic gap<br />
between us, I<br />
was ultimately<br />
able to connect<br />
with a complete<br />
foreigner.”<br />
COMMENTARY<br />
I<br />
lya Sweeney! Ilya Sweeney! Ilya Sweeney!” he<br />
shouted angrily.<br />
I was trying to teach him his name, but he would<br />
do nothing but fight me. It was a daunting way to<br />
begin a lesson – my pupil screaming at the top of his<br />
lungs – but I was determined.<br />
Two summers ago, I volunteered to be a teacher’s<br />
assistant at an English second-language<br />
program. One<br />
student, eight-year-old Russian<br />
orphan Ilya Sweeney,<br />
needed a one-on-one tutor because<br />
of his deficiency in the<br />
English language. I assumed<br />
the responsibility.<br />
In fact, when the four-week<br />
course had concluded, I suggested<br />
that I could tutor Ilya<br />
for another five weeks. Mrs.<br />
Sweeney, Ilya’s adoptive<br />
mother, was happy to take me<br />
up on my offer.<br />
When I met Ilya, his understanding<br />
of English was limited<br />
to one word, hello. To<br />
complicate matters, my<br />
knowledge of the Russian language<br />
was, well, non-existent.<br />
The tutoring session I remember<br />
most was a particular spelling<br />
lesson in early August. Writing<br />
each letter was a challenge because<br />
Ilya was still used to spelling<br />
with the Cyrillic alphabet.<br />
I repeated his name as he wrote it, but instead of appreciating<br />
my help, he lashed out at me. He began to scream his<br />
name over and over as he threw his notebook across the room.<br />
Even though we had been working together for five<br />
weeks, he still had trouble spelling his name, and his<br />
temper tantrums were just as explosive as when we<br />
“Mother Teresa,” continued from page 2<br />
Noticing the striking similarity between these two<br />
cries of pain, Rev. Neuner observes, “It was a redeeming<br />
experience when she realized [that] what she felt<br />
in her heart was a special sharing she had in Jesus’<br />
Passion.” In his role as her spiritual advisor, Neuner<br />
tried to help Mother Teresa understand this connection<br />
between her own agony and that of her Savior.<br />
Mother Teresa was comforted by Neuner’s response.<br />
In a letter to him (circa 1961), she wrote, “. . . for the first<br />
time in . . . years – I have come to love the darkness. I<br />
believe now that it is a part of a very, very small part of<br />
Jesus’ pain on earth . . . Jesus can’t go anymore through<br />
the agony – but He wants to go through it in me.”<br />
Now, ten years after her death, the “Saint of the Gutters”<br />
is also emerging as “a saint to the skeptics,” as<br />
Rev. Martin calls her. Apparently, Mother Teresa un-<br />
had begun. While he sat cross-armed and breathed<br />
heavily, I told him I was trying to help him, but he kept<br />
shouting, “No thank you.”<br />
Despite the setback, I was determined to persevere. Some<br />
of my friends called it stubbornness on my part. I preferred<br />
to think of it as faith in my student’s innate ability.<br />
After a short break, Ilya had relaxed enough to continue.<br />
Before we went back to<br />
his book, I reminded him that<br />
I was acting in his best interests,<br />
and he said, “Ilya know.”<br />
By the end of that day, with a<br />
little resolve and effort, Ilya<br />
learned how to spell his name<br />
and count to 20 in English.<br />
I was pleased not only with<br />
the outcome of that day’s lesson,<br />
but also with the cooperation<br />
that Ilya finally demonstrated.<br />
Although he often<br />
lost his temper, I cared about<br />
him too much to just walk<br />
away. He did not speak perfect<br />
English by the end of the<br />
summer, but I had certainly<br />
taught him enough to prepare<br />
him for his first day of school<br />
in September.<br />
Ilya and I shared some of<br />
the most memorable weeks of<br />
my life. He gave me the experience<br />
of a lifetime. Despite<br />
the substantial cultural<br />
and linguistic gap between<br />
us, I was ultimately able to connect with a complete<br />
foreigner. Ilya’s success in learning left me with a great<br />
feeling of accomplishment. What had started as an attempt<br />
to teach a student English had become an immeasurable<br />
reward. Ilya learned how to spell his name,<br />
and I learned what effort and patience could reap.<br />
derstood that her legacy would include not only her<br />
shining example of Christ-like service but also the inner<br />
darkness that gnawed at her soul.<br />
“If I ever become a Saint – I will surely be one of the<br />
‘darkness.’ I will continually be absent from Heaven –<br />
to [light] the light of those in darkness on earth.”<br />
For Hitchens, Mother Teresa “was no more exempt from<br />
the realization that religion is a human fabrication than<br />
any other person.” In other words, she was living a lie.<br />
For Kolodiejchuk, Martin, and millions of believers,<br />
she provides a powerful example of faith in the midst<br />
of doubt, perseverance in the midst of pain, and light in<br />
the midst of darkness.<br />
Living a lie, or seeking the truth? Given the magnitude<br />
of Mother Teresa’s charitable work, the humility<br />
of her soul, and her sharing in the Passion of Jesus Christ,<br />
we think the answer is obvious.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
Don’t Drink the Water . . . But Do See the Play<br />
Fall Comedy Set to Open November 16th<br />
by Joe Ross ‘08<br />
A<br />
curious phenomenon occurred during<br />
the first week of school. Several<br />
students, particularly freshmen,<br />
seemed to be avoiding the water fountains. They<br />
had, no doubt, seen the signs in the hallways<br />
reading “Don’t Drink the Water,” but apparently<br />
they were taking the message a bit too literally.<br />
The signs, in fact, referred to the Darby<br />
Players’ latest production, not to the potability<br />
of <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s H O. “The title Don’t<br />
2<br />
Drink the Water refers to the advice travelers<br />
often receive when they visit foreign countries,”<br />
said cast member Tim DeLuca ’08. “I<br />
have high hopes for a great production.”<br />
Don’t Drink the Water focuses on the<br />
paranoia that existed on both sides during<br />
the Cold War. “The play is an ensemble<br />
piece, much like Godspell was last<br />
year,” said director Mr. Michael Bruno. “I<br />
Founder’s Finds Much-Needed Space<br />
New Dormitory Wing Adds Room for 32<br />
by Philip Lettieri ‘09<br />
A<br />
though it is hard to believe, the new<br />
Activity-Athletic Center was not the<br />
only major construction project the<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> Family worked on this past year.<br />
This August, Founder’s Hollow, the<br />
Marianist Retreat House in Stone Ridge, New<br />
York, opened up a new dormitory wing. The<br />
project, conceived almost three years ago, involved<br />
constructing nine new bedrooms – eight<br />
for retreatants and one for faculty moderators.<br />
Each of the retreatants’ bedrooms sleeps four<br />
students comfortably, and each has its own bathroom<br />
with a shower, a toilet, and three sinks.<br />
“No more excuses about being late to morning<br />
prayer because there weren’t any bathrooms<br />
available!” joked Bro. Thomas Cleary, the assistant<br />
director of Founder’s Hollow.<br />
The new dormitory wing also includes<br />
a living room, a multi-media room, and a<br />
purposely picked a play that<br />
would highlight the strong core<br />
of returning actors.”<br />
In the opening scene, Axel Magee,<br />
played by Pat Kennedy ’09, takes<br />
over his father’s job as a diplomat at<br />
the American embassy in a fictional,<br />
unnamed Eastern European country.<br />
He protects fellow American<br />
Walter Hollander, played by Mike<br />
Rinere ’09, from the country’s police<br />
after Hollander is accused of<br />
spying on the government. The<br />
rest of the play revolves around<br />
Magee helping the family find a<br />
way to return safely to America.<br />
Performances can be seen on<br />
Friday, November 16 and Saturday,<br />
November 17. Tickets are<br />
$5.00 apiece.<br />
CHS and KMHS volunteers enjoy a retreat full of<br />
work and prayer at Founder’s Hollow.<br />
carpentry shop. All three rooms are<br />
located beneath the nine new bedrooms<br />
and are built into the side of<br />
a hill on one side. On the other side,<br />
these three common rooms offer unobstructed<br />
vistas of the main house,<br />
the chapel, and the property’s lower<br />
pond, as do the nine bedrooms.<br />
According to Bro. Thomas, “The<br />
purpose of the project was to accommodate<br />
more students, more comfortably<br />
on retreats.”<br />
A breezeway connects the new<br />
complex to the rest of the house. An<br />
attic runs the length of the entire dormitory<br />
wing, creating considerable<br />
additional storage space.<br />
Professional construction workers<br />
and Marianists from both <strong>Chaminade</strong><br />
and Kellenberg Memorial <strong>High</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong>s worked<br />
on the new dormitory<br />
wing all summer long.<br />
Bro. Thomas and Bro.<br />
Stephen Ries from<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> did a<br />
great deal of work on<br />
the new wing, as did<br />
Fr. Philip Eichner, Bro.<br />
Donald Nussbaum,<br />
and Bro. Richard<br />
Hughes from Kellenberg.<br />
Bro. Richard<br />
is the director of<br />
Founder’s Hollow.<br />
While the nine bedrooms<br />
are fully opera-<br />
Julia Massoti KMHS ‘09 and Pat Kennedy<br />
‘09 practice for the Darby Players’<br />
production of Don’t Drink the Water.<br />
Junior Joe Gallagher installs Sheetrock<br />
in a hallway at Founder’s Hollow.<br />
tional, there is still a good bit of finishing<br />
work to be done on the hallways and the<br />
common rooms downstairs. Under the supervision<br />
of Fr. Garrett Long from<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> and Bro. John Sandrowicz<br />
from Kellenberg, 16 student volunteers<br />
from the two schools spent the weekend<br />
of September 14-16 installing vinyl-clad<br />
Sheetrock in the hallways and capitalizing<br />
on their time at Founder’s Hollow as<br />
an opportunity for an Ora et Labora<br />
(Prayer and Work) Retreat as well.<br />
“ It was a wonderful opportunity to combine<br />
prayer, work, and relaxation – and to<br />
continue the work on the dormitory building,”<br />
said Fr. Garrett.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 NEWS<br />
5
Flyers Journey to Germany, Austria<br />
Pilgrimage <strong>High</strong>lights 20th-Century Heroes of the Church<br />
6<br />
by Alex Kamath ‘09<br />
Alex Hildebrandt ’08 strode across the<br />
living room and shook hands with<br />
Franziska Jägerstätter and her<br />
daughter Maria. He introduced himself, and<br />
the three began a conversation.<br />
Alex and several fellow Flyers were<br />
guests in the Jägerstätters’ farmhouse in<br />
St. Radegund, Austria. They were thousands<br />
of miles away from their homes on<br />
Long Island – noteworthy in itself.<br />
Even more notable was this rare opportunity<br />
to meet a living piece of history – the<br />
wife of Austrian martyr Franz Jägerstätter.<br />
“It was inspirational to meet someone<br />
who had endured so much hardship in her<br />
life and still found the strength and the<br />
faith to raise her children by herself. Despite<br />
all that hardship, to this day she still<br />
supports her husband’s decision to oppose<br />
the Nazi regime,” said Alex.<br />
Alex and 27 other <strong>Chaminade</strong> students,<br />
along with moderators Bro. Richard Hartz<br />
and Mr. Richard Tully, had come to visit<br />
the shrine of Franz Jägerstätter, who will<br />
be beatified on <strong>October</strong> 26 in Linz, Austria.<br />
Jägerstätter’s hometown was one of many<br />
stops on a pilgrimage that highlighted five<br />
20 th century heroes of the Catholic faith who<br />
lived under the Nazi government.<br />
Alex Hildebrandt ‘08 (3 rd from l.) meets<br />
Franziska Jägerstätter (2 nd from l.), the<br />
wife of Austrian martyr Franz Jägerstätter,<br />
and her daughter Maria. With them is<br />
Marianist Bro. Alfred Aigner (l.) of the<br />
German-Austrian Region.<br />
“We had read about all of these people<br />
before we departed for Germany and Austria,<br />
but their stories were truly brought<br />
to life at each of the places we visited,”<br />
said Mr. Tully. “Our trip made their stories<br />
more tangible and had a profound impact<br />
on all of us.”<br />
Franz Jägerstätter had refused to serve in<br />
Hitler’s army during World War II and was<br />
imprisoned in Linz and Berlin. In 1943, he<br />
was beheaded, but he left behind a set of<br />
moving letters that summed up his beliefs.<br />
SUMMER TRAVELS<br />
“We need no rifles or pistols for<br />
our battle, but instead, spiritual<br />
weapons – and the foremost of<br />
these is prayer.”<br />
“Twentieth-Century Heroes of<br />
the Church,” <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s pilgrimage<br />
this summer, departed for<br />
Germany on July 17 and returned<br />
to New York on July 27. The pilgrims<br />
landed in Berlin, where they<br />
visited Plötzensee Prison, the site<br />
where Blessed Jakob Gapp was executed<br />
by the Gestapo for his outspoken<br />
opposition to the Nazi regime.<br />
Following the tour of the<br />
prison, the group conducted a<br />
prayer service in honor Blessed<br />
Gapp at the Regina Martyrum<br />
Monastery. This was the first<br />
of five different prayer services<br />
held to commemorate each<br />
“20 th century hero of the<br />
Church.”<br />
“The trip tried to emphasize<br />
the courage of these five people<br />
who stood up to the Nazis, even<br />
to the point of death,” said Bro. Richard,<br />
who planned the pilgrimage. “Each service<br />
allowed us to reflect on their sacrifices,<br />
both on the personal level and<br />
for the faith.”<br />
From Berlin, the group traveled<br />
to Vienna, Austria, the site<br />
of a shrine to Blessed Sr. Maria<br />
Restituta. She had been a<br />
nurse at a hospital in Vienna<br />
and had spoken against the<br />
Nazis to both her colleagues<br />
and her patients. A Nazi doctor<br />
who worked in the hospital<br />
betrayed Sr. Restituta; she<br />
was beheaded in 1943.<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s pilgrims vis-<br />
ited the motherhouse of the<br />
Franciscan Sisters of Christian<br />
Charity, Blessed Sr. Restituta’s<br />
religious order. At the chapel<br />
there, they had a memorial<br />
prayer service.<br />
“It was a small chapel and<br />
late in the afternoon. There were already<br />
elderly nuns and patients inside the<br />
chapel, and the students filled the chapel<br />
completely,” said Bro. Richard. “At the<br />
end of our service, the nuns and students<br />
alike sang the Salve Regina (a hymn in<br />
Latin dedicated to Mary) in unison. It was<br />
a moving experience for all.”<br />
“This was one of the things that I enjoyed<br />
most about the trip – that we had the opportunity<br />
to visit places that ordinary tourists<br />
never get to see,” said Jimmy Kovar ’10.<br />
Frau Dr. Erna Putz places flowers at the<br />
shrine of Franz Jägerstätter as Ryan Minett<br />
‘10, Mike Warch ‘09, Pat Donnelly ‘08, John<br />
Ready ‘09, and Tyler Pastori ‘09 look on.<br />
From Vienna, the pilgrims traveled<br />
through Linz and Upper Austria to<br />
Munich and the Bavarian Alps, where the<br />
Gestapo had placed Blessed Rupert<br />
Mayer, a Jesuit, under house arrest. He<br />
had denounced Adolf Hitler; pointed out<br />
the fallacies of Nazi propaganda; and<br />
preached Catholic dogma, despite the<br />
threat of execution.<br />
Blessed Mayer escaped execution, however,<br />
because he was so well loved in<br />
Munich and its environs. The Nazis feared<br />
that his execution would incite a revolution.<br />
The pilgrims’ final stop was Dachau, one<br />
of the most infamous of the Nazi concentration<br />
camps. There, the students visited<br />
the spot where Blessed Fr. Otto Neururer<br />
had been executed. Blessed Neururer had<br />
been a member of the Christian Social<br />
Movement and had defended the civil<br />
rights of his parishioners in Götzens, Austria.<br />
“It was difficult to imagine the sheer<br />
number of atrocities that had been committed<br />
at Dachau,” said Ryan Horrmann ’09.<br />
In addition to visiting the sites associated<br />
with these heroes of the Church, the<br />
Flyers spent time at many well-known<br />
tourist destinations, including the<br />
Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria and the<br />
Schönbrunn Palace in Vienna.<br />
“I felt that the common thread for the<br />
pilgrimage was the opportunity to reflect<br />
on the lives of those who had the courage<br />
to stand up for their beliefs,” said Mr.<br />
Tully. “They were ordinary people who<br />
had extraordinary faith.”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
Flyer Rower Competes in Beijing<br />
Anthony Altimari ’07 Leads U.S. to Fifth-Place Finish<br />
by Brian Mullin ‘08<br />
O<br />
n August 8, 2008, some of the best<br />
athletes from around the globe will<br />
descend on Beijing, China for the<br />
Summer Olympic Games. If the U.S. Crew<br />
Team hopes to win a medal, they may want<br />
to turn to CHS alum Anthony Altimari ’07<br />
for some pointers.<br />
Anthony was one of 29 athletes invited<br />
from across the nation to try out for the<br />
U.S. Junior National Crew Team. After<br />
nearly two months of intensive training,<br />
he was chosen to represent the United<br />
States at the competition, held this past<br />
August in Beijing.<br />
Anthony was selected to be the coxswain<br />
of America’s premier boat, the “Junior<br />
Eight,” racing on the same course that<br />
Americans Abroad<br />
Flyers Participate in People to People Ambassador Program<br />
by Thomas Rooney ‘10<br />
O<br />
ur travel time was over 20 hours,”<br />
said Trevor Pirro ’10. “However,<br />
the chance to fly halfway around<br />
the world and experience a totally new culture<br />
made it all worthwhile.”<br />
Sponsored by the People to People Student<br />
Ambassador Program, Trevor and 39 other<br />
American teenagers traveled to Australia for<br />
20 days of seeing the sights and meeting the<br />
locals. The trip ran from July 23 to August 10.<br />
A native Australian tour guide greeted<br />
Trevor and his fellow student ambassadors<br />
when they arrived in Sydney<br />
and “taught us a lot about Australian<br />
culture and history.” The group<br />
toured Sydney’s famous opera house,<br />
will be used during the<br />
Olympics. He led the U.S.<br />
team to a solid finish, placing<br />
fifth in the world, just<br />
ten seconds behind firstplace<br />
finisher Germany.<br />
“It was the best experience<br />
of my life,” said Anthony in<br />
a telephone interview from<br />
his dorm at the University of<br />
Wisconsin. “It was a tremendous<br />
opportunity to represent<br />
the United States overseas,<br />
and I would advise<br />
anyone who comes across<br />
the same opportunity to<br />
make the most of it and to<br />
enjoy the experience.”<br />
climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and<br />
visited the local cricket grounds.<br />
“From Sydney, we traveled to the outback<br />
and stayed on a family farm of some 57,000plus<br />
acres,” said Trevor. The student ambassadors<br />
also snorkeled in the Great Barrier<br />
Reef, visited a crocodile farm, and fed pelicans<br />
and dolphins. Oh, and they also met a<br />
variety of people, including civic leaders<br />
from the Burdekin Shire Council, students<br />
from the Gin-Gin Elementary <strong>School</strong>, and the<br />
Aborigines of the Australian countryside.<br />
Above: Lions and tigers and . . .<br />
Trevor Pirro ‘10 (r.) poses with a<br />
wombat and its trainer.<br />
Left: Mandel Dawkins ’08 takes in<br />
the view from the foothills of Mt. Fuji.<br />
Anthony Altimari ‘07 was coxswain of<br />
America’s premier boat at the World Rowing<br />
Junior Championships.<br />
“The trip was a great way to learn about<br />
life in Australia, as well as the native Aboriginal<br />
culture,” said Trevor.<br />
Mandel Dawkins ’08 had a similar experience,<br />
although his student ambassadorship<br />
took him to Japan, where he lived<br />
with a Japanese family. Mandel’s visit to<br />
Japan ran from July 28 to August 12.<br />
“I took a lot out of the trip to Japan. Before<br />
I went there, I didn’t really know<br />
about the Japanese language and culture,”<br />
said Mandel. “After the trip, however, I<br />
came out with a basic idea of the language<br />
and the customs.”<br />
The trip to Japan afforded Mandel a<br />
wide variety of opportunities. In Tokyo,<br />
Mandel and his fellow student ambassadors<br />
met with Japanese government<br />
officials and learned about diplomatic<br />
ties between Japan and the<br />
United States.<br />
The group also visited several other<br />
places of geographic and historical significance,<br />
including Mt. Fuji, Himeji<br />
Castle, and Hiroshima. Mandel called<br />
Himeji Castle “a marvel of Japanese architecture.”<br />
At Hiroshima, Mandel was “profoundly<br />
moved” by the memorial to<br />
those who had lost their lives in the<br />
world’s first atomic bomb blast of a civilian<br />
location.<br />
“The trip taught me to keep an open<br />
mind,” said Mandel. “There’s plenty to<br />
learn when you travel to a foreign country,<br />
as long as you are open to new experiences,<br />
new people, and a new perspective<br />
on life.”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 SUMMER TRAVELS<br />
7
CULTURECorner<br />
by Eamonn<br />
Cummings<br />
‘08<br />
“The day had<br />
been a success. I<br />
enjoyed<br />
exploring a<br />
museum that I<br />
had never fully<br />
appreciated.”<br />
Better Than “A Night at the Museum”<br />
Museum of Natural History Has Even More to Offer by Day<br />
ast winter, the world “discovered” what goes on<br />
at the American Museum of Natural History at<br />
night. The movie A Night at the Museum showed<br />
the fictitious nocturnal exploits of the exhibits at the Museum<br />
of Natural History, located in Manhattan.<br />
This novel idea sparked renewed interest in the museum,<br />
which has occupied the four city blocks bounded<br />
by Central Park West, Columbus Avenue, West 77th Street, and West 81st L<br />
Street since 1869. Intrigued by<br />
the hype surrounding the movie, I set out for the museum,<br />
accompanied<br />
by my seven-year old<br />
cousin Philip, a selfproclaimed<br />
expert on<br />
the movie.<br />
Before we walked<br />
through the building’s<br />
main entrance, we<br />
looked up to the statue<br />
of President Theodore<br />
Roosevelt, whose father<br />
was one of the<br />
museum’s founders.<br />
Walking through the<br />
revolving doors into<br />
the main atrium, we<br />
were immediately met<br />
by an enormous<br />
Barosaurus fossil.<br />
Right away, I was informed<br />
by Philip that<br />
this was not the playful<br />
Tyrannosaurus rex<br />
from the movie.<br />
We began our tour<br />
of the building, looking<br />
for similarities between<br />
the real museum<br />
and the museum<br />
from the movie.<br />
The Akeley Hall of African<br />
Mammals was a<br />
favorite of Philip’s.<br />
He spent a long time<br />
there trying to find the crafty capuchin monkey that<br />
stars in A Night at the Museum, but to no avail.<br />
Next, we headed to the Margaret Mead Hall of Pacific<br />
Peoples. Quoting a line from the movie, Philip<br />
screamed, “Dumb, Dumb!” and immediately ran to the<br />
huge Easter Island head that is housed there. Although<br />
I did not see the humor in this important scientific artifact,<br />
Philip apparently found it hysterical.<br />
Although the movie focused on various points of interest<br />
in the museum, it failed to give a comprehensive<br />
view of all the exhibits offered. Determined to<br />
show to Philip that there was more than just a “large<br />
dinosaur” in the museum, I led him to some of the exhibition<br />
halls not shown in the movie.<br />
An exhibit that caught my interest was the Northwest<br />
Coast Indians Wing. Here, I discovered the dugout<br />
canoe from J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye.<br />
It is on permanent display and is a must-see for anyone<br />
who is a fan of the book.<br />
The Halls of Mesoamerican Peoples, African Peoples,<br />
and Asian Peoples, respectively, offered a look into cultures<br />
from around the world. The artifacts there show<br />
history as the museum<br />
was meant to<br />
present it. This important<br />
aspect was,<br />
not surprisingly, left<br />
out of the movie.<br />
Our next stop was the<br />
fourth floor, which is almost<br />
completely devoted<br />
to dinosaur fossils.<br />
I was impressed to<br />
learn that the floor is arranged<br />
so that, as visitors<br />
walk among the exhibits,<br />
they travel<br />
through time, going<br />
from early vertebrates<br />
to modern mammals.<br />
The highlight of the<br />
floor was the saurischian<br />
dinosaur section,<br />
where the museum<br />
houses its rightfully famous<br />
T-Rex.<br />
Besides its permanent<br />
displays, the museum<br />
has many other rotating<br />
exhibits to offer. Philip<br />
and I had fun walking<br />
through Mythic Creatures,<br />
where we saw what<br />
unicorns, mermaids, and<br />
dragons would look like<br />
if they existed.<br />
At the Hall of Human Origins, we got a look at our<br />
development as a species. Although this was a little<br />
over Philip’s head, he enjoyed the many interactive stations<br />
the museum offered.<br />
Just as Philip and I were heading to the Hall of North<br />
American Birds, the announcement came that the museum<br />
was closing. Since I had no intention of having my own<br />
night at the museum, we left the building and headed home.<br />
The day had been a success. I enjoyed exploring a museum<br />
that I had never fully appreciated. Meanwhile, Philip,<br />
who is a huge fan of the movie, learned that there was more<br />
to the museum than what goes on there at night.<br />
8 COMMENTARY<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
COUNTRY ROADS, TAKE ME HOME<br />
Flyers Travel to West Virginia to Lend a Helping Hand<br />
by Conor Finnegan ‘08<br />
W<br />
alking through the cool, wet<br />
grass, six <strong>Chaminade</strong> seniors<br />
and two Brothers followed<br />
Nazareth Farm staff member Chris Panepinto<br />
over to three wooden structures.<br />
“And this here is where you shower,” he<br />
turned and said to the stunned Flyers. “You<br />
fill that bucket with water from the hose over<br />
there and rinse yourself using that second<br />
bucket next to it. Oh, and please try to limit<br />
yourself to only three showers this week.”<br />
Bewildered and anxious about what<br />
lay ahead, the eight <strong>Chaminade</strong> men<br />
continued on their tour of “the Farm.”<br />
Included on the tour were the three outhouses<br />
they would use for the week –<br />
“the Colosseum,” “Peace Out House,”<br />
and “Noah’s Ark.”<br />
“Bucket showers” and outhouses, however,<br />
were only two of the many sacrifices<br />
that the six seniors made on their trip to<br />
Nazareth Farm in Salem, West Virginia.<br />
Departing from <strong>Chaminade</strong> on August 11,<br />
seniors Kyle Blanco, John Buonocore, Zach<br />
Colen, Ryan Conway, Conor Finnegan, and<br />
Trey Thornton embarked on the 424-mile<br />
journey down south.<br />
Director of apostolic activities Bro. Peter<br />
Heiskell led the students for the<br />
week, with the help of Bro. Stephen Ries<br />
from August 11 to 16 and Bro. Patrick<br />
Sarsfield from August 17 to 19.<br />
As the yellow <strong>Chaminade</strong> bus pulled<br />
up to the house, staff members cheered<br />
and hugged the students, welcoming<br />
them “home.” “At first I thought ‘What<br />
did I get myself into?’ “ said Kyle Blanco.<br />
“But as the week went on, I realized why<br />
everyone who has been to Nazareth Farm<br />
considers it an amazing place.”<br />
Joining the Flyers were four other groups<br />
of students and moderators from New Jersey<br />
and Illinois. In total, 39 volunteers<br />
worked, prayed, laughed, and lived together<br />
by the four cornerstones of the Farm – prayer,<br />
service, community, and simplicity.<br />
At least as far as first impressions go,<br />
simplicity was the most obvious cornerstone<br />
of the four. Students and moderators<br />
were pushed to work through their<br />
“groan zones” into their “grown zones,”<br />
hearty lunch of barbecued hot dogs, soda, chips, and ice<br />
cream,” said Bro. Stephen Balletta, who spent the week at<br />
Meribah, about 10 miles east of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> campus.<br />
Most things in life, it has been said, come full circle. Four years<br />
from now, the members of the Class of 2011 will end their highschool<br />
careers with a handshake as they receive their diplomas and<br />
heartfelt congratulations from the principal. Probably more than a<br />
few of them will remember that it all began with a simple handshake<br />
and a heartfelt welcome at the front steps of the school.<br />
opening themselves up to new people,<br />
new experiences, and new ideas that they<br />
would otherwise never have encountered.<br />
Reinforcing the simplicity that prevails at the<br />
Farm, staff members asked volunteers not to use<br />
cell phones, iPods, and other electronic devices<br />
during the week in order to free themselves from<br />
distractions and to be more present to others.<br />
The real focus of the week, however, was<br />
to serve the people of Doddridge County,<br />
many of whom live below the poverty line.<br />
The volunteers did so primarily by repairing<br />
Volunteer Ryan Conway ’08 tries his<br />
hand at some home improvement in<br />
the “hollows” of West Virginia.<br />
homes. They also provided countless, less<br />
tangible acts of service: shared conversation,<br />
a shared lunch, a warm smile, a kind word.<br />
Each morning, the volunteers divided<br />
themselves into six groups of six or seven<br />
each and traveled to a different work site<br />
every day. They painted walls at a nearby<br />
church, installed gutters on one of the local<br />
houses, built a porch at another house, and<br />
put a new roof on still another – all under<br />
the supervision of the Farm’s staff.<br />
Every morning began with a prayer led<br />
by one of the groups. Throughout the<br />
week, volunteers dug deep inside themselves<br />
to strengthen their relationships<br />
with God and with the community.<br />
One morning prayer, for example, took the<br />
volunteers through the Stations of the Cross<br />
and posed questions for individual reflection,<br />
such as “Where do I see God in my life?”<br />
Following morning prayer, everyone on<br />
the Farm did chores, like mowing the lawn<br />
and packing the trucks, and then came together<br />
to eat breakfast. The community<br />
prayed together one last time before sending<br />
each group off to the work sites.<br />
After seven hard hours on the job, everyone<br />
returned home to the Farm to enjoy<br />
each other’s company in recreation and dinner.<br />
Following dinner, the six groups would<br />
share with the other volunteers the stories<br />
of their day through humorous games, reenactments,<br />
and songs.<br />
“We worked hard during the day, but<br />
we had a lot of fun at night,” said Ryan<br />
Conway. “All the laughter definitely<br />
helped to bond us together.”<br />
In the evenings, the community would<br />
pray together and then be given free time<br />
before lights out and bed. In particular,<br />
most volunteers enjoyed a popular game<br />
of “Moose,” which easily became one of<br />
the highlights of the week. More important<br />
than the game, though, were the<br />
bonds of friendships forged by it.<br />
The strong feeling of community extended<br />
beyond the volunteers to include<br />
many of the residents of Doddridge<br />
County. On the Tuesday night, residents<br />
from several nearby “hollows” (mountain<br />
valleys where clusters of homes are often<br />
located) visited the Farm to share in a delicious<br />
home-cooked meal. The conversations<br />
that followed ranged from light-hearted<br />
joking to more serious discussions about local<br />
living conditions, family, and faith.<br />
“It’s people that matter most,” said John<br />
Buonocore, “and Nazareth Farm taught me that.<br />
No matter how different the details of our lives,<br />
there’s a common bond that allows us to come<br />
together, form friendships, and do something<br />
worthwhile for our fellow man. That’s the lesson<br />
that I took away from Nazareth Farm.”<br />
“3-C Week,” continued from page 3 “Orientation Day,” continued from page 3<br />
sophomores, juniors, and seniors to congregate on Ott Field,<br />
enjoy the free food, and swap stories from the summer that<br />
had just past.<br />
“It was great to see so many friends whom I hadn’t seen<br />
since June,” said Tom Byrne ’10.<br />
Dave Mammina ’10 was a little more measured in his assessment<br />
of Orientation Day. “It was kind of like a wake-up<br />
call,” he said, “bringing you back from summer to the reality<br />
of another school year.”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 NEWS<br />
9
SHORE<br />
by Michael Calceglia<br />
‘08<br />
THING T.R.’S HOUSE<br />
“Revisiting<br />
Sagamore Hill<br />
gave me a<br />
better<br />
understanding of<br />
our ‘Rough<br />
Rider’ President,<br />
as well as the<br />
inspiration to<br />
visit other<br />
historical sites on<br />
Long Island.”<br />
10 FEATURE<br />
Exploring the Home of “Long Island’s” President<br />
As I sat in Mr. Bruce Bombara’s American history<br />
class, learning about Theodore Roosevelt and the<br />
Rough Riders, I could not help recalling the<br />
memories of summers past. Sagamore Hill, home to Long<br />
Island’s only President, Theodore Roosevelt, has provided<br />
me with frequent opportunities to discover the house behind<br />
the “Rough Rider.” After getting the facts from history<br />
class, I decided to return to the “Hill” and learn more<br />
about Roosevelt from outside the binding of a textbook.<br />
After walking up the dirt path, I joined the other guests<br />
sitting on wooden rocking chairs, waiting for our tour<br />
guide, Mr. Andrew Buttermilch, to arrive. He began with<br />
a background lecture on Roosevelt’s life.<br />
“Theodore Roosevelt bought 155 acres of farmland on a<br />
small peninsula called<br />
Cove Neck, located in<br />
Oyster Bay, New York. In<br />
1884, Roosevelt hired a<br />
New York architect from<br />
the firm of Lamb & Rich<br />
to design a shingle-style<br />
Queen Anne home to be<br />
built on this property,<br />
where Roosevelt and his<br />
family would reside for<br />
the rest of their lives,” said<br />
Mr. Buttermilch.<br />
After this background<br />
lecture, we were ushered<br />
through the oversized front<br />
door and into the front hall.<br />
As I walked through the<br />
hall, my eye was drawn towards<br />
the large elephant<br />
tusks in front of the fireplace. It would be nearly impossible<br />
not to notice this gift from the emperor of Abyssinia. “These<br />
tusks are the most frequently questioned and most often remembered<br />
artifact in the house,” said Buttermilch.<br />
Just off the front hall is the library. I learned that this<br />
space was where Roosevelt sat down and wrote his 30plus<br />
books and biographies. I later discovered that this<br />
room was also the site for family games and discussions<br />
among the President and his children.<br />
During the famed “Summer White House” years,<br />
1902–1908, the library was transformed into a meeting<br />
place for the President’s staff.<br />
While Roosevelt had the library to showcase his books,<br />
the crown jewel of the home is undoubtedly the North<br />
Room, where he displayed his big-game trophies. This 20’<br />
x 40’ room was added to the house during Roosevelt’s<br />
Presidency to host his prominent guests.<br />
Standing in the roped-off visitors’ section, I inquired<br />
about the large, round table which stood out among<br />
the various animal heads in the room. “The reason<br />
why this table was round was to ensure that no one<br />
was able to sit at the head of the table when Roosevelt<br />
met with foreign dignitaries,” said Buttermilch.<br />
I spotted a sword and hat hanging on a moose head, which<br />
was mounted on the far wall. These items were used during<br />
the famed charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American<br />
War, a topic of particular interest to me from American<br />
history class. A samurai sword and dagger, gifts from the<br />
Japanese Emperor in honor of the Portsmouth Treaty, also<br />
caught my attention. Other interesting artifacts included an<br />
elephant-foot waste-paper basket and a mosaic of the Vatican<br />
Gardens, given to Roosevelt by Pope Leo XIII.<br />
Our tour continued into the dining room and kitchen. During<br />
dinner with distinguished Presidential guests, Roosevelt’s<br />
children were expected to<br />
take part in conversation,<br />
which was unusual at the<br />
time. In the kitchen, a<br />
phone and safe, both uncommon<br />
in the early 1900s,<br />
were added. Roosevelt<br />
stored many valuables in<br />
the safe, including his<br />
Nobel Peace Prize.<br />
While I was already familiar<br />
with T.R.’s military<br />
and Presidential careers,<br />
I was still curious about<br />
his personal life. This cu-<br />
riosity was satisfied<br />
when my tour moved to<br />
the gun room, located on<br />
the second floor.<br />
Roosevelt stored all of his<br />
guns and hunting equipment in this room, which he used<br />
on his rather frequent family hunting expeditions.<br />
As the tour concluded on the porch, Mr. Buttermilch<br />
was quick to point out that there were many other attractions<br />
that could be found on the grounds of Sagamore<br />
Hill. Among these are the carriage house; pet cemetery;<br />
ice house; windmill; and Ted Jr.’s house, which was transformed<br />
into a museum displaying many more of<br />
Roosevelt’s artifacts, including his Nobel Peace Prize.<br />
On my trip home, I realized that there was much<br />
more to history than what is written in textbooks. Revisiting<br />
Sagamore Hill gave me a better understanding<br />
of our “Rough Rider” President, as well as the inspiration<br />
to visit other historical sites on Long Island.<br />
Tours of Sagamore Hill run Wednesdays through Sundays<br />
from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the gift<br />
shop before the tour; however, it is recommended that the<br />
tickets be reserved ahead of time during the spring and summer<br />
months. For more information, call 516-922-4788, or<br />
check out Sagamore Hill’s website at www.nps.gov/sahi.<br />
Photo courtesy of Sagamore Hill National Historic Site<br />
Exploring Sagamore Hill: Trophies and artifacts<br />
from President Theodore Roosevelt’s life line<br />
the main hall at his home in Oyster Bay.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
Teaching Halfway Around the World<br />
Project MAST Returns to the Solomon Islands<br />
by Conor Mercadante ‘10<br />
The majority of the natives live in huts<br />
made of grass, leaves, and bamboo.<br />
Most farm and fish to sustain their<br />
lives. Few villages have electricity, and in<br />
those that do, the power lasts for only a few<br />
hours each day. Running water is just as rare.<br />
It was in these living conditions that two<br />
members of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> faculty, Bro.<br />
Timothy Driscoll and Bro. Ryszard<br />
Decowski, spent eight weeks of their summer.<br />
The two Marianists were missionaries<br />
to the Solomon Islands, located near<br />
the equator in the West Pacific Ocean.<br />
There, they conducted six Marianist Apostolic<br />
Spiritual Training (MAST) workshops,<br />
each lasting four or five days. Bros.<br />
Timothy and Ryszard departed for the<br />
Solomons on June 7 and returned to New<br />
York on August 1. While they were there,<br />
they visited six different villages, along<br />
with Honiara, the capital, some 8,529.7<br />
miles away from downtown Mineola.<br />
The Brothers’ goal was to aid Catholic<br />
teachers and youth leaders in deepening<br />
their faith and developing a greater understanding<br />
of their vocation as Catholics<br />
and educators. Workshops in six different<br />
parishes in the Dioceses of Auki and<br />
Gizo centered around the theme for World<br />
Youth Day 2008 proposed by Pope<br />
Benedict XVI: “You will receive power<br />
when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;<br />
and you will be my witnesses.” (Acts 1:8)<br />
Bros. Timothy and Ryszard challenged<br />
the participants – about 250 in total – to<br />
identify ways in which the Spirit works<br />
through the Scriptures and the tradition<br />
of the Church to make them witnesses<br />
to the Kingdom of God. They<br />
also focused on the importance of a<br />
Catholic education to the local faith<br />
community.<br />
While his goal was to teach others about<br />
the Catholic faith, Bro. Ryszard, a first-time<br />
visitor to the Solomon Islands, also<br />
developed a deeper appreciation<br />
for his own faith during his<br />
stay in the country.<br />
“It was a very spiritual experience<br />
for me to celebrate<br />
Mass with the Solomon Islanders<br />
because, while we<br />
were people coming from totally<br />
different backgrounds<br />
and cultures, we were bound<br />
together by the Eucharist,”<br />
said Bro. Ryszard.<br />
Bro. Timothy Driscoll<br />
poses for a picture with<br />
one of Project MAST’s<br />
younger students.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007<br />
Bro. Timothy and<br />
Bro. Ryszard were<br />
both impressed by<br />
the happiness and<br />
generosity of the<br />
Solomon Islanders,<br />
despite the<br />
many material<br />
deprivations they<br />
must endure.<br />
“It amazed me<br />
that people can<br />
have so little of<br />
what we consider<br />
material comforts,” said Bro.<br />
Ryszard, “but that they can still be extremely<br />
happy and friendly.”<br />
“Many of the people are what we<br />
would consider poor,” said<br />
Bro. Timothy. “The differ-<br />
Left: Travel in the<br />
Solomon Islands is<br />
often by boat.<br />
Here, Bro. Ryszard<br />
Decowski sits back<br />
and enjoys the<br />
ride.<br />
Below: Students of<br />
Bro. Ryszard and<br />
Bro. Timothy show<br />
off their certificates<br />
after completing<br />
one of the<br />
Spiritual Training<br />
workshops.<br />
ence, though, is that, although these people<br />
may not have a lot of money, they are not hungry,<br />
and they are still content with their lives.”<br />
The trip to the Diocese of Gizo was especially<br />
poignant for Bro. Timothy, who is a five-year veteran<br />
of Project MAST. On April 2, 2007, the area<br />
was ravaged by an earthquake and tsunami. Bro.<br />
Timothy returned to find 30 to 40 villages, all of<br />
which had been thriving only a year before, severely<br />
damaged or even decimated.<br />
“The effect of the earthquake and tsunami<br />
on the people of the region is very much<br />
like the experience of September 11, 2001<br />
for us,” said Bro. Timothy. “For many years<br />
to come, everything will be measured as before<br />
or after the morning of April 2.”<br />
The experience reminded both Bro. Timothy<br />
and Bro. Ryszard that, although cultures<br />
and lifestyles may be different,<br />
all people have much in common.<br />
“For me, it’s been a positive<br />
experience to visit another culture<br />
and to get to know the<br />
people as more than just a<br />
tourist,” said Bro. Timothy.<br />
“I return each year, and I<br />
continue to find that I have<br />
more in common with<br />
these people of such a different<br />
lifestyle than I would<br />
ever have imagined five<br />
years ago.”<br />
NEWS<br />
11
A Dream Come True<br />
Student Body Celebrates Mass Under One Roof for First Time in 30 Years<br />
by Jonathon Dornbush ‘10<br />
T<br />
he opening Mass of the new school<br />
year, the first ever held in<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s new Activity-Athletic<br />
Center, celebrated the power of the imagination.<br />
For many students, the Mass provided<br />
the first opportunity to see the interior<br />
of the new facility.<br />
The September 13th event also marked the<br />
first time since 1977 that the entire student<br />
body could gather under one roof for Mass.<br />
For the past 30 years, school Masses have<br />
been held simultaneously in the auditorium<br />
and the gymnasium to accommodate the increase<br />
in student population that began in<br />
the 1970s and continued into the 1980s with<br />
the addition of Powers Hall.<br />
From the arrival of students for Mass, to<br />
the homily, to a moving Communion solo,<br />
this Mass was all about the power of the<br />
imagination to achieve great things. In his<br />
homily, CHS president Fr. James Williams<br />
spoke of the “creative imagination” that<br />
brought the AAC from a dream to a reality.<br />
“What you are sitting in now started as this,”<br />
Above: Dimitri Moise ‘10<br />
sings “I Can Only Imagine”<br />
during the distribution of the<br />
Eucharist.<br />
Right: CHS president Fr.<br />
James Williams blesses the<br />
Activity-Athletic Center with<br />
holy water.<br />
12 ACTIVITY-ATHLETIC CENTER<br />
said Fr. James,<br />
holding a pencil in<br />
his left hand.<br />
“Thanks to the<br />
hundreds of architects,<br />
bricklayers,<br />
and students who<br />
helped, a sketch<br />
on a piece of paper<br />
was turned into a<br />
70,000 square-foot<br />
facility.”<br />
And who could<br />
have imagined the<br />
size and the<br />
beauty of the new<br />
Activity-Athletic<br />
Center? As they<br />
filed into the main<br />
The CHS student body and faculty gather to celebrate<br />
the first Mass held in the newly completed Activity-<br />
Athletic Center.<br />
arena and took their seats, students pointed at<br />
the building’s most prominent features – the<br />
undulating, aluminum-panel ceiling 38’ feet<br />
above them; the tenth-of-a-mile indoor track<br />
surrounding the arena; the crimson-and-gold<br />
bleacher seating for 1,400, not only around the<br />
court but on a second-story balcony as well.<br />
“Their eyes widened as they scanned<br />
the complex. You could hear the excitement<br />
in their voices,” said dean of students<br />
Bro. Thomas Cleary. “Finally,<br />
they saw for themselves what had once<br />
existed only in their imaginations.”<br />
The Mass celebrated another kind of<br />
imagination as well – religious imagination.<br />
In his homily, Fr. James reflected on<br />
“the kind of imagination that empowered<br />
our four Marianist martyrs to do the seemingly<br />
impossible – sacrifice their lives.”<br />
The Mass was celebrated in honor of<br />
four 20 th century Marianist martyrs:<br />
Blessed Jakob Gapp, Blessed Carlos Eraña,<br />
Blessed Fidel Fuidio, and Blessed Jesús<br />
Hita. All four were beatified by Pope John<br />
Paul II within the last 12 years.<br />
“I Can Only Imagine,” a popular song by<br />
the musical group Mercyme, continued the<br />
theme. As Fr. James walked up and down<br />
the aisles, sprinkling holy water to bless both<br />
the building and the students, a recording<br />
of the song played over the PA system.<br />
Later, during Communion, sophomore<br />
Dimitri Moise sang the same song. According<br />
to Mrs. Joanne Juckiewicz, Glee Club<br />
moderator, “Dimitri sang ‘I Can Only Imagine’<br />
with such feeling that it left me and many<br />
others in the congregation with chills.”<br />
After Mass, students were treated to an<br />
unexpected surprise –<br />
175 dozen donuts, with<br />
none left over, and over<br />
1,700 servings of orange<br />
juice to enjoy as they<br />
toured the building.<br />
“You are free to walk<br />
around the building and<br />
explore its facilities as<br />
you like,” Fr. James announced.<br />
“Just make<br />
sure you get back across<br />
the street and into<br />
homeroom by 11:55.”<br />
When the faculty first<br />
pooled their ideas for the<br />
new Activity-Athletic Center,<br />
they imagined “a cathedral<br />
where we can play<br />
ball,” according to Fr.<br />
James. As the <strong>Chaminade</strong><br />
Family celebrated its first<br />
Mass in the new facility, it<br />
was abundantly clear that<br />
those dreams had, in fact,<br />
come true.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
BUILDERS BECOME A “BAND OF BROTHERS”<br />
Professionals, Students, and Faculty Complete the AAC Ahead of Schedule<br />
by Tyler White ‘10<br />
N<br />
ot too long ago, an abandoned Ford<br />
dealership stood at the corner of<br />
Jericho Turnpike and Saville<br />
Road. Less than two-and-a-half years<br />
later, <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s brand-new, 68,354<br />
square-foot Activity-Athletic Center<br />
stands in its place.<br />
A conglomeration of union and nonunion<br />
construction workers, Brothers,<br />
lay faculty members, alumni, and students<br />
collaborated to complete the new<br />
building, which includes a 1,400-seat<br />
basketball arena, a tenth-of-a-mile indoor<br />
track, a 6,987 square-foot wrestling<br />
room, and a 270-seat lecture hall. According<br />
to CHS president Fr. James Williams,<br />
the facility was completed several<br />
months ahead of schedule.<br />
“Fr. James deserves an enormous<br />
amount of credit for coordinating the professional<br />
construction workers with the<br />
Brothers and the student workers. From<br />
what I understand, this kind of joint effort<br />
between professionals and amateurs<br />
is rather unusual in the construction industry,”<br />
said Bro. Stephen Balletta, who<br />
supervised the painting at the site.<br />
“These past two-and-a-half years were a<br />
testimony to Fr. James’ ability to coordinate<br />
the project and motivate many different groups<br />
of people to work together,” he added.<br />
That collaboration was an integral part<br />
of the AAC’s construction – and an embodiment<br />
of <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s motto, Fortes in<br />
Unitate, Strength in Unity.<br />
“[The tradesmen and the students] had a<br />
very strong relationship, like a father teaching<br />
his son,” said Fr. James. “It was evident<br />
that all the workers enjoyed being a part of<br />
this project by<br />
their attitude<br />
and humor.”<br />
“I remember<br />
when Fr. James, a<br />
few students, a few<br />
Brothers, and I were<br />
working on pouring cement<br />
pads for machines<br />
in the basement,”<br />
said Mr. Bill<br />
Zimmermann, the first<br />
professional laborer on the<br />
job site. “We brought it<br />
down wheelbarrow by<br />
Two construction<br />
workers place an<br />
American flag<br />
atop the AAC,<br />
signifying the<br />
completion<br />
of the steel<br />
frame.<br />
Right: Chris Kuehn ‘06<br />
(l.) and carpenter Tom<br />
Bruder share a laugh as<br />
they take a break from<br />
their work.<br />
Below: Construction workers<br />
suspend aluminum<br />
acoustical panels from<br />
the AAC ceiling.<br />
wheelbarrow, yard by yard, with concrete<br />
weighing 2,100 pounds a yard. Each pad alone<br />
required three yards of cement. We finished our<br />
job in an hour because of all the volunteer help<br />
– an eighth of the time it would have taken professionals<br />
with all the pumps and everything.”<br />
“When we finished, we were all having<br />
pizza. It was an amazing experience that<br />
day, and when I think back on it, it was<br />
like that all during the job,” he added.<br />
Work started on the Activity-Athletic Center<br />
with groundbreaking on April 25, 2005,<br />
and kept at a steady pace throughout. In<br />
January of 2007, the Marianist Community<br />
started showing up in force, lending their<br />
help to the professionals who had been<br />
pouring foundations,<br />
erecting steel, and laying<br />
brick for over a<br />
year and a half.<br />
Initially, the Brothers<br />
cleaned up construction<br />
debris and moved equipment,<br />
reducing the cost<br />
of labor for the job. Several<br />
volunteer groups –<br />
most notably Emmaus<br />
and a number of sports<br />
teams – pitched in as<br />
well, as did many coaches and teachers.<br />
This summer, the Marianist Community and<br />
over 100 paid student and graduate workers<br />
assumed a bigger role, working on everything<br />
from landscaping to painting to carpentry. The<br />
carpenters, for example, covered the wrestlingroom<br />
walls with a sheathing of two-tone<br />
Formica, installed cherry and maple paneling<br />
in the exhibition space and gym lobby, and built<br />
cabinets and lockers for the coaches’ offices.<br />
Meanwhile, the painters trimmed and<br />
rolled in the locker rooms, in stairwells, in<br />
the lecture hall, and in the main arena.<br />
“Every time I drive by 311 Jericho Turnpike,<br />
it feels great to be able to say that I<br />
helped make that building,” said summer<br />
painter Jimmy Kovar ’10. “It makes me feel<br />
even more a part of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> Family.”<br />
Representatives from all parts of the<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> Family played a vital role in transforming<br />
the AAC from a set of plans to a finished<br />
building. Mr. Thomas Dufek, a member<br />
of the board of advisors, helped with fundraising<br />
and financing for the project. Mr. Joseph<br />
Lucchesi ‘63 drew up the plans and<br />
served as a consultant during construction.<br />
Mr. Timothy Bowe, father of two recent<br />
graduates, donated the services of his company<br />
to install 822 sprinkler heads. The<br />
sprinkler equipment itself was provided by<br />
Mr. Michael Fee ’75, owner of The Reliable<br />
Automatic Sprinkler Company.<br />
See “AAC Construction,” page 18.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 ACTIVITY-ATHLETIC CENTER<br />
13
68,354 SQUARE FEET 18,250 CONCRETE BLOCKS 139,500 BRICKS 46 FEET TALL 1,360 CUBIC YARDS OF REINFORCED CONCRETE 536 TONS OF STRUCTURAL STEEL<br />
2,470 FEET OF STEEL PIPE 3,280 FEET OF COPPER TUBING<br />
137,000 POUNDS OF DUCTWORK 13,780 FEET OF WIRE 84 DOORS<br />
822 SPRINKLER HEADS 400-KILOWATT GENERATOR 6,000-POUND CAPACITY FREIGHT ELEVATOR<br />
2005<br />
O<br />
The Activity-Athletic Center<br />
2005<br />
nce just a dream for the <strong>Chaminade</strong> campus,<br />
the Activity - Athletic Center would rise from<br />
what was the former Koeppel Ford property, purchased<br />
on January 30, 2004. After months of designing<br />
and planning, construction began, with<br />
the official groundbreaking for the new facility taking<br />
place on April 25, 2005.<br />
James Hollwedel ‘05 and Conor Blanco ‘07<br />
Sal Ambrosino ‘08<br />
Chris Sullivan ‘09<br />
Dave Miller ‘07 Bro. Benjamin Knapp<br />
From Dream...<br />
...To Reality<br />
14 WINGSPAN<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 15<br />
2007<br />
853 days after the first shovel broke ground at<br />
the site, <strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong> officially<br />
opened the 68,354-square-foot facility at the annual<br />
President’s Council Dinner, held on August 25, 2007.<br />
The dream became a reality.<br />
T<br />
he building contains a 1,400-seat basketball<br />
arena, a wrestling room, a 270-seat auditorium,<br />
and a suspended track, as well as locker rooms<br />
and a concession stand.<br />
The completion of the project, with help from<br />
students, faculty, and Brothers, occurred months<br />
ahead of schedule – a testament to the enthusiasm<br />
and support of the entire <strong>Chaminade</strong> Family.
TARMAC<br />
Newspaper of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> Flyers <strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong>, 340 Jackson Avenue, Mineola, New York 11501-2441 (516) 742-5555<br />
Check out <strong>Tarmac</strong>’s<br />
Next Issue,<br />
November 2007<br />
The November 2007 issue<br />
of <strong>Tarmac</strong> will feature<br />
coverage of:<br />
— Gold Star Mass<br />
— Academic Awards Assembly<br />
— Sodality Events<br />
— Emmaus<br />
— Senior Evening of Recollection
General Pace Pays Tribute to His Friend<br />
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Visits Slain War Hero’s Alma Mater<br />
16<br />
by Phil McAndrews ‘08 and Alex Kamath ‘09<br />
hen-2nd T<br />
Lieutenant Peter Pace and<br />
Lance Corporal Guido Farinaro ‘67<br />
were on patrol during the infamous<br />
Tet Offensive in Vietnam on a hot July day in<br />
1968. This was the first tour of duty for both<br />
Marines, and they had become fast friends.<br />
Suddenly, Lieutenant Pace heard a gunshot<br />
and watched in horror as his friend Guido fell<br />
to the ground, shot by a sniper. “A sense of<br />
rage came through me.”<br />
The <strong>Chaminade</strong> Gold Star was<br />
the first soldier to die under Pace’s<br />
command, and the career Marine<br />
never forgot him.<br />
Forty years later, four-star<br />
General Peter Pace, Chairman of<br />
the Joint Chiefs of Staff and principal<br />
military advisor to the<br />
President of the United States,<br />
arrived at <strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong><br />
<strong>School</strong> to honor the memory of<br />
Guido Farinaro, whose photograph<br />
the General has kept on<br />
his desk throughout his long and<br />
distinguished military career.<br />
“I made a promise to myself back<br />
then, that I would continue to serve<br />
in the Corps in Guido’s and all the<br />
fallens’ memories, and try to do my<br />
job out of respect for them.”<br />
“He had tried to come two years<br />
ago for the Gold Star Mass but<br />
was called away last minute by<br />
the President,” said CHS president<br />
Fr. James Williams. “With his<br />
retirement approaching in <strong>October</strong>,<br />
the general had made it a<br />
point to visit Guido’s alma mater<br />
before he retired from the service.”<br />
The entire <strong>Chaminade</strong> student<br />
body gathered in the new Activity-<br />
Athletic Center to welcome the<br />
General on September 19. With the<br />
Gold Band playing “Ruffles and<br />
Flourishes” – a fanfare for distinguished<br />
members of the federal<br />
government, including the Chairman<br />
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff –<br />
General Pace walked onto the stage.<br />
Seated directly in front of him<br />
were approximately 160 invited<br />
guests, including <strong>Chaminade</strong> graduates currently<br />
serving in the United States military, as<br />
well as several Gold Star families.<br />
Mrs. Marianna Winchester, mother of Ronald<br />
Winchester ’97 (1979 -2004) was in attendance,<br />
as were Mr. Gregory LiCalzi and Greg Jr., the<br />
father and brother of Michael LiCalzi ‘00 (1982<br />
- 2006). Mr. and Mrs. James Regan, parents of<br />
James Regan ‘98 (1980 – 2007), also attended.<br />
Ron, Mike, and Jim were all killed in Iraq.<br />
THE GENERAL’S VISIT<br />
“There are no words that anyone can ever<br />
speak to you that can possibly capture . . .<br />
your loss and your families’ sacrifice. . . . I<br />
hope in some way that the understanding of<br />
what your loved ones’ sacrifice has brought<br />
for all of us somehow can ease your pain. [We<br />
are] indebted to you for being here today to<br />
say a few words of thanks from all of us who<br />
have the privilege to live in this country.”<br />
It was an emotionally charged moment.<br />
“Many fought back tears,” according to de-<br />
General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs<br />
of Staff, kept students on the edge of their seats<br />
as he recounted the heroic story of Lance Corporal<br />
Guido Farinaro CHS ’67.<br />
velopment officer Mr. Charles Mansfield<br />
’62, a former Marine himself.<br />
Next, the general turned his attention to the<br />
faculty and the students. “Those who have<br />
passed through this institution have never lost<br />
the love of what this institution has provided.<br />
It turns out young men who have been dedicated<br />
to lives of service. Our country has a<br />
gift in this high school. . . . I want to thank the<br />
faculty for making this possible,” he said.<br />
As he expressed at several points<br />
throughout his presentation, it was Guido<br />
Farinaro who provided General Pace with<br />
one of his earliest firsthand experiences of<br />
the <strong>Chaminade</strong> man. “Guido was one<br />
graduate whose life made a difference.<br />
Guido’s life has changed mine,” said General<br />
Pace, his voice cracking with emotion.<br />
“Guido Farinaro and others who sacrificed<br />
their lives for this country, following the orders<br />
of 2 nd Lieutenant Peter Pace in combat,<br />
made me realize there was something<br />
I was supposed to do in my<br />
life,” he continued.<br />
Apparently, Guido Farinaro’s<br />
death not only helped young Lieutenant<br />
Pace decide what he would<br />
do with his life, but also how he<br />
would live. “Regardless of what<br />
you do in life, hold on to your moral<br />
compass,” General Pace advised<br />
the Flyers. “Moral challenges come,<br />
and if you have thought through<br />
what kind of person you want to<br />
be, you will be that person.”<br />
Recalling the deaths of so many<br />
of his Vietnam buddies, General<br />
Pace urged the students to live<br />
their lives to the fullest because<br />
“we don’t control how we die, but<br />
we do control how we live.”<br />
“I was moved by the entire<br />
speech. Obviously, it was emotional<br />
for General Pace to talk<br />
about Guido. But it was also clear<br />
that he really wanted to be here,”<br />
said Ryan Carroll ’09.<br />
Senior Mike Ceriello agreed.<br />
“General Pace is a man of integrity.<br />
I could tell by the way he<br />
spoke that he has truly lived by<br />
his values throughout his life.”<br />
Following the speech, the<br />
General fielded several questions<br />
from the student body.<br />
(See p. 18) “I was a little nervous<br />
that the students would be<br />
afraid to speak up and that we<br />
wouldn’t be able to fill the time<br />
[allotted to questions],” said social-studies<br />
teacher Mr. Brian<br />
Anselmo, “but they really were<br />
interested and asked quality questions.”<br />
One of the most poignant questions came<br />
from senior Joe Lovas, whose father had<br />
served in Vietnam. According to Joe, when<br />
his father and his fellow soldiers returned from<br />
the war, they took a good bit of heat – even<br />
disrespect – from their fellow Americans. Joe<br />
asked General Pace how he deals with the<br />
pressure and criticism often placed on him and<br />
on the military by the American people.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
“Things have really<br />
changed in the 40 years<br />
that I’ve been in the service.<br />
Those of us who<br />
fought in Vietnam were<br />
thought of as part of the<br />
problem,” said General<br />
Pace. “People who did<br />
not like the war treated<br />
us with disrespect because,<br />
in their minds, we<br />
represented the war.”<br />
“Just as people grow,<br />
nations grow,” he continued.<br />
“Regardless of how<br />
our fellow citizens feel<br />
about Iraq and Afghanistan,<br />
they appreciate the<br />
guys and gals in uniform<br />
serving their country to<br />
the best of their ability.”<br />
“I was particularly impressed with the<br />
level of poise and detail with which Gen-<br />
eral Pace answered<br />
each of the questions,”<br />
said social-studies<br />
teacher Mr. William<br />
Carriero. “Each was<br />
difficult in its own<br />
way, but the General<br />
gave everyone an honest<br />
answer.”<br />
After the assembly,<br />
during a brunch held in<br />
the new Activity-Athletic<br />
Center’s wrestling<br />
room, General Pace took<br />
the time to personally<br />
meet each of the Gold<br />
Star families present. He<br />
spoke with them all,<br />
shook their hands, and<br />
gave each a commemorative<br />
medallion.<br />
“Really, my focus for the visit was to<br />
meet with each of the families and to ex-<br />
A Four-Star Spouse<br />
Adash of confidence, a pinch of<br />
wisdom, and a splattering of charisma<br />
– all wrapped up in a love<br />
for his country and a passion for his faith.<br />
Oh, and the secret ingredient in the recipe<br />
of a great man: A strong woman behind him<br />
who manages to keep everything together.<br />
General Peter Pace, who has had the support<br />
of his loving wife Lynne for over 36<br />
years, is no exception to this<br />
rule. The couple have two<br />
children: Peter Jr., who was<br />
a Marine for over six years<br />
and currently works for<br />
Goldman Sachs in Chicago,<br />
and Tiffany Marie, who is a<br />
CPA in Charlotte, N.C.<br />
“[Being the wife of a general]<br />
is not necessarily<br />
hard, but it certainly has its<br />
challenges,” said Mrs. Pace<br />
at a reception held in the<br />
Activity-Athletic Center after<br />
her husband’s speech.<br />
“The hardest thing is the<br />
moving. We have had to<br />
move all the time. My<br />
daughter attended eight or<br />
nine different schools, and<br />
every time she had to make new friends.<br />
We even lived in Japan and Korea, for two<br />
years in each place.”<br />
The hardships are much more bearable,<br />
however, when mixed with the opportunities<br />
Mrs. Pace has had to help<br />
others. Asked what her most rewarding<br />
experiences were, she responded,<br />
“The opportunities I’ve had to help<br />
those who need it most, especially<br />
General Pace and Fr. James<br />
review the honor roll of<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s Gold Star Alumni.<br />
by Dennis Grabowski ‘08<br />
wounded soldiers and their families.<br />
Many of the soldiers don’t even have the<br />
equipment they need, so I do what I can<br />
to help them.”<br />
Though their lifestyle is hectic and the work<br />
is sometimes heart-wrenching, laughter is still<br />
often heard in the Pace household. In fact,<br />
the relationship that Mrs. Pace and the General<br />
share is even rooted in a funny story.<br />
General Pace, Mrs. Pace, and Fr. James walk<br />
from the main school building to the AAC.<br />
“I was dating the roommate of Admiral<br />
Mike Mullin, the man who will soon<br />
be taking over for my husband as Chairman<br />
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. When I<br />
broke up with the man I was dating, the<br />
Admiral actually introduced me to Peter.”<br />
From there, it was happily ever after.<br />
“We’ve been married for 36 1/2 years,”<br />
laughed Mrs. Pace, “but we’ve been dating<br />
for over 40.”<br />
press my gratitude for their sacrifice,” said<br />
General Pace.<br />
Forty years ago, Lance Corporal Guido<br />
Farinaro left an indelible mark on 2 nd Lieutenant<br />
Peter Pace. This past September,<br />
General Pace left his own indelible mark<br />
on the entire <strong>Chaminade</strong> Family. No Flyer<br />
will soon forget his heartfelt visit to remember<br />
a man whose “life has changed<br />
mine forever.”<br />
Mr. Lawrence Mahon ‘78, chairman of the<br />
TORCH Committee and former president of<br />
the Alumni Association, could barely contain<br />
his emotion after General Pace’s presentation.<br />
He called the event “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.<br />
. . . This day was one of the best<br />
ever for me personally and for <strong>Chaminade</strong>. .<br />
. . I came away with inspiration and a deepened<br />
faith.”<br />
Senior Brian Caulfield agreed. “I think I<br />
can speak for the entire student body when I<br />
say that General Pace’s visit is something we<br />
will always remember.”<br />
Some Advice from<br />
an Honored Marine<br />
by Michael Strandberg ‘09<br />
W<br />
hen General Peter Pace<br />
spoke to the student body<br />
on September 19, he brought<br />
with him a host of high-ranking military officers.<br />
One of them, Colonel Harvey C.<br />
Barnum, more commonly known as Barney<br />
Barnum, served the Marines for over 27 years.<br />
Much like General Pace, Colonel Barnum<br />
felt a personal connection to <strong>Chaminade</strong>,<br />
as eight of his classmates at St. Anselm College<br />
had graduated from CHS.<br />
During the Vietnam War, Colonel<br />
Barnum made his mark on the Marine<br />
Corps, receiving the United States’ highest<br />
honor for bravery in combat, the Congressional<br />
Medal of Honor, in 1965.<br />
“Set your goals high and always<br />
reach high to get there,” Colonel<br />
Barnum told the crowd at the Activity-<br />
Athletic Center. “The future of this<br />
great country is in the hands of our<br />
youth. Step up to the plate and keep<br />
hitting home runs.”<br />
Colonel Harvey C. Barnum receives<br />
a <strong>Chaminade</strong> sweatshirt.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 THE GENERAL’S VISIT<br />
17
Four-Star General Fields a Few Questions<br />
by Salvatore Garofalo ‘08<br />
would like to stop talking at you and<br />
answer your questions,” said General<br />
Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs<br />
of Staff. “The rules are pretty simple. You<br />
get to ask anything you want on any topic you<br />
want. I get to give you whatever answer I<br />
want. If I know the answer, I’ll tell you. If I<br />
don’t, I’ll make something up. By the time<br />
you figure out I made it up, I’ll be gone.”<br />
Timidly at first, and then quite eagerly,<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> students took advantage of<br />
the opportunity to pose their questions to<br />
the most powerful man in the United<br />
States military after the<br />
Commander in Chief.<br />
The question-and-answer<br />
session lasted for<br />
53 minutes.<br />
At the September 19th I<br />
assembly with General<br />
Pace, held in the newly<br />
opened Activity-Athletic<br />
Center, the Flyers asked a<br />
range of questions regarding<br />
the challenges of the<br />
General’s job; the diplomatic<br />
and military situation<br />
in the Middle East; the<br />
military’s “don’t ask, don’t<br />
tell” policy; and even civilian<br />
Peter Pace’s views on<br />
illegal immigration.<br />
General Pace invites<br />
questions from the floor.<br />
“AAC Construction,” continued from page 13 Capt. Terzi’s Uniform Now<br />
Others involved with the project became members of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> Family “by adoption.”<br />
In a letter to “Fr. James, Fathers, Brothers, and students,” Mr. Tom Bruder, one of<br />
the union carpenters on the job, put it this way: “I want you all to know that being a part<br />
of your team has been a wonderful experience for me as well as my brother carpenters.”<br />
“In all my years,” he continued, “this is the job that I am most proud of. I want you<br />
to know that I feel like I have become a part of your family, and for that I thank you.”<br />
“It was a wonderful experience working side-by-side with the professionals and<br />
learning many parts of the trade from them,” said summer worker Eddie Corrigan<br />
’08, a member of <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s Woodworking Club.<br />
“It’s going to be very exciting to see the same spirit that characterized the House<br />
of Noise carry over into the new gym,” said John Buonocore ’08, a fellow woodworker.<br />
“I’m glad to have played a part in making it happen.”<br />
“State,” continued from page 20<br />
By 8:30 a.m., the program’s participants had convened for a daily assembly, during<br />
which time updates were published and announcements were made. At 10:30<br />
p.m., taps sounded to signify the day’s end.<br />
Participants held elections throughout the week for the different positions in the fictional<br />
Boys’ State government. Dennis Grabowski was elected mayor of his city, the party<br />
chairman for his city and county, a legislator on the state level, and the party candidate<br />
for attorney general. He also passed the Boys’ State Bar Exam to become an attorney.<br />
Gary Dawes was a member of his party platform committee, and Jack Gamber was<br />
responsible for leading his party as the chairman for his county.<br />
“The most difficult part about the election process was definitely the deal-making,”<br />
said Jack Gamber. “Sometimes we made promises to other party’s candidates<br />
that we ended up breaking, but I guess that’s politics.”<br />
Everyone was happy to return home after a long week of physical and political training,<br />
but most were glad they had the chance to attend. “Boys’ State has encouraged<br />
me to take a bigger role in my government,” said Gary Dawes. “I’d definitely advise<br />
those who get the chance to attend Boys’ State to really take advantage of it.”<br />
18 THE GENERAL’S VISIT<br />
“This is not going to end on board the deck<br />
of the Missouri with a peace treaty,” said the<br />
General with regard to the war in Iraq. Instead,<br />
American troop levels in Iraq will decrease<br />
significantly, he said, “not when Iraq is<br />
free of terrorist acts – because they will continue<br />
– but when the terrorist acts are at a level<br />
that local security forces can handle on their<br />
own and when the people can go about their<br />
daily lives living the way they want to live.”<br />
Turning to the nuclear threat posed by Iran,<br />
General Pace said, “Iran is a problem, but it is not<br />
a problem for the United States to solve ourselves.<br />
. . . Having weapons [of mass destruction] in the<br />
hands of terrorists – who do<br />
not respond to the same<br />
kind of logic, ethics, and persuasion<br />
that most nations<br />
do – is a big problem for the<br />
international community.”<br />
Before giving his responses<br />
to these and<br />
other inquiries, General<br />
Pace asked each questioner<br />
to raise his hand so<br />
that he could address the<br />
student directly. “He really<br />
made you feel as if he<br />
was speaking directly to<br />
you,” said Anthony<br />
Mastroianni ’08, who<br />
asked a question concerning<br />
the situation in Iraq.<br />
a Cherished CHS Memento<br />
by Joseph Dalli ‘10<br />
Since the 1940s, the name of Captain Joseph A. Terzi ’37 has been listed on the Gold Star Alumni<br />
roster found in the school’s lobby. The award for the Varsity Football Team’s Most Valuable<br />
Player bears his name. Now, his uniform will grace the annual Gold Star Masses<br />
and other tributes to <strong>Chaminade</strong> men serving in the United States military.<br />
Recently, Captain Terzi’s nephew donated the uniform to the school. It was first displayed<br />
when General Peter Pace spoke to the student body on September 19.<br />
“It is a great honor for <strong>Chaminade</strong> to be given this gift by the Terzi family,” said CHS<br />
president Fr. James Williams.<br />
Like the other Gold Stars of this country,<br />
Terzi gave his life while serving in the military.<br />
He was killed in action in the South Pacific<br />
on Christmas Day, 1945.<br />
Terzi was not only a model student; he<br />
was also a star football player. After graduating<br />
from <strong>Chaminade</strong>, he continued his academic<br />
and athletic career at Niagara University.<br />
Captain Terzi served with honor in the<br />
Marine Corps during World War II.<br />
Several items remind <strong>Chaminade</strong> students of<br />
the sacrifices made by the Gold Star Alumni.<br />
Among them are a photo album of all of their<br />
pictures, a flag that once draped the coffin of a<br />
Gold Star Alumnus, and 1 st Lieutenant Stephen<br />
E. Karopczyc’s ‘61 Congressional Medal of Honor.<br />
General Pace also answered a number of personal<br />
questions. One student asked the General<br />
how he felt when he learned that he would<br />
become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff –<br />
the first Marine, in fact, to occupy that post.<br />
“It was and is an incredible honor,” he responded,<br />
adding quickly, “I also know for a<br />
fact that the reason I got the opportunity was<br />
because other Marines who have gone before<br />
me in positions of high rank gave the country’s<br />
leaders faith and confidence in the Marines.”<br />
Answering a question about the decisions<br />
he must make every day, General<br />
Pace explained, “I try to stand back, especially<br />
if it has to do with people’s lives, in<br />
combat or in day-to-day living. I take a<br />
step back and think about the decision I’m<br />
about to make and how it is going to impact<br />
individuals.”<br />
“I get up every morning and say, ‘God,<br />
please give me the wisdom to know what<br />
is right and the courage to do it.’ At the<br />
end of the day, I thank Him for the help.”<br />
“I was impressed with how deliberately and<br />
sincerely General Pace responded to the questions.<br />
Some of the questions were difficult, but<br />
he answered each one with careful consideration<br />
and remarkable candor,” said Victor Garcia ’08.<br />
“Although General Pace thanked us for the<br />
invitation to visit <strong>Chaminade</strong>, I think we’re<br />
the ones who should be thankful,” Victor said.<br />
“It’s not often that we get a chance to speak<br />
with someone as important as he is.”<br />
Captain Joseph Terzi ‘37<br />
Now, Captain Terzi’s uniform occupies a place of honor among these cherished mementos.<br />
As CHS chaplain Fr. Garrett Long said, “His uniform is a great symbol of sacrifice from people<br />
who gave all they had for our freedom, and <strong>Chaminade</strong> is honored to have it.”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
As always, the event began with Mass<br />
in Darby Auditorium. CHS president Fr.<br />
James Williams was the principal celebrant.<br />
Seven other priests concelebrated,<br />
including Fr. Thomas Cardone,<br />
provincial of the Province of Meribah,<br />
and Fr. Philip Eichner, president of<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> from 1967 to 1992 and himself<br />
the impetus behind several other<br />
major construction projects at<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>. Bro. George Endres, CHS<br />
president from 1992 to 1999, also attended<br />
the event.<br />
Following the Mass, guests viewed a<br />
video highlighting the progress of the<br />
AAC, from groundbreaking on April 25,<br />
2005 to the finishing touches of paint and<br />
polyurethane, made just days before the<br />
August 25 th opening date.<br />
Members of ETV created the video,<br />
with the help of moderator Mr. Patrick<br />
Reichart and former moderator Bro.<br />
Michael McAward, who had returned to<br />
Long Island for a few weeks from his duties<br />
in Rome as secretary general of the<br />
Society of Mary.<br />
Artists on Display<br />
by Matthew Hughes ‘10<br />
Over the summer, eight members of the Art Club participated<br />
in an interscholastic art festival at the Nassau<br />
County Museum of Art in Roslyn, marking the first<br />
time the school has engaged in such an event.<br />
The artists collaborated on one large project. Before they<br />
could paint, they had to submit a sketch to the museum. Although<br />
the festival was not a competition, the Flyers’ work<br />
underwent intense scrutiny to earn its place in the display.<br />
The surrealismthemed<br />
festival had one<br />
guideline: each work had<br />
to include a vase and<br />
flowers. “The key to success<br />
was imagination,<br />
not rationality,” said Art<br />
Club moderator Mr.<br />
Frank Marenghi. “We<br />
constructed a creative<br />
piece filled with vibrant<br />
Eight members of the Art Club<br />
and Mr. Frank Marenghi submitted<br />
a painting to an art<br />
festival held at the NCMA.<br />
“AAC,” continued from page 1<br />
Once they moved from the auditorium<br />
at 340 Jackson Avenue to the new basketball<br />
court at 311 Jericho Turnpike, guests<br />
enjoyed cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, a<br />
four-course dinner, and plenty of camaraderie<br />
and high spirits at this high point<br />
in <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s history.<br />
During the cocktail hour, several volunteers<br />
from the String Orchestra entertained<br />
the guests with selections from their repertoire.<br />
The cocktail hour also provided the<br />
guests with a chance to tour the new facility.<br />
Dinner itself began with a brief formal ceremony.<br />
Sophomore John Dautzenberg sang<br />
the Star-Spangled Banner with what Glee<br />
Club director Bro. Robert Lahey called “remarkable<br />
confidence, complete self-possession,<br />
and a beautiful voice.”<br />
Speakers included Mr. Thomas Dufek, master<br />
of ceremonies and a member of the Board<br />
of Advisors; Dr. James Sheehan, director of<br />
the annual fund; Bro. Richard Hartz, director<br />
of development and alumni relations; Mr.<br />
Lawrence Mahon ’78, chairman of the TORCH<br />
Committee; and Mr. Richard Kearns ’68, chairman<br />
of the Board of Advisors.<br />
colors that incorporates a<br />
fish bowl as the vase.”<br />
Once their proposal<br />
and preliminary sketch<br />
had been accepted by<br />
the museum, the students involved with the project worked at<br />
least twice a week for almost four straight weeks. Participants<br />
included graduates Dan Cody ’07, Alex Corrado ’07, and Vinny<br />
Stracquadanio ’07; senior Sam Curcio; juniors Cory Mahoney,<br />
Marco Piscitelli, and Matt Ryan; and sophomore Leodor Altidor.<br />
On Sunday, June 10, the students and their parents visited the<br />
display at the museum. The artists received certificates, and they<br />
and their guests enjoyed a brunch at the museum.<br />
“It was a great experience. I was very proud of the work the students<br />
did and how their project came out,” said Mr. Marenghi.<br />
Last to speak was Fr. James Williams, who<br />
received a standing ovation for his dedication<br />
and leadership in this project. “For many years,<br />
may this court be a location of passion in sports.<br />
May the auditorium instill eloquence in speech<br />
and precision of ideas. May our students<br />
grapple in the wrestling room,” he said. “But<br />
more importantly, may they grapple with ideas<br />
of God, speak eloquently of God, and have a<br />
passion for Christ and His Mother.”<br />
Before Fr. James had a chance to sit<br />
down, however, CHS principal Bro. Joseph<br />
Bellizzi called him back to the lectern<br />
for a surprise presentation – a<br />
framed 45-inch by 16-inch artist’s drawing<br />
of the new Activity-Athletic Center.<br />
Now, however, the Activity-Athletic Center<br />
is more than just an artist’s drawing, more<br />
than just a set of plans, more than just a dream<br />
about what an abandoned car dealership at<br />
311 Jericho Turnpike could become for the<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> Family. It is now a building of<br />
concrete and steel, brick and mortar – ready<br />
to strengthen the bodies, minds, hearts, and<br />
souls of generations and generations of<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> students.<br />
A Summer of Study<br />
by Peter Adams ‘10<br />
A<br />
fter the completion of the school year, three students chose<br />
to take their career dreams a step further. Matt Fitzsimons<br />
’09, Patrick Murphy ’09, and Uchenna Kema ’08 kept busy<br />
this summer with some academic pursuits.<br />
Matt Fitzsimons attended the Cold Spring Harbor DNA Center for a<br />
week in late August to take a course in human genomics, the study of the<br />
applications of gene research. Matt compared DNA sequences of different<br />
nationalities. “I’ve been attending courses like this one since 2003,”<br />
said Matt, “and this one focused more on research rather than lab work.<br />
Patrick Murphy studied screenwriting at the <strong>School</strong> of Visual Arts<br />
in New York City. Thanks to the three-week program, which ran<br />
from July 9 to July 27, Patrick earned two college credits. During<br />
those three weeks, Patrick stayed at his brother’s apartment in<br />
Harlem, taking the subway to and from the academy.<br />
“It was a great experience, and I’m looking forward to taking their<br />
directing/film-production class next summer, or using connections<br />
at the school to acquire an internship,”<br />
said Patrick.<br />
Also studying for three<br />
weeks, senior Uchenna Kema<br />
honed his directorial skills at<br />
the New York Film Academy in<br />
Union Square. Uchenna made<br />
two films – one a three-minute<br />
60s-style spy thriller and the<br />
other a 30-second “continuity<br />
film” demonstrating various<br />
filmmaking techniques.<br />
Uchenna is considering a career<br />
in directing and is currently<br />
“getting my portfolio together for<br />
college-level filmmaking pro-<br />
During the summer, Matt<br />
Fitzsimons ‘09, Uchenna<br />
Kema ‘08, and Patrick<br />
Murphy ‘09 pursued possible<br />
career paths.<br />
grams.” He found the summer program at New York Film Academy<br />
both informative and enjoyable. “I liked the teaching staff, their knowledge,<br />
and the atmosphere of the school,” said Uchenna.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 NEWS<br />
19
FLYERS ON THE GO, DURING AND AFTER SCHOOL<br />
FLIGHT PATH<br />
20<br />
Flyers Attend Civil War Institute at Gettysburg<br />
by Andrew Scarpitta ‘10<br />
T<br />
rekking through a wooded area on the outskirts of<br />
Gettysburg National Park, 14 <strong>Chaminade</strong> students,<br />
one alumnus, and four moderators came across a<br />
clearing. In it, they discovered a grave marker with the epitaph<br />
“Edward I. Florence, Pennsylvania, Mech. Co. D. 60 Inf.,<br />
5 Division, World War I, November 19, 1895 – June 4, 1958.”<br />
“This grave marker belonged to a mechanic with the first<br />
group of tanks ever sent into war,” explained Bro. Lawrence<br />
Syriac, who organized the trip to Gettysburg. “The gravestone<br />
had been removed for some reason and dumped on the perimeter<br />
of the park. Later, we found out that a replacement grave<br />
marker has been placed in the National Cemetery at Gettysburg.”<br />
This almost 50-year-old piece of history represents just<br />
one of the many highlights of this year’s trip to the<br />
Gettysburg Civil War Institute. Sophomore Pat Schmitz was<br />
particularly excited at this historical find: “It was a completely<br />
unexpected discovery during our excursion to a place<br />
that is so important to our country. The entire trip made me<br />
feel that I had a real connection to America’s past.”<br />
Held annually at Gettysburg College, the Civil War Institute<br />
does indeed provide “a real connection to<br />
America’s past.” This year, the Institute ran from Sunday,<br />
June 24 to Saturday, June 30.<br />
When the group arrived, Bro. Lawrence wasted no time<br />
in giving a tour of the famous battlefield. The students<br />
saw both Culp’s Hill and Power’s Hill, crucial vantage<br />
points on the battlefield.<br />
Another memorable part of the trip was an auction of original<br />
Civil War memorabilia. The most expensive and unique<br />
item offered was a rifle from 1863 that sold for $3,000.<br />
During the trip, the group was able to rub elbows with<br />
a number of Civil War experts, including James<br />
Future Leaders Convene at Boys’ State<br />
FLIGHT PATH<br />
by Dennis Grabowski ‘08<br />
Every student learns about democracy over the course<br />
of his education, but how many get the chance to live<br />
it before they are old enough to vote?<br />
In New York State, the number of students who receive<br />
such an opportunity is approximately 1,100 a year. From June<br />
24 to June 30, Jack<br />
Gamber ’08, Gary<br />
Dawes ’08, Cody<br />
Alt ’08, and Dennis<br />
Grabowski ’08 were<br />
among the 1,000plus<br />
young men attending<br />
Boys’ State,<br />
a week-long program<br />
meant to introduce<br />
high-school<br />
seniors throughout<br />
New York to the<br />
practices of democracy,<br />
the workings<br />
of the political process,<br />
and the merits<br />
of patriotism.<br />
“Boys’ State, the<br />
name the American<br />
Legion chose for<br />
the program, refers<br />
Students listen intently as Bro. Lawrence<br />
Syriac guides them on a tour of the<br />
Gettysburg battlefield.<br />
McPherson, author of Battle Cry of Freedom, and Dr.<br />
Gabor Boritt, author of The Gettysburg Gospel.<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s own Civil War expert, Bro. Lawrence Syriac,<br />
went with the students as both a member of the Civil War<br />
Institute and a guide.<br />
The theme for this year’s Civil War seminars and lectures<br />
was the Battle of Fredericksburg, the site of the first<br />
amphibious assault in history. More than 10,000 soldiers<br />
were killed or wounded in this pivotal battle. On Tuesday,<br />
historian Francis Augustín O’Reilly conducted a<br />
walking tour of Fredericksburg. The Flyers were privileged<br />
to accompany him.<br />
“This trip helped me see the battle in a different way,”<br />
said sophomore Dan Tierney. “I had access to new information<br />
that cannot be found in books or online, which<br />
was awesome.”<br />
to the opportunity to be politically active, even as young<br />
people,” said Bro. Lawrence Syriac, who regularly encourages<br />
members of the Social Studies Club to attend.<br />
“It is a good opportunity for them to practice leadership. It<br />
also teaches them different skills that they wouldn’t normally<br />
be able to find in a school environment,” Bro. Lawrence said.<br />
The week was<br />
filled with meetings,<br />
assemblies, athletics,<br />
and speeches<br />
given by prominent<br />
politicians. Among<br />
all of the activities,<br />
however, a few<br />
constants helped<br />
to give the week<br />
its fairly regimented<br />
structure.<br />
Led by the Marines,<br />
physical<br />
training began<br />
each morning at<br />
6:00 a.m., and it<br />
was “definitely a<br />
good idea to be on<br />
(l.-r.) Seniors Cody Alt, Gary Dawes, Dennis Grabowski,<br />
and Jack Gamber learned valuable lessons in politics and<br />
government at Boys’ State.<br />
time,” according<br />
to Cody Alt.<br />
See “ State,” page 18.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
Outward Bound<br />
by Brendan O’Shea ‘09<br />
T P<br />
here is more to us than we know. If we can be made to<br />
see it, perhaps for the rest of our lives, we will be unwilling<br />
to settle for less.”<br />
Kurt Hahn described the Outward Bound program that he founded<br />
in 1961 with these simple but profound words. Since its inception,<br />
Outward Bound has helped hundreds of thousands of young people<br />
discover their potential, challenging<br />
them to test their mettle<br />
in a variety of outdoor activities,<br />
including hiking, camping, canoeing,<br />
and kayaking.<br />
Each year, <strong>Chaminade</strong> has<br />
nominated one student to attend<br />
Outward Bound. Director of<br />
guidance Mr. Daniel Petruccio,<br />
who oversees the selection process,<br />
reports that past CHS delegates<br />
to the program have<br />
called it a “wonderful experience.”<br />
Joe Kaplan ’05, a cadet at<br />
West Point, told Mr. Petruccio<br />
Eamonn Cummings ‘08<br />
that Outward Bound was “a<br />
kayaks around the San<br />
huge part of the process that<br />
Juan Islands in the<br />
helped me choose my career.”<br />
Pacific Northwest.<br />
Eamonn Cummings ’08<br />
was this year’s CHS delegate to Outward Bound. From the<br />
many Outward Bound programs offered throughout the United<br />
States, Eamonn chose to sea-kayak around the San Juan Islands<br />
in the Pacific Northwest. Eamonn and the other members of<br />
his team embarked from Shaw Island, off the coast of Washington,<br />
and traveled to seven other islands, making a stop at the<br />
Lummi Indian Reservation and ending in Bowman Bay.<br />
Eamonn thoroughly enjoyed seeing “nature preserved in<br />
its pristine state” and visiting islands “with no one around.”<br />
The “best part” of Eamonn’s kayaking adventure was “learning<br />
how to navigate by using the tides and currents.”<br />
And what did Eamonn discover about himself? “I learned about<br />
kayaking, but mostly I learned leadership skills and how to take<br />
charge of a group when usually I let someone else lead.”<br />
Rebuilding New Orleans<br />
by Brandon Pues ‘10<br />
acking into the car after work, my family and I drove to the<br />
infamous Lower Ninth Ward to see for ourselves the destruction<br />
of Katrina,” said Conor Finnegan ‘08. “Even while we<br />
were crossing the bridge to get there, we sensed a complete change;<br />
it was completely empty.”<br />
Conor, along with his brother Danny ’11, witnessed the devastation of<br />
New Orleans firsthand. Even though the city is more than two years<br />
removed from Hurricane Katrina, many neighborhoods are still devastated,<br />
and the Finnegans were determined to help in the rebuilding process.<br />
They volunteered with Habitat for Humanity from August 5<br />
to August 10, working on two houses in Jefferson Parish, a neighborhood<br />
that was hit particularly hard by Katrina. Their work<br />
included installing siding, painting the exterior of the houses,<br />
putting up Sheetrock, and building an attic floor.<br />
“We became involved with Habitat because, after visiting my brother<br />
several times at Tulane [University], we fell in love with the city,” said Conor.<br />
“We would definitely encourage anyone interested in volunteering<br />
for Habitat for Humanity,” said Danny. “It was a great<br />
feeling seeing the neighbors understand that people still cared<br />
about rebuilding the city.”<br />
Flyers Attend Leadership Programs This Summer<br />
Participants Gain Experience in Fields of Medicine, Law, and National Security<br />
by Ryan Krebs ‘09<br />
W<br />
e walked in the room, and the medical student pulled<br />
the cover off the examining table. The cadaver staring<br />
back at us reeked of embalming fluids,”<br />
said junior Alex Kamath. “The student then proceeded<br />
to point out all the major organs, including the brain,<br />
lungs, intestines, and heart.”<br />
Alex gained insight into the medical field, including a<br />
look at the human anatomy, during a session of the National<br />
Youth Leadership Forum. This summer, thousands<br />
of high-school students participated in similar programs<br />
throughout the country.<br />
Students who received nominations for the National<br />
Youth Leadership Forum, National Student Leadership<br />
Conference, and Global Youth Leadership Conference attended<br />
programs in one of six cities, including Philadelphia<br />
and Washington, D.C.<br />
Juniors Andrew Curiale, Mike Gaffney, Alex Kamath,<br />
Ryan Krebs, and Chris Rypl, and<br />
seniors Ricky DeCicco, Mike<br />
Osorio, and Mike Sehn attended<br />
the NYLF; seniors Abner<br />
Fernandez, Victor Garcia, John<br />
Giammarino, and Pat Gillespie<br />
participated in the NSLC; and seniors<br />
Michael Mink and Zach<br />
Wynkoop went to the GYLC.<br />
The NYLF program offered students<br />
the opportunity to specialize in<br />
medicine, law, and national security.<br />
“The program I attended<br />
wasn’t just about medicine,” said<br />
Mike Gaffney ’09. “It was about<br />
the camaraderie we developed<br />
Conor Finnegan ‘08 (l.), Danny Finnegan ‘11 (3rd from<br />
l.), and their family volunteered for Habitat for<br />
Humanity.<br />
with high-school students around the nation.”<br />
(l.-r.) Seniors Mike Osorio, John Giammarino,<br />
Zach Wynkoop, Victor Garcia, Michael Mink, and<br />
junior Matt Fitzsimons studied various topics at<br />
leadership programs over the summer.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 FLIGHT PATH<br />
Photo by Phil Falzone ‘08<br />
21
Flyers Travel South to Serve<br />
Flood, Falzone, Cunningham, and Kutner Volunteer in Central American Missions<br />
22<br />
by Conor Finnegan ‘08<br />
Four Flyers headed south this past<br />
summer – not to the ocean beaches of<br />
the South Shore, nor to Florida’s popular<br />
tourist attractions, nor to the Caribbean’s<br />
tropical resorts. No, these four Flyers traveled<br />
to some of the poorest parts of Latin America.<br />
There, they worked as<br />
missionaries, lending a<br />
helping hand and bringing<br />
hope where both are frequently<br />
in short supply.<br />
Leaving on Friday, June<br />
22 for nine days, seniors<br />
Ryan Flood and Phil<br />
Falzone journeyed together<br />
to Ticuantepe, Nicaragua,<br />
with Phil’s mother,<br />
Ryan’s father and uncle,<br />
and eleven other volunteers<br />
from the organization<br />
“Bridges to Community.”<br />
Ticuantepe is a suburb<br />
of the Nicaraguan capital,<br />
Managua, but still remains<br />
an impoverished<br />
and destitute area. One<br />
quarter of the population<br />
cannot read, and the<br />
people often live without<br />
water for days. “Bridges<br />
to Community” has been<br />
working with local leaders<br />
and citizens since<br />
2002, building better homes and one school.<br />
Ryan, Phil, and the other volunteers constructed<br />
a home for a large family that had<br />
previously lived in a tin-roofed “shack”<br />
with no door, a dirt floor, and only two<br />
beds. “I was stunned when we first got<br />
there,” said Ryan. “I could not believe this<br />
is how they lived day after day.”<br />
After one week, however, the group had<br />
built a new house made of cement blocks,<br />
and while the family still does not have<br />
“things that we take for granted,” like running<br />
water, “they were so happy and even<br />
began to cry tears of joy,” said Ryan.<br />
“This type of service opened my eyes to<br />
what is really out there,” said Phil. Ryan<br />
added, “I took away a sense of how fortunate<br />
I am to have the life that I live. I must<br />
always remind myself that, no matter how<br />
‘bad’ life may seem here, it is still miles above<br />
the way the people live in Nicaragua.”<br />
Sophomore Conor Kutner also visited a<br />
Latin American country during his summer<br />
break. From July 6 to 15, Conor traveled<br />
throughout Guatemala with his father, older<br />
brother, and a group of volunteers, bringing<br />
clothes to the needy of the country.<br />
Fr. Tom Moran, a missionary priest in<br />
Guatemala, led the group to the various<br />
FLIGHT PATH<br />
Above: Ryan Flood ‘08 sees<br />
the benefits of his work in<br />
the smile of a young<br />
Nicaraguan girl.<br />
Right: Conor Kutner ‘10<br />
distributes clothes to<br />
Guatemalan children.<br />
villages where he has taught and worked<br />
for thirty years.<br />
There, the volunteers distributed clothes,<br />
prayed, celebrated Mass, and came together<br />
in the people’s homes to enjoy a meal and<br />
each other’s company. “They gave us such<br />
a receptive welcoming,” said Conor, “despite<br />
the fact that<br />
they have nearly<br />
nothing compared<br />
to us.”<br />
As is the case in<br />
Nicaragua, most<br />
housing in Guatemala<br />
is substandard.<br />
Most<br />
houses are built<br />
of straw and<br />
mud, although<br />
some are made of<br />
cinder blocks.<br />
Most of the time,<br />
a family of six<br />
will live in a single 7’ x 10’ room without running<br />
water or even a floor.<br />
“It really puts things in perspective,” said<br />
Conor. “Life is not about money or material<br />
possessions. These people who have it so<br />
rough are some of the happiest people I’ve<br />
ever seen because they have what matters<br />
most – family, friends, and faith.”<br />
The final Flyer to trek south was Greg<br />
Cunningham ’08. Accompanied by twenty other<br />
students from St. Mary’s in Manhasset, his local<br />
parish, Greg traveled to San Manuel Chaparrón,<br />
Guatemala, from June 24 to 30, where he and the<br />
others distributed clothing, toys, and candy and<br />
painted the local school, the Mother Teresa <strong>School</strong>.<br />
A small town four miles from Guatemala<br />
City, San Manuel Chaparrón is better off than<br />
most other towns and villages. The people<br />
have just enough to support themselves, and<br />
running water works about every other day.<br />
In the smaller, surrounding villages, however,<br />
“conditions are terrible,” said Greg. “There were<br />
families of eight living in a 12’ x 15’ single-room<br />
shack with no running water at all.”<br />
Despite these dire living conditions, the people<br />
were “great, especially the kids.” Every day, after<br />
several long, hard hours of work, the American<br />
students competed against the Guatemalan<br />
youngsters in a friendly game of fútbol.<br />
“At the beginning of the week, we were<br />
terrible at soccer, but by the end, we were just<br />
as good, making the games really fun and<br />
exciting,” said Greg. “It<br />
was a good cultural exchange,<br />
but it also<br />
helped to break down<br />
the language barrier<br />
that we faced in the beginning,<br />
bringing us<br />
closer together.”<br />
“I really learned a lot<br />
from those kids. Never<br />
take anything for granted;<br />
always remember that<br />
there are people who<br />
could use your help; and<br />
know that even the smallest<br />
deeds, like donating<br />
your old clothes or painting<br />
a house, can go a long way,” said Greg.<br />
Perhaps Conor Kutner put it best: “It was<br />
the best trip I’ve ever taken.” In fact, the<br />
others agree so much that Ryan Flood and<br />
Phil Falzone both plan on returning next<br />
summer, and all four would highly recommend<br />
this kind of trip to other Flyers.<br />
“I would definitely recommend it to anyone,<br />
because this was one of the most influential<br />
trips of my life,” said Ryan. “Anyone who gets<br />
the chance to go on this trip or a similar one<br />
should definitely take that opportunity.”<br />
Homerun Hopefuls<br />
Milk cartons replace gloves. Rocks replace balls.<br />
These are the adaptations that underprivileged<br />
and impoverished children make to play baseball<br />
in many underdeveloped countries.<br />
Jordan Ott ’09 traveled to the Dominican Republic<br />
from August 20 to 28 to participate in Homerun Hopefuls,<br />
a non-profit project that brings new and slightly<br />
used baseball equipment to underprivileged children. For<br />
eight days, Jordan traveled from town to town, playing<br />
by Brett Wishart ‘08<br />
catch and giving dozens of children new equipment and,<br />
in turn, new hope. Jordan visited 14 towns, including<br />
Peralta, Negro Santo, and a Haitian refugee camp, organizing<br />
pick-up games with the local children.<br />
“Most of the places we went to were so poor that the<br />
kids would beg us for our shoes and clothing,” said Jordan.<br />
“I realized that what I regard as such a small thing<br />
could change someone’s life down there. We always felt<br />
good at the end of the day.”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
Show Me the Money!<br />
Ad Drive Hopes to Rake in the Dough for Yearbook<br />
by Allen Buzzeo ‘10<br />
Show me the money!”<br />
The 2008 Crimson and Gold ad drive<br />
chose this classic line from the film<br />
Jerry Maguire as its theme, as staff members<br />
decorated the halls with colorful posters<br />
of $100 bills.<br />
On Monday, September 17, John<br />
Buonocore ’08 and Dan Sheehan ’08, the<br />
editors-in-chief of the yearbook staff, officially<br />
kicked off this year’s drive. Appearing<br />
on ETV, <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s closed-circuit<br />
television network, John and Dan urged<br />
the student body to raise $220,000 by Monday,<br />
<strong>October</strong> 15. They specifically asked<br />
the Senior Class to raise $125,000 to pay<br />
for their own full-color section in the final<br />
yearbook of their <strong>Chaminade</strong> careers.<br />
“Selling ads is easy. All you have to do<br />
is ask, and you will be surprised with the<br />
results,” said Mr. Daniel Petruccio, financial<br />
moderator of the Crimson and Gold.<br />
“The students’ enthusiasm contributes<br />
enormously to the success of this awardwinning<br />
yearbook every year. They take<br />
a lot of pride in the finished product, and<br />
they support it by selling ads.”<br />
One Last Farewell for the Class of ‘07<br />
Yearbook BBQ Unites the Newest Alumni Before They Set Off for College<br />
by Michael Bucaria ‘10<br />
L<br />
ike most Long Island teenagers,<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s most recent graduates<br />
spent their time “hanging out” with<br />
their friends, earning some extra cash, and<br />
getting ready to leave for college. On Friday,<br />
August 10, however, they reported to school<br />
one last time, for one last “afternoon assembly,”<br />
so to speak, at the annual Yearbook Distribution<br />
Barbecue.<br />
Two groups, the Alumni Association<br />
The Crimson and Gold rewarded<br />
a 15% commission to each student<br />
who sold an ad in the first week of<br />
the drive. Each student who sold<br />
an ad during the remaining three<br />
weeks earned a 10% commission.<br />
“Every year, the Crimson and Gold<br />
works with ETV to create ad-drive commercials<br />
not only to boost ad sales, but<br />
also to bring laughter to the morning announcements,”<br />
said John Buonocore.<br />
Ryan Sullivan ’08 produced the<br />
commercials for ETV, working daily<br />
to coordinate the project with the<br />
Crimson and Gold.<br />
“I was with them in the studio when<br />
they were capturing and editing clips<br />
from Jerry Maguire, and I found their<br />
theme to be both appropriate and attention-grabbing,”<br />
said ETV moderator<br />
Mr. Patrick Reichart.<br />
“As always, we’re working hard to<br />
ensure that the 2008 yearbook is better<br />
than previous years’,” said ad-drive coordinator<br />
Michael Mink ’08. “With the<br />
support of the student body, we believe<br />
we can accomplish this goal.”<br />
and the Crimson and Gold staff, joined<br />
forces to sponsor the event.<br />
The highlight of the event was the distribution<br />
of the fourth and final yearbook to<br />
the recent graduates and soon-to-be college<br />
freshmen. Several yearbook staff members<br />
helped yearbook moderator Mr. Michael<br />
Foley and assistant moderators Bro. Peter<br />
Heiskell, Bro. Robert Fachet, and Mr. Daniel<br />
Petruccio hand out the books. John<br />
Buonocore ’08, co-editor-in-chief of the 2008<br />
Crimson and<br />
Gold, and<br />
R y a n<br />
Horrmann<br />
’09, activities-section<br />
editor for the<br />
2008 book,<br />
were particularly<br />
helpful.<br />
Rob Drummond<br />
‘07 (l.)<br />
and Anthony<br />
Trombetta ‘07<br />
catch up with<br />
Fr. Ernest Lorfanfant<br />
during<br />
the yearbook<br />
BBQ.<br />
Ad-drive coordinator Michael Mink ‘08<br />
(l.) supervises the construction of the<br />
2008 ad-drive billboard.<br />
“Processing over 1,900 yearbooks and<br />
setting up for the event took the entire<br />
day, but it was well worth the effort,” said<br />
Mr. Foley. “I am grateful to everyone who<br />
contributed to the 2007 book, particularly<br />
co-editors-in-chief Sean McGonigle and<br />
Sean Rober.”<br />
According to George Anderson ’07, now<br />
a freshman at Stonehill College, “The<br />
turnout was great, actually. It was one of<br />
the last times we saw each other before<br />
we all took off for college. The faculty<br />
served us hamburgers and hotdogs right<br />
off the grill, and we received our yearbooks.<br />
There was a lot of catching up to<br />
do with classmates and faculty members.<br />
It was an exciting, high-energy event.”<br />
As their theme, the editors of the 2007<br />
Crimson and Gold chose Fortes in<br />
Unitate, “Strength in Unity.” The camaraderie<br />
evident at the barbecue certainly<br />
provided a concrete example of that<br />
theme.<br />
Matt Quinterno ‘07, one of the senior-section<br />
editors of the 2007 yearbook<br />
and now a freshman at West<br />
Virginia Tech, put it this way: “Socializing<br />
with high-school friends<br />
one last time was the perfect ‘going<br />
away party.’”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 CRIMSON AND GOLD<br />
23
Their BITE As<br />
Bulldogs Devour the Competition<br />
T<br />
by Louis Stokum ‘09<br />
heir stretching was done.<br />
Their minds were focused.<br />
They had said all their lastminute<br />
prayers. The stage was set<br />
for battle.<br />
At one end of the 50-foot rope stood<br />
the members of homeroom 4A, ready<br />
to ride their “A-Train” to victory. The<br />
fierce “Bulldogs” of homeroom 4B<br />
stared them down from the other end<br />
of the rope, waiting to release their<br />
canine instincts on anyone who<br />
stood in their way.<br />
Both homerooms fought fiercely that<br />
night, securing spots for themselves in the<br />
championship match. Sure, their legs<br />
were cramped, their backs ached, and<br />
24 SENIOR NIGHT<br />
their callused hands had already suffered<br />
from some bad cases of rope<br />
burn, but their desire to win remained<br />
firm.<br />
When the signal was given, both<br />
squads picked up the rope and set<br />
their feet on the floor, ready to fight<br />
for the honor of victory. The shriek<br />
of the whistle sounded, and the time<br />
had come to see what these<br />
homerooms were really made of.<br />
After an intense struggle of legchurning,<br />
heart-throbbing action, the<br />
A-Trainers found themselves defeated,<br />
pulled across the line by the savage<br />
Bulldogs, who rightfully claimed the<br />
title of Senior Night Champions.<br />
The tug-of-war competition was only<br />
one part of Senior Night, which is held<br />
annually for seniors as they begin their<br />
last year of high school. At 6:00 p.m. on<br />
Friday, September 14, the cafeteria began<br />
to fill with over 250 seniors, all talking<br />
about what the evening would have in<br />
store for them.<br />
The night began as any would at<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> – with some delicious food.<br />
Featured for the evening was<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s famous pasta, along with<br />
rolls, cookies, and soda.<br />
Following dinner, the group of seniors<br />
performed a Senior Night first. Instead of<br />
completing the rest of the night in the<br />
House of Noise, they walked over to the<br />
newly completed Activity-Athletic Center.<br />
Once there, the seniors gathered on the<br />
bleachers for a group photo. Afterwards,<br />
they sat down and watched a video of<br />
highlights from the 3-C Week of their freshman<br />
year. Amazed at how young they<br />
looked, the Class of 2008 watched and<br />
laughed at all of the memories from their<br />
earliest days at <strong>Chaminade</strong>.<br />
Above: Leading on the “Kool Aid Gang,” Dan Ramirez (foreground),<br />
Dan Reuter, and Scott Scuderi fight to stay in the match.<br />
Left: Putting aside homeroom loyalties, “Bulldog” Greg Cunningham<br />
(r.) gives some words of encouragement to “A-Train’s” Ryan Brenner<br />
before his homeroom’s match.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
Bad As Their Bark<br />
After this blast from the past, it was time<br />
for the homerooms to compete in the ultimate<br />
battle of strength and endurance to see who<br />
would be crowned the ruler of the rope, the<br />
master of tug of war.<br />
Head varsity football coach Mr. William<br />
Basel stood at the podium at the front of<br />
the gym, commanding attention with his<br />
unmistakably loud and clear voice. He explained<br />
that the tournament would proceed<br />
in double-elimination style and that<br />
each team would be limited to 13 players.<br />
Determined to adhere to the rules (If they<br />
didn’t, after all, they would be disqualified.),<br />
the homerooms conducted their war councils<br />
and chose their 13 representatives. Once the<br />
teams had been made, the matches began<br />
under the refereeing of assistant varsity football<br />
coaches Mr. Kevin Parente and Mr. Christopher<br />
Lynch.<br />
“The matches were really intense,” said Senior<br />
Divisional moderator Bro. Thomas<br />
Cleary. “There were so many guys who were<br />
just physically exhausted. The teams were<br />
so evenly matched that the flag on the middle<br />
of the rope didn’t even move until many seconds<br />
into the competitions.”<br />
Commandos, Dictators, Floods, Epidemics,<br />
A-Trainers, Generics, Hailstorms, L-<br />
Right: (l.-r.) Zach<br />
Colen, Ricky<br />
Buckshaw, Luke<br />
Nawrocki, and<br />
Brendan Guerrier<br />
take a break from<br />
dinner to pose for<br />
a picture before<br />
heading over to the<br />
AAC for the tug-ofwar<br />
tournament<br />
among the senior<br />
homerooms.<br />
Bowers, Mobsters,<br />
Kool Aids, and<br />
even the formidable<br />
Jiggley Puffs fought<br />
hard. But they<br />
were all eliminated,<br />
leaving the Bulldogs<br />
alone as champions.<br />
In this case, the Bulldogs’<br />
bite was just<br />
as bad as their bark.<br />
After their final<br />
defeat of the A-<br />
Train, the victorious<br />
Bulldogs, anchored<br />
by Mike Catapano,<br />
Brian Ciullo, and<br />
Zach Colen, posed<br />
for a championship<br />
photo.<br />
“Senior Night was<br />
an amazing experience,”<br />
said Mike. “It<br />
was great to come<br />
together as a<br />
homeroom to win.”<br />
Bro. Thomas Cleary<br />
summed up the event, saying, “The bonding<br />
as a class was incredible. It was a great<br />
“Ruff” and ready: Posing with homeroom<br />
moderators past and present, the champion<br />
“Bulldogs,” Mr. Michael Cummo (l., 1st row), Bro.<br />
Robert Lahey (r., 2nd row), and Bro. Benjamin Knapp<br />
(r., 3rd row) celebrate their Senior Night victory.<br />
way to kick off what will be an exciting<br />
final year.”<br />
Below Left: “Bulldogs”<br />
Wayne Cox (l.) and Anthony<br />
Capobianco unleash some<br />
of their canine instincts<br />
during the championship<br />
round against the 4A A-<br />
Train.<br />
Below: (l.-r.) “Dictators”<br />
Rob Gotterbarn and Victor<br />
Garcia show some grit<br />
and determination in the<br />
third-place match.<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007 SENIOR NIGHT<br />
25
Medals Won in the Summer Sun<br />
From Alabama to Armstrong Stadium, <strong>Chaminade</strong> Athletes Excel<br />
by Daniel Hinton ‘10<br />
The 30th Empire State Games, the second-largest<br />
amateur sports competition<br />
in the world, featured over 6,000<br />
participants in 31 different events at 12 separate<br />
venues across Westchester County. The<br />
participating athletes, including two of<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong>’s own, competed from July 25<br />
to 29 and represented the six regions of New<br />
York – Adirondack, Central New York,<br />
Hudson Valley, Long Island, New York City,<br />
and West New York.<br />
The Olympic-inspired opening ceremony,<br />
held in Valhalla, Westchester<br />
County, kicked off with the lighting of a<br />
torch, progressed with a march of the athletes<br />
representing each region, and concluded<br />
with entertainment and fireworks.<br />
Mike Liguori ’08 played baseball for the<br />
Long Island team in the Scholastic Division.<br />
His team fell to Hudson Valley in the<br />
first game, 5-1, but they would go on to<br />
win their next four, defeating New York<br />
City, Central New York, Adirondack, and<br />
West New York, respectively.<br />
Against Central New York, Mike showcased<br />
his talent under pressure with a<br />
pinch-hit grand slam in the bottom of the<br />
sixth, giving Long Island a 6-5 lead. “I had<br />
dreamed of a moment like that my entire<br />
life, and it finally came true,” said Mike.<br />
“It felt great knowing that I had contributed<br />
to my team’s success.”<br />
The Long Island team entered the championship<br />
game on a hot streak, but their opponent,<br />
Hudson Valley, was the only team<br />
that had defeated them in the tournament.<br />
Going into the fourth inning trailing 3-2,<br />
Long Island blew the game wide open. They<br />
scored seven runs on their way to a 12-6 victory<br />
and captured the coveted gold medal.<br />
Matt Gibson ’08 was <strong>Chaminade</strong>’s other<br />
Matt Gibson ‘08 dodges around a<br />
defender at the Empire State Games.<br />
26<br />
SPORTS<br />
participant in the<br />
Games, playing lacrosse<br />
in the Scholastic<br />
Division.<br />
Long Island defeated<br />
New York<br />
City, 11-3; West<br />
New York, 13-4;<br />
Adirondack, 16-6;<br />
and Central New<br />
York, 12-7. In their<br />
match against West<br />
New York, Matt<br />
scored the game’s<br />
first goal, and<br />
against Central<br />
New York, he netted<br />
a goal with two<br />
seconds remaining<br />
in the first period.<br />
(l.-r.) Mike Liguori ‘08, Matt Gibson ‘08, Brandon<br />
Saldana ‘09, Dino Tomassetti ‘10, and Matt Johnson<br />
‘09 participated in a variety of summer athletic<br />
activities.<br />
In the last game of the tournament, Long<br />
Island fell in overtime, 10-9. In spite of this<br />
blemish on their otherwise flawless record,<br />
Long Island clinched the gold medal, sending<br />
another member of the <strong>Chaminade</strong> student<br />
body to the top of the podium.<br />
“Winning the gold medal was great, especially<br />
since people thought it was a weak year<br />
for Long Island lacrosse,” said Matt.<br />
About 1,170 miles south, in Andalusia,<br />
Alabama, baseball players between the ages<br />
of 13 and 15, including sophomore Dino<br />
Tomassetti, competed in the Babe Ruth World<br />
Series. The series consisted of 10 teams from<br />
across the nation, including Bellmore, New<br />
York, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Champions.<br />
In their first game, Bellmore went up<br />
against Henderson, Kentucky. Dino ran the<br />
bases well, turning a hit-by-pitch into a run,<br />
a key contribution in his team’s 3-2 victory.<br />
The team further proved their offensive talent<br />
in the next game against Sarasota, Florida,<br />
with an incredible 13-run first inning.<br />
Dino scored twice and had<br />
two RBI’s.<br />
Bellmore won their last three<br />
games by a total of 14 runs, including<br />
the championship, finishing<br />
as the Babe Ruth World Series<br />
champs. “The quality of our<br />
coaching helped us get so far in<br />
the tournament,” said Dino. “All<br />
in all, the team hit great together.”<br />
Closer to home, Brandon Saldana<br />
‘09 partook in the Ray Reid Soccer<br />
Tournament, held at the University of<br />
Connecticut. The competition was directed<br />
by UConn men’s NCAA championship-winning<br />
coach Ray Reid.<br />
Brandon was the goaltender for the<br />
Massapequa squad, which went on to<br />
win the camp-ending championship<br />
match.<br />
Brandon was also honored for his individual<br />
performance with the Goalie of the<br />
Week Award. “The camp was a lot of fun,”<br />
said Brandon. “I would definitely accept<br />
the chance to participate next year if the<br />
opportunity comes again.”<br />
Another <strong>Chaminade</strong> athlete, Matt Johnson<br />
’09, spent the last several weeks of his summer<br />
vacation as a ball boy in the U.S. Open.<br />
Two months before the Open began, firstround<br />
tryouts took place with nearly 350<br />
teenagers vying for the 70 positions. Matt<br />
had his mind set on the most responsible<br />
and energy-consuming position – the net.<br />
After proving his speed and skill at the position,<br />
Matt returned in mid-July for callbacks.<br />
He prevailed during the most difficult<br />
training sessions and was rewarded a<br />
spot on the selective roster.<br />
A week before the Open, the ball boys<br />
and girls returned for the qualifying<br />
rounds. Matt worked the net for Scoville<br />
Jenkins, who faced top-ranked Roger<br />
Federer in the first round.<br />
Matt was also chosen to be the net ball<br />
boy at the Men’s Doubles second-round<br />
match, held at the Billie Jean King National<br />
Tennis Center. The match featured<br />
Wimbledon Men’s Doubles champions<br />
Arnaud Clement and Michael Llorda, who<br />
were defeated by Alex Kuznetsov and<br />
Jesse Levine of the United States.<br />
Despite working a match that featured<br />
some of the best tennis players in the<br />
world, Matt’s favorite moment of the Open<br />
occurred when he and soon-to-be men’s<br />
runner-up Novak Djokavic accidentally<br />
bumped into each other inside the tunnel<br />
of Louis Armstrong Stadium.<br />
“It was amazing to be so close to one of the<br />
best tennis players in the world,” said Matt. “I<br />
was happy to be a part of one of tennis’ biggest<br />
events.”<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007
PARA<br />
Chutestrings<br />
Nothing Like a Game of Dodgeball<br />
Intramural Tournament Helps Freshmen Form Friendships<br />
B efore<br />
his first day of high-school orientation, Jon<br />
Roger ’11 had a lot to be nervous about.<br />
A new school. New classmates. Four years worth<br />
of the vaunted <strong>Chaminade</strong> curriculum and discipline.<br />
Needless to say, he felt some butterflies.<br />
As the final moments of summer waned, last-minute<br />
uncertainties crept into Jon’s mind. Is <strong>Chaminade</strong> the<br />
right school for me? Will I like it? Are the teachers as<br />
mean as people say they are?<br />
Soon after his arrival, Jon was relieved. He was not<br />
sweating in a humid auditorium, listening to the standard<br />
welcoming<br />
speeches from various<br />
members of the<br />
faculty. Nor was he<br />
sitting in a musty<br />
classroom, daydreamingnostalgically<br />
about the summer<br />
that had just<br />
flown by. In fact, he<br />
was not even in the<br />
school building at all.<br />
Instead, Jon was on<br />
Ott Field, in the<br />
midst of a heated<br />
game of intramural<br />
dodgeball.<br />
Although the game<br />
between the newest<br />
freshman homerooms<br />
started off timidly, it<br />
didn’t take long for<br />
the intensity to crescendo.<br />
Ooos and<br />
ahhs began to follow<br />
every knockout.<br />
Gunslingers fired<br />
away as their prey<br />
sought cover. Dodging,<br />
ducking, dipping,<br />
diving – and dodging – Jon and his classmates used every<br />
ounce of athleticism to fight for their lives, or at least<br />
for bragging rights among the other freshmen.<br />
As the game wore on, these 20 students – complete<br />
strangers 20 minutes earlier – found themselves united<br />
as teammates. In the end, Jon’s homeroom, 1K, prevailed.<br />
The countless high-fives and congratulations among them<br />
made it seem as if they had been friends for years.<br />
Not your typical start to high-school orientation?<br />
“When I heard we were going to play dodgeball first,<br />
I was shocked, but definitely excited,” Jon said. “After<br />
the game, I couldn’t wait for what was going to<br />
happen the rest of the week.”<br />
At <strong>Chaminade</strong> – a school known for its academic<br />
rigor, disciplinary regulations, and jacket-and-tie dress<br />
code – why does high-school orientation start with a<br />
game of dodgeball?<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007<br />
The truth is, sports have a way of bringing people<br />
together like nothing else can. Whether you’re a sports<br />
skeptic or an ESPN junkie, the unifying power of sports<br />
is undeniable. Sharing in the ups and downs of a game<br />
or season – as a fan or an athlete – creates powerful<br />
bonds that build community.<br />
Take the example of the 1G “Grizzlies.” After splitting<br />
their first two games on Monday, the homeroom<br />
decided that they needed something extra to give them<br />
an edge for Tuesday’s action.<br />
Homeroom moderator Mr. Michael Foley led the students<br />
in calisthenics<br />
before going out to<br />
the field, and once<br />
out there, the Grizzlies<br />
did not lose a<br />
game. Using the exercises<br />
as sort of a<br />
good-luck charm, the<br />
team went on a tear.<br />
They overcame a 16goal<br />
deficit to secure<br />
a victory in European<br />
handball and finished<br />
the week in<br />
second place, just<br />
one point behind the<br />
1M “Monstarz.”<br />
Mr. Foley saw how<br />
much the intramural<br />
sports helped his students<br />
come together<br />
as a homeroom. “I<br />
definitely saw us<br />
bond when we had<br />
our string of wins,” he<br />
said. “Even though<br />
we fell short in the<br />
end, our homeroom<br />
had a blast.”<br />
“The sports were<br />
the best part of the week, no doubt,” said Matt<br />
Khazzam of homeroom 1G. “Having the homeroom<br />
together the entire week helped make the transition to<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> a lot less difficult. It definitely made me<br />
excited to come back a week later.”<br />
Fortes in Unitate.<br />
Strength in unity.<br />
And what better unifier is there than sports?<br />
It was the Yankees’ postseason run that brought<br />
New York City together after the September 11 th attacks,<br />
and it was the New Orleans Saints who unified<br />
the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. For our freshmen,<br />
it was a simple intramural tournament that allowed<br />
them to form bonds that will stay with them<br />
for the next four years.<br />
So when it comes to high-school orientation, why not<br />
start with a game of dodgeball?<br />
A sports<br />
commentary by<br />
Kyle Blanco ‘08<br />
“Whether you’re<br />
a sports skeptic<br />
or an ESPN<br />
junkie, the<br />
unifying power<br />
of sports is<br />
undeniable.”<br />
SPORTS<br />
27
Senior Night<br />
It’s a Dog-Eat-Dog World<br />
xx<br />
page page page xx<br />
24<br />
T A R M A C<br />
SPORTS<br />
1<br />
2<br />
T A R M A C<br />
<strong>Chaminade</strong> <strong>High</strong> <strong>School</strong><br />
340 Jackson Avenue<br />
Mineola, New York 11501-2441<br />
PARAChutestrings<br />
Dodgeball: Five D’s For 3-C page 27<br />
page page 13<br />
Let The Games Begin!<br />
Flyer Sports Hit the Ground Running<br />
1. 1. Up Up Up Up Up for for for for for grabs::::: grabs grabs grabs grabs Brian Fay ‘08 defends<br />
the ball against a Friar striker.<br />
2. 2. 2. Inbounds Inbounds Inbounds::::: Inbounds Inbounds Luke Nawrocki ‘08 makes<br />
a catch en route to a 21-12 victory over<br />
Xaverian.<br />
Crunch time::::: Defenders Bobby Lucas ‘09<br />
and Mike Riley ‘08 team up to stuff the run.<br />
3. 3. 3. Crunch Crunch Crunch Crunch time time time time<br />
4. 4. Flyer Flyer Flyer Flyer Flyer on on on on on the the the the the move::::: move move move move Charlie Donnelly<br />
‘08 jogs ahead, preparing for the crosscountry<br />
season.<br />
Non-profit<br />
Organization<br />
US Postage<br />
P A I D<br />
Mineola, NY<br />
Permit #54<br />
28 SPORTS<br />
SPORTS<br />
<strong>Tarmac</strong> • <strong>October</strong> 2007<br />
3<br />
4