April 22, 2010 - Pingry School

THE PINGRY RECORD SCHOOL NEWS APRIL 22, 2010Mrs. Landau Leads Her Final Holocaust Remembrance AssemblyBy REBECCASPICEHANDLER (V) andSHAAN GURNANI (V)On Friday, April 9, The HolocaustRemembrance Programwas held in Hauser Auditoriumin an effort to remember andlearn from “man’s inhumanityto man.” This year was longtimecoordinator Mrs. Madeline Landau’sfinal assembly.For this assembly, JacquelineMurekatete, a survivor of the1994 Rwandan Genocide, andDavid Gewirtzman, a Holocaustsurvivor, shared their experiencesin order to urge others totake action against hatred andprejudice.As a nine-year-old Tutsichild, Murekatete witnessed theslaughter of her parents and sixsiblings by the majority Hututribe during the Rwandan Genocide.After escaping with hergrandmother to an orphanage,she was adopted by her uncle inQueens and began to assimilateto American culture.Courtesy of Communications OfficeDavid Gewirtzman and Jacqueline Murekatete sharetheir stores.SAC Surprises Student BodyWith Witty Spring AssemblyBy SARAH PARK (IV)The SAC’s Spring Assemblywas held on Wednesday, March10 during morning meeting. Theassembly was a well-kept secret;other than the members, no oneknew what the assembly wasabout or when it was going tooccur. As always, SAC provedthat they could make everyonelaugh amidst the academic pressurethat students face the weekbefore spring break.The assembly began withWill Pinke (VI) playing his versionof Beethoven on the piano,accompanied by a slideshow ofpictures and captions as a meansof mocking his lack of musicalexpertise. He varied his bangingon the keys according to the captionson the slideshow.Pinke’s performance was followedby some witty and amusingremarks about the new roofingconstruction and then a list ofthe Top 10 Faculty AfterschoolActivities, which included comparingbiceps with Mr. NormanLaValette, money bathing withMr. Bradford Poprik, and emailreading with Mr. Quoc Vo.Next up was a video about theoften-discussed issue of cafeteriacleanliness. The video featuredCharlie Laud (VI) and a brigadeof other students as the causeof all of the messes that are leftin the cafeteria. The short filmshowed the students amusingthemselves by spilling drinks,throwing food on the tables, andtaking dishes out of the conveyorbelt and placing them on thetables. Kate Leib (V) liked thevideo because “it relieved someA. Mohin (V)Charlie Laud (VI) wreaks havoc on the cafeteria in ashort film.Now a first year law student atBenjamin N. Cardozo School ofLaw in Manhattan, Murekatetetravels the country to spreadher message of hope, resilience,and faith. Murekatete is workingwith the nonprofit organizationMiracle Corners of the Worldto build a community center inRwanda for genocide survivors.Gewirtzman experienced asimilar situation at age 11 whenthe Germans invaded his smallPolish town during World WarII. After being consigned to aghetto, where he was forced towear the Star of David and abideby other restrictions imposed bythe Nazis, Gewirtzman hid withhis family under a local farmer’spigsty for two years.A truly fortunate man, he wasone of the sixteen out of 8,000Jews that survived from histown. After spending some timein Italy, where he attended theUniversity of Rome, Gewirtzmanimmigrated with his familyto the United States in 1948. Hewas later drafted into the Unitedof the tension surrounding theissue of cafeteria cleanliness,while reminding us to clean upafter we eat.”This film was followed by aseries of short clips: a movie trailerfeaturing Adam Armstrong (V)as a heroic fireman, a mock up ofa fake psychology survey, andjokes about the beard sketchesdisplayed in the hallways.Since waterless urinals havebeen installed in the boys’ bathroomsto conserve water, SACalso devised some ironic slogansand pictures to express their feelingsabout the change.The assembly’s last big videonarrated the story of Jenny Gorelick(VI), one of the only femalesin SAC. The video highlightsthe awkwardness that occursbetween Gorelick and the SACboys whenever she tries to contributeto the meetings.The final part of the assemblywas X-treme Sports, a segmentintroduced earlier in the schoolyear. SAC photoshopped students’sports images to makethem more “extreme.” One ofthe photos featured a boy beingeaten by a shark.Maisie Laud (IV), another ofthe few girls on SAC, “thoughtthe whole assembly went reallywell. We worked really hard oneverything, and from what weheard, everyone was havinga good time.” KC Eboh (IV),agreed, adding that he hopes“SAC will have more assemblieslike this before the end of theyear. They’re so funny!”States Army and ironically wasstationed in Germany.The two speakers connectedfive years ago when Gewirtzmanvisited Murekatete’s highschool in Queens where she immediatelyrecognized someonewhose experience felt intimatelysimilar and binding. In a note toGewirtzman, Murekatete wrote,“At one time I, too, like you, hada feeling of guilt for being alive.‘Why was I left?’ I asked myself.I never really got an answer tothat, but now…maybe I can domy part in making sure that noother human beings go throughthe same experience as I did.”At the assembly, Murekateteand Gewirtzman told their storiesto the audience of faculty andstudents from both the Middleand the Upper School. Gewirtzman’stalk was accompanied bya slideshow presentation withpictures from his lifetime.The speeches were followedby a brief question-and-answersession and the traditional Candle-LightingCeremony led byseniors Erika Lampert and WillPinke in which Murekatete,Gewirtzman, and a few studentswere called to the stage to lightcandles in remembrance ofthose who had lost their lives.The assembly closed with arecitation of the Kaddish, theHebrew prayer for the dead, byGewirtzman.Gewirtzman and Murekatetecontinuously share their storieswith a hope of inspiring youthto learn from the past and stopsuch tragedies from happeningagain. As Gewirtzman stated inCasino Royale Prom Hits theJackpot for Juniors and SeniorsBy NOININ GILBERT (V)On Thursday, April 15,the annual Pingry Prom washeld at the Marriott Hotel inBridgewater. The school wasfilled with prom chatter forthe weeks leading up to theevent. Science and substituteteachers Mr. Andrew Alfanoand Ms. Jill Kehoe spearheadedthe prom committee thisyear, and “Casino Royale,”the year’s theme, came to lifeon the big night. Accordingto Danielle Westerman (V),“Their planning, dedication,and commitment really madefor a great Prom.”As everyone gathered inthe hall outside of the ballroom,students mingled andreceived their seating arrangements.Westerman said,“One of my favorite decorationsof the night were theseating tickets! When I saweveryone’s names on theback of the card I could notget over how creative it was.”The front of the playing cardscorresponded with the cardsin the center of the tables.Continuing the “CasinoRoyale” theme, the tableswere decorated with palmleaves and poker chips. Afterdinner, students made theirway to the dance floor. “TheDJ was great. I thought hereally kept the energy of thenight going. I had so muchfun dancing with my friendsand seeing everyone dancein their Prom attire,” saidAnjana Ganti (V). In fact,there were even a few “danceoffs.”What do you think of the construction Pingry is currently undertaking?5his speech, “No infant is everborn with hatred.” Rather, prejudicesare acquired; therefore, itis the power of today’s youth topromote acceptance rather thanhatred. Gewirtzman’s powerfulwish is, “Holocausts and genocideswill only be found in thepages of history.”John Varvaro (V) said, “Itwas really a different and extraordinaryexperience to hearfrom people actually involvedwith these horrific events.” Hecontinued, “Genocide is clearlya problem which must be dealtwith, and I think the speakers’message that the world mustlearn from the past is vital.” JuliaDowling (V) agreed, saying,“I think that the assembly wasespecially powerful and stimulatingthis year.”J. Dowling (V)Juniors Rebecca Gluck, Chloe Sorvino, and Sam Neibart pose with Aaron Davis (VI).Allie Logerfo (V) said,“The whole night was a completesuccess and you couldjust feel the excitement inthe air.” Ganti agreed, saying,“Whether you were sittingat your table having niceconversation with friends oron the dance floor, everyonecan agree that it was a pictureperfect prom that could havebeen straight out of a movie.”Logerfo summed the night upnicely: “I think everyone reallyenjoyed themselves, andit was a great opportunity tohang out with kids from differentgrades and schools.Everyone looked great too!”Westerman said, “Promwas a complete success thanksto the wonderful Prom Committee.It was a night that noone there will soon forget!”Ja s o n Le v i n e (IV)"It's aninconvenience butwell needed."Liz Jo l l e y (IV)"We should getair conditioninginstead of a roof."Al e x Pa r k e r-Ma g y a r(VI) a n d Br i a nWe i n i g e r (VI)"Highly obstrusiveand, quite frankly,condescending."Ja s m i n Ne a l (VI)"I hope it's done bygraduation."Se n o r Va s q u e z"I think it'snecessary."Courtesy of Yvonne Jeng (IV) and Sarah Meyers (IV)