The Blackfriar Chronicle - April 2014

Alumnus wins Pultizer Prize for Local Reporting Will Hobson ‘02 discusses his work at the Tampa Bay Times - and Malvern Prep

What does Experiential Learning mean for Malvern?

The mysterious rules of Senior Assassin, exposed Find out which Friar was “assasinated” at the Philadelphia International Airport.

V isit or ’s C ent er conversion , Director hired > PAGE 1, PAGE 5 A case for a broader definition > PAGE 16

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BLACKFRIAR Chronicle

The

www.mpfriarslantern.COM

APRIL 2014

VOLUME 14, NUMBER 7

Visitor’s Center Converted to Startup Hub

As the school begins to focus on experiential learning, the Visitor’s Center will serve as a space for alumni, business, and students to connect.

Mr. Aaron Brady Hired to Lead Football Program Brady discusses his background and perspectives on coaching Justice Bennett ‘16 REPORTER

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VISITORS CENTER CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION, ALTHOUGH CONSTRUCTION HAS NOT YET BEGUN

JUSTICE BENNETT

Joe DiSipio ‘14 playing on, enter medical history, contact info, and an EDITOR-IN-CHIEF emergency action plan, as Buono calls it. All this inforhe building known as the Visitor’s Center will now mation will then be available to coaches or whoever is on serve a new purpose as the center of a new internthe sidelines. ship project involving a sports-medicine startup Mr. Buono has really put his interns to work. The team founded by a Malvern alumnus. was asked to act as researchers, comparing The Safety Tag Mike Buono ‘89 recently started a company called to companies Buono hopes to model after. They searched The Safety Tag, and where did he look for interns? His the history of a few startups that are pretty much essenalma mater. Three juniors, Ryan Antell, Nick Gabriele tial in their respective industries. Another project they and Brian Rawlins will be working in the have been given is to research recent legisnewly converted Visitor’s Center. There they “We get a really lation over youth sports safety. The goal is will assist Mr. Buono while also learning to make a case to investors that his product good feel for valuable skills for the business world. has a “captive market” among youth sports what being an The relationship makes sense. Buono leagues. Gabriele sums up the work best, entrepreneur is gets a resource out of the work of the three “We get a really good feel for what being an like.” students, and the students gain a wealth entrepreneur is like.”

-Nick Gabriele ‘15 of knowledge. Antell said, “Being able to Antell said they have also begun by helpwork with and to watch how Mr. Buono has ing The Safety Tag form its social media started this company and is handling the start-up process plan. The teens, well-versed in Facebook, Instagram, and is very interesting and I’m hoping that working for him the Twitter-verse, hope to help Buono grow his brand. and watching him will help me later in life in the busiOpportunities such as this fit the recent Master ness world.”

Campus Plan precisely. A goal of the plan is to emphasize Nick Gabriele offered more insight into the work the > PAGE 5 team has done thus far. Mr. Buono has come on campus already, meeting with his interns in the Learning Experiential learning is a principle ingrained in the Commons before the new entrepreneurial center. “[Mr. school’s plan for the future.

Buono] has been really open. Taught us about convertAnd Coach Brady isn’t only coaching football. ible notes and investment. He’s pretty much given us all access.”

Learn more.

Buono’s business plan is centered around a smartphone PAGE 5 app that will give easy access to medical information.

Parents will sign up their children for the teams they’re

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ew football coach Mr. Aaron Brady is poised to follow in the footsteps of longtime Malvern legends, Coaches Gamp and Kevin Pellegrini.

Coach Brady has participated in several high school and collegiate programs. He has coached at high schools in Florida and Maryland and has be en i nvolved at w ith Georgetown University, Clarion University, Duke University and Mansfield University. He is certainly ready to take Malvern’s football program to the next level.

Following is an interview with Coach Brady that shares some of his

MALVERN COMMUNICATIONS

personal perspectives.

JB: How did you get started in football?

AB: My father was a high school coach. He coached baseball and football at my high school, South Western High School in Hanover, PA, York County. I started playing in fourth grade at my elementary school.

JB: Did you play any other sports in high school?

AB:Yes, I was a three sport athlete. I played football, basketball, and baseball. I had ten varsity letters and I was all-state in football > PAGE 11

Lacrosse Victorious over Rival Haverford Friars’ varsity lax is enjoying dramatic and consistent success.

Brendan O’Connor ‘15 REPORTER

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n the rematch of last year’s heartbreaking loss at the Inter-Ac invitational, Malvern drew first blood in this season’s series with Haverford, keeping their perfect record alive. They had to work harder than ever before to make it happen, as the game remained a stalemate until Ryan Hilburn finally scored the game-winner with 55 seconds in the second sudden-death overtime.

Both teams had something to prove. W hile Malvern looked to forget their last meeting.

Haverford looked to overcome the turmoil surrounding the school in the past week. Haverford was energized early, scoring the first two goals of the game.

Goals by Kevin McGeary, Kyle Anderson, and Adam G old ner had Ma lver n up 3-2 at the end of the first quarter. The second quarter included only one Haverford goal, and the score at halftime was tied at 3. Drew Schantz was injured during the second quarter and did not return for the rest of the game.

Ryder Harkins, who was injured during the third > PAGE 8

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

EDITORIAL EDITORIAL BOARD

The Crackdown on Poop What happens when fun and games have drastic consequences?

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Editorial Board very Malvern student has read an email that goes something like this: “POOOOOOOOP!”. Maybe there are some extra exclamation points, some witty lines, or even a few callouts, but they are all the same: a Malvern student has sent an email from another student’s account.

As with many things in life, it’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. When the administration took a step to end all this poop, questions were asked: For what have been dubbed ‘Poop Emails,’ where do we draw the line? Is hiding behind a screen acceptable?

The BFC found that students’ reactions to such emails were rather ambivalent. Some loved reading each email, and others saw it as an utter nuisance that cluttered an inbox. Junpei Li’14 said, “Someone sent a poop email using my account. And I think those emails are really annoying because I sometime missed important information because some emails looked like poop emails!”

Zach O’Neill ‘14 appreciates the emails, but also noted, “Mass emails, in my opinion, shouldn't be about poop; save that kind of discussion for Mr. Stinger's class.”

O’Neill finds the humor in the poop emails, but also notes that they make students more cautious the next time they use a laptop, and for good reason. “A real mass email has a clever subject line, a witty remark or two, and it makes the person who left their account up never want to use a Chrome Book again.”

Cluttered inboxes, however, were not the whole problem. What caused the cessation of mass emails was a few emails that directly attacked students. These few emails

were harsh, and suggested that a line has been crossed.

The harmless emails used to come periodically, usually with a clever, serious subject line and “POOP” as the subject. The pranks were annoying but relatively harmless. Then they became pretty nasty, sometimes even containing personal attacks. It was obvious something had to be done.

Recently, students were notified by Mr. Dougherty via mass email that the ability for students to send these types of emails was taken away. The class lists were disabled, and the email inboxes fell quiet. Students were quick The effects to notice that the onslaught of of this poop emails had ceased, but the crackdown effects of this crackdown are are more more than just an end to annoythan just ing spams. an end to Any email that may be relannoying evant to large groups of students spams. can no longer originate from a student account. For example, on a recent Wednesday night, Jack St. Amour ‘14 attempted to notify the school about the upcoming Intramural Elite Eight games in the John Ostick Cup. Weeks ago a simple email from Jack would have sufficed. Instead the email was forwarded five times from helpful teachers. The five forwards almost equal the daily poop email count at its height.

The poop emails have been put to rest. So have the more harmful ones. But was this the right decision?

There are a few different solutions to the poop email

OPINION

OPINION

Student Council and Civic Responsibility Student council should have a voice in the administration of our school Anthony Abron ‘14 OPINION EDITOR a lver n's Student Council is one of many student organizations on our campus. The Executive Board is voted on by the student body in the previous year which gives the candidates-elect time to warm up to the position. The students and faculty look to the student council for leadership.

More importantly, the students look to the council for the advocacy of their beliefs.

This year - as usual - the student council has planned many events. President John Monday ‘14, said, "We have coordinated Spirit Week, the Thanksgiving Food Drive, the Dodgeball Tournament, a Shoe Drive, Dances, and we collect money for Dress Down Days."

Each of these events represents a lot of manpower, and a lot of effort behind the scenes. But does Student Council truly play a role in representing students interest to the administration?

Maybe it's my long-standing interest in politics, but I see

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many windows of opportunity for Student Council to involve itself in school affairs.

One option is having a representative from Student Council on the Board of Trustees. The faculty have one, so it seems only right the the students have an equal voice in how their school should be run. Also, a Student Council representative should be on a Disciplinary Committee.

A student could serve as an advocate for the population on campus.

When the issue of putting students on School Boards arose in The Atlantic, Dr. Starr, professor of political science at Yale University said, “While it’s highly unusual for them to be given a vote, students were able to assemble opinions, engage in deliberations and felt they were actively representing their peers’ interests.” Part of the description of Malvern’s Student Council says, "It acts as the liaison between administration and students, initiates new policies for administrative approval..." How can it act as a liaison between students and the administration if there is no official venue to communicate?

Many issues prevent Student Council from being more civically

other than what administration has chosen. The administration should look into solutions that allow students to send group emails, but also have the security and privacy needed to ensure no poop emails will be sent.

As the Editorial Board wrote in the November paper, “As Malvern students, we are responsible for own actions.

When we represent our school, we should do it with class.”

Every person needs to be responsible for what they say, anywhere. Social media, even emails, work in the same way. Until there were the harsh, personal messages, students were not offended. Derisive, hateful emails that called out specific students and their families is not appropriate in any setting. When a student uses email, or any other form of social media, to cover their comments in anonymity, the problems arise.

There have been recent issues regarding what students post behind a screen, whether they be anonymous or on one’s own social media page. It can be fun and games, but when it comes to harming the image of the school or another person, the fun quickly ends. These forms of media have so much potential, but it is up to each of us to be cautious of what we post.

Earlier this year, a campaign was started in Coach Harmatuk’s class reminding students to “Think Before You Tweet” or TBYT. And it doesn’t just apply to tweeting or emailing. We always have to be conscious of what we say and do. Although the old adage says, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” when we put it out on the internet, anything can come back to bite us. n

engaged. One of the issues is the Student Council speeches. On the day that the speeches are given, student voters are looking for something to laugh at.

When the find it, they burst into laughter and mumble to their friends "that's who I'm voting for." Candidates have learned not to put deep-thinking issues into their speeches. Instead their speeches are filled with topics ranging from cafeteria food to dances.

There are already few opportunities for students to get involved in civic engagement offered by Malvern. Student Council could have real potential if we instituted some changes.

With a new educational philosophy being implemented, students need to feel like they have a voice and that can come through student council.

If Malvern's Student Council won't change maybe it's good timing that I'm going to GW next year, a school whose Student Association is very active in school affairs. n

Got opinions?

Comment on stories at mpfriarslantern.com

Out Upon the Campus Brown A plea for students to care for campus landscaping Ted Holleran ‘16 S o w ith my hea r t beat CONTRIBUTOR instantly tripled, I walk back to here I am, an anxious where I came from, the bus dropyoung sixth-grader ready off point by the O’ Neill Athletic to start a new school Facility. Then, with a ridiculous year at a new school. I step off amount of caution powered by the bus and remember that, as fear, I followed the sidewalks to a middle schooler, Good Counsel. most of my classes At one of the The rules will take place in most v u l nerable do not stop Good Counsel Hall. points in a kid’s existing just And as anyone with life, being yelled at because the b a s i c g e ome t r i c by an angry man cafeteria is knowledge knows, serving Fiesta from a window can the shortest disbe traumatizing.

Crab, or you tance between two So, of course I have got stuck points is a straight behind a kid never again stepped line. Naturally, I on crutches on foot on the grass to line myself up with this day, thanks to the staircase the southernmost the fear associated of Tolentine. entrance to Good with the act of walkCounsel Hall and ing on it. I accepted begin walking. Little did I know the words of the furious man in that this early morning stroll was the window as law in the bibliabout to completely redefine my cal sense. We do not walk on the moral code. grass here at Malvern.

Just as I reach the opposite Now, four years after this side of the quad I hear this furi- incident, I’ve been noticing some ous yelling. Terrified, I realize things that I don’t think the man that it’s directed at me. “Hey! in the window would approve of.

What do you think you’re doing!? Kids, very students of Malvern, You can’t just walk on the grass! are just tromping across the Go back to where you came from quad. I, for one, am finding it and take the paths!” > PAGE 4

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THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

April 2014

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FRIAR LIFE Malvern Alum Will Hobson ‘02 Receives Pulitzer Prize For Local Reporting Hobson’s reports on corruption led to change for Tampa’s homeless community. He shared his experience and insight with the BFC. Jack Marchesani ‘15 REPORTER ne of the key principles of Catholic Social Teaching is solidarity. Defined as a care and love for those around us, we are called to exemplify this principle both on and off the Malvern Prep campus. For many, the lessons learned in such matters carry on after graduation, into the workplace and beyond.

Malvern Prep Alum, Will Hobson ‘02 has demonstrated solidarity through his work as a police reporter in Tampa Bay. He and his team were recently awarded a 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for his investigative work surrounding injustices in the Hillsborough County Homeless Recovery (HCHR).

The Pulitzer Prize, an award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the USA, is any journalist’s dream. Working out of Columbia University, those who ran it reached out to the Tampa Bay Times in order to reward Will Hobson and Michael LaForgia for “their relentless investigation into the squalid conditions that marked housing for the city’s substantial homeless population, leading to swift reforms,” according to the Pulitzer website.

Working as a police reporter, Will was tipped off by a homeless man that William “Hoe” Brown had been running a housing center for the homeless under horrible conditions. At the time Brown was a member of the Tampa Bay Port Authority board (appointed by both Gov. Charlie Crist and later re-appointed by Gov. Rick Scott) and a Republican fund raiser. As leader of the HCHR, he was running a housing project with the funds from the HCHR out of 5 unsanitary trailers behind his office and in a motel across the street.

Will Hobson and investigative reporter, Michael LaForgia, teamed up to dig further after an original report in July. In a series of six pieces in the Tampa Bay Times, the two (backed by a strong team) uncovered horrible social tragedies hidden under a government agency.

Many in the Tampa area who had been turned away from other sources of shelter found themselves facing homelessness. Some found themselves in the hands of Brown. Many were allowed to stay in buginfested trailers and apartments at a discounted price as part of the HCHR. This was paid for out of the $600,000 paid to Brown by the HCHR, which on top of this paid Brown a salary of up to $60,000 annually.

Hobson’s and LaForgia’s investigations would prove that the housing was unfit for living. The homes were incredibly tiny, filled with bugs, and extremely unhygienic. The neighbors included the likes of the mentally unstable, crack and meth dealers, and prostitutes. All the while, Brown was serving as a public official, collecting his salary, and channeling tax dollars into these projects.When the residences were found unfit and the tenants evicted, Brown attempted to pay them off to avoid fines.

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For links to the stories that earned Hobson and LaForgia the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, visit the Friar’s Lantern www.mpfriarslantern.com The

BLACKFRIAR Chronicle

is a monthly student-run publication at Malvern Preparatory School. Its online affiliate is the Friar’s Lantern (www.mpfriarslantern.com). Editors’ meetings are every day 2 at 7:30 AM. Reporters’ meetings are every day 3 at 7:45 AM in Duffy 118, and are open to any interested student.

Mission Statement The Blackfriar Chronicle and The Friar’s Lantern are the student run publications of Malvern Prep. The principal goals of the publications are to provide accurate and relevant information to the Malvern community and to offer a forum for intelligent dialogue on all things Malvern. The reporting for these student publications is conducted thoroughly and edited by student leaders to ensure this accuracy to the best of our ability. In order to fairly provide all points of view, contributions from all members of the Malvern community are welcomed and encouraged through letters of opinion, student reporting, and respectful commentary.

Juniors describe their London spring break internship with leasing company run by Malvern alum Matt Lanetti ‘15 & Michael McHugh ‘15

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WILL HOBSON

Over a period of 6 months, from July of 2013 and December 2013, Hobson and Laforgia exposed the situation for what it was. The HCHR was put in the hands of non-profits that would attempt to provide better living conditions for the homeless Through their tireless and often dangerous reporting on this case, Hobson and LaForgia helped to put many in better conditions and most likely saved lives.

We here at the Blackfriar Chronicle had the opportunity to talk with William Hobson and discuss his journey towards becoming a reporter, his investigation of the HCRH case, what it means to be a Pulitzer Prize Winner, and his plans for the future.

JM: How early on did you know you wanted to be a part of this line of work?

What drove you forth into becoming a journalist?

WH: I definitely knew by my junior or senior year of college. I think that back in high school I wanted to do something creative. I knew that I enjoyed reading and writing so something in that realm. I wasn’t a big fan of authority figures (laughs), so I wanted a line of work where I could set my own agenda as much as possible. In college I started realizing the best industry for what I wanted to do was probably journalism and newspapers.

JM: Did Malvern in any way shape you towards having a career in journalism?

Did they have the BFC back when you were in school?

WH: I think that we did, and that answer should tell you that I wasn’t a part of it.

I’d say Malvern’s contribution to where I am today is through the education that I got in English, reading, and writing. Mr. Kindon was a great English teacher along with Mr. Roper. Those were two of the best English classes I’ve ever had. Moral Theology and Philosophy classes helped me as well. Dr. Oechsle was a great teacher. They Editors in Chief all did a great job in teaching me Joe DiSipio ‘14 Brian Tatlow ‘14 how to think and how to formuManaging Editors late arguments and support your Print: Dan McGlinn ‘14 beliefs.

Online: Matt Lanetti ‘15 As journalists, we try not to let our Section Editors belief systems in our work, but we Friar Life Opinion certainly keep that in mind. We Matt Magargee ‘14 Anthony Abron ‘14 Mike Higgins ‘14 look for things that are going to Media & Technology inform the public.

Sports Brendan Hallinan ‘14

Chris Bunn ‘16

Beyond Malvern Jake Sorensen ‘15

Editorial Board Contributors Andrew Aprahmian ‘17

Contact: mpfriarslantern1@gmail.com

Alumnus Hosts London Internship for Second Year

Justice Bennett ‘16

Tyler Pizzico ‘17 Andrew Stetser ‘15

JM: How did you originally find out about the HCHR case? Can you explain where it went from there?

WH: We had received a tip in our newsroom on a prominent

REPORTERS his spring break was a very eventful one for the Friar community.

Students embarked on trips to Costa Rica, Portugal, Florida, and even England. We found ourselves with an ocean separating us from our homes. Traveling for the first time out of the US, we landed in Heathrow Airport after a long and tiring flight.

After getting a mere 4 hours of sleep, we got off the plane, went through customs, and walked into the foreign world of The United Kingdom. This new world would become our home for the week, and the center for our International Internship.

As we arrived on a weekend, we had some time before we started our internships.

Although we were tired from our flight and time zone switch, we tried our best to acclimate to the 5 hour difference as we did some sightseeing. Accompanied

by Mr. Ceribelli, we traveled to Windsor Castle, where the queen was currently staying.

Here we saw our first Queen’s Guard and found them to be as intimidating as we believed.

We then traveled to Stonehenge an hour outside of London. The stones were a beautiful sight to see. They were much taller than expected and seemed very eerie.

On Sunday, we took the Tube into London and saw The Tower of London, which is located right on the Thames River, St Pauls, and Tower Bridge. We had trouble traveling around the city, however, because the unexpected London Marathon was being run through the entire city. This proved to be an unexpected challenge, but was awesome to see.

While in the UK, we stayed with Mr. Rob Ceribelli ‘84, and his family, in their home. Mr. Ceribelli and his family moved to a suburb of London when he was offered the managing position within a leasing company he worked for in the US. Mr. Ceribelli now manages the UK branch of De Lage Landen, an international leasing corporation based in The Netherlands.

Almost every night we hung out with the Cerebelli children;

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

FRIAR LIFE

Malvern Visited by Students from Across the Pond Spanish exchange students take in all the U.S. has to offer Dan McGlinn ‘14 MANAGING EDITOR i x students from San Lorenzo de El Escorial school in Spain stayed with Malvern host families this spring for just shy of four weeks and were fully immersed in American culture. In addition, two French exchange students arrived in the U.S. over spring break to stay with Malvern host families.

Any foreign exchange is a chance to experience a different culture and environment. For the Spaniards - Gonzalo Gomez, Gonzalo Rubio, Gonzalo Aparicio, Juan Tamayo, Alberto de la Fuente, and Alvero Garcia - this was an excellent opportunity.

Highlights of the exchange were the Malvern-sponsored trips to Washington D.C., Philadelphia, and New York City.

“Washington D.C. was my favorite,” says Gonzalo Gomez.

The most interesting part for him was getting to see all the government buildings, although he liked New York because “the streets were all perfectly straight and organized.” The group visited the White House, drove by the Capitol Building, saw the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials, and also got to see the World War

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II Memorial.

For Gonzalo Rubio, New York City was the place to be. “There’s so much food and shopping.” In New York they visited Times Square, shopped in the Apple store, and stopped in the M&M store for a chocolate break.

Other highlights for the foreigners were the trip to the top of the Rockefeller Center and a short stop in St. Patrick’s cathedral.

Higher prices in Europe compelled all the Spaniards to shop till they drop while here.

Technology products, shoes, and clothes were popular purchases due to lower prices here in the States. The King of Prussia Mall was like an oasis in the desert and was visited numerous times by the happy Spaniards.

“There was not enough time for everything,” says Gonzalo, sharing the same feelings as the other Spaniards. As much as the group crammed into the short weeks they had, it didn’t feel like enough time and they were all sad to leave.

American food will have any visitor excited, especially in Philadelphia. After taking a tour on the Duck Boats and running up the Rocky steps,

Reading Terminal Market was the perfect place to have a Philly Cheesesteak. “ We love the food here,” more than one of the Spaniards remarked. (Americans do, too.)

“I’ve felt my English really improved,” says Gonzalo Gomez, who speaks quite f luently.

Malvern students who travel to Spain can relate to the enhanced language skills that come about when someone is fully immersed in a culture and language.

Language isn’t needed, however, when listening to music, and on their last weekend in the States the exchange students experienced Life in Color, a music concert in Philadelphia.

All the students came and went with smiles on their faces and memories in their hearts.

The Malvern community gave them an incredible opportunity and we are grateful for letting us host them and show them everything the United States has to offer. n

Learn about our current French guests, and how the Exchange program is preparing for the future PAGE 6

STUDENT OF THE ISSUE

Tommy Pero: Sailing his way to the top Freshman Pero talks about sailing, theatre, and his dynamic first year Patrick Ferraiolo ‘17 REPORTER hroughout the freshman class, there are many excellent students that excel not only in academics, but also in extracurricular activities.

One student that stands alone is Tommy Pero. In just six months into his career ar Malvern, Tommy has accomplished more than some students do in an entire four years. Tommy has already helped to start a varsity sport, and has been involved in many other activities. In order to get inside the head of Tommy Pero, I sat down and asked him some questions about his accomplishments at Malvern so far.

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PF: Let’s start with before you entered the brotherhood. Where did you grow up and what school made you the person you are today?

TP: So I grew up and currently live in Harleysville, Pen n s ylv a n i a . I went t o Gwynedd-Mercy Academy, and I was actually the only one from there to come to Malvern in my grade. I quickly learned the value of hard work, and trying to accomplish a goal.

PF: Okay, so what activities are you actually involved in?

TP: Well this year, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do. I decided to quit football and decided to join the sailing and speech and debate team. I also decided to continue doing theater, which was really great.

SPANISH GUESTS ARRIVE TO ATTEND MALVERN PREP & VILLA MALVERN EXCHANGE TWITTER

WE’RE NOT DONE YET. ONE MORE ISSUE THIS YEAR. IT WILL BE LEAD BY OUR NEW EDITORIAL TEAM.

Reporters’ meetings still Day 3 in Duffy.

New writers always welcome.

> OUT UPON THE CAMPUS, 2 difficult not to heave my cookies at the very sight of those insolent feet frollicking across those sacred blades. We do not walk on the grass here at Malvern, under any circumstances. The rules do not stop existing just because the cafeteria is serving Fiesta Crab, or you got stuck behind a kid on crutches on the staircase of Tolentine. We have sidewalks for a reason and as convoluted as they may appear, what with paths to buildings that no longer exists, they get the job done.

Many hours of labor have

gone into care of that grass, maintaining it at a nice height, and getting it that perfect shade of green. So maybe one or two or even, dare I say it, three students walking on the grass isn’t going to cause a noticeable change. But once everyone’s walking on the grass, the quad will be in shambles. A beloved thing of beauty will be destroyed. Walking on the grass is everything that is wrong with this world. n

PF: You mentioned MTS, how did you initially start with play and how have you liked your experience?

TP: Well, I knew on the first day of school that there were play auditions, and I actually didnt have anything to do after school so I just thought, “Why not try out for the play?” I ended up getting a really good part, and I know it’s something I wanna keep doing.

PF: We recently saw you deliver a presentation to the whole school, could you tell us how you started with that project and what you took from this experience?

TP: Sure. So I wrote an essay to be selected for the project, and I worked with Matt Heisler and Arjun Menon. The project was a really, really cool and experience that I learned a lot from. I think the most important thing that I took away from it was the importance of listening and the impact a good leader can have.

TOMMY PERO MARCHESANI

PF: Now you are one of the people who founded the sailing team here at Malvern, what gave you this idea and who was on your team with you?

TP: Well, I actually did not found the sailing team. Kieran Cullen actually founded it last year. I met him at the fall play auditions, and he talked me into joining the team. The spring season just started a couple weeks ago, and we got more people to join.

PF: How have you been able to balance school work with the other activities you are a part of?

TP: Well, I guess the most important thing is just to try and stay relaxed and just get as much sleep as possible. I also do a lot of my work in the morning, which gives me more time at after school to do other things.

PF: What have you enjoyed at Malvern that has changed you into a better person?

TP: I think all the opportunities here taught me really important things to know in life, and I think that’s just all part of the whole experience here at Malvern.

PF: What has been your favorite moment that you experienced here at Malvern?

TP: That’s really tough. But, I think it would have to be the sailing team. I’ve had a lot of really great experiences.

With so much accomplished already, it will be great to see what Tommy achieves over his next three years at Malvern. n .

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

April 2014

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FRIAR LIFE > VISITOR’S CENTER, 1

Meet Experiential Learning Coach Brady discusses his other new role at the school, and adds some perspective to this third of the ‘Triangle Offense’ Justice Bennett ‘16 REPORTER

I ‘TRIANGLE OFFENSE’ GRAPHIC

exper iential learning that entails learning and working. Mr. Talbot describes this new approach as “The Triangle Offense.” Rather than sticking to the rigid divide between academics and co-curriculars, this new approach calls for experiences that teach such as interning with The Safety Tag, traveling to London to learn about a career, or participating in the Canon Design prototype camp.

When this opportunity presented itself, Talbot jumped at it and asked Mr. Ostick to assist in offering candidates willing to participate. Along with this program, Ostick is facilitating a project based internship at a local company with ten other students, working in focus groups to solve the company’s marketing challenges.

Mr. Talbot’s goal is to give

MR. TALBOT

every Malvern student an experiential learning opportunity during their time at the school.

When the opportunity arose to partner with Mr. Buono, he was ecstatic, but then he tried to think of the best place for the interns to work on campus.

He said it was hard to think of a location that wasn’t already being fully used on campus.

Then the Visitor’s Center came to mind. Mrs. Pancoast is the building’s most recent first floor occupant, serving as a checkpoint for all visitors who arrive on campus. By moving Mrs. Pancoast to her former home in Austin Hall, space was freed up to convert the Visitor’s Center into the business hub Buono and Talbot hopes it becomes.

Talbot said “To have that sort of opportunity on campus makes sense.” n

n addition to joining Malvern as the new football coach, Mr. Brady has been announced as the first-ever Director of Experiential Learning.

According to an email sent to faculty by Mr. Talbot, Mr. Brady was hired into this role as the result of a closed search. Mr. Talbot stated “In this case, securing a unique candidate who could help us achieve two goals (football = near term, Dir. of Experiential Learning = long-term) motivated the closed search.”

After originally reaching out to Mr. Brady when he was announced as the new football coach, we reached out to him again regarding his new role at the school as the Director of Experiential Learning. Read below as Mr. A aron Brady d i s c u s s e s wh at ex p er iential learning is and what his recently announced Director of Experiential Learning title will entail.

JB: What do you define as experiential learning?

AB: Experiential Learning is the opportunity to learn through application. Experiential learning is the process of making meaning from direct experience, i.e., "learning from experience".

The experience can be staged

or left open. Aristotle once said, "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”

modified block schedule may allow more time for students to elect certain opportunities outside the classroom.

JB: What will your main roles be as the first Director of Experiential Learning?

AB: Main responsibility will be to continue to build opportunities for students to become involved in "real life" learning. For example, we have students who are working with fellow alumni on a small startup company. They are applying what they are learning in the classroom to real life situations. This year, we have already given 55 unique students the opportunity to experience student-centered learning in a project-based or experiential based way. The job is to expand these opportunities and ensure that it is integrated into the curriculum in a seamless, yet intentional way.

To give you examples of what exactly experiential learning is like here is an excerpt from Mr. Talbot’s email to the faculty: “For example, John Ostick is currently the liaison for 10 students engaged in a project-based internship for a local company. Those boys are working in two teams of five to solve one of the company's marketing challenges.

Three additional boys [are] interning for a technology/sports medicine start up founded a Malvern Prep alumnus (you may recall that this internship prompted the conversion of the Visitors Center 1st floor).”

JB: How do you plan to provide the opportunity for experiential learning opportunities for students and teachers?

AB: The goal is to work with the alumni and local business community to create as many opportunities as possible. Since the position is new, it will take some time to collaborate with the academic side to ensure that we are integrating these opportunities into the curriculum in the best way possible. That said, the new

Malvern is clearly dedicated wholeheartedly to experiential learning, as indicated by Mr. Talbot’s ‘Triangle Offense’ graphic. With a new Director of Experiential Learning, and a picture released this past winter telling us experiential learning is at the forefront of our learning now, Malvern has certainly begun to get the ball rolling on Experiential Learning for this upcoming year. n

FACULTY OF THE ISSUE

Mr. Michael Prosalik: New Face, New Ideas, and Japan?

A new faculty member talks about his life, the environment, and his exciting project coming up.

Andrew Stetser ‘15 REPORTER

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oing to the same institution for every day, five days a week, nine months a year, for three years, one would think he knew all there is to know about the place he attends.

Yet, as years go by and by, old friends leave, and fresh, new faces and ideas arrive. Each one of these new faces has his/her own story.

This month, I interviewed a fresh, new face to the Malvern community, who certainly has quite a story: Mr. Michael Prosalik. Mr. Prosalik is a first-year teacher at Malvern Prep who currently teaches Environmental Science and ninth grade Honors Biology

AS: How are you liking the Malvern experience?

MP: So far it’s been great! The community here has been wonderful and extremely welcoming.

It’s been a really easy changeover, especially because I’m from out-of-state. I’m originally from Albany in Upstate New York, so coming down here was a real transition; however, the Malvern community has been absolutely, overwhelmingly accepting.

AS: New York’s quite a change from the Main Line. Did you grow up in New York?

MP: Yes. I was born and raised in Albany, New York, and this is my first year away from home [so to speak].

AS: Albany’s a far ways away! How did you find out about a job opening at Malvern?

MP: So, how I actually came to Malvern was extremely serendipitous. I was getting ready to leave a job fair, and I happened to overhear, whilst walking by, Mr. Algeo and Mr. Valyo talking about Malvern needing an Environmental Science teacher.

We were then introduced, and that was how I initially found out about Malvern Prep. It’s funny though, because my fiance was originally from and grew up in West Chester, so she knew all about the school.

AS: How did you get introduced to Environmental Science? Did you study it in college?

MP: The first degree I got was originally in the going to be in the biological field, even though it initially started off as a biology major at Hudson Valley Community College. I was going

in for physical therapy, because at the time, that was what I really wanted to do, and I knew I really wanted to work with people at some point. Then, I transferred my major to an Automotive Engineering program for a couple of years. During that time, I only took one Environmental class, and from there on, I knew that was what I wanted to pursue. I then transferred to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York. From there I completed my degree. I then went on to work in construction as a superintendent for a couple of years before returning to get my Master’s in Science Education at Union Graduate College.

AS: What do you believe was the “pulling factor” that drew you to Environmental Science?

MP: The thing that I really loved

MR. PROSALIK

about environmental science, and still love to this day, is that I am an avid outdoors person.

Everywhere I went, especially in the construction and automotive industries, I would see people doing things like discarding of oil by dumping it down drains, or just cutting down trees, and I just always thought to myself, Is this the best thing? That’s the compassion side among so many different aspects of why I love Environmental. But when I look at it from a scientific perspective, > PAGE 13

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

FRIAR LIFE Senior Assassin: No one is safe The Senior Assassin game has begun, and seniors have been much more cautious with their every move.

Brian Tatlow ‘14 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF A Malvern senior wakes up gets ready for school, eats breakfast, and looks for the signal from one of the only people he can trust, a parent. The coast is clear, he can take on the task of walking to the car.

Why has the morning walk to the car become such a daunting task? Senior Assassin 2014 has begun.

This year, about a third of the senior class is participating in a game which is now simply known as “Assassin.” The game has been going on for years now at Malvern and a few other high schools around the area including Villa Maria and Notre Dame Academy have their own games as well.

The idea is simple. Everyone has a target, and you have to “assassinate” them with some form of water, whether it be a bottle of water or a fully loaded Super Soaker for those who spared no expense. Seniors who signed up for the game paid an entry fee of $5, and were assigned a target by Ryder Harkins ‘14, who is running the game this year.

The task is simple, but the rules are anything but.

- No assassinations on school grounds or at any school sanctioned events (i.e. Prom) - No assassinations in a target’s workplace - No assassinations in a house of worship - You may not break into a target’s home. You may only enter with permission of a resident - You CA N shoot a target through a window/screen/garage if they are in the garage and the door is open.

- Finally, no assassinations can be made when the target is… naked. (The BFC has been unable to determine origins of this rule. We remain curious.)

Since the email was sent out, alliances have formed and friendships have been torn apart.

You may trust your best friend with your life, but when a few hundred dollar prize is on the line, they could turn on you in the blink of an eye.

Many assassinations have already been made, with some amazing stories to go along with them. Jeff Hagen had one of the best assassinations, as he happened to spot Jake Reber ‘14 at the airport over Spring Break.

Reber, a student well known for his “Twitter game,” tweeted afterwards:

OPINION

New Schedule?

What’s the Point?

When faculty come directly to the students regarding schedule anxiety, worried minds ease.

Phil Daubney ‘15 REPORTER arlier this year, Malvern Prep’s administration threw a cur veball to their student body. Next year, Malvern will be deviating from its typical 6 day-8 period school day, to a modified block schedule which consists of an 8-day rotation, a 6-block school day and a 60 minute “community time” block.

After this announcement was made public, there was some student uproar. Atopmany other changes enacted this school year, the modified schedule only exacerbated already frustrated students. “Why change things now…Obviously the original type of schedule has worked for decades now...We like it how it is,” were typical of student comments. But is a group of teenagers making too brash a decision about how they feel about this schedule?

As expected, many questions arose from the students on what the schedule will look like, how it works, and whose idea it was. So Malvern faculty came directly to the students. On April 8 and 10, during lunch periods, a group of about 6 faculty members sat at a table in Stewart Hall to allow any student to ask any question they might have, and provide answers to the best of their ability.

The communication was key. Many students felt like this decision was made without any input from students and that this was just another way the school was able to grasp them tighter.

When the teachers took time out of their day to allow any student to approach them with any questions, there wasn’t room to feel left in the dark anymore. The chance to receive clarification on all the change was granted.

From word around Stewart and the rest of campus, students seemed much more at ease with

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Joe DiSipio, who is still alive and thriving in the game, notes, “The thrill of watching my target realize what happens is worth so much more than the $5 Harkins stole from us.”

the whole idea after receiving clarification from their own teachers… and after realizing they basically have a 60 minute open period after 1st period every day.

The administration team, along with many of the faculty, believes this new modified schedule will benefit the Malvern Prep community as a whole. Mr. Jim Stinger said, “The schedule we have now, was used in the fifties. The style of education has changed, and we need to adjust.”

Malvern’s current schedule does not allot time in between classes for travel - a bonus for those students who are not always in a rush to get to their classes. The travel time comes out of the 45 minutes given for the next period, so class time is lost on a daily basis. The new schedule has almost every class feeding into a non-class on most days of the cycle, so less class time will be missed - good news for eager learners.

Classes also do not meet every day of the 8-day cycle in next year’s schedule. This change will grant the students the opportunity to build a sense of responsibility when it comes to knowing how to organize their time to complete their assignments on time and study - a skill very important for college.

All in all, the schedule itself won’t be anything harder than adjusting to the change. So many have been using the original for years now that it might be difficult for some to adjust to the new design, but Malvern Prep’s students won’t let that get in the way of their amazing Malvern experience. This new design of class times will leave room for growth both in studies and cocurriculars, and will leave the student body of Malvern Prep extremely prepared to take on the world once their Malvern days come to an end. n There’s no telling when the game will end. Some games in years past are still going on, and the cash prize was most likely spent on something else.

(Rumors have circulated that Harkins has already spent the money, but this can neither be confirmed or denied.) Whatever the result of the game is, senior participants have enjoyed the game, even with the constant threat that your assassin could be watching you. n

Exchange Program Prepares for the Future A new French exchange highlights future possibilities for an established exchange program Dan McGlinn ‘14 MANAGING EDITOR wo students from France came to the United States over Spring Break and will be staying with host families while attending Malvern for three weeks. This is the first time Malvern has had students from France.

This new exchange may come to many as a surprise because this is the last year of the French program at Malvern. The exchange came about through a request from a Malvern teacher who knows the French family. “The French family visited campus last year,” explains Ms. Aleida Rosle, head of the Exchange Program at Malvern.

Familiar with the campus and friends from home, the two students, Theo Grimm and Pierre Chapotin, are good friends. In just one week here in the States, the two students already have some favorites.

When asked their favorite food here, they answered with “hamburger pizza” and “cordon bleu.” It seems the United States has rubbed off on at least one of them.

Just as other exchange students, the French students will travel to New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington D.C. for some shopping and fun. In the meantime, they are just going with the flow and experiencing life in the U.S. “I feel that any type of diversity, in this case students from abroad, benefits our school in many ways,” says Ms. Rosle, emphasizing the importance of being exposed to other cultures. Following this direction, she hopes the French exchange will continue.

“It could be a reciprocal exchange, even if our French program is discontinued in the future.” Many of the exchanges are reciprocated.

This summer Malvern students and families are planning to visit their Spanish exchange students and families that were here this winter. The “Spanish students were very positive about their stay here,” explains Ms. Rosle, something that Malvern host families do extremely well because of the time and energy they dedicate to the students.

The French exchange would be a benefit to all, especially in the world of the 21st century and making connections. “It teaches us about our commonalities and differences.”

The future of Malvern’s Exchange Program looks bright, hopeful to add more international experiences that would include internships, cultural trips, and continued exchanges with added locations.

More opportunities would provide more students with an opportunity to have such an experience.

One highlight that would be available in the future is an academic exchange to Spain, starting in 8th grade September of 2014 and expanding to the high school. The curriculum of the Spanish American school “is based on the American curriculum, so courses can be matched and grades transferred.”

After many years in the program, 33 exchanges, 120 students, and four countries, Ms. Rosle will retire after this summer and we wish her the best and thank her for what she has done for the program. “I encourage Malvern students to get out of their comfort zone and try this program. This is a life changing experience.” n

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Spring Mixer is a Success James Canuso ‘17 REPORTER he Malvern Spring mixer took place on April 26th in Dougherty Hall. The girls schools that were invited were Agnes Irwin, Sacred Heart, Notre Dame, Merion Mercy, and our very own Villa Maria Academy.

"Not as many people showed up as expected (majority were freshman that showed) but it was still fun," said Ryan Franks, a freshman member of Student Council. Franks also believed that that the schools Merion and Villa had the highest girls’ school attendance.

The members of student council worked hard to make the event as successful as possible, along with the maintenance staff who made a big contribution to the setup. There was also a hilarious video made

by John Monday, Tom Ferrari, Mike Vermeil, and Zach O'Neill to promote the dance. Hopefully it was successful in attracting attendance.

All reports indicate that the dance was a fun event. There was even some dodgeball. The student body is looking forward to next year's mixers, and we wish our next student council president, Ryan Doane, luck to lead the preparations for these and other special events.n

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THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

April 2014

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FRIAR LIFE > HOBSON, 3 chairman of the Port Authority.

We had a tip that he was basically a slumlord on top of his real estate interest. He own very squalid property where he operate rentals for poor and disadvantaged folks. He actually had his office out front. I was shocked that he was so flagrant about it. He had his campaign signs to board up the smashed in windows on the property. I went out there with a photographer to document what we saw and we did a few stories. The outcropping of those stories was that he resigned from all of his public positions. The city condemned all the properties and towards the end of that third week we heard from some folks on the property that there was actually a public agency that had been sending people there and covering their rent with tax dollars. It took us a few weeks to figure out what agency it was and we eventually narrowed in on this small county agency with a million dollar annual budget that had been sending people hundreds and thousands of dollars there for years.

JM: From an emotional standpoint, what about this case in particular drew you in?

WH: At the end of that first week the idea that the there would be an agency sending people to live there, for a reporter, that was a pretty big thing to nail that down. From an emotional standpoint, homelessness is an issue everywhere, but it’s constantly an issue down in Tampa. The water is nice so the homeless naturally drift here. There’s always the debate as to what to do with the homeless. Families with small children could have been sent by this organization to live at that property. As a reporter, when I went there after nightfall, I felt unsafe. I couldn’t imagine being the father of an infant and going to the government for help and being sent there.

JM: Can you describe to us what it was like going into these residences

and interviewing some of the tenants? Does this remind you at all of your service and social justice studies at Malvern?

WH: It was an emotional and heartbreaking experience. In one of the trailers was an old mentally handicapped man, living on a mattress soiled with his own filth. He was sharing this trailer with vermin and bugs.

This was a man who belonged in an institution with someone taking care of him. This was solely because the landlord could have a steady cut of his social security check. There’s that right alongside a mom with two young boys. While interviewing her, the two boys were so eager to show me their Spiderman doll and their toys. In this tiny unit they slept on the floor. Next to them you have drunks, drug addicts, and, from what we heard from crime report, prostitutes. It was an emotional experience.

The response from those folks when the stories came out was rewarding.

There were a lot of folks who thought about this guy [Brown] as taking advantage of the poor, and people are looking the other way. Brown is still a wealthy man, and he’ll be fine, but I think to see him in the newspaper in that light was affirming for a lot people that lived there, and also restored their faith in the system.

In terms of what I learned at Malvern, there’s a tie. Candidly, it can be a bit of a bubble sometimes, because most of the kids there come from means, so I think it’s hard for the social justice folks to hammer into the kids what life is outside of the campus. It’s been a long time.

We did do some good. I remember going out to a nursing home in the area. I’d encourage the folks at Malvern to get the kids out more. Take them down to Philadelphia, to Chester, after dark. Go see how the other half lives. It’s certainly an eye opening experience.

JM: How do you view solidarity, the

care for one’s neighbor? How do you think it affected this report?

WH: You’ve got to remember that in journalism we’re trying to report from an unbiased perspective. It’s not to be informed by our own personal beliefs and priorities. We do look for stories that are in public interest, that inform people how our society works and potentially could be improved. I think how the community responded to the stories highlights more how the community views solidarity. When the stories came out, folks in power at the county said that this needed to change. They made sure that they had not shirked their responsibility in helping the community. They seemed to be forthright in trying to improve it. It’s certainly something that they care about.

There are communities in this country that don’t have programs like this whatsoever. We had discussed that if the county didn’t have this agency they wouldn’t be getting these negative reports.

If they had just turned their backs on the homeless it would’ve been different. The agency tried to help but they didn’t try very hard.

JM: Both you and Mr. LaForgia have stressed that this was not just your doing, but instead a major collaboration of the Tampa Bay Times. Can you expound upon this?

WH: First off, any time you do any story you’re not the only one involved. You’re story is going to be editted first off by your editor who is going to be talking to you throughout the story, and asking you, “Have you checked this?” “Have you thought about this?” “Have you checked with this organization?” Your direct editor will be looking at the copy and asking you to look for more stuff that the story is missing.

You have your photographer who is going to be out there taking pictures that are going to be bringing the story to life.

In this case we actually had a videographer too who was videotaping the interviews. You have

designers who create the layout of the story on the page and making sure the story looks good on the page. You have copy editors who are the third and fourth read to make sure there are no type errors, typos, or stray commas. Any story you do for an ongoing project like this is a big undertaking by the whole staff.

Things like this can’t happen in a vacuum.

“I wasn’t a big fan of authority figures, so I wanted a line of work where I could set my own agenda as much as possible. In college I started realizing the best industry for what I wanted to do was probably journalism and newspapers.”

-Will Hobson ‘02

JM: What does it feel like to be a Pulitzer Prize winner? Was this a goal of yours when you set out?

WH: I don’t really know. I feel pretty much the same. I don't think it will really sink in for a while. I still help my wife to do the laundry and the dishes and everything. It feels good that we worked really hard on this and the work that caused us a lot of stress rewarded.

As for if it was a goal of mine, every person who goes to work for a newspaper in this country has in the very back of their head that it’d be nice to win a Pulitzer Prize. That’s sort of like saying every kid who picks up a baseball mitt would like to start in the World Series. I wouldn't say it was a goal, because it seemed so far out of reach. I’m glad that the work was rewarded, but I think that it serves as a message that you don’t need to be a 45 year old esteemed reporter to get this kind of recognition. You can be a younger, determined,

hard-working reporter who just works the story hard.

JM: What plans do you have for the future in your career?

WH: I don’t know. I like newspaper and I like journalism. It’s an industry that’s going through a transition right now. Our newspaper is still around and still well staffed. I plan to keep doing journalism that I enjoy.

Work that I find rewarding.

Stories like this don’t happen everyday and they don’t happen every year. If you’re a journalist you need to make sure to be doing work that you enjoy. This isn’t an industry in which you’re necessarily going to get wealthy, so you need to enjoy it. I’m going to keep doing journalism that I enjoy, that keeps me happy, and that gives me the opportunity to do something like this.

JM: What advice do you have for any current Malvern students who seek to be journalists like yourself?

WH: The first thing I’d say is look for journalism you enjoy reading. Read it. Try and reverse engineer it. Figure out who the reporter is, how they got there, and see how they put it together.

You need to see how they told the story. You only get better if you keep exposing yourself to new writing and techniques. That includes reading literature.

Keep your dramatic voice in mind. Ideally, you want a story to be like a documentary. You want memorable scenes and you string them together with exposition and fact that the people need to know.

For kids in newspapers in college, get into a real newsroom.

College newspapers are nice, but you need to reach out. You can do an internship and that’s great but it’s difficult to get. You can also just email a journalist and ask them to go for coffee and talk to them about their job and how it’s done. Journalism is a line of work unlike any others, in that a lot of it you need to learn on the job. n

Students Present at Distinguished Lecture Series Matt Heisler ‘16 REPORTER he Distinguished Lecture Series welcomed New York Times columnist and best selling author, Adam Bryant to Malvern on Thursday, March 27th. For The Corner Office, Mr. Bryant’s twice weekly column in the New York Times, he has interviewed over 300 top executives of companies and has discovered what sets them apart, how they made it to the top, and their leadership styles. He used

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those interviews as the inspiration for his first book, The Corner Office: Indispensable and Unexpected Lessons from CEOs on How to Lead and Succeed. In this book, Mr. Bryant shares, what he calls, the five essential personality traits that all effective leaders have in common. These traits - Passionate Curiosity, BattleHardened Confidence, Team Smarts, A Simple Mind-Set, and Fearlessness - were the main topic of his lecture at Malvern.

One of the unique aspects

of the day was the presentation of a three person student team who modeled a project on Adam Bryant’s theme of leadership. The student team of Matt Heisler, Tommy Pero, and Arjun Menon were chosen after a long selection process which started with an email from Mr. Talbot to the entire student body offering an opportunity to participate in a leadership role during the Distinguished Lecture Series.

M r. Talbot explained that those selected would have the

Joe DiSipio shares another perspective on Bryant’s visit - Page 16

PERO, HEISLER, MENON ON STAGE FOR BRYANT PRESENTATION MALVERN COMMUNICATIONS

opportunity to participate on a Project-Based Learning experience which would include to spending time with and getting feedback from Adam Bryant, whom he described as “an influential New York Times author.”

All those who were interested in

participating were asked to write a one page essay addressing their willingness to read Mr. Bryant’s book, The Corner Office and their willingness to design and execute a project that would reflect > PAGE 15

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

SPORTS Baseball Impresses Evanfest: More Than Just in Myrtle Beach Lacrosse The baseball team went 5-0 in Myrtle Beach, SC with the help of their shutdown pitching

Lacrosse event marks its 8th year with continued success and remembrance of a beloved Friar Sean Christman ‘17 REPORTER he way Evan Brady conducted himself is an inspiration to anyone who will ever put on a Malvern lacrosse jersey.” These are the words of Malvern’s own Mr. Jamie Wasson. This year marks the 8th anniversary of Evanfest, an all-day lacrosse event held at Malvern. Teams from all over the area come to Malvern’s campus to play against one another for a good cause.

Evanfest is held in memoriam of Evan Brady, a Malvern student and lacrosse player who battled cancer while attending our school. After Evan’s fight with cancer sadly ended in 2005, the Evanfest organization was started. The organization helps to provide financial support to families who have a child with cancer. For the past 8 years, there has also been a day-long event held at Malvern, focused on Evan’s story and a day of youth lacrosse.

Teams from all over the area come to play in this event, and this year’s Evanfest included youth programs such as Coventry, Lionville, Radnor, West C hest er, a nd mor e.

Malvern’s middle school teams also play in the event.

This year, Evanfest was held on April 12. Volunteers began arriving as early as 6:30 A.M., to help set up with parking,

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FRIARS IN THE MYRTLE BEACH DUGOUT CREDIT

Mike Higgins ‘14 FRIAR LIFE EDITOR it h S pr i ng B r e a k scheduled so late in the school year and with Inter-Ac games to be played that week, the Friars could not make their annual trip to Florida.

Therefore, Coach Hilliard had another trip planned earlier in the season. The baseball team went on a quick four day journey down to the Ripken Experience Complex in Myrtle Beach, SC for five games from March 27th to March 30th.

T he squad left on that Thursday following 6th period.

They trekked down I-95 on a 10 hour bus ride until arriving at the team villas late that night.

Friday called for a doubleheader against the John Carroll School from Maryland and Williamsport High from the home of the Little League World Series. The Friars knocked off John Carroll in the opener 4-0 with Chris Butera earning the victory after tossing five innings of shutout baseball.

John Carroll only mustered one hit the entire game.

Malvern knocked off Williamsport 4-1 in the second game in a pitchers duel. Brendan Inglis went six innings strong for the Friars while striking out six Williamsport batters. At the plate Malvern only got four hits, two of which came off the bat of Parker Abate.

On Saturday another doubleheader faced the Friars and rain loomed in the forecast the entire afternoon. Showers pushed back the first game against Upper St. Clair from Pittsburgh, but once the game got started Gardner Nutter did not disappoint on the mound for Malvern. Nutter threw five innings giving up no runs and only two hits while

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striking out eight batters. Mark Gentilotti went 1-3 at the plate with a run scored and swiped two bases in the process.

The nightcap had Malvern facing Mount Tabor from North Carolina. Finally the Friar bats came alive and dismantled Mount Tabor 13-1 in only five innings. Tim Quinn pitched three solid innings picking up the victory. Mike Styer went 1-3 batting and drove in three runs on a bases clearing triple. Also Matt Maul collected two hits, two runs, and a stolen base in the contest. The majority of the scoring occurred in the top of the 2nd inning when the Friars exploded for 10 runs chasing the opposition’s starting pitcher from the game.

The final game of the trip took place on a chilly Sunday morning against Cedar Creek from New Jersey. Again Malvern only got four hits, but they still came away with the 4-0 victory.

Shane Metzger gave up zero runs and two hits in his six innings of work. The Friars finished the trip at 5-0 out scoring their opponents 29-3 over the five games.

In fact only one of the three runs was an earned run, so the Malvern pitching staff finished the trip with a 0.27 team ERA. The trip was a great way to start the season and get the Friars off to a fantastic start. n

> LACROSSE, 1 quarter, did not return either. We hope they can make a quick recovery.

A fter an Adam Goldner goal, Haverford scored two unanswered goals to take a 5-4 lead. The lead did not last long because of a Tripp Traynor goal to tie it once again. Haverford gained another one goal lead, but Kyle Anderson responded two unanswered goals to give Malvern a 1 goal lead. After a Haverford goal with less than 2 minutes remaining, the score was tied. That was the last goal in regulation, and this game was going to overtime. Despite several close calls and goalies on both sides making saves, there were no goals in the first overtime period. In the second overtime, Greg Pelton emerged

among other things. As the day progressed into the morning, vendors began to arrive on campus. In addition to tents about the Evanfest organization itself, there were tents set up with raffle items, and an enormous food tent. All of the proceeds from the raffle and the food are given to the Evanfest organization, which is then used to help families who have a child with cancer. The food is largely prepared by the same volunteers who work in the tent, in addition to local businesses. Raffle items are often donated by Malvern graduates, and this year they included autographed items from the Naval Academy, Team USA, and the Philadelphia Wings.

While many Malvern students, parents, and alumni volunteer their time to work at Evanfest, there are plenty of people in the lacrosse community with no ties to Malvern who just want to help out. One volunteer, a Ridley graduate, simply stated, “I’m here because I want to be a part of this”. This simple statement reflects the attitudes of many of the people who come to work and be a part of the event.

The story of Evan Brady is a powerful one, and it inspires a wide range of people to want to help out.

“I think Evanfest has had a great impact on both the team

and the school,” said Mr. Wasson, an English teacher and lacrosse coach at Malvern, “Evanfest itself impacts the school in a tremendous way for getting young men on campus. Young players, who have never heard of Malvern, might leave the campus after Evanfest and say, ‘I want to go to Malvern.’”

Mr. Wasson had the opportunity to get to know Evan Brady while working in the Dean of Students’ office during Evan’s time at Malvern. “I got to see Evan on his good days and his bad days. It was here that I developed my true respect and admiration for his fight,” he said.

“He had such a quiet confidence about himself and always had a smile on his face,” said Wasson. “I would try to put myself in his shoes and wonder how I could act the way he did. I would always come to the conclusion that I couldn't”.

These words, from someone who knew Evan well, truly sum up everything that the Evanfest event and organization are about. Determination, hard work, and never giving up were intrinsic qualities of Evan Brady, and that legacy continues to live on today.

If you would like to know more about Evanfest or would like to donate to the organization, you can visit evanfest.com. n

from a scrum on the H aver for d s ide w ith the ba l l and ran toward the goa l. T he defense converged on him to prevent him from shooting, leaving Ryan Hilburn open to take the game-winning shot.

This game was an excellent group effort.

Carson Cocco was stellar in net, making ten saves, including two in overtime. In addition the the game-winning assist, Pelton had three caused turnovers. Ryan Antell, along with Pelton, had seven ground balls each. Kyle Anderson contributed three goals and one assist. Ryan Hilburn had two assists along with the gamewinning goal. Malvern still has

a perfect record through the first round of Inter-Ac opponents and shows no signs of slowing down in the second half.

The team continued its flair for the dramatic on Saturday at the Katie Samson Tournament, w i n n i n g 7- 6 a g a i n s t S t .

Augustine’s Prep. AJ Traynor’s second goal with 4:30 remaining sealed the victory against our Augustinian rival. As they improved to 16-0 (6-0 Inter Ac), the team is currently ranked 1st state and 7th in the country via InsideLacrosse.com. n

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

April 2014

9

Sports STUDENT OF THE ISSUE

A Tough “Nut” to Crack Inside the mind of Friar ace Gardner Nutter Brendan Hallinan ‘14 SPORTS EDITOR on’t let his size fool you.

Gardner Nutter, who stands a modest 5-11 and weighs 185 pounds, is one of the top pitchers in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Through six starts this season, Nutter is 3-0 and has amassed 33 strikeouts and an ERA of 2.25. He is the ace of one of the most talented rotations in the Inter Ac. A fter transferring from Westtown for his junior year, Nutter has been a mainstay on the baseball team. In his first year in a Friar uniform, he was 8-0 with a 1.91 ERA and tallied 48 strikeouts.

Nutter has completely dedicated his time to becoming the best pitcher he can be. He is found nearly every morning in Malvern’s gym at 6:30, working on his strength and conditioning.

This past summer, he honed his pitching skills at Ron Wolforth’s Texas Baseball Ranch, which has produced notable MLB pitchers including Scott Kazmir, C.J. Wilson, and Trevor Bauer. Over two months at the ranch, Nutter improved the velocity of his fastball by nearly 10 MPH.

NUTTER

Nutter will be continuing his baseball career at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. When he’s not mowing down college hitters, he will be studying exercise science.

BH: Here’s the situation: bases loaded, full count, and you need an out. What’s your go-to pitch?

GN: I throw two curveballs a slow and a hard one, so in this situation: Hard-Curveball.

3. If you could have a catch with one professional baseball player (past or present), who would it be and why?

Probably Cliff Lee, he is my favorite to watch. He absolutely carves up hitters, and attacks them with 4 pitches.

4. Do you have a favorite pre or post game meal?

It's not so much a meal, but before each game my Dad always makes me a Kale and Green Apple juice. It's delicious.

5. What’s your favorite baseball movie?

Tough because there are some good ones but I'd have to say The Sandlot, it's a true classic.n

2. Your exercise routine is much different than that of the typical

Rugby Team Travels to Portugal Matt Magargee offers his account of the rugby team’s spring break travels

RUGBY WITH NEW INTERNATIONAL FRIENDS MALVERN RUGBY FACEBOOK

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I’ll admit that I did not want to waste my spring break playing rugby in an international tournament in Portugal. However,

The Malvern Sailing Team begins preparation for its sophomore season, encouraging students to get involved with something new.

athlete in the weight room. What exactly are some of the exercises you do and how do they help your pitching?

I do a lot of plyometric full body, dynamic workouts. Pitching is an explosive exercise, therefore I train explosively. My workouts are a lot of short burst work with eccentric and concentric motions.

I use a lot of medballs, bands, and body weight exercises.

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Matt Magargee ‘14 FRIAR LIFE EDITOR even days in Portugal is not enough. Can we go back?

Sailing Team Races Its Way to Another Season

the minute I set foot on the shores of Europe for the first time in my life I knew this was going to be an amazing experience. And that’s exactly what it was.

The MP rugby team raised money to travel across the cold Atlantic Ocean to represent

our school and our country. We participated in an international tournament that featured allstar teams from countries such as Wales, England, France, Spain, among others. You can imagine how large/thick and experienced some of these boys were as they play rugby like Americans play basketball.

MALVERN SAILING TEAM ON THE WATER

K. CULLEN

Kieran Sweeney ‘15 REPORTER f you haven’t quite found your niche at Malvern, there are always opportunities. One of the most criminally underrated activities at Malvern is sailing.

The sport is an exhilarating experience, and I was able to sit down with the team captain of Malvern’s sailing team to hear all about it.

Kieran Cullen, a freshman at Malvern, has been sailing since he was a little kid. Upon entering Malvern, Cullen wished to share his love for the sport with his classmates, so he and his dad started the sailing team.

Consequently, Cullen has earned the spot as the team captain.

Cullen explained what a typical day out on the river consists of. “After getting to the river, we dress in warm clothing; usually boots and a life jacket. We later check the courses on the board and rig the boat,” said Cullen.

A sailing race has a unique way of being scored. Sports like ice hockey and soccer declare the winner by seeing which team has gained the most points; however, sailing is the opposite. For example, the winner of a sailing race is awarded least amount of points. If a team wins five races, it is awarded five points. If a team comes in second, it receives ten points, and so on. “ We finished the season last year with five straight wins,” said Tommy Pero ‘17

triumphantly. In addition to a successful finish to the season, the sailing team ended in third place, competing against schools like Conestoga and Notre Dame.

For the first year of a new sport, this is no small feat. The team ought to be very proud of its accomplishment.

Catie Cullen, a sophomore at Notre Dame and Kieran’s sister, said, “There’s something really cool about spending time out on the water. Sailing’s such an interesting sport, and it’s something you can do for fun, competition, and for your whole life.”

She encourages all students to take a shot at sailing, noting that they won’t regret it.

Sailing has two seasons throughout the year: fall and spring. The sport is something that everyone can try, and even if you’re just looking for some extracurriculars, give it a shot.

Cullen and the other members of the team would be thrilled to see others showing interest.

Sailing has two seasons throughout the year: fall and spring. One of the best things about the Malvern experience is that each student has many opportunities to try new things, and sailing is just one of many.

To get involved with sailing, you can email Kieran Cullen ‘17 at kcullen70 @malvernprep.org.

As the captain, Kieran will get you set up and show you what it takes to be a sailor. n

We entered the tournament in the U19 division as the most inexperienced team. With the Uncle Bill’s logo on our chests we played four hard fought games, winning our last. Man, the rush we got after beating a Portuguese team in their home country!

The Malvern players were g iven the opp or t u n it y t o stay with the guys from the Portuguese team for two nights.

We were all nervous at first until we realized that every single person in Portugal is the kindest

person you’ve ever met. The locals that took us in lived in a wealthy suburb of Lisbon called Cascais.

I stayed with fellow rugger Tutti Galantino ‘14 in the home of Jose (acc.) Gincho and his uncle. The house was nothing like I expected. It had a movie theater, a sauna, and the most refreshing shower in the world.

The Gincho family fed us close to a hundred different dishes of food during our time there and I

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> PAGE 10

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

Sports > RUGBY, 9 loved every bite. I ate duck for the first time and had a pastry with every meal. I couldn’t get enough of these little pastries called “Pastel de Nata.” Add a dab of powdered sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, and MMM! Bon Appétit!

The architecture and nature of the Lisbon region is surreal.

Classical styles were prevalent throughout the city’s boundaries.

Tiles and cobblestone, colorful graffiti, it seemed each road we passed held five hundred years of rich history in it. There was even a massive Romanesque aqueduct in the middle of the city.

Both of our teams bonded very closely through our time spent together and the games that we played against each other. When we returned home, our phones were flooded with friend requests on Facebook from all the Portuguese guys.

It was amazing to me how two groups of guys from extremely different cultures and backgrounds came together as brothers on and off the pitch. We formed lifelong bonds and friendships with our Portuguese boys. (There's just something about rugby) I would never have planned to go to Lisbon, Portugal if not for this trip. I will definitely return to the shores of Portugal for a taste of Pastel de Nata and to see the scenic views of Lisbon and Cascais. n

Loved the Food and the Architecture... but how were the games?

O

n the first day of the tournament the Friars squared off against Colston and Cascais, an English and Portuguese team. The match against Colston was a well fought and learning experience as the Friars fell 17-0 in a physical dog fight.

The second match against Cascais was a barn burner as the Friars battled back from being down 22-0 at half and falling short 24-22 in the last few minutes of play.

Saturday proved to be a day of redemption as the Friars rinsed the bad taste from their mouths the day before. The day started off with a tough match against the English Bolton School team, as the Friars lost 10-0 in a well heated match.

The final game of the tournament was what the ruggers had been yearning for the whole time. After a great motivational speech by Coach Keith Cassidy, the boys in blue were ready to end the experience off on a high note and take a victory back home to the US and to that little plot of land on Warren Avenue.

In a well fought and physical battle to the very end, Friars posted in a game-winning field goal by Matt Magargee to seal the deal and claim W over Victoria Setubal. n -COLIN SULLIVAN ‘14

Bubba Garners Second Green Jacket Bubba Watson holds off the field to win his 2nd Masters in three years Mike Higgins ‘14 FRIAR LIFE EDITOR he man from the little town of Baghdad, FL played some spectacular golf last week on his way to victory in the 78th Masters Tournament.

Bubba Watson shot a four round total of 280 to finish at -8 earning himself a 3 shot victory over Masters rookies Jordan Speith and Jonas Blixt.

After Tiger Woods had to withdraw due to back surgery a week and a half before the tournament, many suspected that tournament would suffer. However, Augusta never disappoints, and there were numerous exciting moments echoing through the Georgia pine trees. Ryan Moore won the annual Par 3 Contest on Wednesday perfectly setting the scene for the opening round of the tournament.

At roughly 7:40 AM Thursday morning, Augusta National Chairman Billy Payne and three of the games greatest major champions, Gary Player, Arnold Palmer, and Jack Nicklaus, took to the First Tee for the Ceremonial Tee Shots.

Replay: Trying to Perfect an Imperfect Game Instant replay is reshaping proessional baseball, for better or worse Patrick Ferraiolo ‘17 REPORTER hroughout its history, baseball has been a consistent sport without any major changes. That all changed in this past offseason when commissioner of baseball operations Bud Selig and the rest of his Baseball Trustees held a meeting about extending video replay.

In the middle of the 2008 season, Selig introduced the homerun replay- a type of review that could happen when there is controversy over a home run call.

This review was rarely used, but proved to be effective in key situations. Overall, the home run replay was praised and the game benefited from it.

After reviewing the effects on this replay, Selig instigated a new type of replay. In this replay, instead of just home run calls being reviewed, out/safe, fair/foul, and player interference calls would now be eligible for review.

With one signature, Selig took away the essence of baseball and changed its culture for the worse.

At first, this seems like a fantastic idea that would bring great fortune to all by making sure that the right call was made, but it has proven to be quite the opposite in just a few weeks of regular season baseball. This is how it works: A manager has one challenge a game; if he wins, he gets rewarded with an additional one. Even if he loses his challenge, he can ask the umpires to review the previous play. Sounds great, right? Wrong!

T

T

FLIKR

After Nicklaus hit the final drive of the group, Payne said his annual line, “The 2014 Masters has now officially begun.”

The first round leader was Bill Haas after shooting a 68 (-4). Watson impressed on day two firing a 68 to add to his first round 69 to grab the halfway lead at -7.

Fan favorite Phil Mickelson missed the cut after shooting +5 over the first two days.

Under the new replay system, the relationships between the umpires and coaches are different. In the past, an umpire’s decision was 99% final, and was only switched if another umpire switched the call (again, very rare). This caused managers to get into heated arguments with umpires and eventually get thrown out of ballgames.

From a fan’s perspective, coaches arguing and getting thrown out is very exciting to watch, and provides fantastic memories to take home from the ballpark. Arguments happened so frequently because managers knew that the call was final and wanted to show displeasure.

A typical conversation would involve dozens, if not hundreds of curse words (thousands if Lou Pinelli, the infamous coach of many teams that was known to blow his head at umpires, was still coaching). Now, since calls can be reversed, managers appear to be calmer.

A typical conversation now goes like this: “Please look at the play again sir, I believe you may have gotten it wrong.” It takes away the excitement. It’s not that ejections and arguments will never happen again, but they will occur at a lower rate, and thus not giving an extra bonus memory to the fans.

Also, this replay makes this slow paced game even slower.

Baseball has been a slow moving game and there is no rule that will ever change that, but this new replay will be time consuming, extend games, and be a dull point of the game where watchers

On moving day, Speith played his way into the final pairing shooting his third consecutive round under par with a 70 to finish the day at -5. Watson struggled early on Saturday and finished at -5 along with Speith after a 74. The long driving lefty actually made a few long par saves at the 17th and 18th holes to maintain a share of the lead. The round of the day went to the 50 year old Spaniard, Miguel Angel Jimenez, who carded seven birdies on his way to a tournament low round of 66. “The Mechanic” was looking to become the oldest Masters champion and oldest winner of a major if he were to break through on Sunday. At 20 years old, Speith was also attempting to break Tiger Woods’ record of the youngest ever winner of the Masters.

There was a lot of movement on the leaderboard even before the leaders teed off on Sunday afternoon. Matt Kuchar, Fred Couples, and Rickie Fowler all made early birdies to put some pressure on the leaders. Then Speith started to catch fire

will quickly turn to a different channel. Time is precious, and people playing and watching the game will not want to spend 15 minutes of their life just sitting around doing nothing. This is a simple point - but also a very major point.

Lastly, MLB managers and players are not happy with this new process at all. They are against the system that is being used to make these reviews. Red Sox manager, John Farrell, said in a post game interview, “This new replay system has not been the way that we expected it to be.

It, in fact, has been the opposite.”

Thinking he was fixing the game of baseball for the better, Selig made a mockery of baseball and completely ignored the glue that holds this wonderful sport together.

This new replay should not be used over every single call that is a little bit controversial. Time and time again, basic calls end up reviewed, and it proves to be unnecessary to the impact of the game. This should only be used when the game is on the line, not when it’s in the first inning in a meaningless April game when a manager cries over a call made at first base.

It is clear that baseball is a sport that has changed through the years. Whether this most recent change has been better for the sport of worse, we will figure out at the end of the year.

All in all, this new replay system has not been welcomed with open arms, but it might play a major role in the playout of this season. n

on his opening seven holes. He moved to -8 after seven holes and opened a two shot lead over Watson. Speith holed his bunker shot at the par 3 fourth, hit it in tight at the par 3 sixth, and drained a long putt for another birdie at the par 4 seventh. Then the tides turned on the next two holes.

Watson went birdie, birdie and Speith shot bogey, bogey to turn a two shot lead into a two shot deficit in only two holes. That lead was never relinquished by Watson who played a solid back nine carding one birdie, one bogey, and seven pars.

That finish allowed him to join 16 other of the game’s greats as multiple Masters Champions.

Like usual this year’s playing of the Masters did not disappoint. Tiger or no Tiger, you can’t take away the aurora of Augusta National since this tournament is truly “A Tradition Unlike Any Other.” n

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

April 2014

11

Sports

Soccer in Qatar One Friar traveled to the other side of the world last month to play a universal game.

Andrew Aprahamian ‘17 CONTRIBUTOR n March 2014, I had the opportunity to travel to the country of Qatar. I traveled to the city of Doha with several soccer players and coaches as part of the Philadelphia Union Academy. This was truly a once in a lifetime opportunity, and an experience that I will never forget.

Qatar, a peninsula, is located in Western Asia, and bordered only by Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf. It is the richest country per capita due to its massive natural gas and oil reserves. Qatar has invested billions into its infrastructure, including many new buildings and hotels, in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Islam is the main religion. In 2008 a Roman Catholic Church called Our The language Lady of Rosary was created for the small Christian barrier between population, but it isn’t permitted to display any signs my team and the or symbols on the outside.

Qatar teams was The country's wealth became apparent to me as tough.

I stepped off the plane. I was stunned by its cleanliness, modernization, and was picked up by a futuristic The way we monorail at the airport. Immediately upon our arrival connected with it became clear that we weren’t in America anymore. each other was The men were dressed in white robes, each with white through soccer. or red headgear called turbans. The women wore black robes. Some women covered their face completely with a black cloth and some left their eyes uncovered. It was a bit odd to me because I don’t see this in my everyday life in America. This was the first moment that I have ever felt truly out of place. It seemed as though everybody in the airport noticed our American group and then muttered something in Arabic.

On the way to my hotel I must have seen at least 100 houses that looked like Beverly Hills mansions. From a distance the capital city of Doha was visible. The skyline showed skyscraper after skyscraper. Each one was was lit up with a vibrant color. The shape, height and style of each skyscraper was unique and impressive.

The hotel was a dream. Each room had its own master iPad, which controlled everything in our room - from the TV to the color of the lights. Yes, the lights in our room could change colors. Everything in our hotel, and in Qatar in general, appeared to be of the highest quality, brand new and technology driven. Outside the hotel it seemed that

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> BRADY, 1 and baseball.

JB: How did you get started in coaching?

AB: I went to the New York Giants in summer of 1999, and got cut. When I got cut, one of my friends was coaching football at East Side Newark high school in New Jersey. So, I coached there for that season. Then I was going to try and keep playing, but I got offered at Mansfield University, at a college. From that point on I have been a coach.

I have been coaching since 1999.

I did seven years in college. I was at Mansfield, Clarion, Duke, and Georgetown University.

JB: So, coaching was not really your dream job?

AB: Well, I was became a coach on the fields I played, so I was always thinking about trying to play at the next level. So, I was never really thinking about ‘Oh, I am going to be a coach when I get done playing.’

JB: What kind of role did sports play in your childhood? Was it your main priority?

AB: I grew up on a farm, so the number one priority in my life was work. It was doing chores, and sports were a great outlet to give me a reason to get out of chores sometimes. I played three sports, so I was very busy. Back then you played all three sports

through the summer. I just loved to compete, and I loved being outside working on the farm. I enjoyed the camaraderie of it, being part of a team, and going out as a team together. So, it was probably my favorite thing growing up, yes.

JB: Can you tell us a little bit about your family?

AB: I have a six year old daughter, her name is Brennan, and I have a fiancée, whose name is K atie. She was a three time All-American in Duke in field hockey, and she is from Pennsylvania as well. She is very athletic.

JB: What can we expect from you as a team builder and for the football team in the next few years? Do you have any goals?

AB: Absolutely. Number one, I am following in the steps of legendary Coach Pellegrini, so I want to continue that tradition of excellence. They have built a team concept here that a lot of people are proud of. There are so many alums that come back and coach on the staff, so that tells you a lot right there that you want to come back and volunteer - you do not make a lot of money coaching, and that means a lot to me.

I love football because everybody is a part of the team. Whether you are a starter or never play, you are part of something

everywhere we traveled it was safe, clean and peaceful.

The soccer complex where my team practiced and played was amazing. I had never seen so many stadiums and soccer fields. What really surprised me was that all the fields were in perfect condition but there were no workers in sight. Every grass field was cut with patterns and pre-watered. One of our coaches said that the youth academy fields in Qatar were better than the actual Philadelphia Union professional team fields. There APRAHAMIAN & A FRIEND ON A QATAR SOCCER FIELD APR AHAMIAN were 12 in all. The quality and quantity of the fields spoke to the amount of time and money invested in the complex.

The language barrier between my team and the Qatar teams was tough to deal with, because English and Arabic do not have much in common. The way we connected with each other was through soccer. This really showed me how soccer is a universal sport.

One big difference between the soccer academy that we visited in Qatar and the soccer academies in the USA is the age of the players. There were kids as young as age 10 living at the Qatar Aspire Academy, away from their families, just to pursue soccer. It also showed me how much more we stress education in the United States. The kids did attend school but it seemed as if there were kids always practicing on the fields when we got there. Soccer seemed to take priority.

I definitely encourage everyone to take any opportunity to travel outside of the country because it really opens your eyes to how different our world is. Also, it shows a different culture and everyday life. This trip was one of the greatest experiences of my life thus far, and I hope to have more opportunities like it in the future.n

special, and what I want to develop here is that same kind of concept.

I have two main goals for the program. Number one is I want the experience to be memorable for all the players, because mine was. Some of my best friends were my high school teammates, and some of my best mentors were my high school coaches. I think that is true for every sport you play, but I think in football there are so many more emotions involved in the game.

Number two, I believe in getting the young men at Malvern

“Everyone is great when things are going fine, but the true test is how you are going to do when facing adversity. That is the true test of a person.”

-Coach Brady to the best possible college that fits them.

JB: How do you plan on completing those goals?

AB: Well, it’s a process. So, the process starts in the classroom, number one. You are not going to be a great athlete, and you are not going to play college football, or any college sport, if you are

not a good student. That means doing your work on time, sitting in the front of the class, doing the things that create good habits.

Those good habits carry over to being a good football player.

On the football side of things, we are going to expect them to lift throughout the year, run, do skill work, watch film throughout the year. All these things together combine and make you a better football player.

You get better in football through watching film. Probably the only sport remaining where that is true. Every sport nowadays, you go to these summer camps. All these sports, you are going to get recruited in the summer, at a workout or a showcase. In football, we do not have showcases.

You are going to get recruited off of your film during your season.

So my goal for those guys is to shine during those eleven games, and the way to shine is to do all those things and have great grades associated with them.

And obviously, if you are at Malvern, you are being taught about service, being a friend to others, and being great to others more than ourselves. That is part of what we do here.

JB: What would be your core values you try and teach your players?

AB: Definitely honesty, integrity, and I am big on facing adversity.

Everyone is great when things are going fine, but the true test

is how you are going to do when facing adversity. That is the true test of a person. That is what I am going to try and put on my guys, to always be on the same level, where do you do not go up and down and allow big dips, so that when you face adversity you push ahead.

I am a very positive person, and that is my coaching style; to be super positive, lot of energy, and to push forward, always moving forward.

JB: What do you look for in team/ student leadership from your players? What kind of qualities from the student leaders of your team?

AB: Well, number one is - what you are doing for the community, and what kind of person are you off the field. Then we have team values, and those team values are honesty, integrity.

Are you that kind of person that can stand up for the team, be a leader, so are you going to live up to those things?

The other part of that is, everybody at Malvern is a leader. I believe that there is a reason that you are at Malvern. You are a special person. You are looking for higher things, and you want to be challenged more than other people, and that is why you come to Malvern. I expect and am going to hold you to that bar, to that level. > PAGE 13

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ARTS ARTIST OF THE ISSUE

Billy McCullough: A Passion for Photography Senior McCullough discusses instinct and emotion in his work Joe Canuso ‘14 REPORTER e a l l k now B i l ly McCul lough, the upbeat senior that does nothing else but smile.

What some people don't know, though, is that there is much more to him than the jovial kid we all know and love. Billy began doing photography in the fifth grade, when he got his first camera from his grandfather, and he has loved it ever since. As the only student in Ms. Cantor's Advanced Photography Class, Billy has honed his art through his Malvern experience. His dedication to the field of photography is inspiring, and he is sure to continue with it as his life goes on. I conducted an interview with Billy to uncover some deeper information about Billy's love and passion for photography.

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JC: What do you love about photography?

BM: Everything. There is nothing I don't like about it. I like how you have to go out to places and explore and find new things.

JC: What is your inspiration for the pictures you take?

BM: My brain and the crazy way I think. I basically get my brain to go in many different directions. Whatever I'm thinking, I do it.

JC: How does photography speak to you?

BM: I just like creating things, and I express what I'm thinking in it. It gives me the ability to express my own thinking.

JC: Do you think that photography is an outlet for emotion?

BM: Yes. If I'm upset I can just

Evolution of The Living Stations Our reporter gets unique insight into how the current Living Stations program evolved from scrawled notes to a top-notch production Andrew Stetser ‘15 REPORTER

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alvern’s unique annual performance of Living Stations had its roots with Dr. Fry and Mr. Liga, while they worked together at Bonner.

BILLY AT HOME IN A DARKROOM PLOWS

go out and walk and take pictures of stuff. Emotion doesn't influence my photography. If I'm angry, that doesn't mean I would take angry pictures, it's just something I can do if I'm angry or upset or happy, but what my emotions are doesn’t come out in my pictures. I just take pictures of whatever I'm thinking.

JC: What do you say to the people that think photography is nothing more than just a click of a button?

BM: It depends on what photography you do. The people who just take random pictures might be able to make them look okay, but in order to get an awesome picture, you might have to plan it out, or it might just be a spur of the second thing. But you have to know certain techniques and you have to have an eye for it.

I learned the techniques after I had already developed an eye for it. I didn’t know what I was doing, but I knew it looked good because I just figured out how to do it on my own. I basically had the photographic instinct before I actually learned what I was doing. n

“It was Dr. Fry’s concept,” Mr. Liga said, trying to recall the genesis of the duo’s creation. “He had seen things like it before, and knew that he wanted Bonner to do it.”

How did Liga and Fry develop the idea? “It was actually during an inservice day, where we were supposed to listening to administrators about probably important stuff. We just started to brainstorm. At the time, I didn’t really know specifically about The Stations themselves, and he had full knowledge full knowledge of them. So we were writing back and forth on notepads so it looked like we were taking notes and paying attention…”

“Yeah, I know, well it’s not like we are going to get in trouble now,” he laughed.

“The Stations got started at Bonner,” said Dr. Fry in an email. “I had the idea about 15 years ago and approached Mr. Liga, whom I was working with at that time. After throwing the idea by him he agreed. The writing process? Well, the script was easy to "write" as it is the lyrics of the songs.”

According to Liga, during the in-service, Fry wrote out the names of the Stations and described what these would look like as tableaus. “Then we just started going back and forth on the subject of ‘Song Ideas’; what songs would fit with what

2014 STATIONS CAST ENACTS A DRAMATIC SCENE

COLAMECO

Station. It took a while. Probably each one of some relevance to about an hour and a half to two previous Stations. He pulled hours, but we were in this meetout a particular piece of paper, ing, so…” unveiling the genesis of the duo’s “Mr. Liga and I approached creation. some Bonner guys and asked for “This was the original plan songs that they thought would [in my handwriting]. So this was make a good connection to each going to be a part of a spring of t he St at ion s . concert. It was origAlthough some of the inally planned that “Although songs have changed, there was going to some of the many of the original be an intermission, songs have songs are still being and I think that was changed, sung today,” said how we did do it,” many of the Fry. original songs said Liga. “We didn’t “At that [first] are still being really have a music meeting, we decided sung today.” program, per se, that that John 19:41 would was really strong at -Dr. Fry be where Jesus fell the time. We were for the first, second, going to do that for, and third time, and say, forty-five minGethsemane would be for when utes, and after the intermission Jesus was nailed to the cross,” we were going to do the ensemble said Liga. “And, you know, a lot performances.” of the original songs were on The original concept included the same instance...the original, King of Pain by The Police [which um…here.” we actually did here at Malvern Mr. Liga got up out of his for a couple of years]. It also chair and opened up an overhead included “Don’t Cry” by Seal. cabinet, revealing a plethora of Seal? “Yeah. You know, the blue, choral folders stored inside. guy that was married to Heidi He took out a particular blue Klum?” said Liga. “Yeah, well, folder, bigger than the rest. A I think was the only year we did faded piece of tape clenched the that song.” binding of the folder. Mr. Liga “So we kind of started from opened the binder, showing a the end and worked backwards, stash of nearly twenty papers, > STATIONS, 15

Middle School to Present Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Jr. Malvern Theatre Society’s junior branch is busily preparing for the spring show. ‘Be our Guest’ for a look at this unique program.

Matt Magargee ‘14 FRIAR LIFE EDITOR he Malvern Prep Theatre Society is known across campus for the spring musical. But did you know that the middle school also hits the stage toward the end of the year? Middle schoolers from Malvern, Notre Dame Academy, and Lower Villa participate in a musical of their own each spring. This year’s production is Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, Jr., Jr. There are students who participate in Malvern’s Upper School Theatre Society that missed being on stage so much that they joined the crew of Beauty and the Beast, Jr. A handful of MTS members are helping out with this production in positions of management, stage crew, etc.

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Even from the start, Phil Daubney ‘15 could not contain his excitement about being a student director of the middle school production. “During the audition process, I was honestly blown away with the talent these kids possessed. Coming from middle school age kids, I wasn’t fully prepared to hear or see how truly passionate the kids are about performing.”

Daubney is co-directing the show with Emma Shackleford ‘16, Villa Maria Academy.

Regardless of prior theatre experience, these middle schoolers are having an amazing time practicing on stage. “Right from > PAGE 15

‘BEAST’ PERFORMERS AT VOCAL PRACTICE WITH STUDENT DIRECTORS ABRON

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

April 2014

> PROSALIK, 5

MEDIA & TECH

Facebook Buys Oculus Rift How far will Facebook intertwine itself with upand-coming technology?

Chris Bunn ‘16 MEDIA & TECH EDITOR n M a r c h 2 5 , 2 014 , Facebook agreed to purchase the virtual reality company Oculus VR for $2 billion. This news follows after Facebook’s recent purchase of Whatsapp earlier this year, as well as their purchase of Instagram last year. However, unlike Facebook’s past company purchases, this company deals with something other than social media and communication app companies.

L i ke W hatsapp and Instagram, Oculus V R has first started up as a small tech startup in 2012. At debut at the Electronics Entertainment Expo in 2012, their main product, the Oculus Rift, has received praise for its affordable entry into an emerging technology. The Oculus Rift is an immersive headset that was designed for use in video games. Afterwards, Oculus VR announced a kickstarter campaign to generate enough funds to start manufacturing. At the start of the campaign, the company has set a $250,000 goal in order to move the product past the prototype stage. However, at the the end of the campaign, the company has smashed that goal, managing to raise almost 10 times that amount. Since that time, the company has gone on to create different versions of their virtual headset, and has continued to work towards a general consumer release.

At news of Facebook’s acquisition of the company, a sense of general discontent for the company has arisen. Many believe that Facebook may try to stymie the development of the headset for widespread consumer release. Some has even gone as far to speculate how Facebook will utilize Oculus’ technology.

There may be the possibility of future Facebook games being able to take advantage of this technology, once it becomes more commonplace.

O ne of the most vo ca l groups on the acquisition is the Kickstarter backers. Many of them felt cheated out of a return on their investment. While the point of Kickstarter is that a backer receives a product a company has promised them rather than a specific share in the company, many backers still feel like they have signed on to something

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see the chemistry around me; I can see the physics around me; I can see all of the sciences coming together in Environmental Science. That is why I love it. It’s such a holistic science.

AS: Now you’ve been here for almost a full year. What do you think has been your favorite thing about Malvern?

MP: Probably my favorite thing about Malvern is discovering the community factor around here.

I’m really starting to get involved with all the different clubs, for example, I got a chance to help out the Robotics team this year.

I also got a chance to participate in the freshman “backpacking” trip. The fact that I have the opportunity to teach both ninth graders and twelfth graders is really is an amazing thing. I get a chance to see the students as they progress through their different stages at Malvern.

AS: From what you’ve been saying, you’ve definitely been in a variety of different professions. Have you ever taken something you have learned from one of those fields, like construction skills, and applied it to your teaching?

MP: Well, yes! There are a ton of different factors to Environmental. For instance, when I worked as a construction superintendent, I had to do Environmental Safety Training for all of my employees. I could then take some of those pieces, such as the ideas of why we can’t pollute rivers, and use those pieces in a classroom. My last school was actually based right on a river, so I had that piece.

Here at Malvern, we have a lot of opportunities. I’m hoping that the pond will be fully restored for next year.

Let it be known that I have never ONCE seen the Black Friar Pond without some any heavy-duty machinery in its immediate proximity since I came here three years ago!

There are definitely a lot of ways in which I’m starting to take things. Some of the projects I have lined up for next year involve electronics and circuitry. When a lot of people think of those topics, the say, “Well, that’s not Environmental!”... But

if you can build your own sensors and test environment, why not do that? That’s where I see everything marrying together.

Environmental science is not just this “isolated island”; it incorporates all science.

AS: What do you think has been the best thing about teaching?

MP: The best thing has definitely just been the human interaction everyday. I consider myself most beneficial in some ways, in a somewhat guilty sense, because I get all my students’ perspectives. Everyone sees the world a little bit differently than I do, and seeing that and having that reflected back to me is something that keeps things very fresh and very real.

AS: As a new face here at Malvern, is there anything that you’ve viewed here that you really want to see expand and stand out in the future?

MP: I think that, especially with all the changes going on, I’m really hoping to get involved with the “Sustainability Initiative” because I think we are a little behind in that right now; however, I feel there’s a lot of room for growth, and quick growth at that! Especially after seeing the new campus plan, I think we’re moving in a great direction, yet I definitely feel that we have a little catching up to do.

AS: You’ve been in a plethora of different fields, and I’ve seen that a lot of different people have “idols” which they feel exemplify that success in that particular subject. Do you have any particular person in Environmental that you look at and say, “Wow, I want to aspire to what you have accomplished?”

MP: You know, I admire someone who, to me, is almost fictional.

His name is John Muir. He definitely has had a big influence on me. His influence continues to grow as I read more and more about his works and experiences with the environment and the “original” Environmental Movement. In terms of a living person, I had a professor at Rensselaer that I’ve formed a really close bond with. She’s been extremely influential with my continuing to seek out opportunities in the field, like the one I’m going on this summer.

> BRADY, 11 JB: In your introductory article to Malvern, Mr. Ruch was quoted saying he was “impressed with your strategy of bringing talented players to Malvern.”

Is there anything that you can share about that?

AB: Well, I come from a place where the recruiting is out of control. I believe more in assisting people in the process, letting them know about Malvern and showing them ‘here is what you can do at Malvern.’ Here are the opportunities Malvern provides, let them make a decision.

We are going to get out in the community, we are going to visit youth practices, we are going to hold clinics and camps on campus, we are going to coach the youth coaches to be better coaches with what we know. I was also a trainer for the NFL. So, I am going around the

AS: Can you tell me a little more about that experience, because I hear you have a grant to go and do some...science stuff somewhere in…

At this point, I had completely forgotten about this summer experience, which was one of the main reasons we picked Mr. Prosalik to be the Faculty of the Issue in the first place! For almost 30 seconds, I desperately struggled to extract any possible vocabulary which could go into any possible order and still make any possible sense. After almost 45 seconds of “blooper-reel” reporting, Mr. Prosalik generously bailed me out by saying: MP: I’ll start out by saying, that I wouldn’t call it a grant. It’s an opportunity in which I will be an Education Officer onboard the research vessel Joyous Resolution.

So, I will be leaving for Tokyo on May 26, and I will be at sea for approximately sixty or sixtyone days - I’d have to look at the log again. During that time, we will be going out and drilling into the sea floor a couple hundred miles off the coast of Japan.

The hopes for this is actually to look for plate tectonics and plate tectonic theory. Even though it was formed over eighty years ago, we’re still testing, looking at these hypotheses, and seeing how this all has formed. My role there is to be interfacing globally with other teachers and educators, whether they be at the high school or collegiate level, with summer programs, and with museum programs. I will also be doing live broadcasts from the ship with those facilities.

I’ll be working twelve hour days with no time off the entire time I’m on the ship. During those twelve hour days, I will have some broadcasts. I’m in charge with updating social media. I’ll also be helping the scientists perform their research, and trying to understand what they’re researching, and what they’re trying to get out of this as well.

I definitely have the best position on the ship!

AS: How did you get this job?

MP: I was actually in a program last year on the Joyous Resolution.

It was a ten day workshop in Victoria, British Columbia. It’s an education program for teachers where we actually go out and learn about the entire scientific process - how it happens on the JR. Once I was there, I was kind of infected by this idea that I

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really want to go out and want to be a part of something, because I just look at things like the ocean, and wonder how we’ve been here so long, yet know so little about the ocean floor. We know more about the moon in some instances than we know about what’s going on under our oceans! So the chance to be a part of that is totally tantalizing to me. I decided that I would apply for this position, and at the behest of one of my mentors and former professors from Rensselaer, I presented at a conference for science teachers in November. It was a week before the deadline was due for the initial application. There was an “essay” application process (describing why, scientifically, I wanted to be there) and then the “interview” process.

AS: Do you ever get the amazing feeling that this project may be something that future Malvern students will be learning about?

MP: Definitely! My hope for next year is to come back and really kick off something that is tied in with this. It’s something that this year, having the shorter scheduling, has not been friendly to, so I’m actually looking forward to next year. I feel that having the longer timeframes will really start to let us flesh out some of projects, and then next year we’ll even be able to host some of the Joyous Resolution projects here in terms of video methods like Skyping.

AS: Is there anything that you would like to say to the community?

MP: Hmm. I guess I just want to say thank you all for making this year a great one!

Each new face brings its own new story. Whether it be the upcoming freshman class, or the new Environmental Science teacher, everyone contributes to what we have here at Malvern.

Malvern is its own environment, a fresh ecosystem and nature through which all of its parts, new faces and old, thrive in knowledge and love. And in the words of John Muir, “There is not a ‘fragment’ in all nature, for every relative fragment of one thing is a full harmonious unit in itself.” n

country teaching youth about concussion awareness, equipment, and proper tackling.

JB: Is there anything unusual, quirky, maybe an experience that you can let the Malvern community in on about yourself?

AB: I am a huge history nut and I like riding horses. I have lots of horses at home.

The Malvern community is excited to see what is coming to the football program. Coach Brady brings with him more than fifteen years of experience and several goals and plans for the program that should get the Friar community excited for his arrival. Please join the Black Friar Chronicle in giving Mr. Brady a warm welcome to

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

MEDIA & TECH Project Ara Aims for Ultimate Customization of Mobile Devices What if phones had open platform hardware?

Chris Bunn ‘16 MEDIA & TECH EDITOR n 2013, the mobile phone and smartphone market was worth about $341.4 billion dollars. As it seems more and more commonplace, a large variety of cell phones have started to appear within this industry.

Many manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, has become some of the biggest players in this rapidly growing market.

Because of that, there is a large variety of different phones. Most of the time, consumers are forced to choose a phone that doesn’t exactly fit their needs. Instead of having users conform to their phones, why not have phones made specifically to the user?

Project Ara aims to solve that problem. Based off of Phonebloks, this project is an adaptation of the same concept by Google. The two companies have teamed up together to try to create a phone that fits the needs of the user individually. Both Google and Phonebloks are working to create an open platform that allows users to swap in individual modules onto a structural frame.

This will allow users to obtain the features they want, while reducing the cost of features that users won’t need. If, for example, a user is a photographer, they would most likely use a bigger camera module, a large battery module, and good screen module, while at the same time taking out or downgrading non-essential features such as a cellular radio module, a speaker module, and a weaker processor module.

All of these modules are held in place by electropermanent magnets, which holds the modules in place until they are released by an app on the phone.

However, the team behind this project also envisions this as a way to place smartphones to users in developing countries as well. In fact, one of the team’s goals is to release a $50 “bare minimum” model, which will contain only the structure, a screen, a processor, and a Wi-fi radio. The idea is that as time goes on, rather than purchasing an entire new smartphone

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CONCEPT MODEL OF PHONEBLOKS DEVICE WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

as technology advances, users can just replace the modules.

On their website, the team even bills the phone as a product that is “designed exclusively for 6 billion people”.

Other than your basic modules that you can find on any phone (camera, GPS, screen, etc.), there are also plans for more specialized modules as well. At Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects developers conference, they have also introduced more specialized modules as well. One of the more notable modules was a pulse oximeter, which could be used in more medical, as well as personal, environments. Another module that was shown off was a credit card reader. This would allow small businesses to process credit transactions without purchasing expensive equipment.

Even then, at the conference, Google has released a developer’s kit, which will allow third parties to make modules. This will allow people and companies to create modules that will work with Project Ara. A s of now, G oogle and Phonebloks do not plan to release a consumer-grade device until 2015. While there has been some headway, including a functioning prototype, more development is needed. The team behind the project has released a developer’s kit, which is downloadable on their website by anybody and allows many to gain a closer look at this project. In the future, we can see these types of modular smartphones become more and more commonplace. n

> FACEBOOK, 13 on which they didn’t agree.

While many people may see this as only a small part of Facebook’s string of company buyouts, the fact that one of the most promising tech companies has been bought out by a social media giant has left some discontent. No matter the reason, there is no doubt that the futures of both Facebook and Oculus VR is intertwined. n

Noah Surges Into Theaters A review of the most recent blockbuster Biblical fiction Mike McCarthy ‘15 REPORTER m ma Wat s on . Ye a h , thats right, I said Emma Watson. I bet that caught your attention. Now you’re probably wondering why I just stated the name of the beautiful and delightfully British former Harry Potter star. Well this is because she is co-starring in the new big screen adaptation of Noah, the age-old biblical tale of the Great Flood.

The film opens with director Darren Aronofsky’s portrait of a depressingly stark antediluvian (yes, Mr. Roper, I DID just use that word) world. This is where most bible thumpers will take issue with this film as Aronofsky definitely takes some liberties with scripture in order to fill in the gaps of the biblical story. Here is the Sparknotes version of the opening: After Adam and Eve’s son Cain kills Abel, Cain flees to the protection of a group of fallen angels called the Watchers. The Watchers help Cain’s line grow and flourish by providing technological innovations such as metal that allow them to make sprawling cities.

Cain’s cities grow to the point where they are destroying the environment and they are forced to encroach on the land of Seth’s (the third son of Adam and Eve) descendents.

In a dream, God shows Noah (Russell Crowe), a descendant of Seth, some brutal images of cities flooding and scores of people drowning with no hope of survival. Unsure of what he should do, Noah packs up his family and treks to the mountain home of his grandfather Methuselah (Anthony Hopkins). There he discovers the practical solution to the flood, build a big ol’ boat!

The majority of the film centers

around Noah’s struggle to build the ark while keeping his family together and making sure the descendents of Cain don’t destroy his plan.

The central message of this film is the parallel between our world and the world of Noah in terms of the environment. Cain’s descendants treat creation as merely an object for their pleasure. This is without a doubt a criticism of our society and one that has been a hot topic over the last few years. But really, this isn’t one of the more interesting themes. What I found myself enjoying most about this film was the decision of Noah as to who deserves to live and die. Throughout most of the film Noah struggles with this notion.

Is man intrinsically the root of all the world’s problems, and if so should man die out completely?

As Noah struggles to answer

this question, his second son Ham struggles to find out what makes a man. Is it having a wife, or is it sacrificing for the common good, or is it having power over life and death? These are questions that are really impossible to answer, but it is nevertheless fascinating to see the characters struggle with them.

Noah is an biblical fiction that will thrill neither the fundamentalist Christian nor the militant atheist. Nevertheless the film’s fantastic cast brings you into the adapted world of Noah masterfully and will keep most very entertained. It also brings up many relevant points to today’s society, from global warming to intelligent design of the universe.

And did I mention Emma Watson is in it? n

> LONDON, 3 Michael (16), Meredith (15), James (10). We spent our nights playing FIFA, soccer, basketball, and a wide array of other things.

Although they have been living in England for six years, they all had true Philly accents.

Each day of the week we spent time shadowing the various departments of De Lage Landen, learning the ins and outs of a professional workplace.

We started in the Hard Assets department, where we saw first hand how De Lage Landen handles leasing of industry equipment such as tractors, farming equipment, and forklifts. These “hard” products have tangible value that does not easily

diminish with time as new technologies emerge. An example of “soft” assets would be server rooms or computer hardware that quickly becomes outdated and worthless in relatively short periods of time.

De Lage Landen leases soft assets from such technology giants as Cisco and Microsoft.

While touring the London business campuses of Cisco and Microsoft we were able to see truly innovative and modernday workplaces. While Cisco’s was mostly a traditional office complex, Microsoft’s was outstandingly different, with more employees playing xbox and pool than wearing ties.

Throughout the week we

picked up on many cultural differences, particularly in business. We learned that in England, one does not say a company goes bankrupt; only individuals can be said to go bankrupt. The English use other terms such as insolvent. Little differences like this, otherwise unnoticed in the brief encounters we previously had with English culture, were manifested in great numbers within our week of stay.

Regardless of all the cultural differences, large and small, we received nothing but the greatest acceptance from De Lage Landen employees. n

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THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

> STUDENTS PRESENT, 7 their understanding of some key element of leadership. Also to be included in the essay was a making a connection between their academic, athletic, and activity experiences at Malvern and the insights of three of the CEO’s highlighted in Adam Bryant’s column. The essay was to be concluded with five questions on leadership that they would like to investigate further.

The selection process was to be done in three steps. In round one a team of five teachers and administrators reviewed and selected the top applicants. In round two, the applicants were interviewed, and finally in the third round the three best applicants were selected. The many snow days during this time led to condensing the rounds, but in the end Matt Heisler, Tommy Pero, and Arjun Menon were the three students who survived the process.

The student team used the divergent question, “How does living in the T wenty-F irst Century affect leadership?” as the basis of their project. They began by sending surveys to students, Malvern teachers, and business professional from a local company. Using 21st century techniques, the survey was electronic and results were sent to a Google account that the team set up. For the next part of the project, they interviewed a chief actuary of a local company.

They asked such questions as, “Do you think people today too dependent on search engines, which then affect their ability to think critically and contribute to a team?” and, “How do you use modern technologies, such as smartphones, tablets, and online collaborative resources in the workplace?”

After compiling all of their results into a Prezi, the students gave a 10 minute presentation to the school and repeated the talk later that evening for parents and community members. The presentation was interactive and asked students to text a one word response to the question, “What one word do you associate most with leadership in the 21st Century? The results were posted live and “inspiration” and “innovation” were two of the leading responses.

Overall, the students were able to conclude that Malvern Prep’s theme of connections, collaboration, and creativity is valued by over 90% of the business professionals surveyed.

They found the use of technology at Malvern matches what the professionals view as necessary to be competitive in the 21st Century.

It was a great opportunity for these students to learn firsthand and present to their classmates how to become a successful leader in the 21st Century. n

April 2014

> STATIONS, 12 changing things along the way. And we kept some of the same songs, but just switched the Station,” said Liga. For instance, in an earlier version, the third station - Jesus Meets His Mother - featured Tears in Heaven, which came later in this year’s version.

“We also did some other things differently. For example, we [once] did Boulevard of Broken Dreams by Green Day for when Jesus meets Pontius Pilate. So, we do change it up every now and then.”

According to Liga, the song Mary was a Malvern student’s idea.

“His name was Dan Hegarty, and he was a senior at the time. He came up with the idea, and brought in the CD (Scissor Sisters, Scissor Sisters, 2004), and I was like, ‘Wow, this song fits perfectly. That was one of the really happy accidents, where the student came in with a better idea.”

Mr. Larry Legner is the current director of Living Stations. “When I started out with Stations at Malvern, I was assisting Dr. Fry,” said Mr. Larry Legner. “And I was the ‘theological person’, making sure that everything happened the way it happened. Then, when he started getting big responsibilities and taking over directing the shows, he asked me to take over, and I said yes.”

Legner is proud of this year’s feature of the Resurrection. “The whole ‘Death’ and ‘Suffering’ are seen every year, but this year was the first year that we portrayed the ‘Resurrection’. That was something that I was wanting to do for a couple of years, but is expensive to do. The money was available to do it, so we did it,” said Legner.

How does Legner select the Living Stations cast? The girls are recommended by Dr. Fry from their involvement with Malvern Theatre Society productions, and some contact Mr. Legner directly, volunteering to be involved. “With the boys, I usually tend to try to pick guys who have not done any theatrical event at all,” said Legner.

“There’s also a size I look for. For example, Jesus has to be able to fit on that cross, and it’s not a very big cross, so he has to be a smaller person. With Pontius Pilate, I’m looking for someone who is big and can be mean looking. Sometimes it can end up being one of the

Our Favorite Living Stations Songs Michael Pund: My favorite song from Stations was Here Comes The Flood. It’s an awesome song that always takes me right back to that day when I hear it.

John Oakley: “Favorite song has to be In Your Eyes which played during Simon's interaction with Jesus. I've always secretly loved that song, and it was pretty sweet having it play as I was on stage.”

Caitlin McCallister: “I loved In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel.

James Klinges: “Definitely Renegade by Styx.”

Buddy Glatz: Renegade by Styx, no doubt.

Sean Ferguson: “My most memorable song from the stations of the cross was Renegade by Styx. I had never heard it before and after seeing Jesus go through what he did, that song made perfect sense.”

Alex Igidbashian: “Though I loved the epic nature of both Carmina Burana and Gethsemane, I'd have to say that my favorite was Renegade by Styx. Ed Liga, the band, and the choir killed it.”

PJ Finley: “My favorite song is the choir's version of what I believe is called Renegade by Styx.. the one that starts out ‘Oh mama I'm in fear for my life...’ Whenever I hear that song today it brings me right back to the Duffy Center. The Malvern choir does it better than Styx does.”

Kaitlin Kelleher: “My favorite song from Stations was Gethsemane - it's a heartbreaking song but it really illustrates the agony Jesus went through not for His own benefit, but for ours.

Joe Canuso and Malvern’s Liturgical Music did a phenomenal job.”

Shannon Maguire: My favorite song was ‘Gethsemane’ because I think that it portrays the way that Jesus was probably feeling in that moment really well.

Mr. Liga: “Didn’t we talk about this in class sometime? [I think so.] Which one did I say? Mary, I think.”

Dr. Fry: “My favorite song is Philadelphia, which is sung at the end of the Stations.”

Mr. Legner: “It’s... oh, we sing it in the mass...I’m completely blanking on it. OH, Lamb of God! M.P. Salinas: “I forget the names of the songs - but I like the one where Jesus is like ‘Take this cup, awaaayy from meeeee.

For, I don't want to, drink it's poison!’ Ha - that one is good.” n

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THIS YEAR’S FEATURE: THE RESURRECTION COLAMECO

nicest kids in the class, like this year we had Chris Cary. He’s not necessarily tall, but he needs to be wide and intimidating in order to condemn Jesus to death,” said Legner. He notes that the guards must be strong, because they need to be able to lift Jesus.

“I’m also really looking for guys who haven’t already been a ‘big name on campus,” said Legner. That’s important, because he has many seniors asking if they can be in Stations, and wants to feature students who may not have been recognized in the past.

“I also want people who are going to reflect the spirituality of the whole thing,” said Legner. “You know, I don’t want someone who's been a jerk for the past four years being Jesus. People would look at him and laugh and say ‘That’s not Jesus”. I try to get people who have been good to Malvern, and it’s really an honor to be one of those characters.

Practices are challenging with students’ busy schedules. “Because most of the boys are involved in a sport, we practice until three-thirty on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays,” said Legner. “We only really practice maybe twelve or thirteen times, and then we have of that last week, we have a full rehearsal of everything.”

“We start the week after Ash Wednesday, so it is a Lenten event,” said Legner.

“You’ve got to remember, when I got here in 2000, there was no Men’s Chorus or Liturgical Music. There was just that concert choir, as you see up there.” Mr. Liga points to a picture on a shelf, with a few men donning the usual performance white shirt and black pants.

“It took a while to get the whole thing up and running. Once we started doing the Stations, I had about fifty guys in the homeroom the next year.”

Liga sums up the development of Living Stations, “It definitely took some time to build, but now we have it and people seem to like it.” n

Alumni contributed too many amazing perspectives on this show to fit in print. Visit the Friar’s Lantern to how playing Pilate shaped Sean Ferguson ‘08 as a Political Science major, and much more. www.mpfriarslantern.com > MIDDLE SCHOOL, 12 auditions, some of the kids were on the more shy side and I knew theatre would do wonders for them,” said Daubney. “These are the kids that I tried to keep relatively in the spotlight, so they get the exposure and experience in front of a lot of people and so they can grow as performers and public speakers.”

Students come for practices on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. During their split rehearsal time, they review the music for the show and also their dance numbers. Anthony Abron '14 who has been involved with the music side of the production, said, "Going into the production I thought that I was going to be the one imparting a lot of musical knowledge. Instead, the kids have taught me what it means to truly love theater and just let loose and have fun."

Abron added, "These kids have real talent and when they join the Upper School productions, they will most certainly have the leads."

Christian Franck ‘18 is starring as Gaston. Other leads in the show include Molly Sorensen of Lower Villa as Belle, Jack Walker as the Beast, Molly McCarthy of Notre Dame as Mrs. Potts, and J.D. DiTriolo and Max Brown as Lumiere and Cogsworth respectively.

These students have been working very hard so come see them perform Beauty and the Beast on May 16th and 17th. n

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April 2014

THE BLACKFRIAR CHRONICLE

PARTING PERSPECTIVES

Sponsorship of Experiential Learning Should Expand An argument for broader support of student initiative Justice Bennett ‘16 REPORTER

D

espite Malvern’s extreme eagerness for and promotion of Experiential Learning, the school will not f inancially assist students attempting to learn this way when the programs do not have a specific tie to Malvern.

Students who wish to participate in externally sponsored ventures - such as summer programs, study abroad ventures, or external classes - are currently on their own to finance their projects. Even if your school counselor highly recommends that you go participate in a experiential learning program, Malvern refuses to put in the money to assist students.

A new four-week entrepreneurship and leadership program that was previously hosted by the Pennsylvania’s governor school has invited me to participate in the program. Only 76 students worldwide participate in the program (24 students from outside of the US.) Throughout the camp, participants are required to work with local businesses in resolving real problems they face. As part of a final project, it is necessary to do a final leadership project. Examples given by the camp for this leadership project include: Starting your own business venture or working

with a partner, developing a service project or activity, founding a club or interest groups that has a specific goal and meets on a regular basis, or organizing a fundraising campaign for a worthy cause.

may be fiscally inaccessible to these gifted students. I’d like to pose the question: what's in it for Malvern to financially academically gifted students in experiential learning opportunities that may not be at 418 South Warren Ave?

If this program does not qualify as experiential What is learning, then we preparing might have to conand growing sider the definition our students the new Director more than of E x per ientia l interacting Learning gave.

The number one r e a s on M a lver n should step up is because of Veritas, just as stated in the mission of Malvern, “Malvern with the real- is dedicated to the world through pursuit of Truth The main quesexperience, no through academic tion is why. Why matter who does Malvern choose excellence and the certifies it? the ex per ient ia l growth of each of learning opportuniits students, so that ties they do? Why he is prepared fully not financially support stufor college.” What is prepardents going elsewhere to learn ing and growing our students experientially? more than interacting with the real-world through experience, First, lets look at the benno matter who certifies it? Mr. efits to financially supporting Talbot believes that Experiential students to go to some of the Learning is an equal third of the prestigious experiential learning “triangle offense” with grades opportunities that Malvern does and co-curriculars. Then, why not sponsor. One benefit is that should Malvern not be supportit allows for more students to ing good genuine growth of our participate in these experiences. students in externally sponsored Roughly 29% of Malvern receives ventures as much fiscal support financial aid and Malvern says as possible? that this money is being used wisely for the best academic Funding allows more of those students we can find; however, 29% of students, as well as those by receiving this financial aid who may not even receive aid, to to solely cover academics, many spread Malvern’s name. Students experiential learning programs going to more summer programs

and internships spreads the reputation of Malvern in a fantastic way. It could be even more effective than the current methods they have in place to market the school. If we give more students the ability to do these activities then we spread the word of Malvern in the workforce that all students will land in eventually.

Suddenly, it changes the reputation of Malvern from a wealthy Main Line private school to a school dedicated to preparing students for the real-world.

Funding for experiential learning could also help bolster the college application of the proactive Malvern students. In the world we live in, every Malvern student can benefit in the college application process from an experiential learning program. Why not help the most students get this benefit for their application?

I mean after all is this not ensuring that “the Malvern student is prepared fully for college?”

I have no contention with the fact that experiential learning is a monumental benefit to students. The contention lays within why Malvern is not doing everything they can to support and get more students involved in these experiential learning opportunities. They can do this by providing financial backing to the students with a thirst to get their feet wet in an experiential learning concept. If students

knew that they had the financial support of Malvern it would open many doors to them to go out and try the concept. Certainly Malvern wants this otherwise they would not be giving up the first floor of the Visitor's Center for the cause.

Is it Malvern's responsibility to provide a means for students to take classes we do not offer elsewhere, or to sponsor external learning options? In a period of such rapid growth and change at the school, this would seem to allow more students to participate in experiential learning quickly. Right now, students do not know what experiential learning opportunities will be available when they come. Only 55 students have participated in these programs far. With smart and careful allocation of a budget, Malvern could strategically expand experiential programs quickly through external options.

So, Malvern, how about we try and make some room in the budget to really go all in to this idea and give the most students possible the ability to participate in the movement? n

Dinner, Conversation, and Journalism 101 Noted journalist reminds our EIC how important it is to ask the right questions Joe DiSipio ‘14 EDITOR IN CHIEF dam Bryant, a renowned writer and editor for the New York Times, is known for the questions he asks some of the most powerful men and women in the world. His weekly columns in the Corner Office series center around questions that make these people think, to open up.

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On Thursday March 27th, Mr. Bryant arrived on campus as the latest presenter in the recently instituted Distinguished Speaker series. As part of a two session event, Bryant listened, commented, and then posed questions to all of us.

A ll those who attended Thursday’s C schedule assembly know about the two team’s speeches were followed by a short commentary by Mr. Bryant.

What many don’t know is that afterwards, the presenters, along with a few winners of a raffle, were given the chance to share

dinner with the respected writer in Austin Hall.Through a little luck and a lot of good will, I was given the opportunity to join the group for dinner and to pose a few questions to the questioner.

What was expected to be a casual dinner with some good conversation immediately turned into a classroom. Mr. Bryant turned my simple inquiry on his process of forming the questions he poses to some of the most successful people in the world into a valuable lesson for everyone in the room.

Mr. Bryant emphasized the importance of doing your homework beforehand. His job consists of sitting down with some of the top business leaders and CEOs in the world. Their time is very valuable, he has to ask questions that make sense to them and facilitate a beneficial conversation.

But its not all about peppering his subjects with questions.

Bryant must make his subjects feel comfortable and also he must show them he is genuinely interested. By doing his homework and knowing a little about these people, he gets them to really open up and share their stories. Asking the right questions comes from a mix of being knowledgeable and alert, and also by having the passionate curiosity discussed in many of his articles.

that interests me. I went thinking, “This will be pretty cool to be in the same room as a real live writer for the New York Times.”

When Mr. Bryant turned the dinner into a crash course on reporting, I could not be more appreciative. Even when the conversation strayed from my original question, he still turn to me at certain points to say “Did you get that?”

Beyond his tips on interviewing, Mr. Bryant gave a very interesting take on writing. He actually hates the word ‘writing’. ‘Writing’ to him is really just thinking, and it irks him whenever he hears someone say, “Oh now I am going to sit down and write.” Bryant says writing is communicating thought coherently. You don’t have to “find your voice” when you write because your voice is your opinions, your thoughts.

It was as if once he knew I was a journalist, we shared a bond. He went out of his way to help me better understand writing and reporting.

I was ecstatic when offered the chance to meet Mr. Bryant because journalism is something

At one point, Mr.Bryant asked Mr. Talbot if he could conduct a mock interview on him.

Mr. Talbot agreed, starting off with some background questions, then some pretty serious questions about running the school. Mr.Talbot gave a long, detailed answer, and Bryant followed up by telling a relatable story from his own experience.

Then he turned to me and said, “By doing that it gives the subject of the interview a chance to catch their breath and to see it more as a conversation.” Bryant has perfected this art of turning an interview into a conversation.

He also recognized that the way we approach writing is scary because we have been taught there is a certain way to write and that’s that. The comment that resonated the most was that I need to be okay with sitting with a blank piece of paper, thinking it out, and then just writing.

Walking out of Austin Hall that night, I was blown away.

First of all,I was elated at the chance I had to learn from a writer for one of the most respected news organizations in the world.

Second, I wish I had learned those simple tricks before. n