YOU VOTED, THE RESULTS ARE IN...
BEST OF STA CENTERSPREAD
VOLUME 64 | ST. TERESA’S ACADEMY | APRIL 28, 2005 | KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI | ISSUE 7
Westport bar asks wait staff to wear schoolgirl uniforms
Upon the death Of John Paul II, ‘possibly one of the greatest popes in history,’ the catholic community turns to find leadership in the arms of
Pope Benedict XVI
Chandler Domian Staff Writer Flanked with silhouettes of naked women, and employed with young women required to wear manipulated versions of the Catholic schoolgirl uniform, Johnny Dare’s bar in historic Westport advertises an atmosphere of “…Hard Rock Café, strip club, and trailer park” and promises “a righteous place for regular guys to hang out.” The establishment sits two miles from St. Teresa’s Academy. The 98.9 The Rock radio personality Johnny Dare opened the bar last July to reflect the theme of his morning radio show. “The rock n’ roll music, comments, and skits talked about on the show come to life in the bar,” said Johnny Dare’s business consultant, Mr. Steve Conklin. The standard dress for all wait staff is an altered form of the uniform worn by numerous young women attending Catholic schools in the Kansas City area. According to Conklin, the waitresses consult a variety of sources when assembling their work uniform including kids, sisters, and uniform supply companies. “A couple of the waitresses here went to Catholic schools and wear their old uniforms to work,” said Johnny Dare’s waitress Jillian Brentzel. STA Theology teacher and author of Plaid and Parochial: Cultural Interpretations of Girls School Uniforms, Ms. Anita Reznicek, described Johnny Dare’s use of the school uniform as “a deliberate manipulation of a symbol in girls’ lives that sexualizes them and operates to fulfill male adolescent fantasies.” Brentzel said that the majority of the male customers at the bar come solely because they are attracted to the idea of waitresses wearing short plaid skirts and blouses. Brentzel never feels uncomfortable with the attention she gets while wearing the uniform, but does disagree with the entire premise. “Male adults shouldn’t be turned on by young girls,” Brentzel said. “There is something more tasteful and respectful, but the money is so good that I’ll wear whatever they want me to wear.” Reznicek offered other explanations as to why women at Johnny Dare’s agree to wear the uniform. “It could be funny for them because they are manipulating a symbol,” See SKIRTS, page 2
On April 19, after a two-day conclave, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of Germany, became Pope Benedict XVI, the new leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At 78 years old, Benedict is the oldest pope since 1730, and the first German pope since Adrian VI in 1523. The conclave, or private meeting of the cardinals within the Vatican, was expected to last anywhere from two to five days, but ran just over 24 hours. Ratzinger was the dean of the College of Cardinals from November 2002 until his election to the papacy, and John Paul II’s chief theological advisor for the past 20 years. As the defense against challenges to traditional moral teachings, he took staunch positions on issues like homosexuality, abortion and women’s
ordination. The public knows Ratzinger for his strictly conservative enforcement of church doctrines. If Ratzinger chose his papal name as a tribute to the last Benedict as some have speculated, it may have been an attempt to soften his image as a strict traditionalist. The last Benedict, Benedict the XV, was known as moderate after Pius X’s crackdown against doctrinal “modernism.” Around STA, rumors have circulated regarding Benedict’s involvement in Nazi Germany during his youth. “I think the fact that he used to be a Nazi is a little awkward,” said senior Katie Murray. At 14 years old, Ratzinger joined Hitler’s Youth Organization, in part for his own safety. Benedict later deserted the German military after two years of mandatory service. It is important to note that his service was not voluntary; in truth, he was drafted. Despite speculations about Benedict’s history and religious views, there is still much hope for the future of this papacy. “When I was a young nun, a sister told me that you get superiors in your life at the time when you need that particular person,” said Sr. Harriet. “The bottom line is you have to have faith.”
FOR MORE COVERAGE, see page 2 as STA students reflect on the life of Pope John Paul II Juana Summers
Supreme Court rules teens not eligible for death; Church agrees Jessica Closson Staff Writer Since 1938, Missouri has ended the lives of criminals by capital punishment. In September of 1937, Governor Lloyd Crow Stark signed a bill enacting the death penalty by lethal gas; between 1938 and 1965 Missouri executed 39 felons in gas chambers. May 26, 1977, Governor Joseph P. Teasdale signed a new bill stating capital punishment to be constitutional after much debate in the 1960s. Today capital punishment is carried out through lethal injections for those 18 years old and over. However, the state can no longer execute 16- and 17-year-old felons. “The Supreme Court ruled that teens (16-17) cannot be held as accountable as adults because they are still developing,” said Ms. Kate Mahoney, Assistant District Attorney for the Federal Government. “Capital punishment would be considered cruel and unusual punishment.” In August 2003, the Missouri Supreme Court ruled that the capital punishment
for all those who were convicted of a crime before they were 18 are only eligible for life sentence without parole or probation, due to the evolving standards of decency and the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which states that “excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted. The death penalty must be “proportionate to the offender’s personal culpability.” Such was the case in the Roper v. Simmons trial in Missouri during 1993. Seventeen-year-old Christopher Simmons was found guilty of kidnapping and murdering St. Louis local Shirley Crook and was scheduled for a May 1, 2002 execution date. According to the American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Committee, Simmons, along with friends Charlie Benjamin and John Tessmer, met at the home of Brian Moomey late in the morning of Sept. 8. The three boys planned to rob Crook’s home and later murder her. As they prepared to leave, Tessmer bailed and the
remaining two broke into Crook’s home. Upon breaking in, the two boys heard Crook’s voice through the hallway and
“
Teens cannot be held as accountable as adults because they are still developing. -Ms. Kate Mahoney, Assistant District Attorney
proceeded to her bedroom, whereupon Simmons recognized Crook as the woman he had recently been in a car accident with. Simmons and Benjamin tied Crook up and drove her to the Meramec River in St. Louis County, covered her face with duct tape, and pushed her off the railroad track and into the water. Crook’s body was found Sept. 9. She was found with bruises covering her body and fractured ribs from being tied up with electrical wires and
leather straps. On Jan. 26, 2004 the United States Supreme Court declared that it would re-examine the constitutionality of Simmons’s case, due to his age at the time he committed the crime. Eventually the court decided to sentence Simmons to life in prison without parole. Another deciding factor in Simmons’s case was his history of a mental illness, although witnesses did not bring it to light during the trial. Dr. Robert L. Smith evaluated Simmons and concluded that Simmons did suffer from schizotypal personality disorder caused by a history of a dysfunctional family and drug abuse. Simmons’s history and Dr. Smith’s diagnosis could have ended the trial sooner had the evidence been presented to the jury during the trial. “If a person only has a mental disability such as a learning disorder, then the death penalty can still be implemented,” said Mahoney. “A person has to have mental retardation to avoid capital punishment,
otherwise it is up to the jury.” The Catholic Church has been actively speaking out against the death penalty. According to Catholic doctrine and the consistent life ethic, every human life is sacred and all humans are equal. Thus the felon’s life is just as sacred as that of the victim. As Mr. Matthew Bertalott, STA theology instructor, stated, whether someone is 17 or 71, the Church would still support life over death. For the Church, the argument is that it is morally wrong to take the life of another. The Church adorns positive rehabilitation within the prison community so as to change a felon’s attitude and lifestyle. Simmons underwent a process of rehabilitation and is now working with religious groups and prevention programs to keep teenagers from committing crimes. According to Bertalott, prisons often have a chaplain who help many criminals face their convictions and realize that the actions they made in the past were harmful to others.