The Aquilian February 2020 Volume 82 Number 4
By: Henry Sullivan ‘20 Photography Editor
Men For Others Since 1821
19 Eye St, NW Washington, DC 20001
The Crisis on K Street
garnered 350 signatures from the Gonzaga community. The On January 15th, the Peace Club faxed over 350 Gonzaga Peace Club spoke signatures and a letter to the out against D.C. Health and Deputy Mayor’s Office. In the letter the Peace Human Services’ decision to remove homeless encamp- Club stated that the city ments on K & 2nd Street. should “clean up” the injusThe Peace Club felt a call to tice of homelessness rather stand in solidarity with the than people and their belongmost vulnerable who live just ings. Further, it argued that blocks away from Gonzaga. the overpass, which covered The Peace Club held a these encampments, providTeach-In regarding the re- ed lifesaving protection durmoval of these encampments ing these frigid months. Out during Community Period. of the estimated forty people At the end of school that day, who lived under the bridge a group of students walked on K Street, there were three to the encampment com- pregnant women. We feared munity and spoke with the for the lives of these women women and men experienc- and their babies. Tim, a man who lives in ing homelessness. Later in the week the Peace Club cre- one of these encampments, ated an online petition which told the Peace Club that he
March For Life, p. 2
Gonzaga College High School
Water Fountain Review p. 3
finds the shelters in D.C. ridden with crime and drug abuse. He also cited the yearlong waitlist for housing within the District. Therefore, simply offering a vague promise of shelter is inadequate and dangerous. Unfortunately, the signatures and letter we sent received no formal response from the city. On January 16th, Gonzaga students and faculty worked with the Legal Clinic for the Homeless, Pathways to Housing, and Georgetown’s Center for Social Justice to help move encampments on K, L, and M Street. This was not the answer we were looking for. The response by the city lacked dignity and care for its most vulnerable constituents.
Later in the month, a delegation from the Peace Club attended a town hall at the Father McKenna Center regarding the encampments. With unhoused NoMa residents, housed NoMa residents, and government officials in attendance, the town hall aimed at presenting solutions to the plague of homelessness that has swept through NoMa in this last decade. Octavia, an apartment manager, said, “The D.C. government has services, but they are not accessible.” We also learned that 80% of the people experiencing homelessness among the NoMa underpasses have some sort of mental illness. The work for social justice in the community is far
New Schedules p. 4,5
Ryan Creamer ‘10 p. 8
from over. Let’s fulfill our call to be “men for others” and stand up for those on the margins. Though this issue is complex and the solutions are not obvious, our neighbors need us to stand with them and cry out for justice. As Pedro Arrupe SJ said, we must “dismantle unjust social structures so that the weak, the oppressed, the marginalized of this world may be set free.” Currently, the Peace Club is working with the Legal Clinic for the Homeless so that a couple of Gonzaga students can testify at the upcoming Health and Human Services oversight hearing. Follow @ gonzagapeaceclub on Instagram for updates.
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Water Bottles, Gonzaga, and the World By: Charlie Neill ‘21 Editor One of my favorite parts of Gonzaga is that we hold each other responsible. We convince each other to support our brothers at sports games and theater productions, upperclassmen teach lowerclassmen how to live out Gonzaga ideals during retreats, and we make sure everyone is invested in being All In. So why don’t we do the same for helping the environment? Sage sells plastic water bottles, cups, utensils, and
boxes (for those to-go sandwiches) because we, the students, want to use them. Sage is not at fault for Gonzaga’s enormous plastic usage, neither are teachers, the SGA, or Palm Facility Services. We are responsible for throwing away an immense amount of garbage every week. We use the recycling bins as nothing more than a blue garbage can. We burn through plastic spoons two to three times a day. We don’t take the initiative or the time to be greener simply because it’s an inconvenience.
A Conversation With College By: Adam Uppuluri ‘21 Contributor It’s nice to meet you, my name is Adam I love the pads on my shoulders the words of Whitman the notes from my trombone the G on my chest, my name, my people, But you’re only a 3.7. I’m so sorry, I give my best effort, I wish I was more for you You don’t deserve us, Go somewhere else kid
Look at me again, please. I have my talents, my brain, my heart, I’ll extract it from my chest, I’ll saw my arm off holding my heart, throw it to you And it will fall short,
Mom, are they right?
With help from the Gonzaga Poets & Writers, The Aquilian plans to feature a work of poetry written by a Gonzaga Student in each issue.
The Aquilian Founded In 1940 Gonzaga College High School 19 Eye Street NW Washington, DC 20001 Men For Others in the Jesuit Tradition Since 1821
But we need to inconvenience ourselves. We should take pride in making those small sacrifices that make the world a better place. It’s those annoyances that show the world we care. As a community we can petition Sage to stop distributing plastic forks, refuse to buy disposable water bottles, wrap our sandwiches in wax paper or aluminum foil instead of in a plastic bag or cling wrap, buy fewer Purity drinks and fruit from Sage, both of which come in a plastic cup. But this is only possible if our
whole community is invested in becoming environmentally friendly, which currently we are not. Every member of our community should be proud to bring a metal fork from home or buy reusable ziplock bags on Amazon. Hold your lunch table accountable for the amount of trash left-over at the end of lunch. Don’t “recycle” grease-coated plates, and don’t let anyone else do it either. Gonzaga’s community is capable of this type of change because we are open
to growth and loving. All we need to do now is show that love to the world through our actions.
St. Al’s Renovations By: Patrick Donnelly ‘21 Contributor On April 6, 2017, our beloved St. Aloysius Church was hit by some unusually severe weather, ripping off parts of the roof. Winds were strong enough to carry debris onto North Capitol Street and beyond. In addition to the gaping hole in the roof, internal damage resulted from the tornado. However, the repair on those damages had to wait due to the upcoming Graduation Mass just a month later. With these damages worsening, Father Planning saw an opportunity to give the
Church the facelift it needed. The current window is perfect because it falls during a quiet time for weddings and allows for enough time to finish the project before graduation. As to the specificity of the deterioration, most of the problems involve the chipping of paint in the dome above the Altar. Some of the gold leafing that makes our beautiful church sparkle has come off or lost its shine. In addition, the white paint is also peeling, which will be fixed. My personal favorite change is the new organ. The old organ had been around
for about 70 years, which is 20 years longer than they’re supposed to last. Although the new organ will have the ability to remember songs and play them back, it will be singing from the original pipes. The ceiling above the organ will also stabilized, as it was pulled from its normal position during the tornado in 2017. These touch-ups will allow for the whole Gonzaga community to look at the St. Al’s with renewed awe, truly appreciating how lucky we are to be able to worship in such a beautiful place.
March for Life By: Reid Norton ‘21 Editor On Friday January 22, Gonzaga, along with a handful of other private schools near DC participated in the March for Life. Led by Josh Maggianno and Mak Krivka, leaders of the Eagles for Life club, we first attended a brief prayer service. Father Planning and Father Harry both gave prayers, clarifying the true meaning of being prolife. Being pro-life does not just mean condemning abortion; instead, it constitutes fighting for affordable hous-
ing, food stamps, and health care to financially benefit struggling mothers. After the prayer service, we began our route to the Capitol. Proudly waving baby yoda-themed pro-life posters and our Gonzaga banner, we made our way to meet up with Holy Cross and some other local private schools. While we did not actually see him, the president delivered a speech before the march began. Interestingly, this was the first time a US president has done so. As the march began, it became evident how many
Editor-in-Chief Jack Martino ‘20
Editors Brendan Burns ‘20 Tommy Fisher ‘20 Adam Wojciak ‘20 Gabriel Brady ‘21 Jesse Dolojan ‘21 Charlie Neill ‘21 Reid Norton ‘21 John Ferrara ‘22
Managing Editor Josh Knutsen ‘20 Photography Editor Henry Sullivan ‘20
people were attending, not just from local high schools. There were schools from all over the country, including Long Island and California. Overall, about 75,000 people were at the march, an astonishing 48,000 more than when it was first started in 1974. Gonzaga’s participation in the march was a success, thanks to all the Gonzaga students and faculty who helped organize it. If you are considering attending next year, the Eagles for Life club is a great place to start getting involved in the movement.
Moderator: Dr. Harry Rissetto
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Polar Bear Plunge By: Chase Foley ‘20 Contributor On January 23, a group of about 50 students attended the 24th annual Polar Bear Plunge in Sandy Point State park, Maryland. There the students had the opportunity to partake in many fun and entertaining activities. The Polar Bear Plunge is an event held during the winter where people enter into a body of water with freezing temperatures. The Plunge helps to raise money for the Special Olympics. Upon arrival, we were given a sweatshirt and a drawstring bag provided by the Plunge staff. We then observed the current plungers racing out of the freezing water of the Chesapeake Bay. In the middle of the State Park stood a big tent that people were settled in for warmth. In the tent you could hear the blaring music of the band performing. Many people
were engaged with the band and had a fun time dancing to the music. There were many activities such as jumping to find your vertical and spin the wheel where the lines were pretty lengthy. Next was the big event! Gonzaga was scheduled to plunge at 12 and the Gonzaga men were ready. The Gonzaga crowd walked to the beach in a pack and stood on shore ready for the countdown. We put our fist up high and sung the Alma Mater as camera crews would walk by and as we received glances from other schools. The countdown finally began,”3, 2, 1, GO!” Hundreds of kids stormed into the water and swam out far enough to receive a high five from one of the divers securing the perimeter, and run back to shore. For most people it was one and done, but most Gonzaga men went in a second time. After exiting the water,
the feet on just about everybody were numb. Everybody rushed to their buses looking for a warm place. Plunging
at Sandy Point State park has been the coldest water I have ever been in and look forward to it again next year.
This was a fun experience for the Gonzaga community and a great way to spend an Thursday afternoon!
The Official Gonzaga Water Fountain Review
By: Reid Norton ‘20 Editor Gonzaga has many unresolved disputes. Airsip or waterfall? TIPS or TAPS? Which state has the worst drivers? Sure, these mysteries may lead to countless nights of sleeplessness, but behold, the biggest mystery of them all will finally be answered. While there are endless water fountains on campus, no one can seem to quite come to a consensus on which one is the best. Fear no more, as I have compiled an extensive review of each water fountain, giving them an overall rating, the highest possible being 100. The greatest water fountain at Gonzaga will finally be revealed! (Note: this list is completely objective, therefore no counter arguments will be deemed valid). Carmody Center Lobby Fountain 1. Temperature - I couldn’t help but notice the uncomfortably warm temperature of this fountain. I’m guessing it’s about 48 degrees Fahrenheit. Ew. 2. Water bottle filling while a bad temperature, it does have water bottle filling, an obvious plus. 3. Aesthetic - with userfriendly pushy buttons and a modern finish, this foun-
tain is certainly aesthetically pleasing. 4. Power - its boastful power makes it almost too easy to lean down and take a sip. Even Will Scherer can drink from this fountain with ease. Final evaluation - 88 overall Back Gym Fountain 1. Temperature - the temperature was a surprise to me, as it was around 38 degrees Fahrenheit, the ideal temperature for a water fountain. 2. Water bottle filling sadly, this fountain did not have the water bottle filling option. 3. Aesthetic - the appearance is disappointing, as the design is primitive at best, with little space for sipping. 4. Power - the power was also horrendous, I could barely even take a sip without my mouth getting dangerously close to the fountain. Final evaluation - 65 overall Lower Commons Fountain 1. Temperature - the temperature was solid on this one, I would estimate it to be around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Water bottle filling -
this fountain is notorious for its water bottle filling capabilities. 3. Aesthetic - while it seems to have a modern design, it has an unusually low build, making it hard for the taller fellas to crouch down and take a sip. 4. Power - the power was certainly not terrible, but definitely not something to brag about, as it was a tad difficult to crouch down and get a few quality sips. Final evaluation - 86 overall English Bathroom Fountain 1. Temperature - this was the first thing I noticed when I took a sip. In my opinion, it couldn’t have been more perfect, amounting to around 36 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. Water bottle filling unfortunately, it did not have this feature, slightly damaging its vast potential. 3. Aesthetic - while not the most modern, I admire the sleek design, so simple yet so captivating. I could not help but ask myself “how does one create such a small yet functional fountain?” 4. Power - the power was nothing exceptional, but enough to get the job, leaving me with no complaints.
Final evaluation - 93 was mediocre, as nothing can overall compare to my experience with the religion hallway Religion Hallway Fountain fountain. 1. Temperature - the Final evaluation - 85 temperature was perfectly re- overall fined, coming in at around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Math Hallway Fountain 2. Water bottle filling 1. Temperature - last but - luckily, this fountain pos- certainly not least, this founsessed such a valuable fea- tain left me satisfied, with a ture. temperature of around 38 de3. Aesthetic - a quite grees Fahrenheit. different design from the oth2. Water bottle filling er. Personally, I wasn’t a fan I was devastated to find out of the single button method, that this fountain does not alas I found it difficult to keep low for water bottle filling. pushed down while sipping 3. Aesthetic - while havthe water. ing the classic lever design, 4. Power - probably one it appeared to be more wellof the worst experiences of kept than the others. This my life, I struggled to get was pleasing to the eyes, so I even a drop of water to reach found this to be a plus. my mouth. 4. Power - The powFinal evaluation - 74 er was fairly average, and overall there’s nothing else I can say other than, like Mike, it got History Hallway Fountain it done. 1. Temperature - the Final evaluation - 89 temperature was bearable, overall being about 42 degrees Fahrenheit. So there you have it. The 2. Water bottle filling English bathroom has the best - of course, this fountain is water fountain. Go ahead, probably the most used water rejoice. This concludes the bottle filling fountain in the water fountain reviews, and school. I hope you are satisfied with 3. Aesthetic - again, this the results. All dissenters will one has a quite modern de- be subjugated. sign and no one’s complaining about it. 4. Power - the power
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Gonzaga Creates New Block Schedule Adds Eighth Day to Gregorian Calendar
By: Gabriel Brady, ‘21, Editor & Will Buffaloe, ‘21 Contributor Last month, Gonzaga tested a risky new block schedule in response to various critiques of the current schedule. The block schedule was liked by a few kids, (mostly because it gave them 3 ½ lunch periods), but a large majority felt the block schedule could be improved. Thus, Gonzaga will be implementing new schedules, effective immediately, in response to those critiques.* The schedules have been posted below.
This is Gonzaga’s new Exponential Schedule. As you can see, each period decreases exponentially, so that when 8th period rolls around, it will only be 1.0463 minutes long! This means that first period will be 330 minutes, which is great for teachers with a lot of material to cover! In addition, four homerooms will be held each day this schedule is used, but their times will be unannounced and unanticipated, so stay on your toes!
Known as Day Omega, this will be Gonzaga’s standard schedule. It will occur approximately once every 4-9 days, give or take a few minutes. The schedule above is an example of a possible schedule you could receive, but this will not be the same for every student. As you can see, periods 2 and 6, which are highlighted, don’t seem to fit in with the rest of the schedule. That is because this particular student is taking WZAG and AP Studio art, which are located in Forte Hall. During this new schedule, Forte Hall will be operating on a different time zone, so it will be 9 hours ahead from the rest of Gonzaga. Additionally, there will be a mandatory Mid-Day Melee every Day Omega, and WZAG will air once every harvest moon.
This is Gonzaga’s Unit Circle Schedule. If you’re a freshman in Algebra I, this will be a great challenge for you! On Day ѼѮ©s, instead of taking math, students will all get an extra free period to solve their schedule. We know what you’re thinking… won’t everyone just share the answers with each other? Well, Gonzaga has decided to give each student an individualized schedule with different places on the unit circle. There are quite literally an infinite number of schedules you can receive! Also, expect a 1 hour 35 minute fire drill!
This schedule uses Pascal’s triangle to create a fun filled schedule for every student at Gonzaga! On Day ۞s, students will love every period, from the period 1’s all the way to period 89. Since 89 bells is a lot for students, Gonzaga will be using different soothing sounds for each bell, such as Soothing Chuckle, Cathedral Bells 1 and Cathedral Bells 3!
The Aquilian 5 This schedule is also referred to as the Choose Your Own Adventure Schedule or Day Mystery Box. On this day, a computer algorithm will assign every student at Gonzaga a custom schedule from over 4,561,789,010,510 combinations! Some schedules will have military time, as well as require students to attend night school. For students in night school, there will be a Midnight Melee. Since Gonzaga has 950 different schedules to hand out, a bell would hypothetically be ringing every second. So, to make things easier, Gonzaga will be ringing one continuous bell for 24 hours straight. It’s like white noise, but louder!
Community Day Schedule... no further explanation necessary. *In regards to the new schedule, the Gregorian Calendar was found insufficient, so Gonzaga is adding an eighth day to each week to better accommodate our students and faculty. *The new schedule was found to be incompatible with the quarter system, so Gonzaga will be switching to a four trimesters system. *If a snow day is called by Montgomery County, Gonzaga students are free from school and legal restrictions and can legally begin the Purge. However, if only an early dismissal is called, Gonzaga will extend the school day by 26 ½ hours, so that you get out at 2:15 the NEXT day. Finally, if a 2 hour delay is called, God help us all. *With regards to the St. John’s Pep rally, it will be held every time Halley’s Comet comes around, or approximately every 75 years. So, expect the next pep rally in 2061 inside Campus Ministry. Be there or be square.
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Mr. Laguilles Runs the Camino Ignaciano
By: Josh Knutsen‘20 Managing Editor Service trips, sightseeing and preparations for the coming school year normally dominate the summers of Gonzaga faculty. However, some opt for a more exciting use of the break. Many students know and love modern language teacher Ariel Laguilles, but they simultaneously have no idea of his exploits during this past June. The Camino Ignaciano, or “Ignatian Way,” is the 640-kilometer trek that St. Ignatius of Loyola took from his home in Spain’s Basque Country to Manresa where he completed the spiritual exercises. Today, many pilgrims take on this journey to connect with themselves and God. Laguilles’s first encounter with the Camino Ignaciano was completely by chance. While on a Gonzaga-sponsored trip to Argentina, he began to casually speak with the event organizer who informed him of this unique experience. Af-
ter hearing about Laguilles’ Jesuit education in both high school and college, as well as a long sustained passion for running, they saw it as a perfect combination. The Spanish teacher remembers it as a perfect way for “all parts of [his] life to come together.” After reading more about this pilgrimage and consulting friends and family, Laguilles decided to take on the challenge. While gargantuanly intimidating at first, colleague Stephen Szolosi, director of campus ministry, noted that paths like this are “very well-established” and have “a robust infrastructure of hostels and support to pilgrims,” making the logistics of the trip very manageable. Through advisors like Sozlosi, sponsors and months of planning, Laguilles was able to map out an ambitious, yet realistic course. Organizing, however, was only one part of the puzzle. He began training at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year. “One of the goals was to
just ramp up the mileage every week. Little by little,” Laguilles said. During the spring break of that same year, Laguilles actually took a trip up to Spain to “get eyes on route” and ran the first 100 km. Over three days, he became more familiar with the “terrain and towns” of the land and reassured himself of his physical fitness. “It was a big confidence boost,” he said. Upon embarking on this great journey, Laguilles was able to see some of the opportunities for the fellowship, prayer and reflection that Szolosi and others mentioned about these pilgrimages. Running had evolved into both a mental and physical exercise for him over the years, and this experience added a spiritual aspect. In a location renowned for its beauty, Laguilles saw many beautiful sites and locations. To look back at the distance traveled was “inspiring” after traveling through a mountain pass 3,000 feet up.
NFL Offseason Report By: Noah Potholm ‘22 Contributor The Super Bowl is over; what’s next in the NFL? The New England Patriots were clearly not the same team this year. Tom Brady was not as sharp, the run game was ineffective, and pass catchers got very little separation. Even with a top-three defense and arguably the NFL’s best head coach in Bill Belichick, this lack of production on offense ultimately culminated into a 20-13 loss to the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Wild Card round. The biggest offseason story in the NFL is Tom Brady’s future. In early January, Tom Brady stated in an Instagram post that he “still [has] more to prove.” Roughly two weeks later, Brady said he was “open-minded” about playing elsewhere. Tom Brady is a fierce competitor and is not stepping away from the game of football. The question is whether he will be wearing a Patriots jersey or not next season. Bill Belichick always wants to do what is best for the team and paying Tom Brady a significant amount of money might not be the right decision,
especially with all the other holes to fill on offense. With Phillip Rivers parting ways with the Chargers, or Ryan Tannehill possibly leaving Tennessee, or the Bucs possibly moving on from Jameis Winston, the Chargers, Titans, and Buccaneers could all be possible landing spots for Brady. The Oakland Raiders and Dallas Cowboys have also mentioned that they are willing to pursue Brady. However, there is one thing to keep in mind; Brady loves consistency. Along with the Patriots, the Washington Redskins have major question marks going into next season. This past season, the Redskins had an abysmal offense ranking last in passing yards and second to last in total yards. The defense was also subpar allowing the sixth-most yards and the sixth-most points. However, there may be reasons for optimism in Washington with the arrival of head coach Ron Rivera. A smart coach who puts his players in positions to succeed, Ron Rivera has proven he can win after he took the Carolina Panthers to Super Bowl 50. The Redskins will
also most likely be drafting defensive end Chase Young with the number two overall pick in the NFL Draft. With this, the Redskins should see an improvement in regards to pass rush. Another reason for hope in the Redskins is because of the Dwayne Haskins to Terry McLaurin connection. While Haskins struggled for the most part as a rookie, he showed some signs of being a franchise quarterback. McLaurin, on the other hand, had an outstanding first-year posting nearly 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns. If Haskins can continue to develop and mature, these two could possibly be a top-eight QB-WR duo in a few years. While Redskins fans should not expect immediate results, they should have reason to believe in a more competitive Redskins team next year, especially in a lackluster NFC East.
Additionally, architectural feats at cathedrals like that of Zaragoza made for stunning impact both visually and emotionally. However, not all of the experience was blue skies and easy roads. About halfway through, Laguilles suffered an ankle injury. “It was extremely painful,” Laguilles said, to the point “where I didn’t think I’d be able to continue.” Luckily, he had a good group of family, friends and sponsors to help him out. “I doubted myself, but other people didn’t,” Laguilles said. Once he arrived at his stop for that night, he accepted that the end of his trek was going to hurt, but he needed to push through the pain. Invigorated by the moral support of his team, Laguilles rose to the challenge and conquered the seemingly unconquerable. After eight days of running, Laguilles’ wife met him at the finish line, 640 km. After the intense run, they spent
several much needed days in Barcelona where they “slept in, ate a lot” and did a lot of “relaxing and not running.” In hindsight, Laguilles’s “crowning achievement” taught him more than he ever would have imagined. “In life, you want to go through things alone, but you have to rely on others. Reaching out is important,” Laguilles said. Today, Laguilles teaches a class about the Camino Santiago, another pilgrimage, with Szolosi and Brendan Hartnett, religion teacher. Szolosi says students enrolled in the course will find “insights into themselves, prayer, pilgrimage, and community.” The class meets in the mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays and will walk part of the Camino Santiago in the spring.
Best Study Spots By: Henry Sullivan ‘20 Photography Editor Here are the best places to study on Gonzaga’s campus to cram for that daunting test or wrap up that project. The Quiet Study Room Hands down this hidden gem takes the cake for comfort and study. There’s nothing like cracking open a textbook with the toasty heat lamps and being graced with Mr. Cannon’s presence. Campus Ministry Room Many students don’t know that the Campus Ministry room is open to students! There’s a good chance you might have some iconic Campus Ministry songs like “Fire and the Flood” or “Home“ in the background. Also, you have an endless supply of lifesaver mints at your disposal.
The Library Study Carrels If you need a little background noise to aid you in your quest for knowledge, the study carrels on the upper floor of the Gonzaga Library is the place for. You may think you can bypass the Library’s no eating rule and bring those delicious SAGE fries up to the carrels. Think again! Ms. Valerias will be on you like a hawk. Do you want to get banned from the library? That Loft in the Stairwell Going Up to the Library With uncomfortable concrete stairs to sit on and the chance of getting clocked by Student Services, the loft is the worst place to study on campus. It’s not worth the JUG. C’mon!
DowdFest, DowdFest, DowdFest!
By: Matthew Dowd ‘22 Contributor
This school year, Gonzaga gathered for the firstever GonzagaFest, but another festival occurred, too: DowdFest. The so-called ‘DowdFest’ was a community event that I organized to announce and launch of a news website. DowdFest was originally conceived about 3 months prior to the event, and information regarding the event was released frequently to hype it up. By the end of winter break, it was decided that DowdFest would occur on January 10, 2020, and would, in fact, be an actual event, but it was unclear whether anyone would show up. The date of DowdFest was drawing nearer, and I had stickers ready to hand out to attendees; I ordered 30 stickers, which I thought would be more than enough for the small-scale event, but I would soon be proven wrong. In the days leading up to the tenth, I reminded everyone about it on Insta-
gram and other social media platforms and made sure that the actual website was good to go. When I entered Mr. Pugliese’s room after school, the location of DowdFest, I was in shock at the sheer size of the crowds. There were easily 50 people inside the room, and once we got the live stream started, a total of 150 people were watching. Without further ado, I walked up to the podium in the front and started to talk about the success and support behind Dose of Dowd. While I said this, the Dose of Dowd logo appeared behind me, followed by a cheer from the crowd. Finally, I got to the website announcement. The new website is called BPN, standing for Business, Politics, News. Found at bpntoday. com, BPN is a website devoted to providing a transparent news source. One way we do this is by listing the author’s political affiliations when they are writing a political article. Some of the articles
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on BPN are opinionated, but entertaining events, like the also enjoy smaller affairs like we also have analysis articles large scale GonzagaFest, but DowdFest. that look into the facts behind certain political movements. Recently, I have started adding articles about pop culture and sports. All things considered, I believe DowdFest to have been a success. The event was a fun and entertaining thing for the community to come and gather around, and it fulfilled its purpose of launching the website. While BPN is more than just a Gonzaga publication, Gonzaga students are encouraged to write for BPN by submitting a form on the home page of the website. Since DowdFest, bpntoday.com has expanded into sports and has even launched a new podcast, Filosophy Phriday. Nearly all the articles on bpntoday.com have been written by Gonzaga students, so, in that regard, it is a community publication. DowdFest did more than just launch a website. It showed how the Gonzaga community can gather for fun and
Democratic Candidates By: John Ferrara ‘22 Editor *Since the writing of this article, Andrew Yang has dropped out of the race, and he now has a prominent role as a political commentator on CNN. As the 2020 presidential election approaches, most people have begun to take stock of what they value in a candidate. Many voters place foreign policy or healthcare at the top of their priority list. While most of us at Gonzaga won’t be eligible to vote in this upcoming cycle, it’s important to understand various candidates’ ideas since they could have a hand in the well-being and future of our country. Here are a few candidates’ key policies that would have a direct effect on all of us at Gonzaga... Bernie Sanders Bernie has, by far, the most well-known policies due to how big of a change they would make in the daily lives of U.S. citizens compared to the ideas usually presented by candidates in elections. Many people question the real possibility of implementing his policies, which
include universal healthcare and tuition-free college if you attend a public university. For high schoolers, he may be an attractive choice since you are pretty much guaranteed the opportunity to leave college debt-free. One of the ways he would generate the money he would need to fund these projects is placing an “extreme” (how he describes it on his website) tax on anyone who has a net worth of over $32 million.
Andrew Yang* Andrew Yang hasn’t performed very well in any major poll, and he received a little over 5% of the vote in Iowa. While he may not have a shot at the presidency, he has some ideas that are very popular among the younger demographic. His Freedom Dividend, which would give anyone over the age of 18 $1,000 a month, has been the platform for his campaign. He, along with millions of other Americans, believe that
an extra $12,000 a year could create new, never-beforeseen opportunities for the average person. Another one of his ideas that has flown under the radar is his desire to extend voting rights to anyone 16 years or older. Obviously, if implemented, most of us at Gonzaga could vote for our president and legislators. Pete Buttigieg Mayor Pete is one of the more “moderate” candidates in this year’s election. To many people’s surprise, he has taken lots of the voters that once associated with fellow moderate, Joe Biden. Buttigieg emphasizes that every child and teen should have access to mental health help, so his education plan ensures that everyone in grades K-12 will be able to see a mental health professional for free. One of Pete’s signature policies is free college for those who need it. That’s a pretty relative term, but he defines those who need free college as anyone who is in a “famil[y] earning up to $100,000 and many middleincome families with multiple children.” This policy would definitely be a big help to most high schoolers, and
it would require less money from taxpayers. It does, however, exclude anyone in the top 20% of America’s tax bracket. Amy Klobuchar You could make the argument that Klobuchar is the most moderate candidate in this year’s Democratic field besides Mike Bloomberg, and thanks to a recent surge in the polls, she’s gotten the opportunity to voice more of her ideas. Her healthcare plan would support all Americans, guaranteeing that everyone has free access to medical professionals. Like Buttigieg, the former senator also endorses the plan to make mental health help accessible to all. Personally, I think Klobuchar has the most realistic college-tuition plan as she has promised free community college to all. While not as attractive a plan as the one that includes freetuition at public universities, the government would not have to raise taxes as much as they would if they followed a plan like Bernie’s.
Interview with Ryan Creamer ‘10 By: Jack Martino ‘20 Editor-in-Chief Ryan Creamer, Gonzaga Class of 2010, is a comedian and writer based out of Los Angeles who specializes in observationalist internet humor. Ryan was kind enough to answer some questions from Aquilian Editor-inChief Jack Martino about his time at Gonzaga and his life as a comedian. Jack Martino: How would you describe your time at Gonzaga? What was your favorite memory? Ryan Creamer: I would describe my time at Gonzaga as being a big dweeb who was in really good running shape. My most cherished memories were Flagrant Fridays, a tradition the cross country team had where every Friday, which was our easy day because we would have a meet the next day, we’d run to the Capitol Building wearing like lobster costumes and stuff. One time one of us wore a bear costume and chased the rest of us and we kept screaming to all the tourists to help us, a bear is chasing us. JM: Who was your fa-
vorite teacher to impersonate while you were here? RC: I certainly never had the balls to do so to their face, but as a coward just to my friends? Paul Buckley. JM: When did you feel you wanted to go into comedy? Is it connected to Gonzaga? RC: I always had an interest in it. Growing up I would film improvised stuff with my brother and sister on this huge camcorder we had. But I feel like the push to “go into it” only comes when you feel supported, or are in an environment where you feel comfortable enough to try. And I certainly had that at Gonzaga with my buddies Mike Dempsey, Will Fleury, Billy Ledder, and Ben Zeiss. We were a WZAG team named Seduction Squad; making stuff with them was so fun, and planted the seeds of confidence necessary for going into comedy. One time we made a feature where we filmed a cross country meet (because we were lazy) and tried to make it comedic or interesting by having announcers do commentary over it. I remember at my next class after it aired, AP
US History with Mrs. Sanders, Brian Baker tapped me and said “hey man that was really bad.” JM: How hard was it to go into the world of comedy? What did you do to get started? RC: I think the hard thing about getting into comedy is that it takes time. Everyone’s path is different; mine was rooted in improv and sketch. I went to Fordham University, and there I auditioned and got on the improv and stand-up teams they had on campus. The kids I met there encouraged me to take classes at UCB, so I did. I did the program there and was lucky enough to be placed on one of their house teams. As this was happening I was also posting videos and writing my own stuff, just throwing a lot against the wall. I submitted articles to CollegeHumor which eventually got me an internship, then a job. I made 7 episodes of a sketch comedy for a public access show for the Manhattan Neighborhood Network that I thought was genius and now you couldn’t pay me to watch. All this to say, there’s a lot of work that goes unseen before
Schedule Experiment By: Jesse Dolojan’21 Editor The Aquilian asked about student views on the block schedule experiment and how they thought that it could be improved. What did you think of the block schedule overall? Jack Maysak ‘21: I thought it was good except the lunch periods were a disaster. They made the whole thing not worth it. Conor Shaheen ‘21: I liked the longer breaks, but some of the classes were hard to sit through for 80 minutes. I also liked the community periods every three days so we could do club meetings more. Diego D’Angelo-Cosme ‘21: I think I only liked it because the school wasn’t ready for it. As in, teachers didn’t know what to do with the time we had the same level of homework just with less classes. Normally block schedule means we have double homework for double classes but I had standard homework. Not to mention, it wasn’t straight learning for 80 minutes be-
cause the teachers didn’t know what to do. Jalen McMurray ‘21: I loved the schedule. You were able to focus more on the classes that you had on the day and didn’t feel overwhelmed like on other days how you may. Eamon Passey ‘21: It gave me more free time to do homework and build community, but the lunches were kind of a disaster. Sean Carley ‘21: I thought it was a good idea but you could only really enjoy it to the fullest extent if you had a free period. Gordon Finucan ’21: I thought it was nice with the changing between group work and individual. But it wasn’t nice how some teachers did not know how to use the time well but breaks from classes were extremely nice. Was your workload affected by the block schedule? Jack Maysak ‘21: I had a lot less homework which was nice. Conor Shaheen ‘21: I think I had a lot less homework, probably because of the breaks. Now everything
the work that is. The best advice I have for getting started is to surround yourself with people who are funnier than you and who are serious about making stuff and work with them. JM: Is there anything from Gonzaga or high school in general that you bring to your comedy? RC: To this day there are certain Gonzaga guys I’m trying to make laugh with what I make. Some of the funniest people I’ve met in my life went to Gonzaga with me, and I think four years of being with them and trying to make them laugh leaves an imprint that doesn’t go away. JM: Is there anything that inspires you to write comedy? Are they spontaneous or calculated? RC: Being an active participant in life is the most inspiring thing for comedy. It’s all about speaking to truths we all deal with, and you only discover those by living them. As for spontaneous or calculated, I think it’s a mix. The spontaneous stuff is exciting, and often the stuff I enjoy making most. But spontaneous inspiration operates on its own timeline;
when you have a 9-5 comedy writing job and you have deadlines to meet, you have to be able to be calculated. I strive to never lose the joy of spontaneous creation, while also understanding the reality that to make a living, you have to be good at calculated. JM: The Gonzaga Lampoon, Gonzaga’s first strictly comedy journal, is launching this Spring. Had the publication existed during your time at Gonzaga, what would you have submitted/written? RC: Something that Brian Baker would’ve tapped me on the back and said “hey man this is really bad.” JM: Do you have any tips for someone looking to write comedy or submit something to The Gonzaga Lampoon? RC: Don’t let the fear of failure prevent you from ever trying. If you wish to submit something to The Gonzaga Lampoon, don’t let the fear of failure prevent you and email your short stories, satire, mock interviews, standup bits, cartoons, or comedic poetry to martinoj@gonzaga. org. Submissions are open until Friday, 2/28.
Not the News
is back to the way it was. School was less stressful during the block schedule. Eamon Passey ‘21: It didn’t change much I just had more time to do it… everything was just slowed down, like with the late start, and I could kind of breath. Gordon Finucan ‘21: The homework was easier and you got more time during school and at home to do homework. You got to meet with clubs more often.
By: Adriano Bayz ‘20 Contributor
Any ideas on how to improve the block schedule? Jack Maysak ‘21: No, I don’t know what they could do that’s the problem. Diego D’Angelo-Cosme ‘21: Yes, it would require a complete overhaul of the current system. I don’t know how it would work exactly, but regardless of classes, a ninth period if you would be added for lunch. So then you maintain the three lunch periods. That’s the logic. The nuclear option is to just completely redo the entire system. Sean Carley ‘21: Nope!
3) After being dropped too many times, the 45-pound plates in the weight room have decided to go on strike
1) Every library book has been replaced with a Dutch copy; no one has noticed yet 2) The Statue of Saint Ignatius can be seen roaming campus before 7 in the mornings but can’t be bothered to let anybody in
6) The English Department has revealed the existence of a new word but is reluctant to “sorpeege” any more on the matter 7) After Student Services gave everyone in 6th-period lunch JUG, they got more than they bargained for when all the rats swarmed the JUG classroom
4) There is absolutely nothing to report about the secondfloor bathroom in Cantwell-Ruesch 5) The bake sale next week will feature strictly sugar-free kosher gluten-free non-GMO vegan wheat crackers in a further attempt to be “all in”
Adriano Bayz