Remembering the past: Celebrating freedom

by Jill C. Hindman staff writer

Slavery is a common word that we all have heard and have some general knowledge about.

If you were to look it up in the dictionary it would read, "the state of one bound in servitude as property of a slaveholder or household. The practice of owning slaves. A mode of production in which. slaves constitute the principal work force. The condition of being subject or addicted to a specified influence. A condition of hard work and subjection" (The American Heritage College Dictionary, 3rd edition).

This is the definition of slavery by text, not reality.

February is celebrated as Black History Month.

Senior Paula Amegbe reflects on her thoughts of slavery.

"Slavery was a very unfortunate event that occurred in our history. It does not only affect me because I am a woman or even African, but because I am a human being. Taking away an individual's family, freedom and even dignity for the means of labor should never have taken place. No one has the right to hinder anyone from becoming the person that God intended them to be for their own personal gain."

The fact that any child can go to school and be granted the gift of knowledge is something that we do not give a second thought to. Any slave would have welcomed the chance to learn how to read, yet they were denied.

When one is subjected to such harsh conditions do they not question why they are here on this earth?

Do they not question their god?

You would assume that one would be compelled to drown in a pond of self-pity, but these men and women who lived as slaves fought for their freedom.

They fought for the things that we take for granted every day.

The things that we cannot touch are the greatest possessions of all. Those of which that are not tangible we hold closest to our heart. Freedom is one of these things.

In an Address to the Slaves of the United States of America, Henry Highland Garnett wrote, "SLAVERY! How much misery is comprehended in that single word. What mind is there that does not shrink from its direful effects? Unless the image of God be obliterated from the soul, all men cherish the love of liberty." Liberty.

We have a statue that represents that very word in our country. It means so much more to some than it does to others. There are those of us who have ancestors that had to fight for our liberty and then there are those of us who have always had freedom dating back to our oldest ancestors.

We will never be able to fully grasp the reality of slavery. None of us will ever know what it was like to work on a cotton field, or be driven on a plantation.

We will never know what it is like to be whipped because we asked a question.

We will not have to ever worry about being split up from our families and never see them again.

We live in a land that grants freedom to all of its citizens.

Harriet Tubman said it best. "There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty, or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other; for no man should take me alive."

'On the Spot' in Saratoga, NY

by Justine DJFilippo assistant photography editor

Improvisational comedy is a talent that 11 students on campus have embraced. "On the Spot," Cabrini's improv troop, was selected to attend the National College Comedy Festival for the third year last weekend.

Eight members of the troop traveled via Cabrini van to Saratoga, N.Y. They left Friday at 10:30a.m. for their five-to-six hour drive. Skidmore University hosted improv troops from 18 different colleges. Among the school's who attended was Cornell University, Brandeis University,and Bucknell University. Each troupe at the festival performed for 20 minutes in front of a crowd of over 300 fans. Sketch groups and school's who performed improv games gave their spectators a hilarious show. The festival ran both Friday and Saturday and each day was filled with shows clinics and parties. Here the improv troops learned new games, skits, warmups and met new people. The troupe stated that the most exciting part of the festival was talking with students who enjoyed acting. The troupe also took advantage of the time they would be spending together.

According to Matt Holmes, "It brings the group together."They spent eight hours in a van together on Friday and the rest of the weekend eating, sleeping and breathing comedy.

Five of the members have participated in this festival before but there are many new members to the troop that have not.

Kep McDonald, from the old sketch comedy show "Kids in the Hall," was one of the actors there teaching the troops new techniques to get the crowds into their shows. He gave the improvisors tips on how to make each other look good.

The members of "On the Spot" are: seniors Toni Barrett and Lisa Finegan; juniors Matt Holmes, Tina Hadley, Stephanie Masucci and Jess Snow; sophomores Kit Dewey and Matt Coughlin; and first-year students Katie Hernson, Brian Fry and Haven McMickle.