Volume LXXXII, Issue XXV
sluh.org/prepnews
St. Louis University High School | Friday, April 13, 2018
Students Breaking records: Bicentennial Ball raises over $2.5 million plan Chris Staley the Danis Lobby and Si Comwalkout mons.” BY STAFF
Event will be a meditation on lives lost School waiting for police permission BY Jack Schweizer EDITOR IN CHIEF
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small group of seniors, working with St. Louis police officers, faculty members, and the administration, is planning a student walkout next Tuesday onto Oakland Avenue to commemorate and reflect on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, which marked the first in a surge of school shootings across the country over the last two decades. While the planning is nearly complete, the administration is still in the process of working out the details of the event with the police, who are meeting today with the group of seniors and administrators. They plan to officially announce whether the walkout will happen, depending on if the police approve their proposal, by the end of the school today. As of now, the walkout is set to take place towards the beginning of activity period, at 9:45, when students who have parent-signed permission slips will file out the doors of the Oakland Avenue entrance and into the street. The plan calls for St. Louis police officers, accompanied by SLUH’s security team, to temporarily shut down Oakland Avenue for the walkout, blocking cars getting off Kingshighway going west, as well as cars heading east down Oakland. Numerous faculty members will be present during the event, closely monitoring the crowd and taking note of each student that leaves school. The number of faculty present and their oversight of the walkout will depend on how many students decide to attend.
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ustling busers, beautiful baubles, and benevolent benefactors made the Cashbah Bicentennial Ball a booming success on Saturday night. St. Louis U. High’s 49th Cashbah raised over $1,000,000 for the fourth year in a row and met Tom Schilli’s ’64 challenge of raising $1,000,000. Once Cashbah raised $1,000,000, Schilli donated $1,000,000 as well, doubling the money raised for scholarship funds. Including Schilli’s $1,000,00 goal, SLUH grossed over $2,500,000. This is the most SLUH has ever raised at Cashbah, mostly because of the Schilli challenge. At one point in the night, Pat and Anna Kristine Stokes presented the Father Sheridan scholarship of $1,200,000 donated by the Stokes and three other couples. The scholarship, separate from the Cashbah gross, will fund one full
Laughlin announcing the Schillis.
scholarship per year for a student from Loyola Academy attending SLUH. “It’s a humbling gift,” said President Dave Laughlin. “I was really happy that it seemed the spirit of that gift was captured by the reaction of the people in that room.”
29 alum speakers expected for the Common Good day BY Liam John CORE STAFF
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o help celebrate 200 years of being Men for Others, Saint Louis U. High will take a day off from the normal class schedule next Friday, April 20 to hear 29 alumni, ranging from the classes of 1956 to 2016, talk about how they contribute to the common good, the school’s theme for the year, in their diverse professional careers and lives. Dr. Michael Hamm, ’70, will give the keynote speech about the common good in sustainability. The common good is a broad category, but it is a part of Catholic social teaching showing how we can work together as a community to promote the goods of others. “The common good or common goods are those goods that only exist when they are shared; they do not exist as private or individual goods. It starts from the continued on page 4 whole and descends to the
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members,” said Campus Ministry chair Joseph Hill. “Every single citizen has an obligation to serve the common good.” As a way to display to students how the common good is displayed in society, a group of faculty and staff decided to have alumni come back to talk about how they are displaying the common good in hopes of inspiring students. The day will start with a speech from President Dave Laughlin about the common good in the SLUH community. Following Laughlin, Hamm will take the stage as the keynote speaker. “Sean Angiel found Dr. Hamm’s bio, and we were looking at what a few other people were doing. We talked about it internally and then we offered the idea to Fr. Hill and Mr. Ehlman in campus ministry,” said Vice President of Institutional Advancement
Cashbah co-chairs Amy Hannah and Aura Quinn chose the theme of Bicentennial Ball this past July in celebration of the school’s 200th birthday. Eighty-five tables seated about 880 guests for the auction held on last Saturday night in the Si Commons.
“The week of Cashbah we had 60 mom volunteers every day,” said Cashbah cochair Amy Hannah. “But then Kathy Hylla had a crew working, maintenance was very involved in set up, and we had two decoration rental companies with teams transforming
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Stokes and others donate $1.2 million to create Sheridan Scholarship BY Paul Gillam CORE STAFF
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aws dropped when St. Louis U. High president Dave Laughlin announced the creation of the Sheridan Scholars program, named after SLUH president emeritus Rev. Paul Sheridan, S.J., near the end of Saturday night’s Cashbah. Saturday marked the grand reveal of the $1.2 million
endowment scholarship: a four-year, full tuition scholarship given to one graduated Loyola Academy student who will be attending SLUH that will continue every year the two schools remain open. The $1.2 million needed for the endowment was raised thanks to the generous $1 million donation of Pat and Anna Kristine Stokes; Patrick (’78) and Sandra McNa-
mee, John (’77) and Michelle Stevens, and Jerry (’60) and Louise McNeive donated the remaining $200,000. According to Pat Stokes, former CEO of AnheuserBusch Companies Inc. from 2002 to 2006, the donation had a dual purpose: to provide financial assistance to students from Loyola Academy and to honor the legacy
continued on page 5 Stokes presenting the scholarship to Sheridan.
News
Fools use juuls in school JUULs are not cool in school, as they are against the rules. Check out what’s changed with SLUH’s JUUL policy. Page 2 news
photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
Helping out at Cashbah were also about 200 volunteers. “The volunteers really make this run,” said Director of Advancement Melissa Jones. “We wouldn’t be able to have this kind of participation in this magnificent event without our volunteer chairs, the heads of all the various committees and they’re the ones that really make this happen for us. It’s a great community effort.” The night featured a jazz band performance in the theater before dinner, the silent auction, the live auction, and the after party. The night was very crowded with the 85 tables, and the atmosphere was lively as people enjoyed seeing old friends or past classmates. “We were a little nervous the room would be too crowded,” said Hannah. “It
Future of SLUH elected Next year’s STUCO president and vice president, as well as ©2018 St. Louis University High senior class president and vice School Prep News. No material may president, have been elected to be reprinted without the permission lead the student body. Page 3 of the editors and moderator.
Features
Kickham’s love of newspapers AP Psychology teacher Tom Kickham grew up in a newspaper family. Read about how his love of newspapers led him to write dozens of letters to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Page 3 News
Biking Bicentennial bash To celebrate two centuries of SLUH tradition, the SLUH community hops on two wheels for bicentennial bike ride. Page 4
Sports
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photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
INDEX
Baseball batters Belleville Lester’s leadership in his complete game leads to a win against Belleville, improving SLUH’s record to 6-3. Page 5
2 News
Sports
8 News
Lax lays down the law After a late March trip to Memphis, the lacrosse team returned to light up STL rivals Chaminade, Vianney, and Eureka. Page 6
3 Features 4-5 News 6-7 Sports
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NEWS
Prep News Volume 82, Issue 25
Juniors elect class and student body executive officers BY Handley Hicks CORE STAFF
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hough many changes have been made to revamp St. Louis U. High STUCO next year, the traditional election format of speeches followed by voting returned Wedesday as the junior class elected Thom Molen as STUCO President, Sam Guillemette as STUCO Vice President, Alfie Arun as
photo | Dauphin Yearbook
Junior Thom Molen
Senior Class President, and Joe Gilmore as Senior Class Vice President Molen, who served this year as Junior Class President, hopes to provide a smooth transition into the new STUCO system, hoping to increase participation in school events. “I know Mrs. Menne well and Mr. Miller pretty well too. I’m hoping that those relationships continue to grow and eventually lead to successes for our school,” said Molen. “I’d like to bring back pep rallies and things like that, really go old school with STUCO again. I like to maybe bring back some old apparel. Some of the apparel has been very pop culture heavy, and I don’t think that appeals to everyone.” Guillemette, who was the only candidate to run for STUCO Vice President, saw his
speech as the beginning of his STUCO career, hoping to make a good first impression on his classmates. Guillemette painted a picture of the junior class as one worn out and needing rejuvenation. He hopes to offer that rejuvenation. “I noticed how nervous everybody else was, and I felt kind of cheeky. I felt like I had almost cheated in some way. But I still wanted to put an effort out obviously,” said Guillemette on running unopposed. Arun, who served in STUCO this year as Junior Class Co-Vice President, spoke about the value of the junior class itself. Using a $10 bill as an example. Arun crumpled and stepped on the bill, then asked people in the crowd if they still wanted the bill. Of course, students still wanted the bill from Arun. His point stood strong: that the bill was unique and still contained its intricate details. Arun stressed how the class’ value was retained regardless of
photo | Dauphin Yearbook
Junior Sam Guillemette
how others viewed it, just like the $10 bill. “One goal I have is reenergizing school spirit. I think the best way to do that is to start with the bottom and top and work in to the middle. By making the freshman and se-
nior classes’ spirit really high, it will hopefully pass on to other classes, and freshman will pass it to the next generation of
photo | Dauphin Yearbook
Junior Alfie Arun
SLUH students,” said Arun. Gilmore, new to STUCO this year, emphasized reaching out to the individuals of the Class of 2019. Gilmore spotlighted several students in his speech as examples of how the junior class is full of special individuals who contribute in their own ways to the class’s values. Gilmore hopes to bring back the energy and school pride, which he feels has declined over the past three years. “Our class has so many unique personalities and I believe that with the right leadership, we can set the tone for the rest of the student body,” said Gilmore. “I want to emphasize the fact that this is our last year together and we need to support each other even more than ever. My personal goal will be to make sure that nobody in our class gets overlooked. I want to challenge every single person to contribute as much as they can to the school.” Molen and Arun, who combined forces this year in junior STUCO positions, hope to continue their teamwork next to promote school spirit.
Both want to seriously increase participation of both the junior going to be senior class and the school as a whole. Guillemette and Gilmore, the VP’s, share a common goal to give a voice to their whole class. Both hope to highlight the uniqueness and character of the junior class to bring unity to the school as a whole. Both emphasized their openness to the voices of every individual member. New co-moderator Megan Menne is excited about the new system of STUCO emerging and the new students who plan to attack issues head on. “We’re going to build a new STUCO constitution with their input. I’ve already worked
photo | Dauphin Yearbook
Junior Joe Gilmore
with Thom and Alfie which is nice. But I think the group that was elected will work together really well,” said Menne. “We’re excited to push forward student built leadership within STUCO. As the junior class moderator I really liked working with students to help them figure out how to lead in a bigger role. One of our motivations to re-organize was to get more student-led instead of leadership being so dependent upon the moderators.”
Kesterson continues to confront JUUL culture BY James Pollard CORE STAFF
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ver the course of the past year the vaping craze has swept across the nation’s high schools, with St. Louis U. High not impervious to the trend. In an effort to deal effectively with the rise in student vaping, Assistant Principal for Student Life Brock Kesterson has implemented various measures. Unable to manage the vaping tendencies of students on campus as much as he would like, he is now looking back at the measures he has taken in the second semester and is looking ahead to next year. At a faculty in-service day on Feb. 16, Kesterson spoke about the vape culture that has developed at SLUH, educating teachers on how to properly identify juuls and other vape pens in the classroom and school. “It is an issue and my fear is that I have to deal with it in this office, but I’m not sure that everybody else—faculty, staff— knew what it was,” said Kesterson. “They may not even know what it is because of the nature of these (juuls). The juuls may resemble a flash drive and (the faculty and staff) may not even know what to look for. These things are so sleek and so small and so difficult to detect.”
“In terms of in the classroom, I have had no interaction with it. I have not caught anybody and I have not seen it ever,” said math teacher Stephen Deves. “I have heard a lot of stories and I have heard of it. I feel like I knew a lot more about it than most teachers did when it was happening and I have been more cautious and aware to keep an eye out, but I have never personally seen it, which is good.” Kesterson had hoped that if teachers were able to crack down on campus vaping, students would be deterred from doing so in school. He has found that, while teachers have improved in their ability to detect vaping since the meeting, the increase in detection has not necessarily deterred students from the practice. “We’ve had a number of situations where people brought things to me because they now know what they are. We need to continue to work to make sure this is something that is not part of our culture.” Kesterson is especially concerned that students are not aware of the potential health affects and addiction that could come as a result of vaping. Citing a recent New York Times article titled ‘I Can’t Stop: Schools Struggle with Vaping Explosion,’ Kesterson, along with many of the nation’s health
leaders, fears that this trend of youth vaping is helping create a new generation of addicts. “My question is always, ‘Why do you do this?’ and if the answer is ‘I can’t stop’ then that is really scary because what it is saying is that maybe (they’ve) tried but that because (they are) addicted to this (their) body needs this,” said Kesterson. Deves is concerned that many students vape in order to deal with stress, a habit he fears could set them up for later addictions down the road, considering that stress will always be a part of their lives. It is believed that the aesthetic and accessibility of these devices popularized them and led students to underestimate their risks. Kesterson cites the sleek and stylish design along with the various flavors like watermelon and mango and its presence at local gas stations as factors that could lead students to thinking they were just a novelty. “They don’t think it’s such a big deal but it really is a big deal,” said Kesterson. “Do you want popcorn lung? I don’t think anybody wants popcorn lung. Or if it is carcinogenic, do we want that? Of course not.” With the school year coming to a close and already packed with events, Kesterson is not able to put together an assembly to address the mat-
ter. He is considering, however, sharing information and articles via email with students. The issue of vaping is, however, going to be included in the agenda of next year’s class meetings and subject to policy change for the 2018-19 school year. Currently, Kesterson has classified juuls and vape pens along with other tobacco products in terms of discipline. The student handbook currently states that the “violations of the rules regarding smoking and smokeless tobacco result in five hours of JUG, as well as confiscation of the tobacco” and that “a letter will be sent home.” However, Kesterson is strongly considering classifying them along with alcohol and illegal drugs, due to the possibility that the vape pen or juul could contain THC pods. If he were to make that change, according to the handbook, those caught vaping on campus could face consequences of “in or out of school suspension” and “disciplinary probation.” “You can tell me all you want that ‘It’s just nicotine!’ but because of the fact that it could be drug related I don’t want to make that call,” said Kesterson. “I just want to say that you can’t have this because of the fact that it is drug-related. And that’s the harsher side but that’s
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April 13, 2018
Trash to treasure: Sustainability art show BY Riley McEnery NEWS EDITOR
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n old paintbrush, light bulb boxes, old desks, and other recycled materials are all it takes to make a masterpiece. The SLUH SustainaBills and members of the freshman class teamed up to create the “Waste Not, Want Not” art project consisting almost entirely of recycled materials. The project was showcased at Cashbah and on Wednesday after school as part of the Green Schools Quest project. The creativity and innovation of the pieces won the Jr. Bills the Green Schools Innovation Award. The idea for an art show came when Sustainability Club moderator Anne Marie Lodholz decided to take an alternate approach for the Green Schools Quest project, a program SLUH has participated in since 2014. SLUH normally works on a garden project or work with food, but this year they chose an art show for the project. This year, the project’s focus entailed themes from the freshman geography class as well as typical sustainability material. Based on the United Nations sustainable development goals, a topic in freshman geography, and Pope Francis’ encyclical on sustainability, the project was focused on throwaway culture. The group was partnered with local industry workers to assist them with the art projects. Jenny B, a local interior decorator and artist, was SLUH’s official partner, but they had others to help them out, including theater tech teacher Scott Schoonover, Shawn Cornell, a professional painter, and Steve DeBrechet, a member of the maintenaince crew. These mentors assisted the students in forming ideas for their art projects and actually creating them. “Even if I had an idea, the difficulty of trying to make
At the art show on Wednesday, members of the Sustainability Club, like copresident freshman Carter Fortman, explained the pieces to viewers. The show featured what was called “dangling” art next to the living wall behind the Commons, chairs with old SLUH gear attached for design, desk men, a chandelier, a chicken coop, and other images of sustainable art on the monitor outside the Commons. Notable pieces include a reverse chandelier which holds light bulb boxes instead of actual lightbulbs made by a group of freshmen, a piece of dangling art made from an old chair by Liam John, and another dangling piece featuring an old paintbrush as its center. “It’s all made from stuff we’ve used or has been recycled in the school,” said Fortman. “So everything was made in the school.” In the theater lobby, a chandelier designed by Jenny B hung over the school crest. The chandelier was made from wood from Forest Park and old glass from Jenny B’s personal stash. Next to the chandelier for now is the completely student-made chicken coop. The roofing of the coop came from the set of West Side Story, the chicken wire from the theater supplies, the base from the Robotics Club, and wood from all over the school, including broken desks or pool cues in the pool hall. The coop also has two chickens that will go in it after it is taken home as a result of being sold at Cashbah. The desk men, designed by Cornell, were made from two deconstructed desks in the old cafeteria and now serve as birdhouses or a shelf. They also sat outside the Commons in the art show. As a result of their cre-
photo | Riley McEnery
A chicken coop on display during the showcase.
the material do what I wanted them to do, like how you cut into a metal can, I didn’t know any of that,” said Lodholz. “So with the help of Steve DeBrechet, Scott Schoonover, Jenny and Sean, the students were able to produce these pieces.”
ativity and hard work, the SustainaBills won the Green Schools Innovation Award Wednesday evening. “Overall it turned out really really well,” said Gabe Lepak. “I’m proud of the way it all turned out, and I think it was a successful showcase.”
Prep News FEATURES In wake of Majory Stoneman: should teachers carry guns?
April 13, 2018
Volume 82, Issue 25
BY Sam Ortmann CORE STAFF
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fter 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School lost their lives on Feb. 14, 2018 during a school shooting, the nation was awash with ideas on how to prevent such a tragedy from ever happenning again. One idea that many people, including members of the U.S. presidential administration, discussed is the possibility of arming school teachers. Some believe that allowing teachers to have guns in school would at least give them a fighting chance if an active shooter situation were ever to occur. Across the nation, people’s responses to this idea have been very divided. However, here at St. Louis U. High, opinions are a little more one-sided. An overwhelming majority of teachers have reservations about carrying firearms in the classroom. “You don’t make schools safer by putting more guns into them,” said math teacher Frank Corley. “Professional gun-users—soldiers, cops, security personnel—find aiming a gun and shooting it at a human being an incredibly difficult task to perform successfully in almost every situation. How would teachers do?” Teachers question the effectiveness of the use of guns to stop a school shooter—as the armed resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School proved. “Deterrence is argued as one of the main reasons that arming teachers would be a good idea. It’s the idea
that these shooters would not attack someplace if they knew that shooter was there and was armed. To my understanding, only two of the school shooting incidents have ended with a person who is alive. So the evidence suggests that the shooters are not planning on coming out alive. So deterrence, which is totally rational for people that want to live, isn’t a very good argument for people that don’t intend to live anymore,” said economics teacher Kevin Foy. “Now, imagine a circumstance where there is one classroom and the armed teacher is not in that classroom, but next door. A tremendous amount of damage would be done before that armed teacher would even make it into that classroom and when that armed teacher comes through the door, they’re a pretty easy target. So it’s unclear whether they would be effective anyway. These are two arguments where arming teachers doesn’t actually accomplish all that much.” Both teachers and students also raise the question of safety. Knowing how to carry a firearm all day, every day is a learned skill with a very small margin for error. A mistake, which is easy to make during the chaos of the school day, could very easily lead to serious injury. “If teachers carry guns in the classroom, the amount of mistakes and misfires could lead to more casualties than it would if we just did nothing and allowed the school shootings to continue as they have
been,” said senior Sam Evans. The possibility for error only increases when the weapon is needed the most. Knowing when to use and, more importantly, not to use a firearm in a high-adrenaline situation like a school shooting is something that can only be learned through firsthand experience. Even then, law enforcement officers and soldiers, many of whom spend large portions of their career training and preparing for such events, often get confused or make mistakes. “Law enforcement is
gument for why law enforcement is not interested.” Campus Activities & Security Coordinator and nineyear law enforcement veteran Patrick Zarrick agrees. “I have several concerns about faculty and staff having access to firearms on our campus. In my experience simply going through firearms training with no in the field experience does not adequately equip a person to decide whether to shoot or not shoot in a volatile, fast-moving, fast-changing situation,” said Zarrick. “When you consider
art | Matthew Quinlan
pretty clear that they do not want more good guys armed because it makes it very unclear for them who the bad guys are and then they wind up shooting the good guys,” said Foy. “Given the number of shooters that have worn body-armor, the good guys will have a difficult time telling the difference between law enforcement and the bodyarmored active shooters. So the good samaritans wind up seeking to defend themselves from the good guys and they end up shooting at each other. Which I think is the main ar-
the use of firearms in a school situation, you’re talking about hundreds, if not thousands, of young people possibly moving around. You’re talking about several faculty or staff maybe moving around the school armed. If they are not mentally prepared to instantly recognize a hostile shooter, a friend, a colleague, or a law enforcement officer, I could see a high possibility of an accidental shooting.” However, some people think a person with a faster response time than law enforcement could be beneficial—as
it was in Great Mills, Md., where an armed school resource officer helped prevent any loss of life other than the shooter’s. According to a Homeland Security study conducted in 2012, the average police response time was 18 minutes while the average shooting time was only 12 minutes. So it is entirely possible that the school shooting could be over before law enforcement ever arrives. “If someone starts to attack the school, having people with guns would allow for a much faster response time,” said Evans. “A trained person with a gun in the middle of the action could allow the shooting to be stopped with less loss of life.” In his letter to the Prep News on March 1, 2018, senior Westin Bierman wrote: “I would rather have something be done, than cower and hide in a room knowing I have little control over the situation. I think the weapon should only be used to stop the shooter and prevent more death.” “I wonder about having a small number of employees trained as concealed-carry emergency security,” said Theology teacher Chris Keeven. “I want any security policy to maximize deterrence, maximize response, and minimize the impact to the student experience. Concealed-carry might be the most effective means of achieving this.” Ultimately it comes down to whether or not the teacher is comfortable with and willing to carry and be responsible for
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a gun all day. And many teachers here at SLUH are not. They feel as if it is not part of their job and could detract from their mission of educating. “Teachers did not enter their profession to shoot at attackers. That’s not how we’re wired,” said Corley. “Don’t get math tutoring from a security guard, don’t ask a cop to coach your football team, don’t bring a college essay to a Marine for editing help, don’t ask a fighter pilot to direct your choir, and don’t ask a teacher to defend your child against an active shooter.” Another solution to the problem is a school resource officer. A resource officer is somebody with extensive military or law enforcement experience who is hired as an armed security guard for the school. They achieve the goal of having personnel on campus to reduce response times and would also reduce the risk of untrained and inexperienced teachers accidently harming somebody with a weapon. “If we had faculty members who happened to have very strong law enforcement backgrounds and were comfortable carrying firearms on campus, then that would be enough for consideration. It would be not unlike public schools that have a school resource officer on campus,” said Zarrick.
Sophomore, juniors, and seniors react to retreat days Compiled BY Justin Koesterer CORE STAFF
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of the stuff we did freshman year, like a freshman song we sang. But mainly, it was a little boring to me. There was a lot of talking about “how’d you feel about this?” and “how’d you feel about that?” but the one bright spot was that since I didn’t get into the house with my closest friends, I got to bond with some of the kids I didn’t know as well.
tudents participated in three different retreats during last week’s retreat week: The senior Wilderness Retreat, the junior Kairos retreat and the Sophomore Retreat. The Sophomore Retreat included all current sophomores, led by seniors, with juniors helping out. The Kairos retreat hosted 38 juniors led Peter Dillon by eight current seniors. I mean, I kinda liked it, but some of the talks were kinda boring. I felt like it reSophomore Retreat ally could have been a lot more engaging. I did like the Bryce Van Bree It was ok I guess. It was a bit less spiritual than I would have liked it to have been. The small groups were fairly pointless. But I did think that (other parts were) fantastic. The talks I thought were pretty good. I liked them, it was just what we did with them was pretty pointless. Darren Ross Honestly, I didn’t really like it. It was mostly talk about how we can get better and closer as a class. There also was a lot of talk about if we had any problems in the class. When we went to the homes, all we did was watch the movie and talk about the movie. I did like the fact that we were able to experience some of the stuff that we did. We tried to remember some
at all. The talks really didn’t help very much. I didn’t realize why I was even there, most of the time. There was one fun part, though, and that was the sleepover. It’s a good time to spend with your friends, and watch a movie, and talk about it. Apart from that, I didn’t really like it. Kairos 84 Senior Leader Ken Viehland I was just really impressed in seeing how the junior class came together. It was awesome to be able to lead them and I think that the
Sophomore Eric Tice catching a Pancake. photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
part where we slept over at our friend’s houses. It was kind of nice just getting to hang out. Some of the talks were really long and drawn out. It seemed like they were trying to force them down our throats.
boys had a really good retreat. I was really happy with the way it turned out.
Ali Hamed Honestly I felt that it was a great retreat. I gained a lot spiritually, and I also gained Michael Gordon a sense of brotherhood there. I didn’t like it too much Before retreat, I was barely because there were parts of it friends with anyone, and now, that they didn’t do anything after the retreat, I feel like I am
brothers with everybody that went on the retreat. It touched me a lot, and at some points it really hit me hard, like I was in tears. Knowing how everybody else opened up, and knowing that I wasn’t alone gave me a lot of confidence in opening myself up to them. I’m not as shy now as I was before, while also picking up the courage to talk to others. Jakub Gorzko It was a lot better than expected. I came in kind of not wanting to do it, and there were moments in the retreat that didn’t really live up to expectation, but overall, like looking back, I had a really good time. I left wanting to go back. We definitely bonded in some way over the retreat. Of course, it was nice during the retreat, but what struck me was that after the retreat, at school the next week, we were treating each other better. We’re talking a lot more in the hallways now. We made a lot of friends there. I liked how the retreat gave us time to think. Some retreats are jam packed with stuff you know, so this retreat really gave us ample time to think things over. We started a group chat afterwards, and we were all very inclusive. I think that we can now strive to include everyone in everything we do to create a stronger sense of brotherhood.
Steven Mack So for me personally, I honestly loved the retreat. It was a life-changing experience for me because it was one of the first times that I could actually see the presence of God. That feeling was a crazy feeling. Another thing that I liked
I would definitely recommend it for anyone. The first night was the key. I didn’t know if we would share our stories with each other, and we did, so that set the tone for the retreat. It allowed all of the rest of the retreat to fall into place. The talks were awesome. Having a retreat led by seniors al-
Corley with sophomore Kameron Moses.
was that I got to meet guys in my class I didn’t know. For instance, Emmanuel (Akpan). I didn’t even know his name before the retreat, and now I feel like I can trust him now. Just the way my group was able to open up was super cool to see. It’s definitely something that I would like to lead as a senior.
photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
lowed me to connect my life and stories to the real world. Senior Wilderness Retreat Chris Schaefer It was a super awesome experience. It was a super chill
continued on page 8
4 Students will lock arms on Oakland Avenue to Prep News
NEWS
Volume 82, Issue 25
show support for lives lost to gun violence (continued from page 1)
“The hard part is trying to think about the numbers and what happens if we have 40 (students), what happens if we have 140, what happens if we have 340,” said Assistant Principal for Student Life Brock Kesterson. “We’ll have to figure out how we’re going to logistically deal with that based on the numbers.” Once in the street, students, locked in arms, will be led in a short prayer by Principal Ian Gibbons, S.J., followed by 13 minutes of silence—one minute in honor of each of the 13 victims in the Columbine shooting. After the 13-minute period, students will walk back into school near the end of activity period and resume the rest of the day’s classes. SLUH is also not the only school planning a walkout in remembrance of the Columbine shooting. Other schools around the country are organizing walkouts on the anniversary of Columbine, April 20, as part of a national protest. Some, according to Gibbons, are also using the day to highlight gun reform, the freedom to assemble, second amendment rights, or even citizenship rights. SLUH’s walkout, however, is not a protest or politically motivated. It was designed in the spirit of Ignatian contemplation, representative of the school’s Catholic identity with its incorporation of prayer, and open to all groups of people. “We are taking it and making it through our lens and through our calendar, the way that’s really seamlessly tied to our formation. We’re not doing it for ‘pick a cause’ and just whatever you want to make it. We want to make it very streamlined to the Catholic Jesuit values of our school,” said Gibbons. Another major difference between the national walkout for Columbine and the one planned at SLUH is the date. The national walkout is scheduled on the anniversary of Columbine, which also falls on Common Good day at SLUH, a special day when various alumni will speak to students about their experiences with the common good in their lives. To respect the purpose of that day and avoid sending confusing messages, the seniors and administration agreed to schedule the walkout on Tuesday, three days before the actual anniversary. “We said okay, there’s an April option but there’s Common Good day, so we don’t have to deal with the mainstream national walkout. We can do it on our own day, and we can still stand up for something and we can still have beliefs and values, and it doesn’t have to be a protest, it can be a reflection,” said senior Damen Alexander, one of the leaders of the group. Despite the expected police presence, safety during the walkout remains one of Kesterson’s greatest concerns for the event. “I want to make sure we
get it right because you know this isn’t walking to the turnaround, this is walking onto a major city street,” said Kesterson, who stressed the importance of sticking to a strict, shared plan, understood by both faculty and police. “Obviously anything can happen but I think the whole point of us being able to do this and doing it right is that we have things kind of scripted the way we want, very specifically. They know the plan and as long as everything sticks to the plan, everything I think will go really smoothly.” Part of the safety protocol includes permission forms. To keep track of students who will be leaving campus for the event, all students will be required to submit a permission
that.” Over the next month, as the number of students in the group expanded, they debated the best way to raise awareness about gun violence, with some suggesting bringing in a speaker, leaving school in the middle of class or planning a spontaneous die-in. But after some deliberation, the core group of seniors finally settled on the idea of a prayerful and nonpolitical walkout—reflective of SLUH’s Ignatian and Catholic identity. “We settled on this partly because it’s akin to the national movement of walking out but without the politics, but also it seemed logistically the best way to get our message across,” said senior Pierce Hastings.
art | Darion Mullins
form signed by their parents by 8:00 a.m. on Monday. No student will be allowed to participate without a form, which will be shared online and available in the Main Office. The idea for a walkout was sparked in mid-February, after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., where 17 high school students were shot and killed by a former student. Inspired by the thousands of teenagers in dozens of cities across the country who were walking out of schools in response to the shooting and protesting for an end to gun violence, seniors Damen Alexander and Nico Hernandez started talking about what they could do at SLUH. “I was just looking at stats after Parkland, looking at the stats. You know 205 people were murdered in the city of St. Louis and then another 2600 were injured with some type of gun. But I was just like what can we do?” said Alexander. Alexander began meeting with faculty and administrators, asking how they could effectively address the issue of gun violence as students at SLUH, while Hernandez expanded the conversation by starting a group chat, inviting anyone interested in a walkout to share their ideas. “This isn’t something that just is on a whim here, and I think that’s part of why I really enjoyed talking to the guys is that they’ve been really thoughtful and really done this with a lot of good will and they’ve been easy to work with in that sense and very agreeable,” said Kesterson. “And we’ve had to push back on certain things and they’ve understood, so it’s really been a good working relationship with these guys because of
With a plan in mind, the group of four seniors, which also included senior James Pollard, got to work on the logistics. Originally, they wanted to walk out with other schools around the country on March 14, National Walkout day, but SLUH was on spring break during that time. After considering more dates during March with no luck, they eventually decided to plan the event near the next major national walkout—the Columbine anniversary. “The whole country changed,” said Gibbons, referring to Columbine. “And we’re trying to remind our students here that this is all tied back to this one big event and we want us to be aware, and safety is a concern.” Gibbons in particular,liked the idea of reflecting on the significance of Columbine because he was directly impacted by the shooting when he was a teacher at Regis Jesuit High school in Aurora, Colo., a 40-minute drive from Columbine high school. When the shooting happened at Columbine, a school Regis played against in sports, the schools went into lockdown, including Regis Jesuit. Following the shooting, Regis held prayer vigils for the fellow local high school in Columbine. “We played them in everything. It was jaw-dropping to have a school in your city have that happen. And nothing like that had ever occurred in a school before. There certainly were incidents in other places. I think of that shooting in the 60s at one of the universities in Texas. But that was seen as such an anomaly, and this was a paradigm shift for the country,” said Gibbons.
The students decided the walkout should take place on Oakland Avenue, where they would get the most attention from the public for their message, but they would need police to shut down the road and stop oncoming traffic. Hernandez decided to meet with representative Bruce Franks, known for his role in organizing Black Lives Matter protests, during a talk he was giving at Washington University. After the talk, Hernandez told Franks about the planned walkout at SLUH, and Franks put the group in touch with the police. Since their conversation, Hernandez has stayed in communication with Franks’s office and is coordinating the details of the walkout with the police, though the arrangements are still being confirmed by the administration. “I’m not looking for any big change,” said Hernandez. “I just want the school, I want as many of us as possible to come out as brothers to get behind this and be like, we see that there’s a problem going on in our world and we just need some time to think about it and some time to see how God is working through it.” The group has also worked closely with Ben DuMont, who helped Alexander draft a press release in case local St. Louis media shows up to cover the walkout and want to know what the event is about. Each of the four seniors who organized the walkout are passionate about ending gun violence, a goal which has kept them driven throughout the planning over the past few months. “Coming from, just this city especially, it’s a fact, we do have the highest murder rate in the country. And a lot of people here don’t see it. But I see it sometimes. Like, I don’t see it as much as other people here at this school see it, but I still see it more than a lot of people. And, I don’t know. It gets to a point where that phrase, ‘enough is enough,’ like you’re just sick and tired of getting sick and tired. Like I can’t keep seeing this and not do anything about it,” said Hernandez. He later added, “I haven’t obviously seen anybody shot. But in the neighborhoods around mine, I know, I’ve heard people getting shot and killed around me.” Hastings looks forward to setting the political discussions aside and simply coming together as a community around the issue of gun violence. “Well I think it’s important that we come together as a SLUH community for an event like this and strip away the politics and just look at the fact that human beings are being killed in this country and mourning loss, which is really what this walkout is intended to do, is to be a forum for people to come together and mourn the lives that have been lost.”
April 13, 2018
Biking a century: a bicentennial bike ride BY Steven Zak, Peter Campbell CORE STAFF, REPORTER
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f school has been putting you on edge lately and you feel like you need an escape to the outdoors, then the Bicentennial Bike Ride might be the right cure for your problems. The bike ride is being coordinated by Director of Information Technology and avid cyclist Jonathan Dickmann. His interest in biking has grown in recent years after he moved closer to St. Louis U. High and biked to and from SLUH on the car free days promoted by SLUH Sustainability over the past few years. It then encouraged him to bike to SLUH everyday. “Over the past few years I’ve been stepping up the amount I’ve rode, said Dickmann. “I was happier getting that exercise and fitting that in my day.” The idea came to Dickmann after he participated in a 100-mile bike ride,
said Dickmann. “With a couple people to break the wind when you’re riding as a pack it makes it easier for less experienced riders to stay as a group.” In addition to having a good group of actual bikers, Dickmann is also looking for people to be around the biking group in case any situations arise during the long bike ride. Besides cyclists the trip will also need to consist of a support group riding in a van close by, or being available to help if trouble arises. “I’m trying to find some people to not necessarily ride but be able to follow us because it is a long ride. We are never very far from Saint Louis, but physical and mechanical problems can happen,” said Dickmann. “I’m trying to be mindful and protect the riders. It is a very taxing bike ride.” So far one former teacher, whose house is on the path Dickmann has
art | Stephen Ocampo
called a century, and remembered SLUH’s slogan for the bicentennial. “I already knew of the slogan ‘two centuries, doubly blessed,’ so I thought a century bike ride would be kind of fun,” said Dickmann. “The wording popped into my mind and I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be cool to do some kind of bike ride for the bicentennial because of the century wording.” The next step after proposing the idea was to develop a 100-mile course that would both start and end at SLUH. “I did look into if to see if people did 200-mile bike rides, but you have to have a huge amount of fitness,” said Dickmann. “I was able to reach out to a fellow SLUH grad, who was a year behind me at SLUH. He is a very avid bike rider, and has been able to modify a course he uses to have it start and end at SLUH.” Around a dozen people have expressed interest in participating in the ride, and Dickmann hopes the number continues to grow. “I would love to have around ten people or so on this ride because if you ride as a pack it is a lot easier,”
proposed, has offered his house as a rest stop during the ride. The bike ride is not sponsored by SLUH and is informal. A century requires a lot of stamina and endurance to complete. Dickmann recommended training and going on several longer bike rides before the century ride. Dickmann has been preparing by riding the stationary bikes in the weight room as well as going on longer, 20- to 30-mile bike rides on the weekend. “The ride will not require a phenomenal amount of stamina, since we are not going for a certain speed, but you will need to be comfortable sitting in the bike seat for that long,” said Dickmann. “I know I can handle a ride of this length and I’m trying to see if anyone else would be willing to do so.” The exact date of the ride has yet to be made official, but Dickmann is looking at the first or second Saturday in May. Dickmann invites the whole SLUH community to consider the ride and email him if they are interested in any role or have any questions.
NEWS
April 13, 2018
Prep News Volume 82, Issue 25
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Hamm ’70 will speak about sustainable agriculture for Common Good day (continued from page 1)
Melissa Jones. “Once we learned a little bit more about what he is doing, we were like wow we thought he would be an interesting person to be keynote.” Hamm will speak to the SLUH community about the environment and sustainabilty, following Pope Francis’s Laudato Si. He currently is a professor of sustainable agriculture at Michigan State University. “His story is interesting. Sustainable agriculture is his niche, but he engages in that at multiple levels: so the level of community organization, at the economic level as well, in terms of creating markets of products,” said Hill. After Hamm, there will be a break, and then students will separate into 29 different breakout sessions led by alums. Students were given a packet in homeroom this week with a list of the alumni coming, and were sent a Canvas page allowing the students to make their top five choices for the breakout sessions. Once all the surveys are in, math teacher Craig Hannick will go through and
choose where students will go. “I will try my best to give everyone three of those and especially two of those,” said Hannick. “If I can’t give you three, I will try to give you two so you will have some input. We wanted the students to have a choice.” “I am excited that kids will have a choice. When people feel like they have a choice, they often wake up to it a little more,” said English teacher David Callon. The alumni speaking will come from different generations of SLUH history, ranging from between the class of 1956 to 2016, so the students will be able to choose talks and people that interest them. With a diversity of alumni, students will be able to see how all ages are working towards the common good. “We thought, rather than tell people what they should do differently, let’s show them examples of positive models,” said Callon. “We wanted people who went to SLUH who are committing their lives to making the world better as businessmen, doctors, lawyers, sustainable development directors, etc.” After the alumni are done
speaking, the students will go back to their homerooms. The last part of the day will be a homeroom reflection. Students and faculty will discuss the different experiences they had throughout the day. “With about 30 to 45 minutes at the end of the day,
“We wanted to celebrate 200 years of our school, and instead of inviting one keynote speaker we thought about what if we invited alumni,” said campus minister and math teacher Nick Ehlman. “It had started as one or two alumni, and then, we had the
Denis Agniel Terry Bracy Fr. Brian Christopher, S.J. H. Eric Clark Tim Danis Dan Davis Jerry Dwyer Daniel Ehlman Jim Godsil everyone will go back to their homeroom for a reflection meeting. It will be led by the homeroom teacher and another faculty member,” said Hannick. The idea for Common Good day was spearheaded by Campus Ministry.
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Pat and Anna Kristine Stokes with Sheridan.
ber of 2017, when Sheridan approached Stokes, asking for a donation of full tuition scholarship for five years, totaling about $84,000. Stokes agreed to the idea and was put in contact with Laughlin. Stokes met with Laughlin over coffee and told him that he wanted to take the scholarship one step further. “I said ‘I don’t mind doing this, but this will be over in five years. If we sponsor one student a year for five years, it’ll be over five years from now; five years from now, this will have dried up,” Stokes said. “I said, ‘let’s do something that has permanence and we can stamp Fr. Paul’s name to, as far as recognizing him as the founder of Loyola and a person that is involved with SLUH.” “Well, I was pretty shocked,” said Laughlin. “It’s a bit of being awestruck and then it’s just incredible humility. The goodness that people show the school and students who need assistance is amazingly humbling.”
out yet—but what is inspiring them, what is driving them, and what is making them passionate about whatever those things may be,” said Ehlman. “I hope they follow those things and see how those things they are passionate connect toward working to-
Breakout presenters Karl Guenther Rob Libera Mike Hamm George Lieser Gerard Hempstead Handy Lindsey, Jr. John and Tom HillBill McCalpin meyer Fr. Mark Mckenzie, S.J. Tim Huether Fr. Gary Menard, S.J. Steven Hutchinson Jason Purnell Bryan Kujawa and Max Jimmy Reddy Magee Peter Sadlo Mark LaBarge Tom Santel idea: what if we had a lot of different alumni and breakout sessions?” The Advancement Office searched and reached out to alumni who are currently working towards the common good in their daily lives, while Campus Ministry and other
Benefactors surprise Sheridan with scholarship for Loyola students at SLUH of Sheridan. Stokes, who went to Xavier High School in New York and Boston College, has been involved with Jesuit education ever since. He currently is serving on the board of trustees at Boston College. Stokes has known Sheridan since he moved to St. Louis in 1969. Sheridan, who was president of SLUH from 1997 to 2005 and returned to the school in 2016, founded Loyola Academy, a local Jesuit middle school dedicated to providing for underprivileged young men, in 1999. Sheridan also founded Boys Hope in 1977, which became Boys Hope Girls Hope in 1991, and since its foundation has worked with youth to end the cycle of poverty. Stokes, who was on the board of Boys Hope Girls Hope, wanted to honor this legacy and the work done by Sheridan. “You hear a lot about Jesuit schools and being a person for others—well that’s all he’s done for 40 years is be a person for others,” said Stokes. “My wife and I have always been looking for a way to recognize—I think is probably the best word—what his career has been, his 40 years of doing that work, and this was just a great opportunity to say ‘Well we can combine what he has done with Loyola with an organization like SLUH, what he has been so involved with,’ and it really seemed like the right thing to do.” “I was thrilled,” said Sheridan. “I had no idea they were going to do this. I thanked God so much.” The thought of creating a scholarship began in Decem-
teachers organized the day and logistics. Once the initial idea was presented to Jones, she talked with her team to discuss who they would bring back to talk to the student body. The planning committee members hope the Common
photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
Unbeknownst to Sheridan, Stokes and Laughlin, with the work of several members of SLUH’s Business and Advancement Offices, created the scholarship. “It was a good conspiracy,” Stokes chuckled. Once the scholarship was finalized, Director of Communications Ben DuMont began creating a video to announce the reveal of the scholarship. One hardship in making the video was keeping the purpose of creating it a secret, so many of those interviewed had no notion of what the video was for. As Cashbah came to a close, Laughlin, after struggling to quiet the jovial crowd, showed the video and then explained the scholarship. Those present were awestruck. Eric Clark, the president of Loyola Academy, was at the event through the invite of a friend. Like Sheridan, he was unaware of the scholarship. “I thought it was an awesome opportunity for our alums that might attend St.
Louis University High school, to not have to worry about any financial situations that might hinder them,” said Clark. “I was thrilled to death about our alums future alumni as well.” The intent of the administration is to have the scholarship take effect this coming fall for the 2018-2019 school year, when one Loyola Academy student will be selected to receive it. Within four years, there will be four Sheridan Scholars at SLUH and as each one graduates, a new scholar will take his place. “That’s how you change the world, one student at a time,” Laughlin said. Because the scholarship is in an endowment fund, the interest generated off of the $1.2 million will meet the needs of four years worth of tuition at SLUH every year. “One of the great things about this gift is that many years from now, the Sheridan Scholars will still be known, the legacy of Fr. Paul will be known, the work of the Jesuits and starting that nativity school (Loyola Academy) will be known, and it’s all thanks to (Mr. Stokes’s) vision and generosity to establish this and the support of those three other couples to make it a reality,” said Laughlin. “St. Louis U. High has had this really historic commitment to making sure they meet needs. And getting a gift of this nature allows the school to do that all the much more.”
Good day will show students examples of what their future could look like, and how a student could make a change in the world some day. “I would hope whatever students figure out of their life—and I am not saying that they should have this figured
Michael Scheer Francis Shen John Shen John Stephens Matt Stewart, S.J. Eugene Sullivan Tom Voss Brian Wamhoff John Wunderlich
wards the common good.” “I am hoping the kids have a new perspective on the power of one, meaning the power of themselves and making change in the world,” said Hannick.
SLUH trades treasures for scholarship funds (continued from page 1)
was definitely full, but there was such a great energy that it never felt uncomfortable.” Highlight items were the goldendoodle puppies that sold for $6,000 each and the Barn Voyage good bye party for and with the Laughlins that went for $19,000. Even though some people were put on a waitlist for dinner and the live auction, SLUH offered the people an opportunity to come after dinner and still participate in the auctions and the after party. The after party was a first for Cashbah and had a lot of success. “It went very well,” said Jones of the after party. “People had a great time with additional food and a coffee bar and dancing in the theater and loge that seemed to go well. It was just a really great way to cap off a wonderful evening of support from our benefactors.” At the end of Cashbah,
President Dave Laughlin introduced the crowd to SLUH’s new president, Alan Carruthers. This was Laughlin’s last Cashbah at SLUH before leaving to go to Rockhurst High School next fall. “Cashbah is always a really unique night because all the different constituents I get to be with over the course of a year, it’s the one night of the year they come into the same room and make sure to try to take care of the place and the young men that are here to get their education,” said Laughlin. “I think that people are really really glad that Mr. Carruthers and his wife were able to be here with us because I know it was an opportunity for him to meet many people and get to know them and I know from talking to a lot of those people there are people who have reached out to be helpful in their transition, and that’s what the SLUH community does.”
Mr. Sean Powers’ painting of Backer Memorial.
photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
Despite cold weather, lacrosse heats up against St. Louis opponents BY Luke Wilmes CORE STAFF
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hile St. Louis was suffering frigid weather in late March, the lacrosse team started to catch fire, incinerating their MCC rivals and keeping their flame alive in an overtime win against Eureka. On March 23, the lax bros bussed down to Memphis, Tenn. where they beat CBC Memphis 10-9 but fell to Memphis University School 12-5. The team spent a couple hours bonding at the Memphis Pyramid eating dinner and bowling before returning to SLUH the following morning for a Palm Sunday Mass celebrated by the Rev. Ian Gibbons, S.J. Disappointed with their 3-3 record, the LaxBills were fired up to vent their anger and frustration against MCC rival Chaminade on March 28. The Jr. Bills hit the field running, accelerating to an early lead that would carry them through the entire game. The boys in blue dominated the possession game and played incredible defense, holding the Red Devils to only two goals for the first three quarters. With an 11-2 lead at the end of the third quarter, more of SLUH’s roster came off the bench and got valuable playing time against good MCC competition. The
Varsity lacrosse during pregame prayer on the SLUH football field.
Jr. Bills finished the final quarter to beat Chaminade 13-7. “A huge thing for us was our poor performance in the MCC last year,” said senior captain and attackman Pete O’Malley. “We came into that game knowing it was the start of a dominating run we needed to make against the other teams in our usual conference.” “It’s always fun to win an MCC game, especially after losing to them last year. It’s also great to get some bench players in during an MCC game because that doesn’t happen very often,” said senior captain and midfielder
Austin Hannah. “I think it was a good way to gain some confidence back after losing to MUS and then dominating a rival that beat us last year and played in the state championship.” “We performed well overall, and were even successful enough to get a good majority of our bench players into the game which is always good,” said senior captain and midfielder Will Perryman. “Our game against MUS really prepared us for the level of play we would need for our first conference win against the Red Devils.” Ecstatic with their first
photo | Mr. Neil Perryman
MCC win, the lacrosse team began preparing for its next chance for MCC success against Vianney on April 3, but their preparation was not just practice. The entire team got up the morning after their win against Chaminade to prepare with service. On that rainy Holy Thursday morning, the lax team shuffled into a new warehouse for ReStore, a branch of Habitat for Humanity that sells donated housing materials and gives the money to Habitat for Humanity. The team spent three hours hauling and measuring building equipment, and then put them together to make
Starting pitching helps baseball to victories BY Jimmy REPORTER
Stanley
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art | Ian Shocklee
slow and nothing seemed to happen for us in the first few innings, but the middle innings were key for us as we started to move runners across home with a few key hits. Obviously the game didn’t go our way in the end with a few errors, but we proved to ourselves that we can hang with anybody,” said
sophomore Austin Brush on the close game. Five days later, SLUH looked to bounce back against Ladue. Junior Cam Glynn started at pitcher for the Bills and was lights out, not earning a single run. He blew through three innings and allowed his offense to jump out to an early and commanding
4-0 lead. SLUH held it from there, only up just one run on an error. Fox came in to close the game in the sixth and did not allow a hit to the struggling Ladue offense. Meanwhile, the Jr. Bills had piled up a 7-1 lead and won the game. It was a great pitching effort throughout the
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Rugby takes second at Ruggerfest in 2016 championship rematch BY Thomas REPORTER
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he St. Louis U. High varsity baseball team took on three teams this past week, winning against Ladue and Belleville West and losing to Chaminade. Against tough division rival Chaminade, senior ace Griffin Lester took the mound and put up two scoreless frames to start off the game. In the top of the second, the Bills struck first, putting up a quick two runs to put a little pressure on the Red Devils. Chaminade struck back in the bottom of the second, tying up the game at two. SLUH didn’t put up any runs in the top of the third but Chaminade put up three later that inning, ending Lester’s outing with a total of three earned runs. The deficit did not stop SLUH, though, as they kept marching, scoring four more runs in the top of the fourth, giving them a 6-5 lead. In the bottom of the fourth, sophomore pitcher Alex Fox gave up two runs, putting Chaminade back on top 7-6, and they held it from there. “The game started off
shelves for ReStore products. “The service was definitely good for the team,” said Hannah. “It shows what we stand for as a school and a lacrosse program. It brought us all together and we had fun with it. Everyone was hanging out while we got work done and we definitely helped Habitat for Humanity.” The Jr. Bills arrived at Vianney ready to stomp the Griffins, and stomp they did. The lax team put in goal after goal and stopped Vianney’s shots over and over to win 12-4. The real icing on the cake was two near-identical goals by senior defenseman
Matt Leritz. Due to positioning and offside rules, it is typically very rare for defensemen to score in lacrosse. But when they do, it usually means that the defenseman ran down the entire field with the ball to shoot on the opposing net. Leritz did exactly that. After scooping up a ground ball or receiving a pass from a teammate, Leritz ran across the midline and towards Vianney’s net, looking to shoot. Traveling four yards with every stride, he left the Vianney midfielders in the dust and dodged multiple defenders to get into shooting position. Leritz hit top right corner for his first goal and side right with his second. “I was pumped up. Obviously it’s pretty exciting for a D-pole when they are able to score a goal, but to get two in the same game was something I never saw coming from myself. I was a little shocked when the second went in, but nonetheless, extremely happy,” said Leritz. “I think the goals may have given myself and the rest of the defense more confidence when it comes to taking shots and attempting to score. If we’re in the right place, scoring is a definite possibility for all of us.” After their back-to-back wins against Chaminade and Vianney, the Jr. Bills felt like they were finding their groove. Their game against
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he thick-thighed rugby team of St. Louis U. High tested their mettle in the 70th Annual Midwest Ruggerfest Tournament this past weekend, rolling through the first two rounds of play, but taking 2nd overall after falling in the championship game on Sunday. The first game on Saturday morning was against the Fox Valley Chiefs from Illinois. Some back and forth possessions between the Chiefs and SLUH eventually led to a try by senior backs captain Buck Chevalier to make the score 5-0. “I feel like we finally clicked offensively this weekend,” said Chevalier. “Our backline ran the ball well and got it to the outside.” Right before the second half, the Chiefs scored a try and tied it up 5-5, but SLUH took the lead back after a toilsome second half when Chevalier kicked the pill through the posts after a penalty on the Chiefs, to make the final score 8-5. “I think the boys really stepped up,” said junior DJ
Sansone. “We put in work all week and I think it really showed during the game.” The second game was against the Jays from Liberty, Mo., who is a team that the Ruggerbills have a history of playing in the State Tournament in May. Some strong offensive phases led to junior Miles Matyiko scoring a try, making the score 7-0. “We were pretty solid,” said Matyiko. “A lot of our work in the few weeks was just straight up on defense so we definitely improved.” A penalty to SLUH led to a tap and go by junior Mark Streeter to make the score 140. “I thought they were pretty good,” said senior Jake Trunko. “A little cheap on offsides and diving over rucks but they came in hard on rucks and caught us a little bit off guard but we adapted and got the dubby.” Three more tries by Chevalier and three by the Jays made the final score 35-21. The championship game was against the Little Rock Jr. Stormers from Arkansas on Sunday, in a rematch of the
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Prep News SPORTS Volume 82, Issue 25 Lacrosse wins thriller in overtime Golf faces frigid conditions in against Eureka (continued from page 6) first competitions April 13, 2018
Shawnee Mission East (SME) looked to be a good proving point of the SLUH lacrosse prowess. SLUH had beaten SME the past three years, so the Jr. Bills were looking for a relatively easy win. During the first quarter, SLUH and SME fought ferociously but only traded two goals apiece. Although losing 5-4, SME stole the Jr. Bills’ energy going into halftime with two late goals to end the half. Unfortunately for the Jr. Bills, lacrosse games have two halves and the second half was not the Jr. Bills’. SME came out of the halftime with urgent intensity, scoring six goals in the second half and holding SLUH to only one, ending the game with SME on top, 10-6. “We came out fired up, had a solid start, and thought we were going to take the game away. We even had the lead at halftime, but we thought the game was over,” said Hannah. “We stopped doing our jobs in the second half and fell behind and just couldn’t get back the momentum that we needed.” Frustrated, the LaxBills poured themselves into the two intense practices they had before facing a looming purple foe on Wednesday: Eureka. Coming to the SLUH versus Eureka battle, Eureka brought with them an impressive 10-1 record that humiliated SLUH’s record of 5-4. But that didn’t stop the Jr. Bills from bringing storm clouds to Eureka’s parade. Within the first few minutes of play, SLUH hopped on the board first with a give-andgo goal by senior midfielder Kevin Einig. Thanks to a continuous stream of goals from junior attackmen Colin Gund (1 goal) and Charlie Carse (4) and seniors Chip Holmes (1) and Einig (3), Eureka was forced to play catch-up the entire game. At the end of the first half, Eureka scored to make the score 5-4 in SLUH’s favor.
The scoreboard looked eerily familiar to the SLUH players and the aura on the field held an ominous tone. The Jr. Bills were back in their game against SME: up by one but without the momentum. The second half was a bloodbath. Both sides had frequent penalties and the Jr. Bills barely held onto their lead, either leading by one or being tied throughout most of the second half. Tied 7-7 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, SLUH committed a penalty, giving Eureka a 6-on5 advantage. The dominant SLUH defense shut down Eureka’s shooters throughout the man-down situation, but once the penalty was released and the defense shifted from a man-down zone to their default man-to-man defense, a Eureka shooter was left open with time and room. His shot zipped past junior goalie Will Webster’s feet and into SLUH’s net with 26 seconds left in the game. The Wildcats went wild while SLUH stood silenced. Losing 8-7 with 26 seconds left, the Jr. Bills felt defeated. Senior captain and midfielder Will Perryman walked out to the faceoff circle one last time against the Wildcats. The whistle blew, the clock started, and Perryman won the faceoff. With time escaping quickly, Carse caught the ball behind Eureka’s net and set himself up for what would likely be the last dodge of the game. Charging around the right pipe, Carse was pushed toward the goal by a Eureka defender. Falling into the crease, Carse whipped his stick around the Eureka goalie and scored the game-tying goal with 3.6 seconds left in the game. The LaxBills erupted. “After I saw Eureka’s goal go in on their man-up opportunity, I talked to Pete (O’Malley) and the other attackmen and we just said we had to put one in. With around 20 seconds left, there wasn’t much to think about,”
said Carse. “I was just in the moment. I got to the goal, saw an opening, and put it in.” Regulation time ended with the game tied 8-8, but the game itself was far from over. The Jr. Bills prepared for overtime and taking their best shot at getting the golden goal to end the game. Perryman took to the faceoff x again and won the ball to himself. The SLUH offense set up for a long possession and was ready to work for the ideal scoring opportunity. After moving the ball for about 30 seconds, Carse again got the ball behind Eureka’s cage. Again, Carse sprinted around the right side of the cage, getting a step on his defender. Carse, with his back to the goal, torqued his body and let his shot fly towards the goal. The goalie barely saw it pass his shoulder. The ball rippled the net and the Jr. Bills went ballistic, dogpiling on top of Carse in front of the SLUH fan section. “I knew after I scored the goal with three seconds left that it wasn’t over. When we went to OT, we just said ‘let’s put one in’ and I did,” said Carse. “It felt great to win a needed game for the team. It felt good to come out on top against a tough team like Eureka. It’s a great turning point for us in the season. No looking back now.” “Going down with 20 seconds left made a lot of guys nervous or scared, but Carse stepped up huge. I always say big time players make big time plays, and Carse did that for us last night,” said Hannah. “Will Webster made some awesome saves and Will Perryman dominated the faceoff game which helped us out a ton.” The Jr. Bills have hit their stride and are hungry for another predator to become their prey. Come watch as the Jr. Bills return to the SLUH Stadium field to humiliate Hickman at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 14.
Lester’s gem tops Belleville West (continued from page 6)
game, backed up by another good offensive game. “Cam was great,” Said sophomore catcher Tony Lindwedel. “He carved through their hitters the first couple times through the lineup, but when they started to adjust to his cutter we brought in (Alex) Fox. He shut the door on all their offense. It was a great effort on the mound throughout the entire game.” Junior Nick Lang was pumped up about the offensive effort and his pair of doubles. “It’s so much easier stepping up to the plate when you know you’re up and Cam is locked in and it kind of relieves some pressure. Our bats stayed alive throughout the whole game which helped us tack on more and more runs,” said Lang. Wednesday night, the U-High wanted to keep the ball rolling coming off a great
blowout win the night before against Ladue. They faced Belleville West with Lester on the mound once again. Belleville scored their first and only three runs right off the bat in the top of the first, with SLUH retaliating with a run of their own later that inning. But then Lester locked in and didn’t give up another run. He pitched the full seven frames and was backed up by RBI’s from four different players and a 3 for 3 day for junior Danny LaChance. This 5-3 win was a great morale booster for the team as a whole. “I did my normal routine of running, stretching, and throwing my extended long toss. I did my best to block out the loss at Chaminade and improve upon things I did poorly then. Most importantly, the guys had so much energy. They created an atmosphere that any pitcher would thrive in,” said Lester. Belleville scored their
first and only three runs right off the bat in the top of the first with SLUH retaliating with one run later that inning. Lester locked in and didn’t give up another run. He pitched the full seven frames and was backed up by RBIs from four different players and a 3 for 3 day for junior Danny LaChance. This 5-3 win was a great morale booster for the team as a whole. Head coach Steve Nicollerat said, “We continued to battle until we finally broke through with a run and kept putting the pressure on them and ultimately responded. We had three or four double plays and the defense has been picking up a bit which is nice. We pitched very well these last few days as well as swinging the bats and that combination is great to have.” The Jr. Bills travel to Kentucky for a three-game showdown this weekend.
Varsity golf with their fourth place trophy from the Laker Invitational. BY Nathan Langhauser and Ben Dattilo SPORTS EDITORS
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he golf team experienced a cold, wet, and windy first week of action, competing in two tournaments and its first regular season matchup. Usually the golfers are the tannest kids at school, but the sun never came out for their tournaments. The weather made preparation hard, but the St. Louis U. High golf team finished fourth in both tournaments. “We placed top 5 in every tournament last year and we expect to do nothing short of that again this year,” said senior Jack Wachter. “The guys who come to this program come with immense talent,” said head coach Scott Gilbert. “I’ve always told them if we can put 70’s on the board we will have a good chance of winning.” The Jr. Bills got back into
action against Ladue on April 5 in their only regular season match, defeating the Rams 233-272 (reminder: lowest score wins). Senior Jack Fitzpatrick shot a 35 to help propel SLUH to victory. In their first tournament, the Bulldog Battle on April 9, hosted by Fort Zumwalt West at Winghaven course, the Jr. Bills finished fourth out of 25 teams. De Smet beat Chaminade in a playoff for first and Timberland took third. “I think that the conditions were fine on Monday. We had a pretty still day, a little chilly, but the elements were favorable,” said Gilbert. “The big thing with tournaments early in the year is the golf courses aerate the holes, so when you putt the ball you don’t know where the ball is going.” Two days later, SLUH golf travelled to the middle of Missouri, just south of
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photo | Mr. Scott Gilbert
the Lake of the Ozarks. They competed in the Camdenton Lakes, Invitational at Old Kinderhook, placing fourth out of 27 teams. Senior Louie Perotti medaled, shooting a 77. Last year, the Jr. Bills finished fifth in the state, but returning their top three golfers, the team looks to place even higher. “I think we need to improve on playing well in the postseason. Our team, including myself 100 percent, tends to not play so well when it really matters at the end of the season,” said Wachter. “I think if the boys can really play well at the end of the season, then we have as good of chance as anyone to bring home a state title.” The Jr. Bills tee off against Vianney today right after school at Norman K. Probstein Community Golf Course in their second regular season matchup.
Rugby develops in Ruggerfest before heart of regular season begins (continued from page 6)
Ruggerfest 2016 Championship, which SLUH won. The Jr. Stormers charged the field and scored two tries to make the score 12-0. A penalty kick by Chevalier to round out the first half made the score 12-3. “In the training leading up to the tournament we wanted to try some new stuff,” said senior Sean Cailteux. “We wanted to throw the deep ball more on lineouts and try to spread the defense out more on the set pieces. This weekend was a trial for that, we wanted to try some stuff out and we had mixed success a couple times we threw the deep ball and it worked beautifully or a couple times we threw up the second jumper and we messed it up.” An 80-yard line break for a try by senior forwards captain Matthew Quinlan closed the gap to 12-10. “I was just flying,” said Quinlan. “I saw the gap and
started screaming my head off at Buck for it and sprinted through that gap and into the open field like a gazelle on the Sarangeti.” An unfortunate and questionable high tackle call on Quinlan gave him a yellow card and put him in the sin bin for seven minutes. In the time while the Jr. Bills were playing with fourteen men, the Jr. Stormers had scored 19 points to extend their lead to 31-10. “I really think that the yellow card on me was unmerited,” said Quinlan, “but we were dealt the hand we were dealt, and we just failed to roll with it.” The team was restored to full strength with about five mintues left in the game, and were ready to go and show the grit and determination that they had been working at the past few weeks. “At that point in the game we wanted to prove a point to
The rugby team praying before the Ruggerfest championship.
the other team that we fight to the end despite what the score is,” said Trunko. “I was going as hard as I could to make sure they remember our name and not brush us off as just another team.” The game started to get a little bit chippy between the two teams, as the Jr. Stormers hit some SLUH players a little late and hard, which forced the two teams to take a breather, but once the Jr. Bills refocused, they hit the defensive line, and after a couple of quick-taps off of penalties and a pick-and-jam by Matyiko, they made the final score 3117. The team showed great strides over the weekend, and look to continue growing and developing as league play begins, paving the road to the State Tournament. The Jr. Bill’s next game is against CBC this Saturday at 12:45 on the SLUH football field.
photo | Mr. Vincent Lombard
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Prep News
TOBASCO Friday, April 13
Volume 82, Issue 25
Around the Hallways AP registrations The juniors and seniors of SLUH gathered in the theatre Thursday during Activity Period to begin the process of AP exams. Students started the process by filling out their personal information. Students received their AP numbers for this year so that they can indeed take their exams. Mr. Bob O’Connell led the students through the process of filling out the beginnings of their forms.
senior prom, Senior Follies, and the senior clocktower. Details for prom were announced including the cost, location, and other details regarding the dance. STUCO President Jack McGrail announced to the class that if they raise the remaining $5,000 of the $25,000 goal, they will be allowed to dress down for the rest of the year.
Going-away party for Laughlin A small party of roughly 50 people, including donors, memSenior class meeting bers of the Board of Trustees, The seniors had their class and administrators gathered meeting on Tuesday to discuss at the Bogey country club off
of Clayton road to honor President Dave Laughlin, who will be leaving SLUH at the end of this school year to work as president of Rockhurst high school. Seniors wearing shorts On Monday afternoon Dr. Kesterson announced that seniors could wear shorts for the rest of the year. This continues a tradition of seniors being allowed to wear shorts a month before the rest of the school and the normal May 1 date for summer dress code.
Architecture club A new club has made its way into SLUH! The Architecture Club, founded by Darion (“Deez”) Mullins and Patrick Finlay, is dedicated to the observation and studying of architecture. The club plans to take trips to various locations around the St. Louis area to enjoy various monuments and buildings. The club also plans to bring in speakers who work in the architecture field.
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retreat. It had similar feels as retreats I’ve done before, but this one was special. It was way more laid back, and the leaders knew that this would be our last retreat experience, so as we wound down senior year, it was a couple days of us getting away from the regular world and us just retreating into the woods and wilderness. We just experienced it, and we had a really good time together. We reflected a lot. My favorite part, for sure, was the hikes. We saw some beautiful stuff, some beautiful caves, and some beautiful sites off of different cliffs. It was right here in Meramec State Park, as well, and it was such a beautiful site even though we were still in Missouri. Spending time walking
and talking with my friends, and spending a lot of time in silence as well made my hikes great, as well as the sites themselves. Emmanuel Parker Wilderness retreat was a really good time. It was a really good time for all of the seniors because a lot of the retreat was focused on a lot of end-of-senior-year anxieties that come with deciding colleges and senioritis and saying goodbye. So for all of us it was a really good experience to unplug for a couple of days and sort of work those things out, along with time for bonding with each other. The outdoor activities definitely helped us strengthen our relationships with each other.
Ultimate Frisbee season-opening brief
Senior Adam Hanson against Chaminade last Saturday on the SLUH football field. photo | Mrs. Kathy Chott
Grandparents Mass When? Sunday, April 15 at 9:30 Where? Si Commons Who? You and your grandparents!
Prep News
Volume 82, Issue 25 Editor in Chief Jack “Chechik!” Schweizer News Editors Jake “Sister Jean” Hennes Riley “Adam Kleffner” McEnery Features Editors Nathan “My pops” P. Wild II Sports Editors Nathan “Vince Carter” Langhauser Ben “Nate Robinson” Dattilo
Core Staff James “Jayson Tatum” Pollard Matthew “Geodude” Quinlan Steven “Brian Scalabrine” Zak Sam “Lebron John” Ortmann Luke “Matt Leritz” Wilmes Paul “Danny Devito” Gillam Justin “Karl Malone” Koesterer Handley “Nick Saban“ Hicks Liam “Lebron James” John Stephen “AJ Hardin” J. Ocampo
St. Louis U. High ultimate frisbee played Chaminade and Francis Howell Central last week with varying results. Chaminade took down SLUH last Saturday, April 7, 15-7, a tough but teaching experience in the young season. On Tuesday, April 10, the Jr. Bills defeated Francis Howell Central 13-12, and exciting game for the diverse frisbee squad. “I think we played a lot better in the game against Francis Howell, and we’re going to keep improving pretty dramatically,” said senior captain Joe Lux. “We have a solid group of returners as well as some fast-learning freshmen, so I’m excited to see where we’ll be by the end of the season.”
Correction The Prep News misstated last week the company name of Tom Schilli ‘64 in the Cashbah preview article. The company is Schilli Transportation Services Inc. based in Lafayette, Indiana.
Credits
“Who’s the best dunker?” Staff Chris “Geeyanus” Staley Ben “JAVALE McGEE” Klevorn Art Director Joe “Nathan Wild” Bytnar Staff Artists John “myself ” Burke Jackson “Lavar Ball” Ducharme Staff Photographer Louis “Mrs. Chott” Barnes
JV Water Polo De Smet Invitational V Baseball Kentucky Tournament V Volleyball Tournament @ Parkway Central AP Freshman Class Mass Snack—Bosco Stick Lunch Special—Meatball Sandwich Vegetarian—Garden Burger 3:30PM C Golf vs. Chaminade 4:00PM JV Tennis McKinley Classic V Track & Field Gary Parker Invitational
Saturday, April 14
JV Water Polo De Smet Invitational V Baseball Kentucky Tournament V Volleyball Tournament @ Parkway Central V Tennis Doubles Tournament @ Alton ACT 12:00PM JV/V Rugby vs. CBC
Sunday, April 15
9:30AM Grandparents’ Mass
Seniors attend Wilderness retreat
a standard way, but we’ve seen it happen where it is marijuana and then maybe the club drugs and cocaine. And then maybe it’s heroin. I don’t want to be a part of that cycle. We want to stop that cycle.” Although Kesterson has not decided on specific policy changes, he is adamant that the school stays on top of this health issue and continues to discuss it. “It’s about educating. I want to try to get out more in front of it. Whether it is simple things in the building like having more cameras around or closing the locker room down. Those are things that weve done to try to limit this but we know it is an issue and it is one that we are not shying away from this to make sure our guys are not getting wrapped up in this dangerous culture.”
Regular Schedule
—compiled by Steven Zak, 1:00PM Ultimate Frisbee vs. Vianney Handley Hicks, and Jack SchMonday, April 16 Regular Schedule weizer
Kesterson to stay on top of Juuling issue how important it is I think for guys to not get involved (with this) and not be doing it experimentally, socially. I am definitely leaning towards that. I think it is that serious. And because of the immediate unknowns that’s what I’ll start doing. Whatever we can do to try to deter students from doing this. I’m not saying it is ok to do this elsewhere, but we just can’t have this as a part of our school culture here on campus.” In addition to the risks it poses for students’ lungs, Kesterson fears that the vape culture at SLUH could lead students to try stronger drugs. “If guys keep going back to this, they’ll start to move on to the next high,” said Kesterson. “What’s next? Does it go to, and I’m not saying this is
April 13, 2018
Reporters Peter “Kevin Hart” Campbell Thom “Thom Molen” Molen Jimmy “Donovan Mitchell” Stanley Contributing Artists Darion “King Deezus” Mullins Moderator Mr. Steve “Flick Webb” Missey
9:00AM V Golf Webster Cup AP AP Registration—Sophomores Snack—Cinnamon Rolls Lunch Special—Country Fried Steaks Vegetarian—Grilled Cheese 3:30PM JV MCC Golf Tournament 4:30PM JV/V Tennis vs. Belleville West 7:00PM V Lacrosse vs. Seckman Tuesday, April 17 Regular Schedule AP Snack—Pizza Stick Lunch Special—Taco Bar Vegetarian—Olive Oil Pasta 3:30PM C/JV/V Golf vs. CBC 4:00PM JV/V Tennis vs. De Smet C Track & Field @ Kirkwood JV Track & Field @ Webster C Volleyball @ Trinity Catholic 4:30PM JV/V Water Polo @ Ladue V Baseball @ Vianney C Baseball vs. Lindbergh B Baseball vs. Vianney
Wednesday, April 18
Regular Schedule AP Mass of P&G Liturgical Choir Rehearsal Rising junior class election Snack—Turnovers Lunch Special—Chicken Tenders Vegetarian—Black Bean Burgers 3:30PM JV/V Golf vs. De Smet 4:30PM JV/V Volleyball vs. O’Fallon 7:00PM JV Lacrosse vs. Seckman
Thursday, April 19
Regular Schedule AP AP English Boot Camp Snack—Cheese Sticks Lunch Special—Papa John’s Pizza Vegetarian—Sweet Potatoes 4:15PM C Baseball @ Westminster Christian JV Tennis vs. MICDS 4:30PM JV/V Water Polo @ Marquette C/JV/V Volleyball vs. Vianney B Baseball @ Chaminade 6:30PM Presidents Reception 7:00PM V Baseball vs. Chaminade
Friday, April 20
Special—Common Good 9:00AM V Tennis @ MICDS V Kansas Track & Field Relays Lunch Special—Chicken Nuggets Vegetarian—Pasta calendar | Liam John
SLUH Tweet of the Week: St. Louis U. High @sluhjrbills Thanks to Olympics broadcaster @SteveSchlanger ‘89 for talking with Braden Kramer ‘20 for a school magazine interview! #SLUH200