PN 78-2

Prep Volume 78, Issue 2

News sluh.org/prepnews

St. Louis University High School | Friday, August 30, 2013

Mixer sells out 1,300 guest tickets; nets about $17,000 for Honduras

BY Keith STAFF

Thomas

D

ancing, sweat, and loud music filled the Danis Field House as St. Louis U. High students and girls from a variety of schools packed the building for the 2013 Back-to-School Mixer last Friday.

The mixer netted approximately $17,000. Expenses were included for DJ’s, while stipends were also paid to two St. Louis City police officers and nurses.

According to Danielle Harrison, Student Council (STUCO) co-moderator, about 1800 people attended the mixer, a decline of about 150 from last year’s Backto-School mixer.

However, things went better at this mixer, especially with the absence of a fog machine, which caused mixer-goers to evacuate the Field House during last year’s

photo | Ben Banet

Back to School Mixer.

“I think as a whole I would say the mixer went pretty smoothly,” said Assistant Principal for Student Life Brock Kesterson. “Not all of them actually go as smoothly as this one did.”

“The actual mixer was great,” said STUCO Student Body President Josh Keil. “I had a lot of fun, and I think everyone had a great time.”

Another concern was the slow line speed to get into the mixer. The line frequently extended into the Danis Lobby, where the students entered.

“Although things went smoothly, I don’t think that things have ever gone perfectly. One of the things we will look into is speeding up the entry process somehow,” Kesterson said. “I don’t want to take away the breathalyzing aspect, but I understand that’s continued on page 8 SLUH students pose for the camera as they revel in Back-to-School mixer glory.

Improved collaboration, No more morning JUGS: No drug communication expected shift eliminated to arrest was fruits of iPads, Google Apps accommodate work grant made before Leo Heinz mixer other students. Math teacher Don BY STAFF

S

t. Louis U. High teachers are making adjustments to new technology this year. With the switch to Gmail and receiving iPads, many departments are thinking about how they can enhance their classes with the new tools.

The iPads were given to most teachers at the end of May during exam week. SLUH is currently leasing a total of 112 iPads at a cost of $54,000. Twelve teachers had iPads as part of an earlier exploratory stage last year. As Principal John Moran explained, the iPads were distributed in May so that teachers could get used to them on a personal level. As he sees it, teachers are just now getting to see what the educational uses of these tools could be.

Many teachers seem to agree that Google Drive, along with the switch to Gmail, has really boosted teacher to student communication. Many teachers say that it replaces Moodle as a document sharing site. Theology teacher Rob Garavaglia believes that it encourages “collaboration” between teachers, students, and

drawing | Paul Fister

Steingruby says that it has helped make his teaching duties more efficient. He noted that it used to take him over ten minutes a day to post documents to Moodle.

Now, with Google Drive, he does it in less than a minute.

Science teacher Kent Kershenski noted how well it lends itself to working on group projects and labs. Students can edit a document simultaneously and see each other’s edits.

“It makes collaboration and group projects easier. It facilitates that, which is something we need to work on here,” Kershenski said Teachers are also adjusting to the iPads. Departments are currently discussing and experimenting with where and when they can be used, inside and outside the classroom. English teacher David Callon said that he, as well as other English teachers, have been using the iPad in place of the document camera.

“I would say that it’s, right now, the main subject of conversation in the (English) office.

The weekly student newspaper of St. Louis University High School 4970 Oakland Ave. - St. Louis, MO 63110 (314) 531-0330 ext. 2241 online at sluh.org/prepnews prepnews@sluh.org ©2013 St. Louis University High School Prep News. No material may be reprinted without the permission of the editors and moderator.

continued on page 8

Rumors had spread well beyond SLUH

BY Adam Thorp and Stephen Lumetta EDITOR IN CHIEF AND NEWS EDITOR

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BY Jack Kiehl CORE STAFF

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new policy instituted this year has eliminated the option of a morning JUG, instead limiting the punishment to after school or on Saturday.

Assistant Principal for Student Life Brock Kesterson changed the JUG policy after Director of Financial Aid Craig Hannick informed him of the excess number of students doing morning work grant.

“This year, there’s eight kids regularly on crew and with the

Opinion

JUG kids added to that, it became too difficult to manage,” said Hannick.

The downsizing of morning JUGs began last year. Previously, five spots were available before school, but last year it was cut down to two. Since there were so few spots, if more students opted for morning JUGs, there wasn’t enough work to do.

Previously, the three main options upon receiving a JUG were to serve the JUG after school, continued on page 8

Sports

rincipal John Moran and administrators spent this week stamping out rumors about what did and didn’t happen before, during, and after last Friday’s back-to-school mixer.

In the wake of the mixer, a rumor emerged that a St. Louis U. High student sold a stimulant, popularly known as Molly (MDMA), to other students.

Rumors about this incident exploded around St. Louis, especially at private girls’ schools.

Moran sent emails to girls’ schools, saying that no arrests took place on Friday and no drugs were found.

The student said Assistant continued on page 7

News

Excessive Applause What does the student body’s applause indicate about SLUH students? Page 3

Summer success and sorrows Baseball, tennis, and track make playoff runs but fall short of State titles. Page 11

New source of energy at SLUH 200 solar pannels leased to SLUH, saving money and the environment. Page 7

News

News

Sports

Political Discussion Organization Senior Robert Hayes forms group to discuss wide range of political issues. Page 4

Foulds to depart SLUH after three years Foulds takes paternity leave, takes job elsewhere. Page 2

Season Kickoff The Jr. Bills look to defeat Parkway North tonight with a strong team on both sides of the ball. Page 11

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Prep News Volume 78, Issue 2

Foulds to depart after paternity leave Paul J. Fister STAFF ARTIST

Photo | Courtesy Dauphin Yearbook

A

fter two and a half years of service, technology support specialist Iain Foulds will depart St. Louis U. High on Friday, Aug. 30.

Foulds departed SLUH’s campus on Aug. 15 for paternity leave, because the next day his wife gave birth to the couple’s first child, a daughter named Abigail Eloise.

Foulds moved to St. Louis just three months before being hired at SLUH in December of 2010.

“Much of my experience of St. Louis has really been through SLUH,” Foulds explained in an email to the Prep News, too busy for an interview with the new baby to take care of. “In seemingly such a short period of time I’ve made just the most incredible friendships and met some of the most passionate and sincere people.”

Foulds was very qualified for the position, but when he was first hired, the position was intentionally broad so that Foulds could work on anything technological that needed to be done.

“When we were hiring we weren’t really sure what we were looking for,” said Director of Information Techonolgy Jonathan Dickmann. “And we got a lot more than expected. Mr. Foulds shouldered a large portion of the tech department.”

Well-versed in networking, Foulds redesigned how SLUH’s servers are structured, Dickmann explained.

Besides high-caliber SLUH tech advances like that, Foulds generally helped out where he could. Often he was the first contact in the SLUH tech department for faculty with tech problems. “(I worked on) literally everything from resetting a freshman’s password or replacing a toner cartridge in the computer lab to managing the core infrastructure that powers SLUH,” explained Foulds.

“He saved my butt several times,” added English and film teacher Mark Cummings. “I called him up when the machines weren’t working and he fixed `em.”

Foulds is pleased with and has enjoyed the many things he has been a part of at SLUH. “Building up a virtual environment from scratch and over a period of two years deploying the efficient, scalable, and redundant infrastructure that will guide SLUH forward has been one of my favorite things,” Foulds said.

“Helping drive the initial iPad

Technology Support Specialist Iain Foulds

roll-out to teachers last year and working as part of the iPad committee to see if that technology was something that may benefit the rest of the faculty was also a high point in seeing how that has then been implemented facultywide going into this school year.”

Outside of the computer labs, Foulds enjoyed leading junior White House retreats and Kairos retreats, as well as helping out with freshman service and senior service projects. The retreats were amazing experiences, Foulds explained, but his job still made it hard to get involved with the students.

“One of the benefits of working within education is being able to interact with students and see (students) mature and become adults,” he explained. “(The retreats) were incredible experiences, and humbling to be a part of at times, but the reality is that it probably 95 percent of my time was adult-facing or systems-facing.”

Foulds is moving on in the technology industry, having been offered a position as senior engineer for virtualization and storage at the St. Louis-based IT company called Datotel. Foulds looks forward to working in certain areas of IT that he is passionate about.

“One of my main passions within IT is virtualization and systems management and this is really all that I’ll be working on at Datotel,” he said.

The SLUH community is very thankful for all of Foulds’ service.

“Mr. Foulds was a great help,” said Dickmann. “It’s hard to see him go.”

Without sounding too gushy, there are just too many people to possibly name that made/make SLUH such an incredible place to be,” said Foulds, and added to the SLUH community: “Make the most of your time at SLUH, take the time to slow down and talk to those around you. Keep an open heart and open mind. Oh, and of course, so long and thanks for all the fish.”

NEWS August 30, 2013 Sustainability Committee to fuel students, Honduran fundraising

BY Noah REPORTER

F

Weber

uel for Honduras raises money for the Honduras Project, while also teaching students sustainable cooking skills.

With a focus on cooking delicious, healthy food using local ingredients, a subset of the Sustainability Committee called Honduran Fuel has begun regularly selling three items at the Honduras Table in addition to the candy bars already offered in order to raise money for the service project.

Originally the Sustainability Committee had only vague ideas of working with sustainable cooking.

“At first we knew we wanted to work with local foods,” said Anne Marie Lodholz, history teacher and member of the Committee. “We thought maybe we would buy fair trade bananas and sell them for Honduras … but as we realized that wouldn’t work, we decided to not just sell produce, but ‘value-added products’.

The idea behind value-added products is that the farmer of a crop could make that crop more marketable if he or she

does something with it to make it more convenient for the buyer—like turning blueberries into jam or pickling cucumbers for the customer.

Soon, the banana idea was abandoned and Fuel for Honduras began considering zucchini, resulting in the value-added zucchini chocolate chip bread they now sell.

Additionally, Lodholz emphasized the ingredients used in the products are all local, which cuts down on waste produced in transporting foods long distances.

“We use all local Missouri wheat, fresh Missouri zucchini, fresh farm eggs—so it tastes really great, and also happens to be nutritionally and environmentally very good,” said Lodholz.

To ensure the best quality of the food served, the Sustainability Committee teamed up with a nutrition professor at Saint Louis University, Steve Jenkins, who helps run a café on SLU’s campus called “Fresh Gatherings,” which similarly focuses on the sustainability and nutrition of the food it offers to the students. Jenkins,

along with his student Claire Conroy, came to Saint Louis U. High during the summer to give SLUH students a crash course in cooking the three foods for Fuel-for-Honduras.

“I never had cooking experience before, so the class really helped me with my baking skills. I had always found cooking fun, but we spent a whole week learning the recipes really well, which will help me even outside of the project,” said junior Andrew Harper.

Currently, Fuel for Honduras will be selling granola bars for $1, zucchini chocolate-chip bread for $1.25, and vanilla yogurt with strawberries for $1.50. As the vegetable seasons change, the team hopes to adapt their offerings accordingly.

“Right now zucchini is in season,” said senior Michael Daugherty, “but in the future we’re hoping to switch out the main ingredient in the bread after the summer. We may make pumpkin bread this fall.”

Photo | Leo Heinz

Photo | Leo Heinz

Top Left: Junior Connor Brown carries a tray of freshly baked granola.

Top right: Sophomore Michael Hayes assists.

Bottom: From left to right, Garrett Fox, Michael Daughtery, Michael Hayes and Andrew Harper Photo | Leo Heinz

Prep News

August 30, 2013

Prolonged applause is a little thing that matters

BY Adam Thorp EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

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his is a little thing.

Really, it is. Before you read this, flip through the paper.

Read about birthdays, about Scotland, about iPads and Gmail.

Then come back to this because, really, it’s not a big deal.

I’m writing about this little thing because, sometimes, little things tell us about big things. St. Louis U. High tells people about itself in big and little ways, and we need to watch both.

After Mass Wednesday, we, SLUH, began clapping and we, SLUH, wouldn’t stop. We can give whatever explanation we want—a day off school is something to celebrate—but everybody under those huge domes knew what was going on very quickly. In a pathetic stall for time, so that we might be sent out to the bus a whole minute later, we extended the applause beyond plausibility.

A little trick, a little time—I have no problem with that. My stomach turned as I realized what was happening because of what that little thing tells the world about a big thing, about SLUH. I like SLUH when we’re

selfless, when we’re doing service or helping someone out. But we’re not always selfless. When we shave seconds off of a school day while wasting other people’s time, we communicate a stultifying sense of entitlement.

I like SLUH when we’re sincere, when we argue passionately or pray devoutly. But we’re not always sincere. When we parody approval, sniggering silently, “This is how we’d act if we gave a damn,” we communicate a deadening sense of irony.

I like SLUH when we’re kind.

But we’re not always kind.

Last year Ralph Houlihan, S.J., was honored after the Mass of the Holy Spirit. It was a different church with different hymns but the same torturous minutes of applause. For his years of work for the school, Houlihan deserved recognition. But when we, the students of SLUH, drew it out into minutes and minutes of smirking self-congratulation, we turned the attention back to us. We were so clever, so quick, beating the system.

Still, a little thing. A little thing I know—we know— shouldn’t happen again.

Volume 78, Issue 2

Somethin’ else : turning 18

BY Noah REPORTER

Weber

W

hile driving home last Friday night at 11:45 PM, I invited Michael Sit to my eighteenth birthday party. He asked when and I said “in fifteen minutes.”

He cordially accepted the invitation to sit in my car as the clock struck midnight and all of the atoms in my body shifted from a boy’s to those of an 18-year-old man. But just like any other party, I had to prepare.

So I asked Michael if I could do something I’d never done.

I turned off the Lou Reed and rolled down the windows and asked Michael if I could drive the rest of the way home in silence, living out my last moments of childhood in contemplation.

Now it’s jazz, and overpowering winds are the guy in the band that blares his horn over everyone else. But then you listen a little more and you start hearing low trombone nuances

of Doppler Doppler Doppler. The dark outside shifts somehow from a world of the visible to a world of the audible, the tactile. I hear the road in front of me and feel the road beside me and hear the rattle of the rolling-tire-cricket rhythm section. One, trip-a-let, two, tripa-let. The indestructible solidarity of the invisible waxes harmonical with all that is seen and unseen.

And Mexico Road & His Orchestra takes it way down low as I turn into Michael’s neighborhood.

The part before the shout chorus and the blasting trumpets and the piano going all ticka-ta-ticka-ta sixteenthnotecrazy on the root note octave way up high.

But no shout chorus. As I turn into the neighborhood, the music fades away with my speed’s decline.

Now it’s nothing. It’s 11:55.

We wait.

I think I say something tongue in cheek to Michael about

3

coming to my birthday party, and I think he chuckles and says, “of course,” and, “happy birthday,” but I don’t really know 11:56 and his mom comes out in pajamas and asks what we’re doing and I explain, and in doing so it seems 11:57 a little less cool than it had before but she goes back in and we sit and look out at the stretch of road that begins and ends all of my days and 11:58 I feel like I should either be feeling some grand transformation or the clichéd anticlimax of nothingness, but somehow I feel neither; I feel both excited and normal 11:59 I follow my watch hand all the way around the clock face one time.

Michael gets out of the car and I turn on Cannonball Adderley and the chart was “Somethin’ Else” and it was.

Real manhood: give away your life

BY WISDOM AKPAN REPORTER

“

Y

ou’re turning 17? Wow! Only a year until you become a man!” said my dad’s friend. If only it was that easy. Nobody who’s really thinking about it actually believes you can call yourself a mature adult just by surviving on earth for a certain amount of time. From a biological standpoint, you could attribute how mature you are to whether or not you can reproduce. And in truth that works fine when we’re talking about other species, but when assessing the maturity of fellow humans, we expect a little more than having baby-making capabilities. The question then becomes, what does it mean to be a man?

Since the dawn of man, we’ve been barraged with the concept of the macho alpha male. Although the exact characteristics of the alpha male change from culture to culture and evolve with time, the consensus is that the modern alpha male is a machine gun toting stud with six pack abs and gorilla-like chest. He never cries, never feels pain, and always has a babe by his side. He never needs help and takes nothing from no one.

On an intellectual level, most of us are aware that none of these things are qualifiers to be called a man; the only reason we still act on these superficial values is because they’re so deeply ingrained in us. But if being macho isn’t what makes us mature, then what does?

This is where it gets interesting.

All SLUH students have heard the commission to be men for others, and at first it just sounds like another idealistic derivative of the golden rule. But over time, I’ve come to realize that there’s more to it. Whether or not the Jesuits realized it they were also commissioning us to grow up. Manhood and service, there is no separation between the two. You can’t truly be a man without being a man for others.

The reason being true maturity is living a life where you aren’t the most important thing in it.

It’s that point where your focus is turned outward towards the needs of others rather than the desires of yourself.

This reality has been demonstrated throughout history.

The people we revere most are guys like Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus because their acts seem so transcendent.

Their ability to unselfishly lay down their lives for a greater, just cause is one that we all deep down wish we had. And the reason we naturally yearn for such strength is because it is the apex of adulthood whether or not we realize it. When you stop thinking only of yourself and start treating everyone like they matter, life takes on a fuller and more complete shape.

Human psychology also seems to support this. When you’re first born, you can’t even comprehend anything outside of yourself. All you can do is cry for

your needs to be addressed. Later on, you learn that there are other people in the world, namely your family. Initially, they only exist to take care of you, but slowly you realize they have their own interests and needs. This process repeats itself with everyone you get close to until, hopefully, you realize that every human being has or will have hopes, dreams, and a desire to be loved, and, you decide to treat them accordingly.

Making the switch from “all about me” to “all about you” can happen at any point in life, but often it takes having children to hit the point home.

I know what you’re thinking: this doesn’t make sense because most people don’t act like this.

If I start acting this way, I’d be a doormat or something. I’d argue that there are plenty of people who never really grow up, so the reality is if you start trying to show true maturity you’ll have plenty of babies in adult bodies to deal with. But you have to remember that it’s not only about making others’ lives better, it’s about finding fulfillment through service. And having an attitude like that not only makes your life better but also reminds people around you of their capacity to grow. Imagine what our school would be like if we all actually were men for others instead of shaking our heads mindlessly when some authority figure tells you to be one. In the end that old Jesuit adage seems to have been right: “The only way to gain your life is to give it away.”

Policy on letters to the editor The Prep News is a forum for discussing issues pertinent to St. Louis U. High and its students. The Prep News offers a unique and public medium through which people can share their experiences or voice their opinions. We invite all of our readers to submit their thoughts in a letter to the editors of the Prep News.

See the Prep News Editorial Policy for more information

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NEWS

Prep News Volume 78, Issue 2

August 30, 2013

Chura and eager students plant seeds for video-journalism club graphic | courtesy of Robert Chura

The logo for SLUHTube recreates the logo of video-sharing site YouTube.

BY Sam Fentress CORE STAFF

W

hen the Activities Fair comes and with it a host of new club opportunities at St. Louis U. High, one fresh group will already be in the “Likely to Succeed” category: SLUHTube, a video journalism club that plans to put out informational segments throughout the year featuring SLUH’s current events, history,

and people.

“As an alumnus of two different universities, I get regular emails and electronic media to update me with things that are going on,” said Russian teacher Robert Chura, who moderates the club and says a main purpose is to keep alumni in the know about SLUH events and people, among other ambitions. “I thought this might be an opportunity for kids to do a club activity where there’s

a real agenda and a lot of opportunities to use their skills.”

Chura, who planted the seed for SLUHTube, said he plans for most of the club’s output to be edited and filmed by students.

“When I saw some of these video-journalism type pieces, I thought that might be somewhere where we could help out,” said Chura. “This is going to be an opportunity to cover some of the events around SLUH in a little more thorough manner, to document it with video and then give kids an opportunity to put together their own presentation.”

One sizeable concern voiced by students is the boundary between SLUHTube and Gadfly TV, which attracts a similar core group of film-oriented students.

Chura said he has talked with Gadfly moderator David Callon, and they agreed there wouldn’t be any significant conflict or overlapping with student help or visual content.

“Gadfly is mostly scripted and everything is made up; this

is actual live events and we’re just capturing it,” said sophomore club member Tom Hillmeyer. “(SLUHTube) is going to fill a gap we’ve had with all the different video programs,” said senior Nick Boyd. “Gadfly provides a nice comedy, but this is taking more of a documentary approach to fill people in that maybe don’t know about all the different things that go on here.”

The group plans to cover its first event on the Friday after next at SLUH’s Freshman Fun Day and then the Running of the Bills.

“We’re looking at things that make SLUH unique: some of the traditions and the people and the activities that happen around here that alumni would like to see and get a little update on,” said Chura, also mentioning that prospective students could also benefit from SLUHTube.

As the group is still in its infancy, Chura said that the group could be producing any number of videos per quarter will depend on student initiative. The club’s

first meeting last Friday garnered about 10 or 15 interested students.

Hillmeyer and Boyd, among others, have shown leadership potential in different areas of the club.

“I’ve been looking for a way to create videos for SLUH, and this is the perfect opportunity,” said Hillmeyer, who plans to bring in his own equipment and software to the group to film and edit the segments. Hillmeyer has his own YouTube channel and website for which he periodically makes videos covering a range of topics.

“We’re still figuring stuff out, but I’m going to be working primarily as the creative director for SLUHTube,” said Boyd. “I’m really excited to be working to produce this good work which then we can show to people and hopefully create more of an attraction to our school, for prospective students and even students in other schools who may have a misperception of us.”

Film Club, ACES partner to New politics club “SLUHPAC” informs students about current issues watch Fruitvale Station Thomas Williams and Kevin Thomas BY

REPORTERS

O

n Sunday, Aug. 25, the St. Louis U. High Film Club and ACES (Association for Cultural Enrichment at SLUH) teamed up—much like Batman and Robin—to see Fruitvale Station at the Tivoli Theatre.

Fruitvale Station is a biographical drama motion picture about the last day in the life of Oscar Grant III, who was shot in the back by a police officer at a subway station on New Year’s Day, 2009 in Oakland, California.

“It was a very moving picture,” said senior Justin Dussold, who is the current student leader of the Film Club.

“One of the things I thought was great about the movie was that it doesn’t turn him into a saint, it shows him as a flawed but

in some ways admirable human being who is struggling to put his life together and be what he needs to be to his family,” said Kovarik.

ACES, which, according to Kovarik, is “devoted to promoting discussion and awareness of diversity issues and to making all students feel welcome at SLUH and bridging students together, teamed up with the film club.

“After the film, Kovarik said, “I had been interested in seeing the movie and I had thought that it would be a good one for ACES to go view. I think that one of the ways that ACES can help to connect students (is) by partnering with other student groups.”

“It was a culturally significant movie,” said Dussold. “Film Club and ACES jumped at that.”

photo| courtesy of Frank Kovarik

From left to right: Spencer Jones, Sam Heagney, Frank Kovarik, Justin Dussold, Trent Gibbons, and Ryan Hopkins. As members of ACES and film club, they attended a screening of the movie Fruitvale Station at the Tivoli movie theater.

photo| Leo Heinz

BY Charlie Mueth and Nick Gillan REPORTERS

F

ounded by senior Rob Hayes, the St. Louis U. High Political Action Committee (SLUHPAC) is a political discussion club which is open to members of all political affiliations and beliefs.

The idea originated when Hayes suggested it to math teacher Frank Corley. Hayes was looking to start either a Democratic Club or a merger between all political clubs.

Last year, there was a Young Republicans Club and a Libertarian club, but not a Democratic Club. Corley was not interested, however, in moderating a singleparty club, but was open to leading a weekly discussion between both sides of the political spectrum. The meetings focus on a single topic every week chosen by the members of the club, in addition to current political events.

“A joined club gives you a look at both sides of the issue, it really opens up debates, and you get perspectives that sometimes you might not have thought of,” Hayes said.

“What we want is not just a place for people to get together and have other people agree with them, but really a place where we can respectfully disagree and have a dialogue with both sides,” Corley said.

“The purpose is to inform people about some issues that they might not even have ever heard of, and to give people different perspectives on an issue they think they might know. I think there is a lot out there that we think we know, but that there

Junior Nick Perryman listens intently at SLUHPAC’s meeting on Tuesday.

is so much under the surface that we have never discovered,” Hayes said.

Corley plans to hold a public debate about once every quarter where the whole student body is invited to listen. He also plans to have a speaker who works in politics and government visit SLUH once a semester.

This past Tuesday, SLUHPAC discussed U.S.-Russian Relations.

Next Tuesday, the club plans to discuss the actions that should be taken by the United States in Syria.

SLUHPAC plans to meet every Tuesday in Room M215 during activity period. The club currently has around 20 members, and anybody is welcome to take part in the weekly discussion.

NEWS Lowry joins counseling department as assistant after 11 years at Chaminade

Prep News

August 30, 2013

photo | Leo Heinz

Lowry works at her desk as the new counseling assistant.

Patrick Schuler, Matt Godar BY

REPORTERS

R

enai Lowry is the new administrative assistant in the counseling office.

Lowry comes to St. Louis U. High having worked in counseling for many years, including two years as the regional admissions representative for the University of Dayton and 11 years at Chami-

nade.

Lowry commented that the transition into the SLUH community has been relatively smooth, saying that she had “not lost touch with SLUH since my son graduated,” and that she is very comfortable with this kind of work.

Having some familiarity with the counselors before coming to work here gave Lowry a great level of confidence in accepting the

position.

According to Lowry, SLUH’s counseling office is much busier compared to others, and that everyone is very engaged and interested but “the structure of the office with counselors assigned to the same students for all four years of high school (is) the biggest difference.”

Lowry is very enthusiastic about being able to be at SLUH. When asked what her favorite part of the job was, she said it was “helping kids make decisions about the next steps in their lives and watching how they come to that decision.”

When asked what she is most excited about working at SLUH, she said “applying technology to the office and college processes.”

Lowry said that she thinks SLUH is combining the best parts of both technology and traditional methods of teaching and learning both in and outside the classroom.

On the flip side, she thinks that starting her new job is somewhat daunting.

“Change makes everyone nervous,” said Lowry. “It takes you out of your safe routine.”

By way of Germany, Ehret joins history photo| Leo Heinz

New history hire Ehret explains an essay at her desk.

Sidarth Iyer REPORTER

L

indsey Ehret is the latest addition to the St. Louis U. High Social Studies department, taking on classes of Global I and Global II. But Ehret is no rookie when it comes to teaching. She started out as a student-teacher in Germany, teaching the children of service members at a military base. After that, she moved back stateside to work at Fort Zumwalt

West, where she taught world history, U.S. history, and coached boys swimming. Most recently before landing her job at SLUH, she taught university level English at Nanjing University in China.

“She’s a real world traveler, and I think her understanding and connection to different world cultures really is visible in the classroom”, sophomore Patrick Flood said, who is in one of Ehret’s Global II classes.

Social studies teacher Tim

O’Neil is helping Ehret adjust to life at SLUH. O’Neil and Ehret form one of SLUH’s many teacher-peer review partnerships, with O’Neil playing the mentor role.

“He’ll come into my class and observe me and give me feedback, and I’ll go in his classroom and give him feedback,” Ehret said.

“She’s fit very well in our department and I can already tell from the work she’s done around here that she wants to bring a lot of energy and enthusiasm into the classroom to make history an interesting subject for her students”, O’Neil said of Ehret.

On top of her teaching responsibilities, Ehret hopes to get involved in some of the various clubs and activities available at the U. High. She is particularly interested in participating in the community service program and possibly helping out with the swimming program, where she will be able to draw from her previous coaching experience and her collegiate swimming career at Truman State University.

Ehret also would like to help Chinese teacher Ching-ling Tai with the Chinese exchange program, especially since Ehret taught in Nanjing, the city where the Chinese exchange students come from.

“I’m really excited to be here.

It seems like a great learning and teaching environment,” said Ehret.

In fact, it might not be just good luck and prospects that brought Ehret to SLUH, but divine intervention.

“I’ve got Patrick Flood, and in another class I have Michael Rains, and Dominic Rainwater, so if I can get all the water in one class, it would be destiny”, said Ehret.

Volume 78, Issue 2

5

After year as substitute, Alvarado joins full-time as Spanish teacher

photo | Leo Heinz

Alvarado uses her iPad at her new seat in the Foreign Language department.

BY Jack Perryman, Dominick Gherardini REPORTERS

F

reshman and Sophomore Spanish teacher Magdalena Alvarado is beginning her first year full-time at St. Louis U. High.

Alvarado, who majored in Spanish and History at the University of Paris, was the substitute for Kate Toussaint during her maternity leave last winter. She said that her time as a sub for Toussaint helped her learn the routines of the school as well as meet some of the students that she has now.

“I’m enjoying my classes very much. I love interacting with students and watching them become more and more fluent in Spanish,” Alvarado said.

“She cares about her students. She plays games with us to help us establish the basics, which is really nice,” said sophomore John Benben.

“She does very well with keeping students engaged,” Soph-

omore Isaac Smith said. “She definitely knows Spanish very well.”

Alvarado has a long history as a teacher. She has taught at Chaminade, Villa Duchesne, Washington University and Greenwich Academy in Connecticut. Spanish is her native language, since she was born in Madrid and lived in Puerto Rico as a child.

“I’m honored to be a part of SLUH and, in particular, of its language department. Ms. Aliste and her crew are a wonderful group of people,” said Alvarado.

Alvarado is already involved in SLUH social life. She helps moderate the Knitting Club with Carl Heumann, S.J., and she recently joined the Sustainability Committee and hopes to work on community service with Community Service Program, especially with gardening.

As ASC teacher, Hessel looks for harmony between English and theology

BY Michael REPORTER

T

Smith

hough Scott Hessel is a DeSmet alumnus, he is excited to be working at SLUH. Hessel is an Alum Service Corps (ASC) teacher, and is teaching two classes of sophomore English.

Hessel says the students in his class are very intelligent, which makes his job very easy.

“They are great students. Any time I ask a question I always get hands raised. They participate very well,” said Hessel.

After graduating from DeSmet, Hessel studied at SLU, where he double-majored in theology and English. He is very happy to be teaching English, but one day he hopes to combine theology and English into one subject.

“I would’ve loved teaching either English or theology,” said Hessel. “What I hope to do is merge the two. There’s a lot of interaction between English and theology because they both deal with the human condition: what it is to be human. Literature is all about going into different areas of human experience and trying to get a better grasp on what it is

to be human. Theology is about what it is to be human and how do I relate this with God. I try to bring a spiritual element to literature the best I can.”

Hessel has some prior experience. He taught PSR at St. Monica while a student at SLU and taught a grammar course for incoming freshman this summer.

After being influenced by the ASC teachers he knew as a student at DeSmet, Hessel knew he wanted to be an ASC volunteer.

The idea of living in community also appealed to him.

English teacher Rich Moran is Hessel’s faculty mentor, and will be guiding him this year.

Hessel said that this year is going to be a year of discernment for him. He plans to decide if teaching is right for him and if he is right for teaching. The only way he can do that is by being in front of a classroom and deciding firsthand.

“Being able to have that opportunity to do work with such gifted young people and to try to help them out any way I can has been a cool thing,” said Hessel.

6 Feature

Prep News

Volume 78, Issue 2

FEATURE

August 30, 2013

Mainframes, mullets, and floppy discs: From typewriters to terminals photo | Prep News 1985

BY Jacob Hilmes FEATURES EDITOR

B

efore we were twirling Google Drive on our iPadded fingertips, before a warm glow of monitors lit up library faces, students hammered away on mechanical monsters, clacking keys and ringing reams of paper. The transition from these alien devices, typewriters, to the towering mainframes of terminal computers was a pivotal time in SLUH history, a period of heavy monitors, mullets, and floppy discs.

Computer science teacher Steve Nicollerat first joined SLUH in 1979 looking for work as a history teacher, but was appointed to teach a class in typewriting.

“The kids would first come in, and we’d have to teach them home row. From home row, we’d have to teach them mental imagery, so they could make all of their reaches and always come back to home row,” said Nicollerat. “So it’s a lot like the keyboarding class today, but the whole class was based on that skill set.”

Class exercises focused on typing drills, followed by timed writings. Students would often cover up their keyboards with covers or stips of looseleaf, typing by memory for exercises and quizzes. Topics covered in class included dealing with short-term difficulties such as errors or mistypes, while also leading to longterm success when typing.

Each class filled about 45 minutes of class time rather than the six or seven that is spent today on typing programs. Although many SLUH students weren’t seeking secretaryship, they were taught how to correctly format letters and reports.

“It was about this time, in ’79, the culture around us, the world around us was changing,” said Nicollerat. “The price of the substance that made main storage was coming down. They were just about to go through a big breakthrough where average people could buy home computers. So here we are typing on typewriters, and it just seemed to me that it was time.”

Nicollerat realized that SLUH’s curriculum would suffer if students were not offered the new technology emerging at this time. Although SLUH included a three-week section of computer studies in geometry classes, introducing students to personal computers would be a significant shift for curriculum technology.

Typewriters were adapting as well, featuring such improvements as erasable ink and electric typewriters. Tests and quizzes were either typed out or made by hand, and many tasks that seem trivial now were much different.

“Even the copying machines back then were different. We had a Spirit Master copier with a drum that spun around, and we’d pour this toxic fluid in it that was really smelly. We’d seal it, and it would come out moist. A lot of the students, as soon as they’d get that paper for the quiz or test, they’d smell it,” said Dan See. “It was like smelling gasoline.”

Then junior Paul Rhodes reviews Sisyphus submissions on computers.

As Nicollerat began to seek methods to match rapid technological advances, he turned to SLUH’s Educational Committee.

“Each course had to be sold in front of the instructional council, literally filling one course at a time. So each time I’d have to go in there, and I’d have to talk to the instructional council before I was on it and talk about giving kids the opportunity to be exposed to different kinds of computer curriculum. The people here have been really good, really supportive, but each class had to go through the proper channels,” said Nicollerat.

Nicollerat recalls that more experienced, veteran members of the committee seemed to see merit in the proposal. He also met privately with Joe Schulte, who agreed wholeheartedly with the idea, as well as Bob Overkamp.

SLUH’s first computer labs were located in the current second floor science offices. At the time, computers were extremely basic. Each Mac computer was internally slow, with small hard drives and RAM, and would not handle graphic-intensive applications. Most setups included scattered terminals connected to a large mainframe, and any interactions between the user and the computer were done using command lines.

“For a long time, I had one on my desk with the little screen that was like six by six, like a little box. It did some basic processing, but it was a dark screen with a little flashing cursor, white text.

Pictures, video, sound, there was none of that stuff,” said See, who

photo | Prep News 1985

Loyal Prep News typists churn out articles as then moderator Jim Raterman oversees.

started at SLUH in 1987 to teach Algebra and Geometry. See would later be involved in early computer programming classes.

See recalls that computers to him “were interesting, but not terribly useful.” Early computers were primarily used for storage.

People could store information on computers, as well as 8-inch storage squares known as floppy discs.

The transition from typewriters to personal computers did not come without its fair share of difficulties, for both students and teachers.

“I was teaching word processing, and I made the mistake that a lot of teachers made. I

used to teach word processing like it was typewriting: spacing twice after each sentence, using the tab key, hitting the return lever between parts of a letter. And none of those things are true; the computer is not a typewriter,” said Nicollerat.

Nicollerat found a way to correct this mistake in the form of a computer-related book, Robin William’s The Mac is Not a Typewriter. Not only did the book help Nicollerat update his classes, but it also aided him in future programming endeavors.

As computers were updated, so was computer curriculum.

Nicollerat, with the help of Bob Overkamp, soon obtained a Mas-

ter’s degree in computer education at Fontbonne University.

“The class constantly evolved, and it was evolving to meet the time. The kids in 1990 were different from kids in 1980,” said Nicollerat. “Computers were different, and the course sort of evolved as time went on. The first big breakthrough was in ’96, ’97 when they said yes to teaching after school programming classes.”

Since then, with the introduction of the Internet and advances in software, SLUH has accumulated a total of ten computer programming classes and is currently the only high school to be granted 1818 credit for computer science. photo | Prep News Volume 49

NEWS

August 30, 2013

Prep News Volume 78, Issue 2

SLUH going green: Solar panels to reduce footprint, save money

BY Ben Banet STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

W

hile many students are complaining about the late August heat wave, there’s 200 new members of the SLUH community who are loving it. These new members might not be the most talkative, but they are hard at work from sunrise to sunset.

And no, they are not the freshman class of 2017. They’re the 200 new solar panels installed on the roof of the Joseph Schulte Theater and Si Commons.

Director of Facilities Joe Rankin was instrumental in getting the panels installed and said, “The idea has been kicked around for over two years… I have personally been researching and getting information for solar 23 months prior to installation.”

After interviewing several different solar companies, Rankin had an idea of what solar companies would be best for SLUH. Rankin said, “I was then able to bring the idea to our facilities board for their questions regarding the project and then later on to our legal consultants to ensure that SLUH had the right contract approach to a very long term solar commitment, one that would last for 25-40 years.”

To install the panels, SLUH contracted with Microgrid Solar, a St. Louis-based company. SLUH grads Patrick Kemp, ’07, and Michael Seger, ’02, both work for Microgrid on the operations and engineering side of the company.

Kemp describes Microgrid as a “solar integrator” whose core business is “solar electric systems”.

Microgrid works on design integration and project management.

In addition, they conduct energy audits, are energy managers for the St. Louis Cardinals and other businesses, and install electric vehicle charging stations.

As a solar integrator, Kemp said, “We don’t actually do the installations. We subcontract that out to electricians experienced in the industry.”

Rankin said, “the installation went very smooth. Patrick Kemp and his Microgrid Solar team communicated with SLUH’s Facilities group during the entire project. Safety was a number one priority. They delivered a great product– on time and as budgeted.”

One of the reasons for not getting solar panels was the large upfront cost. Federal tax cred-

7 photo | Ben Banet

its and utility company rebates brought the price down some, but paying the large, out of pocket sum has been prohibitive to many schools and nonprofits. However, Kemp explained the new industry trend of leasing that SLUH was able to take advantage of.

Kemp said, “In leasing, you don’t have to pay anything up front. Microgrid or a third party installs and manages the installation.”

Microgrid receives all federal grant, solar renewable energy credits, and the Ameren UE rebate. Meanwhile, SLUH makes lease payments and saves on its electric bill. The design of the system is that SLUH’s lease payments are less than the money saved by the electricity produced by the solar panels each month.

After five years, lease payments will end and the ownership and maintenance responsibilities of the panels transfers to SLUH. Kemp said, “(Leasing is) a trending industry and when more and more non-profits find out about it, it’s a no brainer. They benefit from tremendous savings.”

SLUH has two 25 kilowatt (kW) installations. Kemp says that is “the most common size in Ameren territory (and) it has to do with the rebate structure.”

Ameren reimburses customers up to $2 a watt so one 25 kW system would earn a $50,000 rebate.

Kemp explained, “Size comes down to financial return for customer and 25 kW is in the sweet spot for financial return… in Ameren territory.”

While Rankin declined to give the costs of the solar panels, Rankin said, “The two solar arrays are projected to pay for itself well before we reach year three in our five year lease.”

One is on the roof of the Si Commons and the other is located over the Joseph Schulte Theater. Rankin explained those roofs were chosen because of their open, level nature that allowed solar panels to face south. The Danis Field House roof was considered, but would’ve been much more difficult with its east-west angle and require a more expensive engineering solution to obtain the optimal south facing slope for the panels.

Each 25 kW array of panels is arranged in five rows of 20 panels. Each of the panels has a 10

Rows of solar panels bask in the sun’s energy goodness atop SLUH.

degree, south-facing slope. That is designed to allow the panels to be as maintenance-free as possible.

Kemp said the slope, “allows a lot of grime, pollen, and residue to get washed off whenever it rains.”

Beyond that, Microgrid recommends an hour long cleaning session or two each year, usually after the spring and fall pollen seasons.

The solar panels are part of a grid interactive system. That means that the solar panels are connected to a panel and meter connected to the grid. Energy produced by the solar panels will be used at SLUH. When the solar panels are really producing, the meter will draw less from the Ameren grid. As they produce less on cloudy days or in the winter, the meter will draw more from the grid.

The idea is that if SLUH is not using much energy, the solar panels could power the school and excess energy would be fed back into the grid. Ameren would

credit SLUH for the electricity at the same rate it pays to draw from the grid. However, Kemp said, “knowing what the electrical loads are at SLUH, that’s just not going to happen.”

The solar panels will produce energy all year round, but they do have seasonal highs and lows.

July is the most productive month of the year with 6,747 kWh produced. December is the least with 3,212.5 kWh produced.

One of the benefits of solar power is that it produces the most power at the time of the day when demand is highest. That will reduce demand charges on SLUH’s electric bill.

The solar modules have a 25year warranty. Some of the hardware such as mounting brackets and inverters have shorter warranties, but the actual panels are set to last 25 years. However, most panels go well beyond their warrantied life producing power for 35-40 years.

While they produce electricity in a sustainable way for less than traditional fossil fuels, Kemp said, “The educational component is really the most exciting part….

There’s so many opportunities to learn about electricity, sunlight, seasonal highs and lows, and new technological advances in the energy sector.”

Once the panels are completely up and running, teachers and administrators will have access to a website to see real-time production of the solar panels.

Kemp said, “I’ve worked on a lot of projects in a number of different places in St. Louis area and can honestly say this one of the most exciting projects I’ve been a part of…. I’m really lucky to be a part of it. I get to give back to SLUH in some way because SLUH has been such an important part of my life.”

No drug arrest before mixer; rumors spread far beyond SLUH (continued from page 1) Principal for Student Life Brock Kesterson had spoken to him on Friday before the mixer, but was not arrested and, as far as he knew, his locker was not searched.

The administration has confirmed that nobody had been arrested.

Several students said Kesterson spoke to them and referenced a list of people suspected of being associated with the drug.

A student who said Kesterson had told him that he was on the list said that he was not involved and that the list contained “lots

of people you wouldn’t expect to be doing anything.” Kesterson approached the student before the mixer.

Three students who spoke to Kesterson said Kesterson told them the list was given to him anonymously.

A member of STUCO whom Kesterson spoke to said that Kesterson was “super nervous” going into the mixer. Student body president Josh Keil said that “(Members of STUCO) were just told to keep an eye out for anything suspicious” involving drugs, and to report anything they saw to Kesterson.

Keil also said, “Kesterson said

if there were any problems, they’d shut down the mixer and that would be the least of our worries.”

“Mr. Kesterson definitely gave an indication that the health of the student body is more important than the gains the school brings in from hosting something like this,” said senior class vice president Sidarth Iyer.

Keil and Kesterson both said the mixer went on without a hitch.

Kesterson said there was “nothing to report” in terms of major disciplinary issues at the mixer.

Many people thought social media fueled the rumors.

One student said he had tweeted a message Thursday that

suggested that the implicated student was supplying drugs to other students. Kesterson had not spoken to this student about the tweet. The student said he did, however, take down the tweet because people were inferring that it was connected to the subsequent rumors.

Kesterson is glad that the situation at the mixer was under control.

“Things certainly are more in our control” at mixers versus private parties on weekends, said Kesterson.

As always with drug use investigations, drug tests can be used by the administration and

will be used if the administration deems it appropriate, said Moran.

Moran also said that the student handbook gives the administration a lot of elasticity and latitude when it comes to drug tests.

“Sale (and possible purchase) of alcohol or any other illegal drug at school or at any event sponsored by SLUH may be grounds for expulsion from school,” reads the student handbook.

“Students may be subject to a breathalyzer/drug test if suspected of having consumed alcohol/drugs at/before school events.

Refusing to take the test will be considered an admission of guilt,” says the handbook.

8 iPads and Google Apps improve collaboration and Prep News

Volume 78,, Issue 2

communication

NEWS

photo | Giuseppe Vitellaro

Theology teacher Rob Garavaglia works with his iPad in his classroom.

(continued from page 1) People showing other people what they learned that day or how to use Notability,” Callon said.

“We’re figuring out a lot of cool new ways to do things.”

Other teachers are using the “Notability” application in which original notes can be made using a stylus. Pre-existing documents can also be viewed allowing for notes to be taken on the actual document. The Pearson Education app has also been widely used by teachers to take attendance and enter grades into PowerSchool.

Teachers are enjoying the portability and mobility of the iPad inside the classroom. Instead of having to be stationary with the MacBook Pro, teachers can now move about the classroom with their iPad still connected to the SmartBoard through Airplay and Apple TV. Teachers have found uses for the iPad here and there, while others still depend on their MacBook Pros. Others are trying to find

Was John Kavanaugh “the Kurt Cobain of ska?”

Yes, according to a Seattle reporter in the alternative music press. Kavanaugh was once lead singer and played trumpet for psycho ska band MU330.

The band gained a decent amount of popularity, and Kavanaugh often found himself in Las Vegas hotel Oreo shenanigans.

Want more features like this? If you hear anything interesting, shocking, wacky, or wild about students, faculty, or alumni, tell your local PN features editor Jacob Hilmes, and we’ll see what we can do.

ways the iPad can really enhance their classes. Some are enjoying the iPad outside of the classroom. iPads have made the “flipped classroom” easier for some teachers. English teacher Terry Quinn and math teacher Don Steingruby have both made tutorials for their classes using their iPads. This way more class time can be spent actually discussing the subject instead of explaining it.

“I think great teachers will continue to either use this as a resource and a tool to be a great teacher or they won’t,” Principal John Moran, who read Catch-22 on his iPad over the summer. “I think there’s sometimes this misconception that iPads will make for better teaching or will make for greater learning. It’s a tool. If it’s used well, in other words, if it’s used to read a book, then the reading of that book might further our education, but the actual iPad itself isn’t going to make you any smarter.”

“We haven’t found everything that it’s useful for yet. Math teacher Beth Kissel said, (We’re) excited to use more technology, with the question of ‘How does this make a class better?’ That’s unclear. It’s great, it’s fun to play with, but is it helping students or not?”

“What we’re really to look at is to enhance our classes, not just an accessory to distract people.

We’re trying to see that it has a purpose,” Spanish teacher Myriam Aliste said.

“There’s a lot of apps and the mobility adds to what you can do in the classroom. It’s up to the teachers whether or not it’s something that actually helps enhance what they’re doing, ” said Director of Information Technology, Jon Dickmann.

Those questions are ones that many students and faculty will be asking as the year moves forward.

Some around SLUH see teacher iPads as part of a larger trend to-

ward one to one student technology in the near future.

Science teacher Kent Kershesnki explained how he feels that he can’t get everything out of his iPad right now since students do not have access to them. He said that he has spent a lot of time lately thinking and is “excited” about the prospect of students having iPads.

Others see a trend in the number of grade schools and middle schools using tablets such as iPads. Counselor Mary Michalski thinks that a large number of students have had prior experience with iPads in previous schooling, and she thinks students are ready to have iPads at SLUH. Counselor Nina See feels that iPads could really help with students’ organization.

It then becomes an issue of how to evaluate the advantages of iPads from a teacher and student perspective. According to Moran conversations with the teachers will be key, and understanding the expectations, in terms of technology, of incoming freshmen.

The topic of student technology will be discussed throughout the Strategic Planning Process set to begin in October and run through next fall.

“What you’ve had to buy as supplies have changed over time.

What was required of a teacher or a student in the classroom has changed as technologies have changed,” Moran said.

For now, teachers will be evaluating their uses inside and outside of the classroom.

“I don’t think we know what to do with (iPads) yet,” said Garavaglia. “How will it facilitate the discussion? How will it facilitate meaningful reflection? That’s what I’m most interested in.”

Morning JUGs eliminated to accommodate work grant (continued from page 1) the following morning, or after school the next day. The ability to do JUG work at each student’s convenience,however, proved to be problematic.

“Part of doing JUGs is you don’t want to continue to get them,” said Kesterson. “It’s not going to be do your JUG ... when you have time do it.”

Many students complain however, that after school JUGs often interfere with carpool and co-curricular activities, such as sports.

Since most sports teams practice everyday after school, morning JUGs were often the choice of athletes that received them. With no remaining option to serve a morning JUG, many now have to miss practice, a fact that, according to football coach Gary Kornfeld, is part of the punishment.

With a player expectations policy that states, “Do not receive a JUG. You’re expected to be a

good, respectful student and community member,” Kornfeld holds players accountable and hopes the rule change will not affect the team.

“I hope our guys are being good guys, if they’re doing the right thing, they’re not receiving JUGs, and if so, then they need to pay the price and if that means they miss a practice and they’re behind, then there’s obviously side effects that come out of that,” said Kornfeld.

Others, however, feel that the new JUG policy is unfair to athletes.

“I think that the new policy on JUGs is a little ridiculous.

So many kids in the school play sports,” said junior Matthew Hennessey. “Some people might have another conflict on the weekends that’s mandatory.”

For those incapable of serving after-school JUGs, another option is to have a Saturday JUG. However the amount of work is double the amount of an after-

school JUG. “It’s nice to say ‘I’ll miss practice this day, I’ll do my one hour jug on Saturday.’ No, that’s not fair to guys doing (JUGs) when they should be doing them so that’s why we’ve made it two hours on Saturday so guys won’t want to do it on Saturday,” said Kesterson.

According to Kesteron, since the first week of school is typically slow with only 43 JUGs given, it is too early to tell if it has already made a difference in behavior.

Kesterson is hopeful that the new JUG policy will help limit the number of punishments over the course of the year.

“My hope is this will be a good thing for the school and behavior will be better based on the fact that people don’t want to miss certain things after school” says Kesterson. “Since they don’t have the morning, they won’t want to be up Saturday either.”

August 30, 2013

Mixer sells 1,300 guest tickets, makes $17,000 for Honduras (continued from page 1) not the worst thing in the world since we don’t have people bumrushing the door to get in.”

Before the mixer, there were some licensing issues in regards to the music being played. A junior brought up that DJ’s who do not have an official DJ license should not use the music. Junior Sam Sextro, who is a DJ, could not play the music legally without a license issued by The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), an organization that helps protect the copyright of original artist’s songs.

Consequently, SLUH’s Student Council (STUCO) had to hire an outside DJ, TKO, to perform at the mixer. However, the playlist compiled by Sextro and senior Joe Salamon was still played.

Before the mixer, though, Sextro was without a license.

Eventually, Sextro obtained his license on Thursday, the night before the mixer, but STUCO wanted to be on the safe side.

“We set out to find a license to do things the right way and make sure the artists got the credit they deserved,” said Sextro. “And we did so with the help of ASCAP. In the end, everything worked out okay and we were able to play the music we wanted to with the help of TKO’s DJs.” “We talk about integrity and being authentic, so we made some phone calls and found out that usually high schools don’t have to (bring in a DJ),” said Harrison.

“It would be for anything else. If it were a play, we’d have to license out to do that. It’s better to err on the safe side and model what we are trying to get our students to do.”

Like last year, girls were required to visit the SLUH Tixer website, a website used to purchase mixer tickets. For this mixer, the total number of tixer tickets sold was capped at 1300. All of the tickets sold out. However, one of the problems with the system was that many girls, after they bought a ticket for themselves, would trade tickets to a friend if they decided not to go. The online ticket system did not state that girls were required to bring a photo ID that matched their ticket, and this called for issues with admission to the mixer as well as the speed of the line.

Kesterson also had concerns about alcohol at the mixer.

“People pass breathalyzer tests going in, but I worry about what happens during the mixer, so there may be a chance that we breathalyze on the way out next time,” Kesterson said.

As far as major disciplinary action went, Kesterson said “simply there was nothing to report.”

NEWS

August 30, 2013

9

Prep News Volume 78, Issue 2

Hogan represents St. Louis It was staged: The phantom of the organ on Catholic retreat through is revealed as German cathedral musician Philmont

BY Kevin REPORTER

J

Thomas

unior Thomas Hogan was the only representative of the Archdiocese of St. Louis on the St. George Trek, a retreat for Catholic scouts from all over the nation.

Over the summer, Hogan spent sixteen days in New Mexico with the Boy Scouts of America and Venture Scouts on the St. George Trek. Seventy-two Catholic scouts, six priests, six seminarians, and two Benedictine nuns from all over the nation gathered for this event, which was organized by the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS) and the Boy Scouts of America.

This event happens once every two years, and participants are only allowed to go on the trek as a scout one time, due to the limited number of spots, though they are allowed to return as a leader.

“I think it was a great experience,” Hogan said. “I think that anyone who loves their faith and the outdoors would have a great experience.”

All those attending the St. George Trek met up in Albuquerque, NM, where they went on a short retreat and were split into seven crews. Each crew was made up of around ten scouts, one priest, and one seminarian, except for one all-girls crew, which was led by two Benedictine nuns.

Hogan was a member of crew five, and was led by a priest and transitional deacon from Louisville, Ky. The scouts and their leaders spent their first few days in Albuquerque, then traveled to Philmont, N.M., which is located in the northeast corner of the state. They spent thirteen days at Philmont, 11 of which were spent backpack-

ing on a trail, and the other two were spent doing activities like horseback riding, and rock climbing.

Hogan felt that he encountered God in meaningful ways while on the trek.

“I think (I found God in) a couple different ways,” Hogan said. “One was having time for prayer on the trail and being able to develop my relationship with God through reflection.

(Another) was that New Mexico has a really different landscape from St. Louis. It’s really rocky, rugged and mountainous. I also think that, because I had a regular routine of prayer, I could look around at what was around me and see God’s glory and goodness in that. I think I also found God in the way that our crew worked together. None of us had really known each other before, but we were able to go out and tackle this trek as a crew.”

Hogan, the only scout representing the Archdiocese of St. Louis on this retreat, applied first to the local committee for Catholic scouting, and after his acceptance, his application was passed to the national level, where he was also accepted.

Hogan enjoyed his trip to Philmont, believing he found more than just God on his trip, he found himself.

“I think it probably affected me in more ways than I can understand yet,” Hogan said. “It was really an amazing experience. It was really cool to be able to go backpacking, and Philmont is something that I wanted to do for a long time, so I was really blessed to be able to do that and I was grateful also for the ways that I was given to grow personally.”

T

he Prep News has tracked down the organ player that unexpectedly spurred his instrument into noise as Principal John Moran began to speak this Wednesday. Prep News core staff member Sam Fentress spoke over the phone with the German musician, Dr. Horst Buchholz.

Buchholz is Director of Sacred Music at the New Cathedral.

The famous piece of organ music played as students filed out was Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D minor.

self.

Fentress: Tell me about your-

Buchholz: “I’ve been the director of music here at the Cathedral for the last two-and-ahalf years. I started playing the organ when I was in high school in Germany. I studied music in Germany and got my doctorate at Indiana University.”

Fentress: Why Toccata and Fugue?

“Everybody there knows the piece. They think it was written for Halloween but of course that’s total nonsense because that would mean the triumph of popular culture over faith and catholic spiritual tradition because it’s much older than the celebration of Halloween. It was written around the 1700s.”

Fentress: Where did the post-mass organ playing come from?

“I talked to the Campus Ministers and they said it would be nice to have some organ music after the Mass is over since they are in the Cathedral Basilica. This was the first time that this mass was there, so I thought, well, you have this beautiful building with the fantastic grand pipe organ so I though it would be nice to play some organ music after the Mass.”

Fentress: Anything else?

“Because you have so many bright students there and musically gifted students there, I would encourage students who play the piano and anybody that’s interested in the organ should come forward and inquire how to take organ lessons. It’s an instrument where we always need young players to follow in the playing of the instrument.”

Fentress: Favorite color?

Hmm…I think red.

First Meeting of Alumni Mothers Club The Alumni Mothers Club will be having its first meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17 at 6:00 in the Si Comons. Mothers can RSVP by emailing alumnimoms@sluh.org and get more information at http:// www.sluh.org/parents/alumnimothersclub/. The website has links to pay dues and volunteer for activities the group hosts. The dues help underwrite a Cashbah Silver sponsorship, support the MarciWyrsh fund to provide financial assistance to SLUH students for needs beyond tuition, provide food for the Loyola Academy Christmas Party, host the Mothers’ Club Mass and Dinner, and cover other general expenses. Mothers planning on attending the meeting are reminded to bring items for the Honduras Baby Shower. compiled by Thomas Riganti

cartoon | Paul Fister

This cartoon does not necessarily represent the views of the Prep News or of St. Louis U. High.

This cartoon does not necessarily represent the views of the Prep News or of St. Louis U. High.

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NEWS

Prep News Volume 78, Issue 2

Shift author to speak to SLUH student body

BY Marty Johnson and Sam Chechik REPORTERS

N

ext week will mark a first in St. Louis U. High’s summer reading program. Instead of having the school break into groups led by NHS members to discuss the summer reading book, the counseling and library departments, who picked this summer’s book, decided to have the author of the book actually come visit the school. [Every year a different department chooses the summer reading book. Some years, two departments are chosen to collaborate and choose the book. This has been a tradition for ten years.]

“We had toyed around with doing something different instead of having the book discussion groups,” librarian Cortney Schraut said. So when Schraut discovered that Jennifer Bradbury, author of Shift, had a website, she contacted Mrs. Bradbury about coming and speaking to the school.

“She does (readings) a lot across the country with different schools who have read her books,” said Schraut.

As a result, Bradbury will visit SLUH next Wednesday and Thursday to teach a number of sophomore English classes and a senior Reading and Writing Fiction class. On Thursday, Bradbury will speak at an all-school assembly.

Bradbury will be talking to the sophomore English classes about how she revises and works on her books.

“She is probably going to

show us different drafts of some sections of the novel (Shift) and talk about how they changed and were revised and in particular how she added specific detail,” English teacher Rich Moran said.

Schraut hopes that the new experience will be a success.

“I hope the students (will) get a positive experience being able to talk to the author of a book they just read,” said Schraut.

When asked whether or not an author visit would happen for next year’s summer year reading, Schraut stated that it was a “definite possibility” but that it would be up to the next department’s decision to make.

As for the book choice itself, Schraut thought the book was a good choice.

“We wanted to pick something that was kind of a light summer reading book. We were going to do something classic, then we decided maybe we should gear it towards a teen or young adult.

This (book) just kind of stood out to us. It was a page turner and had a nice story to it,” Schraut said.

Principal John Moran had nothing but praise for the book as well.

What I liked about the book was the two main characters, I could very much imagine walking our halls here. I couldn’t put it down and if you are going to ask 1100 students to read one book, it helps that these are characters that everybody in the building is hopefully able to find some way to relate to,” Moran said. “Hopefully Bradbury’s visit is the beginning of a new tradition at SLUH.”

August 30, 2013

Casey fills McCarthy’s role in library

photo | Leo Heinz

BY Luke Miller REPORTER

T

his year, Saint Louis U. High welcomes Lynne Casey, a much needed addition to the library staff. She comes to SLUH after the departure of long-time librarian, Elenora McCarthy and hopes to fulfill student library needs and solve their DeweyDecimal dilemmas.

Casey will be working with students alongside librarians Cortney Schraut and Elenora McCarthy as she looks toward her retirement next semester. Her duties include checking out books for students, organizing the thousands of books, and maintaining the decibal level of the Robinson Library.

Her immediate goals are primarily focused on getting lost less frequently. She eventually hopes to help teachers in the library with research papers and inform students of the online library resources like J-Store, ABC-CLIO and the Card Catalog Database.

Casey also hopes to become more involved in the SLUH community and has already attended Sustainability Committee meetings and the newly formed Literature Club, moderated by Frank Kovarik and John Kavanaugh.

“She seems really cool, and she was really interested in the books we were reading for Lit Club,” said senior Gabe Newsham.

Casey has plenty of experience with both books and high school, working as a high school English teacher and in several bookstores and libraries in cities such as London, Boston, and Chi-

XCBills finish fifth, Hennessey takes first

Casey familiarizes herself with library catalogue.

cago. Her other duties include being a wife, a mother of two, and an owner of a dog, Cora, named after the fantasy character, Coraline.

Like most librarians, Casey loves books. Her favorite books (in no particular order) include

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, The Song of the Dodo by David Quammen, and The Sparrow

by Mary Doria Russell.

“I love books. I love the way they are able to create fictional worlds and can immerse you in their characters,” said Casey. photo | Ben Banet

photo | Nolen Doorack

Sophomore Joe Butler (1331) and senior John Esswein (1344) attempt to surge past a DeSmet runner yesterday.

BY Michael REPORTER

T

Sit

he St. Louis U. High cross country teams participated for the first time in the Fleet Feet Invitational at Parkway Central yesterday.

The varsity team finished fifth, and junior Matthew Hennessey finished first overall in the race.

Hennessey completed the two-mile-long race with a stellar

time of 10:51. “(I’m) proud and (it was a) goal that I was hoping to reach at least one time this season,” Hennessey said.

“I think the varsity team did okay, but we all put in an effort that we can be proud of and work from for the rest of the season,” Hennessey added.

“I think the smell of pizza grease and the promise of free Nike shirts at the finish inspired

our young men to move their little motors as fast as they could,” said coach Brian Gilmore.

“These guys are searching for their team identity, and it’s early in the season,” said Gilmore.

“They don’t give titles in August, and we have a ways to go to be where we want to be.”

With the strong runners that comprise the junior varsity squad, it was no surprise that the first four finishers in the JV race were SLUH students. Sophomore Dustan Davidson dominated the race with a first place finish overall, completing the course with a time faster than over fifty percent of the varsity race finishers.

“It’s an honor to be on the SLUH cross country team, and it feels good to win my first ever SLUH race. I look forward to racing more this season,” said Davidson, a transfer student to SLUH. Freshman Joe Laughlin agreed. “It was pretty interesting, and it was good to see a bunch of other cross country runners. It was a good overall experience,” Laughlin said.

Clarificiation Clarification: Last week, an article was published about SLUH’s community garden. The article neglected to mention the fence was constructed by junior Brennan McFarland as a part of his Eagle Scout service project. The Prep News sincerely regrets this unintended act of omission.

The gate outside of the new SLUH garden located behind the fence surrounding the Danis Field House, which was constructed by junior Brennan McFarland.

SPORTS

August 30, 2013

Prep News Volume 78, Issue 2

Soccer in Scotland: Haman crosses the pond

BY Danny Schneller SPORTS EDITOR

D

espite the obvious disappointment of being born a few centuries too late to meet Macbeth, sophomore Trey Haman was excited when he learned that he had been invited to play soccer in Scotland over the summer.

Haman had been to the land of William Wallace to play soccer once before. When Haman was in middle school, his local academy run by Tony Glavin, a Scot by birth who played for the St. Louis Steamers back in the 1980s, took a team across the pond to play a few games.

“Either sixth or seventh grade, I went the first time,” said Haman. “They looked at us then, and they decided to bring two people from our team back.”

In 2011, Glavin’s academy partnered with Celtic FC, a professional soccer team based out of Glasgow, Scotland. This partnership opened the doors for Haman and his teammate Will Faherty, a sophomore at Saint Dominic High School, to experience how the top young soccer players train in Europe.

As if the flight to Europe weren’t intimidating enough, Ha-

man was playing alongside some of the best soccer players that Scotland has to offer. He was really surprised by the physicality of the Celtic team’s game.

“They were definitely bigger, stronger, faster,” said Haman.

“I’ve been a short guy my entire life. Generally, everyone is a big person.”

Though the size of his Scottish counterparts knocked him off his game a bit at times, nothing perturbed him quite like one of his dinners. Since he was enrolled in the Celtic academy for a week, Haman had to do everything that the local players had to do, including eating what they eat, specifically haggis, a traditional Scottish dish which, according to Wikipedia, is “a savoury pudding containing sheep’s pluck (heart, liver and lungs); minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours.”

Needless to say, Haman was a little freaked out by the idea of having to eat haggis. When he learned what the dish was made of, Haman said his first thought was, “I can’t eat that.”

“I didn’t think it looked that

T

he baseball, track, and tennis teams’ seasons ended last year after school ended. Here’s a recap.

Baseball Varsity baseball made it to the quarterfinals of the State Tournament before losing to Francis Howell in a dramatic season-ending game.

The Jr. Bills got an early lead against Francis Howell but a SLUH error late in the game on a two-out Howell bunt advanced a runner to second. That runner scored on a triple from the next batter to tie the game and shift momentum to the Knights.

The next inning, Francis Howell’s Calvin Munson hit a two-run home run off 2013 graduate Brian Howard to make it 4-2, the final score.

“Our loss to eventual state champion Francis Howell was definitely a heartbreaker, but we played extremely well against an incredibly talented team,” said senior Luke Robinson.

The team was led by senior pitchers Brian Howard and Andrew Quinn.

“Brian had an absolutely lights-out season last year and Andrew would mow down teams just like Brian with a multitude of dangerous pitches,” said Robinson. “There’s no doubt that our pitching is what got us as far as we did. When your pitchers can go out and deal for seven innings the way that Brian and Quinn did, you sometimes pull out an undeserved 1-0 or 2-1 win that wouldn’t ever be possible without such a dominant staff.”

“We had great senior leadership, all of them,” said head coach

Steve Nicollerat. “We were very fortunate.”

“We had a lot of fun throughout the season and we were always pushing each other and striving to get better,” said senior Josh Keil. “The coaches got us ready mentally and physically to make sure we had a chance to win every game.”

Tennis The varsity tennis team made it all the way to the sectional round of the State playoffs, where they lost by only two matches.

“The loss in sectionals was a pretty big heartbreak because we really thought we could take down CBC after losing to them by just one during the season,” said senior John Sullivan.

“After David Mayhall and Kyle Schnell, two of our top four guys, went out for the season within the same couple weeks, Danny (Schneller) stepped up and dominated at number two, winning first place at MCC’s and only losing a few matches during the season,” said Sullivan. “I’m looking forward to him leading the team this coming season.”

“Coach (Mark) Hoppenjans was a huge part of our success as well, not only helping us to improve our tennis skills, but also teaching us a lot about the mental game,” said Sullivan. “Coach’s early Saturday morning practices and new system of keeping only eight varsity players instead of the 12 in previous years helped to bring a special closeness throughout the team that showed us that each guy was concerned not with winning just his match, but winning as a team.”

photo | courtesy of Trey Haman

Haman (left) dribbles a ball towards the goal in the nation famous for haggis and towns that appear every century.

good,” said Haman. “But then they brought it out fried; it looked like a hamburger. I ate it and it was pretty good.”

Haman will be playing on St. Louis U. High’s B soccer team this fall. He hopes that his experi-

After volume 77, tennis, track, baseball finish seasons with deep State runs

BY Will Smith SPORTS EDITOR

11

Track and Field The St. Louis U. High track and field team competed in the Missouri Class three and four State Championships on May 24 and 25 at Lincoln University in Jefferson City. Current SLUH student-athletes who participated included seniors Raymond Wingo, Alex Piening, Michael Swan, John Esswein, and Tom Rubio and juniors Shayn Jackson and Jack Sullivan.

Standout performances for the team include senior Raymond Wingo clinching the state title in the 100-meter dash, Alex Groesch, ’13, finishing second in the 400, senior John Esswein placing fourth in the 800, and the 4 x 800 team—featuring Esswein, senior Michael Swan, junior Shayne Jackson, and Joe Archer, ’13— placing ninth.

To score the competition, an individual award is given out for each event, as well as an overall team award. Decreasing amounts of points are given out to the top eight finishers in each event.

These scores are then totaled for each team, with the highest scoring team being awarded the state championship.

The Jr. Bills tied for ninth place overall, alongside Lafayette and Timberland. As a team, SLUH accumulated 23 points.

“Twenty-three points is a lot, and I was really impressed with the team’s performance,” said head coach Joe Porter. “This is our highest finish since third place in 2009 and our State Championship in 2006. The team won conference, which was always the goal, and even beat CBC, who placed third at state.”

“I’m happy with our finish, but I wish we could have won as a team,” said Wingo.

ence in Scotland will enable him to play better soccer for the U. High. The improvement that he did make was more mental than physical. “(The trip) changed the way I think,” said Haman. “You have to

think fast when you’re under pressure. The Scots are always comfortable, and they got me more comfortable. Also, their pace of play is really fast. They made me want to play that way.”

Football to play strong Parkway North team

BY Chazz REPORTER

Carson

L

ast year’s contest between the St. Louis U. High Jr. Bills and the Parkway North Wildcats was a low scoring affair with a score of 7-6 in favor of SLUH. A strong defense forced five turnovers on the Parkway North offense, with Parkway quarterback Andy Huss throwing three interceptions in addition to a pair of fumbles by runningback Jonathan Little.

This year may be a different story as the Jr. Bills look to break out on both sides of the ball.

“I’m really excited for both sides of the ball, and see my teammates make plays in every aspect of the game,” said senior captain Nathan Anderson.

“The special teams have improved a lot this year, coach Simmons has done a great job taking over for coach Buha,” senior long-snapper Adam Cooley commented.

Cooley is referring to Stephen Simmons `06, who played football at Northwestern University, accumulating 562 yards rushing and 62 yards receiving.

The Jr. Bills will also show a

new defense, led by senior offensive guard and defensive tackle TJ Daniels.

“On defense we want to improve in all aspects of our game, reading the pass and stopping the run better,” said Daniels. “We want to get to the ball every down and prove that we’re better than we’ve previously played.”

Also looking to contribute to the defensive front is junior defensive tackle and offensive guard Christian Stewart.

“It’ll be a good opener. I don’t think they’re as big as they were last year,” Stewart said.

This year’s offense will be led by a combination of seniors Raymond Wingo, Sam Sykora, Michael Hall, and Marcus Ramspott.

“I’m really excited to throw the ball. Our entire team this summer has worked on slowing down the game and I can’t wait to be able to play against somebody else. It’ll be a great season opener,” Sykora said.

Senior captain and quarterback Wingo debuted against Parkway North last year by rushing for 200 yards on 16 carries.

Corrections In a list of teachers published last week in the Prep News, science teacher Robyn Wellen was written as “Robert Wellen.”

In last week’s football article, the football team’s record last year was given as 6-7. The actual record last year was 5-4.

The Prep News regrets these errors.

Quote of the Week I hate quotations.

-Ralph Waldo Emerson

12

QUEEN BURGERS

Prep News Volume 77, Issue 2

August 30, 2013

Photo of the Week

Friday, August 30

Schedule R AP Snack—Nachos 7pm V Football @ Parkway North 8pm V Soccer @ St. Xavier Lunch Special—Hot Roast Beef & Cheese on French Vegetarian—Cheese

Saturday, August 31 3:30pm V Soccer @ Trinity

Tuesday, September 3

Schedule R

AP Snack—Cinnamon Rolls 4:30pm C Football @ Timberland

JV Football vs. Parkway North

JV Soccer @ Gibault 5:15pm B Soccer @ Chaminade Tournament vs. Vianney 6:45pm V Soccer @ Gibault Lunch Special—Hand Rolled Beef and Bean Burrito

Vegetarian—Manicotti with White Cream Sauce

Sunday, September 1 No events scheduled.

Wednesday, September 4

Monday, September 2

AP Snack—Nachos Supreme Lunch Special—Taco Salad

Vegetarian—Cheese Tortellini

No Classes Labor Day 9am B Soccer @ Chaminade Tournament vs.

Chaminade photo | Ben Banet

W

The newly placed Fr. Tom Cummings SJ Dr. at the enterance to the turnaround.

Thursday, September 5

Mass Schedule

Summer Book Presentation 8am Northeastern University AP Snack—Bosco Sticks 12:17pm Washington University in St. Louis 3:45 pm B Soccer @ Chaminade Tournament vs. CBC 4pm JV Soccer @ Fort Zumwalt South

C Soccer vs. DeSmet 6pm V Soccer @ Fort Zumwalt South Lunch Special—Papa John’s

Vegetarian—Greek Style Flatbread

Schedule R

Turnaround named for Fr. Cummings, S.J.

BY David REPORTER

photo | Adam Lux

Friday, September 6

Schedule R Food Drive AP Snack—Chicken Giggles

University of Kentucky

Rhodes College 4pm C Soccer @ Vianney 5pm V Swim @ Marquette Relays Lunch Special—Mini Pancake Bar

Vegetarian—Black Bean and Cheese Burrito compiled by | Keith Thomas

Schmelter

hile walking up to the turnaround from the student parking lot, you may have noticed a new street sign located near the gate which, reads, “Fr. Tom Cummings SJ Dr.” The sign was an item auctioned in last year’s Cashbah. The Cashbah catalog indicated that the name will last for the duration of the 2013-2014 school year.

On the evening of Cashbah, a video recording was played in which Cummings said a prayer. He could not be in attendance that night due to health issues following his heart attack last fall.

Dr. Michael and Mrs. Michelle Mulligan, the donors of the sign, approached St. Louis U. High President David Laughlin after the auction and asked him to name it. Laughlin proposed naming the drive after Cummings.

“Fr. Cummings was on my mind and heart . . . (and) he also had a significant history at SLUH, serving in many capacities, including president,” said Laughlin.

Creating a Better Belize Fr. Brian Christopher, S.J. is coming to SLUH next Friday, Sept. 6 to give a presentation in the Chapel during Activity Period. Fr. Christopher is a SLUH alum from 1993 and taught at SLUH in the early 2000s.

He is the Executive Chair of a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) in Belize called the Center for Community Resource Development that focuses on creating a better image of “Southside Belize City” by tapping into a wealth of untapped resources and leadership, while focusing on social and economic development. For more information on Fr. Christopher or the Center for Community Resource Development, visit http://www.ccrdbelize.bz/