Volume 43, Issue VII

New Senior Retreat I n Focus Page 2

Vol. 43, I ssue VI I

Talking With M r.

Peter Callaghan Page 6

M r. K r avetz's M usic Review Page 12

Op: Rel. M idter m Policy Unfair Page 14

I ndoor Tr ack Preview Page 19

The Student Newspaper of St. Joseph's Prep December 14th, 2017

FOOTBAL L ENDS BANNER YEAR

(Photo: Tracie Van Auken)

Bradley Cobaugh '18 (left) and Bryheem Barr '20 (right) embrace after a win against Coatesville. Full story on Page 20.

Oper ation Santa Claus: M ission Accomplished

By Ned Bur ke '19 As the Christmas Season is now in full swing, families everywhere are taking the time and effort to help people who are less fortunate than they are.

That is why over the weekend over eighty Prep students, in addition to a group from Scranton University, which is also a Jesuit institution, participated in Operation Santa Claus.

The students traveled to a local toy store to purchase Christmas

gifts for children from less fortunate families and, later that afternoon, the students wrapped and bagged the gifts for later distribution to the families at the Christmas Party on December 9th.

Operation Santa Claus was a program started in 1967 by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia to provide Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in the city. Sadly, due to the lack of funding and resources, the Of-

fice of Youth and Young Adults closed in 2012, taking Operation Santa Claus with it. The Prep, along with other schools in and around Philadelphia, refused to see the program die and has worked to keep the program afloat in its very own community. This will be the fifth year since the discontinuation that the Prep will run the Operation independently.

The bulk of the fundraising was done by the Prep commu-

nity. Each Prep family was asked to donate twenty- five dollars for the cause. To supplement this, Prep students were asked to donate money into bins sanctioned for their grade. The grade with the greatest amount of money raised would receive a free dress down day. Overall, the community raised over $21,000 to buy presents for over 250 needy children and eighty- six families around the

Philadelphia area. The opportunity to donate remained open until December 9th.

At 8 o?clock sharp on Sunday, December 3, over eighty prep students, along with the host of Scranton students and a good deal of parents and relatives who volunteered, traveled to a local Toys ?R Us to purchase the gifts. Each group was given a sum of money to purchase three gifts for a child as-

(Continued on page 5)

2 | News

K airos to College: New Senior Retreat

By Joe Scott '19 The goal of Mission and Ministry is to create a spiritual path through high school.

Stepping stones along this path have been for many the intense retreats experienced all four years; the freshman and sophomore retreats have been in place for years, and provide a strong base for that path, and Kairos has transitioned from a senior focused retreat to one primarily for juniors. The path is finally complete with the addition of the brand new ?Kairos to College? Retreat for the Class of 2018.

The retreat will consist of three days, beginning January 31st, each will be more in depth then the last. Their goal is for students to hopefully know better who they are as one loved by God, their family and friends, and their school.

This retreat will also have a great focus on silence, and personal self reflection. There will be long time periods where retreatants will be left for silent reflection and conversation with God, so they can examine what questions come to light in them and share with a small

group. Silence is a very important practice to the Jesuits, as it goes all the way back to Ignatius?s Spiritual Exercises, a 30 day silent retreat.

Fr. Frederico believes that ?it can help to immerse yourself in a personal conversation, journey with Jesus as a loved sinner. Developing that relationship and commitment with Jesus over the 30 days lets one be with Him and reflect upon His life. The silence invites us--and forces us--to go deeper, within ourselves, the scripture, the life of Jesus, it is key to building the deepest relationship possible. That is countercultural now in a world where we are always talking or on social media. This is an opportunity to pull away and live with God in a peaceful silence.?

Mr. Mark Dushel, the Director of Retreats and Liturgy for the Mission and Ministry Department, sees this retreat as a completion of one?s education on the Ignatian Spirituality.

The deepest understanding is found for many over the Kairos

retreat, and the goal of Kairos to College is to pivot those thinkings forward in a retreatants life. ?Kairos isn?t a graduation, it is the invitation to figure out where to go next in life. This retreat is a continuation of that discernment.?

The retreat will be led mostly by Jesuit Scholastic Pat Nolan, SJ who is a few years from ordination and currently lives at Boston College. Kairos to College should serve not only as a form of expanding Prep Brotherhood, but should

teach the lesson that it doesn?t end when you go to college, only grows. ?We wanted to show that the Jesuit world and the Catholic world are much bigger than the Prep. You?re home at the Prep, but you?re also home with the Jesuits and in Ignatian Spirituality. We all speak the same language and have the same experiences with Jesuit Education. When you leave this place after graduation there are still so many opportunities to feel loved and feel part of this amazing Jesuit family.?

(Photo courtesy of Mission & Ministry)

Fr. Chuck Frederico believes that the mission of his position at the school is most importantly to create a spiritual journey for students, and to teach them as well as the faculty about the Jesuit identity of the school. He says, ?The senior retreat is based on an extension of the Kairos Retreat. I thought that the key time to do the retreat was when all of their applications will be in, and we can tap into the experience of

what it was like to go through the college application experience. Then we can talk about making an Ignatian informed decision about where they?re going to go. Because really, the discernment is the hardest part of the process. The decision should flow out of the discernment and the work that you invest into it. This will pick up on the themes of Kairos and hopefully send them forth to college with each student, hence the name of the retreat, ?Kairos to College.??

This is the first retreat-option that has ever been offered only to Seniors.

Changes to Religion Exemption Policy

By Andrew K oh '19 A couple weeks ago, students taking semester- long religion classes were notified that they would not be exempt from their finals, no matter their grade. Understandably, many students were annoyed or upset with the religion department, as exemptions are often the biggest motivation for students striving for good grades.

Teenagers are welldocumented to be chronically short- sighted, and without the short-term objective of achieving exemptions, may not be able to find the drive to work as hard in a class that does not offer exemptions. The students, however, are most definitely unaware of the sound reasoning

behind the decision, as elaborated by Mr. Pinto, the Religion Department Chair. According to him, the religion department met for a customary department meeting, where the decision to be rid of exemptions was unanimous, based on the fact that exams now fall before the start of Christmas break, and therefore before the end of the second quarter.

Mr. Pinto put it quite simply, saying, ?How can we exempt someone when their second quarter grade is yet to be finalized?? However unlikely, a situation may arise where a student receives an ?A? for the first quarter and an ?A? for the majority of the second, earning an exemption, before losing the

second quarter ?A? after midterms. That would mean the student had been exempt without meeting the exemption requirement. Students may also be tempted to take advantage of the faulty system by striving to achieve an ?A? until the final exam is taken, then lose the impetus to show effort after.

"This policy was implemented because the criteria for exemption could not be met with exams happening prior to the end of second quarter," said Pinto, "Also, no other department offers exemptions for semester courses, so this wasn't an issue in other departments."

Obviously, the most reasonable solution was to eliminate the possibility of exemptions at

all, as there is no possible way to make exemptions viable in the new scheduling system. In order to implement a consistent policy, the department decided to also strike second semester exemptions for fairness. Student outrage would only increase if second semester classes are able to achieve exemptions when first semester classes are not.

After the decision was made, the administration was notified, and the new policy was agreed upon.. Mr. Pinto explained that, essentially, ?the new structure is all a result of exams being pushed up to before Christmas.? So, for all the students who are enraged over the decision to terminate ex-

emptions, there is very concrete and reasonable logic behind the decision.

If they still find issue with this reality, students should bear in mind that having midterms before Christmas is intended to limit work over break, therefore any complaints should be put toward the new scheduling system. The new policy will create less work in studying as well, as there will be less material on which to test and the studying period will not be stretched over a week and a half without school.

In the long run, this decision will benefit the students in their stress..levels_.and_.time management.

SEPTA Aims for K ing of Pr ussia

By L iam M cGr ath '18 Philadelphia?s population is once again on the rise, and as development of apartments and offices crop up all around City Hall and University City, it?s no surprise that the surrounding metropolitan area has followed suit. With large developments planned or under construction in the surrounding four counties, including a large 10 story apartment building under construction in Ardmore,

it?s no wonder that King of Prussia, home of the largest mall in the United States, would want to jump in on the action.

parking. This has changed with the times, and now malls cater to mostly young adults and teenagers, and many choose not to drive.

King of Prussia has always been an island of sorts, at least as far as public transportation goes. While it may have multiple bus lines feeding into it, KOP, was built in the era of the automobile. This is why the majority of the land owned by the mall itself is actually just

As of 2016, the state of Pennsylvania has awarded SEPTA a larger budget; in surplus of $300 million. Now, having released their budget plans for this year and beyond, they have their sights set on branching to places where public transportation is lacking, like the King of Prussia Mall.

(Photo: SEPTA.org)

Trains in KOP would change the game for many Prep students.

Starting in 2012, SEPTA and Simon Retailers, the owners of the King of Prussia Mall, were in talks about extending some sort of rail transit into the mall.

They had narrowed it down to the two easiest options: a branch line of the Manayunk/Norristown Regional Rail line, or a branch of the Norristown High Speed line.

By 2014, they had decided that

the easier option would be to extend the Norristown High Speed line, or NHSL. SEPTA, as of last month, has proposed four different routes of varying lengths to both the KOP Mall and Upper Merion Township. Most seem to center around DeKalb pike, and some even go as far as Valley Forge, with all cutting next to or through the mall itself. SEPTA has made these routes in response to vigorous community feedback. Most concerns of the nearby citizens deal with the seizing of land by the government, noise, and crowded nature of their conditions. Those who live in Upper Merion like their quiet neighborhoods, as they are a break from the hustle and bustle of the city. At the same time, however, local businesses and regular mall goers are foaming at the mouth at the thought of having an in-

credibly active mass transit line going through their town.

This change opens SEPTA up as a means for school commuting to many Prep Students in the Upper Merion area. A large number of students within the city as well as in the suburbs, especially the Main Line, use SEPTA daily, with these additions that option is open to students from a new realm of suburbs, stretching farther and farther from city limits.

SEPTA says that the extension will be finished by the year 2021. They have ordered new cars for the line to deal with increasing capacity, and have done their best to take into account the surrounding community and their demands.

While the future is uncertain, an extension would be one of the largest projects happening in or around the city in the next few years.

News | 3

TM F Hawks Continued Prep-Based Ser vice

By Robbie Calabro '19 Travis Manion, a marine, said the famous words, "If not me, then who?" before his deployment into Iraq in 2007, where he was tragically killed by sniper fire. Those words now are the motto of the Travis Manion Foundation, a foundation that supports our veterans, mentors students, and works to benefit the community.

Here at the Prep, the Travis Manion Leadership Academy is one of the most popular activities for sophomore and juniors to join. There are two cohorts a year, one in the fall and on in the spring, comprised of usually around 30 students and led by veterans of the armed forces.

The academy is composed of about two months of Monday meetings, where activites from boxing to yoga to problem solving are completed, each focusing on a tenant of the Foundation (eg. leadership, courage, service, gratitude, grit, resilience, integrity). Outside of these weekly meetings, there are club- sponsored events that are available for all students to participate in. The two biggest this fall were the Veterans Night at a football game and Operation Legacy.

On November 3rd the Prep football played a game against Father Judge at Widener University. At this game, the football team and the TMF Hawks co- sponsored Veterans Appreciation night, during which graduates of the Prep who

were veterans were honored for their service. Five veterans were named honorary captains for the game by the football team.

At halftime, the family of Lt. Col. John Spahr ?81, a Prep grad who was a two-sport athlete during his years at the prep, was the first honoree.

Also brought onto the field was Jack O?Neill and his family, along with about five other veterans. Each was announced and honored for their service to the country. In addition, other Prep grads who were also veterans were given a special mention.

able to participate in the event this year, I did so my first two years at the Prep, and can echo his sentiments. Not only are students working with those living in the community, they also work right next to veterans. They get to learn about the nation?s heroes and have real, personal conversations with them.

Coyle says, ?It?s very important to work with the veterans as closely as we did be-

cause you gain even more of an appreciation for who they are? For me, it strengthened the love I already have for the heroes of our great country and gives you a better understanding of who they are and how they are just like the rest of us.?

The importance of working with veterans, especially in an event like this, cannot be understated. Strangely enough, cleaning up parks has a special

way of bonding people, and it?s no different during Operation Legacy.

Those 150 students who participated on that November 11th morning, or the 30 students who participated in the Leadership Academy this fall, or anybody who is striving to make the world a better place, truly are living out the words of a fallen hero, Travis Manion: ?If not me, then who.?

(Photo: St. Joe's Prep)

About a week later, on November 11th, the Foundation hosted Operation Legacy across the country. Hundreds of organizations spent the day cleaning up their communities alongside veterans and others who are part of the foundation.

This was an especially important day, as it was dedicated to Sal DiNubile ?19.

About 150 students from the Prep signed up for this day, where they cleaned up trash, helped in a community garden, and worked to better the community. Bobby Coyle ?19 recently graduated with the 7th cohort, and said this in participating in this day of service: ?You got to see the people you are helping face to face and it felt good knowing we were cleaning an area up that our whole Prep community is from.?

While personally I was not

Travis Manion Hawks team up with local veterans to clean parks throughout South Philly.

Broad & Ridge I mproves with Divine L or r aine

By Joe M atthews '19 For years, developers have bought and sold and made plans to restore the Divine Lorraine on Broad Street, and finally someone has done it.

The building was originally constructed in 1893 as the most luxurious apartments of the time, by architect Willis Hale.

Around the turn of the century the apartments were bought and the building was converted into a hotel, and was later named by Father Divine in 1948.

(Photo: Rent Philly)

Over the past seventeen years, the ownership and future plans for the Lorraine have been spotty and unhopeful. The graffitied building stood as an eyesore on the corner of Broad and Ridge, and was ignored by the public eye.

The newly-renovated Divine Lorraine, 699 North Broad.

The people of Philadelphia started to take notice when construction began on the exterior, as well as when the renovations of the inside got underway.__Eric__Blumenfeld bought the building in October of 2012, and later released his plans to convert the building into a modern day apartment building with restaurants and rental units. Redevelopment commenced in May of 2015,

and apartments were leased out in January of 2017.

As of today, sixty- seven apartments have already been leased, and thirty- four remain available through EB Realty Management. In mid September, a free event was held to celebrate the completion of the grand lobby on the first floor.

The renovation included redoing the plaster that topped the pillars that line the now extravagant and formal entrance.

Archways were fixed and redone, and broken marble staircases were restored to look like their once golden- age selves.

The apartments themselves were renovated to match the modern apartments that fill the city today. The once elegant open- aired banquet hall that was on the 10th floor was redone as two bi- level apartments. The apartments offer one bedroom and two bedroom spaces, with various floor plans and gorgeous views. It would be hard to restore the Divine Lorraine to its former Golden Glory after years of neglect and disregard, but the team that is responsible for the renovation is making the new apartments nearly live up to what it once was.

News | 5

Oper ation Santa Claus (Cont.)

(Photo: St. Joe's Prep)

signed to them. The students were also given a list of gifts their assigned child wants for Christmas, along with their age and gender. After the gifts were purchased, the group made their way back to the Prep to attend mass at the Church of the Gesu, along with the the cast and crew of Newsies before their final performance.

The volunteers then spent the rest of the afternoon wrapping and bagging the presents, while listening to some festive Christmas music. In total, over 750 presents were wrapped, bagged, and made ready for distribution.

The families that will be re-

ceiving the gifts recently attended a Christmas party on December 9th here at the Prep.

The children participated in arts and crafts, played Christmas- themed games, and they got the opportunity to see Santa Claus. While this was happening, members of the Father's Club and those participating in the Father-Son Day of Service delivered the children's gifts to their homes to be given on Christmas Day. Since the closing of the program in 2012, the Prep community, amongst others, has been determined to keep the program alive through the donations and the support of the

students, faculty, and family of the Prep. This was only possible because of the steadfast devotion of the Prep faculty and students. This spirit is embodied in the students who volunteered on December 3 to buy and wrap the presents.

Matthew Marhefka ?19, a student who volunteered at the Operation and assisted with the wrapping component, says, ?Through Operation Santa Claus, the Prep manages to embody the Christmas spirit of giving. By continuing this operation, these small acts of giving mean so much to our whole urban neighborhood. Everyone deserves a loving and joyful Christmas.?

Students return from shopping for Christmas presents at Toys"R"Us. (L to R, Aidan Keeley-Cain '19, Marco Sammartino '18, Michael Buchanan '19, Calvin Willie '18, James Brenner '18, Jake Feehery '18)

Thanksgiving Dr ive Donates $39,000 in Food

By Ronan Egan '18 On the afternoon of November 21 the Prep community embarked on its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. The drive, which benefits hundreds of families in the local community, is one of the premier, school-wide service events that the Prep offers. Organized by Mr. Sam Deitch and Mr. Leo Vaccaro through the Ignatian Service Department and the Hurtado Food Pantry, the drive incorporates all students and teachers to bring wellness to the community.

Students depart in hordes from the Church of the Gesu following the final mass before Thanksgiving to show an act of generosity towards their community, carrying with them 183 laundry baskets filled to the brim with food. They excitedly move along with each other,

knocking on doors to be opened by a face of pure elation and gratitude.

From a numbers standpoint, the impact of the drive is massive. The Prep alone sends out 183 large baskets of food and 183 turkeys and pies to go along with each basket. However, a significant amount of donations are never seen by the students at all. The final numbers relay that 351 baskets and 420 turkeys are delivered through both the Prep and various local organizations. As is expected, the cost of supplying these baskets is absolutely massive. YouGiveGoods, a fundraising website, raked in over $31,000, while anonymous donations and a Prep dress down day pushed that total to around $39,000. The preparation involved is much larger than simply placing food

into baskets. Vaccaro states that ?Most students just see this as an event where they go to the Gesu and drop off turkeys in the neighborhood, but it is much bigger than that because half of what is going on is what students do not see. Because of all of those other organizations that get gifts from the Prep, we have combined the tradition of walking out of the Gesu with more local groups that need our help, especially during this time of year.?

This impact on the community is something that cannot be put into numbers. Those who run the drive at the top strive to support the community for more than just a holiday, with each designed to last for a while, as Deitch elaborates: ?An important part of this is that they are not just baskets for Thanksgiving, we

try to build baskets that can sustain them past the holiday.

We definitely have Thanksgiving foods in there, but one of the things Mr. Vaccaro has come up with is to throw items like tuna and peanut butter in there too.?

It truly does support families in more ways than one, inspiring hope while displaying a show of caring for the community around them. When asked about what it mean to the community, a resident at the corner of 16th and Thompson quoted it as ?Amazing. Just amazing.?

For the students, the goal is to embed them as people of service through an act of God, according to those who run it.

Deitch believes that each specific part of the drive has symbolic meaning to combine with the physical: ?One of the things that always gives me solace

through the whole process are that we leave through the church for a reason, leaving from a mass very intentionally to say ?this isn?t an act of generosity,? although it is; ?this isn?t just an act of being neighborly,?but it is; this is an act of faith that is to say, as in Matthew 25, ?When you did it for the least of mine you have done it for me.? That is what we are doing today.?

Rooted in faith and service, the drive is and will continue to be a long-standing, quintessential Prep experience. The merging of the local neighborhood with the brotherhood forged at the Prep is monumental in the development of the students here, just as the impact on the community is monumental to those who benefit from this act of generosity.

(Photo: St. Joe's Prep)

Preppers from the vocal advisory off to deliver baskets to a neighborhood family.

6 | Features

Jeremiah Trotter Pr aises SJP Culture

By Ned Bur ke '19 Four time Pro- Bowler Jeremiah Trotter is a household name amongst any Philadelphia Eagles family. He is remembered for leading the Eagles in tackles for three straight seasons (1999- 2001) from the Middle Linebacker position and having an immensely positive impact on what was one of the worst run defenses in the NFL upon his return to the Eagles in 2004. The team would go on to compete in Super Bowl XXXIX that same year, narrowly losing to the New England Patriots. Trotter was inducted into the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame on November 28, 2016.

Trotter has been eager to express his respect and enthusiasm about the Prep. On the 94 WIP Afternoon Show, starring Jon Marks and Ike Reese, Trotter stated, ?If you have a kid with an opportunity to go to the Prep, you have to send them. They have a culture there you won't find anywhere on the east coast. It's the best thing you can do...there is no greater opportunity." Hearing this from a man who has played football at the highest level of football is an encouraging sign for the Prep. Not only is it good publicity, it also expresses that the atmosphere of the Prep is just as unique and special as everyone makes it out to be.

When asked how the Prep has positively affected the lives of both his son and himself, Trotter stated, ?At first, my son and I didn?t know what to expect, especially going to an all boys high school, but we knew that we both had to be openminded and like father like son

he was ready for the challenge.

And even though Jeremiah Jr. is only a freshman, he loves being a student at the Prep...and that?s when you know as a parent that you have made the right investment in your child?s education; when your child enjoys learning and looks forward to going to school. Knowing this, I know that my son will be well prepared for whatever college he chooses to attend in the future.? Trotter also praised the academics of the Prep: ?I know that there are other high schools in the area where students can get a good education, but when it comes to the Quality of Education and Caliber of Teachers, Football Program and Coaching Staff, etc. there is no parallel. And when I went to the Parent Orientation (Open House) I was absolutely blown away. I knew right then, that this was the high school for my son. Not only was I very impressed with the dedication and tenure of the teachers, but also with the Prep?s rigorous curriculum. And even though the course work may be a little challenging according to some of the Prep Grads, they were certain that it was because of

the Prep, that they were able to have a smooth transition into college!?

Having the atmosphere and culture of the Prep praised by a man as accomplished as Jeremiah Trotter is inspiring to all Prep students. The Prep holds

itself to standards unlike that of any other school. In addition to this, it has an atmosphere nurtured through the brotherhood shared amongst one another. These standards and atmosphere are one of the reasons that the Prep is a community..unlike_any_other.

(Photo Credit: St. Joe's Prep Sports Twitter)

Trotter was one of the best linebackers in Eagles history and the apple doesn?t fall too far from the tree. The ?Axeman?s? son, Jeremiah Trotter Jr. ?21, has made himself known on the varsity football team, wearing number 54, as his father once did. In addition to his starting role on JV, the freshman has made an immediate impact on Special Teams and has filled in at the Linebacker Position, the same position that his father once

played. The Axeman himself has also been no stranger to the Prep?s football team, working as an assistant coach for the Hawks.

Former Eagles Linebacker Trotter stands with his son Jeremiah Jr. during a practice.

Talking with M r. Callaghan: M alver n vs. The Prep Q: What are some of the most noticeable differences between the Prep and Malvern?

A: Size and location are probably the most noticeable differences. Malvern is less than half the size of the Prep. When I was there there were only about 100 students per grade.

Malvern?s campus is much more remote too. I think the contrast in size and location create very different experiences in terms of day to day.

Q: How are the cultures of the two schools different?

A: To be honest, I feel they share more similarities than they do differences. Certainly size and location, like I mentioned above, create different environments. That said, both schools are academically challenging, they both place an emphasis on educating the whole person, both foster a

(Photo Credit: malvernsmmerprograms.com)

By Nick Paler mo '18

sense of brotherhood among the students, both work to instill within students a commitment to doing justice, and there?s definitely a strong sense of school spirit/pride among the respective student bodies.

Q: What plays into the difference of cultures? Is it the difference of order (Augustinian and Jesuit), the location (rural vs urban), or something else?

A: The difference between the orders is significant and likely contributes to differences between the schools. The defining feature of the Augustinians is community, or ?living a life in common.? The Jesuit charism is more difficult to define in just a few words. Most simply put, the Jesuit order exists and works toward ?the greater glory of God.? One of the ways the Jesuits seek to accomplish this work is through education. That?s not to say Augustinians don?t see educa-

An aerial view of the expansive Malvern Prep, alma mater of one of the Prep's religion teachers, Mr. Callaghan. tion as important, it?s just that the work of educating isn?t a constitutive element of the Augustinian mission. This is seen in the simple fact that there are probably only thirty or forty total Augustinian high schools and universities in the world (with Malvern and Villanova head and shoulders above the other schools on that list) compared to the hundred or so Je(Photo Credit: St. Joe's Prep LinkedI n)

suit high schools and universities in the US alone.

Consequently, I did feel that Malvern operated as more or less a single entity. There was a strong community, but it was somewhat self- contained. Because the Jesuits operate a network of schools throughout the county and all over the world, there is a feeling that everyone connected to a Jesuit school is part of something bigger, a mission that extends beyond the boundaries of their own particular school.

Having said all this, I don?t mean to suggest one is better than the other, but only to show how different charisms create different cultures.

A panorama photo of the Gesu and Villager Hall, the latter of which is the workplace of Mr. Callaghan.

Q: What has been the most noticeable difference to you between the Jesuit and Augustinian priests you have worked with during your time at the two schools?

A: Every priest is different, so

that?s kind of a tough question to answer. I will say that I do find the presence of religion on campus to be a great asset of each school. The Augustinians who work at Malvern live right on Malvern?s campus, and obviously here the Jesuit community is right across the street. That students have the chance to interact with and get to know priests personally, whether Jesuit or Augustinian, is something that I think is really important, especially at this stage of their lives.

Q: In what ways is a Prep faculty member different from a Malvern faculty member?

A: I honestly don?t see much difference. I remember my teachers at Malvern as dedicated, passionate, highly competent, well educated in their respective disciplines, and genuinely concerned about the wellbeing of their students. I?d describe the Prep?s faculty exactly the same way.

Features | 7

PrepM ed Reaches New Heights

By K evin L atu '19 Mr. Henderzak?s PrepMed club seeks to expand the knowledge, passion, and excitement of Prep students for medicine. The main goal of PrepMed is not to be a place where an interested few can talk about their plans to one day become a part of a medical field, but rather its purpose is to cultivate an interest and understanding of the ever growing and complex world of medicine. The club meets usually once a cycle, which gives its members the freedom to simultaneously explore other interests. And yes, they do have food.

Alex Cabulong ?19 is the club?s Vice President and an integral member that helps PrepMed thrive in the present, while also looking into the future. Alex explains, ?The PrepMed club embodies the enthusiasm prospective Prep students express for the field of medicine. Moving forward, the club looks to explore new possibilities including introducing debates regarding bioethics, the opioid epidemic, and health care differences between the European and American health care systems. The club is anticipating an active and successful year.?

After being a member of the

club for 4 years, the president of PrepMed, Anthony Tigano ?18, has big ambitions for the club?s future. He commits much of his time to making the club run smoothly by creating fun, interesting meetings and exercises that the members can accomplish at the assigned community period. He is also seen consistently trying to grow the club?s reach by talking about it with other students and hanging up posters advertising PrepMed all across the school to ensure the name spreads.

To give a better understanding of what a meeting at PrepMed is like, the most re-

cent meeting was a discussion involving the aforementioned differences between the American and European healthcare systems. This debate between two teams of students was moderated by Mr. Hendrzak, who researched the topics before presenting their arguments. Anthony Tigano explains, ?Not every meeting will be about healthcare. Next meeting we might try to get a CPR dummy to practice on and, if possible, become certified.?

explore is potentially having a guest speaker, most likely a medical student, come to the school to talk with the club. He also stated that it would be worthwhile to watch a surgery during one of meetings to show the slightly more gorey aspects of the medical field.

Even though the club may seem relatively new, it has been around for a number of years. This is largely due to a lack of advertising, but Tigano and Cabulong are ensuring that every Prep student knows the Tigano later threw around name ?PrepMed? with their other suggestions for what the many posters around the club can do going forward. school.

Two unique ideas he wants to

ASC Profile: Brendan K olon '13

By Scott Hibbs '19 One of the new Alumni Service Corps (ASC) members this year is Mr. Brendan Kolon ?13. Mr. Kolon can be seen hard at work in the Admissions Office, securing the future of the Prep through the incoming class.

While at the Prep, Mr. Kolon was involved in many facets of the Prep. As a member of Cape and Sword, Mission and Ministry Leadership Board, Improv Club, and a short stint in the world of crew, Mr. Kolon lived the full Prep experience during his time here.

After his time at the Prep, Mr. Kolon went on to Boston College, where he studied Marketing and Business Analytics. While at Boston College, Mr. Kolon found himself again involved in many activities, including volunteering and working in Student Admissions at Boston College.

Now back at the Prep, Mr. Kolon works in the Admissions Office. In the office he helps to organize every

HAWKLIFE Shadow visit. Mr. Kolon ensures that each shadow has a great experience while at the Prep. During Community Periods, Mr. Kolon escorts shadows to an activity of their choosing so that they can experience the Prep first hand.

Although it has been four years since his time at the Prep, Mr. Kolon says that ?Seeing the same teachers are still here when I was here, and contributing to the same activities that I did during my time here has brought back great memories.? However, he also said that the Prep has changed since his time here; there are new faculty members, new students, and most especially the new schedule. Despite these changes, Mr. Kolon still is ecstatic that he is back at the Prep and that he is now able to give back to the institution in any way that he can. He believes that being put in the Admissions Office was the best thing that could have happened for his ASC experience. He says that he is surrounded by amazing, hardworking people,

and that it has been a seamless transition, as he worked admissions in college.

(Photo: Brendan Kolon '13)

After his time as an ASC, Mr. Kolon is hoping to get a job in the Marketing field, specifically as either part of a brand management team or as a brand manager. He says that he is hoping to start his search during the upcoming Christmas Break.

When asked what he would say to any student who is considering the Prep as an option, he said, ?The Prep is truly what it is not only because it can prepare you for college, but also because it will prepare you for life after college. In my time here at the Prep I truly grew as a man for and with others, and I also grew in all of the principles of the Grad at Grad.?

Stop by the Admissions Office to meet Mr. Kolon and talk to him. He doesn?t get a chance to meet many students outside of Admissions and would love to get to know the student body.

When not enjoying a plethora of crabs, Brendan Kolon spends his time working with Admissions and Cape & Sword.

Ar tist of the Week: Sal M estichelli '19 ?When I told The Hawkeye I wanted to submit art it was around Thanksgiving, and I knew everyone was looking forward to winter break. I decided to go with an image that many could relate to, since most people I know enjoy snow days.?

--This image of the Gesu was drawn two weeks prior to Christmas break.

8 | Features

BOOK REVI EWS Students in Mr. Fortin's Government classes were asked to read and review a book of their choosing that would be of some relevance to their study in the course. What follow are some highlights from those reviews.

Howard E. Wasdin and Stephen Templin's SEAL Team Six: Memoirs of an Elite Navy SEAL Sniper was an amazing book, I can honestly say that I enjoyed every aspect of it. Even from the first chapter, where most books may start off slow, it was instantly captivating and all I wanted to do was keep reading it. It really puts you into the shoes of a SEAL Team Six member, and educated me on how they live and train. It also gave me insight into how they put their training into practice, which is exactly what I was hoping for from this book. I would rate this book 4.5 stars because of how well the story of this elite sniper was told. I would highly recommend this book to those interested in biographical books and to those who are interested in certain branches of the military, because they will get the most out of this book given their interests.

-- Nick Mangano '19

Stephen Tanner's Afghanistan: A Military History From Alexander the Great to the War Against the Taliban was a very interesting, informative and thought-provoking novel. The novel gave incredible insight into many of the greatest empires to have existed in the world's history. Speaking generally, novels not only make the reader learn about new things, but novels also force the reader place themselves in similar situations and consider their own surroundings. This novel was a prime of that, because it brought the reader from ancient times to the war on terror, which is still a focus in the present day. It made me consider the society that I live in today, and how foreign affairs can affect my country, myself included. I would this book 3 stars because it did not offer any more or less information than could be found online, and its insight was sometimes banal. However, I did enjoy how Tanner brought the reader across the timeline of many societies.

-- Daniel Mauriello '19

I chose to read The Death of the USS Thresher by Norman Polmar. It told of the sinking of the Thresher, the most technologically-advanced submarine when it was built, and how the sequence of events leading up to its sinking played out. The book begins by telling the reasons for building the Thresher; namely, to hunt Soviet submarines. It was outfitted with an extraordinarily advanced design for this part. This is followed by narration that brings the reader from its initial trials until its destruction in April 1963.

This book is better than the average non-fiction book until the end, when it gets mundane and lethargic. Other than that, it gives its fair share of technical insight into the work required to make a nuclear submarine fit for service, as well as the role civilian contractors have in the building of submarines. At the end, Polmar also gives examples of other submarine sinkings. Because of this strange transition, I would give the book 4 stars: the end is not enjoyable and could be viewed as unnecessary.

-- Joseph McKenna '19

Features | 9

BOOK REVI EWS Students in Mr. Fortin's Government classes were asked to read and review a book of their choosing that would be of some relevance to their study in the course. What follow are some highlights from those reviews.

Michael Byers's War Law expressed a very academic introduction into a very complex, often controversial subject. Byers uses his expertise on the subject of International Law and glorifies his stance with examples from history of the international law world. I opened this book for the sake of learning about War Law and Byers gave me just that, and more. I liked how he broke the book down into parts in order to organize all of his information for the sake of benefitting the understanding of the reader. An interesting point he added at the end of his book was a consideration of how the United States corrupted the International Law system and, with that, he knows that they hold immense responsibility. For those who are interested in politics regarding War Law, this book goes above and beyond solely informing you on the subject.

-- Connor Ledwith '19

Americans at War is a fantastic compilation of essays written by Stephen E. Ambrose, renowned historian of modern America at war. Ambrose draws stories over the many wars in American and illustrates the personalities of the leaders and those being lead during the rough times of war. He depicts the experiences and thoughts of generals and soldiers so incredibly that it feels almost as if you were there to watch things unfold. Living through many of the recent war conflicts, Ambrose gives in-depth insight with a twist of his own experience. Through he writes mostly on the events of World War II, essays on the Civil War, the Vietnam War, and War in the Twenty-First Century all offer a close view on how war has changed over time through the technological eras. With his ingenious illustrative detail in his writing, he brings the perspective of those who lived through these experiences.

-- Michael Buchanan '19

What You Should Know About Politics ... But Don't is a book that explains political issues in a very simple way that anyone can understand. The book has thirteen chapters, each of them covers something different about politics. One chapter talks about the economic system, others talk about the elections, the military and even foreign policy. The purpose of this book is to give you a political understanding of issues that matter.

I would highly recommend this book to those who don't understand politics or don't trust the government at all, because the book teaches you how these institutions work and how they are involved in almost every aspect of your life. As an international student, I knew almost nothing about United States politics, only what the media and the people claim.

This book helped me to understand and analyze the issues that matter. You need to read this book to be informed in the political field, even if you don't want to study it.

-- Alejandro Sanabria '19

10 | Entertainment

A L ook I nto the Black Mirror

By Jake Feeher y '18 For those of you unfortunate enough to have not heard of Black Mirror, the show picks of the mantle of the Twilight Zone, exploring a futuristic but plausible world where future tech reflects our current state of society. Being an anthology series, there is no connection between previous episodes, except thematic ones. As the fourth season looms and the holidays approach, now seems an appropriate time to reexamine what is in my opinion the pinnacle of the series: ?White Christmas?. ?White Christmas? opens in a cabin with two men, Matt and Joe, discussing what brought them there to such a desolate place. Matt is open about his past as a dating ?coach? using the augmented reality cameras implanted in everyone?s eyes to help lonely men seduce women, but he reveals that this was a side job, his real work involved creating artificial copies of a person?s consciousness to run that person?s home, torturing the A.I. if needed. Joe begins to loosen up and share his story, showing the dark secrets of his past.

This particular episode embodies everything great about the show; tremendous acting, ingenious storylines, and a harrowing and dark ending that sticks with you long after you?ve finished it. There are other standout episodes, like the heart wrenching ?San Junipero? and the dystopian ?15 Million Merits? but each episode brings a bold story to life. If you haven?t yet started on Black Mirror, now is the perfect time; it?s both bingeable and rewatchable. With standout episodes, Black Mirror scratches an itch that no other sci- thriller show can, providing insight, suspense, and action.

Thankfully when you finish you won?t have long to wait as season four is on its way. Just be careful that you don?t get lost staring into the Black Mirror.

Rating: 8/10

(Photo: I MDb)

The strength of the episode lies in the recurring use and prevalence in the two tech-

nologies presented, the Z-eyes, which allow you to ?block? people from seeing you, and the ?cookie? which contains a artificial version of a person's consciousness. The way both loop through Matt and Joe?s stories are both engaging and clever. They have the ability to feel relatable enough to drive home the message, but far off enough to not send me into a panic.

"With standout episodes, Black M ir ror scratches an itch that no other sci-fi thriller show can, providing insight, suspense, and action."

The Hawkeye Staff Editor s-in-Chief

Head Wr iter s

Matt Phillips '18

Matt Brennan '18

Marco Sammartino '18

Simon Williams '18

David McCabe '19

Andrew Koh '19 Jack Thorell '19

M anaging Editor Joe Scott '19

Staff Wr iter s Michael Enright '18

Features Section Editor

Jake Feehery '18

Nick Palermo '18

Riley Herriman '18 Paul Koenig '18

Spor ts Section Editor

Liam McGrath '18

Dan Avington '18

Anthony McTighe '18 Sebastian Porreca '18

Enter tainment Section Editor

Dylan Robak '18

Ronan Egan '18

Brian Scarpato '18 Paul Stowell '18

Opinion-Debate Section Editor

Ned Burke '19

Liam Grugan '19

Robert Calabro '19 Zachary Carr '19

Business M anager

Jacob DeAnnuntis '19

David Haddad '18

Patrick Diviny '19

Christian Giuliani '19 Scott Hibbs '19 Kevin Latu '19 John Leuzzi '19 Christian Locantore '19 Matt Marhefka '19 Nick Mattera '19 Joe Matthews '19 Nick Rios '19 Andrew Shapiro '19 Chris Strohman '19 Ricky Weipz '19 Carl Whittington '19 Thomas Avington '20 Marcus Murphy '20 Santiago Ortiz-Landazabal '20 Matthew Bae '21 Paris Davenport '21 Liam Stephens '21 M oder ator Mr. Leo Vaccaro '05

Entertainment | 11

Haddad: Ramen in a Rush

By David Haddad '18 For seven issues now, I have reviewed a variety of food around the Prep, but the majority have been Italian cuisines and American style food. This week, I looked to offer something a bit different.

For the past year, Japanese restaurants, specifically ramen noodle places, have been popping up all over Philadelphia.

Ramen Bar, located in University City, is just one of the many new ramen noodle restaurants, and is a great option for some modern tasty food near the Prep. Now, the name is quite misleading as there are so many more options outside of just ramen noodles.

Their menu is extensive, including salads, sushi rolls, donburi, and desserts, and it is not particularly expensive so

you won?t have to break the bank if you decide to dine here. While there, I decided to order Shoyu ramen noodles, as that is what they are known for. In addition, I ordered the Gyoza, pork pot stickers.

On first glance, the place looks very unique, everything looks new. Upon entering, I was seated immediately. Now, unlike most of the other places I have reviewed, it is a very casual sit down restaurant, but of course you can also take food to go. After ordering, the food arrived relatively quickly, and the presentation was very nice. The food was also amazing. Now, although I did not order the sushi, there were people around me who did, and it looked very good. If I were to go again, I would definitely try a sushi roll. Ramen Bar is great because you have the ability to customize, just like at Blaze pizza. You can order one of their pre..- designed ramen dishes, like I did, or create your own version with certain toppings you chose. The Shoyu ramen is a great dish with a

(Photo Credit: Ramen Bar's Facebook)

This Japanese restaurant serves much more than ramen, with items such as sushi rolls, salads, and donburi on their menu. great variety of ingredients, including wavy noodles, chashu, pork, ginger, sesame, and scallions. The Gyoza dumplings were also very tasty. If you decide to make a trip and try Ramen Bar, I would recommend what I had, the dragon sushi roll, or the chicken miso ramen. I would not recommend creating your own just because their pre-designed versions are very good as is. Pricing wise, I spent under 20 dollars for the dumplings and ramen, which is pretty reasonable.

I would definitely recommend Ramen Bar to anyone who is looking for a good, different restaurant. The ramen they serve is very good, obvi-

ously nothing like the boxed ramen you would buy in a grocery store, and the other options on the menu are fantastic.

That being said, if you are looking for something very filling, I would not recommend getting just ramen, rather something else off of their menu, like the sushi, dumplings, etc. Ramen Bar is just a short ride away from the Prep, located next to a recent Dining With Dav location, Savas, at 3438-3448 Lancaster Ave, open during school hours, and after school from 4:30 10:00 PM. There is also a second location on Locust Street, on__Penn?s__campus.

Faculty Grid

By Nick Rios '19

M r. Conner s '80

M r. K ania

M r. Raffa

M r. Sokolowski '08

What is your favor ite par t about Chr istmas time at the Prep?

I have always loved the I love the way the moms My favorite part of Christmas mass at the Mr. McGlynn caroling decorate the place -Christmas is not at the Prep. When I first came to out of tune Christmas especially the 1888 Prep -- it's enjoying the the PREP, seniors would songs.

Church of the Gesu! break! stand in the foyer and carol.

What is a tr adition that you and your family take par t in on Chr istmas?

Setting up my grandIn many families of Italian mother's Manger that has Getting high on Jesus at heritage, Christmas Eve is Getting a tree from been in the family for al- the liturgy Christmas day. very important. Then we Schmidt's Tree Farm. most a century while lisget together again on tening to Nat and Bing.

Christmas Day.

Are you a fan of the Winter season?

Winter is my favorite season - the cold, the darkness, the snow, the unexpected day off, and the promise of new life to come.

Relaxing in my living What are you room with a wellmost looking researched Civil Rights for war d to dur ing book, a hot cup of fairthe Chr istmas trade coffee, and my 110 year-old buffalo blanket break? to keep me warm!

Winter? Love it!

I love winter and cannot wait to see snow each year.

Love it. Bring on the snow days.

I want to take a couple of short trips during the A giant dungeons and Visiting New York City break. I love being able to dragons game on New -- the art museums. see friends, stay up late Years Eve. and sleep late.

12 | Entertainment

Under the Bushes Under the Stars Review "As I f I t Was March 1996" GRADE: 9.99/10

By M r. M ar k K r avetz

Over the last decade, Robert Pollard and Guided by Voices have been recording these iconic lo- fi indie rock gems consisting of two or three minute ?ballads?. Off the heels of two critically acclaimed albums, Bee Thousand and Alien Lanes,which were recorded on a 4- track, Under the Bushes Under the Stars is GBV?s first stab at professionalism being recorded in 24- track studios.

They delivered!

Was Bee Thousand supposed to be the classic ?underproduced, barely attached twenty songs that talk about kicking elves, getting wet, and most importantly; nothing.? To anyone who cares enough, this new album was not designed to be groundbreaking. It is just another attempt to record a bunch of songs with blissfully unfinished ideas with the hope that you?ll like the ?super majority? of the tracks listed.This impatience is not even rational, getting one song out of the way

Under the Bushes Under the Stars has impulse reactions - this is, simultaneously the reason it remains passionate. In the space of seconds the album opens rocking out with ?Man Called Aerodynamics?, a twominute and one second blast that will hook you immediately. This transitions into a cow- bell melodic atmosphere, as Pollard drones:?Crowded gymnasiums/No shortage of knock-outs.? As quickly as this song provides instant fun, both the ?Cut Out Witch? and ?The Official Ironmen Rally Song? unexpectedly arrive and are the first true ?wow? moments in this album. ?The Official Ironmen Rally Song? is most likely the first single where ?you just have to join in on this song and you just have to hum it all day long.? The vocals are just plain good:

To dine alone To build a private zone Or trigger a synapse And free us from our traps Writing about music that no one really cares about is a major challenge and one of the motives of this review. They are present in the halfsentimental ?Bright Paper Werewolves?, which breaks from its quietly- subtle verse into its desperately emotive chorus. Again, ?To Remake The Young Flyer? triumphs in discovering just one thing, without really expanding beyond swirls of guitar and a brief, thunderous pause that makes Guided By Voices the best listening experience. This creates two or three seconds of happiness, which will never return.

Remarkably, it does.Under the Bushes Under the Stars is comprised of 24 tracks with the last six not listed on the album cover but arguably the best songs on the record. The first 12 songs are amazing and mentioned above followed by a brief interlude: ?Look at Them? and ?The Perfect Life.?

Then, it happens - - the best finish to an album and the sole reason why it makes my top 10 list. The last 10 tracks are simply unreal and the climax of my ?listening to music? career.

10 anthems, totaling around 26 minutes, keep you wanting more and more, and that?s all

(Photo: Album of the Year)

Your top 10 list of ?albums to take on a desert island? is crowded and you are obligated to make adjustments after listening to a great record. Well, after hearing Under the Bushes Under the Stars, I am forced to make one of these lifechanging decisions.The goal of this article is to convince you, and to convince myself, that this album should be enjoyed with a mirage in mind.

to make another song with the same ideas, as fast as possible, over and over again. If anything, Under the Bushes Under the Stars implies that the shorter the attention span, the better the music gets. So, with context and breadth plaguing my mind, I must again remind myself ? why is Under the Bushes Under the Stars so incredible? Well? It just makes me feel good and wanting more! To me that what it means to like an album; after you listen to it over and over it still gives you the same feeling.

The cover of the 1996 album from Guided by Voices. the proof I need. I am going to leave you highlighting some of the_.moments: She can breathe and the shocks are bound to please??15. Underwater Explosions?

I?m dreaming and so it must be true/Nothing else could look as good as you??16. Atom Eyes?

We pulled into economy island, King Sh* &t and the Golden Boys ??17. Don?t Stop Now? He sits down and circulates Come feel the softest parts??18. Office of Hearts?

Pass the word the chicks are back ??19. Big Boring Wedding?

And when I saw you there I saw the best part of me was

yourself ??20. I t?s Like Soul Man? Of our fidgety hearts where we hide/They will turn around??21. Drag Days?

You win before the fight begins but it?s o.k. I?m over you ??22.

Sheetkickers?

A killer?s waking up this time to rob us clean and leave us blind ??23. Redmen and Their Wives?

And you climbed like Einstein through the fleshy folds of history?s underbelly ??24. Take to the Sky? Please listen and enjoy feeling good! ?In Bob we Trust?

(Photo: Allmusic.com)

M usical M usings: Liquid Swords

The cover of the 1995 album.

By Sebastian Por reca '18 Two words: Wu. Tang.

The innovative 90?s rap collective, Wu Tang Clan, has arguably been one of the biggest influences on the genre of rap, reaching their way into modern pop culture, continually influencing the rap and trap genres, and even popping up in national news. That all said, when I was looking for a pos-

sible throwback album to review, I noticed that several weeks ago was the anniversary of the groundbreaking album Liquid Swords by Wu Tang member GZA/Genius. This has long been one of my favorite rap albums, and was actually one of the first things I listened to in the genre.

As an early teen trying to branch out, I came across Liq-

uid Swords on none other than my father?s iTunes library, and was blown away. It opened up a whole world for me in terms of music. Released on November 7th, 1995, the album was, as I mentioned before, released under GZA Genius, but it is still very much considered a Wu Tang album, with verses by members such as Inspectah Deck, ODB, RZA, Method Man, Ghostface Killah, and more, and plays like a collaborative album. Liquid Swords is considered one of the best and most widely influential Wu Tang albums, and is a personal favorite that I think is a bit lost in the sea of newer rap material.

The first notable thing on the album is how impeccable the flows are. Each verse, whoever is on it, flows extremely smoothly, seamlessly transitions into one another, and never skips a beat. It creates this continual torrent of smooth, heavy hitting raps.

Beats on songs like ?Shadowboxin?? and ?Cold World?, and even arguably across the whole album, are just amazing, and contain the kind of smooth,

head bumping, melodic beats that can easily make an album much better.

The progression of the album is very nice also, with a nice intro in the song ?Liquid Swords?, and then building up to the meat of the album which is packed with some amazing songs, and then strongly closing out with the interestingly spiritual song ?B.I.B.L.E.?.

I bring this up because I think Liquid Swords does an expert job at consistently keeping the album as a whole interesting and exciting.

Maybe this is just a necessity of pre- digital albums, which were normally listened to as a whole, or maybe it?s part of what makes the album so good, but either way I enjoy the flow of the songs. The subject matter and lyrics also deserve praise here. First of all, the rhymes on this whole album and by everyone featured are amazing. They?re extremely clever, interesting, and just really well done. The lyrical content on some songs like ?Cold World? and ?B.I.B.L.E? also delve into some really

deep places, recounting vivid and terrible stories of life in New York City?s worst neighborhoods, or even human nature, and I think this deeper contemplation is pretty interesting and even refreshing.

The only criticism I can come up with is the length of the samples. RZA uses some pretty interesting samples that occasionally add to the song, but on other songs they are much too long, some even reaching a minute and a half. It also takes far too long to end on a few songs, and there is occasionally this 30-45 second time period of the beat or the chorus just fading out and, like the samples, it gets to be a bit much. However, in the grand scheme of the whole album, these critiques are very insignificant.Overall, Liquid Swords is one of my favorite rap albums and an absolute classic. You cannot talk about the history of hip- hop without at least mentioning this album, and rightly so. If you are looking to get into more hiphop/rap or just a fan of genre, this album is a gem and I would highly recommend.

Entertainment | 13

Justice L eague: Another Downfall for DC

By Anthony M cTighe '18

If there was anything good that came from the movie, it was the performances. Ben Affleck, Gal Gadot, Jason Momoa, and Ezra Miller all turned in stellar performances. Miller and Momoa stand out in particular, because they were fresh faces, and arguably the best roles in the movie. Momoa plays the rocker version of the hero we love to hate, Aquaman. He was not only able to play the character well, but he made Aquaman look cool. The man who can talk to fish was one of the better characters and not some stupid hero. Miller was easily my favorite of the characters. He was a funny, unprepared-hero, who was able to inject some comedy into the dark film. Miller was the nervous, teen hero, who never really fought villains, and it worked. He played the role perfectly, and was enjoyable from the very beginning.

However, for those who know the Justice League there are a few missing members.

If you have not seen the trailers, I suggest you skip this part. Another character that I actually enjoyed was Superman. The return of the Son of Krypton, although expected, was quite fun. Superman was a bit of light shed onto the catastrophe happening in the movie. As Steppenwolf attempted to destroy Earth, Superman was able to bring some fun and light into the darkness.

Being a die- hard fan of Batman, and one who usually hates this hero, I actually enjoyed him in the film.

On the other hand, Justice League does fall back into the struggle that it faced with Batman V. Superman. In Batman V. Superman, as well with the other villains of the DCEU, the

(Photo: Digital Spy)

It is time to unite the league.

Justice League is out, and is getting some incredibly mixed reviews. The DC Extended Universe continues on the warfare with its reviewers, from the fans that loved this film to the critics that hated it.

As a fan of the DCEU, I feel that there are many flaws in this film, possibly branching from the switch in directors, causing many reshoots and more defects to be noticed. Did the league really combat all of it?s problems, through the characters, story, special effects and runtime?

Fan favorites, Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter, were swapped out for Cyborg, which is not any fault of Ray Fisher, who did a fine job portraying the Cybernetic Superhero. Although it poses these question, why did we not receive the real league we were expecting?

Green Lantern and Martian Manhunter both could have been part of the team. However, Cyborg was the chosen one, and probably for plot reasons. I think most of the story would have been hard to pulloff, if Cyborg was not included. It seemed that he was not so much a member of the team, but more of the explanation for the huge story that was happening. I wish the villain had been smaller, and less ?world ending? so that the character would not have been wasted on plot development and explanation.

A promotional release from the new movie. main characters end- up being big, grey, CGI, bad guys. Lex Luthor has been the only villain who has not had anything GCI, but he was not the only villain of that film. In addition, the villain is too big for the fight. Why can?t the heroes fight a normal villain? Why does the villain want to destroy the world? DC Comics has created many villains that could stand up to the Justice League, and not want to take over the planet or need to be CGI. I just do not understand the constant world-ending plot, or destructive nature of their films, that continue to cost them in the long run.

Another spotty concept, along with the not- so- welldone CGI villain is the special effects used. Most likely a product of the reshoots, many green screen effects looked ridiculous and could easily be seen as fake. Small scenes around Atlantis, and the final battle seemed to have crazy bad effects that made it very obvious that they were not real.

While on the topic of the final battle, many ridiculous designs were used when it came to Steppenwolf, and whatever he was attempting to do. Steppenwolf ?s whole endgame had a confusing plan, making it hard to understand, especially with the bad CGI used. Also, a strong downfall of this film were the many things that were changed from the pre- finalrelease trailers. It seems that they can be quickly blamed on the reshoots. I do not understand Warner Bros. constant need of reshoots, but this seems to be the first time they were detrimental to the film.

In addition, a similar problem as before, Warner Bros. seems to go on a frenzy when it comes to cutting scenes.

There were many scenes missing from the trailers, and the film was brought down to around one hour and fifty minutes without credits. A situation that both Batman V. Superman and Suicide Squad faced. The film ends up missing either vital scenes or enter-

taining spots from the trailer.

Fans seem to protest that the film ends up releasing a better received Ultimate Edition.

Batman V. Superman received complaints that it was too long, at almost three hours in theaters. And, there were only a few scenes left out. Justice league is already missing over five scenes from the trailer, and they are the ones that we know of, there could have been more cut scenes. Wonder Woman, the most successful DCEU film, did not receive any sizeable cuts.

Overall, I enjoyed the film, and as a fan of DC, I continually hope they succeed. However, with the problems mentioned, they continue to fall into the same traps. They have showed that they know how to cast, but they still seem to struggle with the story, villains, special effects, and runtime. I do believe that the DCEU will overcome their problems, they just need to learn from their mistakes.

14 | Opinion-Debate

All I Want for Chr istmas is an " A" on M idter ms

By Car l Whittington '19 The Prep has welcomed an abundance of well- needed changes to the school?s operating system. Students and teachers seem to have acclimated to the new schedule, and they are reaping all of the benefits of this more flexible class movement. The next big change students will see is the scheduling of midterm exams.

In previous years, midterm exams were scheduled in January, not long after Christmas break. Having midterms over this long break gave students the opportunity to solely prepare for their exams. After midterm exams were over, the third quarter commenced and students had a fresh start to a fresh year.

Things are different this year. ?NT? days, designated review days where teachers cannot give more than a fifty point assessment, begin on December 14th. On December 18th, the Religious Studies exam is to start promptly at 8:30. The last day to take an exam, the make-up day, is December 22nd. Christmas break officially begins December 23, ending on January 3rd. When students return from Christmas

break, with their exams already being completed, there will be roughly three more weeks of the second quarter.

These changes, like any that are worthwhile, sparked conversation and many questions.

The questions at large are: ?how will the new midterm schedule affect students?? And ?how do the students feel about this change??

Before forming my own firm opinion, I surveyed ten students who are familiar with the Prep?s previous midterm schedule. The first question each student was prompted with asked if they studied for their midterms: eight of ten students replied yes.

The students were then asked if they have previously used Christmas break to prepare for midterms: five students said no, while five students said yes. These results were surprisingly split, while one would have assumed that more students took the advantage of the time Christmas break offered to study.

Next, the students were asked if taking midterms before Christmas break was an advantage or a disadvantage:

six of ten students felt it was an advantage. While this was not initially my opinion, after further conversation with a student who felt it was an advantage I was in agreement.

Even though there is loss of valuable time to study, taking exams before Christmas break allows it to function as an actual break. Without having to study for five to seven exams, students will be able to truly enjoy the holiday and spend quality time with family and friends. To be able to actually utilize the break for rest will allocate students the strength and energy to make it to Easter break.

The only problem that may come for some students is constantly worrying about the grade they got on their midterm. A simple solution to this problem, however, is thorough studying so that there is no need to worry.

Eight out of ten students stated that having three weeks left of the second quarter after returning from Christmas break and exams was an advantage.

In accordance with the majority, I felt having more time

in the quarter was an advantage for multiple reasons. First, having more time before the end of the quarter shortens the subject material that will be on the midterms, essentially making them less difficult. Of course, this can be seen as a negative because it may bring a sense of rushing to classes; however, there is no way to condense three weeks worth of material quickly enough to fit it into a midterm. With the possibility of one test a cycle for each class, there has been more than enough time for classes to cover enough information to form an exam.

The second reason that a three week surplus after midterms is helpful is because it gives students the opportunity to raise their grades in the case of a bad midterm grade.

Why should a bad day completely ruin a semester grade?

The simple answer is that it shouldn?t. If a student gets a grade that he is not happy with on his midterm, he has three weeks to make sure that grade does not harmfully affect his semester grade; this is a luxury students have not previously had.

The last question that the ten

students who were given the survey were asked was how many midterms they were taking. Having fewer exams to prepare for could be seen as reason to be more willing to give up valuable study time, but the answers to the question showed that there was no correlation.

Seven of the ten students who were surveyed will be taking seven exams. The majority of these students still favored the midterm schedule regardless of the number of exams they have to take.

Amongst the majority of the surveyed students and myself, there is agreement that the new midterm schedule benefits the students, and makes Christmas better this year.

Do you have thoughts or comments to offer on any of the beliefs expressed in this issue? Contact Liam Grugan '19 to write a letter to the editor.

Opinion: New Religion Exemption Policy is Unfair

By Jack Thorell '19 With changes in the past few years to our food provider and its quality, the grading scale, and a schedule that?s now more conducive to managing a school workload and extracurricular commitments, I was happy to see that the Prep seemed to seriously consider the opinion and well- being of the student body in recent administrative decision making.

A jarring contradiction, however, to the fair policies and adjustments that have been made for the benefit of the Prep student is the new religion exemption policy for semester courses: there aren?t any.

There are few exemptions at the end of the first semester, and rightfully so, as many classes are hitting their halfway mark and a midterm exam forces students to recall all the information that they?ve learned in the first half of the course, which will -- especially in a language or math class - be built upon as the course gets progressively harder. Students should be expected to remember the information necessary to understand and successfully complete the second half of a course and midterms force them to do so. However, a religion semester course is not reaching its midpoint at the end of the first semester. The class is finished and the concepts are not ones that will be

carried over or used in any future religion course. Students are not recalling skills that they will need again nor are they reviewing for a class which they will sit through for another semester.

While an ?A? in both the first and second quarters doesn?t warrant an exemption from an exam when the class is only halfway through and there is more, increasingly difficult material of the subject matter to come, ?As? in all quarters leading up to a final exam do warrant one. An exemption is not a reward handed out to good students, it is a recognition that, after hard work and exceptional performance throughout a course, sitting through a two hour exam that covers material which a student -- as demonstrated by his meeting the exemption requirements -- has clearly mastered is unnecessary.

In what was supposed to be a school year full of changes that help students better utilize their time, making students who?ve met the former exemption requirements simply wastes the students? time, forcing them to study for an exam they?ve demonstrated they don?t need to take, as students will have to review even with a strong grasp on the material. To argue that a student shouldn?t have to study to do well on a final after getting ?As? is naive; students can?t be expected to remember

all material from the beginning of the semester, but, having previously studied the material and done well enough to meet exemption requirements, can be expected to do well if they put the same time and effort into studying for the final.

However, taking time to review this material that they clearly grasp is time that could be spent reviewing for midterms and finals for classes the students don?t have a handle on.

Furthermore, the semester long religion courses, the only ones affected by this new policy, are for juniors and seniors, who are taking the majority of their AP and other high level, complex courses during these years. Instead of having religion exemptions when students need them most- in the years when they take harder classes and when grades matter mostthey have an additional exam to study for. And those students who meet exemption requirements are likely the ones in the most difficult classes and with much more pressing exams than a religion one.

Of all the departments to argue for a mandatory final, religion is the least viable. If students want to memorize and practice religious, moral principles on their own time and apply those to their life that is their prerogative, but the teachings of an individual religion class will never be uti-

lized in an academic setting after the completion of that class.

I recognize that at a Jesuit school a religion class is a necessary requirement. By requiring four years of various religion classes the Prep seeks to instill in its students a deeper understanding of, appreciation for, and desire to explore faith.

These are qualities of the utmost importance for the character of Prep graduates but of little importance for their transcripts. Religion should not be a class in which students stress about tests or which they associate with mindless studying and memorization. It is meant to be a discussion about and exploration of their faith. Yet students were not given the chance to articulate this.

The many student surveys and interviews about the schedule and cafeteria food have made it clear that the administration cares about the voice of the students. It recognizes that information valuable to a decision making process that affects the student body is gained from the student body.

Clearly, the religion department thinks otherwise, as there was no dialogue with students about how fair this new policy was, nor was there an explanation of the reasoning behind this abrupt change. Even the Founding Fathers recognized and stipulated in the Constitution that the rights and voice of

the minority should be protected. While the student body is in fact the majority with regard to being affected by this new policy, they are the minority with respect to powerwielding and decision- making in the school. And although we have recently seen many of these principles called into debate in our school community, for both students and teachers alike, this fundamental principle of letting the minority voice their opinion is applicable and just both in constitutional law and in practical scholastic situations.

The decision to change the semester religion exemption policy, in which we, the student body, should have had a say, and which was abruptly revealed to us this year, without a detailed explanation or justification to date, is unnecessary, unfair, and a nuisance with regards to preparation.

When studying for an exam, I often take solace in the fact that the material I?m studying is important and applicable to my future academic endeavors or that, having not met fair exemption requirements, taking this exam is a necessary part of demonstrating my grasp of the material. Neither of these will apply this December as many Prep students, myself included, sit through a two hour exam from which we should have been exempt.

Opinion-Debate | 15

Request to Remove the M oder n L anguage Requirement

By Chr istian L ocantore '19 Ninety- three percent of U.S. high schools offer foreign language courses, but statistics from The Atlantic reveal that only one percent of American adults today are proficient in a foreign language they studied in a U.S. classroom. This implies that many U.S. students are taking a class that only one percent use as an adult while all of the other students are taking a class that does not provide much for them later in life. At our school, it is mandatory for every student to take at least two years of a modern language course, but these studies explain that the extreme majority do not hold on to the information from the class.

This statistic of only one

percent of American adults that learned a foreign language in school can proficiently speak it conveys to the issue that many students at St. Joseph's Prep are most likely wasting their time in these classes. There are many reasons why these classes are not a help to the students: for starters, most of the students are only taking the mandatory years and then dropping it.

A major reason why many students take modern language for three years is that they do not want to take three years of Latin. Another reason is that for many of the students it is their first time learning this modern language so they are already going to the class with a large disadvantage. These reasons are extremely relevant in our student body which

leads to many students dropping the class after the requirement and forgetting about the language resulting in a waste of time and money.

While it is hard to learn a modern language, especially in high school, at the same time there are many pros to learning a modern language. Many positive outcomes can occur from learning a new language: it can help with finding a job, traveling to different countries or learning about different cultures. Kyle Redcross ?19, a key student to the junior class, voiced: ?I think we should have modern language, so that we are able to become appreciative of language as a whole.

I take Spanish and the Hispanic population is growing to new heights in America so I believe learning a new lan-

guage should be integral to the curriculum of all schools.?

languages and that can go to a ton of other electives.?

The problem is that our society in the U.S. needs to change if it wants to encourage students to learn a new language.

It is much easier to learn a language at a young age than being older, so modern language classes should be put into place at grade school. Having only two to three mandatory years in high school while having no prior knowledge on the language can easily result in a waste of time because ninetynine percent of the time the student will not use it again.

A mandatory two years of taking modern language is not helping many students at this school. If one needs modern language for their career then they are most likely going to take it on their own anyway and for the whole four years, while other students are most likely dropping and forgetting about the class. If our school did not have these mandatory two years then students will have to fill up those periods with electives that do interest them and will help them in the career path they are looking to go down instead of wasting two to three years taking a class they will most likely forget about.

Another vocal student in the junior class, Bill Trautz ?19, stated: ?In the next few years I couldn?t see myself using Spanish.? He also went on to add that ?we take five years of

Reflection on SJP Thanksgiving Ser vice

By Par is Davenpor t ?21 Service is one of the core, defining aspects of being a student here at the Prep. Not only does service help those who are receiving it, but it is rewarding for the person who is giving the service as well.

Service builds character, and also gives someone a feeling of giving back to the community.

Sometimes, service can show just who someone really is on the inside.

For the Thanksgiving holiday, the Prep held its annual Thanksgiving Food Drive. The Prep has been partnered with

?YouGiveGoods? for the past few years. This partnership has helped provide food to over 400 families in Philadelphia!

Students also helped by donating money and spending $5 on dress down days. Everything would lead up to a mass and the students? carrying baskets around baskets of food to families in the neighborhood.

Before the big day, students were invited to and encouraged to come to the Thanksgiving Food Rally. At the food rally, there were many tables lined with food. Students grabbed a friend and a basket, and went

around the tables loading the baskets with food. These would later be the baskets that would go to the families in the neighborhood.

While we worked, there was music playing, courtesy of DJ Haddad.

Many students and the block captains of the neighborhood came to help out, too. It was a fun experience (not to mention a quick way to earn service hours) and the Prep students came in and got the job done in no time.

The Tuesday before Thanksgiving break was the day we went out and gave the food to

our Philadelphian neighbors.

We had a short mass, which helped us remember how thankful we should really be.

After mass was over, advisory groups were given three jobs: get a turkey, get a pie, and get a basket. Once everyone was prepared, the groups went to their assigned places. Nothing made our hearts warmer that day than the faces of those receiving a Thanksgiving meal!

It felt great to know that we were actually doing something to help people. Personally, I felt like I finally knew what it meant to be a man for others!

Mr. Deitch, leader of the Food Drive and Director of Ignatian Service here at the Prep, said, ?working with Mr. Vaccaro and Ms. Porter on the planning and execution of the Thanksgiving Food Drive was a fantastic experience, but even more consoling was our students and the community coming together to show the rest of Philadelphia what faith- filled neighbors look like.?

Hopefully, we can continue to do great things like this and keep showing the world what service is!

(Photo: St. Joseph's Prep)

A few players on the football team helping to prepare the baskets of donated food for the Thanksgiving Food Drive.

16 | Opinion-Debate

L etter to the Editor : M r. Jack O'Neill Dear Prep Community, I have considered St. Joseph?s Prep my second home for over the last thirty years. Many of you may know me as Coach O'Neill and see me in the chapel and throughout the school daily.

Last month, I felt disrespected in my own home. I felt personally targeted by the letter to the editor, and it reminded me of how my fellow veterans were unjustly called "baby killers." This never happened to me personally, but now I know how they felt, because I am so upset that I cannot sleep and cannot stop thinking about this situation.

I was the Honorary Captain honored at the football game for my service in the Vietnam War that he drew attention to indirectly. I was very hurt by his article. I would like to make it clear that I did not ask to be chosen for honorary captain at halftime that day, but I really appreciated it and I was extremely honored. I hope the other people who were honored along with me that evening did not get a chance to read last month?s disheartening article.

My family was deeply saddened by this situation. The article highlighted the relationship between Catholicism and the military. In a way, I felt my faith was questioned by another.

Deep down, I know how strong my relationship with God and the Church is. I was not in Vietnam to exercise and promote violence, I was there to protect my family, friends, country, and Vietnamese people I became family with.

Unexpectedly, I returned for two more tours because of the bonds and relationships I made over there with the Vietnamese people, especially the children. I would like to end this with? GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Sincerely, Mr. Jack O'Neill /Coach O'Neill

L etter to the Editor : Ronan Egan '18 I am writing in response to a letter to the editor that was published in the November 16th issue of the Hawkeye. This letter made specific, calculated, yet aggravating remarks concerning the influence of the US military on both the Prep and the world. While I tremendously respect some opinions of the author, I must reverentially disagree with others.

The first issue I noted was an embellishment of the ?evolving bond? between the Prep and the military. As a person who has worked closely with the club in question, the Travis Manion Foundation, I can personally attest to their nonpolitical standards. In countless hours working with the organization I have not once felt pressured into pursuing a career in the military. Their involvement with the Prep is purely to serve and train leaders? not soldiers? who can function to the best of their abilities as they progress into roles as leaders in society.

While I can understand the misconception that a military-based organization working through our school can appear to be a ploy to recruit new members for the military, it is almost implausible to believe that the school is now promilitary as a result of a recent uptick in times the Pledge of Allegiance has been recited. Mr. Oldham implies that the Pledge is an oath of support to the current administration or government policies, which is not its intention in any way.

It is ?patriotic,? yes? but still at its roots remains an oath to our land and our country, not to the President, his cabinet, or his policies.

Similar issues arise with the criticism of the Prep celebrating its military-bound graduates, along with recognizing and applauding those veterans who attended the Prep years ago. Some may not agree with the methods used by the military, but to disrespect the people who fight is outrageous. To serve in the military is an honor in the highest rank. The policies for which they fight for may not be popular, but their acts of courage and bravery always need to be commended. They put themselves at risk to protect and uphold the Constitution, again, not to respond to the policies in the Oval Office.

The article also noted a meteoric rise in PTSD dating back to Vietnam in the late 20th century. Having worked specifically with this group of challenged individuals, it is impossible not to applaud the sacrifice that they gave to serve the country. They are often received as ?victims,?; however, in many cases, they truly are.

The term ?soldiers guilt? can be spun in multiple ways. Some may take it and address the issues of ?unethicality? in the US Military, but the soldiers themselves define it differently: a form of PTSD that occurs when you believe that you have not done enough in the war to save the lives of those around you. These soldiers struggle to return to normalcy as a result of believing that it should be them, not others, that make the ultimate sacrifice for their country. To frown upon the actions of those who live in constant mental turmoil in order to take a stand against the current administration is simply absurd.

The final part I noticed was the phrase ?peace to all? in the conclusion of the piece. It is constantly referred to in the article that anything other than peace is an automatic failure in the eyes of the Church as a result of the importance of the Beatitudes. The ultimate goal is always to find the peaceful solution to our problems, but even the Church? while cognizant of the Beatitudes? existence? understands how unrealistic this goal is. They came up with a solution in the late 300s A.D. under St. Augustine, which was later revised and published as the Just War Theory by St. Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. This theory revolves around ?Jus ad bellum? and ?Jus in bello,? right conduct to go to and during war, respectively. Nowhere in these documents does it say that war is to be frowned upon and disrespected.

Nowhere does it say that those who fight should be thrown to the margins of society, to be ?demonized? in any way, shape, or form simply because they do not entirely agree with the policies of those who send them into battle. The Church definitely condemns war, but compromises that some wars might still be ?just? in a disordered world, and so should we.

In conclusion I would like to again applaud Mr. Oldham for his contribution to the Hawkeye. In a world where people are constantly being silenced, it is important for those with strong opinions to speak publicly about them, whether right or wrong. Through this debate we are keeping the discussion alive, in the process setting an example for what a student newspaper is truly all about.

Sincerely, Ronan Egan

L etter to the Editor : Jacob Or bell '18 I am writing this in response to Mr. Oldham?s letter featured in the last edition of the Hawkeye: In this letter Mr. Oldham stated that there is ?A steady evolving bond between The Prep and the US military.? He made it abundantly clear that he believes there is a problem with this. For example, in the article he claimed that the recent announcements for the Pledge of allegiance are part of this ?evolving bond.? In fact, Mr. Oldham put it as ?announcements to stand for the pledge of allegiance? when in actuality there is a long winded disclaimer before the pledge affirming that no one is obligated to stand, and the flag doesn?t represent current policies and so on. I don?t know of any other high school that provides such a disclaimer. I spent my first two years of high school at La Salle CHS, and they give the Pledge every single morning without warning.

Something else that appears to make Mr. Oldham uncomfortable is the Veteran?s Day halftime celebration that was held at the La Salle game a few weeks back. Any reasonable person typically wouldn't have a problem with this. Veterans Day is not meant to ?Celebrate War? or pitch ?recruitment slogans?. Veteran?s Day is simply meant to honor all current and former American Soldiers. What kind of person would have a problem with that? It's our duty to be ?anti-war? but it is despicable to be ?anti-soldier.?

On top of his protest toward the halftime celebration, Mr. Oldham also expressed his discontent towards a ?military sponsored service club? coming onto campus. A service club that we know as the Travis Manion Foundation. A club that fundraises for disabled vets and their families, and is involved with teaching leadership skills and helping with general service here at the Prep. To be honest, your objection to these things comes off less as ?anti war?and more as ?anti soldier.?This was further exemplified by Mr. Oldham?s vocal protest at a Travis Manion leadership seminar a few weeks ago.

This is not meant to discredit Mr. Oldham?s ?counter-cultural? politics, or go against what he believes is right, my letter is simply to offer the other side of the story. (Especially as someone else who comes from a military family and actually transferred from another high school.) In short, it's good to support veterans and necessary to be ?antiwar,? and I believe that I can do both at once. It's no crime to be proud of your country, and it's certainly not a crime to support the men and women who serve it. I hope that we all remember that next time the Pledge comes on over the PA. ~Jacob Orbell Class of 2018 ~SpecialThanks~ -Joseph Walter Orbell III USN Commander (Aviator) 2006-2011 USAF Captain (Pilot) 1989-2006 (Yugoslavian Civil Conflict, Desert Storm, Desert Shield)

Reader s of the Hawkeye can access previous issues on our issuu page at anytime: https://issuu.com/thehawkeye6

The Hawkword .1

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Be the first to submit your completed crossword puzzle to Matt Phillips '18, Marco Sammartino '18, or David McCabe '19 to win a free Sage lunch pass!

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11 12

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17 19

18 20

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Down 1. The number of times that the Prep has burnt down 3. "_____ Starts Here" 23

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5. What the library will most likely be renamed within a few years 8. ___ Prep

Across

13. The name of the Prep's nurse

9. The famed hill at Belmont Plateau

2. Principal turned history teacher

14. The 11th Student of the Week this year

10. Winner of the Mini-Max award from the Maxwell Football Club

4. This year's first midterm

15. The Philadelphia landmark connected to the Prep

6. The pizza place just a few blocks north of the Prep

19. This club discusses medical science

7. ASC Member

21. A program part of the Anti-Defamation League

11. A member of the 2017-2018 Student Council

22. Where to go to get help with your writing

12. Cape and Sword's annual winter production

23. Riddle: What type of dress can never be worn?

13. The Prep's archives 16. Former ASC member hired to the Latin department 17. Where Preppers go on G days for Community Hour 18. Where Indoor Track runs for meets 20. Before Sage

M idter m Exam Schedule

By David M cCabe '19

M onday, Dec. 18

Tuesday, Dec. 19

Wednesday, Dec. 20

Thur sday, Dec. 21

Fr iday, Dec. 22

Religious Studies

Classics

M athematics

Science

M ake-Up

M oder n L anguage

Honor s Greek I I /I I I

8:30-10:30

AP Statistics English

Histor y

AP Psychology I ntro to Psych

11:30-1:30

AP Comp Science/Pr inciples Classical M yth Economics M ake-Up

Follow @Hawkeye_SJP on Twitter for Exclusive Content & Online I ssues!

18 | Sports

M eet the Captains: K yle Thompson '18

By Ricky Weipz ?19

or basketball related.?

Everybody is gearing up for this upcoming basketball season, and Kyle Thompson ?18 is taking up one of the team?s main leadership roles, along with Darius Kinnel ?18 and Gabe Arizin ?19. Thompson says, ?Being named a captain for the second year in a row is really special for me because I can look back and see all of the talented guys who were also captains in the past and see all that they've accomplished in their Prep basketball careers.

The bar has been set high for me and I'm just trying to leave my mark as another prep basketball captain.?

After a heartbreaking loss to Roman Catholic in last year?s Catholic League playoff game, Thompson says that this year, ?We are trying to move forward and grow as a team. We are continuing to get better everyday and that is all we can ask for.?

It is not all hoops and homework for Kyle. In his free time he is a master chef. His favorite dish to cook: seafood scampi. Most athletes want to fuel up before going on the court. For Thompson, his go-to pregame meal is always, ?a homemade breakfast wrap, or some pasta compliments of Sage dining.?

Since hoops season is here, we can all see what the Hawks, and Thompson, have cooking in the kitchen for the rest of the PCL.

(Photo: City of Basketball Love)

Thompson is the only four year player on Speedy Morris? squad this year. He hopes to use this experience to become ?an extension of Coach Morris on the basketball court with all of the wisdom I have accumulated over the past four years.?

Not only does Thompson care about the result on the court, but also off of it. He told me, ?A good leader?s leadership transcends just a basketball court. I am here to make sure my guys are not only handling their business on the court but in school as well, because if the academics aren't taken care of then there is no basketball.

Along with that, I think that being a senior and having experienced all aspects of the Prep enables me to dish out good advice to all of my teammates whether that be school

With the NBA season starting back up, Thompson can now watch his favorite player, Kyrie Irving. ?Not only is he a Jersey native,? Thompson said, ?but he also has the best finishing ability out of any guard I've been alive to see and his ball handling is just magical.?

He also describes the new Boston Celtic as ?a human cheat code.? He even said, ?I personally don?t think he is human.? Kyle is also jokingly considering getting a ?Friends? tattoo like the one Irving already has, because it is his favorite show.

Point guard Kyle Thompson '18, one of the three captains of the Prep basketball team, in action last year against Roman Catholic.

By M att Brennan ?18 Senior captain Riley Herriman ?18 enters the 201718 squash season with high hopes. Along with Pat Morrison ?18, Herriman heralds the team this season as a captain. Other than playing squash, Herriman ?18 is a mainstay for the Varsity soccer team and referees for the United States development academy; he is also an avid photographer. In addition, Herriman ?18 is a member of the National Honor Society and takes many AP classes. Even though he participates in many other activities, Herriman is focused on being a captain for the squash team this season.

After the departure of Thomas Prim ?17, the sole captain last season, Herriman hopes to lead the team to success. When responding about how it feels to be chosen as a squash captain, Herriman said, ?There comes a lot of responsibility

as captain. I feel we are held to a higher standard and have to be a role model for the younger players in the program.? While squash is a somewhat individual sport, leadership is required to keep the team focused and energized. Herriman answered when asked about the importance of leadership, ?We are legit. Before every match, we remind ourselves of what our coach, Rob Whitehouse, preaches: ?I really think we can win this one.? This mentality might not always work, but if I tried my hardest, I have no regrets leaving the squash court.? Going into each match with this mentality helps to keep each player focused on doing the best they can no matter who their opponent is. In order to achieve their captain?s goals for the season, the team needs to work hard and continue to use this mindset.

Herriman sets his sights high for the squash team

this season: ?We are hoping to make it back to Nationals which will be in Philly this year. Our chances are looking pretty optimistic. My greatest goal would be to win as a team at nationals with a student section.?

While nationals is the captain?s ultimate goal, the squad is going to have to get through a lot of obstacles along the way. With a challenging season ahead of the squad, Herriman is hoping to lead them to success.

Herriman commented on his anticipation for the season, ?There is a squash brotherhood that I love.

There's just a bunch of guys having fun, hitting some balls, relieving the stress that the Prep can cause at times.? With the everyday stress that the Prep places on its students, a fun activity assists in alleviating some of it.

Another thing that Herriman looks forward to is a sport other than squash.

(Photo: Behance)

M eet the Captains: Riley Her r iman '18

Riley Herriman, photographer for The Hawkeye and a member of the soccer team, is one of the two squash captains.

Herriman replied, ?The best part about the squash team for me is getting to play Real Tennis, aka court tennis. We are the only high school team in the nation, and most likely world, who plays and it is the coolest sport. In that respect, we are hoping to play in some tournaments and possibly Junior Nationals.?

Real tennis is a sport that is the basis for which mod-

ern tennis was derived. Although it has lost popularity over the last century, organizations around the world still try to keep the sport alive. Even though the team is mainly for squash, it is also interested in this classical sport.

With the strong leadership from its captains, the Prep squash team is ready for a successful_.season.

Sports | 19

Student-Athlete of the Week: Anthony Tigano '18 The last five years in St. Joseph?s Prep football history have been unprecedented. We are witness to an era of Prep football that has reached levels of success thought of as impossible, which says a lot for a school that won the first ever Philadelphia Catholic League title in 1920. All to say, even for a program that has had incredibly competitive seasons, because of the Catholic League?s entry to the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association ranks in 2010, only recently has the school been able to tackle the greatest challenges possible. Undefeated seasons, top collegiate recruits, or statistical records shattering are fine and well, truly something to be appreciated, but it is at this time - now more than ever - - that a performance deserving of praise receives its due.

Senior kicker Anthony Tigano joined the football team after a season of strict soccer and one splitting time between the two; a move that shocked many in the student body. Either intentionally or not, the Sewell, New Jersey native put any and all questions to rest by becoming one of the most productive players in Prep history.

Tigano has posted numbers the Hawks have not seen in over a decade, striking for 73 total points off of 67 extra kicks and two field goals last year, in what was a year marked alltime school records being set.

The improbable performance by the first year varsity starter set a more than welcomed standard for his senior season, a call he would answer with certainty.

Over the course of the 2017 campaign, Tigano has kicked for record numbers yet again, with 83 points. The standout

numbers put Tigano as 1st in the school record books for scoring by kickers in a season, moving his junior season down to #3 all-time. Now second on that leaderboard is Pat Kaiser ?02, who scored 82 points in his senior season at kicker and 224 as a multipurpose offensive player, a first in offensive scoring in a single season.

Tigano?s performance in this past regular season propelled him to earning 1st Team AllCatholic honors, where he was one of four Preppers on that list, with six classmates on the 2nd team.

Clearly, the underappreciated contributions of Anthony Tigano deserve recognition.

But it is with this congratulations one sees the piece that he played in a greater legacy, one that we, as Prep students, all are_.part_.of.

Anthony Tigano '18 now holds the Prep's record for most points scored by a kicker.

(Photo: St. Joe's Prep)

By Simon Williams '18

Points Scored in a Single Season by Prep K icker s Name

Total Points

Year

Anthony Tigano

83

2017

Pat Kaiser

82

2002

Anthony Tigano

73

2016

Pat Kaiser

62

2001

I ndoor Tr ack Poised for Run at L eague Title

By Dylan Robak ?18

In the field events the Prep is returning all of its members from last year. The top performer for the Hawks in the field is senior Isaiah Ritchie, who placed 2nd in the Long Jump and Triple Jump last year, and 4th in the High Jump.

Darryl Vaughn ?19 also had

The Prep will have some big shoes to fill this year for the 60 meter dash after losing star sprinter D?Andre Swift ?17, so the Hawks will need someone with major speed to fill his shoes. However, in the 200 and 400-meter dashes, SJP is returning most of their most prolific members. Miles Green ?18, who just committed to Virginia Tech to run track, is expected to once again be at the top of the Catholic League, along with Bobby Dupell ?18, who is garnering college interest as well.

These two runners, along with Calvin Willie ?18, make up 3/4 of last year?s 4x400 meter relay

team who won the Penn Relays last year. Willie is coming off of a tremendous Cross Country Season and is more than ready to have a phenomenal Indoor Track season in the 400 and 800 meter dashes, and the mile.

Finally for the distance runs, the Prep has some great milers and 3000- meter runners who are in peak shape after coming off of Cross Country season.

The distance runners will be led by James Brooks ?18 and sophomore Ricky Raup to fill the shoes of the distance runners this season.

With all of these phenomenal athletes making a return this season, the Hawks are poised for a run at the PCL Championship.

(Photo courtesy of Calvin Willie '18)

The Prep Indoor Track team is poised for yet another great season. After finishing second in the PCL last year and taking down powerhouse Cardinal O?Hara, the Prep seeks to avenge the losses against Cross Country State Champion La Salle College High School from this fall. The Prep has some high-level talent from the Triple Jump to the 60 meter dash all the way up to the 3000 meters run.

huge performances at the PCL championships last year in the Triple Jump and High Jump, so the Prep returns two of the top jumpers in the Catholic League.

Last year's 4x400 meter relay team, three of whom are returning this season: (L to R) Bobby Dupell '18, Miles Green '18, Calvin Willie '18, and Stephen McClellan '17.

For mer Prockey Star M akes NHL Debut

(Photo: USCHO.com)

By Zachar y Car r ?19

Former Prep Hockey player Kyle Criscuolo, who went on to play at Harvard University, was recently called up to the Buffalo Sabres.

Former Prep hockey player Kyle Criscuolo, originally from Southampton, New Jersey, was recently called up to play for the Buffalo Sabres.

While he didn?t graduate from the hallowed halls of 17th and Girard, Criscuolo played for three years at The Prep before transferring to Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Connecticut. Criscuolo was a star at The Prep. In his last year with the school, 20082009, Criscuolo netted 25 goals to go along with 32 assists for a whopping total of 57 points in just 21 games.

His excellent play continued at Choate, with back to back campaigns of at least 40 points.

Criscuolo also excelled in the classroom at each, well respected high school.

After graduating from Choate, Criscuolo attended Harvard University. Criscuolo had an impressive career at Harvard as well, which included him being named to the All- Ivy League Second Team in his junior and senior year, and being named the ECAC (Eastern College Athletic Conference) Student-Athlete of the Year.

Criscuolo was also a captain at Harvard for his last two seasons, thus becoming the first junior to serve as a captain in over 50 years. Despite all these accolades, he went undrafted after his Harvard career, and

was signed by the Detroit Red Wings' AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The AHL (American Hockey League) is the development league for the NHL. In his first full season with the Griffins, he played in all regular season games, totalling 41 points. The Griffins went on to win their second Calder Cup in franchise history.

On July 1, 2017, Criscuolo signed his first NHL deal with the Buffalo Sabres. It was a two- way deal, and Criscuolo found himself playing in the AHL again, this time with the Rochester Americans, after the Sabres training camp. He was called up by the Sabres on November 16, and the next day he made his NHL debut.

Football Ends Banner Year (Cont.)

By Dan Avington ?18 and John L euzzi ?19

Richland was coming in with a vengeance.

After punching their ticket to the State Championship game after a thrilling 53- 49 win against the Red Raiders of Coatesville High School, the St. Joe?s Prep Hawks (13- 1) were looking to repeat history and win their 4th state title in the past 5 years and keep their 27- 0 win streak alive. This year?s test would be the PineRichland Rams (16- 0) out of Gibsonia, PA. The Rams and Hawks met in 2014 in this exact stadium, where the Hawks pulled out a stunner, so Pine-

There were two things that got in the way of the Hawks?

28th straight win: Mother Nature and Pine- Richland quarterback Phil Jurkovec. The 6?5? Notre Dame commit was absolutely phenomenal in the matchup, wreaking havoc upon the Prep defense and demonstrating why he is ranked the #8 quarterback in the United States. The matchup started out with Rams running back and defensive back Jordan Crawford returning a kick for over 40 yards, and Jurkovec led a

quick touchdown drive to go up 7- 0. SJP RB Kolbe Burrell ?20 charged for a huge gain, setting up a touchdown for his backfield counterpart Marques Mason ?19. It looked like the Hawks were going up 14-7 on the next drive, as QB Marquez McCray found slot receiver James Cherry ?18 on a crossing route near the end zone, but Tyler King punched the slippery ball and fell on it. The Rams scored again with less than a minute to go in the half, and led 14-7 at the half.

Jurkovec then went on a tear,

scoring on two QB keepers in the third quarter to put his squad up 28- 7. The Hawks weren?t out of it yet though, as Burrell took a handoff 56 yards to the house to bring the deficit to just 14. Jurkovec then found Ben Jochem for a touchdown pass, then, in the fourth quarter, Crawford took one into the end zone, and the Hawks found themselves down 41- 14. The Prep wasn?t finished with their scoring however, as McCray led a big drive, capped off by a screen pass to WR Brandon Sanders ?18 for a huge TD. The Rams ran the clock out,

and Pine- Richland High School took home their first ever PIAA State Championship title.

Even though it was a sloppy game on the part of the Hawks, the achievements they made over the past five years have been remarkable. St. Joe?s Prep is now one of the premiere high school football programs in the nation, and the 27-game win streak that was maintained throughout 13/14 of this season is something that everyone on the team should be quite proud of.

Avington: Senior s L eave I ndelible M ar k on Football pionship, and both showed real promise as varsity players.

By Dan Avington ?18 27 straight wins. 3 Catholic League titles. 2 state championships. These are just some of the mind-blowing numbers that the football players in the class of 2018 have accomplished over their four years at St. Joe?s Prep. Even though their senior season did not exactly end in the way they had hoped, this class has left an indelible mark on the Prep Football program.

Starting out from their freshman year, the Prep faithful could tell that this class was going to be a special one. The freshman team went undefeated that season, ending it on a seven overtime win against Don Bosco. On the varsity team, wide receiver Darryle Simmons ?18 and quarterback Davion Kidd- Jackson helped bring the team to a state cham-

Sophomore year was a strange one for the team, having just lost a very close friend and teammate in Ryan Gillyard ?18, and the team was still inexperienced. Not many of the sophomores that year got much time, outside of Simmons at receiver, and players like Dejuan Dandridge, Dawson DeIuliis, Phil O?Connor, and Rayshad Wallace seeing very little time at their future starting positions and some time on special teams. The team then lost on a heart- breaker to La Salle in the Catholic League championship, and people were unsure of how the Hawks would respond.

In the beginning of junior year, the team came back with a vengeance. With a dualthreat junior under center in Marquez McCray, the Hawks took down two national powers Oaks Christian (CA) and Don Bosco Prep (NJ), then stormed through Catholic League play all the way through state playoffs. Spearheaded by the efforts of many juniors in defensive tackle Ryan Bryce, outside linebacker Bradley Cobaugh, free safety Dandridge, strong safety DeIuliis, quarterback

McCray, middle linebacker O?Connor, receiver Simmons, kicker Anthony Tigano and defensive end Wallace, the Prep was able to complete their undefeated season and take home their third state championship in four years.

Finally, the Hawks of the class of 2018 had arrived at their final season. Bryce, Cobaugh, DeIuliis, left tackle Nick DiPrinzio, McCray, O?Connor, wide receiver Brandon Sanders, and Ryan Gillyard were named the eight captains, and seniors slot receiver James Cherry, cornerback Devon Dickerson, defensive end Jake Feehery, long snapper Jake Goss, defensive tackle Paul Hess, center Tim Possenti, and outside linebacker Zach Snider were all taking over starting roles. Starting out in Tampa against Tampa Jesuit, then coming back to Philadelphia to play St. Peter?s Prep (NJ), the Hawks once again took down two national powers before moving into Catholic League play. They manhandled the rest of the league, including 5A state champion Archbishop Wood and one of the most talented La Salle teams of the decade, and captured the Catholic League

championship. They then handily defeated Northeast and Parkland before they faced the Red Raiders of Coatesville High School, who boasted a multitude of speedy skill players with a strong quarterback feeding them the ball, and the Hawks somehow overcame a 28-7 deficit to pull out a tough win to advance to Hershey again. With their 27 game win streak on the line, SJP faced the Rams of Pine- Richland High School led by Notre Dame recruit QB Phil Jurkovec, and the Rams were able to use the frigid, wet playing surface to their advantage. They capitalized on a few unfortunate turnovers for the Hawks, and showed why they?re one of the top teams in the nation by beating the Prep.

Regardless of the outcome of the final game of the season, the class of 2018 was one of the greatest in Prep history. All of the members of this class played a part in the 27- game win streak, with 2 state and 3 Catholic League championships being awarded to the Hawks within the past four years. This class alone has been honored 18 times with All- Catholic honors, and a high amount of them will be playing football at the next

level. Simmons is committed to Virginia Tech, Sanders to Bucknell, DeIuliis to Princeton, O?Connor to Richmond, Vaughn Hines to Mansfield, DiPrinzio to Amherst, Possenti to Kutztown, and Bryce to Army. Many other players will be added to that list, as others have garnered lots of interest and are planning on making their final decision in the near future. Few classes in the history of high school football have been as successful as this one, and it has been a pleasure covering them over the past four years.

Dejuan Dandridge, Darryle Simmons, James Cherry, Devon Dickerson, Brandon Sanders, Dawson DeIuliis, Phil O?Connor, Marquez McCray, Rayshad Wallace, Vaughn Hines, Zach Snider, Jake Goss, Dan Maguire, Bradley Cobaugh, Jake Feehery, Sean Duffy, Paul Hess, Ray Cobb, Nick DiPrinzio, Tim Possenti, Ryan Bryce, Keenan Paley, Jake Becker, Anthony Tigano, and Ryan Gillyard of the class of 2018, all made a huge impact on the Prep Football program, and, even though they could not secure the state championship this year, their efforts will not soon be forgotten.