Volume 48, Issue 1

The Prep Meets the Moment

By Joe Mancini '24

Roughly 170 days ago con struction workersbegan break ing ground in what weknew as the McShain Library and the lobby Though theconstruction has shaken up Prep student's lives due to the numerous clo sures throughout Villiger Hall, all these various maneuvers will beworthit very soon

The Prep?s President Mr Marinacci has incredibly high hopes for these renovations, and the impact they will have on student life and student ca pabilities Mr Marinacci?splan and expectation are to get an occupancy permit for traffic within these constructed areas on October 5th, opening these new areas to students and adults Work will begin on the first weekend of October to start to move things into the new spaces, and finally, open the areas to student traffic in the second full week in Octo ber Mr Marinacci reports that within these five months dur ing construction there have been no delays whatsoever, and everything in this project is on time and within budget He gives high praise for the

contracting company and the sub companies that have been contracted out that thePrephas beenworkingwith Hesaysthe main contracting company, HSC, has been great to work with in terms of planning and coordinating the nuanced as pectsof theproject

Villager Hall was built many

years ago, so Mr Marinacci expressed that there were a lot of ?infrastructure? needs that needed to be met during this project For example, he said that in the lobby there were "miles of useless cabling re moved during construction? During the construction, there were additional infrastructure

Brotherhood Takes The Road

By Daniel Dziadon '26

WASHINGTON ? There are many Prep alumsthat haveac complished life changing feats Whether it be earning a job as the beloved Phillie Phanatic or becoming the mayor of Philadelphia, thePrep isbest at preparing itsstudentsto pursue their passions

On July 27, 2022, two Prep alumni, Leo Brickner ?21 and Pat O?Connell ?21 successfully crossed the United States and Canada? west coast to east coast? on mountain bikes in 49 days The 3,600 mile ride began in Anacortes, Washing ton and continued through nine other states and Ontario, Canada before reaching the rocky shores of Old Orchard Beach, Maine

Leo and Pat He has biked cross country four times and helped plan out their routeday by day Having just moved his brother out of college in Cali fornia, Leo found that he ?wanted to seethecountry in a

slower, moredeliberateway?

Pat was the only one he talked to about doing the trip, so after Senior year they both bought Kona bikes, mountain bikes especially made for long

tours Preceding the trip, they had to purchasegear and find a way to transport the bikes to Seattle With everything laid out, they wouldfly out to

needs that were not originally planned, but Mr Marinacci pointed out that the timing of all this construction was per fect so all those small needs were accomplished It is worth noting that thesesmall changes will not be very noticeable Also, during this particular

Meet Ms. Brown, DEI Director

By Isaiah Littlejohn '24

Positive Genuine Hard working These are the words Ms Nailah Brown, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at the Prep, choseto describeherself Ms Brown began her job at thePrep on March 7, 2022 and has actively helped the envi ronment become more inclu sive through many different initiatives SJPbiasreportsare Google forms that allow stu dents to report biases against them ?Nibble with Nye? is a teacher exclusive mini series that covers topics surrounding DEI on a bi weekly basis and ?For theCulture?isaclub that teachesstudentsthehistory

A Look on theOther Side of the U.S./Mexico Border

By Luke Gallagher '23

BROWNSVILLE ? As we stood there in the nearly 100 degreeheat, waiting for almost two hours to cross back into the United States, we couldn?t help but feel confused From where we were standing, it didn?t look likewewereenter ing the U S anymore, but rather aprison Therewerese

curity cameras in every corner, coupled with barbed wire fences, deportation vans, sta dium lights, road barricades, and heavily armed immigra tions officers everywhere we looked A feeling of distrust loomed through the air We could not help but question if thisreally wasthefreeand op

Patricia and Joseph Dunn '65 Welcome Center (Top Right), Howley Learning Commons Lobby (Bottom Right), J Anthony Hayden Hall of Excellence (Bottom left), and The Connelly Counseling and Resource Center (Top Left)

Pat O Connell 21 (pictured) at Glacier National Park on his 49 day trek across the United States with Leo Brickner 21

A view of the

foot tall,

mile long

S/Mexico border

A Letter from the Editors

Dear HawkeyeReaders,

WelcometoVolumeXLVIII of TheHawkeye. We couldnot bemorethrilledtobetakingthereinsof this paper andcarryingout thisincredibletraditionfor the next ninemonths

It feelslikejust yesterday that wewerefreshman writersputtingthefinal touchesonour very first articlesor celebratingaswemadeit abovethefoldfor thevery first time Aswebeginour senior year with TheHawkeye, andasitsnewest stewards, wehopeto continuetoprovidethesevery sameexperiencestoall writers?new andreturning.

Morethanever before, wehopefor TheHawkeyeto beaforcefor goodwithinthePrepcommunity, allowingall voicestobeheard Inour continuous effortstoshinelight ontoall issuespertinent tothe students, faculty, staff, andcommunity of St Joe?s Prep, wepromisetokeepthejournalisticintegrity and ethicsof thispaper at theforefront of our actions

Most importantly, wepromisetostay committedto thediversity andinclusionof our writers, editors, and, you, our valuablereaderswhomakeupthePrep community TheHawkeyeisaway toeducate, inform, andspark thoughtful discussionsurroundingall things Prep?thegoodandthebad?andnothingwill ever changeabout that

Of course, wewouldberemissif wedidnot mentionmany Hawkeyegreatswhohavecomebefore usandhaveshapedusintothewriters, editors, and advocatesfor changethat wearetoday Thank you especially tolast year?sEditors in Chief Murphy Bonner ?22, SteveCain?22, andBobby Woltjen?22 for your steadfast passion, creativity, andleadership duringyour timewithTheHawkeye. Wehavesome bigshoestofill, but arecertainly upfor thechallenge

Finally, thank youtoour readersfor entrustingus withVolumeXLVIII of TheHawkeye Besafe, stay healthy, andGoPrep!

Sincerely, BrendanDougherty '23, LukeGallagher '23, andLiamHolden'23

A Letter from Student Council President, Liam Holden '23

Brothers,

I havenocampaignsleft torun Noelectionstowin Novotestoearn Solet'scut throughtherhetoricand get thingsstraight

Wehaverights I don't meanConstitutional rights nor legal rights, but I meanthosebasicrightsweare owedaspeople Theright toexpression, theright to privacy, theright toleisureandrest, tonamejust a few

Nobody andnoinstitution, publicor private, can justly deny youthese Thatiswhy we'redoingwhat we'redoing Thatiswhy we'vefought back against hair andearringrestrictions, against randomdrug testing, andagainst excessivehomework loads

Thatiswhy I promiseyouwearen't stoppingnow Thissummer, weprovidedtheadministrationwitha set of proposedhandbook changes I inviteyoutoview theseat tinyurl com/SJPHandbook They implemented anumber of them, for whichI amgrateful andproud, but they didnot gofar enough

We'renot goingtostopuntil randomdrugtesting is abolished, not simply givenanopt out half measure We'renot goingtostopuntil homework isregulated, sothat studentscanactually get somesleep. I'mnot goingtostopadvocatingfor youuntil thePrepI graduatefromisbetter thanthePrepI enteredthree yearsago

Youhavemy word InSolidarity, LiamHolden'23 Student Council President, 22 23

Prep Renovations: Changing Times

fromRENOVATION p 1

the construction of Villiger Hall were laid in preparation, which Mr Marinacci planswill takeplaceinSpring2023

Another piece to this con struction that was added came in theform of someinfrastruc ture changes to the third floor Greenhouse Mr Marinacci said that ?The Greenhouse on the third floor was not in the scopeof work, but upon inves tigation, we didn't want future leaking, so the deck was re done, and so was the roofing The glass top will also be re done, alongwiththeplants?

Since the announcement of the renovations, many students have been particularly inter ested in the technical capabili ties that will soon be available in thenewly constructed How ley Learning Commons These capabilities include an Aug mented Reality Section, a Green Screen, and a new De sign Lab The timeline for streamlining and implementing these into classroom and club usediffersfrom thetimelineof opening the Learning Com mons To note, all the physical technology to get those zones up and running is in hand, but Mr Marinacci believes these zones will be implemented as small steps to gain a level of comfort for both students and teachers/moderators Mr Marinacci hopes that these spaces will be used to the fullest extent regarding club and classroom use He wants the students to take their ideas and run with them in thesenew

spaces

Some ongoing buzz around the school is where the new College Counseling and Guid ance Counseling zones will be located in the Learning Com mons The college counselors and the guidance counselors will be in onedefined space in the Learning Commons called "The Connelly Counseling and Resource Center" This space will provide each Counselor with their ownofficespaceand privacy for conversions be tween students and counselors Also, this area will be space for students to work indepen dently but within reach of counselors

Another group that ismoving into the Learning Commons is the Prep Advantage This sec tion of the Learning Commons will offer students who need extra help, a designated area wherethey canreceivethehelp they seek This new area will offer seats for groups of stu dents who can be helped as a groupor individually

A new room that was devel opedduringthisconstructionis a new Seminar Room, which can hold up to 40 students The specialty of the room is that it can bedivided into two rooms, each with acapacity of 20 stu dents Both sections of this room will have a screen to project on This room can be used for classes or clubs, or even for events that don?t re quire such a massive space as the theater or the field house In reality, there is no end to how thisroomcan beused

Another aspect of this reno vation is the added security measures the Prep is adding The main point for security was moving the security desk, previously at the end of the walkway coming into the school in the old lobby, and placing it to the updated Wel come Center in the walkway into the school, which is now called The Patricia and Joseph Dunn?65WelcomeCenter

Mr Marinacci makes it a point to recognizehow well lit the lobby is now compared to how it was before New glass was installed around the Lobby, and new woodwork wasadded at theedgesaswell Now that security is in the mantrap, the lobby is now more student friendly Mr Marinacci reportsthat thereare now benches on the corners of the lobby that students are en

couraged to usethroughout the day

Looking around to theleft of the lobby and going out to wardsthe17thStreet exit isthe J Anthony Hayden ?62 Hall of Excellence This will feature the trophies students saw be fore, but now it will include the great accomplishments that Prep Alumni went on to achieve, such as our politi cians, longtime coaches, ath letes, etc This Hall will truly be a place to see how the Prep has shaped different aspects of the world by Alumni, going andsettingtheworldonfire

A large piece of this project was renovating the theater which is getting the update it truly deserves During this renovation of the theater, there were no seats removed, thus leaving thecapacity unchanged although two seats were re

TheHawkeye Staff of 2022 2023

St Joseph's Preparatory School

1733 West Girard Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19130

TedAntczak

Jimmy Baker ?23

Carter Blake?23

KieranHicks'23

DanLaw '23

Max Nast

Anthony Salvato'23

JakeWisniewski '23

Peter Bae?24

RyanDorofy

Alex

Jack

Patrick Logan'23

Max Nast

Anthony Salvato'23

Peter Bae'24

JoeGriffin'24

TedHogan'24

Harry Kane'24

JacksonMaguire'24

JoeMancini '24

Jack Finley '25

DanGordon'25

LucaPaone'25 Daniel Dziadon'26

RyanSullivan'26

Moderators

Mr LeoVaccaro'05 Ms Sheri SanChirico

placed by handicapped spotsto accommodate those who need them Thewindowsin thelight booth were expanded to widen theview of thestageand anew soundbooth wasbuilt right be low the light booth on the ground floor with an eye level view of thestage

Mr Marinacci truly believes that these renovations are go ing tohaveasignificant impact on what it means to go to this school and how the students operate their daily lives at the Prep He believes firmly that theStudents, Faculty, and Staff all deservethesechangesgoing on in the building Mr Mari nacci firmly said, ?The Prep is a challenging enough space to have these changes take place, and we have the facilities to meet the moment and fulfill the mission of this school ?

If you areinterested in contributing materials to The Hawkeye, contact an editor or our email (below) to submit an article, photograph, or to write a letter to theeditor Letters should not exceed 600 words

hawkeye@sjprep org

All materials printed by TheHawkeye are intended to both entertain and inform the Prep community as well as cultivatean environment that generates meaningful and productive discussion Theopinions and beliefs expressed in theadvertise ments and articles in this publication do not necessarily reflect thevalues or mis sion of TheHawkeyeStudent Newspaper of St Joe's Prep

Pictured above is a model design of the new Howley Learning Commons

Compostable Straws: Working Towards a Better Environment For All

By: Isaiah Littlejohn '24

PHILADELPHIA During the 2021 2022 school year, SAGE Dining adopted new, biodegradable, eco friendly paper drinking straws in the replacement of the former plastic straws Despitethepos itive ecological benefits, stu dents and faculty alike pro vided negative feedback about theproduct

Mrs DiTomo, the general manager of SAGE Dining at thePrep said, ?[Although] they are great because they are not plastic, [the straws] do get soggy and break down so you cannot keep [them] in a drink for alongperiodof time?

Ms Nelson, an English De partment teacher and SJP?s li brarian, when asked if she liked the former paper straws inthecafeteria, answered, ?No, becausethey [made] thedrinks tastefunny, and [gave] afunny feelingonmy lips?

Additionally, when asked if he had ever used the paper straws in the cafeteria, troy Larkins Johnson '24 replied, ?No, because paper straws suck ?

For this reason, many may think SAGE Dining will revert back to everyday plastic straws to remedy student and staff displeasure; however, this is not the case DiTomo?s origi nal plan wasto reorder thepa per drinking straws but the distributors, D&W Fine Pack LLC, didnot havethem

?When I went to order them

at the beginning of the school year, they did not havethem in stock? I spoke with them, and they said, ?We have these compostable straws, which are made of a product that will break down?? DiTomo de cided to opt for the plastic compostable straws and re

fills] and leave a smaller car bon footprint on our environ ment ?

Earth Smart compostable straws are certified by the Biodegradable Product Insti tute: ?A non profit established in 1999 with the mission to

teria last year were used in compost, the Environmental Club would not use them, ? We are trying to restore [the] natural habitat, so weare not going to enrich theground [with man made compostable straws] The Gardening Club, though, because they are try ing to produce vegetables, would use that compost ? Currently Garden Club does not compost, however is con sideringit for thefuture

but I can certainly look into it for caterings we do team dinners for sports: football, baseball, basketball, soc cer? we can start doing it small, by [starting] of in catering and then working it intoour every day?

ceived a lot of positive feed back for thischange

DiTomo ordered Earth Smart compostable plastic straws, whose straws are made of ?sustainably sourced cellu losic, otherwise known as wood pulp, and certified recy cled content from plastic waste that would otherwiseend up in alandfill ?

?There is a bit of plastic in [them] but it isplastic that will break down in landfill As you see, we do not recycle well here, in my opinion,? said DiTomo ?Mostly all [items] are going in a general trash bag, [and] if you arenot bring ing these straws and anything that is compostable to a com postable center where they are being composted [they are not being disposed of] properly These straws, [however], are still going to break [in land

promote the production use and appropriateend of livesfor materials and products that are designed to fully biodegradein specific biologically activeen vironments such as industrial composting?

Not all plastic compostable straws and products are BPI certified, which means not all plastic compostable items can be broken down properly at city/home compost sites Ad ditionally, in some instances, using plastic compostable straws in compost may not be plausible

Mr Kelly, Prep Chemistry teacher and moderator of the Environmental Club says, ?Composting stuff, rather than having stuff you throw into landfill is a good idea, it?s a fantastic idea? However, Mr Kelly explainsthat if thecom postable straws from the cafe

Additionally, Mr Kelly stressed the action of reusing items, which would beabetter alternative than compostable plastic straws, because they are items that are not thrown away, ?Anything that you can stop [from] being athrowaway item and into some type of reusableitemisgood?

When asked if SAGE Dining would ever consider making other items com postable plastic ware, Mrs DiTomo responded, ?Yes, and I would love to The problem comes down to cost ? Are biodegradable products more costly? ?They can be, yes I have not completely looked into them honestly at this point, becausewejust started with these [plastic ware] dis pensers? DiTomo goes on to explain how if the com postable plastic ware does not fit into the dispensers, they would be going to waste ?At thistime, weare not exploring this option,

Mrs DiTomo expressed her reasons for starting to use com postable straws at Sage, ?To me asan individual, [who has] chil dren, and I would love my chil dren to have children that is our future? All of our landfills are filling up and it is becoming a huge problem Our future is in jeopardy? I worry about thefu tureof our children and our chil dren?s children They deserve to livein an environment that isnot consumed with trash and landfill everywhere?

DiTomo keeps reusable bags in her car and provides them for the staff if they need to bring things home ?The plastic is killing us, so I am just trying to help out the future,? DiTomo concludes

Many may believe that using plastic compostable straws amount to a minuscule decrease in the Prep?s carbon footprint, compared to the increase due to the plastic water bottles and Wawa drinks sold by Sage Whilethismay betrue, what can be said for sure is that SAGE is gradually working toward low ering the Prep?s carbon footprint by choosing more compostable and eco friendly products One compostable plastic straw can lead to a better environment for all

Cavacos Reports on Start of School

By John Finley '25

Is wrapping up summer in August too soon?ThePrep has goneback to school beforeLa bor Day for two years consec utively, and principal Mr Cavacos sheds some light on why The process of creating thecalendar for an averageup coming school year usually starts in about February, and many different people are in volved

?When welook at thecalen dar, one of the things we need to look at is the number of in structional days that students have,? said Mr Cavacos when asked about what goes into planning the coming school year He went on to state that there are a standard number of school days that the school looks to meet, and the admin istration tries to balance out marking periods while ac counting for events such as holidays, graduation, winter

break, etc

When Mr Cavacos was asked about whether or not re turning to school before Labor Day was popular among the faculty and staff he said "I've heard both opinions [Some say] that labor day is a nice delineation time and bound

ary torely upon "Others would say that we have a significant number of students who are starting with athletics long before labor day why not just use that momentum to move the whole community forward" I fol lowed up by asking Mr Cava

cos why this issue has not come up in past years, espe cially becauseour winter break is shorter in 2022 2023 then compared to the past few school years He responded by saying how recently many of the Jesuit high schools in the northeast have made an effort

to synchronize the number of instructional daysthey haveon the calendar to around 150 days In addition, Mr Cavacos stressed theimportanceof giv ing students who are involved in things like AP classes, the adequate amount of time to be competently taught the mater ial and do thenecessary prepa ration Mr Cavacos said how the handful of days that we have acquired from starting before labor day is very valu able to students in AP classes ?It [theAPtest] isthefirst and second weeks of May; histori cally, it has been the second and third weeks of May,? he said Some members in The Prep community argue that we should start even sooner than wedo At thistime, Mr Cava cosdeclined to comment about when we will go back to school in the fall of 2023 If you had to choose, when would you bring the school?s summer toanend?

The recent switch to compostable, earth friendly straws sees the Prep community divided: sustainability versus reliability

Prep students on the first day of classes on August 30th, 2022

Features

Meet Ms. Brown, Director of DEI

BROWN fromp 1

behind cultural games such as Dominoes, as well as how to play them

Although Ms Brown has done a lot for the Prep in the past six months, her story does not begin at the corner of 17th and Girard Instead, it began in a humble neighborhood in Queens, New York, where she spent her childhood ?I loved it? I lived on the6th floor and my very best friendswereright next door,? said Ms Brown ?It was a very close commu nity If I was doing something wrong somebody might walk past me and say ?Ain?t you Wolf granddaughter, or aren?t you Norma?s daughter, and I would get in trouble from the community members,? she said

Ms Brown also discussed how she lived in a predomi nantly Black American neigh borhood ?My family lived in the same apartment for fortyfive ish years, and it was decided that our neighborhood would be gentrified, and our rent went from $800 to $2300, and now my family cannot af ford to live there anymore? Ms Brown equated this to the gentrification that is currently taking place on Ridge Ave in NorthPhiladelphia

Ms Brown voiced that even though she grew up in a com munity that she cherishes, not all of those moments came from a genial face ?I had just gotten into Temple, and I was outside with [ten to twelve] of my friends, and we were just sitting on the bench outside of the building and [five or six] bike cops rolled by,? said Ms Brown ?We happened to be laughing at something, and someone made a joke about bike cops? there was defi nitely enough distance away that they didn't hear the joke, but they heard us laughing

They rolled over, and they started telling usthat wewould never be anything, we proba bly didn?t own bikes, weprob ably didn?t have cable, and we would die in this neighbor hood Here are these cops telling methat we?renever go ing to be anything, my friends and I will never amount to anything just because of where welive,?shesaid

Ms Brown continued, ?Whatever the case may be, I use that as motivation, and it's been the driving force behind my work because you saw my environment and decided this wasthebox you weregoing to put mein forever I had agood childhood but that was the ex perience that always sticks with me?Ms Brown saysthis is why she chose to go to get her BA in teaching and social work at Temple and be suc cessful in whatever way that meant for her

A hero of Ms Brown who never let their environment de fine who they were was her grandfather, Daddy Wolf ?I never thought this was weird, but [my family] calls my grandfather ?Daddy Wolf,? said Ms Brown My partner Big Shannon once asked me,

?Why do you call your grand father ?Daddy?, and I was like ?What do you mean, his name is Daddy Wolf, what's the is sue?? Ms Brown continued, ?I thought [Daddy Wolf] could do anything in life My little sister use to go to school and say my grandfather could pick up the building with his pinky, and that she had the best per son as her grandfather He had a presence [which] fills the room without anything He wasahard worker, heloved on us, and he was always about his word? Daddy Wolf, a florist and contractor taught Ms Brown how to lay floor ing, install cabinets in a kitchen, and plant flowers ?He loved his family down, and he would do anything for us, so [heis] my hero,?shesaid

When asked about her jour ney into thefield of DEI work, Ms Brown said her original plan wasto beateacher It was when Ms Brown wasan RA in college, a position which in vited her to build amoreequi tableand inclusivecommunity, that she realized DEI was her passion Afterward, Ms Brown went to grad school and worked in various positions in a multitude of places, where she educated college students

?[However] as time went on and I worked at different insti tutions, I was missing the ed ucativepiecein K 12? I knew I wanted to [work with] older kids that could grapple with hard conversations a little more,? she said This is how Ms Brown ended up in sec ondary education, and ulti mately, at thePrep

?What made you choose the Prep?? I asked, to which she replied, ?God did! I was drained by all the everyday things of my [prior] job, but DEI was the thing that filled my purpose, and I prayed to God [saying] this is no longer serving me, so where should I be; given the circumstances and having a support system close to my baby and family was important? I was led to the Prep? Ms Brown used to live down the street from the Prep, and when she stumbled across the opportunity to work for the Prep, she says it spoke to her; it was the perfect op portunity for her to mergeget ting back into secondary edu cation and her passion for DEI ?I applied and then I heard nothing back for months? and then I said? maybethat wasn?t it ? Ms Brown laughed, ?the moment I thought that was the moment I got the call [for the interview] ? She smiled, ?He told me it was mine, and I be lieved it, so it was God? I don?t do anything without talkingtoGodfirst ?

In ?Nibbles with Nye?, a DEI initiative previously men tioned, about 75% [90 out of 120] of Prep faculty and staff filled out agoogleform geared towards finding out all the ways Ms Brown can serve them in development involving Diversity, Equity, and Inclu sion This list was synthesized and turned into various talking points throughout the year planned for the various ses sions Additionally, Ms Brown

maintains the Diversity, Eq uity, and Inclusion council, which isagroup of faculty and staff members that come to gether to discusstheissuesthat are going on within the Prep community, and solutions to them Job titles have also been reworked to include more DEI language to recruit more staff and faculty of color ?Repre sentation is important?, said Ms Brown

The interview concluded with somelast wordsfrom Ms Brown, ?I?m for everybody We are bringing to light the experience of marginalized people, which doesn?t just in clude black and brown kids [This] means people with dis abilities, neurodivergent learn ers, folks of the LGBTQ+ community, and cultural iden tity I have a hand in? It is my job to make sure everybody feelsloved and welcomed here at [thePrep] My ultimategoal is trying to create a culture of belonging here? [this] means that everybody can show up as their authentic self and get what they need from thiscom munity However you identify, in whatever way you identify, [everybody] has [the potential] of experiencing something in relation to [their] identity that [they] may need assistanceand support with?

Ms Brown?s first name, Nailah, is Swahili for, ?suc cess? or ?one who attains through life? and it?s the per fect way to describe Ms Brown Positive, genuine, hardworking, and success ful?thesearethequalitiesof an Ignatian leader and of Ms Nailah Brown

Jahleel Johnson '23 and His Experience On Regrets

By Ryan Sullivan '26

Jahleel Johnson ?23 has made his way to your streaming services in the 2021 film Regrets, which can be found on Peacock The movie follows Kia, a teenage girl struggling to find herself and cope with her father?s incarceration whilst in the foster system Jahleel plays Tyshawn, a confident, yet ignorant boy who wants to haveaspecial relationship with Kia

Jahleel first came to the film when he got a phone call from afriend saying that they had to fire an actor, and that Jahleel

would be the right fit for the role

?I was like, ?Ooh, yeah!?So then the director sent me a script and acontract, and that?s pretty much it,? Jahleel says He spent two days on set filminghispart Whenasked to describe the filming process, Jah said it was a good first taste He said, ?One thing about film isit?sdifferent from theater You?re performing it over and over again so you do ten takes and have to stop and take a minute to reset There's really noset rhythmtoit "

People who know Jahleel might recognizehimin Regrets

as Tyshawn is on screen Jahleel saysthat it isoneof the effects that he wants out of his performance ?For people who know me, I want them to be like, ?That is so Jah? It?s underwhelming, it's not like, ?Oh that?s Jah, I wasexpecting something cool and different ?I put myself under those circumstances and see how I would react I just put myself in each character?s shoes? Jahleel also has another tactic for bringing his characters to life ?When I get a script for a character that I?m playing, I don?t read thefull script I only read my character?s lines Not because I?m lazy, maybe

because I?m lazy, but not fully becauseI?m lazy It?sbecauseI want to understand and know what my character knows?

Regrets, however, is not Jahleel's only project Jahleel also starred in a film called Kodak, which releases during thisschool year In thefilm, he playsaguy named Isaac Jah is also in an animated feature film called Surian Seed, based on a Comic series about HBCU superheroes, in which he plays a villain named E Dog You can watch Jahleel in Regrets, streaming on Peacock, right now!

Ms Nailah Brown (Right) and Isaiah Littlejohn 24 (Left) at the 2022 Bakari Awards

Jahleel

Johnson

Coast To Coast: A 3,200 Mile Feat

BIKE fromp 1

Seattle from Philadelphia to start their journey in Anacortes inJune

Stepping out of the Pacific marked thestart of the49days, within which the duo consis tently updated their location and highlighted some of their day to day experiences on and off thebikeson their Instagram (leo and pat bike cross coun try) Each checkpointsbiked to everyday were anywhere from 40 120 miles away from each other Each stop provided new sights, new places to stay overnight, pancake reviews, andever present challenges

Along the west coast, thick layersof fogshrouded their vi sion and the weight from their bags left both of them sore for the first few days When it rained, they slept in damp sleeping bags Not to mention that biking for ten hours straight was exhausting men tally andphysically

Leo was ?in for amuch big ger commitment than I had thought, having to learn about things like wilderness camp

ing, managing hydration, bike maintenance, and even just the simple ability to focus on rid ingabikefor hoursaday?

Leo and Pat then reached Glacier National Park on day 14 after a 2 day rest, posing with the mountains before continuing their journey east throughtherest of Montana

Mental fatigue started to re ally set in; both of them were homesick and theheat and hills were ?enough to kill all mo mentum? One rough day was easy to get past, but when it got worseand worsewe began todeteriorate?

While at Glacier a guy from a group of medical students they had met there had told them that ?It?s not hell but you?ll be able to see it,?a sign to continue with their efforts

Thetwothen biked throughthe plains of North Dakota, Min nesota, and Wisconsin They biked through relatively flat, barren land and had stopped at the University of Wisconsin?s Crew House having back groundsinCrew at thePrep

Thestrugglescameback and

Faculty Grid

By Isaiah Littlejohn '24 and Antoine Robinson '24

What makes you laugh the most?

Ms. Brown

Lately it'sbeenPrep studentstellingthe most hilariousstories!

What?s your favorite SAGE food? Their homemade chips chef'skiss!

How areyou adapting to the Prep?

I'mstill experiencingso many thingsfor thefirst timeinmy first year here, whichisso exciting! Everyoneisso supportivein helping menavigate

What was your first job?

Stop& Shopasa bagger I quit after 2 weeks!

through southern Ontario, they biked by Niagara Falls and crossed back into the United States Over the next week, they pushed west and reached Vermont in a mere three days, experiencing some of the biggest changes in elevation

proved copious in Michigan and persisted throughout, with busy, bumpy roads, seeing crime on the streets, and ex pensive lodging places Fur thermore, the journey only proved more strenuous in terms of spending money and gaining mileage In the west, bike hostels and friends of

friends gave Leo and Pat a place to sleep; in the east, this wasnot thecase

Both of them crossed into Canada, relieved to be out of Michigan? ? we would not mind if theUSgaveit [Michi gan] toCanada,?saidPat

After a full day of biking

On the final day, Leo and Pat biked through the entire state of Maine and reached their destination of Portland, Maine They took aquick ridedown to nearby Old Orchard Beach, where family and friends con gratulated them At this point, they had done it all? touched thePacific and Atlantic Ocean, seen Glacier National Park and Niagara Falls, and met so many new people in just 49 days

The journey proved difficult but was very eye opening for both Leo and Patrick They struggled in many aspects, but set their minds on achieving thegoal following yearsof as piration It allowed them to travel the world with new wheels

Re-Introducing Mr. Dougherty '04

By Harry Kane'24

r Mr. Van Kula '14

r n i k Mr Dougherty '04

My kids, Rose(6) and Johnny (1) Mr RalphDeRita

Definitely thecookies Chocolatechip cookies

Thisisvery mucha homecoming, so it?s beengreat! It?scool to beat aplacethat?sso familiar and simultaneously so different frommy memories I?mreally blessedtobeback herefor thismoment intheschool?shistory

Themovietheater in StoneHarbor, summer after my sophomoreyear at the Prep

It feelslikeI never left? great tobe back!

This year marks the third time Mr John Dougherty ?04 has walked through the doors of the Prep for his first day of school The first time he was a student entering his freshman year Eight years later, he was an Alumni Service Corps member fresh out of college Now, he?s the new Campus Director of MissionandMinistry

withalot of great people?

For Mr Dougherty though, there was always another goal in mind When asked about the chance to return to the Prep, Dougherty said, ?It is a dream opportunity I wanted to expand my horizons, but I alwayswanted to comeback to thisarea, especially thePrep, a place where you can find God insurprising ways"

Hockey referee

Following his graduation from the Prep, Mr Dougherty studied psychology at Loyola University Maryland, then returned to the Prep as an Alumni Service Corps member After his year back at the Prep, he attended Boston College to study Theology and graduated in 2011 From there, he continued his tour of the east coast arriving at St Peter?s Prep in Jersey City, New Jersey There he worked from 2011 until 2022 At St Peter?s Prep, he worked first as the Associate Director of Campus Ministry, before becoming the full Director of Campus ministry in 2016 When speaking of his time at St Peter?s Prep, he said, ?It was a great experience where I got thechanceto work and interact

Mr Dougherty is a third generation St Joe?s Prep student His grandfather graduated from the Prep in 1942, followed by his father in the class of 1968 While at the Prep, Mr Dougherty wrote for The Hawkeye and participated in Kairos 73 in April 2003 which was a major moment in his career and life When describing this retreat experience, he said, ?It is the reason why I am doing what I dotoday?

This year, Mr Dougherty is working to plan and organize retreats and liturgies for the entire school He is hoping to make liturgies more engaging for students and looking to plan a special retreat exclusively for seniors in addition to Kairos Mr Dougherty can almost always be found in his office within the Mission and Ministry suite on Jesuit Hall?s first floor His door is always open and available to talk to students whenever needed

P h o t o : A n d

e w, A P H a

A P

Leo and Pat at Old Orchard Beach, Maine, marking the completion of their 3,111 mile journey

Mr John Dougherty '04

Entertainment

Farewell Yellow Brick Road: Elton John Says Goodbye

Playlists at the Prep

Oftenlost inthesauceisthefact that teachersarereal people, too? peoplewho listentomusic Inthisrecurringsegment, TheHawkeyefeaturessongsfroma faculty member'splaylist Consider addingthesetoyour ownplaylist!

Compiled By Colin Birkmire

Mr. Le, CC

Mr. Shields '16

By Max Nast '23

PHILADELPHIA Elton John, world renowned singer and songwriter hasbeen apio neer in the music industry, as well asan open member of the LGBTQ+ community Having sold more than 250 million records across the globe, the world famous entertainer took to Philly to perform one last time for his loyal fans On March 29th, 2022, theicon an nounced the dates for his last tour ?Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road The Final Tour? As fans crowded around Citizens Bank Park on July 9th to hear the infamous starting notes of ?Bennie and Jets? they were met with a spry Elton John who provided oneheck of ashow Heopened up his venue with one of his most well known songs, ?Ben nie and the Jets? Even though he?s a whopping 75 years old, his voice sounded excellent (given the circumstances) and he was able to rock the piano without any problem whatso ever He showed up with his own brand of glamorous style, and gave the eager Philadel phia audience a fashionable, memorable and flashy show As the night went on, Elton slowly brought out all of his well known classics: ?Tiny Dancer?, ?Don?t Go Breaking My Heart? ?I?m Still Stand ing'', ?Rocket Man?, ?Goodbye Yellow Brick Road? as well as so many more One of the

songsthat stood out in partic ular was ?Philadelphia Free dom? Given the fact that this concert was going to be the last time he?s in Philadelphia, I found myself getting a little emotional while he was belt ing his heart out for the last time about Philly Brendan Dougherty ?23 who was also in attendance said, ?It was a really emotional concert be cause it was his last time in Philadelphia Elton played all of his best songs that every one knew to make a great at mosphere" Overall, the con cert wasanabsoluteblast Al though Elton didn?t have any over the top costumes or any wild dance routines, his vo calsand accompaniment were more than enough to create a memorable night

Beloved singer Elton John retires from touring after six decades

The one and only, Elton John

Maguire's Top 5 2022 Albums

By Jackson Maguire'24

1. TheForever Story JID After listeningtoCheat Codesinmid August I wasconvincedthat noother albumwouldbeabletotopthat thisyear However, JID cameout withhisnew project onAugust 26, 2022 Thebeatswerefantastic, thefeaturesweregreat, andJID pulledthroughwithunmatchedlyricism Thisproject iseasily thebest of JIDscareer and listeningtothealbumwastruly anexperience

2. Cheat Codes Black Thought and Danger Mouse Philadelphianativeandleadrapper for TheRoots, Black Thought, teamsupwithproducer Danger Mouse for oneof thebest rap albumsof thelast few years Thepristineproductiononthisalbumwiththeconsistent top tier versesfromBlack Thought andthefeatures makethisalbumoneof thebest Black Thought hasever been apart of TheincrediblefeaturesfromMFDOOM, Joey Bada$$, Raekwon, El P, andKiller Mikeare all flawlessandmakethisalbumflow fromtrack totrack seamlessly

3. Gemini Rights Steve Lacy Thisismy favoriteR&B/Popalbumof theyear sofar Thisalbummay not beastechnically impressiveastheother twoit isahead of, but I really haveasoft spot for itssoundandSteveLacy?smusicingeneral Thelyricsarenot incredibly profound, but theproductionandSteveLacy?ssinging onthisalbumareoutstanding

4 Hellfire Black Midi Thisiseasily thebest rock project of not only thesummer but theyear ThisJazzRock albumisabletomix thesmoothnessof jazzand theintensity of rock insuchathrillingway It alsohassomeimpressivestorytellingthroughout theproject that isquiteprofoundand it israrethat youareableto seaproject withsuchincrediblesoundsandwell craftedlyrics

Maguire's Summer Music Recap

By Jackson Maguire'24

Summer 2022 had lots of highly anticipated projects that came out and was one of the best summers for music over thepast few years

On the pop front, there were plenty of commercially suc cessful albums that came out throughout the summer To start the summer off, Bad Bunny released Un Verano Sin ti in early May This Caribbean influenced Latin Urbano project is quite diverse in its tone with fun, bombastic tracks such as ?Despues de la Playa? and ?Me Porto Bonito? and some more desolate songs suchas?Moscow Mule?

In lateMay, Harry Stylesre leased his album Harry?s House which is a pop rock al bum that is his most critically acclaimed and introspective album to date with stand out tracks being ?Music for a Sushi Restaurant? and ?Late Night Talking? Although these albums were technically re leased in the spring, they cer tainly set the tone for the up coming months and stayed on

the charts and on the radio for most of thesummer

As the summer continued more pop albums were re leased such as Special by Lizzo, Surrender by Maggie Rogers, Superache by Conan Grey, and Love, Damini by Burna Boy Outside of the pop genre, there were plenty of other commercially successful projects such as R&B albums

Gemini Rights by Steve Lacy and Wastelandby Brent Faiyaz and rap albums Mr Morale and the Big Steppers by Kendrick Lamar, and Honestly Nevermindby Drake

This summer also felt like a

breath of fresh air as concerts were finally back and thriving In Philadelphia, there was ob viously Made in America which had artistssuch asTyler, the Creator, Bad Bunny, and Lil Uzi Vert However, Philly saw plenty of other artistsper form during the summer such as Kendrick Lamar, Coldplay, andEltonJohn

With all of the standout re leases and the thriving concert setting, Summer 2022 finally felt like Summer for the first timeinyears

Better Call Saul: The Final Verdict

By Kieran Hicks '23

After 6 seasons and 7 years of Better Call Saul, the show has come to an end The Breaking Bad spinoff that followed cunning lawyer and con man Jimmy McGill aka Saul Goodman finished its final season thisAugust to rave reviews and Emmy nominations, and for good reason In its final season it was able to somehow exceed expectationsand bring afitting closing to the story started in episode one of Breaking Bad, nearly 15yearsago

The cast of characters in Better Call Saul is superb, from returning characters to new characters, each role is given its own fitting story and ending in thisfinal season The acting by Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy/Saul is amazing, as is co star Rhea Seehorn?s performance as Kim Wexler, both of whom being nominated for an Emmy Thetwo of them help capture the constantly shifting dynamics between their characters through their acting The antagonists of the ultimate season also steal the show, from themethodological kingpin Gus Fring to the eccentric and unpredictable Lalo Salamanca, they keep the tension high in any episode they?rein

The way the show is directed and writtenisalso to applaud It can have the viewer rooting for the worst of villains, and sympathizing with characters theaudiencedespised just afew episodes prior We question the character of Saul more and more as he spirals deeper into his role as a sketchy and morally ambiguous lawyer While the first couple seasons of Better Call Saul were relatively slow paced, this season is filled with plenty of fast paced action The plot of the final 13 episodes is nothing short of spectacular From the suspenseful episode Rock and Hard Place to the shocking mid season finale Plan and Execution to the series finale in Saul Gone, there is no shortage of memorable moments Anytime you expect the show to go oneway, it goesthedirect opposite way The final season of Better Call Saul may well have eclipsed the near perfect ending of its predecessor, BreakingBad Thecombination of clever writing, terrific acting, and a superb plotline has given it the formula for perfection, and it could not have been executed any better in this culmination of 6 seasons that started out as a slow burn legal drama, and turned into a thrillingcrimeshow

5. Drill Musicin Zion LupeFiasco Inmy opinion, thisisLupe?sbest albumsincehissophomorereleaseTheCool. Thisalbumsuccessfully blendsChicago drill musicwithpolitically consciousrappingthat talksabout themessuchasreligion, capitalism, andgangactivity Thisalbumwasalsocompletedwithin three daysusingaone hundred dollar micwhichmakesthequality of thealbumthat much moreimpressive

Kendrick Lamar's Mr Moraleand theBigSteppers(left) and Maggie Rogers' Surrender (right) were summer defining albums of 2022

Get to Know the Editors

What

BD:XC,Track,WSJP,TheHawkeye

What wasyour favoritething you did thissummer?

BD:Havertown/Waldron

LG:BrynMawr

LH: ElkinsPark/

IL:Philadelphia/Holy

LG:Tennis,TheHawkeye,WSJP,JSA,MissionandMinistry

LH: TheHawkeye,Student Council, andCapeandSword

IL:TheHawkeye,Yearbook,Student Council,MockTrial, Super Hawks

AR:Cape&SwordStageCrew,Forensics,Student Council, UltimateFrisbee,Model UN,CookingClub,TMFHawks, PrepRepublicans,ProLifeClub,FishingClub

BD:GoingtoFloridatocover

LG:LivinginNYCfor

LH: Spendingaweekat

IL: GoingtoS

AR: ServicetriptoWest

AR:West Philadelphia/ WaldronMercyAcademy

IG:Montgomeryville/ MaryMother

Redeemer

CF:Fishtown/Frankford

CB:Havertown/Waldron

Mt

IG:Model UN,SpeehcandDebate,MissionandMinistry, HuumanRightsClub,Art Club,Cape&Sword,TheHawkeye (duh),Art andLit Magazine

CF: CrossCountry,Indoor &Outdoor Track,TheHawkeye

Hangingout

cryingemoji)

LG:OldWSJPOffice(gonetoosoon)

LH: Ms Haban'sdesk

IL:TelephoneBoothintheLobby

AR:Thetrack

IG: Ms Robinson'sArt StudioonJ5

CF:J4Bathroom

CB:Mr Fabry'sRoom

AW: Balconyof theGesu

CW:OldWSJPOffice(RIP)

Conor

Colin

Aidan Williams

CJ Weipz

Dougher

Luke Gallagher

Liam Holden

I saiah Lit

lejohn

Ant oine Robinson

Birkmire's Beats: Movie Edition

By Colin Birkmire '23

Summer recent years, the trend of biopics, the art of au tobiographical picture films, has dominated the film indus try From Rami Malek winning an Oscar for his portrayal of FreddieMercury in 2018?sBohemian Rhapsody, to Taron Egerton as Elton John in 2019?s Rocketman, audiences haveseentheir fair shareof fa mous people portrayed on screen in recent years And this isn?t exactly a new trend, as back in 2004, both critics and audiences were captivated by Jamie Foxx?s Oscar winning portrayal of Ray Charles, im mediately followed up by Joaquin Phoenix as Johnny Cash in 2005 But when the late David Bowie got the biopic treatment in 2020?s Stardust, it was critically and commercially panned It fol lowed mostly the same tropes as the aforementioned movies, but critics and audiences alike were feeling fatigued of this formulathey hadseen over and over again

To make matters worse, Bowie?s estate denounced the movie, and didn?t givedirector Gabriel Range permission to use any of Bowie?s songs in the movie In the aftermath,

many wondered what the fu tureof biopicswould look like, and whether or not an artist as massively important as David Bowie would ever get his due on the big screen Then Brett Morgen?s Moonage Daydream came along Featuring Bowie estate provided archivefootage of concerts, interviews, and other Bowie related record ings, mixed together with period relevant images, Moon ageDaydreamis the definitive David Bowie movie The film opens with the world coming to grips with the fact that a

colorfully dressed, androdgy nous alien wasspinning on the stereos of their children In an interview towards the begin ning of the film, Bowie ex plains in his own words how he feels about important topics liketheway heexpresseshim self and histhoughtsonGod

The highlight of the inter view, however, is when the stuffy, old interviewer asks Bowie if his shoes are ? men?s shoes, women?s shoes, or bisexual shoes,? to which thehigh heel clad rock

star responds, ?they?re shoe shoes silly? Moments like this are what set Moonage Day dream apart from films like Bohemian Rhapsody or Rocketman Theviewer gets to hear how Bowie himself was feel ing about himself and hisart at acertain timein hiscareer, but not in a boring, overdone VH1?s Behind The Music type of way And most importantly, there?s no actor portrayal No A list, method actor had to painstakingly prepare for the role of a lifetime because it would never work Only David

One big criticism of the film that has been brought up by someviewersisthat thereisno new information revealed, but that?s not the point of the movie Bohemian Rhapsody didn?t have any shocking re veals in it Thepoint is to give Bowie his due as an artist, as an innovator, and as an indi vidual on the big screen in the best way possible, not to reveal some bombshell information However, the movie does ad mittedly feel overwhelming at times There is a lot of infor mation and visuals being thrown at the screen all at once, and it can get mentally and even physically exhausting at times But despite this, the positivesfar outweigh theneg atives Just like how there will never beanother David Bowie, there will never be another movie that perfectly defines him

Moonage Daydream per fectly captures the constant change and innovation of Bowie?s decades long career and the overwhelming impor tance of it, as well as being a visually stunning film It?s a must watch for Bowie and moviefansalike

Concert Review: The Weeknd

By Brendan Dougherty '23

PHILADELPHIA ? The Weeknd postponed his original tour plans in the midst of a COVID riddled 2021, leaving fans with confusion and sad ness His massive hit 2020 al bum, After Hours, had already been out for over a year, and fans were itching to see him play thesestadium songs Fast forward to January of 2022, when theRnB singer known as Abel Tesfaye announced his new album, DawnFM, coming out that Friday, and made a statement saying, ?I want to do something bigger and special for you which requires stadi ums? The wait was figured to be well worth it, as the tour dates were released soon after, and fans would be getting a stadium tour for double the amount of music

The tour was set to begin July 8, 2022, at the Rogers Centrein Toronto, but apower outage caused the opening shows postponement, causing the real tour opening to be on July 14 at Lincoln Financial FieldinPhiladelphia, PA

set at 9:00 PM, Abel Tesfaye was ready to kick off his highly anticipated show The After Hours had begun Ted Antczak ?23 says, ?The crowd really got into it, even before he came out They began to chant ?Abel, Abel, Abel?until he finally came out The at mospherewasamazing?

light wristbands, and they would light up on queue in synchwiththesong

The concert took a turn at this point, as The Weeknd moved over toward the moon, and performed his hit song ?Die For You? under the moon The audience recited every word, and the atmosphere felt as warmascouldbe After further playing thegloomy and decep tive ?Is There Someone Else?? and thesomber yet powerful ?I WasNever There?, Tesfayere turned to the city stage for his encore

was a cinematic experience like no other The lights for Blinding Lights shot up in the sky and swirled the crowd as everyone in the audience sang anddancedtothemusic

The atmosphere was feeling electric from the start, with producers Mike Dean and Kaytranada performing some special opening acts that got the fans ready for The Weeknd?s imminent perfor mance

By thetimethesunhad

That atmosphere was some thing that continued to shine throughout theshow Theshow started off with a bang, with The Weeknd?s opener ?Alone Again?, theopening track from After Hours. He followed this with his hit songs from Dawn FM, including ?Gasoline?, ?How Do I Make You Love Me?, ?Sacrifice?, and ?Take My Breath?. Out of the gate,

the strobe lights filled the en tire stadium, while the music filled the ears and the souls of the audience Dancers in red gowns and a miniature city on stage made the concert feel like a real cinema The stage extended across the entire field, and on the opposite end of thecity wasamoon hanging intheair andchangingcolors

Tesfayecontinued to play hit after hit, including ?Call Out My Name?, ?The Hills?, ?Heartless?, ?After Hours?, and ?I Feel It Coming? across theset ?TheHills?had an ex plosion with fire on the beat drop, causing fans to scream and cheer The strobe lights filled the stadium as Tesfaye continued to engagethe strobe

Tesfaye began his encore with a bang playing his hit songs ?Wicked Games: and ?Call Out My Name? Thelat ter of the two was backed by an eerie organ decaying in pitch as the crowd sang every word with Tesfaye This was followed by another massive hit song, ?The Morning?, where the bright lights filled thestadium onceagain, asThe Weeknd?sblissful voiceechoed acrossthecity seemingly

The Weeknd finished the concert playing his three biggest songs in recent mem ory: ?Save Your Tears?, ?Less Than Zero?, and, of course, ?Blinding Lights? The crowd sang every word with Tesfaye Thebright lightsfilled thesta dium and lit up the sky and bracelets flashed in synch?it

Fans of The Weeknd who haven?t had the opportunity to see this man yet should con sider him amust see Thecon cert appeals to the sing along songs, as well as the dance tracks The Weeknd does a great job of connecting and in teracting with his audience In all, TheWeeknd knowshow to put on an absolute show and you could be the next one to experience it ?He took my breath away?, says Nick Yuknek ?23 ?From the lights to the performance? You could really feel the energy in the stadium with everyone singing along It was a really awesome environment for my first concert It was breathtaking?

Bowiecanplay DavidBowie

e w, A P H a r n i k A P

A collage of the late great David Bowie

Opinion/Debate

A Peek Across the U.S./Mexico Border

from p 1

portunistic America ?with lib erty and justicefor all?that we had all been fortunate enough to call home It wasundeniable that the United States looked different from theother sideof that 20 foot tall, 1,954 mile long steel wall Our experi ences over thenext seven days would quickly put into context many of the naive questions we had asked ourselves prior to our arrival in Texas?ques tions like why so many people want to come to the United States, what type of American dream they might beafter, why the United States government is so hesitant to let them in, and how and why American media wildly misportrays the reality of the situation on the border It did not take long for thesequestionstodisappear

On Sunday, June 19th, our group of eleven arrived at the Philadelphia International Air port at 3:00am Two plane ridesand 10 hourslater, wear rived in Harlingen, Texas, still largely unaware of what the next week would hold, includ ing the murder of two Jesuit priests in a church in Ceroc ahui, Mexico We knew that theneedsof sheltersand orga nizations on both sides of the border changed from day to day, leaving us with the chal lenge of truly living out our Jesuit values by seeing where theneedisandresponding

We knew that we would be faced with many heartbreaking stories, difficult conversations, and new realizations of our country?s international rela tions However wewouldhave never been able to predict the true effects this trip would have on the nine seniors and two adult leaders in our group We went into the trip with open minds and an eagerness to help and cameout of it with completely new perspectives, worldviews, and outlooks on lifeingeneral

Upon arriving, we were in troduced to two Jesuit priests and anoviceJesuit who would be looking out for us over the course of the week?Fr Louis, Fr Brian, and Reynaldo In the upcoming days, we would spend time on both the U S andMexicosidesof theborder

On our first day, we traveled to La Iglesia Católica San Fe lipe De Jesus where we cele brated Mass with a group of about 100 unaccompanied mi norsbeing held invariouslocal detention centers Since the passing of Title 42, a pandemic driven piece of leg islation essentially shutting down thesouthern border asof

March 2020, unaccompanied minors have been the only ones consistently granted asy lum in the United States The rest are either admitted tem porarily until their case is heard or immediately deported back to their home country To this day, Title 42 is still being used as legislative means for turning away many asylum seeking migrants, despite the announcement from the World Health Organization in mid September that ?theend [of the pandemic] is in sight ? In the meantime, migrants continue to endure the cruel effects of thisoutdatedlegislation

Each one of the nearly 100 unaccompanied minors present at Iglesia Católica San Felipe DeJesusthat Sunday afternoon was being held at a Texas de tention center without any family or the ability to call homefor morethan45 minutes per week This 3pm Mass and dinner was their only chance all week to leave the confine ments of their detention cen ters After Mass, we had the opportunity to talk with some of the migrants What struck me most was how optimistic they were despite the long and treacherous journeys they had made and the unfair lives they were living One young woman shared with us that, on her way to the border, she had spent 36 hours in the back of an 18 wheeler with 150 other migrants stacked on top of each other Over the day and a half, she received only one water bottleandoneapple The stories we would hear over the next week were unlike any othersthat I had ever heardbe fore, and certainly unlike any thing I had ever read about in thenews

Over the next four days, we worked mainly with four dif

ferent organizations: La Posada Providencia, Team Brownsville, La Casa Mi grante, and the Humanitarian Respite Center On Monday and Wednesday morning, we worked at La Posada Provi dencia, an emergency shelter for those seeking asylum from thepolitical oppression, natural disaster, or other life threatening actionsof their na tive country There, we helped to lay the foundation and pour concrete for a new shed, as well as tidy up the garden In the afternoons on those days, we moved to Team Brownsville, an organization providing humanitarian assis tance for asylum seekers in Brownsville, Texas and the Mexican cities of Reynosa and Matamoros There, one group stayed back at a storage center and sorted various donations and goods, while the other went over to the Brownsville Bus Station to work directly with migrants released by U S authorities into the United States and to help distribute water, snacks, blankets, and toiletries to migrants before gettingontheir buses

Tomakethisexperienceeven more special, while at the Brownsville Bus Station, in addition to serving the mi grants, wewereableto witness a baptism of a fellow Team Brownsville volunteer named Mars A former prison inmate who turned to God during his timebehind bars, Marsbecame inspired to be baptized during his work the past week with the migrants on the border As it happens, one of the other volunteerspresent wasapastor of an Evangelical church in Minnesota Soon roughly 15 people?both volunteers and migrants?had gathered to wit ness this baptism and to lay

their hands on Mars, all in the middle of a bus station This beautiful moment illustrated to us the mysterious ways in which God is present in our lives, as well as the ability our faithhastounitepeopleof dif ferent races, ethnicities, and evensidesof awall

Then came the part of the tripthat wereally didnot know what to expect On Tuesday and Thursday mornings, our group of fourteen walked across the U S/Mexico border tothecity of Reynosa, Mexico Upon crossing the border, we traveled to La Casa Del Mi grante, alocal shelter welcom ing Central and South Ameri can migrants, by and large from Honduras or Nicaragua Duringour timeat LaCasaDel Migrante, we celebrated mass in Spanish with the nearly 200 migrants?primarily womenand children?in the shelter and were able to spend time con versing with the adults and playing with the kids The adultswereglad to havesome one to share their stories with and the kids were equally as excited to haveanew friend to kick asoccer ball with

Before leaving Mexico on Thursday, we visited another shelter called Senda de Vida, or ?way of life? This shelter was much larger in size, hold ing nearly 1300 migrants and presenting itself as more of a concrete castle than a true home Picture an area the size of a football field with stone rocks on the ground and a 10 foot tall barbed wire cinder block wall surrounding thecity of tents Yet, somehow, there was a Topgolf just ten minutes away While at Senda de Vida, we talked with one man who shared with us a message that he asked us to bring back to the U S ?Todos nosotros so

mospersonasbuenas,?hesaid Weareall goodpeople

On our way back from Mex ico, I tried to really let thissink in As I waited in line for two hours to enter back into the prison that was the United States, I began to think about how polarizing and unethical today?s mediatruly is and how we, as a society, need to work toward more open and honest accounts of today?s world, be coming moreaware of theim plicationsour wordshold

In the afternoons on these days, we spent time back on the U S side of the border at theHumanitarian RespiteCen ter, a space for asylum seekers to sleep, eat, rest, and shower During our time at the center, we helped take and prepare clothesorders, distributemedi cine from the pharmacy, and spend time making paper air planes and drawing pictures with the kids Our experiences here and in many other places illustrated how innate human connection is capable of tran scending any language barrier or evenborder wall

In the end, by no means did we expect to go down to the border and be saviors In full transparency, for much of the trip, we toiled with the ques tion of if our presence could potentially bedoingmoreharm than good Maybe it would have been more valuable to just send money rather than people Regardless, wedecided tomakethemost of our timein each of our own ways Whether that be using our Spanish skills, soccer skills, paper airplaneskills, gardening skills, or organization skills, we helped in the ways we could Weknew that wewould not be saving anyone, but it wasour hopethat wewould be able to provide a sense of joy to themigrantsand their fami lies, knowing that their voices were heard and their stories werevalued

If you get nothing elseout of this article, let it be that the migrants on the border are good people They have taught me lessons that a textbook could never teach and haveal lowed me to see the world in waysI could havenever imag ined Their stories are depic tions of the genuine humility and selflessness that each and every one of them possesses To whomever is reading this article, I urge you not to be fooled by the unethical jour nalism ubiquitous in today?s world, always remembering that there are two sides to every story, just as there are to every wall

Migrant pick up spot located at the Brownsville Bus Station

Richmond, Virginia Service Trip Reflection

By Peter Bae'24

RICHMOND ?It wasatypi cal summer Tuesday morning as 7 Prep students prepared to ditch their phones for a week, live uncomfortably, and do service this is going to stink right?Wrong

Over the summer, Prep stu dents: Jeff Moore ?23, Matt Giuliani ?23, Sean Connor ?23, Thomas Harris ?23, Owen Schultz ?24, Andy Sutor ?24, andPeter Bae?24 (Moderators: Mrs Marsand Mrs McFadden P ?20, ?22) traveled down to Richmond, Virginia in what would be a highlight of their summers

Going on a service trip may seem like a daunting, or even scary task to do, heck I had my own doubts about this trip Fellow member Owen Schultz ?24 said, ?At first, I did not re ally know what to expect and was only in it for the 40 hours of service OnceI got theremy whole mindset changed and I realized how fun this experi ence was going to be? Similar to Owen, this was a common theme that resonated amongst the group There was a lot of uncertainty about what would be our living situation, food, and meeting new people When I asked Andy about his initial thoughts he said, ?I didn?t really know anyonewho I was going on thetrip with so I was scared that this was go ing to be the most awkward week of my life It turned out to be the opposite, we all got along pretty well and had a great time?

The crew departed on June 21, embarking on a 5 hour journey to Sacred Heart Parish (Sagrado Corazón), a His panic/Latino Church What first started out as an awkward car ride soon led to the boys jamming to classicslike?Ain?t No Mountain High Enough,? ?Vienna,? ?Mr Brightside,? and many others Who knew not having your phone would cause social interaction? After this, the camaraderie only grew

When the van arrived at Sa cred Heart, we were immedi ately welcomed with open armsby Fr Shay Auerbachand Candace Everhart, who were just two of the many people who would embrace us as one of their own They gave us a tour of theschool, which had a mural of when Father Gregory Boyle, author of theOneBook onePrep books?Tattooson the Heart,? and ?Barking to the Choir,? had visited the church andour livingquarters

We would be sleeping in an old pre school building, and despite the occasional roach and mouse spotting, we were fortunate enough to have AC, bathrooms, a place to shower, and a kitchen to cook Father Shay also mentioned that a

family from theparish wasgo ing to cook us all dinner each night and share their family stories? talk about a special treat If the sound of an au thentic Mexican dinner doesn?t makeyour mouth water, then I don?t know what will These dinners would be one of the most memorable highlights of the trip It was at this moment when the weight of unease left our shoulders Maybe this week wasn?t goingtobesobad after all

Father Shay introduced us to someof thetaskswewould be doing, the main focus being to help prepare for their festival The parish was indeed plan ning to go big and not go home It was going to be their first event in three years, be cause of COVID, and we were goingtohelpthempull it off

After unpacking, we started our service right away With the crew still getting to know

When I asked Mrs McFadden P ?20, ?22 what she rated the food shesaid it wasa12 out of 10, now that?s saying some thing In addition, Matt ?23 said, ?I would rate the food an immediate 10 The food was authentic and something I could eat every day for therest of my life? and this comes from a true food connoisseur However, although immersing in the culture of Mexican food was great, the main reason these families came was to sharetheir stories

After everyone had finished scraping thelast piecesof food off their plate, it was time for what would easily become the most impactful momentsof the trip Every parishioner that graciously cooked dinner for us had immigrated to the U S, and it was their stories of how they successfully made the transition that left alasting im pression on us all Jeff ?23

their immigration, with most coming from very humble backgrounds Their stories re ally opened our eyesto there alitiesof theworld from which people like us are shielded from Not only did they have to endure an immense amount of obstacles to get here, but they still endure many today Oneof the parishioners told us how he was threatened with a knife by a stranger who told him to go back to his country; from then on, he refused to takeany publictransportation

However, despite these bumps in the road, they still continue to work hard every day and aregrateful for theop portunity that was given to them This has translated into the lively community that Sa cred Heart Parish has become and has turned into a second home for all After reflecting on the stories Mrs Mars said, ?I never expected to get all I

and every day, he showed up ready to work with energy that was unrivaled He never failed to help us out with any prob lems we had, treated us as if we were equals, leading to an amazing relationship, and was full of fascinating stories For example, we were shocked to find out that during his high school days, he had gotten a full rideto TexasA&M to play baseball Tony says the radar gunsclocked hisfastball at 102 mph, not too shabby for ahigh school pitcher However, his MLB dreams were cut short when he tore his rotator cuff Nevertheless, I can speak for all of us in that wearegrateful to have met such wonderful people on the trip Whether it be Tony, Father Shay, or all of the parishioners, and the many more I didn?t mention, these people are one the main rea sons why I?ll remember this tripforever

Another aspect that made this trip memorable was help ing the parish pull off their biggest festival yet It wasvery satisfying to seeour hard work pay off and to know that we played an instrumental role in its success While walking around, it washeartwarming to witness the smiles on people's faces, the enjoyment of food, and experience our hard work cometo life Yet, our work was far from done All night we helped out wherever we were needed and took turns running the ticket counter With this parish being Hispanic/Latino, this provided a perfect oppor tunity to practice our wonder ful Spanish skills Turns out these things do come in handy sometimes

each other, these tasks served as great team bonding oppor tunities Not only did it benefit the parish, but it also helped the morale of the group The hours would fly by because everyonewassmilingandhav ing fun while doing their ser vice? talk about killing two birds with one stone It was amazing to see how what used to seem likeachorebecamean act wewanted to do Through out theweek, wewould remain like busy bees, cleaning sheds, organizing pantries, cleaning cooking materials, designing posters, counting tickets, and many more tasks all in hopes of making this a festival to re member

After a long day at work, which started with daily mass at 7:30 am, it was finally time to enjoy a home cooked meal from one of the parishioners Whether it betamales, carnitas, or chicken and rice, the food was absolutely delectable

said, ?The dinners with the families from the parish really inspired me especially hearing the stories about the families' journey to the US A lot of the parents of thesefamilies didn?t havealot growing up and they worked for everything they havenow Seeing their journey made me realize how lucky I haveit andtonot takeanything for granted? Similarly, Tom ?23 said, ?The nightly dinners with the parish families allows me a window into the lives of the families Hearing some of the stories put me in shock Some of the people have gone through so much all before the ageof 18?

If there was one theme among all of the parishioners weencountered, it wasthefact that everyonewashardworking and possessed a tremendous amount of grit It was truly heartwarming to hear about an almost equivalent to a Cin derella story when it came to

did out of the nightly dinners

Not only did I see that we can havefriendsall over thecoun try, who speak different lan guages and who grew up dif ferently than I but I also saw that age was not a problem when it came to friendships All of the students on the trip enjoyed working with Tony from the Parish who was in chargeof handing out thedaily chores He was always telling them stories and treating them like co workers They would look forward to another day to learn more about him and his life?

Not only did this service trip provide inspirational stories from the parishioners, but it also provided us with mean ingful relationships with strangers As Mrs Mars said, Tony Lopez wasan instrumen tal part of our trip In my opin ion, I think Tony perfectly em bodied what it meant to be a man for and with others Each

When asked about whether or not you recommend thistrip to other Prep students, it was an astounding yes Mrs Mars said, ?100% yes Not only did wemeet someof themost fas cinating people but it also deepened my friendship with Mrs McFadden P ?20 ?22 I alsogot to know so much more about theyoung men that went on the trip Now that we are back in school and I get to see the students more often, it is more than just a smile and a hello It is an interaction among people I truly care about This trip has deepened, my relationships with The Lord, my co chaperone, and some of the finest young men intheworld?

Writing this article made me reflect on the service trip as a whole It truly is amazing how everyone, likeme, thought this trip wasgoing to beoneof the worst week of their lives However, that could not have been farther from the truth This week was one of the highlightsof my summer and I hope it can be yours too

Members of the Richmond, Virginia Summer Service Trip at the RVA Latino Festival

Always Watching: A Necessary Evil

By Luca Paone'25

GoGuardian is a software system that scans, views, and filters our online use at all times The automated AI probestheinternet in search of inappropriate websites and re stricts use from students at all times The software has access to all of the searches that you make on your computer But oneof themost common com plaints is the irritating icon in the top of our screens that ob structs use of the chromebook Sadly, this icon is irremovable and appeared as a proactive way to help students acknowl edgethey arebeing monitored Thissoftwareisdisturbing and bothersome, so students are in search of answers and reason ing regarding the GoGuardian program and the school's obligations with chromebooks to help create more autonomy for students

Mr Heisey from the IT De partment said, ?GoGuardian is a website portal that supervi sors can view? but no one is actively monitoring what each student is doing? He also said that thesoftwaredoesnot have the ability to mirror a student's screen activity So for those worried that each action done on their computer is seen, that is not the case Although someone is not able to com pletely observe your searches, it is very easy to look back through data to see what someonehasdoneat onepoint on their school computer But what happens behind the scenes with supervisors? Some of thestaff who have access to the information provided by GoGuardian include the IT Department, Dean's office, and administration Although these groups may have access to the information, the first lines of

defenseseem to betheteachers who show concern about inap propriate internet use This is primarily through the noticed online distraction in class, and is subject to mentioning to su pervisors in order to restrict access from specific sites

Above all, Mr Heisey says, ?Be mindful you are using school property, be alert and don't put yourself into a bad position?

As a school is in control of fostering students, it hasoblig ations to censor and monitor the boundless internet and all of the resources available

There is a legal requirement that the school needs to follow as they are responsible for the minorsin their building, which includes censoring inappropri ate content The GoGuardian software integrates with a google backend system to scour activity that occurs on line, the products of this data are the blocked sites that we have restrictions from As property of the Prep domain, the amount of freedom stu dents have with their chrome book is forced to be limited and haslittleleeway in regards to accessibility beyond acade mic intent Unfortunately it does not seem as though this software can be removed from the school without causing major complications

It seems as though there is a collectivefrustration from stu dents regarding the errors made by GoGuardian and the prohibition from real sources used for academic purposes In response to the question, ?Does GoGuardian need to be more heavily corrected??

Xavier Edwards '25 said, ?Yeah, because the websites needed for extracurricular ac tivities may be blocked? A

good reason for his response correlatesto hispoint that after school activities might not al ways be academic But not all students have access to multi ple sources of the internet If thesestudentsarereliant on the chromebooks for the sole use of information, how else may they pursue questions and challenges that require the in ternet?

Contrast to thecomplete op position to GoGuardian, Alex Truong ?25 said, ?We should bemonitored just at school ?In agreement with some aspects of the restrictions, Alex be lieves that the software does help students pursue school work instead of being dis tractedwithdistant topics

Although the GoGuardian program is annoying, there is not much room for changeasit is a legal requirement for our chromebooks to be monitored We now know that we are not being constantly watched, but be aware, as people certainly have access to see what you choose to look up

Reflection on The Prep Experience

By Jake Wisniewski '23

Waking up on my ?last first day of school?, I can certainly say that there was a strange feeling In years past, I knew that after the school year was done, I would be back in school following the summer However, this year, it?s different After thisschool year isfinished, I?ll bemovingon to a new chapter in life The end is certainly near, but there?s still awholeschool year ahead, and my experiencethus far has been the smoothest of the four, and I?ll detail exactly what I go through

I?ve always felt that waking up is the hardest part of the day Some people can get up early without a hitch, while others, likemyself, haveahard time doing so Once I?m up, I can get my day going fairly easily, but that risky game of ?5 more minutes? is one I play every morning Onward to my commute, the drive in from

Jersey isn?t agreat way to start the day, but there?s no way around traffic on 42 or the people that block the box on Girard Avenue After that, classes begin I have a lot of electives this year, so my schedule feels far different than it has before My plan is certainly the easiest it?s ever been but at the same time I feel like there isn?t a class I don?t like, so it?s a nice balance The morning hours of school alwayspassquickly, but the afternoon drags on Community period rolls around, and the2:40 bell rings, endingmy day

One of the major changes that happened in my time was the community period being movedfrom after 2nd period to the end of the day I assume most others preferred that morning time slot It was a nice way to break up the day, and I would rather end theday with a class instead of a

community period Another big change was the removal of lab periods in science I can?t say that I missthem, but it was certainly an interesting part of theschedule

Reflecting on previousyears, I feel as if each year progressively got easier for me Freshman year was the hardest, as everything was new, I had harder classes, and was taking two languages at once My sophomore year continued much of the same By junior year things opened up a little bit and I only had one language, and more electives became available This year my schedule is light, but also has a lot of variety compared to the core classes I hadfreshmanyear

There?s a common saying that high school goes by quickly, and I can attest to that being true, even during those long, seemingly never ending 70 minute periods

The Obstacle is Finishing the Book

By Anthony Salvato '23

For those of you who skipped out on thisyear'ssum mer reading, and somehow got away with it, I envy you Say ing that you didn?t miss much would be an understatement

The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday turned out to be theobstacleseparating usfrom a peaceful end to our summer vacation

As per a typical summer break, I left all of my reading for the last two weeks of Au gust Even with my back up against thewall and thefear of not being able to finish the book in time, I still couldn?t bring myself to read it About halfway through the introduc tion I saw Holiday praising a Nazi, Erwin Rommel, for his saviness As if I needed any morereasontoavoidthisbook, the veneration of a Nazi less than 10 pages into the book somehow made me want to read the book even less than before I had very little moti vation to read this book before I reached this page, yet Holi day still managed to make this book moreof anobstacle

Every chapter seemed to be an attempt by Holiday to slowly indoctrinatemeinto his philosophy of the power of Stoicism and how it can beap plied to the modern world It felt at times as if Holiday would urge the reader to ac knowledge their problems and to simply get over it It seemed that he considered it weak to show or feel emotion It felt as if Holiday wouldn?t allow me to become emotionally at tached to an issue simply be cause Marcus Aurelius and the Stoics from ancient times would have frowned upon it Sure it?s one thing to tell someonenot to wallow in sad ness and to move on, but this attempt by Holiday seemed as if he was trying to tell the

reader that by avoiding feel ings they could not get hurt, and should instead be more productiveintheir work

Now it?s one thing to have poor delivery on a message, and it?s another to consistently deliver the same message poorly chapter after chapter Holiday used the same unin spiring formula for each chap ter He opened with a quote, gaveyou ahistory of either the person who said the quote or some other historical figure who overcame adversity, then repeated his message of trying to tell you to get over yourself and join the Stoics because your problems are small com pared to others and Stoicism hastheanswerstothem

In a year where the Prep is claiming to focus more on the mental health of its students, assigning a book with a mes sagethat isafew degreesaway from openly saying, ?Be a man,?doesnot sound likefor ward progress to me It is counterproductive to encour age a student body to talk about their problemswhen you arealso assigning them a book that tells them that their prob lems are small compared to others

A restricted page appears when a student tries to access a website content that is blocked by GoGuardian This can range from online games to streaming platforms to websites like SparkNotes

TheObstacle isthe Wayby Ryan Holiday was published in 2014, and is based on the Ancient Greek philosophy of Stoicism

Sports Hawks Football Soars to Florida

By Brendan Dougherty ?23

FORT LAUDERDALE On Friday, August 26th at 8:00 AM, the Prep Hawks?football team, coaches, personnel, par ents, and the WSJPradio crew all set off from Philadelphia to Fort Lauderdalefor theHawks? season opener against the St Thomas Aquinas Raiders The Raiders were ranked asthe 5th best team in the country head ing into the game, while the Hawks were ranked at #29 This game was being covered by ESPN on top of WSJP?s regular coverage, and it would surely be a test for the Prep oneway or another

The weekend started off strong with the Hawks getting to practice at DRV PNK sta dium, homeof theMLS'sInter Miami Club Football team It became apparent that the weather would undoubtedly play a factor in the game the humidity was unlike anything the team was familiar with playinginback home

After practice, theHawksgot dressed up for a team dinner back at DRV PNK stadium WSJP was able to conduct an

hour long radio show featuring a number of player interviews, Coach Roken gave a speech to the team and parents, and the team left feeling in good spirits ahead of their huge matchup against St ThomasAquinas

The game began at 12 PM Saturday on the campus of St

Thomas Aquinas The weather was89? at gametime, but the humidity madethetemperature feel like 99? Nonetheless, the pads were on, the helmets were strapped, and it was time for Hawksfootball

The game brought a great level of excitement for fans of

both sides Samaj Jones ?24 finished with over 200 yardsof total scrimmage with 4 total touchdowns, while Kahseim Phillips?24 had over 100 yards between rushing and receiving On the defensive side, Cole Nilles?23 led theteam in tack les, while Anthony Sacca ?25

had an interception, and Sean McNulty ?24 and ThomasCer ruti ?24 each had fumble re coveries The Hawks were no match for the Raiders, how ever, and theHawkslost 48 37 in an offensive shootout The Prep dealt with a number of injuries, while a couple of plays just went in favor of St Thomas Aquinas However therewereplenty of takeaways from thisteam, and Coach Ro ken felt as if this team fought hard and that they can fight withany teaminthecountry

After the game, the team's spiritswereeased with atrip to Dave & Busters, while the WSJP crew took a trip to LoanDepot Park to watch the Miami Marlins go up against the Los Angeles Dodgers The post game fun recapped a fun and productive weekend for the Hawks as they prepared to headback homeSunday morn ing While the Hawks would start the season with a loss, they knew they would be able to go up against any team for the rest of the season

The Dark World of Fantasy Football Punishments

By Joseph Griffin '24

Football season isback! This also means fantasy football is back Now, who doesn?t love drafting Christian McCaffrey inthefirst roundandendingup being last in your league? Well, many leagues have ?punishments?for their fantasy leagues' loser(s)

There are a multitude of punishments to be given in a fantasy football league Oneof themost common punishments on the internet is the ?Waffle House? punishment So, the loser has to stay in a Waffle House for twenty four hours, but each waffle the loser con sumes subtracts an hour off of the time The winner will find this hilarious, the loser will find it dreadful, and the cardi ologist will love the extra money

Now, if you?re going to a restaurant for the evening to watch the Eagles play, you usually split the check and tip amongall theeaters A punish ment that is sick to your bank account is covering the entire check All the fantasy league members attend a restaurant, and the loser pays the whole bill and tip Another alternative to this punishment is paying for all the costs of the end of seasonparty

I am early into my junior

year at the Prep, so I have yet to take the SAT This punish ment is usually for users older than teenagers, but it isstill hi larious This punishment con sists of the loser taking a full SAT After learning that any one can take an SAT, this is a great punishment to torment someone

If you are lactose intolerant, stay away from this punish ment I?ve left this one to the last because it is my favorite one, and I am trying to con

vince my league that we should do this gruesome pun ishment This punishment is famously known asthechoco late milk mile Usually, people over theageof twenty oneuse an alcoholic beverage Still, considering we cannot legally consume said beverage, there is a perfect replacement The chocolate milk mile is a mile racewhereyou start at theone mile mark on a 400 meter track, and beforeyou start your race, you chug a 16 ounce

chocolate milk Now, this may not sound too bad, but once you finish your one lap, you chug ANOTHER 16 ounce chocolate milk And it repeats until you finish the mile To make matters even worse, cross country runners struggle to complete this race Best of luck if you decide to use the chocolate milk mile as your fantasy punishment

Fantasy football can be full of joys and dramas Football season is back, the drafts are

in the stages are set the Ea gles are winning, Derrick Henry isproving heiswashed, the Cowboys are losing, and Josh Allen isproving that heis the best quarterback in the league But, you always know fantasy football season is back when, downtheendof theline, there is a villainous punish ment at the end of the season

Dan

Ryan Dorofy '23

Alex Fella'23

Jack Gallagher '23

Patrick Logan'23

Max Nast '23

Anthony Salvato'23

Peter Bae'24

o

C J D F i m s

The Hawks take the field against #5 ranked St Thomas Aquinas to open up their season in Fort Lauderdale

Kyle Pitts (Left), Alvin Kamara (Center), and CeeDee Lamb (Right) hope to make sure that your fantasy season does not end with one of these awful punishments

Brittney Griner Imprisoned in Moscow

By Dan Gordon '24

MOSCOW Brittney Griner is known by many as a star in the Women?s National Basket ball Association (WNBA), but now, sheisaconvicted felonin Russia Biden and her worried family are fearing for her, and the question that should be asked is how did it get to this point?

It all started in February when Griner, who washeading to Russia to play for Russian team UMMC Yekaterinburg, was stopped at the airport near Moscow Here, she was stopped, and, according to the Russian Federal Customs Ser vice, a sniffer dog gave them reason to investigate the lug gage of Griner Inside the lug gage were vape cartridges that contained hashish oil, a mari juana concentrate that is com monly sold in cartridges After finding the cartridges, a news agency owned by Russiaiden tified theperson asGriner The crime, large scale transporta tion of drugs, has a maximum sentenceof ten yearsin prison Griner was detained on Febru ary 17, 2022, and this became publicizedonMarch5 2022

Griner appeared on trial for her conviction on July 1, 2022 According to the Wall Street Journal, cases similar to

Griner?s had a less than one percent chance of acquittal She subsequently pleaded guilty on July 7, 2022, and she was found guilty by a Russian court on August 4, 2022, for the possession of drugs She was then sent to a penal colony a prison in a remote location, and was sentenced to nineyearsof prison

However, the U S govern ment has been trying to liber ateGriner and return her to the U S Unfortunately for Griner, tensions have remained high between the U S and Russian governments There have been talks of a prisoner swap, and according to CBSSports Rus siawantsViktor Bout, aRuss ian armsdealer, to besent back

to Russia in exchange for Griner and another prisoner, Paul Whelan

The latest updates about this situation are that Biden is to meet with the family of Brit tney Griner

This situation is a very con troversial debate between peo ple who want her freed from

Russia, and people who say that shebrokethelaw in afor eign country and deserved her conviction Overall, this situa tion isonethat isstill ongoing So far, this is all we know about the story of Brittney Griner

The Hunt For Red October Continues

move as it has seemed to fire the team up Under the man agement of Thompson, the Phillieshavegone58 33which is very impressive considering he was just a bench coach and the former MVP was out for most of that time

As the season comes to an end, thewildcard raceispretty close If theseason wereto end now [as of our print time on the afternoon of Friday, Sep tember 30] the Phillies would travel down toSt Louisto face theCardinalsfor abest of three gameseries

Theexcitement leading up to a potential Phillies playoff run is spreading throughout all of Philadelphia Can the Phillies pull off yet another Philadel phia under dog miracle in November?

By Jimmy Baker '23

The 2022 Philadelphia Phillies season has been noth ing less than exciting For eleven long seasons, the Phillies have been short of the playoffs and at the bottom of theNational LeagueEast divi sionalmost every year

The team got off to a slow start but after the firing of manager Joe Girardi and the promotion of Rob Thompson, everything has gone uphill

Currently, the Phillies are 2nd in the NL Wild Card race behind the Atlanta Braves and ahead of the San Diego Padres by two games They have about twenty games left in the season and will most likely end the season with a winning record

The last time the Phillies

could be considered a ?good? team was in 2011 To put that into perspective, the team was led by their core trio of Jimmy Rollins, ChaseUtley, and Ryan Howard The three of them haveall been retiredfor at least ahalf decade ThePhilliesand their many years of rebuilding are now showing a bit of promise

The2022 Fightins?areled by reigning MVP Bryce Harper, Rhys Hoskins, Aaron Nola,

and new editions such as Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castel lanos Harper was out for a majority of theseason dueto a broken thumb suffered in late June He missed the two months in the middle of the season, but theteamkept doing what they always do: fight In the 52 games that Haper missed theteam won 32 games andonly lost 20

The hiring of ?Philly? Rob Thompson was also a crucial

Brittney Griner has been imprisoned in Russia since February 17 for possession of hashish oil in vape cartridges

Thefanshaveeven goneasfar as giving Thompson the nick name?Philly Rob?

The Phillies are looking to hold the first playoff game in Citizens Bank Park since 2011 with this year's high powered offense and stellar pitching core

A Farewell to Serena Williams: " Simply the Best"

By Ted Hogan '24

SerenaWilliamsisaonce in a lifetimetalent, someone who can never be replicated She is not only widely regarded asthe greatest woman tennis players of all time but can be consid ered in the debate for the greatest tennis player ever based on accolades alone On the spectrum of sports in the United States, tennis was not originally at the forefront of debate, but due to her domi nance, Serena has managed to become a household name, figurehead, andicon of Ameri can tennis, by being someone the media couldn't simply ignore

At 14 years old, Williams started her professional career at the Quebec invitational and began her course to amassing numerous awards and acco lades Serena has the second most Grand Slams wins in the open era, with 23 Grand Slam singleschampionship victories The achievement of winning all four Grand Slamsand being theactivedefender of thoseti tles is regarded as the ?Serena Slam?

Along with her singles suc cess, Serena has also domi nated on other levels of the sport Williams has won 14 doubles and 2 mixed doubles championships for 39 total ti tles She has even dominated the Olympics, winning 4 gold medals?one singles, and three doublesgoldmedals

William?s game was power

ful, and the only woman that can compareher styleof tennis is her sister Venus Williams

Both play through strong groundstrokes, serves, and in credibleathletism which isun usual for the woman?s side of tennis which is more technical and savvy than the men's side

And when Serena was at her best, her sister Venuswasright therewith her Serenawouldn't havereached her greatest if she hadn't had her older sister to leadher alongtheway

Above all, Williams is a symbol of women's strength,

both on and off the court In 1999, Serena became the first African American woman to win the U S Open since Althea Gibson in 1958 at the shockingly young age of 17 Years later, everyone watched in awe as Serena became the first ever woman to win a grand slam while preg nant?with her daughter Olympia And for 319 weeks of her career, Serena Williams reigned as the #1 ranked woman in tennis including a span where she held the title for 186consecutiveweeks

As a strong and confident woman, Williams represents a powerful female role model young women can look up to, who demonstrates how gender barriers can not hold someone back Williams previously showed the world this when she performed while pregnant at theAustralian Open in 2017 Subsequently, Serena had given birth to her daughter Olympia through an emer gency C Section The surgery went well and Williams soon held her firstborn in her arms, but the situation was different

a day later Serena had a his tory of a condition called pul monary embolism which had caused a blood clot and even tually led to Serena reopening the C Section wound During the interview with CNN where she disclosed all of this infor mation to the public, she brought up all of the injustice with childbirth worldwide Not only did she overcome this trial, but returned to the pro fessional tennis scene in De cember of 2018

William?s virtuous attitude doesn't stop there Shehas do nated money to the Yetnude Price Resource Center, which deals with trauma related pro grams for the residents of Compton California Addition ally, during Covid 19 Williams, supported the Masks for Kids program which sup plied masks to children across the country; and during the pandemic, supported Instacart in providing 50,000 meals to fight hunger

Serenahasleft avirtuousand lasting legacy and forever stands among the greats With her career coming to an end, Williams leaves the scene completely different from when she stepped onto it 27 years ago Looking back at each stroke, set, and point no one can doubt the significance of Serena's passion and deter mination as she forged a new path in the world of tennis for the next generation

The 76ers: The Last Dance, Predictions for This Season

By Ted Antczak '23

This is it This is the best window of opportunity the Philadelphia 76ers will have for awhile Embiid, turning 29 in acoupleof months, will still bein hisprimethisyear James Harden, having had a full off season with the team, will know the game plan better as well as the offensive and de fensive schemes Maxey con tinues to improve and is most likely going to be a great third option this year The support ing cast haseven taken amas sive leap with veterans such as De?Anthony Melton, PJ Tucker, and former sixth man of the year Montrez Harrell all headlining the new and im proved depth of the team on South Broad The question everyone from Delaware Val ley has is still yet to be an swered, ?Can we make it past the second round of the play offsthisyear??

Since 2018, the Sixers have lost to theCelticsin thesecond round, had a jump shot by some player named Kawhi Leonard bouncefour timesand into a basket in another second round Game 7, beaten by the Celtics again, had Ben Simmons pass up wide open

layups in another Game 7, and now bested by a deep Heat teamledby Jimmy Butler This playoff failure has led many fans to frustration, but once again, they are faced with a situation where the roster has improved again, and the po tential for adeep playoff run is possible The ceiling of this team isonceagain theNBA fi nals, and the floor is a first

roundcollapse

The two biggest factors in how thisseason will unfold are on the shoulders of two expe rienced personnel on the Six ers: James Harden and Doc Rivers If James Harden can even beashell of what hewas in Houston, that is, afacilitator aswell asasecond scoring op tion, the Sixers will go far this year Embiid can still carry the

load of scoring, seeing as he?s been an MVPcandidatefor the past two seasons They can beat any team in aseven game series with Harden taking effi cient shots Doc Rivers gives lessoptimism, however Doc is a well respected coach, but sometimesmakesstubborn de cisions based sheerly on spite; DeAndre Jordan starting dur ing Embiid?s absence in the

Heat series this past season may have cost them one of their two opening losses to Miami Additionally, the blown lead issue has not come up yet on a big scale, but it is very concerning: He?s blown a 3 1 lead in the playoffs three separate times Hopefully, he doesnot makeit afourth

All of this optimism sprin kled in with a little doubt leaves Philly fans, including me, pondering exactly where the Sixers will go this season Despite the doubt I just previ ously mentioned, I seetheSix ers going to the Eastern Con ference Finals where they are bested in a longer series I don?t believethisto beamagi cal season, but I do believeit is the season we break the second round curse Expect Embiid to be an MVP candi date again this year, and look forward to Maxey becoming even more of a fan favorite with his electric finishes and step back threes The rest, well, we will just have to wait and see Injuries ignored, this season is one where the hope still lingers in Philly fans? minds, and hopefully, the Six ers feed off that

( P h o t o C J D F l m s )

Tennis Legend Serena Williams holds up her first Grand Slam singles title from the USOpen in 1999, her first of 23 grand slam titles over her illustrious career

James Harden (Left), Joel Embiid (Center), and Tyrese Maxey (Right) look to bring a championship to the city of Philadelphia in the trio's first full season together