Entertainment Semi-annual Battle of the Bands rocks JC, while Ashton Kutcher "punks" celeberties in new MTV show. Pages 14-15
Pat riot he
June 2003
Features Evan Pitts scoops up the competition in the Fountain Olympics. u
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Volume 38, Issue 6
Sports JV & V Boy's lacrosse dominate the MIAA League in championships. u
Pages 19-20
Long awaited dedication cerermony eases anticipation for the new gym. u
Page 6
News
John Carroll School ö Tradition ö Pride ö Excellence
Page 9
Editorials Students express views on new Upper Rockfield parking Page 3 restrictions.
School pranks etched deep into JC tradition Erin O’Brien News co-Editor An addiction to practical jokes has been discovered to be spreading like SARS among students and faculty at JC. Team Up and JCAC should be on high alert for warning signs of Practical Joke Syndrome (PJS). These signs include: constant evil laughter, extreme secrecy, an obsession with Native Americans, a love of Notre Dame football, frequent wanderings around a certain classroom door in the math department, and cryptic speech and actions. If a student or faculty member is found to be in possession of one or more of the following items, they should be also be considered high risk: a fart machine, false teeth, a Mr. Potato Head or any of his appendages, tennis balls, several staplers, a canoe, an artificial hand, or a bar of soap. When approached, PJS sufferers will develop an excited gleam in their eyes accompanied by a creepy yet satisfied smirk. PJS ranges in severity from mild to moderate. Some PJS sufferers, such as Mr. Scholl, feel an intense urge to pull over the top pranks. Sufferers with these extreme urges are sometimes referred to as “Piltdown Hoax Pranksters.” Other sufferers,
such as Mr. O’Brien, feel a lesser urge; their pranks are categorized by what has come to be known as “a fast one.” These sufferers are sometimes referred to as, “Puckian Pranksters.” By examining pranks that have been pulled here at JC, members of the school can come to a better understanding of what PJS is all about and how it evinces itself through the sufferer’s actions. Because without understanding and support, there can be no treatment for this terrible addiction. As a Piltdown Hoax Prankster, Mr. Scholl was known to have pulled some of the biggest pranks at JC. Perhaps the most well known prank in all of JC history was what is called “The Tennis Ball Attack.” Early one morning, former deans Mr. Scholl and Mr. Smith sneak into the auditorium. It is Friday and in a few minutes, Mr. Brennen’s large group physics class will be coming in for their weekly meeting. “That class is like sacred,” said Mr. Scholl. Wearing ski masks, Mr. Scholl and Mr. Smith hoist several garbage bags filled with hundreds of tennis balls up into the catwalk. Right on time, Mr. Brennen and his class walk in and sit down with the two teachers looming above them in excitement. They are about to demonstrate to Mr. Brennen and his entire class exactly what gravity is all
photo by Mr. Chrismer
Mr. Appleby, or shall we say Sister Georgia Appleby, has been the target and victim of students' pranks throughout the years.
about. “We drop one ball and it just bangs next to him,” Mr. Scholl excitedly says. Looking up, Mr. Brennen yells at the culprits telling them he knows they are up there and to come down immediately. Meanwhile they drop a few more, it seems to be drizzling tennis balls. Yelling loudly, Mr. Brennen is furious at the pranksters, whom he assumes to be
students. Just when he reaches his boiling point, the drizzling turns into pouring. “Then we let him have it,” says Mr. Scholl. Hundreds of tennis balls are then dumped on top of the people below. It was literally “raining tennis balls.” laughs Mr. Scholl “There were thousands of ten-
Continued on pages 12-13
Rugby team flanks opponents in championship Dave Lomonico Staff Writer A little over a year ago, JC engaged in its first rugby match ever against Calvert Hall. With one season under their belt, the team exceeded all expectations and were resounding champions. With the superb coaching job of Mr. Heubeck and Mr. Barker and the excellent sense of team unity, the entire JC rugby team won the first JC athletic championship this year. Mr. Huebeck attributes the great season to the team’s overall attitude. He said, “The intensity of the team, the commitment to win, and the dominance of the pack allowed us to win the games.” The rugby tournament took place on April 26 and 27, 2003. The teams were broken up into three brackets each consisting of three teams. JC had to play four games in two days to win the tournament. On April 26, JC had a match against Towson in what turned out to be a “slaughter” according to forward Jason Botzler ‘03. JC won the game behind an amazing performance by kicker Andrew
Kachur. Kachur made nine straight conversion attempts en route to a 73 – 0 victory. Sophomore Jason Devoy also turned in a spectacular performance making a try three straight times to open the game. “It was pretty cool to score three trys,” said Devoy. “It was the first time I ever scored and it was in the tournament.” Tom Scilipoti ‘03, Pat McGrath ‘04, Ryan Kramer ‘03, Ben Pierce ‘03, Jason Drake ‘03, and Jamie Edwards ‘03 also scored in the match. Botzler wanted to make sure that the unsung hero of the game, junior Trevor McEvoy, was mentioned. Botzler said, “Although he [McEvoy] has not yet scored, he had great passing skills to work the ball to the backs quickly.” From that point on, JC envisioned victory. “After that game, every game was a nail-biter,” said Mr. Barker. The second game that day was against Andover, who JC had never beaten before. However, with strong, solid play up front from the eight forwards, and superb passing in the backfield, JC scraped by with a one-point victory, 15 – 14. “The main reason we won this game,”
said Botzler, “was because of Ryan Kramer’s solid defensive tackling.” Mr. Heubeck said, “We had lost to the team earlier and we got revenge when it counted.” He continued by saying, “All of our forwards played well…we played well as a team and won all of the scrums and lineouts.” Ben Pierce ‘03, Adam Devine ‘06, and Jamie Edwards ‘03 all had a try apiece in the slim-margined victory. By winning the Andover game, JC had won their pool and were the top seed going into the semifinal match-up against that same Andover team on April 27. “They had one really good back who was hard to stop,” said Mr. Barker. “However, he missed an easy conversion attempt with the game on the line and they lost.” It was hooker Andrew Kachur who was the key for JC in this third game of the tournament. His ability to win the scrums kept the ball in JC’s possession and led the team to a 17 – 15 victory. Also, Devoy, Edwards, and Botzler all scored a try along with Kachur’s two-point conversion. The whole team gave their best effort in this game. It was a series
of sweat, blood, tears and then victory. Botzler said, “Tom Scillipoti sacrificed his body for the rugby team to prevent Andover from scoring.” The championship game was played later on April 27 in a nerve racking game against Georgetown Prep. “They [Georgetown] were very well drilled and that’s exactly how they played,” said Mr. Barker. Botzler continued and said, “Everyone came into the game tired from tourney play…however, the hard tackling by Brent Toland struck fear in the opponents hearts causing them to drop many passes.” The key play in the match was when flanker senior Ryan Kramer “nailed” Georgetown’s fly-half. “It [the play] took a huge part of their [Georgetown’s] game away,” said Mr. Barker. After a hard fought forty minutes of play, Toland scored the lone try in the match which gave JC the tournament victory, 5 – 3. “We had a sense of achievement in only our second year. A club that didn’t exist to one that’s won a championship is very rewarding,” said Mr. Heubeck. “They’re a great group of kids – they play hard and they’re willing to learn the game of rugby.”