RAMPART - Fordham Preparatory School

The RAMPART
Volume 74, Issue 3
I
The Official Student Newspaper of Fordham Prep
A Tribute to a Great Teacher
By LIAM NEUBAUER
recently had the outstanding
experience to sit down and talk
to Fordham Prep’s art teacher,
Mrs. Marilyn Honigman. Mrs.
Honigman has been at the Prep
for 35 years. Her full educational
career is at the Prep, and she is
a cherished member of our community. I was sad to learn that
she is retiring this year. She has
done so much for this school, be
it putting on art shows, running
the art club, supplying and managing numerous projects every
year, and most of all inspiring her
students. I was able to ask her
some questions, and this is what
Mrs. Honigman had to say.
How long have you been working
at Fordham?
35 years.
What are your favorite memories
teaching art at the Prep?
Anything involving my students.
They made the best memories.
At what age did you start creating
art?
I was always crafty as a child, but
I became serious with art in high
school.
What has inspired your artwork?
I wasn’t very good at much else,
and I always just loved art. I originally wanted to be a fashion designer, actually.
Who are some of your favorite
artists?
My favorite artists evolved over
time. There are many. As I got
older, and read more about artists
my view would change.
What are some of your favorite
topics teaching art?
My favorite topics are the ones
that students understand. It is not
always immediate, they may look
back on a piece of work a few
weeks later and it will click in
their mind what they’ve created.
I personally love to draw.
What are you going to miss the
most about the Prep and/or
teaching after retiring?
I should give the diplomatic answer and say the faculty, but my
students are number one. They
are the reason I come to work everyday, and why I love what I do.
What are your plans for next
year?
I plan to begin planning an art
show with my pieces. It takes a
very long time so I will be kept
busy!
What are some other hobbies?
May 2014
I enjoy museums, reading. Especially reading and finding out
more about artists.
Is there anything else you’d like
to mention?
I just feel so lucky. I get to come
in everyday, do what I love, and
teach it! All these years have been
great and I’m going to miss it.
Mrs. Honigman’s love and
support for her students and art is
overwhelming. She goes beyond
being just an art teacher. She is
such an interesting person, being
her student for a few years now
I learned so much from her and
about her. She taught me many
things not only about art, but
about life. My fondest memories are listening to her recount
the stories of her parents living through the Holocaust. She
gives such a unique outlook on
life from all her experiences, and
was always very open about it. I
will truly miss just being able to
have her to talk everyday and see
her smiling face as we walk into
class. I speak for many when I
tearfully say, Mrs. Honigman we
love you, we will miss you, and
we wish you so much luck on the
next chapter of your life!
New York Blood Center Honors Fordham Prep
By THOMAS DELUCCI
F
or the past seven years,
Fordham Prep has been
holding blood drives and
donating blood to the New York
Blood Center. Dr. Gelpi and his
mentor group set up two blood
drives a year. This year, the two
drives were set up on November
26th and April 11th. As a mentor
group project, students can sign
Front Page
Student Life
Entertainment
& Politics
Sports
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up to help organize the blood
drive by escorting those who
are donating blood, handing out
snacks and juice to those donating blood, and helping those
who are whiling to donate blood
sign up. At the Prep, you must
be sixteen years old to donate
blood. Anyone from students,
staff, and faculty donated blood
this year, and the Prep collected
over 100 units of blood. Fordham Prep is usually among one
of the top donors for the past five
years. Fordham Prep, as well as
many other schools in the Bronx
that held blood drives for their
school, were invited to the Bronx
Zoo by the New York Blood
Center to be recognized for the
help that the donations made.
Established in 1964, New York
Blood Center (NYBC) is one of
the largest community-based,
nonprofit blood collection and
distribution organizations in the
United States. Through the integrated efforts of our blood services operations, NYBC annually provides some one million
blood components to nearly 200
hospitals throughout New York
City, New Jersey, Hudson Valley, Long Island, Connecticut,
and Pennsylvania. Students enjoyed breakfast and watched a
presentation from the New York
Blood Center, as well as funny
skits. Fordham Preparatory was
recognized as one of the top donor high schools in New York
City by the NYBC.
Congratulations Class of 2014!
2
Student Life
Getting Involved in the Stock Market
By BRENDAN MCLOUGHLIN
A
mong the many rewarding clubs at Fordham
Prep, the Business Club
is one of them. The Business Club
meets in room 216 with its moderator Mr. Bozzone, who teaches
Advanced Placement Macroeconomics at the Prep. This year the
Business Club has taken on some
very interesting topics, including the ever-expanding national debt of the U.S. In efforts to
explore and examine the United
States’ national debt of almost
$20 trillion, we watched the film
I.O.U.S.A., which answered
some of our questions: How?
Why? What are the Consequences? To put it very simply, the
U.S. is in debt because the government is spending more money
than they are actually making.
The reason for this is because of
war. National trends dating back
to 1800 show us that the United
States is almost always involved
in war during fiscal stress and
depression. For example, before
the United States’ army first entered Iraq in March of 2003, the
United States actually had a $10
billion surplus. It is hard to fathom how one country could spend
so much money and dive so deep
into debt in such a short period
of time, but clearly it is very possible. Expert financial analysts
have come up with an array of
theories in regard to the consequences of such a large debt, but
it is something that we will have
to wait to see what happens. In
addition to the national debt, the
Business Club has been learning
about stocks, bonds, and trading
through SmartStocks. The program SmartStocks offers a free
app where one can mock trade
on a live stock market with fake
money. This iPhone and Android
app has taught many Business
Club members the complexity of
the stock market and the importance of researching a product or
company before investing. Mr.
Bozzone with the help of various resources including movies and phone applications has
taught many Fordham Prep students about the basics of the U.S.
economy and art of trading. The
Business Club is a great way to
not only get involved at Fordham
Prep, but also in the United States
economy!
bad, questioned groups like these
are necessary especially in learning communities where growth
can still be achieved. Knowledge
of people that aren’t the same as
you or having a community of
people going through a similar
experience can change the entire
timeline of one’s career in all areas of life from business relations
to hanging out with your friends.
Bridges doesn’t deal with polit-
ical or religious issues, it deals
with basic human rights issues.
The way someone truly is should
not be politicized or cast under
any other misnomer but celebrated for what it is and taught worldwide so that everyone can get a
fair shot at understanding the
people around us. This club tries
to spread these ideals so in a way
the “bridge” has been built. But
will you walk across it?
Building Bridges
By KENNETH DILLON
E
very E day next to the library help desk a small
group that makes big
changes has their weekly meeting, the Bridges club. There
would probably be more than
about 7 members if the name of
the group had not mislead some
aspiring engineers, but bridges
are being build in the small confines of a guidance classroom but
they exist in the mindsets of the
student body. The Bridges club,
chaired by president Andrew Dillon ‘14 and supervised by Mr.
O’Sullivan and Mrs. Martinez,
has been working steadily for 5
years now and has succeeded in
putting on such popular events as
the “Wear Purple Day” and the
“Guess The Amount of Skittles
in the Jar” contest and are by no
means stopping here. “We hope
to expand the awareness of the
LGBTQIA community in a religious institution where not many
people have an extensive knowledge on just how similar we all
really are”, says Andrew on the
group’s original and ongoing mission. In a society where most diversity is, for all reasons good or
Ram-say’s Kitchen
By NICHOLAS NATALE
S
niffing around the school
to find the source of
the tasty scent, Class of
2015’s Jack Leitner came upon a
festive scene. He was just in time
to sample the last of the prepared
food. “I smelled something good,
and I wanted to eat; that’s why
I’m here,” said Jack triumphantly. Tables filled with a variety
of tempting dishes, the scene is
a familiar one to members of the
Fordham Prep Cooking Club.
Although you might expect
to find the Club cooking in the
school’s kitchen, all the mixing, chopping, baking, and sautéing that these cooks do is done
at home and brought to school
for the Club to taste. Each club
member sets aside 30 minutes at
home before each E-day to prepare a recipe. These students
put their skills to the test, experimenting with new recipes or repeating old club favorites. “Basically it is the eating club, but
I can’t complain,” said Brandon
Graham, Class of 2015. At each
Club meeting, participants decide on the food theme for the
following week and then critique
the new foods that members have
just consumed. Some recipes in
the past have included oatmeal
cookies, chocolate covered bacon, cakes, fruit salad, and fried
chicken.
Fordham Prep’s budding chefs
look forward to adding more
healthy foods to their schedule
to challenge the perception that
people gravitate toward food that
is high in fat. You never know,
this club may create the next Auburn Lean Burger. When asked
if they were planning to make a
Carrageenan seaweed version of
the Auburn Lean Burger, they all
chimed in that it was classified
information. This club definitely feeds your hunger, as well as
your excitement for cooking. If
you want to send your taste buds
on a trip, come on down to the
Fordham Prep Cooking Club in
room 243.
Entertainment & Politics
Don’t’cha Know?
By AUSTIN LEE
T
V-lovers rejoice: a new gem has
been discovered. FX’s new series,
Fargo, inspired by the movie of the
same name, tells the story of a Bemidji,
Minnesota, a small town that is changed
forever by the arrival of the mysterious
and manipulative Lorne Malvo. Lorne
is the kind of person who causes trouble
for no clear reason. He works as an enforcer for a crime enterprise and is just
passing through the town when a series
of events lead him to stay in the town for
an extended period. During his stay, he
meets depressed insurance salesman Lester Nygaard. Lester truly is a pitiful figure. All in the first few scenes, his brother
calls him a failure, his wife tells him that
she married the wrong person, and his
childhood bully breaks his nose and insults his wife. While in the waiting room
of a hospital for his broken nose, Lester
encounters Lorne, and the two begin to
talk. Their small conversation creates a
wave of chaos unlike any the town has
ever seen.
Of all the television shows airing this
spring, Fargo is definitely one of the best.
It is brilliantly written by veterans of the
film industry, Ethan and Joel Coen. The
brothers directed the original film, as
well as critically acclaimed films like No
Country for Old Men, True Grit, and The
Big Lebowski. The Coen brothers put
their full effort into this series and it paid
off. The writing on Fargo is of the best
on television. It is offbeat and unusual,
but still entertaining and compelling. The
Coen brothers have created absorbing
characters that draw the viewer in with
their quirkiness. Lorne Malvo, played by
Billy Bob Thornton, is a good example
of this. His mannerisms are unique and
fascinating. The half second pause before
he says something enhances the impact
Ukraine Crisis: Update
By ALEX TROVINI & ALEX MAIER
O
of his lines. It adds a memorable touch
to what is already memorable dialogue.
His dialogue is as amusing is it is thought
provoking. He questions Lester about the
apparent laws of society and their insignificance, and then goes on to ask if bacteria could be considered a pet. Playing
such an intricate character requires a lot
of skill, and thankfully Thornton’s performance is flawless. He masters Lorne’s
unique quirks and creates a chilling character to watch. Lester, Played by Martin Freeman, is equally as entertaining
as Thornton’s Lorne. Freeman creates a
distinct character using peculiar facial
expressions and body language. He acts
with his body just as much as he does
with his voice. Lester is panicky, fidgety,
and anxious, and Freeman plays him perfectly. He makes a mundane insurance
salesman into a memorable and complex
person. Like the show’s characters, the
setting is different than what is normally seen on TV. Set in Minnesota, the accent of that area is hard to miss. Many
blurbs of dialogue end with “Don’t’cha
know?” and “Aw jeez”, which puts an interesting spin on the character’s conversations. When the characters, setting, and
legendary creators are brought together,
the mixture is a fantastic new television
show that will definitely be a contender
at award shows. Fargo also stars Bob
Odenkirk, Allison Tolman, and Colin
Hanks. It airs Tuesdays of FX from April
15th to June 17th.
Letterman’s Departure
By OWEN CAMAS
O
n April 3rd 2014, David Letterman announced his retirement
from The Late Show a program
he himself created after losing the Tonight Show gig to his former friend and
current rival Jay Leno. Once known for
his caustic comedy and his anti-establishment attitudes, Letterman now represents a part of the establishment itself,
turning in show after show and losing the
interest of the young audience as a result.
Letterman’s replacement is of a new
breed of comedians entirely. Stephen
Colbert worked for years as a struggling
improv comedian and writer before embracing the satirical persona of a conservative newscaster and launching into
stardom. Colbert’s current program, The
Colbert Report, is beloved by many,
myself included, but Colbert’s move to
CBS marks the continuation of an ongoing trend in comedy. On CBS’s rival
networks, the Late Night programs shift
more and more towards bit sized viral
comedy; Fallon dances with Timberlake,
and Kimmel conducts man on the street
interviews. These clips are catered to the
YouTube generation, short, sweet, and
consumed in two minute intervals, but
the change is somewhat unfortunate. Col-
3
bert’s show, and his Partner in Crime Jon
Stewart’s show as well, are built around
large topics and segments, generally 7-9
minutes in length. Their approach may
seem dry and dull but instead it allows
for consistent humor and commentary
rather than the now standard grab and go
punchline.
Comedy, like all facets of life, changes rapidly and needs to do so. But Letterman’s retirement does, in effect, close a
book on a generation of comedians, late
night or otherwise. Gone are the days
of Headlines and Top Ten Lists, and arriving is the age of the viral comedians.
Whether this new era is a good thing remains to be seen but it isn’t going to be
changing for a long time.
n November 21, 2013, so-called
Euromaidan protests erupted in
Ukraine, demanding Ukrainian
president Viktor Yanukovych sign a
previously rejected Association Agreement and Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
with the European Union (EU), instead
of closer relations with the Eurasian
Customs Union, a Russian led economic union encompassing Russia, Belarus,
and Kazakhstan, for Moscow to counter
European influence in the former Soviet Union. Police and protesters clashed,
eventually leading to negotiations between Yanukovych and the protesters.
An agreement was reached to form a
coalition government, call early elections, and release former prime minister
Yulia Tymoshenko from prison. The day
the agreement was signed however, Yanukovych fled to Russia, and Ukraine’s
Parliament unanimously voted to oust
Yanukovych, paving the way for an interim government currently led by interim President Oleksander Turchynov
and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk.
Presidential elections are scheduled for
later this month. Russia mobilized forces on its border with Ukraine, alarming
the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO). Protests erupted in the mostly
ethnic Russian region of Crimea, with
local leaders calling for a referendum on
joining Russia. Pro-Russian armed militias supported separatist politicians and
were assisted by soldiers of unmarked
military fatigues though they carried
Russian standard-issue AK74m rifles and
their uniforms appeared Russian. They
were opposed by ethnic Ukrainians and
Tatars. A referendum on secession was
held March 16, 2014, and the official
result was 96.77% favor of joining Russia with 83.1% voter turnout and now
Crimea is under de facto Russian control. The US, EU, and NATO, backers of
the interim government, have called the
referendum illegal and critics have noted in addition to armed militants at polling stations, polling from the past three
years indicates support for secession is
more likely around 34%. Poland and the
Baltics, formerly Russian puppet states,
requested additional NATO forces as a
warning to Russia and reports are that
Russian spetsnaz (spec ops) are in eastern Ukraine provoking unrest.
Let’s fast forward to what is going on now. Pro-Russian ‘militias’ have
been carrying out terrorist activities in
Ukraine’s east. These militias claim to
have armed themselves with military
tanks and arms. They claim Russia has
no hand in their mysterious rise to illegal
control of the eastern region; however,
their arms and tanks tell a different story.
Russia has been hard at work using their
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Captain America: The Winter Soldier
By MICHAEL DILLON
T
he new Captain America has all
you can ask for in a superhero movie. Intrigue! Suspense! Distinct
lack of helmeted soldiers! Marvel’s new
superhero movie takes Captain America,
a WWII super-soldier who ends up being
frozen in a block of ice and thawed out
in the modern day, on a secret personal
mission to stop a group of secret agents,
who secretly exist within another group
of secret agents. Secretly. Don’t worry
they explain that. But Captain America’s
mission is threatened by the enigmatic
Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan.) However the Winter Soldier himself is not to
impressive. His outfit is drab and generic
and just comes off as trying too hard to
be “edgy.” It doesn’t help that he looks
more like a disoriented Jesse Pinkman in
most scenes and has no real personality.
What’s especially annoying is that an extremely interesting antagonist is found in
a decommissioned military-grade broom
closet halfway through the movie with a
great backstory and personality, only to
be killed two minutes later by the boring
existing antagonists (guess they didn’t
like the competition.) Despite this the
movie is still very intriguing. Even if the
Winter Soldier is boring the “final” antagonist is great and the overall story was
paced well.
The protagonists in this movie are
very good luckily. Samuel L. Jackson is
as always an amazing actor. Chris Evans’
performance in this movie was far more
convincing than it was in the lack luster
first Captain America movie. Anthony
Mackie does a very great performance
and was by far one of the most interesting
characters in this movie. Scarlett Johansson was in all honesty was the weakest of
the cast. Her performance was good but
the lines she was given were frankly subpar. In the end all the actor’s performances work together very well. The movie’s
overall plot balances out the action and
mystery quite well. The Winter Soldier’s
background is never explained beyond a
blurry picture of what I assume is a Ushanka but no one actually cares about him
anyway. In fact the overall movie has
nothing to do with the winter soldier. Unlike many other Marvel movies the cast
of characters is kept to a limit. However
if you don’t like the Marvel superhero
movies then odds are you probably like
this one. In the end, it’s a big action flick
and not all that much more. It’s appealing enough to keep you entertained for
two hours, but it doesn’t have any strong
meaning.
4
Sports
Rugby: A “New York State” of Mind
By DECLAN COSTELLOE
F
or the first time the team’s
brief history Fordham Prep
Rugby has made “A” states. .
With solid wins over Harvey School,
St. Anthony’s, New Rochelle H.S,
Smiths Point Rugby Club, Long
Island Colts and St. Francis prep.
The boys remain undefeated in the
league. The Season comes down to
one final game; Xavier H.S. Fordham
and Xavier are the only two teams
that have won all games played. The
two clubs have a good history off the
field but come game day the boys
show no sympathy for one another.
“ We have trained hard all season
and are ready for a tough battle, they
(Xavier) are a well trained team and
are nationally ranked but that doesn’t
mean anything to us, we are coming
at them with all we’ve got” says
Captain Brian Mahon. Coached by
professional rugby player Neil McMillan the team has every chance of
finishing out the season undefeated.
Regardless of the outcome against
Xavier the boys will still be going
to New York States. The tournament
which consists of the best teams in
NY will take place in Utica. The top
two teams from the Metropolitan
league advance along as the winner
of the Upstate league and Capitol
league. The Four teams play in a two
day event to decide who is champion of New York Ruby. We wish the
boys best of luck in the tournament
and hope they represent Fordham
Prep Athletics in the greatest way
possible.
Varsity Golf Team Visits Florida
ine members of the Fordham Prep Varsity Golf Team
and coach Kevin Gilligan
enjoyed their Easter Vacation by
traveling to Orlando, Florida to prepare for playoffs by playing multiple rounds of golf. The Fordham
Prep Golfers stayed on the grounds
at Orange Tree Golf Club, home of
the talented junior player and Wake
Forest commit, Cameron Young.
The Young family generously allowed the team to use their Florida
home.
The team was lucky enough
to play at other courses including
the New Course at Grand Cypress,
which is a notable links style Jack
Nicklaus Design. Its layout was inspired by the Old Course at St. Andrews Links in Scotland, the birthplace of golf. They also played at
Disney Palm, the North and South
Grand Cypress Courses, MetroWest, and Southern Dunes.
Luckily for the Prep golfers,
the conditions were optimal during
the trip. With temperatures ranging
in the low 80’s, the weather was
consistently mild and partly sunny.
Courses were in great shape and the
pace of play was excellent.
While at Florida, the team saw
Bubba Watson, six-time PGA winner, two-time Masters victor and fellow member of Orange Tree. Watson is known for his unbelievable
forty-yard hook shot from within
the trees on the second playoff hole
of the 2012 Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. He would go on to
win that tournament and gained his
second Masters title this past April.
Much like Bubba’s hook, Mr.
Gilligan also had a punch four iron
that curved around a tree, skipped
off the water, and landed on the
green 10 feet away from the pin.
Critics may say that it was luck, but
Mr. Gilligan claims it was “the shot
of the trip”.
This trip was made possible due
to the generosity of Mr. Thomas
Moore, parent of a Prep graduate
and former FP golfer James Moore
(’07). Mr. Moore has sponsored numerous other trips to Ireland, California, South Carolina, and Florida.
The team is especially grateful for
Mr. Moore’s generous contribution.
Staff
News Team
N
By JOHN MIKUS
John Sullivan................ Editor-In-Chief
Matthew Saltzman..Student Life Editor
Coleman Kraemer..........Politics Editor
Michael Guberti...............Sports Editor
Mr. Dwyer............................Moderator
Owen Camas
Alex Maier
Declan Costelloe Brendan McLoughlin
John Mikus
Thomas DeLucci
Nicholas Natale
Kenneth Dillon
Liam Neubauer
Michael Dillon
Stefan Palylyk
Michael Kuzemczak
Alex Trovini
Austin Lee
Neville Lee
Volleyball Squad 2014
By Stefan Palylyk & Michael Kuzemczak
T
he Fordham Prep volleyball
team had another productive
year with many new faces and
other improving players. The team
started off slowly, but soon gained
positive chemistry and accomplished
a six game winning streak. The Rams
started off the year learning their
strengths and weaknesses against
some of the best teams in the area at
the St. Johns Volleyball invitational.
Positive performances were put in
against teams such as Spellman, St.
Francis, Edison School and others.
This foreshadowed significant improvement throughout the season individually and as a team. This led to
regular season victories over teams
including Xaverian, Iona, Salesian,
and St. Edmunds. Newcomers such
as Conor McStay, Aaron Rivera,
John Levine, Brendon Kersting, Robert Velardi, William McKay, Dylan
Nicaj, Jack McDonald, and others
helped anchor the team for success
this year and beyond. It was a sad
year to have to say goodbye to departing seniors: Alessandro Runco,
Christopher Herrick, and Christian
Bistany, who helped the volleyball
program in their years participating.
The team hopes to have another beneficial season next year and hopes to
advance in the playoffs. The team
would like to give a special thanks
to Thomas Hickey for help at home
games and would also like to thank
Declan Kennon for his brief (due to
injury) but significant contribution to
the team.
Plans for the Summer?
By NEVILLE LEE
A
s we are all excited for the
school year to end, some of
us have the whole vacation
planned to the last week. However,
many of us do not, and are still contemplating on what activities should
make up the most relaxing and rewarding summer of 2014. Many
rising juniors and seniors are looking forward to college and may feel
compelled to start to narrow their
search. The most difficult decisions
are for the rising sophomores, who
have to figure out what they want to
focus on this summer. For example, a
sport they may want to specialize in,
a subject to major in, or just spending
quality time with their family. Some
feel that a summer job is a great way
to utilize the summer break, if this
is your option then make sure to see
Mrs. Donoghue for working papers,
if you have not done so already!
Many have made the daunting choice
to specialize in one particular sport,
leaving behind another they may have
loved just as equally, to increase their
success in the upcoming school year.
Camps are filling rapidly and school
is out in a week. The pressure is on.
The upside to a summer schedule is
that it will increase rest and relaxation
over the next three months.
Ukraine Crisis
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
state-run propaganda stations RT and
Channel One. Sadly, Channel One’s
propaganda is exclusive to Russia and
Ukraine, while RT airs in America.
Their hosts all use similar, separatist
rhetoric to paint out the government
of Ukraine as evil and illegitimate.
They sway their coverage to paint a
fantasy that all these people in eastern
Ukraine want to be a part of Russia,
when that is anything but reality. A
common accusation on this so called
‘independent news agency’ is that the
anti-corruption revolution that happened a few months ago was a ‘coup’
orchestrated by the US. A united front
for retaliation between the US, EU,
and many other countries will hurt the
Russian economy. If Russia continues down this dangerous path, it will
force the international community
to respond with crippling sanctions.
America’s intervention has continued
to be positive for Ukraine, pledging a
$1 billion relief package and $50 million package to stimulate their economy. As Russia continues to violate the
de-escalation deal offered by the US
at Geneva peace talks, the outlook is
grim.