The StannerVol. 51, No. 6 Archbishop Molloy High School February 2008

Kartherine Mendez ’09 andAmanda Marsico ’09 Every Feb. 14, candy, flowers andgifts are exchanged between lovedones, all in the name of St. Valentine. But at Stanner High, many studentswill not be celebrating their Valentine’sDay on a romantic date but rather atCollege Night, which was scheduled forFeb. 14. One couple, juniors Beatrice Izsakand Matt Carter, was unhappy aboutthe scheduling conflict. “I’m so mad,” said Izsak. “I knowpicking out a college is important butcouldn’t they have scheduled it anotherday?” After attending College Night, Cartersaid he really didn’t have any plans. “Maybe hang out and take Bea todinner,” he said. Izsak remember their first Valentine’sDay date as being a disaster. “Everything went wrong that day,”she said. “We missed the train, I steppedon dog waste, we got splashed by apuddle on Queens Boulevard, so I’msoaking wet, and while at dinner, thecandle on the table set the flowers Mattgot me on fire. It was bad.” So who was St. Valentine and whywas his feast day chosen as the specialday to celebrate romantic love? The history of Valentine’s Day is filledwith uncertainty. One legend says that St. Valentine

was a priest in Rome when the emperoroutlawed marriage because he decidedthat single men were best for his army.Valentine, however, disobeyed theemperor and continued to performmarriages in secret but was killed whenthe emperor found out. Another legend says that the saintwas the first to send out a valentine.While he was imprisoned, he fell in lovewith a young girl he saw from hiswindow and before his death, he wrotea letter to her and signed it, “from your

Valentine,” a phrase still used today. Whatever its orgin, nobody wants tofeel left out on this holiday; so much sothat 15% of women in the U.S. sendthemselves flowers on Valentine’s Day.While it is expected for men to buy theirvalentines flowers, and 73% of men do,only 27% of women will buy flowerson Feb. 14. The typical florist’s shop will do$30,000 in Valentine’s Day sales. About one billion Valentine’s Daycards are exchanged each year, making

it the second largest seasonal card-sending occasion of the year afterChristmas. Even animals can get involved in thefrenzy, as about 3% of pet owners willgive Valentine’s Day gifts to their pets.And while many women like to thinkthat the men in their lives spend weekstrying to figure out the “perfect” date,the fact is 64% of men in the U.S. donot make any plans in advance for aromantic Valentine’s Day celebrationwith their sweethearts. While the pressure on couples tohave a perfect Valentine’s Daycelebration is great, it often isn’t easybeing single on Feb. 14 either. Junior Bernadette Kelly said, “It cansometimes be annoying watchingeveryone else having fun and being alllovey dovey.” Kelly said of her plans, “I’ll probablysit at home searching for some oldromantic classic like ‘Breakfast atTiffany’s’ or ‘You’ve Got Mail.’ “I guess I’m a hopeless romantic. Myideal date would be be going to anoutdoor movie at Central Park withDavid Wright!” she said. Junior Carlos Mejia, meanwhile, isn’tbothered by all the fuss. “Not really,” he said. “You can’t helpit if you’re single. And it’s better to besingle than to be with a bad person. Butif you’re lucky to have [a girlfriend orboyfriend], then enjoy it.”

College Night on Valentine’s Day: How Romantic

Frank Gentile shops for flowers. (Photo by Andre Amorim)

By Emily Tansey ’09 Molloy’s Student Council sponsoreda “Red and White” dress down day forValentine’s Day on Thursday Feb. 14. Stanners had to pay $1 for theprivilege of dressing down with themoney used to benefit heart diseaseresearch and were asked to wearsomething red and white. This dress down day is only thesecond of the year at Molloy, whichhas far fewer dress down days thanmany other Catholic high schools. St. Francis Prep, St. John’s Prep, andChrist the King have far less strict dresscodes and far more dress down days. St. John’s schedules on average aboutone dress down day a month. Christ the King has had four dressdown days so far this year. And students at St. Francis Prep wearpolo shirts to school so every day isdress down day due to the fact that Prepboys aren’t required to wear ties. Having friends who attend those otherCatholic high schools might only makeyou question why Molloy has had onlytwo dress down days during the 2007-2008 school year.

Sophomore Erin Brady said herfriends at other high schools thinkMolloy’s dress code is pretty strict. While Molloy’s dress code policymay seem on the strict side incomparison to those other schools, theAdministration has several

A Valentine’s “Red and White” Dress Down Day

justifications as towhy Stannersdon’t get to dressdown more often. The first reasonis that wearing theschool uniformmakes studentsact in a morebus iness - l ikemanner. According toboth AssistantPrincipal Mr. KenAuer and Student Council moderatorMs. Kathy Loughran, the volume ofstudents’ voices in the hallwaysincreases significantly on dress downdays for some reason. “In the students’ defense, teachers arejust as loud [on dress down days],”said Ms. Loughran.

Moreover, Mr. Auer said studentswhile wearing their own clothes ratherthan the school uniform tend to get morepushy and touchy, which isinappropriate behavior during schoolhours. Yet despite these two concerns, no

major problemshave ever comeabout on dressdown days.“Students knowwhat we expect,”said Mr. Auer.Dress down daysare organized bythe StudentCouncil usuallyfor specialo c c a s i o n s .

Molloy’s fall dress down day was tocelebrate the success of the Walk-a-thon and students had to wear a Molloyshirt to school. While there was no charge to dressdown in the fall, students usually arecharged a $1 fee to dress down withthe money being given to charity.

Mr. Auer said dress down days witha theme are what the Administrationprefers and it doesn’t like to chargestudents to dress down every time. After the Red and White dress downday on Valentine’s Day, the next chancefor Stanners to dress down will beduring Spirit Week in April, which willinclude two dress down days. Student Council President MeganMoravek, a junior, said that if theAdministration would agree to schedulemore dress down days, it could possiblyimprove school spirit. “Our uniforms aren’t the mostflattering or comfortable, so any littlechanges could make students moreaware of school pride,” said Moravek. Erin Brady feels that dress down daysare beneficial to the school because theyallow students to express theirindividuality and be more original inselecting their outfits. Senior Scott Brady agreed that dressdown days could make the studentbody happier. “It might not directly contribute toschool spirit, but we all feel morerelaxed in our own clothes,” he said.

Seniors now can heave that big sighof relief that they’ve been waiting forsince September. Their collegeapplication process has finally ended! All those hours spent choosing the“right school,” writing “the perfectessay,” and zipping in and out of thecollege guidance office for advice arethings of the past; now all seniors haveleft to do is cross their fingers and hopefor the best. The cycle of the college applicationprocess, however, never ends forMolloy’s college guidance office, as itnow must begin all over again with thecurrent juniors. College Guidance Counselor Mr.Kerry Hughes and AdministrativeAssistant Mrs. Joan McCabe will havetheir work cut out for them the next 12months because Molloy’s Class of2009 has 415 members, 59 more thanthis year’s senior class. Mr. Hughes and Mrs. McCabe, whoprocessed approximately 4,000applications from the Class of 2008,expect to file between 4,250 and 4,500college applications for the Class of2009. This expected increase poses animportant question: Will the collegeguidance office be able to efficientlyoversee and process the Class of2009’s applications while at the sametime supplying sufficient individualcollege guidance? Mr. Hughes and Mrs. McCabe, withthe help of Bro. Richard Shea, do anexcellent job with the college advisoryprocess and manage their workloadwell. But just two people process all thecollege applications from every senior

in our school – a tough task that, so far,they have accomplished without fail. The size of the Class of 2009,however, could prove to be a challengefor even this college guidance office. Perhaps the Administration shouldlook into hiring an additional collegeadvisor starting in September 2008. An increase in staff size could lead toan increase in opportunities for studentsto have individual guidance sessions,and, as a result, increase the number ofacceptance letters arriving at the homesof the Stanners in the spring of 2009. Right now, Stanners are simply notgetting enough individual guidanceabout where to go to college. Stanners typically receive two groupcollege guidance sessions during theirjunior year, one with Bro. Shea and onewith Mr. Hughes. After that, the students must take theinitiative to make their own individualappointments with Mr. Hughes, buteven if they do so, there’s not muchopportunity for individual attention. Mr. Hughes suggests that studentsmeet with him along with a friend toallow enough time for all juniors to havean individual guidance session beforetheir senior year. This raises the question: Are Stannersnot learning enough about their collegeoptions due to a lack of one-on-oneguidance sessions? But that’s not the only problem. As a result of the college guidanceoffice’s heavy workload, Stanners mustmeet a much earlier college applicationdeadline than other schools have. This early deadline, which landsaround Nov. 15 as opposed to the Jan.15 date at some other schools, givesthe college guidance office ample timeto process the large number ofapplications it receives. It also jeopardizes some students’ability to submit quality college essaysby forcing them to complete theirapplications prematurely in order tomeet Molloy’s early deadline. Molloy prides itself on being a highlyregarded college preparatory school.Many students choose to come herebecause of that exemplary record andthe belief that Molloy will help them getinto the most highly selective collegesin the nation. So is Molloy doing its students andits reputation an injustice by

understaffing its college guidancedepartment? Wouldn’t it benefit students to receivemore individualized help during thecollege application “crunch time”? Every year many Molloy alums returnwithin a year of graduation to get a copyof their high school transcript becausethey don’t like the college they areattending and want to transfer. Couldn’t that number be reduced ifStanners received more individualizedcollege guidance? Choosing the right college is one ofthe most important decisions a highschool senior will make.

The more individualized assistancethey can receive on the subject duringjunior and senior years, the greater thechance they will make the right choice. Yet how can students be providedwith enough guidance with only twopeople working in the college guidanceoffice? Molloy’s Administration shouldconsider hiring another college guidancecounselor, not just for the Class of2009, but for the benefit of all itsgraduating classes to come.

—Stephanie Kotnik, ‘09

More college advisors needed

The Stanner aims for the highest levelof accuracy in its stories. If you noticedan error or have a concern about astory, please send an email toModerator Mr. Charley McKenna at:thestanner@molloyhs.org. Please note the following correctionsto errors made in The Stanner Vol. 51,No. 5: The photographer who took thepicture of the Concert Band’s

Corrections:The StannerVolume 51, Number 6

Editor-in-Chief: Melanie DostisManaging Editor: Stephanie AlmachePhotography Editor: Ray FerreiraLayout Editor: Allie ReischCopy Editors: Mary Therese Rooney, Jonathan Mangar, Carol LeongTechnical Supervisor: Mr. Tom HarrisonStanner Moderator: Mr. Charley McKennaPublisher: Bro Roy George

The Stanner welcomes all letters tothe editor from students, faculty, alumniand staff that respond to any of thearticles published in previous issues. Send your letters to The Stanner viaemail at: thestanner@molloyhs.org.

Wanted: Letters to the Editor The Stanner reserves all rights to editall letters to conform to space capacityand paper policy. Thank you for yourinvolvement and we look forward toyour input.

Christmas Concert was misidentified.He was Derek Sokolowski. Due to incorrect information providedto The Stanner, the list of Girls StepTeam members who participated in thefirst round of the Hot 97 contest wasincomplete. Also performing were:Jasmine Williams, Stefanie Fernandez,Samantha Bonilla, Ndome Essoka,Janice Isidro, and Amanda Carrasquillo.

“Choosing theright college isone of the mosti m p o r t a n tdecisions a highschool senior willmake.”

By Andres Gallo ‘09 and KarolZalewski ‘09 The Freemasons, The Skull andBones Society, Mensa...MolloyDriver’s Education class? For those first three organizations,you have to go through weird rituals orhave an IQ of 145 in order to get in. Yet many Stanners will claim it’s evenharder to get into a Driver’s Ed class atMolloy than any of those other exclusivegroups. The Driver’s Ed program, directedby Mr. Kerry Hughes and Mr. RichardRodgers, is offered four times duringthe year — three times during the schoolyear and once during the summer. The Driver’s Ed class costs $435 andlasts approximately four to five months. Students who wish to enroll inDriver’s Ed must be at least 16 yearsold at the time class begins, whichbasically limits the class to juniors andseniors. So how do Mr. Hughes and Mr.Rodgers decide who gets in and whodoesn’t from from such a large pool ofapplicants? The answer is: a lottery. “It’s based on a lottery but preferenceis given to seniors over juniors,” Mr.Rodgers said. “Usually when we get into the secondand third semesters, we’re more lenient,and if all the spots aren’t filled up, we’lleven let sophomores who are 16 apply,”Mr. Rodgers said. Senior Marcelle Pignanelli said thatshe believes there is a secret list of

students who are allowed into the class. “I was supposed to get into theJanuary semester last year, since [Mr.Rodgers] said he thought I would get

in. But later I found out that I hadn’tmade it,” she said. Luckily for Pignanelli, she eventuallywas accepted.

Both Mr. Hughes and Mr. Rodgersdenied that there is any secret list orfavoritism when it comes to beingaccepted into Driver’s Ed class. So why do some Stanners believethey need some kind of connections inorder to be allowed into the class? “I guess [those students] thought theywere higher on the list than they actuallywere,” said Mr. Rodgers. “I guess that’sthe only reason.” Mr. Rodgers advises students that thebest way to prepare for the class is toget their Learner’s Permit prior to theclass. Pignanelli, who has taken Driver’s Edat Molloy also had some advice forpotential applicants: “Harass Mr.Rodgers,” she said jokingly. Junior Dylan Pleva was extremelydisappointed when he didn’t make itinto a Driver’s Ed class because hewanted to get his license before his 18thbirthday. “Since I didn’t get in, now I have towait until after my birthday,” he said. On average, 25 students areaccepted per semester and 25 areturned down, said Mr. Hughes. There is no waiting list for Driver’sEd, so the students who don’t make itthe first time have to start again fromsquare one and re-apply in order to beconsidered for the next session. “I usually encourage those who don’tmake it to take the course at anotherschool, simply because there aren’tenough [Driver’s Ed] teachers atMolloy,” Mr. Hughes said.

Driver’s Ed: class or exclusive club?

How difficult is it to get into this car? (Photo by Andre Amorim)

By Natalie Kurzyna ’11 andJulianne Broderick ’11 Stanners are halfway into the schoolyear, with two marking periods downand two to go. So it is a good time for frosh to reflectupon the first half of the school yearand discuss grades, friends, clubs, andtheir plans for the rest of the year. Dean Reilly said the first semesterwent well for him but he had to learnsomething about Molloy the hard way. “It requires a lot more studying [thangrammar school],” he said. “If only Ihad known that in September.” As a result of learning that lesson toolate, Reilly said he sometimes, “had to

wake up early and study.” Brendan Erskine said the first markingperiod, “was good except for somethings I’d like to improve on.” Time management is another skillmost frosh have to acquire. Anthony DiVanna said, “I learnedhow to handle time betweenschoolwork, swimming, and hangingout.” Daniella Antolos was very excitedabout her 96 academic average and haslearned what her stronger and weakersubjects are. Kristoffer Ramirez felt that the firsthalf of the year went “all right,” with theworst part being, “getting cell phone

detention.” Ramirez said with a laugh that he isn’tgoing to join any new clubs this yearbecause, “I’m just too lazy.” Julia Marsico, a member of the DanceClub, was disappointed that she didn’tmake the Dance Team, but she is happythat she has met a lot of new peoplehere at Molloy. Marsico said the best thing she haslearned is that, “you actually do havetime to go to your locker in betweenclasses.” Liz Langer, who is currently on thetrack team but now wants to join theart club, also learned a valuable lesson. “I wish I knew in September that you

don’t need all of your books in yourbag at all times,” she said. Other than that, “I’m happy becauseI’ve met a lot of people and I’ve had agood [academic] average for the firsthalf of the year,” she said. Amanda Dhaneshwar said, “I’vemade many new friends. And I was soexcited when I made Principal’s List!” Juan Gomez is considering gettingmore involved in school activities in thesecond half of the year. “I also want to do betteracademically,” he said. Gomez said thatthe first five months of school have“flown by. It’s been very fast.”

Frosh reflect on first two semesters

By David Kane ’10 Molloy’s Student Council willsponsor a Karaoke Night tentativelyscheduled for the Jack Curran Gym onApril 25, the final night of Spirit Week.Admission will be free. Student Council President MeganMoravek, a junior, said that with RockAid being cancelled for this year, fellowCouncil member Beth Terranova, asenior, came up with the idea for

students to perform karaoke style songson stage for their peers. While many of the final details are stillbeing worked out, students whowanted to sing should contact StudentCouncil Moderator Ms. KathyLoughran to sign up in advance toperform but students don’t have to singin order to attend the event. In addition to Moravek, the StudentCouncil officers are: junior Andre

Amorim as Vice-President, andsophomores Benedict Joson and FrankGentile as Secretary and Treasurer,respectively. Meetings are held every Wednesdayand Friday at 2 p.m. in Room 221.Student Council is currently planning itsannual Spirit Week on April 18-25 andInternational Day on April 20. Also in the works is Molloy’s TalentShow, which currently has no set date.

Moravak said the biggest obstacle toStudent Council sponsoring morestudent-oriented events is a lack ofinterest on the part of the Molloy studentbody. Ms. Loughran and Moravak agreedthat if the student body was more activein showing its interest in having moreevents at school, the Student Councilwould have more success getting moreapproved by the Administration.

Student Council plans Karaoke Night

By Kristen Himmelberg ’09 Stanners who have been complainingabout the style and quality of Molloy’sschool uniforms have had theircomplaints heard by the Administration. But if any changes are to be made,the pace of change will be slow, saidAssistant Principal for Students Mr.Ken Auer. “Any changes that will be made willbe very gradual over the next fewyears,” Mr. Auer said. “Most seniorsand juniors will never see the effects ofthe change.” Stanners who would like to wear polo

shirts to school will be disappointed tolearn that the Administration plans tomaintain its policy of requiring allstudents to wear Oxford shirts. “We are currently in the beginningstages of the process of looking for newschool sweaters, or at least bettermaterial for the sweaters,” Mr. Auersaid. “After that we may move on toother things that can be changed butfor now we are starting with this.” Ever since Molloy opened over 50years ago, students have complainedabout the dress code.Boys were firstrequired to wear jackets and ties until

the rules were relaxed to require just acollored shirt and tie. When the school went coed, thecomplaints skyrocketed because, whileboys aren’t very picky about the clothesthey wear, girls are harder to please. Girls want to be fashionable as wellas be comfortable and so would like tosee many things changed about theuniform. The girls’ major complaints are: theblue and khaki skirts have stiff material;the sweaters are itchy, not very warm,and collect lint; the Oxford shirts andpants don’t fit well. Juniors Victoria Barrett and MeghanShevlin said they would wear pants ifthey looked more feminine and fit wellbut they don’t. Junior Christine Sito said, “If I couldchange anything about the uniforms, itwould be the shirts. I want to be ableto wear polos.” Polos shirts are seen as being morecomfortable and fashionable. “There is a type of polo that haselastic on the bottom so they lookneater,” said junior Victoria Barrett.“Mary Louis has them.” Molloy only allows its seniors to wearpolo shirts and only for the last fewmonths of the school year. “I think all upperclassmen should beable to wear polos during the year,especially in the warm weathermonths,” said junior Kathryn Powers.

When it was an all-boys school,Molloy didn’t require its students towear a uniform. “When girls came to Molloy,” saidPrincipal Bro. Roy George, “it gave usa chance to make some neededchanges, which included adding auniform company to provide uniformsfor our students. My first thought wasthat it would make it easier for thestudents.” Bro. Roy chose Marlou as Molloy’suniform supplier because he hadworked with the company when he wasprincipal at St. Mary’s High School. “Marlou is very convenient for manyof our students because of its locationin Garden City,” he said. “They also willcome to school to measure our studentshere for uniforms.” While the girls are voicing most of thecomplaints about the school uniform,juniors Michael Arnold and BrandonPortelli would like to see one change. “We both think that we should havethe option of wearing a bow tie insteadof a neck tie because neck ties are veryconstricting and annoying in the warmweather months,” Arnold said. But don’t expect any major changesto the dress code. “Molloy students dress veryprofessionally and neat,” said Bro. Roy.“I think that if you dress professionally,you will work professionaly. If you dresscasually, you will work casually.”

By Tara Gildea ’09 Molloy’s 16-member Dance Teamperformed a comedic dance called “ASorta Fairytale,” which theychoreographed themselves with the helpof Moderator Ms. Liz Murdocca, atthe annual dance conference at C.W.Post on Jan. 30. The dance told the story of a groupof young girls who were raised to believein nothing but their own beauty and towait for Prince Charming to comerescue them. However there is one problem in theiryearning for a happy ending. There isonly one Prince Charming (performedby junior Oskar Wojciechowski) andas a result, much fighting among thegirls occurs. Ultimately, one girl is chosen by theprince and they dance a beautifulballroom piece. The rest of the girls are left to dancea lyrical piece of wistful longing. Although the team had little time topractice for their third consecutiveappearance at the C.W. Postconference, Ms Murdocca was pleasedwith the 8.5 minute dance. “There were a lot of last minutechanges - we actually finished thechoreography the day of theconference,” she said. “I wasn’t surehow it would actually work on stage,but it turned out to be superb.” The team’s day at the conferenceincluded taking two master dance

classes with professional teachers. Later, each team at the conferencewas given the opportunity to performin front of a panel of professionaldancers and choreographers, who thenspent 20 minutes with each teamexplaining what it needed to do toimprove its performance. “We improved so much on ourtechnique,” said senior Justine Bello.“The dance looked much better thesecond time we performed it in front ofthe audience.” The day included breaks for lunch

and dinner and then ended with anevening performance by each teamwhich was attended by parents andfriends of the dancers. For the past two years, Molloy wonboth the Best Dancer and BestEnsemble awards at the conference. But this year there were no awardsgiven because the conference organizerssaid its purpose is to promote danceawareness, not competition. Many of the moderators of the danceteams at the conference, Ms. Murdoccaincluded, agreed the day should be used

to promote unity instead of competition.As a result, the practice of presentingawards such as outstanding ensembleand outstanding individual dancer waseliminated. “We were a little disappointed,” saidjunior Gabriella Scalzo, “but weunderstand the conference promotesunity and awareness of diversity indance.” Junior Stephanie Kotnik believed theconference was an excellentexperience. “We were very happy the audienceenjoyed our performance,” she said. Now that the annual conference isover, Molloy’s Dance Team hasscheduled some other performances. The team danced at the JV andVarsity basketball games against St.Francis Prep on Feb 8. The team is also working with thedance club on the spring dance showthat will be presented at Molloy onMay 16. Dance Team Members are:Frosh: Christina Lucci, Danielle FabiilliSophomores: Alexandra Bello,Alexandra Fabiilli,Junior: Gabriella Scalzo, JulieO’Lansen, Stephanie Kotnik, KaitlinMotley,Andrea Kausch, OskarWojciechowski,Seniors: Angela Falco, JenniferLoCascio, Mary Kate Schwerdt,Alexandra Landivar, Justine Bello, andElyssa Noblesala.

Dance Team pleased with‘Sorta Fairytale’ dance

Dress code aims for a gradual change

Stanners give bad reviews to both the sweater vest and sweater. (Photoby Andre Amorim)

The Molloy Dance Team poses in costume on stage at C.W. Post Col-lege after its performance of “A Sorta Fairytale” at a dance conferenceon Jan. 30 (Photo courtesy of The Molloy Dance Team).

By Jennifer McCabe ’09 Molloy’s Model UN team, whichformed this year’s team of diplomatsduring a December meeting, willrepresent two countries for the first timein its history at the Model UNConference this May at the UnitedNations building in Manhattan. Because Molloy has the largestnumber of team members in its historythis year, it was assigned both TheNetherlands and the small Africancountry of Eritrea. Moderator Mr. Bill Flemen saidMolloy has represented such countriesas Greece, Serbia-Montenegro, andAustralia at past conferences but onlyone per year. Mr. Flemen said that while schoolsinvolved in the conference can requestthe countries that they’d like torepresent, the final decision is left up toUnited Nations Association of theUnited States of America (UNAUSA). The goal of the Model UN team is tobest represent their assigned countriesduring a model session based on a realUnited Nations conference. Each team, which can have a

maximum of 28 students, must researchand prepare a case to present at a modelUnited Nations session to compete forawards. Those competitors who bestarticulate their countries’ needs andproblems during the conference receiveawards. “The awards are generally individual,for example a student can receive anhonorarable mention for representing hisor her country especially well,” said Mr.Flemen. Molloy students have competed verywell in the past and have receivedawards. Junior Julien Martinez, a returningmember of the Model UN team, saidthe compeitition last year was verytough and it definitely told him he needsto work very hard to prepare for thisyear’s conference. The team’s workload will be a littlelighter this year since many morestudents applied to be a part of theteam, so many that the team actuallyhad to turn some students away. Mr. Flemen said the Model UNconference is a great way to learn about

politics and debating, and it is also agreat way to meet other high schoolstudents from all over the world sincethis league also competesinternationally. “To be a member of this teamdefinitely takes dedication,” said Mr.Flemen, “but it’s a fun way to learnabout other places.” The Model UN team consists of:

Kaitlin Motley, Jessica Modzelewska, RyanMann, Alyssa Shahzaman, Abrue Hussain,Jan Newaz, Nadia Majeed, Sylwia Smusz,Opal Vadhan, Ariella Levine, MarissaCastoro,Katherine Pangilinan,Paul Alzate,Bryan Lange, Kathleen Klein, Saahil Trivedi,Javed Yunus, Nicholas Merckling, CharlesPaszkowski, Chris Kosiewska, MichaelRiconda, Frank Toro, Maverick Palabasan,Frank Morrone, Katherine Sommers, OliviaSell, Julien Martinez, Camille Dwyer.

By Melanie Dostis ’10 Peer Group is the one class mostsophomores never want to end. But as a senior, some Stanners getthe chance to return to their favorite class— only this time as Peer Group leaders. Fifty- six juniors have been selectedto be Peer Group leaders for next yearfrom the estimated 100 to 150 whoapplied, said Bro. James Norton, whoalone had 44 applicants to work withhim. Bro. James Norton said the numberof applicants this year was about thesame as in years past. Peer Group leaders work withMolloy guidance counselors such as

Bro. James, Mr. Ted McGuinness, Mr.Chris Dougherty, Mrs. Rachel Galla, orBro. Francis Regis. Each counselor chooses about 10peer group leaders and assigns threeto four leaders to each group of six toeight sophomores. The process of choosing Peer Groupleaders is complicated since the numberof candidates has to be narrowed downto a manageable number. But there is never a shortage ofqualified Peer Group leader candidates,said Bro. James. “If we need so many people, I knowI could find them easily at Molloy,” hesaid.

Bro. James Norton said the qualitieshe looks for in Peer Group leaders are:leadership skills, the ability to encourageothers to speak up in a group setting,to truly care for other people, and tobe honest about their own lives. “They have to be able to admit they’renot perfect and they want to see peoplehave a happier, better life,” says Bro.James. Until they start as Peer Group leadersfor the Class of 2011, the juniors whohave been selected will train with groupsthis spring. The training is just like the Peer Groupclass they took as sophomores. The future leaders bring in things to

talk about that are similar to the topicsdiscussed in Peer Groups. During the training sessions, Bro.James said, “Each guidance counselorhas their own way of pointing outtechniques.” Bro. James said that these futureleaders will be very important in thesuccess of next year’s Peer Groups. Their behavior in the groups and whatthey encourage the sophomores to talkabout will go a long way in making PeerGroups once again the class nosophomore wants to end. The following juniors were namedPeer Group Leaders: Mr. Chris Dougherty’s leaders: ClaudiaGoncalves; Anthony Infante; Julia Karsten;Peter Kowalewska; Matt Leonen; ThomasMadden; Nicolette Marciniak; KatrinneMariano; Robert Mastronardi; ShannonMcLoughlin; Mary Napolitano; VictorStarsky. Ms. Rachel Galla’s leaders: NicolasDavis; Ryan Dillon; Patrick Fava; MatthewGill; Andriana Glavan; Emily Hanczyk;Stephanie Kotnik; Caitlin Lawlor; AmandaMarsico; James McCoy; David Olusoga. Mr. Ted McGuinness’s leaders: DanielAgosto; Christy Azcona; Kimberly Bernard;Lauren Ciuffo; Michelle DeSilva; CodyDeMarco; Brittany Dombrowski; SharlotteFondeur; Danielle Ford; Nicholas Galli;Ashley Persaud; Lauren Virone. Bro. James Norton’s leaders: ConorCunnane; Stefan Guelly; Sean Hickey;Kisha Laurent; Christina Loccisano;Kathleen McCarthy; Miriam Mendoza; JuliaMielczarek; Adriana Rannazzisi; DanielWaters; Oskar Wojciechowski; MatthewZay. Bro. Francis Regis’s leaders: MargaretBolan; Matthew Gill; Justin Gratta;Stephanie Halvax; Travis Kessel; RegineMarquez; Jennifer McCabe; MelissaObermeier; Dylan Pleva.

Juniors Dylan Pleva, Travis Kessel, and Jennifer McCabe are among the 56 new peer group leaders forselected to begin work next year. (Photo by Christina Loccisano)

Molloy going Dutch to UN conference

Juniors Michael Riconda, Frank Morrone, Maverick Palabasan andFrank Toro prepare for UN conference. (Photo by Blue & White staff.)

Peer Group leaders selected

Eighty-nine Stanners made thePrincipal’s List for the second markingperiod, an increase of 21 studentsfrom the first marking period. The number of frosh on thePrincipal’s List jumped from 17 in thefirst marking period to 26 in thesecond. Fourteen frosh who were on the firstmarking period Principal’s List madeit again in the second while three failedto repeat. Sophomores saw a modest increasein the number of students making theList, going from 12 in the first markingperiod to 13 in the second. Foursophomores failed to repeat. Juniors continue to dominate theList with 32 students qualifying, sixmore than made the List in the firstmarking period. Twenty-two juniors made the Listfor the second time in a row while justfour juniors failed to repeat. Seniors also saw an increase from12 in the first marking period to 18 inthe second with 10 seniors making thelist for the second time in a row. The following students earned aplace on the Principal’s List for thesecond marking period: Frosh: Arleen Aguasvivas*;Amanda Dhaneshwar*; MelissaEvelyn; Gina Galizia; Ray AnthonyGejon; Kanad Ghosh*; AmandaGonzalez; Lance Hipolito*; NavdepKaur*; Sundeep Kaur; EvanKearney; Malvina Klusek; Judy Li;David Lozada*; Christina Lucci;Elizabeth Lynch*; Kyle Mele;Carolina Ortiz*; Steven Paciga;

Dhandevi Persand*; Mark Puglia;Mary Rooney*; Jacqueline Shay;Robert Thomas*; Nader Yamout;Karen Zhou*. Sophomores: Gina-mariaArena*; Michael Carraher; KatrinaColletti*; Camille Dwyer*;Christopher Hwu; Augustin Joseph*;Peter Kramer*; Carla Marian; BrentMcDonnell*; Florian Santos; AndySingh*; Gary Ye*; Javed Yunus. Juniors: Krystyna Bronchard;Alexandra Carreno; NicholasChan*; Angela Dumlao*; MichelleEichorst*; Jenna Goldbach; NaailaHassan; Sean Hickey; LaurenKalma; Julianne Keyes*; Yo Kim*;Christopher Kosiewska*; StephanieKotnik*; Paul Kozlowski*; KristenLasak*; Carol Leong*; ChristinaLoccisano; Jonathan Mangar*;Catherine Morreale*; MaryNapolitano*; Camilla Niedzwiedz*;Charles Paszkowski*; Jaimie Patel*;Cody Piotrowski*; Peter Plaza*;Adriana Rannazzisi*; DorotaSawicki*; Kimberley Seoane*;Emily Tansey; Audrey Tung*; DanielWaters; Amanda Wood. Seniors: Melissa Buchan; JosephCammarata; Kristen DeBono;Cristina DiRe; Laura Fontanills*;Jenny Kochupurackal*; MarcellaKocolatos*; Dorina Lleshi*;Stephen Maniscalco*; VanessaMeyerhoefer; Jennifer O’Neil;Jonathan Rodriguez*; KatherineRodriguez; Giavanna Russo; MeganSattler*; Ahana Sen*; Irving Torres*;Sebastian Velez*.

* second time on the List

Stanners get smarter:numbers up in all gradeson the Principal’s List

By Navdep Kaur ’11 One of the issues being debatedduring the 2008 presidential primaryelections is whether or not teachersshould be paid based on how well theirstudents perform in the classroom,otherwise known as merit-based pay. New York State Senator HillaryClinton, who is running for theDemocratic nomination, believes that anentire school’s faculty should receivemerit pay based on their students’performance rather than individualteachers. Clinton’s rival for the nomination,Illinois Senator Barack Obama,supports raising teachers’ salaries“across the board” but also supportsmerit-based pay for individual teachers.Obama said he has supported a bill thatprovided financial grants to motivate

good teachers to volunteer to work inlow-performing schools. Arizona Senator John McCain, thefront-runner for the Republicannomination, also supports merit-basedpay and believes that teachers shouldbe tested every so often to make surethey are up to par in their field of study.Another Republican, former ArkansasGov. Mike Huckabee, feels thatbonuses should be granted to teacherswith high-performing students andteachers’ student loan payments shouldbe paid by the government forexceptional teachers who volunteer towork in low-ranking schools. Former Massachusetts governor MittRomney, another Republican, alsosupports merit-based pay. He believesthat teachers should be paid based ontheir teaching abilities rather than their

years of experience at the school. Mr. Pat Flynn, a social studiesteacher at Molloy who supportsObama and McCain in the primaries,said he thinks that good math andscience teachers should get raises andbe rewarded for their good work as away to achieve higher standards foreducation. Mr. Flynn said doing this would causeother teachers to raise the level of theirjob performance. Other teachers felt that merit paywould cause certain problems to arisesuch as the possibility that certainteachers would be at a disadvantage intrying to earn merit pay, not because oftheir work habits, but because of thetype of classes they teach. Mr. Bill Niklaus, another socialstudies teacher, said that merit-based

pay, “should be centered on state tests.” He said the use of merit pay shouldfocus on below average performingschools. English teacher Ms. Mary Ann Safreysaid, “We cannot control what type ofstudents we get. I think teachers shouldget paid well in the first place and thereshouldn’t be competition betweenteachers [for merit pay]. We shouldn’tneed incentives.” Principal Bro. Roy George said theidea of merit pay is not right for Molloy.“The teacher that gets lucky by beingassigned the honors classes gets theraise,” Bro. Roy said. “That’s not fairto the other teachers.” Frosh Malvina Klusek agreed, saying,“It is possible that certain students maybe less knowledgeable than others,which is not always the teacher’s fault.”

Merit-based pay not for AM

By Camille Dwyer ’10 The Environmental Awareness Clubwill launch its first act in its “Go GreenCampaign” on Feb. 11-12 with a usedbook sale in the cafeteria from 1:15p.m. to 2:30p.m. The sale will be run by theEnvironmental Club’s volunteers andwill offer many different types of booksall priced under $3 each. “This book sale will help in multipleways by helping Stanners save money,helping the Environmental Club earnmoney for supplies for the ‘Go GreenCampaign’ and allowing the club toprovide care for an acre of rain forestland,” said senior Samantha Diliberti,president of the club. All the books were acquired fromEnglish teachers and students,especially seniors who want to get ridof their used books. Diliberti said, “It will be veryinteresting to see what kinds of booksteachers bring in.” This book sale idea came from theformer moderator of the club, Mr.

Charley McKenna, who gave itscurrent moderator Mr. ChrisDougherty the idea of giving students’paperback books a “second life.” In the beginning of the year, theEnvironmental Club held a book sale,but not many people knew about itbecause there wasn’t enough time topromote it. Diliberti thinks this month’s book salewill be even more successful becauseit’s much better organized. The club put up flyers around theschool to promote the sale. “I think students will buy books tosave money,” said Diliberti, “and I’lleven buy books myself to restock myshelves.” There may not be another book salein June because the Environmental Clubusually organizes “Operation CleanSweep” at the end of the year where itcollects used paperback books. Diliberti said she hoped this month’sbook sale would be successful to getthe club’s “Go Green Campaign” off toa good start.

Mr. Glenn DaGrossa is ready to kick senior butt during the Senior vs.Faculty football game, won by the faculty, 49-14. (Photo by Ben Johson)

Enviro Club has1st used book sale

Senior Caitlin Winkler and juniorZuzanna Michalak both won goldmedals at the 2008 Girls CHSAA “A”Championship Swimming Meet atEisenhower Park on Feb. 3. But it was not enough to earn Molloyits fifth consecutive championship, asarchrival Notre Dame Academy ofStaten Island broke the Stanners’ four-year hold on the championship trophythanks to its superior depth. First place Notre Dame finished with839 points while Molloy finished insecond place and 609 points. Winkler won the 500-yard freestylein a time of 5 minutes, 11.34 secondsand in so doing got revenge on secondplace finisher Melissa Mrozinski ofNotre Dame, who beat Winkler by atouch when they had faced off earlierin the dual meet season. The race wasn’t as close this timearound as Winkler defeated Mrozinksiby over half a second. Winkler also won three silver medalsin the 100-yard butterfly, the 200-yardmedley relay and the 400-yard freestylerelay. Molloy’s Michalak won the 100-yardbreaststroke in 1:09.30. She also won silver medals in the200-yard individual medley and the400-yard relay. Sophomore Maria Skeivys won foursilver medals, two as an individual inthe 50-yard freestyle and 100-yardbackstroke, and two as a member ofthe 200-yard medley relay and 400-

yard freestyle relay teams. Molloy’s results from the meet: Team Scores: 1. Notre DameAcademy, 839; 2. Archbishop Molloy,609; 3. St. Joseph Hill Academy, 476;4. Fontbonne Hall Academy, 417; 5.St Joseph by the Sea, 409. 200-Yard Medley Relay: 2. Molloy(Maria Skievys, Zuzanna Michalak,Caitlin Winkler, Jennifer McCabe),1:56.70. 200-Yard Freestyle: 6. MargaretMcCabe 2:17.32; 7.Jennifer Dzurita2:18.55; 12. Lauren Linares 2:27.00;15. Kirsten McCabe 2:30.24. 200-Yard Individual Medley: 2.Zuzanna Michalak 2:21.51; 12. AmeliaMerker 2:41.54; 23. Alexis Burgos2:58.01. 50-Yard Freestyle: 2. MariaSkeivys 26.86; 3. Jennifer McCabe26.86; 14. Caitlin Burns, 29.40; 15.Shannon Neville, 29.83. 100-Yard Butterfly: 2. CaitlinWinkler, 1:02.11; 23. Melissa Duran,1:26.55. 100-Yard Freestyle: 5. JenniferMcCabe, 59.03; 12. Andriana Glavan,1:05.95; 13. Dayna Ferran 1:06.53; 21.Christine Hurley, 1:09.77. 500-Yard Freestyle: 1. CaitlinWinkler, 5:11.34; 9. Morgan White,6:47.74; 10. Lauren Linares, 6:48.19;16. Alexis Burgos, 7:10.46. 200-Yard Freestyle Relay: 4.Molloy (Caitlin Burns, Amelia Merker,Andriana Glavan, Margaret McCabe),1:55.04.

100-Yard Backstroke: 2. MariaSkeivys, 1:02.51; 5. Jennifer Dzurita1:08.38; 10. Melissa Duran 1:15.80. 100-Yard Breaststroke: 1. ZuzannaMichalak, 1:09.30; 9. MargaretMcCabe, 1:19.79; 14. Kathleen

Girls swimming 4-year title run endsMcCague, 1:23.13; 18. Caitlin Burns,1:26.01. 400-Yard Freestyle Relay: 2.Molloy (Jennifer McCabe, MariaSkeivys, Zuzanna Michalak, CaitlinWinkler), 3:50.49.

Molloy finished fourth in theCHSAA Frosh Boys Track and FieldIntersectional Championships Feb. 2at the Armory in Manhattan. The sophomore boys, meanwhile,finished tied for ninth place in their citychampionship meet. Frosh Chris Zappel was the onlygold medal winner for Molloy, winningthe 55-meter dash. Kemet Dugue wona silver medal in the triple jump andNick Tommaso a bronze in the polevault. The sophomores were led by MattCatera who won the triple jump andfinished second in the long jump. The results:Frosh Intersectional Championship Team scores: 1. Fordham Prep, 52; 2. St.

Anthony’s, 28; 3. Chaminade, 26; 4.Molloy, 23; 5. St. Peter’s 17. 55-Meters: 1. Chris Zappel, 6.8. 1,600-Meter Relay: 3. Molloy (JimMercer, Dan Acosta, Diego Martinez),3:55.6. 3,200-Meter Relay: 4. Molloy (PatCooney, Brian Woods, Nick Tommaso,Kevin Kennedy), 9:27.8 Pole Vault: 3. Nick Tommaso, 9-6. Triple Jump: 2. Kemet Dugue, 35-3.5. Long Jump: 5. Kemet Dugue, 16-1.25.Soph Intersectional Championship Team scores: 1. St. Anthony’s, 35; 2.Chaminade, 30; 3. St. Joseph by the Sea,22; 4. Kellenberg, 19.3; 5. Farrell, 17; 6. St.Peter’s, 16.3; 7. Fordham Prep, 16; 8. Mt.St. Michael’s, 13; 9. (tie) Molloy andHayes, 11. Pole Vault: 5. Angelo Lees, 10-0. Triple Jump: 1. Matt Catera, 40-2. Long Jump: 2. Matt Catera, 19-10.

Juniors Jennifer McCabe, Zuzanna MIchalak and senior Caitlin Winklerled Molloy to a second place finish at the CHSAA Championship meet.(Photo by Katie Johnson)

Frosh fourth and sophsninth at City track meet

Molloy senior Jarenn Stewart finishedfifth in the Boys Junior 60-meter dashfinals at the Millrose Games on Feb. 1in Madison Square Garden. Stewart was the first Stanner in historyto be invited to compete in this race at

the most prestigous indoor track meetin the United States. The race, which drew runners fromacross North America, was won byJeremy Rankin in a time of 6.68 secondsStewart’s fifth place time was 7.01.

Stewart 5th in Millrose Gamesat Madison Square Garden

Teacher Scramble

By Dana Giuntini & Claudia Goncalves

Unscramble names of Molloy Faculty

By Brigid Carragee ’09 and MattCarter ’09 It came as no surprise this monthwhen both the Boys and Girls VarsityTrack and Field teams dominated thescoreboards at the CHSAA Brooklyn-Queens Indoor Championships at theArmory in Manhattan. The boys made a name for themselvesat their meet on Jan. 31 when theyrouted their competitors, beatingsecond-place Bishop Loughlin bymore than 40 points. Molloy’s Girls Track and Field teamalso had an easy time winning itsCHSAA Brooklyn-QueensChampionship meet on Feb. 2, beatingits closest rival by 23 points. Boys Varsity Head Coach Bro. BobAndrews said Molloy had indeedanticipated a win but he was pleasantlysurprised when his athletes scored inalmost every event. Sophomore Matt Catera, whoplaced third in the long jump and secondin the triple jump, was pleased not only

with himself but with the team as awhole. “I was very happy with myperformance,” he said, “mostly becauseI am an inch away from the sophomorelong jump record, but also because Ibroke 40 feet in the triple jump. “The team is always excited with aBQ win, especially with as big a leadas we had,” said Catera. Senior Jarenn Stewart also gave amemorable performance at the meet,placing first in the 55-meter dash. Bro. Bob was very pleased withStewart’s performance, saying itimpressed him the most. After winning the sectional title,Molloy went on to compete in theIntersectionals, also known as the CityChampionships, on Feb. 10 at theArmory where the Stanners hoped tofinish between fourth and sixth place. Girls Varsity Coach Mr. Austin Powersaid that senior long jumper JessicaConter, junior long and triple jumperMonica Martinez, junior hurdler

Team Scores: 1. Molloy, 86.5; 2. BishopLoughlin 40; 3. Nazareth, 25; 4. Bishop Ford16; 5. McClancy 15. 55-Meters: 1. Jarenn Stewart, 6.50. High Hurdles: 2. Sean Collins, 8.19; 4. MikeWoolford, 10.39. 300-Meters: 4. Matt Flynn, 40.17. 600-Meters: 5. Leroy Herbert, 1:30.34. 1,000-Meters: 2. Robert Hines, 2:41.86;5. Aaron Woods, 2:51.62. 1,500-Meters: 3. Sean Kittle, 5:03.80; 4.Ernie D’Ambrose, 5:15.66. High Jump: 1. Billy Vabrinskas, 5-4.

Pole Vault: 1. Matt Letellier, 13-3; 2. SeanGinter, 11-6; 3. Rob Mastronardi, 9-8. Long Jump: 1. Jarenn Stewart, 20-9.75; 3.Matt Catera, 19-3.5; 4. Alex Wach, 16-5. Triple Jump: 1. Chris Reyes, 39-3.5; 2. MattCatera, 38-6; 3. Alex Wach, 36-10.5; 4. PeterKramer, 35-1.25; 5. Rob Mastronardi, 35-0. Shot Put: 2. Steve Lewis, 44-7.5; Nick Toth,41-2.5. 8 00-Meter Relay: 5. Molloy, 1:42.85. 1,600-Meter Relay: 3. Molloy, 3:37.51. 3,200-Meter Relay: 4. Molloy, 9:30.39.

Boys Varsity BQ Track Results

Stephanie Halvax, and frosh longjumper Sabrina Spataro impressed himwith their performance. Mr. Power also praised his shotputters, who, led by senior RebeccaPower, swept the first six places in theirevent. Power was very pleased with theteam’s victory and with her toss of 37-feet-1.25. “Yes, we expected to win,” she said.“Our team has always done very wellat the BQ Championships throughoutthe years. “I was very pleased with my ownperformance as well because it was myfirst meet back from a knee injury,” saidPower, the daughter of her coach, Mr.Power. The girls track and field team alsoadvanced to the City Championships. Both Mr. Power and Rebecca wereoptimistic about their chances at winningthe meet on Feb. 10.

Molloy’s results at the GirlsCHSAA Brooklyn-Queens IndoorChampionships: Team Scores: 1. Molloy, 81; 2. Ford, 58; 3.St. Francis Prep, 36; 4. Loughlin, 28; 5. MaryLouis, 8. 55-Meters: 5. Anniela Vaccaro, 8.0. High Hurdles: 1. Stephanie Halvax, 8.8; 5.Danielle Reddy, 10.2. 300-Meters: 4. Jessica Conter, 44.2. 600-Meters: 4. Elizabeth Abikaram, 1:55.7. 1,500-Meters: 4. Heather Mitchell, 5:52.5;5. Allison Brennan, 6:03.2. 3,000-Meters: 2. Catherine Morreale,12:01.0; 5. Gaby Rosato, 13:03.8. 800-Meter Relay: 1. Molloy (AlexandraJean-Joseph, Rebecca Power, MonicaMartinez, Jessica Conter), 1:50.9; 3. Molloy(Sabrina Spataro, Elizabeth Abikaram, TaraKlein, Brittany Dombrowski), 1:59.4; 5.Molloy (Alexandra Rodriguez, DeirdreQuinlan, Scarlett Sea, Katherine Lulo),2:01.4. 1,600-Meter Relay: 2. Molloy (StephanieRey, Nicole Ramirez, Christina Grimaldi,Shannon McLoughlin), 4:25.0; 4. Molloy(Danielle Reddy, Kathryn Powers, MaggieBolan, Mary Napolitano), 4:34.1. 3,200-Meter Relay: 3. Molloy (RovenaPjetergjoka, Teresa Governale, Ilsen

Hernandez, Catherine Morreale), 11:00.5; 4.Molloy (Kristen Lasak, Grace Perrotta,Samantha Traslavina, RebeccaGagliardotto), 11:45.6. Frosh Sprint Medley Relay: 1. Molloy(Christa Ciuffo, Jeannett Llave, LisaGiovinazzo, Deborah DePinto), 5:18.1. High Jump: 2. Kathryn Powers, 4-8. Pole Vault: 1. Stephanie Rey, 7-6; 2.Brittany Dombrowski, 7-6. Long Jump: 1. Jessica Conter, 16-4; 3.Monica Martinez, 15-9.75; 4. SabrinaSpataro, 15-9. Triple Jump: 1. Alexandra Jean-Joseph,34-4.5; 3. Monica Martinez, 33-1.5. Shot Put: 1. Rebecca Power, 37-1.25; 2.Natalie Higgins, 33-6.75; 3. Andrea Martinez,31-8.75; 4. Adara Simonelli, 29-7.75; 5. NicoleBonilla, 29-4.5.

Senior Aaron Woods finished fifthin the 1,000-meter run at theBrooklyn- Queens CHSAA IndoorChampionships at the Armory inManhattan. (Photos by Mr. TomHarrison)

Molloy takes two at BQ

Senior Sean Kittle finished third in the 1,500 meter run at the Brook-lyn- Queens Championships.

Junior Catherine Morreale finished second in the 3,000- meter runand anchored the 3,200-meter relay to a third place finish at the Brook-lyn-Queens Championships.