The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 200810 Activities

St. Rita Marching Band: A Year of Successful SoundBY DAN SCHERGEN

The Marching Mustangs have won more awards than any other sport or activity, they play at all the Football games and assemblies, and they hold one of the school’s most successful fundraisers. This year the marching band played at the bas-ketball games, and at the Kennedy Cup. The

Jazz Band played at the Ritz Carlton, the Alumni Banquet, and the Mothers Club Fashion Show. Bandapalooza, which was held April 5th, is one of the largest recruitment efforts for the school. The Spring Concert on May 7th fea-tured some of the greatest pieces composed

for a symphonic band. All the members of the band and its family would like to thank you for all your support of the Marching Mustangs this year and hope to have a great season next year.

Considering how big St. Rita’s rivalries with Mt. Carmel and Brother Rice are, it’s almost inconceivable that Rita students ever played on those schools’ rugby teams. Prior to this year, if you were a student at St. Rita and you wanted to play rugby in high school, you had to play for another high school. St. Rita’s inaugural rugby season started under the lights versus Brother Rice on April 3rd with an exciting 14-8 win. “That was one of the most ex-citing sporting events I have ever played in” said senior player Rigoberto Gomez, Jr. “We started out the season right with a huge win versus Rice.” The rugby team, which is coached by Mike Fleming, then continued on for wins against Montini, 27-10, and Waubonsie Valley 21-10. This year has been a huge success for the Rugby team, and in their first year no less. Itis unusual for a high school sport to let a school start out at the varsity level in a sport that they had not had previously, because a varsity team needs ex-perienced players to be competitive. However, that was not the case for the rugby team, which played both varsity and junior varsity games this year. “It was really fun playing rugby for Rita, I am ecstatic that we played

this well” said senior Andrew Barksdale. The varsity Rugby team will have three more games this year before going to the state playoffs.

BY JOE CAREY

Students Already Pros at St. Rita’s Newest Activity

Pride Week: St. Rita’s Pride and Joy One of St. Rita’s longest-standing traditions is Pride Week. Pride Week is a series of five days over which students, facul-ty, and staff quite simply demonstrate their pride: pride in their school, pride in their skills, and pride in themselves. Through a series of spirit days, students were given the opportunity not only to display uniform pride in their school, but also the chance

to let their unique personalities shine through. Highlights of this year’s Pride Week included a dodgeball tournament between the classes, a series of outdoor activities, the Junior/Senior intramu-ral basketball championship game, the Student Council/Faculty basketball game, a final round of Stango, and an early dismissal.

St. Rita’s first Rugby team

Juan Barrios: dodgeball master. Ms. Condon holding Declan Palmer, her 4-month-old 2nd cousin.

Bishop Rassas confirms Andrew Hibbard. Jerry Ponio goes for the dunk.

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Sports 11

Water Polo takes 3rd in Catholic LeagueBY MIKE MCARDLE The St. Rita Water Polo team traveled to Fenwick for the annual Catho-lic League Tournament to compete for what is one of the final sets ofgames for the year. Tensions were high, enter-ing the tournament on Thursday with a game against St. Pat’s, with whom the Mustangs had gone 1 and 1 with during the course of the season. Although the Mustangs had in the weeks preceding the Catholic League Tourna-ment faced a series of difficult losses, theywere able to pull it together when it mattered. The game was a nail-biter to the end, won 9-8 in the final 3 seconds of the match. Soliddefense, led by goalie Mitch Condon, along with a strong offensive attack were able to overcome a strong effort from St. Pat’s in a back and forth match. In winning, the Mus-tangs were able to advance to the second day of the tournament, a feat that has gone un-accomplished since 2004 for the water polo team. On Saturday the Mustangs played at 9:00 am and lost to a more awake Fenwick team, 14-3 which put them in the 3rd place game against Loyola, another strong opponent who was fresh off an upset victory over Ignatius. The game, as expected, was a battle until the end; but ultimate-ly the Mustangs were able to come away with the win. Once again the team played great defense led by their goalie and Luciano Garcia in the D-hole. On the offensive end, strong passing along with dead-on shoot

ing by Ruben Velazquez helped to push the Mustangs through to the end to take 3rd in the tournament for the first time since 1999.

The Mustangs will travel to Sectionals the following week to attempt to carry the mo-mentum forward to tough games against Br. Rice and Lyons. With the season coming to a close, I asked some of the team members what their best memories of the year were. Mike Rimkus had this to say: “Winning third was great, but seeing Coach Knibbs get a yellow card was the icing on the cake.” Tom (TQ) Qualter explained that the assistant coach, a St. Rita grad, “missed most of our games because he was at home watching Toy Story.” Others offered their favorite quotes from the season (many of which came from the Head Coach himself). The top three were:“Protect the ball like it’s a baby and there is

an Amber Alert.”“You guys can’t make it to the Olympics for swimming, but you can make it to the Special Olympics for Water Polo.”“You guys are playing street corner water polo.” I would just like to take the time to congratulate all the seniors on their season and wish all of the underclassmen luck next year. Go Mustangs!

Volleyball hoping for success in Regionals BY DAVID SCHRADER Your St. Rita Spiking Mustangs are rounding out the end of this season. With the Varsity team having a record of 13-10 as of press time and going 7-1 in the Catholic League, they appear to be able to make for some tough competition in the State Playoffs. The Junior-Varsity team is having an even bet-ter year going a solid 9-3, also at press time. Coach Jill Nagel has said how much more the team has come together as a team to pull through in a big win against Oaklawn in the Oaklawn Invitational. The team came down from losing the first game to rallying and winning the nexttwo, but then falling to Elk Grove in the Championship game. However, the win has provided a morale boost as the team proceeds into the playoffs. Coach Nagel has said how proud she is of her team, and that a lot of the players have exceeded expectation. With a little above half the team returning next year, and the JV team look-ing so good, look for our Volleyball team to truly turn some heads in the standings next year.

The 2008 Varsity Squad

Jack Patton, Mike Newton and Dan Smith get ready to recieve a serve

Matt Quinn going up for a hit

A few members of the 2008 team

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 200812 Sports

BY TIM MCNICHOLAS On a cool Saturday afternoon in mid-April, the St. Rita Mustangs begin their first game of a doubleheader against conference rival ProvidenceCatholic. Both teams go into the game with a strong swagger, confidentthat they will earn a victory. As a crisp breeze goes through the dugouts, a slugfest gradually develops on the field. Rita battles back from a sig-nificant deficit, but falls short in the end. The team goes into their second game only wiser. Smiles remain on the players’ faces, and their confidence does not diminish. The Mustangsdefeat the Celtics in the second game, winning 15-11 in another high scoring affair. This is the trend that has seemed to persist with the team all year. Through each game and each error, they learn. They play not only to win, but to improve. “We had tough losses early on in the season, but we learned from our mistakes and got after it in our next game,” said junior infielder Kevin Austin. The team not only craves improvement, but has managed to display a maximum effort on the field all year, which is something that has becomerare in any sport. Their fighting attitude and constant yearn for greaterknowledge of the game mix perfectly and, luckily for them, translate into a win more often than not. Still, it is difficult to determine the origin of their great efforts. Perhapsthe leadership of seniors like Tony Zych, Diego Martinez, or Kenny Stoklosa has fueled the win-or-die-trying attitude. Zych, a Louisville commit, has played a significant role in the team’s success through bothhis bat and his arm, while Martinez and Stoklosa have produced two of the team’s highest batting averages. Perhaps the source of power comes from talented juniors like Dan Dis-pensa, Angelo Burrage, and Justin Kopale, or surpising underclassmen Shane Conlon and Anthony Andres. Or perhaps the coaching staff is truly the mastermind behind every performance. After all, head coach Mike Zunica is the owner of a 313-111 record since he took over the team 11 years ago. The conclusion I have adopted is that it is a combination of these factors and more that drives the Mustangs on their peculiar ride. A

ride that, so far, has been smooth but not perfect. Similar to the 2007 squad, the Mustangs faced early adversity by losing to Lincoln-Way Central and St. Ignatius. Last year’s team went deep into the playoffs, but fell short in a heartbreaker to Washington in the super-sectionals. However, last year’s tragic ending has only added fuel to the team’s fire, and this year the Mustangs feel confident that they can finishthe job. In order to finish the job, the team’s ride would have to take themto their destination: a destination shared by every high school baseball team in Illinois. “To bring a state championship baseball trophy through the doors of St. Rita,” replied Austin when questioned on his ultimate goal for the season. This is a scenario that, in my opinion, is not unlikely. The kind of performance the team displayed against Providence in their double-header is far from uncommon. After their 3-4 loss to St. Ignatius, Rita regrouped and defeated the same team 10-0 the next day. The next week, the team picked up a victory over powerhouse rival Mount Carmel, but ended up splitting the series. In their next game after the loss to the Caravan, the Mustangs crushed a talented De La Salle team. “Our strong point is team chemistry,” says Scott Mariner, a junior pitcher who doubles as an infielder. Perhaps chemistry is just the sum ofall of the Mustangs’ strong points. Another theory is that it is just another forte in the team’s array of intangibles. Whatever the case may be, the team does possess great chemistry, which is a powerful aspect of base-ball. It allows a team to cope with the ups and downs of the long season ahead, and makes adjusting and improving after losses, like Rita has done all year, significantly easier. The team knows that as a whole they have togive a maximum effort day in and day out. Maybe it is impossible to determine exactly what drives the Mustangs. Nonetheless, the driver on the ride is not important to the team; only the destination concerns them. The team strengthens as the rides go on. The difference between this year and last year, however, is that the team now knows the route. No more almosts, no more close losses late in the play-offs. The Mustangs look to reach their destination in 2008, and will settle for nothing less than a state title.

Baseball has sights set on trip to StatePhotos by Jim Crist

Inside the RitanSeniors’ Futures............................2News..............................................5Reviews.........................................7Sports............................................11Ritan

The

Vol. 79 No. 5 St. Rita High School, Chicago, IL 60620 Wednesday, May 14, 2008 “Veritas, Unitas, Caritas”

St. Rita Once Again Going InternationalBY JOE CAREY The St. Rita International exchange program has expanded 100% since last year to bring the grand total of countries involved in our program to two. St. Augustine’s College (high schools are called colleges in Australia and many other countries) is the next school that will send students to St. Rita. St. Augustine’s is an all male Catholic school in Sydney, Australia which teaches boys from 5th through 12th grade. St. Augustine’s recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2006. St. Augustine’s has an athletic program that features Basketball, Cricket, Rowing, and Soccer. Students at St. Augustine’s are re-quired to wear a shirt and tie, socks which are as long as baseball socks, a blazer and dress shoes. The students from St. Augustine’s in Australia will be here for three weeks next fall, and St. Rita students will be going over there in the summer of ‘09. Also, St. Rita students will complete the exchange with the Ger-man students that came over here last fall when they go to Germany in June for three weeks. German students will again be coming to to Rita in the fall of ‘09. The St. Rita exchange program has also been trying to set up an exchange program with an Augustinian school in Ireland for 2009.

Some facts about Australia are:-It has a population of 20.1 million people.-The seasons in Australia are opposite of those in America. For instance, it is cold in Australia in July, and warm in December.-Australian law imposes fines on people who do not vote and do notwear seat belts.-Australia is the smallest continent in the world but the sixth largest country in the world.

St. Augustine’s students outside their school in Sydney

Alumni Banquet Comes Home for First TimeBY DAN SCHERGEN St. Rita’s Slogan for this school year has been “Pride and Tradi-tion never graduate.” True, pride and tradition never do graduate – but people do. St. Rita honored those people at the alumni ban-quet on April 18. The banquet took place for the very first time inits 72-year history on our very own campus. Many attendees had never been at the new campus, which we moved to in 1990. There was at least one person from every graduating class, except for three years, since 1942. The fifty-year class had eighty representa-tives, and the 25-year class, Father Tom’s class, was fifty strong. Guidance counselor Father Walter McNicholas, a graduate of 1944, received the Crest of Saint Augustine award. The night did not end there, in true Saint Rita fashion. There was a video on the history of Saint Rita High School. The video was made by two alumni, Mike Maione of 1952 and Javier Solorio from 2002. Some alumni took a tour of the new campus including the academic wing and class rooms, Mrozek Plaza, and the 100 Year Museum. All of the classes took their pictures in the chapel and had a wonderful meal. There were also alumni inducted into the Hall of Fame, and many athletic and academic awards given throughout the night. The Man of the Year was awarded to Dr. Gerardo Greico from 1972. The night was a night to remember for the 600 alumni, Father Tom, and the whole Saint Rita Family. The theme of “Pride and Tradition never graduate” was definitely present at the Alumni Ban-quet and in the school that night. The love of the Saint Rita family was in the room as the alumni visited their past and saw the future of Saint Rita of Cascia. We can only hope that next year’s Alumni Banquet will host an even greater number of alumni, and an even greater sense of pride.

Man of the Year Dr. Gerardo Greico

Members of the Class of 2002

Fr. Tom and Mrs. McLawhorn with Mr. Gary Coulter from St. Augustine College

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 20082 Seniors’ Future Plans

Adams, Christopher University of IowaAdams, Kyle Southern Illinois University CarbondaleAgnew, Mavohn UndecidedAltman, Michael Eastern Illinois UniversityAlvarado, Jesus Harold Washington CollegeAtkinson, Stephen Iowa Wesleyan CollegeAvila, Max DePaul UniversityBalcitis, Joshua Purdue UniversityBarksdale, Andrew Cornell CollegeBarrios, Juan Harold Washington CollegeBasic, Brian DePaul UniversityBentley, Zachary Adrian CollegeBoike, Christopher University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignBorlee, Matthew Purdue UniversityBrennan, Antonio Saint Xavier UniversityBretz, James Lewis UniversityBretz, Joseph Lewis UniversityBroderick, Mitchell Loyola University ChicagoBukowski, Thomas Illinois State UniversityBurke, Austin llinois State UniversityCalderon, Jesse University of IowaCapouch, Maxwell Lewis UniversityCarey, Joseph Marquette UniversityCarone, Edward Saint Xavier UniversityCastillo, Alfonso University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignCavanaugh, Matthew University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignCharles, Samuel Columbia College ChicagoChladek, Thomas WorkCiaglia, Nicholas DePaul UniversityCiolli, John University of St. Francis (Indiana)Clancy, Daniel WorkClancy, Matthew Illinois State UniversityClancy, Patrick Saint Xavier UniversityClifford, Zachary Moraine Valley Community CollegeCoen, William Western Illinois UniversityCornfield, Kevin Western Illinois UniversityCozzie, Michael University of DaytonCrosby, Emanuel North Park UniversityDarling, Daniel Moraine Valley Community CollegeDeanes, Ian Southern Illinois University CarbondaleDinneen, Martin Moraine Valley Community CollegeDoig, Thomas University of IowaDonahue, James Moraine Valley Community CollegeDowns, John Moraine Valley Community CollegeDudek, Steven Illinois State UniversityDullen, D’Marcus Eastern Illinois UniversityDust, Daniel Western Illinois UniversityEarly, Robert Harold Washington CollegeEaston, Ryan Moraine Valley Community CollegeEgan, Brendan WorkFlaherty, Stephen Northwestern UniversityFleming, Darius University of Notre DameFoley, Matthew Illinois State UniversityFrye, Michael Chicago State UniversityGaines, Vernell Jackson State UniversityGaleher, Kevin Western Michigan UniversityGarcia, Joel Heartland Community CollegeGarcia, Luciano University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignGarcia, Matthew Michigan State University-Gee, Branden Undecided

German, Jacob Lewis UniversityGinger, Luke University of St. ThomasGlowacki, Robert Marquette UniversityGomez, Rigoberto Western Illinois UniversityGonzalez, Fernando Harold Washington CollegeGross, Patrick University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignHarney, Thomas University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignHeaney, Thomas Parkland CollegeHerbst, Michael Marquette UniversityHolmes, Brian University of Arkansas at Pine BluffHolmes, Michael University of Arkansas at Pine BluffHudson, Brandon Southern Illinois University CarbondaleHunter, Charles University of Notre DameJackson, Kenneth Purdue UniversityJanecek, Leonardo University of Illinois at ChicagoJedlowski, Zakary Illinois State UniversityJerome, Mozar Quincy UniversityJohnson, Benjamin Richard J. Daley CollegeKafka, Jason Bemidji State UniversityKazlauskas, Jason Moraine Valley Community CollegeKelly, Sean University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignKennedy, Timothy Moraine Valley Community CollegeKenny, Christopher United States Air ForceKerr, James Parkland CollegeKhani, Ryan UndecidedKinsella, Ryne United States Air ForceKisel, Adam Saint Xavier UniversityKnibbs, Luke University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignKonrath, James University of IowaKopec, Daniel North Central CollegeKordas, Kevin Ripon CollegeKossifos, Nicholas Moraine Valley Community CollegeKoziol, Kevin Bradley UniversityKurtovich, Michael Illinois State UniversityLavelle, Richard Eastern Illinois UniversityLedezma, Edward Lincoln Technical InstituteLeslie, Sean University of St. FrancisLick, Jamie University of IowaLo, Jay Northern Illinois UniversityLofton, Darian Lewis UniversityLongo, Charles Robert Morris CollegeLostroscio, Matthew Spoon River CollegeLove, Antwan Columbia College ChicagoLugo, Jeremy University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignLynch, Patrick Illinois State UniversityMacias, Ivan UndecidedMaestre, Jesse Moraine Valley Community CollegeMajka, John United States Naval AcademyMartin, Christopher University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignMartinez, Diego Mesa Community CollegeMcArdle, Michael Villanova UniversityMcCarthy, Kevin DePaul UniversityMcGovern, Kevin UndecidedMcGowan, Drew Cornell UniversityMigawa, Michael University of Wisconsin-ParksideMullen, Michael Eastern Illinois UniversityMurphy, Daniel WorkNava, Alejandro University of Illinois at ChicagoNevin, Joseph University of Iowa

Nix, Sean Eastern Illinois UniversityNolen, Michael University of DubuqueO’Brien, Daniel Moraine Valley Community CollegeO’Connell, Robert Saint Xavier UniversityO’Donnell, Matthew University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignO’Dwyer, Brendan Moraine Valley Community CollegeO’Neal, Matthew Moraine Valley Community CollegeOmastiak, Mark University of IowaOnly, Raphael Paine CollegeOsborn, Taylor University of DubuquePacelli, Nicholas University of IowaPanick, Eric St. Joseph’s CollegeParkison, Brandon Northern Illinois UniversityPatrick, Daniel Illinois State UniversityPatton, John Indiana University BloomingtonPeter, Terence Quincy UniversityPhan, Hieu University of Illinois at ChicagoPopek, Brian St. Ambrose UniversityProsapio, Vincent Moraine Valley Community CollegeQuinn, Matthew University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignQuiter, Matthew UndecidedRappold, Anthony University of IowaReilly, Brian University of IowaRimkus, Michael Lindenwood UniversityRiordan, Michael Moraine Valley Community CollegeRivera, Ricardo Lindenwood UniversityRobinson, Charles Southern Illinois University CarbondaleRowan, John Eastern Illinois UniversityRussell, Roshawn UndecidedSablich, Michael DeVry UniversitySanchez, Jeremy Saint Xavier UniversitySantiago, Daniel Harold Washington CollegeSantiago, Michael Western Illinois UniversitySchumacher, Daniel Eastern Illinois UniversityShannon, Randall Western Illinois UniversityShaw, Melvin UndecidedSheehan, Kevin Joliet Junior CollegeSinta, Sebastian UndecidedSmialek, Andrew DePaul UniversitySmith, Brandon UndecidedSmith, Daniel University of St. FrancisSojka, James Southern Illinois University CarbondaleSpells, Rashad UndecidedStoklosa, Kenneth Kentucky Wesleyan CollegeStorck, Nicholas Illinois State UniversitySuarez, Adrian University of Missouri at ColumbiaSullivan, Michael UndecidedTellado, Mark UndecidedTkaczuk, Anthony UndecidedToomey, Matthew UndecidedTopps, David Eastern Illinois UniversityTorres, Garrett Illinois State UniversityTryban, Andrew UndecidedUlanski, Jacob University of IowaUlloa, Marc UndecidedVelazquez, Ruben University of IowaVeliz, Gabriel UndecidedVentresca, Alec Dominican UniversityViramontes, Cutberto Saint Xavier UniversityWhite, Martin UndecidedWilliams, Phillip Columbia College ChicagoWilson, Anthony Chicago State UniversityWilson, Dennis Northern Michigan UniversityWojnicki, Louis Heartland Community CollegeZaczek, Felix University of Notre DameZimmerman, Stephen Northern Illinois UniversityZych, Anthony University of Louisville

God Bless and Good Luck in your future endeavours!

Class of ‘08 headed for... Here we present the future plans of the class of 2008, who have been awarded over $7 million in scholarships as of press time. The information has been compiled and edited by the staff of The Ritan, with the generous assistance of the St. Rita Guidance Department, from information provided by the students themselves, as far as it was available at the time we went to press. We would like to express our gratitude to Sr. Mary Alice Hoff and Mrs. Beth Arey for their help. We have taken every possible precaution to insure completeness and accuracy, but there may have been changes even after we sent this information to press.

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Senior Reflections 3

By Joe Carey There has been a Carey from my family at St. Rita for each of the past 14 years. My grandfather, three older brothers, four cousins and one uncle have all attended here at one time, so needless to say everyone knew where I was going taking the entrance exam at in my eight grade year. I didn’t even bother looking at any other high schools; I had been around Rita my whole life and I was comfortable here. However I was ex-tremely nervous about going to high

school. I remember taking up golf the summer prior to my freshman year for the specific reason of be-ing able to say that I played a sport in high school. That turned out to be one of the best decisions of my ca-reer at Rita because some of the best times I had while in high school were playing golf with other Rita kids at Marquette golf course. Despite be-ing the worst player in my class on the team every year, (I shot a 99 on 9 holes freshman year), I enjoyed play-ing at different courses every week. Everybody remembers how nerve-racking the first day of school wasfreshman year. I remember feeling sick on my first day at Rita because Iwas afraid of freshman hazing by se-niors. I would have been an obvious target because I looked like I should have been starting 6th grade, not high school, (I still do look like that). What I came to find out that first day wasthat everybody gets their fair share of jokes at their expense at Rita, and that is what I like best about it here. No-body takes the kidding around here too seriously. You shouldn’t go to an all boy Catholic high school if you can’t take a joke. The jokes were what made school fun almost everyday.

If you have ever been to a St. Rita-Mt. Carmel football game, you know how exciting the game is each and ev-ery year. The football team went 2-2 versus Carmel in my four years here, and every single game was close. The most exciting by far for me was this year’s game at Mt. Carmel because it was the #1 ranked mustangs versus the # 3 ranked Caravan. There was so much hype to the game, ESPN ra-dio even came for a post-game show. Everyone in the student section wore white, and even though the football team lost, it was a great football game. My Senior Year has passed by in a flash. In the Lasky’s class, Iwas a permanent “Volunteer” when it came to doing problems on the board. I actually played in some golf matches. My self-esteem has risen to a point where I almost don’t weep when I see the sunlight. This has been the best year in my time here. I’m sure that the fourteen kids who will read this article can recall Fa-ther Tom saying that your four years here will fly by real quick. I used toroll my eyes when he said that. It is now May in my senior year. Whoa.

By Mike Herbst Graduation is almost here. It’s scary to think that I’ll be an alum-nus of St. Rita High School in a short time. I can’t believe how quickly these last four years have gone by, as it seems that it was only a little while ago that school ended at 2:07 p.m., there were nine periods in a day and the tables in the “dining hall” were square. In writing this reflection, I could talk about every-thing we’ve all heard before: that Rita is has made me who I am to-day and that it was the best decision I’ve ever made to come here. All that stuff is true for everyone and it goes without saying. Instead, I want to talk about the things that I have experienced here at Rita that I will remember for the rest of my life…

Varsity Soccer Anyone that knows me knows how much of a fervor I have for soccer. I’ve been playing the sport since I was five and love nothing morethan spending an entire Saturday morning watching English Premier League soccer. My freshman year, I was fortunate to make the varsity squad and have been even luckier to

play in every game of my four-year career. It’s been through soccer at St. Rita that I’ve met some of my best friends and made many great memories, like playing at Toyota Park my junior year or scoring a goal in my very last game. I would give anything to put on the St. Rita jersey and step out onto the field un-der the lights one more time. That said, I have two pieces of advice for the underclassman. First, go out and support your friends if they play a sport. Coming from some-one who has played home games in front of “crowds” that consisted only of my and my teammates’

parents, it meant a lot in my senior year to see a few of my friends in the stands. Second, cherish every moment you compete in a sport for St. Rita. Don’t take for granted that you are representing your school and try to make the most of every game, because you’ll be playing in your Senior Night before you know it.

Mr. Parolin’s English Class Freshman Year For those who don’t know Mr. Parolin, he taught English here at St. Rita from 2004-2006. He was probably the funniest and most de-manding teacher I’ve had a Rita. Whether it was playing Trivial Pur-suit for extra credit points, spending way too much time quoting Anchor-man, or debating whether or not Jim Caviezel was related to Kevin Mc-Carthy, something funny happened almost every class period. Don’t get me wrong, though, his class was in no way easy. That was one of the hardest A’s I’ve ever had to earn in my time at St. Rita. That class really set the tone for the transi-tion from grammar school to high school and showed me that it would take some work to do well here.

Senior Year Senior year has been everything everyone has said it would be, with Senioritis kicking in as soon as we got back from Christmas break. So far, it has been probably the most fun year of my life. Back in September, in soccer, we captured our second consecutive conference champion-ship and had a lot of fun in the pro-cess. In December, I went on the trip to Spain and came back with some unforgettable memories. Although I didn’t have my clothes or any money until the sixth day of the trip (thanks Lufthansa and BBVA), the trip was a blast. I’ll never forget the night we spent walking all over Madrid looking for an ATM, seeing Maurice Onayemi attempting to ride a camel in Morocco, or Juan Barrios almost getting his stuff stolen by a macaque in Gibraltar. In January, we received the first snow day in my four yearsat St. Rita, something I thought would take an apocalyptic blizzard to cause. Then in March it was my turn on Kairos, which was some-thing you just have to experience yourself to understand. Since then, I’ve been coasting towards gradua-tion, just enjoying the last parts of senior year. I have mixed feelings thinking about leaving St. Rita. I’m excited for college and the challeng-es it will bring. However, a big part of me wants to stay at Rita just little bit longer. I’m going to miss goofingaround with my friends in class. I’m going to miss the family atmosphere at school. I remember when I came to shadow back in eighth grade, it was the day of Mustang Olympics. After watching that, I knew this is where I wanted to spend the next four years of my life. St. Rita has be-come my second home and I’m go-ing to carry the memories of my time here with me for the rest of my life.

Senior Reflections Month in Pictures...

Luke Ginger walking drunk... well, simulating walking drunk in one of the Sheriff’s Department’s educational

demonstrations.

Alumni speaker Tom Hopkins ‘07 speaks to students at Confirmation and Senior Farewell Mass on May 7.

Junior Matt McGeever performing at the Annual Band Spring Concert.

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 20084 Senior Reflections

By Dan Schumacher

To put into a few paragraphs what these past 4 years have meant to me is impossible. I can tell you my ex-periences throughout the years at this school, but there is nothing like truly experiencing it. I came into this in-stitution with 8 guys from my grade school, a third generation Ritaman following the footsteps of many peo-ple in my family. Growing up I heard stories of what a great time high school was, and how there is only 1 school on the South Side: Rita. As a kid I attended Rita football and hockey games; I knew the fight songbefore the 5th grade. As I watched the football team run out onto the fieldwhen the fight song played, all I couldthink was “I want to be a part of this someday.” The eighth grade came

around and there was no doubt in my mind where I would be testing on that cold winter morning in January. My first few days at Rita wereawkward, just as they are for ev-ery freshman. As we walked into the chapel on orientation day I was greeted by Fr. Tom. I’ll never for-get him telling us, “This is your home. If you work hard you will be walking across this altar to receive your diploma before you know it.” Home it is, and where has the time gone? Less than 15 days until graduation and it seems like yes-terday I heard that speech. St. Rita truly has been a “home away from home” for me. A home consists of a family who loves and cares for one another, and that is what this

place is. Friendships I have made here I know will last a lifetime. Being a part of the football team is my most cherished memory of high school. When I was a kid I knew I wanted to be a part of this great tra-dition of St. Rita Football. Although weight lifting at 6 a.m. in the off-sea-son sounded terrible, it showed me the true meaning of “hard work.” Three-a-days in the August heat was hell, but wow does “hard work” pay off. There is no better feeling in the world than running onto the field on a Fri-day night with the guys you practice with, while the band plays the fightsong and the crowd is on their feet. I have had coaches who aren’t just “coaches.” They are true men who taught me lessons of life that I will carry with me forever. You don’t find

this type of “family” stuff at other schools, and that is why this place is special. There is nothing like ex-periencing hard work paying off. To put on the SR is not just a privi-lege, it is an honor. I would do any-thing to throw on the shoulder pads, strap up the helmet, and put on the SR one more time. Wearing the SR is like wearing your family name. What does St. Rita mean to me? We are a family. It’s sharing the good and the bad times together, helping each other along the way, and enjoying ev-ery step of the journey. Three Catho-lic League Championships, one City title, and a State Championship ring represent the Class of 2008’s love for one another. Our commitment to not let each other down, and to al-ways be our best. Hard work pays off. Coming to St. Rita has been the best decision I have made thus far. This place has taught me life les-sons which will help me to succeed in whatever I encounter. I have en-joyed my time here, but I know I can handle anything that life throws at me because of what I have learned. To put on the SR one more time... All we can do is watch in the stands now, but Friday nights under the lights for 4 years were the best nights of our lives. St. Rita High School is love. Enjoy your time here underclass-men, it is over before you know it.

By Chris Adams

When I look back at my four years at Saint Rita, I think to myself, “Where has the time gone?” That might sound a little cliché, but it’s 100 percent true. Every year goes by slightly faster, and before you know it you’re heading off to college. Even

though the school years went by fast I can still remember every home-room I was in, the order of my classes, and what rooms they were in. I might not remember all the things I was supposed to, but it’s the thought that counts. As a freshman, it didn’t take me to long to get adjusted to my surrounding and the lifestyle at school. However, meeting all these new kids was a little weird. I came to

SR from Sutherland along with 7 of my classmates; but being in all honors classes (no offence to my Sutherland brothers) I rarely saw any of them except at lunch and French class. So in all my classes were new faces and personalities. Nowadays, I know most of my classmates on a personal level due to seeing them almost everyday for the past four years. I also have been lucky to estab-lish friendships with a few teachers and faculty mem-bers, which I hope to continue even after graduation. Last but not least, I want to preach to you for a mo-ment. GET INVOLVED! I know we have all heard this from our parents and it’s been pushed down our throats since freshman orientation, but what they are saying is completely true. Being active in either a club or a sport (it doesn’t really matter) makes you know a lot more people then if you just left out the doors every single day at 2:17. Also it makes you feel a great sense of pride in yourself. One of my regrets in my life was not being active in any of the major sports teams. I can’t imagine how it feels to win a State championship or Kennedy Cup or any other championship for that matter. Saint Rita also has taught me a lot about myself and the direction of where/what I want to be in life. When it comes to getting as much out of SR as I did, all you have to do is be yourself.

By Mike McArdle As I look back on the past four years of my life, I cannot help but be astonished by all that has happened. I’m not going to lie and say that everything has been great and that nothing has ever been bad. But in the end, I know that my experience here within the walls of St. Rita has helped to make me the person I am today. I still remember sitting in Spanish 1 for homeroom my first day at St. Rita, not know-ing a soul and thinking that I had all the time in the world before me. The fact that I will be leaving in only a few short weeks, days, min-utes, seconds (believe me, I’ve been counting down) is just plain shocking. I know I will miss St. Rita, it has become my home over the course of the last four years, but at the same time I am ready to leave. Some might take that the wrong way, but I think that the fact that I am ready to leave tells you something about St. Rita. I am ready. St. Rita has made me ready. As I sit down to write this, neglecting my home-work because “senioritis” has set in, memories from the past four years stream through my mind in short clips and stills. I remember sit-ting in chapel the first mass and being shockedaway by the band my Freshman and (I hate to admit it) Junior years, and watching the Fresh-men on the other two. I remember the amaz-ing 3 cookies for $1, and still pray that they’ll bring it back, even though it’s too late for me. I remember back when we didn’t have all the luxurious couches, and when a cafeteria was called a cafeteria. I remember the State Game and driving back from U of I singing “Trib-ute” with my best friend. I remember playing in Coach Knibbs’ Commander Cup, and work-ing the Valentine Dinner Dance, and more. I remember it all and see that this place – this school – has become such a big part of my life. When I walk across the altar and receive my diploma on that rapidly approaching Sun-day of May 18th, I do so with the knowledge that for better or worse, this place is now a part of me. To the underclassmen – cherish the time you have here. I know you hear it a lot, but it slips through your fingers fasterthan you realize. And to my fellow seniors – know that I am your Rita-brother forever.

Senior Reflections

Fashion Show

The Ritan •Wednesday, May 14, 2008 News 5

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern... Knocks ‘em Dead!By David Schrader The St. Rita Theater Group capped off all its hard work with two showings of Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead. Since the beginning of Feb-ruary, they worked meticu-lously after school so every-body could learn their lines and movements on stage just right. In the beginning of the play, the titular characters of Rosencrantz and Guilden-stern are flipping a coin andit always lands heads. As the law of probability states, that is nigh impossible. Yet the coin always manages to land heads. This sets the tone for the play. Rosencrantz always called for heads. Therefore, it was to be that heads was shown. The play tries to wrestle with the ideas of predestina-tion, and characters attempt-ing to prevent the fate they

were meant to undergo. It’s like they know someone penned what were to happen to them, and Guildenstern refuses to acknowledge it, while the more pensive Ros-encrantz accepts their fate and just goes with the flow.At the end, they are cut down by a fate to which their own friend handed them over. It’s a fitting play. All theparts were played by guys, which is how it was meant to be shown (Senor Enright’s words). Yet there is still something unsettling about Ophelia having a manly face. It really is not some-thing I wish to see again. Jack Howard and Dan Moore were wonderful as the main duo of actors, re-citing all their many lines perfectly. Those practice sessions paid off, for if they did make a mistake the au-dience had no idea, as the show went on without even

the slightest of hitches. Matt Goosherst also did a fine job as the leader of theTragedians, a roaming the-ater troupe. Even our own Augustinian Volunteer, Mr. Ray Knight, was in the play portraying the role of the Prince of Denmark, Hamlet. Through hard work and practice was the play able to come together. A new back-ground piece of a beautiful blue sky will be used for fu-ture plays. The stage crew must also be credited for rigging up the background to the ceiling to slide in and out for set changes. Yes, all of the theater group’s hard work has paid off. With another two suc-cessful shows under their belt, next year will only be-come easier and that much better.

Mrs. Jodi McLawhorn: Familiar Face Fits into Two New FunctionsBy David Huang There is nothing new about the presence of Mrs. Jodi McLawhorn at St. Rita High School; her talents and dedication have been on view here for at least 15 years. But 2007-08 has been the first full school year inwhich she has been working in two entirely new capacities, so we decided to speak to her about her new responsibilities. Mrs. McLawhorn has been working here part-time since 1992, when she became the woodwind instructor, with the St. Rita Band in various capacities. She also directs the Ritanettes, and since 1999 she has served as the Band’s administrative director. However, her connection goes even farther back than that: she actually started playing with our Band when she was in the seventh grade, continuing through her years at Maria High School. During that time one of her bandmates was a certain tuba player named Tom McCarthy, whom you know know with a “Father” in front of his name and an “OSA” after it as president of our high school. Mrs. McLawhorn attended DePaul University and VanderCook College of Music, earning a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education. She continues to take graduate-level courses in electronic music (“e-music” for short). She says her favorite thing about herself is “being the best mother in the whole world,” and her favorite movie is Braveheart. She lists The Doors as her favorite band, which works out nicely since she and St. Rita Band Director Ms. Cindy Gradek have gotten to know their former keyboard player Ray Manzarek ’57 quite well. So, how is Mrs. McLawhorn’s position different now? She is in fact a full-time employee of St. Rita, having added two new positions to the ones she already held. Last year, when we began to develop our International Exchange Program, she applied for and got the position of director. She has headed the pro-gram through its first successful school year, including an exchange of visits by teachers and the first visitof students from Hamburg to St. Rita, and the upcoming visit of our first group of Ritamen to Germany forthree weeks in June. Besides that, she also officially became a member of the faculty this year, teaching an E-music class. Herteaching responsibilities will also expand soon: she is scheduled to begin teaching an Advanced Placement class in Music Theory starting next school year. She said she has been very happy working here, and looks forward to better things ahead.

Mrs. Marge Hopkins working at her desk in the reception area. Her ties to St. Rita go back thirty years to when her brothers went here. She now works in the afternoons in the front office.Her three sons, ‘Tom 07, Marty ‘09, and Liam ‘11 chose St. Rita as well. She likes working here at St. Rita, and enjoys being in the same school as her two children, Marty and Liam.

Mr. Partacz contemplating his life without hair. St. Rita raised over 30,000 dollars for children’s cancer research on March 17th.

Mrs. McLawhorn with exchange students in the computer lab

Cost of War: A Different View

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 20086 Opinions

Saddam Hussein was never accused of being a humanitarian. In fact, he murdered hundreds of thousands of his own citizens, took away the Iraqi people’s civil rights, and was responsible for insti-gating two major wars in the Middle East. That is why some of us have never been able to understand the outrage over invading Iraq. There was a brutal dictator in power, who besides trying to assas-sinate a U.S. President (George H.W. Bush), was an enemy of all freedom-loving countries of the world. We all now know that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, but we have the benefit of hindsight. In 2003, there wasan intelligence report stating that Saddam Hussein had acquired dangerous weapons of mass destruction. Iraq was our biggest en-emy in that region, and Hussein would not allow United Nations inspectors to search his country for WMDs. So what was President Bush supposed to think when he was handed a report by the CIA stating that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and Hussein was not allowing his country to be searched? And does the fact that Hussein did not have those weapons in 2003 mean that he would not have acquired those weapons in the future? The Ritan’s most recent editorial critiqued the Iraq war from an economic point of view; this is a look at why the Iraq war is not responsible for the current mini-recession. Last month’s editorial stated many things that could have been done with the $500 billion spent on the war. What it didn’t say is that those $500 billion have helped create jobs, economic activity, and most importantly tax dollars. For instance, 8.3 million bullets are fired a month in Iraq.Those bullets are made in American factories, which hire hundreds of employees. Those employees will help the economy by paying taxes on the money they make, not to mention spending money in American stores. Every purchase made in those American stores is taxed by the government. Those stores pay taxes on the money they made, and perhaps pay their employees extra or make im-provements in their store. The owners of the stores will spend the extra cash they made in other American stores, and the pattern of spending goes on and on and on. The recession or major decline in economic activity that this country is heading for was probably not caused entirely by the Iraq war. That is not to say that the war didn’t contribute to the reces-sion; it did. However, the main reasons for it are foreclosed houses and high gas prices. In this decade, banks started making loans for houses to anyone who wanted one. Many families were unable to keep making the loan payments. In 2007, 1.3 million families lost their houses because of the “payment” problem. That is 1.3 million families who lost everything they owned to the banks, everything, and even more families are expected to lose their homes this year. The loss of those homes, combined with extremely high gas prices, is what caused the recession. The truth about this war, and every other war for that matter, is that history will judge it one way or another. Nobody is denying that this war has been run poorly. The armed forces should have invaded Iraq with the 400,000 troops they planned from the begin-ning, instead of the fewer than 200,000 troops that actually went into Iraq. Also, the Iraq war has contributed to the national debt, if not to the degree that last month’s editorial stated. If we are ever to bring stability to the Middle East, then action is needed now. We all remember what September 11th was like for America; if we are to be sure that something like that will never happen again, we need to stabilize the Middle East. Surely everyone agrees that Iraq would have been a problem at some point in the near future no matter what. It’s a tragedy each and every time a soldier dies in Iraq, so why waste their lives by abandoning the effort for which they made the ultimate sacrifice?

The RitanPublished by the students of St. Rita High School, 7740 S. West-ern Ave., Chicago, IL. 60620. Phone: (773) 925-6600.

Chief Editors: Joe Carey, Mike HerbstEditors: Marty Malone, Dan Moore, Dave Schrader

Writers: Chris Adams, Juan Barrios, Luke Bentley, Brian Boyd, Joe Cahill, Joe Carey, Mike Herbst, David Huang, Mike Ken-nedy, Marty Malone, Mike McArdle, Dan Moore, Dan Moriarty, Brandon Parkison, Dave Schrader, Jason TorresPhotographers: Juan Barrios, Matt Bokoski, Brandon Cross, Mozar Jerome, Kyle Sheehan, Michael Allocca

Moderator: Mr. Michael Allocca

Reel Big Fish: Not Just a One Hit Wonder Band’s 6th album its best, according to Gus Brehan Esterhammer-Fic

By Augustine Esterham-mer-Fic The 90s were not easy on ska/punk band Reel Big Fish. If you listen to their music at all, it’ll likely become apparent that the band doesn’t like the people at the top of the music business. Failing time after time to release a chart topper, other than 1996’s ‘Sellout,’ and con-stantly suffering through multiple line-up changes, all the odds were in favor of RBF going down in his-tory as your typical one-hit wonders. So it’s a wonder they’ve made it through the past sixteen years to release six studio albums and six demos and EPs to date. For those of you who don’t know what ska is, al-low me to blow your mind: take a jazz guitar, now add a horn section. There you are. Now add some punk

rock and you have Reel Big Fish. Topics in their songs range from anger at the state of the music scene (see “Turn the Radio Off” and “Don’t Start a Band”), to mocking social standards (see “Trendy” and “Date-less Losers”), to covers of 80s songs, which I’d have to say sound better than the originals (“Take On Me,” “Kiss Me Deadly”). One of the band’s strengths is their style of singing amusingly negative lyrics to upbeat music. Don’t be thrown off by the fact that Our Live Album is Better than Yours is a live performance. The quality is so good that, other than hearing the crowd and the band’s ban-ter between songs, you can barely tell that it’s live. The truth is, the band cheated. The cds are made up of re-cordings from several per-

formances during one tour, and parts were overdubbed to clean up any mistakes. “When you’re at a con-cert,” frontman Aaron Bar-ret explains in an interview, “you’re dancing, and there are people bumping into you, and the music’s really loud. You don’t notice if the band plays the wrong note. If you listen to it later, it doesn’t sound as good. What we’re trying to do is bring a live experience to other listeners at home.” The dvd includes one full recorded performance, about four interviews, and even commentary on the concert. The quality is great here, too. So is there any reason not to buy this amazing three-disc set? Unless you need the extra $20 for food or something useless like that, then no. 5 out of 5

LEFT: Miss Condon holds Declan Palmer RIGHT: Joe Carey ‘08 gets ready to catch egg in egg toss

LEFT: Mr. Knight in his role as Hamlet. RIGHT: Brian Reilly ‘08 with a weird look on his face.

LEFT: Coach Kuska at the Prep Bowl Pep Rally RIGHT: Harry Potter, meet Lord Voldemort

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Opinion 7

“Gooble gobble, gooble gobble, we accept her, one of us, one of us,” is the creepy chant of the freaks, accepting a not-so-accepting Cleopatra at the wedding feast. Grotesque, comical, and strange, Freaks, a once-banned film, is about freaks. Literally. This cult classic is aboutthe lives of “circus freaks,” and what got it banned in some locations for many years also makes it highly disturbing today. The director, Tod Browning – who also made the classic Dracula starring Bela Lugosi – cast many actual circus freaks, rather than professional ac-tors, in the movie. The story is built around one freak in particular, a midget named Hans. Although engaged to another midget, Hans falls in love with the vicious gold digger and beautiful acrobat named Cleopatra, who takes advantage of Hans and his frequent gifts and later tries to snatch his Benjamins. Cleopatra and her lover, Hercules the strongman, together discover Hans has inherited an enormous fortune and is leaving the circus. Basically, Cleopatra plans to marry Hans, take his money, and murder him because she’s a gold digger and that’s what gold dig-gers do. This leads her to an ugly fate that will disfigure her foxiness for as long as she lives. A bearded lady, dwarfs, “pinheads,” a man with no legs, a woman with no arms (who nevertheless uses eating utensils), a hermaphrodite, conjoined twins who can feel each oth-ers’ senses, and a man with no legs and arms who can still light his cigarette (it’s pretty sick, not gonna lie) all steal the show completely from the plot. The acting quality and jobs of the freaks are obviously not that great, but the real actors are just fine. The length of the film is only 62 minutes, and the movie is in black-and-white (1932), butit’s still a great film! Morally, it teaches you to treat others equally despite physical or mentaldisfigurations, or you will get turned into an ugly bird thing. It gets 5 out of 5 stars, because it’s just that amazing.

This is not an angry little boy, but actually part of a weird love triangle.Photo courtesy of morethings.com

BY SEAN MCCORMICKClassic Movie Review: Freaks

By David Schrader Harold and Kumar: Escape from Guantanamo Bay is the sequel to the ever-popular title Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, where the aforementioned characters go on a quest of epic proportions for some hamburgers. Many laughs were to be had. The sequel begins exactly where the first movie left off. Harold andKumar are on their way to Amsterdam when they meet up with Kumar’s ex-girlfriend and her fiancée, a man with many strong political ties. Theytalk pleasantries and then move onto the plane. There, Kumar engages in some inhalation of a hallucinogenic substance in a device that rhymes

with the word “wrong.” So, being from Asia, the people on the plane believe them to be terrorists and they head off to Guantanamo Bay. They escape from the lightly guarded jail-cell and are off on another whimsical ad-venture to rid themselves of the moniker of being called terrorists by crashing a wedding in Texas. They then meet up with one of the worst George Bush impersonators I can think of, and live happily ever after. The movie is funny. With all of the garbage movies like Meet the Spartans and Superhero Movie coming out, it’s nice to see that some people have taken the time to write a movie that’s genuinely funny. Not only is the movie funny, it also has a very strong racial mes-sage to relay. During one scene, a man tries to persuade a couple of men of the Jewish faith to snitch on Harold and Kumar’s where-abouts by dropping about $7 worth of pennies on the table in front of them. That is wrong on about 700 levels, and the joke is rightly targeted not at the Jewish characters, but at the ignorance of the anti-Semitic character. Still, the jokes they do on the expense of some of these racial

issues are pretty hilarious. They hit the right whack-a-mole and came up with a good way of getting a few laughs but also proving a serious point in today’s society. This is a wonderful sequel to a wonderful movie. It does everything it’s supposed to do: expand the storyline, show what happens when you eat a fast-food burger, and allow Doogie Howser to indulge in some seri-ously unconventional behavior. All movies should include these things, and I applaud Harold and Kumar for doing so. It shall receive a 4.5 out of 5. God bless the U.S.A.

Doogie Howser is by far the best part of this movie Photo Courtesy of IMDB.com

Harold and Kumar Prove Not All Sequels are Bad

St. Rita’s Hiking Club went on a trip last fall down to Starved Rock. On the left a lovely picture of the foliage from late last year around some of the canyon walls.On the right is a photo of the group that boldly conquered the wilderness. Photos by Mr. Stan Kastelic

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 20088 Opinion

BY TIM MCNICHOLAS In 1992, a 23-year-old free spirit named Christopher Mc-Candless set off on a journey that would separate him from all the burdens of modern society. After graduating from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, McCandless began his cross-country adventure by donating his $24,000 of savings to charity, burning all evidence of his existence, unofficiallychanging his name to Alexander Supertramp, and naturally adjusting to his new role of a hitchhiker. Ultimately, he hoped to find himself alone in the Alaskan wilderness, at one withthe nature and complete freedom around him. Into the Wild is the remarkable true story of his campaign. McCandless (Emile Hirsch), now Alex Supertramp, is an industrious young man who finds himself disenchanted withthe unforgiving cruelty and unnecessary materialism he findsin society every day. After living up to the educational expec-tations of his overprotective mother and abusive father for his entire life, Alex decides to embark on the journey that will finally establish his freedom. The most heartwarming aspects of this tale are the events and people Alex encounters throughout the movie. His firstadventure begins when he finds his first ride after becoming a hitchhiker. A married couple gladly invites him into their hippie-bus. They camp out forthe next few nights on a beach, where the couple grows closer not only to Alex, but also to each other. Alex helps them with their marital troubles and experiences his first true moments of his idea of freedom alone on the beach although it is apparent that the comfort he can only find in Alaska is farfrom fulfilled. After finding a friend and employer in farmer Wayne Westenburg (Vince Vaughn), riding several railroads across America, reuniting with hisfreethinking friends in California, coming upon an aging mentor in Ron Franz (Hal Holbrook), and participating in countless other adventures, Alex finally finds himself physically, mentally, and financially ready for his “Great Alaskan Adventure.” He hitchhikes one last time, as an Alaskan truckerdrives him to the entrance of the wilderness. Despite the film’s lengthy duration, director Sean Penn falls nothing short of amazing in illustrating the story of Christopher McCandless. A perfectsoundtrack from Pearl Jam front man Eddie Vedder takes this already great film to another level. Into the Wild is an exciting story that will strengthen your view of all the aspects of everyday life. It will help you to better understand the world and to better understand yourself.5 out of 5 stars

Into the Wild is Truly a Classic

The protagonist does his best to hitchhike to Alaska Photo Courtesy of IMDB

BY DAVID SCHRADER Street Kings has by far one of the best casts around. Keanu Reeves, Forest Whitaker, Hugh Laurie, and Ced-ric the Entertainer highlight the cast with their years of acting experience. They help push a plot that shouldn’t make any sense into something that almost seems routine. The film centers on the idea of corruption. Any-thing you can think of that might go wrong with cops – bribery, tampering with evidence, shooting on a suspect without being fired upon – it’s all here. Ludlow (Reeves) is a loose-cannon cop who doesn’t play by the rules, but still gets the job done. That is, until his for-mer partner is about to rat him out to an Internal Affairs of-ficer (Laurie). When Ludlow goes to confront him (in a con-venience store), two gang members run in and shoot up the place, not taking any money. Ludlow now spirals down the rest of the movie trying to find these killers, but soon happensupon a secret that involves corruption of his entire department. The sad thing about the story is that even though it’s not orig-inal at all, it still thinks it is. Everything in this movie is pretty generic and done before. The one thing I hate in movies is dou-ble-crosses at the end that are barely played out. It’s why I didn’t care for The Departed, and is also why this movie irks me so. That being said, this movie was fun to watch. I en-joyed myself wholeheartedly and took in a feel of what the L.A. world was really like thanks to its fantastic cast. While definitely not the best movie around, or even com-ing out recently, it still felt to me like it was worth my time. Maybe I’m just another sucker for Keanu’s doughy brown eyes. Either way, I give Street Kings a 3.5 out of 5.

House is just about to yell at the Last King of Scotland Photo courtesy of IMDB

Street Kings doesn’t rise above average, except in its cast

Neo means business in this movie Photo courtesy of IMDB

The Ritan • Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Opinion 9

Video Game Review: from Mediocre to Better to Even Better

BY DAVID SCHRADER

With the release of Grand Theft Auto 4 out now, you may be pondering, “Should I play another game or keep my mistress GTA happy?” Well lucky for you, I could care less about GTA, and have some substitute games that should vie for your free-time. They are Army of Two, Mario Kart Wii, and Shin Me-gami Tensei: Persona 3 FES. Army of Two came out for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. It’s a game about two mercenaries who are trying to uncover a conspiracy whilst earn-ing money from hits that the Army thinks is too risky. The game looks wonder-ful and is a blast to play with a friend. That being said, the game is criminally short and there’s basically no rea-son to go back and play a second time. So just rent it, have a blast for an afternoon, then go on with your life. Mario Kart Wii is, well, for the Wii. Each game comes packaged in with a steering wheel shell that al-lows for you to turn and do back-flips while look-

ing even more like an idiot. While during the short time I played it did feel fine, I’dimagine you could only play it for a short time. The only thing holding the controller up is you holding your arms out. I don’t want tennis elbow with-out actually playing tennis. That being said, the game is fun. Online is great and I experience very little lag. The new courses are a delight to play and can create some hectic races. The blue and red turtle shells are in full force here so nobody is ever truly in the lead. The bikes and trick system are entertaining too. It’s Mario Kart, so it’s fun. Persona 3 FES is a role-playing game for that love-able little old system called the Playstation 2. While being on this inferior system, the graphics aren’t halfway ter-rible. While a little muddled, they purpose their job for when the awesome cut-scenes come in and look fantastic. The game is long, too. I’m rounding out hour 20 with no end in sight. However, that’s a good thing as this game has a better story than most Hol-

lywood movies (though with garbage coming out like Prom Night, that ain’t saying much.) A bad thing, the game is weird. One of the main ele-ments of the game is having your teen protagonist take himself out of the competi-tion so a monster can come out and wreck a house in bat-tle. There’s also a teacher-stu-dent relationship, and you go around beating up shadows. Army of Two is a fun lit-tle title but not really wor-thy of anything. It shall receive a 2.5 out of 5. Mario Kart Wii is also a fun little title, only it de-serves all the praise it can garnish. It gets a 4 out of 5. Persona 3 FES is a weird lit-tle game and receives what it can get. I highly recommend it with a 4.5 out of 5 because of how engaging the storyline is.

St. Rita Art Show Successful as Usual

Every year, Art teacher Mrs. Robyn Kurnat organizes a display of some of her students’ most high-quality work. The gallery, usu-ally up for two or three days, is planned in conjunction with the Spring Band Concert (two artistic celebrations for the price of

one!). Guests often admire the impressive artwork submissions be-fore the band show, during intermission, and often after the show as well. Pictured below are some of the works that were featured.

BY DAN MOORE