Harbinger The Algonquin
october 22, 2014 vOL. 27 NO.1
The Student Newspaper of Algonquin Regional High School 79 Bartlett street, Northborough MA 01532 | arhsharbinger@gmail.com
A life of respect, adventure Alumnus dies serving in Afghanistan of kindergarten. They have been best friends since. Editorial Board Durkin recalls how they used to attend 5 Brian Arsenault loved hockey. When he a.m. hockey practice on Mondays and Fridays, took the ice adorned in his number 3 maroon and how Arsenault often complained about the and gold uniform, he found happiness. frigid weather. The coach, tired of hearing ArseHockey, as a sport, demands leadership. Two nault complain, told him to shut up and wear a teams take the ice for an hour, and one emerges hat. The next day, Arsenault showed up to pracwith a hard fought victory. Fights often break tice in a ski mask, completely covering his face. out. Scores are close. Someone needs to serve as “He was never super worried about getting a role model for the rest of the team. For Algon- in trouble. He just kind of did whatever he felt quin, Arsenault was this someone. like,” Durkin said. “He was always finding the Former Athletic Director Francis Whit- lighter side. He didn’t take a lot too seriously.” ten remembers how Arsenault was someone he According to Durkin, Arsenault hated to sit could count on. In tightly contested games, in the still. When the two hung out with friends, Arseplayoffs, and against rivals such as Wachusett nault bounced around, antsy, always wanting to and Westborough, when the crowd started be doing something and getting on the move. to get feisty, Whitten remembers turning Arsenault found an outlet for his energy in to Arsenault to ask him to help calm his healthy lifestyle. He frequently went hiking the fans down. Arsenault repre- and mountain climbing. He avoided junk food, sented the hockey team in the preferring water and protein-rich meals which Athletic Council. On the ice, enabled his workouts. His class voted him Most respect characterized Arse- Likely to Go to the Gym. During high school he nault’s game. participated in organized sports: always hockey, “Hockey can be a very but he also played baseball one spring. aggressive and violent game,” Arsenault also showed a taste for adventure. Whitten said. “He would play hard Once, as a high school junior, he drove to Durbut he would always kin’s house in his pickup truck. p l a y within the rules, and “Get in,” Durkin remembers he would always be sportsmanArsenault telling him. The two like, and respectful of his team- “He was really then drove to Woodstock, New mates, his opponents, and the intrigued about Hampshire, where Arsenault officials.” heard they could find some meeting people in Arsenault first made the good cliff jumping spots. The varsity hockey team as a fresh- the army from all two spent the rest of the day man. Although his team strug- walks of life and jumping into lakes and rivers. gled, compiling a 3-15-2 record “If he wanted to do somehis senior year, according to seeing the world.” thing, he’d try it, no matter Whitten, Arsenault enjoyed just what it was,” Durkin said. being out on the ice. In the classroom, teachers Sean Durkin “He played hockey for the described as thoughtARHS ‘04 ful and Arsenault love of the game,” Whitten said. compassionate. Al“He understood the meaning of though he did not always have sport; it wasn’t just about winning.” the highest grades, teachers described Arsenault One time, Arsenault shaved his head as part as having depth and perception beyond his age. of a team ritual, and the administration, suspectBeyond Algonquin ing hazing, called him to the office. Arsenault reAfter his graduation in 2004, Arsenault enfused to rat out his teammates. rolled at Quinsigamond Community College, “He loved being a teammate,” Whitten said, where he earned an Associate’s Degree in Arts. “It was his character. It was his fiber.” Although Arsenault showed interest in a wide arFriend of Adventure ray of subjects ranging from writing to nutrition, Sean Durkin met Arsenault on the first day Durkin says his friend’s interests lay outside the classroom. Dan Fishbein
Arsenault frequently went up to Burlington, Vermont to visit Durkin in college. The two would go hiking together. Around Northborough, Arsenault fished and went for walks around the Wachusett Reservoir. Purgatory Chasm was on of Arsenault’s favorite places. “Being in the woods, he could go anywhere he wanted. He could do whatever: there was no
structure, and he liked that,” Durkin said. After Quinsigamond, Arsenault worked in a variety of short-term jobs. Durkin doesn’t recall Arsenault as a “gung-ho” army type, but says that the possibility of enlisting was always at the back of his friend’s mind. The army fit Arsenault’s personality seamlessly: it offered him both the possibility of adventure while continuing his healthy lifestyle. Nowhere else could he get a job that let him jump out of planes. Beyond that, the army would enable Arsenault to see a larger section of the world. “He went to Algonquin, then he went to Quinsig. His spectrum of the world was pretty limited,” Durkin said. “I think he was really intrigued about meeting people in the army from all walks of life and seeing the world.”
Arsenault, page 4
yearbook Photos
(Left) Arsenault poses with a friend at his junior prom. (Center) Arsenault with fellow hockey players senior year, including best friend Sean Durkin. (Right) Arsenault was voted Most Likely to be Seen at the Gym. (Above) Arsenault’s yearbook picture.
WHAT’S INSIDE:
The issues of Unwind are Unwound page 8-9
The Pajama Game begins page 12
Fall Sports reach for post-season page 16