Elevate 2.3

ELEVATE AN RJ MEDIA PUBLICATION

REGIS JESUIT HS STUDENT MEDIA | AURORA, CO Vol. 2 Issue

3 | May 2017

Senior Section Pg. 13

2017 Hit the Slopes Pg. 34

Modern Politics Pg. 53

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WHAT’S INSIDE

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IV

III.

I.

Skiing at RJ pg. 12-13

Admissions pg. 6-7

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Senior Section pg. 8-10

2 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

III

II

IV.

Hockey Year in Review pg. 16-17

STAFF

ELEVATE MAGAZINE Patrick Britti ‘17, Georgia Ray ‘17, & Katie Maxfield ‘17..........

Editors In Chief Maddie Munger ‘19, Anastasia Conley ‘18, Connor Lyford ‘18 & Sarah Darley ‘17 ............Copy Editors Ron Fishleigh ‘17, Erin Biafore ‘18.......Photography Editors Jorge Paredes ‘18 .............................................Art Direction Patrick Koenigs ‘18............................................Op-Ed Editor Staff Writers Jason Lewis, Taylor Bush, Lilli Maples, Bella Ames, Brielle Bajek, Katie Berrian, Ashlyn Carr, Avery Chapman, Dominique Ebedes, Kaitlyn Forte, J’Den Humphreys, Molly Kennedy, Liz Koch, Sarah McDevitt, Maddie Plank, Natalie Skaggs, Lauren Winston, Alec Martinez, Jaime Tarango, Sam Bornhorst, Grant Breeden, Nick Faber, Victor Diaz, Hans Helland, Joe Lampty, True Potter, Cole Stevens, Hunter Sherrard, Jack Harpoole, Will Barbera

RJTODAY.ORG & SOCIAL MEDIA Leo McCabe ‘19, Maddy Doyle ‘17, & Grant Breeden ‘17........Social Media Editors

RJTV & RJ RADIO Nick Faber ‘18, Erin Biafore ‘18, Sam Bornhorst ‘17, Kyle Schwulst ’18, Nick Sangalis’18....................RJ Radio Hosts Nick Sangalis ‘18, Matthew Bornhorst ‘19, Sam Bornhorst ‘17, Kyle Schwulst, Patrick Britti ‘18, Carly Schwulst,’18 Sam Bornhorst ‘17, Angela Serwaa-Marfo ‘20, Michael Manoogian ‘19, Jack Potter ‘19, Sam Stern ‘20, Phil Postek ‘20, Hannah Smith ‘20, Nick Rizzi ‘20, Jeron Johnson ‘20.......................RJTV Sports Network Adam Dawkins ‘98................. Adviser Finn Barberi ‘19................... Cover Art

RJ Media [Elevate Magazine, rjtoday.org, RJTV and RJTV Sports Network] operates as a limited-open forum for student free expression. The publications are for the students, by the students.

The staff aims to balance what the audience wants with what it needs, and strives to make solid judgments with regards to news value and news awareness.

The publications will serve as a medium for student opinions and ideas. RJ Media strives to produce objective, well-balanced and accurate reporting and content that features a range of students, their interests and their viewpoints. The staff is dedicated to being fair, accurate, balanced, truthful and responsible. The staff will seek the truth and report it, minimize harm and act independently. We promise to be transparent, accountable and open. The staff also upholds Ignation values with regard to social justice and openness to growth. The staff prides itself on using the Ignation Pedagogical Paradigm to help make decisions: context, experience, reflection, action, and evaluation.

The student Editorial Board will have final say in the content of the publications. School officials, administration or faculty and staff shall not practice prior review or the have the ability to censor any student publication, with the exception of material deemed to be legally obscene, libelous, substantially and materially disruptive, or coverage on any one of the following three topics, wherein coverage will be worked through with the president and principals: Obituaries, employee termination, and crimes or cases in the court of law.

EDITORIAL POLICIES

RJ MEDIA

The views of columnists are not necessarily those of the newspaper staff.

Opinions will be published on designated pages or otherwise marked.

All material published by RJ Media is copyrighted to RJ Media, year and date of original publishing. RJ Media will not publish any material that is a violation of copyright. We take our own photos and produce our own content. We sometimes use photos with express written permission, but only if we absolutely have to. Those will be credited to the photographer with attribution specified by the permission of use. Read our full editorial policies at rjtoday.org/policy Read our full Editorial Policies at rjtoday.org/about

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR - WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Letters to the editor are welcome and encouraged, but will only be published if they are accompanied by a name and signature. Letters should be short and free of “bashing” or obscenity. Letters to the editor do not reflect the views of the RJ Media staff and will be marked on pages designated as such.

The staff reserves the right to edit letters for potentially libelous material and length. The staff will not edit letters for punctuation, grammar and usage.

Letters with issues will be returned to the submitter for further review.

Contact the RJ Media Editorial Board at rjmedia@regisjesuit.com or in the RJ Media Lab (PAC-102). You can also find us on Twitter and Instagram @RJ_Media

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PEACE OUT As everyone has begun counting down the days until summer break, we have spent many hours camped out in the journalism room producing a magazine.

Between pizza eating, yelling about music, and making fun of Katie for being a flirt, we were able to finally complete something that we were proud of. And then the unimaginable happened.

It was gone. The whole magazine was unable to be opened anymore on the computer. In fact, this is the second time that this goodbye has had to be written; we lost the first one.

We, the editors, have tried our best to present the hard work that many of your friends put into their stories. There will be typos, but keep in mind all the effort all of these writers have put into this.

We hope this is fun, informing, and can serve as a memento as summer begins or, for seniors, you head off to college.

We want to sincerely thank all of you. We have felt so lucky to be able to cover such an amazing community over the last 4 years and we will miss the Regis Jesuit atmosphere so much.

LATER NERDS Your Editors,

Georgia Ray ‘17 Katie Maxfield ‘17 Patty Pat Britti ‘17 Sarah Darley ‘17

4 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Lost and Found The Story of Xavier Brathwate and his Dog

By: Nolan Whitmore 20’ Photo Credit: Xavier Brathwaite

Three years ago Freshman Xavier Brathwaite adopted a very special dog that followed Xavier everywhere, just like a shadow, which was how the dog got his name. This black lab was very shy and timid, constantly getting scared at almost anything. One day, however, Shadow ran away, never came back and left Xavier and his family heartbroken.

About a month later, they decided to get another dog, Cinatra. “The reason why we got this dog was because we heard he stayed around his family”, said Xavier. Unlike Shadow, Cinatra was social and never ran away. The family had the dog for about two years before he was diagnosed with chronic liver disease, “We didn’t know, we loved him a lot, and him being sick made us love him more,” says Xavier with tears forming in his eyes. Within the next three days following Cinatra’s death, Xavier’s mom received an email saying that shadow, the dog lost three years ago had finally decided to come back.

After Xavier had got his “Shadow back”, he noticed that shadow was very fat and he believed “Someone took him in.... And had him for three years”, Xavier was a mix between both mad and grateful as he was saying this.

It was obvious that Shadow wouldn’t have survived if he wasn’t taken in by this “mystery family”, so Xavier and the family were both glad that Shadow’s unknown rescuer was there to help.

Between his three and a half year journey and his miraculous return to the Brathwaite family, it is no doubt that Shadow is happy where he is.

FOLLOW US. WE PUBLISH DAILY. RJTODAY.ORG 5

At the 12th annual Diversity Day, students were enthralled by Danny Diaz (right) and Coach White (below), from McFarland High School who spoke of persevering through tough situations.

D

Pho

Above: During the break between workshops, breakdancers from one of the workshops captivated an audience with their moves.

6 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Left: Junior Diego Maisterra cracks a smile as Danny Diaz reminds us that he was not fat.

Above: Junior DJ Jackson, right, and senior Ike Golhston listen as Danny Diaz talks to the crowd.

Left: Students wait for Danny Diaz and Coach White to start speaking.

Diversity Day

2017

Photos By: Leo McCabe ‘19

Below: Students from DAG introduce the At The Table performers.

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Getting In

An exploration of Regis Jesuit Admissions

Thirteen year-olds are right in the middle of figuring themselves out. Their hairstyle isn’t quite right, their social burgeoning is interrupted by their inability to drive, and their personalities are undergoing huge changes as they enter their teen years. Amidst all of this chaos that characterizes 8th grade, they are haunted by the two words that excite uncertainty, “high school.”

Increasingly so, the solution for middle schoolers across the Denver area has been to apply to RJ. Citing excitement for religion, sports, and academics, as Gracie Weigand, recent admit of the class of 2021, does, these students buckle down to work on their RJ application.

Mr. Muller, head of admissions in the boys division, describes RJ’s admissions process as “representative of the most rigorous and challenging admissions processes of Jesuit schools nationwide.” The application itself includes a

teacher recommendation, the student’s transcript, essay questions, a parent questionnaire and a test. One parent, who requested to remain anonymous, recommends “students get started early on their application, as it does take some time.”

Once these pieces are submitted and the test is taken, the tables turn as it is up to the admissions offices to make the tough decisions about who gets in. Although girls and boys admissions are separate, they mirror each other in the way that they review applications.

Mr. Muller describes this process, saying, “there’s a team of about 20 faculty, staff, counselors, learning services people, and administration that are part of a big committee that handles the decisions a period of about a month.” Ms. Long, head of admissions in the Girls Division, also adds that they have recently computerized the process so that they can be

even more sure that at least two pairs of eyes sees every application.

Ms. Long describes the way she reviews applications saying, “The application is really geared toward getting to know students as individuals and the questions are written as if we were sitting and interviewing them to try to get an alignment as to how they fall in our education philosophy and our mission here at the school.”

Mr. Muller echoes this sentiment when he says, “We try to run a really transparent and clear, open process because we are talking about people’s children.”

There are hard cuts to make; they make a concerted effort to keep the values of the school at the helm of their decision making process.

Despite their efforts, the admissions committee still faces criticism. For example, the aforementioned anonymous parent says, “I’d like

Stories and Photo 8 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issueby 1 Georgia Ray ‘17, Katie Maxfield ‘17, Hunter Sullivan ‘20, and Jack Fete ‘20

s

e

n

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to see students interviewed because I think this would more accurately reflect their ability and desire to succeed at Regis.”

Although this is not part of the process, Mr. Muller is clear that, if a student is on the fence or if there are special circumstances regarding their admission, they can bring the family in for an interview.

Additionally, one anonymous freshmen who went through the process said that, “the questions are repetitive and there should be more diversity in them.” The student feels like the questions focus on leadership and saying personal thoughts more about yourself.

Another concern is that students are being offered preferential admittance status based on sports, family, and monetary contribution. Mr. Muller rebukes this saying, “It is important that every student is capable of doing the work when they come here and we are not doing anyone any service letting them in just because their brother, sister, dad, or grandpa went here.”

He continues, saying, “We are in a very lucky position because we have so much support from current and past parents providing additional financial support above and beyond tuition and none of that stuff carries the promises of admissions decisions or anything like that.

In fact it is illegal to take charitable donations

and exchange them for benefits.”

For the upcoming school year, tuition has once again been raised to $16,225.

At the end of this long application process, confetti spills out of the girls’ envelopes while everyone watches a congratulatory video and students from Catholic, charter, and public middle schools alike are excited to have been offered a spot as a part of the RJ community.

Gracie Weigand recently experienced this herself and culminates her experience simply saying, “it all worked out.”

As much as the admitted students are looking forward to coming the Regis, the admissions committee is equally as excited to welcome this new class to campus. Ms. Long says that the part of her job that makes her the proudest is, “seeing New Raider Night and the excitement of all the newly accepted kids coming in.” She also says that graduation is a really wonderful time where she is able to see the students that have been admitted, especially those that have flourished at Regis, finish their journey.

It’s no secret that admissions have become more selective at Regis in recent years, both Ms. Long and Mr. Muller will say as much, but more than anything this speaks to the excellence of our institution and the amazing students that fill the halls of RJ every day.

% 4

5

of girls that apply end up attending RJ

60%

of boys that apply end up attending RJ

“The president’s and business office and the administrators are looking forward to helping more families come to Regis that can’t afford to pay the whole tuition.” - Mr. Canino, head of the work grant program

$7,325

tuition increase since 2007

over

400

students in the work grant program 9

LA VIE de

Madame Story by Kiana Perry’17

10 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Born outside of Toulouse in a small town called Castres located in southern France, Madame Regine Joulie-Kuttner never imagined she would teach in the United States of America.

Kuttner started teaching at Regis Jesuit in 2008. it was quite the change since the way the schooling system is set up in France differs from the system that is set up in America.

“The whole duty, environment is different,” Kuttner says. “The French schools have no social emphasis at all. You only go there for academics.”

Kuttner had come only for a short amount of time, but never thought she would stay. She only came because her university was twinned with a university in Wyoming. It was meant to only be for six months, for she applied for an immersion program for German and French speakers and became the native speaker for French.

As a child, Kuttner loved the environment and thought she would do something that had to do with the environment, yet she also had an interest in the medical field and science. She thought of going medical school to become a doctor. Instead she earned a technical translation degree to work in the pharmaceutical industry.

There is not one college that held Kuttner for a full amount of time. By the time she was done with her schooling, she had attended six colleges in total. Two were in France, one was in England, another was in Germany, and the last two were in The United States of America, specifically Wyoming and South Carolina.

When she is not cooking, cleaning, and running her household, Kuttner enjoys painting, reading, biking, working out, hiking, outside physical activities in general, and spending time with her two dogs. On the weekends, she enjoys sleeping in late and not having to rush in the morning as she does during the week.

The thought of moving back to France had come up many times in the family.

“We tried to,” Kuttner recalls. “The problem is he [her husband] is Norwegian so his language is Germanic language [Norwegian]. Our common language is English.

He did not want to move back to Norway. He likes going and visiting, it is a beautiful country, we didn’t want to work and live there. He liked France, but we could never find work for the both of us. We tried and we applied. The only thing we could find was contact.”

With balancing her family of four boys, school work, and resting on the weekends, Madame Kuttner still fills the hallways with her laughter and lightens each class she teaches in with a smile.

K-Money

The Beloved Jesuit Scholastic Shares The Stories That Made Him The Man He Is Today

By: Connor Blue ‘19 and Colin Armistead ‘19

K-Dog, K-Goat, Special-K, K-Money. All of these nicknames describe the man, the myth, the legend: Mr. Chris Kellerman.

From a simple home in Arlington, Texas, to the unfamiliar terrain of Upstate New York, Mr. Kellerman has stories to cover it all.

After high school, a young Mr. Kellerman left for Texas Tech, where his life would be changed forever. Mr. Kellerman went in with the idea his career was in politics, possibly working for the Democratic National Committee. During college, Mr. Kellerman actually took a semester off to work for the DNC, working in the finance department. Mr. Kellerman believed he would someday become a congressmen, most likely a senator, but there were a few problems. Even though he believed his ambitions were to be a democratic senator, he had a few problems with the party, mostly regarding their stance on abortion. The Democratic Party is pro-choice, while Mr. Kellerman is pro-life. This major problem was what got Mr. Kellerman out of politics, and down the road of theology.

During his novitiate, Mr. Kellerman found himself doing things he never believed he would be doing. One example of this was the time he visited a prison on the Bayou in Louisiana.

The Louisiana State Penitentiary, better known as Angola Prison was one of the places that shaped Mr. Kellerman to be the man he is today.

While spending time at the Angola Prison, Mr. Kellerman met an inmate named Kevin, and befriended him. Kevin was convicted of a double homicide, but had grown in his faith during his time in prison. This got Mr. Kellerman thinking, “does Kevin deserve saving?”. Mr. Kellerman was torn. This man had grown in his faith and had accepted Jesus as his savior, but he had also killed two people. The one thought that went through Mr. Kellerman’s head was pain and suffering felt by the family and friends of the two victims, and because of this Mr. Kellerman asked himself “Did he deserve to feel anything but misery?”. After talking to Kevin for three weeks, Mr. Kellerman came to the conclusion “Kevin is going to die at Angola prison. I can choose to love him and others in his situation, to visit them and defend them when necessary, or I can choose to ignore or even hate them” Mr. Kellerman wrote in a blog for SJ Web. In the end, Mr. Kellerman decided to love the man, because every person is deserving of not only our love, but also God’s love.

Now, K-Money is enlightening the young minds of Regis. Along with teaching theology to freshmen and sophomores, he also moderates the Cannonball Club, which lets guys who want to learn more about spiritual life and prayer, come together with a community of guys with the same interests. It started at the end of last year, and this year they have about 35 members.

Next year is Mr. Kellerman’s last year teaching at Regis.

After this he will be sent to Boston, Santa Clara, or Toronto to study theology. The day Mr. Kellerman leaves next year will be a sad one for many student and teachers, it will be tough to see him go.

Freshmen theology teacher, and Mr. Kellerman’s colleague Dr. Kabadi says, “It will be tough, but that’s the journey Jesuit go

through, they come, they make there mark, they serve, and then they have to move on. But I know that when he leaves we are really going to miss him, and that’s just a testament to who Mr. Kellerman is and what a great person he is.” Kyle McDonald agrees with Dr. Kabadi that Mr. Kellerman’s absence will be tough on the Regis community but he is grateful that he will be graduating that year too. “I think that he is closest with our class, the Junior class, which will make it easier for him, because we will also be graduating, and of course it will be easier for us, because we won’t have to attend a school without Mr. Kellerman.

“Great sense of humor, incredibly kind and considerate, powerful presence, whatever he touches he makes better whether that’s teaching whether that’s simple conversation whether that’s sacramentally, everything he interacts or touches he makes better. He is the best we got here, and I am proud to have gotten to know him.”

– Dr. Kabadi. All of these stories created the mold that formed and forever shaped the man we now know was K-Goat, K-Dog, Special-K, K-Money, or simply Mr. Kellerman. Mr. Kellerman may have a ton of great stories, but he’s not done yet, and he’s eager for what awaits him in the future.

“Great sense of humor, incredibly kind and considerate, powerful presence, whatever he touches he makes better.” - Dr. Kabadi

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12 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Rj Nation 13

The

Next Step Abroad

For most high school seniors, going to an out of state university is not uncommon, but for Nina Nieto and Jack Shanley the circumstances are a little out of the ordinary. Both Nieto and Shanley will be attending college out of the country following their graduation this spring with the class of 2017. This fall Nieto will be at the Saint Louis University campus in Madrid, Spain studying Environmental Science and Studio Art; while Shanley will be at the University of St Andrews campus in St Andrews, Scotland studying International Relations and Economics.

Story and photos by Kate McDonald ‘17

S T.

M A D R I D

For Nieto traveling to Spain is not her first experience being in a Spanish speaking environment.

Nieto is not only in a higher level Spanish class, but she is also from Mexico. Having a hispanic background and knowing the language will be helpful for Nieto as she studies abroad. Nieto has not been to Madrid yet but she is confident that she will like attending there this fall.

“Different countries are so close,” Nieto says when talking about the cheap flights to all the countries around Spain.

Nieto is looking forward to all the new experiences that she will have moving to a different country.

When it comes to her field of study there are exciting things she can look forward to.

“For environmental science they have a lot of cool trips to the mediterranean,” Nieto shares this as she looks forward to studying marine life.

When moving to Madrid Nieto will be staying in on campus housing. As far as language barriers are concerned Nieto says that on the campus and within the classes they mainly speak English.

14 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

A N D R E

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For Shanley this will not be his first time studying abroad. In an interview Shanley mentioned his past experience of studying abroad while here at Regis jesuit.

“I just like the International thing, I studied abroad in high school and I wanna do it again,” expresses Shanley when being asked about his abroad experience in Mexico.

As Shanley was deciding on where he planned on going to college, he found the opportunity through college research that he could study abroad in Scotland.

Shanley was able to choose Scotland as a place to study because of his family vacation in Ireland. While in Ireland he took a plane ride over to Scotland and really enjoyed his time there. For Shanley’s parents his choice to study abroad is exciting and sad because he is an only child who will be moving very far from home.

“My mom is pretty bummed out, but both of them are looking forward to having an excuse to come to europe all the time,” Shanley says when talking about his parents feelings on leaving the country.

SENIORS 2017

Ivy Leagues

The Ivy Leagues are a group of eight universities considered to be the most prestigious colleges in the United States. For many, the opportunity to attend one is simply a dream. But for RJ seniors Georgia Ray and Ermias Araia, it is their future. Ray applied Early Decision to the Univeristy of Pennsylvania (Penn) and Araia applied Early Decision to Brown University, which means they committed themselves to the school if accepted.

Story and Photos by Maddy Doyle ‘17

P E N N

Ray’s hard work ethic, impressive transcript, and passion for service made her a very viable candidate for Penn. Although she was initially deferred, which means the university wanted to see how her first semester went, she did not give up hope. Ray was accepted Regular Decision to Penn and now feels even more confident that she made the right decision.

For Ray, Penn stood out from other colleges and even Ivy Leagues because of their emphasis on community service, which they “incorporate into a lot of their classes.”

Ray is very active in community service and it is something she dedicates much of her time to, which is why it was important that the university she chose also focused on service.

Penn also made an impression on Ray because she “felt at home” there. Being comfortable at her future home was very important to her, especially because she will be entering a very rigorous curriculum. She is interested in majoring in PPE (philosophy, psychology, and economics) and possibly computer science, a combination of subjects that both interest her and are practical. Ray is excited to experience the many traditions and opportunities Penn will provide, and advises other Ivy League hopefuls to start strong freshman year and get good grades.

She explains that there is an element of luck “when you get to this level of acceptance rate- when [it is] sub 10 percent.” Although Ray considers herself to be lucky, her hard work and persistence will serve her well at Penn.

B R O W N

For Araia, 2,000 miles doesn’t seem far to attend a dream school. Araia has decided to attend Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island next year.

Araia was accepted into the PLME program at Brown, which combines undergraduate education and medical school into a single eight-year program, and plans on double majoring in computational biology and neuroscience. Although it is a little nerve wrecking knowing that he is going to be attending such a rigorous institution, he is also very excited to see what new opportunities will be presented to him.

He was also drawn to Brown because of the “mellow” atmosphere there, which differs from the stereotypical cut-throat perception of most Ivy Leagues.

As Araia describes it, Brown is known as the “weird cousin of the Ivy Leagues”, which fits his personality.

At Brown, he hopes to continue in Mock Trial, and possibly get involved in Greek life. But Araia is open to whatever Brown throws his way, as it is known for its successful extracurricular processes.

For students who are aiming for the Ivy Leagues as Araia was, he suggests focusing on academics first and foremost, as the grades are just “baseline requirements”.

From there, he emphasizes finding a passion and presenting it in a way that shows students are more than just a GPA or SAT score.

As Araia says, it does not matter what you do, but how passionately you do it. It’s all about “being able to be more than just another number.”

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Capstones

In the final weeks of the school year, the senior class must reflect on their past four years at Regis and create a visual representation that connects to at least one Grad at Grad. You can walk through both Tradition Halls and find some wonderfully artistic, emotional, and personal projects. Here is some insight into 6 of the many wonderful projects from the class of 2017.

Story and Photos by Anna Thompson, Sophie Marks, and Anna Whelan ‘17

In Gabrielle Thomas’s senior capstone project, she chose to portray her life and experiences at Regis through a depiction of a tornado and a rainbow. The tornado not only represents the real one that she experienced while on service projects in New Orleans this year, but also depicting her fears and obstacles in life and her abilities to overcome them. The second piece of her project is a rainbow, “with the names of important people in my life with songs that made me think of them and a bible verse that allows me to pray for them and discusses themes in how I have seen God in every individual... as a way to convey my appreciation for the people that have been in my life for the past four year.” She says that “the rainbow board was an ode to my time at Regis,” with each of the colors representing different aspects of that time, and how she had learned on Kairos that it is important to live a life of color. Her portrayal of the Religious and Loving Grad at Grads truly show why Gabrielle is a cornerstone of the Regis community who has shown nothing but love and support for her brothers and sisters here at school.

Intellectually Competent

In Marilynn Akomeah-Sirleaf ’s capstone she chose to represent the Grad at Grad religious. Marilynn grew up in Ghana and comes from a very strict religious background. She says, “based off my experiences with God, I wanted to discuss coming to know God through different lenses; protector, paramount, and confidant, relating to my time at Regis.” Her project is a reflection of her relationship with God, through her service experience in New Orleans, and “compiling all of these new ways of seeing God and preparing for my life ahead.” Marilynn’s visual representation of her capstone was very thought out, “I learned about capstone freshman year I immediately knew what to do.” She took the story of superman, where the pivotal point is when Clark Kent enters the telephone booth and transitions into superman ready to face whatever challenges put ahead of him. Regis is her telephone booth, and represents her pivotal point in life to be able to now face whatever challenges that may lie ahead of her.

Religious In Rachel Cauley’s capstone she uses an image of herself and then has little grey images making up different parts of her face. These pieces represent “people who have had the greatest impact in my life the past four years, specifically through different aspects of love”. Rachel has grown over her time at Regis through love, which is why she chose the Grad at Grads of loving and open to growth. When she thinks about her time at Regis she thinks about the relationships she has formed and how those have changed her. “Parts of the people who have taught me the most about love are making up my face, representing that I’ve been changed and defined by the love in those relationships.”

16 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

SENIORS 2017

Commited to Doing Justice Through the depiction of the stages of an airplane gaining it’s wings, Ronald Fishleigh used this method to convey his own personal development during his time at Regis. He expressed in his capstone how his relationship with his friends, the clubs and activities takes part in, and newfound passions such as sports photography have aided him in developing into a person that is open to growth, intellectually competent, and loving. When asked why he chose the portrayal of an airplane on a runway as his project, Ronald expressed that aviation “is one of the biggest parts of my life, and helps shape who I am so I knew it had to be included in some way”.

The importance of this passion is obvious as he plans to follow it into a career in the future. The project itself shows how the pieces of the airplane must come together in order to take off, much like the changes and growth Ronald has experienced here at Regis have prepared him for take off, and onto the next part of his life.

Open to Growth

In Will Taylor’s capstone he chose two Grad at Grads, loving and open to growth. He chose loving because his growth in allowing him self to be able to love others more than just in his immediate family had grown over the four years.

He also chose open to growth because before his time at Regis he was moving from school to school, and never really got the change to make close friendships with anyone. He entered the doors of Regis thinking he was going to move again, which discouraged him from “making friends until sophomore year.” Will’s visual representation of his caption includes a house with four floors and two rooms. In each room he “represented (his) years at Regis.” For example, his freshman year room is burnt because it was not the best year for him, and there are pictures of his family as well because he wanted to be represented as closed off he was freshman year. As the next three years are represented through the other rooms you can see the growth he has made to get to the top of his house where he has a photo of Penn State. He says,” “at the moment thats the only thing I see in my future for sure, but everything else is open to do anything I want.”

Loving

While most people do one or two Grad at Grads to represent their time at Regis, Jonathan Didas did all five because “By themselves, they don’t make much sense, but when you have all of the grad at grad points the crossword begins to form”. The frame of the crosswords is made “out of hockey sticks because hockey has always been important and has framed my experience here”. His capstone takes events that have occurred throughout his four years at Regis, and ties them all together. Everything that has happened to Didas during his four years at Regis has helped to shape him into the man he is today.

17

Senior

Superlatives Story and Photos by Georgia Ray ‘17 and Katie Maxfield ‘17

The Class of 2017 has grown tremendously throughout their time at RJ and there are lots of awards to be bestoyed throughout graduation season. Academics, athletics, religion, and all-around good-heartedness will be recognized in the future, but in this article we take the time to acknowledge the truly important things like who knows the most trivia or who is notorious for being late.

Your classmates nominated at least 6 people for each category and then the whole senior class was invited to vote. Here are the results!

Most Likely to Win Jeopardy What is a fun fact that you know that would help you win jeopardy?

“It is not a fun fact but the Rwandan genocide killed about 800,000 people.” - Keke Perry ‘17 “A fun fact? Well, probably that you are holding your microphone backwards.” - Patty Pat ‘17 Patty Pat Britti

Keke Perry

Most Likely to Win Because Nobody Else is Nominated

What do you think was the deciding factor in your Student Council presidential win?

“The fact that nobody else ran definitely helped me to clinch the victory as Student Body President and it also helped me get this superlative so I’d say that’s a victory.” *double fist pump* - Kate Clawson ‘17 Kate Clawson

Most Likely to be Late to Their Own Wedding What would you be doing that would make you late to your own wedding?

“Can I get some time to think about this question? I feel like I’m at a beauty pageant. Eating. Definitely eating.” Leanica Tiongson ‘17

Zach Gerken

Leanica Tiongson

18 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

“I’d either be sleeping or maybe fishing” - Zach Gerken ‘17

SENIORS 2017

Most Likely to Wear Regis Gear in College What are you going to miss most about Regis?

Toran Thompson

Jenna Quirk

“I’m going to miss the community aspect of it. I love the community at Regis Jesuit. It just feels very homey and like home to me. I will miss going off to college.” Toran Thompson ‘17 “I’m going it miss it here and I’m going to miss all of the opportunities it has provided me.” - Jenna Quirk ‘17

Most Changed Since Freshman Year What is your favorite memory of RJ? “Freshman year we won state for swimming and that was really really cool but every year has its own memories.” - Izzy Schultze ‘17 “My favorite memory would probably be going to all the school dances and spending time with my friends in the cafeteria and just hanging out.” - Patrick Selner ‘17

Patrick Selner

Izzy Schultze

Most Likely to be President What is the first thing you would do as President of the United States?

“The first thing I would do as President of the United States is I would make every food unicorn and rainbow and I would make it an obligation that everyone wake up listening to Beyonce and/or Justin Bieber.” - Gabby Thomas ‘17

Gabby Thomas

Jack Dunn

“I would try to shorten the wage gap between the top one percent and the poverty in America.” - Jack Dunn ‘17

19

SENIORS 2017

Most Likely to Want a Superlative If you were to design a superlative for yourself, what would it be?

“Most likely to buy the copyright to ‘Cotton Eye Joe.’” - Claire D’Costa ‘17 “Most likely to be famous definitely” - Jeremiah Martinez ‘17 Claire D’Costa

Jeremiah Martinez

Most Likely to be a Billionaire

What would you spend your billion dollars on?

“I wouldn’t spend it. How do you think I got my billion? By smart and wise investing. You know a very smart man once wrote a book, The Art of the Deal, and in it he describes how he, with a small loan, and his father made a billion dollars. I did the same thing. I came and I beat the streets. I controlled my own destiny and that’s how I made my billion dollars.

I’m not going to spend it. I’m going to hang on to it.” - Sammy Dorchuck ‘17 “I am going to use my billion dollars to invest and make more money, to travel, to do charity work, and to buy the Chicago Blackhawks.” - Katherine Temple ‘17

Sammy Dorchuck

Katherine Temple

Best Senior Superlative Writers In the spirit of honesty, “Literally anyone else” did win this category with 68.2% of the vote, but we’re the editors so we’re calling an audible and naming ourselves the winners. P.S. This category could also be called “Best best friend duo.”

Georgia Ray

20 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Katie Maxfield

7

e

Club of the

Future

Inside the up and coming Robotics club

Story and Photos By Jackson Foster ‘20 and Jonah Montgomery ‘20

Throwing balls, making baskets, and climbing ropes are all tasks that the robotics team has to make their robot do. Robotics is not just a group of people building robots, it is an opportunity for people to come together and use STEM to create game playing robots. The robotics team has 6 weeks after FIRST Robotics sends them a video of the course to design a robot that can perform all of the tasks present.

Freshman Davis Wetzel argues that robotics is the “varsity sport for the mind” since there is a lot more thinking that goes on than any other sport.

Junior Josh Pokorney says, “How this all works is we prototype different modules that can accomplish the different goals and we can see which one works best.”

The team makes two identical robots because after six weeks they are not allowed to touch their robot until competition. The second robot lets them work on final touches before the competition comes. There are many different competitions all throughout the United States, with teams from over 24 countries competing, the most teams being from the United States, Mexico and Canada. These competitions are sponsored by NASA, and they also provide grants to schools who cannot afford to have a robotics team.

The process of making the robot takes a lot of teamwork and coordination. During the build there are three groups of people: the programmers, the builders, the workshop, and outreach teams. The programmers and the build team have to communicate very well to make sure that their design and program are on the same page. Furthermore, the workshop and build team have to communicate so they know exactly what type of parts to be making and customizing. And finally, the outreach team has to tell everyone what the other schools are working

on. According to Josh, the most challenging part of the completion is the coordination.

“Definitely coordinating all the facets of the club together it take a lot of coordination between building electronics, designing it, and building two different robots to practice on before the competition.”

During the competition teams from all around the state compete against each other on the course they have been prepar-

ing for. Based on the success of the teams they may acquire a spot in the regional competition to compete with teams from all over the United States. However, if they do not succeed there are many other tournaments around the world that they can join and compete in. Ryan explains,

This second competition gives the team and the new freshman who joined this year an opportunity to be exposed to more types of obstacles. This will allow them to come back next year even stronger than this year.

The Robotics team hopes to do better in the competition than last year’s endeavors with having a negative record of 5-6 and ranked 25th. This year they have a vast arsenal of tricks to place better in the competition, including new freshman talent and more advanced technology.

Scott Marin ‘17 works on a design 21

Ryan Walsh, Logan Haselden, Nick Fagnant and the rest of “Team Walsh” pose for a photo during the climb. #4Marty&Liz is “for Marty and Liz,” Ryan’s parents, who passed away from lung cancer and were the major motivation for this dedicated team to climb.

22 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

THE CLIMB

REPUBLIC PLAZA BUILDING

Why did hundreds of people–including Regis Jesuit senior Ryan Walsh–climb to the top of the tallest building in Denver?

Story and Photos by Connor Lyford ‘18

1,098 Stairs. 56 Floors.

Team Walsh is full of fighters.

That fight will have to be present with them in every step they take during the "Fight For Air Climb," an event put on by the American Lung Association. Unlike other runs, this event is not considered a race, it is done to raise money and spread awareness for lung diseases.

For Ryan Walsh, this is more than just a charity event.

"Both of my parents passed away from lung cancer. It hit home and I thought that it would be a really cool thing to do, so I started a team in their honor,” says Walsh.

When Logan Haselden, a long time friend of Ryan's, heard about the race, he was immediately on board. "My purpose and motivation to do [the run] is through Ryan." Said Haselden.

The team effort also plays an important role in this event.

"I'm the team captain, and then my team raises a certain amount of money. Each person who is on the team and running raises $100,” says Walsh. “So my team right now has already raised over 4,500 dollars.

Any one can really make a team, you just get as many people as possible."

The $4,500 dollars is steadily grew, and Team Walsh scrapped together a whopping $7,000.

To put the importance of this fundraising in perspective, here are a few things to know (The Lung Cancer Foundation) -Nearly 160,000 lives are lost annually to lung cancer.

-13.4 billion was spent on lung cancer care in 2015.

-If lung cancer is caught before it spreads, the likelihood of surviving

5 years or more improves to 55%.

-There were 130,659 lung cancer deaths due to smoking each year from 2005-2009 and 7,330 from secondhand smoke exposure in 2006

The goal of the climb is to raise money to fight lung cancer, spread awareness of lung cancer, lead a campaign against smoking, teach people about lung cancer and smoking, and many more important aspects of lung disease.

"My parents both smoked and that's something I feel like nobody should ever do. And that's also what [the climb] is for-- stopping kids from smoking-- however much money you give is supposed to be for a program that helps kids stop smoking or helps the word get out about smoking. So that is what I find to be a big portion of this," says Walsh.

"I think the most powerful moments for me weren't when it was finished but during it. It's up the tallest building in Denver, and I'm used to doing runs where everyone is more or less generally 'fit'," says Mr. Nick Fagnant, who ran alongside Team Walsh in the climb. "But for this, there weren't a lot of people who we conditionally consider to be in shape. [For example] an elderly couple, one whom has lung cancer and the other is carrying their oxygen; and they are slowly over hours painstakingly making their way. Step by step. It was beautiful."

The Fight For Air Climb in Denver raised $292,490.24 in total.

"You run up 56 flights of stairs, and you take the elevator down. It seems useless just running straight up 56 flights of stairs without a purpose,” says Walsh. “But I guess that is my purpose.”

714 FEET 56 FLOORS

1,098 STAIRS

830 RUNNERS 23

A CHOIR LL STATE

&

ORCHESTRA

Story By: Sophie Marks ‘17 Photos by: Mrs. Wuertz

What it takes to make it to the big stage

The best of the best. This is the most fitting description for the All State Choir and Orchestra. The whole state auditions for a spot.

Colorado’s program compared to other states is stellar.

Mr. Sauer says, “It’s a well-oiled ship”.

The audition for choir is based both on singing ability and also technicality. They have particular scales, triads, and intervals they have to sight read.

-Dianna Morton ‘17 After being selected post audition, they are given the music; some of the hardest they have ever seen. They have a few months to prepare and memorize it before they perform. If it wasn’t hard enough to be able to sing it well and memorize the song, they have to learn how to pronounce the foreign words that often appear in the music.

Once they are selected after a second audition, they participate in a three day workshop with all the other students in the choir. Some of the best directors in the nation come from all over the country to help them polish the music and make it performance ready.

“The competition happens in the audition in October,” Mr. Sauer says. “Once you’ve made it, it’s an honor. A collaboration of the best in the state.”

The pride Mr. Sauer and Mrs. Wuertz have for their All State students radiates.

-Sebastian Colsman ‘18 After three days of

“Before I go on stage, I dedicate my performance to God and it helps to calm my nerves.”

non-stop work they have a beautiful concert at the Bellco theatre, that is more of a celebration of their hard work than a performance.

The process for getting into the All State Orchestra is slightly different. They do not audition in person but rather have a mail-in audition tape. They play a very hard solo, and once accepted they are sent the music they are expected to learn. They are not required to memorize it because it is a very large and difficult symphonic piece. They audition once more for their seating arrangements. Again, some “hot shot directors” come in for a weekend of preparing the music with the musicians.

Mrs. Wuertz was actually in All State choir when she was in high school. She says that she wanted to become a teacher because of her experience there. Wuertz describes it as “a rich, life changing experience”.

Helping the students prepare and go to All State is a lot of work for her and Mr. Sauer. But, she says, “To get them to the level where they can have this experience is huge for them.”

“There is such a bond between musicians.”

All State Orchestra Members Kieran Williams ‘18, Jade Law ‘18, Sebastian Colsman ‘18

All State Choir Members Owen Coleman ‘17, Andy Hoffman ‘17, Dianna Morton ‘17, Ethan Clock ‘18, Sadie Wuertz ‘18, Andy Jump ‘17, Nora Gentile ‘17, Sarah Smtih ‘18

24 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Getting

To Know

Norman

The RJ track alpaca

Story and Photos by Anna Whelan ‘17

On a warm sunny day, you can find Norman, the friendly neighborhood llama, hanging out on the Regis Jesuit track with the practicing athletes. Our fuzzy friend often manages to get loose, and usually ends up on the football field, grazing and enjoying the commotion that our campus has to offer. We were lucky enough to catch him at home, and had the chance to ask him a few questions about his busy life.

Q:Tell me about yourself. What is your name, age, and breed?

A:“My name is Norman, and I am an 11 year old llama.”

Q:Besides hanging out on the RJ track, what are some of your favorite things to do for fun?

A:“You know, I really enjoy basking in the sun and grazing, taking long walks around the neighborhood while I’m out and about, and I really love painting. I paint all sorts of things: still lifes, portraits, scenery...you name it.”

Q:Who is your biggest inspiration, human or animal? Why? A:“I would probably say Remy the rat from the movie Ratatoullie. His dream of becoming a chef was

always hard to attain because he was a rat, but he never, ever gave up, and ended up extremely happy and successful. This has inspired me to continue working towards my goal of becoming a famous painter.

Q:If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?

A:“I think that most would expect me to say somewhere in either Southern or Central America because that’s where my ancestors are from, but if I could go anywhere, I would definitely go to Paris. There is so much art history there, and I would love to paint the Eiffel Tower.

Two of Norman’s self portraits

Q:If you could be any other species of animal, what would you be?

A:“I would definitely be an alpaca, they’re just so majestic.

Q:Tell me about your life. What’s your biggest accomplishment?

A:“I’ve recently just finished my first self portrait. I am quite proud of the outcome.”

Q:What is your favorite food?

A:“Caviar. My mom brings me some as a snack everyday.”

Q:What has pushed you to escape onto the RJ track? Do you not like your living conditions at home?

A:“Oh no! I absolutely love it at home! I just always hear the commotion you students create down there, and I went to check it out. I often go back to get inspiration for my artwork.”

Q:What is your favorite color?

A:“Raider red.”

Q:And lastly, do you wish you could be the RJ mascot?

A:“I think that in spirit, I already am.”

25

The Culture of Stick and Poke Tattoos Painful, DIY Tattooing is Expressive but Poses Health Risks

Story and Design By: Finn Barbieri ‘19 26 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

How do you start a worldwide trend that is meaningful to some, but outrageous to others? Simple: give yourself a tattoo in the comfort of your own home.

Stick and poke tattoos have become a recent trend. The name does not sound welcoming, but after understanding the process, many find it fascinating. A needle is soaked in ink and repeatedly “stuck and poked” into the skin, creating whatever design the artist could imagine. It is surprisingly affordable and can be done with household objects. Tutorials explaining how to do your own tattoo can be found online in seconds. But, the trend comes at a price.

Regis Jesuit sophomore, Jeanne Agenar, knows a thing or two about these tattoos. “If the needle isn’t cleaned correctly before going into the skin, there could be a serious infection.

If the wrong type of ink is used, ink poisoning could occur. If the stick and poke doesn’t receive proper aftercare, it could also cause an infection. The list goes on,” Agenar says.

Blood diseases expert Lisa Maher of the Kirby Institute is not for stick and pokes, simply for the danger they pose.

“Transmission of hepatitis C and other blood-borne diseases, including hepatitis B and HIV, is possible when poor infection control practices are used during tattooing,” Lisa says.

The tattoos can be sanitary if done correctly and safely, and leave the artist with a semi-permanent marking, as the tattoos do fade. Despite popular belief, these DIY tattoos are not necessarily bad. They can carry as much meaning and sentiment as a professional tattoo done in a parlor. “I saw a post going around social media that explained how a semicolon can represent persistence. It said something like, a semicolon is used when the writer could have ended their sentence, but chose not to,” Jeanne says.

The culture of these tattoos is alive and thriving in the Regis Jesuit community, with people having tattoos of things ranging from waves, to planets, to crosses. They can be a conversation starter, a way to carry something meaningful with you at all times, or even just a display of your tolerance for pain. For junior Cameron Lynott, who has a moon tattoo, the story was a

little different. “Not going to lie, my tattoo doesn’t have much meaning, I just really like space,” says Cameron.

Even with the risks, stick and poke tattoos offer people a sense of belonging to a group or a culture. They help cope with anxiety and stress, which runs rampant in teenage life. According to a study from The Department of Psychology, both men and women had higher body appreciation, higher self esteem, and lower anxiety after getting new tattoos.

Stick and pokes may be seen as a passing trend, a form of rebellion, or a waste of time, but it is important to understand the power and meaning these small marks can carry for a person. Trends come and go, whether they are risky or not, and it is important to remember some ink is forever, and some ink fades.

A pair of stick and poke tattoos created by Regis Jesuit students

Some ink is forever,

and some ink fades.

The tool used to create the tattoo, a needle is stuck into the eraser of a pencil, the pencil is used as a handle for the artist to hold on to 27

Photo and Story By Emma Proctor ‘19 and Ally Pfeiffer ‘19

It’s just as hard to be Ken as it is to be Barbie

28 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Society doesn’t like to talk about body image. It’s uncomfortable and vulnerable for people to acknowledge in themselves and while society has given women a pass, it is uncommon for men to be allowed that same opportunity. In short, male body image is something we just don’t talk about, but that’s about to change.

Body image is a popular and common issue portrayed worldwide by the media. However, the portrayal of male body image is rarely shown.

The majority of body image research is focused solely on female body image, leaving an enormous lack of information on the male body image - which is incredibly different. The lack of research devoted to the male body image derives from the fact that men are much less likely than women to confront their body insecurities and seek treatment for poor mental health, specifically eating disorders and depression. “I think there’s probably been, in the 6 years I have worked here, only two boys that I have talked to about body image” says Ms. Siade, a Regis Jesuit school therapist.

Newer research shows that about 1 in 4 eating disorders are male. Men often feel too thin, or underweight, as opposed to most women who are seeking a thinner figure and to lose weight.

The broader and more muscular body most men strive to achieve leads them to dangerous substance abuse, including steroids and excess intake of protein supplements.

More than 1/3 of male adolescents in 2012 reported downing protein powder in an effort to boost their muscularity. A staggering 95% of college aged men are upset with their physical appearance and are dissatisfied with their body.

It is common for young boys to push themselves through and endure rigorous workouts and weightlifting routines to pack on more weight and muscle in order to appear more masculine.

This is an extremely hazardous practice for young boys to continuously do as it hinders their muscle development, stunts growth, and increases their risk of serious long term injury. National Eating Disorders comments that 90% of teenage boys exercise with the goal of bulking up, not necessarily with the intention of getting healthier.

Regarding the ideal male body, Ms. Siade comments “There is a big component with muscle, muscle tone and how muscular the guy is.

I see a lot with height. There is a lot of insecurities having to do with guys and their height, especially in freshmen and sophomore year when the girls tend to be taller and the boys have not caught up yet. I see the upperclassmen being a lot more confident, and a lot of the time it is because they have grown into their bodies, become more coordinated, and grown more muscle. But I still see a lot of insecurities with the juniors and seniors, but not as much as the freshmen and sophomores.”

Question & Answer with Jack Gallagher ‘17 Q: Do you believe male body image insecurities derive more from social pressures, or concern with looking attractive to others? What makes up the ideal male body?

A: “I think they derive more from social concerns, seeing everything in the media and seeing other people. I don’t necessarily want to look good to be attractive. I want to look good, I think most people do, but I think it’s more to be attracted to myself more than to make someone else attracted to me. I think physicality is a large part, especially in modeling because they are not shooting you for your personality, they’re shooting you for how your body looks. So attractiveness and the ideal male body, especially in the modeling world, is mostly about your muscle mass, and your leanness and bone structure, not about anything deeper than what is just there.”

Q: Body image is commonly known as a female problem; why do you think it is not commonly expressed as a male problem as well? Are guys comfortable talking about it?

A: “I think men tend to sexualize women more based on their body, whereas women are not as outwardly open about sexualizing men in that way. I think that men don’t want to seem like they’re not comfortable with themselves, they want to come up as strong and confident. If we say we don’t like how we look that would make us look weak. I wouldn’t say that guys are comfortable talking about it, I don’t think anyone’s really comfortable talking about their weight and what they don’t like about themselves. I think a lot of people bottle things up inside, boys and girls, but more boys because they are not supposed to talk about their emotions, so I think that is a big issue. Men are not supposed to talk about that stuff and that’s not very healthy” Q: How do guys cope with their body image insecurities? How do these insecurities affect their self esteem and their daily life?

A: “Some take supplements that are unhealthy like steroids. Some workout a lot, which isn’t necessarily bad – it’s a good coping strategy as long as you do it moderately and healthy. Some resort to sadly eating disorders because it is such a cruel, cut-throat thing boys have to deal with. I know a lot of kids won’t leave the boys division, they won’t come and talk to the girls because they’re embarrassed about how they look and how they feel. I think a lot of them just try to push through it because they are not supposed to seem insecure and shy, they try to brush it over and bottle it up” Q: Do you see a difference in the expectations between an all boys school and a co-ed school?

A: “Yeah to an extent. The boys don’t try to look as cool or be as hip, or impress the girls as much because girls are not in the building with us. But I think people are just as focused on their body and they still have the same amount of insecurities.”

Q: How long have you been acting and modeling for? What is it like?

A: “Out in LA, I have been acting for 4 years and modeling for 4 years. It is really weird because they say something like we’re looking for a six-foot tall male, blonde hair, so they send out everyone. You walk into the room and there’s literally like a hundred of you. Everyone looks the same, has the same build, and it is really hard and intimidating. I feel kind of bad about myself looking at all these attractive people, wondering how they decides who is the best. It is a really cold audition, you state your name and they take a picture of your full body, then you have to turn, and if you are 18 you have to take off your shirt. It is dehumanizing to an extent, but that is how it has to be. They know what they want and if you do not fit that category then they will just look at you and say no then you leave. It makes me feel bad, but then again, there are more auditions to come. They do not want to waste my time; I do not want to waste theirs. You have to build up a tough stand because you get told no everyday. I wish all of them I got told yes, but you can not win them all.”

29

REGIS JESUIT

Exchange Program

RJ EXCHANGE PROGRAM OPENS STUDENTS TO NEW CULTURES Story and photos by Sophia Marcinek ‘20 and Hayley Cook ‘20

S

ince 2006 Regis Jesuit and Instutio de Ciencias have been pairing up every year to “exchange students”.

This year 10 students have been able to be apart of this amazing experience. Regis Jesuit sent four students to Guadalajara, Megan Hilbert ‘19, Will Kosempel ‘19, Isaac Barbosa ‘19, and Will Taylor ‘17.

Regis Jesuit is now currently hosting six students from Instutio de Ciencias, Miguel (Mike) Vergara ‘18, Diego Maisterra ‘18, Alejandro (Alex) Moller ‘18, Daniela (Dani) Palafox ‘17, Alejandra (Ale) Reyes ‘18, and Alejandra (Ale) Sanchez ‘18.

Mrs. Vela, one of two coordinators for the Regis Jesuit Exchange program says, “In Denver, because it’s a full semester exchange in the US, it’s a really popular program and they only have 6 spots for it. It’s actually an extremely competitive process for them to get into this particular program.” For the first semester of the year a Regis Jesuit student will attend Instutio de Ciencias and for the second semester the student from Instutio de Ciencias comes to Colorado to attend Regis Jesuit.

30 October 2015| Issue 4

“I

t was my first day of school in another country. I was terrified.

I had been in Mexico for three days and my most-used word was, “Qué?” My host sister, or ‘twin,’ Dani, didn’t have school the first day because she’s two years older than I am, so she just planned to walk in with me.

She took me up to the second floor, where all the kids in ‘cuarto’ (my grade) would be looking for their classrooms.

We walked past A, B, C, etc. until we reached group F and my name was at the bottom of the list. I wasn’t sure where the other kids from Denver were, but everywhere around me the Mexican students were hugging, screaming and laughing after not having seen each other all summer. I stood there, getting more and more nervous.

Then Dani left, and I had no idea what to do. I didn’t recognize a single person, I didn’t understand most of the words I was hearing, and I was totally overwhelmed.

That’s when Valeria came up to me. She said to me, in Spanish & with a big smile on her face, “You’re new here, aren’t you?”

I nervously and clumsily explained to her that I was from Denver and participating in the

exchange program; she laughed and invited me to sit with her in class. And that’s how it started.

We sat with each other for the whole first day because in Mexico, the teachers move from class to class, while the kids all remain together in their same classroom. I was an official member of ‘cuarto efe’ but that didn’t mean I understood half of what the teachers were saying to me throughout the day.

Reading through syllabus after syllabus and hearing slang words that were completely foreign to me, all I could think was, four months is a long time.

I only remember bits and pieces of the first day because it went by in a flash, but my classmates never let me forget the first time I introduced myself with the voice of a true ‘gringa.’

The teachers all smiled when I tried to introduce myself in our ‘gettingto-know-you’ games, and I met so many people that first day. I learned about the schedule, saw the school, and got my books.

Little by little, with help from the kids in my class, support from the other kids from Denver and a lot of language practice in my English-free home, I began to improve.”

–Megan Hilbert ‘19

Isaac Barbosa

Activity in school: “Being with my friends. I also played Rugby.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “I love wrestling.”

Favorite part about the exchange program: “Meeting different people that are in a different culture.”

Who did you stay with: Alejandro (Alex) Moller ‘18 Three things about you: “I have been wrestling since I was 10; I was born in Houston Texas, and my favorite food is tacos.”

“You might think that you have really good Mexican food here but you haven’t trust me.”

Will Kosempel ‘19

Activity in school: “I loved my grammar class. I had a cool teacher that helped me improve my Spanish a ton. I was also on the basketball team and enjoyed playing in games and with my teammates.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “Probably hang out with my friends.”

Favorite part about the exchange program: “The food and the memories I made in Mexico. I also enjoyed living in a different culture and country for a semester.”

Who you did you stay with: Miguel (Mike) Vergara ‘18 Three things about you: I am a sophomore, I like to ski, and I can speak Spanish.

“I had an incredible experience in Mexico that I will remember forever.

I met a ton of amazing people and couldn’t have wished for a better experience.”

Diego Maisterra

Activity in school: Lacrosse Favorite thing to do outside of school: “Hanging out with friends” Favorite part about the exchange program: “Being able to meet new people” Who you are staying with: Will Taylor ‘17 Three things about you: “I always try to have a positive outlook, I lived in Vancouver, and I have two younger sisters.”

“Living with a host family is hard in the beginning like you’re new and you don’t have a lot of confidence. My host family is a really good family so it’s fine.”

Dani Palafox

Activity in school: “I run distance in track.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “Going shopping somewhere like the mall and I like to do sports and watch Netfilx, and cook{ing}” Favorite part about the exchange program: “My favorite part of the program is that I can meet new people, go new places, and practice my English, and that I have the opportunity to live with a family who is always going to be really important to me and who I will always have a special connection with. I also have the best twins, Megan and Rachel, so I guess we are triplets!”

Who you are staying with: Megan Hilbert ‘19 Three things about you: “I love to draw and design things. I dream of traveling the world and learning new languages, and I like sports like cross-fit and volleyball.”

“I don’t regret spending my last semester of high school in another country. It has been an amazing experience.”

31

Alejandro (Alex) Moller

Activity in school: “Track, I am a sprinter” Favorite thing to do outside of school: “Snowboarding” Favorite part about the exchange program: “I’d probably say experiencing a whole culture: the way people live here and interact with other people. I love the language, the food, and the weather here.”

Who you are staying with: Isaac Barbosa ‘19 Three things about you: “I’m 17 years old, I love sports, and I like to hang out with my friends.”

“Out of the seventeen years that I’ve been alive this has been the best two months of my life.”

Alejandra (Ale) Reyes

Activity in school: “I do distance in track.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “I love to hangout with friends and do exercise” Favorite part about the exchange program: “To meet new people and have great experiences” Who you are staying with: Gigi Pacheco ‘19 Three things about you: “I love sports and exercising, I like to travel, and I am super friendly.”

“The most shocking thing about America is different opinions. I think that Americans have a really bad perspective about Mexico because most of them haven’t been to Mexico.”

Alejandra (Ale) Sanchez

Activity in school: “Track, I do hurdles.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “I like to go to the mall and hang out with my friends” Favorite part about the exchange program: “I like that I get to meet a lot of new people who become my friends and that we live in a different culture.”

Who you are staying with: Anne Marie Kenny ‘18 Three things about you: “I love movies, I’m obsessed with Chick-fil-A and Oreos new chocolate, and it’s really easy to make me laugh.”

“I love it here in Colorado, I don’t regret coming. It’s been the best two months.”

32 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Megan Hilbert ‘19

Activity in school: “I swam at Ciencias and I swim for Regis. I am also currently running track and pole vaulting for RJ.” Favorite thing to do outside of school: “In Mexico, I loved going to visit different cities and parts of Guadalarja. Here, I love to sew and make clothes and read on my free time.”

Favorite part about the exchange program: “I loved all the people that I met. They were all so kind and caring and loving. I made some of the best friends I will ever had in Mexico.”

Who you are staying with: Dani Palafox ‘17 Three things about you: “I have a twin sister, I do synchronized swimming, I love dogs and the color purple.”

“My first day of school was super nerve-racking and really scary but in the end it was worth it.”

Miguel (Mike) Vergara

Activity in school: “Track, I do hurdles.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “I like to hang out with my friends.”

Favorite part about the exchange program: “Meeting new people.”

Who you are staying with: Will Kosempel ‘19 Three things about you: “My favorite food is enfrijolads, I like to drive, and I like to go to parties.”

“Here I do track, like I did in Mexico. Here it is harder because it’s more competition, in Mexico it’s more relaxing, less stressful.”

Will Taylor ‘17

Activity in school: “I did Atletismo, which is just like Track & Field.”

Favorite thing to do outside of school: “My favorite things outside of school were eating super good food, going out with my friends, and going into the city.”

Favorite part about the exchange program: “The whole thing with my host family was the best. They took me a lot of places, and it was cool that at Ciencias they have a bunch of exchange programs so I met a bunch of people from everywhere.”

Who you are staying with: Diego Maisterra Three things about you: “I am 17, I come from a huge family, and I like to hike.”

“I didn’t think that they worried too much about race and that stuff but they do and it was really eye opening.”

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Hitting The Slopes

A Compilation of Stories About the RJ Ski Culture

34 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Be Safe, Not Sorry By: Sydney Lindquist ‘18

How to stay safe on the slopes.

As soon as the lifts open thousands of powder seeking Coloradans head for the slopes. People of all ages can enjoy a day on the mountain at their favorite resort, but an entire winter can be ruined in a moment when an injury occurs.

Injuries are a major part of skiing; students Tyler Tomlin ‘18, Jake Pendergast ‘18, and Leo Whitmore ‘18 are all too familiar with the dangers of skiing. Jake alone has had a concussion, sore back, bruised tailbone, and a split open head that required stitches.

Injuries seem to be part of the sport, but small changes like wearing a helmet or paying more attention on the slopes can prevent a multitude of injuries that plague skiers.

Junior, Leo Whitmore, who has suffered two concussions, says that his “injuries can be prevented, you just have to be safe about it.”

The National Ski Area Association reported that “skiing and snowboarding enjoy an excellent safety record” in the 2015/16 season there were only 39 deaths out of the 52.8 million people who skied and snowboarded. To put that in perspective in 2014 alone 35,400 Americans died from motor vehicle accidents. While deaths are not a common occurrence, more minor injuries, like broken bones and concussions, are much more likely.

By definition concussions are a “ brain injury caused by a blow to the head or violent shaking of the head or body.” The best way to prevent a concussion, obviously, is to wear a helmet.

Helmet brands like Smith and Giro have been developing new technology to keep people safer and reduce the amount of concussions in the sport.

According to the 2015/16 NSAA National Demographic Study 80 percent of skiers and snowboarders wear helmets. This has drastically increased since the 2002/03 season when only 25 percent of skiers wore helmets.

Tyler Tomlin says he always “wear[s] a helmet with concussion prevention technology” especially since

his concussion that kept him benched from skiing for almost two months.

Helmets are much more popular today and most professionals wear helmets, making them an essential for safety and style on the slopes.

Another way to prevent injuries is to stay in shape for your season.

“Strength is key to preventing injuries in my opinion” Jake Pendergast says “I’ll go to a local gym to work out 3 days a week and keep my legs and back strong for skiing.”

Having strength throughout your body is essential to skiing and to injury prevention. The lower body, especially the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes, are used a lot in skiing and require a lot of strength in order to speed down a run.

Squats, lunges, and other lower body exercises are mandatory to keep your body in peak condition all season.

If you want to stay injury free you must exercise outside of skiing. According to skiing website onthesnow.com “getting and staying fit for skiing is a year-round activity if you want to avoid injury.”

Wearing even the most expensive helmet or having the strongest legs isn’t always the best way to prevent injury. Jake Pendergast says because “There’s an inherent degree of risk in cliff jumping, solid technique and a little luck prevents most injuries. It’s the occasional tree sapling in the landing that’ll grab your ski and send you sprawling into more trees.”

Accidents happen, but the best way to stay safe is to be smart on the mountain. Following the rules and avoiding collisions with other skiers is essential in preventing injury. Most ski resorts have a Responsibility Code that can help keep people safe, be familiar with each resorts unique rules in order to be as safe as possible on the slopes.

So, whether you are skiing greens or shredding double black diamonds safety should always be a priority.

Wear your helmet, do you squats, and abide by the Rules of the mountain. Leo Whitmore says it best: “Huck Big, but only when nobody is in the landing.”

5 Tips for BackCountry Skiing: - Always ski with a buddy - Ski with the right gear (beacon, shovel, probe, Avalanche whistle, etc.)

- Pay attention to snow conditions for possible avalanches - Be familiar with the mountain - Don't overestimate your ability

5 Tips to Stay Safe: -Stay in control at all times -Wear a helmet and other safety equipment -Avalanches are a real thing! Don’t ski in closed areas!

-Always watch for the down hill skier they have the right of way -Watch out for unmarked obstacles (poles, trees, tree wells, etc.)

Top: A sign in Winter Park reminds skiers to stay safe around trees. Right: A sign in Crested Butte shows skiers the risk of skiing on difficult terrain.

Photos by: Megan Rielly ‘18

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Business of Thrill

Inside ski sponsorships

Story by Chris Diab ‘18 and Photo by Megan Rielly ‘18

All over the world, the popularity of competitive winter sports creates an advertising opportunity for businesses, brands, and thrill. Many have noticed Red Bull, an avid supporter of extreme athletes internationally, and a company that pays heavily in exchange for the advertisement of their energy drink. With an intelligent business strategy, Red Bull has become the Holy Grail of sponsorship. However, sponsorship carries an abundance of reliability upon the athletes. In the selection of extreme athletes, reliability and consistency in skill often are the most important factors. As people go to unimaginable levels of risk to attain sponsorship, it slowly becomes increasingly competitive.

Professional skiers worldwide, famed with doing what some consider to be insane, live this reality.

Most commonly known for his “One of Those Days” videos, Candide Thovex embodies the impossible. Coming back from a broken back, he created a new category in skiing known as freeride and won the competition for it. As one of the best skiers in the world, he still says “ I just hope the basic spirit of the sport will stay the same”.

In his contract with Quicksilver and Faction, Candide has become not just a skier but a business participant with the Faction Candide skis.

This leads one to ask, has competitive skiing simply become a means for business?

There is not a straight answer as it is both yes and no. With competitive skiing all around Colorado, resorts are often in contracts and agreements with brands, in which they receive equipment for workers and competi-

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tors. In doing so, ski resorts essentially promote themselves, using the sponsors to elucidate credibility. However, having an increased influence on the sport, with sponsorship, there is ultimately an economic monopoly, where the competition relies on the funds.

A competitive skier, for winter park, junior Jake Pendergast shows much passion for the sport. In light of his variety of academic rigors, he somehow finds the time to ski on weekends. As he is performing tricks and trying his best to win, he can’t help but notice the talent in others. Despite the talent he sees within others, Jake deos not let the intimidation affect him, and he goes full throttle, pushing himself to new limits each time he goes out on the slopes.

Jake feels that, ‘’Big mountain is really popular, and with everything that goes on, there are a lot of factors that go into skill with sponsors.”

Another skier, Gabe Caldwell, also a junior at Regis Jesuit, has only been skiing for one year. Despite snowboarding for a much longer time, Gabe has gone from the bunny hill to double blacks in this short period of 365 days.

As a recreational skier, Gabe continues to challenge himself to go “full send.”

His opinion reflects the benefits of competitive skiing, where sponsorships create much needed funds for athletes to bolster their skills.

With a smile on his face, Gabe describes competitive skiing as, “a really awesome experience where good skiers become the best they can be.” Additionally, he appreciates the support of athletes by the sponsors, making “competition as a means to get over the mental barrier, which makes

T

TRAFFIC

THE MOUNTAINS’ COMMON COLD

WILL

PELTIER

Story by Ethan Buege ‘19

Mogul skiing is an event which requires a great amount of skill, but does not have a large viewing audience. That might be because of the unique scoring system which some would say is overly complicated.

Story by Jake Pendergast ‘18 60% of a skiers points are based solely on their form during their turns. The skier’s head is meant to remain still and there should be no skidding while turning. 20% of the score is composed of the skier’s jumps, based on the difficulty of trick, but also form in mid-air and after landing. The final 20% is based on speed. The standard pace speed, or how fast the average mogul skier goes, is 9.6 m/s for men and 8.2 m/s for women. Usually mogul courses are between 200 and 270 meters long.

There are quite a few successful skiers that go to Regis, but very few ski moguls. Will Peltier, class of 2019, skis moguls on the Winter Park Competition accidents on I-70 is not having the proper tires.

The current state of traffic is so bad on the Center team. He is up

“While accidents can be caused by a mountainous stretches of I-70 that engineers are in the mountains every variety of different things, if there’s winter weather considering building a second story in the Eisenweekend from October involved we see a lot more crashes from impatient hower Tunnel. Some have suggested tunneling through April. About and unprepared drivers” she says. under Rocky Mountain National Park. Others have one in three of those

CDOT recommends that your car has at considered tolling the entirety of motorists trektimes will be for a comleast 1/8” of tread, and all wheel drive if possible. king to the mountains at peak times—and not just petition, and the other Check your car out, and make sure that you are prethe Eastbound Express Lane introduced this year. two will be practice. At pared for any and every winter weather condition his latest event, he placed For anyone who has ever traveled over the winter on your way to the mountains. second. Will started weekends to hit the slopes, traffic has become an Another avoidance option specifically for Winter skiing 14 years ago, at increasingly larger obstacle in slashing the first pow Park riders is the Amtrak Ski Train, new this year. the age of two and hasn’t turns of the day.

When asked on the success of the train this year, stopped since. He started

The prime cause of delays, shutdowns, and Sellers expressed her content with it. skiing competitively just chaos? Fellow skiers. Each one trying just as desper “It has been pretty effective. We’ve estimatover three years ago, and ately to avoid traffic and delays as another. Accorded it takes around 400 cars off the interstate and it’s is hoping to continue for ing to the Denver Post, Colorado’s population has really a win if we can reduce congestion in any way, the rest of high school at grown a staggering 19% over the past 30 years, with especially when we are waiting for funds to come least. approximately 91,000 people moving into Colorado through.”

Even in the summer, in 2016. Traffic, on the other hand, has fermented

One of the simplest ways to mitigate trafWill keeps perfecting an estimated 60% over that same time period. What fic? Time and plan your trip up to the mountains. his skiing, going up to used to be 9 million cars on Colorado’s roads has I-70 mountain traffic generally starts to back up Canada and skiing on a turned into 12 million, and building more lanes just around 7/8 o’clock on the weekends and around 2/3 glacier in July. He also isn’t an option. o’clock on Sunday or holiday afternoons, and it will practices water ramping

The gas tax hasn’t been adjusted since with his team, which is often last for five to six hours. The best way to by1991, leaving CDOT with a pretty consistent budget basically doing jumps pass these delays is to get on the roads early. If you of $700 million a year, which may seem like a lot. into a lake so he doesn’t plan on reaching the E-470/I-70 junction around However, almost all of that currently goes towards get hurt, and can stay 6:15/6:30 on peak mornings, the chances are pretty road resurfacing, bridge improvements, and safety/ well-practiced on his good that you will avoid the brunt of weekend ski maintenance operations. There are simply no funds tricks during the sumtraffic. available to even add as much as one lane to I-70. mer. It really is an exer Whether you are an avid skier, summer With funds being backlogged as well as traffic on cise in self improvement. biker, or tenacious hiker, mountain traffic is bemountain roads, mountain travel times are only He says, “You really get coming a bigger and bigger obstacle in just getting getting worse. to focus on making yourto the spot of excursion. So drive carefully, plan

So how regular mountain-goers combat self better... It’s all you, all intelligently, and know that with the current state these pains? Stacia Sellers, Media Relations Personthe time.” of Colorado roads, traffic is often out of your own nel for CDOT, says the leading causes of traffic and control.

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Nick

W

MORDINI

Story and Photo by Maddy Doyle

Looking down an extremely steep mountainside covered in snow-packed moguls, most people would feel fear. Not Nick Mordini. For Nick, who is a competitive freestyle mogul skier on the Winter Park Ski Team, skiing provides a thrill unlike any other.

As a former resident of Winter Park, CO, Nick’s love for skiing started when his parents first put him on skis at three years old. By age ten, he was skiing competitively for the Winter Park team. In a freestyle mogul skiing competition, skiers must complete two jumps, one at the beginning of the run, one at the end, and ski down a steep course of moguls as fast as they can. Doing a flip while skiing down a mountain might seem intimidating, but for Nick, it is part of the excitement of competing.

Nick’s passion for the sport shows through his excitement as he says, “In each run there are two jumps and I normally complete a backflip on both of them, except in national events where I do a 360 on the top jump and a backflip on the bottom. But my favorite is definitely doing a big backflip on

the bottom jump.”

Mogul skiing is a very individual sport, which means it is easy to internalize and become anxious before a run. It takes a lot of mental strength to do a run without overthinking or doubting yourself. Nick explains how he distracts himself by listening to music before and during his run. He also talks about random things with his coach right before starting to get his mind off of the run.

It is not just the rush of adrenaline that he gets from skiing that attracts Nick to the sport. The ski community he is a part of is a huge reason for his participation.

“My favorite part of being able to travel around Colorado and other states is meeting people from all the other mountains,” he says of being involved in the skiing world.

Competitions usually last two to three days and include teams from all over the globe—from Australia to Europe. Colorado has about six mogul teams full of eager young skiers. The competitions take place at different mountains such as Vail, Telluride, and Aspen, and there are many out of state as well. This means that skiers can form friendships with

Weather in Colorado is known to be very arbitrary.

It can go from sunny and seventy one degrees one day, to a foot of snow the next. But how exactly does it work?

That can change from year to year.

“Sometimes there is a lot of snow in November and terrain opens quickly. Other times significant snow does not start until later in December,” says Joel Gratz, a forecaster at OpenSnow, an app used by resorts to forecast their snow, in an email interview.

This year has been no different. At the middle of November, it seemed like winter would never come.

“There is no winter when it snows constantly from November through April,” says Gratz, “We often see 4-6 weeks of snowy weather followed by a few weeks of drier weather.” This happens because of the weather patterns shifting around the globe.

One of the key factors to starting the sea-

Weather s d Tren Is there such a thing as a perfect season?

By: Leo McCabe ‘19

38 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

other skiers from all over the country.

Although competitive skiing is an amazing experience for Nick, it does not come without its hardships. Competitive skiing requires a lot of dedication to the many hours of training and competing.

“I would say the hardest part is the time commitment because I miss a lot of school and other events,” he says.

This season will be Nick’s last as he plans to go onto college next year. He is making the most of his last season and has qualified for many coveted events. Competing in Junior Nationals in Sun Valley, Idaho will be the icing on the cake to a fantastic final season. Maybe it’s because he knows this is his last season, but Nick is enjoying the ride and looking to end his competitive career on a high note.

son involves the sun angle and more cool temperatures. The two of these join forces in November and December, when snow starts to stay on the mountain for longer periods of time.

During some years, we see different parts of the mountains get more snow than others. Gratz says, “Often, El Nino can bring more snow to the southern and central mountains and La Nina can bring more snow to the northern mountains.”

One year, we may see the central mountains get upwards of 350 inches of snow in a winter while the northern mountains will receive their normal amount.

So when does winter start to fade out?

Well that’s not certain either. “The sun angle rises in late February, March, and April, and this means snow can begin to melt during this time at lower elevations,” says Gratz, “The deepest snow base usually occurs in early April.”

So how do you deal with these inconsistencies? You’ve just gotta play it by ear.

What’s Everybody Wearing?

Your choice of ski gear really depends on your personal choice.

Story and Graphics by Megan Rielly ‘18

Profile of Skier Every year, SnowSports Industries America (SIA), ski retailers and ski brands all gather to show off a company’s new gear. SIA has representatives who interview about 30,000 Americans each year to create the Profile of a Freeskier. According to SIA, out of the total number of freeskiers, 59% are men and 41% are women. Also, every month, Freeskier magazine reaches out through different types of media to more than 2 million different skiers of different abilities to find out their buying habits.

Ski Gear Brand Rankings

Freeskier magazine gathered information from hundreds of companies to spread across 12 gear categories and more than 10,000 voters ranked these categories based on different brands’ gear.

Outerwear

The North Face has won for the second year in a row. It is not surprising that North Face has done so well these past years because all of their gear is impressive and of high quality. They tend to have their clothing preferred by many people.

For the second year in a row, Patagonia has won the second place again.

Arc’Teryx is in third for the second year in a row.

Oakley and Armada are close after these.

Helmets

After being second to POC for the past two years, Smith has finally passed POC and has taken the top spot.

Giro and Bern have stayed in the same spot for the past three straight years.

Anon and Salomon are trailing close behind and are tied for the fifth spot.

Goggles

Once again, for the third year in a row Oakley remains in the top spot. “They make a solid goggle and lens. I’ve had Oakley’s for a few years now and continue to love them,” says Junior Jacob Pendergast. Smith took second place for the third year in a row.

Spy, for the first time, has reached the podium spot for third place.

Anon and Dragon are 1% behind and are tied for forth place.

39

The Community’s Backbone

The day custodians bring love, respect, and honesty to Regis Jesuit.

Story and Photo by Fiona O’Doherty ‘20 Alma, Sandra, and Jessica from left to right

The echoing of laughter and the roar of conversation from the lunch crowd fills the noisy Steele Center. Her cart full of mops, brooms, and other cleaning supplies, day custodian Alma strolls through a mob of students hurrying to buy their lunch and meet their friends. Alma finishes wiping down the leather chairs and spraying the large glass windows with cleaning solution while the students continue to pour into the thoroughly cleaned lobby and marvel at the shiny floors that seem as reflective as mirrors.

Alma smiles. She know that her job was finished and she hurries out of the large PAC doors to meet her fellow day custodians Sandra and Jessica at the girls division quad.

All three custodians meet at their usual eating area, a plastic picnic table under large tree in the corner of the quad. After a long first half of the day, the three friends sit down and begin to smile because they can by the smiles on everyone’s faces and the laughter filling the quad that their jobs were done well and they have pleased the Regis Jesuit community.

“It feels like home. It feels like home cause well at my place I clean and see people growing and see you guys doing that and see how committed you are to your stuff,” expresses the boys division custodian Jessica, “Like if you’re in sports you do well and that motivates me to do the same thing like with me stuff it motivates me to continue everyday as I see you, you guys doing your stuff.”

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According to Jessica, seeing students grow and work hard is the best part about working at RJ. But she doesn’t see it as working, she sees it as doing something she loves with the people she loves.

“Once you love what you do, it’s not like working. It’s more like everyday,” Jessica explains while gesturing with her hands, “Like you don’t get stressed, you don’t get that feeling that you’re doing it and you feel forced to do it.

You’re just doing what you love and you learn to love everything you do.”

Jessica, Alma, and Sandra also see RJ as a good opportunity for work. After being welcomed into a community that treats them with respect and kindness, they feel like the Regis Jesuit community is their family. They see RJ as their second home.

“Here and the work and the things is comfortable,” Alma says, “It’s another house. It is not a job.”

For them, Mexico is home,. Growing up in Mexico was different than living with their children in Colorado. Family is valued and nature is more involved in your childhood.

“When you’re a kid in Mexico you play with everything like everything in nature like you are not involved in this technology.”

Jessica says

Alma, Sandra, and Jessica also see family as important and find that family is what they miss the most about Mexico.

“They treat you like soft, they’re

warm people,” Jessica explains, “They will always be hugging and talking and screaming, well at my house it is.”

Alma who has one son and one daughter and Sandra who has a daughter, try to treat their children in the same warm and soft way. Working at Regis Jesuit has helped their relationship with their children because they are able to spend more time at home.

“I spend more time with my daughter at night by working in the morning,” said Sandra.

“She always talks about her children and that’s what makes her come here and work and always be happy and treat people happy, so I think that’s the most thing,” Jessica says about Alma, “Her kids make her wake up every morning and work and see you guys growing and see you coming and going so.”

Most of their family may not be here,3 but their family values of respect, love, and honesty are still upheld. The loving way that they encounter the Regis Jesuit students and staff shows that they do uphold their values.

Evidently, Alma, Sandra, and Jessica feel that love, respect, and honesty are the foundation of who they are and we can expect that they will continue to build on that foundation to help create a more loving, respectful, and honest Regis Jesuit community now and in the future.

“My grandma always taught me that respect is the main thing you should be as a person,” Jessica says, “Honesty, it goes with it and that’s the base for love.”

JESUIT Wall OF FAME

By Grant Breeden ‘17 and Patrick Koenigs ‘18

W

ALKING through the Steele Center, there are murmurs of conversations, steaming coffee being brewed, faint notes of instruments being played, and a contagious energy that can’t be described. Up against a brick wall, 14 warm, acrylic, smiling faces look over the mayhem. 14 plaques for 14 Jesuits that have made an impact on students’ lives at school.

“The idea was for alumni classes to honor a specific Jesuit that meant a lot to their

class,” says Mr. Miller, the director for Alumni Relations and Communications. With the 14 that are up there, tens of thousands of dollars were raised for student scholarships.

Father Steele knew his name would be going on the Performing Arts Center, but he wanted a way to commemorate some of the other Jesuits that impacted the school. Within three years, the wall has become a testament to the Jesuits of Regis.

41

FATHER STEELE “Father Steele deeply cared about Jesuit education and had the vision to do all the things that set us in place for what we’re accomplishing now,” says Mr. Sullivan. “Father Steele brought the disparate mentality of the girls and boys schools together and really made us co-divisional,” says Mr. Broderick King. Father Steele knew his name would be going on the Performing Arts Center, but he wanted a way to commemorate some of the other Jesuits that shaped Regis Jesuit. Steele started the fundraising program before leaving in 2015.

His brother, Mark Steele, designed the wall.

FATHER SHEERAN “Father Sheeran brought Regis University through trying financial times, created programs that are still important today, and expanded the reach of what Regis could be,” says Mr. Sullivan. Father Sheeran brought the first meeting between President Bill Clinton and Pope John Paul II to Regis’ campus and was also a news commentator in 2005 for the election of Benedict XVI. After leaving Regis University, Father Sheeran became the President of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities.

FATHER TUETH Father Tueth was known for his rapier wit and quick intelligence. “Tueth was one of the funniest people I’ve ever met,” Father Harrison says. “Some night of some play, the lights weren’t working and so Father Tueth just got up on stage and started acting,” he says. “And it was hilarious. He got up on stage and just made it up as he went along.” Father Tueth was known for playing 80 year-old nuns and drooling Monsignors. “I hope my legacy at Regis Jesuit and at the other places where I have taught was the realization that learning can be enjoyable,” Father Tueth explains. “Maybe not fun, but enjoyable.” The students that had him would argue he was both.

FATHER DEEMAN Father Deeman went by a different name at Regis- Silver Fox. After directing a few plays, Father Deeman would find ways to sneak on stage, but his slick grey hair made him stand out. “The kids didn’t know when or what he was doing but he’d always make an appearance during the performance,” Father Harrison says.

“He’d always find a way to make us laugh.”

FATHER AL Father Al would walk with a paperback under his arm and a wry smile on his face, going to a mass or a football game. Father Al was known for his inspiring lectures and masses, but was famous on the sidelines of sports events. “I don’t think he ever missed a Raider football, basketball, or baseball game,” Regis alum Terry Reynolds remembers. “He was always there for us; be it in the classroom, confessional, or sideline. His quiet efforts played a big part in helping us get the most out of our Regis experience.”

FATHER VALIQUETTE “Father Valiquette called everyone sinner,” recalls Mr. Faughnut. “But it was out of that sense that we’re all broken but we will all be redeemed. He’d say it with a smile on his face out of a deep sense of love and compassion.” Father Valiquette was known for walking with a cane next to students, talking with them and laughing with them, exemplifying that it was okay to ask for help if you needed it and that it was okay to accept help. “He’d smile with us. He’d laugh with us. He’d call us task. But for me it was the tiny things that modeled what it meant to be a redeemed member of creation,” says Mr. Faughnut. “We strive to do the same now for the guys and girls at Regis.”

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FATHER SHELTON Father “Duke” Shelton specialized in adolescent psychology. “He was a quieter guy but if you had a problem or issue, Father Shelton was the guy,” Father Harrison says. “He was only at Regis for three years but he made a strong impact.” After teaching Social Studies and helping out with the Boys soccer team, Father Shelton became a psychology professor at Regis University and published four books on spirituality and adolescent psychology.

FATHER KRIEGER Father Krieger would storm into classrooms wearing an oversized lab-coat, speaking in a clipped German accent. “That was one of the classes that you did not mess around in,” says Mr. Glenn, a former student and Major Gifts Director. If Krieger didn’t understand your name, he’d make one up. If you came in with dye in your hair for the play, he’d make you wash it out in the drinking fountain. “It wasn’t vindictive, but if you were acting up, you’d get knocked out of a desk,” he laughs. “Krieger was strict, but at the end of the day he was an incredible teacher.”

FATHER WAYNE Father Wayne could fix anything. Kids usually found him up on ladders doing electrical work. “Some students would actually be confused when he did mass because they assumed he was the janitor,” Father Harrison says. “You didn’t know what he did until he didn’t do it.” One of Father Wayne’s students, R.J. Tuchscherer, remembers that “it was the little things that made Fr. Wayne so special. Talking to him in passing in the hallways, helping him with a project to better the school, or being with him on Kairos. Fr. Wayne was a humble, gentle part of the Regis community.”

FATHER BURSHEK Father Burshek was known as one of the smartest teachers at Regis. He would throw dry erase markers and give earth-shattering lectures. He was also known for his personal written responses to students’ assignments. “I never thought I’d want to become a teacher until I met Father Burshek,” Mr. Klassen says.

“What I experienced in his class set off a new trajectory for my life...I realized it was okay to ask questions about my faith. Everything I aspire to be in my best moments as a teacher are because of him.”

FATHER SYDNEY Father Sydney was known as a smart, spirit-filled man that led Regis in a time of important discernment..

“I don’t know if a different leader could’ve taken us to where we are today,” Mr. Broderick King says. The founding of the Girls Division was a controversial but necessary decision for the school.

FATHER HOULIHAN “The identity of Regis wouldn’t be anything close what it is now if it wasn’t for Father Houlihan,” says Mr. Broderick King. “He envisioned what Regis could be as a school and as a wider community.” Houlihan, the school’s longest serving President, made the controversial decision to move the High School from the University campus to Aurora.

FATHER WEBER

FATHER MAGUIRE 43

So you Want to Climb a Mountain?

WHAT A VIEW: The phenominal view atop La Plata Peak, one of Colorado’s 58 fourteeners.

By Connor Hodes ‘19

It’s 3 AM. The unpleasant sound of your alarm seems louder and more painful than ever. You walk downstairs, still half asleep, and start preparing. Breakfast made, backpack packed, you hit the road. 3:30 AM. As you get closer, the drowsiness and Photos

by Connor ‘19 The first shiftsStory into excitement.

6 AM. You reachHodes the trailhead. light of day appears, narrowly preceding the beautiful sunrise through the trees. 9 miles, 3000 vertical feet until you can call it a day.

Is it tough? Yes. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

How to climb your first 14er:

Colorado has 58 named peaks over 14,000 feet above sea level.

This is more than double the rest of the US combined. Climbing a 14er can take anywhere from a couple hours to a couple days, depending on the location and difficulty of the climb. Here are some tips and tricks to getting to the top of your first 14er.

1. Plan ahead

The best time to climb a 14er is from mid-June to mid-September. Hiking a 14er is usually a full day ordeal. Research the difficulty of the route you are taking so you know what to prepare for. Plan at least 2 days in advance so you can check the weather forecast and prepare accordingly.

2. Be prepared

As much fun as the hike is, there is always a possibility that something could go wrong. Bring cold weather gear, at least 32oz. of water, and food for an energy boost along the trail.

Also consider bringing first aid supplies, water filtration, matches, and a headlamp.

3. Start Early

The goal is always to be off the summit by noon. This is to avoid the frequent afternoon storms in the mountains. Typically, you will need to start at or before sunrise, depending on which of the 58 you plan to climb.

4. Pace yourself

Do not start off too fast. Take it slow so you have enough energy to make a summit push once you are close. Take breaks throughout the hike to rehydrate and refuel.

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5. Stay safe

If the weather is getting bad, do not risk it. Any typical storm is twice as bad at 14,000 ft Lightning is the biggest concern. If you see lightning or hear thunder, immediately seek shelter or start heading back down the trail. You can always come back and try again.

6. Have fun

It’s important to stay safe, but remember to have fun. Enjoy the challenge and appreciate the beauty of Colorado.

Already an experienced mountaineer?

Here’s how to elevate your game.

1. Sunrise (or sunset) summit View the breathtaking sunrise or sunset from the top of a 14er.

Prepare for colder weather and higher winds than normal.

2. Spend the night on the summit Often done in the same trip as #1, spending the night on the summit, often referred to as a “Bivy”, gives you breathtaking views of the stars without the light pollution of the city. Bring a sleeping bag, cold weather gear, and a tent or tarp for shelter.

3. Climb a 14er in the winter See the astonishing views of the snow-covered peaks from a different perspective- on top of one of them. You may need to buy/rent gear designated for winter climbing, such as crampons, an ice ax, and snowshoes. Expect extreme cold.

4. Ski a 14er Often done with #3. This is no easy task. Skiing a 14er involves steep slopes, dangerous terrain, and unpredictable weather.

THE SUMMIT BID: The final push through a snowfield to the summit of Mt. Bierstadt, one of the most popular 14ers in Colorado, in late June.

Coach Shipp

New assistant tennis coach brings optimistic approach Story by Jack Gallagher ‘17

This season is going to be and conditioning, professionals, and positively smashing with the new girls’ that they need to focus on the whole assistant varsity tennis coach Nancy player rather than just the individual Shipp. From playing tennis at a young aspects of them. Coach Shipp shares age, going to nationals multiple times, a similar approach, hoping to not just and being and All- American tennis accumulate wins, but to also make sure player, Coach Shipp is immensely the players “gain skills that they can knowledgeable about the sport, but take beyond the tennis court like worth more importantly, about what it takes ethic, team work, sportsmanship.” to make it meaningful.

Kollman Gearhart, varsity head coach, Coach and coach Shipp feel “Having fun and cre- that although the team Shipp has been ating memories, those is young, there is a lot playing tennis since she was young, she things honestly are of new talent and if played all throughout more important to me everyone plays to their high school and into full potential they than wins and losses” should have a great college, where she -Shipp played at Smith Colseason! lege in Massachusetts.

Coach Shipp thinks She has taught kids before, but never that “if everyone comes to each at a high school level. Coach Shipp is practice, prepares for each match and excited to have to opportunity to coach carries themselves on the court with at Regis because, “it’s an opportunity a positive demeanor than the results to give back to a school that’s been so will take care of themselves.” Laugreat to my daughters,” Shipp said. ren Markel, a sophomore, is looking

Coach stated that she, “hopes forward to the season and states that, the kids get more from just playing “every time I play it feels even more matches, from all the coaches inexciting than the last”. Coach Shipp cluding myself.” Coach Shipp feels, “ is thrilled to radiate positivity on and positivity is the biggest thing in any outside of the court. The next question endeavor, but especially in athletics.” is, are you?

Skyd Magazine talks about how coach45 es don’t need to be “S&C”, strength

Hockey Year in Review

“While on the bench just staying positive, as well as playing hard all the time shows strong leadership and can help motivate the younger guys. The seniors showed leadership by being supportive to all of the younger guys, the way they always play there heart out and there friendliness on and off the ice is a huge motivator.” - Wyatt Verity ‘18

Under the command of 2016 Colorado Hockey Coach of the Year Dan Woodley, the Raiders went 19-1 accompanied by a mid-season Jesuit Classic Tournament Win, and entered the post season still ranked #1 after never falling in the ranks during the regular season.

46 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

“Learning was my main role. And from absorbing information and advice, I grew into a leader who proved this information and advice as an upperclassman.” - Cade Alcock ‘17

“Having confidence has been the biggest part of my development, through my four years. Playing for Regis I’ve found my identity as a hockey player and that’s all I could have asked for.” - Kyle Nelson ‘17

Coach Woodley

“I was happy to spend my last year playing on the same team, especially when we will be attending colleges in a different state next year. The team had great chemistry and a lot of friendships were made.” - Tyler Kelly ‘17

“This year coach Woodley gave me te opportunity to take on a leadership role and I was happy to be able to contribute both on and off the ice, developing friendships and my hockey skills” - Alejandro Martinez ‘17

“It was really nice to play senior year together and it will most likely be the last time we ever play together. It also is awesome playing with someone that has been on your team your whole life and is a sibling who’s play style I know well,” - Dylan Kelly ‘17 “The hockey team has given me more than I can imagine. Coach Woodley has made me into a great player and opened many doors for me past high school hockey. More importantly I have a team supporting me for the rest of my life, no matter what happens” - Jordan Perez’17

Photos by Ron Fishleigh ‘17

Story and Photo by Dominic Lonardo ‘20

Dan Woodley was raised in a house of hockey. His dad played professional hockey and Woodley and his brother started playing hockey at a young age.

“My mom was probably the one who started me in hockey,” says Woodley.

As Woodley became older he started playing for a junior hockey team.

A junior hockey team is a team after high school that is more advanced and prepares kids for college or pro hockey.

After he retired from playing pro hockey, he started his coaching career and after a while he moved to Denver and started coaching youth hockey. He soon found a job with Regis Jesuit, pursuing both his passions of hockey and architecture.

“I always thought I would move on and go finish my education and find another avenue of passion,” he stated.

He has had many coaching wins in his years at Regis Jesuit. He has led the team to four state championships, but unfortunately was not able to snag a win in the final this year. Although they were not able to win state, their number one goal next year is to win back their title.

Coach Woodley has made the hockey program the one of the best high school program in the state and is looking to advance the program.

Woodley says his intention “has always been and will always be to make the best program that I can.”

Coach Woodley has made a great program but his goal is to make the best players he can not just in hockey but as well as a good all around person.

“The objective here is to try to teach kids to be good solid citizens,” he said.

Coach Woodley has had many successes in his career and hopefully has many more to come over the years to come for Regis Jesuit hockey.

It is no shock that coach Woodley won the Coach of the Year award for the 5A foothills conference this year because of the way he cares for his players and his outstanding coaching.

47

Giving Back

to the Game The Story of Coach Nelson Mitchell

Story and Photo By Mark McIntire and Nathan Maloney ‘20

48 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Freshmen baseball coach Nelson Mitchell has inspired and developed baseball players for three years now at Regis Jesuit; his love for the game and contagious positivity can be felt instantly upon meeting him. The baseball field is his home. No matter where he is, the familiar smell of cut grass and the crunch of the dirt under his feet calm and excite him, an opportunity to teach young players in a place he has dedicated so much of his life to.

Coach Mitch Nelson got into baseball at the age of seven. Baseball was in his blood. “My dad and his two brothers all played baseball. Each of them had three boys, and all of us played too.” His talent was undeniable. Playing in his hometown of Daytona Beach, at 16 he was recruited by the Kansas City Monarchs, a talented young team playing in the Negro leagues.

However, his career with the team would be cut short. His father, whom he describes as strict, viewed the team has a bad influence. He pulled him of the bus just before it left for their next game, marking the last time he would play in the Negro leagues.

Although he didn’t know it then, this exciting young prospects baseball career was just beginning.

He begun playing in the New York Yankees farm system, and from there he went to the Texas League, then Birmingham, Alabama, and finally found a home in the Air Force. He was training to be a pilot.

He came to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs after spending time at Lackland base in San Antonio. Shortly before he was scheduled to be deployed, his extreme skill in baseball was discovered.

They decided to keep him in the states to play baseball for the academy. Not long after, he found himself a spot on the roster of the Armed Forces All-Star team.

After falling in love with the state of Colorado, he and his wife settled here.

With newly appointed head coach Matt Darr looking for a new coach, he struck gold in the form of Coach Mitch Nelson, who would take over the RJ Freshmen team. Coach Darr’s father and Mitch were close friends, and after meeting at their local church, Darr offered him a job.

Mitch has now called RJ home for three years.

His track record speaks for itself. His freshmen team last year was 15-1.

“He is very competitive but is also very compassionate for his players, and not just on the field,” said freshmen Micheal Manogian. “He just has a huge love for the game that I can’t explain.” In his fairly short term here with the Raiders, Nelson has built up incredible reviews from former players. “He makes everyone feel included and makes everyone feel like they belong on the team. I felt a great sense of community playing on his team,” says freshmen Josh Neppel.

Not just has Nelson had an incredible impact on his players, but has also been highly praised by fellow coaching including coach Mike McLaughlin, whom he coached alongside this summer.

“He does it with incredible passion, but with him it’s even more than that. It’s about, obviously teaching baseball and baseball strategy, but with him it’s also about teaching his kids to be valuable members of society and respect others,” Mclaughlin says.

In addition to his love for baseball, Nelson describes his coaching as a way to give back to the baseball community.

“It’s like it’s me giving something back,” Nelson says. “This game has given so much to me. It’s like you get back what you put in, and I feel like coaching is the best way I can do that.”

“This game has given so much to me. It’s like you get back what you put in, and I feel like coaching is the best way I can do that.”

49

FIVE SIX SEVEN EIGHT

What it takes to be a captain on Varsity Poms

Left to Right: Olivia Catalano, Nicki Britt, Izzie Cdebaca. Amanda Stockman, Avery Round, Calais Osman, Samantha Arrigo, Hayden Hubbs, Sydney Rudolph, Mady Nistal, Clancy Erickson, Dominiques Ebedes, Caroline Gardiner, Izzie Ford, Maddie Dailey, and not dancing Bella Scipione

Story and Photos by Mackenzie Fischer ‘18

Being a captain in any sport brings a lot of responsitogether and feel a sense of family and connection. Even with bility and you have to uphold a certain look. People are always this sense of family it does get hard to be on poms and being a looking up to you and you have to help your team become the captain makes it even harder. best it can be. Clancy Erickson ‘18, Amanda Stockman ‘17,

“I have often had to give up hanging out with friends Dominique Ebedes ‘17, and Caroline Gardiner ‘17 are four girls and if I’m being honest, at times I have had to put poms before who understand this responsibility. They are the captains of the my school work” proclaimed Amanda.

Varsity Poms team and they have made their team the best it can

This sport is very demanding and when your team be. There are many reasons why people is depending on you, you have to want to be a captain of a sport and being prioritize. Not going out with friends leader is a very big reason. because you have practice or not

“What made me want to be a getting an assignment done because captain is that I loved the program so a competition went late. These girls much I really want to see what I could give a up a lot to make this team do with it if I was given leadership and successful and when they see their I have found that I do love to lead,” said hard work pay off, is a very amazing Clancy Erickson moment.

Being the person that the The team competed very well during the season, and got the whole team depends on to know the dance moves or know what comes next, opportunity to travel to Florida for the National Dance Team Champiis the hardest part of being a leader for this team. These four girls have done it onship. so well over the past season. They put so “The adrenaline rush you feel while much heart into everything and the love you are dancing. It is an indescribthey have for this team is so infectious. able feeling, that makes you feel as

“The most rewarding part of though you could accomplish anything during the routine.” Caroline being a poms captain is being able to exampled. watch the team grow, technically and Even though the season is over, personally,” Dominique says. “I have these girls have amazing plans for met some of the most amazing people, and being a captain allowed me to conLeft to Right: Caroline Gardiner ’17, Dominique the future. Clancy being the only Junior tribute further to the team and the sport Ebedes ’17, Amanda Stockman ’17, and Clancy captain hopes to still be a leader for her team next year. Amanda, Dominique, that I love so much” Erickson ’18 and Caroline are all graduating this

Poms is a year around sport, with year and are going to college to pursue their dreams. Being a the girls practicing every other day and as the captain you have Poms captain has really taught theses girls to always work their to make everyone feel like they matter and are an important part hardest and to show love to everyone they meet. of the team. One of the most meaningful responsibilities the captains have is to give small gifts to all team members before a competition. This builds team spirit and helps everyone come 50 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

Family

Of Olympians

Sam Smith’s impressive heritage Story by Anna Thompson ‘17

Sam and her mom on Senior Night

Diving right into a life of competitive swimming at only age six, senior Sam Smith has a great background in swimming, especially since she comes from a family of two Olympic swimmers.

With hard work in her genes, Sam dedicates 14 hours of practice during the RJ swim season, and 16-plus hours of practice in the summer. “I know it is a struggle at times to have double practices and everything, but in the end, it is definitely worth it” said Sam.

A multiple-time 5A state finalist and a member of three state title winning relay teams, Sam is still working to live up to her dream of being an Olympian someday. While she has already had a chance to go to Rio to support her brother, class of 2013 Clark Smith– who also had a strong career at RJ and was the seventh-ranked recruit in the country–who swam at the Summer Olympics in preliminaries. Although he did not swim in the finals, he received a gold medal because the relay team, which included Olympians like Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte, took first place.

This is only the beginning of the amazing experiences Sam has taken part in living not only one Olympian, but her mom was also a former 1984 Summer Olympic Swimmer which took place in Los Angeles, CA. Her mom, Tori Smith, is someone Sam looks up to.

“I’ve always looked up to her and it has always been a goal of mine to be like her” said Sam.

Sam not only finds a supportive family of swimmers at home, but at school on the Regis Jesuit Girls Swim and Dive team, which she has been a part of for 4 years. She loves swimming with her RJ sisters, where they all have the time of their lives everyday in the sport they love. Sam participates in swimming events like the 100 free and 100 back. She has the speedy times of 51.64s in the 100 free and 55.88s in the 100 back.

Sam’s journey being on RJ Swim and Dive is now coming to an end, while she is approaching the end of senior year. Sam said, “I’m really sad that it is over now because it’s the best part of the year being able to swim next to my closest friends. I’ll definitely remember the experience”. Sam makes efforts to better herself in her sport every day, while still pacing herself by taking it one step at a time. She has learned great tools from her parents and two siblings and has witnessed that amazing opportunities can follow with the sport that has come to challenge her more and more each day.

Also, former college athlete, Tori Smith and (husband) John Smith attended University of Texas, Clark following in his parent’s footsteps attended there as well for swimming.

Embarking on her own journeys Sam is excited to be attending Southern Methodist University swimming another four years there as well. “I am excited but I am also nervous being it’s a different coach and swimming in a different state, but I’m glad I get to experience something new and a I think I’m ready for it.”

51

Road to

Recovery

How Sarah Darley rose from her two ACL injuries

Story by Hannah Burran ‘17

Field Hockey player Sarah Darley ‘17 tore both or her Anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) and the road to recovery wasn’t easy, but she has made it through with tremendous strength and grace.

Both injures happened in remarkably similar ways, just two years apart. She tore her right ACL the summer before her sophomore year, when she was 15, at a field hockey summer camp. Darley’s second ACL tear occurred during her senior season in the middle of an away game hosted by the Arapahoe Warriors. In both instances, Darley was running used to be so easy for her were now much more difficult. After surgery there was one thing that to make a cut when her knees gave out. She recalls she had done everyday for years now that had her shocking reaction when she received news of changed. Walking became much more challenging the first tear. “I was shocked because I really hadn’t anticipated that diagnosis at all. I didn’t actually cry for her, which not only was physically wearing but emotionally taxing as well. from the pain but cried when I was told what had

The emotional hardships didn’t stop happened because I realized that this would mean there for Darley. Although no field hockey season, no the pain got better in skiing, no horseback riding, the recoveries after the none of the things that I love,” surgeries, having to stay at said Darley. home and not being able to

Darley credits her do anything was wearing family for being one of her her down. She became most supportive crutches to lonely as she couldn’t lean on during her emotionparticipate in the activities al turmoil from the injury. she once enjoyed so much.

However, her biggest support “The physical therapy is system was her physical mentally wearing as well therapist who kept pushing her because it takes months to keep going no matter how and often times you feel hard it was, even when she felt like you aren’t seeing any like giving up on therapy. As Electrostimulation helps contract the improvement,” said Darley. a whole her physical therapist muscles to gain strength back.

Darley however, said that it pushed her to keep going, which wasn’t the only problem with she is incredibly thankful for. physical therapy. She had to go through a process

Looking at her you’d never know she had these injuries or what she had to go through to called shock therapy which reactivated her muscles through needles and electricity which is extremely recover from them. After the first tear, she needed an ACL graft which meant she would be on crutches painful. After nine long months of physical therapy for a long time and unable to do daily activities. “The and waiting, Sarah could finally do the activities she once enjoyed so much. She was able to go second time I also had a tibial plateau fracture and skiing again, get back into horseback riding, as had to have a large screw inserted into my tibia to keep it from breaking during the recovery. This was well as playing golf for Regis again. Although the super painful and to this day I can still feel the screw trek to recovery was long and hard, Darley had grinding under my kneecap,” said Darley. Recovery finally pushed her way through the pain becoming a stronger woman because of it. on52 both on Darley Octinjuries 2016 was | Volhard 2 Issue 1 as things that

They Call Him Captain

A

By Ryan Zahringer ‘19

Brandon Minear stood there, waiting, anticipating, his time to compete in state had come. He’d been here once before, and this time, he was ready to compete again. But there’s more to Brandon Minear than his amazing wrestling.

“He doesn’t just treat me like a freshman, he treats me like a member of the team.” This is what Zachary Scharf said when asked about how Brandon had personally impacted him in his first year of wrestling.

Brandon Minear has been wrestling competitively since the age of 6, he’s always been a great leader and a great wrestler, but up until recently, he didn’t have the tools to be successful. “The first 2 years coming into Regis, we didn’t have a coach who cared about anyone unless he thought they were good enough.” Brandon lacked the help of a coach that truly gave him what he needed to succeed, he lacked a coach that cared. But once Coach Beishaar came along, he gave Brandon the opportunity not only to thrive on the team, but to lead it.

“Having a coach who didn’t really care about the majority of kids, to have an opportunity to be the captain, and to wrestle a second time for state is an incredible thing.” Brandon has been a huge part of not only the win column on the wrestling team, but he’s been an instrumental leader in the room. “Not only is he a fantastic wrestler, but he’s such a good leader. He’s always going as hard as he can, pushing everyone to succeed. He wants all of us to be successful, and he’s just so inspiring. Without him and the other captains, I don’t think wrestling would’ve been nearly as enjoyable for me.”

Brandon is 160 lbs and 6 feet tall, He has been one of the most dominant wrestlers in the league since his freshman year when he unexpectedly became a varsity starter. Since then, he’s only gotten better, he only has 14 loses since his freshman year, and that number isn’t getting any larger. His junior year, he went to state for the 152 pound weight class, and managed to come 3rd place, this year he’s been expecting even more success.

As he continued to lead the team, and develop all of the new wrestlers, three of which were able to get Varsity time, he also continued to develop his wrestling skill. He managed to win his way through regionals, and win himself a spot at the State 5A wrestling tournament at the Pepsi center.

Brandon Minear didn’t quite manage to achieve all his goals for state this year, but his future is full of success. Not only will his records and stats forever be recorded on the wrestling wall of fame, but his legacy will live on in the wrestlers that he helped create.

A t

d

-

,

d

ut

y

t

Anne Marie

Kenny

A star on and off of the diving board

Jim

Soran

Striving to win another state championship with Regis Jesuit lacrosse

By Connor McCabe ‘18

Anne Marie Kenny is a natural on the diving board. Her diving performance is top in the state, and her optimism in unmatched. Anne Marie claimed that it was easy to “just relax and have fun” at this year’s state competition. She was not too concerned about her 12th place at the state championship this year, which was lower than her 6th place a year ago. She was solely focused on having fun doing a sport she loves.

Anne Marie’s dive career started four years ago, while she still lived in Florida. As a former gymnast, Anne Marie shared that she “developed aerial awareness”, which is key to becoming a successful diver. After suffering a fractured spine, she decided to take her talents to the diving board.

The start of her high school career ended on a high note. She and former Regis Jesuit diver McKensi Austin both scored points for the second place swim and dive team. Anne Marie got 11th place, which was a great start to her Regis Jesuit career. Her sophomore year ended up being even better.

After spending the first semester of her sophomore year in Mexico, Anne Marie needed to get back into the swing of diving.

Under new girl’s coach Taylor Roberts, she was able to excel during her sophomore year.

Using her “muscle memory”, she dove her way to 6th place. She said that her comfort with the boards was greater, leading to a fantastic performance.

Anne Marie’s performance at state was not what she was expecting, but she was still enjoying the competition. Anne Marie is more concerned about her club diving, as the judges’ scores are more accurate. Kenny claims that high school diving is more for fun than anything else. Her best friend, Cala Renehan, shared that “Anne Marie is so talented and driven and I know she will succeed as a collegiate diver”.

Anne Marie works hard in and out of the pool, and she will look to be a great asset in her senior year at Regis Jesuit.

By Jake Taylor ‘19

Defending state champion, Regis Jesuit Lacrosse strives to retain their title.

This is not an easy feat, as most championship teams know. Everyone comes gunning for the best team every year.

But the Raiders have an advantage: Head coach Jim Soran.

“You have to keep getting better, keep working hard and most of all, keep focused. In competitive sports, you are only as good as your last game, and only as good as your last win,” said Soran “Each year, a team has to start over and start rebuilding for the next year and the next competitor.”

Coach Soran holds four state championship titles. He is a man of integrity and values, as well as a leader of champions.

RJ Lacrosse has had the great fortune of having this coach since before lacrosse was popular. Lacrosse has been growing rapidly for years now. In Colorado, currently known as the lacrosse capital of the West, Jim Soran has played an essential role in growing the game.

He began his career at Regis Jesuit volunteering around the time when the program first began in 1991. He started off coaching freshmen and had a very rough start with that team.

When asked about his goals for the program Soran said, “I had them as freshman and I had two years of coaching freshmen and our record was 0 and 22.”

This team, despite their freshmen season, continued to work hard and push themselves to be the best.

By the time these players were seniors, they were on varsity and helped lead the team to the finals. They accomplished this feat following their previous years, and a great part of their team growth and skills could be credited to Jim Soran. Among his many championships and achievements, he established the Vail Lacrosse Shootout.

Since every year a team rebuilds, coaches have to keep a strong current team, develop players for the next year, and make sure

every player is put in the right position based on their skills. Each spot is competitive and requires lots of work to achieve, and those who work hardest and do their best always will fit in and be placed where they will succeed.

In the past, the Regis Jesuit Raiders have fortunately had great senior leadership. This year, along with the toughest, meanest, and most feared defense in the state and a great striking offense, the team is led by four outstanding captains: Joey Soran, Mac Tezak, Braden Host, and Zach Rawlings.

As freshman, Tezak, Soran, and Rawlings earned spots on varsity and were a part of the team that won Regis Jesuit’s third lacrosse state championship in 2014. Two years later, they led the 2016 team to another state championship, giving Regis Jesuit its fourth.

As players grow from freshmen to senior year, as these four did, the team is always changing, but the one element that has remained in the lacrosse program is Jim Soran.

“I think Coach Soran has been here so long and building [the program] stronger because he truly cares for the players and loves the game of lacrosse.

With that comes building up a program that everyone wants to be a part of, creating an even better program every year,” said Joey Soran.

He is unlike any coach, and Regis Jesuit has been greatly impacted by his presence and dedication.

“What separates Coach Soran from every other coach is his immense loyalty to our school and especially to his players,” Zach Rawlings said. “He treats all of us as if we were his own sons and that truly brings the family aspect of a team to life, which allows us to be successful.”

Jim Soran’s name will forever be a part of Regis Jesuit’s legacy.

53

How to Stay Informed

by Caleb Foxhoven ‘17

Staying informed is a grueling task for most teenagers nowadays. And as television news stations including Fox News, CNN, and the like become more politically divisive every day, millennials and teenagers are seen moving further and further away from the TV screen and more to the computer screen.

A study by PewResearchCenter shows that those in the age group of 65+ receive 85% of their news on television while those in the 18-29 range receive over 50% of their news online through social media and the like. Americans in general have largely begun to receive their news through mobile devices rising from 54% in 2013, to 72% when the article was written in summer of 2016. You’d be safe to bet it has risen even more with events like the presidential election that largely used social media (Hillary Clinton and WikiLeaks, Donald Trump and Twitter).

With such immense advancements of social media and online news-sources there comes the need to stay informed and not become complacent in information gathering. Luckily, there are many ways to keep up every day with the vastly changing landscape of the world around us.

Sasha Graffagna, the managing editor of SuperheroYou, wrote an article entitled, 12 Steps to Becoming Well-Informed, in which she delves into the many ways that adults and teenagers alike can implement in their lives to stay informed about the happenings around them. One of her tips include making a daily commitment.

Now that Americans are becoming a tech-dependent people, use the tech to your advantage whenever you can. Research by PewResearchCenter shows that adults that use social media to receive news, 26% sometimes do, 18% hardly ever do, and 38% never use social media to get news.

After reading her tips, I strongly feel that you should read everyone of these and try to implement them into your life as often as you can: • Make a daily commitment to gathering news information • Keep a positive attitude in a very negative world. If you need to take a break, go ahead (as I always say, better to stay in bed than lose your head).

• Go both local and global in information gathering • Go in-depth and don’t look at just surface news • Stay balanced in your news-sources, try watching both CNN and Fox News • Use your free time to catch up on current events • Customize your social media feeds to keep informer • Talk and have conservations with other people about the things going on in the world • Do research and don’t just rely on news-sources to give you all the information • Aggregate and learn about tons of different topics • Distinguish between what is really news and what is just gossip • Be wary but also be willing to put a little money into your journalism experience, sometimes a news subscription is worth it to learn a little more

As more and more people move from the TV screen to the computer screen and to the phone screen, more and more people need to keep making sure that they are being informed correctly and accurately. Don’t become complacent in how you receive your news. Make sure you are being a smart person and widening your horizon everyday. As Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s Founding Fathers and third president of the United States, eloquently said, “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people…They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty”.

Stay educated and stay informed my friends.

54 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

What To Expect from the Trump Presidency

By Sarah Darley ‘17 From the get go, the Trump campaign was unexpected, harsh, and not widely received by the American public. Each debate brought about new controversy and opinions among the candidates, but it appeared that few Americans seriously considered a future with President Trump until only months before the election. Now that four years of the Trump administration has become a reality, here are five things to keep an eye out for as predicted by current events and political pundits, as well as previous campaign promises.

55

WHAT HE SAID

Campaign Promises

DOMESTIC POLICY

ECONOMY

One of the Trump campaigns largest promises was the repeal of Obamacare, a national healthcare reform act put into place by President Obama. Additionally, he promised to decrease the size of the bureaucracy and put term limits on members of congress.

Promises were made by Trump that he hoped to increase infrastructure by 1 trillion dollars, as well as to reduce the number of tax brackets, and lower taxes on large corporations as well as small businesses.

The Telegraph (UK): “Action to stimulate a stagnant economy will be Trump’s first priority. Get that right and much of the rest follows.”

WHAT THEY SAID Political Pundits

WHAT’S HAPPENED During the Presidency

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Fox News: “Trump tries to galvanize a Congress that, despite being under full Republican control, still has not advanced legislation to deal with key campaign vows to replace the Affordable Care Act and reform the tax system.”

The Telegraph (UK): “Individual income tax could fall too, with Republicans reducing the number of tax brackets currently in place and bringing down the top rate from its current level of 39.6 percent.”

Fox News: “He should send to congress a plan to distribute money directly to the state and local governments with “use or lose” deadlines but subject to broad guidelines.”

CNN: “A national security team to whom he’s going to entrust most of the stewardship of American foreign policy abroad, and what he’s going to do is focus here at home. He’s going to be the most domestic president we’ve had.”

CNN: “All of Trump’s policies are massive undertakings that will require a normally slow-moving Congress to act. And act quickly.”

The President has come out strong towards education and tax reform, as well as being an outspoken critic of Obamacare since day 1.

Betsy Devos was appointed as the new Education Secretary, and her policies look to reform education through the use of school vouchers.

The President hasn’t taken any steps to repeal Obamacare as of yet, but said that he will wait until he can seamlessly replace it with an alternative.

Before even officially taking office, Trump made deals with Ford Car Manufacturers to keep a large factory within the United States as opposed to moving the plant to Mexico. Additionally, the DOW and NASDAQ have ended the day at records highs since President Trump took office, showing that things could potentially be looking up for the American economy.

FOREIGN POLICY

IMMIGRATION

REFUGEE CRISIS

A large cornerstone of the Trump campaign was the protection of American interests, both financially and in terms of international security. The President promised to impose tariffs on goods made in both China and Mexico as well as renegotiate the Iran deal in order to ensure international security, particularly in the Middle East. He also promised to take a strong stance against ISIS and return the US’s military presence to the region.

A centerpiece and driving point of the new Presidents campaign was his harsh stance on immigration and national security. From the get go, he talked about border security with Mexico and the possibility of constructing a wall which he theorized would be payed for

by Mexico. He also established that he wanted to crack down on the 11 million illegal citizens residing in US cities.

While campaigning, Trump and his team expressed concern about a possible terrorist infiltration that could result from an influx of Middle Eastern refugees due to the ongoing refugee crisis. Promises were made to institute an extreme vetting process in order to prevent this issue.

The Telegraph (UK): “A two-track, two-policy, two-reality foreign policy is risky, unsettling and has the potential to go totally off the rails.”

The Telegraph (UK): “We may need to be prepared to water down his plans to build a “beautiful” giant wall on the border with Mexico...it may in fact be part wall and part fence.”

The Telegraph (UK): “The broad principle and sweeping statements against aiding the refugee crisis had been a key part of Mr Trump’s successful election campaign.”

Fox News: “Donald Trump could bring a welcome pragmatism to American foreign policy and something we have not seen in some time—prospects for genuine success.”

Fox News: “Sweeping changes will be made, expanding the categories of people who will be targeted for deportation and expedited enforcement, among other things.”

Fox News: “As president, Trump has the authority to set how many refugees are allowed in annually. He can also choose to suspend the program altogether, something the administration could seriously be considering.”

CNN: “The emerging Trump doctrine is based on uncompromising presidential strength, but the foreign policies that will define his administration are much less clear.”

CNN: “New plans will vastly grow the number of individuals who can be deported using “expedited removal” procedures, which affords immigrants almost no court proceedings.”

CNN: “Trump also argued that the creation of safe zones in Syria to host refugees would be a etter solution to address the refugee crisis spawned by the Syrian civil war.”

Since taking office, the White House Thus far, the White House foreign As of now, President Trump has quietly released an immigration ban on citizens policy has made changes to trade started ordering the removal of all illegal from 7 Muslim-majority Middle Eastern agreements such as NAFTA and the immigrants nationwide, leading in large countries.

While only set to last 90 days, TPP as opposed to renegotiating deportations, prioritizing those with this has set the tone for the harsh stance policy agreements with other councriminal backgrounds. He has also been that current administration is taking to tries. However, the President has been in talks about future funding for a border ensure national security in the face of the outspoken in opposition of Mexico, wall and due to this, Mexican president global crisis. After being repealed by the the European Union, and the Iran Nieto cancelled his first meeting with the courts, the ban was drafted a second time deal, while supporting Russia. new President. and reinstated.

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Sneaker

Culture

The Secondary Market

By: Jack Lyon ‘20 Whether you call them sneakers, athletic shoes, or kicks, they have created a secondary market for themselves worth an approximated 1 billion dollars. This secondary market is run by many driven sneaker resellers whom all have different opinions and standpoints on sneakers and how they should be both distributed and sold.

The secondary market continues to grow due to limited quantities of sneakers, and consumers high demand for rare and hard to get sneakers. Celebrity endorsement plays a large role in sneaker culture.

Freshman Ethan Poland, is a “sneaker head” (A person who collects sneakers and has a passion for the community). To him, it’s all about collaboration. “I think that celebrities should keep doing what they’re doing, The collaboration’s I have seen so far are really dope,” Poland says. “I believe collaborations add a lot to the sneaker community, because it brings two worlds together.”

Collaborations with rappers, athletes, etc. are very sought after, due to the “celebrity appeal” as well as the fact that there are only a limited supply of the sneakers made. For example Kanye West and Adidas collaborated to make a sneaker called the Yeezy Boost, with Adidas’s signature boost material. These sneakers created a lot of hype and were immediately put on the secondary market for more than triple their retail price, ($200.00-$700.00).

Sneakers are a growing business with no signs of slowing down. No matter if it’s just a mesh running shoe or a premium designer shoe. Whether you are buying the latest Nike running shoe from foot locker or heading to LA to one of the many secondary resellers to get a limited collaboration, there is no denying the hype that sneakers have, is here to stay.

Freshman Ziam Chadrom is a sneaker consumer. To him, the comfort and style play important roles in sneakers. “To me I can’t choose between the two, a perfect balance between comfort and style is important to me,” Chadrom says. “I feel this way because they both play important roles.”

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“In 2015 alone, the athletic footwear industry in the US grew by 8%, generating $17.2 billion in sales, with unit sales growing by 3% and the average selling price growing by 5%, to $61.15, according to The NPD Group.

Among just the three major players—Nike, Adidas and Under Armour—sales increased to more than $25 billion in 2013, which represented a 47% jump from 2009, The Washington Post reported.”

These statistics are nothing compared to what is going on in the secondary/ resell market.

“By ensuring supply never quite meets demand, Nike creates a market that nets the resell community millions of dollars a year, while cultivating the sort of rabid following that keeps the Swoosh at the forefront of consumer culture,” explains Leach. To put the scale of the resale market in perspective, a pair of Nike’s Air Max shoes can run up to $3,200, depending on the edition.

Poland says, it can get complicated with limited release sneakers“I think It really depends on how many shoes they make, if someone makes 10,000 shoes and sells them for $200 each they aren’t making that much money. On the other hand if someone makes 100,000 shoes and only sells 50,000, also for $200 each, they are making more money than the company who only makes 10,000. They are also making the shoes more “publicly available”, Poland says.

Clearly, the sneaker community is growing with a vengeance and there with no signs of slowing down.

Freshman Ziam Chadrom showing one of his many sneakers.

Sneaker Fest

Festival Culture meet Sneakers By: Eddy Flores Gomez ‘20 Sneakers. They are quite a topic in our modern culture, but whether you like them or not we all know what they are. Or so you thought. Sneakers to a normal person are a piece of clothing that we wear on our feet to protect them. Although, to a sneaker head, shoes are pieces of art, culture, and dreams. It may sound outrageous, but to sneaker heads this a daily process and depending on their beliefs, they will wear them, collect them, or sell them. When many hear this they begin to laugh and question why, but sneaker heads always say it’s about the love of shoes and the passion that they love doing. Although, this might sound crazy, this sneaker culture has actually been around since 1977. People have always had a thing for shoes and where there are shoes, there are people that have a passion for them, and that was when sneaker fest was born.

Sneaker fest is a festival that happens every year in Colorado where people all around the state and even the country come together to appreciate sneakers. Although, this isn’t a very known event, to a sneaker head in Colorado this is the biggest chance to show your collection besides larger national events.

any

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To freshman at Aurora Central High School, Aldo Castillo Sneaker Fest is a goldmine for him. He says that he has a leg up in the game for his time since entering this business.

“I think my time in the sneaker game helped me understand what was going on during the event and it helped me get the sneakers I wanted. I knew what was good deal and a bad deal,” Castillo says.

He stated that he never felt overwhelmed at the event and that the key to success at Sneaker Fest was focus. His first time at the festival he felt overwhelmed and confused which caused him not see the good deals and opportunities in front of him.

Castillo also said that he loves the atmosphere that this event has, he said the only thing better was getting his grail, or most valued pair of shoes.

“My grail is the Ultra Boost Chalkbecause although it looks plain, it has a certain color and the awesome Boost material,” he says pridefully.

Being a big presence in the sneakers head business demosntrates the importance of grails. Grails are a shoe that you strive for and beg for in order to attain. Aldo said that although many people think spending large amount of money on shoes is insane, it’s not about the price, it’s about the rarity and significance that causes people to spend a lot of money on a single pair.

Sneaker Fest brings people together, like it did with Aldo Castillo and Jack Lyon. Lyon is also a sneaker head at Regis Jesuit High School and came to talk about his thoughts and feelings about the sneaker game and Sneaker Fest. When asked about how he felt about hype in the sneaker game his response was a complete shock.

“I don’t think that hype is killing the game, I think it’s adding to the sneaker game,” said Lyon.

This might sound anticlimactic, but almost 79% of people are frustrated with the amount of hype some shoes get. These reactions set off a chain reaction of prices and availability going up and down, causing many people to break the bank.

When asked about what he would change in the sneaker game he said “I wouldn’t change a thing about the game except maybe the raffles.”

Many sneakers head would change the amount of hype or maybe the prices, but let this day live in infamy because Jack Lyon said that he wouldn’t change a thing. Whether this mean the sneaker game caused many to lose their minds or maybe has just changed dramatically, it appears it is here to stay. It is up to the future where this industry will go but there is a guaranteed chance of some amazing shoes coming out and into the hands of sneaker heads very soon.

A Superstar

On & Off The Court

The Story of Bill Hanzlik

By Teddy Bender ‘20

From an engineering major in college, to playing professional basketball, to coaching and reporting for his former team the Denver Nuggets, Bill Hanzlik has had one of the most interesting journeys in sports. After playing basketball at three different high schools, Hanzlik went to Notre Dame for college. He described his time playing basketball in college much harder because there were a lot of great players and the competition was much tougher. Hanzlik was drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the first round.

Hanzlik had to work very hard to make it into the NBA and he used his defensive skills to do so.

“I needed to develop a strong style of play, and I did that on defense,” Hanzlik says. He was one of the scrappiest players and was a 1986 NBA All Defensive Second Team Selection. When he was selected to play in the NBA he was averaging 7.2 points per game which is the lowest college scoring average for a player who was selected in the first round of the draft. After playing two years he was traded to the Denver Nuggets and played the rest of his career in the NBA with them. When Hanzlik finished his playing career, he took on coaching. He was the assistant coach for the Charlotte Hornets from 1991-1996, the assistant coach for the Atlanta Hawks for the years 1996-1997, and the head coach for the Nuggets for the ‘97-’98 season.

“The head coaching job for the nuggets didn’t go so well because we didn’t win a lot. I really enjoyed coaching in Charlotte and Atlanta because the teams won a lot. But, I enjoy what I do now and the Gold Crown Foundation,” Hanzlik said.

In 1986, Hanzlik founded the Gold Crown foundation. The Gold Crown foundation is a non- profit organization set up by Hanzlik to help fund schools and churches. When it launched, it began as a girls basketball camp hosting 150 girls. Today it operates for not only basketball, but lacrosse, golf, and volleyball for 16,000 to 18,000 boys and girls. Hanzlik is a philanthropist. He values giving money to schools to help students receive a better education and he’s been doing just that for 31 years. Along with the Gold Crown foundation, Hanzlik is a reporter for Altitude Sports Network. Hanzlik said that he got an offer by a Colorado sports network to be a reporter, and he said that he wasn’t to inclined to say yes. However, Hanzlik said that his attitude to new things is to try them before saying no, and that’s exactly what he did with the reporting opportunity. He ended up enjoying it so much that he continues to report for the Denver Nuggets to this day.

He breaks down Nuggets games, explaining what they have done well and what they could improve on using his sense of humor and great analyzing skills.

“The number one thing to be successful as a sports broadcaster is to prepare.” Hanzlik said. And he proves his point on Altitude Sports Network whenever the Nuggets play. Always keeping the audience interested, Hanzlik does something that is very challenging for anyone to do. He makes you excited for halftime.

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a review by robert ogden mirr '17

T

he complexities, the squeals, the tune, the words, the ideas, all sporadic and over the place yet so concise. The auditory painting of a single human being, so visual, so quiet, so close, and yet so confusing. The human that we get to know so well but still remains a mystery. The separation of the soul, and the two distinct different identities that lie within. Is it blonde or blond? The 1 hour masterpiece that splits at exactly 30 minutes leaves it all on the line, but keeps that lingering thought of who really is Frank Ocean?

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Years of silence and anticipation encapsulated this album for me. A

yearning for something new from Frank Ocean. Channel Orange (one of the better albums of the past decade) steered my life in many directions. The album spoke to me and the man behind the music did too. Blonde is not my favorite album of the year because of Frank’s past. It is my favorite album because it speaks to my present and to my future.

A whimsical entrance. Strange.

Very strange. The first bit of Frank heard in years is a distorted voice, lo fi in many ways. Sounds of some strange indie pop band you might hear on a tumblr page. The voice is not the integral part of the song nor the storyline though. It is all centered around the storyteller, Frank Ocean, who is slowly navigating his style, soul, voice, and perspective back into the listener’s ears. The intro is almost visual, a manipulated vocal, a torn apart storyteller who has been gone for years.

Shyly coming back into the listener’s lives. The listener has to adjust to the new Frank, just as he has had to do himself. He is different but ever the same. His mind has grown into a more meditative space, nostalgic but not depressed.

In the first feature song, “Nikes”, Frank gives his first and only glance at his political stance when he speaks of the late Trayvon Martin. For some reason this light mention speaks the world, For frank does not need to show his stance because it is known.

This mention of Trayvon is within a song about Frank’s self and an album about Frank’s soul. The important aspect of this is that a piece of this story and this boy lies within Frank’s conscious and could seemingly bother him day to day. For he remarks how Trayvon looked just like him. A thought that would come across in the mirror. One seen every day, for who you are. Ocean cannot escape the thought, however political it may be. It’s part of him. For an artist who is not overtly political, this is important -Integral, even.

Frank can establish a point

in a line rather than a song. This style of writing creates an album of ideas and questions that remain unanswered. The ideas Frank has in his head become stories, some may have happened some may have not, all are relatable. As Frank has mastered the short story through his ideas that have depth and knowledge. The songs end without a conclusive ending or what we imagine as a happy ending. For Frank doesn’t know what will happen, so neither will we.

“Nikes” is followed up by one of the standout and most accessible songs on the album. “Ivy” is the second track on Blonde that begins with Ocean singing in his usual way, unlike “Nikes”. Here, Frank reflects on youth, love, and sex. It is another sighting of Ocean’s obsession with the past and Nostal-

gia. (Hence his first album Nostalgia Ultra).

Frank’s voice rings in with the words, “I thought that I was dreaming/When you said you love me.” Ocean is addressing someone whose heart was evidently broke by the narrator. The song punches you with emotion.

It sounds like Frank is right there, head in hands, filled with sorrow. “It’s all right to hate me.” The harsh reality that one has to accept that the one they once loved now hates them for their actions. Ocean wants the lover of the past to know that he did love them for, “the feeling still deep down is good.” Beneath those tears and hatred something is shining out. “Ivy” separates itself from all of the other songs on Blonde. What really makes it an outlier is the sheer power and emotion that lies within Ocean’s voice. It starts with a whimsical relaxed tone and ends with a squeal as Ocean bellows out “Dreamin!” Another character comes out within this story and not

through words, but voice. The next stepping stone of an album that revolves around the multiple personalities that lie within one human.

As the album goes through different twists and turns with feelings and ideas— deep love, heady philosophy, despondent loss—that he may have never had a chance to experience for himself. The stories tear one’s soul apart. The songs, track after track, bring the listener into such insular places that are often unseen and unheard of. The darkest thoughts and memories that one is even afraid to think of to themselves. In this album Frank displays the lives this generation lives.

Complete with the hefty Boys Don’t Cry magazine the lives that you and me live are shown as slaves to the screen and our imperfections.

So obsessed with thoughts of others that we drown. Frank has come to save everyone. He shows his obsessions, fantasies, and insecurities. Our livelihoods are on full display with obsession over naked bodies, sports cars, money, social media, sex, and the irrational idea of true freedom.

With the instrumentation that is featured on Blonde it could be seen as ambient music. But that is prior to the entrance of Ocean’s voice. When he joins each song it feels like a dim spotlight opens upon his face.

He is alone, in an area that would usually seem crowded. His voice echoes through

the walls of the solemn club. The lights flicker around the bar. The alcohol is spilled along the table. The scene is depressing. It is supposed to be. This is what Frank and many people see every day. We as humans

can find ourselves feeling alone in a place inhabited by so many that would care for us. But sometimes this feeling is necessary. This feeling can be who we are as humans. Always alone, singing to ourselves.

We feel empty as we shyly strum the guitar.

Afraid to speak our mind but we do it anyways. This feeling that no one speaks of, but everyone has is Blonde.

An album that encapsulates an unknown fear to society, but a known fear to humanity. To accept this feeling is

except one’s own mortality, and that is what Frank has done. He hid from the lights of paparazzi stratosphere, the dug of celebrity, the obsession of popularity. Frank now is contemplating family, society, and if it’s possible to live his life alone. He wants to stay shrouded but unaware if that is even attainable.

On each song Frank has a bit of popular themes but with reality tossed upon them and a dose of hallucination. The song “Skyline To,” is practically a poem about summer, sex, and California haze. “Godspeed” is a nod to Frank’s childhood and the gospel that surrounded him. But it is not a prayer to any form of a God, rather broken love. For this is another example of Frank finding himself grounded. Not paralyzed by reality, but pushing against the lies within it.

“Siegfried” (a personal favorite) finds Frank fantasizing about reality and simplicity. It is him hollering out in falsetto tones that he will “do anything for you, In the dark.” This promise/holler is repetitive because Frank wants the person that he is so invested in to understand that he would do anything for them, even where no one can see. He

doesn’t want to be known and quite possibly known at all. He wants to stay a mystery behind his music. He just

wants to do the best he can do for people and especially those he loves. Ocean wants to live a normal life, but he still wants the life he has now. He says “I’d rather chip my pride than lose my mind out here.” Then he thinks that he is a “fool” and he should “move” so he can experience living a life with white picket picket fences, “and settle, two kids in a swimming pool.” For Frank wants to escape or face his own problems but he screams “I’m not brave.” To scared to face

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his own thoughts. It is the contrasting ideals of one’s mind going against each-other. This is another thematic element of Blonde. The many personalities and ideas that conflict inside one’s own mind.

The song “Nights,” is a seemingly straightforward song when it starts off. The vibe is poppy with a fun riff and Oceans voice bouncing around. It seems fun and easy and accessible. This is prior to the song dropping off into a hardcore guitar shredding solo that is reminiscent to My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and the Mary Chain. The song seems to almost restart after the guitar reaches an incredibly high pitch.

It then proceeds into a space that sounds like an even more lo fi/leaned out vibe than a song from A$AP Rocky’s Live, Love, A$AP. This strange split of a song is the centerpiece of the album. The beat change here marks exactly 30 minutes of the 60 minute album. This speaks to Frank’s references the themes of duality with the release of both Endless and Blonde. By bifurcating

the album, he hints at his own duality: his bisexuality, his masculinity and femininity (i.e. the difference between blonde and blond), and where those worlds collide. It even speaks to Frank’s

tumblr post from years ago where he said the album would come out. In this post Frank said, “I’ve got two versions.” This comment would go over everyone’s heads as they would believe that was referencing two versions of his magazine. This was Frank actually being honest and speaking to the two personalities that lied within his soul. The album would be delayed after this post. This would be because there are much more than two versions of Frank. He

can be labeled as bisexual, but the versions of Frank that he speaks of cannot be labeled.

On “Solo” Frank recounts being single. He realizes how much more lonely one is when practicing hedonism than actually being in solitude. The background is a church organ, which makes Frank’s exploration into acid and sex sound almost holy or like a preacher. It is one of Frank’s best pieces of songwriting that leans towards Frank’s comfort in being alone.

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He makes it feel like loneliness is not only person, but a dear friend.

“Solo (Reprise), “ is a song without Frank and any mention of him. It features only Andre 3000, which is not a bad feature to carry a song. This song pinpoints another running theme of Blonde, nostalgia. Andre looks back on his past, and all the years he has been a celebrity and rapper. He feels betrayed by his own genre and the people of nowadays who don’t tire their own music. Andre is unsure if he should be filled with anger towards those who don’t write their music or if he has messed up. “I’ve stumbled and lived every word, was I working just way too hard?” He is disappointed and bitter. This song serves as a cautionary tale not to the listener but Frank. Andre is warning Frank of his dreams that he had in his own version of solar. It is the father responding the dreams of his son.

The final song is less of a song than it is a collection of interviews with keyboard in the background. These interviews are old and feature Ocean’s young friends as well as his brother, who was 10 or 11. Each of the interviewees talk about who they are and what they wish for. They are laughing and filled with joy. Carefree. They live the life

Frank pleads to have again.

They don’t fear for the future, they are excited .to see what it beckons…

When you’re not here I’ll save some for you I’m not him but I’ll mean something to you

A Taste in

Music

Album Review By Blake Drnec ‘17

Soothing to the ear and sparks intellectual thinking about life and situations just by the art of music. Isaiah Rashad’s The Sun’s Tirade is an amazing piece of work which tells the story of Isaiah and his struggle of balance between fame and family in this brilliant personal album.

Songs such as “Dressed Like Rappers” describe and take the listener through Isaiah’s struggle with addiction of alcohol, xanax and depression through a series of beautiful melodies and rhythmic drum beats.

This album stands out from other albums as Rashad uses a very unique style of lyrical poetry as he riddles poetry along beautiful melodic instrumentals.

As a member of Top Dawg Entertainment, Isaiah Rashad displays his talents as a musical artist through his production and features in some of his songs such as, “Stuck in the Mud” featuring SZA, and “Wat’s Wrong” featuring Kendrick Lamar.

Rashad’s previous album Cilvia Demo was more or less his showcase album which catapulted him into the music industry after many artists noticed and picked up on his talents, this new album is an advancement from his previous album.

This album has a variety of songs for different moods, weather you feel like going crazy and partying all the way to relaxing and analyzing the lyrics and the message that Rashad does so well to portray in this work.

Wats Wrong, the fifth song on the album which feature Zacari and Kendrick Lamar will have you tapping your feet to the steady Percussion beat.

This song has a very jazzy sound to it resulting in a groovy attitude. The lyrics of this song are intriguing and tell a story through a steady beat combined with the rattling voices of Isaiah and Kendrick. You will definitely crank up the volume as soon as it starts to jam.

On the flip side if you are trying to chill out one song in particular Stuck in The Mud featuring SZA, who has amazing vocals which produce beautiful symphony like sounds to the track. Simple melodies make this song seem light however when the lyrics start to flow and the story of Isaiah and his struggles come to life

Throughout the album youth, addiction, and personal struggles present themselves through a blend of jazz and rap. This album features 21 different producers over 17 tracks, which displays the amount of work put into this project.

Isaiah’s heart felt confessions about his issues concerning addiction and depression present a beautiful story throughout this album that will surely entice any listener.

While Isaiah has dealt with problems before, creating amazing music is not one of them and will continue to bless the ears with music in the years to come. Until then, catch up on this album as it truly is an outstanding piece of work.

10 9 8

Top 10 Hip Hop Albums of 2016

By Pete Mitchell ‘17

MAJOR KEY BY DJ KHALED DJ Khaled has been busy ruling Snapchat and has behind the scenes made a pretty decent rap album. I am impressed by the roster that DJ Khaled is working with on his albums. Despite his silly catchphrases like “another one” he takes his work very seriously which is why he calls the best to work on his album. Some of the features on his album include Drake, Future, and Kendrick Lamar.

Khaled brings a mix of new and old to this album. Khaled brings the big names such a Jay Z and J Cole. Both are not easy to get on a track, but Khaled has these connections.

The only problem with this album is it serves quantity over quality. For me most of the tracks I didn’t really care about. There were about five songs in total such as “I Got the Keys” and “For Free” stood out to me. Most of the other nine tracks I didn’t care about or listen to very much at all. This is the album’s greatest weak point. The good songs in the album stick out while some just aren’t that interesting to me. Still DJ Khaled made his point, his major key is that he has all of the connections despite what people think. Which in the end makes his ninth

EVERYBODY LOOKING BY GUCCI MANE This is the first taste of new Gucci Mane since 2013, Gucci has not been able to release music because he was in jail. However this Gucci is a changed Gucci, a sober Gucci with new goals in mind. This gives us a fresh take however into his point of view of how living that lifestyle can lead to bad things. Such as on the song 1st day out the Feds he raps how “I get so many death threats it’s getting normal to me.” Implying that what he did before prison has led him to making a lot of enemies. The album has great features from Drake, Kanye West and Young Thug. The record also has great production from producers such as Zaytoven and Mike-Will Made It. I like this new Gucci Mane, even if people think he is a clone.

He is able to fit into the style of today’s rap while not embracing that lifestyle anymore which is quite refreshing.

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album his most notable and best album thus far.

THE RETURN OF THE EAST ATLANTA SANTA BY GUCCI MANE This is the last and best of Gucci projects of 2016. Now with two studio albums in his book Gucci is back and better than ever. This album is more for the fans then anything else.

Since the metaphor is that Gucci is santa and he is presenting us his music. It is more of a traditional rap album in terms of what he raps about such as money and women etc.

The features of this album include Drake, Bryson Tiller, and Travis Scott. This album in my opinion is more of what Gucci might have made before he got put in jail. The new Gucci is nice but it is always nice to have a good callback to the past.

DC4 BY MEEK MILL Meek Mill makes a surprising return to music with his new album Dream Chasers 4Meek in this album shows us why he should still be considered a relevant name in the rap game. Meek wanted to prove that no matter how many Ls he takes he can still put out bangers. Meek on this album did a good job creating the sound he wanted. With banger beats on songs like “Froze” and “Litty”. The supporting casts helps out as well. The notable features include Young Thug, 21 Savage, Lil Uzi Vert, Nicki Minaj, and Tory Lanez. Meek Mill even after all of the roasts and memes made about him he can still make pretty good music. He does not care what other have to say about him, he knows who he is and that he can still make a name for himself.

WOPTOBER BY GUCCI MANE Woptober is Gucci Mane’s second studio album in 2016. He has established himself in 2016 with his new album Everybody Looking. On this album Gucci goes more into the darker realities of his past and how he has since changed. Like on the song “Addicted” he talks about how he was an addict of all sorts. This is a new Gucci that wants to show you the realities behind his lifestyle. Most of the songs on here fit that tone and are not as lighthearted as his last album. Production on this album is great as well with producers like Southside and Metro Boomin. This album provides a even better look into the new Gucci, shows a darker side of him but is still able to catch that buzz we love from Gucci.

5

PURPLE REIGN BY FUTURE After a dominant 2015 this is Future’s first project that he has released in 2016. This album or mixtape gives us more of the Future we all know and love. Future once again gives us a viewpoint into what it is like to be a drug addict. Even the name is a reference to his addiction to codeine What Future raps about is a regular thing when it comes to drugs and money. But it is how he presents it to his listeners. Future projects always have great productions from Metro Boomin, 808 Mafia, and Nard B. The amount of bangers on this album is crazy, the best example is the song “Wicked” a club anthem that everyone can listen to. This album just puts me in a good mood because there are hardly any misses on this album.

Future gives another album in which he can put on his roster of hit albums/mixtapes.

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4

EVOL BY FUTURE This is Future’s first official studio album of 2016. This album isn’t quite as polished as his last album DS2. But it still hits hard as most of what Future puts out there is good. Evol is part of the long run that Future has been going on since the release of Monster in 2015.

The real difference that stand out between this and his last project Purple Reign is that Evol is more radio friendly and appeals to a wider audience. The best example is the song called “Low Life” featuring the Weeknd. This is the best song on the album even if it does appeal to everyone and is more radio friendly or mainstream. This album seems like it has a little more effort than the last Purple Reign.

The hits stand out enough to be liked by anyone, but there is enough for Future fans to be excited about.

THE LIFE OF PABLO BY KANYE WEST Kanye West’s latest album was one of the most anticipated albums of 2016. And it lived up to the hype and then some.

TLOP is one of Kanye’s best works, the album captures his identity and each song has a story to tell. The Life Of Pablo is easily a record that lives up to its expectations. Kanye is an interesting figure, many people call him crazy and not a nice guy. They might call him narcissistic and someone who is way too full of himself.

Yet this is what makes Kanye unique. He knows that he is good at what he does, which is not what a lot of people do

3

ESCO TERRESTRIAL BY DJ ESCO This album is DJ Esco project hosted by none other than his partner in crime Future. DJ Esco hasn’t released much music but has been more famous as being strictly a DJ and producer.

However if this is the kind of music that he wants to create then by all means keep it coming. This album has almost no misses compared to it’d plethora of hits. This is by no means a Future album but it is by far his best work so far of 2016. Other than Future there are some great features from Young Thug, Drake, 2 Chainz, Lil Uzi Vert, and Rae Sremmurd. This is the last music in 2016 that we end up seeing from Future. It’s safe to say that Future and DJ Esco prove to be a great pairing.

1

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COLORING BOOK BY CHANCE THE RAPPER Coloring Book is Chance’s first album but third project. Despite Chance not having signed with a label, the album is confirming that Chance is one of the biggest rappers today. Chance does not believe a record label is necessary to get buzz but we can use the internet such as SoundCloud instead. The site allows you to post any kinds of music you want for free. Which is great because Chance releases all his stuff for free. This means he makes most of his money off of tours etc. Chance is an artist who is fully committed to his craft and wants to make the best music possible. He draws much inspiration from one of his idols Kanye West who makes an appearance on the album. Coloring Book is a mix of trap and soul elements. Chance’s music makes you feel good, Chance’s songs vary in topic rapping about drugs and then rapping about his record label problems. The best song on the album is “No Problem” featuring Lil Wayne and 2 Chainz. In this song Chance talks about how he does not sign with a record label because he knows this is going to be a problem. Lil Wayne is particularly good for this track because of his famous record label problems and his struggle to release his album. Chance is breaking barriers and exceeding expectations with his latest album. This album is the first album to win a Grammy without selling one physical copy. Chance is a unique and fun artist, and his latest project has a little something for everyone.

these days. Most people when talking about what they do are pretty humble about what they do. Kanye is someone who is not afraid to say anything and it makes for some great music. Kanye’s TLOP is a great example of a mix between trap and soul. You have songs like “Ultralight Beam” which feature Chance The Rapper fitting more of that Gospel approach. The song “ Father Stretch My Hands Part 1” and part 2 fit more of that trap feel with a sample from Desiinger’s Panda. Each song to me has a different story to tell. Such as on the song “Facts” when he raps about his relationship with Nike.

Or on the song “I Love Kanye” which addressed the people’s nostalgia for early 2000s Kanye. Each song has a different part of Kanye’s psyche which is very interesting. While on “Father Stretch My Hands” he raps about his problems with his Dad. The album can kind of make you understand why Kanye is so crazy. TLOP also has great features that include Chance the Rapper, Kendrick Lamar, Rihanna, and The Weeknd. A great album is said to have a great concept as well. The concept here seems to almost be simply the life on Kanye. There are even some diss tracks such as “Famous” which is about the Taylor Swift and Kanye beef. This of course started when Kanye went on stage and said that Beyonce had a better album than Taylor.. Kanye’s music inspires people to think, whether what he says is good or not it is always cool to see other people’s reaction. This album for me is by far the most memorable piece of music. This album will in my opinion be considered one of Kanye’s greatest works yet.

64 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

OP-ED

In Defense of Death Metal

By Jackson Dean ‘20

“People usually say it’s just noise, or they ask if it’s even possible to understand the lyrics, or sometimes they say that it glorifies satanism and violence and then they go from treating me like a good girl to treating me like a hoodlum or a miscreant. Or they just ask me if I’ve ever sacrificed any small animals in the woods before. I get that one a lot,” says 16 year old Death Metal fanatic, Slania Ivanov.

Telling people that your favorite type of music is Heavy Metal, or one of its many sub genres like Death Metal, Prog Metal, Thrash Metal, or even Doom Metal, is almost always met with skepticism and mistrust. For most people, it seems as though there is a dark cloud of mystery and misinformed fear and disapproval surrounding the genre of Heavy Metal as a whole. I’m here to dispel that by explaining the genre and breaking down a few of the many unsupported negative arguments people have against it.

Firstly, Heavy metal is a genre of music that originated in the early seventies from bands like Black Sabbath, Metallica, and Iron Maiden. The name heavy metal is a just a pun, the genre is called that because its harder and heavier than rock music, just like how metal is harder and heavier than rock. The genre usually features distorted down tuned guitars, tempos ranging from 60 bpm to 350 bpm, and usually yelled or otherwise unconventional vocals. Lyrical themes vary a lot, they can be very political like those of Megadeth and Varg, philosophical and examine religion and the human condition like those of Agalloch and Thränenkind, or just tell stories or recount historical events and myths like Amon Amarth, Iron Maiden, Sabaton, and Blind Gaurdian, to the grotesque and gratuitously violent yet satisfying lyrics of Cannibal Corpse.

The question that people almost universally ask when you say you like listening to metal is weather or not you can understand the lyrics. One thing they almost never understand is that growled, screamed, and yelled lyrics exist almost exclusively in death, black, and thrash metal, almost every other sub genre, or about two thirds of metal, uses primarily clean singing. This argument has always confused me for another reason though, because the people who ask it often base it on the assumption that being able to easily understand what the lyricist is saying actually matters, often times hypocritically, as they often enjoy music from foreign artists, and are perfectly content without understanding the lyrics, or even listen to songs without lyrics.

Another statement I often hear is that heavy metal supports satanism and violence. While this is true for some metal bands like Gorgoroth and Dark Funeral which are both openly satanist and sometimes even condone, praise, or perpetrate unsolicited acts of violence, they are an extremely small minority. The majority of metal does not ever dare to delve into such grotesqueness. In stark contrast to this argument, a study by the University of Queensland, the Australian public research institution in Brisbane, tested if “extreme music causes anger”, and actually concluded that “extreme music matches and helps to process anger”.

“Metal is often associated with anger and hatred but, the purpose of the genre isn’t to emulate these things to soothe them, and once people actually get into it they begin to like it” notes Regis Jesuit Sophmore and co-founder of the RJ Heavy Metal Club, Robert Benke.

Generally, I consider music good if it sounds good to me, and while the definition of good music varies from person to person, dismissing an entire genre of music based on some unsupported predispositions is something to be frowned upon “People often refuse to thoroughly listen to metal, that is, making it through several songs, before concluding that they hate it. And that really sucks,” says Robert Benke.

Dear Regis Jesuit High School Freshmen,

Throughout the last three years of my life, one of the many things I was taught was to ask questions. Today, however, I have only one question. Why is it that after a mere one semester, a certain group of students feels entitled enough to cut in the lunch line with no regards for those behind them. It is not uncommon for a fellow student to feel an overwhelming sense of dread and panic when they find themselves standing behind a freshman at lunchtime. There is nothing more heartbreaking then watching as friend after friend after friend joins those in front of you until what was once a ten minute wait has become the entire lunch period. This epidemic has been going on for too long and it is time that the freshman who perpetrate these heinous acts are taught some respect.

While coming back from a long break is hard, there seems to be one thing that can help the transition, if even just for a little bit.

Those first days back to waking up at six, the one thing that I noticed keeping those around me sane, was the promise of food. In my own life I have seen the effects on a person when they are denied this simple pleasure. I know a girl who had waited weeks for one of the Steele Center’s infamous meatball subs. Unfortunately she was unable to enjoy these subs because each time she got to the register, she was told that they were sold out. She was then forced to order something else after having witnessed the freshman in front of her order the very last sub. My friend only has another year and a half of these subs to enjoy while that particular freshman, theoretically, has over three.

Had this freshman waited in line instead of skipping forward to where her friend was, while she may not have gotten a sub, she would have demonstrated a certain level of respect for her fellow students that is unfortunately lacking in our lunch lines.

I must admit that it would be hypocritical of me to crucify everyone who has ever cut in the lunch line. When faced with a club meeting or after a particularly taxing class, I have joined friends in line in order to save myself a bit of time. This, however, is not the issue at hand. It is when the freshmen class cuts the line by as many as ten to fifteen girls at any given time. While the occasional one or two people cutting is understandable and even forgivable, these excessive numbers are not. While some may argue that cutting in the lunch line isn’t hurting anybody and that there are no official rules in regards to it, they would be wrong because they would be missing out on one of the must important rules at this school. At Regis Jesuit, girls are taught to be WOFOs (Women with and for others) and to respect their fellow sisters. When they cut in the lunch line they are only serving themselves and their friends and are not truly living up to the standard of being a WOFO.

It deeply saddens me that these students don’t seem to care about their disrespectful attitudes. While I don’t intend to demonize or stereotype any one class, these observations are meant to be a wake up call. Not only to the freshmen, but to any girl who feels it is okay for her dozens of friends to join her near the front of the line. I propose we reinforce lunchtime etiquette on our students and, if necessary, increase the amount of teachers monitoring the lunch lines. Personally, I know I would greatly appreciate being able to enter the cafeteria without having to resign myself to waiting in a line ruled only by who has the fastest friends.

I appreciate you taking the time to listen to and understand my concerns.

Yours Truly,

Ashley Wright ‘18 65

The Role of Free Speech

By Jason Lewis ‘17

Free speech, the very fundamental thread that weaves together the American fabric, the First Amendment, and true freedom to express ideas in an open setting, is threatened.

Who is hunting this animal we call free speech? It is the extremists on the ends of the spectrum: the “extremist feminists,” “extremist SJWs,” “extremist alt-right,” and the so-called “anti-fascists.”

These are the people threatening America and our freedom of speech who want to censor what we can and can’t say.

Is it not the conservatives. It is not the liberals. It is not feminists who want equal rights. It is not those who want justice for everyone. It is not the people in the Black Lives Matter Movement who want equality for people of color. It’s the people on the fringes.

To explore this all too prevalent theme of censorship in American society, let’s look at the Cal Berkeley Campus on February 1st, 2017.

British writer and public speaker Milo Yiannopoulos was scheduled to give a speech at Berkeley as part of his College Speaking Tour. During this tour, Milo speaks at many universities across America, including CU Boulder, where he explores the topic of politically correct culture in a very different way.

Almost all of Milo’s talks are protested heavily. He uses extreme, offensive language to explore his worldview.

A large group of students and members of the community believed that Milo was spewing hate speech and started a riot to keep him from speaking. The students and outside protesters caused more than $100,000 in damage.

It is as if free speech is under siege. While some believe that any and all speech should be tolerated, even the speech of someone like Milo, others believe that “hate speech” should be censored.

Safe spaces have thus been created for those who want a censored world. But you can’t face real world problems while hiding from conflict and those you disagree with or may be offended by.

It is clear that violence and destruction of property should not be tolerated in society, but should we just let people in the Westboro Baptist Church chant outside of the funerals of homosexuals? Is this verbal violence?

Many would say yes and that such hatred should not be tolerated.

Unfortunately, we can’t have one without the other.

If we want to have a free country, we must allow all to speak their opinions.

Extremists who want to arrest you for assuming someone’s gender, extremists who preach equality but truly practice man-hating or dominance of women, extremists who practice prejudice against someone because of their privilege, the extremists who practice white supremacy and extreme conservatism, the extremists who need a protection bubble around their lives.

These are all toxic mindsets of our society that end up reducing our freedoms, not protecting it.

Those who spread hatred and intolerance towards others through a gross facade of “tolerance and acceptance” endanger the very concepts of free speech in our country and around the world.

We must have free speech on this campus and on university campuses across America. We must have free speech without exception and oppose all who threaten to destroy it in the name of tolerance or progress.

Is Technology Good?

By Matthew Wiles ‘17

Recently I spent the better half of a few days rereading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline and I noticed a rather curious trend. The book focused on a world that was dependent on a virtual reality technology, “OASIS.” It is apparent in the even in just the first chapters that the children couldn’t focus without visual simulation. Classrooms have become entertainment-based, with teachers relying on extravagant graphics to maintain the attention of their pupils. When the main character and his peers are not presented with a high level of visual stimulation, they lose focus. Throughout the book, he has little attention for things that aren’t virtual. The setting is intentionally dystopian, but I began to wonder if we would be better off without technology.

Has it helped more than it’s hurt? Is all the information we are privy to really

66 Oct 2016 | Vol 2 Issue 1

helping us?

The short answer is no, it’s not.

We have lost our ability to focus. I think that without a doubt the iPad program at is the worst mistake the school administration has made during my time at Regis Jesuit. My freshmen year, iPads were not mandatory. My relationships were better, my focus in class was better.

Focusing is hard enough as is, then you’re required to have an object that functions as the best distraction tool of all time. Starting sophomore year, I became more distracted in class and less engaged overall. It’s easy to see why. When tabs click open faster than I can look at a single sentence, video’s that jump cut every three seconds to try to hold my attention, were subtlety is thrown out the window for bold and bright. I was supposed to use this as a learning tool?

Secondly, I think that technology has made us shallow as people, as intellectuals, as students. The second we enter a screen into the equation–and I’m definitely at fault for this–communication is out the window. There is a stark contrast between talking about the meaning of life to aimlessly conversing about a video game. Even our problems are more shallow. We get angry when the Wifi isn’t up to our standards even though we have over 1000 people on the same system. We get upset when someone doesn’t answer a stupid snap after a few hours. It’s a world where likes on a Facebook page equals dopamine. Our relationships are reduced. We sit right next to each other and instead of talking, snap from five feet away. I find that when my friends and I don’t have screens in arms reach, our conversations are more purposeful.

We begin to base our self worth not on who we are in real life but who we are on the Internet. Faking our way through life to pretend we’re something we are not. When I look at Snapchat stories I am constantly reminded that I don’t do anything. If it’s not on Snapchat, did it really happen? So don’t worry if your life doesn’t look like a snap story; they’re intentionally embellished.

I have a fire emoji that gives me such a rush of dopamine that I don’t even know what to do with it. I was never prepared to handle this.

I’m depressed and frustrated at my lack of ability to truly connect and the uphill battle it seems I face everyday. I give my friends credit; they do a great job of talking to one another and using technology as a better communication tool to form deeper connections. I have no idea how they do it, but I feel like I was pushed to the bottom of the social hill and I can’t claw my way up. My self-worth is so reliant on the computer in front of me, all in zeros and ones.

Some say we are able to access so much more information.

However I think that risks reaching a point where we have an information overload. And this information overload has actually made it harder to find out things. I’m too distracted trying to multi-task so much and really getting nothing done. I think that technology has, to put it bluntly, failed us. Studies have shown us that we cannot multi-task, yet technology encourages it. It simply doesn’t allow us to do anything beyond receiving information. We have lost our ability to properly act upon information because we have lost the interpersonal element of our society–we lose sight of what really matters.

Some say we connect better with people we used to know.

The issue with this is that the No. 1 factor for relationships is distance.

The closer you are to someone the more likely you are to make friends with them. The Internet just streamlines this process but makes it more shallow. Dating sites pair up couples using algorithms so you never have to worry of what to say. We are breaking down the human person into traits that need to be confirmed constantly by our peers. We are no longer faces but a book of them. We don’t chat anymore, we snap. We tweet, sounding more like the cheeping birds than the conversations of humans.

Most of this hit me in a coffee shop, drinking a pumpkin spice latte next to a couple snapchatting each other. I’m in a bookstore-coffeeshop hybrid and it seems like everyone is doing everything but buying a book. A child sits in front of me, sedated by an iPad. His mom punches away on a computer never once saying a word to the child. Sales clerks try to help people glued to their phones.

Where do we go from here? I’m tossing my phone and going for a walk.

Stop! Look! Pay Attention!

AG:​The most frightening thing a black person has done is be black in America. Not because America is scary, but because our lives are always threatened and our skin color is always seen as a weapon.

AS:​Just because you don’t see it, doesn’t mean it does not happen. AG:​ You can’t tell me what my eyes can and cannot perceive.

AS:​You see we live in a nation where the law is against us.

Both: ​They say you are innocent until proven guilty. But it seems like people of color are always the exception.

AS: ​When you give them a reason not to shoot you, but they shoot you anyways.

AG:​I shouldn’t have to give a reason to not shoot me at all. I should not be getting shot for wearing a hoodie or at a routine traffic stop AS:​See I didn’t know that reaching for my license might cost me my life.

Both: ​See because we watch black people die the same way as Jesus did–with their hands in the air and their mothers looking on to their deaths.

AG: ​Y’all know for sure who we are talking about. And if you forgot that is a damn shame. How many more Trayvon Martins, Tamir Rices, and Mike Browns, does it take for you to see that the law isn’t for us, it’s against us?

AS:​They tell us to get over slavery because it happened so long ago.

Okay​we will get over it after you tell me why we feel the affects of slavery today.

AG:​When you can tell me why does it state in the Thirteenth Amendment that slavery is abolished except as punishment for crime.

Why are people of color in mass incarceration?

You tell me slavery is over with but why are we still in chains?

AS:​Why are we always the criminals?

AS:​Why are we always “dangerous?”

AG: ​‘Cause last time I remember we just took over neighborhoods AS:​While they took over continents See they thought they were slick, b ​ ut we caught on to it.

AG:​Someone once said, fear has two meanings, Forget everything and run, or face everything and rise, the choice is yours.

AS:​See my skin color may be seen as a weapon but life doesn’t frighten me They took over continents, but could never take over our minds AG:​Despite the life laid out for us we had many achievements See a black person invented the traffic light, refrigeration system for trucks, and pioneered in open heart surgery.

Both: ​Knowledge is power and for us it’s, making strides.

Because we chose to rise.

AS:​Why are the oppressed, being blamed for being mistreated?

AG:​Why are we blamed for things that we can’t change?

AS:​And for things we want to change like Racism, Xenophobia, Sexism, we are being silenced for it.

AG:​Only reason why there is resistance is because people focus on what they have to give up instead of what they can gain Both:​Pop your bubble and fall into reality AS:​We are all created equal, but that’s not how it seems.

AG: ​With your eyes closed with bigotry you can’t see Both:​That Ignorance is a choice, that inhibits you from loving me.

EDITORIAL

We are proud of you, I say, we are proud of you.

Whether it is a lacrosse game, a student run play, or an orchestra performance, there is so much to be proud of in our Regis Jesuit community.

But where has our school spirit gone? Our freshman year seemed to be a blur of red and white. Fridays in the fall were reserved for football games, and in the winter, everyone headed to see basketball. Spirit days were a full on costume contest, rather than simply a masked Raider Day. Every student seemed to be savoring every moment.

As our senior year comes to a close, we’ve noticed increasingly less RJ gear, empty bleachers, open seats in the Z Theater, and a general negativity surrounding school sponsored events. And yet people say they are bored. You get out of high school what you put into it and maybe, if you went to the Cantabelles concert or attended the latest Project Unified game, it wouldn’t be so boring.

Our students are doing amazing things everyday and they want nothing more than to share their passions with the rest of the student body. The RJ culture–“the ‘hood”– is not selfish. We are here to build each other up. It has never been acceptable, at a school like ours, to blow off school events because you’re too “cool” for them. As we enter into our final weeks at RJ, we’re seeing a transforming culture. In the stereotypical high school, people bide their time until they can get out, rather than appreciating and engaging in their high school career, and it seems to us that we are heading in that direction.

So juniors, sophomores, and freshman: it’s up to you.

We are almost out of time here and we want nothing more than to do it all over again. We want to go all out for football games, attend first Friday mass, anticipate retreats, and pick up a copy of the school magazine. You still have these opportunities and not only are they fun, but they really make a difference for people that put their heart and souls into these activities.

Embodying the Regis Jesuit spirit is not just about doing well on your math test or getting into the best college.

It is about being an active part of the community and making it a loving place for all Regis Jesuit students. This is a call to action. When we come visit next year, we want to see the stands packed, the seats filled, and the spirit days filled with crazy costumes. We want to be able to say to all of you that we are proud of you, I say, we are proud of you.

From, Your Editors

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Read more at rjtoday.org

The

REGIS RABBLE

Vol. 1 Iss. 3

One Dollar Cheap

Twenty-First Century Furniture, One Year On Archer Fletcher, Tech Editor

Tradition Hall–It’s been almost a year since Regis Jesuit began its grand experiment. A select few classrooms throughout the school upgraded their classroom with 21st century furniture for a 21st century education. What’s the point of these funny-looking desks? Well, actually, there are six points to the desks as they are in the shape of a hexagon with two sets of three congruent sides.

“The idea is that the desks make them feel like they’re ready to take flight in a spaceship.

We’re preparing them to be astronauts,” commented the head of the science department. Science has actually proven the hexagon is the best shape for learning. The theology department released another statement saying that the unique geometry of the desks allowed the students to harness the spiritual energy all around to strengthen their aura, possibly to the point of allowing telekinesis.

But what do the students who actually use the desks think? “Well, they take up more room so it’s kinda hard to get to my desk. I mean, they have wheels so that’s cool.”

In addition to the desks, Regis Jesuit bought spinny chairs with wheels so the young men can distract themselves spinning back and forth and moving all around, a practice which has

already left thirty wounded. Their final addition to the 21st century classroom were the massive, touch screen televisions seen in the back of the picture.

“We found that the oversized desks weren’t doing enough to clutter up the classroom so we just had to splurge for the big touch screen TV’s. They have the same function as the wall-mounted smart boards but, oh, what the heck!” said a gleeful administrator. Many teachers also reported they found the smart boards to be easier to use than the TV’s. Regis Jesuit says they think the trial went so well, they are planning to fill the halls with desks and touch screen TV’s as well. (Cont Pg. 7 “Expensive Fire Hazards”)

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“Why couldn’t I just play on my iPad?”

–Freshman