Vol. 20, No. 2 Fall/Winter '0''04
aSSlC Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367
Founder's Day shares traditions with i·ncoming sophmen, faculty by Jocelyn Wright An aura of tradition and sharing echoed throughout Colden Auditorium as alumni, students, and teachers gathered to commemorate the 19th Founder's Day on Friday, October 24, 2003. A celebration of our school's rich history was rekindled by the spirit of companionship and the common goal of "Ieaving the city greater than we found it." At first blush, the event appeared serious, especially with students out of their usual jeans and t-shirts. After the pledge and national anthem, Dr. Marvin
Leiner, the liaison between Townsend Harris and Queens College and a wouldbe graduate of Townsend Harris (the school was disbanded before he had the opportunity to graduate), spoke of the greatness of Townsend Harris and how wonderful it was to reestablish the school, which celebrates its 20th anniversary in 2004. Joseph Dubowski, Co-President of the PTA, echoed Dr. 'Leiner's words, adding that a Tow'nsend Harris education helps to make each student a better person. Even before the freshmen and
incoming sophomores were inducted with the Ephebic Oath, its core value made appearances in several of the speeches, as former students, parents, and teachers reinforced the idea ofservice to the community. Two former students from the class of 1990, David Herszenhorn, Editor in Chief of the Education section of the New York Times as well as the President of the Townsend Harris Alumni Association, and West Point graduate Jin Paik, who appeared in full military uniform, spoke of their experiences at Townsend Harris and how lucky they were to be a part of "the tradition." Between the speeches, the Townsend Harris Concert Band rose up from the pit and performed "Take the A Train" to great applause both before and after the performance. Principal Thomas Cunningham also gave a speech, reminding students that, despite the six flights of stairs and 40 pounds of books, they were in a secure, caring, and nurturing place
were 1101 tl:nitledwith .tb:erWeek•l0ng event. iA· eltnfing an anonyiiiou8 'freshman who said that he ·~~·.t really lik<e it [S,i.rit Week] andeonsieted F0uneer's Day to be lwriJll.t' F~r ~~ who reW'led in t~ bi-imnual'~ .of scho01 pride, next seme&ier's ~pirlit Week is j:ust around the corner. ·
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Townsend Harris Alma Mater was the final part of the ceremony before therecessional. Although Founder's Day clearly took preparation and planning, many of the freshmen were disappointed, saying that they "expected something better." Several students interviewed before the event were excited about Founder's Day and curious to see what would happen. When approached afterward, their opinions had changed considerably. "I thought it was somewhat boring. I expected it to be spectacular. You would expect something better," commented freshman Lauren Wong. Many other freshmen were also critical of Founder's Day. "The senior.s were acting like idiots, making Founder's Day what it's not. It sounded like a pep rally. I was expecting something a little bit more civilized," said one disgruntled freshman. However, senior Mollie . Laffin-Rose disagreed, stating, "After surviving three years of Townsend Harris, the freshmen will want to sit in the back and show their spirit just as we did.
and part of a community that shares and contributes to the com-
I. have been waiting since my freshman year to be able to do that.';''
mon good. The ceremony became more light-hearted after Principle Cunningham's speech. The Founder's Day Players presented a skit about the Townsend Harris Guttenberg Project, introduced by English teacher Arthur Boulanger, who presented facetious words such as lockophone (n. making a cell phone call by sticking your head inside your loeker to avoid a referral) and whiteoutlands (n. the build up of whiteout on essay papers) for inclusion in a section of the Oxford Dictionary. This was followed by Senior SING, which . re·ceived great applause from the audi·ence. Junior/Sophomore SING, last year's Sophmen SING, and Principal Cunningham's list of "The Townsend H.arris Ten Best" were also favorably received. The . String Ensemble then performed "The Impossible Dream." Subsequently, the Townsend Harris mantra, the Ephebic Oath, was dictated by Senior and Archon President Amanda Chen to the freshmen and incoming sophomores. The singing of the
Upperclassmen were critical, but optimistic regarding the ceremony. "It could have been fllnnier," noted junior Emily Berliner.. "I plan to create areally funny skit for next year. However, the former student [Jin Paik] was interesting because he applied his extensive education from THHS in a unique way." On the whole, seniors seemed to enjoy 'the ceremony. Lena Lombardi, senior, noted, "Maybe a lot of people didn't get the jokes because we didn't hear them laughing. But I think it gave them a good preview of SING." Senior Jessica Polish also enjoyed the ceremony, saying, "I appreciated the Senior Class' enthusiasm and thought the performances were very spirited." Senior Nikkia Hanson, however, had a different view of the situation, stating, "Founder's Day was awful." Although students had varied impressions of the ceremony, one thing seemed to be universally accepted: Founder's Day was full of spirit. Althou-gh freshman Abby Rani did her fair share of complaining, she said, "Overall, Founder's Day was great and showed a Jot of school spirit." That may be something students from all grades can agree on.
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