The StannerVol. 56, No. 2 Archbishop Molloy High School OCTOBER 2012

By AnnMarie Gaglio '13 KirstenE. Paulson ‘13, Jillian Spataro '13 Molloy hosted visitors from theother side of the world on Sept. 26. Forty-eight students from St.John’s College for Boys and SacredHeart Girls College, two Maristhigh schools in Hamilton, NewZealand, graced Stanners withtheir musical talent in the JackCurran Gym. The event was arranged by Bro.Dan O’Riordan, a Molloy alum. When Bro. Dan, a former Molloyteacher and member of the MaristBoard of Trustees, learned that theNew Zealand students were com-ing to New York to visit Maristschools, he, along with Mr. JimSheehan and Ms. MaryAnn Safrey,arranged for the concert. The New Zealanders, nicknamedKiwis, visited three other Maristschools and many New York Citysights on their 10-day tour. The concert, which lasted about45 minutes, included performancesfrom the school’s band, chorus,string ensemble, drum line, and“Sassy Saxes.” “It was an amazing perfor-mance,” Mr. Sheehan said. “Somestudents even wrote back sayingthey had a great time.”

After their performance, the NewZealanders sat down with Stannersfor a chat with surveys on favoritefoods, music, and holiday customscreated by Ms. Sabina Kobinski tohelp break the ice. Then Molloy faculty and stu-dents served the Kiwis their firstslice of real New York style pizza.Mr. Sheehan said the most memo-rable part of the day was “seeingthe New Zealander’s eyes open

wide when they saw the pizza.” Mr. Sheehan said a New Zealandschool’s faculty member joked that“a slice of your pizza is a whole piein New Zealand!” Kiwis made quite an impressionon Molloy students as well. Manywere simply enchanted by theirMarist counterparts’ accents. “I thought their accents werepretty cool,” said senior ShanijahSteele. “It made them sound so so-

phisticated and intelligent. It washard to turn away from themwhen they spoke. It was so fasci-nating. I kind of want their accent,to be honest.” Junior Daniela Franceschettisaid, “The funny thing about ac-cents [is that] from their point ofview, we are the ones with accents.I really liked theirs, though. “They were a lot like us in manyways,” she said. “They liked thesame music as a lot of us and hada lot of similar interests.” Mr. Sheehan said, “It was reallyamazing [for Stanners] to see kidsfrom the other side of the worldwho are just like they are.” The visit left the same impres-sion on the New Zealand students. Laura McKeown said, "My fa-vorite part was definitely gettingtoknow you guys. The students areso enthusiastic and were so lovelyto welcome us. “My favorite parts were gettingto know heaps of new people atthe Marist schools and going toBroadway. We don’t haveBroadway in New Zealand, so itwas a great experience for me as asinger.” The New Zealand boys did the

Continued on page 6

Stanners introduce Kiwis to N.Y. style pizza

The St. John’s College for Boys drum line performs for Stanners in

the Jack Curran Gym. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)

Juniors Matthew Spataro and Bokey Wong had fun at last year’s

Halloween Dance. (Photo by Rashanna Seymour ‘13)

Error gives 1Btitle at FroshField Day

Page 4

AM Green goesto RockawayBeach

Page 6

By Connie Zhao ’15 Rumors flew like ghosts aroundMolloy saying there might not bea Halloween Dance this year butthey proved to be as real as Casper. The 2012 Halloween Dance willbe held on Friday Oct. 19, thesame day as the Walk-a-thon. The dance, which will be open toall Stanners, will start at 7 p.m. inthe Cafeteria and end at 11 p.m. Tickets are $5 and can be boughtin advance or at the door with aMolloy ID card. The DJ again this year will beLaVancel. Costumes are not required butthose who dress up will be part ofthe Costume Contest judged bymembers of the Student Activities

Committee [SAC]. Prizes will be awarded to the bestboy costume, best girl costume,and the best group costume. SAC Moderator Mr. Pat Flynnsaid the Halloween Dance has beenpopular in the past and he expectsat least 300 Stanners to attend. It will be the first Molloy dancefor the frosh, making it a greatopportunity to make new friends. Sophomores, meanwhile, saidthe dance seemed a little early forHalloween considering the 2011dance was held on Oct. 28. But Mr. Flynn said the fact thatthe Frosh Retreat at Esopus will beheld the weekend before Halloweenrequired SAC to choose Oct. 19 asthe date.

Dress up and dance

Ipods, cell phones, Facebook,and Twitter are just some of theimportant tools used by Molloystudents to maintain their sociallives. Most of us don’t realize,however, that much moreimportant things lie outside ourteenage bubble. We are all vaguely aware of theupcoming presidential election,but do we all know how importantthis election really is? While only a few seniors will beable to vote on Nov. 6, most of uswill be eligible voters inNovember 2016. So we shouldstart to understand theimportance of politics so that infour years we’ll be informedvoters. We are in a pivotal time in ourcountry’s history and nextmonth voters will determinewhich path our country will takefor the next four years. If you’re unaware of theprinciples of the party platformsor the presidential candidates,here’s a brief summary: President Barack Obama, theDemocratic finishing his firstterm, says some of his notableaccomplishments are thehealthcare reform bill designedto cover 32 million Americanswho lack health insurance, the

Can’t vote? You should still careend of the war in Iraq, the killingof 9/11 mastermind Osama binLaden, and start of the drawdownof U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Obama also is proud thatDemocrats passed a stimulus bill,a Wall Street reform bill, a billwhich prevented the U.S. autoindustry from collapsing, and a billwhich allows gays and lesbians toserve openly in the military forthe first time. Obama’s social values are thoseof a pro-choice, pro-gay marriageliberal who believes that upperincome Americans should paymore taxes and middle incometaxpayers should pay less. If you disagree with the thingsObama supports, you’ll probablywant to support the conservativeRepublican candidate, MittRomney. Romney, now that he is runningfor president on the RepublicanParty platform, has changed hisviews on many issues since he wasgovernor of Massachusetts,where he was pro-choice, pro-gun control and supported thecreation of a state-widehealthcare system similar toObama’s healthcare reform bill. Mr. Romney now runs on theRepublicans’ pro-life, anti-guncontrol platform and vows torepeal the healthcare reform bill.

The StannerVolume 56, Number 2

Editor-in-Chief: Monish PahilajaniAssistant Editors: Pamela Decolongon; Joana

Capistrano; Daniela Salazar;and Rashanna Seymour

Production Staff: John Fenner; AnnMarieGaglio; Jillian Spataro;Shalini Joseph

Stanner Moderator: Mr. Charley McKennaPublisher: Bro. Thomas Schady

The name of frosh MadelineGillooley was mispelled in the“Frosh as Diverse as Queeens”story in the September issue.

By George Gulino '15 and KevinMcCafferty '15 The walls of Molloy are not im-pervious to the political debate rag-ing across the nation over the mer-its of re-electing Barack Obama orvoting for Mitt Romney for presi-dent. An unscientific survey of 70Stanners found a narrow marginsupporting Obama, which reflectsthe current national polls, with 34voting for Obama, 33 for Romney,one for third party Libertarian can-didate Gary Johnson and two un-decided. The frosh overwhelmingly choseObama 11-2, while sophs sup-ported Romney 11-5. Juniors were split 14-14 with onevote for Johnson while seniorsleaned Republican 6-2 with twoundecided. Romney supporter MatthewManeri is a junior who doesn’t likethe president’s plan to allow taxeson Americans making over$250,000 to return to 2001 levels.

“Raising taxes on the wealthyand big corporations takes awayfrom their hiring potential," hesaid. "We need to reduce the defi-cit by decreasing spending, notpunishing success.” Frosh Obama supporter ConnorKaufman said, “We’ve tried low-ering taxes on the wealthiest Ameri-cans in an attempt to stimulate jobgrowth before. It's been ten yearssince the Bush administration gotthose tax cuts through Congress,and now we’re just deeper in debt.During the most prosperous yearsthis nation has ever seen in the1990s, taxes were higher and webalanced budgets.” Senior Grazziella Ferrara sup-ports Romney’s plan to lower thedeficit. “During the last four years offailed Democratic leadership,we’ve added trillions to the deficit,"she said. "I think Mitt Romney hasa better approach to lowering thisdeficit so that it doesn’t become athreat to economic growth in thefuture.” Junior Brianna Kelly said, “ Idefinitely don’t agree with thepresident on everything, but Iagree that we shouldn’t have tobalance our budget on the backsof low-income and middle-class

Americans by raising their taxesand cutting government programs,especially when Republicans likeMitt Romney refuse to ask big cor-porations to pay their fair share oftaxes.” Healthcare is another hot topic. Sophomore Grace Anne Crockettdoesn’t believe that the presidentand Congress should have passedthe Affordable Care Act when moreurgent reform was needed to cre-ate jobs. She also disagrees with the indi-vidual mandate included in the lawthat forces people to pay for healthinsurance. Junior Gabriel Killpatrick said,“Healthcare reform was absolutely

necessary at the time. We had 50million uninsured Americans.Healthcare bills were the numberone cause of bankruptcy and fore-closure in the country. Not onlywas it good for the economy, it wasthe right thing to.” Many students brought up otherissues such as social issues, foreignpolicy, and education. Senior Darryl Carpen said “Ithink it’s important to notice thatthe president endorsed same-sexmarriage, bringing our govern-ment into the 21st century.” Juniors Anthony Walsh andFrankie Gucciardo supportRomney's anti-abortion views.

Continued on page 7

Correction

Whom do you support, Barack Obama or Mitt Romney?

Romney supports privatizingSocial Security and Medicare forAmericans under age 55. Romney says Obama has notdone enough in the last four yearsto improve the economy. Romneysays his business background willallow him to do a better job. Even though we cannot vote,we should understand that ourgeneration will produce thiscountry’s leaders someday so it’snever too soon to start learningabout politics.

Now is the time to start showingyour support for the candidatewho best reflects your values andbeliefs. Whether you are backingObama for four more years orRomney for a change inleadership, increasing yourawareness of the issues at stakein this important election,certainly beats updating yourFacebook page. Go support your candidate.

—Conor Tuohy ‘13

Stanners split on Romney & Obama

By Monish Pahilajani ’13 andRashanna Seymour ’13 Molloy seniors became part ofthe first group of studentsnationwide to experience the SAT’sadditional anti-cheating securitymeasures that required the use ofspecific types photo identificationcards that matched the admissionticket on Oct. 6. The SAT now requires test takersproduce a school ID, driver’slicense, passport, or other types ofpicture ID’s containing a name thatmatches exactly the name on theadmission ticket. These security measures will getmore strict in March when testtakers will be required to have apassport style photo of themselveson their admission ticket. These measures went into effectthis month as a result of the SATcheating scandal last spring atpublic and private schools on LongIsland where it was discovered thatseveral high students had hiredcollege students to take the test forthem in the hope of getting ahigher score than they felt theycould have achieved themselves. As part of the upgrade in security,“walk-ins” at the test center, whowere once allowed to sign up totake the test on the same day it wasgiven, are no longer permitted. Molloy’s college guidancecounselor Mrs. Christine Loo is notconfident that the new measures

will reduce cheating in the future. “People can easily get around itand still cheat,” she said. “Thespike of instances of cheating on theSAT is a sad commentary on howthe competition to get into collegehas increased.” Senior Alejandra Castano, whotook the SAT in Bryant HighSchool, used her Molloy ID card totake the test on Oct. 6, as did allher classmates. She said the new securitymeasures went smoothly. “Everyone had proper ID, butonly a few people included theirphoto in the admission ticketbecause it is not required until lateron,” she said. “I think having apicture on the ticket is a good ideabecause it will hinder the efforts tocheat.” Senior AnnMarie Gaglio sawthree students turned away atGrover Cleveland High School fornot having proper ID. “Both the photo ID and theadmission ticket have to have yourdate of birth on them and their ID’sdidn’t have their birthdays onthem,” said Gaglio, who used herLearner’s Permit driver’s license togain admittance to the test. Senior Jillian Spataro, who tookthe SAT in Lawrence High School,said that she was required to showboth her admission ticket and herMolloy ID card before she enteredthe classroom to take the test.

The process went very smoothlyand Spataro saw no one turnedaway for not having proper ID. She had to keep her admissionticket with her at all times, evenwhen she went to the bathroom,and she had to report where she satat the end of the test.

New SAT anti-cheating measures take effect

“I was very pleased that theproctors were devoted topreventing a crime [cheating]which indirectly raises the averageSAT grade on the curve,” she said.“Now there will be fewer cheatersto harm the curve. May the curvebe ever in your favor.”

Luckily for senior Jillian Spataro, her photo ID matched her admis-

sion ticket when she went to Lawrence High School to take the SAT

on Oct. 6. (Photo by Monish Pahilajani ‘13)

95 seniors are inducted into NHSBy Stephanie Jaipaul ’13 The National Honor Societyinduction ceremony on Oct. 16 inthe Jack Curran Gym saw 95seniors with a cumulativeacademic average of 94 or abovejoin the nation-wide organization. Of the 123 seniors who wereeligible to apply, 103 did. So aftertheir applications were reviewed byNHS Moderators Ms. Kelly Earlyand Ms. Lauren Kemmerer, 95 metall of the criteria to be accepted. If the moderators were not surethat a student met the criteria, theyconsulted the members of the NHSCouncil made up of five teachers,who voted as to whether or not thestudent was qualified. Ms. Early said it was difficulthaving to tell students they did notqualify. NHS members elected BillyRabold president, Tatiana Requijovice president, Calvin Garciasecretary, and Monish Pahilajanitreasurer. Garcia was happy to be electedby his fellow NHS members. “When my friend Christiancongratulated me, I didn’t believeit. Then I checked for myself andwas actually speechless,” he said.

He said he and his fellow officersjust want to do their best to helpwith whatever they can to giveNHS the best year possible. Each of these officers spoke at theceremony about one of the fourcomponents of the National HonorSociety membership, scholarship,leadership, character, and service. Amber Emmino said beingaccepted was important to herbecause it was a reward forworking so hard throughout highschool, both in and out of theclassroom. “It’s something to really be proudof,” she said. Emmino knows some peoplewho were not accepted and theywere extremely upset. Danny Marino said wanted to bea member of NHS was because itis such a prestigious achievementthat colleges recognize asimportant. He said just because he met theNHS service requirements, itdoesn’t change anything abouthim. ”I didn’t do any of those thingsfor NHS,” he said. “I did them forme.” Marino knows someone who

didn’t get in due to lack of volunteerwork and was very upset but hethinks too many kids take it toohard when they don’t get in. Here are the seniors who did: Derrick Adam; Ololade Afolayan;Samantha Arena; Brittany Banker;Gabriela Batres; Roberto Bertolini;Patricia Bober; Brianna Boller;Stephanie Bonanno; Jacob Borkowski;Angela Broderick; Edwin Casimir;Alejandra Castano; Giovanna Castillo;Patrick Cen; Joseph Chan; AshwiniChawla; Odette Colangeli; SarahDaneshwar; Alexandria D’Attile;Param Dave; Megan Desarno; MichaelDiaz; Marian Dingco; Gisella Dionio; Mary Edward; Amber Emmino;Graziella Ferrara; Jennifer Foley; DylanFoster; Annmarie Gaglio; MarionGalvez; Andrea Garcia; Calvin Garcia;Barbara Goger; Carina Gomez; DanielaGordillo; Elizabeth Governale; MariaGrbic; Christian Hadjigeorgiou; JessicaHannon; Jenna Hoffman; Joseph

Ingrassia; Stephanie Jaipaul; Erick Jara; Greer Kann; Sameera Kassim;Amandeep Kaur; Danielle Klein;Annmarie Kosiewska; Edward Krische;Katarzyna Krol; Marcin Krol; KristinLau; James Lee; Dina Mangialino; DanielMarino; Christopher Martinez; MarisaMasi; Shibin Mathews; ShilpaMathews; Matthew Merckling; AislinnMessina; David Mieles; Soumya Misra;Kayla Murphy; Anna Maria Musso; Janet Nguyen; Samantha Paez;Monish Pahilajani; Ann Palathingal;Amanda Paljevic; Joanna Pantelides;Sitara Patel; Kirsten Paulson; AmandaPrice; William Rabold; Tatiana Requijo;Emily Rogawski; Jacqueline Rubino;Manpreet Sachdev; Cara Salvatore;Rashanna Seymour; Steffi Shilly; KiaraSigcha; Jillian Spataro; ChristineStanolevich; Angelina Sun; EleniToumazou; Rebecca Verrone; FrancisVillamater; Kirsty Vista; DanissaWilliams; Derrick Yuen; ShaliniZachariah.

Four Molloy seniors were namedCommended Students by the 2013National Merit ScholarshipProgram last month. Joseph Ingrassia, Aislinn Messina,Manpreet Sachdev and Mario

Stefanidis received letters ofcommendation for earning scoresthat placed them among the topfive percent of the more than 1.5million students who took the 2011PSAT last fall.

4 seniors honored by NationalMerit Scholarship Program

Team results: 1. 1K 44.5 points; 2. 1E 42.5;3. 1F and 1B 41; 5. 1D, 39.5; 6. 1L and 1G, 39;8. 1H, 35; 9. 1C, 33; 10. 1J, 25.5; 11. 1A, 22. History: 1. Kevin Linitz and StacyKanellopoulos, 1F; 2. Marissa Campano,Lesley Camacho, and Sean Boehme, 1B;3. Harry Singh, Laksumi Sivanandan, andShibangi Saha, 1K; 4. Amanda Gil, JailaGuevarra, and Christian Horan, 1E; 5.Samantha Racan, Connie Raptis, AlliePetot, 1J. Chess: 1. Oliver Mai, 1G; 2. Jake Curran,1C; 3. Maria Gulino, 1E; 4. Lucia Lin, 1F; 5.(tie) Trystan Faur, 1L and Klay Plakas, 1J. Spoon relay: 1. Stephaney Umana andChristian Torres, 1L; 2. Isabelle Crombezand Luigi Depalma, 1C; 3. Allison Park andTristan Powell; 4. Erin Fahey and MatthewFrenzel, 1D; 5. Allison Batac and JohnAmbert, 1A. Potato sack relay: 1. Geresa-Leigh Lukeand Alexander McDonnell, 1G; 2.Alejandra Espinel and Emanuel Figetakis,1D; 3. Erica Losasso and Brandan Larkin,1F; 4. Tiffany Corro and SalvatoreContomo, 1C; 5. Stacy Zachariah and JohnWada, 1L. Boys wheelbarrel: 1. Michael Reddy andGeorge Ritter, 1J; 2. Steven Lubchuk andThomas Manetta, 1G; 3. Brandon Chetramand Stephen Chaparro, 1B; 4. SalvatoreDipaola and Christopher Daskalis, 1C. Girls wheelbarrel: 1. AlexandriaDominguez and Jamie Durso, 1D; 2.Kristen Niklaus and Catherine Nolty, 1H;3. Anamilena Sanguino and KatharineSapienza, 1K; 4. Caroline Kelly and SaraLeston, 1F; 5. Maria Goetz and CristinaGiannelli, 1E. Boys basketball: 1. Aaron Walker, 1L; 2.Rob Bepat, 1A; 3. Bryant Quito, 1J; 4. KieranRock, 1K; 5. Brian Jenkins, 1F. Girls basketball: 1. Jamie Durso, 1D; 2.Aoife McGrath, 1G; 3. Alexa Abrams, 1A;4. Nicole Pagnotta, 1H; 5. ChristinaLattanzio, 1F. Boys soccer: 1. Jesse Rodrigues, 1K; 2.Ryan Roslonowski, 1K; 3. Hunter Cowles,1C; 4. Dylan Kelly, 1F; 5. Frank Cerillo, 1B. Girls soccer: 1. Isabelle Poptean, 1J; 2.Mary Brandt, 1B; 3. Jaylin Jofat, 1F; 4.Amanda Tracey, 1L; 5 Christina Lattanzio,

1F. Boys 100-meters: 1. Xavier Glover, 1E; 2.Liam Gallagher, 1D; 3. Samuel Hernandez,1E; 4. Saeed Rasool, 1J; 5. Daniel Del Pozo,1C. Girls 100: 1. Lara McFadden, 1G; 2.Giovanna Bonilla, 1B; 3. Alana Ball, 1A; 4.Urbi Tucker, 1L; 5. Andreina Rodriguez,1K. Boys 200: 1. Christopher Armas, 1A; 2.Stephen Chaparro, 1B; 3. TerenceCoppinger, 1C; 4. Mark Hilario, 1E; 5. JustinCole, 1C. Girls 200: 1. Petra Stiglmayer, 1L; 2.Juliana Distant, 1D; 3. Sarah Kowpak, 1F;4. Mikayla Roberts, 1K; 5. Jane McNoble,1G. Boys 300: 1. John O’Connor, 1H; 2. AustinPizzella, 1J; 3. Luke Geraci, 1E; 4. ConnerKelly, 1F; 5. Matthew Morscher, 1H. Girls 300: 1. Kathryn Gibson, 1E; 2. SofiaHyland, 1F; 3. Phoebe Valenton, 1L; 4.Annabelle Anich, 1A; 5. BenediteDieujuste, 1C. Boys 800: 1. Brendan Woods, 1L; 2.Garret Genco, 1D; 3. Evan Boyle, 1B; 4.Michael Cortez, 1C; 5. Brandon Ma, 1G.Girls 800: 1. Carolyn Crocker, 1C; 2. MelanyCaceres, 1B; 3. Kaitlyn McGee, 1G; 4.Siobhan Loftus, 1F; 5. Christy Dey, 1C. Boys shot put: 1. Isaiah Guadalupe, 1E;2. Marc Fleurant, 1D; 3. Nicholas Gangone,1D; 4. Joshua Zapata, 1L; 5. BrendanMeyers, 1H. Girls shot put: 1. Alexandra Sindo; 2. NinaPesa, 1J; 3. Ashley Asanjarani, 1A; 4.Natasha Sanchez, 1K; 5. Lynn-SaskyaToussaint, 1L. Boys high jump: 1. Michael Esposito, 1D;2. Ikpechwu Obayi, 1H; 3. Avi Mehta, 1G;4. Dominick Priolo, 1J; 5. Kevin Boves, 1B. Girls high jump: 1. Samantha Mendoza,1H; 2. Eleni Sgantzos, 1K; 3. GabriellaCitera, 1B. Boys long jump: 1. James Jurgens, 1F; 2.Daequan Morrison, 1H; 3. Harrison Sopp,1K; 4. Casey Kearney, 1F; 5. Tristan Colon,1C. Girls long jump: 1. Niamh Girdusky, 1E;2. Sophie Robinson, 1K; 3. Ashley DeSena,1C; 4. Meghan Lake, 1F; 5. Samantha Gil,1E.

By Marissa Campano ’16,Alejandra Espinel ’16, EbonyPaul ’16, Harmanveer Singh ’16 Homeroom 1B was announced asthe Freshmen Field Day winnerthanks to a clerical error that wasn’tcaught until after 1B had beenpresented the winner’s plaque. The true winner of the Sept. 28event was Homeroom 1K. So Bro. Bob Andrews, who runsFreshmen Field Day, will award 1Kanother winner ’s plaque torecognize its achievement but willallow 1B to keep its plaque. Students in 1B were completelysurprised when told at the froshWalk-a-thon assembly on Oct. 1that they had won. So was 1B’s homeroom teacher,Mr. Mark Lombardi: “It was myfirst winning homeroom ever.” Victoria Brucas of 1B said, “Wetried our best and just had fun,since a lot of the other homeroomswere so competitive.” Homeroom 1B actually finishedtied for third. It mistakenly hadbeen awarded six points forwinning the boys high jump. The winner of that event, MichaelEsposito, was from 1D, but 1B hadbeen written on the score sheet. When those six points were taken

away from 1B, second placefinisher 1K moved into first place. The recalculated team totalswere: 1K, 44.5 points; 1E, 42.5points; 1B and 1F tied with 41. But winning wasn’t really whatmattered as most frosh enjoyedthemselves on this exciting day. Esposito, who won the heart-pounding high jump event, said theday “was spectacular. I loved itbecause it was a great time to hangout and cheer with my friends.” Jaila Guevarra of 1E said, “I wasvery happy I won fourth place inthe history competition.” Nina Pesa of 1J, who finishedsecond in the girl’s shot put, said,“I enjoyed watching the highjumpers the most. I would never beable to do what they did.” Brendan Meyers, who finishedfifth in the shot put for 1H, enjoyedhis event but also liked watchingother events with his homeroom. Meyers said something on whichall frosh could agree: “There wasnothing that wasn’t fun aboutFreshman Field Day.” As the Class of 2016 walked outof the gym doors at the end of theday, they all came out as winnersby creating fun-filled memoriesthat will last for a long time.

They dislike walking thecrowded hallways, having fourminutes between classes, eatinglunch at 10:30 a.m., battling toopen lockers, wearing lanyards,and doing all that homework. Yet most members of Molloy’sClass of 2016 have found goodtimes at Stanner High. Niamh Girdusky from OurLady of Hope School “imaginedMolloy as a crowded jungle, whereI was the small gazelle, andeveryone around me was a muchbigger and stronger animal. I wasthe small freshman surrounded byscary upperclassmen.” She soon learned otherwise. “My favorite part about Molloyis the friendly atmosphere,” shesaid. “I love my classmates and myteachers. The upperclassmen arereally nice, too. They’re not thescary jungle animals I thoughtthey would be.” Kristen Roberts, from Ave MariaCatholic Academy, was told by hersenior brother Tyler that herclassmates will become like family. “The school work is challenging,but the teachers make the classesinteresting, “ Roberts said. “Eachteacher is very involved and theytruly care about their students’

work. They come in early and alsostay after school to give extra help.Each teacher shows they care aboutevery one of their students.” Harris Mohsin, who went to P.S.174, most enjoys “the great peopleI am around everyday. They makeevery class and activity excitingand enjoyable.” Petra Stiglmayer, from MostHoly Redeemer Catholic Academy,said, “I made friends much quickerthan I had anticipated. I love thepeople here, especially myteammates on the volleyball team.They have all been very kind andwelcoming.” Lauren Boldeau, from Our Ladyof Snows, was told by junior EmilyNoblesala that Molloy was like afamily. “I feel really comfortablehere,” she said. Tristan Colon, from St. AnselmSchool, said, “The teachers reallymake you learn what you’restudying instead of just makingyou remember it. They are veryconsiderate to the ones who needextra help. Honestly, I love theteachers here. I feel like I can trulybond with them and learn” Taylor Fredrick, from St. Francisof Assisi, heard Molloy was strict.Continued on page 7

By Maria Aliberti ’16, Daryl Caffarone ’16, Rose Maisano ’16,Sargam Mehra ’16, Nicholas Molehidas ’16, Samantha Racan ’16,Laksumi Sivanandan ’16, Sarah Stiglianese ’14, Sylvie Williams’16, Lucia Lin ’16, Perry Chresomales ’16

Frosh find Molloy islike their new family

Clerical error results in 2 champs

Field Day official results

Frosh cheer on their classmates. (Photos by Mr. Joe Sommo)

Walking to benefit Caf & ChapelBy Sophia Savvides ’15 andPhillip Barsamian ’15 October is here again, so allStanners will walk throughBriarwood in the 20th annualWalk-a-thon on Oct. 19 to raisemoney to renovate the Cafeteriaand the Chapel. The 2012 Walk-a-thon shirts willbe cardinal red and feature seniorRuthba Ahmed’s winning entryfrom last year’s Google-style designcontest during Spirit Week. Remaining in effect will be thepolicy begun last year which statesthat only students who raise at least$80 will get a day off from schoolon Nov. 2. Last year the Walk-a-thon raisedthe money which paid for the JackCurran Gym’s shiny new floor, newbleachers, and new curtains. The Cafeteria and Chapel werechosen to be renovated nextbecause, “looking around thebuilding with the new science labsand new Library, they looked likethey needed to be updated,” saidAssistant Principal Mr. Ken Auer. The Cafeteria will get skylights,new lunch tables, and easier accessto the food service counters. TheChapel wil get new seats and airconditioning. This year’s Walk-a-thon holidaywill be Nov. 2 because, “getting theday off on Thursday Nov. 1 [for AllSaints Day] and not Friday Nov. 2would be silly since everyone wouldhave to come back to school rightbefore the weekend,” Mr. Auersaid. “So they chose Nov. 2 to makeit a long weekend.” Students getting Nov. 2 off is no

longer based on each grade levelachieving its fund-raising goal asit was for the first 18 Walk-a-thons. Students who do not bring in atleast $80 will have to report toschool on Nov. 2. “They will do somethingeducational,” said Mr. Auer, whowill supervise the day along withMr. Ed Shannon. Last year, 75 students had tocome to school to watch the movie“Ghandi” in the Theater. Senior Carina Gomez said, “Itshould not be mandatory foreveryone to bring in money and be

punished if they don’t.” Junior Kristian Mosquito said it’sunfair to punish students because“they don’t have a say on how themoney is going to be used.” However, sophomore DanielAguirre said students should notget a day off unless they raise $80. “If the school tells people to dosomething, they should do it tohelp our school,” he said Mr. Auer said all students shouldparticipate because they walk toimprove the school. “Each improvement is made forstudents,” he said. As always, students who raise themost money will earn prizes. The top two overall prizes are freetuition for the year and an iPad. The top frosh and sophomore

Juniors Camille Pangalangan, Megan McNamara, and Elizabeth Prado take a break from walking to

pose during last year’s Walk-a-thon. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)

The Stanner reporters Sophia Savvides and Phillip Barsamian

model the 2012 Walk-a-thon t-shirts. (Photo by Mr. Ed Shannon)

each get two Justin Bieber concerttickets, the top junior a free driver’seducation course, and the topsenior two Senior Prom tickets. Since it began in 1993, it hasnever rained on the Walk-a-thon. Mr. Auer said Molloy has defiedthe odds because “the brothershave been doing a lot of prayingand we have just been very lucky!” Mosquito said that if it were torain, he’d still be willing to walk. “I would not mind if we walkedwith umbrellas,” he said, “but theother students probably would beannoyed.” Most students have a great timeduring the Walk-a-thon. “It is a fun day because it is coolto chill with your friends whilewalking around,” said Gomez.

By Matthew Spataro ’14 People attending FreshmenParents Night on Sept. 27 in theJack Curran Gym were treated tospeeches from seniors in Ms. MaryPat Gannon’s Public Speakingclass. John Anthony DiMaria, JacobLascano, Robert Mielczarek,Vivian Papas, Anita Swider, andConor Tuohy interviewed schooladministraion members in order toexplain their jobs to parents. All were volunteers who receivedextra credit from Ms. Gannon ifthey wrote persuasive speeches. They explained the jobs ofPresident Mr. Richard Karsten,Principal Bro. Thomas Schady,Assistant Principals Ms. Mary AnnSafrey, Mr. Dennis Vellucci, Mr.Edward Cameron, and Mr.Kenneth Auer. Tuohy, who spent two days

writing and rehearsing his speechon Mr. Auer’s role in the school,volunteered to speak in order toshow parents what Molloystudents are like. Despite the large crowd, he wasnot nervous. “All the parents came up to meto congratulate me,” he said. “EvenMr. Auer congratulated me.” Mr. Auer did offer some criticism,however, saying Tuohy should haveadded “handsome” whendescribing him. Swider had a fun giving herspeech to the parents despite herfear of public speaking. She said she took Ms. Gannon’sclass to conquer her fear. “Ms. Gannon helps with allaspects of public speaking,” shesaid. “It is a really good course andI recommend it to all who feartalking in public.”

Seniors speak to parents

Stanners are very involved inMolloy’s various activities, nonemore so than the club officers. Six Stanners this year are soinvolved that they were eitherelected or appointed as officers fortwo different clubs. Cara Salvatore, a senior, ispresident of both the StudentCouncil and the Concert Band. Senior Jacob Borkowski ispresident of both I AM Green andthe Guitar Ensemble. Senior Lauren Velez is presidentof both the Stanner Film Societyand the Health Club. Senior Mario Stefanidis is vicepresident of the Poli-Sci Club andtreasurer of Student Council. Senior Ray Fu is president of theSci Fi Club and was named byS.M.I.L.E. Moderator Mr. Chris

Dougherty as his “secretary ofkeepin’ it real.” Junior Aerin Toskas is presidentof the String Ensemble and vicepresident of I AM Green. Here are the names of some ofMolloy’s recently elected orappointed club officers:Asian Club: President Kirsty Vista; VicePresident Francis Villamater;Secretary Felicia Mendoza.Book Club: President Jillian Spataro.Concert Band: President CaraSalvatore, Vice President MitchellCottrell; Secretary Veronica Singh.French Club: President AlejandraGarcia; Vice President Carina Gomez.Guitar Ensemble: President JacobBorkowski; Vice President JohnAnthony DiMaria.Health Club: President Lauren Velez;Vice President Christian Martinez.Indian Club: President Jayeda Newaz;Vice President Ashwini Chawla;Secretary Soumya Misra.

I AM Green: President JacobBorkowski; Vice President AerinToskas.I.Q. Club: President Marian Galvez.Irish Club: Presidents Steven McGuireand Liam Tuohy.Knitting Club: President Ayana Tan.Poli Sci Club: President: ChristopherAlmeida; Vice President MarioStefanidis; Secretary Natalie Picon.Sci-Fi Club: President Ray Fu; VicePresident Jordi Sevilla.S.M.I.L.E.: Secretary Ray Fu.String Ensemble: President AerinToskas; Vice President Jordan Foster.Spanish Club: President AlejandraCastano; Vice President RobertSantana; Secretary Kristen Candelaria;Treasurer Thalia Toro; AlternateGiovanna Castillo.Stanner Film Society: President LaurenVelez; Vice Presidents Barbara Irala,Steven McGuire; Executive Board BillyRabold, Jonathan Cajas, Dylan Diaz,and Daniel Ramirez.The Stanner: Editor-in-chief Monish

Pahilajani; Assistant Editors PamelaDecolongon, Joana Capistrano, DanielaSalazar, and Rashanna Seymour.Student Council: President CaraSalvatore; Vice President JayedaNewaz; Secretary Connie Zhao;Treasurer Mario Stefanides.

Club officers named for 2012-13

Continued from page 1Haka, a Maori war dance, in theMolloy parking lot and Stannersfound the dance “prettyinteresting” and “really cool.” Stanners came away from theKiwis’ visit with heightened interestin New Zealand. “I wanted to visit New Zealandto begin with,” said senior AlyssaPlaia, “so talking to them made mewant to visit even more.”

Kiwis love pizzaat Stanner High

By Roberto Bertolini '13 I AM Green, Molloy's environ-mental club, participated in theannual Rockaway Beach clean-upfor the fifth time on Sept. 28. The event was sponsored by theAmerican Littoral Society, whichcollects data on the amount andtypes of trash found on localbeaches. Thirty-four club memberscleaned up trash found along theshore between Beach 106th and116th Streets and deposited it in theproper recycling and trash bins. They arrived at 3:30 p.m. andworked for two and a half hours,collecting over 300 pounds of gar-bage, ranging from paper goods,bottles, cigarettes butts and even atractor tire, three couch cushions,a 60-foot rope, a bag of mangos, toa handcuff.

Moderator Mr. Chris Doughertysaid new city laws have affected thegarbage they find. “We used to find a few thousandcigarette butts but now we are onlyfinding a few hundred," he said."The laws are working!” Club President Jacob Borkowski,who joined the club as a sopho-more, said, “I love the earth andnature. I want my kids to grow upin a nice, clean world. Cleaningup garbage is not nasty. I was withmy friends so I had a lot of fun.” Senior Liam Tuohy went on histhird beach cleanup because, “I amvery concerned about the future ofRockaway Beach.” Tuohy‘s favorite part of the tripwas going for tacos afterwards atRockaway Taco. “The tacos were amazing andreasonably priced!” he said. Environmentalists like tacos. (Photo by Mr. Chris Dougherty)

I AM Green cleans up Rockaway

Frosh happy to be part of the Molloy familyContinued from page 4 “I thought it was going to bereally hard and not that muchfun,” she said. But she was happy to be wrong. Fredrick likes all the clubs andactivities there are to join and the“wide variety of students. I like allthe friends I’ve made.” Jamie Durso, from Ave MariaCatholic Academy, said, “Molloyhas a very hard working staff thataccommodates each student’sneeds.” Carissa Rahaman, from St.Sebastian School, said, “Theteachers aren’t as mean as I thoughtthey’d be but the assignments aresometimes difficult to keep upwith, especially if you’re inadvanced courses.” What Rahaman likes best is “thediversity and the fact that

everyone’s really nice.” Kathryn Gibson, from St.FrancisDeSales School, said, “The teachersare good and help individuals inmany different ways. I lovemeeting new friends that I hope Iwill be friends with forever.” Kristen Niklaus, from SacredHeart School, said Molloy “is evenbetter than I expected. Molloy is likea family.” Emily Peckham, from TheScholars’ Academy, said, “Iexpected Molloy to be a stricterenvironment than my old school,which it is, but I also expected awelcoming environment. I like thatMolloy has a lot to offer to studentswho have different interests.” Thomas Lynch, from Our Ladyof Victory and whose siblings J.D,Gurt, and Mary attended Molloy,said, “I like that there are so many

activities here and that almosteveryone is a part of something.” Amanda Tracey, from FloralPark Bellerose School, said, “I likehow the schedule changeseveryday. Your classes are alwaysmixed around.” Nadine Yamout, from St.Joseph’s Catholic Academy whosebrother is a Molloy graduate, said,“At first I thought coming to thisschool meant getting a lot of work.But now that I’ve gotten used tothe style of the school, it’s beeneasier than I expected because ofmy teachers. They make it easieron you. I think I like my teachersthe most, as well as my friends.” Audrey Sabatino, from Our Ladyof the Blessed Sacrament whosebrother was a Stanner, said, “Evenat a young age, I thought Molloywas a really cool place.”

Now that she’s here, “Iunderstand why people say it’s abig family. I know this might soundcorny but I love everything.” Three students from WilliamSpyropoulos School all enjoy beingat Molloy. Stacy Kanellopoulos didn’t planto come to here but changed hermind at the last minute. “I like it a lot,” she said. “I likethat it’s a very cozy and safeenvironment and I like myteachers.” Padelis Astrinidis said Molloy has“ambitious students but, besides allthe studying, overall it is fun.” Alex Gliagias said he likedMolloy’s “ various events such asFreshman Camp, Freshman FieldDay, and the Activities Fair whereyou can meet new people, try newthings, and, most of all, have fun.”

opportunity to watch them growand develop as dancers. A dancerprobably won’t move up to theteam this year, but she will be inmind for the following year,” Ms.Murdocca said. Aside from performing atbasketball games, the Dance Teamwill attend the LIU-C.W. Post HighSchool Dance Conference againthis year. “We plan to take part in somecompetitions and at least oneconvention,” Ms. Murdocca said.“We will also be at InternationalDay, Spirit Week and would liketo dance at some of the girlsbasketball games as well. My hopeis to have the dancers get moreinvolved with some service workwhere they can utilize their danceskills to help others.” Senior Melissa Neumann, whohas been dancing for 11 years, iscaptain of the team this year. “I’ve gone to a bunch of differentdance studios such as AmericanDance & Drama and BroadwayDance Center in New York andDance Time in Florida, when I usedto live there,” she said, “I currentlygo to In Motion in Whitestone.” Neumann said, “I was extremelynervous in trying out for the DanceTeam in my freshman year. Butonce I made the last few callbacksas a sophomore and junior, I waspretty confident I would make theteam [again this year].” Neumann was impressed by thenew dancers’ abilities. “The new girls were able toremember the routines, performthe routines very well, and hadgreat personalities,” she said. As team captain of the Dance

Team, Neumann is lookingforward to the year ahead. “I can’t wait to make up newdances, go to competitions andconventions, bond with the teamand, last but not least, perform forour peers,” she said. Senior Alejandra Castano, whohas been dancing for 10 years, is anew addition to the team. “I tried out freshman andsophomore year but I didn’t makethe team,” she said. “I didn’t tryout in junior year, but I gave it ashot in senior year and I made it!” Last year Castano danced atInternational Day for Molloy’sSpanish Club. “I choreographed some of thedances with help of others and I

By Christiane Crawford ’14 andJennifer Desamero ’14 When long-time moderator Mr.Bill Flemen resigned last year asleader of the Model UN Club,many members were disappointedthat the club ceased to exist. Hearing about their situationfrom a few of his students, Mr.Mike Harrison, chairman of theSocial Studies Department,decided to step in to restart the clubafter its year hiatus. “I taught Austin (Samaroo) andAnna (Poulakas) and they were‘crying,’ they were so upset,” Mr.Harrison joked. “I was verydisappointed that Model UNwasn’t happening last year.” Mr. Harrison feels strongly abouthis team which has over 50members. “They’re going to be as great asthey were two years ago!” Mr.Harrison said. Some of the returning membersare club president Poulakas and

vice president ChristopherAlmeida. The Model UN Conference thisyear will be on May 16 andPoulakas said her teammates willbegin to prepare after the UNassigns them the countries theywill represent on Nov. 2. They will practice their speakingskills and write position papers. “At the conference, you debatewith other delegates on the topicof interest, you make resolutions,and come to a general agreementthat will better your country,” saidPoulakas. The club last went to the ModelUN Conference two years ago. “I got to meet a lot of people fromaround the world.” said Almeida.“It was an interesting experienceand very exciting!” Poulakas said, “One of my bestmemories was sitting in the actualUN conference room and hearingwhat actual delegates have to say.” Mr. Harrison said, “I hope the

kids learn more about the UN, thecountries they will represent, andworld events. Model UN is a greatway to learn social skills andinteracting with others as well as

Dance Team senior captain Melissa Neumann, center, and senior

Micaela Modica, standing, dance last year at a basketball game.

Molloy Dance Team welcomes new membersBy Ruthba Ahmed ’13 Molloy’s Dance Team heldtryouts on Sept. 25 in the JackCurran Gym and callbacks onSept. 27. When they were over,only 17 of the more than 50 girlswho tried out had made the team. Dance Team Moderator Ms. LizMurdocca was impressed by all thetalent that was showcased duringthe auditions. “Seventeen girls made the team,two more than I usually take,because the talent was so good thisyear,” she said. “I had a hard timemaking cuts.” Ms. Murdocca said manyreturning members had reallyprogressed in their dancing overthe summer. “There was also some exceptionalnew talent in the freshman class aswell,” she added. Ms. Murdocca said to make theteam dancers must be able to learnnew choreography quickly. “I also look for technique, style,stage presence and performance,”she said. Ms. Murdocca said she stronglyrecommended to the girls whodidn’t make the team that theyshould join the Dance Club. “I already have girls in mind fornext year’s team,” she said. “If adancer doesn’t make the team butjoins the club, it gives me anopportunity to really see herstrengths and weaknesses and itgives her a push for what she needsto do to make the team thefollowing year.” “This year, two of my newdancers are on the team becausethey worked with me in DanceClub last year and I really had an

know a lot about Spanish dancesbecause I’ve learned them from myfamily,” she said. Now that she’s on the team,Castano said, “I’m looking forwardto dancing with the other seniorsand making it a great senior year.I’m excited to perform at thebasketball games and also at theSenior-Faculty Basketball Game.” Here are the team members: Seniors: Alejandra Castano; MicaelaModica; Anna Maria Musso; MelissaNeumann; Samantha Paez; JoannaPantelides. Juniors: Rosemarie Casano; Bea Cruz;Emily Lewis; Ashley Vascellaro. Sophomores: Flora Ho; Maria Troia;Deanna Aliperti; Savannah Coppola; Frosh: Caitlin Conza; Nicole Pagnotta;Stephanie Peperone

working on your writing, thinkingand communication skills.Altogether, I think Model UNmakes its members well roundedstudents.”

Mr. Harrison takes charge of Model UN Club

Continued from Page 2Frosh Terry Severe applauded thepresident’s strong support of equalpay for equal work for women. Junior Catherine Lambersondenounced as weak the president’shandling of the situation in theMiddle East, alienating our alliesthere and allowing terrorists tomake ever more daring attacks onour property and citizens overseas. Junior Dylan Diaz applauded theway the president ended the IraqWar and plans to do the same inAfghanistan. Libertarian Party supporterjunior Giancarlo Diaz said bothObama and Romney “support an

irresponsibly aggressive foreignpolicy. Gary Johnson takes a moreanti-war stance that saves us fromadding to the deficit and the fallensoldier count.” Junior Carluto Touissant ispleased Obama’s student loanreform makes paying for collegeeasier while Romney “has turneda blind eye to that issue.” Junior Daniela Franceshetticriticized Romney on primary andsecondary education. “He said he was all for hiringmore teachers but later he said weneed to cut a lot of federal fundingfor schools,” she said. “Yet anotherissue he’s flip-flopped on.”

Stanners split on vote

By Stephanie Bonanno ‘13 andJaclyn Eng ‘13 Molloy intramurals will kick offthis year with the FootballTournament starting the week ofOct. 22 on the Stanner baseballfield. The Intramural Committee, runby Mr. Brian Kelly, has manytournaments planned for this year. Upcoming competitions include:the Ping-Pong Tournament inNovember; Volleyball Tournamentin January; the BasketballTournament in February, theDodgeball Tournament in Marchduring Spirit week, and theUltimate Frisbee Tournament inApril. The Ping-Pong Tournament willfeature larger tables than the onesused last year. As a sports fanatic, Mr. Kelly saidhe is excited about another year ofintramural sports. “It gives me a chance to keep mylove of sports alive,” he said. “It’s agreat way to be active outside ofthe classroom.” Students on the intramuralscommittee, which has 30 newmembers this year, must advertise,organize, and officiate all thetournaments, establish the rules,

distribute and collect rosters. Returning members includeseniors Billy Rabold and TarundeepKaur and juniors Rebecca Wagnerand Taylor Moss. Kaur most enjoys running thetournaments. “It’s fun putting together eachevent,” she said. “It’s a good feelingknowing that it all turns outsmoothly after all of the hard workwe put in.” Intramurals continue to run veryefficiently with very few teamsforfeiting games since Mr. Kellytook over and turned intramuralsinto a series of one or two-daytournaments. “Everyone is very spirited,” Mr.Kelly said. “Despite students’ busyafter school schedules, it is nice thatthey stay dedicated for a couple ofdays to participate.” The Intramural Committee alsoencourages students to be creativein their team names and uniformsto make the experience moreenjoyable. The champions, as in the past,will win T-shirts. If students have any new ideasfor intramural events, thecommittee welcomes input afterschool in Room 301.

Intramurals begin with football tournament

By Anna Poulakas ’14 Molloy’s boys varsity soccer teamdefeated St. Francis Prep 1-0 onOct. 9 on a goal by junior DenesKostel with an assist from seniorDemetrios Andriopoulos to avenge

its only league loss of the year. The Stanners followed thatvictory with a 6-0 rout of HolyCross on Oct. 11 for their ninthstraight win and eighth shutout ofthe season.

Anthony Genna and Virgilio Jimenez have their game faces on at

last year’s Ping-Pong Tournament. (Photo by Jordi Sevilla ‘14)

Boys varsity soccer wins 9 in a row First place Molloy’s overall recordis now 12-3. The highlight of the season in theeyes of captain Chris Mouzakitiswas Molloy’s 2-0 defeat of Iona onSept. 27. “The most satisfying victory wasIona because Justin Thompson wasthere and we won it for him,” hesaid about his classmate andformer teammate who wasparalyzed by a random shootinglast fall. After beating Iona, Molloydefeated St. Peter’s, Xavier, andFrancis Lewis. Molloy’s Athletic Director Mr.Mike McCleary said, “Molloy hasamazing defense. Coach [Andy]Kostel builds from the defense up.” Junior Nikolaos Chagias said,“We take every game seriously,

play strong, go for the win, andlove the game.” This year’s top defenders areseniors Mouzakitis, NicholasDorcean, Connor Leavens, EddieSteele, and juniors John Young andEric Alerte. Dorcean and Young also splittime as goalkeeper in games, withone playing the first half and theother the second. Denes Kostel is the leading scorerwith nine goals and senior NickMatusewicz is second with seven. Molloy reached the semi-finals ofthe city playoffs last year and Mr.McCleary hopes the Stanners dowell again in the 2012 playoffs,which will begin after the finalregular season game on Oct. 19. Young said the team’s goal is toreach the city championship game.

Seniors Vanja Matkovic andDylan Foster were named teamcaptains of Molloy’s Hurdle Teamfor the 2012-13 indoor and outdoortrack and field seasons.

Pick hurdle captains

Car

toon

Cor

ner

Seniors Brendan Brosnan and

Chris Mouzakitis, above, close in

to foil a St.Francis Prep attacker.

Junior Denes Kostel, right, is

Molloy’s boys varsity soccer

team’s leading scorer. (Photo by

Blue and White Yearbook staff)

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vann

i Vitt

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