For the last several weeks eight people stood abreast with the The Crown of Thorns statue in the Brophy Mall.
Eight faces, some half-hidden by bandages, stared from glossy pictures with tired and tearful eyes and hungry mouths.
Since Jan. 28, many students, parents and faculty members volunteered in one hour shifts to stand in solidarity with these and all the people of Haiti after the earthquake on Jan. 12.
The first time I ever heard of Haiti was back in 2008 in Mr. JP Jarcyzk’s Gospels in Actions class.
As part of the curriculum we read Tracy Kidder’s “Mountain Beyond Mountains,” which highlighted the poverty and economic inequality of Haiti.
It discussed the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, who was trying to give Haitians basic medical supplies to improve their quality of life.
There are more benefits from going to a private school than one might think: going to Brophy protects students from the terrible state funding per student.
Arizona ranks 47th in the nation in per student funding, according to the U.S. Census of 2006-2007.
This report shows that Arizona spends $7,196 on each student per year. That is nearly $2,500 below the national average of $9,666.
Brophy is a campus of many acres and of almost a dozen buildings; though, in none of these buildings can a student eat while they study in quiet, peaceful, temperate quarters.
Students are always allowed to eat in the Great Hall, the climate controlled cafeteria, but among the flying food, the trash and the shouting, the Great Hall does not make for a great place to concentrate and get work done.
The little wooden box that sits quietly in the back of the football office never really seems to get much attention, unless someone is using it to rest a drink on.
But these boxes are in place for a reason. They are a referral system that students can use if they or someone they know are having issues with things such as drugs and alcohol.
Substance abuse has always been a concern for Brophy College Preparatory, as it is for just about any other school today.
This month The Roundup reported that 47 percent of high school students said they have used illicit drugs in their lifetime.
Walter Cronkite, the most trusted man in America, died this summer, leaving an immense void in responsible journalism.
So who will take his place? Brian Williams? Katie Couric? Anderson Cooper?
According to a Time poll, the “most trusted man in America” is now Jon Stewart, a comedian known for his work on “The Daily Show.”
Most people these days are put off by network news and many newspaper readers are turning to satire for their current events as a result.
Over the course of several weeks recently, I undertook a new kind of journalistic safari: I took the liberty of recording every wrestling match in the Info Commons, every grappling match at the choke point between the gym and Keating Hall and every boxing match in classrooms.
A bit of a disclaimer: I am most certainly not a stalker.
It bears mentioning, however, that the purpose of this archiving spree was not to record the many different ways in which Brophy students care to physically interact with each other. To be honest, I didn’t begin my strange high school safari with the sentiment that I’d be hard-pressed to find subject material (although I ended up being correct).
After 12 years of formal education, I have come to dread the moment a teacher utters the phrase “group project.”
Group work is not effective for multiple reasons.
In the near future, I can imagine tuning in for the evening news and hearing, “It has been 297 days since Obama’s socialist regime tore the presidency from the deserving hands of “The Maverick.” With replacing our former ‘All Hat No Cattle’ president, the current “Redistributor-in-Chief,” has taken the White House by storm.”
Um –welcome to America?
The land where “united we stand, divided we fall?”
Not really sounding like it, huh?