III "FROM HOME" - St. Anselm's Abbey School
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The Priory press
St. Anselm’s Abbey School
EDITION
III
“FROM HOME”
A Note from the Editors ...................................................................................................................................................... 2
by: The Priory Press Staff
President’s Perch ................................................................................................................................................................... 4
by: Joseph Paci, Form VI
Review of Shawshank Redemption ............................................................................................................................... 5
by: Christian González, Form VI
Homework Overload............................................................................................................................................................ 6
by: Lucas Traver, Form V
A Year in Big Brother - Little Brother ........................................................................................................................... 7
by: Vinnie Blum, Form V
Abbey Dances: Music Selection ...................................................................................................................................... 8
by: Jack Maxwell, Form VI
Calisthenics .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9
by: Jackson Muise, Form V
In Defense of Latin.............................................................................................................................................................. 10
by: Ms. Helfenbein
The Dangers of Indifference .......................................................................................................................................... 12
by: Oscar Lloyd, Form V
Coronavirus + Senioritus ................................................................................................................................................. 14
by: Will Monahan, Form VI
Senior Citizen Care Packages ........................................................................................................................................ 15
by: Nick Casertano, Form V
SpaceX to Launch Crew to the ISS .............................................................................................................................. 16
by: Hugo Filmer, Form IV
Groundhog Day.................................................................................................................................................................... 18
by: Terry Flannery, Form VI
Printing PPE For Local Hospitals.................................................................................................................................. 19
an interview with: Mr. Bryan Taylor
The Doodle ............................................................................................................................................................................ 20
by: The Dudeler
The History of Abbey Dances ........................................................................................................................................ 21
by: Fr. Michael Hall, OSB, Ph.D, ‘56
Contents
How to Bring Hard Currency to Pyongyang: A Guide ........................................................................................ 23
by: Frank Daley-Young, Form VI
Wall of Graduates ............................................................................................................................................................... 24
Gardening in the Wake ..................................................................................................................................................... 25
by: JP Libanati, Form VI
Wall of Gratitude ................................................................................................................................................................ 26
The Cellar ......................................................................................................................................................................... 27
The Barry Prize Winners ~ 2019 ................................................................................................................................. 30
The
Priory
Press
Editors- Christian González, VI Terry Flannery, VI
in-Chief Jay Sella, V Editors Ryan Simpson, V
Faculty Mr. Michael McCarthy
Advisory
The following content has been reviewed and approved by
the Priory Press Team. We assume responsibility for the Editors’
contents included in this edition of The Priory Press,
and we hope you enjoy the work of your Abbey brothers. Note
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 1
A Note from
new reality, our hopes for releasing four edi-
The Priory Press Staff
tions this year were squashed. Given further
time and production constraints, we were
the Editors
also left in a position where we were best to
not produce our annual The Cellar. That
said, our team reconvened (with well more
than 6-feet of separation) and decided the
H ere we are… the end of the school year,
typically filled with all kinds of events.
Today, however, you know that we live in a
best path forward to culminate three works
into one, closing the school year with what
we believe is the best edition yet. But, we’re
time no one could have imagined just a few
biased. We’ll let you be the judge of that.
short weeks ago. At the start of this aca-
demic year, it was our team’s mission to re- Before we get into the articles and
lease four editions of The Priory Press works, our editors wanted to share
at the highest caliber we could achieve. some thoughts as we close out the year:
This edition was first being assembled way
back over Christmas Break. With more than
90% of the articles received by mid-Febru- “This year started with a lot of ambitious
ary, we were moving full-speed ahead. Ear- planning... never before had the Priory Press
ly on, we settled on this being our cover: team published more than two editions in an
academic year. We worked diligently to en-
sure readers that we had a wide variety of
topics covered in each edition. We even made
the switch from Microsoft Publisher to Ado-
be InDesign to create more visually stunning
pieces. Although we didn’t achieve our goal
of four editions, the three we have made have
been memorable. I want to thank everybody
who we worked with this year, but I especial-
ly want to thank our faculty advisor Mr. Mc-
Carthy and my editing staff. Without Mr. Mc-
Carthy, I would have never walked down this
road of creating publications for the school.
And I couldn’t have realized such an amazing
edition without my editing staff, especially
Jay Sella who has worked tirelessly to bring
the school high quality press releases. I hope
the next year brings even greater editions!”
- Christian González
“I was very pleased with how the Priory
Presses turned out this year. They were
But wow did things change! Originally, half of probably some of the greatest I’ve seen in all
the articles contained in this edition were to my seven years at the Abbey, both in quality
be a part of a late February release. Unfortu- and quantity. I was really, really proud of the
nately, as time dwindled and our shift to phys- articles we received this year, discussing both
ically distanced environments became our
2 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020
school and world issues in an in-depth and highly tions, I am extremely proud of our work we have
sophisticated manner. I am especially happy to put forth, including our lengthened yearbook. If
pass the torch to the Juniors; I am very confident it were not for their inspiring me to get involved,
that they will use the progress made this year as it is unlikely I ever would have embarked on
a stepping stone for even larger feats of journal- this adventure. As the rest of the team has al-
ism. I would like to thank Christian for keeping ready said, I would be remiss without extending
the Priory Press on the most effective schedule thanks to our many authors and contributors,
it has ever been on in years, maybe even decades, our faculty advisory, the administration, Terry,
Jay for heightening the quality to a professional Ryan, and especially Christian for his tireless
degree, and the amazing Mr. McCarthy for being devotion, incredible work ethic, and admirable
a great mentor and faculty reviewer. Best of luck drive to always iterate and enhance on previous
to the new editing team, and my fellow class of works. It has truly been a team effort and would
2020 members in their new academic pursuits!” have been impossible without so many fantas-
tic contributions. Congratulations to the Class
- Terry Flannery of 2020 ~ you have many great things to come!”
- Jay Sella
“The Priory Press has been unbelievably success-
ful this year. The editions released are probably
some of the best ever published. I never would’ve By the Numbers:
imagined myself participating in the Priory Press Join us as we take a just a few more moments to look
and yearbook as it was completely new to me, back on the past year of student publications.
but I’m glad I did. I never realized how much work
was needed just to publish a single edition, and
the team was en route to publishing four articles,
116 Yearbook pages
the most the school has seen. Even though we
could not put out the spring edition due to the
4 Released student publications
quarantine, I am extremely proud of our team for
their determination and hard work on the publi- 96 Total Priory Press pages
36
cations. The amount of effort that was needed to
publish these editions is extraordinary. I want to Page count of longest Press
especially acknowledge Christian González and
Jay Sella for their tremendous hard work, en- 11+ Months of work
thusiasm, and dedication that they have shown
for the Priory Press. They worked constantly to 7,775 Images reviewed
make sure that they could publish the best works
possible. Best of luck to the Class of 2020!” 15k+ Messages exchanged
- Ryan Simpson
“In many ways, it’s hard to believe that another
As Christian and Terry move on to pursue
year has come and gone. While there are certainly
their next chapters, the future of The Priory
several ways by which to remember this one, I am
Press is yet to be determined. As of now, we
extremely happy with our Priory Press team and
are thrilled to have a robust group of juniors
what we have accomplished under Christian’s
who have been greatly helpful in delivering
leadership with Terry. Although we were unable
these works. •
to achieve our aspirations of releasing four edi-
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 3
President’s
and improve on our successes. Although
Joseph Paci, VI
not much about the future inspires opti-
mism right now, these rising seniors sure do.
Perch
I am gonna go crazy if I hear the phrase
“these challenging times” one more time,
but it’s true. We’ve had a pretty rough end
to our year. I hope you guys and your fami-
lies are safe, and, more importantly, that you
don’t go insane being indoors all the time.
I wish we could be doing cookouts, spring
dances, and Field Day right now, but I sin-
cerely hope that the student government has
delivered the best possible experience to you
guys with what time we had together. High- Mirv and I, and a good chunk of the rest of the
lights from this year included our hundred- IHC, will be leaving the Abbey for college next
girl-hoco, Mirv’s masterful grilling, sick open year. We hope to have left here better than
mic night music, and so much more. We owe it when we got here. That’s another annoying
all to the support, and patience, of the student cliché, but true nonetheless. Thank you so
body. But we’re not done yet - as of writing much to the students, administration, facul-
this, the student council is figuring out how ty, monks, and parents who gave us a chance
to host some remote activities (Open Zoom to let us all serve this amazing community. •
night?!) and conduct the election remotely.
I fully expect future years
TO BE EVEN BETTER
THAN THIS ONE
Speaking of the election, based on this year’s
candidates, I fully expect future years to be
even better than this one. No matter who
wins - Oscar and Jarvis, Omar and Sharen, or
Luca and Hayden - you can’t go wrong with
any of these tickets. Half of these guys have
already been in the front lines of student
government, frantically placing decorations
on the walls for dances, peddling pizzas at
lunch, and rising at the crack of dawn to be
our tag day enforcers. They’ll be able to learn
from our student government’s missteps
4 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020
Review of
ally should experience the work for yourself.
Christian González, VI
The story confronts the harsh reality of pris-
on: the cruelty the inmates suffer; the lack
Shawsank of opportunity; and the permanent psycho-
logical damage caused by prolonged impris-
onment and harsh conditions. At one point,
Redemption an inmate was dragged out of the prison be-
cause he had served his time. The poor guy
begs to be left in jail; he cannot conform to
B efore Shawshank Redemption Stephen society after knowing anything but imprison-
King was always that “horror author” to ment for many years. The corruption of the
me whose books were a tad bit too long for administration and the judicial system are
comfort. Middle school me was a fool. When also laid bare. Once the warden realizes An-
I joined St. Anselm’s Book Club in freshman dy’s usefulness, he actively foils his attempts
year, Thomas Miller, then Book Club Presi- to prove his innocence. At this point the war-
dent, asked members to read this King story den, a supposed faithful Christian, falls from
to compare its film adaptation with its source grace when he kills an inmate who volunteers
material. I was surprised to discover that to testify for Andy during that fateful night.
King wrote works that had nothing to do with Finally, King explores themes of hope and
horror; it was both shocking and intriguing convenience. Andy literally found him-
to hear that the book was crime fiction and self in a case of “the wrong place at the
had grim themes concerning imprisonment, wrong time” where mounting evidence
greed, and corruption. Once I started reading, deductively concludes him to be the
I couldn’t stop until I was done. Homework murderer despite it not being the case.
and video games took a backseat while I read
this incredible story about hope and optimism Hope is the central idea of the story, through-
in the face of corruption and conveniences. out the book Andy faces cruelty, setbacks,
and occasionally death threats as an inmate.
The story revolves around Andy Dufresne, a He experienced many hardships, and you
banker, who happens to be in the wrong place would think, on top of his appeal not going
at the wrong time and finds himself convict- anywhere, he
ed of murdering his wife and her lover with would give up
mounting evidence against him. Despite his hope and de-
consecutive life sentences, he’s optimistic and spair. No. The
hopeful that evidence will arise proving his in- man, against
nocence. Although the plot revolves around all odds, es-
Andy, it’s narrated by Red, another inmate capes the
who is pessimistic and despairing after going cruelty of his
through multiple interviews to be released predicament
out of prison each ending without success. and exposes
Andy befriends Red, the latter baffled by An- the sins of the
dy’s insistence of his innocence in spite of the prison. I won’t
damaging evidence against him. Andy begins say anything
to negotiate privileges with the warden, who about the end-
ironically falls so far from their faith. That ing, but it was
however, is all I’ll say in terms of plot... you re- a good one. •
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 5
Homework
Lucas Traver, V
Overload
H ere at St. Anselm’s, the amount of home-
work assigned to students has gotten
out of hand, affecting the students both
physically and mentally. As a student, I un-
derstand the need for homework; it rein- Teachers here at St. Anselm’s should real-
forces material learned in the classroom ize the damaging effects homework assign-
and helps develop consistent study habits ments have on their students and consider
that are beneficial to students in the long students’ wellbeing when assigning home-
run. However, it loses its positive effect work. It would be beneficial for students’ ed-
when it prevents them from participating ucation and learning if homework loads were
in extracurricular activities, resting, and ac- reduced. If students were not forced to com-
tually enjoying the material being taught. plete so many graded worksheets on topics,
they might actually find interest in the topics
Everyone who attends The Abbey knows themselves. Much of our homework often
the academic rigor of being an “Abbey boy;” becomes busywork, tiring out our interest
but that challenge does not have to come in subjects. With a lesser amount, perhaps
with overwhelming amounts of homework. more students would use their new-found
I believe it is perfectly reasonable to ask free time to acquire a deeper knowledge
for our teachers to give us that challenge of the topic being covered in class. With so
without assigning hours upon hours of much homework, we spend that time brain-
busywork that cut into our personal lives. lessly completing it for a grade as quickly as
It has become not only mentally exhaust- possible, rather than enjoying and learning
ing but also physically tiring. We are con- about it. Excessive homework has created a
stantly told by our parents, doctors, and stigma in our youth that school subject mat-
ironically our teachers to sleep for a min- ters are SUPPOSED to be boring, and it de-
imum of 8 hours per night. Unfortunately, feats the purpose of school in the first place.
this has become impossible for some stu-
dents who have loads of homework and Everyone who attends the Abbey knows
participation in extracurricular activities.
In a poll asking Form V students about how THE ACADEMIC RIGOR
homework affects their sleep schedules, 19
of 20 respondents said that homework con-
OF BEING AN
sistently cuts into their sleep. This cannot “ABBEY BOY”
stand. It is unacceptable for us to be put in
situations where we must choose between
our grade average and personal wellbeing. So Teachers have to realize that students’ well
much pressure is put on us to focus on grades being must come first when assigning home-
and apply to prestigious colleges. This is espe- work, and if that means that a class falls a
cially true with Abbey students, who will put little behind in the lesson plan, so be it. •
their grade average first without question.
6 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020
of events that encompassed a wide
A Year in
range of activities so everyone
Vinnie Blum, V
would feel included. JP, the “Head” of
the program, was tasked with men-
Big Brother -
toring us on how to actually run this
thing, and gave us advice and helped
us a ton throughout the whole year,
Little Brother
so special thanks to him. Of course,
like every year, we started with the
Rafting Trip, a St. Anselm’s tradition.
Then we had a Super Smash Bros.
T he purpose of the Big Brother-Little Broth-
er (BBLB) program is to show the A Formers
what St. Anselm’s is all about. I remember vivid-
competition, which has been done
for a few years now and is always a really fun
experience. Little Namba and John Xu came
ly the day that I met my big brother all the way out on top, and won all of the clout, rightfully so,
back in 2014. We were in the Devine Theater, that comes with it. Next, we had a movie night
and I was introduced to Nathan Dangle, who in the computer lab. We watched Spider-Man:
was a junior at the time. To be honest, there Into the Spider-Verse, and it was a blast. Ms.
was much less attention given to the BBLB by Lane brought Yoo-hoo’s and everything; it was
the school in those days - namely shown in the a very epic night. We also had a gingerbread
lack of real events. Still, I learned a lot from Na- making competition, which heated up very
than Dangle and the other Juniors and Seniors quickly. The competition was extremely tight,
that “adopted” little brothers. The Juniors but with the sage advice of Officer Massey, it
have a priceless opportunity to help a group was determined that Lou and Alex Kim were
of newcomers who have joined our school the champions. Finally, we had a basketball
community. The Abbey is such a unique place competition. After a tense final between Team
with extremely unique people, so in ways the Lucas and Team Xavier, Xavier and Hill came out
A Formers’ interaction with the Juniors is the the other side with some 1st place prize candy
best way that they learn about and understand
our school. For me, looking at all of these big Overall, we had a great year in the Big Broth-
guys who seemed to be such great friends was er-Little brother program, and we had some
very inspiring, and I always wanted to run this great events. While running this thing cer-
program when I got old enough so I could give tainly was a learning experience, I only have
the same experience to a new group of kids. one regret: that I didn’t have a little brother
of my own. Also shout out to Nick DeCar-
This year, Nick DeCarlo and I set out on a mis- lo, my co-director, who certainly did much
sion to give the A Formers a friend they could more work than me, and also to JP for teach-
bond with early on, and introduce them to the ing us the ropes and advising us throughout
Abbey community. We have had a whole bunch the whole year. And of course, to Ms. Lane. •
Libanati for an incredible year.
A special thank you to Vinnie
Blum, Nick DeCarlo, and JP
From the Editors:
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 7
Abbey Dances:
diately, whereas we got through
Jack Maxwell, VI
most of the Homecoming play-
list with minimal improvisation,
Music Selection
only making serious adjustments
to accommodate requests.
On the topic of requests, they
are probably the most stress-
O ne of the key parts of every dance
is the playlist. Having played a ma-
jor role in the creation of the playlist for
ful part of running the dances. Sometimes
requests are really good, and sometimes re-
quests are really bad. Dealing with requests
the last four dances (starting with Crus-
that don’t fit while still keeping people hap-
tacean Station 2), I hope to shed some
py is easily the most challenging part of the
light on the playlist creation process.
dances and is probably where we ruffle the
First off, I can’t claim to have done a majority, most feathers. Regardless, making the play-
or even a plurality of the work on the play- list is a lot of fun and a unique challenge.
lists. The playlists this year have primarily
Some action shots from the DJ table at Hoco: •
been created by myself, Will Monahan, Nick
Daniel, and Luca Smith, although there has
been a multitude of input from other people,
mostly juniors and seniors. We usually start
the playlist a week to a week and a half be-
fore the dance. The process is harder than
most might imagine, considering we have
to balance our own personal music taste
with what is actually popular/danceable, as
well as order and then actually execute the
playlist. After we brainstorm and get a play-
list that is usually about 4-5 hours long, we
narrow it down to the actual songs we want
to play for the 3-hour dance (the final play-
list is usually about 3 hours and 15 minutes,
since we tend to start the music around 7:45
so the dance is already going when peo-
ple begin to arrive). We usually have filler
songs in the final draft of the playlist which
we can easily replace with suggestions and
requests. After the final draft is done, we
have to create a rough order for the playlist.
While the order is obviously subject to change
during the dance, it is important to know how
we are going to start the dance and the gen-
eral order we want it to progress in. Some
dances follow the predetermined order more
closely than others. We abandoned Crusta-
cean Station 2’s playlist order almost imme-
8 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020Calisthenics
form. There are progressions that one must
Jackson Muise, V
follow in order to help strengthen oneself
to perform these advanced exercises. Ad-
ditionally, these advancements improve the
Ilike to do something called calisthenics.
Much like gymnastics, calisthenics con-
sists of bodyweight exercises. Some of the
forms required to execute the exercises cor-
rectly, as form is also vital. Likewise, with all
these exercises, they help you build strength
most well-known bodyweight exercises and muscle. If anyone believes you can’t build
that calisthenics consists of are pushups, muscle through bodyweight exercises, they
pull-ups, and dips. Along with those exercis- are wrong. Calisthenics is the perfect way to
es, there are more complex exercises that build muscle if you can’t always go to a gym or
require lots of strength and many of them can’t afford equipment. Furthermore, many
seem like the performer is defying gravity. exercises can be done almost anywhere.
Some of these exercises include the front le- One of the main downsides, however, is that
ver where the performer is hanging from a if you have injured yourself in a way that
bar and their body is fully extended far out- affects any range of motion, the variety of
wards; the full planche where the performer exercises you can do may be limited or you
is fully off the ground by holding and pushing may not be able to perform them at all. •
themselves with their arms fully extended
and leaning forward; the iron cross is anoth-
er move performed by gymnastics where the
performer holds himself in a cross formation
on rings with their arms fully extended on
both sides; and one of my favorites, the human
flagpole where the performer is hanging off
the side of a poll by using a mixed grip where
one arm is used for pulling and the other arm
is used for pushing. Like these exercises men-
tioned, every advanced move in calisthenics
requires tons of strength and lots of practice.
If someone wants to start doing calisthenics,
they simply cannot try the advanced moves
as it may result in injury for newcomers.
These moves require a lot of practice to per-
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 9In Defense
Ms. Helfenbein
of Latin
M ore than once, I have heard students
ask what the purpose is of study-
ing Latin nowadays or complain that they
have to study it at all. After having this
conversation several times, I would like to
share these reasons with the rest of you. Roman Ruins in Volubilis, Morocco
First of all, tradition! (Cue Fiddler on the Roof You have probably also heard that Latin will
opening). It is not wise to eliminate a tra- give you an advantage in vocabulary and
dition without first examining the reasons reading comprehension on the SAT. This may
we have it; otherwise, we can miss out on be true, as it was for me, and your Latin skills
the wisdom of those who lived before us. could also be useful in more important and
Knowing this, we must turn to history. The difficult tests that you may take later in life.
Roman civilization was one of the greatest
Beyond testing, Latin can help you with read-
civilizations of antiquity and, arguably, the
ing comprehension such that you can both
most historically relevant for Westerners.
guess the meanings of new words without
The Romans (and Greeks) bequeathed to
looking them up and memorize them more
us our structure of government. Churchill,
quickly. This is much more beneficial than
quoting an unknown source, noted that “de-
the slight testing advantage. It is calculat-
mocracy is the worst form of government
ed that English is about 60% Latin-based,
except for all those other forms that have
so it is nearly impossible to read anything
been tried from time to time.” We owe our
in English without encountering words of
least-bad of all governments to the men who
Latin origin. Latin is used even today to
recorded the details of this system in Latin.
coin new words, like “defenestration.” This
For Catholics, the Latin version of encyc- rare word’s meaning is immediately clear
licals and other texts is considered the of- to those who know that de- means out, fe-
ficial Vatican document, so you can check nestra is window, and -tion is a noun ending.v
the Latin text to clarify details. Latin will
allow you to intimately understand the
great hymns and the Latin Mass as well.
Whether you are in D.C. or traveling, you
will be surprised how much Latin helps
you understand the architecture around
you. Inscriptions on old buildings all over
Europe and the U.S. are often written
in Latin, not to mention the many ruins
spread widely throughout the Old World.
1618 Defenestration of Prague
10 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020In the field of linguistics, Latin will help you un- If this literature is not as interesting to you
derstand the structure and usage of your own as, say, Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, note
language better, as well as accelerating your that most Harry Potter spells are in Latin. Vid-
understanding of elements of other languages. eos of select clips of the LOTR series also ex-
This is true for Romance languages especially, ist in Latin on Youtube and are worth tak-
but there are other traits that Latin shares with ing a look at: Gandalf sounds more powerful,
languages you would not expect to be similar: Frodo nobler, and Gollum creepier in Latin.
for example, Arabic, German, Russian, and Greek
all have case systems. Once you have mastered
this concept in Latin, you will be able to learn
such languages with greater ease and speed.
Latin is used in law, medicine, philosophy, poli-
tics, economics, etc., so studying Latin is making
an investment in your future career. Latin will
also grant you an advantage in future schol-
arship, when researching and reading older
documents. European philosophy, scholarship,
and literature were almost entirely in Latin un-
til the time of Dante; the STEM fields were Moreover, knowing Latin grants you admission
mostly in Latin until the 20th century. There to a kind of elite international club since so few
is a wealth of information that will be more ac- people study it anymore. Mottos for universities,
cessible to you through your Latin studies. the military, and other organizations are often
written in Latin to add a touch of refinement,
and it is satisfying to understand these with-
out having to search for the meaning in English.
Take advantage of all these opportunities that
studying Latin grants you, and embrace them. •
We owe our least-bad of all governments
TO THE MEN WHO RECORDED THE
DETAILS OF THIS SYSTEM IN LATIN
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 11The Dangers of
invasion of France could not have
Oscar Lloyd, V
been managed without American
oil. It is all very well to say that it was
indifference
not an American fight yet and that
private corporations can conduct
business as they please and besides
this was eighty years ago, but this
E ngraved at the entrance to the Holocaust indifference to the plight of those in
memorial in Milan is a single word “Indif- need has, and will, continue to cause insur-
ference”, a stark reminder to the world of mountable suffering everywhere. This shows
the immense suffering around the world ex- up again and again with an apathetic attitude
acerbated by the easiest emotion possible, to the climate crisis striking developing na-
apathy. From its Latin roots, indifference lit- tions around the globe, to the quarter-million
erally means “no difference’ referring to the women who die of preventable childbirth-re-
perception of something as neither good nor lated deaths every year, to the endless wars
bad and thus the apathetic response to it. in foreign countries that take the lives of tens
of thousands of civilians. As Martin Luther
In certain circumstances, indifference seems King called “the greatest tragedy of this peri-
to be the normal response to something od… not the vitriolic words and other violent
happening, it is necessary to maintain some actions of the bad people, but the appalling
level of it towards certain aspects of life, we silence and indifference of the good people.”
would all go insane if we tried to focus and
act on every upheaval around us. However, Indifference is a trap that is remarkably easy
recognising indifference for what it is lies to fall into, why ever should we involve our-
at the heart of diagnosing a problem which selves in another’s pain and despair, why in-
has enabled atrocities all around the globe terrupt our own work, our own dreams to
from genocides in Rwanda and Myanmar look toward the anguish of another when it
to the plights of refugees in the Middle East feels so easy to simply look away. But apathy is
and South America, to even things which lie more dangerous than either anger or hatred.
closer to home like healthcare and pover- Anger as a passion inspires, it invokes a re-
ty. Beneath the apathetic response to these sponse; indifference merely turns a blind eye,
events lies a sentiment that ‘why should I condoning the injustice being perpetrated.
care about it because it doesn’t affect me?’, a
poignant question in such tumultuous times.
After the horrors of Kristallnacht in which There is a [simple] solution to apathy:
the persecution of Jews in Germany took a
tangible form, the ship, M.S. St. Louis, carried
almost a thousand refugees fleeing this vio-
ACT
lence to the shores of the United States only
to be turned away at the coast. At this time, There is a solution to the apathy that we see
President Roosevelt and the Pentagon were in ourselves and all around us, a simple one:
fully aware of the oppression occurring in act. Find something that motivates an action
Germany and yet did nothing to help the vic- whether it be a religious or political belief,
tims. American corporations continued to do an empathy for the plight of another, anger
business with Nazi Germany up until 1943 against an injustice, or even guilt at not having
and it has been documented that the German acted before. But it’s not simply good enough
12 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020In certain circumstances
INDIFFERENCE SEEMS TO BE THE NORMAL
RESPONSE ... IT IS NECESSARY TO
MAINTAIN SOME LEVEL ... TOWARDS
CERTAIN ASPECTS OF LIFE.
to pick and choose when to take action and when
to stay silent; calling for aid to help survivors of a School “Happenings”
natural disaster in Florida while ignoring the ef-
fect of the same disaster on Puerto Rico or Cuba
is still the same apathy towards those whose an-
guish may be exponentially greater. Condemning
an attack in France while the same attack occurs
in Baghdad doesn’t produce a positive effect but
further perpetuates indifference under the guise
of action. Find some spark in yourself and act on
it: attend marches, write letters, debate people, Time stands still in the Upper Building
spread awareness, but constantly be on the look-
out for indifference wherever you go. As Holo-
caust survivor and author Elie Wiesel declared,
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indiffer-
ence. The opposite of beauty is not ugliness, it’s
indifference. The opposite of faith is not heresy,
it’s indifference. And the opposite of life is not
death, but indifference between life and death.” •
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 13Coronavirus
in my opinion, especially coming from teach-
Will Monahan, VI
ers who teach only seniors. My Thursday
mornings were a slog already, but it’s hard
+ Senioritus
to sit through 5 straight Zoom classes with-
out starting to wonder whether dropping out
and working at McDonald’s might be a pref-
erable alternative. I, for one, am not lovin’ it.
S econd semester of senior year is sup-
posed to fly by. With few real obligations
beyond maintaining decent-enough grades
Of course, the toll has extended far beyond
academics. Every major event has been can-
not to have our admissions rescinded, we celed or postponed. The first sign was the
ought to be sitting back and watching the play, pushed back indefinitely just three
clock tick down to graduation in the company days before we were set to open. Next came
of some of the best friends there are. Instead, AP exams, and finally prom and graduation
we’re trapped at home, seeing each other were delayed until a still-unknown date.
only via video calls and Snapchat streaks. Our daily routines have also been impact-
ed. Some clubs have moved online, others
Indeed, much of our time is spent trying to
have simply vanished - senior leaders would
make up for what we’re missing both in-
be losing interest around this time either
side and outside of school. No longer able
way, and it’s hard to bring in new leader-
to hang out in the lounge, a significant
ship without any in-person meetings. Gone
portion of the senior class has begun fre-
from my life are daily play rehearsals; so
quenting our Minecraft server on a daily
too is the hour beforehand that I spent in
basis. Socialization in the library has been
the gym, practicing for our inevitable tri-
replaced with the occasional group call -
umph in the Senior-Faculty Basketball Game.
at least, this way, we can’t get kicked out.
At least this way Of course
WE CAN’T GET KICKED THE TOLL HAS EXTENDED
OUT FAR BEYOND ACADEMICS
Classes just aren’t the same online. I find it
Because of this loss of routine, activities that
much more difficult to stay engaged even
were second nature now become conscious
with subjects I’m very interested in. They’ve
choices. We have to choose to leave our
also lost their levity: there’s much less joking
rooms, choose to go outside, choose to exer-
around in class, fewer entertaining anecdotes
cise, choose to talk to friends. Productivity,
from teachers. If I want to make a joke about
both school-related and otherwise, has gone
something going on in class, instead of lean-
down the drain. There are a few exceptions
ing over to a friend, I have to text it to him and
- after all, we must be doing something with
hope he sees it while it’s still relevant. Not that
this time. Personally, I read an actual physical
classes are on the whole more productive -
book cover-to-cover in two days, something I
any time gained back is lost to technical dif-
probably haven’t done during the school year
ficulties. Online learning has come with some
since middle school. I’ve also picked back up
reduction in workload, but not nearly enough,
14 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020Senior Cit-
practicing piano. Nevertheless, the ratio of mind-
Nick Casertano, V
lessly scrolling through Instagram and Reddit to
actually doing something useful is, generously, 4:1.
Because of this loss of routine
izen Care
ACTIVITIES THAT WERE Packages
ONCE SECOND NATURE
NOW BECOME E zra and I saw a need. Senior citi-
zens weren’t able to get basic items
such as toilet paper and toothpaste. So,
CONSCIOUS CHOICES together, we decided to create a vol-
unteering program to address this.
We created a program that produced
Time, in general, has been distorted by the lock-
monthly packages for senior citizens and
down. Each week seems like a month, yet it’s
vulnerable populations so they don’t have
easy to lose two or three hours on your phone
to leave their house, thus lowering the
in what seems like the blink of an eye. The slow
chances that they be affected by the vi-
pace of our lives stands in stark contrast to
rus. Additionally, our team does contact-
just how quickly this crisis started. In a mat-
less delivery to further reduce exposure to
ter of days, we went from making jokes about
germs. To protect ourselves and those we
the then-improbable possibility of a “coronaca-
interact with, we wear masks and gloves
tion” to being legally mandated to stay home.
when delivering these care packages.
These packages consist of essential items
such as toothbrushes and soap. As of writ-
ing, we have delivered our items to five dif-
ferent households and are planning on de-
livering more of them in the future. If you
know anyone who would benefit from our
service, or if you want to help out, email
us at highschoolkidscare@gmail.com. •
There’s a natural feeling of resentment about all
of this, but it’s a confused one - there’s nowhere
to direct it. Blame the school? All things consid-
ered, the school managed to put together an im-
pressively functional distance learning system in
a very short time. Blame people for spreading the
virus? It’s hard to when it spreads before show-
ing any symptoms. Blame China? Trump? Glo-
balization? I have my own thoughts, but the exis-
tence of the virus isn’t really anyone’s fault. What
we’re left with is targetless frustration and a
speculative nostalgia for what might have been. •
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 15SpaceX to
and the then-fledgling SpaceX, to create sys-
Hugo Filmer , IV
tems to ferry crew to the ISS. Both compa-
nies have come up with capsule solutions, in
Launch Crew
Boeing’s case Starliner and in SpaceX’s, Crew
Dragon. SpaceX, which has shaken the orbit-
al launch market by making the first stage of
to the ISS
their Falcon 9 rocket capable of landing on a
pad or barge so that it can be reused, based
Crew Dragon off of its experience with Drag-
on, an uncrewed spacecraft made to fulfil an
A its first launch in 1981, the Space Shut-
tle replaced all other manned American
space vehicles, and became the spacecraft to
earlier contract with NASA to resupply the ISS
with provisions and experiments. Like Drag-
on, Crew Dragon will be launched on a Falcon
carry the most astronauts into orbit during 9 into low Earth orbit, where it will use a set of
its 30 years of operational service. Howev- 16 draco thrusters, fueled by a hypergolic mix
er, both the Challenger disaster in 1986 and of monomethyl hydrazine and dinitrogen te-
Columbia’s breakup on reentry in 2003 led to troxide, to rendezvous and dock with the ISS.
the loss of all 7 crew members, and, following
the Columbia disaster, the Shuttle was only
permitted to fly to the International Space
Station so that the station could act as a safe
haven for the crew if the orbiter was dam-
aged as it was during the disaster. The Shut-
tle was also far more expensive than antici-
pated; conflicting desires from the Air Force,
National Reconnaissance Office, and NASA
during design had led to an inefficient vehi-
cle that could not perform any one task es-
pecially well. While the orbiter portion could SpaceX prepares to launch two astronauts to
be recovered, the extensive refurbishment the ISS in May
process required, which included meticulous
inspection of the 3 Space Shuttle Main En- In addition, 8 superdraco engines are inte-
gines and over 20000 individual thermal pro- grated into the capsule, each generating 71
tection tiles, increased the cost substantially. Kn of thrust, which can be fired in the event
Due to the inherent danger to any astronaut of an abort to separate the capsule from a
flying in the Shuttle, the system was retired malfunctioning rocket and carry the crew to
in 2011, after the ISS had been completed. safety. There is also a “trunk” section, locat-
Since the last mission, STS-135, no American ed behind the capsule, which can store un-
has launched into space on an American rock- pressurized cargo and contains solar panels
et. Instead, to reach the ISS, NASA has had to to power the spacecraft in orbit, fins to keep
buy launches on the Russian Soyuz rocket. the craft stable during abort, and radiators
to dissipate excess heat. The capsule uses
If schedules at the time of writing hold, PICA-X, an advanced material developed by
through, that will change on May 27. Once SpaceX, in its heat shield, and 4 parachutes.
NASA realized that it could not rely on the
Shuttle to meet its human spaceflight needs The road to Crew Dragon hasn’t been easy,
in 2010, it contracted two companies, Boeing though. In March of 2019, Crew Dragon com-
pleted its first unmanned orbital test flight,
16 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020demo-1. Crew Dragon successfully launched and gen-burning merlin engines on its first stage pro-
docked with the ISS, then splashed down in the viding a combined 7600 Kn of thrust, equivalent
Atlantic for recovery and inspection. This was to 1710000 pounds. Once in orbit, the capsule
a big step forward for the company, but just 1 will rendezvous and dock with the ISS and stay
month later, in April of that same month, there there for a currently unspecified amount of time,
was a major malfunction when, during a routine then use the draco thrusters to deorbit and land
test of the superdraco engines, the demo-1 cap- after reentry in the Atlantic ocean, off the coast
sule exploded. This was a setback that required of Florida. If the mission goes smoothly, it will
extensive investigation to ensure that the cap- mark America’s first manned mission in nearly
sule’s design was sound and safe, but eventually a decade, ending American reliance on Russia’s
SpaceX moved forward with their testing, and, in Soyuz, which costs $80 million per seat. SpaceX
January of this year, conducted an in-flight abort has said that Crew Dragon will cost closer to $50
test to demonstrate the capsule’s ability to escape million a seat for NASA, significant savings. It has
an explosion during the most demanding part of been very impressive to follow SpaceX’s jour-
any orbital launch, max-Q. Max-Q is when the ney from a tiny space company simply trying to
dynamic pressure on the rocket is at its highest, launch small payloads into orbit with its Falcon 1
imposing an enormous strain on the booster. For to a giant in the aerospace industry with the ca-
the test, a Falcon 9 first stage with a dummy upper pability to reuse boosters and offer greater pay-
stage launched as normal from Kennedy Space load for a lower cost to orbit than any other pro-
Center. Then, at max-Q, the superdraco engines vider can offer. I hope you’re all just as excited as I
on the Crew Dragon capsule fired to separate it am to see what Elon Musk and SpaceX do next! •
from the booster, which was promptly destroyed
by the aerodynamic forces. Following this, the
capsule successfully deployed its parachutes and
was recovered as planned, a major milestone and
the last test before an all-up manned orbital flight.
This will mark America’s first manned
mission in nearly a decade, ending American
reliance on Russia’s Soyuz, which costs
$80 MILLION PER SEAT
On May 27, 2020, schedules holding, the Crew
Dragon demo-2 flight will begin. This will be a
complete orbital flight. NASA astronauts Rob-
ert Benkhen and Doug Hurley, donning SpaceX-
made spacesuits, will enter the capsule on top
of its Falcon 9 booster, which will be launching
from historic pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center.
This pad has previously been used for Saturn V
launches, including Apollo 11, which brought the
first men to the Moon, as well as Space Shuttle
launches. SpaceX has modified the pad to ac-
commodate Falcon 9. At 4:32 pm, the rocket will
lift off from the pad, the 9 kerosene-and-oxy-
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 17Groundhog
Terry Flannery, VI
Day
Q uite possibly one of the strangest Amer-
ican traditions is that of Groundhog Day.
It revolves around the superstitious belief
that every February 2nd, a groundhog leaves
In America, the superstition was carried
its dwelling and, if it sees its own shadow, re-
over by Pennsylvanian Dutch and ap-
turns to his sleep, meaning six more weeks of
plied to the North American Groundhog.
winter; on the other hand, if he does not see his
In 1887, in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania,
shadow, it signals that spring will come early.
the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club de-
clared that their groundhog Punxsutaw-
ney Phil was the only accurate one; every
year since then, many gather every Feb-
ruary 2nd to see Phil and the Club declare
the rodent’s weather prediction. This year,
Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow
and therefore predicted an early spring. •
School “Happenings”
This practice is rooted in the pagan tradi-
tion of celebrating the midpoint between
the winter solstice and the spring equi-
nox. This evolved into the Christian feast
of Candlemas on which it became a super-
stition that a sunny Candlemas would lead
to a longer winter. Eventually in Germa-
ny it became a superstition that if a bad-
ger saw its shadow and went back into
its den it would mean a longer winter.
Teachers prepare for Distance Leaning.
18 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020Printing PPE
derstandings of physics. But, he was itching
Mr. Bryan Taylor
to do anything he could to help. Inspired by
YouTube personality Destin from Smarter-
for Local
EveryDay, Mr. Taylor kicked it into gear and
began production on his own PPE at home.
Producing five per day, Mr. Taylor has donat-
Hospitals
ed forty-five face shields so far to local hos-
pitals. He’s part of a team of ten who are pro-
ducing face shields for hospitals in the area,
and they have already donated 2,650 face
D
Interview with
uring these stressful pandemic times,
shields to Holy Cross. Mr. Taylor plans to con-
hospitals are in dire need for PPE (per-
tinue production until all 3.5kg of filament
sonal protective equipment) at a time when
he has on hand for his 3D printer depletes!
such supplies are low all around the world.
This has led to many generous folks setting For students who share the same itch to help
up shops within their own homes to pro- those in need, Mr. Taylor recommends helping
duce face shields and provide them to local out local food delivery services. Many elder-
medical centers and people alike. One such ly folks cannot leave their homes as they are
charitable physics teacher, our very own Mr. most at risk to the fatal symptoms of the virus.
Taylor, has dusted off a previously rundown It would be spectacular if you check in with
3D printer and begun production at home. your local food banks to make food deliveries
to the elderly or simply donate food to those
who are in need. As Abbey boys, we should
demonstrate the Benedictine hallmarks of
love and community by helping our neighbors
and those most impacted by the pandemic.
A team of 10 producing face shields.
THEY’VE DONATED
2,650+ TO HOLY CROSS
Mr. Taylor concludes by saying he cannot
wait to see everybody back at school once
this is all over. Although this event has been
anxiety-inducing, Mr. Taylor has noted that
Example of face shields printed by Mr. Taylor it has made him appreciate things that he
once took for granted in life. He hopes that
Thankfully, Mr. Taylor has been doing well everybody appreciates the little things that
during quarantine. He enjoys geeking out people may take for granted in life. Hopeful-
with his Physics students over Zoom and ly 3D printing face shields will return every-
recalls a class where his Form IV students body to the Abbey quicker, he concludes. •
were incredibly engaged with questions that
led them to very detailed conceptual un-
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 19The Doodle The Dudeler 20 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020
The History
the Devine Theater) was opened in the fall
Fr. Michael Hall, OSB, Ph.D, ‘56
of 1946, a possible venue for dances came
into being, viz. the gym playing floor. In those
of Abbey
years, there was usually a Christmas dance
with all the expected seasonal decorations,
and at least a spring dance, open to all four
Dances
grades in the school, as it was structured
then. Only couples were admitted. Abbey
Boys had to find dates! These dances were
described as “semi-formal” which meant
A lmost every year when the election of
student council president comes around
in May, we all gather in the Devine Theater
jackets and ties were required for boys and
“party dresses” for girls. In those days par-
ents served as the chaperones and provided
to listen to the speeches of the candidates, the refreshments. No disc jockeys. A band
in which they tell us their plans and goals if of some kind was always hired. Never was
elected. Almost always, as far back as I can there any “informal” dance where such dress
remember, there is one common promise was allowed! Tables and chairs were set up
in these speeches: there will be bigger and around the edges of the gym floor, the band
better dances, more of them, and of course on the stage. Some effort was always put
there will be more girls! So, it would seem into decorating or having a theme of some
that the quality of dances is a matter which kind for the dance. The very formal Prom still
looms large in the consciousness of the typi- continued to be in the Carlton Hotel, not ex-
cal Abbey Boy. So, on this matter it may be of pensive for the school because the manager
some interest to look back on the origin and of the hotel was the father of an Abbey Boy!
history of Abbey dances. How far have we
come, and what changes have taken place? In the fall of 1955 the present academic
building was opened. Dances still were held
For the first few years of the Priory School in the old gym, but the new building allowed
(as it was called until 1961), the school was some experimentation with other locations.
housed in the north wing of the monastery. The room that is now Room 13, the middle
There was no assembly space even, so defi- school lab, was then the cafeteria, and a cou-
nitely no place to hold a dance. I think the ple of dances were tried there, including the
first dance in school history was probably first ever middle school dance in the early
the Prom in May 1946, because this was held 1970’s. When the wing was added – which
in the Carlton Hotel on 16th Street N.W. includes the present library – that current
near the White House (now called the Sher- library space was then the cafeteria. A cou-
aton-Carlton). It was a strictly formal affair ple of dances took place there. But the most
– tux for boys, evening dresses for girls. Be- interesting social event to take place regular-
cause of the small size of the school enroll- ly there for a few years was “The Cotillion”, a
ment, this Prom was open to all grades, nine series of Saturday evening dance lessons for
through twelve. And yes, occasionally, a fresh- middle school boys and invited middle school
man boy and date attended! Only couples girls from area schools. These sessions were
were allowed, no “stags” (unaccompanied conducted by a professional dance instruc-
boys). The formality included a receiving line tor, a man named Vince Damone. It was al-
in which the boys introduced their dates to ways fun for me to watch the arrival of the
the chaperones and any teachers attending. participants. Vans with happy and eager girls
When the first gymnasium (now the core of would arrive, then cars with usually very sul-
21 | The Priory Press — Summer 2020len and reluctant Abbey middle school guys who tried to break in, police had to be called! Parents,
had to be almost pushed out the cars by their par- don’t worry, Abbey dances in recent years have
ents. The teacher brought his own dance records been very calm and orderly! So be not afraid.
and record player. He would demonstrate formal
dance steps for such dances of the past as foxtrot,
waltz, two-step, samba etc. He would demon-
strate with one of the taller girls. Then boys and The doors had to be locked.
girls would be paired up and try to imitate what
they had seen. Parents loved The Cotillion; Abbey
boys hated it! So, it only lasted a couple of years. BOYS FROM OTHER
Occasional all-school dances still took place in SCHOOLS WOULD TRY
the gym; still only couples admitted. As new-
er dance styles developed, the school admin-
TO BREAK IN, POLICE
istration kept a wary eye on what they consid- HAD TO BE CALLED!
ered inappropriate. Parents and grandparents
reading this may remember from your youth
the dance called “The Twist”, popularized by When the new gymnasium was opened in 2003,
a then-TV show called “American Bandstand”. the old gym, scene of so many Abbey dances,
On one famous occasion, the headmaster (no, was remodeled into the current Devine Theater.
not me, long before me!) halted the dance and The venue of dances moved to the Wrestling
ordered the band to stop playing because he Room in the lower level (to spare the gym floor!)
considered The Twist to be inappropriate, al- – not exactly an ideal space with a low ceiling
beit very almost sedate by current standards! etc. The concept of couples dancing had largely
vanished, as had dance steps to be learned and
all those prehistoric ideas. The Wrestling Room
does not really lend itself to decoration! The
Naturally I think annual Prom, now for 5th and 6th Forms only,
continues to be in a hotel space. Formal dress
required in theory! Within ten minutes of the
THEY WERE BETTER start, boys’ jackets are off, followed soon by ties,
WHEN I WAS A still later girls shoes are off. The very occasion-
al “slow dance” for couples, but the dance floor
STUDENT HERE is not usually crowded for these! But a buffet
supper has been added as part of the Prom!
It was not until the 80’s that “open dances” where So, are St. Anselm’s dances better now than in
unaccompanied boys or girls or groups could the past? I am hardly one to really evaluate, but
come. Now teachers rather than parents were after each dance I hear different opinions from
recruited to be chaperones. Formality and stan- students. Naturally I think they were better
dards of dress declined radically! Bands were when I was a student here! But be sure of one
too expensive, DJ’s became the norm – often stu- thing…in the candidate speeches this coming
dent DJ’s. Once or twice there was a dance in our May, you will hear again, “If I am elected we will
gym sponsored jointly with a girls school. Well have better dances…. More girls etc.” The more
do I remember one such dance sponsored joint- things change, the more they remain the same. •
ly with Holy Names Academy, a small all-girls
school in Silver Spring, no longer in existence. Too
many people came. It became too crowded. The
doors had to be locked. Boys from other schools
The Priory Press — Summer 2020 | 22You can also read
