Volume 1 Issue 4 2011 The Tower MOUNT SAINT MICHAEL ACADEMY • The Mount • The Bronx • Sports • The Arts • Economics • Culture • Technology Mount Hammers Hayes in City Mount Marches in 250th NYC Championship St. Patrick’s Day Parade BY RONY NELSON ‘12 MOUNT REPORTER BY VIDAL WOODS ‘11 On March 17, 2011 Mount Saint Michael Academy students came out to represent the school by marching in the 250th New York City Saint Patrick’s Day parade in Manhattan. All had a great time! Our Director of Development, Ms. Julie Androshick, gave us further insight: What was the long walk up Fifth Avenue like? Once we started marching along the parade route, from 46 th to 79 th St., time went by very quickly. We were very lively and we marched at a good pace. Did the students seem to enjoy marching? Yes! They were very proud to represent the school. You could see this in the way they marched: Heads held high, shoul- ders back, waving to all of the Mount sup- porters who On Sunday March 6th and Saturday March 12th 2011, at the lined the parade route Rose Hill Gym on the campus of Fordham University, the cheering the Mount on! Mountaineers of Mount Saint Michael Academy played two of They were also suppor- the biggest games of their season. tive of two special peo- On Sunday the team played their Bronx rival Cardinal Hayes for ple who marched the CHSAA "A" City title. Led by Seniors Clarence White and with us: Jack How- Peter Aguilar , and by Junior Malik Gill, the team presented a ard ‘57 and Lyndsey McLaughlin. Both wanted to march in the NYC formidable offense —with a number of 3 pointers—and handily St. Patrick’s Day parade as part of their “bucket list” and got to do it. won the game 63-56. Lindsey is a wonderfully courageous person since she suffers from cystic fibrosis and is keeping a positive attitude while waiting for a On Saturday, the Mount played a hard-fought game against lung transplant, which she needs very soon! Saint Mary’s of Manhasset, Long Island, for the CHSAA Class- B State Championship. Unfortunately they lost in an overtime What are some things, if any, that you would like to see in next heartbreaker when three of their best players fouled year’s parade? The only thing I would like to see is more Mount out. Though they did not win the State championship the Mount marchers!! It’s great to see that this parade is more than just a walk still brought a city title to where it belongs. This has been one of down Fifth Avenue for Mount. Hopefully Ms. Androshick will get her the best seasons Head Coach Tom Fraher’s 18 year history: His wish and we can see even more Mount students participate in this pa- team finished the season with 26 wins and only 1 loss. Con- rade next year. gratulations to the team and next year we shall take it all!! P a g e 2 T h e T o w e r NBA Shake-Up Hides MVP BY JUSTIN BODDEN ‘12 MOUNT REPORTER This NBA season appears to be one like no other. With news media scoring point guard in the league and the only player in the league sending out headlines about The Heat’s Big Three, an uncertainty in the top ten in both assists (8.3 apg) and points (24.6). The Bulls surrounding Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks return to gratifying bas- are currently second in the eastern conference even though the next ketball, domineering rookie player Blake Griffin two best players Carlos Boozer and Joakim Noah and the play of the veteran teams (Dallas Maver- have missed a combined 48 game, leaving Rose to icks, Boston Celtics, and LA Lakers), it ought to be carry the load. Now just imagine no Rose. CJ Watson no wonder that fans are flabbergasted by this year’s takes over point guard duties for the Bulls. It is almost happenings. One may even forget in this tumultu- impossible to see the Bulls making the playoffs right? ous season that the Most Valuable Player award Kobe Bryant- is the unquestioned leader of a Lakers will be given out very soon—and there are more team that is currently third in the western conference than enough viable candidates to go around. Ac- and the two time defending champions. Kobe is one cording to ESPN reporter Henry Abbot: Every of the best players on each end of the court and still MVP has come from a team who has finished the holds the title of “best closer in the game.” The Lak- season in the top four in terms of their record. ers are set for another deep playoff run and are going These teams win on average 75% of their games or for their second 3 peat in the last 15 years. 62 games per season. Lebron James- has emerged as the top gun of a Heats In no specific order, here is my list of MVP candi- offence that has two other all stars on the team. He dates consistently puts his team in the best possible position Kevin Durant- currently leads the league in points per game (28.2) to win the game, very rarely has a bad game, and is third in the and might be the best pure offensive player in the NBA today, but league in Points at 26.2. As the team’s chemistry improves so does his young Oklahoma City team doesn’t have the same experience as their record, which is 3rd best in the eastern conference. Lebrun the Spurs or Celtics nor are they at the level of the defending cham- might be the NBA’s villain but also the league's best player. pion Lakers. I predict he wins the award in two years unless the Dirk Nowitzki- has been on a mission to deliver a title to Dallas for Lakers, Spurs, and Celtics continue to defy the age curve the past thirteen years. Arguably, the top big man on offence, Amare Stoudemire- With all the hype surrounding Amare and the Nowitzki seemed to be on his way to his 2nd MVP award before a Knicks this year you might think he is the lead candidate for the sprained right knee sidelined him for 9 games. (Dallas went 2-7 MVP. Rightfully so he is 2nd in the league in points (26.3) and 6th during the stretch) According to 82games.com Dirk has the largest in blocks per game (2.1) and has taken the Knicks from a team who positive differential in the league in terms of Plus-minus, (plus- struggled to make the playoffs to serious contenders in the East. minus is a stat that shows the difference in scoring when a player is However, if you look closer you can see that while New York’s on the court compared to off.) the Mavs are plus 12 with their next great big man may have turned the team around, the Knicks leader on the court compared to minus 10 when he is off the hard- have played inconsistently, almost losing just as much as they have wood. won. There is a reason that the last eight MVP awards that have As the NBA continues to change, one of the only constants is that been handed out are to players whose team finishes in the top two the MVP award is given out at the end of each season. The MVP of their respective conference. goes to the league’s most valuable player – not necessarily the Derrick Rose- The leader of the Chicago Bulls. Rose is the best best— and in my opinion Dirk Nowitzki wins the award, with sec- Bullying BY CHRISTOPHER DELGADO ‘12 MOUNT REPORTER Everyone, in at least one point in their lives, has been on both ends sized to virtually every school in the United States. Like cancer, of the chronic disease known as bullying. Bullying has been around bullying has a wide variety of long-term consequences on the vic- since the beginning of time, and it still affects us today. Bullying tim, the parents of the victim—(especially if the victim suicides) has always been bad, and it seems that it is getting worse since and on the bullies themselves. The victim of bullying is subject to there are more ways to bully than ever. This seemingly unchecked numerous torments by the bully. This ranges from verbal abuse spread of bullying makes it like a cancer--a cancer that has metasta- (including name-calling, threats, homophobic remarks), cyber bul- P a g e 3 T h e T o w e r lying (hateful remarks on Facebook) and even physical abuse right” or “not paying enough attention to the child.” The guilt of (ranging from pushing/shoving, tripping, to actual fights). The losing a child is too much for most parents to deal with. But what is emotional toll on the victim is unfathomable. Being bullied can the bully’s role in this? What are the effects of bullying on the lead to social anxiety, anger and sometimes to even full blown bully? What causes them to bully? A bully typically comes from a paranoia and depression. These disorders usually cause poor per- broken or dysfunctional family. The stresses of home make the formance in school, isolation bully feel inadequate. This insecurity is (withdrawing from society), suicidal often the source of the bully’s quasi- thoughts and possibly suicide.