The Voice of the Regiment November -December 2012 United States Merchant Marine Academy Since 1943 Midshipmen gather for a safety briefing before joining the relief effort in the Rockaways on Monday, November 12. In total, over 200 plebes and midshipmen spent the day assisting the people of Queens in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. The Plebe Class also worked to clear the trails of Kings Point Park as part of their service project. “Acta” of Kindness West Point Student Conference At the Waterfront By MIDN Joshua Asaro, Staff Writer By MIDN Dustin Downing, Staff Writer By MIDN Patrick Minnick, RWO Allow me to be among the first to admit that if you The 64th Student Conference on United States The Hidden Harbor Tour: had told me a few weeks after returning from sea that I Affairs found itself playing host to two Kings Point Mid- As always, this year’s Hidden Harbor Tour was would be spending the last day of my first long weekend shipmen and students from around the world to gauge a great success. It was our pleasure this year to have the back at the Academy being marched through the streets of “American Priorities in the Age of Austerity”. Hundreds following guests aboard our annual Holiday training trip: New York by a former enlisted Seabee, I would have of Liberal Arts majors converged on historic West Point Professor Nagy Hussein, Lt. Schneider, Mr. Campbell, asked you what you had purchased from the slop chest. to discuss 16 different topics put forth by the Eisenhower Capt. Kennedy and his wife, RADM Helis and his wife, I’m not sure any of us expected to return to such an in- institute (a Washington think tank) ranging from Sino- Ms. Ross, and Ms. Harding. It was a great opportunity for jured state which acted as the scene for one of the most American relations to Arms Control and Proliferation. them to observe our midshipmen in their element, navi- devastating natural disasters in recent memory. I’m not We Engineers felt out of place from the get go, but were gating a ship through one of the busiest harbors in the sure that if asked that I would have believed much could sent to represent the Merchant Marine opinion, so we world. be done in the way of help upon seeing doomsday images dove in with gusto. For three days we discussed our as- Everyone was aboard the T/V Liberator at 0715 that circulated in the national media in the days following signed topics with field experts and our peers—with our for a pre-departure safety and familiarization briefing. the strike of Super storm Sandy. However, on Monday, peers being exposed to three days of Military Academy There was TM food for the Midshipmen as well as any November 12th, I was privileged to witness a selfless sac- living. Chow calls each morning (a West Point plebe snacks, donuts, and bagels that were brought by our great rifice of time by many members of the Regiment of Mid- ritual) woke these civilian students early for their fully guests. We also served hot coffee and cider in the Galley. shipmen at Kings Point. This changed my mind on that scheduled days, and we Mariners were free to be amused We departed from Flag Landing Saturday at 0730, un- matter and frankly, changed the minds and hopes of many by such awakenings. docking under the guidance of Plebe Zubchevich, an en- people upon seeing this blue-clad cadre move together The laughter was short-lived as the groups recon- gineer. We made our way down river enjoying the beauti- down tattered streets in hopes of restoring houses and vened; I was plunged into the world of Cyber Security ful morning and the scenic Manhattan skyline. We pro- hope for victims of Sandy. and for hours a day tried to understand the language these ceeded through the Buttermilk and around Governors Read More, Page 3 Poli Sci majors already spoke fluently. After understand- Island, witnessing the lone container terminal on Long ing the lingo, I was finally able to submit opinions with Island. We then crossed the Bay Ridge Flats to Staten our own international studies in mind. The value of this Island to circle around the Kennedy, Mass. Maritime’s education became apparent as others struggled with con- training ship. After a little exploring in the Kills, we cepts such as foreign law and technicalities of sovereign- passed the Statue of Liberty and paid our respects. We ty, and was able to lend a sense of practicality to the ide- concluded the nautical part of the trip by docking at alism of those who have not been outside of the class- North Cove Marina in the financial district. Here on Sep- room. tember 11, 2001 and in the days following, midshipmen Our findings over the course of those three days from the Waterfront and Waterfront Staff assisted NYC were to be presented in a paper to the Institute and a skit and NYFD members in moving personnel and supplies. for our fellow attendees. This provided us with an excuse After pausing to reflect on this, we to hack faculty and staff from the event, culminating with walked a short distance to the 9/11 a colonel being very embarrassed to see his own credit Memorial and received a private card information. When the dust settled and the groups tour. had shown their findings, each attendee had gained a lit- tle more perspective of both their peers and the world. Read More, Page 11 Midshipmen Travel Exploring Mars Midshipman Spotlight Mariner’s Basketball off Christmas Crossword the World! CURRENT EVENTS, Pages 4 & 5 to a Great Start! KP PRIDE, Pages 12 & 13 TRAVEL, Pages 8 & 9 SPORTS, Page 14 FUN and GAMES Page 6 Page 2 Since 1943 USMMA Letter from the Editor Dear Regiment, Faculty, Staff, Family, and Friends of the Academy, Happy Holidays! The long-awaited and well-deserved Winter Break is finally here! Of course, this also means that the end of the world, I mean, year, has arrived. For my fellow 1st classmen, the light at the end of the tunnel aka graduation has just gotten a lot brighter. The year of 2013 is our year and I, for one, am determined to make the most of it. Recently, the Change of Command ceremony took place and with a little hul- labaloo over M/N Daniel Galginaitis as the new Regimental Commander, the 2nd rota- tion of officers has taken command of the Regiment. Bolstered by the addition of all sorts of newfangled positions, this new crop of officers are ready to lead us into the New Year. I wish you guys all the luck. In addition, I hope to address the concern of some midshipmen that this newspa- per has failed to live up to its motto: Voice of the Regiment. If we have been unpardon- ably positive, then I admit part of the fault is mine. Despite more than three years here and against all odds, I have somehow remained a relatively optimistic individual, and for that, I apologize. I do not deny that life at KP isn’t a walk in the park; we learn that fact the first time we step foot inside Vickery Gate. However, for some strange reason, it appears that those who have written for the newspaper so far seem to see more rain- bows and sunshine than most. If you disagree with our allegedly misplaced cheerful- ness, I challenge you to put forth your own thoughts in the next issue. It is ultimately your paper, in the end. To that end, I will endeavor to survive the coming apocalypse and carry on with the January 2013 issue, so please send in your articles. If you somehow find yourself as a zombie, I urge you to be a literate one and to remain a steadfast patron of this newspaper. Enjoy our November-December issue and with a bit of luck, we’ll see you after the break! We can be reached at [email protected] or through our FB page: www.facebook.com/kphearthis. Enjoy the Holidays! Warm Regards, M/N Sung Hyong, 1/C Editor-In-Chief HEAR THIS! STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS Editor-in-Chief M/N Sung K. Hyong, 2013 Photographer M/N Michael Pluhowski, 2013 Layout Editor M/N Tyler Driscoll, 2013 Freelance Contributors M/N Spencer Fletcher, 2013 Department Heads M/N Patrick Minnick, 2013 M/N Matthew Finlayson, 2013 M/N Alexander Othmer, 2013 M/N Ursula Holm, 2013 M/N Katie Schmidt, 2013 M/N Ian Holtzworth, 2013 M/N Kevan Stoeckler, 2013 M/N Michael Shep, 2013 M/N Jessica Tyack, 2013 M/N Erich Stumpel, 2013 M/N Kristina Walz, 2014 M/N Timothy Rice, 2014 M/N Kevin F. McHale, 2015 M/N Nicholas Sitter, 2015 Staff Writers Plebe Michelle Danhof, 2016 M/N Sean Chang, 2013 M/N Dustin Downing, 2013 Special Mention: Elves! M/N James Flowers, 2013 Plebe Woodrow Buck, 2016 M/N Biondi Phua, 2013 Plebe Timothy Parker, 2016 M/N Stefano Ritondale, 2013 Plebe Alisha Sako, 2016 M/N Joshua Asaro, 2015 Plebe Jo Eun Seo, 2016 Plebe Woodrow Buck, 2016 Plebe Constantine Rerras, 2016 Faculty Advisors Plebe Christopher Zwick, 2016 Professor Jacques Szaluta Plebe Kenneth Pressey, 2016 Professor Raymond Gardner Plebe Alisha Sako, 2016 Artists/Cartoonists M/N Nathaniel Miller, 2013 M/N Michael Kirk, 2014 M/N Jackie Hong, 2015 M/N Eric Izzo, 2015 Hear This! DISCLAIMER This newspaper is published by the students of the United States Merchant Marine Academy.