ALUMNEWS OF XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL MARCH 2009 PPrriiddee,, SSeerrvviiccee,, TTrraaddiittiioonn XAVIER IN NEW YORK Xavier cadets marching in a parade In this Issue on New York’s 5th Avenue. 6 The Amazing Fantastic Gridiron Wayback Machine The Young Alumni Reception, November 26, 2008. The 2008 season was a dramatic one, and the Xavier Knights had their share of the limelight. Tom O’Hara ’69 took a break from his notorious online newsletter to contribute to Alumnews ! 20 The 2008 Xavier Hall of Fame Dinner A wonderful night at Pier 60 with remarkable guests and honorees helped raise over $90,000 for the Ignatian Scholars Program. See pictures from the event and learn how to nominate someone who has personified the service of God, his or her neighbors, and our 33 national or civic communities. 23 Pride, Service, Tradition: Xavier in New York Xavier has been tied to many New York events and our students have been part of the city as it grew around 16th Street. Our students and graduates have impacted this city in ways you may have never known. DEPARTMENTS 1 President’s Message 34 Class Notes 31 2 From the Headmaster 38 Mileposts The Xavier homecoming game. 3 News from the Quad 40 From the 16 New Faces at Xavier Advancement Office MARCH 2009 Vol. 12 No. 1 Barbara Ciulla Advancement Office Manager XAVIER HIGH SCHOOL Norma Piecyk Rev. Daniel J. Gatti, S.J. ’59 Administrative Assistant President to the President and to the VP for Advancement Michael LiVigni Headmaster Contributing Writers Mr. Tom O’Hara ’69 Office of Advancement 33 The 2008 Turkey Bowl Football Rally, and Alumni Relations Photography November 26, 2008. Joseph F. Gorski Tony Correa Vice President for Advancement The Xavier Yearbook staff and Alumni Relations Alumnews, the Xavier High School Mark A. Mongelluzzo, Esq. magazine, is published three times Director of Annual Giving a year by Xavier High School. Michael L. Benigno ’00 Correspondence and address Managing Editor of Alumnews changes should be mailed to: Director of Alumni Relations Alumnews and Public Information Managing Editor Loual Puliafito ’00 Xavier High School 30 West 16th Street Director of Emerging New York, NY 10011-6302 Alumni Constituencies, Web Communications Or by email to and Planned Giving. [email protected] Helene Strong Parents’ Association Coordinator 32 Mr. Frank Gregory pulls the winning 50/50 ticket at the 2009 Beefsteak Dinner. PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Coping with Dear Alumni, Parents and Friends, We are all inundated these days with reports on the domestic economy as well as Adversity: the global economy that leave us troubled, fearful, angry and even depressed. As we try to cope with the adversities of the day, we wonder if things can get any worse. And A Lesson almost on queue, the next day’s news brings more trials and tribulations. We don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, and even wishing to see that light, we still fear it may from Xavier’s be another oncoming train! With 162 years of history, it’s hard to imagine that the venerable institution which is Founder Xavier High School came within a hair’s breadth of disappearing, just five months after Fr. John Larkin, S.J. opened its doors at 40 Elizabeth St., in the bustling 14th Ward of 1847 New York. He had come down into the city from Fordham in the county of Westchester in the earlier part of that year. At the request of Bishop John Hughes who had invited a group of Jesuits up from Kentucky to run his fledgling St. John’s College, Larkin was a man on a mission: to start a church and a school in the city. He stayed at the Old French Catholic Church on Canal St., made inquiries for property in the neighborhood, and prayed intently for the success of his mission. With the financial help of a recently arrived Frenchman who did not trust the banks, in June he was able to purchase from the Fourth Universalist Society a church building on Elizabeth St., near Walker St. There were rooms on the ground or half-basement level of the building, and while that same French benefactor (who was an artist) painted the interior of the church in a catholic style, the rooms were prepared as classrooms. Giving its name, “the Church and School of the Holy Name of Jesus,” Larkin and seven others welcomed the young scholars in the early part of September. Five months later disaster struck on the Saturday evening of January 22, 1848. Due to a faulty newly installed furnace, a devastating fire reduced the church and school to ruins. For Larkin, it was as if his whole world had literally come crashing down upon him. All his work for the church and school, all the bright promise of 120 young students and the high hopes of their parents, now shattered and gone up in smoke. The proverbial “other shoe” dropped the next day. Larkin’s Father Superior had hastily come down from Fordham upon hearing the terrible news, and after giving what comfort he could, and assessing the state of affairs, told Larkin and the others they had neither a church nor a school; they had better pack up and return to Fordham. Larkin was a rotund, imposing man, thoroughly dedicated to his endeavor; someone of slighter emotional stature may have called it quits. But to the Superior’s astonishment, Larkin explained that he had made arrangements at the nearby parish of St. James; the fathers would help there and at the French Church in their sacramental duties, and the school’s classes would be held in the basement of St. James. Remarkably, classes were held on Tuesday, a mere three days after the fire. With nothing less than true grit, Larkin had acted boldly. He was not one to let economic worry or external circumstance extinguish his prayer or his dream. Xavier’s roots to the life and growth of the city run deep. Wedded then and wedded now to the educational needs of metropolitan New York, we collectively owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Fr. John Larkin, S.J., and ought to take a lesson from him; for without his faith, his efforts and his actions in a time of great crisis, Xavier would not exist. God bless you always, Rev. Daniel J. Gatti, S.J. ’59 President MARCH 2009 — ALUMNEWS 1 FROM THE HEADMASTER A Call for Accountability Dear Alumni and Friends of Xavier High School, Each February, we gather as a school community for a Spring Honors Assembly. At this assembly, we recognize those students who have achieved honor or distinguished them - selves in some manner during the past marking period. We also induct students into the National Honors Society. This is one of many proud days at Xavier, and a time where I ask our students to reflect on their performance not only in the classroom, but in their lives. The economic pall that has covered our City and indeed our nation is a source of some concern to our students. They are keenly aware of what happens outside of the walls of Xavier, and this is exactly what we want to develop in them. It has never been our way to MIKE L iVIGNI teach students to disengage from problems or the world, but to do the opposite and boldly Headmaster embrace those problems in the hopes that some day they will find a solution to them. In my closing remarks at the assembly, I told our students that they might have noticed that over the past few months our nation and our world seems to be at a crossroads, and that we face an economic crisis that has not been witnessed in a generation. I reminded them that millions have lost their jobs and homes; millions of families are suf - fering, and fear and uncertainty seem to have gripped our city and our nation. I told them that while Xavier is not immune to the events unfolding—and indeed many of our families are facing personal crises because of the state of the economy —that we as an institution are well-positioned to weather this storm. When faced with a crisis of these proportions, it is easy to succumb to fear; it is easy to lose sight of what is important and to sink into despair. But this can also be a time for us to renew and rethink the way that we approach the world and our lives. Abraham Lincoln wrote in the midst of the Civil War that “the dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.” It is becoming clear that the world has changed with this economic crisis and I reminded our students, particularly our seniors, that they will soon enter a world where the old rules don’t seem to apply. I encouraged them to think anew and I reminded them that it is easy for people to ignore the consequences of their actions when they choose not to reflect on how their actions will affect others; that it is easy to pass blame for individual mistakes, instead of identifying the mistake, admitting to it and learning from them; that it is easy to engage in dishonesty without realizing that dishonesty diminishes the individual and destroys community. And perhaps worst of all, it is easy to settle for mediocrity in a world that does not expect much from them.