September/October 2015 - Holy Trinity Diocesan High School

Volunteer Club has busy beginning
by Sam Scala
With the start of a new school year,
new students arrive and new memories
are made. Many of these new memories
are experienced at clubs such as our very
own Trinity Triangle or clubs such as
Volunteer Club. In Volunteer Club, its
members – along with its moderators
Miss Maggio and Miss O’Hara – work
tirelessly to plan different events to benefit both our school and local communities.
As the new year starts, new members have been inducted onto Volunteer
Club’s Executive Board. These new Executive Board members are sophomores
Nicholas Bischoff and Carol Nguyen,
and senior Darren Nieves. They join current members seniors Michael Nguyen,
Tommy Gambino, and Sam Scala.
When asked about being a part of
the Executive Board, Nicholas had this to
say: “It’s an honor to be in such a kindhearted club based around the premise of
helping people because it’s the right
thing to do.”
One of Volunteer Club’s first activities began as soon as school started!
From September 11th to September
22nd, the Volunteer Club collected
Volunteers are hard at work selling
baked goods to raise money for the
less fortunate.
school supplies for the Mary Brennan Inn
in Hempstead. Sixteen cartons of school
supplies were collected—doubling the
amount collected last year!
Volunteer Club’s next activity was
their first bake sale of the year! There
were many different goodies such as
cookies and donuts and so many brownies! The bake sale took place on October
1st and raised $501. The money raised
went to Light the Night, a Leukemia and
Lymphoma society, and Ronald McDonald House.
Volunteer Club’s most recent event
was their annual table at Homecoming.
At their table, members of the Volunteer
Club face-painted various members of
the Holy Trinity community and even
temporarily dyed their hair green!
“Homecoming is one of the best
events that the Volunteer Club participates in. With this club I got the chance
to work at the face painting booth and
partake in the Homecoming Festivities,”
Tommy Gambino said.
Volunteer Club has had quite an
interesting first few months. They have
many more interesting events coming up,
such as making sandwiches for the Mary
Brennan Inn in November and the Senior
Citizens Dance at Molloy College in December. They also have more bake sales
and many other events coming up, so
make sure to check the announcements.
New members are always welcome, so
Volunteer Club’s executive board
includes seniors, Michael Nguyen,
Darren Nieves, Sam Scala, Tommy
Gambino, and sophomores, Nicholas
Bischoff and Carol Nguyen .
make sure to join Volunteer Club in
Room 307 on most Thursdays!
Freshmen Bunco Party a big success
by Bridget Klein
Trinity’s class of 2019 enjoys getting
to know each other through a game.
In This
Edition:
On September 18th, the freshmen
class of 2019 attended their first Trinity
social event, the beloved Bunco Party.
The purpose of the event was for the
freshmen to get to know their new classmates. Although the students had fun
playing the game, the highlight of this
event for many of them was meeting new
friends.
Freshman Victoria Kaiser said, “It
was a lot of fun! I loved it and I would
recommend it.”
“It was new and different and great
for shy people like me because it gave
you a great option to socialize,” said
freshman Sarah McEnroe.
Freshman Briana Crowley agreed,
saying, “It was fun to meet new people.”
The Bunco Party has been a Titan
tradition for more than 48 years. After
the game was complete, a few lucky win-
Confused about college?
Get some helpful advice!
Page 2
ners received prizes. Lastly, everyone
enjoyed a bowl of ice cream with their
favorite toppings.
According to English teacher Mr.
Chorusey, “This year’s Bunco Party was
very spirited. I enjoyed seeing the ninth
graders letting off some steam at the end
of their first full week of high school. It’s
one of the first events where classmates
start to become soulmates.”
A special thanks to the seniors and
teachers who helped make this year’s
Bunco Party a big success.
Senior assistant Kyia Eason helps the
class of 2019 enjoy their Bunco Party.
The Trump Card
Page 4
Curious about the life of a
foreign exchange student?
Page 5
2 Trinity Triangle September/October 2015
Editorial
How to choose a college
by Stephanie Angus
Passion or profit? Possibilities or
practicality? Prestige or programs? As
college application deadlines approach,
high school seniors are challenged with
the conflict of pursuing a stable, cookiecutter job or taking the leap towards their
dreams in risky careers with no stable
income or plans for the future. Among
adults and prospective students, the
stigma that non-technical majors are a
waste of time and money is prominent.
Similarly, the prospect of not attending
college is practically taboo. What is the
best path to take after high school? The
answer is just as complex as you’d imagine.
Should you go to college? According to recent studies, the cost of not attending college is becoming greater. As a
large sum of jobs become more actively
involved with the advancement of technology, more specialized skill is required
in the workplace. There are several factors to consider when making the decision of attending college. One of the
greatest factors is personality. College is
often considered (by middle-class high
school students in the U.S.) to be the
next step in education after high school,
with most expecting to attend. It is typically an accepted segue into adult life, as
opposed to being seen as one of a few
possibilities. We have all heard of great
entrepreneurs, such as Steve Jobs and
Ralph Lauren, who dropped out of college. However, we rarely consider the
skill, dedication, and boldness that such
people possess. For many, college serves
as a safety net, despite the debt that follows many graduates. They leave college
with a skill that can hopefully get them a
decent-paying job. To skip college is a
far riskier move. It requires a different
form of perseverance and a disillusioned
view of the world. It’s good to have
dreams, but it’s also important to have a
sense of reality. Often stories of great
success begin with great failure, something typical among self-made people,
especially those who choose not to go to
college. Of course, graduating from college doesn’t guarantee that you will be
rich and powerful.
Another factor of whether or not
you should attend college is the skill you
wish to acquire. If you intend to have a
Trinity Triangle
Holy Trinity D.H.S.
98 Cherry Lane
Hicksville, NY 11801
(516)-433-2900
Editor-in-Chief
Stephanie Angus, ‘16
Layout/Managing Editor
Sam Scala, ‘16
News Editor
Margaret Hans, ‘16
Art/Photography Editor
Ineze Thompson, ‘16
Assistant Editors
Eva Albanese, ‘16
Ebony Odom, ‘16
Nafish Sarker, ‘16
Faculty Moderators
Mrs. Barbara Dawson
Mr. Robert Walsh
career as a musician or in some aspect of
the arts, college isn’t always required.
While many actors and artists do attend
college, it is possible to succeed as a
freelance artist or become a successful
musician without formal training. The
advantage of the arts is that success is
subjective to the audience. It’s based on
exposure, self-promotion, and what you
create. Someone who works in a more
practical field may be paid based on how
he or she fulfills a quota. Such work isn’t
subjective, but objective. The salary of
more practical jobs is stable. However, it
should be noted that a job in the arts is
often more flexible. Another career that
you wouldn’t have to attend college for
would be a career in a blue-collar job.
While they don’t tend to be as popular
among middle-class high school students, they are available and many have
decent wages.
For those who have decided they
want to go college, what is your passion?
Many high school seniors have no idea
what they want to be, much less what
they are passionate about. Those that
typically know are the ones who have
been deeply involved in activities related
to things they know they enjoy. For example, someone who has a knack for
math and enjoys problem solving might
be in a math club or tutor others in math.
Someone interested in dance might be on
a dance team or take dance lessons. Often enough, students find themselves
doing certain activities out of habit and,
as a result, don’t look further than their
activities of habit. When you try new
things, you get a taste of other aspects of
your personality.
Here is where the decision gets
tricky. Sometimes, the careers we are
passionate about don’t align with the
lifestyle we want to have in the future.
For example, fields that are considered
more practical, such as finance or the
medical sciences, tend to make more
money than freelance artists and the average performer, whose jobs aren’t considered to be practical. A large aspect of
the decision on a college major is how
high a starting salary you want and your
patience. Entrepreneurs, who have possibly the greatest potential for self-made
wealth, but also the greatest risk, often
suffer several failures before they reach
success. If you’re willing to wait longer
Photographers & Artists
Kyia Eason, ‘16
Margaret Hans, ‘16
Jonathan Johnson, ‘16
Susannah Karp , ‘19
Bridget Klein, ‘19
Robert Lawlor, ‘19
Olivia LoSardo ‘16
Sam Scala, ‘16
Ineze Thompson, ‘16
Katherine Quinn, ‘16
Ruiji Zhang, ‘18
Contributing Writers
Stephanie Angus, ‘16
Eva Albanese, ‘16
Graham Chorusey, ‘16
Danielle DerGarabedian,‘18
John Gonzalez, ‘16
Margaret Hans, ‘16
Bridget Klein, ‘19
Taylor Martin, ‘16
Carol Nguyen, ‘18
TJ O’Leary, ‘16
Gianluca Ritz, ‘16
Kymani Runcie, ‘16
Nafish Sarker, ‘16
for a higher salary, then you could possibly be successful in your passion, regardless of its practicality. If you’d rather
have a more predictable, stable lifestyle,
a practical major may be more to your
liking. Possibilities or practicality? There
are practical jobs with great possibilities,
but the risk of being self-employed has
great chances to take you further than the
average employee.
It’s no secret that some fields are
more strongly promoted than others.
When the question of what should you
become surfaces, the first careers that
often come to mind are the most stable,
sometimes tedious, or dull jobs. Doctor,
lawyer, engineer, and accountant may be
some careers that come to mind. While
these jobs are considered by some to be
“boring,” their level of stability isn’t a
While these jobs are
considered by some
to be “boring,” their
level of stability isn’t
a matter of opinion.
matter of opinion. These jobs are in demand and their average salaries reflect
that. In contrast, when you ask some
students what their dream jobs would be,
you’ll often hear responses consisting of
“actor,” “dancer,” “designer,” and jobs
of the like. What is the main difference
between a doctor and an actor that makes
one more likely to be picked regardless
of whether it’s a passion or not? The
answer is stability. Doctors are always in
demand. Their skills are technical and
involve several years of schooling because they have to be meticulous. Actors, in contrast, have less stability in the
workforce and have to depend on far
more than just lessons. They have to
have talent that, though it can be improved upon with classes, can exist without schooling. Generally, for this reason,
the arts are treated more as hobbies.
When you know what you want to
study, the question of what college or
university to attend comes into play.
Sam Scala, ‘16
Ineze Thompson, ‘16
Kaitlyn Williams, ‘17
Warren (Wenxin) Zhang, ‘16
Trinity Triangle is a student-generated
newspaper that reflects the interests of
the Holy Trinity Diocesan High School
student body. The opinions and viewpoints are not necessarily those of the
moderators or the administration of Holy
Trinity Diocesan High School. Letters to
the editors should be left in the Triangle
mailbox in the main office. All letters
must be signed. Writers may request anonymity.
It is the Mission of Holy Trinity High
School to be a living witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a community of
faith, hope and love. We seek to educate
the whole person: mind, heart, soul and
body, and to motivate all students in the
pursuit of truth and academic excellence,
preparing them for future educational
opportunities and service to the Church
and to the world.
Should you place weight on the name of
your school (such as Ivy Leagues like
Harvard or Yale) or the programs? For
example, you may consider Harvard because of its name and attend an open
house. At that open house, you may realize that Harvard’s programs don’t suit
your personality. However, you are
studying law, which Harvard is known
for, and realize that just the name
“Harvard” on your job application could
land you a job. Is it worth it to attend
Harvard despite your reservations? If
personality was the only factor and you
were comfortable at Harvard despite the
initial lackluster impression, you might
continue to consider Harvard as your
future college. Now, let’s add in financial strain and your plans for higher education. Let’s say your family is comfortable with your attending Harvard despite
knowing that they will take on a significant amount of debt. However, Harvard’s curriculum doesn’t match what
you pictured your ideal education to be.
Maybe it’s too big. Maybe it’s not as
diverse as you’d like. Would you still
want to attend Harvard? Would its name
be enough for you to forsake all these
factors?
Luckily, there is a happy middle
ground for most of these dilemmas. Why
choose a school for its name when there
are plenty of great, underrated schools
that will give you just as promising an
education? Consider public institutions
such as well-ranked CUNY or SUNY
schools or private institutions that are
more generous with scholarship money,
such as St. John’s University. Why sacrifice passion for a life of mundane routine
when often enough there are jobs that
can be both practical and enjoyable? For
example, as an athlete you may not have
enough confidence in your skills to be a
professional, but you can work with
sports as a physical therapist. If you love
art, but don’t think you can be the next
Pablo Picasso, consider being a graphic
designer or an interior designer. When
considering your major and school, consider that your education and success
depends mostly on what you do. At a
good school, with a good work ethic and
motivation, you’ll succeed. Outside of
school, with personality, a strong mind,
and passion, you’ll go where you want to
go.
Disagree with what
you’re reading on
these two pages?
Come to the next
meeting of
Trinity Triangle
and write your own
opinion piece.
We meet every
Tuesday in room
201 after school.
Opinions
September/October 2015 Trinity Triangle 3
Make choices and move forward
by TJ O’Leary
In life, we walk down a road with
many branches and forks. Some may
choose to go off the path altogether and
make their own, whereas others might
take out a map and make their choices
with scrutiny and care. Others walk impulsively, picking the path that looks
best in the moment. No matter what category we fall into, we always ask ourselves, “What if?” Had we taken a couple different routes in the past, would
everything have been different?
As a student beginning the final
year of my high school education, I can’t
help but let this question permeate the
many facets of my mind. It is in the paint
on the walls of my teacher’s classrooms,
the dry sawdust that coats my skin after a
long day of cutting wood for set pieces at
stage crew, and the ink in the pens I use
to take notes. I walk past my biology
classroom from freshman year and think,
“If I had been assigned a different
teacher, I might not have met my closest
friends.” Or I see the jam-packed bag of
a freshman and wonder what their four
years will be like, and if their decisions
will change them as much as mine have
changed me.
The point in all of this is not for me
to preach a time-old, used-up analogy to
the masses but to try and establish that
time spent regretting past decisions is
most likely time spent wasted. Everybody has to make choices. It is a corner-
stone of life. In high school, we learn, or
at least attempt to learn, about making
them (what sports we want to play, if we
want to act or work behind the scenes,
what college we want to go to, etc.).
Freshman have four years ahead of them
to get a feel for the road before they
really start to walk along its weathered
path, and seniors have to look at everything they have done and finally move
forward, whether they are satisfied or
not.
Upon leaving high school, many
new graduates will indulge in professing
the most common cliché known to secondary education: “High school flies by
so fast that it’s over before you know it!”
I would disagree. High school only flies
by if you let it.
Do you have opinions you want to share?
We want YOU to write an article for Trinity Triangle!
4 Trinity Triangle September/October 2015
Opinions
I am with Pope Francis and his forgiveness
by Gianluca Ritz
On September 1st, Pope Francis
announced that priests around the world
would be authorized to forgive the
women who had to make the “agonizing
and painful” decision to receive an abortion.
In his words, “The forgiveness of
God cannot be denied to one who has
repented.” This will start during the “year
of mercy,” spanning from this December
until December 2016.
The Pope’s announcement will no
doubt be a puzzle without a solution in
the United States. Like the Romans used
to say: turbaret eos – it will upset many.
It will also, no doubt, bother the conservatives in our country who belong to
different branches of Christianity.
This pardon of abortion by Pope
Francis is the proper thing to do, and here
is why: In a country like the U.S., there
have been decades of often violent antiabortion protests. Clinics were set on fire
and doctors that performed abortions
were killed. The Supreme Court’s decisions never clearly clarified the issue and
women were – and still are – treated as
murderers. Worst of all, accusations of
selling the fetus’ body parts on the black
market are circulating.
This announcement involves millions of Roman Catholic women who all
ask the same question: “How is a 17 or
18 year-old girl who is pregnant and still
in high school supposed to face life without a husband and with a baby?” In my
opinion, forgiveness by a Catholic priest
should not be given in all cases, such as
in cases of, for example, vanity. Simply
thinking “We don’t want any children,”
or “But we both work,” or “We want to
enjoy life,” should not allow parents to
pursue an abortion.
Understanding the position of Pope
Francis is vital. However, in order to do
this I have to put Pope Francis and
Mother Theresa of Calcutta, hypothetically, on the same table. As a small child,
Mother Theresa saw her father – who had
been killed in a political struggle in
Skopje, Macedonia – returning home,
dead, carried in a wagon, and no doctors
or horses were available. The lament of
her mother, her asking “Why did this
happen?”, and the mutilated body of her
father led her to convert to Christianity.
Her purpose in life was to help the
poor and the sick. She moved to Calcutta,
into the poorest area of the poorest city in
the world (at the time), to help the terminally ill. I am sure that in every person
she helped, she imagined her father being
returned home dead after having been
carried for miles in that rudimentary cart.
In essence, Mother Theresa wanted to
help those who needed it most.
Now we have Papa Francesco (also
known as Jorge Mario Bergoglio), the
Jesuit Priest who took the vow of poverty. And like Mother Theresa, he wanted
to help the poor and the sick.
In the Italian peninsula, for 1,300
years, ten small nations had been living
in prosperity with the help of the foreign
powers of the time. These small nations
prospered in their own ways: Florence
was the center of the world’s Renaissance after a long period of darkness; the
currency of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
under the French influence was the most
solid; Venice and Milan had a similar
experience under the influence of the
Austrian and Spanish empires in the
South; Naples was the busiest port in the
Mediterranean; and the Royal Palace of
Caserta is twice the size of Versailles.
England, which didn’t have a banking
system, copied the charter of the Bank of
Saint George of Genoa, which had been
solvent for 300 years, establishing its
banking system for the first time in 1650.
The central area was happy under the
Vatican State. One could argue that the
greatest artists and navigators were born
there and the most beautiful architecture
and music were created there.
England, in a game of power,
wanted to remove all the foreign powers
from Italy, so first it attracted all the Italian intellectuals to England, then put a
tremendous amount of money to supply
the Garibaldi expedition, and by 1870
Italy became one nation. All the foreign
powers left and chaos fell over Italy. Left
to itself without any trade or contacts or
experience, Italy went into absolute poverty and the illiteracy rate reached 90%.
Its citizens never truly understood why
millions of young people died in the
tranches of World War I, killed either by
the enemy or the by Carabinieri (the
Italian military police) when they tried to
go back home.
In a short time, 20 million people
left Italy. While millions went to Brazil –
the last nation to free the slaves –and
were basically subjugated, millions came
to the United States, Argentina, and
Venezuela. The pope’s ancestors left
Italy and went to “La Boca,” the poorest
area of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Today the descendants of the Italian
Immigrants still live, more or less, in the
same condition. In the melancholy of
knowing that they could not return to
their land anymore, they created the
tango, this incredible type of music and
dance.
Once Papa Francesco witnessed
this poverty, he decided to live the Franciscan life in the same way as St. Francis.
He lives in a tiny room inside the walls
of the Vatican, drives a minuscule Fiat,
visits inmates and the homeless around
Rome, goes outside the Vatican to buy
his own eyeglasses that he pays for himself, and eats in the cafeteria with the
Vatican’s workers.
It’s clear that his forgiveness for
women who have terminated pregnancies
comes from his desire to help millions of
women who can still become good Christians and not fall into the irreversible trap
of poverty, drugs, prostitution, and jail. If
the children of these women had been
born, they might’ve fallen into the same
trap as their mothers. The absolution will
give these women a chance in the future
to get happily married and have children
when the time is right.
So I am with Pope Francis’ forgiveness and his understanding that these
millions of women will become good
Christians. It is an act of faith that Jesus
himself would have done.
Will Trump’s wall really “make America great again”?
by Eva Albanese
That title sounds rather senseless,
right? Go ahead: you can judge – it’s
what I did when I first heard Donald
John Trump utter that phrase. I wasn’t
sure if I heard him right, granted I didn’t
hear his whole debate – just that begin-
ning phrase – still, I was mystified that
he would think building a wall would
make America great again. I mean, a wall
is a boundary and America is the land of
the free – no matter how cynical you are
about the future of our country you have
to admit that we are more democratic
than other nations.
So I did what any wise citizen
would do and looked up Trump’s reasoning behind the cleverly coined term. Instead of becoming a well-informed – as
well as wise – citizen, I became even
more confused as I leapt out of the deep
hole of ignorance that is Trump’s campaign website. Though the headings were
pleasing to read, the meat of it was as
confusing as a corn maze. I couldn’t understand how he was planning on doing
anything he claimed he would be able to
do. Maybe he’s not as informed on how
to run a political campaign, but it isn’t all
sunshine and rainbows – you do have to
get down to the nitty-gritty. The only
position he was crystal-clear on was,
well, “Let’s Build a Wall.”
I found it a ridiculous concept when
I didn’t even know what it really stood
for and when I actually read up on it, my
dislike for what he stood for increased.
First of all, America is a nation AND we
do have borders. They might not be
guarded as much as they should be, but
despite that fact, they do exist and are
protected. A wall is an industrial form of
a border that already exists, however, it
not only keeps out “Mexicans” (in quotes
here because there are many nationalities
that come through our borders – but
Trump chose to focus on our southern
neighbors) but also keeps in legal citizens. A wall in the past histories of foreign nations has shown us that it usually
lead to an increased amount of hostility
towards one’s government – even if it
was built with the best intentions. Does
Trump want anarchy or rebellion on
Mexico on his hands? I would hope no;
it’s kind of counterproductive for a government to strive for chaos. Trump is
also inherently racist, which is an ironic
concept because his own parents are immigrants. Not only that but he goes on to
say Mexico is sending its worst citizens,
which is odd because most of the illegal
immigrants come here in search for jobs
that some Americans are too lazy to look
for.
Though I cannot fathom the reasoning behind his racial comments, I am at
an utter lost when it comes to understanding his sexist remarks. He relates
women to physical inmate possessions
comparing a female’s beauty to a building or a work of art. He then attacks
women on his own private Twitter account. He focused on Rosie O’Donnell,
calling her fat, ugly, and “a very unattractive person, both inside and out.”
Then he asked how if Hillary Clinton
can’t satisfy her husband, what makes
her think she can satisfy America – because it’s her fault her husband cheated
and since she couldn’t please her man
she won’t be able to be a strong governmental leader.
I tried really hard to understand his
rationale but failed miserably. To me, he
isn’t the man for the job. I give him
credit as a catalyst: he started arguments
and conversations that had to take place
for students and adults alike to become
well-informed. However, I wouldn’t trust
him to run a country.
News
September/October 2015 Trinity Triangle 5
International students expand horizons
by Warren (Wenxin) Zhang
With the arrival of September, Titans came back to school from summer
vacation. This time more foreign faces
could be found than ever before. This is
because our school welcomed more than
30 new international students this year,
most from China, two from Germany,
and one from Poland. Combined with
other international students from previous years, there are at least 50 students
from other parts of the world who are
part of the Holy Trinity Community with
their American fellow classmates.
Obviously, international students
brought diversity to our school, which is
a valuable opportunity for our community to encounter some exotic culture.
For example, in the International Club,
led by Mrs. Cohen, a large number of
active members for this year are international students. And they are first-hand
resources for American students to learn
about different parts of the globe. In the
club, international students will make
presentations to everyone in order to
introduce China and its different points
of view to help them understand a mysterious country in the Far East. Moreover,
during the cooking section of the club,
everyone will make different kinds of
foods that represent their origins. Although there are plenty of restaurant
choices for us to make outside of school
– Chinese, Italian, Jamaican – the food
Members of the International Club, including foreign exchange students,
listen as another member of the club gives a presentation.
there has already been Americanized. In
the cooking section all the international
students can make their food with tradition, without effect of American preferences. And for everyone else, it is a rare
chance to taste those foreign foods without actually going to the country.
The international students bring a
benefit to our school, while, reciprocally,
the school community provides a warm,
welcoming atmosphere for them. I
should actually write “us,” since I am a
Chinese student in 12th grade. Coming
here last year, I had some memorable
moments in my new school. I had trouble, as did every other new student who
came from overseas. Consequently, most
of us might seem aloof, closed in our
little circle, speaking a totally different
language. Although personality plays a
part, other factors must have something
to do with language, culture, and custom.
It is very nerve-wracking for us to embrace a totally new environment, and this
is the first time to be abroad for some of
us. And it is really hard to jump out of
one’s comfort zone.
As for me, even if I have already
been in this school for a year, I still don’t
fit in well with my fellow American students. I am trying and so does every
other international student. We want to
be more involved and concerned, just
like everyone else. In order to achieve
this, we need to break out of our comfort
zone. Compared to last year some positive changes are happening, since this
year more international students participate in more after-school activities, such
as ASMA, varsity soccer, girls’ basketball, yearbook, newspaper, etc. And I
believe this will have good effects on
both sides.
There will most likely be more international students in the spring or in
the next school year. Although I will
graduate soon, I hope every international
student will have a great time at Holy
Trinity and embrace the new atmosphere, and I am sure they will not regret
their decision to be part of the Holy Trinity community.
Wine and Cheese Social
leaves parents, students with taste of Trinity experience
by Stephanie Angus
On the night of September 19th, the
Holy Trinity cafeteria was a world apart
from its usual Titan white and green.
Instead of bare tables and the regular
cafeteria food, freshman and sophomore
parents walked in to find dim lights and
a full buffet courtesy of Mrs. Russo’s
team of Trinity students and volunteers
at the Freshmen/Sophomore Parent Wine
and Cheese Social.
The night was created as a warm
welcome to freshman and sophomore
families. Parents dined on wine, cheeses,
quiche, cakes, and a variety of others
dishes both pre and Trinity-made. As the
dinner progressed, students were tasked
with entertainment and service, both
providing the music and acting as
kitchen assistants and waiters and waitresses. Though the parents were the target audience for the dinner, the students
who volunteered found that the wealth
didn’t go unshared. As a prize for their
hard work and time, students left with
both surplus food (including some slices
of cake) and a signature for their service
hours.
Head of the event and nutrition and
health teacher, Mrs. Russo, was greatly
appreciative of the students’ dedication.
“They’re always fabulous,” she expressed with a smile. “Our students are
wonderful, reliable. So polite. I couldn’t
do it without them.”
As for the parents, they left Trinity
that night with new perception of the
Holy Trinity family. The night helped
parents to see how much students contribute to the school.
Mrs. Russo added, “The parents
were able to see how Trinity students
give back to their community. Even better, they get insight into what their own
children can do in their future as a Trinity student.”
At the end of the day, the Freshmen/Sophomore Parent Wine and
Cheese Social was a great success for
both parents and students. It benefits the
new families of Trinity and brings opportunity to Trinity students of all ages.
For students who are looking for service
hours, feel free to see Mrs. Russo for
more service opportunities. Each event is
sure to be excellent.
6 Trinity Triangle September/October 2015
Arts & Entertainment
Trinity students get excited for Homecoming
Story and photos by
Margaret Hans
On Friday, October
16th, Trinity students,
staff, and faculty gathered in the gym for the
annual Homecoming
Pep Rally. After the
singing of the National
Anthem by Select Choir,
accompanied by Advanced Band, the Varsity Cheer Team dazzled
the crowd with their unbelievable routine.
Other performances included routines by the
Varsity Kickline Team
and the Gymnastics
Team. The event ended
with the introduction of
the Varsity Football
Team. Everyone left the
gym excitedly anticipating the next day’s game.
Arts & Entertainment
Trinity Triangle needs photographers!
Share your skills with us every
Tuesday after school.
September/October 2015 Trinity Triangle 7
8 Trinity Triangle September/October 2015
Arts & Entertainment
Voice actors bring their
craft to numerous characters
ferred to as the industry’s leading man,
for his numerous roles as a protagonist.
Some notable roles include: Jack
Mitchell from Call of Duty: Advanced
Warfare, Joel from The Last of Us, and
Van Kleis in Generator Rex.
Rob Paulsen
by Graham Chorusey
Voice actors today are some of the
best actors in the business. But hardly
anyone even knows their names. These
people were pretty much our childhood,
as many of our cartoons and video
games had interesting characters that
only these actors could portray. The
voice actors below in particular bring
their craft to all sorts of memorable
characters.
Troy Baker
This talented voice actor has primarily voiced characters in video games,
but he has occasionally voiced characters in cartoons as well. He is often re-
One of the most experienced voice
actors in the business, Rob Paulsen has
an extraordinary range of characters. He
was the first Raphael in the original 80’s
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon,
and has voiced an extremely large
amount of characters in today’s cartoons. Some of them are: Yakko Warner
from Animaniacs, Pinky from Pinky and
the Brain, and Carl from Jimmy Neut
r
o
n
.
Phil Lamarr
Phil Lamarr has had an extensive
on-camera career as well as animation.
He was Marvin in Pulp Fiction and was
one of the original performers on
MadTV. His vocal range is something to
behold. Here are a few of his characters:
Samurai Jack, John Stewart from Justice
League, and Bolbi from Jimmy Neutron
(yeah, I know!).
DotA Reborn fun
despite flawed
launch
by John Gonzalez
Whelp! It happened and it has everything: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Defense of the Ancients Reborn, a
new client/engine update for the popular
game DotA 2 was recently released and
it has had quite the effect on the community. The new client felt clunky at
Though it was a good
laugh for a time, after
a little while the
laughs died down and
many where furious
with DotA Reborn’s
incomplete release.
first but now feels right at home. It feels
much more fluid than the last client and
has some pretty cool features such as a
new party system and how you’re now
able to track the stats from your last 20
games though various categories. You
are now able to test out any item ingame before purchase by simply pressing the demo button while looking at
said item in the heroes tab.
Features like that are what make
DotA Reborn feel fresh and new, but it
doesn’t make up at all for the glitches
and massive problems it had at launch –
glitches such as random crashes, certain
characters and particles not showing up,
and in some cases the game couldn’t
even start up. Problems like these were
what crippled the release of DotA Reborn and made it a laughing stock to the
whole community. Throughout the following week many videos were posted
complaining and showcasing the main
problems Reborn had.
Though it was a good laugh for a
time, after a little while the laughs died
down and many where furious with
DotA Reborn’s incomplete release. One
of the biggest outrages was that all
source one replays where deleted, making them impossible to recover. For
myself, I remember many of my favorite cosmetic items not being able to
load, so their models were replaced with
error signs. Since then DotA has received multiple patches to fix major
issues and they have helped a great deal,
but there are still things here and there
that need to be fixed.
Despite all this, DotA is a very
great and successful game and I have
faith that it will soon fix itself from this
train wreck of a launch and will come
back better and stronger than it did before Reborn was launched.
Life is Strange: Time Travel, Teenage Problems, and Mystery
by Nafish Sarker
We’ve all had at least one problem that we
wish we could do over. It’s a common thought
that enters our minds every now and then. We
think that by making a different choice, things
could’ve turned out for the better. The video game
Life is Strange covers those topics in detail: what
would happen if you made different choices?
Themes associated with
time include the butterfly
effect and chaos theory,
meaning that one choice
can lead to unforeseen, disastrous results.
The story is from the point of view of 18year-old Max Caulfield, a photographer going to a
boarding school. Her life changes when she witnesses a gunman in the school shoot a student and
she discovers her ability to rewind time. Max uses
the newfound power in order to prevent the shooting from ever occurring, thus saving the student.
At this point, she wonders how she should use this
power and searches for answers as to why she got
them in the first place, incorporating some mystery into the story.
The game is broken up into five episodes.
Each one is fairly long, about two to three hours
each, depending on what you do. Main mechanics
of the game involve making choices that can be
seemingly small or big. The point is that rewinding time allows you to make a different choice if
you didn’t like the outcome of the other. Themes
associated with time include the butterfly effect
and chaos theory, meaning that one choice can
lead to unforeseen, disastrous results. And, to
relate to the players, there are common teenage
problems that characters deal with: bullying,
popularity, and self-identity.
If you’re not a gaming person, it isn’t exactly a game, but more of a visual novel or a TV
show. Besides making the choices, the plot goes
on by itself. Max has her own inner monologues
to give her perspective on situations, and the interactions between students are seen with minimal
effort in the game.
Life is Strange is a unique mystery game to
be played any chance you get. The dialogue is
decent enough, but the main plot and soundtrack
are on another level of incredible. If you don’t at
least check it out, you’re missing out.
Arts & Entertainment
September/October 2015 Trinity Triangle 9
One Small Step for Man, One Giant Leap for Cinema
by Carol Nguyen and
Danielle DerGarabedian
The Martian is based on a 2011
novel of the same name, written by Andy
Weir. The film was released on October
2nd, 2015 in the US, in both 2D and 3D.
The Martian has a stellar cast, with their
performances shining as bright as the
stars. Some cast members include the
film’s star, Academy Award-winner Matt
Damon, and Academy Award nominees
Jessica Chastain, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Kristen Wiig, and Jeff Daniels.
The movie’s basic premise may
seem a bit cliché – a man’s determination
to survive through a seemingly impossible situation – but director Ridley Scott
and writer Drew Goddard were able to
survive on the uninhabitable planet until
the next scheduled Mars mission (Ares
IV) in four years. When Mission Control
satellite planner for NASA, Mindy Clark
(Mackenzie Davis), discovers that Watney is really alive, international and
NASA scientists work vigorously in order to bring the astronaut home. Around
the world, people come together to support his safe return home.
Being alone in space leaves little
room for witty rhetoric, but Matt
Damon’s performance is refreshing and
facetious. His clever one-liners make the
audience laugh even though his situation
is heart-wrenching. As the movie opens
we are left to bask in the eerie atmosphere of the Red Planet. The special ef-
fects used to emulate the setting are stunning, and wildly believable. Presented
with impossible predicaments, the writers
gave Watney sharp wit to attain basic
human necessities. The sound mixing
done by the editors was dramatic and
enticing. The running gag of Commander
Lewis’s (Jessica Chastain) love for 70s
disco added levity to the situation, which
was one of the aspects that made watching the film enjoyable. The circumstances were so believable that the spectators are made to feel like this was an
actual historical event.
Grossing triple times its budget and
receiving high praise from critics, The
Martian did exceptionally well in theaters, among audiences of all kinds. For
example, Mark Kermode from The
Guardian wrote, “For all its technical
liberties, the pop science convinces just
enough to be both credible and intriguing
– younger viewers in particular will be
sent away with renewed (if slightly
skewed) interests in chemistry, biology
and astronomy.” It also received a score
of 93 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. If the
movie’s immersive storyline doesn’t
compel one to watch it, then Matt
Damon’s charm will. This modern day
science-fiction film will send viewers
above and beyond cinematic standards.
With such phenomenal acting, writing,
and editing, The Martian is bound to win
a plethora of accolades.
Matt Damon’s
performance is refreshing and facetious. His clever oneliners make the audience laugh even
though his situation is
heart-wrenching.
develop a movie that is fresh, thrilling,
and clever. Like so many before it, such
as Gravity (2013), and Apollo 13 (1995),
this movie pushes us further into space,
making us sit on the edge of our seat and
bite our nails in anticipation.
During Ares III, a manned mission
to the planet Mars, astronaut Mark Watney (Matt Damon) was struck by debris
during a brutal storm. Thought to be
dead, he was left behind by the rest of his
crew. Really having survived, Watney is
left alone on the desolate and barren
planet. Using only his astute knowledge
of botany, spirit, and innovation, he must
Story Mode elevates original Minecraft experience
by Kymani Runcie
Finally, the very popular PC game
Minecraft gets what it has been lacking
from the start: a story mode. Yes, a story
mode made by a third-party developer,
Telltale Games, which was announced
back in July at E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo). So now let’s see if Minecraft: Story Mode is worth the twentyfive dollars.
First, the overall story of the game is
really put together well and Telltale
Games couldn’t have gone wrong because they started off with a blank slate.
Even though the original Minecraft game
has lore, it’s not confirmed by the publisher, so it’s just a fan theory. The game
was made so that any decision a person
chooses sticks and, based on that decision, there’s a certain outcome. It’s basically a
choose-your-own-adventure
game, so there are a plethora of outcomes
to experience in this game. The cutscenes
in the game are well written and can be
used in a funny, serious, or informative
way. What Part One of Story Mode lacks
is an actual start into an adventure which
a person might mistake in the middle of
the game, but once you get to the end of
Part One you figure out that they didn’t
even start on their journey.
Secondly, the gameplay is a mix of
Telltale’s usual gameplay (choosing your
own adventure, quick time events) and
the generic Minecraft controls. Most of
the time that the player can actually play
is spent looking for things, solving puzzles, experiencing quick time events, and
building things, which isn’t the same as
the actual game. There are too many
cutscenes and not enough gameplay,
even though during the cutscenes the
player has to make a decision, but that’s
only one click and not an actual activity.
Lastly, the graphics were running
smoothly at 60 fps and the cutscenes
looked like an animated movie, but it
was lagging at some parts while I was
playing and I heard of some other people
having that trouble, too.
Overall, Minecraft: Story Mode is a
fun game to play if you are already part
of the Minecraft community or a fan of
Telltale Games. I give Minecraft: Story
Mode a 7.2 out of 10. If you want to buy
it, it is twenty-five dollars for all five
parts with the final four coming out later
this year.
10 Trinity Triangle September/October 2015
Arts & Entertainment
1
Triangle Trivia!
You can find the answers to this puzzle by
2
3
reading this issue of the Trinity Triangle!
6
7
4
8
5
9
10
11
12
13
by Kyia Eason
Across
2. Which teacher leads the International
Club?
4. How many new Executive Board
members were inducted into the Volunteer Club's Executive Board?
9. Minecraft: ______ Mode
10. Trinity's Freshmen/________ Parent
Wine and Cheese Social
11. What tournament did the Holy Trinity girls’ volleyball team win first place
in
12. Who wants to build a border wall?
13. Who is the Jesuit Priest who took
the vow of poverty : Papa _______
Down
1. Who is the 18 year old that the video
game Life is Strange about: Max
______
3. Who wrote the article “Choices”?
5. John Gonzalez wrote the article
“DOTA _______ fun despite flawed
launch”
6. Who was the tennis player that beat
Novak Djokovic?
7. What was the first Trinity social
event for the freshman class?
8. What team performed at Pep Rally
but not at Homecoming?
9. Who is the voice actor of the Justice
League and Bolbi from Jimmy Neutron:
John ________
September/October 2015 Trinity Triangle 11
Halloween Word Search
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Wicked
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Treats
Witch
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Tomb
Hayride
Bonus: Find the Triangle Senior Staff Members’ names
by Sam Scala
Sports
Girls Volleyball scores mid-season
by Kaitlyn Williams
Volleyball. Yes, you may say that’s
a weird way to start a paragraph. One
word, ten letters. You could be asking
why I didn’t start with a crazy hook talking about a play going on, or something
funny that happened with my teammates.
For me though, the word volleyball explains it all.
But for all of you that want that
crazy hook, here it is…. The crowd is
hushed. The ref blows the whistle. Picture yourself on serve receive. The girls
on your team are screaming, “One pass,
right here, let’s go ladies.” This point can
either make or break your team. The girl
on the other team throws the ball up,
getting ready to serve it down. You lose
your breath. Everything stops and turns
into slow motion. The ball comes right at
you. In the pressure of the game, can you
make that pass? This is what every point
in Holy Trinity girls’ volleyball feels
like. There are adrenaline rushes, brief
moments of silence, and times where you
might mess up.
Although this season has been full
of high points and low points, Coach
Karen Hogan focuses on the positive.
She explains, “When I look down the
bench, I have full confidence in every
girl on my team. I know that I can put
any one of them in to make a difference
on the court at any time.”
Mid-season stats show the girls 3-3
in wins to loses, winning against Sacred
Heart, Saint Dominic’s, and Our Lady of
Mercy. This ranks us in fourth place for
the mid-season stats. Ranking in most
kills mid-season is senior Alyssa Keegan
with 39. Ranking in most aces this season is junior Jackie O’Neill with 76.
Ranking in most digs is senior Erin Chefalas with 34 mid-season.
This year, Trinity’s own junior
Hunter Christian made it to Newsday’s
“Top 25 players to watch in 2015.” She
has 34 kills with only 13 errors out of 68
total hits. Holy Trinity’s Volleyball team
has had a lot of success, as compared
with the public schools on Long Island.
Holy Trinity’s volleyball team won first
place at the Carle Place Tournament and
second place at the MacArthur Generals
Tournament. Coaches from both of these
tournaments have come up to our players, complementing them on their skills
and abilities.
Coach Hogan adds, “We have a
depth of talent this year that I haven’t
seen in a while. This team is very special
to me.”
The volleyball team doesn’t consider each other friends anymore; we
consider each other family. When I
joined volleyball freshman year I had no
idea what I was getting myself into. Between you and me, I came to Trinity not
sure whether to play volleyball or soccer,
and I actually was leaning towards soccer, but don’t tell Coach Hogan that.
Now as a junior I’ve come to the conclusion that joining the volleyball team was
the best thing I’ve ever done. When people tell you that joining a sport in high
school is a good idea, they are wrong. It
is a great idea. Make sure to come down
to the gym and help cheer on your Titans
volleyball team on our way to the championship. Can’t wait to see you all in the
bleachers cheering us on and make sure
to learn our signature clap!
As high school students may say
these days, “(Volley) Ball is life!”
Tennis superstars fall short of Grand Slam
by Taylor Martin
The 2015 tennis season was marked
by success and bittersweet failure for the
top two players on the men’s and
women’s side. Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic both had an opportunity to
achieve the coveted Grand Slam. The
Grand Slam is winning all four majors in
the same year. Both players came very
close to achieving this but unfortunately
they fell short.
The Australian Open began in January and its top two seeds, Serena Williams on the women’s side and Novak
Djokovic on the men’s side, led the field.
Serena had a difficult road to the
finals. Standing in her way was Garbine
Muguruza, Dominika Cibulkova, Madison Keys, and Elina Svitolina. Each of
these young guns gave Serena trouble but
in the end she prevailed and made her
way to the finals. There, she faced longtime nemesis Maria Sharapova. Even
though Serena has a winning record
against Maria, 18-2, Maria handed
Serena one of her four losses in a Grand
Slam major. After an hour and a half,
Serena came out victorious, winning the
match 6-3, 7-6, resulting in her 19th major.
Novak had a much easier draw to
get to the Aussie finals. Stan Wawrinka
and Andy Murray were the only two
players to push Novak in the semis and
finals respectively. Wawrinka pushed
Novak to five sets and after four hours of
play, Novak won 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 4-6, and 6
-0. In the finals, Novak and Murray
played amidst controversy. After a bad
call and a very questionable timeout,
Murray accused Novak of gamesmanship
and allowed his anger to affect him for
the remainder of the match. In the end,
Novak won 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, and 6-0 for his
8th major.
Next up on the Grand Slam swing
was the French Open in May. Serena and
Novak each faced difficulty on the red
clay. Even though she’s won two French
Opens, Serena has had two of her ugliest
defeats in the first round in 2012 and the
second round in 2014. Unfortunately for
Novak, he hasn’t even won the title.
Each time Novak has made it to the
final or the semifinal he was beaten by
the “King of Clay” Rafael Nadal, but this
year he vowed he would not be beaten.
Novak faced very tough opponents, including Nadal in the quarterfinals. After
losing to him five times at the French,
Novak finally got his win in straight sets
7-5, 6-3, and 6-1. It seemed as if he
would finally win his first French Open
until he made it to the finals. After winning the first set and leading the second
set, Novak let his nerves conquer him
and lost 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, and 4-6 to Stan
Wawrinka. After he lost the match, Novak broke down in tears, causing his opponent to come over and comfort him.
Novak received a standing ovation from
the French crowd to which he vowed to
come back and win in 2016.
Serena had a horrendous time getting to the finals herself. In five of her
seven matches she had to go the distance
and twice she came within two points of
elimination. Throughout the entire tournament, Serena was sick with the flu and
a stomach virus but somehow, against all
odds, she won the tournament in three
sets 6-3, 6-7, and 6-2 against Lucie Safarova. This gave her third Career Grand
Slam and her 20th major championship.
Wimbledon had gone by very
smoothly for both players until the third
round. Serena had to face three former
number one players, Victoria Azarenka,
her sister Venus Williams, and Maria
Sharapova back to back to back. Azarenka pushed Serena to three sets but
came up short. Serena won that match 36, 6-2, and 6-3. Serena easily dispatched
her sister and Sharapova in the quarters
and semis to face first time grand slam
finalist Garbine Muguruza in the finals.
After going down 1-4 in the first set,
Serena stormed back and won 5 straight
points to win it 6-4, 6-4 for her 21st major title. What made this major win that
much more significant was the fact that
this was her fourth consecutive major
win. Having won the 2014 U.S Open,
2015 Aussie Open, 2015 French Open,
and the 2015 Wimbledon title, she completed her second “Serena Slam.” She is
the only person in tennis history to have
won all four major titles in a noncalendar year twice (2002-2003 and 2014
-2015).
Djokovic lost the first two sets and
came within one point of losing in the
fourth round against Kevin Anderson but
somehow, against all odds, he came back
and won 6-7, 6-7, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5 in five
tight sets. He defeated number 2 Roger
Federer in the finals 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 for
his 9th major title.
The U.S Open hardcourt swing
came in August. Djokovic never looked
tired and played with ease until he came
into the final. Roger Federer, whom Novak played in Wimbledon, put up a
strong fight and almost pushed the number one to five sets. Unfortunately, he
came up short and lost 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6,
giving Novak his 10th major title.
Serena Williams came into the U.S
Open having won three of the four majors thus far. She was the three-time defending champion and came into the season having lost only two matches. Serena
fought through her own nerves and made
it all the way to the semifinals. In what is
called one of the greatest upsets of all
time, Serena lost to Roberta Vinci after
leading the match 6-2, 4-2. She went on
to lose the match 6-2, 4-6, 4-6, officially
ending her chance of winning the Grand
Slam.
Both Novak and Serena had major
upsets in this season. They each had opportunities to achieve something that has
only been done by five people in tennis
history, but who can be mad at them
when they won three out of the four majors of the year?