Gilbert Shea, candidate for Executive Student Council President, is a constant contributor to his community, as demonstrated by his roles as a student-ambassador, a member of the two-time 3A state champion men’s golf team and the sophomore and junior Class President for the class of 2020.
Shea’s sterling reputation speaks for itself, but he says that “I plan to achieve a lot if I am elected student-body president. I want to get our students more engaged in the fundraisers around school, create more fun events for the students of all interests at our school and increase the role that the student council has at the school…by possibly improving the advertising of the fundraisers, making them competitive or making sure students understand where there money is going towards. I want the students of each grade to be able to communicate about anything school related with the executive board or their class officers so we can help discuss these things amongst ourselves and possibly even the administration.”
Since Shea’s role as President is assured, he says “I think I will really enjoy being president. It will be a great honour but I will have to hold myself accountable and make sure that I work-hard to fulfill my role and I want to leave a legacy that improves the role of the student council at Charlotte Catholic High School for the future.”
I want to thank a lot of our teachers and students for their support and just simply anyone who encourages a friend or classmate who is running because it is very nerve-racking to give a speech in front of the school. I’d also like to tell the student body to be supportive of everyone and I would also like them to possibly consider running for a position during the class elections in the fall.
Rising senior First Vice President candidate Kevin Kullick
Kevin Kullick, candidate for Executive Student Council First Vice President, has been a long-standing figure in Student Council for the 2020 class, taking the role of Class Vice President for both sophomore and junior year. His ability to build relationships with both students and adults is well-practiced through both reaching out to his classmates and attending many Charlotte Catholic donor events as a Student Council representative; his crowning achievement of his Student Council career was holding the first Sadie Hawkins dance at Charlotte Catholic in over three years.
Kullick’s goals for next year are “to have the student body feel more unified and together to help serve the community.” He adds, “I would also love to have another Sadie Hawkins dance.” On his plans for making these goals reality, he says, “we can achieve this goal by continuing to have support from the Charlotte Catholic student body. The students have truly impressive goals for the school and we have a desire to do our best to achieve them.”
As Kullick is running unopposed, he is confident in his victory, saying “I think that I will enjoy being first vice president because I love to help the school and be a representative of the student body. I think that this position will be very similar to what I have been facing the past few years but the only difference is that there will be a larger scale of people to serve, but I am looking forward to achieving many goals this upcoming year!”
The people that I want to thank for supporting me during the election are every one that sees potential in me to be a leader in the school. I would like to thank our current student council (both junior class and executive) for being such a close-knit community and supporting one another. However, the person that I want to thank the most is Gibby [Gilbert] Shea. He is the most genuine, respectful, and determined 17-year old that I have ever met and his motivation to represent the school is amazing. We have been on student council for a few years now, but I have known him since middle school. He has always loved to represent his school in sports and leadership. He has always been so involved with improving the school and he represents a crucial figure for all of us on the student council.
I would like to say to the students that I am very excited to begin working as a leader in the school and representing them. I would like to encourage them to talk to us if they have any ideas to make CCHS a better place.
Rising junior Second Vice President candidate Rachel DeRochi
Rachel DeRochi, candidate for Executive Student Council Second Vice President, has been taking leadership roles since elementary school, where she was on the student council in fifth grade; she has taken on a slew of others since, including spots on the varsity women’s lacrosse as a freshman and the Second Honour roll for second and third quarter of her sophomore year.
As Second Vice President, she hopes “to give the school way more dress down days, so that the students have more opportunities to express themselves…. and help bring attention to the cause of expanding the colours on our school uniform sweatshirts, so that people have more outfit choices.” She plans to achieve this “by brainstorming more fundraisers that could be done to make a cause to hold more dress down days,” she says.
I would like to thank my Dad for helping me write my speech and my friends for encouraging me to run for student council.
Rising junior Second Vice President candidate Jacob Eugene
Jacob Eugene, candidate for Executive Student Council Second Vice President, is a talented public speaker and it shows through his many Speech and Debate solo awards and his contributions to Charlotte Catholic’s NCTC District win.
Eugene’s long-term goals as Second Vice President are “adding more [formal and informal] dances and a talent show.. and convincing more people to come to theatre productions and athletic events.” These goals are inspired by his little sister, he says. “I want to make the school fun for her and her class, when she comes to Charlotte Catholic.” He plans to also improve how the Student Council reaches out to the student body by “revamping our marketing to include more social media or funnier posters… but if that doesn’t work I can always do what I do best, keep asking until they listen, to me and the people.”
Thank you to my friends for helping me put up the posters, Mr. Sigwald for editing my speech, and Dollar Tree and Google Images for the posters and memes respectively.
“I’m your man” -Cory Baxter. Vote for me because I have great ideas and look like the greatest president of our time…Cory Baxter of Cory in the House fame.
Rising junior candidate for Second Vice President, Brynn Heslin
Brynn Heslin, candidate for Executive Student Council Second Vice President, committs intensely to any task she takes; it shows in her laundry list of achievements: Girl Scout Silver Award recipient, consistent First Honours student, Speech and Debate Nationals qualifier, and a Presidential Service Award recipient.
Heslin’s focus as Second Vice President will be “giving a voice to the study body at CCHS,” she says. Encouragement of clubs at Charlotte Catholic is the focus of her platform, and helping the annual Club Day fair run smoother “so that people can actually listen to each other and find the clubs that are right for them” is the crux of that plan. Furthermore, she promises to “focus on efficient and entertaining fundraisers so that our clubs, teams, and sports can have the funds to make our school proud.”
From my friend group and beyond, everyone has been so nice and supportive, and my running-mates have been respectful and kind. I really couldn’t have asked for a better running experience, win or lose.
To the student body: I love you guys! Every single student at CCHS deserves to have a great high school experience, and I wanna help make that happen to the best of my ability. I’m seriously invested in making our school better for all of us, and it would mean the world if you voted for me.
Rising junior candidate for Secretary, Jacqueline Cox
Jacqueline Cox, candidate for Executive Student Council Secretary, is proud to say that she’s been on Student Council “her whole life,” from acting as a class representative throughout elementary school to Student Council Secretary in 6th grade and Vice President in 7th grade before coming to Holy Trinity. Finally, she was elected as secretary of her freshman class last year. She has also qualified for First Honours every semester for the past two years
Cox’s goal as Secretary is to lead drives, projects, and fundraisers that directly support charities or organizations that the students pick. Another major is to help plan a second Sadie’s dance again because she proudly says “it was super fun and successful this past year.” Most importantly though, because she holds this representative aspect of this position in such regard, she “especially wants to be open to any and all from the student body for changes in our community and fun activities they may want to incorporate.”
How Cox plans to reach out to her school community is “by getting the opinions of the faculty and students in our community…with an online poll, or even just by having conversations…with my fellow students, teachers, and friends, to help understand their opinions, [so we can] raise support for the causes the student body wants.”
I want to thank my parents for pushing me out of my comfort zone to do this and my friends for supporting me always. Love you guys. To the student body: Full disclosure, I’m probably really nervous right now. But vote for me because I’d love to represent you guys and hear your ideas, plus I think I have some great ideas that would benefit us all!
Since the summer of 2017, the international Catholic community has been wracked by almost constant clergy sexual abuse reports, even finding trusted archbishops and cardinals guilty.
North Carolina dioceses are not exempt from this reckoning, and in December of 2018 the Raleigh diocese released a list of all priests who were reported to be sexually abusive at any point in their priesthood and served in the Raleigh diocese. The Charlotte diocese, however, will hold off until possibly June or later to release their report so that the bishop can “receive additional instruction.” David Hains, the bishop’s spokesperson, insists that the reports produced by the Catholic News Herald are accurate and substantial for now.
Bishop Jugis addressing sex abuse scandal at the 2018 Eucharistic Congress. Photo John Cosmas, Catholic Herald.
Laypeople of Charlotte trust the honesty of the Diocese, the bishops, and their parish priests, but there is no method of guaranteeing that the Diocese has not or will not redact non-prosecuted cases from their published lists so far. Many in the Diocese also agree that having a full list of all priests reported for sexual abuse in the Diocese will “help to understand the [scope] of this issue in our community.”
Transcripts of amended complaint detailing behaviour of the Diocese of Charlotte in a 2009 abuse case.
Deposition statement from Monsignor West describing the destruction of reports on the treatment of Damion Lynch, a former Charlotte priest.
According to transcripts of cases against priests in the Charlotte Diocese and lawyers with experience in cases against the Diocese, multiple past executive members of the Charlotte Diocese “destroyed medical reports and records that they received from treatment centers for Diocese priests who’d been accused of sexual misconduct” and “retained an abusive priest even after being warned repeatedly…that the priest was an abuser.” There was also a case in 2000 where Father Kessler and Monsignor West informed an abusive priest that “they won’t allow [accusers] to run at the mouth and put [the priest in question] down” instead of reporting to the Department of Social Services.
This directly contravenes their public policy and Haines’ claims of “reporting every accusation [of child sexual abuse] to the North Carolina Conference of District Attorneys and the North Carolina Department of Social Services.”
Longtime member of the diocese Billy Maddalon concurred, adding “In the case of Monsignor [West’s recent harassment allegations] like a lot of others, it was an open secret for a while. ” While the bishop states that he adhered to “the strict policy of the Diocese of Charlotte to immediately refer all allegations by known accusers of potential sexual misconduct to the Lay Review Board for investigation,” there is no way of knowing if accusations have been made against Monsignor West before this point.
This news especially troubles parents of children attending schools in the Diocese of Charlotte, with one saying, “I trust these priests. I trust that all of them are going to keep my kids safe. I trust them because I have to trust I’m keeping my kids safe, so what other choice do I have?” Seth Langson, a lawyer intimately involved in cases of abuse victims in the Charlotte diocese, clarified that “under current law, [the diocese] doesn’t have to report accusations directly to the police. They only have to report allegations to the District Attorneys and the DSS [Department of Social Services]. This is very different than reporting to the police, where it would [be in public record].”
I trust [parish and school priests] because I have to trust I’m keeping my kids safe, so what other choice do I have?
MACS Parent
In some cases, it was teachers and school administrators who discovered abuse: one notable account describes a youth group leader mistakenly receiving communication between a priest and one of his later accusers. When she reported the inappropriate behaviour to her supervisor, she was assured that “it would be taken care of” and that the supervisor would inform the head parish priest- but the offending priest was never removed from his positions working with children and was allowed to transfer out of the state later that same year.
Damion Lynch, settled 1999 for undisclosed amount due to 1991-95 abuse charges. Left priesthood in 2002.
Father Joseph Kelleher, arrested and released on bail in 2010 due to abuse charges. 1977 abuse confirmed and other credible accusations are known. Died 2014 with all charges dismissed.
Father Jeffries Burton, reassigned in 1994 after 1982 abuse allegations discovered. Died 2011 with no criminal or civil suits filed.
Father Richard Farwell, convicted 2004 to “taking indecent liberties” with a minor in the 1980s with another credible accusation never brought to court. Status as clergy unknown, one of two Charlotte priests to face criminal consequences for sexual abuse.
Robert Yurgel, convicted 2009 with sexual abuse of a minor in 1999. Only Charlotte priest to serve jail time for sexual abuse. Defrocked 2010.
The men above are the priests that- according to reputable source BishopAccountability.org- have served in the Charlotte diocese, have been either accused of or confessed to sexual abuse of minors, and are still alive or died after 2010. This organization, though, can only cull their evidence from publicly released documents like court reports and news articles. This leaves any allegations left in private diocesan files, like Father Cornell Bradley in the late 1980s and Father Al Gondek in 1993, blind to the public trying to understand the scale of this issue. Again, there is no way of guaranteeing that any informal report released through a Diocesan-controlled source like Catholic News Herald has not redacted accusations in order to make the Diocese look more reliable.
Haines, though, says that “we’ve been…helping the Church deal with this sex abuse scandal for more than fifteen years with…background checks and Protecting God’s Children [a Diocesan educational program focused on spotting signs of child abuse] for every employee and volunteer in the Diocese.” The employees required to attend Protecting God’s Children now includes all seminarians at St. Joseph’s Seminary, confirmed Haines, along with 50,000 clergy and laypeople since 2003.
These efforts, though, do not negate the need for a detailed list of all sex abuse reports, public or private, made against priests who have ever served in the Charlotte Diocese published publicly to the Diocese website. Optimally, this list would be created with independent assistance and with dates of when incidents of abuse occurred and when they were reported to the Diocese. In the future, the Diocese could even track the effectiveness of abuse prevention programs by tracking the implementation of these programs with rates of abuse allegations.
On the topic of the Diocese of Charlotte releasing a full list of credible accusations, a Charlotte Catholic parent commented, “I don’t see any problem with it, and it would really help reassure people that [the Diocese] is really looking out for us. I mean, if you’re not guilty, nothing to fear, right?”
If you or a loved one is suffering sexual abuse, please contact one of these toll-free numbers:
National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673
National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453
The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386
Darkness to Light at 1-866-367-5444
Stop It Now at 1-888-773-2362
The ChildHelp National Abuse Hotline at 1-800-422-4453
Report to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department at 311
Report to the York County Sheriff’s Office at 803-329-1110
Report to the Chester County Sheriff’s Office at 803-385-5433
Report to the Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office at 803-283-4136
If residing in any other county under jurisdiction of the Diocese of Charlotte, please contact your county’s non-emergency number or a nearby lawyer.
Rumours are flying over the prospect of a Charlotte Catholic Sadie Hawkins dance, from what the theme might be to when it is, but what the idea behind the event is or whether the student body actually wants it may still be a toss-up.
Here are the facts about the Charlotte Catholic 2019 Sadie Hawkins dance so far:
The dance will be on Saturday, March 16th from 8pm to 10pm.
The theme will be St. Patrick’s Day (In March, could it be anything else?) and decorations will be made by the theatre decoration committee.
The Junior Student Officers are in charge of organizing the dance, with Junior Student President Gilbert “Gibby” Shea as organizing chair.
Refreshments will be provided.
Split Second Sound DJ will return to provide music for the event.
But!- In order to understand the spirit of hosting a Sadie Hawkins dance, it is important to understand its history. The idea of a Sadie Hawkins Day began in 1937 with the comic “Li’l Abner,” in which Sadie Hawkins- the ugliest girl in all of Dogpatch and daughter of Hekzebiah Hawkins- complains that she is a spinster at 35. In order to remedy this, her father held a race with all the bachelors of Dogpatch with the loser being forced to marry Sadie. It worked, and the comic became so popular that the cartoonist Al Capp released a “Sadie Hawkins” issue every year.
The first of Capp’s “Sadie Hawkins Day” comics, 1937
In 1939, Texas Wesleyan University along with 200 other American colleges held the first Sadie Hawkins dances inspired by “Li’l Abner,” where women would take the initiative of asking men to be their date instead of the reverse. LIFE Magazine ran a double-page article on the blooming tradition that, by the early 1950s, had spread to 40,000 American universities and high schools. The radical idea of girls taking agency– even with who they would want to attend a dance with– excited young people in eras where gender roles were strictly enforced, so students flocked to these events in droves.
The tradition has been less popular at Charlotte Catholic, though, as they haven’t held a Sadie Hawkins dance since the winter of 2015 due to the dance’s unpopularity with students. Senior Benjamin Frondorf says “it was kind of popular when it happened” but that Student Council and the Parent-Teacher Organization still noticed that interest had waned over the past three years.
Part of this disinterest may be, as sophomore Clara Lobsiger says, because “[the students] are all tired during the second semester…[so] it’s harder to make a big deal about a dance,” but Shea insists “Sadie’s is going to be more casual than Homecoming” and that “it is going to be a fun event where people…do not necessarily have to ask someone.”
There is still a large demographic of students who have pushed for the comeback of Sadie’s, mainly freshmen who feel one dance for underclassmen isn’t fair compared to the two dances juniors and seniors can attend. This is exactly the group Shea is catering to, as “this is [why] Sadie Hawkins dances are popular at other schools.”
The Junior Student Officers are excited to give more opportunities for students to “relax and have fun,” and hope students enjoy this event. Whether one is on the fence about attending or has already planned the perfect outfit, the Sadie Hawkins dance may be the perfect event to relax and have a fun night before Spring Break.
A beloved tradition at Charlotte Catholic is the senior Honours Art murals, with some dedicated students preparing their design for years- but this tradition may soon disappear. According to the Charlotte Catholic Art Department, no senior Honours Art class will paint murals on the first-floor walls from now on and all murals from preceding classes will be painted over with white.
Murals by the 2017 graduating class.
When the senior art students first heard the news, reactions ranged from “distraught and confused” to “furious,” said senior Vanessa Ruedas. The senior class had admired these paintings for years, excelling in Art class in hopes that they could express themselves permanently on the walls. “Why remove the chance to leave our mark?”
“Say you were in line for a promotion at a job, and you spent years getting all the qualifications. And you finally have it all and you go in one day, expecting to get the promotion, only to find out that the job position is being terminated because it was deemed useless to the company… that’s what it feels like [to us].”
-Senior Vanessa Ruedas
Non Visual-Arts students also don’t appreciate this change, as the murals brightened the school and served as useful landmarks for underclassmen. Sophomore Gloria Kanzienza says “without the murals, this school would look like a prison,” and sophomore Bea Saenz adds, “I just really hate the fact that they’re really about to take away the only aspect of the entire school that’s… appealing to look at.” Some teachers agree, commenting that the disappearance would be “sad.”
The administration and Art Department insist, though, that this was a mutual decision on their part and have prepared an alternate project where a variety of mediums- such as photography, collage, or sculpture- would be displayed on canvas in the student commons area. Art pieces will only be displayed there for a year, but the space will be “more professional” because it will be hosting a Senior Gallery Night in early April. Potentially, the two senior Art classes will also paint two collaborative murals; one will be in either Mrs. Kathleen Ramirez’s or Mrs. Carmen Garmilla’s classroom and the other will be in one of the main stairways.
As the reality of graduation hits seniors, they may fight to hold onto the impact they’ve left on Charlotte Catholic- but the year isn’t over yet, and our enterprising seniors will find a way to leave their mark, whether through people or paint.
Commotion broke out at Charlotte Catholic today after drains in the first-floor hallways erupted with sewage water during break. Students and faculty alike clamoured for an explanation as the bathrooms and commons area began to flood, but none could be found. Teachers nearby soon took action, partitioning off the flooded areas from prying eyes.
Heavy flooding in the first-floor girls’ bathroom
Visitors touring Charlotte Catholic also witnessed the incident, with junior Emma Reilly slipping and losing her “Ooey-Gooey” chocolate chip cookie to the disaster. Classes were cancelled for the rest of the day, though Principal Kurt Telford assured the school that this was not an “immediate safety issue” and assured that classes would resume Monday.
Drain back-flooding in the student commons area
This type of drain backup– a sewer line connected to floor drains– are common when days of heavy rain surcharge, or overload the sewer beyond its containment capacity. It is normal and easy to fix, but what’s not normal is the school having sewage drains in hallways and open areas. BLUCHER, a long-standing industrial drain company, only provides drain installation for schools in cafeteria kitchens, pools and changing rooms, and bathrooms.
If the surcharge only occurred in the bathrooms, the day might’ve been able to continue as normal. Charlotte Catholic’s building, though, was converted from an office building in 1995; it is unknown what facilities that required industrial sewer drains previously resided in the student commons area, but Charlotte Catholic has seemingly never updated since.
If this was the first time Charlotte Catholic’s sewer system has surcharged in recent memory, this issue may be less pressing– but it is not. Classes were cancelled and students were banned from using school toilets multiple times during the 2017-18 school year, yet Charlotte Catholic has not seemed to learn their lesson.
**Update 2/5/2019: Telford reports that leakage was due to “old and corroded pipes,” and that the school will overhaul all school bathrooms the summer between the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years.**
The Cougar Claw 