Persuation and Leadership Speech

So its been a long time, and i highly doubt anyone remembers this blog, but here goes anyways.

So on monday I did a persuasive speech on Capital Punishment. I used Hilton's (Drew's) monologs from the trial scene as my opening. Apparently It went amazingly well. I memorized nearly the entire powerpoint show and discarded my notes after the first slide. I brought the DMW t-shirt, both of Sr. Helen's books, and the script.

Like I said I used Hilton's monologs for the opening and then had the medical names appear as I did the "First we strap the guy up, anezthitize him with shot number one, then shot number two that implodes the lungs. Then shot number three that stops the heart..." and so on and so forth. Then I listed what is legal in the United States (leathal injection, electric chair, gas chamber, firing squad, and hanging) and then showed how many people have been exicuted by those means sence 1976 and who the last person to be exicuted by each of those and when (Firing Squad and Hanging was in 1996!). Then I listed all the states that had those types of exicution methods. Then I focused in on the United States in relation to other countries, which was followed by the arguments made to support capital punishment. then i spent the next 12 slides counter arguing all of those arguments. It was very effective and I was the last person to go, so i really made an impact. Plus I enjoyed revisting this subject again, despite how ugly and horrifing it might be.

~Alex

Alex says hello...to anyone that is still here

Here I am at UP just finished my first class, as I understand it You guys that are now Seniors, Juniors, and Sophomores, start tommorow. So congrads. I'm Just seeing if anyone wants to continue the DMW blog and if not, we can just let it rot (as sad as that is) I will probably be coming over every once and a while, to see this years plays, they should be fun. Post if you are auditioning or get into one of them.

I've been busy turned 18 over the summer and started working for my aunt who has three Autistic children (my cousins). I'm in the yearbook a little and got to see all of us in the DMW pages! Well now I'm at University of Portland, and Our girl's soccer team is 4th in the nation, on it's way to #1 !! Hope to hear from any of you.

Mr. Hogan's and my little chat

Sorry for the delay, but here is the jist of it regarding Mr. Hogan and I talking about the removal of the Donald Ray Wallace Flyers.

Mr. Hogan walked into school on Thursday as if it were anyother day, however this was no ordinary day. He was soon notified of the flyers that had been recklessly and irresponsibly plastered all over the school. His first reaction was, "great, the students are getting involved in this issue!" however this feeling soon subsided when he saw that the flyers had been posted in inapporpriate areas on campus and covering student mail and student property. He argues that the Flyers although a good thing were taken to far. "It is fine for the flyers to be up, but for this man to by staring people in the face everywhere they go, is to much. We want people to look up and say 'oh that's interesting.' Not 'Jeez these strupid flyers are everywhere'." He, and Mr. Nagee procedded to take down all of the flyers that were not reasonably placed. They took the ones of the windows and those that covered the students mail as well as those that were falling off the walls, for "They barely had enough tape on them to stay up for more then an hour of two". Those were the only ones that they took down. He denies all accusations that the administration took down the flyers and reason that students opposing the flyers and perhaps other teachers, offended by the sheere number of them removed them. I asked him why the administration did not reveal this earlier for the vast majority of students that I talked to belived that he and the administration were the ones that removed the flyers. His responce was that he could care less about what the students think about the administration, because it is simply not true and anyone that understood what Jesuit really stands for would not accuse the administration of do this.
The short version of all that is that Mr. Hogan removed the few that were either; 1) on windows, 2) covering mail, 3) falling down. They removed no others, students were responsible for the removeal of the others. He does not take seriously that students believe the administration would take these down.

P.S. Mr. Hogan liked that the flyers were posted, however there were too many and too carelessly put up, and unfortunatly, students were more shocked and disterbed by it then we thought.

P.P.S. The quotes that I use are not direct rather me paraphrasing him on what I remember him saying.

P.P.P.S. Mr. Hogan is for our cause

P.P.P.P.S. Jesus is cool

P.P.P.P.P.S. There is nothing like a long hot bath with Guacamole between your toes, while reading this blog on your new laptop, that your Aunt gave you for your half birthday (not that I would know).

Mr. Hogan's and my "little chat" (D.R. Walace flyers)

As you know a week ago today is when the flyers were posted by two anonymous hoverboots. Following Molly Boyle's email regarding the fresbees, I emailed both her and Mr. Hogan about being concerned about the flyers being taken down last thrursday. This is our conversation:

Mr. Hogan,
As for a concern for the student body, I would like to raise the issue of the posters of Donald Ray Wallace being taken down, last thursday.
As you know I was a cast member of "Dead Man Walking" and the night before we held a vigil servace for Donald Ray Wallace, a man convicted of killing a family durring a robbary. In the 25 years that he was on death row he had embraced religion, every religion, and changed his life around. (this is no excuse for his crimes, however it should be recongnized.) He was unjustly put to death on Wendsday at 9:00 PM our time. A man that we had met on Sunday afternoon, was going to be at his exicution, as his spiritual advisor. The following day, two members of our cast, as well as the majority of us, thought that the students of Jesuit High should be shown that the issue that we have been reading about in English, talking about in religion, and seeing for the past week in the play "Dead Man Walking" was a real thing, and that it was happening in our society. We believed that the public should be informed of the injustices in our country.
The flyer that was posted, was not a blatent advertisment, pro or con. Rather an informative piece of paper that showed that this was real. To our surprise, the administration quickly ripped them from the walls, as if it was advocating Hitler. The Catholic church is clearly against capital punishment, as a Catholic Private School, I believed that Jesuit would support any action to support the Church. I was deeply disappointed in my school for the first time in my four years here. I found that I was embaressed to be a Jesuit Student, something that has never once crossed my mind. Why these pictures were taken out of the public eye I do not know, however it greatly disturbed me, that my school would go against its fundamental teachings and retract its support of what they were doing in so many classrooms and on stage. I am sorry that Jesuit has become this.

Your Student,
Alexander B. Cole

His response:

Alex,

I don’t know if you are the student whom Mrs. Satterberg spoke to in the Commons last Thursday before school. My understanding of this situation is that no one asked permission to put up the hundreds of flyers that appeared around the school last Thursday. Mrs. Satterberg found Avital and a young man not only putting up flyers, but essentially wallpapering school walls, lockers, bulletin boards, etc. If someone had the sense and courtesy to ask, they would have certainly been allowed to post the pictures of Mr. Wallace; in fact, Mrs. Satterberg granted permission for the students to continue doing so—but within reason (eg, not putting them on every other locker, where some were sure to be ripped down and trampled underfoot).

I am glad that some students have been so engaged by our discussion of capital punishment that they desired to take action and alert the community that an execution had just occurred. Of course, that expression must be balanced with respect for the rest of the community. I was disappointed, upon going to the library that morning, to see that the bulletin board opposite the library was covered with these flyers—including flyers covering student mail, the daily newspaper, letters on the Christian Service board, etc. I took down those flyers that were covering other material that is important to this community, including student’s personal mail..I left those flyers that were not covering other material, which still left at least 20 flyers in this one place alone. What the theory behind covering student mail was, I do not know. I do know that the custodians and school administrators are the ones who end up picking up the flyers left on the ground after the hurried blanketing of the school with hundreds of flyers, some of which barely had enough tape to stay up more than an hour or two.

Part of social and political action is to know your rights and responsibilities, and to advocate in a manner that advances your cause rather than making even those who may be sympathetic oppose your methods. The ends rarely justify “any means necessary.” Over the past few weeks, we have attempted to create a forum for the respectful, civil exchange of ideas on the contentious issue of the death penalty. Posting flyers in strategic locations is a reasonable means to convey one’s point of view. Self-righteously covering other people’s property and community displays is not. It is vandalism, or at the very least, serious disrespect. I am sorry that you were embarrassed to be a Jesuit student. I don’t know what the pronoun in your last sentence refers to. Personally, I am proud of the discussion we have been having, which has been advanced in such a thoughtful manner by the cast and crew of Dead Man Walking.

Paul J. Hogan
Jesuit High School
Academic Vice Principal

My response

I was not the one that posted the flyers and I did not know of the ones over the student e-mail, but from what you say it sounds as if there were a huge number of them left after you and the administration took them down. Following second period, I did not see one single flyer left in the school. My assumption was the they had been removed by the school, for before school had begun there were a number of them in many different loccations. after whitnessing you taken them down then seeing later that none were left I logically assumed that they had all been taken down by the administration. So who indead took down the remaining flyers? Surely pro-death penulty advicates would not be that disrespectful of a memorial of a dead man (for there was no indication of a anti-death penulty voice, rather simple facts). As for the right to put them up. Do the birthday flyers that regualarly circulate have permission of the administration? If so, a birthday is simply a celebration of new life. So wouldn't a deathday flyer be just as appropriate. Perhaps my peers did go a little overboard on the amont and the location of the flyers, however to have them all taken down in such a short time period arouses my suspision, as if jesuit, although on the outside suports the debate, but when it becomes personal (which it should become) the administration destroys the evidence and hides? It was surprising that a large number of the Cast was not aware of the flyers until out meeting that night. Of all the people to recongnise these flyers it would have been our cast, yet many of them saw nothing. Which leads me to believe again that the administration is trying to shelter Jesuit students from the reality of this horrible crime in our society. I don't think I understand what you mean by "any means nessisary" we were simply trying to enlighten others about an event that occured under the guise of Justice. We were not trying to create sympathy in any way, rather teach people that what we are studing is not history, it is the present. As for my last sentence, I meant that I am sorry that Jesuit has become the median for hiding the facts, and not truly believing and acting on what it teaches and supports.

Alexander B. Cole
Jesuit High School
Unsatisfied Student

His response:

Alex,

Did you look at the board opposite the library? Or the bulletin board in the Commons? Or in the PAC?

I find your suggestion that the administration is trying to shelter Jesuit students from the reality of the death penalty mind-boggling. We have spent considerable time and money and people resources and energy on raising awareness of this issue. Just yesterday I was castigated by a parent railing about the Jesuit administration’s “overly-liberal” presentation of this issue.

It seems we should talk. Enough of the email.

Paul J. Hogan
Jesuit High School
Academic Vice Principal

My response:

~agreed, we should talk. If you could be so kind, could you set an appointment? I know quite a number of our cast would also like to talk and be present as well , perhaps we could invite them too? One more e-mail and then lets talk, okay?
~As a matter of fact I did look at both the board accross from the library and the one in the PAC and the PAC one had one flyer and the one across from the Library had two.
~As for Jesuit being "overly-liberal" that seems quite the opposite, yes you have put a great deal of money, time, and support into the topic, however as evidence of the fact that the flyers were unwelcome and unwarented, shows that you [the administration] in some ways has a limit to your own support. When it trys to becomes personal you back down and take the flyers from the wall. That is my point, If you were truely devoted to the cause, you would want these around campus. Perhaps the students who put them up were doing so with out proper care and respect for the grounds, but instead of taking them down and looking as if you are opposed to the act, you should have supported the effort and re-placed them in appropriate areas (which in my mind is everywhere). I don't disregard the effort that you have taken to bring this issue to rise, however you seem afraid of what it truly is.

Am I at fault? Contact me if you want to be part of the discussion.

Frisbee rules and capture the flag!

So I guess frisbee day got cancelled huh?
Thats to bad, I was looking forward to seeing all these frisbees being carried around.
Well at least we get to play some after school.

A friend of mine is organizing a frisbee golf game for sometime after school, And it reminded me of the time two years ago when a couple of my friends and I formed a "capture the flag" game and got over 200 people playing at one time. The hayes plaza was both the safty zone and the prizon and the campus was devided up along the far hayes plaza line. We used all the fields and had like 100 people on both teams. We used bright colored t-shirts, as flags. Our team hid ours in the garbage can next to the baseball field (but you had to have part of it in sight rule#2) the other team hid theirs in the bushes on the far end of the football field. That was a tough one to retreive.

The Ten Commandments of Capture the Flag:

1) If someone crosses the line of boundrey, they are subject to tagging, if taged, one must immediataly go to the hayes plaza for punishment by a neutral party.

2) The flags must be visable to players, for instance you may not put one in a box and then place the box with other boxes, it is allowed if the majority (51%) is sticking out of the box, otherwise that team atomatically forfits.

3) The first team to collect the other teams flag and bring within 10 feet of their own flag wins.

4) The hayes plaza is a neutral zone. no tagging can occcur here

5) Once tagged the tagged person must report to the neutral party leader and undergo a series of embarrising acts to regain life (examples are: Dancing, singing, etc.)

6) If someone violates rule number 1 or 5 they are subject to pummeling .

7) A player may only get tagged if they are on the opposing team's side of the boundary line. or, # 8 applies.

8) If an opposing player captures a flag they are subject to tagging on both sides of the bondary line.

9) If an opposing player captures a flag then gets tagged the flag remains where it is, the team that it belongs to cannot move it unless it is on the other side of the boundary line. Then the player whose flag has been dropped may move it with 10 feet of the boundary line, but no farther. (suggestion; if this happens guard the flag)

10) A flag can be guarded by only 5 players at a time.

How about we play some capture the flag before spring break on Friday?
If anyone is interested, post here or contact me.

Pain and Joy

After strike last night I was driving home, thinking and it hit me. I knew all along, but for some reason a new sense of reality hit me then, that we would never be doing this again. I had known it from before the time that Jeff and Elaine had said it, and then all through the play, but it never hit home.
As for yesterday's show I thought it went splended. Sami was a god once again and it was none the less powerful. In fact I thought yesterday was perhaps arguably one of the best shows we had performed. Everyone did a great job and it was very moving.
The Mass beforehand was really touching and gave a huge sense of community and family to the cast. I have to thank Rachel Finn for her outstanding addition, her words were inspirational. "Very rarely do I get to be part of a show that can change the world, or at least a small part of it." So moving and so emotional, I am not one to cry in public, however I found tears in my eyes both then and after Sami final monolog of Dead Man Walking.
Each of you should be proud of what you have accomplished and lets make it continue well past here.
We love you so...

The Star Wars Episode III preview

Did anyone else see the Preview for SW:Ep. III ? Well no one here saw the original because we were at the play when it first aired, but Fox news had a repeat of it on the "Final Cut" section of their newscast. It was about three or four munites long. And it was AMAZING! Some of the scenes were:
-Yoda's lightsaber duel in the Senate Chamber.
-Mace Windo trying to arrest Chancilor Palpitine
-Palpitine wippin' out a red lightsaber and takin' out the Jedi
-Anakin being rejected by the Jedi Council
-General Grevious' army
-X-wing resibleing fighters
-And the coolest thing is in the middle of Anakin/Kenobi fight Obi-Wan yells, "You were the Chosen one!" It was intense. I can't wait for it to open in May!

Donald Ray Wallace

I went home last night and thought about what had just happened, I turned on my computer and started typing this is what I came up with. It contains Quotes from the Bible and the Qur'an.

Alexander Cole
March 9, 2005, 10:43 PM

“Justice”

12:01 a time beneath time,
Closed to the Fields,
The flowers, to God.
His life, for theirs.
Or ours?
Should it have been him?
Could have been me,
Could have been you,
Should have,
Neither.
Once again the fields
Have been reaped.
What was once,
Is lost forever.
An artist,
An architect,
A father,
A son,
The Son.
So much has been taken
Must more also?
For God it must be.
“Forgive them Father
For they know not
What they do.”
Who is crying?
Should it be I?
Should it be you?
“Not one sparrow falls
To the ground without
Your Father knowing.”
“Life for life,
Eye for eye,
Tooth for tooth.”
“But if they repent
And establish worship
And pay the poor-due,
Then they are your brethren in religion.”
“They are not equal in the eyes of Allah.
Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.”
Life?
Death?
Between?
Where are the lines?

-Dedicated to Donald Ray Wallace
-Executed Today
-(March 10, 2005) at 12:01 AM
-Michigan City, Indiana

Hobbits are real! No really, they are!

Fact:

On the secluded island of Flores just north of Australia in the middle of the indonesian islands they found the fossils of little people, that they have named hobbits. According to this article from National Geographic They believe that they are either an offshoot from the Homo sapiens species, or that they were once very simaler to us but then underwent an effect called island Dwarfing, where their bodies naturally evolve to fit thier island environment. Their Bones would have shrinked and then they would evolved to be smaller. The fossils that they found were only three feet tall. Just imagine a whole bunch of little humans three feet tall running around an island. The article also said that they were very smart despite their relativly small brain (the size of a Chimp) There is evidence of complex stone tools and that they hunted animals twice their size. However this does not explain why they were smart. The explination given is; it is a known fact that reptiles seem to thrive and grow large on island environments, (Look at the Komodo Dragon for instance) so it could be possible that they were both preditor and Prey. They would have had to have been smart to stay alive, natural selection; you know what I mean? But the most interesting thing to me is that they only went extinct 13,000 years ago. That is very recent in the terms of science.

Here are the sites:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/03/0303_050303_tv_hobbit.html
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/10/1027_041027_homo_floresiensis.html

You may be right I may be crazy, But it just might be a lunatic your looking for

"Friday night I crashed your party,
Saturday I said 'I'm Sorry',
Sunday came and trashed me out again.
We were only havin' fun,
Wasn't hurting anyone,
And we all enjoyed the weekend for a change.

I was stranded in the combat zone,
I walked through bedford styes alone,
even rode my motorcycle in the rain,
And you told me not to drive,
But I made it home alive,
But you said that only proves that I'm insane.

You may be right, I may be crazy,
But it just might be a lunatic your looking for
Turn down the lights
Don't try to save me.
You may wrong, for all I know
But you may be right."

-Billy Joel's "You May Be Right"

Well I thought Friday afternoon went very well for us. Having the father of the murdered boy come in and talk to us really gave me insight into my own character. I took his anger and vengence--if you want to call it that--and ran with it. When I got onstage I was feeling real anger out there. Not liked I'm pissed off at sis. helen coming to see us but like real anger that Sami was playing sister helen that was coming to see me whose daughter had been raped, stabbed 17 times, and shot twice. I was really yelling and everything that you all saw as real raw emotion and anger. I had to restrain my self from acctually pushing Sami or worse. I think Sami could sense it too, because she started backing up not like she usually does but as if she was in fear for her life. I got so lost in my characters emotions I forgot where I was. It was kind of cool but sort of scary at the same time. So sorry if I scarred anyone out there.

Please take this opportunity...

Please take this opportunity to silence all watch alarms, mobile phones and pagers, thank you.
How could we have worked that cell phone into the story?

Here are a few:

"Would the ladies and gentlement of the jury please silence all cell phones."

"I went striaght to my old ladies place in Brex Bridge and turned off her cell phone"

"You're gona' fry and Im going to watch you shut off that freekin cell phone!"

"She was hoping to be staitioned overseas. She always liked traveling. Being with people with different cell phone rings."

"Why should I respect you, because you a nun and don't turn off your cell phone?"

"Sister this is not a person this is an animal! No I take that back, Animals turn of their cell phones!"

"Mr. Delecroix it was a terrible thing I did taken your son away, but he just would turn his cell phone off."

"Blessed are the merciful Damn it!"

"Any last words Poncelet?" "Yes sir I do, would you please turn that cell phone off."

"Mhatma Ghandi once said that if we were to all take an eye for an eye the world would not be able to turn their cell phones off."

"It was hard. I went home that night and couldn't sleep, that damn phone just keept ringing."

"Hold on, I need to take this call." -Matt on the gurney

"As I acknoledge my offence and my cell phone is off before me always."

Opening Night!

Yes We did it! Everyone did a great job and I was impressed by every single one of you. I don't know about all of you but I was expecting to go out there and be terrified, I thought I would have some stage fright and that I would screw up my lines, but as the evening progressed I started to feel less and less stressed. I realized that this was just another reherasal and that there was no reason for me to be nervous. I realized that all of you were there to support me and I was there to support you. Such a tremendous amount of pride swelled up inside of me durring our first standing ovation, it won't be the last. I was so glad that I was able to spend that night with each of you and I look forward to our next performances together. I have been part of plays before but all of which were as a technical assistant, and none of them compare with the sense of family that has developed between all of us. See you very soon.

-Alex

What this Blog Isn't

This Blog is not:
-somewhere to fight
-somewhere to hurt people
-somewhere to discriminate

This Blog is:
-somewhere you can talk/type
-somewhere to laugh
-somewhere to enjoy
-somewhere to escape
-somewhere to trust

This Post is the product of the direct actions on "Outsiders Looking In" where these basic outlining principles were broken, I hold "MmmGravy " responsible for the destruction of friendships, that is not what this Blog is meant for. This Blog is to bring people closer together not farther apart.

Please I beg you, let this become something great, something that is worth our attention and time, The purpose of this Blog is to make friendships stronger let them last.

The Dead Man Walking Blog

I am trying to get the entire cast and Crew of Dead Man Walking onto this Blog, so that we will be able to stay connected following the production. Updates can be posted or just how you are doing. There is no obligation, but I believe that it would be fun for all of us to stay linked. Just type whatever you feel.

How cool would it be...

how cool would it be if everyone in school was issued a pair of hover boots to use?

No use for those painful stairs or wasted time in the elavator. No sense of being trapped or feeling that all you need to do is escape. My solution, hover boots.

As for hover boots, well that is a completely different topic, hover boots are boots that hover. A very inventive and useful piece of technology.