Althoff Catholic High School - Crusader Yearbook (Belleville, IL)

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Always in grand style, America celebrates We the People — 200 1 In September, 1986, we celebrated the bicentennial of America ' s Constitution. Through all the festivities of We the People-200 , such as the recreation of the Grand Federal Procession in Phila¬ delphia, and various other celebrations held across the country, we became aware of how effective and important our Constitution has become. This 200- year old document, which has lasted longer than any other written constitu¬ tion, represents not only the basis for our freedom and justice in this democra¬ cy, but also it symbolizes our patriotism and strong belief in this great country of ours. It is with this strength that we re¬ main steadfast in our convictions when¬ ever our country ' s ideals are chal¬ lenged. Like the Statue of Liberty, this bicentennial celebration both reminded and taught us how fortunate we are to live and prosper in a land where individ¬ uality, civil rights, and justice reign su¬ preme. Originating from the convention at Philadelphia ' s Independence Hall, the Constitution became the solution to the problems facing America after its inde¬ pendence from Great Britain, and still remains as such today. Because of the failure of the Articles of Confederation, the country ' s first form of government, prominent leaders, such as Benjamin 1. Bill of Rights engraved on monument in Valley Forge, PA 2 Room where Constitution was signed. Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Alexander Hamilton, ral¬ lied forth to solve the nation ' s difficul¬ ties under a ratified set of laws. After the delegates resolved their differences through compromise, and a majority of the states approved of the document, the Constitution became a basis for our democratic system, which includes the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of government. It also distrib¬ uted the power between the federal government and the state legislatures to insure political harmony, so that we the people could retain our full rights and privileges as American citizens. As when it brought us out of political and social chaos following our indepen¬ dence after the Revolutionary War, the Constitution remains as a source of or¬ der and justice through the ideal beliefs it stands for. All throughout history, the Constitution has saved the nation from various forms of injustice. When created, the Consti¬ tution first insured the personal free¬ doms and rights of the citizens it was formulated to protect and aid. This in itself signifies that this government was made for the people, and by the people as we see fit. Through time, the Consti¬ tution helped extinguish the fires of rac¬ ism and sexism through the abolition of slavery and through the suffrage of blacks and women. Though not infalli¬ ble, the Constitution has withstood the passage of time through its revision of laws found in the amendments. This ex¬ plains why this politically sacred docu¬ ment remains alive and ever-changing as the people it affects, making it savior in those times of privation. As a citizen of the United States, I can¬ not help but feel great pride and awe at the tremendous effectiveness the Con¬ stitution has shown through its 200 year history. By becoming more aware of this potent document, I come to understand why the U.S. is held as such a haven of ideal freedom in the justice it thrives upon. As a student, the Constitution creates an atmosphere of duty I feel I should repay to the country through the system which educates me scholastical¬ ly. By absorbing as much information as I can, I prepare myself as a future mem¬ ber of the society based on the guide¬ lines of the Constitution. I realize that not many people, especially when in high school, consider the Constitution and the effects it brings into our every¬ day lives, but as we grow older and enter into the business or political world, we come to appreciate the important and imperative role it does play. In a period where communism has shown its own incapabilities to govern its people, such as in the Philippines and in the reforming government of Russia, the Constitution stands out as a symbol or promise and hope for the future of not only America, but also the world. As we reflect upon all the events which filled our lives this past year, let us not forget what made our country into the living, ever-changing land filled with the innovation, care, hope, and freedom based on the system found in the Con¬ stitution. As we continue to grow and prosper into the futures we have started for ourselves, likewise, the Constitution will continue to develop so as to protect us in whatever profession we choose. When we establish ourselves in society, shaping and perfecting the world around us, we also will revise and en¬ force the Constitution for all the future generations to come, so that they too can keep America a leader among na¬ tions. I hope we never lose that liberty. Even though the celebration has ended, let us always remember the Bicentennial of the Constitution, for it will always re¬ main as a sign of our government which thrives upon the justice made for us — we the people . — Peter Holtgrave 20

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Students attend Boys Girls State last summer During the summer of my junior year I had the pleasure of attending Boys ' State, an American Legion-sponsored pro¬ gram dealing with the values of democracy and citizenship. It was held from June 7-14 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Father Gummersheimer sponsored four of us from Althoff, Tony Roth, Ken Rutter, Ken Wetstein, and me. Those first couple of days were filled with activity. Besides basic orientation, we were divided into counties and then further, into cities. We organized teams for every imaginable sport and learned about essays we could write and contests we could enter. Our goal was to win the title of M odel Coun¬ try. Everything counted towards that goal. In addition to this, we went to classes daily and learned about topics ranging from the judicial system to the electoral pro¬ cess. These classes were very informative, and they im¬ pressed upon me the importance that the individual makes, even in a country of so many million. We ended every night with a general assembly which usually featured a guest speaker. City elections were held the third day, and I was elected City Treasurer. My job was to attend city meetings and naturally keep an expense account. The meetings involved using par¬ liamentary procedure which we had learned in class. It was a challenge to say the least. Later in the week county elections were held. I didn ' t run for anything in my county. I did find, however, that Tony Roth had been elected to the Senate and later became its presi¬ dent. At assemblies our speakers included Roland Burriss, the Comptroller, and Jim Edgar, the Secretary of State. I also learned that my county was second in the point standings. As the week drew to an end, we held state elections and swore in our officials. We met Gov. Thompson, and I now know why they call him Big Jim. The man is huge. I wrote this killer essay on the first amendment which won absolutely nothing. (I think it was because I spelled constitution wrong.) Also, my county ended up winning in points and being named model county. And so our stay at Boys ' State ended. We packed our bags, took pictures, and exchanged addresses. It was a time to remember. And though we may never meet again, I ' m sure one of us will grow up and help lead this land, and because of our experiences from that week, we ' ll be there too, right behind him. —Ray Martinez lllini Girls ' State (I.G.S.) is a program that was established in 1940 and is sponsored by the American Legion Auxiliary, the Department of Illinois. It is designed for high school junior girls to participate in a mock government. While at lllini Girls ' State the 562 participating girls were divided up into 22 cities, and these cities were grouped into 6 counties. lllini Girls ' State is definitely a learning process. The citizens learn from doing. They vote, campaign, and take an active role in their mock government which leads to a greater awareness of our own American democratic government. Fr. Gary Gummersheimer is a great supporter of the lllini Girls ' State program and was proud to be able to send five repre¬ sentatives from Althoff to the 46th Session of lllini Girls ' State. The following were citizens of IGS, Beth Jordan, Molly A. Polka, Maria Santos, Melanie Schranz, and Melissa Somraty. Maria Santos and Melanie Schranz were voted in as Aider- men of their cities, and Molly Polka was awarded the Out¬ standing Citizen award for her city. Although the program has been going strong for 47 years with few complaints concerning lllini Girls ' State, the biggest complaint that came from the citizens or the 562 girls was that they were not allowed to talk to boys during the week. At the present time no bills have yet been passed to change that law. Maybe the lllini Girls ' State Senate will, in the future, change that ruling. The many who attended IGS all agreed that the moving speeches and attendance by Illinois Governor James Thomp¬ son was the highlight of the week. Also in attendance to deliver speeches at IGS were Secretary of State Jim Edgar, Illinois Attorney General Neil Hartigan, and Charleston Mayor Murry Choate. Melanie Schranz Casey received first-hand look at government Althoff graduate, Janet Casey, was a United Stated Page during the spring semester of 1986. Sponsored by representa¬ tive Congressman Melvin Price (D), Casey lived in Washing¬ ton, D C. from January until June. She reported to work on January 27 and worked at least 40 hours a week until June 13. Aside from work, Janet also attended classes with the other pages. We had our own special school for pages on the top floor of the Library of Congress, boasts Casey. Everyday Janet attended four classes, the first one beginning at 6:45 a.m. It was very tough to go to school for 3 Vi hours, work for 8 hours, and then go back to the dorm and study just so you can get up and do it all over again. Janet lived in a United States House Office Building with about 90 other pages. Two of the floors had been converted to a small dorm designed specifically for the pages. The building, Annex 1, is conveniently located only 2 blocks away from the Capitol. A page, as Janet would describe it, is someone who does all the little, but very important, things for congressmen. Pages ' duties include answering phones, receiving and delivering messages, delivering flags that had been flown over the Cap¬ itol, and delivering notices for special meetings. When asked what she has learned, Janet responded, I have learned more about character, our government ' s policies, and the whole system upon which our government exists than I could ever begin to express. Janet Casey 19

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Liberty Gets Facelift For Birthday France gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States in 1884 as a gift of friend¬ ship which symbolized freedom. Fre¬ deric Auguste Bartholdi designed the statue and chose its site as Liberty Island in New York Harbor. He also spent a great deal of time and energy raising funds in France and in the United States to bring the plan to completion. Richard M. Hunt, an American architect, de¬ signed the pedestal for the monument ' s site. The United States completed the pedestal in 1885 at the cost of about $300,000. After the completion of the pedestal, France began to ship the statue to the United States in 214 cases aboard the French ship ISERE in May, 1885. Presi¬ dent Grover Cleveland dedicated the monument on October 28, 1886. It be¬ came a national monument in 1924. As Liberty ' s 100th birthday approached, people noticed the damage that had been done to the statue over the years. This discovery motivated the people to doing something about it. So, the peo¬ ple formed a formal organization to study the damage done to the statue and to present proposals for the resto¬ ration. Following the formation of this organization, it began to raise money and put the restoration process into ef¬ fect. After a numerous amount of work, energy, and time had been put into it by many Americans, the plan to restore the statue was completed. Definitely, the restoration of the Statue of Liberty, a long process, involved the help of many Americans. In order for the restoration to begin, $230 million had to be raised. There¬ fore, President Reagan announced the formation of the Statue of Liberty Cen¬ tennial Commission to raise the money needed. However, the United States government did not want to have any financial responsibility for the fund-rais¬ ing and early repairs. President Ronald Reagan pointed out that the original funds to build the statue had come from the people. So, the people should help the statue in her time of need. The Commission consisted of private citi¬ zens and was headed by Lee lacocca, the chairman of the Chrysler Corpora¬ tion. Lee lacocca invited twenty influen¬ tial Americans to join him on the fund¬ raising campaign commission. Bob Hope and a former president of the United Auto Workers Union, Douglas Fraser, were chosen to help in the cam¬ paign. The campaign began on July 4, 1984, the official opening date, and came to a close on October 28, 1986, Liberty ' s birthday. Giant corporations such as Chrysler, U.S. Tobacco, Coca-Cola, Eastman Ko¬ dak, American Airlines, and U.S.A. TO¬ DAY signed multimillion dollar pledges to become corporate sponsors. Within a year, over $50,000,000 had already been donated by large corporations. Many of these corporations contribut¬ ed more than money, however. Materi¬ als for the restoration as well as services were donated. Allied Van Lines pro¬ vided moving vans to take people around to shopping centers all over the country to see exhibits about the stat¬ ue. Kodak made a fascinating offer to the public. For ten dollars a contributor could send in his or her name and a fam¬ ily picture that Kodak promised to in¬ clude in a computer program at Liberty to be called the Kodak Family Album. The Statue of Liberty Centennial Com¬ mission felt its corporation donation push had so far been enormously suc¬ cessful. Twelve giant corporations had given at least $5 million apiece contrib¬ uting $71 million toward the $230 million goal. After the great response from the cor¬ porations, the members of the Statue of Liberty Centennial Commission decided to begin making plans for an official ap¬ peal to individuals. Liberty had always belonged to the people, and they want¬ ed to make sure everybody would be given the opportunity to assist in her res¬ toration. To help them get in touch with people all over the country, the commis¬ sion hired the services of a direct-mail specialist. In September, 1983, they pre¬ pared a letter and mailed it to almost half a million people. The letter received an overwhelming response. The com¬ mission heard from far more people than anticipated. People donated an average of thirty dollars. Another committee, the Student Cam¬ paign Committee, did more than just en¬ courage students to contribute money; it prepared a student campaign manual containing information, suggested les¬ son plans, and ideas for fund-raising and mailed copies to schools from coast to coast. The committee also encouraged major newspapers to print and pass out information and study guides for school use. One newspaper, the NEW YORK DAILY NEWS, announced it would make an all-out effort to raise funds. The DAILY NEWS appealed to the American people by carrying on wide¬ spread educational program in schools and creating interest by holding such things as photography and writing con¬ tests. Finally, the Student Campaign Committee properly thanked all school groups for their fund-raising efforts. In the end, the school children had given $2 million. Overall, the restoration of the Statue of Liberty was a great success. It involved the help of many American at all ages. Some people donated money or work materials, raised money for the restora¬ tion, or actually did the manual work on the statue. The United States should be proud of how the American people helped Liberty in her time of need. They kept the whole idea of the Statue of Liberty alive by becoming involved with the restoration. Throughout the world today, the Statue of Liberty still remains a symbol of freedom and friendship. — Christina Ysursa