Those of us who had older siblings at ILS, actually got a
preview of what high school would be like from our older family members. My brother Robert always looked forward to
new experiences in high school. He would
always tell me about these experiences. He had a very positive outlook on
life. He told me in high school they had real
laboratories. He later became a chemist.
I am assuming he also told my other
siblings but I do not know that. I seem
to remember a lot more than the rest in that regard. He told me about his professors, one of which
was Brother Ramon. I had two other
siblings in LaSalle before I went but, I mostly remember what he told me. Now I
look back and feel quite fortunate about him telling me these things. Every day I appreciate and miss him
more.
One time, he was telling me about this thing called freshman
day. I asked him what it was. He told me that on this day the seniors
could tell the freshmen what to do. I
thought to myself, No jod…. (translation: surely, you are kidding). I asked what if you did not want to do
it? He said you had to. After he went through freshman day I asked
him how it went. I was expecting something like: It went horrible. He just told me he had a lot of fun. He told me I would not understand. He was
right. I did not. He started LaSalle in
1966. I had just joined Sts Peter and
Paul in fifth grade. I still spoke
mostly Spanish. I dreaded ever going to
high school in part because of this thing called Freshman Day.
It was 1971, and it was our turn for Freshman day. I was frankly terrified. I had homeroom with Mrs. Lopez-Oña in room
706. I think all of us were nervous to an extent. The whole class seemed to be
on edge, but in a good giggly type of way. Fabio and I would discuss the best way to get
to the next class without being spotted.
I kept thinking how do I go from Mrs Lopez-Oña’s class to Sister
Anthony’s class without running into Seniors.
Fabio and I discussed the specifics, at length. Luckily, homeroom was in the same building as
Algebra 1. All I had to do is go
downstairs and past a few classrooms and I was in the classroom, safe. Once we were in the room, I knew she would make
sure the seniors could not bother us.
She gave us good advice. When the
bell rings, wait as long as possible, then make a dash to the next
classroom. They cannot enter the
classroom, at least they were not supposed to.
And, if you were a little late, that faculty member would understand. She let us know she was not crazy about
Freshman day either. She was a very nice
lady. Next class, Room 502, Brother
Ramon Gonzalez (aka platanito). This was
my favorite class. Also my favorite lab
partner was part of the class. I waited
until the bell had rung. Waited a few
minutes and made a mad dash to the lab. I felt safe there, Seniors were not going to
mess around with Brother Ramon. No
one messes around with Brother Ramón. Next class was easy. Phys Ed with Coach Grosso. The boys field
house was right next to the lab. He made
it clear to the Seniors that they were not welcome there. Then Sister Mary Therese Huber’s class for
Social Studies followed by lunch. I
think we were studying the Two Chinas. I
did not have any problems getting from one class to another. With Sister Anthony’s advice, I would always
get to the next class just in time. The
cafetorium was a problem. It was a real
problem. I arrived and was about to get
my lunch when immediately one of the seniors singled me and Rocky out. The senior’s name was Rick de la Vega. He told us to give him our hands. He took handcuffs and made sure Rocky and I
were handcuffed together for the duration of lunch. I was getting worried since I had to go to
the boy’s room. Getting the tray of food
was interesting. Rocky was handcuffed to
my right hand. We positioned ourselves
so we were comfortable getting our food. We ate lunch fine. When it comes to food, I can usually figure
it out. I had to eat with my left
hand. Then they began painting our
faces. Then they told us to get on top
of the table and to dance. We did. Then Rocky and I had to leap from the top of
the rectangular table to the floor.
There is a picture of that in the yearbook for the class of 1972. I am impressed that I was able to do
that. These days I am impressed easily.
I show the yearbook picture below.
Rocky cannot be seen but I seem to be overcropped so as to
not show the handcuff. You can still see
it above my right wrist. All of the
sudden, the guy who handcuffed us told us to stretch out our hands. I was worried about doing this but he took
out the key and just unlocked it. He
said okay, you guys can go. He seemed to
be happy we were good sports. Someone
asked him why he stopped and he said: I
have to go, someone jumped into the bay.
Only through our writing via the Elvis email threads did I realize who
that was. Thanks. I was
relieved and then relieved some more when I was finally able to go to the
bathroom.
Nothing happened after that.
I had to go to religion class with Brother William, followed by English
with Sister Agnes Rita Huber. It was as
if all the seniors were told to cease. I do not know this for a fact but I have
always wondered why after lunch there did not seem to be a problem.
I always wondered why Rocky and I were singled out for
that. I kept thinking that the senior
who did it did knew my brother Robert.
They were friends but I do not think he knew we were related. I found this out after I asked Robert. Robert and I had different last names (long
story) and it Is not like we were ever together in the same school. Then I thought Teresa (my sister) might have
something to do with it. She was a
senior at the time in LaSalle. But that
is not possible. Teresa, my sister, is
way too nice. She would never do
that. I did not know the reason why we
were singled out. Frankly I am not worried about it. I was kind of glad we were.
That day, looking back on it, I had a lot of fun. I guess the running around trying not to be
found was almost like a little game with some consequence. I finally understood why Robert told me that
I would not really understand why it was fun.
Even after going through it, I am still not completely sure. I have never understood the purpose of
Freshman day in a preparatory catholic high school. My understanding is that once a group faces
adversity they get closer to one another.
In any case it really was fun.
Part of the reason that I write all this stuff is that I
like to remember. I started thinking
about it today when I read Kathy’s entry about Eva Porter. I took out my sister’s yearbook which was
when we were freshmen and I came across the picture which I included. I also kept reading these hearfelt
dedications from people I did not remember.
I became worried. We are at an
age were I do worry about those things.
Of course all the dedications were to my sister, not me. That is why I
did not remember any of them. Phew!
Fight on LaSalle
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