Freshman locked in cages "for their own good" 

With the new school year in full swing, some of Mount Carmel's newest members are starting to find their way through the traditions that run through the veins of MC. Some old traditions have returned to Mount Carmel; for example, Studium is back replacing Division which replaced Studium. It’s basically Division but with the twist that all grade levels are combined together to promote brotherhood at MC and encourage students to socialize outside their respective grade levels. 

However, with this mix of underclassmen and upperclassmen, problems have erupted within the Studium system. The seniors seem to be picking on the freshmen a little too much, and the freshmen themselves have started to get into trouble. This has resulted in the freshmen being locked away in cages during the seventh period. 

It all started in Mr. Manuel Medina’s Studium, where the freshmen started to explore the corners of vast Room 308. The four freshmen in that Studium found a suspicious cage with at least five twelve packs of Coca-Cola Zero inside. They drank the sixty cans, but the cage shut and locked them in for the twenty-five minutes of the period. Aside from the disappearance of Mr. Medina’s Coke Zero, he reported positive effects as the seniors were forced to do homework instead of challenging the freshmen in an assortment of online flash games that have not yet been blocked by the school wifi. 

Freshman and Saint John Fisher alum Gavin McGovern, a recent addition to the Studium cages, reportedly escaped and is on the run from the Student Council. “It is a different world in there,” said McGovern. “There are people writing tally marks on the walls, playing harmonicas, and a whole gambling system for common things such as lanyards and lunch tickets. Old student IDs–they have started a new trading card game out of them. I had to get out there because it smelled so bad.” 

“I think keeping all of the Freshmen together during Studium is a great idea,” said Mr. John O’Connor, who is in charge of Freshman First. “It is great that they are forced to meet new people other than their friends from their elementary schools.” 

But what of the criticism of the conditions in the cages?  “Oh, I think of it as an acronym for 'Controlled Active Get-together Environment for Students,'" said Mr. O’Connor, who thinks that the CAGES will help build brotherhood in his football team along with keeping the freshmen out of upperclassman hair. 

Will more Freshmen attempt to escape? This is an issue that the faculty have decided to deal with when it becomes a problem. Students have reported positive effects, and unless more freshmen escape, Studium will be freshmen free in 2023.