Editorial: What Shames Us? What Makes Us Proud?

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Editorial: What Shames Us? What Makes Us Proud?

Friday, 04 May 2012 00:00

Last week brought reflections about our inclination as humans to feel a collective shame or pride from the actions of others. Certainly, both Sarah and Emily Hughes have brought great pride to Great Neck. We have watched both young women face challenges in the glare of great media attention, sometimes skating flawlessly and at other times taking a hard fall. It is to their credit that they take their wins gracefully and their falls resiliently, getting up and continuing to skate. It is a life lesson to emulate even if you’ve never put on a pair of skates.

However the park district commissioners decide to honor and recognize the Hughes sisters, their place in our hearts is secure.

It was rather surprising to hear someone at a public meeting last week indicate that his feelings of greatest shame for Great Neck swirled around the now-famous SAT scandal that broke into worldwide news last summer. While it was a harsh spotlight, our overriding feeling became one, not of shame, but of pride. Why? The adults in charge did not do a cover-up. At the time, there were those who derided the decision to take the information about cheating to the Nassau District Attorney’s office. They felt the incidents should be “handled internally” and just kept quiet. It would have saved our community notoriety, but it would have done nothing to reform a poor system of standardized testing. It was a brave stance. Haven’t we learned by now that so many human missteps can be forgiven, if we ‘fess up?

And then last week, the cherry on top of the whipped cream sundae of shame and bad publicity was the announcement from a Toronto-based Internet site that helps match up folks in search of a partner for infidelity that we, Great Neckers are... great neckers and more...scoring first in their cheating members’ ZIP codes. While some folks recoiled in shame and horror at the “honor” of first place, others commented on it with a mixture of humor and cynicism. “Three percent cheat? That’s all?” said a friend.

It was a great marketing ploy. Who had ever heard of the company before? Well, maybe that 3 percent here in town. For once, maybe the connection was more related to affluence. In most communities, cheaters may tend to find each other the old-fashioned way, in the workplace.

From our vantage point, we see a great many people who consistently strive to make this a better, healthier, safer, and more compassionate community. Some of them make the news. Many others never enter the spotlight. They just quietly do the right thing. You can be proud.

-Carol Frank

News

St. Aloysius Church Celebrates 100 Years

Wednesday, 22 May 2013 08:08

Great Neck’s beautiful, majestic St. Aloysius Church celebrates its 100th birthday this year. On Sunday, June 23, the church hosts a centennial celebration, including a special mass and a dinner dance. The historic church is located at 592 Middle Neck Road in the Village of Great Neck.

“Even after 100 years, many people still consider St. Aloysius one of the most beautiful churches on Long Island,” said Monsignor Brendan Riordan, pastor of St. Aloysius. “This centennial celebration is a significant milestone for our parish and we are proud that St. Aloysius has been part of the Great Neck community for so many years.”

Sports

Therapeutic Skating Program Completed

Friday, 17 May 2013 00:00

The Great Neck Park District, in partnership with the Great Neck Figure Skating Club and the Great Neck School District, started the Therapeutic Skating program in February 2013. This program was extremely beneficial to students with special needs from Great Neck North Middle and High Schools. The skaters met bi-monthly at the Andrew Stergiopoulos Ice Rink through Tuesday, April 23. They ended the season with a skating session as usual and then enthusiastically were awarded their trophies.