At halfway point, Class of 2000 reflects on life

(Editor's note: In November 1996, The Evangelist began following the lives of four Catholic high school freshman who make up the Class of 2000. Over the course of their high school years, we will continue to track them and present their perceptions about national, Church and school issues as well as their personal hopes and aspirations. The students are Jenneane Butler of Bishop Maginn High School in Albany, Justin Fitch of Catholic Central High School in Troy, Meghan O'Connor of Notre Dame-Bishop Gibbons School in Schenectady, and Jonathan "Jeb" Towne of Saratoga Central Catholic High School in Saratoga. In this installment, they talk about life as they reach the halfway point of their high school careers. On page 12, staff writer Maureen McGuinness offers her own assessment of the students.)

Q. What was your favorite part of this school year?

Jenneane: I was involved in a lot of different things and was able to meet different people. I was busier, so that made it more fun.

Justin: Being on the soccer and track teams. We did really good. I scored a lot of goals. We also won our Big Ten Track Meet.

Meghan: Sports probably. I always have fun in sports. I did good in running.

Jeb: Basketball season because we made sectionals and did pretty well. We did better than most people expected. It was really exciting. We got to prove that we could do real well. It showed people our full potential.

Jenneane: I think the hardest thing is going to be studying for finals. I have all Regents [exams] except English. I worry about what I'm going to get. It's going to be a lot of stress. I have math, science, Spanish and Global Studies Regents. I think it's going to be hard.

Justin: Keeping up my grades.

Meghan: Keeping my grades up. I have a lot of Regents classes.

Jeb: Keeping all of my grades up and playing sports at the same time.

Jenneane: I think all of the things going on in the different schools with shootings. When I read about them, I think it could happen to me. Someone could bring a gun to school without anyone knowing it.

Justin: Probably the death of [Earl] "The Goat" Manigault, a basketball player. My father always told me about him. He started doing drugs. He could have been great. Then he came back to help kids. HBO did a special on him. He was 5 [foot] something and he could dunk. Also Bill Clinton. If he wasn't the president, they probably wouldn't be on his case. If he told Monica to lie, that's a different story. [Then] he should get in trouble.

Meghan: All of the shootings of the kids. You don't expect it to happen, but it happened a lot this year.

Jeb: The Bill Clinton thing surprised me. That he would do it for one, and that he would get caught and be put in that situation.

Jenneane: Adults should listen to us more. A lot of times, we say things and they say, "Okay, this is what I think." I don't think they pay attention to us.

Justin: [Adults] should stick with them. It will all work out in the end, even if it seems impossible.

Meghan: I think they forgot what it's like to be a teen. It was different back then. There's a lot more peer pressure. If teens could have anything from adults, it would be that just if we need to talk to be able to talk to them. I think that's one of the most important things.

Jeb: Teenagers are getting more responsible. Hopefully, we've grown some by now and matured some.

Jenneane: I would tell them to get involved in as many things as you can. It keeps you out of trouble and opens new doors for you even when you're not in school.

Justin: I'd tell them to stick with the work. They should stick with it even when it seems pointless because there's so much. And I'd tell them to have fun. That's what school's for, too. Sophomore year is a good year.

Meghan: Don't slack off in your work because there's a lot of it.

Jeb: Work hard on grades. It's a hard year for Regents and sports. I have four Regents this year. This is the year colleges will start looking at grades and for sports. Try really hard whatever you do.

Jenneane: I think I learned teamwork from playing on the junior varsity basketball team. There were 16 girls, and we pulled together and played as a team. Everyone got along. Playing basketball helps me off the court. I don't think I notice it, but when I think about it, I know I can interact well with people who aren't a lot like me.

Justin: Never give up no matter how impossible things seem. Try hard and you'll reach your goal. When I was [first] running, it seemed like we were getting beat. But I was running against varsity when I started. When I started running against people my own age, I started winning.

Meghan: I got hurt in cross-country. I had to be on crutches for a month. When I got hurt, I didn't realize it; I wanted to keep going. So I guess I learned how to take care of myself. I was really bored [while on crutches], but I got a lot more of my work done.

Jeb: It was my first year playing varsity basketball. I had to adjust; it's faster, quicker and stronger. I had to step up my performance. I was on the same team for all three sports with my brother [senior Ben Towne.] It was different, but it was for the better. He's been around my whole life, so he knows me pretty well. It's going to be different next year when he's gone. Everywhere I go, he's there since we play the same sports. I might be lonelier next year because he won't be with me all of the time. I'll be losing a pretty good friend.

Jenneane: I think it helped me be myself. I don't have to do what my friends want if it's not right. I think I made more friends this way because you make real friends who know what you're like.

Justin: I ask God for help when I'm having problems or things just aren't working out.

Meghan: You have to believe in yourself and others can help you.

Jeb: It helped me to work hard at what I was doing -- to do my best and to try to show leadership to others.

Jenneane: I'm looking forward to it because you're in the older half of high school. You have to enjoy it because once you're a senior, you have to worry about college. Junior year is your last year to worry about what you want. I'm also looking forward to the junior prom and getting my school ring.

Justin: Improving my grades. Juniors have junior week, but seniors get most of the privileges. I'm really looking forward to the time I'm a senior.

Meghan: Sports definitely, the prom, and getting our rings. Definitely sports, though. Every time I ran this year, my times went down. Hopefully, they'll continue to go down.

Jeb: Sports and probably the prom. But mostly the sports because it'll be my second or third year with them. I turn 16 this summer. Driving is something else to look forward to.