Southwords
October 2 1987

Freedom Shrine unveiled

Maine South's new Freedom Shrine was presented to Dr. Cachur by Mrs. Pat Schreiber, sponsor for the senior class of 1987, at a dedication ceremony Thursday, September 17th before homeroom. The Freedom Shrine is a wall in the library covered with plaques which reporduce many documents in our nation's history.
The idea of a Freedom Shrine came to South by way of Mr. Adamo, assistant principal of students, who saw it at another high school. After gaining support from Dr. Cachur, who provided the necessary information to carry out the project, Mr. Adamo brought the idea to the senior class of '87 and the social sciences department to split the cost of the project.
Together with Mr. Mastrolonardo of the art department and Mr. Kohler of the social sciences department, Mr. Adamo designed the layout for the Freedom Shrine. "It is a permanent structure and will be here as long as we're here." There are still some finishing touches to be added, such as a graphic to aid in finding certain documents, designed by Mr. Benthal of the industrial education department.
During the presentation of the Freedom Shrine, State Representative Penny Pullen delivered a short speech entitled "Documents of Freedom." In her speech she noted the Freedom Shrine as an appropriate dedication to the 200th anniversary of the Constitution and pointed out "a common thread in these documents showing how the people who created and sustained our nation recognize there are ideals worth fighting for...and that America is built, not on schemes, but on dreams and hopes." In ending her speech, Pullen urged, "Please do celebrate our Constitution. It's great."
The Freedom Shrine has also taken on a practical use in the school curriculum. It has already been used by some teachers for class assignments.
Mr. Adamo stated that the Freedom Shrine "gives us a sense of nationalism, pride and patriotism." Of course, with Maine South's diverse student body, there are plenty of over views. Some are suggestive like Paul Knueppel's, '89, "I think it's neat, but it could use a new name." Some are positive like junior Larry Wojciechowski's, "It's a good premise to get people interested in history." Some are negative like junior Ed Wiederer's, It's boring. They made too big a deal out of it." Others are uninformed like freshman Paul Mulvaney's "What's a Shrine?" Still others don't even care, yet most were passive. As junior Matt Golliet said, "It sounds fine to me."