Heating up at RFA is the rivalry of two groups that have dedicated their Fridays to a certain rule of dress… Hawaiian Shirt Friday versus Flannel Friday.

This friendly argument started in the beginning of December when the Flannels spoke up about their long tradition, and the Hawaiians retaliated with a Facebook page that sparked conversations across the hallways of RFA. This ultimately gained both groups more support and a growing number of participants every Friday, but also started some rumors that the “teams” were actually going to duke it out over what shirt they wore. In fact, there is barely any prejudice at all, just fun.

“They’re not necessarily better, they just fit us,” says Jeff Brown regarding flannel shirts.

“It’s just for fun.” says Ryan Hughes, one of the Founding Fathers of the Hawaiian shirt trend.

The Flannels have been declaring Friday Flannel Shirt Friday since freshman year, but the controversy started when they began to announce the day like their fellow Hawaiianers. A Facebook page is expected to come in rebuttal to the Hawaiian shirt page.

As for the Hawaiian shirts, this is a new tradition. Seniors Joel Wendt, Brandon Gullo, Ryan Hughes, and Michael Verostek declare themselves the “Founding Fathers” of this tradition after spontaneously wearing the shirts one Friday.

So join the fun rivalry and pick a side, Hawaiian or Flannel? And on a final note: Evan Kiskiel (Flannel) declares, “Support the Flannels. It’s America.” Joel Wendt (Hawaiian) finishes with “Hawaii is a state in America.”

The 2011-2012 Rome Free Academy Jazz Choir will be traveling to LeMoyne College in April to participate at the LeMoyne College Vocal Jazz Festival on Friday April 27, and Saturday April 28.

Schools from other areas such as Rochester, Syracuse, Ithaca and Auburn will also be in attendance at the festival. All vocalists involved will be part of a concert in the 28th in which they will be participating with Kirby Shaw, a highly reputable arranger and composer.

The members of this year’s Jazz Choir are: sopranos Elizabeth Sylvester, ’12, Chloé Cardwell, ‘12; alto Quiana Holmes, ‘13; tenors Aaron Hernandez, ’13, Callahan Hughes, ‘13; and bass Derek Sexton, ’12

“You may take the field in competition” was a phrase the Rome Free Academy Marching Black Knights had never heard before, that is, until they took the field for competition for the first time in school history this past October.

Under the direction of band director Jake Meiss and Drum Major, senior Alex Martin, the Marching Black Knights performed their 2011 showcase entitled “A Little Knight Music” at four competitions in Auburn, New Hartford, Norwich and Syracuse. The band also performed at RFA varsity football home games as always.

The Marching Black Knights’ repertoire for this year consisted of The Opener/The Dark Knight (arranged by Meiss), Night on Bald Mountain (arranged by Meiss), Music of the Night, and Tonight (from West Side Story)/Tonight Closer (arranged by Meiss).

The goal for the year was quite simple: not to place last in their division. Placing last in the Large School III division was not an issue for the Marching Black Knights, for they held two, second place finishes in Auburn and Norwich. The band also brought home the division title from the “Spartan Spectacular” in New Hartford.

This was also the first year that Rome participated at the 38th annual New York State Field Band Conference Championship held at the Carrier Dome on the Syracuse University campus. Out of twelve schools in the LS3 division, RFA finished tenth with a score of 74.2, edging out Lindenhurst and East Ramapo who finished 11th and 12th respectively.

The band members were definitely excited about competing for the first time. Sophomore clarinetist Greg Tirenin described the marching season as an “excellent experience” and a “monumental occasion” for the ensemble as a whole and the school community. Freshman clarinetist Claire Kondella added that this was the “best year” for marching band, and sophomore clarinetist Carlo Cotronea said that the ensemble “looked very good” on the field.

The band also looks forward to next year’s competition season and also seek to improve from their experiences this past season. Freshman clarinetist Devin Kilpatrick certainly sees room for improvement for the ensemble and himself. He pointed out “I want to do better next year than this year.” Tirenin also expressed the Marching Band’s need for talented and dedicated freshmen next year.

On November 2nd and 5th, 2011, Rome mayoral candidates Joe Fusco and Jim Brown visited Rome Free Academy to educate students currently enrolled in government classes on their plans for the future of the city. The candidates were invited to speak by Government instructor Craig Rheaume, who hosted their appearances during his third period class. Since many of the seniors enrolled in Government are old enough to vote, these speeches were not only beneficial to the students, but were also crucial campaigning stops for the candidates.

Oftentimes, national politics are seen as more important than local politics. However, as Mr. Rheaume stressed prior to Mr. Fusco’s address to the potential voters, “This election affects you. We talk a lot about national elections, but some of the biggest impact happens right here.” Many students may not have known the importance of this election without Mr. Rheaume’s initiative and insight in recruiting the candidates to speak.

Choosing an effective leader in such difficult economic times is essential, and Mr. Rheaume made sure that his students were educated about their choice. Through this unique experience, students were able to learn about many of the plans that Fusco and Brown have for the city.

Fusco kicked off his address on November 2nd by voicing his concern for the future of the city. He stated his belief that the actions of today will affect the lives of tomorrow’s citizens, and emphasized his desire to make sure that those decisions are beneficial to the city.

“The primary reason that I am running for mayor is for the future,” said Fusco, a lifelong resident of Rome.

Fusco has over 35 years of experience as a businessman and has also worked as a government entity on the Base. He has been an employee of various factories and construction companies, has volunteered extensively including coaching Little League and basketball, serving on many boards and building committees, and has been a member of Rotary for 11 years. Fusco was also on the committee that started the Canalfest, and he hopes that these types of events will lure people who grew up in Rome back to the city.

He then spoke about his desire to restore Rome and its community to quality levels both economically and socially. His principal plans for the city involve lowering the cost of living, and lowering the cost of running a business. He believes that these plans will bring in new populations and new businesses.

Fusco stated, “We lost 1500 people over the past ten years. It might not sound like a lot, but that computes to 350 to 400 families. That fewer number of people equates to shopping in stores and restaurants. The Cozy Cabin closed. The Hollywood Diner closed. Mangino’s Auto Supply closed. There just aren’t enough people around to support these businesses.”

Fusco firmly believes that more people would return to Rome if it offered more jobs. So how does the mayor create more jobs? “There’s no mechanical method or silver bullet answer to that question,” said Fusco.

However, Fusco wants to attract business by inviting them to Rome. He feels that hard work and research will reveal many businesses looking to expand, and Rome could serve as their home if we market it to them. Fusco spoke of a large social network throughout the community, where simple connections have the potential to grow into business opportunities for the city.

When asked about such issues as the Woodhaven housing development, Fusco proposed that the decaying homes be demolished in order to make room for new housing. On that note, Fusco made it clear that he wanted to start new housing projects in Rome. “We haven’t had a new housing project in 25 years,” said Fusco. He wants to get down to the nuts and bolts of the city and make it as efficient as possible.

Mayor Brown was the second candidate to speak, visiting on November 5th. Brown has been Rome’s mayor for the past eight years, and made his experience in the position well known.

His presentation started with a discussion of some of his accomplishments over the past eight years. However, Brown made it clear that he could not have done it alone. “There is no “I” in the formula. It’s we,” said Brown.

Brown had been a successful businessman prior to becoming mayor, and when he was first elected he was warned that it was not possible to incorporate business practices into government. He soon disproved that myth, as he successfully integrated many different business practices into Rome’s government in order to make it run more efficiently.

The Mayor showcased this through his private government partnership with M.A. Polce in order to address the issues facing Rome’s IT Department needs. Brown’s work in the Information Technology department of the government has made it a model for the rest of the state.

Brown has also worked to bring new business to Rome through beautification projects and grants. His beautification project has received much criticism from his opponent as being unnecessary; however, Brown feels that it is vital and is serving an important purpose. “Like in business, we have to market our merchandise, the city being my merchandise,” said Brown. He says that his beautification of the city has garnered the most attention from businesspeople and former residents of Rome, who see it as a sign that the city is well-maintained.

Some of the grants, which Brown has been able to secure with an end user in order to open new businesses, include American Alloy, and Walgreens, both of which are located on previously uninhabitable sites. Brown is currently working on bringing in either a Target or a strip mall at the site which previously housed Rome Cable.

When asked what the principle difference between him and his opponent was, Brown replied, “The difference is experience. I have had to run a multi-million dollar organization and have had to deal with thousands of people. The other difference is education. Those are the main two differences. In addition, our team has a successful track record over the past eight years, so why change?”

The differences between Fusco and Brown’s rhetorical styles are stark. Fusco seems to truly love the city of Rome, and he makes that fact clear in his simple, persuasive speech. Brown also shows great passion to help the city, and his vocabulary reflects his extensive experience in business and government.

Following their visits, mock elections in Mr. Rheaume’s class showed candidate Fusco winning out over Mayor Brown. The real election was held on November 8th, and the official results show the same outcome. Regardless of the results, and despite their differences, it is obvious that both candidates show a genuine passion to help the City of Rome.