WRED-TV
St. John's University

A Letter from the President

Dear Alumni,

I hope this letter finds you all in good health and in good spirits as the holiday season approaches. It certainly is a busy time for all, but I hope you will each take the time to enjoy this special time of year.

I will begin by filling you all in on the new board members this year. I, A.J. Mangone, a former Production Assistant, am now the President. In addition to myself, there are three other returning board members from last year. Our previous Treasurer, Janet Muentes, is now the Vice President. Sal Graffeo, a former fellow Production Assistant, is now the Production Coordinator. Our previous Production Coordinator, Jennifer Shyti, is now the Promotions/Programming Director, which is a new board position, instated so that one board member’s main purpose is to promote our club and publicize our show. We have three new additions to the board this year. Lauren Parisano is our Treasurer, Barin Masoud is our Secretary and Christopher Castellino is our Production Assistant. All three of these members showed great initiative in their first year of TV Club and are welcome additions to the board this year.

We also have a new moderator this year. Professor Alla Baeva will co-moderate the club with Professor Caputi through the fall semester, until the spring, when she will become the sole moderator. Professor Caputi, who is now the Director of Television and Film Studies, is no longer eligible to be moderator, but will surely be missed. Prof. Baeva has extensive knowledge and experience in the television and film industry. My fellow board members and I look forward to working with her.

One main goal the board members and I have for this year is to increase awareness of our club and viewership of our show. We hope our Promotions Director will be key in increasing our membership and the number of viewers of "Eye of the Storm".

I will now fill all of you in on one memorable event that has taken place at WRED-TV so far this year. This notable occasion was our taping of "Eye of the Storm" #3, live to the dorms. This is the second time we have gone live in two semesters. We tape the show as normal, but cannot stop if a problem arises because we have live viewers. I am happy to say that the show ran very smoothly and I consider it a great success.

Being such a huge athletic university, I would be remiss not to mention some of our sports teams. Our Sportswire team has been hard at work, keeping our viewers updated on all the latest happenings in St. John's Athletics. I am pleased to say that our Men's Soccer team was awarded the Regular Season Big East Championship and most recently defeated Villanova, 2-1, in the Quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament. We hope the men continue their success and look for to the upcoming Men's and Women's Basketball seasons.

Well, that’s about all for now. On behalf of the members of WRED-TV, I wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season.

Sincerely,

A.J. Mangone
President

The 2003-2004 WRED-TV Executive Board

Executive Producers
President: AJ Mangone
Vice-President: Janet Muentes

Associate Producers
Production Coordinator: Salvatore Graffeo
Treasurer: Lauren Parisano
Production Secretary: Barin Masoud
Programming/Promotions Director: Jennifer Shyti
Production Assistant: Chris Castellino

The St. John’s University Television, Radio & Film Center Staff

Robert Barone - TV, Radio & Film Center Director
Tony Costa - TV, Radio & Film Center Engineer
Tyler Walker - Resource Manager
Jalisa Johnson - Equipment Maintenance and Repair
Jackie Guillory - Administrative Assistant (Part Time)

The 31st Annual WRED-TV Banquet

On Friday, May 23rd, members of WRED-TV past and present gathered at Villa Russo for the 31st Annual WRED-TV Banquet. This year Club celebrated the accomplishments of the 2003 graduating seniors: WRED President Jeff Arevalo, Vice President Mike Graffeo, Treasurer Nidhi Mehta, Maria Campuzano, Casey DeWaal, Colleen Jennings and Adelyn Ruiz whom were all presented awards for their hard work and dedication to the organization. Also receiving an award was the departing TV Center Secretary Mary Ianotta for her work and devotion to the students of TV Club, TV Center and St. John's University. Club members, alumni, and administrators spent the night eating great Italian dishes, danced to music provided by DJ VITO and took countless photos of one another. "I don't recall a minute where I didn't see a camera flash. It was crazy. It was like the Academy Awards except we were our own paparazzi" said WRED alum Rich Martinez ('01). President Mangone was thrilled about the evening. He said, "I feel the banquet was a great success. We put a great deal of work into it and it definitely paid off. It was a fitting and memorable tribute to our amazing seniors."

"Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads!"

If you could name the character that said that line, then you can figure out that this years Banquet video theme was "Back to the Future." In this story, WRED members Janet Muentes, AJ Mangone and Sal Graffeo are visited by an alumnus who comes from the future and warns them of a ferocious banquet should they not get that video done. They are given a Dolorean, flux-capacitor and all, and travel back in time to search for ideas for this year’s theme. -I thought that the theme was perfectly picked considering all the graduating seniors grew up in the 80's and Back to the Future was a defining film of that era,- said senior Mike Graffeo (’03). "The banquet video and banquet itself was a perfect end to my tenure at WRED. I loved it," said senior Nidhi Mehta (’03). This year’s video was produced by Janet Muentes and AJ Mangone. Get your copy now. Available in your local video stores.

Coming Soon: The 32nd Annual WRED Banquet. Stay tuned for more information.

WRED NEWS

Michelle Martinez was named WRED member of the month for October. Earlier this year, she was handed down the reigns of Stormwatch Producer from Sal Graffeo. Michelle’s attendance on Club remotes, Sportswire & Eye of the Storm productions have been impeccable. Congratulations Michelle!

CAMPUS NEWS

St. Thomas More Church

On Friday, November 21, 2003, members of the St. John’s community gathered for a Mass before leading a procession out to the construction site of the St. Thomas More Church. There they placed within the foundation of the church, beneath the altar, a stone with their names or personal intentions inscribed. “St. Paul reminds us that we are living stones and that the Church is built upon the bedrock of our faith. This ritual will enable us to act out that understanding of Church,” says Julie Upton, R.S.M., Ph.D. John Brennan ‘63C, ‘66L, ‘93HON, and his wife, Anita donated the money for the construction of the church.

Traffic Changes on Queens Campus

Since the beginning of the Fall semester, there have been several traffic changes within the Queens campus. The access path from Gate 1 to Gate 2 no longer exists due to the expansion of the Faculty parking lot. The reserved parking area alongside Bent Hall has been removed, and that area has been restricted to only delivery trucks and buses. Gates have been placed to limit vehicle access to the dormitories. These changes make it impossible to reach all the buildings in the campus without exiting it and entering via another gate. One good news is that Gate 3 (Utopia Pkwy & 80th Rd), closed during the construction of Belson Stadium, has been reopened.

ALUMNI NEWS

LOUIE MAVROUDIS (’02) - Louie is a member of the WRED Graduating Class of 2002. He is currently working with ASCAP (The American Society of Composers, Artists, and Producers) and is performing around the Metro New York area with his band, Surrender to Providence. Louie thanks everyone who has supported his band and wants to promote his upcoming shows.

Louie writes...

Surrender To Providence is a result of hard work and perseverance on the part of 4 individuals who strive for musical excellence. Jason Crawford (drums, percussion) and I have been playing music together for the better part of 4 years. Greg Melgarejo (bass guitar) joined us around December of 2001. With our former band (This Bitter Season), we started building a following around Long Island at places like the Dublin Pub (New Hyde Park) and Traditions (Jamaica), and earned an opening slot on SkyCameFalling’s performance at the famous NYC club, the Downtime. However, the songwriting started becoming more complex and experimental, thanks to the addition of Mike Brooks on 2nd guitar. Since August of this year, we’ve performed our music in clubs like the Pyramid (NYC), the Continental (NYC), and the Red Zone (Middle Village). Eventual plans are to tour the Northeast (from the Tri-State to Florida), New England, and the Midwest.

We are in the middle of auditioning for a permanent lead singer. At the moment, Dave Newman from November Kills is handling vocal duties for all of our remaining confirmed performances. Our style is melodic metalcore, and in the vein of bands such as A Static Lullaby, Thrice, and From Autumn To Ashes. If you are an open-minded individual who can sing and scream (or if you know someone who might be interested), please e-mail me at lazmav@hotmail.com. For any and/or more information, please check out our website at www.surrendertoprovidence.com.
Thanks to all who have supported, and thank you for your interest. Best wishes to you and yours.

- Louie Mavroudis

See Surrender to Providence on:

Saturday, November 29th - Village Pub South (Amityville, NY)
WRANK Music Presents...GOBBLEFEST
w/ Kiss The Bottle, Emergency X-It, Instant Reaction, and more
Doors open at 12PM; All Ages; $10 Admittance

Surrender To Providence are:

Mike Brooks - Guitars
Jason Crawford - Drums, Percussion
Louie Mavroudis - Guitars, Vocals
Greg Melgarejo - Bass Guitar
Dave Newman - Vocals

NANCY URBAN (’02) – Nancy is also a member of the WRED Graduating Class of 2002. She is currently a dental student at Stonybrook's School of Dental Medicine. She will be competing in the Miss Long Island Scholarship Program for the Miss America Organization on Saturday, January 17th, 2004 at the Huntington House, in Huntington, Long Island. Nancy is no stranger to this crown, she was crowned Miss Long Island in 2001.

If you have any news that you would like to share with the WRED Family, please email Mike Graffeo or Rich Martinez at wredalumni@hotmail.com

ALUMNI PHOTO ALBUM

If you take a few minutes to browse the WRED-TV website one of the newest features you will discover is the addition of an Alumni Photo Album. If you have pictures you would like to be posted please email wredalumni@hotmail.com with the year and a brief explanation describing the picture. Help us all to relive the memories of the 4th floor Marillac.

SPORTSWIRE

MEN'S SOCCER

- The Men's Soccer team was awarded the Regular Season Big East Championship. They have recently defeated Villanova, 2-1, in the Quarterfinals of the Big East Tournament.

- On Wednesday, November 26th, St. John's will host the winner of the Rhode Island vs. Connecticut soccer match at Belson Stadium at 7:30 p.m. in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

MEN'S BASKETBALL

- Men's Basketball tickets are currently on sale at the Alumni Hall ticket office.

To attend a game or purchase tickets for MSG or Alumni Hall, you can call 1-888-GO-STORM or visit www.RedStormSports.com for more information.

DATES TO KEEP IN MIND

-November 26th, 2003 - 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament at Belson Stadium
-December 5th, 2003 - Winter Carnival / Christmas Tree Lighting
-December 6th, 2003 - Eye of the Storm Christmas Show taping
-December 13th, 2003 - The 16th Annual Christmas Concert @ 7pm (Doors open at 6pm) in Alumni Hall

ALUMNI WANTED

If you are an alumnus of WRED-TV and are interested in teaching workshops or would like to mentor current TV Club members, please contact us at wredalumni@hotmail.com

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