Rodino Dinner celebrates Italian heritage,
lawyers
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Four awards presented for legal excellence
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by Jacqueline Pirone
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The Peter W. Rodino, Jr. Law Society held its Annual Banquet on
October 16, honoring three Italian-Americans who have contributed to the
field of law and their communities. The evening, an annual celebration of
the heritage and accomplishments of generations of Italian-Americans, was
held at the Newark Club. Over 280 guests were in attendance, including
Congressman Peter W. Rodino, Jr., two New Jersey Supreme Court Justices,
several federal and state judges, attorneys from various law firms around
the tri-state area, alumni, professors and students.
This year, the Rodino Law Society recognized the achievements of
three prominent Italian-Americans. New Jersey Supreme Court Justice James
Zazzali, appointed by Gov. Christine Whitman in 2000, was presented with
the Outstanding Achievement Award. Michael Rosella, a partner at Paul,
Hastings, Janofsky and Walker in New York City, was awarded the
Professional Excellence Award. Thomas Scrivo '89, a partner at McElroy,
Deutsch and Mulvaney, received the Gerald A. Garafola Alumni Achievement
Award.
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Honorees recognized at the Rodino Dinner on October
16: Jacqueline Pirone '04, Congressman Peter W. Rodino, Jr., Justice James
Zazzali, Michael Rosella and Thomas Scrivo '89. (photo by Christine
Quinn).
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Several presentations were made during the banquet, including one
by the distinguished congressman who attempted to instill in his audience
what it means to be an American. In addition, Professor Paula Franzese
awarded Jacqueline Pirone '04 the Luigi Franzese Scholarship, which was
established by the Franzese family to honor outstanding scholarship and
leadership.
Lori Zeglarski '05 performed the "Star Spangled Banner" and "Con
Te Partiro" to complete the evening.
Named to honor United States Congressman Rodino, a Seton Hall Law
professor since 1988, the Peter W. Rodino, Jr. Law Society is a
well-established philanthropic student organization at Seton Hall School
of Law. The Rodino Law Society serves the general community through
service programs like mentor moot court and its adopt-a-school program,
while celebrating the acheivments and culture of
Italian-Americans.
This year, the Society will also host events such as a bocce ball
tournament, a wine tasting and a lecture series on topics including civil
rights and immigration.
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Text of Congressman Rodino's
speech
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"During one of my classes, while touching on some of the very
critical issues of our nation, and how we dealt with them, a student
asked, "Professor, in your opinion, what makes our country so unique? How
have we survived so many assaults? What, if you will, is the glue that
makes it work?"
Without hesitation I replied, "The Blessings of Liberty." Yes, the
Blessings of Liberty. I firmly believe that that concept captures the idea
of what we are all about; it is the heart and soul of our being as a
nation.
That concept permeates our history, beginning with the Declaration
of Independence, when Thomas Jefferson affirmed that we are endowed by our
creator with certain unalienable rights, that among them are life, liberty
and the pursuit of happiness.
Then there is the reference and command at the conclusion of the
preamble."To secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our
Posterity." And finally, the Gettysburg address, which reaffirms that "Our
nation is conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all
men are created equal.
The Blessings of Liberty. They are at the core of our Constitutional
rights, our Bill of Rights. The right to speak out freely,
the right of freedom of religion, the right to equality, to justice, to
freely assemble. But with those rights there are also responsibilities.
As contained in the command of the preamble "To secure the Blessings of
Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity." And we, we are now the posterity
of the Framers of the Constitution, charged with securing those
blessings.
What are some of those responsibilities that we need to discharge?
To respect each other, to respect our neighbor's rights, to participate in
the process of government, to demand integrity and accountability of our
leaders, to assure the integrity of our institutions of government, and to
try, each in our own way, to make a difference for the betterment of our
fellow beings.
In this way we can secure the Blessings of Liberty for ourselves
and our posterity. And, in the words of Thomas Paine, "For those who would
enjoy the fruits of liberty, they must first undergo the fatigue of
supporting it."
Having said all that, let me read you a portion of a piece which I
think best describes our uniqueness. This is from an editorial contained
in a Romanian newspaper that appeared shortly after September 11th. It is
entitled, "An Ode to America".
"Why are Americans so United? They don't resemble one another even
if you paint them! They speak all the languages of the world and form an
astonishing mixture of civilizations. Some of them are nearly extinct,
others are incompatible with one another, and in matters of religious
beliefs, not even God can count how many they are.
Still, the American tragedy turned three hundred million people
into a hand put on the heart. The Americans volunteered to donate blood
and give a helping hand. After the first moments of panic, they raised the
flag on the smoking ruins, putting on T-shirts, caps and ties in the
colors of the national flag. They placed flags on buildings and cars as if
in every place and every car a minister or the president was passing. On
every occasion they started singing their traditional song, "God Bless
America."
Silent as a rock, I watched the charity concert broadcast once,
twice, three times on different TV channels The American's solidarity
spirit turned the celebrities into a choir. Actually, choir is not the
word. What you could hear was the heavy artillery of the American soul
being heard in a great and unmistakable way.
I watched the live broadcast and the rerun of its rerun for hours,
listening to the story of the guy who went down one hundred floors with a
woman in a wheelchair without knowing who she was, or of the California
hockey player who fought with the terrorists and prevented the plane from
hitting a target that would have killed other hundreds of thousands of
people.
Imperceptibly, with every word and musical note, the memory of
some turned into a modern myth of tragic heroes. And with every phone
call, millions of millions of dollars were put in a collection aimed at
rewarding not a man or a family, but a spirit which nothing can
buy.
What on earth can unite the Americans in such a way? Their land?
Their galloping history? Their economic power? Money? I tried for hours to
find an answer. I thought things over, but I reached only one
conclusion.
Only freedom can work such miracles."
Speech given on October 16, 2002.
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A speech by Congressman
Peter W. Rodino, Jr.
highlighted the annual Rodino Dinner awards
banquet, attended by students, faculty, alumni and
members of the legal community. (photo by
Christine Quinn)
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