On Friday, September 7th, a few classes including newspaper and some engineering and architecture classes took a field trip the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the second span of the Mario M. Cuomo bridge.
The following are some observations from our Paw Print reporters:
At the start of the ceremony, Suffern resident Grace VanderWaal from America’s Got Talent sang the national anthem.
In Gov. Cuomo’s speech, he thanked many individuals, including former president Barack Obama and Rep. Nita Lowey. Cuomo shared that in his mind, the towers of the bridge shaped as the letter V, represent, “People standing with arms outstretched to the heavens, looking for strength and guidance.” Cuomo also criticized current President Trump.
“Mr. President, stop your quest to build the wall, and start building bridges.” –Rachel Musman, sophomore
——————————————————————
The Mario Cuomo second-span ceremony was a historic event Irvington students will one day look back on. I feel fortunate to have been able to be a part of this special day for the Governor and residents of New York.
Along with the Governor’s family and friends who attended the ceremony, students from Irvington and Nyack High Schools were also present — two schools from opposite sides of the river, united by one bridge.
The bridge was named after Governor Andrew Cuomo’s father and former governor of New York — Mario Cuomo. During the Governor’s speech, he commemorated his father’s character and accomplishments, while portraying why it was just to name the bridge after him. The Governor believed the bridge symbolized accomplishment, for the issue of the former hazardous bridge was now solved.
Another honorable individual in attendance was the former Senator of New York and close friend of the Cuomos — Hillary Clinton. Clinton spoke about the bridge’s significance in uniting people of all backgrounds. Of the millions of people to cross the new bridge, Clinton hoped they would feel a little more unified.
—Jackie Pollock, sophomore
——————————————————————
A number of students, including myself, attended the opening of the new span of the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. Irvington High School and Nyack High School students were asked to attend the opening by the governor.
Once on the bridge, the school bus drove across part of the span before stopping to let students off the bus to find our seats for the ceremony. Our school bus followed closely behind the Governor, one of the first men to drive across the original Tappan Zee Bridge. The Governor’s car was FDR’s 1932, 12-cylinder Packer.
We heard speeches from Governor Cuomo and Hillary Clinton, and I was excited to be there to watch them give the speeches. Much of the speeches brought up the fact that we as New York should be setting an example for the rest of America about being able to confront a problem and then solve it.
Both Cuomo and Clinton also brought up the fact that President Trump is caught up in trying to build a wall to separate people, while we are building bridges here in New York to connect citizens. I thought this was an interesting approach, and it wasn’t something I had thought about myself before, but after hearing it, I found myself noticing these things with them.
Something I also found interesting was the fact that the governor invited a bunch of high schoolers to the Bridge Opening but didn’t even acknowledge or mention our presence.
–Ainsley Mendelson, senior
