Staff:LOS

This page is a record of well-known, beloved, and/or despised LMU staff and the many stories collected about them.

Instructional Staff

Brian Talbot

Brian Talbot teaches Logic and has been teaching this course since 2003 and perhaps earlier. He is famous for his call at handoff, "LLLLOOOOOOO[deep breath]GGIIIIIIC."

In 10.2, Brian taught Ethics. The handoff call was changed to, "EEEEEEEEEE[deep breath]THIIIIIIIICS!" His students, at closing ceremony, shouted the Ethics call, which soon broke out into a chant of "E-THICS! E-THICS! E-THICS!" much to the amusement of the parents who had shown up to watch the ceremony. His students deny that a Logic call has ever existed.

In his other life, he is the Big Fat Genius, author of a guide to the Law Student Admission Test (LSAT) [1]. He has helped many students get into law school. He also holds a JD.

Todd Kukla

Todd Kukla has mentioned teaching at JHU, but is recognized here for teaching Logic in the 22.1 and 22.2 sessions and hopefully for longer. He is very chill and doesn't mind his students drawing on the whiteboard, although he doesn't enjoy steroid use. After viewing an ad for steroids, he responded with something like "Epicurus [a well-known philosopher] wouldn't really support that idea." Todd's last name (Kukla) means "doll" in Russian, likely because one of his ancestors made dolls. Though he has a PhD, he requests that students call him Todd (this took a little getting used to for some).

Todd is from Illinois and has a slight drawl in his voice: "logic" sounds a bit more like "lah-gic" when he says it. As he talks, he usually takes long pauses and his voice goes up ever so slightly. He says "gesundheit" to bless people after they sneeze and wears what looks to be the same thing nearly every day. Students have noted that he often places his coffee on the windowsill (possibly to cool down) in the breeze. When asked questions in class, he often nods and says, "Okay," frequently. Sometimes, a deeper question is responded to with, "Okay," or "Good," before a reworded version of the question and, finally, an answer. This confuses many, but students have since come to see it as his way to communicate his understanding of the question. Some report to have been slightly terrified when their first question was responded to with, "Okay."

Todd wanted to be referred to solely by his first name (which can get some getting used to). Todd is a somewhat strict/lenient teacher; he plans fun activities and other but is strict about breaks and focusing on topics. If you try to interrupt him while he is talking, he usually ignores you until he is finished with what he is saying. At times, he tends to get annoyed and stressed out, but tries to keep it under wraps while still hinting at his true feelings.

Todd is an amazingly supportive instructor, writing genuine and encouraging feedback on projects and assignments before returning them. Despite his unfortunate tendency to spring essays and writing assignments on students during evening Study Hall without warning, students still greatly enjoy him and his class.

Tengiz Bibilashvili

Better known as Dr. B, he taught physics for 10.1. Being from the country Georgia, he has a most charming accent. He makes words as simple as "Genius" or "Jeebers"--his typical response to his students--sound hilarious and deep at the same time. As awesome as this accent is, his jokes and wave dancing are even better. But perhaps the best talent he possesses is his artistic prowess. With his brilliant drawing of a 2-D dog or his "students" (which were usually squares) he captured the camera memory of everyone. Being a good sport, he went along with the surprise party his class threw him and provided them many good inside jokes. Though he brainwashed his students with physics and gave them tests "for fun", he is dearly loved and the best teacher the world will ever see. If you need to pronounce his name, thinking of it like one goose, ten geese. This is now his class's signature chant: ONE GOOSE--TENGIZ!

Residential Staff

The Borings

The Borings are a group of famous RAs at LMU.

CTY LMU students and alumni know the three Boring brothers as inseparable from the CTY identity. Chris, Jesse, and Jason Boring are the most respected and legendary RAs to have been employed at the site, and are known for running the best activities, many of which are long-running. Examples include Sparkleball and More Active Than Sleep But You Probably Won't Break a Sweat. Along with their "adopted brothers and sisters," RAs Tom Ryan, Jake Benninger, Jess "Stumpy" Bonnlander, Nate "Hairy" Stern, and Mary Rieg, the Borings have dominated the site since 2001 and remain a student favorite.

Famous Boring moments include Jesse's bedtime song written for his hall in 2003 ("Sleepytime in Jesse's Hall"), the painful waxing of Jason's leg in 2005, and Mary accepting an annual challenge to eat a snail, slug, or worm.

One year, Jesse Boring and his hall participated in the Talent Show, as shown here, and as part of the act Jesse ripped off his CTY shirt in macho style. A member of Jesse's hall poured cereal and milk into the hollow between Jesse's ribs and ate it. As any LMU student knows, most of the female population of CTY LMU is in love with the Boring Brothers. For example, Mary Rieg's hall (the Latin girls) serenaded Jesse's hall with songs, such as "Tearing Up My Heart" by N'Sync, in exchange for the shirt Jesse had ripped off, which they gave as a get well present to Jen, a member of their hall who had been hospitalized. Later Jesse sprayed the shirt with his cologne as a bonus. Strips were torn from the shirt and every girl from Latin Session 2 2004 has a piece of Jesse Boring's shirt with his cologne (Curve for Men, if you want to know) on it.

History

Jesse was unable to attend CTY 2005, but Tom ran an activity called "Jesse Boring Worshipping" in order to generate interest for Jesse's surprise visit.

In 2006, Jason, Jake, and Mary were RAs (edited by Tom Ryan). Jesse and Chris couldn't attend, the latter because he got married and now lives on a huge homestead with his wife. Chris has offered to let Tom live on his land (as a sharecropper?), but Tom has not accepted the offer. Tom was also absent from LMU and everyone was sad. By everyone I mean Tom Ryan. He cried since he missed everyone. Also, some members of the instructional staff hung a sign in a window of their apartment that read "KAREN: BRING BACK THE TOOL," which became a source of controversy when members of the LMU administration misinterpreted the sign as more than a shoutout to Baltimore and Site Coordinator Karen Weeks to rehire Tom.

In 2007, Jesse became the academic counselor at the Lancaster site and Jason became the Dean of Residential Life at LMU. Jake served as an SRA (thus Jason's deputy). Mary TA'd for Crafting the Essay A at LMU. Tom was still back in Odessa, but his Robot Wars creation continued to play out at LMU and at Lancaster. Up in Santa Cruz, two RAs ran "Glue Stuff to Tom and Jason" (except they renamed the activity after themselves) during 2007.1, except there wasn't enough glue, so the RAs got covered in streamers, twigs, plastic bottles, and and expensive low-tac blue masking tape.

In 2008, Jason was the only Boring Brother at LMU, though he was as amazing as ever. He said he "might" return for 2009.

In 2009, Jason didn't return, due to grad school taking up his time. His name was shouted in session one by a group of traditionalists [It was more like one person trying to get everyone else to do it.] after "the father, son, and holy ghost" in all three American Pies. [Because the person that started this double sessioned in 2009, this spread to session two, and by the end of the session, the entire nevermore circle yelled "and Jason Boring."] Jason lucked out and avoided the fracas from H1N1.

In 2010, Jason returned as the Dean of Residential Life at LMU. Staff in LMU Conference Services breathed a sigh of relief.

Between summer 2010 and summer 2011, Tom Ryan III (who was like a brother to the Borings) passed away. A roast was organized by the Boring Brothers to celebrate Tom's life near his home in Odessa. Former RAs traveled from all over to attend (one came from California).

In 2011, Jason returned as the Dean of Residential Life at LMU, with Gerardo Martinez, another old-timer. He says the food has gotten better. "and Jason Boring" is now a tradition.

Dane Holding

In 08.1, the RA for the CODE B boys named Dane Alexander Holding, was an active part of several new traditions, including Bananaphone and "HI DANE." "HI DANE" was then brought to 08.2 by Emma M., a doublesessioner. Her group of friends adopted "HI DANE" as their own, with one person, Allegra C., even saying "Hi, Dane!" into a microphone at the 08.2 Talent Show, and again the following year. Dane Holding has since become an LMU legend. "HI DANE" is a popular phrase, and Bananarchy is a traditional activity. He is noted for having started several traditions, including Bananaphone and Hi Dane, as well as running creative activities such as the Gulag, Battle Royale, and Resident Evil. He attends Allegheny College in Western Pennsylvania. In 2013, Dane became an SRA.

Halls

08.1

Dane's 08.1 Hall consisted of the Cryptology guys, including RealCTYers Declan M., Auston S., and Dillon D. His hall was noted for claiming 2nd floor Rosecrans as the Totalitarian Theocracy of Daneistan after being assigned Egypt as a country for Olympics Day. Dane's hall quickly decided that Egypt as a country was rather lackluster, and hence claimed 2nd floor Rosecrans as their own micronation. Banners and flags were made, and Olympics Day was stormed. Other notable events included Dane's CTY Policy Flowchart, which systematically broke down CTY rules based on the reasons behind them. Dane drew a picture of a squid rather than paying attention during Cryptology, which caused strained relations with the Cryptology teacher for the remainder of CTY. Van M. also started an (irritating) CTY tradition of greeting Dane with "Hi Dane!", a tradition that has lasted all the way to 09.2. Dane considers this to be a form of heckling. Dane also made an impressive showing at Gladiator Battles, utilizing a huge cardboard hammer constructed by Van M. and Brandon C. named Justice. Dane, however, fell when teammate Serhat turned against him.

08.2

In 08.2, Dane's hall was made up of the Computer Science class, including David Levi [Theremin kid] and John Xia [known for his raving.] Because of doublesessioners, along with the fact that Van had told every second sessioner he knew to say Hi to dane, the HI DANE tradition carried on. At first, it was just with the PCTYD-ers, but after Jackie Allegra C. said it into a mic during the talent show, it spread like wildfire, resulting in a very irritated Dane.

The Bananaphone Activity continued into this session. This session, Dane ran popular activities like "Bananaphone," including "Resident Evil," "Battle Royale," "The Gulag," and many others.

09.1

In 09.1, Dane's hall had the Chemistry A and Chemistry B kids. Notable CTYers in Dane's hall included Pancho and Max Coleman, who looked like Zac Efron. A statistical anomaly was RealCTYer Declan M., who was in Dane's hall for two consecutive years. The Totalitarian Theocracy of Daneistan survived in the altered form of "Daneistan (Like Pakistan)", presumably so as not to be confused with "Dane is tan". Daneistan claimed the study room at the end of Dane's hall as territory; the full name was posted along the glass windows on one side of the room. Pancho (from Chile) became famous for starting off phrases with "In my country...", as well as his political incorrectness, for example: "In my country two men in the same bed is a sign of homosexuality... In my country, two women in the same bed is a sign of success." Pancho was also Dane's hall's "celebrity" during Movie night. Dane's association with Bananaphone continued into 09, with a rendition at the talent show as well as a group hug during the last dance when Bananaphone was played, a hug Dane later described as "intensely uncomfortable." Dane's hall was assigned the sloths for "Survival of the fittest" day, and Dane photoshopped a sloth head over his own head on the Daneistan flag, and passed this out in the form of badges, which were then titled things like "Sloth Overlord", "Darth Sloth", or "Slothimus Prime". Dane's hall then walked around drawling "Sloooth, slooooth, ugggh it's a slooth!"

09.2

Dane's hall in 09.2 consisted of, among others, the Logic class and the Philosophy of Mind class. Notable CTYers in his hall included Reid [Chef hat Kid] and Micheal [Big Mike!]. His hall was known for their cheer- a long, drawled out "Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaane." Dane's godliness continued, spawning activities like "Bananarchy," or "The Dane Exhibit." He also ran activies like "Protest," "Battle Royale," and "Resident Evil." Dane was also murdered by Chris Lee on the first sunday, but came back from the dead shortly afterward.

The Bananaphone tradition continued. Dane ran an activity called "Bananarchy," but because his speakers had died, it looked like the activity was doomed- until an ukulele was brought forward. All was well. In 09.2, Dane and fellow epic RA Chris lock seemed to have a rivalry [stemming from Chris Lock's desire/need to be more epic than dane so he could be on RealCTY.] The defining moment of this rivalry was when, on the last wednesday, Dane's Bananarchy stormed Chris Lock's mystery activity with a loud rendition of bananaphone. To counter this, Chris lock and his minions started screaming, "Down with Dane!" Ukuleles went flying, children screamed, RAs looked smugly at each other.

Activities

Bananaphone

From 08.1-13.2, Dane ran Bananaphone (later renamed "Bananarchy"), which consisted of the entire activity walking around and serenading other activities with Raffi's "Bananaphone" through a megaphone. This included walking across the trench activity and other similarly hazardous activities. In 13.2, participants received collectible copies of the Bananaphone lyrics, signed by Dane himself. 13.2 was also notable in that one CTYer brought a banana hat, which Dane wore along with RA Taylor's golden robes.

The Gulag

In 08.1, 08.2 and 09.1 Dane ran the Gulag in which participants were given bread for rations, had to march from location to location, were given mandatory 'haircuts' and had to make a 'house' out of sponges. At the end the RA Eric tried to stage a rebellion against Dane but it failed.

Battle Royale

In this activity, Dane handed out random items and basically told students to attack each other with them. Some of the items were useful, like Trench balls, Pool Noodles, Frisbees, Hula Hoops [which rendered a trench ball useless], and some were useless, like pipe cleaners, cotton balls, popsicle sticks, and a bucket. After a while, certain areas of the playing field would become deadly, and as the playing field got smaller, people became more vicious. Also, saying Hi to Dane too many times would also kill you.

Resident Evil

In Resident evil, Dane lead a large group of minions zombies and attacked other activities in amusing, and somewhat bizarre, skits. Dane had his characteristic cricket bat [made out of duct tape and cardboard...?]. This activity was always run with Jon Stutte, and even C-bad joined the fight in 09.1.

"'Holding Hands'"

In 13.1, RA Chucho held an activity called "Holding Hands," which was an excuse for couples to go to the bluff and make out. In 13.2, Chucho ran the same activity, but there was another "Holding Hands" on the activity sign-up sheet. There was no apparent difference between the two, except that the second was run by Dane and the TA Cory. As it turned out, the name "Holding Hands" referred not to the act of holding the hands of another person, but rather to the hands of Dane Holding and his sister, Cory Holding. The activity included viewing a slideshow of images of the Holdings' hands, making masks out of pictures of said hands, and bothering the other Holding Hands activity. At the end, all who participated were said to have honorary Holding hands.

Tommy Smith

Tommy Smith was an RA at LMU through the late 90s and early 2000s. He instituted "More Active Than Sleep (But You Probably Won't Break a Sweat)". Jesse Boring picked up the activity, then passing the torch to a former resident-turned-RA named David Abravanel. In 2008 and 2010-2012, Jason Boring ran the activity.

Christian

06.1 to present, an awesome RA, and now SRA Christian (alias C-Bad) was worshipped.

Chris Lock

Chris Lock, during second session, became a popular RA after the Protest activity, in which three girls in the Desmond 330's hall declared that "Chris Lock belonged to them." He is best known for his interesting turn as Dane's Butler, or the epic Bananarchy vs. Chris Lock Fan Club clash that happened on the last Wednesday.

Taylor Mitchell

Taylor Mitchell became an RA at LMU in 2011. Taylor, a former CTYer himself (at Hawaii and Carlisle) was instrumental in taking care of tradition. He hosted activities such as "CTY Canon" and tried to get more canon songs played at the dances. Taylor can be recognized by his long white (and sometimes gold) robes.

Luis Antonio

In 2014, a treebender named Luis Antonio became an RA. The discovery of Luis' abilities made by Gabriel Apoj, Andrew Pang, Anson Tsang, Mustafa Khan, and Young Zheng led many students to respect and worship the trees on campus, and many times, students could be heard yelling "LUIIIIISSSS!" In 2016, Luis returned to the LOS site after a two-year absence. He led the team of RAs to a 3-1 victory against Chile at the World Cup 16.1 weekend activity. He is most known during summer 16.2 for his Starbucks Odyssey activity in which he destroyed the hopes and dreams of 88 students (His excuse was that he didn't expect so many people when he didn't put a cap on how many people were allowed to participate in the activity). In 16.1 & 16.2, both his halls won casino night. Thus where he got the nickname “el chapo”. He was hated by many, but loved by many more. By the end the of summer, he was referred to as “The G.O.A.T.” for his enthusiasm and role as the hype man. His hall in 16.2 may or may not have locked him out of his room as a "prank" after failing to duct tape his door shut the night before. He also won both Casino Nights in 2016. In 2022, Luis returned as an SRA.

Jon Kraus

JON KRAUS has been RA'ing since 2012 and is a LEGEND. Creator of KBBQ, Tiny Fez Club, Secret Activity, Amerifan, and everything else.

Chucho

Chucho has also been integral in keeping tradition alive at LOS. Known for his bright forearm tattoo, man bun, curly mustache, and colorful shoes, He's freaking amazing and a huge part of LOS culture. He always rapped Lucenzo's part in LMU canon 'Danza Kuduro" In 15.1, he was the sole wielder of glow sticks for the first two dances. He was renowned for being asked to a dance by at least one (often by many) female student every single year he worked. He always shuffled in the middle of student circles whenever "Everyday I'm Shuffling" came on. The leader of the two salsa dancing weekly activities in 15.1, Chucho was a good Spanish dancing man and a legendary RA.

Chris Adames

Chris Adames was an RA who started and kept many traditions alive at the Los Angeles Site. He was the RA who brought over the "Wobble" from Santa Cruz, where he first began working for CTY as an RA. (The song is now considered Canon) He was also the creator of the student-favorite activity "Supa Hot Fire Rap Battles", where students rap against each other with satirically written verses in a fashion that imitates the viral videos. At the RA Superhero Fashion Show (16.1), he donned no costume. He was introduced as "Mr.Steal Your Girl" Though never properly acknowledged, it was Chris who kept traditions alive in 16.1 after a new flood of RAs arrived at the site. He organized the KBBQ rally that year and pushed for "Supa Hot Fire Rap Battles" to be held again- even after 'the incident' at the last dance of 15.1. After not many canon songs were played during the first two dances, Chris helped organize the third dance so that former RAs (Parke, Rory, Chucho, and Jordan) could come back in order to teach CTYers the canon songs and their dances. Sadly, 16.1 was his last session working as an RA. At 16.2, he attended the second dance.

MemeSquad

In the summer of 2017, Tristin Sabatini, Sebastian (Cbass) Saw, Eric Davis, known to other staff members as "MemeSquad", took part in 2 challenges that tested both their will, determination and most importantly their stomachs. First is the 100 nugget challenge where Sebastian ate 50, Eric ate 33 and Tristin ate 17. The second challenge was a challenge of honor. This challenge was faced by Tristin and Tristin alone. The challenge was the 100 clam challenge. He finished 100 clams in 35 minutes. Challenges are recommended to be completed as a new tradition for Ra's. Also as one final Hurrah, the members of Meme Squad obtained the U-Rule and passed it within the group until it came to the last day where Tristin Sabatini obtained it and will hold it for the full year.

Robert Bustamante

During 17.2, the Baby CTY final dance had a faulty sound system. When American Pie was to be played, the YS SRA Robert Bustamante took the initiative and sang American Pie without any music. Rob will forever be remembered as legendary.

David Alejandrino

David has been a key part of the revival of many traditions at LMU, and even just keeping the traditions alive. He has been at los for 2018, 2019, and 2020 so far. David is known for being the best dancer ctyers have ever seen. He often runs activities related to dancing and performs in the talent show. He always helps the holy trinity to keep the traditions alive because he was a ctyer himself. CTY at LMU is so much better because of David. We hope he returns for many more years. He will forever be one of the most renowned RAs this campus has ever seen.

David Alejandrino

David has been a key part of the revival of many traditions at LMU, and even just keeping the traditions alive. He has been at los for 2018, 2019, and 2020 so far. David is known for being the best dancer ctyers have ever seen. He often runs activities related to dancing and performs in the talent show. He always helps the holy trinity to keep the traditions alive because he was a ctyer himself. CTY at LMU is so much better because of David. We hope he returns for many more years. He will forever be one of the most renowned RAs this campus has ever seen.

Kiki Katz

Kiki resides on the second floor in Del Rey North. According to the theme of 22.1, she is Buttercup from the Powerpuff Girls, or, as the campers call it, "Empowerpuff Girls". She is one of the best dancers, being a pro at belly dancing and even learning Kpop in a matter of minutes. She also dresses very well, sporting a beautiful blue and black gown for the dances.

She came back the next year, sporting dark reddish-pink?? hair (i'm colorblind). Her hall is now called "Star Hall", although last year's hall was wayy better.

Miscellaneous

• Ariella C. (alias Oreo) has, as of 2011, begun a website interviewing the RAs of LMU Session 2 2011, including the Great Dane.

http://radiscussions.blogspot.com/

• This site is home to a few emerging stars, among them, Von Tha Don, Amy Coleman, and many more who've all contributed to the site's amazing atmosphere.