February 2016 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 123 #11• Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com Ithaca High School, 1401 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 • FREE
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
INTERVIEW
MIGRANT CRISIS
WITH MS. SCAVUZZO, IHS’S NEW SOCIAL WORKER from a swede’s page 3
perspective page 7
SILKWORM PUPAE FOOD REVIEW page 12 PEARSE ANDERSON
IHS Gets New Graduation Coach By JOHN YOON After Ms. Angela Affronti transferred to an administrative position at BOCES in January, Mr. Scarpulla replaced her as graduation coach for students whose last names begin with A through L. In his 31 years at IHS, Mr. Jim Scarpulla has held a variety of positions devoted to aiding students in achieving successful transitions from high school to post–high school education, adult living, and employment. Joining Ms. Micheryl Blake, who has served students with last names beginning with M through Z, Mr. Scarpulla is now excited to support students who face challenges to graduating. The primary role of the graduation coach is to identify and help students who have particular challenges to meeting the graduation requirements. Any student can also approach a graduation coach for help—in the hallways or in the office located in Student Services. “The graduation coach may have a quick answer to your questions,” Mr. Scarpulla said, “or they may say, ‘Why don’t you set up a meeting with your counselor and attend the meeting and try to work this out together.’” CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
ICSD teachers protest for fair wages in January.
Fighting Fatigue:
ICSD Teachers Protest By PEARSE ANDERSON
Shortly after the final bell of the school week dings at 3:32 p.m., take a look outside. Chances are you might see a revolution in progress. For the last several school weeks, many teachers at Ithaca High School have been leaving the buildings strictly according to their contract in protest for a fair contract. These walk-outs are only the last thing in a long series of teacher-administration problems. I was first approached about this topic several months ago through a cryptic note that led me to an even more cryptic source. There are a lot of players in this game, and not all of them are will-
ing to talk about it in a straightforward manner: the majority of teachers I talked to either did not want to comment or did not want to have any information attributed to them. No one is sure how this conflict will ultimately resolve, and they do not want their words to be used against them. You may have seen the posters that, over the last couple of months, have peppered themselves across the walls in G and H—and somehow stayed up. They rank ICSD as 579 out of 667 in teacher pay. Surrounding areas like Newfield, Union Springs, and Newark CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
OPINION
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
Editorial
Nuisances Aplenty Course scheduling errors, broken classroom clocks, bathroom hygiene, blocked educational websites, the palpable frustration over low teachers’ salaries—these are some oh so familiar aspects of the archetypal IHS experience. They never seem to go away. Arguably one of the most widespread nuisances on campus is the old-fashioned check-in system in the library. The library acts as an all-purpose room where many students go to work on homework, discuss class notes with a friend, or check out a book. But what would otherwise be a nearly faultless space—staffed by the exceptional librarians—is spoiled by the dawdling process of manually keeping track of who’s coming in and ensuring nobody’s skipping class. Back in 2013, a group of students had actually developed a functional system to address this issue for an EDD project. They even proposed their plan to implement this system at IHS to the Board of Education. The Board determined that the proposal was viable, but disappointingly, it was rejected due to budget constraints. As a result, anyone trying to enter the library continues to stand in a line that sometimes takes nearly ten minutes, especially during lunch periods, as the librarians check everyone’s schedules and make them log their names onto a sign-in sheet. When all of us must carry our student IDs to school anyway, and when our IDs are connected to the attendance system, why couldn’t we invest in a scanning system to replace this inefficient process? Another well-intentioned yet poorly executed policy is building security. After multiple shootings at schools nationwide, IHS administrators have taken steps to maintain a safe environment while not creating an armed camp. Most doors around campus are locked. Some entrance doors now have signs directing students not to let people in from the outside during school hours and directing visitors to the main office. Although a small barrier for a potential intruder, these measures don’t hurt the sense of open community
in our school. But these policies are inappropriate for the school’s building structure. In our spread out, California-style campus, students should be allowed to routinely travel outdoors between classes and enter through doors scattered throughout campus. Meanwhile, we see students scurry across the quad every day between periods only to be greeted by locked doors. The narrow hallway between the library, cafeteria, and G-building often overflows with students, especially now that a lot of us know the doors must remain locked. Students should be allowed to use their own discretion to open doors for other students between periods. Then hallways would be less crowded and getting to our next classes would be made easier. Class transitions are currently even more challenging if you’re on crutches or in a wheelchair. Campus safety is at the top of the administrator’s’ priorities as it should be. But let’s face it—certain well-intentioned rules become an inconvenience that eventually accumulates to stress for everyone when we don’t pay attention to how certain policies affect the campus experience. Going forward, as the district considers several security upgrades at school buildings, such as the installation of surveillance cameras and swipe-card doors for school employees, the psychological effects they may have on students’ should not be overlooked. For one student, one such nuisance on one day is minute against the backdrop of the greater issues that the school deals with. But IHS holds a close-knit network of 1,400 students for whom the small things can add up to a big difference. When repeated many times, these day-to-day irritations accumulate. School policies should ensure a smooth operation while serving their practical purposes.
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Liz Rosen ’16 opinion@ihstattler.com
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Luca Greenspun ’17 sports@ihstattler.com
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Claire Saloff-Coste ’16 backpage@ihstattler.com
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James Yoon ’17
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Deborah Lynn advisor@ihstattler.com The Tattler is the student-run newspaper of Ithaca High School. It was founded in 1892 and is published monthly. As an open forum, The Tattler invites opinion piece submissions and letters to the editor from all community members. Drop off submissions in E25, email them to editor@ihstattler.com, or mail letters to: The Tattler 1401 North Cayuga Street Ithaca, NY 14850
Let’s get one of these to replace the library’s inefficient sign-in system.
The Tattler reserves the right to edit all submissions. Submissions do not necessarily reflect the views of editorial staff.
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
NEWS
Interview with Katina Scavuzzo, IHS’s New Social Worker By PEARSE ANDERSON
PA: So if I wanted to come to you with a problem I’m having, could I go to your room anytime in the day? Would I have to schedule an appointment? Where even is your room? KS: This year, my office is located in Activities (room B4). I want students to reach out to people when they are having a problem; it is my goal to see more help-seeking behavior in our young people, as I believe it is an important skill to have. That being said, students cannot come to my office any time of the day. Rather, they need to go to an adult in the building and say that they would like to talk to someone. Most adults in the
JAMES YOON
Pearse Anderson ’16: What are your responsibilities and why did the school hire you earlier this year to advise students? Katina Scavuzzo: IHS is lucky to have two full-time social workers. Students may already be familiar with Ms. Lyn Reitenbach, social worker, while I am new this year to IHS. Some students have counseling on their IEP (Individual Education Plan) and that service is provided by a social worker. We also see students who do not have IEPs for counseling. My education, training and experience are in Mental Health, and I am licensed by New York State to provide counseling to individuals, groups, and families that need support. I am also certified in school social work. As a school social worker, my responsibility (in broad terms) is to identify any barriers to learning, whether they be emotional, stress, family, behavior, or mental health, and to assist students in addressing those things that are getting in the way of their education and learning. This may be through brief individual counseling in school, group counseling, or by networking with the appropriate agencies within the community to get a student or family the right help. I am working closely with Student Services this year, and often a school counselor will help students get in touch with me.
building know how to reach me. I do have appointments scheduled with students throughout the school day, and those occur during a student’s lunch or free period. If it is an emergency, such as having thoughts and feelings about harming yourself, having information about a friend harming themselves or someone else, or if someone has harmed you, then you need to make that clear to the adult; I or another mental-health professional in the building will be notified right away. If it is not an emergency, I encourage students to make an appointment with their school counselor or to email me directly. School counselors are also a great resource for our students, as they have been trained also to address social/emotional concerns with students.
when I became a school social worker, I worked in Elmira City Schools’ special education 8:1:1 and 12:1:1 classrooms. Last year I worked as the school social worker for Corning Painted Post Middle School. I have learned something new in all my experiences that have contributed to my growth as a social worker, but working with kids that had been court mandated away from their families to live in a group home had the biggest impact on my worldview. I saw how different kids’ lives can be, I learned what builds resilience in kids, and I learned how people in my role have the opportunity to contribute in healthy, positive ways. I also learned that I cannot do that on my own. It takes teamwork and a multisystemic approach to support kids.
PA: Where did you work before this, and what did you learn then that will help you support kids now? KS: After graduate school in 2009, I worked for Glove House, a residential group home for adolescents. Then,
PA: How much confidentiality do you have? Do you report everything to the administration? KS: Confidentiality is important when working with people. Students CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
NEWS
PAGE 4 IHS GETS NEW GRADUATION COACH CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
INTERVIEW WITH KATINA SCAVUZZO, IHS’S NEW SOCIAL WORKER CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3.
JOHN YOON
should know that I respect your privacy and will keep what you say between us. There are two circumstances in which confidentiality can not be kept, and that is if a student reports wish to harm self or others or if someone is harming them. Aside from those circumstances, I use my judgment as to what I think needs to be shared with others. If I think I need to share something you have said with someone else, such as a parent, teacher, or administrator, I will always have that discussion with the student first. I also think it is important to note that often administrators will refer a student to me and they do that because they care about our students. They do not ask for specific information; they just want to help students get connected with support.
Graduation coach Scarpulla poses in his office.
“The graduation coaches certainly have a role in pushing the graduation rate up,” Mr. Scarpulla said. The graduation coaches facilitate with the administration, the counselors, families, and teachers to sustain students’ attendance rates, a critical component of helping students graduate. Raising the already outstanding graduation rate of 93 percent at IHS, he believes, will involve making sure students do not skip class or not go to school. The tip he would give to students is to always go to class. “You can draw a dot-to-dot effect of students not going to class to students jeopardizing their graduation.” Mr. Scarpulla also urges students not to shy away from asking for help, whether they do not like the class they are in or if there is something going on at home that is affecting school. “Ask for help soon. Don’t let it fester,” he said. “If there’s something going on that’s distracting you from school, make sure that somebody that has some authority knows—an associate principal, a graduation coach, or a student counselor.”
PA: What do you think the biggest social ill among high schoolers, especially IHS students, is? KS: I think high school is a tough age, and just being a high schooler and navigating who you are while juggling what others expect you to be is one of the hardest things you will go through. That being said, how students develop, in terms of self image, emotional intelligence, support, confidence, and coping skills, is where students either struggle or thrive with social decision making. PA: What steps can we, the students, take to help stop this problem, and what are the administrators/you doing? KS: Because we are such a big school with great diversity, and because we are all human, individual problems are going to walk through the doors every day. To help, students and faculty can work on open communication. We can take the time to listen to each other. I know it sounds simple, but I think if everyone operated with mutual respect for one another, problems would be solved more quickly and effectively. I think students can take an active part in their learning—that means, if a student is struggling in school, they should be part of the plan to make things better. Some of the best progress in people that I have seen has been self-directed, from their own self reflection. Having control in life and the ability to solve one’s own problems can be very rewarding. I think the administration and I cannot stop problems, but we can help and support our students. PA: Do you think second semester will bring its own set of problems to students because of all the tests come May and June, or will it be less stressful because people are inching closer to summer and we still can have snow days? KS: Honestly, I am still soaking it all in. I have a better understanding of IHS this semester than last, and will continue to learn and grow as your school social worker. PA: What has your biggest triumph in social work been? KS: Working for ICSD! I have worked around in other communities for so long, it has been a goal of mine to work in the community I live in, spend time in, and raise my children in. That being said, I am not nearly done with social work. I would like to work towards my clinical license as a social worker and continue to learn about the best practice in mental health.
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
NEWS
PAGE 5
Valley soar above us, despite IHS being the 53rd best high school in New York State (443rd nationwide) according to US News rankings. To compound the problem, cost of-living adjustments have been made to teacher contracts in the past that account for the rise of health care, inflation, and other things, but during this last round teacher pay did increase, but not to the desired amount. The posters were hung by a “small group of teachers who just felt like some of the information had to get out to the public,” I was told by an anonymous source. ICSD teachers are currently working under an old, expired contract, since no new contract has been approved. That means a whole mess of issues for teachers, students, and the community. Frankly, we’re blessed to have some of the teachers we have who continue to work so well under these conditions. Jenny Smith, a Boynton teacher, researched the pay disparity between ICSD and other districts and came to the conclusion that some teachers with equal experience are making $14,000 more elsewhere. I’ve had several teachers tell me that if they moved from this great community to someplace like Union Springs, they’d be paid at least $10,000 more. Some of these are teachers who have been with the school for years, if not decades. The plan for the future of ICSD teachers is quite ambiguous. They’re currently in negotiation with the administration about teacher pay, but many teachers are anticipating on both sides coming to a standstill. An arbitrator could be forced to be included in the negotiations, listen to both sides, and decide who gets what, but the teachers involved don’t want to leave everything to such a chancy system. “I think there’s
PEARSE ANDERSON
FIGHTING FATIGUE: ICSD TEACHERS PROTEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1.
ICSD teachers protest for fair wages in January.
enough excitement about this particular period of time that if demands are not met there’s not going to be a lot of caving by the union,” said one teacher. Instead, they’re hoping their walk-outs, protests, and other means of objection will help. Keep in mind that these are the teachers who still choose to stay working as a teachers in Ithaca. “That’s sort of the expectation: teachers will just stay; we don’t mean anything. The problem is that [the pay problem] is starting to have some real implications,” a social-studies teacher told me at the protest on Route 13 back in November. “You used to put out a job position and get hundreds of applicants. Now we’re getting, like, twenty.” Sometimes, it’s even less than that, according to a teacher on the English hiring committee. Think about the implications of having fewer applicants: one greenhorn teacher might get her facts about world history mixed up but teach
JAMES PARK
IHS teachers left the buildings in protest for fair wages shortly after school ended on several Fridays in January.
quite well to the test. She might be the only one who can teach well to the test. So the district hires her despite her later claims that ziggurats flew over London during a world war and that the Nuremberg Trial was against Jews. “[IHS] will get warm bodies to stand up in front of the class,” the teacher added, “they will. But is that who you want teaching your children?” Low teacher wages correlate with poor teacher retainment. Out of all the teachers you’ve had in the past few years, how many still work at their school? Many permanent employees aren’t even waiting until the end of the year: Ithaca Teacher Association President Adam Piasecki said that 35 positions have retired or left in the last semester. We’re barely past the halfway mark in the year and the sheer mass of dropouts has left schools scrambling for teachers who will come to a district like ICSD. Last year, 31 teachers resigned, retirees not included. “It’s not healthy to have such high turnover,” I’ve heard from a dozen different mouths. “I can personally say that I could be making $14,000 more a year if I worked at Union Springs. I’ve had offers to do so and I’ve chosen not to because this is my community. But at some point, people are making different decisions,” the social-studies teacher continues. “It’s a great community to live in, of course, and that’s a part of the reason so many people stay, but people shouldn’t have to pay with that so extremely ... That’s embarrassing for a city that claims to CONTINUED ON PAGE 6
PAGE 6 FIGHTING FATIGUE: ICSD TEACHERS PROTEST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5.
be focused on education. And I’m also a taxpayer—we pay really high taxes for education and our teachers are among the lowest-paid. Where is [the money] going to? It doesn’t add up.” There are more student and teacher advocates on the board members on the school board since the last election, according to teachers, mostly Ann Reichlin, Jen Curley, and Moira Lang. “We’re not pretending we’re in poverty,” a different social-studies teacher told me outside of Chili’s as cars whizzed by. “Most of us have master’s degrees, we’ve been in school for five years, we are—by all accounts—professionals. But we are disproportionately compensated for our time. For the most part, we are paid to be [at school] from 8:45 to about 3:30. Most of us work 50, 60, 70 hours a week. We do what we do because we love students.” This teacher would later go on to ask that people like him be more fairly compensated for training so hard for the job, working every day, and bringing positive change in terms of community development, social justice, and personal growth. There are other forms of protest to this problem that have not yet been touched on, but that’s mostly because they are radical. I met with a teacher at IHS who proposed teachers “work-torule” as a form of protest. “The whole school district would come crumbling down. There would be chaos! And would it inform people of how much teachers do outside their contractual obliga-
NEWS
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
tions? Absolutely. But we wouldn’t want to do that; it wouldn’t be fair to our students, even for a short period of time. We are just so desperate some teachers are thinking ‘we should try this.’” A work-to-rule would mean this: teachers only work for the hours they’re paid to work, ten minutes before and after the school day for students. This means no clubs, no trips, no tutoring, no college recommendations, no coming in early to use equipment, no coming in to talk to teachers or get help on a question. No teachers would grade work out of school hours, meaning they’d assign work they could grade in class or a computer could grade for them, leading to a system that either resembles Mr. Carver’s March Mellow (in which he followed the work-to-rule system for a month) or Mr. Anderson’s AP Language and Composition (in which he only teaches one class and assigns sporadic quizzes)—or a Chromebook-and-Scantronbased class to avoid extra hours for the teacher. That’s before you factor in everything else. Carver is moving towards another March Mellow, with a maximum of 12 hours a week outside of school being devoted to grading or planning, because he claims he cannot handle the amount of work all his classes force on him. He may be the first to adopt such a system, but if his system works, it’s likely others will follow suit—and the issue of pay and teacher contracts will still go unresolved. Others argue that a salary schedule, or step system, is the right solution for the problem: a definitive table that
shows what a teacher would make after their first year, second year, third, etc. One can predict what they would make next year, and a possible pay grade boost come the seventeenth year (as Niagara Falls offers) would incentivise teachers to retain their current position. An end to negotiations may be close, though it’s hard to tell. The Ithaca Voice recently said that “board member Brad Grainger agreed, saying that contract negotiations are on the ‘verge of agreement” and that he expects them to be wrapped up for this year.’” The standstill “doesn’t mean you’re not appreciated. It just takes time,” Grainger said at a board meeting. These walk-outs are dozens of teachers’ way of saying “We’re still standing after months of negotiations and arguments. The fatigue has not stopped us.” School board meetings, I’m told, have been surprisingly emotional these last few months—the last thing one would expect. Teachers clearly care about their students, but they also want what they think they deserve. As I spoke to teachers protesting across Route 13, they all told me the same thing to tell the readers: if you want change, make a fuss. If you’re eligible to vote, make it count in upcoming local elections. Keep bringing it up at home, get your parents or yourself to call or write to school board members, and pressure them into making whatever decision you think is right. That’s what democracy is about, and there’s no better time to learn that than in high school. PEARSE ANDERSON
ICSD teachers protest for fair wages in January.
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
OPINION
The Migrant Crisis from a Swede’s Perspective By EDVIN DRIBE IMAGE PROVIDED
Since the war in Iraq began in 2003, people from the Middle East have had many reasons to flee their homeland. War came to Iraq, Afghanistan, and finally Syria. Meanwhile, dictatorships and food insecurity in Somalia and Ethiopia have forced many there to leave their homes as well. That these people have to leave everything cannot be debated; what they should do next is the big question. Europeans have a slightly different view of this point when compared to most Americans. Being a Swedish citizen who is staying temporarily in the U.S., I see how the northern European countries view this issue and why it is distinct from the American view. Despite Sweden’s population of only 10 million, its average standard of living is one of the highest in the world. People have asked me if you really get paid to go to college, and yes, you do. “The Swedish Model” became world-famous during the 70s and was adopted in Scandinavia and partially in the U.K. It really means that everyone gets back all of what they paid in taxes through different institutions of welfare. For example, almost everyone can go to college for four to eight years while being paid a monthly amount of money by the government, and the ones who can’t are still secured by a good social-security system that pays them more while unemployed than a full-time employee on minimum wage would make in the U.S. A mandatory one-year military service gives many the chance to get acquainted with practical professions, while some choose to stay with the armed forces, which are never used. The universal health-care system gives everyone the best possible care no matter the income or profession. The model also includes a monthly check to all mothers with children to provide for the extra expenses that children come with, which in essence means that not even children are too big an investment. The model includes a lot more than even all this, but essentially, many people view it as a means through which to offer everyone, no matter how wealthy, the same possibilities in life. This model has been proven to work well since World War II; Sweden has become one of the world’s wealthiest countries and from time to time the best country to live in. For a refugee, the offer of such a socioeconomic model seems tempting, especially when the relevant country doesn’t have border control. The parts of the Swedish model that guarantee everyone the same possibilities in life do indeed hold true for refugees and immigrants. For example, the government pays all unemployed immigrants enough to get an apartment, gives all students with a native language other than Swedish regular Swedish classes, and offers classes free of charge to all people new to the country. After living in Sweden for more than two years, you’re granted permission to vote in all local elections, and as soon as you have a job and demonstrate intent to stay in the country, you’re given citizenship. With this in mind, the national budget only leaves room for a certain number of people who only take from the system without putting something in if the welfare state
Swedish hospitality.
is to be preserved. After all, the majority of the people will use up what they have paid through taxes, or more, leaving no room for people without income. The issue of asylum for refugees is then broadened; should we lower the standard for incoming refugees or should we simply shut the border? Once again, no solution has been found, as no one wants to see poor people living miserably and earning non-livable wages in the private sector; closing the door of opportunity for the ones in need seems inhumane. The U.S. doesn’t have any such welfare system, which means that the majority of the populace wouldn’t notice if 100,000 new people came in and started to work and then pay for whatever they needed in terms of housing and health care themselves. The only ones who would notice a difference are the business owners, who would get a broader range of customers. Yet, another aspect of receiving immigrants from the Middle East worries Americans: terrorism. To generalize terrorism to a specific religion, Islam, is not really a sustainable strategy. Only 14 percent of Muslims would agree with something that ISIS has expressed or done, which is mostly because of the actions of western countries in their homeland. Further, CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
OPINION
PAGE 8
Challenging the Stigmatization of Female Promiscuity: An Assertion of Bodily Sovereignty By CHARLOTTE PERRI Let’s face it: the Madonna-whore dichotomy is anachronistic. However, it remains overwhelmingly prevalent in contemporary society; the idealization of chaste women and the consequential demonization of promiscuous women is a phenomenon that transcends all sociocultural barriers. Conversely, male promiscuity is perceived as intrinsic to masculinity, as sex is equated to conquest, and thus intercourse becomes an essential medium for the assertion of one’s manhood. Upon examination of societal norms regarding sexual activity and discrepancies in expectations for men and women, it is overwhelmingly clear that the systematic villainization of promiscuous women serves an integral role in the perpetuation of the disparities between the genders, as it actively denies women agency and ascendancy over their bodies. “Slut-shaming” is not only a fun and alliterative term; it assigns nomenclature to a phenomenon that is so normalized that it often goes unnamed. Dispelling the stigmata that are associated with female promiscuity and creating a dialogue on the subject may prompt the dismantling of this disconcerting paradigm. However, this requires a significant shift in consciousness, as well as the posing of potentially disquieting questions. Why do we vilify women who are overt in their enjoyment of sex? Why is celibacy considered intrinsic to conventional femininity? Why do we denigrate and devalue women who have extensive sexual histories, or who have a multiplicity of sexual partners? The deprecation of women who exercise bodily sovereignty is so entrenched in our minds that we rarely consciously consider these questions and truly contemplate the implications of their answers. However, as we analyze the systematic marginalization of promiscuous women, a degree of transparency emerges; this paradigm serves to actively augment gender inequality and inhibit female sexual self-determination. While this information may elicit anything from apathetic yawns to adamant refutations, ideally there will be some effort to challenge this thought pattern and the ills associated with it within the IHS community. High school students tend to be particularly disparaging and virulent when it comes to female promiscuity. If we can celebrate all women, rather than demeaning some for behavior that is perceived as licentious, and if we can actively affirm a woman’s right to partake in and enjoy sex, we will make a monumental leap towards gender equality. Thus, we should refrain from critical comments regarding the sexual history of our female peers, and remain respectful of bodily sovereignty, rather than degrading women who choose to have sex.
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
Debutante or Porcelain Doll? By BELLA CULOTTA
When most people hear the word “Cotillion” or the phrase “Debutante Charity Ball,” they think of Gossip Girl or Gilmore Girls, which are TV shows about upper-class snobs who unveil their daughters as true ladies who are eligible for marriage. Historically, this is the correct description of Debutante Balls, but the modern version is more philanthropic. The 2015 Charity Ball and Presentation of the Debutantes that I attended with my family is a charitable event hosted by the Women’s Board of Akron’s Children’s Hospital. The debutantes—the daughters of those who donated time and money to the hospital—spend months preparing for the Ball, learning how to properly curtsy, practicing their waltz, and finding the perfect dress before being presented to fellow wealthy philanthropic families by their fathers. The debutantes walk onto stage, get escorted to the front by their dads, curtsy, hug their dads, and get escorted off. Seeing how proud the fathers are and how much they love and support their daughters is heartwarming and really the highlight of the event. The rest of the time, the girls are honored for their beauty and ladylike curtsy. I walked out of the auditorium after my cousin and all the other debs were presented and I was surrounded by people congratulating them. For what? Their great leg muscles that gave them the ability to hold a curtsy for three seconds, their perfect hair, their $400 dresses, their nice complexion and smile? Their actual accomplishments were never mentioned, nor did that cross people’s minds. They were portrayed as objects of beauty, not as well-rounded human beings. The Chair of the Board said that the girls were being introduced as women who are going to make a difference in the world, but if their external beauty was the only thing being presented, how is it showing that goal? My cousin told me that they could only wear pearls and closed-toe shoes, and they had to attend waltz rehearsal as well as short etiquette lessons. She explained to me that it was an event that carried on tradition, and all these restrictions were put in place to do so. But if the tradition is to showcase them as nothing more than potential wives who look good in white, have good manners, and come from a good family, then why is it being continued? Furthermore, this event raises money for the Children’s Hospital, but more money would be raised if participating families spent less on their daughters’ appearances. Yes, the tickets are expensive and raise significant funds, but the six-course meal, tuxedos, ball gowns, and live band subtract a large sum from it. The Debutante Charity Ball was a nice event that raised money for a good organization, but it also presented women with a shallow and artificial image. Wouldn’t it be great if women were shown off for who they are, not what they look like, and thousands of dollars were donated to a charity instead of salon bills, gowns, tuxedos, and six-course meals?
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
OPINION
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Talent or Hard Work: Which is Better? By JAMES PARK
Studying for a test for hours the night before only to get a B or worse the next day—we’ve all been there. We’ve all felt the disappointment and the frustration as you try to figure out what went wrong or if you’re just hopeless. Meanwhile, just five feet away from you is the very antithesis of the current you: the genius of your class, obtaining perfect tests and throwing them away without another thought. When asked what they do to be so smart, they simply reply, “I don’t know; I barely even study.” It’s difficult to fit concepts such as talent and hard work into categories. The talented could be considered the ones who “get it” from the start. Able to grasp the concept easily, the subject becomes second nature to them with little effort. On the flip side are the “workers”: those who start off at the bottom and have a hard time comprehending the torrent of new or obscure terms. In such situations, it feels even worse to look over at the talented student and think, Why am I not as good? Why don’t I just understand it as I should? Failures and setbacks pile on, even as the talented student seemingly improves by leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, society seems to view talent as something absolutely necessary when learning a particular subject. Drawing is an example of something that nearly everyone could claim to have talent in—or not. There are people who sit down and can draw beautiful pictures without having taken a lesson in their lives, and there are those who will struggle to complete even the simplest sketch. The “natural” artist will be enthusiastically encouraged to expand and nuance their talent, while others will be, at best, politely asked if they wish to pursue another endeavor. Such a pattern discourages the development of learning and ultimately makes talent look superior to any amount of hard work.
Yet this is clearly not true. Very rare is the activity that can only be achieved with talent—if any exists at all. I personally know several people who, although not excelling in any particular subject, have risen to the top with determination and effort. For them, what matters is not how easily they grasp a topic, but rather their motivation. Finding motivation, the drive to finish a task at hand, is no easy task by itself. A lack of understanding when first entering a subject, the tedious work that must be completed day after day, the discouragement when others seem to be ahead of you; all these factors influence our judgement and make us waver. But every time you put in the effort to finish, you’ve reinforced your ability to put in hard work and follow through. Although we, as high-school students, may not find this achievement so profound, this ambition will become critical as we get older. Talent is like an airplane. A person can get on, and from above see the wondrous landscape to fully understand how everything connects before arriving at realization. Hard work represents the hike. The beautiful landscape turns into a harsh wilderness, and every step along the way takes away energy and motivation. By the time you arrive, disheveled and exhausted, the talented has already set off for the next destination. But even so, talent is not some trump card that guarantees success for the rest of your life. While talent in a particular subject may facilitate a certain path, in the grand scheme of things it is little more than a push in a certain direction. Even a talented individual will begin to struggle as their field of interest becomes more comprehensive—as much as any hard worker. As we go beyond high school, dedicated effort will be what distinguishes us from the next person, not natural talent.
THE MIGRATION CRISIS FROM A SWEDE’S PERSPECTIVE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7.
ISIS would neither recruit more nor act more violent towards America if the U.S. accepted as large a percentage of the refugee population as Sweden has: almost two percent over two years. By comparison, the U.S should accept 6.36 million refugees, equivalent to the population of Miami’s metropolitan area. In the past two years, the U.S. has only accepted about 150,000 refugees. Now, once again we revisit the question about whether Europe handles the issue badly or if Europe has reason enough to blame America for not doing enough. Personally, I don’t think you can blame a country for not helping others if it needs help as well—which at least doesn’t apply to the U.S. today. The sacrifices many European countries, including Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Greece, and Turkey, make for their economy, welfare, and citizens, are of course voluntarily and a decision made by their governments. This means that if you don’t want to help the outside world, you don’t have to. The United States hasn’t helped much with this crisis, nor have China and India.
Ted Cruz and Donald Trump, current candidates in the 2016 presidential election, both think that no Muslim refugees should be allowed into the United States because they might be, or might have connections to, terrorists. I think the real question has more to do with the cost of accepting a relevant amount of refugees. If the U.S. would like to do more, there are other ways to help in the crisis without the military—and actually, without accepting many refuges at all. By providing monetary support to Europe instead of accepting refugees alone, America will help a great deal. Yet, if the United States of America wants to lie back and look at the world’s miseries from the outside without helping, it is welcome to do so. To end this crisis and the struggles facing countries that accept many immigrants and refugees, I think the world has to cooperate. Instead of playing an outsider role, every country must contribute to the cause—including America.
OPINION
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
Presidential Candidates: Martin O’Malley—Who? By CASEY WETHERBEE, Staff Writer He also supports transparency on the use of force, advocating for body cameras on all officers. And barring some of the problems caused by his “zero tolerance” policy, many of its results were beneficial: Baltimore recovered from open-air drug markets, prison incarceration was reduced, and steps were made towards reducing prison IMAGE PROVIDED
If you’ve watched past Democratic debates, you may recall a tan, lanky man standing beside Bernie and Hillary, both of whom are household names. Yet no one seems to actually know very much about Martin O’Malley, the only other candidate who was running for the Democratic nomination before the Iowa caucuses. Even some of my most politically aware friends had no idea who he was before he dropped out, and even if they did, his policies were nothing important to them. After all, O’Malley seems to be the definition of innocuous: fairly harmless and inoffensive. However, I think that he should be taken more seriously, even though he’s dropped out of the presidential race, and that people should know about him. To get background on O’Malley’s history, you’d have to go back to where he launched his political career. He has served practically his whole life in Maryland, acting on the Baltimore City Council from 1991–1999, serving as Baltimore’s mayor from 1999–2007, and holding the position of governor until 2015, when he announced his campaign for the presidency in May. He has received various criticisms for the main theme of his mayoral campaign: a “zero tolerance” policy on crime and drug abuse that resulted in conducting mass arrests for low-level charges, like loitering, among other problems that culminated in the city of Baltimore’s having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in a settlement for wrongful detention. This issue has dogged O’Malley’s presidential campaign, especially in the face of the #BlackLivesMatter movement—the movement insisted that O’Malley’s strict law enforcement record has only furthered the racial tension in Baltimore, where protests erupted after the death of Freddie Gray in April 2015. O’Malley has defended himself against this harsh position by claiming that he saved “about 1,000 lives, probably.” It wouldn’t be reasonable, however, to simply portray O’Malley as a repressive and power-hungry politician. Among his policies regarding criminal justice are the legalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana as well as repealing the death penalty.
Good bye, Martin
guard corruption. One issue which O’Malley made central to his campaign is college reform. Among the 15 goals listed on his website are to “ensure that all higher education students have the option to graduate debt-free in five years” and to “improve college and career readiness.” He planned to reduce tuition rates and implement income-based repayment plans, similar to how homeowners or businesses can refinance their loans, to keep young Americans from drowning in debt from college. And, as O’Malley pointed out in one of the Democratic debates, he has a successful track record with keeping college more affordable. Maryland, according to the U.S. Department of Education, experienced the slowest tuition rate growth of any state in the 20122013 school year.
Another place where Martin O’Malley shines is gun control. Like most Democrats, he has advocated for background checks and comprehensive gun control legislation, praising Obama for his recent executive policy on gun control that seek to limit the loopholes in buying and selling firearms. O’Malley has notably called for a ban on assault weapons, something that many conservatives consider to be an infringement of the Second Amendment. At a debate, he said that “when ISIL does training videos that say the easiest way to get a combat assault weapon in the United States of America is at a gun show, then we should all be waking up.” Policies like this are seen as an affront to the National Rifle Association (NRA), but O’Malley is not one to back down from a challenge: “I proudly hold an F rating from the NRA, and when I worked to pass gun control in Maryland, the NRA threatened me with legal action, but I never backed down.” Martin O’Malley failed miserably in the Iowa caucuses, not even receiving 1 percent of the support from caucus-goers. However, he could still have a profound impact on the course of the presidential race. Recently, he slammed the Democratic National Convention—and the Democratic Party as a whole—in a scathing oration that attacked the policy of limiting the number of debates to four as “undemocratic.” Perhaps more pertinent is the possibility of his becoming a member of the presidential cabinet, assuming a Democrat wins office. He could even be Bernie’s or Hillary’s running mate. Though he currently lacks the relevance to pack a punch, he certainly earned a lot of respect during the process for his experience and professionalism. He could certainly be a major voice in the Democratic Party in the future, and who knows; he might be on the ballot again in another four years. “Presidential Candidates” is a recurring column that anyone can write.
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
OPINION
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2015’s Most Important Event: The Iran Nuclear Deal By VAYNU KADIYALI, Staff Writer IMAGE PROVIDED
In 2015, Iran and six world powers agreed to a political framework for a historic nuclear deal.
2015 was a year thoroughly dominated by negativity. It was a year of constant warring and aggression in the international community, of shockingly gruesome acts of terror, and of the Republican primary race casting a shadow over American politics. Because of this, some have described 2015 as among the most unpredictable and dismal years to date. Many important events did take place, however; in particular, in international diplomatic breakthroughs that will assuredly shape the remainder of this century. The most important event of the past year was the historic Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action relating to the eventual destruction of the Iranian Nuclear Program, which has opened the nation to interaction and economic investments from the global community. The benefits of this deal are monumental. Foremost, the deal will obstruct all paths towards Iran gaining a nuclear weapon. It mandates the destruction of nearly all enriched uranium in Iran, and the quality of the fractional remnants of Iran’s current stockpile will significantly decrease. Additionally, the majority of Iran’s nuclear facilities will be destroyed or converted to research-grade laboratories, and on top of this, the nation is now subject to scrutinous inspections on adherence to all clauses of the agreement. With all of these restrictions, it is simply inconceivable that Iran will ever
be able to acquire a nuclear warhead; its resources will be decimated and it would be extremely difficult to cheat on the agreement because of constant monitoring by the international community. The dismantling of the nuclear program is truly valuable to global diplomacy. American-backed Sunni powers in the region, such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Qatar, have long taken advantage of the invariable military and economic support offered by America and NATO in order to restrict Iranian presence in the region. This led to the cementing of repressive and human-rights abusing dynasties in the region, while the democratic nation of Iran found itself lagging behind economically. However, now that Iran has indicated its willingness to comply with international non-proliferation treaties, the end of Saudi dominance in the region is in sight. Saudi Arabia, known for numerous human-rights violations—including killing journalists and activists, as well as staunch repression of women—will now face competition for America’s financial support. The Saudi Arabian control on foreign oil in America and the European Union will be significantly shaken. It is the leverage that America receives to defend and support the values of freedom and democracy in the Middle East instead of reluctantly throwing support behind the suppressive, authoritari-
an, and discreetly terrorism-funding Sunni leaders in the region that makes this deal a resounding and transformative diplomatic success for the United States and the world at large. The other substantial benefit of the Nuclear Deal is the mobilization of Iran’s highly skilled and young workforce into the global economy. Iran’s population of nearly 80 million is a youthful one, with a median age of just above 24. Additionally, the nation’s strong education policies and technical training make it a highly specialized and adept workforce. The burdensome sanctions imposed on Iran as a result of its nuclear program, however, have drastically reduced opportunities for foreign investment. Now that these sanctions are being removed, Iran represents a potential boon for multinational corporations who seek to import and export from a new market. The first industry that will flourish is the petroleum industry. Iran’s sizable proven oil reserves, the fourth largest in the world, will suddenly become available to global consumers; this influx of oil has the potential to reduce oil costs to far below the currently falling industry prices. The second industry to benefit will be that of production of largescale manufactured goods—vehicles, airplanes, and industrial equipment, for example. Emerging powers such as China continually struggle with trainCONTINUED ON PAGE 16
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OPINION
T he Best: Meal By LUCA GREENSPUN IMAGE PROVIDED
Food Review: Silkworm Pupae By DANIEL XU I’ve often heard that the worst thing about eating bugs is thinking about it. They’re actually very tasty—or at least, that’s what the people from Yoo Dong want you to believe. Having acquired a can of “food-grade” silkworm pupae, I thought at first that it might well be worth a try. The idea in and of itself is very clever: silkworms are used to spin silk, but once they become pupa they are obsolete in their main purpose, so why not dispose of them by eating them? Unfortunately this implies that someone would actually knowingly eat bugs after witnessing a mass of them floating in putrid yellow liquid. The smell once the can is opened is pretty overwhelming, and a good sniff would probably make you sick. There’s also the fact that the silkworms come in a can, meaning that it doesn’t actually close once someone innocently decides to open it for a look. So you’re stuck with the smell of preserved dead bugs until either you throw them out—a waste of what is technically food—or eat them. It takes some guts to stick with the latter once exposed to the deadly combination of appearance and smell, but I didn’t get the silkworms to not eat them. It’s amazing how every step of the process in eating a silkworm pupa provides even more incentive not to do the deed. Picking up a pupa, it’s covered with a urine-looking yellow brine that gives it a slimy coating and makes it feel like it’s alive. I pretty much just wanted to drop it at that point, and had to just thrust it into my mouth as quickly as I could. The brine only slightly masks the taste of the bug with its copious amounts of soy sauce, also disproving the adage that soy sauce goes with everything. It might actually be even worse because of the way it squirts out of the bug when you take a bite, which may cause severe mental scarring and/or vomiting. After the salt goes down, you are left with a musky taste in your mouth that makes you feel somewhat like you’re eating rotten food. The silkworm itself, meanwhile, doesn’t have much flavor—but it’s the texture that really gets you. There’s an initial crunch from the shell, which also releases whatever juices have permeated the thing, and then a disgusting soft inside that feels exactly like how you’d expect the inside of a bug to feel. That sensation sticks inside of the mouth, and even if it doesn’t seem like the worst initially, will for certain make you lose your appetite later. It’s almost necessary to have a sweet drink on hand so you can wash out your mouth and prevent yourself from becoming a temporary vegan. Having eaten one myself, I attempted to persuade some other people to do so as well. I mean, surely there’s someone who likes the taste if they’re a popular snack in Korea, right? Anticipating (correctly) that some might be reluctant to try a silkworm with the knowledge of what they were eating, I shrewdly covered up the label with a replacement that read “dried figs.” Casey Wetherbee ’17: “I’m not eating it. It looks like a bug.” Justin Tan ’19: “I guess ... oh. No. No. No.” Mr. Robert Tuori: “GET THAT AWAY FROM ME.” IMAGE PROVIDED
Breakfast is often heralded as “the most important meal of the day,” and for an avid breakfast guy like me, the claim is certainly true. Whether it be a home-style breakfast featuring eggs and bacon, a cold-cereal centered meal, a steaming bowl of porridge, or a gargantuan smorgasboard consisting of all three, breakfast is most decidedly the best. Breakfast is like the crack of the whip on a stubborn steed. When you are unable to start your day, longing for the comfort of your bed and standing blankly in your kitchen, breakfast is the friendly meal that gives you a slap on your tuckus that says “Hey big fella, time to start your day.” Wading through the drudgery of a weekday routine is tough enough, but having to wait until noon to stuff my face—well, that seems a whole heck of a lot harder. Breakfast is the meal that, quite frankly, is all that makes functioning through the remaining twelve hours of a day possible. It fully deserves the respect it garners. Breakfast is eaten in the presence of oneself and a bathrobe, or colleagues in a florescent break room, or under the watchful eye of a careful Jewish waitress who’s attempting to gauge if you’re ready for your next cup of coffee. Breakfast is made in the microwaves of rushed Americans, in the dining halls of universities, on the simmering flattops of a million Greek-family-owned diners. Breakfast is born on the skillet and swallowed in your mouth. Breakfast is the greatest common factor between humans of every different walk of life. In fact, if you rearrange some letters and add an “h,” breakfast actually spells “the best.”
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
OPINIONS
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All the Buzz About PSATs By STERLING WILLIAMS-CECI It is commonly said that junior year is the most stressful of all the years spent in high school, one of the most stressful aspects being the tests. In the beginning of the school year juniors usually take the PSAT, which, according to the College Board, is “highly relevant to your future success because [it focuses] on the skills and knowledge at the heart of education.” Recently, the College Board has changed the PSAT in an attempt to make it reflect more valuable skills for today’s college-bound youth. This change has raised some degree of controversy on its own, but more importantly, it unearths the old debate over whether PSAT scores really serve as an indicator of who’s better than whom. I believe that each version of the PSAT tests for different skills that apply to different students, and therefore that both the old and the new PSAT are unreliable indicators of “future success.” First, I’d like to offer a few words on the differences between the old and new PSATs. I believe that the change is huge and that each test reflects skills applicable to two very different types of students. If you look at the old PSAT, its writing section focused on a student’s grasp of English grammar, testing the student on proper sentence constructions and syntax. Try to find the underlined mistake in this sample problem below (taken from Barron’s old PSAT Prep Book), if there is one : Marilyn and I ran as fast as we could, but we missed our train, which made us late for work. No error. The answer is that the underlined word “which” is incorrect in this sentence. According to the answer key, “Which is a pronoun, and needs a noun for its antecedent. The only available noun is train, but that doesn’t make sense (the train didn’t make us late— missing the train made us late). In the critical reading section, the student read several passages (usually adapted from old works of literature), and answered comprehension questions. There were also questions
that asked students to choose a word that best completed a sentence from five choices of mostly esoteric words. Take a look at this example from the Barron’s book: “Just as disloyalty is the mark of the traitor, ___ is the mark of the ___”: (A) timorousness ... hero (B) temerity ... renegade (C) avarice ... philanthropist (D) cowardice ... craven (E) vanity ... flatterer The answer is (D): cowardice is the mark of the craven. The mathematics section had problems such as finding all the numbers that are multiples of 4 and 6 from 1–100, and it was these problems that alienated many test-takers because of their ostensibly impractical nature. Given this information, it’s clear that a student versed in traditional English grammar, literature with advanced vocabulary, and a wide range of strategies for solving math questions was favored by the old PSAT. Indeed, there are such students out there, with backgrounds that fostered these skills. The new test, however, appears to favor different types of students entirely. It’s made up of just two sections (a combined reading and writing section and a math section), and it’s very different than the old test. When I took the new PSAT this fall, I noticed that the writing questions focused less on traditional grammatical technique. In addition, instead of the old passages on American literature, I found ones on recent scientific discoveries and historical events in the United States, while the math section had questions with less emphasis on knowing strategies and shortcuts. Here is an example math question from the College Board website: “At a primate reserve, the mean age of all the male primates is 15 years, and the mean age of all female primates is 19 years. Which of the following must be true about the mean age m of the combined group of male and female primates at the primate reserve?”
(A) m=17 (B) m>17 (C) m<17 (D) 15<m<19 The answer is (D). This suggests that the new PSAT favors totally different skills and abilities in each section. All this isn’t to say that one of these tests is necessarily better than the other; I only think that each one selects for a completely different type of student. Two students who have the same levels of capability might have drastically different scores on any one PSAT that they both take, because one of them has skills needed for that PSAT, whilst the other has separate skills that might have been assessed better by the other version of the test. This renders the score you get somewhat arbitrary, as it depends on the version you took— something admission officers at colleges may not factor into their decisions. This concept brings me to my next point: is either PSAT a good indicator of success and readiness for colleges to use? In my opinion, it’s most definitely unfair because of the manner in which it favors certain students from certain backgrounds. Some researchers, such as Professor Stephen Ceci, disagree with my claim. Professor Ceci argues the following about both PSATs and SATs, since the two are so similar: “Most researchers claim the SATs are moderately predictive of college performance. For example, the SATs predict college GPA between r = 0.4 to 0.5. These correlations are not huge but they are moderate and statistically reliable. So what does a correlation of 0.4 between SATs and college outcomes such as GPA and graduation rate mean in practical terms for colleges and universities? For simplicity’s sake, imagine that the SATs are not moderately predictive (0.40) but only weakly predictive (say, 0.20) of college graduation rates. Let’s take all IHS students’ SAT scores and do a median split, showing the top half and CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Made By History Celebrating Black History Month PAGE 14
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
The Tattler, having been established in 1892, has witnessed the first Olympic Games, both World Wars, and the first flight by the Wright Brothers in its lifetime. The Tattler has seen the rise of the Civil Rights movement and its peak in the 50s and 60s. In celebration of Black History Month, this Center Spread is devoted to evaluating the changing attitudes of The Tattler and the IHS community on race. Max Fink, Ben Salomon, Andrey Shakhzadyan, and Tristan Engst contributed reporting. By JAMES YOON
“Students Interview Sammy Davis After Concert: Performer Comments on Musicians, Civil Rights” — May 12, 1967 A selection from a long interview with the multi-talented entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., this article starts off by describing Davis’s performance at Ithaca College as “the most exciting of all the scheduled festivities … [he] proved to be an exciting, versatile, and vigorous performer.” There was a string of questions about celebrities, politics, and Civil Rights, one of which was about the legalization of marijuana, to which Davis said, “One day we will all in this room see it legalized.” On a different note, Davis responded to the Watts Riots, a surge of violence in Los Angeles, by saying, “Nothing has been done since the riot; the people did not achieve anything by it. I don’t think that violence is the answer.” But he went on: “However, I wonder: well, how long can we sit?” Davis thought that Malcolm X would have become a great leader because “[He] realized that separatism was not the answer. ... The original concept of black power, there’s no crime in that. It was meant to give the Negro unity in terms of saying, ‘Hey, man, everybody else has it.’ You know, Italians are proud to be Italians, Jews are proud to be Jews. Negros always lived in a sort of ‘Yeah, well, shucks, man, I’m black’.” This article brought attention to the Civil Rights movement and a black celebrity’s perspective on the issue of race.
“Savages I Met in Africa” — December 12, 1929
“Afro-American Society, Sets Goals” by Trudy Hagood and Denise Wells — March, 1969 This IHS club, which had existed since two years prior, had been actively serving the interests of the black community at school and in Ithaca as a whole. Their goals were to “establish constructive progressive programs such as creative workshops of drama, art and dance” to assist black students in expressing their “thoughts and culture.” They had performed “revolutionary” plays written by high-school students in conjunction with Cornell University. It is clear the IHS community was engaged in a Civil Rights movement of their own, despite the fact that the club was “black-oriented.”
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
“The Real Double Standard” by PETE CAMPBELL — March, 1970 This article was an attack on a complaint made by “the blacks,” which was that their appointments were held back due to allegations of forged signatures. The black students had blamed racism for this treatment. This writer criticized by claiming that “there are a lot of white students who have experienced the same difficulty” and that “the double standard … is between students of privileged and of less privileged classes.” This article reads that this issue “is not simply one between black and white,” while race has been linked to the underprivileged stereotype. This issue still prevails today at school, in the workplace, and in the broader society. Amid growing activism on the part of black students, tensions seem to have existed between black and white students at IHS.
FINDINGS There was clearly an upward trend in how racially sensitive the Tattler has been in the last century. Gradually, as the Civil Rights Movement grew and as a growing number of black students voiced their demands, IHS became a community largely supportive of the cause. Black students founded communities and led many local movements of their own. However, the Civil Rights Movement is not yet over. Many minority students still face the burden of discrimination at school and beyond. Although the IHS community has a long way to go, it must actively engage in addressing the challenges many students face. Whatever we do, we must keep moving forward. If you would like to see scans of the original articles, please email centerspread@ihstattler.com.
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“Black Students Want Counselors, Holidays” by DICK HIPOLIT — February 13, 1970 (Volume 42, #6) Black History Month was first celebrated this exact month at Kent State University in Ohio. That might have served as inspiration for the growing desires of black IHS students at that time, among which was “to have school holidays honoring black individuals. ... Among the nine holidays which have been suggested to the administration are Martin Luther King’s birthday and the day of his assassination, similar days honoring Malcolm X, and a day in memory of Huey Newton’s imprisonment.” This front-page article also notes that black students want black counselors and teachers. The Tattler seems to have been relatively racially sensitive at this time: “Since blacks come from a unique home environment and face different problems than white students, white teachers and counselors cannot understand and help them sufficiently.” After all, “An appointment [had] been made to discuss these matters with the Superintendent of Schools.” Unfortunately, it was not until 1983 that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was nationally signed into law.
“IHS Science Teacher Writes of Her Work in African Bush Country” — March, 1969 This was a letter from a science teacher, Mrs. Weeks, who taught in a teacher-training program in a small Ugandan village called Nabusanke. Although we cannot say that this teacher’s writing reflects the views of the Tattler staff of that time, the article conveyed a respect for Ugandans and their state: “Uganda is a developing nation and every year brings improvement and progress. ... [It is] a nation of numerous tribes all speaking different languages.” And she clearly enjoyed her time there: “Every day, I cross the equator many times. As you may surmise, there is a delightful monotony of warm sunny days and starlit nights in a lush green land, even during rainy seasons.”
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
THE IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11.
ALL THE BUZZ ABOUT PSATS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13.
the bottom half of scores. What does this tell college and university admissions officers about the likelihood of admitting students who will be successful, in the sense that they actually graduate with a degree? Below are some hypothetical data to help illustrate why admission officers often embrace the SATs/ACTs, etc: Graduate from college
Drop out of college
Above average SAT/ACT score
60 percent
40 percent
Below Average SAT/ACT score
40 percent
60 percent
As can be seen in the table, even a weak correlation of 0.20 is enough to predict which group has a better graduation rate, so imagine what a 0.40 correlation would predict.” Obviously, Professor Ceci views the PSATs as being good enough predictors to assist admission officers who don’t know much about students who apply to college other than grades and test scores. But he is overlooking the fact that each PSAT favors a different type of student, and excludes some who could also be successful. Colleges would say that the students who did better on one version of the PSAT will be more successful, while in reality, the students who did worse might have done just as well on the other test and consequently been admitted and graduated successfully! As said in an article on The Conversation called “Fulfilling Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream: the Role for Higher Education”: “These tests have been grossly inadequate, measuring only a narrow band of potential, while missing wide swaths of our talent pool whose excellence is not readily detected through the use of such ‘blunt’ instruments.” The bottom line is that any one PSAT that students take, regardless of whether it is the new or the old, will favor some and disadvantage others. If students were admitted to colleges and universities without PSAT scores being taken into account, we might discover that the scores are not really predictors because non-admitted applicants would have done just as well if only they were given the opportunity to show it. One size doesn’t fit all, and it’s simply unfair to judge all students based on one standardized test.
ing technically specialized workers, and the relatively low cost of labor and vast skilled workforce in Iran is perfectly suited for large-scale manufacturing, representing a lower cost and higher quality of goods for Americans. Lastly, it is expected that Iran’s crippled infrastructure and technology, which has largely remained the same from the time of the Shah’s deposition, will need significant upgrades and overhauls, which presents a huge business opportunity for any company that is willing to invest in Iran. Eighty million Iranians presents too large a market opportunity to ignore. The naysayers point to almost four decades of a very repressive theocratic Iranian leadership that is intolerant to religious minorities and brooks no political opposition. The Iranian government has sponsored extremist groups in the Middle East, propped up the Syrian Assad dictatorship and Shia militia in Iraq, and supported terrorist attacks against non-Shia houses of worship in many countries. For the past decade, it has relentlessly pursued nuclear weapons despite international sanctions, and legitimately threatened the existence of the state of Israel. Many in the US remember the hostile takeover of the American embassy in 1979 and the long hostage crisis that undermined the Jimmy Carter presidency and therefore they strongly believe the Iranian regime cannot be trusted with anything. With the recent tortured history of the Persian Gulf region, can an environment of mutual trust be built that will finally lead to peace and prosperity for 80 million people? With overwhelming support from the people of Iran to no longer be treated as outsiders in the international community, the odds appear positive. In the end, one can only hope that the large number of young, educated Iranians and the current moderate regime will be able to overcome the paranoia of the extremists and Revolutionary Guards. They can take the right steps to bridge their differences with their Sunni neighbors and Israel and work towards peace in the Persian Gulf. There is a small window of time for Iran to completely shut down its nuclear reactors and improve its relations with the developed world. As it benefits from the peace dividend, there is finally hope that Iran will be able to lead the entire region in emerging from an “area of darkness” to a new era of peace and prosperity, and the Iran Nuclear Deal will leave a truly lasting and important legacy for the year 2015.
IHS ANNUAL PHOTO CONTEST
The yearbook invites all students to enter our photo contest. Submit a photo of you and your friends at school or around town, as well as any artistic photography. Submit all photos to ithaca.yearbook@gmail. com by December 23.
Prices are rising to $65 in December, buy your book before prices rise further! ybpay.lifetouch.com school code:12224516
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
FEATURES
Course Selections for Senior Year By BRIDGET FETSKO
Current IHS juniors will be selecting courses for their senior year soon. When selecting courses, it is always smart to think about how much work each course will require, how busy you will be outside of school, any major changes happening in your life, and how many free periods you will want to have during the school day. Seniors have many courses open to them. Because all students are required to take four years of both English and Social Studies, and Government and Economics are required courses for graduation, most seniors take Gov for one semester and Econ during the other. Seniors can choose which English class to take. In addition to these classes, seniors can choose to take math, science, art, or additional Social-Studies and English classes. According to my experience, it’s best to have a smaller number of classes but to choose ones that are challenging and interesting. In junior year, I took AP Environmental Science, AP U.S. History, AP English Language, Film Photography, and Choir, as well as required courses such as health and gym. I thoroughly enjoyed APES, AP Lang, Photography, and Choir. It was great to take classes that were both fun for me and would look good on college applications, allowing me to earn college credits if I did well. This year, my senior year, I am only taking one AP course, AP Human Geography. I am really enjoying the class. How-
ever, I wish I had signed up for two AP classes, because I enjoyed the challenge they gave me last year. For my English class, I am taking WISE. WISE is only open to seniors. During the first semester, the course is run like a normal English class, with an emphasis on critical thinking and learning about oneself. During the second semester, students design a project to complete over the remainder of the year, culminating in each student giving a presentation on their project. At the time of writing, WISE students are just getting started with their projects, but I am already so glad that I took the course. I am very excited for the rest of the year. What I recommend for seniors: • Take at least 1 AP; they are challenging, fun, and if you do well, you can get college credits. If you are taking AP courses, make sure you find them interesting. • If there is something you have always wanted to do, take WISE. • Try a class that isn’t a “core class.” Pick an elective that really interests you. • Don’t put too many classes in your schedule, but don’t give yourself too many free periods either. • Challenge yourself and take courses you enjoy.
SpaceX Landings By MAGDA KOSSOWSKA, Staff Writer On December 21, spaceflight company SpaceX successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket on land after three failed attempts at landing it at sea. The second, or upper, stage of the spacecraft continued on to transport 11 satellites into orbit. Despite doubts on whether the landing would be successful, Falcon 9’s first stage landed vertically at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Since its founding in 2002, SpaceX has concentrated its efforts on designing and manufacturing reusable rockets. The cost to build a rocket—the piece of the spacecraft that lifts it into the atmosphere—is immense. Falcon 9 cost $16 million. Normally, rockets are discarded after launch, but through creating reusable rockets SpaceX is working to cut costs of space travel. The purpose of the December 21 landing was to test the reusability of the Falcon 9 rocket. Twice earlier in 2015, SpaceX attempted to launch and land a Falcon 9 rocket. However, the craft exploded on impact with the deck on both occasions. On June 28, the rocket fell apart while delivering a Dragon spacecraft that was bringing cargo to the International Space Station. The Falcon 9 rocket that launched on December 21 was upgraded with increased boost thrust, deep cryo oxidizer (a highly efficient propellant), and a larger engine bell nozzle
to the upper stage. More recently, on January 17 SpaceX attempted for the fourth time to land a rocket at sea. Falcon 9 launched from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California to deliver a Jason-3 satellite into orbit for NASA. This part of the mission went as planned; however, SpaceX did not completely achieve their secondary goal of successfully landing a rocket at sea. Ice buildup on the landing leg of the rocket caused problems that made the rocket topple over when it landed. Despite this setback, the company is optimistic about its future sea landings. SpaceX will be using a different version of the Falcon 9 rocket for future endeavors— an upgraded version of the one that successfully landed in December. Currently, the aerospace company, along with developing reusable rockets, is working on creating a manned version of its Dragon spacecraft in compliance with a contract with NASA to send astronauts into space. SpaceX’s eventual goal is to make it possible for humans to live on planets other than Earth, which includes the colonization of Mars. Generating reusable rockets will substantially cut the costs of space travel, which may in turn support this end goal.
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
Photo Journal
On a Service Trip to Tanzania By ALEXANDRA GIBBONS
1. Our group was driving through Ngorongoro Crater, a national park in Tanzania, when our guide suddenly stopped the car and turned around to us, pointing out two lions in the grass. This was taken right before it came over to nap in the shade of our van.
2. This was a giant elephant in person. Baby elephants were able to walk under her. She ended up standing in front of our van for a solid 10 minutes.
5. The first time I saw a zebra, I freaked out. By the end of our safari trip it seemed like an everyday sight. One morning I woke up and saw them behind my tent, and took this.
3. Baboons are very social! They also love food, as I found out when one tried to take a box of cookies from me.
4. Giraffes were everywhere. My favorite part about them was their run, it looks like it’s in slow motion.
6. This picture has quite a story behind it. My friend Julianne and I were invited to shower our friend Loti's cows. He then invited us to watch them slaughter a sheep for meat. We agreed, and it was quite the experience. This was the sheep skin.
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FEATURES
PAGE 19 8. We taught English and Math in a school with kids ages 5–14. This day, I was teaching 5 and 6-yearolds to count in English.
7. This is a picture of the building of a kitchen, our main community service project. The kids there previously would have to walk miles to go home to eat lunch, and some wouldn’t return. Now that there’s a kitchen, food can be made at school. 9. Our village, Maji Moto, had a lot of people that belonged to the Masai Tribe. At our closing ceremony, they sang and danced for us, and we joined in. Part of it is a competition between males to see who can jump highest, which is what this picture is depicting. The building in the background is the kitchen we built.
“Serial”: Podcast Review By BENJAMIN SALOMON, Staff Writer
IMAGE PROVIDED
Last year, the country was abuzz with something new: the news. This phenomenon wasn’t your “News Snacking” where you just read a headline on your way out the door, it was hours upon hours of content that had people binge listening—all thanks to one podcast featuring Adnan Syed. The news was reintroduced by Serial, a podcast conducted by NPR’s Sarah Koenig that utilized long-form, deep-diving journalism. The podcast was interesting, it was successful, and it changed the way people look at news. Who is Adnan Syed? Syed was a very kind, smart, religious, and athletic boy, the “model child” that all parents dream of. Seems like a nice enough guy. He was in high school just outside of Baltimore in 1999. We all do stupid things in high school: cut class, sneak out of the house, but there is one thing we usually don’t do—kill someone. Syed was accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee just after they broke up. This changed his life forever. Syed’s first trial was deemed a mistrial and the second one took six weeks. In the second, the jury found him guilty, and Syed was sentenced to life in prison plus 30 years. Sarah Koenig was introduced to Syed’s story by an advocate of his in 2013, and just weeks after, she began writing for the first episode of Serial. The first season was broken into 12 epi-
sodes, each one from 30 to 60 minutes long and focusing on a different section of the investigation. It begins with the general overview, then goes to phone records, eyewitness accounts, alibis, suspects; the whole nine yards. The way Koenig goes about presenting the evidence is possibly the most enticing aspect of the show. She shares one side’s opinion and convinces you that there is no way Syed possibly could have killed Lee, yet in the next episode brings a new piece into the mix, convincing you exactly the opposite of what you had thought before. As a listener, I started believing that it had to be wrong and he couldn’t have committed such a crime, yet my beliefs wavered throughout the progress of the podcast. Koenig admits to the same kind of vacillation. She was able to remain neutral throughout the show, only revealing her true feelings in the last episode. Such a presentation makes the listener grow attached to the story and seek closure to the case. It had my entire family glued to the radio listening to see what would happen next. Serial was so successful worldwide that the “new” evidence it brought up was brought to the judicial system’s attention and new evidence is being admitted to Syed’s case. Not only that, the show has been reinstalled for a new season, going over the case of Bowe Bergdahl, the army private who was famously held by the Taliban for five years before being recovered in a prisoner exchange. Now l know what you’re thinking. “Who the heck has time to listen to a boring podcast for an entire hour? They should just do homework or play Xbox or something productive like that.” The response I have is that you are right. It is not a short listen, but it is good listen. You have no idea how good it is until you listen to it—much like a book you haven’t read, or food you haven’t eaten. Time flies by as you listen, making rides to school, exercising, and anything else that might be annoying or tedious a breeze. Try it out; you won’t be disappointed.
FEATURES
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
Hall Monitor By DAVID SHENG, Staff Writer
Who do you think will win the 2016 presidential elections?
Jessica Kuntz ’16 and Maddie Wissoker ’16: “Either Bernie or Hillary.”
Cody Westbrook ’17: “Vermin Supreme is going to take the polls by storm.”
Jackie Lu ’17: “If Donald Trump gets elected, I’m gonna go back to China.”
Gabe Owh ’17: “Bernie.”
Ben Salomon ’17: “It comes down to a fast race between Trump and Sanders, and halfway through, Trump’s toupee falls off and Bernie Sanders gets a heart attack— making it a showdown between Marco Rubio and Hillary; and may the odds ever be in your favor.”
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
ARTS
Star Wars: The Force Wasn’t With Me on This One By JACOB SILCOFF
IMAGE PROVIDED
Popcorn in hand, I sat down to Star Wars: The Force Awakens with high expectations. Although I was skeptical of the overwhelmingly positive reviews given to me by the Star Wars fanatics who had seen the movie the first day it showed at Regal, expert critics and thorough questioning of early viewers convinced me that the film was worth seeing. Before I go into my review, an important disclaimer: I am not a Star Wars fan. This was the first movie in the franchise I can remember watching, and besides a basic understanding of the series’ premise, I came into the movie a blank slate. Episode VII features our heroes, the rebellious Stormtrooper Finn and Rey, a scavenger from Jakku (yes—the planets have stupid names. I agree), on a hunt for a map that will lead them to Luke Skywalker, who is currently in hiding. With assistance from Han Solo, Chewbacca, and Princess (now General) Leia, they battle giant man-eating aliens, evade capture from the evil First Order, and blow a lot of stuff up. The movie did get a few things right. It was somewhat exciting, featuring lightsabers, laser guns, and zero gravity, with a lot of action-packed fight scenes. The plot moved quickly, the special effects were good, and the acting wasn’t bad. Jokes were frequent, and some of them were surprisingly amusing, though I don’t recall actually laughing at any point in the movie (the same cannot be said for others in the audience, who went absolutely nuts anytime a character referenced a previous movie). Sadly, for those of us who aren’t avid Star Wars fanatics, the movie didn’t live up to the high expectations we were saddled with. The biggest issue for me was the plot, which was riddled with holes. I left the movie with more questions than answers— not the good philosophical kind, but the annoyed and frustrated ones. So as to not spoil the movie, I won’t go into much depth here. I think it suffices to point out that the protagonists’ goal was to complete the map to find Luke, but the path by which they completed this task could’ve been done far more efficiently and the movie could’ve ended halfway through. The movie was also filled with scenes that straight up made no sense. Now, granted, this is a work of science fiction. However, I still think it’s fair to expect some level of reality. Many good pieces of sci-fi, such as Interstellar (and I’m not counting the ending, which was awful) go to great lengths to have accurate science, and even hire actual scientists to advise them. With that in mind, a few basic logical facts for J.J. Abrams:
1. Explosions in space don’t make noise. Not even in fictional universes. This doesn’t make sense. 2. Sucking the mass of an entire star into a planet over the course of a few days would cause said planet to accelerate so rapidly that everything on it would be flung off into outer space. This is basic conservation of mass, and, yes, it still applies in fictional universes. 3. In a universe where AI is just as intelligent as people and robots like C-3PO can talk and have emotions, there is absolutely no way an army would send actual people to do fighting. Anyone that died in this movie could’ve been saved by replacing humans (and sentient aliens) with robots. 4. A gun on one side of a trench firing at a spaceship flying through said trench would hit the other side of the trench and damage allied gunners. This defense system is essentially shooting yourself in the foot. 5. If one side in a conflict has the potential to completely obliterate the other side, with no risk of backlash or mutually assured destruction, and this side was supposedly completely evil, they wouldn’t wait to do so. Finally, I felt the movie was almost beating a dead horse. While some may find jokes about previous movies amusing and cute, I think it showed a certain desperation. Every time Abrams tried to excite us by showing the Millennium Falcon, or having characters say lines they said in previous movies, it felt like he was saying “Look! Look at these good things we did back then!” instead of letting the movie stand for itself. I’ll be honest: when Harrison Ford showed up as Han Solo, the people sitting behind me almost exploded with excitement, and when he made a joke about a trash compactor, they absolutely lost it. As someone who got the jokes, but isn’t invested in the franchise, these gags seemed a little shallow. Overall, I think this movie was nothing more than bland entertainment. Sure, it was fun to watch. But unlike truly good movies, it didn’t leave me inspired. It didn’t blow my mind with a twist ending. It didn’t make me question my morality, or awe me with a clever plot. It didn’t make me feel anything. The movie is possibly best summed up by the Disney castle that is displayed even before the classic yellow text opening. Ultimately, Star Wars: The Force Awakens was an amusing kids movie, and nothing more.
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
An Interview with Cinemapolis’ Brett Bossard By ANNIKA BROWNING
Brett Bossard is the executive director of 7th Art, the non-profit media art organization that has worked with Cinemapolis since 2000 to bring Ithaca the best new independent films. Bossard has worked directly with Cinemapolis since 2013. I was lucky enough to talk to Bossard, and ask him questions about his work and its impact on the Ithacan community. Annika Browning ’17: How did you come to be the director of Cinemapolis? Brett Bossard: I’ve been working in the non-profit arts sector in Ithaca since 2004, most recently with a sixyear tenure as the Executive Director of the Community Arts Partnership, the arts council for Tompkins County. I studied film and television at the Park School of Communications, so when the previous executive director of Cinemapolis, Scott Bliss, announced that he would be returning to his home state of Kansas in 2013, I jumped at the opportunity to take the reigns. Luckily for me, our board of directors agreed that my joint experience in arts administration and media studies made for a good match with the needs of Cinemapolis, and I’ve been leading the organization since August 2013. AB: What role do you think the independent theater plays in the community, and why is that role important? BB: Like the other arts organizations in Ithaca, Cinemapolis plays a vital role in providing access to an art form that wouldn’t otherwise be available to members of our community. Our five screens provide a regional attraction, as we frequently feature films that can’t be seen within a 100-mile radius of Tompkins County. More than just a movie theater, Cinemapolis is a community cultural institution where the art of film is used to enrich people’s lives, grapple with and illuminate contemporary issues, and, of course, to entertain.
AB: How has Cinemapolis evolved in the past? BB: Cinemapolis has been a vital part of Ithaca’s cultural life since 1986. Initially a for-profit organization established by Lynne Cohen and Richard Szanyi, there were theaters at two sites: the Fall Creek and Cinemapolis theaters. Cinemapolis was reorganized in 2000 to become a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) board-directed organization. Things changed again in 2009 when we moved all of our screens under one roof at our current location. AB: How do you see Cinemapolis changing in the future? BB: Looking to the future, now that we’ve converted all five theaters to new digital projection (a change that was mandated by the film industry), we have a flexibility for special programming and community-oriented screenings that we didn’t previously have. We partnered with more than 50 community organizations for special events and screenings in 2015, and I see even more of these types of events in the future. With constant changes in technology, it’s hard to say what the future of film will be, but I’m confident that communities like Ithaca will still need the cinematic experience as a communal way to engage with our most accessible art form. I hope in 20 years Cinemapolis will still be a place where people from all walks of life can come together in a darkened auditorium to be inspired, challenged, and entertained. AB: What’s your favorite movie? BB: That’s like trying to choose a favorite child! I have many favorite films and favorite filmmakers, depending on my mood. Some of my favorites from the past year include Room, Mississippi Grind, It Follows, Tangerine, and Ex Machina.
IMAGE PROVIDED
ARTS
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
A Tribute to David Bowie By AMALIA WALKER, Staff Writer
“The stars look very different today.” This line from David Bowie’s 1969 “Space Oddity” flooded social media on January 10 as the world mourned his death, which came only two days after his 69th birthday and the release of his final album, Blackstar. Bowie’s death came as a surprise to most of us; that is, those of us who didn’t pick up on the blatant clues in the lyrics, title, and music video of “Lazarus,” perhaps the most memorable and suggestive track on Blackstar. It opens with the words “Look up here, I’m in heaven,” and goes on, foreboding from start to finish. Before Bowie’s death was announced, I found the lyrics and music sentimental, though not especially out of the ordinary for an aging rock star, who although still impressively active and creative was certainly not in his heyday. I listened to the album on Bowie’s birthday, the day it was released. It wasn’t until he died that I got around to watching the music video of “Lazarus” and that of the title track, “Blackstar.” They’re striking. “Lazarus” especially seems to explicitly foreshadow the artist’s death (though had I watched it beforehand, it may not have been so obvious). Its video is like a warning and a way of ensuring that Bowie wouldn’t go out inconspicuously. However mysterious he was, he was always conspicuous, and, of course, known for being quite self-absorbed. But more than this, if we look at Bowie as a person rather than a glam-rock icon and his death as a death and not as headline news over the loss of such an icon, the “Lazarus” music video shows bravery. It is a deeply unsettling, theatrical portrayal of his death, which he knew was approaching (he kept his cancer a secret from the public for 18 months). It shows Bowie in a hospital bed thrusting upward in an upsetting way, while a figure, whom I first assumed to be Death, tries to grab him from under the bed. On second thought, I decided that perhaps the figure represents Hell, and that its infrequent appearances, contrasting with Bowie’s constant upward motion, show that Bowie’s ascent to Heaven is more successful than Hell’s attempts to take him downward. The name of the track, Lazarus, is that of a biblical figure whom Christians believe Jesus brought
back to life days after his death, suggesting a desire for immortality. It is also the name of the Off-Broadway musical that opened in late 2015, a sequel to the 1976 film The Man Who Fell to Earth (which features Bowie) that was based on a novel of the same name. Bowie co-wrote the musical Lazarus, the soundtrack of which is entirely made up of his songs. Unfortunately, but as expected, tickets are sold out. Last summer, I read Bowie by Simon Critchley. It is not a biography; it’s a collection of essays by Critchley, a philosopher, about the pure thrill of Bowie and his effect on Critchley himself, beginning in Critchley’s childhood (the first chapter is called “My First Sexual Experience” and tells of watching Bowie perform Starman on BBC when Critchley was twelve). Critchley writes like a fan, but with depth, refuting any negative connotations associated with this type of writing. He describes Bowie as “at once cocky and vulnerable,” and how this duality allowed him, Critchley, to express both of those aspects in his own personality, whereas before he felt only vulnerable. Listening to Bowie liberated him, as it did millions of other fans. Bowie’s music was an appeal to the alienated. This appeal was made through his appearance, performances, and lyrics. He crossed themes of surreality and reality: sci-fi, sexuality, loneliness, and other themes, enchanting all different types. And his music is so alluring because it not only crossed themes, but also genres—rock and roll, of course, but also psychedelia, blueeyed soul, blues, funk, jazz, new wave, electronica, glam-rock—and all of it was recorded and performed incredibly theatrically, even operatically. I’ve often asked myself why I so passionately like Bowie’s music. I can’t say that it’s because I felt isolated and his music helped me find myself. It didn’t. Of course I find his lyrics fascinating, and his performances thrilling, but it was the sound that drew me in. He took it all too far, but boy could he play guitar. Thank you, and R.I.P. David Bowie January 8, 1947–January 10, 2016
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“Creed” Review By YAFET ANDEMARIAM Creed is another film to add to Sylvester Stallone’s everlasting and successful Rocky series: one of the most inspiring film series of the past century. In the series, starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa, Rocky grazes through films as an underrated boxer who goes on to surprise millions. He starts as the everyday Philadelphian boxer until he gets the chance to prove himself against heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers), Rocky II. Creed later challenges Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and gets killed in the ring. Rocky goes out of his way to avenge Creed’s death by beating Drago in the USSR, which parallels the downfall of communism in Eastern Europe. These films capture the rewards of focus and hard work. One of my favorite parts in any of the Rocky movies was the motivational scene of Rocky running through Philadelphia and up the Philadelphia Art Museum’s famous steps. In Rocky II, there are thousands of kids following him up those stairs with the upbeat Rocky theme playing in the background. If that doesn’t give you a great feeling, I’m not sure what would. The latest movie, however, doesn’t focus on Rocky, but rather someone who has a name to live up to. As a spin-off of the acclaimed series, Creed stars Michael B. Jordan as Adonis Creed, the son of former boxing champion Apollo Creed. Adonis gives himself a new image, away from his father’s legacy. Being mentored by the legendary Rocky Balboa, he looks to go the distance by fighting Pretty Ricky Clonan (Anthony Bellew) for the world heavyweight title. I would give Creed an 8 out of 10. The movie captured the modern feel of films while retaining tons of nostalgic moments from the other Rocky movies. I got the chills when I saw Adonis training with the Rocky theme playing, and when Adonis runs after chickens the same way Rocky did in Rocky II. I really liked the romantic plot line in the movie with Adonis and Bianca (Tessa Thompson), which had traces of Rocky’s own love story with his late partner Adrian. Although Ryan Coogler’s vision heavily contrasted with that of the previous Rocky films, Creed ended up being a very good film to watch. The Rocky series train will keep on chugging through time.
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
Netflix Originals By CHLOE WRAY. Staff Writer
Recently, I thought that there was no better way to watch TV while being mildly proactive than by writing a Tattler article reviewing some of Netflix’s original series. As the Netflix empire grows and grows, more and more series seem to be flooding the browse section. I thought I’d do everyone a favor and test these shows out. While some of Netflix’s series receive enormous hype, some of them just aren’t worth the time. If you’re going to procrastinate on that APUSH, at least make it time well spent.
erally so vague. Following a family of four grown siblings and their parents who own an inn in the Florida Keys, the show keeps making hints at the past. I’m on episode 7 and I still don’t really get it. I think my problem is that I didn’t just dive in. Maybe this is one to binge watch until the big secret is figured out. Overall, I’d still recommend Bloodline for good acting, crime/family drama, pretty island scenery, and Kyle Chandler’s face.
Narcos I recently learned that you use less brain power watching TV than while sleeping. Narcos is primarily in Spanish though, so my hope is that by watching it with subtitles, I’m basically reading a book. Set in Columbia in the midst of its cocaine boom, the show follows Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord, and the American DEA agents who pursue him. I don’t know if the point of the show was to make me like the bad guy, but Pablo is simultaneously cool and collected and ready to blow your head off in the turn of a second. Pablo’s glamourous life is everything you’d imagine of someone exploiting the sale of cocaine, and his constant outsmarting of law enforcement makes you root for him— but then you’re a little sad because you like the DEA agents, and you know that cocaine is bad and that Pablo, too, is bad. Added bonus to this already-great show: the DEA agent who narrates has a really nice voice, and he speaks English, so it’s not all subtitles. My bet is that Narcos becomes Netflix’s next big thing, up there in the top three with Orange is the New Black and House of Cards (both of which are not included in this review, because duh, they are fantastic).
Sense 8 While I get that Sense 8 is about telepathy from the initial description of the show and obvious scenes, I’m still waiting to figure out how the various characters will come together. After watching a few episodes of this and Bloodline, I think Netflix has a thing for being vague. Or maybe I just don’t have it in me to be patient and watch a show. If patience is your virtue, this may be the show for you! I’ll be coming back to this one, if only as a challenge to myself to pay attention, but you have to be at least semi-tolerant of sci-fi to get into it.
Degrassi: Next Class Truly, so bad it was good. I accidentally watched 3 episodes—I was just so intrigued by the fact that the characters kept using “crap” as their expletive of choice. Previous Degrassi series have been known for their raw and edgy nature, and while this series claims to explore “groundbreaking stories such as cyberbullying, mental illness, dysfunctional families, sexuality, online harassment, feminism, racial discrimination, life-threatening diseases, and drug use,” it was very TeenNick. The over-stylized, straight-out-of-a-J.C. Penny-catalog clothing, made-up social media site, and overuse of hashtags (episode titles include #nofilter and #teamfollowback) were all are very reminiscent of iCarly, but lacking the cool set and trying way too hard to be hip. I can’t really figure out if Netflix’s target audience is preteens or if they are honestly trying to interest high-school students. Either way, between the bad acting and writers who are obviously clueless about modern-day teenagers, if you’re looking for some angsty adolescents, try Degrassi High/Next Generation, or better yet, Skins.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Just not impressed by the mole people as everyone else seems to be. Personally, Ellie Kemper is a bit much when she’s not just a supporting actor with fantastic one-liners like on The Office. This show is good for a laugh, but (as we see as a bit of a recurring theme with this review) I had trouble committing and coming back to it.
Bloodline I’ve come back to this show at least three times, trying to like it, but really struggling to get into it. However, it’s my goal to finish it, because I can’t give up on Kyle Chandler. I think it’s hard for me to follow this show because it’s gen-
Jessica Jones I’m not a Marvel gal, so I’m completely unaware of this comic. As someone ignorant to all that this show is about, I can say that I unknowingly stumbled upon something great. From David Tennant to Krysten Ritter, the actors have that special something, keeping a show about the supernatural so completely real. The thing about this one is that while it keeps you guessing about its vague plotlines, there is enough action on the surface to keep you entertained.
Making a Murderer Initially, I watched two minutes and then stopped. After about a week, I came back to it to write this article. While my first impression was “ohmygod I can’t watch an hour of compiled evidence reminiscent of an episode of 48 hours and people dressed in outdated midwestern fashion,” it started to grow on me. The Wisconsin accents, like that of a little chipmunk, are adorable and definitely won me over, and the fact that the show is largely interview-based gave me plenty of opportunities to listen to the character voices. After the initial judgment on Steven Avery, a man who spent 18 years in prison after being wrongly accused as a rapist, you begin to feel so sorry for him. When he’s suspected of another crime, you’re instantly torn—you had just believed in his potential, but now who do you believe? A documentary mixed with mystery, the crazy amount of evidence and interviews provided make Making a Murderer into something far from a cheap murder-mystery show.
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
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Wind-Up: Part 4 By JAMES PARK “Alright, just sit back and let me do the talking,” muttered Winder as we followed Gonzo down the dim hallway. “We shouldn’t be in any danger, but still. Linda can work up a nasty temper.” We turned one last corner, and an elaborately decorated door greeted us. Gold and silver chains hung like ornaments from the frame, and emblazoned on the center of the door was the Chain’s gang symbol. Two armed men stood on either side, their suspicious eyes staring at us from the shadows. Scowling at us one last time, Gonzo ushered us through and slammed the door. In a word, the room that greeted us could be described as “exotic.” The heavy smell of incense clogged my nose, so strong that I couldn’t help but take a step back. Winder, seemingly unfazed, noticed my hesitation and pulled me forward by the arm. “The smell is meant to disorient you. Don’t lose your focus.” I nodded and did my best to ignore the mesmerizing scent. The interior itself was richly decorated, elaborate carpets and patterns spread across the floors and walls, all of foreign make. Silken cushions lay scattered about next to woven mats, reminding me of the higher-end opium dens I’d seen from investigations in the past. And across the room through the slight haze, I saw a slender figure sitting on one such mat, calmly observing us through steady brown eyes. “You haven’t visited me in over six months, Winder.” Linda’s voice, high and girlish, belied the dangerous and violent reputation that she had built over the years. It was every other week that us officers would find the leader of another upstart gang murdered, having attempted to exploit the Chain’s leader under the impression that a little flattery or showing off would be enough to earn her favor. “I told you I wouldn’t come back here unless I absolutely had to, sis,” Winder responded, coming up to her and cheerfully mussing her hair. “You know the higher-ups hate it when officers start asking gangs for assistance. That is, unless they’re doing it themselves.” “Oh, stop it,” Linda snapped, jerking her head back from her brother’s hand. “Unlike you, Winder, I actually have an image to protect, and having a man pat my head like a dog does not improve it in the slightest.”
“If your ‘image’ is acting like a sevenyear-old with a candy deficit, then I don’t think this’ll change much,” retorted Winder. “This is Newt, by the way. My new apprentice, so to speak.” Too overwhelmed by the scene before me, I could only nod. Linda paused and glanced at Winder. “Newt? Interesting… name. I guess my brother gave it to you? Well, I hope he’s treating you well. He never could treat a lady well. Now,” Linda continued, her voice turning serious, “what are you two here for?” Winder let out a dry chuckle. “What do you think?” Linda remained still, but she suddenly seemed uneasy. “Proceed.” “Carl Sand,” the detective began. “Blond hair, pale skin. Two earrings on the left ear. Well-known street musician. Plays the—” “—guitar, performed at the Crowley Square renovation festival last night. Found dead at around 4:12 this morning. No witnesses,” interrupted Linda. She spoke quietly and factually, and Winder stared at her in surprise. “You seem to know as much about the case as I do,” he said slowly. His eyes narrowed. “Or maybe even more.” “Brother,” said Linda, “this murder isn’t the first of its kind. There have been five just like this in the past several months, each one aimed at the Chain. I covered it up as much as I could, kept it quiet from the public. It’s only been a decade since we made that peace treaty with the government, but people are already raring to start another conflict. I can’t let that happen.” She shrugged helplessly. “I’m only surprised you didn’t discover the truth earlier.” “Then what happened this time?” demanded Winder. “Why’d the force find the body instead of you?” “The killer learned.” Linda grasped the mat angrily. “Sand was supposed to be picked up by another Chain escort, but the escort got piss drunk and passed out just outside the square. When he finally woke up, the officers were already arriving.” A distant rumble caught our attention. Linda frowned and snapped her fingers, and a guard came out of the shadows. “Find out what’s going on.” Winder stood there, deep in thought. “So someone is deliberately aiming to
sabotage you. But that doesn’t help; it could be from one of a dozen groups. Do you have any idea of who this could be?” Linda hesitated. “Whoever it is hides his tracks very well,” she said. “But he seems to want something. Not from me, but… from you, Winder.” Winder tensed. “What do you mean, Linda?” Without a word, the Chain leader held out her hand. Cupped in her palm was a small, speckled blue figure with a key protruding from its side: a plastic windup bird, its small beak open as if frozen in song. I glanced at Winder. His face was expressionless, but his body was as still as the toy, his eyes locked on to the bird. The explosion roared through the door behind us, knocking all of us to the soft ground. Several Chain guards leaped from the shadows, bristling with weapons, before a hail of bullets flying from the new hole in the wall took them by surprise. For a full minute, gunfire and shouts surrounded us as Linda dragged me and Winder behind an overturned table. A silence fell upon us with the last gunshot. Then heavy footsteps approached, crunching over scattered debris before stopping a few feet before us. “Drop your weapons and stand up, now,” a deep voice commanded. I obliged, dropping my revolver on the ground and rising to meet the stare of a man dressed in a brown overcoat, who brandished his open weapon in our direction. Behind him approached four armored officers, stepping over the still bodies of Linda’s guards. “Do you realize what you’ve done?” demanded Linda furiously, standing beside me with her hands up. “The rest of the Chain won’t stand for this. Ten years of peace will be ruined—” The man fired. Linda made a coughing noise and fell to the ground, a dark stain rapidly forming in her abdomen. Winder flinched as he heard her collapse, the color draining from his face, but his expression was one of outright loathing as he stared before him. “Detective Krig,” he growled. The man smiled. “Detective Winder,” he announced with obvious pleasure, “you are under arrest for the murder of Carl Sand.”
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
SPORTS
Top 10 Names in Sports
Workout Necessities By ANNIKA BROWNING
By BENJAMIN SALOMON, Staff Writer
IMAGE PROVIDED
1. Ha Ha Clinton-Dix Hahahahahahahhahahahahaha. All jokes aside, saying the name “Ha Ha Clinton-Dix” is like having a little party with yourself, earning him the number one spot on this list. The name is a hyphen goldmine, contains what some might consider a dirty joke if you read it slow enough, and MAJOR KEY—he plays for the Packers. 2. Sokratis Papastathopoulos His name seems like it should be in a national spelling bee. Language of origin? Greek. Definition? Soccer player with a great name. Part of speech? Proper noun. Use it in a sentence? “Dude, did you watch the game last night? Sokratis Papastathopoulos played. The TV could barely fit his name on screen it was awesome.” 3. Hakeem Olajuwon The owner of the “Dream Shake” and a wonderfully entertaining name, Hakeem Olajuwon won back-to-back NBA titles, the NBA MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, and Finals MVP (all in the same year), and was inducted into the NBA hall of fame. Not too shabby.
With spring right around the corner, you’re probably just remembering the New Year’s resolution that you promised yourself you really would complete. It’s now the perfect time to starting hitting the gym and working on that summer beach bod you’ve been dreaming about for months. Although entering into the depths of the weight room might be intimidating, you have nothing to fear, for I will help you with my vast knowledge and experience as we take on this challenge together. Unless you are an avid gym-goer and spend your money on protein powder and athletic clothes for actual athletic use, you have come to the right place. The first step in getting ready to work out is to get some fresh gear. Make sure you buy some really expensive shoes so you can look good and feel comfortable, because you are going to be standing around a lot. Then you need to get some workout clothes with as many logos as possible to show everyone just how fancy you are. Now that you have your outfit down, it’s time to get some dope electronics. It is most important to get a sick phone case that will definitely look good in all the mirror selfies you are going to take while at the gym. Then you need to buy headphones that are at least half the size of your head. These will help you not only look cool, but also allow you to listen to all the best jams that are trending right now. And last, but not least, you need to bring your big old smile to the weight room. And if you forget, don’t worry, because Coach Hunter will tell you to smile within two minutes of seeing you without one.
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo To be honest I still have trouble pronouncing his name. I mean, say it slowly and sound it out, bit by bit, then try to put it all together. It takes some practice. Antetokounmpo currently plays for the Milwaukee Bucks, and clocking in at a 7’4” wingspan, he’s a force to be reckoned with. Also hailing from Greece like our friend Papastathopoulos at number two, Antetokounmpo has been told he hasn’t finished growing yet, and could expect to reach at least 7’ by the end of his career, which is still a very young one. 5. Yaya Toure The captain of the Ivory Coast National Team, or Les Éléphants, Yaya Toure earned his spot on this list because of how cool you feel when you say his name. If you’re playing Scattergories and you get stuck with a Y and names, you’re welcome. 6. Coco Crisp Great name, and may I say, great hair. With a ‘fro for the ages, Coco Crisp made the list because his name quite literally is what it is. The many c’s combined with the “-sp” at the end of the name make me consider it crisp. Like Rice Krispies. 7. Bas Dost His name may sound like that of a bounty hunter from Star Wars or an old Nazi propaganda movie, but this Dutch soccer star has not only begun to find his form for club and country—he has also found his photogenic side. CONTINUED ON PAGE 27
THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2016 • ihstattler.com
SPORTS
TOP 10 NAMES IN SPORTS CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26.
8. Shabazz Bozie Napier Shabaaaaaaaaaaazzzzz Napierrrrrr. His name is all over the place, combining napier, showbiz, and pizazz. The immense amount of z’s contained within one name is almost too much to handle. Yet every time you hear it, you can’t help but say “Shabaaaaaazzzzzz Napierrrrrr.” 9. Bastian Schweinsteiger As German as German can be, der Fußballgott has a reputation for being a brutish and physical player on the pitch. Luckily, this goes perfectly with his name, the epitome of German masculinity. 10. Ronaldinho Arguably one of the best soccer players ever, this Brazilian native also has both an iconic name and image. Ronaldinho is a fun name to say. From the “Ronald-” to the “-inho”, his name has both an element of familiarity and an exotic flair.
Exercise Playlist By BRIDGET FETSKO
Music is a great addition to any workout. If I am at home, I blast music from speakers; at the gym, I bring headphones. Either way, I have found it is more fun to work out when I have the perfect playlist to go with what I am doing. It doesn’t matter what genres or decades the songs are from, but they have to be upbeat. These are some of the songs that I include in my workout playlist. I change up the playlist depending on what type of exercise I am doing, and even put songs in a certain order If I pre-plan my workout. Whatever songs you choose, make sure to include music that will keep you motivated and hardworking. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.
“Titanium” by David Guetta, ft. Sia “Happy” by Pharrell Williams “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers “Shake It” by Metro Station “Come on Eileen” by Dexy’s Midnight Runners “Eye of the Tiger” by Survivor “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson, ft. Bruno Mars “Fight Song” by Fight Song “My Shot” by Hamilton Original Broadway Cast Recording 10. “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” by Whitney Houston 11. “I’ve Just Seen a Face” by The Beatles 12. “New” by Paul McCartney 13. “Pompeii” by Bastille 14. “Shake It Off” by Taylor Swift 15. “Dog Days are Over” by Florence and The Machine 16. “On Top Of The World” by Imagine Dragons 17. “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi 18. “Take On Me” by A-Ha 19. “Surfin USA” by The Beach Boys 20. “I Knew You Were Trouble” by Taylor Swift
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THE TATTLER • FEBRUARY 2015 • ihstattler.com
BACK PAGE
Horoscopes
The Advice from David Bowie COOLNESS SPECTRUM Aries (Mar. 21–Apr. 19): Never look back, walk tall, act fine. —“Golden Years”
Libra (Sept. 23–Oct. 22): In your fear, seek only peace. In your fear, seek only love. —“Sunday”
Taurus (Apr. 20–May 20): Don’t let me hear you say that life is taking you nowhere. —“Golden Years”
Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 21): And I think my spaceship knows which way to go. —“Space Oddity”
Gemini (May 21–June 20): We could be heroes, just for one day. —“Heroes”
Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 21): Turn and face the strange. —“Changes” Capricorn (Dec. 22 –Jan. 19): You can neither win nor lose if you don’t run the race. —David Bowie
Leo (July 23–Aug. 22): I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring. —David Bowie
Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 18): Speak in extremes, it’ll save you time. —“A Big Hurt”
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Glaring Truths in the Eyes of a Marsupial Crossing your Fingers for a Snow Day
Cancer (June 21–July 22): Perhaps you’re smiling now, smiling through this darkness. —“Time”
Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20): I move the stars for no one. —“Within You”
Virgo (Aug. 23–Sept. 22): No one can blame you for walking away. —“Underground”
COOL Unexpected Findings Second Semester This Winter The Life of Pablo? Complaints Marco Rubio’s Boots
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UNCOOL