May 2018 final

May 2018 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 125 #9 • Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com Ithaca High School, 1401 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 • FREE

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Editorial

The Importance of Teaching Tolerance

BY THE TATTLER EDITORIAL BOARD

D

iscussing race is undoubtedly difficult for many people, but however uncomfortable the subject matter may be, it is crucial in today’s world. Recently, student activists have brought to attention the issue of whitewashing in theatrical productions at IHS, which has sparked a debate in our community on how to address issues related to race. Students have used their voice to challenge the injustices they saw and have shown willingness to take action; however, it seems that many students want to learn about race but don’t know how to best do so. Teachers at IHS should educate students and provide them with the tools to inspire positive social change by giving them a safe environment to learn about and discuss the racial inequities that exist today, and a district-wide race-conscious curriculum should be implemented in order to continue to increase awareness about racial issues.

The IHS administration has already taken steps to create a more accepting environment for students to learn about race and to call attention to the prevalent issues surrounding race in our community. In an effort to create a more diverse cast, anyone who auditioned for Hairspray, this year’s spring musical, had the opportunity to be a part of the play. In the aftermath of the showing of Hairspray, Superintendent Luvelle Brown worked in collaboration with Cynthia Henderson and David Brown to create a workshop for students and ICSD administrators to “examine perspectives and experiences with various aspects of race.” The IHS production of Hairspray has also given members of the Southside Community Center the opportunity to write about topics surrounding race in a section of the program for the musical titled, “A Black Feminist Perspective on Hairspray,” opening the possibility for further reflection. Additionally, Associate Principal Ms. Sessoms has created facilitated lunch conversations on race and racism, with a series of workshops planned for May. While these efforts are an important start, this momentum should be continued with a focus on implementing a race conscious curriculum in classes throughout IHS. Ithaca seems like a very liberal and accepting city to many, but that does not mean that it is excluded from perpetuating racial inequi2

ties; the musical controversy was important in bringing this to light. Having a race conscious curriculum in schools is important because it is hard to move forward and develop solutions when uncomfortable topics are avoided, and schools are the perfect venue in which to foster this discussion. IHS should provide a safe and constructive environment for students to express their experiences with race and how it has affected their lives. By providing students with a curriculum that consciously takes race into consideration, there is a context to have these critical discussions. The exposure to different perspectives, experiences, and viewpoints creates a greater understanding of the underlying issues surrounding race.

Right now, the topic of race is usually limited to Civil Rights units in history classes. However, race permeates our society in a much broader way. The topic of race needs to be discussed and expanded upon to connect the past injustices to racial inequalities that persist today. For example, when discussing police brutality during the Civil Rights Movement, teachers can connect this to the Black Lives Matter movement or the disproportionate incarceration of minorities.

Additionally, community members, such as Dr. Nia Nunn and Nydia Blas from Southside, could be invited to speak in classes, and workshops on race could be incorporated into class time to ensure students are able to participate even if they don’t have time outside of school or an environment to discuss this topic. Southside already conducts workshops on race called “Real Talk”, which serve as an excellent example of a lesson style that could be implemented in classes. It’s time for another approach that more holistically addresses race and how it affects the lives of students today.

A curriculum to teach tolerance wouldn’t necessarily take time out of class. In fact, most classes already run into these topics in one way or another. Identifying and discussing racial prejudice in classes should not solely be the history department’s responsibility. Race conscious curriculum can be implemented in English classes, and even Biology classes. For example, when students learn about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, this could be taken further to analyze how Darwin’s theory was used

to justify racist ideology. In English classes, books like Huckleberry Finn provide literary context for issues like slavery. Instead of glossing over the topic and focusing on the literature, teachers could bring in community members as previously mentioned, hold “socratic seminar” style discussions focused on race, or implement other methods to go further in depth on this issue. One goal should be to teach students how to discuss these sensitive issues in a manner where both sides learn from each other and neither side “wins.” Unstructured debates have a tendency to become destructive instead of constructive, but we should not shy away from discussing issues just because of the difficulty of the subject matter.

By providing teachers with the proper training and tools, they would be able to effectively approach these subjects. Teachers would have to be trained in how to facilitate discussions without introducing bias and in a way that all students feel comfortable sharing their opinions, even if their opinion differs from others.

For example, teachers could be trained to recognize implicit biases and how it affects their teaching. Organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance materials could provide lesson plans for teachers to implement in their classrooms, and these plans can be easily adapted to be taught at the elementary school level, or even at the high school level and beyond.

A race conscious curriculum should be implemented district wide, not just at IHS. It is critical to start education on race at a young age to combat the development of racial stereotypes and barriers. A race conscious curriculum teaches students to practice tolerance, question the injustices they see in society, and relate to and empathize with people of different backgrounds. A race conscious curriculum is a socially conscious curriculum, and teaching tolerance could be applied to countless other social issues, such as gender. Perhaps most importantly, it can change the way issues are discussed.

Education can and should be used as a tool to work towards creating a society of acceptance and empathy no matter one’s background, socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or religious and political beliefs.

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Why We Should Learn about Political Theory at IHS

BY THE TATTLER EDITORIAL BOARD

S

tudents at IHS are lucky in many ways. Whereas many schools throughout the country try to avoid mentioning any political topics, many IHS teachers are unafraid to examine their students’ political values and occasionally incorporate political content into their lessons. However, history classes at IHS are still sorely lacking in both theoretical and practical teachings that relate to contemporary times. In order to remedy the lack of critical thinking and situational awareness among American voters in recent years, history classes at IHS should incorporate lessons and discussions on political theory, as they would foster deeper analysis of our world, prepare students for college and beyond, and help teach students information about the world they live in.

First, what is political theory, and why should it be implemented in history classes? Political theory, as defined by Princeton University, is the “study of the concepts and principles that people use to describe, explain, and evaluate political events and institutions.”

As applied in the classroom, political theory would involve learning about different political ideologies and perspectives that have existed throughout history, in the larger context of the events of the time. To provide an example, a student learning about the French Revolution could read Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France as a representative of early conservatism, and in response, read Vindication of the Rights of Men

by Mary Wollstonecraft. Such an exercise would help students understand the debate during the time over the French Revolution, and simultaneously understand the underpinnings of Burke and Wollstonecraft’s respective political philosophies (conservatism and an early form of feminism).

Teaching political theory would certainly need to be handled carefully, but if implemented well, COVER IMAGE BY RUX CENTEA ON UNSPLASH

Madelyn Kuo ’18

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it would greatly improve the quality of history classes.

Teaching political theory would help students think critically about what they read and are taught, and perhaps question their own assumptions. Many history classes at IHS already attempt to tackle biases or preconceived notions students may have, but do not hold this focus for long enough to make a difference. An interactive sub-curriculum of political theory will guide students towards deeper thinking when what they read contradicts their own views or supplements them in a novel way. Used with extensive full-class or grouped discussion, this will help students form opinions where they had none, and critique what they read and what other students claim.

While there is value in knowing history well, many classes at IHS, especially Regents- or Honors-level courses, rely heavily on lectures that generally do not involve students. Many students are thus tuned out and may miss out on valuable educational opportunities. If more classes adopt an approach similar to that of how AP United States History is taught at IHS, political theory could easily be taught as well. This approach would consist of shorter, less frequent lectures, mixed in with assigned readings from the appropriate time periods, followed by classwide discussions. These readings can provide a more nuanced picture of the times that students are studying, and can easily accommodate more in-depth political discussions. For instance, if a lecture on revolutionary Russia were given alongside a speech

by Vladimir Lenin or Leon Trotsky, it would not only be more interesting, but would also provide opportunity for discussion of the ideas put forth by these men.

After completing the readings, class discussions, an essential part of this new approach, would allow students to debate the merits of various arguments and theories with one another. Such a teaching approach may take up more time, but if implemented in a class that does not include a demanding AP test, it could significantly enrich students’ learning experience. In AP classes, these lessons could be fit in after the AP exams in May, a time that teachers often have a harder time filling with content.

Among the specific benefits of learning about political theory are an early exposure to real-life problems relating to politics, an opportunity to cultivate an interest CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

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Editorial / Letter to the Editor “POLITICAL THEORY” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

that could lead to a career, and increased knowledge on the variety of political ideologies, which is never a bad thing in our current political discourse.

The first of these is a natural product of learning about politics, and may already be present in history classes, but the latter two are woefully lacking in current high-school education. Political science is a popular major at many colleges, but it is pursued usually because of a personal interest in politics that must be cultivated outside of school, without much introduction from high-school teachers. Teaching political theory in high school would open up another opportunity much earlier for students. An increased understanding of the wide range of political thought would certainly enrich the current political climate, as many politicians’ and even political commentators’ ideas tend to be stale. Introduction to political thought at an earlier

age would allow greater exploration of a diverse set of ideologies, many of which are underrepresented or missing in American politics today.

In the United States, politicians of all stripes have had a tough time getting young people to vote. In the 2016 election, 55 percent of millennials voted for Clinton, but only 19 percent of voters were millennials. Evidently, the lack of voter turnout among the young population of the US is troubling. While recent events such as the March for Our Lives in March 2018 may have signaled a shift in American youths’ interest and involvement in politics, the problem is certainly not over. If schools place a greater emphasis on teaching political theory, it could be just the motivation necessary to propel our generation into the public sphere for good, and would train a new crop of voters better than any generation has ever been.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

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ou may say that this story should have been told long ago, and you would be right. I did not tell it, and the shame of not telling has lived with me for sixty years.

Now a similar story at my old high school has appeared in The New York Times and I must speak.

In the spring of 1958 there was a contest at Ithaca High School, in Ithaca, New York, as there had been for many years, a kind of popularity and talent contest for young women who were competing to be Miss IHS. There were twelve contestants, decided by popular vote as I remember. There was a talent show, accompanied by much hullabaloo, and a popularity vote to help decide which young woman would be “elected.”

I was one of the co-editors of the high school paper, who had a unique role in this event. The high school paper was the means by which the winner was announced—a genuine scoop. We would hear from the judges the results of the talent contest and the popularity contest, and then keep the secret overnight while setting up the pages of the paper and taking it to the printer on State Street.

The judges included the principal, Mr. Bliss, and several other mature and, I presume, pow4

erful, white men. I saw them but knew none of them.

The talent contest included a variety of efforts ranging from mouthing words to a recording to a chalk talk, very appealing, by the Finnish exchange student. I was quite optimistic because there was one African-American contestant who had walked away with the talent contest, singing “My Funny Valentine” with intensity, integrity, and considerable artistic maturity. I thought that there was a good chance she would win and that it would be a coup for Ithaca High School! It would be a giant leap for teenagers.

I walked into the interview with the judges and sat down to hear who won the popularity contest. I regarded the talent as wrapped up.

The news was that the African-American contestant had won the popularity contest, but the judges had considered her the least talented of all of the contestants and had elected the exchange student to be Miss IHS. I was horrified. This was not the way it was supposed to be.

What could we do?

This overhaul of student affairs by a set of adults presented a real problem for budding journalists. I don’t know why I never thought of resigning, but I did think of writing the re-

sults up as if the judges had been rational human beings and given the title to the most talented of the contestants who had won the popularity contest. No one would know except my co-editor and me and the printers, until the paper hit the halls. I was not brave enough to do this, or perhaps I thought we would not get away with it. It would have caused some kind of chaos. I don’t know what kind. The window of opportunity was very small and I did not take advantage of it.

I had enjoyed being an editor, but I didn’t enjoy it any more.

At the fortieth class reunion in 1999, the true winner of the contest sang “My Funny Valentine” again and I accompanied her on the piano. That would have been a good time to tell the story, but I didn’t.

When I read about The Hunchback at Ithaca High School, I was so grateful that students had spoken up! You have pointed out the dreadful truths of the racism of which I was a tool. Please know that a fair playing field has been longed for, for quite a while.

— Katherine O. Johnson Ypsilanti, MI

News On March 14, hundreds of IHS students stood outside to protest gun violence as part of a nationwide movement.

Local High School Students Advocate for Gun Control Measures IMAGE BY GENEVA MORELAND

By Magdalena Smith

A

t 10:00 am, March 14, hundreds of students at IHS, Newfield High School, and high schools across the nation walked out of their school buildings to advocate for stronger gun control restrictions and to protest the surge of instances of gun violence in schools across the nation. The administrations of these two local schools had different reactions to their students’ activism.

IHS students gathered in silence for seventeen minutes to honor the seventeen victims of the Parkland shooting, joined by approximately fifty adult supporters from the Ithaca community and students from Boynton Middle School.

The IHS administration released a statement to the families and students that they could not sanction the walkout. The statement read, in part, “Walkouts and demonstrations create situations that disrupt the ability of the school to maintain its normal operations and create difficult situations related to safety and security . . . while students have the right to peacefully protest, demonstrations cannot be sanctioned by the district.” Despite this message, IHS administrators did not prevent or punish students from protesting, and went as far as to thank students for their orderly conduct at the end of the school day.

Newfield High School also held a walkout, during which there were speeches by the student organizers. According to Newfield student organizer Lena Kennell, the movement received significant opposition from the school admin-

istration. In a speech at the Ithaca March for Our Lives on March 24, 2018, Kennell said, “You guys keep on talking about how we are ten square miles surrounded by reality. We are the reality. I had to argue with my principal multiple times over whether I was allowed to mention the NRA. He told me I would get suspended if I were to name the organization that is lining the pockets of our politicians and silencing them . . .

Mr. Ryan, I’m calling you out.” Kennell did not name the NRA in her speech at the subsequent Newfield walkout and was not suspended.

Kennell stated the reason Newfield students chose to protest: “Mass school shootings have been so normal that when only one child is killed, there is barely media coverage. We don’t hear about the number of students who have been brutally murdered. And the number of deaths to fit our definition of astonishing is just increasing.” According to The New York Times, the US is home to 31 percent of global mass shooters, even though the US comprises under 5 percent of the global population.

At IHS, students have experienced increased dialogue surrounding guns and what to do in a school shooting; there has been one lockdown drill and one shelter-in-place drill over the past month, and teachers have explained safety protocols in case a shooter situation occurs. It is the official policy of IHS that teachers protect students in case of an active shooter.

The IHS walkout reflected the national student agenda advocating preventative measures

against gun accessibility without thorough background checks, and argued that the US, government enables mass shootings because of politicians who reject gun control reforms and receive money from the NRA. IHS student Ijey Onah ’18 said, “This walkout is important because as a nation we need to stand together to ensure that we have more gun control to stop more incidents like what happened at Parkland, what happened at Sandy Hook, what’s been happening for years. No legislation has been pushed through to guarantee that this won’t happen again, so this walkout is meant to represent that we are in solidarity against the NRA and for gun control.”

The Parkland survivors have directed the national conversation toward restraining the NRA and limiting influence of gun lobbyists over politics. According to The Washington Post, Ithaca’s congressional representative, Tom Reed has received $11,950 from the NRA during his tenure in congress. Other New York State politicians have also received NRA contributions— Rep. Lee Zeldin received $14,850, and Rep. John Katko received $11,900.

Chloe Moore ’20, a student protesting at IHS, said: “My right to live through the school day outweighs the right to own assault rifles.

The NRA has blood on its hands, and it’s time to protest. That’s why the students that are protesting today are so important. Real change is happening because of us.”

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News / Opinion

BOARD OF EDUCATION RACE BECOMES COMPETITIVE

Exploring the Alternatives to Gun Control

By Justin Heitzman

By Julian Perry For the first time since May 2015, the upcoming Board of Education election is expected to have more candidates on the ballot than spots available. Former Country Legislature candidate David Shapiro announced that he is running, and according to The Ithaca Times, all three incumbent members whose seats are up for election— Ann Reichlin, Nicole LaFave, and Moira Lang—intend to be on the ballot as well. In the election, held on May 15, voters will be able to vote for up to three candidates, and the three who receive the most votes will enter three-year terms.

The election follows a year that has seen significant community engagement at board meetings. Last winter, multiple meetings brought out large portions of the community as a response to theater casting controversies, contributing to the replacement of The Hunchback of Notre Dame with Hairspray as the spring musical. More recently, the issue of discipline at Enfield Elementary School has drawn people from opposing sides to voice their opinions in front of the Board.

The emergence of an outsider in the race will mean more competition for a spot on the Board than in elections in the previous two years.

Newcomer David Shapiro, CEO of the Family and Children’s Service of Ithaca, cites an interest in the expansion of pre-K as one of his reasons for running. “My youngest [son] will probably never get the chance to enroll in public pre-kindergarten having seen the district’s total number of classes reduced in a prior year’s budget cuts.

I am of the belief that universal pre-kindergarten should exist,” he said in a campaign Facebook post. In January, Shapiro had also voiced support for students critical of the casting of the original musical. The three current members running have all been on the Board of Education for at least two years, a period that has included the more recent controversy surrounding race in theater among other events.

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or quite a while, there has been widespread sentiment among many Americans that it is time for the government to take action on gun control. And yet, despite what seems to be a constantly increasing number of mass shootings that affect a variety of public spaces, there has been relatively little by way of effective action.

Various precedents and academic studies show that the complete outlawing and confiscation of guns may be the only type of gun control that really works, but seeing that even the most miniscule of measures are challenged intensely by conservatives, that idea certainly doesn’t seem very realistic. At this point, we just might have to accept that our current policy on guns, or something very close to it, will be our reality for the time being. In that case, perhaps there are some other actions that the United States can take to reduce mass shootings.

One of the most commonly mentioned ideas regarding a reduction of mass shootings has been the topic of mental health care. This concept has been hotly debated in recent years; there are many disagreements about whether mental illness is actually an important factor in mass shootings. But according to research by The Los Angeles Times, there is a real connection between mental illness and mass gun violence. Since 1900, at least 59 percent of what The Times defines as “mass public shootings” have been committed by those with diagnosed mental illness, or serious signs of it.

The potential solution here, though, is not as simple as just locking the mentally ill up in mental health institutions, as some politicians, including President Trump, have advocated. Rather, a reduction of mass shootings could very well occur with a major extension of mental healthcare in the United States. This idea, most commonly included in the concept of universal healthcare, may still have a long way to go, but it has rapidly gained popular support. If mental healthcare can be drastically improved, it might go a long way towards reducing the epidemic of mass shootings.

However, the burden of reducing mass shootings does not necessarily rely entirely on the government. In fact, societal problems beyond guns may play a big part in mass shootings. As already mentioned, extending mental healthcare could help reduce mass shootings, but the effect would be much greater if steps were taken to address the societal stigmatization of mental health issues.

Additionally, one of the most well-documented societal problems that may be contributing is the prevalence of anger between groups. When one feels the level of anger that has become so common, thanks in part to an “us-versus-them” culture, all it can take is an interest in guns for that rage to manifest in one of the worst ways possible.

Then, perhaps, the interest in guns is not the problem; the rage is. According to Cornell psychology professor David Pizarro, “The way the Internet and cable news work, outrage over any event can be mustered easily.” Therefore, combatting the sensationalization of issues could help reduce mass shootings.

Overall, it is clear that there are other actions that can be taken to limit the prevalence of mass shootings in the United States, both by the government and by society in general. If Americans can look beyond gun control, we just might be able to find other ways to fix the problem.

Opinion

A leak of the information of over 50 million Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica—a political consulting firm cofounded by former Trump campaign Chief Executive and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon—has resulted in massive public outcry.

IMAGE FROM CNBC.COM

On Facebook and Cambridge Analytica

By Ryan Cunningham

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et’s face it: Facebook has never been much of an altruistic company. Although it may seem like just a free service to connect with friends and family, despite the company’s denial, Facebook has clearly been bent on harvesting, using, and selling personal data of its users and nonusers alike from the get-go. But recently, the scandalous leak of the information of over 50 million Facebook users to Cambridge Analytica—a political consulting firm cofounded by former Trump campaign Chief Executive and White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon—has resulted in massive public outcry.

Facebook’s privacy policy admits to collecting information on its users and using it to select targeted advertisements and send “marketing communications.” Among the kinds of data collected from its users are “the location of a photo,” “information about payments,” “device information . . . including specific geographic locations, such as through GPS, Bluetooth, or WiFi signals,” and “information from websites and apps that use our Services.” Even if Facebook were a reliable and scrupulous company, a data breach could result in immense amounts of personal information being leaked. Database cracks, exploits, and intrusions are posing a larger threat than ever to our privacy, with cases of identity theft following a database breach certainly being a possibility. The Equifax cyber-

security incident should serve as a portent and warning—although your information might seem safe, all it takes is a vulnerability for it to all be leaked.

Despite the claims of Facebook concerning the most recent case of data abuse which involved private information of almost a hundred million people, this was not a chance incident or a slip-up on Facebook’s part. The problem is not a hidden weakness in the system; it is the system itself. Facebook, from the start, was designed to harvest data and exploit that data for a profit.

Along the way, it became a giant advertising company, using private information to enhance sales targeting.The business model of Facebook has been focused on this very matter from the beginning. Whether it ends up in the hands of political consulting firms or typical companies, make no mistake: Facebook is collecting your information. Every message you send to your friends and every family picture you post there technically belongs to Facebook, and by signing the terms of service, you have given Facebook the right to use it as they wish.

Since the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica, many users have decided to delete their accounts. While it is true that deleting your account may reduce the amount of future information Facebook can extract from you, whether your account has been deleted or not,

Facebook’s file of your personal information still exists. Facebook not only follows your travels on the internet after you log off, but they even keep files of people who never once logged on!

But it’s not only posted content that Facebook uses to generate income. The Belgium Privacy Commission sued Facebook over the tracking (through the usage of web cookies) of non-members who visited the Facebook site. The struggle between the Belgian Privacy Agency and Facebook regarding cookies had been ongoing since 2015. In response, a Facebook spokesperson said that the tracking helps “enable hundreds of thousands of businesses to grow their businesses and reach customers across the EU.” The EU’s fight against Facebook is one worth watching, as it will determine how far the company is allowed to go. With over 1 billion active users, Facebook is able to leverage massive amounts of data and help their business partners gain access to a huge pool of statistics and digital material. By using the information of its users for targeted advertisements, Facebook was able to generate an astonishing $40.6 billion in revenue in the 2017 fiscal year.

Facebook might seem free and fun on the outside, but it costs you your privacy, and that’s no joking matter.

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Opinion

The Model Minority

S

ince the nineteenth century, Asian Americans have played an integral part in the development of the United States. Chinese people, for example, constituted 20 percent of California’s labor force by 1870, and contributed heavily to the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad as contract laborers. White workers, according to the writers of the Chinese Railroad Workers in North America Project, “were reluctant to do such backbreaking, hazardous work,” and as a result, the need for immigrant laborers skyrocketed. Industrialist Leland Stanford wrote to Congress in 1865 that the completion of the railroad would have been impossible without the Chinese immigrants, and since then, Asian people have been seen as hardworking, subservient perfectionists.

Although their contributions to the development of the American West were crucial, the 1876 depression, as well as increasing nativist sentiments, eventually led to the idea that immigrants were taking jobs away from white Americans—dangerous jobs that they were unwilling to do in the first place. Despite their contributions, as immigrants, Chinese people suffered from deceit and discrimination in employment, starting with the contracts they signed, and ultimately ending with federally mandated discrimination in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

The law, which banned Chinese immigrants from entering the US, accompanied an influx of immigrants from other countries such as Japan and Korea. Like the Chinese immigrants who had come before them, they too suffered from prejudice and xenophobia. Against all odds, these immigrants worked diligently under these conditions, eventually earning citizenship and the title of the “model minority.”

The term “model minority” refers to minority groups that have reached a high level of success in society. Though its name has a deceptively positive connotation, being a part of a model minority sets harsh expectations, breeds intense competition, and provides justification for the injustices Asians still face today. Success is expected from this group; being Asian simply means being twice as good as others. Being perfect is an expectation—it is the standard for Asian Americans. By accepting the idea that Asians are naturally “academically superior” with “unbeatable talent,” society equalizes their hard work and achievements to lower performances from other races.

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For example, in the book No Longer Separate, Not Yet Equal, two Princeton sociologists revealed how well one needed to score on their SATs to have an equal chance of college admission as someone of a different race. Black students who scored a 1000 were proven to have equal chances of admission as a white student who scored 1310 or an Asian-American student who scored a 1450. White students were also shown to be three times as likely to be admitted into elite universities as Asian students with similar scores and merit.

Affirmative action exists to encourage diversity at schools, but Asians have suffered from this system and continue to suffer from policies meant to help minorities. The idea that receiving any grade lower than an A+ makes an Asian student “un-Asian” reveals the problem of racial inequality that persists today. Asian students have a distinct disadvantage in getting accepted into colleges because good grades and backbreaking work are simply expected from them; they must simply be “twice as good” as others just to be labeled as normal.

The culture around the term “model minority” also sets the idea that Asians are docile and subservient due to their lack of visible activism against inequality. One unfortunate result of this is that Asian students feel afraid of seeking help from teachers in areas that they struggle in, leading to poorer academic performance.

Because they are expected to be so perfect, they feel unable to do anything that proves otherwise. This label also places pressure on Asian Americans to ignore and brush off racial harassment, as they were depicted as the group that doesn’t complain or cause problems. It makes them uncomfortable to act out against stereotypes and injustice. Throughout history, Asian Americans have been called derogatory names like “chinks” or “dog-eaters,” and many of them have learned to laugh it off and have been forced to desensitize themselves to harassment to avoid conflict or rejection from their peers. This creates even more problems, as they are viewed as tolerant and subservient beings who aren’t fit to be leaders, and as the race that can’t fight back.

As an Asian American, throughout my experience in school and the outside world, I have realized how my race came to define me and the other Asian students around me. I took rigorous and demanding classes to keep up my reputation as an “Asian” despite knowing how unprepared

By Emily Hong and stressed I would be. People expected me to be a perfectionist and overachiever before they even got to know me. People expected me to take all honors or rigorous AP classes. People expected me to be a prodigy after I told them I played the violin. Soon, I started to feel pressured to meet these standards, and eventually expected myself to be the person others wanted me to be.

When I didn’t get the grades others thought were high enough, or if I didn’t sound as good on my instrument as I thought others would expect from me, I felt utterly disappointed in myself to the extent that I was embarrassed to be Asian. It was at this point where I gave in.

I realized that I didn’t care how I felt about myself, only about what others thought of me.

I didn’t care about enjoying what I did or finding my identity, because all that mattered was fitting into society’s definition of being Asian.

After these years of self-deprecating tendencies and pessimism, I realized that trying to fit into the category of the model minority had made me lose myself. I am Asian American, and my race shouldn’t define who I am.

Countless minority groups, Asian or not, have suffered from this problem living under cookie cutter conditions—strict standards created by society to prevent an upturn in their social hierarchy. Afterall, the very foundation of this society has been founded on providing freedom and citizenship for the white majority through the suppression of “inferior” races.

This brings the idea of freedom and citizenship that our nation promises into question: What exactly is freedom, and who are the citizens who have the right to it? What does it mean to have a citizen with equal rights in a setting that’s been built up on prejudice? Perhaps there is no answer to this question. Or perhaps we could create one. Since these barriers have been made by people from our society, they can be reformed by the people who live in it.

We, as Americans, regardless of our ethnicity, have the responsibility of redefining freedom and equality. The only way to break free from the standards we have created is to act upon them ourselves. Perhaps we can start off by educating future generations about these social issues, or simply treat one another with undivided respect. Just by taking these small steps, you can make a change. Our future depends on you.

Features

Thousands of people participated in the March for Our Lives in Washington, DC on March 24, 2018.

IMAGES BY ABIGAIL GLICKMAN

March for Our Lives in Washington, DC

By Abigail Glickman

I

had thought that in a crowd so big, I would feel small. But I have never felt bigger than I did on March 24, 2018.

I rode the Red Line of the Washington Metro in its entirety, taking me from the station at Shady Grove in Maryland, to Gallery Place in Washington, DC. While standing on the metro, being careful not to step on the toes of the woman next to me, I felt both excited and nervous in anticipation of the big day ahead of me.

I felt small physically. The metro car was tightly packed with people clad in orange and anti-NRA apparel, and holding signs with slogans such as “Arms are for hugging.” I also felt small figuratively. In the week leading up to the March, many people had told me that they were so proud of me for going and that I was making change by attending the March in DC. I understood its importance and I felt fortunate to attend, but I also thought that I was not making a difference by being there. It was predicted that five hundred thousand people would attend . . . what would change if one fewer person was there?

When I got off the metro, I realized that all of the buildup for that Saturday was well merited. I had never been surrounded by so many people—many of whom were giving out pins, selling t-shirts, carrying signs, and holding hands with their friends and family. I was awestruck by the children and teenagers that made up the crowds. By around 11:15 am, I was about as close to the stage as I was going to get (although the event was advertised as a march, the audience was relatively stagnant by the time noon rolled around, and the speakers began to present). At this point, music was playing from speakers all around. Surrounding me, people were holding up their signs, dancing, and embracing those with whom they came. I felt proud and excited to be a part of the diverse crowd.

An important theme addressed in the March was the damage that gun violence has inflicted upon minority communities. Even though the Parkland High School students who achieved the most celebrity were for the most part white, the alliances they made with people of color from places like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC were admirable and notable. For me, one of the most affecting speeches was that of Zion Kelly, from Washington, DC, whose twin brother was shot on his way home from a college prep course. While he spoke, I could feel a tightening of the crowd, as audience members held on to their loved ones. During his speech, I started to cry. I could not imagine myself in his position—it was too hard. But this is the reality for so many people across the United States.

Eleven-year-old Naomi Wadler also blew me away. Her speech about black feminism urged me and the rest of the crowd to think about how diverse and large the pool of those affected by gun violence is. She said, “I am here to acknowledge and represent the African American girls whose stories don’t make the front page of every national newspaper, whose stories don’t lead on the evening news. I represent the African American women who are victims of gun violence, who are simply statistics instead of vibrant, beautiful girls full of potential.”

It was after Naomi’s speech that I felt big. I felt as if her words were a chain, linking every member of the audience to one another. Together, we were big. Her words had formed a bond of solidarity among us as we thought about the concentric circles of people affected by gun violence.

After listening to her words and the words of others who spoke, I felt that change is possible. I got the sense that we were not just living in history, but we were making and shaping history as well.

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Features

HALL MONITOR

By Sankofa McLaurin

What’s your most irrational fear?

“Ketchup. The red color reminds me of blood.”

— ​JoAnn Quigee ’18

“Drowning on the Titanic.”

— ​Pius Gami ’18

“My dog starting to hate me one day.”

— ​Cyrus Browning ’20

“Bats!”

— Alex Chouman ’21

“Being strangled to death by a sock puppet.”

—M ​ eera Bai Singh ’19 “Being butchered alive and then hidden in a barrel.”

— Ethan Merryfield ’19 “Being stuck in a movie theater while there’s a fire outside.”

— Laila Swingle ’19

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Features

ICSD’s Skimpy Supply of School Snacks

By Sophie Wray

C

onsidering how health-conscious Ithaca is, it would seem that the school district would direct lots of resources at its school lunch programs. However, ICSD seems to supply its schools with food that is lacking in nutritional value and has little to no sustenance, and this problem, although fixed to a high extent at IHS, has continued to pervade in other schools in the district.

I spoke with two staff members at Beverly J. Martin Elementary School, both of whom asked to remain anonymous, about the options that their students receive at lunch time. Neither of them were happy with what was offered in the cafeteria; one of them even recalled saying, “What is this?” while looking at a particular plate of food that was offered one day.

Their major complaint regarded the quality of the food being served. One of the staff members that I spoke with said that every time lettuce was served, it was noticeably wilted, and that very often, the apples that were available to be sold were already beginning to brown. Another serious complaint that these BJM staff members had was that the snacks for BJM’s after school program are high in sugar and

have little to no nutritional value. These kind of foods are the last thing that an after school program needs; students are rowdy enough as it is at the end of the day, and they do not need unhealthy sugary snacks on top of this.

On another note, the foods offered at school can sometimes be the only food that students have access to in their daily lives. School lunch should be a healthier option for children than what they may receive at home, because their families may not be able to provide high-quality food at home, and school should be a place where students can receive nutritious meals.

The two staff members that I spoke to strongly expressed their desire for change. They wanted more foods made in-house instead of frozen and packaged foods. One of them said, “If we’re going to do fries, let’s do sweet potato fries. If we’re going to do mashed potatoes, let’s do mashed sweet potatoes.” Suggestions such as these would provide a healthier alternative to the current items offered on school lunch menus.

Reforming school lunches needs to be furthered in order to maintain healthy and happier students in all schools. Eating healthier

lunches has been proven to improve student academic performance. If a student is receiving foods chock full of sugar and severely lacking in nutritional value, their body isn’t getting what it needs to function to the best of its ability.

IHS’s nutritional program has managed to make large strides in nutritional quality and choices without significantly altering their spending. They have managed to supplement their menu with fresh vegetables and fruits that are grown on campus, and a creative and diverse menu is now available for students.

However, IHS has a much larger student population than any other school in ICSD, and the resources that the IHS nutritional program has been able to acquire are likely out of reach for other schools, particularly elementary schools.

ICSD should make a greater effort to provide their students and staff with healthier food options than are currently available. The numerous benefits related to eating healthy foods and the wellbeing of students should be prioritized over the costs associated with administering these provisions.

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Features

POLAR OPPOSITES: An Interview with a High-School Student in Texas

By Thea Clarkberg Editor’s Note: All names in this interview have been changed to preserve the anonymity of interviewees.

A

ccepted student days are an opportunity to explore different colleges, but also an opportunity to meet people from all over the US, and even from all over the world.

At a recent visit to Earlham College in Indiana, I met Jason Clarson*, a student from a small town in Texas on the border with Oklahoma.

I love to hear about different life experiences, and Jason definitely has an interesting story!

He graciously agreed to be interviewed over the phone for The Tattler, along with his friend, May Smith*, who joined later in the conversation. The interview below covers many topics, ranging from increases in gun violence to the dress code to racism.

Thea Clarkberg ’18: I just have a couple questions for an article in my school newspaper.

Jason Clarson ’18: Cool. Our school doesn’t have a newspaper. The journalism team goes around and films a bunch of silly stuff and puts a video out every week. They just film people in the hallways and at lunch and stuff. They used to go into the classrooms and do interviews with teachers, but the principal banned them from going into the classrooms. He said it was a distraction.

“You have to call the principal Dr. Beezel. Even if you’re a new student and you don’t know he’s a doctor, and you call him Mr., he’ll give you [an in-school suspension].

He even gets mad at parents if they call him Mr. Beezel instead of Dr. Beezel.”

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TC: What are some of the other rules you have at your school?

JC: I’ll start with clothing rules. You can’t have any holes or frays in jeans or any clothing. Girls can’t have shorts or skirts shorter than a dollar above the knee. They get a dollar and check if it’s too high. You can’t have any hats or sunglasses in the building, or even outside on the campus. You can’t have earbuds or headphones. The principal will come around and take them.

TC: Would you say that it’s mostly girls who get “dress-coded,” or is it also guys?

JC: It’s mostly girls. Guys will go around wearing shorts, like booty shorts, like track shorts, and they don’t bat an eye.

TC: What happens when they get dress-coded?

JC: They get taken to the principal’s office and you can call your parents and get a change of clothes or you can put on sweatpants. Or they get three days of DMC, which is our inschool suspension. You can’t have any suggestive clothes on at all. You’ll get dress-coded.

TC: What do you mean by “suggestive clothing”?

JC: If they think it’s distracting or suggesting smoking or drinking in any way. Even if you are wearing Rastafarian colors, like red, yellow, and green, you’ll get dress-coded. I’ve had that happen.

You have to be in your classroom after passing period or you’ll get DMC. You can’t let anyone inside the building during the school day.

There’s a rule where you have to call the principal Dr. Beezel*. Even if you’re a new student and you don’t know he’s a doctor, and you call him Mr., he’ll give you DMC. He even gets mad at parents if they call him Mr. Beezel instead of Dr. Beezel.

TC: You mentioned that you aren’t allowed to let people in during the school day. Is that a reaction to recent gun violence in schools?

JC: Yeah, there have been kids who’ve brought guns to school. It didn’t happen in my freshman year, but in my sophomore year, the SRO’s, the

school cops, looked in someone’s car, and they saw an empty shotgun shell. That was ridiculous. He was sent to “Pathways” for like a whole month. [Pathway is] our alternative school, for people who bring drugs to school, people who get in fights, and people who get pregnant. They get sent to Pathways.

In my sophomore year, there was a bomb threat. Someone had written on the walls in the bathroom that they had a bomb that they were going to blow up between third and fourth period and they didn’t even put the school in lockdown. They just brought in three more police officers and that was it. So a bunch of kids told their parents because word got out. But the school sent out a message that there was no bomb, even though there was no proof that there was no bomb.

In my junior year, gun violence really started to escalate. It got worse and worse. That year we had two kids who brought guns to school.

They’d bring a pistol in their backpack, and they’d get caught with it, and all they would do is get DMC for like a week and the SRO’s wouldn’t even check their backpacks when they got to school. They just didn’t really do anything about it, which was really frustrating for a lot of people. That’s a federal offense to bring a gun to school.

This year, it’s been pretty bad. A kid was in class and told his friend that he had a gun in his backpack and was going to shoot up all the popular kids and the freshmen. The friend told the teacher and the teacher told the SRO’s, so about six police officers came into the classroom and started searching the kid’s bag and they pulled out a gun and everyone in the classroom saw that there was a gun. They put the gun back in the backpack and took the kid away. The school sent out a message that there was no gun and no shooting threat, even though everyone saw the gun and heard that the kid was going to shoot up the school. So they were hiding that there was a shooting threat.

TC: Is there a lot of paranoia from the students?

Are people afraid?

JC: Yeah. It’s weird at our school because every-

Features one knows in the back of their head that something could happen. Every time in the cafeteria if someone drops a tray or makes a loud noise, everyone gets super quiet and looks over there.

They’re waiting for the second “bang.” They hear one, and they think, “Uh-oh.” Everyone’s paranoid in the back of their head, but at the same time everyone is joking about it.

TC: Why has there been an increase lately in people bringing guns to school?

JC: I think it’s just because of all the shootings that have happened, and younger kids are being exposed to it more and more so they think it’s not taboo. It’s something that could happen.

There are groups of friends at school that actively talk about how they want to shoot up the school and they always have plans and stuff. They’ll talk about it at school but they don’t get in trouble for it. They’ll just say that they’re joking.

TC: You mentioned Pathways, the alternative school. Could you talk about that a little bit more?

May Smith ’18: If you get sent to Pathways, you study at your own pace. You can get your work done at whatever time they want. Some kids graduate as sophomores. The kids who get sent there for drugs or fighting usually don’t do that. They are just there to have more security, I guess. Whenever they walk in every day, they can’t have any sort of phones or watches or anything metal on them.

JC: Oh yeah. They get metal detector-ed.

MS: They get a pat-down, and if they bring anything there, they get actual jail time. . . . It’s not even a real school. It’s basically a house right next to our town stadium that they renovated into a “school.”

TC: This is a bit of a sensitive topic, but I was wondering if there are ever race issues at your school.

MS: Dr. Beezel is way harsher on black students than he is on the white students who talk about shooting up the school.

JC: A lot of the kids at the school are kind of racist because it’s just the atmosphere that’s there. People are just talking to their friends about it. There’ll be a white kid, and some black kid will bump into them in the hallway, and the white kid will go to his friends and start talking and other people will start b*tching and stuff.

Even if kids aren’t hatred racist, they’re uncomfortable racists.

TC: What do you mean “hatred racist”?

JC: Like white supremacists. They hate other races. I know this one kid from my sophomore

year in my algebra class and every day for the first fifteen minutes of class he would go on a rant about he can’t stand “n-words.” People openly make racist jokes, and everyone in the class will laugh.

“People openly make racist jokes, and everyone in the class will laugh. . . A lot of [the teachers] laugh.”

TC: What is the response of the teachers and administration?

JC: A lot of them laugh at the jokes. They don’t enforce anything.

I’d say about 95 percent of the school is Christian, because this is an entire Christian town. We have a church on every street corner and there are no other mosques or synagogues.

They’ll be super homophobic, and anyone who is openly gay will be scrutinized by everyone.

We have this friend named John*, who is openly gay, and everyone will make jokes towards him and call him a f*g and stuff. There will be kids who will tell him he is going to hell and try to convert him or something.

TC: Would you say there is a lot of bullying?

JC: Oh yeah, but the principal always puts it off as drama.

TC: Even physical violence?

JC: If it’s physical violence and they see it, then they’ll do something, but if they don’t see it they don’t see anything. All the athletic popular kids are the favorites of the principal, so if an athletic kid is bullying someone, they won’t get in trouble unless he sees it. And anything that is verbal is just put off as drama immediately no matter what, even if it’s open racism. The kid from algebra is also in band, and for the first time ever he had a black kid in his section, and he was openly making racist jokes and taunting the black kid to the saxophone section.

MS: Yeah, she started crying because he was being racist and then the director got mad at her for crying and put it off as her being sensitive.

JC: She went and told the directors but they didn’t do anything.

TC: Tell me more about the SRO’s, the school cops.

JC: There are two. One is a retired cop, and he’s a good guy. He patrols the school and makes sure there is nothing going on. The other dude was a security officer at a supermarket or some-

thing but he sure does treat himself as a cop. He patrols the outside of the school. He gets in his golf cart and patrols all around the parking lots and makes sure everyone has a parking sticker.

He locks the gate so you can’t leave. He’ll watch at the bottom of the hill and make sure no one is speeding.

TC: What kinds of clubs do you have at the school?

JC: Since everyone is Christian we don’t have anything except FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes), FCM (Fellowship of Christian Musicians), and the Fellowship of Christian Dancers. There’s a robotics club, but it’s a class as well.

There’s a Spanish club but they just have siestas. There’s Science Club, and Art Club. That’s about it.

TC: What do you do after school usually?

JC: Our school is very clique-based. All the athletic kids go to parties and drink and smoke and stuff, and all the band kids don’t really do anything because we’re all geeky band kids. The rest just hang out with their own little group. There aren’t really after-school activities. They make you get out of the school after school is over. If you’re caught in the school, you’ll get DMC. TC: What is one thing that you want Ithacans to know about your school? What are some positive things about your school?

JC: Well, it’s very stereotypical. They wear cowboy boots and Confederate attire. They do whatever they can to show that they are a flaming racist. The only positive thing about our school is some of the people. There are good teachers here. Many of them are bad, but some are good. I don’t know why you would want to go to our high school, but if you do, just join the band. Don’t join any of the other stuff because those are full of racist and super evangelical kids. I would recommend going to a high school south of here. It’s so much better.

TC: So you’re going to Earlham College in Indiana next year! Do you have any expectations or fears?

JC: I don’t know what I’m exactly expecting, but I’ve got an idea. It’s supposed to be very different and more liberal arts. I basically just want to get away from this town.

TC: It will definitely be different! Hope to see you there in the fall. Thanks for talking with me! *Names have been changed.

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Features

FROM THE ARCHIVES

By Thea Clarkberg

Excerpts from the Tattler Issues of Yesteryear There are about four people at school who know of a very small, very pink room at the very end of E-building. This room is the deepest one can go into the bowels of IHS. In that room, there are four filing cabinets that contain the annals of IHS Tattler history, going back 125 years. Here follows a selection.

Read more online at https://tattlerarchive.wordpress.com/ Note: The current Tattler does not necessarily endorse the opinions published in historical Tattlers. In addition, due to the fact that the original language is preserved in these excerpts, the terms used for racial groups may cause offense.

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May 1968

1

May 1968

CBS QUESTIONS STUDENTS, GRAVES Dr. John W. Graves and three IHS students were recently filmed for a CBS news special on marijuana.

Tom Hughes, Monica Klinko, and Phil Sainburg were informally interviewed by newsmen on Wednesday, March 6, and filmed on the following Monday in J-15.

Nelson Benton, a CBS newsman who has presented several special Vietnam reports, led the discussion of marijuana at IHS. The newsmen were interested in how many students used “pot” or marijuana at IHS, what these students were like, why they used “pot”, and what can be done about the increasing use of the drug.

Tom Hughes and Monica Klinko took a conservative stance on the use of marijuana, while Phil Sainburg represented a more liberal viewpoint. Dr. Graves was filmed at a later time.

CBS also interviewed local police authorities, doctors, lawyers, and Cornell students. Ithaca is expected to take up about on third of the show. Although several interviews will probably have to be cut from the program, IHS should remain on it, since it was the only high school in the country where interviews took place.

The CBS marijuana news special is scheduled for nationwide TV broadcast in late May, but the exact date and time are not yet known.

TO THE EDITOR: In the March edition of The Tattler the Afro-American Club was subjected to a very controversial question; “To what extent, if any, does racial prejudice exist in our community?” The answers ranged from an angry statement of “Yes, racial discrimination does exist in our community,” to a solemn declaration of “No, our community is free of any racial disturbance.”

Whether we are dealing with discrimination on local or national terms, it is always irrational and illogical to declare that racial prejudice is nonexistent in any society, whether is be racial, religious, or otherwise.

Unfortunately, Northern cities are flocked with black people who have come from homes of socio-economically deprived parents from Southern states who have migrated North, thinking the North, and cities like Ithaca, are a Negro’s paradise. Consequently, they tend to accent the conditions in which they are now living. Why? Because they feel the living conditions in the North are better than they were in the South. They, in return, deny any question of racial prejudice in their community. Many are being discriminated against, for the prejudice they are now being exposed to is far different from that of their past Southern societies.

Inside their Southern boundaries, prejudice was open. One tends to fear his enemy less if he knows where he is, and who he is. They are no longer 14

Features dealing with this type of discrimination in the North. The existence of prejudice is hidden, sometimes even far more contemptible and violent than that of the South.

It is unfortunate, but true, that racial prejudice does exist in this community. It is not only shown throughout the housing and employment establishments, but throughout school systems, as well. This is a harsh accusation, but on with foundation!

Being a native of the North, I have dealt consistently with racial prejudice. Fortunately, I have learned to distinguish the false smiles along with the stabs in the back, from the smiles of sincerity.

And to those misled black children in the South, who believe that beyond Maryland’s borders an ambitious black is warm heartedly welcome . . . I hate to shatter their dreams, but the North is far from a black man’s paradise! The North is tough, and will remain tough as long as you are proud, determined, and ambitious . . . and black!

This is a sensitive subject, yet one that cannot be ignored. It is our responsibility to handle the situation with more interest and vigor in this generation in order to secure the future of the black faces of tomorrow.

But as long as man chooses to display inhumanity to man, and as long as economic, social and political dissatisfactions are in existence in the world of the Negro . . . riots of anger will widen the gap between the white and black.

And as long as fellow Americans destroy each other politically, and morally, the stripes and stars cannot honestly sway! And not only our many disturbed cities and towns . . . but our entire country, will remain divided!

3

May 1968

AN INTERVIEW WITH MRS. PARKER

By Meg Archibald Following is a personal interview with Mrs. Aethnea Parker, IHS French teacher.

Q: Where were you born?

A: In San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago.

Q: Is it always called both Trinidad and Tobago?

A: Yes, both islands are under the same government.

Q: Is the country independent?

A: Yes, since 1962, before that we were British.

Q: Did you live there throughout your childhood?

A: Yes, on one island or the other.

Q: Where did you go to school?

A: I went to a private school run by Catholic Sisters. Then you had to pay tuition, but when we were eleven, we took an exam covering many subjects. If you did well, you received a scholarship to pay for the remaining seven years.

Q: How old were you when you finished your secondary education?

A: Eighteen. I had to remain in school an extra year because I did well on my final

exams. Often if you received good marks on the exams, the school made you stay another year so you could take them again; this added to the good name of the school.

Q: Since you’ve been in this country, what are your general impressions of America?

A. Well, I really never wanted to come.

Q: Why not?

A: I have been trying to figure that out.

Perhaps it’s because I never met many nice Americans. In Trinidad and Tobago the Americans were mainly servicemen stationed there since the war, who kept much to themselves on the Base. Maybe is was also because of the stories I heard about discrimination in this country. Personally, I have had no unpleasantness, but the atmosphere here is so tense and discouraging. In Trinidad we have many races and racism is a question but not a major problem. In the 1930’s we had some racial disturbances and conditions have improved considerably since then.

Q: What do you think of American students?

A: Students here are so crazy about grades.

Good marks are fine incentive and you should try to earn them, by all means, but don’t lose sight of learning for knowledge’s sake. It’s not the kid’s fault; it’s a product of the society.

Q: In your opinion, is life in the US too fast and pressured?

A: Yes, at home, life is much more relaxed and spontaneous. You take life as it happens rather than always working to make it happen.

“Personally, I have had no unpleasantness, but the atmosphere here is so tense and discouraging. In Trinidad we have many races and racism is a question but not a major problem.”

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Features

By Alexandra Gibbons

I

had many questions before I started the college application process, and at times it was difficult to find the answer. Bearing that in mind, I have compiled a list of questions that I remember having, and answered them to the best of my ability with my newfound knowledge. Juniors, good luck in your college application process next year!

Q: Should I apply early decision to a college?

A: This depends on your individual situation.

There are two main things to consider. First, are you and your family confident that you will be able to afford tuition at wherever you are considering applying? It is a good idea to use the financial aid calculator that the college provides on its website to make sure, and reach out to their financial aid office if you have any questions. Secondly, are you absolutely sure that you want to go? Would you choose this school over any other school you got into? Have you visited? If you answered yes to all of these questions, early decision could be right for you. However, in some situations, students could benefit from waiting to apply regular decision, or alternatively, early decision II (deadline in January). If you had lower grades in junior year, it could be beneficial for colleges to receive your first semester senior year grades.

Q: Do I have a better chance at getting in early decision to a college?

A: Yes and no. If you look at percentages, you will notice that most colleges have higher acceptance rates for early decision. Take this with a grain of salt. If you are unqualified for a school during regular decision, you will still be unqualified during early decision. Pools of applicants for early decision are typically more self-selecting as well. Some colleges take up to half of their incoming class from early decision, and since there is a much smaller pool of applicants, the acceptance rate is higher. The advantage of early decision if you are qualified for that school is that you would be a big fish in a smaller sea, whereas in regular decision, you would be a big fish in a very large sea.

Q: How many colleges should I apply to?

A: This depends on where you are applying to college. If you are applying to more competitive schools (acceptance rates under about 35 percent, depending on who you ask), you will want to apply to more schools than people who are applying to schools that are not very selective, because your acceptances, waitlists, or rejections 16

College Admissions FAQ will come down to luck in some situations. If you are applying to very competitive schools, this is what I would recommend: About 2 safety schools: These are schools that you are VERY confident that you will be accepted into. Your stats (GPA and standardized test scores) should be well above average, and the school should have a fairly high acceptance rate.

You may want to look on Naviance and make sure that other students from IHS with similar stats to you have been accepted. If you need help doing this, contact your guidance counselor.

Four to six target schools: These are schools that you feel you have a relatively good chance of getting into. Your stats are around average or above average for the school.

NOTE: if a school has an acceptance rate of below 25 percent, it is not a target school, no matter who you are (well, maybe if you cured cancer, I would make an exception). There are too many variables to make this a viable option.

The one exception to this would be if you have a legacy at a certain school or a parent working on the faculty.

Five to eight reach schools: These are the schools of your dreams. They are hard to get into, so it is worth applying to many in order to boost your chances.

Q: How can I make myself appealing to colleges?

A: One of the most important things to do to make yourself appealing to colleges is to develop a general theme of your application. Engage in activities that demonstrate your passion, and delve deeply into your roles within these activities, as opposed to lightly engaging in many many activities. If you are passionate about the environment, join related clubs. If you are passionate about world affairs, join Model UN, international clubs, and some community service global outreach organizations. Then, you will have a cohesive topic to focus on in your college applications. Of course, it is also important to maintain high grades in challenging courses and do well on standardized tests. But, in the modern day and age, those two things alone are not enough to get you into a top college.

Freshmen and sophomores, if you have not started doing extracurriculars, now is the time!

Juniors, remember to continue with your extracurriculars and take on leadership positions.

Q: When should I start on my college applications?

A: I would recommend completing the Com-

mon Application over the summer after junior year, including your essay. Colleges generally have supplements, and you will want ample time during the year to work on those while you are also balancing your regular course load.

Q: What resources do I have to help me with the application process?

A: There are people at IHS that will help you during the application process! I would highly recommend bringing your common application essay and supplements to the reading and writing lab. If you have questions about the application process, reach out to a teacher, or make an appointment with your guidance counselor.

Guidance counselors can be incredibly helpful during this process and are happy to meet with you outside of your required appointments.

Q: Who should I ask for a recommendation?

A: Ask teachers who know you well as a person for recommendations. You do not have to exclusively ask teachers who taught classes that you excelled in for recommendations. If there was a class that you struggled in but you reached out for help throughout the year and made an effort to do your best, this teacher could be a good one to ask. Colleges want to see that you are taking advantage of your resources during a challenging course and working hard to succeed, even if you didn’t end up with an A. Q: How many schools should I visit?

A: As many as you can! I thought that I wouldn’t like urban campuses because I didn’t enjoy New York University, but I discovered a bit too late that I actually really liked them as long as they had a clearly defined campus with greenspace.

I was also convinced I would hate big schools, which, again, turned out to be false. Visit a wide variety of schools and a wide variety of settings, because you will likely be surprised by what you end up liking.

Q: Any other advice?

A: Sometimes, life gets in the way of school. If you dealt with a health problem, family situation, or anything else that impacted your performance at school, let colleges know in your application! They understand that sometimes things happen that are out of your control. In fact, there is a section in the common application that asks if you have anything else you’d like to add, and this is the perfect place to explain anything that caused a dip in your grades.

Arts

PLAYLIST: GETTING PUMPED UP With AP and Regents tests around the corner, all of us need a little motivation. Here are a few songs that just might give you that extra push.

“Release the Beast”: Breakwater (1980) This song was released in 1980 by the Philadelphia-based funk band Breakwater on Splashdown, their most successful album. It features possibly one of the coolest synth lines ever created; some may recognize it from the Daft Punk song “Robot Rock,” which is essentially a three-minute repeated sample of that line. A great combination of acoustic and electronic instruments leads the way on this one, and creates a super-enthusiastic vibe that urges you to “release the beast” inside yourself, whatever that may mean.

“The Show Must Go On”: Queen (1991) Legend has it that by the time Freddie Mercury recorded the lead vocals for this song, he was so heavily afflicted by AIDS that he had lost the vocal range necessary to sing it. And yet, somehow, he managed to sing just as perfectly as he had always been able to. The fact that this man put on a brave face while going into the battle that ultimately killed him makes a lot of our problems seem pretty small by comparison.

“Go-Go Gadget Gospel”: Gnarls Barkley (2006) There isn’t really much to say about this track, other than that CeeLo Green sounds like he’s having the time of his life singing it. Also, producer Danger Mouse shows off his mastery of genre blending by placing a highly electronic beat under Green’s soulful vocals.

“Stylo”: Gorillaz (feat. Bobby Womack and Mos Def) (2010) This song doesn’t seem too special at first. It opens with some layers of synth and a driving rap verse from Mos Def, but it still feels a bit boring. Then all of a sudden, about halfway through the song, Bobby Womack’s voice hits like a freight train. What follows is an energetic rant about the electric power of love that supposedly caused Womack to pass out in the recording studio from the level of effort he put in.

“Beyond” - Daft Punk (2013) A grand, sweeping orchestral intro leads into a ridiculously chill groove. The vocals on top of it have a ton of autotune, which some people might be turned off by, but it works perfectly in the context of the song. The robotic voices make one thing clear: it’s on you to make your dreams come true.

MOVIE REVIEW:

The Death of Stalin

By Leland Xu

W

e live in a world and a time in which Russian affairs and controversies have dominated international news headlines in recent years, ranging from Russia’s 2014 annexation of Crimea, their possible collusion with the Trump campaign in the 2016 US presidential election, and reports of gay concentration camps in Chechnya. Russia has an incredibly influential and polarizing leader with a near cult-of-personality in his own country, and Vladimir Putin has been accused of assassinating political opponents and of running Russia as a “dictatorship,” with, as John McCain calls it, “sham elections.”

When creating The Death of Stalin, director Armando Iannucci must have thought back to a time in Russia’s history when another incredibly influential and polarizing leader was in power with a near cult-of-personality in his own country, who assassinated political opponents and ran Russia as a dictatorship. More specifically, while envisioning the movie, he must have thought of the political turmoil and power struggle that happened after his death, and questioned: now what if it was a comedy?

In The Death of Stalin, both Soviet stereotypes and policies are exemplified through the different actions and worries of the Soviet politicians who prepare to consolidate power for themselves after Stalin’s sudden death. The movie focuses on the plans they come up with to outsmart and ally with each other in order to enact their own policies and paranoia and fear fuel much of the memorable comedic parts of the movie.

Characters are constantly reluctant to share anti-Stalin sentiment or share sensitive information on secret alliances, even in the privacy of their own houses in fear of being listened-upon. Paranoia and fear acts as a comedic factor from the very start—for example, the first ten minutes describe a radio station’s desperate attempt to get an entire orchestra to replay and record Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 23 because Stalin wanted a recording of the performance that the station didn’t record in the first place.

However, not all of The Death of Stalin’s dry humor is based on stereotypes; some is based on historical facts (although moviegoers should not go into the movie expecting complete historical accuracy). One subtle and genius example is when Vasily Stalin, played by Rupert Friend, makes reference to his cover-up of the 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash when supervising the Soviet ice hockey team. Though the jokes may be embedded in Soviet history and references, much of the jokes are delivered in the same manner as a traditional Western sitcom fashion would have done; after all, Iannucci directed Veep from 2012 to 2015. This effect is achieved through awkward timing and misunderstandings, and irreverent, dry, cynical, and non-cooperative discussions that characters have, including quips with one another, such as when Stalin’s unconscious body is being lifted to his bed, and the lifters constantly complain about the smell and stain of Stalin’s urine.

By the end of the film, the movie abruptly and unexpectedly gives a message on the dangers of political ambition and the hypocrisy of Soviet politics and ideals. What I found interesting was the lack of any Russian accents, which I found was refreshing as I didn’t have to hear stereotypical Russian accents from every character throughout the two-hour runtime. Stalin, in the movie, has an English accent, due to his portrayer, Adrian McLoughlin, having been born in London, while Khrushchev, played by Steve Buscemi, has a New York accent. I believed this decision was appropriate to the content; Iannucci did not try to make a historically accurate documentary; instead, he created a political satire. Whether or not you are well-knowledged in Russian history, everyone can appreciate the absurdity and the chaotic humor from all parties that Iannucci portrays following the death of Stalin.

17

2018–2019 Student Officer Campaign Statements

CLASS of 2019 PrESIDENT Jisoo Ha

Hello Class of 2019! My name is Jisoo Ha and I am running to be your Class President. As President many tasks come into play some of which include organizing for Prom and our senior class trip. However other responsibilities, some of which are not as glamorous, including the continuance of fundraisers are also needed. As President I will make sure that all of these tasks are carried out efficiently and collaboratively as I will make sure to listen to your input and suggestions as well. Furthermore, I am a responsible and dedicated person and will make sure that class events are not only well organized but will be enjoyable, as it will be our senior year after all. Most importantly, I can’t wait to represent and follow through with my ideas to help create our class into a community. I hope I can count on your vote!

Ethan Merryfield My name is Ethan Merryfield, and I’m running for Class President. I’m currently Student Council Treasurer, and have lots of experience with student government and how the school works. If elected, I’ll know exactly what needs to be done to actuate significant changes, and lead our grade. I want to be Class President, because I’m a great leader and am full of ideas for ways to improve our grade. As President, my main goal is to create a strong community and really bring our class together. I’ll organize lots of fun events, and ensure that our prom and senior trip will be great! I also represent a wide variety of different groups outside that of my friends, and I want to hear your opinions. I want this position because I truly love being involved with our class and student government, and I hope you’ll choose me for your class president.

Max Waisbrot My name is Max Waisbrot, I’m running for the Class President of 2019. I would like to be selected for class president because I feel the class as a whole has not been represented well enough. If I’m elected president I will issue surveys for the whole of the senior class to help decide on major issues and events happening throughout the year. I also want to increase the amount of fundraising allowing senior events to be more engaging and fun, allowing them to happen more and be enjoyed. I would also like to pull attention to H-Courtyard, by making it a place of laughter but also a respectful place for work, by taking the initiative I will speak to the administration, making our case and helping the growth of H-Courtyard. Electing me for class president, would be electing a voice for the whole of our senior class.

Vice President Soojin Kim Hey Class of 2019, I’m Soojin Kim, and I want to be your Vice President. I’d like to share some information about myself to demonstrate my qualifications. I’m a responsible student, ensuring the fulfillment of the tasks necessary of Vice President. Also, I’m a good listener, inviting open conversations on diverse issues, guaranteeing a response to your concerns. Lastly, I’m cooperative, meaning that I’m can offer my perspective, yet I can also listen to and consider the ideas of others.

If elected, two specific goals I have in this position are to increase communication between classmates and class officers, and increase a sense of community within our class. I believe that in order to have a successful year, communication between class officers and classmates must be easy. Additionally, I think that it is imperative for us as a class to be united in order to have accurate representation. Thank you!

Irena Rosenberg Hello students of IHS, I am Irena Rosenberg and I wish to be your Class of 2019 Vice President. I am currently the Vice President of the class, yet I’ve had such a great time I wish to take on this role once again.

Having this prior experience during junior year, I can safely say that I am very experienced at the job, and will continue efforts to make our class feel more like a community. In addition to being very familiar with the position, I am overly organized and very passionate about bringing our class together through various events and activities, especially as it will be our senior year. Specifically, I wish to plan sporting tournaments and additional dances in order to raise money for both class funds and donations to charity.

I already have ideas for our senior prom and class trip, and I can’t wait to share!

Treasurer Andrew Kim Hey! My name is Andrew Kim and I’m running for Treasurer of the Class of 2019. As your class treasurer throughout junior year, I learned about the many responsibilities the position entails, and have become experienced in understanding tasks that need to be addressed especially moving towards senior year. The main focus point during the past year was fundraising for Junior Prom. Although we aren’t done yet, we’ve made great strides towards raising sufficient amounts of money and holding a successful prom. In the upcoming year, the treasurer will be focusing on Senior Prom, but also various other events, such as the Senior Trip. In order to effectively and efficiently fundraise for these events, an experienced treasurer is necessary. I believe that I will be well qualified for treasurer in the upcoming year. Thank you. I hope you vote for me, Andrew Kim, as Treasurer of the Class of 2019.

CLASS of 2020 PrESIDENT Arthur Santelli Greetings class of 2020. I want to, as our class president, lead us on the path to success. To make this possible, what we need more than ever before is good communication between our class office and student body. To make this possible, I hope to create more surveys and send out more emails regularly to help give the students a voice in every matter. The other two primary goals of my office will be to raise more money and have a quality junior prom. Though for this experience to be fully realized we need to congregate as a class and work together to ensure we have the best experience possible. The passion I have towards this matter will make this dream of mine a reality. I hope my good qualities as a caring and honest leader will be seen by you, the student, when I, Arthur Santelli, am president.

Darby Waller My name is Darby Waller, and I am running for President of the Class of 2020. I am running for President because I believe that I possess the necessary qualities for this position. I am hard-working, I have previous experience in leadership positions, both in academic and athletic settings, and I am dedicated to ensuring that all of the students within the Class of 2020 are satisfied with the way that things are run. My main goal as president would be to ensure that all of the events for the Class of 2020, such as fundraisers and junior prom, are both successful and organized in such a way that the entire student body can enjoy them.

I would also like to make sure that issues facing our class are resolved in a manner that represents as many groups and individuals as possible. Thank you for your consideration!

Annie Wang Hi! I’m Annie Wang and I’m running for Junior Class President. I aim to create many opportunities for success and fun to relieve some of the immense stress that characterizes junior year. That means funding events purely for entertainment such as Skating Night, planning academic events including junior study sessions before exams, and ensuring that ticket costs to Junior Prom are as low and accessible as possible.

This will be achieved by exploring new and more profitable ways to fundraise. I have much leadership experience through holding office positions in several organizations throughout the school. I believe my familiarity with school policies and procedures is crucial for an effective leadership. Additionally, I refuse to be a passive leader by promising to always take the initiative to ensure that our junior year is a great one.

This position would mean the world to me. I would greatly appreciate your support!

Alex Whitehead Good morning Class of 2020, and in case I don’t see you, good afternoon, good evening, and good night.

My name is Alexander Whitehead, and I am running to be re-elected as your Class President. I know I am the correct candidate to be your class president because of all my experiences, and the plans I have made for the next year in order to make IHS great again. In Scouts I was the Senior Patrol Leader, so I represented the scouts in my troop at campouts, and years of playing hockey have also given me experience with teamwork. I have had years of presidential experience, so I know how to run class meetings, and I also have achievable goals. My goals would be to plan even more fundraising activities than I have run in the past. I would also like EVERY students input on how to make junior events better.

Vice PrESIDENT Garrett Breen I am Garrett Breen and I am running for the position of the Class of 2020 Vice President for the upcoming 2018–2019 school year. As a sophomore I have two years of experience as a class officer. Freshmen year I held the position of class treasurer, this year, I hold the position of class Vice President. This year we have committed to making significant additions to our fundraising, as well as class bonding in the form of selling shirts to support our class. As Vice President for our upcoming Junior year, I would hope to exponentially increase our fundraising as well as class bonding in order to plan and carry out an enjoyable Junior Prom. Be sure to use your vote in the Cafeteria on May 25. Thank you, and I hope you consider a vote for me, Garrett Breen, as your class Vice President in the upcoming school year.

Justin Heitzman Hello everyone, my name is Justin Heitzman, and I will be running for Vice President of the Class of 2020 this May. As Secretary this past year, I was able to gain a lot of experience, particularly in planning and running fundraisers. This is something I hope to continue next year if I am elected. Additionally, I will take steps to promote class unity. This will include the creation of IHS Class of 2020 social media accounts, which we will use to announce various events and fundraisers. We can also use social media to facilitate class discussions online, which will lead to better consideration of everyone’s opinions. Thank you for your consideration!

Deacon Waller Hey, Class of 2020! My name is Deacon Waller, and I’m running for Vice President of the class for our junior year. I am a good fit for this position due to my leadership experience, both at school and on the field. Next year, I would efficiently organize both large and small activities, such as junior prom and other fundraisers to gain money for our senior year. Due to my involvement in many different activities at IHS, I think that I can fairly represent all of the different students in our class, in order to make fair decisions that can benefit everybody. Thank you, and I hope to see you all next year as Vice President of our class!

Secretary Aidan Foley Hello my name is Aidan Foley and I am running for Secretary of the Class of 2020. My goal is to effectively communicate the decisions of the Class of 2020 government to the student body and give feedback from students. I have had lots of prior experience in organizing projects and communicating information to various groups, and would like to employ this in student government. Thank you for your time.

Suong Nguyen Hi sophomores! I’m Suong Nguyen and I am running for Class Secretary. Having participated in Student Council for two years, I know what issues need to be addressed as well as which areas of the school need the most improvement. I consider myself to be a good listener and will work towards implementing changes tailored to your concerns about our school. I am also able to stay connected with all different kinds of people as I have participated in music and school clubs. I would enjoy and excel at planning exciting class events such as Junior Prom and various fundraisers as I am well organized. Additionally, I plan to further unify and create a strong community among our class as well as boost class spirit! I hope you will consider voting for me as your Class Secretary and I will do my best to make your junior year an amazing one!

Nadia Testut I believe that I am right for this position not only because I have done it before but I genuinely enjoy being the class secretary. I also think I am right for this position because I am a good note taker and can stay focused throughout the meetings in order to ensure that I write down all of the information and the meeting stays on task. I love working with the other class officers to help plans events and finding new ways to better our class. As class secretary I hope to raise money for our Junior and Senior Proms as well as our senior trip. I also hope to plan some events or fundraisers for the Class of 2020 in order to bring our class together.

Treasurer Madeleine McNairn Hi Class of 2020, my name is Madeleine McNairn and I am running for the position of Class Treasurer.

In this position, I plan to expand our budget to fit the legacy we wish to leave behind, and make Junior year full of unifying, unforgettable memories. With my fundraising experience in Student Council, I will promote more successful fundraisers to fulfill our ideas for Junior Prom and other class wide events. I have a history of working with IHS students, as a Student Council member and a Link leader, and I will use my skills to promote our Class of 2020 endeavours. As treasurer, I am here to handle financial matters, encourage school spirit and represent our class. I’m excited to hear your ideas about what you want our junior year to look like! Vote for me, class treasurer 2020.

Agnese Moroni Hello class of 2020, I’m Agnese Moroni, and I am running for Class Treasurer. I believe I would be a good fit for this position because I have had previous experience with handling money. I have several ideas about how we, as a class, can raise money so that we have a large enough budget to have both an amazing prom and senior trip. Some specific goals I plan to carry out, if I do become Treasurer, will be to have more fundraisers apart from bake sales, like a Krispy Kreme fundraiser, because who doesn’t love donuts?

I would also work with the other class officers to create more apparel for our class, while allowing you all to have a say in what we design. Overall, I would maintain the class bank account and open up more options for fundraising to increase our class funds.

Kelvin Wang Hello Class of 2020! I am Kelvin Wang, and I am running for the position of Treasurer. I am perfect for this role, because I have one year’s worth of experience being Treasurer, two years of experience being a class officer, and I have taken some of the more difficult math classes available to a sophomore such as AP Statistics and Honors Algebra 2 BC, which both contain concepts that are useful for dealing with various financial situations. Additionally, if I am elected, I plan on accomplishing several events such as continuing and expanding our class apparel sales, organizing more fundraisers for our Junior Prom, and managing our money to prepare for our senior year. I am confident that next year will be even better than this year and I am anxious to start planning events for the Class of 2020 in the year to come, so vote for Kelvin.

CLASS of 2021 PrESIDENT Irene Hwang

HEY CLASS OF 2021! I’m Irene Hwang and I hope to be your Class President for our sophomore year. As a part of numerous departments of IHS (from orchestra to Varsity Swim to clubs), I can connect to people with a variety of interests and backgrounds. I am fully immersed in our class’s community, allowing me to clearly see what people want. I’ll create a tight-knit community through various inclusive events that YOU want and use online platforms and social media to keep everybody posted. In addition, I will also do many fundraisers so we can have amazing events in the future and great class spirit. Most importantly, I’ll make sure to have all voices and their opinions be heard, not just a select few. This is OUR class, and you deserve an organized leader who will take action and listen to you. Vote Irene for your class president!

Norbu Naftel

Hi my name is Norbu Naftel and I am running for Class President. I am involved in the superintendent Student Advisory Council which gives Dr. Brown a students perspective. Being apart of that council has shown what a large community that works together in real life looks like. This role has given me a chance to be a leader for more than myself. The class of 2021 if a very diverse and different groups of kids. I want to make our class a better community. By bringing the students together. I also want to be a voice for those who are too scared to talk up for themselves and contribute ideas they may have for the Class of 2021.

Vice PrESIDENT Dennis Kang

Hello, Class of 2021. My name is Dennis Kang and I am running for the spot of Vice President. I know I will be able to bring a skill set that will allow good coordination, organization, and overall success. Although I may not have the most experience, I know with determination and your help, we can succeed together.

I want to fundraise as a long-term goal to plan a whole calendar of events that will build our community and form an environment where everyone’s voice matters and everyone feels comfortable, respected, and safe. I will make sure to work with fellow officers and the class as a whole to help guide us to a successful year through unity, communication, and a sense of community.

Thank you for your consideration.

Treasurer Andrew Lim

Hey class of 2021, my name is Andrew Lim and I’m running to be your next Class Treasurer. I believe that I am the only candidate able to be Treasurer because of my ability to execute actions. When our Treasurer spot was empty for 4 months, I stepped up to fill in that spot. Although I became Treasure very late into the school year, I have successfully worked with the other officers to raise money for our class. Using that money, I would like to organize class activities next year to promote unity in our grade and create a fun community where everyone is well respected. Although we did not have any this year, I would like to fundraise enough money so that our class can go on a field trip. If you elect me, our class will become more unified through exciting activities. Thank you for your consideration!

Student Council PrESIDENT Tilden Chao My name is Tilden Chao, and I’m running for Student Council President. You might know me from shared classes or extracurriculars, or simply as the kid that presented at the pep rally in Crocs and socks. But above all, I want you to know me for my long-term dedication to Student Council. Since my freshman year, I’ve been an active member and leader in Student Council, starting as a class representative, and working my way through the offices of Secretary and Vice President. As President, I hope to further stimulate engagement in student government and increase our current participation in community service. Above all, I will spearhead a campaign to designate certain bathrooms as gender neutral, and continue to support everyone in our diverse community. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me or Snapchat me @tildenchao. Thank you for your vote!

Vice President Veda Chickermane My name is Veda Chickermane and I would like to be your Student Council Vice President. In the past three years at IHS, I have been an active member of the Student Council serving as the head of fundraising and as Secretary. As Vice President, I would like to create more opportunities that bring our school together and create a more inclusive environment. It is important to ensure that every voice is heard and that all student concerns are fully addressed to those in positions of authority. I also want to raise funds for student activities and clubs so that students are able to pursue what they are interested in and we can overall make our school a better place. In summary, I want to utilize my experience and advocacy to bring about the positive changes that a well run Student Council can to offer to the IHS student community.

Casey Ruth Anderson Hello IHS, I am Casey Ruth Anderson and I want to be your Student Council Vice President. Using my motivation, communication, and organization skills I will try and bring IHS together as a community. My three years at IHS and participation in Student Council have prepared for the role of Vice President. This year alone I’ve worked on projects ranging from setting up a daily reminder to get the administration to fix locks on bathrooms. As your vice president I plan on creating up a safe space at IHS. This will be a conducive environment for students to deal with the stress and anxiety they are facing. Other plans I have for next year are to expand school spirit by setting up more class competitions. Endorse me as Vice President of Student Council to ensure that you have a voice in the improvement of IHS for the 2018-2019 school year.

Treasurer Sydney Exantus Hi, my name is Sydney Exantus, I’m a junior, and I am running for Student Council Secretary. This year, I’ve had the opportunity to take part in Student Council and have had a great time working with other students to initiate change. I believe that I’m right for this position because I’m dedicated, collaborative, and responsible. Not only have I had perfect attendance to student council all year, but I’ve also worked hard to present to my History class each week, as I understand my responsibility to do so, and the importance of maintaining communication with the student body. My goals, if elected, are to increase communication to IHS and to plan more schoolwide events. I want each student to feel that they have a voice even if they aren’t in Student Council, and to have more opportunities to socialize with other grade levels besides their own. Thank you!

Representatives To the board of Education Hayley Ackerman To all it may concern my name is Hayley Ackerman, I am a current junior at IHS and next year I would like to be your Representative to the Board. A Representative to the Board is someone who initiates communication between the students and those who are in a position to make real change. In order to do this you need to be involved in the school and know what the students really want and are feeling. During my time at IHS, I have been involved in organizations such as SWIS Club and Link Crew which allowed me to make friends and interact with students in all grade levels. If I am elected to this position I want to facilitate a transparent relationship between the Board and the student body. Additionally, I want to help enact meaningful change that students actually care about.

Asha Duhan This year, I was one of your Representatives to the Board of Education, and found the experience so valuable and informative that I decided to run again this year. As your Representative to the Board, I have worked to be a voice for all students, by representing the numerous aspects of IHS, including sports, music and clubs. As your representative to the Board of Education, one of my goals has been to increase transparency between the Board of Education and the students, by communicating how the actions taken by the Board specifically affect them. I would like to continue this goal this year, by continuing to write Tattler articles and delegating a part of the morning announcements to fulfill this task. Thank you and I hope I can count on your vote.

Meghana Gavirneni

Hey IHS! My name is Meghana Gavirneni and I am running for the position of Representative to the Board of Education. As a rising senior, I have been actively involved in different clubs, music, and other extracurriculars during my time here and feel I can successfully represent many of the different aspects of the IHS community. As a Rep to the Board I hope to serve as a bridge between the student body and administration. I would like to be able to raise student concerns to the Board and offer new perspectives on ongoing issues. I would work to increase communication between the board and the student body through different channels such as The Tattler, Student Council, and direct contact through emails and polls as well as keeping open lines of communications straight to me for students to voice their concerns. I hope I can count on your vote!

Vaynu Kadiyali

I’m Vaynu Kadiyali, and I’m running to be a Representative to the Board of Education. Having been a class officer for the past three years, I have gained a unique perspective on the issues that face IHS students and organizations. I hope to use my position to communicate the important decisions that are made by the board to the IHS student body, and to be a voice for all students during board meetings. I hope to expand the use of The Tattler to communicate between the Board and the student body, and I want to better utilize technology through means like surveys and weekly meeting recaps to ensure that students feel that their voice is heard by the Board. I hope that you see and share my vision, and that you choose me to represent you next year. Contact me if you have any questions!

Meera Bai Singh

Hello fellow IHS students! My name is Meera Bai Singh and I am running for reelection as a Representative to the Board of Education. This past year, as your board rep, I have established connections with the board members, successfully collaborated with Student Council to keep up to date on student events and concerns, as well as published numerous Tattler articles about a wide variety of board meetings occurrences. If I am re-elected to this position, I will continue my aforementioned efforts, as well as work to further reach out to the students. I will accomplish this by doing morning announcements, as well as sending out surveys to the student population regarding their issues and ideas. Thank you for listening and I hope I can count on your vote!

J.T. Stone

My name is J.T. Stone and I am running for the position of Representative to the Board of Education. As a member of this year’s Social Justice Week planning committee as well as the Hairspray cast, I am fully aware of the different communities within our school. Ensuing I would be able to inform the board about issues that face any branch of IHS. If elected Representative to the Board, I would share appropriate information from meetings to IHS, via emails, articles, or weekly morning announcements, because I believe it is important that students and faculty are aware of the decisions being made in their district. With my connections to different clubs, my passion for awareness, and my belief that IHS should be aware of what’s occurring on the board, and vice versa, I hope you consider me for Representative to the Board of Education for the 2018–19 school year.

Alexander Yoo

Hey IHS! My name is Alexander Yoo and I am currently a freshman. I am running for the position of Representative to the Board. As your representative, I will listen to the your input and relay it to the Board of Education. Your voice is important and will be heard if I am elected. I plan to make sure that the Board listens to the problems you all will bring up by giving everyone the opportunity to help craft our argument.

I hope to create a much more transparent situation. Organization and communication are critical to a good Rep to the Board, especially when there is a problem that needs solving, and I definitely possess these skills. I am persistent and will work hard to make sure that your voice is heard.

Thanks for your consideration, and remember, a vote for Yoo is a vote for you.

Arts

PEACE

IMAGE PROVIDED

through K-Pop

Red Velvet, a popular K-pop group, performed in Pyongyang for Kim Jong Un.

By Asha Duhan

F

rom March 31 to April 3, South Korean singers and entertainers performed in Pyongyang for North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un and other high-ranking North Korean government officials. This concert marked the first time in over a decade that South Korean artists performed in North Korea, and marked a major reconciliatory gesture in an otherwise tense geopolitical struggle. The concerts were comprised of 160 entertainers and performers, including popular K-pop girl group Red Velvet.

After major events in the Olympics, in which North Korea and South Korea marched under a united flag during the opening ceremonies, relations between the two countries appear to be thawing and moving towards a positive direction. Furthermore, on April 27, the leaders of North and South Korea have planned to meet at a joint summit in the border village of Panmunjom. These type of summits have occured in the past, generally during periods of detente between North and South Korea. It should be noted that these series of concerts are not only interesting in their implications in the calming of relations between North and South Korea, but also the fact that the concerts were received quite warmly from a North Korean audience. This is true despite the fact that it is a punishable crime for North Koreans to consume South Korea popular culture including music, movies and soap operas. Kim Jong Un also had high praise for the K-pop groups, reporting to a North Korean News station that “[I] was deeply moved to see our people sincerely acclaiming the performance, deepening the understanding of the popular art of the south side.”

At the end of World War II, North and South Korea were separated into two occupational zones. The United States administered the southern half of the peninsula while the Soviet Union administered the area north of the 38th parallel. This led to the creation of two distinct, separate governments: a Communist Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Westernized Republic of Korea. Both of these governments claimed to control Korea, and after North Korea invaded its southern neighbor, the Korean War broke out in 1950. The Korean War resulted in the solid-

ification of the status quo, as neither the South nor the North were able to conquer the other side of the peninsula. After the Korean War, relations between North and South Korea continued to become increasingly strained, and culminated in a series of low-level armed clashes known as the Korean DMZ Conflict. Tensions were at their highest in 1968 in the aftermath of the Blue House Raid, an unsuccessful attempt to assassinate the South Korean President Park Chung-hee. After the division of North and South Korea, distinct and contrasting governments and societies have developed in these two nations. South Korea now is ranked the twelfth largest economy in terms of GDP (gross domestic product), while North Korea pales in comparison, with a rank of 125. Furthermore, tensions between North and South Korea have exponentiated due to the development of nuclear weapons in North Korea. Because of this, any sort of developments towards discussion of peace in Korea has much deeper implications not only in Korean affairs, but in global international relations.

K-pop may be the unexplored medium towards the beginnings of peace in North and South Korea. In fact, South Korea’s Unification Ministry has confirmed that Kim Jong Un’s wife was previously a singer in the North Korean Unhasu Orchestra, and this group traveled to South Korea to perform. This may be the cause of the lenience in Kim Jong Un’s decisions to invite South Korean artists to North Korea, and may have been partly responsible for their warm reception. Music has the ability to transcend conflict and serve as a means to unite, rather than incite and divide, people from warring nations. In the past year, K-pop groups have risen to a new level of popularity in numerous countries around the world, including in America and in Europe, drawing many people into this new genre of music. K-pop groups have ranked highly on global social media charts, and have been able to infiltrate new markets largely untouched by western music. K-pop may have the pervasive power to ease tensions between North and South Korea, and spur dialogue between these two warring nations.

25

Sports

SYRACUSE BASKETBALL: Looking Forward

By Vaynu Kadiyali

T

he perennially underrated Syracuse Orange Men’s Basketball Team once again busted brackets and broke hearts in the 2018 March Madness tournament, finishing in the Sweet 16 despite entering as a play-in team. Head Coach Jim Boeheim’s legendary zone defense allowed Syracuse to compete against and upset teams with significantly greater offensive firepower than the Orange, and looking forward, the Orange are poised for another tournament run in the 2019 tournament.

Syracuse’s regular season was full of ups and downs. The Orange finished with a disappointing 8–10 record in ACC conference play, and Syracuse was not expected to make March Madness after getting blown out by the University of North Carolina in the second round of the ACC tournament. Thus, it came as a shock that Syracuse was chosen by the selection committee to play in March Madness, although they had to face Arizona State in a play-in game to make the Round of 64. After Syracuse won this game, they defeated TCU and Michigan State as significant underdogs before finally bowing out of the tournament at the hands of a ridiculously talented Duke team.

By far, Syracuse’s best player this season was Tyus Battle. Battle, a sophomore, averaged 19.2 points per game, carrying the scoring burden for an otherwise offensively-challenged squad. Syracuse’s offense shot the ball at a horrendously low 41.7 percent from the field, and although Battle’s field goal percentage was just below 40 percent, his ability to get to the freethrow line and perform in clutch moments helped the Orange win several close games against good opponents, including Clemson and Louisville during the regular season, and their incredible upset against Michigan State, the third seeded team in the Midwest side of the March Madness bracket.

Syracuse also relied on the contributions of freshman Oshae Brissett, a player who found success on the defensive end despite struggling mightily on offense, and Frank Howard, a junior who has come into his own as a well-rounded player with offensive capabilities. Additionally, while not a major contributor during the regular season, Slovakian freshman Marek Dolezaj was huge for the Orange in the NCAA tournament, scoring a team-high 17 points to lead Syracuse in its upset win over TCU in the Round of 64.

Syracuse’s future looks to be good despite several roster changes, both 26

IMAGE BY VAYNU KADIYALI

A view from the stands of Syracuse’s win over Virginia Tech earlier this season.

expected and unexpected. Most importantly, Syracuse may lose star Tyus Battle as he seeks to enter the NBA. He has entered the 2018 Draft without an agent, allowing him to test the waters and make a decision about his college eligibility after the NBA draft combine. Although he is projected to be a second-round pick, Battle could earn an NBA roster spot if he plays well in the NBA’s Summer League, and he could hone his skills in the NBA G-League in the 2018–19 season. With that in mind, if Battle is not on the team next year, his offensive responsibilities will have to be carried by Oshae Brissett, who will remain on the Orange and look to improve his abysmal 35 percent shooting from the field, and Frank Howard, who will also need to take more shots while maintaining his efficiency.

The outlook for Syracuse’s 2018–19 season looked even brighter before late March. Five-star recruit Darius Bazley, a tall, volume shooting forward who had previously committed to Syracuse, made the bold decision to decommit from Syracuse and instead enter the NBA G-League draft to better prepare himself for the NBA draft. This shocking decision meant that Syracuse had lost its best recruit since Carmelo Anthony, and the Orange fanbase was devastated. Nevertheless, Syracuse will still add four-star guard Jalen Carey, three-star guard Buddy Boeheim, and is actively pursuing several other three- and four-star Class of 2018 prospects.

The Orange will have a big need to fill at the big-man positions. Marek Dolezaj, an extremely underweight forward, is too small to be inserted into the starting lineup, and current center Paschal Chukwu is underwhelming as a rebounder and inside scorer. Several prospects remain who could fill this void, including Jordan Brown, a five-star power-forward, and Lukas Kisunas, an underrated center from Lithuania, and Jim Boeheim could entice these prospects with the promise of becoming excellent defensive players and being the targets of many alley-oop passes against other zone defenses. While Chukwu is a serviceable option, if Syracuse wants to make a deeper tournament run, Boeheim must recruit a better big man.

Overall, despite the disappointment of the Darius Bazley decommitment, the success of this past year’s underdog Syracuse team in March Madness bodes well for the future. With minimal roster turnover, and with at least two new recruits joining the team, the Orange can continue to be a dominant defensive team, and can hopefully figure out the offensive end next year.

Sports

Predictions for the NBA Playoffs

By Isaiah Gutman, Justin Heitzman, and Patrick Yuan

ISAIAH GUTMAN: WARRIORS 4, RAPTORS 1

T

he Warriors may be missing Steph Curry for the first few weeks of the playoffs, but make no mistake; they are the best team in the NBA by an ample margin. Without Curry, the Warriors do struggle periodically on offense, but Kevin Durant is more than capable to make up for lost production.The Rockets are a great team, but it would be foolish to pick against the defending champs provided their superstar returns. The East is more muddled, but since the Cavs have struggled early against the Pacers, they don’t seem in shape to once again take the weaker conference. It is hard to trust the Raptors in the playoffs, but Masai Ujiri has done well to build a very solid team around DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, and as long as Fred VanVleet, Jakob Poeltl and the rest of their bench mob perform, they are poised to reach the elusive Finals. Once there, they will be outmatched by a Warriors squad which will undoubtedly shed the less than stellar effort of the regular season and handle the Raps easily.

JUSTIN HEITZMAN: ROCKETS 4, RAPTORS 3

F

or the past few seasons, the Toronto Raptors have failed to get over the hump despite the star power of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. This has been in part due to their lack of a suitable supporting cast. But now, this Raptors team has enough depth to not only exorcise the greatest demon of their past, LeBron James, but to get all the way to the NBA Finals. Houston, though, has proven this year that they have an incredible upside. Despite the fact that Toronto’s defense matched up favorably against the Houston offense in their meetings this season, when it comes down to it, the Rockets are clearly the best team here and should be able to take home the championship in a seven-game series.

PATRICK YUAN: WARRIORS 4, SIXERS 1

T

he East is wide open this year, as the Cleveland Cavaliers are still incapable of playing defense and are severely lacking in offensive star power outside of Lebron James and Kevin Love. Although the Toronto Raptors are the number one seed in the Eastern Conference this year, having won an impressive fifty-nine games, it is also well known that they regress significantly during the playoffs, as teams can take advantage of Demar DeRozan’s inability to shoot threes and their tendency to resort to “hero ball” and isolation down the stretch. Look for the Philadelphia 76ers to come out of the East, having won sixteen in a row heading into the playoffs with two generational talents in Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons leading the way. In the West, there are only two teams who are in contention: the Warriors and the Rockets. The Rockets, though owning the league’s best record, are vulnerable to well designed defensive game plans; this was seen in last year’s playoffs, as the Spurs were able to shut down the Rockets by running them off the three point line and having the roll man defender on pick-and-roll plays sag deep into the paint, forcing them to take mid range shots they don’t want. Expect the Warriors to take advantage of this and come out of the West. In the Finals, the Warriors simply have too much talent compared with the Sixers; Embiid and Simmons, though good enough to come out of the East, are no match for Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. The Warriors will maul the Sixers in five games for their second consecutive NBA championship.

27

Literary

IMAGE BY JOSH WILBURNE ON UNSPLASH

Legacies: An American Resurgence

By Magdalena Smith

28

We stand on the shoulders of giants The warriors at Stonewall refused to be silenced They said no longer will we tolerate this violence Against our communities, and rose up in defiance For no violence can break our alliance The Stonewall resistance said now is the time For Marsha P. Johnson to throw the first brick To shatter The status quo And to prove That being LGBTQ Does not equal being non-human They are our giants Their fight is our defiance, too Yet our adversary grows ever-taller Reaching away from the ground towards the sky To fight homo- and transphobia we too must fly As Marsha’s first brick soared into our lives And rendered us human.

Literary

A WALK IN THE WOODS

By Thea Clarkberg

I felt like I was dreaming.

T

here’s something timeless, intriguing, about the way that the woods are wild. In this world where we hold tight to control so much, the woods are the one place where that control is released. Gods rule the woods, not man. As I stepped into those woods on that day, I shrugged the weight of the world from my shoulders, but conviction, the feeling of purpose, stayed. I felt like I was dreaming, the green leaves shifted and light cleared the shadows from a space in the path. I felt like I was dreaming, my eyes seeing and my ears hearing, but from a distance. The gentle trill of birds, the subduing rustle of the leaves, and my heart beat cold and slow. I stopped in front of a bench along the path. The gross stamp of human dominance. I sat.

People go to the woods to escape. What was I escaping? Loneliness, I guess. I had friends. I mean, people said “hi” in the halls at school. I sat with a group at lunch. But when summer came, they were busy. They had jobs, parties, family to visit, and vacations to go on. And I didn’t. I was bored. Even in the evenings, when my parents came home, they just talked about work. I watched TV. I read books. Fictional characters, they were the friends that never failed to entertain whenever you needed it. But they weren’t real and I wasn’t doing anything. I needed a purpose. The world was spinning around and around day by day and I was there and everyone else was somewhere else. At dinner, I closed my laptop or my book and wearily blinked into reality but all the stories were swimming in my head and I felt like I was dreaming. There was no reason to keep going because all I was doing was living other people’s stories.

The world was turning on its axis, and I felt like I was dreaming, and I was going to kill myself. Conviction, the feeling of purpose, and my heart beat cold and slow.

I got up, my legs sticking to the bench where my shorts ended. A smaller path ran into the woods. I followed it to a river, and stood looking across. A branch ran from my end to the other side. It was thin, but the bark was rough. It was high above the water, maybe ten feet up. I might fall. I would get hurt. I was alone and no one would find me for a while. I stood there, my mind blank. I stepped out and then walked across, one foot in front of the other. I didn’t even notice as bark turned into dirt again beneath my feet. These woods were full of hills, little mounds and valleys that hid what was up ahead. I liked not knowing what was next.

I didn’t see it at first, because there was a hill in the way. But then I came over the rise and I saw something out of place. A cabin, its straight edges and square corners stark against curving trees and a flowing mosaic of leaves. Nobody could be living in it, at least not year round, because the walls were simply stacked logs with gaps in between. I didn’t even think there was door at first, but then I saw it; the thin plywood was thrown wide open. I took a step closer. All I could see was some trash. A few cans, a grocery bag, an old mattress.

It was ugly. That’s all I could think. The smell was even worse. Gross.

I stepped closer, onto the threshold. There was some more junk to the right of the door and to the left . . . oh my god.

I stumbled backwards and tripped over the door frame, landing on my elbows, breathing hard. I covered my mouth to keep from letting out the sobs and screams that tried to escape and bit my hand. I crawled backwards from the cabin.

It was a dead body. Hanging from the ceiling. I slowly drew my hand away and wiped it on my shorts, leaning forward with my palms on my knees. I slowed my heart with tense, concentrated breath. I got up. I crept back to the doorway, clinging to the door frame, afraid to fall into the room. The rope came down from the rafters and wrapped around his neck. He sagged from the loop.

His eyes were dull and glassy and his face pale. He was wearing a red shirt and sneakers and jeans with a belt. I stood in the door clutching the wall until my knuckles turned white, staring.

The morning before he died, he must have put on those jeans. For some reason, I got stuck on that thought. He tightened his belt and pulled on his shirt just like he did every morning, but by the time he reached this cabin, he had had purpose burning in his chest. I knew.

I felt like I was dreaming, and my heart beat strong and loud. The world was spinning. Conviction. I knew what I had to do.

IMAGE BY GENEVA MORELAND

29

Literary

Gun CONTROL MUST BE LIBERATIONIST

By Magdalena Smith The voices of liberation movements are rarely heard Rarely prioritized, often deterred In the fight against gun violence We silence the marginalized The world only listens to white children’s cries We distance communities who’ve faced gun violence all their lives In which the barrel of a gun is a daily reality And neighborhood violence reflects human mortality The greatest fear is not counselor confidentiality Gun violence impacts marginalized communities Domestic violence survivors Trans women of color Non-white, non-majority Gun violence devastates differently Depending on marginality To lawmakers, gun violence is commonality Gun murders triviality Lacking human morality The NRA basks in a wasteland of banality But united we can stop mass brutality Black Lives Matter, feminists, womanists, LGBTQ+ liberationists, we Call for no more gun violence in schools Backyards Streets No more gun violence towards our siblings; towards me No more gun violence in the “land of the free” Championing full liberation, intersection

Untitled

By Shivani Patel Did I make the right decision?

I was following my ambition Read your body language Now we’re speaking the same tongue Getting closer like magnets You’ve replaced my addiction with your existence My persistence is perpetual Can I come see you?

Let’s make it a routine

SNAG

By Sophie Wray

Senryu

By Jenny Yoon hey let’s hang out soon if it gets awkward we can just go on our phones

30

Everybody loves A good snaggletooth you know?

Just gotta floss more!

Literary flashlights matzo this summer is darker than the rest keep the lights off keep the windows shut we wear the night on our shoulders draped over our curves looming and sweet the moon is reflected in our eyes our lips carefully pressed and ironed crackling hearts

The Law Against My Mother’s Words

By Eleanor Randl

we are earth’s daughters herded into cattle cars while it rains ash and we smell of smoke we do not speak of mother even though she is here blinking and waiting blinking and waiting we can still see her bright and light and clear as day she’s in the curve of my spine and the point in Ada’s nose she surfaces in hot baths her hands swirling bubbles her chest warming water we dream of her running across rooftops a streak of turquoise dancing

IMAGE BY GENEVA MORELAND

on cool rainy nights we dream she has escaped and her eyes are wild her cheeks are bright yes it is true we do not speak of mother she is a glimmer from time her bare feet padding on tin every night running farther and farther away IMAGE BY GENEVA MORELAND

31

Literary

BURNING SKY

By Gus Kuckes

“T

his is going to be a very short story,” thought Laila. She looked at her watch, she tilted her unnaturally thin wrist towards the window in front of her in the wall above the ragtag desk in the corner of the attic, and she saw—reflected in the glass of the thin watch face, through the small window with its edges giving off large splinters—the red glow of the burning sky outside. She could hear the planes getting closer, coming for them in Neuköln in Southern Berlin now. “The bombs will be here in a few minutes,” she thought. She could already feel the heat of the flames approaching, but she didn’t care anymore. She didn’t want to run. She didn’t want to hide.

Her literature teacher had told her that stories were eternal, the day before they found him hanging in his apartment, covered in gin. He was going to be drafted; the war had been going on for a year and a half already. Laila had wanted to tell him that she knew the war would be over, that she knew that if he joined, they would make him an ambulance driver, and two months after getting out of basic training he would be shot in the groin and they would send him home humiliated, but still a man with many stories to tell, many important things to tell the world, which, if he played his cards right, could have made him a famous playwright. But instead, he had given himself over to oblivion; he had no family and they buried him in a numbered grave outside a prison.

But he was brave, she saw that now. That was something it had been so hard for her to be, given the dreams she had. Not that they seemed real: unlike the dreams of many people, they never seemed real, they seemed more than that, they seemed like an impossibly vivid recollection of something that had already happened long ago, that the black smudges on the sidewalks and the roughness of the hastily poured concrete, the chips from bullets on the columns of the city’s nicest buildings, were not the future, but a sort of past whose marks made her bones sore in the morning, and made her feel old. But sooner or later, the dreams always came true.

She had seen this moment before; as surely as she knew she would make it through the first war, she knew that she would not make it through this one. She had seen before the thin silvery hands of her watch slowly turning against the eerie red of the reflection of the sky in the glass watch face.

She had seen the blank page before her. And she had heard the bombs coming closer.

They are using incendiary bombs now. You can feel the air warming up, you can see the few grey leaves that remain on the street outside rustling around, soon to be swept up by the great updrafts that the fires produce.

She had never been able to be brave, because she saw most of it. She knew the day her father was going to have his finger crushed in the tank factory, and she begged him not to go. She knew the exact time her uncle, lying in the mud, would be snuffed out by the impact of a mortar in the early days of Verdun. And there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Laila mused that perhaps she had never done the right thing. She had 32

She wrote very quickly, and stopped paying attention to time; she went to her shelf and ripped out the blank pages at the end of her books for more paper, and when she was finished with that, she ripped down old newspapers from the sloping ceiling. not completely fought against the chains of destiny, she had not jumped in the street, nor feigned madness that day so her father would not go to work. Nor did she ever give into the sadness and anger and deny what she saw, and thinking herself insane, refuse to believe in the visions of the future, and just live, stupid but happy, in the world she saw by daylight.

But perhaps it was only that she had never let herself just live her life.

She had never wanted to admit to herself that she had this gift, and so she had not taken determination to have free will and create a life for herself in the spaces between the visions that were left to her; that is, writing her own story. Maybe that was what she could do. Write a story for herself in the spaces, in the margins.

There was still time, because she was past time already. She stopped looking at her watch, for she was past the point that she could see clearly, the bombs were close now, but she didn’t care, for there would be no more futility. She threw her watch out into the street. She gazed as, seemingly in slow motion, first the leather band compressed, making it bounce a little, and then it landed face down and the glass shattered, the tiny shards scattering, dancing briefly in the wind, and then lying inert on the street.

The wind, the drafts, swept them away a short time later, but this is not something that she saw.

She sat down to write. One small piece of beauty that she could create: something worthwhile, some small piece of eternity that might make her life of futility worthwhile. She put into it all the books she had ever read, and she glanced at most of them as she did it, the great shelves of titles nearly lacking covers now that got her through these last few months of shortages and bomb blasts. It was redemptive. w, papers that she had been using for insulation, and to patch the holes in the roof, for lack of good wood.

She wrote of all the castles and forests of Germany, of all the fields and streams that she had never been able to see, trapped in this grey city of smoke staining bricks black; she wrote of daring princesses and gallant princes, of fierce queens and evil kings; of cunning witches, talking animals and thousand year curses. And at the end, all is well. In the end of the story, that is.

She walked to the window, She took a final affectionate look at the street where she had lived for the last eleven years. She could feel a strong updraft, and she cast her pile of papers out the window, and watched as they rose up into the burning sky.

A few minutes later, Laila and all her earthly possessions were destroyed by a bomb dropped by an American pilot idly smoking a cigarette in order to disguise his fear.

Literary

IMAGE BY ALADDIN HAMMAMI ON UNSPLASH

You could have been forgiven for thinking it was snowing in the streets, in the streets of Homs in Syria seventy years later. Small irregular pieces of hot ash rained down from the sky, but that didn’t do a lot against the cold, the terrible creeping cold of the night, which was why Akhmed, 14, and Ilias, 10, were out walking in the street. Their mother Zaina was still huddled in the cellar of their building, for she had given birth only half an hour before. As the boys walked, looking for some sort of insulation, something to keep them and their new baby sister off the concrete floor, a way to prevent them from freezing-- already they had needed to burn their blankets-- they tried again not to think of their father, who had gone off to fight with the FSA two years ago, and who they hadn’t seen since.

They could barely hear each other anymore. This round of shelling had only been going on for a few days, but if you took into account the bombardments of the past few months, that sometimes lasted for weeks, both of the boys should have been deaf already. And yet, they both tried.

Akhmed understood the need to talk, the need to say something, if only to keep himself company. Who knew what he could do for Ilias; his brother had hardly known anything except war, and it showed in his vacant eyes, his air of solitude, and long silences which so unbecame his age.

The boys had been huddled in a smashed-in shopfront on a street corner for the last five minutes, after hearing a mortar blast land on the block to their east when they had made it only two blocks north of their cellar.

Finally they could hear the bombs abating; it seemed the shelling was receding, or at least, that it was moving further east.

“Are you alright?” asked Akhmed.

Ilias just looked at him, and the boys stood facing each other for a moment, Ilias’ arms limp by his sides, his large head gazing up at Akhmed, as they paused, barefoot on top of broken glass on top of the concrete and dirt and rubble of the abandoned shop. The boys looked around at the empty shelves for a moment. They and their neighbors had long ago taken everything that Mr. Baquir and his wife had left in their shop when they fled so quickly for Turkey in the early days of the war, except the poster of a famous Lebanese singer which still hung incongruously on the back wall, the deep indigo of the background faded and dusty. Akhmed noticed that someone had ripped x marks where the eyes had been.

Then the boys began to shiver again. They were no longer huddled together, after all, and they were cold. Akhmed noticed the thin weeds beginning to poke out through the rubble on the sidewalk outside. “That might do something,” thought Akhmed—they would keep walking, and collect as many of those as they could. Allah please let it be enough.

The boys walked a few blocks, visiting places where they found things before: an old trash heap behind a restaurant, a few more empty caves that had once been convenience stores, but everything was bare. The weeds

they collected hardly got beyond a few fistfuls. Little more could they collect, even after looking in every building besides the few basements in which their neighbors still cowered.

Eventually, the shelling seemed to pick up again, and it was getting dark, so the boys started to head back. Akhmed cut his foot on a piece of rebar-- it wasn’t bad, but he knew he should get back and wash it, if they could spare the water. Both of them were sad, as they stepped out into the street. For a long time, all they had felt was numbness, but now they felt sad.

They crossed the first block shimmying tight against the wall, in the shadows of a building that still conserved its first three floors. As they stepped out hesitantly into the bright streetcorner, illuminated by the red setting sun, setting against the burning sky of falling ash that they had learned to call their own, they heard a whistling, and they saw shadows on the ground. The boys looked up, expecting to die.

Instead, the boys witnessed as a cascade of pieces of paper floated down from sky, a brilliant, heroic tan illuminated by the sun, somehow more like light brass or copper than paper. The pieces were mostly small, but some were larger, and they were covered with a foreign script.

Akhmed would have smiled if his face had still known how. He had been preparing to die for years now. The moment of relief it brought to Ilias was even briefer. But the boys felt something like a warmth inside, a small, but certain relief. It puzzled them, how it mismatched the cold of the night. They picked up the papers, quickly because who knew who was watching them in the sunlight, and hurried home.

Their new baby sister was sound asleep on Zaina’s chest when the boys arrived. They still hadn’t thought of a name for her. Akhmed wondered what her life would be like. If there would only ever be more of this.

“What are we going to name her?” asked Zaina. “Maybe Laila, like your grandmother?”

“Laila’s a nice name,” said Akhmed. Ilias was already curled up in the corner of the basement, wrapped up in his share of the papers they had brought home, on top of the crumbling concrete of the basement’s raised corner, a miserable excuse for a cushion.

Akhmed took Laila from Zaina, who was exhausted, and somehow, without waking the baby, went and curled up besides Ilias in the corner.

He fidgeted left and right for a time, trying to get some of the papers between him and Laila and Ilias and the floor without waking either of them, until he managed it. He fell asleep, shortly after that.

That night the three of them slept soundly through the awful sound of distant explosions, dreaming of the peaceful fields, talking animals, castles, princesses, and princes of Germany.

33

Penultimate

THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY

By Sophie Wray

Merry Month of May 1

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SURREALIO

Across 4. One of the last days off of school until the end of the year 6. May! The last full month of the _____ year 8. In the Northern Hemisphere it’s spring in May, but in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s _____ 9. Juniors take this test that is important for college 11. Starting May 1, there are only this many weeks of school left!

12. Junior _____! Everyone gets all dressed up and it’s a whole big shebang Down 1. The birthstone for May 2. May 13 is the day to celebrate these important women 3. A zodiac sign for this month 5. The other zodiac sign for this month 7. The first word of this Mexican holiday on May 5 10. These college-level tests happen in mid-May and they absolutely suck

Down

of the last days off of school until the end of the

1. This is the birthstone for May

! The last full month of the _____ year

2. May 13th is the day for celebrating these important women

By Ethan Carlson

e Northern Hemisphere it’s spring in May but in the rn Hemisphere it’s this season

ors usually take this test that is important for s in May

rting May 1st there are only this many weeks of left!

nior _____! Everybody gets all dressed up and it's e big shebang

34

3. The other zodiac sign for this month 5. One of the Zodiac signs for this month, (May 21-June 20) 7. The first word of this mexican holiday on May 5th 10. These college level tests happen in the middle of may and they absolutely suck

Penultimate

PHOTO OF THE MONTH

If you think your premiums are low... it’s probably

By Geneva Moreland

INSURANCE

Specializing in Auto & Home Insurance

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Back Page

The Signs: Warm Weather Wonders!

Things your sign can do in the newly found warmth of May!

By Sophie Wray

The Coolness Spectrum COOL

Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20)

Pick some flowers! Make a nice bouquet of them and put them in your room to brighten it up a little bit.

AP exams being over :)

Gemini (May 21 - Jun 20)

The best thing to do at school during the last couple of months . . . sit outside in the sunshine at lunch.

Cancer (Jun 21 - Jul 22)

Pull out the spring and summer clothes from the back of your closet. May is the month you know it’s finally warm enough to tuck away those sweaters and coats.

Leo (Jul 23 - Aug 22)

Hike! As soon as trails like Cascadilla open up, skidaddle on out there.

Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22)

Have a picnic! What better to do than eat some yummy seasonal foods and sit in the warmth?

Finally, you can go hang out on the Commons and enjoy sitting on the benches and walking around in the sunshine and warmth.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)

Go strawberry picking. May is the start of strawberry-picking season, and all the other berries will soon follow!

Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18)

You can finally go to places like Gimme or Viva and sit outside for the first time since before winter!

Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20)

Break out the Birks; let those toes breathe.

Swim! Soon enough, anyway, but if you’re brave you could hop into the lake right now, if you wanna risk hypothermia.

Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21)

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 19)

Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22)

Go to the Farmers’ Market and peruse all of the produce and food stands.

Walk along underneath the pavillion and sit on the dock to feed the ducks.

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Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21)

Shimmy into some shorts! Your legs deserve to see the sun after so many months of being tucked away from winter’s icy chill.

Knowing what college you’re going to Sweet Melissa’s is open (x3) Sitting in the quad in the sun Playing hacky sack in the quad Bus drills Getting yelled at for wearing spaghetti straps Heat in upstairs G AP tests

UNCOOL