November 2017 • Estd. 1892 • Vol. 125 #3 • Published Monthly • www.ihstattler.com Ithaca High School, 1401 North Cayuga Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 • FREE
NEW VISIONS NEWS Page 18
WHAT DOES IT MEAN
STUDENT FEATURE:
A CLASSICAL PLAYLIST
TO BE AMERICAN?
MIRA DRISKELL
FOR THE FALL SEASON
Page 9
Page 20
Page 23
Editorial
WHY THE CITY OF ITHACA SHOULD SUPPORT LOCAL BUSINESSES
A
t the heart of Downtown Ithaca’s identity is a collection of small, local businesses that make the city truly unique. These businesses often struggle to stay afoot, but in the end contribute vastly to Ithaca’s distinctive community and culture. Therefore, any policy regarding expansion of business downtown should make support for these establishments the highest priority. It would make sense to provide incentives for the creation and expansion of businesses like these rather than large developments financed by corporations from outside the Ithaca area, and local policies should be reflective of those ideas. Despite the local community’s embrace of small, one-of-a-kind businesses, the direction taken by local government on this issue indicates different priorities. In August, Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick and Tompkins County Legislator Rich John published an opinion piece in the Ithaca Journal entitled “Investing in Community is How Ithaca Thrives.” In their piece, Myrick and John attribute what they see as a vibrant state of Downtown Ithaca to the Community Investment Incentive Tax Abatement Program (CIITAP). The program, which provides tax incentives for developments large enough to increase the value of a property by at least $500,000, has been utilized for the construction of projects such as the downtown Hilton and Marriott hotels. Myrick and John present the use of CIITAP as an easy and consistent path towards increasing revenue for the City due to growth it provides to its tax base. They go on to suggest that Ithaca stands out relative to other upstate cities because of large developments encouraged by programs like CIITAP. This prioritization of incentives for large development projects over the growth of smaller local businesses is harmful in both its creation of an individual arrangement that deals with broad economic challenges, and in its overlooking of the businesses that do more to contribute to the local culture and community. Much of the allure of favoring large individual developments is the potential of a project to quickly solve problems in the local economy, which supporters of CIITAP have given in to. The conclusion Myrick and John come to in their piece is dependent on the assumption that the state of Downtown Ithaca is entirely attributable to programs like CIITAP that encourage large developments. However, to solely credit the actions of the local government on Downtown Ithaca’s uniqueness and prosperity compared to other cities in Upstate New York would be giving too much credit to the city to where it is not all due. The state that Downtown Ithaca has entered is largely a result of the actions 2
of diverse individuals who started their own businesses, fostering the growth of what Ithaca has become since then. Ironically, these are the businesses that the tourists staying in the large downtown hotels will be attracted to, and are the ones that provide the uniqueness that no large development projects financed by corporations will ever be able to replicate. Only crediting city policies on the success of Ithaca’s development in comparison to other upstate cities is a stretch, and should not be used as justification of such policies. A possible improvement to this general agenda would be to try to incrementally replicate what is currently only being done for developments valued at half a million dollars or more on a smaller scale. Currently, no small-business aid exists that provides support with the same level of impact that CIITAP has on larger developments. If these tax abatements were not just used for massive developments, it would be possible for them to be used directly to support small, locally-run businesses. Over time this would have the same effect of supporting economic growth in Downtown Ithaca, while also having more of those abatements going to businesses that are actually in need of them to get by. Although it may be less tempting to engage in a more restrained, gradual means of supporting downtown development, doing so would greatly benefit smaller, local businesses in Downtown Ithaca. If the City of Ithaca continues to support providing tax abatements through programs like CIITAP that aid the growth of downtown business, it should also provide smaller local businesses with aid. Doing so would be better economically and culturally for the community than supporting developments by large corporations from outside of the local area. It may seem tempting to look at incentives for large development projects as easy and consistent sources of revenue, but they are no substitute for providing that aid directly to local businesses, doing the most to support the community that they help cultivate in Ithaca.
ALL THE NEWS THAT’S FIT TO TATTLE
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents
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IMAGE BY DAVID WERBROUCK
News Opinion Features Arts Sports Literary Penultimate Back Page
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Editorial
I
HOW DRESS CODE ENFORCEMENT CAN BE IMPROVED
n recent years, high school dress codes around the country have gotten attention from the media as students who were dress-coded (penalized for violation of the dress code) spoke out against their unfair enforcement. Schools throughout the US have sent girls home for trivial reasons, such as exposing their shoulders or collarbones, which could be interpreted as the objectification and hypersexualization of female students. Comparatively, IHS grants its students moderate freedom in terms of what they can wear to school. However, the high school staff still seems to be much more inclined to dress-code female students than male students, and seems to use inconsistent standards and unfair procedures in the event of a code violation, leading to a flawed and problematic method of rule enforcement. The rules of IHS’s dress code, according to the 2017–18 Student Handbook, are as follows: clothing that “bears an expression or insignia that is obscene, lewd, vulgar, libelous, [or] advocates unlawful violence or prejudice” or “is excessively ‘revealing’ or ‘see-through’ when it allows one’s underwear to be seen” is not permitted. The current dress code is notably different from that from the 2015–16 school year, which was more specific in defining what “revealing” meant through prohibiting “bottoms short enough that the student’s fingers extend below the hem when hands are held at the student’s side,” as well as banning tube tops, plunging necklines, and spaghetti straps. The recent changes in the dress code were instituted to reflect the administration’s goal of being more progressive and updated. On paper, IHS’s current dress code seems unbiased, reasonable, and much more forgiving than those of other school districts around the country that have harsher and more specific guidelines for what kind of clothing students, especially girls, are allowed to wear. However, despite their good intentions, the administration has not yet fully addressed the problems with dress code enforcement. The new rules, which became much more open to interpretation, cause biased enforcement, and some staff members enforce the code in such a way that leads to public humiliation and inefficient use of class time. According to a school-wide survey by the Tattler Editorial Board, among the 403 IHS student respondents, roughly 20 percent have been dress-coded at least once, and female students were about three times as likely to be dress-coded (at 38 percent) compared to male students. The breakdown by race and gender in the sample of students is similar to those of the whole student body, meaning that these statistics are likely to accurately represent IHS students. A number of female students expressed distaste toward the reasons for how they had violated the dress code, which included shorts that didn’t go past their fingertips, tops with spaghetti straps, or tops that revealed their shoulders, cleavage, stomachs, or backs. These are rules that are no longer included in the handbook, but are still enforced by some staff members.
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Conversely, the small percentage of male students (9 percent) who were dress-coded had been wearing togas or bathrobes as part of their sports team spirit. They reported that the dress code wasn’t enforced strongly, and that if the girls’ team had done the same, they would have been “harassed way more about it.” Many male students admitted that they did not understand why the dress code was a big deal, because they had never run into any problems with it. The statistical difference between the dress-code rates for boys and girls demonstrates the role that gender plays into the frequency of dress-coding at IHS. The survey results also showed that Asian students were least likely to have ever been dress-coded (at a dress-code rate of 8 percent), while Hispanic students (42 percent), followed by black or African American students (31 percent), were most often dress-coded. These statistics clearly show that race, in addition to gender, plays an important role in how school administrators interpret and enforce the current dress code. Students reported feeling discriminated against through enforcement of the dress code; for instance, one student wrote, “If I was white, they wouldn’t have said anything.” Body type can influence how students’ clothing is judged, and students reported this type of bias as well. Being dress-coded often comes hand in hand with humiliation. In the survey, students reported feeling “embarrassed and upset,” “targeted,” “self-conscious,” and “objectified.” In addition, the procedure following the violation, such as being sent out of class to change clothes, takes away from class time. Students are typically sent out of class to change into their gym clothes or clothes provided by the nurse, wasting time in which they could be learning. Given the much higher frequency of girls being dress-coded, this means that girls, especially Hispanic and African American girls, may be disadvantaged academically due to how they dress. In the current dress code, the level at which clothing is deemed inappropriate is generalized as “excessively revealing,” which is problematic, because any ambiguity in the wording of the dress code allows teachers to use their biases and personal impressions to distinguish between suitable and unsuitable attire. Reverting back to a more specifically outlined dress code is not the solution to eliminate biased dress code enforcement. Rather, in order to make dress code enforcement fairer, school staff responsible for enforcing the dress code should be informed of the consequences of dress-coding, such as lost class time and humiliation. Instead of confronting students about their attire in front of the class, conversations about the dress code should occur privately. Staff should also be made aware of the sexist and racist implications of biased dress code enforcement. Instead of accusing students of wanting to attract attention, for instance, the dialogue should instead be focused on maintaining a semi-professional environment through the clothes and attitudes of all students. Through these measures, staff members would be much more likely to reflect on who they dress-code and why.
Editorial
IMAGE BY ADEN ARDENRICH
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News
TOM REED HOLDS TOWN HALL AT ROMULUS CENTRAL SCHOOL By Aurora Wulff
O
n Saturday, October 14, Congressman Tom Reed held a town hall meeting in Romulus, part of a three-day bus tour to meet with constituents in the Southern Tier. The event was expected to be tense, with many Ithaca residents in attendance to voice their opposition to Tom Reed’s policies. Upon arriving at Romulus Central School, attendees entered a small cafeteria, passing two police officers standing at the ready. The majority of the people attending the town hall meeting were senior citizens who hoped to protest Republican healthcare legislation and propose better solutions. A small group of advocates arrived later on, holding signs that read “I Stand with Planned Parenthood.” At the tables were slips of paper to write a question or comment to be addressed by Tom Reed, US Representative for the 23rd Congressional District. Before Congressman Reed arrived, Eddie Sundquist, a Democratic candidate for New York’s Representative, walked around the tables introducing himself with the line, “Hi, I’m running against Tom Reed in 2018.” Sundquist spoke about his background as a lawyer and teacher, and some of his focuses such as unemployment from the loss of big manufacturing, building solar and wind farms, his support for Medicare, and solving the opioid crisis. He was sure to distance himself from Reed’s conservative policies, and many attendees cheered after his talk. Max Della Pia, another Democratic opponent of Reed, introduced himself to residents after the meeting was finished. Reed arrived late from his town hall meeting in Candor, and started by asking the crowd to rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. He thanked everyone for coming, and said he looked forward to having a “respectful dialogue” with the crowd. Reed then began by speaking about his main focuses such as tax reform and his stance on the repeal of the Affordable Care Act. After this brief introduction to his policies, he moved on to addressing the written questions from the meeting attendees. The first question he addressed was whether he supported the president’s recent executive order “Promoting Healthcare Choice and Competition Across the United States.” Reed fully endorsed the executive order, stating his belief in the benefits of the reimbursement system, which he thinks will improve the quality of healthcare. Reed then opened the floor to questions from the audience, and he was asked to expand on his idea of “better care.” Reed’s response included rewarding providers for “treatment provided in a quicker and more efficient manner,” getting subjective feed6
back from the patients’ and doctors’ perspectives, and penalizing providers who do not meet quality and customer satisfaction standards. Reed was met with a strong negative response from the audience. One woman quoted Bernie Sanders’ strong denunciation of the Republican healthcare plan. Her response aroused the crowd, inciting a long applause. Reed tried to move from the heated conversation by addressing another person from the crowd, who represented people in the Bahamas, an island group hit by five recent hurricanes. He wanted Reed to meet with a small group to fill the post of an ambassador to the Bahamas, which he believed would better the economy of the Bahamas and upstate New York. He was met with no real confirmation of action from Reed. The topic at hand was then inevitably switched to a discussion of President Trump. When asked if he had any concerns with the president’s competency, Reed responded, “No I do not,” and stated he had “respect for his relationship with the president.” Another area of conflict for the meeting was centered around gun control. Reed was presented with a petition for stronger gun control legislation from Tim Willard, a resident of Newfield and member of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church. It stated, “We need to keep the more powerful firearms in the possession of police, reduce the presence of firearms in public, help gun owners be more vigilant about gun safety, and keep firearms out of the hands of irresponsible individuals.” Reed did not stray from his stance of full support of the Second Amendment, saying, “I think that restricts a lot of law abiding citizens way too far.” When asked about semi-automatic weapons, Reed responded, “That’s a completely separate issue. Are you saying I shouldn’t have my gun?” This was met with a resounding “yes” from the crowd, and debate over gun control continued with arguments for and against stricter gun laws, the majority of the audience advocating for the former. Reed eventually ended the discussion, saying he needed to move on to his next meeting in Urbana. The Romulus Town Hall Meeting allowed constituents to voice their concerns and frustrations over issues of contention such as healthcare and gun control. While this did provide constituents with an outlet and forum for discussion, it is difficult to say that any real progress or change was made. Reed simply reaffirmed his solidified stances, while straying away from discussion regarding the controversial issues that were brought before him.
LOCAL ELECTIONS ON NOVEMBER 7 By Vaynu Kadiyali
O
n November 7, New York State voters will head to the polls to make important decisions about local and state politics. All seats in the Tompkins County Legislature are up for election, and important positions on the District Supreme Court are being appointed around the state. Also, four propositions about city and state laws are on the ballot this year, and all have large repercussions that could influence state politics for years to come. The Tompkins County Legislature may see significant changes after this election. While eleven of the fourteen seats are uncontested and will likely see incumbents remain in office, several close races have developed. The issues of jail expansion and over-taxation in Ithaca have led to many activist candidacies under the Working Families Party, a minor party that has endorsed Democrats in several county races. Additionally, with Representatives Carol Chock, Jim Dennis, Dooley Kiefer, Peter Stein, and Will Burbank not seeking re-election, Tompkins County has seen a revival of interest in local politics from residents who hadn’t seen hotly contested county elections in years. Also, on November 7, six of New York’s thirteen judicial districts will be electing justices, and the judicial district encompassing Tompkins County has one spot up for election. Several counties make up each judicial district, and all voters in a district elect the jurists, given county judgeships in their district. These elections are very important—justices are elected for fourteen-year terms, and they make decisions on all civil court cases, as well as small criminal felonies. One judgeship is up for election in the Sixth District, which includes Tompkins County, and the election is unchallenged. Justice Jeffrey Tait, the incumbent Republican justice of the Broome County Supreme Court, is running unopposed in the election. However, a New York State law requires that judgeships are voted upon during the year in which their justice turns 70 years old. Because of his age, Tait will face re-election before the end of his fourteen-year term in 2031. Finally, some of the most important decisions New York voters will be making will be in regards to new ballot propositions. The most debated proposition is Proposition 1, asking voters whether or not to hold a constitutional convention to update New York’s state constitution. If approved, a convention would take place in the summer of 2019, with electors representing each state senate district. With the last convention having taken place over fifty years ago, supporters of the convention argue that New York desperately needs the chance to make large changes to the cumbersome and increasingly obsolete document. Opponents argue that while the current system of governance is ineffective, a constitutional convention could allow outside forces, like lobbyists and the biases of elected officials, to have a large say over the future direction of New York. Additionally, a constitutional convention could result in a redistribution of power in the state’s legislative branch, benefiting either upstate New York or New York City depending on the outcome of the vote. The significance of this proposition, along with two other state amendments, means that the results of this election could have long lasting effects. Voters in Ithaca and Tompkins County will have many important decisions to make when they go to the polls on November 7. While the Supreme Court position will very likely remain unchanged, the makeup of the Tompkins County legislature is set to change significantly after this election, and the state’s entire legal code may be rewritten if Proposition 1 wins a majority of votes. A lot is at stake in this election, making participation in local elections important now more than ever before.
News
UPDATE FROM A REP TO THE BOARD By Leo Song Student government at IHS can sometimes be very confusing. Students might ask: “I want better quality toilet paper. Who do I talk to?” or “The dress code is totally unfair! No one seems to listen or care about my ideas. What do I do?” The answer to those questions is to speak to the Representatives to the Board of Education (BoE). There are four representatives at IHS: Leo Song, Asha Duhan, Meera Bai Singh, and Myeong Hak Lee. Representatives are responsible for being the link between the BoE, the powerful elected body that makes important decisions about the school district and ICSD’s student body. Representatives attend biweekly Board meetings on Tuesday nights at 7:00 pm in the district building on Lake Street. These meetings are open to the public, and students are encouraged to attend meetings to stay informed about important educational decisions. The job of Representatives to the BoE is to be a voice for students and to fight for their ideas at these meetings. Students at IHS are passionate about issues relating to school, such as the dress code, bathrooms, and water quality. Students are encouraged to talk to or email any representative, or to talk to student council representatives in social studies classes so that invaluable opinions may be heard and communicated to the Board. Here are a few updates from recent meetings: The Board has enacted a plan to revamp the plumbing and old fountains in all ICSD schools with new units to fix the lead problem. They are installing new fountains, some of which will have a water bottle-filling mechanism to further reduce waste. Caroline and Enfield are being repaired right now, and each school’s renovation will cost the district $15,000. The Board has also budgeted $180,000 this year for spending on improvements to water quality; the same sum will be spent next year. Northeast and South Hill Elementary School pipes and fountains will be replaced between December 2017 and February 2018. Cayuga Heights and Belle Sherman will be March through June of 2018. Unfortunately, all other ICSD buildings, including IHS, are scheduled to be repaired last, likely in the summer of 2018. Secondly, the IHS administration will be making an important decision about whether or not to factor in PE and Fine Arts classes into high school GPA. The Student Council has been lobbying hard for this effort, and a decision will be reached before the end of the first quarter of classes. Finally, the Board approved the merger between the Ithaca Girls Hockey team and the Union Endicott girls, allowing IHS to have a goalkeeper. This merge did not negatively impact any of the IHS Hockey girls, and more details will emerge as the winter sports season approaches. The first BoE meeting for the month will be on November 7. The meeting will include a discussion of issues and will conclude with a vote, and all students are encouraged to attend.
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News
GRAMMATECH AWARDED $9 MILLION CYBERSECURITY GRANT By Magdalena Smith
I
n October, Ithaca company GrammaTech received a $9 million grant from the U.S. Government’s Office of Naval Research for research and development (R&D) on cybersecurity and the protection of software from cyberattacks. The company was founded in 1988 by Cornell University professor Tim Teitelbaum. Over the past thirty years, GrammaTech has received research grants from the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Department of Homeland Security, the Missile Defense Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and the United States military. This grant, the largest single contract the company has received, comes from the Department of Naval Research. Rodney Fleming, marketing manager at GrammaTech, explains its purpose: “The contract is to shrink the attack servers on legacy systems. Legacy systems are any systems that have embedded code, and can be any age, as long as they are already in existence.” Due to being outdated and often involving numerous modifications, patching, and adjustments in order to function, legacy systems have increased vulnerability to malware and cyberattacks. GrammaTech as a company mainly focuses on developing their product CodeSonar, a highly advanced static analysis tool. Static analysis is a method of debugging that only analyzes the code in a system, not running the program or viewing system operation to detect defects through operation. CodeSonar is a program that enters systems to automatically parse out code that is no longer needed. This makes the systems more secure and allows programs to run more efficiently. CodeSonar is deployed for embedded, automotive, medical, industrial automation, and aerospace and defense systems. The program is distributed and used internationally. GrammaTech is a proactive company, not a reactive one, according to Fleming, who says that CodeSonar is one of the most sophisticated static analysis tools on the market. “Proactive software scans sources during the development phase, using static or dynamic analysis tools to find bugs or flaws, rather than deploying it after the fact,” says Fleming. “It costs exponentially more money to fix things after the fact instead of having done so during the development phase, and it enables companies to save face and save money.” Last year, two hundred teams applied to be part of the DARPA Cyber Grand Challenge, in which DARPA held a contest to sponsor cybersecurity research. Each team built a server that competed with every other server, each one patching themselves and trying to hack the others, essentially playing offense and defense simultaneously. The GrammaTech team was among the top seven teams, who then competed against one another in autonomic computing and binary coding. GrammaTech’s team TECHx earned a $1 million prize for second place when they created the robot Xandra, a stand-alone Cyber Reasoning System that went into other systems to hack them and patch itself with no one at the keyboard. This task was in fact parallel to the research the final grant would be for, and was a component of why the company received the much larger grant from the Office of Naval Research. 8
“Anything connected to the Internet of Things can be hacked or tampered with in virtually any way,” says Fleming. This includes everything from electric coffee grinders to military aircraft to vital state infrastructure. “Anything that has embedded code can be manipulated.” In 2014, for example, Toyota cars had problems accelerating and braking properly, which was directly linked to 31 accidents and the deaths of 12 people. The software that Toyota installed had caused cars to accelerate nonstop, though the cause was originally unknown. GrammaTech, using its binary analysis program, detected more defects in the Toyota system’s code than any tool that used only static analysis. The program helped prevent countless deaths and held the Toyota company accountable—the company had implied the crashes were the fault of the vehicles’ drivers, and had evaded taking responsibility for the accidents as being the fault of defective code. Due to numerous lawsuits, the company ended up having to pay $1.2 billion in settlements, which The Washington Post estimated as totalling around a third of Toyota’s 2013 profits. In 2010, NASA partnered with GrammaTech to employ CodeSonar to improve the accuracy and quality of NASA’s software and to identify and fix defects. The performance of the NASA Space Network is critical to space science, spaceflight, and space missions, and to data used in earth science. CodeSonar detected 585 defects in the code of several NASA Space Network software programs, 59 of which were determined to be urgent, and dealt with them using CodeSonar. There were 1.18 defects detected per thousand lines of code, and CodeSonar has made the NASA security system one of the best in the industry. “Cyberattacks go way deeper than the majority of the population thinks,” Fleming says. “They’re going to keep happening, which is why it’s especially important to be proactive instead of reactive.” GrammaTech has publicized the grant in the community and is especially interested in hiring locally. “We’re hiring for fifteen to twenty positions right now and focusing specifically on the Ithaca area,” Fleming says. “We want to hire people who are already in Ithaca and also to recruit people to move to Ithaca.” GrammaTech employs roughly eighty people, fifty of whom work at their base in Ithaca. More than twenty GrammaTech employees have PhD’s in computer science-related fields. With the Department of Naval Research contract, GrammaTech will help Ithaca’s local economy through hiring more people. The company is working with the Ithaca Chamber ofCommerce in order to recruit more employees. Surprisingly, few people know that GrammaTech exists in Ithaca, Fleming observes. “You don’t picture an advanced, massive tech company here in Ithaca.” However, GrammaTech is very active in the local community, mainly with Cornell University. The company has sponsored the Cornell Hackathon for several years, and also runs programs in which GrammaTech employees mentor students majoring in fields relating to computer science. Going into tech and working on cybersecurity issues is “rewarding, extremely interesting, and critically important,” Fleming says. To high school students, he says: “If this is something you’re interested in, go for it, and major in computer science in college.”
Opinion
IMAGE BY LUCAS SANKEY
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE AMERICAN? By Alexander Yoo
I
n light of recent controversies, a single question comes to mind: What does it mean to be an American? Is being an American simply a matter of citizenship, or is it something deeper? Am I an American? Are you? The true definition is hard to pin down. It changes based on the person or the situation, and it changes all the time. The word American has become almost like Play-Doh: one can mold it to however they wish to use it. Recently, the idea of being American has been further fractured. Current disputes over matters including the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) and over athletes kneeling during the national anthem have deepened divides between Americans. These issues have created even more questions over the nature of Americanism: are DACA benefactors American? Is it truly patriotic to kneel during the anthem, or even to stand? To me, an American is one who understands the need for diversity and vouches for it. Diversity is immensely important, and we can see its importance even in nature. Without it, an ecosystem is weak and prone to falling apart, and the same goes for American society, which has grown and thrived thanks to the ideas, labor, and culture brought by others. The times are changing, and we need diversity. We get our diversity from immigrants, refugees, and people from all over the world who look to us as a beacon of hope. Donald Trump has stated his intent to repeal DACA, an immigration policy that allowed a period of deferred action from deportation for children who had entered the US illegally as children. Donald Trump has no regard for its beneficiaries, and even went so far as to call the program “illegal amnesty.” Are these people who have come to America and grown alongside us not Americans? Nine hundred DACA beneficiaries are currently serving in a program that allows them to serve their country. Why would they fight for Americans? It’s really a simple matter: they are Americans themselves. Despite an attempt to drive them out and cast them out,
America is the home of DACA recipients, and it is their home as much it is yours. Our president has also called refugees a Trojan Horse, labeling them a threat. Refugees from places like Syria, Burma, and Iraq have lost everything to the war, terror, and even genocide. As a result, they turn to America, a land of abundance, to find safety. Yet they are condemned for occupying our nation. Our country is more fractured than ever, over even the smallest issues. If we don’t shape up and live to our ideals, we are breaking a deal—a deal our forefathers made to the world, that America would be a place of freedom and liberty. Another source of controversy has been that football players have recently begun to kneel or link arms during the national anthem to protest current racial tensions. People are condemning these actions as unpatriotic and disrespectful toward our country. However, these players are standing up for change. They see people dying and struggling with the racial divide increasing, and they want to help by calling attention to causes that they feel drawn to. They see the country they once loved spiral downwards, and they are saying that this is not America. They see an America full of racism and hate, and they try to appeal to the common sense in the most prominent way that they can. They see one another being bashed in the media, yet still join in. Why? Because they are American, and they wish to defend their country and its ideals. An American has integrity, tenacity, ownership, and compassion. An American upholds the ideals of the society. By dividing our nation, by labelling some residents ‘Un-American’, we fail to uphold our patriotic duties to create as safe and welcoming a nation as possible. When we suppress expression and condemn those who try to publicly raise awareness to social issues in our nation, we are preventing a much needed dialogue in our nation and infringing upon the rights of other Americans to free speech and expression. 9
Opinion
QUESTIONING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HEALTH OBSERVANCES By Jacob Yoon
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ational Health Observances (NHO) are specific months, weeks, or days dedicated to furthering public understanding of the risks and severity of certain diseases. In 1984, the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (ODPHP) began compiling and publishing health observance dates, and since then, many organizations have created NHOs. Observances in the month of November include awareness for health issues such as Alzheimer’s disease, pancreatic cancer, and prostate cancer, and have been put under the umbrella of Movember and No-Shave November. Although NHOs do allow various health issues to receive attention, no evidence has been found to prove the economic benefits or successes of NHOs, which is why the ODPHP should consider different solutions to raise awareness of global health issues. “When you think about awareness days and start to look at them, you see there’s next to no evidence on their impact,” said John W. Ayers, a research professor at the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health, in a prominent interview with CBS News. “We have no idea if they’re working.” Ayers states that NHOs are easy to implement, and while some have big advertising budgets, others spend close to nothing on advertising and awareness. However, there hasn’t been a way to evaluate the effectiveness of NHOs, and many unsuccessful ones with low public impacts have been allowed to continue unchallenged. Some observances aren’t even related to charitable fundraising, meaning that some corporations exploit the charitable nature of these events without providing any support for non-profits that fundraise for certain diseases. However, money is only a part of the reason why NHOs exist. Like an anniversary or birthday, having a time set aside in the calendar gives organizations assurance that the disease in question will draw attention. At its core, the goal of an awareness month is to bring attention to a particular health problem by providing information and shedding light on the specific challenges the type of disease presents. The problem is, awareness months fail to accomplish their main goal to educate, and, in their current state, don’t even come close to providing the public with necessary information. Awareness months in their current state only succeed at informing people nationwide about the existence of different diseases and health issues, and they fail at encouraging the nation and the world to take action to help people suffering from these medical conditions. Another issue with NHOs is that they only bring awareness to health-related topics on certain months or days, many of which are occupied by multiple other NHOs. This causes most health issues to be ignored, even ones that especially need to be destigmatized or brought to public attention. Last month, a group of students at IHS realized that sexual assault issues had an observance that occurs in April, and they saw 10
that no effort had ever been taken at IHS to raise awareness of this very relevant issue. By making the issue prominent, they were able to spread awareness about this important issue. NHOs have existed for over three decades, and their popularity is still rising. The effectiveness and success of the efforts are lacking, however, and we need an improvement in the way we respond and act to help individuals dealing with serious illnesses—after all, people are strengthened by action, empowered by knowledge, and sustained by community. Meaningless showings of support during a single day in a year do next to nothing to help sufferers of diseases, and while NHOs are a great concept, we are effectively using them to accomplish next to nothing.
Opinion
IMAGE FROM PEXELS
ON GUN CONTROL By Isabel Rubin
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n light of the recent tragedy in Las Vegas, Nevada, it is clear that the US is in need of a wake-up call. Over and over, American citizens hear on the news of another mass shooting, or in some cases, tragedies aren’t widely publicized. The public seems to go into a short period of despair with people sending “thoughts” and “prayers” for victims of gun violence, but again and again, nothing changes. At the moment in the United States, gun laws vary depending on the state, but federal law states that no person under the age of 18 may possess a handgun or handgun ammunition, but places no restriction on long guns or long gun ammunition, such as shotguns. In New York, you must be 21 years old, or have an honorable discharge from the army in order to obtain a legal firearms permit. However, 31 states allow the open carrying of a handgun without any license or permit. This means in 31 out of 50 states, there is absolutely no criteria for owning a gun, aside from being 18 years of age or older. In this day and age, with the constant news of shootings, why haven’t Americans done anything to change these clearly failing laws? The arguments against gun control are often ridiculous. One that is often cited is, “The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Isn’t this the entire premise behind the police? It is quite unlikely that in any situation a “good guy” could find a shooter and take them down before any damage has been done. The fact of the matter is
that no significant mass shooter has been challenged yet by a “good guy” carrying a gun. Logically, such a situation would rarely occur only if there were no guns, and there would resultingly never need to be a “good” or “bad guy.” The other claim made by pro-gun lobbyists is that outlawing guns would not stop mentally ill people from committing acts of violence. While this may be true, guns certainly make it much simpler for mentally ill people to quickly kill or injure others. Even if we were to not fully outlaw guns, our current system requires almost no mental health evaluation before being allowed to buy or possess a gun. Most recent mass shooters purchased guns immediately before their acts of violence, and had they been evaluated, likely wouldn’t have been sold weapons. We are in desperate need of more regulation: guns simply make it much easier for people to get hurt. Isn’t it worth it to save even just one life? The last pro-gun argument is usually that people want their guns for hunting. The issue with this argument is that the guns that would be confiscated would almost never be used for hunting. Dangerous guns are automatic weapons and military-style rifles which do far more damage than just killing animals—why should anyone not in the military or in direct combat need to possess such lethal weapons? In fact, out of the 92 mass shootings since 1982, only 19 took place with shotguns, the other shootings being mainly at the hands of semiautomatic handguns and assault rifles.
Take a look at Australia, which experienced a similar event in 1996. Thirty-five people were killed in a mass shooting, and action was taken immediately. Automatic and semi-automatic rifles were banned, the government bought guns back from their owners, destroying more than 600,000. In the 21 years since, there have been no mass shootings in Australia. Our current president reversed a rule that increased the regulation of who could or could not have guns, saying, “It could endanger the Second Amendment rights of law abiding citizens.” Aren’t citizens’ lives more of a priority? In the wake of the Vegas shooting, Trump has acted differently than usual, perhaps due to the shooter’s race. In previous cases in which the shooter has been non-white, his responses were more related to immigration and were downright xenophobic. But now, with a white shooter, his response has only been about the sadness of the event. The most he has said to hint at some sign of action is, “We’ll be talking about gun laws as time goes by.” This is extremely vague, and it seems that there will be more horrible tragedies like this one before there is any change for the US. Why haven’t we taken action? It can be difficult as high school students or average citizens to find a way to help, but I encourage you to write to Tom Reed, our Representative, or to Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, our Senators, and voice your opinions on gun control. Do your part to make sure this never happens again. 11
Features
FROM THE ARCHIVES
EXCERPTS FROM THE TATTLER ISSUES OF YESTERYEAR By Thea Clarkberg
November 1919
June 1898
The strikes of this country are at present assuming an alarming attitude and it is no more than fit that some mention of this condition should be made through the Tattler. What is more conducive to Bolshevism than idleness? It bespeaks this nation, therefore, to do away with the unemployed as soon as possible. Could some law be passed similar to the “work or fight” act that would compel men to either work as usual or accept governmental positions? It is ridiculous for men to strike for high wages when only those already well paid and who have bank accounts can afford to strike. The poor man must continue to work, no matter what the condition, because, if he quits, his only means of livelihood stops, too. Many of the men striking proclaim themselves as backers of the League of Nations. If they are, why don’t they put into practice the one great principle involved, that or arbitration? Think it over.
A LEGEND OF CAYUGA LAKE By “Nemo” A story of old Cayuga You ask that we should give, Of the brown-faced sons and daughters, Who upon its shores did live. There may be many a legend of the times longlong ago when the brave Cayugas gathered To meet their dusky foe.
June 1898 MANUAL TRAINING, SEWING, AND COOKING COURSES FOR THE ITHACA HIGH SCHOOL By Miss Anna Kennedy In has been said that the greatest social curse of modern times is that false gentility which makes a man ashamed to work. Many of our young men never enter the high school but fly to anything that will enable them to be “gentlemen” and not vulgar mechanics. If we should establish manual training, sewing and cooking courses, our pupils would become familiarized with work and take a greater interest in their studies. The decay of the apprentice system is rendering industrial education in schools an absolute necessity . . . under the London School Board, the girls receive instruction in needlework and cookery . . . some knowledge of these arts is essential to the comfort of the working classes. . . .
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But the story of this people Lies buried in the past, Its history all unwritten, Its memories fading fast; And we have but little knowledge Of the tribes upon its shores, Who lived, loved, warred and vanished In the centuries of yore. There’s a story and a legend Which old settlers used to tell Of a maiden bright and joyous, Who upon these shores did dwell, Of a maid of wondrous beauty, Fair of form and face, Sweet and charming, kind and gentle Though of dusky race. Many chiefs of lineage proud, And fame of high degree, Whose name was sung among the tribe For deeds of Indian chivalry, Did for the maiden strive, But her answer to their wooings, To these sons of dusky race Was a challenge fair and honest, Naming neither time nor place, Just a challenge pure and simple For a canoe race. A daring chieftain of Cayuga’s tribe, In war the leader, and in peace the guide, Whose words of wisdom ever wise and true, In council honored of that chosen few,
Whose name in tribal history will stand As noblest ruler of Cayuga’s land, He to the maiden’s challenge answer gave In words befitting chieftain proud, and warrior brave. On the shore the tribe is gathered, Fixed the time and place, With the patience ever needed, They wait the coming race. The word is given, the light canoes Speed o’er the water clear and blue, While from the shore wild cries are given, As ever greeted college crew. Now the chieftain, now the maiden, Seems to set the pace, And the birchen-barks and driven Swiftly o’er the glassy waters Of the rippling lake. The turning point is nearly won, The maiden gliding swiftly on, When round the chieftain’s birchen bark The waves in whirling eddies dart, Where all before was still and calm, As if to nerve his sinewy arm. Now the wild waves with angry roar Force his bark backward to the shore. In vain is all his strength and skill, Backward the water’s force him still, While on the shore fierce shouts arise In guttural accents to the skies. With frantic shouts, and loud acclaim, They urge the chieftain on again. And every tree-clad hill and glen Echoes this answer back again, “Chieftain, the prize that thou wouldst gain No mortal man may ere attain.” The while the maid with charming grace Awaits the issue of the race, And her love song in sweet acclaim Echoes from shore to shore again, Urging her lover tried and true The contest to again renew.
Features
Huge billows rear their snow-white crests, Dark whirling waves around them prest, And when the sun’s bright rays dispel The darkening shadows which ‘round them fell, Chieftain and maiden, lovers true, Had found a grave ‘neath the waters blue. On the western shore From the old Indian camp, This chieftain and lover so true May be seen at the hour of midnight damp To cross the lake to the maiden’s tomb In his birchen-bark canoe. When night robes the sky, The maiden leaves her tomb, And glides along in her birchen-bark Over the waters blue and dark To the sport where she met her doom. And side by side these shadowy forms In their birchen-bark canoes Glide over the surface of the lake, At the starting-point their places take, And again the race renew. And this is the legend oftimes told On Cayuga’s shores in days of old, While the Indian yet held domain O’er wooded hill in shore and plain, As the settler stood at his cabin door And marked the spot in the waters blue Where the dusky chief and maiden true At the midnight hour appear.
Read more online at https://tattlerarchive.wordpress.com/ Note: The current Tattler does not endorse the opinions published in historical Tattlers.
IMAGE PROVIDED
The cover from the November 1919 issue.
An advertisement for fall dresses in the November 1919 issue.
IMAGE PROVIDED
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Features
THE HALL MONITOR By Sankofa McLaurin
Pumpkin Spice: Overrated or Underrated?
Swastik Joshi ’21
Desden Camacho ’19
Aspen Earls ’18
Annie Wang ’20
“ Overrated. It’s all a scam. One time I bought some pumpkin spice Chobani yogurt and it just tasted plain.”
Karuna Prasad ’20
“ Overrated. Because everyone at Starbucks gets it.”
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“ Overrated. The pumpkin spice latte has become a symbol for fall and it’s pretty underwhelming itself.”
“ It’s not a question of underrated or overrated. The real question is how much pumpkin is in the spice.”
“ Underrated. People just say it’s overrated but that’s just edgy people who try to be different. Just appreciate what’s good.”
Features
NEW PLANT-BASED VEGAN RESTAURANT TO OPEN IN DOWNTOWN ITHACA By Magdalena Smith
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new plant-based restaurant, Nikki Green, is scheduled to open the first weekend of November on 320 East State Street. Owner and restaurateur Jacky Falkenberg states it will be entirely plant-based. More specifically, Nikki Green will be a “plantbased restaurant featuring smoothie bowls, vegetable-based bowls, vegan desserts, and wellness-lattes.” It will also eventually have plantbased wines and beers as well. The restaurant is named Nikki Green because Nikki is the name of Falkenberg’s sister, who is not vegan. “The restaurant is a way to make people like Nikki to eat more greens,” she says. The focus of the restaurant is to be beautiful, good-tasting, fast, and casual, Falkenberg explains. It will also be very accommodating. “Lots of people have dietary restrictions. This place caters to them, since it’s plants as much as possible,” she says. According to Falkenberg, there is an important difference between a vegan diet and a vegan lifestyle. A vegan diet involves a plantbased mentality, and is often for health or moral reasons. On the other hand, a vegan lifestyle is more of a whole gradient, and typically includes not wearing leather, not promoting processes that harm animals, and passionately supporting animal and environmental rights. For example, many types of sugar are filtered using animal products, and although the final product is vegan, Falkenberg explains that people with a vegan lifestyle avoid chemical processes that are harmful to animals. “Everyone has different definitions of what is vegan,” explains Falkenberg. “The goal of Nikki Green is to make people feel they don’t have to compromise everything they have as the foundations of their life.” Falkenberg is working to source a majority of her ingredients locally. She says she is “making sure it’s local as much as possible, organic, and uses no pesticides.” Additionally, the restaurant will work one-on-one with certain farms to promote local businesses and build a local economy.
There is a controversy around whether veganism is healthy, to which vegans often end up receiving societal criticism, Falkenberg acknowledged. People do need to take supplements to meet their individual needs and retain an optimal state, but veganism as both a diet and a lifestyle is “completely doable.” Conversely, it is a fact that eating greens is good for you, which will be a major focal point of Nikki Green. Instead of competing with other healthy eateries in Ithaca, Falkenburg aims to “boost local businesses and get people to go downtown.” Nikki Green aims to “get more people to eat more good food and promote local businesses,” rather than engaging in a fight for customers. Nikki Green will also aim to address the problem that restaurants around the country serve food that is utterly detached from what they would feed themselves personally. This is a problem in society that needs to be addressed, according to Falkenburg. “Often the more people you cook for, the more you distance yourself from what you’re putting on the table,” she explains. As manager, Falkenburg stresses the importance of maintaining integrity. Nikki Green will have better working conditions and treat workers better than the norm, she says. Similarly to several countries in Europe, tips will be included in the salaries for their workers, which Falkenberg concluded is only fair. There will be an open kitchen, in which the entire kitchen is on display, to build a greater sense of integrity and community. “More places will have to start making [good working conditions] the norm, because the consumer wants to see a world where that’s the norm. People will vote with their dollars, and my goal is to support companies that are moving in the right direction,” says Falkenberg. Ithaca is a large cultural center for veganism, partially due to the Moosewood restaurant. Moosewood was one of the first all-vegetarian restaurants in the country, so people sharing that cultural value flocked to Ithaca, leading to a large older vegetarian community. “There’s a
large amount of organic, vegetarian, and vegan [food] in the Ithaca community, which is great,” says Falkenberg. Falkenberg says, “People too often associate vegan food with being bland and not having what they’re used to, so not being good, then they don’t try them.” She wants to challenge the conception that vegans only eat salad, and open minds to the multitude of options people would hardly ever think of in terms of plantbased food. Falkenberg’s goal is to “make food that people can’t make at home,” in order for it to be worth the price of the non-GMO, organic ingredients, and to help people realize that vegan foods can be equally, or even more, delicious than a version containing animal products. Nikki Green will be especially “more accommodating to people with allergies and food restrictions, who are gluten-free, people with an intolerance to oil, etc.” Within the vegan community, there is an overlap with people with intolerances to other things, which Falkenburg recognizes can be highly difficult to navigate. Regardless, she is working tenaciously to make the restaurant accommodating and accepting of their needs. Falkenberg stresses the difference between organic and certified organic. A product can be labeled organic because it has as few as one organic ingredient. According to a survey she conducted, although some people ask whether what they’re buying is organic, no one asks whether it is certified organic. As a part of bridging the gap between what people will feed themselves and what is served in restaurants, the overwhelming majority will be certified organic so that Falkenberg herself would feel pride in eating her own food. Falkenberg’s goal as business owner is to “make decisions so everyone’s happy.” These decisions are a process, one which she is interested to see grow and develop over the coming years. As owner of Nikki Green, Falkenberg says she is “working to make sure it’s as organic and as non-GMO as possible.” 15
Space Exploration: Updates on New Discoveries and Developments
Gravitational Waves
By Joseph Yoon
Albert Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity explains that spacetime can be described as a fabric, and that in the presence of massive objects, spacetime is distorted, which is what we perceive as gravity. In his theory, Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves, caused by two black holes orbiting each other. On February 11, 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the first physical detection of gravitational waves. When two massive objects such as black holes and neutron stars approach and orbit each other, they create ripples that move at the speed of light in the fabric of spacetime. While the existence of gravitational waves had already been predicted, a direct observation was not possible until very recently due to the difficulty in building a system to detect these invisible waves. On September 14, 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected a gravitational wave from two colliding black holes approximately 1.8 billion light years away. LIGO used physical distortions of laser beams to detect the gravitational waves, and this discovery and the development of LIGO allowed scientists to observe black holes and the universe in a completely new light. This is most likely old news, however, as more recently on October 16, 2017, LIGO announced another detection of gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars, also known as a kilonova. Neutron stars are celestial objects formed from the collapse of supernovae remnants. Neutron stars are less dense than black holes, but still have an incomprehensible density. Unlike the black hole collision, the kilonova was visible, as the explosion expelled metallic and radioactive debris visible to telescopes. Not only does this kilonova further confirm the existence of gravitational waves, it also answers some questions about the origins of heavy metals. Astronomers believe that the collision of neutron stars may be a source of gold and other heavy elements. The merging of the neutron stars created gold, platinum, uranium, and other heavy elements that had several magnitudes of the mass of Earth. These discoveries regarding gravitational waves are perhaps just the beginning of the exploration of astrophysics; they allow us to better understand the major principles and nuances of the universe.
cassini in Saturn
By Jacob Yoon
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere on September 15, 2017, marking an end to its historical mission to study Saturn and its many mysterious moons. For thirteen years, Cassini explored Saturn and its moons, and in September, it ended its mission with an elegant dive. The Cassini mission’s impact was one of the most detailed and extensive ever, and resulted in many discoveries that changed our understanding of Saturn and the cosmos. One of the greatest discoveries from the mission is the possibility of alien life. Before Cassini, Saturn’s neighborhood wasn’t seen as particularly habitable, but today, it is revered as one of the most likely places for alien life. Cassini first discovered geysers on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, and they later revealed a global subsurface ocean. By diving through these plumes, Cassini found key chemicals which suggest that hydrothermal vents line the moon’s sea floor. On Earth, environments like this are teeming with life, so there is a large possibility that life may exist on Enceladus. Not only did this mission uncover fascinating information about Enceladus, it also informed us about one of Saturn’s most mysterious moons: Titan. Scientists have found that it is more Earth-like than scientists previously anticipated. Cassini’s Huygens probe first landed on Titan in 2005, and what it saw were the first lakes ever discovered beyond Earth. It also discovered that Titan is the only place besides Earth with lakes, rain storms, and tides, all consisting of liquid methane. Thirdly, in 2013, Cassini spotted what could be the formation of a new moon. This suggests the idea that Saturn once had an even greater ring system, because these ancient rings could have been the location of formation of its present day moons Titan and Enceladus. When the spacecraft sent its final image of Saturn back to Earth on September 15, it was likely that it was our last look at Saturn for some time. There are no upcoming missions planned for the Saturn system, and a new one could take over a decade to plan and launch. This is why Cassini’s finale was so special—it was not just a spectacle, but a scientific operation that honors the precious time we have left to explore other worlds.
By T o n y Ya n g
SpaceX Update
Over the past two years, SpaceX has had new developments and some notable achievements. In September 2016, the Interplanetary Transport System (ITS) was unveiled to the public by Elon Musk. The ITS serves as a super heavy-lift launch vehicle that could potentially assist transportation between Earth and Mars. Additionally, the ITS can carry up to approximately one hundred colonists to interplanetary space. There has been progress this year on the creation of a scaled-down version of the ITS that would be less wide and slightly more affordable. Other prominent SpaceX achievements this year include the relaunch of Falcon 9 and Dragon. Falcon 9 is a two-stage rocket with reusable first-stage rocket engines, which significantly decreases the cost of space travel. Similarly, SpaceX’s Dragon is a reusable spacecraft designed to deliver cargo to and from the International Space Station. Falcon 9 and Dragon are the first ever space vehicles to relaunch, paving the path for increased sustainability in space missions. With these new and revolutionizing developments, SpaceX will continue to be the forefront of space exploration in the upcoming years.
Features Bronwyn Galloway ’17 participated in the New Visions medical program last year.
IMAGE FROM TST BOCES
NEW VISIONS NEWS
“ ” By Thea Clarkberg
When I walked into 204 and saw a large 3D printer in the corner busy printing out something that looked like a camera, I thought for sure I’d died and gone to heaven. - Isabel Dawson ’18 18
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ew Visions is a full-year program that offers seniors from around the region a non-traditional and academically challenging senior year. Students divide their week between the classroom and experiences in which they work with professionals, graduate students, or college professors that work in their field of study. Students participate in one of three programs during the school day: Medical (at the Cayuga Medical Center), Life Sciences (at Cornell), or program new to this year, Engineering (at Cornell). The New Visions Medical program has just started their rounds at the Cayuga Medical Hospital after weeks of training. This training included CPR, first aid, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) training, a field trip to Upstate Medical University, a two-day rotation through the laboratory at Cayuga Medical Center, a vital signs workshop, infection prevention training, and a medical research workshop. The class is now prepared to use what they learned during their rounds. The Medical program has students all over the hospital, witnessing everything from MRIs to childbirths, learning more and more about what medicine has to offer. They are all very excited to continue with their rounds and to discover what future paths they will come to pursue. New Visions Life Sciences graduate Bella Culotta ’17 spent the summer in Nepal, an opportunity she found through the Life Sciences program. Each year, Mrs. Kline, the teacher of the Life Sciences program, mentors students in writing an essay and encourages them to participate in the New York Youth Institute at Cornell Uni-
Features Left: New Visions Life Sciences graduate Bella Culotta spent the summer in Nepal studying agriculture as part of the World Food Prize. Right: Medical program students in the laboratory at Cayuga Medical Center.
Left: The New Visions Life Sciences class toured a dairy farm and got to meet a newborn calf. Right: The New Visions Engineering class toured this lab in Thurston Hall at Cornell.
versity. Bella took advantage of the opportunity and won an all-expenses paid trip to the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa in the fall of 2016. Accompanied by her teacher, Bella spoke with world leaders about policy, malnutrition, education and other factors that affect food insecurity. As a delegate to the World Food Prize, Bella applied for the Borlaug-Ruan internship. During her internship, she spent the summer in Nepal working at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Culotta will join the 23 other 2017 Borlaug-Ruan interns from around the country in October for the World Food Prize laureate ceremony and Borlaug Dialogue in Des Moines, where she will present her research findings and share her experience. This year’s Life Sciences program has already formed a tight-knit group. They spent a day touring farms during which they saw the Sweyolakan dairy farm, Laughing Goat Fiber Farm, Glenwood bison farm, Stick and Stone vegetable farm, and Farmer Ground Flour grain mill. Since then, the group toured the poisonous plants garden and the orchards at Cornell, and went out to a section of highway near the airport that the program has “adopted” through the Adopta-Highway program. They spent half the day picking up trash and collected a few trash bags full. The group is required to do work to support the community as part of the program’s Future Farmers of America (FFA) membership, and the highway cleanup fulfilled this requirement. Some students have finally started their research placements, working in Cornell labs. Thea Clarkberg ’18, working in the
McArt Lab, said, “I am designing an experiment using cow blood. This week I drew blood from a cow’s tail for the first time.” Students have also just started rotations at the Cornell Vet School in oncology, dermatology, Companion Animal Hospital surgery, Farm Animal Hospital surgery, and the pharmacy. Isabel Dawson ’18, member of the Engineering program, said, “On the first day of New Visions Engineering, I thought I’d gotten the room number wrong. When I walked into 204 and saw a large 3D printer in the corner busy printing out something that looked like a camera, I thought for sure I’d died and gone to heaven. The very fun-looking man in a bow tie at the front stood next to a board with the words ‘I promise I will not teach you anything remotely useless’ and ‘cheesy getting-to-know-your-names games’ with a line through it. I knew that even if this was the wrong room, I wasn’t leaving. Thankfully, it was the place I was supposed to be.” So far, the Engineering program has met with Cornell Engineering’s Project Teams and spent a day at the local 3D printing company Incodema. They’ve also built 100 percent functional pinhole cameras. New Visions provides a wonderful opportunity for students who want a hands-on experience for their senior year. Underclassmen interested in medical, life science, or engineering careers should think about this opportunity as they look ahead to their senior year. Keep up-to-date with New Visions by following them on Instagram: @tst_new_visions 19
Features
Last year, Mira Driskell ’19 spent several months in India.
STUDENT FEATURE
IMAGE BY ISAIAH GUTMAN
INTERVIEW WITH MIRA DRISKELL By Isaiah Gutman
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very day, you hear someone complain about the heavy workload we are given at IHS. Just imagine what it would be like to leave all of that behind and go to a foreign country for a semester. Mira Driskell ’19 did just that. Leaving New York behind, she lived in India for about half of her sophomore year. I caught up with her about living life without the pressures of school. Isaiah Gutman ’19: What were you doing over your break? Mira Driskell: So, basically, my mom runs a program in India with an NGO (non-governmental organization) that works with local indigenous communities. They partner Cornell students with Adivasi (indigenous Indian) students, and they work on projects that benefit the community in some way. For the first seven weeks, the college students had classes, so for that period I was enrolled in the Cornell classes—that was really fun and I really enjoyed that. After that, I took a break and I went to Kochi, Kerala, and that was terrific. When I came back, I realized that I couldn’t go into field work because there were some liability issues, but I started an internship with an ecology group instead and documented local plant life. I attended an ecology convention that they have for younger kids and documented that. I 20
did a lot of photography, too, by documenting the classwork. IG: How did you handle being out of school for so long? Were you able to keep up with the coursework in all classes? MD: Well, for some classes, it was disappointing because I couldn’t continue the work, like with chemistry. But also, with a lot of other classes, I realized we don’t actually do that much in school. It took me two weeks to finish an entire curriculum. . . . IG: How exactly did you complete the coursework for the classes you were able to keep up with? MD: I completed the coursework by “self-schooling.” Basically, my teachers gave me worksheets and keys, and I kept up with classes through Google Classroom. IG: What did you miss most about school and the Ithaca community? MD: This is going to sound kind of mean, but I didn’t miss anything. It was great being outside of high school, [because] the environment is kind of bad. It was fun, being outside of it. IG: What’s it like to be back? Did you have an adjustment period? MD: It’s kinda weird, my adjustment period was
basically seventeen hours in Newark Airport. When I landed and went to buy some snacks, there was a supermarket, and they had five different types of water, they were all like twenty bucks. I was like, “What is this?” But then I also got to travel around a bit during the summer—I didn’t suddenly have to adjust to being back at school right away. Once I came back to school, I realized I don’t really love the structure of having hour-long periods every day; it isn’t as fun as doing a week-long focus on one area of study. IG: Is there anything you like about being back at school? MD: It’s nice to be around people my own age again. I’m also doing more extracurriculars, which has made school more bearable. IG: Have you been able to apply anything you learned in the field back at home? MD: Generally speaking, I have been able to use a lot of observational skills that I learned to do fieldwork in everyday situations. Using these skills has made me notice a lot more about the world around me. Also, I have a very, very small background in a variety of subjects after classes and my internship, which come up a lot. Like, ecology is pretty useful in APES (AP Environmental Science), and urbanization and planning are surprisingly relevant in English and APUSH (AP United States History).
Arts
WHAT BLADE RUNNER 2049 MEANS By Isaiah Gutman
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ichael Bay, James Foley, Danny Boyle, Denis Villeneuve. Among other things, these four directors all helmed sequels to major films this year. However, while two were following up cinematic masterpieces, Blade Runner and Trainspotting, the two whose films made the most money (by far) were Bay and Foley with the new installments in the Transformers and Fifty Shades franchises. This is emblematic of a sizable problem in today’s Hollywood; well-made films don’t make money. There is no doubt Blade Runner 2049 was one of the best achievements in film in recent memory. The cinematography alone makes this worthy of most of the praise it has gotten, and the plot nearly lives up to the incredibly high bar set by Ridley Scott’s original. Still, it’s been a flop at the box office. With an embarrassing $31.5 million in its opening weekend, it is doubtful that the movie will perform well enough to completely recoup its $150 million budget and make a profit, especially since this budget likely doesn’t factor in marketing and other incidental costs. Blade Runner 2049, for all the beauty of the film itself, is a failure. Logically, the only next step for Hollywood in general would be to cease to make similar films: understated, contemplative, but grand. Another option would be to expel such projects to the realm of independent film, forced to operate on low budgets and to play in minor theaters like Cinemapolis. This was T2: Trainspotting’s fate; it played at Cinemapolis earlier this year. I ignored it. The fact that Marvel and DC movies dominate the box office is a symptom of this greater problem. The general audiences don’t want self-contained stories, they want IPs they are familiar with, whether that’s Batman or Pixar, they want continuity and a brand they can trust. Blade Runner 2049 was a challenge to this mentality; it was a sequel to a 35 year old film that is a cult classic in its own right, and wasn’t a success by any measure. In the end, film is a business, and 2049 is bad for business, so its spiritual successors will likely have a tough time getting through. Villeneuve is set to direct Dune next, but how much freedom will he be given now that he is no longer a proven commodity? Sicario and Arrival were great successes at similar numbers to what 2049 has now, but they had none of the expectation. Now that he has this blemish on the record, he will have trouble getting the ambitious allowance he needs to make films like 2049 and Arrival. Blade Runner 2049 also makes clear that audiences will not tolerate ambiguity. This has been apparent for years, as can be seen in the failure of Mother!, and now 2049’s failure. Films in which the message is obscured, however slightly, do not succeed. Audiences want films where they can turn off their brains, not ones where they must be constantly interpreting. The Last Knight wouldn’t be called a good movie by nearly anyone, yet it still managed a B+ Cinemascore, the same as the abomination 50 Shades Darker. Blade Runner 2049 received an A-, but that didn’t translate to success in any way, likely due to length and content. The fact remains that the average person isn’t chomping at the bit to sit in a theater for three
hours, especially if they are unfamiliar with the property and the director. The biggest takeaway from these recent failures has to be that giving directors 100% free reign is a bad idea. Aronofsky and Villeneuve made beautiful, weird films with nearly 100% freedom, and the companies suffered for it. For Villeneuve’s upcoming Dune and other future big budget “independent” films, directors will be on a much shorter leash, and quality will take a dive. That’s what we get for being ungrateful.
VICTORIA REVIEW By Alexandra Gibbons Victoria, a television show produced by PBS, follows young Queen Victoria when she gets coronated at the age of eighteen. The queen is forced to navigate difficulties relating to her age, gender, and the pressure to marry and produce an heir. Victoria conveys these challenges in a slightly dramatized fashion while still maintaining, for the most part, its historical accuracy. The show has been critically acclaimed across the board, and it is easy to see why. Victoria features Jenna Coleman, Tom Hughes, and Rufus Sewell as the main characters, all of whom embody their roles wonderfully. Offstage, the producers have done a wonderful job with production. In particular, the soundtrack and costumes are quite extraordinary. The soundtrack features gorgeous original pieces, clearly composed carefully in relation to the time period in which Victoria is set. The costumes, particularly the queen’s dress, are regal and exquisite, helping to impress upon the viewer the sheer decadence of the royal lifestyle. I typically dislike historical TV shows or movies. In fact, it took about a month for my family to convince me to watch an episode of Victoria with them because I was so convinced that it would be a bore. I immediately discovered that I was wrong, and within a few days I had finished the first season. The challenges that the queen face are relatable to the struggles that any other eighteen-year-old might face, which makes the show all the more enjoyable to watch. Victoria seamlessly blends comedy, romance, drama, and history into a satisfying bundle that is sure to please a wide variety of viewers, whether they are AP Euro students cramming for an exam or someone looking for a great new show.
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Arts
Directed by Sunao Katabuchi, In This Corner of the World has earned a number of awards at film festivals.
MOVIE REVIEW
IMAGE PROVIDED
IN THIS CORNER OF THE WORLD By Ryan Cunningham
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inemapolis is a local movie theater known to feature independent and foreign films. Although it has found a niche with foreign films, they still rarely feature Japanese films. However, recently, a critically-acclaimed Japanese movie, In This Corner of the World (Kono Sekai No Katsumi Ni), was showing. This, added to the fact that the movie was well-reviewed and praised by many critics, led me to go to Cinemapolis and see the movie one night. This colorful animated film (anime) is based on the manga series of the same name. Directed by Sunao Katabuchi, the movie has earned a number of awards at film festivals. In short, Kono Sekai No Katsumi Ni captures the hardships of the protagonist, a teenage girl named Suzu, and her birth family, as well as the new family that she marries into. The story is set in Japan near the end of World War II, and this movie is for the most part historically accurate, although the characters are all fictional. Suzu struggles to overcome poverty and stay afloat in a society that is ravaged by the hardships of a war economy and incessant air raids. Even after Suzu moves into a household in Kure, a major naval port city, it is made clear that she retains links with Hiroshima, a city that the viewer knows was later destroyed by the atom bomb, making the viewer fear for her family in an instance of dramatic irony. Early on in the movie—and prior to the major bombing raids—the simple life of Suzu in Hiroshima is artfully expressed through illustrations. Suzu is a young woman who loves art and painting but is suddenly thrust into Kure, a seemingly foreign environment, when she is married off to a young man named Shusaku Hojo. From that point on, she is separated from her family in Hiroshima and must cope with 22
the expectations of a wife placed on her by Shusaku’s family. Suzu faces hardship but matures as an individual. During the first half of the movie, there are beautiful scenes of the sea and everyday life on the shore, accentuated by the movie’s unique watercolor-like art style. In the second half of the movie, the mood darkens and the art is less uplifting. You can observe the descent of Japanese society into desperation as the war turns against them and they lose their military superiority. An unsafe and foreboding atmosphere is created through the medium of sound with shocking air raids that can be heard and noisy strafing runs by Allied aircrafts. The civilians suffered a lack of food and supplies. With a shortage of food, Suzu and her in-laws turn to alternative means of attaining nourishment. We observe her trying harder than ever to maintain the household during difficult times while making the best of tragic events. In a particularly charming scene, Suzu admires the waterfront with her niece, Harumi, as naval ships pull into the harbor at Kure, which was a significant port during the war. They spot an oversized battleship, Yamato, a real battleship that was one of the largest ever made, but it meets its demise and sinks before Japan could truly utilize it. The ship is a reminder that Kure, due to its naval importance, was a primary target for the Allies. When the atomic bomb inevitably hits Japan in this movie, its explosion is expressed in an artistic and unexpectedly impactful manner. Contrary to most films, which cannot resist using a loud explosion sound and a large mushroom cloud rising up, Kono Sekai no Katsumi Ni is both subtle and realistic in showing a sudden flash and change of colors in the sky with no sound at first. The protagonists then wonder
what happened, assuming that it was simply a strange case of lightning. The delayed impact actually manages to increase the tension, and viewers expecting a big bang are put on hold. First, there is a flash in the distance, and a visit to the ground zero scene of devastation comes later. The tragic events of that day on August 6, 1945 are seen through the eyes of a girl living on the outskirts of Hiroshima, not the city center. Although I enjoyed the art style of the movie and appreciated how it captured the violence and hardships Japanese citizens underwent, I was a bit dissatisfied by the ending of the film. Towards the end of the film, things begin to turn more violent. While understandable, this change in atmosphere is not in keeping with the charm of the movie’s previous moments, in which the violence of war is downplayed and expressed by more creative means of expression. Another thing I noticed when watching this film is that its focus is solely on the Japanese hardships, and, in a sense, a glorification of Japanese culture, whereas the horrific losses in China, Korea, and the United States get no mention. Somewhat unexpectedly, the soldiers in the Japanese navy are shown to be proud and honorable men. In some cases, this might have been true, but the film does not account for Japanese military aggression. All in all, Kono Sekai no Katsumi Ni was compelling and displayed both the brutality of war and life’s poignant moments in an artistic and creative manner, so much so that it outweighed the shortfalls of the film. I would encourage not just those interested in World War II, but also those interested in family dramas and issues of war and peace, to watch this film. I could go on and on about the quality animation and the emotional impact of the movie, but there is no substitute for watching it yourself.
Arts
A CLASSICAL PLAYLIST FOR THE FALL SEASON By Jefferson Sheng
With the height of fall right around the corner, this transition season presents a variety of sceneries that awaken our senses, as though its harmonies are descending slowly to a dramatic turnaround into winter. From eloquent arias to dazzling double reed solos, here are some seasonal classical pieces to fill up your imagination and encapsulate the spirit of the autumn season. Violin Concerto, op. 14 - Samuel Barber (Hahn/Stern) A product of a series of infamous quarrels with the original commissioner’s teacher, this piece opens with a mellow, soothing violin solo that is uninterrupted by the orchestra, and the music blooms as it continues. This piece contrasts an unforgettable peaceful beginning with a fierce resolution. The Four Seasons, Concerto No. 3: “L’autunno” - A. Vivaldi (Anne-Sophie Mutter/Pearlman) “All are made to leave off dancing and singing By the air which, now mild, gives pleasure And by the season, which invites many To find their pleasure in a sweet sleep.” While unattributable, Vivaldi may have written this poem along with the second movement of his Four Seasons. This piece, thanks to its immense attention to detail, gives the audience imagery of a bright and festive autumn season. Symphony No. 4 - Johann Brahms (Karajan/Furtwangler) Like no other symphony, Brahms’ Fourth hits you hard with exuberant energy. Irritated, earthly, and agitated, this masterpiece is worth a listen; it might just transport you back in time to feel Brahms’ emotions.
Our Town - Aaron Copland (Copland, New Philharmonia Orchestra) The composition, one of first film scores Copland completed (for the Hollywood film by the same name), finds itself ingrained in the deep roots in American music. This piece sense of tranquility that you should feel during this season! Die Herbst (Autumn) from Die Jahreszeiten (The Seasons) - Joseph Haydn (Colin Davis, LSO) One of the only two oratorios Haydn left for us, this piece is a tremendous addition to the already breathtaking number of compositions from the venerated composer. This long composition contains a variety of themes that Haydn felt were needed in an era of progressive human industry. It’s definitely worth listening to, especially for those who are curious about the potential of music—this one is as powerful as it gets. Vier letzte Lieder: September - Richard Strauss (Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Berlin Phil) While listening to recordings of soprano compositions, I stumbled upon this lateStrauss gem that includes clear references and connections to Strauss’ life at the time that he composed this piece. A slightly moodier piece than his others, this one brings out the best sentiments in the autumn months. String Quartet No. 15, op. 132 - Ludwig Van Beethoven (Fitzwilliam Quartet/Alban Berg Quartet) Beethoven used the third movement of this piece as a musical prayer, offering thanks after a long illness which physically drained him and contributed to a dry period of his composition. It can be hefty to listen to because of its construction, but it is very characteristic of late-Beethoven.
3 Romances, op. 94 - Robert Schumann (Albrecht Mayer) Despite its simplicity, 3 Romances highlights its diverse colors and beauty. While it might not be technically challenging, its melodies are heart-wrenching. A sincere work that is very reminiscent of romanticism, this piece is especially similar to Schumann’s Fantasy pieces for clarinet. The Seasons - Tchaikovsky (Svetlanov/Pletnev) Commissioned right after the debut of his bombastic Piano Concerto, Tchaikovsky wrote a piece for every month of the year, originally for the piano. Its mostly minor melodies are successful at bringing the most pleasant and unruffled moods found in each season, and have elements reminiscent of some of his earlier works, such as the use of percussion and the winds. Roman Festivals - Ottorino Respighi (Maazel/Bernstein) The third work of Respighi’s Rome Trilogy captured the lighthearted but startling features of Rome through four movements with a cheerful yet evocative composition. The third movement represents a cheerful harvest in Rome, and the piece ends with a pompous fourth movement that conveys the clash of cultures in ancient Rome. This is definitely a piece that hypes up the brass section in any orchestra!
SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
https://goo.gl/1drPnS
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Sports
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ANOTHER DISAPPOINTING SEASON FOR THE NETS By Justin Heitzman
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hame on me for having hope. The Brooklyn Nets, the NBA team I support, finally seemed set to make a splash this season. The last few years have been dismal for the team; after General Manager Billy King completed one of the worst trades in NBA history, in which he sent four first-round draft picks to the Celtics for, in effect, one good year of play from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, the Nets quickly fell apart and haven’t yet resurfaced. Being a fan of one of the worst teams in the league, especially when they are powerless to improve thanks to a lack of draft picks, isn’t particularly fun. Therefore, there comes to be some serious excitement when that team starts looking like they’re about to turn it around. In the offseason, the Nets made some smart trades to enhance their lineup, choosing to build around guard Jeremy Lin. The biggest acquisition, of course, was D’Angelo Russell from the Los Angeles Lakers. In this trade, the Nets also said goodbye to the last remnant of the Billy King era, long-time franchise cornerstone Brook Lopez. For the first time in quite a while, Brooklyn looked like an up-and-coming team that would no longer be a laughingstock. Unfortunately, these notions all came crashing down with the injury to Jeremy Lin in the Nets’ season-opening loss to the Indiana Pacers. After an awkward landing after a tough drive to the basket, Lin suffered a ruptured patella in his knee, meaning that he will be out for the entire season. The Nets are now forced to play without their in-game centerpiece and emotional leader, a devastating situation for a team that was about to become competitive once again. This injury will redefine the direction for the Nets this season. In particular, this will force D’Angelo Russell to take up a true leadership role. Although he is a newcomer to the team, he is easily their most talented player. While Russell has had some issues with teammate bonding in the past (see his relationship with Nick Young as an example), this is an opportunity for him to walk away from his controversies in Los Angeles and 24
to begin anew with a group of young and inexperienced teammates. It’s not just Russell who has to step up, thanks to Lin’s injury; these other young players must step up as well. The most important of these players will be Caris LeVert, in what is hopefully his first full season in the NBA. Despite his young age, his team’s management has always been impressed with LeVert’s overall mental maturity, which he demonstrated in the wake of Lin’s injury. In his recent interviews, he has looked the part of a potential leader, stating, “Last year is a different story than this year . . . it sucks losing a guy with that much talent, that much leadership, that much experience. But like I said, it’s next man up. We’ve got to figure out how to do it.” Young point guards Isaiah Whitehead and Spencer Dinwiddie will also need to elevate their game to help run the backcourt when Russell isn’t playing, and Allen Crabbe, traded from Portland in the offseason, can hopefully keep up his early shooting streak. The Nets clearly have some bright spots on their team, but the reality is that the list of things that must go well in order to succeed has gotten much too long now that Jeremy Lin is no longer able to play. Instead of pushing for a playoff spot, as was the original goal of the season, Brooklyn’s management can now try to get a good sense of what works well and what doesn’t going forward. If question marks such as the potential of D’Angelo Russell and the ability of the team’s backups to play efficiently and with leadership can be answered, it can put the Nets in a better position for next season. Overall, it seems like the team’s front office, led by new General Manager Sean Marks is leading the team in the right direction, which is certainly an improvement from the tenure of his predecessor Billy King, if nothing else. But hey, maybe the Nets will be better than anyone expects; as of October 2017, they are 2-1, better than the defending champion Golden State Warriors! More seriously, this is the first time that they’ve been over .500 since November 2014. When your team has been this miserable for so long, sometimes you’ve just got to take the small victories.
Sports
Since the 2017 Summer Olympics, the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro has been repeatedly looted.
THE STATE OF RIO OLYMPIC FACILITIES By Aidan Foley
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he 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, were a brilliant spectacle, attracting over 3.7 billion viewers from across the world. While the games were heavily criticized for overspending on venues and inefficiently constructing sports facilities, the games captivated a global audience and ran without a hitch. Unfortunately, many of the venues that dazzled us during the Games have since been left in severe disrepair. The Maracanã Stadium, a historic stadium that played host to the opening and closing ceremonies, is a prime example of disrepair following the Games. In addition to nearly $1 million in unpaid energy bills, the stadium has been repeatedly looted, with chairs being ripped out from their places, and other items such as fire extinguishers, hoses, and television screens also being stolen. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) had hoped that costly renovations to sports facilities would benefit not only the games but also Brazilian athletes in the long term, but vandalism and theft have reduced the impact of state-of-the-art facilities on developing a future generation of Brazilian olympians. The Olympic grounds now look like a ghost town, with tattered banners overlooking dark and decrepit buildings. The slums near the grounds, hastily whitewashed and cleaned up before the games, have also been left in disrepair. Following upgrades to sanitation systems leading up to the games, locals say that human waste flows in small rivers in roads and between houses in what are called “sewage waterfalls.” The games were supposed to be a kickstart to much-needed improvements in urban slums, but instead resulted in massive corruption resulting from the siphoning of funds. While the Brazilian government planned to rectify their shortcomings, even in 2017, over a year after the actual Olympics, no significant action has been taken to repair urban slums. The general lack of action to fix projects created by the Olympics is largely due to the massive economic recession that Brazil has been experiencing since 2015. As of January 2017, the unemployment rate in
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The Olympic grounds now look like a ghost town, with tattered banners overlooking dark and decrepit buildings.
Brazil hit 12.6 percent, a substantial increase from 9.5 percent in 2016. Although that may not sound like much, it is a difference of over 6.4 million people and holds alarming implications for the state of Brazil’s economy. The Games were seen as a possible solution to the economic woes of Brazil, creating a frenzy of economic activity, but the positive effects of the Olympics were reversed by numerous examples of corruption and overspending for the Games. The recession has been further worsened by recent investigations into bribery scandals involving the Brazilian government and several large companies, and many cases have emerged as having connections to the Olympic Games. Sadly, it is unlikely that the Rio Olympic facilities will see repair any time soon, with Brazil’s economy in the middle of a recession and with its government having no meaningful incentive for improvements to happen. It is truly a shame that the same glistening venues we saw built to celebrate the world’s grandest athletic competition could so quickly go to waste once the international spotlight was turned away. This was not a one-off example—the 2004 Olympics in Athens, for example, were a major contributing factor to the debt crisis in Greece, and the 2012 Winter Olympics in Sochi were the most expensive games ever, resulting in overall negative economic activity for Russia. We can only hope that this process does not repeat itself in 2018 at Pyeongchang or 2020 at Tokyo, and that governments put more effort towards the upkeep of these marvels of humanity. 25
Sports
IHS VARSITY VOLLEYBALL SEASON RECAP By Sveta Reddy
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ass! Set! Hit! Coached by Jill Kautz, this year’s IHS Girls Volleyball team consisted of twelve girls—five seniors, five juniors, and two sophomores. This group of girls has been playing together for almost three years now, from participation in clubs to past school seasons, and the energy within this team has been extremely strong. However, this year, the volleyball season ended off with a 2-12 record. This final record is quite deceptive, not giving a good impression of the true passion and interconnectedness of the team. Each and every game in the season went down to the wire. Part of the reason why the record is so upsetting is that any of the close matches could have turned Ithaca’s way, but it seemed that in every game where Ithaca was close to winning, luck just did not come their way. For example, during the match against Union-Endicott on September 12, Ithaca had won the first two games. The team thought they had the match in their hands, as they only needed to win one more game to win the entire match. However, they ended up taking a loss, stemming from a sense of overconfidence that resulted in a lack of effort. Similarly, in the game against Vestal on October 5, the teams were tied and the score was 24-24 in the fifth game. The match had originally begun with Vestal in the lead with two wins, but Ithaca caught up and won the following two matches, resulting in a fifth game. Unfortunately, the team did not leave the court victorious. What the score doesn’t reflect is that the girls worked extremely hard on the court, fighting to save every ball and ace every serve. The team’s energy level on the court has always remained high. Their coach’s motto is “Always smile!” Taking these words into account, whenever a team member is down or nervous on the court, it is quite common to see another flash a smile. After all, it’s about playing the sport you love and having fun, not just about gaining points and winning the title. For this reason, the team has never ceased to emit positive energy and to comfort others on the court with a friendly chuckle and a pat on the back. The 2-12 record mislabels a tenacious but unlucky team as incapable. Nevertheless, the girls had a great season. With captains Myah Frostclapp ’18, Demi Nestopoulos ’18, and Maria Vieira ’19, the team had a lot of fun playing together over the course of the last few months, and will look to the future instead of dwelling on the past. 26
IHS GIRLS’ SWIM RECAP By Lucy Wang
H
idden in the heart of Ithaca, you will find IHS, home to the Li’l Red Girls Swim and Dive team. The team, coached by Mike Blakely-Armitage, has recently had one of the most exciting seasons in its long history. At the beginning of the season, the team had a rough start, facing a devastating loss at a dual meet against the Horseheads Raiders. This marked the team’s first loss in over two decades, ending the Li’l Red Girls’ undefeated streak of over twenty-five years. This loss brought the team into uncharted territory; however, the team did not back down, and has faced every obstacle along the way head on. The two main highlights of the regular season were outstanding performances at the Shenendehowa (Shen) Invitational, as well as at an exciting dual meet against Owego. On October 6, the IHS Girls’ Swim and Dive team traveled to Clinton Park, NY, to attend the annual Shen Invitational. Over twenty schools from all around the area attended the meet, including some of the fastest teams and swimmers in New York. The meet was a huge success, with almost all members of the Li’l Red coming out of the meet with a personal or seasonal best time. In addition, divers Lucia Safi and Jordan Lu ’18 had outstanding individual performances. The team had another amazing opportunity, this time facing the Owego team on October 13. The meet was extremely close, but the Ithaca Li’l Red came out on top with a score of 97 to Owego’s 89. The Li’l Red had a rough start at the beginning of the meet, but did not back down to the challenge. All members had courageous swims and dives, and the team had an especially spectacular second half, solidifying their win and exemplifying the grit that the team played with throughout the season. Currently, the Li’l Red has concluded their dual meet season with a 5-1 record, and is now heading towards championship season. Looking once again to win the Section 4, Class A title, the Li’l Red is training with an increased focus on technique and intensity. The team is approaching the meet with a hopeful and positive attitude. Senior and team captain Popo Hong ’18 states that “our girls have a lot of depth, setting us apart from the rest of the other teams in our section. We are all looking towards an exciting victory at sectionals!” The team’s limits will be put to the final test on November 1 and 4 in the sectional prelims and finals, and later in the NYS Swimming and Diving Championship meet. To follow the team’s performances at upcoming events, visit the team’s blog, littleredaquatics.com.
Literary
Nabi and the Tree: Part 1 By Lillian Hwang-Geddes Rain pounded outside. It was a Saturday afternoon, in the middle of April, and I was bored. I had finished all my homework and didn’t have anything to read. There was nothing to do. “Serena!” my mom called, seeing me sitting on the couch. “If you’ve got nothing to do, go fold the laundry!” I groaned, but I got up and started the long and boring task of folding a humongous pile of clothes. This was gonna take forever. . . . Well, at least I had something to do now. When I finally finished, it looked like the rain was gone. I grabbed a coat and ran outside into the wet grass of my front yard. I saw the tree that my brother and I always loved to climb. I ran
over and saw our cat, Nabi, in the tree. I climbed up and petted her, but she jumped down. That scaredy cat, I thought, as she ran away. I watched her run downhill, toward the bushes at the edge of our yard, and then—she disappeared. I gasped. What had just happened? I replayed what I had seen through my head. She had been running toward the bushes at the edge of our yard, then, a second later, she was gone! No, she couldn’t have hidden behind the bushes. She had dropped out of sight in an open area. This couldn’t be possible. But I had just seen it. Maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me, I thought. But it sure didn’t look like that. I caught sight of a glimmer of purple light at the bottom of the tree. I glanced down, and
what I saw just about convinced me that my eyes were playing tricks on me. Standing down below me was a girl with brown hair and a green and purple dress. Apart from the dress, she wouldn’t have looked so strange if I had seen her on the street, but she was standing in my front yard. I had no idea who she was or why she was there, and it was unusual that she appeared right after my cat had just vanished, of all times. Then she turned slightly away from me, and I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. She had wings. A million thoughts were racing through my head, but I could only think of one thing to say. “Who are you? What happened to my cat?!” To be continued.
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IMAGE BY MIA BEBKO
Look! By Anna Westwig
IMAGE BY THEA CLARKBERG
IMAGE BY KAYLA MARKWARDT
IMAGE BY OLIVIA MORELAND
Look, look, look! Beyond the grey walls Monotone paint where the eye inevitably falls Then to the red second hand Dragged through molasses Distraction a necessary contraband Fingers drumming on a conformist desk Rolling pencils back and forth strings of words dripping steadily from open mouths Rehearsed lines are given in steady time And crawling languidly into unwelcoming ears “Ring� goes the bell a buzz instead of a melody And practiced hands stuff stiff binders in backpacks And walk to another gray wall Tick tick tick Goes the clock, identical to the last Yearning to rip off the glass push the second hand faster But instead, I watch Tick tick tick And my mind slips away The threads of boredom woven into other worlds Illegal worlds prohibited, imagination a crime Flee to better places better times School is just a production line Perfect grey soldiers with test scores above No. 2 pencil and test booklet ready Why does walking feel so heavy Next day next year everything the same The tick tick tick of the clock And the ringing buzz of the bell Time kept in sync forever or never Tick, Tick, Tick.
Literary
And Then the Rain Came By Thea Clarkberg I drive too fast The motor whines like a police car And eyes glaze over. I walk past the empty room The wood stretches and pops And the noise echoes like a bang Against bare walls The sound of a new house The sound of a house left behind. He used to walk me to school And forget to take me to my best friend’s birthday. He didn’t see us I used to ride on the back of his bike, He turned and we were going straight. We leaned around the curve as one. I eyed the car I knew what they could do. I knew that my skin was bare Open to the fall air. And I saw it coming closer but I knew we were in the right and I Believed . . . I screamed With all my heart and all my terror And I still hear it like a bad dream That left a scar. The scream fades to a siren The whine of a motor Eyes glaze over I don’t see it until— I am stopped And I didn’t pull the brake.
IMAGE BY GUSTAV KUCKES
My mama says that if you keep a Band Aid on You won’t get a scar. I rip mine off. I curl up in my car and cry I don’t want to go inside. I close my eyes And the billowing wind blows the last brown leaves from tall trees.
IMAGE BY MAGDALENA SMITH
And then the rain comes. I watch it drip from the roof in the dark. Highlighted by headlights Each drop is a shooting star Fired downward from its perch. I look closely and from afar and An invisible curtain ripples Gently in the breeze White Against the dark.
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Literary
Patience By Fiona Botz Life in Ithaca has taught me an abundance of patience. I am originally from California. Going from summer all year round to the weather changing every five minutes has trained me in many ways. The weather may seem like a small thing to some, but it has shown me a great deal. Each season brings new obstacles, just like different stages of life provide new mountains to climb and rough seas to sail. With spring comes the flowers, but you can’t have them without the April rain. The sun shines high in the sky in summer, but along with it you get the blazing heat. The flaming fiery reds and oranges on the leaves of all the trees are worth the chapped lips in the fall. The snowman cannot be built without the winter storm. Patience gets me through all of these challenges, big and small. Being in Ithaca builds a sense of calmness and stability when roadblocks seem like the only thing standing in the way. The change of the seasons is a metaphor for how life goes, and what it takes to persevere: patience.
IMAGE BY KAYLA MARKWARDT
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Penultimate
NOTHIN’ LIKE NOVEMBER By Sophie Wray
Across 1. Chrysanthemum, the _____ of the month 2. What are seen drifting midair in Manhattan early on Thanksgiving Day morning? 4. Roast them with mini marshmallows for the yummiest Thanksgiving Day treat 7. Last month was sweaters, but this month is colder; throw on a _____ before you leave the house! 8. A day of deals: shop till you drop, literally, not on Black Thursday but Black _____! 10. No _____ November 12. All the animals are storing up food before they go into this phase until spring 13. Beginning on the same day as Halloween and going into early November, a Mexican holiday celebrates and remembers the _____. 14. The astrological sign whose constellation accompanies Sagittarius in the sky this month
Nothin' Like November 1
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. Chrysanthemum, the _____ of the month
Down 1. When you wake up on November mornings, it’s so cold that even the grass shivers and shakes, and it’s coated with a layer of _____ 3. Also known as Turkey Day 5. There seem to be more of these furry four legged animals this time of year 6. Turn up the _____! It’s freezing in this place! What every student in K-building is thinking when it gets cold outside Down 9. They fly south in a V-shaped flock to escape the frigid winter 1. When you wake up on November mornings it is so cold 11. Pumpkin _____ . . . so last month that even the grass shivers and shakes and it’s coated
NOVEMBER IS HERE… SOUP, SQUASH, AND SQUIRRELS TOO!
. What are seen drifting mid air in Manhattan early hanksgiving Day morning?
. Roast them with mini marshmallows for the yummiest hanksgiving Day treat
. Last month was sweaters, but this month is colder, hrow on a _____ before you leave the house!
. A day of deals, shop till you drop, literally, on not Black hursday but Black _____!
0. No _____ November By Sophie
Wray
2. All the animals are storing up food before they go into his until Spring
3. Beginning the same day as Halloween and going into arly November, this Mexican holiday celebrates and emembers the _____.
Chrysanthemums Thanksgiving Yams November Toasty Soup Frost Scarf Squirrels
4. The astrological sign whose constellation ccompanies Sagittarius in the sky this month.
with a layer of...
3. Also known as Turkey Day
5. There seems to be more of these furry four legged animals this time of year
6. Turn up the _____! It’s freezing in this place! What every student with a class in K building is thinking when it gets cold outside.
9. They fly south in a V shaped flock to escape a frigid winter 11. Pumpkin _____ .... so last month
Potatoes Freezing Orchard Apple Wool Festivities Brussels Sprouts Squash
R O X V C M S L E R R I U Q S V P Q I X
E F Z K P W S G N I Z E E R F I N O H D
J A X H S A U Q S O V T K S U P Y B F O
T C B W U K K H Y S M A Y P C B W A L E
G P Q M U R Z V C J R Z Q R X A O W U I
N I C H N N F E H G O C I O A I R F H G
F I I I E N C L R H P K A U B K C F U P
Q V Y F F Q L A Y X B F K T N Q U H S F
Untitled JN Q Z BF O Z RM P E UJ W S SC Y A SG D P ES C U LY O R SA N T XM V O XS O M UY P E ST F N SS O O XA B V PO N E AT H M LV I B SM A E FE A R
I Y J K P N Z R H L F I K S S D H B G T
R V J V P D N S E I T I V I T S E F L V
T Q O U L Z D J M W I Q U F C D R Q S J
K H G P E E U Y U O X B Z X G F G C Q D
Z X Y Q Q J O N M O W U S O R C H A R D
chrysanthemums
thanksgiving
yams
november
soup
frost
scarf
squirrels
Y E T S O R F I S L V A E U F Y X S M A
O Y A P I M H P T H A N K S G I V I N G
D S O U P U K I A P O T A T O E S S L S toasty 31 potatoes
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THE SIGNS AS THINGS ITHACANS START DOING AS IT GETS COLD By Sophie Wray
Scorpio (Oct 23 - Nov 21)
Taurus (Apr 20 - May 20)
Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21)
Gemini (May 21 - Jun 20)
Break out the Carhartts. Everything! Hats, pants, jackets; Ithaca has got ‘em all.
Tearfully tuck your flax clothing in the back of the closet, saying goodbye until spring.
Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)
Begin your soup phase of the year.
Aquarius (Jan 20 - Feb 18)
Go into a state of intense knitting to supply yourself with hats and scarves all season long and into the winter.
Pisces (Feb 19 - Mar 20)
Flip through the Moosewood Cookbook, making mental notes of all the seasonal dishes to make this month. “Autumn Minestrone,” “Crisp Autumn Salad,” etc.
Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 19)
Load up on everything pumpkin at Greenstar. Cookies, cereal, beer, chocolate, you name it.
Get super pumped for the new seasonal drinks at Gimme.
Fill your totes with fresh seasonal produce from the Farmer’s Market, making the most of it before winter comes and the stalls shut down.
The Coolness Spectrum COOL
Cancer (Jun 21 - Jul 22)
Walk down the Commons with sadness in your heart because Lou has closed up his hot dog stand for the season.
Leo (Jul 23 - Aug 22)
Switch from opened-toed Birkenstocks to the slipper-style ones.
Virgo (Aug 23 - Sep 22)
Go crazy over Brussels sprouts being back in season.
Thanksgiving break Soup season!! Finally knowing how to dress for the weather Pumpkin pie Scorpios (goes both ways)
Libra (Sep 23 - Oct 22)
Layers, layers, layers. Local wools and knits piled high on top of Silk Oak tees.
noshavenovember Cold ears Rotten pumpkins after Halloween Saying goodbye to sandals
UNCOOL