The Locksmith - June '06

ool’s High Sch t n a s e v Stuy

Key Club

Volume 1, Issue 2 June, 2006 Caring—Our Way of Life

THE LOCKSMITH

Inside this Issue Farewells from Cabinet

A Note From the Editor: To my fellow Key Clubbers!

Picture of the Month!

This month has been very hectic. The transition from cloudy/rainy days to the overly sunny days can be very overwhelming, but it’s OK. If you allow it, Key Club will be with you every step of the way. =) (whoa! I rhymed!)

Melissa

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Amy

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Winnie

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Past Events The best thing about springtime is that so many volunteering prospects just pop out of nowhere…like flowers and leaves. I take this opportunity to encourage all of you to embrace these chances as bees do with their flowers (okay, pretty lame analogy).

March of Dimes Lady Liberty Swim

The school year is almost over. I know how chaotic those tests, papers, projects can be.

Just keep in mind that you deserve a break after all those mind-boggling work. Let Key Club be that comfort zone for you.

STOP!--

Yours truly, Lily Tsoi

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AIDS Walk

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Contact Info

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IN THE NAME OF LOVE!

Have fun. Enjoy life. Don’t forget about Key Club.

Y

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Member of the Month of June !!!CONGRATS!!!

Committee Heads!!!

PUBLIC RELATIONS: Christopher Singh Sue Yee Chen

NEW PROJECTS: Lauren White Michelle Wong

FUNDRAISING: HuiZi (Anna) Lin Sally Cheung

ADVOCACY: Natalie Lam Danna Wei

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ART: Jenny Liu Connie Liu

LOCKSMITH Ashley Cheng Richard Huang

WEB: Un Soi Chio Pawel Socha Articles? Pictures? Send them to: thelocksmith0607@yahoo.com New Project/Advocacy idea? Email us at: stuykc@yahoo.com LET THESE ADDRESSES BE YOUR NEW BEST FRIENDS!!!!!

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Chris Tzeng (IP President of Stuyvesant HS KeyClub) Melissa Myint (IP VicePresident of Stuyvesant HS KeyClub) Amy Leung (IP Secretary of Stuyvesant HS KeyClub) Winnie Lee (IP Treasurer of Stuyvesant HS KeyClub [The Old Cabinet]

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FAREWELL TO THE OLD CABINET! To My Beloved Key Club: Words cannot express what this club has done for me during my four years at Stuyvesant. When I sometimes found myself lost and alone in a over-competitive and more-than-hostile environment, this club was there to offer me salvation, whether it was the guidance of the older and wiser cabinet members or just the simple benevolence or good will of the average member. You guys have shown me, and continue to show me, that there is truly good in this world.

You have opened my eyes to how willing some individuals can be to lend a hand, donate a dollar, smile, and welcome (even if partly motivated by college applications). You inspire me to be better, to be nicer, to care more, and to love infinitely. I hope you guys never change.

I will never forget this club or the members that it has brought to me. You guys are my home. I say that with the utmost of sincerity and gratitude, so do not laugh and do not mock me. Simply believe it and take it for all that it is worth.

To Chris, Winnie, and Amy, I simply have no idea how I would have managed this past year without your unfaltering support. I couldn’t have picked better people for the jobs that you guys filled, despite all the issues and all drama that we went through together this past year. I’ll never forget the long phone calls, the insane conversations, the tears, or the drama.

This time last year I remember thinking, “How are we ever going to make it an entire year together?” But somehow, we made it, and we’ve accomplished so many things despite our differences. Look at how far we’ve brought the club. Look at how much we’ve done. Stand tall and take pride. We’ve done wonders and there’s no denying that. I have no regrets, and I hope you guys feel the same way.

Love, Love, & More Love Melissa Myint

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All about the old Cab Memories from Amy Leung (Past Immediate Secretary) Chris TzengTzeng He's very funny and doesn't care about what other people think about him. I've talked to him on the phone more than any cabinet member ;). I think he was the one who was most excited to go to Convention this year and to spread his love for Convention to the others.

The dedication he put into the application of the awards helped us get the Major Emphasis Award, as well as many others. As president, he worked really hard on the agendas. He still keeps in contact with Alda, the '04-'05 president!

Memory: Carrying him during convention and realizing we were stopping at his door, not the end of the hallway Melissa MyintMyint Melissa, the most dedicated Key Clubber of all. She's been to so many events and interacted greatly with the all the members. She truly cares for our Key Club. Melissa is a really calm and collected person. She has a clear mind and is able to put a lot of things into perspective. She has been amazing with the points spreadsheets and the organization of the events. I can attribute a lot of this successful year to Melissa. Yay...I'll see her in Boston for the next 4 years!

Memory: Making the coolest duck sound, talking to her on my b-day

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Winnie LeeLee I've known Winnie since junior high school; we've had so many classes together. I'm going to miss her so much. She has helped me and has made me laugh through so many hard times, inside and outside of school. I admire how she never let herself be unhappy. She is always excited about fundraising for Key Club and all the causes the money goes towards. She's an amazing treasurer, receiving Early Bird for dues and sending me copies of all the checks. I know that she's going to make a great businesswoman. Fly Doraemon, fly!

Memory: Winnie saying I have no "Common Sense" while we were reading Thomas Paine's Common Sense and her excitement about Doraemon.

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Memories from Winnie Lee (Immediate Past Treasurer)

That’s Doraemon!!

Do you know who Doraemon is? When I was three, the bubble-like head, welcoming paws and warm smile of Doraemon captured my innocent soul. From then on, until my sophomore year in Key Club, the root of my happiness was collecting more memorabilia of this famous Japanese robotic cat, a cat full of optimism and determination.

In freshman year, I was confused. What exactly was Key Club? How did everything work? I mean why was everybody so active in it? I attended the End of the Year Party and saw how the past cabinet was really hyped up, emotional and it was my first time within two feet away from them…unlike lecture hall A. I overheard their conversations and jokes with each other, and I finally understood the great social relationship one could have if they just let themselves out.

After non-stop fundraising, I became the Fundraising Co-Committee Head and then the Treasurer. How did I even work my way up from starting out as a non active member to staying up late to arrange events? It was because of these three people: Christopher Tzeng, the President of Key Club, was one of the people, who I rarely talked to, but knew that he existed in Key Club for four years. Eventually before we even started out working together, we had some disagreements. But sometimes things do not necessary work out your way and you will have to deal with some colleague who you might dislike. Chris, a hot-headed, hot-tempered and frequently sleep deprived guy, actually became one of the people who I would contact even after Stuy. Our discussions about this insane teacher, encouragements to procrastinate the work, and Key Club related things till the typical hours were quite entertaining. It was Chris, who made me guilty for not applying for the Distinguished Treasurer Award. He pulled up all-nighters to write over 60 written pages of reports for the Major Emphasis and Read and Lead Awards. I had to help Stuy H.S. KC get some plaques up there from the stage! Chris, even though you might not deserve the President Award, I want to let you know you have taught me numerous things about handling various situations, and I can never pull an all-nighter for Key Club. You have accomplished and surpassed all the past Presidents and set up the foundation for what future Presidents should do. ::nudge nudge Courtney:: Melissa Myint, the Vice President of Key Club, famous for attending numerous Key Club events and duckie quack, is the chilliest person I have ever met. I met Melissa in my freshman year, but it was during Chemistry class that we became very close. I remember stuffing her apples, us eating lunch, and chilling in the back. She is always fine with everything. She controls me mentally and physically. I do not know why. Whatever she says, I agree with it. Maybe she learned some spells or something. She mentioned Glow in the Dark fundraising to me and that it was in New Rochelle. I had no idea how to get there and only knew that it was not in the city. We were hyped up about it even though numerous people said we were crazy. I at this point still do not understand why we were so persistent about going there and not worried about having the lives of over 150 KCers in our hands. Haha, eventually Melissa came to her senses and thought that we might have left a Key Clubber up in New Rochelle and someone would try to get revenge.

Amy Leung, the Secretary of Key Club, is an extremely diligent student, but too diligent for me to follow her footsteps. We knew each other ever since we were three; actually, my mom recognized her instead of me. Later on I recall that she had punched me in the nose because I had said that my brother was smarter than her sister. That was when I was just three years old. How mean! But without Amy making weird faces and having funny conversations together, I do not know how I would have survived band class. She would never be angry about how I made fun of how she spoke Chinese and still ironically crave Chinese food. In the meantime, she would use all her stalking devices to make me send her copies of checks and forms so she could complete her monthly report forms on time. Sometimes she did not understand how hard it was for the treasurer to adjust from requiring to do a one page bi-monthly report form to helping the secretary do a one inch thick MRF. I say as a penalty we should request Amy do the beaver dance alone when she is up there speaking =D. In all seriousness, I truly want to thank the three of you. Without you guys, I would not have known how to handle some member situations. Without you guys, I would not have had the same Key Club experience. Without you guys, I definitely would not have won the Patrick Vallee Distinguished Treasurer

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Award. Congratulations Chris, Meli, Amy!!! We completed our term 2005-2006 with awards—more than all the other years combined—but most importantly we formed our everlasting friendships by providing our service to Key Club.

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Lunar New Year Flower Market The most memorable experience I had as a part of Key Club was the time I attended the Lunar New Year Flower Market back in February. The very first task I was assigned was to handout the flyers to the Chinatown population. So Sue Yee and I grabbed a bunch of the flyers and set out to distribute them to everyone. At first the task was awkward for me because everyone seemed to reject my offers. However, as time went on, I became more comfortable with it and it turned out to be quite an interesting experience. Time went by in a flash and before we knew it, it was nightfall. One of our leaders instructed us to take down the zip codes of people as they made their way into the flower market, and to also give them a calendar as a free gift. Having been briefed, Brian and I took the boxes of calendars and started seeking out the zip codes of the participants. Carrying out this task was the most enjoyable part of the whole event because I laughed my butt off watching Brian do his thing. Whenever someone came through the entrance, Brian would go up to them and corner the person so that there was no way out. Then the person would tell him the zip code, not out of helpfulness, but rather out of annoyance. Nevertheless, he made everyone laugh and made the whole experience extra special.

- William Qiao

When Lunar New Year comes around, what do you get for your family and friends? Do you get them flowers by any chance? This Lunar New Year, Stuyvesant Key Club participated in a flower market in Chinatown! It was a two-day event, but many volunteers only went on the first day. This fun community service filled day lasted from 11 am to 10:30 pm on a sunny Friday, the last day of finals week for Stuyvesant. Many volunteers stayed for the whole day, doing jobs that ranged from holding the doors open, to handing out flyers to telling people where the exit was.

The jobs were done in shifts, each an hour long; all the volunteers had chosen which jobs they wanted to do beforehand. This event was a great way to hang out with your friends for the entire day and gain service credit while you were at it! Lunch and dinner were supplied at the market, and volunteers could take periodic breaks when they got too tired. By the end of the event, thousands of people had bought flowers and many other items from the flower market. And to think, all this could not have been done without the many volunteers of Key Club!

- Valentin Hsu

Teensgiving There’s nothing more special than your first Key Club event. I still remember my first event, Teensgiving ’05. Whenever I see the orange T-shirt that we had received, I always read the quote on the back because it inspires me to volunteer even more.

“Tell me and I’ll forget.

Show me and I might remember.

Involve me and I’ll understand.”

-Unknown When they told us our first task was to clean up after some unknown park, I felt disappointed. To be honest, this wasn’t what I had in mind. I didn’t want to rake leaves. I didn’t come here to clean up a place where nobody would

However, it turned out to be loads of fun! Sure we got lost and didn’t know where the park was but we got there…eventually. The park was deserted and was practically buried by 6 inches of leaves. It was also a chilly November day. I felt as if I was in a scary movie where zombies might appear from under the leaves.

I remember planting flower bulbs, backing away from the white bugs, worms, and spiders I had found, eating a bagel, and of course, raking leaves. After we scraped all the leaves to a pile, the ground looked bare. I could not believe how much we had achieved in the few hours that we had been there! I met new friends at this event and was proud of myself.

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Glow-in-the-dark minigolf As you walk down the brick-lined roads, you would expect lush trees, kids walking dogs, moms pushing baby strollers, and a beautiful park just around the corner. But when we Key Club members arrived there, we found something even better! Glow in the dark MINIGOLF!! Now don’t let the corny name put you off (“The Putting Edge”) because the inside is a lot more exciting than the name. As you walk in, you are immediately hit by the black lights and the alienish atmosphere of the place. Oohs and aahs were heard as we walked in and took off our coats (white shirts glow in the dark!!). After we stopped admiring ourselves, the mini-golf fun took off. Now don’t think that putting a ball into a hole is simple. Every hole was challenging and amazingly fun. Half of us had never played minigolf before and yet we had the time of our lives! All 18 holes went by way too fast (yours truly won his game and

Miles for moms Run/Walk

found out that he owns at mini-golf) and unfortunately, we had to hand back our clubs.

But there was still more fun to come! Inside Putting Edge was an air hockey table and a mini-arcade that we bombarded before we had to leave. So as we walked back out onto those brick-lined roads, talking about our mini-golf experience, all we could think about was our trip back next year.

-Alex Tam

by Jing W. Xiao

JCC Operation Chicken Soup!

This is one of those events where it starts out tediously but in the long run turns out to be enjoyable. It was drizzling on the morning of May 13th, 2006. The trains were moving slowly and the sky just wouldn’t clear up. In spite of this gloomy situation, I was rather excited. Since the March of Dimes Walk, I was eager to volunteer at other walks.

As I got closer and closer to the site I heard music and my nose picked up the smell of cream cheese. Yummy! But when I reached the spot, I only saw 4 or 5 Key Clubbers there. I was already late, where was everyone else? I was given a T-shirt and was told to stand at the Volunteer Area.

While I waited more Key Clubbers showed up but they were from another school. All of them were given an assignment first since they had 10 times as many people as we did. I must have spent at least 2 hours doing nothing. At least there was a baseball practice game going on at the park which kept me distracted.

Towards the end of the walk we were presented with a task. The task was satisfying; I helped out with the “Bags Check” tent. Each walker and runner had a number on their shirt and on their bags. The bags were organized in a system and were easy to find.

The fastest runners from each Age Category were 6

Mmmmm…the smell of cheesy pasta and freshbaked cookies in the air—just one of the rewards of over an hour of hard labor. Besides being able to smell such enticing aromas you also get a free cooking lesson and the knowledge that you’ve helped fill the stomach of a less fortunate guy. What is this crazy win-win situation event? It’s none other than JCC Operation Chicken Soup! Throughout the year, on Wednesdays, the Jewish Community Center holds these events to help feed people at homeless shelters. Many people from different schools often show up to help out. There, instructors teach us the basic techniques of cooking. I, myself, have learned such valuable skills like making cookie mix, chopping onions, and not forgetting to put the lid on when boiling pasta. And at the end, if there is any extra food (usually cookies—yum!) the volunteers get to eat them. So for a great way to help someone, a great way to get service credit, and just a great deal of fun, sign up for JCC Operation Chicken Soup!

- Pei Xiong Liu

LADY LIBERTY SWIM

y My favorite event was the March of Dimes Walk on the last day of April. No, I didn’t walk; that’s not what we did. We helped Discovery Health hand out their free products as a way of advertising and saying “Thank you” to those who were actually walking. I was part of the “Chap Sticks Group”. We untangled chap sticks and gave them out. As more and more people walked by, the demand unexpectedly increased. We had spent 1-2 hours untangling around a couple hundreds of chap sticks and within 10 minutes, they were all handed out! The walkers had even offered to help us untangle the few that were left unraveled. Who could have guessed how popular the chap sticks were!

- Jing W. Xiao

The Lady Liberty Swim took place on a crisp morning. Volunteers and swimmers alike were at Gangway 1 at Battery Park by 6:00 a.m. Most of the three hundred or so swimmers had on swimsuits, while a few only had on bathing suits; no footwear was allowed. The volunteers, under the direction of Marilyn (the volunteer director for the race), helped with the registration of the swimmers and the luggage transportation. By 7:00 the yellow team (who were part of a triathlon) had lined up and dived into the fifty eight degrees Hudson River water. Thus, the race began.

The Key Club volunteers helped take the swimmers’ luggage to North Cove, Yacht Harbor so that the swimmers could have their luggage when they finished the race. Key clubbers sorted the luggage using the swimmers’ numbers. Refreshments such as water, fruits, bagels and coffee were prepared for the swimmers. Many swimmers could not complete the feat with the strong river current and the cold morning air. They were transported by rescue boats along the way.

The second group dived in around 8:00 a.m. and many made it to the end of the race. Key clubbers helped the swimmers get on their feet when they first get out of water. We rinsed them off with fresh water and directed them to their luggage. It was an exciting race with the swimmers ranging from fifteen years old to fifty years old. The awards were given to the top ten men and the top ten women. Lastly, we helped to clean up the tables and put away the tents. It was a great morning and Marilyn invites Key Club to join in future NYC swims.

- Shuchen Lin

It was an early Sunday morning, and of course, like all loyal and responsible Key Club members, we were on our way to another exciting and action-packed walk! The March of Dimes walk was probably one of the most anticipated and rewarding events of the year, and it turned out to be just that. We made our way to Checkpoint 2, along Lexington Avenue and 53rd Street. It was a pretty cold morning, but fortunately, we were able to take refuge in the Duane Reade across the street. So, we started our work by helping the coordinators unpack a whole truck full of boxes with a sugarfilled cup of coffee in one hand and a bunch of cool watches in the other. Our assignment was to hand out watches and pamphlets from Discovery, a sponsor of the March of Dimes. The first few walkers had the privilege of being “greeted” by our friendly volunteers, who just so happened to have a little “who can give out the most watches” contest. But all that slowly went away, as we were hit by a wave of enthusiastic (sometimes greedy) walkers. We all scrambled to distribute the watches and hand out pamphlets. It was pretty hectic and chaotic, but all worth it in the end. We even became experts at untying complicated knots (ahem, chap stick people)! What was the downside of the walk? We didn’t get to see Mayor Bloomberg! I was looking forward to that too!

- Anthony Choi

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My friends and I arrived at the tent at 9:00 am—about half an hour late. We rushed through Central Park to get to the "Stuyvesant Team" table.

As I rushed through the park, I was fascinated by all the other different groups participating in the AIDS Walk. Groups like the Bronx Science Key Club, Best Buy and an Asian Pacific group caught my eye because I saw familiar faces from my midd l e s c h o o l .

When we reached the table, we saw not only members of Stuyvesant Key Club, but members of ARISTA, Building with Books and Caring for Kids or Cure for Kids (I dont' remember which one).

This was one of the biggest walks that I had ever gone to, but also one of the longest (six miles).

There were a total of three checkpoints where we received propel, ice mountain water, fruit bars and Fuze. We also received a lot of support from the route marshals and cheerleaders who had entertained us. I had many memorable moments, but my most memorable one would have been taking a picture with Captain Crunch (my favorite cereal).

Overall, this was a great event and I would

AIDS WALK

“Refreshments! Get your free refreshments!” I yelled as the AIDS walkers and runners passed by. This year’s AIDS Walk was on Sunday, May 21st at Central Park. Walkers and runners from New York all came together on this day to raise money to fund further research on AIDS. Not only was the event tons of fun but so was getting there. The Volunteer Checkpoint was inside the park. Many of us, including myself, had gotten lost. I entered the park and a beautiful pond loomed into view. After walking around and asking for directions, I finally arrived at my destination an hour late.

From unpacking bananas (and ripping some by accident) to distributing Newman’s Ice Tea and Pink Lemonade, the day was full of hard labor. However, there is this feeling of satisfaction when you get 100 thank-you s all at once. You know that your work has helped many others quench their thirst.

The next day at school I wore the “AIDS Walk 2006” pin on my shirt. Even though the two red ribbons were ducttaped to the back of the pin, I still considered it special. Although I had signed up for Key Club events before, I had never realized how enjoyable they would be. It’s not about the points (that’s a bonus), but about helping others out.

- Jing W. Xiao

On Sunday, May 21st, Key Clubbers could be seen at Central Park showing their support for the AIDS Walk. We first arrived at the 72nd Street Bandshell at 7:15 AM, where we met up to eat breakfast and get our volunteer t-shirts. When everyone finally arrived, our project captains Abdul Salam and Lauren White directed us to the refreshments stands. It was our job to prepare and set order to the area, such as separating bananas from their bunches and opening boxes of water and cereal bars.

The first walkers arrived at around 8:00. However, it did not get crowded until around 9:00. We were then instructed to walk around and hand out the food and drinks to the walkers. Key Clubbers could be seen supplying people with boxes of food and sun screen until it was time for lunch at 10:30.

When the walkers began to reach the end of the walk (which was the same point as the starting point—it was a walk around Central Park) we began to hand out ice cream. It was a delectable treat to end with, and everyone could be seen enjoying themselves with good friends and a commemorative certificate for finishing the walk. I was glad to be a part of my second AIDS walk, and I’ll continue doing this event each year with Key Club.

- Michael Chu

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Waking up at 6 am on a Sunday morning to work does not seem like the best thing to do, but it is definitely worth it if it is for the AIDS Walk. With a large turnout of volunteers and plenty of enthusiasm going around, this year’s AIDS Walk, which took place on May 21st, proved once again to be a successful and fun-filled event.

After we arrived at Central Park and were given t-shirts and instructions, we headed over to Checkpoint Four. The whole area was set up with tables and with trucks parked amidst the mountains of food. We started unpacking boxes of fruit, s n a c k s , a n d drinks. Some of us even had to take bunches of bananas out of their bags and separate them, which turned out to be quite fun.

For the next few hours, we walked around the band shell area in the hot sun greeting walkers who had stopped for some refreshments. We each carried boxes filled with a large variety of snacks and drinks. It sure was hard work holding heavy boxes and calling out to walkers at the top of our lungs, but the energy and spirit of everyone there kept us going

“It sure was hard work holding heavy boxes and calling out to walkers at the top of our lungs, but the energy and spirit of everyone there kept us going.”

On top of that, there was plenty of good food served at the walk. When we needed a break, we would join the long lines of people to pick up samples of Starbucks Banana Crème Frappuccino and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream.

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For hours, we continued giving out refreshments to the thousands of walkers; we had so much fun that we hardly even noticed the time passing by. Around 1 pm, the crowds had started to thin out a bit, yet there was still a lot of food left. All the walkers ended up leaving with boxes and bags of free food. Everyone was happy; it was great seeing the walkers so enthusiastic and willing to take the food. We were reluctant to leave, but storm clouds had started to roll in by the afternoon.

This year’s AIDS Walk could easily have been one of the best events of the year. Everything about the walk was big, literally. One could never forget the mountains of leftover food, the cheerful crowds, the refreshing sweet treats, and of course, the great cause behind this great walk.

- Joanna Chen

The Awesome shirt that Volunteers received!

AIDS WALK 9

Cabinet of ‘06-‘07 Please address questions or concerns to stuykc@yahoo.com. If you have individual concerns for a specific member in our cabinet, please refer to this page for contact information.

Secretary

Courtney Ng

Khoi Nguyen

AIM: Chirishangel31 Cell: 718-306-2572

AIM: x k h o ii Home: 718-295-3777

Please do not use this information for prank calling purposes. Those who are caught doing so will be prosecuted. :-)

Treasurer Fanny Tang

Vice Prez Marius Orza

AIM: modification22 Cell: 917-843-1052

AIM: cherryblossom506 Cell: 907-476-8219

Editor Lily Tsoi

AIM: Ltndt8990 Home: 718-595-0831 10

Contact Info

Prez