The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper
OPINIONS
A&E
The Democrats Must Collapse
Sad Boi Hour
Junior Alex Annenberg explains how the Democrats should make use of a common rhetorical tactic to achieve electoral success.
The Arts & Entertainment department and Sports editor Ahmed Hussein share their favorite sad songs, accompanied by personifications of their sentiments.
see page 12
Volume 109 No. 15
“The Pulse of the Student Body”
see page 14
May 10, 2019
stuyspec.com
Hanna Hones In on Two New History Electives
NEWSBEAT Senior Milan Haiman was named to an International Math Olympic team, the Hungarian National Team, and became the first Stuyvesant student to do so in 20 years.
Juniors Hana Kim and Christy Guan won first place, junior Aditi Haman won second place, and juniors Anna Xia, Penny Wang, and Sarah Leung won second place for their respective projects at the Cooperstown Competition. The Black Students League, ASPIRA, and the Counseling Department hosted their second Talking Circle Around Race discussion on May 6. The 138 Latin students at Stuyvesant won 185 prizes and certificates this year in five national contests: Classical Etymology, National Latin Exam, Latin Vocabulary, Roman Civilization, and Mythology. Junior Julia Hart won a prize in all five contests. Sophomore Sammi Lin, seniors Yajaira Rodriguez, Taylor Woo, and Summer Jiang, and freshman Yuqing Wu will be representing Manhattan at the State Championships as New York City’s first place Envirothon team. Assistant Principal of Chemistry and Physics Scott Thomas has been nominated by the Civil Aid Services of New York as 2019 Educator of the Year. Stuyvesant’s MUN team competed at The Dalton School last month. Juniors Zeynep Bromberg and Ahmed Sultan won Outstanding Delegate awards for representing Colombia in the Disarmament & International Security Committee. Juniors Vishwaa Sofat and Julian Bedolis won Honorable Mentions.
By KATIE NG, STEPHY CHEN and IAN LAU
Julian Giordano / The Spectator
At the New York State NHD Cooperstown Competition, Stuyvesant won 15 medals and will be sending seven students to Nationals.
By KAREN ZHANG, JESSICA JIANG and JAMES LEE History teacher David Hanna will teach two new one-semester history electives next school year. In the fall, he will teach a course on the Middle Ages, and in the spring, he will teach a course on the Spanish Civil War. Both electives will only be open to juniors and seniors and will be discussion-oriented. The Middle Ages elective will cover history from the fall of the Roman Empire up until the War of the Roses (1455-1487 CE). It will serve as a “prequel” to AP European History, which Hanna currently teaches. Students will also examine art in the Middle Ages, such as illuminated manuscripts and stained glass windows, and architecture, like the cathedrals, because these are valuable primary sources, particularly for a course centered on the Middle Ages. Hanna’s interest in the Middle Ages began when he was only five years old. “The Middle Ages was my first love for history,” he said. “My father took our family to England when I was five years old for the summer and we trav-
eled all around, and I saw so many castles, cathedrals, and ruins. And I was passionate about it all my life.” Unlike the Middle Ages elective, which will primarily focus on the cultural significance of the Middle Ages, the Spanish Civil War elective will cover the war itself (1936-1939), the historical context showing why the war occurred, and the unresolved issues from the war that still persist, such as the periodic rise of authoritarian and far-right governments. This course will also feature different mediums: visual art, such as contemporary propaganda; journalism; poetry; fiction; and film. Currently, Hanna teaches about the Spanish Civil War in both his AP European History class and his AP US History class. This new elective will allow him to cover the material in depth. “It was something that I was teaching, but not nearly as much as I would hope,” he said. “In the AP European History course, I can maybe only do two lessons on the Spanish Civil War, but now I can spend months and go really deep.” Some students want to take Hanna’s electives because of this and are excited for the chance to
further explore the topics. “I was really excited for AP European History partly because I thought it would cover [the Middle Ages]. I was actually disappointed at the beginning of AP European History because the course starts at the Renaissance, so I’m really glad that I can now take a course that focuses on the period before the Renaissance,” junior Alex Nobert said in an e-mail interview. Sophomore Carter Ley agreed, expressing interest in the Spanish Civil War course. “Dedicating an entire semester to a three-year period is unusual for social studies electives at Stuyvesant, so it should be a thorough and detailed course,” he said in an e-mail interview. “Knowing Mr. Hanna, I am confident he will integrate his extensive knowledge of historical trends, facts, and anecdotes, making the class a truly insightful experience.” Unlike the two AP classes that Hanna teaches, students will not have to write essays, nor will his tests be multiple-choice orientated. “There is never going to be multiple choice because I loathe it. It doesn’t demonstrate any real knowledge or understanding of history; it’s just regurgitation,” he said.
Instead, Hanna will be administering short-answer tests. “Sometimes it will be analyzing documents, sometimes expository. I think it is a very effective way to evaluate people’s knowledge of history,” Hanna said. Additionally, due to Stuyvesant’s location in the heart of New York, Hanna and his students will have unique access to valuable resources and opportunities. These will include such primary sources from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade Archives at New York University for the Spanish Civil War elective. For the Middle Ages elective, students will be able to visit the Cloisters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine. “There is an advantage of being in New York and teaching those topics. The experience is more enriching for students,” Hanna said. Hanna hopes the students who choose to take one of his new electives are passionate and dedicated. “[I am looking for] students [who] are generally interested in the historical topic, whether it is the Middle Ages or the Spanish Civil War. I would hope that the subject matter is what would spur students to want to take the class,” he said.
Environmental Club Hosts Annual Earth Day [the] Earth. It was nice seeing posters that showed examples of situations where waste is having a detrimental effect on the environment as well as possible activities in that individuals could do to lessen this impact,” freshman Jason Jiang said. Poster boards were not the only feature presented at the fair. At one station, students played a game that involved landing a hoop onto bowling pins. At another booth, students painted suncatchers, which were made of clear hardened plastic. Once they dried, the suncatchers were delivered to the students’ respective homerooms to adorn the windows. Many staff members also participated in activities. Pedrick, Colon, and Maggio participated in a recycling game. The staff were split into teams, where Pedrick and Colon constituted one team, and Maggio the other. The objective of the game was to sort recyclables, including paper, cartons, and food waste, into their correct boxes. Pedrick and Colon finished first, but they had sorted one item
Matt Melucci/ The Spectator
The Stuyvesant Environmental Club hosted its annual Earth Day Fair on April 18. This year’s theme was recycling. The various table booths stationed around the cafeteria highlighted the importance of acknowledging current environmental issues, such as pollution, and encouraged students to take action by actively recycling. Students could also participate in other educational activities, such as games and painting. The fair was coordinated by the cabinet members of the Environmental Club and biology teacher Marissa Maggio. “The fair took about a month to coordinate. We had less time to prepare this year, because SING! ended so late. Our club members came to meetings twice a week at first, then almost every day during the last week so that they could work on decorating their poster boards. Ms. Maggio was a huge driving force behind the planning of the fair; she obtained the permits for us to use the cafeteria and helped
us purchase supplies. Ms. Maggio was also the reason why we got Principal Eric Contreras, Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Casey Pedrick, and SPARK counselor Colon to attend,” both senior and President Kenny Wong and junior and Vice President Julia Hart said in a joint statement via e-mail. Members of the Environmental Club designed posters for the event. Topics included the history of recycling, how various countries around the world recycle, future methods of recycling, and Stuyvesant’s current recycling plan. “Each group spent about a half-dozen afternoons putting their presentation together. Because we were on an especially tight schedule this year, it was hectic at times, but our commitment paid off with our great presentations,” sophomore Jonathan Chen said. Students who attended the fair described it as a valuable experience. “I learned how to live more sustainably and how to properly handle the waste I produce to reduce my negative impact on
in the wrong recycling bin. Maggio finished second, with all items in their correct bins. The winner of the game was ultimately undeclared. Recycling has become one of the easiest and most accessible methods of combating pollution. However, not everyone knows how to recycle properly. The Environmental Club hopes to increase awareness about these issues through more fairs in the
future.“It’s important for students to learn about recycling because proper education is the only way to an efficient waste-management system. If students don’t know how to recycle the right way, their recyclables have a pretty good chance of ending up in the landfill,” Hart said. “Events like the Earth Day Fair teach people to care about where their waste should go and how they can make sure it gets there.”