Volume 110, Issue 16

The Spectator

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper OPINIONS

FEATURES

Joe Biden’s Growth on Queer Issues is an Asset, Not a Shortcoming.

Cutting Edge Haircuts in Quarantine Features writers Isabel Ching and Jennifer Ji delve into the new world of quarantined hair adventures.

see page 11

Volume 110 No. 16

Opinions writer John Grossman discusses whether Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden should be facing scrutiny for his past with LGBTQ+ issues. see page 15

May 31, 2020

stuyspec.com

ARISTA Expands Volunteer Opportunities

Students Face Difficulties During Online AP Exams

By ZIJIA (JESS) ZHANG, ISABELLA JIA, MAGGIE SANSONE, ALEC SHAFRAN, and SAKURA YAMANAKA

In light of the COVID-19 crisis, the College Board announced in March that the Advanced Placement (AP) exams would be administered online. To accommodate for the shift, the exams were shortened, made open-book, and taken at home from May 11 to May 22, with students around the world taking their tests at the same time. Technical difficulties, however, posed challenges to students as they took their exams, with many having to sign up for make-up exams administered from June 1 to June 5.

Most AP exams were shortened to 45 minutes, with an additional five minutes to submit answers.

Exams covered material from the shortened AP curriculum to account for the pandemic. Many exams consisted of either one essay question or two free-response questions in which students could only work on one question at a time. To submit their answers, students were given the choice of uploading handwritten work, attaching files, or copying and pasting their response onto the College Board website. Other AP courses, such as AP Drawing, required a

ARISTA, the Stuyvesant honor society, is expanding its tutoring services to all Manhattan high school students. ARISTA initially offered tutoring over online video services only to Stuyvesant students during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; now any Manhattan high school student may register to receive online tutoring. The decision was made by the ARISTA Executive Council (EC)—seniors President Mina Ivkovic, Vice President of Events Jeremy Lee, Vice President of Operations Caroline Magdolen, and Vice President of Web Development Hilary Zen—in coordination with Principal Eric Contreras and Faculty Advisor Eric Wisotsky.

The change was made due to the low number of tutoring requests from Stuyvesant students and to give ARISTA members more volunteer opportunities. Typically, ARISTA members have a credit requirement set at the beginning of the term that they must meet. Though members do not have a tutoring credit requirement this semester because of the COVID-19 pandemic, any tutoring credits earned

Ivy Jiang / The Spectator

By SHRIYA ANAND, KAI CAOTHIEN, THEO SCHIMINOVICH, and CHRISTOPHER SULLIVAN

portfolio instead of at-home testing.

With the new structure of AP testing, colleges must evaluate whether they will accept this year’s exams for college credit. While many colleges have chosen to accept them, others have yet to make a decision.

“In many cases, colleges will treat the 2020 AP exams in the same manner as they have in the past. Many colleges have publicly announced

this via e-mail bulletins and information posted on their websites, including institutions like Carnegie Mellon, Georgetown, Northeastern [University], UPenn, and Wellesley College, just to name a few,” Director of College Counseling Jeffrey Makris said in an e-mail interview.

“Others have not yet determined continued on page 4

The Class of 2020: Then vs. Now Every class of students, starting with the class of 2015, takes two surveys during their time at Stuyvesant: one before the first day of their freshman year and one during the last days of their senior year. Here we have collected the thoughts and data of 251 outgoing seniors.

Here is what we found:

I think there is a positive correlation between my SHSAT score and my academic success at Stuyvesant.

Strongly Agree 2.5% Agree 18.0%

Strongly Disagree 19.5%

Neutral 26.0%

Disagree 34.0%

Relationship between SHSAT Score and GPA 800

SHSAT Score

700

600

Part A: Entering High School and College

By MORRIS RASKIN, CLARA SHAPIRO, and BRIAN ZHANG

The majority of students (53.5 percent) do not believe that there is a strong correlation between their Specialized High Schools Admissions Test (SHSAT) score and academic success at Stuyvesant. Over 25 percent were neutral, maintaining that there was no correlation, and only 20.5 percent agreed or strongly agreed that there was a positive correlation between their SHSAT score and their academic performance at Stuyvesant.

A large majority of seniors surveyed (66.6 percent) felt that the SHSAT should remain the sole criterion for admission to Stuyvesant, while 20 percent were neutral and 13.5 percent disagreed. It is perhaps to be expected that the majority would vote in favor of the SHSAT, given that the SHSAT is the means by which all seniors were admitted to Stuyvesant.

One of the strongest and most frequently cited arguments for keeping the SHSAT is that students who do not meet the testing threshold would not be able to fulfill the demanding academic expectations of specialized high schools’ curricula.

Surprisingly though, the largely pro-SHSAT Stuyvesant population did not seem to believe there is a strong positive correlation between their SHSAT score and their academic success, indicating that the majority of Stuyvesant students were in favor of maintaining an admissions system they do not believe is predictive of academic success at Stuyvesant.

this semester will carry over to next semester. “We wanted to make sure that our volunteers had ample opportunity to start working [toward] earning rollover credits for the next term and continue to be involved even though we’re in this very unique situation,” Magdolen said.

The EC also wished to fulfill one of ARISTA’s main purposes: serving the community. “The main goal of ARISTA is to always give back to the larger New York City community, not just within Stuy,” Ivkovic said. “I think that ARISTA students naturally are inclined to give back to the community because that’s one of our core pillars. Especially with the rollover system, they are even more incentivized to do it.”

Wisotky agreed, noting that this change helps students who might not have access to resources or tutoring. “We are expanding our tutoring services because it is just the right thing to do, especially in a time like this […] we are lucky to have the resources and academic support systems we have at Stuyvesant.

The students at other high schools are part of our greater community, and we have a responsibility to serve them as well,” he said in an e-mail interview. “Ultimately, it continued on page 2

CORONAVIRUS CONTENT Evaluating the Exams: What Stuyvesant Students Thought of Online AP Tests, p. 4 When Senior Cut Day Gets Cut: How Seniors Feel About Corona-Age Milestones, p. 9 Stuyvesant: A Virtual Rendition, p. 12 Don’t Quiz Us During Quarantine, p. 14 Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome: A New Coronavirus Risk to Children, p. 19 Live From Zoom, it’s Saturday Night!, p. 22 Coronavirus Merch: A Profitable Predicament, p. 22 Stuyvesant Reveals Its True Colors Amidst COVID-19, p. 25 The Great Restoration of Sports, p. 26

continued on page 5 500

I would prefer that the SHSAT remain the sole criterion for admission to Stuyvesant.

400

80

85

90

GPA (0-100)

95

31% Strongly Agree

35.6%

20%

9.0%

4.5%

Agree

Neutral

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 2

News

ARISTA Expands Volunteer Opportunities

continued from page 1

is the responsibility of all of us to do our part to better our community through leadership and service.”

To make this transition possible, the EC has collaborated with the administration. “We’ve been coordinating with [Wisotsky] and [Contreras] to get the e-mails sent out to the principals of these high schools that we’re offering tutoring to. We’re going to be seeing how that pans out in the future, but we definitely have the administration on board with us on this and working to expand our tutoring services as much as possible,” Ivkovic said.

The expanded tutoring services can be accessed through the ARISTA website. “It’s already available on our website,” Magdolen said. “Right now we’re in the process of actually reaching out to high schools and letting them know that this is an opportunity.”

To match students who take courses not offered in Stuy, ARISTA uses a process that is different from its normal matching process.

“We have an [option in which] you can select something that’s not listed, since we know that there will be classes that students [take] that aren’t necessarily at Stuy,” Magdolen said. “We will look into it with more detail, coordinate with our tutors, and see who would be willing to [tutor in that subject] without the randomized matching process.”

The EC is considering expanding ARISTA’s tutoring services to all five boroughs, should this new initiative be successful in Manhattan.

“Since it’s something really new that we haven’t done before, we actually thought that it would be a better idea to just start with Manhattan since Stuy is in Manhattan,” Magdolen

said. “We didn’t want to expand to all five boroughs because we might get overloaded. But that’s definitely something we’re considering doing in the future if this works out well.”

In addition to extending tutoring services to other schools in Manhattan, ARISTA has begun working on their Phone Angels project. “The ARISTA Phone Angel program connects volunteers—both ARISTA-members and non-ARISTA affiliated individuals—with senior citizens for weekly phone calls,” junior and project leader Liam Kronman said in an e-mail interview.

“The phone calls are designed to bring joy to seniors during a time of crisis, whether that be through playing music or telling jokes or simply sharing a few laughs, as they are some of those most in need.”

In developing the Phone Angels program, the EC took inspiration from pre-existing programs that provide moral support to senior citizens. “A lot of these call programs have already existed before.

However, [considering the current situation,] I think [this program is] particularly important because visitation has been canceled,” Lee said.

“Recently we’ve partnered with one senior center, […] CommonPoint in Queens. We’ve got an initial list of about 20 volunteers who have been doing regular calls with the people living in CommonPoint.”

In order to more effectively communicate with the seniors, volunteers undergo training. “The volunteers have had meetings with the people who run CommonPoint and […] other senior centers [with which] we’ve been in contact […] and they’ve provided training on what to do in these calls and how to handle them,” Lee said.

The program has been a touching experience for not only the se-

niors, but also the volunteers. “I find this project very meaningful because it allows me to engage with my community and […] continue giving back, even while at home,” Kronman said. “It’s absolutely heartwarming to read about some of the volunteers’ experiences in the calling logs.”

Junior and volunteer Victoria Lieberman agreed, saying in an email interview, “I know that selfisolating can feel lonely, and I want to minimize that impact in any way that I can. These phone calls are a fulfilling way to help other people.”

The EC hopes to further expand the program, as students both within and outside of ARISTA have expressed interest in participating.

“We even have a volunteer from The NYC Museum School who reached out to me to participate.

Perhaps in the future, we can expand the program to other schools to serve more seniors,” Wisotsky said.

Currently, the number of volunteers exceeds the number of seniors, meaning some volunteers have had to double up when calling their paired senior. Before they can implement the new volunteers, ARISTA needs to find more seniors. “I am in the process of reaching out to more senior centers and nursing homes and getting senior citizens more interested in our program,” Kronman said.

The EC hopes to continue finding ways for ARISTA to contribute to the school and city communities.

“We’re still trying to figure out different ways to help out our community, but these have been the two main projects we’ve invested in, and we definitely want to expand and improve on them for the time being,” Ivkovic said. “As things progress and we learn more about the state of New York, particularly in New York City, we will continue to call the shots as the time comes.”

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and NASA

WORLDBEAT Forty-six-year old George Floyd was killed by police officer Derek Chauvin, who pressed his knee on Floyd’s windpipe in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Chauvin was charged with thirddegree murder and second-degree manslaughter. Protests have erupted around the nation in response to Floyd’s death.

Following the reopening of parts of upstate New York, New York City is expected to reopen on June 8.

Amy Cooper, a white woman walking in Central Park, called the police on May 27 on Christian Cooper, a black birdwatcher who asked her to leash her dog, as was required in that section of the park.

President Donald Trump announced that the United States will terminate its special ties with Hong Kong, which will now be subjected to the same restrictions as China.

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, president Donald Trump announced that the United States would pull out its funding for the World Health Organization.

National History Day Finalists Advance to National Championships

By VICTORIA GAO, PETER GOSWAMI, JENNY LIU, and RIFATH HOSSAIN “National History Day—it’s probably the biggest project that anyone in my group will do at Stuyvesant High School,” junior Julian Cunningham said. For the past six years, Stuyvesant has competed in the National History Day (NHD) competition, in which participating students have regarded as one of the most memorable parts of their junior year social studies experience.

In the New York State Division of the NHD state competition, Cunningham and juniors Emily (Mimi) Gilles, Max Kahn, Asif Sattar, and Jonathan Schneiderman placed first in the group performance category for their project “Love and Hope: How Harvey Milk Broke the LGBT Barrier in Politics.” Juniors Sayan Shil, Syed Tajrian, and Yousef Amin placed first in the documentary film category for their project “Thurgood Marshall: Championing Changes

by Breaking Racial Barriers.” And junior Gallo Patel placed second in the individual performance category with his project “Breaking Healthcare Barriers: The Social Security Amendments of 1965.” All projects qualified for the national competition, which is the highest and final distinction of the NHD competition.

For many years, social studies teacher Robert Sandler has assigned the NHD project to students in his AP U.S. History classes. The project takes up the entirety of his students’ fall semester and culminates into a school-level competition during finals week in January.

The projects focus on a topic related to a historical theme chosen by the NHD organization each year, with this year’s theme being “Breaking Barriers in History.” Participants are allowed to submit projects of different mediums, such as a video documentary, a physical exhibit (with documents and historically significant items), a historical paper, a dramatic performance, or an interactive website.

The top three submissions in

each category from each school qualify for the city championships. From there, the top two submissions from every category advance to the state championships. The first and second place submissions from every category then advance to the national competition. And at the national competition, first, second, and third place awards are presented to the top entries in each category and division.

Last year, seniors Hana Kim and Christy Guan won first place at Nationals for their exhibit board on the Chicago Fire of 1871 and the rise of the subsequent skyscraper city.

Hosted by the Museum of the City of New York, high schools across the city participated in the city competition on March 1. Given the growing COVID-19 pandemic, however, the in-person awards ceremony was canceled and live-streamed on March 11 instead. Consequently, the state competition, originally set to take place at The Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York on April 27, was held virtually.

Sandler was disappointed his students were unable to attend the state competition in person. “I’m sad my students didn’t get to experience the state competition at Cooperstown, NY. It’s really exciting to see all the impressive exhibit boards from all over the state, watch the other schools compete in the theatrical performance category, [and] visit the Baseball Hall of Fame,” he said in an e-mail interview. “The long bus ride upstate and back and the walks through the small town Norman Rockwell streets [are] unforgettable and ha[ve] always been a great bonding experience.”

Following the state competition, the week-long national competition was originally planned to take place in mid-June at the University of Maryland, College Park. Traditionally after the national competition, a ceremony is held where monetary prizes, scholarships, and special prizes are awarded. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the national competition will also be conducted virtually.

Due to the competition’s virtual shift, finalists must submit their

work through an online portal on which judges will evaluate their projects online rather than in-person, with changes being made accordingly for each category. Despite the differences in submission mediums, every group must still submit an annotated bibliography and process paper, detailing the process of making the project. The judging criteria will remain the same, and results will be announced by early-to-mid-June.

Many non-performance projects, such as websites, documentaries, and papers, were unaffected by the virtual shift. Performance groups, on the other hand, were heavily affected. Participants who were originally going to present a group performance instead submitted a script, which included a breakdown of their performance with stage directions and descriptions of each scene’s goal. Photos of the costumes used in the performance were also submitted to compensate for the lack of physical performance.

The submission process for performances came with some advantages. “In terms of sets, props, and costumes, our group was definitely not the strongest. Being able to do the project virtually has actually given us the opportunity to describe our sets to the judges as we wished it to be,” Cunningham said.

But even with these upsides, Cunningham would have preferred that his group perform in person.

“I 100 percent wish that we were able to still be there. Theater is meant to be acted, and we created a small work of theater,” he said.

After every round, participants are given the opportunity to revise their projects. Feedback from the judges allows participants who move on to make tactical changes to further improve their projects. “After every round, the judges […] give you critiques. The main thing to do is to try to look at their critiques and incorporate them,” Cunningham said.

Gillies added, “It’s a whole process; you never really are done with it.

We get feedback at every level, and we have to edit based on that feedback.”

Shil, Tajrian, and Amin submit-

ted a group documentary on how Thurgood Marshall’s legal advocacy and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People broke racial barriers throughout the nation. Though the judges suggested pacing and audio changes during the state competition, the group found it difficult to execute those changes. “Some of the advice the judges gave us were changes that we cannot make (it would take years and are too risky to try). So we’re really just picking and choosing what legitimate changes we can make,” Shil said in an e-mail interview.

Participating in NHD has enabled students to develop new skills and build character. Working with a New York University Film Professor, Shil, Tajrian, and Amin learned how to integrate music, edit, and write a script. Through experimenting with video software to create their documentary, their use of pan, zoom effects, and narration of Marshall’s life helped them win first place in the documentary film category during the state competition. “We learned that we are definitely capable of destroying competition and winning, even at things we may not focus on for our lives. This has personally given me a huge boost in confidence.

Before NHD, I had never even touched a video editor,” Shil said.

Though Patel was surprised to have made it far into the competition with his project, he looks forward to participating in the national competition. “I did not expect to get to Nationals at all, especially given [that the state competition] was conducted virtually. All I could submit was my script, so I’m pretty proud that it could stand by itself against state-wide competition,” Patel said in an e-mail interview.

Cunningham also felt that advancing to Nationals itself was a significant achievement and remarkable experience. “Working with [my groupmates] has been a highlight of my junior year,” he said. “None of us expected that we’d be able to put together something of this scale and take it as far as a national competition. It really taught my

groupmates the value of working together and working really hard.”

Given the intensity of Stuyvesant’s academic requirements, NHD became an outlet for students to pursue their personal intellectual endeavors. “It gave us the opportunity to study something that we wouldn’t normally study, which I think is really important. It was so interesting to learn stuff that I never would have learned otherwise,” Gillies said.

Assistant Principal of Social Studies Jennifer Suri noted the capabilities of the students and the rigor of their NHD projects. “What’s really impressive about our students’ performance is that in some schools, an entire elective class is devoted to National History Day, [but] for us, students either did it on their own or as a part of [Sandler’s] AP U.S. History class,” she said in an e-mail interview.

The students are grateful for Sandler’s support throughout the entire process. “I’d like to thank [Sandler] for being so helpful in this project, acting as both a mentor and well-needed critic to push us to surpass our expectations. Without him, [I] doubt our project could have gotten through as it has,” Sattar said.

Along with the effort of the students and Sandler, the Stuyvesant faculty helped with the NHD projects. “I would like to thank the amazing librarians and members of my social studies department who helped assess the projects and offered invaluable critiques. [Suri] was […] incredibly helpful and generous with her time,” Sandler said. “I think it’s great [that] even though Stuy is known for being a math [and] science school that we excel in history.”

Overall, NHD has left a lasting impact on students’ interests and their appreciation of history.

“To become an expert in a very specific topic and then turn that knowledge into something creative is a unique experience that changed the way I think about history,” Patel said. “Originally, it was just a grade to me, but I feel I’ve gotten pretty invested in my topic and definitely plan on spending more time learning about healthcare policy.”

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 3

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The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 4

News Students Face Difficulties During Online AP Exams continued from page 1

if they will adjust AP policies for these exams, like Princeton, which is evaluating this by department.”

To prepare students for the newly formatted exam, the College Board published guidelines to help them avoid any technical difficulties.

The guidelines included important steps to take before an exam, such as disabling any plug-ins and making sure the test-taking device is fully charged. The College Board issued a testing demo for students to test their device and become familiar with the three different submission options before their AP exam. To secure testing, the College Board also e-mailed an e-ticket to every student two days prior to their exam.

The College Board introduced stricter protocols to deter and prevent cheating, including plagiarism detection. Many, however, expressed concern over the nuances of taking the exams online. “Nobody knows who used the Internet (or other tools) during the exam, who had help from others, or even who took the exam,” physics teacher Thomas Strasser said in an e-mail interview.

Especially during the first week of testing, issues became apparent with the College Board website after many students reported technical difficulties with submitting their work.

The shortened submission window left many students without enough time to submit their responses, while others had difficulties with successfully submitting their work despite attaching their responses. Without a submission, many were prompted

to a page that displayed, “We Did Not Receive Your Response(s).”

Junior Allen Baranov had difficulties with his AP Physics C: Mechanics exam submission. “I could not submit answers for my Physics C: Mechanics exam,” Baranov said in an e-mail interview. “I sent the PDF of my answers from my phone to my Google Drive and downloaded them from Google Drive. However, when I tried uploading these files to College Board, they wouldn’t recognize them.”

Sophomore Xiaoshen Ma could not submit her work either. “Normally, in a classroom, the teacher is coming around, I [need to] put my pen down, and she’s going to take it no matter what. You look down, and you see this whole essay, and you’re sure that it’ll get taken away. But on a virtual essay, it was there, yet it didn’t go through. It was just kind of sad because you know you did it,” she said.

Fearing that they would face issues submitting with the College Board website, students became stressed during their AP exams.

“The first time I tried to submit, it just wouldn’t work, so I had to x-out and re-AirDrop it to my laptop,” sophomore Naomi Naranjo said. “I was literally so scared that it wouldn’t submit in time [because] there were only 10 seconds left.”

Though many students experienced issues with the College Board website itself, some experienced technical difficulties with their own device on their first AP exam. “The technical difficulty was on my end— I was not able to e-mail the photos of my handwritten work to myself in time. The e-mail would not

send, and when it did, I didn’t have enough time to upload them and submit,” an anonymous student said.

Because of the technical issues, Strasser was disappointed by the College Board’s execution of the exams. “Most technical problems were clearly caused by the College Board not securing enough servers, and many students could not upload their files as a result. The College Board did not admit that but instead accused students of not having updated their browsers,” he said in an e-mail interview.

To rectify the submission issue, the College Board added an e-mail submission process for students to turn in responses for the second week of AP testing. If students faced difficulty with submitting their work, they could instead e-mail their responses to the College Board directly after their exam. Those who could not submit their responses during the first week of AP testing, however, were not able to e-mail their work.

Though students appreciated the new e-mail submission option, they wished it had been introduced earlier. “The submission process with the backup if there was a problem should have been established either before the first exam or as soon as there were submission problems. The e-mail backup was very helpful and reassuring that even if there were submission problems, students felt safe and more relaxed,” junior Aki Yamaguchi said in an e-mail interview.

“I hated that they failed to address the problem so late and were ruining a lot of people’s days and exams just because they couldn’t submit.”

Students who were unable to submit their exam in the first week of AP exams in May were directed to take the make-up exam in June.

They were instructed to fill out an online form describing the disruptions that they faced during the exam and will be issued an e-ticket for their make-up exam upon approval from the College Board.

Ma is pessimistic about taking the exam in June. “To be honest, everyone just wants to get over with it, and […] taking the test at the right time at the right place seems like a big factor. The make-up test, though it might have given me more days to study, […] didn’t really give me more time because as we get to the end of the school year, there are so many final projects that we also have to go through,” she said.

Due to the shortened tests to accommodate for an exam designed to be taken at home, many students were disappointed in the few topics that their exams covered compared to what they had learned throughout the school year. “Nothing was going to be perfect for an online exam, but it is disappointing that so little of what I studied was actually on the test,” freshman Sophia WanBrodsky said in an e-mail interview.

Many also expressed concerns about the level of productivity for students taking the exam in a non-structured environment. “The lack of control over testing conditions (chance of technical difficulties; perhaps lack of space to concentrate) makes the whole experience more stressful. In person, the testing environment is very controlled, and there is reassurance

in that,” English teacher Maura Dwyer said in an e-mail interview.

On the other hand, others viewed the format as reasonable and an adequate measure of their knowledge on the subject. “The exam looked pretty fair to me. The format was pretty expected—it was exactly the way we did practice exams, and [though] there [were] a few changes that we had to get used to, I guess that just meant that we didn’t have the multiple choice, which might be a good thing,” Ma said. “The essay portion was exactly the same, which was definitely a good thing.”

Social studies teacher David Hanna also believed that the test was made fairly to some extent.

“They mixed up the topics for the [Document Based Questions] so that one might have gotten one on the Enlightenment, while another might have gotten one on the Reformation, and another still on the French Revolution,” he said.

Hanna noted, however, some improvements that could have been made to the modified AP exams. “Personally, I […] would’ve given students a choice of three or four Long Essay topics to write on. But as I said, they did mix it up—though there wasn’t any choice on the student end,” he said.

Though Hanna acknowledges that the AP exams were not executed perfectly, he feels that the College Board did well given the circumstances. “[The College Board] made the best of the situation. It [is] important for students who’ve been working hard all year to have a benchmark by which to measure their skills and knowledge,” he said.

Evaluating the Exams: What Stuyvesant Students Thought of Online AP Tests

By THE NEWS DEPARTMENT and THE FEATURES DEPARTMENT

After completing modified online Advanced Placement (AP) tests, students react to and reflect on their experiences: “I felt there were gaps in what I knew. [AP Biology] was the worst thing I expected. I opened the question and […] saw two graphs, and it already looked hard. I spent at least a week’s worth of time just going over glycolysis, the electron transport chain, photosynthesis and everything, and then, what do I get to sit on? Freaking stomach cancer cells and a pedigree about a protein pump.

I got nothing about photosynthesis or cellular respiration.” —Olivia Zheng, freshman “I think I was prepared—the whole quarantine thing means I had more time to study, and the AP world curriculum was a lot easier because there was only a DBQ. I don’t like reading stuff on a computer, but since it was only 45 minutes, it was fine.” —Eliza Knapp, sophomore

“I was not able to submit, which invalidated the [AP Chemistry] test, and I have to retake it in a couple weeks. So many people were unable to take the test, and since they can’t take the test at designated places, I think the College Board should have just canceled the tests. They shouldn’t have been administered at all. Definitely not online.

Maybe just give everyone credit like [for the] Regents.” —Corey Kwan, sophomore

“I totally forgot about [my AP Chemistry exam] since we weren’t actually in school. I feel like I would have done more [to prepare] if it was a regular school year. [Be]cause [I just stayed] at home, I didn’t really stay on top of it. It was worse than actual normal tests because I have a really tiny apartment, and my parents were like walking around and doing stuff while I was trying to take the test.” —Naomi Naranjo, sophomore “I didn’t really feel prepared because I was preparing for something else, and this was a curveball that no one could have expected. The format of the [AP Human Geography] test put us at a disadvantage because the entire year we’ve been taking multiple choice exams, and we had two months to prepare for a free response question. It just felt like they were just making us fail. It didn’t feel good.” —Samantha Hua, freshman “I loved the exam format because [t]hough your knowledge had to [be] spread across the curriculum, your essay or short response was focus[ed] on one specific topic. Obviously, it’s a condensed version, but the essays for AP U.S. History and AP English Language and Composition concluded your skills for the curriculum […] and brought everything you had learned together. For the AP Physics 1 exam, it was interesting because your answers were always about the reasoning instead of finding an end answer.”

—Aki Yamaguchi, junior “Personally, online APs have been a disappointment. The College Board is really promoting an environment of stress. They are actively trying to make people cheat in a ridiculous fashion […] what pisses me is that anything I do could be considered ‘cheating’ as their standards are really broad. It’s just been a mess.” —Carlos Hernandez, junior

“I took them for fun. AP Chemistry is my forte. Then I wanted to self-study AP Physics I and II, so I e-mailed [Assistant Principal of Organization] Dr. [Gary] Haber […] I took a waiver, and I got it signed by [Assistant Principal Chemistry, Physics, and Technology Scott] Thomas, and I gave it to Dr. Haber, and he let me take both APs. It was much easier [than the in-class material]!” —Alvi Khan, sophomore

“The 30 minutes between signing in and actually starting the [AP European History] exam were terrible, and I think I was a lot more nervous about whether I would be able to properly turn in my response rather than figure out the question itself. The whole process came with a lot of uncertainty, especially as I had personally known people who were unable to submit their work for prior tests. However, the prompt itself seemed fair, and I certainly felt that [social studies teacher David] Hanna had adequately prepared us for writing in a time crunch.” —Daniela Maksin, sophomore

“I’m a transfer student. I took Chemistry in freshman year at QHSS [Queens High School for the Sciences], so I qualified for AP Physics. I had to self-study quite a bit. Otherwise, I’d say my teacher did more than enough to help me prepare for the exam.

The exam format was fair—if it had been any easier it probably wouldn’t have accessed the effort and knowledge of the students who had spent their time preparing for the course.” —Rayyan Bhuiyan, sophomore

“The [AP Environmental Science] exam format is creative but is in need of improvement.

Putting a hasty time limit is enough to discourage a lot of cheating, but it gives way for a ton of technical problems for students. The exam should definitely give more time, especially since some forms are harder than others. The test was definitely very easy to do and not very time consuming though.” —Hansen He, freshman

“I felt pretty prepared [for AP Biology]. It wasn’t exactly easy, but […] I had done a decent amount of practice leading up, so I was used to the format and had learned to move quickly through the exam […] the most difficult part about having an online test is staying focused. For me, it’s much easier to stay ‘in the zone’ when you have a physical copy of the test.” —Sophia Wan-Brodsky, freshman

“For AP Chemistry, it was way more difficult than the past exams of the same length.

There were many different forms, and some were way more difficult and some way easier which isn’t fair. The College Board will statistically make sure the difficulty is the same, but I don’t really believe that. It was hard, and I messed up. There definitely was not enough time.” —Amanda Zhong, sophomore

“While it requires less intensive studying, taking the test online felt slightly more stressful than taking the test in person. Also, I miss testing in a huge room full of other students where we all have the same thing in mind, which is to get the AP over with.” —Sarah Leung, senior

“It honestly went off without a hitch for me because I did the demo beforehand. I was worried that I would have trouble submitting, so I made sure I had adequate practice going into the test. Some people who didn’t do the demo had problems submitting their file during the actual test.” —Maxwell Zen, sophomore

“No bueno. The College Board didn’t receive one of my responses for AP Chemistry, so I’m retaking it. Of course, this was before they established the new e-mailing thing.

I know it sucks, but honestly, I don’t blame the College Board too much.” —Kaitlyn Lee, junior “I thought [the test format] worked for AP Chemistry […] the format of complicated but relatively short responses was good because [the questions] covered a lot of ground for a 45-minute test. I thought it was really dumb for [the] AP World [History exam] to have one question because it was very specific and very technical. There was only one chance; you had to kind of know the information. If you didn’t know it, it was just kind of over.” — Gavin McGinley, sophomore “My experience was great [in AP Biology]. I wasn’t tested on every unit, and it was fairly easy. Personally, I found my topics extremely straightforward because I was well prepared. I think the amount of time I received was sufficient. I had about seven minutes left after each question. The exam format was pretty straightforward in my opinion. I like[d] that it was in a ‘diagram, question’ format. ” —Marilyn Shi, freshman

“Online AP examinations have been pretty fair, surprisingly. I especially liked the 30-minute wait [at] the beginning of the exam. It gives [me] time to think and prepare mentally.” —Vincent Jiang, junior

“[It was] like any other test. [The AP Computer Science A and AP Physics I were] really boring [and had] stuff that I already learned. [I didn’t have any technical issues] besides my malfunctioned brain.” —Winson Peter Zhang, junior

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 5

Senior Survey The Class of 2020: Then vs. Now continued from page 1

Part A: Entering High School and College 2016

2020

After I graduate from Stuyvesant, I think I might attend an Ivy League University, Stanford University, or MIT.

I am attending an Ivy League or other elite university this fall.

Disagree 2.7%

Strongly Agree 24.0%

Yes 40.0%

Neutral 31.0%

No 52.0%

Unsure 8.0%

Agree 41.3% As students in a school with a reputation for providing an elite, almost collegelevel education, it is no surprise that the class of 2020 had Ivy League ambitions as incoming freshmen. In fact, 65.3 percent of the incoming class had thought they might go to an Ivy-level or other elite university after graduating from Stuyvesant. In reality, this percentage of students will not be attending an elite university; eighty-four percent applied to these universities while 40 percent, or about half of total applicants, will be entering said universities this fall. It should be noted, however, that Ivy Leagues, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Stanford University were the only schools specified as “elite” in the freshman survey, while schools that qualified as such were not specified in the senior survey and thus determined by each student’s perceptions of what qualifies as an “elite” university.

While just over half of seniors (52 percent) believe their chances of getting into one of these schools were higher compared to those of students at non-specialized high schools, 28 percent think their chances were actually lower. This difference in opinion might be due to the common sentiment that elite universities only accept a small number of students from each school, not all qualified students, and therefore have limited seats for Stuyvesant students. Despite this belief, the vast majority (90 percent) of seniors feel that regardless of where they end up, Stuyvesant has prepared them well for the next four years of college. Only 2.5 percent of survey takers believe that Stuyvesant did not prepare them properly.

I believe Stuyvesant has prepared me to succeed at whatever college I attend.

Disagree 2.0% Neutral 7.6%

Strongly Agree 52.9%

Agree 37.1%

2020

Part B: Lifestyle

By MORRIS RASKIN and JONATHAN SCHNEIDERMAN

2016

How many times have you used marijuana, study drugs, or hard drugs?

Marijuana

93.5% 89.5%

I am opposed to the use of recreational drugs, like marijuana, by high school students.

Study Drugs

Hard Drugs

70.5%

Disagree 2.6% Neutral 11.0% 16.0%

Agree 19.4%

7.5%

Strongly Agree 65.4%

A vast majority of seniors had been opposed to drug and alcohol use as freshmen, with only 4.2 percent of freshmen claiming to not be opposed to the use of recreational drugs such as marijuana. Similarly, only 2.6 percent of respondents identified as not being opposed to underage drinking. By the end of their high school experience, however, 29.5 percent of seniors tried marijuana in some form, which is over seven times the percentage of those who had not opposed it in their freshman year. While it is possible to simultaneously be opposed to drug usage and use them, it is clear that a large portion of opposed students reformed their views or changed their minds over the course of their time at Stuyvesant.

Never

4.5%

Once/A few times

8.0% 1.5% 1.5%

Semi-often

5.5%

1.5% 0.5%

Regularly

Though most Stuyvesant seniors have never used marijuana, a sizable minority (29.5 percent) have used it at least once. The majority of those who have used it (16.3 percent), seems to have only experimented with the drug. Nationally, this number is much higher: 37 percent of seniors report to have used marijuana in the past year. Still, around 10 percent of the Stuyvesant seniors surveyed said that they use marijuana either semi-often or regularly. This data contrasts with the students’ views when they were incoming freshmen: about 85 percent of them said that they were opposed or strongly opposed to the use of marijuana by high school students. Evidently, at least 15 percent of seniors had a change of heart at some point. What this data doesn’t tell us, however, is how many of the 70 percent of students who have never used marijuana still oppose its use by their peers.

Despite the stereotype of widespread study drug usage among Stuyvesant students, the vast majority of seniors surveyed had never taken a study drug in their four years of high school. A small minority (10 percent) used such a drug once or a few times, and students who used study drugs semi-often or regularly constituted a tiny minority (3 percent) of the seniors surveyed.

The vast majority of seniors surveyed, nearly 95 percent, never used a hard drug, and more than two-thirds of those who had had only done so once or a few times, with only two percent of students reporting that they used hard drugs semi-often or regularly. This data is roughly in line with national statistics on drug use among high school seniors. Only one student responded to the survey saying that they regularly used hard drugs; thus, if the surveyed population constitutes a representative sample of the senior population, three or four students in the senior population regularly use hard drugs.

Page 6

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Senior Survey My sexual orientation is: 86.7%

Freshman

Senior

76.1%

While 86.7 percent of freshmen had identified as heterosexual in 2016, only 76.1 percent of seniors identified as straight, marking a 10.6 percent decrease over the four year period. Whether it was through coming out, self-acceptance, or self-discovery, the LGBTQ+ community saw a clear increase throughout the class of 2020’s time at Stuyvesant. Additionally, the percentage of students who felt unsure about their sexuality decreased. One possible explanation for this might be the inclusion of the “asexual” category, which was not an option on 2016’s survey but garnered three percent of senior survey answers.

9.0%

Heterosexual (Straight)

12.5% 4.0%

Homosexual (Gay)

4.0%

Bisexual

6.5% 4.5%

Unsure

1.9%

Other

3.0%

Asexual

Have you received treatment for mental illness since coming to Stuy?

Yes 16.0%

About one in six seniors surveyed have received treatment for mental illness since coming to Stuyvesant; in a senior classroom with a random student population, one would expect five or six students to be in this category.

It is difficult to draw any strong conclusions about mental illness at Stuyvesant from this data. Without every student being examined by a mental health professional, it is impossible to know what portion of the student body might need treatment for mental illness. Therefore, no real conclusions can be drawn about whether Stuyvesant students are getting the mental health treatment they need. There is, however, a significant difference between the relatively low number of students who have received treatment for mental illness at Stuyvesant and the number nationwide: around 40 percent.

No 84.0%

How many hours did you spend on leisure activities online before remote learning?

The majority (53.8 percent) of seniors spent between one to three hours on leisure activities before online learning, with 30.7 percent of seniors spending three to five hours. As freshmen, however, most students (69.1 percent) had spent only zero to three hours watching TV a week, and 43.6 percent had spent between zero and 1.5 hours on Facebook. A significant amount (43 percent), however, did not have a Facebook account but spent time on social media. The apparent increase is surprising given the stereotype of Stuyvesant students being overly studious, but this may be due to the burnout that some seniors feel after working intensely for many years.

7+ 2.8% 5-7 6.4%

0-1 6.4%

3-5 30.7% 1-3 53.8%

Part C: Academic Dishonesty

By CLAIRE SHIN

2016

2020

I would sacrifice a good grade to preserve my academic honesty.

I think that academic cheating (in any form) can be justified.

Disagree 3.9% Neutral 22.7%

Agree 36.0%

Strongly Agree 36.0%

Strongly Disagree 3.2% Disagree 23.9%

Neutral 38.2%

Strongly Agree 6.0%

Agree 28.7%

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 7

Senior Survey I have participated in something that qualifies as academic dishonesty in Middle School

High School

50.6% 46.4% 41.5%

26.7%

12.7%

10.0%

9.4%

Given the intense academic environment at Stuyvesant, it is not surprising that many of the freshmen in 2016 changed their opinions on academic dishonesty. While 88 percent of the class of 2020 said they rarely or never cheated in middle school, only 12.7 percent of them never cheated by the end of their senior year.

This data, however, may not completely capture this shift in mindset. While 72 percent of the class as freshmen had agreed or strongly agreed they would not cheat, seniors, when asked whether all forms of cheating (including extreme cases) are justified, gave more mixed responses: 38.2 percent of seniors were neutral, with the rest of the responses split relatively equally—34.7 percent agreed and 27.1 percent disagreed. Had the 2020 question been worded similarly to the one from 2016, there may have been more people who answered “agree” or “strongly agree.” Regardless, the shift, even with differently phrased questions, is apparent.

0.9%

Never

Once/a few times

Semi-often

Regularly

Part D: COVID-19

By TALIA KAHAN and ERIN LEE

Have you been personally affected by COVID-19?

Yes 28.3% Somewhat 44.6%

Are you taking a gap year before college because of COVID-19?

Yes 1.2% Undecided 31.9%

No 66.9%

No 27.1%

As one would expect, COVID-19 has had a tremendous effect on the class of 2020. Seventy-two percent of seniors have been affected by the pandemic to some extent, with just over half of responders personally knowing someone who has or had the virus. In addition to cancelling their prom and graduation ceremony, the pandemic has canceled a large majority (82.5 percent) of seniors’ summer plans and has impacted where 15 percent will be attending college. Only one percent of respondents confirmed they would be taking a gap year due to COVID-19, and 31.5 percent of seniors were undecided, though this percentage would have most likely changed after college decision deadlines.

Beyond the effects of COVID-19 on seniors’ post-high school futures, many seniors were saddened by the senior-specific opportunities they would miss out on. One senior wrote, “We worked for 12 years to get the best three months taken away from us.”

Another echoed, “I am so sad that our class will not get the closure that we deserve. No amount of online anything will make up for not having our second term senior year. I am devastated that we will likely not have prom or graduation.”

Ultimately, though, seniors understand that the sacrifices they might be forced to make are for the greater good of the public, with one senior writing, “It sucks that our senior year is no longer what it was supposed to be, but at least it is the way it is in order to prevent more death and suffering.”

Part E: The End

By MATT MELUCCI, CAROLINE JI and IRENE HAO

I have taken a class at Stuyvesant that has significantly _____ me to pursue a career in a certain field. encouraged

discouraged 35

Strongly Agree Agree

33

Neutral

13 9

Disagree Strongly Disagree

4 4

11

17

35

39

Over 70 percent of seniors who participated in the survey have taken classes that both encouraged and discouraged them from a career path, suggesting that classes at Stuyvesant meaningfully impacted students’ futures after high school. Most classes have had a lasting effect on seniors, whether it be encouraging or discouraging.

In addition, as freshmen, around 60 percent of respondents had considered themselves aware or very aware of current events, while more than 80 percent of senior respondents fell into this category. This significant increase further demonstrated how Stuyvesant students grow into more active and informed citizens over the course of their four years in high school.

Page 8

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Senior Survey 2016

When I am older, I hope to go into:

2020 When I am older, I hope to go into:

128

STEM Social Sciences

22.2%

Foreign language studies 8.7% 59.7% 6.8%

71 64

English language studies

40

Finance/Business/ Management

25 6

Other/Unsure STEM

Computer Science

Humanities

Finance, Business, Management

Arts

Unsure

Stuyvesant may be very STEM-based, but many seniors have gradually shifted away from wishing to pursue career paths in STEM. As expected, the majority of freshmen (59.7 percent) hoped to go into STEM-related fields. On the other side, 22.2 percent were unsure or wished to pursue business-related fields or social science at 8.7 percent and 6.8 percent, respectively. The 59.7 percent of students who were eager to pursue STEM as freshmen declined to 50 percent. Seniors had a greater balance in terms of career interests than their freshman counterparts, with 27.5 percent wishing to go into humanities, 25.5 percent interested in finance and business, and 9.3 percent hoping to pursue art.

2016

2016

By the end of my Stuyvesant career, I predict that I will be among the ___ of my class.

To what extent did a parent/guardian pressure you to come to Stuyvesant?

bottom 50% 4.9%

top 10% 18.8%

24.8

20.4

top 50% 28.7%

Not at all, it was my choice.

3.1

A little, but it was mostly my decision.

A lot, but in the end I accepted what they wanted.

It was entirely their decision.

top 25% 47.7%

2020

2020

Please rank the following factors for academic success at Stuyvesant from most to least important:

During the past four years, has school been the most important part of your life?

natural intelligence

100%

44 12

75%

51.8

family background and support

work ethic

105

101

99

139

195

50%

YES 78.5%

NO 21.5%

Would you choose Stuyvesant again?

25%

0%

most important

47

11

second-most important

least important

YES 87.6%

NO 12.4%

Access the full responses from both years here: In a sentimental moment of nostalgia and reflection, students were asked if the endless nights of John Green, Khan Academy, and of course, coffee were worth it. Eightyeight percent of the seniors surveyed said that they would choose Stuyvesant again. One senior praised Stuyvesant for its academic rigor, remarking that the robust work ethic of the Stuyvesant community pushes students to excel in many academic areas.

Twelve percent of the seniors surveyed, however, did not hold such positive sentiments, citing the toxic, competitive, and college-oriented atmosphere as “suffocating” and “cutthroat.” Some believed that had they gone to a less demanding school, they would have had more time to focus on extracurriculars and their mental health.

As one senior wrote, “The juice was not worth the squeeze.” Despite these varying attitudes, the profound impact Stuyvesant has had on seniors is apparent; we all watched a class of anxious, jittery freshmen transform into passionate, confident seniors. We bid them farewell and many congratulations as they lay to rest the most bittersweet moment yet of their high school careers: the end.

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 9

Features When Senior Cut Day Gets Cut: How Seniors Feel About Corona-Age Milestones

By CHRISTINE CHANG

Freshmen, bright-eyed and rosy-cheeked, go through their Stuyvesant years dreaming of their time as second-term seniors. It seems like the ultimate goal, a prize to be won at the end of seven semesters of hard work.

However, this year, the coronavirus pandemic has brought this school year to a screeching halt, canceling the in-person events that seniors have been looking forward to all this time.

In lieu of an in-person graduation, the ceremony has been moved online, which has received mixed reactions from the seniors. “[Online graduation is] kind of ridiculous. [It] sounds like a waste of time, honestly. It also sounds like a lot of lagging,” senior Alisha Wang said.

Like Wang, senior Alex Nobert feels like an online graduation means losing out on a long-awaited experience. “I’m in chorus, so I witnessed graduation for three years, and it’s always been on my mind,” she said. “All of the seniors have decked out graduation caps, and everyone’s admiring them, and then we all get to sing at Carnegie Hall. [Later,] we all leave, and the seniors stay, and it’s really cool and fun and… that’s not the case anymore, which is sad.”

With normally in-person events moved onto a virtual platform, coordinators worry about bringing the same meaning to events like graduation and prom. Nobert seconded this concern: “We’re going to have a virtual graduation. We’re going to have a virtual chorus performance. [There’s going to be] sort of a virtual prom. But it’s not the same at all.” However, she went

on to emphasize, “The Student lives just to have one experience.

Union (SU) and the senior cau- Yes, it is a once-in-a-lifetime cus have tried really hard to try event, but there are so many to make things happen. They are other things we have to look fororganizing a virtual graduation, ward to. [We] shouldn’t ponder but maybe we’ll have some sort on what we won’t get but [on] of graduation and prom in the what us seniors have already fall. There is only so much you been given: the end of [four] can do.” hard years of high school and an Yet as disappointed as awaiting college experience.”

Aries Ho / most seniors are, they The S One of the biggest losspecta tor remind themes for seniors this selves that an year is the lack online graduof the feelation or online ing of closure prom is ultimately that senior year for the greater brings. Second good. Senior Alisemester senior son Juray menyear feels like tioned, “A lot the last hurrah of kids in our of the grade, school […] live the time when with their grandstudents get to end parents, or their their high school caparents are older, reers and finish that and I think that having chapter of their lives with a a graduation or prom is way good ending. “I feel like we are too risky because even if we do robbed of the closure that we like social distancing, it won’t would get in the second term, be as fun or have the carefree which is important mentally to feeling that you need to have at be able to move on, and that’s regraduation or prom. It’s way too ally difficult,” Nobert said. dangerous to keep it right now, Senior year is also a time of and risking our teachers’ lives, reflection on both one’s high our family’s lives, and even our school experience and life thus lives is not worth it.” far. Nobert put it, “This is a Senior Vincent Fong echoed transition, which is a lot. You’re this idea in an email interview, going to be moving out of your saying, “It’s all a bit of a mood house if that is possible when killer. At the same time, it’s all quarantine lifts. College is a difunderstandable… people are ferent experience, sort of like the dying out there, we have to do end of your childhood.” our part and obey social distancSenior and SU President ing, try to make the best of our Vishwaa Sofat also finds gradusituation, and try to enjoy high ation meaningful: “A normal school life virtually.” graduation is usually the end Senior Corrine Pita agreed, of your high school [career], so saying in an email interview, you’re reflecting on that, but […]

“It sucks not being able to have we’ve been in school for [four] experiences we were promised years now. [What] exactly has since childhood, but this is no that been for you, meant for you, ordinary year, and we can’t risk and how has that exactly shaped

you? We have to remember our days of Stuyvesant throughout our life, whether it is the work ethic that we developed, or it’s the friendships or any sort of skill or trait [we] learned.”

Though there are bigger events like graduation and prom to consider, there are also the smaller things that seniors are going to miss out on. Juray regrets not being able to say complete goodbyes to teachers and friends: “Just saying goodbye to teachers, saying goodbye to friends, walking through the halls the last couple of times.”

Wang echoed, “This is the best time to go and hang out with your friends, you know.

Cut a couple [of ] classes, go to Chinatown, and get dim sum or something. Not [going to] lie, that was on my checklist, and that’s not gonna happen.”

It’s the microscopic memories too: “I’ve had a Roma Bagel from Ferry’s for the last time,” Pita said. “That was a delicious sandwich.”

Through all this chaos and change, many seniors have tried to find a form of a silver lining.

Wang found that quarantine gives her a chance to prepare for her future. “I definitely feel like I’m ready for college life now because I think I have a decent handle [on] the self-discipline it takes to […] monitor yourself, get your sleep in, get all your work done, [and] not waste your life away,” she explained.

For Nobert, the quarantine has been an opportunity to hone in on her creative side. She said, “I’m currently making a prom dress even though we’re not going to have prom because that was sort of like this crazy idea I had months ago, and now I have time to do it with old curtains

that I can use, and that’s been fun.”

The quarantine has also helped Juray appreciate the Stuyvesant faculty more: “It made me realize how amazing my teachers are. I would think that in Stuyvesant, they [were] going to give the same amount of work, but my teachers have been really understanding, and they reach out all the time asking if I need help, and they’re always here for us.”

Sofat also commends the faculty and their response to this situation: “[Principal Eric Contreras] has taken our concerns to our teachers, and he’s brought us back feedback from teachers, and those sort of things show that students matter in our school […] I think as a senior, it’s nice to know that our voice is being heard as we leave and that we left some lasting impact in this school.”

Overall, this year’s end-ofyear senior festivities have been subpar. People were expecting senior year to be a better experience. “Second-semester senior [year] is that moment where [after] all the hard work and the stress, all-nighters, and breakdowns Stuy has thrown your way, you’ve endured. It’s your moment to sort of feel liberated, feel celebrated, and feel like you’ve accomplished something,” Sofat said. “[Yesterday,] a friend of mine was saying [that] senior year sort of ended on a weird note, a low note, and that’s not what you want your last memory at Stuyvesant [to be].

You want to end on a high note [at the end of every journey], and I think we haven’t felt that this was the high note that any of us had hoped for and worked very hard to get to.”

The Titan Behind Talos: Rodda John’s Journey From Student to Creator

By ANGELA CAI and CHRISTINE LIN

Though most Stuyvesant students know Rodda John (’17) as the mastermind behind Talos, our school’s official platform for program changes and course selections, there is much more to John than what meets the eye.

Born in the suburbs of Chicago, John and his family moved to New York City just before he entered fifth grade.

John was admitted into The School at Columbia University in Morningside Heights, where he was first introduced to debate. He was taught the fundamentals by an American Parliamentary Debate Association team at Columbia.

After graduating from Stuyvesant, John went on to study philosophy at Columbia University. Though he is known for his excellence in computer science, he feels most at home when discussing topics like metaphysics and ethical theories. “I’m a philosophy major, and I’m proud of it,” John said in an e-mail interview.

John’s openness toward exploring diverse interests is part of the reason why he chose to declare philosophy as his major.

When asked about his deci-

sion, John responded, “I think [understanding philosophy] is what makes good citizens and insightful people. I care more about individual intellectual development than anything else.” Some of his inspiration comes from philosophers such as Immanuel Kant, for areas pertaining to philosophy, and Henry James, for how to view the world.

He also cites his family as a major influence. “My father taught me to think, my mother to be flexible in thought, and my sister to laugh and love,” John said.

As much as John was influenced by his family during his high school years, he also drew inspiration from his classmates.

“There’s nothing I’ve been inspired more by than the work ethic of my classmates and the ethos of my school,” he said.

Surrounded by intelligent peers and a wealth of extracurriculars, John experimented with various clubs around the school and became part of ARISTA’s Executive Council and an active member and conductor of the Stuyvesant Theater Community pit orchestra. He even founded a club of his own—the Parliamentary Debate Team at Stuyvesant. John reminisced, “I felt very connected to the

school, especially during my junior and senior years.”

But debate, ARISTA, and orchestra weren’t John’s only passions in school—he has al-

on and still try to,” John said.

Since then, he has received formal computer science training from courses at Stuyvesant and one from Columbia.

Courtesy of Rodda John

ways been drawn to computer science. John first discovered programming at the end of fifth grade after purchasing a book on the computer language C++.

“I continued to read whatever material I could get my hands

Only a year into college, Principal Eric Contreras and Program Chair Jonathan Cheng spoke to John about writing software to handle Advanced Placement course selections. Before long, Talos was born, push-

ing aside the now-defunct tool called “Daedalus” that Stuyvesant and many other NYC Public High Schools had been using. In dedication to Daedalus’s successor in Greek mythology, it seemed only fitting to name the new system “Talos.”

Having already coded many websites for Stuyvesant, including parts of the ARISTA site, John was a natural choice for them. To map out the starting point for Talos, John would just wander around the building and ask people who had used previous systems about areas of improvement. “I would pick people’s brains for hours until I understood every step of a process that I would then write a system to aid,” he explained.

“In one case, this may look like me being invited to cabinet to be asked about the feasibility of a feature or me watching book check-in and check-outs and thinking that I could write a system to do it better.”

Having a vision for the system was only the first step; the actual execution proved to be a more difficult task. “I struggled terribly with deployment issues, balancing cost with a robust implementation that would handle thousands of concurrent continued on page 10

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 10

Features Incoming: The Culture of Stuy’s Biggest Facebook Groups

By MORRIS RASKIN With thousands of members each and hundreds of posts every month, the “Dear Incoming Stuyvesant Class of…” Facebook groups have an undeniable influence on the Stuyvesant student body. Currently, there are five main “Incoming Class” Facebook groups in use (the class of 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024), and together they have a total of 13,436 combined members. As sophomore Neve DiazCarr puts it, “It’s the Stuy norm.

Everybody uses it. If you’re not

Yaqi Zeng / The Spectator

on it, you’re going to end up missing tons of vital information and news.”

However, the power that these groups hold can often be a double-edged sword. While these groups can be used to spread awareness, acquire information, or ask for help, there are clear unspoken rules surrounding these forums that, when broken, can lead to the cultivation of a toxic Facebook environment.

One post from a current eighthgrader in the “Incoming Class of 2024” group inquiring about how to get a 97 grade-point average has already garnered a lot of negative attention and scrutiny in the comments and reactions.

Sixty-four percent of the reactions to this curious incoming freshman’s post were “laugh reacts,” and many of the comments centered around the phrase “you don’t.”

Sophomore Shivali Korgaonkar objects to the reactions that posts like these have garnered. “I think it’s the job of the upperclassmen to give advice to these people who are asking genuine questions instead of laughing at them,” she said. “It’s just not a productive way to help these concerned students, and nobody benefits in the end.” However, Korgaonkar does appreciate the groups for all of the ways that they have aided her during her time at Stuyvesant. She cites it as a major source of guidance in her early years at Stuyvesant, saying “The Incoming groups have been super helpful to me because they really helped me understand some fundamental things about the situation that I was walking into as a freshman and really guided my choices when it came to balancing my school and personal life.”

Positive interactions like these have made the “Dear Incoming” groups a powerful force for so many Stuyvesant students. These forums play a fundamental role

in connecting our 3,334-person student body with the help that they need in navigating the complexities of our often chaotic and stressful school environment. The comments sections of most posts are usually flooded with support from complete strangers, with a culture of positivity prevailing in the majority of Incoming group interactions. According to incoming freshman Anthony Chen, “I haven’t seen an example of toxic Stuyvesant culture in the incoming freshmen Facebook group, just positive ones that are welcoming and help adapt to a new life in Stuyvesant.”

However, this simply isn’t the case for all forum posts, as a culture of negativity still feels very prevalent in the background of a notable minority of posts.

Sophomore Leah D’Silva can see both sides of the spectrum.

“While I feel that most interactions on the Incoming groups are positive, there are always a few kids that are on there that ask about how to get 98s or 99s in a class, and that’s when people come on and get really negative, which makes me feel bad for the kids asking the questions,” D’Silva said. “Posting these comments that shame students is really not a justified practice, and while it may seem funny from an outsider’s perspective, it’s a norm that needs to stop.”

Shaming is a tool seen in more places than just that one post inquiring about grades. In one post from February, one user commented on the accumulation of garbage on the half floor, specifically pinpointing freshmen as the source of the issue. Comments ranged from defensive (“How do you know it’s freshmen? Maybe it’s just the seniors skipping class.”) to decisive finger-pointing (“Something tells me a good portion of these freshmen are also the ones who leave the cafeteria a mess. Just a wild guess”). Whichever way you see it, it is clear that this was not a productive discourse. Most of the whopping 110 comments are a testament to the intense shaming culture taking place as a result of all grades’ responses to the situation.

Freshman Pedro Ezquer objects to this treatment of his grade. “I have seen the posts calling out freshmen, and I personally think they’re stupid. They’re assuming only freshmen are doing that when in reality it was also upperclassmen.”

While fellow freshman Maya Doron-Repa agrees with this sentiment, she also appreciates all that the group has done for her. “Of course, there are positive things about the Facebook groups, like being able to get answers for questions you have or giving a gentle reminder to a certain grade or group of students who need it. I have also seen a lot of hate particularly in the 2024

group, where many students take it upon themselves to make fun of the incoming freshmen even though they don’t know them.”

However, many students believe that the most toxic aspect of these groups is not the comments sections on certain presumptuous posts at all but rather those posts themselves. While it is true that most people that break the “unspoken rules” of the Stuyvesant Incoming Class Facebook groups are new to the school, it is bad practice in any public forum to post messages that might make other students feel less than.

Korgaonkar agrees wholeheartedly with this sentiment.

“Stuyvesant has this naturally competitive environment, and sometimes students, especially freshmen in my experience, will use the groups almost as a place to flex what classes they’ve gotten into [and what grades they’re getting],” she said.

However, some people are taking the sanctity of the Facebook groups into their own hands. According to Student Union (SU) Vice President Julian Giordano, the SU and Caucus Presidents have taken it upon themselves to make sure that the forums run smoothly as group admins. Giordano said, “It’s not a formal position, but it’s a responsibility we willingly take on to make sure that the advice groups stay free of spam and hateful comments and that they can be a real resource for Stuy students.” Giordano also remarked upon the strong support system that has helped build up the Incoming groups to what they are today. Citing a recent post regarding one student’s struggle with keeping on top of work in the age of the coronavirus, he commended the reaction of the student body. “Fellow students and upperclassmen immediately responded, sharing similar situations that they’re experiencing and giving advice as to how to stay on top of work with everything going on,” he remarked. “There are currently over 50 comments on the post and over 150 reactions, and I think that’s a testament to the supportive culture of the Incoming advice groups.”

It’s clear that the “Incoming Class” Facebook groups are an imperfect series of forums.

While there is often a culture of shaming, finger-pointing, and showing off that manifests in the groups, there is usually a much stronger positive aura that has allowed thousands of students to gain experience and guidance throughout the years. They may be flawed, but the Incoming groups are still an incredibly valuable resource for concerned students and their knowledgeable classmates regardless. It is up to us to keep the peace in these forums and hold ourselves back from unnecessary shaming. Additionally, it is important to keep Stuyvesant’s “unspoken rules” in mind and filter our posts accordingly, so as not to make any fellow group members feel less than. While maintaining a pleasant Incoming group environment is a tenuous balance, it is absolutely achievable and up to the individual to fulfill.

The Titan Behind Talos: Rodda John’s Journey From Student to Creator continued from page 9

users,” John admitted. It was difficult for him to try to implement his ideas while maintaining a user-friendly interface for the thousands of students and administrators who use it daily.

After facing criticism over technical errors such as website crashes during Talos’ first launch, John tried his best to resolve these issues. “I’d like to say I’ve developed a very tough skin, but it’s probably more accurate to say I’ve gotten better about turning criticism into actionable improvements,” John reflected. Getting the website to its current status has taken him approximately two years and dozens of different drafts.

The part of the website John is most proud of, however, is its customizability. Much of Talos’ efficacy comes from its unique widgets, its elements of interaction, like a button or a scroll bar. This allows the website to be dynamic and enables administrators to easily edit regulations and classes as they see fit.

Because the system was built to allow the Program Chair and Data Specialist to customize its features, “I am not, and don’t need to be, a part of that process,” John said.

Yet even as Talos matures, it remains a work in progress.

John works on it every day, and thanks to his efforts, Talos has developed into a marketable school information system that has become much more than just the Stuy-specific course

programming tool it started off as.

Nevertheless, John still holds the intellectual property of Talos. “To maintain separation of intellectual property, no development or maintenance of Talos has been conducted on school time,” he explained.

“You’ve actually caught me mid-transition from being directly employed by Stuyvesant to being employed by Talos itself and contracting as a vendor with all the schools that use it.”

Despite finding success in computer science, John’s interests extend beyond academia.

When he isn’t juggling between running a debate tournament and perfecting his website, John enjoys playing the piano and aims to practice about an hour a day on average. Additionally, he enjoys sailing, though finding time to sail becomes harder as he gets older.

Though John graduated from Stuyvesant only a few years ago, he frequently reflects on his time there: “Stuy, though diverse in some respects, tends to be alike in terms of [students’ mentality toward] education and ways of approaching problems: usually over-analytical and over-intellectual.” Taking that into account, John draws from his own experiences to offer advice to students struggling to find a clear path in their educational journey: “ Though I think we will likely end up where we began, we’ll be stronger from the journey.”

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The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 11

Features

By ISABEL CHING and JENNIFER JI As the months of quarantine drag on, it is beginning to sink in that we won’t be seeing any classmates in school for quite a while. So what better time than now to take a hair risk? Complete access to online retailers, YouTube, your father’s razor, and safety scissors allows your innermost hair desires to come to life. This is certainly true for Stuyvesant students who get creative during times like this and choose to take a cut of faith.

Sophomore Joshua Gindis, who shaved his entire head during quarantine, attributes his dramatic hair transformation to his desire for change and the advantage of a “once in a lifetime opportunity” that the seclusion of quarantine offers.

“I just felt that I’d never get a chance like this again. I’ve been wanting to shave my hair for years, and I always joked about it, but I never did it because of the fear of it looking bad and having to go out in public that way,” Gindis remarked. He continued to express his feelings about the end result of his haircut: “Looking so different that you seem unfamiliar even to yourself is a crazy feeling, and it totally shakes up your perception of yourself,” he said.

Unlike Gindis’s long-time desire for his haircut, junior Stella Oh referred to her decision as an “act of impulsive transcendentalism” inspired by a “huge urge” to cut her hair. Very much an impulse action, Oh’s mother had quite the reaction to her new look. “She stopped in her

Cutting Edge Haircuts in Quarantine

tracks and just stared at me as if she saw a ghost and she went: ‘Oh my god! What did you do to yourself? You look like one of those scary Asian ghosts.’ And I just laughed at her and myself and went back into my room to wonder why in the world I cut my hair,” Oh described.

Though Oh is a little bothered by the fact that her new look makes her feel like a freshman (“no offense to you freshm a n ,” she

to the rising trend of bangs as well as the day-to-day boredom that inevitably accompanies social distancing. Happy with her latest look, Huang offered wise words of advice to others who might want to follow her footsteps: “Even if it ends up like a Brad Mondo-worthy catastrophe, hair grows out. You might really like it,” she said.

“Luckily, there were n o mishaps for me; my mom has pretty steady

commented as a disclaimer), she still feels Sophie Poget / The Spectator content with her hands.” experience and very much supFor others, the consequences ports the trend of cutting bangs of home haircutting have not in quarantine, which she said been as positive. With unsteady, boosted her self-confidence untrained, nervous hands hanand “spiced” up her life. She dling sharp metal objects, turnremarked, “You might end up ing your home into a hair salon surprising yourself, and what- has its fair share of difficulties, ever the outcome, at least you especially when the scissors are made some good memories you in somebody else’s hands. Sophcan laugh or cry about in the fu- omore Andy Lin was persuaded ture.” by his mother and reluctantly A fellow bang-cutter, sopho- agreed to let his brother style more Erica Huang followed Oh’s and cut his hair into a mohawk. footsteps, but did not surprise Unlike Huang’s smooth experiher mom with her new hairstyle. ence, Lin’s brother ran into some Instead, Huang had her mom mishaps and Lin ended up with cut her bangs. She credits the a ruined haircut. Lin reflected inspiration for the new haircut on his less than perfect haircut,

stating, “Maybe it just temporarily made me uglier. When it was botched, I sorta felt like I would’ve gotten flamed for it.”

Though he was forced to wear a hat to conceal his botched haircut in public, Lin is still a home-haircutting enthusiast but thinks of it more as a “last-ditch thing,” preferring the work of a professional barber instead.

However, scissors have not been the only thing picked up during quarantine. Dye bottles and bleach have been used by thousands of teens to alter their looks in a more colorful fashion.

Junior Sydney Yang, who decided to dye her hair purple with the help of her mother, justified her decision, stating, “Even if I messed up on my hair, no one at school would be able to see it until hopefully September—or even over the summer.” Despite a few unfortunate accidents with the dye and a newly dyed purple neck, she, like many others, concluded that she would “recommend dying or cutting your hair during quarantine” and very much enjoyed the experience.

Sophomore Olivia Tedesco, another risk-taker who decided to experiment with hair dye by coloring a streak of her hair blonde behind each ear, echoed Yang’s thoughts on the process.

Both she and Yang remarked that though box dye wasn’t the most efficient method and both experienced minor accidents, they were very pleased with the finished product and their new look. Tedesco explained their shared ideology: “I wanted a

change, since quarantine can feel so repetitive sometimes […]

It was a great way to spice things up during quarantine.” She remarked that it was a great bonding experience with her sister and elaborated that it helped her feel confident in herself, since it didn’t involve seeking the approval of her peers and those around her. Like almost all of the others who cut their hair, Tedesco reported feeling excited and re-energized by her sudden change in appearance, and was quite pleased with the end result, even though the process had involved stepping out of her comfort zone and doing something she normally would not have done.

Many Stuyvesant students have taken it upon themselves to change a seemingly simple feature and take risks they might not have considered pre-quarantine. With the never-ending boredom of quarantine and the disconnect between peers caused by the coronavirus, the blow of a risky (potentially botched) at-home haircut is softened. As teens at Stuyvesant take on the completely unprecedented consequences of the coronavirus, “spicing it up” has become a reality, and they have begun to realize that the little additions can go a long way. Boosts in self-esteem, a changed outlook on life in quarantine, and a brand new experience are all welcome effects of quarantine haircuts and hair dying; in the wise words of Joshua Gindis, who so perfectly encapsulated the very essence of at-home hair alterations, “[quarantine haircuts are] a once-in-alifetime opportunity!”

BEFORE Olivia Tedesco

Andy Lin

AFTER

Stella Oh

Page 12

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Features

By NICOLE ITKIN and CALISTA LEE For many incoming students, the admitted students night and Camp Stuy are trademarks of coming to Stuyvesant—but not this year.

This year, amidst the danger presented by the coronavirus pandemic, all nonessential establishments have been closed, and large gatherings have been banned. So, of course, all of the typical events for incoming students have been canceled or moved online. As a result, the class of 2024 did not get a chance to tour Stuyvesant, view the building, or walk the halls one last time before deciding if that’s where they want to spend the next four years.

In lieu of the live tour, the administration and the Big Sib Chairs worked together to create six videos of Stuyvesant to serve as a virtual tour of the

Stuyvesant: A Virtual Rendition

school. These videos depict the landmarks of the school, courses offered to freshmen, popular extracurriculars, and available sports teams. In an e-mail interview, Director of Family Engagement Dina Ingram wrote, “Six links were provided that were well-received, and many compliments and [much] appreciation were expressed from incoming families after they viewed them.”

Incoming freshman Ivy Huang, who also got into Eleanor Roosevelt High School, wrote, “Eleanor Roosevelt didn’t do much to help with my decision, but [...] Stuy sent out e-mails and a virtual tour. This was [appealing] to me because it shows that [you] care about incoming students.”

However, the lack of live tours did make the decision of whether or not to attend Stuyvesant more difficult. Incoming freshman Herby Ji

wrote in an e-mail interview, “Not being able to do tours definitely made my decision much more stressful.”

Incoming freshman Aaron Halder had a slightly different perspective. He said, “There [was no live tour] this year, which was something I was

are true and how to deal with them. Many of my friends who are going to Stuy without a sibling already there seem to know much less than I do about going there.”

This gap in knowledge is one that the annual tours typically help bridge. With only a

high school to attend than they would have otherwise. “I [also] got accepted to Eleanor Roosevelt,” Huang explained. “Making a decision was [very] stressful since I didn’t actually get to see the school. I was worried that [I would] live with regret for the next four years.”

In an attempt to go beyond the videos, combat fears and be as transparent about the Stuyvesant experience as possible, the administration has also been “[fielding] questions through a shared inbox at accepted@stuy.edu with [Carol] Carrano, myself, and [Casey] Pedrick [and sending] many inquiries to our school counselors for followup,” said Ingram.

To sum up her thoughts on the tours and the administration’s support of the incoming students, Ingram noted, “I feel that we gave a very good impression of our departments [...] it felt like we were there.”

“There [was no live tour] this year, which was something I was looking forward to.”

—Aaron Halder, incoming freshman looking forward to, [but] my sister helped me with the admissions process, which made it less stressful.” Halder’s sister, Amy Halder, is a current Stuyvesant senior. Halder added, “Stuy is reputable [...] for its heavy workload, kids sleeping late, and lots of stress. Amy [Halder] gave me a good perspective on what parts of [those] rumors

virtual tour and without a sibling to help him, Ji struggled with “getting an overall picture of the school and getting to see how a class at Stuy would work as well as [what] the student body [would look like].”

Without the chance to view Stuyvesant once more, it is possible that students have come to a different decision in which

A Myriad of Tastes

Talking With Stuy Alumnus and Legendary Restaurateur: Drew Nieporent

By CHRISTINA PAN and CATHERINE CHING

signed a lease even though I had no money,” he stated. “But then a classmate and I […] came up with $150 thousand from the small business administration.

With that money, we opened Montrachet in April of 1985.”

In the 70s and 80s, formal dining dominated the scope of New York’s restaurants. Montrachet changed that.

“We set out to have great food with this sort of relaxed sophistication,” Nieporent stated.

“The key was that our price was $16 for three courses.”

Seven weeks later, Montratchet earned three stars from

sports figures like Muhammad Ali. “I remember hearing [him say] ‘I am the greatest,’ and he lived up to it,” Nieporent stated.

It was five years later when Nieporent and the renowned actor Robert De Niro established Tribeca Grill, an upscale bar and grill. In 1994, Nieporent, De Niro, producer Meir Teper, and legendary chef Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa founded Nobu New York, which has gone on to open restaurants all over the world.

Since the opening of Montrachet, Nieporent has overseen restaurants for over 35 years.

Courtesy of Drew Nieporent

A few blocks north from Stuyvesant High School, you’ll find the star-studded Tribeca Grill. Walk two blocks east, and you’ll find Bâtard, a sleek European-style restaurant. Go a few blocks south, and you’ll find the world-renowned Nobu, famous for its Japanese-Peruvian fusion.

Or perhaps you’d take the 1 train from Chambers Street to Peter Cooper Village. Perhaps there, decades past, you’ll find a young boy who loved food—a love that blossomed into something greater, something grander.

His name is Drew Nieporent (’73). He’s the founder of the Myriad Restaurant Group, which operates Tribeca Grill, Nobu, Bâtard, Crush Wine & Spirits, and numerous other restaurants. He’s opened and operated over 39 restaurants around the world, many of which have earned worldwide acclaim from Michelin stars to James Beard Awards.

It wasn’t always this way, though.

Nieporent grew up in a city of bright lights. His mother was an actress, and his father worked in the state liquor authority, where he licensed restaurants. “She would take us to shows, [and] he would take us to restaurants,” he recalled. “I was exposed to a tremendous amount of ethnic places, all types of restaurants.”

From a formative age, Nieporent knew that food was his calling. Nieporent was accepted into Stuyvesant the same year they began accepting women, in 1969. “All the time I was at Stuyvesant, I knew I would be in the restaurant business. I just didn’t know where I was going to college,” he explained.

He originally planned on applying to culinary school in Switzerland, but a last-minute decision landed him at Cornell’s Hotel School. “I thought that was very ironic because my grades weren’t great at Stuy,” he remarked.

Before Cornell, Nieporent had worked at a McDonald’s: 23rd street, right up from his house. While he learned a lot in the classroom, it was what he did outside of school that gave him his best career preparation. “I think I learned a lot at Stuyvesant; I was a little skeptical of Cornell. [But] nothing beats the school of hard knocks, the actual work,” he stated.

Toward the end of his freshman year, Nieporent landed a job on the Vistafjord cruise ship, a first-class cruise to major European ports. “You worked seven days a week, three meals

Stuyvesant alum Drew Nieporent (‘73) stands outside his restaurant, Tribeca Grill.

a day,” he described. “We went to the North Cape, the Balkan Sea, [and] Russia; I ended up going back over 15 times, so that was a terrific education.”

Nieporent graduated from Cornell University in 1977.

Eight years later, he would open his first restaurant, Montrachet.

Within weeks of its opening, Montrachet earned three stars out of four from the New York Times, and the rest is history.

However, this wasn’t an easy process. While Nieporent was running the New York marathon in 1983, he stumbled upon a spot on West Broadway. “It was 1,500 square feet, $1500. I

the New York Times for its “alluring food, relaxed atmosphere, and reasonable prices.”

“It was like winning the lottery without being able to collect the cash,” he said. “It’s known as Bâtard now; it won the James Beard Foundation for Best Restaurant Award in 2015 […] I’ve had that space for over 35 years.”

Nieporent took some inspiration from Joseph Baum, a restaurateur who founded the Windows on the World at the World Trade Center and the Rainbow Room at the Rockefeller Center. Likewise, he had always looked up to childhood

Myriad’s restaurants and services have been featured on platforms from the Wine Spectator Magazine to HBO documentaries.

“The Internet and social media, of course, have changed [where] you have all of these middlemen,” he said. “But at the end of the day, you know it’s kind of the same business; the food is cooked, and when it’s hot, [it is] brought to the table in a presentable manner.

In that way, you know the rituals of dining have not changed as much.”

This perspective on hospitality has been true throughout

Nieporent’s life. “It wasn’t so much the food, but it was the people,” he stated. “There used to be a restaurant in New York called Headquarters. The owner had been the chef to [President Dwight D.] Eisenhower; the food was very strange but delicious.”

However, now, meals can’t always be served hot and ready.

In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, New York’s restaurants have been hit particularly hard. It’s been over two months since the closure of restaurants across the city.

“Quite frankly, I still think it’s too early to tell,” Nieporent stated. “We’ve been doing takeout, but it’s about a fifth of the gross service of the sales. If the government tells us we can only run at 50 percent capacity because of social distancing, something is going to happen to the rent because we pay 100 percent rent to have 50 percent capacity. It’s just not gonna work.”

Nieporent retains a positive perspective, however. “We’re not young people anymore,” he said. “I’ve been watching.

I watch everything, very carefully, and it is better to be safe and worry about health issues; the economic issues I’m not so concerned about.”

While staying healthy and positive during quarantine, Nieporent encourages the current generation of Stuyvesant kids to plan for the future. “The one thing is that when you’re young, you have the energy; you have the clear vision. Go formulate your goals, and go about them early. Because that’s what I did, and I would say that’s a big reason for my success,” he encouraged.

After graduating from Stuyvesant, Nieporent revisited the school for a day, not as a student but with a celebrated career spanning a vast myriad of restaurants across the world.

And yet he returned with the same unparalleled vision that he had as a student—with his lifelong passion that he lived and breathed for.

Francesca Nemati / The Spectator

Zifei Zhao / The Spectator

Zoe Oppenheimer / The Spectator

Matt Melucci / The Spectator

Alexander Hagiu / The Spectator

Athena Lam / The Spectator

Anaïs Delfau / The Spectator

Sadid Ethun / The Spectator

Anthony Sun / The Spectator

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020 Page 13

Photo Essay

Nostalgia

The Things We Miss

By THE PHOTO DEPARTMENT

Page 14

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Editorials

Don’t Quiz Us During Quarantine

Now that it is almost June, we have entered the period of the year when under normal circumstances, Advanced Placement (AP) exams have passed; Regents exams lie in the future; and classes wrap up instruction as students trade stress for increasingly T-shirt-dominated wardrobes. These are not, however, normal circumstances, and rather than putting our AP exams behind us and looking forward to the liberated future that is summer, we are forced to look back. This was an AP season like no other, an AP season during which the tests had to be administered entirely online. With this new format came new opportunities for cheating, and with new opportunities for cheating came new protections against academic dishonesty: the College Board created dozens of versions, if not more, of individual tests, held all tests within relatively short 45-minute timespans, and will be putting every submitted exam through plagiarism detection software.

The College Board is not the only entity that has faced challenges regarding maintaining the honesty of online work. Remote learning has posed similar problems for teachers in the smaller arena of the classroom, and teachers have taken various steps to combat academic dishonesty, with limited success. A few approaches to testing, such as requiring that students write up a reflection after completing the test about problems they struggled with, have been moderately successful.

Most approaches, however, have added more stress to the testing process or inadvertently encouraged academic dishonesty. Some teachers have attempted to prevent cheating by giving many difficult test questions in a shorter period of time, likely thinking that if students tried to cheat by googling information or communicating with peers, they would run out of time.

Other teachers require students to take tests and quizzes with the camera focused on their hands.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, some teachers have made use of the honor code, trusting that students would not access resources while testing, or simply acknowledged that all tests would be open-book. As a result

By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-yearold African American man, was shot and killed on February 23 by two white men who seemed to believe that he might have been involved in several break-ins in the area. The men who shot Arbery—a father-son pair—were not prosecuted until the second week of May, when a video of the shooting was leaked and caused widespread outrage almost three months after Arbery’s death. Six days ago, George Floyd, an African American man accused of paying for cigarettes with a counterfeit 20-dollar bill, was murdered by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes despite Floyd pleading for help and claiming that he could not breathe.

These horrific incidents have

of these measures on both ends of the spectrum, tests have lost educational value. If teachers implement overly intensive measures, students, who feel additional stress due to the strict impositions, do not have adequate time to complete the test to the best of their abilities. And if teachers impose lax or no measures, students likely will not even bother to study for tests and will fail to learn the material.

One method of preventing cheating is eliminating or reducing tests altogether. Cutting back on testing, however, raises an obvious question: how should teachers come up with grades if tests and projects make up the majority of their evaluations?

While not all classes will be able to fully or largely replace tests with more open-ended group assignments, all teachers should consider, at least in some way, implementing such projects in place of one or more traditional assessments. Allowing students to engage with the material on their own terms in a way that encourages originality not only helps alleviate concerns of academic dishonesty, but also gives students an opportunity to show teachers they are developing a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Even in STEM subjects, which rely heavily on traditional testing, teachers can assign group projects in which students are assigned a topic to explain via a video or a presentation.

But ultimately, testing will be inevitable, especially for STEM subjects, which cannot assign qualitative work such as essays as easily as English or social studies. In cases in which a test is the only option, instructors should make sure that it is administered reasonably and that appropriate steps are taken (not overzealously) to prevent academic dishonesty. Even during remote learning, teachers should make efforts to ensure their exams are reasonable and fair, such as giving their students a full period to take a test. Instead of implementing more extreme methods to discourage cheating, teachers may opt to give short response instead of multiple choice questions, allowing students to demonstrate their thought process and receive partial credit. Additionally, teachers can make multiple ver-

sions of their tests, mixing up the questions for students both in the same period and those in different periods. More generally though, teachers should use assessments as a way to check progress, not calculate grades.

If teachers can create low-stakes testing environments, students will be less likely to cheat, knowing their grades won’t solely depend on doing well. Teachers should not be emphasizing exam scores when determining final grades, instead considering factors such as participation, homework, and classwork.

Participation, instead of testing, should determine a significant part of a student’s grade.

While it is difficult to measure students’ class contributions during remote learning, participation is more important than ever given the decreasing numerical and educational value of tests. During these trying times, students who make the extra effort to participate, whether that be through a Google Classroom comment or a raised hand on Zoom, should be rewarded, while those who don’t should not be penalized. Teachers should encourage participation by hosting live calls, and even a weekly video call for “office hours” would help engage students. If calls are neither feasible nor conducive to the class, discussion pages on forums like Google Classroom also provide a means to participate and interact with fellow students. Participation is especially important in foreign language classes given that live conversations are the core of learning a language; unfortunately, many language teachers have been assigning mainly written assignments, which students can easily cheat on through online translators.

Above all, teachers should be nurturing an environment where students do not feel that it is impossible to get a good grade. Part of the reason academic dishonesty is such a rampant and evergreen issue at Stuyvesant is because students believe they need to cheat to be successful.

With online learning severely restricting teachers’ access to and communication with students, academic dishonesty will only become more pronounced. We may not be able to change the Stuyvesant pressure cooker cul-

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

E D I TO R S

IN

E D I TO R S

Maddy Andersen* Karen Zhang F E AT U R E S

E D I TO R S

Hayeon Ok Zoe Oppenheimer* Clara Shapiro

rican Americans has exposed the entrenched systemic racism within our country, seemingly transporting us 50 years backward.

Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther chapter Fred Hampton was murdered by the Cook Country police officers in 1969.

Despite clear evidence indicating that the murder was intentional, the police officers involved were not charged, leading to massive protests. The Hampton case is yet another example of the oppression African Americans have endured and continue to face despite claims that we have made “progress.”

As New York City high school students witnessing these incidents of racism against African American men, we feel both disappointed and overwhelmed by the recurring violence against African American communities.

And we realize, that as members

P H O TO G R A P H Y E D I TO R S

Matt Melucci Zoe Oppenheimer* A RT

D I R E C TO R S

Michael Hu Andrea Huang Adrianna Peng** L AYO U T

E D I TO R S

Kristin Cheng Jonathan Schneiderman* S C I E N C E

E D I TO R S

Claire Shin Kristoff Misquitta S P O RT S

E D I TO R S

Caroline Ji Sam Levine Matt Melucci H U M O R

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Chrisabella Javier Olly Stewart* Kelly Yip

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ture once we return, but in this pandemic, we can make a supportive academic environment for students. Assigning longer deadlines and accepting late submissions will ease stress, while creative approaches to projects may engage students in new and interesting ways. Attentiveness to e-mails and answering questions not only allow students to catch up if they fall behind or need assistance, but also reassure them that their teachers are present and willing to help no matter the circumstances. While teachers may only “see” their students in online discussion or assignments, the classroom environment still exists and should be allowed to suit these unforeseen circumstances.

What we most want from teachers though is a greater understanding of students’ situ-

of a predominantly white and Asian student body, we cannot begin to fathom how devastating and frightening these incidents of police brutality are for those who are in danger of being the target of a similar incident. The fact that we attend a school in which the majority of both the students and faculty are white or Asian, however, is part of that problem. The severe underrepresentation in the student body—in recent years, the percentage of African American and Hispanic students has remained under five percent— has led African American and Hispanic students to feel unwelcome. The lack of racial diversity at Stuyvesant has led to a toxic culture within our community, as evidenced by students’ use of the n-word, and the all-too-frequent remarks crediting African American students’ admissions to elite colleges solely to their race.

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Allison Ho Ezra Lee Amy Lin Michelle Thaung C O P Y

O P I N I O N S

The Fight for Floyd and a Safer Stuyvesant captured the attention of, and sparked an outcry from, people all over the United States. Immediate access to information and social media has hastened the spread of this grassroots movement protesting the reckless killing of George Floyd. and subsequent protests have flooded news outlets as well as our social media feeds, where Instagram stories are filled with captions and petitions about #JusticeForGeorge and requests for donations to the Minnesota Freedom Fund. Notably, headlines regarding Floyd’s murder have overtaken those surrounding the coronavirus: the first eight articles featured on The New York Times website on Friday, May 29, were about Floyd’s death, placed before news reporting that New York City was on track to begin reopening in early June.

Repeated violence against Af-

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Kerry Garfinkel * Managing Board **Editors-in-Training We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and length. © 2020 The Spectator All rights reserved by the creators.

ations during this pandemic.

While Stuyvesant may have an infamous reputation for rigorous academics, which students implicitly agree to when they enroll here, no one signed up for these past few months of online learning. No one signed up to take their tests at home, to log onto Zoom calls for lectures, or to see people’s names on a screen rather than their faces. Students should not be penalized with intensive and stress-inducing exam protocols because of the limitations of remote instruction, especially during a time of such distress and anxiety. When we look back on this semester, we hope to remember our teachers showing greater compassion with their evaluations, to bring light to the darkened memories we will have of these past few months.

Because of our place of privilege as students who are not living in fear of police brutality and violent racism, we have a responsibility to stand up and support our African American friends and peers, especially with regard to the growing conversation about anti-African American sentiment in Asian American communities.

Not only must we stand in solidarity with our African American peers, but we must also actively work to create a safer environment for them by condemning racially charged microaggressions and encouraging productive discussions surrounding race at Stuyvesant. While we may be limited in our ability to affect any major change as teenagers confined to our homes, creating a more welcome school environment is surely a first step. As our country fights for Floyd, we hope to fight for a safer Stuyvesant.

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Page 15

Opinions Joe Biden’s Growth on Queer Issues is an Asset, Not a Shortcoming.

By JOHN GROSSMAN The LGBTQ+ Community is becoming an increasingly important part of the Democratic voting block—on Super Tuesday, roughly one in 10 voters identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. Inspiring high turnout among queer voters in November could give Democrats the edge they need to defeat Donald Trump, so it comes as no surprise that both Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden worked hard during their campaigns to court queer voters.

On Sanders’s end, he ramped up attacks on Biden’s record on LGBTQ+ issues. In response, Biden published an extensive plan detailing policies that would help queer Americans. It would be hard to label any modern-day Democrat as a homophobe, but Joe Biden’s relatively low-polling numbers with LGBTQ+ voters show that there is cause for concern.

This was not always the case; not long ago, Joe Biden was considered a champion of LGBTQ+ issues. He was widely credited with leading President Obama to support marriage equality, and for as long as I have been politically cognizant, I have never seen Biden as anything less than a fierce ally.

However, this conception changed drastically when Bernie Sanders became a national political figure.

One of his main strengths was the fact that his political views have remained nearly constant since the start of his career, and his views on LGBTQ+ equality are no exception. While the thought of an individual holding the same views that they had in the 1980s would ordinarily be concerning, Sanders has supported what are now

By MAYA DUNAYER The fight over American gun legislation has existed in some capacity since the Second Amendment was ratified in 1791, which granted “the right of the people to keep and bear arms.” With the uptick in mass shootings in recent years, however, the issue has been thrust into greater light.

From Las Vegas to Parkland to Pittsburgh, mass shootings have become frighteningly common, causing many to advocate stricter gun legislation. But this discourse has framed the issue as a purely domestic one when this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Lax American gun legislation is allowing guns to be smuggled into countries such as Jamaica and Mexico, leading to their incredibly high homicide rates. It is thus imperative that the U.S. strengthens its gun legislation laws—not only for the sake of citizens at home but also for those abroad.

The Jamaican government is currently struggling to deal with the recent increase in serious crimes, which ranges from gang robbery to murder. The country has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, and over 80 percent of these crimes are committed using a gun—as opposed to the 32 percent worldwide average. The issue has become so severe that the Jamaican government has been forced to keep a list of the 30 deadliest guns in the country, giving them names such as Ghost or Ambrogio in order to keep track of them. But due to the lack of documentation required by the United States federal government, the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and

Democratic staples for over 40 years. While politicians like Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, and Kamala Harris have had to answer for past views on issues like criminal justice and foreign policy, Sanders has never faced serious scrutiny over his record. Succeeding in Washington has seemingly always required compromise, but Sanders has always refused to compromise on his core beliefs. He has used voting records as a stick to beat other candidates with, and while these votes could have previously been explained as necessary moves to keep Democrats and Republicans working together, they are now being painted as moral failings on behalf of the candidates.

Sanders’s presence in politics has created a new expectation of consistency from our elected officials, which has made previously mundane votes the center of controversy. There is no better example of this than Joe Biden’s votes on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy” and the Defense of Marriage Act. In hindsight, there is no doubt that these policies caused numerous hardships for the LGBTQ+ community. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” meant that the brave men and women in our Armed Forces had to deal with the additional stress of hiding their sexuality, and the Defense of Marriage Act denied gay couples access to the federal rights that heterosexual couples are entitled to when they get married.

While “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was the more liberal option at the time, and it could be argued that the Defense of Marriage Act served as a block to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, both of these are black

marks on Biden’s record. It is important to ask, however, whether this assessment is really fair. The issue becomes especially complicated when we consider the context of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Two years before its passage, the highest ranking general in the Marine Corps was calling a homophobic essay written by a Marine Corps chaplain “extremely insightful.” The essay in question includes several problematic sentiments, including a line reading: “In the unique, intensely close environment of the military, homosexual conduct can threaten lives, including the physical (e.g. AIDS) and psychological well-being of others.” It would be extremely naive to say that a bill allowing gay people to openly serve in the military was even remotely plausible in 1994, and it would be irresponsible for Biden to turn down incremental progress in favor of a bill that seemed as though it would never come. We are now aware of the negative effects of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” which is why Biden was instrumental in repealing it. However, implying that he is homophobic because he voted for two bills that had adverse effects on the LGBTQ+ community 26 years ago is absurd, especially when we consider the circumstances. By doing so, we do nothing but sow division in an already hyper-divided party.

The debate over all aspects of Joe Biden’s record has raised an extremely important question: should we criticize inconsistency or celebrate evolution? Biden’s views have undoubtedly shifted over his long career, but is that a bad thing? When he is standing on a stage with solid-as-stone Bernie Sanders and the relatively young

Pete Buttigieg, Biden’s vast political arc seems wildly out of place.

However, that doesn’t mean that he is any worse of a politician or a person for changing with the times. There are millions of factors that determine o u r deep-

Emily Chen / The Spectator

rooted beliefs, and naturally, these views change as our lives change.

Joe Biden grew up as a Catholic in Delaware—it’s understandable why he wasn’t the most progressive when he was younger. Yet he has shown tremendous growth in areas like LGBTQ+ rights. It would be a mischaracterization to say that he has been a consistent ally since the dawn of time, but it would also be a mischaracterization to say that his opinions regarding the queer community are hard to pin down.

When I first started following politics, I was attending a Catholic middle school in rural Wisconsin.

I was a big fan of Obama because I liked the way he spoke, but beyond that, I barely knew anything about policy. The more I read, the more firmly rooted I became in my

Our Gun Laws Don’t Hurt Just Us

Explosives (ATF) often has little more on weapons than a single piece of paper with the original owner’s details. There is no legal requirement to document more than retail sales, and a national registry is not allowed. These practices allow the gun smuggling industry to thrive—to the severe detriment of Jamaican citizens and their government.

A similar issue is present in Mexico, where the murder rate is at an all-time high. The Mexican government recorded more than 30,000 first degree murders in 2018, 20,005 of which were committed with a gun. The number of guns being smuggled into Mexico is astounding: during an investigation from 2011 to 2016, the ATF found that 106,001 guns were recovered by law enforcement.

Out of these guns, 70 percent were originally purchased from a licensed gun dealer located in the United States. But even this dramatic number is likely an understatement, as it only accounts for guns submitted to the Bureau for tracing. Estimates place the actual number of guns smuggled across the border every year at 213,000.

They’re becoming the weapons of choice for Mexican drug trafficking cartels, with nearly half the guns recovered from Mexico being semi-automatic rifles. However, the media’s fixation on the movement of immigrants and drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border has largely failed to cover the perhaps more pertinent issue of American guns.

It is not just impoverished countries that are highly susceptible to gang violence and other crimes perpetuated by lax American gun legislation. Our neighbor

to the north, Canada, has grown increasingly concerned about the number of guns smuggled past the U.S.-Canada border. During the same time period as the investigation of Mexico, the ATF found that 98.5 percent of the 8,700 guns recovered from Canada came from the United States.

In addition to this, the Canadian Border Service has experienced an increase in gun seizures at the border—up to 316 guns in 2015 from 226 guns in 2012. Canadians have become worried about the threat of guns in organized crime and other dangerous activities, with an Ottawa police inspector noting: “Now you’re seeing more guns being used for enforcement or for intimidation, debt collection, or protection.” Clearly, the safety of many countries is at stake due to our careless gun legislation.

The issue with American gun legislation comes down to two main problems: the large inventory of guns and the ease at which a person can purchase one. In the U.S., it is estimated that there are over 300 million guns circulating in the country, and that number keeps rising. The U.S. manufactured an annual average of 3.5 million guns from 1996 to 2005, compared to the annual average of 6.7 million from 2006 to 2015.

Gun imports have also increased, from a 1.3 million annual average to a 3.5 million average. This large inventory allows U.S. gun smugglers to purchase guns at very low prices and earn very large profits, making the process lucrative.

However, the larger issue at play is the ease at which a person in the United States can purchase a gun. In order to purchase a gun, a person must be a U.S. citizen

over 18 who passes a short background check. The background check is often faulty, however, and many are able to slip through the cracks even if they have disqualifying characteristics. Once the gun is purchased, there is no legal requirement to track it, culminating in the use of the “straw buying” tactic that many gun smugglers employ. It involves a person who is legally allowed to purchase a gun acquiring the weapon for a third party, who receives the gun after the straw buyer fills out the necessary paperwork. Since the transfer from straw buyer to gun smuggler is usually undocumented, straw buying becomes an easy method of bringing guns into the smuggling network. These two factors make it extremely easy for the trade to thrive—to the great detriment of many in the aforementioned countries.

As Americans, it is often easy to get swept up in our own politics and forget the impact that our laws and actions have on the rest of the world. Though it is hotly debated whether a person even has a right to own a gun, there is no doubt that the lack of gun legislation is causing homicide rates to spike drastically. For this reason, it is imperative that the United States takes action to strengthen its gun laws. The first step should be requiring background checks for all handgun sales—even those that do not involve a licensed gun dealer. Though 19 states have acted to close this loophole, it is crucial that universal background checks be instituted. In addition, gun trafficking and straw buying should be considered federal crimes in order to deter people from engaging in these acts. An-

conviction that I was a hard centrist. I loved figures like Jeb Bush and John Kasich, and I identified as socially liberal but fiscally conservative—views I clung to until I came to Stuyvesant. Here, I’ve met a variety of people with a variety of beliefs, from self-identified communists to proud conservatives.

And I’ve come to my own conclusions; I have evolved substantially on nearly every issue, from abortion to criminal justice reform to tax policy. I am still extremely political—but in a very different way. I can now barely imagine voting for Mike Bloomberg, let alone John Kasich or Jeb Bush. Over the past five years, I have gone from mildly conservative to deeply liberal, and I don’t think that that makes me inconsistent. I have learned from my peers about the ways that social and economic issues are intertwined—how the deep-rooted issues in our nation are much more complex than I ever could have imagined.

In short, I have changed dramatically in five years, and I have no idea where I will be in another 20. I personally know the power that new people and experiences can have on you, and because of that, I do not criticize people for past beliefs if they have shown true change. If people have made mistakes in their past judgment, we shouldn’t fixate on them; rather, we should evaluate them on what they have done to redeem themselves. Joe Biden has done more than enough to make up for his past missteps, and we, both the queer community and the general public, should welcome him with open arms to the right side of history.

other method to prevent gun trafficking is to mandate the report of multiple sales of long guns.

Though licensed gun dealers are required to report to the Bureau if a person buys more than two handguns in a five day period, this does not apply to long guns, which are commonly-trafficked weapons. By mandating that multiple sales of long guns be tracked, the government will be able to cut down on the number of guns leaving the country.

This issue has been prevalent for far too long. Though our own country cannot agree on whether a citizen has the right to own a gun, Canada, Mexico, and Jamaica have all instituted strict gun laws. Canadian gun laws include the prohibition of most semi-automatic weapons and the requirement of a license, background check, training, and 28-day waiting period for first-time owners. Jamaican gun laws follow a similar vein, with the prohibition of semi-automatic weapons, requirement of a license, training protocols, and strict background checks. As for Mexico, only the Mexican Secretariat of National Defense is allowed to sell guns, and in order to purchase a weapon, a citizen must submit an extensive application and undergo a strict background check. All three of these countries have realized the need for stricter gun legislation, but their efforts are being undermined by the United States’ inability to act.

The United States has a moral obligation to increase gun legislation—not only for the sake of its own citizens, but for the sake of those affected by the homicide crisis in countries around the world.

Page 16

Opinions

By GRACE GOLDSTEIN When I walked into my first government class a few months ago, I was certain I had some catching up to do. Ever since I had become a student activist, I felt painfully out of the loop on the details of government and lawmaking.

Sure, I had learned some things on my own through experience and private research, but it couldn’t possibly stand up to the knowledge and understanding that a real class would give me. I was a little nervous—my smart, well-educated classmates were probably already experts somehow.

I was right about the fact that my first government course would immensely expand my knowledge of our political system and its history. I was wrong about the other part, though: my shakiness on aspects of the subject was unique. In the first weeks of class, we were assigned a project on our City Council Member. One of my classmates asked if we were to be assigned

By SAADAT RAFIN Over the past few decades, the internet has become one of the largest cultural phenomena in recent history. Limitless reserves of information have become available at one’s fingertips, especially in developed countries like the U.S. As a result, people are now exposed to a plethora of ideas and cultures.

There seems to be an online subculture for any interest, regardless of how niche it is. Name any ideology, and there will be a Twitter or Facebook community that harbors people who share these ideas. Finding a group to fit into has become much easier now, as the internet allows people who are looking for like-minded companions to gather and share their ideas. Though this has been a widespread development, we must take it with a grain of salt.

While it can have many positive influences and truth be told it does, it should come as no surprise that the internet is also a breeding ground for degeneracy. As people become disillusioned with society and the government, they tend to seek others who share the same worldview. They gather in small message boards and chat rooms to share stories of how society has let them down in one way or another.

A common feature that these groups share is a distrust in mainstream media. In order to gain the “truth,” which they believe they have been deprived of, they look to alternative forms of news, often ones that have no credibility. The rising anti-vax community is an example of one of these relatively small communities. Taking advantage of the disillusioned and feebleminded, this community has spread at an alarming rate, using false facts and pseudoscience to garner support. The anti-vax community has historically been on the tamer side of these brainwashed communities (though that has become debatable as of late with the influence it has had on the COVID-19 lockdown protests). Unfortunately, there are much more sinister ideologies that have established platforms throughout the internet.

This brings me to the recent resurgence of political extremism.

As recently as a decade ago, it was unthinkable to see Nazis march-

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

Teach Civics Earlier a City Council Member by our teacher. This speaks to a larger issue; it isn’t common knowledge among high school seniors that we are all assigned by the city itself a City Council Member based on the district we live in. Some of my other classmates were better informed than me, others hovered in similar territory, and still others had no in-depth knowledge whatsoever. But the fact that our collective knowledge was vastly dispersed so late in the educational game is unforgivable. Why aren’t the facts of how we’re governed—both locally and nationally—as ingrained in us as our multiplication tables?

We are all affected by the decisions our government makes; housing and rent, race and gender discrimination, and wages and labor are just a few of the avalanche of issues that affect the average person. Both local and national government set precedents on these and other issues, start initiatives, and draft legislation that impacts us long before we turn 18 or become high

school seniors mandated to take a government class. Every child and teenager in the country could benefit from getting a peek behind the civics curtain earlier in their education. I recall learning the same American mythology surrounding the Revolutionary War over and over throughout elementary and middle school, and yet I knew very little about the New York City Council before I started working and meeting with its members.

The fact of the matter is this: no matter how smart, interested, or engaged a student is, nothing can make up for an actual class on any subject. Government and civics are incredibly important subjects, which we should be learning in school before we become legal adults. Middle schoolers and high school underclassmen should have compulsory classes that give them the full picture of what makes our society tick. Teenagers should receive the tools to interpret what we see on the news as part of our education—and most importantly, the

tools to advocate for ourselves and articulate our opinions in a political context. Knowing more about local politics could plant the idea to run for office in a high school student’s head. The sooner we learn everything about the system, the more accessible it can be.

Government, like history, economics, and ethics, is also worth teaching on its own merit. The subject matter is as interesting as it is essential. Government education combines explanations of legislation and political structure with the study of human behavior, campaign strategies, and global history that provide valuable context for all of our other historical knowledge.

It teaches us the rights we have and the rights that still need to be fought for. Old triumphs and ongoing controversies come together in the government curriculum.

Landmark Supreme Court cases explain to us the evolution of our country’s political culture through the decades. Our Constitution contains values that are worth

The Threat of Online Radicalization

ing the streets, showing pride in their heinous beliefs. But at the “Unite the Right” Rally in August 2017, scores of angry young men carried around the Nazi flag and anti-Semitic signs. The rise of these ideas has been affected by the same method of indoctrination that the anti-vax community uses: online exposure.

other cultures.

With each click of these farright content creators, the impressionable young man adopts heavily xenophobic and misogynistic beliefs. This process is dubbed “red-pilling” after the famous scene from the popular Matrix films— where Neo, the protagonist, is presented with a choice between a

Saadat Rafin / The Spectator

One victim of online extremist indoctrination, Caleb Cain, has shared his story. In a 2019 New York Times feature, Cain explained how he too fell into a rabbit hole of far-right content. Falling prey to these internet-savvy commentators’ tactics, Cain became a proponent of the alt-right. Countless other young men seem to share the same story.

It often starts with an edgy video on YouTube, perhaps something about race or gender politics. Aimless young men, mostly straight and white, are often sucked into a rabbit hole of far-right content, with each video more extreme than the last. These videos often take advantage of insecurities that foster within these young men.

Those who feel emasculated by strong women, or any other form of women’s empowerment, often gravitate toward content that ridicules women. Those who feel as if their cultural or religious values are threatened often gravitate toward anti-immigrant content ridiculing

blue pill and a red pill. The blue pill would allow Neo to live his life the way he had been before, and the red pill would show him the “truth” of the world. Online proponents of right-wing extremism use the term as a buzzword to denote enlightenment.

One of the most disturbing, recent examples of how deadly online indoctrination can be took place last year in March at the Christchurch shooting. Twenty-eight year-old Brenton Tarrant began his descent into extremism through the online message board 4chan. Infatuated with the history of Christian struggle, Tarrant expressed his pride as a young white Christian man online. Tarrant was exposed to religious fundamentalist ideas and white nationalism. He spent months on these online message boards as their participants planted racist views in his mind, using his insecurities as a white man and ideas such as “white genocide” to give Tarrant fear and hatred toward non-whites. He ultimately took all

of these ideas and created a 74-page anti-immigrant and Islamophobic manifesto, which he posted online and e-mailed to New Zealand authorities prior to the shooting.

This brings me to my next point: younger and younger audiences are starting to be brainwashed into this extremism. A prominent example of this is a YouTuber to whom I was first introduced in 2016: Lt Corbis. Lt Corbis, whose real name is Sophia, was a 12-yearold (now 16-year-old) YouTuber who made witty commentary videos on YouTube with run-ofthe-mill edgy teenage humor, the kind we all know too well. Sophia seemed to be a regular “gamer” or “edgy teen,” and I enjoyed a few of her videos in 2016. Recently, curious about her whereabouts, I decided to google her name and the first video that popped up was one titled “The LtCorbis Racist Meltdown.” Confused as to what was going on, I watched the video and looked at some threads on Reddit and Twitter explaining the situation.

Screenshots were exposed of Sophia saying things such as “mass genocide of Muslims, a service to society,” and “[EXPLETIVE] MUSLIMS, [EXPLETIVE] THEM ALL, I WISH AN ATOMIC BOMB WOULD DROP ON THE MIDDLE EAST ALREADY.” When confronted about these messages, Sophia would simply defend herself by saying that these messages were just “hyperbolic,” explaining that she does not believe there is anything wrong with what she said, as she “didn’t mean it literally” and that it “falls under free speech,” a favorite argument of hate speech defenders.

After some research, I had found that Sophia, like Cain and Tarrant, had also been brainwashed into these beliefs by online proponents. Some have speculated that the one responsible for her descent might be fellow content creator Vaporrub Boy, a “red-piller” who has outwardly supported the Christchurch shooter on his Twitter. Though the direct cause is not yet clear, Sophia has undoubtedly become a victim of online indoctrination.

A fellow Stuyvesant student of mine, Ian Saint-Germain, shares a

defending regardless of their historical origin. All residents of the United States are meant to contribute to that living document. Every generation is a new editing team, working toward a “more perfect Union.” The sooner we read it and start talking about it, the better.

The Three Ring Circus Government Schoolhouse Rock video we’re shown in fourth grade isn’t enough. Schools should be teaching government as a core class years earlier in the curriculum. Limiting knowledge of what local and national government structures look like and keeping students removed from knowing how they work prevent confident civic engagement.

We deserve to grow into voters with a strong basis for forming opinions about the politicians and legislation we support. Schools are obligated to give us a well-rounded education that will make us fully capable citizens. With civics put off until 12th grade, that’s not yet the case.

similar story. “After Trump won the election, I was really disillusioned with politics,” Ian explained to me.

“I was also obsessed with video games at the time and watched countless gaming channels that would occasionally paint feminists as out to destroy video games and whatnot. This was in 2016 when the SJW movement was kind of at its peak and YouTube was still very right-wing.”

Ian became an avid viewer of this misogynistic content, which slowly led him to right-wing creators such as Steven Crowder, Ben Shapiro, and Jordan Pearson, who began indoctrinating Ian into conservative ideologies. Fortunately for Ian, he managed to stop short of being radicalized.

Ian recognized when the ideas he was being exposed to were dangerous. “It wasn’t until they started making transphobic and islamophobic comments that I realized they didn’t share my values. I realized I was radicalized a few months after I stopped watching political YouTube when a video popped up in my recommendations that sort of broke down the ‘Alt-Right Pipeline.’ I realized this happened to a lot of different people during 2016 and it probably would’ve gone way further for me if I was white,” he revealed.

Sophia and Ian are not the first—and will most likely not be the last—young victims to fall prey to online radicalization. As the world becomes much more polarized along socioeconomic and political lines, it seems as though a mutual understanding is impossible. There does not seem to be any shortage of racists and sexists online today, nor will there be one in the near future. What we do now to protect the youth of America, however, is important.

Many of these feeble-minded victims lack education and emotional support. A lot of children grow up with parents and are exposed to their bigoted ideologies from a young age. As a country, we need to have the proper education and support for these youths in the schooling system. More light needs to be shed on cases of online trolls and extremist content to prevent another impressionable young mind from falling victim to these heinous ideologies.

The Spectator • May 31, 2020

By IRENE HAO

Page 17

To Triumph Over Toxicity, Take a Timeout both ends of my exam-day mantra, I entered with our school’s notorious reputation of sleepless nights, copious amounts of work, and little to no social life in mind. I felt I was starting the race late; everyone would surely have solidified their friend groups and extracurriculars at this point. So, to compensate for their head start, I pursued my grades and passions endlessly. During the first round of The Spectator recruitments, I applied for five departments and was accepted into three.

I was taking one AP class, but I didn’t think that was enough.

I constantly sought new ways to push myself further, to fulfill the prophecy of the “Stuy” end of “Stuy or Die” that I worked so hard to reach. But as I tried to actively participate and write, in addition to maintaining my grades, I found I pitched and signed up for much more than I could handle. I could not make deadlines, which discouraged me from participating frequently and only resulted in more late articles.

A t the beginning of my junior year, I felt the pressure to become a leader in a major extracurricular activity. I applied to be editor of two departments (as well as the leadership position of other extracurriculars). But my lack of experience, short time in The Spectator, and record of not making deadlines discouraged me while applying and hindered me from receiving many of those positions.

Burnout—throughout the past two years, I have often felt there was

no point in trying so hard in my classes and clubs if so many more of my classmates had the passionate drive, intelligence, and stamina to balance them. It left me with an overwhelmingly empty feeling, and I would constantly ask myself what the point was in giving it my all when there will always be someone better.

Burnout was the steep dip in my motivation after a peak in ambition.

It’s a negative cycle so many of us trap ourselves in by, again, habitually determining our worth through comparison of ourselves to others. But this defeatist mindset wasn’t the way to go.

Though these were heavy losses, I found the time to take a step back and realized that in my haste to reach the top, a part of me was not as passionate about journalism and writing as I once was. In order to better myself, I focused on writing articles only o n topics I

w a s p a s sionate about.

Once I knew my limits, I sought to face and push past them at my own pace, and I am slowly rediscovering my passion for composition.

I like to think of the race to the top as a marathon. To survive, we need to run; to live, we need to catch our breath. In a marathon, all that seems to matter is the fact that it’s completed—the roadblocks along the way or the differing paces of each participant hold little significance in our minds. Like a marathon, life is about personal achievement. It is a long distance run, so we need to

pace ourselves in order to not expend all our energy in the beginning. We should learn that it is okay to take breaks in between; whether or not we finish first, last, or somewhere in between, crossing the finish line, completing a deadline, or getting to school on time are all accomplishments in and of themselves. In marathons, runners must recognize their limitations and know when to slow down or stop. Life—more specifically, life at Stuyvesant—should be no different. Instead of worrying about how quickly we finish the marathon or what place we finish in, we should focus on appreciating the experience itself, and all the people we love who cheer us on.

In these trying times, I find myself going through this cycle yet again: a sudden rush of motivation to help out front line workers as much as I can, inevitably followed by a period of dispiritedness when I realize as a high school student, there is not much I can do besides stay at home and cheer them on. But then, I feel at ease when I realize, in merely two years as a student at Stuyvesant High School, I found my way out of the toxic communal mindset by taking a much-needed breather and a step back. The famous “live in the moment” maxim should be the new Stuyvesant mindset.

As a transfer student here, I began my high school career a year later than most of my classmates, and yet I have discovered many I can proudly call friends, many who share my interests, and many more who come together to compose our wonderful, enriching community. I do not wish to tell you how to think and act at Stuyvesant or in quarantine, but what I am advising is this: in chasing after our dreams, we should recognize we are already living the dream.

The Growing Plight of South Asian Casual Racism

By AFSANA AHMED

Growing up, I was made well aware of the fact that my brown skin set me apart from the other children I saw at school and on TV. Kids would quietly whisper about my lunch, trying their best to suppress their snickers. It didn’t help that I could find no solace in my Saturday morning cartoons, where the only characters that looked like me were offensive caricatures of my ethnicity.

Unfortunately, despite our society’s increasingly PC (politically correct) culture, casual racism toward South Asians has managed to persist, finding its way into Hollywood, social media, and thus our daily lives. I’ve noticed that it’s impossible for me to go a week without viewing an ironic meme online poking fun at South Asians or without my friends making what they believe are harmless jokes at the expense of my culture.

On TV, we’re almost always reduced to stereotypes—little more than deli owners, taxi drivers, terrorists, and nerds. As a child, I remember being excited to see characters such as Baljeet from “Phineas and Ferb” solely because he was one of the only characters I’d ever seen who looked anything like me.

I was forced to accept the fact that he was just a side character whose only distinguishing feature was his heavy Indian accent because frankly, I didn’t have any other characters to look up to. And these stereotypes are further perpetuated by other television show such as “The Simpsons,”

which features the all-too-beloved character Apu Nahasapeemapetilon.

Apu is an Indian-American immigrant who runs a convenience store in Springfield. Much like Baljeet, he has a heavy and somewhat hard-tounderstand Indian accent, voiced

by Hank Azaria, who notably is not Indian. Apu also has a long and confusing surname; this plays on another stereotype about Indians. The show’s portrayal of Apu is especially problematic because in many scenes throughout the show, he is the joke and the punchline is his Indian heritage. This widespread lack of accurate representation forces South Asians into a box of stereotypes that we have to work hard to get out of.

We are under constant pressure to prove that we’re more than just the side characters.

And “The Simpsons” isn’t the only outlet through which South Asians are made the butt of the joke: it is but a standard occurrence on social media apps. On TikTok, for example, there is a trend of users commenting and duetting strange videos of brown creators with captions and hashtags such as #TakeWifiAwayFromIndia. While making fun of strange content is commonplace on the app, the hate that South Asian creators get is specifically directed toward their ethnicity and not toward the creators themselves. One such TikTok by the Indian user “Rizxtarr” features him participating in a trend that involves striking various poses with a certain song playing in the background, and the comment

section is flooded with criticism and 17, has expressed. She said, “I wish the aforementioned hashtag. This is growing up in America for South the disheartening reality for all too Asians meant coming to terms with many other Indian creators who being South Asian, not whitewashhave participated in the trend. Other ing yourself to fit in.”

TikTok users who essentially do the There’s also a litany of jokes same thing, however, are praised for about our physical appearance and their originality and their work on stereotypes about our heritage that the videos. Regardless of what one may think about this sort of content, there’s a clear divide between how brown creators are treated and even the type of criticism they receive compared to others who publish what seems to be virtually the same content. This trend of hating on South Asian creators and entire countries over harmless—albeit strange—vidIsmath Maksura / The Spectator eos has at times made me feel embarrassed about my we must confront daily. It’s typical own Bengali ethnicity. to hear jokes about arranged marOur treatment in real life isn’t riages, smelling like curry, or being any better than it is online or in extremely hairy and unattractive. mainstream media. While living Compliments that we receive are ofin a city as diverse as New York of- ten backhanded and denounce our fers protection from a good deal of ethnicity. It’s somewhat of a joke serious hate and discrimination, among the South Asian community there’s a clear lack of respect for that every time we receive a complibrown people in our society. There’s ment, the sentence usually ends with a constant pressure to abandon “for a brown person” (e.g. “You’re our own heritage in favor of what’s really chill for a brown person”). I considered popular and normal, as remember sitting in my chemistry Bengali-American Fariha Mabud, class sophomore year and trying

hard to concentrate on my work as I heard two people whispering behind me. Alongside incoherent murmurs and suppressed laughter, I heard one of them say something about my physical appearance and the other respond with: “Yeah, but she’s brown.” This is what made me turn my head and look straight at the two of them, after which one of them smiled at me and said, “Relax, it was a compliment.”

I’ve heard such compliments countless times. It crushes me whenever I have to respond to one of these comments with a simple smile and a small “thank you” because it forces me to accept that being brown is a challenge that I have to overcome in order to receive recognition for any of my good qualities.

Because of the sheer volume of casual racism directed toward South Asians, it’s easier to just laugh off the jokes rather than address them.

However, it’s clear that staying quiet about this form of hate does more harm than good. If inappropriate comments and jokes toward brown people continue to go unchecked, we’ll never get the recognition and respect we deserve. Though this is still a very large problem, successful South Asian people in western media such as Hasan Minhaj, Aziz Ansari, and Mindy Kaling are proof that the situation is much better than it was just a few years ago. I can only hope that this movement continues to grow and this hate against my ethnicity becomes a thing of the past.

Eleanor Chin / The Spectator

“Stuy or Die.” I first heard this notorious phrase in middle school. It was just a joke my classmates threw around the lunch table as the SHSAT approached. Though I knew it was little more than a lighthearted quip, I still chanted it like a mantra on the morning of the exam in a desperate attempt to calm my nerves. Months later, I received my results.

I didn’t make the mark.

“All or nothing.”

As students, we are constantly driven to be “more”—to be faster, smarter, stronger, bigger, better. And in this perpetual, futile yearning for more, we—consciously or unconsciously—compare ourselves to each other: “He got a full score on that final”; “she got an internship at this huge company”; or “they won first place at championships.” Their accomplishments compel us to achieve them too to receive the same recognition and admiration we had given them. What was once a healthy goal-setting attitude becomes an all-consuming competitive mindset. Whereas it may motivate some to improve as students and people, for me, continuously racing for that coveted first place is toxic and discouraging.

Unfortunately, society and media tend to fuel competition, commending only those at the very top. As we religiously watch reality TV shows, tune into sports games, and follow the ever-changing top music charts, we derive a strange sense of satisfaction from watching people crawl over each other to earn a trophy or title.

There is a limited number of places, and we have a limited amount of stamina. In this way, society teaches us how to survive, not how to live.

And to survive, we need to compete.

To live, we need to know our limits.

Thus, to combat the toxic stigma of being the “best or nothing” the me-

dia perpetuates, we as a collective need to realize our sense of accomplishment need only be validated by ourselves.

The notorious “Stuy or Die” mentality is taken lightly and treated as such: a mere joke. But it is very much real. It embodies the unspoken, unrealistic expectations students impose upon themselves and each other. And nowhere is this more clear than in The Spectator’s senior survey for the graduating class of 2020. When asked if they would choose Stuyvesant again, the 12 percent who answered “No” cited the suffocating, pressurizing atmosphere in the following comment section. “Missed out on the high school experience,” wrote one, and “Competition tainted my mental health,” lamented another. One even expressed that though they “did not choose ‘No,’ [they] wanted to [say their] ‘Yes’ was full of resentment and disdain even though it was a yes.” And a scroll through our “Dear Incoming Class…” Facebook advice groups reveals a disheartening preference for “light” classes with high grades over more challenging and interesting ones—it’s clear that in the perpetual Stuyvesant struggle to be in the top 10 percent, our competitive spirit has come at the cost of our intellectual growth.

When I finally made it to Stuyvesant a year later, when I finally made the mark and encountered

Opinions

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 18

Science The Chilling Reality of Global Warming Around the World

By DEAN CHEN and OSCAR WANG

tropical regions of the world, such as the Persian Gulf and South Asia.

Niche global climate trends have revealed an increase in moist-heat events—instances of heat stress in tandem with high air moisture—popping up throughout the globe. Climate scientists studying weather data from several thousand global

Susannah Ahn / The Spectator

Strange weather phenomena have led many people to doubt that the earth is warming up.

New York receiving snow during the second weekend of May, for example, has left many of us climate change believers scratching our heads: if global warming is real, then why is there snow in May? In reality, climate change has everything to do with these recent weather patterns, and here’s why.

The earth’s stratosphere is divided into several regions known as wind cells, or zones of warm wind that rise up in the stratosphere, cool, and fall down as cold wind. These wind cells get progressively colder in higher latitudes because of the cold air coming from the poles. These temperature differences are usually the smallest during the summer because that is when the North Pole receives constant sunlight, heating the wind and counteracting the natural cold of the poles.

Because the poles get less sunlight during the winter, temperature differences become more extreme over these months. Bouts of cold weather in hotter months like May occur because of disturbances to the polar vortex, wind cells in the earth’s polar regions.

These extreme temperature differences create the polar cell, a low-pressure zone that rotates like a cyclone, hence the name “polar vortex.” The polar vortex is stable because the differences in temperature and pressure around it balance it enough to keep it in place year-round.

However, the vortex separates into multiple fragments if it destabilizes. This separation occurs because the temperatures in the northern regions increase due to global warming. When the Arctic polar vortex weakens and fragments, the cold air in that region

is set loose, allowing it to move to other areas, like the Northeastern coast of the U.S. This shift also allows the hot air around a weakened polar vortex to push inward, displacing the once cohesive region of cold air and causing it to move south. In addition, this process moves the polar jet stream, the region between two wind cells, further

south.

B e cause w a r m and cold air meet at jet streams, it creates a “stream” of fast winds blowing from west to east. This is responsible for predictable weather patterns around the world.

Without it, some regions would never see the sun while others may never receive rain. As the jet stream moves, it brings cold air to new regions. When the cold and warm air mix, we get more erratic weather patterns, such as snow in May. While the Western Hemisphere experiences these strange weather phenomena, global warming is also threatening the lives of many in other regions around the world. As cold weather creeps down from the north, increasing temperatures promote hot and humid conditions in sub-

weather stations have noticed this unnerving trend arising in the aforementioned subtropical coastal regions. A study done by NASA scientist Colin Raymond and his colleagues, who scoured decades of weather station data from 1979 to 2017 for cases of extreme moist-heat conditions throughout the world, shows this as well. These instances of extreme temperatures had frequently been overlooked in statistical simulations due to a lack of previous consideration for the dangers of humidity in the context of meteorology and climatology. These simulations are intended to estimate when regional

climates will surpass the extreme moist-heat threshold that humans cannot survive. While the first occurrences of deadly temperatures have been predicted to hit by the middle of the century, Raymond’s findings show that they have already been observed.

“Wet-bulb” temperature simultaneously serves as a measure of humidity and temperature. Wetbulb temperature is conventionally measured using a thermometer wrapped in a wet cloth and operates on the principle that higher air humidity reduces the rate of water evaporation occurring on the cloth. This measure serves as a standalone way of indicating the temperature we feel based on real temperature and air humidity. The physiological capacity in terms of wet-bulb temperatures is approximately 95℉ (35℃), in which the human mechanism of sweating to cool off the body is rendered ineffective. In high moist-heat conditions such as this, even someone with unlimited access to water would likely die in less than a day. Even wet-bulb temperatures between 88 and 91℉ (31 to 33℃) correlate to increased mortality rates during heat waves.

Raymond and his colleagues observed increasing wet-bulb temperatures originating in subtropical coastal regions, where the combination of seawater evaporation and hot air creates extreme moist-heat conditions. As global temperatures rise, evaporating seawater increases air humidity, creating said conditions. In South Asia, monsoon winds also con-

tribute to the flow of humid air, which causes additional moistheat events inland.

When compared to previous estimates regarding the onset of critical weather conditions, Raymond’s study warns that some regions of the world will be rendered uninhabitable much sooner than previously thought. Despite notions that 95℉ wet-bulb temperatures would not be observed until the middle of the century, some brief occurrences have already been documented, and Raymond predicts that parts of South Asia and the Middle East will be rendered uninhabitable by the third quarter of the 21st century. Based on the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration heat index, 95℉ wet-bulb temperatures at high humidity can reach more than 130℉ in perceived heat. In the last four decades, cases of extreme humid heat have also doubled in frequency across the globe.

Rising global temperatures are a primary focus of most environmentalists, while the additional conditions created by increasing moisture have often been overlooked. The trend has raised questions regarding future plans for cooling solutions in rapidly warming regions. Some wealthier countries in the Middle East, where off-the-charts moist-heat conditions have been observed, have begun moving their economies indoors and finding means of cooling outdoor regions. Other less fortunate nations with agricultural economies are more vulnerable to extreme heat conditions. Based on upward global warming trends, climate scientist Jonathan Buzan estimates that unsurvivable heat conditions may last several days per year in the coming years. As global warming continues, we may need to grow increasingly aware of the additional niche climate conditions that it brings.

The Stereotypes Tucked Away in Our Unconscious

By RIONA ANVEKAR

As members of Generation Z, teenagers like to think that they are accepting of all people regardless of race, sexual identity, or culture.

However, there’s a strong theory that many discriminatory stereotypes are embedded in their minds.

First, why does society stereotype in the first place? Stereotyping is an instinctive tool of the human mind from thousands of years ago; it’s powerful enough that stereotypes formed centuries ago are still active in today’s minds.

Humans have always had a strong tendency to live in groups, which is called the in-group/out-group dynamic. In order to feel satisfied with the group they’re part of, they have to denigrate those who aren’t in their group—the “out-group.”

Another reason humans tend to stereotype so easily is to simplify their world. Rather than overwhelming the mind and analyzing every person one meets, stereotyping reaches into one’s unconscious to make quick analyses of people, thus reducing the amount of processing our minds need to do.

So how does bias come into play? Essentially, connections that are constantly made in the conscious mind slowly make their way into the unconscious. Our environment and culture greatly influence which stereotypes make their way into our unconscious.

Our conscious minds like to accept certain values—the “correct” values—as our own, but our minds learn to take in the subtext of culture long before they learn how to make their own opinions.

The subtext of culture can be

gleaned from the mass media, peer pressure, and the unjust balance of power in the real world. Stereotypes develop from even the smallest interactions with representatives of a social group and grow through a process called automatic processing. Each time the mind reaches into the unconscious for stereotypes in order to react to and process the world around it more quickly, those stereotypes become further ingrained. Though Generation Z is adamant about equality, its members possess stereotypes in their unconscious that are vestiges of a long-gone environment rife with discrimination.

The human mind’s vulnerability attracts numerous stereotypes that can only be uncovered in the unconscious mind. A study was conducted in which people were to respond to a subject with a characteristically “white” or “black” name who appeared with a positive or negative word. People, including some African Americans, tended to respond quicker when positive words were paired with white names, and negative words were paired with black names. Previous stereotypes about black and white people were used by their minds to react faster to the simulation. Another example is a study in which people were asked to choose names from a list that they believed to be famous. In an overwhelming two-to-one ratio, people believed that men were more likely to be famous. They were acting on an unconscious stereotype that men are more significant and influential than women. No woman would ever choose a man to be more likely to be famous because

they genuinely believe men are superior, and likewise, no African American would purposefully associate negative words with their own race, demonstrating that these stereotypes come from the unconscious.

Shockingly, Stuyvesant students’ minds are likely more biased than any other. Studies have shown that smarter people who are quick to pick up patterns are in fact more likely to stereotype.

In a study conducted at NYU, researchers showed 271 participants pictures of red, yellow, and blue cartoon aliens randomly paired with either a nice or mean behavior. In two of the groups, 80 percent of the blue aliens were paired with a mean behavior, and 80 percent of the yellow aliens were paired with a nice behavior. Then, the participants had to choose which alien from a group of aliens committed a given behavior. After this, the participants took a pattern-based exam. Generally, participants who were quick to detect patterns were more likely to make stereotypes, matching blue aliens with mean behaviors and nice behaviors with yellow aliens. Though smart people are more likely to be less prejudiced in their conscious mind, this shows how the ability to pick up patterns easily can lead to a more biased unconscious.

Though stereotypes are entrenched in the mind from centuries of discrimination, researchers may have found a viable way to rid the mind of this bias. Using the technique of de-automatization, humans can unravel the process done to ingrain a stereotype by actively fighting their unconscious

when they behave in a manner reflecting a stereotype. The slight pause in processing a stereotype gives their mind time to think in an unbiased and clear light. Deautomatization can be practiced to train your mind to prevent automatic stereotyping. However, successful de-automatization results have only been recorded in controlled environments. To extrapolate those same results out to the real world would not be realistic.

It’s much harder to maintain a commitment to de-automatization in the real world due to constant exposure to mass media and other factors.

A determining factor in creating a progressive society is eliminating the discrimination that has been building up from the beginning of humanity in the form of stereotypes. Many humans aren’t

even aware that these stereotypes have been entrenched in their minds. It’s scary to think about the extent to which we aren’t actually in control of our thoughts. Without being able to control biased thought processes, it’s hard to create a truly progressive society. It’s frustrating to think that the unjust discrimination portrayed in forms of media and peer pressure can find a way into the unconscious no matter how hard the conscious fights it. The scary truth is that every human plays a role in the problem of creating and enforcing stereotypes that limit the growth of society. Nonetheless, it’s not impossible to eradicate the stereotypes history has created, and as long as humans are committed to fighting stereotypes, society is well on its way to creating a more progressive world.

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The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 19

Science Paradox and Periphery: What’s the Matter With Matter?

By RANIA ZAKI

By ANGELINA CHANG Just several weeks after the number of COVID-19 cases in New York has passed its peak, an alarming number of children has fallen ill with a mysterious syndrome linked to the coronavirus.

Prior to the manifestation of this syndrome, children had largely been unaffected by the coronavirus: most infected patients in New York are over the age of 45, and the few who have been infected usually only experience mild symptoms. However, pediatricians were startled when an increasing number of children exhibited symptoms involving inflammation of the skin, eyes, and heart around May 12, 2020. As doctors and scientists around the world rush to develop coronavirus treatments, doctors in New York are simultaneously investigating this new ailment, which has been named Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C).

Symptoms of MIS-C include fever and severe inflammation of the heart and blood vessels. Surprisingly, patients usually do not experience coughing and shortness of breath, which are common indicators of COVID-19.

The symptoms of MIS-C are

handed, meaning their spins orient toward the left). At the beginning of the universe, these massive particles would have decayed rapidly when the universe was expanding

electrons to muon neutrinos, neutrino oscillations occurred more frequently than antineutrinos. Despite any conflicting biases, the experiment conferred a maximum

rapidly, causing a disturbance to antilepton and lepton decays. This asymmetrical decay might explain the increased presence of matter compared to antimatter.

The team behind the T2K (Tokai to Kamioka) experiment in Japan acquired strong evidence collected over a decade for leptogenesis in the matter-antimatter disparity. Using a neutrino beam generated at the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) in Tokai, beams of neutrinos or antineutrinos were ignited 295 kilometers to Kamioka in a tank with over 50,000 gallons of pure water and 6,000 sensors. When a neutrino collides with a neutron in the tank, a muon or an electron particle is produced.

Neutrinos were analyzed based on these particles they released. Using sensitive equipment, lead physicist Federico Sanchez and his colleagues documented the change in the neutrinos’ states in both beams.

Combining this input with past experiments, the team debunked any account of complete CP symmetry on multiple parameters. Peculiarly, the team reported that 90 electron neutrinos and just 15 electron antineutrinos were observed.

Instead of equal oscillations of

favor for neutrinos and came close to excluding any favor toward antineutrinos. The experiment repudiated with 95 percent certainty that neutrinos do not uphold CP symmetry, representing an indication of significant CP violation that favors the propagation of matter g during the early stages of the universe to that of antimatter.

However, the mystery is still unresolved. “We don’t call it a discovery yet,” said T2K team member Chang Kee Jung.

As journalists of “Nature,” Silvia Pascoli of Durham University in the U.K. and Jessica Turner of Fermilab in the U.S. said these results are “undeniably exciting.”

However, remarkable claims require remarkable evidence—specifically, a 99.99994 percent credence to claim it a “certain discovery.”

The team at T2K is meticulously prepared to deliver their findings with confidence.

The collaboration plan is to reduce systematic uncertainties by upgrading the magnetized detectors—up to 99,000 sensory detectors—which would allow for the precise collection of more data while J-PARC intends to upgrade the accelerator and increase the in-

tensity of the beam. T2K spokesperson Atsuko Ichikawa said that they aspire to upgrade within the next two years, though she added that this depends on the outcome of the pandemic.

Larger experiments are in the works. Among them is the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), a collaboration between the U.S. and the European Organization for Nuclear Research.

In it, neutrinos will be beamed 800 miles from Fermilab in Illinois to a giant underground detector at the Sanford Underground Research Facility located in an old gold mine in Lead, South Dakota. This will be done to investigate how the neutrinos oscillate. Deputy director of Fermilab Dr. Lykken said, “Now we have a good hint that the DUNE experiment will be able to make a definitive discovery of CP violation relatively soon after it turns on later in this decade.”

Before the invention of massive particle accelerators, Albert Einstein had feverishly worked on a visionary goal for 30 years until death: the creation of a unified theory that describes all the forces of the universe. Though he left it incomplete, over the years, scientists reformed it. The Grand Unification Theory of 1979 described the combination of forces in the Standard Model under high energies. A part of this theory is the generic model of the “seesaw” mechanism.

In it, a ratio is described: the higher the mass of the right-handed neutrinos, the lower the mass of lefthanded neutrinos. The neutrino’s mass is minuscule, about one-millionth of that of an electron. The possible CP-violation indicated by the T2K experiment alludes to the asymmetrical possibility of these right-handed particles.

Without the contributions of Cronin or Einstein, the necessary foundation of knowledge that T2K built would have been impossible.

As the understanding of these particles and their interactions become more clear, scientific data become ever more precise, and the innovation of technologies explores all parameters of study; the paradox of matter may be resolved. Before long, science may explain why we exist by understanding the identity switch in the millions of particles that pass through us before we blink. Ahoy!

similar to those of a rare childhood most children only experience mild illness called Kawasaki disease, symptoms while a few face a dewhose symptoms also include high layed inflammation syndrome may fever, inflammation of the eyes, be due to a child’s still-developing rashes, and swelling throughimmune system. out blood vessels. While Though an adult’s MIS-C and Kawasaki disimmune system is ease share the same range better equipped to of symptoms, further deal with familiar research on the new conthreats, a child’s imdition has revealed greater mune system often differences between the fares better against two. While shock is new viruses. Bararely a symptom of bies are born with Kawasaki disease, a set of immune MIS-C has sent many cells called T cells, patients into toxic which include nashock with dangerive, effector, and ously low blood memory T cells. pressure and an inNaive T cells are ability to circulate cells that have oxygen throughnot encounout the body. tered pathoDoctors have gens before, also noted that and effector even though chilT cells develop dren with MIS-C from naive T Vivian Teo / The Spectator get sicker than cells when exthose with Kaw a s a k i posed to pathogens. As a disease, the majority are recovering. child encounters different types of Perhaps the most baffling pathogens, their immune system beaspect of this syndrome is that gins to accumulate memory T cells, MIS-C patients are predominantly which are able to recognize specific young children, despite kids only antigens. While these memory T comprising a small percentage of cells allow the immune system to COVID-19 patients. The fact that mount a stronger response against

familiar pathogens, most effector T cells will be removed to maintain immune balance. This explains why adults recover faster from previously encountered pathogens but have trouble fighting off new infections.

While recent public health warnings about MIS-C have focused on children, several young adults have been diagnosed with this syndrome. Younger children often experienced inflammation of the blood vessels, while teens and young adults faced greater complications involving the heart and other organs. The cause of MIS-C and the reason it largely affects children remain a mystery, but doctors suspect some people have a genetic susceptibility for an overactive immune response.

New York City’s health department has reported 161 cases of MIS-C, and at least three children in New York have died from the syndrome as of May 24. While the majority of reported cases are in New York, the condition has already spread to over 20 states. Since MIS-C typically develops four to six weeks after infection, the United States is expected to see a rise in cases.

The growing number of cases in New York may impact whether schools reopen in the fall. When

asked about this issue, Governor Andrew Cuomo agreed that this syndrome would influence that decision. However, he added that the next academic year is “a lifetime away as far as we’re concerned at this rate,” reminding New Yorkers that the situation is still rapidly evolving.

Other states with cases of MISC—including, Georgia, Tennessee, and Connecticut—have said summer camps may reopen with social distancing measures in place.

However, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, has cautioned lawmakers against reopening schools and businesses too soon. “We don’t know everything about this virus, and we really better be very careful—particularly when it comes to children,” Dr. Fauci warned.

MIS-C is a rare condition, but since children with the syndrome can become seriously ill, parents should be alert about its symptoms.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has urged parents to monitor their children’s conditions and seek medical care if they show symptoms. As for everyone else, we should continue to follow CDC recommendations about social distancing, hygiene, and masks.

Lauren Chin / The Spectator

Identity is solid—well, it should be. Science tells us that just as a tree cannot become a rock, a human cannot become a sock. But inside the core of your atoms, there are particles that do exactly just that: their identities change.

Fundamental particles, unlike protons, cannot be composed of other particles. One type of fundamental particle, neutrinos, which astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson ardently proclaims as the “ghost particle,” undergoes an identity reversal known as an oscillation.

Oscillations produce electrons, muons, or taus. By studying the reversal, scientists discerned a close violation of physics’s symmetry, providing evidence for the explanation of matter.

But understanding matter, especially distinctions in the early universe, requires knowledge of its particles. From atoms to protons to our current understanding of subatomic particles, the field of particle physics is summarized in a surprisingly accurate theory: the Standard Model. Imagine the equivalence of matter and everything we see as white paint. By isolating the colors in the paint, one can observe the primary colors (red, blue, and green) in it. After a decade, the paint crusts and produces markings. The Standard Model is the same; the primary colors are fundamental particles known as quarks and neutrinos, which are the lepton particles made as a result of the decay of matter. Despite what you learned in chemistry, physics observes matter as color-neutral.

When three quarks with each color amalgamate, or mix, into a particle, not only do they become colorneutral, but they also form atoms, leptons, and thus matter.

For centuries, humans formulated exegeses to explain the distinct beginning of the universe: the six days of creation in Genesis or the “Cosmic Egg” of the ancient Indian text, the Rigveda. Theorists and physicists sought part in this studious task, developing a generally agreed upon theory: during the universe’s creation, all energy was packed in a small space, a dot about one-trillionth the size of the period that ends this sentence. In a fraction of a second, when the temperature became about 20 mil-

lion times hotter than our Sun, energy split into one matter particle for each antimatter particle– –a replica of matter in all aspects except for charge and spin, notated by the terms “left-handed” or “right-handed.” Then, the temperature cooled, and the high energy needed to produce these particles ceased. But something happened in between these two temperature changes, because if equal amounts of matter and antimatter had been formed in the beginning, matter should not have prevailed. This is because antimatter and matter are strongly attracted to each other, and when they collide, they annihilate one another. Matter and antimatter should be invariant to the law of physics referred to as CP-symmetry: C for charge conjugation, which transforms a particle into its antiparticle and P for parity, which creates the mirror image of the particle, producing an inverted left-handed particle (also known as a right-handed particle). In other words, a reaction replaced with antimatter acts the same as that of matter, meaning that matter and antimatter were equally created and destroyed. This symmetry should be universal—so why does matter exist, especially at an asymmetrical ratio to antimatter?

Physics said matter shouldn’t have survived, until James Cronin and his coworkers provided conclusive evidence for the first violation of this symmetry. In simple words, Cronin claimed that the two types of particles acted differently. Two predominant theories, electroweak baryogenesis and leptogenesis, might explain how.

Electroweak baryogenesis is an elegant proposal pioneered in the late 1980s that explains the conundrum of the disproportionate presence of baryons compared to that of antibaryons. The theory posits that there are variations in the Higgs boson, a particle that signals a field known as the Higgs field, theorized to give particles mass.

These variations would then initiate a phase transition that would favor baryons and matter over antibaryons and antimatter.

Leptogenesis, however, focuses on the “ghost particle” and leptons.

Data demonstrate a compelling argument for a heavy right-handed neutrino, which spins toward the right (neutrons are generally left-

Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome: A New Coronavirus Risk to Children

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 20

Science

By SHAH NABIL Located in Brazil, the Amazon Rainforest is one of the largest rainforests in the world. Unfortunately, due to a lack of response and preventive measures in the area, the forest has been dealing with devastating fires for the past couple of months. Today, the Amazon Rainforest has lost over 20 percent of its trees, as the forest’s large carbon supply continues to be released to the atmosphere. The rise of COVID-19 has shifted focus away from the fires, which are gradually consuming the entire rainforest. However, a group of researchers has recently discovered an important pattern that exists within a population of a certain animal species that could be vital in the struggle to save the Amazon and mitigate future fires as well. Through the studies that have shown tapirs in action with seed dispersal, the idea of saving the Amazon Rainforest has become more plausible than ever.

Tapirs, also known as Tapirus terrestris, are herbivores that thrive in South America. According to National Geographic, tapirs have a small trunk that can extend and take grip of objects at ease. Furthermore, the importance of the species is how they travel around the country spreading seeds through their feces. A group of researchers

Saving the Amazon Through Tapirs

led by ecologist Lucas Paolucci was able to further study this important pattern, which can play a significant role in repairing the damaged forest. This phenomenon has been shown in their recent study on the species published in “bioTropica,” which discusses the effects tapirs have on the forests around them. It was observed that tapirs consume “the fruit of more than 300 plant species [and that] the animals travel through the forest underbrush with their bellies full of seeds...[including] seeds from large, carbon-storing trees...”

Tapirs are significant to the ecosystem because they are able to disperse many seeds in a large radius. This emphasizes how through seed distribution, tapirs are able to promote more growth in the area around them.

The study also measured the effects of tapirs on Amazon forests specifically, as they had nearly three times more efficient seed dispersion in damaged forests compared to undamaged ones, which adds to the idea of utilizing tapirs as a major aid to the Amazon Rainforest. Tapirs are able to disperse the seeds of many tree species; the study states how due to

the observations that show effective seed dispersal by the tapirs, the species prove to be the “cheapest

Angel Liu / The Spectator

and […] the most feasible way to achieve large-scale restoration of tropical forests.” Moreover, the fact that tapirs are able to spread tree

seeds through their feces throughout a large area provides the ability for the rainforest to gain back the vital carbon lost in the fires.

Paolucci took a trip to the Amazon in 2019, in which he put fake seeds after gathering feces pellets from the tapirs.

When Paolucci returned to check the status of the seeds, he was able to see the number of seeds that was dispersed through the feces, therefore allowing him to predict the frequency of plant growth in a certain amount of time.

The study is scheduled to be released in 2021 by Paolucci, and this experiment will show more statistical data in support of the tapir’s efficient method of regrowing the environment around them.

Therefore, this additional experiment would further explain why there should be more research into tapirs and how we can effectively repair the Amazon with them.

Of course, there are a few problems with the idea of using tapirs to repair the Amazon. One is that they were declared vulnerable in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species. This potentially limits the idea of using tapirs to

repair the Amazon by placing them in the rainforest, because it creates possible ethical issues concerning the safety of the species. For example, if scientists were to relocate tapirs in South America to the specific Amazon Rainforest region, there may be a chance that they could be harmed by the fires and the ecosystem itself. However, tapirs are known to be able to defend themselves due to having the power of silence and a strong bite. Furthermore, the idea of using tapirs to repair forests is not completely undermined, as we could pay more attention to the species and help it regrow in order to reach this goal.

Tapirs are a species that are both delicate and important to the environment.They are essentially the planters of South America, as they have large impacts when it comes to dispersing a large number of seeds across a wide area. While the species is listed as vulnerable, that does not reject the fact that further research is needed to develop solutions for both the species and the rainforest. These solutions can range from focusing on rebuilding the tapir population to collecting their feces and redistributing them directly into the Amazon Rainforest. If we play the cards right, tapirs could be the key to reconstructing the Amazon.

Scientists Discover Hidden Earth-Like Planet in Old Data

By HENRY CEN

A world with 100-foot tall waves and filled to the skies with water. A world you can walk around in 10 seconds. A world with raging volcanoes and ashy skies. Our universe is filled with trillions and trillions of planets, each with its own unique characteristics. Finding a planet with specific parameters among such diversity would be akin to finding a needle in multiple haystacks.

However, this is exactly what scientists are currently doing: searching for a planet with Earth-like conditions that can sustain life and be humanity’s next home. As you can imagine, this is an extremely difficult task given the sheer volume of planets in our galaxy.

However, a new Earth-like planet was discovered by scientists while searching through old, hidden data on April 15, 2020. This unique planet is called Kepler-1649c, and it has reinvigorated planet exploration.

Why was it Missed?

(Robovetter...)

Introducing Kepler-1649c Kepler-1649c is an exoplanet located 300 light-years away from Earth. For reference, that is equivalent to about 1.764 x 10^15 miles (the diameter of the Earth is around 8,000 miles).

Though this may sound far, it is relatively close, cosmically speaking.

Like Earth, Kepler-1649c is located within its solar system’s circumstellar habitable zone.

A circumstellar habitable zone is defined as the orbital region in which the conditions for liquid water to be present are met and temperature and atmospheric pressure are at levels that can sustain life. Liquid water is a required condition for life as we know it to exist. If a planet or other cosmic body orbits too close to a star, water will evaporate and form an atmosphere made of steam. The environment would be too hot for humans or any form of life to survive. On the other hand, a position too far away from a star would lead any water present on the planet to freeze, along with its inhabitants. These two situations are dichotomous, leading scientists to nickname the habitable zone the “Goldilocks Zone.”

Aside from its similar cosmic positioning, Kepler-1649c also shares multiple physical characteristics with Earth. It receives about 75 percent of the amount of sunlight Earth receives, leading scientists to wonder if its atmosphere might have similar temperatures and thus host a similar environment. Remarkably, its mass is only 1.06 times that of Earth’s. With these conditions in mind, if humans were to move to Kepler-1649c tomorrow, life would not be much different.

However, Kepler-1649c orbits a red dwarf star. In contrast, our Sun is a yellow dwarf.

Red dwarves are much smaller and have lower masses, lower temperatures, and lower pressures.

For life to be possible in these conditions, a planet would have to orbit extremely close to the red dwarf. Kepler-1649c conforms to this requirement. However, with such a close orbit to its star, it is susceptible to being tidally locked (a phenomenon where the proximity of the planet to the star keeps the planet from rotating, resulting in only one side of the planet receiving sunlight).

In addition, red dwarves are also known to emit spontaneous solar flares, which may make life near them impossible. However, the occurrence of these two phenomena has yet to be observed.

Afra Mahmud / The Spectator

A Needle in a Haystack The Kepler telescope was active from its launch in March 2009 to November 2018, when it finally ran out of fuel and was decommissioned (taken out of service) after nine faithful years of duty. NASA’s mission for it was to search for new planets in the night sky that may one day become humanity’s next home. Kepler’s database contained novel discoveries of an astounding 2,682 planets. The discoveries made

by Kepler have been of tremendous value to scientists. By exposing part of the vast number of planets out in space, Kepler’s findings spark hope that a planet with habitable conditions will be found; even uninhabitable planets provide valuable insight on astronomy and geology that will aid researchers’ future efforts to learn more about our own planet.

Kepler uncovered thousands of unique and remarkable planets— Kepler-1649c being one of them.

However, the transit method is extremely susceptible to occurrences of false positives. Other large cosmic bodies besides planets such as asteroids or meteoroids can perform a transit between the star and Kepler, causing a dip in the luminosity reading. The Kepler telescope would record this occurrence as it would with an actual planet discovery. As you might imagine, this would lead to quite a great number of false positives. For this reason, scientists wrote an algorithm called Robovetter that would filter out these false positives.

“Robovetter’s job was to distinguish the 12 percent of dips that were real planets from the rest,” the California Institute of Technology said. Robovetter would assign every detection of a cosmic body from Kepler a value between 0.0 and 1.0. The closer a value was to 1.0, the more confident Robovetter would be that it was a planet. The closer the value was to 0.0, the more likely it was to be a false positive. However, its task was extremely complex, so it had quite a significant margin of error.

Being aware of this, scientists would manually double-check the false positives that Robovetter labeled in order to ensure that actual planets had not been filtered out. It was during this that scientists found Kepler1649c, which was officially reported on April 15, 2018.

“If we hadn’t looked over the algorithm’s work by hand, we would have missed it,” said Andrew Vanderburg, a researcher who had helped with proof-checking Robovetter.

Much is still unknown about Kepler-1649c. Its atmosphere might be acidic, rendering it completely uninhabitable, or it could be an entirely barren world. Kepler1649c is still quite a few steps away from being named humanity’s next home. However, the real value lies in giving hope that the perfect planet is out there somewhere in the universe. Thomas Zurbuchen, the associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said, “This intriguing, distant world gives us even greater hope that a second Earth lies among the stars, waiting to be found.”

Transit Method Kepler was able to discover and locate planets like Kepler-1649c by using the transit method. First, it was launched and oriented toward a fixed spot in the constellation Cygnus. This positioning would allow it to constantly monitor 100,000 main sequence stars, or stars similar to that of our Sun. Kepler would monitor a star’s luminosity (brightness) level through its equipped photometer. Dips in a star’s luminosity would indicate that a planet/cosmic body had come in between the star and the Kepler telescope. This event is called a transit—hence why it is called the transit method. Kepler recorded these dips in luminosity as planets.

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

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Arts and Entertainment Editorial

By SYDNEY KAUFMAN With all the hectic events in the world right now, one thing has been constant in our quarantine lives: binge-watching. All the extra time on our hands has led us to turn to shows and movies from streaming services like Netflix or Disney+. And in this time of uncertainty and rapid content consumption, how will this affect the future of the film industry?

COVID-19 has forced movie theaters to close, affecting over 70 movie releases (some being delayed as late as 2021 such as “The Batman” or “In The Heights”).

Some films have favored an approach bypassing the theater release issue completely, utilizing ever-popular streaming services.

Movies like “Capone,” “The Lovebirds,” and “SCOOB!” were digitally released on their originally scheduled date, as was “Trolls World Tour,” its release breaking records solely through streaming and on-demand services.

Shocking as it is, the release of “Trolls World Tour” has been significant for its commercial success. In its first three weeks, it made almost $100 million. For reference, the first “Trolls” (2016) film made about $153.7 million at the domestic box office.

For movie theaters, this could be bad news. Why should companies bother releasing their films to theaters if they could make the same amount of money from people watching it at home? Sim-

Film

By JENNY LIU As they say, April showers bring May flowers. And blooming with said flowers is the celebration of mental health awareness.

May has been observed as Mental Health Awareness Month as part of a national movement advocating for the recognition of mental health and wellness in people’s lives since 1949. The month-long campaign is a conduit for mental health education and support.

This observance promotes an extensive opportunity for communities to engage in meaningful discussions about mental health awareness, uniting those who live with mental illness and those who don’t. Sometimes, the discussion gets translated onto the big screen, as filmmakers take on the responsibility to portray the subject in film. Though many fail to capture the realities of mental illness, some accurately portray life with mental illness and clear up the stigma, offering support to those who are affected.

In chronological order, here are some films that get it right: 1. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape (1993) Lasse Hallstrom’s heartwrenching drama stars Johnny Depp as a young Gilbert Grape in small-town Iowa caring for his morbidly obese, depressed mother Bonnie (Darlene Cates) and autistic younger brother Arnie (Leonardo DiCaprio). After her husband’s suicide, Bonnie spends most of her time binge-eating and disassociating. Meanwhile, Arnie’s tendency to get into trouble strains his relationship with Gilbert. The entire Grape family is often mocked for their unusual behavior, and their town offers no sympathy, contributing to Bon-

What’s Up With Movie Theaters? ple: they want to win an Oscar, and they need it released in theaters for it to be eligible… right?

Wrong! Due to the pandemic, the Oscars have agreed to drop its requirement for films to have been released in a Los Angeles County commercial theater for at least a week. Films are still required to have a theatrical release planned, but that begs the question: if the movie theater requirement can be dropped as long as the film was intended to be released in theaters, what would stop them from potentially getting rid of it entirely?

Apart the Oscars being a traditional and therefore pro-theaters organization, there seem to be few concrete reasons for keeping the requirement. “The Academy firmly believes there is no greater way to experience the magic of movies than to see them in a theater,” explained CEO Dawn Hudson and Academy President David Rubin in a joint statement. While few movie-watching experiences can beat the theater, the requirement is arbitrary and could hardly be a reason for exclusion from an award.

Here’s where things get tricky: are movie theaters worth keeping around just for the experience?

Personally, I love going to the movies. I love getting dragged by my Tom-Holland-obsessed friend to watch the new “Spider-Man” film (regardless of my opinion on it). I love the giant tubs of popcorn, the overpriced soft drinks, all of it. I would be sad if the mov-

ie theater business went extinct in my lifetime. I just don’t think it should be our primary source of movie-watching anymore.

Think about it this way: our new favorite movie, “Trolls World Tour,” costs around $20 to rent. In New York City, a movie ticket for an adult will cost a minimum of $7.50 and a maximum of $17.49.

If you wanted to take two friends to see “Trolls World Tour,” you would spend between $22.50 and $52.47, and that’s before the cost of tax and concessions. So why should anyone pay to see a movie in theaters when it would cost less to stay home?

The reason could be that people just don’t like to see things change. Or maybe your grandma will have trouble figuring out how to use “the Netflix” in order to watch a movie. But theaters cannot rely on the general public’s love for consistency or lack of ability to use technology to save them.

On the other hand, the simple title of “top box office film” is highly sought-after, which can only be achieved through a theater release. “Avengers: Endgame” (2019) is one example, in which different film versions were released more than once to theaters in an attempt to break the record of top box office film of all time.

Though this may be an outlier, it might be something for companies to consider when deciding where to release their films. Sure, plenty of money can still be made

when movies are available at home instead of on the big screen, but is it “top box office movie of all time”-level money?

This adds a new issue to the mix: if a release to theaters and a release directly to on-demand services each has its benefits, why not do both? That would be a good idea for companies; it could allow a family to save on theater tickets by staying home while qualifying the film for awards. Unfortunately, some theater chains, such as AMC, have put a stop to that. After NBCUniversal’s CEO Jeff Shell expressed interest in both theatrical and digital releases, AMC announced its ban on all films by Universal Studios. If companies are forced to choose between releases to streaming services and releases to theaters, they may have to choose the former, seeing as it offers more advantages than the latter.

As much as we would all hate to watch our local theater go out of business because it is not as convenient or affordable as payper-view services, it seems to be the only logical result with all factors considered. I do hope movie theaters manage to hang on for a while, so we can all sit down to a nice film and some popcorn once it’s safe to gather in large groups again. In the meantime, grab some snacks, gather your family, and do the same at home. Maybe you’ll want to watch “Trolls World Tour,” just to see what all the fuss is about.

A Film Homage to May and Mental Health Awareness

nie’s unhealthy mental state. The tragic setting does not improve, and the film doesn’t have a cathartic happy ending. Suffering and struggle remain constant in the lives of the family. The movie signifies that not every story has a silver lining, and the struggles of mental illness have a toll on all parties involved. The movie stands out with its frank and affecting portrayal of mental and eating disorders, a rarity in Hollywood.

back. Along the way, he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence, who snagged an Oscar for her performance) who helps him in his endeavor. Unsurprisingly, they both end up falling for each other. But this isn’t a celebratory love story as much as it is an insight into the high and low reckonings of life.

Cooper’s character falls in and out of stability with his bipolar disorder, wreaking havoc in therapy offices but have moments of profound clarity and sorrow. The movie is a testament to the painful authenticity of life and love, and viewers will laugh as much they’ll cry (really, the movie’s hilarious).

2. A Beautiful Mind (2001) Based on an incredible true story, this Oscar-winning biopic follows the life of John Forbes Nash Jr. (Russell Crowe), a mathe- 4. The Perks of Being A Wallmatical savant and Nobel Laureate flower (2012) who has schizophrenia. The movAdolescence is hard enough ie follows John’s decline from his (a statement most of us can attest years at Princeton University and to), but the struggles of childonward. It’s a respectful and hood trauma can often glossy tribute to an inspirexacerbate these difing public figure whose ficulties, leading to mind was both a blessing psychiatric hospital and curse. The movie’s stays, as Charlie crux, however, is the em(Logan Lerman) ber of hope that continexperiences in ues to light with support this coming-offrom John’s wife, Alice (Jenage movie. Charlie’s nifer Connelly), and others as mental journey is full he ultimately regains the of ups and downs ability to function in as he experiences r to the academic world. flashbacks of his a t ec The film goes to aunt molesting Sp e Th show that those him as a little / o H with mental illboy.

Though a s e i Ar s u b ness don’t have to neither parmit to their unjust fate; they ticularly romantic can still shine brightly as ever. nor funny rom-com,

the movie highlights the 3. Silver Linings Playbook confusion and suffering one goes (2012) through and how everyone needs After a stay in a mental health a support system to get through hospital for bipolar disorder past conflicts, even if they manitreatment, Pat Solitano (Bradley fest in the present.

Cooper) moves back home and attempts to regain a sense of nor- 5. Inside Out (2015) malcy by trying to get his ex-wife Some may argue that this

movie is silly and doesn’t portray mental illness, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But this exhaustively inventive animated film, set largely inside the mind of 11-year-old Riley, chronicles her family’s move to San Francisco and places mental health in a fresh, introspective context.

It personifies different emotions such as Joy, Disgust, Fear, Anger, and Sadness, who must work together to keep Riley happy and balanced as she copes with moving, though the character representing Sadness causes tears and havoc. It places emphasis on the intricacies of our inner selves and the importance of emotional intelligence in healthy, functioning beings.

In this image-saturated society, the framing of certain issues like mental illness in culture matters immensely. The films described depict mental illness well as they do not glorify illnesses and instead offer a sympathetic perspective on them. They do not perpetuate misconceptions such as that mentally ill people are dangerous or violent and instead detail frank portrayals that offer solace to those who live with it. By making more movies like these, the film industry can do its part to empower communities through positive representation.

Though the industry has a long way to go in promoting more intersectional movies regarding mental illness (as most of the mental health movies right now depict white actors), it has made great strides in cultural sensitivity and destigmatization. And it’s with the hopes of initiatives such as Mental Health Awareness Month we push the discussion into a greater, progressive light.

But in the interim, feel free to enjoy these movies.

Playlist Record Breakers!

By THE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT This issue, A&E takes a look back at some of the most significant songs of the past. Whether it be chart dominance, cultural influence, length, or speed, all of these songs have broken records, which you can find under the song description!

Old Town Road Lil Nas X Most weeks spent at Billboard Hot 100 #1 (19) Despacito Luis Fonsi ft. Daddy Yankee Most YouTube views of all time (6.77 billion) Stay Maurice Williams and The Zodiacs Shortest song to ever reach #1 on the Hot 100 (1:36) Shape of You Ed Sheeran Most Spotify Streams of all time (2.5 billion) Radioactive Imagine Dragons Most weeks spend on Billboard Hot 100 Charts (86) Candle in the Wind Elton John Best selling CD single of all time Gangnam Style PSY First YouTube video to reach one billion views Boy with Luv BTS Most YouTube video views in 24 hours (74.6 million) Rap God Eminem Most words in a charting single (1,560) November Rain Guns N’ Roses Longest song to ever reach the Billboard Top 10 (8:56) Baby Justin Bieber Most disliked music video on YouTube (11 million) White Christmas Bing Crosby Highest selling single of all time (50 million) Work It Missy Elliot Most weeks spent at Billboard Hot 100 #2 (10) Believe Cher Longest gap between #1 songs (25 years)

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The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Arts and Entertainment You’re Mad, He’s Back

Music

By ANSON GUAN Against all odds, 6ix9ine has returned. Amidst the chaos of COVID-19, the infamous rainbow-haired Brooklyn rapper has been released from prison seven months early and placed on house arrest, citing his asthma as a health risk. He dropped a new song “GOOBA” and went live on Instagram with a record-breaking two million viewers heralding his comeback on May 8. In his livestream, he fired back at his haters, celebrated his newfound freedom, and promised big things for the future. With “GOOBA” hitting #3 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and 6ix9ine re-entering the minds of his millions of fans and detractors, it seems that the selfproclaimed king of New York is back in full force.

The continued success and relevancy of 6ix9ine is a bit of an enigma considering his storied past. He has been involved in violent “beefs” with numerous rappers, pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor, and admitted to being a domestic abuser. Most notably, he has been a central figure in the trial of the Nine Trey Gang-

Television

By ROXY PERAZZO With social distancing shutting down film and television production, a number of shows have been forced to reinvent the way they release content—think Jimmy Fallon filming from his front stoop and Al Roker reporting the weather from his kitchen.

“Saturday Night Live” (SNL) is the latest late-night show to take that leap. Like our transition, the road to “SNL at Home” was at first bumpy. After a few weeks, however, the cast and crew have managed to smooth things out and successfully drive home the new normal.

“SNL at Home” aired three episodes during the quarantine, beginning April 11 and ending May 9 with its 45th season finale. Producer Lorne Michaels leaned on three hosts with proven track records, starting with 10time host, COVID-19 survivor, and America’s father figure Tom Hanks. Simultaneously trying to be funny and comforting, the result was an overall miss, with Hanks’ opening monologue more like a grandparent trying to use Zoom than that of a seasoned host. In week two, Michaels went for another time-tested favorite: Brad Pitt as America’s newest male sweetheart, Dr. Anthony Fauci. By that episode, “SNL at Home” was looking up, with Pitt’s successful

Fashion

By EZEKIEL DEVEYRA Rejoice! Celebrities and entrepreneurs are selling coronavirus merchandise and apparel and donating 100 percent of the profits to relief efforts—it seems like our fight against the outbreak is drawing to an end, or at the very least, close to it. What seems like a noble effort by these business moguls is, however, usually a deleterious failure in disguise; producing the aforementioned merch has put brands’ ethics and motives under speculation.

Singer-songwriter Harry

sters, a still unfolding saga. When the gang’s members, including 6ix9ine, were arrested on various charges, the rapper snitched on his fellow members. By cooperating with authorities and meticulously laying out the crimes committed and those who were involved, he was able to cut down his original 37 years in prison to a mere two. Despite his insistence that the other members had been disloyal to him long before he snitched, he has become the subject of ridicule from many who felt that the tough persona he portrayed in his music was broken down. Yet because he was able to weaponize that ridicule, he was relevant and eventually propelled forward when released from prison..

While he may not necessarily be wise or learned, 6ix9ine is fantastic at constructing his own narrative. He has a knack for getting people’s attention, whether it be through his

distinctive rainbow-colored hair, loud and aggressive music, or various antics. What makes this so effective though is his persistence.

6ix9ine was constantly making headlines in 2018, whether it was b e e f with

Yume Igarashi / The Spectator

another famous rapper or a controversial statement in an interview. In fact, since the release of “GOOBA,” he has already gotten into major drama, accusing Billboard of chart manipulation that allowed Ariana Grande and Justin Bieber’s song “Stuck with U” to hit #1 on the Hot 100 and feuding with veteran rapper Snoop Dogg.

These events have garnered 6ix9ine some ire, but in the end, it doesn’t matter if you like him or hate him. All that matters is that you care and that you’ll be swept into his narrative and the next one.

Within his narrative, 6ix9ine embodies a villainous persona, constantly agitating conflict with other famous artists, which in turn attracts even more drama and attention as the situation snowballs.

Case in point with the aforementioned Billboard controversy, in which Bieber and Grande both responded to 6ix9ine. Billboard even wrote a lengthy article addressing his claims.

The drama has largely faded away but demonstrates how ef-

fectively 6ix9ine can provoke a response, especially considering his unfounded and misinformed accusations. He will no doubt soon return to stir the pot and create more chaos, garnering him more notoriety and reputation as hiphop’s supervillain. At the end of the day, what matters to him most as an artist is clout, and the best way to get attention is drama.

Even 6ix9ine’s music is a platform for him to stoke the flames.

“GOOBA” is pretty standard fare for 6ix9ine, with heavy bass, aggressive vocals, and tons of quotables: “are you dumb, stupid, or dumb, huh?” It serves as a mocking, insanely annoying shot back at his haters, in which he fully embraces his reputation as a snitch, or rat. After a verse dedicated to taunting his enemies, he ends the song with the line “Tell me how I ratted, came home to a big bag,” turning the biggest criticism against him into a major flex.

He has every right to flex, seeing how his music career is flourishing again and his snitching has paid off. While it is still early to say what the future holds for 6ix9ine, it seems he can rest easy in the year of the rat.

Live From Zoom, it’s Saturday Night! opening segment, both in his Dr. Fauci portrayal and direct address to the American people, leaving everyone laughing and feeling a little bit better. By the third installment, “SNL at Home” seemed to settle in with host Kristen Wiig, a fan-favorite from seasons 31-38, bridging the gap between a traditional opening monologue and the at-home experience. It became clear an audience is essential to comedy, regardless of whether the host’s monologue was successful.

Without laughter, the pauses after each joke felt eternal, even when they were well crafted and genuinely funny.

“SNL at Home” made good on the show’s trademark sketch comedy format but with a COVID-19 twist—the segments were all filmed in cast members’ homes, with the performance quality ranging from “how did they do that?” to “anyone could do that.” “SNL at Home” continued the tradition of hosting a musical guest each episode, with well-executed performances. In the first week, Chris Martin of Coldplay performed solo from his home, followed by Miley Cyrus with a fireside cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” in week two. Boyz II Men rounded things out with a Mother’s Day tribute and their 1997 hit “A Song for Mama.” Though it’s difficult for a solo performance to be cap-

tivating, the at-home acts were intimate and comforting in an unexpected way.

A typical “Saturday Night Live” episode has its hits and misses, but viewers can usually rely on it to be at least mildly funny.

That generally held true on “SNL at Home,” but a common loose thread was the range of effort put into each skit. Cast member Pete Davidson’s dedication was obvious, landing him on the high end of at-home success. Davidson’s DIY music videos, shot on location in his mom’s Staten Island home, played to his fan base with catchy lyrics and goofball comedy.

Cast members Kenan Thompson, Mikey Day, and Chloe Fineman consistently put out some of the best segments of “SNL at Home.”

While Thompson was often the highlight of sketches even before quarantine, “SNL at Home” demonstrated how truly on-point his charisma is, even without help from the writers. Thompson’s skit “Big Papi Cooking Show” was a favorite of the three episodes and featured an impersonation of David Ortiz making a seven-meat sancocho (manos de mono, anyone?) for “Big Dominican Lunch.”

Day’s two solo sketches poked fun at YouTube gaming and prank videos. While parodies of those videos often fail, these were some of the most memorable sketches and point to the extent of Day’s

comedic talent. Newcomer Chloe Fineman was also a standout, allowing a fresh face to get some time in the spotlight.

For every high, there is a low, and this one’s going to be very controversial. Kate McKinnon is largely regarded as a top-of-theline SNL cast member, but her at-home skits were a low point of each episode, despite often getting prime placement in the lineup. In week one, her skit “RBG Workout” didn’t seem too out of place, considering the entire cast was trying something new. But while every other cast member had significantly stepped up their game by the second week, McKinnon’s sketches continued to fall short.

Her “Whiskers R We” skit was basically a worse recreation of an existing sketch performed three years ago with the same name.

Though not every at-home sketch will live up to the standards “Saturday Night Live” has set over the past 45 years, it should at least be better than a bad home movie with shaky cameras, zero production value, and unforgivably poorly written scripts.

“Saturday Night Live” would not be complete without “Weekend Update” from Colin Jost and Michael Che, and luckily, the athome edition didn’t leave viewers high and dry. From a production standpoint, “Weekend Update” is one of the easiest transfers from

filming at 30 Rock to home, making this version easy to overlook.

But the segment deserves credit for its high-quality writing and balance of COVID-19 news and other non-pandemic-related stories. Like the monologues, however, “Weekend Update” needs an audience to live up to its comedic potential. While other skits can get by without laughter, the awkward, silent pauses between each joke, when viewers expect to hear the crowd laughing, put a damper on the success of the segment.

Much of the success of “Weekend Update” relies on the often caustic, but witty and friendly banter between Jost and Che. During weeks one and two, they managed to mimic their usual style in a Zoom call update. By week three, however, Che and Jost’s individual content appeared to be stitched together, and though the jokes were funny, the absence of riffing between the two took away from their typical dynamic.

All in all, “SNL at Home” was a success, pushing the boundaries of comedy and technology’s possibilities during a time of crisis. I can’t say I always laughed, but the sense of togetherness displayed in “SNL at Home” is something everyone can use right now. What I can say though is that the old saying is true—laughter is the best medicine, and “SNL at Home” was just what the doctor ordered.

Coronavirus Merch: A Profitable Predicament Styles, for instance, received backlash after advertising his new Tshirt design, which adorns the words “Stay Home. Stay Safe.

Protect Each Other.” in black ink across the chest, with all profits to be donated to the Solidarity Response Fund for WHO. Many criticized the singer for creating the insensitive design that directly referenced the ongoing pandemic.

Though there are double standards when it comes to criticizing coronavirus merchandise, certain brands were exempt from the backlash. Skateboard fashion brand Supreme did not receive

nearly as much criticism for their apparel designs as Styles. The shirt in question, a white tee with the archetypal box logo made in collaboration with Japanese contemporary artist Takashi Murakami, was released on April 24 and sold out almost instantly—not unlike their other apparel. The brand thus raised a lot of money for homeless shelters in an extremely short amount of time.

But the problem lies in the fundraiser’s ethics, which became unclear when resellers took the purchased tees and resold them at exorbitantly higher values than

what was originally paid. They mark up these items and gain a profit from an item meant to supply a charitable donation to those in need. Many resellers have explained this pandemic has left them provisionally jobless, and the $700 they could potentially make from selling the charity tee is worth it given their circumstances. Despite the discrepancy that arose between Supreme’s intention for the relief tee and resellers around the world, the piece is in circulation and has unequivocally raised a hefty sum for their charity.

Other small-scale companies have seized the opportunity to spread awareness about the outbreak, though the public has deemed their designs insensitive. Owner of merch line Arrogant Bastard Guillermo Campos designed a COVID-19-inspired graphic tee of Mickey Mouse singing into a mic, with the words “Coronavirus World Tour” labeled on the front and “Coming To a City Near You” on the back. Campos quickly received a flood of criticism, including a continued on page 23

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Arts and Entertainment continued from page 22

death threat. “Most of the people who had a problem with the shirt were not familiar with my brand before seeing it,” he remarked in an interview with fashion magazine i-D. “The people who were already my fans understand that I’m not this capitalist trying to profit off a tragedy but that I’m trying to make something about this particular moment that will survive the circumstances.” Misinterpreted or not, he and other young entrepreneurs have made the attempt to spread awareness of the crisis.

Though many company own-

Television

By CHRISTINA PAN We could all use a bit of the force right now.

Set between Episodes II and III of the “Star Wars” saga, “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” concluded the series with a rousing four-episode finale, overlapping with key events from “Revenge of the Sith.” The seventh and final season of the animated series returned from its six-year hiatus in February, following Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2014.

The series has come a long way since its initial release in 2008.

Produced by George Lucas and David Filoni, the show aimed to fill in the gaps of the prequel trilogy. Episodes II and III of the prequel trilogy focus on the beginning and end of an intergalactic civil war between the Republic and Separatist forces—which, unbeknownst to both sides, was triggered by the sinister Sith lord Darth Sidious (Chancellor Palpatine).

The “Star Wars” fanbase, however, has always held an uneasy relationship with the saga’s prequels. From poor writing, storytelling, and laughable lines (“I don’t like sand”), the prequels left fans looking for more.

“The Clone Wars” fulfilled that need. Seasons one and two of “The Clone Wars” were largely aimed at children, with formative episodes resolving cut-and-dried.

The later seasons of the show,

Music

By ZIFEI ZHAO May is Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, a time to appreciate the history and culture of Asian and Pacific Islander Americans. For decades, Asians have been underrepresented in American culture and media. This representation, however, is more crucial and relevant than ever amidst the racial attacks on Asian-Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic. This month gives us the perfect opportunity to celebrate the rise of talented Asian-Americans and their unique music spanning genres like hip-hop, pop, R&B, and indie rock. Here are some modern Asian-American artists who are reinventing the music industry: Hip-hop/Rap 88rising is an American musical group dedicated to elevating Asians in the music industry.

Featuring musicians from all over

Coronavirus Merch: A Profitable Predicament ers have put their brand to good ed to continue selling merchanuse, even the fashion community dise with no compensation for acknowledges that many entre- those affected by the pandemic. preneurs have not been Among the worst proactive in emof the deploying their signers are brand for those who an imporhave shocked tant cause. the public by New Yorkselling clothes with based creator c o n t r ove r s i a l Jon commented, “It messages. Caliannoyed me, considerfornia-based arting how many of those ist Jess Sluder made brands have a platform headlines when she r they could utilize to Ismath Maksura / The Spectato released a design for help people in need or bring a $60 long-sleeved tee branded awareness early in the pandemic.” with a Chinese takeout out box Many designers have much influ- labeled “No Thank You” and ence on their community but opt- stuffed with a bat. The situation

became even more disastrous when Lululemon senior staffer Trevor Fleming promoted the appalling design on Instagram, sending online communities into a flurry of madness—and rightfully so. Lululemon announced that they had no affiliation with the predicament, and the employee was fired shortly after. Sluder, the perpetrator of the conflict, stated online that the tees were not sold for any personal profit.

Many have pointed out, however, that the nature of the profit did not mitigate any of the consequences of the design.

Nevertheless, we should not overlook the companies that have made a tremendous effort to sup-

port the fight against COVID-19.

Fashion behemoth Ralph Lauren has pledged $10 million to relief efforts, and French luxury brand Hermès is donating 20 million euros to Parisian hospitals and distributing 31,000 masks and 30 tons of hand sanitizer manufactured in their own factories.

A myriad of fashion companies have taken into account how debilitated the community currently is and have shown strong initiative by stepping forward and propagating awareness of the outbreak.

With able-bodied company owners and entrepreneurs aiding the people in need during this global pandemic, there is a light at the end of this tunnel.

“Star Wars: The Clone Wars”: The End of an Era however, developed into one of the more nuanced pieces of “Star Wars” media, exploring complex topics such as democracy, slavery, pacifism, neutrality, brotherhood, and loyalty.

The series filled in characters that had been barely sketched in from the prequels, from Darth Maul to Count Dooku. Most importantly, it delved deep into the personalities, motivations, and evolution of characters like Anakin, Obi-wan, and Padmé; it allowed the audience to get to know what made each character tick and gave each of their arcs the space they deserved. Because of the show’s high flexibility, the arcs are presented in an anthology-style, with a new story every few episodes.

The show humanizes both the main characters and the clones.

The clone troopers—seemingly sterile and faceless soldiers—are given story arcs and distinct personalities, despite being voiced by the same actor (Dee Bradley Baker). In stark contrast to the prequels, Anakin Skywalker (Matt Lanter) is painted in a more realistic light—a tragic hero whose flaws and submission to temptations lead to flirtations with the dark side. Anakin’s development in the prequels is further bolstered by the introduction of Ahsoka Tano (Ashley Eckstein), his padawan apprentice. Ahsoka starts in season one as a young and irritating sidekick, but as the

Aries Ho / The Spectator

Fashion

season progresses, we see her character mature into a thoughtful, complex figure who struggles to accept the values of the dog-

matic Jedi Order.

The show’s finale covers the Siege of Mandalore, flowing elegantly into events of Episode III.

Focused on Ahsoka—now an expadawan of the Jedi order—the show’s music, imagery, and outstanding animation all come together to create a tragic yet poetic end to the beloved series.

Little is said but much is shown in the final episode of “The Clone Wars.” Following Order 66 and Anakin’s turn to the Sith, Ahsoka is surrounded by a mass grave of her troops, each marked with their respective helmets. As she stands amongst them, she looks down at her lightsaber—the lightsaber that Anakin gifted to her—and drops it. Ahsoka looks up toward the sky. Her past, memories, and life as a Jedi must all remain buried with her lightsaber and the clones.

The next scene cuts to an Imperial ship landing on a planet covered with snow. An unspecified amount of time has passed, though all clones have been replaced by stormtroopers. Then, an imposing figure walks toward the Republic cruiser’s crash site, where there are heavy, monotonous breaths and footprints and a long, black, flowing cape. The figure picks up Ahsoka’s lightsaber and activates it. A beam of sapphire cuts through the screen. The figure looks up. We can momentarily see Anakin’s eyes through the figure’s mask as he stares up at the empty sky. He takes the weapon of his former padawan and leaves, his reflection bouncing off the visor of a half-buried clone trooper’s helmet.

Raising the Bar for Representation: Celebrating Asian-American Musical Artists

the world, including iconic artists like Rich Brian, Joji, NIKI, Higher Brothers, Keith Ape, and August 08, the group’s albums like “Head In The Clouds” (2018) and “Head In The Clouds II” (2019) deliver powerful pop ballads and catchy rap. The talented artists compose songs with danceable beats and a summer vibe, and they even sing and rap in Mandarin Chinese.

Their newest project, “Asia Rising Forever,” was an online music festival that featured Asian artists from around the globe. It gathered over three million views and helped raise money for nonprofit organization, Asian Americans Advancing Justice. What started as a small project for young Asians to express their cultural experiences has turned into a global phenomenon transforming Asian representation in the music industry.

Jay Park is a Korean-American rapper who has expanded the Kpop industry. Growing up, Park was a competitive break-dancer

and frequently exposed to hiphop culture. He has written and produced his albums and formed his own Korean hip-hop record label called AOMG. Park combines both his Korean and hiphop roots, rapping in both Korean and English. His songs are popesque with quick raps and catchy beats, sure to leave you dancing until the end. With collaborations with other Korean and American artists like Rich the Kid, Park is certainly using his influence to help redesign the Asian hip-hop industry.

Pop Conan Gray is a half-Japanese artist from a small town in Texas. From posting vlogs and song covers on YouTube, he has since released an EP that has been featured in many magazines like Vogue and Billboard. His first EP, “Sunset Season” (2018), was a widespread hit, featuring slow, nostalgic songs reflective of his

high school experience. Two years later, he released his album “Kid Krow” (2020), which garnered global success. Gray’s songs use acoustic guitar and drums to express the frustration with love and friends that accompanies personal growth and change.

Debnever is a Korean-Malaysian singer who learned to make music in her small bedroom.

Growing up poor and with social anxiety, music became her escape.

She is unafraid to express how she feels through her music, making her messages raw and powerful.

The scratchy guitar and slow beats highlight her grungy, hip-hop, and emo vibe in songs like “Ugly” and “Swimming.” khai dreams, also known as Khai, is a half-Vietnamese artist from the Pacific Northwest. While some of his songs such as “Sunkissed” and “In Love” have been featured on TikTok, they are also mood raisers. Khai’s mellow voice combined with his ukulele strums

and lo-fi beats will undoubtedly leave smiles. His lyrics about finding love and growing up are perfect for chilling while watching the sunset outside your window. mxmtoon, also known as Maia, is a half-Chinese singer from California. Her songs such as “Prom Dress” and “Falling For You” have garnered popularity on TikTok and other social media platforms. Known initially for her ukulele in her first EP “Plum Blossom” (2018), she has since added catchy beats to create a lush music landscape. Her music explores her culture, sexuality, mental illness, and love life.

R&B keshi, or Casey Luong, is a Vietnamese-American artist from Houston, Texas. Inspired by R&B artists like Dean and guitarists like John Mayer, keshi is known for his continued on page 24

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The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Arts and Entertainment

continued from page 23

songs with lo-fi hip-hop beats and acoustic guitar that help listeners unwind and relax. keshi picked up guitar as a kid and posted songs on SoundCloud. He has since released two albums and continues to make music. Listen to “bandaids” and “like i need you” for a great introduction to his music.

Television

By MORRIS RASKIN This is one of the first choices that the user is given in Netflix’s new original special “Kimmy vs. the Reverend,” which hit the streaming service on May 12. Taking place in the “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” television universe, this unique entertainment event utilizes the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure style of storytelling seen in other Netflix specials like “Black Mirror: and Bandersnatch” but with a distinctive comedic flare.

In “Kimmy vs. the Reverend,” Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) is forced to travel across the country to find a bunker full of girls who were kidnapped by the same reverend (Jon Hamm) who took her when she was a girl. With her wedding in three days and the reverend hot on her tail, it is up to the reader to guide Kimmy to her special day.

After four seasons and 18 Emmy nominations, the Netflix comedy “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” came to a close in early 2019, leaving many dedicated fans wanting more. After a long

Culture

By EZEKIEL DEVEYRA Ushering a new life into the world carries with it the innate responsibilities that will determine the child’s future, one of the crucial tasks being to determine the baby’s name. In light of the various rights and justice campaigns that have been put in motion recently—such as the Black Lives Matter and Me Too movements—people today care more about self-view and individualism than ever before.

As many of today’s parents are millennials who currently harbor that individualistic fervor, it’s only natural that they want to instill that same spirit in their progeny. These parents know that their children won’t see anything remarkable in themselves if they are one of five Johns in their gym class. Studies have shown that in the U.S. fewer parents are naming their children with a moniker itemized on the top 50 most common names of that respective year. That may seem like nothing to be worried about, until we begin to see headlines of people naming their children the most outrageous names (for instance, Burp, Pube, One Too Many, and, quite facetiously, Covid). It becomes important to question the motives of these kids’ parents in giving them such peculiar names.

Why would any family, having spent arduous months nursing a child until birth, ridicule them with a truly horrendous name that will remain with them all their

Raveena, aka Raveena Aurora, is of North-Indian descent and incorporates her heritage and Bollywood influences into her music, though she is also inspired by jazz and soul. Her hazy, melodic voice, combined with slow drum beats and synths, creates beautiful, dreamy sounds, with songs like “If Only” and “Honey” truly showcasing her soothing music.

UMI, aka Tierra Umi Wilson,

is a half-black, half-Japanese artist who began her career in high school sharing music on SoundCloud and YouTube. UMI’s name in Japanese translates to ocean, present in the flowy, lo-fi beats in her songs. Her music, inspired by SZA, is very spiritual and reflects her emotions. Some great songs to listen to are “High School” and “Remember Me.”

Indie Rock Mitski is a Japanese-American singer-songwriter. Her music utilizes many instruments such as the guitar, piano, and drums. Her voice, conveying a deep longing, gives her music a melancholic atmosphere. Her tracks, though simultaneously sad, sweet, and hopeful, are great for head bopping or sing-alongs. Songs like “Nobody” and “Susie Save Your

Love” are great places to start exploring her music.

Whether it’s in hip-hop or indie rock, these musicians are breaking barriers and making history, and it’s important to acknowledge their achievements. By continuing to support and share Asian-American music, we will slowly give these musical artists the representation they deserve.

Take Control: The New Kimmy Schmidt Interactive Special day of final-season-filming on the Netflix lot, however, Tina Fey was approached by Netflix with a concept: Choose-Your-Own-Adventure. The production crew and original cast got right to work developing the complex and intricate storyline for this unique piece of entertainment, and their immense efforts are easy to see. Jam-packed with jokes, B-stories, visual gags, and guest stars like Daniel Radcliffe, “Kimmy vs. the Reverend” pushes the Choose-Your-OwnAdventure genre to the brink of its capabilities, and it does so in a spectacular fashion.

While “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” has always been about the life of the titular character at its core, the side characters always end up stealing the show. Tituss Burgess shines as Kimmy’s best friend and former roommate Titus Andromedon, tapping into his classic over-the-top acting style,

with fresh jokes and genius writing to back up his dynamic performance: “Titus Andromedon is not supposed to die on a mountain like a bored white person. He’s supposed to be choked to death at the Met Gala!” Whether it be taking a wacky

Fariha Mabud / The Spectator

drug trip from an accidentally consumed forest mushroom or preparing for an ill-conceived role in an action movie, Andromedon is able to sing, act, and quip his way through any number of bizarre situations. And Jane Krakowski fully delivers as Jaqueline White, the self-assured talent agent

and New York elite who offsets Kimmy’s can-do positive attitude with a healthy dose of snarky and self-obsessed one-liners. The side characters add a sense of completion and realism to the fever-dream positive visuals and plotlines.

Besides the stellar planning and home-run cast, what further separates “Kimmy vs. the Reverend” from the run-of-the-mill Netflix special is evident in the ability of the viewer to be immersed and completely invested in the story unique to this Choose-YourOwn-Adventure format. With the fates of various TV characters resting in the hands of the viewer, the show forces full attention and adds stakes to the experience. One wrong move and a television favorite is rendered dead, unemployed, or taking the sole blame for the end of the #MeToo movement. Phoning

the wrong number, choosing the wrong afternoon activity, leaving a baby abandoned in a gas station, or thinking you know the lyrics to a song can all lead to disastrous results, many ending up in a do-over, in which they are forced to go back to the decision they just made and pick again. Most choices, however, are permanent and affect the course of the story for the rest of the special. Pick the “fancy dress” at the wedding fitting in the very first scene, and Kimmy is wearing a fancy dress in the very last. Little details are what make “Kimmy vs. the Reverend” a special and unforgettable viewing experience.

Packed with an all-star cast, over-the-top visual gags, expert writing, and nearly flawless execution, “Kimmy vs. the Reverend” is a television event to remember, one many shows will inevitably attempt to replicate. While series like “Boss Baby” already have similar specials in development, it will be nearly impossible for another franchise to encapsulate the complexity and humor of this landmark Netflix special.

The Baby Naming Conundrum life? Can you imagine the doctor’s countenance when the mother and father of the newborn tell them that they would like to name their child “Little Sweetmeat?”

One such case has been all over social media recently: SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk and his partner, singer, and musician Grimes fomented controversy when they announced their newborn child’s name on Twitter: X Æ A-12. After a few days of online mayhem and confusion, the two parents finally shared both the pronunciation of their child’s name—whom they are raising to be gender-neutral—as well as its significance. Grimes posted on Twitter that “X” is the unknown variable; “Æ” is her “elven spelling of AI” (artificial intelligence); and A-12 is an homage to the precursor to the SR-71, their favorite aircraft. The general reaction of the internet was encapsulated eloquently in a Twitter comment saying, “You know this is a human child and not an EP right.”

Many have called into question the life that this child will lead in terms of how others will treat them growing up. One shrink shared how many of her clients have suffered the long-term psychological effects of childhood bullying due to being named Dick.

With parents continuing to concoct even more ludicrous names for their children, the issue of bullying and ostracism that these children will inevitably experience will only augment.

Some baby-naming situa-

Semoi Khan / The Spectator

Music

Raising the Bar for Representation: Celebrating Asian-American Musical Artists

tions have been undoubtedly illintentioned and with the purpose to cause harm. Parents Heath and Deborah Campbell piqued national attention in 2008 when their failed attempt to get ShopRite employees to inscribe their three-year-old son made headlines. Their son’s name is Adolf Hitler, and his sister is named Joycelynn Aryan Nation. Heath Campbell remarked, “a name’s a name; the kid isn’t going to grow up and do what Hitler did.” Not only was the family’s ignorance of the severity of the situation distressing, but the parents would also pervert their own children’s lives in order to propagate their

political agenda. Despite claiming to not have any affiliations with the Nazi party, the Campbells were later spotted sporting swastika tattoos and hanging Nazi symbols around their house (and Campbell’s toothbrush mustache was not quite inconspicuous enough). Manhattan psychotherapist John Alpert showed his contempt for the family, stating that their motivation in naming their children as such was “entirely selfish” and “at the cost of the [children’s] emotional health.”

Though many adults have certainly expressed their sheer dearth of sensible parenting skill—my dearest apologies for

the poor child out there named Orgasm—many say it is a necessary step toward a more diverse community of people. Without room for experimentation, babynaming will be left stagnant, as the current name pool runs dry.

One way parents have discovered new names for their child without going overboard is by taking common names and spelling them backward, with some successful results being Nevaeh and Semaj.

As the generations go on, we will grow up to see new, unique names sprout to life. By becoming more receptive to unusual approaches to life, our horizons will broaden greatly.

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 25

Humor These articles are works of fiction. All quotes are libel and slander.

Stuyvesant Reveals Its True Colors Amidst COVID-19 I have been on a long and perilous journey through Stuyvesant High School—and not just because of all the broken escalators and burning elevators. No. Now, the halls are empty, and the corpses of those who wronged Brian Moran are withered. In my harrowing quest to retrieve my long lost locker milk, I discovered horrors yet unseen to humanity. I recount them here, hoping someone will find and read this before I succumb to the biting claws and dangerously dry chicken breasts.

It all began the moment I stepped foot into the building.

Initially, I attempted to enter through the main entrance, but an abnormally large rat wearing an abnormally small police hat squeaked aggressively at me. Fearing for my life, I fled, but remembering my 0.38-mm black Muji gel pens, I returned to the scene. This time, I decided to take a smarter approach and went through the bridge entrance. I was then approached by another rat with a police badge in its paws. Taking out one of my last possessions, I flung my identification card at the beast and ran past it as fast as I could. It seemed sated by my offering.

I cautiously navigated the sec-

ond floor, each step creating a silent thud that echoed through the seemingly empty passageways.

And yet I could not shake the curi-

I had to get to somewhere safe, somewhere I could be free of the panic that had begun to set in. I dashed to the nearest staircase I

ous feeling that had only washed over me when I watched that one scene in Ratatouille when the rats flood the kitchen.

Fear.

I couldn’t have been imagining the squealing sounds that pervaded my mind (unless perhaps they came from some spectral chorus, and Liliya Shamazov’s sopranos were rehearsing). I knew

could find and took a moment to compose myself, but the squeaking and rustling only grew louder.

How could this be?

I turned in horror to check the name of the staircase. Just as I had predicted—I was in the Hudson. My mind was melting. There weren’t any humans in this building—just rats and the occasional bug. The unthinkable crossed my

Ka Seng Soo / The Spectator

By JASMINE WANG

mind. Did rats have Rice Purity scores? It had been too long since I had seen the light of day. My hands trembled from Ferry’s withdrawal. What was I doing?

Food. I needed food. Surely food, even cafeteria gunk, would help me. I made my way up to the fifth floor and was surprised to see the cafeteria door ajar. The doorknob looked as if it had been wrenched off by the Hulk or maybe bitten off by a thousand tiny mouths. The pit in my stomach deepened even further as I pushed the door open.

There, I laid my eyes upon the strangest sight I had ever seen.

Barely holding in the gallons of bile which were threatening to flee my stomach, I gazed upon the horde of rats covering every square inch of the rotting cafeteria. The sharing table? Forget about it. It was the rat buffet table.

I didn’t even want to look in the kitchen. It was nature at its rawest, at its most brutal and devastating.

I knew I had to escape before it was too late, but I was frozen to the spot with fear. My time was limited and my days numbered. I knew the end was near. And then he came.

It was Remy, the overlord. I knew he would not show mercy.

I felt the blood drain out of my

Teachers in Their Own Words

By OLIVER STEWART

face, and in one final attempt to survive, I fled. I watched his elegant, well-groomed navy blue fur prickle at the sight of a human, his pink nose twitch with hatred, and the pupils of his eyes instantly narrow to a point like Señor Simon spotting a phone.

Almost in slow motion, I saw his tiny paw flick upward. I had no prior experience with rat sign language, but the meaning was clear: kill. Thoughts of food, escape, and hope all left my mind. All that remained was the base animal fear inside of me. This was not a building of learning or mental torture.

It was a building of hatred and abandonment, a delicately balanced ecosystem gone haywire.

There would be no more attempts at “education” in this establishment anymore.

It was a wasteland. A barren urban hive of rats seething with animalistic instincts for blood and battle.

My time has come. You know all there is to know of the wreckage of what was once the Stuyvesant building. I plan to fling this journal from the window so my words may escape and hopefully one day reach someone. All I can do is hope. Goodbye, cruel world.

Maybe through this, I can escape the eternal rat race.

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The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Sports Athlete of the Issue

We Have the Scoop on This Up-and-Coming Oberlin Recruit

By AKI YAMAGUCHI

I’m going to Oberlin and I’ll be playing D3 there, so it’ll be crucial for my game as well.

Alex Thompson Height: 6’3” Eye color: Blue Hair color: Brown Birthday: 5/9/2002

2. How was your experience playing lacrosse at Stuyvesant?

The lacrosse team is actually really important to me. When I came to Stuyvesant, it made me feel accepted and like I had a community. All my friends were on the team, so this year was going to be really exciting. I loved every second of playing on the team and I was

Courtesy of Andrey Ligayi

1. When did you start playing lacrosse?

I started playing lacrosse in sixth grade with my friends in my neighborhood. We played for a club team called Brooklyn Lacrosse, which a lot of Stuy kids eventually joined.

4. What position do you play and what does it comprise of ?

I play defense. That means we stay on our half of the field for the whole game, and if players come over, we push them out. It’s mostly about keeping your stick in the passing lane. Because lacrosse is a full-body contact sport, body checks are important—as is preventing the opponents from scoring goals. always looking forward to the season.

5. How do you deal with schoolwork and lacrosse?

Any tips?

I feel like lacrosse season actually helps me stay motivated to get good grades. If your average drops a certain amount, you’re not allowed to play anymore. Whenever I have lacrosse practice that day, I would go straight home and do my homework. Before practice, I try

3. Are there any skills you want to improve on?

I’m trying to get a stronger left hand and be faster. Your off hand can be extremely vital in lacrosse, [as] the majority of people have a dominant right hand. It doubles the threat you pose on the field.

to get my homework done so that when I get home, I would be free.

6. Do you want to continue playing past high school?

Any plans?

I have been talking to the coach at Oberlin and I’m really excited to play there. I was recruited to play on their lacrosse team and will be joining it next season. It’s a huge step up from any level I have played at before, so even though I probably will not be getting playtime in my freshman year, I hopefully will in coming years. I wasn’t really thinking about the process until this year when the opportunity arose and I thought I actually would love to do that. I really think it’ll help me in college as well.

7. What is your proudest memory and funniest memory?

I have always been proud of the team, but one moment that stands out was in my sophomore

year when we made it to the semifinals. It was the first time we had gotten that far—at least in a long time. We were all very excited and I was very proud to be on that team.

I remember our first playoff game; it was on the same day as some concert I had at Carnegie Hall for a band. I literally drove to the game in a tuxedo running from Carnegie Hall, changed in the car, and then played and took the train back. We won that game 11-1 and it was just a really great time.

Drink of Choice: San Pellegrino (the red ones) Favorite food: Bacon, egg, and cheese Motto to live by: If you don’t see a way, make one.

Fun fact: The premier lacrosse league, which was just created this year, will be airing during Olympic time slots over the summer, so if anyone is interested in the sport, they should check it out.

Sports Editorial

By KRISH GUPTA With two minutes left on the March 11, 2020: the day sports stood still. This fateful Wednesday pushed the sports world into uncharted territory as virtually everything was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. First, the virus took the NCAA away. Then the NBA. The NHL, MLS, PGA, La Liga, and ATP followed. The next days without sports felt like weeks. The next few weeks felt like months. But now, there is hope.

Bundesliga, Germany’s elite soccer league, became the first major sports league to return with games resuming on May 16, providing a glimpse of what major sports could look like for the months to come. Disinfected balls, COVID-19 tests for players, temperature checks when entering the stadium, substitutes sitting in the bleachers away from one another, and elbow bumps are now all mandatory practices in the Bundesliga.

In South Korea, the KBO professional baseball league also re-

The Great Restoration

sumed play with several preventive measures: players and coaches go through screening, umpires wear face masks during games, and the league banned chewing tobacco.

In both cases, the stands, normally packed with rabid fans, are abandoned, with life-size cardboard cutouts replacing the home team’s faithful supporters.

The play on the field was still dazzling, with high scoring matches resuming the Bundesliga season. The typical teams (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich) took home three points and the typical scorers (Erling Haaland) netted goals, but despite this normalcy, everything was still eerie: sports are simply not the same without fans. Sure, the games have to be well-played, but sports are only rallied alive with the camaraderie and passion of their fanbases.

The anthems, the boos, the cheers, the flares, and the atmosphere are what really make sports the thing they are. For now, we will have to get used to fanless sporting events, as it is unlikely that sports stadi-

ums will reopen in the foreseeable future.

We can only speculate about how this strange situation will affect sports in the near and distant future. Within the next year, sporting events will surely be played with few to no fans, but they will be more important than ever as a means of creating communities once again. In the next three years, will the coronavirus pandemic have scared sports fans out of crowded arenas? Or will more fans than ever be hungry to see their teams live? No one knows, but one thing is certain: everyone will get at least a little bit of a morale boost when sports return.

Sports leagues across the world are all training their eyes on the Bundesliga, the lab rat for the coming restoration. So far, the Bundesliga’s new beginning has been a cautious success, but officials have made it clear that any complications will result in a second shutdown. Economically, the return has been extremely lucrative, with eager sports fans in

Germany and across the world putting up record television numbers. These encouraging signs have bolstered hopes for the return of several leagues, with many teams reopening or planning to reopen their facilities in the NFL, NBA, MLS, and MLB. Spain’s La Liga has kept a watchful eye on the Bundesliga and has been cleared to resume their season as soon as June 11. In addition, the NHL announced that they would scrap the rest of the regular season and invite 24 of the top teams to one of two central locations to play a modified playoff series.

While the MLB and NFL hadn’t started their seasons before getting shut down and the MLS was just a couple of games in, the NBA is in a unique quandary.

Teams were in the thick of the playoff race when suddenly, the news that Utah Jazz star defender Rudy Gobert had the virus resulted in an immediate suspension of the season. The NBA plans to allow teams to settle into their facilities before sending them all to

Orlando’s ESPN Wide World of Sports complex to resume play.

The NBA has yet to make a decision on whether it will resume the schedule of games originally planned or go straight into playoffs as the NHL decided to do.

Both plans have downsides, resulting in the choice between robbing teams of the opportunity to compete to make the playoffs or significantly limiting the offseason.

These difficult decisions will have to be made by every league around the world as they grapple with how to deal with the most tenuous closure to the sports world since World War II. Sports leagues, like every other line of work affected by the pandemic, will have to make choices about financial ruin, player safety, fan attendance, and ticket sales. No matter how they return, sports will provide a glimmer of hope for billions across the world. Sports will remind us of how unifying they are and will connect us all in a time when we are physically alone.

Let the great restoration begin.

Sports Editorial

By PAUL LIOU and SAM LEVINE As the suspension of the 2020 MLB season continues due to the coronavirus pandemic, we decided to take a look back at one of the best offensive seasons in recent baseball memory. The rarest feat someone can accomplish offensively is the Triple Crown, meaning that a player leads all other players in their league in batting average, RBIs, and home runs.

Only seven players in the history of the American League have ever achieved this feat and only one player has in the last 50 years. That one player was Miguel “Miggy” Cabrera, and in 2012, he dominated Major League Baseball (MLB).

First, it’s important to really explain how extremely rare this feat is. The last player to achieve a Triple Crown before Cabrera was Carl Yastrzemski in 1967. To put that in perspective, Yastremski’s grandson, Mike Yastrzemski, now plays in the MLB. In order to achieve this feat, one must not

only be able to hit for contact, power, and being clutch, but they also must have been graced with at least a little bit of luck. Cabrera isn’t necessarily the best player of his generation, but seemingly, he was the most complete and had the mix of contact, power, and luck to accomplish this feat.

So how exactly did he get there? From an early age, Cabrera was a baseball prodigy. Signed by the Florida Marlins out of Venezuela at the age of 16, he quickly rose through the minor leagues.

By the age of 20, he was a budding star and part of a young and talented Marlins core. Evidence of his talent and potential was on full display during his major league debut, in which Cabrera hit a gamewinning home run and became the third player in MLB history to do so. The Marlins reached the World Series that year facing the New York Yankees, a team that won three out of the previous five years and lost in the World Series another one of those years. Cabrera didn’t let the big spot put

Shirley Tan / The Spectator

A Star Achieves Baseball Greatness: Revisiting Miguel Cabrera’s Spectacular 2012 Season

him down, and in game four, he got a chance to be a hero. After a long back and forth at bat with the great Roger Clemens, “Miggy” hit a two-run home run that helped propel the team to victory, and eventually, they rallied past the Yankees in six games. It seemed like Cabrera was going to be a part of a potential Marlins dynasty for years to come.

However, in the following years, the Marlins would not see

the same success. While Cabrera’s production only increased, the team failed to reach the playoffs.

In addition, Cabrera struggled with personal issues, including alcohol abuse and weight gain. At that point, he seemed to be one of the league’s best—but one who was unfortunately stuck with one of the league’s worst teams. Cabrera was eventually traded in 2017 to the Detroit Tigers, where he saw both team and personal successes: in 2011, the Tigers broke out in a 95-67 campaign led by Cabrera’s .344 average and while they lost in ALCS to the Texas Rangers, both the Tigers and Cabrera looked to be very successful in 2012.

And successful he was. Cabrera got off to a hot start and never looked back. With about 12 days left in the season, he stood atop the AL in batting average and RBIs, and he only trailed the Rangers’ Josh Hamilton by one home run for the lead. Hamiltons’ Rangers, however, were well ahead of the pack in the AL West for the division title, so he got some extra

days off down the stretch. Cabrera took advantage, hitting three more home runs in the last 10 games and maintaining his high batting average (along with his RBIs), ending up with a whopping .330 batting average, 44 HRs, and 139 RBIs. Nobody even topped 125 RBIs in 2019. Cabrera walked away from that season with his first MVP, the Triple Crown, and led the Tigers to the playoffs once again.

Since 2012, only two players have finished first in two of the Triple Crown categories for their league—let alone all three. Cabrera finished first in batting average once again and second in RBIs and home runs in 2013, coming fairly close to going back to back, something that would have been incredible beyond belief.

Nonetheless, Cabrera achieved greatness in 2012, accomplishing something that at the time seemed like it would never happen again.

It will likely be some time before we see someone achieve this feat again—so for now, all we can do is appreciate Cabrera’s success.

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

Page 27

Sports Coach of the Issue

Forget “Just Do It,” Just Float

By LEAH D’SILVA, ERICA LI, and JULIANNE YOTOV

Courtesy of Claire Zhu

Coach Laurie Burke Height: 5’8” Eye color: Hazel Hair color: Dark Brown Birthday: 7/29/1980 Time at Stuyvesant: 4 years

From left to right: senior and co-captain Liza Reizis, coach Laurie Burke, senior and cocaptain Ester Suleymanov.

1. When and why did you start running?

I probably started running as a little kid. This might sound strange, but the first thing I remember that motivated me to run a lot, or run far, was big open fields. Anytime I’d be in the car, like if we were driving to Vermont, I’d see a big open farm field, and I’d just want to dash across it. And in elementary school, they had an event called Pony Express, which was a little soccer field that you had to run around in. I, for some reason, got it in my head that I wanted to beat everybody, including all the boys, but I think I was only like the fourth to fastest.

2. Who was your inspiration growing up?

I think I’m a student of people, and I think I’m still growing up. So I tend to watch the parts of people

that I’m impressed with and then kind of patchwork them together to try to better myself. Somebody that I look up to is Michelle Smith, who was on my college team.

When I watched her in relation to other really talented runners whom I got a chance to run with, the thing that stood out to me about her was that it was always a game to her; she thought about the most high profile race—the most hardcore, high-stakes workout—as a challenge and game. She made our sport about play all the time, and I think it helped me not make our sport more serious than it needs to be by seeing how gutsy she could be or how crazy the race could get. She never let the politics or the worries of the sport distract her. I think she was such a fierce competitor because it was always just about having fun and throwing down, so I try to emulate that when I catch myself slipping into the worry that comes with racing, competition, and the ups and downs of our sport.

3. What was your favorite event?

That’s hard. I like the crazy ones. Steeplechase was not allowed for females when I was in high school (it started when I was in college), but I bet I would’ve wanted to try it. So that’s hard to say. I liked some of those middle distance races where the distance is long enough that people call it a distance race, but we all know that it’s really a sprint—so like the 400 hurdles and the 800, but I think I loved relays. I’ll run any distance if I get to do it with teammates.

4. What achievement are you most proud of ?

I don’t know if I can pinpoint one thing. I guess as somebody who has always been involved in some kind of teaching or coaching, I think that it’s a reciprocal process. I think of learning as a

relationship-culture with my students and athletes versus a dominant-culture where I’m the “holder of knowledge” or know-it-all who is supposed to bestow knowledge onto my students or my athletes.

Instead, I like being able to sit alongside the people that I’m either studying or training with and figure out how to be in and how to tackle different situations, such as being a track athlete in a pandemic, for example. So that’s probably something I’m proud of because I think I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to be some sort of all-knowing teacher or coach.

because it’s their ticket to an education. I think it made me think about my responsibility in the world a little bit more.

6. What made you decide to start coaching? How long have you been coaching?

To be very honest, I didn’t know much about coaching. I had the mentality that if you’re a runner, you can just turn around and coach people. I didn’t realize how much planning, thinking, and studying it takes to really be a high-quality coach or to give highquality athletes what they need.

Initially, I told myself, “I need an excuse to go outside after work each day because my bosses would have these boring meetings at the end of the day.” So I thought, “Maybe if I coach, I can go out and play.” Then, I got there and I realized the hard work it was, and I was kind of inspired by the fact that it wasn’t like glorified babysitting, but that it was actually a really serious kind of intellectual challenge. The first year, the team had a girl who ended up winning the New York State Championships at the 800-meter run, so I had to get better at coaching fast. I started coaching some athletes in Florida in 2003.

5. When did you decide to run in college and what was competitive running like in college?

I don’t remember exactly when I decided, but I remember thinking that I just had so much fun with my teammates and that they were such a family to me in high school that I had to; I didn’t want this to end. I think I also wanted to see what my body was going to be capable of because I didn’t really have one coach in high school; I had lots of different coaches. It was a little bit messy, so I thought: “Oh, if I have a college coach, how could I run?” It was very humbling at the beginning. Very humbling.

There were some definite benefits to it and there were some things that were disappointing to me.

I remember meeting teammates who were only running for the money because they needed the money to be able to go to college.

I came from some privilege where if I didn’t keep that scholarship, I wasn’t going to be taken away from the school. I knew intellectually that people didn’t always have a ton of resources or the same resources that I had to be able to go to college, but it really opened my eyes to the fact that there are some people who are doing this sport not because they love it but

7. What’s your favorite thing about running?

My favorite thing about running is the people who have changed my life for the good or shared this crazy world with me.

8. Do you have any specific running goals that you’re looking to achieve?

I think that my goal is to run on trails as much as possible and to get off roads, which I know is tricky right now. I just want to be able to be a very old lady who’s able to run, and I’m trying to preserve my knees. Right now, it’s more about the feeling than the

time. There have been times where I remember having an index card above my bed that said “57.6 for the 400” because it was the school record, and I really wanted to hit it. As a result, I haven’t been super time-oriented lately. I just don’t want to feel achy, and during this very odd time, even when we’re healthy, I think a lot of us are feeling very sluggish because our days are so strange and there are some stressors that we might not even be aware of that are taxing on us. I’ve just been trying to feel really good; that’s been my big goal—even if it means running very slowly.

9. What is your advice to somebody who wants to start running?

If you want to start running, just try to have a super open mind.

There are pictures in magazines of all these ideas of what running is supposed to look or be like or the size runners are supposed to be; you can disrupt all of that hogwash. I know girls who are barely five feet who are incredible hurdlers, and I know folks who don’t have the gait of a gazelle but could kick my butt even when I’m training as hard as possible. I think you have to be patient with your body and just try to start somewhere— even if it’s just running for five minutes and increasing it a little bit each week. Just open up your mind to the fact that it could be really anything—that it doesn’t have to be a marathon, that it doesn’t have to be on a track team, that it’s a sport that’s open for all. We don’t make cuts. At least I don’t.

Drink of Choice: Watermelon with mint, lemon, and coconut water poured over ice Favorite food: Nachos Motto to live by: Just float Fun fact: I once had to go to flying school to learn how to fly because I had to be the wicked witch in a play.

Sports Movies That are Slam Dunks

By THE SPORTS DEPARTMENT

Nothing touches the heart like a great sports movie. From a riveting film documenting an intense tennis match that broke the gender barrier to a silent Soviet Union cartoon following a football team in its rise to the top, the Sports Department has you covered with some of our favorite sports movies. So grab some popcorn, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

“My favorite sports movie is ‘McFarland, USA.’ It’s based on a true story about a high school cross country team from McFarland, California. A new coach arrives and quickly realizes that the team is exceptional. The team ends up being incredibly successful because of its great work ethic and dedication!” —Julianne Yotov, junior

“My favorite movie is ‘Moneyball.’ I might be biased because I studied this movie intensely during film class in middle school, but the movie just stuck. The sheer quality of this film undoubtedly makes it one of the best sports films. Based on a true story, ‘Moneyball’ shows how revolutionary sabermetrics was in baseball. The character arc of Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt) brings joy and tears to anyone. Undoubtedly, this movie is more than just a sports film, which is why many people like it so much.” —Tausif Tamim, junior

“True to my roots, one of my favorite movies is ‘She’s the Man’ and ‘The Blind Side.’ ‘She’s the Man’ discusses the important theme of gender equality in the sports world while being comedic and romantic at the same time. A girl pretends to be a guy to make the rival soccer team after the girls’ team gets cut from the athletic program. The boys’ team is sexist and does not believe that girls are good enough at soccer to compete. ‘The Blind Side’ is based on a true story and is about the hardships of a homeless boy who goes on to win a scholarship with the help of a football family while finding his place and a family at the same time. Both movies are truly inspiring and show that with hard work, you can achieve your goals.” —Aki Yamaguchi, junior “When it comes to sports movies, there’s definitely a lot to choose from for me: ‘Miracle on Ice,’ ‘The Longest Yard,’ ‘Creed,’ ‘Moneyball’...but in the same vein as Rudolph, I’ll go with the Soviet silent cartoon ‘Shaybu!

Shaybu!’ (which translates to ‘Puck! Puck!’) because of its sentimental significance to me. Its premise is simple: the new beginners overcome adversity to defeat the seasoned veterans. But I think that’s what captured my attention as a four-year-old and ultimately made me fall in love with the sport of hockey. Every time I return to it and see all those wacky animations that I took for granted as a little kid, I leave my world and become a four-year-old once again.” —Joshua Spektor, senior

“My favorite sports movie is a silent Soviet cartoon called ‘Football Stars’ in English. The cartoon is about a newly-hired young man coaching a failing soccer team. Through training, he transforms the team into champions. The majority of the cartoon focuses on the championship match, but what makes this film great is that everything—from the fans to the field to every time the soccer ball is passed—is hand drawn. Its creativity, along with its music, makes it my favorite sports movie.”

—Rudolph Merlin, junior

“‘Miracle on Ice’ and ‘The Mighty Ducks’ are definitely the best sports films I’ve ever watched. Though I have only watched ‘The Mighty Ducks’ when I was younger, it’s definitely a feel-good movie, and it was so popular that Disney actually founded the current Anaheim Ducks the year after it came out. It’s about Gordon Bombay, an attorney-turned-hockey-coach, who is forced to coach the worst hockey team in a Minneapolis peewee league. Though he uses some questionable tactics to push the Ducks to playoffs, he learns the value of fair play and teamwork, and even stands up to the main sponsor and namesake of the Ducks, his boss Mr. Ducksworth, in order to promote fair play within the league.

Though ‘Miracle on Ice’ is based on the true story of arguably the greatest hockey game ever, it also plays into the importance of teamwork within sports and truly displays what makes watching sports so entertaining.” —Kiki Caso, sophomore

“My favorite sports movie is ‘Battle of the Sexes.’ Billie Jean King has been the most influential sports icon in my life, as she has continuously fought for equal pay across all sports. This movie allows viewers to experience the events leading up to the historical tennis match between King and Bobby Riggs through the lens of someone in the 1970s. This movie transcends multiple decades and inspires me to continue King’s legacy.”

—Shivali Korgaonkar, sophomore

“This question is difficult as ‘Jerry Maguire’ and ‘Miracle on Ice’ are two of my favorite movies of all time. That being said, ‘Miracle on Ice’ is hands down the greatest sports movie of all time. This movie shows how passion and camaraderie can trump pure talent en route to the greatest upset in sports history. On top of that, the political friction between the U.S. and the Soviet Union at that time heightened the game to an even greater level of excitement. The movie shows the struggles and the sheer joy of winning, as well as the personalities of each of the characters. This movie left me in tears, and the best part is that it is all a true story.” —Ben Hamel, sophomore

Page 28

The Spectator ● May 31, 2020

THE SPECTATOR SPORTS Girls’ Track

Looking Back with the Greyducks in Recent Years

By LEAH D’SILVA, ERICA LI, and JULIANNE YOTOV

Recent-2A019 SEASements chiev

2018

2017-2018 SEASON

Outdoor Track • First place at the Manhattan Borough Championships • Nine PSAL City Championships qualifiers in the 3000-meters, discus throw, pole vault, and race walk for an 11th place finish

Monday at Stuyvesant

Sprint/Field: 15-minute run, Strength

Tuesday at McCarren Park

Wednesday at Stuyvesant

Thursday at McCarren Park

Distance: 14-16x200

Distance: 3-4 miles, Strides

Distance: 2 mile run, 2x200

Distance: 2 mile run, 2x200

Sprint/Field: 15 minute run, Strides

Sprint/Field: Technique Work

Sprint/Field: Technique Work

Sprint: 2 sets of 100, 200, 300, 200, 100

Friday at Stuyvesant

2018-2019 SEASON

Cross Country • First place at Manhattan Borough Championships • Fourth place at City Championships, qualifying for the New York State Federation Meet Saturday Sunday Indoor Track Icahn • Second place at Manhattan Borough Championships Track OFF • Four PSAL City Meet Championships qualifiers in the 3000-meters, 1500-meters, and triple jump, and four qualifiers in the 4 x 800 relay for an 11th place finish • Freshman Bella Stenhouse qualifies for the New Balance Nationals 3000-meters

The girls’ track team practices almost every day of the week, and track meets are usually held every weekend. Athletes are separated into groups based on their respective events (distance, sprint, and field). The following is a sample schedule for one week of training during the outdoor track season:

Distance: 4-mile run, Strength

Indoor Track • First place at Manhattan Borough Championships • Eight PSAL City Championships qualifiers in the 3000-meters, 1500-meters, triple jump, pole vault, and race walk for a ninth place finish

ON

Outdoor Track Indoor Track Cross Country • Second place at • First place at Manhattan • First place at Manhattan Manhattan Borough Borough Championships Borough Championships Championships • Four PSAL City Championships qual• Sixth place at City • Four PSAL City Championships Championship qualifiers in ifiers in the 55-meter dash, 3000-meters, 1500-meters, and race walk, and the 2000-meter steeplechase, 3000-meters, eight qualifiers for the 4 x 200 relay and 4 x 800 relay for a 19th place finish and race walk, and four qualifiers in the 4 x 800 relay for a 12th place finish

Cross Country • First place at Manhattan Borough Championships • Third place at City Championships, qualifying for the New York State Federation Meet

Team Traditions

Girls’ Cross Country, 2014

• Carrot Cake: The team shares carrot cake from Lloyd’s Carrot Cake Café across the street to celebrate each successful cross country meet.

• iHop: The team eats dinner at iHop after every Borough Champion ship.

• Scavenger Hunt: Underclassmen are divided into color-based groups to find items distributed all over Tribeca.

• Senior Gifts: Juniors present gifts to seniors in a display of affection and congratulation.

• Coed Picnic: The girls’ and boys’ teams meet in Sheep Meadow to enjoy some food, card games, and football.

• Coed Beach Day: The girls’ and boys’ teams head to Brighton Beach to enjoy the warm weather

Courtesy of Ariella Kahan

Girls’ Track, 2019

Courtesy of Claire Zhu

Sports Editorial

By PHILIP VON MUEFFLING Is it time for America’s most watched sport to prioritize a player’s health and life over football?

Absolutely.

By America’s most watched sport, we are, of course, talking about football. In recent years, controversy surrounding how the National Football League (NFL) treats and punishes dangerous hits, as well as the frequent rate of concussions, has arisen.

The NFL clearly outlines their critical stance on hitting a defenseless player. According to the official rulebook of the NFL, “it is a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture.” Essentially, any player being hit must have ample time to defend and prepare themselves for any im-

Life After Football

pending contact. I have no issue with this rule: unlike some subjective penalties like pass interference, this one is usually clear cut and obvious. The larger problems at hand are the effects that illegal hits can have on the victims of the contact.

A classic example of the dangerous results of an illegal hit is Antonio Brown, a generational talent struggling with his mental health. It is rare to see a football superstar with all the talent in the world have such a drastic fall from grace. Never have we seen someone who was generally considered to be the best receiver in the league transform to someone seen as a blatant distraction and a criminal.

On the surface, there are some very questionable actions that led to his demise, but if you take a closer look, there might be a reasonable explanation for these acts.

In the first round of the 2016 According to the Boston UniNFL playoffs, the Cincinnati Ben- versity CTE Center, CTE “is a gals led the Pittsburgh Steelers by progressive degenerative disease one point and only 22 seconds of the brain found in people with were left on the clock. a history of repetitive brain After the ball was retrauma (often athletes), leased, Brown was including sympbrutally hit by Bentomatic concusgals linebacker sions as well as Vontaze Burfict. asymptomatic The infamously subconcusdirty Burfict absive hits to solutely leveled the head Brown with a hit that do not to the head, and cause the wide receiver sympsuffered a serious toms.” concussion as a reThese cases sult. While the Steelare nothing r ato F ers were rewarded with ariha Mabud / The Spect new, as CTE has a penalty and won the game, been discovered in numerous Brown may have developed a se- NFL legends posthumously. It is rious case of Chronic Traumatic important to note that CTE can Encephalopathy (CTE) and lost only be discovered after someone his career. dies. The condition is clinically

asymptomatic, leading to a lot of uncertainty because there is truly no way to know until it is too late.

It is time for the NFL to take a much stronger stance on these issues and make the consequences of hitting a defenseless player much more severe. The fact that a dangerous player like Burfict was allowed to continue playing is unacceptable. It is crucial that in the event of a serious breach of the NFL’s defenseless player rule, a committee of the NFL immediately deliberates and votes to remove the player from the league—rather than temporarily suspending them.

The hope is that if the punishment is severe enough, it will deter the offense from ever being committed.

The time to act is now. The sports world cannot bear to see another superstar like Antonio Brown collapse.