Volume 110, Issue 17

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

June 16, 2020

stuyspec.com

Matt Melucci / The Spectator

Matt Melucci / The Spectator

Volume 110 No. 17

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

BLACK LIVES MATTER

Zoe Oppenheimer / The Spectator

Matt Melucci / The Spectator

Stuyvesant While Black

By ERIN LEE and TALIA KAHAN

George Floyd was murdered on May 25, 2020 in Minneapolis, Minnesota by policeman Derek Chauvin, who knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes, despite Floyd’s repeated cries of “I can’t breathe.” A widely circulated video of the murder sparked nationwide outrage, and protests against police brutality erupted across the country, shining a spotlight on the U.S.’s systemic racism and extensive history of discrimination against African Americans.

While many non-black students were shocked by the murder, their black peers—who make up just one percent of the Stuyvesant student body—were far from surprised by Floyd’s death. “I hate to say this, but I’ve become sort of desensitized to everything that’s happening because I start to see it more as a cycle. And I don’t know whether that cycle’s going to end or not, and that’s what breaks my heart,” freshman Sukanya Ferguson said.

Freshman Samantha Farrow agreed: “I was numb because police brutality is a normalized thing in the United States. So I was just like ‘Okay, it happened again, but this time it’s getting press.’ I wasn’t really surprised.

I was more surprised that it got the media’s attention this time.”

While acts of police brutality began receiving widespread attention through the Black Lives Matter movement in 2012, the history of police violence against black people in the U.S. stretches back as far as America itself. “You watch enough lynchings, which is what these are[:] Ahmaud Arbery and Eric Garner, and after a while [it’s] hard to just be surprised,” senior Gordon Ebanks said. “I don’t see how you can live in this country and continue to be surprised by things like this.”

Growing up, William Lohier (’19) and other black students were always aware of the history of racism in the U.S. and police brutality against African Americans. “It is an experience that every black person has become accustomed to because it happens so frequently,” Lohier said. “I understand that the killing of [Floyd] was a wake up call for a lot of people, [but] most of the black people I know have been actively grappling with this for years and years.”

Despite this knowledge, Stuyvesant was the first place where several black students were exposed to racism. “When I came to Stuyvesant, I realized I was continued on page 4

No Justice, No Peace—How Stuyvesant Students and Teachers are Protesting

By CLARA SHAPIRO

People want justice. In all five boroughs, outraged New Yorkers are making posters, masking up (hopefully), and heading onto the streets in droves. People pump their fists in the air and chant the names of black men and women who have died at the hands of the police. They hold their renderings of Floyd up high—Floyd in pencil, Floyd

with a halo and wings, Floyd in watercolor. Peaceful images.

“It was very positive. It was very calm. We were gathered peacefully,” senior Lydia Burke said of a protest near the Manhattan Bridge that she attended on the night of May 30. Burke, who has attended three different protests across the city, has observed that the protests tend to become violent when the police arrive:

“As soon as the police officers came, they were the ones who started agitating the crowd and making something very peaceful not peaceful at all.” Burke herself was shoved by the police at the Barclays Center protest on Friday night. “I felt two very strong hands shove me in the back directly forward, and I would have fallen flat on my continued on page 8

Virtual Talk Circle Around Race Addresses COVID-19 and Police Brutality Protests

By FAHIMA MIAJEE, EZRA LEE, JANNA WANG, CHLOE TERESTCHENKO, ANA-MARIA SKARICIC, and CATHERINE DELL’OLIO Stuyvesant’s Black Students League (BSL) and ASPIRA hosted a Talk Circle around Race on June 2 over Zoom. As a continuation of the monthly race talks hosted over the past year, the event allowed students to discuss racial disparities during the

COVID-19 pandemic, social-distancing enforcement, and recent events of police brutality and the ensuing worldwide protests.

Over 200 students and faculty members attended the two-anda-half-hour long discussion.

Talk Circles were held last year and organized by Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Casey Pedrick to give students a chance to engage in conversation about racial issues, though they were later facilitated

by BSL and ASPIRA leaders.

“Talk Circles in general are a way for people to come together and have a safe space to share their thoughts and opinions and […] fellowship with the others in the circle. When these first began, we followed a more traditional model, such as passing around a talking stick,” she said.

Talk Circles aim to address the racism within the Stuyvesant community and provide a safe space for students. “Our com continued on page 6

DECADE IN REVIEW

The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the world since early 2020. Similarly, the Black Lives Matter movement has rapidly spread across the United States since George Floyd’s death in late May. These past 10 years have been filled with significant moments too. Here are the biggest pieces of news from the past decade in Stuyvesant, The Spectator, and world history.

STUYVESANT FACES BUDGET CUTS

DOE LIFTS BAN ON BAKE SALES BUT PROHIBITS SELLING HOMEMADE GOODS

SENIORS IN DANGER OF FAILING

APRIL—Over 100 seniors had to go to a mandatory meeting with Principal Stanley Teitel beJANUARY—Along with other NYC cause they were at risk of not graduating due to public schools, Stuyvesant experienced MARCH—October’s petition had limited failing grades. Many had never failed a class, but success; sales were allowed but only for fruits, a one percent budget cut amounting to vegetables, and 28 specific packaged snacks. their performance had dropped precipitously $170,000. during the second term of their senior year.

Michael Hu / The Spectator

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 2

News ARISTA’s 2020 Stole Policy Creates Controversy

By MADDY ANDERSEN, TALIA KAHAN, ERIN LEE, and KAREN ZHANG

Conflict between ARISTA leaders and members emerged in the ARISTA Facebook group on June 9 after senior and Events Committee member Alex Tran posted to the group, speaking out against the revised graduation stole policy. The policy was announced on June 1 by the ARISTA Executive Council (EC), consisting of 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 order to remain an ARISTA member, students must obtain a certain number of event and tutoring credits each semester. Though stoles are traditionally given to ARISTA members who complete all their credit requirements in the second semester of their senior year, in light of the pandemic, the policy was revised to apply to the first semester instead, upsetting several seniors who had planned to fulfill the second semester requirements but did not fulfill the first semester requirements.

The conflict escalated with additional comments and posts from seniors, the EC, and Faculty Advisor Eric Wisotsky, until post commenting was turned off and posts regarding the situa-

tion were deleted from the group.

ARISTA, Stuyvesant’s honor society, follows a three-strike policy: if a member receives a total of three or more strikes, which are carried over between semesters, he or she is removed from the organization. Members may receive strikes by failing to meet event or tutoring requirements or not completing logistical tasks, such as signing in and out of events. Generally, many seniors do not fulfill their credit requirements during their first se-

requirements from the original ones released in September, in deference to seniors’ intense workload during their first semester and inability to have anticipated the abrupt change in the policy. General members were thus required to complete a total of 21 event credits and five tutoring credits instead of the original 26 event credits and seven tutoring credits. Last year, second semester seniors were required to complete 36 events credits and 20 tutoring credits.

are talking about a very small number of students whose actions denied themselves a stole.”

Seniors, however, were frustrated by the change. “I felt that it was unfair to first semester seniors who were struggling to get through college app season, which is arguably the most difficult semester. We had no idea this policy would be implemented during [the] first semester, so many people, including myself, planned accordingly,” Tran said.

ARISTA members were also

“I felt that it targeted first semester seniors who were struggling to get through college app season, which is arguably the most difficult semester. We had no idea this policy would be implemented during [the] first semester, so many people, including myself, planned accordingly.” —Alex Tran, senior mester due to the time-consuming nature of college applications but remain members, since most do not earn three strikes. During their second semester, many seniors, roughly 30 per year, fulfill the credit requirements and therefore receive a stole.

In ARISTA’s adjusted policy, stoles were awarded to members who had fulfilled event and tutoring credits—or had shown a remarkable effort to do so— during the first semester of senior year. The EC lowered these

Though other options were considered, the EC and Wisotsky felt that the adjusted first-semester policy was the fairest for distributing stoles. “We discussed the idea of every graduating senior receiving a stole, [but] after reviewing the profiles of each senior, it was clear that several were not even close to becoming eligible,” Wisotsky said in an email interview. “We are confident that every graduating ARISTA member in good standing who deserves a stole received one. We

frustrated that the revised stole policy was announced on June 1, with less than a month to virtual graduation. “I was really [upset] because it really reflects a lack of communication and convenient timing. Between March 16, when schools were officially closed, and June 1, there were no updates given regarding the distribution and requirements for senior stoles,” Tran said.

The EC initially did not plan to mail stoles to seniors because they had hoped

that Stuyvesant would be back in school in time for an in-person graduation. Once they realized this would not be the case, they began planning for a mail-order distribution of stoles. “The announcement came late because the original scenario that we had planned out did not involve sending out stoles. When we came into school for the last time, we had [no] idea that it would be the last time,” the EC said.

“We didn’t reach out to ARISTA as a whole about it because we didn’t have a set timeline, and it’s hard to say ‘Hi, things are happening, but we don’t know when they’re happening.’”

Originally, the EC had access to only 52 stoles left over from previous years, which they were able to retrieve from the building through Director of Family Engagement Dina Ingram and the Parents’ Association. The EC also ordered additional stoles through the administration for a total of 64 stoles sent out to eligible seniors. The EC gave up their own stoles so that more ARISTA members could receive one.

Seniors, who had e-mailed the EC without receiving a response about the revised stole policy, commented on Tran’s post. “A good group of us e-mailed, expressing concern over how unfair the policy was, and none of us recontinued on page 3

ARISTA Announces 2020-2021 Executive Council

By MADELYN MAO, ANA-MARIA SKARICIC, LUCY BAO, GRACE CANTARELLA, and ZIJIA (JESS) ZHANG

The 2019-2020 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—recently announced the 2020-2021 EC, consisting of juniors Emma Donnelly as President, Roshni Patel as Vice President of Events and Service, Evelyn Ma as Vice President of Operations, and May Hathaway as Vice President of Web Development. ARISTA is Stuyvesant’s honor society, and its members strive to serve Stuyvesant’s community. They participate in in-school events such as parent-teacher conferences and open houses, volunteer outside of school at places like soup kitchens or food pantries, and tutor underclassmen.

In choosing the 2020-2021 EC, the outgoing EC focused on finding members who are dedicated and adaptive. The 20192020 school year saw firsthand the importance of having an EC

who could tackle unexpected problems, as they started the year off without a faculty advisor and had to adjust after the switch to online learning. “We wanted to have an EC [who] […] could deal with any issues as they [a]rose and think of new ways to get ARISTA involved if school was not in session next year,” Ivkovic said. “People who were going to continue to act even when things were getting static or staggering.”

Magdolen agreed: “We wanted to pick people [who] were really good at adapting. And I think that the EC we chose is going to be really well suited for that.”

Moving forward, the retiring EC wants ARISTA to reach a wider audience through greater outreach. “I hope the new EC continues to expand the number of students who can benefit from [ARISTA’s tutoring services] and make it available to everyone in the city,” Zen said.

Ivkovic added, “We want a more inclusive population of students to benefit from ARISTA. And once again, we want to market ourselves a little differently to use the more social media route.”

Consequently, Donnelly’s main goal is to expand ARISTA’s services to help students outside of Stuyvesant. “As president of

ARISTA, I really want to uphold the value that volunteering is something we can contribute to inside of Stuy, but also something we can have a greater impact on outside of the community too.”

Not only will this give more opportunities for ARISTA members to gain credits, but it will also benefit the larger community.

Donnelly was inspired to grow ARISTA’s reach when volunteering during the SHSAT testing days. “I was able to see a lot of hopeful students who were taking the SHSAT. A lot of them had their hopes set on Stuy, and I realized a lot of people don’t have the same resources that many of us had,” she said. “There’s still a big educational inequity in New York City, and just seeing their faces made me really committed to service both inside and outside of school, especially in communities that may be underserved.”

Patel is tasked with arranging such events with organizations around the city. “I was an Events Leader last year, and I found that a lot of people weren’t signing up for our events. Then at the end of the year, ARISTA had to reduce our credit requirement,” she said. “This year, I’m hoping that my events committee can get a lot of events out there, a vari-

ety for people to choose from, and that more people sign up.”

ARISTA has already initiated a handful of volunteer opportunities for members amid the COVID-19 pandemic. “[Junior] Liam [Kronman], one of our Events Committee members [is] doing Stuyvesant Phone Angels, so they call people in nursing homes who aren’t allowed to see their families right now because they’re at risk of getting [COVID-19],” Patel said. “In terms of virtual events, that’s going to take up a large portion of our time.”

As Vice President of Operations, Ma hopes to expand the resources available to Stuyvesant students on the ARISTA website to accommodate each student’s individual style of learning. “Something I noticed as an ARISTA general member was the lack of diversity in the types of study materials that were provided on the website, in addition to some subjects only having study guides for a few units,” she said. “Each individual has their own unique studying style. With this in mind, I hope to consolidate a wider range of study materials for Stuyvesant students on the ARISTA website by adding Quizlets, practice problems, links to helpful Youtube videos

and websites, and other resources, to what we currently have.”

In order to accommodate the planned tutoring expansion and new study materials, Hathaway hopes to make the ARISTA website more functional. “It’s a little hard to navigate, so I definitely want to make that easier because ARISTA offers a lot of help to underclassmen, but if the website is hard to navigate, then they can’t access that, which is an issue,” she said.

As a whole, the incoming EC wants to create a greater sense of ARISTA team spirit.

“We are trying to build [a] sense of community within ARISTA. And that will [be through either spirit day or] newsletters. We will be able to directly showcase what ARISTA has been doing as well as the committees [themselves], and making sure everything is transparent, so everyone will know what ARISTA has been up to,” Donnelly said.

Ma added, “Beyond Operations, I hope to motivate all members of ARISTA to put the power they have in making a difference to use. My goal for ARISTA overall is to cultivate a strong community of engaged and driven individuals that will not hesitate to lend a hand to those in need.”

ACCELERATED STUDIES CLASS FACES DIFFICULTIES

JUNE—Accelerated Studies, a course designed to help students with poor middle school grades develop good study and work habits, was not successful. Students and teachers alike described apathetic students resentful of having to take an extra class with no credit and a lack of communication between students and mentors.

ALUMNI ASSOCIATION UNDERGOING REFORMS

JUNE—The Stuyvesant Alumni Association planned a merger of the Friends of Stuyvesant and the Campaign for Stuyvesant into the Stuyvesant Alumni Foundation, a new organization that would streamline and broaden fundraising efforts.

OCTOBER 6—Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launched Instagram.

“STUY’S ARSONIST” PLEADS GUILTY

SEPTEMBER—A junior who had set two fires in the Stuyvesant building was charged with second degree attempted arson, fifth-degree arson, and reckless engagement. Though he could have faced seven years of jail time, he was simply banned from entering Stuyvesant for his senior year.

HUMOR SECTION ADDED TO THE SPECTATOR

OCTOBER—The Spectator published its first issue with the new Humor section, featuring an article by faculty advisor Kerry Garfinkel titled “You Kids Really Can Do Better.”

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 3

News ARISTA’s 2020 Stole Policy Creates Controversy continued from page 2

ceived a reply from the EC […] I never received a response, which for me, I thought was expected in some ways. And I didn’t want it to end there, so when Alex made his post, I expressed support over it,” senior Grace Mao, who was not eligible to receive a stole, said. “Alex’s post wasn’t targeted at anyone. I thought it was worded really well that it was to the EC—it was very formal. It wasn’t like accusations or anything; it was just expressing complaints.”

The EC, on the other hand, noted that the policies for stoles and other ARISTA regulations were available on their website and felt there was no need for further discussion. “Students felt that their entitlement was justified for several reasons, and the reality is that our policies are clearly outlined on our site,” the EC said. “Even though they may say something is true or may take it as fact, everything can be double checked on our site.”

Wisotsky later became involved in the conflict after he was added to the ARISTA Facebook group once Tran made his post. Many seniors were alarmed, believing Wisotsky should not have been allowed in the group.

“Watching the way that the [EC] and faculty advisor responded to this was really upsetting because the ARISTA group has always been public and student-run,”

senior Kelsey Xu said. “I don’t know how appropriate it is for a teacher to be in a student group, like I am pretty sure there are DOE standards against that.”

According to Department of Education (DOE) regulations, “In order to maintain a professional and appropriate relationship with students, DOE employees should not communicate with students who are currently enrolled in DOE schools on personal social media sites.” In addition, Student Union President Vishwaa Sofat said, “[The] administration should not have access to [communication with students through] social media. We hope that the administration takes action to prevent this in the future.”

According to Principal Eric Contreras, however, these DOE regulations permit faculty members to be in groups that are part of a school club’s function. “Whatever happens in the school classroom in terms of faculty oversight extends into that digital space if it’s a function of a school activity,” he said.

After posting, Wisotsky deleted both Tran’s and Mao’s posts and turned off commenting on his own. “I feel we are being censored […] now if you look at the ARISTA group, besides Wisotsky’s own post, it’s as if this didn’t happen; it’s as if nothing happened,” Mao said.

“That doesn’t seem fair in any way because we’ve always used the Facebook group as a means

of communication. It doesn’t seem right that they can just add an authority figure, and he can go about his day and just try to erase the issue and bring it back to private; when in reality, it involves the entire society.”

According to the EC, however, the comments made in the Facebook group were inappropriate, which subsequently led to Wisotsky’s involvement. “There were comments of a personal nature that were alarming to him, not just as a faculty advisor, not just as a teacher, but as a dean, so […] he followed standard protocol of any Stuyvesant faculty member,” the EC said.

Wisotsky added in an e-mail interview, “The ARISTA Facebook group is […] not a place for airing grievances or discussing individual issues […] when students are targeted [by] public ridicule and intimidation in a student organization, be it in person or online in the official social media group of a sanctioned Stuyvesant organization, it is necessary for the faculty advisor to intervene.”

Many seniors felt the issue regarding the stoles emerged from a systemic problem of lack of communication and transparency in ARISTA over the past years. Though many had voiced their concerns through e-mails, they ultimately did not see much change. “In the past, I know I discussed many issues privately with the ARISTA, various ARISTA e-mails, and nothing was re-

ally done about them,” Xu said.

“E-mailing them doesn’t get any effect. Nothing gets done in [email]. That’s been seen over and over again over the last two years.”

Another point of contention between seniors and the EC has been the lack of transparency regarding how membership dues— which were $50 last year and $55 the previous year—are used. “$55 is a lot for dues. At our initial orientation, they told us that dues would cover the cost of the shirts and a gold stole for graduation,” Xu said. “That is so much money for students, especially for a school that has so many low-income students. That’s just one of those transparency issues because they never state where that money is going beyond a shirt and a stole—a stole for which is not guaranteed.”

In the spring of 2019 though, ARISTA subsidized the $50 dues for students who qualified for free or reduced lunch to $15 and $30, respectively. “Every single year we say, ‘If you have an issue paying dues, the first thing you should do is reach out to us,’ because we really seriously feel that money shouldn’t be a barrier from entering ARISTA,” the EC said.

The EC clarified that dues are spent on “stoles, shirts, and etc.” but declined to elaborate on what “etc.” entails besides meals for Parent Teacher Conference volunteers and administrative expenses. The EC stated, however, that ARISTA members

may freely reach out to them to know how the budget is used.

“We can’t really discuss what we use our money for outside of the organization. We’ve emphasized multiple times over [e-mail] and at the general meetings that any member who had questions about anything about how their money was being used [could reach] out to us,” they said.

ARISTA members’ issues with the organization have led them to feel that it has failed to uphold its mission statement.

“This whole event is such a clear example of ARISTA not prioritizing the mindset behind volunteer work and what ARISTA is supposed to stand for because their pillars are character, leadership, scholarship, [and service],” Xu said. “The entire EC and Wisotsky’s behavior and reaction to this just felt very unprofessional and very, very closed off.”

As the 2020-2021 ARISTA President, junior Emma Donnelly hopes to improve communication and make ARISTA more transparent. “The problem with the stoles situation was that we communicated too late to the ARISTA members about how the stoles were going to be distributed, and there wasn’t a lot of clarity as to why they made this decision and how many people would be affected by it,” she said. “In the future, we just need to lay the facts out straight to the ARISTA members and make sure they know the reasoning behind our decision.”

Stuyvesant Plans to Host a Virtual Graduation

By JADY CHEN, EZRA LEE, THEO SCHIMINOVICH, ANDY CHEN, and MOMOCA MAIRAJ

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, plans to host an in-person graduation ceremony for the senior class on June 23 have been canceled. In response, the administration and the Parents’ Association have begun planning a virtual, pre-recorded graduation for the class of 2020 to be live-streamed by the graduating seniors and their families.

The ceremony, which is to be recorded through MarchingOrderVirtual Ceremony Solutions, will be released on June 30, with each senior contributing a photograph of himself or herself, a personalized message, and an optional selfie video. Graduation regalia is scheduled to be delivered to students by June 12. “Students will have slides where they can upload images, videos, and quotes that they want displayed. It will be alphabetical by last name.

We will have speeches and other performances, but they will all be pre-recorded,” Coordinator of Student Affairs Matthew Polazzo said in an e-mail interview.

To accommodate for the

changes in graduation, senior dues were modified accordingly.

“We gave seniors the option of purchasing a graduation package that included their cap and gown, tassel, senior t-shirt, diploma case, and yearbook,” Senior Caucus Co-President Hana Kim said in an e-mail interview. “If they decided they wanted to receive this, they could [choose to either] receive partial refunds if they had already paid their dues earlier, pay the modified dues (which totaled to $140), or donate the difference to Stuyvesant.”

Tr a d i t i o n a l l y, chorus members sing at Carnegie Hall, where the graduation ceremony is normally held.

Because of the in-person cancelation, many were disappoint- ed at not having the opportunity to sing there this year. “I am kind of disappointed that chorus is no longer performing [live] at graduation. I was really looking forward to singing ‘Baba Yetu’ with

the other choruses,” sophomore Sophia Li said in an e-mail interview. “Performing at Carnegie Hall last year was such an electrifying experience. It felt almost surreal, standing on one of the most famous stages in America.”

Instead, the graduation video will contain a pre-recorded performance by current seniors in chorus, who will sing “Carrickfergus,” in addition to other songs that were intended for the spring chorus concert, which

Yume Igarashi / The Spectator

was also canceled. “I have been working with my chorus seniors on a virtual piece that they chose to sing. Currently, I’m editing it. Hopefully, the editing goes

well, and the piece will be ready in time to be featured at graduation,” music teacher Liliya Shamazov said in an e-mail interview.

Despite not being able to sing at Carnegie Hall, Shamazov has been enthusiastic about the performance. “There are about 60 seniors participating in this virtual choir performance. Most of them have sung (or played piano) with me for the past four years. While not the same as singing together live, this is still a wonderful way for the singers to connect musically and unite in song during our current situation,” she said.

Senior Julian Wong agreed.

“It’s a pretty cheerful way to end off our time at Stuy’s chorus, and considering the circumstances, it’s the best that can be done,” he said in an e-mail interview.

Many seniors expressed disappointment in ending their senior year with a virtual graduation. “You already have all of your wonderful and less wonderful memories, many of them unique to Stuy and the people there; what can a frankly, really generic ceremony meaningfully add?” senior Aaron Wang said in an e-mail interview. “Unfortunately, the seeing friends live part is right out. We aren’t even get-

STUYVESANT RECEIVES AND SPENDS TITLE I FUNDING

ting this [live] over the internet.”

Though Wang had hoped for the graduation to be live, a pre-recorded video was the most viable option for the virtual graduation. “[A live graduation would have] too many moving parts, too many things that could go wrong, [and] too many graduates to qualify for existing vendors,” Polazzo said.

“We all know that a virtual graduation is not as good as the real thing, but we are working hard on it and hope that it can be sufficient until the time that we can all get together again in person.”

Despite the circumstances, many seniors appreciate the effort put into creating a virtual graduation. “The efforts of the SU and the Senior Caucus are very commendable and definitely deserve recognition,” Wong said.

Kim hopes to hold an in-person graduation in addition to the virtual graduation in the future.

“We are aiming to hold an in-person graduation when the situation allows. We don’t know if it will be in the upcoming winter or even next spring, but we intend to make this a priority,” Kim said. “In the meantime, we did want to have some form of celebration—graduating, after all, is no easy feat.”

FEBRUARY 11—The Egyptian Revolution ended with Hosni Mubarak’s resignation, handing power over to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

DECEMBER—For the first time in 60 years, Stuyvesant received Title I funding, as the percentage of students who had to qualify for free or reduced lunch in order for a school to qualify was lowered from 60 to 40 percent. Stuyvesant spent this $1.6 million budget on hiring new teachers, funding AIS tutoring, creating freshmen workshops, and expanding parental involvement programs.

DECEMBER 22—President Barack Obama repealed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals from serving openly in the U.S. military.

Michael Hu / The Spectator

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

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News Stuyvesant While Black

continued from page 1

black, and it had never been such a formative part of my life before, but it has continued to define my experience here at Stuyvesant,” junior Sarai Pridgen said.

Stuyvesant has also altered their perceptions of anti-black racism, which is traditionally depicted with white perpetrators. While Venus Nnadi (’18) was not surprised to hear racist comments from her white peers, she was taken aback when hearing those same comments from other students of color. “The first time I experienced a nonblack person saying the n-word— with a hard r—was an Asian person. An Asian boy threatened to lynch me,” Nnadi said.

The use of the n-word by non-black students is a frequently cited example of racism and prejudice at Stuyvesant. “A lot of people say that saying the n-word colloquially if you’re not black isn’t racist, but it’s about respect.

If black people tell you that that’s not a word they’re comfortable with you using or disrespects their humanity, but you continue to say it, well then I don’t understand how you can say you respect black people,” Ebanks said.

Racism can come in other forms too, such as casual stereotypes or microaggressions. “I guess it is just instances [when] I was hearing the n-word or having the n-word addressed to me or other racial assumptions about who I am, where I live, my family background, my income, education, maybe my vernacular, my music taste—things like that,” junior Tolulope Lawal said.

Other incidents of racism, however, are far more extreme.

Nnadi described an encounter she had with a peer in her junior year.

“We were having presentations in AP Chemistry, and basically the more people who participate in your presentation, the more points you would get,” she said. “We’re outside the class, and he goes, ‘Venus, you better participate in my presentation, or I’ll lynch you.’

And I remember this was on the eighth floor because it was [after] physics, and I’m going down the escalator all the way to the second floor because I had lunch, and I’m literally just going through the entire alphabet thinking of all the words that rhyme with lynching, like what could he have possibly said? The only thing was pinch, but like, who goes up to you and says they’re going to pinch you?”

The next year, as a senior and Copy Editor for The Indicator, Nnadi received a yearbook submission in the form of an acrostic that spelled out a curse word followed by the n-word. To her dismay, the administration did not respond the way she hoped. “We brought it to [SPARK Counselor] Angel [Colon] first, he brought

it to administration and [Assistant Principal of Security Brian] Moran’s concern was like, ‘Oh my god, are they going to take this to the press,’” Nnadi said.

“The concern is always the outrage and punishment you know; it’s never actually about how we feel about students who are literally using racial slurs against us.”

News outlets frequently reach out to Nnadi and other black students. The New York Times reporter Eliza Shapiro, in particular, has written numerous articles detailing the experiences of the few black and hispanic students at Stuyvesant. “The press is in our inbox every single day. We could really light Stuy up. But we choose not to a lot of the time,” Nnadi said. “So it’s frustrating when we choose to remain silent when literally all these news sources are in our [e-mails] asking us to speak about our experience at Stuy, and we ignore it [and] Stuy administrators don’t listen to us.”

Current students have noted, however, the school’s attentiveness to racism aimed at black students, from Assistant Principal of Guidance Casey Pedrick’s extensive support of the Race Round

“I do think that we need to find ways to get more […] black and latinx people into Stuyvesant, but also: how do we justify bringing those students in, especially freshmen, into a school environment that doesn’t really want them to be here, that’s not conducive to them?” Ebanks said.

With so few black students— in the 2018-2019 academic year, there were 29 black students—at Stuyvesant, change has been difficult to enact. “When you’re in a place where there’s so few people of one group, their voices will never be heard as much as they scream and shout,” Nnadi said.

Furthermore, the small number of black students at Stuyvesant means that they are often pushed into the role of the racial mediator. “I have been singled out as one of the very few black people—black freshmen, at least—I’ve been singled out as the person that’s more sociable and more able to talk to other races more easily, but yeah, I never really liked that,” Ferguson described.

It is especially difficult for black students to carry the burden of dismantling racism at Stuyvesant. “A lot of the onus for edu-

“When I came to Stuyvesant, I realized I was black, and it had never been such a formative part of my life before, but it has continued to define my experience here at Stuyvesant.” —Sarai Pridgen, junior Table Talks to the administration’s enforcement of regulations following the Poly Prep incident two years ago, when a video of a former Poly Prep and current Stuyvesant student in blackface was leaked. “Once [Eric] Contreras became principal, he would come to our meetings, sit in and listen to us, and obviously being a latinx man himself—and his daughter was also in ASPIRA while I was there—he was more sympathetic to the cause,” Nnadi said.

Though blatant racism at Stuyvesant, such as use of the nword, does not come from all students, black students have noted their peers’ complicity when witnessing this racism. “The danger that I think Stuyvesant specifically has is that a lot of the students here are just completely complicit about it. And I think that’s because we don’t have a school environment that has always pushed students to stand up for what is right,” Pridgen said. “Most people just feel comfortable letting it slide, which isn’t a good alternative. It just means that a lot of hatred and a lot of these ideas fester and go unchecked.”

In addition, non-black students frequently brush off their black peers’ achievements, crediting their academic accomplishments solely to the color of their

CONTROVERSIAL VIDEO CAUSES MAJOR STIR

FEBRUARY—Five white male students filmed themselves rapping using racially and sexually inflammatory slurs. The video was sent to a black female student, who posted it on her Facebook wall. The students faced a five-day suspension.

FEBRUARY 15—The First Libyan Civil War, an armed conflict between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gadaffi and foreignbacked troops attempting to expel his government, broke out.

skin. For example, while admission to a highly selective college should be cause for celebration, black students are often told that they owe their success not to the hard work they have put in, but to the advantage they gleaned from affirmative action. “A lot of black students at Stuy get [EXPLETIVE] about affirmative action, about just college stuff in general,” Lohier said. “I do not understand why it has not registered, that [being against affirmative action] is racist, that is literally anti-black.”

The issue of school admissions also extends to the SHSAT, a controversial topic in and out of Stuyvesant. “[Stuyvesant] students are by and large smart enough to know the historical and psychological reasons why black students are struggling in schools, why their schools are underfunded,” Ebanks said. “But when it comes time to talk about real change, well then suddenly everybody is an advocate for educational reform in the middle schools, which is kind of a way of saying, ‘Well, we want to help black people as long as it doesn’t interfere with anything we want.’”

For many, the racism at Stuyvesant has made their overall

high school experience a negative one. Others have a more positive take on their time as Stuyvesant students. “It’s kind of bold to assume that just because you are a racial minority at a school […] you’re going to have a terrible time and you’re not going to enjoy anything,” Lawal said. “Of course, coming from a predominantly black neighborhood and a predominantly black education, I was kind of culturally shocked when I came to the school, but I met really good people, and I have experienced many good things that I would never regret experiencing.”

Middle schoolers are aware of Stuyvesant’s reputation, however, and often avoid enrolling due to its environment. “The few black people and few latinx people who get into Stuy— a lot of them don’t come because they hear about these things,” Nnadi said. Farrow, for example, expected Stuyvesant’s environment to be much worse than it is for her. “I don’t hate the Stuy community—I love Stuy. I feel like it’s a nice place to learn and grow to be a better person; I just want a little bit,” Farrow laughed, “a lot more diversity. I don’t hate Stuy.”

But the issue of black students’ enrollment at Stuyvesant has proven more complex than their perceptions of the school.

cating, for calling people out, falls on black and latinx students, and that should not be the case. Just like everyone else, black students are there to learn, to get an education,” Lohier said. “The black students are amazing, and talented, and outspoken and so willing to do this—the burden should not entirely fall on black students to educate you, to educate anyone.”

The outsize burden shouldered by black students in combating racism at Stuyvesant is only made more difficult when peers criticize them for speaking out. “When we start shaming people who are simply taking what should be a normal step to make this environment less racist, when we start condemning them and making fun of them, as far as I’m concerned, you can contribute to the same sort of racist rhetoric that’s problematic in the first place,” Pridgen said.

Lohier agreed: “If you don’t want black students to be calling you out, then you should call each other out for your antiblackness. It is literally as simple as that. People are mad at black students for calling stuff out but then don’t call each other out.”

Black students are disappointed with not only how their non-black peers approach racism at Stuyvesant, but also how

APRIL 29—Kate Middleton and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, got married. Their ceremony was broadcasted on television with an estimated audience of two billion people worldwide.

MARCH 11—A series of tsunami waves prompted by an 8.9 magnitude earthquake swept across northern Japan. The combined earthquake and tsunami devastated the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, causing radiation to leak into the neighboring area.

some of them approach it on social media. “There’s a part of me that feels like a lot of people are posting out of guilt, and there’s also a part of me that feels like some people actually do care, but I can’t really tell whether it’s one or the other,” Ferguson said.

“If you care, then show that you care, but if you’re doing it out of guilt, it doesn’t feel the same.”

Pridgen also expressed her frustration with the hypocrisy and disingenuousness of her peers on social media. “What disturbs me the most is when I see social media posts from people that I know don’t take that sort of [anti-racist] mentality seriously,” she explained. “That’s when I think we approach virtue signaling, and that’s a very dangerous mentality, because it’s hard to fix.”

Many black students feel that their peers have not just been posting out of obligation, but to prove that they are just as, or even more progressive than, others.

“It seems like a challenge. You’ve turned the movement into a challenge. And just something about that doesn’t sit right with me,” Ferguson said. “I know the intentions are to spread awareness, but at the same time, you’re telling me to tag 10 other people that are going to say ‘black lives matter.’ And especially me, I know black lives matter. My black life matters.”

Instead, the Stuyvesant community must face its entrenched racism head-on to make more welcoming spaces for future black and hispanic students. “I want people not to just post a lot and do a lot right now while everythings happens, but to internalize what you are posting, internalize what you are reading, so that when you go into Stuy, it’s a better environment for black and brown kids who are coming later,” junior Falina Ongus said.

Similarly, Lawal would like to see not only more conversation, but also more constructive action on both sides. “It should be equal effort on both parts to try to understand each other and try to come to a compromise,” she said.

“And so not only should people be speaking, but people should also be listening, and as much as they can, people should try to care and educate themselves.”

Black students hope to see their non-black peers not only actively confront racism at Stuyvesant, but also reflect on and address their own internal biases.

“I understand that not everybody can go protest and that not everybody can vote,” Farrow said. “But I am expecting them to change how they approach these situations, how they talk to people who aren’t from their same race, how they deal with situations in school, and how they sit back and watch people be stereotyped in school.

I want to see actual change.”

POLAZZO COMPETES ON JEOPARDY!

MAY—Social Studies teacher Matthew Polazzo competed in the Jeopardy Teachers Tournament, in which teachers from all around the country compete to win $100 thousand. Polazzo was a semifinalist and won $10 thousand.

MAY 2—Osama bin Laden was killed by a United States Special Operations unit in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 5

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The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 6

News Virtual Talk Circle Around Race Addresses COVID-19 and Police Brutality Protests continued from page 1

munities have had enough, [and] our student voices and allies are echoing this at Stuyvesant.

We have a right to be respected [and] co-exist in safe spaces in our community,” SPARK Faculty Advisor Angel Colon said in an e-mail interview. “Let’s stop the insensitive racial microaggressions in our school building and […] classrooms. Let’s stop perpetuating this ignorance [and] recommend cultural competence in becoming better people as well as promoting inclusion for all.”

The recent Talk Circle was facilitated by junior and vice president of BSL and ASPIRA Sarai Pridgen and senior and BSL copresident Gordon Ebanks and moderated by juniors BSL copresident Falina Ongus and BSL vice president Tolulupe Lawal. To encourage discussion virtually, participants were split into small breakout rooms to discuss various questions. When regrouped, participants used the raise-hand feature to share their thoughts.

The chat feature was open for the attendees to respond to the moderators’ questions or open discussion with each other.

The Talk Circle began with a conversation on disparities within the American healthcare system, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, addressing discrepancies in how local police approach social distancing regulations in different neighborhoods. The discussion delved into the participants’ thoughts on police brutality, with conversation centering around George Floyd and the protests. Major talking points also addressed racial dynamics in America, white supremacy, and the response of President Donald

By VEDAANT SHAH, SAMIA ISLAM, ALICE ZHU, AND RAVEN (RUIWEN) TANG In an update sent to families on May 19, NYC Department of Education (DOE) Chancellor Richard A. Carranza announced that summer school will be conducted remotely this year. High school students who receive a “Course in Progress” grade or NX on their report card, will participate in summer school from July 6 to August 14.

“Course in Progress” grades are part of the revised grading policy for the 2019-2020 school year, which the DOE announced on April 28. With the new grading policy in place, no student will receive a failing grade. Instead, students will receive “Course in

Trump in light of recent events.

Both BSL and ASPIRA members had been hoping to do a virtual Talk Circle given the current political climate and the timing of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past two weeks, the murder of Floyd by policeman Derek Chauvin brought racial issues and police brutality to the forefront of American politics.

“When the [Floyd] incident got a lot of attention and all of a sudden, lots of protests and riots started happening, it seemed appropriate to contextualize a talk on race that we were planning to have [on] what is going on right now,” Pridgen said.

Colon added, “As America [and] NYC [are] mostly quarantined, many were available to watch at home [and] aroundthe-clock television/social media coverage of a horrific public lynching! Let’s call it what it is. We learned about the Civil Rights Movement, [and] we are revisiting it now through the Black Lives Matter Movement in revisiting our human rights, our flawed social justice systems, [and] the systemic institutions and systemic culture of racism [and] disparities.”

When planning the Talk Circle, Pridgen aimed to present talking points objectively to allow participants a platform for discussion. “I figured that because we were doing a Talk Circle in an online format, it was going to be really, really hard to have substantive, engaging conservations, such as debates or arguments that make everyone more engaged as we usually do,” Pridgen said. “The first thing we wanted to do was give some facts […] all of the points that we made were actually a collection of newspaper clippings that were found online and aggregated together.”

Through social media, both teachers and students alike heard about the Talk Circle. A few teachers had heard about the event through the BSL and ASPIRA Facebook page, while students were notified about the Talk Circle by the Student Union, Caucuses, and Big Sib Chairs. “I told them that I thought this event was super important and that the leaders of our community should be there to participate and encourage others to be there too,” Pridgen said.

Unique to a virtual discussion, the chat feature on Zoom allowed for more engagement compared to a traditional Talk Circle. “Honestly, the comment section was popping off.

Some of the most beautiful, inspired, informed, and empathetic stuff I’ve read in days lived in that chat. People respectfully discussed and listened to each other and were so deeply supportive of each other (the “^^^^” makes me so happy),” English teacher Lauren Stuzin said. “Some of what was written in there was actual literature that I wish I could’ve saved and shared. A lot of the work we did as a community was in the chat.”

The Talk Circle had an extraordinary turnout and participation from many of the attendees, garnering a higher attendance than in previous sessions. “The event was very respectful. A lot of people participated; that was something I was really happy to see. At one point, there were 200 people, and with every question, there were multiple hands, and people had things to say,” Ongus said. “And it was pretty cordial.

Even in the chat, there was a lively discussion because people had a lot to say, but they were considering each others’ opinions.”

Pridgen was pleased to see

the large number of participants who were engaged in the discussion, both in the breakout rooms and the wider discussion. “There was never a situation where nobody wanted to answer a question,” Pridgen said. “There were all sorts of arguments and articles being brought up [in the chat] and that effort, to me, was moving.”

Junior Lara Somoroff found the Talk Circle extremely informative in shedding light on institutionalized issues and hearing the perspectives of black Stuyvesant students. “Initially joining the talk, I was hoping to get to further learn and talk about all of the issues and flaws in our country and how they have specifically been placed to oppress black people. I wanted to hear what people my age had to say about this,” Somoroff said.

Both students and teachers were thoroughly impressed by the event and its organizers. “[I was] so impressed with the work BSL and ASPIRA did to prepare for, facilitate, lead, and moderate that discussion. That could not have been easy generally and under the circumstances,” Stuzin said in an e-mail interview. “I thank BSL and ASPIRA leaders for bravely pushing the Stuy community to ask some important questions and have crucial discussions.”

Pridgen, however, felt that it was very difficult to manage the Zoom call, as she ran into an issue sorting people into breakout rooms. “I wasn’t sure at first when the breakout rooms wouldn’t sort people out automatically, because there were some situations where people were alone in the breakout room,” Pridgen said.

Despite this, many felt the breakout rooms were a good way for them to share their thoughts.

“Generally, mine worked. I met two awesome people I didn’t

know, and we had some good discussions,” Stuzin said. “Our group thinned out/switched over [toward] the end though, and I know some people experienced the same. But given the limitations of discussing something of a revolution during a pandemic, I think they worked pretty well.”

Pedrick agreed: “I think it was a very smart idea of the student organizers to have us continually break out with the same people because it allowed you to build trust […] so each time in the three minutes with the two students I was with, [we] would learn a little bit more about each other.”

Though BSL and ASPIRA have yet to plan another Talk Circle, Pridgen supports organizing smaller calls with friends to continue discussions. “We’re going to have to wait to see how these riots play out [for a call this summer] but that being said, I’m always more than happy to group together a bunch of friends and just talk about current events, within any context,” Pridgen said.

Nevertheless, BSL plans to continue hosting Talk Circles in the future and hopes to see just as much participation. “It was good that a lot of people came to the Talk Circle and a lot of people shared what they felt, but it is also important to keep this going and have more people come to future Talk Circles and [be] willing to share what they think,” Ongus said.

Overall, virtual or in-person, many feel the Talk Circles have been a success. “Always my hope with the Talk Circles from when they began last year until now is having our students feel that they have a safe space to talk about what is often seen as an inflammatory topic— race,” Pedrick said. “And I have seen that every time we have had these circles.”

DOE Announces Plans for Summer School Progress,” allowing them to ful- GPA down one or two points,” Seniors, who no longer have edge for the upcoming academic fill the course requirements after the school year ends without having to retake the class entirely.

Students may request to convert any passing spring semester grade to CR (Credit Received), meaning that while the student will earn credit for the course, it will not impact their GPA. Many students are unwilling to convert their grades to CR, however, because they are worried the implication that they performed below-average in a course will negatively affect them in the future. “I am confident about my grades, and I feel like I’d rather keep them than CR them. I think CRing grades would have a worse effect on my transcript than keeping them, even if they bring my

sophomore Victor Veytsman said in an e-mail interview.

Sophomore Jennifer Sun agreed: “I feel like it would seem suspicious to colleges if you CR a grade, even if it’s not that bad.”

Other students feel that colleges will be lenient and understanding when reviewing transcripts given the current circumstances. “I do think [converting a grade to CR] might have a negative effect on my college transcript, but I’ve heard rumors about how they’ll use your previous performances within the subject,” freshman Jesse Ding said in an e-mail interview.

“I’d like to think that colleges are forgiving and [that] they understand that everyone has been struggling with the pandemic.”

ADMINISTRATION TAKES DOWN CRUSH LIST

JUNE—After the New York Post and the New York Daily News caught wind of Stuyvesant’s tradition of posting senior crush lists the previous year, the administration took down the crush lists posted in the senior atrium.

ADMINISTRATION INTRODUCES STRICT DRESS CODE

JUNE—With warmer weather upon the school, the administration introduced a new dress code that prohibited midriffs, backs, and shoulders from being exposed and required that the hemline of all skirts fall below the bottom of one’s fingertips when standing upright.

the pressure of the college application process, feel more inclined to convert grades to CR. “Going into college as a STEM major, I’ve decided to prioritize my work in my STEM classes more than my humanities classes,” senior George Zhou said in an email interview. “I think being a senior has had [a] big impact on my decision. If I were a junior, I would have still been a robot mindlessly doing work without thinking about the reason for doing it. In addition, I can afford to CR [a] class as a senior.”

Students who receive a grade of NX are expected to attend remote summer school. The program will be held four or five days a week and focus on helping students gain prerequisite knowl-

year. In addition to completing assignments, students will be able to participate in virtual field trips and social-emotional learning activities. The DOE will continue distributing laptops to students in need to ensure that remote learning functions as easily as possible.

Some students, however, believe the problems that arose during the school year will arise again during remote summer school. Junior Anna Lu said, “If students aren’t able to complete their schoolwork because of issues with the Internet, access to a device, or other barriers to remote learning, I don’t think it’s fair to expect those problems to be fixed when remote summer school starts.”

AUGUST 21-28—Hurricane Irene, the first of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, struck the Bahamas and the east coast of the United States, where over three million people lost power. The hurricane cost $15.8 billion in damage.

JULY 9—South Sudan gained its independence from Sudan, with 99 percent of the South Sudanese population casting their ballots for the split.

FORMER STUYVESANT LIBRARIAN VINDICATED OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT CHARGES

SEPTEMBER—Former librarian Christopher Asch was fired in June 2009 due to a sexual harassment report filed by four male students. Two years later, in 2011, he was officially vindicated of all charges and declared a victim of anti-homosexual discrimination.

Asch was the faculty advisor for several clubs at Stuyvesant and was a librarian for seven years until he was suspended from his position.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 75

News: Decade in Review By the Numbers: The Gender Breakdown of Past Stuyvesant Leaders

By MADDY ANDERSEN and KAREN ZHANG

According to a survey done by the New York State Education Department in October 2018, 43 percent of Stuyvesant students identify as female, while 57 percent identify as male. While the genders of an organization’s leaders may not accurately reflect the gender breakdown of its members, The Spectator analyzed the gender distribution of five major organizations’ leaders at Stuyvesant—the ARISTA Executive Council, the Big Sib Chairs, the SING! Coordinators (in years where this position did not exist, we used the Executive Producer instead), The Spectator Editors-in-Chief, and the Student Union President and Vice President—over the last decade.

Here’s what we found:

ARISTA Executive Council

Spectator Editor in Chiefs Non-binary

Male 4.8% 26.9% Male 42.9% Female 52.4%

Female 73.1%

SING! Coordinators

Big Sib Chairs

Student Union Presidents and Vice Presidents Female 10.0%

Male 43.6%

Male 45.5%

Female 54.5%

Female 56.4%

Male 90.0%

Stuyvesant to Host Virtual Camp Stuy Part I

In light of the COVID-19 pandemic and the transition to remote learning this year, Camp Stuy Part I will be held virtually on June 19.

In order to accommodate the large number of incoming students, Big Sibs, and faculty attending, the event will be held through Zoom.

The itinerary will be broken into two sections: a large introduction webinar hosted by the Stuyvesant administration, followed by individual homeroom bonding time between the Big Sibs and their Little Sibs. During the webinar, Principal Eric Contreras will give a short welcome to the incoming class, followed by statements from Director of Family Engagement Dina Ingram, Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Casey Pedrick, SPARK Faculty Advisor Angel Colon, Black Student League and ASPIRA representatives, and the Big Sib Chairs.

The webinar will then transition to individual homeroom meetings through separate Zoom links for each homeroom. Students will leave the large webinar and enter their homeroom Zoom rooms, each with about 35 students and six Big Sibs, to familiarize themselves with the Stuyvesant community. “Incoming students will meet their guidance counselors, meet their Big Sibs, play virtual ice-breakers, and set up their Stuy [e-mails]. [T]hough it will vary for each homeroom, we expect

most groups to be done by 5:456 p.m.,” junior and Big Sib Chair Elena Hlamenko said in an e-mail interview. After Camp Stuy Part I, each homeroom will establish a way to communicate with each other, most likely through a Facebook group or Messenger chat.

Under normal conditions, placement exams and logistical matters such as swim tests, music auditions, and taking student ID photos are conducted during Camp Stuy Part I. Because they cannot be conducted physically this year, other arrangements have been made.

Students who wish to be placed in the second year of their chosen language will have a language placement interview over Zoom with a teacher. Families will fill out forms on Talos for swimming, math placement, and preferences for other classes. “Music auditions, similarly to the languages, are optional, and the incoming have been contacted, and Google Classrooms have been created to facilitate this process,” junior and Big Sib Chair Anaïs Delfau said in an e-mail interview. “The status of ID photos is unknown because this cannot be easily conducted virtually.”

Currently, the families of incoming freshmen are in the process of filling out information in the Talos portal so that they can begin the programming process and language placement interviews over Zoom. “I have already created and uploaded all the information to the Incoming Student Portal on Talos and sent incoming parents/guardians the link to their Talos account,” In-

gram said in an e-mail interview.

A virtual Camp Stuy Part I may be advantageous, as a digital medium will reduce paperwork and allow for immediate assistance with e-mail set-up. Communicating with Big Sibs online may also be easier for some students than inperson interaction. “[Camp Stuy] is a much shorter event online (only two hours) compared to a full day event,

Lauren Chin / The Spectator

By JENNY LIU, FAHIMA MIAJEE, MAGGIE SANSONE, JANNA WANG, and SAKURA YAMANAKA

s o t h e r e ’s less to plan, even if there are a lot more technical obstacles to overcome,” junior and Big Sib Chair Andrea Huang said in an e-mail interview.

Hosting a virtual Camp Stuy Part I comes with a set of new disadvantages.

Communication with incoming students coming from private schools or those who do not have nyc.doe accounts proved to be a challenge, though was later resolved with help of computer science teacher Topher Mykolyk by making the webinar accessible to all e-mail accounts.

Communication between Big Sibs and the incoming students

online may also be more difficult, though junior and Big Sib Chair Henry Michaelson remains positive. “We’re super confident in the Big Sibs that they’ll be able to help their Little Sibs during these especially trying times, and we hope that the Little Sibs are able to see that we’re all here for them,” he said in an e-mail interview.

Others have expressed concern about the possible lack of connection among the incoming students due to meeting virtually. “Stuff like this would probably make things a little more tense when we go back to school because we’d have [only a few] interactions with each other,” incoming freshman Henry Ji said in an e-mail interview. “We might not have a lot of time to socialize, and it’d be much harder compared to meeting people in real life. It might feel a little alienating and distant to do it over Zoom.”

Some incoming students have voiced concerns over programming matters, such as the instrumental and vocal auditions for the music groups at Stuyvesant. “I was really excited for [Camp Stuy Part I] because I knew we would have auditions,” incoming freshman Margaret Mikhalevsky said in an e-mail interview. “I wanted to audition for choir, but I don’t think that auditioning for chorus virtually will be a good idea because the audio quality won’t be good.”

Though the incoming freshmen will be missing out on the experience of physically being at Stuyvesant, many have felt the videos, including the virtual

open house, have been an adequate substitute. “I was looking forward to seeing the school in person because I was unable to attend the open houses earlier in the year, and I still haven’t gotten the chance to see the school itself or take a tour of it,” incoming freshman Farhan Khan said in an e-mail interview. “However, after viewing the videos that the school had sent me, I got a vague understanding of the school.”

Though Camp Stuy traditionally comprises Part I and Part II, Part II has yet to be planned due to the many variables unaccounted for. “As soon [as the Chairs] get more details and get closer to August, the traditional time it’s held, we will know what’s going on and how Camp Stuy Part II will shape up to be,” junior and Big Sib Chair Aki Yamaguchi said in an e-mail interview.

Despite concerns on a virtual start to their high school career, many are looking forward to starting their high school journey. “I am optimistic about bonding with the Big Sibs. The Big Sibs, from what I have seen so far, seem to be a very useful resource available to any freshman, and I think bonding with them is important, and I don’t think that the distance is going to hinder that,” Khan said.

The Big Sib Chairs share a similar enthusiasm. “I hope freshmen leave Camp Stuy feeling excited for Stuyvesant and understanding the commitment of the school administration and upperclassmen student body (Big Sibs) to them,” Hlamenko said.

TEITEL PROPOSES NINE-PERIOD SCHOOL DAY

MATH TEACHER RICHARD GELLER PASSES AWAY

FEBRUARY—Principal Stanley Teitel proposed a nineperiod school day to teachers and faculty members at an SLT meeting. The proposal aimed to reduce the stress that Stuyvesant students face in school.

NOVEMBER—Beloved math teacher Richard Geller, who taught at Stuyvesant for 30 years, passed away due to melanoma cancer at the age of 65.

STUYVESANT GETS NATIONAL MENTION ON SNL

Yaqi Zeng / The Spectator

JANUARY—Stuyvesant’s wrestling team was mentioned in the skit “ESPN Bowl Madness,” aired in episode 11, season 37 of NBC staple “Saturday Night Live” (1975-current).

Page 82

News

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

No Justice, No Peace—How Stuyvesant Students and Teachers are Protesting

continued from page 1

face in the stampede if there hadn’t been people in front of me. The cops started using their bikes as weapons. I definitely didn’t feel safe,” she said.

“I want to show people that even non-violent protestors can be subject to police brutality.”

Other protestors had a more positive experience with the police. “A lot of the police were people of color. They mostly just stayed to the side and watched the protest go by,” said junior Max Kahn, who attended a protest at the Barclays Center on June 1. Still, the sight of police was a bit of a shiver-trigger for him. “It was almost scary to look at [the police] just because you’ve seen so many videos of the awful [EXPLETIVE] that cops have done.” For Kahn, attending the protests was a matter of leaving a historical footprint. “This is history,” he said. “This is a moment that

By ISABELLA JIA, RAJHASREE PAUL, CHLOE TERESTCHENKO, ZIYING JIAN, KAI CAOTHIEN, and ALEC SHAFRAN With social distancing and virtual learning, students have become creative in their efforts to maintain a unified school community. For seniors Allen Wang and Sara Stebbins, as well as the Student Union (SU) External Affairs department, their approach was hosting a National Public Radio (NPR)inspired Tiny Desk Virtual Concert on May 29. This was the second Tiny Desk concert of the school year; the first was hosted at school in December.

NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts are a series of intimate concerts where musicians perform live in NPR’s office. This Tiny Desk Concert was instead held virtually through a performance streamed on the Stuyvesant Podcast’s Facebook page. “[Wang and I] both thought the virtual Tiny Desk should take the form of a [livestream], ensuring maximum video and audio quality and still being in the mode of the actual NPR Tiny Desk concerts,” Stebbins said in an e-mail interview.

The SU hosted a virtual concert in April through Zoom, which, though showcasing a variety of vocal and instrumental talents, was not a Tiny Desk Concert. Wang was approached by sophomore and delegate of External Affairs Shivali Korgoankar about hosting another con-

will go down. You’ll look back and tell your kids about when this was happening. What do you want to say to them?”

Other student protestors were thinking less about the next generation. “I went to the protests because I felt that it was important for me to do so at least once,” senior Adrian Dickson wrote in an email interview. “It’s a cause that I believe in wholeheartedly both as a black person and an American citizen, and though I may only be one person, everyone should feel empowered to do what they can for what they believe in.”

Others think differently.

“What qualifications do YOU have to change the world?” asked an anonymous male sophomore (referred to as Anonymous), perhaps rhetorically, in an email interview. To him, teenagers need to learn the rules of the game before they call it rigged. “I don’t believe in youth protesting. How can

someone who hasn’t graduated from high school, has not developed emotionally, mentally, or physically, and has not faced any real hardships completely understand the crux of the issue?” Anonymous also disputes the idea that in-the-streets protests are the only way to make a change: “The idea the only way to change the world is by protesting is wrong. Instead of protesting, you can focus on school, graduate, get a job, advance your job, be in a position of power, and then change the system.”

Protesting is a possible way, though not the only way, of creating lasting change. Education, too, can create change. “The most important step for teachers for anybody is to learn and to educate themselves, to understand the history and the context that this is happening in,” Assistant Principal of English Eric Grossman said. “Everyone is entitled to come to their own conclusions about the best

course of action. Those conclusions ought to be informed by awareness of the context.”

To Grossman, learning is constructive in a way that looting is not. “I understand why this level of frustration can result in all kinds of destructive behavior. I get that. That doesn’t mean that [looting] is justified,” he said.

Others are able to excuse not just the motives behind violent protests but also the violent protests themselves. “When I found out that they were burning down the police precinct, I wasn’t like ‘Oh no, this is awful.’

I was more like, ‘This is how you fight the oppressor,’” Kahn said.

But protests, violent or not, can come with unintended sideeffects, especially in the midst of a pandemic. Standing in solidarity (at least physically) might not be a wise choice with a virus on the loose. “I suspect coronavirus cases will spike in one to two weeks,” Anonymous predicted.

“There will be new outbreaks

across the U.S. because of protests. It could lead to a second wave of cases and deaths.”

Fortunately, not all fights for justice have to be fought handto-hand. Technology makes the battle possible from home.

“Make phone calls. Sign petitions. Education. Awareness,” Kahn said. “Don’t continually repost stuff and say you’re really serving something.”

Grossman, too, cautioned against patting yourself on the back for reposting a few Black Lives Matter posts here and there. “What I tend not to think is that helpful is virtue signaling on social media,” he said. “Social media can spread knowledge, but I think it is also really easy for people to post something and feel ‘That’s it. I’ve done my work.’ That doesn’t require much of them ultimately.”

For protestors looking for #change, this is just the beginning.

cert. “[Korgoankar] reached out to me to host another rendition of the virtual concert that [the SU] had previously. I was down for it, but not for a Zoom call, since there are audio and video problems,” Wang said. “The participants were on Zoom, and it was livestreamed on Facebook.”

The organizers hosted the event with the aim of providing exposure to artists as a form of social interaction. “A concert is a really nice way to get Stuy artists who aren’t getting their name [or] work out there right now to perform in front of their classmates,” Korgoankar said. “It’s also a good way to interact or see familiar faces that you would normally be seeing.”

There were a total of nine performers: seniors Cecilia Bachana, Zeynep Bromberg, and Christopher Brown; juniors Julian Cunningham, Saarah Elsayed, Oliver Jackson, Chrisabella Javier, and Isabella Lee; and freshman Kate Alvarez. “Some videos were prerecorded, and others were done over a Zoom call,” Wang said.

Students decided to perform for various reasons, one being the significance of music for them during quarantine. “Music is one of the ways I like to isolate myself from society and to calm down and relax. Participating in the concert was a way to help others take time to do the same,” Alvarez said in an e-mail interview.

Other students who took part in the first Tiny Desk concert decided to perform again.

“I participated in the Tiny Desk

enjoyed the experience. So when [Wang] messaged the performers from that first Tiny Desk asking if we wanted to do another one, I was definitely on board. I love performing, sharing what I’ve created as a singer-songwriter, [and] listening to the music that others make,” Bachana said in an e-mail interview. “I love to hear my classmates play and support their musical endeavors.

Stuy may be known as a STEM school, but it’s got so much talent when it comes to the arts.”

Other performers shared a similar experience, enjoying the performances and the support from their peers. “I was reminded that there is a love for the arts even in a very [STEMfocused] school like Stuy. There were super talented performers along with people who watched who were extremely supportive, and it made me love the school a little more and wish we were all back in the building and together again,” Elsayed said in an e-mail interview.

Alvarez agreed: “I was so nervous at first because I didn’t know any of my fellow performers, but I was met with so much support during and after my performance. Seeing the positive comments in the [livestream] was so uplifting, and it reminded me that I had a community even in isolation. By performing, I gained a new community of performers because of our mutual appreciation for each other’s music.”

Likewise, students enjoyed

and took it as a chance to unwind.

“It was just really nice to watch my friends—and other people— perform because they’re all very talented, and I had a nice time,” junior Mimi Gillies said in an email interview. “I love watching my peers perform, and it was a fun Friday evening activity!”

Despite all the positive reactions, for performers, the concert via livestream wasn’t the same as the one in person.

“I missed the normal-school Tiny Desk, of course—being in the Senior Atrium and performing for people in person is always better than a slightly awkward Zoom-Live where you finish performing and then just sort of sit quietly until [Wang] jumps in to announce the next performer,” Bachana said.

Additionally, there were technical issues during the concert. “Our first [livestream], the original link we had shared, got shut down during the first performance,” Korgoankar said. “Facebook took it down because there was copyright music used in the intro.”

The co-hosts, however, quickly resolved the issue by creating a second livestream.

“During the event, I was watching on the Facebook livestream, and so anytime there were audio problems, [Wang and I] were in constant communication,” Korgoankar said.

The variety of performances was also limited. “We weren’t able to get all types of performances, which was one

drawback about this event,” Wang said. Most of the performances were also from people who had previously performed.

Despite this, the co-hosts still view the concert as a success, with over 800 people watching the livestream in total. “There were 662 engagements and 2,310 people reached,” Wang said.

The SU hopes to take this success one step further. When asked about whether or not more events like these will be done in the future, Korgoankar said, “If students are enjoying it, then I definitely want to continue and play my part however I can to get students involved as if we were in school.”

Gillies encouraged students who enjoyed the concert to attend Open Mic. “Tiny Desk is basically a more organized Open Mic, so they come up with their performer order and set lists ahead of time rather than on the spot like at Open Mic. [And] Open Mic is more than just singing; there’s also poetry readings and stand up comedy and stuff like that. But they’re very, very similar,” she said.

The concert was ultimately an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. “At the end of the day, Tiny Desk was never about any one person—it’s all about creating a space for Stuy’s musical talent, which I still think the virtual Tiny Desk did amazingly well,” Stebbins said. “I think it’s wonderful that we were able to put on a concert and come together as a community, even while we’re all stuck at home.”

Tiny Desk during Concert—Gone Virtual! the first term, and I really watching the livestream

NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE CAUSES STIR

MARCH—As one of the few black students at Stuyvesant, Senior Rudi-Ann Miller shared her experience in The New York Times article “To Be Black at Stuyvesant High” by Fernanda Santos. Black students made up 1.2 percent of the enrollment at Stuyvesant at the time. The Times article included a proposal made by Stuyvesant alumna Lisa Mullins to automatically accept the valedictorian and salutatorian of every city middle school, which was met with criticism.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY SURVEY

MARCH—The Spectator received 2,045 responses for its survey on academic dishonesty.

Students cheated most frequently in social studies classes, and only 10 percent, around 205 students, of those who responded had been caught cheating. Most students copied homework on a monthly basis, and barely any students had others complete their essays or assignments for them.

JULY 15—South Korean pop star Psy released “Gangnam Style.” Psy’s video was a world phenomenon, becoming the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube.

STUYVESANT REGENTS CHEATING RING DISCOVERED

JUNE—News of the most significant scandal in Stuyvesant history broke in the last weeks of the 2011-2012 school year when a group of students was discovered to have cheated on the Physics, United States History, and English Regents as well as the Spanish LOTE exam. The cheating ring, led by Nayeem Ahsan, involved Ahsan sending answers via smartphone to a list of students he had assembled in advance. The Stuyvesant administration and DOE concluded that 71 students were willingly involved in cheating over Regents week and 92 juniors were involved in either giving or receiving test answers to or from Ahsan.

JULY 27-AUGUST 12—The London 2012 Summer Olympics were held, during which Michael Phelps won four gold and two silver medals in swimming.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Celebrating Eid Amidst the Coronavirus

By TASHFIA NOOR, MIM PARVIN, and MAHIRAH KHAN The new moon at the end of the month of Ramadan is a joyous sight for Muslims across the world; it means that Eid al-Fitr has begun.

Eid al-Fitr is a special holiday for the Islamic community that marks the time for Muslims to join together and celebrate the culmination of their efforts during the fasting month of Ramadan. Typically, the day is characterized by congregational prayers, large family gatherings, and various communal festivities. With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic this year, many of these celebratory activities have been canceled. Despite the isolation that quarantine brings, Stuyvesant students found ways to maintain the spirit of Eid amidst the coronavirus blues.

Preparing for Eid has always been an important component of the holiday’s allure. The detailed planning builds the anticipation for the day and is always something looked forward to. For sophomore Nafisa Ishra, her typical preparations for the holiday include dressing up in traditional attire, creating henna designs, and concocting various Eid recipes with her family. In regards to this year’s Eid, however, Ishra described, “There was no enthusiasm or looking forward to it [Eid] because everyone knew it wouldn’t really be the same.”

In addition to the preparations, students at Stuyvesant partake in various unique traditions during Eid. For some, these customs reflect

By CLARA SHAPIRO

their family history and upbringing, while others have adopted new traditions and hope to sustain them over future generations. One tradition that Ishra was unable to continue this year was the henna stand in which she and her friends would use henna dye to tattoo floral patterns on the hands of excited children. The stand was important to Ishra not only because she was able to spend time with her friends but also because of the anticipation and optimism it brought for the upcoming festivities. “The simple act of doing the henna is much more when friends and family come and prepare for the festive holiday together. I missed my friends and even the strangers who would gather to get their henna done at the stand. Without it, my Eid felt completely different,” she said.

Despite evident obstacles, others like junior Raisa Amin looked at the situation hopefully. Amin explained that she kept a positive attitude as she continued her usual preparations for the holiday. “Regardless of whether we were home or outside, I [still] tried to keep my spirits high; I still dressed up and did my henna like normal years, and I like to try to make desserts too, which I did,” Amin said.

Similar to Ishra, junior Bushra Islam also reminisced on the aspects

of Eid she missed, especially the frenzied cleaning and intricate arrangement of desserts at the table.

Though her Eid experience has been greatly altered by the pandemic, she expressed that she still felt grateful for the time she was able to spend with her family, catching up with old friends, and practicing her faith.

“Perhaps this Ramadan and Eid served as a reminder of all we take for granted, and still do, and [to] take comfort in the simple things,” she remarked.

Semoi Khan / The Spectator

The Arabic translation of Eid is “blessed feast,” and although the significance of this is universal, the holiday is distinctly symbolic for each and every family. Sophomore Aleena Sage expressed the importance of family bonding and being able to strengthen community ties during the holiday: “We have a community at the masjid [mosque], and we look forward to seeing them in the morning. Since we weren’t able to go this year, I felt that a part of our bonding time had been taken

away.” Though she was not able to reunite with people at the mosque, she was able to meet with close family members.

Eid al-Fitr is often referred to as the Sugar Feast because a large portion of the day’s meals includes sugar-filled sweets and traditional desserts. Amin, who enjoys baking desserts, expressed her sadness that she wasn’t able to share her creations with others. “If I tried making something new, I would want others to try it, and sharing food is always so exciting, especially on Eid,” Amin said. Still, she hopes to share her desserts as soon as quarantine is over, adding that the seclusion gave her time to perfect her recipes.

Sharing savory dishes and exquisite meals among large groups also serves as an essential component of the cuisine and activities that make Eid so special. Islam’s family hosts a grand party and barbeque in the backyard every year in hopes of gathering and connecting with distant family. Safety concerns and travel restrictions canceled these plans, which are usually set months before Eid. Despite the lost exchange of wishes and prayers between friends and family, Islam voiced, “My mom, dad, sisters, and I found it necessary to cook a feast and set the ambiance for a celebration.” The absence of loved ones was filled with a familial preparation of haleem, a staple in her family, samosas, shemai, flan, tehari, and other

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Although interactions with family and friends seemed nearly impossible, many were able to amend the situation and keep in contact with not only those who were closer but also faraway loved ones. Amin mentioned she was able to visit her cousins who lived a few blocks away.

This allowed her to enjoy the joint nature of Eid, even if it was reduced.

As for out-of-reach family members, “There were phone calls wishing everyone Eid Mubarak and discussing our [respective] plans for the day,” she described.

Islam’s sister arranged a Zoom video call with her extended family in London and other parts of the U.S. As a result of this, she recalls, “My day ended up being full of laughs, nostalgia, and embarrassing moments.” Her attempts to embrace loving interactions were furthered by a stop at her best friend’s house, where she dropped off food and spent a few moments catching up.

Though this Eid may have been unlike anything that the Muslim community has ever experienced, that didn’t stop Stuyvesant students from celebrating Eid for what it is really about: family and faith. Perhaps it’s an Eid like this that makes us really appreciate the simple joys of being able to visit friends and relatives and communally praying at the mosque. Perhaps it’s an Eid like this that allows us to understand what Eid, at its crux, means for us.

And most importantly, perhaps it’s an Eid like this that makes us stronger.

Hello, Young Lovers: Romance in Quarantine six feet apart at all times, the risk of infecting each other is very low,” senior Alex Nobert said. She and her boyfriend, junior Jonathan Schneiderman, stick to outdoor dates these days: “We have started to meet in the park for a picnic between classes every once in a while, which is also a good

The law of the land—six feet apart, ya hear—goes hard on young lovers. Toodeloo to the age of shared milkshakes. Adieu to prom. And kissing? Even on the cheek? Fuhgettaboutit.

Romantic withdrawal is hitting hard. “We really miss hugging each other [a] lot,” junior couple Julian Cunningham A and Reilly Amera wrote in ries Ho a joint email interview. “Some- / The S times, especially during such pectator tough times as we’re currently facing, the greatest thing someone needs in the world is a really good hug, and not having that for the last two and a half months has been really tough.”

Quarantine feels like less of a blow to couples whose parents are more lax with social distancing rules. “My parents have basically determined that as long as we’re outside and

way, for me at least, to take a break from work and therefore foster productivity.”

But for the couples who can’t hang out in t h e flesh, staying close is a bit trickier.

Zoom and FaceTime dates can be unsatisfying. “When we were with each other in person, it wasn’t awkward at all if we fell silent for

PRINCIPAL STANLEY TITEL RETIRES

a bit, but now, during our daily video calls, there is a bit more of a need to continuously talk, which can sometimes lead to us getting a bit [burned] out from calling,” Cunningham and Amera said. Junior Stella Oh is also discovering the limitations of an online relationship: “It’s harder to read each other through text and open up about our thoughts and feelings. Some topics are just easier to talk about in person rather than through text.” One of Oh (and her girlfriend)’s biggest worries about a quarantine romance is that the physical distance will also translate to an emotional distance that will be impossible to bridge. “I start spiraling into this hole of unreasonable worries and insecurities such as her feelings for me fading and even my feelings for her fading, which is very possible […] especially during quarantine, as much as I don’t want to admit it.”

And for some (ex) couples, these concerns have proved valid.

Quarantine stretches relationships.

The ones that aren’t elastic enough

SEPTEMBER—Stanley Teitel, who served as principal of Stuyvesant for 13 years (1999 to 2012), formally retired. Prior to serving as principal, Teitel had served as a physics and chemistry teacher (1983 to 1997) and Assistant Principal of Chemistry and Physics (1997 to 1999), totaling his years at Stuyvesant to 29. During Teitel’s tenure, Stuyvesant was in the news for a racist rap video that targeted a black student, an event called “Slutty Wednesday” that protested the school’s dress code, and the Regents cheating scandal that rocked the school in June 2012.

snap.

“The breakup was, unsurprisingly, crap,” an anonymous sophomore, “Zachary Shen,” wrote in an email interview. “She [his girlfriend] claims that she ended it because we couldn’t see each other anymore and it was awkward, but I’m still skeptical of that.” Frustratingly for Shen, it was during quarantine that he began to truly appreciate his ex-girlfriend’s best qualities: “Being separated from my girlfriend showed me how much I liked her for her personality and accomplishments and not just for her looks, and it made me realize that maybe I wanted something more serious.”

But being single in quarantine may not be the worst thing. It’s a chance to hone the art of emojiflirting. It’s a chance to watch some movies and fall for a new celebrity crush. Like, say, Lily James.

“My celebrity crush is Lily James,” sophomore Daniel Yu confessed over email. “I discovered my celebrity crush during quarantine and since then my heart has been heating up whenever I watch a show or movie she appears in.”

But whether you’re smitten

with a starlet or just a standard plebeian, no better time than now to carpe diem a crush. An anonymous freshman has had her eye on her crush for over two months and only now decided to pounce.

“I tried DMing him using the Spongebob TikTok audio,” she said. “I probably would have never DMed him in the first place if not for sheer boredom from quarantine.”

But not everybody is looking for new love. A lot of goingsteady couples are just looking for ways of preserving their preexisting relationships in quarantine, not starting new ones. For these folks, guidance counselor Paul Goldsman has advice. “My advice to couples during a quarantine is that they need to talk about how they plan to communicate,” he said in an email interview. Goldsman suggests setting a daily, pre-appointed time for couples to talk to one another: “Creating a time each day for a ‘check-in’ would be healthy, as it allows both parties to have something to look forward to.”

So stay close, Stuyvesant smoochers. But not that close.

MILLION-DOLLAR DONATION REOPENS ALUMNI MERGER DEBATE

SEPTEMBER—Boaz Weinstein (’91) donated $1 million to Stuyvesant intended to fund the ongoing library renovation and add more computers throughout the building. His donation reopened a long-held debate regarding the three separate Stuyvesant alumni associations and how, if at all, they should be merged.

INTRODUCING PRINCIPAL JIE ZHANG

SEPTEMBER—Jie Zhang, a former Stuyvesant parent and former principal of Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, was named interim-acting principal.

ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY REVISED FOR NEW SCHOOL YEAR

OCTOBER—As a result of the cheating scandal, a new and revised Academic Honesty Policy was implemented, characterizing cheating not only as “copying from someone else’s exam, paper, homework, or lab” but also comparing test answers following a test.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

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By ISABEL CHING and JENNIFER JI Papers rustle, backpacks are zipped shut, the bell rings, and in 30 seconds, over 3,000 Stuyvesant students flood the halls. They rush to their next class, concerned their lateness might hurt their grade or earn them a nasty look from an already stressed teacher—nine times a day, five days a week, nine months a year. It’s an oh-so-familiar routine at our esteemed school. But the Stuyvesant we know and love (or hate) is no longer. With one in four Americans jobless due to COVID-19, the global economy spiraling downward faster than you can say “cure,” and the legally imposed social isolation of billions of people around the world, the pandemic has wreaked havoc on our country. The world has been turned upside down overnight, forced to cope with a global pandemic, and look for innovative ways to address the issues it brings. When it comes to education, teachers and students alike have faced dozens of issues: technological, social, and everything in between. For the Stuyvesant faculty, adjusting to remote learning has posed a huge challenge, and teachers were forced to quickly discover how to effectively regulate a student’s learning through the Internet and ensure that the quality of education is maintained while keeping in mind that students may be personally affected by the virus. Some Stuyvesant teachers have been finding ingenious ways to compensate for the negative effects of remote learning and provide their students with the absolute best learning experience possible

By ALEXANDER LAKE It’s often said that music is a universal language. Music, unlike other methods of expression such as literature, is not restrained by the native language of the country in which it is performed. It is something to be shared by all, and this is part of what makes it so special. With the coronavirus pandemic keeping everyone indoors and separated, musicians have lost a large part of their ability to share their expression with others. Recitals can no longer be held in real-time without the fear of Internet complications. There are no live performances or reliable forms of group rehearsals. Consequently, musicians have been forced to reevaluate and redesign the way they pass their time, and some have pioneered new ways to share their musical expression with others.

In an attempt to sustain the group components of music during quarantine, several ensembles have put together virtual recordings of well-known orchestral pieces, such as “Boléro,” by Ravel, and “Appalachian Spring,” by Copland. Of course, these recordings

Learning to Teach or Teaching to Learn: How Stuyvesant Teachers Transitioned

English teacher Lauren Stuzin believes that remote learning has only highlighted the pressing need for “improved educational technology” and the importance of adaptability to ensure a smooth transition to online learning. They went on to emphasize the directness and “less is more” approach that quarantine demands as well as the alternatives to the engaging and intellectually stimulating atmosphere that in-class learning provides. They further maintained the idea that recreating the “energetic Stuy learning atmosphere” present during in-class learning is still a daunting task, and online learning is simply not the same.

History teacher David Hanna echoed Stuzin’s beliefs on remote learning and preference for an in-class learning model: “Something essential is lost that I’m not able to effectively articulate, but that I feel instinctively. I think students feel it too,” he said. With students forced to attend school online and communicate virtually, teaching effectively becomes exponentially more difficult, and teachers have struggled to adapt to new technology and a completely changed learning model—a completely unprecedented change to the education curriculum.

Like Stuzin and Hanna, language teacher Jia Zhou has also struggled to transition to online learning. Regarding tests and assessments, Zhou specifically noted that she “didn’t give any formal assessment[s] during the remote learning” because she felt it was not a fair way to assess students. Instead, she reorganized her curriculum to incorporate projects and more straightforward homework as an alternative.

Math teacher Andrea Fenyves also remarked on the difficulty of finding an effective way to test her students, stating, “Testing depends on the individual students’ Internet connections, [and] proctoring is not available, so cheating is easier.” Struggling to combat technological issues, the circumstances of all their students, and the huge division between students and teachers that online learning creates, teachers have had to adapt their teaching styles to best meet their students’ needs.

COVID-19 has also transformed one of the most vital parts of the educational system: testing. The College Board, responsible for AP testing, SAT testing, and SAT Subject Tests, has had its fair share of difficulties created

by COVID-19. Shortened and modified prompts, postponed testing, and revised test formats have been a few of the implemented solutions, but administering an exam online around the world to millions of students has not been easy, and the College Board has faced a great deal of criticism.

Among their critics is Zhou, who shed light on the difficulties of fairly administering a test online: “I don’t teach [any] AP [courses], but I heard many technical problems occurred during the test. It’s definitely not fair for the students who put so much time and effort [into] the AP class,” she commented.

Stuzin also remarked on the unfortunate rumors surrounding AP testing and the newly modified tests, stating that they had heard nothing too positive. However, they did mention that the comfort of online testing and the shortened exams could have possibly been beneficial for students, especially

Saadat Rafin / The Spectator

the circumstances.” Though the various document-based question (DBQ) prompts given on history exams were a huge subject of contention for both test takers and teachers alike, Mr. Hanna feels they were relatively balanced, explaining, “I felt the various DBQ topics were a fair representation of the curriculum.”

In trying times like these, a little lighthearted fun is always welcome, and our teachers have had their fair share of fond memories. In Stuzin’s English class, literary TikToks, the recreation of the English classroom in Minecraft, and new Minutes gifts have been just a few of the creative ways students have been making lessons more fun. Fenyves also had other fun stories to share about online learning: when one of her students accidentally mistook her cat for a bird during online learning, it became

The Rhythm of Isolation

cannot really compare to live performances of classical music, but they strive to emulate the same level of unity and musicianship that it always has.

Musicians around the globe, including many Stuyvesant students, are adjusting to this monumental change in how music is produced and shared.

One obvious aspect of quarantine is that everybody has more time on their hands. As a corollary to this, students and adults alike have become masterful at procrastination. For musicians, however, quarantine means more time to practice. Freshman and flutist in the Stuyvesant Symphonic Orchestra Devki Welt recalls her initial reaction to quarantine: “It would give me much more time to practice.

I hoped to get through a lot and solidify my technique.” This speaks to the sentiment of most musicians right now, though the treasure trove of free practice hours doesn’t come without its challenges. “Getting feedback is more complicated now because my laptop doesn’t have good enough audio quality for my teacher to listen to precise tone and articulation differences,” Welt says. As a musician, feedback

and constructive criticism are essential to building individual skills, and this technological obstacle is one not easily overcome.

Something that everyone has become accustomed to is the sense of diminishing motivation and drive. This feeling is no stranger to musicians by any means. Because there are no upcoming events and no real audiences to play for, it is hard to create a routine.

“I realized I had no musical deadlines, no recitals, or performances to prepare for,” senior Lucas Amory said. Amory is a graduating pianist from the Juilliard Pre-College Program. “I tried to keep myself motivated and really started practicing more intensely […] but now that quarantine has become a type of lifestyle […] the motivation is fading.” But for Amory, quarantine hasn’t come without some progress.

“I’m much more of a ‘pianist’ than I thought I really was. I promised myself to practice conducting and compose more, and I really haven’t done much of either,” Amory said.

As a result of separation, so much about music has been put on hold.

Chamber music is no longer viable

SENIOR SUES CITY OVER CHEATING ALLEGATIONS

OCTOBER 9—Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for women’s education, survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban.

those experiencing the effects of COVID-19: “I did hear that perhaps it was nice to sit for a 45-minute exam rather than a 3-hour one and that perhaps it was nice to take an AP in pajamas,” they said.

Hanna echoed some of Stuzin’s semi-positive feelings about the AP exams, stating that he felt “the College Board did the best they could, given

OCTOBER—A Stuyvesant senior who was reportedly involved in the cheating scandal, referred to as “Student Doe,” sued Principal Jie Zhang and Chancellor Dennis Walcott for hurting their chances of being accepted into college.

STUYVESANT STUDENTS INVOLVED IN CHEATING RING SUSPENDED

OCTOBER—As a result of the June cheating scandal, the DOE announced that 12 students who had responded to Ahsan’s texts with the answers would receive superintendent’s suspensions, and the other 54 students who simply received the texts would receive a principal’s suspension. Ahsan himself transferred to Brooklyn Latin High School.

in real-time and neither is orchestral repertoire. “At first, I was a little depressed, especially since I was part of a chamber music group and we couldn’t play together anymore […] I miss playing with other musicians,” sophomore Zoe Buff said. Buff, a violinist in both the Stuyvesant Symphonic Orchestra and the New York Youth Symphony, feels that one of the biggest losses of quarantine has been collaboration. It is, after all, part of what makes music so accessible and enjoyable for performers. The absence of collaboration means the absence of the interpersonal part of music, which is what draws many people to it in the first place.

In the end, musicians must pave their way forward solitarily. There are no more three-hour orchestra rehearsals, theory classes, or any other kinds of conventional classes for that matter. All the extra time has to go somewhere. To keep practices from becoming boring, many musicians try to spice up their daily musical routines. “I attempted to alternate my methods of practice […]

Some days, I would try to focus on fundamental ‘hardware’, skills […] Other days would be spent working on differ-

NOVEMBER 15—Xi Jinping was named general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

NOVEMBER 6—President Barack Obama was re-elected to another four-year term in the White House after defeating Republican candidate Mitt Romney.

a class joke. The following week during class, the same student announced “How cute, the cat is meowing,” and another student instantly responded, “No, it was the bird.”

Outside of online learning, Stuzin described how, though they still miss their students, quarantine has offered more free time to take up new hobbies like walking their cat and learning how to use TikTok. History teacher Rebecca Firdman has also used quarantine as an opportunity to experiment with new hobbies. She opened up about her newfound dedication to making her very own bread: “I baked bread before quarantine, but since I was home, I committed to making my mom’s challah recipe,” she described. “It took hours, but the challah came out amazing.”

Though social isolation has been difficult and stressful, it has provided increased free time that can be used to explore hobbies and polish cooking skills.

Though we have stayed strong and resilient so far, it is easy to feel lost in self-isolation. To Stuyvesant students and all others experiencing the negative effects of quarantine, Stuyvesant teachers offered wise words of advice to encourage us through the pandemic. Stuzin stated, “If you got up today and checked in with yourself, you are strong. […] You are amazing, and you are not alone.”

Firdman elaborated, “As my grandparents used to say, ‘this too shall pass’ […] Remember that with all your hard work, perseverance, and dedication to learning throughout this period, you guys are embodying what it means to be a Stuyvesant student.”

ent tones and phrasings,” junior Joshua Kim, a member of the Stuyvesant Symphonic Band, said. He has found that he can compartmentalize different skillsets day by day without feeling like he’s missing out on other important aspects of his practice. “Instead [of ] trying to ‘smush’ all of these portions into one dense session, splitting it up […] seems to work pretty well.” Musicians can broaden their horizons with regards to their goals and regiment, and this leaves more room for individual mastery and achievement.

Music is an ever-expanding universe, and though quarantine has stunted its growth in many ways, it certainly hasn’t taken away people’s love for it. Naturally, musicians are drawn to one another. Collaboration is part of what makes it so unique, and without it, music can begin to feel somewhat dry. As put by Zoe Buff, “It gets a little lonely with just me and the violin.” It is important to remember, however, that collaborative music isn’t gone forever.

It is just something that musicians and the larger world of music appreciators will need to bear with for the time being.

DECEMBER 14—Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people, 20 children and six adults, at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

PEGLEGS CLOSE OUT HISTORIC SEASON

NOVEMBER—For the first time in 17 years, Stuyvesant’s football team made it to the playoffs and even came in second in the league’s championships.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 11

Features: Decade inFeatures Review

Adrianna Peng / The Spectator

Looking Back on a Decade of SING! 2011

2012

First: Senior, Monsters: Big Foot, the adopted child of Dracula and Medusa, goes on a quest to find his identity and of course, falls in love along the way.

Second: Junior, Nursery Rhymes: Mary, after a dispute with her parents Jack and Jill, goes on an adventure with her lamb, a golden egg, and Muffin Man. Evil Mother Goose and her sidekick Itsy Bitsy Spider attempt to thwart Mary and steal the egg.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Searching for a Theme: Three script writers try to brainstorm a theme and write a script to go with it but struggle.

Notable for: Soph-Frosh settled with the theme of “searching for a theme,” and the plot detailed the process of how the scriptwriters brainstormed—but ultimately rejected—different theme ideas.

First: Senior, Apocalypse: The world ends on December 21, 2012, leaving only the magical characters inside the enchanted walls of the set’s castle alive. They embark on an adventure to find the cause of the apocalypse and begin the rebuilding process.

Second: Junior, Zoo: A newcomer to the zoo, the Canadian Arctic Fox, tries to convince all the animals that they should be free and stage a revolution with the current leader’s daughter and of course, fall in love along the way.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Cards: The two Joker cards, seeking revenge for their exclusion from so many games, kidnap a Stuyvesant student to wreak havoc in Card World.

Notable for: 2012 is the first year that The Spectator publishes SING! Top Fives and the 40th anniversary of the first SING!.

2013

2014

First: Seniors, Underworld and the Seven Deadly Sins: Hades dies after a sinner accidentally poisons him by committing the ultimate sin of creating Junior SING! All hell breaks loose as Eight Deadly Sins battle for the throne.

Second: Juniors, Under the Sea: Inspired by Disney’s “Little Mermaid,” a mermaid falls in love with a human man but is trapped by the wishes of her overbearing mother, with special appearances from a Septopus, a seven-tentacled octopus, and pirates.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Mystery: The characters of Scooby-Doo embark on a mysterious mission to recover a missing Pink Panther diamond, only to uncover the unlikely culprit behind it all.

Notable for: Social studies teacher Eric Wisotsky makes an appearance in the Junior SING! finale.

First: Seniors, Prehistoric: A forbidden love between two members of the dominant Homo Sapiens and the subservient Neanderthals lead to a journey of twists and turns until the lovers finally unite.

Second: Soph-Frosh, Extraterrestrials: Two friends on their journey to Mars accidentally crash land on an alien inhabited Pluto. An interplanetary young love blossoms.

Third: Juniors, Circus: A circus is in danger of shutting down if they receive a bad grade. An unlikely betrayal threatens the circus’s survival.

Notable for: Soph-Frosh beats Juniors for first time in over a decade.

2015

2016

First: Seniors, Mythology and Magic: When an evil Fairy Godmother casts a spell to destroy an Enchanted Forest, storybook characters band together in hopes of confronting the Fairy Godmother and saving the Forest.

Second: Juniors, Ancient Egypt: A pharaoh goes missing. While some people embark on a journey to find him, others build a scheme to take the throne.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Toys: Misfit toys, ridiculed by a group of Barbies, embark on a journey to get fixed and embrace their self-identity.

Notable for: Senior SING! included SING!’s first ever non-heterosexual couple.

First: Seniors, Horror: The worlds of the living and half-dead collide as a group of teenagers summons demons in a graveyard and pay for their bold actions with their lives. A Romeo and Juliet-esque interdimensional love leads to a tragic ending.

Second: Juniors, Winter: A group of friends embark on a journey to fix a crack in a snow globe out of frustration. Politicians spend their time debating with each other rather than finding solutions to fix the crack.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Apocalypse: As a series of natural disasters threaten the end of the world, a Prophet sends a group of friends off to find a magical scroll to save humanity. Spoiler alert: the apocalypse was completely made up by the Prophet.

Notable For: The residential rap battle in Junior SING! referenced the 2016 presidential election.

2017

2018

First: Seniors, Fairy Tale: A noble princess, an inept prince, a ridiculous knight, and a powerful sorceress go on an adventure to find a safe haven after an assasination attempt and of course, fall in love along the way.

Second: Juniors, 1920s: Two gangsters stow away on a ship that also happens to have a precious jewel, and they plot to steal it. Unfortunately, one of the gangsters falls in love with the jewel’s owner along the way.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Candy: The candy in a candy shop is going to be eaten when the store opens the next day, but first they’re going to throw a party and maybe escape.

Notable for: Junior SING! used the spongebob-theme as their spirit song.

First: Seniors, Ancient Greece: A prince and his band of assorted sidekicks go on a quest across Ancient Greece, facing classic Greek characters,and of course, fall in love along the way.

Second: Soph-Frosh, Time Travel: An Elvis impersonator, noblewoman, gay teen from the 1950s, and a cavewoman get unintentionally brought to the future by a mother and daughter duo and go on a quest to be returned. Mom, I want to be a historian!

Third: Juniors, SING!: A SING! producer who thinks SING! is corrupt and a waste of time (gasp!) attempts to sabotage the show.

Notable for: The Soph-Frosh stage collapsed during the theme song during the New Haven.

2019

2020

First: Seniors, Renaissance: A run-away nun and monk go to Florence because the nun dreams of being a scientist and of course, falls in love along the way.

Second: Juniors, Mafia: An undercover cop infiltrates a pizza place that is a mafia front, but there’s also a divorce happening.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Espionage: Two CIA agents, one competent and one self-involved, go to France to return the Liberty Bell, which had been stolen by a bell-obsessed villain.

Notable for: The gondola scene in Senior SING!, when the protagonists wowed the audience as they sung Lady Gage and Bradley Cooper’s “Shallows” (2018) and rowed in a boat attached to the stage.

First: Seniors, Hollywood: A crazy super-fan kidnaps the stars of a recent movie to fulfill her obsession.

Second: Juniors, Revolution: A newly-employed palace party planner and a disgruntled peasant stage a revolution against a corrupt monarchy and of course, fall in love along the way.

Third: Soph-Frosh, Wonderland: Alice, an average girl, is transported to Wonderland, where she goes against the machinations of the evil Cheshire Cat and attempts to restore the Queen of Spades to the throne, who also happens to be her grandmother.

Notable for: Breaking the 2000/2010 junior curse: in both 2000 and 2010, Junior SING! had won, causing many to expect that the same would happen in 2020.

MARCH 13—Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, now Pope Francis, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, was elected to become the first non-European pope in more than 1,200 years and the first from the Americas at the age of 76.

JIE ZHANG APPOINTED PRINCIPAL

FEBRUARY—Jie Zhang, who had served as Stuyvesant’s Interim-Acting Principal since the fall term, was appointed to a permanent post as principal.

When Our Hallway Is Our Runway

By RACHEL VILDMAN, AMANDA BRUCCULERI, and ARPITA SAHA As the many weeks of quarantine continue to pile on, students have no choice but to stay confined in their homes. Fashion is one of the many ways students express themselves to others, but with quarantine in place, that is no longer possible. The idea of just staying in pajamas all day seems a lot more appealing all of a sudden. With this situation comes a new decision that most students face every day: should I get dressed today?

Junior Tiffany Wu is among the many students who have decided to go for a pajama-casual look for most days. “During quarantine, I’m usually wearing pajamas, which consists of whatever SING! shirt I find in my closet and basic Adidas shorts,” Wu stated. Before quarantine, Wu’s wardrobe mainly consisted of clothing from brands like Brandy Melville and Princess Polly. “I used to wear a lot of statement pieces,” Wu said as she described her pre-quarantine style.

Junior Lara Somoroff has also made the decision to value comfort over appearance. “I basically only wear a tank top and underwear,” Somoroff admitted. She described her typical everyday style as one that reflects her life experiences, as she enjoys wearing the clothes of her mother and friends. “I like having an outfit that says something,” she said.

Sophomore Sajia Athai has also experienced changes in her style of clothing during quarantine: “Before quarantine, I only wore Brandy Melville. All my fits, accessories, and jewelry were from there, and I’d wear Obsidian Jordans to go with them,” she described. In quarantine, however, Athai simply wears leggings and hoodies. “If I want to feel dressed up, I’ll wear Brandy some days,” she added. “I’ve created a mix of my old style and a new, comfort-based style, so I probably won’t be going back to my old style.”

Other students have been using their free time at home to experiment with their style. Sophomore Etiha Ahmed has been delving more into the fashion world and diversifying her outfits. “I’ve been experimenting with how I can spice up what I wear,” Ahmed explained. “I’ve been trying to wear more colorful bottoms and style those. I have also been trying to get into the more ‘streetwear’ look.”

Sophomore Ian Zaman has also made changes to his style during his time at home. “My fashion sense is currently developing way more,” Zaman said. “Once quarantine is over, I’m going to try and incorporate way more vintage pieces into my outfits because I’ve been becoming more interested in vintage style during quarantine.”

With so much time on their hands nowadays, cleaning out closets and getting rid of clothes has also become a popular activity. Somoroff is one person who has taken the time to get rid of the clothes she doesn’t find herself wearing. “I’ve sold a few items on Depop. I like knowing that the things I don’t wear anymore have a place to go,” she said.

Zaman similarly cleaned out his closet at the start of quarantine: “I donated all of my pieces that no longer fit. I never throw my clothes out because that’s really a waste,” Zaman shared.

While Wu has yet to go through her clothes, she said, “I’m planning on selling and donating more than half of my old clothes only because I get bored of old clothes very easily.”

On the flip side, many other students still find themselves adding newly purchased items to their closets. “I’ve done some online shopping for clothes during quarantine. My biggest purchase was my Patagonia quarter zip,” Wu shared. She also finds herself purchasing vintage-looking dresses from online boutiques. Online shopping has appealed to Athai during quarantine as well. She mainly does her shopping on online sites such as Princess Polly and Depop.

While Ahmed also partook in online shopping, she had a bit of a different approach: “I have gone window shopping [and] then bought a few items online,” she explained. Ahmed was able to purchase cami dresses and earrings so far during her quarantine shopping.

Being stuck at home has affected everyone’s style but has also given some people the time to experiment with new pieces and expose themselves to new styles. Since there is not much to get dressed up for, most students find themselves wearing the basics. While it might not be as exciting as putting together a well-thought-out outfit, Somoroff shared, “There’s a beauty to just wearing the basics and to knowing what you feel most ‘yourself ’ in without any outside influence.”

APRIL 15—During the annual Boston Marathon, self-radicalized brothers Dzokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev detonated two homemade pressure-cooker bombs, killing three people and injuring more than 260 others.

SENIORS PERMITTED OUTSIDE DURING FREES

MARCH—Seniors were allowed to leave the school building during free periods as a result of The Spectator’s petition requesting outdoor privileges on the grounds that they would decrease stress, increase happiness, and reduce overcrowding within the school. The petition collected over 1,000 signatures within 36 hours of its release.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 12

Opinions Talking About Asian-Black Tensions

The recent circumstances surrounding the Black Lives Matter movement have brought to light the racism entrenched in American society. Not only that, but Asian American police officer Tou Thao’s complicity in the murder of George Floyd, as he defended fellow officer Derek Chauvin from passersby who attempted to intervene, also indicates the Black-Asian tensions lurking underneath the traditional racial narrative between Whites and minorities. This relationship is apparent within the Stuyvesant community, with African Americans and Asian Americans sitting on opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of representation in the student population. Across all New York City schools, Black students make up 25 percent of the student population, though they only make up less than one percent at Stuyvesant. This disparity not only directly impacts student culture and life at Stuyvesant, but also reflects larger systems and events at play and thus, merits the intervention of students, administration, and families to understand and engineer a solution to the issue.

Thao’s complicity in Floyd’s murder is not the first time America has witnessed such tensions, as history has shown time and time again.

These racial tensions are a product of decades of white systems designed to pit minorities against each other. This racial dynamic surfaced during the 1992 Rodney King Riots, when growing resentment amongst Korean Americans exploded as a result of the numerous Koreanowned stores and businesses being burned down. This incident resulted in a series of clashes, only reinforcing the already rampant tensions between the Black and Asian American communities. Another example was the murder of Akai Gurley, an African American man,

by Peter Liang, an Asian American police officer. To the African American community, Gurley’s death was just another instance of police brutality. To the Asian American community, however, it was a plot to use Liang, who was immediately given a life sentence, as a scapegoat purely

due to his race. Countless Brooklyn streets were filled with protestors from both communities, holding signs saying “Liang Deserves Justice Too” and “Black Lives Matter” on opposite ends of the street, a powerful symbol of the racial divide.

Racial tensions are just as prominent on the micro level at Stuyvesant. Though not all students engage in racial comments or actions, non-Black students often fail to object to their peers who do. For Asian students, this problem is rooted in the fact that many come from conservative, immigrant households in which they are taught to avoid confrontation.

Thus, many Asian students are not comfortable speaking out against racist remarks in school and home environments, allowing discriminatory rhetoric to persist. Children even subconsciously adopt these racist notions, especially in households in which implicit bias and acts of microaggression, such as being warned not to go into certain “shady” neighborhoods or marry certain people, go unflagged.

Coupled with many Asian parents being heavily influenced by media outlets like the Chinese-owned social media app WeChat, these parents consume biased information and assume racist perspectives.

The language barrier existing between many Asian students and their parents further contributes to strained dialogue on racial issues. It is often difficult to have meaningful conversations regarding race when concepts such as “white supremacy” or “systemic oppression” cannot be easily translated to Asian languages. This heavily limits conversation on these topics, as many students, unequipped with the necessary resources to have productive discussions with their families, decide against having these discussions altogether.

Stuyvesant’s competitive nature in regard to college admissions only serves to exacerbate the tense relationship between Black and Asian American students. For the latter, pressure to demonstrate academic excellence as a gateway

to attending top universities in the country is entrenched in their cultural beliefs. At Stuyvesant, such sentiments often translate to racism, consciously or not, when Asian students attribute Black and Hispanic students’ admission to elite universities solely to a perceived advantage they receive from affirmative action. Many Stuyvesant students do not agree with affirmative action, with 63.3 percent of students believing that race should not be taken into account in college admissions. In reality, however, children of donors, athletes, legacies, and persons of “special interest”—not those who benefit from affirmative action—have the greatest leg up in the college admissions process. As a result, affirmative action is widely perceived by the Asian American population to be the greatest hindrance to college acceptances.

In addition, the model minority myth facilitates the development of false images of both Asians and Blacks. This ideal depicts Asian Americans as the “successful” model other minorities should aspire to and overlooks the history of oppression against African Americans in the U.S., which has placed them on an uneven playing field with their Asian counterparts.

These nuanced forms of racism only foster animosity and develop a distorted mindset in Asians, who believe their black peers’ acceptances are at the expense of their own. It is important to note, however, that Asian Americans, particularly immigrants, have faced their own forms of oppression in the United States, and may also not fully understand the magnitude of African American oppression.

This calls for an even greater understanding and conversation of how systemic oppression manifests amongst different minority groups, as a start to eliminating many of these preconceived notions.

Ultimately, the onus for the creation of safer spaces for Black and Hispanic students rests on the vast majority of the student body that is not Black or Hispanic. On top of educating ourselves on the

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extensive and untaught history of Asian-Black tensions in America, raising conversations with family members about race will begin dismantling preconceived and well-established biases against Blacks at home. Upon our return to Stuyvesant, actively confronting racist comments and actions of other students will be crucial to

overcoming the culture of complicity among the Asian student body. Participating in conversations regarding race, whether in Talk Circles Around Race, between family and friends, or with those who both share and oppose our own viewpoints, could be the start of major and long overdue change within Stuyvesant’s racial divide.

A School Day Off to Throw Around Colored Powder?

By PETER GOSWAMI

On every Hindu holiday, I find myself stuck in school. I count the seconds on the clock to when the day will end so I can go to my temple, engage in festivities, and spend time with friends and family. Many times, I miss special moments, get left out of certain festivities, and never observe the significance of specific rituals.

Even though I don’t even want to go to school, my parents always think it’s important that I not miss out on any education because of a religious holiday. As a result, I’ve never been able to enjoy the fun of throwing colored powder at my friends during Holi. I never get to watch the elaborate rituals of Durga Puja. And I never get to go the temple on Diwali, since

most of the Diwali festivities happen at night, and we always have to worry about there being school the next day.

I’m ambivalent as to how I feel about my parents’ policy.

Sure, school is important, but is it worth missing out on cultural and religious moments? Is slowly forgetting the significance of certain festivals and rituals due to not being involved in them worth it?

Why do I have to feel pressured to go to school on religious holidays when I see that others get to freely celebrate their Christmases, Yom Kippurs, and Eid AlFitrs?

As a Hindu, I am deprived of a privilege many people of other faiths receive: religious school holidays. Hindu holidays are varied. There are multiple traditions

and several different holidays. Not everyone celebrates every holiday, and there are some holidays people don’t even know about.

Despite the fact that there is a lot of diversity in Hindu traditions and holidays, there are some major holidays that are common to every Hindu. These holidays include Diwali, Holi, and Durga Puja, more widely celebrated as Navratri. The school calendar has space to give days off for at least one of these holidays. Navratri goes on for nine days, but it would be possible to give just one of those nine days off. So what is the challenge posed to giving Hindu school holidays?

Some may argue that the Hindu population in New York City isn’t large enough to grant Hindu holidays. Hindu adults account for

DISRUPTIONS AND CONFUSION AFTER BOMB THREAT FORCES EVACUATION

JUNE—A bomb threat aimed at Stuyvesant was phoned into Mr. Moran’s office. The school building was evacuated until the police confirmed that the threat was a hoax, at which point juniors were allowed to reenter the building for English Regents testing.

JUNE 5—The U.S. National Security Agency and Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters were found guilty of eavesdropping on people by collecting millions of telephone records and storing global email messages, Facebook posts, and internet histories. Ex-CIA systems analyst Edward Snowden was responsible for leaking information by downloading 1.5 million files and handing them off to journalists.

The first article was published on June 5.

three percent of the population of New York City, roughly equivalent to the percentage of Muslims in the city. However, we have the Islamic school holidays of Eid-alAdha and Eid-al-Fitr, but we don’t have any Hindu school holidays.

If these two religious minorities are roughly equal in population, then it is unfair to deny one of these minorities the privilege of a religious holiday while giving the same privilege to another. It isn’t practical to grant religious holidays to every single religious minority in New York City, but when the percentage of two religious minorities are equal, either both of them should receive religious school holidays or neither should.

Religious minorities that make up a significant part of the population should be given the oppor-

tunity to embrace their culture and their religion through celebration of their holidays—with one school day off at the very least.

Hindus shouldn’t be deprived of this privilege; children must be able to embrace their culture and religion for their communities to embrace diversity. Hindu students should have the opportunity to embrace their culture and religion, and they should be able to participate in religious festivities without having to worry about missing school. All I’m asking for is the joy of being able to light candles in front of my house and go to the temple afterwards on Diwali, the fun of being able to throw colored powder at my friends and family on Holi, and the peace of being able to engage in religious rituals during Navratri.

DECEMBER 5—Nelson Mandela, pioneer of the end of apartheid in South Africa and the first black president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, died at age 95 after a two year battle with lung infection.

DAMESEK BARRED FROM SCHOOL AFTER REPORT

SEPTEMBER—Former Assistant Principal of Guidance Randi Damesek was denied entry to Stuyvesant. The preceding release of a 56page DOE report investigating the June 2012 cheating scandal recommended that disciplinary actions be taken against Damesek. The report had been further circulated by prominent media outlets after The New York Times filed a Freedom of Information Act request, fueling the rage that families and faculty members felt about the cheating incident.

Ultimately, Damesek was forced to leave Stuyvesant, despite the fact that many students felt she was used as a scapegoat.

JUNIORS ALLOWED OUT DURING FREES

DECEMBER—Several years after the privilege of going outside during free periods was revoked from students after 9/11 and months after the opportunity was regranted to seniors in a springtime trial period, the policy was extended to the junior class.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 13

Opinions Homelessness and COVID-19: A Brutal Reality

By MATTHEW QIU

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, millions of lives have been ravaged and changed forevermore. Some groups have become especially vulnerable during these times, such as elderly and immunocompromised individuals, whose plight has been widely acknowledged. But another group that has also been particularly susceptible—but that has been deprived of its due recognition during this crisis—is the homeless population.

They have limited access to sanitation facilities, and significant portions of the population are either elderly or have underlying medical conditions.

Social distancing policies have placed homeless shelters in a particularly awkward position.

On one hand, they’re vital to providing crucial aid and social infrastructure for the homeless population in numerous urban centers and communities. But on the other hand, the extremely crowded conditions and close quarters nature of these establishments make social distancing difficult to practice. Homeless shelters have come to face an impossible choice between downsizing their operations or keeping them open. While they are one of the only places that homeless individuals can turn to, they are also becoming increasingly difficult to maintain in accordance with guidelines to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Beds are often organized extremely close together in shelters, exponentially increasing the amount of close contact that individuals have with one another.

The collapse of other social safety nets throughout numerous cities and towns have further exacerbated the inability for

By JACOB STEINBERG George Floyd, a black man, was murdered in Minneapolis on Monday, May 25, when Derek Chauvin, a police officer, placed a harsh, unrelenting knee on Floyd’s neck for seven minutes. Three other police officers were either directly involved or entirely complicit in his murder. The horror of the murder is further exacerbated when the nature of the arrest comes to light: Floyd was accused of using a counterfeit bill—a charge which far from necessitates any form of violence, much less excessive force leading to murder.

In other words, the only crime he committed was being black.

the homeless population to seek basic necessities. Food banks have experienced shortages, and simple acts of kindness from pedestrians have all but vanished in the wake of stay-athome orders. Self-quarantining by staff and COVID-19 cases in the homeless shelter network have intensified the stress of the entire system to a tipping point.

Given the strong emphasis on basic actions like washing hands and avoiding large gatherings, it has become a dire situation where many homeless have resorted to staying on the streets and hoping for the best.

Furthermore, the current state of affairs has shed light on various underlying structural issues within the social infrastructure that attempts to help the homeless population.

This crisis simply widened the cracks that were already present, most notably those pertaining to the issue of housing.

Despite social services and aid networks, affording housing has become an increasingly prevalent problem in recent years. Affordable and safe housing serves as a fundamental bridge toward other aspects in rebuilding a stable livelihood. It becomes far easier to secure a job when one has a stable home with utilities and safety. The downsizing and closure of various homeless shelters has highlighted the overload of the shelter system even more.

Concerns regarding safety and regulations in shelters have also been exacerbated in the wake of COVID-19. Shelters are ultimately a temporary solution, and long-time trajectories need

to be mapped out in order to lessen the load on the support system as a whole. As of now, the homeless population is experiencing the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Neglecting this situation is not only inhumane, but it also has universal consequences. The very nature of a crisis rooted in a pandemic is that each and every group is interconnected. Healthcare workers require crucial safety equipment such as masks and protective gear, which are produced by numerous work-

Rachel Chuong / The Spectator

ers in factories and plants across the nation. Grocery store workers and truck drivers continue to keep the supply chains running for important produce and food. The load on the healthcare system is also further flattened by the cumulative effect of social distancing by everyday individuals. Everyone’s health and safety is contingent on cooperation and an understanding that what affects one set of individuals will inevitably have a ripple effect throughout the rest of the social landscape. This concept applies just as much to the homeless population: there is a collective responsibility to provide aid for the community dur-

How to Be an Ally

As he was choking to death, he desperately and repeatedly cried “I can’t breathe” and “I’m about to die.”

Earlier that day, Amy Cooper, a white woman, was walking her dog in the Rambles of Central Park without a leash— contrary to the park’s rules.

Christian Cooper, a black man who happened to be birdwatching nearby, asked her repeatedly to follow the rules and leash her dog, as unleashed dogs make birdwatching harder. Instead of obeying these guidelines, Amy Cooper leveraged Christian Cooper’s race and invoked the stereotype of the dangerous black man in a call to the police, saying that “there’s an African-

American man threatening my life.” Ms. Cooper knew that Mr. Cooper could potentially face the same fate that Floyd had, and decided to weaponize the police to get what she wanted.

But these cases of police brutality and weaponized policemen do not stand alone. There’s a long line of black victims of police brutality—it starts with Rodney King, who was brutally assaulted by four police officers, and has continued with Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Ahmaud Arbery, Mike Brown, and Oscar Grant, among many others.

More often than not, these officers do not face accountability. It is very rare that murder-

NEW AUTOCAD SOFTWARE PILOTED IN DRAFTING CURRICULUM

Andrea Huang / The Spectator

ing this health crisis. Addressing the needs of our most vulnerable populations addresses the needs of our communities as a whole. Leaving the individuals most susceptible to the impacts of the virus to fend for themselves embodies the callous, destructive conduct that mutually deteriorates the health and safety of all.

Cities have attempted to tackle this problem through a few different means, such as moving homeless individuals to hotel rooms. Unfortunately, this approach is not a catch-all solution due to the sheer size of the homeless population, and it is imperative that more expansive reforms are made to resolve the fundamental problem: where to house homeless individuals. Various homeless shelters have reduced the size of the operations, sending a wave of homeless individuals to the streets. This has particularly profound negative impacts in sprawling urban centers, where the streets are especially dangerous in the context of the pandemic.

The two fundamental issues that need to be tackled are how to make social distancing feasible for homeless individuals and how to provide them with services that they no longer have access to due to shelter closures or service reductions. San Francisco has put forward a plan to solve this issue by creating a sanctioned encampment and attempting to space out individuals to enact social distancing. This plan is certainly a starting point that

JANUARY—In an attempt to modernize Stuyvesant’s drafting program and avoid the technical difficulties often encountered with the CADKEY system, technology teacher Arthur Griffith launched a revamped pilot program with the widely used AutoCAD software.

ous officers face the legal justice they deserve. Very few of them face trials and even fewer face convictions. There have been far too many cases for these events to be considered anomalies, and these officers rarely face consequences for the lives they take.

This creates a system wherein these racist murderers commit crimes, and due to an institutional lack of accountability, are still allowed to continue their lives without justice.

However, it is important to recognize that not all police officers are inherently bad—in fact, there are a very large number of good individuals with courage and nothing but their communities’ best interests in mind. The

MARCH 8—The MH37 flight operated by Malaysia Airlines, along with the 239 passengers and workers on board, went missing on its international journey from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to Beijing, China. Since then, the disappearance of this plane has become one of aviation’s most perplexing mysteries.

FEBRUARY 7-23—The 2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi, Russia, with the host country winning the most gold medals.

many cities could model after as a stopgap measure, but there is definitely a need to address the lack of sanitation supplies that the homeless population has access to. Setting up sanitation stations and providing facilities that enable people to shower and wash their hands is crucial for individual health and for collectively reducing the transmission of COVID-19. Even more broadly than just local and citylevel initiatives, action needs to be taken at the federal level. Increasing the resources and funds that the Department of Housing and Urban Development has at its disposal will result in more wide-reaching proposals and programs that can have more leverage in increasing affordable housing. However, this does not necessarily displace the role that individuals have at the local level.

There is a particularly important emphasis on the role that communities have surrounding this pandemic. These types of crises often bring out the worst in people because of the imminent danger that has been created by this virus. However, now is a time more crucial than ever to understand that community cooperation is vital to the success of these relief initiatives.

Furthermore, this situation has the potential for a positive spillover effect much beyond the scope of this pandemic. Systemic issues—regarding both the support system for the homeless population and the ineffective strategies used by many municipalities to isolate the population, rather than actively working to integrate it—will hopefully be altered such that innovative, integrative strategies can be developed for long-term improvement.

duty that police officers hold is crucial and many fill that role respectfully and honorably. However, the brutality of many other officers is all too common and the system is all too concrete to ignore the issue that is rooted deeply in the institution that all cops belong to.

Institutional racism and police brutality cannot go unchallenged. As a nation united, we have a responsibility to do all that we can to work against the systems that oppress people of color. As allies, we must recognize that the incredulous horror we feel when we see these events is the harsh, terrifying continued on page 14

JULY 17—Forty-three yearold Eric Garner died after being detained in a chokehold by the police. In response, protests erupted across New York and throughout the nation.

COMPUTER GLITCH INFLATES VOTING RESULTS OF SU ELECTION JUNE—This error, reported by the BOE, ended up completely botching the results of the Senior Caucus elections, which announced the wrong ticket as the winners for several hours before the mistake was found.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 14

Opinions continued from page 13

reality of people of color—of our very own neighbors and friends. So these iterations of brutality are far more than just scary events: they represent the perpetual fear and anger caused by the unfortunate fact that the people whose job it is to protect often become the ones we need protecting from. And when our trust that they can fulfill their duties is gone, the police system becomes ineffective on all ends. One thing that we must do is hold authority accountable.

Through protests, petitions, and education, we can harness our power to ensure that innocent people’s lives are not lost in vain. If we make our voices heard and take our leaders to task, the change will be far easier to obtain. The American people united are a historically strong and effective group, be it when fighting for marriage equality or championing the civil rights

By YEWON CHANG I am standing on the corner of 92nd Street and York Avenue. Behind me, the burning sun descends into the nearby East River, scattering light like a fiery kaleidoscope over the darkening ripples. A cool evening breeze swirls past my apartment courtyard, making it easier to breathe through my stifling mask. I reach into my pocket and carefully pull out my phone, sealed in a Ziploc bag. The sound of a notification pierces the omnipresent silence of my street: it is my mother asking me to come back home at 8:00 p.m.

I have 10 minutes left to enjoy my neighborhood, and 480 hours and 10 minutes before I leave New York for South Korea. So I begin to walk.

As I approach First Avenue, I spot the worn navy sign of my favorite deli. When I left my apartment early on the way to school, I would walk 105 steps to reach the shop. There, I would exchange five crumpled dollar bills for an iced latte and a buttered bagel, an order that the owner knew by heart and could make in 30 seconds. I remember how his friendly young employees compensated for their boss’s silence. They m a r velled at how fast kids grow, reminiscing the times when my middle school s e l f

How to Be an Ally

movement. Everyone has a responsibility to involve themselves—the fight for the lives of African-Americans should not rest solely on their shoulders.

We all have a responsibility to make our voices heard and to hold our racist institutions further accountable.

On top of holding the perpetrators accountable, we have to bring justice to the victims.

For every black victim of police brutality, there are families and friends who have loved and lost.

The victims’ stories and the stories of their loved ones must be amplified. If we don’t hear these stories, we are failing to respond with the justice that victims deserve. Each case has a name, and each name has a story that needs to be told. And we must never let these names fade away.

If in three years, we have forgotten the names of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery, we have failed them. Until the hatred and actions that create these unjust

police murders are eradicated, we must say their names and tell their stories.

There are legitimate actions we can take as well. Consider signing petitions that call for justice for police brutality victims, as well as petitions calling for police reform. If you have the income to do so, donate to funds for individual cases, overall justice funds, and bail funds to free protestors that have been arrested for exercising their First Amendment right to assembly.

Reach out to your representatives, who can make legislative change at every level, because without real change, our protests may be silenced. Educate yourself: read books by black writers to help guide your views and understanding of race and racism. Those books may include Carol Anderson’s “White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me,” and Ibram X Kendi’s

“How to be an Anti-Racist,” which have all had a major personal impact on my understanding of how to approach this topic. Finally, and possibly most importantly, we have to actively speak out against injustices until they no longer exist. This is not a trend that can fade out of existence. Keep talking about the issues that plague the black members of our community. If we don’t talk about the issues, we contribute to their existence.

Call out your friends and family when they are casually racist or discriminative. Unseating the casualness with which we can contribute to systems of injustice will go far in destroying them.

Without this discourse, there will be no justice.

There is also a personal aspect of discrimination and racism that we must emphasize.

Racism is not always overt.

Even the strongest allies and advocates may have internal biases that they are unaware of.

Goodbye, New York

would clamor for sour straws.

Most of the time, however, they would talk loudly amongst themselves, boasting of their baby nephew who had just learned to walk or the new apartment they had just found. Yet when I peer through the windows, I see only my reflection and a paper announcing their temporary closure.

I walk to Second Avenue, and from the corner of my eye, I see the 94th Street station and shudder. The memory of rushing onto the downtown Q train with my swim bag clutched in one hand is significantly less pleasant. After 10 minutes of tunnels, I would drowsily rush to the 2/3 line in Times Square— only to discover that I took the wrong train when I arrived at 72nd Street. But I remember those traumatizing mornings would become progressively less awful as I reached Chambers Street. Be it a kind couple handing me the ID card I dropped or a man using the subway car as his dance floor, the eccentric charm of New York City has always made me smile.

I take a left to 91st Street, my drop-off spot for a Via ride home after a club ended far too late.

After collaps-

ing into the back seat of the car, I would stuff a biology worksheet in my bookbag. Sometimes, the driver would ask me about my day, and simple pleasantries would evolve into the most diverse range of conversations with the most diverse range of people. I laughed along with a Venezuelan immigrant’s stories about her balcony dances to the tunes of her neighborhood, and I listened to an African-American father’s vow to never let his daughter face the discrimination he does. With each story, I learned more about the millions of people who inhabit the crowded sidewalks that I push past on the daily—and to this day, I wonder if I ever would have had these experiences if I lived elsewhere.

The Big Apple’s beauty lies within its residents: the eight million residents from different cultures and backgrounds, each of whom clutch unique stories, struggles, and dreams close to their hearts.

Though it is easy to feel lost and insignificant in this vast city, it is important to remember that we are each an individual part of this city.

When we all join together, we form a city revered by the world in art and music in hushed whispers far away from the five boroughs.

What I adore about New York is not just the technicolor lights of Times Square, but also its calm and constant undercurrents, upholding the structure of an outwardly chaotic and unwelcoming city. Such undercurrents represent the little things that make my day—the deli owner who memorized my coffee order, the glimpses of kindness on express trains, and most importantly, the people willing to share their personal histories with me.

These New Yorkers have taught me that if you lend an ear to a stranger with a life different from yours, their words will pave a yellow brick road to selfreflection and personal development.

With the recent turn of events, it has become difficult to stand tall in the face of the injustices that inundate New York. Our fear that nothing will ever be the same seems to be a likely reality with constant shutdowns and rigid safety precautions.

Thus, amid this turbulent time, w e must continue to uphold

Sunjung Bok / The Spectator

SCHOOL SCHEDULE EXTENDED

SEPTEMBER—In order to increase instructional time as per DOE requirements, the school schedule was extended by five minutes. The UFT DOE teacher contract requires teachers to teach five classes out of an eight-period day, though Stuyvesant teachers teach five periods out of nine, short by 20 minutes each day. However, students with a seven-period schedule are still 10 minutes short of required instruction time.

SUMMER—The Ebola epidemic spread rapidly in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia and became a global health crisis. More than 17,000 were diagnosed and over 6,000 died from the disease.

OCTOBER 10—Malala Yousafzai jointly won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi for their efforts in advocating for children’s educational rights and became the youngest ever Nobel Prize winner.

THE SPECTATOR PUBLISHES CENTENNIAL MAGAZINE

SEPTEMBER—The Spectator began as a four-page paper with a cover story on the football team’s victory in 1915. In commemoration of the past 100 years of student journalism at Stuyvesant, The Spectator published the Centennial Magazine.

We must pay attention to, and if necessary, adjust the language we use to describe people of color and all the subconscious actions we take because all these microaggressions contribute to the systemic usage of racism, and it’s important that we constantly analyze ourselves and challenge the opinions we hold. If you find yourself asking why “All Lives Matter” is not the message, recognize that not all lives matter until black lives do. We are all accountable for our thoughts and words, and we must enforce that on ourselves.

In our country, police brutality is supported by institutional racism. We must unite across race, religion, and creed to hold authority accountable, keep stories visible and loud, and check ourselves for the actions we take. Justice is deserved. Justice is needed. And if we take these necessary steps to combat these unnecessary evils, justice is more than possible.

one another—the very little things that comprise this city. We must console each other’s grief, share in joys, and fight for our collective right to live. Even the smallest contributions of kindness and solidarity—whether applauding health care workers every evening or donating a dollar to a just cause—have the most uplifting effects when done by all eight million residents. On our own, we must then selfreflect and evaluate our past actions so that we promote the triumph of unity over division in our city—so that we stand firmly by one another, acting as firm pillars able to withstand even the worst of humanity. And I have absolute faith that New Yorkers have the strength to rebuild a city born not of our current fear and mistrust, but of love and support.

Another harsh sound of a notification breaks the quietude of Yorkville. I pull out my phone once more—it is my mother calling me to tell me to come home. As I walk under the dimmed street lamps lighting the brick pathway to my apartment, I feel warmth and comfort despite the cold air that swirls over from the now-black river. For even when I board a plane to a country on the opposite side of the world, the lessons that New York has taught me will forever stay in my heart, and the city will forever be my home.

Due to her departure from New York, this is Yewon’s last article for the Spectator. We thank her for all she has done and wish her the very best.

SU OFFICE TRANSFORMED INTO STUDENT LOUNGE

DECEMBER—The double doors behind the senior bar, previously known as the SU office, was transformed into a student lounge, which contained tables, bean bag chairs, and a blue carpet.

THE SPECTATOR PUBLISHES FIRST-EVER SPOOKTATOR

OCTOBER—The first Spooktator, a Halloweenthemed humor issue, was published on Halloween, beginning a long-standing tradition and creating a second humor issue of the year, in addition to the Disrespectator published on April Fools’ Day.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 15

Opinions: Decade in Opinions Review The SHSAT Through the Decade 2011

2012

2014

2015

A coalition of educational and civil rights groups—with the NAACP at the forefront—file a federal civil rights complaint with the United States Department of Education, claiming that the specialized high schools admissions test has a discriminatory impact on Black and Latino students, violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and should therefore no longer be used as the sole admissions criterion.

Bills that would grant NYC’s Board of Education control over the specialized high schools admissions process are introduced. The new admissions criteria would include “multiple measures of student merit,” such as grade point average and other factors that the board would deem appropriate. These bills do not make it past the Education Committees in the State Senate or Assembly in order to receive general body votes.

A bill is re-introduced to expand the admissions policy and factor in other measures of a student’s merit, such as grade point average, attendance, SHSAT, and state-wide standardized testing scores. The bill is not passed, but is supported by New York City Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña and the United Federation of Teachers.

A newly-formed Coalition of Specialized High School Alumni Organizations released a statement in support of maintaining the test-based admission policy, asserting that the SHSAT is the only objective means of gaining entry into the city’s specialized high schools. They call on the city to better promote the exam in underrepresented communities, to expand the scope and quality of SHSAT preparation options, and to reinvest in the Discovery Program. In response, Mayor de Blasio emphasizes his support of broadening admissions criteria beyond one exam.

Changes to the SHSAT are discussed at a City Council hearing—primarily de Blasio’s idea of having a multiple-criteria admissions system—but no consensus is made. Many agree that the SHSAT itself is unbiased, but is affected by external factors such as advanced courses in select schools and availability of outreach programs. Some also push to improve the school system itself, as well as fix issues on how students receive information about high school admissions and test prep. Generally, the SHSAT still has a significant amount of support.

2016

In the summer of 2016, DREAM launched a new intensive for high-achieving eighth-grade students who would benefit from additional preparation for the SHSAT. It targets 500 more students who may perform well on the SHSAT, expands professional development opportunities for DREAM staff, and provides wraparound services for DREAM participants. The then-current DREAM model continues with a renewed focus on foundational skill-building and ensuring that curricula are fully aligned with the SHSAT. 77 of the 530 Black and Latinx students who received specialized high school offers this year participated in the DREAM program.

2017

A modified Specialized High School Admissions Test (SHSAT) is implemented in the fall of 2017.

Scrambled paragraphs and logical reasoning, which were both previously on the exam, are replaced with a multiple choice section on grammar. Reading comprehension and the math section are unchanged. The changes are made to align with what a student learns at school.

2018

2019

2020

Mayor de Blasio proposes changes to specialized high school admission that would eliminate the SHSAT and admit students based on their class rank in middle school and standardized testing scores. He also announces that starting in the fall of 2019, the city would set aside 20 percent of seats in each specialized high school for low-income students who did not make the SHSAT cutoff; these students would attend the Discovery Program. Five percent of students in the 2018-2019 school year are admitted through this program. At Stuyvesant, these students undergo a six-week program that includes geometry, biology, English, and guidance in order to prepare for the Stuyvesant curriculum. The Discovery Program had previously been terminated at Stuyvesant by Principal Teitel in the 1990s.

The Discovery Program for the Stuyvesant class of 2023 greatly increased from 20 students in 2018 to nearly 100 participants in 2019. Eventually, students admitted through the program will make up 20 percent of the student body.

A lawsuit filed in 2018 by parents at the Christa McAuliffe School was closed in March of 2020. The initial lawsuit posed charges against the mayor and the chancellor for discriminating against Asian Americans and infringing on the 14th amendment through the Discovery Program. The plaintiff ’s request for a preliminary injunction, which prevented the program from continuing until the case was settled, was denied in 2018. The plaintiffs attempted to appeal in 2019. And this year, the case was finally laid to rest.

28,000 2,450

students took the SHSAT in 2019

1,368

190

Asian students were White students were Black students were offered seats offered seats offered seats

Read more Black Lives Matter content online.

By BRIAN MOSES Back in elementary school, my education about the history of race in America went something like this: there was racism and racial inequality, which was really bad, but then a very nice man by the name of Martin Luther King Jr. gave a great speech in Washington D.C. and it went away. This is more or less the Republican narrative on race issues in America— that conditions were very bad for black Americans before the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act of 1964 and ’65, but afterwards, there were no longer any barriers to black people succeeding in America.

But this isn’t really true. For starters, most Americans at the time were lukewarm to the idea of instituting complete racial equality.

According to Pew Research Data, while 58 percent of Americans supported the Civil Rights Act, only 19 percent believed the act, which proclaimed that “All persons shall be entitled to the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, and privileges, advantages, and accommodations of any place of public accommodation, as defined in this section, without discrimination or segregation on the ground of race, color, religion, or national origin,” should be “vigorously enforced,” with 68 percent preferring “moderation in enforcement.”

And while black Americans were granted all of the same political rights as white Americans, they were still in the same economic position as before. Some progress has been made in the years since the passage of the Civil Rights Act, with the education gap decreasing slowly if consistently

and median income percentile for black Americans rising from 25 percent to 34 percent since 1968, according to the Washington Center for Economic Growth.

But the racial gap remains very high. Child poverty among black Americans stands at 39 percent, more than three times the rate among white Americans. The wealth gap has actually increased during the past few decades, with median black household wealth being less than one tenth that of white households. And police brutality, an ever-present threat for black Americans, never went away.

Commonly pushed by conservatives, the idea that black children have the same shot at success as white Americans is plainly wrong in the face of these statistics. As income mobility continues to decrease, children born into poverty are ever more likely to remain there. And all of this was before the coronavirus pandemic, which has had a disproportionate impact on the black community in terms of death and economic ruin.

None of this is to justify the looting and rioting being done by a small group of the protestors— nothing can justify destroying the livelihoods of people who’ve already been battered by the coronavirus, many of them minority business owners. But Americans need to acknowledge that this country has a problem with racial inequality that needs solving, one that didn’t go away 50 years ago.

Because he is a graduating senior, this is Brian’s last article for the Spectator.

He has been with us for longer than both of the Opinions section’s current editors, since 2017; we thank him for his years of service and wish him the best going forward.

Read the Opinion Department’s commentary on the SHSAT and its history here: JANUARY 7—Masked gunmen, brothers Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, stormed the offices of the magazine Charlie Hebdo in France, where they killed 10 journalists and two police officers. The manhunt, which continued for the next three days, ended in two hostage sieges, during which four hostages were killed.

CELLPHONE BAN TO BE LIFTED AT STUYVESANT

MOHAMMED ISLAM PRESENTS CONTRADICTORY STORY ABOUT HIS FINANCES

DECEMBER—New York Magazine published an article describing how senior and president of the Stuyvesant Investment Club Mohammed Islam had accumulated a net worth of $72 million through trades in the stock market. However, through an interview with The New York Observer, Islam admitted that the $72 million was a hoax as he made $72 million through stimulated trades with fake money and apologized for lying to the media. This incident created controversy over how much fact-checking was done among the Stuyvesant body and New York Magazine journalists.

Ismath Maksura / The Spectator

FEBRUARY—The previous cell phone ban, which was implemented to avoid distractions in the classroom, was lifted by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Carmen Fariña to increase school safety. In an SLT meeting, a new phone policy was discussed where students would be allowed to use their phones in designated areas and teachers could allow their use at their discretion.

Laurina Xie / The Spectator

2013

DREAM, an extracurricular program of rigorous coursework designed to assist eligible NYC students in preparing for the SHSAT, downsizes due to budget constraints. The preparatory program shrinks by half in the months that follow, forcing students to begin the program in the spring of seventh grade rather than the summer of sixth grade.

America’s Race Problem Never Went Away

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

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Opinions

By ELIO TORRES I vacationed in Lisbon, Portugal, late last July; this trip was likely the last time in the foreseeable future that I would board an airplane to another country without a medical mask fastened around my chin. At the time, vacationing in Lisbon and Porto was a global fad; neighbors and relatives had similar trips planned to the picturesque Iberian coastal-nation and made their travel plans known on social media under hashtags like Iberiansummer and Lisboalove. Unlike the model for cities in the United States, which is most often characterized by uniform roadways and shabby train lines, Lisbon was completely navigable—even ideal—on foot. Its urban development plan was tailored to the average pedestrian and acted in the interest of preserving its historic walking culture.

Grand plazas were shut off to cars, and passageways were pedestrian-only. You could sense the lack of urgency in commuters, compared to the belligerent taxi drivers of our own city.

Perhaps the city’s walkability

Closed Streets, Open City

and relaxed street dynamic account for Portugal’s top quality of life rating, which far surpasses many of Europe’s other plentiful destinations.

Initiatives in New York City have long tried to replicate this effect. Former mayor Michael Bloomberg announced a reform in 2009 to close Broadway to car and truck traffic in Times Square—an attempt to “ease congestion throughout Midtown.”

Then in 2019, mayor Bill de Blasio introduced plans to expand pedestrian space around the city in areas like Rockefeller center, where he dubbed pedestrian traffic more pressing than automobile traffic. Needless to say, there is a univer- s a l appeal to having a walkable city—it reduces emissions from automobiles, promotes the local economy, and nurtures the community.

Besides societal benefits, open streets are vital to pedestrian satisfaction; in an NPR interview with city planner Jeff Speck, he noted that for a street to appeal to pedestrians, the “walkways need to be use-

ful, safe, and comfortable… essentially having a proper balance.” Striking this balance in a city fixed on car culture is hard to plan for, which is why the approach has been incremental reform first—observe the impact on traffic second.

Similar freedoms of closed streets and pedestrian walkability were recently granted to my neighborhood, as

Ivy Jiang / The

Spectator

two of Williamsburg’s busiest streets were closed off as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The intention was to provide more space for city dwellers to go outside and walk their pets, especially as the weather in NYC is improving, without having to share the narrow sidewalks or crowded greenspaces. On 80 degree days, residents have flocked to public parks, abandoning their quarantine mentalities. The general logic is even if public gatherings are unavoidable, closed streets will at least help make social distancing more

practical. Without the burden of aggressive drivers, the streets have the same serenity as Lisbon, and I was able to bike across all of Williamsburg without fear of an accident.

Locals are satisfied with the solution too; the streets serve as a perfect outdoor patio for restaurants, which are still barred from allowing any instore service.

Though this shutdown is temporary, it suggests that a more permanent closed-street system could realistically be implemented, especially as we navigate the post-pandemic realities and remain unsure about when a vaccine will arrive. Increased traffic h a s been the most widelytouted concern against moving to a permanent solution, and while this argument has merit—considering our city’s 1.9 million cars—there are a variety of historic examples to refute the contention that increased traffic is a reasonable worry. On Earth Day of 1990, the transportation commissioner closed 42nd Street in Manhattan to cars, predicting

that a historic traffic jam would ensue in the surrounding areas.

But in practice, traffic flow was inadvertently improved.

Mathematicians suggest that this was a real-life example of Braess’s paradox, a theorem that implies that for a crowded network of streets, adding another street can actually have adverse effects on traffic flow.

More is not always preferred.

Thus, if we better organize and direct our existing streets, we will be able to introduce walking reforms without introducing new traffic problems. In fact, in my own neighborhood, traffic has not seen a notable increase in any of the adjacent areas after the two streets were closed-off. When we return to normalcy, parks will continue to amass their normal crowds, and even though public health will no longer be the rationale for keeping the streets closed, foot traffic, community bonding, and more places for leisure should be enough of a reason for the local government to understand that it is worth a try.

It is time to commit to more and not settle for less. Close the streets and open the city.

Bolsonaro’s Behavior Amid a Pandemic is Appallingly Bad

What do you want me to do?” ties in danger; otherwise, they is a perfect reflection of how risk getting fired. Several govA week ago, Brazil’s total comically bad his leadership ernors have refused to comply number of confirmed COV- has been during the coronavi- with the order, for which Bolsonaro claims they will face legal ID-19 cases surpassed Russia’s: rus pandemic.

Bolsonaro’s “so what?” action. It’s not only governors the number is now second only to that of the United States. sparked outrage across Brazil, who have clashed with BolsoAnd the key word there is “con- and rightly so. At a time when naro over this incredibly poor firmed”—in all likelihood, the he should be stepping up and judgment of an order. It led actual number is much higher; being the leader he supposedly Nelson Teich, Brazil’s health Brazil tests at a rate 32 times is, his surliness and dismissive- minister, to resign, making him lower than the United States ness highlight his incredible de- the second person to leave the tachment and lack of empathy. post in under a month—his does.

The favelas, Brazil’s slums, He calls the virus a “little flu” predecessor, Luiz Henrique have been hit particularly hard. while bodies are being buried in Mandetta, was fired in April for encouraging Brazilians to folThe virus has been spreading mass graves just miles away.

His indifference is danger- low social distancing rules. It’s rampantly in these neighborhoods, as their residents lack ous. Being that Bolsonaro has beyond twisted that a president access to basic sanitation and an enormous platform of sup- should punish statesmen simmust keep going to work in or- porters, his attitude has the po- ply for trying to prevent deaths. tential to spread. Coronavirus At its core, Bolsonaro’s inder to keep food on the table.

It’s suffice to say that Brazil must be taken seriously, and if action is about preserving what is in an awful state right now. anything less than all precau- is most important to him: the One would expect Jair Bol- tions are taken, Brazil will pay economy. His argument is that the damage to the economy sonaro, Brazil’s president, to the price in lives.

But it goes further than in- from closing businesses is be doing whatever possible to stop the steady rise and spread sensitive comments. Bolsonaro worse than the damage from of coronavirus in Brazil. Yet has been engaged in active sup- coronavirus. But who is to take consistently, all he has done has pression of any attempts to put part in that economy if everybeen to belittle the virus and measures in place. Two weeks one is dead?

By some accounts, it goes downplay how bad Brazil’s cur- ago, he ordered salons and rent situation is. During a meet- gyms nationwide to reopen, even further than simple neging with Bolsonaro, a reporter something with potentially di- ligence. Solange Vieira, the made a comment about how sastrous consequences. Work- leader of the Superintendence high the death toll was. His ers will be forced to go back to of Private Insurance, allegedly response, a sullen “So what? work, putting themselves, their said, “It’s good that deaths are families, and entire communi- concentrated among the old.

SCHOOLS CLOSE FOR MUSLIM HOLIDAYS STARTING NEXT YEAR JULY 14—NASA’s interplanBy AYA ALRYYES

MARCH—Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that schools would close for Eid-Al Fitr and Eid-Al Adha to accommodate Muslim students. Additionally, pressure was put on de Blasio to put holidays of other cultures, such as Diwali and Lunar New Year, onto the school calendar as holidays.

etary space probe New Horizons made its closest approach to Pluto. New Horizons became the first space mission to explore Pluto’s moons and obtain images of objects in the Kuiper Belt.

JUNE 26—The Supreme Court case Obergefell v. Hodges ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment gave all Americans the right to same-sex marriage.

That will improve our eco- him, I doubt anything can give nomic performance, as it will him the human ability to unreduce our pension deficit.” derstand and share the pain of Two separate officials have others. corroborated her having made It is my sincerest wish that that statement. The unbeliev- Bolsonaro emerges from this able callousness in that state- virus internationally disgraced ment should be appalling to and discredited. His behavior absolutely everyone, regardless has been negligent to the point of whatever economic theory of criminality. Miriam Leitao, or political ideology one sub- an established op-ed writer at scribes to. There is no excuse O Globo, one of Brazil’s bigfor this completely unabashed gest newspapers, put it best: disregard for human life.

“Anyone who shows such conOf course, it is important tempt for his own people can to note that this specific opin- no longer be president.” ion is not just Bolsonaro’s. It It is important not to forget seems to be the consensus of that Bolsonaro’s incompetence his administration that there is reflects poorly on him, not on no problem with sacrificing hu- Brazil as a whole. Some state man lives in the name of the leaders have quietly resisted his economy. orders, making the autonomous Bolsonaro has the privilege decision to enforce lockdowns. of being removed from any Those states, unsurprisingly, suffering. No one in his fam- have some of the lowest coroily is sick. João Doria, the gov- navirus rates in the country. As ernor of São Paulo, a city that Renata Alves, a healthcare volhas been hit particularly hard unteer with the G10 Favela aid by the virus, has urged Bolso- group, so succinctly put it when naro to get out of his “Brasilia asked about Bolsonaro’s “little bubble” and to visit hospitals flu” comment: “Irrelevant.” No in which people are dying. Per- matter what Bolsonaro says, haps the sight of a child sob- brave healthcare workers and bing because of the death of private benefactors will conhis mother would make him tinue to give anything and evchange his tune, though after erything to save lives. Because everything I have learned about that’s what humans do.

STUDENTS REQUIRED TO TAKE ONE OR MORE AP EXAMS TO GRADUATE OCTOBER—Beginning with the class of 2017, every student must sit for at least one AP exam during their time at Stuyvesant in order to graduate with a Stuyvesant Endorsed Diploma.

DAMESEK RETURNS TO STUYVESANT AFTER TWO-YEAR FORCED ABSENCE

SEPTEMBER—Assistant Principal of Organization Randi Damesek returned to Stuyvesant after a two-year forced absence due to the cheating scandal in 2012.

After a prolonged investigation, Damesek had been cleared of the charges against her and was reinstated into the school.

NOVEMBER 13—Coordinated terrorist attacks in and around Paris, France injured 368 and killed 130 people.

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Page 17

Black Lives Matter

By JULIAN GIORDANO, MATT MELUCCI, and ZOE OPPENHEIMER Courtesy of ERIC GROSSMAN

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SING! 2016 FACES BUDGET CUTS

FEBRUARY—SING! prices and dues increased in response to SU budget cuts, stemming from pay increases for SING! faculty advisors and the SU having to pay the Coordinator of Student Affairs’s salary.

Afra Mahmud / The Spectator

JANUARY—President Barack Obama declared a state of emergency in Flint, Michigan after the city’s drinking water was contaminated with lead.

JUNE 12—Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 53 others during a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida.

FRESHMEN ALLOWED OUT DURING FREE PERIODS, CONCLUDING A 15-YEAR BATTLE

FEBRUARY—The administration granted freshmen the right to leave the building during free periods, the last grade to regain the privilege after it was revoked for all grades following 9/11.

AUGUST 5-21—The 2016 Rio Olympics were held in Brazil, making it the first Olympic games to ever be held on the South American continent.

JUNE 23—The United Kingdom decided to withdraw from the European Union, with 52 percent of voters choosing to leave.

Page 18

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Science Science: Decade in Review A Decade of Innovation

By THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

To mark the end of the 2010s, we at the Science department wrote about our favorite experimental innovations of the decade and organized them in an awe-inspiring timeline representing the greatest pillars of scientific progression.

2010: The Discovery of the Denisovans

2011: The First Artificial Organ Transplant

2012: Voyager 1 Leaves the Solar System

By ANGELINA CHANG

By ARIN FARUQUE

By HENRY CEN

Scientists identified a 40,000-year old pinky bone in a Siberian cave that was linked to a new hominid species in March 2010. Anthropologists previously thought Neanderthals and humans were the only hominids during the Late Pleistocene, which was 12 thousand to 126 thousand years ago, but the discovery of the pinky bone challenged this idea. Svante Paabo, a geneticist at the Max Planck Institute, and his colleague discovered the bone in the Denisova Cave in southern Siberia. After sequencing DNA from the specimen’s mitochondria, they found that it was genetically similar to both Neanderthal and human DNA but distinct enough to be a separate species of human. Scientists named the species “Denisovan” after the cave the pinky bone was found.

Geologist Chen Fahu and his colleagues published a paper in “Nature” magazine about the discovery of a Denisovan mandible from the Tibetan Plateau in Xiahe County, Gansu, China in 2019. It is the first confirmed Denisovan fossil outside of the Denisova cave, and it was found to be at least 160 thousand years old.

Scientists have found genetic overlap between the Denisovan genome and that of the Melanesians living in Papua New Guinea. The most likely reason is that Denisovans living in eastern Eurasia interbred with the ancestors of Melanesians. Tibetans and Han Chinese have Denisovan DNA in their genomes as well; scientists discovered Sherpas likely inherited a Denisovan gene that allows them to breathe at high altitudes.

Swedish scientists performed the first synthetic organ transplant in July 2011, and by doing so, they successfully saved a 36-year-old patient who suffered from late-stage tracheal cancer. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy were ineffective. The tumor was still growing and seemed to be heading toward the patient’s main bronchus. After no windpipe donor was found, doctors had to resort to their last option: developing and transplanting an artificial windpipe.

To create this synthetic windpipe, scientists created a scaffold from a porous polymer and took stem cells from the patient’s bone marrow. These stem cells were then grown into tissue using a bioreactor. This treatment not only eliminates the need for an organ donor but is also safer than a donor transplant. With traditional organ donor transplants, there always remains a risk that the organ could be rejected by the patient’s immune system. To counter that risk, patients getting donor transplants often have to take dangerous immunosuppressant drugs, whose side effects can be fatal.

However, this process completely removes the need for these harmful drugs because the organ being transplanted is derived from the stem cells of the patient themself.

Not only did this case give hope to many patients suffering from tracheal cancer, but it also showed promise for the future of regenerative medicine and brought forward the possibility of a safer way to treat cancers and other diseases.

Voyager 1 officially became the first man-made object to reach interstellar space in August 2012. After more than 37 years of roaming the cosmos, Voyager 1 made history with this achievement.

Voyager 1 launched on September 5, 1977. The Voyager missions took advantage of a special alignment of the outer planets that would allow for a fly-by of four planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, all while using the minimum amount of propellant and in the least time possible.

After Voyager 1 had accomplished its original mission of flying by Jupiter and Saturn, NASA determined that Voyager 1 still had the necessary power and instruments to continue on, and allowed it to. It continued to fly toward the end of the heliosphere, a bubble region around the Sun made of charged particles and magnetic fields that the Sun emits. Space beyond this bubble is considered interstellar space.

Voyager 1’s position in space was able to be pinpointed through help from a random powerful solar eruption that happened sometime between April and May 2012. This solar eruption created a plasma wave that caused electrons near Voyager 1’s location to vibrate. Voyager 1’s onboard plasma wave instrument sensed these vibrations, prompting it to measure the density of electrons nearby. This information was sent back to scientists on Earth, who concluded that the measured and expected electron densities were consistent. From these conclusions and a few calculations, they reported that Voyager 1 had crossed into interstellar space sometime around August 25, 2012.

2013: The Development of CRISPR-Cas9 for Genome Editing

2014: The Synthesis of Artificial DNA

2015: LIGO Detects A Gravitational Wave For The First Time

By DEAN CHEN

By KAITLYN LEE

By RANIA ZAKI

Through a number of diverse mechanisms, the CRISPR (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats) system confers adaptive immunity upon prokaryotic cells. The system functions by integrating foreign DNA into a genomic CRISPR array, which can then be used to identify and cleave identical DNA sequences when encountered again. Cas proteins, or CRISPR-associated proteins, are the agents that facilitate the CRISPR response.

Biochemists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna published a paper outlining the potential use of the Cas9 protein for gene editing in 2012. Their research concluded that the synthesis of a single-stranded “guide RNA” was sufficient in inducing the recognition and double-stranded cleavage of target DNA strands.

Carpentier and Doudna’s research opened the possibility of a simple, programmable gene-editing system to the scientific world.

Bioengineer Fang Zheng and colleagues confirmed the findings of Charpentier and Doudna in 2013. They succeeded in demonstrating the viability of Cas9 systems in mammalian cells for targeted genetic modification.

The team was able to use the proposed Cas9 system for targeted cleavage, insertion, and deletion within human and mouse cells in vitro.

The CRISPR-Cas9 system has opened the door for efficient edits in prokaryotic and eukaryotic genomes and only continues to be expanded upon. It has seen applications in agriculture, gene therapy, and genetic research, though more recent ethical concerns regarding germline editing have influenced research. However, the potential that CRISPR-Cas9 editing has on the biomedical stage remains—more complex and extraordinary uses for it will undoubtedly arise in the near future.

DNA, the molecule that carries the genetic instructions for almost all organisms to function, has always consisted of four nucleotide bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. However, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in California synthesized two new paired bases known as “X” and “Y” that can be added to the DNA structure without disruption of its function in 2014. In addition, the X and Y bases are able to carry out the functions of their original counterparts, such as retrieving information and synthesizing proteins.

The creation of the X and Y bases has not only expanded the genetic alphabet of DNA but also opened the possibilities of building new proteins and creating more efficient, long-lasting drugs with fewer side effects.

The scientists of TSRI used genetic engineering to place the X and Y bases into the DNA of Escherichia coli bacteria, which were able to store the bases and pass them to its daughter cells. The X and Y bases were then integrated into bacterial genes that consisted of the four original bases. The bacteria successfully read the artificial bases and transcribed them into its RNA molecules in order to begin the production of proteins. The protein produced through the RNA transcription of the artificial bases contained unnatural amino acids. As a result, the addition of the X and Y bases to DNA molecules allows for the synthesis of 152 new amino acids in addition to the original 20 natural amino acids.

The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) Scientific Collaboration in September 2015 detected distortions in the space-time curvature produced by the cataclysmic event of two black holes accelerating and colliding into each other. These distortions produced by accelerating objects, named gravitational waves, affirmed Albert Einstein’s conjecture and paved an unprecedented window into the cosmos.

LIGO’s L-shaped detectors utilized laser interferometers, a technique that allows for the high precision measurement in the time it takes light to travel between suspended mirrors using a controlled laser beam. At the end of each equivocally-distanced arm in the detectors were suspended mirrors that reflected light back. When no gravitational waves were present, the time in which light was reflected from each arm was the same. When a burst of the gravitational waves passed through the LIGO detector, the waves slightly lengthened—specifically a shift of a millionth of a millionth of a millionth of a meter––one arm while compressing the space-time fabric of the other arm. This affected the time it took light to be reflected back. LIGO detected this in both detectors in Louisiana and Washington, affirming the presence of gravitational waves than a near disturbance like a nearby highway.

There is still much to discover. For once, scientists do not know how to analyze gravitational waves that carry extremely preserved information about celestial objects. As their detection and future technology allow scientists to analyze them, the limit to understanding the cosmos will be infinite. LIGO’s detection is a pivotal step in that direction.

PRINCIPAL JIE ZHANG RETIRES FROM THE DOE SEPTEMBER—Former Principal Jie Zhang, who had been principal at Stuyvesant for four years, officially retired from the DOE on July 21 and will be superintendent at the New York Military Academy. During her time, she increased the number of AP classes, integrated technology such as SMART boards into classrooms, received a number of grants to renovate the theater and robotics lab, and created a new computer lab and drafting room.

SEPTEMBER 17— Ahmad Khan Rahimi placed a pipe bomb that exploded in Seaside Park, New Jersey. On the same day, he released a homemade pressure-cooker bomb in Chelsea, New York, which exploded. The bombs left 31 people wounded.

SEPTEMBER—Eric Contreras, who was previously Assistant Principal and Principal of the Queens High School of Teaching for seven years, assumed the position of Interim-Acting Principal after former Principal Jie Zhang retired from the DOE.

continued on page 17

STUYVESANT RECEIVES FUNDING FOR NEW INNOVATION LAB

OCTOBER—With a $300,000 grant, Stuyvesant planned to create a new Innovation Center in room 251 and purchased new equipment to improve its engineering programs, which opened up prospects for new 10-Tech classes.

SEPTEMBER 28 - OCTOBER 10—Hurricane Matthew struck parts of Florida to North Carolina. At least two million people were forced to evacuate from their homes.

NOVEMBER 9— Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential election against Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

OCTOBER—The SLT implemented a new homework policy that limits the amount of homework a teacher is allowed to assign.

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Page 19

Science: Decade in Science Review A Decade of Innovation

continued from page 16

2016: Machine Learning Trumps Humans

By DANIEL GORDON In 2016, the world witnessed the astonishing power of machine learning when Google DeepMind’s artificial-intelligence program, AlphaGo, beat Lee Sedol, the best Go player in the world.

Millions of people betted on Sedol to win. After all, he was considered to be the toughest Go player to beat. However, they didn’t factor in just how powerful AlphaGo, a piece of distributed software supported by a team of more than 100 scientists, really was. The software was always improving, playing itself millions of times. It progressively revised its algorithms based on which sequences resulted in a higher win percentage. It did not take breaks. Unlike a human, who must fulfill daily tasks like eating and sleeping to function, AlphaGo’s only activity involved furthering its competence in the strategy game. After beating other Go computer programs and human professionals, only Sedol remained. In a shocking manner, AlphaGo outplayed Sedol 4-1 in a 5-match series.

While the feat isn’t as impressive as some of the accomplishments that advancing machine learning and artificial intelligence can achieve in the future, it reminds humanity of how powerful objective machines can be.

The fact that computer software was able to outdo the best human in the world at something demonstrates that the developments in machine learning are virtually endless. Removing the possibility of human error and the ability to constantly iterate sequences promise to push the capabilities of artificial intelligence to unimaginable heights. It’s only a matter of time until machines take over all aspects of our lives.

By SHRIYA ANAND Many of us have seen the viral videos of New Yorkers resting near their windows and waiting for others to walk by, just to jokingly remind passerby of the six-feet social distancing rule. Oftentimes, these reminders are all fun and games for TikTok videos. However, social distancing requirements are crucial to help control the spread of COVID-19. Now imagine, instead of bored people shouting out of their balconies, you see a robot dog barking messages at people who aren’t practicing the rule correctly. This has become the reality in Singapore, which has begun utilizing robot dogs to limit human contact and minimize the risk for public workers and officers who would otherwise be doing the job of enforcing social distancing.

In mid-May, the country was hit by a second wave of infected people, making the Singaporean government keener on enforcing social distancing. Municipal authorities decided to implement technology into their solution, using Boston Dynamics’s robot dog, Spot. The robot dog was released to patrol the Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park for two

2017: An Interstellar Visit

2018: First Genetically 2019: The First Image Modified Babies Born of the Black Hole

By KRISTOFF MISQUITTA

By OSCAR WANG

By SHAH NABIL

Millennia after astronomers studied the stars with rudimentary telescopes and ancient astrolabes, researchers at Hawaii’s Haleakala Observatory identified our solar system’s first tourist.

“Oumuamua,” meaning “a messenger from afar arriving first” in Hawaiian, is an asteroid-like comet believed to have tumbled through the Milky Way for hundreds of millions of years before encountering our solar system. Now, three years since its discovery, it’s beyond the orbit of Saturn and will never return, following a hyperbolic path into the emptiness of outer space.

Oumuamua is unlike any object astronomers have seen before: it’s a recordsetting 10 times longer than it is wide, and its speed is far too high (54.4 miles per second) to be attributed to the Sun’s gravitational influence alone. Though its trajectory can be traced back to the bright star Vega, projections mysteriously suggest that Vega wasn’t actually close to the comet when it was there 300,000 years ago. And contrary to the imaginative suggestions that Oumuamua is an alien spaceship, astronomers have confirmed that it is of “purely natural origin.”

Oumuamua’s elongated shape has inspired new hypotheses about the influence of gravitational stretching on the formation of celestial objects, and its mass has sparked new theories about the ejection of small bodies from giant planets.

Despite the perplexing questions it raised, Oumuamua’s passing continues to be a one-of-a-kind, rich source of answers for researchers seeking to better understand our galaxy.

It would seem that two ordinary babies were born in October 2018 in Shenzhen, China. However, their genes say otherwise: the twins, named Lulu and Nana, were genetically modified as embryos to be resistant to HIV. The scientist responsible for this is named He Jiankui. He conducted experiments on embryonic gene editing to solve fertility issues using in vitro fertilization, or the process in which the egg is fertilized outside one’s body. With the consent of the parents, he used CRISPR to modify the genes of the embryo. The project was conducted in secrecy until he announced his success in November, spurring international controversy.

Jiankui and his associates were punished for unethical conduct and document forgery with three years in prison and a fine equivalent to $430 thousand. The forged document in question was his ethics approval application at a hospital in Shenzhen.

Most notably, this affair led to extensive discussions on the state of medical ethics and how gene editing should proceed. Scientists agreed that the mutations put the babies at risk for other diseases, calling for a temporary ban on embryonic gene editing. Later, the Chinese government drafted regulations that punish the modification of the human genome. As a result, Chinese researchers fear that they won’t receive approval for future CRISPR experiments.

Another article published by MIT over a year later criticizes Jiankui’s practices, highlighting his team’s mistakes. Though the experiments did not end progress on CRISPR, they facilitated a crucial discussion on the future of genetic engineering.

Scientists took the first-ever image of a black hole 55 million lightyears away in 2019, which was done through the implementation of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT).

The image showed a large black hole in galaxy M87, in which the scientists were able to capture the hot gas that surrounded the black hole, stunning the entire world since having the image of a black hole is the first step in understanding the mysterious space phenomenon.

A black hole is an area in space that has an immensely strong gravitational pull to where light and other particles cannot move away from it. There have been scientists that studied black holes in the past, such as Albert Einstein (with general relativity) and Stephen Hawking (with Hawking radiation).

These concepts have been theoretically discussed and shown in the past, yet until now there was never a physical image that provided more evidence for the black hole’s properties.

The black hole picture was created through the EHT, which consists of several telescopes working in sync to implement a process called the Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI).

The idea of processing a clear picture of an area that is millions of light-years away requires a large aperture (diameter) for a telescope. VLBI allows this to occur through several telescopes syncing together, which is what happened with the EHT. The first picture of the black hole is something that we will never forget in history.

Robot Dog Enforces Social Distancing

weeks, starting on May 8.

Spot is not completely autonomous; it is remote-controlled by an accompanying officer. Though this dependency may seem to diminish the benefits of the bot, Spot does have features that set it apart from a child’s toy car. The 66-pound, fourlegged robot is armed with a camera and a pre-recorded message that essentially “barks” when it encounters people breaking social distancing rules. It is also capable of climbing stairs, traveling across rough terrain, and coping with unfavorable weather conditions such as rain.

The robot also contains sensors including depth and stereo cameras, an inertial measurement unit (IMU) that records aspects of the dog’s force, as well as other force and position sensors in its limbs. These sensors are responsible for Spot’s vision, which allows it to navigate the park and avoid any obstacles. Stereo cameras have multiple lenses, and each one captures a unique picture. These pictures are then combined to cre-

ate a 3D image. Though efficient in capturing a still-life, the method does tend to have issues with moving objects. Depth cameras, on the other hand, work with the help of near-infrared (IR) light. This IR light is projected on the o b ject be-

Ka Seng Soo / The Spectator

ing captured in a pattern that appears to be a sea of dots. Though humans cannot see these dots, as the human eye is incapable of perceiving that range on the spectrum, the IR camera is designed to do exactly that. The camera uses the

position of the dots to determine depth. The depth camera is useful for determining how far the robot is from obstacles, as well as recognizing the distance between two people. Because these cameras provide an outline or a hazy image, privacy issues should not be a concern.

An IMU is “an electronic device that measures and reports orientation, velocity, and gravitational forces through the use of accelerometers and gyroscopes and often magnetometers,” as described by Sparton NavEx’s Admin, whose purpose is to report aspects of the robot’s position. Combining the data measured by the IMU with machine learning, the robot will automatically adjust its motors so that Spot remains upright. This is all thanks to the machine learning core, which consists of three blocks. The first block is responsible for collecting and receiving the data, the second for filtering the data, and the third for making a decision on how to adjust the motors. IMUs are found in much more than ro-

botic dogs patrolling the streets of Singapore; they’re also components of the robots made by Stuyvesant’s own robotics team! Without IMUs, the whole bot would be angled slightly if one of the wheels overturned due to the lack of friction.

With IMUs, however, the robot will automatically adjust to this issue. This can be applied to Spot, as the terrain is often uneven and full of small obstacles such as pebbles, dirt, and cracks.

Using these sensors, the robot dog will navigate efficiently, detect anyone who doesn’t practice social distancing, and alert them to do so. Though the robot is remotecontrolled as of now, there could soon be cases of fully autonomous robots enforcing social distancing.

Similar concepts have also been used in the United States; drones were implemented in New Jersey to maintain the six-feet rule. Regardless, the technological replacements are surely a success as they limit the number of officers required in the park and therefore decrease the number of bodies that can possibly be infected or carry the virus.

Chloe Huang / The Spectator

ERIC CONTRERAS APPOINTED TO PRINCIPAL AT STUYVESANT

MAY—After serving as InterimActing Principal for seven months, Eric Contreras was appointed principal of Stuyvesant.

Tensions rapidly escalated between the U.S. and North Korea when North Korean leader Kim Jung-Un voiced his intention of launching an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. Tensions were heightened when Otto Warmbier, a 22-year-old American, died after being released from North Korean captivity in a vegetative state in June.

ARISTA LEAVES THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY

JUNE—ARISTA, previously a chapter of the National Honor Society (NHS), did not renew its membership with the NHS and later ratified a set of bylaws for the service organization.

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Page 20

Science NASA and SpaceX With Historic Astronaut Launch In the midst of a pandemic and strict social distancing regulations, few moments could draw crowds of more than 150,000 Floridians all over the state. But a historic launch seems to have done it.

There was a liftoff of two astronauts on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Kennedy Space Center to the International Space Station (ISS) on Saturday, May 30, 2020. This launch was the new Demo-2 mission, the first in nine years on American soil. It was originally set for Wednesday, but was delayed due to inclement weather.

The two astronauts were Douglas G. Hurley and Robert L. Behnken.

They were among the first astronauts chosen to work on the developing commercial space vehicles in 2015. They were assigned to the first SpaceX flight in 2018.

Behnken and Hurley’s prior experience and qualifications prepared them well for the mission. Both of them were introduced as NASA astronauts in 2000. Behnken is the joint operations commander responsible for activities such as docking and undocking. He was previously a flight test engineer and colonel with the U.S. Air Force. Hurley is the spacecraft commander responsible for tasks such as launch, landing, and recovery.

He was previously a fighter pilot and test pilot in the U.S. Marine Corps.

The spacecraft docked at the ISS on Sunday, May 31, successfully completing the first part of its mission.

Hurley and Behnken joined commander of the ISS Chris Cassidy as well as cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner. The docking went

By CHLOE TERESTCHENKO and ZOE PICCIRILLO

AUGUST 21—A total solar eclipse—the first visible one across the continental United States since 1979—was seen across the country.

system and the spacecraft systems in orbit. Behnken and Hurley’s objective is to conduct research on Crew Dragon as well as to repair and improve parts of the ISS. The duration of their stay in orbit has not yet been decided; it may range from one month

astronauts again on the moon by 2024 (we haven’t been there since 1972).

The U.S.’s successful launch may serve as a source of inspiration for other space-related opportunities to come. For one, it’s a wakeup call to Roscosmos, Russia’s space agency.

to several.

If everything goes according to plan, the first fully operational flight of a Crew Dragon capsule will be scheduled for later this year, carrying four astronauts, and Crew Dragon will be certified for operational, longduration missions. This launch will also lay the foundation for proceeding with NASA’s Artemis Initiative, a government-funded program to land

The successful launch means that the U.S.’s dependence on Russia to transport its astronauts to and from the ISS will be alleviated; this is better for the U.S., since each seat on the Soyuz spacecraft is a steep $80 million. However, Roscosmos would lose about $200 million as a result, which cuts deeply into Roscomos’s annual budget of $2 billion. This loss of a revenue stream, coupled with

The Science of Making Bread

oxygen. Combining equal quantities of water and flour and letting it sit for five days is ideal to facilitate fermentation.

After establishing this starter, one must add even more flour and

used when making the bread, they are also reflective of those found on the baker’s hand.

When attempting to achieve a very open crumb for the internal structure, one should use good

water. Then, knead the bread. This adds oxygen to the dough, increases the development of gluten, and results in a relatively quick baking time of three to four hours. Interestingly, sourdough contains several different species of lactic acid bacteria, primarily Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis, which produces a characteristically sour flavor.

Though the microbes in starters are largely dependent on the flour

flour with high protein while slowly adding in water. The more water added, the softer the dough and the bigger the bubbles. Then, sugars and amino acids, which are on the loaf ’s surface, will start to react with steam in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius. This causes the amino acids and sugars to condense on the surface and become flexible for a longer period of time. Finally, this condensation ends in a burst of fer-

Yaqi Zeng / The Spectator

The messy kitchen is covered with white powdery flour, and the heat glows from the oven as the bread starts to rise. This is a familiar sight for many of us following arduous hours poured into baking the perfect loaf of bread.

Many people have taken up a new activity—baking bread—during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of the most popular treats include banana bread and sourdough bread.

Instagram and TikTok have been flooded with bread-making videos, which make the process look much easier than it actually is. The common clip of a TikToker opening the oven to reveal a fresh loaf of bread takes more than mixing a list of ingredients. In reality, many scientific elements are at play.

Making sourdough bread is an art that requires patience, practice, water, and flour. The sour flavor and chewy texture are what make sourdough so unique. To make sourdough, there must be a selfsustaining fermentation of flour, water, wild yeasts, and bacteria, which results in lactic and acetic acids. First, flour and water must be used as starters to achieve fermentation, the process of extracting energy from carbohydrates without

smoothly and even finished ahead of schedule.

Saturday’s launch was monumental for several reasons. It was the first launch of NASA astronauts from the United States since the retirement of the space shuttles in 2011, when the ISS was completed. The space shuttles’ engines, heat tiles, and aerodynamics made them both challenging to maintain and fly as well as expensive to operate.

By contrast, the builds of the Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft are more advanced yet much simpler than the shuttles. They’re smaller, sleeker, and have greater computing power and touch screens to replace the buttons and joysticks used in earlier spacecraft. Other features include a new launchpad-to-orbit abort capability to save the crew in an emergency.

The launch is made all the more impressive by the fact that it’s the first visible success of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, an initiative started by the Obama administration back in 2010. It marks the shift from NASA launching its own missions to NASA relying on private companies such as Elon Musk’s SpaceX to do so. This model is significantly cheaper because NASA no longer needs to divert resources from preparing astronauts to fly into space.

Initially, NASA turned to both SpaceX and Boeing to produce spacecraft for its astronauts, but the uncrewed test launch of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner back in December 2019 proved highly unsuccessful. It was not able to dock to the ISS, its principal objective. Naturally, that made room for SpaceX to be the first.

Demo-2 will be a demonstration to verify the spacecraft’s capabilities, including the crew’s transportation

Anna Ast / The Spectator

By JENNY LIU

OCTOBER 1—Stephen Paddock opened fire at a country music festival in Las Vegas, killing 58 people and injuring more than 800.

It lasted 10 minutes and was one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, reopening the debate on gun control.

FREE SCHOOL LUNCH AVAILABLE TO ALL NYC PUBLIC SCHOOL STUDENTS

SEPTEMBER—Chancellor Carmen Fariña put this order into effect, which did not cost the city and guaranteed free lunch to millions of students.

mentation, which creates gas bubbles and allows for existing bubbles to expand.

The many possible combinations of enzymes in sourdough can create unique flavors and crusts.

Sugars and amino acids on the loaf ’s surface start to react at 150 degrees Celsius in the Maillard reaction, giving it a distinctive taste and coloring.

There are more than 300 different flavor compounds based on the proteases and amino acids, which all depend on the combination of ingredients used in the dough and the duration of the fermentation process. A longer fermentation process creates richer flavors. Experienced bakers often let the dough ferment for three to four hours before cooking to achieve a more flavorful loaf.

Unlike sourdough bread, banana bread does not require any yeast in order to rise. The key to making a good loaf of banana bread lies not in the bacteria, but in the bananas. In order to make banana bread sweet, one must use overripe bananas that are completely brown or black. Overripe bananas are essential for banana bread because as bananas ripen, their starch is converted to sugar. The starch is broken down by the enzyme amylase, which converts the starch to the sugars maltose and glucose. As bananas ripen, their sugar content can increase by three percent, with

the corruption in Russia’s Vostochny space center in late 2019, where its workers were sentenced for fraud, has damaged Russia’s prestige in space exploration. But the launch could be the incentive Roscosmos needs to pick itself up.

The U.S.’s launch also provides incentives for other companies to join in on the space scene. By next year, Boeing could be poised to send astronauts to space as well. Other companies like Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic are developing spacecraft that could provide tourist rides.

This series of changes could change the way we think of spaceflight. There’s the possibility of opening spaceflight to private citizens with the wealth and time to travel to space, bringing in profits and revenue. But increased private space flights could have dire effects on the environment.

Scientists worry about an increased carbon footprint from rocket emissions, as soot in the stratosphere cannot be washed away by precipitation.

Environmental law professional Jon Krois argues that current space and environmental laws do not respond sufficiently to the implications of increased, non-research space flights.

Demo-2 is a testament to the achievements of the human enterprise and what’s to come in space exploration. It’s certainly promising that NASA will be able to launch more missions in the future for research and exploration purposes. The launch raises both positive and concerning implications, all of which are crucial to monitor. But perhaps it’s not a stretch to say that we are entering a new and hopeful era of spaceflight— supported with the same excitement we displayed when we first entered space.

an unripe banana having a sugar concentration of 16.2 percent and a ripe banana having one of 19.3 percent. Of course, if you don’t have any overripe bananas at home, you can still make them soft, brown, and sweet by putting them in the oven at 150 degrees Celsius for 15 to 20 minutes. The heat from the oven will oxidize the amino acid tyrosine, which will produce the pigment melanin and change the color of the bananas. Though this does not naturally ripen the bananas by breaking down starch, it’s a quick alternative to make the bananas ideal for your loaf of banana bread.

The next time you’re inspired to make your own bread by a video on social media, think of the science behind your wonderful creation.

There are a multitude of factors that contribute to bread-making— from the bacteria present to the cooking temperatures. Producing a loaf of bread in the right conditions can be complicated, but these facts will help you make your best loaf yet.

Want More Science?

The Increase of Multi Legged Life in the World How Caffeine Works Takeaways From How Taiwan and South Korea Curbed COVID-19

DEADLY TERRORIST ATTACK OUTSIDE OF STUYVESANT

OCTOBER—A man driving a truck down the West Side Highway under the Tribeca Bridge veered into the bike path in a calculated act of terror, leading to the deaths of eight people. Students were forced to shelter-in for hours before the terrorist was eventually shot by the police. This attack, which was the deadliest terrorist attack in New York City since 9/11, was personally witnessed by several members of the student body and teaching staff.

OCTOBER—The #MeToo Movement took off after back-to-back stories of Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulting women were published. Women who fell victim to Weinstein’s crimes made their stories public under the MeToo hashtag, giving a voice to sexual harassment and assault survivors.

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Page 21

Arts and Entertainment Music

By ANSON GUAN In our era of social distancing, Charli XCX’s newest album “how i’m feeling now” is unique in that it not only was made during quarantine, but also could only be made during quarantine. Perfectly capturing the longing, loneliness, and boredom of self-isolation, “how i’m feeling now” delivers these feelings in some of the most groundbreaking and emotionally potent pop songs in the landscape of modern music.

Charli jumped headfirst into her quarantine album, announcing it on April 6 and setting a deadline of May 15 for its release.

With only a month to create an entire album, the road to release was short but intense. In an effort to connect with others in a time of separation, Charli allowed her fans to be heavily involved in the album’s development. Throughout the production of the album, she would invite them to Zoom calls where she would play demos and ask for opinions on songs and artwork. As Charli’s deadline grew closer, the pandemic only worsened as more of the world went into lockdown. “how i’m feeling now” was released on May 15 in a world much lonelier than when the album was conceived, and its themes of isolation are more fitting than ever.

Literature

By CHRISTINA PAN My childhood has always stood at a crossroads between fantasy and reality. I always believed—to some extent—that the universe I had immersed myself in was real.

Perhaps in some parallel universe, I would wield my aspen phoenixfeather wand, taking care to say “Wingardium leviOsa,” not “leviosA.” Perhaps in that universe, I’d dance away troubles and trials until midnight and wake to stars in the sky.

Yet in unprecedented times, I can no longer afford to stand at these crossroads. The crushing reality of George Floyd’s murder, combined with the coronavirus pandemic, has left me grasping for remnants of the fantasy worlds I so cherished.

There was a time when the announcement of a new J.K Rowling book—Harry Potter or not—would have fans like me raising Butterbeers in celebration.

Rowling’s novels have sold over 500 million copies worldwide and created a loyal fanbase of Potterheads, much to the derision of Muggles and Squibs.

Why then is there a muted response toward her new book?

Charli XCX Captures the Soul of Quarantine on “how i’m feeling now”

Listening to the album with its creation in mind, it’s clear how the pandemic has shaped its sound and lyrics. The production is fairly experimental, with catchy melodies underlined with aggressive synths and heavy bass. Charli uses heavy autotune to great effect, one that could be annoying but now a tool to convey the intense emotion of her situation. It’s a rougher version of the sound Charli developed in her previous album, “Charli” (2019), but no less effective. While there are some weaker tracks, like the overly repetitive “party 4 u,” the album maintains a consistent quality, and each track adds a new layer to Charli’s emotions. “pink diamond” is the album’s opener and the perfect theme for confinement. The song is danceable but harsh, with a tense metallic beat creating a claustrophobic mood.

It introduces a common theme of the album: Charli just wanting to go out and party with her friends. This desire has continued from her “Boom Clap” days to her most recent material, because to her, partying is more than just fun—it’s a celebration of life, love, and friendship. The deprivation of that essential part of her life is clear throughout the album and gives it a uniquely lonely edge.

On “c2.0,” a reinterpretation of her 2019 song “Click,” Charli

twists the original track’s braggadocio into deep longing. With its distorted yet beautiful production and repetition of lyrics about her clique, listeners get the impression that all she wants is to see her friends again. The longing reaches a peak on “anthems,” where Charli explodes into an over-the-top club banger that is as exciting as it is tragic. As she declares how much she misses her friends and the parties they used to go to together, Charli melds her sadness with the energetic beat, elevating it into one of the best songs on the album.

While “how i’m feeling now” has a consistent aura of loneliness, there is one person that Charli has in quarantine: her boyfriend.

Many songs on “how i’m feeling now” are about how locking down together has brought them closer than ever before, like in “7 years,” where Charli contemplates their relationship over operatic synths.

It’s one of her strongest vocal performances on the album, and her intentional use of autotune makes the emotion even stronger. “claws” is one of the album’s shorter songs, but it makes great use of its time with a kinetic beat and captivating hook: you can’t get a stronger declaration of love than “I like, I like, I like, I like, I like everything about you.” Charli takes a more tragic look at her relation-

ship on “detonate,” where she questions why her boyfriend stays with her despite the emotional turmoil. Despite its title, “detonate” is one of the most delicate songs on the album, with blipping keys and low synths complementing Charli’s more subdued vocals. “visions” closes the album on a strong, somewhat strange note.

The track builds from a soft beginning to one of the most intense sections of the album as the dancey beat spirals into chaos and eventually fades into an empty throbbing bass. It’s a mysterious ending that reflects the uncertainty that we all face in these times. While most people would be discouraged by that uncertainty, Charli XCX has taken on the challenge and created an album that serves as a window into her soul and a reflection of every listener’s circumstances. “how i’m feeling now” embodies not only the current loneliness and anxiety of quarantine, but also commemorates the friendship and love many have developed a greater appreciation for. While the more experimental production may deter some mainstream listeners, its creativity and raw emotion make it well worth listening to, and because its themes capture such an unforgettable point in time, the music will continue to resonate even after the pandemic.

The Polyjuice Potion Has Worn Off Rowling began unveiling “The Ickabog” on May 26, intended for children, and will continue to release it chapter by chapter, free of charge until July 10. The online release comes with an illustration competition, in which winning drawings will be featured in the book’s print edition.

Three days after the release of “The Ickabog,” however, Rowling shared a drawing from a nineyear-old girl

transcription of the trial, in which Wolf is misgendered.

The tweet also mentions TERFs, which stands for “transexclusionary radical feminist.”

TERFs believe a trans woman’s identity is illegitimate and further assert that trans people and gender diverse individuals threaten the feminist move-

Emily Young-Squire / The Spectator

on Twitter accompanied by the accidental copy-and-pasted commentary: “In court, Wolf claimed the Facebook post in which he’d said he wanted to ‘[EXPLETIVE] up some TERFs’ was just ‘bravado.’”

This refers to trans activist Tara Wolf, who was found guilty of assaulting transphobic activist Maria MacLachlan in 2018. Though it isn’t identical, the language in the tweet is similar to a transphobic

ment.

Though Rowling didn’t intend to send this tweet to a young child, this comment is not surprising given that she has voiced controversial transphobic opinions be-

fore. It is also an undeniable fact that “Harry Potter” fails at diverse representation. Out of the 1,207 minutes across all “Harry Potter” films, characters of color speak for a grand total of five minutes and forty seconds. In an attempt to be more inclusive, Rowling has made numerous additions to the “Harry Potter” series that have failed to achieve the desired impact. Though the final installment of “Harry Potter” hit the shelves over 13 years ago, Rowling hasn’t stopped.

Dumbledore is gay. Nagini is a cursed Asian woman. Hermione is aracial. Call it creative liberty; call it retconning; call it blasphemy; I dislike it.

These retrospective revisions don’t serve any other purpose than to boost Rowling’s reputation. Diversity in literature usually gives the novel’s message a lasting impact. But slapping on labels and ethnicities doesn’t equal diversity, especially if there hasn’t been a pre-established connection in literature. If Rowling had attempted to incorporate these changes into the original series or the “Fantastic Beasts” movies, they might have continued on page 22

Playlist School’s Out!

By THE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT It’s been a tumultuous school year, but it’s finally over. After all is said and done, a period of reflection is long overdue. So we compiled a list of songs that defined our 2019 to 2020 school year and encapsulates all we felt in the rollercoaster of a 10 month period that’s finally coming to a close.

Good News Mac Miller R&B Death with Dignity Sufjan Stevens Indie Dance Monkey Tones and I Pop i Kendrick Lamar Rap Level of Concern Twenty One Pilots Alternative Rock OPEN UP Daniel Caesar R&B Karma AJR Alternative Like a Girl Lizzo R&B / Pop Ribs Lorde Pop Ohm Yo La Tengo Indie REEL IT IN Aminé Hip-hop Fluorescent Adolescent Arctic Monkeys Indie Rock Run Joji Alternative R&B 4th Dimension Kids See Ghosts Hip-hop

#NOTALLSTUYKIDS BEGINS TO TREND AROUND THE SCHOOL

SPECTATOR PUBLISHES A REVEALING ACADEMIC DISHONESTY EDITORIAL

DECEMBER—The Editorial Board found that 83.3 percent of survey respondents admitted to having partaken in some form of academic dishonesty during their four years at Stuyvesant. Many students claimed that the results of this study, which were used in a sensational article by The New York Post, were taken out of context.

Eleanor Chin / The Spectator

FEBRUARY—This hashtag, which was used to exempt the majority of the Stuyvesant population from the bad press that academic dishonesty scandals had brought to the school over the years, was met with backlash from much of the student body.

Page 22

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Arts and Entertainment The Polyjuice Potion Has Worn Off

Literature continued from page 21

held meaning or importance. The additions do not, which is why they are problematic.

“Harry Potter” wasn’t written to deal with the social complexity of the real world. It was written as a fantasy world of adventure, loyalty, bravery, and magic. Hogwarts shouldn’t have to expand to fit the real world since the whole point of a fantasy is to create an escape from reality.

Each step Rowling makes toward amending the series simply pushes it further into the dark-

ness. Most stories with impactful, racially diverse characters do not add every possible ethnicity into the plot. Rowling’s attempts at adding diversity to the characters in the series only emphasize how she is missing the point. Rowling’s “progressive” additions do not fulfill their intended purpose, which is to cultivate representation and inclusivity.

The saying “never meet your heroes” is true. Rowling used to be one of mine, and it’s heartbreaking to see her fall.

Unfortunately in the current world, art is often inexorably linked to the artist. Try as I might,

writing, though simplistic at times, is consistently timeless, filled with clever quips and colorful splendor.

The kingdom stretches from the lush, comfortable parts of Baronstown, Chouxville, Kurdsburg, and Jeroboam to the comparably barren Marshlands and outsiders who reside there. Rowling’s wellcrafted exposition creates a vivid landscape ready for the reader to devour—filled with potent pastries, wines, and cheeses. The following chapters dive into the intrigue to come: the legend of the Ickabog, a mythical monster said to devour sheep and children alike. “‘The Ickabog’ is a story about

truth and the abuse of power,” Rowling wrote. “The themes are timeless and could apply to any era or any country.”

Timeless indeed. Though I cannot see myself—after all, a fourth-year at Hogwarts—reading “The Ickabog” as a bedtime story, I can imagine the splendor and wonder the tale will bring home to younger readers across the world amidst the current times of chaos and uncertainty. The death of Floyd, coupled with the pandemic, makes the future seem bleak and daunting. “The Ickabog” offers the escapism that fantasy novels are made for.

Why “Avatar: The Last Airbender” Is Still Popular After 15 Years

Television

By JULIE GRANDCHAMPDESRAUX This past month, Netflix released over 60 new seasons of TV shows and movies, one of which was Nickelodeon’s “Avatar: The Last Airbender.” What used to be an old childhood cartoon on Nickelodeon has made a comeback after 15 years. Now, it’s the most-watched show in the country and has inspired many TikToks and memes on social media. This animated series follows 12-year-old Aang (Zach Tyler Eisen)—known as the “avatar” who can master all four elements (air, fire, earth, and water)—and his group of friends as they travel throughout the world to end a century-long war against the totalitarian Fire Nation. Together they search for benders who will help Aang master the elements and fulfill his destiny to defeat the Fire Lord.

The show holds a special place in many people’s hearts and has remained well known for years. Millions, including myself, distinctly remember watching the show on TV as children, and now its revival on Netflix has caught the attention of millions more as people look for new shows to binge during quarantine. As someone who hasn’t revisited the show since it initially aired and only vaguely remembers its details, it was refreshing to rewatch and understand why this series is more than just one of those children’s shows people love to reminisce about.

This series blurs the lines

between children and adult TV shows by touching upon topics like imperialism, genocide, corruption in government, and sexism, all of which are rarely discussed in children’s entertainment. These themes are addressed in prominent and nuanced ways throughout the series, such as when Aang finds out about the genocide of his people by the Fire Nation or when he and his friends discover that government officials in Ba Sing Se, the capital of the Earth Kingdom, are keeping the war a secret from its citizens to draw power away from the city’s king. Though I never understood these messages as a six-year-old, now in the midst of a global pandemic and political turmoil, the show’s themes prove to be more relevant than ever.

The series encourages its younger viewers to think for themselves and realize that they control their destiny.

Moreover, possibly the biggest reason why the show remains special to many, is its diverse set of characters, who each tackle different issues of marginalization. The characterization of characters like Toph (Jessie Flower), a blind earthbender, and Teo (Daniel Samonas), a paraplegic boy, isn’t centered around

their disabilities, but rather their ability to overcome them. Toph uses earthbending to “see” and discern attacks by sensing vibrations in the ground. Teo builds an airglider to help him “fly” and move around since he’s bound to a wheelchair. Young girls like myself found themselves identifying with chara c ters

Ismath Maksura / The Spectator

like Katara (Mae Whitman), the last waterbender of her tribe who faces systemic sexism when she’s denied the chance to learn waterbending by the waterbending master of the Northern Water Tribe. When she’s told women could only use waterbending for healing, she proves her strength

in a fight against the master and over the course of the series, becomes a master waterbender.

The expertly crafted character development of Zuko (Dante Basco) has also been widely praised. Introduced as the banished prince of the Fire Nation who must hunt down the avatar to regain his honor, Zuko slowly evolves into a conflicted anti-hero who teams up with the avatar to end the war against his evil father and sister. Zuko’s redemption arc has become a staple of the show, its perfect execution being one of the largest reasons why people love the series so much. Zuko’s redemption arc and his struggle between good and evil after being raised on the wrong side of history is my favorite part of the show. After struggling for so long against his abusive father who exiled him, Zuko reinvents himself through deep soul-searching.

The show’s filler episodes remain as some of the best filler episodes for any series ever made. These are episodes that divert from the main plot to provide comedic relief or introduce subplots within a series. While filler episodes are usually boring since they don’t advance the main plot, many fans of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” rank its filler episodes as some of their favorites, specifically “Tales

of Ba Sing Se,” one of the saddest episodes in the series. The episode documents the “tales” of different characters while in the city of Ba Sing Se, one being the tale of Zuko’s uncle, Uncle Iroh (Mako Iwamastu), who is loved for his funny remarks and wisdom. Though nothing regarding Aang’s quest takes place, the episode honors Uncle Iroh’s voice actor who died shortly before the episode aired and gives background information on the character. This show uses filler episodes in the best way possible, not only enhancing character development, but also reinforcing important messages and themes. “Tales of Ba Sing Se,” “The Beach,” and “Appa’s Lost Days” don’t contribute much to the main premise, but they’re some of the most-watched and discussed episodes in the entire series.

You don’t have to look too deep to see why a kids cartoon has made such a comeback. Its characters are relatable and funny and face struggles still relevant today. It’s an action-packed fantasy adventure filled with heartwarming and gut-wrenching moments. Teenagers who didn’t pick up on what the show was throwing at us as kids now understand its importance in modern climate.

In only 61 20-minute episodes, “Avatar: The Last Airbender” has managed to capture the hearts of millions and stood the test of time, remaining one of the greatest childhood shows of our generation.

“The Half of It” and Queer POC Representation

Film

By FARIHA MABUD Director Alice Wu is no stranger to telling authentic queer love stories. Her film “The Half

of It,” which debuted on Netflix on May 1, marks Wu’s return to filmmaking since her first feature film “Saving Face” (2004. “The Half of It” follows the story of

FEBRUARY 14—Nikolas Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 people and injuring 14.

FEBRUARY 9-FEBRUARY 25—The 2018 Winter Olympics were hosted in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The U.S. concluded with a total of nine gold medals, eight silver medals, and six bronze medals.

I cannot disassociate Rowling’s “progressivism” and transphobic views each time I reread the series.Rowling, however, is beginning to redeem herself through “The Ickabog.” The first 10 chapters that have been released shine some light onto Rowling’s current predicament.

“The Ickabog” conjures a fantasy world devoid of excess references to race, gender, or sexuality.

It revives the magic and spark of “Harry Potter” and presents Rowling at her finest. In the prosperous country of Cornucopia, the celebrated but rather vain king, Fred the Fearless, rules. Rowling’s

Chinese American student Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis), who is hired by dorky football player Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) to write love letters to the most beautiful girl

in school, Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire). Ellie, who is secretly attracted to Aster, reluctantly sends a message using a line from Wim Wenders’s “Wings of Desire”

(1987), and to her surprise, Aster understands the reference. Under this ghostwriting premise, Ellie continued on page 23

SOPH-FROSH SING! BACKGROUND COLLAPSES

MARCH—The band kept playing for a few beats after a side-stage riser of the Soph-Frosh SING! set collapsed on stage, injuring multiple performers. The riser was carrying twice the weight that it was intended for, causing the fall.

STUYVESANT WALKS OUT IN RESPONSE TO PARKLAND

MARCH—After a shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida caused 17 deaths, about 1,000 Stuyvesant students walked out of school to show support for safer gun laws and heavier regulations in hopes to put an end to school shootings.

MAY 19—Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan Markle wed. Markle became the first American woman, the first person of mixed race heritage, and the second divorcee to marry into the British royal family.

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Page 23

Arts and Entertainment Film continued from page 22

and Aster grow closer through their letter exchange as they bond over the great arts and voice an overwhelming need to escape from society. As an unlikely friendship between Ellie and Paul forms, a potential romantic relationship hangs between the two female leads. Ellie, however, explicitly reminds the audience that this is not a love story.

“The Half of It” relies on a slow buildup of scenes to engross viewers into the characters’ lives and emphasizes its core message regarding the many forms of love. Two particularly striking moments are the graffiti scene, in which Ellie and Aster take turns making a picture with spray paint in five strokes, and the car scene, in which Ellie and Paul have a heart-to-heart as to why they stay in their small town of Squahamish. Both are pivotal to the emotional and narrative progression of the story, beginning and building on a conversation about identity and love prevalent throughout the film.

These scenes give the characters heart and soul, inciting the audience to sympathize with their situations. Ellie is a hardworking Asian American who struggles with racism in her local community, finding the meaning of love, and supporting her widowed father financially. Paul, as we come to learn through the car scene, feels tied down to the town because of his family’s sausage business. A genuine character, Paul is the only one who attempts to un-

Music

By SYDNEY KAUFMAN After years of waiting, Lady Gaga’s sixth studio album “Chromatica” was finally released on May 29, postponed from April 10 due to the ongoing pandemic. Despite the upbeat dance beats and fun synths, the album deals with themes of mental health and trauma, both of which are especially important for fans these times.

For Gaga, creating the album was a healing experience. Her album “Joanne” (2016) had been a disappointment to her and many fans; she realized that she made the project to try to “fix” her family’s trauma, something she could never do in the first place. Thus, she wrote “Chromatica” to try to help herself instead. This album is also a shift in genre. After her career took a turn toward country pop with her aforementioned album “Joanne,” she has returned to her roots with her time tested brand of dance-pop.

With 16 tracks, three of which purely instrumental, “Chro-

“The Half of It” and Queer POC Representation derstand Ellie and how her Asian background in a predominantly white community affects her teenage years differently, even defending her when their classmates begin to make fun of her last name. He provides a safe space for Ellie to enjoy the more silly things in life. Paul serves as a foil to Ellie: he is in a similar situation to her but much more vulnerable about his struggles. Aster, while more of a mystery than Ellie or Paul, is also an easy character to love. Through her letters and the graffiti scene, the audience comes to understand Aster as someone who recognizes the privilege she has in life but still craves a deeper and more genuine connection with someone like Ellie.

The film has received immense appraisal within queer and POC communities online. The story feels authentic and grounded, made specifically with queer POC youth in mind. “The Half of It” is soft and quiet and employs the use of hopeful overtones and queer POC representation to support its main plot. The film, though not a love story, explores different kinds of love—romantic, platonic, familial—and diverges from the typical romcom tropes to include ideas of yearning for deeper connections, musings about love, relationships between queer and non-queer characters, and the concept of soulmates. Ellie and Aster’s relationship naturally develops in contrast to the wild, clandestine forbidden

love tropes usually found in queer Asian stories. Though there is no definitive romantic relationship between Ellie and Aster by the end, the representation the story provides is greatly appreciated within queer spaces.

Despite this, the film does have its shortcomings, one of which is the underdeveloped relationship between Ellie and her father. Her father, a widowed Chinese immigrant, struggles with moving up the career ladder because of his accented English, despite having a PhD in engineering. Wu establishes the dynamic between Ellie and her father in a few spoken words and wellcoordinated glances. Ellie’s father seems to be suffering from depression but is still supportive of his daughter and wishes her luck as she moves out of town for college. The attention to cultural details—such as the father-daughter pair speaking Mandarin and Ellie’s father making extra dumplings

Rachel Chuong / The Spectator

before she leaves for college— strengthens the idea of familial love and the film’s Chinese representation. Their relationship, however, is presented in a conflicting and confusing way. When Ellie says in a letter to Aster, “For one thing, I do not know about love,” the film shows a scene with her and her father eating dinner, alluding to the lack of love in the relationship. Her father never makes a lasting impact on Ellie’s life for the rest of the film, proving how the familial aspect of identity and love is somewhat neglected.

In a similar way, “The Half of It” may be disorienting to viewers as it addresses many aspects of youth but fails to fully develop all of them. The movie is only an hour and 45 minutes long, bouncing around in its discussions of love and identity. Though each character experiences and understands love differently, there is no middle ground explicitly established by the end of the film.

Paul mistakes his crush on Aster as love, and Ellie stubbornly refuses to learn what love is but firmly believes what she feels is not it. The discussions that occur through subtext are undeveloped and oversimplified, but considering the film’s young audience, these messages are still appropriate and valuable for youth.

These realistic situations are sacrificed for the sake of developing relationships, and

while that is not inherently bad, “The Half of It” fails to elaborate on how Ellie’s cultural background impacts her experiences with sexuality. The experiences of a QPOC are different in America due to cultural differences and the inherent struggle between identifying with either the more eastern or western part of our identity.

While this is different for every individual QPOC, for the Asian American queer population in particular, many of us are exposed to Western media only and keep our queerness quiet within our families. While Ellie’s Asian ethnicity is a significant part of her identity, the implications of being a QPOC are largely untouched, and she herself only watches western (nonqueer) romance films within “The Half of It.” Though the representation is good, delving into how cultural background affects one’s approach to sexuality is a worthwhile topic for future films.

Overall, “The Half of It” is a well-appreciated story within queer and POC communities online. Though the film leaves some things to be desired, “The Half of It” effectively conveys the genuine feelings that come with falling in love and growing up. The film’s overall message is well-developed with its relatable characters and the subtle ways they grow within a short period of time. Though the plot is somewhat scattered, “The Half of It” begins many essential conversations with its young audience. The film is a success for its impact within many QPOC youths and a wonderful addition to Wu’s belt of films.

“Chromatica”: How Lady Gaga Views the World matica” explores her personal worldview and journey toward freeing herself from her pain. In her song “Stupid Love,” she proclaims, “Now it’s time to free me from the shame / I gotta find that peace.” The music video depicts two groups, one dressed in red and the other in blue, arguing indistinctly. Gaga commented that this scene was intended to symbolize how she feels the world is “divided” and “extremist.” The song is representative of her coming to terms with how she views the world and how she views her own conflicting mental state.

Songs like “Free Woman” and “Rain On Me” celebrate her mental freedom, with lyrics like “I’m not nothing unless I know I can / I’m still something if I don’t got a man / I’m a free woman” and “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive / Rain on me.” “Rain On Me” describes rainfall as a metaphor for life’s obstacles; you’d rather not face them in the first place, but at least you are alive in order to be able to. Gaga expresses that while

JUNE 12—North Korean leader Kim Jongun announced to the world at a summit hosted in Singapore that he wanted to end tensions between the U.S. and North Korea.

President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un ultimately signed an agreement to denuclearize North Korea.

her experiences may have hurt her, she’s survived and knows her worth.

Her collaboration with Elton John in “Sine From Above” exemplifies her message of being free and echoes her earlier self-love anthem “Born This Way” (2011).

Both begin with something her mother told her when she was young, though now the sound (or sine) has healed her: “When I was young, I prayed for lightning / My mother said it would come and find me […] before there was love, there was silence / I heard one sine / And it healed my heart.” Gaga successfully depicts her journey to heal and become free through the various works in this album.

The symbolism of sine is prevalent throughout the project.

The picture of the sine is featured in the album’s cover art and the opening of her “Stupid Love” video. With this constant imagery, Gaga portrays how music has affected both her life and mental health. In other words, she cannot

use music to fix other people in her life, but she can use it to heal and spread her message of freedom, self-worth, and the ways of the world.

The cover art also features Gaga in a seemingly dystopian setting, with dark and metallic colors encompassing her, yet behind her is a bright pink light, matching her bright pink hair. Through this art, Gaga conveys that there is still hope and light out there. She emphasizes that we live in neither an utopia nor a dystopia, a dominant theme of her song “Stupid Love” and its music video, in which she is featured in a barren desert surrounded by groups of people each wearing clothes of one color, though they all join and dance together in the end. Here, Gaga seems to convey that hope can be found in the world and in others.

There is a certain familiarity in her return to dance-pop. The songs are tonally reminiscent of her earlier albums “The Fame Monster” (2009) and “Born This Way” (2011), but she is still fo-

cused on the idea of self-love, now more than ever. “Chromatica” has a sound that is unmistakably Gaga, as the loud and rhythmic sound is reminiscent of her earlier works like “Telephone” and “Poker Face.” It could bring nostalgia, but more importantly, it shows how the world doesn’t have to be bleak in the face of depressing news and emotional pain.

While the themes are significant to this album, there is something to be said about the music’s outstanding quality. Gaga has created music that can resonate with anyone struggling right now and anyone who isn’t. The songs are catchy, personal, and meaningful, and her collaborations with familiar artists successfully enhance her songs. What more could one want from an album?

Gaga’s “Chromatica” is many things. It is an album with an important message. It is powerful and excellent. But most of all, it is full of hope and positivity, something the world needs right now.

NEW TALOS SYSTEM GOES LIVE SEPTEMBER—The new Talos system, created by Rodda John (‘17), was initially launched for AP course and elective selections the previous March. The first round of program changes using Talos began in fall 2018, and the new system was met with appreciation as well as confusion and frustration about the technicalities of the website.

JUNE 23—Twelve boys from the Thai soccer team, Wild Boars, and their coach were trapped by floods in a cave in northern Thailand. A team of 110 Thai SEALS, over 100 soldiers and volunteers, and expert divers searched and planned an operation to rescue them from the flooded cave.

ERIC CONTRERAS RESIGNS, THEN RETURNS AS PRINCIPAL OF STUYVESANT

SEPTEMBER—After announcing his departure following two years at Stuyvesant on August 27, Principal Eric Contreras decided to remain with the school and rescinded his resignation. The decision was made a week into the school year after he had accepted and subsequently turned down a position as Senior Executive Director of Curriculum, Construction, and Professional Learning.

Page 24

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Arts Arts and andEntertainment: EntertainmentDecade in Review Nothing But 10s: The 2010’s Best Albums

Culture

By THE ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT The 2010s was a bustling decade for music, spawning a new subgenre of rap, further evolving the dance-pop that erupted in the 2000s, sparking a brief tropical-house revolution, and creating countless classics that have shaken the music industry to its very core. A&E writers have compiled a list of what we believe are the best albums of the 2010s—records that have exemplified what good music should sound like in today’s world.

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010) - Kanye West (Morris Raskin) After a slew of controversies in the late 2000s, Kanye West’s career was all but over. West, however, wasn’t ready to quit just yet, so he organized a series of high-intensity recording sessions on the island of Hawaii, preparing to drop his most ambitious project yet. Packed with bustling choir samples, ripping guitar riffs, classic West soulinspired, hip-hop beats, and some of his most impactful lyricism yet, the resulting project “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” shook the rap game from the inside out and went on to inspire the next generation of rappers.

Arctic Monkeys’ fifth studio album “AM” radiates both confidence and depth as frontman Alex Turner croons about heartache and lust. Ditching the more indie influences their first few albums held, “AM” features a darker, heavier sound that proves the Arctic Monkeys aren’t afraid to experiment. Turner’s lyrics are evocative and filled with sly but meaningful references to pop culture and world events in songs like “R U Mine?” and “Arabella.” “AM” is an album that refuses to be pigeonholed and will inevitably be remembered as a classic from the 2010s. Plus, the basslines are killer.

In her second studio album “21,” Adele presents her greatest musical achievement to date. Though it’s easy to pigeonhole her as a pop artist, especially with her most recent smash hit song “Hello” being as pop as soul can get, she has historically ignored the strictures of genre. In “21,” Adele often sings like a woman possessed. Driven by the trauma of her romantic relationships, she sings with emotional strength far surpassing her other work, led by gems such as “Rolling In The Deep” and “Set Fire To The Rain.” Whether we get pop or soul or R&B is beside the point—with “21,” we get the best album of the 2010s.

Aishwarjya Barua / The Spectator

21 (2011) - Adele (Jesse Hammer)

AM (2013) - Arctic Monkeys (Christine Lin)

To Pimp a Butterfly (2015) - Kendrick Lamar (Morris Raskin)

Melodrama (2017) - Lorde (May Hathaway)

After dropping what the world believed to be his magnum opus in the form of “Good Kid, Maad City” (2013), it seemed that Kendrick Lamar had peaked. The Compton rapper, however, launched his career to new heights with the release of “To Pimp a Butterfly,” a 16-track album that pushed the envelope on what a hip-hop album could be. Bolstered by powerful funk bass grooves, aggressive percussion, and jazz undertones, “To Pimp a Butterfly” fundamentally changed music forever and will no doubt go down in history as an all-time great.

Lorde’s sophomore album “Melodrama” transcends all possible expectations of a breakup album. Released four years after “Pure Heroine” (2013), her debut album, “Melodrama” not only loosely centers around a narrative of a house party, but is also an ambitious exploration of what it means to be a young woman in various stages of joy and melancholy. Lorde’s lyrics are sharp and grimly funny; her voice travels from sultry whispers in “Sober” to excited exclamations in “Perfect Places.” The gift of “Melodrama” lies in how accurately it captures human emotion—Lorde puts her feelings on full unadulterated display, and the album is so much better for it.

★/Blackstar (2016) - David Bowie (Jiahe Wang) The final album by the “Chameleon of Rock” David Bowie was released on his 69th birthday—only two days before his death. The album can be seen as a parting gift from both the legendary artist and the alter egos he created; the glam-rock icon kills off his characters symbolically in his music videos, rich with dark imagery of bejewelled skulls, bandaged eyes, frantic ritual dancing, and crucifixes. Though his emphasis on emotion and visuals remain, the music itself takes a turn toward jazz and hip-hop beats, producing a sound that is foreign yet decidedly Bowie-esque. Through his surreal imagery, nihilistic lyrics, and meta reflection on his career as an artist, Bowie remains as theatrical as ever, even on his deathbed.

A Crow Looked At Me (2017) - Mount Eerie (Levi Simon) “A Crow Looked At Me” is not an album for the average listener to unwind to or enjoy in most contexts. It’s not sonically abrasive—it sounds quite pleasant, even if it is lo-fi.

What makes this album so devastating is the absolutely crushing and haunting poetry.

The theme of death has never been so rawly explored, as singer-songwriter Phil Elverum contemplates the death of his wife, Geneviève. While most of the emotions this album provokes are uncomfortable, they are human and beautiful in a way that no other album in the 2010s was. thank u, next (2019) - Ariana Grande (Lianne Ohayon) When “thank u, next” was released back in February 2019, Ariana Grande made history.

She joined the small list of artists who released two number one albums in less than a year, and she charted every single song from “thank u, next” within the top 50 of the Billboard Charts. Grande’s music is known for being upbeat, but “thank u, next” presents a different side of her. She explores her pain, wants, needs, and desires in just twelve songs and does so with a unique sense of awareness and experience. Grande has bared her soul for the world to see, and no other album this decade has achieved a message more powerful.

STUYVESANT RECEIVES MILLION DOLLAR ROBOTICS LAB DONATION

SEPTEMBER—The Alumni Association received a $1,000,000 donation from Edwin Lin (‘04) and Alfred Lin (‘90), a pair of alumni brothers who directed their contribution toward a new robotics lab.

Blonde (2016) - Frank Ocean (Theo Kubovy-Weiss) Following a series of missed due dates and the surprise release of Ocean’s visual album “Endless” (2016), “Blonde” builds upon the masterful storytelling of Ocean’s effort “Channel Orange” (2012), constructed as a series of striking emotional vignettes recounting different experiences and relationships that have defined Ocean as a person. “Blonde” is much less as a collection of songs than it is one coherent experience. It is a nuanced and intricate portrait of what it’s like to be in love: the excitement, nervousness, joy, complication, pain, and reflection, all portrayed in a uniquely honest, personal, and emotional way. “Blonde,” while avant-garde and abstract, remains able to convey a very realized and vivid message through an exceptionally effective combination of profound poetry, detailed imagery, progressive production, and soulful vocals, making it one of the best albums of the decade.

Honorable Mentions: Norman F***ing Rockwell (2019) - Lana Del Rey Golden Hour (2018) - Kacey Musgraves Fade (2013) - Yo La Tengo WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO? (2019) - Billie Eilish Trilogyf (2012) - The Weeknd Ctrl (2017) - SZA DAMN. (2017) - Kendrick Lamar The Life of Pablo (2016) - Kanye West 1989 (2014) - Taylor Swift Good Kid, Maad City (2013) - Kendrick Lamar Yeezus (2013) - Kanye West Lemonade (2016) - Beyoncé

TRIBECA BRIDGE DEDICATED TO FORMER PRINCIPAL ABRAHAM BAUMEL NOVEMBER—In commemoration of 25 years since Stuyvesant’s move from East 15th Street to 345 Chambers Street, the Baumel family paired with the Alumni Association to raise $250,000 to dedicate Tribeca Bridge to former Principal “Abe” Baumel.

ESCALATOR MALFUNCTION SENDS STUDENTS TO HOSPITAL

OCTOBER—Ten Stuyvesant students were injured following an escalator malfunction at around 3:45 p.m. on October 20. The escalator rapidly accelerated and then partially collapsed on itself, causing those riding the escalator to fall into a pile toward the bottom. A number of these students got their feet stuck in the bottom escalator grill and were rushed to be treated by paramedics for cuts and bruises, though one student was reported to have a “severed toe.” All of the building’s escalators were indefinitely shut off.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 25

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

Past, Present, Future: The Years That Have Gone, Lost, and Will Be

By RUOXIN CAI She woke up to the glaring light of the sun. She wasn’t exactly sure what day it was, but she did know there had been 73 sunrises since she had gone outside without a face mask.

She peeked out her window to find a charming, rugged man standing outside, heroically announcing his mission to save all damsels who may be in distress.

His majestic white cape flapped in the wind. He wore shining armor and sat on a white steed— a white steed that was currently blocking traffic. She rolled her eyes. How insensitive! Really, it was the morning of one of the days of the week. She hoped that he wouldn’t get run over by some cop car.

And, she observed, he was not wearing a face mask! Absolutely no consideration for the safety of others! Shaking her head, she closed the curtains and turned away to resume sitting on her bed as she had been doing

“Hi parents,” I said nervously.

“After all these years, THIS is how you address us?” Mother asked.

“Uh no, um, I mean—” “No,” Father interjected.

“You refused to speak to us for this long, and NOW you suddenly want us to talk? Who do you think WE are?”

After around two hours of my dad and me arguing about respect and terribly dated trends, we ended up getting into a brawl.

As much as I’d like to give all the details of the fight, I’m sadly writing for a high school paper, and Olly will be very mad if I write anything insane. For convenience, I’ll just jump to the end.

After intense clashing, it ended when Father kicked me in the balls and I jabbed him in the eyes.

Coughing up a bit of blood, I was ready to make a final move.

But you know what? I didn’t continue to beat Father up. I just stood in the same spot for a few minutes while my poor mother watched on in fear. I began to think about many things that the editorial board would find too trippy for their liking. But to sum it all up for all you non-intellectuals, it was absolutely eye-opening for me. It was at that moment when I realized that I sorta figured out the pieces of the next steps of my life. And it was all thanks to Father.

Dripping with blood, my eye swollen, I walked over to him. It was a sad sight; he

e Spectator

Well bois, I’ve done it. I’ve finally become a second-term senior in quarantine. Sure, you might be thinking, what the hell is there for me to do now? Besides getting rescinded and going into debt I’ll never recover from, what could possibly ruin me now?

I felt like the only thing that could have any chance of ruining me was the idea of what I was going to do now. I had sorta done everything I wanted to do: have an extended vacation, get into college, and other things. And yet, I couldn’t help but feel… empty.

One night, as I was tossing and turning in my bed, I somehow decided that a bit of nostalgia would do the trick. Thus, I got my Nintendo DSi XL and started playing Mario Kart. Sure, I’d gotten rusty, but hey, at least I was a bit less anxious! After an hour, I turned off my DS and drifted off to sleep accordingly.

The next day, however, I felt the same sort of emptiness I did before. I mean, what the hell?

What kind of teenage hermit DOESN’T like total isolation?

Well, I guess I had to stop feeling… whatever I felt. So, I decided to take out my old middle school yearbooks this time.

And what a surprise that was.

I guess I intended for it to remind me of the old days, the days before stress. And as expected, it did.

What I didn’t expect was the realization that I’ll never be like that ever again. No longer can I buy snacks, games, and toys while stressing out my parents without any responsibilities on my end. I was really gonna have to start taking charge.

I looked at myself in the mirror. I must say, I was APPALLED by the figure I saw. I stared at a man-child who exchanged freedom and joyousness for skill, pain, and fake childhood tendencies in the form of terrible memes. Who the heck builds a fat Yoshi shrine in their bedroom?

But I digress; the more important question is, what the hell am I? A man? A boy? HowToBasic?

I simply didn’t know. Am I just marching to my death, living a life of naught regardless of what I do? Or am I actually HowToBasic and about to show everyone how I get my seemingly endless egg supply?

Clearly, I was confused. I needed guidance. With few options open to me, I turned to the two people who were able to financially support me despite my cruelly growing negligence: my parents.

As nervous as I was, I walked downstairs and actually confronted them for the first time in about three years. They were sitting on the couch looking at WeChat and watching Chinese news. When I stopped to look at them, they looked back.

Sophia Li / Th

By VICTOR KUANG

couldn’t even get up. In an attempt to rekindle my relationship with him, I offered him a hand.

Grabbing my hand, he lifted himself up and stood. A tear came out of my eye as I quickly

The Medieval Revolution

for the last nine hours.

Another sunrise later, she opened the door, and a man, dressed in puffy pants with a feather in his hat, stood outside. Another solicitor, likely. He wasn’t wearing a face mask either. Irritated, she slammed the door shut. She wondered what these men wanted.

An hour later, she opened the door again, donned her face mask, and set out to get groceries. The sun did burn her skin, so she made sure to protect it from the unwanted vitamin D. The sun was honestly pretty overrated in her opinion—almost as overrated as “Riverdale.”

But when she arrived, the grocery shop was… different. A charming old hut had replaced the supermarket, and several acres of field stretched out where skyscrapers had been.

Many huts had been erected around the field.

She hurried into the hut that had replaced the supermarket and found no sign of the Doritos

she had been meaning to gorge on. What an absolute travesty! A red-cheeked woman dressed in a rough-spun dress stepped forward from seemingly thin air.

“Hey,” she greeted, turning to face the woman. “Where has all the stuff gone?”

The woman scowled at her.

“Me selection has been slightly reduced. Ye can either get wheat,” she paused and considered but then shook her head.

“Yeah, just wheat.”

The woman wasn’t wearing a mask either. Why did people keep doing this?

“But why?” she pleaded.

“Look, missus.” A rugged farmer stepped out from behind the woman and growled.

“We ain’t doing that old, broken system of capitalism no more.

We’ve moved forward into a new age. Ye modernists have to stay with the times, ya know? We’ve progressed into feudalism. Get with the era! There’s a new cathedral around the block if ye wanna confess and truly enter

into the new age of high child fatality rates and lack of hygiene!”

“That’s right,” the woman chimed in. “Coronavirus is God’s voice on Earth! He’s speaking to us in the language of coughing and death! Coronavirus will give us everything we need! It’ll solve overpopulation, make WiFi free for everyone, and end commuting to work!”

“Don’t forget the dolphins,” the man added, as the woman nodded fervently.

She stepped back, absolutely bamboozled: “Dude, what?

There aren’t even any dolphins in New York!”

“Anyway,” the woman cut in.

“Are ye going to buy the wheat or not?”

She pulled a $10 bill out.

“This alright?”

The farmer sneered. “Fool!

Yehr still using rectangular pieces of paper? Don’t ye know that the king, Zoom, has ordered all usage of dollars terminated in honor of Pope Corona the First, who’s absolutely devoid of all

GERMAN POP STAR WINCENT WEISS PERFORMS AT STUYVESANT

UNDERCURRENTS: SPECTATOR WINTER MAGAZINE RELEASED

DECEMBER—The Spectator released a winter magazine on the underlying issues and tensions at Stuyvesant, including dynasties and the role of social media in SU elections, the use of the n-word, and the lack of female representation on the math team. A Features investigative in 2020 followed up on the math team’s continued gender dynamics.

Adrianna Peng / The Spectator

DECEMBER—The world languages department hosted German pop star Wincent Weiss in collaboration with the Goethe-Institut, allowing students to enjoy a taste of Eastern European culture and music during Weiss’s North American tour.

embraced him. This was warmth I hadn’t felt in years. And I needed this. In the corner of my eye, I swore I saw Mother smile. *SMACK* A right body-shot in my damn stomach.

I fell down to the floor in stinging pain.

“Serves you right, son,” he remarked with a grin on his face.

He then patted my head and gave me some water.

A surprise to be sure… but a welcome one.

While healing my wounds, I was able to strike up a conversation with my parents.

Seconds turned into minutes, and minutes turned into hours. We had a pretty grand dinner that night, with a hugeass chicken, fried dumplings, and a bunch of other stuff.

After the dinner was over, I went to bed and quickly succumbed to a food coma.

I knew that everything was gonna be okay; I could feel it.

Anyway, time to break character. I must say, wow.

Three years and over 20 articles in this department. It’s been really fun. I’ve enjoyed terrorizing this publication for the past few years, and I can’t wait to terrorize more in the future. It’s been a pleasure, everyone.

corners?”

“I have a few coins,” she offered weakly and drew out a penny. “Though they’re just these, which aren’t worth anything.”

But the couple leaned in with gleaming eyes. “Why, the lass has a copper!”

She stared, dumbfounded.

“Aren’t these coins obsolete?” she asked feebly.

“Ye bumblin hogworted fool!” The farmer leaned in, and she tried to back away from his smile, which revealed that he had not obeyed the tenets of dental hygiene in many months. “Doncha know that these coins are finally useful again? These coins are limited edition! Them idiots in the old age of modernism thought they weren’t of value, but look it now! Them who has millions in pennies are the real winners now!”

“Ah,” she said.

She took two large bags of wheat home with her.

When she woke up on continued on page 26

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 26

Humor Large Moth in Capitol Building Likely the Reason Why Congress Isn’t Passing Any Laws

By ETHAN LAM It is a well-known fact that for the past few years, Congress has not passed any major laws addressing the problems present within our society. While many Americans have adjusted to the lack of action from our government’s legislative body, almost nobody is aware of the true reason behind this silence.

Theories and rumors have surfaced over the years, with speculations ranging from the entirety of Congress being stuck in traffic (as they carpool regularly) to Congress never truly existing in the first place.

However, an exclusive Spectator informant has provided us with solid confirmation that a large moth has prevented productive use of the Capitol building for at least two years.

continued from page 25 When she woke up on Wednesday, her house had also been transformed into a charming cottage. Or it could be called charming, if it were rid of the mud caking everything… and the fact that it stunk to high heaven.

She groaned and opened her laptop. It was time for a day of Netflix.

But to her dismay, the only show left was “Game of Thrones.”

“Ugh,” she sighed. “Didn’t the entire fanbase die out, like, months ago?” With no choice left, she opened it.

The only season of the show left was the eighth season. She gritted her teeth in anger and opened YouTube. She launched some LoFi hip hop music, hoping to go back to sleep and dream of when capitalism was still heartless and strong and absolute monarchies were a distant shadow in history.

But to her horror, the video buffered. As she watched the circle spin, with spiders hanging in the corner of her cottage and dirt caking everything she owned, she could not help but lament her misery. If only people could have gone without a haircut for a month, her videos would not be buffering right now. Netflix would still be the world of escapism it used to be.

And she’d have her Doritos.

But to her horror, the video buffered. As she watched the circle spin, with spiders hanging in the corner of her cot-

In an interview with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, she said, “Reports of the current situation’s severity have been extremely exaggerated. We have made our best efforts to combat this crisis, and the situation is under control for the foreseeable future—oh GOD IS IT IN MY HAIR? GET IT OUT. GET IT OUT.” The situation is currently being investigated by the FBI Crisis Negotiation Unit, but as of the publication of this article, no response has been received from the moth, and its demands remain unknown. FBI Director Christopher Wray remarked on the sitution, commenting that “The United States does

not negotiate with winged terrors, especially the fuzzy ones, and we will stop at nothing to ensure that—aAaH iT’S ON MY NECK. I CAN FEEL IT, IT’S ON MY NECK.” A SWAT team armed with no less than 1 2 glass cups and

Serena Chan / The Spectator

20 paper slips at all times is to be deployed in the event that negotiations fall through. However, it is currently unknown which room the moth is in, as congressmen have reported not closing doors behind them in their scramble to escape from the winged menace, and it is considered unwise to engage the enemy without proper knowledge of its position.

Debates among congressmen have begun over whether a bat should be released inside the Capitol Building to eat the moth.

However, the necessary subsequent release of an owl to eat the bat is

The Medieval Revolution

tage and dirt caking everything she owned, she could not help but lament her misery. If only people could have gone without a haircut for a month, her videos would not be buffering right now. Netflix would still be the world of escapism it used to be.

And she’d have her Doritos.

A heartbeat of stillness permeated the air, and she held her breath, pleading against all odds.

The screen flashed once, to taunt her, and then, a dinosaur stood on her screen, bringing misery and plague to her life. It was the Antichrist, minion of Satan, bearer of doom.

She screamed in frustration, but no matter how many times she refreshed the page, nothing happened.

The horror was not to be borne!

She stormed out (but not before putting on her face mask) and spotted an angry riot of people storming across the field to the castle that used to be City Hall in the distance.

“WE WANT WIFI! WE WANT WIFI! WE WANT WIFI!” Torches and pitchforks were thrust into the air. Among the throngs of people, some were also passionately shouting, “WE WANT HAIRCUTS! WE WANT HAIRCUTS! WE WANT HAIRCUTS!” Overcome by the spirit of rebellion and liberty, she ran the distance to join them.

“WE WANT WIFI!” she cried. The spirit of revolution overtook her so completely that she was able to (almost) overlook the fact that a good chunk of them were, once again, not wearing face masks (really, guys, how hard is it).

As she slipped into the crowd, she murmured to the person next to her: “So what’s our motto? Doesn’t every good revolution need a motto?”

“Yeah,” the person answered.

“Ours is Liberte, Hair-

Nicholas Evangelinos / The Spectator

cutte, WiFie.” “Catchy,” she commented.

“Why is it in French?”

“I don’t know man, don’t you feel that vibe?” said the person before going back to screaming.

“Some of us have actual, legitimate causes, you know!” someone screamed from the back. “Healthcare workers, de-

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT UNCOVERS CHEATING FEBRUARY—English teacher Minkyu Kim uncovered a case of academic dishonesty among students in his senior class. The New York Post picked up the story from The Spectator’s reporting, sensationalizing the academic dishonesty issues present at Stuyvesant.

BSL AND ASPIRA BEGIN HOSTING TALK CIRCLES ON RACE JANUARY—BSL and ASPIRA began hosting monthly student-facilitated Talk Circles to discuss topics on race and invite a variety of different viewpoints on said issues, once inviting members of the Patriots’ Club.

livery workers, the workers that multibillionaires won’t let off even for the coronavirus! People in poverty who need to work multiple jobs and long hours!

The homeless and disadvantaged communities who are being struck hard by the virus! The complete lack of organization in—” “Shut up,” the person next to her hollered back. “All of us are disadvantaged by the virus right now!”

Ugh. Turns out fights in real life were basically the same as fights on Twitter, except with more body odor and noise.

A teenager at the front stood on top of a boulder. “EVERYONE! WE WILL NOT BEAR THIS TYRANNY! WE WILL DEFEAT THE CORONAVIRUS, NO MATTER WHAT IT TAKES!” He was, thankfully, wearing a face mask.

The crowd surged and roared around him.

He raised a needle to his arm, looking at the setting sun for a moment like an old king. He plunged it into his arm. “I WILL HIT THE CORONAVIRUS WITH A TREMENDOUS BLAST OF BLEACH! THEY WILL RULE NO MORE! WE ARE THE PEOPLE, AND WE WANT OUR NATURAL RIGHTS!” The crowd cheered raucously. People were throwing bags

widely considered to be a poor decision, as Vice President Mike Pence has expressed concern for his stash of Tootsie Pops located in a confidential location within the building.

However, while the future may seem bleak, Pelosi remains optimistic about the future of America. In fact, a resolution to the nation’s current unemployment crisis has potentially been found. Come back for issue one next fall to read all about this new development.

Postscript: At the time of this article’s publication, while talks regarding reinvesting the money earned into finding more African princes have been considered, Congress has ultimately decided that the soon-to-begathered funds are to be funneled into the defense budget.

of wheat up and cheering. With absolute horror, she saw a single Sour Patch fly onto the boulder. How dare they! To waste a Sour Patch now, in this situation!

Thankfully, the boy caught it and shoved it in his mouth.

“YOU FOOLS! WASTE NOT THY JUNK FOOD!” The crowd cheered again in support of this wise advice (it’s true guys, please don’t waste your junk food during this time).

“What an absolute madlad,” she thought with no small amount of admiration. “Now there’s an absolute monarch I could stand behind.”

The boy fell to the floor but was helped up. After a few minor seizures and vomiting episodes, he calmed, his face pale.

“I HAVE DEFEATED THE CORONAVIRUS! MY WILL FOR WIFI HAS OVERCOME THE TYRANNY OF THE VIRUS!” The crowd screamed in joy.

Unfortunately, as they rushed forward into the castle, the boy was killed in the stampede. So were thousands of other people, but it’s fine because it was all in the name of “Liberte, Haircutte, WiFie.” It was the single most (in)significant cause of all with the most unanimous support.

Thousands of miles away, in the only lab left in the entire world, a man in glasses frowned.

“Guys, my WiFi isn’t working.”

“I know,” a woman said, holding a small vial. “My WiFi wasn’t working either, so I developed the vaccine.”

“Oh, alright. Hopefully, Netflix will be back to normal soon.”

STUYVESANT CHEER COACH LEAVES, LEAVING FINANCIAL COMPLICATIONS

MARCH––Former cheer coach Nicholas O’ Stanton left his position after his poor management skills prevented the team from being able to go on their annual trip to the Nationals. The trip cost $540 per person, and the money went to O’ Stanton because he had already paid out of his own pocket. However, when the trip was canceled, the money he collected was not returned to cheer team members.

KUNG FU TEA CLOSES

MARCH—Kung Fu Tea, a popular nearby spot for Stuyvesant students, closed due to a change in ownership of the building.

The Spectator • June 16, 2020

Page 27

Humor: Decade in Humor Review

Real Events of the 2010s

By CHRISABELLA JAVIER, OLIVER STEWART, and KELLY YIP

The 2010s was a tumultuous time full of highs and lows. In this timeline, the Humor department reprises some of the most memorable—and most real—events of the last decade. Let us reminisce on what a glorious decade we have been part of!

“Senioritis Epidemic Detected” —Sam Furnival, April 2010 This article dates from when Humor originated. At the time the section was called “Slander and Libel.” Eventually, the department was renamed. The novel senioritis epidemic just ended up being a minor case of smallpox.

“You Kids Can Really Do Better” —credited to, but not written by, Kerry Garfinkel, October 2010 This is one of the first actual Humor articles ever written. It is most notable for the controversy created when it was first published: a sophomore read it, realized he could do better, and died on the spot.

“Newly Implemented Honor Code System Improves Student Performance” —Benjamin Koatz, June 2011 This article dates from when Humor originated. At The honor code system of regulating academic dishonesty is unveiled in Stuyvesant. Since then, it has been a grand success, with absolutely no cheating whatsoever in Stuyvesant High School. None. Never—especially during the 2012 English Regents. No cheating. Nope.

“New Dress Code Leads to Sharp Decline In Student Performance” —Muki Barkan, September 2011

“Study Shows All Stuyvesant Students Cheat” —Robert Melamed and Edward Zilberbrand, October 2012

A new dress code banning revealing outfits led to a decrease in student performance academically, physically, and socially. On an unrelated note, many students and teachers that year reported a new fetish involving scandalous ankles and uncovered hands in a Spectator survey.

A study funded by the DOE gave indications that every person who goes to Stuyvesant engages in academic dishonesty. However, the study came under fire a few months later after a group of independent researchers found that Stuyvesant students, as a whole, were too stupid to figure out how to use a staircase, much less conduct organized cheating.

“Computer Science Department Creates New Computer Science Department” —Robert Melamed, February 2012 The computer science department at Stuyvesant created multiple clones of themselves in order to make teaching classes easier and more efficient. This didn’t go as planned. A week after this article was published, Stuyvesant had to be closed down for two weeks by the Department of Housing (of course ;)) in order to exterminate the rabid clones wreaking havoc in the school. We’re pretty sure that the current computer science teachers are the originals.

“Humor Department: Despicable” —Jeremy Karson, April 2013

“United States Government Shuts Down” —Jeremy Karson, October 2013

This article was written in response to the first Disrespectator, Humor’s yearly coup of the newspaper. This article is most notable as yellow journalism, sparking public outcry and an invasion of Stuyvesant by the City of New York to overthrow the oppressive Humor regime.

The United States government shut down temporarily in 2013, putting America in the very humiliating and debilitating situation of having to start a GoFundMe. After publication, the government reopened a while later after the people in charge realized, “Wait. We could just stop doing this whenever we want. We’re the government. Why didn’t we think of this before?”

We’re still here though. God won’t let us die. We are a modern-day Cain, forced to walk the earth and be funny every once in a while.

“Urinal Thief Caught” —Jacob-Faber Rico, April 2014 A bunch of urinals went missing, and with the help of social studies teacher Michael Waxman and his eighth-period class, they were able to sniff out one of the stolen urinals hidden in a locker. The owner of the locker was revealed to be senior Tom Marvolo Chen, who was planning to donate them to the Museum of Modern Art as well as save one for personal use. We aren’t sure what sort of artistic contribution urinals can make, but with the urinal thief being caught, Stuyvesant’s bathrooms have once again returned to their peaceful state, and all of us are thankful for that.

“Study Shows Sophomores Just Like to Complain About Things” —Laszlo Sandler, February 2015 And we are back to being behind A&E. The class of 2017 was found to complain the most after a study was conducted by the Student Union (SU) and Principal Jie Zhang. The Algebra II final was moved twice to see how students would react, and it was found that the only unhappy ones were sophomores; therefore, they are the whiniest. According to the Assistant Principal of Mathematics (Mr. Math Whiz, as we like to call him), they would have failed anyway regardless of the date, so the administration did not see the problem. Well, I think we all know this to be true.

“Senior Makes Desperate Last Attempt at Front Page Article” —Jacob Faber-Rico, April 2016

“Humor Writer Out of Ideas” —Laszlo Sandler, October 2015

Senior and Humor writer Jacob Faber-Rico attempts to use his final Disrespectator to attempt to have an article on the front page. Even though Editor-in-Chief Sonia Epstein and faculty advisor Kerry Garfinkel agreed that this article was truly a momentous artifact that should be saved until the end of time, it ended up on the second page. Thanks, Layout.

Pretty self-explanatory. We still don’t have any ideas, by the way, if you were wondering.

“Humor Department to be Renamed Alternative News” —Tiffany Chen, February 2017

“Student Finishes Homework by 9:00 p.m.”

—Marie Ivantechemko and Alexandra Wen, November 2016 “Wrestling is Not Gay” —Alwin Peng, October 2018 Pretty self-explanatory, but we thought we should let you know.

Following years of mistreatment from the News department, the Humor department has renamed itself Alternative News, with former Humor editors Kerwin Chen, Shaina Peters, and Michael Xu named Alternative News Editors. Despite protests from the News Department, the Alternative News Department strives to return valid, factual justice to the paper, calling News “butthurt losers.” Is this true? I dunno. It’s definitely not fake news though.

Extremely productive junior Stephanie Li finished all her homework at 9:00 p.m. Stuck in a cycle of paranoia, she called the U.S. Naval Observatory to make sure her clock was correct and the police to prevent her from falling asleep early. Even guidance counselors were perplexed by a Stuyvesant student finishing so early. Li used her time to study for her APs months in advance and even took a five-minute nap, only to remember she had a take-home DBQ due first period. Her truly infamous act of determination and perseverance is something we can only hope to achieve.

“Bill de Blasio Wants to be President. He Won’t be, Unless he Tweets About Lentils.” —Lentil Enthusiast, September 2019

“Gee Whiz Diner Bans Stuyvesant Students” —Michael Dekhtyar, June 2018 After years of dealing with show tunes into the wee hours of the morning, the iconic Gee Whiz Diner on Greenwich Street permanently banned all Stuyvesant students from entering the premises. In response, stricken theater kids embarked on a desperate search for an alternative post-show food spot in the area, and The Spectator received several (unconfirmed) reports of Lights & Sound members being cannibalized by ravenous members of the cast.

In this editorial, guest writer Lentil Enthusiast identified the key flaw in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s presidential campaign—his total lack of, well, lentil enthusiasm. The article proved prophetic, as it was indeed this critical oversight which would lead to the rapid destruction of Big Bill’s presidential aspirations, along with the fact that he just plain sucks.

“Unsuspecting Senior Haunted by Endless Supps” —Angélique Charles-Davis, October 2019

“Stuyvesant No Longer Legally Considered A School” —Chrisabella Javier, November 2019 After failing a surprise Department of Education inspection, Stuyvesant’s status as a school was revoked, and Principal Contreras rebranded it as “Stuyvesant High Schoole,” renaming its denizens as “studentes.”

The change was purely a cosmetic one, though—according to Contreras and a spokesperson for the DOE, Stuyvesant would stay exactly the same under its new moniker.

APRIL 15—A fire broke out in the Notre Dame de Paris Cathedral, damaging the roof and spire.

MARCH 15—Fifty-one people were killed by Australian national Brenton Tarrant at the Al Noor mosque and the Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, making it the nation’s deadliest mass shooting.

Some fear ghosts, but senior Susie Lee spent Halloween tormented by her 345 supplemental essays and the looming November 1 early decision deadline. Lee found herself unable to shake the persistent supplements which had possessed her and was only able to rid herself of them via an exorcism in the form of submitting her Common Application.

AUGUST 24—Hurricane Dorian, a category five hurricane, struck the Bahamas.

It was the most intense tropical cyclone on record to strike the country.

STUYVESANT CELEBRATES 50 YEARS OF COEDUCATION AND THE SPECTATOR RELEASES SPECTATHER

JUNE—Alice de Rivera sued the Board of Education for restricting female attendance at Stuyvesant in January 1969. Though de Rivera was never able to attend Stuyvesant, her persistent efforts resulted in co-education, paving the way for 13 other young women to enter in the fall of 1969. The SpectatHER featured these “pioneers,” as well as other notable female alumni and current female students.

ALL JUNIORS REQUIRED TO TAKE AP PHYSICS I

SEPTEMBER—The administration required all juniors to take AP Physics I. This was met with great backlash by juniors who were upset that such an important decision was made without any student input or prior notice. Additionally, many juniors were frustrated that they were forced to take a vigorous class they had not signed up for.

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The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Sports Sports Editorial

Why the United States Failed at Soccer

By NAKIB ABEDIN The United States is known around the world for producing great athletes. From Muhammad Ali to Michael Jordan to Serena Williams to Michael Phelps, America has produced some of the best players in history for almost every major sport. However, the United States has failed to find the same success in soccer.

The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) was unable to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia despite having some of their best players in decades. The United States needed to simply draw against Trinidad and Tobago, the lowestranked team in their group. The game began with an own-goal, an omen of what was to come.

USMNT defender Omar Gonzalez missed a clearance and inadvertently chipped the ball over USMNT’s Tim Howard. Twenty minutes later, Trinidad’s Alvin Jones scored a stunner from long range to put a premature end to USMNT’s World Cup campaign.

Though USMNT’s Christian Pulisic scored in the beginning of the second half, it was not enough to save the United States from getting knocked out. So, what went wrong?

One of the primary reasons why the United States has not

been able to produce world-class athletes in soccer is simply because the sport is not nearly as popular here compared to the rest of the world. Sports such as football and basketball are far more popular in America. Due to this disparity, players in the NBA and NFL earn higher salaries than players in the MLS. According to the MLS

P l ay e r s ’ Union, the average base salary for a non-designated MLS player is $345,867.

On the other hand, CNBC reports that the average NBA player salary is $7.7 million.

When high school athletes choose which sport to pursue, this huge difference in earnings can easily dissuade them from selecting soccer. The USMNT loses many gifted athletes each year to more popular—and consequently higher-paying—sports.

In addition, America has failed to support soccer youth

development across the country.

Though there are plenty of soccer leagues capable of developing young players, there is one glaring issue: they can be very expensive.

To play for Metropolitan Oval, a New York City FC Youth Affiliate, for just one season, a player has to pay $2,750, making it virtually impossible for athletes who

Afra Mahmud / The Spectator

c o m e from poor families to be able to play for these clubs. Unfortunately, this means America loses many passionate soccer players.

Pele had to polish shoes to support his family, Luis Suarez supported his family by sweeping the streets, and Arturo Vidal pursued soccer to support his family.

Some of the most passionate and

most gifted soccer players come from poor families and America has missed out due to our pricey soccer clubs. Comparatively, countless players across England can pay a small fraction of the amount U.S. soccer players pay, and consequently, England finished fourth in the 2018 World Cup. America should attempt to use England’s model in order to perform better on the international stage.

Even though the USMNT has failed to perform, it is important to note that the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) has been one of the best teams in the world, with four World Cup wins and four Olympic gold medals despite only being founded in 1985. One of the major factors behind the success of women’s soccer in America is increased involvement over the last few decades. Business Insider reports that in 1971 there were only 700 high school girl soccer players throughout the whole country. By 2014, there were almost 376,000 high school girl soccer players across

America. This stark increase in the number of players is due to schools providing more sports opportunities for girls. Providing girls’ soccer teams is a great way to do so because each team can have up to 23 players. Having more soccer teams in high schools exposes more players to the sport, allowing America to scout for new talents, something the USMNT should be pursuing to improve their squad.

In spite of all the problems with soccer in the United States, the future is bright. The USWNT’s success has created a surge in popularity of the sport, which may be attributed to players such as Lille OSC’s Timothy Weah and Chelsea’s Christian Pulisic. These young talents are taking the soccer world by storm and impressing fans all across the world. America’s focus now should be on encouraging youth involvement in soccer. This can be done with implementing more recreational leagues, encouraging schools to offer a soccer team, or by converting football fields into multipurpose fields to install soccer goal posts behind each end zone. Such changes will increase involvement in the sport, which will produce more talent for the USMNT in the long run, potentially bringing the team out of its current, longtime slump.

Athlete of the Issue

Stuyvesant Sports, an Unforgettable Experience

By AKI YAMAGUCHI As these athletes approach the end of their senior year, they reflect on how Stuyvesant athletics have meaningfully affected their lives. Take a closer look at what these seniors will never forget about their time on the sports teams at Stuyvesant.

SEPTEMBER—In an HBO documentary entitled “In the Shadow of the Towers: Stuyvesant High on 9/11,” Stuyvesant alumni reflected on their experience 18 years ago during the attacks. The alumni interviewed had participated in the winter drama “With Their Eyes,” which was created in response to the tragedy, and shared their stories of the Stuyvesant community.

Courtesy of Katie Ng

“[Volleyball] gave me a reason to get up in the mornings, and I couldn’t be more grateful that I had the opportunity to play one of my favorite sports alongside some of the coolest guys for four years [...] From breaking lights in the hallways to eating Chipotle with [Coach] Choubaralian after a game, we made a lot of fun memories together—ones I won’t soon forget. We all had a passion for playing our sport that brought us together, but the best part was that that passion didn’t equate to aggressive competitiveness that some teams have to deal with.” —Timothy Stansberry, senior and captain: varsity volleyball

HBO DOCUMENTARY ON STUYVESANT 9/11 EXPERIENCE RELEASED

“Stuy sports impacted my life a ridiculous amount. I made my closest friends on sports teams and I learned what kind of person I want to be from my teammates and [Coach] Miller [...]

[I’ll miss] just having a big group where I feel comfortable and where everyone is so fun and supportive.” —Eve Wening, senior and captain: varsity soccer, basketball, and softball

“I’ve made amazing friends through sports and it’s given me something to look forward to each day after school [...] What I‘ll miss the most will probably be the heart and spirit of every single person who comes out to the games or plays on a team. I’ll miss playing with my teammates and them cheering me up and making me laugh.” —Catherine Yu, senior: varsity volleyball

Courtesy of Katie Ng

“Stuy sports helped me find a family within Stuy[vesant] and people I can count on for help or for just about anything. Being on the team has also taught me to take risks, invest myself in winning, and to cheer louder. There would always be something to laugh at and some small anecdote we’d always remember. I feel incredibly lucky that I got to spend four years on a team with people that have become my best friends, and I’m going to miss all the crazy energy between everyone on the team.” —Lauren Pehlivanian, senior and captain: varsity tennis

Courtesy of Samson Badlia

“Stuy sports ha[ve] given me a sense of family at school and people I can confide in and hang out with when I’m at school. It’s made me aware [of] the definition of teamwork and how important it is. It’s shown me how to handle losses and how to move on [...] The connections and bonds I’ve created with most of my teammates [are] unbreakable, and [I know] that they’ll always have my back—whether they’re from basketball or football.” —Samson Badlia, senior: varsity football and basketball

“Every meet requires an entire team of athletes to each play their part and score points to win [...] During the past four seasons, I hope I was able to become a reliable captain and teammate for the rest of the team.”

—Kai Yamamoto, senior and captain: varsity swimming

STUYVESANT EVACUATIONS LEAD TO SAFETY CONCERNS OCTOBER—Reports of gas-like odors prompted the Stuyvesant body to evacuate from the building twice in the same day, prompting concerns regarding evacuation protocol.

SEPTEMBER 23—Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, delivered her speech to world leaders at the UN, calling attention to the problem of climate change.

JUNIOR PHYSICS COURSE NAME SWITCHED

NOVEMBER—In the wake of backlash from students and teachers, the administration decided to rename AP Physics I to Advanced Physics with AP 1 Topics. Physics teachers refused to teach the AP class, citing insufficient lab time and other issues with the prerequisites of the class.

The change attracted controversy within the student body.

The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Page 29

Sports Sports Editorial

2021 Summer Olympics: Just Another Bump in the Road

By SHIVALI KORGAONKAR For 17-year-old Sunisa Lee, the 2020 Summer Olympic Games was a chance to exhibit all of her hard work—from tireless nights of training in the gym to her constant sore limbs—on a global platform. After finishing second to Simone Biles in the all-around event at the 2019 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships and helping the United States bring home the gold at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, Lee was on track to secure one of four open spots on the United States Olympic Team for women’s artistic gymnastics. Now, Lee’s dreams are being put on hold.

With the Olympics postponed until 2021, gymnasts are being impacted to a greater degree than other athletes. Most gymnasts performing at the Olympic caliber, including Lee, are normally in the gym around seven hours a day, perfecting their routines. With gyms closed down and coaching staff stuck at home, gymnasts have lost months of practice in their prime states. In addition, it’s difficult to predict what their physical conditions will be like a year from now when they will go from minimal hour-long workouts to intensive training regiments at the Olympic bootcamp.

she will be competing next year.

Biles is not the only athlete whose age acts as a great hindrance for 2021. Track star Allyson Felix will be 35 by the time she competes at the 2021 Olympics. 39-year-old Kerri Walsh Jennings, the oldest

While many young athletes will have the chance to compete in future Olympic Games, older athletes are being faced with an ultimatum: cutting their dreams short or putting their bodies through another year of arduous training.

Olympics. All of these athletes, with the exception of Biles, have confirmed that they will participate in the 2021 Tokyo Games, but it will be at the expense of putting their bodies through intense pressure for an additional year.

The Olympic Games has been a historically significant event ever since it was first held in Athens.

The first modern Olympic Games started in 1896. Since then, not only have the Olympic Games been economically beneficial, but they have also served as a means for nations to come together, to partake in effective and meaningful competition. In fact, the Olympics has only been canceled three times in history: once during World War I and twice during World War II. It’s obvious that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) would have looked to avoid this postponement, but the gravity of COVID-19 is undeniable. Regardless, the delay, especially during a period that lacks unity and pride, is devastating to both athletes and viewers.

Like many others, I have grown up watching the Summer Olympics every four years, constantly in awe of the admirable

beach volleyball player to compete at the Biles, Olympics, is favored the most to medal in her fifth Susa r nnah A ato decorated Amerhn / The Spect Olympic Games this year. ican gymnast with a Similarly, 35-year-old Ryan Lochte combined total of 30 Olympic is the oldest American male swimand World Championship titles, mer predicted to compete at the had planned on retiring after the 2020 Summer Olympics. Biles will be 24 years old by 2021, four years older than the averAlso see: age female gymnast who comOn Track and Teammates, Perseverance, and peted at the 2016 Rio Games.

Given the emotional and physiAn Interview with Coach Carl DiSarno cal toll it takes to prepare for the Olympics at a relatively older age, Biles has not confirmed whether

display of talent, sportsmanship, and craft. I am filled with a sense of pride every time an American stands on the podium, proud and tall, waving to the crowd with a gold medal dangling around their neck. From Gabby Douglas to Michael Phelps, legends are born at the Olympics. It’s especially heartbreaking to know that athletes who have prepared specifically for this summer will not be able to showcase a lifetime’s worth of hard work to the world.

Despite this setback, it’s an athlete’s job to persevere through uncertain and uncontrollable circumstances. This situation is no different. Many athletes showed their support on social media after the IOC canceled the Olympics in March. Part of being an athlete includes expecting the unexpected and working through those circumstances regardless. Olympic athletes have not stopped training because they know goals don’t always get accomplished in a predictable manner. As threetime Olympic gold medalist Tianna T. Bartoletta said, “Dreams have NOT been canceled. Only delayed. Stay in it. Stay safe. Stay focused.”

Pepsi:

Sports Editorial

By SUSIE MCKNIGHT and ROXIE GOSFIELD

The much-anticipated NBA season came to a screeching halt on March 11 as the COVID-19 pandemic intensified and one of the NBA’s very own players contracted the virus. The indefinite pause cost the NBA millions of dollars in revenue and disappointed fans from all over the nation.

After months of speculation, however, the NBA has finally made a statement about the possibility of resuming the season.

And the proposed location was quite unexpected, to say the least.

When we think of basketball, we tend to associate it with arenas like Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center, but we definitely don’t think of Disney World, a children’s amusement park. Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Mike Bass and other

NBA executives, however, are exploring this unorthodox approach of hosting NBA games at Disney World in hopes of continuing the season by any means possible. In a statement released on the NBA’s Twitter, Bass stated that they are discussing strategies with Disney to restart the NBA season in late July, using the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex for games, practices, and housing.

As per normal NBA protocol, each team would have its own arena, where their athletes practice and play home games. Hosting games at Disney World would differ in that all players and teams would play in the same area.

Bass’s statement also touches upon players’ housing at the complex; given the current situation, we can assume athletes will have minimal contact with the outside world and will, for the most part, stay within the limits of Disney

Sammi Chen / The Spectator

NBA Explores Resuming Season at Disney World, but Does the Shoe Fit?

World. Because approximately all 450 players would have to live in such confined quarters, quarantining players beforehand seems like a necessary action to take.

Some teams might go directly to Disney World to start training or stay in their team’s home state. According to NBA reporter

Adrian Wojnarowski, the league has started to “not only put the plans in place for return in terms of testing and safety, health-wise, but really dig this week into what that format is going to look like.”

While the fate of the NBA’s ’19-’20 season remains uncertain, The Athletic reports that due to its large campus and ability to host a multitude of teams, Disney World is “the clear frontrunner” out of the options the NBA is considering. If this arrangement is made, the NBA will be joining the MLB (which plans to resume on July 4) and the MLS (which hopes to host a July tournament), as all three leagues have plans to continue their respective seasons.

So what would this mean for the NBA? For one thing, audience attendance seems to be a huge topic of discussion. While the NBA encourages players to brace for less packed arenas, four-time

MVP Lebron James disagrees and argued in a post-game interview, “We play games without the fans? Nah, that’s impossible.

I ain’t playing if I ain’t got the fans in the crowd. That’s who I play for.” And he’s correct—fans boost player morale and bring in huge amounts of revenue; losing them would mean losing two crucial aspects of basketball. Safety, especially in these trying times, however, comes first, which may mean sacrificing fans regardless of the players’ wishes. Though the NBA seems to be headed one step closer to resuming its season, the question remains: is it worth bringing back an NBA that doesn’t include any spectators?

Regardless of the answer, NBA fans everywhere should be thrilled with this new development, as one of America’s favorite sports is beginning to find creative ways to resume its season.

JANUARY 3—Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike, prompting panic about rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran.

DECEMBER—The administration became aware of a Facebook group for buying and selling lockers, and in response, they confiscated the lockers and voided the lunches of some of the students who used the group.

DECEMBER 18—President Donald Trump was impeached on the charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making him the fourth U.S. president in history to be impeached.

Andrea Huang / The Spectator

BUYING AND SELLING LOCKERS GROUP DISCOVERED

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The Spectator ● June 16, 2020

Sports Decade in Review Sports:

Moments in Sports That Will Never Sell Short 2011-2012: Distance Medley Relay Breaks PSAL Record, Places Fourth Nationally

2009-2010: Vixens Volley for 11th Straight Division Title

By AKI YAMAGUCHI The Vixens, the girls’ varsity volleyball team, has an illustrious history of consecutive division titles. The Vixens lost five seniors, three of whom were starters, which put more pressure on the seven underclassmen to make up for their collective lack of experience. The team persevered despite this challenge, harnessing its young talent to win its 11th consecutive division title.

By SAMIR HASSAN

Courtesy of Ella Koo

2010-2011: Four Stuyvesant Students Selected to All-Star Team

By SHIVALI KORGAONKAR Sports are generally not the main priority of most Stuyvesant students, but for four students, one football game embodies their most treasured experience from Stuyvesant.

Former co-captains Ming Li, Michael Bucaoto, and Mohit Kumar, along with Vasilis Tzallas, represented Stuyvesant on the Bronx-Manhattan team at the 2010 Fugazzi Senior Bowl. Despite size disparities between them and players from other schools, the four players were full of pride, confident that their skills were on par with some of the city’s best players. In fact, Li was the only player from Manhattan to start on the BronxManhattan team.

Courtesy of Ming Li

The Greyducks, the boys’ track and field team, is one of Stuyvesant’s strongest teams, boasting the city’s top runners. After months of arduous training, the distance medley relay (DMR) team, which consists of junior Jack Stevenson, senior Genghis Chau, senior and co-captain Mark Schramm, and senior and co-captain Konrad Surkont, broke the previous DMR PSAL record and earned the prestigious All-American title for a top-six finish at the New Balance Indoor National Championships. Surkont even broke the PSAL 1600-meter record in his leg.

2015-2016: Taking Talent to the Next Level

By SHIVALI KORGAONKAR

2012-2013: Stuy Alum Prescod Fences in Olympics

By RUDOLPH MERLIN Nzingha Prescod, a former member of the girls’ varsity fencing team, took her fencing career to the next level, competing in the 2012 London Olympics while attending Columbia University. Her talent with the foil nearly led the U.S. Women’s Fencing Team to the podium. Additionally, Prescod won a bronze medal in the Individual Foil at the 2015 World Fencing Championships and a gold medal for the Foil Team during the 2018 World Fencing Championships.

Courtesy of Michele Lin

2013-2014: Stuyvesant Wins First Ever Table Tennis Championship

By KRISH GUPTA In a nail-biter that came down to the last game in a best-of-five series, senior Alan Baranov and freshman Eric Amstislavsky rose to the occasion to claim the decisive first doubles game and earn Stuyvesant the coveted inaugural title. Stuyvesant claimed revenge over Brooklyn Tech after losing to them in their regular-season showdown, starting a victorious table tennis legacy that would continue for years.

Krystal Lara holds numerous PSAL and nearly all of Stuyvesant’s girls’ swimming records. She committed to Northwestern University in 2015 and soon after, qualified for the 2016 Olympic Trials in the 100-meter backstroke, where she placed 158th overall. Nathan Chandler, another successful Stuyvesant athlete, started playing on the Peglegs, the boys’ varsity baseball team, in his sophomore year. Chandler committed to Kenyon University, where he was able to prioritize both his academics and athletics. Aaron Glas, another athletic star, led the Pirates, the boys’ swimming team, to four consecutive championship titles. Glas was later recruited by Princeton University.

While their journeys were surely filled with sacrifice and hard work, Lara, Chandler, and Glas are evidence that success in both athletics and academics are not mutually exclusive at Stuyvesant.

Courtesy of Yi Zhu

2014-2015: Penguins Cruise Through the Playoffs Courtesy of Mary Jo Meccito

By TAUSIF TAMIM The Penguins, the girls’ swimming and diving team, claimed a victory against Bronx Science in the semifinals after a strong showing against Tottenville in the quarterfinals led by freshman Maddie Wong and senior Sappha O’Meara. The Penguins went on to eventually win the PSAL City Championships for their seventh consecutive year, solidifying their title as perennial winners.

2016-2017: Colin Kaepernick Kneels During National Anthem, Sparks Huge Controversy

By SAM LEVINE

Now more than ever, the topic of race has become extremely prevalent. Colin Kaepernick sparked a large national controversy when he took a kneel during the National Anthem before a NFL game to protest police brutality. Many athletes and prominent figures, such as former President Barack Obama, stood in solidarity with him. Kaepernick would finish the season as a starter but struggled to get recruited upon entering free agency, as no teams showed real interest in signing him and owners blackballed Kaepernick. Kaepernick later filed a grievance against the NFL for collusion, which was eventually settled. Though he hasn’t played in the league since, his impactful message of resistance and protest still rings true today.

2018-2019: Civil Rights Activist, NBA Hall of Fame Inductee, and Stuyvesant Alum Courtesy of Ella McAndrewst

2017-2018: Pirates Secure PSAL Championship Again

By MATT MELUCCI After a season filled with obstacles, the Pirates, the boys’ swimming team, ended its season with a bang as PSAL champions for the second consecutive year. Experience on the team was initially a concern after a loss of talented seniors, along with a coaching change that brought in coach Silvana Choy to take former girls’ and boys’ swimming coach Peter Bologna’s position. The Pirates swept through an undefeated season nonetheless and dominated at the championship. The team also found success individually, as it sent seven swimmers to the state championship.

By CAROLINE JI Stuyvesant alum Charles Thomas Scott broke many barriers throughout his illustrious career. Not only was he one of the first African Americans offered an athletic scholarship to the University of North Carolina, but Scott also led the Tar Heels to two Final Four appearances, turning the disreputable, substandard team into a strong NCAA contender. His talent was also exhibited on the professional level as he won a NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics in the ‘75-‘76 season and an Olympic gold medal in 1968. His success, however, was met with great hardship, as he experienced immense racial prejudice characteristic of the Jim Crow era. Scott was robbed of the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year award when he clearly deserved it, wrongfully detained by the police for allegedly harassing a white woman. He also often felt misunderstood by his peers. Scott persevered despite these struggles, paving the way for future African American athletes while shedding light on the rampant racism entrenched in the American sports system.

2019-2020: The Beginning of the End of Spring Sports

By KRISH GUPTA

Courtesy of Anna Yuan

Courtesy of NBA.com

SANDY LIANG DEBUTS FALL COLLECTION FEBRUARY—Sandy Liang (‘09) held her New York Fashion Week runway show in the lobby of Stuyvesant, featuring her fall ready-to-wear collection.

JANUARY 31—With Brexit, the United Kingdom (UK) formally left the European Union (EU).

Following this, the UK and the EU entered a transition period during which the UK would remain subject to the rules of the EU.

Courtesy of Paulina Ruta

In an unprecedented move, Mayor Bill de Blasio shut down the PSAL in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Seniors from all 16 spring sports teams were forced to miss out on their final seasons, with months of preparation going to waste. Though several teams have attempted to continue training remotely, nothing will ever replace the authenticity, team spirit, and comradery that come with in-person practices. Despite this setback, teams understand the extenuating circumstances and are continuing to remain optimistic for the future of their respective sports.

MARCH 16—The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2,997 points, the largest drop since 1987. The S&P 500 dropped 8.1 percent, causing a halt on trades for 15 minutes.

MARCH 11—The World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 viral disease outbreak a pandemic.

SCHOOLS CLOSED FOR REMAINDER OF ACADEMIC YEAR

APRIL—After closing NYC public schools on March 16 due to the pandemic, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that they would remain closed for the rest of the school year. The decision to close negatively impacted events and extracurriculars, as well as numerous beloved senior traditions. Many students also expressed concern for what remote learning would look like, as teachers were forced to transition to online instruction on short notice.

THE SPECTATOR SPORTS Sports Editorial

By AIDAN LOOK and DEVEN MAHESHWARI

An Insider’s Look at the 2020 NBA Awards

Before the NBA went on hiatus, the season had begun its final stretch. The All-Star break in February had passed, with many teams competing for the best record in the league and a chance at the playoffs. Now that the season is resuming at the end of July, we look back on the best players of the 2019-2020 season and how they led their teams to the championship.

Coach of the Year: Nick Nurse The Toronto Raptors were coming off of a 58-win season and the franchise’s first NBA championship led by arguably the best player in the NBA: Kawhi Leonard. But the summer of 2019 would dramatically change the landscape of the league, with many superstars teaming up to form duos. Anthony Davis would leave the New Orleans Pelicans to join LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers. James Harden and Russell Westbrook would team up again on the Houston Rockets. Kawhi Leonard was no different, as he would leave Toronto to join Paul George in L.A. in hopes of securing a title for the Clippers. Even without their former star player, the Raptors showed the same championship mentality and playstyle from their prior season. Before the season was suspended, the Raptors achieved a 46-18 record, good for second place in the Eastern

Conference. This success was not team in the best possible position expected at all. The vast improve- to win games, and the team’s rements of Pascal Siakam among cord this season proves how cruothers certainly played a signifi- cial his coaching was for success. cant role in the team’s record, but the success of the Raptors would Rookie of the Year: Ja Morant not have been possible withThe second overall pick in out the stellar coaching of Nick the 2019 NBA draft, Ja Morant, Nurse. has proved himself to be one Nurse was able to adjust to of the league’s best point guards the loss of Leonard and other in just his first year. Morant has players by using new rotations. propelled the Memphis This season, he began to start Grizzlies into being Marc Gasol over Serge Ibaa playoff team, ka at center. With the loss securing the of Danny Green, Nurse eighth seed in decided to play Kyle the Western Lowry at the shooting Conference guard position, with before the Fred VanVleet takshutdown. ing over as the point The Grizzlies guard. To combat the even reached loss of Leonard, he as high as the started OG Anunoby at fifth seed durthe small forward posiing the regular tion. These changes season. This is would be worthless a huge accomif Nurse had not plishment for a disciplined his Grizzlies roster team well. The that was proMichele Yi / The Spectator trust and respect the jected to win only 32 Raptors have for Nurse is truly games—with a six percent chance remarkable, especially in late of making the playoffs before the game situations. For example, the 2019-2020 season. Morant’s supRaptors were trailing by 30 points porting cast of young stars such to the Dallas Mavericks on No- as Dillon Brooks and Jaren Jackvember 16, with two minutes and son Jr. has also fueled the team’s 32 seconds left in the third quar- success, but it is clear that Morant ter. Nurse settled his team down has had the most impact on this and organized a full-court press. effort.

They rallied on to score 47 points Morant leads his team in in the fourth quarter because of points per game with an average their aggressive, fast-paced de- of 17.6. Morant’s intensity, scorfense. Nurse knew how to put his ing ability, and ability to distribute

the ball well has had an amazing impact on the team’s offense, not to mention his consistent highlight-reel plays. Due to their pace factor this season ranking seventh in the league, the Grizzlies were able to improve their points per game by about seven from last year. Morant’s explosiveness allows him to blow by defenders and change speeds in the blink of an eye. This, coupled with his ability to find holes in the defense, sets him apart from many other players in the league. His main competitor for the award is his former teammate in middle school, and the number one overall pick, Zion Williamson. However, Williamson’s injuries forced him to sit out for a majority of the season and Morant was able to showcase his potential in more games than his competitor.

DPOY: Giannis Antetokounmpo There aren’t many players who have the same physical build as Giannis Antetokounmpo. His lanky body and long arms allow him to stay in front of almost anyone he guards and get to shots that aren’t reachable by a normal person. He’s the undisputed leader of arguably the best defensive team in the NBA. The Milwaukee Bucks allow their opponents to score an average of 107.4 points per game, tied for fifth place with the Denver Nuggets for least points per game allowed. The Bucks also limit their opponents’ field goal percentage to an aver-

age of 41.3 percent, ranking them first in the league in this category.

This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, since they are headed by Giannis, who takes over the entire court on defense, closing out on shooters on the perimeter while still going after the defensive rebounds. Luckily, his effort is not done singlehandedly as other forces such as Brook Lopez, who leads blocks with an average of 2.4 per game, work together to form the ultimate defense. Antetokounmpo has taken the role as the defensive leader, however, leading the team in defensive rebounds per game with an average of 11.5, as well as averaging one block per game. Their aggressive and efficient defense with Giannis in charge has played a significant role in the Bucks’ record, only losing 12 games while winning 53. Antetokounmpo is the clear choice for DPOY. Check out the rest of this article here.

Sports Editorial

By SAM LEVINE As the days without sports drudge on, it’s becoming more and more depressing to be a sports fan. Each day seems to bring more uncertainty as to when our favorite leagues will return to action—or even if they will come back. As much as it pains me to say, my favorite of those leagues, the MLB, doesn’t look like it’s on its way back anytime soon.

The problem with baseball isn’t that they can’t find a way to keep everyone safe. The MLB, like the NBA and other leagues, can most likely make a plan to keep players isolated by seating them far apart from each other on the bench and taking other precautions. Baseball is a pretty socially distanced sport anyway, so it wouldn’t be too big of a problem. Right now, the obstacle is that players and owners can’t agree on a salary compromise.

Last week, the owners made a

The Billionaires vs. The Millionaires

proposal to the players’ association (MLBPA), which suggested an 81-game season (half the normal amount of games) and salaries that would be determined on a sliding scale. Essentially, the more money you make, the more you’d lose. Players making the minimum salary would receive about 46 percent of their normal salary, players making the most would make about 22 percent of their normal salary, and those in between would make a percentage in between 22 and 46 percent of their salaries. Though it seemed as if a compromise was being made, the players were reportedly very disappointed with the offer and quickly rejected it, sending it back to phase one.

It’s hard to blame the players, though. Not every player is the New York Yankees’ Gerrit Cole, who, even with this offer, would still be making over seven million dollars. A lot of players are at their peak age, and there aren’t many years for a baseball player

GRADUATION CANCELED FOR SENIORS

APRIL—The graduation ceremony was canceled for the Class of 2020 due to the pandemic. The in-person ceremony will be replaced with a virtual graduation via YouTube, in which individual senior photos will appear on the screen, along with an hour of pre-recorded speeches.

to really capitalize on a contract.

The average MLB career is about five and a half years. That means that many players have around five to six years to make money playing baseball, and even those who play for longer only have around five to six years where they are really at the top of their game. Players still have over 50 years of life after baseball—they deserve to be able to make as much money as they can while they’re playing.

Recently, the MLBPA fired back with their own proposal.

It included a 114-game season, a $100 million advance given to all players collectively before the second spring training, and a prorated salary for all the players.

Additionally, there would be an opt-out option, so players who don’t feel safe can choose not to play. This is obviously more player-benefitting, and though it hasn’t been rejected yet, it doesn’t seem like a deal the owners would agree to. They have already stated

that they’d be fine without baseball if it means not paying the players a large portion of their salaries.

However, the owners do have a point. Whether or not they have a season, the owners will stay billionaires. Jerry Reinsdorf, the owner of the Chicago White Sox, also owns the Chicago Bulls, and the NBA is returning at the end of July. Reinsdorf won’t have to rely on the MLB season for a salary. I’m sure the owners would be perfectly happy going back to whatever business got them all their money in the first place, leaving the players out to dry.

The players are going to need to compromise as well if they want to get back on the field.

Regardless of whether or not a deal is reached, this wasted time has been one big missed opportunity for the MLB. While all the other major sports were figuring out how to resume, the MLB could have completely dominated the sports world for two months.

Interest levels would have spiked and TV ratings would have skyrocketed like never before. It’s likely that the owners would have regained much of the money that they fessed up to the players had they compromised, given that it would have been the only sport people could watch. I can’t think of the last time that baseball really was at the head of the sports world. The last time people would’ve cared this much about the sport is probably the steroid era.

It seems like it may be a while before we see the players return to the diamond. I got the chance to talk to David Hale, a pitcher for the Yankees, whose friends on the board of the union have said they have no idea when an agreement will be made. For now, all fans can do is sit and wait it out. Either the owners or the players are going to have to realize that baseball is a game, and at the end of the day, everyone just wants to see it come back.

COLLEGE BOARD ADMINISTERS 45 MINUTE AP EXAMS AND JUNE MAY—The College Board announced that AP exams would be 45 minutes long and entirely online, and the New York State Education Department announced that the June Regents would be canceled.

DOE ANNOUNCES OPT-IN GRADING SYSTEM

APRIL—While the DOE kept number grades for the spring semester (as opposed to moving to pass-fail or ESNU), it also issued an opt-in policy that allows students to change their grades to Credit Received (CR) instead of numerical grades. Teachers will also issue a Course in Progress (NX) instead of failing students. The new system received considerable controversy within the Stuyvesant community. While some students, particularly juniors, supported number grades, others felt that it would be impossible and unfair to use such specific grades during remote learning.

MAY 25—Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on George Floyd’s neck for over eight minutes, killing Floyd. Protests began in Minneapolis, Minnesota following his death and ultimately spread nationwide, demanding justice for Floyd, better law enforcement, as well as an end to police brutality.

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