Issue 3, Volume 108

Page 1

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

Humor

In Memoriam: The Beard of Polazzo Sports editor Max Onderdonk recalls how the beard of Matthew Polazzo captured the hearts of faculty and students alike. On behalf of The Spectator, he offers condolences during this sensitive time. see page 16

Volume 108  No. 3

NEWSBEAT Sophomore Julia Hart was named Staten Islander of the Week by the Leadership Council for her work in her local community garden.

The Stuyvesant Policy Debate team competed at the

Georgetown Day School Invitational. Seniors Jenny Han and Luola Chen won

the tournament and seniors David Doktorman and Isaac Segal were semifinalists.

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

OPINIONS

A Monumental Controversy: Deconstructing the American Legacy

The Opinions department tackles the complicated legacy of monuments to confederate and other controversial historical figures, offering nuanced analysis, creative solutions, and even addressing our own namesake, Peter Stuyvesant. see page 6

October 17, 2017

Genkina Leaves Stuyvesant to Work for Online Startup By Sarah Osman and Peter Tam Former computer science teacher Yulia Genkina left Stuyvesant on Friday, September 29, for a position on the data team of an online startup called Triptease. Genkina taught computer science at Stuyvesant for three years after completing a semester of student teaching. Genkina has been searching for a new job since the end of the 2016-17 school year. “I felt that in the education system of the city, it’s hard to make a structural change,” Genkina said. “When you work in a company, my [intuition] tells me that I will have more power, more of an ability to initiate change.” Triptease is a website that serves as a direct hotel booking platform. The website puts the customer in direct contact with the hotel, allowing him or her to book directly with the hotel,

rather than through an outside] website. Genkina will be working on the data science team, analyzing the data that goes into the website and organizing it. Genkina will miss teaching at Stuyvesant, but hopes to use this experience in the next stage of her career. “It was wonderful. I had the best colleagues I could have hoped for and amazing students,” Genkina said. Charles Kuang (‘09) will be teaching Genkina’s classes for the rest of the year. Kuang has been a student teacher in Genkina’s classes for the past month. Genkina believes that the transition will be smooth, as Kuang understands the Stuyvesant community well and has already known the students for the past month. Genkina is also planning on pursuing a PhD in Computer Science and hopes to return to teaching eventually.

stuyspec.com

Writing Center Moved to Room 615F By Sarah Osman and Peter Tam The Writing Center has been moved from the library to room 615F, following a joint decision by Principal Eric Contreras, Assistant Principal of English Eric Grossman, the English department, and the librarians. The decision to relocate the Writing Center was made to make the library a quieter place to study. “It was tricky to have two separate entities running in the same space when different rules apply to each,” said English teacher Holly Schechter, who runs the writing center. Room 615F is located just down the hall from the library and is adjacent to Grossman’s office. The room used to serve as a storage closet that was only accessible through the neighboring room 615E, but has since had a proper doorway cut out, connecting it to the hall. However,

the new writing center still needs a door and some refurbishment. Many students and teachers believe that this change is beneficial. “The change of location will hopefully bring more students in because there will be no more confusion related to waiting on the library line,” student editor and junior Julia Arancio said. Schechter agreed, and said, “Having our own space is a giant step forward for the Writing Center. It legitimizes the important work we are doing.” The Writing Center will remain open from fourth to eighth period and will have student teachers and volunteers working alongside Schechter. “We have a strong team of five student teachers and twenty students, selected by application, who devote their free time to helping other students with their writing,” Schechter said.

Julia Lee/ The Spectator

“The College Essay Guidebook:” A Look into Dr. Mandler’s Latest Book

By Sasha Spajic and Peter Tam with additional reporting by George Shey

English teacher Dr. David Mandler’s latest book, “The College Essay Guidebook,” was released on September 25. The book includes 30 activities that

help guide the reader to writing effective responses to the Common Application questions. It also includes a grammar section and essay draft progressions from former Stuyvesant seniors. Dr. Mandler has written other books in the past. He has written a nonfiction book titled “Arminius Vambéry and

the British Empire: Between East and West,” which has been mentioned in various journals, a short story, and numerous articles in the Budapest Times. He wrote his latest book to help his students, as well as others across the country, write an effective story about themselves. “I had to do something to guide people. It’s really in the spirit of alleviating much of the stress that students feel in creating an essay that I wanted to do this book,” Dr. Mandler said. The new book also includes student reflections from seniors who have gone through the college process. “I find that this book is very relevant, especially to Stuyvesant students, because the advice in the book comes straight from last year’s seniors,” Dr. Mandler said. “They allowed me to integrate some of their essays using their names and college affiliations. But the book is open enough to allow for any other high school senior to understand.” He also chose to create a publishing press for this book, the “Ergo Sum Press.” The name is derived from Descartes’s “I think, therefore I am.” “The major negative [of ] looking for a publisher is the time period,” Dr. Mandler said. “[It takes] at least a year or two for a book to run the course of selection. I wanted to retain control over what the book looked like. When you go with a publisher, you give up a lot of control of what goes into the book.” Dr. Mandler is also in the process of writing two more texts: a novel and a book of poetry.

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and NASA

WORLDBEAT In America’s deadliest mass shooting in modern history, a lone gunman shot and killed 58 people attending a concert in Las Vegas before killing himself. Authorities have yet to determine the motive behind the planned shooting. The incident has sparked a fierce debate over gun control

Puerto Rico has requested $4 billion in aid as the island struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria. Much of the island still lacks electricity and access to basic supplies. The Trump administration has been criticized for not doing enough to help and for the President’s flippant attitude towards the disaster.

The Spanish region of Catalonia has descended into chaos as the regional government prepares to declare independence from Spain. Separatists point to the results of a referendum held last week which showed overwhelming support for independence. The Spanish government has called the referendum illegal and has threatened to suspend Catalonia’s autonomy. Catalonia has a distinct culture and language from the rest of Spain and has a long history of separatism. The Trump administration has released its long awaited tax reform proposal. The plan outlines tax cuts across all income groups and a reduction of the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 20 percent. Republicans argue that this plan will benefit the lower and middle class. Critics note that the elimination of the estate tax will ultimately benefit the wealthy and that there is no plan to recover the lost revenue from these cuts. On Monday, October 2, the Supreme Court returned for a new term and began hearing arguments in a case on gerrymandering. The case involves electoral districts in Wisconsin that have allegedly been drawn to favor Republicans. The Court’s decision could impact future elections by placing national restrictions on partisan gerrymandering for the first time in history.

President Trump set off a debate over the national anthem after he called on the National Football League (NFL) to fire athletes who would not stand during the anthem. Trump was referring to Colin Kaepernick who refused to stand to protest police violence. In response to the President’s comments, football players across the country have begun kneeling during the anthem.


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