Issue 6, Volume 108

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

A&E

OPINIONS

Independence, Patriotism, and Deep Sea Fishing Rights

Setting New Standards

Arts and Entertainment editors Eliana Kavouriadis and Sophie Feng review the Stuyvesant Theater Community’s impressive fall musical, “1776.”

SEE PAGE 15

Volume 108 No. 6

BRUNSWICK ERUPTION 2017 CHAMPIONS.

Social studies teachers DANIEL TILLMAN and LINDA WEISSMAN both won the University of Chicago Outstanding Educator Award.

Senior VENUS NNADI, who is a member of the Gilder Lehrman Student Advisory Council, was selected to give the closing remarks at the GILDER LEHRMAN

NATIONAL HISTORY TEACHER OF THE YEAR ceremony at the University Club.

SEE PAGE 9

stuyspec.com

Corr and Schneiderman Elected Freshman Caucus Leaders

By AMANDA PENG and PETER TAM Katerina Corr and Jonathan Schneiderman were elected Freshman Caucus President and Vice President on Monday, November 6. The two new student body leaders received 112 votes, defeating their opponents, Eric Han and Noa Morris, who received 60 votes.

Corr and Schneider’s campaign focused on building on the work of previous freshman caucuses and offering solutions to existing issues. They advocated for a locker exchange program for freshmen who were dissatisfied with their locker placement, and for a more organized printing station. In addition, they hoped to implement policies that would allow cellphone usage in the hallways. “[We] tried to talk to as many people as we could [...] the campaign only promised things that we knew were possible,” Corr and Schneider’s campaign manager Talia Kahan said in an e-mail interview. “A lot of the other campaigns were promising things that were never going to happen [like] music in the halls, and this made them look a little bit less reliable.”

Corr and Schneider’s emphasis on creating a pragmatic platform may have swung the election in their favor. “I agreed with the policies of [Corr and Schneider’s] campaign because they could realistically be implemented and weren’t unnecessary or extravagant.

[Corr and Schneider] promoted the change I wanted to see for the freshman class,” freshman Julian Giordano said.

Courtesy of Julian Giordano

Senior ALVIN CHEN’S artwork was on solo exhibition WORLD JOURNAL GALLERY. Chen’s artworks combined wartcolor and sculpture to depict his love for tennis.

Sophomore Mia Gindis and Freshman Claire Shin believe that Stuyvesant should standardize the difficulty of classes in order to maximize learning. Without this standardization, students feel less of an incentive to try harder as each attempt to do well seems more futile.

December 1, 2017

NEWSBEAT Stuyvesant’s Robotics team StuyPulse, along with teams 5895, 1257, and 41, are

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

Freshmen Katerina Corr and Jonathan Schneiderman on the Tribeca Bridge.

Han and Morris’ platform had centered around giving students more opportunities to voice their opinions. One of the campaign’s main proposals was the expansion of homeroom representation in the caucus by designating a representative for each homeroom. Han and Morris also proposed a policy to allow students to review their teachers, but did not have a clear plan for implementation.

The campaign acknowledged that students may have misinterpreted their focus on new issues and new ideas. “Our policies were among the most controversial aspects of the election [...] I [found that] most

people [misunderstood] what we meant when we promised those as policies,” Han said in an e-mail interview. “We did not promise [that] they were going to happen. Our promise was that [we would] fight with all of the effort and passion that we could to implement them, because we believe they would best benefit the freshman class.”

Despite the heated exchanges between the supporters of both campaigns on social media, voter turnout for this year was significantly lower than last year.

Compared to last year’s turnout of over 300, only 172 people voted in this election. “There’s so much voter apathy and it’s a

problem that’s been occurring for years at [Stuyvesant]. We try our best to encourage candidates to promote voting first and foremost before promoting their campaigns, because the truth of the matter is a lack of voting hurts the candidates the most,” Board of Elections co-chair Jennifer Lee said in an e-mail interview.

Regardless of the low turnout, Corr and Schneiderman plan to focus on reform that will help them gain the confidence of the student body. “We aren’t concerned with changing the school. We are here to make freshman year as great as possible for the class of ‘21,” Corr said.

Stuyvesant Celebrates Dia de Los Muertos In Honor of 10/31 Victims

By SARAH OSMAN and MAI RACHLEVSKY

went outside to look at the altar, and during class they listened to and sang Spanish music.

Some students also made pan de muerto, which roughly translates to “Dead Bread,” a traditional food that is eaten on Día de los Muertos. “In the classroom, it was extremely fun to learn about it, especially the traditions. The recipes [for the food] were also extremely fun to make,” Jano said.

Many students enjoyed the celebration and also learned more about the holiday. “I learned about how different cultures are able to appreciate and celebrate those who have passed away. Seeing how food is a major part of Día de Los Muertos was very interesting,” junior Francis Park said.

Carpenter thought that the event was a success, as well. “It was just fun, and not everyone understood why we did it or what for, but it was still really fun to see people participate and just have a really good time. That was

Joseph Lee / The Spectator

Colorful decorations, delicious food, and festive music filled the fifth floor halls during the Foreign Language Department’s Día de Los Muertos celebration on Thursday, November 2. Día de Los Muertos, or the Day of the Dead, is a Mexican holiday to celebrate ancestors and lost loved ones.

The event was put together

by Spanish teacher Abigail Carpenter with help from the rest of the Spanish teachers. “Carpenter started this [last year], which we [hoped would] be a tradition. She is an excellent organizer,” Spanish teacher Frida Ambia said.

The students in Carpenter’s four classes were also instrumental. They helped create and set up the decorations for the celebration. In addition to the colorful skeletons and paper garlands covering the walls of the fifth floor, students made a traditional Mexican altar.

Traditionally, the altar is created in someone’s honor. After the terrorist attack on Tuesday, October 31, the students in Carpenter’s classes decided to dedicate the altar to those who passed away in the attack. “I thought the tribute was really sweet. I think it was really important that the victims were commemorated and really nice that the Spanish Department thought to do that,” freshman Jessica Kwok said.

Throughout the day and after school, many students came to see the decorated floor. “The highlight was definitely the fifth floor because it was so beautifully decorated.

All the bright colors and decorations were just extraordinary and made each morning great,” junior Kathryn Jano said. “[Carpenter] painted faces for the students, which I think most of the students really enjoyed,” Ambia said.

Spanish classes also held small celebrations in their classes on November 2. They

Juniors Anjeanette Ang and Yajaira Rodriguez at the Dia de Los Muertos festival.

a tough week after everything that happened on Tuesday, so to be able to just take our minds off

it and relax, that was special. It was pretty and festive,” she said.

Page 2

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

News Senior Caucus Hosts Second Annual Pep Rally

By CHLOE DOUMAR and PETER TAM

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and NASA

WORLDBEAT NUMEROUS WOMEN HAVE ACCUSED POWERFUL MEN, including comedian Louis C.K., journalist, Charlie Rose, Senator Al Franken (DMN), and Republican nominee for Senator of Alabama Roy Moore of SEXUAL ASSAULT AND MISCONDUCT. C.K. was removed from a number of film and television projects and Rose was fired from CBS. An ethics committee will investigate the claims against Franken. On the other hand, Moore continues to deny the allegations against him.

AFTER 37 YEARS IN POWER, ROBERT MUGABE RESIGNED AS THE PRESIDENT OF ZIMBABWE. Mugabe led guerilla forces to end white minority rule in the region and achieve independence in 1980. Since then, he has been ACCUSED OF HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES and of ruining the Zimbabwean economy. MUGABE FACED INTENSE PRESSURE TO RESIGN AFTER THE MILITARY TOOK OVER the government and prodemocracy protests broke out in the capital.

On SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 26 PEOPLE WERE SHOT AND KILLED in the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. This was the UFIFTH DEADLIEST MASS SHOOTING IN THE UNITED STATES. The gunman, Devin Kelly, killed himself and may have opened fire after a family dispute.

FIVE PEOPLE WERE KILLED IN A STRING OF SHOOTINGS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA between Monday, November 13 and Tuesday, November 14. The gunman, Kevin Neal, used illegal guns to carry out the attack and tried to enter an elementary school before being killed by authorities.

THE SENATE PREPARES TO VOTE ON A REPUBLICAN PROPOSAL FOR TAX REFORM after the House narrowly passed a similar bill. The Sen-

ate bill would cut individual rates till 2025, permanently cut corporate rates, and repeal the Affordable Care Act’s mandate for people to have health insurance. Critics note that the PROPOSAL WOULD STARVE THE GOVERNMENT OF REVENUE AND RAISE RATES IN CERTAIN PARTS OF THE COUNTRY, INCLUDING NEW YORK.

THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT SUED TO BLOCK AT&T’S PROPOSED MERGER WITH TIME WARNER under the provisions of antitrust laws.

AT&T argues that the merger would not harm consumers and that similar mergers have been approved. The merger, worth $85 billion, could potentially create a media giant.

INFAMOUS CULT LEADER CHARLES MANSON DIED at the age of 83.

Manson led a group, known as the Manson family, in the 1960s and murdered seven people. Manson died in a hospital while under custody.

It was almost like a scene out of a movie: during the second annual Pep Rally on Friday, November 3, the Stuyvesant Peglegs ran into the third floor gymnasium and broke through a banner that read #StuyStrong. The event was organized by Senior Caucus President Pallab Saha and Vice President Abie Rohrig It was held in the third floor gymnasium and featured dance and cheer performances, as well as a dodgeball tournament.

Rohrig and Saha came up with the idea of having Stuyvesant’s first Pep Rally last year to lighten their class’s mood and raise school spirit as they felt morale was being dampened by heavy coursework.

Inspired by the success of last year’s Pep Rally, Rohrig and Saha decided to continue the tradition. “We were very happy with the Pep Rally last year. Over 230 people attended and we got lots of positive feedback, so we thought it would be wonderful to continue the tradition,” Saha said.

The planning for the Pep Rally began about a month in advance, with support from school administrators, including Athletic Director Peter Bologna.

It was held soon after the

terror attack that occurred near Stuyvesant on Tuesday, October 31. Saha and Rohrig hoped it would help unite the Stuyvesant community. Principal Eric Contreras, who gave the initial remarks, added a minute of silence and spoke briefly about the solidarity and spirit of the Stuyvesant community after the terror incident. “This event was meant to benefit the school by giving the student body something to rally around, especially after the terrorist attack on Halloween.

We felt that the event would be a platform for students to show their Stuyvesant grit and unity in an extremely profound way,” Saha said.

Members of the Peglegs also recognized the significance of this year’s Pep Rally falling so closely after the terror attack.

“Especially after the attack earlier in the week, it felt amazing to be at the center of something that brought our school community together. Stuy can sometimes seem too big to have cohesive school spirit but the turnout proved me wrong. I hope we only get stronger from here and the event is a special way to achieve this,” junior and Pegleg member Ariel Melendez said.

“In my opinion I think more people attended the Pep Rally and attended the football game.

More alumni attended the foot-

ball game that day to feel like a family, to feel close together in that regard,” Bologna said. “There is no specific mascot for the school, a lot of the sports teams are not very highly promoted, or not many students come to see the sports programs in this school, so I think this is a way to showcase some of the teams, some of the accomplishments of the teams in the school.”

One of the highlights of the Pep Rally was a performance by Stuy Legacy, Stuyvesant’s competitive urban dance team, who debuted their new routine. The performance was followed by rounds of dodgeball between students of all grades levels. Each grade competed in brackets, until the Class of 2018 was the ultimate victor. This was then followed by another round of dodgeball between seniors and teachers, which ended with another senior victory.

“Holding another pep rally during our tenure as Senior Caucus is definitely doable. However, we are open to many different options. [Rohrig] and I are working meticulously in trying to find various other ways to celebrate Stuy athletics, and those ideas may come to life soon enough.

But we urge our successors to continue our legacy and host at least one pep rally every year,” Saha said.

Stuyvesant’s Second Annual Homeless Coalition Charity Run

By MAI RACHLEVSKY and SASHA SPAJIC Two hundred seventy students lined up outside Stuyvesant along the Hudson River to participate in the second annual Homeless Coalition Charity Run on Friday, November 17. The run was organized by the Stuyvesant Homeless Coalition and the Wellness Council and was sponsored by Clif Bar & Company. The event was in support of Back On My Feet, a nonprofit organization that provides homeless people with resources.

The event is an important part of the Homeless Coalition’s strategy to encourage students to reach out to homeless people. “The run is really important because we were spreading homelessness awareness when the weather is starting to get colder and rates of homelessness are exponentially growing in NYC and nationally,” senior and president of the Stuyvesant Coalition Anna Pacheco

said in an e-mail interview.

This was the first time that the Wellness Council worked with the Homeless Coalition to coordinate an event. “We joined the event because it’s a run, so it promotes wellness in the Stuy community,” junior and event department head of the Wellness Council Sophia Day said.

To advertize the run, the clubs convinced teachers to give extra credit to those who participated. “We contacted a lot of teachers to offer extra credit for the run. [Many] teachers also share the same belief that running is a great way to promote proper well-being, and that through running, a lot of their students would learn either something related to their field or just a healthy practice overall,” junior and president of the Wellness Council Jerry Ye said.

Students who wanted to participate were able to sign up beforehand and choose to run either one or two miles. The participants had to sign in before start-

ing the run and sign out when they finished. The runners also received complimentary CLIF bars from the event organizers.

“The run was different from other years because there were way more people,” Pacheco said.

“We had more goodies to give out thanks to [physical education teacher Peter] Bologna.”

Despite the turnout at the run, the event organizers fell short of their fundraising goal.

The Homeless Coalition is passing out pamphlets to encourage students to keep donating to organizations that help the homeless. “We didn’t raise as much money as we wanted,” Pacheco said. “One of our members at the homeless coalition matched the money we did make, so we raised $300 in total.”

Students will have many more opportunities to support the Homeless Coalition and to contribute to their cause. The club will be holding a shoe drive and a book drive before the end of the year.

Israeli Defense Forces Come to Speak at Stuyvesant

By CHLOE DOUMAR, MAI RACHLEVSKY, and PETER TAM Two former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers - Keren, a Jewish woman, and Tom, a Bedouin Arab - described their experiences while serving on Wednesday, October 25.

The event was organized by the Jewish Student Union (JSU). Senior and co-president Caleb Smith-Salzberg worked with Stand With Us, a pro-Israel educational organization, to

arrange for the IDF soldiers to speak. “I am an intern at Stand With Us. They provide us with some potential speakers, and I thought that bringing soldiers to speak at a public school would be really cool and a good experience for a lot of students,” Smith-Salzberg said.

Unlike in most other countries, military service in Israel is mandatory at age 18 for both men and women. Men are required to serve for three years while women serve for two years. Arab Israelis are not

required to serve; however, some volunteer for the draft.

Keren, a Jewish woman born in Israel, moved to New Jersey with her family when she was two years old and attended a public school in the state.

Nevertheless, Keren always felt that Israel was the homeland for the Jewish people.

When she was 16, Keren decided to return to Israel. She lived with her grandmother in Israel until she joined the IDF at age 18. “The reason that I really wanted to join

the IDF was because my family [had] been serving in the IDF and protecting Israel for three generations,” Keren said.

Upon joining the army, Keren began training to become a drill sergeant. “It was my dream job, perfect for my personality: yelling at people,” Keren said. She was injured two weeks before completing her training and had to shift to an office job with the army. Keren served in the Gaza border, a small strip of territory that lies between

Egypt and Israel and the site of perpetual conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.

While serving in the army, Keren experienced being less than a kilometer away while missiles were being launched into Israel from Gaza. “There was this insane siren that shook us up, warning us that we had up to 15 seconds to run [to the next bomb shelter]. What we thought was going to be a continued on page 3

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 3

News Israeli Defense Forces Come to Speak at Stuyvesant continued from page 2

Courtesy of Meredith Silfen

15-minute annoyance turned out to be a six hour night.

It was terrifying,” she said.

Though Keren was discharged in November 2013, she continues to feel connected to the IDF and the paratroopers she worked with. During the Israeli incursion into Gaza in 2014, Keren described her feelings of helplessness and fear for the soldiers she had worked with. “I couldn’t believe that my babies […] were on the battlefield, protecting me and my family and the country we love so much,” she said.

Today, Keren is a student at Ben Gurion University, delving into topics such as Middle Eastern Studies, Politics, and Government. As part of a scholarship, she worked with Arabs and Jews and encouraged them to work with each other.

“It’s two groups of people that usually wouldn’t meet each other, and they got a chance to meet and become friends [...] even if they couldn’t speak the same language” Keren said.

In turn, Keren has started to develop new perspectives on the people on the other

side of the Arab-Israeli conflict. “I had my own stereotypes. When I met with Arab Muslims [who] believed exactly what I believed, it was a wake up moment. The stereotypes were ridiculous. We don’t have to fight each other, and we can make peace with [each] other,” Keren said.

Tom, an Israeli Bedouin Arab, grew up in Bir al-Maksur, the largest Bedouin village in Israel. Bedouins are traditionally a nomadic Muslim group.

In spite of the tensions between Jews and Muslims, Tom knew he wanted to join the IDF, as his father and brother had done before him. “[I joined] because [I felt] a sense of duty to protect the country that [I] grew up in,” Tom said.

Tom served in the air force with an anti-aircraft unit, which later worked on the Iron Dome, a missile defense system that detects, assesses, and intercepts rockets, artillery, and mortar that are shot at Israel. He was stationed in the West Bank, a Palestinian territory, where he faced molotov cocktails and stone throwing on a daily basis.

On one occasion, Tom arrested a Palestinian man who

intended to launch a terrorist attack on Jews. When Tom questioned the man, he explained that he was doing it for his family. Tom was told that the Palestinian government gives monthly payments to the families of terrorists, yet those imprisoned by Israel are well fed and taken care of.

After experiencing life in the IDF, Tom is now a student

ADVERTISEMENT

who works with a nonprofit to physically train teenagers for their military service.

Like Keren, Tom believes that everyone, irrespective of his or her religion, can cooperate and work together to create peace. “I believe that each [...] of us have a unique voice.

We can work together toward our common goal,” Tom said.

Many of the students at the

event enjoyed listening and learning from the soldiers.

“I thought that the speakers were really cool. Since one of them lived in New Jersey her whole life, we could relate to her more and learn about her experience and transition going to Israel,” senior and vice-president of the JSU Elizabeth Chernob said.

Page 4

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Features The Breakfast Club

By THE COLLECTIVE FEATURES WRITERS

Teachers MS. GARBER, HEALTH TEACHER What did you eat for breakfast?

“I have coffee for breakfast and a glass of water. Usually, I have a slice of oatmeal raisin bread with a little almond butter.

Sometimes, I have cereal with some kind of low-fat milk. Then, I usually have a piece of fruit around 10 a.m.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“Some people say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. However, there are some people that really can’t eat much in the morning. If I have something, I’ve usually been up for an hour and a half, at the very least. I can’t eat first thing when I get up and I can’t really eat a big breakfast.”

Students

MR. POLAZZO, GOVERNMENT TEACHER AND COORDINATOR OF STUDENT AFFAIRS

MIN SUN YU, FRESHMAN

CHRISTINE CABUSAY, FRESHMAN

What did you eat for breakfast?

“I usually eat something different every day—it’s usually with rice because I am Asian. I also really like eggs, and I have eggs a lot.”

What did you eat for breakfast?

What did you eat for breakfast?

“I ate a piece of bread.”

“Nothing.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“If you’re running late, you don’t need it.”

“I don’t believe in breakfast. That is to say, people always say, “breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” but there’s very little science to actually back that up.

And if you like to eat breakfast, that’s fine, but some of us prefer to skip that meal. I am one of those breakfast skippers, and I feel that my life is much better for it. So, no breakfast for me. Down with breakfast!

I mean, I’m joking. You can have breakfast if you want, but I don’t want any.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“It is really important to vary up what you eat or else you get bored and don’t want to eat anymore.”

SHAN MEI KONG, SOPHOMORE What did you eat for breakfast?

“Dumplings.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“You should eat breakfast every day. A good breakfast gives you energy throughout the day. I eat it every day, because I have 8th lunch. To the people who don’t eat breakfast, you should all take care of your stomach!”

MS. VOLLARO, MATH TEACHER What did you eat for breakfast?

“I am really bad about breakfast. I had milk, orange juice, and I had two litte Drake’s apple pies. Breakfast is not my thing. This just goes back to when I had to commute to my high school; I just had to throw something down my throat and get out and go on the train, so it has to be fast. And I’m still commuting, to get to Stuyvesant, so it has to be fast. It’s not good, but I can’t commute on an empty stomach, so it has to be something.”

CAMILLE SADOFF, SOPHOMORE What did you eat for breakfast?

“For breakfast, I ate nothing.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“I believe in breakfast.

It’s not my favorite meal, but if, you know, someone was making me a nice French toast with scrambled eggs, I would like it. I just don’t have time for it. I wish I did, but I’m too busy in the morning, so I just eat something, and then I’m out the door.”

“I don’t think breakfast is necessary for anyone. I get along fine without it. Unless you have something really important to do in the morning, like physical activity or a test, then breakfast is not necessary. I don’t like eating in the morning, and it takes too much time, so I’d rather sleep than eat breakfast.”

MS. STUZIN, ENGLISH TEACHER

Alyson Lin / The Spectator

LEAH, JUNIOR

What did you eat for breakfast?

“Chobani yogurt and a Luna bar with coffee.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“I let my first period eat breakfast because I vividly remember being in high school and skipping breakfast when I was stressed to save time or to study, but it is tragically counterintuitive. It’s far worse and far less productive to be in school when you are fatigued and distracted because you haven’t eaten— or slept for that matter! Not only does breakfast physically switch on all of your systems in the morning, but it’s also the emotional and mental commencement of the day as well. Everyone should eat breakfast!”

MS. PRABHU, BIOLOGY TEACHER What did you eat for breakfast?

“Today, I had a large cup of coffee, with half a Splenda in it, followed by a chocolate-covered Oreo. Most days, I usually have a large cup of coffee, but today, I snuck in the chocolate-covered Oreo.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“I probably should have a better breakfast, but I don’t. It’s just coffee. I would have a two-egg omlette every morning, if I could.”

MS. FLETCHER, ENGLISH TEACHER

What did you eat for breakfast?

What did you eat for breakfast?

“Smoothie with two medium sized bananas, spinach, peanut butter, half of an acai packet, and coconut milk. Coffee with almond milk and pumpkin spice creamer.”

“A cup of iced coffee with milk.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“My breakfast philosophy? Go vegan or go home! At least for me, but anyway, usually in the morning I crave fruit because I’m very thirsty and it’s really hydrating and it is a really good way to start off your day. So I am definitely an advocate for eating breakfast because it gives you a lot of energy. And of course, lots of coffee helps with that energy boost!”

“You should eat when you get hungry, which, for me, is usually not until like 10 a.m.”

ERIC GROSSMAN, ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL OF THE ENGLISH DEPARTMENT What did you eat for breakfast?

“I had yogurt with granola.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“I don’t know if it rises to the level of a philosophy, but it’s quick and not too much and relatively healthy/ I don’t have to agonize, so that tends to be what I have most mornings. I don’t have interesting breakfasts, nor do I have anything interesting to say about breakfast, and I’m bringing that idea home right now.”

HIRUNI KUMARI, SOPHOMORE

LARA SOMOROFF, FRESHMAN

What did you eat for breakfast?

What did you eat for breakfast?

“Cereal and a chocolate chip muffin.”

“I had avocado toast.”

What is your breakfast philosophy?

What is your breakfast philosophy?

“My philosophy on breakfast is that the best breakfast is one that you can take time to enjoy, which is something many students have trouble finding time to do on the weekdays.”

“I don’t like to eat too much because it makes me feel heavy. But I still think it’s important because I need energy for the day. My sister, for example, doesn’t eat anything for breakfast. It’s kind of bad. Also, I think it’s important to eat healthy.”

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 5

Features Behind the Scenes: Cheerleading

By AMARA SHEIN and TASHFIA HASAN

Challenging Stereotypes: Building a New Reputation In the past, cheerleading didn’t have the best name.

“Though I wasn’t on cheer my freshman year, I know that there was a lot of issues with the team,” junior Xinyue Nam added. “Last year, the coach didn’t really try to grow the cheer team, and we didn’t go to competitions. We depended on the football team. We are so much more than just pretty girls, and guys, waving pom poms while shouting, ‘Let’s go Stuy.’”

A lot of the cheerleaders had difficulty being able to have their parents respect their decision to join the team. Cheerleading is a costly sport that is underfunded and overlooked because of the team’s lack of success in the past. “Cheerleading is very expensive and it hurts that people don’t respect us. A lot of people have to pay for their

stereotypes. It gets annoying, but we know these things.”

A Bond for Success The bond that the team has can be clearly seen. “Cheer is really emotionally stressful sometimes, and I feel that a huge reason as to why we are so close is because we always somehow overcome the obstacles,” Zong said.

As we walk into the third floor atrium after tenth period, we see the cheerleaders warming up and practicing their impressive stunts. The beginning of typical practice doesn’t stray far from an average baseball or football practice: stretching and warming up. These are necessary steps every athlete, including cheerleaders, must take in order to prevent injuries.

During warmups, cheerleaders can be seen running laps around the school and reinforcing positive motivation to get each other through the tiresome workout. Afterwards, the members break off into their respective stunt groups and go straight to work. Many stunts are dangerous and consist of flyers getting lifted up into the air by the bases and backs supporting them. Typically, the male cheerleaders are at the base.

“We try to clean our dances, our cheers, and also work on new stunting skills to incorporate within our routine for Nationals,” Zong described. With improvement in stunts, flyers are learning how to do more intricate and difficult routines just in time for Nationals. For example, in a high to low tick tock, the flyer has to switch legs and end up standing on the opposite leg with the other leg bent.

Zong plays an extremely crucial role because he is one of seven males on the team.

Being the “back” of routines, he’s responsible for literally lifting up his teammates, a feat the average person cannot do.

Before joining the team, Zong initially joined the PSAL Stunt team due to a friend recommending it. When Cheer season came around, he saw no reason to leave the family. “Cheer has become such a huge part of my life. I dedicate myself to it because I want to be part of something great,” Zong explained.

Elena Sapelyuk / The Spectator

New Coach, New Goals, New Cheer The introduction of Coach Nicholas O’Stanton has proven to have given the team more opportunities. Because Stuyvesant’s team wasn’t the only commitment the former coach had, he would only be able to come to one out of every few practices and didn’t allow stunting while he was absent. “Coach Nick comes to every practice, so we really have been able to progress in terms of stunts and skills. He really fosters our ability to prepare and set goals,” Tan explained.

A major change under Coach O’Stanton is the addition of a Junior Varsity (JV) team. “They tried to implement it last year, but it didn’t really work. This year, we

Courtesy of Thomson Lee

For years, television has presented stereotypes that have defined cheerleading, causing us to conjure up the image of girly, shallow, popular mean girls. It’s easy to tell who’s a cheerleader because she’ll always have her uniform on. After school, cheerleading practice (that takes place after hours of preening in the bathroom) just consists of waving pom poms for an hour while looking pretty. But who could blame them. It’s not even a real sport.

All these stereotypes exist even at Stuyvesant to a certain degree; most students didn’t even know there was a cheerleading team until they were at the football homecoming game.

But this year, there is an unprecedented growth in the number of people joining cheerleading. A lot of the new members of the team are our high-achieving friends, often making us wonder what compelled them to join.

cheer costs and our parents aren’t on board with things,” Nam revealed.

This lack of support causes many Stuyvesant cheerleaders to obtain money from after school jobs in order to stay on the team.

Furthermore, the commitment required to be a cheerleader is unanticipated and can cause a strain on a cheerleader’s social life. “To be honest, because I spent a lot of time in practice and other cheer-related events, I haven’t been able to spend much time with my friends. I think that they fully support me being on cheer, but sometimes, it’s hard to not talk to them for several days because I’m so busy with it on top of schoolwork and other clubs,” sophomore Angelina Chu said.

Now, with good advertising and people involved with Student Union on the team, the influx of new members this year is challenging the typical stereotypes of what it means to be a cheerleader.

“Clearly, if we’re at Stuyvesant, I think you can tell that we don’t fit the stereotype,” senior Patricia Tan commented. Many members take AP classes and are involved in ARISTA, proving they still have the GPA to be at the top of their class.

In addition, cheerleading isn’t just waving pom poms around, because strength is a necessity for all the teammates. “You’re not just dancing and trying to look good,” sophomore and flyer Theresa Teng explained. “Especially if you are one of those people on the bottom, and you’re literally lifting people up. You need to be strong. We condition just like other teams.”

On the other hand, male cheerleaders are often labeled as gay. But junior Xinyue Nam has been on the cheerleading team since her first year at Stuyvesant, and she understands the crucial role of males like junior Kevin Zong on the team. “They are the glue of the team,” Nam said.

“Our guys don’t care about the

have a total of over 50 people, which means we can definitely split it into Varsity and JV.” Tan said. If JV acquires the skill, they will also be competing at these competitions, but in their own division. In addition, with a new JV division, the team is a lot more organized.

This implementation is providing positive results rather than negative ones.

Rather than unhealthy competition, the addition of a JV team is a providing a stronger team bond. “Many of the JV members are working hard to earn a spot in Varsity. I think that this helps motivate us and strive to always be the best that we can be,” Zong explained. Members in JV are with people that have similar skills and can help each other grow.

The greater opportunities for people to become more involved in cheer has led to the evolution of the team’s reputation because it is a lot more inclusive. In addition, cheerleading is attractive because it has so many members and radiates a sense of community to whoever might be interested in joining. The team’s growing integration into Stuyvesant’s culture can be seen with the performance at the pep rally as well as the creation of a future cheer club.

In addition to making them physically stronger, cheerleading challenges them mentally.

Members have to dedicate themselves to improving and ignoring the judgement they receive on their physical appearances. At competitions, members are evaluated on both their skill and physical appearance in front of large crowds. The long and frequent practices don’t ease this either because it adds a great deal of stress with a huge time com-

mitment.

In prior years, the team never competed at official competitions, so members are very excited because they’re focused on literally throwing people up in the air.

The Stuyvesant High School Cheerleading Team will be competing at Regionals, hoping to bid there and get to the ultimate dream: Nationals.

With the new coach, members finally have a target to aim for. “Coach Nick actually set [goals] in stone. ‘We’re going to Nationals,’ ‘This is the date we want to go to,’ so we’ve been working up to that goal of going to Nationals so far since the summer,” Tan said. “The idea of people taking us seriously at Stuyvesant once they hear that we bid at Regionals and potentially [go] to Nationals is a good thing to me.”

Currently, the team is already preparing to go to Nationals in Orlando around Christmas break of this year.

Moving Forward: Together as a Family Reflecting on her past three years on the team, senior and captain Michelle Moe is excited for the team’s upcoming season. “I’m looking forward to taking my team to Nationals, if we bid at Regionals,” Moe said. “I look forward to sharing the experience that a lot of cheerleaders across the country dream of with my favorite people.”

“I know that we have the potential to become great,” Zong said with enthusiasm.

“So this year, I hope to take the ‘in’ out of ‘infamous’ and rise above what others think of us.”

Page 6

The Spectator â—? December 1, 2017

From the Archives

Page 7

The Spectator â—? December 1, 2017

Page 7

From the Archives

ADVERTISEMENT

Page 8

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Editorials STAFF EDITORIAL

The Spectator

The College Applications Feedback Loop College is baked into the Stuyvesant culture from students’ first steps into the building. In the freshman survey conducted by The Spectator, almost 70 percent of freshmen predicted they will attend an elite college (Ivy League, Stanford, etc.). Perhaps the drive comes naturally from the types of hard-working, academically motivated students that Stuyvesant attracts. As well, a majority of students come from Asian and Eastern European backgrounds, where parents place immense academic pressure on their children to attend a top-notch university.

To make matters worse, the administration does little to create a holistic environment. In a school such as Stuyvesant with a reputation for high-achieving students, GPA becomes many students’ defining factor, determining their eligibility for AP classes and role in the Stuyvesant community (ARISTA, Big Sib etc.). Every student is tasked with upholding the “Stuyvesant standard” of attending an elite university, when in reality success is determined by more than the reputation of your college. The result is a positive feedback loop of anxiety and competition, with everyone having a tunnel vision of educational success focused on college.

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

“The Pulse of the Student Body” E D I TO R S

N EWS

OF

UTILITY

Against the intense pressures of college applications, many seniors try to use the Early Decision and Action processes as strategically as possible. Strategizing encourages seniors to apply early to prestigious colleges they feel more likely to be accepted by, but that may not be the best fit for them. The mentality at Stuyvesant is that students will be happiest at the most prestigious college possible, whereas applying Early Action or Early Decision should actually be a decision made out of a passion for the school itself.

Asian and Eastern European parents reinforce this mentality by placing emphasis on their conception of an elite school, namely the Ivy Leagues. Some students are also unable to visit the campuses of every university, and as a result apply to well-known names based on brand and their parents’ influence, rather than finding a university that fulfills their aspirations.

The advice given is to emphasize aspects of yourself that differentiate you from the majority of the student body at that school. You might apply early to MIT, because as a humanities-focused student, you stand out against other Stuyvesant applicants. Or you might apply early to the University of Chicago even if it’s not your top school, so that you can have it as your “backup” when you apply to an Ivy League later.

However, strategizing may not be solely the result of the overly competitive nature of Stuyvesant. The college admissions system encourages this type of approach just as much as our classmates and college counselors do. Far from being a truly egalitarian system, colleges employ an opaque rubric that encourages students to try to out-smart.

This emphasis on gaming the system undermines the entire purpose of the college application process. By viewing college admissions as something to be conquered, students often sacrifice the chance to gain admission to the school or program that best suits them.

Furthermore, because seniors’ applications are directly compared with those of their peers, they feel pitted against each other to the point where every classmate is a direct threat. The quality of a college application becomes completely relative so that students are fixated on their peers’ applications instead of their own. It has come to the point where students make lists detailing who is applying to the same colleges so that they can scope out their competition and make personal decisions based on their perceived chances of gaining acceptance. Other students will hesitate to let their friends edit their essays, fearing that they will purposely make unhelpful or damaging comments in order to gain an advantage themselves. And the seniors who do get into their schools early and then choose to submit more applications by the regular deadline will often receive backlash from other students who feel that they are “stealing” their spots.

BREAKING

THE

C HIEF

E D I TO RS

Nishmi Abeyweera Shameek Rakshit Blythe Zadrozny F EATURE S

E D I TO RS

Archi Das Asim Kapparova Sophie Watwood* O PI N I O NS

E D I TO RS

Jane Rhee Eliza Spinna S P ORTS

MENTALITY

IN

Anne George* Matteo Wong*

E D I TO RS

Ray Jones Max Onderdonk* H U MO R

E D I TO RS

Kerwin Chen Shaina Peters Michael Xu* Please address all letters to: 345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282 (212) 312-4800 ext. 2601 letters@stuyspec.com

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT E D I TO RS

Karen Chen* Sophie Feng Eliana Kavouriadis William Lohier PHOTOGRAPHY E D I TO RS

Ting Ting Chen Julia Lee Mika Simoncelli ART

D I RE CTO RS

Klaire Geller Christine Jegarl Vivian Lin L AYO U T

E D I TO R S

Arpita Nag Jessica Wu Katie Wu CO PY

E D I TO RS

Vincent Jiang Michelle Lai Venus Nnadi BUSINE SS

M ANAGE RS

Saloni Majmudar Donia Tung WE B

E D I TO RS

Jason Kao George Zheng FAC U LT Y

ADVISER

Kerry Garfinkel We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and length. © 2017 The Spectator All rights reserved by the creators. * Managing Board

A Note to Our Readers: The Spectator will now accept unsolicited Op-Ed pieces written by outside students, faculty, and alumni. These columns, if selected, will be published in The Spectator’s Opinions section. Recommended length is 700 words.

Articles should address school related topics or items of student interest. Columns can be e-mailed to opinions@stuyspec.com.

Do you want to reflect on an article?

Or speak your mind?

Write a letter to the editor and e-mail it to opinions@stuyspec.com or drop it in The Spectator box in the second-floor mail room.

LOOP

Stuyvesant students will always be focused on getting a leg up in the college admissions process. However, it is important that students make an effort to stop the positive feedback loop through which the frenzy of college-based conversations and decisions encourages even more anxiety.

College admissions are not a zero-sum game: if someone gets into one of your top choices, you don’t lose out. Your admission doesn’t come at someone else’s expense, and colleges are balancing their student body based on the whole applicant pool, not just the applicants from Stuyvesant. The paranoia surrounding how others are doing and where they are applying is, in the end, just paranoia.

When top-tier colleges can easily fill a second class with equally qualified applicants, the candidates who are accepted are determined by somewhat unknown qualities, or by luck. Much of the application components that colleges assess in their admissions decisions—GPA, standardized test scores, and letters of recommendation—are out of your and your peers’ control by senior year. The best strategy is to simply focus on making the remaining aspects of your application the best they can be, rather than being distracted by your classmates. Strategizing and obsessing over how others are doing in the process will do nothing for you.

VOICES Would you like to share a personal narrative with the school? Whether it’s an essay you’ve written for class, or a piece you’ve been working on by yourself, if it’s in first-person and it is nonfiction it could get published in The Spectator’s issue-ly Voices column!

Send your stories into opinions@stuyspec.com, or email us with any questions or concerns you have.

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 9

Opinions

Joan Xiao / The Spectator

Russia Again?

By MIA GINDIS After months of endorsements and almost $1.4 billion spent on campaign expenditures, a Hillary Clinton victory in the 2016 election seemed like a sure thing.

Donald Trump’s shocking triumph took the whole country by storm; immediately after results were announced, Democrats rushed to invalidate them. Cries of collusion with Russia deemed the victory as undermining to American democracy. Lacking in substance as well as relevance, claims of Russian election interference still plague the Trump administration almost a year later. Though recent investigations have recovered definitive ties between Russia and a campaign, it certainly wasn’t Trump’s.

American Majority CEO Ned Ryun, who extensively investigated claims of collusion, assured that “the same Russian lawyer who allegedly met with Trump’s son discovered that she [Clinton] was actually one of the unnamed sources for the Russian dossier.”

Clinton’s campaign (along with the DNC) essentially funded opposition research to be done by Fusion GPS, a foreign firm, and for it to be released as maliciously as possible in order to smear the Trump campaign. The organization is now in a legal battle with the United States government for refusing to show their bank records.

Clinton also tried to keep her campaign off the name of the organizations who funded the dossier. Studies by Mother Jones indicate that talk of the dossier had been around ever since October 2016, on which it was very vaguely put that the effort was “originally funded by Trump’s GOP opponents.” When it emerged in October 2017 that a very significant benefactor had, in fact, been the Clinton campaign, the dossier had already sparked much of the media’s attention. Clinton’s involvement was often de-emphasized by media trying to push a narrative that antagonized Trump.

But these sort of unethical tactics stretch all the way back to Clinton’s time with the Obama administration. From 2009 to 2013, Russia was trying to monopolize the uranium market by gaining control of a substantial amount of all uranium production capacity on American territory. Since

uranium purchases have implications on national security, they must be approved by a committee composed of representatives from the United States government.

Amongst those representatives was the Secretary of State at the time, Hillary Clinton.

As Russians gradually assumed control of uranium production, Canadian records showed that an unprecedented cash flow made its way into the Clintons’s pockets.

The chairman of Uranium One made four separate donations to the Clinton Foundation, totalling a whopping $2.35 million. Despite an agreement struck with the Obama administration to publicly identify all donors, this information remained disclosed until now.

Trump’s connections to Russia, in contrast, appear rather mild. His son, Donald J. Trump, met with a Russian lawyer during the heat of the campaign season.

Other than a rather inconclusive e-mail and some false claims of the lawyer having access to “damaging information about Clinton,” the meeting was arguably none other than poorly handled opposition research. The lawyer ultimately didn’t provide the promised material on Clinton, and Trump Jr. fully disclosed the e-mails in a later tweet.

Even though this event was what began the Trump-Russia controversy, Trump’s campaign (and his presidency) was marred by many such dubious accusations. National Secretary Advisor Flynn—who has since been fired—was said to have communicated with Russian officials; how-

ever, the president wasn’t aware of nor directed any of the efforts Flynn potentially made. Even Trump’s meeting with Putin to simply discuss American-Russian relations at the G-20 summit was used as viable evidence of an unseemly alliance. According to “The Atlantic,” accounts from the meeting state, “Trump had pressed Putin hard about Russian interference.” The rest of the time was dedicated to talks of resolution for the conflict in Syria.

Trump’s administration is forced to spend time defending themselves against allegations, which can be better used to defend the country. Clinton’s goal was never to warn the American people of Russian collusion, which she’s been building up as the biggest threat to American democracy, and a force that shouldn’t be reckoned with. But maybe the biggest manifestation of this sort of

corruption is Clinton herself; after all, she got herself more profit and Trump more bad publicity than ever before.

Months after the controversy, media outlets have exhausted the topic of Russian intervention in the election. Speculation concerning the “Russia scandal” has taken up an incredulous amount of their attention; in one airing of CNN’s “New Day,” 93 percent of air time was devoted to Russia and less than five percent was spent on the GOP’s new healthcare bill. This misdirected focus allows for the neglection of arguably larger issues afflicting our nation. Between some flimsy links and a suspicious e-mail exchange, there appears to be nothing of substance in regards to the Trump campaign’s involvement with Russia—that alone should have been very clear months ago.

Klaire Geller/ The Spectator

Setting New Standards

By MIA GINDIS and CLAIRE SHIN At the beginning of each school year, the most common topic of conversation at Stuyvesant is “Who are your teachers?” This is followed by either a groan at the excruciating months to come or a silent “thank you” to the computer algorithm that granted the student good fortune in the form of an easy 95.

At Stuyvesant, grades are partial because they depend largely on your teacher and often reflect luck rather than merit. While there are always good and bad teachers, one thing that can be changed is the standardization of the difficulty of classes by assistant principals at Stuyvesant.

Colleges don’t take the teacher of a class into consideration, nor is it possible to translate teacher difficulty into a numerical curve on the student’s average. Admissions officers can’t keep tabs on every teacher at a school, especially with the tens of thousands of students from hundreds of schools who apply for elite U.S. colleges each year.

Since colleges are easily deceived by an unrealistic GPA from an easy course and teacher, and thus might unfairly reject students who simply

got the short end of the stick, introducing set, written standards for grading and keeping exam difficulty constant will give colleges a more truthful view of students’ academic achievement.

Often, students with comparatively harsh graders lack the same confidence of their higher scoring peers. Stuyvesant offers a wealth of advanced classes, but there’s a fine line between a class being difficult yet fair and totally impossible. Classes that are unreasonably difficult can take a toll on student confidence in their academic ability, causing students to do worse on schoolwork and tests.

A study by Open Colleges indicated that “confidence increases from beginning to end in a course, provided the students perform adequately.” After being repeatedly unsuccessful in a class, there is less incentive to try harder as each attempt appears more and more futile.

Sophomore Ilona Khimey stated, “I get very discouraged when a teacher doesn’t reward my effort at all, and when I see friends trying two times less doing 10 points better.”

Alternatively, the institution of standards maximizes learning, because standards are written by authorities with educational experience who understand what information will help students in the long run.

Vivian Lin/ The Spectator

Standardization is achievable by keeping exam difficulty constant throughout all classes of a subject and creating Common Core-like

guidelines to communicate to students, parents, and staff what students should and should not be learning. The final examshould be built upon these standards to fairly measure the skill of the student and teacher. If many students for a certain teacher score poorly on the final exam, then it is a clear indicator that the teacher should begin shaping his or her curriculum to fit the standards better.

For instance, if all of a teacher’s students failed the history final, while students with other teachers did well, the scores would reflect more on that specific teacher than his students, creating a system of enforcement.

This way, there are no “tough” teachers and no “easy” teachers; everyone stays on the same playing field, learning generally the same material, making college admissions much more fair, program changes less hectic, and giving students an easier time overall.

This in no way limits a teacher’s creative autonomy in terms of how they want to teach the material. If

a teacher’s job is to introduce students to a set curriculum, this should be done regardless of personal teaching style. They’re still able to instruct their classes however they want and add as much information as they deem necessary, just as long as they still teach the required material.

Making the curriculum clear and consistent for every teacher will also eliminate superfluous information that teachers often throw into their curriculum because of personal preferences, saving time and effort. If the student isn’t learning what the standards say he or she should be learning, it’s easy for the teacher to be alerted, because standards are set in stone.

Right now, success in Stuyvesant can’t be attributed to solely intelligence. Luck is arguably just as important in maintaining a high GPA. While conflating natural abilities with the numbers on our transcript is a mistake most students make, the stress of maintaining good grades makes it hard to evaluate ourselves otherwise. Standardizing curriculums would bridge the gap between fairness and the ability to succeed, leveling the playing field once and for all.

Three Solutions for Canada’s Mounting Refugee Crisis

By ALEXANDER ANNENBERG Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “To those fleeing persecution, terror & war, Canadians will welcome you, regardless of your faith. Diversity is our strength[.] #WelcomeToCanada” in January.

Compare this to President Donald Trump, who tweeted, “I will end illegal immigration and protect our borders! We need to MAKE AMERICA SAFE & GREAT AGAIN! #Trump2016” just a year before.

Canada currently has an immigration policy that is much more permissive of refugees, which has led to a mammoth influx of asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, with around 10,000 coming across the border in July alone. While Canada welcomes these refugees with open arms, strain is showing—there is currently a backlog of over 40,000 refugees awaiting hearing, with some having arrived before 2012.

In Quebec, the province with the most displaced people, the refugee acceptance rate has fallen as low as 50 percent over the last year. There, the city of Montreal has set up 1,500

beds to be filled with displaced immigrants, half of whom could be turned away.

Canada has its heart in the right place, and I propose three policy solutions for this problem of immigration.

First, the process that grants hearings to refugees should be less rigorous. These types of reforms have been played with in the past, such as when Parliament drafted and passed legislation that removed the requirement for lengthy hearings for refugees from seven Middle Eastern countries, including Yemen and Burundi, in response to humanitarian crises there. This legislation could be extended to the bulk of refugees with great success, as it removes the need for the longest part of the vetting process.

However, while the legislation didn’t have any noticeable drawbacks then, some would argue that expanding immigration policies to allow a much greater number of refugees might allow entrance to some with dubious refugee status or a prior criminal record. For instance, in response to an increasing

number of Somali criminal deportations from the United States, a small number of criminals from Somalia have been claiming refugee status and coming across the border under false identities. But these examples are the exception rather than the norm, and the reward of productive new members of society would outweigh the risk of a few criminals.

Next, Trudeau should put his money where his mouth is and increase funding for the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB), with the only real downside being the cost.

Because such a large scale migration from the U.S. is completely unprecedented, Canada’s system is unprepared for the number of immigrants coming across the border. The Board currently only has enough manpower to hold a maximum of 24,000 hearings per year, not nearly enough for the thousands that cross the border monthly. Furthermore, the costs would be offset by the economic benefits: getting immigrants and refugees employed and paying taxes as permanent residents as quickly as possible. It’s irresponsible for Trudeau to welcome such a large

amount of immigrants into a country that isn’t ready to handle them.

He needs to make sure that Canada is able to accept them as quickly as possible.

The last option for Canada might be counterintuitive, but it may in fact alleviate a lot of the strain on the system: limiting the flow of refugees until the backlog has been resolved. Canada can actually take it more slowly than many think. Over 90 percent of deportations are done in states that don’t border Canada. Thus, it’s possible for Canada to temporarily limit or cease refugee action across the border until the situation becomes more manageable. Of course, there would be exceptions, such as a response to the recent threats from the Trump administration against Haitian refugees living in America, 8,500 of which crossed the Canadian border in August. Limiting the flow of immigrants and letting specific, threatened groups through buys time for the system to fix the mounting backlog and stop the type of bureaucratic limbo that 40,000 people are living in today. However,

this is a temporary fix on its own, because when the backlog is eliminated Canada will have two choices: go back to their previous policy and let it mount up again, or stick to the less permissive one, a secondhand version of America’s much harsher policy towards illegal immigrants.

The third solution cannot stand alone. Instead, it’s designed to create a blank slate for the implementation of one or both of the other two solutions and prioritize the vetting of those who have waited for years to be recognized as members of society. The current backlog is the most pressing issue right now and the people it’s made of deserve to be put through the system first, but if refugees are to be limited until the backlog is gone, Canada needs to adopt either or both of the other solutions to streamline the immigration progress. Canada must first stabilize the system by fixing the backlog, but after that, Trudeau must either do away with a portion of the vetting process or give more money to the struggling IRB if he wants to realize his vision of a truly welcoming Canada.

Page 10

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Opinions PCP: Catalonian Secession Catalonia, a semi-autonomous region in Northeastern Spain, has historically been influenced by French culture and customs. It remained independent from Spain until the fifteenth century, when the marriage of King Ferdinand of Aragon and Queen Isabella of Castile united most of the Spanish peninsula. Catalans have always maintained a strong sense of national pride, which only grew stronger in the 19th and early 20th centuries. This increasing national pride was repressed under the rule of the military dictator Francisco Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975.

After Franco’s death, Catalonia gradually regained its semi-autonomous status and grew into one of Spain’s wealthiest and most industrialized regions. Even in the modern world, historical and cultural tension exists between Catalans and their Spanish counterparts. Catalonia has its own culture and a language which is more similar to that of France than Spain. Historical rivalries between the Catalan and Spanish governments and the increasing influence of nationalism in Europe have combined to create a Catalan public that is distrustful, and even hostile, towards the Spanish government. This tension has reached a boiling point, with the regional Catalan government holding a referendum on whether or not Catalonia should secede from Spain.

In this point-counterpoint, Opinions writers examine whether or not Catalonia could and should secede from Spain.

Catalonian Secession: A Regression for Europe

By BRIAN MOSES and DARIUS JANKAUSKAS A strong national identity, a legacy of separation, and perceived economic unfairness were all factors when United Kingdom voters decided to leave the European Union in what is now known as Brexit. Great Britain is now set to leave the EU behind, along with its free trade and migration, for an uncertain economic future.

Catalonia, a province of Spain, is charting the same path. In a recent referendum held by the Catalonian government, voters chose independence, and the regional government declared its secession from Spain. While the Spanish government effectively crushed independence in the short term, temporarily revoking the province’s autonomy and arresting secessionist officials, the drive for independence is unlikely to be quelled for long. However, Catalonian independence would only hurt both Catalonia, Spain, and Europe.

First and foremost, Catalonia would probably be denied membership in the European Union. Accession would require the approval of all 28 member states, which is unlikely considering that all EU member states support the Spanish central government against Catalonia.

Because two-thirds of Catalonia’s exports go to the EU (and one third go to Spain itself), EU membership should be a huge factor in the Catalan people’s decision to secede. The European Single Market provides Catalonia with access to 500 million consumers, but if Catalonia were independent, nations could impose high tariffs and other trade barriers on Catalan goods.

There are many other factors to consider, such as how the debt situation with Spain would be handled. Spain currently has a massive debt load, and it’s unclear whether Catalonia would have to assume some of that burden in an independence deal. There’s also the question of whether Catalonia would create its own currency or continue using the Euro. In the face of these uncertainties, multinational companies have already begun to relocate their head offices outside of Catalonia.

The now-deposed Catalan president, Carles Puigdemont, has refused to recognize the difficulties and complexities that independence would bring, drawing a striking similarity to the rhetoric of populist politicians elsewhere in Europe, such as Nigel Farage.

The most decisive argument against independence for Catalonia is that most Catalans don’t actually support independence. While the latest referendum had a 90 percent vote for secession, it was conducted illegally, and the Spanish government urged “no” voters not to vote, resulting in a turnout of only 42 percent.

In fact, prior to the beginning of the crisis, only 35 percent of Catalans supported full independence. Hundreds of thousands of protesters turned out in a pro-Spain rally on October 29; many of them were angry with the course of action the local

Catalan government, the Generalitat, had taken. In fact, the Washington Post finds that around three-quarters of Catalans culturally identify with Spain, as well as Catalonia.

Catalonia’s role as a citizen within the European community also needs to be considered. Over the last two decades, the majority of Europe has come together in the belief that an international community of European countries would bring economic prosperity and maintain peace.

That stability, however, relies on its 28 member states staying unified internally, both in their national and European identities.

However, this solidarity has shown major cracks. According to Pew Research, 51 percent of people within the European Union want their own countries in control of future trade deals, not the EU, and 53 percent want their own country to hold a referendum on continued membership.

The most dramatic result of these pressures thus far was Brexit, reflecting the rising nationalism in Europe, with citizens increasingly wanting political and economic control to return to their own countries.

Catalonian independence isn’t an immediate rejection of the EU, but of Spain.

However, the independence movement is inherently nationalistic, with supporters viewing themselves as Catalan, not Spanish. The success of this movement would send the message that the nation is the most important political unit in Europe.

At a time when Europe faces crises such as a weak economy, uncertainty of U.S. commitment to European security, and the challenge of dealing with refugees, EU leadership provides solutions: improve the economy through the single market, centralize European militaries to fill a void left by the United States, and divide up the responsibility of handling refugees. Catalan independence would harm Catalonia, Spain, and Europe by splitting them at a time when unity is required in the face of adversity.

Spain’s handling of the Catalan referendum left much to be desired, with police violently repressing voters and voting officials, but that does not make independence a more promising future than unity with Spain. Though Catalonia has had its autonomy temporarily revoked in response to the crisis, beforehand, Catalonia enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy from the central government under the Constitution drawn up in 1978.

Under this arrangement, the Catalan government had broad authority in matters regarding education, commerce, justice, public safety, and culture.

The Spanish government should restore Catalonia’s privileges and make an effort to resolve differences regarding the Constitution. Additionally, the Catalan government should try to cooperate with authorities in Madrid. There is no perfect solution to the problems facing Spain and Catalonia, but if both sides can come to an agreement, both Spain and Catalonia will be better off.

Chaos in Catalonia

By ARTEM ILYANOK Americans are no strangers to the difficulties a fight for independence presents. In 1776, America successfully rebelled against the most powerful nation on Earth and went on to transform itself from a minor country on the world’s hinterlands into a global power.

Over two centuries later, history seems to be repeating itself, this time in Spain.

Catalonia, a wealthy region of Spain with a proud history, is currently striving for independence. In what the Spanish government has declared an illegal referendum, Catalans overwhelmingly voted in support of secession in October 2017. Though Catalonia faces a long and arduous path to independence, Spain and the rest of the international community should recognize Catalonia as an independent country.

The underlying justification for the Catalan referendum is a basic right to self determination. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the cornerstone of modern international law, states that “All peoples have the right to self determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.”

Catalonia has the political and cultural traits necessary for independence.

It already has its own police force, known as the Mossos d’Esquadra. It has its own flag, Parliament, and healthcare system. Catalonia even has a series of “missions,” which are de facto embassies that promote investment and trade with Catalonia.

Catalonia has its own language and regional culture that many of its citizens feel are not respected by Spain. This tension dates back to the 20th century rule of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco, who banned the Catalan language.

In present times, Catalan is spoken by more people than other official EU languages such as Danish and Finnish, but it is still not acknowledged as an official language by Spain.

Despite this, Catalonia, its language, and its culture continue to thrive. Millions of books are written in Catalan every year. People across Spain are familiar with popular media outlets such as El Periódico, Catalunya Radio, and TV3— some of which have been threatened with a takeover by the Spanish government. Catalonia has hundreds of years of history, great cities such as Barcelona, and artists such as Sal-

Janice Tjan / The Spectator

vador Dali to its name.

Beyond being an idealistic expression of democracy, independence is also a practical solution to the concerns shared by the Catalan people. Catalonia is one of Spain’s wealthiest regions, and it is home to nearly a fifth of its total population, making it larger than four of the EU’s 15 member states. It contributes 19 percent of Spain’s GDP and a fourth of its exports. In 2014, Catalonia paid almost $12 billion more to Spanish tax authorities than it received in government funding. This has enraged many Catalans who feel that they are being forced to “carry” Spain’s economy at their own expense.

If Catalonia were to secede, it would have a GDP of 215 billion euros, larger than that of Greece. Catalonia is a center of tourism, attracting nearly 18 million tourists a year. Its largest city, Barcelona, is Europe’s eighth most visited city. Approximately a third of Catalonia’s population has a college education. These characteristics would lay the groundwork for Catalan economic success. Though the unrest caused by the independence referendum has hurt the Catalan economy in the short term, the long term economic prospects for an independent Catalonia are bright.

In defiance of the Catalan people’s right to self determination, the Spanish government has declared the independence referendum unconstitutional and jailed eight Catalan officials on charges of rebellion and sedition. It is also seeking to arrest Carles Puigdemont, the leader of Catalonia who is currently in Belgium in order to avoid arrest.

The Spanish government’s repression of the voice of the Catalan people and democracy should be condemned by the international community. Its decision to violently attempt to prevent the vote, injuring over 900 civilians, is undemocratic, a throwback to Franco’s brutal dictatorship, and a stark reminder of how vulnerable democracy is.

Due to the chaos and violence surrounding the previous referendum and the subsequently low voter turnout, Spain should allow another independence referendum. This time, it would be legally binding and allow the Catalan people to vote without fear. A BBC analysis found that over 70 percent of Catalans support a referendum.

As a democratic government, it is the Spanish state’s duty to give a voice to its constituents, including Catalans. Until the Spanish government permits a legally binding referendum on Catalan independence, it will continue to tarnish its own reputation and that of the democratic world as a whole.

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

ADVERTISEMENT

Page 11

Page Page 12

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Arts and Entertainment CULTURE

By JACQUELINE THOM Hollywood’s rape culture is deplorable, and yet, it continues to exist. One of the main sources of the problem is Hollywood’s power complex. Many of the people seeking to break into the industry find themselves at the whims of others with more power in the business. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, now a household name, had praised Harvey Weinstein in her first Academy Award acceptance speech in 1999, but now condemns him for his sexually abusive acts. After her first distasteful confrontation with the former producer, Paltrow said she kept quiet out of concern that she would lose her starring role in “Emma” (1996), and over the years, she had tried to ignore Weinstein’s alternating kind and bullying personality.

Within Hollywood’s atmosphere, monetary pressure and an unstable career can silence those who suffer. An investigation by The New York Times found that Weinstein has been paying off accusers for at least two decades in the three that he’s been known to have committed sex crimes.

One of the better known cases of this is with actress turned activist Rose McGowan, who had been assaulted by Weinstein at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. After McGowan made hints about making her allegations public, Weinstein’s close associate reached out to her with an offer of $1 million in exchange for signing a nondisclosure statement. With money and high esteem, Weinstein could easily boost careers and often did so after forcing aspiring young women to unwillingly succumb to his sexual acts.

The co-founder of the Weinstein Company isn’t the only sex offender who has been able to get away from the attention of the public eye for so long. In another recent series of allega-

MUSIC

By EMILY XU I remember sitting on my bed in 2014, listening to The Front Bottoms’s “Talon of the Hawk,” thinking to my angsty, seventh-grade self that it was one of the best albums ever made. The heaviness of the lyrics, juxtaposed with the upbeat, almost cheerful sound of lead singer Brian Sella’s gritty vocals, was definitely something new to me. Over the years, The Front Bottoms has created a name for itself through exactly that— Sella’s unique voice and plucky acoustic guitar.

However, these characteristics of the band’s early music are, for the most part, missing from their sixth album, released October 13, 2017. “Going Grey” is the culmination of The Front Bottoms’s 10 years on the music scene, and as the title suggests, Sella and drummer Mathew Uychich are growing up; their hair is turning grey.

It is their cleanest and most vocally mature album, but at the expense of its original, unique sound. Gone is much of Sella’s boyish, high-pitched voice that many fans were initially attracted to because it was something different from other alternative bands. Instead, the album features more grounded, lowerpitched vocals that no longer

Entertainment is Good but Hollywood’s Rape Culture Isn’t tions, “House of Cards” star Kevin Spacey was accused of trying to seduce actor Anthony Rapp when Rapp was only 14 years old.

Since then, at least a dozen others have joined Rapp in accusing Spacey, including former Boston TV news anchor Heather Unruh, who spoke of Spacey getting her son drunk before proceeding to grab the then 18-year-old’s genitals. In a Twitter response to the allegations against him, Spacey admitted to having sexually assaulted Rapp and came out as

g a y soon after.

Media outlets blew up, but rather than focusing on Spacey’s admission of sexual assault, they focused almost exclusively on the actor’s coming-out. Only when the public criticized the lack of attention on Spacey’s illegal actions did the media stop covering up the accusations.

The media follows Hollywood’s lead and tries to make revenue through enticing topics like sexual orientation rather than heavy ones like sexual abuse.

Comedian Cameron Esposito says it best in her reaction to

Spacey’s tweet, “Being gay has nothing to do w[ith] going after underage folks.”

The media’s reluctance to address the real problems is a common issue. When an unpleasant subject matter is being covered, news sources will often still downplay the magnitude of the situation, as with the news coverage of Spacey’s tweets.

Though Hollywood promotes liberal messages, its rape culture is still prevalent. The scandals and sexual crimes that continue

Catherine Joh / The Spectator

to pop up in the news are directly correlated to Hollywood’s biased nature and inability to confront its own problems.

The quietness of victims further enables sexual harassment.

Of the more than 80-something women who have spoken out against Weinstein, only a handful have chosen to relay more information either themselves or through representatives. However, actress Scarlett Johansson defends those who are silent, saying, “It’s irresponsible to take

a bunch of actors [...] and throw their name into a situation they couldn’t possibly comment on.”

The people who refuse to or cannot speak are not to blame.

Those who choose to take action can be putting their careers in jeopardy or may even face the failure of not being heard.

What may be contributing to victims’ inaction is the inaction of the community around them. Commenting on the rumors about Weinstein raping McGowan, actor Alec Baldwin

s a i d to Entertainment Weekly, “It was for Rose McGowan to prosecute that case.”

At times in his interview, Baldwin certainly sounded like the man he impersonates on “Saturday Night Live.” Though he extended his sympathies, Baldwin made himself complicit by victim blaming. It almost seemed as if Baldwin was trying to provide cover for the assaulters, or had tried to remain neutral for the sake of reputation.

In his interview, Baldwin implied that he wouldn’t want to risk his job just to help someone in need, and in a later tweet, he called the sexual assaults a matter of gender inequality. Despite

his words of empowerment, Baldwin’s excuses for his inaction completely revoke his sympathetic gestures. These types of excuses are rampant in Hollywood circles and make many unknowing bystanders.

Hollywood’s efforts to be liberal are inconsistent since many of its actions directly counteract feminist messages. Few harassers are punished severely, and accusers often aren’t taken seriously or even believed. It’s increasingly problematic when also considering that actresses get asked questions about sexual assault more often than actors, including those who have responded to allegations. This proves the public’s difficulty focusing on the bigger picture: that both men and women are victims of sexual harassment and have the responsibility to act accordingly toward our problematic rape culture.

Each new allegation that arises doesn’t badly affect the industry, which is churning out more movies than ever. This year has had quite the movie lineup, with films such as the long-awaited revival of “It” (2017) and the recent releases “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017) and “Justice League” (2017).

Hollywood has set the standards for filmmaking and is revered around the world. However, in the social sphere, it needs to start taking initiative, even if that means having its best people marginalized. Many of Hollywood’s celebrities have been outed for their crimes, but have faced minor consequences and continue to do well in their professions. People need to get past the facade that actors and studio-goers put up and start prosecuting these criminals for hurting countless women and men. Like it does for its films, the American movie industry must also set the standards for how it treats sexual assailants.

“Going Grey” Pales in Comparison distinguish the band from any other band on Spotify’s Indie Rock playlist.

Tracks like “Trampoline” take the biggest step away from the band’s original sound, integrating synthesizers into the melody. The chorus is almost Daft Punkesque, but not nearly as well done. Rather, it sounds like two little boys experimenting with electronic music, neither of whom f u l l y know what he is doing.

Too often, the work of AutoTune is clearly heard, especially on the dragged-out notes of “Grand Finale” and “Far Drive.” Sella’s voice feels restricted as a result of this sonic tweaking, ultimately taking away from these emotionheavy tracks. In short, the sound is less raw emotion and more toying with electronic pop.

Content-wise, the songs on “Going Grey” are extremely similar to those of previous works, with focuses on the cyclic joys and woes of relationships, nos-

talgia, and deep and inconsolable sadness. But none of the lyrics in the 11 songs featured on the album are particularly profound or thought-provoking. From “A temple of daddy” in “Don’t Fill Up On Chips” to “Sometimes w h e n w e’re t o gethe r /

Suzy B. Ae / The Spectator

We’re not together” in “Trampoline,” the lyrics are not inspiring in any way. Sella is capable of penning meaningful words, as exemplified in the line from the band’s 2013 hit “Twin Size Mattress,” “This is for the lake that me and my friends swim in.../And it should’ve felt good but I could hear the Jaws theme song on repeat in the back of my mind.” The change in lyri-

cal complexity begs the question: how did we get from there to here?

However, there are still little nuggets of gold in the album, such as “Bae,” which is not as cringey and terrible as the title suggests.

The Front Bottoms flips the idea of a “bae” on its head, instead putting forth the concept that the best relationships are not necessarily the m o s t glamorous.

T h e song is immediately catchy, opening with Uychich’s steady, thumping drum beat. The thrumming guitar in the chorus compels the listener to sing, “I gotta move my car, I gotta move your couch/I learned that love tastes good, you shoved it in my mouth,” with Sella.

Another noteworthy song is “Raining,” the track most closely resembling their old music, as Sella swaps his newfound mature voice for the raw, imperfect voice that rocketed the New Jer-

sey band to fame in the obscure alternative world. In true Front Bottoms fashion, the exuberant guitar beat and Sella’s cheery crooning of, “How do you think that felt for me” creates a sharp contrast with the gravitas of the subject matter: being released from the hospital but still feeling “all torn up.”

Sella’s desire for sonic development is certainly admirable, and “Going Grey” is not a total leap to another genre of music.

While there are tracks that experiment with new sound, others are reminiscent of the band’s original music. However, for the casual listener who has not listened to the band’s previous albums, what “Going Grey” lacks most is organization. It’s more of a jumbled mess than a coherent, deliberately crafted album.

There is no real theme recurring throughout the album, linking the songs together. There is no unity in the album; songs are strung together simply so that there is an order to them rather than to make a statement.

The Front Bottoms’ sixth album is not unenjoyable, but it doesn’t dazzle. It isn’t as inspiring and heart-wrenching as “Talon of the Hawk,” but it is a commendable attempt at a new direction for the band.

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 13

Arts and Entertainment TELEVISION

By CHELSEA CHEUNG SPOILERS AHEAD Suspenseful music cues in as four boys decked out in tan jumpsuits with proton packs stand outside their middle school and stare agape in horror at the scene before them. It is Halloween morning and their day has already gone dramatically awry as more and more kids dressed in casual school clothes pass by. A gut-wrenching realization dawns upon the group as Dustin (Gaten Matarazzo) dismayingly utters what they are all thinking: “Why is no one else wearing costumes?”

This scene is just one of many comical moments from the second season of “Stranger Things.”

Iconic for its Eggos, nose-bleeds, and Christmas lights hung above the alphabet painted in black on a wall, the Netflix original series induced a global storm in pop culture ever since its debut over a year ago. Having a distinct nostalgic ‘80s vibe, “Stranger Things” has garnered a massive fan base by attracting old and new generations alike. The second season aired in late October with a whopping 16 million people watching the night of its much-anticipated premiere.

The story centers around the comradery between four boys, each with their own unique personality. Dustin, who is goofy yet protective, Will (Noah Schnapp), who is soft-spoken and kind, Lucas (Caleb McLaughlin), who is pragmatic and serious, and Mike (Finn Wolfhard), who is optimistic and thoughtful, all band together in the pursuit to undertake evil.

“Stranger Things” Brings Tubular Things to Season 2 Set in Hawkins, a fictional small town in Indiana where, presumably, nothing ever happens, everything changes one day when Will mysteriously disappears and the other three encounter Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), a girl with bizarre telekinetic powers who escaped the notorious Hawkins lab. Through her, they discover the presence of another dimension, the Upside Down, which is just like their world, but barren, dark, and teeming with Demogorgon monsters. Season one ends on a cliffhanger, with Eleven disappearing after killing the evil Demogorgon and a newly-retrieved, frazzled Will covertly coughing up a infantile Demogorgon, setting up the stage for what is to happen in season two.

The audience is introduced to a lively new set of characters in the second season. Max (Sadie Sink), a tough, skateboarding, and easily irritable redhead from California joins the boys on their adventures in navigating the mysteries of the Upside Down. Along with her character comes a wild and irredeemable step-brother, Billy (Dacre Montgomery), who poses as the town’s new human antagonist. We then are introduced to a less tangible, but ultimately more dangerous villain, the Shadow Monster—a gargantuan, faceless shadow that roams the Upside Down and threatens the human world with havoc and chaos.

Besides the introduction of these new characters, the second season differs from the first in that the story unfolds through individual storylines. Though there is

With musical remakes of “SpongeBob” and “Mean Girls” on their way to Broadway, theater followers have reason to be both skeptical and excited about the 2017-2018 Broadway season.

In addition to these new productions, shows including “Carousel” and “Once On This Island” have returned to the spotlight. In satisfying the demand for iconic and nostalgia-inducing hits, revivals play a key role in keeping the theater industry alive. With today’s ever-changing social and political climate, returning shows can take on a new meaning and reiterate the importance of issues that have now become prevalent. Here’s a selection of shows that would rake in audiences and convey powerful messages if revived on Broadway.

NEXT TO NORMAL

acters to worry endlessly and creating moving scenes as he battles the Shadow Monster’s attempts to possess him.

Steve Harrington, whose character in season one was merely portrayed as Nancy’s jock of a boyfriend, plays a much larger, more

paign’s underdog, Mondale.

More references to that era include homages to classic films. The Shadow Monster was heated out of Will’s body in the fashion of “The Exorcist” (1973), Steve and Dustin walking on railroad tracks resembled a scene from “Stand By Me” (1986), and the group’s halloween costumes were of the squad from “Ghostbusters” (1984), whose theme song played on several occasions. Kali’s gang in the standalone episode was inspired by the gang from “The Warriors” (1979), and Joyce Byers’s (Winona Ryder) dorky boyfriend Bob Newby (Sean Astin) references the ‘X’ on a map as pirate treasure, as Mike Walsh (Sean Astin) does in “The Goonies” (1985).

The show’s soundtrack also features many songs from the time period such as “Whip It” by Devo and “Time after Time” by Cyndi Lauper. It is unusual yet refreshing to see the world of the ‘80s conveyed with modern special effects and by actors born in the 2000s.

In only nine hour-long episodes, the second season of “Stranger Things” managed to tie up all of the loose ends left from season one while also telling a story of unlikely allies, complex romances, dealing with grief, and the integrity and purity of a friendship between four boys.

Though they are growing up to not play as much Dungeons & Dragons, and their battle with the Upside Down grows to a much larger scale than in season one, the story always manages to stay rooted in these lovable characters.

importance of not romanticizing poor mental health and treating it like any other chronic illness.

A CHORUS LINE

1975/2006 An iconic staple of musical theater, “A Chorus Line” follows the story of 17 dancers auditioning for a spot in a Broadway musical. After winning the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1975, the production was later revived in 2006, and many believe that it is due for another return to Broadway. One of the longest-running and more well-known musicals, a revival of “A Chorus Line” would be received with significant enthusiasm from fans of classic musical theater and balance the ratio of classic to contemporary and current shows that are trendy today. Centered around a critical element of showbusiness, the audition, the show depicts a timeless struggle that all performers can commiserate with. With all the elements of a standard Broadway musical, “A Chorus Line” would spark a renewed enthusiasm for more traditional shows and tell a heartfelt and timeless story to its viewers.

IN THE HEIGHTS

2008 Years before Hamilton’s rise to popularity, another musical by composer Lin-Manuel Miranda gained attention after it opened in February of 2008. Telling the story of three days in the life of a closeknit Latino community in Washington Heights, “In the Heights” was given the 2008 Tony Award for Best Musical. The production was criticized for its overly sentimental dialogue, but praised for its high energy and spirited score. The show also broke barriers by being one of the first major hip-hop musicals. In an industry that is dominated by tap dancing and big choral numbers, “In the Heights” stands out by bringing a different and exciting element to the stage.

A return to Broadway could attract the attention of fans of “Hamilton”

who want a show with a similar hip-hop influence. The themes of “In the Heights” are also especially relevant to the country’s current political tension. With many nods to the hardships and discrimination that surround the immigration process, a revival of “In the Heights” could speak volumes with its strong statements about issues that are extremely prominent in today’s society.

HEATHERS: THE MUSICAL

2014 Though never actually running on Broadway, the “Heathers” musical remake received considerable praise from audiences and fans of the 1988 cult classic film.

The production’s dark yet humorous plot follows 17-year-old Veronica Sawyer, as she and her boyfriend accidentally murder the leaders of her popular clique in an effort to reduce her high school’s social tension. If finally given a Broadway run, the musical could rake in attention from younger audiences who yearn to see more representation of the high school experience on stage. With a catchy score and witty humor, the black comedy is sure to keep viewers entertained for a full two hours.

Though the Off-Broadway production was positively received, many remarked that the show’s low budget resulted in an overly simple set design. A Broadway production of “Heathers: The Musical” would allow for a more dynamic set that would pair well with the other vibrant elements of the show, such as the soundtrack and heavily ‘80s-influenced costumes. Satisfying both lovers of the iconic film and teens that can relate to the show’s themes about the struggles of fitting in in high school, “Heathers: The Musical” is sure to be a hit if brought to Broadway.

INTO THE WOODS

1987/2002 One of the many masterpieces of famed composer Stephen Sondheim, “Into the Woods” puts

Lynne Wang / The Spectator

2009 Written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, “Next to Normal” ran on Broadway for two years and earned three Tony Awards, as well as the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Centered around a mother with increasingly severe bipolar disorder, the musical stands out by providing a raw and honest depiction of how an individual and those around him or her can be affected by mental illness. Showing a range of perspectives, from that of overachieving and neglected daughter Natalie to frustrated yet determined husband Dan, “Next to Normal” stands out because it allows audiences of all ages and denominations to see themselves represented on stage. Many audiences were also intrigued by the show’s many parallels to “Dear Evan Hansen,” the musical that won this year’s Tony Award for Best Musical. With the issues of mental illness and dysfunctional family relationships constantly growing in prominence, a “Next to Normal” revival would increase awareness surrounding these issues and also further touch on the

Anika Hashem / The Spectator

multidimensional role in season two. He is no longer “King Steve,” as known by those in his high school, and he discovers a new role as a guardian of the group— especially Dustin, who he helps not only in defeating multiple Demogorgons, but in navigating teenagehood as well.

Perhaps the most stunning growth comes from Eleven. In season one, she was portrayed as almost alien-like, always donning a hospital gown or an awkward a blonde wig and a pink dress of a costume. This season, we see her as a teenage girl trying to navigate a world that doesn’t quite accept her. To reconcile with her past, she ventures off to find her mother and her long-lost sister, Kali, whom she was separated from at the lab as a toddler.

The cinematography proves to be bigger and more ambitious than the previous season. The scenes embody ‘80s nostalgia, shot with a soft lense comparable to the equipment commonly used in ‘80s cinema. The set and costumes not only perfectly embody the nostalgia of ‘80s, but are very specifically mapped out to give us insight into the personality of each character.

For instance, the political allegiance of each of the boy’s parents during the ‘84 presidential election were shown in the signs on the front lawns of their houses.

Mike’s parents, who are wealthier and much removed from his adventurous pursuits, showed allegiance to Reagan, while Dustin’s single, quirky, cat-loving mother showed allegiance to the cam-

What to Bring Back to Broadway

THEATER

By EMMA LINDERMAN

less of a sense of comradery than there was in season one, the script delves deeper into each character.

The season is marked with an abundance of growth from the characters, as opposed to the first season, which mainly introduces the characters and plot. For one, Will, who appears in season one on only a few occasions, has a drastically greater involvement in season two. He becomes the physical link between the two dimensions, causing the other char-

a dark spin on beloved fairy tales such as “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” Their whimsical storylines intertwine, as various characters journey on different quests through a threatening and mysterious forest and eventually team up to fight a murderous giant. Opening on Broadway in 1987, “Into the Woods” was later revived in 2002 and adapted into a film in 2014. Though the show has achieved large success on its many runs, many theater

enthusiasts wish to see it make a comeback. Sondheim’s musicals are known for their fast-paced and tongue-tying scores, and “Into the Woods” is no exception. A notable favorite from the show is “Giants in the Sky,” a song that is known for being vocally hard to execute.

If given a chance to make a resurgence, “Into the Woods” is sure to draw in those looking for a wellthought out musical with a story that is wild from start to finish.

Page 14

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Arts and Entertainment Herbivore Burgers

FOOD

By LUCY LU According to popular opinion, a juicy meat patty, a soft bun, crisp lettuce, sour pickles, fresh tomatoes, melted cheese, and crispy bacon are what constitutes a good cheeseburger.

After all, what would a burger be without meat and cheese?

Veganism is a well-known joke on social media. The idea of giving up meat, eggs, and cheese seems to be absurd. My friend Matthew is a full-fledged carnivore and orders a burger at every restaurant we go to. Whether we’re at Serendipity, Cafeteria, or the Cheesecake Factory, he proceeds to eat his burger with a knife and a fork. Some would say, however, that eating meat every day of the week is not a wise or healthy choice.

My grandma is an avid vegetarian Buddhist and has always tried to convince me to give up meat. She’s succeeded, and I’ve been a vegetarian for about one and a half years now. Living in New York City comes with the privilege of numerous vegan and vegetarian options. There exists vegan sushi, ice cream, mac and cheese, cheesecake, pizza, tacos, pasta, meatballs, and all sorts of vegan editions of “regular” foods. Even so, how these foods taste is often called into question.

We decided to test this out by tasting the best vegan burgers that the city has to offer, rating them out of 10 based on taste, texture, and their resemblance to a regular cheeseburger.

SKYSCRAPER BURGER

$6.00 FROM SUPERIORITY BURGER (EAST VILLAGE, 430 E 9TH ST, NEW YORK, NY 10009)

$9.50 FROM BLOSSOM DU JOUR (MULTIPLE LOCATIONS)

Lucy Lu / The Spectator

Lucy Lu / The Spectator

THE SUPERIORITY BURGER

The Skyscraper Burger comes with a bean patty, mushroom bacon, tapioca-based cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, a onion ring, and ketchup. It is a bit larger than a Shake Shack burger and closely resembles a regular burger as well. The onion ring is definitely the highlight of this burger. It is crispy on the outside, perfectly seasoned, and retains moisture from the onion on the inside. On the other hand, the mushroom bacon is merely mediocre, tasting more like burnt cardboard than real bacon. Overall, the sweetness of the ketchup and onion complements the earthiness of the patty, and the vegetables balance out the richness of the cheese. Due to the moisture in all components of the burger and an overly crumbly bean patty, eating it is a messy task. About halfway through, the burger started falling apart.

Carnivore says: I usually don’t like veggies on my burger in the first place, so I think there’s way too many vegetables on this. Other than that, I think it’s pretty close to a typical burger. In my opinion it’s an eight.

Herbivore says: I really don’t like burgers to start with because of how greasy they usually are, and this was definitely on the greasy side. I had a really hard time eating this because of how it collapsed halfway through and made a huge mess. It’s probably my least favorite, so I’m giving it a four.

Overall Rating: 6/10

The Superiority Burger is composed of a nut and seed patty with vegan muenster cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato, and dill pickle, all on top of a sesame seed bun. The burger itself is extremely small (about the size of a slider rather than a burger), but they also offer a bigger version called the Megamouth burger for $9.00. The patty appears to be held together very tightly, but biting past the smoky crust reveals a juicy and loosely held together interior with a spicy sunflower seed taste. The vegan cheese sauce is made from nuts and seeds, rich like regular muenster cheese but without the greasy aftertaste. The richness is cut through by the sour dill pickle, balancing out the overall taste. The burger is very juicy and somewhat messy to eat, but it’s a pretty good burger overall.

Carnivore says: I wouldn’t be able to tell that it was vegan if the texture of the patty wasn’t so crumbly. I would give it a seven for the taste and how close it is to a real burger.

Herbivore says: I would give it an eight because I really enjoyed the way nuts and seeds were used to recreate animal products, and this was very creative and tasty. I would have liked it better if the burger was held together tighter.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10

BEASTMODE BURGER

$10.95 FROM BY CHLOE (MULTIPLE LOCATIONS)

$12 FROM CINNAMON SNAIL (THE PENNSY FOOD HALL AT MIDTOWN)

Lucy Lu / The Spectator

Lucy Lu / The Spectator

THE GUAC BURGER

The price is much steeper than what we got at Superiority Burger, but the burger is much larger. For $11, we got a black bean-quinoa-sweet potato patty, corn salsa, guacamole, onion, tortilla strips, and chipotle aioli on a whole wheat bun. The patty holds together better than the Superiority Burger, with a flavor profile composed of sweetness from the sweet potato, nuttiness from the quinoa, and sharpness from the black beans and various spices, creating a patty unlike any other burger on this list. Other than its shape, it bears no resemblance to a hamburger patty, but it is still delicious in its own right. The guacamole and spicy mustard aioli give the burger an explosion of flavor, encompassing the sweet, savory, and spicy, and the crispy tortilla strips give it an unexpected but pleasant crunch. All of this was encased in a soft whole wheat bun, only partially cut through, so fillings would not slip through the bottom.

Carnivore says: It’s more of a sandwich than it is a burger, but I still really like it. It’s also sort of spicy, so I don’t think I can eat too much of it. I would give it an eight for the taste.

Herbivore says: I really like how I was able to eat this without getting food all over myself, as well as the balance of flavors, and it tasted really fresh. It’s my favorite burger overall, and it deserves a 10.

Overall Rating: 9/10

The Beastmode Burger from the Cinnamon Snail food truck is all over Instagram.

Luckily, the Cinnamon Snail also has a food stall that is conveniently located above Penn Station. The burger comes with a spicy chili seitan (a stretchy, fake meat made from wheat protein) burger with barbeque sauce, mac and cheese, arugula, smoky coconut bacon, and chipotle mayo on a pretzel bun. At first glance, both the meat and the bun looked incredibly dry, but they proved to be just the right consistency. It was moist enough to resemble a burger, but dry enough to hold all of the component s together. The bun tasted like a pretzel in bread form, hard on the outside and deliciously fluffy on the inside. The patty w-as surprisingly juicy and had a spring to it, but it was incredibly spicy. The mac and cheese tasted like real cheese, with peppery arugula and sweet barbeque sauce cutting through the richness of it. However, both Matthew and I could not take more than a few bites without reaching for water.

Carnivore says: The bread is so good, but I can’t eat more than half of the burger. I think that if you really like spicy food, then you’ll really like this. I’m only giving it a seven, even though it tasted really good, but I just thought it was too spicy.

Herbivore says: I have a higher spice tolerance than Matthew does, but not by much. I ate a lot more of the burger than he did, and I really like the texture of everything on it, as well as the taste. Out of the seitan, mac and cheese, arugula and bun, I really can’t pick a favorite because I really loved all of these components. I’m giving it a nine because it didn’t match up with the flavors of the burger from by Chloe., but it came very close.

Overall Rating: 8/10

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 15

Arts and Entertainment STC REVIEW OF “1776”

Independence, Patriotism, and Deep Sea Fishing Rights Photos by Mika Simoncelli and Zaakirah Rahman

By SOPHIE FENG and ELIANA KAVOURIADIS The year is 1776, and the Second Continental Congress has convened in a courtroom in hot, sticky Philadelphia. The Stuyvesant Theater Community (STC)’s 2017 fall musical, “1776,” directed by juniors Kareena Singh and Bo Xuan Wu and freshman Clara Yuste, opens to an exhausted, overworked congress slumped over at tables, swatting flies, and wiping the sweat off of their foreheads. It is a setting that is frequently returned to throughout the narrative of the show, which revolves around the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

To anyone familiar with American history, the facts are simple: numerous delegates from the original 13 colonies assembled in Pennsylvania and debated briefly before signing the document that shaped our political legacy by asserting our independence from Great Britain. What “1776” attempts to do is give emotional meaning to that distant event, capturing

the rivalries and stories of the people involved in it.

STC’s rendition of the show told this story through an energetic, polished, and wonderfully jovial performance. Every scene was blocked or choreographed thoughtfully, from the kickline in “The Lees of Old Virginia” that always managed to kick John Adams (junior Adam Elsayed) in the face to the seating arrangement in congressional debate scenes that could best be described as organized clutter.

The set was adorned with carefully crafted historical pieces—the wallpaper, tables, and chairs had an antique element to them, and a detailed painting of the Liberty Bell hung in front of a background of treetops and rolling hills. However, several aspects of the set made no sense, like the wooden column protruding from the center of the backdrop for no apparent reason and the windows floating in midair with no beams or walls to support them.

A most impressive element of the show was the quality of the music. The band, directed

by senior Aidan Amog, junior Jason Kim, and sophomores Cosmo Coen and Sara Stebbins, played with an unparalleled level of professionalism, capturing every musical phrase in a way that adeptly underscored the show’s storyline. From the fanfare prelude to the final bows, the band’s energy consistently carried the show.

The ensemble numbers were also strong and musically immaculate, and of the singing roles, each voice had something distinctly wonderful to bring to the table. Elsayed’s rich, carrying voice nailed several of the show’s most pivotal moments, like when Adams sat alone and reflected on the possibility of giving up everything he worked for due to a clause in the Declaration that Southern states were unwilling to accept. Adams was also beautifully complemented by the softer vocals of his wife, Abigail Adams (sophomore Zeynep Bromberg), in their numerous duets.

One standout number was “He Plays the Violin,” Martha Jefferson’s (freshman Mimi Gillies) ode to her husband’s many

talents. Gillies’s honey-like voice blossomed at the song’s high notes, resonating through the theater as she blissfully waltzed with an imaginary partner.

The climax and arguably most enthralling part of the show was when Edward Rutledge (senior Alex Whittington) stood up in front of the Second Continental Congress and belted “Molasses to Rum,” an impassioned anthem in support of slavery. In this electric performance, Whittington’s powerful tenor belt caused the ground to nearly shake, and he used the song’s choreography to convey the exhilarating rush Rutledge gets when recounting his experiences as a slave owner. Through sharp, calculated movements, Whittington depicted Rutledge as simultaneously graceful and maniacal—a brilliant, spinechilling portrayal.

There were several shining moments between actors. The character dynamic between John and Abigail Adams unfolded through carefully blocked duets that mimicked their separation and detailed the famous letters they wrote each other.

As Abigail crooned to her husband, “Don’t stop writing. It’s all I have,” the bittersweetness of their love was palpable.

Moreover, energetic, animated background acting, and hilarious one-liners like Joseph Hewes’s (Clara Yuste) “Mr. Jefferson, nowhere do you mention deep sea fishing rights. We in North Carolina—” kept the show entertaining and humorous and gave life and dimension to the story. In order for any theatrical piece with a large cast to be brought to life, the actors need to work as an ensemble to paint a three-dimensional, overarching picture, and STC nailed this crucial aspect of the show.

Through songs, meaningful choreography, and adept historical interpretation, STC effectively conveyed the triumphant story behind the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. It is particularly exciting that much of it is underclassman talent new to the STC spotlight, setting the stage for many phenomenal performances in the years to come.

Page 16

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

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

Trump Proposes Ban on Logic After barricading the Oval Office before special counsel Robert Mueller could pummel through its

press release called “destructive of the moral fabric of patriotic Americans.”

“The lying LIB MEDIA needs to stop gloating over my senseless

“The lying LIB MEDIA needs to stop gloating over my senseless emotions.”

—Donald Trump

doors, President Trump furiously penned an executive order calling for an immediate ban to all forms of logical reasoning, habits the

emotions,” Trump said. “My tweets make perfect nonsense, like my speeches, but they’re beautiful, like the deal I negotiated with Mexico

for the wall, which is going to be so BIG and STRONG. The approval numbers are so high—37 percent, I think it is—which just crushes Obama’s 21 percent approval rating here in West Virginia, where the real America is and the limousine liberals near 57th St and 5th Ave in Manhattan are not.”

The leader of the free world also mentioned that he would not hesitate to completely obliterate any organization or locale that sanctions critical thinking, particularly any that continues to manipulate his statements by implying that they have any relevance to real events that occur on the spinning blue globe we all inhabit.

With regard to the Mueller investigation, Trump adds that he will most likely be proven innocent and be freed from all charges if everyone would just stop thinking so damn hard.

Seniors Afflicted By Severe Health Crises

By MICHAEL XU

Over the past several weeks, many senior classes have seen their ranks of students decimated by various health crises. The peaks of the crises develop around the first of the months of November, December, and January.

Notably, no senior was well enough to make it to school on November 1, 2017. Teachers first assumed that the seniors were suffering from Halloween-related maladies, but the excuse notes pouring in the next day painted an entirely different picture. Seniors were universally struck by illness; excuse notes cited “fever,” “headache,” and “just didn’t feel well.” There was even one case of a “severe stomachache.”

Fortunately enough, teachers

Minseo Kim/ The Spectator

have developed immunity to the diseases that seniors have car-

ried. As their students recover from their motley of illnesses at home, teachers have taken the time to pile on much-deserved tests and projects.

The seniors who were well enough to return to school on November 2nd were met with missed pop quizzes, new essay assignments, and test dates. “You miss a day of school, and all of a sudden you pull five all-nighters just to catch up,” one anonymous senior lamented. “Well, guess what? I’ll just come down with a ‘severe stomachache’ next week—hopefully on a day that not too many of my classmates will pick.”

The administration has taken notice of the latest epidemic by issuing vaccination notices to seniors. In addition, they have found similar sickness outbreaks in the attendance records of previous senior classes.

Aries Ho/ The Spectator

Freshmen Campaign for This Year’s “Game-Changing” Freshman Caucus Race

By BENEDICT HO and OMAR ALI In an effort to make their campaign known to the thousands of Stuyvesant students rushing to their early morning classes, freshman campaigns have been lining the bridge, distributing flyers and pins to completely inattentive students.

“I printed 1900 copies of this

flyer on my printer,” freshman Eric Han said. “My mom was more than happy to make a third run to Staples for color ink.”

The freshman campaigns kept up their antics for an hour, watching their flyers get scattered all over the bridge. On one particular day, however, a flyer was seen making its way across the entire span of the bridge. In fact, this freshman entered the school with a whopping

two flyers. Sarah Wong, the perpetrator, commented, “I really liked the agenda that they proposed.

I picked up two to give one to my friend to see.”

What Sarah did not realize was that she had picked up flyers from two different campaigns. Both listed “working with the administration on science frees,” “the ability to enter school at 7:00 a.m.,” “more freshman electives and AP classes,” and “freshman class spirit.” The differences between their agendas were as minute as second-term seniors’ homework.

The amount of effort poured into campaign advertising this year reached record heights. The Schneider-Corr campaign team was seen hang gliding with their banner off of the seven to nine escalator. Four freshmen reported to the nurse’s office with nervous tics described as “a forceful jerk of the arm as if they were offering something to someone.”

In their victory, the SchneiderCorr campaign promises to completely revolutionize the role of the Freshman Caucus. They look forward to petitioning the administration for science frees and to being rebuked for the 12th straight year.

Darren Liang/ The Spectator

By KAI HIN LUI

Administration Introduces New Ban on Iconic Stuyvesant Lingo

By GABRIELLE UMANOVA “How did you do on that test?

There better be a curve.” “I’m so tired! I got like two hours of sleep last night studying for this APUSH test; I feel dead.” “I think I copped a 50.”

The constant barrage of complaints in the hallways has led the administration to enact a schoolwide ban on certain conversations.

These include: t Any discussion of grades, tests, colleges, or impending deadlines t Complaints about homework or projects t Complaints regarding sleep t The word “coffee” Following the ban, an eerie silence has descended upon Stuyvesant. On multiple occasions, students have opened their mouths to comment, only to promptly shut them again. Friends that once considered themselves inseparable have stopped talking altogether.

Teachers were overjoyed by the administration’s decision. Chemistry teacher Gabriel Ting said, “My inbox is, for the first time in years, completely empty! No more demands about every infinitesimal grade calculation! No more questions about the numerical equivalent of a B+, and whether that can be curved to a 97!”

An anonymous teacher commented, “I haven’t talked to my colleagues in a while since I no longer complain about my annoying and needy kids.”

The ban looks to clamp down especially hard on whiny overachievers. Students with 95-plus averages face crueler punishments for claiming to be “unprepared” or “so screwed” for tests that they will definitely get at least a 95 on.

Such punishments include changing their grade to an actual failing grade.

One anonymous overachieving student claimed, “Just because I’ve been preparing for this physics test rigorously for the past two weeks doesn’t mean I can’t act concerned when test day rolls around! I need to project my superiority complex onto others somehow!”

The ban was effective for three entire days, until Thursday rolled around, and students could no longer refrain from commenting on the injustice of the latest pre-calc test. With an absolute disregard for the ban, juniors huddled in the

fourth floor bathrooms desperately moaning about how question 13 was never talked about in class.

Unfortunately, Stuyvesant’s security team discovered them after forcing 23 students off the benches.

With an absolute disregard for the ban, juniors huddled in the fourth floor bathrooms desperately moaning about how question 13 was never talked about in class.

The juniors were forced to sacrifice a week of lunch periods, excluded from the library, and forced to socialize rather than be productive as they watched their teachers assign project after project over the weekend.

However, recent subversions have rendered the ban unworkable. Much of the school has learned Morse code, using it to communicate with pen clicks during class—annoying teachers to the brink of insanity. The foreign language department has developed a brand new language: Eway Atehay Choolsay. The administration is considering a revamp of the ban by instructing teachers to write letters of recommendation in Morse code or Eway Atehay Choolsay.

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

ADVERTISEMENT

Page 17

Page 18

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Sports Girls’ Volleyball

A Valiant Effort on the Part of the Vixens

By ARIEL MELENDEZ and SUSAN LIN For a moment, the air was still as senior and co-captain Ziqi Guo jumped for an outside hit. Guo slammed the ball down, ending the first set decisively in favor of the Vixens. Similarly, the team dominated the second set, winning 25-16.

With their first playoff game against 31st seed Bayard Rustin Educational Complex in the books after just two sets, it seemed like the Vixens were well on their way to a successful post-season, but a closer look indicated otherwise. Missed covers and receives and countless net balls riddled the game, and for a second seed team, this was beyond disappointing.

Too often, a server from Bayard would cost the Vixens more than a few points before they were able to return the serve.

“We definitely didn’t meet our standards for how we should have played. Instead of playing like a two seed, we stooped down to the other team’s level,” junior Alexandra Archer said.

Playing down is difficult to address because it has more to do with the mental and emotional states of the players than their physical capabilities. However, the Vixens didn’t give up and tried to soothe their nerves.

“We’ve made some new cheers that help us laugh a little and move past any mistake,” Archer said. “We need to focus all the extra energy our body is giving us into the game.”

Despite their best efforts, however, the momentum the Vixens had gained during the season didn’t transfer into the playoffs. The game against Bayard foreshadowed the subsequent loss that would end the Vixens’ shot at advancing in playoffs. In a disappointing turn of events, the Vixens lost two sets to one against the 15th seed Florence LaGuardia High School Athletics in the secondround playoff game. “I don’t want them to feel like it’s their fault. I admire the effort they put into this season and into the game,” coach Vasken Choubaralian said.

The Vixens had entered the A division playoffs as an impressive second seed in a pool of 31 teams, and though they didn’t

advance as far as they’d hoped, it was a season to be proud of.

With the exception of a tough outing away against a formidable Seward Park Campus, the team had a successful regular season, winning every other match, including its rematch against Seward Park, most in just two sets. They finished atop the Manhattan A South/East division with an 11-1 record.

Seward Park and Lab Museum United finished close behind with 10-2 and 9-3 records, respectively.

In addition to their success as a team, many of the starters were forces to be reckoned with statistically. Archer led the division with a whopping 16 blocks in the regular season, 6 more than the runner-up. Guo, senior

Shirley Liu, and senior Kristina Kim also placed prominently at fifth with 57 kills, third with 85 assists, and fourth with 45 digs, respectively. As the setter and the libero of the team, Liu and Kim played integral roles in the Vixens’ scheme all season long.

However, the prospects for next season are both thrilling and worrisome: the starting lineup was comprised mainly of seniors, and the team will be losing seven in total. The Vixens will need players to step up if they want a shot at remaining at the level they currently are. “The future looks bright, but this moment sucks. The rest of the team is eager to fill up the spots, to get on the court and play, and they’re ready for it,” Choubaralian said.

Boys’ Bowling

Spartans Bid Farewell to A Successful Season

By MAX MAH The Spartans, Stuyvesant’s boys’ bowling team, went into the season with high expectations. They lived up to them during the regular season, sweeping all 12 of their division games and making it to the playoffs as a 19th overall seed

by PSAL, the highest they have ever been.

The Spartans have constantly risen higher in the ranks, going further into the playoffs compared to previous years.

Last year, they were ranked 31st, but lost to Tottenville High School from Staten Island. This year, they had an easier path to the playoffs with their 19th seed. However, they got a bye in the first round of the playoffs. Ultimately, the Spartans’ season culminated in a do-ordie game against Fort Hamilton High School during the second round of the playoffs on November 8, 2017.

From the get-go, the Spartans were thrown off by the lane conditions. The A team players, many of whom have big hook shots, found their hooks difficult to control; the ball curved too early and did not hit the pocket because there was not enough grease applied to the lane before the game.The A team lost 539-586.

However, the B team helped the Spartans bounce back, win-

ning 549-519. Junior LinPeng Chen and senior Jihui Xue led the effort, bowling 145 and 158, respectively. Since their styles are more conventional (straighter throws), they were less affected by the lane conditions. It all came down to the C team, in which Coach Di Wu stacked his four seniors. “It was already pre-determined. We were going to go down with our senior players,” Wu said. Fort Hamilton got an early lead, as their first two players bested senior and co-captain James Lee and Xue. “I wasn’t used to the lane when we played the C game. I did badly during the first five frames and just got discouraged,” Xue said.

Fort Hamilton’s Sebastian Bekkaoui then bowled an incredible 203, greatly extending their lead . Though put in a tough spot, senior Wesley Chen delivered and came extremely close to match with a 191. Senior Yong Fei Zheng then won his match, but unfortunately, his score was not high enough to boost the Spartans for the win. In a suspenseful nail-biter, the Spartans lost 594-626.

“Losing in the second round was quite the tragedy,” Lee said.

The C team made a true comeback possible, but came short by 32 pins. As a coach, Wu was very proud to see his team really get into the game and battle to the very end. The players kept their

mentalities strong and were able to adjust to the lane conditions. Wesley Chen, for example, switched from his custom ball to the bowling alley’s plastic one and tweaked the style on his hook. As a result, he bowled a 191 in the C game compared to his 139 in the A game.

Leading up to the playoffs, the Spartans’ season had been filled with ups and downs.

They faced the High School of Art and Design on October 12, 2017. Though the A and B teams won their respective matches and clinched the game (best of three), they won with relatively low pin count totals. Neither the A nor B team broke a 500 total, bowling a 473 and 439, respectively. The Spartans demolished Beacon High School on October 17, 2017; Lee led things off by bowling a 175, and the rest of the A team followed. They won by an impressive total of 601459, and the B team delivered as well, winning 501 - 390.

However, the Spartans took a dip during a two-game series against the High School of Fashion Industries on October 18 and 19, 2017. A team with many inexperienced players, Fashion Industries did not provide much competition for the Spartans; no player bowled above 100 in either game. The Spartans won, but the majority of the players bowled in the low 100’s, resulting in totals in the

ADVERTISEMENTS

low 500’s rather than their usual mid/high 500 totals in the absence of contest. The Spartans’ pin count took a hit and slid in the rankings as a result. “They kind of blur it out when there is no competition. They get stronger when their opponents are stronger,” Wu said. This was a primary example of the Spartans bowling below their full capability despite winning every game. Another difficulty for the Spartans was their composure, which further affected their performances. “Their [players’] mental games got the best of them; my captains hit a wall and lost their confidence,” Wu said. “[When] many players miss a throw or leave a pin, their immediate reaction often carries through to their following throw.”

As a coach, it was been crucial for Wu to keep his team both focused and relaxed during game situations. No matter how much the team struggled, the Spartans were always on the same page regarding their playoff aspirations. However, these expectations set by themselves and Wu have added pressure, affecting their play. “It’s been a tougher-than-expected road,” Wu said. “Our team’s biggest issue was that we were inconsistent.”

Despite the inconsistencies and the early playoff exit, the Spartans still have a lot to look

forward to for next year. Over the winter off-season, they will continue to stay sharp during their weekly practices at Whitestone Lanes in Queens. While bowling, the same emphasis will be placed on players closing their frames by picking up spares despite the number of pins left after the first throw.

Wu will also work to make his players’ hooks more controllable so that they can make ingame adjustments and not get thrown off. While the Spartans have yet to build a solid B team with their newer players, they will definitely have a competitive core group for their A team to replace this year’s seniors. Junior LinPeng Chen, sophomore Samuel Fang, and freshman Eric (Jin Won) Kim will carry the torch.

Wu will say goodbye to the players he has brought up in his four-year coaching career. Xue, Lee, and Zheng have shown heart and dedication to their sport, inspired their teammates, and led the Spartans farther and farther each year. The Spartans have brought a new element to bowling; the captains have become passionate about their game, approaching it with a new level of seriousness and not just as a recreational sport.

Their influence and motivation will hopefully continue to guide the Spartans into next year.

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 19

Sports Girls’ Golf

Sports Editorial

The True Underdog Success of The Astros continued from page 16 20 Both homegrown players, Springer and Altuve have developed together over the past six years and contributed heavily to the team’s success.

The Astros’ homegrown talent extends beyond their hitting core. Over the past season, they have accumulated new pitchers while also transforming some of their weakers arms into stronger weapons.

One of the breakout pitchers this postseason was Charlie Morton. Prior to this year, he had been one of the weaker starters on a challenged Pittsburgh Pirates team. Not much was expected of him coming into this year; he had only one season with a winning record before. However, he defied expectations and delivered a strong 14-7 record, as well as commanding appearances in the World Series, most notably in Game 7. Dallas Keuchel, another homegrown player, was one of the strongest pitchers in the league over the course of the regular season. In the

playoffs he struggled with consistency, providing some dominant performances in the ALCS and then some mediocre starts in the World Series.

But the most dominant pitcher in the entire postseason was Justin Verlander, a lastminute signing before the trade deadline. He struggled to regain his old dominance during the first part of the season. However, after he signed with the Astros, he delivered five wins on the mound without dropping a game. His performance in the postseason was even more impressive, shutting down the Dodgers, despite one loss. His signing in the fall rounded out one of the strongest pitching staffs in the AL. This year’s success showed that an underdog team, even without a massive budget to spend, can become a champion in just a couple years. This season could blow away some teams’ notion that strict discipline is the only way to win, a principle many baseball fans have struggled with over the past few years.

Birdies’ Undefeated Season Ends

By MICHAEL GILLOW The Birdies, Stuyvesant’s girls’ golf team, started their semifinals match against Tottenville fiercely as senior and first starter Catherine Joh defeated her opponent in the first hole. The team hoped to build

cessful season. We won our first 10 games, made it to semifinals, played very well in semifinals, but lost to Tottenville. I was pretty happy because we showed we could play,” Coach Emilio Nieves said.

The team certainly did just that, finishing the regular sea-

a team [next season] equally as competitive as this year’s,” Yee said.

Two players who hope to fill those spots are junior Jessica Park and sophomore Kristie Chu. “I want to play in more matches and dedicate myself to golf more, since this is the team

“The harder they work to step up, the more successful we’ll be next year” —Emilio Nieves, coach momentum from this exhilarating victory. However, Joh lost the match by a final score of four up.

The remaining four starters were unable to get a rally going, bringing the Birdies’ season to an end at the hands of powerhouse Tottenville, 5-0. “Certainly, we were slightly disappointed we didn’t advance to the finals, but to even get to play against Tottenville is an achievement in and of itself,” sophomore and second starter Charlotte Yee said.

Overall, however, the Birdies have no reason to be disappointed. “It was a pretty suc-

son on top of the Brooklyn division for the fourth season in a row with an undefeated record of 9-0. In fact, the last time the Birdies lost a match in the regular season was the 2014-15 season, in which they finished with a record of 8-1.

The Birdies, however, have not been able to advance past the semifinals in the last four years, an obstacle they hope to overcome next season. This will be a tough task for a team that is losing its first and third starters, seniors Joh and Lucy Liu after this year. “We want to field

I’ve been on since the end of my freshman year,” Park said. Chu expressed her determination as well: “Ideally, I would want for the team to be first in the city,” she said. Chu is not alone, as the team has high hopes for next season, and an appearance in the finals is certainly not out of reach.

“We have three out of five starters, so we should still have a good team. But that just gives the subs an opportunity to step up. The harder they work to step up, the more successful we’ll be next year,” Nieves said.

Boys’ Cross Country

Greyducks’ Season Cut Short at City Championships

By NOAH GRENERT It was a chilly day at Van Cortlandt Park on Saturday, November 11, the day of the PSAL Cross Country City Championships. Goosebumps covered the bodies of the runners and the air they breathed turned white behind them as they ran towards the finish line. Stuyvesant’s boys’ varsity cross country team, the Greyducks, fell short of qualifying for the New York State Federation Meet. The loss brought an untimely end to what had been a promising season for the Greyducks, leaving some members disappointed but others proud of their accomplishments.

Heading into the City Championships, the Greyducks were the underdogs once again, previously having been projected to lose to the High School for Math, Science, and Engineering in the Manhattan Borough Championships on Saturday, November 4. “We were expected to be ninth in the city based on

our previous performances,” senior and co-captain Minhein Htet said. Only the top four teams in the City Championships qualify for the Federation Meet. In addition, the top 12 athletes not part of the four qualifying teams are eligible to run in the Federation Meet.

In the varsity five-kilometer race, sophomore Baird Johnson placed 21st with a time of 17:40.09, and senior Clive Johnston finished 29th with a time of 17:55.34. “Clive Johnston and Caleb Hoo ran tremendous races, both setting personal bests by a good margin. Baird Johnson also ran his fastest time of the season as well by about 35 seconds,” coach Carl DiSarno said. Hoo ran about 15 seconds faster than he had in the Borough Championships, and Johnston ran nearly 50 seconds faster than he had in those championships. However, these performances were not enough to qualify, as the Greyducks earned sixth place, just outside of the top four. Johnson and

Johnston both qualified individually for the Federation Meet but both declined to compete for personal reasons.

Disarno’s strategy for the Greyducks was to get off to a good start and not fall behind early. “We needed to get out well and the seniors needed to run as a group,” he said. Moreover, if the seniors ran as a group, they would be able to block off runners from other teams trying to pass them. The Greyducks also needed one of the projected top four teams (Susan Wagner High School, Brooklyn Technical High School, The Bronx High School of Science, and Midwood High School) to slip up, but the team’s game plan failed as the above schools placed first, second, third, and fourth, respectively.

“We don’t have guys fast enough to beat the top guys of Midwood, but we were confident that all of our guys [could] beat their fourth man. Unfortunately, their fourth man ran exceptionally well and we were unable to make a gap big enough

for us to beat Midwood. In addition, HSMSE also managed to place a few guys between our guys,” Htet said.

In the Borough Championships, Htet, Johnston, and Sit placed sixth, seventh, and eighth, respectively. In the City Championships, 17 runners finished in between Johnston and Htet, and 21 runners finished in between Htet and Sit. Consequently, Stuyvesant finished behind HSMSE, who they had beaten just two weeks earlier at the Borough Championships.

In the junior varsity race, Stuyvesant placed eighth, with the final four qualifying teams being Brooklyn Technical High School, the Bronx High School of Science, the High School of American Studies, and Staten Island Technical High School, in that order.

Many Greyducks felt as if the team could have run better. “I’m not gonna mince my words.

With the exception of a couple of guys who ran excellently, we all messed up big time,” Htet

said. He also believed that the weather was an obstacle. “A bad race can happen to anyone and it just happened to hit some of our guys at a bad time,” he said.

Sit took a more positive approach than either Htet or Disarno to the loss. “I’m actually pretty satisfied with how the team performed. I choked up, but the rest of the team stepped up big. We mostly hit the times that we planned, but the rest of the competition also did much better,” he said.

Seniors Htet and Sit reflected on their final cross country season with the Greyducks. “I had fun this year. I have no regrets about joining this team. This sport and this team have become part of who I am. It’s sad to think about how I’m going to have to leave soon,” Htet said.

“It’s a shame that the season’s over so quickly, but I know that every member was committed to the team from start to finish. Whether it was raining or freezing, they went to practice,” Sit said.

Girls’ Cross Country

Greyducks Return To State Championships

By YUKAI LIU Tired and exhausted, the Greyducks, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity cross country team, waited nervously for their results as the race came to an end. Fresh off of winning the Borough Championships, the Greyducks looked to replicate that success in the much tougher City Championships on November 11 at Van Cortlandt Park. Going into the competition, the team knew it was going to be a bigger challenge than the Borough Championships but was driven to make it to the State Federa-

tion meet for the second year in a row. There were 198 and 154 participants in the junior varsity race and varsity race, respectively, from schools all over New York City, and all of them were ready to compete.

The top four teams in the varsity race would automatically qualify for State’s. As the results were announced, there were shouts of joy: the Greyducks had finished third, behind Brooklyn Technical High School and Susan Wagner High School, securing their spot at the State competition.

In the junior varsity race,

sophomore Ester Suleymanov finished in ninth place with a time of 24:06:45. She was followed by senior Connie Lei (24:49:41) in 27th, sophomore Ling Chen (24:59:99) in 32nd, and junior Bernice Chen (25:39:18) in 49th place. Coach Rachel Beck noted that many new personal bests for the girls on the team were recorded at the City Championships.

Throughout the season, junior Clara Mohri and freshman Julianne Yotov had been leading the varsity team. This time, it was no different. Mohri finished at seventh (20:19:93) while Yo-

tov finished seconds behind at ninth (20:24:28). They were followed by sophomore Elizabeth Reizis at 35th (22:03:97), freshman Agatha Edwards at 55th (22:52:91), junior Tiffany Zhong at 72nd (23:24:16), freshman Jessica Kwok at 90th (23:49:67), and junior Vivian Cribb at 97th (24:07:50). “We have been training very hard this season, so it’s great that all our work is paying off,” Yotov said.

“Although we suffered some injuries throughout the season, we were able to persevere and place third overall in the city,” Zhong said.

As the cross country season comes to a close, Coach Beck looks back on the season with great pride. “The lady Greyducks have had a very successful season. Both Coach [Laurie] Burke and I are extremely proud of all the girls on the team who showed up each week to run with heart and grit,” Coach Beck said. “We saw so many PR’s [personal records] over the course of the season. Our top seven girls will round out the season by heading upstate this weekend for the second year in a row to compete in the state meet! Stay tuned.”

The Spectator ● December 1, 2017

Page 20

THE SPECTATOR SPORTS Girls’ Swimming

Penguins Capture PSAL Championship

By ARIEL GLAZMAN

Courtesy of Derek Tran

Freshman Stella Oh dives off her starting block, being the last swimmer in her 200-yard freestyle medley group. The competitors before her have given her a slight lead, and she is halfway across the 25-yard long pool when the last swimmer from the Brooklyn Technical High School medley group springs into the water. Oh darts through the water and maintains her lead over the rival swimmer for 150 yards. On the last lap, Oh begins to slow down and the opposing swimmer hastens her pace.

However, Oh out-touches the opposing swimmer by less than 0.4 seconds, giving Stuyvesant’s girls’ swimming team, the Penguins, a huge boost of six points to their total score. The Penguins ultimately triumph over the Brooklyn Technical High School Engineers by a significant margin of 59-42 in the championship meet.

The Penguins were once again dominant in the Bronx/Manhattan League, finishing the regular season as the top team in the league with a 10-0 record. Additionally, they enjoyed victories against rivals such as Hunter College High School and Bronx Science High School by large margins of 58-41 and 63-39, respectively.

The team had a new coach this year: physical education teacher Silvana Choy taking over the role of former head coach Peter Bologna as a result of his new position as Athletic Director.

The Penguins truly believe that Coach Choy has been excellent and has played a major part in their success. “[Coach Choy] defi-

nitely benefitted the team a lot by making every practice truly count and was even willing to come in on Saturdays just so that we could get a few more practices in [...] The season has been really great with her, and while I’m sure that the returning girls miss Coach Bologna, we’ve all opened up to Coach Choy and she’s truly become part of the team,” senior and co-captain Luola Chen said.

Choy was quickly accepted by the swimmers and led the team to yet another undefeated regular season and championship. She attributes much of her success to how the captains helped her transition into her role as coach by instilling discipline into the younger swimmers and making sure they improve with every opportunity.

“They organize drylands and lead lanes in practice on a daily basis [and] are solid leaders,” Choy said.

The other major obstacle the Penguins faced was the fact that there were only five seniors on the team. The results have been quite different, however, with many of the underclassmen on the team emerging as the Penguins’ top swimmers. Sophomore Emma Lee, who was voted MVP of the team as a freshman, played a crucial part in the team’s success.

Lee finished first in every race she competed in this year, often lapping opponents. In the championship meet against Brooklyn Technical High School on Tuesday, November 7, Lee performed exceptionally well, finishing first in every event she participated in. This included two individual events (the 50 and 100-yard freestyle) as well as the 200-yard free-

style medley where she had the fastest time in her group. Another rising star was sophomore Arielle Aney who took home first or second place in every event she swam in this year. Aney also performed outstandingly against Brooklyn Technical High School, finishing first in the 200-yard freestyle and having the fastest time in her 400yard freestyle medley group.

With many dominant underclassmen swimmers on the team, the Penguins once again had their eyes set on a championship run.

Last year, the Penguins advanced to the championship round with a strong victory over Townsend Harris but fell short against Brooklyn

Girls’ Bowling

Technical High School in the final meet. This year, they once again had a strong showing against Townsend Harris, winning 58-42, and got payback for last year’s loss with a decisive victory over Brooklyn Tech. “It felt great getting such a huge victory over [Brooklyn Technical High School]. We were coming off of an undefeated season last year, so the loss in the championship was really devastating to us. The way we bounced back this year, with a new coach and everything, was amazing, and I have no doubt that we’re capable of another championship next year as well,” junior Sasha Spajic said. This need for retribution

against Brooklyn Technical High School almost seemed to drive the Penguins to have such dominant performances throughout the year and ultimately capture the title.

With a returning core of outstanding swimmers as well as an effective coach, there is little reason to believe that the Penguins aren’t capable of defending their championship.“My goals for the team are for the girls to improve their stroke technique and their times. It’s not about the results, it’s about the process. If we continue to improve, the results will take care of themselves,” Coach Choy said.

Sports Editorial

Kevin Li/ The Spectator

Pinheads Finish Proud

By JEREMY RUBIN After defeating Richmond Hill High School in the second round of the playoffs, Stuyvesant’s girls’ bowling team, the Pinheads, faced off against the High School of Telecommunication Arts and Technology (Telecomm). However, the game got off to a rough start for the Pinheads. “We called a timeout after the sixth frame. There wasn’t much time left in the game and both our A and B teams were down by a lot of pins. At that point, it was time for us to stop worrying about the other team and just do the best we [could],” senior and co-captain Sonal Parab said.

Her attitude re-energized the team, but it was too little too late for a comeback. Despite demolishing their opponent in game C with a score of 502-378, games A and B both ended in defeats for the Pinheads, effectively ending their season.

“The thought of losing was already looming over our heads and the tension was palpable,” senior and co-captain Emily Lee said. “One of our flaws was probably underestimating our opponents.” During the first two games, each Telecomm player bowled in triple digits and never allowed the Pinheads to climb back into the game. Parab did her best to bring her team back by bowling a 142 in game A and 150 in game C, but the team as a whole was unable to keep pace with Telecomm, losing game A with a score of 586-458 and game B with a score of 435406.

Despite the difficult loss, the Pinheads had a largely successful season. The team finished their regular season with a 12-0 record in the Manhattan II division and entered the playoffs as the seventh seed (out of 40). They also had many impressive individual accomplishments, with Parab, se-

nior Valerie Ng, and Lee finishing second through fourth in average pins per game in their division, with 148.36, 139.71, and 131.07, respectively.

One of the main reasons for the team’s regular season success was its chemistry and ability to remain upbeat. “My players constantly communicate with each other in practices and games and listen to one another to improve their skills. They offer each other support,” Coach Manuel Simon said. “We will always have each other’s backs,” Lee said. Daily practices and months worth of events created close-knit bonds that continue to the end of the season.

Next year will be a trying one for the Pinheads, since the team is losing five key seniors, all of whom averaged more than 117 pins per game and collectively made up three-quarters of the game A quartet and game C’s entire team in the Telecomm match. Furthermore, their unquantifiable leadership will especially be missed. “I also have great and efficient captains in Sonal Parab, Emily Lee, and Valerie Ng, who have exemplified great leadership skills since the beginning of the season,” Simon said. Junior Sylvia Li will be one of the players expected to take a larger role on the team, already bowling with the game A team this year and dominating to the tune of 121.5 pins per game, despite some playoff struggles (86.67 pins per game).

Though the Pinheads’ season ended a game or two before they would have liked, they kept their heads up in the end. “After the game, it was clear that the team had fun. Even though we lost, there were smiles all around,” Parab said. “We’ve had a good season and I’m proud to say that we were able to end off on a happy note.”

The True Underdog Success of The Astros

By JARED ASCH

In the bottom of the ninth inning with an empty count, Corey Seager hit a weak ground ball to second base. It was fitting that the final play of the World Series was made by none other than Jose Altuve, the American League (AL) MVP who led the Astros from an extremely disappointing season to a championship one.

Though it is tempting to see Altuve as the driving force behind this success, it is actually because of a cultivation of five years worth of important actions. In 2013, the Astros set a franchise record for the most losses in a single season, finishing with a 51-111 record. Following that, they began to build one of the strongest and deepest teams over the past year, even without the massive budget of some of their top competitors.

Altuve wasn’t the only major contributor to the team’s pennant win this year, but he was critical to the their success. Picked up as an amateur in 2007, he made his major league debut in 2011. Since then, he has turned heads for his short stature and strong play. His last two seasons have been breakout years, marking a new segment in his career. Last season, he led the league in hits and the AL in batting average, finishing in third for the AL MVP award.

This year, he followed up on last years stats, topping the league in

batting average and leading the AL in hits. As captain, he brings a style of play that promotes a much more relaxed and enjoyable style of baseball, rallying many fans behind the Astros this season.

The story of the Astros’ postseason success would also be incomplete without crediting George Springer. A leadoff hitter for most of the season, he was one of the Astros’ best at the plate, but didn’t reach his peak until the postseason. He hit six home runs in the postseason, three of them coming in the World Series. His power and reliability during the World Series were unprecedented, and he led the Astros with a .379 batting average and a 1.000 slugging percentage, stats strong enough to earn him the MVP for the World Series.

Springer’s success comes after three years of relatively mediocre performances since his debut in 2014. He was drafted in 2011 and was certainly not expected by the Astros to be one of their stars. Entering the MLB with a speech impediment, he spoke often about his low confidence at the beginning of his career. But he’s been able to push through his personal issues and even raise awareness. On top of this, he led the Astros to success in the World Series with numerous leadoff home runs. continued on page 15 19