Volume 110, Issue 8

The Spectator

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

FEATURES

OPINIONS

Ok Boomer

What’s Your Sign?

Features editor Clara Shapiro investigates the role that astrology plays in students’ lives.

Opinions writer Claire Shin explains why we should consign the seemingly ubiquitous phrase to the past. see page 10

see page 6

Volume 110 No. 8

NEWSBEAT Junior Meera Dasgupta is the New York City Youth Poet Laureate for 2020 and was a finalist for National Youth Poet Laureate.

The chess team competed in the national championships in Orlando, with the junior team placing second in the 11th grade division, the sophomore team placing fifth in the 10th grade division, and the freshman team placing second in the ninth grade division.

stuyspec.com

New Updates to the SING! Charter

By STEPHY CHEN, LUCY BAO, ALICE ZHU, MOMOCA MAIRAJ, IAN LAU In December, the Stuyvesant Student Union (SU) announced the annual updates to the SING! charter. These new changes include having a new Thursday show, having Soph-Frosh close a show, allowing all the coordinators to work together to develop a SING! calendar, and opening more inventory items to all grades.

The updates to the charter were proposed in a meeting after SING! finished last spring that included the SU President and Vice President, cabinet members, SING! coordinators, and Coordinator of Student Affairs

(COSA) Matt Polazzo. “The SING! charter is a separate document which officially governs SING! by establishing guidelines for how we judge [and] pick judges, [...] coordinators, and producers.

It allows the SU to be involved and give the coordinators their own rules,” senior and SU President Vishwaa Sofat said.

“We update it at the end of each year based on the input of each year’s coordinators.

The coordinators talk to their Slates to see what could’ve been done differently, and the SU President and Vice President also have certain changes they would like [to make].”

Junior SING! Coordinator Liam Kronman stated that most changes fall under two categories: preventive and re-

active measures. Preventive measures include preemptive changes to prevent an event from possibly happening, while reactive measures include the changes that prevent events from happening again. “[One of the preventive measures] includes the 10-point deduction if a grade uses a song that was in a SING! performance within the last two years. The updated charter formalized this, while before it was just recommended,” Kronman said. “[An example of a reactive measure is the decision that] any element that enhances the quality of the production is now usable in the shows of any

of the three grades [with the exception of the Senior SING! band sign, as it won’t provide a scoring advantage]. Specifically last year, the Soph-Frosh lights and sound crew figured out how to use gobos, [a type of special effect previously reserved for seniors]. They didn’t know about the tradition that only seniors were able to use them. By the time [the SophFrosh Slate] ordered their own gobos, the seniors had found out. There was some conflict, and in response, we are updating the charter to address the disparity.” continued on page 2 Coco Fang/ The Spectator

ASPIRA and the Black Students League hosted Olympic fencer Nzingha Prescod (’10).

January 17, 2020

Participatory Budgeting

By SUBYETA CHOWDHURY, EVELYN MA, ZIJIA (JESS) ZHANG The NYC Department of Education (DOE) has recently kickstarted a Civics For All: Participatory Budgeting project. According to the 2019-2020 Civics For All guidebook, participating schools, including Stuyvesant, will receive “$2,000 to fund a project proposed, researched, and promoted by students that will improve the students’ quality of life at school.”

After Assistant Principal of Social Studies Jennifer Suri received an e-mail asking if there were any teachers interested in participating in the program, social studies teacher Ellen Siegel applied.

She received the grant on behalf of Stuyvesant, and her two sections of Advanced Placement (AP) U.S. Government Integrated with Economics began working on various project proposals. “I thought it was an interesting idea [...] [and that] it would be a really great way to engage students in the political process,” Siegel said.

Senior Jackie Lin agrees with this sentiment. Lin believes that the implementation of participatory budgeting in schools is a “fantastic idea” that allows students to voice their opinions and become more involved within the school community. “Students definitely have their own ideas as to how the school can be improved, and this [is] a perfect outlet for that,” she said in an e-mail interview.

Junior Alp Doymaz also found the application of participatory budgeting to be empowering, as it gives students direct control of their own affairs. “A program like this will help people make [policies] and proposals that more directly satisfy their needs,” he said in an e-mail interview.

He also found that the project gave him new insight on the nuances behind polling and gauging public opinion. “We learned how the order of questions on a poll could have an enormous impact on responses and how to weed out assumptions from our questions to eliminate bias,” Doymaz said.

One challenge students faced while working on the project was finding a balance between their goals for the school and the limited budget. “One thing I [wished] could be expanded was the amount of money we had to work with. A lot of the pos

student government does.

It has also made me do quite a bit of self-reflection [...] [on what] I want to see implemented in the school.”

Lin also stated that because the project proposals were written in a group setting, she found their

held on January 14, with the goal of informing the student body of the various projects the students in her AP U.S. Government class had proposed. These included hand-sanitizer stations, charging stations with locked cabinets, charging stations

“I hope that they see that they can actually have an impact on their community, because, after all, in a government class, we want people to feel that participation makes a difference.”— Ellen Siegel, social studies teacher sible ideas my group brainstormed got shot down mainly because there was no possible way to fund our proposal with the money we were designated, so a larger amount of money would open up more possibilities for budget proposals,” senior Wesley Wong said.

However, students found the project to be a unique learning experience. “I would say that this experience has been very worthwhile,” Lin said. “[It] has given me new appreciation for what the

final ideas to be substantive. “Working with other students is vital to a project like this,” she said. “Other members can pick out flaws you didn’t catch.”

Doymaz had a similar outlook. He shared that through communicating with his classmates, they were able to touch upon diverse ideas and refine them based on peer review. “I really appreciated being able to work in groups,” he said.

Siegel also organized a Participatory Budgeting fair,

with password-protected docks, water-filling stations, an extra Cloud printer, and an extra printing station.

The projects were approved by the School Leadership Team and were presented on poster boards. Voting to determine which project will be funded will take place on January 17 in the first-floor lobby, as well as through an online voting forum. continued on page 4

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The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

News New Updates to the SING! Charter continued from page 1

All coordinators will now create the SING! calendar together.

The first major change to the SING! charter is the inclusion of all coordinators in the process of creating the SING! calendar. The SING! calendar includes an outline of where and when practices will be held, providing the administration with a logistical idea of what each grade is working on. In previous years, the Junior SING! coordinator from the previous year would plan the calendar before the next SING! season began, working with the COSA. However, Polazzo addresses this misconception, stating that any of the coordinators could have met with him to speak about the calendar; the junior coordinator was just always the first one to take the initiative.

“Anyone who wanted to could have worked with me. [...] We always had to come up with a calendar, and traditionally, whoever was the junior coordinator would come up to me and say ‘I’ve got a calendar,’ and I would say ‘Okay that’s fine.’ It could have been anybody. It could have been any student from the student body, but the junior coordinator was typically the most aware,” Polazzo said.

Now, however, all the coordinators will work together to develop an appropriate calendar. In order to give coordinators enough time to manage this new responsibility, coordinator applications were released during late November rather than during the middle of December, as was the case in previous years.

Sofat is supportive of this change, believing that having all of the coordinators work on the calendar will provide a fair chance for any students interested in running for coordinator. “I’ve always felt that if you give someone the chance to create the calendar for the next year, it implies that they’ve already gotten a position and that they know more about that year’s logistics than someone else who might want to compete against them,” he said. “To preserve the legitimacy of this process, we decided this year that we would release the applications earlier and that all coordinators this year will be involved in creating a calendar with the COSA, giving them all a chance to work and learn. When one coordinator works on it, there is a certain level of bias that comes with giving your SING! an upper hand, which I’ve seen in the past.”

While there were initial worries, this change did not affect the cooperation between the coordinators. “It’s mostly been smooth sailing. We made it so that [in] the last week of the show, each SING! gets a chance to be in the theater at least once. We are also trying to split up the amount of time on each floor,” sophmore and SophFrosh SING! Coordinator Alec Shafran said.

A new, judged Thursday show will replace the Wednesday New Haven performance.

Another change involves the days on which SING! shows will be performed. Previously, SING! performances were on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Shows will now take place on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. “In the past, we have had a Wednesday show, which served more like a formal dress rehearsal before the Friday and Saturday shows, which were judged,” Sofat said. “With this change, another goal here is to welcome back alums and other students’ families who have not been, in the past, able to see the show or have seen a show that [was] not as good quality as the other two nights [...]. If this year we are able to do three judged competitions, making each competition equally legitimate, we’ll be able to bring in more people.”

With this change in show dates, Soph-Frosh SING! will have the chance to close the Thursday performance, an opportunity previously reserved for only Junior and Senior SING!. “Historically, if you close a show, you have the upper hand because [...] you can see [...] the competition and add last-minute jokes to your script and such.

We wanted to give Soph-Frosh the same chance that Junior and Senior SING! have had in the past. This year on Thursday, they will have an opportunity to close the show, giving them a more level playing field,” Sofat said.

However, Shafran is concerned about the change as Thursday will be a judged performance instead of a regular rehearsal day. “It will put strain on the songwriters and scriptwriters because, in that one day, the day between the New Haven show [the Wednesday show] and Friday show, we usually do script changes if, for example, some jokes didn’t land or some lyrics didn’t go across as well,” Shafran said.

Despite this, Shafran also believes that having Wednesday as an extra day of rehearsal will be beneficial. “On the other hand, with so many full rehearsals in a row, I think it will be good to practice to get a feel of how the Thursday show is going to work out,” he said.

With the addition of a Thursday performance, the SU will have to implement a couple of minor changes. “We will need more judges—you know, 30 instead of 20.

It might be tricky with supervision [and] the schedules will change a little bit, but aside from that, I don’t think it’s going to be too much of a problem to implement logistically. If it really goes wrong and it doesn’t work, we can always go back to the old format next year,” Polazzo said.

A new auditing system will track SING! inventory and materials.

Additionally, the updated charter includes the implementation of an auditing system to track all inventory and materials used for SING!, an idea suggested by senior and former Junior SING! Coordinator Debi Saha. “Having been a part of SING! for the last few years, you quickly realize that [the] keyboards you bought last year have somehow disappeared, or no one knows where that drum set is from sophomore year. This happened with our sewing machines too; certain small parts were going missing, and we had to get [the] SU to buy parts for the sewing machines for all grades. It serves no one to continue to purchase sewing machine parts and instruments every year. It’s an extra hassle, extra time, and extra money out of your [SING!] and SU’s budget,” Saha said.

Kronman agrees, explaining that the new auditing system will require all the coordinators to keep track of the inventory. “Every coordinator and producer has to keep track of what has been used in the previous years and what is being used this year, so we don’t have to rebuy the things we’re going to have to use next year,” Kronman said. “We will have to check the keyboards that we have and the materials from the art, tech, and costume crews in order to assess what we can preserve and divvy these up between grades, saving money from our budget.”

While the new auditing system might give the coordinators more responsibilities to manage, Saha believes that it will be beneficial for the organization of future SING!s. “I think it makes [the coordinators] more responsible [...]. At the end of the day, we only serve to make SING! better for future generations, and I think this is one of the best ways to do it,” she said.

Other minor updates.

The SU, Polazzo, and the coordinators also formalized that: Applications for positions that don’t require an interview must now be blind.

If choreography is found to be plagiarized from the Stuy Squad performances from that year, an appropriate number of points will be deducted based on the coordinators’ discretion.

While in previous years 80 percent to 85 percent of costumes had to be original or embellished, the coordinators only recommend such requirements now.

Members of SING! are now also able to use materials from the Stuyvesant Theatre Company (STC) with permission from STC’s Slate. This change excludes the use of sewing machines and keyboards.

The SU was able to adopt such changes mainly due to how fluidly last year’s SING! ran. “We had our incident where the stage collapsed [in 2018], and when you have those issues and complications, the priority is to fix them and resolve them before changing and adding something new. Now, with last year being far smoother than the year before, we are at a point in which we are willing to take this next big step [and introduce large-scale changes to SING!],” Sofat said.

The SU, along with the coordinators and COSA, still have certain logistics to work out.

This includes whether Wednesday will be a dress rehearsal for all grades, how many run-

throughs there will be the week before the shows, and whether Senior SING! will be able to use the auditorium on Wednesday, as they previously used the auditorium on Thursday after the Wednesday show. “Those decisions are critical, and being able to make this fair for all grades and opening it up is kind of the idea. We focus on accessibility, awareness, and inclusivity, and this is an effort to make SING! more inclusive and accessible for both people who participate and people who would like to watch the amazing shows that a STEM school puts on,” Sofat said. “We might not be known for our arts, but when you look at the stage, we’re

mighty talented in every way.”

Despite the lack of changes to SING! in the past, the SU is determined to implement more changes to create a more inclusive environment. “The SU in the past has struggled with accessibility and inclusion at times, and it’s important for us to acknowledge that,” Sofat said. “However, I would like to believe that in the last two years, we have made steps toward it.

Whether it is enforcing blind applications for all positions that are appointed or giving SophFrosh SING! a chance to close, the idea is to make processes as fair as possible and [be] cognizant of the fact that if we are not currently, we must eventually.”

The Spectator â—? January 17, 2020

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The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Features Into the Unknown: From Private to Public School

By RACHEL VILDMAN and AMANDA BRUCCULERI

The transition from middle school to high school is not easy for anyone, but it can be especially challenging when coming from a small private school. With most private schools having a graduating classes as small as a gym class at Stuyvesant, coming to a school with over three thousand students can be daunting. We spoke to five Stuyvesant students who transferred from private school, and this is what they had to say.

Camilla Green, senior After attending a private school for 11 years, senior Camilla Green made the decision to come to Stuyvesant, a school that couldn’t be more different than the school she previously attended. Green attended City and Country, a private school located in the West Village. “It’s small, and it’s known for being one of the first big progressive schools in NYC,” she described.

With a mere 29 kids in her graduating class, Green said, “I can still name all of them alphabetically, if you call on me to do so.” Coming from such a small school allowed Green to learn how to deal with social problems. “If you were in a fight with somebody, you couldn’t just ignore it, or ignore them, or be like ‘oh, we are not really friends anymore’ because you only had twenty-eight other options for friends,” she explained. Coming from a small school, Green was in shock when she came to Stuyvesant and saw 33 other students in her class and over three thousand students roaming the halls. “It was definitely super different being around a lot of people where you have to find people you like, and find people you’re going to be friends with, as opposed to kind of being born into your friends,” Green shared.

Class size wasn’t the only difference Green noticed. Back at City and Country, “there were no grades, like for anything,” Green said. Instead of using the standard grading system, “teachers would write really long evaluations about you and how you are doing, and you would either get progressing, progressing with support, or not progressing for a bunch of different standards,” Green recalled.

This system couldn’t be more different than the strict and straightforward number or letter grading system used by the Stuyvesant teachers.

Despite Stuyvesant being so different from City and Country, Green is happy with her spontaneous choice of coming to Stuyvesant. It wasn’t until the last minute that Green made the final decision to attend Stuyvesant. “My parents sent the deposit to one of the private schools because they thought I was going to go there,” Green recounted. “I was like, ‘No, I’m still choosing. I’m still choosing,’ and I was like, ‘You know what I’m going to go to Stuyvesant.’” Everyone was shocked by Green’s selection, but she doesn’t regret it one bit. Green said, “In the earlier years at Stuy[vesant], I thought about this a lot, and I wished I went to a private school, but at this point, no way.”

Alex Gattegno, senior Senior Alex Gattegno had attended the United International School (UNIS) since his first day of kindergarten, so it was a huge change when he decided to leave UNIS and come to Stuyvesant.

Though it was a tough decision, two major factors led to Gatteg-

no’s ultimate decision to switch schools: “First was the academic part. UNIS was not as academically rigorous as my parents hoped it would be, so they wanted me to go to a place that was harder,” Gattegno explained. “The other part was, when we started at UNIS, it was $26,000 a year, and by the time I left, it was like $40,000. It’s a big increase, and it was getting harder and harder to justify that.”

Gattegno’s parents had wanted him to attend a private school, since that was what his father had done. They chose to send Gattegno to UNIS because it was a private school that was different than most. With most of the students being children of high-level UN ambassadors, “[UNIS] was sort of this more diverse place than your traditional New York private school,” Gattegno said.

His parents also believed UNIS would offer him a more diverse academic background. UNIS had given Gattegno an overall, positive elementary and middle school experience. “The people there were nice; the staff was nice, and the teachers were great,” Gattegno recalled.

During Gattegno’s transition to Stuyvesant, a major difference he noticed was the class sizes. “[At UNIS] You know everyone in your grade. In Stuy[vesant], you get thrown into 850 kids per grade and 34 kids per class. That was a very big difference for me,” Gattegno shared. Back at UNIS, teachers used to know all their students, their stories, and their best way of learning. “At a smaller private school, the teachers have the time and capacity to do that,

Marie Check, sophomore It was the middle of the school year when sophomore Marie Check and her family relocated from Canada to New York City. With middle school applications already due, Check’s sister, a middle schooler at the time, would have had to attend one of the less desirable schools. Upon the advice of a coworker, Check’s father made the decision to send both Check and her sister to St. Ignatius Loyola School, a small Catholic school.

After spending four years at St. Ignatius Loyola, Check decided to start her high school career at Stuyvesant. The transfer to Stuyvesant would be drastic for her, as St. Ignatius Loyola was “a very close knit community.” Despite knowing it would be a rough transition, Check decided that it would be in her best interest to go to a public high school.

The main reason for Check’s transfer was the expense of private high school. Check believed that it would be more beneficial to save that money for college.

“I will probably thank myself later for choosing Stuy[vesant], because I saved myself $100,000 by not going to a private high school,” Check said.

One of the first major differences that Check noticed was Stuyvesant’s student body and how it affected her social life. At St. Ignatius Loyola, “you don’t switch classes every period because it’s such a small school.” This helped Check form friendships, as she was able to spend time with the same people everyday. In comparison, it took a lot more effort to make friends in Stuyvesant. “I

“In the earlier years at Stuy, I thought about this a lot and I wished I went to a private school, but at this point, no way.” —Camilla Green, senior

but at Stuy[vesant], that’s not true,” Gattegno said.

Only one other student transferred to Stuyvesant with Gattegno. He said, “I didn’t know anyone, which is definitely a downside of transferring and coming from a private school.” This meant, unlike some students who came with an already formed friend group, Gattegno had to create his own friend group at Stuyvesant with kids he had never met before. Luckily, Gattegno shared, “It’s not so hard to make friends; it’s just that you need to recognize that that’s something you want to do.”

Though the transition to a new school might have not been the easiest, Gattegno adapted and is happy that he chose to spend his high school years at Stuyvesant.“Whenever you hear about Stuy[vesant], it’s about the students,” Gattegno said. “The kids I’ve met at Stuy[vesant] are so, so smart, and they’re so capable and driven. That’s an experience you don’t get anywhere else.”

knew it was a big school, but the fact that I didn’t see the same person twice made me realize that you have to put yourself out there to make friends or to get involved,” Check explained.

Despite this major transition, Check didn’t find it hard to get used to the differences at Stuyvesant. “It doesn’t take long for you to adapt because you’re honestly just thrown right into it,” she described. Check explained that putting herself out there helped her adjust to her new environment. “I joined a team, and I made friends from that, and I started participating in class more. That helped a lot because it didn’t feel like I was putting myself under pressure to be out there; it just happened naturally,” she said.

Joining extracurriculars also allowed Check to discover her interests and commit to them. Just like Stuyvesant, St. Ignatius Loyola offered a variety of clubs and activities to be a part of. Check was part of Science Olympiad, school musicals, band, and the yoga club.

However, at her old school, it was hard to commit to one extracur-

ricular more than the others. “One main difference was that teachers weren’t allowed to schedule that many club meetings per week, because the principal wanted to encourage students to participate in a lot of clubs,” she said. In comparison, Stuyvesant encourages students to highly commit to one activity rather than barely commit to many. “At Stuyvesant, I only have time to do the cheer team, but at my previous school, I did all of those clubs plus dance at an outside studio twice per week,” she said.

Stuyvesant also gave Check the opportunity to interact with new types of people. At St. Ignatius Loyola, the student body was mainly composed of people from high economic statuses, not allowing for much diversity. “I think that’s really interesting to meet different kinds of people,” she described. “The people who went to my middle school didn’t experience some things that kids at Stuy[vesant] have,” she said.

When asked if she wished she had attended a private high school instead, Check did not hesitate to answer no. “If I went to a private high school, I would say that I wish I attended public high school because I feel like I found myself so easily here,” she said. Stuyvesant offers so much through its activities, academics, and people, making Check forever grateful for her decision to make the switch from private to public school.

Julia Amiri, freshman Freshman Julia Amiri attended BASIS Independent Brooklyn, a small private school in Brooklyn, for three years. In eighth grade, Amiri decided to attend Stuyvesant, a school that was quite different from what she was used to.

The driving force that pushed Amiri to come to Stuyvesant was the small student body of BASIS. Amiri described BASIS as a small school with only 60 kids per grade.

“I knew everybody, and I wanted a social life. I wanted to exist in a place that wasn’t confined to 60 kids,” she said.

Amiri also felt that the move to Stuyvesant would benefit her when it came to college admissions. “Even though [BASIS] was a good school, colleges didn’t pay much attention to it, and I figured I could get a better shot at a really good college at Stuy[vesant],” she said.

Like most students who came from a private school, the transition to Stuyvesant took some getting used to for Amiri. At first, the large student body shocked Amiri.

“There [was] so many children, and it was really overwhelming,” she stated. However, the fact that some of her peers from BASIS also chose to come to Stuyvesant helped Amiri adjust.

Another drastic difference that Amiri had to adapt to was the ability to connect with teachers.

“I also had to realize that not every single teacher is gonna know my name and know exactly who I am,” she stated. At BASIS, the small student body allowed Amiri to get to know her teachers more closely. However, this is more of a challenge at larger public schools, like Stuyvesant.

The diversity of Stuyvesant was similar to that of BASIS, according to Amiri. “There were mostly Asian and white kids, and like one black kid. Here, it’s pretty similar,” she described.

Despite the similarities between BASIS and Stuyvesant, Amiri sometimes wishes she went to a private high school. “Sometimes I wish that I stayed, because it’s kindergarten to twelfth

grade,” she stated. In comparison to Stuyvesant, BASIS had more vigorous classes. For example, Amiri was able to take two Advanced Placement classes in eighth grade. “I wish I could do that at Stuyvesant, which makes me regret the decision a bit,” she said. But, if she had to make the decision again, Amiri concluded that she would ultimately choose Stuyvesant.

Andrea Khoury, sophomore St. Joseph Hill Academy was the only school sophomore Andrea Khoury knew for the first ten years of her academic career.

Once she graduated her academy, Khoury decided to make the switch to public school, a decision that she would be thankful for later.

One of the main push factors that made Khoury switch to a public high school was the size of St. Joseph Hill Academy’s student body. Like most private schools, St. Joseph Hill Academy consisted of an extremely small student body. “Private school could become a hostile, toxic environment, as you’re surrounded by the same 70 kids in all your classes. I wanted to move to a bigger school where there was actually a lot of different kids,” Khoury said.

Another aspect that influenced Khoury’s decision was the fact that she got into Stuyvesant.

“If I hadn’t gotten into Stuyvesant, I probably would’ve kept going to private school,” Khoury said. She was aware that Stuyvesant wasn’t like other public schools. “The academic advantage can’t be matched anywhere,” she stated.

Private school didn’t offer Khoury a lot of freedom. “At private school, you’re watched every second, and there is very little autonomy given to students,” Khoury said. In comparison, Stuyvesant gives their students a lot of freedom, such as being able to choose your classes and clubs.

“You feel more grown up at public school,” Khoury said.

The size of Stuyvesant’s student body is a shock to most incoming students, but it’s even more of a shock to private middle school students. The size difference was one of the first drastic differences that Khoury noticed.

“In middle school, it’s just a small group of kids. It’s 60 kids per grade, and here it’s like 900,” Khoury stated.

Khoury also noted a difference between Stuyvesant’s diversity and that of St. Joseph Hill Academy. “In middle school, there was probably one Asian person.

Everyone was white. Stuyvesant is extremely diverse, racially and geographically,” Khoury said. The different kinds of people with different backgrounds greatly influence Khoury’s experience at Stuyvesant. “I see that diversity in my school life everyday in classes, when we share our different life experiences and through the different clubs that exist specifically for all the different cultures people come from,” Khoury said.

Originally, Khoury did not have such a positive perception of public school. “They teach you at private school that public school is dirty and ghetto, but it’s obviously not. It’s actually really nice,” she described. Khoury’s move to the public education system introduced her to a brand new community composed of a variety of new types of people and educational opportunities, something that she wouldn’t have gotten at a private high school.

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The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Features It’s All in the Stars—A Look Into Astrology At Stuyvesant

By CLARA SHAPIRO

By ANGELA CAI and HAYEON OK Beyond the boundaries of a student’s grade level, background, and even high school, Project Spark unites high school students from all across New York City through their dedication to urban dance. Founded in early 2018 by Peter Lee (’18), Philip Park (’18), Kristina Kim (’18), Queenie Xiang (’18), and Johnny Weng (’18), this dance team aims to provide students with the opportunity to grow as dancers and become more involved with the local dance community. Because many high schools do not have dance teams, Project Spark, stylized as Project SPARK, provides a community to anyone interested in pursuing urban dance, even if they have no prior experience.

The origins of this dance team can be found in Stuyvesant’s own dance team: Stuy Legacy. Stuy Legacy, founded in 2016, established a strong dance community within Stuyvesant and allowed people to develop as dancers and compete in competitions. However, only Stuyvesant students were allowed to join the team. Lee, who was the executive director of Stuy Legacy at the time, wanted to create a separate dance team that was available to all New York high school students to give them the opportunity to find a place in the New York urban dance scene.

This prompted Lee to invite a small group of seniors in Stuy Legacy to found and direct Project Spark. Some high schools that are represented in Project Spark include Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Technical, Francis Lewis, and John Bowne.

under Ophiuchus are thought to be egotistical, secretive, and sexually magnetic, though the internet seems a bit confused about the finer details of the Ophiuchus personality. In fact, findyourfate. com suggests that Ophiuchus is characterized by “explosive tem-

Zodiac canon until later on. Since the days of the Ancients, Earth’s axis has shifted, meaning that the proposed dates on which certain constellations overlap with the sun are no longer accurate. This precession of the equinoxes also means the addition of a new Zodiac sign, Ophiuchus, to account for the time between November 29 and December 17 when the sun overlaps with the snakebearer constellation. Those born

per” and “good humor,” which would seem to be a contradiction.

But no matter how much findyourfate.com and other credible sources may vouch for Ophiuchus’s legitimacy, some will never accept the 13th sign among the ranks of Aries and Capricorn: the old blood of astrology.

“I have disowned the new 13th astrological sign,” English teacher Lauren Stuzin wrote in an

Shirley Tan/ The Spectator

What’s your sign?

Are you a sultry Scorpio? A lazy, lustful Leo? Do you feel a kinship with the crabbish Cancer? Or are you a sensual creature like Taurus, you sly bull! And here’s the real question: is your lucky day Thursday?

In a high school filled with young scientists, astrology is easily labeled pseudoscience. Is Mercury in retrograde? Many Stuyvesant students couldn’t say for sure. Nor do they care.

“Floating balls of gas in space have nothing to do with personality characteristics,” sophomore and Aquarius Ethan Brovender said. “It’s fake as [EXPLETIVE].”

Sophomore and Scorpio Ezekiel Deveyra had more empathy for Zodiac believers. “Using your horoscope is a way to cope with the troubles of everyday life,” he said. But for many believers, the daily horoscope isn’t just a coping mechanism. It’s a celestial cheerleader.

“Honestly, the horoscope gives me confidence,” sophomore Debolina Sen-Kunda said.

“Like if it says that ‘you’re going to be appreciated for your leadership,’ it just gives me confidence that tomorrow, I could actually do something. And it actually helps me! It promotes me to participate in class and to talk to people.”

Sen-Kunda, formerly an Aquarius, now identifies as a Capricorn after the addition of “Ophiuchus,” a new Zodiac sign, scrambled the old sun sign dates and catapulted Sen-Kunda and other believers into an existential

crisis. “For two years, I was looking at the wrong horoscope!” the born-again Capricorn exclaimed.

The Greek astronomer Ptolemy discovered Ophiuchus, meaning “snake-bearer,” back in the second century, though Ophiuchus wouldn’t join the official

e-mail interview. Were Mx. Stuzin to accept the adjusted Ophiuchus dates, their birthday might fall under Leo, though they make it clear that they are not a Leo. Mx. Stuzin is a Virgo. A vehement Virgo. “I am truly Mx. Virgo,” they said. “Virgos are obsessive and organized; they love to help others, but often struggle when helping themselves. Many of my fellow English teachers are also Virgos (of course, I checked).”

To Mx. Stuzin, horoscopes can be just as poetic as they are gimmicky. “I don’t take this stuff as gospel, but there have been times when a horoscope has shifted my perspective on any given day, or just sort of helped me contextualize things I was thinking or feeling or otherwise generally resonated with me,” they said. “For instance: ‘Try to find comfort in the fact that nothing lasts forever;’ ‘Don’t ever apologize for being alive.’ Maybe those resonate with you, too, and maybe they don’t.”

For others, the daily horoscope has no spiritual or emotional implications. It’s just a hobby. “It’s just really fun to see what people think the stars have in store for me,” said junior Jasveen Wahan, who described herself as a “Gemini sun Virgo rising Virgo moon.” For Wahan, the role of the horoscope is to act as a reassuring presence, not to deliver self-fulfilling prophecies. “It’s comforting, sometimes, to think that the stars have something in store for you,” she said. “It’s nice to think that there’s something in control of your life; it’s nice to be able to blame your issues on certain planets.”

But scapegoating the stars

Sparking a Movement

For students interested in joining, the process of trying out for Project Spark takes place in two parts: a learning day and the actual tryouts. On the learning day, directors or choreographers in the team, who are usually upperclassmen, teach a routine to the people auditioning. A few days later, the auditionees perform the choreography in the studio in groups of three to five people in front of the directors.

The directors discuss for a couple of hours before sending out emails to the auditionees with their final results. “Part of Project Spark’s mission statement is to provide dance opportunities to people who have never been in the dance community before, so the team would actually love to have people who haven’t danced before—as long as they show potential and are eager to grow,” Park said.

Though part of the team’s goal is to introduce dance to people who have minimal or no dance experience, the auditions are fairly competitive. While over 100 students audition each season, only 30 to 40 people get accepted. Park explained, “Even though inexperienced dancers are welcomed by Project Spark, they will still need to do their absolute best to stand out in the pool of auditionees.” This does not mean that students with less experience will struggle to keep up, however. During the official season, there are training periods in which the team takes dance classes together and teach the moves to those who are inexperienced.

Students who are accepted

into the team attend practices, which take place two or three times a week and last around two hours. For some, this time commitment can be challenging. But Ismath Maksura / The Spectator

some, like senior Sharon Zhou, found ways around this. “When I have a staggering amount of work, I would do [it] on the side in the studio when I’m not needed,” she said.

Other members manage schoolwork by doing work during lunch or free periods, staying up late, or

going to cafes. At the end of the day, everyone is exhausted and so members “always try to cheer each other on from the side, and that gives [them] motivation to continue to push more,” Zhou added. While times can get tough, “I don’t look at dance as an obstacle for me doing well in school but rather as a resource to encourage me to do better,” senior Darren Jin said.

As the Spark community continues to grow, its members are eager to showcase their skills.

During a day of a competition, the team often commutes together and arrives at the venue, which is usually located in a school auditorium, early to prepare and get accustomed to the stage. From there, “the directors ‘clean’ their members so that everyone is essentially synchronized, and any final questions about certain moves are clarified,” Jin said. Competitions often take up the whole day for the dancers due to tech rehearsals and makeup. However, the actual show takes around two or three hours with each team performing for four to six minutes. Each team performs in a set order, with more prestigious teams bringing up the rear of the show. After all the teams finish performing, the judges, who are esteemed dancers in the community, determine winners by averaging each team’s scores, which consists of a range of categories such as staging and performance. Finally, the third, second, and first place winners are announced and awarded.

After their performance is

might be one of the more dangerous aspects of astrology.

“The issue is when people become negligent to realizing their true actions and brush it off as a consequence of their horoscope,” said Deveyra, touching upon astrology’s complicated relationship with “locus of control,” the idea that people are happiest when they feel that they have agency in their own lives.

Looked at from a psychoanalytic angle, horoscopes can feel almost threatening.

For many stargazers, horoscopes can be fun and benign as long as they are treated as suggestions, not celestial mandates.

Making horoscopes more of a hobby and less of a religious rite keeps the locus of control with the believers, not the stars.

“I treat astrology as suggestions, not entirely fact. Sometimes astrology will be accurate for me, sometimes it won’t,” senior, Leo, and amused skeptic Debi Saha said.

But even in the face of disbelievers, there remain some for whom astrology is divine word.

“The love horoscopes come true,” Sen-Kunda said. She added though, that distinctions must be made between the Western horoscope and the Eastern. “There’s the Western way, and there’s also the original way. The original is about the date you were born and the time, and the time is really what determines it. I really have faith in that because it’s scientifically proven. The Western system doesn’t make sense.”

Can her opinions be trusted?

Perhaps not. She is, after all, an Aquarius.

over, members also have the opportunity to “witness difference teams, styles, and ideas, and many more from other teams performing,” senior Vincent Zheng said.

Because there’s time gaps in between performances, “members get to explore the venue and have fun,” Zheng added.

For each member of Project Spark, dance is a passion that has impacted their lives. Park believes dance is “a tool of expression that can be stylized to match the personality of the person using it.” He described how choreographers interpret the music and move their bodies in innovative ways to express themselves and how urban dance in particular grows with culture. “Dancing is so versatile and open to interpretation; every routine paints a different picture to anyone who watches it,” Jin agreed. “Dance is a form of art just like a painting or a drawing, and when people watch me perform, I like to give the audience the opportunity to think about what each routine that I perform means to them.”

The team was named to show the impact they want to have on spreading their passion to others. “We ended up calling the team ‘Project Spark’ because we wanted this team to be a catalyst that would spark a greater urban dance movement within all New York City high schools,” Park explained. “And now, two years [after its founding], I am very happy to see how Project Spark is affecting the lives of its members in incredibly positive ways, allowing them to be part of the global urban dance world and inspiring them to join [or] create dance communities wherever they are.”

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 7

Features

By SUSANNAH AHN

of the more underprivileged areas in Edwards’s borough.

“The 100 Most Important African Americans,” however,

Christine Yan / The Spectator

Junior Agatha Edwards recently created a GoFundMe page that has garnered the attention of 73 donors and received $1,700 in donations.

With the numbers steadily climbing, her goal to supply important educational material to disadvantaged children is coming to fruition.

This fundraiser is part of Edwards’s campaign to celebrate Black History Month in February 2020. Bearing the title “3,000 Free African-American History Books for Kids,” Edwards’s page discusses the free distribution of her biographical book as part of a plan to engage and teach more New York children the importance of African American history.

Her work, titled “The 100 Most Important African Americans,” is a collection of detailed biographical pages each describing an influential African American figure. Complete with historical backgrounds, roles, and time periods, the publication includes individuals such as Harriet Tubman, Barack Obama, and Ida B. Wells. Furnished with facts and easy to digest information, it will be distributed to children in Brownsville, Brooklyn—one

An Author Amongst Us

isn’t the only book Edwards has written. Her love for bookwriting first began in middle school. As Edwards recalled, “In fourth grade, I was to write a fiction book. Not a real book, but a short story project. I really enjoyed doing that project, and so I wanted to continue it.

I wrote it into a full book with chapters.” Having edited and published her first novel, Edwards, with the help of her father, soon brought up the idea of writing nonfiction. “I already

wrote three fiction books, so we thought that was kind of a trilogy, so we thought we could do a trilogy for nonfiction too,” Edwards said. “We came up with the idea of the ‘100 most important [blank]’ and we’ve written three of those.”

As an experienced writer with two other similar books (“The 100 Most Important American Women” and “The 100 Most Important New Yorkers”), Edwards delved into her process for writing and publishing.

Edwards described her book writing process in multiple stages. “For writing, I did the first draft, and then [my dad] edited it—he didn’t change my writing but suggested new ideas. I rewrote some things, and then we had a second draft, mainly editing for errors and typos,” Edwards explained. Publishing was one of her main obstacles, and she acknowledged and appreciated the help she received from others. “For the nonfiction ones, we had a person who would deal with the format of the book [...] we would send the material over, and then he would format in a specific way so that every page was the same.

So that was really helpful,” she added.

It was after the completion of her African American

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biographical work that Edwards decided to create her fundraiser. “We wanted to do something with [the book] and bring some benefit from it. We thought about how to benefit New York City, specifically in Brooklyn, where I live, and Dad knew about the neighborhood Brownsville in Brooklyn,” Edwards stated. “[Brownsville] is mostly African American, so we thought we could expose the kids to the book and maybe they could get some benefit out of it, or become inspired.”

trying to get them to a wider audience—when we wrote them, we didn’t really try to get it places. We kind of just told everyone about it and sent it to relatives—but maybe with this one, we could have done something similar: try to get more publicity about it.” In light of this, Edwards offered some advice to new and upcoming writers. “You should just go for it—anyone can write a book,” Edwards said. “It doesn’t matter what it’s about, doesn’t matter whether people like it. If you like it, some other people

“I would say just write your heart out.

Just do it.” —Agatha Edwards, junior

Looking back, Edwards did regret some aspects of her previous projects. In terms of publicity, she stated, “Maybe

will probably like it too. So I would say just write your heart out. Just do it.”

Page 8

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Editorials Leaping into 2020

The Spectator

“New year, new me,” goes the popular New Year’s saying for those seeking self-improvement. The Spectator, being an institution rather than a person, has no “me” to speak of. That does not mean, though, that we cannot strive for improvement, and it does not mean that we cannot use the occasion of a new year— and a new decade—to think about the ways by which we can improve. Here are some of our New Year’s resolutions in 2020.

Do more to be attuned to the feelings of the student body, keeping in mind that they will not always be the same as those of our editorial board: The Spectator’s slogan is declared on the front page of every issue: we try to be “The Pulse of the Student Body.” However, The Spectator is a publication created by people, and those people will inevitably not be a representative cross-section of the Stuyvesant student body; among other factors, it is a newspaper based at a primarily STEM-focused school, albeit one with strong humanities programs. Sometimes, this can manifest itself not only in skewed staff editorials that don’t speak for the student body—which is fine, and to be expected—but in reporting, that might neglect the feelings of much of the student body.

Earlier this year, we published the article “On ‘AP Physics I is a Sham’: New Mandatory AP Physics Course Faces Controversy.” The reporting in that article was accurate and important, and we stand by it. However, the article did not do enough to demonstrate that at least a large portion and possibly a vast majority of the junior student body either didn’t object to the AP Physics change or actively supported it.

This makes sense: dissidents are always louder and more noticeable than the contented. Nonetheless, it is the job of journalists to uncover the whole truth even when it is not obvious. If the majority of students have no objection to a controversial administrative change, that’s an important point, and it’s one that didn’t make it into our article. This became clear more recently when the administration changed the standard physics course from AP Physics to Advanced Physics, invoking a significant if short-lived uproar.

To be clear, we do not intend to compromise on the facts of a story to appeal to popular opinion; in the case of AP Physics, for instance, physics teachers’ protests are highly important, even if they are at odds with much of student opinion. Nonetheless, popular opinion is a real thing that, though should not shape reporting, should be included in it. In the new year, we will work more to stay attuned to both popular opinion and to the biases that keep us from being tuned in to it.

Publish more diverse content for the SING! issue: As the SING! Issue is one of the most popular and widely-read issues of The Spectator, it is critical that our reviews appeal to students who are interested in reading an in-depth appraisal of the theatrical performances and to those who want a brief summary and analysis of each production. Therefore, for this year’s SING! issue, we are hoping to not only write a standard review of each performance, but to also rank each production on a five-star scale in a few different categories.

Furthermore, the editorial board will be ranking each performance using the scale that the alumni-judges use to score the shows. Through this method, we will finally answer if a senior bias does exist or if the Senior SING! is truly of a higher caliber than the Junior and SophFrosh SING! performances.

Create more themed issues and special content: Last year’s Issue 17, The SpectatHER, commemorated the 50th anniversary of the first female-inclusive freshman class. This themed issue, complete with a redesigned front page incorporating our original reporting from 1969, was met with widespread positive feedback from the community, and going forward in 2020, we want to produce more content like The SpectatHER to spark important conversations at Stuyvesant and continue to engage with the student body. We are also committed to revamping our annual themed issues, The Spooktator and The Disrespectator. This year, the editorial board will work more closely with the humor department to ensure that two of The Spectator’s most popular issues are of the quality they have been in years past.

Continue rating Student Union (SU) and Caucus campaigns: For the last SU and Junior caucus elections, The Spectator augmented its reviews and endorsements of campaign tickets by adding numerical grades for each ticket under three categories: platform, record, and campaign. We took these steps because we wanted to increase the transparency in how The Spectator selects which ticket to endorse. Historically, The Spectator’s endorsement of a ticket has usually correlated with that ticket winning their election. While this correlation does not at all mean The Spectator is the main factor in voters’ choices, it does imply that many voters are at least in part influenced by our decisions. Our reviews can be rather dense; we feel that ranking tickets under three categories will make it more clear how we choose the tickets we endorse.

The three categories we have chosen reflect the areas we focus on in our evaluations. A ticket’s platform refers to its proposed policies, which we evaluate on positive impacts for students, creativity, and feasibility. Record refers to ticket members’ previous experience in Stuyvesant’s student government. Candidates with previous experience often have an electoral advantage because they have a pre-existing knowledge of Caucus, Student Union, and administration workings that will help them hit the ground running if they are elected. However, candidates with previous controversy in office may see this advantage turn into a disadvantage. Finally, we review tickets’ campaigns themselves, specifically their outreach to potential voters, which offers insight on the levels of transparency and effort candidates would offer if they were elected. We rate each of these categories out of five stars, and while there is no objective formula to numerically evaluate a ticket’s promise, we holistically evaluate each ticket’s strengths and weaknesses in each category, and assign each a rating relative to the other tickets.

We give each rating a short summary justification, which allows readers without time available to read multiple articles a brief analysis of each campaign’s strengths and weaknesses. And for readers more inclined to read every article, the category ratings still offer a guide on good things to focus on while reading.

We believe the introduction of the category system has allowed us to more fairly and accurately review tickets, and we’d like to keep using it for future elections, including potentially extending it to Freshman Caucus elections.

TheStuyvesant StuyvesantHigh High The School Newspaper

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IN

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© 2019 The Spectator All rights reserved by the creators. *Managing Board **Editor-in-Training

For the Record In issue 7, the photo for “The Impact of a Piano” was taken by Photo editor Matt Melucci.

In issue 7, one of the songs performed by Chrisabella Javier in “Sara Stebbins and Allen Wang Host Stuyvesant’s First tiny Desk Concert” should say “Winters Weather” by As It Is, not the other way around.

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The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 9

Opinions On the Failure of Our Criminal Justice System, and What We Can Do to Help

By KRISTIN CHENG The brutal rape and beating of Trisha Meili in 1989 marked the beginning of the end for the Central Park Five, a group of five black and Latinx boys whose lives were derailed by conviction for a crime they never committed.

The tragedy came at a time when our city, then deemed the “capital of racial violence,” was coming apart at the seams. And when the story reached headlines— White Woman Brutally Raped on 102nd Street—it seemed yet another iteration of the age-old, standard narrative of the interracial sex crime. Accordingly, the prosecutors were satisfied with believing that a group of 20 black and Latinx teenagers was responsible.

She quickly concluded that the perpetrators were Antron McCray, Kevin Richardson, Raymond Santana, Korey Wise, and Yusef Salaam. It seemed plausible— convincing, even: the group, these convicts excluded, had been committing mild acts of terror in the park throughout the night. And in our crime-ridden city—where all black and brown bodies were treated with more skepticism and brutality than compassion or humanity—the prosecutors were set on their decision. All they had to do was find proof to corroborate their story. Simple.

Except that there was no conclusive evidence to support that the Central Park Five had done it—in fact, all evidence pointed strongly against this conclusion: none of their DNA matched any of the samples from the scene or the victim’s body, hair, and clothing.

Except that the only pieces of evidence they did have were the wrongfully extracted, false confessions from the Five, who—after 30 hours straight of being berated, poked, prodded, and then called liars, criminals, animals—were told that all they had to do to go home was make up a story that aligned

with the prosecutor’s fabricated conclusion.

Except that this unjust conviction and subsequent imprisonment meant that they would lose everything. And at the ages of 14, 15, and 16, with their prospects worsened by their disrupted education, they were at risk of never getting their lives back.

When watching The Central Park Five, a 2012 Sarah Burns documentary that details the group’s trials and tribulations, I was struck most by Raymond Santana’s words about how, post-release, his feelings of happiness for freedom were overshadowed by his feelings of immense guilt for the burden he had placed on his family. Five years after the fact, his future looked dismal at best. With a false crime on his record and without a high school degree, his only option, it seemed, was drug dealing. And when he was caught, as an alleged repeat offender, he languished behind bars for two years more.

There are countless untold stories akin to the Central Park Five’s. And though there are now more resources intended to help ex-convicts reintegrate, the fact remains that of the 600,000 individuals released from prison annually, 76.6 percent are rearrested within five years of release. Even having a minor or unjustly awarded criminal record creates far-reaching collateral consequences, making it imperative that our criminal justice system shifts its focus from reincarceration to fostering the successful reentry of ex-convicts into their communities.

But until this systemic issue is addressed, there are measures that every individual may take to help.

Raymond Santana had a family able to support him, but the other hundreds of thousands of individuals released from prison each year lack this support. Consequently, they are 10 times more likely than the general public to become homeless. Few can afford astronomical

rents in cities like ours, and when former prisoners end up homeless, recidivism rates—the number of released criminals who get arrested again—increase. The need for stable housing for ex-convicts, then, is evident—and we can help fill it.

The Homecoming Project, an effort by the nonprofit group Impact Justice in Alameda County, California, matches hosts with people who were recently incarcerated to help them reintegrate after their release. Through the program, potential tenants and hosts undergo an extensive screening and matching process. Once a pair is matched, they sign a six-month agreement. During that time, hosts receive monthly stipends of $750 and the Homecoming team works with tenants to find more permanent housing. The idea is that after this six-month softened, supported landing, tenants will be better equipped to survive on their own.

That’s because the program provides so much more than just a place to sleep. It endeavors to foster independence while providing both hosts and participants extensive support. To that end, the program offers frequent workshops— for its hosts, topics include conflict resolution, the school-to-prison pipeline, and the needs of people returning from prison. For its guests, topics range from practical help to self-care. And each client is connected to an innovative LifeLong Medical Care clinic in Berkeley, where they get health care and can request counseling.

Moreover, each client is assigned a “community navigator,” who then acts as a case mana­ger and life coach. Jesse Vasquez—a current participant in the Homecoming Project—has praised his navigator, noting that, by walking him through various processes such as email registration and doctor’s appointments, as well as introducing him to new neighbors, his community navigator “was essential in helping [him] get [his] roots

into the community.”

Though other housing options for former prisoners exist, they are few and far between. Ex-convicts are often ineligible for subsidized housing, and their criminal record is a nearly insurmountable barrier in the quest to find affordable housing. Halfway houses, an alternative, have limited availability and in many cases, are more like prisons than homes. Restrictions on travel, unannounced visits from parole officers, and curfews render residency at these facilities only a meager improvement from incarceration.

And these homes often lie on the outskirts of communities, far from resources that people returning from prison need to rebuild their lives, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security office, and hospitals.

The Homecoming Project doesn’t just lack these disadvantages—it also offers other critical advantages. Former prisoners need more than just a place to sleep.

They need homes and connections to a positive community, which instill in them a sense of belonging and agency. These are resources that halfway houses simply cannot provide. Furthermore, the average cost of caring for an inmate in a halfway house for six months adds up to roughly $17,246. The Homecoming Project, by contrast, spends only around $10,000 for each sixmonth stay, including rent, training for hosts, and case-management costs. This initiative proves further cost-effective when considering the implications of reducing recidivism. Less recidivism means decreased prison populations and, in turn, decreased taxes.

Moving forward, the Homecoming Project wants to help organizations outside the Bay Area replicate its model. Though its current 15 participants are certainly a small sample size, the initiative has seen considerable success in realizing its purpose. All current and former participants have jobs, and of the

six people who have completed the six-month program, three have gone on to live independently, while the others have continued to vlive with their hosts under a separate lease agreement.

Accepting the Homecoming Project’s help and creating a similar initiative in our city would be a good first step in addressing the widespread but seldom discussed issue of recidivism. Action is not an option, but an obligation, especially in the context of cases like Raymond Santana’s, in which wrongful convictions unjustly ruin lives and provide little aid as recompense.

But first, we must address the Homecoming Project’s pressing financial concerns: their team’s efforts to subsidize expansion of the program through private and public grants have been futile. This is primarily because, as Chief Operating Officer Maureen Vittoria posits, when a project attempts to radically change the way things are done within a deeply-entrenched system, decision-makers are seldom willing to take a chance on funding it—or to even acknowledge that the status quo is flawed to begin with.

This is where we come in. Our words carry weight, and through advocacy via social media platforms or published essays (as such), we have the power to force decision-makers to reckon with and remedy recidivism. Individual monetary contributions to Impact Justice, the organization that oversees the project, also help the Homecoming Project expand to communities like ours.

And as residents of the city that falsely accused the Central Park Five, as well as—perhaps more pertinently—individuals the same age that they were when their futures were squandered, we can, we must, and we will do everything in our power to initiate such a program.

A Country for the People, by the People

By JACOB STEINBERG For the third time in American history, a president has been impeached. The House of Representatives impeached President Donald Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress on December 18, 2019. Though the impeachment had been long-sought

by Democrats, that hope was often at odds with the historical precedent of what constitutes impeachable offenses. Trump is extremely unpopular, but that is not grounds for impeachment. However, as it played out, the impeachment was completely within the bounds of the law. The facts were heavily investigated by the House Judiciary Committee, adding to the legitimacy of the impeachment. Led

by Chairman Adam Schiff, the Committee called several credible witnesses (as well as less credible witnesses such as Gordon Sondland) in order to build a case for impeachment and present it to the people. But beyond its historical and political significance, the impeachment hearings bolstered a personal conviction I had.

For a very long time, I have been extremely passionate about politics. There is a video on YouTube from 2008 of me attempting to describe the 2008 Democratic primaries, and I closely followed the 2012 and 2016 general elections. As I’ve grown up, that in-

terest has turned into more of a passion. I disproportionately consume politically centered content, and more importantly, I’ve applied disproportionately to public service-based programs. Overall, politics has weighed heavily on my life for a long as I can remember.

Thus, the impeachment hearings were an obvious attraction for me. A historical event that had yet to occur in my lifetime was a must-watch for anyone with as much of an interest in politics as me. To my suprise, the major takeaway from the hearings was not the actions of the President or the story that Congressman Schiff was telling, but the people that he called upon to tell them. The majority of the people that testified were non-partisan career officials who have spent their lives and careers serving the American people and their interests. Generally, their testimonies were based in fact and their experiences in their decades of service. In a political landscape that is commonly degraded for its dishonesty, it was very comforting to see genuine civil servants display the good work that they and their colleagues do.

One of the major witnesses called was the former U.S. envoy to Ukraine, Kurt Volker. Volker was one of the first to testify behind closed doors, and he supplied evidence that kick-started the thrust of the investigation. He worked

his way through the CIA, the State Department, and the National Security Council before making his way into the envoy position.

Beyond showing a dedication for over 30 years to the work he does, he also showed a level of humility not often cited in politics. He admitted the mistake he had made— allowing for an investigation into clearly false allegations regarding Vice President and current presidential candidate Joe Biden and a Ukranian company—and the massive implications that it may have had, saying, “In retrospect, I should have seen that connection differently, and had I done so, I would have raised my own objections.” To admit such a grave mistake in such an important setting is no easy task, and it helped me to see the honesty and clarity that can and should be displayed in the political realm.

Another outstanding testimony came from former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. She has served the U.S. for 30 years and was the Ukraine Ambassador under both President Obama and President Trump.

However, she was removed from her post by President Trump for “not being loyal.” She was falsely accused of leaking a “do-notprosecute” list to Ukranian officials, an accusation based on the fact that she had been concerned by possible corruption regarding

Ukraine. Her stand in the face of a now-impeached President was admirable and carried over into her testimony. When the President attacked her in a tweet during her testimony, she acted calmly and honestly, saying, “I mean, I can’t speak to what the president is trying to do, but I think the effect is to be intimidating.” To have such courage in the face of a presidential attack is unbelievable and inspiring, especially for someone who may want to follow in her steps.

Fiona Hill, former National Security Council member and White House expert on Ukraine, was a witness to all of what happened, from the Ukrainian issues to the treatment of Yovanovitch.

When she was called in front of the Judiciary Committee, she gave a notably passionate testimony.

The testimony prompted CNN writer Maeve Reston to write an article titled “Fiona Hill left a legacy for angry women during impeachment hearing.” To show that kind of honesty and vulnerability on such a major stage is inspiring.

She also did something oft-missing in politics: she told the honest, unforgiving truth. She dispelled common conspiracy theories and looked to set the story straight.

Hill spoke truth to power, an action that cannot be ignored.

Though Volker, Yovanovitch, and Hill all helped to tell a story

that impeached the President, they also inspired me in a way I was not expecting. They exemplified what is good in politics, something extremely reaffirming for someone that is hopeful to enter that world.

And as mentioned before, they did it in the face of President Trump, who has the ability to completely tarnish careers. To me, this adds a level of bravery in the face of a terrifying truth: we are living in a world where disagreeing with the president is an offense against him. In a political climate as volatile and dangerous as the one we live in, to see the passion and honesty with which the witnesses spoke bolstered my desire to follow their rule and serve.

That level of virtue was what overwhelmingly inspired me. It showed me that, though there are many disappointing aspects of politics nowadays, there is a sensible path to being involved with it and not losing your moral compass. The witnesses exemplified the best of the field, showing what could be in the face of what we are used to and often believe politics to be. They cared about what they were saying, well aware of the gravity of the things they were discussing. For a teenager, they succeeded in both contributing to impeaching the president and giving me a way to follow in their footsteps.

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The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Opinions OK, Boomer and Why We Need to Fix the Generational Rift

By CLAIRE SHIN

By YEWON CHANG

by the time they were the same age as many of today’s millennials, they lived comfortably enough to have families and two-story suburban homes. By contrast, the majority of millennials have to deal with five figures of student debt, which they will likely have to pay for decades alongside mortgage and health insurance. The furthest things from their stressed, fast-paced minds are leisure and starting families. We would love to have the same luxuries that baby boomers did.

While there are many boomers who follow the right-leaning stereotype and blame the youth for many of the

most admirable acts of all. This is a movement that began with baby boomers and has been embellished and embraced by people of all generations. That’s why the mentality of “OK, boomer,” which takes its roots in the generational rift, is only detrimental for all of us.

Condemning a phrase like “OK, boomer” on the grounds that it is hate speech solves nothing. It is not the problem. It’s simply a symptom of the

world’s problems, nobody believes that all of them are conservative and insensitive. Boomers did some invaluable deeds for the world, like advancing civil rights for women and African Americans and ending the Vietnam War. Boomers taught us that it’s OK to be skeptical towards the press and the government, that speaking and protesting for our beliefs are the

r e a l issue, which is that today’s youth have become so weary of baby boomers’ complaints that they exclude boomers from the discussion altogether. While it’s acceptable to use the term in lighthearted gestures of annoyance towards older people (including those who fit the stereotype), it is not acceptable to believe that “boomers know nothing and don’t care for the environ-

Andrea Huang/ The Spectator

Just a few days ago, I had a satisfying Christmas dinner with my extended family at an all-youcan-eat sushi buffet. Over plates stacked high with vibrant California rolls as well as various assortments of exotic meats grilled and seasoned to perfection, I had a discussion with my aunt about how interconnected the world has become due to social media.

While calmly sipping her miso soup, she made the strong claim that my generation was being “poisoned” by our “addiction” to cell phones.

“I mean, it’s quite sad, really,” she said. “You’re all so dependent on them. You go everywhere with them. Don’t you know that your excessive staring at cell phone screens has had significant impacts on the public health of your generation?”

I had only one retort in mind; you, presumably the average Stuyvesant student with some degree of knowledge in memes, probably already know what it was: “OK, boomer.” Saying those words would have absolutely annihilated my aunt’s authority. Her words would have laid shattered on the ground, their weight nullified to oblivion. Her voice would have been silenced by the combined apathy of millennial, Gen X, and Gen Z toward the older generations.

If you’re unfamiliar with the term “OK, boomer,” it’s essentially a dismissive retort used against older people who complain about often incorrect stereotypes associated with the younger generations

(typically the millennials, Gen X, and Gen Z). The most typical complaints are that youths are unable to do anything without the help of technology, that they are “snowflakes” (overly sensitive), and that they are too often staring at their phones.

The phrase is so powerful because of its implications. The nonchalant use of the word “OK” implies that today’s youth are tired of the complaints of boomers; it can almost be read aloud with a sigh of resignation. It implies that the youth have heard so many of these complaints that at this point, they simply brush them off, thus completely discounting the boomer’s words. And the use of the word “boomer” suggests that there is a fundamental disconnect between the old and young, and the youth use it as if to declare, “We are heading off into the future and making progress while you are stuck there yelling and moaning.”

Though some view “OK, boomer” as hate speech, most teenagers see it as a joke poking fun at the boomer generation, and nothing more. To call “Ok, boomer” the “ageist version of the nword”—as some baby boomers have lamented—would be to horribly mischaracterize both youths’ intentions and the intensely degrading nature of the n-word.

Despite the meme’s comedic origins, it makes sense that Gen Zers would harbor bitterness—though not something as strong as hate— toward older generations. The baby boomer generation has been largely responsible for climate change and overpopulation, and

ment because it won’t affect them anyway.” Such a belief is foolish and unfounded, and it benefits no one to drown out the voices of the older generations. For issues as big as climate change, which could spell the end of nature and human society as we know it, we need all the help we can possibly get, and that includes the knowledge and political drive provided by boomers. No problems are ever fixed by division. They are remedied by everyone’s cooperation and assistance.

So, when I responded to my aunt’s argument, I didn’t say “OK, boomer,” though it seemed enticing. I told her my own thoughts about the explosive growth of social media and the role of phones: that though excessive phone usage has damaging psychological and physical effects, social media also allows us to connect with others instantly and effectively. It enables the spread of ideas, which encourages us to not only embrace other cultures, but also to enrich our own ideas. It empowers us to learn about whatever we are interested in without the inconvenience of having to visit a library.

I got to learn from her opinions, and she learned from mine because we both respected each other too much to simply shut one another out using a disdainful catchphrase. Though this kind of mutual discussion is difficult, it is almost always beneficial. So instead of ignoring baby boomers’ advice for fixing the world’s most pressing issues, let’s integrate it into our own solutions. After all, it’s their world too.

ISIS Women and Children are Human Beings.

Treat Them Like Ones.

The Islamic State of Syria and Iraq—shattered by its dwindling membership, numerous defeats in the Middle East, and the death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi—lies covered in a layer of dust. It coats the women and children left behind, their eyes wide with fear and their emaciated bodies trembling. As the debate over their future rages on in the free world, the question, “What do we do with these people?” remains unanswered.

It is indeed a difficult question to answer, with a plethora of problems and the intricate game of global politics requiring consideration. However, as we stumble over the mines of one superpower’s demands to another’s, wives and children of ISIS fighters remain trapped in Northern Syrian refugee camps.

One such camp is the Syrian Democratic Forces-controlled alHawl, which skirts both the SyriaIraq border and human rights laws.

There, the 74,000 detainees of the overpopulated camp must face miserable conditions. The limited, parasite-laden water supply renders dysentery commonplace, and the lack of medical clinics leaves residents as defenseless victims. Its flimsy tents are unable to bear the strength of the freezing cold, leaving listless mothers and children to grapple with hypothermia in addition to the constant lack of food, healthy outlets, and education. The only action within the camp comes in the form of violent altercations between overwhelmed guards and women clinging to their radical ideology, as well as sexual abuse by the former of the latter. While the Universal Declaration of Hu-

man Rights states that “everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and wellbeing of himself and of his family,” what the camp provides is far from it.

Turkey’s large-scale military operations against the Kurdishmajority Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), including an invasion of Northern Syria in early October, have only exacerbated the problem. When artillery strikes reached camps such as Ain Issa, in perfect vicinity of the very area that Turkey

directly concerns a majority of global citizens. However, most nations have understandably taken a strong stance against ISIS and the myriad of atrocities it has committed across the globe. Accordingly, their leaders are unwilling to welcome back the group’s family members with open arms. As Peter Dutton, the Australian home affairs minister, put it, “Parents, mothers, and fathers have made a decision to take children into a theater of war […] they’ve been fighting in the name of an evil

However, as we stumble over the mines of one superpower’s demands to another’s, wives and children of ISIS fighters remain trapped in Northern Syrian refugee camps. was eyeing, disaster struck. Soon thereafter, SDF guards streamed into al-Hol at night, forcing all boys over the age of 12 away from their terrified families and into positions as soldiers. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad then signed a deal with Kurdish authorities that authorized the transfer of ISIS family members to Syrian prisons— infamous for mass deaths and torture—in exchange for Syrian forces in the fight against Turkish assault.

One might assume that in humanitarian crises such as these, the international community would unite and demand immediate action, especially since the situation

organization, and there are consequences.”

There certainly are security concerns with repatriating ISIS wives and their children; all have suffered exposure to the extremist Islamic ideology that ISIS violently promoted. It seems plausible that they would continue to carry out acts in line with said twisted ideals in their host countries, forcing states to bear the burden of preventable terrorist attacks. It follows, then, that citizens would highly contest the careless reintroduction of dangerous people who have, in their eyes, left the country to join a destructive militant organization and immediately after the

apparent defeat of the caliphate, begged to be taken back. An example is Hoda Muthana, an American-born, voluntary ISIS bride whose highly publicized attempts to return to the United States have been repeatedly denied by the Trump administration.

But not all ISIS women and children have voluntarily accepted the control of ISIS as Muthana had.

Consider the Yazdizi women, who have been abducted and forced to serve as sex slaves to male fighters.

It would be unjust to label them, who have been unintentionally exposed to the group’s violence, as ISIS associates and blame them for their fates. The same case applies to the children of ISIS wives. They were forced into a life that they never agreed to, and to turn a blind eye as they languish in a world of suffering and hopelessness would be a crime. Generalizing the cases of every ISIS associate thus only fosters misunderstanding and further inaction.

In addition, refusing to repatriate such people only fuels the return of the very group the world has fought to eradicate. The camps are already filled with radical women clinging to their ideology, who are blinded by their misguided vision of ISIS rising once more to dominate the world and who have begun threatening and beating others for apostasy. To them, when faced with dismal conditions in prison-like camps, there seems to be nothing to turn to but ISIS ideology. It is all they have ever known and remains the only existent, productive outlet for their anger and despair. With no chance for the rehabilitation of these families into peaceful societies and no opportunities for them to embrace

moderate versions of Islam, the revival of ISIS looms large.

Thus, the time for debate is over: we have already acknowledged that there is a large problem in Syria. It is now time to solve it.

The international community cannot stand by and allow these atrocities to persist. It is responsible for providing aid to all citizens that inhabit the globe, a de jure practice that, if enforced, would help us exercise the human decency that we seem to forget in times of crises.

We cannot simply exile security threats—refusing to deal with the matter at hand only worsens the situation as unimaginable frustration and hurt fester in the miserable bleakness of Northern Syria.

Stalling is not an option, and practical solutions are imperative.

Governments must first consider the specificity of each individual case, focusing on the past history and current behavior of each woman and child. In the spirit of international cooperation, states should communicate with each other to exchange such vital information and find an appropriate host country for every woman and child. Once they are repatriated, active reintegration is crucial. It would be best for states to implement special education programs focused on peaceful values, a clear denouncement of ISIS, and the host nation’s culture.

Indeed, ISIS wives and children belong to a realm of violence and immense hatred, but by refusing to provide these vulnerable people with a chance to leave that realm and pursue a better life, we simply give the brutal caliphate another chance to rise and dominate the world by fear once more.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 11

Opinions

By ELENA HLAMENKO I’ve been told that Russians speak English like vampires: the “w” in “water” becomes a sharpened “v,”; the double o’s in “look” or “foot” become an elongated “y”; and the “i” in “instead” becomes a rolling “eee.”

As an eight-year-old, hearing this analogy made blood rush to my cheeks and my ears turn pink.

No child wants to hear her family’s speech pattern likened to that of a monster from a horror movie. Over time, the effect of the vampire joke wore off, but my increased awareness of my family’s accent did not.

As a child, I cringed each time my grandfather ordered coffee, pronouncing black, “blyek.” I would sit him down and repeat the open “a” over and over again, asking with frustration why he couldn’t just say it like everybody else. My grandfather would laugh and go on to read his newspaper, oblivious of the scowl on my face. That scowl would re-emerge whenever my grandmother brushed off my quiet corrections of the way she pronounced cold cut orders at the deli, saying that the vendors could understand her perfectly well despite her accent. Even as an eight-year-old, I knew that they couldn’t. The puzzled expressions on their faces and the quiet whispers of “what does she want now” made it clear to me that my accentless English would make me a translator for her—and nearly every

The Stain of an Accent

other member of my family— for years to come.

This obligation is the unspoken duty of every child of immigrants. I know that now. But as one of two Russian girls at my lower school, it felt like I was the only one who had to carry this burden with me to every grocery

parents who didn’t speak English at all, much less speak with the accent-ridden pronunciation I complained about. Once more, I felt a wave of embarrassment: how had I spent so many years trying to fix something that was commonplace and hardly even seen as an issue?

No child wants to hear their family’s speech pattern likened to that of a monster from a horror movie.

store, restaurant, and airport. It felt like I was the only one who flushed with embarrassment each time the vampiric accent of my Russian family reminded me that I was, in some way, unlike everyone else.

Coming to Stuyvesant was the turning point in both my relationship with my heritage and my relationship with accents.

For the first time in my life, I had teachers who weren’t white and whose English didn’t fit the cookie-cutter model I so desperately tried to instill in my family.

I met students who not only had accents themselves, but also had

Stuyvesant is the first school I have attended that provides principal meetings, college seminars, and parent orientations in more than one language. It’s the first school where many students don’t have to self-advocate due to linguistic or cultural restrictions, filling out family income, blue card, and immunization forms themselves. Stuyvesant is the first place I’ve been to that hasn’t singled me out for being an immigrant.

In this new environment, I stopped agonizing over where my family is from and how they speak English. Throughout

freshman year, I confidently told my friends and classmates about my experiences as a Belarusian immigrant and strove to educate those who didn’t know much about my culture. This relationship was both blissful and exciting, and for a while, I nearly forgot that accents could be a point of contention. I didn’t think that accents could make more of a difference than just a puzzled expression at the deli or a request to repeat a coffee order.

I forgot these things until one of my volleyball coaches asked me where my father was from, then gave me a look of pity when I told him, “Belarus.” I forgot these things until I watched a teammate’s parent pretend to not understand my father when he spoke, or met his greetings with cold silence. I forgot these things until I discovered that my father and I were ruthlessly gossiped about by the rest of the parents and players and ostracized for being the only family who didn’t speak flawless English. For the first time, instead of embarrassment over the way my heritage was perceived, I felt boiling rage.

Over time, this rage has evolved into pity and a realization that accents can act as a permanent stain on the public perception of an individual. Research has shown that it takes us less than 30 seconds to first profile people based on how their voice sounds, then make snap judgments about their socioeconomic class, background, and

ethnic origin. Such judgments often entail assumptions about an individual’s education, intelligence, and social skills, constituting what is known as “lingustic discrimination.” In the work place, research has shown that linguistic discrimination may translate to feelings of exclusion and job stagnation, with direct evidence linking an accent to difficulties in career progression.

Modern sensitivity training typically addresses our implicit biases pertaining to gender, religion, and sexual orientation.

But the costs of accent-based discrimination necessitate its incorporation into such curricula.

Employees must shift their focus from the delivery of a message to its contents. And if an individual’s accent is hindering comprehension, simply asking her to repeat, slow down, or rephrase her message will create a stronger foundation for respect and understanding toward individuals with non-native or regional accents.

In my 16-and-a-half years, I’ve learned to accept my family’s speech patterns and use my own knowledge of English to help them in any way that I can. Yet outside of Stuyvesant, it seems that even a liberal-minded city such as New York is hesitant to do the same. Through minor changes to implicit bias curricula and a work-place emphasis on an individual’s qualifications over their dialect, accents will no longer be a source of prejudice toward immigrant families.

India’s New Citizenship Law and Creeping Hindu Nationalism

By BRIAN MOSES

Britain’s 1947 partition of its Indian territories into Hindu and Muslim countries gave rise to modern India as we know it.

Though the ensuing mass migration of Hindus to India and Muslims to Pakistan caused a devastating loss of life, India still retained a sizeable Muslim minority. Accordingly, the country’s 1949 constitution created, in essence, a secular democracy, guaranteeing basic rights like freedom of speech and freedom of religion. But the new country was confronted with a plethora of issues: the legacy of the caste system, tensions with neighboring Pakistan and four consequent wars, an extremely underdeveloped economy, and of course, religious tensions.

It is against this backdrop that India’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won a majority in Parliament in 2014 with only eight percent of the Muslim vote. The party certainly made some economic progress, such as electrification, the improvement of infrastructure, and the increased ease of doing business. But since then, the party has also been responsible for a disquieting trend, one that threatens to erode Indian national unity and democracy: a growing sentiment of Hindu nationalism. Rather than focusing on much-needed reforms to stimulate India’s underdeveloped economy, the BJP has turned to the pursuit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda.

Five months ago, the Muslim-majority Kashmir state on the Pakistani border was stripped of its autonomous sta-

tus. This revocation was then followed by a crackdown, internet blackouts, and the detention of politicians and opposition activists in the area. Around the same time, the government began a new program in the state of Assam, whereby all residents were required to provide documents proving they were Indian citizens. They planned to expand the program nationally and create a National Register of Citizens (NRC)—measures intended to root out illegal immigrants coming from neighboring Bangladesh. There was one problem, though: a considerable portion of those who could not turn up documents were Hindus.

That’s where the BJP’s new citizenship law, passed several weeks ago, comes into play. It allows illegal immigrants who entered before 2015 and are religious minorities from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, or Pakistan to easily apply for Indian citizenship. Proponents of the bill argue that it is merely an attempt to protect religious minorities from those countries who fled persecution. But upon further scrutiny, this argument does not hold.

While the bill includes Hindus, Christians, and other groups, it excludes Muslim groups who are persecuted in their countries, such as the Ahmadis in Pakistan.

The bill is thus a plain attempt to provide cover for Hindu illegal immigrants while barring Muslims, another step in Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda.

Protests quickly erupted over the law’s passage, claiming dozens of lives, and they have not stopped since. The protestors are primarily defenders of a secular India, as well as Muslims who see

their citizenship as being threatened. If a National Registry of Citizens were to be implemented, many Indians might struggle to turn up physical documents proving their citizenship. But of these individuals, only those of the Muslim faith would risk being sent to detention centers and deported, since the new citizenship law allows those of other faiths who are unable to turn up documents to easily apply for citizenship.

verting attention from pressing economic woes that the country faces. India’s GDP per capita (average yearly income of a single person) is the equivalent of just $7100. And more importantly, India’s population is still increasing rapidly. Without economic growth commensurate with its population growth, the country must suffer increasing unemployment. In fact, that’s exactly what has happened over the past few years: GDP growth

Rather than focusing on much-needed reforms to stimulate India’s underdeveloped economy, the BJP has turned to the pursuit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist agenda.

The new law, then, makes the government’s defense of the NRC as protecting against illegal immigration especially flawed because in practice, it does the very opposite for non-Muslim immigrants. In fact, the law would do little more than prevent the illegal immigration of Muslims and threaten the citizenship of Muslims who are native Indians.

The BJP’s focus on marginalizing Muslims is detrimental to not only Muslims, but also the nation at large; it risks di-

has plunged by half since 2016, and unemployment is at its highest level since 1972.

The government has made efforts to address the crisis by cutting taxes, but this surfacelevel solution does not address the country’s structural economic issues that impede long-term growth. And instead of taking the politically daunting path of implementing reforms—such as expanding free trade, loosening labor laws, and privatizing state-owned businesses—the

BJP has tried to distract Indians from the failing economy by stoking sectarian tensions. The party is well-aware that the nation’s slowing economy could spell electoral disaster, seeing as they campaigned on a promise to promote economic growth.

In fact, the party’s concern has led to its attempted suppression of recent reports that indicate record levels of unemployment.

It is also the primary reason that the government turned toward stoking Hindu nationalism in the run-up to their re-election victory last year—a trend that has not stopped since. As a result, all Indians will suffer.

But concern for India’s rising Hindu nationalism shouldn’t just be limited to those directly affected by it—it should extend globally. Because in today’s globalized economy, India’s slow growth will serve as an international impediment, leaving no country unharmed. And as India stagnates economically, it will serve as less of an economic and geopolitical counterweight to China. The potential costs thus necessitate action by the international community. And though the extent to which we may spur India to change course is limited, American companies and investors must make it clear that increased Hindu nationalism will discourage investment. Further, the U.S. government should refrain from striking any trade deals with India until the BJP stops pushing its Hindu nationalist agenda and begins working toward a better India for all Indians—and, by extension, the world at large.

Page 12

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Opinions

By MATTHEW QIU

President Donald Trump’s “America First” policy was a key part of his 2016 presidential campaign platform, something he has maintained in his approach to foreign policy throughout his term. Trump’s actions regarding alliance management have raised serious concerns among foreign policy experts and everyday people alike.

Since Trump has taken office, he has alienated numerous allies, especially in East Asia.

One key player that Trump has alienated is Japan. Just days after entering office, Trump withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a major trade agreement that was signed during Obama’s term in office of which Japan was also a part.

Trump’s threats of steel tariffs and automobile duties have also created an economic rift between the U.S. and Japan.

Most important, however, are Trump’s actions that have called into question U.S. security commitments to core partners in the region. Trump has increasingly ramped up demands for U.S. troop presence and support for partners in strategic areas. In early December, Trump demanded that Japan and South Korea pay more for the stationing of troops and military bases in their respective countries. These demanded increases have been perceived as extravagant with some as large

Trump the Alliance Wrecker

as five-fold.

Trump clearly doesn’t see U.S. alliances as bilateral agreements where both sides receive reciprocal benefits from their ties; his actions have demonstrated a continuing destructive pattern. Appeasement from allies has so far prevented a stirring of the pot, but Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will find it increasingly difficult to tolerate

to take a more stringent stance on America’s participation in NATO. Trump’s repeated criticism of NATO for what he believes to be disproportionate contributions from other members has highlighted a continuing trend in Trump’s treatment of alliances. In early December, President Donald Trump clashed with French President Emmanuel Macron over key is-

Trump’s myopic approach to dealing with foreign policy is dangerous and has the capacity to result in detrimental long-term consequences.

Trump’s demands should they continue to escalate. Though it may appear to be in America’s best interests to extract as much value from its alliances as it can when considered in a vacuum, this line of thinking is a short-sighted way of evaluating the value of strong U.S. alliances. Japan and South Korea have been historical partners with the United States and the long-standing alliance has had a deterring effect against actors like North Korea, which have the potential to destabilize the region.

Furthermore, Trump has made it no secret that he wishes

sues like Turkey, in addition to previous comments made by Macron regarding the course of NATO. Multipolarity seems inevitable as countries like China have exponentially accelerated their economic growth while expanding military capabilities as well. Trump’s increasingly isolationist stance only serves to propel this process forward. Trump’s myopic approach to dealing with foreign policy is dangerous and has the capacity to result in detrimental long-term consequences. The world of geopolitics is shifting quickly, and Trump’s narcissis-

tic attitude toward international relations is destabilizing and, quite frankly, net-worse for U.S. interests.

This issue is more pertinent due to the failed denuclearization talks earlier this year with North Korea. While Trump has boasted about his superb negotiating abilities from his background as a businessman, its effects have clearly yet to produce tangible results. North Korea has continued to conduct its missile tests in light of these apparently failed negotiations. Trump’s praise for Kim Jong Un and his apparent disregard for North Korea’s terrible human rights track record has further caused discomfort in allies, as it should. Trump’s strategy of appeasement has yet to yield any fruit and has only further contributed to increasing skepticism of U.S. reliability in the eyes of countries like Japan and South Korea. In fact, this strategy could only serve to embolden North Korea’s demands and actions.

By upending the U.S.’s alliance infrastructure with little in the way of results, Trump has bitten off more than he can chew. This makes the 2020 election all the more crucial.

Another four years of a Trump presidency with this continued “America First” platform could prove disastrous and exacerbate the ramifications of the U.S.’s brazen strongarming against its allies.

His decisions’ scope of illogical neglect isn’t purely isolated to the East Asian region either. Trump’s withdrawal of U.S. troops from Northern Syria in October left long-standing Kurdish allies in the dust and opened them to invasion from Turkish forces. Trump’s acquiescence to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came as a shock to even staunch Republicans such as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and demonstrated Trump’s willingness to leave allies out to fend for themselves in a moment’s notice. This trend, if it were to continue, could cause irreversible damage to U.S. standing in geopolitics and bilateral ties with nations all over the world.

It’s no surprise that South Korean protestors angrily demonstrated outside the embassy following Trump’s exorbitant demand for increased payment for U.S. troops. Countries understand the value in maintaining an alliance with the United States, but the reckless, arbitrary way in which the current administration deals with alliance diplomacy sends a message of narcissism and condescension.

Only time will tell if Trump’s future actions will push this situation past the tipping point.

A reversal of current diplomatic strategy is necessary if the United States is to maintain stable long-term partnerships.

Op-Ed: “The People Need to Know”

By Stefany Quiroz

“Stuyvesant? I don’t know what that is,” she said, blushing.

I repeat it in Spanish in case other parents at our presentation don’t understand either.

She turns to her daughter. “Mija, do you know?”

She doesn’t.

I’m at an outreach presentation, trying to recruit students for RISE, a program created and run by Black and Latinx Stuyvesant students in order to fight the educational inequality in NYC’s public school system.

As I look into the little girl’s eyes, I realize I’m looking at myself five years ago, a time when I didn’t know what specialized high schools were.

I always assumed I’d spend four years confined to my neighborhood high school, but in the seventh grade I discovered everyone had been prepping for something called the SHSAT, a mysterious exam you took in order to attend a Specialized High School (another concept that was new to me). In fact, some of my peers had been prepping for years!

I felt left out of a big secret.

I was aware that private prep would put a dent in my parents’ pockets (they’re both Honduran immigrants who didn’t know about Specialized High Schools either), so I attempted to prep on my own by buying a book online, only to discover I apparently needed to read several books to under-

stand the complex math and grammar I was reading about.

Further research led me to find out about the free prep classes my school offered, but to my dismay, I found them to be brief, broad, and basic.

And by then I was running out of time.

The SHSAT was only a month away.

I came clean to my parents and told them about the test and why I needed to prep.

They were stunned when they realized how expensive private prep was, but agreed to let me do it.

Less than three weeks later, I took the SHSAT.

I passed.

To this day I wonder why the SHSAT remains a mystery to people of underrepresented communities. Black and Latinx students seem unaware of the existence of Specialized High Schools in NY, increasing the educational inequality throughout New York City’s education system.

There are eight specialized high schools in New York City, as well as other prestigious high schools such as Bard, Beacon, and Townsend Harris.

These institutions provide students with countless opportunities, such as access to modern facilities, more rigorous education, and potential internships that look great on college applications.

According to The New York Times, an abundance of students in underrepresented communities are unaware of the fact that specialized high

schools exist and have no resources to assist them in the process. In November 2019, the paper reported White parents had paid $200 for a local admissions consultant’s newsletter consisting of reminders and advice. The newsletter also included a tip advising them to arrive up to two hours early to the Beacon open house, leaving tens of thousands of eligible families out of the picture, and underrepresented and working families at the end of the line.

Sixty years after Brown v. Board of Education, schools continue to be segregated.

Specialized High Schools offer an abundance of resources and opportunities for their students, and yet there are schools in the Bronx that are predominantly Black and Latinx that are highly policed and have very few social workers and guidance counselors, highlighting a clear disparity across the system. Black and Latinx enrollment in Specialized High Schools has plummeted over the last 40 years, with Stuyvesant dropping from 14 percent to four percent, Brooklyn Tech from 50 percent to 14 percent, and the Bronx High School of Science from 23 percent to nine percent. The rates keep dropping.

Mayor Bill de Blasio has attempted to provide solutions to this segregation and educational inequality. However, this hasn’t been effective: only seven Black students were accepted into Stuyvesant last year, and the combined percentage of Black and Latinx students in the school makes up just about four percent in a school of over

3,000.

In 2019, Black and Latinx students got only 10 percent of the offered seats at these schools.

These numbers are unacceptable.

Many argue that eliminating the SHSAT or test prep centers will get rid of these disparities, but this ignores the bigger issue at hand: the lack of opportunities and resources in poorer and underrepresented neighborhoods, and the lack of knowledge of and preparation for the test. Eliminating the test ignores that and continues to deprive children in those communities of the resources they need. The city has recently approved millions of dollars for prisons and MTA regulation, so why can’t it do the same for underfunded elementary and middle schools?

I carried the guilt of making my parents pay for prep all the way to high school. Why did I get to go to Stuyvesant while my neighborhood friends were attending zone schools with little to no resources and slim prospects of a future? Why was I looking into competitive colleges when my friends didn’t even know if they could graduate?

Many of my Black and Latinx friends in schools like Stuyvesant and Brooklyn Tech also shared this guilt.

But the guilt had nothing on my imposter syndrome.

Sitting in classes or walking in the halls and seeing no one who looked like me made me doubt my own capabilities, and wheth-

er people who looked like me truly belonged in this environment. Added to this, there was a constant barrage of microaggressions coming from White and Asian students: being asked who I had cheat off of when I’d get a higher grade, when my green card was going to come in (I was born in Brooklyn), or whose houses my mother cleaned.

I spoke to students who attend Specialized High Schools and people who don’t.

We all share the same sentiment.

We want to be surrounded by those who look like us. We want to have an inclusive community.

We want to have opportunities and give them to people who don’t have them. We want to be heard.

So that the next time we go to an outreach presentation, I’m not the only person who knows.

“The People Need to Know” is an op-ed written by guest writer and senior Stefany Quiroz. It is accompanied by a video; scane the QR code below to view it on YouTube.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 13

Science Chimerism, and How It Can Skew Criminal Investigations

By ARTHUR LIANG

Meet Chris Long, a leukemia patient who received a life-saving bone marrow transplant from an organ donor. Years after his procedure, however, it was found that swabs of his lips and cheeks contained both his DNA and that of his donor. Perhaps even more surprisingly, all of the DNA in his semen and blood belonged to his donor.

Long is a chimera: someone with two sets of DNA. There has only been roughly 100 confirmed cases of chimerism, with the most common cause being pregnant women absorbing cells from their fetuses or vice versa. Chimerism has been observed in twins and triplets as well, presumably because of their fetal proximity. As in Long’s case, blood transfusions can also confer chimerism onto a previously unaffected individual.

Chimerism isn’t very harmful and usually does not affect the individual’s day-to-day life. The condition’s relatively low profile has led to insufficient research on the subject, especially on its prevalence in criminal investigations and forensic science.

In recent decades, forensic investigation of crime scenes

has enabled investigators to catch many elusive criminals and exonerate many wrongly accused suspects. The crux of many of these investigations lies in DNA and in the longheld belief that a single perpetrator leaves behind only a single genetic code.

But what if a chimera committed the crime? They would have also left behind the DNA of the innocent donor, possibly living thousands of miles away. Scientists call these individuals chimeric criminals: criminals who leave two sets of DNA in a crime scene. This brings about many questions but there are two that must be addressed: “Should the police worry that a suspect whose DNA does not match a crimescene sample is a chimera?” and “Should we rethink some of the hundreds of DNA exonerations that have proved so important in pinpointing sources of error in the criminal justice system?” The situation proves more tricky and ambiguous when factoring in several studies that suggest chimerism being way more prevalent than we think it is. In their book “Genetic Justice,” authors Sheldon Krimsky and Tania Simoncelli, who are both heavily involved in cutting-edge scientific develop-

ments, maintain how “chimerism could be commonplace in the general population.”

Widespread prevalence of chimerism could very well flip the well-established forensic scene upside down.

David H. Kaye’s article on chimeric criminals provides much-needed commentary on the mechanisms of chimerism and its implications on the field of forensics. He argues that the conclusion that chimerism “could undermine the very basis of forensic DNA system” is “as unfounded as it is unnerving.” His principal argument is that chimerism does not actually skew criminal investigations as much as we may think it does. He says that we should not consider all cases of chimerism because many of them can be categorized as “microchimerism,” with insignificant amounts of foreign DNA present in a crime scene. This cracks down on Krimsky and Simoncelli’s suggestion that most, if not all, of us could be chimeras.

Microchimerism is mainly caused by the transfer of blood between mother and fetus or between fraternal twins.

Blood transfusions cause temporary chimerism in the blood but do not deter the investigation because no other per-

son will have that unique dual DNA type, and other samples like cheek and lip swabs will still overlap with the blood evidence enough to not exclude the suspect at hand.

Complete bone marrow transplants, as in Long’s case, cause functionally permanent chimerism and are impossible to identify in a simple physical check. In many cases, investigators have only circumstantial evidence to deduce which of the two people the DNA points to is the criminal. These confusions have already presented themselves in select cases in the past. For example, in 2008, a car accident in Seoul, South Korea led the country’s National Forensic Service on a weeks-long investigation to uncover the identity of the crash victim.

However, blood examinations showed that they were female while the body and kidney appeared to be male. Spleen and lung examinations contained both types of DNA. It was a while before the investigators discovered the victim was indeed male, and that the female DNA was accounted for by the fact that he had received a bone marrow transplant from his daughter. Similarly, Kaye presents the “tetragametric chimerism,” caused by

the fusion of twins (four sex cells) very early during development. Sex cells, even from the same parent, are virtually never the same, causing the resulting chimeric offspring to have tissues that do not match one another which may lead to false exclusion.

These chimerisms culminate into an overarching question for forensics. How common would it be for an individual to have a single cell line in a forensic tissue of interest (e.g. blood or semen) but not have the same cell line in cheek and lip swabs that provide reference DNA? Answering this would allow investigators to discern whether “chimeras are a rule rather than a rare exception.” Kaye has an answer, concluding that though chimerism is real and observable, it does not warrant an overhaul on established forensic procedures since it is only responsible for a small number of false accusations and exonerations.

Nevertheless, the medical and legal communities must be equipped and ready to grapple with the questions surrounding chimerism even as forensic technologies improve and our understanding of chimerism advances.

A New Way of Traveling in Space: The Skyhook

By VICTOR LIU

Imagine a future in which all of our solar system’s planets, asteroids, and moons are interconnected through a mega-highway of space infrastructure. Imagine a future in which civilians can travel to places like Mars or Saturn on a whim. Imagine a future in which we can easily link planet-scale civilizations with a cheap, rapid, and efficient method of celestial transportation. This is the future that the Skyhook holds.

Conventional methods of space travel usually require a great deal of time and money to implement, execute, and maintain. The massive, gas-guzzling rockets of our day need huge investments and resources just to carry a few kilograms of payload to the Moon or Mars. The underlying reason for the massive cost of space travel is the overwhelming pull of Earth’s gravity.

In order to propel a spacecraft into space, engineers need to ensure that the vehicle reaches a certain threshold called the escape velocity, which is the speed an object needs to be moving at in order to escape the influence of Earth’s gravity and fly into outer space. The economic problem with payload-heavy, fuel-reliant rockets lies in the battle to overcome the escape velocity every time one blasts off in an eruption of smoke and flame.

If rocket scientists and engineers add a kilogram of payload to a traditional vehicle, extra fuel is required to carry that added weight. However, the fuel itself adds a certain amount of weight, which the rocket needs even more fuel to carry. The end result is a positive feedback loop in which more and more weight is

added to the rocket just to carry a few kilograms of material into outer space. Rocket scientists must find an optimal mass that serves as a ceiling for how much the payload can weigh, a mathematical problem dubbed the “rocket equation.” This task is complicated and always riddled with budgetary and intellectual constraints. The rocket equation, quite simply, is one of the

and is flung at an extremely rapid velocity into outer space. To put it bluntly, the Skyhook is a massive slingshot made for space travel.

At the spacecraft’s destination point would be another rotating Skyhook waiting to receive the spaceship. This receptor station would “catch” the craft at a docking station of its own and slow it down to a manageable

extraterrestrial worlds. Going to Mars would become significantly easier, and traveling to Saturn or even Neptune would be a simple task considering the energy that could be saved through the construction of Skyhooks.

The concept of such a technology has already been backed

by Boeing and NASA. Boeing has conducted a study on Skyhook-like infrastructure un-

The concept of a Skyhook is relatively simple, but it is one with huge untapped potential for humanity’s future among the stars.

reasons why rocket science is so hard.

To overcome this problem, scientists and engineers are proposing a revolutionary new way of space travel: the Skyhook.

The concept of the Skyhook involves attaching a massive tether to a counterweight that orbits around the Earth. This tether would be located above the upper edge of the atmosphere and would rotate around a center of mass as it travels through the atmosphere. At one end of the tether would be a launch station for high-speed aircrafts or spacecrafts. The tether would then rotate around its center of mass, gradually gathering momentum and spinning at increasingly high speeds, until the craft detaches

speed. At this point, the vehicle would detach and make its own way down to the surface.

The Skyhook would drastically reduce the amount of fuel and money needed to travel to places like the Moon or Mars.

Some NASA representatives even described it as “the first idea [they] have seen that offers a believable path to $100 per pound to orbit.” Most of the fuel that a spacecraft would need is simply for flying to the Skyhook’s docking station in the upper atmosphere, which is much easier than escaping the gravitational influence of Earth. Skyhook launch stations could potentially be constructed in the atmosphere all around Earth, allowing all of humanity to travel to

der NASA funding, titled “Hypersonic Airplane Space Tether Orbital Launch System” (HASTOL). This study has confirmed the viability of the idea, stating that the “fundamental conclusion of the Phase 1 HASTOL study effort is that the concept is technically feasible” and that “the systems are completely reusable and have the potential of drastically reducing the cost of Earth-to-orbit space access.”

In order for spacecrafts to safely land on the docking stations of Skyhooks, positioning system technologies would be used. These positioning technologies would use optical sensors to pinpoint the precise location of the Skyhook at a certain time; then computerized guid-

ance systems would slow down the spacecraft and calibrate its movement to properly land at the docking station. These technologies have been used in the past for missions to the Moon and Mars and can easily be modified for Skyhook navigation systems.

However, the materials needed to construct Skyhooks are not available yet. The material used would need to withstand impacts and collisions from atmospheric debris and meteorites and still be lightweight enough to not slow down the craft’s motion through space. While both lightweight and durable carbon fibers exist today, they cannot currently be mass-produced due to exorbitant costs and logistical problems.

Skyhooks are not completely without risks. If a Skyhook miscalculates the correct timing to release a spaceship into space, the spaceship can go completely off track and end up floating forever into the cosmos. The landing platform at a spaceship’s destination site could also malfunction and miscalculate when the craft will arrive, causing the tether to fail to catch the vehicle and potentially trigger a crash.

While Skyhooks need to overcome multiple obstacles in order to be feasible and useful for space travel in the future, they still offer incomparable benefits to today’s fuel rockets.

Their massively increased efficiency would eliminate the everpresent rocket problem and propel humanity toward exploring the next frontier of space. The concept of a Skyhook is relatively simple, but it is one with huge untapped potential for humanity’s future among the stars.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 14

Science

By RANIA ZAKI

by 2050 and understand the mysteries of the corona and the solar wind by analyzing the Sun right at its surface.

PSP’s mission is to observe, analyze, and understand the Sun’s many mysteries in a remarkable new way. Powered by solar panels on each of its sides, the probe is stationed 15 million miles away from the Sun as it orbits the star.

After each orbit, PSP uses Venus’s gravity to increase its speed and decrease its orbit radius. Due to its six-inch-thick heat shield, the probe thrives in extreme temperatures and recently completed three out of 25 expected orbits. By the end of its mission, PSP will be 3.5 million miles closer to the Sun, traveling at a remarkable speed of 430,000 mph, making it the fastest human-made object.

After two years in the dark about the probe’s findings, papers in “Nature” documented the data transmitted from PSP and the underlying discoveries for the first time in December 2019. The data observed by PSP reformed the hypotheses and knowledge scientists had about the direction, speed, and source of the solar wind and provided a wealth of topological data about the Sun and its surrounding bodies.

In the first paper, one of the observations that the probe made was the first proof of dust dimming as it approaches the Sun. This interstellar dust, made from collisions that formed planets, asteroids, and comets billions of years ago, is everywhere in space.

Scientists have long hypothesized that the Sun’s heat evaporates the dust particles, creating a dust-free zone around the Sun. There was no proof for such a hypothesis until PSP showed that the dust starts to thin a little over seven million miles from the Sun. Astronomers predict this dust-free zone will surround the Sun two to four million miles away, which means toward 2022, astronomers at NASA may be the first to either see this dustfree zone or disprove the theory supporting its existence. If this dust-free zone is forming around the Sun, does that mean all stars have a dust-free zone that no other astronomical object has? If so, at what heat does the dust-free zone occur? Is the dust-free zone related to the high heat of the corona?

These are only the beginning of questions that the mission ignites

in astronomers via PSP. As I started writing this article several weeks ago on December 11, 2019, the solar probe made the first picture of the trail of debris that causes the Geminid meteor shower. Astronomers already knew this trail was present and came from the asteroid Phaethon, but they had never gotten a good look at it because it was too faint from Earth to observe. “We calculate a mass on the order of a billion tons for the entire trail, which is not as much as we’d expect for the Geminids, but much more than Phaethon produces near the sun,” Karl Battams, a space scientist at the U.S. Naval Research Lab in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. The material in the stream was likely ejected in one dramatic event several thousand years ago, perhaps during one of Phaethon’s close solar passes, he added. Those passes occur every 524 Earth days, and in the next year, PSP may observe them up close for the first time.

To many at NASA, the collected data of PSP shocked and altered once-solid hypotheses about the solar wind and its properties. “We think of the solar wind—as we see it near Earth—as very smooth, but Parker saw surprisingly slow wind, full of little bursts and jets of plasma,” said Tim Horbury, a lead researcher on PSP’s FIELDS instruments based at Imperial College London. NASA used PSP to collect data about the magnetic field of the solar wind. The astronomers recorded stable levels of magnetic fields from Earth, but at the Sun it was revealed that the magnetic field twists upon itself in an “S” shape, not unlike a whip or a rogue wave. This type of movement in the solar wind is known as a “switchback,” in which the magnetic field in the wind folds back on itself until it is pointed almost directly back at the Sun. The exact origin of the switchbacks isn’t certain, but some scientists say that switchbacks may be traces of a process that heats the corona and an answer to the coronal heating mystery. Continually in the following years of the PSP mission, the understanding of the coronal heat-

ing mystery, even if it is unclear, will continue to be an important task of the mission and to NASA astronomers.

Not only did PSP pick up a totally new form of the solar wind, but it also disproved predictions about the speed of the wind. Astronomers studying the aging of the stars estimated that the solar wind should be spinning at a few kilometers per second, but PSP calculated the wind moving at speeds nearly five times faster than predicted velocities. “The large rotational flow of the solar wind seen during the first encounters has been a real surprise,” Justin Kasper, the principal investigator for the Solar Wind Electrons Alphas and Protons, said.

“While we hoped to eventually see rotational motion closer to the Sun, the high speeds we are seeing in these first encounters is nearly 10 times larger than predicted by the standard models.”

The source of the wind cannot be understood from data collected on Earth; it’s just too far away.

But 15 million miles away from the Sun, PSP gave astronomers a new clue about a possible source of the wind. Coronal holes are places in the Sun where sunspots occur that are signified with cooler hydrogen and helium atoms. Toward the equator of the Sun, these coronal holes release the more slow-spinning wind while holes near the pole release faster-spinning wind. In one of the four “Nature” articles, it states, “During the solar minimum, when the Sun is at its least active, the solar wind is observed at high latitudes as a predominantly fast (more than 500 kilometers per second), highly Alfvénic (type of wind) rarefied stream of plasma originating from deep within coronal holes.” These observations not only lead to a possible source of the solar wind, but also support

the Sun’s rotation theory in which the Sun rotates faster toward each pole and slower as it approaches the equator. Though the mechanism that drives the solar wind is unresolved, PSP is lending astronomers data that could only be collected near the Sun. Better understanding of the speed of the solar wind will help astronomers predict the effects of the solar wind, the aging of the sun, and the release of particle blobs in the solar wind. The blobs, also called coronal mass ejections, are released in the solar wind every 90 minutes as a clump of particles that are 50 to 500 times bigger than the size of Earth. Whether the Sun releases coronal mass ejections in 90-minute intervals continuously or in spurts and how much they vary between themselves is still a mystery. “The regions in front of coronal mass ejections build up material, like snowplows in space, and it turns out these ‘snow plows’ also build up material from previously released solar flares,” Nathan Schwadron, a space scientist at the University of New Hampshire, said in the same statement. When these blobs smack into Earth’s magnetic fields, they interfere with satellites and power grids, like the solar wind.

When a huge coronal mass ejection interfered with Earth’s magnetic field in 1989, it caused significant circuit failure. If such an event were to occur again, astronomers predict a global blackout of communications technology and systems.

There’s plenty more time for the discovery and gathering of data required to understand the predictions. By the end of its mission in 2025, the probe will have 21 more encounters with the Sun and will get more than three times closer to the star than it has so far.

However, scientists may find that the Parker Solar Probe will pose far more questions than answers as humans expand to search the universe. Undoubtedly, the Parker Solar Probe is a leap in applied physics and mechanics, a huge step forward for astronomy, and a revolution in engineering and interstellar understanding.

Aries Ho / The Spectator

About 93 million miles away from Stuyvesant is an active system that burns with nuclear energy and erupts with explosions of mass, excited particles, and magnetic fields.

This active misunderstood system, also known as our Sun, remains a deeper mystery than what we perceive from the surface. Though it looks relatively solid from Earth, it is a hot blazing core surrounded by a dense ball of gas called the corona. The corona is a stream of particles that can be observed as solar flares or as the white ring surrounding the moon’s silhouette during a solar eclipse. Temperatures in the corona reach more than one million Kelvin, about 167 times hotter than the Sun itself.

The enigma of the energy source that heats the corona’s temperature is a longstanding question in solar science, referred to as the coronal heating mystery, and is constantly misunderstood.

The corona is not only extraordinarily hot, but also the origin of a devastating space storm known as the solar wind. The solar wind consists of magnetized particles clumped together in a fast-moving wave released from the corona.

This wind spins around the Sun before heading out to reach the end of Pluto’s orbit, affecting every magnetic field it encounters.

This storm interferes with Earth’s magnetic fields, satellites, and power grids so often that the solar wind constitutes the most common reason for satellite failure.

However, the common solar wind is hard to study from Earth due to the insufficient images produced from the dimming of the solar wind as it leaves its source, the Sun. “You’re constantly asking yourself how much of what I’m seeing here is because of evolution over four days in transit, and how much came straight from the Sun?” said solar scientist Nicholeen Viall, working at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The solar wind and the corona dump information like waterfalls onto astronomers, who from Earth can only stare at the end of the information and not the source of the waterfall. However, that changed in 2018 when Cape Canaveral Air Force Station collaborated with NASA to launch the Parker Solar Probe (PSP) with a mission to orbit the Sun 25 times

The Mission To Touch The Sun

Social Media May Hinder Efforts to Save Australian Koala Habitats

By ZOE PICCIRILLO AND CHLOE TERESTCHENKO

Since the end of October, bushfires have been devastating forests, grasslands, and plains all over the Australian landmass.

Scientists speculate that after just two months of these bushfires spreading through the country, 1,000 koalas have died of severe burns and dehydration. As these wildfires continue to burn into the new year, it is predicted that up to 30 percent of koalas in the region have died. As of January, roughly half a billion animals in total—including koalas—have perished in the crisis. Despite the rapid decrease of the Australian koala population, however, social media has been sending exaggerated information regarding the koalas’ situation. Specifically, a Forbes article calling the koalas “functionally extinct” can be a threat on its own. Conservationists worry that little will be done to promote the koalas’ survival if this term is used to describe them.

According to National Geographic, a species that is functionally extinct “no longer has enough individual members to produce future generations or play a role in the ecosystem.” Another definition of functionally extinct regards a species that still occurs in the wild but can’t effectively reproduce. Scientists, however, are unsure if this term is accurate for the koalas’ situation. Since the bushfires only started recently, it is too early to determine whether the koalas are truly functionally extinct, because their future role in the ecosystem cannot yet be determined.

The International Union for Conservation approximates that 300,000 adult koalas still live in the wild, making their status vulnerable, meaning they are likely to become endangered species unless conditions improve, rather than functionally extinct. It is difficult to measure koala populations, however, because the animal has a wide range across eastern Australia and is human-shy.

The International Union for Conservation’s classification of the koalas demonstrates the need for conservation efforts, unlike the spread of the term “functionally extinct,” which indicates a point of no return for the species. An example of conservation includes limiting human interactions with koala habitats. The World Wide Fund for NatureAustralia has predicted that koalas will become extinct in the wild by as early as 2050 if deforestation and other human threats are continuously present: land development, food degradation, drought, dog attacks, and chlamydia. To prevent this, the remaining eucalypt forests should be preserved, cleared forests should be regenerated, and isolated patches of habitat should be connected. Such actions are less likely to be taken if people hold the belief that nothing can be done to save the koalas due to their misleading “functionally extinct” status.

This confusion about the koalas’ status shows that social

media can be a double-edged sword when publicizing information about environmental crises.

Since photos, comments, and videos can lead people to form uninformed opinions about rescue methods and awareness, social media must be utilized carefully.

Particularly moving was a video of a woman attempting to save a koala near fire by wrapping it in her shirt and feeding it water. The video was graphic, detailing the koala’s pain and its injuries. It invoked a deep emotional response in many; it is indeed difficult not to sympathize with the koalas in danger after watching the video.

While this koala was put to rest due to the extent of its injuries, this act of salvation rejects the “functionally extinct” attitude spreading through social media and promotes conservation efforts instead. Additionally, the name of the Forbes article calling the koalas “functionally extinct” has been changed to “Fires May Have Killed Up To 1,000 Koalas, Fueling Concerns Over The Fu-

ture Of The Species,” suggesting a questionable future for the koalas rather than one that is hopeless.

Social media can be a resourceful tool if used properly when describing the status of species.

For example, tracking users to pinpoint regions that need more attention from conservationists can generate more conservation efforts. Photo-sharing websites, such as Flickr, can monitor potential hazards for animals. Social media can also be utilized to send out information about emergencies and natural disasters. Via an alert system of social media, experts can respond to the needs of injured animals, shelter, and care.

Similarly, social media can be used to aid donation efforts and engagement in public policy.

Through these methods, social media can ultimately be used to help conservation efforts with koalas and other animals that may be in need of awareness before it’s too late.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 15

Arts and Entertainment Music

By SAMIRA ESHA The Grammys are undoubtedly the biggest night in the music industry. Every year the most influential artists of the year attend the show while millions watch from home. Winners are chosen by the Academy’s voting members, similar to the Oscars’ voting process.

In recent years, the public has frequently been outraged after seeing the results, believing that the wrong winners were picked. Nonetheless, almost 20 million people tune in every year with their own predictions of who the winners will be, anticipating the outcome.

Here are A&E’s predictions for the 2020 Grammys!

Record of the Year Hey, Ma by Bon Iver Bad Guy by Billie Eilish 7 Rings by Ariana Grande Hard Place by H.E.R. Talk by Khalid Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (predicted winner) Truth Hurts by Lizzo Sunflower by Post Malone & Swae Lee As his first single ever, Lil Nas X took two highly incompatible genres, rap and country, and combined them to make one of the biggest songs of all time. “Old Town Road” charted the Billboard Hot 100 for a record-breaking 19 weeks, making it one of the most beloved songs of the year. The trap background music alongside a deep country tone makes this song the first of its kind. The song gained mass attention when it became a success on the popular app Tik Tok and was used for dancing, leading it to reach meme status. As the meme blew up and a remix was released featuring Billy Ray Cyrus, it became a smash hit.

Album of the Year I, I by Bon Iver Norman F***ing Rockwell! by Lana

Thinkpiece

By MAYA NELSON

A&E’s 2020 Grammy Predictions Del Rey (predicted winner) When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande I Used To Know Her by H.E.R. 7 by Lil Nas X Cuz I Love You by Lizzo Father Of The Bride by Vampire Weekend Lana Del Rey’s fifth studio album was highly anticipated and has left fans and critics extremely satisfied.

As her best and most mature album by far, Del Rey portrays her outlook on Hollywood and romance through her recurring haunting and melancholic sound. She also reflects on the drastic change in America and puts her own sarcastic commentary on the modified social norms. Released the day before the Grammy nomination cut-off, Del Rey’s album was close to not even receiving a nomination. With the involvement of Jack Antonoff, a man known to carry musicians to Grammy success, the production and songwriting of her album have granted it to be the front-runner of this category.

Song of the Year Always Remember Us This Way by Lady Gaga Bad Guy by Billie Eilish Bring My Flowers Now by Tanya Tucker Hard Place by H.E.R. Lover by Taylor Swift (predicted winner) Norman F***ing Rockwell by Lana Del Rey Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi Truth Hurts by Lizzo Taylor Swift is highly acclaimed for her songwriting, and Lover is an excellent example of her full potential. Throughout the whole song, Swift expresses her love for her long-time boyfriend, Joe Alwyn. She winds down in the bridge by emulating a wedding speech with heartfelt lyrics. The lyrics transport the audience into Swift’s

world, making you feel what she feels. Swift’s passion and admiration for love are beautifully displayed through her words. This love song takes listeners on the journey of falling in love through Swift’s story-telling and vulnerability in a highly descriptive manner.

Best New Artist Black Pumas Billie Eilish (predicted winner) Lil Nas X Lizzo Maggie Rogers Rosalía Tank and the Bangas Yola As the youngest, and arguably the most successful artist in this category, Billie Eilish has continued to garner new fans and climb up the charts. Eilish’s soft tone and dark melodies are eerie, yet calming at the same time. Eilish speaks on the issues of the new generation, creating songs relatable songs for teenagers like her. Her fluidity and individuality as an artist make her different from many other singers in this category.

Best Pop Duo/ Group Performance Boyfriend by Ariana Grande Sucker by Jonas Brothers Old Town Road by Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus (predicted winner) Sunflower by Post Malone & Swae Lee Señorita by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello The already big “Old Town Road” was made even more popular with the featuring of Billy Ray Cyrus.

The unexpected duo of Lil Nas X, a newly discovered soundcloud rapper, and Cyrus, an old-time country singer, brought together two completely different sounds, but the two artists worked surprisingly well together. As a music veteran, Cyrus broadened the audience while Lil Nas X added a

youthful touch, garnering a wide range of listeners.

Best Pop Vocal Album The Lion King: The Gift by Beyoncé When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? by Billie Eilish Thank U, Next by Ariana Grande (predicted winner) No. 6 Collaborations Project Lover by Taylor Swift Albums with the best vocals are awarded in this category, of which Ariana Grande is the front runner. As last year’s winner, Grande maintains her impressive vocal range from her previous album, “Sweetener,” to “thank u, next,” while exposing her vulnerability to her fans. The album serves as a storybook for Grande’s rough year with songs like “ghostin” reflecting her grief over Mac Miller and her relationship with Pete Davidson. Alongside the lyrical content, the album showed off Grande’s impressive vocals ranges with effortless whistle notes in multiple songs. At her vocal peak, Grande is the true winner of this category.

Best Rap Album Revenge Of The Dreamers III Championships by Meek Mill I Am > I Was by 21 Savage Igor by Tyler, The Creator (predicted winner) The Lost Boy by YBN Cordae As the most unconventional rapper of the decade, Tyler, The Creator steers away from the usual topic of drugs and sex in hip hop and talks about love and heartbreak in Igor.

He breaks the boundaries of rap and puts his own unique spin on the genre. The album possess harmonies and soul, making it stand out alongside the other albums in this category. From producing his own beats and writing his own lyrics on the record, Tyler, The Creator is the most deserving of this award.

YouTube Rewind: Why This Year’s Video Received So Much Hate

trends of the year. “Turn Down for 2014,” for example, recreYouTube officially released ated popular music videos such a video titled “YouTube Rewind as Pharrell Williams’s “Happy.”

2019: For the Record” on Decem- Rewind 2018 technically did the ber 5, 2019. It has since received same thing but with trends like undeserved backlash from people mukbang and Fortnite. With this year’s video, there were many crifor a variety of reasons.

YouTube Rewind is a video tiques made by its viewers; some, created by the online platform ev- however, were quite unreasonable.

In response to last year’s backery year that recaps major internet landmarks, primarily events related lash, YouTube played it safe in to YouTube itself. Since their in- making a compilation of Top Ten ception in 2010, the Rewinds did lists highlighting everything from fairly well until 2015, when they “Most Liked Music Videos” to received a lot of hate for either “Top Breakout Creator.” Viewnot accurately depicting the past ers pointed out its resemblance year or their cringey concepts. The to a “WatchMojo” video, which videos have only been decreasing is a channel notorious for its Top in quality since then. In fact, last Ten videos. YouTube’s attempt to year’s “Everyone Controls Re- make something people couldn’t wind” became the most disliked possibly hate—something that simply showed video on the platform, popular conbecause people were tent on their angry that famous platfor m— YouTubers like ended up Pewdiepie weren’t even worse featured. Additionoff, being ally, unfunny jokes criticized for and sheer cringe cringiness, were scattered unoriginality, throughout, such as and low efthe video game FortAnita Wu / The Spectator fort. YouTube nite, which was overly featured, and actor Will Smith’s even acknowledged in “For the Record” that they knew last year’s role.

Previous YouTube Rewinds video was widely disliked and usually consisted of a funny sketch cringy, stating that they were trying featuring big channels highlighting to make something that appealed

to the people and represented what they liked. Clearly, this plan didn’t work. As of now, the video has received eight million dislikes, making it the third most disliked video on the platform. However, this so-called “laziness” isn’t the only reason for its demise.

The main issue is that people love to hate YouTube Rewind.

People wanted to see it fail, and they wanted to see the cringe because that has become a defining characteristic of YouTube Rewind.

Instead, all they received was the safest recap of the year possible.

No crazy skits, no featured creators (besides clips of their videos), and no personality or character, despite the crazy graphics and transitions.

With what was given, people were not able to pick out something they could laugh at or make fun of. This year’s video simply was not memorable because of how bland it was. People constantly complained about past iterations, criticizing their cringe and begging YouTube to change the way they make these videos, such as by featuring certain creators and events who viewers felt deserved to be in Rewind. However, when YouTube actually listened and made those changes, people realized that they enjoyed being able to attack YouTube and that hating on it was what made the entire event more enjoyable.

The thing is, it’s not just Rewind that people love to bandwagon against. This type of culture is found all over the media. Truth be told, hate is one of the most unifying emotions. People love to collectively hate on one thing or one person, and this can become a real issue when it gets out of hand.

This can be seen with celebrities, companies, and even certain products, in that a small incident or issue becomes magnified because of widespread hate. As a result, “cancel culture” has developed where people come together for the sole purpose of condemning someone or something. Now it has spread to YouTube Rewind, of which its declining quality has invited viewers to attack and constantly make fun of it. No matter what YouTube does, people are always going to find some way to hate on its yearly recaps. The mindset that “YouTube Rewind is bad” has been so ingrained into viewers’ minds that practically nothing can reverse this sentiment. There could even be a “perfect” YouTube Rewind by trying to incorporate creators and trends that people actually want to see in it, but YouTube wouldn’t appeal to everyone, and people would still find something to dislike. After all of the hate, backlash, and criticism this year’s video got, we can only wait and see what YouTube chooses to do next year.

Playlist Hello 2020.

It’s Me.

By THE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT It’s time for your New Year’s resolutions! Listen to this playlist to feel better about yourself.

New Person, Same Old Mistakes Tame Impala Indie Rock Can’t Hardly Wait The Replacements Rock My Body Young the Giant Alternative In My Room Frank Ocean R&B Sober II (Melodrama) Lorde Pop Power is Power SZA (ft. The Weeknd & Travis Scott) Rap Seize the Day The Cast of The Newsies Broadway Immortals Fall Out Boy Pop Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger Daft Punk Electronica Brand New Ben Rector Folk Pop Back in Black AC/DC Hard Rock U Can’t Touch This MC Hammer Hip-hop My Way Frank Sinatra Jazz Youth Glass Animals Indie Pop No Mercy (Intro) Young M.A. Hip-hop Tongue Tied Grouplove Alternative Rock Waking Up Kero Kero Bonito Pop Electronica RICKY Denzel Curry Hip-hop If We Have Each Other Alec Benjamin Pop

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The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Arts and Entertainment Art

Fotografiska: A New Photography Experience

By SASHA BURSHTEYN It was an ordinary ride on the D train at the beginning of the school year—people sleeping, listening to music, and talking amongst each other. Looking around the walls plastered with ads from Seamless and Casper, I found one ad in particular to catch my eye. “Fotografiska,” it read, “Anything but your ordinary museum.” I moved my thumb up and down my phone screen, frustrated, hoping I would not lose service before the website loaded. I was brought to a white, in-progress home page, and under a photo it said that the museum would open in December. I then turned off my phone, counted the months until December, and forgot about Fotografiska until a week ago, when my mom mentioned to me that a new photography museum was opening soon.

The original Fotografiska museum is located in Stockholm, but there is one in Tallinn, Estonia; one under construction in London; and now, one in New York City. Museums around the world are being created in order to spread photography and inspiration, and according to Jan Broman, the co-founder of Fotografiska, New York City’s diversity and vibrancy in culture made it an ideal location for the

I was introduced to a variety of photographers, each with their own unique style and subjects of interest. opening of their next museum.

Fotografiska’s goal is to create a space where people can not only look at art, but also connect to it and to each other. The museum’s building in the Flatiron District has six floors: the lobby with a gift shop, bookstore, and a cafe; a restaurant on the second floor; three floors of galleries; and an event space on the top floor.

When I walked into the museum, I was astounded by the large modern lobby, with its tall bookcases, plants, and the smell of coffee. I always start from the highest floor of museums, so I walked into the elevator, greeted by a smiling curator, and pressed the button for the sixth floor. This was the event space, a brick-walled room with several couches, armchairs, and the carpets with oriental patterns.

Though not a gallery floor, there were photographs from Danny Clinch’s “Amplifier” exhibit, a collection connecting photography to music. In the exhibit’s description, Clinch explained his family history and memories with photography, and how musicians and the want to document moments in music history inspired him to start taking photos. Photos of musical icons like Beyoncé, David Bowie, Radiohead, and many more decorated the area.

On the fifth floor was “Devotion! 30 Years of Photographing Women” by Ellen von Unwerth.

As explained from the title, the exhibit centers around capturing different women’s personalities and emotions and portraying their unique images. At the entrance,

a collage of magazine covers fills up the wall, and Lana Del Rey’s “Lust for Life” plays throughout the space. The photographs of this exhibit are divided into seven themes—lust, love, gender, drama, passion, power, and play—with each theme found in a room of a different color. The exhibit contains both color and black-andwhite work of the photographer, each photograph telling a different story and expressing a special, distinctive character.

The fourth floor had two different exhibits: “Inheritance” by Tawny Chatmon and “Thinking Like a Mountain” by Helene Schmitz. The first is a series of portraits of African American children intricately positioned in front of the camera. The photographs are decorated with acrylic paint and 24k gold leaf, adding to the theme of gracefulness and beauty that Chatmon aims to illustrate. Chatmon emphasizes African American childhood and culture, as well as the importance and the journey of protecting a black child in the modern world.

The latter exhibit, “Thinking Like a Mountain,” is a series of landscape photographs that explore the negative relationship between humans and the environment. Schmitz’s seemingly serene photos reveal the destruction of nature, such as her image of an Icelandic hot spring with pipelines in the background and some depicting one of the world’s largest open pit mines. This exhibit was really eye-opening, as Schmitz managed to include some of the less attractive and more realistic aspects of landscapes, something that isn’t really seen a lot in landscape photography.

Anastasia Taylor-Lind’s “Other People’s Children,” a collaboration with TIME Magazine, is an exhibit studying the lives of women, like babysitters and teachers, who take care of children while their parents are working. Her photos portray the sacrifices people make for other people’s children, as well as the balance between taking care of them and their own children. This exhibit is extremely personal, moving, and heartbreaking. The photos that struck me in particular were related to a babysitter named Deki who left her two children for opportunities in America. The photos’ descriptions explain how she cares for three children for 11 hours each day, as well as other children over the weekends, to earn money to send to her family. Something that really stood out to me was how when the children Deki takes care of asked one of her own children over a video call if he missed Deki.

He said he does not miss Deki, and that he has to focus on his education. The overall themes of this showcase—raising children in New York City, the flaws of child care, and inequalities regarding race and economic status—are extremely visible and prominent in TaylorLind’s photographs.

As an avid museum-goer interested in photography, I was not disappointed by Fotografiska. Though the $18 admission fee for students is more expensive than most other art museums, I was introduced to a variety of photographers, each with their own unique style and subjects of interest. Each of the exhibits told a story, expressed ideas that should be more known, and really made me think. Fotografiska certainly accomplished its goal of being a spot where people can appreciate art and relate to it.

Film

By ALTHEA BARRETT

Fever Dream: The Movie often that very little choreography can actually be seen by the audience. The color palette is all over the place, too and at some points can become even painful to watch because there are

fact that Victoria, originally a dancer with no singing role, is now the You’ve seen the trailer. You’ve protagonist with an additional plotwitnessed its disastrous reception line of trying to find a place among online. You’ve heard the jest, the the Jellicle Cats. Then there’s Mamockery, the jokes. This spectacle cavity, who is now a villain, rigging needs no introduction because it the competition and whisking Old has already introduced itself via the Deuterbang heard from your common feonomy line knocking over an expensive a w a y vase as it stares you down with near the its cold, dead eyes. Originally end of the a Broadway musical, “Cats” is musical. a new film directed by Tom Many Hooper, with executive proof the ducers Stephen Spielberg, charAngela Morrison, and Andrew acters Lloyd Webber, the last of whom h a v e wrote the original hit musical. also had The original “Cats” was intheir original personspired by T.S Eliot’s “Old Pos- so many alities altered—mostly for the sum’s Book of Practical Cats,” a bright colworse. Mr. Mistoffelees (Laurie collection of poems about our ors being Davidson), for example, is feline friends. These poems would shown at now timid and insecure of later be adapted into the lyrics of once. his magical powers, when in Ka Seng Soo / The Spectator the songs in Webber’s production.

The cast of the original, he was far from The musical premiered in 1981 on the movie is star-studded: even shy.

London’s West End, where it was Taylor Swift is in the film as BomBut the most important changpraised as a landmark in Britain’s balurina. This doesn’t translate into es were made to what acted as the history of musical theater. Even a notable performance; the acting centerpieces of the musical: the its naysayers shifted more toward only ranges from subpar to aver- songs. calling it “flawed” than “bad,” their age.

While some songs, such as main complaints being that there To its credit, plenty of the “Macavity: The Mystery Cat,” were was too much going on at once songs are well-voiced and enter- adapted beautifully, most songs onstage. The musical soon made taining, either because they are had been stripped of what made its way to Broadway, where it is still genuinely good or because them so delightful. To “enmostly well received by the public. there is so much haphance” the script, the writers Today, “Cats” is hailed as one of pening on the broke up the song “Mr. Mistthe greatest Broadway musiscreen that offelees” in a (failed) attempt cals and is widely considthe to build dramatic tension and ered a turning point in reduced the playful tune of theater history for its “The Old Gumbie Cat” to originality, creativity, a series of fat jokes. The and splendor. worst adaptation happened So how does the to arguably the best song movie compare? from the original Broadway In the film, a group production: “Memory.” of cats—collectively called This was the most iconic the Jellicles—attends an song from the original muannual ball where one of sical, sung by Grizabella, them is chosen for a new who has lost her previous life in the Heaviside Layer home and is now a stray. (which is never fully exIn the film, however, plained, but implied to be Grizabella (Jennifer Hudsomething like cat heaven) son) plays up the emotion

by Old Deuteronomy behind this song so much (Judi Dench), that the performance bethe unofficial comes exhausting and meloleader of dramatic. the Jellicles.

We cannot discuss the This particmovie without mentioning the ular year, Maelephant in the room: the anicavity (Idris Elba) is kidmation. “Cats” was designed as napping his fellow competitors so a live action movie and layered that he may be the only option left with CGI, making the characters for Old Deuteronomy. The story appear more catlike in form while follows Victoria (Francesca Hayretaining human movements. This ward), a new member of the was done to appeal to group, who is introduced the same audience that to the Jellicle cats as loved the original muthey sing their sical, which featured husongs. mans in catlike costumes.

Yume Igarashi / The Spectator Viewing Live productions have to rely on the movie songs draw most of the people’s imaginations in a way that entirely on its attention. The translation movies do not, for both the setown merit, “Cats” is a failed into a more electronic style keeps ting and the characters. The film’s attempt at a musical. The dancers the songs fresh. I genuinely like the maintenance of these human-like, are consistently placed front and film version of both “Jellicle Songs fantastical designs in the more recenter, yet all movement is edited For Jellicle Cats” and “Macavity: alistic cityscape is rather unsettling. drastically and exaggerated wildly The Mystery Cat.” Instead of accepting the designs as in an attempt to make the dancing The film also made quite a few a mark of artistic liberty, you can’t help but imagine these creatures roaming the streets around your house. That aside, how fully the producers embraced this design choice must be applauded. This specific style appears throughout the film with every animal, includThis spectacle needs no introduction ing the cats, mice, and roaches, and because it has already introduced itself is put on full display at every opportunity through the choreogravia the bang heard from your common phy of the musical numbers.

“Cats” is a fever dream on a feline knocking over an expensive vase screen.

The plot is thin; the pacing over the place; the characters as it stares you down with its cold, dead isareallone-note (and often very different from their Broadway couneyes. terparts); and the songs are a hit or miss. It’s not a good adaptation— let alone a good movie—but it is imaginative in its design. If you’re looking for something strange to gawk at with a group of friends seem more impressive. The cam- notable changes to the original while you eat popcorn, then this is era also feels the need to move so plot. The most obvious being the a fine enough pick.

Page 17

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Arts and Entertainment Theater

By JIAHE WANG In visionary American composer Philip Glass’s long career, there has been no work that is as comprehensive, genre-spanning, and historically intensive as his opera “Akhnaten.” Glass’s musical rebelliousness in the opera parallels the religious zealousness of his muse, Akhnaten himself, who abolished Egypt’s polytheism, instituting his own new quasi-monotheistic religion centered around a new sun god. Akhnaten’s successors spent centuries trying to erase his legacy off the face of the earth, destroying murals and defacing statues.

However, Akhnaten continues to survive and is immortalized in Glass’s modern opera, which was recently revived in a limited run at the Metropolitan in November.

In this new iteration, the legendary pharoah is cast as a tragic figure in an opulent narrative featuring a multilingual libretto, twelve expert jugglers, over-thetop set design, and the first case of full-frontal nudity in the history of the Metropolitan Opera.

After a lengthy prelude of string arpeggios, the curtains are drawn to reveal the maximalist stage. It is divided into three horizontal levels by wooden planks to resemble the cross-section of a huge dollhouse, a nod to the usage of registers—parallel lines that separate a drawing into rows—in traditional Egyptian art. In each space created by the scaffolding is a distinct scene, be it jugglers dressed in skin-tight leotards with exotic prints, or priests gathering together in a secretive manner. In the center room, a group of servants and priests are conducting a funerary ritual, solemnly removing organs from a dead body presumed to be Amenhotep III (Zachary James) and placing them inside canopic jars. All of a sudden, the deceased Amenhotep emerges as a phantom, chanting a funerary incantation in a deep orotund voice, “Open are the double doors of the

Philip Glass’s “Akhnaten” is a Megalomanical Feast for the Senses horizon; unlocked are its bolts.”

A powerful male chorus chimes in and sings a hymn to the robust beat created by drums, which soon escalates into a delirious frenzy.

The chaotic energy of the opening scene of “Akhnaten” then gradually gives way to a slow and mesmerizing tempo, as Akhnaten (Anthony Roth Costanzo) appears on stage fully nude, his oiled body glistening under the warm yellow stage light. He descends twelve ivory steps in painfully slow motions, his expression somber but dignified. With deliberate choreographed motions, his servants drape him in layers of fine linen and cloth threaded with silver. At last, Akhnaten dons a golden robe bejeweled with countless rubies and diamonds. The spectacular costume design dazzles the audience and creates an otherworldly atmosphere, along with the hypnotic orchestral music. Everything gives off a brilliant radiance, transporting the audience back to the decadent 18th dynasty.

Though overwhelmingly sensual and visually-gripping, the set design of “Akhnaten” is smartalecky and detracts from the narrative. Designer Tom Pye makes many references to the iconography of the Amarna art style that developed during the historical Akhnaten’s reign: during the coronation scene, the set incorporates an explosion of golden ribbons streaming outwards from the pharaoh’s body, the ends of which are attached to tiny gilded hands, in imitation of the pendant rays often depicted in stone carvings and murals of this time period. Additionally, an elaborate set is built to illustrate Amenhotep’s journey through the underworld, directly alluding to the Book of the Dead. A massive weighing scale, on which deities weigh the heart of the deceased king against the white feather of truth, stands at the center of a chamber. The scale balances immediately as the feather is dropped onto the plate, prov-

Hit songs are a driving force in modern popular culture. It seems like every week a new song comes out that rises to the top of the charts and dominates the public’s speakers and headphones for a while, and then fades back into relative obscurity to exist with the other pop leftovers of the last century. But how does a hit song even get made in the first place?

sition of a song is vitally important to the popularity of that track.

While of course, there are exceptions to the pop song formula rules, a hit song generally has a few key components that help propel it to the top. Perhaps the most basic of all of the considerations that will help take a song from a flop to a hit is the key. According to a Guardian article on the topic from 2011 (Behind the Music: How to Write a Hit Song), hit

While of course, there are exceptions to the pop song formula rules, a hit song generally has a few key components that help propel it to the top.

No single factor can be attributed to the popularization of a track, but rather a combination of reasons spanning from key, tempo, genre, artist, length, advertising, and promotion. We’ll delve into some of these factors in this article.

First of all, the actual compo-

sky, almost touching a gigantic red sphere that symbolizes the sun.

Akhnaten sings in English for the first time, professing his love for the god that he single-handedly created, Aten. He chants piously from the libretto adapted from texts likely written by the historical Akhnaten himself, “When thou hast risen on the Eastern Horizon / Thou art fair, great, dazzling, / High above every land.” During his trance-like conversation with Aten, Akhnaten’s voice, high-pitched and fluctuating from the saturation of emotion, is juxtaposed with the pulsating arpeggios of the orchestra. Light and airy is thus enhanced by the dark and rich.

The slow movements of all the actors are punctuated by the juggling ensemble led by master juggler and choreographer Sean Gandini. As Akhnaten and the royal family glide across the stage in meditative trances, countless

Glass seems to be criticizing the human tendency to trivialize history, and how easily we forget. perfectly echoes the fact that ancient Egyptian paintings often depicted the pharaoh with feminine features—which stems from Akhnaten’s belief that the sun god is not confined to one gender. This androgyny that’s key to the narrative perhaps also explains Glass’s choice of making his lead role a countertenor. Costanzo’s honeyed voice soars high above all the other singers, paralleling the God-like figure that he makes himself out to be. Akhnaten’s gender-fluidity is consequently emphasized by the disjunction between his powerful physique and sweet singing.

Costanzo’s talent is fully shown off in the aria “Hymn,” in which the pharaoh solemnly climbs up a long staircase that soars into the

tiny balls are thrown into the air in swift motions, becoming the only things that attract the audience’s attention. According to the production team, the juggling serves to visualize the undulating emotions of the characters that may otherwise be too elusive. However, this becomes extremely distracting: the poignance of Akhnaten’s brutal assassination is weakened by absentminded juggling and scattered balls everywhere. Glass’s signature drawn-out tempo is interrupted by the throwing and catching that’s out of sync with everything else, creating a disjunction that could easily make anyone anxious.

The splendor of the height of the pharaoh’s reign is reduced to ruins in the third act of the opera.

Akhnaten, oblivious to the fury of his people at the new religion, closes himself off in his palace until his daughters are kidnapped by rioting priests and he himself is assassinated. The set is evocative of the grandeur of the first scene— the same three registers reappear to depict a museum gallery and a college history class. Akhnaten, in his golden garb, is put on display in the museum, reduced to nothing more than a forgotten historical figure and a heretic in Egyptian history. A college professor, played by the same actor as Amenhotep III, attempts to teach his class about Akhnaten’s legacy but is rudely interrupted by a chaotic paper ball fight between his students. Disappointed, he exits the room but is hit once more by a paper ball. He casts one last glance back, full of hurt, then leaves the set for the last time. Slowly, Akhnaten’s ghost rises from his grave and joins the funerary procession that appeared in the opening scene, looking over the ruins of the city that he once ruled. Here, Glass seems to be criticizing the human tendency to trivialize history and how easily we forget it. This is perhaps also a comment on the transient and impermanent nature of our world—even the most glorious empires can fall. The opera is a powerful meditation on one’s place in the stream of history, forcing the audience to consider the past, present, and future.

Though “Akhnaten” runs for three and a half hours, every second of it is mesmerizing and full of surprises. It achieves a saturation of the senses, filling the audience with awe through its wondrous megalomania. As Glass’s repetitive arpeggios—already familiar to the audience at this point—come to a stop in the Epilogue, one seems to abruptly wake up from a fever dream. As I walk out into the bitter cold of December in New York, I am still unable to stop thinking about that splendid distant world created by “Akhnaten.”

What’s in a Hit?

Music

By MORRIS RASKIN

ing Amenhotep III’s moral purity.

Overly literal depictions of Egyptian symbols like these are gimmicky and focus too much on the aesthetics of spectacle rather than supporting the opera as a whole.

Despite the set design’s numerous citations of Egyptian art, “Akhnaten” is not simply a straight interpretation of history. It is more like Egypt imagined by a Westerner that borrows heavily from Victorian-era England, steampunk, Gothic fashion, and modern art.

It is precisely this multicultural and anachronistic approach that makes “Akhnaten” so successful.

The opera touches on subjects such as gender through a twentieth-century lens, highlighting Akhnaten’s androgyny by showing his body’s slow transformation from a muscled man in the first scene to a curvy womanly figure wearing a tube dress with breasts and pubic hair toward the end. This

songs generally trend toward the major key. Take the top five songs on the Billboard Charts right now, including Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and Post Malone’s “Circles.” Four of the tracks are in a major key. Perhaps audiences just want more feel-good tunes over downers, or

upbeat songs are just catchier in general.

But obviously having a major key doesn’t guarantee success.

Other factors that can benefit the chances of a hit are a Beats Per Minute (BPM) number in the low to mid 100’s, a characteristic of mid-tempo pop songs. In addition, hip-hop was the genre that, since 2017, has been most prevalent on the Hot 100 charts.

However, even if your song checks all of these boxes, chances are, it will remain in obscurity forever. These days, everyone’s an artist, so to stand out is nearly impossible. That is, unless you’ve already notched a hit or two in the past.

By being a popular artist, you have an exponentially higher chance of getting a hit than somebody who’s not. Most people who even have a chance of striking gold in the next few years have already been digging up hits for some time now.

Seventeen of the artists of the top 20 Billboard Songs right now have charted hits on the Hot 100 in the past, and will most likely do so again.

So clearly, it is extremely difficult to achieve pop stardom through a hit, but what most people don’t know is that it isn’t exactly cheap either. According to NPR, it can cost up to $1 million to craft and release a smash hit. To ensure the song’s popu-

larity, a label has to hire the best money in the artist’s pockets? The producers (instrumental and vo- answer is yes, and no, and kind of. cal), mixers, writers, and creative With good label deals, an artist minds in the industry to work on c a n make millions from that track. Then, once the song is just a single track done, the spending really begins. (think Mariah The label needs the song to Carey making be constantly playing on the $60 million from radio; they need it to be on “All I Want for Spotify’s front page; they Christmas”), but need posters lining this often isn’t the sidewalks, TV the case. Many appearances, talk rappers who rise to show musical guest the top rapidly will spots, and pretty get tangled up in exmuch every other means of ploitative contracts promotion you can think of. that will leave them Hits take time, money, with next to nothing and effort. The once the hit has come next “Uptown and gone.

Funk” won’t get So how can you written because make a hit song? The the label exshort answer is: you ecutives just sat can’t. The industry around and waitruns on big label proed for somebody motion and bankable to notice. Songs pop stars that churn like it need to be out hits by the dozexpertly crafted en, so striking gold is and relentlessly harder to do now than promoted to ever. However, nothachieve the attening is truly impossible, tion that it was and there are some Aishwarjya Barua / The Spectator things like key, tempo, able to gain.

After all is said and done and genre that can aid in your though, how much does everybody quest. Success stories can come involved come away with? Does all from anywhere, and with enough this spending on top-notch musi- self-promotion and talent, it is alcians and promotion translate to ways possible to become a star.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 18

Arts and Entertainment The Decade of Taylor Swift

Music

By LIANNE OHAYON Taylor Swift is a living legend in the music industry. From catchy songs like “Shake It Off,” “22,” and most recently, “Lover,” to her appearances in the media, Swift has been a singer-songwriter for over half of her life and a hugely influential part of this decade of music. Without her music, our world would not be what it is today. Her songs, which range from popular party anthems to tear-jerking ballads, have all made her incredibly worthy of winning the title Artist of the Decade at the 2019 American Music Awards (AMAs).

Swift, who just turned 30 years old, was born in Virginia on December 13, 1989. She was a part of her school’s theater productions and performed at festivals and fairs as a teenager.

After falling in love with country music, Swift and her mother went to Nashville, Tennessee in hopes of getting a record deal. Though she was rejected the first time around, Swift was picked up by RCA Records, and her whole family subsequently moved to Tennessee when she was twelve.

After a few months, Swift left RCA and joined Big Machine Records, which was then a small record company headed by Scott Borchetta, at just 14 years old. There she produced big country hits including “Teardrops on My Guitar,” “Our Song,” and “Tim McGraw.” The success of these songs lead to the production of “Fearless” (2008), her second studio album (“Taylor Swift” (2006) being her first). Today, she has released many chart-topping albums, including “Speak Now” (2010), “Red” (2012), “1989” (2014), “reputation” (2017), and her most recent album, “Lover”

Literature

By SUAH CHUNG The paradoxes of the spacetime continuum and time travel, and the perspective reorientation in null gravity: as one of the few authors who won the prestigious Hugo and Nebula science fiction awards in consecutive years, Orson Scott Card defined these concepts and their rules in mindbending ways, creating unprecedented boundaries for sci-fi literature. “Ender’s Game,” his most acclaimed novel displays a sharp and magnetic writing style that unearths the protagonist’s complex identity and the moral cost of manipulation and destruction. From the Enlightenment period starting in the 1500s to modern day, these prevailing themes shape and permeate social beliefs, resonating with people who discover parts of Ender within themselves.

“Ender’s Game” follows the physical and emotional maturation of six-year-old strategic genius Andrew Wiggin, nicknamed Ender. He is isolated among his classmates, singled out because he is a Third in a society where families are only allowed to have two children and because he alone has a monitor, a government device that observes his actions. After passing a government test, Ender is transported to Battle School, a space station where ingenious

(2019). Swift has also appeared in the films “Valentine’s Day” (2010), “The Lorax” (2012), “The Giver” (2014), and “Cats” (2019).

Swift’s massive success is demonstrated by her long list of awards. Some of her most notable wins include 29 American Music Awards (including Artist of the Decade), 23 Billboard Music Awards, three Billboard Women in Music Awards (including Woman of the Decade), and 10 Grammy Awards. These are just a fraction of the awards that Swift has received throughout her career.

Swift has

Music between 2011 to 2019 and was the youngest woman to be included in Forbes’ 100 Most Powerful Women.

Swift deserves this title because we can relate to her. Like many of us, Swift has a lucky number—13. “I was born on the 13th. I turned 13 on Friday the 13th. My first album went gold in 13 weeks. My first #1 song had a 13-second intro,” Swift explained.

“Every time I’ve won an award, I’ve been seated in either the 13th seat, the 13th row, the 13th section or row M, which is the 13th letter.” Swift is also known for being a cat person and has three cats: Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson, and Benjamin Button. They have been an integral part of her success, appearing in her music videos and public appearances. While these are quirks that some celebrities might shy away from revealing, Swift makes them prominent on her social media page and in her music.

What is impressive about Swift is her ability to sing in any genre. With the release of her later albums, Swift made a drastic transition from being an innocent country singer to a powerful pop artist. While “Fearless” and “Speak Now” are mainly country pop albums, “Red” (her fourth studio album) veers closer to country rock, and “1989,” “reputation,” and “Lover” are pop or pop rock. Despite her evolution, fans still love her.

Swift’s versatile sound Sophie Poget / The Spectator and incredible voice suits all genres and allows genres like also been country music to be more accesincluded in the rank- sible to a younger crowd. She has ings of a few newspapers and the ability to pump a crowd up magazines, such as Time’s annual at one moment, then pull at our list of the 100 most influential heartstrings in the next. Accordpeople in 2011, 2015, and 2019. ing to Borchetta, this is one of the She was also listed in the top three main reasons that he took on Swift of Forbes’ Top Earning Women in so young.

Speaking of Borchetta, Swift has been in a feud with him and Big Machine Records for over a year. Swift announced her move from Big Machine Records to Republic Records in November 2018.

She will own all of her future mas-

nated millions of dollars to help schools and other places that were damaged due to natural disasters.

Furthermore, she not only supported the massive Time’s Up movement, which fights against sexual assault, but also used her

Her confidence to stand up for these issues is enviable; Swift knows what to say to encourage people to make a change. ter records at Republic. At the time, Borchetta still owned all of Swift’s music aside from “Lover.”

Soon after, he sold Big Machine— along with Swift’s catalog of music—to music manager Scooter Braun. Swift expressed her disapproval of Borchetta’s decision, not only because she wanted to own her albums, but also because she was a target of Braun’s “incessant, manipulative bullying,” Swift said.

Borchetta responded by saying that Swift was never upset around Braun and released his messages to Swift outlining what was going to happen. Braun and Borchetta also weren’t allowing Swift to perform her old songs at the AMAs because it would be considered as re-recording her songs, which she isn’t allowed to do until November 2020. Despite this feud, Swift’s performance at the AMAs was stronger than ever, demonstrating her resilience and need to stand up for what’s right.

Aside from her music, Swift supported the Democratic party for the first time in 2018. She endorsed Congressman Jim Cooper for re-election to the House of Representatives and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen for election to the Senate. Swift also do-

own sexual assault experience (by ex-radio host David Mueller) as a means to advocate, asking only for a symbolic one dollar in damages.

Swift has publicly supported the LGBTQ+ community and spoken out against systemic racism. She is also a feminist and pro-choice. Her confidence to stand up for these issues is enviable; Swift knows what to say in order to encourage people to make a change.

But what makes someone an “Artist of the Decade”? Is it solely based on talent, or is it also someone who makes an impact?

It’s both. It’s the artist who stands up for what’s right, inspires others, and is the perfect example of what it means to be an artist.

This decade has been full of new albums, singles, and all-around incredible artists. One in particular has not only released a plethora of albums, toured around the world multiple times, and received many awards, but has also spoken up about—and stood by—her personal beliefs. Taylor Swift has left an impression on the world so impactful that many artists look up to her charisma, passion for music, and positive outlook on life. For all this, she fully deserves to the Artist of the Decade.

The Cognitive Dissonance of “Ender’s Game”: A Struggle in Identity children are trained to be soldiers through simulated battles in preparation for the impending threat of an invasion by insect-like aliens, buggers. The general plot is simple and straightforward: the backdrop of any science fiction novel. While the novel traces Ender’s growth at Battle School, a subplot explores the actions and motivations of his two older siblings, Peter and Valentine, back on Earth.

Card utilizes the pair to provide context to Ender’s later struggle with his identity, adding psychological depth that allows readers to glimpse his hidden humanity. Through superficial government evaluations, Peter was rejected from Battle School for being too cruel, Valentine for being too compassionate. Peter is physically brutal and toxic, setting the standard of evil for the other siblings, who dread becoming like him. His true character and motives, however, are ambiguous, since Card never reveals Peter’s thoughts, highlighting Card’s brilliant decision to use only Ender and Valentine’s points of view. Peter’s ostensibly sincere apologies and justifications for his cruelty and manipulation result in a complicated and developed character, alluding to the blend of good and evil in humanity. Valentine is primarily angelic, though she also utilizes emotional manipulation

for power, blurring the difference between her and Peter. Peter uses fear, Valentine flattery, but they share the same ambition for power.

tal in self-defense but empathetic at heart, not wishing to exterminate the bugger race. A manifestation of both Peter and Valentine, Ender’s struggle to maintain his

“Ender’s Game” displays a sharp and magical writing style that unearths the protagonist’s complex identity and the moral cost of manipulation and destruction.

By writing controversial news columns and joining adult political discussions online, Peter and Valentine fulfill their intense ambition for power by quickly amassing their international influence under the names Locke and Demosthenes, respectively. Locke advocates for world peace as the “mature” perspective, while Demosthenes seeks to escalate anti-Russian sentiments, which subtly incorporates real-world American political sentiments post-Cold War. Peter plans to have Demosthenes suddenly support Locke’s view, shifting a major part of the world’s political influence to his side, the opportune moment to take control as world leader after Ender defeats the buggers. Ender demonstrates his capability to be bru-

morality and find his own distinct and separate identity becomes an engrossing psychological conflict.

Ender’s battles in null gravity and later computer simulations with the buggers present his inner conflict with morality and are notable for their vivid dynamics. The battles are conducted in low lighting or dusk, and there are “stars,” which are stationary. Though the colors, breadth of the Battle Room, and tactile descriptions are insufficient, Card implements this stylistic choice to focus on the fluid and chaotic movement of battle as soldiers rebound off handholds on walls in different directions and shoot lasers to temporarily freeze enemies. It highlights Ender’s tactical brilliance as he challenges the rigid structure of battle, proving

that multiple groups of soldiers can provide a more immediate and logical response to an enemy’s unexpected tricks.

Though these evocative movements are a highlight of the battles, the novel disappointingly lacks female representation, even incorrectly asserting that females don’t belong in the military because they aren’t qualified to get into Battle School. There is only one female, Petra, who trains alongside Ender.

This sexism implies that females are too sensitive or incapable for battle, a dated and problematic flaw in Card’s futuristic dystopia.

Despite a lack of female role models, the core message of “Ender’s Game”—the struggle with identity and maintaining one’s moral values—is clearly conveyed through Ender’s inner conflict as he later kills the buggers and finds his own identity separate from the influence of Peter and Valentine.

Ender’s experience with loneliness and isolation on Earth and in Battle School is admirable and heart wrenching as he is forced to mature quickly alone. Card not only shatters the boundaries of physical descriptions in sci-fi, but also adds a flawed complex depth to the minds of characters, blurring our perspective on moral virtue and true identity, a timeless question to which there is no definite answer.

Page 19

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Arts and Entertainment Film

By EMMA LINDERMAN When asked to write a girls’ novel in 1868, Louisa May Alcott, who specialized in thrilling adventure stories, wrote the following in her diary: “Never liked girls or knew many, except my sisters, but our queer plays and experiences may prove interesting, though I doubt it.”

In the 151 years since its publication, the girls’ novel in question has indeed proven interesting; Alcott’s “Little Women” has

Culture

For “Little Women,” the Eighth Time’s the Charm never gone out of print, and has been adapted into a cartoon series, a stage musical, and eight feature films, the latest of which hit theatres on December 25, 2019.

Clearly, some things never get old, and Alcott’s tale of sisters Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy and their comings-of-age in post-Civil War New England is one of them. But the question remains: why another remake? Excluding a largely overlooked 2018 television adaptation, the last time “Little Women” hit screens was in 1994, when women

on film were largely used as romantic devices and before the rise of the #MeToo movement. The film industry’s focal points change along with those of the public; the general consensus is that a new “Little Women” is essential for a new generation.

Though the core plot of “Little Women” remains intact, the 2019 film, written and directed

by Greta Gerwig, brings to light several subtleties that are present in the original novel. As in previous adaptations, the film revolves

around Jo March (this time played

by Saoirse Ronan), the second oldest March sister who aspires to be a writer. Jo is modeled after Alcott herself, who rejected female standards of the era and remained unmarried.

While previous adaptations have placed more emphasis on Jo’s love life than her aspirations, Gerwig’s film is strung together by the narrative of Jo’s literary career in an industry that, like Gerwig’s, is far more favorable to men. In the film’s opening scene, Jo presents

her writing to an editor, saying she is doing a favor for a friend. As the film progresses, so does Jo’s work, which evolves from plays written as a hobby to a novel about the March family, which she is asked to write by her ailing sister Beth (Eliza Scanlen).

All the girlish charm of the original novel is preserved, and is complete with a fair amount of hilarious bickering among the March continued on page 20

A&E on 2020, and What We Left Behind in 2019

By THE ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT DEPARTMENT

Jacqueline is making me fill this out as an example, and when I told her I didn’t know what to write, she said, and I quote, “Just write, ‘Blah blah blah I have seen the light blah blah All Hail Keanu Reeves blah.’” Honestly, that sums up both my year and my experience as an editor. That and the fact that I will continue to assert that I have been in the same room as the cast of “Reality Bites.” Also, New Year’s is objectively the worst holiday.

I have no real highlights from 2019, nor do I have any from 2018, or 2017. My resolutions for 2020 are mainly directed towards changing this pattern. I want to get out of the house more often, improve old relationships, and do more things in general.

I also hope to dedicate more time to hobbies. My New Year’s Resolutions can be broadly listed under the umbrella of self-improvement.

—Emma Linderman

—Althea Barrett

This year was 2019, and now it is over. I think I held my own against it. There were some strange moments indeed, but as moments often do, they have blended themselves together into a blur.

I really cannot discern a specific highlight that I cherish above all others. Everything happened so quickly. In fact, I don’t know if September happened. No, really, I can’t remember. So quite honestly, it was the people that stood out above all. They were all very good to me, mostly. Yes, I value my friends greatly. They are all trying so hard, and somehow they also have time to be nice to me. So that’s pretty cool. Next year, I would like to continue to have nice friends. Maybe I will also find an ambition. I hear that those can be interesting.

Every January, I make myself a list of resolutions, only for me to forget them within the next week. 2019 was no exception. I did whatever made me happy. I tried for teams and positions I wanted.

I tried activities I was hesitant to undertake before. And I tried to take each rejection and each “what if ” as an incentive for improvement. I don’t think that part of me will change in 2020, and I’m glad.

—Dexter Wells

—Irene Hao

2019 was a big year in terms of personal growth for me. I used to hate spending the entire day alone; I couldn’t understand how people could just go shopping or eat at a restaurant by themselves without insecurity. This year particularly, I’ve tried to go out of my comfort zone and do exactly that. I’m proud to say that I now have the enlightening experience of getting lost countless times on my way to various parks and museums, alone. In a way I think I’ve gained a new sense of independence that I didn’t have before. The idea of skating in Bryant Park or going to a dance studio alone no longer daunts me—I enjoy it. I hope that I’ll continue to do so as the new decade emerges.

—Christine Lin

2019 was the most emotionally draining for me by far, but the highlight of it was expressing myself through art, specifically music and writing. I used music as a way to cope during some really tough times. As a lifelong follower of pop culture, my friends got tired of me talking about the latest albums or films, so The Spectator helped me express myself. I also wrote down my thoughts and life stories almost every week, helping to refresh my mind. For 2020, I hope I continue to do these things and set aside time for just myself. I’ll also try to cut down on my procrastination and improve my work ethic.

2019 was quite a year for me. There were ups and downs but overall, I had a good year. Picking only one highlight is difficult because there were many great moments. From going on trips outside of New York City, to learning who I was as a person, 2019 was a year of growth and happiness for me. In terms of resolutions, I usually make them but never follow through, but since it’s turning into 2020, I will try to commit to my resolution. I plan to be more social, exercise more, and focus on my mental health.

—Samira Esha

—Lianne Ohayon

In 2019, I saw a glacier for the first time in my life. I traveled to Iceland and climbed up a glacier with an unpronounceable name: Vatnajokull. I almost cried when I reached the peak and saw a vast expanse of blue before my eyes. I was reminded of how transient things were by the fact that these layers of ice were here millions of years before us and were witnesses to human history.

2019 was one of the most challenging years for me, but the struggle made me stronger as a person. I’ve become more open about my feelings, which I had been working on for a while. I’ve also begun putting more time and effort into things I’m genuinely interested in. I’ve definitely improved in terms of commitment.

My New Year’s resolution is to learn how to say “no” to my friend Misaal’s request that I learn how to juggle with her. Oh yeah, and maybe grind harder. And to finish the Simpsons. And to learn ventriloquism. And to kickstart my mukbang career.

Sometimes I look back on a moment or photo from 2019 and think, ‘Wow, that was such a good day.’ All the moments I shared with those I love are the highlights from this year. I met some people who are now extremely important to me, strengthened older relationships, and shared some great experiences with friends that I’ll definitely remember for a very long time.

—Jiahe Wang

I always feel bad about not being able to keep my resolutions even though I say I will, so I’m not going to put a lot of thought into them for 2020, but I certainly hope to not waste time with unnecessary things, instead spending more of it doing things I enjoy with people I care about.

My personal highlight of 2019 would be the senior graduation in June when I was performing with the chorus. It was on the last day of school, so I was feeling sentimental about the future. The excited atmosphere of the hundreds of seniors reflected their liberating exhilaration at completing high school. I imagined myself as a senior in those soft red seats, smiling until my teeth hurt and looking for my parents. Watching the blue caps fly after graduation finished, I was determined to give my academics and extracurriculars my all in the coming years, so when I finally sat in those seats after four years of high school, I would smile with confidence, knowing that I had worked my hardest and tried my best to get to that point. Although I never make formal New Year’s resolutions, I still strive to fulfill this goal completely.

—Sasha Burshteyn

—Suah Chung

Picking just one event from 2019 is too difficult. I’ve experienced so much, done so many things, and grown so much as a person. I’ve had very very bad days too, but looking back on this year, I have to say that I wouldn’t change it for the world. This year, I’ve met some of the best friends I’ve ever had, explored who I am as a person, and enjoyed both new and old experiences. Ultimately, I’ve never really had New Year’s resolutions, but some goals are to remain healthy and put more time into doing the things that I love, because that’s really all we have in this world.

—Caroline Pickering

Page 20

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Arts and Entertainment Film continued from page 19

sisters (notably, a screaming match after Jo burns her sister Meg’s (Emma Watson) hair off with a curling iron). What is different, however, is the story’s chronology.

Rather than following the Marches from children to adults, the film lapses between the two time periods, a difference shown through the use of two overarching color schemes. Though not glaringly obvious, every scene from the sisters’ childhood is warm-hued, mirroring their carefree existence and lack of grave concerns. The main worries of this earlier period are the Marches’ father being away in combat, and Beth’s bout with scarlet fever, both of which, at least for the time being, are resolved.

After their respective comingsof-age, the Marches’ problems become far more pressing—a catalyst for Jo’s nostalgia and eventual book inspiration. Beth’s illness returns and now is terminal; Meg, the eldest, marries, leaving Jo feeling as if her sister has grown up and left her behind; and Jo comes to learn that her credibility as a writer is at risk of being marred in the professional world. For Jo, youth is a near-perfect bubble in which her dearest values are untouchable. Her cozy-colored childhood extends no further than Concord, Massachusetts, and her sisters are never more than an arm’s length away. Similarly, Jo’s writing is subject only to praise, the only readers being her family and neighbors. As these comforts begin to slip away,

For “Little Women,” the Eighth Time’s the Charm Jo struggles to grasp why.

The separation of childhood and adulthood is most clearly indicated by neighbor Laurie (Timothée Chalamet). Though told out of order, Laurie’s role for the first half of the film is nothing more than Jo’s best friend and brother to the Marches. In a masterfully executed first encounter, Jo and Laurie dance wildly on the outskirts of a party, acting unmistakably like a couple of kids. Later snapshots show more of the pair’s antics, including Jo punching Laurie in the arm after he jokingly extends

A new “Little Women” is essential for a new generation. his hand, and Laurie hiding in the Marches’ attic to surprise Jo’s sisters. The fun, however, ends almost as soon as it starts. Shortly after Meg’s marriage, Laurie himself proposes to Jo, closing the gates on the pair’s seemingly innocent friendship, as well as any hope that Jo had of an everlasting childhood.

Further contradicting her era’s societal expectations, Alcott was adamant that Jo would not marry Laurie, a plot point that fans greatly anticipated. Though hesitant for Jo to marry at all, she eventually conceded, marrying Jo to the decidedly unromantic German Professor Bhaer (Louis Garrel), who is inexplicably but inconsequentially

At first glance, “Knives Out” seems to be a classic murder mystery. The setup for the film is a simple one, like that of an Agatha Christie novel, starting with a crime and asking the question “who did it?” It even features a smooth and sophisticated private investigator in the form of Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) who, despite his over the top southern accent, is clearly meant as an allusion to more traditional figures like Hercule Poirot. However, as the movie progresses, it becomes clear to audiences that “Knives Out” is a far cry from the traditional mystery. Director and writer Rian Johnson is able to brilliantly restructure the now quite clichéd formula into something new and exciting, with interesting characters and relevant, yet surprisingly political, themes.

The movie opens as almost all mysteries do: with a corpse. Marta Cabrera (Ana de Armas), the nurse and caretaker of mystery writer Harlan Thromby (Christopher Plummer), finds him dead with his neck slit the night after a birthday party with his family at his country mansion. All signs point to it being a suicide, with the only suspicion coming from private investigator Blanc himself, who received an anonymous payment to investigate the death. When Blanc calls the Thrombys back to the house, we meet our cast of suspects, and the film kicks off. But “Knives Out” does not adhere to the structure of the murder mystery for long.

A frequent weakness of the mystery genre is characterization, specifically in that it is difficult to develop the large cast of suspicious personalities that such stories often feature. To use the example of Christie again, many

Ronan earned an Oscar nomination. If Greta Gerwig is any indication of a progressive shift in the directorial realm, the same can be said about Chalamet and Ronan as young actors. The pair’s chemistry is wonderfully conspicuous, with both actors seving as, in the words of Gerwig, each other’s “androgynous other halves.”

The rest of the cast is for the most part exemplary, made all the more exciting by inclusions of Meryl Streep as Aunt March and Laura Dern as Marmee. A surprising standout was Florence Pugh as Amy March, the youngest of the four sisters. Pugh plays Amy from a preteen to young adult, and is

just as believable as a 12-year-old as she is at 21. Both her age and aesthetic particularity have lead to Amy being labeled as a brat, and while this streak is not absent in Gerwig’s adaptation, Amy’s actions have been newly justified. She laments about feeling second-best to Jo all her life, particularly in terms of the romance that buds between Amy and Laurie after Jo’s rejection.

As the adult Amy, Pugh delivers a cutting monologue detailing the female expectations of marriage to which she is bound. In the wrong hands, this detail could read like a desperate attempt at woke-ness, but instead is masterfully woven into the plot after Laurie accuses Amy of wanting to marry for money rather than love.

The sole discrepancy among the cast comes in the form of Emma Watson as Meg March.

Without having seen the film, Watson seems like a nice fit for Meg’s romantic sensitivity. As the film progresses, however, it’s hard not to feel as though Watson is a few steps away from a first readthrough of the script. Her British accent is also poorly masked, which was a concern given that the remaining March sisters are also portrayed by non-Americans, none of which seemed to have any diction woes.

Watson’s performance aside, Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women” is a package deal. The script is true to the novel, but would not feel out of place in the 21st century; an early scene shows Jo writing furiously by a hearth, not noticing that her skirt is in flames. After being

told, “Miss March, you’re on fire,” her only response is, “Thank you.”

In this instance, as well as several others, the surprising humor is in the film’s accessibility; Gerwig’s dialogue feels less like that of a period piece and more reminiscent of an everyday conversation.

The icing on the cinematic cake is Gerwig’s tying up of the film’s loose ends, including the novel’s late contradictions to Alcott’s goals. Bhaer is not dismissed as Jo’s love interest, but their engagement, which previously served as the story’s conclusion is now woven into a scene in which Jo and her editor debate over the inclusion of marriage in her culminating novel. The film’s climax is delightfully meta, and from Greta Gerwig, it would seem ridiculous to settle for anything less.

This “Little Women” is, at its core, a group effort. As far as directorial candidates go, there are few better suited for the job than 36-year-old Gerwig, who has brilliantly woven her indie film expertise into the mainstream. In terms of actors, there seems to be no better choice than Chalamet and Ronan to bring Jo and Laurie into a new millennium. As in the 1800s, the playing field is still not level, a truth that was notably highlighted in the lack of female Golden Globe nominees this year—Gerwig included. From Jo’s debate over the percent of her earnings from her novel, to a female director being brushed aside by tradition, it appears that Alcott’s “girls’ novel” has a toehold in every generation.

Check Out “Knives Out”

Film

By GAVIN MCGINLEY

French in Gerwig’s adaptation.

Clearly the storyline of “Little Women” is elaborate, as is the film’s cast. Jo is technically the protagonist, but at its core, the film is carried by a triumphant ensemble.

Leading the fray, Saoirse Ronan is electric, and embodies every trait and mannerism given to Jo in the novel and more. Complementing Ronan’s Jo is Timothée Chalamet’s Laurie, who is just as awkwardly romantic as one would hope. The two previously starred alongside each other in “Lady Bird,” (also headed by Gerwig) for which

of her novels use basic character tropes to fill out her plots and keep them complex enough to remain mysterious. Contrasting with this,

Yume Igarashi / The Spectator

Johnson’s well defined and threedimensional character writing is one of the best parts of “Knives Out.” In particular, Thromby’s daughter, Linda Drysdale (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her husband Richard (Don Johnson) are both very fleshed out, as is their son, Ransom Drysdale (Chris Evans), and Linda Drysdale’s sister, Walter Thromby (Michael Shannon). At first, the Drysdales seem like a grab bag of elitist archetypes: Linda as a calculating business woman, Ransom as an entitled trust fund kid, and Walter as a man coasting off his father’s success. But Johnson is able to make them even more. Linda, for instance, is greatly humanized by her genuinely kind relationship with her father, while Walter’s weakness is highlighted through his father’s dislike and seeming annoyance toward him. Ransom isn’t

even in the first half of the movie, but he quickly outgrows the playboy stereotype when he is shown to be likeable and surprisingly competent.

The film is able to do this is all in spite of each actor getting relatively little focus, with the run time being split between the large number of big names on the screen.

W h i l e some of this can undoubtedly be credited to the talented ensemble cast, it is also a sign of Johnson’s skill as a writer and stems from his willingness to diverge from the standard formula of a mystery plot. The story isn’t seen through the eyes of Blanc, the suave investigator, as it would be in any other detective drama, but instead through those of Ca-

explain the narrative. By setting up the film in this way, it’s much easier to explore the characters, putting the viewer in the story instead of in the role of a snooping outsider.

A good example of this is Richard who, almost from the minute he appears, is revealed to be cheating on his wife. This lets Johnson quickly outline him as a character, while keeping tensions high as Blanc, who is still driving the plot forward, remains oblivious.

Similarly, most of the movie seems much less preoccupied with being mysterious and much more with just being an enjoyable experience. This isn’t to say that “Knives Out” shows the audience everything. In fact, not far into its runtime many will find themselves wondering where the narrative can go. Despite all of this, the film remains just as high stakes as any complex detective movie, with each knew reveal serving to elevate the tension instead of alleviate it.

It becomes clear to the audience that few of the characters care that Thromby is dead, and that his death only really serves to set the scene. With each layer of the plot peeled back, there is an escalation with more mysteries and more problems. Investigator Blanc

Director and writer Rian Johnson is able to brilliantly reconstruct the now quite clichéd formula into something new and exciting, with interesting characters and relevant, surprisingly political, themes. brera and to a lesser extent, the Thrombys, whose viewpoints we dip into from time to time to better

summarizes the story best when he says, “I spoke in the car about the hole at the center of this donut

[…] but we must look a little closer. And when we do, we see that the donut hole has a hole in its center—it is not a donut hole at all but a smaller donut with its own hole, and our donut is not whole at all!”

“Knives Out” also differs from the average detective flick in that it is quite unabashedly political.

Cabrera is the daughter of illegal immigrants, and throughout the movie she is constantly faced with the threat of deportation, with the Thrombys serving as a microcosm of American politics complete with Meg (Katherine Langford), a pot smoking liberal college student and Jacob (Jaeden Martell), who fills the modern archetype of the teenage alt-right internet troll. The Thrombys are Johnson’s picture of the classic American family at its most extreme and are completely self serving and entitled, as well as utterly ruthless whenever they feel like their way of life is being threatened (hence the title “Knives Out”). Though this thinly veiled allegory Johnson explores ideas like the frequent emptiness of tolerance (with the Thrombys only standing by Cabrera and her family until it’s easier not to) or the questionable legitimacy of any claim to America or being American.

The retooling and restructuring of traditional mystery elements in “Knives Out” helps it feel like a classic crime thriller while avoiding the banality pervasive in such films. Johnson’s layered, convoluted plot is sure to keep any fan of the genre happy while his insertion of political themes at the very least keeps the film from feeling vapid and empty, as too many films with similarly over-the-top plots do.

Though “Knives Out” is surprisingly lacking in mystery for a film of its genre, its great writing and well developed characters make it as satisfying as any detective film, as well as an all around entertaining movie.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 21

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

Our Good Ole Childhood

By JUDY CHEN All right, folks. It’s been 10 years since the release of 16 new (unchanged) iPhone models. Ten years since our parents said that drinking milk would make us smarter, taller, and more attractive; yet, here we are. I mean, just take a look in the mirror!

This decade, everyone on Earth has either aged or died. Stuyvesant students, in particular, have progressed a lot, evolving from simple grade-school dwarfs to acne-ridden children with gigantism. To celebrate this upgrade (or downgrade?) in life, let’s take a look at some of the glorious memories from the peak of our lives, shall we?

2- JUDY CLOCKS You know those yellow disk-lookin’ things with the red hands? Who knew in a world surrounded by smartphones and Google that time-telling on an analog clock would be oh-sovery helpful? Didn’t see that one coming.

Random note: remember when the teacher would read aloud that rendition of your neighbor’s fat, red dog, and basically the entire class would stare at one person if his name happened to be in the story?

Yeah, that was me. But with a literal wooden clock. The Judy Clock.

3- FRUIT BY THE FOOT If you haven’t had these, you eit h e r didn’t have a child- h o o d

o r

your mom was a nutritionist. My mom wouldn’t let me eat them until I started getting noise complaints during snack time. I don’t blame her—I would do the same. Partially because eating them made you look like you killed a smurf and partially because they would straight up install mitochondria on steroids in little children.

4- “TOM AND JERY” Man, I don’t know if we all liked this show so much because Tom reflected our idiocy as children and we needed some sort of reflection or what.

But Jerry trying to tie the literal thread of a string onto Tom’s overly fluffy tail may have been the best 30 seconds of entertainment. Despite these joyful moments, let’s be

real: no one exactly re- members

which day of the week “Tom and Jerry” would come on.

5- TEMPLE RUN 1 AND 2 The monkey screeches will forever give me nightmares.

Like legit, how can seeing a skinny red-headed man being chased by a mutant demon monkey while he slides down a frail rope not give you anxiety? The best sounds of childhood came from this game. An example would be when you slid your finger so fast on the screen that it practically gave you carpet burn just so that gleaming g r e e n g e m could be collected.

Or when y o u r brother’s sad high score was beaten by your equally pathetic

high score. Needless to say, Temple Run 1 has been severely neglected by our asses ever since the second version came out, so here’s the space to mention it as a good predecessor.

6- TOYS “R” US Before Brandy Melville and Forever 21 sales swarmed the minds of young teenage Danielle Cohn wannabes, there was once a thing called Toys “R” Us. Following the recent death of Toys “R” Us, everything went on as usual and no one cared except for a few of y’all wholesome Jesus souls. I miss deciding between a Littlest Pet Shop bobblehead figure and a painfully bright pink Shopkins “mystery” basket. But that’s probably because I have to decide between sanity and grades now, which doesn’t exactly bring the same excitement.

And that’s a wrap! Weren’t the times before TikTok encouraged teenage girls to twerk to overplayed songs swell?

Sudden Rise in Perfect Eyesight As Decade Begins

By CHRISABELLA JAVIER

As people woke up on January 1, 2020, it seemed like any other first day of the year. They snoozed the alarm on their phone, realized how bad their hangover was, stayed in bed for an extra 30 minutes before realizing that they could no longer go back to bed, scrolled on their phone for another 30 minutes, finally came to terms with their awful life, and got out of bed.

And if they needed glasses or contact lenses, they put them on and began the rest of their morning routine.

But to the surprise of many people who used corrective measures for their vision, they found that as they put on their glasses and contact lenses, the implements were now totally useless and a waste of money.

Instead of the crisp, clear vision that they would usually obtain after putting them on, they in-

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stead saw giant blurry blobs that looked kind of like a more traumatized version of their soul.

It didn’t stop there. Once these people, incredibly confused about what had happened to their prescription lenses overnight, decided to take them off and try to continue with their pathetic existence, they found that they didn’t need their glasses. It seemed as if their vision had magically corrected itself overnight.

Junior Eise Arbad was one of the millions of people across the United States who experienced this strange phenomenon.

“I’ve needed glasses ever since I was in kindergarten,” he said.

“And I had a really strong prescription. I was basically blind without my glasses. Like, literally blind. If I didn’t have them on, I was legally required to wear a sign saying ‘WATCH OUT. THIS KID CAN’T SEE.’”

“One time I lost my glasses in freshman year, and I needed to get to school like right away, so I said ‘whatever’ and ran to the subway. I ran up the platform just in time to get on the train and threw myself onto what felt like an empty bench.

It wasn’t until I heard my mom yelling at me about not being at school that I realized I wasn’t on the subway—I had somehow run all the way back home and thrown myself back on the couch,” Arbad said.

When asked about how he felt about suddenly having perfect vision after the new year began, he said, “It’s kinda weird.

No one recognizes me without my glasses, which kinda sucks because I honestly feel like I look 420 times hotter with them on. I can’t even recognize myself without my glasses!

I walked by a mirror the other day, and I saw this dude, and I literally screamed and punched

it thinking some demon thing was in the mirror. Then I realized it was me. Admittedly, that was kinda dumb, but I was working on two hours of sleep, which is twice as much as I usually get, so I was not really in the best state of mind.”

This event has thrown the world into a state of chaos and confusion. Demand for empty glasses frames has risen as people who suddenly have perfect vision now need a way to look hotter/smarter. People who wore contact lenses are now ecstatic that they can finally sleep without worrying that they forgot to take them off. We have discovered who Superman is.

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People all around the world have been trying to find an explanation for the occurrence of this unprecedented event. Last

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week, the Pope announced it to be a miracle from God himself.

Cults with names such as “The Eye on the Illuminati Pyramid” and “Make Us Blind Again” have formed their beliefs around the mysterious event, with some claiming it to be a sign of the coming apocalypse. The astrology community has declared it to be a sign that Uranus is in the House of Urmom. And a growing number of people have claimed that it was the act of aliens who thought, “Huh. What would happen if we messed around with these weird things on two legs?”

Though the scientific community has been dumbstruck as to how and why this phenomenon occurred as the new decade arrives, Arbad has tried his best to offer a reason.

“I guess,” he said, “we all just have 20/20 vision now.”

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Sabrina Chen / The Spectator

1- GYM SCOOTERS Everyone knew that when the teacher pulled these bad boys out of that old, rusty cabinet where schools used to store the janitor’s new brooms, it was gonna be a good day. Though scooting along the ground on your ass isn’t really a valuable life skill, it sure was a lot better than being hit with a dodgeball.

I mean, it definitely built some

thunder thighs.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 22

Humor Dear Stuyvesant Class of 2021...

WE HAVE ADVICE FOR PHYSICS!

By HELENA WILLIAMS and VICTOR KUANG It’s that wonderful time of year again. The weather outside is frightful, and all anyone wants to do is sit around a warm fire with their laptop.

With the end of first semester woes such as new schedules being released, students have been looking forward to storming the program change button on Talos and planning out 10 periods of lunch.

Interestingly, the Program Office has actually done something useful. They’re allowing juniors to enjoy some new course selections. Due to the controversial nature of the AP Physics course, juniors will now be allowed to take a different class to fulfill their physics requirements, allowing them to still get that *incredibly* useful Stuyvesant Diploma. All of these courses have been deemed “more worthwhile than Stuyvesant’s current AP Physics curriculum” by the Program Office, the administration, and probably God. Interested juniors should examine the course list below: Quantum Mechanics Before one gets frightened by the term “quantum,” know

By HELENA WILLIAMS and AMY ZHANG

Yaqi Zeng / The Spectator

AP Kinematics Seeing that the advent of AP Physics 1 failed to properly introduce hundreds of juniors to this simple introductory topic, the administration felt an uncharacteristic amount of responsibility by creating a nonCollege-Board-sponsored AP devoted to kinematics. Despite the seemingly laughable name, make absolutely no mistake!

Students are expected to easily visualize spaces that are well beyond three-dimensional and derive equations for such spaces. Regents graders will be baffled as students create groundbreaking derivations to figure

out when a free-falling ball will land despite failing to understand how to use the reference table to figure out the quark composition of a particle.

Greek I, II, III, IV, AP Despite the name, these courses will actually outdo Latin in uselessness by only teaching Greek letters. As strange as this might seem, it’s actually much more useful than AP Physics: instead of only learning a bunch of equations involving alphas, thetas, and betas, students will now know what the Greek letters in those equations actually mean. Still, it’s rumored that if you put all of the AP Greek teachers in a room, they might be able to write only four or five words in Greek, which is definitely still more useful than being unable to calculate the ideal speed of a car on a banked ramp that will ensure that the car doesn’t move up or down the ramp.

Script Handwriting Taught by the bOoMeRs, this class on cursive will ensure that Stuyvesant students know how to write in the handwriting equivalent of Times New Roman! The professor, a 70-yearold woman named Karen Smith, paces up and down the

aisles, grumbling about how “you cupcakes don’t know the first thing about academics!”

She’s also known for shouting “I DEMAND TO SPEAK TO YOUR LEGAL GUARDIAN” whenever a student offends her. Make sure your parents don’t get to see her at parent-teacher conferences: she’ll be sure to tell them that you are a degenerate youth who is two more incorrect script z’s away from prison and that back in her day, parents gave their wayward youth a real lesson in responsibility involving a thick willow branch and a shed out back.

Scientific Method Remember how both biology and chemistry spent the first two months of school re-re-reteaching you what the metric system is and how to conduct a proper experiment?

It’s now a full class that will also fulfill your *very* nebulous 10Tech requirement! That’s right, you’ll be mastering conversions between decigrams and micrograms, memorizing all of those stupid yotta/zetta/ exa sizes, and out-mathing your math teacher by threatening to convert the question into yoctograms (this is a REAL UNIT) on the test. Don’t for-

What Students Say During Drafting

comforting to know that we’re not the only ones who just can’t see and draw things properly.

“Why are shapes so hard???”

world.”

“This is basically complicated geometry except I’m really bad at this.”

[The sobbing has gotten

see the drawing anymore.”

[This person is still sobbing.]

“Block 16, I hate you with a burning passion.”

“Do you think he’ll notice if I just shift this one over by a little bit? Just… freehand it?”

[The sounds of quiet sobbing can be heard off in the distance.]

“THIS LINE IS 1/32 OFF, AND I’M NOT OKAY WITH THIS.” “Why is this chair so squeaky?” [squeak squeak squeak] “AutoCAD, why you do me dirty like this?”

“Eraser shield, my true love, only you would not let me down in this cruel, cruel

louder.]

“You’re missing some hidden lines in this view.” “Yes, exactly, they’re invisible. So they’re hidden lines.” “You’re failing this class, you know.”

“Yes, I know.”

“Last night, I tried to install AutoCAD, and it went from three gigabytes to 20.”

“There is absolutely no way I can smudge this drawing in AutoCAD.” [proceeds to smudge this drawing in AutoCAD] “Is this enough eraser shavings for my T-square? I can’t

“Do you think Brooklyn Tech takes sophomores? I mean, they don’t have drafting, right? RIGHT???”

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

“Why are you not straaaight?” [realizes what has been said] “Oh shhh-oot.” [to entire room] “I didn’t mean it that way!”

“I could’ve opted out of the Stuy diploma. I could’ve

get that your professor drinks Unusually Dark Chocolate Milk, wears Dirty Underwear Definitely Containing Moss, and may or may not be Han Solo in disguise. In addition, the lab component of this class will be composed of increasingly tedious exercises, including attempting to use a zettameterstick to measure a grain of sand. But hey, at least you’ll get to do everyone’s favorite clothespin experiment! Pinching a clothespin as your fingers burn with lactic acid has never been more fun.

LaTeX 101 $$Hey\;so\;have\;you\;ev er\;wanted\;to\;type\;in\;we ird\;italics\;on\;Facebook\;b ut\; you\;couldn’t\;figure\;ou t\;how\;to?\;Well,\;now,\;you \;can!\;The\;new\;LaTeX\;(p ronounced\;as\;la-tech)\;cour se\;will\;teach\;anyone\;how \;to\;write\;in\;a\;similar\;fas hion\;as\;cool\;mathematicia ns\;or\;really\;pretentious\;hi gh\;school\;students\;pret en ding\;to\;know\;a\;lot\;abou t\;math!\;Be\;sure\;to\;hit\;t hem\;all\;up\;with\;the\;fun \;activity\;of\;\int e^{-x^2} dx\;with\;the\;bois!$$

gone to literally any other high school. I could’ve not gone to high school.”

“God forbid, if I have to draw another 7/32-inch line, I will tear this paper right down its axis of symmetry.”

“Last night, I had a terrible nightmare.” “What was it about?” “I dreamt that I did my whole drawing in pen, and when I moved my T-square down the ink smeared the whole page.”

[Opens AutoCAD] [AutoCAD crashes] Another similar scene: [Opens AutoCAD] [draws one line] [dies] “Inventor’s better than AutoCAD, right? It’s gotta be better. It’s definitely better.”

“Why? Why why why why why why why why.”

“GUYS, if I see you hold that T-square ONE more time like a Minecraft sword I WILL fail you both!”

[Five seconds later] “No, the compass point is NOT a concealed dagger! Now stop going for the jugular.”

The person sobbing has promptly gone to the nurse due to extreme dehydration. Clearly, they are too weak to wield the power of the T-square.

In conclusion, if you’ve taken drafting, congratulations on completing a Herculean labor of the highest degree. You now know how to use a pencil semi-well; good on you for that. And if you haven’t? Well, it’s not too late to transfer to Brooklyn Tech.

Qiao Ying (Emily) Tan / The Spectator

Drafting. Or, as Stuy would prefer you call it, TECHNICAL GRAPHIC COMMUNICATIONS TDS11 (and freshmen, no, it is not a class for writing down your first thoughts and then refusing to edit them because you can’t read anymore). For those who don’t spend a semester trudging up to the 10th floor and ignoring the burning in their lungs before plopping down on a glorified bar stool to draw some wAcKy shapes, drafting is an important yet seemingly impossible subject.

While Stuyvesant High School is a bustling hive of geniuses, seeing teenagers with 200 IQs struggling to draw parallel lines even with all of the sufficient tools to do so is humbling in its own right.

It’s hard to imagine finishing a hand-drawn plate in less than half a period, let alone designing buildings that won’t topple over in the span of 20 seconds (props to our architects out there). We’ve compiled a list of things we’ve seen and heard in drafting classes, because it’s

that not only is it just a term slapped on things that sound hard, but in this context, it is simply defined as the makings of the universe and its motion on a minuscule scale. This said, have you ever heard the saying that one must walk before one learns to run? Well, using this logic, it’s only logical to work from small things to big things.

Using their previous knowledge of Lagrangian mechanics and amplitude calculus, juniors taking this course will be sure to intimidate AP Physics 1 graders as they use the Schwartz space to find out how a ball rolls down an inclined plane.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

The New Year’s Resolutions Generator To End All Irresolutions

By AARON WANG and KELLY YIP

Sophia Zhao / The Spectator

With 2019 behind us at last, there’s no better way to start the new year than with the infamous tradition of NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS! Remember the hottie you said you were gonna ask out after watching him from across the room in math for three years? Or that promise you made to yourself to start going to sleep earlier? Or even the pledge that you would start eating healthier and maybe hit the gym a few times a week? Oh, you don’t remember? Ah welp. You probably forgot about them after failing to actually attempt them.

Considering how old you are right now, that’s like… way too many failures for your sanity’s well-being!

Alas, it’s no surprise that you’ve become discouraged and at a loss for realistic goals (because everyone knows that actually leaving your house to work out is too daunting of a task).

But fear not! Provided below is a generator, courtesy of The Spectator, that will create realistic, individually-tailored resolutions to determine your goal for the beginning of a new decade for a new you! Just follow this simple equation (shouldn’t be that hard! We are a math school after all… I hope): This year, my New Year’s resolution is to [birth month] + [first letter of your name].

January- Date February- Win a fight with March- Evolve into April- Kiss May- Adopt June- Violate July- Lick August- Caress September-Successfully woo October- Smell November- Assault December- Eat

A- The halal food cart dude B- My AP Chemistry Princeton Review book (which I vowed to use but haven’t opened since the beginning of time) C- The suspicious wad of gum under my favorite desk D- A passing test score E- The pole in a subway car F- The lo-fi radio girl G- The calorimeters in the chemistry lab (a.k.a. coffee thermoses) H- The dust inside of my locker I- Myself J- A dead body K- My math teacher L- A urinal M- My bestest friend N- The potted plants on the seventh floor O- The newest issue of The Spectator P- An iced coffee with milk and sugar from the breakfast cart Q- My crush R- An obese pigeon (that’s probably carrying, like, rabies or something) S- A bacon-avocado-chipotle sandwich from Ferry’s T- A working escalator U- My English teacher V- A beautiful, amazing donkey W- The single lead pencil I have X- The textbook page I fell asleep and drooled on Y- The mysterious stain on the s e c o n d - floor boys’ bathroom stall Z- My pillow

Page 23

Humor You Guys, Latin Isn’t Useless

By OLIVER HOLLMANN What is UP, my fellow Stuyvesant students? As a devoted student of Latin, the question that I get asked most frequently when discussing my class schedule with friends is, “You seriously take Latin?

Why?” The conversation usually goes like this: Me: “Oh, yes, I do take Latin!”

Friend: “Seriously? You know you’re never going to use it, right? What idiot in their right mind would burden themselves with the weight of a very dead and completely obsolete language? Wait, why are you crying? Oh my god, somebody send help. My friend is having a stroke! Help!”

In my spasms of paraphyletic shock, I am unable to explain why Latin isn’t at all a useless language. I’m writing this to make up for all of those times I couldn’t. This is for you non-believers, for I’m about to end your whole career.

1. It makes you look like a total scholar on college apps.

When admissions officers see Latin on your portfolio, bolded on your Common App, they will surely think, “Damn!

This student has some class!

Who cares if he flunked every class and literally the only thing under ‘Extracurriculars’ is just the word ‘Boats’? He has mild proficiency in a dead language that gives the privileged yet another chance to elevate themselves among the common folk. What a scholar. He’ll fit right in with the rest of our incredibly wealthy and snobbish students.” So, does Latin make you Harvard-bound? That’s a big boy “yes” right there.

2. Gloating rights.

If you take Latin, you immediately have the high ground when it comes to being snobby. Whenever someone attempts to flex on you with their pragmatic choices in the era of new information (e.g. taking actually useless languages that practically no one speaks—like Spanish and Chinese), you can evoke that British-accented traditionalist inside of you. Recall the good old days when Latin was the language of the scholar, classicalists respected ancient civilizations, and ethnocentricity

for God’s sake. Have you ever heard something so grand as “Pro Scientia Atque Sapientia”? Wouldn’t it be great to be able to translate that?

Probably. I haven’t yet, but I’ll get there eventually. I have a whole two more years! Two... more years. Of just Latin…

Great.

Another thing to consider: Stuyvesant cherishes its Latin department, offering a single teacher to educate and enrich Stuyvesant’s aspiring classical philosophers. There’s also… also… the classics club! This quaint little after school activity touches the hearts and

“What? No, I just come here to study for tests. Do I have a passion for the language?

No. Who let you in?”

—Angus Fishhook, freshman was still a viable excuse to reject the new and fester in the old.

3. Latin shows up everywhere.

Think about it. Every single romance language, like Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese, is derived from Latin. Even English, a Germanic language, derives over 50 percent of its vocabulary from Latin! Now, why is this useful? Um… 4. Any school motto.

Stuy kids should know this!

The school motto is in Latin

minds of all who attend. Local freshman and classics club attendee Angus Fishhook said, “What? No, I just come here to study for tests. Do I have a passion for the language? No. Who let you in?” What a great club.

To conclude, Latin is definitely not useless, and in the words of Dr. Brockman, the best Latin teacher, “What?

No, you’ll never—(oh, you’re writing this down?) Yes! It is a skill that you will value for the rest of your life, one that you will want to have under your belt.” (“Was that good?...

Okay, get out of my room.”)

Sr. Simon and Mr. Garfinkel Embark on Fraudulent World Tour

By OLIVER STEWART

sprung out of “a genuine desire to bring music to the world, nothing more, nothing less.” When pressed further, he called our reporter a “cosa” and chased him out of the dean’s suite, saying that he

needed to “figure out how to play this damn guitar” before his sold-out show at Madison Square Garden that evening.

Similarly, Garfinkel denied that his sudden adoption of a blond jewfro had anything to

do with a desire to trick unsuspecting concertgoers into mistaking him for Art Garfunkel. “I mean, I just thought it was neat, you know?” he said.

“Nothing wrong with switching things up once in a while, right?” As The Spectator’s correspondent left the room, Garfinkel could be heard singing what seemed to be an ill-advised attempt at “The Sound of Silence.”

Outside of Stuyvesant, opinions remained mixed, with some hailing the tour as a triumph for the music world and others denouncing it as a scam. One enraged fan, Louise Fairbanks, told The Spectator that Simon had rushed into the crowd and started grabbing phones from people recording the show. “This is nothing like the Paul Simon I remember from his younger days,” Fairbanks said. “For one, that fellow could play guitar.”

Others, however, were impressed with the pair’s musical stylings. “You know, I may be totally tone-deaf and unable to distinguish pitch,” avid follower Daniel Westing said, “but that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize raw musical talent when I hear it.”

Semoi Khan / The Spectator

English teacher Kerry Garfinkel and Spanish teacher Manuel Simon have formed a band and embarked on a world tour as “Simon & Garfinkel,” sparking mixed reactions from the Stuyvesant community and the general public. Tickets for the tour are currently sold out, but some are available on ticket resale sites for upwards of $400.

Some, like junior Chloe Liu, welcomed the news of the duo’s newfound passion for performing live music.

“Are you serious?” she said.

“Both Simon and Garfinkel leaving for two years to play 139 shows on five continents?

This is fantastic.” At press time, Liu was wondering what to do now that she had both sixth and ninth periods free.

Assistant Principal of English Eric Grossman took a dimmer view of the situation.

“This is absolutely unbelievable,” he ranted to a Spectator reporter. “Not only do I lose one of my baldest teachers for two years, but I’m also out $518 for what I thought was going to be a concert by legendary folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel. I go to the show, and what do I see? Cell Phone Simon and the Garf.”

When questioned about the tour’s confusing branding, Simon was evasive, claiming that the band’s similarity with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees was “a complete coincidence” and that the tour

Page 24

The Spectator ● Friday, January 17, 2020

Sports Championship League Predictions

New Year, Same Champions League

By AHMED HUSSEIN and SUNAN TAJWAR As Álvaro Odriozola ran down the right wing onto Luka Modrić’s pass, he took one touch to set himself and scan the box before playing the ball in the air to young Brazilian winger Rodrygo. The 18-year-old volleyed the ball into the bottom left corner beyond the Club Brugge keeper’s outstretched arm. This was Rodrygo’s fourth Champions League goal, having moved to Madrid from Brazil over the summer. He has established himself as one of this year’s emerging Champions League stars. These new stars will hope to continue their upward trajectory as the competition moves onto the round of 16. There is a blank page in the history books of the Champions League that teams hope to make their mark on. Here are our predictions for which teams will make their mark on the round of 16 and move onto the next stage of the competition.

Liver pool vs.

Atlético Ma-

drid In the round of 16’s

and great form in the Premier League, will look to fully utilize their movement of the ball and telepathic chemistry to put together moments of magic reminiscent of those we’ve seen over the last few seasons.

Athlético’s path to success will have to come through their midfield. They will have to rely on players like Saúl, Koke, and Thomas to keep possession in the midfield in order to slow down Liverpool’s pace of play and neutralize their consistent pressing. If they fail to do so, though Atlético Madrid has shown the ability to bend but not break throughout the season, the consistent pressure by Liverpool’s front three and relentless crosses in the box by their fullbacks have proven to break down even the most stubborn defenses by pure volume of attacking chances.

Beyond holding the ball in the midfield, veteran Spanish striker Álvaro Morata and promising Portugese youngster João Félix will have to be clinical in front of goal, as chances against that van Dijk-led defense come at a premium. Lastly, they will have to keep a clean sheet at home.

Liverpool scoring goals at home is

marquee matchup, will we see Europe’s m o s t threatening and exciting offensive team go against Europe’s most organized defense? Liverpool have all but wrapped up the English Premier League, defeating the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, and Tottenham.

But their most impressive win had to be their embarrassment of defending English champions Manchester City. Never before had a Pep Guardiola side seemed so vulnerable and clueless. Jurgen Klopp’s team pressed the City players into making mistakes and were lightning quick and devastating on the counter. Guardiola and his side simply had no answer to the sheer pace and tempo Liverpool played with.

Liverpool’s success going forward is based on a solid foundation at the back. Virgil van Dijk is considered by many to be the best center back in the world, having been dribbled by only once in the past calendar year.

His presence allows fullbacks Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold, now considered the best fullback pairing in the world, to kickstart the offense on the flanks. This press aided by the ability to press and hold the ball in midfield provided by captain Jordan Henderson allows for the creative ability and talent of one of Europe’s most lethal front three to work in full effect.

Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mané, and Roberto Firmino, coming off of a Club World Cup Win

al

most inevitable, so it is essential that Atlético bend but do not break to the offensive willpower in front of the Kop End at Anfield in Liverpool. If they do so, they must keep a clean sheet at home as the difficulty to go punch-for-punch with the reds will prove paramount against van Dijk and Alisson Becker.

Liverpool go into this tie as favorites, but in the past decade, Atlético Madrid have had success playing spoiler to many teams on their path to two Champions League Final appearances. However, Liverpool’s limitless arsenal of offensive firepower and current form will drag them through to the next round against a stout Atlético defense.

In the end, it might come down to a late goal, one that Jurgen

Klopp has become famous for orchestrating last season against Barcelona and multiple times this year in the Premiership.

Borussia Dortmund vs.

Paris Saint Germain

All PSG fans will be wondering if this will finally be their year. The Parisian club has become notorious for spending record-breaking sums of money to buy world-class players, all in an attempt to capture that Champions League trophy. Ever since the club went into Qatari ownership, it has brought in world-class talent from across the world, but none more prominent that their two record-breaking transfers of Neymar Jr. and Kylian Mbappé.

The Brazilian and Frenchman currently seem to be at the height of their power at such young ages. Neymar already cemented himself as one of the world’s best with Barcelona, and Mbappé at the age 21 is already making

o f

a case for bei n g a top five player in the world; his sheer pace and instinctive finishing ability have drawn comparisons to French legend Thierry Henry.

Thus, there should be no excuses if PSG do what they do best and underperform against Dortmund.

Dortmund find themselves in a recognizable spot as the underdogs. But like usual, they are a young and hungry team capable of embarrassing any side on their day.

The experience and world-class talent of German winger Marco Reus coupled with the young and exciting play of British forward Jadon Sancho alone is enough to surprise and pick-apart defenses on the counter attack. They’re supported by Spanish striker Paco Alcácer, who has shown the ability to finish when his team desperately needs him, and the on loan fullback Achraf Hakimi. This core will have to take advantage of every counter-attacking opportunity PSG gives them if they are to pull off the upset, and they have the speed and ability to do so.

On paper, the Parisians should blow the German club out of the water with all the talent they have dispersed across the field, having not mentioned the likes of Ángel Di María, Marco Verratti, and Mauro Icardi. This squad has already toppled Real Madrid without Neymar or Mbappe. However, PSG have historically been known to lose focus and lack the mental fortitude needed to close out European ties, their famous collapse against Barcelona three years ago still haunting PSG fans

everywhere. If PSG are to win this fixture as they should, they must show the ability to keep their heads while going forward and have the defensive resilience to not get caught out by Dortmound’s dangerous counterattack.

Tottenham vs. RB Leipzig In all reality, neither of these teams will be making it far into this year’s Champions League based solely on their lack of experience and form compared to the rest of the teams left in the competition. However, the plethora of young attacking talent on both teams from Heung-min Son to Timo Werner, have the potential to make this one of the most exciting matchups of the round.

Leipzig’s plan will be simple: stay on the press and let their speedy attackers make the most of mistakes Tottenham makes at the back. Leipzig currently sit atop the Bundesliga above European giants Bayern Munich and have mesmerized fans with their goalscoring threat. They also have the most goals scored in the Bundesliga, with 48 compared to Bayern’s 46. They will be relying heavily on Werner, Sabitzer, and Forsberg to test the inconsistent Tottenham backline.

Tottenham are coming off a Champions League final appearance last year but have proven to be rather inconsistent in both Europe and the Premier League, the 7-2 scoreline at home against Bayern Munich being the glaring red mark on their record. Fans and pundits also were skeptical of the team’s success this year after sacking manager Mauricio Pochettino, who had the most success at the club in recent history.

Since then they have hired the “chosen one”: José Mourinho.

Mourinho developed a reputation for being one of the greatest managers of the modern era, having won domestic league titles with Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid, in addition to two Champions League trophies he won with FC Porto and Inter Milan. However, his most recent stint with Manchester United had many question his leadership and professionalism. It is too early to judge Mourinho’s effect on the London club, but he will have to miraculously turn around this team that has failed to perform against top-level competition in England and Europe. Leipzig are the team in form and should be favored in this fixture. Only heroics of Tottenham’s marquee forwards Harry Kane and Son can carry this disparaged Tottenham team over the line against an exciting young Leipzig squad.

Atalanta vs. Valencia Atalanta shocked the world by qualifying for the Champions League last season with their modest squad. Perhaps even more surprising is that Atalanta managed to move past the group stages after their dramatic lastday victory helped them scrape through. Besides some disappointed Shakhtar Donetsk fans, few soccer fans will be disappointed to see Atalanta playing.

Their fast-paced style of play has taken Italy (and now Europe) by storm, and Atalanta have been a very entertaining team to watch.

They’ve managed to maintain

continued on page 25

Jenny Chen / The Spectator

Bayern Munich vs. Chelsea For Bayern Munich fans, this rematch has been nine years in the making. Ever since Didier Drogba broke Bavarian hearts with a last-minute header in the 2012 Champions League Final in Munich to send the game into overtime, he left a lasting nightmare that Bayern fans have had to deal with this entire decade.

For Chelsea, this is a chance to once again solidify themselves on the European stage as a Champions League powerhouse having underperformed in the world’s most prized club competition since they lifted the cup in Munich.

Both squads go into the round of 16 with two new coaches on the Champions League stage, with Bayern coach Hansi Flick filling in for the recently sacked Niko Kovač and Chelsea being led by club legend Frank Lampard. Lampard’s squad has struggled to find a consistent and reliable source of goals throughout their league and European campaign besides young striker Tammy Abraham. Chelsea’s main hurdle will be overcoming Bayern’s possession-based style of play with the likes of Thiago Alcântara and Leon Goretzka controlling the midfield, while world-class fullback Joshua Kimmich and promising youngster Alphonso Davies look to stretch Chelsea thin by spreading them out to the wings. However, Frank Lampard’s number one point of emphasis will be to do what no other team has done thus far: neutralize Bayern’s number nine, Robert Lewandowski. The Polish international, who many consider to be the best striker in the world, has 19 goals in 17 matches in the German league, in addition to his 10 goals in six matches in the Champions League. This will also be a true test for Chelsea’s Cesar Azpilicueta-led back line and young keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga.

Bayern, however, have to be wary of Chelsea’s counterattack.

Chelsea’s big transfer for young American winger Christian Pulisic might be the key to any hopes they have in the tie, Pulisic having had great success in the German league and against Bayern prior to his move to London. Chelsea should look to press hard against

Bayern in the home leg at Stamford Bridge with Pulisic as the centerpiece of their creative attacking play, hoping the likes of Abraham and Willian can provide support on the front lines.

However, they must be wary of conceding that all-important away goal at home, as they do not want to find themselves on the back foot needing a goal in the hostile Allianz Arena.

Ultimately, Chelsea do not have the offensive firepower or organization to match a Lewandowski-led German superpower that has been unstoppable in their European campaign so far, smashing Chelsea’s London contemporaries 7-2 in London.

Look for Bayern to secure at least a tie at Stamford Bridge and ultimately bury their demons from 2012 back home at the Allianz.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 25

Sports Champions League

New Year, Same Champions League

continued from page 24 their style of play even without their main striker Duvan Zapata, who picked up an injury, Atalanta are still the top scorers in Italy this season. They have more depth than they had last year, and it’s translated to results this year.

With Zapata expected to be back in time for this fixture, Atalanta will be happy with their chances in this tie.

However, Valencia are no pushovers. They also showed grit and spirit to make it this far after a difficult start to their season following the sacking of their previous manager, Marcelino García Toral. He was a popular figure among the players and fans, so the transition under Albert Celades has been difficult. Despite their domestic form, they have been stellar in the Champions League, topping a very strong group. They’re starting to get their groove back in the nick of time, and on their day, they can beat anyone.

Still, Atalanta should edge this one. It can go both ways, but At-

alanta have the attacking prowess to unlock most teams, and they’re improving defensively. Atalanta win this one, but it won’t be a walk in the park.

Lyon vs. Juventus There are two central characters in this tie: Cristiano Ronaldo and Memphis Depay. When both are fit and in form, they can beat any team on their own.

Sadly, only one will be fit for this fixture after Depay ruptured his ACL, effectively ending his season. Juventus were likely not very worried about a Lyon upset, but the Depay injury makes their job easier. Hopefully, Lyon can pull something off because who doesn’t love a good underdog story, but realistically, Juventus will win this easily.

Napoli vs. Barcelona Napoli’s owners made the confusing and slightly worrying decision of sacking their legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti despite Ancelotti leading them to the round of 16. His experience and tactical prowess will be a big miss. Even more worrying

is that he has been replaced with Gennaro Gattuso, who was not successful during his last job as AC Milan manager. Napoli continue to struggle in Serie A under their new management, and they look like no match for Barcelona.

However, Barcelona’s managerial setup isn’t much better, with many Barcelona fans preferring a sack of potatoes to their (very) sleepy manager Ernesto Valverde. Valverde has been criticized for his decision-making that has cost Barcelona crucial points in La Liga in Spain. After a slow start in La Liga, Barcelona’s hero Lionel Messi returned from injury to save the sinking ship that was Barcelona. They currently top La Liga on goal difference, and Antoine Griezmann has begun to pay back the money Barcelona paid for him. Barcelona fans will be happy that they didn’t get a more difficult draw as they continue to work toward their best form.

Real Madrid vs.

Manchester City When this draw was made, soccer fans around the world

except for Real Madrid and Manchester City fans gave a cheer.

This is a battle of two teams that are favorites to reach the final, but only one will advance, making for a very exciting matchup.

Real Madrid came into this season with a clear goal in mind: winning everything after a disappointing season the year before.

They signed proven players like Eden Hazard and Luka Jović as well as young talents like Rodrygo and Ferland Mendy in hopes of achieving that. Despite showing glimpses of their class, Madrid have yet to hit their top form, which is both assuring and frustrating for their fans. Injuries as well as poor performance have been the culprit, but Madrid will hope to leave those things in 2019. With Eden Hazard set to return for injury, they will have a great chance to advance.

Manchester City continue their hunt for their first Champions League trophy. They are favorites every year and have disappointed so far. Their best performance in the competition was back in 2016 when they reached the semifinals be-

fore falling to Real Madrid, who went on to win the whole thing.

This is a revenge match for City, but the chips are stacked against them. They have been plagued by injuries, with Leroy Sané and Aymeric Laporte suffering longterm injuries. Laporte’s injury has been particularly damaging with City conceding goals for fun in the Premier League. With these big injuries, this will be a big test of City manager Guardiola, who goes up against Madrid’s manager Zinedine Zidane for the first time. He has the opportunity to prove that he doesn’t need the big-name players to beat the best teams. City have one advantage, though. They are far from challenging Liverpool for the Premier League, giving them the opportunity to focus their efforts on the Champions League. Real Madrid can’t afford to do the same with the title race much more competitive in Spain. Real Madrid’s depth will be put to the test as they attempt to juggle both competitions, but they should still pull off a close win.

Athlete of the Issue

By AKI YAMAGUCHI

Chris Kim Height: 6’0” Eye color: Brown Hair color: Dark Brown Birthday: 03/03/2002

1. When did you start playing basketball?

BZ: I think I started playing in eighth grade. I was on my middle school team [in] seventh grade, but I was absolute garbage. I was so bad. Then in eighth grade, I actually started playing, and I got a little better. CK: For me, I started playing in sixth grade, but I played for the school team starting in seventh grade.

2. What are your team goals for this season?

BZ: For the most part, we just want to end off on a good note.

We have a lot of seniors on the team, and it would be great for all of us if we can win a few games and have lots of fun. I think it’s one of the things we’ve been missing. We want to have games [that are] really intense. [That way], we have a lot of fun. I also want to win a few. CK: Simply put, [let’s] try to get as many wins as we can.

But at the same time, we don’t want to graduate knowing that [the team] won’t be prepared for next year. I want to make sure the juniors, sophomores, and freshmen are prepared for next year and give it all they got.

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

BZ: I think I can improve in both my shooting and my passing. I can

definitely be a better passer and see the court better. I also need to shoot better. I’ve been missing a lot of open shots. I want to make all of those. CK: Yeah, shooting too. I feel like ever since I was [little], I was very hesitant in shooting and only confident in shots I know that I can make, which are lay-ups; I know if I get better at shooting, I can help the team.

4. Are there any challenges the team faced this year?

We had a [EXPLETIVE] ton. We had half our team for the first three games of the season. We were all out of rhythm. Samson, Mitch, Chris, [and] Christian were all missing for those games, That totally ruined our rhythm. After that, we’ve been trying to find the right one. CK: Those early absences ruined an early head-start.

There’s no set core [of players] yet, so we’re not 100 percent sure what each other’s skills are. That [put us] at a disadvantage against teams that were more prepared for these games.

5. What is your respective position and what does that entail?

BZ: I’ve been playing power forward (*both laugh*). Chris can go first. CK: I spend a lot of time on the bench, but I put that on myself. I basically force myself on the court when I’m healthy. Our role as captains is more about setting the mentality for the team. Even if we don’t play well, we want to go out there every game knowing we can win and [have] that confidence.

BZ: I think I got it. Some of the things I bring to the court are high intensity and [a big] athletic body that can get rebounds and finish in the paint. Once in a while, I can hit shots on the outside and also [be] aggressive.

6. How do you deal with schoolwork and basketball? Any tips?

BZ: This might be really stupid,

Anthony Sun/ The Spectator

Ben Zenker Height: 6’1” Eye color: Brown Hair color: Brown Birthday: 04/15/2002

Let’s Play Bass Get Ball

but what I do might not work for everybody. I set my alarm to very early in the morning, and I wake up then because I know that if I come back home from basketball and I’m tired, I’m not going to be able to get work done the right way, and I’m not going to be efficient. That’s why I work early in the morning.

Not sure if I would recommend it to someone else, but it’s definitely something to try. CK: I do exactly the same thing. I try to get most of my work done in school but if that’s not possible, I wake up at like 3:00 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. and within that time, I complete my work. I only do that when I know I don’t have a test the next day. Knowing that I have limited time, I can do that work in two hours because I know that the time is valuable, and I know that I have to go to school.

BZ: That’s a fact. Knowing that there’s is a time limit. That’s the only thing that keeps me going.

7. Favorite or funniest memory?

BZ: I got two so far. One day after practice, Mitch started singing “High School Musical” songs, and Christian was able to guess what movie they were from 100% accurately. He knew exactly which movie it was from and I was like

“Oh my god.” The second was at Hunter. The crowd was cheering and everything, and Max [was] getting (Chris laughs) antagonized by the crowd; so what he did was he turned to them, and he lit up his shoes, and the crowd went wild, and I was on the court at that point.

I was cracking up. I could not focus at all. CK: I just find it funny when our team makes mistakes. I always laugh when Yae June gets on the court and coach calls plays and he looks so clueless. I remember one time during the Hunter game, Mitch shot the ball, and it hit the ceiling...and [also] when Yi Fin got crossed over and he fell to the floor. I wasn’t laughing but on the inside, I was like “Damn.” These are bad things but they remind us that we’re not robots and we still make mistakes.

8. Proudest memory so far?

I think one of our best moments was still my freshman year when we beat MLK. MLK was, I think, at that point the best team in the division and we were like 0-9. My baseball coach was at the game for half a second and he said you made some great passes. It was a crazy moment because it was our first win and one of their first

losses. No one expected us to beat them but we just played hard. And we beat them. That was great. CK: It’s mostly the moments when people underestimate us when they see our record but when we come and play they don’t know that we haven’t won a game. Rather than being proud of myself, I feel like I’m more proud of the entire team.

You can see it in how they come to practice. They have the losses in the back of their mind but they come to practice with their head held high and don’t take anything for granted.

Drink of Choice: >CK - Water >BZ - Sprite Favorite food: >CK - Fish >BZ - Tacos Motto to live by: >CK - It’s better to know what you can improve than to brag about being perfect. >BZ - To perform in front of thousands, you gotta outwork thousands in front of no one.

Fun fact: >CK - I have a pet turtle. >BZ - My two brothers and I are lefties.

Page 26

The Spectator ● Friday, January 17, 2020

Sports Girls’ Gymnastics

Girls Gymnastics is Off to an Inspiring Start

Pedro Ezquer / The Spectator

in January. We are very excited to be getting girls into competition earlier this year because practicing and competing are very different experiences, so it’s important to start new girls early,” senior and co-captain Camille Sadoff said. “But due to injuries, sickness, and simply not having ready routines, we’ve had a couple circumstances of going to meets short on competitors for some events.”

Even though the Felines are not completely satisfied with their 2-1 record, the team is in great shape to place amongst the top three teams in Division A for the first time in over a de-

By MAYA BROSNICK The 2019-20 Felines are on track to be one of the most successful Stuyvesant gymnastics teams in years. Even though the team started off its season with a loss to division rivals Bronx Science, the Felines earned a score of 100.2 points that meet, an impressive feat that gave the team a lot of confidence heading into the rest of its season. At its following two meets, the team earned two consecutive wins against John F. Kennedy Campus. These meets are a good sign for the future, as the Felines’ ability to still win with obstacles such as multiple injuries and sickness could set them up for success

when the team members overcome these issues.

The team has a lot of young members on the roster this season and is excited about the fresh energy and talent these new gymnasts will bring to practices and competitions.

“During the past two meets against JFK, we’ve had the pleasure of having some new members of the team compete, as well as a few veterans who debuted floor routines,” said senior and co-captain Lianna Huang. “It’s also a pleasure to have the addition of freshman Ariana DeVito; she is a strong all-around gymnast, contributing to the team by scoring high in all events and inspiring us with her gymnastics experience.”

Thanks to the contributions of DeVito and other key members, such as freshman Isabella Jia and sophomore Helen Fred Zhu’s performance on the vault and junior Anya Zorin’s success as an all-arounder, the Felines have not scored below 90 points at any of their meets this far into the season. Much of its early success is due to the new strategies the Felines have been able to try with new gymnasts on the team such as Jia and Elizabeth Paperno.

The captains usually rely more heavily on returners during the beginning of the season since the newer members have not gotten as much practice. “Our non-club new gymnasts usually don’t get to compete until our scrimmage against Saint Ann’s

finals,” senior and co-captain Lu Xi said. The team is in second place going into winter break behind Bronx Science, but with three more meets against both teams in the top three, anything is possible as the Felines hope to assert their status as a strong contender in the division. The Felines have all the pieces they need to put together a successful season, and are optimistic about how much each gymnast will be able to progress. This is particularly true because many of the team competitors are seniors so they will be graduating soon.

“We’re looking forward to see how the best of our team mea-

The team is in second place going into winter break behind Bronx Science, but with three more meets against both teams in the top three, anything is possible as the Felines hope to assert their status as a strong contender in the division. cade. “Our juniors are getting a lot of new skills, and I feel very confident in them carrying the team for team divisionals and

sures up against those of other schools,” Huang said proudly.

Artifical Intelligence

The Next Moneyball: Artificial Intelligence in Baseball

By OWEN POTTER

When Billy Beane decided to employ a recent Harvard graduate to use advanced statistical analysis to build a championship baseball team, he changed the game forever. While Beane’s famous early 2000s team never won a World Series, multiple 100-win seasons and a new record for the longest winning streak got the attention of teams across the MLB, all while on one of the league’s lowest payrolls.

Most people know Beane’s story as it was popularized in the book—and later in the movie— Moneyball. The machine learning techniques that were used to algorithmically determine a player’s value were light-years ahead of the archaic methods that had been used in baseball up to that point.

Previously, player analysis had been based entirely on stats that had a large factor of luck behind them, with an example being the RBI (Runs Batted In). While the RBI has historically been used to measure the value of a hitter, it largely depends on whether the player is at-bat with runners on base. For example, a home run with two runners on base gives a playerthree RBIs, but a solo homer only gives

a player one. There’s no clear difference in what the player actually hit, so a stat that gives the player in the first scenario more credit is inherently flawed. Instead, Beane used stats like Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) to get the best team possible. FIP is a metric that only uses stats that a pitcher has perfect control over (walks, strike-

just the first step.

While Beane was the first to really integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into sports, the techniques he used were not actually all that advanced. Today, sports are on the cutting edge of AI development. A prime example is MLB’s StatCast AI, which uses Amazon Web Services (AWS) to calculate

Artificial Intelligence and data analysis are certainly revolutionizing the way the game is being played at the professional level, but they are also having a major effect on college and even high school baseball.

outs, and home runs) to take any element of luck out of the equation. However, stats like FIP were

real-time statistics such as launch angle, pitch speed, and even the likelihood of a catch being made.

Data from StatCast has opened the game up to a whole new level of statistical analysis, with players like Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant checking data in between innings to make sure they’re at the top of their game.

Nowadays, every team in the MLB has its own statistical analysis department, and they use data from StatCast and other sources in ways that would have been unimaginable 15 years ago. One example of this is the prevalence of the shift in today’s game. While teams have long employed the shift (moving an extra player one side of the field) against left-handed hitters, today’s data allows for individualized shifts for each hitter on an opposing squad. If you watched any of the Boston Red Sox’s games last year, you’d have noticed the Red Sox outfielders looking at little cards in their back pockets in between at-bats. These cards tell players where to position themselves for each hitter, using data straight from the Red Sox data department.

Artificial Intelligence and data analysis are certainly revolutionizing the way the game is being played at the professional level, but they are also having a major effect on college and even high

school baseball. This is through technologies like those provided

by Rapsodo. Through the use of high-speed cameras and machine learning techniques, Rapsodo’s products can give real-time metrics like spin-rate on pitches, as well as simulate the exact distance a ball hit inside a batting cage would travel on a real field. In many ways, this is even more impressive than StatCast, because it allows people who aren’t getting paid millions of dollars access to baseball AI. In fact, Stuyvesant’s own baseball team has been able to use a Rapsodo machine.

Computer science and sports have long been thought of as polar opposites. However, machine learning and data analysis are making athletes who choose to listen to the data better on a daily basis.

This piece of advice that used to be ridiculous is now perfectly

plausible: if you’re looking for a career in sports, majoring in CS is the way to go. From potentially adding robot umpires to expanding the StatCast system, AI in baseball is here to stay.

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 27

Sports Offseason

By SAM LEVINE Baseball season officially ended on October 30 when the Washington Nationals were crowned champs for the first time in franchise history. Next season doesn’t officially start until around mid-February, when pitchers and catchers report to spring training. While that big gray-area of empty space may sound boring, there really is no offseason in Major League Baseball, with new signings seemingly being made every day and Twitter ringing in rumors and potential trades around the clock. This may sound very chaotic, so I’m here to help break down all the big offseason acquisitions so far this winter.

The first big acquisition of the winter came down in Atlanta back in early November.

Will Smith, who was an AllStar this past season for the Giants, agreed to a three-year, 40 million dollar deal with Atlanta.

This will help the Braves’ bullpen, which wasn’t a strong suit of theirs in 2019. The Braves also went out and signed Cole Hamels to a one-year, 18 million dollar deal to help bolster their rotation. Though he isn’t one of the high-tier pitch-

Offseason in Review

ers available, he’s a solid veteran who can add depth to the Braves’ staff.

While there have been countless rumors of the Cubs having some of their stars on the trade block, it’s been their cross-town rivals, the White Sox, who have been making splashes so far. They signed arguably the best catcher in baseball, Yasmani Grandal, to a four-year, 73 million dollar deal, and they also signed Dallas Keuchel to be his batterymate, as well as Lucas Giolito’s counterpart in the rotation.

This is a team that has always had potential, and especially after re-signing Jose Abreu and signing Edwin Encarnacion, it looks like they could be making a run for a playoff spot in the AL Central in 2020.

The Reds joined in on the winter fun by signing Mike Moustakas to a four-year deal.

Cincinnati made lots of moves this summer at the trade deadline, and their pitching has been surprisingly good. Their bats were the problem, but now that they’ve added another solid bat to the lineup, they might have a shot at a playoff spot.

The winners of last offseason with Bryce Harper, the Phillies didn’t back down this

winter after a disappointing 2019, signing Zach Wheeler away from their rival Mets and Didi Gregorious to man the middle of the infield with Jean Segura. Wheeler has always been a great starter on the Mets, and Didi has been a consistent shortstop for the past few years.

The Phillies are hoping that these assets will be enough to finally get them a spot in the postseason again.

The reigning champs basically had to choose between re-signing their MVP candidate third-baseman or their World Series MVP starter. They went with Strasburg, and gave him (at the time) a record 245 million for seven years, locking him in to go with Scherzer for awhile. Strasburg will continue to give the Nationals one of the best rotations in baseball, and to keep their lineup secure, they also re-signed World Series hero Howie Kendrick for another year. Washington isn’t done yet, and they are looking to defend their title.

The biggest prize of the offseason was Gerrit Cole, and who else but the evil empire, the Yankees, would go out and give him a whopping 324 million for nine years. So close to reaching the World Series in

2019, the Bombers are poised to make it this year, and they won the top prize this winter already. Cole had one of the best seasons by a pitcher in recent memory, and he will make the Yanks’ rotation very scary in 2020. But, they also did lose reliever Dellin Betances to their cross-town rivals, the Mets.

This will help the Mets’ poor bullpen hopefully improve this coming season, and with a lineup like theirs, the Mets could make a legit playoff run.

In LA, both teams were expected to make a splash this offseason. The Dodgers weren’t able to sign one of the big stars, but still ended up with RP Blake Treinen, who will help their bullpen immensely.

The Angels also struck out at one of the star pitchers, who they desperately needed to help their lackluster rotation, but they instead got the best available bat in MVP candidate Anthony Rendon. Pairing him with Mike Trout is a scary duo, and if their pitching can figure it out, this team can go far.

As for the other pitchers who were available, the Diamondbacks made a splash by signing veteran Madison Bumgarner who will replace Zach Greinke, whom they trad-

ed in July. The Rangers traded for former Cy Young Corey Kluber, who should return to full form after battling injuries for most of 2019. And the Blue Jays started to build their rotation by signing Cy Young candidate Hyun-Jin Ryu to a fouryear deal. This will help them build around their stellar young core of hitters, and hopefully propel them to a playoff spot in a very tough AL East.

Many moves were made so far this winter, and it’s far from over. While many of the most coveted free agents signed early, there are still many big names floating around, like the possibility of Josh Hader being traded from Milwaukee. But so far, it seems like the Yankees won big by signing the best available pitcher Gerrit Cole, and the White Sox have made plenty of moves to shoot for a playoff spot. Teams like the Dodgers, however, seem to have struck out after being rumored to be big spenders this offseason. It’s still early, though.

There’s still plenty of time for this to change—all it takes is one big trade to put a team over the edge and snag the first World Series title of the decade.

Boys’ Varsity Wrestling

Spartans’ Search for an Opportunity

By SAMIR HASSAN

great position right now.

“However, there have been an unfortunate number of injuries this season,” Zheng said. The Spartans have lost more than 30 points at various matches due to the lack of wrestlers in the super light-

nesses that a team carries. “We realized that while we have worked hard on taking shots and bringing the opponents down, many of us are having trouble turning the opponent.

So we have been working hard on skills in the top and bottom

he threw his opponent down within the first 10 seconds of the match. Senior George Dong and junior Edwin Chan have also been wrestling very well with the latter improving a lot to provide them with essential wins. Considering that their wrestlers have been performing, the Spartans should be in a

weight and super heavyweight classes. Injured wrestlers also affect practice because the team then has less wrestlers to practice with. If the wrestlers can get back soon enough, the Spartans can look to become formidable opponents.

As any sports season goes on, there are strengths and weak-

position,” Zheng said. The Spartans identified their weakness: not being able to turn opponents while on the mats.

Despite these obstacles, the Spartans are confident that the team is heading in the right direction. They are practicing and drilling with familiar skills for borough champion-

ships. Their female members have impressively placed fifth in a tournament with only five wrestlers. The team is restructuring, with Coach Waldeck having plans for combining the JV football team and wrestling into one program.

The Spartans are currently fifth in a seven-team league. With three games left, the Spartans don’t pose much a threat to the teams in the top three teams. The next two games, however, will be key to boosting the team’s position and morale, as the Spartans prepare to face off against the lower-ranked Murry Bergtraum Blazers.

Next, the team will face New Dorp High School, which is currently ranked last in the league. A victory against New Dorp High School could be a way to confidently end the league season for the Spartans.

The Spartans will cap off its season with a non-league game against the Seward Park Bears. This match will not count toward the team’s final record, but will be used to gauge how much the team has progressed throughout the season. This match will be very interesting, as Coach Waldeck can choose to experiment with a different lineup.

The match will be played in our very own gym, with the Spartans having the chance to show what they’ve grown into after a long season.

Steven Wen / The Spectator

The week before break should be close to freedom, but for Stuyvesant students, essays, projects, and tests make it feel so far away. This was especially true for the boys’ varsity wrestling team, the Spartans, as the team persevered through key back-to-back matches against two of the toughest teams in the division. If the Spartans lost both games, the team would be one loss shy of last season’s record. If the team won both, they would move up into one of the top three spots in the division standings.

On a cold Tuesday evening, the Spartans traveled to Murry Bergtraum High School to face off against the Petrides. The last time these two teams faced was almost three years ago in a 73-12 loss for the Spartans.

The Spartans did not have much luck this time either, as the final score was 24-53.

Even though the team lost, the Spartans fought well and showed great improvement.

On the next day, the Spartans hosted their fifth match of the season against McKee/ Staten Island Technical High School. The current league leaders went on to beat the Spartans 66-6, which was not much of a surprise considering that Coach Waldeck had praised the Staten Island High Schools for their brilliant wrestling programs.

Nevertheless,matches aren’t just characterized by the scorecard. “The [new members of the team] are doing very well,” senior and captain Jeffrey Zheng said. Specifically, new member and junior Egor Vazgryn excited the team when

The Spectator ● January 17, 2020

Page 28

Boys’ Varsity Basketball

THE SPECTATOR SPORTS

Rebels in Review: New Year’s Resolutions

By JOSHUA SPEKTOR This is the first edition of “Rebels in Review,” where I deliver a game-by-game breakdown of the last two weeks in Stuyvesant’s boys’ varsity basketball. Here’s how the Stuyvesant’s Runnin’ Rebels closed out the first half of their 2019-20 season: Murry Bergtraum Blazers 110— Stuyvesant Runnin’ Rebels 44 The real question was not if the still undefeated Murry Bergtraum Blazers would take this one, but rather by how much.

The answer was, well, by a lot.

There’s no real way to sugarcoat this one, as the Blazers put on a thorough clinic. Fortunately though, this rather alarming result helped bring to the forefront some of the problems that had been flaring up in the Runnin’ Rebels’ play during the previous three games.

The headline issue in this game was the Rebels’ poor ball management in their own half from the second quarter onward, which led to many turnovers and, therefore, many easy points against. Some of this could be attributed to the Blazers’ lengthy forwards relentlessly pressuring the Rebels’ outlet passers from tip off to the final buzzer, seldom giving them room to make good decisions with the ball. Coach Paul Goldsman partially chalked up the Rebels’ unforced errors to exhaustion but also recognized the necessity of better ball distribution in future contests.

“I think we got frazzled, and we started making bad passes, which led to easy layups. [The second quarter is] when the game really got away from us.

[One] of our issues that has

plagued us throughout the season [has] been turnovers because of poor passing, poor lob passing, and that presented itself again today. But we’ll learn from this, and we’ll keep getting better,” he said.

Senior guard Brian Poon, who was active all over the court, led all players with three successful shots from beyond the arc and all Rebels with 16 points. “A big problem for [us] has always been turnovers. If we play calm and collected, we can definitely minimize them and take control of the game,” he said.

The two standouts from the previous game against the Bayard Titans, senior center Samson Badlia and junior guard Nikkie Lin, both came away with respectable performances, tallying eight and six points, respectively. Badlia also led the team with nine total rebounds.

Washington Irving 81— Stuyvesant Runnin’ Rebels 43 Playing games while chasing from behind has practically been a running theme for the Rebels this season. This game, however, particularly stung, as it was the first game this season in which the Rebels trailed by double digits coming out of the first quarter (24-8), having played against a team that was second to last in the Manhattan A1 Division.

Despite season highs in scoring from Badlia (10 points) and junior guard Michelangelo Pagan (10 points) helping the Rebels keep pace throughout the middle of the game, the team could never garner enough of a run to dig itself out of its first quarter hole.

Though the absence of Lin due to illness was not the deciding factor in this one, it was definitely felt by the team.

Norman Thomas Tigers 89— Stuyvesant Runnin’ Rebels 55 For the second consecutive game, the Rebels were left in the dust by a slow start, exiting the first quarter down by 18. Though the Rebels ended up posting one of their best offensive performances of the season, spearheaded by a new season high of 17 points from Badlia, the team encountered many of the same issues as in previous games.

Among those problems was once again poor perimeter defense, which, coupled with a lack of success from the threepoint line, put the Rebels in an unpleasant situation similar to their game against the Titans.

The Norman Thomas Tigers advanced early, knocking down seven of their nine total threepointers in the first half, making it difficult for the Rebels’ lockdown efforts in the later stages of the game to have a big impact on the final result.

Notable performers included Poon, who logged his fifth straight game with at least seven points, and senior captain Ben Zenker, who finished with seven total rebounds and nine points—his most since the Rebels’ game against the East Harlem Pride.

Eleanor Roosevelt Huskies 69— Stuyvesant Runnin’ Rebels 51 The Rebels were once again denied a win by the Eleanor Roosevelt Huskies, despite Badlia and Zenker combining for a total of 30 points.

Another second quarter of lacking three-point defense from the Rebels arguably broke open the game; they were outscored by only one point over the

course of the other three quarters (44-43). If eradicated, the disparity in three-point shooting, identical to the previous game in which two were scored and nine were conceded, could have given the Rebels their first win of the year. Unfortunately, the Rebels’ high-intensity play, particularly later in the game, was not reflected in the score due to this lingering issue.

The Huskies, who are tied for second to last in the Manhattan A1 Division, were the only team that the Rebels defeated last year (on the last day of the regular season).

Hunter College Hawks 55— Stuyvesant Runnin’ Rebels 46 As the Rebels enter winter break, they will be wondering how they let this one slip through the cracks.

In another matchup against a sub-.500 opponent, the Rebels’ offense proved not quite deep enough in order to finally get the win. Over half of their total points came off an explosive 25-point performance from Badlia, once again rewriting his personal best as a member of the varsity team and making him the highest scorer on the squad at a rate of 14.5 PPG. The big man also nearly doubles up everyone on the team in rebounds with 10 per game. He credited much of his recent offensive success to quicker on-ball decisions, emphasizing the importance of making the more obvious play over the prettier one.

“I just played more freely and tried not to overthink every time I touched the ball,” he said.

“The first few games I tried to make the best possible decision, and that ended up leading to turnovers and stuff, but the last few games I started playing more

freely. The team began making better and stronger passes overall, which led to us being able to run a better offense.”

“But the biggest thing was [that] I made my layups,” he said.

Of course, for someone credited with a team-high 33 two-point field goals—mostly off looks in front of the basket—putting away more highpercentage shots presents an easy opportunity to boost his scoreline. Unfortunately, the Rebels could not generate a win off this performance, finishing the first half of the season without a victory.

The Rebels, who went on a 15-game slide last year, are in familiar territory. The playoffs look like a speck in the distance, and though the team knows exactly the needs it must address to improve their play, namely a stable defensive strategy and better onball decision-making, the team’s progression in these areas has unfortunately not been enough.

Hope remains that the recent offensive surges of players such as Badlia, combined with smarter ball distribution and more effective defensive play, will make a much more promising 2020 for this group.

NEXT UP: Mon, 1/6/20: vs. Hunter College Hawks (4-3) Thu, 1/9/20: vs. Seward Park Bears (5-3) Mon, 1/13/20: vs. East Harlem Pride (4-3) Thu, 1/16/20: vs. Bayard Titans (3-3) Fri, 1/17/20: vs. Murry Bergtraum Blazers (8-0)

Girls’ Varsity Basketball

The Phoenix Aim to Surge Forward

By JERMERY LEE and ANGELINA GRZYBOWSKI In a game with both highs and lows, the Phoenix, Stuyvesant’s girls’ varsity basketball team, found themselves ahead in the fourth quarter, trying to hold onto their lead. After fairly lopsided second and third quarters, in which they outscored the Baruch High School Blue Devils by six and seven, respectively, the Phoenix were in control of the game entering the fourth quarter of play. In the fourth, however, the tide began to turn. The Blue Devils gained some momentum, and the Phoenix gave it their all in order to hold them off. The buzzer sounded and Stuyvesant clung to a one-point lead after being outscored 16-5 in the final quarter.

After a hard-fought win at Baruch High School, the Phoenix rose to a record of 3-0, putting them at the top of the Manhattan A South Division.

Entering their fourth game of the season on the road against Lab Museum United, the Phoenix

hoped to continue their undefeated season and move to an impressive 4-0. Trailing by one point entering the fourth quarter, the Phoenix hoped to make a comeback and secure their fourth win of the season. However, the Lady Gators of Lab Museum United held their ground, outscoring the Phoenix by a score of 19-12.

This was the first loss of the season for the Phoenix and brought them back to reality after a hot start. They realized that they could be competitive this year, but that it wasn’t going to be easy.

Senior and co-captain Eve Wening summarized the loss, saying, “Sometimes, we lack confidence and get frazzled.” Their next opponent, Bayard Rustin, came into the game at 2-2, hoping to go above .500 once again.

The Phoenix were able to turn things around against the Bayard Rustin Titans. The Phoenix played an incredibly strong game, quickly leading the Titans 14-4 after one quarter of play. From there, it was all the Phoenix in a runaway win that resulted in a 41-23. Follow-

ing this game, Wenin Following this game, Wening said, “It was a pretty important win for us and we didn’t just win, we beat them by almost 20, which proved that when we play confidently and together we are much better than a lot of other teams in our division.”

It was a matter of re-establishing confidence for the Phoenix, and this game, following a loss to Lab Museum United, showed that they could play at the highest level and ultimately compete in a high-pressure environment.

The Phoenix played as a team in their game against the Titans: they had a total of 12 assists and a vast majority of the roster put points on the board.

With seven games remaining in the season, the Phoenix are looking to finish strong. At the moment, they reside at the top of the division with a record of 4-1.

They hope to maintain that position for the rest of the season, with the division title as their goal. After three straight second-place finishes in their division, the Phoenix have a solid chance to come out on top

and make a strong playoff push this season. said, “It was a pretty important win for us and we didn’t just win,

in their game against the Titans: they had a total of 12 assists and a vast majority of the roster put points on the board.

It was a matter of re-establishing confidence for the Phoenix, and this game, following a loss to Lab Museum United, showed that they could play at the highest level and ultimately compete in a high-pressure environment. we beat them by almost 20, which proved that when we play confidently and together we are much better than a lot of other teams in our division.” It was a matter of re-establishing confidence for the Phoenix, and this game, following a loss to Lab Museum United, showed that they could play at the highest level and ultimately compete in a high-pressure environment.

The Phoenix played as a team

With seven games remaining in the season, the Phoenix are looking to finish strong. At the moment, they reside at the top of the division with a record of 4-1.

They hope to maintain that position for the rest of the season, with the division title as their goal. After three straight second-place finishes in their division, the Phoenix have a solid chance to come out on top and make a strong playoff push this season.