Volume 104, Issue 4

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

Volume CIV No. 4

• Senior Michael Lim and junior Kelly Chen were recognized as regional finalists in the Siemens Competition in Math, Science, & Technology. Seniors Jack Cahn and Eugene Lee were recognized as two of 331 semifinalists. The finalists will move onto the regional finals at M.I.T. next month to compete for a $100,000 scholarship.

• Research coordinator Rebecca Gorla and senior Mandy Wong were invited to attend the Lasker Foundation award ceremony. This prestigious program, “American Nobel Prize,” honored outstanding students and others for their contributions.

• Social studies teacher George Kennedy took a number of his Wall Street students to visit the Museum of American Finance on Wall Street. Students received a tour, a presentation, and a talk with founder John Herzog.

• The Junior Statesmen of America Club (JSA) attended the Barnard College conference in New York. Five Stuyvesant students won best speaker awards, and several of them did so in more than one category.

• Criminal Law teacher Linda Weissman facilitated a presentation for her students by Arun Bhoumick (’97), a federal prosecutor with the Justice Department in Washington. He spoke about the criminal justice process, with a focus on his specialty of business fraud.

Why Don’t They Work?

By COBY GOLDBERG and ANDREW WALLACE “‘And now a rather common sight: non-working escalators.’

That’s one of the first things my tour guide told my family and I [sic] when we were at the open house for Stuyvesant in eighth grade,” junior Eric Chen said. “Now I know that it’s Stuy, land of the broken escalators.”

Since the construction of the new school building in 1992, escalators have become a part of Stuyvesant culture. Unfortunately, so too has the sight of non-working ones. By eighth period on any given day in 2013, an average of 65 percent of escalators are functioning. In fact, the condition of the escalators has been deemed Priority Three by the Division of School Facilities (DSF), the branch of the Department of Education (DOE) responsible for the physical maintenance of DOE buildings. The category indicates that “visual observation or comments from staff indicate a failure may occur in the near future,” according to a DSF report.

The status of the escalators has remained despite the fact that in the summer of 2004, the school accepted nearly one million dollars in DOE funds for the overhaul of the escalator system. “The breakdowns that used to happen lasted longer and happened more

frequently than after they renovated them,” Lauren Segal (‘06) said in a telephone interview.

Escalator stoppages at Stuyvesant reflect three separate factors: structural damage, deliberate or accidental interference with the escalator, and lack of school policy on restarting escalators midday.

The first and less common category, permanent breakdowns in the escalators’ underlying mechanics, is not necessarily a result of misuse by the student body but is often a result of age and frequent use. For example, frequent use can cause pores to form in the metal of the escalator, necessitating that the escalator metal be re-welded so that the pores are closed. The school contacts the DSF, which has contracted the Otis Elevator Company to repair escalators with these serious breakdowns. DSF then processes the school’s request and calls Otis, which usually sends a crew within two weeks.

The crews close off the escalator under maintenance with yellow boards and often lift up the steps in order to do such work, leaving the escalator entirely unusable. “They have the maintenance crews come in for stuff like the four-totwo [escalator], which needed to be re-welded.” school machinist Kern Levigion said.

The second and more com-

Courtesy of The Indicator

Getting the Girls: The Story of Stuyvesant’s First Women

Abby Scheck, class of ‘72, comments on the experience of being a part of the first female class at Stuyvesant High School.

By Arina Bykadorova Gentlemen, imagine life without girls. Ballroom dancing? Forget it. Big Sib Little Sib dance? Boring. Prom? Man, have to take out some of those silly Hunter girls. Sound like a nightmare? Forty years ago, this was Stuyvesant. As the 1970 Indicator puts it, Stuy was “one of the last bastions of

stuyspec.com

all-male education” until the school “finally opened to coeducation and its accompanying benefits.”

It all began with a girl who didn’t want to go to Bronx Science. In 1968, Alice Haines, nee DeRivera, was a freshman at John Jay High School looking for an academic challenge. Despite scoring above the cutoff for Stuyvesant on the SHSAT, she was denied admission because of the school’s all-male policy. Not wanting to commute two hours to Bronx Science, which had also accepted her (and had been co-ed since 1946), Haines sued.

The Board of Education faced charges of denying Haines equal protection of the law and struggled for a few months before giving in. In September of 1969, Stuyvesant was obliged to open its doors to female students. Twelve brave souls enrolled that year, nine of them incoming sophomores. Haines ultimately did not attend Stuyvesant because her family had moved upstate to avoid publicity. Last June, as the keynote speaker for

the graduation for the class of 2013, she received an honorary Stuyvesant diploma.

Time has scattered the pioneers of 1969. Few were available to talk, but one of the nine sophomores, Abby Scheck (’72), met with me for an interview on the wind-blown boardwalk of Brighton Beach.

Her face was reminiscent of the girl whose senior photo I found in the yearbook, and she smiled while looking back on her days at Stuy. “It was without a doubt the best educational experience of my life. If there was some way in the universe that I could do it again, I would,” she said.

Though in a time of many political statements, breaking Stuyvesant’s policy was not a political stand for the frontierswomen. This was no crusade for women’s rights; “None of us were hotheaded politically,” Scheck said, and she chose Stuyvesant, or “Stuyvesant chose me, initially for geographic reasons.” continued on page #

mon stoppage in service is less serious, and is caused by the escalators’ great volume of day-to-day usage. Such stoppages occur when certain safety mechanisms are triggered.

These can be activated by such things as dangling backpack continued on page 2

Administration Removes Students from Half-Floor

By Gabriel Rosen and Jordan Zhou In response to a growing number of noise complaints, security guards have adopted a policy of removing students from the half-floor when deemed necessary. This is a result of increased student congregation on the half-floor over the years. As of this year, when a nearby teacher complains about noise, the area is evacuated completely at the discretion of the security guards.

According to Principal Jie Zhang, “no policy change has been made” regarding the half floor, and students are still allowed to stay there in a quiet manner during their free periods. As such, the removal of students is only a stricter enforcement of old policy regarding noise complaints. In the past, only limited amounts of noise complaints were made regarding the half-floor. However, with the increased number of students congregating there, removals have had to occur according to school pol-

icy. Zhang also said that even though most classrooms are far from the half-floor, she still receives complaints from teachers like music teacher Holly Hall when she is trying to conduct chorus sectionals, as well as from faculty advisors supervising clubs on the second floor.

The most common complaint by students who have been removed from the halffloor is that the limited amount of free space available to them forces them to stay on the halffloor in large numbers, which inevitably leads to an increase in noise there, according to students who asked to remain anonymous. When questioned about these complaints, Zhang said, “We understand that there are some capacity issues, but students always need to be respectful of classes in session.”

In September 2012, the administration banned students from congregating in the fifth floor hallway, which forced students to the first, second, and half floor. Seniors are now alcontinued on page 2

Jin Hee Yoo / The Spectator

Newsbeat

October 31, 2013

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 2

News Why Don’t They Work? continued from page 1

straps and shoelaces caught at the top or bottom of the escalators. In some cases, they are the result of deliberate vandalism, when students place their ankles between the closing steps.

The escalators also have weight sensors, which bring them to a halt if students jump at the top or bottom. Though these account for a majority of escalator stoppages, they rarely last longer than a day and are usually fixed by the turn of a key.

Sometimes, however, these two categories of breakdowns intersect, as major structural damage can be and has been done by individuals in the building. In November 2011, then-freshman Saif Zihiri’s shoe got caught in the escalator connecting the fourth and second floors. Pulling his foot out just before the shoe disappeared into the inner-workings of the escalator, Zihiri saw the escalator come to a grinding stop, where it would stay until becoming operational again in September 2012.

“If everyone is careful keeping bags off steps, not accidentally losing control of sneakers, and [not allowing] loose clothing [to get] caught, then the escalators should stop working less often,” Assistant Principal of Security, Safety, and Student Affairs Brian Moran said.

Each day, the school’s 12 escalators are turned on at 7 a.m. by the school’s custodial staff. “We turn them on early to make sure there aren’t any kids on them yet,” custodial

engineer Fred Arnebold said.

“But after that, the students are on them so we can’t keep turning them back on. It’s dangerous, and I know I don’t tell my staff to do that. That’s when the students start screwing around with [the escalators].”

The third factor in escalator stoppages is a result of a combination of a school policy decision made in 2006 and a unilateral custodial policy decision. The keys for restarting the escalators used to be given to a wider body of faculty members. “As I recall, they were restarted rather frequently,” Stuyvesant alumnus Eli Cohn (‘05) said. “There would rarely be more than one or two not working in a given day.”

However, in 2006, one assistant principal gave these keys to three favored students.

The students then made copies of the keys and sold them to other students. After a key was used to turn on an escalator undergoing maintenance, nearly harming one of the men working on it, the locks for all the escalators were changed, costing the school upwards of $10,000. Only Levigion, certain deans, and members of the custodial staff currently have access to the keys.

“I turn them back on if I ever happen to pass a broken one with no one near it,” Levigion said. “But some students think it is funny to just break one that they know they won’t have to use again that day. And if that’s the way certain students will act, it’s obvious what the results will be.”

“It’s too bad, because it’s not as if every student does

stuff like that, but a few kids ruin tons of escalators for everybody else,” senior Spencer Weiss said. “They have seemingly no reason to, but I guess they just do it for fun.”

Some students see a clear solution to the issue of having escalators that never seem to work. “There should just be a set time, say in the middle of seventh period, when the custodial staff goes around and turns all the escalators back on,” junior Isaac Gluck said.

“If everybody knew what that time span was, they could just avoid the escalators, allowing the custodians peace of mind to turn them back on.”

But for others, the state of escalators at Stuyvesant seems beyond repair. “It’s become an almost expected sight to me now,” freshman Mariya Gedrich said. “It’s not that big and a deal and I’m just grateful we have them. I wish there was something we could do about it, but there really isn’t.”

Though cognizant of the problems with the escalators, the administration may not be able to address them right away.

“I’m aware of the issues,” Principal Jie Zhang said. “They are definitely on [the administration’s] mind.” Zhang explained that funds for projects like upgrading the escalators do not come out of a school’s budget, but instead from grants coordinated by the School Construction Authority. She has spoken to the Stuyvesant Parents’ Association (PA) about applying for a grant to improve the escalators this year, and the proposal to do so is still being considered.

Administration Plans to Improve Computer Science Internet

By Rebecca Chang and Scott Ma Though the popularity of StThough the popularity of Stuyvesant’s computer science classes has skyrocketed over the past few years, the quality of their technology has not. The monitors are used and outdated. Their Internet connection is just as old, and definitely not made to be used by hundreds of students at any given time.

Currently, the Computer Science department runs on a Transmission System 1 (T1) line, a connection that was considered fast in the late 1990s.

Today, however, it is typically used only in small office settings, where the primary aim is general web browsing. It does not allow many users to simultaneously download large files, posing a huge problem for many of the computer science classes.

In Software Development, a senior computer science elective, many students forgo the T1 line entirely and choose to bring in their own laptops to connect to the school’s wireless connection. Senior Christine Xu recalls one incident she had with the department’s Internet during her classes. She said, “We spent the entire period trying to download Python. You couldn’t do anything without the program.”

Computer science coordinator Michael Zamansky has repeatedly asked the administration to help fund a faster connection for his department.

Last autumn, he approached then-Interim Acting Principal Jie Zhang about the matter. At the time, however, Zhang was in the process of dealing with the aftermath of the June cheating scandal. “I was here to wrap up the investigation of the scandal, which took me about three months to actually finish,” she said. “When you’re Interim Acting [Principal], you try not to make a lot of big decisions.”

She further explained that she looked to the Department of Education for assistance regarding the technological issue, but their answers were not concrete and only complicated the situation.

This autumn, however, Zhang was intent on fixing the problem. She decided to meet with both Zamansky and Assistant Principal of Organization Saida Rodriguez-Tabone as soon as possible to find a way to improve the connection. “We’re definitely picking something computer science teachers will be very happy about,” Zhang said.

Rodriguez-Tabone was assigned to look into possible Internet providers for the computer science department, of which she found several. These provider options were presented to Zhang and a board of administrators whose names Rodriguez-Tabone was not permitted to disclose. The board decided on a highly modern Fiber Optic line, which carries about 40 megabytes per second, in contrast with the current 4.5 megabytes per second the T1

connection carries. The installation of the improved connection is expected to take place around Thanksgiving of this year.

The Fiber Optic line, however, also has a substantial price tag. Zhang estimates that the upkeep of the Fiber line will cost $15,000 every year, which would take up a considerable amount of funding. However, she is confident that the change will be well-received and supported. “Mr. Zamansky has a lot of support from his world, and we have the Alumni Association, we have the [Parents’ Association],” Zhang said.

“We’re all going to be happy with this new software coming in,” said junior Chris Kim, who is currently enrolled in AP Computer Science. “I don’t know how many minutes I spent waiting for my e-mail account to upload, and send a document I finished typing up in class because of the slow connection.”

Despite the significant improvement in Internet speed coming to the computer science department, Zhang believes that there are still areas in which Stuyvesant can improve technologically.

Computer science teacher Samuel Konstantinovich remembers the T1 connection from his days as a Stuyvesant student. “If we’re giving our students a competitive and highlevel education in computer science, imagine how much better it would be if our hardware was up to date,” he said.

Administration Removes Students from Half-Floor continued from page 1

lowed outside during free periods, but this is restricted to the senior class at the moment.

According to Moran, removals can only begin once administrative staff either receive noise complaints from teachers or use their judgment to determine if noise levels are too high for overall school decorum. Security guards are also allowed to initiate these removals. When asked why it seemed that students on the half-floor were being disproportionately removed, Moran said, “We receive the most noise complaints about the half-floor; that’s why we’ve had to remove students [from it] occasionally.” When a complaint is lodged, everybody—not just the noisy students—in the area is removed.

Moran said that prior to removal, administrative officials must first try and quiet down the students. This protocol appears to have been followed.

Before sophomore Jason Lin was evicted, “we were told to be quiet and no one talked for

a minute… After a few minutes of [resuming] normalleveled talking, we were told, ‘All right, it’s time to get off the half-floor,’” Lin said. A security guard who requested to remain anonymous further explained that while they usually wait to act until after receiving complaints from teachers, most commonly from music teacher Holly Hall, they will take the initiative if students get too noisy.

Moran said that this leeway, on the judgment of the security guards, is fully supported by the administration. “They are security guards; it is in their job description to follow school directives, and it is their priority to address safety concerns, including noise complaints,” he said. Consequently, if the halffloor is deemed overcrowded, or if any students are blocking the stairwells, then safety concerns will automatically provide the grounds for a removal of any and all students there.

“What students don’t realize is that any noise they make on the half-floor is amplified due to an echo, which means that things will always appear quieter than they actually are,” Moran said.

Final Weeks Before Early Admissions Face Common Application Glitches

By Ada Mui

Every year before the early college application deadline in November, high school seniors scramble to finish their applications and essays to be submitted through the Common Application. The Common Application, colloquially known as the Common App, is a nonprofit organization and a free online undergraduate application system accepted by over 500 colleges and universities.

The Common App was established in 1975 and has since eased the application process for students by allowing them to apply to multiple schools at once. At the start of the 20132014 school year, a newly updated Common App was released.

The updates included a new visual look, the removal of the previously used “topic of choice” essay prompt and the short answer activity essay, as well as a new word limit of 650 words for the personal statement. Along with these new changes, however, came technical malfunctions.

Students have been facing problems with logging in, inviting teachers to the Common App, and accessing their dashboard of deadlines. “On top of the amount of homework I have every night, which is stressful enough already, I haven’t been able to log into my Common App account to make sure I have all the components of my college applications such as teacher recommendations and supplements,” senior Junpei Taguchi said.

But log-in problems are not a recent ordeal. “I’ve been having some trouble logging in since the Common App opened to students in August, but the Columbus Day weekend was when it gave me the most trouble. I tried logging in many times and

even tried resetting the password—none of that worked,” senior Thoasin Bari said College counselors and teachers are facing problems as well,, as many have been unable to upload their recommendations to the website. College counselor Casey Pedrick created a fake account to see how the students viewed the website.

“There were bursts of problems here and there since it started in August. But it was not bad at all in August. The problems started mounting in September when school started and there were more people using it. This past Monday, all recommenders were not able to get in, which was terrible, because a lot of us were trying to use this Columbus Day as a day where we can upload what we’ve finished,” she said.

News of these glitches have reached most college admissions offices. As a result, some colleges have extended their deadlines. Colleges that had early action or decision deadlines of Tuesday, October 15, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Georgia Tech, have extended them to Monday, October 21. Some colleges that had early action or decision deadlines of Friday, November 1, such as Columbia University, Duke University, and University of Chicago, have extended them to Friday, November 8.

These deadline extensions also apply to QuestBridge Finalists.

Common App representatives maintain that their goal is to make the college application process easier for applicants, and that glitches are the result of a “spike in activity.” The organization is working to fix the technical problems and is offering advice for users facing problems.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 3

Features

Abby Scheck, class of ‘72, comments on the experience of being a part of the first female class at Stuyvesant High School.

By ARINA BYKADOROVA Gentlemen, imagine life without girls. Ballroom dancing? Forget it. Big Sib Little Sib dance? Boring. Prom? Man, have to take out some of those silly Hunter girls. Sound like a nightmare? Forty years ago, this was Stuyvesant. As the 1970 Indicator puts it, Stuy was “one of the last bastions of all-male education” until the school “finally opened to coeducation and its accompanying benefits.”

It all began with a girl who didn’t want to go to Bronx Science. In 1968, Alice Haines, nee DeRivera, was a freshman at John Jay High School looking for an academic challenge.

Despite scoring above the cutoff for Stuyvesant on the SHSAT, she was denied admission because of the school’s all-male policy. Not wanting to commute two hours to Bronx Science, which had also accepted her (and had been coed since 1946), Haines sued.

The Board of Education faced charges of denying

Haines equal protection of the law and struggled for a few months before giving in. In September of 1969, Stuyvesant was obliged to open its doors to female students. Twelve brave souls enrolled that year, nine of them incoming sophomores. Haines ultimately did not attend Stuyvesant because her family had moved upstate to avoid publicity. Last June, as the keynote speaker for the graduation for the class of 2013, she received an honorary Stuyvesant diploma.

Time has scattered the pioneers of 1969. Few were available to talk, but one of the nine sophomores, Abby Scheck (’72), met with me for an interview on the wind-blown boardwalk of Brighton Beach. Her face was reminiscent of the girl whose senior photo I found in the yearbook, and she smiled while looking back on her days at Stuy. “It was, without a doubt, the best educational experience of my life. If there was some way in the universe that I could do it again, I would,” she said.

Though it was done in a time of many political statements, breaking Stuyvesant’s policy was not a political stand for the frontierswomen. This was no crusade for women’s rights. “None of us were hotheaded politically,” Scheck said, and she chose Stuyvesant, or “Stuyvesant chose me, initially for geographic reasons.” Her parents didn’t want her going to her local high school, but they also didn’t want her traveling all the way to Bronx Science from mid-Brooklyn. “It’s more of a big deal now than it was then,” she said. To female students, the priority was their schoolwork, not championing convention.

“We were 13, 14 years old, and

we didn’t know any better—we wanted to study,” Scheck said.

Big deal or not, being girls in a boys’ school did have its obstacles. “The principal, Dr. Fliedner, did not greet us,” Eve Berman (’72), one of Scheck’s classmates, told “Stuyvesant 100 Years.” “It was clear that the faculty, and even many of the

Though it was done in a time of many political statements, breaking Stuyvesant’s policy was not a political stand for the frontierswomen. students, were ambivalent at best to see the school opened up.” In fact, Principal Leonard Fliedner, in his message to the class of 1970, called the graduation of the last all-male class a special occasion. By their graduation in 1972, however, the ladies were congratulated warmly in the principal’s message and appeared in many of the yearbook photos and articles.

The introduction of female students also created all kinds of touchy subjects. “The principal had very definite ideas of how we should dress and behave,” Scheck said, laughing. “I believe the word ‘ladylike’ was mentioned more than once.”

In one instance, one of the girls wore pants that looked too masculine and was stopped at the entrance of the school. Scheck herself had once been sent to the dean for wearing a pair of culottes. When I compared it to our own dress code woes, Scheck humorously remarked, “We’ve come a long way.”

The year that Stuyvesant became co-ed was a turbulent one, due to the war in Vietnam.

The boys in the school were about to face the draft, and many students joined the fight against it. “For me, it was only in the spring of that year, when the protests over the Vietnam War united the school, that I felt a real part of the mainstream Stuy High culture,” Berman told “Stuyvesant 100 Years.” The largest demonstration was in May of 1970, when the students staged a protest of 1,200 people outside the school. Throughout those years, the war was an inexhaustible source of debate and discussion.

Beyond the war’s influence, the girls also chose other ways to assimilate into Stuyvesant culture. Most of them got involved in extracurriculars like the Student-Faculty show (SING!’s predecessor), ARISTA, the student government, the handball team, The Spectator, and a variety of other clubs and publications.

I was curious to see how Scheck had involved herself in the school and with the antiwar movement, but all she could show me was the list of extracurriculars written next to her name in the yearbook that I had already seen. At first I was disappointed; if she didn’t remember, Stuy culture couldn’t have been important to her.

When she began telling me about the recent reunion of the

class of 1972, I realized I was wrong. “It was just amazing to see the interactions of people all these years later,” she said.

Scheck marveled that on the ’72 Facebook group, several alumni spent an hour commenting on a photo of a chair they made in woodworking class so many years ago, which one of their mothers had saved. She said that one of the reunion activities was a visit to the school.

“The thing that hits us the most is when we see things like this,” she said, showing me a picture of her and a few classmates visiting the memorial classroom, sitting in their old seats and raising their hands. Five of the original nine sophomores made it to the reunion. Though some have become famous surgeons and some college professors living all over the country, Scheck said, “When you look at them, you don’t see them as they are now, but as they were then, in school.”

It’s crazy to think that many years from now, we will all meet again at our own reunions. I asked Scheck if she’d like to pass on any message to us students, who are going through the similarly rigorous high school experience 40 years later. She responded with an anecdote about a man in her apartment building who graduated from Stuyvesant a few years before she did. Whenever he sees her, he sings the school song or jokes about their high school years, and Scheck feels that such school spirit is a great thing to have. “You have to keep that sense of wonderment and excitement and school spirit,” she said. “In all seriousness, the bonds that you make now will remain with you all your life if you choose to do so.”

Roving Reporter: The Holiday Season

By Rabia Aktar and Stanley Chan

Tis the season...for last minute campaigning as New York City becomes a battleground for mayoral hopefuls Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota in the elections taking place on Tuesday, November 5. Amidst the patriotic signs and political rallies topic resurfaced that both candidates are keen on endorsing: ethnic holidays. De Blasio and Lhota have repeatedly proposed an idea to add two Muslim holidays of Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha to the school calendar, claiming that doing so would adjust the school system to account for New York City’s wide range of diversity. This idea has received a range of controversial opinions from numerous publications, including praise from firm advocators, and backlash from unhappy citizens. As a school of extremely diverse demographics, Stuyvesant becomes a relevant community in this religious debate, and offers key insight to the pragmatism of this future proposal.

Victor Greez, History Teacher:

Faizah Yeasmin, Senior and MSA President:

“In order to fully determine whether or not this proposal will be effective, “we definitely have to look at the changing demographics of the city...We need to take little steps, and one thing we could do is give [students and staff observing religious holidays] no penalty for an absence”.

“I’ve always been absent from school on Eid, but what upsets me more than having to catch up on school work is the fact that many of my peers have no idea what Eid is. So getting a day off for Eid will not only give me more time to freely spend with my family and friends, but also[will interest] others into learning what the holiday really is. So I’m really excited about that!’

Iris Zhao, Junior:

Hassan Mohammed, Senior and MSA Vice-President: “I think that it’s a nice thing, especially [since] the Muslim population is increasingly growing... Furthermore, I think that from the [start] we shouldn’t have holidays for religious holidays and just have excused absences, but since that is not the case and we don’t live in a vacuum, Eid should be offered as a holiday.”

Noah Alexander Tom-Wong, Junior: “Yay, days off—because days off are always good! I think equal representation is always a great thing, and it’s good that the school calendar may be extended next year. Honestly, I would like to see a day off for Chinese New Year, but it’s a pretty long holiday. For example, when I lived in Hong Kong, we got 2 extra weeks off. Here in New York, that would be wonderful, but obviously we can’t do that here. The logistics of it would simply be difficult.”

Michelle Lin / The Spectator

Courtesy of The Indicator

Getting the Girls: The Story of Stuyvesant’s First Women

“I personally wouldn’t mind the extra day to catch up on sleep and homework, but asides from my personal interests, I think that this addition would pose a concern to a bigger debate. What would be the limit that constitutes which holidays would be added to the school calendar? What is the difference between Eid being added, and Chinese New Year not being added? It seems really selective and exclusive, and I don’t know if this proposal is the right solution.”

Aidan Fitzgerald, Sophomore: “I definitely think that all different cultures need to have fair representation within our education system.

Of course you can’t have too many holidays for one cultural group, but you can’t have too few either.”

Corbin Allardice, Senior:

Michael Jin, Junior:

“It’s very ethnocentric to focus only on religious holidays of certain groups, especially since at this point, there is a high mass of Muslims in the city, and thus it has a certain impact on the population. [On the subject of religious minority groups asking for representation] I think it might, and I think they should have the opportunity to take time off. That said, it should only be required on a city level mass of people because that will have an effect on how the city runs. There’s a vast spectrum of different beliefs, and the number of beliefs—people would basically have to take off for the entire year. It’s just not feasible to take time off. “

“If we already have ethnic holidays in our holidays, why not honor all of them? What makes the Jewish better than the Muslims, or the Christians better than Muslims? If there’s a great population of a certain religious group, why not let them have their days off?”

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 4

Features

Courtesy of Fish Milnikiewicz, Gabrielle Posinelli, and Miranda Chaiken

Stuy Does Comic Con

People from all over the city flocked to the 2013 Comic Con dressed as their favorite characters.

By SANAM BHATIA Junior Gabrielle Polsinelli began planning her New York Comic Con cosplay (a costume that mirrors what a character from a television show, movie, or book wears) months in advance to the actual event. It was an elaborate costume, incorporating everything from a $5 pharmacy bra to Velcro. “I made everything I wore from scratch,” Polsinelli said. She used pieces of fabric and a paper towel roll to make the bodice and breastplate and even made and trimmed a skirt and cape out of fabric—all to look like Sayaka Miki from an anime

called “Puella Magi Madoka Magica.” Her outfit also featured a flowing cape and a sword cut out of plywood and covered in paint. As a result of her hours of effort, Polsinelli was almost completely dressed in blue, in amazingly crafted attire that looked entirely store-bought.

Dozens of Stuyvesant students like Polsinelli pay upwards of $30 to attend Comic Con, an annual fan convention that took place October 9 to 14 this year. New York Comic Con, which was hosted in the gargantuan Jacob Javits Center, features pop culture-centric exhibitions, guest panels, and, most notably, the singularly unique

and authentic cosplay of the attendees. “Bringing a cosplay from one of numerous ideas to a full-fledged costume is extremely rewarding, and being around hundreds of people who share that same feeling is definitely worth it,” Polsinelli said.

Junior Nadia Saleh realized she could put together a costume of Oswin Oswald from “Doctor Who” because of the similarities in their physical appearances and her love of the show. She found a red dress similar to Oswald’s and, “the night before Comic Con, I went through my dad’s stuff and pulled out anything that [would look good on] a tool belt and taped it onto a black belt that I had,” Saleh said. She mentioned that “being recognized and complimented and having people ask to take [her] picture felt amazing.”

Junior Jenny Baran also cosplayed at Comic Con. “I cosplayed Cecil Baldwin from ‘Welcome to Night Vale,’ a podcast about a desert town where strange things happen a lot,” Baran said. “Cecil doesn’t have a canon appearance, so I had a lot of freedom with my outfit.”

Senior Peter Louie, however, enjoyed the convention for the overarching experience and not one specific fandom. “The reason I went to Comic Con was to see the costumes, experience the promotions for the coming year’s consumer market, and, best of all, free stuff,” Louie said. He mentioned that “it gets boring being alone” at Comic Con, but “when you’re

with someone who’s there for the first time in their lives, you can see their eyes light up and see them smile like a child on Christmas morning,” he said.

Another aspect of New York Comic Con that attracts Stuyvesant students is its exemplification of nerd culture, modern popular culture that embraces movies, TV shows, books, and comics, particularly science fiction, that are traditionally considered “nerdy.” “When I came to Stuyvesant, I was genuinely surprised at how diverse nerd culture is here,” sophomore Kathy Wang said. “People are interested in everything, [from the webcomic Homestuck, to anime, to video games], so you can definitely find someone who likes what you like, and I really went to Comic Con because it is an even bigger celebration of all things nerdy.” Wang attended for “Rooster Teeth,” a company that creates live-action shots of video games with commentary.

Wang also explained that she loves the panels at Comic Con because “they let fans communicate with the people who make all the things they love and really approach the media analytically,” she said.

At New York Comic Con, Wang went to the New Transmedia Story Worlds Panel, which gave advice to content makers in terms of expanding their ideas to film or television.

Comic Con attendees can buy an endless amount of trinkets, including t-shirts, posters, comics, and even lunch boxes, to demonstrate their love for

fandoms. Vendors from all over the city, including independent online vendors, set up booths to target pop culture enthusiasts like Stuyvesant students.

“I had some extra money, so I decided to spend it all on tshirts and ‘Doctor Who’ posters,” Wang said. Corsets and steampunk jewelry, among other items, were also on sale.

Sophomore and anime enthusiast Sandy Fang went to Comic Con “for the Artist Alley [an area at Comic Con where artists display and sell their works], because I really like buying prints and I was hoping to meet some artists I knew and admire,“ she said. Polsinelli agreed. “As an artist, it’s especially inspiring to see such a prolific amount of work by any individual there,” she said.

New York Comic Con is certainly an exciting experience for all those who visit, whether they want to attend panels, buy fandom merchandise, or see nine different variations of the Batman costume in the span of four hours. The event reflects the diversity found in modern popular culture and how, despite differences, thousands can come together to celebrate their shared or varied interests. “Whereas [nerds] have historically been shunned by society, institutions like Comic Con have recently made geek culture more understandable and acceptable by the masses,” junior Fish Milnikiewicz said. “For that, I’m grateful.”

Courtesy of amolsarva.com

Amol Sarva: How to Succeed in Technology (While Trying)

By ARIELLA KAHAN It’s May of 1994, and senior Amol Sarva has just returned from the University of Kentucky as National Champion in Policy Debate. Sarva has spent the past three days debating in the annual Tournament of Champions, winning consecutive rounds concerning the necessity of health care reform, before taking home the national high school debate championship. Sarva’s victory is not only a milestone for himself, but also a cause for celebration for the whole Stuyvesant Debate team, of which he is captain.

An ecstatic Sarva—with national, state, and city championships under his belt—looks forward to attending Columbia University in the fall.

Today, alumnus Dr. Amol Sarva (’94) is one of New York’s leading technological entrepreneurs. He has founded multiple phone companies, includ-

ing mobile broadband giant Virgin Mobile USA; advised the world’s largest wi-fi network; pioneered in the mass market of the smartphone; and even testified for the U.S. Senate.

And all this began with a simple interest in technology fostered at Stuyvesant, when he “heard a previous 1980s student had hacked the Pentagon and gotten in huge trouble,” he said. While this was likely an unfounded rumor, it sparked Dr. Sarva’s interest in technology, which grew further after a peer in his freshman biology class introduced him to Bullet Board Systems (BBS), computer software that allows users to write messages to each other, download software, and compete against others in online games. Dr. Sarva began using the BBS and got “cool free stuff,” including “an AOL account featuring email inbox with unlimited storage and unlimited attachment sizes,” he said. While an unlimited e-mail account is quite commonplace today, this was a novelty in the 1990s, and Dr. Sarva’s usage of one proved that he was already more tech-savvy than many of his classmates.

After graduating from Stuyvesant in 1994, Dr. Sarva majored in philosophy and economics at Columbia University. Dr. Sarva’s choice of majors seems strange for a prospective technologist and reflects his adolescent uncertainty. In fact, Dr. Sarva had

initially considered becoming a teacher or businessman.

However, since his graduation collided with the “1990s tech boom,” he found technology “too interesting to resist” and decided to pursue a career as an entrepreneur.

The two most significant mobile service companies that Dr. Sarva has founded are Virgin Mobile USA and Peek.

Virgin Mobile USA, which he cofounded and helped design and fundraise for in 2000, was one of the first companies to market prepaid, no-contract phone service. It is a pioneering company in the sense that the service provider does not own the network the company operates on. In this case, Virgin Mobile USA operated on Sprint’s network. Today, Virgin Mobile is a leading phone company with 5.1 million customers, and it represents a huge success in Dr. Sarva’s career.

Peek, another remarkable technology that Dr. Sarva cofounded, was designed in 2007 and is the first mobile device dedicated to e-mail. Dr. Sarva’s team decided to create Peek because it thought that a device simpler, cheaper, and easier to use than a smartphone would be popular. Peek’s device is slick and looks like a smaller version of today’s Kindle. After the success of its original model, Peek grew to incorporate text messaging and social networking, expanding its service from the United States to

Europe and Asia.

Dr. Sarva’s career has been influenced not only by the students at Stuyvesant, but also by his experience on the Debate team. “Like many of the best [Stuyvesant] activities, Debate was a Nerd Olympics-type activity that rewarded smartaleckiness and hard work,” Dr. Sarva said. “[The Debate team] showed me you could get trophies and girls for talking fast and saying nerdy things.” The “smart-aleckiness and hard work” became a model of behavior for the rest of his life.

The lifestyle that began in Dr. Sarva’s debate days made way for the successes that have dominated his career. Dr. Sarva also credits the Debate team with his development of other skills, including “thinking and working with others.”

Dr. Sarva’s attitude toward life was clearly affected by his time at Stuyvesant, but his teachers did not have any direct effect on his career. “I can’t think of a single technological teacher I met. I’m sorry to say it; there were many cool teachers at Stuyvesant,” he said.

He did not learn much about technology during high school, as he doesn’t “remember using a school-provided computer once.”

Dr. Sarva is much more than the one-dimensional “technology guy” hunched over a computer and bleary-eyed from long hours of coding. In addition to his many technological

achievements, he is also a talented architect. He designed a nine-story, 13-loft building in Long Island City, Queens, which was named “the most important new building in the borough” by a New York Daily News architecture critic. His photography is part of the Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection, and a painting he worked on with Tom Sanford, a New York-based painter, is in Syracuse University’s art collection. Currently, Dr. Sarva is creating a neuroscience-based device called Halo, “a wearable device that makes you smarter by stimulating your brain function,” he said.

Halo will initially be used only by those with certain medical problems, but it has the potential to enhance anyone’s brain.

“The application of this thing is so amazing and exciting; it is irresistible. History can’t stop it,” Dr. Sarva said.

With the ongoing production of this trailblazing innovation and a multitude of varying interests and accomplishments, Dr. Sarva’s career seems to show no signs of slowing down, even as he delves into more complicated applications of science and technology. However, his advice to current Stuyvesant students who strive to become proficient technologists, inventors, or computer programmers is simple: “Do computer science.

Make stuff.”

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

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Page 6

Features

So You Think You Know Your Teachers?

By Laureen Chan and Erica Chio Sure, we spend an overwhelming amount of time with our teachers at Stuyvesant—that’s around 40 minutes a day and five days a week, not even counting the times we see them outside of class. With all this time, we’d think we know them pretty well. But do we really? Do we even know what their favorite books, movies, or songs are?

Kristyn Pluchino, Chemistry Teacher Favorite Book: The “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling. When she first read it, she “loved the books immediately.” She also mentioned how it “provides an escape for [her] daily life, and gives her a chance to let [her] mind and imagination run free.”

Favorite Movie: “Fight Club.” “I like the cinematography a lot and the grittiness,” Pluchino said. She recommends it with caution though, since it’s “rather graphic and violent.”

Favorite Song: ACDC’s “Thunderstruck.” She first heard the song while on a road trip with her friends to Boston. “[I] absolutely recommend it,” Pluchino said. “It’s a great song to work out to.”

Laura Eng / The Spectator

Kerry Trainor, History Teacher Favorite Book: “The Alienist” by Caleb Carr and “Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001” by Steve Coll. “Ghost Wars” has a more of a sentimental feeling for Trainor. “My mother is a survivor of the attacks (she worked in the south tower, the second to be hit), and after the tragic events I wanted to learn all that I could about why they happened. ‘Ghost Wars’ was where I started, and it is probably the best book on the subject of why,” Trainor said. “I like both books because I am a lover of history—New York City history and the history of American intelligence agencies in particular.”

Favorite Movie: “Jaws.” “I always liked the film as a child and then came to appreciate it in the larger context of film making.” Trainor said. His favorite part: “The scene when all of the main characters are sitting around a table having a drink and sharing stories on the boat right before the shark attacks in the climax of the movie,” he said.

Favorite Artist: Notorious B.I.G. “This choice has mostly to do with the fact that we grew up in the same neighborhood and had a few personal connections to him,” Trainor said.

Wei Dan Yang / The Spectator

Steven O’Malley, Chemistry Teacher Favorite Book: “I don’t have a favorite book. I like lots of them. I just finished When You Are Engulfed In Flames by David Sedaris,” O’Malley said. “I especially enjoyed the ‘Solution to Saturday’s Puzzle’ chapter,” he said, because he “likes to laugh.”

Favorite Movie: “The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!” This 1988 comedy about a “bumbling detective” gave him lots of laughs, especially ”during the baseball game scene.”

Favorite Song: “The Shins were playing during my commute, Phoenix during my evening run, and Oasis [right now],” O’Malley said. He first heard Oasis “in high school when I worked in the electronics department of the local K-Mart... Phoenix when I ‘shazamed’ them on the Coney Island boardwalk a year or two ago [and] the Shins after going to their concert at Irving Plaza in 2007,” he said. Instead of just recommending songs, he recommends to “always try new music.”

Laura Eng / The Spectator Laura Eng / The Spectator

James Cocoros, Math Teacher: Joseph “I would make my way to the local Stern, police station armory and get shotguns.

Math Teacher: Lots of shotguns. You need shooting power.

“I would perform an You know where else I would go to?

The inversion with respect to the Met. Get a piece of armor and a walls of the house, thereby bastard sword if I have to. I interchanging the interior of Robert actually put a lot of thought the house with the exterior. This Weldon, in this. Zombies.” would carry me, together with all Spanish Teacher: the zombies currently in the house “I would make with me, to the outside world. Once paella…Cause then there, they would still presumably try to if it’s good they would catch and eat me, but I would have more be eating that and not me.” room to run and hide. The only problem I foresee is that everyone in the world I care about, none of whom were Michael Orlando, originally trapped in the house with me, will end up in the interior of Chemistry Teacher: the house together with all the “Surround myself with zombies in the world except the sunflowers and peashooters. ones I will have freed (presumably If you blow my joke, I will be a tiny subset of all the very irritated with you.” zombies). So perhaps I need to rethink this solution.”

Michael Waxman, History Teacher: “Co-opt the zombies to help me Dr. Maria construct a shaduf, which Nedwidek, Biology Teacher: I would then use to “I would find an open window (on the aid in my escape. ground floor because I’m not stupid) and Emilio Nieves, Keep it real!”

I would run far, and if the zombies English Teacher: chased after me, assuming zombies “I would keep running don’t like water, I would find and around the house until enter the nearest body of water someone came and saved me.” on the shallow end...Also, Google [When asked whether he would zombie repellant and hope that kill some zombies]: “I would I can find or concoct that definitely fight.” thing in my house.”

Michelle Lin/ The Spectator

Laura Eng / The Spectator

Alisa Su / The Spectator

If You Were Attacked By Zombies...

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

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Page 7

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 8

Editorials Staff Editorial

Mark Your Calendars: Muslim Holidays and Attendance

Twice a year, Muslim students across the United States are forced to make the difficult decision between their religious practices and their schoolwork. One of these days is Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan, and the other is Eid al-Adha, a day of sacrifice. The religious obligations that are involved in both days of Eid force Muslim students to choose between observing the holidays and attending school.

This Editorial Board believes that changing demographics also require changing attitudes: the Department of Education should close schools on Eid alFitr and Eid al-Adha, just as it does for Jewish and Christian holidays.

Islam is one of the world’s three major religions. The other two, Christianity and Judaism, are accounted for and respected by the school’s calendar. The perception that Islam is not the equal of the other two major religions should be avoided, especially considering that Islam is the world’s fastest growing religion. America, with its intended separation between church and state and tolerance for all religions, is inexplicably

of our Muslim classmates.

Mayor Bloomberg, however, has avoided giving additional days off for religious and ethnic holidays in the past, stating

“The Pulse of the Student Body” E DITOR S

IN

Danny Kim Sam Kim* Justin Strauss

Art

E di to rs

Teresa Chen Robert He* Alvin Wei O pi ni o ns

D i r ec t o r s

Laura Eng Michele Lin Michelle Lin L ayo ut

E di to rs

Mark Perelmuter Da-Ye Shin Anne Tan Co py

E di to rs

Thomas Bajko Stephanie Yan

E di to rs

Benjamin Attal Risham Dhillon* Severyn Kozak

B u s i ne s s

M anagers

Andrew Fischer Deanna Taylor*

E di to rs

Lev Akabas Timothy Diep Luke Morales h u mo r

Jane Argodale Joyce Koltisko Emre Tetik

E di to rs

F e atures

S p orts

Arts & E n t e r t a i nmen t E di to rs

C HIEF

David Cahn* Edric Huang* Lindsay Bu* Noah Rosenberg Eugenia Sanchez

Mayor Bloomberg, however, has in the past avoided giving additional days off for religious and ethnic holidays, stating that “When you have a city as diverse as New York, you simply cannot add a holiday for every religion.”

Ph o t o g r a p h y E di to rs

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

N ews

Web

E di to r

Shaan Sheikh Fac u lt y

Ad v i s o r

Kerry Garfinkel

E di to rs

Jeremy Karson Robert Melamed Please address all letters to:

that “When you have a city as diverse as New York, you simply cannot add a holiday for every religion.” Once one ethnic or religious holiday is recognized,

Changing demographics also require changing attitudes: the Department of Education should close schools on Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha , just as they do for Jewish and Christian holidays.

centered around Christianity and Judaism and blatantly ignores its Muslim population.

Our proposal, and that of mayoral candidates Bill de Blasio and Joe Lhota, is to add Eid to the school calendar as two more days off from school. New York is the third most Muslim state in the United States, and 12 percent of students in New York City identify as Muslim.

Based on this alone, the city should adopt Muslim holidays into the school system. Our mayoral candidates agree.

There are a few important consequences of adding Eid to the school calendar. The first is needing to making up those two days at the end of the school year. Because public schools must have a set number of instructional days, we need to compensate for any additional holidays. The end of the year seems like an appropriate time to make up these two days, but, alternatively, the school year could start two days earlier. While no one really wants a shorter summer vacation, the two days still seem worth it to us, in order to uphold the rights

directly necessitate the addition of other holidays, because Islam is not comparable to other groups due to its sheer size.

If other groups become more

The Spectator

so many other groups call out for attention. There have been proposals to add holidays such as Chinese New Year and Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights.

Mayoral candidates have not

popular and the number of Muslims declines, this should be taken into account, and the calendar changed accordingly.

In establishing which religions and ethnicities are most widespread, both teachers and students should be considered.

Without teachers, students cannot learn. If a teacher takes a day off, substitute teachers rarely fill his or her shoes.

Teachers are vital resources and should be more respected for their religious beliefs or ethnic backgrounds. Student absences also create problems such as lack of quality of education. Either enough students skip school that a day is essentially lost, or the few who do not attend class are at a disadvantage. Students, too, should be allowed to identify ethnically or religiously with a holiday without consequences.

The NYCDOE boasts a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to discrimination within schools. But what we see in practice is not even close; refraining from making Muslim holidays nonattendance days may not seem to be discrimination in the traditional sense, but it is. And we urge the next mayor of New York City and the

345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282 (212) 312-4800 ext. 2601 letters@stuyspectator.com

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We are looking for issues published before 1995.

Please send any newspapers to:

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A Note to Our Readers: Either enough students skip school such that a day is essentially lost, or the few that do not attend class are at a disadvantage. Students, too, should be allowed to identify ethnically or religiously with a holiday without consequences.

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

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drawn a line between more and less significant holidays. This is a straw man argument. Adding one religion’s holidays does not

DOE to reconsider the matter.

Because we think it’s high time now: mark your calendars.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 9

Opinions

Bonny Troung / The Spectator

Earlier this month, Nina Davuluri, crowned “Miss America 2014,” visited Stuyvesant to speak at an anti-bullying seminar. As students flooded into the auditorium, most were given two things: a short survey about the seminar (which was ultimately never collected, likely due to time constraints) and a cardboard “Inclusion Wheel.”

One side of the wheel bore a series of concentric circles, resembling a dartboard and inscribed with names of factors that influence one’s personality. The other had a large Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) logo, with “Est. 1892” above it and “New York” below. When asked about the Inclusion Wheels, Cali Linstrom, a second guest speaker at the seminar, replied that A&F had decided to work with No Bully, a nonprofit organization, to promote anti-bullying in high schools across the US. While Linstrom stated that she

had, in the past, boycotted A&F for its actions, she endorsed its current initiative, and emphasized that it wasn’t “just doing it to clear [its] name.”

If this is true, then why the branding? A&F’s newfound support for anti-bullying seminars surfaced only six weeks after the company’s stock plummeted 20 percent (from $50 per share to $40). The drop was a result of an recent uproar over statements made by A&F’s CEO, Mike Jeffries, in a now-viral 2006 interview with Salon magazine. In the video, he explained his brand’s lack of plus-sized clothing with statements like, “Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends” and, “A lot of people don’t belong, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.” An interesting strategy, but an idiotic thing to announce in an interview. Jeffries has since publicly apolo-

gized for these statements, but, needless to say, only after the uproar occurred. That interview aside, his company is still hardly a fitting endorser. With a long history of racism, sexism, and discrimination by religion and weight, A&F’s endorsement and sponsorship of No Bully’s antibullying campaign are nothing short of hypocritical. The company’s controversial products and actions stretch from 2002 to as recently as 2012, proving that no matter the public outcry, A&F does not learn from its past mistakes.

In 2002, A&F was boycotted by the Stanford Asian American Student Association for its release of a racist line of t-shirts.

The shirts, depicting caricatures of early Asian immigrants, had stereotypical catchphrases such as “Pizza Dojo: Eat in or Wok Out” and “Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make it White.” Upon receiving complaints from hundreds of individuals, A&F discontinued the t-shirts. Fast forward three years, and A&F attempted to use sexism as a marketing technique, offering girls’ shirts with misogynistic slogans such as: “Available for parties” and “Who needs brains when you have these?” printed over the wearer’s breasts. This incited a group of female activists from Pennsylvania to start a “girlcott” against A&F, and the shirts were removed from store shelves. The following year, in 2006, Jeffries made the aforementioned interview statements. A&F returned to marketing via sexism in 2009, this

Jessica Wu / The Spectator

By Krzysztof Hochlewicz

Exclusive Inclusion

time selling men’s clothes with texts such as “Female Students Wanted for Sexual Research.”

And in 2010, A&F showed that there wasn’t a characteristic it wouldn’t discriminate by: it fired a Muslim cashier working in a California store for wearing a hijab (a religious headscarf), claiming that it violated the company’s “look policy” and harmed the store’s business. The cashier filed a lawsuit against A&F and won $48,000.

Corporations aren’t people, but if they were, none would bear a stronger resemblance to the archetype of a bigoted bully than Abercrombie & Fitch. With its history of racism, sexism, and general discrimination, A&F is in no position to be making a show of sponsoring antibullying seminars. After all, if the company only cared about promoting respect and spreading awareness of bullying, it would’ve sponsored the seminars anonymously, or at least without branding its logo on

the “Inclusion Wheels.” A&F’s endorsement of No Bully’s campaign doesn’t exactly add to its credibility. If anything, it does the exact opposite: fewer people will take the campaign seriously, knowing the company’s notorious history. But that’s precisely it—it’s not its message that A&F cares about, it’s its own reputation. To alleviate these doubts, it recently debuted a new line of “Anti-Bully” shirts, an attempt to seem more “pro-respect” while making back the money invested in its branded seminars.

The kicker? Just like their predecessors, the women’s Anti-Bully tees don’t come in plussizes. Abercrombie and Fitch preaches respect for people of all shapes and sizes in its seminars but immediately exempts itself from this rule. It’ll let you buy a shirt and promote antibullying in its name—as long as you fit its idea of “the attractive all-American kid.”

Leveling the Field: Revisited But the whole point of the SHSAT is that it creates the ultimate meritocracy.

In many elementary and intermediate schools in New York City, the public education system fails to instill academic fervor and curiosity—the same fervor that is necessary to thrive in a competitive environment like Stuyvesant’s. And it’s not just that these kids don’t have the instruction that would enable them to potentially score highly on the SHSAT—it’s the psychology behind seriously considering prepping for and attending a school such as ours.

In minority neighborhoods, where so few people apply to elite schools and even fewer go on to attend them, it is easy to completely write us off the list.

Making a drastic change to a new school environment, particularly one like Stuyvesant where there are so few familiar faces or even people of same race, could be a terrifying and alien prospect to many minority SHSAT-age students. The

A year ago, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Legal Defense Fund (NAACP LDF) filed a civil rights complaint against the New York City and State Departments of Education.

This complaint challenged the SHSAT for causing racial disparities in specialized high schools and lacking conclusive data to show that the test predicts a student’s success.

In response, The Spectator’s Editorial Board wrote a Staff Editorial titled “Leveling the Field,” which recognizes that

the problem is rooted deep in New York City’s public education system and not just in the exam.

On Sunday, October 27, the NAACP released a new report, revitalizing the debate by pointing toward dropping rates of minority students in the city’s specialized high schools. In addition, NYC mayoral candidate Bill de Blasio has suggested eliminating the SHSAT as the sole factor in admissions into specialized high schools. The NAACP’s new report states that while the

mayor alone cannot change the one-test admissions policy for the three oldest specialized high schools—Stuyvesant, Bronx Science, and Brooklyn Tech—without approval at the state level, the mayor can change the one-test admissions policy for the five newer specialized high schools immediately.

To re-enter the conversation, here is an excerpt from “Leveling the Field” (Volume CIII, Issue 4).

sad truth is that many families in these neighborhoods are also simply unaware of the specialized schools or the entrance exam… In many ways, it’s not just the educational system that needs to be re-educated – it’s the parents of many black and Latino families who do not do enough to encourage highlevel academic achievement…

The root of our problem, and the complaint that has been raised against us, is that not enough minorities are taking the test, and those who do don’t score well enough to warrant a seat in one of the eight specialized schools. So—why don’t we make the test mandatory?

It could be given like the state Math and Language exams students sit through starting in the fourth grade, and would make the presence of Stuyvesant and the other schools much more tangible and close to home for many potential students…

That being said, simply giving the test to everyone doesn’t require minority students to study and won’t instantly provide huge changes in the specialized schools’ demographics. However, this is a practical, realistic step in the right direction—year after year, more students may see the opportunity being offered to them and take advantage of it.

More holistic changes to the admissions process, while possibly too radical and unrealistic to enact under the financial restraints of the Department of Education, would provide a more even playing field for all applicants by basing admission on many factors, instead of just on one test. These factors could include a review of middle school grades, extracurricular activities, and recommendations, giving the whole picture of a student.

But the whole point of the

SHSAT is that it creates the ultimate meritocracy. It is blind to gender, race, past performance—only those who can succeed on a logic and math test get offered seats. Any other method of admission, insist opponents to a change, and schools such as Stuyvesant would lose their high standards.

And to an extent, that’s true. It’s safe to say that we’re all proud of how selective our school is, and that we are truly the very few who were able to do well enough on an exam. However, this testing-only policy has produced certain types of students prominent at Stuyvesant— students who can answer any multiple choice question ever written but are unable to hold their own in a debate or write a strong essay, and students who might be naturally smart but unwilling to put in the hard work needed to excel. Combining the test with an interview

It’s the psychology behind seriously considering prepping for and attending a school such as ours. and a review of the applicant’s middle school transcript might be a way to admit more wellrounded, but still exemplary, students...

That being said, any change that is made to the system – regarding the admission process or something going even further back – is not going to be implemented immediately. Next year isn’t going to see a huge increase of minority students or diversity. This is something that will change by increments, and there will be people who complain that it isn’t enough. But change like this will make an impact over time, and will set a precedent each and every year for more people to take the test and consider Stuyvesant as a viable option for high school and their futures.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 10

Opinions

By DANIEL KODSI Sixty-one churches have been attacked and 38 razed to the ground, while more than 200 Christian properties have gone up in flames. Jizya, a tax levied on non-Muslim citizens, is being imposed in the South Egyptian city of Dalga, and two Copts were murdered for refusing to pay. Throughout the rest of the province, Islamists have marked Christian businesses with black X’s to signify locations that ought to be attacked.

In Cairo, militants killed eightand twelve-year-old girls, along with their parents, as they sat in prayer.

As I read the headlines of the New York Times these past few weeks, I saw articles about a government shutdown, the chemical weapons attack in Syria, and the faint chance of nuclear negotiations with Iran.

I fretted about the black cloud that was the threat of default and became curious about JP Morgan’s $13-billion fine. But throughout this all, one thing has remained conspicuously absent: the plight of the Coptic Christians, the largest religious minority in Egypt, numbering close to 15 percent of its 80 million people. Even as the media condemned the military’s coup and subsequent crackdown, their situation went largely unreported. The innocents suffered as their tormenters and killers, members of the now defunct Muslim Brotherhood and Islamist militants, were lauded for resistance in the face of an unfair seizure of power.

Accused of instigating the takeover, the Copts, who are already on the bottom of the social ladder, have been further marginalized and shoved to the

side. It is high time the United States focused on these attacks and that the mass ignorance of our populace yielded to action on the behalf of the millions of Egyptians living in fear.

At the beginning of this year, President Obama swore to remain “vigilant against those who seek to perpetrate violence and murder.” For a murder vigilante, his administration hasn’t quite remained true to his word.

As hundreds of the U.S.’s Cop-

I’m not calling for a focus on the Copts’ plight in an act of religious solidarity. But I do believe in the value of a human life, in the life of innocent men, women, and children who are being castigated by angry bigots.

tic Christians have taken to the streets outside the White House and in Nashville, Tennessee pleading for Obama to get in-

volved as the blood of innocents stains Egypt’s streets, the White House has turned a blind eye. In fact, one of President Obama’s advisors to the Department of Homeland Security, in a tweet, even accused Christians within the United States of promoting Islamophobia by protesting the attacks. This apathy must end.

As the leader of the free world, it is America’s responsibility, morally and politically, to fight oppression wherever it might be. President Obama must get involved while he still can to stop the subjugation on Egyptian shores.

The fact is that, although we might deplore the Egyptian military for both its de facto coup d’etat and subsequent crackdown on Brotherhood protesters, it still remains the authority and government of Egypt.

For most, Egypt is now a safer place. It’s time to use the United States’ remaining clout to make it safer for Copts as well.

If there’s one thing American money—we furnish the Egyptian military with $1.3 billion every year—should be spent on, it is saving lives, within our shores and abroad.

We also need to accept one more thing: that this obscene sectarian violence is largely at the hands of supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood, the very group that governed Egypt since Mubarak’s rule. Perhaps it was unfair that they were forced out of power—although 33 million Egyptians did rise up against them in protests— but, unfairness does not, and never will, equate to using the lowest rung of your society as a punching bag and scapegoat.

In much of September’s news, there were condemnations of the military and calls to return

Hayoung Ahn / The Spectator

Burning Churches and Bloodstained Streets

Morsi to power. It is shameful that many should have even considered reinstating a political group that, immediately upon losing control, resorted to what are essentially terrorist attacks against the vulnerable Christian community.

Beyond that, it is time that

Sixty-one churches have been attacked and 38 razed to the ground, while more than 200 Christian properties have gone up in flames. the media focused on the cruelties against the Copts. Western

newspapers are often accused of not reporting accurately on situations or having an American or Eurocentric tilt, and this is one of those situations in which the charge holds absolutely true—because Coptic deaths a world away don’t affect United States foreign interests, we have instead become concerned with other issues.

Instead, let us cast a watchful eye towards violence and murder and use America’s remaining sway to push the Egyptian government to protect all of its citizens. We have the unique ability to draw the international focus to the object of our pleasing, and this is a case where that power undoubtedly should be used. I am not a Christian. I’m not calling for a focus on the Copts’ plight in an act of religious solidarity.

But I do believe in the value of a human life, in the life of innocent men, women, and children who are being castigated by angry bigots. The United States must move to end the horrors that are sweeping across parts of Egypt. People first, politics second.

Hayoung Ahn / The Spectator

Robbery by J.P. Morgan

By WENHAO DU Is money the solution to every problem? J.P. Morgan believes it is. In September, the bank offered the US Justice Department about $3 billion as settlement for numerous ongoing federal probes. These range from its manipulation of US energy markets to whether it knowingly participated in the toxic asset exchange that generated the 2008 financial crisis. By September 25, after talks between both parties, the settlement figure was pushed up to $11 billion. A number of misguided individuals regarded the matter as an attempt by the government coerce the company into allowing it to “extract another haul from the country’s largest bank.” One glance at the outrageous terms of the offer

shows that these accusation not only are false, but also demonstrate that it is J.P. Morgan that is trying to rob the government, the American people, and its own shareholders.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the company will pay “$7 billion in cash [to the government] and $4 billion [to] consumers,” the latter part of which is tax-deductible. In return, J.P. Morgan will not have to admit any wrongdoing whatsoever, and the various allegations against the company and related investigations will be dropped.

First and foremost, such a settlement will create a precedent of government oversight.

For a “too big to fail” financial institution like J.P. Morgan, its actions have as many consequences for everyone else as

for itself. J.P. Morgan’s manipulation of energy markets cost an estimated $200 million to Californians before it was discovered by regulators this summer.

Furthermore, the company has shown it is unable to manage risk effectively. Another mistake on the magnitude of the London Whale trades from earlier this year—a $6-billion debacle by the company initially dubbed “a tempest in a teapot”—has the potential to set off tsunamis across the financial market. By making it easy for the company to settle without even admitting its wrongdoing, the government would indirectly encourage more illegal risk-taking. Furthermore, due to the legal process, J.P. Morgan’s $4-billion tax deduction would come at the cost of budgets for schools and public services. In the words of one angry blogger: “As long as JPM’s income exceeds its legal fees, [it has] no economic incentive to stop pushing the law at every opportunity.”

More importantly, the offer is also an obstruction of justice.

As stated, the settlement would cease virtually all ongoing federal investigations of the bank’s wrongdoings. That old legal maxim about “innocent until proven guilty”? J.P. Morgan is reckoning that if no one will even try to prove it guilty, it will therefore be innocent. While the settlement will not be the first

of its kind, it will be the largest. Many of the crimes are not petty, either: the bank has been suspected of vastly overstating the quality of its mortgages sold to investors. Despite the current lack of criminal charges, the noose is tightening. Recent leads from insiders have helped bolster the federal case. The investigations on these leads should not be swept away, even by a $11-billion broom. It is the right of the American people to know the truth.

J.P. Morgan is also foolishly hurting itself with this offer.

Many sources indicate that the Justice Department will be more than happy to settle for the staggering sum, should the bank agree to admit to wrongdoing. Unfortunately, incriminating corporations like J.P. Morgan does absolutely nothing to stem the tide of wrongdoing, while only adding uncertainty to financial markets.

A company’s employees and executives, not the company itself, are the ones who commit crimes. The aforementioned settlement would put all blame on the corporation, while allowing the individuals who are actually responsible to walk free. A more sensible thing to do would be to hold the individuals responsible with fines and jail sentences. This wouldn’t just be effective at deterring future criminal acts; it would also

spare a good amount of money for shareholders, who grumble that J.P. Morgan’s executives are making a “payout for losing billions of shareholder money in trading schemes by paying multibillions more of shareholder money to settle the matter.” Unfortunately, neither the corporation nor its peers, nor the Justice Department, is able to comprehend this simple fact. J.P. Morgan posted a thirdquarter earnings report of $5.7 billion last year and a loss of $380 million the same quarter this year, a significant part of this due to its legal settlements.

This has been a steadily upward trend. In 2006, regulators at the Department of Justice took in a net $3 billion from settlements.

Last year, this figure was $9 billion.

J.P. Morgan’s $11-billion offer to the United States government, while perhaps a sincere effort by company executives to rid the bank of legal problems, is unsound. It creates an obstruction of justice, an incentive for companies to break the law, and fails to address the cause of its problems. It continues a trend of corporations offering settlements that not only fail to address the cause of the crime, but also cost both taxpayers and their own shareholders money. Although it is not the first of its kind, it should be the last.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 11

Opinions I once watched a fourthgrade production of The Taming of the Shrew. In consideration of the sensibilities of eight-year-olds, the kissing scenes were replaced with hand-holding. This was not, however, innocent enough for the actor playing Kate, who

was about to marry. Of course, it’s hard to be too critical of an eight-year-old for distancing herself from her role. Rather, you tend to find such an action humorous, or possibly adorable. The problem, however, is that most people, especially teenagers, use sarcasm and irony similarly on a daily basis for the same reason: to avoid

And slowly, one excuse at a time, you build up a wall of protection as you become more and more ashamed that you perform because you love to perform, mention your faults because you want help, and talk to people because you want to.

took her costar’s hand and immediately stuck her tongue out at the audience, just to make sure everyone knew how disgusting she found the concept.

Her goal was to ensure that they understood she did not condone, enjoy, or approve of what her director had asked her to do with her classmate.

In doing this, she sacrificed her chance of conveying her character’s affection for the man she

the judgment of our peers.

Imagine it’s your first time at an Open Mic. You introduce yourself and say the name of the song you are about to perform. The next sound out of your mouth should be the first word of that song. You know this, but you can’t help yourself: instead of starting, you begin with something else. You begin with an excuse. An excuse to preemptively answer the per-

ceived threat of the people who will say you suck, even though you don’t really think anyone will say such a thing. An excuse to give you a chance to insult yourself when your friends compliment you, because then they’ll just compliment you more. An excuse to say “don’t judge me for this,” when really, you’ve been obsessing over this song for weeks, and even months before that. You know there’s a part of you in your performance, but you feel safer if no one else does. It’s safer if your excuse prevents their judgments from the start.

Or maybe you never go to perform at Open Mic, instead admiring your peers from afar, wondering if you could compare, but never admitting it.

Because, again, it’s safer to answer any questions with “I just can’t sing,” “I don’t know how to act,” or “I don’t like my writing.” If you say it before they can, they’re less likely to agree.

Like most defense mechanisms, distancing yourself like this has consequences of all sorts. Every time you keep an opinion of a discussion to yourself out of fear of sounding ignorant or pretentious, you miss your chance to sound insightful. Every time you laugh about whatever self-destructive habits you have, you rob your friends of their chances to express their concern. Every time you pretend you don’t care about that skill you secretly wish you could learn, you make it harder to take that first step and start learning it. Every time you preface a performance or piece

Maggie Wu / The Spectator

By OLIVER LIPTON

Kidding, Of Course

of writing with a description of why, exactly, this piece you enjoyed enough to share sucks and end it with some combination of a self-deprecating laugh and an apology, you grow more dependent on that distance, and you cheapen the work of those who are brave enough to admit just how passionate they really are. Every time you emphasize your excuse or context to speak to your crush, you make them think you wouldn’t talk to them for any other reason. And slowly, one excuse at a time, you build up a wall of protection as you become more and more ashamed that you perform because you love to perform, mention your faults because you want help, and talk to people because you want to.

One thing you can take comfort in, however, is that this particular defense mechanism protects you from a problem that doesn’t actually exist, at

least not to the extent you fear.

If you’re interested in performance, especially, it is critical to realize that self-expression is feared by performers but loved by the audience. People appreciate the courage to put yourself into your work and make something truly meaningful. The hard part is letting yourself do so.

This is not a defense mechanism we can do away with entirely in a matter of days, nor is it vital that we do so. The only advice I can give on this topic is to be unashamed of your opinions, your goals, your hobbies, and your passions. Hopefully, merely being aware of this defense mechanism will help you take credit for your identity and stop making excuses. My advice is not so cliché as to tell you to be yourself, because it’s rare for people to truly have trouble with that. You know how to be yourself. Now stop apologizing for it.

By DAVID CAHN and JACK CAHN On Wednesday, October 30, we declined to participate in the English Language Assessment (ELA), which is the first step in the implementation of New York City’s new teacher evaluation regime. We encouraged our peers to join us in rejecting the ELA by turning in blank examinations. We did so because the Danielson Framework, though well-intentioned, is fundamentally flawed in its execution. As the consequence of a deliberation process with little transparency or input from key stakeholders (students and parents), the new evaluation system is arbitrary, confusing, and subjective.

In theory, teacher examinations are a positive force in education because they incentivize teachers to optimize their performances in the classroom;

create an objective, merit-based metric; and allow the Department of Education (DOE) to weed out incompetent teachers. To be successful, however, tests need to measure student improvement during a specific course and credit teachers on this improvement. New York’s teacher evaluation system does nothing of the kind.

Sixty percent of the evaluation is now based on a grade provided by school principals, using a rigid, preset framework, with points assigned to specific features of observed lessons.

This is meant to hold teachers accountable. It won’t. It will be prone to the same problems that plagued the old system— overburdened administrators, who must complete an inordinate number of these evaluations, will simply fill in points based on the specific aspects of the lesson observed. They will remain ignorant of the overall value of the teachers, and the review, rather than measuring effectiveness, will become a meaningless document. Critically, teacher creativity is undervalued.

Take my calculus teacher, for example, who is one of the most effective teachers I have ever had. He develops songs and fun tricks to remember important concepts. A removable discontinuity is a “pothole,” a jump is a “chunnel,” and a derivative is not a Rodney Dangerfield. How can this be measured by a system that awards points for teachers having an “Aim” on the board or a “Do

Now” problem written? Or by a system that values studentled learning (infrequent in any math class, by nature of the course), over enthusiastic and clear teaching?

We need to impose more holistic measures of teacher performance that give administrators more leeway in judging teacher ability. Fundamentally, evaluations should be a long-term process, in which administrators frequently attend classes and file weekly “reports” that are smaller in scale but paint a better picture of the teacher. Student input needs to play a dramatically larger role in the assessment. It should account for a much more significant portion of the evaluation that the measly five percent proposed by the DOE. Overall, if we improve the instruments used for evaluations, the evaluations will be more accurate.

Still, we can stomach imperfect evaluations. What we won’t tolerate—and the aspect of the new system that we are protesting—is the 20 percent of the score that is based on test results. Test scores should measure a “before” and “after” for students in order to calculate their progress. But instead, final scores are being compared with predicted scores, generating an arbitrary and meaningless metric. Most egregiously, for non-Regents classes, teachers’ grades will be the average of students’ scores in other subjects. These scores tell us literally nothing about an individual teacher’s effectiveness. This

creates a huge grey area, where tests quantify overall school performance and force teachers to suffer the consequences of scores that they cannot control.

This isn’t some tiny minority of teachers—in foreign language, the arts, humanities, and Advanced Placement courses, students don’t take Regents. The two of us are a case in point.

Neither of us will be taking any Regents this year.

The ELA that was offered on Wednesday, October 30 is subject to a whole host of additional problems. First and foremost, there is nothing to compare it to. One data point is useless. It tells us nothing about an English teacher’s ability.

Furthermore, because student performance has no impact on the students themselves, students had no incentive to exercise significant effort on the exam. Ask yourself how many tired seniors paid close attention to a test that didn’t matter to them, two days before Early Decision applications were due to colleges. It’s not a pretty picture. Finally, English teachers who grade the ELA will inflate scores, consciously and unconsciously. Put simply, the test won’t work.

We propose that students take “before” and “after” exams for all Regents courses, and that Regents teachers be graded on the basis of student improvement. These scores should also be factored in to students’ final grades, so that both groups have their incentives aligned.

Non-Regents classes should be

Sam Kim / The Spectator

Philip Shin / The Spectator

Why We’re Opting Out of the ELA

graded under an entirely different framework, one that doesn’t impose illogical testing requirements. These should be holistic and empower administrators to seek removal of ineffective teachers.

It has often been said that if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Because we believe education reform in necessary in New York and the ELA represents everything that is wrong with the new system, we abstained from participating. The teacher evaluation system needs to be re-tooled, with input from students, parents and teachers. It needs to be logical, not some convoluted system that fails to accomplish its basic goal, and it needs to hold teachers accountable.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 12

Arts and Entertainment Calendar

Looking Forward : October & November SUNDAY

MONDAY

TUESDAY 29

Album release Hellogoodbye’s “Everything is Debatable” Genre: Indie pop, indie rock, synthpop Album release Sky Ferreira’s “Night Time, My Time” Genre: Indie pop, pop rock

3

4

5

Album release James Arthur’s “James Arthur” Genre: Pop, hip hop

Album release M.I.A.’s “Matangi” Genre: Alternative hip hop, electronic

10

11

12

Museum exhibition “Cut ‘n’ Paste: From Architectural Assemblage to Collage City” MoMA Available through December 1, 2013

Concert Sky Ferreira & The Smith Westerns Webster Hall 7 p.m.

17

18

Museum exhibition “David d’Angers: Making the Modern Monument” The Frick Collection Available through December 8, 2013 Sixth Avenue Autumn Fair Sixth Ave between 34th and 42nd Streets 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Kidney Walk Foley Square Check in: 9:30 a.m.

Walk starts at 10:30 a.m.

Join the Voice Run/ Walk: In the Spirit of Fred Lebow Central Park, Rumsey Playfield 7:30 a.m.

Concert American Symphony Orchestra Carnegie Hall— Isaac Stern Auditorium 2 p.m.

Album release The Wanted’s “Word of Mouth” Genre: Pop, dancepop

Album release Keane’s “The Best of Keane” Genre: Alternative rock, piano rock

Concert Tori Kelly Irving Plaza 7:30 p.m.

Poetry reading “Thomas Devaney, Ron Padgett: Readings in Contemporary Poetry” Dia Art Foundation 535 W 22nd St 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Album release Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” Genre: Hip hop

Concert Olli Mustonen Carnegie Hall—Judy & Arthur Zankel Hall 7:30 p.m.

WEDNESDAY 30 Concert Pretty Lights Roseland Ballroom 9 p.m.

THURSDAY 31

Happy Halloween!

New York City’s 40th Annual Village Halloween Parade For those in cosMuseum exhibition tume, the line-up is “Magritte: The Mys- on 6th Ave South of tery of the Ordinary, Spring St and North 1926-1938” of Canal St MoMA 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Available through January 12, 2014 Concert Holy Ghost!

Terminal 5 9 p.m.

6

Amateur Night at The Apollo Apollo Theater 7:30 p.m.

Concert James Blake Terminal 5 7 p.m.

13

Concert Charli XCX Irving Plaza 8 p.m.

7

Concert Ed Sheeran Madison Square Garden 8 p.m.

Concert Deer Tick Webster Hall 6 p.m.

14

New Literature from Europe Festival More information found at: http:// Concert www.newlitfromeuMacklemore & Ryan rope.org/calendar/ Museum exhibition Lewis index.htm The Theater at “Sheila Gallagher: Available through Ravishing Far/Near” Madison Square November 16, 2013 Garden DODGE Gallery 7:30 p.m.

15 Rivington St Concert Alison Moyet The Grand Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios 8 p.m.

FRIDAY 1

Movie release “Dallas Buyers Club” Genre: Drama Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Jared Leto, Jennifer Garner, Dallas Roberts, Denis O’Hare Movie release “Last Vegas” Genre: Comedy Cast: Robert De Niro, Morgan Freeman, Michael Douglas, Mary Steenburgen, Kevin Kline

8

Movie release “The Book Thief” Genre: Drama Cast: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson Movie release “Thor: The Dark World” Genre: Action, adventure, fantasy, sci-fi Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, Zachary Levi

15

Festival of Lights Worth St between Lafayette St and Centre St 4 p.m.-12 a.m.

Available through November 16, 2013s Concert He’s My Brother She’s My Sister Bowery Ballroom 8 p.m.

SATURDAY 2

Concert India.Arie Beacon Theatre 8 p.m.

American Diabetes Association World’s Largest Block Party Madison Ave between 42nd and 57th Streets 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

9

Union Square Broadway Festival Union Square/ Broadway between 17th and 23rd Streets 11 a.m.-6 p.m.

Concert Kate Nash Terminal 5 7 p.m.

16

Concert Infinite Hammerstein Ballroom 8 p.m.

Bryant Park Block Party 41st St between 6th and 7th Ave 10 a.m.-6 p.m

The Spectator ●October 31, 2013

Page 13

Arts and Entertainment Video Game

Split-Screen: Launch Lineup With the releases of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 less than a month away, hype for the next-generation consoles is nearing an all-time high. Most people won’t be leaving stores on November 15 or November 22 without a few games, and we thought we’d highlight some of the more intriguing titles that will be available for each system on day one.

Killzone: Shadow Fall (PS4) The latest installment of the long-running science fiction series “Killzone: Shadow Fall” follows the aftermath of the war between the Helghast and the Vektans, which has left planet Helghan in ruins. The two factions now coexist on the Vektan’s home world Vekta, but tensions are high when the only division between the two is a security wall. The player runs espionage missions to stop the cold war from escalating into a world war. The next rendition in a series known for highquality graphics on the level of a Hollywood CGI studio, “Shadow Fall” is one of the first games for the new console generation to take full advantage of the next-gen hardware: the larger memory will be capable of handling more polygons on screen at once, leading to incredibly realistic

environments and character models.

Dead Rising 3 (Xbox One) There’s no denying it: the zombie craze is spreading faster than a hypothetical zombie infection. Making use of this craze is the “Dead Rising” series, known for letting players fulfill their post-apocalyptic fantasies. Huge numbers of zombies, “weaponizeable” environments, and the ability to find blueprints to combine and craft crazy antizombie contraptions make “Dead Rising” the most fun you’ll ever have in the realm of the dead. This third entry in the popular series takes advantage of next-gen hardware by further increasing the number of zombies onscreen and adding vehicles (as well as the ability to combine, create, or destroy them) to the mix. What other game lets you fight off hordes of the living dead with the combined force of a steamroller, motorcycle, and flamethrowers?

Ryse: Son of Rome (Xbox One) There are too many sequels in gaming today. The industry has put out 10 “Call of Duty” games, six main-series “Halo” games, and countless trilogies. So when a game is released without a number tacked on the end, people get pretty excited. Enter “Ryse,” a third-person action

game set in ancient Rome.

The player takes control of a Roman soldier and follows him through several military campaigns across Europe.

While the button-mashing, quick-time-event-based combat looks gimmicky and boring—punching in a random sequence of buttons every time you fight an enemy will definitely get old rather quickly—the concept is novel and the game looks stunning.

Ultimately, it’s a Zack Snyderesque symphony of historical combat.

Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (Xbox One, PS4) When the first trailers for “Assassin’s Creed 4” were released, the public was stunned by the game’s transformation.

What started out as a historical cloak-and-dagger, openworld series in 2007 has become an over-the-top pirate fantasy set in the lush Caribbean. With a cast of characters any pirate-lover would recognize (Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Calico Jack), the game focuses on pirate-turnedassassin Edward Kenway as he hunts the shadowy agents of the Knights Templar. The series’ famed stealth action returns, and this time within historically accurate representations of Caribbean cities like Kingston and Nassau and their surrounding ruins. Toptier stealth gameplay, seamlessly coupled with realistic naval combat and explora-

tion, makes this a title worth walking the plank for.

Driveclub (PS4) Developed by the same team that designed “Motorstorm,” a launch title for the PS3, “Driveclub” will be free to play with every PS4 on launch. An incredibly detailed road-racing game, it sports a diverse array of exotic cars, all rendered in exquisite, highdefinition detail. “Driveclub”

stresses social gameplay more than the average racing game does, allowing players to form ‘clubs’ with their friends for team races and participate in head-to-head challenges. With Sony’s hype for the game—which boasts deep car customization tools and robust video-clip sharing—this ambitious title certainly looks like a next-gen one.

Film

Laura Eng / The Spectator

Salinger: An Unfortunate Contradiction

By Claire Burghard There are countless works of There are countless works of literature considered required reading, which most high school students only half-read. “The Catcher in the Rye” is a classic example, but many adolescents connect to this novel differently, as it celebrates the angsty ideas that might run through the mind of a typical American teenager. Behind the novel that undoubtedly changed American literature, there is the complex and mysterious author, J.D. Salinger. Salinger showed a unique hatred of American

celebrity culture and spent his life trying to escape it by refusing to write a second novel and hiding in his isolated New Hampshire home. Shane Salerno’s documentary “Salinger,” based on the biography

by Paul Alexander, digs deep into Salinger’s notorious attitude toward the media. But by featuring melodramatic reenactments and predictable clichés, the film contradicts the philosophy of the man that it praises.

Salinger was an incomprehensible man, a point wellcommunicated in the film.

The film interviews over a hundred of his close friends, relatives, and admirers, in-

cluding well-known actors and acclaimed writers such as Philip Seymour Hoffman and Joyce Maynard. We learn about Salinger’s shocking experiences (such as his tours of liberated concentration camps) in World War II, from which he concluded, “You never really get the smell of burning flesh out of your nose entirely, no matter how long you live.” We also learn about his juicy love life: he seemed to flip through inappropriately young, beautiful girls like they were pages of a book. Against this ceaseless animation in Salinger’s life, the movie reveals the very startling way that he reacts to his rise to fame—by rejecting it as fake and superficial, settling for nothing less than the greatness he saw in himself. We begin to sympathize with him, witnessing time and time again how the world, the media, and even his fans fail to respect his personal peace and slowly chip away at his sanity.

But the film fails to go any further. I expected it to shed some sort of creative insight on Salinger’s character, but instead it surrounds him with speculation. It recreates Salin-

ger’s writing process as a cheesy simplification: he’s dressed in a dark suit, hunched over a typewriter, with miscellaneous papers scattered about, cigarette smoke dramatically rising from his shadows. Perhaps this cliché is how the rest of the world viewed him, but it couldn’t have been an ac-

By featuring melodramatic reenactments and predictable clichés, Salinger contradicts the philosophy of the man that it praises.

curate depiction of who this apparently deep man is. Salinger believed in the complexity of man and detested the sugar-coated “phoniness”(as Holden Caulfield would say) of the world. This makes his one-dimensional portrayal in the film not only ironic, but also rather cold-blooded.

The film’s over-simplification could have been avoided if its creators had focused less how others perceived Salinger and more on Salinger himself. Much time is spent on describing Salinger’s various love affairs through interviews with his exes. But we learn little about Salinger’s character from these stories, except that he was a rather rotten husband who liked young, innocent women. The film rarely quotes and analyzes Salinger’s actual writing, the means by which he is most accurately understood as an individual.

Instead, its main focus only creates hype about Salinger’s character, and, when accompanied by overly-dramatic music and unnecessary sound effects, “Salinger” is precisely the phony piece of art that the writer would have loathed.

Laura Eng/ The Spectator

By James Bessoir and Thomas Duda

The Spectator ● October 31,2013

Page 14

Arts and Entertainment Film

Movie Review:Gravity

Special Critic’s Pick: Halloween Movies Dawn of the Dead (1978)

Lydia Wu / The Spectator

George Romero’s seminal zombie film has been remade countless times, but there really is nothing like the original.

“Dawn of the Dead” posits a post-apocalyptic world in which a zombie virus wreaks havoc on the human race. Four people escape the madness and hide in a shopping mall. But once the zombies discover their presence, anything goes. The survivors battle the zombies with anything they can find (machetes, rifles, golf clubs and caddies) and fight wherever they might find themselves (grocery store aisles, the mall lobby). Though 30 years old, the film contains some of the most inventively copious gore in horror cinema. (You’ll get to find out what happens when a zombie’s head gets too close to a helicopter’s propeller.) The driving synth-heavy score by Italian prog-rock outfit Goblin gives a nice backdrop to the on-screen carnage. —Emre Tetik The Cabin in the Woods (2012)

By Kara Follosco Whether they revolve around an impending alienbased apocalypse or a journey to the moon, space movies can come off as cheesy, predictable, and boring. Alfonso Cuarón’s take on space in “Gravity,” on the other hand, is a visually stunning and mind-boggling epic. The stars of the movie— George Clooney and Sandra Bullock—play the roles of Matt Kowalski and Ryan Stone, respectively. The storyline focuses on Stone, a space first-timer with a heartbreaking backstory, who attempts to fix the Hubble Space Telescope with the aid of space veteran Kowalski.

The first shots of Earth from space are eerily realistic, and you’ll find yourself looking for specific landmarks to try to conceptualize the astronauts’ location on your own terms.

Though the plot of the movie is the main point, the scenery and starry backdrop are what draw most viewers. If you have seen the trailer, you know that there is going to be a struggle against the greatest enemy in space— gravity. But in this tranquility, all you can do is hold your breath in wait for the impending disaster.

Slowly, you’ll hear chatter between the astronauts and Houston (voiced by Ed Harris) become clearer, until the voices of Kowalski and Stone are distinct. Throughout the opening scenes, Stone and Kowalski talk about their favorite parts of space; Ryan’s is the silence.

Special

Ironically, the duo never stop talking throughout the entire movie. They talk to each other, Houston, and themselves.

Their constant chatter remedies the ominous stillness that overtakes them. Even though the chatter progresses the plot, at times it gets exhaustive and annoying, breaking away from the general solemnity and opportunity for introspection offered by space.

As soon as debris from an accidental explosion hits the protagonists’ space station, everything is thrown into chaos, breaking the viewer’s sense of tranquility. The scene is filled with noise: heavy breathing, barked directions, and the sounds of destruction. Unsurprisingly, not everyone survives.

At this point, Cuarón decides to switch from third to first person point of view. At first, we see from afar Stone spinning through space, but we slowly gain proximity until we pass through her helmet and begin to see everything from her perspective.

The camera’s perspective gives a rare insight into space, and the use of 3-D highlights the fact that gravity is nonexistent. Nothing lies on a horizontal plane, and the 3-D objects coming out at you make this much more prominent. Emmanual Lubezki’s cinematography makes you feel like you are an astronaut in space floating alongside Kowalski and Stone.

As Stone spins aimlessly, you spin; as she floats peacefully over the Earth, you float. At certain points, you may even find

A&E Playlist

1. “Pumpin Blood” by NONONO Genre: Alternative 2. “‘Til My Heart Stops Beating”

by Joe Brooks Genre: Pop, rock 3. “I Won’t Be Long” by Beck Genre: Alternative rock 4. “Fuel to Fire” by Agnes Obel Genre: Alternative 5. “Hurricane” by Parachute Genre: Pop 6. “Let’s Tessellate” by Ellie Goulding (Alt-J cover) Genre: Indie pop, synthpop 7. “Now Is Not the Time” by CHVRCHES Genre: Electronic, synthpop, indie 8. “SuperLove” by Charli XCX

yourself feeling dizzy or holding onto your chair for balance.

Despite the grandeur of the movie’s premise—a struggle against gravity—Stone and Kowalski add another level to the movie. The overarching theme about the will to survive is complemented by Stone’s perseverance and her struggle to avoid slightly unrealistic chain reaction disasters, and Stone’s seriousness is balanced

by Kowalski’s dry humor. Clooney and Bullock fully transform into their roles. The budding and caring relationship their characters have for each other adds depth to the movie, bringing undeniable pathos to the script. Instead of concentrating on aliens or philosophical questions about our place in the universe, Cuarón takes a rational approach to space and wisely focuses on character development while capturing his audience with the cinematography. In the beginning, Stone and Kowalski are co-workers; they are in space to do a job— nothing more, nothing less. As soon as chaos ensues, all they have is each other, forcing their friendship to grow until they reach the turning point of the movie.

“Gravity” is a 1.5 hour-long experience after which you may end up leaving the theater thankful for Earth. Stone and Kowalski struggle in a chaotic, gravity-less world; they chatter, they cry and laugh, and they show the viewers what space is really like.

Genre: Pop 9. “Stay the Night” by Zedd feat.

Hayley Williams Genre: Pop, punk 10. “Chocolate” by The 1975 Genre: Alternative rock, indie rock 11. “The Wire” by HAIM Genre: Alternative 12. “You’re Not the One” by Sky Ferreira Genre: Indie pop 13. “Monster” by Imagine Dragons Genre: Alternative rock, indie rock 14. “Pure Imagination” by Fiona Apple Genre: Alternative, rock 15. “Supersoaker” by Kings of Leon Genre: Alternative, garage rock

From the top, “The Cabin in the Woods” appears to be a stereotypical horror movie in which a group of friends venture off into some desolate cabin in the forest and fall victim to supernatural forces. However, as the film progresses it turns out to be something more, throwing satire and dark comedy into the mix.

It turns the exhausted slasher film formula, of an all-powerful authority watching over all the characters and supposedly deciding their fates, on its head. On top of that, the characters are surprisingly well-developed for a horror movie, their conflicts and tensions given ample room in the script to develop, and the plot is loaded with exciting twists—typical for horror movies, but executed seamlessly here. —Rocky Lam

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) Tim Burton’s films have always been my favorites during the Halloween season, and they’re ideal for squeamish viewers who don’t want to watch barrages of mutilation for two hours. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” is one of Burton’s best, demonstrating his trademark stop-motion animation and dulled, eerie colors. Jack Skellington, the king of Halloweentown, has grown weary of the never-ending cycle of Halloween preparations.

He eventually attempts to replicate the atmosphere of Christmastown, but he can’t seem to escape his flair for the creepy.

Burton’s visuals are complemented by Danny Elfman’s appropriately dissonant soundtrack, complete with simple yet clever lyrics. Not only are its animation and music awe-inspiring, but the movie’s theme and Burton’s sinister style are perfect for Halloween. —Emma McIntosh

The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror (2007) This extremely low-budget, independent flick provides an unlikely combination: horror so poorly executed that it’s unintentionally comedic and characters that embody just about every stereotype in the gay community, from folk-singing lesbians to whiny old gay men. The film’s premise is absurd: when all the hotels in town are booked up, several gay couples spend the weekend at a bed and breakfast in the middle of the desert.

Little do they know, the B&B owner is a murderous evangelical Christian with a demonic son whose favorite food is homosexuals. Terrible special effects, lighting, camera work (the shot pans to random walls and corners for no reason several times), acting, writing, and directing all come together for a horror experience that may not be particularly scary but is truly unforgettable. —Jane Argodale

Sixth Sense (1999) Unlike your typical horror movie, this ghost story is not just creepy, but emotionally jarring. The story follows a child psychologist’s relationship with a patient, Cole, who has a very unusual ability: he can see dead people all around him.

After starring in three too many “Die Hard” sequels, Bruce Willis turns in a masterful performance as his character struggles to help Cole cope with and even master his power. Cole’s affectionate but troubled relationship with his mother (Toni Collette) makes for poignant moments to contrast the chilling ghost scenes, which are made even scarier because M. Night Shyamalan’s script keeps us attached to the characters. The excellent plot gradually takes you deeper into the characters’ secrets, and is capped off with a now-famous twist that comes out of nowhere. —Lev Akabas

The Spectator ●October 31, 2013

Page 15

Arts and Entertainment TV

Yasmeen Roumie/ The Spectator

Blood, Meth, and Tears: The Story of Breaking Bad

By Henry Rosenbloom “Breaking Bad” should not have worked. Its protagonist is a timid, middle-aged high school chemistry teacher who deals meth to pay for his cancer bills and support his wife and disabled son. It sounds depressing to the point of parody, more like a fake show made up for “30 Rock” than an Emmy-winning masterpiece. But “Breaking Bad” worked. Oh, it worked.

The series finale, Felina, aired on Sunday, September 29 and was treated with as much anticipation and fervor as the World Series. Movie theaters and bars scheduled live events around the finale, and the public excitement was so great that the episode’s airing was included in most

news stations’ daily line-ups.

By that point, a show that had started out with an audience so small it would have instantly been cancelled on most major networks had developed into an absolute pop-culture phenomenon.

Simply put, “Breaking Bad” was a success.

What made :Breaking Bad” work, though? Right now television is in a golden age, a true Renaissance, and “Breaking Bad” is at its center. Shows such as “The Sopranos,” “Mad Men,” and “The Wire” made it possible for this strange creature of a show to exist. It’s something that would never work as a film, as the transformation of Walter White from “Mr. Chips to Scarface,” as creator Vince Gilligan puts it, requires years of development, both in the

world of the show and in the minds of its viewers. The beauty of “Breaking Bad” is that it only could have happened properly right now on television. It came into existence when viewers were hungry for something stranger and smarter. They were tired of the constant new reality shows and crime procedurals. They didn’t know it, but they wanted something unpredictable, a narrative that could manage to surprise the people experiencing it. Because of “Breaking Bad”’s success, more shows inspired by it are going to premiere. It arrived at exactly the right time.

The other reason “Breaking Bad” worked is that it’s an impeccably plotted, flawlessly executed, and just straightup good show. It maintained

its high level of acting, writing, and filmmaking for its entire run. You just have to look at the pitch-black comedy evident from the very beginning, to the manic outbursts of Tuco Salamanca and the engrossing oddity of his mute uncle, to the tragic romance of Jesse and Jane, to the hilarious honesty (and dishonesty) of Saul Goodman, to the episode that featured a fly as a central character, to the cool, collected Gus Fring with his heartbreaking backstory and preposterous, almost cartoonish demise, to Skylar’s despair in dealing with Walt’s other life, to Walt Jr.’s constant optimism and requests for breakfast, to the train heist out of a classic western, to the subtly psychopathic Todd, to the offkey conversation about Star Trek pie-eating, to the heartbreak of “Ozymandias” and finally, to the somber, satisfying final minutes, to see why “Breaking Bad” is acclaimed as it is.

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Network executives are going to be willing to take more chances.

The series finale of “Breaking Bad” was treated with the same amount of anticipation and fervor as the World Series.

“Breaking Bad” will be remembered. In 30 years we’ll complain to our children that TV was better when we were their age. AMC and HBO will continue to try to replicate its success, but just like Heisenberg’s signature blue meth, only the master—Vince Gilligan—knows how to get it right. He gets television, knows what makes it great, and hopefully will keep exploring novel storylines. After a gamble of a show centered on meth and cancer, network executives are going to be willing to take more chances.

A medium that consisted mainly of family comedies and game shows a few decades ago is evolving to be just as well-regarded as film, and the people are going to welcome this new era of television with open arms. Thank you, “Breaking Bad,” for being amazing. Thank you for making TV better.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 16

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

By Ethan Schwab For decades, it has been commonly accepted that if a person is Chinese, between the ages of 15 and 18, and wearing a backpack, he or she must attend Stuyvesant.

However, a recent study has indicated that there is a small group of humans who are both Chinese and not Stuyvesant students.

Scientists are calling this group “other Chinese students.”

In a triple-blind study, researchers stood on street corners around the tri-state area, asking every Chinese person with a backpack if he or she attended Stuyvesant. Around 89 percent of students polled replied yes, but the remaining 11 percent ignored the question, a strong indication that they do not go to Stuyvesant.

I was able to find one of the other Chinese students, a

Terry’s To Be Renamed Fake Ferry’s

By Daniel Goynatsky Terry’s and Gourmet Market have been in a constant feud for the past seven years, as both have tried to grasp the majority of Stuyvesant students during their lunch periods. The similarities between the two eating establishments have prompted students to colloquially refer to Gourmet Market as “Ferry’s,” short for “Fake Terry’s.” However, over the years, it has become apparent that Gourmet Market is the more popular and successful eatery. As a result, last Wednesday, seniors Jack and David Cahn organized a student movement to begin referring to Terry’s as “Fake Ferry’s,” or “Fferry’s” for short.

When asked about the new name, the manager of Terry’s said, “To be frank, we are kind of jealous of the Gourmet Market. They make such elegant cuisine and we simply get overshadowed. I mean, how are we to compete with the illustrious and delicate structure of the chicken quesadilla? Or bet-

ter yet, their famous popcorn chicken. The perfect mix of breading and spices with just a hint of chicken.”

The Stuyvesant student body is torn over the naming debacle. Those who claim that the Gourmet Market is an improvement on Terry’s high prices support the name-change movement. Others claim that in only a matter of months, Fferry’s will prevail in the war of greasy foods, and soon students will be calling Ferry’s Ffferry’s.

Still others are indifferent.

“Oh, I just eat halal food every day”, said sophomore Arty Zhamaryan.

The employees of both establishments have not been thrilled by the sudden change in names either. “We don’t know what name to write on the coupons we give out for the free Dr. Browns Celery soda,” said the long time cashier Gloria.

“Chipotle Mayo?” said José, one of the chefs at the Gourmet Market specializing in popcorn chicken and the grilling of paninis.

Raquel Bräu Díaz / The Spectator

Three Juniors Caught Sitting on Senior Bar

young Chinese male. I held an impromptu interview with him that, in my opinion, was a huge success. When asked about how it felt to be in a group of people so unique, he replied, “I don’t speak English.”

Professor William H. Grim of New York University, a Stuyvesant alumnus, is leading the study, and he is receiving endless publicity for the results it has yielded.

“This is simply unheard of. This will change the way we look at Chinese people with backpacks for years to come,” he said in an interview last Sunday. He is now being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and three Grammies.

The study is expected to have a major effect on state spending. In New York State’s proposed budget for 2014, there is a new tax called the “I’m Chinese but I Don’t Attend Stuyvesant” tax.

With the tax, 23 percent of rev-

enue from every purchase will go towards performing research on the newly-found population. It is

expected to pass through Parliament extremely quickly.

Laura Eng / The Spectator

• The Department of Education announced that English Regents will be made more challenging, and will now test for the ability to read and write the English language. The New York State Appellate Court, however, deemed this unconstitutional, citing the federal abolition of literacy tests in 1965.

• The Robotics team is unsure of how to deal with new female team members. They are considering delegating a robot to handle this responsibility.

• New reports state that those responsible for making the “healthcare.gov” website would often fall asleep in Mr. Zamansky’s Software Development class.

• The Stuyvesant Peglegs did not score at Homecoming.

It Is Possible to Be Chinese Without Attending Stuyvesant?

Peglegs Defeat Giants

By Winton Yee The New York Giants, off for their bye week and despondent about not having a game to lose, appeared at the Stuyvesant Peglegs’ practice at Pier 40 on Monday and challenged the Peglegs to an impromptu game. The Giants lost, 113-3, to the delight of the two fans watching.

The Giants players and coaches arrived at Pier 40 at approximately 4:30 p.m., to the confusion of many of the Peglegs. “At first, we thought it was just Erasmus Hall with more tattoos,” junior Mark Norwich said.

Eventually, Giants coach Tom Coughlin explained the situation, stating that his team had an insuppressible urge to disappoint.

“Our fans aren’t going to depress themselves,” Coughlin said, becoming red-faced for no apparent reason.

The game started off poorly for the Giants, who were down 21-0 78 seconds into the game due to three consecutive interceptions thrown by Giants quarterback Eli Manning, all of which were returned for touchdowns.

“We’re wearing blue, they’re wearing blue,” Manning explained after the game. “It’s hard.”

Manning would end the day with 11 interceptions.

The much-maligned Giants offensive line also suffered throughout the game, giving

By Shane Lorenzen To the students of Stuyvesant High School, there is no greater symbol of social power than the senior bar. Students struggle for three years before gaining the right to hang their coats and place their stolen textbooks and marijuana in their coveted locker spaces.

“To relax and spend time at the senior bar is to know you have made it through the worst high school has to offer, and that the best is yet to come,” said Principal Jie Zhang. The “best yet to come” is, presumably, the chance all seniors will be able to once again become stupid, ignorant freshman in 12 months. However, on Thursday, October 10, this privilege was usurped when senior Benjamin

Eva I / The Spectator

Newsbeat

The Giants’ loss to the Stuyvesant Peglegs disgusts Eli Manning.

up numerous sacks. “I haven’t smoked a line like that since the homecoming party, amirite?” said junior and Peglegs defensive end Kevin Li in the locker room after the game, holding his hands up for high fives while his teammates shook their heads in confusion and disgust.

The Peglegs were not without their flaws, though. The Giants’ sole score, a field goal, occurred in the fourth quarter, as the Peglegs became distracted by the “hot bods” of the Stuyvesant cheerleading squad.

“I was trying to hold in my lust the entire game,” junior Jeffrey Lee said. “But when [senior] Brandon Liu showed off his rip-

pling biceps hoisting some girl up, I lost it.”

After the game, senior and kicker Michael Mazzeo was crowned as the MVP of the match for not kicking the ball into anyone’s face on extra points. As a reward, Mazzeo was given a lap dance by Peglegs center, esteemed Humor editor, and senior Robert Melamed. “Go Peglegs,” mascot Corey Brown said apathetically.

The Peglegs have received ardent praise from the Stuyvesant community for their play.

“The Peglegs?” said freshman Phillip Chen as he clutched at his biology textbook. “Are they a part of Red Cross?”

Attal reported that he had seen “three friggin’ juniors” hanging out on the senior bar.

This atrocious breach of caste has shocked the student body and administration alike, provoking polarizing responses from seniors and underclassmen. Seniors have called for the immediate expulsion and/or decapitation of Daniel Goynatsky, Wenhao Du, and Nathan Mannes, the juniors caught by Attal. “If we let them sit on our bar, then where does it end? Huh? We must make an example of these boys, may God have mercy on their souls,” famously levelheaded Student Union President Edward Zilberbrand said.

Meanwhile, Juniors’ Rights Activists have flooded the school hallways with fliers for

their upcoming “March on Stuyvesant,” where, according to the movement’s leaders, they hope to “gain full bar privileges and correct the gross injustices impressed upon us by our 12thgrade oppressors.”

“We have sat at the kids’ table for too long. We will be respected, and we will be given rights to the senior bar,” Du said.

Disenfranchised freshman, hoping to cash in on the wave of civil rights currently sweeping the school, have also made demands, the primary one being that the administration outlaw the selling of keys to the 11th-floor pool and have them become standard issue to all incoming freshman.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

What’s Up on Fridays at 4 p.m.?

By the Photo Department

Page 17

Page 18

The Spectator ● October 31. 2013

Sports Girls’ Soccer

Mimbas Fall to Bard in Rematch

By Samuel Fuchs It was the second time the Stuyvesant Mimbas faced the Bard Raptors this season. The first time, the Mimbas lost in a close game by a score of 3-2. On Tuesday, October 15, however, the game was hardly close as the girls’ soccer team was outscored 5-1. The only goal for Stuyvesant came from sophomore striker Alexis Kushner, who ended the shutout in the second half of the game.

“I think we really struggled to get organized and stay focused, especially in the back,” said senior and co-captain Rosalie Campbell, who was present at the game but still unable to play due to injury. Allowing two goals in the first half and then three more in the second, the defense could not keep up with the Raptors. “Bard is a beatable team so it’s disappointing that we didn’t win. Games like that happen though and you just have to keep working to do better in the

next one,” Campbell said.

Though a disappointing loss, senior midfielder and cocaptain Radha Sathanayagam had a more positive outlook on the game. “Though the score was much worse, I can’t say we played worse. In the first half especially, I believe we were playing at the same level as Bard and even outplaying them at times,” she said. “It seemed we got disorganized once they scored one, which let them score consecutively in a short time.”

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Making this game a learning experience, Sathanayagam believes the team should focus more on offense and capitalizing on opportunities that are presented. “We had some good opportunities this game, but couldn’t convert, so we should work on taking shots earlier when we have the chance,” Sathanayagam said. With more than half the roster filled by sophomores and freshmen, it will be up to them to step it up in years to come and fix the

problems that seem to have lingered for years.

Despite a rollercoaster season, the Mimbas (6-8-2) scooped up the last seed to make playoffs. Though they have endured tough losses along the way, “It’s definitely been a better season than we had last year and probably the best record we’ve had in my high school career and there’s definitely something to be said for that,” Campbell said.

The Spectator ● October 31, 2013

Page 19

Sports Girls’ Volleyball

By Rayyan Jokhai and Omar Siddique For the second consecutive time, the Washington Irving Lady Bulldogs proved to be all bark and no bite in their decisive routing by the Vixens.

The Vixens glided through the game on Thursday, October 17, winning the match 2511, 25-6 to maintain a pristine 7-0 record. Just as they had in the first of these matchups, the opposing Lady Bulldogs lacked coherency and did not communicate, often setting to players who were not in position and ultimately shanking the ball.

The Vixens too, however, gave up a few points for the same reason. “If we communicate more, we can run different plays and we can do some more interesting things,” senior Paula Carcamo said. There

were not many calls for the ball, which led to confusion among the team members.

The small mistakes that the Vixens made during the first set were immediately corrected at the start of the second set, resulting in their nearly 20-point victory. The communication kept the team upbeat, a characteristic that coach Vasken Choubaralian likes to see in his players. “I liked the positive attitude the girls had during the game. Even if they made a mistake, even if the other team got a point, they stayed positive,” Choubaralian said.

“Staying positive was good and passing was better, and hitting: we got everything over the net,” junior Julia Gokhberg said.

A positive mindset, communication, and talent are what led the Vixens to yet another victory. The team’s communication

and general chemistry could be witnessed in several plays throughout the game. During a particular point in the first set, after the Bulldogs had a small gain in momentum, winning two straight points, the Vixens were able to put an end to the run. The team stuffed three straight attempts by the Bulldogs, who desperately tried to simply get the ball over the net without it being blocked. Refusing to give up, even on one point in a game in which they were ahead from the beginning, the Vixens rallied together to put an end to whatever hopes the Bulldogs had of coming back or making the game competitive.

In matches such as this one, the Vixens will inevitably overpower and utterly outclass their opponents. Though their current record is a very pretty 7-0, two of those seven wins have

Taekyung Kong/ The Spectator

Vixens Trample Lady Bulldogs

Setter, Julia Gokhberg forearm passing the first touch, and asking for help.

come from easy games against the Washington Irving High School’s Lady Bulldogs. With teams such as Cardozo looming in future playoff brackets, the Vixens must continue to fix

the small mistakes they made against a weaker team and tweak their game such that they stand any chance against the more difficult teams in a run deep into the playoffs.

Boys’ Football

Despite Stumbles, Peglegs Among Division Leaders continued from page 20

pable, pushing through to the 20-yard line and threatening to get the ball into the end-zone.

However, the Peglegs’ defense ultimately came through, recovering a forced fumble on another Tiger’s running play to secure the victory.

The win places the Peglegs over the Evander Childs Tigers as second in their division, behind the undefeated Alfred E. Smith Warriors. Though the Peglegs came up with the win, their inconsistent rush defense, which gave up more than nine yards per rush against the Tigers, will have to change if they want to have a shot at first place in their division. “That’s what’s been our Achilles’ heel throughout our last two games; we were in the right position, but it’s just that we’re not making the tackles,” coach Mark Strasser said.

Looking forward to next week’s matchup against the Warriors, the Peglegs expect an even more physical and proactive team. “The Smith game is going to be our toughest game this season,” junior Cooper Weaver said. “They’ve been gunning at us since the playoffs last year and they will come out fast and angry. We have to come into this game ready to go.”

Championship in Jeopardy?

By Junpei Taguchi After a tiring yet triumphant win against Evander Child Campus last week, the Peglegs had great momentum going into their game against league rivals the Alfred E. Smith Warriors on Friday, October 18. The game began well as Stuyvesant’s passing game played head-tohead with the Warriors’ speedy quarterback runs. However, the tide of the game—and the season—quickly turned against the Peglegs when junior Cooper Weaver broke his ankle.

Having lost an integral part of both their offense and defense, the Peglegs could not adjust accordingly, allowing the Warriors to continue their undefeated season with a 38-27 victory over the Peglegs.

Despite the outcome of the game, the Peglegs put up a good fight in the first half of the game. “Overall, on offense we did well,” head coach Mark Strasser said. “The line upfront did a good job handling their defensive line, so we were able to run our stuff and we moved the ball on them on the plays we usually run.” While the Warriors’ quarterback was able to swiftly navigate himself down the field and into the red zone, the Peglegs made several big plays of their own. Senior and quarterback Solomon Quinn strung together several passes upwards of 15-yards to co-captain Michael Mazzeo and junior Kyler Chase and quickly found them in the end zone. Mazzeo and Chase are Quinn’s top two targets; they account for 55 of Quinn’s 98 completions this season.

The game looked promising until Weaver’s injury. He was splitting through the middle of the field and breaking several tackles when he was brought down by his facemask, severely injuring his ankle. The team watched in disbelief as Weaver was taken off the field. Weaver has a broken fibula and is out for the rest of the season.

Weaver’s injury leaves the Peglegs with major holes on both their offense and defense.

He was by far the top running back, with his 731 rushing yards on 118 carries netting a beastly 6.19 average yards per rush. He also provided a solid blocker for Quinn in the pocket. On the other side of the ball, Weaver played middle linebacker—a position that is not only central to the defense, but also in charge of providing extra run or pass protection. Such a position is hard to replace, for one needs experience and sharp instincts to react to the constantly changing offense.

However, emulating the strong determination from cocaptains Quinn and Mazzeo, the Peglegs did not quiver from the injury as other running backs filled the hole left

by Weaver’s injury. “Senior Egor [Chernishov] stepped up, we had Zack [Walters], a junior, and

Kevin [Chen], a senior. They all stepped up and they’re gonna have to fill the role on offense,” Strasser said. The new running game comprised of Chernishov, Chen, and Walters seems promising, as they garnered a total of 76 yards in 13 carries.

Though the offense made up for Weaver’s absence, the defense suffered, and the Peglegs were unable to adapt. The big differences in Friday night’s game were the numerous missed tackle opportunities that plagued the Peglegs. “We were in position most of the big plays and we just missed the tackles,” Strasser said. “It’s oneon-one, and it’s just fundamentals, and we didn’t come up with those plays. And that changed the game, because we couldn’t

should be fine, and we’ll figure it out.” However, with Weaver out of the roster, the Peglegs will face great difficulty in filling up his spot defensively. If the Peglegs’ defense resembles that of Friday night’s game, they may not be able to contend against playoff caliber teams.

Nonetheless, the Peglegs are holding their heads up high as they go back to practice to prepare for next week’s game against Kipp NYC College Prep.

“Every game from now on is gonna be a big one for us,” senior Robert Melamed said. “We have got to win every game to get a good playoff spot, and we have to get some momentum going for the playoffs.”

For the Peglegs, it’s “back to the drawing board,” Strasser said, as they not only have to practice their fundamentals, but also rearrange their defensive schemes to patch up their defense.

“I asked these guys to step up, and Egor [Chernishov] and Kevin Chen really stepped it up for the team.”

– Mark Strasser, coach

Peglegs Win it For the Fans

By Chris Kim

keep up with them from touchdown to touchdown.” Capitalizing on Stuyvesant’s weak defense, the Warriors were able to maintain their lead of 26-21 at the end of the third quarter.

Will the Peglegs be able to adjust accordingly in terms of defense? Mazzeo seemed hopeful. “Defensively, we’re gonna have to step up and move some people around and shift the defense,” he said. “We got a lot of people who can carry us, so we

In chilly winds and bright lights, the Stuyvesant Peglegs marched into the homecoming game with a sense of urgency.

With the night only getting colder and colder, the Peglegs were kept fired up from the loud cries and strong encouragement of the cheerleaders, pep band players, alumni, and fellow students. Driven by the great support, the Peglegs took down the KIPP NYC College Prep Bulldogs on Friday, October 25 with a 10-6 win.

Prior to the homecoming game, the Peglegs had lost their star running-back and middle linebacker, junior Cooper Weaver, to an ankle injury for the remainder of the season.

However, that didn’t stop their rushing game from having a great impact in the first half.

Senior Kevin Chen stepped up big time for the Peglegs, rushing for a total of 82 yards throughout the game, and was instrumental in a Pegleg drive in the early second quarter.

“We started giving more reps to the back-ups since Cooper got hurt,” coach Mark Strasser

said. “I asked these guys to step up, and Egor [Chernishov] and Kevin Chen really stepped it up for the team.” The offensive effort resulted in a 13-yard field goal, the first score in a game in which points were scarce. On the ensuing kick-off, a strong defensive stand from the Peglegs stopped the Bulldogs from advancing beyond their own 27-yard line. The Bulldogs were forced to punt the ball away, but a miserable punt attempt, which went completely to the sidelines, resulted in great positioning at the Bulldogs’ 25-yard line. Senior and quarterback Solomon Quinn was able to hit his number-one receiver, senior Michael Mazzeo, right in the side of the end-zone for an easy score, leaving the Peglegs with a 10-0 lead at the half.

As the second half commenced, the Peglegs seemed safe from upsetting the fans on the biggest crowd turnout of the season. However, those 10 points would be the last for the team, and it would be the Bulldogs who keep all of Pier 40 on the edge of their seats. It was a tale of two defenses, and whichever one made the first mistake set the tone throughout the rest of the game.

The Bulldogs started off the third quarter with relentless rushes all the way to the red zone. “The inside defense is very solid, but our main weakness is the outside,” junior Akira Taniguchi said. The Peglegs’ inability to make tackles at the sidelines allowed extra yardage for the Bulldogs and chance to ignite a comeback. The Bulldogs took advantage, and an easy pass to a breakaway receiver in the middle of the endzone cut the lead to 10-6.

Fortunately for the Peglegs, those six points would mark the end of the scoring for KIPP Prep. It was the defense that determined the result of the lowscoring game. At the last minute of the half, the Bulldogs made a dramatic last effort with the ball, choosing to run the ball on fourth down at the 46-yard line.

However, the Peglegs were able to completely stop the rush and lock up the win.

October 31, 2013

Page 20

The Spectator SpoRts Boys’ Football

Eva I / The Spectator

Despite Stumbles, Peglegs Among Division Leaders

Senior quarterback Solomon Quinn looks for a forward pass.

Peglegs Take Down the Tigers in Overtime Finish

By Chris Kim Heading into their game against the Evander Childs Tigers, the Peglegs had suffered a disappointing loss against George Washington, ruining their chances of an undefeated season. Meanwhile, the Tigers were coming in hot, looking to maintain their own perfect record by stepping over Stuyvesant the way they had in last season’s blowout, 50-14. However, through all the tackles, fumbles, and interceptions, the Peglegs came out on top with an exhilarating 36-33 overtime victory.

Though it ended as the season’s most exciting game so far, no one would have expected the game to have an overtime finish during the first half. After a strong defensive stand on the Tigers’ opening drive, the Peglegs quickly capitalized. Senior and quarterback Solomon Quinn hit wide-open junior Kyler Chase down the middle for an early break-away 83-yard touchdown, gaining a quick 7-0 lead for the Peglegs. On the ensuing kick-off, a hard tackle at the 28-yard line forced a Tigers fumble. The recovery by the Peglegs gave them great field position, which set up for a quick Quinn-Chase touchdown. Quinn was able to lob

the football over the defenders to Chase in the back of the endzone and build what seemed like a comfortable 14-0 cushion for the Peglegs. However, the Tigers pounced right back, exchanging a few runs and scoring off an outside run to cut the lead to 21-20 just before halftime.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Tigers exploited the Peglegs’ shaky defensive line to tie the game with their rushing offense. “We weren’t able to make some crucial tackles, which gave up a lot of rushing yards,” junior Akira Taniguchi said. Every time the Peglegs tried breaking away from the Tigers to secure the win, the Tigers were able to jump right back, determined to remain undefeated in the season.

Coming into overtime, the game was tied 33-33, and the Peglegs obtained the first possession. An impressive drive by the Peglegs allowed senior Michael Mazzeo to make a clutch 22-yard field goal, putting the Peglegs up by three points. But the game wasn’t over just yet, because both teams must get an equal number of possessions in overtime. The Peglegs knew that it was time to get down to business and play solid defense against the Tigers’ relentless rushing offense. However, the Tigers seemed unstopcontinued on page 19

We Could Use a Little More Spirit in Spirit Week

By The Sports Editors In a school that is lacking in school and athletic spirit, a “Spirit Week” is exactly what Stuyvesant needs. A week that helps bring more fans to school sporting events and promotes interest in the school’s athletic community would certainly be ideal. However, our current idea of Spirit Week falls short of glory.

In fact, it’s contradictory toward what the name suggests.

Held just last week, Spirit Week is the week leading up to Homecoming, a day when alumni are welcomed back to watch the school’s football team play a home game after its longest stretch of road games. During this week, in an effort to raise awareness for this monumental game, Stuyvesant cheerleaders are paired up with a corresponding member of the football team. Each day, members of these two teams engage in baking, jersey-wearing, present-giving, and sign-making. Being that this is pretty much all it entails at Stuyvesant, we have several problems with the fundamentals of this supposed “Spirit Week.”

1. Why is there only a Spirit Week for the football team? Other, perhaps more successful, teams are just as worthy of having a week dedicated to them. As currently designed, spirit week sends the message that only one of our school’s 37 varsity teams is important, when, in fact, it is generally our cross-country, swimming, and fencing teams that take home the city championships. An easy solution is

to expand Spirit Week so that it includes cheerleaders and fans attending multiple sports. (Last week, in addition to the football game, there were also girls’ soccer, fencing, girls’ swimming, bowling, and girls’ volleyball games).

2. There was a general lack of advertising for not only the week, but homecoming in general.

There was no announcement made on the loudspeaker regarding Spirit Week until Thursday, the day before the game.

Few posters were put up around the building, and there was no post on the school website to inform students.

3. But besides a simple lack of promotion for students to participate and support their teams, why aren’t there in-school events throughout the week to gain interest in the culminating football game on Friday? It’s common sense that people will be less likely to watch the game if they have to walk over to Pier 40 to get involved in the festivities, rather than if the festivities were brought to them. Additionally, very little actually happens during the so-called spirit “week” until the Friday of the football game.

To solve these issues, the school could hold a merchandise sale for Peglegs t-shirts and hats, which people could then wear around the hallways during the week, drawing additional attention to Stuyvesant athletics.

Prior to the actual game, there should be a pep-rally at which alumni and Assistant Principal

of Health and Physical Education Larry Barth would talk about the team; food, buttons, and stickers would be passed out; and prizes would be awarded through a raffle. Other interesting events would fine too, but something to get all students to take part in the spirit of the week is necessary.

Other things to consider: 1. What is the point of feeding the football players baked goods before a game? Are containers full of cupcakes frosted with lopsided footballs the best way to get the team in good shape to play a game? Wouldn’t it make more sense to pass out baked goods to students to spread awareness?

2. Male cheerleaders aren’t involved in spirit week nearly as much as the girls are. Should girls constantly be the only ones baking goods all night for boys?

3. How can we have a homecoming game without an official homecoming dance to follow up?

4. Why was this year’s homecoming game, the pinnacle of spirit week, on the coldest, most inconvenient day possible? This year, homecoming was on a half day, meaning students had to wait six hours in the cold before the game started. It was as if the team wanted fewer fans in attendance.

Sports Wrap-Up 55 fencers from 13 different schools competed in the annual PSAL Boys’ Fencing Invitational tournament, but Stuyvesant senior Philip Shin came out on top, winning gold in foil. Shin has been instrumental in leading Stuyvesant’s boy’s fencing team, the UNTOUCHABLES, to a 6-0 record this season. However, after a narrow 88-84 victory over Brooklyn Tech on Wednesday, October 23, it is evident that the Untouchables still have room to improve.

Stuyvesant’s boys’ and girls’ bowling teams, the PINHEADS, are 9-2 and 9-1, respectively, as both are headed for a deep run in the playoffs.

With an unsurprising 9-0 record, Stuyvesant’s girls’ swimming team, the PENGUINS, have established themselves as the clear favorites to win the PSAL title for the sixth consecutive season.

After surviving a scare earlier in the year against Seward Park Campus, Stuyvesant’s girls’ volleyball team, the VIXENS, have improved their record to 11-0 with the help of a two-set win versus second place Lab Museum United. In each of the past three years, however, the Vixens have gone undefeated during the regular season but lost in the third round of the playoffs, so this year’s team will look to put an end to that trend.

Following a 10-6 win in their homecoming game on Friday, October 25, Stuyvesant’s football team, the PEGLEGS, maintained their spot at third place in the division standings with a 6-2 record. But in their loss the previous week to Alfred E. Smith, junior running-back and middle linebacker Cooper Weaver broke his ankle, forcing him to watch from the sidelines for the remainder of the season. Adjusting to this loss will prove to be a challenge for the Peglegs when they enter the postseason in two weeks.

On Saturday, October 26, Stuyvesant’s boys’ and girls’ cross country teams, the GREYDUCKS, competed in the Manhatten Borough Championships, which consisted of a 5000m race. On the girls’ side, senior Vera Pertsovskaya led the charge, finishing third with a time of 21:01.52 and helping the team come in second place, only two points behind LaGuardia. Junior Lily Olsen, senior Stephanie Liang, and sophomore Ariella Kahan also finished among the top 10 participants. On the flip side, the boys’ team blew out the competition, as seven Stuyvesant runners finished in the top fifteen, led by junior Eric Chen, who placed first with a time 14:08.35. Senior Jeremy Karson, junior Eamon Woods, and senior Andy Zhang also recorded impressive, top-10 times.

Stuyvesant’s girls’ soccer team, the MIMBAS, made the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and pulled of an upset over Long Island City in the first round with a 2-0 victory. Though the team lost in the second round to fourth-seeded Tottenville, the Mimbas must be happy about exceeding expectations.

Girls’ Golf

Birdies Lose Tailwind, Fall in Semi Finals

By Luke Morales “It was probably the most challenging season I’ve ever had,” coach Emilio Nieves said.

“We really did as much as we could given the circumstances.”

Plagued by injuries, 10th-period classes, and a mercurial starting line-up, the Birdies faced an uphill from the get-go.

The Birdies, after an upsetting loss early in the season due to a forfeit caused by player ineligibility and a loss to Bronx Science in a tie-breaker, were seeded fourth in the playoffs, making the road to the championship harder than it had to be.

After a first round bye, the Birdies played the fifth-seeded McKee Staten Island Tech Seagulls in the quarter-final match, defeating them in a close 3-2 match. The Birdies had such a close game since their number five, junior Rebecca Lee McFadden, injured her wrist the day prior to this important match.

The Birdies, although able to get by the quarter finals with a hobbled line-up, were not as fortunate in the semifinal match against defending champions Tottenville High School.

“There were a lot of factors leading to this loss,” junior and number four Erica Chio said.

“Like the fact that [Lee McFadden] hurt her wrist recently and could not play. Furthermore, we were playing on a course we never played on.”

Due to their lack of both knowledge of the course and their number five starter, the Birdies found themselves struggling to stay afloat against the Tottenville Pirates. “The thing about golf is that how you feel dictates how you play, and I guess our mental game was not on par,” junior and number three Jane Jeong said.

The Birdies fell 3-1.

Though this game marks the end of a tough season, it also marks the beginning of the next season—the chance to get back what was lost. The Birdies will have all of their starting lineup return for next season, while most other teams, which rode the backs of their senior starters, will have some rearranging to do.

“The fact that it’s just going to be the same starters helps us as a team, because now that we’ve played together for a whole season we’re more of a team than if we were to lose players,” Chio said. “We trust each other to the point where we won’t worry about each other’s matches and will spend more time focusing on our own.”

There’s a famous saying in sports that “you’re only as good as your next one.” Luckily, Stuyvesant’s “next one” is driven by a burning desire to succeed and win. “Next year, we have a great chance to take the championship,” Nieves said. “If we avoid injury, there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be playing in the championship.”