Volume 106, Issue 8 by The Stuyvesant Spectator

The Spectator

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

Volume CVI  No. 8

January 12, 2016

NEWSBEAT

now opens at 7:30 a.m. instead of at the start of first period. r. Po-Shen Loh, Associate D Professor at Carnegie Mellon University and head coach

of the USA International Math Olympiad team, held a presentation in the theater during first period on Monday, December 21. tuypulse, the robotics team, S hosted a citywide symposium on Saturday, December

19. The keynote speaker was Microsoft’s TED Team’s Principal Software Engineer Stephan Bohlen. he chess team’s senior team T (John Chen, Alex Spinnell, Kevin Yan, and Samuel Zhang) and sophomore team (Shaina Peters, Charlie Reeder, Daniel Regassa, and Zachary Yu) both won the National Championship for their grade level in Orlando, Florida, from Thursday, December 4, to Saturday, December 6. The juniors, Brandon Huang, Kai Kronberg, and David Yassky, placed fourth. he Moot Court Team placed T second in their competition on Thursday, December 10 at the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse.

By JULIA INGRAM Following a four-month vacancy in the Assistant Principal (AP) of Mathematics position after the retirement of former AP of Mathematics Maryann Ferrara, Interim Acting AP of Mathematics Jim Johnson began working on Monday, January 4. He will retain his interim, or temporary, status for the remainder of the school year, whereupon further action for permanent hire will be taken. The Department of Education’s (DOE) C-30 process for hiring faculty mandates that an AP candidate be approved by both Principal Jie Zhang and Superintendent Marisol Bradbury. The C-30 process began on Tuesday, September 15, 2015, with the posting of the position’s vacancy on the DOE website, but no candidates who applied since then had been deemed suitable by both Zhang and Bradbury. Due to the extended period of time that the position had remained vacant, it was necessary to find a temporary AP instead of reposting the opening and keeping the vacancy, as was

the custom when none of the members of an applicant pool gained approval. As a result, the DOE’s Human Resources Department asked Johnson directly to assume the role of Interim Acting AP of Mathematics at Stuyvesant. This temporary assignment process bypassed Zhang, but she will still make the permanent hire. The regular C-30 process for appointing a permanent AP will begin again in June. Johnson, as well as any other eligible candidate, can apply and will have to go through the regular approval process. Johnson’s experience and his former school, Chelsea Career & Technical Education High School, factored into the DOE’s decision. “[The DOE] decided that there was a greater need here at Stuyvesant,” he said. Johnson has worked as an administrator for the past 15 years in various roles and schools. Prior to this, he taught math in many schools over the course of eight years. Johnson plans to teach algebra II/trigonometry at Stuyvesant alongside his administrative responsibilities, starting in the Spring

Ian Sulley / The Spectator

Jun and Feng Victorious in Freshman Caucus Election

Freshman Caucus candidates from left to right: Elisey Goland, Adam Oubaita, Maya Zabari, Jason Feng, Rohan Ahammed, Sadia Tahmid, Hanah Jun, Stacey Xue, Jessica Park, Mihah Khondker.

By ANNE GEORGE, AMY HAN and QUEENIE XIANG With 158 votes, Hanah Jun and Jason Feng won the final election for Freshman Caucus President and Vice President on Thursday, December 10. Their opponents, Stacey Xue and Rohan Ahammed, received 90 votes. During this election process, candidates participated in the first Board of Elections (BOE) Freshman Caucus debate. Jun and Feng’s platform,

WHAT’S INSIDE? FEATURES ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

dubbed FUN, a mashup of their names, focused on increasing communication and eventplanning. They have created a caucus hotline for students to quickly bring up concerns and they hope to hold movie nights and the second freshmen-only dance. They also stated that they would work towards obtaining the right for freshmen to leave the building during free periods and opening the student lounge up to freshmen. “Although [these] are not our only plans for the year […] I believe that having a strong system

of communication and representation will open up a greater range of ideas and events that the students want, along with other developments,” Jun said. The election was filled with a number of changes. This year, the BOE decided to hold the election two months later than usual. Other issues arose as well: the BOE did not e-mail the election rulebook, which contains the procedure each candidate is expected to follow, to all the candidates, and the computer system malfunctioned at certain times of the day, causing a decrease in the number of people able to vote. The BOE declined to comment on these issues. The debate was held on Thursday, December 3 after tenth period in the library. Freshman Yiding Yang recorded the debate and posted it on YouTube, as requested by social studies teacher and Coordinator of Student Affairs, Matthew Polazzo. Over 50 students attended, and the video received nearly 700 views. The idea for the debate originated from Freshman Caucus candidate Adam Oubaita. Se-

How Have the Holidays Changed Since Your Childhood? Get a glimpse into your teachers’ lives as children, and what they did over during this festive time of year.

continued on page 2

Soham Ghoshal / The Spectator

Interim Acting Assistant Principal of Mathematics Jim Johnson Hired

eniors Maxwell Fishelson, Danyaal Ain, and Carol Wang were named semifinalists in the Intel Science Talent Search. he Boaz R. Weinstein Library extended its hours of operaT tion on Monday, January 11. It

stuyspec.com

New AP of Mathematics Jim Johnson.

2016 semester. Though Johnson does not yet have any specific plans for reform, he aims to make Stuyvesant’s mathematics department the best it can be. “I want to try to make improvements as much as possible. [I want to] make it more enjoyable for the students. If possible, I would like to try to expand the number of classes,” he said. Johnson also wants to es-

tablish himself as an open resource to both students and staff. “I want to try to make sure that the students and staff feel that if they have any questions about math or computer science, they can come here and I can try to help them as much as I can,” he said. “I’m very happy I’ve been assigned to Stuyvesant and I promise I’ll do everything I can to make this even better.”

New SAT Offered Free In-School but Without Optional Essay

By QUINN DIBBLE and VANNA MAVROMATIS

The new SAT will be offered free of charge to juniors at several pilot schools, including Stuyvesant High School, on Wednesday, March 2. This version of the SAT, however, will not allow students to take the essay portion of the exam. The current SAT is split into three portions, each worth 800 points: math, reading, and writing. In the new version, the math and reading sections are still 800 points, and a single, optional essay has replaced the writing section. Students who choose not to write the essay will be scored out of 1600 instead of 2400. A total of 92 New York City public high schools will be administering the in-school pilot SAT. In the spring of 2017, all schools will implement the free, in-school SAT, though at this point, the availability of an essay option has not been determined. The goal of the Department of Education (DOE) initiative is to increase the number of students who take college-entry exams by remov-

ing barriers to testing such as cost and registration. While free for students, the initiative will cost the city $1.8 million each year, once fully implemented. Stuyvesant signed up for the pilot program several months ago in order to give all students the opportunity to take the new SAT. “We thought it was a good [idea] for the kids to have the chance [to take the test],” Principal Jie Zhang said. The results of both the inschool March 2016 exam and the regular weekend administration of the exam will be available within six weeks of the exam date, as opposed to the normal three weeks. According to Zhang, this is an effort on part of the DOE to allow extra time to grade the exams, as this is the first time the new SAT will be administered. When Stuyvesant signed up for the pilot program, the administration believed the optional essay would be included. However, at a meeting with College Board on Monday, December 7, it was revealed that there would be no essay

Your Guide to Astoria, Queens Read all about the scents, sights, and tastes that make Astoria the neighborhood that it is.

continued on page 2

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

News Jun and Feng Victorious in Freshman Caucus Election continued from page 1

Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and NASA

WORLDBEAT

n an emotional speech made on Tuesday, January 5, President Barack Obama announced the executive actions he plans to take to decrease gun violence.

audi Arabia executed 47 men accused of acts of terrorism on Saturday, January 2. One of the men was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric who denounced Saudi Arabia’s behavior toward its Shiite minority. A day later, Iranians raided and set fire to the Saudi embassy.

orth Korea announced a successful hydrogen bomb test on Tuesday, January 5. However, after reviewing seismic data, the United States (US) and South Korea suggested that the explosion was a much smaller atomic bomb, posed as a hydrogen bomb to bolster North Korea’s political clout.

acked by US airstrikes, Iraqi forces and Sunni groups reclaimed Ramadi on December 27. An important city located 60 miles from Iraq’s capital, Ramadi was captured by ISIS last year.

he World Health Organization officially confirmed Guinea to be Ebola-free. With Liberia declared free of Ebola in September and Sierra Leone in November, the Ebola outbreak that began in Guinea in December of 2013 and has killed more than 11,000 people is coming to a close.

grand jury did not indict two white two police officers involved in the death of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old black boy who was shot for playing with a pellet gun officers thought was real. The grand jury decided not to press charges because the pellet gun did not have the necessary markings indicating it was fake. The decision has sparked mass protests in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as demands for the Cleveland prosecutor to resign and the case to be taken to federal courts.

apan and South Korea took steps to resolve the dispute over “comfort women,” Korean women who Japanese soldiers kept as sex slaves during World War II. The Japanese government finally agreed to donate $8.3 million to an organization committed to helping the surviving women on December 28, 2015. Although South Korea has protested that the compensation, 70 years overdue, is too little, the US hopes it will serve to form a closer bond between its allies.

eginning January 1, 2016, the one-child policy in China is void, thus “legalizing” the birth of second babies born on or after this date.

he Midwest and South have faced severe weather conditions in the past couple weeks, including a group of tornados in Dallas that killed 11 and flooding along the Mississippi River, causing Missouri to activate the National Guard.

nior Ryan Boodram and sophomore Kevin Boodram later urged Oubaita to post a petition on Facebook to accumulate student support for its approval. “I saw a debate as an extremely useful tool for the candidates,” Kevin Boodram said. However, some candidates contacted the Student Union (SU) regarding their opposition to the petition. “Candidates [reached] out to me and [told] me that they felt pressured [by Kevin Boodram and Ryan Boodram] into putting their names on the petition,” Sophomore Caucus President Tahseen Chowdhury said. “[The debate] added more tension for me,” Jun said. “I was worried because I did not have any experience in speech or debate prior to the event, so I was relying more on my motive and ideas than my speaking skills.” Before the petition was submitted, Polazzo notified Ryan Boodram and Kevin Boodram that the debate would occur regardless of the candidates’ concerns and he reached out to them to hasten the debate. “It seemed that the Boodrams

had led the charge to have a debate. When we decided to have one, I notified them and the freshmen that it was happening. Also, they agreed to film it and post it online, which made things easier for the BOE.” Polazzo said in an e-mail interview. The BOE released a Google

“Candidates [reached] out to me and [told] me that they felt pressured into putting their names on the petition.” —Tahseen Chowdhury, Sophomore Caucus President

Oiselle Donates Apparel to Girls’ Track Team By GRACE CUENCA Oiselle, a “by-women, for-women” athletic apparel company, has donated 50 free pairs of leggings to the Stuyvesant girls’ track and field team, the Greyducks. Though the company is small, it has started to gain reputability after sponsoring the Yale girls’ cross country and track and field teams in Fall 2015. Oiselle specifically chose to sponsor Yale because of the ties the company has to the school. One of Oiselle’s professional runners, Kate Grace, graduated from Yale in 2011, and physician and Oiselle corporate developer Dr. Sarah Lesko was a captain for Yale’s cross country team in the ‘90s. The news of the sponsorship was printed in The New York Times, which prompted junior and indoor track captain Sharon Hu to reach out to the com-

from a worthy team who has clearly read up on our brand and understands what we are about,” Dr. Lesko said in an email interview. Dr. Lesko and the company intend to create tight-knit communities among women, bonding through athleticism, as illustrated in their mission statement: “Build the sisterhood. Improve the sport. Make great product.” Donating the leggings is part of their goal to provide women with functional apparel to encourage them to enhance their abilities. “We’re very grateful and can’t thank Oiselle enough for their generosity and support, not to mention all the passion they’ve put into their work in helping women succeed,” Hu said. Oiselle plans to expand over the next couple of years by reaching out to female athletes through the company’s website, retail partners, and physical store, which is located in Seattle,

“We appreciate a straightforward request from a worthy team who has clearly read up on our brand and understands what we are about.” —Sarah Lesko, physician and Oiselle corporate developer pany and ask for sponsorships. “After reading the article about Oiselle’s sponsorship with Yale, our coach Dr. Anna Markova suggested approaching Oiselle with a related request,” Hu said. “Both our team and Oiselle believe in the importance of connecting feminism to athleticism.” Oiselle’s response to the outreach was positive. “We appreciate a straightforward request

Washington. In addition to supporting Yale, the company also supports a group of elite female athletes, collectively called the Haute Volée, who are looking to compete in the Olympics. “We love building communities and having more runners to cheer. We are still a small but growing company, and would love to have the capacity to support more programs in the future years,” Dr. Lesko said.

Form on Facebook to gather questions for the debate from the student body. However, some students believed that this method of communication didn’t effectively notify them of the details surrounding the event. “It wasn’t easy for everyone to see. The candidates really had to encourage people to go,” freshman Joshua Weiner said in an e-mail interview. Before the debate began, the BOE explained that each candidate group would have three minutes to present an introduction, which would provide attendees with an overview of their platforms. After the introductions, the BOE would ask questions to be submitted online, and the candidates would have the opportunity to volunteer to respond within a 90 second period. The goal was to address at least eight questions and to give every group an opportunity to reply. Finally, each representative would have one minute to present their concluding remarks to the audience. The BOE highlighted topics such as how the candidates would work to maintain an effective relationship between the

president and vice president, seek greater participation in the SU, and integrate student body participation into their goals. After the debate, some students questioned the structure of the debate and the rules against argumentation. “The debate didn’t turn out as I expected it to. It was more like a conference and no arguments arose. Some candidates received more attention than others. The questions were too vague and way too openended for any controversial topics to arise,” Yang said. Other students who attended believed that the debate was helpful. “The debate helped me separate my breakdown analysis of the elections. It allowed me to see what each team is capable of, and how realistic they chose to be,” freshman Michael Tam said. Whether a freshman debate will become a tradition or not is still unclear. “We will talk to the freshman now, the future sophomores, about if they found [the debate] useful,” Polazzo said. “Next year’s Freshman Caucus might not even want to do it, so I don’t want to commit ourselves to it now.”

New SAT Offered Free In-School but Without Optional Essay continued from page 1

option and no way for schools to opt-in to it. This decision comes from the DOE and not College Board, aiming to make the initiative more cost-efficient. “[The DOE] wants to boost SAT test-taking citywide while saving as much money as possible,” Director of College Counseling Jeffrey Makris said.

At the same time, the inschool SAT is an opportunity to take the new SAT, which many students are wary about taking, for free. “A lot of kids prep for the old [exam] and don’t want to open a can of worms with an unfamiliar test,” Makris said. “[But] it’s a free chance to see what [the exam] is like. It won’t affect where [students] can apply.”

“We need to make a big box that very clearly states to the colleges for next year that [the essay] was not an option.” —Casey Pedrick, Assistant Principal of Guidance There is concern on how this will affect students’ applications to more selective colleges. Thirteen percent of colleges will require an essay on the new SAT, according to Kaplan test prep, which has received information from the College Board. “This is bringing the opportunity to kids who might not otherwise take it, but there’s no consideration given to specialized high schools who have these high-achieving students who would want to take the [essay],” Assistant Principal of Guidance Casey Pedrick said. The administration is also concerned that this will affect the number of students who opt to take the test in-school this March. Many schools, such as Cornell University, require students to reveal all of their SAT scores when applying. “As a parent, [or] as a junior, I would think to myself, ‘Well, I don’t want to send an incomplete set of scores, so I just won’t take it that Wednesday; I’ll take it that Saturday on my own,’” Pedrick said.

One way the administration has suggested dealing with this issue is to state on the Stuyvesant college profile that the students are unable to opt-in to the essay. “Our college profile is our way of communicating to the colleges any information that they need to know about Stuyvesant High School itself,” Pedrick said. “We need to make a big box that very clearly states to the colleges for next year that [the essay] was not an option.” However, the administration is not certain of how colleges will react to this, and students most likely will still have to take a weekend administration of the new SAT in addition to the in-school test to ensure they meet requirements. Despite the unavailability of the essay option, Zhang is still optimistic about the inschool SAT. “I would just like all of my students to take advantage of this opportunity, even if there is a little bit of a shortcoming without the writing portion,” she said.

The Spectator The Spectator ● January ● Date 12, 2016 *****

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News

Brandon Lee / The Spectator

Student Union Holds First Sophomore Winter Dance

By NISHMI ABEYWEERA, GREG HUANG and RYAN KIM Stuy Snow, Stuyvesant’s first sophomore winter dance, took place on Wednesday, December 23. More than 150 students attended the Student Union’s (SU) three-hour-long dance. Lights, snowflakes, balloons, a cotton candy machine, and a popcorn machine decorated the student cafeteria. The idea of a winter dance for sophomores was first proposed by Sophomore Caucus President Tahseen Chowdhury and Vice President Pallab Saha. With last year’s Freshman Spring Fling in mind, Chowdhury and Saha promised a similar grade-specific dance when running for Sophomore Caucus earlier this school year. Planning for Stuy Snow started over the summer, when

the date and time for the event were decided, and the budget for the dance was created. Compared to the Freshman Spring Fling, planning started early for this dance. “We learned a lot from Spring Fling last year [...] It was very last minute,” Saha said. “The earlier you start, the better the outcome [will] be.” The planning process was led by Chowdhury and Saha, with the help of three committees in music, food, and decorations. To join one of the committees, students were required to submit an application, and members were selected by the SU’s Operations Department. Selection was based on their plans and the applicant’s experience with planning dances. The committees were created to make planning Stuy Snow more efficient and flexible than previous dances. “We had other people do things like

the decorations and food; that way, we could run everything efficiently, while making sure everything was done properly,” Chowdhury said. Sophomores Adam Abbas, Sammie Paul, and Leila Storkamp led the Food, Music, and Decorations Committees, respectively. The Decorations Committee created a simple outline of the winter theme and the decorations needed for the dance. The primary decoration was snowflakes, and the main colors were white, silver, and blue. The Food Committee wrote a budget list to help with their planning. A chocolate fountain, snow cone machine, cotton candy machine, and popcorn

One of the main challenges with planning this dance was the ticket pricing. “We had to go through everything that we wanted to implement [...] and had to compile a list [of] how much each [attraction] would cost,” Chowdhury said. Since this dance offered a wider variety of food than the Freshman Spring Fling, the admission had to be raised. However, it was also important that enough students attended the dance, so that the dance would not result in a loss of money. “[The SU’s budget] is what funds all the events, so if this event were to lose money, it would be at a disadvantage for everybody,” Abbas said.

“We had to go through everything that we wanted to implement [...] and had to compile a list [of] how much each [attraction] would cost.” —Tahseen Chowdhury, Sophomore Caucus President machine were at the dance. The Music Committee created a Google Form in which students could submit song requests. Based on these responses and their own discretion, they decided on the types of music played at the dance.

The cost was originally set at $15 per ticket, compared to $5 for Spring Fling. However, many students disliked this price. “A lot of people said it was too much when we surveyed them,” Abbas said. After analyzing the cost of getting the nec-

essary materials for the event, the cost was reduced to $10 for the first 200 students and $15 for the last 100; the event was capped at 300 students. Tickets were sold online on EventBrite and on the SU’s website. However, only about 150 tickets were sold. Ultimately, it was decided to sell tickets to freshmen as well, albeit at $15 per ticket. Overall, the dance was wellreceived. “My expectations were definitely met; [the SU] did an amazing job with this dance,” sophomore Charlie Reeder said. Students also felt Stuy Snow was an improvement from the Spring Fling. “I think that [Stuy Snow] was much better; the lighting was better, [and] there were more food options,” sophomore George Zheng said. However, the SU feels that the turnout could have been better with a different date. “It conflicted with many people’s schedules,” Saha said. “[We] should have chosen a date that many people would [be] okay with.” Attendees also thought that advertising could have been improved. “I think that more people would come if [...] we put in a little bit more to promote it,” Reeder said. However, the SU was still able to make a large profit from this dance. “[The money we made] will go to later events that we hold, which will help us all in the long run,” Abbas said. “The event was definitely a success […] Everything went smoothly.”

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Features The Face of Stuyvesant, Divided? Pop Quiz! What’s the name of the: Track team? Boys’ lacrosse team? Football team? Baseball team? Did you get them all right? Stuyvesant boasts a huge quantity of sports teams, ranging from football to cricket. Yet unlike other high schools, Stuyvesant allows teams to choose their own names, creating both diversity and disunity within the sports community. Could you remember the names of the four teams mentioned earlier? Try remembering the names of all 41 teams at Stuyvesant. For a lot of schools across the United States, the football team’s mascot would be the obvious choice to represent all of the sports teams at Stuyvesant, for the team has the oldest name still in use today: the Stuyvesant Peglegs. Crediting their name to Peter Stuyvesant, the Peglegs represents the oneleggedness of New York’s first

governor, or as the team likes to call him, Pegleg Pete. However, other teams like the track team, do not think that the Peglegs would be an appropriate fit for their group. Senior and girls’ track co-captain Luna Oiwa said, “On one hand, it makes us less unified as a school. But on the other hand, I can’t imagine our track team being called the Peglegs.” “Team names are generally associated with the activities done in each sport, so a grey duck, a small and swift animal, fits us better than a mascot like a pegleg,” junior and girls’ track co-captain Sharon Hu explained. Since changing their name from the Flying Dutchmen to the Greyducks in 2010, track team members have fully embraced their new name, proudly sporting it on their apparel. Captains often attach images of ducks to their team emails, and the girls’ track team gives out the “Greyduck of the Week” award, in which a particularly dedicated member is rewarded with a rubber duck. There are nonetheless, other teams that value school unity over sport-specialized mascots. The baseball team for instance,

is changing their name from the Hitmen to the Peglegs in an attempt to forge this unity. Baseball coach John Carlesi has been wanting to change the team name ever since alumnus Jordan Wallach (‘13) started an ultimately unsuccessful petition to unify the school under one name three years ago. Carlesi didn’t change the team name back then because the baseball team had just bought new uniforms with Hitmen written on them. “It is terrible that when you walk into Stuyvesant, it does not say, ‘Welcome to the Home of the [school mascot],” Carlesi said in an email interview. “You would need a whole wall to fit every team name [on] there.” Nevertheless, he acknowledges that the Peglegs might not suit all the sports teams at Stuyvesant. “If not the Peg-

legs, then another name that would identify as one school and not individual teams,” he compromised. Though people like Carlesi advocate for one mascot, many teams at Stuyvesant hold on to their identities. It is hard to foresee a larger change to the system when teams like the Penguins and Greyducks harbor such strong connections to their names. The diver-

sity of sports team names and mascots at Stuyvesant is just a testament to Stuyvesant’s multicultural nature. If all of these cultures were combined under a single representation, it would suppress them and hinder their growth. If one’s bond to a team is stronger than one’s bond to Stuyvesant as a whole, then so be it, and let the team mascot help represent Stuyvesant. Who’s to say the parts aren’t as strong as the whole?

Jiaqi Gao / The Spectator

By Fionna Du, Fatima Irfan, and Andrea Ma

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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Features New Squads in the Making By Vincent Jiang and Geena Jung The free-flowing movements of Contemporary and Belly crews, the high energy kicks and stumps of Hip-hop, K-pop, and Step, and the mesmerizing twists and turns of Latin, Bollywood, and Flow, are all hallmarks of the Stuy Squad show every year. But a few new crews hope to add a different, unique spin to an already impressive performance. An Old School Style The word “retro” often brings to mind images of vintage clothing and songs from musicals like “Hairspray” and “Grease.” But senior and director Jessie Chen hopes to put a different spin to the word with Stuy Squad’s new K-pop Retro crew. Started as an alternative to the other K-pop groups, Chen hopes to focus on less hip-hopsounding, contemporary songs from the genre. “Retro is more old-timey and it focuses on older artists from a few years ago rather than current artists,” senior and K-pop Retro member Samantha Wong said.

“I really think that dance is the best when everyone feels like they should dance together, not one person trying to outshine

Prior to K-pop Retro, Chen used her previous experiences in Girls’ K-pop as an inspiration for the new crew. “The first year I did Stuy Squad, I did Girls’ Hip-hop C, but since it was such a large crew, I didn’t feel as close with everyone in the group, which was why I left for K-pop sophomore year, and of course I don’t regret it,” she said. Due to this, Chen made it a focus to form a closely knit crew. Indeed, K-pop Retro is smaller than many of the other divisions of Stuy Squad, but Chen feels that this will positively impact their dancing. She noted how the team sees each other often for at least three practices a week during tenth period and after school, and how they bond during these times. “I really think that dance is the best when everyone feels like they should dance together, not one

person trying to outshine the others, but everyone dancing as a whole,” she said. These practices were a time for the members to relax and have fun, according to Wong. She describes how tenth period, which isn’t common for the other crews to hold as rehearsal time, serves as a chance to review moves and to relax. After the school day has ended, the team gets more serious, and starts to learn new moves or run through the entire performance. To improve their ability to synchronize, Chen uses a variety of activities, such as mirroring each other when dancing. Despite working hard, Wong feels that they are still able to enjoy themselves. She said, “It’s a stress reliever for a lot of us [...] Especially after a long school day, we just want to have fun and let loose.” These long days of practicing have paid off in their performance. When dancing to songs, such as “Mr. Ambiguous” by Mamamoo or “Come Back Again” by Infinite, the crew members used their choreography to reinterpret the songs’ messages. They snapped their fingers to the beat, and their spunky, almost sassy dance moves flowed with the music, as if they were the artists in the music video. In addition to the occasional solos done by the two boys in the crew, the members also formed lines and alternate movements by shaking their hands, as if to toss water droplets off, from either the top to the bottom, or the bottom to the top. Regardless of their reception after their first performance, Chen is and will continue to be proud of her team. “They’re so friendly and accepting and open, [and] they’re all willing to get along together,” she said. “That’s just so nice, and something that not all the other crews can say that they definitely have, so I’m really grateful for that, and I’m really grateful for the people supporting us, too.” A Tapping Rhapsody Dancing in shiny black uniforms and tapping vigorously, the members of the Tap crew line up together in the center of the stage. Though newly formed and of a relatively small size, sophomores and directors Maiko Sein and Leila Storkamp believe that it is a valuable addition to Stuy Squad. The crew began as a fleeting idea of Sein and Storkamp. Though there had once been a Tap crew in Stuy Squad, it remained as only a memory, and both co-directors thought it would be a good idea to bring it back. “I thought it would be totally different from other dances, and tap is [...] a bit more traditional in the sense that it’s been on Broadway for a long time,” Sein said. By bringing a more traditional dance style to the show, they hope to increase its variety. “The thing about Stuy Squad that makes it so special is that there are so many different dance crews that you can choose from to participate [in],” Storkamp said. “So, being able to bring this is going to be really good, and so we’re hoping that [the audience will] enjoy the performance.” Their love for tap drove Sein and Storkamp to apply for director and to create the new

crew. Sein mentioned her own personal experience with tap dancing as a source of inspiration, sharing one fond memory when she was six. “I remember my first tap dance was to ‘Peanut Butter Jelly Time’ [...] It was really simple, and we did a lot of simple moves, and it was really cute,” she said.

“[There are] some times where you’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what to choreograph next,’ [but] other times it just flows, and it’s a rewarding experience [because] getting to see what you imagine in your head in real life is beautiful.” —Maiko Sein, sophomore and co-director of Tap

Storkamp, too, has fond memories of tap dancing. She first grew interested in tap as she was taking part in musical theatre, where tap dancing plays a big part in a number of shows. Recently, she also went to a dance camp, where she learned how to tap, along with a variety of other styles The seven other dancers in the crew, however, have a variety of backgrounds, ranging from no experience to some experience. Because of this, the co-directors had to slow down their instruction and think carefully about what they wanted their members to do. However, by doing so, Storkamp feels that they were able to refine their moves to make sure their choreography is the best that it can be. Furthermore, many dancers are in several crews, and getting all the members to come to practice has been difficult. “The hardest part is balancing it with other crews and coordinating our schedules. Even the directors are in different crews, so [it’s] just difficult to make it all work and get everyone there at the same time,” freshman Lumi Westerlund said. Though tap is a much more classical style of dance than many of the other crews, the co-directors tried to introduce a more modern approach. By using an Ariana Grande song, they hope to both be able to hold a consistent beat necessary for tap dancing and a song that is modern enough to keep

the audience interested. The choreography also seems to be a blend of both traditional and modern moves. Throughout the performance, the team was consistently synchronized, tapping to the beat of the music and to each other. Their feet snapped quickly, switching between fast clatters, to slower claps, to scrapes across the ground. The members also used their entire body to dance, not only their legs. They threw their arms to the music in quick bursts, which blended perfectly with the rapping of the metallic soles of their tap shoes. Overall, both Sein and Storkamp enjoyed their experiences as the co-directors of the Tap crew, despite the struggles they faced. “[There are] some times where you’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t know what to choreograph next, [but] other times it just flows and it’s a rewarding experience [because] getting to see what you imagine in your head in real life is beautiful,” Sein said. The Art of Modern Dance Though the name of the crew says otherwise, Modern seems to be something out of a fairytale. With the swaying movements and mystical dancing, the performance puts one in a different, lighter world. The crew was first conceived last year by juniors Enver Ramadani and Nadia Filanovsky during SING!. They wanted to do something different from the other styles of dance in Stuy Squad, and after auditioning for the role of co-directors, they were able to create the new crew. The decision to make a modern dance crew was partially inspired by their previous experiences with dance. Filanovsky has been involved with modern dance since around the fourth grade. Ramadani, on the other hand, learned how to dance in middle school, where he took part in a modern dance class. He continued to take the class, and it grew to become a major part of his life. The selection process for members of the crew focused more on improvisation, rather than choreography, which is different from other auditions. Each applicant danced without a set routine, and had to rely on dancing on the spot. Since modern dance is focused on feelings and emotions, Ramadani selected dancers based on their desire to express themselves rather than their skill. “If you weren’t afraid of just dancing, even if it was awful, then we like that, because that means you were willing to try and willing to learn,” he said. In the end, Filanovsky and Ramadani narrowed the pool of participants to 15, including the directors. There was a variety of dancers in the crew, ranging from gymnasts, to people who also went to Ramadani’s middle school, to those who have never danced in performances. Ramadani feels that this adds to the performance that he and Filanovsky were trying to create. “It’s really nice that we get to have [people] from different groups of art come together and do a modern piece because there are different kinds of body movement, different kinds of body types. It’s really nice to see people try to adjust and explore

with their bodies,” he said. A regular practice day was different from other crews, as well. The directors decided to focus more on how each individual expresses their emotions, so they divided the crew into smaller groups. Because of this, practice tended to be hectic, with many small groups doing their own thing at the same time. On one side, one group would be trying to perfect a sequence in their choreography, sometimes with the guidance of one of the co-directors. Another group would be doing something similar, but by themselves, and most of the crew members would be learning or running through the performance in the center.

“I feel [Modern is] different, and there are going to be plenty of people who don’t like it, but me and Nadia and the dancers are completely cool with that.” —Enver Ramadani, junior and co-director of Modern

This messiness occasionally led to some problems. “I did this one part where I had everyone dropping on their knees and the next day everyone comes in with bruises, including myself,” said Ramadani, smiling at the memory. This chaotic practice, however, was not because of the co-directors’ failure to keep everyone together but because modern dance is more powerful when emotions are running passionately, according to the co-directors. The power could be felt in their performance, as well. The dancers’ movements flowed smoothly like the wind as they thrusted and swayed their arms and legs in the air. Their gracefulness was balletlike and was made even lighter with the soft music. Most of the focus was on smaller groups, with solos, duets, and trios being common, until the end, in which the team blended together. In regards to the performance, Ramadani didn’t expect everyone to love what they do. He notes how different modern dance can be, which can turn people away. “I feel it’s different, and there are going to be plenty of people who don’t like it, but me and Nadia and the dancers are completely cool with that,” he explained.

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Page 6

Features

Vivian Lin (left) and Angel Zheng (right) / The Spectator

How Have the Holidays Changed Since Your Childhood?

Carlos Bravo, Spanish

Alicia Pohan, English

Kim Manning, English

Kristyn Pluchino, Chemistry

“In Spain and Latin America, people did not celebrate Christmas the way that they do now. We used to go from door to door singing and exchanging food—I miss that stuff. You do not find that in America these days.”

“There are some things about the holidays that remain unchanged: I am still obsessed with Christmas music, my dad still cooks the meal on Christmas day, and I continue to perfect the art of wrapping presents. But what matters most to me is the one thing that has changed since I was a kid: the thrill of giving gifts far outweighs the thrill of receiving them.”

“So as a child, the holidays, for me, were all about the wonders of Santa Claus and the excitement of waiting for Christmas Eve and listening for the reindeer on the roof […] Now as an adult, of course all the magic is gone, but it’s now about my children’s experience and them having the same excitement on Christmas Eve and anticipating the arrival of Santa Claus.”

“I still hate the holidays. I can’t stand Christmas. Sears used to hand out holiday sale catalogues in August and that was the cue for my little sister to start playing holiday music. She played it from August to December so I can’t stand holiday music now. Also, my birthday is close to Christmas so when people forget my birthday present it’s a bummer.”

Eric Grossman, Assistant Principal of English “When I was little, holidays were the time you got presents and you were obsessed with what you would get; it just felt magical and exciting. And although my family [...] [was] Jewish […] we always celebrated Christmas instead. It was just kind of what we did. And so while we didn’t deck our house in Christmas lights, it wasn’t that extreme. We would wake up in Christmas morning and we’d come down and there would be presents, and it would be super exciting. How has it changed? That kind of sense of magic and mystery isn’t really a part of the holidays to the same degree. I want as much as possible to create that good feeling for my children, but it’s much more about doing that than, ‘Oh, what am I going to get? What am I going to get?’ I’m not especially religious, so it’s kind of devoid of those feelings, and, you know, usually […] [I] bring home a stack of papers, and it’s a chance to not be doing that just for a little bit. It’s probably the first time since the summer that I’ll get to read a novel and play a lot of guitar and that kind of enforced downtime is a good thing.”

Joy Hsiao, Mathematics & Programming “I came from Taiwan, so the biggest difference is that we celebrate different holidays. In Taiwan, the Lunar New Year is huge. In New York, there is something, but it’s not as big. In Chinese culture, there are many other holidays we celebrate. We used to get a lot more money because everyone gives. Not so much here.”

Minkyu Kim, English

Robert Weldon, Spanish

“I look forward to it for different reasons. When I was a kid I looked forward to it for selfish reasons, like, ‘What am I gonna get, what am I gonna get?’ But now, I get to see people I don’t always get to see. It’s become more about others. Also when I was a kid, I was always like, “What activities are we gonna do?’ Now, I can just shut off. It’s become more like downtime for me.”

“I grew up in Michigan, where there were often snowstorms. I have very fond memories of white Christmases, and it was all about the excitement of presents and my mom’s chocolate chip cookies every year. I now equate Christmas with traveling, [because] if I don’t go back to Michigan, I’ll often go on vacation with my wife and I’ll do something that is very unChristmassy, for instance, going to Puerto Rico and spending time on the beach. I usually have to travel Christmas Eve Day. There have been times I haven’t made it to Michigan in time and spent Christmas Eve in the airport, which has been very depressing. Last Christmas, my baby was six weeks old. This feels like the first Christmas with him because he can walk and he says words and understands English and Spanish. It’s much more interactive and fun.”

Peter Brooks, Computer Science

Di Wu, Guidance Counselor

Josina Dunkel, History

“I used to get presents. Now I give presents.”

“I learned that Santa lives in everyone and even the smallest gift [or] act will make a person’s Christmas grand!”

“When I was a kid I wanted toys [...] Now I am actually hoping my husband gets me socks! That doesn’t totally mean I don’t want fun things but suddenly nicer versions of practical things, or even just practical things make me very happy.”

The Spectator â&#x2014;? January 12, 2016

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Page 8

Editorials Staff Editorial

The College Process in Retrospect

As seniors finish up their college applications and juniors prepare to brave the storm that awaits, seniors can now reflect on their experiences applying to college and help underclassmen avoid they mistakes they may have made. In this Staff Editorial, junior members of the Editorial Board compiled a list of questions they have about applying to college, and seniors on the Board answered the questions to the best of their abilities. We do not claim to be experts, and recognize that each of the answers in this Editorial have been informed by our personal experiences, but we hope that this article will help answer some questions and offer valuable advice. What are college interviews like? What does it mean to tell them about yourself? “Tell me about yourself” is a common, yet frighteningly openended, question during college interviews. Don’t aim to tell your entire life story to your interviewer. Instead, have a short conversation with yourself beforehand. Try to find two or three experiences that have defined the way you think and what you value. Do you or your parents have an immigration story that has largely affected you? Do you consider yourself a street-smart or a booksmart person? What do you do in your free time and why do you enjoy spending your time that way? What neighborhood did you grow up in? The answers to these questions are essentially facets of your personality. Do not be afraid if your answer to this question does not set you apart, though. Interviewers are usually experienced and will steer the conversation towards something you both have interests in. The interview is a formalized conversation—and it should be treated as such: at most, it’s a small piece of the application process. Yet, it can be fun and rewarding if you don’t stress too much about it and do it naturally. Make sure you do research on the school ahead of the interview and have questions to ask your interviewer. The interview is a chance for the school to learn about you, but also for you to learn about the school! If you don’t have any questions about the academics, that’s fine. Ask about the school’s social scene and what your interviewer got out of his/her education. Ask about their college regrets and college life lessons. You’ll notice that interviewers absolutely love telling stories about their college years. It’s this positive impression of the school that made the interviewers volunteer their time in the first place. What makes a good college essay? Should we avoid anything that makes us look flawed? Writing a good college essay starts with forgetting that it is a college essay. Whenever you want to write something that represents yourself, you need to forget about the audience and simply let the words flow. Take some time to think about what truly matters to you and what has made the largest impact in your life and be vulnerable about it. If you have experienced significant hardships in your life, don’t be afraid to write about it because colleges will think that you are “damaged” or “emotionally un-

stable.” Whether it be financial hardship or emotional hardship, make sure to include vivid details of your experiences, and steer the essay toward a positive theme to relay how you have overcome the difficulties in your life. If you don’t have a particularly momentous event to discuss, it is also possible to write a great essay about something small. Choose something, no matter how small or strange, that you feel you could elaborate on and use your true voice. The most important thing is to just write as if no one were going to read it. That way, what comes out is truly what you want to say, not what others want you to say. What is QuestBridge? QuestBridge is a non-profit organization that aims to help highachieving low-income students through the college application process. To do so, the organization provides two programs: the College Prep Scholarship (CPS) and the National College Match (NCM). Typically released in February and due in late March, the CPS applications are designed to highlight the stories of students who have excelled in school despite financial obstacles. The CPS makes the college search more accessible for its recipients through various awards, such as full scholarships to summer college programs and all-expense-paid visits to college campuses. A majority of CPS recipients then go on to participate in the NCM, which helps these students and other outstanding high school seniors gain admission and generous financial aid packages to the nation’s leading colleges. Typically released in the beginning of the summer and due in late September, the NCM applications are similar to the CPS applications in that they are tailored to underscore the resilience of low-income students. The NCM application asks questions similar to those on a standard college application but is much more detailed. However, the resulting application is one that shows so much more of you than any other application! Is it really possible to finish your college apps over the summer? Or will you most likely finish them at the last minute? Finishing every single one of your applications over the summer is not feasible for most people, but it is wise to do between a half and two-thirds of your applications before school starts. Getting the “Common App” essay, which is sent to most colleges, done over the summer is a great way to start — many people think of it as the most important part of the written application, and having it out of the way before September will relieve you from a big burden. That said, a lot of people end up doing many of their college applications in the week or two before they are due, so if you find yourself in that situation don’t be scared; you’ll make it through! Do standardized tests matter as much as we think they do? Those big red numbers of Naviance? Don’t let them scare you. By definition, around half of the people who were admitted have scores below the average score. Of course, you should be well above the cutoffs for a safety school, but there is no reason not to reach for

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

your dream school just because you’re a bit below. Would it be better to get one exceptional rec from a humanities teacher and one meh rec from a STEM teacher (or vice versa) or two exceptional recs from humanities teachers (or two STEM ones)? The point of a getting a college recommendation, aside from fulfilling the requirement, is to help paint yourself in the best possible way to colleges. Thus, it is very important that you ask teachers or bosses whom you believe saw something very positive or special about you to write a recommendation. However, many colleges do strongly recommend or even require that you have one rec from a humanities teacher and one from a STEM teacher. If it is mandatory, then there isn’t too much you can do. However, this can be played around with, especially when you factor in your major. If you’d like to major in history and/ or literature, let’s say, then having your history and English teachers write your recommendations makes more sense than asking your biology teacher because of the amount of relevance. That being said, go ask the teachers who have the best impression of you first. But if you have teachers who have a good impression of you in both humanities and STEM, then you should preferably ask one from each. On a completely unrelated note, if you’re planning to ask a teacher you’ve had from junior year, ask them right after the fall term ends. Many of them have rec quotas, and if you wait too long until the spring, they may turn down your request. So don’t procrastinate—ask early to secure your recs because you won’t want to be worrying about anything else once you start writing your essays. How do scholarships work? Paying for college is hard, but getting scholarships is unfortunately even harder. Most of the scholarships that offer sums of money large enough to put a dent in the total cost of tuition are tailored to low-income or underrepresented students. These programs, such as the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Scholarship or Ronald McDonald House Charity Scholarships, are also extremely competitive: thousands of applicants, in a college app-like process that includes recommendation letters, several essays, and extra-curriculars, gun for several spots a year. Other scholarships that are completely merit-based or longessay-based generally give up to $5,000, but most hover around $1,000. These scholarships sometimes have specific requirements too, such as the Association for Women in Mathematics Scholarship for young women who write an essay about an interview with any woman with a mathematical sciences career, or the Orange Scholars Program for dependents of hourly associates of the Home Depot. Scholarships are polarized: time-consuming, stressful, and competitive, but high-reward ones for the low-income and underprivileged, and slightly less time-consuming, less competitive, but much lower-reward scholarships for the majority.

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A Note to Our Readers: The Spectator will now accept unsolicited Op-Ed pieces written by outside students, faculty, and alumni. These columns, if selected, will be published in The Spectator’s Opinions section. Recommended length is 700 words. Articles should address school related topics or items of student interest. Columns can be e-mailed to opinions@stuyspec.com

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VOICES Would you like to share a personal narrative with the school? Whether it’s an essay you’ve written for class, or a piece you’ve been working on by yourself, if it’s in first-person and it is nonfiction it could get published in The Spectator’s issue-ly Voices column! Send your stories into voices@stuyspec.com, or email us with any questions or concerns you have.

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Page 9

Opinions

Stephanie Chan / The Spectator

The War Within the War

By Raniyan Zaman On December 3, United States (U.S.) Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announced that the military would open all ground combat jobs to women; previously, certain military roles were open exclusively to men. This initiative is more than two years in the making, and it certainly seems like a step in the right direction. However, it is still deeply flawed in its failure to address the wider scope of sexism in the military. Much has changed since Loretta Walsh became the first American woman to serve in an official combat role in 1917 at barely twenty-one years old. But the history of women in the U.S. military since then has been deeply problematic, in large part because of its longstanding reputation for the physical and sexual harassment of female soldiers. An investigation by the Department of Defense revealed that of more than 19,000 military sexual assaults in 2010, less than 14 percent were reported. And, according to an organization called Futures Without Violence, of the 3,192 incidents that were reported, a mere 191 led to convictions.

Moreover, one in three convicted offenders continue to serve in the military despite their crimes. The disparity between the occurrence and reporting of sexual violence exists across the civilian American population as well (with 68 percent of assaults, according to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, going unreported), and though it is more pronounced in the military, many of the underlying causes are similar. For starters, the stigma that surrounds rape and sexual assault that exists among civilian culture—a set of phenomena whose prevalence has earned them nicknames like “slut shaming” and “victim blaming” and, as an overarching term, “rape culture”—is only exacerbated in the military’s hyper-masculine environment. Women in the military are often embarrassed to admit what they’ve undergone because they expect to receive little sympathy (and perhaps even hostility) from their male peers. They fear implicit retaliation, either through the denial of promotion or through social bullying tactics, like shunning, for having the audacity to speak out against crimes that were committed against them. And because the mechanisms in place for reporting sexual climes are inherently lacking in privacy, many women prefer to move on, violated in secret, because the alternative—coming forward and rejecting camaraderie—is far too scary. Perhaps the reason physical assault against females is such a prevalent problem in the

army stems from the lack of respect for women in service. Anu Bhagwati, executive director of the Service Women’s Action Network and a former Marine Corps captain and company commander, described the military as having a “sexist culture.”

ties to ascend in rank within the military are severely limited for women. Although there are no specific laws in place that keep women from gaining important positions, the stigma surrounding women and the sexist mindset of many males in the military

The history of women in the U.S. military since then has been deeply problematic, in large part because of its longstanding reputation for the physical and sexual harassment of female soldiers.

Even when women in the military don’t experience violence, they still face discrimination in other ways. For example, opportuni-

Joyce Gao / The Spectator

keeps females at the bottom of the ladder. There have only ever been three female four-star generals in all of U.S. military history—not due to a lack of ability or poor leadership skills, but because women are often prevented from gaining power or responsibility. One of the biggest reasons that military sexism is so hard to combat is that the army, as an institution, is highly secluded. It has its own branch of judicial authority, so its crimes, as well as its hierarchical structure, are fairly alien to the civilian population. But that doesn’t mean we can’t object to, or try to amend, the military’s flaws.

Victoria Huang / The Spectator

Forty Million Immigrants, One Language

By Jane Rhee “I like Jeb,” said presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump at a recent Republican presidential primary debate. “He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.” Coming from a conservative presidential candidate, this statement is not surprising, and looking at his poll numbers, neither is the rising call for language legislation. According to The Migration Policy Institute, though the population of the U.S. represents less than five percent of the world’s population, it includes 20 percent of the world’s immigrants. This diverse composition presents a set of unique challenges, and as a result The Washington Post reports that 31 U.S. states have adopted English

as their official language in fear of losing what they perceive as the existing “American” culture. An article published in the Journal Research and Politics notes that the development of language legislation in most states is directly linked to “the size of [their] immigration population.” In other words, many U.S. politicians feel threatened when large immigrant populations enter their states, and react by making English their states’ official language. Though this may seem like an antiquated infringement on people’s rights, this legislation doesn’t actually affect most people’s daily lives, or prohibit people from speaking their native language in the states. English-official legislation in the U.S. simply means that official documents, such as applications for Medicare or Medicaid and voting ballots, must be written in English; there is no crime in speaking foreign language. In an ideal world, the 48 million immigrants in the U.S. would feel as connected to their heritage in the U.S. as they did in their country of origin, but, in reality, many face an extreme loss of culture upon their arrival because of the pressure to assimilate. Completely assimilating to a new culture isn’t possible, productive, or an immigrant’s duty. Adopting English as the official language on the national level, however, is less about forced assimilation and more about protecting the welfare of the United States. One important aspect of

The federal government, for instance, has the precedent and the power to encourage change through legislative and executive initiatives. By mandating greater scrutiny and harsher punishment for sexual crimes against female soldiers, and enforcing

such legislation would be its effect on federal spending. As The Washington Times pointed out in a recent article, in Los Angeles’s 2002 elections, “$15 million, or 15 percent of the election budget, was devoted to printing ballots in seven languages and hiring bilingual poll workers.”

migrants’ needs in the last two decades. The solution isn’t an overhaul of the system, but a simple scale back. The U.S. citizenship exam barely skims the surface of language proficiency, though it sets a laudable standard for casual conversations in daily life

“I like Jeb. He’s a nice man. But he should really set the example by speaking English while in the United States.” —Donald Trump, presidential candidate and businessman

In addition, pieces of legislation like Executive Order 13166, signed by President Clinton in 2000, which mandated health care providers that accepted Medicaid and Medicare to employ interpreters, add up. In total, the U.S. government spent about $4.5 billion to cater to im-

while still allowing for a wide variety of languages to be spoken in the U.S. By instituting English-official policies, the U.S. can encourage immigrants to seek a more complete understanding of the English language in order to have better chances in the job market and get more involved in

discretion in reporting services, the armed forces can begin to work toward a safer environment for their women. But sexual assault is only one example of the “culture” Bhagwati describes, and it manifests itself in many other, more subtle ways. We must also work to deconstruct sexism in general—the unequal representation of genders in the military, the hostility female soldiers often face simply for being there, their implicit prevention from rising up the military hierarchy—these problems are evidence of a larger disease we must work harder to combat. Opening up all combat roles to women is a step in the right direction—one we should have taken long ago. But now that we have, American military culture must be drastically altered in order to accommodate and protect females. Without addressing military sexism, America’s real enemies will continue to remain where one might least expect them—on the home front.

politics, without forcing immigrants to assimilate immediately upon gaining citizenship. All immigrants, even nonEnglish speaking ones, should feel that the government is facilitating their transition into U.S. society. Even before immigrants become English proficient, the government should offer assistance in the form of services such as healthcare by hiring bilingual government officials. However, instead of offering translators and translated applications for Medicaid throughout immigrants’ lifetimes—which the U.S. government does currently—the government should set a time frame, starting after immigrants arrive in the U.S., after which, if immigrants do not learn English, they will cease to qualify for translators. This would be less costly than the current policy and allow for immigrants to receive the aid they need in their early years as U.S. residents while still encouraging immigrants to pursue proficiency for their own independence. Immigrants and their children, like many of the students at Stuyvesant High School, know firsthand the struggle of finding the balance between becoming an English-speaking “American” and keeping the connection to their cultures strong. Not only would adopting English-only legislation allow for that balance, but it would also serve to make the transition for immigrants more gradual and financially beneficial, both for them and for the federal government.

Page 10

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Opinions

Jessica Wu / The Spectator

Go… Peglegs?

By Matteo Wong Welcome back, Peglegs! Or Penguins. Or Pirates, or Centaurs, or Untouchables, or Greyducks— the list goes on. Most schools have a huge banner hanging in the main entrance, proudly cheering for the sports teams’ common mascot. At Stuyvesant, instead of hanging proudly on a wall, a similar poster would be an awkward list of names, 24 mascots long. Stuyvesant has a plethora of sports teams, and with that an array of different names. Some, like the football team, are the traditional Peglegs, coined after Peter Stuyvesant’s wooden leg. But others have created unique names and mascots, such as Sticky Fingers for Ultimate Frisbee and Runnin’ Rebels for the boys’ basketball team. Sports are meant to unify a school. Students should crowd

together at homecoming games, cheering on their teams, painting their faces, and spelling out support across their stomachs. When the players come to school the next day, there should be some excitement—just like in the movies. This enthusiasm doesn’t exist as strongly (if at all) at Stuyvesant. We’re an academic school, and many students aren’t particularly interested in athletics, but at the same time, everyone should be vested in the school’s success. We should cheer on sports teams with the same energy we put into studying. All of the different names have created some discontinuity within the Stuyvesant community. Academically, the school is a rigorous environment that is full of intense competition, and this is also apparent in our athletics. The competition with other schools is fierce. But within the school, different teams should feel more united. Having so many team names poses a problem for school spirit and solidarity. Our multitude of names creates clear separations between teams, sectioning Stuyvesant into smaller groups. We end up celebrating the successes of one team while forgetting the larger community because

it’s hard keeping up with 24 moving parts. Sophomore Perry Wang, a member of the football and JV baseball teams, corroborates, “Many students don’t know any names of the teams at Stuy besides their own because of how many different teams there are.” Perry raises an important point. Since students may not know all the different names, they have a harder time supporting the entire school. When an individual team wins, it wins in the name of Stuyvesant. So it doesn’t make sense that when people cheer for the Peglegs—their cheers only support our football team. Team names and school spirit should reflect this. One way to create more unity would be for Stuyvesant’s teams to all adopt the same name.

Kristin Lin/ The Spectator

The best choice would be the Peglegs, Stuyvesant’s traditional mascot. Just this year, boys’ baseball coach John Carlesi changed the team name from Hitmen to Peglegs. When asked why, he said, “even though each team is individual, you are still playing for the school. You’re not playing for a team name, but for Stuyvesant.” The name on each jersey should represent who you play for. When our athletes go out on the field, we would know that they are playing for more than just their team. Under a single name, students would be supporting Stuyvesant as a whole and the success of its sports teams, something everyb o d y would have in common. We could root for Stuyvesant. This wouldn’t be something radical. In fact, Coach Carlesi added, “I think Stuyvesant is the only school in the city without a single name.” Most schools, whether it is a high school or a college, have a single, allencompassing name. Harvard’s teams, for instance, are called the Crimson, Yale’s teams are

called the Bulldogs, and all of Brooklyn Tech’s teams are called the Engineers. Changing our team names to the Peglegs wouldn’t be diminish each team’s background, but would instead add to it. The history, community, and support of Stuyvesant would be behind every team, not just in spirit, but also in name.

We’re all part of the same school, and it’s only fitting that we cheer for the same team: the Peglegs.

We’re all part of the same school, and it’s only fitting that we cheer for the same team: the Peglegs. Stuyvesant is a big community, and it’s about time we started acting like one. We’re over three thousand strong, and our sports teams should feel every ounce of support we can offer.

Jensen Foerster / The Spectator

Coffee Coffee Buzz Kill

By Stephen Nyarko Murky operations in third world countries are generally reserved for the plots of spy thrillers and the actions of the Department of Defense, but recently coffee has emerged as the precious item hoodwinking Starbucks dogooders. The guilty party is an organization known as Fair Trade USA, whose stated goal is to create a system that allows for farmers to receive “a fair price for their harvest, helps workers create safe working conditions, provides a decent living wage and guarantees the right to organize.” Fair Trade operates by establishing, inspecting, and evaluating the economic and social value of small farmers in the developing world in order to give them certification to sell their product as “Fair Trade” produce. Fair Tradecertified products, like coffee and sugar, are attractive for two main reasons: first, that they are of higher quality; second, that customers enable the financial support of poor farmers by paying more for these goods, which should translate to more profits for the grower. However, while the social, economic, and moral benefits of equitable trade cannot be understated, the model of a non-

transparent third party review of products simply isn’t one that yields the professed results, either in practice or in theory. The principal issue with Fair Trade is that it only perpetuates and expands wealth inequality at the very bottom of the economic ladder. While all farmers Fair Trade works with are poor, and deserving of the aid Fair Trade USA is providing, some need it more than others. However, these groups are systematically prevented from reaping the benefits of Fair Trade deals. There are two primary groups that do not benefit from the Fair Trade System: startup farmers, who have yet to set up an incomegenerating process, and migrant laborers, who commonly work on farms but have no ownership of the land itself. Both of these groups lack accumulated wealth and assets, which is a trait that compounds over time; more wealth at early stages means more profits, which leads to more wealth. Because of the Fair Trade system, the wealth gap currently present in farming communities in the developing world will continue to

complete these payments, their product can no longer be labeled “Fair Trade.” For startup farmers, the price of initial certification is often too high for them to procure without a stable income-generating process already set up. For instance, a Fair Trade spice and nut farmer in Kerala, India, cites 3,000 dollars as his monthly rate to continue in the program. A young farmer with a newly acquired plot of land has no way of procuring the necessary funds to get this certification, especially when you factor in the cost of starting a farm and caring for a family. Thus, the high prices of certification bar even the most entrepreneurial of young farmers and prevent economic mobility for these groups. But it’s not even clear that farmers who can afford to be part of the exclusive club that is Fair Trade are being justly rewarded for it. A study from the Southern Agricultural Economics association found that consumers were willing to spend a whopping 22 percent more for coffee when it was Fair Trade certified.

Fair Trade USA allows for farmers to receive “a fair price for their harvest, helps workers create safe working conditions, provides a decent living wage and guarantees the right to organize.”

widen, not shrink. Fair Trade’s main source of revenue is through certification fees paid by farmers to get their product inspected and approved as Free Trade. If the farmer fails to

If I bought a cup of coffee for almost half a dollar more, I would want to know where my money was going. However, as Dennis Macray, former director of global sustainability at Starbucks Cof-

fee Co., reports, Fair Trade isn’t able to give reliable responses to that question. Estimates from Fair Trade affiliates cite around 50 percent of the added price as going to the farmers themselves, but other researchers have said this figure is

tivities cannot and should not be relied upon. Instead, the burden of supervision should be put to the United States government, to ensure that Fair Trade acts ethically. Further, the large companies that use Fair Trade must

Because of the Fair Trade system, the wealth gap currently present in farming communities in the developing world will continue to widen, not shrink.

closer to zero. The rest of the money either goes to the retailer, like Starbucks, or to Fair Trade through the regular certification fees. In either case, the lack of transparency is an issue of its own, both within Fair Trade and in the companies that use their products. Fair Trade’s annual report is conspicuously lacking in large data sets, which they should be able to share with ease, instead relying upon personal anecdotes to attest to the viability of the program. While I’m sure that individual farmers do indeed benefit, the absence of accountability for Fair Trade’s aggregate actions in the world prevents an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the company in order to shape it for the better. As this becomes a greater and greater issue, Fair Trade USA is going to have to make some structural changes, which should focus on increased transparency in its business practices. Governments of impoverished countries in which Fair Trade operates are often too focused on basic issues like infrastructure and revenue, so their regulation of Fair Trade’s ac-

be just as transparent about the implications of purchasing their products, potentially by asking Fair Trade for more of its data. They could also establish their own networks of verification, like Starbucks’ C.A.F.E. program, which would ensure a more direct relationship between consumers and the farmers Fair Trade reaches out to. Many American corporations rely on cheap production in developing countries, and Fair Trade’s existence and ostensible purpose serve to inhibit exploitation. However, when third parties are put in charge of ensuring ethical conduct, whether it be Fair Trade, The Non-GMO Project, or Carbon Offset programs, we need to be more cautious. Because they lack the transparency and accountability that come with governmental initiatives, their legitimacy should not be taken for granted. As we move forward to address labeling initiatives like Fair Trade, we must think about whether they are actually providing us with more information, or if they are simply obscuring the picture even more.

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Page 11

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Arts and Entertainment Your Guide to Astoria, Queens By Zovinar Khriman Nestled in the northwestern corner of Queens, Astoria is a bustling neighborhood that boasts unparalleled cultural diversity, a growing arts scene, and great ethnic cuisine. Encompassing some of the best elements of Queens all in one accessible location, the neighborhood is criss-crossed with easy-to-navigate restaurant-lined avenues and delightful residential streets.

How It All Started

Shaikat Islam / The Spectator

In its earliest days, Astoria was known as Hallet’s Cove, after its first landowner, William Hallet. At this time, the area was still considered to be a part of Long Island, and it remained relatively underdeveloped until the 1800s, when it became a retreat for members of Manhattan’s elite. Soon, the neighborhood’s name was changed to “Astoria” to honor the wealthiest man in America at the time, John Jacob Astor. Astor invested a small sum into the neighborhood as it was picking up speed but, ironically, never actually set foot in the area. The second half of the 19th century was an era of industrial growth that impacted the neighborhood, as it did the rest of New York City. An influx of German immigrants helped establish a furniture- and cabinet-making industry in the area. One of the most famous of these German newcomers was Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg, whose family established the piano-making company, Steinway & Sons. Even today, a short stroll down Steinway Street will yield a view of more than half a dozen furniture and fixture showrooms, bringing the legacy of Astoria’s commercial success to the present. Another chapter in Astoria’s history is the rise of the film industry. Astoria played as large a role in the beginning of film as it does in today’s industry. The cultural landmark, Kaufman Astoria Studios, was where classic films like “The Wiz” (1978) and “Goodfellas” (1990) were made, and is still a frequented location for the production crews of many New York-based television shows and movies. Spending the day in Astoria is an excellent way to experience the cultural diversity of Queens without going too deep into the borough. Walking through Astoria and savoring all it has to offer is like biting into a many layered cake, as there are more dimensions to it than can be seen from the outside, or across the river in Manhattan. Bottling up the city is impossible—there are too many unforgettable locations that often go unnoticed. Starting an adventure in Astoria is a great way to take a stab at enjoying the outer boroughs.

Where to Eat

What to do

Deciding where to eat in Astoria is like being a kid in a candy store—the choices are exceedingly colorful and overwhelmingly abundant. There are key locations essential for any first time visitor, but several trips are required to taste the full array of Astoria’s culinary gems. Making rounds at Astoria’s landmark establishments is a safe way to explore its restaurant scene. Omonia Café is one of the most famous locations in the area. With just a peek into the window, you will see the cases of decadent desserts, include the Greek favorite, baklava. At the northern end of Astoria, you will be able to satisfy the rest of your Greek food fix at Taverna Kyclades. It is essential that you bring your appetite—and your companions too—because the portions are heaping. The seafood here, from grilled calamari to mahi-mahi, is considered to be among the best in the city. The prices, too, are remarkably reasonable, especially if you split entrees up among multiple people. The heart of Astoria’s restaurant scene is 30th Avenue. On the western end of the vibrant avenue is a place called Seva Indian Cuisine. Although tiny and tucked away, Seva is your best bet for excellent Indian food in a cozy setting. Though it may just have dim lighting and a few small tables, Seva serves rich food that fits the atmosphere well. Seva, however, is fairly expensive, and if you’re looking for something cheaper, food trucks are your best option. With luck, you may be able to find King of Falafel and Shawarma on Broadway. However, this is not your run-of-the-mill falafel cart. In fact, it’s so authentic that even food cart skeptics will be impressed by the quality and taste produced at this fine establishment.

The presence of the film industry in Astoria has had an impact in the present, as can been seen on 35th Avenue, where Kaufman Astoria Studios stands next to The Museum of the Moving Image. This exciting and interactive museum is small, but exhibits an array of film- and television-related presentations—ranging from iconic costumes and antiquated video cameras to vintage video games and a voiceover booth. The museum explores the film industry’s history and gives visitors the ability to interact with the production elements of the movies we know and love. If you seek more relaxing way to experience the arts, the Noguchi Museum is for you. Featuring the work of Japanese-American sculptor Isamu Noguchi, the museum, with its still stone walls and peaceful outdoor Zen gardens, gives off the utmost sense of tranquility. Nearby, the Socrates Sculpture Park offers a slightly different environment that allows you to walk amongst works of art alongside the East River. If you’re looking for stunning views and a spot for an afternoon picnic, the spacious green lawns of Astoria Park are just the place. While the park is quite a walk from the nearest N/Q subway station, a trip there is worth the stroll. Notable Figures from Astoria Jazz singer Tony Bennett Former Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante Actor David Schwimmer (Largely known for playing Ross on “Friends”) Actor Christopher Walken

iN popular culture

A majority of “Illinoise,” the album by Sufjan Stevens, was recorded at The Buddy Project Recording Studio. In the videogame, “Grand Theft Auto IV,” a fake neighborhood named, “Steinway” is modeled after Astoria. A police officer pulls over Jay Gatsby in Astoria in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.”

Spending the day in Astoria is an excellent way to experience the cultural diversity of Queens without going too deep into the borough. Walking through Astoria and savoring all it has to offer is like biting into a many layered cake, as there are more dimensions to it than can be seen from the outside, or across the river in Manhattan. Bottling up the city is impossible—there are too many unforgettable locations that often go unnoticed. Starting an adventure in Astoria is a great way to take a stab at enjoying the outer boroughs.

Shaikat Islam / The Spectator

Television shows, like “Seinfeld” and “Orange is the New Black,” that use New York City as a backdrop are frequently filmed in Astoria.

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Page 15

Arts and Entertainment Loving Oneself

“We went for coffee, and after... I kissed him. And it was the strangest thing. It was like kissing myself.” This is how Gerda Wegener (Alicia Vikander) describes her first kiss with her now-husband, Einar Wegener (Eddie Redmayne). Gerda’s innocent confession foreshadows the ultimate dilemma in Tom Hooper’s “The Danish Girl.” Loosely based on David Ebershoff’s book of the same name, the film follows the true story of a transgender pioneer and her marriage as she discovers her identity. The film starts off with a simple game played by an adventurous couple—when Einar refuses to go to a party, Gerda convinces him that they can make it more fun by dressing Einar up as a woman and introducing him to people as Lili, his cousin visiting from out of town. However, this reawakens feelings in Einar, feelings that he grapples with for the majority of the film. Throughout it all, Gerda stays by his side, as Lili’s close friend and Einar’s wife, while she tries to come to terms with her own feelings about Einar’s change. Hooper manages to tackle such a complicated issue with poise. He pays extreme attention to detail in the film. In one of the first scenes, Einar enters the dance studio of his close friend Ulla and runs his hands delicately along a rack of clothes. He carefully examines the tulle on the leotards suspended around him. Later on, when Ulla is late for modeling for Gerda’s painting, Gerda asks Einar to put on some

tights and shoes, and pose for her. Hooper makes an entire scene out of him simply observing the light fabric of the tights and enjoying the sensation of it against his legs. Gerda then convinces a reluctant Einar also to pose with the dress on him, and the mix of emotions in Einar is obvious—the thrill and enjoyment he gets, as well as his attempts not to let his emotions register on his face. This is the scene in which the Lili in Einar is awakened. A few minutes later, Ulla appears, laughs at Einar in the tights and ballet shoes, and jokingly calls him “Lili.” Redmayne superbly portrays the confused Einar who goes through major physical and emotional transformations to realize her identity. Redmayne has already garnered huge praise—and an Oscar—for his role as Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything,” and he takes his acting a step further by taking on the challenge of portraying Lili. Never once does one doubt Redmayne’s portrayal of Lili; he embodies Lili, managing to catch every little detail in the character. Most of his best scenes involve less dialogue or narrative, and more small movements—the glints in eyes and quivering breaths that speak louder about Einar’s/Lili’s feelings than words. Vikander parallels Redmayne in her portrayal of someone who struggles with bidding farewell to her husband, Einar, and accepting the woman he becomes, Lili. The movie is just as much about Gerda and their enduring marriage as it is about Lili. The film follows Gerda around so much that it feels as if the story is told from Gerda’s perspective. A recurring scene involves Gerda coming

Adil Kabir / The Spectator

Looking out to a full house, the presidents proudly introduced themselves and thanked the audience for coming. This was the first year that Stuy Squad tickets had sold out—with all of the proceeds directly donated to the White Helmets, an organization of first responders to the Syrian relief cause. As the sophomore MCs Sophia Heo, Annie Lee, and Amy Ren cracked their first joke of the night and introduced modern, the show began. Three new crews were introduced this year: Modern, Tap, and K-Pop Retro. Modern, directed by juniors Enver Ramadani and Nadia Filanovsky, started off the choreography with “Off the Rails” by Notwist. They fused their graceful moves with powerful ones, and the natural mix of the two created a distinct choreography that straddled the line between modern and contemporary. Performing with expertise, the crew hardly showed signs of being a new group. Bollywood, led by junior Aronno

is more about the relationship between Einar/Lili and Gerda than about Einar’s transformation. For this reason, the film has been criticized for its insincere take on the deeply personal story of a transgender individual. The transgender hook is just a vehicle to talk about a cisgender woman. Hooper’s film is a little too melodramatic to do such a poignant story justice. While emotional, “The Danish Girl” would have benefitted from more raw and authentic emotion. Though Redmayne and Vikander perfectly act out the roles that Hooper and screenwriter Lucinda Coxon envisioned, the result is too perfectly crafted. The delivery of the story

doesn’t reflect the messy emotions of real life, where everything isn’t always pretty. That is not to say the film is not moving and emotional in its own way; it only feels as if “The Danish Girl” were a missed opportunity to create a film that could help people better understand the emotions and conflicts that accompany an individual’s transition. This is especially important in this day and age, as the transgender population has begun to gain more exposure in pop culture—such as with Caitlyn Jenner’s coming out and television series like “Transparent”— and in everyday life.

Stuy Squad Review

event

By Sunjay Lee

home from running errands and getting surprised by Lili, not Einar, waiting for her. An overarching theme of the film is Lili learning how to act like a woman, observing the subtle gestures and motions of women around her, and we watch Lili create a persona for herself. One of the most memorable scenes occurs when Einar visits the dance studio by himself and begins to undress himself. He stares at his masculine body in the mirror and tries to make it appear more feminine—pushing his chest together to make it appear as if he has breasts. Einar then takes off his pants and tucks his penis between his legs so that he takes on the full female physique. Most directors wouldn’t dare to show past the hips, but Hooper decided to take this risk. Hooper’s decision turned out to become one of the more gratifying aspects of the film, as the rest of it isn’t especially innovative in terms of both the directing and the cinematography. The movie looks like any other period drama, almost a little too polished. The directing may be subpar, but the subject matter and the acting salvage the film. The title of the film is, “The Danish Girl,” and at first glance, it is easy to assume that Lili is the Danish girl. However, about halfway through the film, that assumption changes. Gerda goes to visit Einar’s childhood friend, Hans, and waits for him at his office as he takes a call. Hans ends the call by saying, “I’ve got a Danish girl waiting for me,” referring to Gerda. This seems to imply that Gerda is the namesake of the film and, therefore, its main character. This ambiguity takes attention away from the story, which already

Shafi and senior Vyshnavi Parthipan, wore vivid blue skirts and ornate jewelry that embellished the choreography. Bollywood choreography traditionally stems from Indian folk dances but recently has been infused with Western styles. The audience was given a glimpse into the fun, energetic choreography often performed by large troupes in Bollywood films. Tap, despite having lots of potential as a new group, was weaker than expected. The small number of people awkwardly danced to Ariana Grande’s “The Way,” which overpowered the tap sounds. Nevertheless, sophomore directors Leila Storkamp and Maiko Sei still have two more years to expand Tap to better make use of the stage. K-Pop Retro, directed by senior Jessie Chen, started off with “Mr. Ambiguous” by Mamamoo, which precisely exuded the retro feel. As the girls went on to perform Girls’ Generation’s “Lion Heart,” however, their choreography did not always match the retro theme. The group did manage to bring back the ‘90s retro vibes, however, with

“Honey” by JYP. Following K-Pop retro, senior Regina Weng led Girls’ K-Pop in their effortless performances of “I’ll Be There” by SPICA and “OOHAHH” by TWICE. The highlight of the performance was “Mr. Chu” by APink, in which some of the members from Boys’ Hip Hop joined the girls on stage. The adorable choreography evoked endless cheers from the crowd. Co-ed K-Pop, led by junior Vivian Chen, performed more powerful K-Pop choreographies, dancing to “I Need You” and “We are Bulletproof” by BTS. Dancing in synchrony to the difficult BTS choreography, the group radiated with charisma. One of the most surprising performances was by Girls’ HipHop C, led by sophomores Wenxuan (Queenie) Xiang and Shaney Hwang. Despite just being sophomores, the girls showcased impressive choreographies. Though there were awkward and empty transitions, the crowd went wild at the choreography for “Okey Dokey” by MINO, where the girls gave off a vigorous performance through their locking moves. Girls’ Hip-Hop B, started their performance with aggressive moves, but did not maintain the power. Directors junior Caroline Koo and senior Anna Mei continued the trend of staying away from the girly choreographies in past Stuy Squad shows. For their last choreography with “Yonce” by Beyonce, they fluidly did body rolls that brought out cheers from the audience. The girls grooved along to the beat of the song with suave moves, finishing the performance strong. Undoubtedly one of the most anticipated groups of the night, Girls’ Hip-Hop A showcased the

versatility of hip-hop. Seniors Bonnie Fan, Rebecca You, and Jiwon (Jamie) Baek’s five-minute set went smoothly and without any major mistakes. Baek’s powerful “wacking” choreography roused the audience as the girls moved with near-perfect synchronization in their formations. Ending the performance with two hearts made with their arms, the girls set the bar high for future Girls’ Hip-Hop crews, showing that they can do much more than hair-flipping and stunt-filled dance moves. Boys’ Hip-Hop C, led by senior directors Andrew Liang, Ivan Szeto , and Brian Wong, showed surprising synchronization. Though the choreography initially started with small, unimpressive moves, the boys later filled the stage with bigger moves. Wong and Liang’s mellow choreographies quickly took a turn when “Still In This” by B.O.B came on, and the dancers moved into a more aggressive choreography. Directed by sophomore Peter Lee, juniors Muhammad Rivaldo and Tony Zheng, and senior Clement Chung, Boys’ Hip-Hop B also performed a packed, five-minute

long set. Though there were some awkward transitions, the choreography to “Hotline Bling” by Drake, incorporated with some of Drake’s own moves, added a witty twist to the otherwise mellow choreography. The boys turned it around when “Go Harder” by Wayne Marshall came on, adding more powerful moves and ending it with a bang. Led by seniors Andy Ruan, John Wen, Jordan Zhou, and Sorato Doken, Boys’ Hip-Hop A delivered a seven-minute long set, and they did not disappoint. Showing off a wide range of hip-hop moves, the boys brought out some of the biggest cheers in the audience as they filled the entire stage with their compelling performance. The surprising synchronization, often difficult for hip-hop groups due to their large size, was definitely one of the highlights of their performance. This year’s Stuy Squad brought out the biggest audience, and, needless to say, put on one of the best shows. The end of the show set new standards for this year’s SING! as the crowd left the auditorium in awe.

Adil Kabir / The Spectator

By Nusheen Ghaemi

Anika Hashem / The Spectator

FILM

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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Arts and Entertainment The Museum of Feelings: Nothing More Than a Cool Advertisement By Victoria Huang

Located on Vesey Street near Brookfield Place, “The Museum of Feelings” received a lot of buzz before its opening on November 24, but since it closed on December 15, it has not received much positive attention. Its alleged mission was to embody emotions and transform them into art in five rooms, each dedicated to communicating a single feeling by asking viewers to make use of their five senses. In reality, however, it was an elaborate ad campaign put together by Glade, an air freshener brand, to promote their newest scents, each of which was featured in one room. While the going to the museum was not an intensely emotional experience, it was pretty cool—cool enough to inspire a spread detailing each room’s interpretation of its assigned feeling.

Joyful

Optimistic

Smell: Glade® Balsam & Fir Limited Edition Winter Collection Sight: Hundreds of neon green LED lights, 3D-glasses-enhanced forest scenery, glowing lanterns Sound: Soft, mellow music Touch: Vine-like tubes draping from the ceiling This room was rather calming, and it looked like the depths of a mighty jungle. It was filled with more commotion than joy due to overcrowding.

Smell: Glade® Radiant Berries Sight: A triangle in the center that reflected multicolored disco lights onto the purple walls Sound: Upbeat pop songs Stepping into this room was like stepping into a disco club in the 1970s. The bright colors and bouncy beats invited visitors to toss their heads back and laugh heartily.

Exhilarated

Invigoration

Smell: Glade® Blooming Peony & Cherry™ Sight: A kaleidoscope of mirrors enhanced with a pink glow, flowery patterns on the mirrors Being in this room felt like being in a tiny, crowded cave surrounded by hundreds of reflections. It offered more mirror selfie opportunities than feelings of exhilaration.

Smell: Glade® Blue Odyssey™ Sight: Rainbow rings on the floor created in response to the movements of museumgoers’ feet, blue lights projected onto the white walls Strangers laughed and grasped onto other strangers as they tried to steady themselves after twirling around for so long. The room was a big, happy bundle of energy. While some visitors exited the room feeling invigorated, others just felt dizzy.

Calm Smell: Glade® Lavender & Vanilla Sight: Small semi-circular room swallowed by mist Sound: Soft, soothing, lullaby-like background music Touch: Cushiony ground that created a sinking feeling, like walking on a cloud; sticky walls The last room was clearly one of the exhibit’s highlights. The environment was soothing, but the mist resulted in slight light-headedness.

At the end of the exhibit, there were candles with Glade’s promoted scents on sale—a reminder that the entire exhibit was simply an elaborate advertisement. The exhibit lasted an underwhelming 20 minutes, and was not worth the four-hour wait. It was a sight to see, but not emotionally significant.

playlist

The wedding reception, which was being held (at/in) _____________ (place), was abuzz with friendly conversation. Mike and his significant other, (the) _____________ (person) were so excited to finally be getting married. The pair had been dating for a(n) _____________ (adjective) _____________ (number) years. Building up the courage to propose was the hardest part. First, Mike went to his best buddy, _____________ (another person). His/her advice was, “_____________ (command).” Mike found this advice wholly unsatisfying, so he asked his mom. She recommended that Mike give her (a(n)) _____________ (noun), but Mike wasn’t so sure he could afford it. He then asked his grandma, but she wasn’t so helpful. She was just kind of like, “_____________ (random exclamation)!” and then she complained that Mike’s prospective spouse was too _____________ (another adjective). So Mike decided to propose to him/her (at/ in) _____________ (another place). If you read the beginning of this story, you know it worked pretty well.

Mike and the Mad Lib Nouns “Buttered Popcorn” The Supremes R&B

Commands “Get Up Offa That Thing” James Brown Funk

Places “At the Zoo”

“Flash Light” Parliament Funk

“Oye Como Va” Tito Puente Afro-Cuban jazz

“Spanish Harlem” The Mamas and the Papas Classic rock

“Tiger Phone Card” Dengue Fever Alternative rock

“Fight the Power” Public Enemy Rap

“At A Georgia Camp Meeting” Milt Hearth Trio

“Money (That’s What I Want)” Barrett Strong R&B

“Look Down” “Les Miserables” Cast Soundtrack

Adjectives “Plump” Hole Alternative rock

People “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot” Vera Lynn Holiday

“Misty” Etta James Vocal jazz “Quiet” “Candide” Cast Soundtrack “Spooky” Dusty Springfield Pop

“The Girl From Ipanema” Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto Bossa nova “The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo” Charles Coborn Music hall “The New Lobby Boy” Alexandre Desplat

Soundtrack

“The Forest” José Gonzáles Indie Rock Random Exclamations “To the Workers of the Rock River Valley Region, I Have an Idea Concerning Your Predicament, and It Involves an Inner Tube, Bath Mats, and 21 Able-Bodied Men” Sufjan Stevens Indie rock “I Am a Rock” Simon and Garfunkel Folk rock “I Can’t Dance I Got Ants In My Pants” Clarence Williams Ragtime

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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Arts and Entertainment Get a Life: The Cultured Edition

calendar ONGOING “Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater”

THROUGH 1/10

City Center Dance

1/10/2016

“For a New World to Come: Ex- “A Quartet of Charles Chaplin Films” Screening periments in Japanese Art and MoMA Film Photography, 1968–1979” Film Japan Society Art

“Company XIV” Minetta Lane Theater

JANUARY

Dance “Drop Dead Perfect” Theater at St. Clements Theater

1/13/2016

1/03/2016

“Gil Batle: ‘Hatched in Prison’” Ricco Maresca Art

“Don Quixote” (1933) Screening MoMA Film Film

“Hoodies for Hanukkah with Kosha Dillz” Mercury Lounge Music Sleater-Kinney Concert Terminal 5 Music

“Martin Wong: Human Instamatic” Bronx Museum of the Arts

Savor Your Streaming

Music By Matteo Wong It’s three o’clock in the morning. I finished the finale around two, but I can’t go to sleep. I’ve been scavenging Netflix for an hour, feeling sad and purposeless. I desperately need to find a show to fill the gaping hole in my heart left by “Friday Night Lights.” Without new episodes to watch, how will I procrastinate? After binge-watching a series, most people expect to be satisfied. But usually, a void opens up in place of your favorite show. You feel lost, unsure of how to spend your time. Maybe read a book? No, that’s absurd. You need a TV show. But it feels like there will never be another series as thrilling as the one you’ve just finished.

As tempting as binge-watching may be, savoring a series is much more gratifying than burning through it in a few sittings. Each episode is enjoyable on its own, and after a stressful night of studying, watching an episode of a show is a great way to wind down. Waiting for an episode of any show, then finally watching it, creates enormous satisfaction and joy. Anticipation builds and builds, then dissipates, leaving behind a state of bliss. But this state of bliss is fragile and becomes a state of dissatisfaction if you follow one episode with many more. Sometimes, however, it’s difficult to resist watching another episode, and then another, and another. The suspense can be frustrating. On occasion, everybody gives in to the urge to binge an entire season

of their favorite show. You crave to find out how the latest plot twist will resolve itself, and only the next installment can satisfy your appetite. However, this craving doesn’t call for watching an entire season. In fact, binge-watching ruins the experience of watching TV. Instead of appreciating each episode individually, they all blur together into a marathon of sounds and images. After watching the last season of “Friday Night Lights” in a matter of days, it became monotonous, like a long, boring movie that I desperately wanted to finish. Instead of enjoying the show, I was just going through the mindless motions of watching. The depth and suspense ceased to matter. And the sense of accomplishment I had when I sat down to start

crossword

the first episode of my binge—that I’d waited all day to sink back into my couch, relax, and find out how the plot would unravel—was greatly diminished. Instead, I regretted ‘wasting’ a season’s worth of television in three hours. The relaxation granted by each episode vanished, replaced by an insatiable need to know how the show would end. But I’ve learned my lesson, and with other shows I limit myself to an episode per sitting. Streaming TV is similar to eating Halloween candy. Most kids scarf their sweets down within a week. But a few, like myself as a child, choose to savor the candy, spreading it out over several months. Each night, I would have just one piece, starting with the ones I disliked and ending with a bag full of KitKats and Reese’s Cups, my favor-

ites. Each night, and each piece of candy, was more delicious than the one before. The problem, of course, was that by Christmas I’d only have eaten half my candy, and my parents would throw the rest away. Every year ended in the same scene: I’d cry a river, wishing I’d finished my candy. Thankfully, TV shows don’t go bad, and your parents can’t throw them out. Streaming services make them perfect for saving—you can always watch a little bit now and a little more tomorrow. Why devour your sweets in one sitting if you’ll just wake up with a stomachache the next day? Spread it out—not only will you not feel ill, the candy (metaphorical or not) will taste better every time.

Happy Holidaze

There is a lot of nostalgia surrounding the holidays, which makes the days leading up to them and the days after filled with gooey feelings. However, the holidays themselves, thanks to bickering relatives and the bitter cold, never end up being as fun as we all expect them to be. That’s why it’s so much fun to reminisce.

ACROSS 1. Hanukkah’s version of Santa 3. Festival of ______ 7. “Love, ______” 10. Alternative singer-songwriter who has put out two four-disc Christmas albums 11. What color should Christmas be? 12. This holiday isn’t as popular as people assume it is 15. “Put on your ______, here comes Hanukkah!” 17. For the rest of us! 18. Santa’s race, according to Akim

DOWN 2. “The ______ Snowman” 4. “It’s a ______ world in the winter” 5. The original Grinch 6. “A Very ______ Christmas,” new Netflix special 8. All Mariah wants for Christmas 9. “Christmas” in Spanish (If you’re stuck, think about a certain song by Jose Feliciano.) 11. “It’s A ______ Life” 13. ______ Heights, NYC neighborhood famed for its elaborate Christmas decorations 14. He stole Christmas! 16. Wrote the music for “A Charlie Brown Christmas” 19. Women’s name, and a Christmas song at Christmastime

Answers for Issue 7 YEEZUS STICK COLLEGE CHEVRON LANYARD GLOBE LEGENDS SUMMERSTAGE SMORGASBURG WHITNEY HAMILTON TRUMP TRAINWRECK KNITTING NETFLIX SNOWDAYS LOUVRE CRAVEN

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Arts and Entertainment New Year’s Resolutions: The Cultured Edition By Danielle Eisenman I have never given up on New Year’s Resolutions, despite how redundant they have become. There just doesn’t seem to be any point in vowing to exercise, or eat healthier, or sleep more. I know that I’ll always prefer binge-watching TV to lifting weights, strawberry wafer cookies to actual strawberries. And that last goal—sleeping more—I mean, who am I kidding? Because trying to live a healthier life is out of the question, I’ve decided to stick to encouraging myself to enhance my existence with arts and entertainment. As highand-mighty as that may sound, it just seems a bit silly to live blandly when there are all sorts of potentially enjoyable things out there waiting to be experienced. I challenge you (and myself ) to make 2016 as nauseatingly cultured as possible.

See movies at MoMA Film while they’re still free

Tired of shelling out 14 bucks every time you want to watch a movie on a slightly bigger screen in a room that is slightly chillier and slightly darker than your living room? If you’re 16 or under, you can do this for free at MoMA Film.

Read books - other than the ones you have to for English class.

Hypothetical Reading List: Cool Books that Came Out in 2015 Consider going on a historical walking tour You don’t have to do it, but you might as well consider it.

Put together a soundtrack for your very own posthumous biopic. (Note: Operate under the assumption that you will be important enough to have a movie made about you after you die.)

Hypothetical Soundtrack for Posthumous Biopic, Episode 1: “A Day in the Life”

“Modern Romance” by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg “Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girl: A Memoir” by Carrie Brownstein “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates “Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things” by Jenny Lawson “Go Set a Watchman” by Harper Lee

Believe it or not, these exist in abundance and can be a surprisingly fun way to spend an afternoon. As a bonus, a lot of them have really pretty covers (that are much nicer than the Everbind covers with those awful blurbs written in bolded Times New Roman).

Read a poem. Consider the possibility that you might enjoy it. If reading isn’t your idea of a leisurely pastime, consider slam poetry. It’s much less work.

Getting ready for school - “Look Sharp!” by Joe Jackson Bike ride to school - “Top of World” (Cover) by Shonen Knife School montage - “Sleepwalk” by Santo & Johnny Dinner, Part I - “Mashed Potato Time” by Dee Dee Sharp Dinner, Part II - “Gravy (For My Mashed Potatoes)” by Dee Dee Sharp ...et cetera.

Go to a museum that isn’t the MoMA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, or the Museum of Natural History. It’s actually very fun to walk down the street and listen to music, letting the lyrics of whatever song you’re listening to narrate your life. Imagine a montage of scenes: you sitting on your best friend’s couch while watching the ball drop, you buying brand-new Muji pens to start off 2016 right, you climbing up the Hudson staircase with cheetah-like agility—all while the Breeders’s “New Year” fizzles in the background.

Eat a costly dessert - the kind you have to wait on line for. New York City is one of the foodie capitals of the world, and for a good reason. There are tons of hip and swanky places where you can grab a hip and swanky bite, and a lot of these places specialize in sugar. If you want a dessert like no other, you can get it, though it’ll probably cost you around eight dollars. And it might not even be worth it. But that’s alright, because afterwards, you’ll be able to pass by the Momofuku Milk Bar and impress your friends by saying, “Been there, done that. Honestly, ice cream trucks are better.”

They exist! And you probably didn’t visit them with your fourth grade class, so your visit won’t be flooded with memories of bored kids peeing their pants. The Spectator recommends: The Hispanic Society and The New York Historical Society.

Watch a movie every once in awhile, or anything that’s not the show you’ve been watching over and over again for the past two years

Awesome Stuff on Netflix That’s Not “Gossip Girl”: “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (2013-) “Degrassi: Next Class” (2016-)* “Master of None” (2015-) “Tangerine” (2015) “The Search For General Tso” (2014) *For nostalgia’s sake! If you don’t watch anything besides “Gossip Girl,” it should be no surprise to you that your television-viewing experiences are limited. It’s time to try something new.

See performance art Because why not?

Make your train ride more exciting with podcasts.

This is much more fun than anxiously trying to finish your English reading. There are tons of shows out there that cater to your every desire, and a lot of them have really entertaining sound effects. This is also easier than reading because you can listen to podcasts while you’re switching trains or squished between businessmen on especially-crowded subway cars. The Spectator recommends: Gilmore Guys and Serial.

Joyce Gao / The Spectator

Yujie Fu / The Spectator

Art Carrie Ou / The Spectator

The Spectator â&#x2014;? January 12, 2016 Page 19

Art

Comics

Page 20

The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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

Assistant Principal Brian Moran: Against All Odds By Wasif Zaman STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL — Assistant Principal [official title drastically shortened to resolve layout issues] Brian Moran is not a favorite among students. In fact, an intriguing statistic reveals that 98 percent of Stuyvesant alumni have silently cursed his name while crying themselves to sleep at night. His background in college courses such as “CIA Brainwashing Techniques” and “Intimidating Stares” certainly do not help raise his popularity with students. But a shocking decision that Moran has made will have irrevocable consequences for Stuyvesant: he has decided to resign. He recently sat down to explain the incredibly emotional and poignant reason behind his departure. “I wanna be a pirate,” stated Moran. “I wanna be a pirate really badly.” He explained that his recent decision to sprout facial hair signifies a “hold nothing back” attitude. “It’s been tough,” he said. “For the past week or so I’ve been waking up, looking at myself in the mirror, and scaring myself half to death. Who knew a little

patch of hair could make me unable to recognize myself? But the beard that I intend to grow will definitely give

freshmen urinate on the spot by making eye-contact with him.” He elucidated that the Transcendental values that

“Ignoring the fact that I’m refusing to view Mr. Moran as a real human being with dreams, values, virtues and feelings, I’m refusing to view Mr. Moran as a real human being with dreams, values, virtues and feelings.” —Edward Kenway, sophomore

me the ‘Dumbledore-esque Blackbeard’ vibe I’m shooting for. But hey, you know what they say: men don’t grow beards, beards grow men.” Moran shed some more light on how he discovered his “true path.” “I’m really going for it,” said Moran. “I’ve been reading a lot of Emerson and Thoreau recently. I can clearly remember when I first picked up a copy of ‘Civil Disobedience’—it was after I made a

Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman and “some random thirteenyear-old girl on Tumblr” championed stirred something deep within the confines of his soul. Inspired, he decided to fulfill a childhood dream. He had to become a pirate. “It was pretty surreal. I felt as if this great weight was off my shoulders. I did this thing with my eyes I’ve never done before—water started to leak

Tanumaya Bhowmik / The Spectator

Humor Editor Resigns Over E-mail Scandal

By Daniel Kodsi Humor Editor Winton Yee officially resigned from his position as Humor Editor of the Spectator on December 23, 2015. The resignation came on the heels of a scandal in which Yee was found to have used a private email server instead of the official Humor Department email. Mobbed by reporters, Yee stated at a press conference that he was “deeply sorry,” “regretful,” and many other synonyms that described that he was genuinely apologetic for what he had done, and was “definitely not just bummed I got caught.” During his time as Humor Editor, Yee had used a private e-mail, reallycoolguy98@gmail.com, instead of the official Spectator Humor

out of them. I’m not sure what it was—I’ll have to consult the Biology Department later,” Moran said.

e-mail, for correspondence with members of the Humor Department. Classified ma-

in articles, were sent through this private e-mail. While Yee has reaffirmed that the e-mail server was secure, a number of e-mails sent from his account, including “Hacked!!!!” and “I really enjoy eating pickles; they’re just my favorite vegetable” appear to indicate otherwise. A public committee of teachers and students, headed by Principal Jie Zhang, had been investigating Yee’s use of a private email server for months. Yee had testified in front of the committee previously—at one point for 11 hours in a row—about the secretive nature of a phallus joke email thread. For now, the future of Yee’s career in humor remains in doubt. “I dunno what’s gonna

Yee stated at a press conference that he was “deeply sorry,” “regretful,” and many other synonyms that described that he was genuinely apologetic for what he had done, and was “definitely not just bummed I got caught.” terials, such as the latest escalator jokes and information about negotiations with Assistant Principal Brian Moran concerning his appearance

happen,” said Yee at his press conference. “But I’m gonna be a second term senior soon, so probably not much.”

To say that the news befuddled students and administrators would be an understatement. In fact, many articles from The Spectator have attempted to address this “coming out,” sporting headlines such as “Wtf?” or “yo, seriously, wtf?”. Students have voiced their confusion over Moran’s decision. “Ignoring the fact that I’m refusing to view Mr. Moran as a real human being

with dreams, values, virtues and feelings, I’m refusing to view Mr. Moran as a real human being with dreams, values, virtues and feelings,” remarked sophomore Edward Kenway. “This guy isn’t a real person. He’s a robot. He deserves to get silently berated by us ruthless students even though he’s just doing his job. In fact, do you know why drinks aren’t allowed in the building? He’s afraid that you might toss liquid onto him and mess with the circuitry inside him.” Moran remains undeterred and resolute despite all the controversy. “I’ve already begun preparations,” he said. “I still have to choose my pirate name. I’m stuck between ‘Scabby Stubble’ and ‘Bad Balder.’ I also still have to obtain a ship pretty soon, because I’m thinking of departing on the Hudson River right before Christmas, leaving the only place I’ve ever called home behind. But on the bright side, I’ve already got an eye patch and I’ve been working on my gruff Cockney accent. I also have been doing pretty well in Ms. Choy’s Swim Gym Class.”

Homecoming II Renamed Homecoming III after 50 Percent Increase in Ticket Sales By Randolph Higgins STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL – After an unexpected spike in ticket sales, the widely announced party, Homecoming II, has been renamed Homecoming III to more accurately reflect the number of people who will be attending. Senior Oleksandr [mashes keyboard], one of the party’s chief promoters, told reporters, “This was totally unexpected. We’ve only rented a medium-sized closet so far, so if there are any more ticket sales, the venue will be at full capacity.” When asked about what could have driven the unexpected sales number, partypromoter Nicola Manfredi was unsure, telling journalists from The Spectator, “We’ve been trying everything to sell tickets: discount pricing, extra discount pricing, begging people to come, but nothing’s been working. One of our sellers had some limited success giving tickets away for free, but I think those people only took them because they were sorry for him. But with these new sales, and enough renovations to the venue, I think we’re well on track to have a party sometime in the mid22nd century.”

Rumors about who bought the tickets and why have spread rapidly, but none have been confirmed. Many students believe that the third ticket was never actually sold, but that its sale is instead part of an elaborate ruse by the event’s promoters to generate more appeal for the party. However, one junior, who asked not to be named, claimed that the ticket had been bought by a socially awkward freshman boy who had confused the party with Homecoming I, or some other legitimate party. The newly renamed Homecoming III is set to be held on February 5 and will look to fix the problems encountered by the first Homecoming party. According to party-promoter and local telephone pole-impersonator Lucien Meroy, “The first Homecoming bombed because everyone showed up and the music system was offline, so this time we’re going to get the music system to work, and have nobody show up. Also, the last sound system broke because someone tripped over the cords. We’re going to eliminate that problem by using a cordless clock radio for all the music—which is also good because Z100 beats our resident DJ.”

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

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The Spectator ● January 12, 2016

Sports Track

Sprinters Shine in Night at the Sprints By Max Onderdonk The spotlight was on the sprinters of the Greyducks, Stuyvesant’s track team, in the Night at the Sprints at the Armory on December 11. After the distance runners finished the cross country season with a championship and continued with a strong start to the indoor season, it was time for the sprinters to show off their abilities. Both the boys and girls had strong performances, and each team did exceptionally in their strongest events. The boys

faced a tough field and didn’t place very high individually, but team members thought the team did very well individually. “We did pretty well, considering most of us [achieved personal records], and we placed in the 4x200-meter relay race,” sophomore Mason Wu said. As Wu mentioned, a particularly notable event for the boys’ team was the 4x200-meter relay. The Greyducks A relay team, consisting of seniors Andy Liang, Winton Yee, Jacob Hoffman, and junior Shan Chowdhury, placed third in the

“As a team, I think we just need to push each other harder and work on individual speed.” —Mason Wu, sophomore

event. Despite their third place finish, Wu believes that there is plenty of room for improvement. “As a team, I think we just need to push each other harder and work on individual speed, [which will make] our relays better,” he said. Senior Jacob Hoffman shared similar views on the team’s goals for the indoor season. “We want to have a great team so we can beat strong Brooklyn teams. To do that we need to be responsible [and work hard] at all times. [We need to] go big or go home,” he said. The boys’ team clearly has the drive and intensity it will take to achieve their goals, so now it’s up to them to put in the work they need to in order to get where they want to be. The girls also had a strong performance, especially from their race walkers, who have consistently placed at the top of their events. Of the top 10 in the 1500-meter race walk during the meet, three were from Stuyvesant. The best performance among all of the Stuyvesant race walkers came from sophomore Ziqi Guo, who finished second overall. “It’s the beginning of the season, and I think we’re off

to a good start. Our goal every race is merely to beat the time of our previous meet,” Guo

Stuyvesant’s runners in other events were mostly quiet. However, sophomore Anya

“[We need to] go big or go home.” —Jacob Hoffman, senior

said. “Many of us have the goal to break eight minutes, and a lot of us are very close to that time.” She also has very high expectations for herself and the other race walkers, and she thinks they can certainly fulfill them through their work ethic. “Our team can go very far. Unlike any other team, Stuy has an enormous race walking team. To excel in city championship we race walk two miles every day and practice at the Armory every Tuesday and Thursday,” Guo said

Wang was happy with the team’s performance. “Overall, I felt like the team did pretty well. A few of our team’s members got medals, so that was great,” she said. Wang finished 14th in the 55-meter high hurdles. Both the boys’ and girls’ teams had strong performances at the Armory, and will look to improve for the rest of the season. Many individuals as well as the teams show a ton of promise, and with their work ethic and determination, they should be able to fulfill their potential.

The Spectator ● January 16, 2016

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Sports Girls’ Gymnastics

Kaia Waxenberg / The Spectator

A Promising Season Ahead for the Felines

After placing fifth in the city last year for the second consecutive time, Stuyvesant’s girls’ gymnastics team, the Felines, are back and motivated for their upcoming season. Their previous record of 4-4 shows that Fiorello H. LaGuardia, third in the city, and the Bronx High School of Science, fourth in the city, are their only legitimate league competition coming into this season. In their two meets against LaGuardia last season, the score for their second meet was much closer than the score for their first, showing improvement for the Felines. The Felines have been practicing for this highly anticipated season before coach Vasken Choubaralian finished coaching his other team, the girls’ varsity volleyball team, the Vixens. To get a head start, they practiced under unideal circumstances. They had

limited practice time because they practiced while the Vixens were in playoffs, and Choubaralian would split his time between them and the Vixens. Sometimes, practice would start after school and then be cut short. Other times, practice would not start until 5 p.m. and would run late. The schedule was unorganized and unpredictable. The gym was not always openly available either, because they share the gymnastics gym with the boys’ gymnastics team, who use slightly different equipment. However, these conditions did not deter the Felines, and many players are optimistic about this season. Senior and co-captain Mindy Kristt said, “Last season was good, but this year it’ll be better.” However, the Felines have obstacles to overcome if they want to fulfill Kristt’s prediction. The Felines lost an asset to the team, former captain Fauna Mahootian

JV Runnin’ Rebels Look to Improve

To say the least, last season’s Runnin’ Rebels—Stuyvesant’s junior varsity (JV) basketball team— was disappointing as they finished with a dismal 1-11 record. However, coach Howard Barbin’s squad looks to improve vastly from last year’s season. Last year’s team struggled on offense, putting up fewer than 40 points in seven of their twelve games. This would not be an especially huge problem, as teams without offensive firepower should be able to make up for it by playing tight defense. However, the Runnin’ Rebels performed as poorly on the defensive end as they did on the offensive, allowing opposing teams to almost score at will through their porous defense. However, this year’s team looks to put all of their previous struggles behind them and start anew. “This year’s team will have to focus on playing much better defense while also cutting down on turnovers,”

“This year’s team will have to focus on playing much better defense while also cutting down on turnovers.” —Howard Barbin, coach Barbin said. Despite their poor record, last year’s team was competitive during many of their games, with mental mistakes being the cause for several losses. Barbin was especially quick to praise his returning sophomores for going to the next level and working hard throughout the offseason on pol-

score [122.500 to Christopher Columbus’s 81.300 and LaGuardia’s 104.500] in recent memory and beat LaGuardia, the team which was ranked third last season,” Stempel said. The Felines’ meet against Christopher Columbus

“Last season was good, but this year it’ll be better.” —Mindy Kristt, senior and co-captain Campus last year ended in a close loss by only 0.4 points. This year, the Felines have come back strong, outperforming Christopher Columbus by five to 15 points in every event. On bars, the Felines scored more than twice as high as Christopher Columbus. Although they did not beat La-

curate or not, the kickoff victory left the Felines with high hopes of the season ahead. “We have a shot at beating Bronx Science this year. We already beat LaGuardia, and LaGuardia and Bronx Science are our biggest competitors,” senior and co-captain Kimberly Chong said.

Boys’ Basketball

Boys’ JV Basketball

By Arya Firoozan

(‘15), who consistently excelled on vault, scoring seven to eight points out of 10. Strong all-rounders, who compete in all four events (floor, beam, bars, and vault), hope to fill this gap. Returning all-rounders include juniors Sonia Epstein and Grace Stempel and sophomore Anna Pacheco. Stempel and Epstein both consistently score seven to eight points on vault, and Pacheco consistently scores seven points. One of the new additions to the team, freshman Lee-Ann Rushlow, shows immense capability and promise as an all-rounder, having competed in gymnastics for several years prior to coming to Stuyvesant. In the kickoff meet of this season against Christopher Columbus Campus and LaGuardia, all her scores were comparable to those of Stempel and Epstein. In fact, she finished with the second-highest all-round score on the team. “We achieved the highest team

ishing their skills. This year’s team already appears to be playing better, even though they lost a scrimmage this year against Franklin Delano Roosevelt High School (FDR) on December 3. Co-captains and sophomores Abraham Rohrig and Nicola Manfredi stepped into starting spots and performed especially well by hustling all game long and running the offense. The game was well within reach, as the two teams were neckin-neck throughout the first twoand-a-half quarters; however, a string of turnovers stemming from bad passes and poor vision in the third quarter allowed FDR to take the lead which they never gave up, winning by only a few points. Another problem that the team had last year was a lack of competent tall players, which made it extremely difficult for the team to rebound properly. They have yet to improve in that area as Barbin resorted to small-ball lineup as his big men were simply neither effective enough in grabbing rebounds, nor were they capable on the offensive end. To the credit of the Runnin’ Rebels, they had heart, and they hung in there until the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Their team was sparked by sophomore Nicholas Kim, who managed to score a couple of three-pointers and was a focal point on offense. Reflecting on the scrimmage, Barbin was satisfied with his team. “JV is an opportunity for our guys to learn how to play properly and we have to be patient as we work on improving the fundamentals,” he said. If the Runnin’ Rebels can play smart basketball, focus on the fundamentals, hustle, and play their hearts out, they should have a few more wins than they did last year. At the very least, this season will allow Barbin to evaluate his freshman talent to make a strong run next year, while getting his sophomores ready for possible varsity play.

Titans Subdue the Rebels

By James Ng

The Runnin’ Rebels lost their fourth consecutive game 64 to 54 to the Bayard Titans on Thursday, December 10. The game proved to be extremely tough for the struggling Rebels, as they never once led the game. The Titans repeatedly exposed the Rebels’ lack of tall players, and the Rebels were unable to make any adjustments. The Rebels looked like a discombobulated unit for the majority of the game, best described by coach Philip Fisher as “a bunch of lost ants,” during a third quarter time-out. Beginning at the starting whistle, the Titans came out with an abundance of energy and hustle that the Rebels were not able to match. On the defensive end, the Rebels struggled to grab rebounds, giving the Titans multiple second chance points. The offense was not much better. The Titans’ full court defense disrupted the Rebel offense, preventing them from even bringing the ball up the court. Turnovers seriously hurt the Rebels; half of the Titan’s first quarter points came off of steals and fast break layups. Although the Titans dominated in practically all aspects, the Rebels only found themselves down by two points at the end of the first quarter, in part due to a late quarter run, which ended with a buzzer beater three-pointer by junior Tobias Lange. It was not until the end of the third and during the fourth quarter where the Rebels began to step it up thanks to the efforts of junior Michael Feinberg. Feinberg had one of his best shooting games, scoring a game high 30 points. His 30-point effort was what kept the Rebels in the game, especially in the final half. Feinberg was able to score in an assortment of ways: beyond the three-point line, right under the basket, and at the foul line. The Rebels cut the Titans’ lead to as little as eight points in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. However, a string of turnovers,

missed free throws, and silly fouls ultimately cost the Rebels the victory. After the game, Feinberg said, “We need more people to contribute on offense. It would be great to have multiple options coming down the court. I played well today, but it is not going to be like this every game. We have good players on the team, but they are going to have to step up in order for us to win games.” The game against Bayard exposed the Rebels’ disorganization as a team. The Titans simply manhandled the Rebels in the first half, and the Rebels failed to respond

until the game was already almost over. The Rebels demonstrated that they are capable of competing with bigger teams with their play in the fourth quarter, but they must learn to play like that consistently. It is crucial for the Rebels to box out and outsmart the other teams if they want to win. Like Feinberg said, the team must find another source on offense. Junior Tobias Lange and seniors Vlad Shapiro and Jeffrey Chen are likely candidates to pick up some of the offense. After answering these problems, the Rebels have the potential to beat more difficult opponents.

Adil Kabir / The Spectator

By Lucy Wang

Guardia by the same large-point difference, a victory over LaGuardia is notable, as it is the team’s first in two years. Balance beam scores gave the Felines a lead over LaGuardia. This event, led by Pacheco with a score of 8.25, had over a seven-point difference of 31.85 to LaGuardia’s 23.70. These scores, as Stempel later suggested, may not reflect the rest of the season. “That was the judge’s first meet, so it’s not really representative of how I’m going to score for the rest of the season. She was giving out very high scores,” Stempel said. For example, last year the Felines’ scores hovered around one hundred, with a season high of 107.05 at Team Championships. In their second meet of this season, the Felines, who were missing several team members, including Rushlow, managed to break 100 with a 102.4, losing to Bronx Science’s 108.45. Whether the scores were ac-

January 12, 2016

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The Spectator SpoRts Boys’ Swimming

CALENDAR

William Bui / Spectator

Pirates Glide Past Evander Childs in First Meet of the Season

Swimmers prepare to dive for the individual 100 yd butterfly.

By islam Elsaid and Dean Steinman

William Bui / Spectator

The Stuyvesant Pirates took to the pool for their first meet of the season against the Evander Childs Campus Tigers on Friday, December 11. However, due to important non-Stuyvesant swimming club meets, several of the team’s upperclassmen were unable to participate, giving the underclassmen an opportunity to step up. And so, they did just that—the Pirates cruised past the Tigers, in a 51-21 victory. In a meet where the Pirates never lost the leads, the win brought to light how prepared the underclassmen were to contribute

and excel against rival teams. Many underclassmen shined throughout the meet, setting personal records. “We were able to discover how fast [freshman] Axel Tolpina is,” senior Brandon Frank said. Tolpina swam a personal best 2:01:63 in the 200-yard freestyle. Fellow freshman Ethan Park also impressed the audience, putting up a cool 2:03:35 in the same event. Sophomore Leon Lai also swam a personal best of 0:53:76 in the 100yard freestyle. “We definitely had a great meet. Several [underclassmen] managed to do their best times,” senior Beck Zhu said. Underclassmen weren’t the

Freshman Ethan Park (right) finished first in the 100 yard butterfly with a finishing time of 1 min 5.60 sec.

only ones showcasing their improvement from last season; senior and co-captain Justin Lin swam a personal record 1:06:76 in the 100yard breaststroke. Another noteworthy performance came from junior Brian Chan, who propelled the 200-yard individual medley relay team to a come-from-behind victory. Chan has established himself as the team’s premier swimmer in butterfly events, posting a best of 0:58:47 in the 100-yard butterfly. “When I was actually swimming the event, I wanted every aspect of my race to be perfect,” Chan said. “I really focused from the beginning to the end for each of the races.” Lin was impressed by the team’s performance for the first meet of the season, especially in the absence of so many key swimmers. “For this meet, many swimmers were away for other big club swim meets. That meant that a lot of the rookies got to step up today,” Lin said. The meet set the Pirates off to a good start but members are still striving to perfect their game both in and out of the pool. “We need more team spirit,” Frank said. “We sort of lacked that [team spirit] because this meet wasn’t the most difficult.” This comes as a surprise as one strength of the Pirates this season seemed to be their team spirit, coming after a disappointing lost in the city championships a year ago to Brooklyn Tech. But it seems the absence of many members of the team during this particular meet is one reason for the dip in enthusiasm, which appears to be just an anomaly. Of the Pirates’ next four opponents, none have sported a record above .500 in the 2014-15 season. However, that’s not to say the Pirates should be getting too comfortable, as they face division rivals Bronx Science and Hunter College High School to close out the season in January. With a deep, talented, roster and key swimmers returning for future meets, the Pirates are planning to roll through the remainder of the season on the journey to a city championship banner.

January

Boys’ Basketball vs. Norman TUESDAY Thomas Norman Thomas H.S. Gym

Girls’ Gymnastics vs. Fiorello H. LaGuardia WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

Girls’ Table Tennis vs. NEST+M

Stuyvesant H.S.

Fiorello H. LaGuardia Gym

Boys’ Table Tennis vs. Jacqueline K. Onassis Inter Careers

FRIDAY

Stuyvesant H.S.

WRAPUP n Tuesday, December 22, the boys’ varsity basketball team, The O Runnin’ Rebels, fell short to Julia Richman Education Complex, 52-49. The Rebels have yet to see a win this season. he girls’ varsity basketball team, The Phoenix, beat Graphics T Campus 51-39 on Wednesday, December 23. The team is undefeated with six wins. he varsity table tennis team beat Far Rockaway Educational T Campus 5-0 on Monday, December 21. The table tennis team swept all opponents in the nine matches they played this season.

How Player Contracts Affect the Success of Your Team By Dean Steinman The 2015 Golden State Warriors is the only team in National Basketball Association (NBA) history to go 24-0. Having eclipsed the previous record for the best start to a season set by the 199394 Houston Rockets (15-0), the defending champions have not only won, but also have done so in grandiose fashion, as the Warriors have won by an average margin of 15 points per game. It comes as no surprise to say that the reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP), Stephen Curry, has been a quintessential part of the Warriors’ success, as he currently averages a league-best of 32.3 points per game. Surely Curry has to be one of the highest paid players in the league, right? The real secret to Golden State’s triumphs is actually how much money Curry isn’t making. Arguably the top player in the NBA, Curry surprisingly does not earn a top-level income; he is the 57th highest paid player in the NBA, earning a salary of $11.4 million this year.

Curry’s low contract gives Golden State the ability to sign other toptier players without retribution. In fact, four other players on Golden State get paid more than Curry. However, in a league with a soft salary cap, where teams are taxed for having a payroll of over the $70 million maximum, the Warriors have one of the highest payrolls in the league at $93 million. Nonetheless, having won their first championship since 1975, the Golden State fans and organization would say that the triumph was well worth the money. On the other hand, Joe Johnson of the Brooklyn Nets is the second highest paid player in the league, earning a whopping $24.9 million a year. The Brooklyn Nets relocated from New Jersey to Brooklyn in 2012, and were willing to go to extreme lengths to encourage new fans to attend games. Hence, the organization signed Joe Johnson, an up-andcoming big name player at the time, hoping he would develop into a superstar. Currently, Johnson scores 11.2 points per game,

good for 104th in the league this season. To say he’s the most overpaid player in the league would be an understatement. His outrageous contract bottlenecks Brooklyn’s production, simply because the organization can’t afford to pay for other big-name players. In addition, the Nets have found no luck in an effort to trade Johnson, as no other team is willing to take on his expensive contract given his production on the court. This caused ticket sales for Nets home games to decline; averaging 14,524 fans in attendance per game in 2015, they rank 28th in NBA attendance this season. Brooklyn has even provided 100 free tickets to eight home games, hoping fans would purchase concessions and team apparel. Nets fans should be relieved, though, upon hearing that Johnson’s contract expires after this season, giving the organization the possibility of acquiring a marquee free agent like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, or Andre Drummond this coming offseason. Only twice in the last ten

years has the regular season MVP been the same as the MVP of the NBA Finals (LeBron James in ’12 and ’13). Teams are increasingly changing their game plan, building a solid deep roster rather than building around one particular player. Take the San Antonio Spurs, for example. Gregg Popovich started coaching the team in 1996. Since the year after his entrance, San Antonio has gone to the playoffs every single season, and won five NBA championships in the process. Popovich has established himself as one of the game’s greatest coaches, having won over 1,000 games in the NBA. Perhaps the most recognizable aspects of a Popovich offense are selflessness and cohesiveness, as his teams have often been praised for having a rapid pace of play due to lots of screens and ball movement. This style of play has been recently been adopted by longtime assistant coach for the Spurs, and now head coach of the Atlanta Hawks, Mike Budenholzer. Having the perfect combination of contract management

and player utilization, he led the team to the best regular season in franchise history a year ago (6022) and even earned the 2014–15 NBA Coach of the Year award. The Hawks sported more 2015 All-Stars than any other team—Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Jeff Teague, and Kyle Korver—yet had a total team salary of $58.3 million, giving them a ludicrous $18 million of cap space. Emerging statistics can now scrutinize every part of a player’s game. Logarithms that calculate “Player Efficiency Rating” and “Net Rating” are often used by organizations to determine each player’s value to the team. These statistics are only a sample of those used to create player projections, which organizations use to determine the monetary value of the contracts offered to each player. There are many ways to build an NBA squad, but contract negotiations between the team executives and the players take a huge part in the formation and the fortune of the team.