The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper
Volume CV No. 9
• On Thursday, February 5, Coordinator of Mathematics and Computer Science Michael Zamansky accidentally drilled into a water pipe while attempting to install a cabinet on the third floor. This caused a leak onto the second floor bridge entrance, preventing students from scanning in as usual. • Stuyvesant students won 110 awards, including 21 Gold Keys, in the 2015 New York City Scholastic Awards. • Nine members of the Stuyvesant Environmental Club won medals for their hours of volunteer service. The club accumulated more than 2,500 hours of volunteering last year, which earned it the Gold Presidential Group Service Award. • Stuyvesant celebrated National School Counselors’ Week, which is sponsored by the American School Counselors Association (ASCA), during the first week of February. • Stuyvesant’s Model United Nations team won the award for the Best Large Delegation at the Johns Hopkins University Model United Nations Conference from February 5 to 8. In addition, 16 out of Stuyvesant’s 29 delegates won awards. • In the 11th Scarsdale Invitational for Speech and Debate held on Friday, February 6 and Saturday, February 7, freshmen Inbar Pe’er and Abie Rohrig won in novice Public Forum, and seniors Jacob Urda and Jake Kessler won in varsity Public Forum.
Behind the Increase of In-Class Finals By Yuki Chen and Vincent Jiang There was a significant increase in the number of teachers that administered in-class finals instead of departmental, or uniform, finals during finals week. In-class final examinations, which are created by an individual teacher specifically for his or her class, took place while classes were still in session, from January 20 to 23. Regents and uniform final examinations, which are taken by all students in a specific class (regardless of the teacher), were administered from January 26 to 30, while classes were not in session. Reducing the number of uniform finals is part of Principal Jie Zhang’s larger goal to decrease stress for students. She hopes that in June, final exams will not collide with Regents exams, and that a more spread-out test schedule will give students more time to study and rest. “I’m going to encourage, not to make the decision for, [the departments] to have in-class tests,” Zhang said. The change has been met with both support and dissent. Commonly heard over the years were student and parent complaints regarding the unfairness of uniform finals, which can include questions about topics the teacher never taught. “Some teachers did not teach anything until [just before finals week],” junior Irene Bao said. “I prefer the in-class final just because it’s more based on [exactly what the teachers taught] rather than what the curriculum is because not all teachers follow the curriculum.”
Some teachers also support the increase of in-class finals. “It’s just […] more efficient to make your own [final exams]. I think it should be up to the individual department and individual teacher. I don’t see it as a problem for teachers,” history teacher Daniel Tillman said. Having more in-class finals also meant the students had more free time during the Regents week. “I prefer students to have some time between semesters to relax, rest, and get ready for next semester,” Tillman said. Despite Zhang’s goal to avoid over-crowding final exams, some feel this action has caused more stress for students. During in-class finals week, “students are responsible for doing homework and being prepared for their other classes, and at the same time having to study for their finals,” history teacher Dr. Lisa Greenwald said. “Some of us feel it’s more stressful for students to have in-class finals.” Junior Caucus President Krzysztof Hochlewicz brought this complaint to the administration during in-class finals week. In response, assistant principals sent out e-mails to teachers to encourage them to assign less homework and set restrictions on the length of in-class finals. Several teachers then shortened two-day finals to one. Thus, the administration is working to establish a balance between in-class and uniform finals that will cause the least amount of stress for students. For now, it seems that balance is yet to be found.
Courtesy of council.nyc.gov
Councilman Introduces Students to New York City Politics
By Giselle Garcia and Selina Zou Councilman Brad Lander visited history teacher Kerry
Features
Trainor’s AP United States Government and Politics classes on January 22. His visit involved mainly open-ended discussion about issues facing the city today, including environmental problems, diversity in the city’s public schools, and the heavily-contested high school admissions process. Trainor first discovered the opportunity through one of his students, senior Gabrielle Giles, whose mother actively supported Lander during his first bid for councilman of their district. During parent-teacher conferences in October, Giles’s mother offered to contact Lander and invite him to speak to Trainor’s classes. Eventually, after he finished the semester’s curriculum, she and Trainor arranged the event. “I wanted to bring the world of New York City politics into my class,” Trainor said. “[Students] see the poArticle on page 10
Teachers’ (Literal) Pets Meet teachers’ true pets—not the students who participate eagerly and seem to be flawless—but teachers’ fluffy friends who greet them with wagging tales or squeaks when they get home.
litical process as removed from them, although it’s not.”As the councilman of the 39th Council District, an area in Brooklyn that includes Park Slope, Kensington, and Borough Park, Lander primarily fights the economic inequality within these communities. However, much of his visit focused on topics relevant to the entire city. One of the first subjects covered was the city’s efforts to protect the environment. Lander described current proposals, including a possible switch to electric police cars and a fee for the use of disposable bags. Lander also briefly covered pressing matters, such as racial profiling and unfairness in our justice system. continued on page 4
stuyspec.com
Stuy Squad Keeps It Rolling
Ashley Lin / The Spectator
Newsbeat
February 12, 2015
“The Pulse of the Student Body”
By Shahruz Ghaemi Students crowded into the newly-renovated Murray Kahn Auditorium on Friday, January 23. The balcony became quickly packed as well, and spectators eagerly awaited the annual Stuy Squad Showcase. The atmosphere was certainly expectant, as many in the audience had friends in the performance and were waiting their turn to deafeningly cheer them on. The hosts of the event were juniors Jonathan Aung, Faiyad Islam, and David Kang. Their early attempts to hype up the crowd showcased not just the audience’s hollering ability, but also technical troubles which would bedevil the entire performance, related to the recent rewiring of the lighting and sound systems. A nonfunctioning microphone was swapped for AP of Guidance Casey Pedrick’s megaphone. Still, the hosts persevered to introduce the night’s first act, the Bollywood dance crew, created this year and directed
by junior Vyshnavi Parthipan. A small group of six began with a vibrant demonstration of the style, full of twirling legs and swaying arms. The introduction of the rest of the crew for the next dance certainly challenged their coordination, but they absolutely kept up an animated routine. Boys’ Hip-Hop C, directed by junior John Wen and sophomore Muhammad Rivaldo, were introduced with a riff on their Adidas track pants, and they came out hyped. But after the first song, their choreography relied too heavily on smaller movements of their hands and arms, almost invisible to those sitting in the back (though the choice of Aqua’s 1997 hit “Barbie Girl” for their one of their routines was a highlight of the evening). A smaller group led by Wen, however, used more wholebody movements and showed improved coordination. continued on page 23
Tsinghua University Students Perform at Stuyvesant By Sharon Chao The Tsinghua University Primary School Performance Art Troupe from Beijing, China filled the Murray Kahn Theater with traditional folk music, elaborate dance, and exotic wind and string instruments at a concert held on Saturday, January 31, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tsinghua University’s performance was preceded by a performance from the Stuyvesant jazz band, directed by music teacher Dr. Gregor Winkel, and the Stuyvesant string quartet, directed music teacher Joseph Tamosaitis. Principal Jie Zhang coordinated Tsinghua University’s
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visit to Stuyvesant. The performance troupe came to Stuyvesant last year as well, but this year was the first year that Stuyvesant’s own bands performed in the concert. The Tsinghua University students, who ranged from ages 10 to 18, performed a program complete with traditional folk music like “Dragons Rising and Tigers Leaping,” and dances such as “Ten Thousand Steeds Gallop.”
continued on page 4
A&E
We’d Like to Thank the Academy... Looking forward to the Oscars? Turn to pages 20-21 to find out which nominations members of the A&E department hope will take home this year’s golden trophy.