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
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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.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
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News Economics Students Take Personal Finance Exam
Jan Lin / The Spectator
to help young people to become financially literate [and for] every single classroom
By Michelle Lin and Sharon Lin Catherine McRoy-Mendell’s Economics class passed
“I like to think of Economics as psychology plus math.” —Catherine McRoy-Mendell, Economics teacher
the Working in Support of Education (w!se) Financial Literacy exam with an average score of 92 this Fall term. The test covered aspects of personal finance, from credit card usage to various banking accounts. All topics had been selected by the test organizers to correspond to elements of daily life to which adults are frequently exposed. Due to her students’ 100 percent passing rate on the exam, McRoy-Mendell received the Gold Star teacher distinction and Stuyvesant was labeled a Blue Star School. In addition, all students received a certification of financial literacy upon passing the exam. W!se is an non-profit organization that provides schools with educational services in financial literacy. “Our goal is
“If you can be more informed about the decisions you are making with your money, that can impact you every day for the rest of your life.” —Anil Ramsoomye, senior
to have financial courses,” w!se Executive Vice President David Anderson said. McRoy-Mendell explained that she became acquainted with w!se during her first year of teaching, after attending their MoneyPOWER Conference for Financial Literacy at
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the McGraw Hill building. The New York City based nonprofit organization introduced her to financial literacy educators, as well as the w!se curriculum. “I really like what the company stood for,” McRoyMendell said. “After I saw what they already provided, I wanted to learn more, and to see what else the company could give to my students.” McRoy-Mendell first gave the exam to her students in the Fall term of 2013, though she says that she has always taught personal finance. “I just didn’t know about the testing mechanism, or that students could get [certified for] what they were already learning,” she said. While she encouraged students to participate in w!se’s Financial Literacy Exam, she was only able to employ the w!se curriculum in her regular Economics class because her AP Economics classes were bound by the curriculum of College Board. McRoy-Mendell would like teach the w!se curriculum to all of her students because she values the applicability of the concepts w!se focuses on. “I like to think of Economics as psychology plus math. It helps explain how things happen, and why people do the things they do. What it doesn’t teach you, though, is how to apply this knowledge to handling your own money, which is where personal finance comes in,” she said. Many of her students ex-
plained that the material on the exam has made them more aware of how they should spend money, and how finance works. “Something like
“After I saw what [w!se] already provided, I wanted to learn more, and to see what else the company could give to my students.” —Catherine Mcroy-Mendell, Economics teacher Calculus, you might not need in your everyday life. But if you can be more informed about the decisions you are making with your money, that can impact you every day for the rest of your life,” senior Anil Ramsoomye said.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
News Councilman Introduces Students to New York City Politics continued from page 1
“He was [...] open to different lines of discussion, and spoke very well about all of his positions and work in general,” Giles said. Some controversial topics incited further questions and comments from the audience, which Lander readily responded to. “One of the things that made for an interesting set of questions and
“I wanted to bring the world of New York City politics into my class.” —Kerry Trainor, history teacher
debate was that he is not entirely pro-SHSAT [Specialized High School Admissions Test], while it seems the majority of Stuyvesant students are,” Giles
said. The discussion about the high school admissions process was lively, and consumed the bulk of Lander’s visit. Lander, a strong supporter of increasing diversity in schools, emphasized the flaws existent in the admissions process, including the lack of attention to middle school performance. He believes that admissions to specialized high schools should incorporate criteria to be used alongside the SHSAT. However, he admitted that the SHSAT does not necessarily limit diversity, as non-specialized high schools such as Bard High School are only marginally more diverse. He also informed students that the New York City school system is one of the most segregated public school systems in the United States, and emphasized the importance of combating this issue. He hopes to begin this change through targeting the lack of diversity starting with elementary and middle schools, where the effects of segregation are the most profound. “The consequences [of early segregation] consign people to the fundamental lack of opportunities,” Lander said. Ultimately, Lander’s discussion presented politics in a way that was relevant to the students and generated strong responses from them. “I was [...] not very aware that the city has the most segregated public school system in the U.S., but I believe that to be an incredible disgrace,” said senior Emily Ruby after the lecture.
By giving his students the opportunity to speak with someone directly involved in
Tsinghua University Students Perform at Stuyvesant country. “I saw it as a cultural exchange,” Baidya said. “[We shared] American instrumental music and [had the opportunity to learn about] tradition-
continued from page 1
“Often times, we see problems within our communities, and don’t know much about the local politics that can be invoked upon to fix these issues.” —Kieran Carpen, Student Union President politics, Trainor hopes they will take what they learn from Lander and use it in the future. “I want to give the students an understanding of the systems, so they can participate in the system, and [...] ultimately make the world a better place,” Trainor said.
Teachers and students alike were impressed with the performance. “There were some wind instruments that I had never seen or heard or before, along with a Chinese harp,” Winkel said. “You could see that [the students from China] weren’t just primary school students playing; you could see how well they trained. The dance motions were coordinated, and the beat of the drums was perfectly synchronized.” The young musicians also did not use sheet music. “It was really intriguing that [the performers] were able to play very complicated pieces from memory alone,” junior Joydeep Baidya said. When Winkel was notified that the jazz band had the opportunity to play in the concert, he selected two pieces: “In the Mood,” by Glenn Miller, and “Birdland,” by Josef Zawinul. “I chose [those pieces] because they […] capture American jazz music so well. I wanted to give [Tsinghua University] an American welcome,” Winkel said. Not only was Tsinghua introduced to American music, but Stuyvesant students were also able learn about the traditions of students from another
“I saw it as a cultural exchange.… [We shared] American instrumental music and [had the opportunity to learn about] traditional Chinese singing, dancing, and instrumental music.” —Joydeep Baidya, junior al Chinese singing, dancing, and instrumental music.”
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
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Features Life on Two Radically Different Islands
Ashley Lin / The Spectator
The following is in a series of articles about students who immigrated to America.
By Alice Cheng Imagine this scenario: It’s early in the morning, and you have just been woken up by some noise you heard in the apartment. It sounds like voices, but just to be sure, you decide to get out of your bed to explore. In less than a minute, you find your mother and older brother tied up with duct tape, and they give you the words that explain everything: “We were robbed.” How would you react? Scared? Angry? Confused? Some of us might dismiss the possibility of ever being encountered by such a predicament, but for junior Sammi Wu Leung, this was not a hypothetical situation. Raised in Humacao, Puerto Rico, this happened to her when she was still in middle school.
“I was scared in the beginning but then I understood what was going on. I was glad no one was seriously hurt,” Wu Leung described. Unfortunately, this event was not unusual. Burglars liked to target Asian families, especially those who owned restaurants. “They knew that the money most people earned in one day would be brought home in cash, so they would follow [them] and sort of stake out restaurant owners,” she said. As Wu Leung’s family’s safety became a problem, her parents decided that they should move out of Puerto Rico. Since Wu Leung was a naturalized citizen, she and her family did not have to bother filling out for visas for green cards when they first moved to America. Originally, however, she explained that she was born in Venezuela. However, her father was immigrated to Puerto Rico from China to make a better living. He then met Wu Leung’s mother during a trip to Venezuela in the late 1990s. Wu Leung was only two when she and her mother decided to move to Puerto Rico to live with her father. Thus, it was only because Wu Leung’s mother had applied for citizenship in the U.S. in the early 2000s that Wu Leung was able to become a naturalized citizen. In 2012, while Wu Leung’s father stayed at home in Puerto Rico to take care of their Chinese restaurant, Wu Leung, her mother, and her older brother flew to New York City. She origi-
nally found the city exciting, but this excitement didn’t last for long as she realized that New York’s culture was not that much different from home. “We played the same sports. A lot of people shopped in big stores like Sam’s Club and Costco, so a lot of people had the regular American snacks.” She also recalled a number of knockoff snacks based on American brands. Interestingly, the only thing she could distinctively remember to be unique and from Puerto Rico was the people’s interest in Malta, a lightly carbonated soft drink made from barley that was either loved or hated in her neighborhood. Besides this, music taste, fashion preferences, and hobbies were relatively the same. Wu Leung also found the education systems of Puerto Rico and America to be different, and this made finding a suitable high school for Wu Leung an issue. Before she lived in New York, Wu Leung used to go to a private school, as public schools in her neighborhood were not up to her parents’ standards. In her private school, grades had ranged from Pre-K to 12th, so all that was required for Wu Leung to move up to the next grade was pass her current classes. Here in New York, there were no family members or personal friends for Wu Leung to consult for help on how to register for high school in New York City. Thus, Wu Leung turned to the internet. By researching online,
Wu Leung learned about the Specialized High School Administration test available in August for students who recently moved into the state. It was online where Wu Leung learned about Stuyvesant High School, which quickly became her ideal school to go to because of its prestige. She also thought that the idea of attending a high school in Manhattan would be “cool.” All Wu
pleasant surprise. Overall, since arriving in New York, Wu Leung has missed Puerto Rico greatly. The yearround warm weather (fluctuating between 70 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit) and casual atmosphere at Humacao gave her a relaxed vibe that she finds hard to imitate in New York. “I still feel like a tourist when I go to [Stuyvesant],” Wu Leung said.
“I still feel like a tourist when I go to Stuy. Everyone seems to be in a hurry and tend to run down stairs as if saving that one minute would drastically change their lives.” —Sammi Wu Leung, junior Leung had to do to register for the exam was go to a nearby elementary school with a Department of Education office and apply for a registration ticket. Admittedly, Wu Leung didn’t study much for the exam. “I read one book but got bored with the easiness of it,” she said. On the day of the test, she wasn’t nervous either. Even though Stuyvesant was her ideal school she’d like to attend, she wouldn’t have minded going to a different high school. Therefore, getting accepted into Stuyvesant was a
“Everyone seems to be in a hurry and [tends] to run down stairs as if saving that one minute would drastically change their lives. I usually end up slowing down my friends when I’m with them or I would have to catch up with them at a red light or train platform.” Fortunately, Wu Leung goes back to Puerto Rico every summer to spend time with her father and middle school friends. Even though there are similarities between New York and Puerto, she would “move back anytime” to the island.
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Features And the Winners Are… Stuyvesant swept this year’s Scholastic Writing Awards, winning 110 awards—including 21 Gold Keys—in a wide range of categories including journalism, critical essay, memoir, short story, and poetry. For this issue, The Spectator decided to feature a few of the Gold Key winners’ work; brief synopses of the stories behind their award-winning pieces as well as excerpts from the pieces themselves can be seen below.
Rina Lubit
Lucy Wainger
Why Are We So Cruel? (Poem)
By Mariya Gedrich Junior Rina Lubit has always thought of herself as an activist. In her poem “Why Are We So Cruel?” she paints a vivid picture of suffering. Lubit’s poem is a heart-breaking story of a conversation between a Holocaust survivor and her great-granddaughter; the last thoughts of a prisoner in a gas chamber; the fears of a young Pakistani boy during an air strike; and the death and destruction of the Rwandan genocide. Inspired by the heartbreaking accounts of survivors, Lubit’s objective in writing her poem was to force the reader to think about what it would be like to live the shoes of the oppressed. Excerpt: A-26102. Black numbers, hastily cut into now-papery skin. “What’s that, Nana?” My great-grandmother’s hands tremble. The dish she was washing falls into the sink. Water splashes onto her apron, across the countertop And foam slips down arms wrinkled with time. That, liebling, is a story I shall tell you someday. But not yet. You are not old enough yet. A stroke, they said. Peaceful, they said. Her heart, it just— Just like that. There and then gone. She never watched me grow old enough To learn what the numbers on her arm meant.
Daniel Kodsi Surrounded (Personal Essay/Memoir) By Johnathan Rafailov Though the names of the characters in his memoir “Surrounded” are fictitious, the characters themselves are representations of real people in junior Daniel Kodsi’s life. Kodsi originally wrote his story for his AP English: Contemporaries and Classics class; his assignment was to write a memoir that emulated the short stories in Tim O’Brien’s novel “The Things They Carried.” Kodsi uses Friedrich Nietzsche’s popular theory of eternal return—that moments in time repeat over and over—to describe and explore “the extraordinariness of the ordinary teenage life,” he said. “I spend a lot of time not just thinking about my own character—self-actualization’s at the top of Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs—but also what I consider to be the greater human condition, or at least the teenage condition.” “Surrounded” is narrated by Kodsi, and it is composed of a series of conversations from moments in Kodsi’s life. His interactions with other characters effectively expose and detail the seemingly repetitious, unimportant, and yet prevalent, problems in a teenager’s life. Excerpt: Nietzsche writes of the eternal return: time is infinite and possible configurations of matter are not, therefore any given moment must repeat. Again. And again. And again. Of course, he’s wrong: as Georg Simmel explained, if you line up a wheel that revolves one time per second, a wheel that revolves two times per second, and a wheel that revolves 1-pith of a time per second and let them go, they’ll never line back up. Of course, he’s not wrong, because 1/pi is not a real number in our world—you can only get so exact before physics gives up on you and says that the smallest possible length is the Planck-constant. Reminds me of some comic I once read: “How would we know if our universe is a computer simulation?” “Well, it’d be optimized for computing. Like, maybe we’d have a minimum temperature or a maximum speed…” So anyway, you know what scared Nietzsche the most? That the mediocrity of modern man would repeat over and over again. “All too small, even the greatest man!—that was my disgust at man! And the eternal return also of the smallest man!— that was my disgust at all existence! Ah, Disgust! Disgust! Disgust!”
Postscript to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note (Poem)
By Gracy Lin “Postscript to a Twenty-Volume Suicide Note” by junior Lucy Wainger is a response to poet Amiri Baraka’s Preface to a Twenty Volume Suicide Note. Wainger wrote it after an attempted suicide, and this experience became the subject of the poem. After reading Baraka’s poem, Wainger thought about what would happen if someone attempts suicide but then discovers that he or she is still alive. She explained that she, “just started typing and didn’t backspace or edit or anything and that’s why the poem is so frantic and stream-of-consciousness.” The poem was written as Wainger “tried not to control/judge what [she] was doing as [she] was doing it; [she] wanted to write whatever came instinctually.” Excerpt: The hair on the floor of the barber shop, Baby are you sure you Want to cut it all off?, little blue-green gemstones not yet discovered By humans but which still float in the thin white air anyway as did math Before we touched it, and as did language before we stuck our Tongues in it, and as did eggs and sperm before anybody figured out How to [insert expletive], which was approximately three months ago, and which Is probably the closest you can get to someone, or at least to Turning into what’s inside you, and I guess today what’s inside Me is resin and tulips and the acrid taste of not regret but a Grinning version of it like Don’t you know they’ve already got you? Written on the bathroom stall wall, don’t you know you’re made for Falling, you do it every night into sleep and if you’re lucky some hazy dream Maybe I’m just tired of it, maybe I wanted someone to catch me By the scruff of the neck or the lungs or the hands, maybe I miss The four calling-cards of white, snow/salt/milk/cum and your hands Are white plastic, and your coats are very white coats, like dishcloth Ashes, like SNOW GENERAL ALL OVER IRELAND, the faces In the yearbooks and the man saying you’re-them-you-just-don’tKnow-it-yet, so what if the lights are all ugly now, we’ve watched This movie a thousand times, don’t you know the ending won’t change, Don’t you see it still isn’t over?
Maya Mitrasinovic John F. Kennedy International Airport Adventures (Poem) By Kevin Li Freshman Maya Mitrasinovic has been a participant (and winner) of the Scholastic Writing Awards since eighth grade. Of the multiple awards she won this year, her favorite submission is a poem titled “John F. Kennedy International Airport Adventures,” a work inspired by an assignment from her English class. The assignment was to write eight line poems about recordings played during class, and Mitrasinovic eventually chose to write about a recording that sounded like an airport. She describes the sounds and smells of tourists and travelers making their way to their next destination, and her imagery leaves the reader with a vivid image of a busy airport. Excerpt: murmurs of commotion, excitement the smell of stale people and personalities unintentional noise, ears popping I’m sorry I spilled my iced coffee on your shoes gum popping and the smell of tourist mint waiting for the risky grey flying machine that takes you to and from countries with twisted tongues in the form of words and food that makes your tongue recoil like a rattlesnake mommy, I want mac ’n cheese please stern voices that force the memory of exotic etiquette
Philipp Steinmann Intelligence In Design (Short Fiction) By Ariella Kahan In the summer between his sophomore and junior years, senior Philipp Steinmann was thinking many big, abstract thoughts. One such thought dealt with the idea of trivial decisions having larger-than-life consequences. Another dealt with the question: what would happen if someone’s useless hobby became their life’s purpose? It was the former musing that led to Steinmann’s gold-key winning short story “Intelligence In Design.” The story tells two narratives simultaneously—one of a designer who creates a new model of a telephone, and is deciding how to organize the buttons on it; another of a woman who, while cleaning her floor, slips and takes a nearly fatal fall but manages to crawl to her telephone and dial 911. Only at the story’s climax, excerpted below, does the reader understand the link between the two storylines. Excerpt: “Nine-one-one, what is your emergency?” the voice asked again. Hadn’t she heard her? It took her a great deal of effort to open her mouth and whisper into the telephone. “I live on 32 Welder Street, my name is Catherine Geralds, please help me.” She didn’t feel like she could talk again. “Hello? Is anyone there?” The tiny part of Catherine’s brain that still worked grew very worried. She turned her head and looked at the phone’s display, where the number 911 was displayed in large letters. Below it, in the left corner and in smaller type, the words “MUTED” conveyed something that was terribly important, the most important thing in the world, but she couldn’t understand what that was. She lowered the phone. Her eyes burned, and closing them felt good. She didn’t feel so bad anymore; it was like some great burden had been lifted off her, and she felt light. Some warm liquid carried her, and it soothed her wounds and injuries. The operator asked again once or twice and then gave up, while Catherine lay next to the telephone in a puddle of her own blood, slowly slipping away.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
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Features Aden Lui
Katie Kuk
Dear Father, Sincerely Son (Personal Essay/Memoir)
Freshman Friday...Done the Korean Way (Personal Essay/Memoir)
By Laureen Chan The following piece titled “Dear Father, Sincerely Son” is Kwong Shing Lui’s, who goes by the name Aden, first ever academic prize. The piece depicts the conflicting familial situation Lui has faced ever since he was little. It also deals with Lui’s passion for Tae Kwon Do, a skill he has previously used to release his hatred and anger at the world. Tae Kwon Do has become a major part of Lui’s life, and he now regularly instructs kids following in his footsteps. Surprisingly, when asked if he writes regularly, Lui said that he only started writing last year after taking English teacher Holly Schechter’s Creative Nonfiction class. Lui found “writing [to be] an outlet,” he said.“Before, everything was repressed. I didn’t know how to express my feelings,” Lui added. The class allowed him to stop and reflect on his emotions, and he now uses his writing as a catharsis during stressful times.
By Rose Cytryn Junior Katie Kuk’s memoir “Freshman Friday...Done the Korean Way” started as an open-ended essay assigned in her AP English: Contemporaries and Classics class, but it turned into a piece about the impact her Korean culture has had on her high school experience. Having moved from Korea to New York City when she was only eight, her culture is still an integral part of her life. Inspired by the “grouping” she was introduced to as a freshman, Kuk writes about her desire to find a unique place for herself as a Korean girl at Stuyvesant.
Excerpt: Was I really a scapegoat? The stress of your unfulfilled American dream laid onto the shoulders of a scrawny 15 year old boy, whose head was raised high not because of his strength, but because he was just that damned tall? *** Three years later, I am the living example that it is as much our choice to stay down when things get rough as it is our choice to rise up and fight for a better future. I’ve become much smarter and now I realize that I have never been alone in my plight; there are thousands of people out there still struggling. Still fighting to escape the abyss which sucks them in, the same darkness that I’ve pulled myself out of.
Excerpt: Her eyes dart over to the girl that had pushed me earlier and, as if the coast is clear now, whispers, “Korean Freshman Friday.” ...What? Freshman…Friday? Like…when upperclassmen abuse the freshmen? Wait, that’s actually a thing? Not…not just like all the other high school myths, like the one where a buff senior shoves a powerless, wimpy freshman into a locker and demand for lunch money? Huh? What? “Wait...so what’s…going to happen?” a.k.a. am I going to have to give the upperclassmen a piece of my soul in exchange for them letting me go? She just shrugged... I can feel the pounding of my heart in my head, and my hands are a broken dam. My eyes scan the area, looking for any hopes of escape. *** I don’t have a problem with the Korean tradition and culture of showing respect for those older than you by always using the formal way of speaking. But the seniors completely abused, and tainted, such a great culture in order to simply emphasize their higher social standing—which wasn’t really that much higher to begin with—over us. Trust me, if it had been solely up to me to decide if I was going to be respectful towards them or not, I would have definitely treated them with respect. If they had just introduced themselves and had not gone out of their ways to flaunt their “powers,” I would have given them all the respect that they wanted. But no, they chose to force this respect upon us, upon me, by using the Korean culture.
Jongyoul Lee
And for them, I want to succeed. But for myself, I need to succeed.
Michaela Papallo The Nature of Natural Disasters (Personal Essay/Memoir) By April Lam Originally an assignment from her English class, junior Michaela Papallo was prompted to write a reflection about a meaningful event and how it felt in hindsight. Papallo’s piece involves her memory of the exact moment when Hurricane Sandy hit—the sudden blacking out of the lights, the screams of neighbors, and the flooding tides that engulfed all in their way. In her memoir, Papallo recounts her personal reflection of the aftermath of Sandy with the damage that it had done and the recovery her family had afterwards. Excerpt: Every time I meet a new classmate on my commute from school, I explain that I ride the D train to Bay 50th street, the last stop before Coney Island. The D, aside from being ridiculed by immature teenagers for the unfortunate letter of the alphabet it is named for, is also just a really shitty train. It’s maddeningly slow and crowded all the time…But for all the times the D train has screwed me over by shutting its doors in my face and then proceeding to not move, my worst experience with the D was after Hurricane Sandy. For the first couple of weeks after returning to school, I was forced to walk home from the train station every day. I took long, brisk strides with my head buried in a scarf and hands shoved into my pockets. This was mostly to shield myself from the biting cold, but also to avoid looking at my surroundings. The overcast sky shrouded the streets in a dull gloom, which complemented the piles of rotten furniture on every sidewalk corner. If I let my eye catch a dirty armchair I would find myself in a trance, unable to look away, wondering if that eyesore was once my neighbor’s favorite seat to watch television in. I would start to slow down and remember what was waiting for me at home, or rather, what was left of my home.
New York, New Life (Personal Essay) By Liana Chow Winning a Scholastic writing award seems like an idyllic continuation of the autobiographical story of sophomore Jongyoul Lee. In her essay “New York, New Life,” Lee reflects on her childhood journey from Korea to New York. Since an early age she had always wanted to move to New York, and Lee recounts the events in her life leading up to the time she moved. Interestingly, Lee says that writing this essay was “weird” because she doesn’t often talk about immigrating. Still, she has one regret about her writing: “I unintentionally portrayed Korea in a negative and monotonous way, but I’m sure that’s not the case,” she said. Excerpt: My dad and I stood in front of a pile of pencil cases; soon I would start first grade, and we noticed that there weren’t any spare pencil cases for me in the house. I had been contemplating which to buy. At the end, though, I chose one covered in the phrase “I love NY.” Although I lived in Seoul, the biggest city in Korea, I dreamed of traveling to the city that never sleeps, and I yearned for a change from my sheltered life. It was a small dream I planned to pursue when I was older. After the third grade, however, my “perfect” bubble of my future popped. In order to increase my fluency in English, my parents enrolled me in a foreign exchange program. I would spend a year in Vancouver, Canada, with an unfamiliar homestay family. It was an adventure, and I gleefully counted down the days until my departure. *** After six months had passed, my parents called me at the usual time, and told me news I did not expect: they had moved to New York. Of all the times I looked at my pencil case, I never even dared to wish to move to the city. Instead of returning to Korea, I came directly to New York. I knew from the bright lights, tall skyscrapers, and its unpredictability that it was the right place. Currently, I live here and have never looked back.
Unfortunately, we could not feature all of the Gold Key Winners in this article. However, the Spectator would like to recognize the following writers for their work: Anjelika Amog Hayoung Ahn Brian Dong Ariella Kahan Frankie Li Kyle Oleksiuk Eda Tse Sylvia Yu
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 8
Features Mendes Our Man By Alice Cheng “Give me a couple of words to describe Mr. Mendes,” I asked some members of the boys’ track and field team. “Honest,” sophomore Harvey Ng said. “Really knows what he’s doing,” junior Jacob Faber-Rico added. “A God. A Legend,” senior Eric Chen said. “Deaf,” Jeremy Karson (’14) joked. When I first interviewed the boys’ track and field and cross country coach, Mark Mendes, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never met him, and all I was told about him was that he was nice and enjoyed giving granola bars to his team (not that I decided to interview him in hopes of getting one). And so, while sitting in my room preparing to call him that Sunday evening, I had no clue as to what type of voice I would hear on the other side of the phone line. But several minutes into the conversation, I began to form a vague idea of the person who was talking to me. Mendes grew up with humble beginnings in Brooklyn, New York during the 1950s, with a childhood he did not see as particularly special: “I was a kid. I played sports. I did stuff,” he said. It was during high school that Mendes first fell in love with track and field. During this time, Mendes’s best friend, the star and captain of the team, asked him for help in coaching track because the official coach of the team was more interested in coaching football. Because Mendes was interested in management and wanted to support his friend, he decided to help him out. Much of the work simply consisted of him following orders. When the coach was out, Mendes merely held the stopwatch to keep time of the workouts that
were already assigned to the track members. Nevertheless, the experience of helping his friend was what began his new love for running, and it would unexpectedly carry over into his interest of being a professional coach in his later years. After high school, Mendes went on to attend Baruch City College, where he took classes in Business Administration. He considered becoming an accountant until the unpopular Vietnam War came in the 1970s, and many businessmen were drafted into the military. While others didn’t want to go to war because they disagreed with the motives behind it, Mendes’s reason was short and simple: “I just didn’t want to get killed.” To avoid being drafted, Mendes switched over to Educational Administration so he could receive a deferment. Straight out of college in 1966, Mendes was assigned to Thomas Jefferson High School. It was at Thomas Jefferson that Mendes first started to coach track and field. In the early ‘70s, he began by helping the pre-existing coach and slowly took over the position. Throughout the mid-‘70s and late‘80s, Mendes coached extremely talented athletes who immigrated to the U.S. from the Caribbean. “When I was at Jefferson, I had a kid who made it to the Olympics,” Mendes recalled proudly. “We had two kids who ran for Cornell.” When Jefferson High School became increasingly dangerous, Mendes decided to transfer schools and become program chairman at Prospect Heights High School while coaching track and field at Hunter College High School. Later, he became program chairman in Eastern District High School, where he would retire in 2003. Similarly, Mendes left Hunter in 1999 and became finally head track and field coach of Stuyvesant
in 2000. As the interview continued, more adjectives to describe him started popping into my mind. Assertive, but humble. Realistic, but constructively encouraging. Above all, I noticed that he was very passionate about his job. Mendes does not simply like track—he is committed to it. During his time coaching Thomas Jefferson High School in the 1970s, Mendes attended week-long coaching seminars to become a better coach for his team, going as far as Colorado Springs to learn from Olympic trainers. When speaking of his achievements, Mendes proudly exclaimed that Stuyvesant has done very well in the city championships for the past eleven years: “We were first four times, second a good four times, third this year, and fourth once. We only missed one year.” Other track members confirmed his commitment to the team. “He comes in no matter what,” Chen said. “A couple of weeks ago he had a root canal, and his face was swollen. They messed up his surgery, but he still came into practice.” In addition, Chen mentioned that one time when the team was at a championship meet, Mendes treated the whole team to a breakfast that cost around $150. Others complimented Mendes for his attention to detail. “He really thinks about what is the best thing to do from a scientific standpoint,” Faber-Rico said. “He keeps a record of the work that he did each year.” Being passionate about track doesn’t mean that he lacks a sense of humor. Karson recalled that when he first met Mendes in freshman year, Mendes had told him he was 84. “And I believed him! I’m pretty sure he told my parents, too,” Karson chuckled. “Then I saw on Facebook he had his birthday
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and was turning 66.” Mendes also enjoys track and field outside of the school. In his spare time, he and his wife travel to track championships around the world. “We’re going to Rio for the Olympics in 2016. We’re going back to London for World Championships for track and field in 2017,” Mendes said. “We were going to go to Beijing in the summer for the World Championships but we heard the air pollution was so bad that we canceled that trip.” “But why fall in love with track and not another sport?” I asked him. In response, he asked me another question: “There’s a thing about track, swimming, bowling, golf. Let me ask you, what do you think is different about those sports than say football, basketball, baseball?” Answering carelessly, I assumed it to be the lack of teamwork in these sports. He dismissed this idea swiftly, saying that track has many events involving team cooperation, such as relay racing. He then gave a convincing argument in support of the superiority of running: “It’s totally objective. You’re competing against a barrier rather than other human beings, and you really don’t know how well you’re doing when you’re competing against another human,” Mendes said. “All you know is you’re better than they are.” This, along with the strong friendship he developed with his best friend during high school, was what made track and field a sport that he deeply loved. Admittedly, Mendes did not know what his love for other sports would have been like had his friend been captain of the swimming team instead. I didn’t meet Mendes in person until weeks later. It was over Christmas break when I came over to one of the track practices at the
Armory, an indoor track in Harlem. Tall but slouched, he had a pair of thick-framed glasses perched on his nose. Grey and white hairs grew on the sides of his head, but none on top. Upon seeing me, Mendes motioned me over to look at the current track members running before finally finding a place for us to sit and talk. “There’s Eric Chen, coming back from his lap,” he told me. “And there’s Jeremy, a freshman [in college].” Later I would realize that many of the alumni from Stuyvesant who used to be in track often liked to visit the team during Christmas vacation. While interviewing him, students would drift in and out of our conversation to tell Mendes their experiences. He would recognize each athlete’s face and answer expertly in return. One athlete had a cramp, which Mendes promised to alleviate after the interview was over. Before ending the interview, Mendes introduced me to Jeff Theta, the new head coach of indoor and outdoor track. Mendes explained that because he was retired, he decided to step down and become Theta’s assistant, and just remain head coach of cross country. “He needs the money more than I do,” Mendes explained. Not that Mendes has plans of retiring anytime soon: “I’ll keep doing it for as long as I can. I still love it,” he confirmed. At this point, I was thoroughly convinced that before me was one of the most committed people I had ever met. I could understand what Karson meant by what he would later tell me in our interview: “Having someone come in here and put in all this time and energy makes you want to do better yourself, because if he’s doing it just for the sake of it, that kind of means something to you.”
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 9
Features By Fionna Du and Claire Jin Could you imagine your English teacher on a stage in Prague, a guitar in hand, and a huge crowd singing along to the song he’s playing? For Assistant Principal of English Eric Grossman, this scene was a reality just last year. You might be wondering how it is possible that Grossman works in such different fields—music and education—simultaneously. The answer to such a question lies in the fact that before turning to teaching, Grossman was a guitarist. It all began when Grossman’s family friend gave him a guitar. “When I was growing up, [the guitar] was the only thing that was solely mine,” Grossman said. “I remember listening to the radio all the time and [wanting] to make those sounds, so I learned how.” He continued playing music through college, and upon graduating he decided to move from his native city Philadelphia to New York City because of the city’s vibrant music scene. After moving, the first band he joined was called Gigi and the Jerks, a soul music cover band. Over the years, Grossman has been in a number of bands of many genres, including The Cockles and Dirty Pictures, which he still plays with occasionally. As he drifted between bands, Grossman worked many side-jobs to make income. As his vision for an ideal future as a musician began to fall apart—“one of [his] bands broke up: the drummer went into rehab, another one died, the singer moved to Europe”— Grossman began to realize that pursuing music as a long-term career might be untenable. Such a realization was “long and painful.” “Having to reinvent myself, having to let some version of myself die so another would emerge [...] took a long time—it wasn’t easy,” Grossman said. As Grossman began to search for a new career, he considered various options. Anything in the business field was refuted because
Grossman “knew that [he’d] be hopeless trying to sell things or being a banker,” and so he eventually settled on teaching. “I like thinking about ideas and art and literature, and teaching felt like a way to have the things that I do like, to share them and talk about them and make them the center of my life.” To pursue this decision, Grossman enrolled in the Teacher’s College at Columbia University. Coincidentally, he took a class taught by former Assistant Principal of English Steven Shapiro. Shapiro liked a paper that Grossman had written about Herman Melville’s short story “Bartleby,” and recommended Grossman to become a student teacher at Stuyvesant. A few months later, Shapiro called Grossman to offer him a job. Grossman recalled, “The first word that came out of my mouth was ‘yes’ mainly because I didn’t know what to say.” Grossman remembered staying up the entire night questioning his decision; although Grossman was studying to be a teacher, he was not sure if he felt ready to accept a job. “Is this really something that I want to do?” he asked himself. Even though Grossman was hesitant at first, he could not turn down the opportunity being presented to him, nor could he let down Shapiro. The first course that Grossman taught was Classical Literature in the spring of 1996. His first time teaching was understandably nerve-racking. “The first day was terrifying,” Grossman recalled. “Even passing out a syllabus, I didn’t know how to do it.” He went on to compare his first time teaching to driving a car—initially, every action is meticulous and requires all of your energy, but over time, everything becomes second nature. One of his problems early on was time management. “I think whatever I planned probably took five minutes and I may have just stood at the front of the room, gently swaying, for the rest of the time,” said Grossman, laughing. Although the first couple years of teaching were rocky—Grossman was fired and rehired due to a past DOE policy that dictates that nov-
ice teachers get fired before veteran ones—he gradually became used to and excelled at teaching. And when Shapiro retired, he requested that Grossman take his place as Assistant Principal. Since assuming this role, Grossman has shaped the English department in his own ways, including his creation of the senior AP English class: Great Books. One of the students in his Great Books class, senior Tiffany Ren, describes Grossman as “really sarcastic, relentlessly sometimes.” Ren explained that she first met Grossman when she was hugging her friend (who was in Grossman’s class) goodbye in front of his classroom. Ren laughingly recalled, “One day, I was hugging her really tightly goodbye and he was like, ‘Stop molesting my child!’” A more meaningful moment Ren had with Grossman was when she went to him for her own personal issues. “It felt, in a way, almost parental, and I certainly trusted him so. And, feeling very insecure at that point, I blurted out, ‘Are you ok with being, like, like a fatherfigure?’ And he looked at me hard and said, ‘Fine, I’ll be your fatherfigure.’” Ren fondly described the moment: “It exemplifies my really wacky relationship with him well: capturing at once the joking sarcasm, but also the underlying care and concern he has.” Senior Miranda Tran, who spends time in the book room adjacent to Grossman’s office, gave a similar description of Grossman: “There’s something I’d say, magnetic, about Mr. Grossman because he has the personality depth; he’s really sarcastic, but also serious at times,” she said. She recalled a memory, which exemplifies Grossman’s humorous side, when she was helping out in the bookroom with senior Emma Lou. She remembered, “For some reason, Mr. Grossman had a fly wrapped in tape. He walked into the book room and asked which one of the backpacks on the floor was Emma’s. He put the fly into her bag, and asked [the rest of the monitors] to play along. Her reaction was a mixture of shock and
Jennifer Dikler / The Spectator
A Musical Language
Eric Grossman, head of Stuyvesant’s English department, teaches both European Literature, a sophomore course, and Great Books, a senior course.
indignity; even disbelief. I think Mr. Grossman has unintentionally created a vendetta for Emma; she aims to plant a fake fly in something of Mr. Grossman’s.” Grossman also creates a comfortable environment for his students. “He’s more of a teacher, rather than an instructor; he doesn’t command the class to do anything, but guides them through the day. He’s also just a really approachable and caring person and is okay with words that most teachers would glare at you for saying so casually in class,” sophomore Rhys Suero said. However, he also takes the educational aspect of his students seriously, “He has pretty high expectations for our writing, but also understands that writing is hard,” she explained. Just as Grossman pushes his students to try their hardest, he is also extremely passionate about his role as supervisor. Some of his favorite moments as a supervisor are simply when teachers stop by his office and chat with him. “When a teacher stops by to say, ‘Hey, I just wanted to tell you what a great lesson I had fourth period,’ or ‘I tried that thing we talked about and it really worked,’ that feels huge. Seeing them feel proud and successful makes me feel proud and successful,” Grossman said. One of the teachers that Gross-
man supervises is English teacher Katherine Fletcher, whose friendship with Grossman goes back to 1997, when they were hired as English teachers at the same time. “We hit it off right away because a strange thing happened,” she said referencing Grossman’s experience with the DOE seniority transfer system. “I remember even though we had just met each other that day, I called him to tell him how bummed out I was that that had happened [to him],” she added. When Grossman came back as a teacher, their friendship continued, but when he became Assistant Principal, Fletcher had some worries. “It’s weird for your friend to become your boss,” she said. However, this change did not affect their relationship. “I see him more as a fellow teacher and a friend than a supervisor. He’s very supportive. Even though both of us have been doing this for a long time, we still help each other troubleshoot stuff and talk about upcoming lessons,” she explained. Fletcher added, “I think when you’re a teacher like Mr. Grossman, it’s a little like being a rock star.” Though his audience has shifted from music enthusiasts to high school students, all can agree that Grossman continues to shine in the spotlight.
Zamansky
By Johnathan Rafailov
22
Number of years Computer Science coordinator Michael Zamansky has been at Stuyvesant
564
Number of Zamansky’s Github contributions in the last year
600
Approximate number of alumni in Zamansky’s Stuy CS community
1 Number of water pipes Zamansky has broken
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 10
Features Teachers’ (Literal) Pets No, it is not what you are thinking. This is not an article about the teachers’ pets who sit in the front of the classroom, participate ten times in one period, stay after class to talk to their teachers, and evoke a joyful sparkle in teachers’ eyes. These teachers’ pets are furry, endearing, and, on average, no heavier than 30 pounds. They are the bundles of joy that curl up with your teachers after a difficult day, whose bits of fur you might have found on your graded papers. Hudson Schechter, R.N.
English teacher Holly Shechter’s dog Hudson.
Before owning Hudson, English teacher Holly Schechter didn’t consider herself a dog person. In fact, she was terrified of dogs; when she went to other people’s houses, she made her hosts lock their dogs in another room, if they had one. So when her husband told her that she is a “dog person,” she was shocked and, quite frankly, grossed out. “He said, ‘Well, you like to take long walks, you like to take care of things, you’re maternal, you get lonely,’ and I was like, oh my god, I am a dog person!” Schechter recalled. Despite this realization, the problem still stood that she was terrified of dogs. But what better way was there to amend this than by adopting one? Schechter and her husband adopted Hudson from a friend. Hudson is an eightyear-old brown and white cocker spaniel mix who has become a very important member of their family. “She loves to play and have fun, but she also likes to just chill,” Schechter said. “If I want to grade papers or read she’s happy to curl up and grade papers or read with me.” Hudson dutifully kept Schechter company after she had a series of major surgeries and was confined to her bed for a few weeks. “She protected me and she took it very seriously,” she said. “About three weeks later I had my first follow-up appointment
with the doctor, so I had to leave her alone. She was wailing, sobbing, and scratching at the door.” Little did Schechter know of what awaited her upon her return: “I came home from the doctor and at the foot of my bed, like just at the edge, she left one perfect turd. I had just walked in the door and she just sat there, stared at me, looked back at the bed and stared at me. She didn’t feel guilty. It was a very conscious decision to show me who’s boss,” Schechter said. The Famous Flying Cat Physics teacher Daisy Sharaf’s cat, Max, soared to popularity in the videos she made for her physics class about projectile motion. “I was launching a tennis ball in my apartment and he just kept chasing it,” she said. “So every time I show this video there’s a flying cat in the background.” Max is certainly the focal point of the video. “He’s up to about twelve pounds but it’s mainly girth, since he’s continuously expanding. He’s got a grey back, a white belly, a huge puffy tail like a raccoon, and he has enormous green eyes,” Sharaf said. “He’s quite appealing actually—a very attractive cat.” In his youth, Max was highly energetic and curious. In some ways, he is still the same active cat he once was. “He likes to jump on top of things, he likes to attack people’s ankles, and he will attack the window if a bird comes and sits on the windowsill,” Sharaf said. Since Max has an unhealthy love for cereal, popsicles, corn, and other human food, Sharaf admitted that she adjusted her lifestyle to keep her cat healthy: “I used to eat cereal for breakfast and I stopped because it was impossible to eat it with his paws continually in the bowl,” she said. These days, having reached the age of a dignified bachelor, fifteen-year-old Max spends less time chasing birds and more time sleeping. “He mostly mellowed out in his old age,” Sharaf said. “A little grumpy though.” However, Max still retains a love for his toys. “Right now, he has a hippo from IKEA which also has a grey back and a white belly. He cuddles [with] it and sleeps with it. He’s very affectionate to his toys but only if they’re the same color,” she said. “So he’s a little bit of a cat racist.” The Stars of Latin Class Latin teacher Susan Brockman got her cat, Marcus Didius Maximus, during the year she started teaching. “He has a Latin name, so he’s always been a part of Latin class,” Brockman said.
He was named Marcus Didius after Marcus Didius Falco, the main character in Lindsey Davis’s historical detective series, set in Ancient Rome. Like all proper Romans, the feline Marcus Didius needed three names and so, he was dubbed “Maximus” when he got to weigh over twenty pounds. “He’s huge,” Brockman said.
Latin teacher Dr. Lisa Brockman’s cat Pookie.
Her second cat, Pookie, is a dashing young ginger fellow of three years and an endless source of amusement. “Sometimes he looks like a praying mantis—so skinny and long—or it’s like an M.C. Escher drawing: his legs are going in one plane while the rest of him is like Egyptian or something,” Brockman said. When he is not sleeping, Pookie is usually busy causing trouble for Brockman. “He spends a fair amount of time having timeouts in the bathroom because he’s very loud and noisy and demanding and spoiled and drives me crazy if I need to get work done,” Brockman said. Alternatively, Pookie might bother his older counterpart, Marcus Didius. “Pookie will sometimes lick Marcus, but he usually jumps on top of his back, bites him, and starts a wrestling match,” Brockman said. “It’s not hostile; Pookie is just a pain because he’s a baby and wants to play, while Marcus is an old guy who’s like ‘Why are you doing this to me?’” Pookie entered Brockman’s life after she had just put to rest another one of her cats. “I fell in love with him, of course, which is [what] all kittens are good for.” It was at that time that Brockman gave her famous “cat quiz” in Latin class; students would have to conjugate Latin sentences featuring the two cats as characters. “As a teacher, pets are safe to talk about with your class. It’s your family, but it’s also a part of your family you don’t have to really be private about,” Brockman said. Brockman thus brings up her cats frequently in class, and sometimes uses them as an icebreaker with students. She has found that she has an audience of fellow
Katherine Gershfeld / The Spectator
By Mariya Gedrich
cat lovers and pet owners in her classes. “I have one very shy kid who has a total crush on Pookie,” Brockman said. “I printed some photos off my computer and I put one on my desk and told her it was from Pookie, that he had wanted her to have it. She kinda grinned and took the picture and gasped, and said ‘I will treasure it forever.’ It was just very sweet.” Good Things Come In Pairs
Biology teacher Jerry Citron’s guinea pigs (Snuggles and Peekaboo).
Guinea pigs have been in biology teacher Jerry Citron’s life since childhood. And so, when his daughter asked for a pet, they adopted two baby guinea pigs, Oreo and Pumpkin. They passed away after a couple of years, but proved to be a success with the family; Citron adopted two more: Peekaboo and Snuggles. Citron recalled knitting small sweaters and hats for Oreo and Pumpkin with his family, and building mazes for Peekaboo and Snuggles. Citron also trained his guinea pigs to be summoned by various sounds through Ivan Pavlov’s popular method of classical conditioning. “Get them really hungry and whistle, then feed them, so they associate it with the food,” Citron explained. “They’re really stupid
so it’s really easy.” Guinea pigs are very social creatures, which is why it is important to raise them in pairs. Raised as brothers, Peekaboo and Snuggles show a lot of affection towards each other: they sleep next to each other, purr when they’re together, and worry when they are apart. “If one daughter is holding one guinea pig and the other is holding another in the other room, they start to squeak loudly for each other,” Citron said. Like any two siblings, they also sometimes fight, especially over food. “If you give them one carrot they’ll both eat one end and try to pull it away from each other and gnaw it to see who can eat it the fastest,” Citron said. Citron’s guinea pigs live in luxury; they have a large cage with a castle and terrace inside that Citron jokingly described as a condominium. They also eat expensive Vitamin C enriched foods and have the freedom to run around the house as they please. However, they make frequent contributions to the Citron household by leaving behind their excrement, which is not at all a problem for the family. “Their poop is a phenomenally great fertilizer,” Citron marveled. “I use it in my garden, and my garden is phenomenal.” After a stressful day working with stressful students at a stressful school, pets provide the perfect refuge for many teachers. Their love for pets transcends lines beyond English and Latin, or physics and biology; pets bring joy to the hearts of all, including our very own teachers. PHOTO CREDITS Hudson Courtesy of Holly Shechter Pookie Courtesy of Dr. Lisa Brockman Snuggles and Peekaboo Courtesy of Jerry Citron
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Colette Brown taught in the English Department of Stuyvesant High School for over a decade and in that time she advised thousands of her Stuyvesant students through the college admissions process. She recently left Stuyvesant to begin independently advising students full time. Call or email Colette Brown for an appointment to begin personalized individual college admissions advisement. Her strong belief is that it is not enough to get it into the right school, but also fit into the right school for you. 646 467-0265 thecollegeadmissionsmaven@gmail.com THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS MAVEN is on Facebook
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Editorials Staff Editorial
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Getting in Touch Every Stuyvesant student is a member of the inscrutable “Generation Z.” We are characterized not by striped bellbottoms or grungy flannel—no, we have the enigmatic ubiquity of the Internet. As teenagers of the modern age, technology plays a profoundly important role in our lives. We’ve lost our mental integrity to our smartphones, which remember everything so we don’t have to. We have condensed and accessible information at our fingertips, rendering paper
And despite this, we are repeatedly confronted with the antique technology utilized by Stuyvesant’s administration— impeding the school in its mandate to communicate effectively with the student body.
books obsolete. Thanks to social media platforms, we can communicate constantly with hundreds of people, whether they are seated directly next to us, or 3000 miles away. And despite this, we are repeatedly confronted with the antique technology utilized by Stuyvesant’s administration— impeding the school in its mandate to communicate effectively with the student body. It is a sad irony that at a school where so many teachers and students are computer-savvy (our CS department is one of the best in the country), we can be so behind. The failure of Stuyvesant to manage its technology can be seen quite clearly with the disaster that was programming changes. At the start of every semester, it is inevitable that students will have problems with their schedules—ranging from the reasonable (“I don’t have a math class,”) to the absurd (“I don’t have enough friends with me in Drafting.”) What, however, can certainly be avoided is the craziness that comes along with changing schedules. This year, the afterschool sessions set aside for managing program changes were cited by numerous students as their worst experiences in all their time at Stuyvesant. Students were given paper slips with numbers to be called out as an attempt at organizing the frenzy, although the numbers were quickly forgotten. Some ended up having
to wait in the chaotic auditorium for four straight hours and then attend again the next day. And, even after these sessions, many students still tried to manage their programs with their guidance counselors. The demand was so tremendous that the guidance suite locked its doors, to grant its frazzled faculty members time to eat and space to breathe. That’s not to say, however, that we have to remain in this technological Stone Age. The lack of communication in this school leaves many students in the dark, whether about upcoming events or even apparel sales by the entrance. We applaud Guidance Counselor Harvey Blumm and Principal Jie Zhang for taking the effort to notify the student body via biweekly newsletter and emails, respectively, but these alone evidently do not resolve this issue. One solution that would greatly help is for the administration to make the online calendar on the school website more inclusive. Currently, the calendar largely includes important events such as Parent Teacher Conferences and holidays, but if it were to include more events such as college trips, we believe that many more students would be informed of events taking place within the school. The Student Union can help out, too, updating the calendar with senior spirit days and flower sales. For instance, during the recent “Jersey” senior spirit day, a considerable number of students were oblivious to the event and did not know what was going on. Had this event been posted on a calendar, it is likely that more seniors would have participated. It is also time each student received a school email address. Students from other schools such as Bronx Science and Brooklyn Tech already enjoy this benefit, and we should too. Originally proposed by now-Junior Caucus President Krzysztof Hochlewicz and Vice President William Yang, these email addresses would provide students a variety of benefits: primarily an account they know to check for important updates—updates that would no longer get lost amongst the usual inbox spam and miscellany. Progress on these accounts is currently being made, but it is unreasonable to demand that Assistant Principal of Technology Edward Wong effect this by himself. We ask that that the administration divert resources to the programming office to assist Wong in achieving this goal, so that at the very least, the project is completed before the term’s conclusion. Another antiquated system is one that we are all familiar with: attendance. Every day, an attendance sheet is printed out for each of our hundreds and hundreds of classes. A better solution would be to shift to an electronic attendance system, in which teachers use their computers to note who was late and who was missing during each period. The benefits wouldn’t be insignificant:
even just environmentally speaking, Stuyvesant is derelict by allowing those heaps of paper to be wasted. Although the Stuyvesant student body regularly demands an improvement in technology, it is imperative to consider the people who make it happen. For the most part, the task of improving school technology would be assigned to Wong, who is the Assistant Principal of Technology. However, Wong’s primary job pertains to tasks related to the programming office. It would be unfeasible to burden Wong with these additional undertakings. Instead, a reasonable solution would be to hire a new staff member and delegate these responsibilities to him or her. This new member of the faculty would be solely dedicated to updating the school’s technology, including implementing the aforementioned electronic attendance system and regularly updating the school website. In addition, he or she would relieve Wong of several responsibilities, which would allow Wong—harking back to programming—to concentrate his efforts on implementing a better programming system for next term. This is one of the next frontiers for an administra-
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[Improving technology and communication] is one of the next frontiers for an administration that has focused on pro- student policies, or at least making students’ lives just a little easier.
tion that has focused on prostudent policies, or at least making students’ lives just a little easier. Better technology use and clearer communication from the administration would allow us to divert disasters like programming and to an extent, the finals confusion (though that was largely a problem with Student Union outreach, not the administration). This is also an opportunity for the administration to rebuild its relationship with the student body, which has been long strained. And so, it should seize it.
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• In Issue 8, “Getting Closer to Their Goal” on page 27 was incorrectly attributed to Grace Lu; it was written by Sabrina Huang.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
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Opinions Beyond Bach: What Our Music Appreciation Curriculum is Ignoring By Inbar Pe’er What do Beethoven, Bach and Brahms all have in common? They are all classic examples of musicians from the Music Appreciation curriculum, and none of them originate from a continent other than Europe. The course name, Music Appreciation, is a bit misleading, as it promises a holistic musical education, yet the education that we actually receive is better classified as Western Music Appreciation. Music is a cultural symbol; it is deeply rooted in the beliefs, histories and traditions of different peoples. By acknowledging the achievements of only western music in our curriculum, we fail to concede the mere existence of other cultures. In the West, a composer in accordance with different scales often writes music, but this type of notated concert is a recent and local tradition compared to the oral traditions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Western music is all about reading notes, harmonies, and form, but that’s not to say that these are traits of music by definition. African music, which focuses on diverse rhythms and improvisation, is just as valid as symphonies written in sonata-allegro form. These two types of music each exhibit strengths in different aspects of music, which is a trait important in providing a well-rounded musical education. In fact, the very composers who wrote these highly revered pieces saw value in a diverse musical foundation; Mozart’s “Turkish March” is a celebration
of the Turkish janissary music he admired. This is an indication of the importance of learning about music from other cultures since the people we consider to be exemplars of western music had an understanding and respect for world music. In order to truly have a foundation in music we
We want to live in a world where there isn’t cultural elitism, rather mutual respect and understanding, and that starts with taking a look at what our curriculum is teaching us about the rest of the world. need to develop that understanding as well. Every culture has music that provides just as much insight for students as the European music they listen to in class. Though some students feel that listening to Chopin is useless, it is up to the student to make that decision after being exposed both types of music. This decision is meaning-
ful because it comes from a foundation of cultural understanding that is necessary for a member of the global community to have. It raises students’ awareness and allows us to make informed decisions about the cultures we choose to appreciate, rather than defaulting to the appreciation of the West. By failing to appreciate other cultures, the Eurocentric nature of the class encourages a Eurocentric nature in our society. In a world that is becoming more globalized every day the dismissal of other cultures is not only outdated but also has many harms. Appreciation and understanding of other cultures is necessary in order discourage alienation and isolation. When we view our culture as superior to others it becomes a lot harder to interact with those other cultures. Not only are global interactions threatened by eurocentrism, but so are the cultures of other countries. Due to the fact that we view our culture above other’s, we have a tendency to try to force our culture onto other people in an attempt to make them “better,” causing the loss of their culture. Rather than encouraging the uniformity of music to fit into the standards of the West, we should be able to gain an understanding and appreciation of other cultures. We want to live in a world where there isn’t cultural elitism, rather mutual respect and understanding, and that starts with having our curriculum teach us about the rest of the world.
In Which Stuyvesant Does Something Right By Asher Lasday Homogeneity exists all throughout society, but perhaps nowhere is it as pervasive as it is in Stuyvesant. The meticulously planned lessons with few gaps for questions, the proposed singular way to do a math problem, and the formulaic way AP exams require DBQ’s to be written: these are all the symptoms of our standardized test based environment. More and more often, quality education is sacrificed for the sake of conformity. But nothing furthers homogeneity more than departmentalized finals. These finals force unrealistic ideals of complete uniformity, and so, as flawed as they may be, non-departmentalized finals are the ideal solution to our testing problem. Finals are ultimately designed to verify that students have learned all of the term’s material. However, this objective is fraught with issues of its own when applied to departmental finals. The issue stems from the fact that teachers are, for better or for worse, not the same. Teachers simply focus on different things within their curriculums—something that departmental finals fail to take into account. A departmental final always prioritizes a certain style of teaching, leaving other teachers to play catch-up and modify their curriculum at the end of the term. While this may be considered a good thing, as students will accumulate a similar knowledge base even through different styles of teaching, they don’t achieve anything particularly impressive.
Teachers instruct in a way that makes the most sense to them, and forcing changes upon them might make them far less effective. It makes little sense to have different teachers who understand the material differently teach in the same way. Even for those who would like all students to know precisely the same thing, understand that the tradeoff is not between homogeneity and heterogeneity, but between bad teaching and good teaching, as forcing teachers to teach in a certain way will simply make them ineffective. On the other hand, non-departmental finals are not flawless either. As of now, they are often connected during the last few weeks of school, which are already filled with frantically squeezed in and new material, projects, and one last unit test. However, nondepartmental finals don’t need to be administered in class. The ideal final would be a non-departmental final that is taken during finals week, but is written and administered by a teacher to their own classes. Departmental finals are telling of a greater issue in our educational system: an obsession with conformity. Teachers and schools alike are pressured into giving standardized tests, making sure each student has learned precisely the same thing. While all students should understand basic concepts, this system of testing has established a single-minded culture. If Stuyvesant wants to break this mold, and create a more engaged, informed student body, it needs to not only accept, but embrace incongruity.
Anne Duncan / The Spectator
A High-Stakes Exchange
By Zora Arum You stand on a grassy lawn in front of a forked train track. A 15,000-ton locomotive is barreling along the track at 40 miles per hour—engine rumbling, headlights glaring, and headed straight for a family of five. In front of you is a long lever. If you pull the lever towards yourself, you can divert the train to the track next to it, on which a single man stands. If you do nothing, the family will die. To be a world leader is to stand over this lever perpetually, constantly treading morallyambiguous ground. In the case of the Islamic State, however, it is imperative to pull the lever not necessarily from an ethical standpoint, but to accomplish essential political ends. On Tuesday, January 20, Is-
lamic State posted a video of two Japanese men kneeling on the floor with a young jihadist standing between them. The militant recited a rehearsed call for ransom, threatening that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had 72 hours to present $200 million in order to save the hostages’ lives. Abe had recently promised to contribute the same amount to aid Britain and the U.S. in the global struggle against IS. Giving in to monetary demands such as these provides the Islamic State with the funds needed to engage in further terrorist activities. In fact, according to a recent UN report, IS has gained $45 million through ransom over the past year. However, this is not the most prevalent impact of exchange deals with terrorists, as these
funds are relatively insignificant in the scope of the organization’s annual income. IS relies far more heavily on oil and drug trafficking. IS gains, as CNN states, somewhere between $1 million and $2 million per day on oil sales. The more important issue is that by entertaining terrorist threats, world leaders allow IS to use kidnapping as a publicity stunt, practically ensuring an increase in Islamic State enlistments. This direct relationship between public awareness and recruitment rates has been demonstrated through the Islamic State’s propaganda on social media forums, which, according to the head of the FBI’s counterterrorism division, frequently targets women and teenagers, and is “often successful.” The Islamic State’s negotiations with Japanese Prime Minister Abe took a similar turn when he refrained from paying IS’s ransom offer. The militants killed one hostage, but proposed sparing the other’s life in exchange for the release of Sajida al-Rishawi, an Iraqi terrorist who was held in Jordanian prison at the time. In addition, IS announced that if she were not liberated, the militants would kill Moaz al-Kasasbeh, a recently-abducted Jordanian pilot, drawing Jordanian politicians into Japanese deliberations with IS as well. Of all the imprisoned terrorists affiliated with IS, al-Rishawi might seem like a peculiar choice
for this exchange. Though she was involved in a series of 2005 bomb attacks in Amman, Jordan that left close to 60 dead, her suicide vest failed to detonate, so she
By saving the life of one citizen, one could feasibly be condemning a dozen more to death. has only been indirectly involved in jihadist operations. However, Karima Bennoune, an international law professor at the University of California, explained to NBC News that the Islamic State’s choice of prisoner was a calculated publicity move. She inferred that “the language used in the video, which refers to al-Rishawi as its ‘imprisoned sister,’ suggests propaganda.” By publicly requesting al-Rishawi’s release, IS likely means to show the public that it is dedicated to the protection of Muslim women, as well as men. This, along with the use of social media targeting women, could increase the number of women engaging in
jihad—especially if public figures continue to negotiate with ISIS militants as if they were already representatives of a legitimate country. Furthermore, by agreeing to the exchange of hostages, world leaders show terrorists across the globe that threats are a viable source of income and reinforcements. This in turn encourages organizations like IS to continue abducting innocents. If all countries involved refused to give in to terrorist demands, the demands would likely trickle to a stop, as they did with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia (FARC) in 2012. On the other hand, by saving the life of one citizen, leaders could presumably be condemning a dozen more to death. But the decision to reject hostage exchange with terrorists is, above all, a choice promoting the political effort to stop IS. If world leaders wish to combat the brutal actions committed by the Islamic State, it is illogical to simultaneously support policies that allow the organization’s expansion and increase its global influence. It would be far more productive to fight a long-term war, even if it requires losing lives along the way. You stand on a grassy lawn in front of a forked train track. The lever looms over you, casting long shadows across the green. You reach for it.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 14
Yuchen Jin / The Spectator
Opinions
By Ryan Boodram Although Americans seem to disagree on everything, there is one thing we can all agree on: our roads are terrible. There is no doubt that America’s transportation system is in a state of disrepair. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in its report card for America’s Infrastructure, gave America’s roads and transit system a D and our bridges C+. Additionally, the White House reports that poor roads are a contributing factor in over 10,000 traffic fatalities every year. The issue at hand, though, is where to find the money to perform this much-needed maintenance. The United States Highway Trust Fund, which provides the money to build and maintain America’s highway and mass transit system, is currently set to run out of money in May. Having run out for the first time in 2008, this wouldn’t be the first time the fund ran out of money. Since then, Congress has spent $54 billion to keep it afloat. These shortcomings are caused by a decrease in the amount of money being taken in by the gas tax, the primary source of funding for the Trust Fund. This is due to the drop in gas usage caused by increased
fuel efficiency standards and inflation. Increasing the gas tax could easily remedy the situation.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), in its report card for America’s Infrastructure, gave America’s roads and transit system a grade of D and our bridges a grade of C+.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reports that an increase of 10 to 15 cents would allow the Highway Trust Fund to meet its $50 bil-
lion in obligations. Given that the gas tax would need to be increased by 12.6 cents just to keep pace with inflation, since the tax was set at 18.6 cents per gallon in 1993, this hardly constitutes an increase. Members of both parties, from Ronald Reagan to Nancy Pelosi, have supported increases in the gas tax. A study from San Jose University even showed that 58% of the public would support a gas tax increase once they knew the money would go towards improving transportation. Why then, do some politicians, including President Obama, oppose an increase in the gas tax? The most popular argument against increasing the gas tax, and the one championed by the President, is that it will disproportionately impact the lower and middle classes. While this may be true, an increase in the gas tax will have many positive effects that will outweigh the negative effect on those who make the least. After the recent plummet of oil and gas prices is taken into account, a minor increase in the gas tax would have a marginal effect because the public would still experience a large net decrease in gas price. If the gas tax is raised by 15 cents, Americans will pay an additional three dollars for 20 gallons of gas, which is easily offset by the $30 Americans are saving on those 20 gallons. As numerous studies have shown, improvements in infrastructure will have a positive effect on the overall economy and create millions of well-paying jobs, with the average salary for a road construction worker being $39,000. According to the CBO, infrastructure spending creates the second largest amount of economic activity per dollar spent. Besides the creation of high-paying jobs, which are desperately needed by the lower class, a healthy economy will mean an increase in wages and a decrease in prices. The poor will also be sav-
ing in other ways. Better maintained roads means that cars are damaged less, so people don’t have to spend as much per year to maintain them. According to the ASCE, this could mean saving up to $444 per motorist per year. Expanded roads also translate to less time spent waiting in traffic, which means less money spent on gas. Combine these savings with the $750 in savings President Obama estimates American families will save this year due to the drop in gas prices, and it seems that any increase in the gas tax will have only a minimal impact on poor Americans. To alleviate any lingering worries about detrimental effects on the poorest Americans, after the gas tax is increased, the money that Congress currently spends to sustain the Highway Trust Fund could be used to increase federal tax credits for the lower and middle classes. Even if an increase in the gas tax does have some negative effect on the poor, it will certainly be better than the way Congress has bailed out the Highway Trust Fund in the past. To ensure that the Fund had enough money to function, in 2014 Congress passed a temporary measure which allowed
employers to delay payments into their employees’ pensions so that employers would produce more taxable profit. This measure negatively impacts working-class Americans, regardless of whether or not they even own a car. This is in clear contrast with the gas tax, which asks people to pay for the roads proportionate to the amount that they use them. Furthermore, temporary measures are unreliable, as they are renegotiated every year, preventing the long-term projects necessary to improve our infrastructure from happening. It is indisputable that an increase in the gas will greatly benefit the American economy, with little to no negative effect on the lower and middle classes. However, given that advocating for a tax increase, even if there are numerous benefits, constitutes political suicide for any politician, it is unlikely that we will see change anytime soon. One can only hope that Washington will be able to make the right decision and put America on the road to fixing its transportation system before it’s too late.
Yujie Fu / The Spectator
Tanumaya Bhowmik / The Spectator
The Gas Tax: The Tax You’ll Actually Want To Pay
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 15
Opinions Point- Counterpoint: Community College
By Kenny Lin
Zovinar Khrimian / The Spectator
The problems attending college admission have been around since the beginning of this nation’s history and while various presidents over the years have attempted to solve it, none have succeeded. Last month in his State of the Union Address, however, President Barack Obama announced his intentions to address a prolonged issue by “lower[ing] the cost of community college to zero.” Although good-natured at heart, Obama’s proposal, like those before it, is misguided, since it is a misconception that by allowing more people to be educated, high-paying jobs can become more readily available to the general public, thus boosting the economy. He doesn’t understand, however, that students coming out of community colleges are far from prosperous. According to the article “Zero Tuition,” which appeared in The Economist last month, only 20 percent of full-time students attending community colleges earn their degrees in three years, well behind the two-year standard. Furthermore, many courses are either “out of date or illmatched to the local job market.” Without successful students or adequate colleges, free tuition will do very little to bolster the success rate of potential undergrads. Obama also fails to realize that the majority of poor students already receive free admission to community college. The average tuition for a community college is currently around $3,300. Nonetheless,
the Pell grant, which applies to poor families receiving less than $24,000 annually, already offers up to $5,730 a year. This is nearly twice as much as community college tuition. Not only does it grant free admission, but it also covers textbooks, food, and other expenses. Supporters of free community colleges frequently argue that this proposal will help students avoid excessive debt. However, by rendering community colleges free, we would only be allowing those who can already afford community college to receive a free tuition. Clearly, this would not be a case of money being wisely spent. Moreover, Obama fails to realize that by implementing this new policy, community college class sizes will dramatically increase. According to a study from the University of Texas, the number of people who enrolled at community colleges increased by 20 percent when tuition was decreased by $1,000. An article from Issues in Science and Technology Magazine says that most community colleges are already under extreme stress, and the new influx of students caused by this bill could easily be the breaking point. Borough of Manhattan Community College, for instance, has a student-facul-
The truth is that the majority of community colleges simply do not have the resources to support an influx of undergraduates.
ty ratio of about one to 45, so it’s not surprising that “many of these faculty staff are underpaid and often work at multiple institutions,” according to journalist Carol J. Carter. The ramifications of this proposal mean that these already-strained employees would have even less time to devote to each student. The truth is that the majority of community colleges simply do not have the resources to support such an influx of undergraduates. It’s true that the American dream includes attending college and getting a good job. Yet this proposal is definitely not the way to fulfill that dream. Students attending community colleges are not as successful as Obama envisions them to be, as the majority of this proposal’s target audience already received free tuition, and community colleges do not have the resources to support a massive increase in students. It is clear we must firmly stand against Obama’s proposal. Despite his good intentions, his plan will fail.
Everyone Deserves Knowledge
Ashley Lin / The Spectator
Kimberlyn Cho / The Spectator
No Pain, No Gain
By JUSTIN KONG You’ve aced the interview and have all the right connections, but you still did not get that job. Why? No college degree. Living in an economy that rewards intellect like never before, Americans must come to realize that a college education is imperative for future success. In his recent State of the Union Address, President Obama planned to address this issue by proposing to make community college free. If passed, this much-needed plan will not only incite more students to apply to community college, but also increase the skills of the American workforce. Here at Stuyvesant, most of us aim to attend top-tier colleges such as Harvard, Columbia, or Yale. High school students like us, however, only represent a small percentage of students looking for a college education. According to Columbia University’s Community College Research Center, 44 percent of undergraduate students are enrolled in community college. Amounting to about 7.7 million individuals, these students span from eighteen-year-olds out of high school to adults in their thirties trying to look for better jobs. In retrospect, community college does affect many individuals in America. As a country that proclaims itself to be one of the very best in the world, it is our job to mold the best citizens who are well educated and successful. Obama’s proposal for free community college is the solution for many individuals who do not want to graduate college with student loans that will still haunt them in several decades. According to College Board, the average cost of tuition per year for a public fouryear college is, at most, $35,000, which is almost $9,000 per year. Even with financial aid from Federal Student Aid, which only awards a maximum amount of $5,775, students will still need to pay around $3000 every year. Even by getting a job that pays only minimum wage, student debt is not a priority when there are other expenses such water and gas bills that dominate one’s life. Many who oppose this proposal however, point to one thing: cost. However, Tennessee has shown that cost for such a system would be fairly easy to deal with. As stated before, students already are offered a chance for financial aid through the Federal Student Aid program. According to Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, students in Tennessee on average receive about $3,300 from grant money. With the average cost
of college being $3,800 a year, the state pays the difference, $500. An expense as small as that is not a burden for our government. If we are able to maximize the competence of our youth, a small price like that is negligible when the outcome will be much greater. Since October 2014, communities such as Chicago and Tennessee have shown that this idea is viable. With an original goal of 20,000 applicants, Tennessee, which originally had a goal of 20,000 two-year community college applicants, has already received over 35,000 applications and a total of 102,483 applicants. This shows that many fellow Americans do have a passion for knowledge and want to get ahead of the curve. Overshadowed by those who can afford to be educated from private institutions, those who do not have the money should be given an equal chance to learn. It is time to allow everyone an equal chance to learn and potentially make a difference. If implemented in other areas around
Providing a medium where individuals of all ages can interact while learning will bring upon a generation that is more intelligent and well-rounded.
the country, this policy will most likely exponentially increase the number of college applications. People do not just go to school to learn, but also to socialize and make friends. Providing a medium where individuals of all ages can interact while learning will bring upon a generation that is more intelligent, well-rounded, and successful.
The Spectator â—? February 12, 2015
Page 16
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 17
Arts and Entertainment Music
Yujie Fu / The Spectator
Take Me to the Moon and Back
By Jenny Jiang Beyoncé. Katy Perry. Miley Cyrus. These all-too-familiar pop singers, and others, have led the charts and made their names known worldwide. Soon, however, many will recognize the up-andcoming alternative rock band, Walk the Moon, which produces a unique, yet relatable, sound in its music. I first heard of this band through a friend who recommend-
ed Walk the Moon to me because it wrote a song with my name, “Jenny,” and make the kind of music I enjoy—fun, lively, and upbeat. Characterized by music that is both contemporary and vintage, Walk the Moon’s music is different from anything I have ever heard. Walk the Moon started as a local band in Cincinnati in 2008 with lead singer Nicholas Petricca, and went through many member changes before settling for its current makeup: Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman, and Eli Maiman. All members sing vocals, but Petricca takes lead. Petricca also plays the keys and synthesizer, Ray plays the bass, Waugaman plays the drums, and Maiman plays the guitar. The band first received airplay for its song “Anna Sun” from its selfreleased album “i want! i want!” in 2010, and later for its second album “Walk the Moon” in 2012. After some songs were featured in well-known stores’ playlists, magazines, and even T.V. shows, such as “Vampire Diaries,” Walk the Moon gained enough popularity for its newest album, “Talking Is Hard,” to place No. 2 in the alter-
native rock album sales on iTunes. Walk the Moon’s foot-tapping melodies, combined with electronic reverberations and instrumental bits, form a musical style inspired by bands from the 1980s, such as the Talking Heads, The Police, and Tears for Fears. Petricca told Interview magazine that “the plan was always to make pop, rock and roll that was a little left-of-center.” Walk the Moon’s songs effortlessly form a bridge between nostalgic and conventional, and fresh and novel. A listener will recall the echo-y ‘70s and ‘80s tones in the music, but will also feel the youngness and loudness in another layer. Walk the Moon starts most of its songs with ‘80s synthesizer sounds but transitions into a more clearcut focus on drums and guitar. Compared to the tones of the past two albums, the tone of “Talking Is Hard” strays slightly from its established style and is considered more experimental. The lyrics in this album are more optimistic than those from the last album, and involve more vocal challenges, such as faster singing and a wider vocal range. In the song “Up 2 U,”
Petricca’s voice draws up into a suspended falsetto, then quickly switches to the rock shriek. Many typical aspects of the band’s music haven’t changed, though—the use of many repetitive phrases and the contrast between songs in an album are reminiscent of Walk the Moon’s earlier songs. In “Sidekick,” for example, the word “sidekick” is repeated 18 times, and there are some songs that progress from a slow start to a fast-paced melody. Unlike “Shut Up and Dance,” a single from the album that has a constant, high intensity, songs with a simpler start such as “Work This Body” instrumentally allow you to adjust to the overall energy of the song by listening to a gradual increase in tempo. As soon as I listened to the songs with strong drum beats, my head was bobbing along, while the relatively slower songs at the end of the album immediately made my body sway. I could even imagine myself rocking out on the dance floor, disappearing into the music. With quirky song titles, including “Aquaman” and “Quesadilla,” Walk the Moon shows its naturally spontaneous and dreamy, youth-
Another New York Adventure
Katherine Gershfeld / The Spectator
Smith (Megan Fairchild), they meet feisty Madame Dilly (Jackie Hoffman) and exuberant Hildy (Alysha Umphress) who help the boys live their typically lustful adventures. These encounters include a rousing scene in a taxi that stays true to the essence of New York, as well as a peculiar encounter in a museum that somehow maintains its authenticity despite exhibits coming to life, depending on our suspension of disbelief. Initially, the group separates into couples to fulfill their own romantic quests, but by the second act, they come together to go on a spree of nightclub festivities. The entire show is filled with a sense of hectic fun and exhilaration. Though the three male leads had amazingly intricate vocal and dance numbers, Umphress’ booming voice stole the show in songs such as “Come Up to My Place” and “I Can Cook Too.” In these numbers Umphress displayed complete power of the stage and maintained the audience’s captivation as she seduced the poor, naïve Chip. Similarly, Fairchild, a principal dancer for the New York City ballet, demonstrated her dance abilities in her several ten-minute long dance numbers and her briefer but equally impressive vocal solos. Fairchild led several jazz ballet numbers that included the whole cast and captivated the entire audience. She was also able to evoke humor in a fun, farcical way that eased the audience into a stranger New York than
By Frances Dodin and Liam Elkind Broadway’s revival of “On the Town” brings a new spin on an old New York City romance: three sailors on a quest for love. The show’s strongest factors are its catchy numbers that have the audience dancing and singing along from the opening of the curtains to the very end and combination of ballet and jazz in all of the dance numbers. The musical’s artistic style is reminiscent of composer Leonard Bernstein and choreographer Jerome Robbins’ “West Side Story.” However, this production brings a new sense of livelihood to the stage, and the projections of New York
landmarks onto a large scrim in the backdrop help bring this show into the 21st century while maintaining a rustifeel, making even a jaded New Yorker feel excited to be in this city. Set in the midst of World War II, the show begins with a rousing National Anthem, sung by the audience itself in front of a large American flag. This scene instantly transports us into the old era. The show continues with the peppy “New York, New York,” in which sailors Chip (Jay Armstrong Johnson), Gabey (Tony Yazbeck), and Ozzie (Clyde Alves) start off their one free day of leave in New York City. In their search for Gabey’s romantic counterpart, New York’s own Ivy “Miss Turnstiles of the Month”
ful side. Songwriting, as well as song naming, is driven by whimsical writing and feeling; though the band’s music is listed as pop/indie rock, the members don’t necessarily identify themselves that way— they try to have a sense of mystery and playfulness, while being able to continuously reshape themselves. Sometimes songs are inspired by random crushes with notable features or even a teacher with a pretty name, and other times, by fans and the community. It was in the band’s last album, “Walk the Moon,” that the song “Anna” came from a college professor who was an “awesome person [and] just has a really inspiring name.” It’s hard to find good singers and performers, and even harder to find good music in today’s culture. Luckily, Walk the Moon has offered all of the above needed for exceptional artistry. It possesses everything a young music lover would desire: free spirit, connection to music from earlier times, a tolerable but excitable energy, and talent. Listen to its songs, add them to your playlists, and spread the word about Walk the Moon.
Musical
the one we know and love today. Fairchild was supported by a highly talented dance ensemble. The complex numbers, which were on the longer side, appealed to those who could sit in amazement of the dancers’ almost supernatural skills and stupefied those who have tried and failed to do the noteworthy stunts themselves. In “Subway Ride/Imaginary Coney Island,” in which Ivy and Gabey perform a miraculous dance number, the stage evolves from one setting to another. Most notably, the stage becomes a boxing ring across which the duo battles out their emotional struggle. The original staging in the rest of the show similarly became pivotal to some comedic and emotional scenes. One recurring scene occurs in a train cart, which is simulated through the use of low lighting and a rectangular spotlight that rotates to mimic the movement of the train. The depiction is amazingly accurate with the packed placement of the varying characters on the train and the loud conversations that continue endlessly (and commonly annoy) nearby listeners. The actors even wavered back and forth and lost balance with the train’s movement. The dark lighting during this scene played into the variety of color schemes throughout the show. Each romantic scene was overcome with a blue and dreamy atmosphere, while the more hectic party scenes had bright greens and yellows to
compliment the mambo rhythm. Furthermore, the comedic timing was one of the best aspects of the show. Many of the show’s secondary plots relied on hilarious back-and-forths, especially one between Madame Dilly and her overly sympathetic fiancée Judge Pitkin (Michael Rupert) who, with a resounding bass, constantly repeated, “I understand” (after a massive number of the same name) in response to every lustful action of his soon-to-be wife. Throughout the entire show, the jokes and physical humor perfectly complimented the romantic storyline and gave personality to each character. The audience automatically felt connected with each speaker and wanted him to achieve his goal just as much as the character did. The 42nd street Lyric Theatre production brings back an old aesthetic of Broadway that allows us to remember how musical theatre has changed over the years. You’ll no longer find these kinds of feel-good, simple and happygo-lucky musicals among the dramatic stages of Broadway today. “On the Town” is sure to appeal to audience members of all ages and send them back in time to a fun romp around everyone’s favorite city and warm their hearts with the story of three young soldiers looking for love while out on the town.
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Page 18
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Arts and Entertainment We’d Like to Thank the Academy... With the 2015 Oscars approaching, there are fewer than two weeks for the general public to do its usual during awards season: predictions. With such a strong list of nominees, the competition is blown wide open this year. Below, some members of the Arts & Entertainment department share their predictions:
The Theory of Everything
Actress in a Supporting Role: Emma Stone
By Liana Chow By Mahfuza Sabiha At the mere age of 26, Emma Stone has already plowed through the film industry, winning her first Oscar nomination this year. Stone made her Hollywood debut when she played Jules in “Superbad” in 2007 and managed to make her minor character shine past her limited screen time. Since then, Stone’s career has only been going uphill. From her comedic abilities seen in her portrayal of Olive, a witty teenager in the modern-day adaption of “The Scarlet Letter” called “Easy A,” to her more serious performance as aspiring writer Eugenia Phelan in “The Help,” Stone has never failed to bring her characters to life. However, the reason for her nomination lies within her role as Sam, the recovering drug-addict and daughter of a former actor in “Birdman.” Stone uses the long shots in the film to her advantage by remaining in character for an extended period of time. Effectively capturing the essence of her self-deprecating role, she chastises her father for his failed career in a poignant scene. While her rant is already fervent, the ensuing twenty seconds especially highlight her capability as an actress: her rapidly-blinking eyes, ones that are reminiscent of her past as a drug addict, try so feverishly hard to block off the regret that is devouring the rest of her face. This unimpaired portrayal of a psychologically-damaged girl incapable of empathizing with even her own father is what earns her a place in this year’s Oscars. Even against the notable competition consisting of Patricia Arquette, Laura Dern, Keira Knightley, and Meryl Streep, Stone definitely has a chance at winning the Academy Award of Actress in a Supporting Role. If not, her flourishing career promises similar opportunities in the future.
Selma
Yuchen Jin / The Spectator
By Jongyoul Lee Meet Annie Lee Cooper (Oprah Winfrey), a resident of Selma, Alabama. When we first meet her, Cooper is suffering through the tedious process of becoming a registered voter as an African American woman. The Caucasian registrar asks her reasonable questions at first, and she answers all of them correctly. His questions become exceedingly more ridiculous, and Cooper is, understandably, unable to answer them correctly. Her form is then stamped with a red “REJECTION,” and she dejectedly trudges back home. As seen in events like this throughout the film, “Selma” explores the absurd injustices faced by African Americans in the 1960s. In “Selma,” the fight for black suffrage and all its sentiment is depicted flawlessly. The relationship between Martin Luther King Jr. (David Oyelowo) and President Lyndon B. Johnson (Tom Wilkinson) is especially compelling. Wilkinson, who embraces Johnson’s condescending tone, pompous body language, and frequent grimaces, effortlessly stirs frustration. Wilkinson beautifully portrays the reluctance of Johnson, accentuating the tension between himself and King. In response to the president’s disapproval, King leads demonstrations. Oyelowo, who gives speeches with charisma, executes King’s character effectively. He is even able to mask his British accent with one similar to King’s in order to address Americans. Finally, we see King lead the Selma to Montgomery march, a peaceful protest in which activists walked the 54mile highway from Selma to the Alabama state capital of Montgomery. As the marchers are attacked with horses, clubs, and tear gas, they are filmed on national television, thus spreading awareness of their harsh treatment. The astonishing parallels between this protest and the ones that recently took place in Ferguson, Missouri make the film even more relevant today. Because of the authenticity of the film’s dealings with events like this the sympathetic audience is swept from the theater to 1960s Alabama. This heart-wrenching film has received a meager two nominations at the Oscars. Surprisingly, neither nomination involves actors or actresses; they were for Best Picture and Best Original Song. The song “Glory,” written by the musician John Legend and the rapper Common, with lyrics that incorporate messages of the Ferguson protests, has already won a number of awards. Although the song is relevant to the movie, it should not have eclipsed the film’s actors. Some, like Oyelowo, believe that the nominations themselves reflect discrimination. Oyelowo has argued that African Americans are usually celebrated for playing subservient roles instead of leaders. To challenge unfortunate ubiquity of discrimination still present today, and to recognize the great art that “Selma” is, it is unbelievably certain that this film deserves to be recognized by the Oscars for “Best Picture.”
Rina Lubit / The Spectator
When average-brained people create a drama about the acclaimed physicist Stephen Hawking, one obstacle is the pressure stemming from the fact that this world-class genius is still alive to judge them. Because the story is told largely through the eyes of his ex-wife, Jane Wilde, the possibility of Hawking’s looming judgment can be even more daunting. This is the case of the 2014 film “The Theory of Everything,” which details Hawking’s life, focusing on his relationship with Wilde. However, director James Marsh manages to clearly and eloquently portray Hawking’s story. When Hawking himself watched the movie, he was moved to tears and described it as “broadly true.” The film’s poignancy is one of its many remarkable characteristics, making it a deserving nominee for the “Best Picture” Oscar. The movie is touching without feeling over-dramatized. It is as persuasive as a documentary, and as captivating as a drama.There are no blatantly good or bad characters; there are only real people falling in and out of each other’s lives. The film is centered around Jane Wilde (Felicity Jones) and Stephen Hawking (Eddie Redmayne), who meet as students and fall in love. The antagonist, however, is Stephen’s severe motor disease, ALS, which gradually takes over his body and destroys his muscle coordination, eventually preventing him from walking and speaking. “The Theory of Everything” focuses on the empathetic story of Jane and Stephen’s relationship. Jones’s masterful portrayal of Jane enables the viewer to understand that she and Stephen loved each other but were unable to sustain their marriage. Jane is determined to love Stephen, but she is stressed from having to care for him, push him everywhere in a wheelchair, and struggle to communicate with him. In an early scene, soon after Stephen finds out he has ALS, Jane insists that they play a game of croquet because Stephen had previously wanted to. When Stephen ignores her during the game, she snatches away his croquet stick, and the blaze in her eyes carries her longing for them to be happy together and frustration at his not being able to return all her favors—an effective foreshadowing of the remainder of their relationship. Redmayne’s prowess also stands out in “The Theory of Everything.” He practically becomes Stephen, adopting the ungraceful physicality of Stephen’s motor neuron disease with graceful skill, and acting out a transformation that could move anyone to tears. One would expect Redmayne’s acting in the second half of the movie to be restricted by not being able to speak or move most of his face. Instead, the movie becomes even more wrenching as we see him combat his disability to live a life for far longer than was thought possible. Just as Stephen joined the ranks of Isaac Newton as the Lucasian Professor at Cambridge, “The Theory of Everything” ought to join the ranks of the Oscar-awarded.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 19
Arts and Entertainment Boyhood
By Nusheen Ghaemi
By Dana Chen
Wes Anderson never fails to deliver witty punch lines, adorable young love, beautiful directing, and overall quirkiness. His latest movie, “The Grand Budapest Hotel,” is an unconventional film that incorporates the characteristics of a thriller, mystery, romance, and comedy. It is one of his best films yet, with some of his most elaborate and stunning sets, as well as interesting, colorful characters. The movie lends the viewers a peek at an unbelievable and enchanting adventure. It takes place in the alluring Grand Budapest Hotel, located in the made-up European land of Zubrowka. Though the movie explores various sub-plots, it follows the newly appointed lobby boy, Zero, and his mentor, Monsieur Gustave H., as they steal a priceless painting, get caught in a fight for the inheritance of a huge fortune, escape from prison, and fall in love with the prospective darlings. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” was nominated for nine Oscars, including Best Picture, Cinematography, Music (Original Score), and Writing. But what stands out the most is the style of cinematography Anderson employs. Through the movie’s saturated colors, overhead shots, and visual symmetry, Anderson almost makes the characters and sets look like little animated toys as they run across a landscape. Furthermore, the cinematography’s old-fashioned look gives the movie a rich texture and warmth. The landscapes, sets, and especially the shots of The Grand Budapest Hotel itself lend the film a surreal and almost dollhouselike quality. Alexandre Desplat creates a soundtrack with very child-like music-box sounds that perfectly depicts the whimsical story being told. This combination evokes an instant nostalgia that not only reminds me of my childhood but also looks frozen in time. But, what makes this movie so special is that Anderson manages to bring a sort of humanity to it all at the end by exploring deeper emotional themes covered up with bright visual entertainment. “The Grand Budapest Hotel” is a touching story that lifts your spirits and is pure fun to watch.
Amidst the plethora of blockbuster films dominating the box office is an unorthodox take on moviemaking. Filmed over a span of 11 years, Richard Linklater’s “Boyhood” depicts ordinary moments in life, ranging from moving away from a childhood home to graduating from high school—all using the same cast. The movie is centered around Mason (Ellar Coltrane), an American boy living in the suburbs of Texas. The story is told through snippets of his adolescence, complete with the confusion and awkwardness that come with growing up. The audience watches as Mason transforms from a slightly chubby kid arguing with his sister into a lanky teenager partying
Birdman
Yujie Fu / The Spectator
The Grand Budapest Hotel
for the first time. This cinematic timeline separates “Boyhood” from other films, giving it a much more genuine feeling. The use of the same actors over a span of nearly a dozen years makes the movie seem almost documentary-like. Linklater is known for his use of cinematic realism to portray life’s finer (and perhaps not-so-fine) moments. Some of the experiences the characters have are simply ordinary, even mundane, but each scene has a sense of raw and unabashed emotion that makes this film even more of a standout among its competitors. The character development is also superb, partly due to the strong acting altogether. Each actor brings something fresh and different to the table, perhaps incorporating aspects of their own lives into those of their characters. Mason’s mother (Patricia Arquette) ages onscreen as she struggles with divorce and motherhood. Arquette does a particularly good job of embodying the frustration that often comes with raising children, without letting go of her character’s softer side. When Mason leaves for college, she is proud but comes to the realization that her identity as a mother, as well as her own life, is slipping away with time. Mason’s father (Ethan Hawke) also depicts the quirks of his role as a struggling estranged father quite well. Linklater’s daughter, Lorelei, plays Mason’s sister Samantha, which may have been his way of making the film feel even more personal. All of this, coupled with scattered pop-culture references that evolve throughout the film—Game Boys and Britney Spears songs to smartphones and Gotye hits—make the passage of time seem even more real. The “Best Picture” category for this year’s Oscars is full of strong contenders. However, “Boyhood” remains an innovative standout. What separates it from the other nominees is not necessarily the strong acting or the avant-garde lack of a plot, but the use of time as the scaffolding for the entire movie. This stylistic choice by Linklater is what makes the audience feel as if they were watching their own lives play out before their eyes.
The Imitation Game
By Justin Pacquing “Birdman” (2014) certainly presented itself as an intriguing film. After all, what is more interesting than Emma Stone in a relatively serious role and Zach Galifianakis in a relatively slim body? “Birdman,” however, surpassed this initial impression. While unique, it was also dramatic, witty, genuine, refreshing, and one of the best films 2014 had to offer. The cinematography of the film is a triumph on its own. The chaotic life of protagonist Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) is presented as a single, unedited shot, with scenes transitioning to each other virtually seamlessly. Intermittent bursts of the soundtrack’s bare rhythmic drums, contrasted with rich classical harmonies, leave echoes of enthrallment resonating amongst the audience. The seemingly simple plot is executed brilliantly: Riggan, a washed-up actor famed for blockbuster superhero Birdman, tries to make it in an ever-shallow and hostile Broadway. Troubled by his irresponsible past, Riggan attempts to reclaim his dignity in an unlikely pursuit while trying to avoid the plunge into insanity or, even worse, superficiality. Keaton, nominated for Best Actor, convincingly creates a multi-dimensional, relatable character. Keaton’s supporting cast is as dynamic as it is complementary. Stone plays Riggan’s rehabbing daughter, Sam, retaining her usual wit in the form of caustic, self-deprecating jabs. Her emotionally raw monologue writing off Riggan as an irrelevant performer and a disconnected father alone justifies her nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Edward Norton excels as Mike Shiner, a performer bent on antagonizing his peers in order to achieve fame, symbolizing the frivolity of theater and the neurotic man who resorts to self-alienation. Even Galifianakis proves himself to be a worthy actor, playing Riggan’s producer and right-hand man. Although a steady figure in the chaos, he demonstrates skill in subtler comedy with his occasional cheeky outbursts. “Birdman” is art that imitates life. Through a single shot, the audience lives vicariously through each character, experiencing each event incessantly. They are thrown into a constantly moving world and told to explore it, with every aesthetic and plot element yearning to be discovered. Like a heart that beats to a sudden and tragic halt, the movie is over far too quickly, and the audience begs for the experience to be revived.
The long-awaited Academy Awards is quickly approaching, and “The Imitation Game” has unsurprisingly made it onto the nominee list for Best Film. At first glance, the historical drama appears to be centered around a group of remarkable individuals led by mathematician Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) who are on a mission to crack Nazi codes, particularly the supposedly undecipherable Enigma. Cumberbatch stirringly portrays Turing as the typical “irascible genius” who is standoffish and condescending. The true beauty of the film, however, lies beyond the plot and acting and within the profound message it delivers. As the film progresses, Turing’s complex character slowly breaks down to its bones. We learn that his social ineptness traces back to his childhood when he was constantly bullied for his superior intellect. Nevertheless, Turing did have one friend, Christopher, who initiated Turing’s interest in cryptography. When Christopher died unexpectedly from tuberculosis, Turing maniacally threw himself into his studies. Cryptography becomes his defense mechanism against the loss of not only a friend but also the boy he loves. Turing manages to invent a machine, naming it Christopher, to decipher Enigma, which helps the Allies win the war. However, Turing is denied any recognition for his work because of his abnormality. Yes, he is an antisocial genius with obsessive-compulsive tendencies, but, moreover, he is a homosexual. When offered the two options of enrolling in an experimental hormonal treatment designed to “cure” him of his “disease” or of serving a two-year prison sentence, Turing chooses the former so that he will be able to continue his work. At one point, when he is implored to stop the treatment, Turing protests saying, “Christopher’s become so smart. If I don’t continue my treatment, then they will take him away from me. You-you can’t let them do that. You can’t.” His mind continues to deteriorate due to his treatment, eventually resulting in his suicide at the age of 41. This is how we rewarded the man who won World War II. Today, we are embroiled in a fight for individuals who are considered inferior or wrong merely due to the fact that they are different. “The Imitation Game” questions the standards of society by exposing the injustice of prejudiced laws with brutal honesty. With a poignant message that cannot be ignored, the film is undoubtedly a strong contender for this year’s Oscars.
Yuchen Jin / The Spectator
Luna Oiwa / The Spectator
By Faith Sanchez
Page 20
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Arts and Entertainment Television
Yujie Fu / The Spectator
“Fresh Off the Boat”: Fresh Idea, Stale Comedy
By Teresa Chen I have to admit, whenever I see an Asian-American face on television, my reaction is twofold: first, excitement—in the fact that ethnic representation is a work in progress—and second, an overwhelming sense of uneasiness as I anticipate the role of this character. More often than not, I’m filled with a sense of disappointment as I realize that this Asian-American plays the stereotypical caricature: a quiet, nerdy character who helps solve the problem, but never saves the day. So, when “Fresh Off the Boat,” often referred to as “Fresh,” first premiered as a break-through sitcom focused on an Asian-American family, you can imagine my enthusiasm for the show. Created by Nahnatchka Khan, the show is loosely based off of Eddie Huang’s
eponymous memoir, and takes place in the 1990s, as 11-year-old Eddie (Hudson Yang) and his family move from Washington D.C. to the suburbs of Orlando, Florida. As his parents Louis and Jessica (Randall Park and Constance Wu) chase the American dream by trying to open a successful steakhouse called Cattleman’s Ranch (can’t get anymore Western than that!), Eddie and his brothers are forced to adapt and make friends in school. Just as its title suggests, “Fresh” is refreshing, and isn’t afraid to challenge the racial stereotypes in society today. Honestly, I was a little offended when “Fresh Off the Boat” was first announced as the sitcom title. The term “fresh off the boat,” through personal observation, is often used as an insult to describe those who can’t assimilate well into American society and sends a message of racial
inferiority. In retrospect, “Fresh” couldn’t have been a more perfect title, highlighting the boldness of the sitcom and a need to redefine the term as a counterculture movement against a need for conforming to society. In its first two episodes, “Fresh” is rife with scenes that point out racial tensions, proving that it’s not afraid to talk about the taboo topics in today’s race discussion. For example, when Louis is trying to market Cattleman’s Ranch and attract more locals to his restaurant, he reaches an epiphany and hires a white greeter, telling his wife he needs a face that says, “Oh, hello white friend! I am comfortable! Nice, happy white face like Bill Pullman!” Perhaps even more defining is the climax of Eddie’s struggle to fit in with his new classmates. When he is kicked out of his group of white friends because they don’t appreciate the smell of his lunch (chow mein), a black classmate who doesn’t appreciate being the fallback tells Eddie, “Oh, it didn’t go so well? The white people didn’t welcome you with open arms? You’re the one at the bottom now. It’s my turn, chink!” In this racially-charged statement, “Fresh Off the Boat” pits two minorities against each other in their goal to fit in, proving that the show isn’t afraid to point out the issues of race in society. The lack of sugar-coating in this scene helpe to ground the show in reality. Furthermore, “Fresh” proves to be relatable to any Asian-American’s experience. To other AsianAmerican viewers, I’m sure we’ve all encountered similar experiences when classmates have wrinkled their noses in disgust about the peculiar noodles or dumplings we’ve eaten, or when parents were still not satisfied with the A’s on our report cards. And what makes “Fresh” relatable is the superb acting abilities of the cast on the show, which makes the family more be-
lievable. Yang proves to be a perfect fit for his character, with his defining scowl and arms-crossed pose, giving off the impression of a boy who’s constantly annoyed by his parents’ antics, and who pretends he’s too cool to bother making friends. Wu, however, steals the show with her dramatic performance as the mother—demanding, aggressive, and marked by a shrill voice that always seems to be yelling at either her husband or her sons. Wu paints a dynamic portrait for herself as a protective mother who just wants to fight for what’s best for her family. However, while “Fresh” proves to be relatable to Asian-American viewers, it should also keep in mind the wide diversity of its audience. In future episodes, I hope to see “Fresh” incorporate more universal struggles that all families deal with, in an attempt to involve other races as well. “Fresh” shouldn’t be exclusionary, and should take a lesson from shows like “Modern Family,” which has been successful in its portrayal of an LGBT family because of its universality. In a similar stream of thought, “Fresh” falters in its abuse of a racial double-standard in that it seems to project a message saying, “Asians can make fun of Asians, but non-Asians can’t.” This was a huge source of tension between creator Khan and author Huang, in which Huang believed “the network tried to turn [his] memoir into a cornstarch sitcom and [him] into a mascot for America,” as he wrote in an article for New York Magazine. Essentially, Huang found a problem with the fact that directors were changing his story in order to cater to a “white audience,” and he is right in his criticism, as “Fresh” overuses Asian stereotypes as comedy material in an attempt to whitewash the content and gain support of American viewers. It’s funny that when Eddie gets straight A’s on his report card, his mother demands to see
the principal for harder material and courses, before resorting to the dreaded “CLC”s, or Chinese Learning Centers for additional work. This is the equivalent to the afterschool, weekend, and summer prep schools that Asian parents “love” sending their kids to. However, it is a clichéd joke that’s exaggerated in this show, ultimately framing the plot for an entire episode. Eventually, audiences will tire of this type of cheap humor. Furthermore, “Fresh” shouldn’t feel the need to exaggerate aspects of Asian-American stereotypes and should be more careful toeing the line between sending a message through race, and recklessly using race as a source of humor. Wu’s character, for example, is one that stands out because of her energy and dominance, but was it necessary to fit her into a “Tiger Mom” trope and have her subject her sons to three hours of afterschool prep a day, and make them fear bad report card grades? Wu could also lose the accent, which only distracts from her acting abilities. All in all, “Fresh” has something special, promoting the story of Asian-Americans and how they adjust to American society. As I’m going through the list of “top AsianAmerican actors” as determined by their web frequencies on Google, Lucy Liu is the only familiar name I see. Obviously, “Fresh,” with only two episodes so far, is the first in the line of portraying an AsianAmerican family, and it will take some time before the show strikes the right balance between comedy and culture. Ultimately, the show should try its best to stick to little Eddie’s own mantra, taken right from his idol, Notorious B.I.G: “I’m just trying to get a little respect in the game.” It’s a quote that resonates with the overarching goal of “Fresh Off the Boat”: to finally give a voice to Asian-American culture. Watch Fresh Off the Boat every Tuesday, 8 p.m., on ABC.
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 21
Arts and Entertainment Playlist
Helen Jin / The Spectator
From Your (Not-So) Secret Admirers, the A&E Department
On Saturday the 14th, the unforgiving February air will get fuzzy and pink with sloppy teenager-pining and melted heart-shaped chocolate. Whether you plan on rocking innocent bystanders’ worlds with your public displays of affection, or dejectedly swallowing teeth-murdering hunks of pure sugar (colloquially referred to as “Sweethearts”) while watching the Valentine’s Day special of “30 Rock” on Netflix, you should strongly consider wooing your (potential) valentine the old fashioned way—with a mixtape. Burn a tediously-curated selection of swoony tunes onto a Compact Disc, decorate your creation with chicken scratch multicolored Sharpie hearts, and find a way to secretly slip your creation into your beau’s locker during passing. In the time being, however, all we suggest is that you sit back and enjoy this collection of songs—a collective love note from us to you, our very favorite readers.
“The Very Thought of You” Billie Holiday Jazz
“Try a Little Tenderness” Otis Redding Soul “Bewitched” Beat Happening Lo-fi “Say Yes” Elliott Smith Indie Folk “L-O-V-E” Nat King Cole Jazz, Traditional Pop “Angels” The xx Indie/Dream Pop “You Don’t Know Me” Ray Charles Country
“Be Mine” Etta James R&B
“The Book of You” Belle and Sebastian Indie Pop
“I Love You” Lil B Rap
“Don’t You (Forget About Me)” Simple Minds Synthpop
“I’m Into You” Chet Faker Electronica
“Wanted” Hunter Hayes Pop
“A Kiss to Build a Dream On” Louis Armstrong Jazz
“I Will” The Beatles Pop/Rock
“Let’s Stay Together” Al Green R&B
“Valentine” Kina Grannis Acoustic
Show Stuy Squad Keeps It Rolling continued from page 1 Girls Hip Hop C started out with promising enthusiasm. Their explosive first routine displayed more daring and aggressive moves than the boys, but transitions between their short routines were disjointed; by the end of their set, GHH C, directed by sophomores Nina Uzoigwe and Caroline Koo, was struggling to keep up with their initial promise. The small Latin crew, under the direction of junior Dennis Yatunin, came next. With only four pairs, they would have had a hard time maintaining the fiery Latin energy in any case. Unfortunately, they were never completely in time and not all of the dancers could fully execute their movements. Lacking dynamism, Latin exited the stage. The three directors of Belly, juniors Mindy Krisst, Yoana Cholakova, and Nassima Boukhalfa, started off their set with a demonstration of Belly’s essential fluidity before being joined by the rest of the crew. With almost 20 members, the directors had to get creative with formations and choreography. The dancers were elegantly emphatic, and worked superbly with their hands and hips. All in time to a swaying soundtrack, Belly, including junior Mark Abiskaroon (the lone guy onstage) clearly had great fun onstage. Rave had one of the more interesting sets, centered around an “Avatar: The Last Airbender” theme that had been percolating for a long time in the minds of the directors, juniors Kevin Yan and John Chen. The different colors of Rave’s glowsticks represented the four nations: red and orange for Fire, green for Earth, blue for Water, and white for Air. Each group showcased their own specific aspects, though the airbenders, whose darting lights blazed across the stage, and the delicate waterbenders, took the cake. For the fifth act, Yan wielded all four colors, unifying the elements with a whirling rainbow of color. Contemporary Dance worked extremely well with their numbers and formation. Though their four-minute set covered no less than seven songs, transitions were smooth, both aurally and visually; Contemp’s director, junior Emmanuelle Gourier, developed admirably continuous line of choreography as
well. Each routine brought its own unique arrangement of beautifully flowing dancers, oftentimes strikingly syncopated Accompanied by an amazing mixture of remixes and rap songs, Boy’s Hip Hop B, led by juniors Sorato Doken and Clement Cheung, showcased several well-developed routines. Their rendition of Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire” (originally written for “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug”) was particularly in sync, their choreography reflecting the lyrics and melancholy mood of the folk-rock hymn perfectly. Let there be no mistake, Girl’s Hop Hop B was confident and fierce. But they had a hard time infusing their moves with all of the energy needed for the rap songs that juniors Rebecca You and Bonnie Fan chose as part of their direction. They were smooth, they were on point, but they fell just short of the extra punch. They shone, however, when jazzily strutting to “That Girl,” by Justin Timberlake.
The only soundtrack Step needed was the soul swallowing sound of a crowd of people stomping as one.
Step needed no soundtrack besides the soul-swallowing sound of a crowd of people stomping as one. Their execution was precisely coordinated, though it was their choreography that is most notable. When squads broke out into different rhythms, they were all mixed amongst each other and at one point a group sat down and continued their routine in the middle of a revolving circle. Both the sitting and a short exploration of pair
work were ideas that could have been taken further by directors seniors Warren Zhang, Kasey Chen, and Scott Min, adding even more to Step’s performance. Girl’s K-Pop chose some great songs for their set, and, as one of the smaller teams, they clearly worked very closely under senior Tina Ng’s direction. But at many points their smaller gestures—perfect for the close-up music videos, which the choreography was based on—didn’t translate as well to the larger space. Still, they were undeniably suave. In jeans and loose shirts, Coed K-pop was dressed down compared to the girls, but still amped up. They maintained a very solid composition through their short set, and with louder music would have been even more popping, as senior Huwon Kim’s choreography of MINO’s “I’m Him” hinted at. The night’s finale consisted of Boy’s Hip Hop A and Girl’s Hip Hop A. BHH A sported the energy of ping-pong balls bouncing back and forth. The choreography and the phrasing in particular, was spot on, capturing the sleekness of their music (though their synchronization sometimes slipped). The selections included Meek Mill’s Eminem- and Dre-heavy “Ooh Kill ‘Em.” Solos from the directors, seniors Sadman Fahmid, Josh Chan, Alex Chung, and Brian Tran, peppered the set with additional flavor. The girls’ A squad started out with Nicki Minaj’s flame-spitting verse from “Monster,” indicative of their intentions. And they delivered, with hair-whipping, fist-pumping, and plenty of air-splitting moves. Senior Julia Gokhberg and junior Jamie Baek’s call-and-response choreography seemed like a rising rollercoaster that had no end in sight. But end it did. There were fewer outrageous stunts, fewer somersaults and cartwheels than in previous years. There were groaninducing sound issues, and several painful lapses of coordination. Yet there was a new crew, Bollywood. Crew directors showed their creativity with sizzling song choices and tender ones, and with their choreography and arrangements. While you can watch recordings of the performance on StuySquad’s Facebook page, a better idea would be to go see many of the members display their various talents on behalf of their grades in SING! 2015.
Page 22
The Spectator â&#x2014;? February 12, 2015
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 23
Humor These articles are works of fiction. All quotes are libel and slander.
By Randy Higgins Stuyvesant High School – In response to growing concerns of cyberbullying in schools, the Stuyvesant High School administration acted this week by shutting down homework websites throughout the school. According to a statement made Tuesday by school mascot Brian Moran, “Although we began searching for cyberbullying on social media sites and online forums, we quickly realized that the most destructive thing a student can find waiting for them on the internet is hours of soulcrushing work.”
“We quickly realized that the most destructive thing a student can find waiting for them on the internet is hours of soul-crushing work.” —Brian Moran, Assistant Principal of Safety and Student Affairs The action reportedly comes after an anonymous survey showed 45 or more minutes of homework assigned electronically to be approximately as stressful as a slur against a student’s ethnic or racial background or sexual identity. Further, 85 percent of students would rather receive a series of death threats from the popular kids at school than find another assignment on one of their teachers’ homework sites. Another 43 percent of students would rather be systematically abused until they were forced to change their names and leave the state than have a teacher make a post about late homework. The report also found that a majority of students taking an AP course would not open their teachers’ webpages unless that teacher had threatened
to spread malicious rumors about the student’s private life. According to administration officials, the homework sites are presently being shut down. This includes a myriad of websites which range from pages designed specifically to target a student’s darkest fears and insecurities to nightly emails designed to crush a student’s confidence. However, the task is proceeding slowly, as many of the most cruel and malicious sites are operated by the Computer Science teachers who are carrying out the crackdown.
85 percent of students would rather receive a series of death threats from the popular kids at school than find another assignment on one of their teachers’ homework sites. Officials also stated that the teachers who operated the sadistic sites had been reprimanded, but would not comment on rumors that no action is being taken by the school against them. This still leaves students vulnerable to the vicious personal bullying that has plagued Stuyvesant for years. In fact, within days of the change, many teachers were reported to be writing assignments on the board, which school psychologists have said can produce trauma comparable to having the jocks take you to a party just to lock you in a trashcan for a weekend. Still, even this change has brought light to many students. According to senior Maisha Kamal, who suffered from extensive cyberbullying from teachers in her junior year, “Every day I used to come home and I’d still have to deal with [my teachers]. I didn’t know why they hated me or what I’d done. I’m just glad that younger students won’t have to go through all the pain and fear I went through.”
Study Shows Sophomores Just Like to Complain About Things By Laszlo Sandler A recent study conducted by Student Union president Jonathan Aung and principal Jie Zhang concluded that the class of 2017 likes to complain about things more than the other grades do. The study, held over a two-day period, consisted of moving the date of an algebra final to Wednesday in order to help families going on vacation, after it had already been moved from Tuesday to Friday to see how students would react.
“They were going to fail regardless of when they took the final.” —Maryann Ferrara, Assistant Principal of Mathematics
Yuchen Jin / The Spectator
Sunny Chen / The Spectator
Administration Bans Homework Websites in Cyberbullying Crackdown
According to Aung’s data, 100 percent of the students who complained about the final’s movement were sophomores. “Coincidence? I think not,” said Aung, when asked to interpret the data. “No freshmen, juniors, or seniors complained about the final’s movement, so the facts clearly show that sophomores are the whiniest.” While many dismissed the sophomore uproar as mere slacktivism, some students claim that Aung’s actions were only done for the benefit of the wealthy. “The only people whose vacations would have been affected by the Friday test are rich people, and rich people don’t need to do well in school anyways,” sophomore Asher Lasday said. Sophomore Michael Feinberg said he would have supported Aung’s study had he known about it before it had finished.
“I wouldn’t have studied for the final anyways, but I would like to have known about it beforehand so I could have pretended to study,” said Feinberg, who claimed to have scored a 150 on the final exam. Other students supported Aung’s study. “I think changing the test to Wednesday was a great idea,” said sophomore Lowell Weisbord, who was allowed to go on a ski trip because of the change. “That said, I still pretended to be outraged to appease my peers,” Weisbord later added. “Who doesn’t like to be angry?” Assistant Principal of Mathematics Maryann Ferrara said she doesn’t understand why the study caused such a problem. “They were going to fail regardless of when they took the final,” said Ferrara, laughing as she looked over the test scores.
Double Dutch Team Formed, SU Approval Ratings at All-Time High By Johnathan Rafailov After weeks of persistence, Stuyvesant’s Student Union (SU) has finally acted on a reform it may or may not have promised in last year’s elections: the formation of a much-needed Double Dutch team. As a result, approval ratings, both from students and outside critics, are higher than they have ever been in the school’s 111-year history. “After some analysis, I’m not sure if they’re exactly as high as the kids in Battery Park on a Friday afternoon,” junior and political activist Artashes Zhamaryan admitted. “But they’re pretty damn high: eight pineapples out of ten.” The term-defining move satisfied the frustrations of many after a week of poor decisions by both Principal Jie Zhang and the SU. Following what Mayor Bill de Blasio considered “a storm larger and more unpredictable than [his] son’s afro,” Zhang postponed Tuesday’s finals to Friday against the wishes of many, including SU Vice President Jonathan Aung. Using his exceptional reasoning-skills, Aung defended that hundreds of students had already planned exotic vacations to the Dominican Republic and Mexico for the upcoming threeday weekend and could not make finals. Seeing his point and realizing that she would be gone to West Africa to help combat Ebola for the weekend, Zhang agreed
and moved finals to Wednesday with fewer than a day’s notice.
“Less than 0.2 percent of Stuyvesant’s population is Dutch. The SHSAT doesn’t do a fair job.” —Novak de Groot, Student Union critic and Amsterdam native
The creation of the Double Dutch team also settled the tempers of outside critics who argued that Stuyvesant High School was lacking representation of the
Dutch people. “Less than 0.2 percent of Stuyvesant’s population is Dutch. The SHSAT doesn’t do a fair job; the Belgians and the Germans have more tutoring opportunities,” critic and Amsterdam native Novak de Groot said. “It’s inexcusable that students go to a school named after Peter Stuyvesant, but haven’t been introduced to his culture properly. Double Dutch will do that just fine.” The members of the new team are especially ecstatic for the upcoming season. Though it has not started yet, Stuyvesant’s team, the Dancing Dragons, has already been announced the winner by default, as a total of zero other schools were able to assemble a team for the new PSAL sport. “I just want to thank Jon Aung for making this happen. You continue to lead and inspire me every day,” captain and junior Rohan Shetty said, with a tear trickling down his face. Shetty also owes a thankyou to the SU for his newly-built body. “The rumors are true,” he said. “Jumping rope nonstop for 10 minutes is just as beneficial as 30 minutes of jogging, two sets of tennis singles, 720 yards of swimming, 18 holes of golf and 30 minutes of racquet and handball playing.” SU President Keiran Carpen declined to comment. According to his spokesperson, Jonathan Aung, Carpen was busy doing “presidential things.”
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Humor Student Reads Social Media Guidelines By Kenny Lin On January 1, 2015, the Department of Education declared war on cyberbullying. Armed with smiley-face emoticons and colored ink, the DOE planned a preemptive strike towards the cyberbullying threat. Expert “specialists” and corrupt politicians alike teamed together to launch a massive invasion force, set for deployment against the city’s schools. Funded by taxpayer’s money, they created the ultimate weapon against cyberbullying—a set of guidelines. “We’ll stack them in corners, pass them out, even throw them—anything to get the kids to read them,” explained Frederick Laskey, the newly appointed head of operation.
“I guess had some extra time left after my comp sci—I mean, I wanted to truly read about cybercrime and to protect myself against others,” —Andrew Chen, sophomore
“If we throw enough paper at [the kids] it’ll stick eventually,” Mayor De Blasio reasoned, before spreading the first wave of attacks
against cyberbullying, which consisted of 1.3 million fifty-page pamphlets. Despite numerous lawsuits from angry mothers for assault against their children, schools in Queens, Bronx, and even the distant Brooklyn were showered with these pamphlets. Staten Island was forgotten in the rush. Containing an exorbitant amount of acronyms and yellow ink, these fifty-page guidelines caused their victims to tremble, even falling to their knees in laughter. Claims of head injuries caused by the pamphlets were ignored. After losing approval from the public, as well as concerned environmentalists who were shocked at the deforestation of multiple forests in the region, the DOE was forced to change tactics. The finest minds in the city huddled together in a coordinated effort to solve the problem. “I don’t understand,” a puzzled Laskey said. “We only cut down three forests and that was to provide paper for pamphlets. Besides, only a couple hundred children were sent to the hospital.” Despite these confusions, the brilliant strategists huddled together, earning $500 an hour. After days of hard work and strenuous thinking, they devised a new tactic, one that was both environmentallyfriendly and injury-free. The plan was first executed in Stuyvesant High School. Within a second, Stuyvesant went from a neutral area to one of the most heavily-contested battlegrounds in the city. Thousands of pamphlets were emailed, catching innocent students in the crossfire. Recent studies showed that 99.99 percent of the student body didn’t even open the e-mail. “I never even open school e-mails anymore,” junior David Monaco said. “They’re always really long and boring.” However, new evidence shows that despite the dull characteristics of Principal Jie Zhang’s emails, one sophomore, Andrew Chen, not only clicked on Zhang’s link but also read the entire pamphlet. “I guess had some extra time left after my comp sci—I mean, I wanted to truly read about cybercrime and to protect
COMIC
myself against others,” said Chen after being asked what prompted him to read the guidelines.
Containing an exorbitant amount of acronyms and yellow ink, these 50 page guidelines caused their victims to tremble, even falling to their knees in laughter. Nevertheless the DOE is celebrating its recent victory over cyberbullying. “This represents a clear turning point in the war. Once we can get people to read our guidelines, our goal is within clear sight,” said Moran at a speech following the event. Others, however, are not so optimistic about the recent “victory.” Zhang, for example, expressed her dissatisfaction during a recent conference, saying, “Just because one person read the guidelines doesn’t mean the public is informed.” Despite this, the majority of the Department of Education continues to stand in firm belief that e-mailing social media guidelines is the key to winning the war, awarding Chen with a Distinguished Service Medal. DeBlasio plans to hit schools in Harlem next, saying, “Our children will read about this in the history books.” He refused to comment when asked about the lack of textbooks in New York City schools.
Minimally Talented Weirdo Actually Gets a Break
Justin Chan / The Spectator
Page 24
By Shindy Koo SSRs, one of the first steps to the wonderful college admissions process that we all know and deeply cherish, were due a several weeks ago. However, the school is now in a craze because of one controversial admission. Junior Michael Fang submitted a spin off/crossover story of 50 Shades of Grey and Harry Potter in lieu of a traditional submission, which is just answering the gosh darn questions like the rest of us. Fang’s guidance counselor, Mazra Schindler, has stated that his story has inspired her to quit her job and pursue her true dream, which is to become a cross dressing acrobat/ lion tamer under the alias Spicy Cinnamon Buns at a traveling circus. “Michael’s story taught me to believe,” said Schindler, wiping a single tear from her eye. “It taught me to believe that there’s a better life out there for me than putting up with you insufferable brats on a daily basis.” Meanwhile, Fang’s piece is slated for publication in the upcoming issue of Caliper. Critics have hailed it as a “monumental painting of homoerotica that offers a stunning glimpse into the convoluted ideals of humanity.”
In Search of Innovative Theme, Seniors Mimic SophFrosh By Scott Ma
Yujie Fu / The Spectator
“I never knew Michael had it in him,” English teacher Dr. Emily Moore gushed, “I never would have thought that the sleeping figure drooling in his copy of A Streetcar Named Desire that I saw every weekday during 6th period possessed the mind of a modern day Pushkin with the prose writing skills of a slightly blazed Kurt Vonnegut.” The (now) famed writer himself was interviewed earlier about the fortuitous incident. “I was just about to send in my SSR, but I also had my fanfiction.net account open to upload the new chapter to my 50 Shades of Grey fanfiction, so I guess I got confused and switched the two. Christian Grey and the Hogwarts Cult of All 50 Shades of Satan’s Butt currently has about 20 followers, so I don’t think I’m doing too bad. There’s even one 12 year old girl in Canada who wants to turn it into an animated series on Youtube. Not to brag or anything,” said Fang, nonchalantly filing his nails. When asked about his future plans, Fang replied, “I’m going to drop out of this dump and blow all the money the New Yorker gave me to publish my story on McNuggets and Bitcoins.”
Following three years of meaningless scripts, uninspiring actors, and blatant racism, the senior Class of 2019 has finally decided upon a brazen, original, and totally innovative theme to base their final performance on: SophFrosh SING!. The decision, which was arrived at unanimously after weeks of continual debate, comes as a surprise to many. “Seniors are usually the only grade to perform anything of real moral or societal value,” faculty advisor and SING! guru Casey Pedrick said. “We usually save the contrived love stories and meaningless platitudes for the underclassmen.” Senior correspondent Natalie Ruby explained the decision. “We toyed around with ideas from Ancient Egypt to magical forests, but in the end we decided that creativity had become so common, it was cliché,” she told reporters gathered around the senior bar. “Like a true SophFrosh performance, our storyline will be generic, our set plain, and our decisions arbitrary.” “It shouldn’t be too difficult,” Ruby added. “It’s what we’ve been doing for the past three years.”
For a grade that has placed last in the competition for each of their previous three years, the decision serves a twofold purpose. “Not only is it uncreative to the point of creativity, but it also shields us from attaining an even more negative reputation as a grade,” script writer Justin Weltz explained. “Most themes include elements which could potentially be deemed as offensive: a play about Egypt could be accused of racism; a play about toys could be reported for toy abuse; a play about nature would probably insult Republicans,” Weltz continued. “By refusing to challenge the status quo and create something meaningful, we’re taking the safest route possible.” SophFrosh spokesman Jonathan Aung has already filed a complaint with the administration on grounds of idea theft, stating that the concept of a generic theme was “patent only to [us]”, adding that “only SophFrosh has the right to place last in SING!.” At press time, Ruby had reappointed all of last year’s cast, script, and crew directors, citing that if they were able to engineer a play worse than SophFrosh last year, they would surely be able to do it again.
The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 25
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Page 26
Sports
By Grace Lu with additional reporting from Lev Akabas Ever since he was young, physical education teacher and coach Philip Fisher knew he wanted to teach physical education. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I loved sports, and I had a knack, I think, for teaching,â&#x20AC;? Fisher said. When Fisher was eight, his dad, a Hall of Fame basketball coach, passed away, and his interest in coaching solidified. â&#x20AC;&#x153;After my dad passed away, I started thinking about [...] what I wanted to do. I pretty much knew I wanted to be a physical education teacher by 10th grade.â&#x20AC;? Prior to teaching at Stuyvesant, Fisher worked in a variety of schools. But it was Fisherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s three years at the Dwight School, while
observing coach Henry Cadra, that helped him the most in building a foundation for teaching and coaching. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I watched the way [Cadra] ran a team, how they practiced, what he demanded. He never really said, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;do it this way.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; He just did his thing,â&#x20AC;? Fisher said. It was then that Fisher found his true passion: coaching. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The best part of my day is 3:30 on,â&#x20AC;? he said, describing his time with the athletes he coaches after school. He is more intense and tough when it comes to coaching than he is as a teacher. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have to make you do things that really you donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to do to be successful,â&#x20AC;? he said. The toughest part of his job is that his expectations for his players are exceptionally high, and he cannot control everything during a game. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The most frustrating thing for me is that I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;tâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to say this to make me sound very cockyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;but I canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be God,â&#x20AC;? he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But I put it on myself. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t put it on [my team] so thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the toughest part of coaching. I always want kids to succeed.â&#x20AC;? Despite his 22 years of teaching and coaching at Stuyvesant, Fisher still recalls his first PSAL city championship from June 2001, when the girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; soccer team defeated Tottenville in a 5-4 shootout. Fisher described preparing for the finals: â&#x20AC;&#x153;We didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have a soccer field to practice on. We practiced penalty shots with the sliding
doors into the gymnastics gym. We spread them apart [goal-width] so that we could practice it that way.â&#x20AC;? Leading up to the 2001 win, Fisherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s team had lost to Tottenville in the finals in 1998, 1999, and 2000. â&#x20AC;&#x153;[2001] was the fourth time those girls had played the city championship. They knew nothing but second place. And that night we finally got over the hump,â&#x20AC;? Fisher said proudly. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When I finally got home that night, I sat in my chairâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I have a big chair in my living room. I had the trophy on my coffee table, and I just sat there and looked at it all night. I never went to sleep.â&#x20AC;? Nowadays, he enjoys spending time with his wife and going to the theater to escape from all the sports. But itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to imagine Stuyvesant physical education without Fisher. He has been teaching for 36 years, and in two years, he says he plans on retiring. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll probably move to California, play some tennis, go to the beach, read. Maybe a little one-on-one coaching in terms of basketball,â&#x20AC;? he said aloud. But what he will miss the most is the daily banter he hears down the hallways of Stuyvesant, in the classrooms, and in the locker rooms, and the relationships he has forged with players throughout the years. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I had players come back from eight, nine, ten years agoâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;a couple weeks ago. And that hug they give you,â&#x20AC;? Fisher said, smiling, â&#x20AC;&#x153;thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s all about.â&#x20AC;?
The Humble Path of Silvana Choy By Grace Lu Ballroom and swimming are two of the most popular and unique physical education classes at Stuyvesant, and Silvana Choy is the powerhouse teacher behind their success. In her classroom, be it the pool or the sixth floor dance room, Choy commands attention while bouncing around to tend to everyoneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s needs. Known for her open and easygoing natureâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;she once allowed computer science teacher Michael Zamansky to bring his entire computer science class to watch his daughter danceâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Choy was still humbled and hesitant toward a little publicity. After consenting to an interview, the first thing Choy said was, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want my picture taken.â&#x20AC;? Since her first lessons at the YMCA as a girl, Choy has loved swimming. She was the captain of her high schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s varsity swimming team and later became a captain of New York Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s swim team. When asked what her favorite stroke was, she said â&#x20AC;&#x153;butterflyâ&#x20AC;? without missing a beat. â&#x20AC;&#x153;But Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not going to say 200 butterfly was my favorite event,
because that was really hard,â&#x20AC;? she added, laughing. Through swimming, Choy found her way to Stuyvesant. She enjoyed coaching and sharing her love for swimming, so when the job opened to coach the swim team at Stuyvesant in 1999, Choy went for it. But three years into coaching, Choy realized she had found her passion. She decided to go to graduate school and studied physical education at Queens College. When a staff position opened at Stuyvesant in February of 2002, she took it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;You come to this fabulous school, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re thinking, â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Wow. I really want to stay here,â&#x20AC;&#x2122;â&#x20AC;? she recalled about her first day. Choy stopped coaching the swim teams in order to attend to her two young kids at home. Now, Choy is known for teaching not only swimming classes, but also ballroom. When the previous dance teacher retired, Choyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first supervisor asked her to teach the class. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I took private lessons to prepare. I was very nervous, but it all worked out,â&#x20AC;? Choy said. She especially loves the class because of the seniors. â&#x20AC;&#x153;They choose to be there, and theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fun,â&#x20AC;? she de-
scribed. Starting this year, seniors will be able to take ballroom both semesters, a change Choy is looking forward to. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve actually been taking lessons all fall term, because I will be teaching a different set of dances in the spring. Very exciting,â&#x20AC;? she said. Her favorite activity, however, is not a sport, but reading. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Chronicles of Narniaâ&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lord of the Ringsâ&#x20AC;? trilogy are among her favorite novels, and she enjoys passing down her favorite books to her kids. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think my daughter might be worse than me in terms of how much she reads,â&#x20AC;? she said with a laugh. After 15 years at Stuyvesant, Choy has worked with three different supervisors, but the one thing that has not changed is her impression of the students. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been impressed with the students here,â&#x20AC;? she said. And the kids have always been Choyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s favorite part about teaching. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I mean theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re amazing. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re smart, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re kind, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re curious, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re fantastic,â&#x20AC;? she gushed. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I have a good time here. The kids keep you young.â&#x20AC;?
By Grace Lu In four words, anyone can guess what this feature is about: sophfrosh semiformal, thumbs up. The correct answer is, of course, coach and physical education teacher Howard Barbin. One of the most recognizable teachers at Stuyvesant, Barbin is also widely popular, having taught students from all grades. His students know that his teaching style mixes fun with learning, making his physical education class one to look forward to despite a few unpleasant changes throughout Barbinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eleven years here. Growing up, Barbin had always enjoyed playing sports. Basketball was his favorite because it was easy to go to the park and play it. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I figured if Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m going to go to school, then let me pursue something that I really like. So Phys. Ed. was right up my alley,â&#x20AC;? he said. Since his father was an elementary school teacher, and his brother is currently a science teacher in Brooklyn, it is no wonder that Barbin chose to dip into teaching himself. Anyone in Barbinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s classes knows he likes to interact as much as possible with his students, and he concedes that such is his favorite part of teaching. He particularly appreciates that his students are open-minded to learning new activities such as dancing, gymnastics, and team handball. â&#x20AC;&#x153;When [â&#x20AC;Ś] you see that light goes on and they get [what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re teaching], itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s satisfying,â&#x20AC;? Barbin said. To achieve this, Barbin mixes fun with learning, be it through the jokes he makes or his banter with the students.
â&#x20AC;&#x153;When [â&#x20AC;Ś] you see that light goes on and they get [what youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re teaching], itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s satisfying.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Howard Barbin, coach and physical education teacher
Justin Kong / The Spectator
Justin Kong / The Spectator
The Bulk of Physical Education: Part 2 The Most Recognizable 22 Years Strong P.E. Advocate
Throughout his eleven years at Stuyvesant, however, Barbin has met his enemy in the form of the FITNESSGRAM, an annual fitness assessment for New York City students from kindergarten to 12th grade that students and teachers alike dread. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The students get the [FITNESSGRAM results] and throw them out. They really donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t mean much to them. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just meaningless feedback,â&#x20AC;? Barbin said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;To me, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just probably someone in the Board of Ed. just gives jobs to someone so that they have more paperwork to do.â&#x20AC;? In addition to the FlITNESSGRAM, Barbin is frustrated by the amount of administrative work he has to do. The new grading system involving a strict rubric with specific categories that was instilled a couple of years ago under a previous supervisor is unnecessary, especially with the required skill tests. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s just becoming a regular subject where the teacher has to teach towards all these tests. And Stuyvesant [students] have enough tests. So theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking the fun out of Phys. Ed,â&#x20AC;? Barbin said. Despite these issues, Barbin has a positive outlook of the future. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve got new, young administrators [Christopher Galano and Brian Moran] that have come in. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a breath of fresh air.â&#x20AC;? Furthermore, the students continue to make Barbinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s job pleasant. As a coach, Barbin could not be prouder of his girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; JV volleyball teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s city championship win last year. He also recalls last yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s SING! fondly, as he and colleague Vincent Miller made cameos in the juniorsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance. Stuyvesant students are not known for looking forward to physical education and athletics, but with Barbin as the teacher, there is no reason not to enjoy his banter and fun-filled classes.
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The Spectator ● February 12, 2015
Page 27
Sports A Team for the Ages By Daniel Wohl After a disappointing finish to the 2014 season that included a loss to the San Francisco Giants in the National League Division series, the Washington Nationals are retooled and ready to go for the 2015 season. Well, that’s putting it lightly. The 2015 Nationals have a chance to be the best team in the MLB, and possibly the best team of the decade. When discussing the 2015 Nationals, one must pay respect to the starting rotation put together by General Manager Mike Rizzo. This isn’t just a good rotation—it’s historic. It is as good as, if not better than, the late 1990s Atlanta Braves rotations, and the early 1970s Baltimore Orioles rotations. The starting rotation is led by newly acquired ace and 2013 American League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer. As one of the top pitchers in all of baseball, Scherzer received a large contract totaling over $200 million. After switching from the powerful American League Central to the weak National League East division, he is prepared to dominate and lead this fearsome group. Slotted behind Scherzer are the young Jordan Zimmermann and Stephen Strasberg. Both right-handers were drafted and raised by the Nationals and are currently entering their primes. Zimmermann posted a 2.66 earned run average while Strasberg led the National League with 242 strikeouts in 2014. The rotation is rounded out by Doug Fister, and Gio Gonzalez. Tall and lanky, Fister is one of the game’s top sinker-ballers and has intense movement on every one of his pitches. He posted a sterling 2.41 earned run average last year and is 40-25 in the past three years split between the Nationals and the Detroit Tigers. Gonzalez meanwhile is a power lefty who won twenty one games just two years ago and is a two time all-star. What makes the Nationals an unprecedented team and one for the ages is the depth of their starting rotation. As proven by the above numbers, every single starting pitcher on the team is an ace. With these five players the Nationals are sure to be competitive in almost every game they play. This deep rotation should be able to blow through the regular season and bloom in the playoffs as the Nationals attempt a deep run into October.
What makes the Nationals an unprecedented team and one for the ages is the depth of their starting rotation. Although the Nationals are considered a pitching based team, they also possess a beautifully balanced offense. The Nationals quietly scored 686 runs last year, third in the National League. If there is any offense
in the major leagues that is on the upswing its Washington’s. Full of young dynamic talent, ready to explode, the Nationals have three players entering their prime next year, in third baseman Anthony Rendon, outfielder Bryce Harper, and catcher Wilson Ramos. Already solid players, all three have a chance to make the jump to elite next year. If they are able to step up, the lineup could have unlimited potential. The Nationals back up these young stars with strong veterans such as Ian Desmond, Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, and Denard Span. Desmond is a perennial 20 stolen base 20 home run shortstop, while Zimmerman and Werth both boast career slugging percentages of over 460. Span meanwhile, is a speedy center fielder who has a 286 career batting average, and has posted twenty or more stolen bases in four of the last six seasons. Together these players can form one of the most balanced offenses in all of the majors, as each player contributes differently. There is an even mix of young and veteran players, and with last year’s playoff experience, many of the nerves of playing playoff baseball for the first time may have been shaken out. Combine this with by far the strongest pitching staff in the league, and you have a team for the ages. Another important element to this Washington Nationals team is their deep, talented minor league system. The Nationals landed six players in ESPN Keith Law’s top one hundred prospect list. This includes fireballer Lucas Giolito who was ranked the eighth best prospect, and speedy outfielder Michael Taylor, who was ranked 71st. These prospects should allow Washington to maintain their success even when many of their top players hit free agency after this season.
There has been no team as complete as Washington in recent years, and their starting rotation is impeccable. Let’s also remember that the Nationals have a history of strong player development. This can be clearly seen on the field as seven of the nine players in the starting lineup are homegrown, as are two of the five starting pitchers. Rarely do we see teams in such big markets so homegrown. But that is what makes the Washington Nationals so special. Albeit a couple of minor bullpen issues, the Nationals are perfect. There has been no team as complete as Washington in recent years, and their starting rotation is impeccable. As of right now, the Washington Nationals are ready to make a run at a World Series title, and maybe even the record books.
Why Tom Brady is the Greatest Quarterback in NFL History By Ari Hatzimemos and Louis SusseR With six Super Bowl appearances, four rings, and two MVP awards, Tom Brady is the most decorated quarterback of all time. And yet, the debate of whether he is the best quarterback of all time has not yet been settled. Old timers persist that the best quarterback is the old 49ers superstar Joe Montana, while contemporaries highlight Tom Brady and the Patriots’ scandals, such as Spygate and Deflategate. However, the arguments for why Brady is the best are overwhelming. In 2000, Tom Brady was drafted 199th overall by the New England Patriots out of Michigan University. He was nothing special—just a run of the mill college quarterback who would make a career as backup. He started as a backup for the Patriots’ All-Pro quarterback Drew Bledsoe. But this all changed in the second game of the 2001 season, when Bledsoe was knocked unconscious. Brady was suddenly shoved into the spotlight, and not for the last time. Brady led the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory in 2001, and Bledsoe never saw the field as a Patriot again. An immediate star, Brady also won the Super Bowl in 2003 and 2004. He won MVP in both the 2001 and 2003 Super Bowls. By the time Brady was 27 years old, he had already solidified himself in NFL history. And soon, three years later, Brady fell short of a 19-game perfect season, a feat never accomplished before. In 2007, Tom Brady and the Patriots went 18-0, breaking al-
most every offensive team record in NFL history. In the team’s greatest season of the decade (and possibly the best season in NFL history), they outscored their opponents by 315 points and scored a total of 589 points, the most points ever scored in a season up to that time. Brady also set many major records himself. In that one season, he threw 50 touchdowns, had a quarterback rating of 117.2, and threw for 4,806 yards. He won the MVP award by a landslide that year (he also won in 2010). The Patriots played in the Super Bowl in 2007 for the fourth time, but lost to the New York Giants due to a miraculous catch by the Giants’ David Tyree. In this era of a pass-heavy offense, is it fair to evaluate those who played before this era with the same criteria? The 1980s were dominated by the San Francisco 49ers and its quarterback Joe “Cool” Montana. Although Montana didn’t throw for as many yards or touchdowns as Brady did, he won four Super Bowls in the ‘80s in a nine-year span. He won two MVPs (just like Brady) and three Super Bowl MVPs. He earned his nickname for his ability to play even better while under pressure, especially during his Super Bowl appearances. He never lost a Super Bowl and, in 1988, he led a memorable 92-yard drive in only 36 seconds to win the Super Bowl. But Brady has equaled all of these feats, and is still on top of his game. However, Brady’s legacy is bogged down by two major scandals. In the 2007 season, Bill Belichick (the Patriots’ head coach) and the Patriots’ admin-
istration filmed the Jets’ sidelines during a game, reading the Jets’ defensive coach’s signals. This event known as “Spygate” gave the Patriots a reputation as cheaters, which has proven difficult to mend. Moreover, Brady recently has been caught up in the “Deflategate” scandal. During the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts this past season, 11 out of the 12 Patriots’ footballs were deflated below NFL regulations. This made it easier for Brady to grip and throw the football in Foxborough’s sub-freezing temperatures. This has amplified and once again brought to the public’s attention the Patriots’ (and Brady’s) reputation as cheaters. Can we really say that these two scandals have tarnished Brady’s legitimacy as the greatest quarterback of all time? We say no. The Patriots’ cheating scandals shouldn’t blemish Brady’s own personal accomplishments under this Patriots organization. This past season has definitely pushed him back into the media’s spotlight. In 2014, Brady brought the Patriots to their sixth Super Bowl and won them their fourth Super Bowl in the last 14 years, defeating the reigning Super Bowl champions, the Seattle Seahawks. Brady has made the most Super Bowl appearances of all time and is tied with Montana for the most wins. Brady has not only dominated the 2000s, but has dominated well into this current decade. He has cemented his name in the history books as the greatest quarterback of not only this generation, but of all time.
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February 12, 2015
Page 28
The Spectator SpoRts Boys’ Swimming
Paulina Ruta / The Spectator
A Taste of Victory and Relief for the Pirates Who Move Onto Finals
Senior Victor Gaitour swimming the 100 fly during the Boys Championships.
By Sabrina Huang and Grace Lu In the ultimate quest to reclaim the boys’ swimming city championship title, the Pirates feared faltering just before the end. Parents and students filled the spectator seats on the second floor as swimmers and tension filled the pool deck. With both semifinals occurring simultaneously, the end of the meet would determine the finalists for championship title. In the end, the Pirates, who were ranked second in the city, defeated the third seed McKee/Staten Island Tech Seagulls with a close score of 51-50, moving onto the championships against Brooklyn Technical High School. When the original playoff brackets were disclosed, the Pirates were seeded first, with Brooklyn Technical second. Though good news for the Pirates, this was also a surprise because Brooklyn Tech, the defending city champion, had performed so strongly throughout the regular season. “Coming into playoffs rankings, I always thought that Brooklyn Tech was ahead of us,” coach Peter Bologna said. Brooklyn Tech appealed the original ranking, and successfully secured the first seed for themselves, pushing the Pirates to second. This action was not so much a surprise to Bologna. “When the rankings came out and we were ahead, I was definitely happy. But I also knew that the Brooklyn Tech team [was] not going to accept it.” The number two seed for the Pirates, however, meant a tougher path to the championship. They now had to defeat the third seed, SI Tech, while Brooklyn Tech only had to defeat the fifth seed, Susan Wagner High School. “Looking at the numbers purely that were done this year, there was a significant difference [in talent] among the top three teams and the rest,” Bologna said. SI Tech, therefore, has a few of the best swimmers in the city. “Staten Island Tech has a few swimmers that can definitely beat us in a couple races—I think we
counted five—but our team has eight,” senior and co-captain Edison Shi said. “Although we have eight good swimmers, they’re not as fast as [SI Tech’s] five. However, [SI Tech] can’t use their five swimmers in every single event.” In addition to having five key swimmers, SI Tech also had two divers while the Pirates had none. SI Tech was able to automatically place first and second in the diving event, gaining seven free points in the process. “If we could not take first place [in an event], we had to take second and third to cancel [SI Tech] out,” Bologna said. “But we had to make a move somewhere to make up for this seven point deficit that we were handed with no divers.“ The meet began in favor of the Pirates. They clinched first and second place in the 200-yard medley relay. The team consisting of sophomore Lawrence Kwong, senior Victor Gaitour, and juniors Beck Zhu and Peter Strbik won with a time of 1:42.06, the third fastest time in the city so far. Each swimmer also attained personal records on their individual relay legs. In the following event, the 200-yard freestyle, junior Aaron Glas finished first with a personal best of 1:47.70, the second fastest time in the city. Glas also claimed first in the 500-yard freestyle with a State championships qualifying time of 4:51.69, 20 seconds ahead of the second place swimmer. “I was feeling amped. I had adrenaline going. I didn’t feel anything wrong, I could’ve just gone for a mile,” Glas said. The Pirates continued to accrue points, and after the 100yard butterfly, the team was ahead of SI Tech 21-13. SI Tech, however, was able to close the gap almost completely through the points their divers scored. The Pirates continued to tie with SI Tech in many events by balancing out their opponents’ first place wins with second and third place finishes. Many Pirates also achieved personal records, but by the last event, the team was only ahead by three points. With just one last event to go,
the 400-yard freestyle relay, the Pirates knew they had to place at least second and third to win the meet. Just before the event, silence filled with tension gripped everyone near the pool. “I was incredibly focused, I couldn’t even move, I couldn’t breathe. All I could think about was my swim. And I probably never felt like that before,” senior and co-captain Andrew Guo said. The relay team consisting of Gaitour, sophomore Joshua Lishnevetsky, and juniors Glas and Daniel Gutman started in the lead, but were eventually out-touched by the fastest SI Tech swimmer. Nonetheless, with a time of 3:21.64, the fastest time in the city, the Pirates placed second and third, allowing them to win the meet by one point. Despite coming dangerously close to being knocked out of playoffs, the Pirates were overjoyed with not only the win, but also the many individual personal records that were broken. Sophomore Lawrence Kwong swam in four events, and achieved best times in all four. Guo, who broke his own personal best in the 100-yard freestyle said, “[Before the meet, I thought] if we swam everything perfectly today, we would beat SI Tech. It was a legitimate possibility. I didn’t know how plausible it was until we started winning the first few events… And beating Staten Island Tech by one point? That meant that [...] every single person had the deciding factor because that one point could’ve been lost at any point during this meet.” The win comes after a particularly challenging period for the Pirates. “This year, our rookies have shown very little respect to captains, seniors, and coach. Many of the club swimmers… barely show up to practice. Coach had no idea where they were. He was very close to kicking off many of them,” Shi said. “But today we came together and we proved that we do care about the team.” Going forward, the two main championship meets, PSAL A Division Championships and the City Championships, loom just around the corner. The Pirates have come in second place to Brooklyn Tech at both meets for the last two years. While the Pirates just defeated SI Tech, the other semifinal pitting Brooklyn Tech against Susan Wagner occurred simultaneously ands was not filled with nearly as much tension. Brooklyn Tech soundly defeated Wagner 51-40. The Pirates, however, do not fear their long-time rival. They are excited to go up against them again for a chance of redemption. “In fact, I think [Brooklyn Tech] should be intimidated by us,” Guo said. “We were the underdogs by far coming into this meet. And they should’ve seen how we pulled together, they should’ve sensed our energy.”
SPORTS CALENDAR Wednesday, February 11 Girls’ Swimming Playoffs vs. Brooklyn Tech @ Lehman College Boys’ Table Tennis Playoffs vs. MSIT @ Brooklyn Tech
Saturday, February 14
Sunday, February 22
Boys’ Wrestling Playoffs vs. James Madison @ James Madison
112th Annual NYC PSAL Indoor Track & Field Championship @ Armory Track
Sports Wrapup • The Runnin’ Rebels, Stuyvesant’s boys’ basketball team, lost to Seward Park Campus on February 6 , 56-29. The Runnin’ Rebels ended the season 6-10 and fourth place in their division, yet unable to advance to the playoffs. Good job for all their hard work this season! • Stuyvesant’s boys’ table tennis team advanced to the championships on February 11. They are going for their second championship in two years. • The Phoenix, Stuyvesant’s girls’ basketball team, beat High School of Fashion Industries on February 6, 64-32. The Phoenix are 14-1 and first place in their division. They will be advancing to the playoffs. • Stuyvesant’s boys’ swimming team defeated Mckee Vocational and Technical High School in the semifinals on February 4, 5150. They will be advancing to the championship on February 11 and play against Brooklyn Tech. • Stuyvesant’s track team, the Greyducks, competed in the Manhattan Borough Championships on February 9, and both the girls’ and boys’ teams came in first place.
Boys’ Basketball
Rebels Keep Their Playoff Hopes Alive By Tousif Hossain and James Ng After a disappointing 25 point loss to the West 50th Street Campus Seahawks on January 22, Stuyvesant’s boys varsity basketball team, the Running Rebels, bounced back with a much needed victory over the Bayard Complex Titans on February 3. For the Rebels, it was a do-or-die situation. If they won the game, their playoff dreams would stay alive, but if they lost, they could say goodbye to any hopes of making the playoffs. This was one of the most important games of the season for the Rebels, and they had succeeded in making it count. Both teams began the game slowly, both teams having a combined score of only 18 by the end of the first quarter. However, the Titans seemed to outshine the Rebels initially. They were connecting on more shots, and maintaining a consistent lead over the Rebels. “It wasn’t a matter of who was better,” coach Phillip Fisher said. “It was whether we could take advantage of all the easy baskets we were seeing.” Obviously, this was easier said than done. The game did not begin as smoothly as Fisher wanted it to; the Rebels missed many easy layups, while the Titans were able to convert on a myriad of easy buckets. For the first half, the Titans’ field goal percentage had left Stuyvesant in the dust, and by halftime, it seemed as if the game was out of reach for the Rebels. Even though they were only down six by halftime, their poor shooting made it a pretty big deficit for the Rebels. During the second half, the Rebels began showing their liveliness. Making up for the slow start, the Rebels executed much better in the third quarter. They not only outscored the Titans, but also developed momentum that would carry the team throughout the rest of the game. Sophomore Michael Feinberg was a major spark in the final quarter. With the team down by five, Feinberg drained two clutch threes, bringing the Rebels within two points of the Titans. The
gymnasium had gone wild each time the sophomore superstar hit a three; however, after these two threes, it was as if cannons went off inside the gym. In addition to Feinberg’s big shots, senior Konrad Krasucki converted on couple of layups and senior Roman Szul—who ended the game with a team high 17 points—made some shots over the extremely physical Titan defense. The final minute of the game was, as expected, the most nerve racking. With the Rebels up 4948, Arlex Gole, the point guard, was fouled and headed to the line. Most expected him to convert on the free throw, but, to everyone’s surprise, he missed the shot. The Titans now had a chance to steal a win from the Rebels. With the clock ticking, one of the Titans took a shot for the lead, and a potential victory. The gym exploded when the Titans missed and Gole grabbed the rebound. The Titans instantly fouled Gole, who had another chance to seal the game at the line. Though he was hoping to redeem himself after missing his previous foul shots, Gole missed the shot again. As the Titans secured the ball, they quickly ran up the court and heaved up a difficult shot. The gym once again exploded once again as the Titans missed and Gole secured the game. “This was one of the most exciting games the team has played,” Feinberg said. “We all knew that this was one of the toughest games of the season and that we needed this victory if we wanted any chance in making the playoffs.” Following this victory against the Titans, the Rebels had two games left in the season and had to win at least one more game to make it to the playoffs. To their dismay, the Rebels lost the following two games—in one, against Murry Bergtraum, was extremely close and came down to the game’s final seconds, in the other, the Seward Park Campus Bears defeated the Rebels 56 to 29. Ultimately unable to make the playoffs, the Rebels closed the season with a record of 6-10.