Volume 104, issue 14

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

Volume CIV No. 14

School Day to be Lengthened Next Year

By Julia Ingram and Ariel Levy An audit by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) has determined that Stuyvesant’s number of instructional hours is not in compliance with city regulations. Administrators are considering several different solutions to be enacted next year. No decision has been reached, but it is highly probable that the length of the school day will be extended for the 2014-2015 school year.

In early spring of 2014, the DOE hired private multinational firm Ernst and Young to conduct an audit of Stuyvesant. Since 2011, the DOE has been auditing 30 randomly chosen schools each year to verify that they are in compliance with regulations, which include teacher salary and overtime compensation. The audit still continues, but the only issues Ernst and Young has discovered so far relate to Stuyvesant’s daily schedule, which has been in place for nine years.

The schedule, consisting of 41minute periods and 4 minutes of passing time in between period, falls short of time quotas for two different regulations. This is the first time Principal Jie Zhang has experienced a school audit and is the first time she is aware of that Stuyvesant has been audited.

The first noncompliance issue pertains to the amount of instructional time students receive. The DOE requires that students in grades seven through 12 receive 5 1/2 hours of daily instruction, ex-

clusive of lunch and free periods, but inclusive of homeroom periods and passing time between classes. Currently, students who have two or more free periods, along with lunch, have a total of seven or fewer instructional periods in their schedules. With Stuyvesant’s current bell schedule, these students fall short of the 330-minute requirement by 15 minutes. Students falling into this category, primarily freshmen and seniors, make up approximately 44 percent of the student body.

The second issue pertains to the amount of instruction time required for teachers. Before 2005, Stuyvesant operated on a nine period schedule, under which teachers worked six hours and 20 minutes each day. However, a new contract negotiation with the United Federation of Teachers (UFT) in 2005 mandated that teachers work six hours and 50 minutes every day. Most schools adjusted to the revised contract by simply adding time to each period, or by requiring teachers to stay after school for additional services, such as Academic Intervention Services (AIS). Stuyvesant instead chose to add an extra period to the schedule, subsequently reducing the length of each period to accommodate the change.

The extra period resolved the deficit in working hours for teachers, as they spent more time in the school building. However, because the length of class periods was reduced, teachers were

Tanumaya Bhowmik / The Spectator

Gorla to Try to Reclaim Research Coordinator Position

By Sonia Epstein and Griffin Strout Former Research Coordinator Rebecca Gorla has announced her desire to reclaim the position. She resigned in January 2014, after holding the position for one semester, because she believed that she was not allotted the necessary time to do her job. However,

Features

based on feedback from students and teachers, Gorla has decided that the role is too important to remain unoccupied.

According to Gorla, the role of a research coordinator is critical to the school’s science program, and is one that demands a heavy time commitment. “It involves visits to labs, getting speakers into the classrooms, and keep[ing] up with mentors in the city,” she said. “On top of this, the research coordinator is expected to be a teacher as well.”

The coordinator also gives advice to individual students and helps them prepare for competitions.

Staff members who both teach and maintain another position, such as research coordinator, receive compensation time. This relieves the teacher of a certain number of classes in proportion to the workload of his or her other position, enabling the teacher to devote an adequate amount of time to both jobs. Teachers with 0.2 compensation time are relieved from one of their five classes, while teachers with 0.4 compen-

Article on page 9.

Gardens, Vaults, and Catwalks, Oh My! The Features Department launched a quest to find some of Stuyvesant’s hidden and most interesting places. Discover what they found on page 9.

sation time are relieved from two classes. For example, programming chairperson Sophia Liang receives 0.8 compensation time, so she is only required to teach one math class. “The [compensation] decision is made based on many factors such as budget and number of classes needed,” Principal Jie Zhang said.

The compensation for the research coordinator position changed recently. “Last year, the compensation time was carried over from the past. I didn’t reduce it; it actually went up,” Zhang said.

“When Dr. [Jonathan] Gastel did it the year before, he was 0.2 on paper, but we gave him a lighter load in one class.

When he left, he suggested that we should go up to 0.4, so I did.”

The amount of compensation time allotted to the research coordinator continued to be an issue for Gorla, as it was for Gastel. “I was insanely busy, and very stressed out. Then I was told that there was a very good possibility continued on page 2

Tanumaya Bhowmik / The Spectator

• Sophomore Calvin Lee, junior Gideon Leeper, and seniors Katherine Oh and William Xiao were invited to participate in the United States of America Mathematical Olympiad (USAMO). Sophomores Nicholas Beasley, Maxwell Fishelson, Matthew LernerBrecher, and Sophia Zheng were invited to participate in the United States of America Junior Mathematical Olympiad (USAJMO).

• The Stuyvesant Muslim Association won first place at the annual Muslim Interscholastic Tournament, held at Columbia University from April 18 to April 20.

• Seniors Brian Ge and Savannah Jeffreys were national winners in the 2014 National YoungsArts Foundation.

• Two Stuyvesant Envirothon teams won first and second place at this year’s New York City Envirothon Competition.

• Sophomores Yakira Kellman, Guanha Li, and Michelle Zhou won first, second, and third place, respectively, in the Van Cortlandt Jewish Center Holocaust essay contest.

• On Friday, May 2, Sam Storall, the chief investment strategist for the Standard and Poors Corporation, spoke to students about the current state of our economy.

• A coding team consisting of seniors Benjamin Attal, Jack Cahn, Justin Duda, and Jeremy Karson was awarded first place on Wednesday, April 30 in the “Dream it. Code it. Win it.” competition.

stuyspec.com

Principal Zhang hosted a School Leadership Team meeting after school on Tuesday April 29 to discuss proposed changes to the schedule for the 2014-2015 school year.

not engaging in sufficient instructional time. Ernst and Young revealed that Stuyvesant was not meeting this separate quota in their audit.

The Student Leadership Team (SLT) and Principal Jie Zhang are considering several solutions in regards to this newfound problem. Zhang’s first priority is to rectify the deficiency in student instruction time. “I don’t think we should shortchange services to [the students]. You are entitled to this many hours of instruction,” Zhang said.

Zhang decided against simply adding the necessary instruction time to the schedule, as doing so would lengthen the school day by an hour. “If we just stretch the periods, it won’t work. We can’t meet the time. The day would go to 4:30, cutting into everything af-

ter school. The periods would be 46 minutes long with 5 minutes passing.” Mandating every student to take nine periods of class would not be a plausible solution either, as according to Zhang there is not sufficient space in the school building to accommodate the extra classes.

Zhang also ruled out the possibility of reverting back to a nine period day. “One beauty to [the new system] was that it allowed the kids to have ten period days. I talked to so many people, I don’t think it is a good solution to go back to nine periods,” she said.

She hopes to preserve the opportunity for students to take additional electives. continued on page 2

Richard Buery: From East New York to City Hall

Courtesy of Children’s Aid Society

Newsbeat

May 15, 2014

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

By Coby Goldberg New York City Deputy Mayor Richard Buery didn’t have his sights set on City Hall when he graduated Stuyvesant in 1988. In fact, he says, he didn’t have his sights set on anything in particular. And yet, without planning it, after four years at Harvard, three years at Yale Law School, time spent starting up and heading numerous not-for-profits, as well as

Article on page 22.

some time volunteering overseas, Buery was tapped on the back this year by the newly elected de Blasio administration to take the title of deputy mayor for strategic policy initiatives. Buery would be given the responsibility of overseeing the mayor’s signature initiative: the rollout of universal pre-kindergarten education in New York City.

Buery’s work in education started as an undergraduate at continued on page 3

A&E

KFC: Korean Fried Chicken Looking for an afternoon snack? The A&E department recommends Korean chain restuarant BonChon--check out the review on page 22.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 2

News Gorla to Try to Reclaim Research Coordinator Position continued from page 1

that I would have to teach four classes this upcoming fall, while I was doing the [research coordinator] job. That really went in the opposite direction of what I was hoping for,” she said. “I was trying to lay a lot of ground work for the program itself. I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to continue if I had to teach too much.”

If the research coordinator’s compensation time were to be raised, another physics teacher would have to be hired. Zhang stressed that the top priority is to ensure that all classes can fit in the Department of Education budget, which comes out in May, and only after this has been fulfilled can a lower percentage of teaching time be granted. “[The research coordinator job] will be reposted. Whether the percentage will go up, we will have to wait for the budget,” Zhang said.

“You have to understand that we have an incoming class, and we have to know how many biology classes there will be. It’s a complicated matrix. With resources, I support the idea of the increase.”

Although hiring an additional teacher would incur high expenses, Gorla believes that it is a good idea. “I was hoping people would get the opportunity to express to [Zhang] how much [they] value the role of research coordinator so that she can feel like she’s making the right decision if she chooses to hire another teacher,” Gorla said.

Due to the fire drill on Monday, April 28, a planned meeting between teachers and Zhang about the position was cancelled. Gorla had planned to voice her opinion on the importance of the research coordinator role later at the School Leadership Team (SLT) meeting on Tuesday, April 29. However, nonmembers were prohibited from contributing to the discussion at the SLT meeting because the focus was on schedule changes.

Currently, Assistant Principal of Physics and Chemistry Scott Thomas is taking on the position’s responsibilities. “I do often have students still coming to me for research help, so I realize that the need is still there,” Gorla said. “The sooner a person gets that role, the sooner we can continue with what we had, because we are losing the contact and mentor opportunities we had.” Thomas declined to comment on the matter.

“I’ve actually been quite

By Sharon Lin An octopus reaches its tentacles out from within a tightly enclosed box. It seems confused, but suddenly, a flick of its body creates a violent ripple and its limbs begin to work in graceful tandem. Despite the realistic motions, this isn’t a real octopus, but rather one whose body is made from plastic and whose brain is made from wires.

These seemingly real creatures are created in a topic of study known as BioMimetics and Cognitive Robotics. Professor Frank W. Grasso gave his presentation regarding this on May 2 in Lecture Hall B. Grasso is an associate profes-

lucky because the labs that I e-mailed replied to me immediately and asked for an interview,” junior and Intel Research Biology student Grace Lu said.

“I know that’s not the common thing that happens. Most people e-mail several labs, and then half of them don’t reply.”

Biology teacher Anne Manwell, who held the research coordinator position from 2001 to 2004, agrees that the compensation time needs to be raised in order for the work to be performed properly. “You can’t do that [job] on 0.4,” Manwell said. “Dr. Gastell had to stay after [school] to help Stuyvesant develop a relationship with foundations.”

Students who are in their second year of Intel classes have noticed changes occurring in the research program in the absence of a coordinator. “Not that many people are really involved in research right now. I feel like if Ms. Gorla came back, it would be a lot better for the seniors who are taking research next year, like me, and also for more juniors,” junior Rebecca Chang said.

Gorla helped establish the International Genetically Engineered Machine club (iGEM), a synthetic biology research team, at Stuyvesant this year. “Having Ms. Gorla was like having one base point. She was very approachable, and after [her resignation], we didn’t know where to go,” senior and iGEM President Katty Wu said. “There was a lack of connections.” According to Wu, Gorla was always very involved, constantly sending emails about lectures and possible mentoring opportunities.

Underclassmen who aspire to work on research projects also believe that the position is important. “I would definitely need an expert to guide me, someone who could direct me to labs and help me with a project,” freshman and Research Biology student Judy Liu said.

“I don’t want to put BandAids on the problem; I want to fix the problem. Whether or not it is me fixing it or someone else, we really need someone in that role,” Gorla said.

The research coordinator position will be reposted in May, but the compensation time will not be confirmed until the budget is addressed. “I personally and professionally support the idea of increasing the compensation time for this position because I feel it is critical for this school. Yet, things don’t always happen the way we wish, so it is a balance,” Zhang said.

School Day to be Lengthened Next Year continued from page 1

Freshman Maria Fomitchova agrees, “People are already giving up their lunch period to take ten classes a day. If they make a 9 period day, people will be upset because they lose a chance to take a class,” she said.

Another solution that was considered but determined unfeasible is converting free periods to “study halls” so they would be considered a part of the five and a half hours of instructional time.

However, this would require a faculty member to be supervising the students in a designated classroom, and Stuyvesant lacks the physical space to do this.

In response to Zhang’s likely extension of the school day, students, parents, and faculty have raised concerns about the effects of this new schedule. “I’m very scared for what it will mean for after-school activities. I think right now the after-school culture here is incredible, and what you guys do outside of our classrooms is amazing,” English teacher Holly Schechter said. “I fear that getting started so much later, that you will have less time to do those things that are really terrific, and I think additionally that it would mean you are getting home even later than you usually do and lots of students commute really far.”

Many are especially concerned by what the extended school day would mean for students on sports teams “For PSAL sports, a lot of the games don’t start until four, and if they extend the school day …[student-athletes are] going to be skipping a lot of classes,” sophomore Sharon Lin said.

Possible accommodations that could be made for student-athletes next year were considered at the SLT meeting on Tuesday, April 29. These included allowing student-athletes to fill out a form similar to the ZQT-10, allowing them to opt out of both a ninth and tenth period class. It was also suggested that this form could be open to any students who participate in after school activities. Extending the amount of time students are allowed in the building by however long the school day is extended was also proposed.

The SLT and administration are still investigating possible situations in order to decide on a schedule that allows them to add these necessary extra minutes while having the least repercussions on the students and faculty.

“I’m doing what I can within the DOE regulations,” Zhang said.

The most likely plan for next year’s schedule will include some combination of four suggested adjustments. The first two solutions only account for the deficiency in student instruction

time. “If I only go for the students and forget the teachers for now, that would make the day about twenty minutes longer,” Zhang said.

One idea involved creating a daily twenty-minute homeroom period, which could be used as a study hall or advisory session.

Guidance counselor and SLT member Ronnie Parnes suggested that this time could be used as a freshman advisory, a time for juniors to work on college essays, and seniors to look at their financial aid packages, among other things. “We often talk about stress reduction, and building community, so how better to build community than to build community with the people in your homeroom?” Parnes said.

Some also think a daily homeroom would offer a nice break in the day. “I’d personally rather have it into homeroom because that gives you the option for students to take a breather and talk to their friends,” Student Union president and SLT member Eddie Zilberbrand said.

A second solution is to add a minute to each class period and to passing between each period, ending the school day at 3:47 p.m. Sophomore Samuel Zhang favors this solution over a daily homeroom period. “To me homeroom periods are rather useless because we don’t do much at all.

I would prefer adding an extra minute to our class period,” he said.

Freshman Lowell Weisbord believes it would be better to only add time to the class periods rather than the passing time. “I don’t think adding it to the travel time would make sense, from my understanding, they just need to add 15 or so minutes, so I would say just add two minutes to each period if they have to,” he said.

A third model would add two minutes to each class period and one minute to the transitioning period, ending the school day at 3:57. This would address the issue regarding the teachers, but would be adding even more time than is necessary for students. A fourth separates the student and teacher issues and extends the day for students by 17 minutes as suggested in the first plan, but requires teachers to have an eight period day and then stay after school for 30 minutes each day (or 50 minutes for three days a week) to do other activities that would be considered instructional, such as supervising clubs or tutoring.

Some students feel the DOE should consider Stuyvesant’s unique circumstances as an intense academic institution. “They [the DOE] are favoring quantity over quality. [The regulations] should really just be applied to schools that don’t take academ-

Bioengineering the Natural World

sor at Brooklyn College who works in the field of biomimetics, the study of creating technological models or systems that mimic elements of nature in order to solve complex problems. Through his own research at the lab, Grasso works with his own team to build robots simulating the actions of animals in order to better understand them. As Grasso began his presentation, he showed a photo of a pterodactyl, which some students noted appeared to be a bird.

“You’ve been trained to think that this is something that flies,” Grasso said. “But not everything that flies is always a bird.” He then projected a photo depicting the first example of a biomimetic robot—Paul McCready’s Model Pterosaur, a robot designed to mimic

the flight patterns of the extinct reptile. The robot resulted in the most sophisticated flying model of its time, with state-of-the-art aviation technology and an autopilot device. The way it flew was based on studies conducted on the bones of the extinct pterosaur.

Although biomimetics has a broad range of research projects, Grasso chose to focus on marine animals because these organisms are often simpler than terrestrial animals. “Lobsters can’t think, at least not the same way mammals think,” Grasso said.

“They have nerve endings, but their actions are easier to mimic.” Some other test subjects included octopi and crayfish.

“I found the [research on] the crayfish pretty interest-

ing,” senior Zane Sterling said.

“Although the technical details weren’t directly applicable to robotics, it was still fascinating to learn about how [the researchers] were able to apply their findings.”

The lecture soon turned toward the robotics behind the machinery, as slides came up showing the various robots created by the team. One was an arm simulating that of an octopus. “This is basically compressed air. We used McKibben Actuators to simulate the muscles. As one contracted or expanded, the arm moved,” Grasso said. He admitted that in order to fully represent the movement of an octopus, it would require more parts to maintain the smoothness of the motion.

Grasso is unsure if his mod-

ics as seriously, and that’s obviously not Stuyvesant. Increasing our school day is not going to be very productive. I don’t know how two extra minutes is going to add anything to my life or my well-being,” sophomore Kristen Chang said.

Points similar to Chang’s were considered when Zhang agreed to pursue a variance, or an exception from the rules for just Stuyvesant. However, she noted at the SLT meeting that successfully obtaining this variance is highly unlikely, as Stuyvesant is the only school in the city with a ten period day. Additionally, it would call further attention to Stuyvesant’s noncompliance with the rules.

The SLT will further investigate the proposed options in order to come to an agreement on this scheduling conflict at its next meeting, on Tuesday, May 27.

“This is a big change, and I think it would be great if we had some time to think through multiple possibilities before doing something that’s going to affect the whole school year,” Parnes said.

The final decision will be in the hands of Principal Zhang, and she hopes to finalize the plans by June.

The discussion has currently been placed on hold due to the release of a new UFT contract approved by union delegates on Thursday, May 8. The contract plans to implement an 80-minute block of time each Monday for professional development for teachers and a 40-minute block on Tuesdays for teachers to reach out to parents. The contract must be ratified before it is put in place in schools across the city, so Zhang has decided it would be best to halt any further discussion.

“If the teachers don’t ratify the contract, that means we have to stick to what we always had, then actually the discussion will come back,” Zhang said. On the other hand, if the contract is indeed ratified, the individual plans for Stuyvesant will have to be voted on by the faculty.

However, this new contract is unrelated to the five and a half hour instructional requirement for students. “Nevertheless, the two minute addition to your [the students’] periods are not affected by this, so the periods are going to be slightly longer no matter what,” Zhang said.

Though the possibilities for this drastic change raise numerous concerns, many feel that Stuyvesant will be able to adjust to the new schedule.

“Even though there may be bumps in the transition, I think in the end it will turn out alright for everyone,” Assistant Principal of English Eric Grossman said.

els are completely correct because they are unable to track every neuron transfer that occurs.

Nevertheless, by simply using data collected from the averaged movement patterns of the crustacean, the scientists could obtain an accurate picture of the thought process of animals like lobster.

The lecture was well-received by students who attended, as it generated interest in a unique field of science. “Even though what we now know has only barely scratched the surface of what we will learn in the future, it’s a great start to better understanding our environment and [coexisting] with different organisms,” freshman Mitch Choi said.

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

Page 3

News

Philip Shin / The Spectator

The Hibakusha: Survivors of the Atomic Bomb

By Ridwan Meah, Helen Jin, and Sharon Chao Many Stuyvesant students stood silent as they listened to the powerful speeches of the Hibakusha atomic bomb survivors on Monday, April 28. However, these were not your average lectures; they were stories of immense pain and self sacrifice. They conveyed the messages of world peace and nuclear disarmament.

Who really are the Hibakusha and what is their legacy? They are the survivors of the August 1945 atomic bomb strikes on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. When the “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” were dropped, nobody anticipated the scale of the damage. Through their stories, the Hibakusha made the consequences of nuclear weapons brutally clear.

Organized by Youth Arts New York’s (YANY’s) project “Hibakusha Stories,” the Hibakusha visit schools throughout New York to share their experiences. Youth Arts New York is an educational engagement group for grade school students in New York. “Our goal is to use the ancient art of storytelling to impart the real truth about what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to bring real witnesses into the classroom so students can learn firsthand the realities of nuclear weapons,” YANY liaison Kathleen Sullivan said.

With the help of Stuyvesant history teacher Michael Waxman,

the Hibakusha were able to speak to around 100 students. Waxman met the Hibakusha when he was invited to the UN for a professional development workshop. “I wanted students to reflect upon the historical effects of that time period by listening to the Hibakusha.” Waxman said.

Two speakers were present, Rako Yamada and Michio Hakariya. Both were schoolchildren at the time of the attack, yet they still vividly remember how the atomic bombs shook their lives to this day. While Hikariya was an observer of the event, Yamada faced the dangers directly.

Yamada was 11 years old on August 6, 1945, the day the atomic bomb hit her city of Hiroshima. Even before anyone knew about the atomic bombs, children were being evacuated to the countryside. Yamada was scheduled to be evacuated on August 9, three days after the strike.

On that day, Yamada stood in a scorching schoolyard when she saw a B-29, an American bomber.

She and her friends gazed up at the plane, marveling at it. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash. “We actually thought the bomb had been dropped directly on the school,” she said. Confused and terrified, they all ran home, despite the overwhelming thrust of hot air that propelled people in the air all around them.

Luckily, Yamada’s entire family survived. However, it was at a cost. Her father had wounds that constantly bled despite be-

ing bandaged. One of her sisters returned home almost two days after the bombing incident, with the skin from her neck and back seared off. To make matters worse, there was absolutely no medication for these horrific wounds.

Rako Yamada’s family was not the only one to suffer. Many other families faced similar, gruesome trials. One mother came home on all fours, dropping dead in front of her children. Another waited for her 13-year-old daughter to return for months. Every day, she would pack her daughter’s lunch box and wander the city in search of her. In the end, she never found her daughter.

Yamada subsequently moved to Tokyo, where she resides today. There, she faced discrimination. “Some people thought that [I] was contagious because I was present during the bombing,” she said. This ignorance and lack of understanding further deepened the survivors’ painful scars.

Seventy years later, Yamada is still haunted by the devastation of the atomic bomb. She worries that the world may repeat the violence and destruction of the past. To prevent this from happening again, the Hibakusha speak to various groups in the hopes of fostering cooperation among people from all walks of life. “Everybody should take steps to make a world without nuclear weapons,” Yamada said.

Fortunately, the Hibakusha left lasting impacts. “I found myself actually wanting to stay awake and listen. I found it heartbreaking a lot of times and sometimes even terrifying. The lecture made me realize that nuclear warfare is so much more devastating than we can imagine, whether it be physically, mentally, or culturally,” sophomore Angela Chan said.

The Hibakusha will not stop at high school lecture halls. Yamada spoke in front of the United Nations on Tuesday, April 29. Nonetheless, there is ample room for Stuyvesant students to convey their opinions on these issues as well. “We want people to hear our stories, not just one person. We want you to take this to all those whom you know and raise awareness about nuclear weapons,” Hikariya said.

Stuyvesant Holds Third Annual Earth Day Fair

By Jackie Garber and David Mascio For the third time in Stuyvesant’s history, students of all grades gathered to celebrate a day dedicated to planet Earth.

The Earth Day Fair was held after school on Thursday, April 24 in the student cafeteria.

Biology teacher and Stuyvesant Environmental Club (SEC) faculty advisor Marissa Maggio first conceived the idea of an Earth Day fair three years ago. “We wanted to help people learn about the environment while having fun,” Maggio said.

In the three years since it began, the Earth Day Fair has evolved. “The fair used to be a small-scale operation. We have a lot more boards now, and there are a lot more people at the fair,” junior and Environmental Club president Sidney Lok said.

“Our advertising definitely helped increase fair attendance,” junior and Stuyvesant Environmental Club vice president Sunny Zhang said.

“We wanted to help people learn about the environment while having fun.”

—Marissa Maggio, biology teacher and Stuyvesant Environmental Club faculty advisor

The fair was organized by the SEC, but other clubs also participated, including Charity A La Mode, The Coral Reef Club, Envirothon, and Key Club. “We thought it would be cool to be part of the Earth Day Fair, since the proceeds from what we make go to charities, including environmental groups,” junior and Charity A La Mode secretary Tiffany Ren said.

Admission to the fair was free, but students needed tickets in order to participate. Each ticket cost a dollar, but in exchange for signing an environmental pledge, participants received two free tickets. Tickets could then be used to partake in activities and purchase food, including brownies and sandwiches donated by Gourmet Market. “The money goes to our school’s hallway recycling and TerraCycling program and future school projects that our club coordinates,” Lok said.

They didn’t have just food; there were also a variety of environment-themed activities, including tic-tac-toe with sanitation mascots, painting sun catchers, target practice inside a tank, and a speed-recycling contest.

During a meeting, SEC members had determined the topic of this year’s fair: water resources around the world, so throughout the fair there were boards discussing various topics, including ocean acidification and ocean garbage.

At one table, students even displayed a digital model of ocean shellfish populations over time.

The fair also included a raffle with a variety of different prizes.

In order to enter the raffle, students had to purchase a special green raffle ticket for a dollar. Prizes included gift cards for local stores and restaurants.

Aside from a movie presentation that did not work, the fair went as planned, and the overall reaction to the fair was positive. “It was crowded, but I got to learn some new stuff while having fun,” sophomore Victor Cai said.

Junior Mohammed Hojaifa agreed. “The fair’s organizers really cared about what they were doing,” he said.

Richard Buery: From East New York to City Hall continued from page 1 Harvard, where he volunteered for a community-based organization that provided afterschool activities for underprivileged children in a housing project in the neighboring town of Roxbury. When he realized that the children had nothing to do over the summer, Buery started a small organization with a classmate to provide those Roxbury kids with summertime activities. This has been his attitude every time he comes to a crossroads. “I try to say yes, and some of those yeses are scary, but the yeses tend to work out,” he said. ”I think that sometimes when something seems scary, that means it’s worth the effort of doing it.”

After graduating from Harvard, Buery received a fellowship to spend a year teaching fifth graders at an orphanage in Zimbabwe.

Coming home, he was accepted to Yale Law School. That led to a year clerking for a federal appeals court judge in New York, and then another year as a staff attorney at the Brennan Center for Justice.

“My career has not gone according to any map I would have worked out,” Buery said. “I think it’s a mistake sometimes to spend too much time thinking about what’s coming next. Honestly, I’m really focused on what I’m doing now. Focused on trying to enjoy the adventure. Focused on trying to embrace the challenge.

Focused on trying to do something big. And I think when you do that, and you’re open minded, the rest takes care of itself.”

It was education, though, that kept calling to him, particularly the goal of reforming the educational system in the city. As he told Crain’s New York Business in 2009, he wanted to “level the playing field” for kids like those he grew up with in East New York.

In 1999, he co-founded the not-for-profit organization iMentor, which helps low-income students find mentors in their own communities. Buery then left iMentor, which has since become a nationally acclaimed organization, to start up Groundwork, Inc., a non-for-profit operating in his native East New York neighborhood that works with students and their families from kindergarten until graduation from high school in order to help them along in the educational process.

In 2009, Buery was chosen to be CEO of the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), the first African American and the youngest person to head up CAS since its founding in 1853.

Because Buery has rarely had a boss overseeing his daily work, he has learned over the years to develop his management style on the job, constantly honing his skills. “I’ve really had to rely on being open minded, and going out and seeking that knowledge and

seeking that coaching and seeking that advice,” Buery said. “I’ve been really intentional about recruiting mentors throughout my career, people I can share ideas with and get coaching from.”

Now as Deputy Mayor, Buery has a far larger arsenal at his disposal than he ever has had in the past, and a much greater number of eyes upon him. As the largest city to implement such a bold educational initiative in the United States, New York will be closely watched by other cities and states looking to implement their own universal pre-kindergarten programs. Buery seems undaunted, though. He says he is confident in how the rollout will be received.

“We take very seriously the importance of doing this right. But at the same time, there’s no large scale initiative in the history of the world that works perfectly,” Buery said. “They all come with mistakes.

And I don’t doubt that we’ll make those mistakes here. But the question is, can we learn from those mistakes and take what didn’t work well to build a better system.”

With the goal of adding 30,000 new pre-kindergarten spots by next September and 50,000 new spots by 2015, Buery has worked to mobilize city government as a whole around the initiative. This has meant that in addition to his daily meetings as part of the mayor’s cabinet, Buery has put togeth-

er a working group of over 20 commissioners of different branches of city government, including places as diverse as the Fire Department and Housing Authority, to make the rollout as efficient as possible.

The group works to make sure every department involved prepares appropriately for September, completing tasks from creating teacher education programs to vetting buildings for use by prekindergartens. One of the sort of powerful things about the mayor articulating what his priorities are, is it allows us to get folks to focus on those priorities, and make sure we move this forward in the way that we need to,” Buery said.

Buery experienced firsthand the benefits that the city’s education program could provide, even while seeing what happened to those who were shut out of those opportunities. Growing up in East New York in Brooklyn, the neighborhood with the city’s highest murder rate where over half the population lives below the poverty line, Buery was one of the few students in his neighborhood to attend Stuyvesant. “In high school I became aware pretty quickly about the differences in educational opportunities that were available in New York City, and that was very stark,” Buery said. “I didn’t want to just be someone complaining about disadvantage, I wanted to be someone who was helping oth-

ers to overcome disadvantage.”

He views the disparity in the context of a larger “Tale of Two Cities” narrative. “I really did feel like I grew up in one New York City and was then introduced to another one,” Buery said. “There’s a reason why most competitive schools don’t just look at one thing or one standard when making an admissions decisions. And I think that schools like Stuyvesant are such a public benefit, that I think it’s really worth it to invest the resources to make sure we’re doing it right.”

Buery believes that the educational system he is building will have far-reaching effects in fighting inequality in the city. Various studies have found that attending pre-kindergarten has long-term benefits in a child’s mathematics and reading skills, as well as, many argue, a child’s likelihood of graduating high school. Moreover, he believes that equality of access must exist, not just in pre-kindergarten, but in all parts of the city’s educational infrastructure. “Part of continuing to push for educational fairness and justice is continuing to make sure that everybody has a decent shot at those opportunities.

I know my life would be different if I’d gone to my zone high school.

Part of it is making sure all schools are better. We also have to make sure that, with those gems in the system, that all kids have a chance to benefit from them,” Buery said.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 4

News Addressing the School Dress Code

By Vanna Mavromatis and Sharon Lin The Slutty Wednesday Movement took off in the Spring term of 2012, as students created a protest against the restrictive dress code, carrying signs that read: “Redress the Dress Code”. The movement raised awareness about students’ growing dissatisfaction with the dress code. With warm weather quickly approaching, Principal Jie Zhang seeks to resolve all concerns with the dress code by creating a policy that will balance leniency with school appropriateness. Zhang sent out an email on Friday, April 25th, addressing the dress code for the spring semester.

However, many students felt that the ambiguous wording of the email resulted in more confusion concerning what is and is not appropriate for school. Some of the confusion may stem from the lack of a written, formal dress code.

The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) states in its Student Bill of Rights that students are free to “determine their own dress within the parameters of the Department of Education policy on school uniforms and consistent with religious expression, except where such dress is dangerous or interferes with the learning and teaching process.”

According to Zhang, the basic idea of the DOE and the Stuyvesant dress code is for the student to use his or her own judgment; however, the attire cannot be deemed disruptive to education. “Should any staff member deem [the student’s] attire to not meet those two standards, [i.e. offending or disrupting the educational environment], you will be referred to the administration,” Zhang said in an email interview.

Zhang is planning a procedure for when a teacher deems a student to be inappropriately dressed. “We will call in the student and have a conversation,” Zhang said. “We might say, ‘This is fine for today, but maybe something different

tomorrow?’ Or, if the student feels very uncomfortable, we would have Stuyvesant attire and they may be able to change,” she said.

However, Zhang admits that an ambiguous dress code may cause issues if a student and teacher think different attire is ‘inappropriate,’ leading to a student feeling persecuted even though they think they are dressing appropriately.

“If there are certain adults who go beyond their responsibilities, you are always welcome to report to [Assistant Principal of Guidance Casey J. Pedrick and I],” she said.

This still leaves a question of what exactly the dress code entails. “I try to overdo or minimize the rules if I have the discretion,” Zhang said. She wishes to get rid of arbitrary rules, such as the specific length a pair of shorts or a skirt can be. The need for such rules becomes apparent through the vagueness of the current policy.

For example, many students still believe that rules like not being allowed to expose shoulders and ankles are existent. “I should have the right to bare shoulders and ankles,” freshman Connyr Lu said.

When confronted with the issue, Principal Jie Zhang seemed surprised. “Sleeveless shirts are fine.

We are reasonable,” Zhang said.

Pedrick and Zhang said they are attempting to understand current fashions and adjust their view on dress code accordingly. However, they urge students to remember they are still in a school environment. “We have to understand current styles and that this is a school environment,” Pedrick said.

For an example, Pedrick cites the current trend of logo T-shirts that have bad messages, such as those promoting alcohol or sexually explicit images. Staff members may have to ask the students to turn their shirts inside out if they are deemed unacceptable for a school environment. In the case of clothes such as shorts that are too short, safety becomes a concern. “Since many students take public transportation, [sometimes alone in the dark], the staff may be

worried that the students [will] be put into unsafe situations based on [their] wardrobe,” Pedrick said.

In general, the dress code of the administration this year has not gotten stricter compared to the previous year. “I never saw any girls get punished or yelled at [this year or last year], only reprimanded lightly,” junior Philipp Steinmann said.

The dress code in previous years is what students believed the dress code was this year. “No shorts or skirts shorter than fingertip-atyour-side length, no midriffs, no bare shoulders [for both years],” junior Maggie Gutmann said.

“I don’t remember any differences,” Steinmann said when asked if there was a difference between how the administration handled dress code last year and this year.

Zhang promises that, if a student is deemed to be dressed inappropriately, they will be sensitive to the student. “We don’t want you to feel intimidated or humiliated; we care about our students,” she said. “We’re going to approach the students thinking that it was an innocent wardrobe, not them trying to challenge us or the administration.”

Despite the recent discourse concerning the dress code, no incidents of inappropriate wear have been reported. Zhang said she hopes students and teachers can be on the same page for what is considered “appropriate school attire.” “I hope to have free communication between faculty and students about what should and should not be considered school-appropriate,” she said.

While the dress code may not be set in stone, there is work going on to create an environment where students feel they can dress freely while still being dressed appropriately for school. Zhang values student input, especially in the form of a student committee to address the dress code. As of right now, Zhang plans to make the dress code work on a student-bystudent basis, as the same clothes look different on everybody.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Freaking Out about SATs/ACTs? Here’s what you need to know:

By SCOTT FARBER, founder, A-List Education Before we begin, you might want to know why on Earth you should take the advice of some company that decided to advertise in your newspaper. At this point we know that many of you are desperate—if we said that the secret to a higher score on the SAT or ACT was a diet of tarantulas and Red Bull, some of you might just try it. But before you run out in search of killer spiders or try to sprout a set of wings, take a deep breath. Trust us. We’ve worked with thousands of students, we train teachers how to teach the SAT and ACT, and (because we’re huge nerds) we tend to take the test every year just to make sure we’re still getting perfect scores. (It’s okay: most of us are over 30 and have master’s degrees; we should be getting perfect scores).

So let’s get to it. Sophomores, we’ll get to you in a moment. For now, we’re talking to you, juniors.

You guys have spent your entire high school careers studying, taking tests, and writing essays all in the hopes of getting into that dream school. And yet, there are still SATs/ACTs to take and scores to improve. Before you throw up your hands in frustration, break down and cry, or decide that you’re dropping out and working a minimum wage job instead of going to college, let’s talk about what your next few months should look like: 5 COMMANDMENTS FOR THE FINAL COUNTDOWN 1. Keep Studying. Hope alone will not raise your SAT/ACT score any more than it will win you the lottery. (If you’ve already won the lottery, why are you applying to college?) You can’t change your score without changing your habits. Students who take practice tests, study vocabulary, and refine their techniques are much more likely to see higher scores than those who are simply hoping to sit next to the smart kid and cheat.

2. Don’t Cheat. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CHEAT ON THE SAT OR ACT. As the pressure builds, students sometimes feel the urge to find any advantage they can, even if it’s dishonest. It’s just not worth it. Stealing a few answers from your neighbor to pick up a couple of points will not be the difference between acceptance and rejection—colleges see your scores as a range anyway.

But if you get caught, you aren’t getting in anywhere. You have spent years building an academic profile. You don’t want to live in your parents’ basement for the next few years.

3. Don’t Give Up. Many students think they have little chance of scoring higher on a 2nd or 3rd attempt at a test. There is still plenty of time to study, and plenty of opportunities for

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By the News Department We asked a random sampling of students in Stuyvesant High School these two questions. These are their responses.

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improvement. Even just the confidence that comes with experience can have a positive impact on your score.

4. Don’t Stress. Adding pressure to a test only hurts your problem solving abilities. If you’re stressed with AP Exams and finals right now, consider taking a test in the fall. Fall tests can be less stressful, particularly when you already have scores from the spring. If you do better in the fall, great. If not, you don’t have to submit those scores at all—you’ve already submitted your spring scores. In fact, many of our students have hit their top scores in October, November, or December precisely because they went in stress-free. (Score Choice for the SAT works differently for different colleges. Check on collegeboard.com for details or contact us at A-List for advice.)

5. Get a Grip on Reality. Taking the SAT or ACT may seem overwhelming at times, but it’s just a test. It’s just a bunch of English and math questions with some bubbling thrown in. True, bubbling can be hard and the reading passages may not be your idea of a good time, but it’s only one piece of your college application. Colleges look at the whole picture, and you should too.

Now sophomores: let’s talk. You might be wondering why we’re talking to you now when it seems like you have a million years until your exams. Well, you don’t. Your exams are closer than you think, and if you’re smart, you’ll start preparing now.

Here are the top 5 things we tell our sophomores: 1. It’s NEVER too early to start prepping. The skills you build for the SAT or ACT are the same skills you need for school. Pick up books by the test-makers (The College Board and ACT, Inc.) and take a practice exam. Find out what your weakness are early and start doing things to strengthen them.

2. Read a book—ANY book. But actually read it. We don’t particularly care what you’re reading, as long as you engage yourself with words. Read blogs, read newspapers, read magazines.

There’s no more essential skill on these exams than becoming a better reader. This will not only help your reading and writing scores, but can also help improve your comprehension of math problems.

3. Study one SAT word a day. SURELY you can find the time for this. If you can do this and do it well, you will have 365 new SAT words before you even need them. If you do two words a day, well, we hope you can do that math. Vocab is worth up to 160 points on any given SAT. It’s time to get to work.

4. Start thinking about a tutoring program. We suggest ours, obviously. But whatever direction you go in, make sure they’re using real exams and that full-length tests are part of their program. You also want someone who covers not only the exam content but also the strategies that help you get through the test quickly and effectively. The most highly regarded programs will start filling up by the end of your sophomore year, so plan early and do your research.

5. Don’t lie to yourself. If you don’t know the material at this point, don’t pretend that you do.

Not in school, not with your tutors, not anyone. It’s ALWAYS better to find out that you’re missing essential pieces sooner rather than later. The sooner you find your weaknesses, the sooner you can attack them head on with practice.

Questions? Looking for a tutor? Engage us through all the things— www.facebook.com/alisteducation, Twitter @alisteduny, and our website www.alisteducation.com.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 5

Features A Night To Remember what was happening. “Hey Angel, I wanna go to prom with you,” Bari crooned. On cue, seniors in the back stood up, each holding a bright silver sign with a single black letter.

The five of them put their signs together spelling out “PROM?” as Bari presented her with a bouquet of roses and concluded with a simple, “Will you go to prom with me?” Applause surrounded them, and Bari was met with a grin, a nod and a shout for joy.

Helen Jin/The Spectator

The Fudgeywhale in Old West

By Rose Cytryn and Lela Ni As their time at Stuyvesant comes to a close, the seniors of Stuyvesant High School have been buzzing about prom, the final school dance of their high school careers. The event is considered a rite of passage for many, so it is no surprise that the weeks leading up to prom are commonly spent searching for dresses, tuxedos, corsages, and limos. The most crucial part of the night, however, is finding someone special to spend it with—that’s where promposals come into play.

The “promposal”, a public proposal to prom, is a trend growing in popularity, appearing in the least expected places and at the least expected times.

These grand proposals amp up the pressure to ask someone to prom using increasingly elaborate gestures, and promposal season has hit Stuyvesant hard.

A Fairy Tale Twist Students gathered in the atrium on April 30th were treated to a special surprise when senior Joseph Koyfman, donning a jester hat, and a companion walked to the center. Followed by a banner that read: “PULL OUT PROMCALIBUR,” his companion placed a box labelled “rock” with a sword sticking out from it on the ground. Koyfman, putting his own twist on the classic “King Arthur and the Sword in the Stone,” explained that the King had dreamt of a beautiful lady he would take to prom.

Unraveling a scroll, Koyfman drew laughter from the crowd as he asked, “Has anyone seen this woman?” and revealed a stick-figure with long blonde hair.

Somewhere in the crowd, senior Otylia Włodarczyk sat nudging her friend Valentyna Chebanova as men and women alike tried to pull Promcalibur from the rock and earn their place as the King’s prom date, to no avail. “Is no one suited for the King?” Koyfman asked, disappointed. “I guess I’ll go off to tell him.” As Koyfman walked to the man behind the banner, Włodarczyk grinned and elbowed Chebanova. Thinking that Student Union president Eddie Zilberbrand would walk forward and prompose to

Chebanova, Włodarczyk was taken by surprise when Koyfman reappeared, wearing a golden crown. “It is I, the king of the land of the rock!” he exclaimed.

Then, crestfallen, he asked, “The girl of my dream, does she exist?” Włodarczyk turned to Chebanova, who only smiled and shrugged at her friend’s confusion. Włodarczyk finally understood the situation when Koyfman said to her, “Beautiful lady, could it be you?” Koyfman led a blushing Włodarczyk to the rock and watched as she grabbed the hilt of the sword.

“I can’t do it,” she said jokingly before she yanked the sword from the rock and the atrium erupted in cheers.

Koyfman remembers being incredibly nervous the day of his promposal. “The day of, half the people who were supposed to be in the promposal canceled; I was freaking out,” he recalled. “Everything was falling apart.” As he scrambled to find friends who could help him, Koyfman had to juggle the added stress of keeping it a secret from Włodarczyk as well.

For Włodarczyk, the minutes leading up to the promposal were spent in the restroom stalling Chebanova, giving Koyfman and his friends time to set up. “The whole time, I thought it was [Zilberbrand’s] proposal,” she said. When Koyfman appeared with the crown on his head, “[she] didn’t know what was happening.” Realizing that it was in fact Koyfman’s promposal to her, Włodarczyk was in shock. “It made me really happy,” she said.

Toto Mars Thoasin Bari, better known as Toto, was one of the first seniors to devise a promposal, right in the middle of the SING! season. Bari rested on a stool in the middle of the theater stage one day during rehearsals, a guitar slung around him and a group of four girls helping him sing—one of whom was in for a great surprise. Up came the second verse of “Marry You” by Bruno Mars, and senior Angel Yang was maneuvered to the side and pulled into a chair to face Bari, allowing him to properly serenade her. In the video his friends so happily posted all over Facebook and Youtube, screams were heard from all around the happy couple once everyone realized

We all know Marie Frolich’s voice from morning announcements. What we don’t all know, however, is that she and Joel Beacher have been dating for seven months and that he planned to ask to her prom. In anticipation of the event, Beacher took the time to tailor his promposal to Frolich specifically. The day of the promposal, Frolich was scheduled to do minutes for her English class with a friend, senior Eddie Zilberbrand. Frolich was told the night before that she and Zilberbrand were doing a skit about “a western bartender and this crazy cowboy, but he wouldn’t let [her] see a copy of the skit because he wanted it to be spontaneous and funny.” Frolich, who is also quite known for her adamant use of the word “fudgeywhale,” played an incredibly clumsy bartender. In the midst of the skit, Zilberbrand suddenly held up his hands like guns and told her, “Here’s what I’m really here for! Put your hands up!” She laughed, and just in time Beacher ran in to the rescue shouting, “Hey! This is an injustice!” Beacher defeated the evil Zilberbrand and rushed over to Frolich, who had caught on and was blushing madly. “Are you okay miss?

That’s no way to treat a girl as beautiful as you.” As the class began to “aww,” Beacher continued with, “I just have one thing to tell you. I would be hyped as fudgeywhale if you went to prom with me,” cleverly presenting her with a whale made of fudge with ‘PROM?’ and a smile carved into it along with a beautiful bouquet of blue and lilac flowers. With a big smile, Frolich was able to maintain composure as she gushed over the pleasant surprise.

A Speech Spectacle Standing in front of a filled classroom, Senior Edric Huang introduced the unsuspecting audience to extemporaneous speaking and impromptu, two subcategories of Speech and Debate. Dozens of members from the team showed up to this workshop thinking that they would be learning about these classifications of Speech and Debate, including senior Josephine Chun. “Josie and I became good friends by being on the Speech and Debate team for years,” said Huang, “so I figured that asking her through a speech would be most fitting.”

Huang began his sample extemporaneous speech about the Ukrainian protests with a hook; in this case, he cited

a love story between a protester and a riot police officer, knowing that Chun would, as Huang said, “really enjoy the story and romanticism behind it.” Rather than developing on the riots, however, Huang transitioned to talking about a special friend. After hearing inside jokes as well as the sweet moments of their friendship, it became clear to the audience that this wasn’t a typical speech. Towards the end of Huang’s speech, fellow Speech team member and senior Israt Hossain handed him a bouquet of flowers, and with sweat dripping down his forehead, Huang asked the anticipated question: “Thus, it is ever more imperative that I ask today’s question: Josephine Chun, will you go to prom with me?”

In midst of all the applause, Chun scurried to the front of

“Thus it is ever more imperative that I ask today’s question...Will you go to prom with me?”—Edric Huang, senior

the room saying, “Yes,” and the two shared a heart-warming embrace.

Huang credits Hossain for the idea of his promposal. “Israt actually gave me the idea of asking Josie during our team practice in the auditorium the day before the Speech Grands tournament, but she was absent!” he said. Huang postponed his promposal to the week after, and as many team members were interested about extemporaneous speaking and impromptu, he figured he would do it by hosting a teamwide workshop.

The trend of larger, more elaborate promposals has not escaped Huang’s notice. Huang noted that this “isn’t just an isolated, upcoming phenomenon. These grand gestures are likely a product of social pressures and prom’s transformation from a social event with friends to being about going with a date.” For Huang, promposing gave him an avenue to tell Chun how great a friend she is. “I just wanted a context to tell her [...] how fun it’d be to go to prom with her, and a lowkey speech promposal was that for me,” he said.

The Knight of Prom In the middle of a mass of students, senior Joyce Koltisko stood playing what she thought was the introductory music to senior Youbin Kim’s promposal.

After the final notes of “Happy

Birthday To You,” seniors Anna Ruta and Sharon Chen sprang from the crowd of people and rushed to her. “How can you play at a time like this?” they asked. Koltisko, perplexed for a moment, was then seized and held hostage along with Ruta and Chen by three boys, one of them Kim himself. But never fear; out from the senior bar came a man heroically riding a scooter to the scene. The knight in shining armor? None other than senior Philip Shin.

With a fencing mask and blade in hand, he challenged the kidnappers to a duel.

Though Shin and his friends had little over a day of choreography, he exchanged beats with his first attacker and swiftly defeated him. Shin beat the second kidnapper as well, but in the midst of their battle, Shin’s left arm was severed.

Left only with his dominant arm, Shin bravely turned to the third and final kidnapper who held Koltisko. The kidnapper, who was portrayed by senior Kevin Zhang, yelled, “Time to die!” and pretended to cut off Shin’s right arm. Thinking he had lost, Shin fell to his knees.

However, senior Nick Kaidoo, resuming his role as Chief in Senior SING!, intervened at that very moment and blessed Shin. “By the powers vested in me, by the Almighty Fire God, Kanye West, Ooooh, I return you your arms,” Kaidoo said, gifting Shin with not only two arms, but two fencing blades as well.

With renewed power, Shin turned to Zhang and killed him as he begged for his life.

Shin turned to Koltisko and unmasked himself, but not before a hidden attacker revealed himself. “Well, well, well, forget someone...?” he asked. But upon recognizing Shin, the terrified attacker committed seppuku, a Japanese ritual suicide.

With all the evildoers slain, Shin brought Koltisko back to the center of the atrium and told her, “Although I may not be wearing any shining armor, I promise I’ll be your knight on the night of prom. Will you go to prom with me?”

Reflecting on his promposal, Shin said, “I’m not really into public performances.

Just thinking about doing this promposal was nervewracking. [Senior] Dorit Rein helped calm me down a lot.”

He planned the promposal all throughout spring break, many of his friends agreeing to help him. Shin said keeping his promposal a secret was difficult, and the only solution was to disguise it as his friend’s promposal. “I was so afraid that something would go wrong because there were so many parts and so many people involved,” Shin said. “The best feeling was when I finally asked her and when she said yes.”

Whether they are grand occurrences or more low-key, promposals are among the highlights of high school life.

Next month, the Waldorf Astoria will be packed with Stuyvesant students dressed to the max and having the time of their lives, serving as a reminder to everyone that each story starts with a small question.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 6

Features

By Lisa Shi with additional reporting by Grace Stempel Would you stand in line for seven hours waiting for the doors to open for the midnight premiere of the latest movie? Or maybe stay up way later than you need to so that you can finish up reading this amazing story about your favorite character from a show? Would you constantly create universes for different book series to collide in? If you answered yes to these questions, well, you might find yourself a part of a fandom. And if you don’t obsess over everything but happen to have a favorite character in a book, or often buy games from the same series? Well then, you might be in a fandom too.

A fandom is a group of people who come together over a common interest. “I think a fandom is just a group of people who enjoy a show or a book or a franchise a lot and share their opinions with the rest of the group,” explained sophomore Cindy He. It appears that the common definition at Stuyvesant has something to do with fanfiction and fan art. For other members of the Stuyvesant community, however, being a fan of something is enough. For sophomore Rina Lubit, “a book/tv show/movie and the fanbase that forms around it” is enough to define a fandom.

Just as the definition of a fandom seems to be universal, being involved in a fandom seems to be universal too. Inside of Stuyvesant, fandoms seem to have a large presence, with several clubs revolving around a specific fandom. “Fandoms are definitely a huge part of Stuyvesant—you can tell just by walking around in the hallway,” said sophomore Anushna Barua.

“You can be on your way to math class and think to yourself, ‘Oh, look, that girl has the Survey Corps logo on [her] backpack,’ or ‘Oh, look, it’s the TARDIS.’” The Survey Corps and TARDIS logos are well known amongst fans of Attack on Titan, a manga, and Doctor Who, a very popular television show.

When jumping into the world of fandoms, it’s important to learn some of the lingo associated with it. Fanart and fanfiction are easy to define—they’re art or literature drawn/written by a fan for the fandom they are interested in. Stuyvesant is home to numerous fanfiction authors, and, for anyone interested in art, drawing a character from any show is enough to be considered fanart. Drawing a picture of one’s ship (that means a couple) or writing a story featuring characters from a show is considered a fan work. A picture of Elsa from Frozen is a great example of fanart and an easy way to contribute to a fandom.

However, there are other terms that are less well-known. Headcanon, for instance, is a fan’s interpretation of their fandom. This can range from backstories of characters, quirks and thought processes to ideas of what will happen after the end of the character’s tale. A popular headcanon for Supernatural fans is that the brothers, Dean and Sam have a close enough relationship that each is able to sense when the other is in danger. Although there is no definite proof from the writers of the show, it is generally accepted by the fandom. While there are more terms that are fandom-specific— “Mathematical!” has become a well-known phrase for “Adventure Time” lovers—the main values of a fandom seem to be constant.

Many Stuyvesant students joined a fandom before coming to Stuyvesant, sometimes without even knowing it. Most notable is Pokémon, a media franchise that stemmed from a video game released in 1996. More currently versions include Pokémon X and Y, games that have left their mark on the Stuyvesant community. Several students play Pokémon whenever they can: before class, during lunch, and after school. Most of these players are so consumed that they can’t even remember when they first started. “I got involved in Pokémon as a child and I’ve just become attached like that,” sophomore Oscar Ngan stated. This general entrapment is how most people first be-

come involved in a fandom. “I got into fandoms just wanting to know more about a particular series, I guess. It starts with looking at trivia and leads to eventually to me wondering ‘When did I start caring so much about fictional characters?’” sophomore Sophia Chen said.

Though fandoms may thrive through other means, the spread of fandoms can be credited to the Internet. Tumblr, for example, is a well-known social media website that hosts several kinds of blogs, including luxury blogs, hipster blogs, and, of course, fandom blogs.

These blogs are often RP (roleplaying) blogs, Ask blogs, or a place to store fan-works. Chen originally joined Tumblr to “see what fans come up with, whether it’s amusing headcanons/theories, or amazing fanart,” she said. Many people who do not have a Tumblr, however, view works elsewhere, such as Google+, deviantART, and YouTube. For sophomore Chuan Lin, Tumblr simply “doesn’t appeal to [her],” she said, so she gets access to fan works through deviantART, archiveofourown and fanfiction. net. Although communication over the Internet is not as personal, the Internet still houses a community where people can creatively express themselves with their own works.

As fandoms have managed to gain media attention, they have also attracted Stuyvesant’s attention. “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” (PMMM) is a classic example.

“PMMM” is an anime that was released in 2011 and became major hit. It is a dark take on the typical “magical girl” theme, a clever digression that has made it a notable anime on everyone’s “to watch” list. Since its creation, there have been three branch-off manga and three movies released about it.

“The story for this anime is amazing, and the OST is absolutely stunning,” said Barua. “I guess the main target audience would be teenage girls, but it has a much wider audience than that. In fact, I saw a guy in my English class last term with an adorable Madoka keychain.”

Even more well-liked is “Attack on Titan” or “Shingeki no Kyojin”

(referred to as AoT or SnK). Sophomore Geneva Gee, who considers herself someone who “isn’t the kind to fangirl outwardly,” remarked, “It’s one of the rare anime/mangas that not only made me go ‘This is so good!’ but [also] made me feel emotional.” She even recalled being moved to tears during some scenes in which a favored character died or a pairing was ripped apart because of uncontrollable circumstances.

Though there was once a small number of SnK fans, the anime has shot up in esteem. There were always fans, but it was only within this past year that hoodies, sneakers, backpacks and charms featuring characters have been seen.

Gee even claims, “I can’t spend ten minutes with my friends without one of them bringing up the topic, which then turns into an all-out debate about who dies in the next chapter/episode or who should be shipped with who.”

As with any club or interest, fandoms have contributed to relationships. “It’s a huge point of commonality if you’re in a fandom that I am [in], simply because of the emotions and time put into them,” states Lubit. That being said, being involved in a fandom isn’t usu-

ally a focus point in developing relationships. “It’s still true that you share more with someone who shares your interests, but it isn’t a requirement to be close with someone,” explains Chen. Barau has similar feelings on the topic: “Similar fandoms have helped start friendships, but it isn’t what kept them in the long run.” Finding someone inside of Stuyvesant that is interested in the same fandoms isn’t a rare occurrence and can often lead to friendships, but personality and other interests are just as important in keeping the relationship going.

Fandoms have contributed to a large part of the identities of many high school students trying to discover themselves. And it works the other way, as the universal concept of being a part of a fandom has allowed it to grow. Fandoms have become a fast-growing means of communication and friendship, and this has contributed to their popularity at Stuyvesant. As Lubit says, “Overall, fandoms have introduced me to so many people, and I’ve made so many friendships that I wouldn’t have otherwise. I think it’s a really wonderful thing, and it brings people together.”

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Citizen of the Fanatic Kingdom

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

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Page 7

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 8

Features

Sabrina Chan / The Spectator

Defining One’s Stuyle

By Hayoung Ahn With possible outfit choices laid out across his room, an ordinary 15-year-old high school student was getting ready to go play pool with his friends during spring break. After scanning the options from his wardrobe, he finally decided on some red and black plaid pajama pants from Topman. He didn’t care that they were meant to be pajamas— he would wear them as “normal pants” without any regrets, even if his friends would poke fun at him and tease, “Didn’t I warn you not to wear pajamas?”

A fascination with contemporary fashion in society has dominated sophomore Victor Wen’s lifestyle. Most of the time, Wen tends to dress conservatively, but sometimes the risky option is the better one. Wearing colored turquoise pants with a leopard-print jacket, for example, isn’t rare for him. When he was considering wearing rainbow to the SophFrosh Semiformal, one of his friends replied, “Are you crazy?”

Wen’s passion for fashion was only able to fully develop only this year, but he remarks that high school changed him a lot in general. “In middle school, I went to a private school where we had to wear uniforms. Then when I got to this big high school, I was introduced to so many new styles!” Wen exclaimed. He also confessed that he “just wanted

to dress better for [his] crush.

It’s beyond that point now, but yeah, that’s how it got started.”

Even though a majority of the leading figures in the fashion world are female, Wen is still able to look up to certain male fashion designers for inspiration. “A lot of people think that male fashion designers are gay, and my friends tend to use it a lot to joke with me, but I don’t think it really affects my personal decision to keep on doing what I do,” Wen said. One of his favorite fashion role models is Alexander Wang, a ChineseAmerican designer who moved from California to New York City to study at Parsons. His urban designs motivate him to research innovative color schemes and trends. The styles shown in Korean dramas and K-pop stars, such as those of fashion idol G-dragon, also inspire him. “Like me, G-dragon likes to experiment, Wen said. “I admire him because he can pull off girls’ clothing.”

Wen described his personal style as having different phases.

“Right now, I want to stand out and push the norm to its limits. I don’t want to look like every other guy in the world,” he revealed.

“I want to be super abstract, like how people dress at fashion shows. But maybe, in the next two months, I’ll go through a minimalist phase instead; you know, Tshirt and jeans.” Topman, Urban Outfitters, Express, Ralph Lauren, and Uniqlo are just a few of the

brands that he wears most often.

Based on his interests in fashion, Wen has recently developed his own online blog, called “The Fall Collective,” this past March, dedicated toward fashion celebrity news, style advice, brand reviews, and his own opinions on various intriguing trends. It all began when Wen was having dinner with a friend one night, and they were talking about sophomore Taekyung (TK) Kong’s clothing design blog. After further discussion, Wen was convinced that he could do an even better job than any other fashion blogger.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized, “Those people at Teen Vogue can fashion-blog, so why can’t I?” That marked the birth of his blogging days. In the beginning, Wen was discouraged because there wasn’t an impressive number of visitors to his blog, but his friends really pushed him in this pursuit.

“On those days when I’m really tired and don’t see improvements, I always think, ‘Why am I doing this?’ But the fact that people do read my blog and gain from it and that I can use it as a way to express myself is always a good motivator,” Wen said.

Although it started off as a fun hobby, Wen’s blog gradually gained progress as he devoted more time toward it, averaging around 1,500 views per month.

Wen has been making efforts to try to expand the variety of content on his blog. What distinguishes his blog from the millions of others in existence is that he tries to mix in his own personal style. Rather than just reporting the current fashion trend, Wen gives you advice so that you can establish how you want to represent yourself through your style of dress. He currently has an advice column for what to wear to a first date or different types of outfits for school. Wen also writes features about certain Korean fashion stars, like Kim Soo Hyun. His next goal is to include posts about beauty products and lifestyle.

With his friends to support him by acting as his photographer,

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model, and design artist, Wen is serious about maintaining the quality of his posts. “My photographer [and I] are best friends, so sometimes I just text her and ask if she’s free. Our shooting location is really improv[ised], and we usually just shoot near our homes,” Wen explained. “For those who are curious, the next one will probably be shot at Central Park.”

Wen explained that he does receive a small amount of financial benefits through advertisements on his blog. His blog is affiliated with companies like YesStyle and Topman, so if viewers buy their products from his website, he gets five to ten percent of the profits as commission. One brand even offered to send some free clothing products for him to review. But the money gained is definitely not his primary motivation. Rather, he blogs for the purpose of self-expression.

“A lot of people get into fashion blogging for the free designer stuff, but in the beginning, you have to buy your own things,” Wen said. “Brands only reach out to you when you have something big enough—big enough as in 100,000 to a million views per month—to give back to them.

That’s why in blogging, public relations is really important.” In order to publicize his blog, he uses social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Independent Fashion Bloggers. One of his goals for public relations is to attend fashion conferences.

In particular, he hopes to go to New York Fashion Week, which is really beneficial for “making connections to key people in the industry,” as Wen puts it.

Wen views blogging as a chance to express himself and to find more about fashion. “Personally, it’s also an excuse to focus on my interests: my mom would never let me spend as much time on fashion as I do if it weren’t for blogging,” Wen said. In case he ever has a problem with managing both school and blogging, he came up with a system: if he happens to not be busy one day, he can “sched-

ule” posts by writing the next 20 posts, and spreading them out evenly over the next 20 days.

Even though Wen seems to manage his time fairly well, he still faces challenges regarding the content of his blog. Before he began blogging, he expected it to be much easier than it actually turned out to be. “[Managing] the website, getting the design and getting it hosted, finding news—a lot of it is really hard. In addition to Stuy[vesant], sometimes I just don’t have the time to write. Writing takes creative thinking, and sometimes writer’s block comes and it just doesn’t happen,” Wen expressed.

Another obstacle for Wen is criticism from peers at school and online. But Wen doesn’t let this hinder him: “For some people, it’s just a joke. But for the more serious ones, I guess I try to respond to it, [but] I also try to grow from it. Some of it is constructive criticism, like ‘you should pose better, you should smile more.’ I think I try to respond to the hate pretty well.”

Wen’s ultimate aim is to create his own clothing line, hopefully in the near future. With designing, “you get to see other people wear your designs,” he said, something that blogging simply doesn’t offer. Although the expenses and time commitment may stand as barriers in the future, Wen hasn’t lost hope. In fact, some of his relatives are involved in the fashion industry, and although they weren’t involved in his original inspiration to pursue fashion, he plans to rely on them to help him expand. He doesn’t plan on going to fashion school, but he does have huge ambitions. Wen reflected, “I want to collaborate with big-name designers. It might not happen, but I’d really like to.”

He aspires to be in a position in which he can share his thoughts on fashion with the rest of the world. Perhaps in a few years we will watch this dream come true.

Visit Victor Wen’s blog at http://www.thefallcollective. com/

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

Page 9

Features Gardens, Vaults, and Catwalks, Oh My!

The Dungeon

Jin Hee Yoo / The Spectator

Contrary to the idea that Stuyvesant’s basement is a dark wet dungeon that houses dragons and delinquent students, the basement is actually just what it sounds like, a basement. It is used to store school supplies, power the school’s heating, and filter the school’s wa-

Jin Hee Yoo / The Spectator

The basement hallway contains chairs, ceiling tiles, and other supplies.

The vault in the basement contains all major state exams, health records, and the academic records of every Stuyvesant student.

front of the building and holds the academic records of all Stuyvesant students, past and present, and all the major DOE examinations, such as the SHSAT entrance exams.

There are exams waiting to be taken by students that are locked up in the vault until it is time for the students to take the test and exams from previous years. After students take the exams, the serial number on every exam is recorded and checked by the administration before it can be returned to the vault.

Jin Hee Yoo / The Spectator

Tucked away in the musty and dark catwalks of Stuyvesant’s Murray Kahn Theater is a small, denlike lounge with set pieces from old theater productions, board games, furniture, and even a working television set. Though it may seem unreal to most students, this room has become a regular spot for members of the lighting and sound crew to take a break from their work on STC or SING! productions. More surprising is that this lounge and the catwalks are not the only well-kept secrets of Stuyvesant. At the bottom of the building, in the depths of the basement, are locker rooms, storage, and a massive underground vault, while at the top, on the roof, are two gardens that improve urban environment. As most students and faculty members have never seen any of the three locations, their obscurity, as well as distinctiveness, is undeniable.

ter supply. Although not a dungeon, the basement also has the capacity to unleash the power of a dragon’s flames and the secrets of some (not so) ancient documents.

To get to the basement, you will have to take the custodial elevator downstairs. While walking through the basement, sounds of machinery and pipes can be heard and lines of student desks, chairs, and ceiling tiles can be seen laying across the hallway. Passing by, you will also see a huge cold water supply tub, two locker rooms for the custodians, female and male, and an equipment storage room of the football team. Continuing down the spacious hallway will soon lead you to two doors opposite each other.

Behind the door on the left is a room that contains four 10,000 gallon oil tanks and one 5,000 gallon oil tank. These massive tanks are used in the oil burner furnaces during the winter to heat up the entire building. “Once it gets below a certain temperature, we have to shut off the natural gas and go to the regular oil burner,” Support Staff Member Kern Levigion said. Since it is dangerous to keep gallons of oil tanks that can spew out fire, at the very bottom of the door is a thick slab of concrete that will help contain the oil if there ever was a leak.

Taking a look through the door on the right, you will find a cumbersome black safe, also known as “the vault.” This humongous underground vault stretches to the

The Catwalks Out of plain sight and adjacent to the nurse’s office on the third floor is the sound-booth, a room behind the balcony of the theater which contains the system controls and control panels for the speakers and sound equipment of the stage. The sound-booth is an area where students can simultaneously work on equipment and hang out with friends. Levignon placed a computer, printer, microwave, and refrigerator in the sound-booth for the convenience of students who have access to it.

These students have also made the sound-booth a homely environment by filling the bookshelf with many of their textbooks and prep books, clipping posters and images onto the wall, and decorating the room with objects such as disco balls and handmade signs.

There is even a pile of board games stacked on top of a closet and magnetic letters that enable members to leave messages for each other.

Unknown to many, the soundbooth also hides a secret passageway that leads to an elaborate system of platforms and support structures. If you look up at the ceiling while entering the sound booth, you will see a trap door that releases a long black ladder. Climb up this ladder, and you will find yourself in the dark, dusty catwalks of the theater. These catwalks, located above the theater, are platforms that give the students on the sound and lighting crew easy access to control the technical aspects of the stage such as lighting, sound, and the stage weights. With industrial motors, handyman tools lying on the pathways, and creaky metal floors, the catwalks are analogous to the scaffolding of a building, while the sound and lighting crew are the construction workers on this scaffold. The students of the sound and lighting crew, who are the people primarily in the catwalks, have all been trained by and have worked alongside Levigion, who knows every nook and cranny of the catwalks.

The system of the catwalks is similar to a grand maze filled with obstacles: abrupt turns, steep stairs, and low ceilings. Without knowing the “maze” as well as Levigion, you can easily get lost in the dark cold tunnels. In one area of the catwalks, for instance, there are three possible pathways; one pathway is another entrance to the catwalks, a staircase that connects to the first floor, another leads deeper toward the highest point of the catwalks, and the last directs back to the ladder in the soundroom. Just like in a construction zone, the sound and lighting crew have many responsibilities when taking care of the backbone of the theater. In the catwalks, the sound and lighting crew change the light bulbs of the stage lights, change the color gels that vary the color of the light produced, and check on the sound equipment.

However, the catwalks are not just a place for technical work.

Tucked in the corner of the catwalks is a cozy little area where sofas and armchairs, board games, and props of previous SING! productions have accumulated.

“It started out as a work room and then before I know it, there’s one piece of furniture, another

Above the theater are catwalks, which are platforms used by the lighting and sounds crews during school productions

piece of furniture,” Levigion said.

Sophomore Camille Casiño is one of the students who has been to the catwalks. When describing her first time up in the catwalks she said, “At first I was surprised at how high up we were.

At some points I couldn’t even see where I was going and I felt like I could fall at any moment. While there, the sound and lighting crew seemed so comfortable up in [the catwalks] and it just seemed like a regular thing to them. It was so incredibly cool when I had a moment of realization that half of Stuyvesant probably doesn’t even know [the catwalks] exist.”

Stuyvesant’s Secret Gardens Hidden away on the windy roof of the building lies two rooftop gardens. Up two dusty staircases and through a room humming with machinery, the entrance to the roof is kept out of sight. Tan bricks line the roof, punctuated with two small plots of soil. Though the plots of soil are small, they are definitely alive.

Battery Park financed these gardens in an attempt to reduce the effects of the urban heat island effect. This effect describes the often higher temperatures in cities compared to more rural areas. The city endeavors to mitigate this effect by building green roofs full of vegetation to lower temperatures, improve air quality, and reduce rain runoff.

The roof features low growing perennials called xerophytes.

Unlike typical flowering plants, the xerophytes on the roof are inconspicuous, dark green grasses. These hardy plants need little water and little maintenance, and grow all year round.

Unfortunately, students are not allowed to visit due to security concerns. Some faculty members have been ambivalent about the secrecy of the garden, especially because it could be utilized to perform experiments, augment class materials, and build real life connections. “I’ve only been up there, since it’s existence, five times,” biology teacher Jerry Citron said. “It would be nice to be able to conduct experiments, [such as] how much water is being absorbed.”

The possibilities for experi-

mentation are endless. Citron had applied for grants, none of which attained fruition, for monitoring sensors that would record the activity of the garden. “[It could] measure rainfall on the roof, how much water [the roof ] accumulates during a storm, how much water gets absorbed by the green roof, what kind of temperatures occur on the asphalt versus the green roof,” he said. Another idea included live streaming the daily growth of the garden and showing this footage to his students, since it is difficult to access the roof. Not only would the plants be monitored, but motion activated sensors could detect animals and insects that are attracted to the garden. Exploring bird species and insect interactions could enrich the curriculum and open doors to environmental research.

“We live in an environment where we’re not connected with nature anymore, so it doesn’t seem like it’s significant,” Citron said.

In addition to the rooftop garden, biology teachers Jerry Citron and Marissa Maggio worked with members of the technology department to install a vegetable garden on the tenth floor terrace.

Fenced off and inaccessible to students, the project was a taken to utilize part of the roof that was not productively used. It is also possible to install a similar garden on the fifth floor terrace outside the cafeteria. Though these gardens are inexpensive to set up, there are challenges to obtain student involvement due to safety concerns.

Despite these concerns, having a garden in a highly visible space such as the fifth floor terrace may lead to a heightened appreciation of nature and an increased connection to the environment. “It’s not visible,” Citron said. “It doesn’t evoke any kind of curiosity.”

From live-streaming videos to a possible agriculture class, the rooftop gardens and terraces have the potential to be a community space that promotes environmental awareness. However, problems with funding, policy, and awareness have prevented these spaces from being used productively. “Right now, it’s just a lot of unused real estate,” Citron said.

Jin Hee Yoo / The Spectator

By Luo Qi Kong, April Lam, and Aimee Li

Stuyvesant’s rooftop garden is made up of dark green grasses called xerophytes.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 10

Features Managing the Chaos: An Inside Look at Our Custodians

By Philipp Steinmann and Laura (Kai Sze) Luk In the early hours of the morning, when most Stuyvesant students are fast asleep and a few have their lamps on while cramming for their upcoming APs, the school’s custodians finally leave work. Having started at 4:00 p.m. to mop, dust, scrub, and empty their assigned floors for eight hours straight, with a one-hour dinner break in between, it is only at 1:00 a.m. that they can make their way home. These hidden members of the Stuyvesant family spend more time at school than many students, and yet few know who they are and what they do. Below is an introduction to three of them.

Robert Lopez

Kenny Boonraj

Jan Li / The Spectator

Tomás Galarza

Custodian Tomás Galarza is in charge of cleaning the second floor.

Tomás Galarza is an amiable Ecuadorian whose domain is the second floor. When I first met him, he had taken off his earphones to joke with a teacher coming out of the guidance office. When asked later what he had been listening to, he responded, “Cumbia. Salsa,” and did a little rhythmic dance to demonstrate.

Galarza, who has been in the United States for 21 years, works two jobs to pay for his five children’s college tuitions. Before his eight hours at Stuyvesant, he spends four hours in the morning at another high school in Manhattan. Though his workday totals 12 hours, he did not seem particularly perturbed by this grueling schedule. He works hard for his children. “That’s the way I am, because I had nothing,” Galarza said.

This was a reference to his difficult childhood, and was not an exaggeration. Growing up in the Ecuadorian countryside, in a village without electricity or running water, Galarza had to work up to 12 hours a day from the age of eight, cleaning rice, corn, and beans for his family’s farm. They hardly had any machines to aid them, so they had to be resourceful. “Everything you invent,” Galarza explained. His mother, struggling to keep a family of nine children afloat, could only supply each child with the bare minimum: two or three T-shirts, one pair of shoes to be worn for years on end, and ascetic meals of rice, beans, and bananas. Only once a week, on Sundays, could they afford to eat meat.

Orange leaves in water had to serve as a substitute for milk.

Galarza, having grown to hate the village that gave him so much hardship, left for the city Guayaquil when he turned 18, and found work in a PepsiCola factory. One after another, his relatives from the countryside joined him, finding better work and living conditions in the city.

He came to the United States when he was 38. In comparison to his struggles in the village, it is easy to see why the American life appeals to him and makes him so irrepressibly cheerful. “I am here, I am happy, no problem,” he said.

He found his demanding schedule too banal to spend much time discussing. “It’s a routine!” he said again and again. But does he ever get lonely working eight hours on the second floor all by himself? “No; loneliness makes happy,” Galarza said. He whistled as he swung his mop back and forth exuberantly.

Custodian Kenny Boonraj on top of cleaning the fourth floor, also separates the unsorted garbage for the environment.

Custodian Robert Lopez diligently cleans every part of the fifth floor everyday.

Fifth floor custodian and American-born Puerto Rican Robert Lopez loves to have a routine. “If you clean everything right…you know everything, [and when] you come in… everything works nice and smoothly,” Lopez said. Every weekday afternoon, Lopez reports to Stuyvesant and diligently starts working. He starts at the staircases and works his way down the hallway, stopping at every classroom.

Cleaning the bathrooms is a nightmare because there is no ventilation and an abundance of graffiti that Lopez finds in bizarre places. He immediately mentioned an infamous message that Stuyvesant students will know well: “imaginação,” meaning “imagination” in Portuguese. “I was going to put the hand towels inside the [dispenser], and when I opened it… it said [“imaginação”] right there,” Lopez said. While Lopez agrees that imaginação holds a powerful message, he is agitated by the fact that he has to constantly clean up after the boy who has been writing it everywhere. “He’s ridiculous about it, it’s all over the place, that kid,” Lopez said. “[But] you can’t be mad at him, cause we did the same thing.”

Lopez was heavily involved with graffiti when he was a teenager, forming a graffiti crew with his friends called the Wild Style Wizards. His older brother, a much more experienced graffiti artist, gave him tips on how to escape from the police. He enjoyed the fame and mysteriousness that came from leaving his signature on subway windows.

Describing the effects graffiti had on him, Lopez said, “It was like a drug. You had to do it. It was very addicting.”

Despite his older brother’s tips, the police caught Lopez twice, and both times he had to pay a small fine and write an essay about why he chose to draw graffiti. After he got caught the second time, Lopez quit graffiti for good.

Did he regret stopping? “It was a lot of fun, but you gotta grow up. You grow up, you’ve got kids and everything, a wife. If I get the chance, I still [make art],” Lopez said.

For Lopez, part of growing up included changing his job numerous times. He thinks Stuyvesant is much simpler than the other schools he has worked at. Brooklyn Tech, Lopez describes, is about twice the size, with a theatre the size of the Apollo Theater in Harlem. He enjoyed working at Brooklyn Tech because the crew was great, but after his boss was disrespectful to Lopez, he moved to Stuyvesant, where he enjoys the relaxed atmosphere.

Occasionally, students add to this friendly atmosphere by offering to help out. Lopez always responds with a cheery, “No, no, [worry] about studying and all that. I got this, I’ll take care of you,” he said. Beyond taking care of Stuyvesant students, Lopez always rushes home from work to take care of his children. Although he gets home extremely late at night, he always wakes up early the next morning to get his children ready for school. “It’s love,” Lopez said. “I can’t leave my wife and kids.”

From the way Kenny Boonraj sweeps his enormous mop slowly along the halls of the fourth floor, he looks like a man who has all the time in the world.

“New York is too busy,” he told me in his Trinidadian accent, which has a quaint British ring to it. For the time being, he has no intention of returning to Trinidad, the country he left when he was 19.

Education wasn’t his biggest priority back then, and he told me, perhaps with a twinge of regret, that he wouldn’t be in the United States today if he had learned more. “I never liked school because I loved to go fishing,” Boonraj explained. He and his father would go out onto the Caribbean when the tide was low to dig for oysters, clams, and mussels in the soil.

“It was very hard. You got bitten by a lot of sandflies,” he said. Repelling them was not easy in the tropical climate of Trinidad. “We used something like kerosene [and] put it on our arm. Or you get bitten up bad,” Boonraj said. He and his father took the fish back to the shore and sold them at hotels or a very expensive Italian restaurant on the coast. “It’s fun,” he said. He still goes fishing occasionally when he visits his country.

Boonraj cleans the fourth floor. The tasks that go into cleaning may seem trivial at first glance; however, once one considers the sheer size of an entire floor, it becomes apparent how much work Boonraj must do every single day. “It’s a lot of cleaning to do because a lot of kids make a [big] mess,” Boonraj said. A lot of time is spent sweeping the classrooms, halls, and staircases, as well as cleaning desks, windows, doors, ledges, and elevators.

He empties out the trash and even separates unsorted garbage into recycling. “I do it for the environment,” Boonraj explained. Perhaps Boonraj feels so inclined because he can’t help but observe that Americans are somewhat apathetic when it comes to being green. “Here, they’re carefree,” he noted.

He cleans the bathrooms last. Like a large portion of the male population at Stuyvesant, Boonraj could not understand how the bathrooms get so messy.

“Maybe they’re in a bad mood, maybe they come in, didn’t do too well in their exams. I don’t know,” Boonraj said.

Whatever the cause, he takes it easy. While Boonraj plans to stay here for the time being, his heart is still in Trinidad, and he wants to move back after he retires. “I’m gonna go back home,” Boonraj said.

“Less stress, New York is too fast for you. In Trinidad, the day is 24 hours, the night is 24 hours.”

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

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Page 11

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

Page 12

Editorials Staff Editorial

Tell Us What’s Going On!

On April 27, students received an e-mail from Principal Zhang about possible schedule changes for the fall of 2014 which read, in part: “there is a possibility that the school day will be extended due to the fact our periods are shorter than the required minutes both based on the state and city regulations.” The fact that this was the first and only form of communication between the Stuyvesant administration and the student body on this issue is unacceptable.

Students were left in the dark about this incredibly important issue, and still continue to grope wildly for explanations. At first, rumors abounded that our periods were not long enough to comply with DOE regulations, and students began to speculate about possible changes. For the vast majority of students, these were discussions based purely on hearsay. The Spectator published in this issue an article laying out the facts as we know them, but this will be the first detailed information of any sort officially presented to the student body.

During times like these, students rightly expect to be informed, if not from the administration, then from their representatives in the Student Union.

Not only should the administration tell students basic facts such as why scheduling changes are even necessary, but the students’ representatives should also be held accountable for advancing the students’ interests. There is a comprehensive failure of communication between the administration, the SU, and the student body.

The April 27 email did suggest that students who wanted to voice their opinions attend a Student Leadership Team (SLT) meeting on April 29, a mere two days later. However, the meeting’s location was not disclosed for the knowledge of curious students.

Furthermore, student observers were not allowed to speak during this meeting, preventing productive ideas from being heard. Only three students were allowed to speak—SU president senior Eddie Zilberbrand, SU vice-president junior Keiran Carpen, and SU representative junior Benedict Bolton—but they did so rarely during the meeting. We hoped our representatives would have made a greater effort to present student-friendly solutions to the matter. Though Zilberbrand and Carpen tried to welcome student opinions through Facebook, a more official forum or a chance to meet with representatives face-to-face would have been more effective. The SLT meeting came and went without any report of the discussion being made available to the larger student community from either the administration or the SU. The issue of the schedule change will not be resolved for some time, and we strongly disapprove of the administration’s lack of transparency with the student body. However, this issue has also exposed weaknesses with the SU and, as campaign season begins, we can assess the past year of student governance and push for a much more involved and representative leadership.

When Stuyvesant empowered Zilberbrand and Carpen as the leaders of the student body, ev-

eryone was looking for a change, fulfilled campaign promises, and an SU that would clearly represent the voice of students. The members of this SU are not to be solely blamed for their inability to create all the desired change— rather, the system of our student government was built to be intrinsically weak. The administration plays a heavy influence in the actions of the SU, and these restrictions do not allow for the independent power that our representatives need.

Additionally, the relative inexperience of three very new administrators in Principal Jie Zhang, Assistant Principal of Security, Safety, and Student Affairs Brian Moran, and Assistant Principal of Organization Saida Rodriguez-Tabone, has posed a problem for the efficiency of the SU. “We had to keep up things the SU has done from year to year, because the only person who really had any institutional knowledge of the SU was Ms. Zhang for a year, and everyone else has no idea what the SU does. I wish that we could have kept up with traditions and perhaps improved on them better,” said Zilberbrand in an interview.

Furthermore, the injury and sudden absence of Coordinator of Student Affairs (COSA) Lisa Weinwurm left the SU with little faculty assistance other than the responsibilities forced upon an already overworked Assistant Principal of Guidance Casey Pedrick, who must be commended for her help with the SU. “It was a struggle at first in terms of us not knowing what we had to do without Ms. Weinwurm, along with a lot of the administration not knowing what to do. [One firstyear administrator] wasn’t even certain of what SING! was when we first approached her about it,” Carpen said. Though we understand the difficult circumstances, a review of this year’s SU reveals not just the usual trail of broken campaign promises (a common narrative for the SU), but, in fact, basic functions forgotten and done very poorly.

From crew neck sales in late April (crew necks are made for the winter), to SING! and Open Mic performances un-filmed, to “communication with the student body” that was not as prevalent as promised, the SU has not met expectations. A union is a union for a reason: to be a collective for students. No town-hall style meetings have been held as outlined in their platform, no forums have been opened for the SU and the students to interact, and communication through the internet has been minimal.

Zilberbrand and Carpen told The Spectator that they decided town-hall meetings would have been ineffective and opted for an open-door policy when the SU room was open, which they deemed efficient. Yet, they should have reached out more to students instead of letting students come to them. An increased online presence would have helped in this department, but the SU chose to go the other way and communicate through methods other than Facebook. “We moved to less of a computerized communication format, and more of hard copy. We did banners to advertise for events on the second floor, and we also did club-pub

F or the

sign-up sheets physically, where it used to be computerized,” Carpen said.

In order to turn a new leaf in the relationships between the student body, the SU, and the administration, The Spectator requests better communication between these three entities. First, the administration should be updating the student body with any type of news that relate to academic life, replete with explanations to justify certain actions.

For example, we would like to see more frequent emails, including recaps of each SLT meeting; all communication to the student body should be as thorough as Parent Coordinator Harvey Blumm’s weekly newsletters.

In terms of the SU, we want the student body to be better represented. Waves of shock and anger from students overflowed social media sites about the scheduling changes, yet we heard little from our President and Vice President. Looking forward, we hope to see weekly updates of what the SU has been up to, announced either through the PA system, on an SU Facebook page, or on the SU website that is rarely used. “One thing we definitely could have improved on was the SU website,” Carpen said.

This year’s SU was one of halffulfilled promises, but they have had accomplishments worthy of note. “One of the things we campaigned about was to try to make SING! as awesome as possible, and not only did we spend less money than we ever have before, we didn’t go over our budget like we usually do, but we also had a very smooth SING! compared to most years, and with a lot of SU involvement,” Zilberbrand said.

The SU has always been a weak representative of the student body, but this should not disillusion students from casting a vote in the upcoming elections. If anything, it should be an incentive for the student body to become more active in enforcing change with the way politics run at Stuyvesant. Part of the reason why the SU is so weak is because of student apathy. The SU has tried soliciting requests and problems from the student body, but have come up empty. Students, therefore, should become more involved with the happenings of Stuyvesant by attending SLT meetings, demanding the SU to make certain changes, becoming acquainted with each of the new candidates running for caucus, and, of course, selecting leaders who will confidently create change needed for our school.

In summary, we are disappointed in both our school administration and the SU for their lack of communication during this tumultuous time of schedule changes and throughout the year.

Every student government candidate in history has run on a platform of change, and they always will. On the side, you will see how well Zilberbrand and Carpen have fared at fulfilling their campaign promises. The 2013-2014 school year has been one of many overwhelming changes, but change in the sense of a transparent administration and a more powerful SU is one that we are all for.

R ecord

• In the Issue 13 girls’ lacrosse article, the title of which inaccurately portrayed the attitude of the team, several statistics were incorrectly credited to sophomore Rebecca You, who did not play in the game.

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

“The Pulse of the Student Body” E D I TO R s

IN

C HIEF

Lev Akabas* Teresa Chen* N ews

Ed i to rs

Coby Goldberg* Tina Jiang Andrew Wallace* F e at u r e s

Ed i to rs

Ariella Kahan Maisha Kamal Emma Loh* O pi ni o ns

Ed i to rs

Emma Bernstein Daniel Kodsi Justin Weltz* s p orts

Ed i to rs

Chris Kim Grace Lu Annique Wong h u mo r

Ed i to rs

Photo graphy Ed i to rs

Anne Duncan Justin Strauss Jin Hee Yoo Arts & e nt e r ta i nm e nt e d i to rs

Shahruz Ghaemi Emma McIntosh a rt

d i r e ct o r s

Alisa Su Lydia Wu L ayo ut

Ed i to rs

Kelly Luo Da-Ye Shin Co py

Ed i to rs

Eliza Hripcsak Tyler Ishikawa Busi ne ss

M anag e r s

Andrew Fischer Deanna Taylor* We b

Ed i to rs

Eric Stringham Chris Grant F ac u lt y

Adv i so r

Kerry Garfinkel

Shane Lorenzen Dennis Nenov* Please address all letters to: 345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282 (212) 312-4800 ext. 2601 letters@stuyspectator.com

Zilberbrand and Carpen’s Platform: One: The creation of a bigger SU. - A bigger Student Union means more things accomplished, a stronger student body representation, and more active members working harder to become active leaders in the Stuyvesant community.

Eddie and Keiran had a late start in creating their SU cabinet because of the controversy with last year’s elections, but these members do not hold a strong presence in this school. Yes, the SU has a great page on its website listing all of its leaders, but it is seldom used and not well-promoted.

Two: An official school calendar inside the school maintained by the SU - Clubs and other organizations can mark their events on the calendar creating a more organized atmosphere for students who already have enough work on their hands. Interest meeting dates, volunteer events, and other important dates will be labeled!

The SU is currently working on a computerized calendar for the first floor big-screen TV, but the majority of the school is unaware of these plans. The other day, a student walked into the Spectator office and asked a number of editors, mistaking them for SU members, where the meeting for a club was, and had no way of finding out the answer to his question.

Three: Working with Ms. Zhang to enable all students to go outside during their free periods.

- [Eddie] has already met with [Principal Zhang] about this topic and will continue to work hard to ensure that all grades will be allowed out during their frees next year.

Established last year under President Adam Lieber and Vice President Tahia Islam, outside privileges during free periods were a success with the senior class. This year, we’ve only seen this extended to the juniors, and this was largely credited to the Junior Caucus leaders, George Triantafillou and George Kitsios. However, we commend both of these leaders and the SU for making this change.

Four: Expansion of the College Question Program - The College Question Program allows current Stuyvesant students to ask Stuyvesant alumni any questions relevant to college. This program was established by the SU this year; we will help to continue this program by preserving contact with this year’s graduating class. By doing this, we will be able ask more personal questions as we are well acquainted with them.

Most people don’t know this program exists. At best, the program isn’t well organized or advertised.

Five: More Communication Amongst Large Organizations In Stuyvesant - To promote a sense of Stuyvesant’s school spirit and to enhance the

We reserve the right to edit letters for clarity and length. © 2010 The Spectator All rights reserved by the creators. * Managing Board Members

unity amongst students, the SU will make it our goal to improve communications […] amongst organizations such as Big Sibs, Arista, and Red Cross such that events inside Stuyvesant can be run more smoothly and efficiently while also creating more volunteer opportunities for students.

This can only truly be judged subjectively, but no palpable improvement was made in this area.

Six: Moving Sophomore Elections To The Spring Of Freshman Year - Sophomore elections are currently held late in the school year, which consequently limits the effectiveness of this position. If these elections were held during the same time as the SU and Senior and Junior Caucuses, the sophomore grade will be able to function more efficiently.

This didn’t happen, as Sophomore Caucus elections were once again held in the fall semester.

Seven: Working With Ms. Zhang To Help Amend The 15 Minute Library Rule And To Reinstate The Fifth Floor As A Place For Students - We will work with the administration to help create a compromise that satisfies both parties. Despite the administration’s lack of willingness to amend these rules, we believe that through communication and hard work we can reach an equal settlement.

The fifth floor remains empty, and although the library has been more relaxed about this rule, no official change has been communicated to the student body.

Eight: A Reformed Dress Code - We will strive to work with Ms. Zhang to create a dress code that satisfies both the student body and the administration. We won’t take no for an answer until we get results that everyone can agree on.

As indicated in a News article this issue, Zhang is creating a new dress code with Pedrick, and it is unclear what the role of the SU will be in this discussion.

Currently, the dress code is very subjective; any teacher who deems a student dressed inappropriately for school can raise an issue. Zhang has stated that she is looking for student opinion in order to create a clear dress code, and this is where the SU should step in.

Nine: More Stuyvesant Events!

- We want to do whatever we can to make a more unified Stuyvesant Community. We want to revamp the boring Fall Festival and Spring event that the SU always throws and makes them into creative, exciting dances or other fun activities that have you guys, the student body, involved!

Aside from the continuation of the Soph-Frosh Semiformal, Junior Prom, and Senior Prom, the SU has not created additional events for the student body.

The SU is hoping to have a film festival in June, but the planning for this event is beginning late in the year, and may not come to fruition.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 13

Opinions

Ashley Lin / The Spectator

Shattered Glass: Teaching is the Key to Fixing Public Schools

By Nino Dickersin The worst thing that can ever happen to a student is a bad teacher. Imagine sitting in homeroom, receiving your schedule for the rest of the semester. Everyone around you is cheering, crying, or fidgeting. Your name is called, and you quickly shoot up, grab the slip of paper, and land back in your seat. You prepare yourself for the worst, send a few quick prayers out to the Program Office, and take a peek at your future. You glance through the list of teachers, and your life gets flipped, turned upside down, as you scroll through the last names that will haunt you for the next five months.

Last year, out of 240,000 high school students enrolled in New York City, only 144,000 graduated. For the second richest city in the world, these numbers are horrendous; over 80 percent of public high school

kids in the United States end up graduating, but only 60 percent of New York City children make it past their senior year. According to Mayor Bill de Blasio, the problem lies with the lack of pre-kindergarten education for the city’s underprivileged youth, and while the $300 million dollars de Blasio helped acquire for “universal Pre-K” is certainly helpful, it fails to address the main problem with NYC schools: bad teachers.

Every student has had at least one horrible teacher over the course of his or her educational career. While there are many great teachers in our city, bad teachers are still fairly common, especially in public schools. These inadequate teachers can come in many different forms. There is the teacher who understands the subject less than his or her students, the teacher who doesn’t care about his or her students, and the teacher who knows the

subject but doesn’t know how to teach it. Pre-K is wonderful, but we have to ask ourselves if that early education is really going to carry students through 13 years of potentially bad teachers.

The first step is incentivizing intelligent people to become teachers in the first place.

Becoming a teacher is a difficult and extensive process, as it should be; we don’t want our children to be taught by unskilled individuals. However, we also need a pot of gold at the end of that journey, a big pile of money that our teachers can bring home and be proud of.

Instead of spending $300 million dollars on Pre-K, we should raise teachers’ salaries and attract fresh, intelligent people to teach our kids. Humans are often motivated by greed, and many will pass up a job simply because it doesn’t pay enough to satisfy them. In addition to this, many college graduates need jobs that return larger salaries to pay off high student loans. These loans often make a teaching career impossible.

Teaching should not be a last resort, it should be a desirable and viable career choice, and unless we raise teachers’ wages by a substantial amount (at least 30 percent), it will be, for many, a job for those with no other options.

Furthermore, we need a way to distinguish between helpful and harmful teachers. While the DOE does have a system for evaluating teachers, it suffers from a variety of

issues. The current system focuses heavily on Regents, and, more recently, MOSL grades.

While tests should be looked at, teachers shouldn’t be punished or applauded based on student grades. A previous teacher or high test difficulty can cause students to perform poorly regardless of whether a given teacher is effective or not.

Teachers need to be evaluated objectively by someone outside the school, who has been specially trained to recognize when a teacher is effective or not. These DOE observers would sit in on classes and look at student class participation and teaching style. The current standards for evaluation by assistant principals are very forgiving, and are often based on absurdities. For example, a creative use of classroom seating (think of the U-shaped seating in English classes) is very important to the DOE’s evaluation system, but it doesn’t accurately reflect a teacher’s ability, and merely gives them bonus points to help them pass evaluation. A combination of an observer with no investment in the school’s success and a more rigorous system of evaluation would allow schools to root out any bad teachers and improve overall quality. The opinions of the teacher’s students should also be added into an evaluation. Students spend the most time with teachers and have the most experience with their teaching style. A simple survey handed out every semester would allow students to express

their feelings about a teacher and help evaluators find possible issues.

We also need a way to deal with the teachers who don’t pass the evaluations. The DOE has failed to provide significant incentives or repercussions to those teachers who show aptitude or have proven themselves to be completely incompetent, respectively. A teacher who performs well should be rewarded with a decent monetary bonus, whereas a less effective teacher should be paid significantly less. Teachers who are seriously lacking in ability also need to be trained so that they can train their students effectively. But when all else fails and teachers are doing far more harm than good to their students, they need to be fired. We shouldn’t be keeping ineffective teachers on the payroll through policies like tenure.

Teachers are some of the most important people in a student’s life. They are our instructors and often our role models; we adore them and aspire to be like them. Great teachers make great students who continue on to lead great lives, but bad teachers create a 60 percent graduation rate that transforms us into a nation of idiots. The harsh reality is that if we want our students to be talented and skilled, our teachers must also be talented and skilled. Unless we hold teachers to a higher standard, we won’t be able to hold our students to a higher standard.

The Case Against AP Capstone

By Dennis Nenov The College Board designed the Advanced Placement (AP) Capstone program, encompassing two recently created AP courses: AP Seminar and AP Research, with the goal of fostering the “research, argumentation, and communication skills that are at the core of college readiness.” But the introduction of AP Capstone poses an interesting question: why is a program that seeks to promote college readiness among high school students praised for being innovative? Isn’t promoting college readiness something the high school education system should already be doing? This is the ironic reality of our current high school education system—a reality in which launching an initiative to prepare students for college is seen as a ground-breaking move.

At first glance, the AP Capstone program seems like a step in the right direction. The program is predicated on the simple notion that students can learn the skills necessary for college by analyzing source documents and writing academic papers. The AP Seminar course is intended to enable students to explore real world issues from multiple points of view, while the AP Research course is supposed to allow each student to explore a specific issue in-depth by writing a 5,000-word academic thesis paper on the issue.

But the problems with the AP Capstone program lie in its simplicity—and, particularly, in the simplistic assumption that “thinking-skills” courses such as AP Seminar and AP Research can be structured, taught, and evaluated the same way “traditional” AP courses are.

Presumably, schools will structure AP Seminar and AP Research courses the same way they struc-

ture other AP courses: students report at a specific time to a classroom, where they receive instruction and guidance from a teacher.

Indeed, trial runs at Carl Wunsche Sr. High School that were covered by the Houston Chronicle confirm this notion: the school opted to structure its AP Seminar and AP Research courses the same way it structured other AP courses, be-

“As education expert and author Alfie Kohn notes, grading creative tasks, such as the writing involved in the AP Capstone program, encourages students to take fewer intellectual and creative risks.”

cause it was convenient.

The problem with using this same structure for the AP Seminar and AP Research courses is that while most teachers are only a specialist in one subject area, most students will want to explore a different subject area than the one their teacher is an expert in— and the AP Capstone program’s emphasis on granting students intellectual and creative freedom makes this a very likely outcome.

This means that most of the students in an AP Seminar or AP Research course won’t receive the help of a knowledgeable mentor.

By definition, only mentors who are well-versed in a subject know about the various perspectives on relevant issues in that subject and are subsequently able to constructively challenge the assumptions and ideas of students—without such a knowledgeable mentor in most classrooms, the ideas of students will go unexamined.

Students in these “thinkingskills” AP courses are also evaluated the same way those in “traditional” AP courses are: students will be given a numeric grade, which is supposed to indicate their mastery of the skills they learned, from one to five. Seventy percent of the AP grade for AP Research will be based on the 5,000-word paper each student has to write, while the remaining 30 percent will be split between a research process document and a public presentation. Students taking AP Seminar will have to sit for a threehour exam that will determine 40 percent of their AP grade; the other 60 percent will be based on two different tasks: a team project and an individual 2,000-word paper.

The major problem with this evaluation system is that it creates a skewed system of incentives for students. As education expert and author Alfie Kohn notes, grading

creative tasks—such as the writing involved in the AP Capstone program—encourages students to take fewer intellectual and creative risks. The reasoning behind this argument is simple: it’s easier for a student to excel in doing an assignment he or she perceives as easy, so a student will always opt for the least intellectually and creatively taxing option—doing so

“Offering AP Capstone, like offering any AP Course, comes at the expense of using those resources to do something else— such as ensuring regular classes teach the skills that AP Capstone is designed to teach.”

will allow him or her to get a high grade without taking on much risk.

But the ultimate irony of the AP Capstone program is that it creates the very problems it tries to solve, because it saps resources away from other important courses—including the classes that should foster the very skills that AP Capstone seeks to teach.

Kristin Klopfenstein, an assistant professor of economics at Texas Christian University, and Kathleen Thomas, an assistant professor of economics at Mississippi State University, argue that offering AP classes comes at the expense of non-AP students. Non-AP students get worse instruction because better teachers are assigned to AP courses, end up in larger classes because AP classes have lower class sizes, and receive less funding than AP classes. Thus, offering AP Capstone comes at the expense of using those resources to ensure that regular classes teach the skills that AP Capstone is designed to teach.

Instead of using significant resources to offer these “thinkingskills” AP courses, schools should just ensure that these important skills are incorporated in the curriculum for each subject. Students should be discussing relevant issues, thinking critically, and writing academic essays in each class they take—they shouldn’t have to take a separate course to learn essential critical-thinking and analytical skills.

The College Board should take a similar approach: instead of investing money in the AP Capstone program, it should invest money in making sure all AP courses help teach the skills AP Capstone is designed to teach. If it had already done so, there would be no need for a program like AP Capstone today.

Page 14

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

Opinions

Zovinar Khrimian / The Spectator

The year is 2025. Newspaper headlines around the globe read horrifying catchphrases about disturbing and highly controversial experiments. The world is in shock. Geneticists are being ostracized. Soon, the phrase “stem cell” will only ever be uttered in whispers behind closed doors. What could have caused this dramatic societal shift? Geneticists have made the extraction of desired fetuses from the uteri of pregnant women common practice for their research.

Though this hypothetical may be exaggerated, many argue against stem cell research as if they are preventing horrifying experiments from being conducted. But in truth, stem cell research isn’t nearly as unethical as it’s portrayed.

To start off, it’s important to remember that stem cells come from embryos formed through in vitro fertilization, which is the unification of a sperm and egg cell in a laboratory (not in a uterus). Often, when couples

can’t have their own children, they purchase sperm and egg from anonymous donors to create an embryo. Unfortunately, embryos don’t always survive on their own this way, so several are formed in order to give the parents a greater chance of producing an embryo that may survive. If an embryo is viable, it’s inserted into the uterus of a surrogate mother, who carries it to term and gives birth. However, if an embryo is not viable, or the parents decide they only want a certain number of their embryos to become their child, it will most likely be frozen in a lab. That is, unless these parents give informed consent to send these embryos to a lab to be used for stem cell research.

In treating neurological conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord damage, and even cancer, stem cell research holds enormous potential. It may be the only hope for dramatically changing the lives of these terminally ill patients, whose only option now is palliative care.

The process is pretty tricky to understand. When an em-

bryo is in its earliest stages of development, the few hundreds of cells that it’s made of are pluripotent, which means they have the capacity to become cells with different functions.

Depending on which genes in each individual embryonic cell get turned on or turned off (a process known as differentiation), the cell may become any of the various kinds of human body cells (such as skin cells, muscle cells, and blood cells, to name a few). Currently, scientists are attempting to coax stem cells from unwanted embryos into becoming specific types of cells that may be used to restore damaged or destroyed tissue in diseased patients.

To access these benefits, however, scientists must have access to stem cells. There are indeed methods that don’t involve the use of human embryos. For example, research is being conducted with induced pluripotent stem cells. These cells are formed by reprogramming somatic cells (fully formed body cells) into a state from which they can differentiate into a different type of somatic cell. If this technique becomes viable, it might allow patients to regenerate their own tissue.

However, it has been repeatedly proven that embryonic stem cells are more successful than these induced cells, so it’s clear that if we want to grow more effective restorative tissue, we still need to get our stem cells from actual embryos.

Many argue whether or not it’s ethical to essentially “kill” these embryos. Nevertheless, we have to make a distinction between the needs of people with critical medical conditions and the supposed “human rights” that a few hundred cells really don’t deserve.

It’s often difficult for people to conceptualize the idea of donating an embryo for scientific research, because of its connotation with children. Since these embryos have no fate

Stephanie Chan / The Spectator

By Nalanda Sharadjaya and Evelyn Gotlieb

Danielle Eisenman / The Spectator

Stem Cells for the Future

other than being thrown away, it is important not to consider their applications in stem cell research as “killing” a child. As a parallel, let’s take the case of a girl who, after a car accident, is left brain-dead. There’s no chance she could ever wake up again. Unfortunately, this girl hasn’t provided any information about her desire (or lack thereof ) to donate her organs. The family is faced with a choice between keeping their loved one on life support or allowing her to die so that her organs could be extracted to save the lives of people who really need them.

This situation is pretty similar to the discussion at hand.

Although embryos can develop into human beings, the embryos that are used for stem cell research won’t . Neither the

embryo nor the brain-dead girl has the capacity for cognition.

While it’s acceptable for the brain-dead patient’s family to donate their child’s organs, doing the same thing on the more miniature scale of an embryo and its cells is, for some reason, considered unethical and inhumane. We don’t give human rights to bacteria, microorganisms, or cells in our body; we give rights to a cognitive being.

In this case, an embryo does not fit the criteria.

Embryos are merely collections of cells that fall on the same part of the spectrum as any other group of cell would.

On the other hand, people with paralysis and Parkinson’s need our help. So let’s take a step in the right direction, toward the brighter future that stem cell research will lead us to.

By Brian Dong You know there’s a problem when you’re losing money by making it. It’s time we wave goodbye to the penny.

The penny differs from its fellow circular brethren because it actually costs more to make than it is worth. According to the US Mint, in 2013 producing a penny cost 1.83 cents—that’s almost twice its face value. We started losing money to make it back in 2006, when the manufacturing cost of the coin first exceeded its value. In fact, the US has lost

over $200 million over the last four years; there is absolutely no excuse to be wasting money that could be saved, especially in the context of today’s poor economy.

In addition to being a financial burden, pennies see little use today. In the 1980s, overseas military bases abolished the penny and rounded all cash transactions to the nearest five-cents. These coins are also not accepted by most vending machines.

Many people see them as no more than annoying pocket change. Practically speaking,

the only group that uses them on a regular basis is charities.

However, the penny’s elimination would not put a huge damper on their funding. Just because the penny would no longer be in production does not mean that it would immediately be removed from circulation, which means that they could still be donated for years to come. In fact, charity profits have a tendency to increase when low-value currencies are removed from circulation. When the euro was put into circulation during 2002, many charities were successful in convincing people to donate their local low-currency coins.

Furthermore, the nickel could very well become the new penny; five cents is still a minute quantity. As long as charities still exist, people will still continue donating their pocket change.

Other countries have already gotten rid of their pennies. Canada, for instance, stopped manufacturing them in May 2012 for the same reasons that politicians are advocating for our penny’s demise— they’re too expensive to make.

Australia and New Zealand

have followed suit as well, and they haven’t been adversely affected. A study by the Bank of Canada revealed that New Zealand’s removal of its one-cent and two-cent coins had nearly no effect on inflation.

If we were to eliminate the penny, we would have to institute a rounding system. Contrary to public opinion, however, it would have a significant effect on neither customers nor businesses. Australia and Canada, both of which have scrapped the penny, currently round cash transactions to the nearest nickel, and this system has not disrupted their economies. After collecting data from 200,000 transactions from convenience stores, Robert Whaples, an economics professor at Wake Forest University, published a study which revealed that customers would gain a mere 1/40 cent per transaction, a marginal amount.

Even our nations’ own history shows us that it’s very possible to eliminate the penny without suffering major consequences - changes of this magnitude have been made with success. In 1857, the US Mint stopped producing the half-

cent because the coin’s manufacturing cost exceeded its face value. Its value was also too low to be considered for any practical use.

The elimination of the penny is a step forward for our economy. We’ve lost hundreds of millions of dollars since its manufacturing cost exceeded its face value in 2006, and that figure will only grow if production of the coin continues.

Other countries have put aside their sentimental feelings and stopped making this coin, and they are doing perfectly fine.

We have gotten rid of coins in the past, and it’s time to do it again. Sorry Abe; it’s been a swell ride, but it’s time for you to go.

Justin Chan / The Spectator

Justin Kong / The Spectator

A Penny Made is Two Pennies Lost

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 15

Opinions

By Sharon Lin “Blackfish” had one objective: to shock. The story focused on the life of Tilikum, a killer whale involved in the deaths of three individuals. Footage in the film documented the physical and emotional abuse the whale suffered after being captured off the coast of Ireland and held captive at various marine parks, which, the movie claims, may not be as tranquil as they appear. It constantly drives the “fact” that whales are given terrible medical care, deprived of food, and emotionally abused within these marine parks.

Almost immediately after its release, “Blackfish” began appearing all over the Internet, inspiring animal activists to boycott marine parks, leading to a six percent decrease in attendance at Seaworld for the first six months following the film’s release, costing the park millions. In response, Seaworld updated its website with details of the inaccuracies described in the film, such as how its cruel practices had been exag-

gerated, and how much of the footage wasn’t even of Tilikum.

Their effort was commendable, but nevertheless, they were unable to salvage what little positive reputation they still had.

People don’t realize that in taking a stance against Seaworld, they are contributing to the decline of a facility that enables scientists and caretakers to save wild animals. Seaworld has spent millions of dollars supporting organizations such as the National Wildlife Federation, World Wildlife Fund, and The Nature Conservancy. When people cease to go on their marine park vacations, these organizations are the ones truly damaged.

In addition, marine parks often rescue stranded animals and nurse them back to health.

Other times, studies are conducted on creatures such as dolphins to determine special techniques for animal treatment, as was detailed in another movie, “Dolphin Tale.” The animals are given the best quality of medical care available to ensure their prolonged survival

and successful reproduction.

Unlike “Blackfish,” this film emphasized the compassion of researchers and veterinarians toward their animals, citing actions such as researchers creating a prosthetic tail for an injured dolphin. The Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research has even published a recent paper describing the excellent living conditions and state-ofthe-art medical care given to the animals at Seaworld.

Seaworld deserves a more objective critique than it has been given; “Blackfish” is more of a propaganda film than a true documentary. The film showed stock footage mismatched to the narrative, as well as inaccurately portraying whale calves being separated from their mothers. Much of the commentary was misleading or outright false, especially since the majority of the cast members were ex-Seaworld employees who had personal qualms against the company and had time since leaving the company to forget the details of their work.

The last line of “Blackfish” directly stated that “Seaworld repeatedly declined to be interviewed for this film.” This statement completely disregarded the hundreds of media interviews conducted by Seaworld employees directly after the death of one of their coworkers, testimonies by their veterinarians and trainers in court, and dozens of press conferences held by the executives of Seaworld. The reason Seaworld “declined” interviews was that “Blackfish” had already made it clear that they were pursuing an anti-Seaworld agenda, and

the company wished to have no part in furthering their cause.

This film treats marine parks like harbingers of death, denying the audience the chance to even consider the other side of the story. After further investigation, “Blackfish” was found to have over 50 inaccuracies, ranging from interviews with “trainers,” who in actuality never worked with the killer whale they were describing, to personifying killer whales by presuming that they have brains similar to those of humans.

Seaworld is doing a world of good, with programs concerning species research, animal

rescue and rehabilitation, habitat protection, and conservation education. However, the creators of “Blackfish” instead chose to toy with their audience’s emotions using violent footage. Even if the filmmakers had only meant for this movement to raise awareness, they went too far, relying on the ignorance of its viewers to fuel its fire. The damage that Seaworld faced as a result of “Blackfish” places the safety and preservation of the environment in danger.

Melanie Chow / The Spectator

Philip Shin / The Spectator

Seaworld of Pain?

By Tabitha Wilson

Alisa Su / The Spectator

“You’re so white,” “Oh my god, you’re such a white girl,” and “You talk so white,” are a few phrases used by my peers and even by my friends. I am not white: I’m one of the few black students at Stuyvesant High School. I don’t follow the stereotypical mold for a black girl—I don’t live in a dangerous neighborhood or have an illegitimate child. That doesn’t make me white; that makes me a normal person! Most blacks that you will meet, to the surprise of most, do not follow these ridiculous stereotypes.

At Stuyvesant, my race barely crosses my mind—I don’t see myself as the minority that I know I am. Frankly, we at Stuyvesant have a lot more similarities than we have differences: I obsess over grades and worry about college just as much as my peers; I’m just as competitive as my white or Asian counterparts. During my school career I have always been a minority in gifted programs I took part in, going as far back as elementary school. By now, I am

used to being one of the few black students in all of my classes.

However, at Stuyvesant there is quite a different reality of being black. I have never been in an institution (as opposed to a single class) that is only about 1.5 percent black.

I genuinely believe that no one at Stuyvesant is trying to be racist, because I believe that our generation is making progress at getting past that hatred. I know that my friends and those I associate with would never try to hurt me intentionally; my friends love and accept me for who I am, regardless of my race. I feel that most of the student body is composed of decent and good people who do not wish to hurt anyone. But there is such a disconnect here from Black American culture, and it makes for an “us” and “them” discussion.

At Stuyvesant there really isn’t anyone to inform the student body regarding these race issues, and it is difficult to realize that this is necessary with the black population being so minute. During this past February, which hap-

pens to be Black History Month, I overheard two Asian students questioning why there should even be a month attributed to blacks. This offended me—someone who has taken Unites States history or knows anything about it should realize that blacks and members of every other race deserve to be celebrated. At a school with a higher black population, I doubt I would hear something like that; I doubt that at Stuyvesant, students would question Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which is this month of May. When slavery is mentioned during any of my classes I can always feel the sideways glances in my direction. It’s a blatant truth that some of my ancestors were slaves; some of them were also white slave owners, Cherokee Native Americans, Caribbeans, Indians, Jews— the list can go on. My lineage is diverse but that’s hard for people to realize when they are so caught up on the color of my skin.

This year’s SING! led to some heated discussion on whether or not Junior SING! was racist due to

Jessica Wu / The Spectator

Being Black At Stuyvesant High School

the fact that one of the characters playing a subservient role was black. During the performance I was not offended, unlike my mother, who was sitting in the audience beside me. Afterwards, she said that it took her nearly half of the show to stop being upset. My mother, as well as her parents, experienced severe racism in her youth in South Carolina under Jim Crow laws. I recognized that subservient roles such as these were meant to be outwardly racist and hurtful up until the late 20th century. They were established to keep blacks “in their place,” showing that blacks were always less than whites.

It appeared that the cast of Junior SING! was completely unaware of this. Therein lies the problem at Stuyvesant; the disconnect between races can potentially lead to something hurtful.

While reading the never-ending discussion on Facebook, I saw my other black peers concede that the show wasn’t racist without realizing the history behind the role, which surprised me.

After questioning the black

students that I know, I concluded that most blacks at Stuyvesant are either ethnically West Indian or African. As a result of this, even black students at Stuyvesant are disconnected from historical racism, especially students with parents or grandparents who are immigrants. Moving ahead at Stuyvesant, we should be more conscious when it comes to racial issues, for every race. Laughing at racial jokes is fine—I do so myself—but we as a school need to establish what’s funny and what’s offensive. An open discussion about race, ethnicity and gender should be established. We need to learn more about our peers. This isn’t simply so as not to offend the few black students at Stuyvesant, but, instead, to create a better and more knowledgeable community from which everyone can benefit. When we leave Stuyvesant, we will no longer be placed in an environment with mostly two races, which is why we, the student body, should do all that we can to acknowledge and respect others, regardless of their ethnicity, lineage, or skin color.

Page 16

The Spectator ●May 15, 2014

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The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

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The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 18

Arts and Entertainment Calendar

Looking Ahead: May 2014

18 Parks: World’s Fair Anniversary Festival Flushing Meadows Corona Park, 1 p.m.

– 8 p.m.

MONDAY

19 Album: “…and Then You Shoot Your Cousin” (Hiphop) The Roots

TUESDAY

20 Parks: Accordions Around the World in Bryant Park Bryant Park, 5 p.m.

– 7:15 p.m.

Theater: “Fly by Night: A New Musical” (Musical) Playwrights Horizons (in preview) 25 Theater: “Dutchman” (Drama, ongoing) National Black Theater

26 27 Memorial Day – No Museum: “Ragnarr School Kjartansson: Me, My Mother, My Museum: “Out of Father, and I” (ongoCharacter: Decoding ing) Chinese CalligraNew Museum, phy” through June 29 Met, through Aug 17

WEDNESDAY

THURSDAY

14 Tribeca New Music 2014 Festival (through May 18) Cell Theater, 7 p.m.

15 Film: “The Virgin Spring” (1960) MoMA

21 Fleet Week Begins Parade: Parade of Ships Hudson River, 9 a.m. – 11 a.m.

28 Concert: Gypsy Kings Count Basie Theater, 8 p.m.

SATURDAY 17 Ninth Avenue International Food Festival 9th Avenue and 42nd – 57th Streets, all weekend

22 Museum: “2014 Whitney Biennial” (ongoing) Whitney Museum, through May 25

23 Movie: “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (Action/Superhero) Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy

24 Free Ship Tours Pier 52, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.

29 Theater: “Satchmo at the Waldorf” (Revue, ongoing) Westside

30 Movie: “A Million Ways to Die in the West” (Comedy) Starring: Seth MacFarlane, Amanda Seyfried

31 National Day of Civic Hacking

Concert: Bossabrasil Birdland, 11 p.m.

Culture Beat: Playlist May • Brooklyn Museum — Ai Weiwei: According to What?

A showcase of Chinese artist and political dissident Ai Weiwei’s work makes its final stop in the US at the Brooklyn Museum. These works, which include photographs and sculptures, explore universal themes of history and culture as well as focus on the issues of human rights and personal freedom in contemporary China. Through August 10.

• ABC — Marvel’s Agent Carter This 13-episode miniseries focuses on Captain America’s Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), who struggles with prevailing attitudes towards women as a clandestine agent in post-World War II America. “Agent Carter” will air during a mid-season break for ABC’s “Agents of SHIELD.” • Belasco Theatre — Hedwig and the Angry Inch Neil Patrick Harris stars as Hedwig, a transgender rock musician originally from Communist East Berlin, who performs a concert about his convoluted but ultimately triumphant life.

Through August 17.

FRIDAY

16 Movie: “Godzilla” (Sci-fi/Action) Starring: Aaron Johnson, Bryan Theater: “A Gentle- Cranston man’s Guide to Love and Murder” (ongo- Concert: Latin Jazz ing) Traditions Walter Kerr Theater, Carnegie Hall, 7 through Dec 31 p.m.

Concert: “A Brooklyn Tribute to Amiri Baraka” BAM, 9 p.m.

Hackathon: CityCamp NYC 48 Wall Street, 10 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Alarm Music

It’s nearing the end of the year, and, with countless finals and AP exams keeping us up later than we’d like, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to drag ourselves out of our beds in the morning. To assist in getting through these next few rough weeks, here are some suggestions for music to wake up to, hopefully without hitting snooze too many times.

“Baba Yetu” Christopher Tin World

“Jackpot” Block B K-Pop

“Stand” REM Alternative Rock

“Also Sprach Zarathustra” Richard Strauss Classical Romantic

“September” Earth, Wind, and Fire R&B

“Feel Again” OneRepublic Alternative Rock

“Speed of Sound” Coldplay Rock

“Sight of the Sun” Fun Alternative Indie Rock

“It’s Time” Imagine Dragons Indie Rock

“One More Night” Maroon 5 Pop/Reggae

“Best Day of My Life” American Authors Alternative Rock

“The Lazy Song” Bruno Mars Pop

“Wavin’ Flag” K’naan World/Reggae

“Can’t Hold Us” Macklemore and Ryan Lewis Hip Hop/Rap

“Little Secrets” Passion Pit Alternative Rock

“Time” Pink Floyd Progressive Rock

Mariya Gedrich / The Spectator

SUNDAY

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 19

Arts and Entertainment Crossword

#TBT: The 1980’s

By ANNE DUNCAN

If you can solve the puzzle, send a photograph to SpecCrosswords@gmail.com to pick the next theme!

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2. Taped Larry Lester’s butt cheeks together 3. Ferris’s best friend 4. Portable cassette player 5. China’s leader 7. 1980 event, stage for protest against invasion of Afghanistan 10. “The King of Pop” 12. “Serious in the front, party in the back” hairstyle 14. A game of running from ghosts and eating dots 16. Entrepreneur known for firing employees, and the skyscraper on Fifth Ave.

1. Allison Reynold’s role in the Breakfast Club 6. Assassinated Beatle 8. Time travelling car 9. Queen: Mercury, Deacon, Taylor, and ____ 11. Popular brand of personal computers 13. First actor, then president 15. Movie of two olympic runners: “___ of Fire” 17. Jamie ____: The artist formerly known as Prince 18. Famous for “Like a Virgin”

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KenKen

By Lev Akabas

6×

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Fill in the grid with numbers 1 through 7. Do not repeat a number in any row or column. In each heavily outlined set of squares, the numbers must combine, in any order, to produce the target number in the top left corner using the operation indicated. This puzzle has several correct solutions.

2÷

If you finish the puzzle, send a picture of your completed grid to stuyspeckenken@gmail.com, and if you are the first student to complete the puzzle, you’ll get your name mentioned in the next issue of The Spectator.

Issue 13 Winner: Dmitriy Kagno

3÷

2÷

3-

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60 ×

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Page 20

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Arts and Entertainment Film

Tribeca Film Festival The Canal

By Emre Tetik

Stirred Up By “Starred Up”

By Emma McIntosh

“The Canal,” like many great horror movies, has a conventional setup. A married couple moves into an old house with a dark history. They have a son, and things seem to be going well until the husband, David, starts seeing and hearing strange things around the house, suggesting a foreign presence. (Does this sound a little bit like “The Shining”?)

David works at a film archive, and one day he’s assigned to look through old police reels showing an investigation of a murder that occurred in his house. This, combined with the discovery of his wife’s infidelity, her subsequent disappearance, and her mysterious murder, precipitates his spooky visions in the house.

At once steeped in the conventions of horror cinema and yet creatively transcending them, “The Canal” is one of the scariest—and overall best—movies to come out of the genre in recent years. Director Ivan Kavanagh exercises control over all of the film’s technical aspects to capture that most important aspect of the ghost story—the past coming back to haunt the present. Scenes that take place within the house are lit dimly, and in such a way that allows the spooky figures (the ghosts of the past crimes) to appear and reappear seamlessly but startlingly. The sound design consists of grating noises resembling cuts and stabs, which give an immediate, visceral touch to scenes in which David, horrified, watches the grisly century-old footage. Furthermore, Ceiri Torjussen’s score, a combination of classical and electronic sounds, creates a chilling backdrop on top of which Kavanagh lays some of the most terrifying scenes that I have seen in my years as a horror movie buff. (One scene in particular, involving a video chat session, will go down as one of the great scares the genre has to offer.)

Such moments are enhanced by the work of cinematographer Piers McGrail, whose well-placed shots only slowly uncover the forms lurking around, waiting for us (or better yet—the things we know are coming). But his shots are more than scary. They are raw, as in the wide and long shot of David manically shouting as the police uncover the corpse of his wife from a nearby canal, and they are lyrical, filled with beautiful, serene shots of the area surrounding the house and close-ups of David’s grieving face.

It’s this that makes “The Canal” unique. It has what many horror movies lack: a beating heart. Evoking more than primal responses to the on-screen terror, it moves you on a personal, emotional level. At its center is a fragile man, whose love for his wife is so deep that the knowledge of her unfaithfulness completely shatters him.

None of this, of course, would have come across without a great performance by Rupert Evans as David. Much like Jack Nicholson’s Jack Torrance, Rupert Evans’ David seamlessly spans the spectrum from lovable to maniacal as the movie progresses and as he gets increasingly absorbed by the visions. Even better, his performance is much more human than Nicholson’s, lacking Nicholson’s tendency to devolve into caricatured insanity. Evans’ performance comes from a deeper place; it is filled with the sadness of a man whose doubt in his wife’s love is confirmed.

I have made parallels between “The Canal” and the “The Shining,” but there is one aspect of the latter that the former lacks: pacing. Kubrick, a master at pacing, allowed his character more time to lose his hold on reality and descend into insanity, whereas Kavanagh leaves little time for David to do this. The film could have benefited from a longer first half, which would have given the audience more time to build a connection to David.

That said, I hope time vindicates my prediction that “The Canal” will be hailed as a horror masterpiece, turning an old-school horror plot into one that will continue to give people sleepless nights and rekindle in them a fear of the dark (it certainly did both of those things for me). Until then, I’ll be waiting for Kavanagh to make another horror movie.

It is rare for a movie with unsympathetic protagonists to grab not only the attention but also the hearts of its viewers. David Mackenzie’s “Starred Up” does just this. Following nineteen-year-old Eric Love (Jack O’Connell)’s transfer to a jail that is already housing his father, this prison drama never ceases to be both captivating and thrilling.

Although the film is difficult to watch and even off-putting due to its brutality in certain scenes, “Starred Up” never strays from the emotional depth necessary to keep the viewer interested. Eric struggles with anger management, resorting solely to the use of violence in order to both defend himself and get what he wants.

For instance, when he feels threatened by another inmate who he suspects has tried to kill him, Eric devises a plan to corner him in his cell, slice his face as much as possible with razors, and then quickly escape the scene. However, he is forced to realize that he has to learn to cope with his rage and to submit to authority to avoid being held indefinitely in solitary confinement.

O’Connell’s portrayal of Eric is devastating to witness. Eric is a skilled and intimidating fighter, as is evident through countless meticulously-planned attacks on both guards and fellow inmates, but O’Connell gives life to the seemingly heartless character, portraying him with a soul and with weaknesses. The way in which Eric interacts with different figures of power is very well-represented by O’Connell’s performance. For example, Eric’s inherent disrespect for authority is challenged when he interacts with Oliver (Rupert Friend), his therapist. Oliver had previously created a group for inmates specifically with violence issues, which Eric agrees to join in order to avoid the threat of being held in solitary confinement. Oliver’s mildmannered persona strikes a chord with the character of Eric, as Eric hasn’t yet interacted with someone so gentle. In Oliver’s presence, Eric is able to make himself vulnerable, consciously taking deep breaths to avoid outbursts of violence. In contrast, Eric tenses up when he is with his father and attempts to make himself look stronger, as if he should be dominant. O’Connell masters this concept.

The film seems to focus primarily on Eric’s development and growth due to his anger management group, but I believe the most intriguing aspect of the 106 minutes is the relationship between Eric and his father, Neville (Ben Mendelsohn).

Neville was hardly present during Eric’s childhood, and so, without a father figure (as we find out later on, his mother is also out of the picture), Eric wreaks all kinds of havoc and forces himself into the mindset of “might makes right.” When Eric arrives at the penitentiary, Neville’s primary goal is to maintain Eric’s aggression.

He disapproves of the therapy, which he thinks discourages the aggression that is necessary to survive in prison. Eric, who previously never thought twice about using his strength to his advantage, needs now to decide for himself which path will benefit him the most and whether or not he can trust the father who was gone for so long.

The cinematography of “Starred Up” is unbelievably raw, very much appropriate to the tone of the movie. The use of a shaky hand-held camera for much of the film gives it an unembellished vibe and further exemplifies Eric’s unstable situation. In addition, Mackenzie’s choices of what to focus on in each frame have an unmistakable impact on the viewer. One particular shot, of a revolving door, is held just long enough to make the audience uncomfortable and restless. It turns, slower and slower each time, until watching it is almost aggravating. But such shots only increase the tension inherently present within the film. Just as we are stuck watching the revolutions of this door, Eric is trapped within a prison doing whatever it can to keep him inside.

“Starred Up” is not a pleasant film to watch, but the aspects of it that are the least appropriate—the characters’ gratuitous cursing, the harsh subject matter, and even O’Connell’s brief nudity—all contribute to its profound honesty. After flinching each time Eric throws a hard-hitting punch, we still find ourselves rooting for him as the film progresses. It may not be the most proper of movies, but no matter how much you’ll want to, you won’t be able to turn away.

Houellebecq and I

By Emre Tetik In the first of half of “The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq,” we observe the eponymous French writer in his quotidian proceedings. He talks with a friend about renovations he’s planning for his kitchen and the colors he prefers for the walls. He stops in the street to sign a book for one of his admirers. His friend plays the piano at his house, after which they discuss the relative merits of Beethoven and Mozart. And then, of course, he gets kidnapped.

It isn’t long before we find out that the kidnappers have no personal animosity toward Houellebecq, but rather are only concerned with a hopefully hefty ransom, and so they treat him well, considering he is a captive. Life goes on as usual for him: he reads, drinks wine, and smokes copious amounts of cigarettes, albeit wearing handcuffs.

For a film about the kidnapping of one of France’s most famous and controversial writers (who plays himself in the film), the content of “The Kidnapping of Michel Houellebecq” is astonishingly mundane. But it’s in this mundanity that director Guillaume Nicloux draws a profound and immensely entertaining statement about the relationship between an artist and his art.

While watching the film, I was instantly reminded of Borges’s parable, “Borges and I,” in which the author distinguishes himself, the man who “walk[s] through the streets of Buenos Aires and stop[s] for a moment, perhaps mechanically now, to look at the arch of an entrance hall and the grillwork on the gate,” and Borges, whose name he sees in biographical dictionaries and in the mail. He concludes: “I don’t know which of us has written this page.”

Nicloux’s film is saturated with this Borgesian theme. He chooses as his subject a writer whose recognition as a literary figure is exceeded perhaps only by the damning condemnations thrown at him, among which are misogyny, Islamophobia, and nihilism. By focusing on the prosaic details of Houellebecq’s daily life, and by downplaying his famous activities as a writer in France, Nicloux creates a distinction between Houellebecq, the man accused of bigotry in his writings, and Houellebecq, the man who smokes profusely and likes to read novels.

And let there be no mistake: Nicloux does everything in his directorial power to emphasize the mundanity of the events in his film. The writing, also by Nicloux, sounds improvised in its quotidian dullness, and cinematographer Christophe Offenstein uses a detached visual style. This style serves not only to create a tension between Houellebecq the man and Houellebecq the (in)famous French writer, but also to set the stage for many funny (dryly so) exchanges, such as when Houellebecq explains the challenges of writing poetry as compared to those of writing novels to the kidnappers, whose raison d’etre is to lift weights and box.

Houellebecq is stoic, mostly accepting of his situation. He mumbles, and doesn’t seem to be all that interested in whatever he’s saying. His temperament perfectly sets up Nicloux’s thought-provoking contrast between quotidian Houellebecq and the persona that precedes him.

This Borgesian tension culminates in a dinner conversation in which one of the kidnappers, who throughout the film has grown annoyed at Houellebecq’s seemingly snobby attitude as a literary figure, says he has read a book by him in which he described buying a pillow stained with H.P Lovecraft’s blood and saliva. Houellebecq denies it: “I didn’t write that,” he says. The kidnapper persists in his claim, probably true and, after a lengthy back-and-forth, becomes frustrated and threatens to kill Houellebecq, who finally appeases him by saying, “I don’t remember.”

Maybe the kidnapper did read that in the book, but anyway it was not Michel who wrote it; it was the other one.

Battling Boredom

By Jane Argodale

In one of the most violent scenes in Talya Lavie’s debut feature film “Zero Motivation,” our often-antagonistic protagonists, Zohar (Dana Igvy) and Daffi (Nelly Tagar) shoot at each other with staple guns after Daffi threatens to wipe Minesweeper off all the computers in their military base. It’s clear that this isn’t a typical movie about soldiers. Stuck in the middle of the desert as they carry out their mandatory two years of military service, Zohar and Daffi battle against boredom by doing menial administrative office work during the day and trying to secretly sneak in some time for fun at night. Ensuing adventures range from hysterically ridiculous to unexpectedly dark.

The movie follows several different storylines branching off Daffi and Zohar’s misadventures and emotional meltdowns, often to the point of being messy.

Many of the darker moments don’t fit in with the comedy’s overall tone, including a bloody suicide scene early in the film and an attempted rape that occurs when Zohar goes on a date with a soldier. In addition, some characters get an unsatisfying amount of screentime. Rama (Shani Klein), one of the superiors in charge of the base, is portrayed sympathetically, not only as a disciplinarian who spoils the soldiers’ fun but also as a wise, ambitious woman whose military career is compromised by Zohar and Daffi’s immature games. This compelling storyline disappears and reappears several times, a disappointment considering the depth she brings to a mostly zany movie.

Not that the zaniness is a negative: Nelly Tagar is spot-on in the role of snotty but charming Daffi, whining and pouting as she continues to shred paper, the one task she is still trusted with, and sends letters to military higher-ups asking to be transferred to the cosmopolitan city of Tel Aviv because she’s “allergic to the desert.”

Zohar is an accomplice to Daffi’s shenanigans, but she is also a voice of reason.

She tells Daffi when she’s embarrassing herself, while keeping her own feelings of isolation to herself. After all, she is seeing her only friend on the base doing all she can to leave. Dana Igvy brings the same carefree youth of Daffi to her character, but with more introversion and seriousness.

“Zero Motivation” is an overwhelming film, but is successful in bringing its immature, but lovable characters to life. It’s not a comedy from start to finish, but when it’s funny, it’s hilarious, and when it starts to feel more like a drama, it’s usually thought-provoking and interesting. It takes a pretty well-made movie to make boredom in the middle of the desert seem this exciting.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 21

Arts and Entertainment Book

Shahan Mufti’s Palace of Stories

The Intrigue of an Almost Angel

Islamic American author Shahan Mufti showed a photo of himself as a child, growing up in Ohio with his family.

By Shahruz Ghaemi and Emma McIntosh On Wednesday, April 30, Pakistani-American author Shahan Mufti visited the Stuyvesant library at the behest of Poetry and English teacher Emily Moore to talk about his newly released novel, “The Faithful Scribe”. Before a packed crowd, the Ohio-born Mufti recounted the details of his journey to discover both his heritage and the meaning of Islam.

This journey started September 12, 2001, when he was contacted over the phone by a federal agent.

He realized this was not a result of his efforts to install a rock-climbing wall in his college, and instead due to the connection between his last name and Islam; a “mufti” was a scholar of Islamic jurisprudence, he explained. This phone call, which expressed concern specifically after the events on 9/11, solidified Mufti’s feeling that he belonged to two clashing homes—America and Pakistan.

This feeling of separate identities was intensified during Mufti’s work as a journalist in Pakistan.

The Western world he came from was being violently attacked by Islamic fundamentalists in Pakistan, while the Eastern world he so proudly claimed as his heritage was being portrayed as a chaotic, backward mess in America. Amid this, Mufti turned to his past as a method of healing, hoping to find some form of reconciliation between his homes in the story of his family history.

Mufti actually discovered that

one of his ancestors who lived under the colonial rule of the British had also worked on compiling a family tree. In his ancestor’s writings, which chronicled the rising “East versus West” anti-colonial sentiment of the times, Mufti saw a parallel to his own modern-day quest. He dubbed this man “the faithful scribe,” and soon titled his novel after him.

In a short question-and-answer session, Mufti fielded a question about one of Pakistan’s inherent conflicts. In 1947, Pakistan was founded as the world’s first Islamic democracy, an experiment in combining these two ideas from different ideological strains. Mufti expressed confidence that although it has not been a pretty experiment in administering justice and freedom “as interpreted through Islam,” if Pakistan could find a stable way to make it work, it would be for the betterment of the lives of millions.

Ultimately, Mufti said that his goal was to write about a seemingly simple question: Where are you from? His answer, beyond the superficial “my family is from Pakistan,” was to tell the deeper story of his family. As he explained it, “home” is a “palace of stories” that forms the brick and mortar of one’s sense of self. The only way for him to truly explain where he’s from, where his home is, and what Islam means to him was to write about his palace of stories. Mufti concluded by encouraging audience members to share their stories and experiences in order to give others a deeper and truer sense of who they are.

Well-written modern fairy tales for young adults are a rarity—almost as rare as Ava Lavender, a girl with bird wings, and the protagonist of Leslye Walton’s debut novel, “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender.” Centered on the mysterious, myth-imbued Roux family, this novel attempts to explain the irrationalities and intricacies of love by tracing the origins of Ava (and her almost mute twin Henry) through time to see how mistakes of the heart can shatter people.

Walton’s weapon is her deadly beautiful prose, which stuns in both its musicality and fluidity.

She writes with a deeply unique voice that does not seem to belong to a first-time novelist, but rather to a seasoned veteran. As the story opens, a series of brutal deaths occur in the Roux family, each reported with a matter-offact tone. Her vivid descriptions are tinged with tragic hope, but the dark events and warped characters are not unduly weighed down by dramatic words. Walton succeeds in being whimsical and philosophical at the same time: “If she thought of her love as a commodity and were to, say, eat it, it would fill 4,745 cherry pies…. If she were to drink it, she’d drown.”

Walton also uses amazing creativity in her never-ending slew of strange characters as the fascinating predecessors of Ava Lavender. The quirks of her ancestors, such as her greatgrandfather’s ability to read fortunes by touching skulls or her granduncle’s riot-inducing good looks, turn the family into outsiders plagued by rumors of witchcraft. “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows” recounts the harsh encounters with love and loss that shape Ava’s family, and the story is as devoted, if not more so, to her mother Viviane and her ghost-seeing grandmother Emilienne. (The first direct mention of Ava in the story comes more than 100 pages in.)

It all begins with Ava’s nameless, perpetually quiet great-

grandmother, referred only to as Maman, who disappears into a pile of blue ash after the loss of her husband. Her story is succeeded by that of her children, a menagerie of desperate romantics, whose violent struggles with love end their lives in awful ways.

After having an affair with Emilienne’s fiancé, one character commits suicide by carving out her heart, and leaves it as an apology.

As Walton shows, love—both romantic and familial—can be as scary, confusing, and terrible as the Roux family itself.

In order to forget the loss of her family, Emilienne leaves the dirty, death-stained tenements of New York for a haunted house at the end of Pinnacle Lane in an inconsequential town. This house is Ava’s only world for the first 16 years of her life, where she is hidden to avoid the peering eyes of her neighbors, who regard her as a “myth incarnate, the embodiment of a most superb legend” as opposed to the lonely teenage girl she is. She begins to fly the coop (pun intended), and her first encounters with society bring her into contact with Nathaniel Sorrows, a pious neighbor who sees her as an angel. The characters in the family and in the community are tied together in subtle, thoughtful ways, as past choices leave rippling waves generations later. These characters have an abundance of curious traits, but they lack emotional depth, and that is the pitfall of this tale.

In the face of pain, Ava chooses avoidance over confrontation, which stunts any character growth. Her family also reacts in this same, dead way. There is a void of passion, which makes the prose unnecessarily cold at times. This might work if the story were told by an objective third person narrator, but it isn’t. It’s told by Ava herself, a fact that can sometimes be overlooked, since she is so detached from the reader. The contrast between Ava’s placid tone and the harsh events she recounts sounds entirely hollow at times. There are a handful of journal entries written by the antagonist, Nathaniel, that flesh out his “fall from grace”—how his

Geoffrey Luu / The Spectator

Superiority Complex

By Geoffrey Luu Even when dead, Peter Parker—the Amazing Spider-Man—just can’t catch a break. In 2012, at the end of Spider-Man’s 50th anniversary, long-time “Amazing SpiderMan” writer Dan Slott introduced a major change to Spidey’s status quo by killing off the beloved character and passing the mantle of Spider-Man to one of his oldest enemies: Dr. Otto Octavius, better known as Dr. Octopus. While the change angered a huge number of fans, one cannot deny that Slott’s writing is superb, offering a brand new look at the hero, his replacement, and the ideals that they now share. Peter Parker returned to life

in April’s “The Amazing SpiderMan #1,” but Octavius’s actions in Peter’s name will surely affect the series for years to come.

In “Dying Wish,” the final story arc in the original “Amazing Spider-Man,” Peter Parker wakes up to discover that he is literally no longer the man he thought he was.

He finds his mind trapped in the dying, decaying body of Otto Octavius, battered and broken after years of beatings at Spider-Man’s hands. Peter soon learns that Octavius managed to transfer his own consciousness into Peter’s body.

With only minutes left before his death, he forces Octavius to relive the pivotal moments in SpiderMan’s career, in order to ensure that Octavius will understand the responsibility that comes with being Spider-Man. With the death of Peter Parker came the end of the original “Amazing Spider-Man.” In its place was 2013’s “The Superior Spider-Man,” which focuses on Octavius’s heroic acts in Peter’s body. The new Spider-Man is noticeably darker and more violent than his predecessor, creating a grim atmosphere that defined the series and distanced it from the humorous, lighthearted character that fans were used to.

Peter’s constant wisecracks and upbeat personality are done away with in favor of Octavius’s humorless and aggressive mannerisms.

Despite his aim to make amends for his criminal life, Octavius demonstrates a twisted view of his new responsibilities as Spider-Man,

mercilessly beating and sometimes killing enemies, attacking allies, and alienating friends and family.

Eventually, Octavius encounters a threat he cannot overcome: the Green Goblin, who gains control of New York’s underworld. Realizing that only Peter Parker had the skill and drive to defeat the Goblin, Octavius sacrifices himself in a final act of heroism by erasing his own consciousness and fully restoring Peter to his own body.

Having finally learned to use his powers for the greater good, the redeemed Octavius dies, allowing Peter to reclaim his life. The aftermath of the events in “Superior” are addressed in the new “Amazing Spider-Man,” in which Peter finds himself adjusting to his new life and coming to terms with the changes that Octavius made during his time as Spider-Man. Both “Superior” and the new “Amazing” succeed on multiple levels. Slott’s writing is stellar, as his characterizations of the cold, savage Superior Spider-Man and his joking, joyous counterpart, consistent with past depictions of the character, are believable and fully developed. The two SpiderMen are distinct in both appearance and personality, with Peter’s simpler and brighter costume matching his carefree, goofy attitude, and Octavius’s darker hightech suit symbolizing his ruthless efficiency.

The foundation for “Superior” was controversial, to say the least. Fans, at first, hated the idea

of having one of Spider-Man’s oldest enemies wreaking havoc, but this stunning and original twist allowed the series to gain popularity.

The weakest element of this plot is the method by which Octavius transfers his consciousness into Peter’s body: he uses a miniature robot to beam his brain patterns into Peter’s head. This is outlandish and doesn’t quite fit the serious and relatively realistic tone of the rest of the series.

Still, it is fascinating to analyze and compare the two vastly different versions of Spider-Man and their views on heroism. There is also something powerful and uplifting about Octavius’s redemption and his journey from criminal to anti-hero to New York’s savior.

Despite this, “Superior” does raise some questions that Slott doesn’t answer as well as he could have.

For instance, why don’t any of Peter’s friends or allies realize that there is something off about him?

Peter and Octavius are almost nothing alike, and the fact that Peter’s closest friends brush off his odd behavior is a recurring problem early in the series.

“Superior” featured a rotating team of three artists: Ryan Stegman, Giuseppe Camuncoli, and Humberto Ramos, who also worked on the old and new “Amazing.” Each artist has a distinct style that is appropriate for various depictions of Spidey, with Stegman’s sharp, angular character design fitting the edgier character, and Camuncoli’s emphasis on fa-

obsession with the winged girl turns him into a monster. This is important to understand, but all too brief in its recounting. His relatively untold story contains too much unexplored potential.

The Roux family’s lack of depth leads them to make awkward decisions that seem either too convenient or blatantly obvious. This creates a far too predictable plot that is less conflict driven than it is a passive historiography of the Roux family and its most famous member, Ava. There is no rise and fall of events, but instead an underdeveloped conflict followed by an easily reached conclusion.

“The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” is a complex, multi-layered flower that leaves the scent of sadness and hope in the reader’s mind following the last flutter of Ava’s wings. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the master of magic realism himself, would be proud of Walton’s take on the genre, despite the fact that she sometimes sacrifices emotional depth for the sake of mystery. “The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender” is still a solid performance from a fresh author, with a distinct, lovely voice and the creativity necessary to flesh out an intricate story.

Lydia Wu / The Spectator

Paulina Ruta / The Spectator

By Amy Zhen

Comic cial expression providing greater emotional weight. Ramos’s work in “Superior” was something of a mixed bag. Over time, his character designs became increasingly exaggerated, with Spider-Man in particular appearing gangly and his limbs sometimes drawn at awkward angles. In “Amazing Spider-Man,” however, these problems are completely fixed, with characters now looking far more realistic, though still slightly exaggerated. Spider-Man is also more effectively drawn; Ramos successfully emphasizes the character’s agility and flexibility without sacrificing realism. Hopefully, Ramos will continue to impress during his run on “Amazing.”

Peter Parker’s death and return over the course of the 16-monthlong “Superior Spider-Man” is a masterpiece in Slott’s already-impressive body of work. Although “Superior” began as a major upheaval for Spider-Man’s status quo, the consistently strong writing and the artwork of Stegman and Camuncoli proved to fans that they had little to fear. Otto Octavius’s story of heroism and redemption as Spider-Man should be remembered as one of the best in the character’s history. Now that Peter Parker has returned in “The Amazing Spider-Man,” readers can look forward to seeing how he handles his second chance at life, and how he deals with the effects of Octavius’s actions in the name of great power and great responsibility.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 22

Arts and Entertainment Music

Food

By Danielle Eisenman Courtney Love is known in the media for a lot of things: the time she threw her compact mirror at Madonna, the time she flashed David Letterman on live TV, the multiple times she lost custody over her daughter, and, of course, her marriage to Kurt Cobain. Love is, to most, a figure in the tabloids: an embarrassing, attention-seeking shell of a human being. However, underneath all of this, she still deserves to be recognized as a true artist.

For the better half of 1994, Hole was a band composed of frontwoman Courtney Love, guitarist Eric Erlandson, bassist Kristen Pfaff, and drummer Patty Schemel. They released the album “Live Through This” on April 12 of that year. To celebrate its twentieth anniversary, I’ve decided to expose all of you to its utter greatness so it can get the appreciation it deserves.

Before releasing “Live Through This”, Hole released the album “Pretty on the Inside” in 1991. At the time, Hole consisted of Love and Erlandson, as well as Jill Emery on bass and Caroline Rue on drums. “Pretty on the Inside,” produced by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, was a very primitive album of messy rhythms and no identifiable melodies. However, Hole made a name for itself, gaining massive underground credibility. It was clear that there was something very promising about the Love-Erlandson duo.

By 1994, Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain were married. Love had yearned for stardom since she was a little girl, and got competitive with Cobain, who was arguably the most famous musician in the world at the time.

Many people accused her of having Cobain write the album for her, but what Love really wanted to do was prove to the world that she was just as good as, if not better than, her husband at writing music. Cobain tried to intervene in order to make “Live Through This” sound

like his band’s multi-platinum album “Nevermind.” However, the members of Hole wouldn’t let him. They didn’t need his help anyway.

There is an undeniable level of musicianship on “Live Through This,” and it is clear that Hole learned much since its first album. Erlandson cranks out interesting guitar riffs that are so simple, yet complex at the same time, and the Love-Erlandson duo was able to find themselves a tighter rhythm section. Pfaff was a classically trained pianist/ cellist who played impeccable bass lines that seem simplistic on the surface, but have dissonant notes cleverly snuck in here and there. Schemel’s aggressive but straightforward drumming ties everything together, creating an eclectic and rich feel to Hole’s music.

Most of the songs on “Live Through This” feature a juxtaposition of hard and soft sounds.

“Asking For It” is a prime example. The song is about being objectified by the media, referencing Love and Cobain’s relationship. It starts out quietly, with delicate harmonics and the guitar on a clean channel. Love whispers, “Every time that I sell myself to you/I feel a little bit cheaper than I need to/I will tear the petals off of you/Rose red, I will make you tell the truth.”

Then, the drums build and the guitar is distorted. Love’s voice has an edge of hardness when she sings the line: “Every time that I stare into the sun/Angel dust and my dress just comes undone.” Then, she screams with bone-chilling intensity, “Every time that I stare into the sun/Be a model or just look like one.” The song explodes, then quiets down again. Love begins to chant, “If you live through this with me, I swear that I will die for you.” She repeats this line over, and over, and over again.

She says these words with such vulnerability and desperation, highlighted by the frequency of which she says them. They are

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obviously addressed to Cobain, and the scary thing is that he wasn’t able to live through it.

Four days before the album’s release, Cobain was found dead of an apparent suicide.

Love’s voice is unique. When she sings or talks, it is deep, fullbodied, rich, and creamy, sort of like lemon custard. It is sickly sweet with a rough edge of tartness. She alternates between this and a shrill scream. Through her lyrics, Love picks apart various female archetypes, creating multidimensional characters out of women we usually don’t know much about. In “Miss World,” Love examines the Prom Queen character, a tortured girl hidden under layers of makeup and popularity. In songs like “Rockstar” and “She Walks on Me,” Love pokes fun at Riot Grrrl, a movement composed of her feminist rocker counterparts, with lines such as, “We took punk rock/ And we got a grade/Yeah, everyone was the same.”

There are also various mother figures in her songs, as Love was a new mother when she wrote the album. Mother’s milk is a recurring theme. In “Softer, Softest,” Love sings, “Your milk makes me melt/Your milk is so mean/Your milk turns to mine/ Your milk turns to cream.” She says this with an overwhelming sense of melancholy, probably reflecting on her acceptance of the tumultuous relationship between her and her own mother.

“Live Through This” is an important album that reveals a hidden side of Love’s life. It encompasses the complicated aspects of life that are shared by everyone. It delves into universal feelings of intense rage, sadness, and passion. Art is a reflection of the human experience, which is sometimes uncomfortable and sometimes beautiful, but is usually a combination of the two. This album expresses this in an eloquently honest fashion, which has helped it stand the test of time.

KFC: Korean Fried Chicken

Justin Kong / The Spectator

Lived Through It

BonChon serves its customers its specialty, a unique type of fried chicken.

By Angela Sun KFC is sweeping the nation, and no, not the fast food restaurant named after Kentucky. It’s Korean fried chicken. In New York City, Korean-style fried chicken joints have been popping up everywhere, from the streets of Ktown to those of Flushing, and one name is rising above the rest: BonChon. With over a hundred branches around the world, including one on 32nd Street and 5th Avenue and another on 38th Street and 7th Avenue, BonChon has risen to fame over the past few years, thanks to its crispy and addictive chicken wings.

The restaurant is located on the outskirts of K-town, a block away from the buzz of the main street, where most of the restaurants are. With metal-framed glass doors, BonChon resembles a bar: bottles of wine sit against the wall, and the dimly lit dropdown lights and polished wooden floors give the restaurant a cool, relaxed feel. Toward the side are sleek, metal tables and plush ebony seats for those who aren’t there for a drink. The largest table seats approximately six people, so bigger groups must split up and sit in some of the many smaller tables with only two chairs.

Although fried chicken is often considered comfort food, BonChon’s delicious wings add a sophisticated touch that is up to par with its upscale environment.

Each wing is delicately placed on a platter, with drums on one side and flats on the other, creating a sense of order and aestheticism.

Korean-style fried chicken is entirely different from the alltoo-familiar southern fried chicken. American-style fried chicken generally consists of a thick, seasoned crust, browned on the outside and made even thicker after being soaked in buttermilk. Korean fried chicken, on the other hand, is unseasoned and dipped in a thin batter before being double-fried to remove the fat from the skin. The result is fried chick-

en with a golden-brown, paperthin, crackly crust.

After ordering, it takes approximately fifteen to twenty minutes for the food to arrive and another five minutes for the wings to cool down, as they are brought fresh from the fryer. The wings come in three sizes: small ($8.99, six wings), medium ($12.99, 10 wings), and large ($21.99, 20 wings). In addition, BonChon offers its chicken with two sauces: garlic-and-soy, spicy hot garlic sauce, or a combination of both.

The sauce doesn’t weigh down the wings or make them soggy, but is rather absorbed into the skin so that there is just enough flavor, preserving the satisfying crunch that comes with biting into the wings. Each bite offers the perfect ratio of crispy skin to tender meat. The garlic-and-soy sauce wings are honeyed and tangy, slightly more sweet than salty. And for spice-lovers, the hot garlic sauce has a subtle heat that becomes increasingly prevalent after each wing.

If fried chicken doesn’t suit your palate, try BonChon’s delicious scallion pancake ($10.99).

It comes in a pie form, like a pizza, and is large enough to share between two. The pancake is thin, light, and slightly sweet with strands of scallion throughout.

Unlike this dish, however, many of BonChon’s other menu items fall short of its renowned wings.

The zucchini fries are over-fried, bland, greasy, and definitely not worth the $9.99 price. The potstickers are passable, but still not up to par given the $8.99 pricetag for the plate of eight two-bitesized dumplings.

BonChon is perfect for satisfying any fried chicken craving, and after you’ve had your first wing, you’ll be coming back for more. However, many of the other items on the rest of its menu will only bulk up your bill. Next time you have a yearning for KFC, be sure to stop by BonChon’s for a serving of delectable Korean fried chicken.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 23

Arts and Entertainment Food

Food Trucks Morris Grilled Cheese

By Jongyoul Lee

Milk Truck

By Dina Re

CBS News calls The Morris Truck one of the top five places to get grilled cheese sandwiches in New York. This popular grilled cheese truck roams around, depending on the day of the week, from Pearl & Front Street in Brooklyn to Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Fortunately, it is near the World Financial Center on Fridays, about a ten minute walk from Stuyvesant.

The menu flaunts a variety of unique sandwiches such as the “Green Machine,” which consists of Fontana, sautéed Kale, and pickled fennel, and the “Lambwich,” made of Greek skordalia, feta cheese, and pickled beets. However, the rotating menu is known for changing unpredictably, as seasonal ingredients are used, such as watermelon, radish, squash, and more. The truck is well-known for serving grilled cheese with cold fillings on hot summer days. Ultimately, The Morris Truck is famous for finding the strangest fillings that shockingly go great with that classic grilled cheese sandwich.

The prices range from $5.75 to $10, with customized toppings such as duck fat, pickles, eggs, or bacon costing extra, although the rest of the sandwich cannot be altered. The most ordinary sandwich, which happens to be year-round, is the “Classic,” which contains New York cheddar cheese and New Hampshire Landaff Cheese.

The sandwich I ordered only took around five minutes to make, perfect for those who are on the go, and came in environmentally-friendly packaging. It was grilled perfectly, crunching at every bite; the majority of customers agree that Morris’ method of grilling is definitely their specialty. The taste of the cheese, however, was masked by the saltiness of the sandwich. In addition, the bread was a bit too greasy. In fact, the grilled cheese reminded me of potato chips rather than a sandwich. I would not recommend the bland “Classic,” but perhaps the sandwiches with toppings and unique fillings are better.

Despite my negative experience, the customer service was great, and everyone should check out this popular food truck once, although maybe not a second time.

If you find yourself wandering around Brooklyn on a Sunday, or maybe even Tribeca on a Saturday, you may, to your pleasant surprise, run across the Milk Truck. The Milk Truck is a restaurant on wheels dedicated to the ingredient of milk, and is known for its grilled cheese sandwiches and milkshakes—seemingly simple fare, yet so much more.

If you’re looking for something basic I recommend the Milk Truck Classic ($5.95): a basic sandwich made with gruyere and a lot of butter served on Balthazar Pullman Bread. The gruyere is always melted to a point of oozy perfection. As soon as you dig into the contents of the crumpled brown bag, you are hooked. The cheese is salty yet slightly sweet and has a mild nutty taste, distinct yet not overpowering, which compliments the earthiness of the bread. The Three Cheese sandwich ($7.25) also achieves a delicious balance between the creaminess of blue cheese, gruyere, and cheddar, and the sweet contrast offered by caramelized granny smith apples.

When visiting the Milk Truck, I suggest sticking with the grilled cheese. Though their grilled cheeses balance the sharpness and tanginess of their cheeses with the earthy soft breads, their milkshakes are a different story. Their milkshake flavors include Tahitian and Madagascar Vanilla Bean, Dark Chocolate, and Crushed Malted Ball, but the milkshakes have an awkward consistency, don’t taste at all like what they’re advertised as, and, at $5.25, cost an unjustifiable amount. Their salads also take too long to make and the dressing is barely detectable, especially in the Chickpea Salad ($4.00).

The Milk Truck claims to focus on the quality of their product, believing that the sole purpose of food is to taste delicious, which is certainly true of their core product. While the quality control over each slice of cheese may be time consuming and stretch the line to the end of the block, it is definitely worth the end result: a mouthwatering, oozy, gooey, stretchy, salty, nutty bite of cheesiness. The Milk Truck is a must for superb grilled cheese; whatever the weather, they always pull it together.

Urban Lobster Shack

By Tracy Tse Located right in front of Public School 234 on Greenwich Street, the bright red Urban Lobster Shack truck offers a unique type of lunch. It offers many different types of lobster rolls with different types of sauces such as jalapeno sauce and mayonnaise. The culinary form known as the lobster roll combines the everyday New York City hot dog with a New England seafood element.

The prices are immediately noticeable for being very expensive; their standard Famous Lobster Roll is a whopping $13. The cheapest item on their menu is the New England clam chowder with oyster crackers at $7 (including sales tax). On the other hand, it does provide an alternative for those who do not want to pay too much for restaurant lobster, which usually costs around $25 to $30.

The Famous Lobster Roll provides a very interesting taste. It consists of a lobster salad marinated in lemon and a mayonnaise-like sauce, all in a buttered and grilled hot dog bun. The sauce gives the lobster a somewhat creamy texture. The lobster itself does not give off a very strong seafood taste, which I personally find inviting. Rather, the meat tastes much like soft chicken with a slightly sour “ocean-y” aroma. The buttered bread gives the roll a very fresh taste and it masks some of the sour lobster flavor as well. With the components all together, the lobster roll tastes incredibly delicious. If you have the money and want to eat some lobster without paying even more for restaurant lobster, then Urban Lobster Shack is your stop.

Luckyim Thai

By Lucy Li As the name suggests, Luckyim Thai serves Thai cuisine known for its sweet and spicy taste, with a few exceptions (including French fries). The truck, whose location is announced via its Twitter account (@luckyimthai), is a bright mélange of red, orange, and yellow, which stands out in the Financial District.

The menu ranges from $2 to $8 which is pretty reasonable compared to Thai restaurants that serve the same quality dishes for more. The truck serves many lunch dishes, such as Pad Thai and Basil Chicken Over Rice, but I decided to go for something more savory, the Red Curry Chicken for $8. I also went with a typical appetizer, spring rolls, at $4 for four rolls.

After only five minutes, my order was ready to go and there was a surprisingly large serving of food.

The red curry consisted of about two cups of rice and one cup of curry filled with bell peppers, chicken breast, and green beans. The curry had a sweet coconut taste and was a bit spicy (though milder than I expected). It seemed to melt in my mouth when topping the rice; my one complaint would be that the curry had very little chicken for the asking price. Similar to the curry, the spring rolls tasted delicious with their crispy texture and pork/veggie filling. The sauce for the rolls did not meet my approval, however. It was so sweet that it seemed better to not use it at all.

Luckyim Thai generally serves signature Thai dishes: spiced up, stir-fried, and topped with basil.

These dishes are usually only served in restaurants because of the amount of heat needed to make them, yet Luckyim Thai has managed to bring these dishes to the streets, creating a unique experience.

It is actually very pleasant to get a take-out experience like this. Luckily, Luckyim’s dishes are on par with restaurant-quality Thai food and have portions that are delightfully large! I would definitely go back again for the dishes that make you want to try more with every spoonful.

Kelvin Natural Slush Co.

By Danielle Eisenman As an adolescent entering adulthood, you’ve abandoned many of your childhood ways and as much as you’d like to sit around consuming gallons of Technicolor Slurpee a day, getting caught with a fluorescent blue tongue would definitely kill your sophisticated young adult credibility.

But now, thanks to the (literally) cool people at Kelvin Natural Slush Co. you can indulge in your icily refreshing vice, while feeling and looking sophisticated. You may be wondering what “natural slush” is. Well, it’s not that grey stuff in the street that used to be a pretty blanket of white snow. Started by two former lawyers who decided to give their favorite childhood treat an upgrade, this truck is serving up slushies that are everything your seven-year old self could have ever wanted, but reinvented for a crowd with more refined tastes.

Say goodbye to weird artificial blue raspberry and hello to a plethora of deliciously all-natural flavors. You choose from one of three base flavors—ginger, citrus, and tea. Then there are the pureed fruit mix-ins, with flavors ranging from pink guava to lychee.

There are also delicious specials, like the Arnold Palmer, which is a mix of tea, lemonade, and raspberry. The pricing is a bit steep at four dollars for a medium-sized slushie, but everything is made with top-quality ingredients, making these concoctions exceptionally tasty and tasteful.

Do your taste buds a favor (rather, a flavor) and head over to Kelvin Natural Slush Company’s big, blue food truck. There are various locations throughout the city—in Union Square, in Columbus Circle, and even right by Stuyvesant on Greenwich street. Now go on. Heavenly slushy goodness awaits!

Coolhaus

By Jessie Zhan

Wafels and Dinges

By Sunjay Lee

Cookie-flavored ice creams and ice cream-flavored cookies already abound. It would seem that cookies and ice cream have been exhausted in the world of dessert. However, Coolhaus’s unique hybrid of these classic treats creates an entirely new treat. By scooping homemade ice cream in between two delicious cookies, Coolhaus serves a unique ice cream sandwich.

Coolhaus was started by Natasha Case and Freya Estreller as their first project in exploring the intersection of food and architecture. They drew on their backgrounds in design to refashion these traditional desserts. Both co-founders believed that the design was equally important in enhancing a person’s eating experience. With that philosophy in mind, they purchased a truck and started selling these unique ice cream sandwiches. And with two simple steps, you get your hybrid dessert, all costing only $6.

First, you choose your cookie. They offer fairly ordinary flavors: chocolate chip, oatmeal, red velvet, etc. I would definitely recommend the red velvet or oatmeal as the base of your ice cream sandwich as they add the most unique flavors to the sandwich. While the cookie is delicious, your choice will not overpower your ice cream. Instead, the flavor enhances the treat as a whole.

Step two is to pick the ice cream. Coolhaus’s ice cream flavors are constantly changing, guaranteeing a new experience each time you visit. You can pick anything from salted caramel to brown candied bacon to beer and pretzels. Their concoction is unique because of the balance between sweet and savory flavors, as in the red velvet cookie with candied bacon ice cream combination. To top it all off, you are given an edible wrapper. While it does not have any taste, it does make eating this delightful ice cream sandwich a lot easier.

You can find the Coolhaus store in Green Point, Brooklyn; or you can track their food trucks around Prospect Park and Central Park. Although the line is usually long, it is definitely worth it to experience this one of a kind ice cream sandwich. Coolhaus is the perfect package: they have a delicious dessert, a great service, and an innovative concept.

Wafels and Dinges started as a dream to revive the Belgian waffle craze of the sixties in America. Owner Thomas Degeet sold his first waffle on the corner of Broadway and Prince Street in his 1968 Chevy box truck and now operates food carts as well as cafes all around the city. The closest truck to Stuyvesant is by the City Hall 4/5/6 train station. Its hours are from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and it offers sweet waffles as well as “savory waffles”, which are full meals, rather than just desserts. For example, the “BBQ Pulled Pork Wafel” is pulled pork with sweet barbeque sauce on top of a crispy waffle.

“De Bom” was my choice of waffle, and it was topped off with spekuloos spread (a traditional Belgian shortcrust dough), vanilla ice cream, chocolate drizzle, and strawberries. There are numerous other “dinges”, or toppings, available including spekuloos ice cream, and Nutella. The warm and crispy waffles were freshly made on the spot, and the spekuloos spread and ice cream were both gingerbread cookie flavored. The spread was sticky and was similar to peanut butter and it complemented the sweet (yet not too sugar-coated) waffle very well. The prices were a bit expensive though; $8 for a regular “de Bom” with vanilla ice cream.

The waffles definitely deserved the praise they have received.

They allowed just the right amount of sweetness: enough to be appropriate for a dessert, but not enough to overwhelm the taste buds. It was overall a very pleasant experience—the Belgian waffles did not disappoint!

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 24

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

A new column, summarizing all the Student Union has done for the past two weeks.

• The SU sold crewnecks in late April. The design was identical to the one from two years ago. SU members said this was because of high demand for the design.

• SU President and Vice President Eddie Zilberbrand and Keiran Carpen attended the Student Leadership Team meeting on Tuesday, April 29.

“Uranus” Rituals and Other Vulgar Debauchery at Stuyvesant, NY Post Reports

By Gerry Buisso

A new report by The New York Post has revealed that Stuyvesant students used school money to buy hard drugs, such as alcohol, marijuana, Kool-Aid powder packs, and those dwarves from the ‘Wolf of Wall Street,’ to host a drug and sex fueled night of fun—a night that they tried to pass off to innocent, hard-working school officials as a musical.

“Every year, the student body gets together and holds a little gathering called URANUS! In theory, URANUS! is supposed to be a musical. In reality, URANUS! is a cesspool of elitism, sexual depravity, and violent racism,” a flabbergasted, gobsmacked educator said.

Junior With 95 Average Totally Just Failed That Pre-Calculus Test

By Shane Lorenzen Attendance at Stuyvesant High School is not for the faint of heart. By only accepting students who score in the top one percent on the Specialized High School Admissions Test, Stuyvesant nurtures an environment of extreme competition before its students even walk in through the door. This pressure takes an immense toll on the health of the average Stuyvesant student. Approximately 80 percent of the school’s student body suffers from some form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a number any other school would be perfectly happy with, except Stuy, where anything less than a 90 is failing.

Students at this school must be ever vigilant in order to survive. When at the top of the academic ladder, they must never let their guard down or else their spot as valedictorian will be usurped by one of the many jealous cretins they call “classmates.” It is truly a tragedy when such a fall from grace occurs, but this was the tragic fate of junior Keiran Carpen.

On the afternoon of Thursday May 1, Carpen emerged from his fourth floor Pre-Calculus classroom with tears rolling down his face, a disheveled husk of the man he was that morning. Many peers attempted to console him and find out what was wrong. However, not much information could be gleaned from his incessant wailing, which, according to witnesses, sounded like the screech a whale makes when separated from its young, or a Cahn brother when separated from his favorite assistant principal.

Fortunately, Carpen was eventually able to calm down, at which point he informed reporters who had arrived on the scene of the inspiration for his fit.

“Well you see I’m kind of pretty sure that I possibly might not have gotten full credit on one of the questions on my last Pre-Calc exam, maybe,” said Carpen, shuddering at the

words coming from his mouth.

“How am I supposed to go home and look my parents in the eyes tonight?”

“Well you see I’m kind of pretty sure that I possibly might not have gotten full credit on one of the questions on my last Pre-Calc exam, maybe” – Keiran Carpen, junior Carpen, an elite student, received no test grade lower than a 97 last semester. Yet, he is convinced that he “completely bombed” his most recent mathematics exam after realizing that he may have gotten a question worth five points wrong, as apparently, 100 minus five is now equal to 65.

“It may not seem like much, but what if the Ivies I’m applying to see this test grade? Because they will. Trust me, they have their ways,” Carpen said.

“And if I don’t get into an Ivy League school, I will literally die. I know that sounds facetious but it is the truth and I’m not even in the minority for thinking that at this school.”

After his ordeal, Carpen was ready to head back to his English class on the sixth floor. As he got on the escalator, the straight-A student, Frisbee team captain, and Student Union Vice President had this to say: “Honestly, I’d do better if I just worked harder.”

“The students bring their potato chips and pot pipes (special devices used by the youths to facilitate the combustion of cannabis for the purpose of inhalation), get “stoned”, and guffaw like baboons at lame jokes such as ‘Dude, where’s my glaucoma medicine?’ and ‘Yoooo, dude, we totally wrecked Uranus last night’.”

“It’s disgusting. These are bright kids,” another anonymous teacher dished. “I always thought they had higher standards for their humor.

Weed jokes? Sex jokes? Really?

What are you? High school students?”

Members of the student body have tried to defend URANUS! because participating in it is the ‘only way’ they can ‘ex-

press their creativity’ and ‘do something outside of inane, menial schoolwork,’ but the legitimacy of these claims has been wrecked by experts, the same way the implied anus in the URANUS! production was wrecked.

Indeed, experts have expressed concern that the event is not only inappropriate, but also psychologically damaging.

“We’re talking about some very harmful exposure here. Driving with a bottle of Jack Daniel’s in your stomach or eating a meal at McDonald’s are both 50 times healthier than watching this musical,” New York University biology professor John Davidson said. “Attending the musical forces these young, brittle minds to watch something that

amounts to a series of flashing lewd photographs—photographs of naked circus clowns dancing around in unison and Neanderthals discovering, not fire, but their own genitals for the first time—and that can be quite damaging.”

As of press time Stuyvesant students have merely written a bitterly sarcastic “news” article in response to the New York Post’s scathing “report.” “If the New York Post can be incredibly petty and write ridiculous articles about us, well we can do the same back to them.”

Spectator Editor-in-Chief Lev Akabas said, “At least we’re teenagers and by definition have poor impulse control and smaller brains. What’s the Post’s excuse?”

How to Experience an ‘Embarrassing’ Moment to Write About for Your Big Sib App

By Laszlo Sandler and Miki Steele

Big Sibs play an important role in supporting students during their freshman year. A Big Sib usually starts out as an advisor and role model, before eventually becoming that person whose name you don’t know but wave to in the hallway anyway. In order to apply to become a Big Sib, students must include an embarrassing moment at Stuyvesant on their applications. For most, this is not a problem, as almost all students have tried swiping in to school using their metro cards at least once. However, for some students, this question on the application has proven to be a bit tricky.

One applicant—sophomore Pranav Lowe—was distraught recently when he realized he

didn’t have an embarrassing moment to put on his application. Lowe realized he would have to go out of his way to experience something embarrassing, or risk not becoming a Big Sib. “I mean, that question is discriminatory,” Lowe said.

“Some of us attractive alphamale types just don’t get embarrassed.”

Despite his claims of injustice, Lowe says he knows exactly what his moment will be. “I’m going to get a 99 on a test,” said Lowe, “My parents will be angry, but when I tell them it’s for the Big Sib application, they’ll probably be like ‘aight, cool.’”

Some students say that Lowe’s moment may be one of the most embarrassing they’ve ever heard. Junior and 2014 Big Sib Chair Sydney Caputo says that Lowe is brave to admit to such a moment. “I’ve seen

some embarrassing moments in applications over the years.”

Caputo said. “But this tops the lot. I’m surprised this is something he’s willing to let people know about.”

Junior Jasmine Thomas, says that the moment may even be too embarrassing to be considered for inclusion in next year’s Big Sib Handbook. “A lot of freshman read the handbook,” Thomas said. “We don’t want him to get bullied.”

Other students claim that they’ve had moments more embarrassing than Lowe’s.

“That? That’s nothing,” sophomore Tyler Small said, when asked about Lowe’s embarrassment. “I’ve had much more embarrassing moments than that. Like when I took my girlfriend to the Hudson staircase and we… actually never mind, please don’t print this.”

Grading Scale Changed to Smiley Faces

By Saif Zihiri In the most recent NYC Department of Education progress report, Stuyvesant received a grade of C for its school environment, prompting immediate reform from the administration. Principal Jie Zhang, humiliated at her first C since prep school, has already begun tackling the issue, working with the newly formed Spirit Committee to improve the school’s environment, putting more emphasis on the guidance office, and most radically, implementing a new grading scale.

Rather than employing a numerical scale, the new grading system will consist of a single yellow smiley face, with smiley face being the highest and smiley face being the lowest. Zhang expects that the new grading scale will remove the stress often associated with grades and improve overall school morale.

Critics of the new system, however, argue that it will de-

value the hard work of students and could potentially lead to more stress. “I came to Stuy to prove that I’m better than all my other friends,” remarked sophomore Daniel Kodsi. “Now that I can’t, what’s the point? I might as well start my dream of living in the wilderness, maybe even Staten Island.”

Another main concern is that the new system will prove to be confusing. In light of the recent announcement that students with negative smiley faces will be prohibited from going out during lunch, students have been scrambling to find out whether or not they were affected. “I’m still not sure if I can go out to my boys at Ferry’s,” junior David Li said. “All the smiley faces look exactly the same, I can’t tell the difference.”

Students are not the only ones disappointed with the new grading system. Teachers have also had trouble adjusting. “How am I supposed to show my favorite students that

I like them the best?” an anonymous teacher asked. “Now I can’t even tell who I’m failing.”

Other teachers voiced concerns that the smiley faces might fool students into thinking that they were well-received by the teachers, potentially leading to many awkward rejected recommendation letters and failed bribes.

Teachers have also reported difficulty in using the new system. Rather than simply typing up numbers, teachers have been forced to do Ctrl-Shift semicolon and Ctrl-Shift zero to make the smiley faces, a process that many have called “a cruel and unusual punishment.”

Despite the criticism, Zhang is optimistic that the new system will achieve its intended purpose. “Just think how much happier we would all be if the school had gotten a smiley face rather than a C,” Zhang said.

“Now cheer up.”

Courtesy of uncommonteacher.wordpress.com

SU Beat

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 25

Humor From Stuyvesant High School - Important Message from Principal Zhang

By Dennis Nenov

DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL. IT HAS BEEN SENT FROM A ‘SEND ONLY’ MAILBOX. IF YOU TRY TO REPLY, YOU WILL LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT AND WE WILL ALL LAUGH AT YOU, IDIOT. This message is from Stuyvesant High School.

------------My dear CHEN, RICHARD (ID: 1532, OSIS: 103542007): In order to prepare students for the longer school day next year, the school will now offer students the ability to purchase school-approved, school-spirit themed sleeping bags, and— starting next year—students will be allowed to stay after school and sleep in the school

building until their first class begins.

Because of subsection i of Chancellor’s Regulation #1533ORWELL-OQ, students will only be allowed to sleep in schoolapproved sleeping bags. These bags will be available for sale in the School Spirit Store and will feature a happy humanoid figure, similar to the one featured in the Guidance Department’s posters, and a stylish Stuyvesant logo. Students found sleeping in bags other than those sold by the school will have their sleep privileges voided and their school day extended.

We hope students will take advantage of this opportunity to both maximize their instructional time and eliminate their commutes altogether. :-) XOXO, Brian Moran

DOE Mandates Switch to Mayan Calendar Starting the Muluk of Yaxk’in’

By Daniel Goynatsky The New York Department of Education (DOE) has officially announced that they are forcing every school in the city to transition to the Mayan calendar system. “This system is more effective and creates time for more after school programs.

Moreover, by adopting the Mayan calendar everyone [DOE staff members] will have longer vacation times,” the DOE’s head Mayan consulter and sacrifice expert Randolph Phillips said.

The rapid change of pace and schedule will likely affect the student body and the curriculum. The change, which is due to take effect on the Muluk of Yaxk’in’, will make the school year end on the Etz’nab’ of Wayeb’. Wayeb’ is the month that lasts five days, all of which are deemed unlucky. During these five days final exams will be administered and at least two sacrifices from each NYC public school will be expected.

The DOE has issued “De-

cree of Ultimate Mayan Beliefs” (DUMB) guidelines for following strict Mayan rules. On the Ak’b’al of every month students must wear ceremonial headdresses in order to respect the Sun God. Another rule that must be followed at all times is the immediate burying of deceased students under the students’ homes. “When Derrick Lui passed out from 43 hours of not sleeping because of schoolwork, projects, homework, and AP studying, I was forced to bury him under Stuyvesant, the only place where he truly felt at home,” DOE loyalist Christopher Liang said.

The DOE has also created a series of new classes, which must be taken by every student to enhance their knowledge of Mayan culture in order to fit in better with the new schedule. Among these classes is “Bas Quét Boll,” a game where a team of five individuals must get a rock into a woven basket. Because the Mayans were huge proponents of ball sports,

Stuyvesant students will be required to play Bas Quét Boll, according to DOE Rule 3 Decree 17 Section III Part 7.

The final rule that the DOE will endorse with vigor and strictness is the Crop and Grade Ceremonies. “According to Mayan tradition, every month we shall have a dance where we wear masks depicting gods and pray to them for good crops and good grades,” Mr. Phillips said.

Many students were nonplussed about this change.

“Didn’t the Mayan calendar end?” asked one student, who was promptly escorted to a rubber room at the DOE headquarters for “Re-education.”

The largest controversy, however, was the lawsuit by the NAACP (National Administration for Aztec Cultural Progression). “Why does it have to be the Mayan calendar? Why is it always the Mayans? Mayans this, Mayans that. We had sacrifices too!” said NAACP chief Milintica III.

Department of Education’s tweets

By Daniel Goynatsky DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 32min “DOE stands for drugs over everything. loljk #WinnersDontDoDrugs” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 2h “hail and rain storm but schools are still open lol #macys” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 12h “people complaining about minimum wage. wabout mini-

mum age?? get these ugly oldies outa here #yung #current #fr3sh” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 12h “#lawsuit #NAACP #racism #sad #nomoney #lawyer #court #shsat #swag” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 13h “Check which Specialized High School you are with this FREE quiz: bit.ly/xK89e4”

DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 15h “ever have one of those nights when youre not sure if your tired or your lonely but you want to be with someone you luv? #billdeblazeit #babycomeback” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 18h “Some students are trying to boycott changes #lol #youshallnotpass”

Advertisement

DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 17h “extending periods at stuy lol” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 23h “call us Anonymous. Our secret auditors infiltrated #stuy and found out they’re missing 3 minutes from their schedules #gottem”

DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 1d “woww Bloomberg the type to not accept us on facebook #NODISRESPECTTOBILLDEBLASIO #ALLDISRESPECTTOMIKEBLOOMBERG” DOE_69 @DOE_69 • 12d “full office vaca in Hawaii today #100happydays”

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 26

Sports Late Game Heroics Sparks Hitmen Victory

By JEFFREY SU and LOUIS SUSSER

With only five games left in the season, the Hitmen entered Murry Bergtraum’s field looking to even their record at 6-6 and vie for a playoff berth. “We really needed this win with five games left. This game was a must-win, and we came through,” senior and co-captain Timothy Diep said.

“This game was a must-win, and we came through” —Timothy Diep, senior

Fueled by a three-run sixthinning comeback and a furious five-run seventh inning to take the lead, the Hitmen came out on top with a 10-5 victory.

The Hitmen propelled into action at the top of the first inning after Diep walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and moved to third on a base hit by senior Benjamin Sydel. Senior Michael Mazzeo grounded out to the pitcher, scoring Diep from third base.

The opposing team, however, greeted sophomore pitcher Nathan Chandler by displaying great hitting power in the bottom of the first. Murry Bergtraum’s Jason Paredes hit a solo home run soaring more than 350 feet into left field, tying the score at 1-1.

The Hitmen snagged back the lead in the third after back-to-

back singles from senior Jun Ho Han and Diep. Sydel moved the runners up on a sacrifice bunt, and Mazzeo followed through with a line drive single to right field. This allowed Han to reach home plate, giving Stuyvesant a 2-1 lead. Murry Bergtraum, however, answered back with a threerun third inning to retake the lead, 4-2.

The two teams were deadlocked until the fifth inning, due in part to Chandler’s strong fourth inning, striking out the side. A shaky fifth inning, however, included a run scored on a wild pitch, driving Murry Bergtraum ahead 5-2.

But the Hitmen would not go down so easily. In the top of the sixth, Sydel and senior Shawn Gilhooley both came through with base hits with the “ducks on the pond” (runners on base) to tie the score 5-5. Junior relief pitcher Austin Lee got out of a jam after loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth, to set up the Hitmen’s massive seventh inning.

The bases were once again loaded for the Hitmen. Sydel and junior Matthew Cook came up with the big hits, driving in a total of five runs to expand the lead to 10-5.

Lee, however, “gave us a scare,” Diep said. Lee lost his command of the strike zone, and walked the bases loaded. “I didn’t have a feel for my pitches, but coach corrected me, and I finished the game,” Lee said.

With this critical win, the team morale is as high as ever, and coach John Carlesi hopes that the team’s situational hitting can improve for their next few games. “We left a lot of guys on second and third with bases loaded. That’s been killing us: not getting the big hit,” Carlesi said.

Though Carlesi downplayed the team’s ability to capitalize in pressure situations, the Hitmen saw clutch play late in the game.

In danger of missing the postseason for the second straight season, the Hitmen picked up a huge win for their playoff hopes.

Girls’ Fencing

One Final Lunge with Two Seconds to Spare

By Susan Wu

After two consecutive wins, the Vipers faced the NEST+M Eagles on Friday, May 2. Just two days earlier, the girls’ fencing team had won a decisive 90-42 victory against the Eagles.

“Even with our two consecutive wins, I still felt a bit uneasy.

Our last epee game with them was a close call; NEST was trailing behind by only ten points. We hoped to do better this game and learn from our previous mistakes,” sophomore Julia Dokko said.

Senior Marlena Lui started the meet and gave the team an early lead with her 5-0 match against sophomore Qiyue Peng. During one round, Lui initiated contact by lunging forward aiming at Peng’s upper chest. However, Peng defended herself, forcing Lui to retreat back on the strip. Quick to act with her lead, Peng took the offensive but failed to make contact with Lui, giving Stuyvesant’s senior the opportunity to extend her weapon and score a point. As Lui made each point, the spectators cheered louder and louder. One student in attendance said that the match was “possibly the most exciting thing that I have seen in this gym.”

The rest of the foil matches were dominated by the underclassmen of the team: sophomores Serena Chan and Hanna Contreras and freshmen twin sisters Sarah and Stephanie Yoon. As these young rookies fenced, coach Joel Winston gave minor pointers, including “keeping their arm extended,” in order to reach farther.

Following the foil matches were the epee matches. Senior and captain Katherine Oh was unable to compete as she was involved in a car accident a few days ago.

Thankfully, Oh is safe and has only strained her knee. However, due to the strain, she will possibly be unable to fence for the remainder of the season. With a 2-1 individual record, Oh’s absence could potentially hurt the Vipers’ undefeated team record.

Though Oh did not perform on the strip, senior Julia Mendelsohn did a fantastic job leading the epee team with her 5-0 bout.

In one round, Mendelsohn parried back and forth with her Eagle counterpart, sophomore Victo-

Hayoung Ahn / The Spectator

Boys’ Baseball

Sophomore Serena Chan reaches for a lunge into victory in the foil category, bringing the Stuyvesant Vipers into two consecutive wins against NEST+M.

ria Lau. Mendelsohn, lunged but unsuccessfully attacked, allowing Lau to riposte (fencer’s jargon for counterattack). Mendelsohn then completed a defensive parry to the riposte and moved in to score with a touch on Lau’s right forearm.

After Mendelsohn was junior Seonmin Chung, who went up against Eagles’ sophomore Katherine Wallace. For three straight points, Chung and Wallace attacked at the same time, only to have Chung out-touched. After Wallace won her fourth point, Winston finally called a time out.

It was during this time that he and Mendelsohn advised Chung to be more aggressive and not allow Wallace to push. Despite this pep talk, Chung lost her round. “[Chung’s] first bout was against NEST’s strongest fencer. Neither she nor the rest of us lost hope at that point because it all went uphill from there,” Mendelsohn said.

When sophomore Julia Dokko stepped onto the strip, the Vipers were barely ahead 14-13. The team could not afford for Dokko to make any mistakes. “When I got up on the strip, all I could feel was the nervous beating of my heart.

I was worried about being able to bring the epee team back on the lead. However, since it was only a one point difference, I felt confident,” Dokko said. Dokko won her first point with a touch on the right shoulder of her opponent to bring the match to 15-13 in the Vi-

per’s favor.

Once again, Mendelsohn stepped up, this time, against Wallace. With five more points left to score, Mendelsohn faced her opponent and used her height as an advantage. Halfway through the bout, the referee announced a malfunction with the timer. There were only 23 seconds left, but Mendelsohn managed to score three more touches before the end of the match, including one last lunge with two seconds remaining, giving the Vipers a 45-32 victory in epee.

“When there were only 23 seconds left, I was pretty confident, because there was no way my opponent could catch up that much in that period of time. [...] She started to rush and attack quickly to make up as many points as possible. However, I was able to counterattack and hit her each time, leading to our victory,” Mendelsohn said.

Compared to the foil match, the Vipers lost more ground during the epee match. However, the match was still considered a sweep in favor of the Vipers after Mendelsohn stepped up. The Vipers have always been one of the top teams in the PSAL girls’ fencing division, and with three consecutive victories, this promises to be a successful season for the Vipers, who plan to improve on their technique and learning when to attack.

Boys’ Volleyball

Beasts Go Down, But Not Without a Fight Opportunity For Revenge Quelled By Mistakes

By Jason Lee and Joshua Zhu It was only four weeks ago that Stuyvesant’s boys’ volleyball team, the Beasts, played Fiorello H. LaGuardia. That game was a crushing defeat for the Beasts, who lost two sets in a row after winning the first one. On Wednesday, April 30, LaGuardia stormed into the Stuyvesant gymnasium determined to beat their division rivals once again, while Stuyvesant hoped to even the series between the two teams. Despite an enormous effort and an electric crowd, Stuyvesant fell short again, 2-0.

The first set started rough for the Beasts. The teams were evenly matched, but Stuyvesant’s constant serves and rallies that went out of bounds quickly crushed any momentum they had. The score fluctuated back and forth, and Stuyvesant was tied 9-9 after sophomore Victor Hoang made one of his ten digs to keep the ball in play for a kill by sophomore Samuel Kotlyar. However, LaGuardia quickly regained the lead after another shot hit out of bounds by Stuyvesant.

In response to the unforced errors, coach Vasken Choubaralian yelled, “Ball stays on the court from now on.” However, Stuyvesant continued to make mistakes, leading to a 14-11 lead for LaGuardia.

Just when Stuyvesant seemed to have caught up, ahead 16-15, the Beasts’ servers hit the ball out

of bounds on four consecutive possessions, fueling LaGuardia’s comeback and seizure of the momentum. Stuyvesant was put in a deep hole, down 24-17, but two service points and an ace by sophomore Dimitar Novakov fueled what seemed to be a comeback.

However, the Beasts lost the set due to a short serve, 25-20.

“I reminded them that I know they can play better than the way they played,” Choubaralian said.

“I said to them, ‘you know what?

[This season, Environmental Studies] came back the next two sets and crushed them, so you know what? Let’s crush them.’”

Stuyvesant hoped to shift the tides in the second set, as they were able to grab an early 10-6 lead, fueled by a bevy of kills by Novakov, who had eight in total, and blocks by senior Kevin Zhang, who had five in total. However, keeping the ball in play continued to be a problem for Stuyvesant, and inflamed LaGuardia’s resurgence. “We need to be a little more consistent with our kills,” Kotlyar said. “When we hit it over the net, it went out of bounds. We [also] need to cover a little more [ground].”

Six balls hit out of bounds brought LaGuardia closer, and LaGuardia’s junior Vaughn Titus went on a spree of kills, in a short span dealing five of the twelve he had in the match, enabling LaGuardia to grab a 19-18 lead.

Choubaralian tried to regroup the team by calling a timeout.

However, the team became discombobulated, as they had three miscommunications, which cost

them three vital points toward the end of the game. Titus left his mark on the Stuyvesant court when he closed the game with another kill.

“We made a reasonable amount of errors for a moment and we lost our focus on the court,” Novakov said. “We showed throughout the second game that we can regain [momentum] and have great potential, but in the end, the mistakes counted toward our loss.”

The number of missed hits, in both sets, amounted to seventeen points. Miscommunication between the team members led to playable balls being untouched, and many kill attempts ended up out of bounds. “We did a lot of good things defensively and service reception, which is a very good thing especially against a team that was hitting a lot. Unfortunately what we didn’t do too well today was control the ball offensively,” Choubaralian said.

Interestingly, Stuyvesant won all but one statistical category in the match against LaGuardia, proving how much of an impact mistakes can have. Kotlyar said in reaction to the loss, “I think we learned what we have to do for the next game, and we’re going to come back and be really strong.”

Beasts Overcome Seahawks

By Annabelle Gary and Rayyan Jokhai Despite being knocked out of playoff contention after suffering a loss to Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the Beasts have not given up on their

season. Following an early 1-0 deficit against the West 50th Street Campus Seahawks, the team was able to rally and win two straight sets in a comeback match on Monday, May 5. After fixing some early issues, including service errors and miscommunication, the team was able to overcome the deficit to reach a 4-5 season record.

The Beasts got off to a slow start, losing most of their points through service errors. However, after being down 8-5 at first, the Beasts were able to string together a set of strong plays to take a 9-8 lead. However, their success was limited as they continued to make careless errors and give points away. They were also facing a bigger and more athletic team.

With the front line for West 50th blocking a large percentage of the hits from Stuyvesant, the Beasts found themselves down 2113. West 50th was finding all the holes in Stuyvesant’s defense until the Beasts called a timeout, after which the team went on a 7-1 run.

This was not enough to make up for the mistakes they made earlier in the set, however, as they lost the first set 25-22.

“We didn’t do enough coverage this game, we can definitely work on that during practice, and hopefully, it’ll be better next game,” sophomore Samuel Kotlyar said.

The second set appeared to be more of the same for the Beasts.

They continued to make service errors and the Seahawks continued to capitalize on Stuyvesant’s sloppy defense. The Beasts began the second set down 10-3, until

Kotlyar was able to take 10 straight service points, pulling the team ahead 13-10.

From that point on, the two teams fought back and forth until they were locked at 23 each, pushing the set into a deuce. The Beasts and the Seahawks tied again at 24-24, but the Beasts eventually pushed through to win the set 26-24, tying the match at one set apiece.

“We had a rough start, but overall, I think we played well and improved as the game progressed [ …] I think a little bit more communication and less unforced errors on serving and hitting, and covering spots a little better [could have helped], but there’s a lot of things again that we improved on,” coach Vasken Choubaralian said.

The third set was equally close at the start, with the teams knotted at 15 points apiece. However, the Beasts put together a spectacular 10-1 run and took the final set 25-16. The team, despite the victory, was still upset at the early mistakes. “I got angry, so I started hitting harder, but I think the team realized that they had to pick up the passes that we had to do,” senior and captain Mingyung Jiang said.

The team is out of the playoffs, but is still battling as the season comes to a close. “We can bring in a positive attitude, and a little more confidence in what we can do in our skills, because we made a lot less errors today in the end of our second and third sets,” Choubaralian said.

The Spectator ● May 15, 2014

Page 27

Sports Boys’ Badminton

SPORTS CALENDAR

All But the First

Brooklyn Tech Engineers’ sophomore Mitchell Liang focused on the shuttlecock, preparing for his serve in the first singles match against the Stuyvesant Peglegs. He hit the serve with a high arc towards Peglegs’ freshman Jeffrey Wang, who returned with a similar high arcing shot.

Liang then took this opportunity and wound up and swung with all his might. There was nothing Wang could do; by the time he could react to the hit, the shuttlecock was already past him. Liang demonstrated his superior skill, as he went on to defeat Wang 2112, 21-15 in two sets.

Fortunately for the Peglegs, the other four matches did not end with the same result. “A lot of the players from Brooklyn Tech are not as experienced as we are.

They played well, but I think we had their number today,” coach Laron Blake said.

Senior Christopher Lau easily won third singles 21-7, 21-17 and was satisfied with his victory.

“I hit my shots where I wanted them to be, and they landed in areas my opponent could not reach. The shots he hit set me up for some good attacks,” Lau said.

Prior to this match, Lau was the only member of the team to have lost before, which occurred in his previous match, so securing a victory this time was important for his confidence.

Freshman Charles Sang won his second singles match decisively 21-9, 21-3 in two sets.

Before the doubles matches began, Blake saw glaring weaknesses in the Engineers’ doubles partners, and realized that his doubles teams had much more skill. “If we don’t sweep these doubles matches, I’ll be mad,” Blake said prior to the match.

The closest match of the day, however, was first doubles, which the Peglegs narrowly won 21-16, 21-13. Freshman Zicheng Zhen was impressed with his and his partner freshman Christopher Ye’s performances. “I think the best part of our match was that we analyzed our opponents really well. We saw that they often hit too hard, and they had trouble getting to balls that were close to the net, so we tried to take advantage of that and managed to succeed,” Zhen said. Zhen and Ye were able to capitalize on such mistakes in order to get a narrow victory.

To cap off such a successful day for the Peglegs, the second doubles team of freshmen Anton Goretsky and Brandon Zhang won their match by a score of 2116, 21-7.

Brooklyn Tech suffered yet another loss to drop to 0-4 at the start of the season, and Stuyvesant won its fourth straight, remaining undefeated and tied for the division lead. The Peglegs have dominated their opponents so far, and besides the loss in the first singles match against the Engineers, the team’s only other lost match came at the hands of Seward Park in second singles.

In order to have the potential to beat good teams, such as the undefeated Franklin D. Roosevelt team, the Peglegs need to work hard to improve weaknesses. “Honestly, everyone [on the team] needs skill, and I really need to lose some weight,” Wang said with a smile.

Lau thinks he can improve his own game as well. “I need to improve on getting more focused, working on my footwork, and moving around the court quicker,” Lau said.

Although Zhen does not see any glaring weaknesses in his team, he does advise that the Peglegs work on an essential badminton component: wrist strength. “Wrist-work is very important in badminton. Without wrists, you can’t hit hard, you can’t hit far, and if you can control your wrists, that is a very good thing,” Zhen said.

Having been a Stuyvesant football coach, Blake treated this badminton match much like a football game. Before the game, Blake continuously blew his whistle loudly, and made his team do high knees and butt kicks. Once the game began, he clapped loudly after points his team won. He even has a football approach to helping his team get better. “If we are actually able to hit the weight room and get a little stronger, we [will] be able to dominate,” Blake said.

With the exception of the Peglegs’ two games against FDR, the rest of the season should be a walk in the park. They do not play any other teams who have won more than 50 percent of their games. However, as a new team, the Peglegs are not focusing on the future just yet. “We’re taking it one game at a time, but hopefully we go undefeated and win a championship,” Blake said.

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Thursday, May 15

Saturday, May 17

Boys’ Handball vs. Transit Tech CTE @ Central Park West, 97th Street (Playoffs First Round)

Outdoor Track Borough Championships @ Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island

Girls’ Handball vs.

New Dorp @ Central Park West, 97th Street (Playoffs First Round)

Tuesday, May 20

Friday, May 16

Boys’ Badminton vs.

Franklin D. Roosevelt @ Stuyvesant (Last home game)

Girls’ Badminton vs.

Franklin D. Roosevelt @ Franklin D. Roosevelt (Last regular season game) Co-Ed Golf vs. Bronx Science @ Mosholu Golf Course (Last regular season game)

Thursday, May 22

Cricket vs. Bronx Science @ Kissena Park (Last regular season game)

Sunday, May 25

Outdoor Track City Championship @ Icahn Stadium, Randall’s Island

Girls’ Badminton

Peglegs Make Badminton History

By Jeffrey Zheng After losing two games in a 48-hour span, most teams would have felt defeated.

But, the Peglegs are not most teams. In the busy and compressed girls’ badminton season, the Peglegs were forced to play games three days in a row. Even though they were winless going into the match, with two losses earlier that week, the team remained optimistic about winning.

“I think playing two games before Thursday gave us more opportunities to get a feel for the sport and get more used to it, so I definitely think they helped us improve,” senior Anni Zhang said.

The Peglegs won 3-2 and picked up their first win of the season, and the first in the history of Stuyvesant’s girls’ badminton, against the Franklin D. Roosevelt Cougars on Thursday, May 1, led by two dominating singles wins

by Zhang and sophomore Susan Wu. Zhang, playing third singles, won her first set against the Cougars’ Yan Chen. However, Chen capitalized on weak clears from Zhang, and eventually took the second game 13-11. Zhang became more aggressive as the set continued, forcing Chen to move around more. Zhang prevented her opponent from scoring any more points, and eventually overpowered Chen 21-13.

In the next set, Zhang’s momentum propelled her to an early 4-0 lead. She dominated Chen, always looking to attack and leaving her opponent helpless as the shuttlecock sailed out of reach, but remained just inside the court lines. Zhang went on to take the set 21-7.

“That’s been the story with Anni this season. She got off a slow in her last match against Seward as well, but came back strong. She has really stepped up and is having a good season,” coach Hugh Francis said.

The first singles match between senior Izza Fatim Nawaz of the Cougars and sophomore Jialin Ke of the Peglegs featured an intense first set. Neither player led by more than two points, but eventually Nawaz was able to win 21-18 on a drop shot that Ke just

barely failed to get over the net.

In the second set, Nawaz jumped out to an early 6-0 lead, but Ke stormed back, scoring eight consecutive points by being patient and using numerous net shots and drop shots. In one play, Ke slid for the shuttlecock that was out of her reach, and appeared to injure her ankle. She played through it until the break, but was trailing 11-8 by that time.

Her ankle was taped up and deemed stable as she tried jumping on it. Still, because her mobility was limited during the second half of the match and Nawaz used dropshots that required a lot of movement from Ke, Ke lost the set 21-15.

“It’s too hard to say for sure if I could have won that match if it weren’t for my injury. I can say, though, that she was the easiest player out of the three that I played that week,” Ke said.

“It’s too hard to say for sure if I could have won that match if it weren’t for my injury. I can say though that she was the easiest player out of the three that I’ve played that week.” —Jialin Ke, sophomore Both doubles matches were extremely close. In the first doubles match, freshmen Yiqing Hu and Yuki Lin stayed within three points of Cougars’ sophomores Shu Yu Chen and Jingyi Weng

Nancy Cao / The Spectator

By Eric Morgenstern

Senior Anni Zhang of the Stuyvesant Aces, playing third singles, returns a hit in her game against FDR on May 1st.

during the first set. However, they were unable to close that gap, and Chen and Weng took the first set 21-16 and eventually the match.

The second doubles match was even closer. Sophomore Tina Zhang and junior Fawn Wong went back and forth with sophomore Youmei Cai and freshman Christina Zheng of the Cougars.

Both sides had an answer for every point that was scored and the largest lead for either team was a single point, until Zhang and Wong pulled through and won the set 21-19. The second set was no different, reaching a deuce with neither team leading by more than a point the entire way. The Peglegs finally won the set 25-23 and took the match 2-0 to secure the team.

While Thursday’s match was a close win that could have went either way, the Peglegs are in a better position than their record says. Their 1-3 to start the season could easily be 3-1, as all of their losses were extremely close and some of their players missed games.

“I think each of the matches this week could have gone the other way around. We just needed one of our doubles teams to win on Wednesday and on Tuesday. I felt that every game was very competitive. It is a nice first win for the season, and a nice win for the history of the team.

It reflects their improvement and their commitment,” Francis said.

May 15, 2014

Page 28

The Spectator SpoRts Boys’ Table Tennis

Yi Zhu / The Spectator

Revenge Served With a Sweep

Freshman William Yao from the Boys Table Tennis team prepares to serve during a game against Brooklyn Technical High School.

By Anthony Cheang

Though perhaps relatively unknown, Stuyvesant’s boys’ table tennis team, the Peglegs, are not only looking to make a name for themselves and for table tennis as a sport, but are also looking to bring home a banner for Stuyvesant during the first year of its conception. Their game on Thursday, May 8, against Brooklyn Tech was without a doubt the biggest game of the season. “We needed to win this game,” coach Bernard Feigenbaum said.

Due to a loss to Brooklyn Tech on Wednesday, April 30, Stuyvesant entered the game as the second place team in the division, after Brooklyn Tech. A defeat would mean a difficult playoff stretch, having to play Bronx Science away and then Brooklyn Tech.

However, with a win, Stuyvesant would only need to face the winner between Brooklyn Tech and Bronx Science.

The matchup between the schools immediately flared up, as the cafeteria was packed with supporters of both schools. Sophomore William Yao faced Brooklyn Tech sophomore Ludovic Freithofnig in an intense rematch

of the last time they played, in which Freithofnig won 3-2. This time, however, as the two players traded shots and words, Freithofnig seemed visibly shaken and irritated by the constant cheering of the Stuyvesant crowd, and Yao was victorious 3-1.

“I think we had a huge home court advantage. The fact that we were playing on our terms, with so many supporters—I just think it played a big part,” senior Alan Baranov said. Baranov played a huge part in not only his second doubles match, but also as the team’s emotional backbone, since the team’s best players are all underclassmen.

Across the cafeteria, another intense game was being played between the best players of both teams, Stuyvesant freshman Pei Yuan Wang and Brooklyn Tech sophomore Joshua Park. In their previous matchup, Park swept Wang, but in this matchup, Wang put up a strong fight. The fourth game went into a tiebreaker, and a furious rally to win two points in a row ensued, with Wang finally taking the game 16-14 and eventually taking the match 3-2.

“I felt like [Wang] practiced a lot more after he lost to Joshua. He

took the loss really hard,” Baranov said.

Wang’s practice paid off, as, after getting completely swept in the last match, he came back to win a crucial match this time, giving Stuyvesant a 2-0 match lead. Needing only one more win, the team could smell victory.

It came down to the third singles match, in which Peglegs sophomore David Song took a commanding early 2-0 game lead before eventually winning in a fourth set tiebreaker. The win clinched the top spot in the division for Stuyvesant, heading into the playoffs.

To put the cherry on top, the two doubles teams proceeded to win their matches as well, running Brooklyn Tech out of the building with a 5-0 sweep.

“I didn’t expect us to win in this way, I didn’t even really expect us to do that well considering what happened last time,” Song said.

There was indeed a radical difference between the two games against Brooklyn Tech, as the matchup went from a 3-2, hotly contested, Brooklyn Tech victory to a 5-0 Stuyvesant blowout. “I think it was all about the mental game,” Feigenbaum said.

Even though Stuyvesant managed to sweep what is arguably the second best team in the division, there are still issues that need to be addressed. “I think our [second doubles] needs to improve. They need more experience,” Wang said. However, with such a young core, in Song, Wang, and Yao, the team looks not only to dominate currently but also in the future as well.

“Many people look at table tennis as a sport for weak nerds, but we want to show them that it is not an easy sport,” Song said.

It is the team’s combined goal to show that table tennis is a sport through the only way they know: winning.

Boys’ Tennis

Aces Can’t Hide Their Demons

By Zhe Lee

Most teams try to end the regular season on a high note to gain momentum for the playoffs. This was a tough task for the Aces, who fell flat while facing the undefeated Beacon Blue Demons. Aside from the Blue Demons’ reputation as the undisputed best team in their division, the Aces were also missing junior Victor Miglo and freshman Brandon Huang, both of whom were key starters, contributing to the 4-1 loss. The excellent talent on the Blue Demons’ roster easily overpowered the Aces.

“The best way to describe it was that it was a David versus Goliath situation,” junior Leonard Margolis said.

Admittedly, the Aces were not confident heading into the match. Though energy was not lacking in their performances, they were outplayed by more experienced opponents. Miglo was missing in action, so second singles player Margolis had to play on first singles, where the competition level was significantly increased.

Margolis, one of the Aces’ most effective players, had a previously undefeated record but lost badly, 8-2, against an opponent with a strong and accurate swing. “His game is just signifi-

cantly better than mine in terms of power and placement,” Margolis said.

Junior Genji Noguchi did not have much luck with his second singles opponent, either. Beacon’s junior Oliver Sec had an undefeated individual record coming into this match, versus Noguchi’s modest record of 5-5.

Noguchi sent shot after aggressive shot against Sec, but Sec frequently returned the ball out of Noguchi’s range. Noguchi was not prepared for his opponent’s strong fundamentals, which included applying spin to the ball to catch Noguchi off guard, and was ultimately ousted 8-2. Sophomore Kevin Yan could not hold his own against his opponent either and ended up losing third singles 8-1. “I wasn’t light on my feet,” Yan said. “He hit hard shots away from me and I had a hard time getting to them.”

Seniors Alexander Irikura and Evan Tao, with a combined 2-12 record in doubles, were weak in their first doubles match against mere substitutes on the Beacon team, losing 8-2. “Our doubles pairs have to play better as a team,” Margolis said. “It seems like a petty thing, but chemistry is huge when playing doubles.”

The only silver lining during this meet was the solid win in second doubles by senior Pat-

rick Tsai and freshman Sebastian Cain, who also faced two substitutes. Tsai and Cain continuously pressured their opponents, who could not keep up with quick returns from Stuyvesant. Though the long-winded match had the intensity of an exhibition match, the Stuyvesant duo emerged supreme and won 8-5. “[Tsai and Cain] started off quickly, gained confidence, and they just continued to ride that confidence the entire match,” Margolis said.

The Aces’ hiccups and flaws, exposed by their superior opponents, proved that they were not championship material, despite qualifying for the playoffs with the sixth seed. In their first playoff game, the Aces easily defeated Tottenville 4-1, but were ousted in the quarterfinals after a 5-0 wipeout to Cardozo.

In the previous two years, the Aces have been able to advance to the semifinals, and were ranked in the top three spots of their division. As their season draws to a close, two other schools have matched the Aces’ 6-6 season record, and two more schools have surpassed them. The team is only losing two starters over the summer, and will return stronger next season, but will have some work to do before being able to dethrone Beacon.

Sports Wrap-Up • The Sticky Fingers, Stuyvesant’s boys’ ultimate frisbee team, beat Westfield High School 13-12 at the New Jersey Spring DEVYL Tournament to take home first place on Saturday, April 26. The team finished ninth in Northeastern High School Regionals in Portland, Maine on Sunday, May 11.

• Stuyvesant’s boys’ volleyball team ended their season placing fourth in the Manhattan A West League with a 4-6 record.

• Stuyvesant’s boys’ badminton team crushed the Brooklyn Technical Engineers 5-0 on Wednesday, May 7, giving them a 5-2 record.

• The Stuyvesant’s Men’s Distance Relay team ran the ninth fastest time in New York State at the East Coast Challenge DMR at the Glenn D. Loucks Games on Thursday, May 8. The relay was composed of junior Eric Chen and seniors Jeremy Karson, Henrick Lempa-Cho, and Andrew Puopolo.

• The Huskies, Stuyvesant’s girls’ lacrosse team, played their last game against the Cardozo Judges and lost 3-19, ending their season with a 0-12 record, finishing last in the Championship North League.

• The Peglegs, Stuyvesant’s boys’ lacrosse team, won their last regular season game against the Albert Tuitt Panthers 17-5 on Monday, May 5. The Peglegs are the second seed in the Bowl Division and will face third seed Bronx Science in their first playoff game on Wednesday, May 14 at Randall’s Island.

• The Hitmen, Stuyvesant’s boys’ baseball team won 5-1 on Saturday, May 10, against the Lab Museum United Gators, putting them second in the Manhattan A division. This win allows them to be contenders in the playoffs at 8-6.

• The Eagles, Stuyvesant’s golf team, dominated Mott Haven Educational Campus 5-0 on Thursday, May 8, remaining undefeated.

• The Greyducks, Stuyvesant’s outdoor track team, hopes to win the Manhattan Borough Championships again on Saturday, May 17 at Randall’s Island.

• The Dragons, Stuyvesant’s boys’ handball team, were undefeated with a 13-0 record in the regular season and will play their first playoff game against Transit Tech CTE on Thursday, May 15, at Central Park West, 97th street.

• The Peglegs, Stuyvesant’s girls’ handball team, were undefeated with a 10-0 record in the regular season and will play their first playoff game against the New Dorp Central Cougars on Thursday, May 15, at Central Park West, 97th street.

Boys’ Lacrosse

Business as Usual

By Tahmid Khandaker

Last time the Peglegs squared off against the Christopher Columbus Sharks, the Peglegs won in a 13-0 blowout. This time was no different, as they once again crushed the fifth-seeded Sharks 16-3 on Thursday, May 1, climbing up to third in their division.

With solid defense led by senior Clay Walsh and a potent offense led by senior and captain Noah Kramer, the Peglegs took care of business. “We use easy games like this for practice for the more important games,” Kramer said.

It was apparent that the Peglegs focused on jumping out to an early lead in the opening quarter, as they attempted more shots in the first quarter than the opposing team did during the whole game. Kramer, as usual, accounted for much of the offense with a productive 10 goals on 13 shots, totaling 179 shots for the season, his personal record.

But unlike most games, other offensive threats stepped up in the Peglegs. Senior Matthew Dalton, senior Aron Lam, and sophomore Laolu Ogunnaike each attempted more than five shots, bringing the team’s total shots attempted to 40. The Peglegs played with hustle and energy. Ogunnaike flew in to secure a groundball at midfield, beating two Sharks in a race to the ball and preventing a Shark possession.

The Peglegs exhibited solid teamwork throughout the game.

The offense moved the ball swiftly with a succession of passes, usually ending up with Kramer, around 15 feet away from the goal, who often faked a pass, leapt forward, and shot a bullet for a goal. “Our ball movement this game was better than I’ve ever seen it. Everyone was catching and throwing well enough to shift the defense and create easy

opportunities for shots,” Kramer said.

The Peglegs’ defense was also up to par, as the Sharks were allowed only eight shots on goal.

Led by Walsh and Dalton, who secured six and eight ground balls, respectively, the Peglegs often intercepted the ball, speeding from out of nowhere to start a fastbreak. Senior goalie Robert Melamed had seven crucial saves, keeping the defensive pressure off of the other Peglegs.

Though this game emphasized all the positives of the team, it also unveiled potential issues going into the playoffs. Kramer has always been their go-to offense, even when facing double and triple teams, while the rest of the team was often indecisive and vulnerable. “[We have to] work more like a team rather than just giving the ball to Noah,” an anonymous Peglegs player said. “Everyone wants to score by themselves really badly so working communication is key there.

Communication is all we need to work on.”

Once the playoffs start, attackers besides Kramer and Dalton must be able to display their ability as legitimate contenders.

“The other attack players have no problems scoring skill-wise. I just want to see them going aggressive and showing they have a desire to score rather than passing it off to Noah or Matt,” Melamed said.

The team’s defense must also step up if they wish to excel in the playoffs. “Mark [Norwich], Nick [Romanoff], and Winston [Venderbush] are going to have to hold it down on defense,” Kramer said. Despite the few issues that need to be addressed before the postseason, the team’s remaining regular season games against the worst teams in their division, A. Phillip Randolph and Albert Tuitt, should be business as usual.