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Vol.13.
• NSebSI C
Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
'Architectural flaw':
149-11 Melbourne Avenue. Flushing, NY 11367
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Freeze, the'n thaw, floods 3 floors by Yana Pecherskaya Where was Noah's Ark ¡ when this school needed it most? Probably still in the eastern part of Turkey, resting peacefully amid the jagged peaks of Arat, the mountain which was designated by the Old Testament as the Ark's docking place during the Flood. Numerous expeditions to the mountain were unable to uncover the ancient Ark, but it would have definitely come in handy on Sunday, January 19, when water cascaded from the Townsend Harris library ceiling, wiping out all that lay in its path, flooding massive parts of the third, second, and first floors. The "leak" was initially discovered around 4 P.M. that day by Thomas Sweetin, English and Latin teacher and advisor of the yearbook. Mr. Sweetin had come in to work on the yearbook when he noticed the flood. He alerted the custodial staff immediately. "We are very fortunate that Mr. Sweetin was in the building," said assistant librarian Carol Homiak. "If no one had noticed the leakage [until Monday], the damages would have been much more extensive." By the time of the flood's discovery, the water level in the library was already ankle deep. That weekend, the wind-chill brought the already freezing temperatures down to zero degrees Fahrenheit and the water within the uninsulated pipes of the sprinkler system froze and expanded, loosening the fittings that held the sprinkler's head. As soon as the outside temperature rose above 32 degrees, the water melted and forced its way through the unfastened sprinkler
head. est part of tl)e building. If the pipe had ' Starting with the time of discovery of The water flooded not only the li- been insulated, the entire accident could the flood at 4 P.M., Mr. DiGiacomo and brary, but also most of the carpeted ad- have been avoided, said Mr. DiGiacomo. five others toiled through Sunday night, ministrative offices on the third floor, So who's to blame for theca- until! A.M., and resumed their work at much of the sectastro- 7 A.M. on Monday, while the school was ond floor, and phe? That closed for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. even the gymnais the The clean-up continued throughout the sium. On the ex$65,00),00) rest of the week and Mr. DiGiacomo tensive list of damquestion. vows to "make the best repairs possible ages are 585 books Malcolm on the school budget." ("the fiction secRossman, The water had to be drained and tion, R-Z, was Assistant mopped up; the debris left by the flood completely wiped Principal had to be gathered and taken away; exout,'' reported liof Orga- cess water had to be extracted out of the brarian Valerie nization, carpets, which then had to be vacuumed Billy), the gym e x and powdered to eliminate odors. All floor which is beplained, this work rested on the shoulders of the yond patching up "We can- custodial staff. "It was because of their and must be ennot deter- efforts that Tuesday's schedule was not tirely replaced, mine who disrupted," said Ms. Orner. sports equipment, is responAccording to Mr. DiGiacomo, there wooden furniture, sible. Our is at least one other place in the school computers and function which could very well become the cause computer appliis to of the next flood . It is the main water 0 ii evaluate supply pipe, located in a very chilly ances, carpets and ceilings. Sheila the situa- place, just outside of the chorus room, Orner Assistant tion and behind the auditorium at the I 94th street Scaling the mini-mountain, senior Frank Angelini Principal of Pupil send re- wall. This is yet another pipe which does observes the swelling of the ever growing "bump" Personnel Serports to not have adequate insulation. The therin the gym floor. vices said, "We are s u c h mal tracer, an electrical device, which very fortunate that the educational floors agencies as the School Construction Au- wrapped around a pipe generates low were not affected and the classes were thority (SCA) and the Office of Facili- volt electricity and heat, is barely able to function as scheduled." ties for the Board of Education. They enough to keep the massive pipe at - Joseph DiGiacomo, Custodian Engi- will determine who is liable for the dam- above freezing temperatures. "I fought for one and a half years to get this pipe neer, referred to the disaster as "an ar- ages." Everyone agrees that the members of insulated," Mr. DiGiacomo said. "If this chiteCtural flaw, not properly addressed." The pipe which burst was built the school's custodial staff were excep- one explodes the entire building will into the library's ceiling, located next to tional in getting the building into work- float away." But have no fear. "Under the wall which faces !49th street. This ing order. Under Mr. DiGiacomo's lead- my supervision," Mr. DiGiacomo promwall has a northern exposure which ership, they worked around the clock ised, "a situation like this flood will means that it is positioned in the cold- and "at record speed," said Ms. Billy. never reoccur."
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DeRose, Warmack make Westinghouse semi-finals by Bosede Adenekan Seniors Mirella DeRose and Maria Warmack advanced to the semi-finalist round in the 56th Annual Westinghouse Science Talent Search, a nationwide competition for high school students that recognizes excellence in a particular science or math field. On January 14, these students received notification of their advancement in the competition. Since 1942, high school students have submitted 20 page research reports
in hopes of winning a prestigious college scholarship. "Judges are looking for evidence that the student is a good scientist," said Susan Appel, Assistant Principal of Science. From the 16,000 entrants, only 300 become semi-finalists and 40 of these 300 move on to become finalists, winning $1,000 and a trip to Washington D.C. The first place winner is awarded with a $40,000 scholarship. Neither of the Townsend Harris semi-finalists was chosen as a finalist.
NY School Report Cards Page4
Both Maria and Mirella started their projects in their junior year. Under the guidance of her mentor, Dr. Jared Rifkin, Maria conducted several experiments in a lab at Queens College. She observed different degrees of chemotaxic response in amoeboid cells. Chemotaxis is the movement of organisms toward various chemicals found in their food . "It was a great opportunity to learn. I learned all these different procedures and my knowledge in biology grew,"
$5 tickets for top performances Page5
said Maria. Working in a lab at Queens College, Mirella performed a technique called ellipsometry to determine the factors that affect the thickness of plastic film. Light beams were shot at the film and rays were reflected off it, revealing the thickness of the film . Mirella found out that the temperature at which the film was stored attributed to its thickness. "You don't always get the results you're Continued on page 11
The REAL Biener Page 9
Four Pages of Sports! Pages 13- 16