The Classic newspaper Volume 14 Issue no. 3

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vasebSic Townsend Harris High School at Queens College

149-11 Melbourne Avenue. Flushing, NY 11367

Westinghouse honors three seniors by Natalka Palczynski

meteorite was the cause of an impact Craters, 57,000 year old teeth, and crater located in Chesapeake Bay near laser speckle patterns proved to be suc- Maryland. As a meteorite hits the earth, cessful topics for Tara explained, hot molWestinghouse ten from the meteorite projects as sewould explode into the niors Megan § earth. This molten, once Dwyer, Tara ~ · exposed to air, would tum Paterson, and J: into tektites, or Jamie Tong, all . ~ glass. Thus, if inreceived semifi;, deed a meteorite .0 nalist rank in the s was the cause of · O 57th Annual -§. the crater, tektites Westinghouse should be found in 'science Talent the sediment of the Jamie Tong Search. This naarea surrounding tionwide competition awards scholar- the crater. Tara did not find tekships for excellence in a particular sci- tites in the area, but did find other ence field to high school students. evidence: quartz with stress Susan Appel, former Assistant Prin- lines, and high pressure, that cipal of Science, has yearly aided stu- would indicate a meteorite had dents to finalist and semifallen alfinalist standing. This year, most 38 Ms. Appel's last as advisor million· years of student entrants, she ago. helped Megan, Tara, and Tara, who Jamie become three of the ;.,:i!/,;;;,...;.t;",l\ .g plans to major in 300 semifinalists (chosen biology in colfrom 16,000 entrants) in lege, worked for this competition. a year and a half Under the guidance of on her project. Dr. Cecilia McHugh of She also spent Queens College, Tara exmuch of her plored evidence that would summer reMegan Dwyer · B a1indicate whether or not a . searc h mg.

ancing all her activities- the soccer team (of which she is tri-captain this year), dance classes, and work - was "definitely difficult," Tara said. "Although I spread myself really thin for awhile, it paid off!' Tara vividly recalls the moment she was informed of the good news. "Megan called me up and told me thilt she ~ was a "2., semifi.. r.t nalist," ~ she said. "' "Wewere ';, .0 so scream. -§. mgon the phone together and I told Tara Paterson her how happy I was for her. And then she says to me, 'Check your mailbox- you're a semifinalist too!'" Megan's Westinghouse, entitled "ESR (electron spin resonance) Dating ofTooth Enamel from theArchaeological Site Tsagaan Agui'. Mongolia," required Megan to clean and date a horse tooth and deer tooth found amidst various animal remains in a cave in Mongolia. Megan began her project at · Contmued on page 4

Chemical fumes seep into auditorium by Hope Villella Lack of chemical diluting agents and a burnt-out exhaust fan have brought activity in the second floor chemical treatment room to a virtual standstill. The room, located in the rear of the auditorium, houses the tanks used to neutralize chemicals discarded in the science department before they are released into the sewer system. In November, as a result of the bro-. ken exhaust fan which had come loose from its hinges and mounting, as well as the broken heat fan in the auditorium, the odor of the chemicals had begun to escape into the adjacent auditorium. This problem was eliminated by midDecember, said Custodian Engineer Joseph DiGiacomo, after he alerted the science department of the problem. He explained that they were able to help by

cutting down on their use of harsh chemicals as well as neutralizing the acids with baking soda and diluting them in the sixth floor science laboratory. "It was horrible that we couldn't even start class until we had opened all the doors of the auditorium," said junior Andrea Martin of her Intermediate Band class. "They really shouldn't have these problems in such a new building." While the smell has been eliminated, the problem of operation in the chemical treatment room is still unresolved. Mr. DiGiacomo said that the blame lies with outside companies. "The general contractors and the sub-contractors have reneged on warantees and guarantees and the [School Construction Authority (SCA)] was powerless to enforce these," he said. The assistance from the SCA

Who was Valentine? pages·

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has been limited to certain emergency services and "there is nobody to. call," he added. Normally, problems such as this would be dealt with by an SCA-designated Project Officer, but Mr. DiGiacomo explained that the death of Townsend Harris' Project Officer Louis Gigi in early October has impeded this process. The SCA has now appointed a new Project Officer, Henry Caeso, but it will take him time to get to know the situation at Townsend Harris. Mr. DiGiacomo said that it will take Mr. Caeso a couple weeks to piece together the information that the current staff can give him about the building, and the files left by Mr. Gigi, so that he can get acquainted with the overall situation before he addresses individual problems.

Saying farewell to Seinfeld page 10

IHenryo.sherett remembered:

Harris community saddened by death of founder byAlanFu Townsend Harris High School alumnus He·n.r y David Shereff passed away Gn January 6, 1998, at the age of 78. Having been graduated with the class of 1936, Mr. Shereffbecame the driving force byhind the re-establishment of Harris. Wilen Mr. Shereff and other alumni decided to re-establish Harris in 1981, they had three main goals, acc01:ding to retired English teacher Thomas Sweetin: 1) to refound the school; 2) to get a new buildmg for Harris; and 3) to leave a $1 million endowment to Harris. Working with fellow alumni who shared his dreams, Mr. Shereff did fttlfitfms fiiSttWo'goals;' Prfricfplil MaJC()lm Largmann stafe(,f.it was Mr. Shereff's '"gentleness, focus, dedication, and soft~spoken power to persuade others'' that ensured the re-establishment of Harris. Assistant Principal Malcolm Rossman added, "He was very, very bright, but he was quietly dynamic." Similarly, Mr. Sweetin commented that "you knew he was in another league." Up until his death, Mr. Shereff continually worked toward his third goal. raising trre $1 million endowment. and, thanks in large part to his efforts, the fund is well on the way to completion. Alumnus Irving Gerber remembered how "Mr. Shereffwould invite possible donors to dinner and 'hit 'emup'formoney." Throughout the complex process of getting the new building for Harris, Mr. Shereff played a vital role. Undaunted by formidable political obstacles, he tirelessly lobbied aiL concerned parties. Dr. Largmann particularly recalled "the way [Mr. Shereff] made us believe we wer'e going to be wonderful and triumphant in the end ... [even though] many thought it a pipe-dream.'' His optimism, though, appeared to be Continued on page 11

Sports:

Angela:S Ashes reviewed page 13

Spring tryouts page 15

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