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aoSriiSlC Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367
Kosovo crisis hits home for some by Rachel Nobel With the outcome of the NATO air strikes on Yugoslavia uncertain and its battles being fought an ocean . away, many students at Townsend Harris find themselves little affected by the crisis in Yugoslavia. In a survey taken midApril by The Classic of approximately 200 students, most - 66% - find themselves only "a little" affected by the situation in Kosovo, with 20% affected "very much," and 5% "not at all affected." "My life is going on just as it was before Kosovo," wrote a male sophomore. Citing alleged Serbian atrocities against ethnic Albanians in the Yugoslavian province of Kosovo, the leaders of the nineteen countries that comprise the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), made the decision to begin a series of air strikes in Yugoslavia on March 24. In the weeks since the bombing began, thousands of Albanians have ·c ontinued to flee Kosovo, while Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic has shown no signs of yielding to NATO's demands. For many students at Townsend Harris, news of the bombing was met overwhelmingly by confusion. While 57% said they had been following the news of the Kosovo crisis, 10% admitted they were "not informed at all" about the situation, and only 7% considered themselves "very informed." Most students-49%-felt they were "slightly" informed, while 39% considered themselves "fairly" informed. "What is Kosovo? What is going on there? Why is the U.S. involved?" asked a male sophomore. A male senior, one of the 57% of students who said that the topic of Kosovo had never been brought up in his classrooms, said, "There has been no discussion of this topic at school for many of us. I feel that further classroom discussion would be helpful for many of us." Largely because of this lack of information, many students said they did not feel informed enough to comment on the issues surrounding Kosovo. Thirty-eight percent were "not sure" whether the United States had a responsibility to intervene in Kosovo; similar percentages (37% and 35%, respectively) were unsure whether NATO should continue to bomb, and send
Drugs pp. 6-7
ground troops to, Yugoslavia. Students who did respond, however, had strong opinions. Nineteen percent, many of whom argued . that a conflict overseas was "none of the U.S.'s business," believed that the U.S. has no responsibility to intervene in Kosovo. "The Monroe Doctrine states that Europe can't interfere in the western hemisphere," wrote a female sophomore, "so why should the U.S.A. be allowed to interfere in the eastern hemisphere?" "[The U.S.] is not the world's police force," wrote another female sophomore. "What right do they have to stick their nose in other people's business?" A female freshman wrote, "They are not gaining anything, and they are only causing more death and devastation. They aren't helping at all." But, according to President Bill Clinton, it will take time before the positive effects of NATO's involvement become apparent; soon after the bombing began, President Clinton announced that the offensive on Yugoslavia would take a "sustained effort." Operation Allied Force, as the attack on Kosovo is called, has three goals, according to NATO: to "seriously damage" Yugoslavia's military capabilities; to protect the Albanians of Kosovo; and, to demonstrate the seriousness of NATO's purpose to Yugoslavia. Thirty-two percent ofHarrisites supported NATO's decision, with 28% (compared with 48% of all Americans, according to the April 5 issue of Newsweek), favoring the additional use of ground troops. "Something must be done to stop the genocide, and if the bombings work, I'm in favor of them," wrote a male senior. A female freshman wrote, "Too many innocent victims died and are still dying. NATO has the responsibility to protect those people." NATO itself justifies its decision by pointing out that, besides its goal of protecting Kosovo's Albanian citizens, it has a responsibility to defend Greece and Turkey, two NATO allies whose "rivalries ... [could be] exacerbated" if the fighting in Kosovo continues. While NATO says it would prefer not to use violence regarding Kosovo, it claims that Milosevic has violated "solemn Continued on p. 7
Cheating pp. 8-9
Cherry blossoms will grace the auditorium stage tonight when Elizabeth Yoon, Elizabeth Mo and Miriam Prince perform the Sakura-Cherry Blossom Dance at the International Festival of Nations. Like many of the performers, they rehearsed in the lobby. The show starts at 7 PM, with tickets costing five dollars. For details, see page 7.
Top ranking earned ih EngHsl1 by Alan Fu Earning Townsend Harris a firstplace ranking, the junior class' performance on this year's English Regents examination proved superior to that of any other public high school in New York State. Based on the release of annual report cards for the state's public schools last month, Harris achieved the city's highest grade in English Mastery: 77.7, referring to the percentage of students who scored at least 85 on the Regents. The school also achieved a grade of 99 in meeting the English Minimum, referring to the percentage of students who scored at least 55 on the Regents. One absentee on the day of the exam caused the one-point difference of a perfect grade, according to Assistant Principal of Humanities Lynne Greenfield. Ms. Greenfield credits the ll 1h grade's success to "the combined efforts of an entire community." Moreover, she attributes the success to "our superb English department," specifically its "coordinated curriculum and consistent policy of monitoring and teaching English skills and appreciation." Although Ms. Greenfield and Principal Malcolm
Largmann each joke that credit for the success was mainly due to themselves, the students, who actually achieved the success, were not forgotten: "We are most fortunate to have the best raw material to work with," commented Ms. Greenfield. In recognizing the importance of issuing report cards to public schools throughout the state, Dr. Largmann stated, "It provides a standard - a common denominator- for education." The school's achievement, Ms. Greenfield adds, "means that our students more than meet the standards in English." Last month, the New York City Board of Education issued its own report cards for the city's public schools as well. Dr. Latgmann was especially pleased by this year's inclusion of an income rank for each school in the city reports cards. According to the principal, Harrisites are generally stereotyped as being "solid middle class," which the report card proved incorrect by revealing that 19 percent of Harris students receive free lunch because of their low family incomes. "We're really an urban school, and we reflect the social conditions of the city," he said. I·
Pippin page 11
Sports page 16