Classic newspaper Volume 23 Issue no. 5 by The Classic

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Vol. 23, No. 5 June 2007

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Townsend Harris High School at Queens College

149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367

Passing the torch: Cunningham .steps down after5 years by Jocelyn Wright After 37 years as an educator, Principal Thomas Cunningham is stepping down, and, according to alumni and faculty sources, the top candidates to be his successor are Acting Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee and Assistant Principal of Science Susan Brustein. Ms. Fee and Ms. Brustein both declined to confirm that they are still in the running. The selecti'on process is ·now at the Chancellor's office, according to two reliable sources; howeveT, the Chancellor's office did not respond to inquiries as to the stage the selection process is at, nor did they provide a date by which a new principal will be announced. Ms . Fee and Ms. Brustein, according to the same sources,

were recommended to the Dis- wh ioh ope"od up o 15-d•y wi"trict Superintendent by the dow quring which ca.ndidates Townsend Harris selection ("C- · could apply to replace him. / 30") committee, which con- Faculty, students, alumni, and sisted of parents, alumni, teach- parents were not informed of ers, Student Union Presidt:nt this decision until about a week Michael Bye, and Cornelia later because "protocol requires Gutwein, principal' Of Flushing that you let people know in a High School, who served as a certain order," said Mr. representative of the Council of Cunningham. He first spoke wirh his cabinet, which consists School Supervisors (CSS). Mr. Cunningham decided to of Assistant Principal of Huretire because "I realized thaJ I manities Susan Getting, Ms. accumulated a list of things I Brustein, Ms. Fee, Assistant would like to do and have not Principal of Languages other had time to do. High on the list than English Lisa Mars, and are the desires to renew friend- Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Janet ships and visit family." The search for a new princi- Solomon, as well as Coordinapal began with Mr. tor of Student Activities Adam Cunningham's announcement Stonehill and Dean Wanda Nix; then with the faculty; then with to Locallnstruc.tional Superintendent Gerard Beirne in early alumni and parents. "The times May that he would be retiring, chosen were when there were

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mooti "g' '" I hid (!!, ·· - ri!i'.;S',i,·. ' the opportunity to personally address I · people rather than in a letter," explained .Mr. date, the selection of new prinCunningham. This .time gap . cipals will be handled at the and the proximity of the an- Chancellor's office. In late May, Mr. Beirne, who nouncement to the end of the is the hiring manager for a new school year made it difficult for principal for Harris, reviewed the school to conduct the naall the applications. His office tionwide search it had after narrowed down the pool of apformer principal Malcolm plicants to four candidates, at Largmann announced his inleast halfofwhom did not have tended retirement. That time, alumni placed ads in the New a Humanitiies background. York Times and drew applicants Harris's C-30 committee selected two candidates from this from across the country. · pool and sent the names to Mr. This year, the process was Beirne ~ After interviewing more rushed, partially because these two candidates, he made of the current restructuring of his selection, which was_sent to the school system, which calls

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superintendents such' as Mr.

the Chance\\or's office for approval. The Classic was unable

Beirne after July I . After that

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for the elimination of regional

-Xie, Pasca:l earn top honors imp.roving ·quality of llife

Seniors June Xie and Lavinia Pascal, winners of first and second.place in this year.'s Quality celebrate their success with teacher Franco Scardino and Principal Thomas Cunningham

Locks of Love page 5 ·

West Side Story pages 8~9

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"It was a nice little reward by Stephanie Pak Seniors June Xie and for the two years' worth of reLavinia Pascal captured first search, certainly I" said June . "I was delighted when I reand second place, respectively, ceived the news that I was one in the 2007 Quality of Life of the finalists because it made Competition. They were honme realize that all of my sacriored at the Quality of Life fices were worth it in the end ," Youth Forum on June 6, along · said Lavinia . with fellow top 10 finalists . " I was very ex cit ed ~ each of Valeria Chi and Alexandra the finalists did an outsta nding Stark, and semi-finalists Steven job. Having the most fina lists Chang and Susan Wasserman . June received a· $17,500 of any school in t]le city made scholarship from the Peter Jay me very prou d of the students i.n the social science research Sharp Foundation and has ajJprogram ," s aid their te ac he r ' plied for a $7 95 gra nt from Franco Scardino. Youth Venture to implement To enter the competition , all her reform ideas for improving students selected a. social issue access to the city 's food stamp to research independently for 6' program . Lavinia received a two years with a mentor who is ~ $6,000 scholarship from the an expert in that field . Students ~ Sociology Department of New do preliminary background re£York University. The entire se-c search, conduct their "own re- . ~ nior social science research search, analyze data, test their -&class was honored at a principal's 1uncheon on June hypotheses, and suggest a solution for the specific 12. continued mi'page 12

Netspeak page 10

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The Classic June 2007

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Principal

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p-riori~ties

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SaYingQOod4>ye· .

This year was a weird year for The Classic. Anybody who knew me last year would kriow that I had high hopes for this year. I wanted. As a new principal is being selected, it is important to consider this to be the year that ·The Classic would' become a truly monthly what the priorities of a principal of Townsend Harris ought t? be.. paper. It happened in September. And. never again. After PrinCipal Thomas Cunningham announced his retirement, the It didn't happen for a variety of reasons. Primarily; The Classic Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) and the Alumni Association (AA) suffered fro~ a severe lack of staffing, particularly on its editorial sent a letter to the Region 3 superintendents conducting the search for board. (Note to anybody interested in sports· and·business: We really, a new principal which perfectly states the things a prihcipal of really need you!!!) But it als'o didn't happen because it was difficult Townsend Harris ought to prioritize. for me to remember just how tim'e-consuming making fl ,newspaper They stressed the importance that, regardless of wheth.e r the prin- can be. The people working on any publication know it's hatd to stick cipal had a Humanities background, she rriust make the Humanities to deadlines. So we: would ·set unre(ilfsti<;: deadJ;i.nes 1 . :ioi:;~ :~np~,, : ,Set,:·., Primus Inter Pares. Harris was originally conceived as a Humanities · more, realize that touldo't go to press withoutH1is,;s~or)' school and, while it is important to provide, in the won.l~ of Princip~l . story,' and, .eventualJy:,: ¢v~rything 'wduld snowball into a hitget: ana~;::;: Thomas Cunningham, "an excellent education in all ~ubJect areas,'' It larger issue·.. lt's· a prohiem .that ·seems to plague ~very i:sS4€. qf;Xh.e::; ::: · is equally important that we do not lose our Humanities mission. There · Classic. An~.~ ha~ing:g·ori~·ta~ough ·it this year, I'rir not' gl;li}e surb·tio~ .: ' ' are plenty of Specialized Science High Schools. Harris is .~he answ~r_ to rectify the situation. Perh,aps setting ·more :realistic de~lines'. · Iris , • . to that; it is a Specialized Humanities High School. .Ait~oug~ I:W stu-: irhposs'i bk' to 'edit and pla~·e and proof enough articles t? fill a:~: ~~ '>~ : dent should be discouraged from pursuin_g a passiOn In SCience or . page issue,in week.ltjust;can't be done. Equ(\lly impor~~nt, tho~g~; ::::. math; incoming freshmen and sophomores should be coming not o'nly is that .eve(yo.rie' sticks to the deadlines they ha~e set beca,tise if ~-~Me-;~;:·, because Harris is an excellent school, but because they, too, have a . o~e doe.s~·'t give us the article on Harrisfest, or the Winter Co~de:rt;'; passion for the Humanities. The Classic hopes that in the c~ming years, , ·we .can't meet our deadlin~s and go to press on time. · :; Harris continues to provide an array of Humaniti_es electives,. keeps This year; I realized that a newspaper is not the product o(o~e;,_~, > the study of the classics as a requirement, maintains traditions that . person: or even, of th.e e!l!i~e editorhtJ staff. It's . imp~s~Jbie, fo~; ~ rew:,;':; make us unique such as the election simulation, and continues to stress .people write and edit anq take pictures and co~~ up wi.t~ head!!nes: ': .; the importance of community service. for every·single.article and then to place them o_ri ·a page! Every{')he ,; '!' The principal ought to also prioritize building on our already clo~e has to wor:k together as a t~m. And yes, this soupds like tre maklQ·gs : •; : relatiqnship with Queens College. This unique relationship is another ·of a nicely corny college <\d'missions essay, but it''s the tn.(~b~ ;The Clas- ·;.;: : thing that sets Harris apart from other schools. Harrisites have access sic cannot happen without a devoted, committ~d,: hard:w?ik.ing' staff ;,.. '· to a phenomenal research librar~ starting their ~resh~an Y,ear.A~di- , ,of people. We : h~d ~ome _fantastic people this ye~~•. qut w'e ' ne~d mpr~.,;,;;;: tionally, they have the opportumty to take realcollege courses stde- Because The Classic is only as great as all the people working on lt by-side with college students, as well ,as to take_the Humanities CoJ.,. together ~·ant t~ make it. · loquium, which allows them to familiarize themselves with the ex- ·

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pectations of college with the help of bo~h a Harris teacher and a Queens . .----------'-------------~'" ' College professor. These courses are the best preparation for college · possible, since they familiarize Harrisites with the expectations of college before they le<!ve high school. The most important thing the new principal ought to take into ac0:' . . ' count, though, is that she is dealing with extremely intelligent people. A principal of Townsend Harris "should measure success not only by traditional metrics of standardized test scores and college admissions •• results, but by the richness of the daily academic experience, the vigAugust 29th""".Freshman Orientatiqn. · orousness of scholarly discourse and the personal and intellectual September· Yd - Labor Day. growth and maturation" of each student, according to the PTA and September 4:th - First day of school for all students. AA's Jetter. She should never stand for any curriculum that does not Septerrtb_er 13th & 14th - Rosh Hash'anatt. · challenge Harrisites and push them to their outermost limits intellecOctober 8th'"" Columbus Day, . tually. Producing people who have been made to think because they November 6th- Elecdon .Day. have been exposed to ideas beyond the level of a ''typical high school November 12th- Vete.rans.Day. student" is what sets us apart and it, ultimately, this is what will conNovember 22od & 23rd- Thanksgiving Recess. tinue to make Townsend Harris the best high school in New York December 24th through January 1st -Winter Rec·ess. City. January 2tst- Dr. Martin Luther"KJ.ngs, Jr. Day. · January 29th - Fallte~ ends f~r high ~chool students.

FALL .TERM ·. 2 0 Q,7 '

SCHEDULE

News Staff: Daniela Castillo, Jacquelyn Lekhraj, Alexander Lord, Adrianna Mateo, Raman<jeep Singh, Benjamin Snyder '

Jocelyn Wright

Editor-in:Chief Madeleine Wright

Marisa Lupo

Rookminie Behari

News Editor

Feature Editor

Entertainment Edito..-

Faith Aronowitz Ariel Brodsky Stephanie Pak Benjamin Snyder

Darren Deoraj Bonnie•Ng

Robert McCullagh Sports Editor

Sumit Patel Photography Editor

Editors-in-Training

Principal - Mr. Thomas Cunningham

Co~Art

Editors

lisa Cowen Advisor

Feature Staff: Faith Aronowitz; Heriselda Begaj, Ariel Brodsky, Cindy Chen, Jasmine Daniel, Deborah Duke, Gabriella Duke, Jessica Graf, Cristine Khan, Linda Kung, Sydney Lowe , Kate Lu, Sarah Mahm~od, Stephanie Pak. Mary-Grace Papatheodorou, Darcy Rendon, Judy Sirykissoon, Devon Wright Spo'rts Staff: Jennifer Kalar, Maureen McCluskey, Daniel Schwartz Artists: Mitchell Bader, Rowena Eng, Alice Hung, Liz Kussman, Melissa Lin, Katie Sullivan, Amy Wang

Town~end .Harris Hig~

School at Queens College 149-Jt'Melbourne Avenue; Flushing, N.Y. 11367 l_ '

Th.e Classic' is 'an open' forum for the expression of -studel't vie,ws. The opinions expressed therein should not be taken to represent those of the administration 'or faculty or student body as a whole. -

Readers are invited ,to submit letters to the editor. Letters should be placed i? Ms . Cowen 's mailbox in Photography Staff: Warren Cheng, Deborah Duke, Ashley Guzman, Kenneth Ho, F<ttema ' 'Room 315 or e-m·ailed· to thhscf<tssic@yahoo.com. The )annat, Hannah Kang, Christina L)m, Sunny Liu , Heather.Lonks. Alexander Lord, Isabella C/assi,c reserves the right to edit all letters . Letters must Ocampo. Sharmin Rashed, Angglelia Sutjipto include name and official .class . Narnes will be withheld upon requ'est. .

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The Classic

June 2007

Science ~.q~J:ql~r$ , S.w~ep . ISEF, earn scholarships ,-

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by Ksenija Matijevic ea;ned third place in Phy.si~s in · man; of·t~e 17 j~dges told us Seniors Markr.ete Krik?rian the , presrigious competrtion · to even patent our invention . andB~~hraWaze~I . .:;mdjuniors held in_,Alb!lquerqu,e ,,. Ne'Y There were over 1500 kids Ben Aronowitcz, Warren Mexico from May 13~L9 . · from 51 countries, and I feel Cheng, aricr'Erin 'zeqja: w~n ' . T'he trip to ISEF , can· 'be that'all ;f us became a family medalsfortheirspecificevel'lis . sumnied up in ' one word: ·. tJy the' end ofthe 'trip.'' in the Inter11ational Sci~nce and "•AMAZING !" ' sa·id Warren. ·· : Markrete agreed, saying',· Engineering Fair. Ma.rkrtete . •:\\Ithpvgh th.e competjtion was "Although the prize was great, won fourth 'plaq::,in .Chemistry; pretty : ~tresst\11 . in the begin· . the experi.e nce and knowledge Bushra received third place in . ning, iny . group · was able to gained then: were the most im~ Anim~{rB'~ha~ior; a'nd the team . ,. prese~t our' project with ease port ant ~spects of the entire of Ben ,' Warren ;: and Erin a'Iso ·' later' du'rini?' the day; and ·. · competition." '·' t•. · '; · ;, - '•' · . Warreh's ' partner, Erin, added, \'The best part of the trip "Yas not the awards we received but all the friends that we made that will now last for years af- · ter ISEF 2007 has finished .." · ·A pin exchanging ceremony allowed s.tudents to trade their pins from ·their own country or ~ta~e (or those of other interna- . tiona! stude_nts. "It really·broke the ice between kids because it allowed us to ·walk'upj o people from different countries, such . as China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea," said Wa~r~n. 'Ben added, "It was a great experience to interact with people from different coim.tries, and the pins· were , a.wesome. keepsakes from the ""~ trip." ~ · "For students participating 1 ~ ~ ·In ISEF 2(')08 and other futurt( ones; I advise . them to enjoy the 0 . ' . ~ . trip as. much ~as · possible be~ cause. it really is a once-in-a8· lifetime experi'ence,". said Erin. '"'. 0 ] Ben agreed, saying, ."Don't be c. tiffl id and shy away . from this judges will like her project. great experience and most im-

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Juniors Warren junior class lSEF team, relax in front of their display

portantly, make new friends." ent nations, who were judged Warren said, "You will meet by roughly 17 judges-In differsome ofthe greatest people that ent rounds . you have ever met!" In order to be admitted into "The Teal prize is being able the competition, these five stuto come to this event. For your dents had to com!3'Cte in the project to be perceived as cut New York City Science and level is an amazing honor and · Engineering Fair, NYSCEF, accomplishment. I hope they during the mid-year. Of the 900 have an appreciation for the students who entered the comscholarship of the other stt~ petition, only 21 advanced to dents and learn from what they ISEF. This hasnot, ho.wever, been see,:' sa.idAs~sistant Primcipal of the first time. that Townsend Science Susan Bru,stein. The ISEF competition Harris 'students have gone to judged posters and technical ISEF. Every year, at least sevreports dealing with scientific eral. people ha~e· gone to the issues that could benefit future fair, and many have won in society. There were I ,500 high fields such as physics, zoology, school students from 51 differ- and microbiology.

Di'scipuii~arn 'IQP -~~tiri Examination results worldwide '

by Cri$tine Khan and serv~cl ; ~t~dent~ w~rk iireles1>1y Debor~h Duke in class. The teachers prepared Can:·you say ''magna opera them r.eally welL We're very in~ discipu:li?" Latin scholars re- vigorated ; arid tHi's wffl det'icently earned top results on the nitely motivate us to enter more N ation•al Latin Examination, ., cpntests,'>she•said. Lati,n teach.er ,Sara -Lanot only nationally but w~rldwide. They were honored at an derout~ 'als~ express~d her ex~ awards ceremony held in the citement. "The st~dents in' this auditori,um on Thursd;;ty, May school are very 'inte'restedarid motivated . They don't fee f like 30. Students and teachers alike · Latin is an impositi0n. They are are overwhelmed by the res.ultsi . al,w ay s ready to, tak~ c: !')alas 388 put of the 432 stuJient.s lenges, ,a nd tl)ey. ~on't shy away that to9k the exam garnered from them," she explained. She awards : Out of these, 159 stu'- 'a ttributes much of ihe scHool's dents received the "summa cum success to the emphasis teachlaude" · awards,. 1,41, stvc\ent,s e~s p\aye_on culture within the received "maxima cum laude" · Latin curriculum. Latin teachers Andrew awards , 53 .students receivep "magna cum laude" awards, Hagerty, Andrea Koukianakis, and 36 studertts received "cum Margaret Landry, and Jonathan laude" awards ." A total of Owens also helped prepare stu134,000 students from across. dents for the exam. Actording to Ms. Mars, a!the United States and in 13 t:oreign countries participated 'in though fewer perfect scores were achieved this ~ear com~ the examination. Assistant Principal of Lan- pared to last year, the students guages Other than English Lisa actually did much better, scorMars was particularly pleased ing higher on eac.h individual by the results. "It's well-de- question.

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"I am beside my:self, but I am not surprised," ryir. Owens

said. "The students already have gifted minds, and of

course they have us'" Magna opera discipuli!

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Japanese teacher Mariko Sato presents senior Kevin Chen with a certificate of recognition for his studies in Japanese. Japanese students were also recognized at the ceremony celebrating the National Latin Examination results .

The Classic

June 2007

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Harrisfest attracts large· turnout despite SATs

Poets po·nder:city -J·ife

by Jocelyn Wright .. Harrisfest rocked !he auditorium on Friday, June I. Coordin'ated by seniors Heather Looks, Michael Andronico, and David DiTrapano with the help of Mitchell Bader and English teacher Georgette Wallace, the annual exhibition of student talent had to compete with the SATs and SAT lis the following Saturday. Nevertheless, it managed to get a larger turnout than in previous years, according to Coordinator of Student Activities Adam Stonehill. Some highlights of the evening included ·Welcome to Arkham and Hero for a Day. The program was subject to several changes throughout the ev·ening because 'several bands, including the popu" Jar Waistina, dropped out the evening of or the day . before Harris fest. Heather, however, did not feel the changes. in the pr ogram made Harrisfest any less enjoyable. "Even though lots of people dropped out, we still put on an awesome show," she said . Performers also enjoyed participating. "This was my favorite Harrisfest to play at by far," said Mike, who played guitar and saHg in Hero for a Day along with Mitchell. Even the finaLe, which "literally chang'ed five minutes be-· "Oh it's what you do to me" Senior Kevin Chen plays fore" going on stage, was, the guitar whilF fellow senior Sebastian Lagos serenades according to Heather; the audience with a rendition of "Hey There Delilah" by "great." the Plain White T's.

by Sarah Mahmood "Urban Life" an9 "Uncensored" were the themes .of the third and fourth poetry readings this year hosted by The Phoenix on May 4 and June II in the library. The audience at the third reading was much smaller than usual, but the Phoenix staff had anticipated this. Advisor Robert Babstock reminded everyone that they were competing with Spid£;rman 3 and the SATs the next day. The fourth reading, ho~ever, yielded a better turnout. ' While some were disheartened by the small audience at the third reading, senior Danabelle Ignes said, "It was fun ... since it was small. It was i•ntimate." Junior Ben Aronowitcz, who helped organize both readings, said; "The turnout is always amazing considering that these ki,ds could be doing whatever they want to do right now, and that for somereason they c'hoose to spend $2 to .go to a poetry reading instead." Freshman Daniel Pecoraro kicked off the third readin.g with two poems by Vijay Sheshadri. Other speakers .veered off topic, choosing t0 read about topics such as love. 'The tones of the pqems were edgy, which is associated with urban life,': said junior Adrianna Mateo. Some attendees of the third reading felt the decorations were not as elaborate as usual. " They were simple, but our art editor wasn't here ,'' said. senior. Calder Singer. Also missing from both readings were the live music performances by students present in the first two readings. Th~ fourth reading co.incided . with the release of this year's edition of The Phoenix. Reading of the s'chool ,year. .

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Spring Concert soundly spiritS away se.O'iors cert at Harris for the c.lass of2007. . scheduled -to last from '7 p.m . to 9 p.m., . fr~ve 'been more . expydi'ent, people by Ariel Brodsky "I have yet to feel as truly alive as the last performance did not fini'sn un'til ' shduld have 'sthy~d for·the whole ~hi rig,"', The annual Spring Concert show'S'i1iich~z: cased the intermediate band , the cham- when I spent the last glorious moments past I0:00, and manf guests :had left the ·. agreed sophorh6re Jordarw f . ;_ ; . ·, -• ber ensemble, the chorus, the ten,th band with some ·of my closest friends and my auditorium before that time. · ·. · · ' · At the conclusion of the concert, the . ''I was very upset abo'u[tne-~engtti of ./ concyrt band presented Mr: Lu~tig «.-ith jazz ensemble, and the concert band on long time mentor [Mr. Lustig] at THHS,'' said senior Michael Bye, a the concert;" said Mr. Lustig. Although .' an ~~Iargep thank' 'ybu 'c ard ~md' a Best · May 24 in the auditorium. . each grblip was allotted 20 rni~utes' 'Buy gift certificate; although thi.s was . Performances to perform, the 'chamber ensemt11d ·. •:cto'ne in rushed lhal)ner behi~d' tn~' included a Disney ~'Our, ;, . closed curtain du~ to late hou~. . medley by the in- . 'I have yet to feel as truly alive as when performed for "o'ver which was "unfair to the students "The concert band was not only termediate band, "Only Hope" by I spent the last glorious moments with in the bands and the chorus." He felt forced to go offstage, but we were not that this was partially due to the sev- able to spend two minutes to give Mr: the chamber ensome of my closest friends arid my long-.- era! pre-recorded p.ieces that were Lustig his gift," complained sophomore semble, "Bring showcased, adding, "I have nothing Kathie Ng. "The happy and joyous feelHim Home" by the time mentor [Mr. Lustig] at THHS.' against the kids who made the mu- ingwas immediately gone.:: chorus, '~Embrace~ sic, but it was inappropriate to play Despite this, Mr. ~ustig appreciated able You" by Tenth . ·the surprise. "[The concert band] wanted Band, and "First Suite in E" flat by the member of the concert band and Tenth pre-recorded music ." Dr. Sato agreed that.the chamber en- . me to buy a new boom box, but my wife concert band. The chamber ensemble, Band. "The energy at this concert is the chorus, Tenth Band, and the concert . what most people search a lifetime for, semble played "too much music." The already said she's going to ·buy herself 1 and I was blessed to experience it early pre-recorded music was recorded bi a new i.Pod,'' he joked. band all featured student soloists. seniors who plan to major in music~m- . The·concert may have iasted an hour "All three bands played perfectly," in my life," he said. Freshman chamber ensemble mem- .fated fields, and this addition to the tra- longer thao scheduled, but the students said Peter Lustig, director of the intermediate band, Tenth Band, and the con- ber Michele Fong felt that the concert ditionafly,live concert "t~ok too much who parti~ip.<ited were clearly proud of ' ·l . • . their work and enJoyec;l perfC:>rmtng. cert band. Chamber ensemble director was "unorganized" and "really long," time." "I won't [play pre-recorded music] '.The spirit of the players was seen Mariko Sato added, "Overall, I thought but she "loved the bands" when soloit was a great concert ... I'm extremely ists were featured. Freshman Sophia again," Dr. Sato promised, adding that in their radiant faces and our appreciaPinkhasova of the intermediate band she feels "responsible" for the cencert's tion for Mr. Lustig was clearly noticeproud of [the chamber ensemble]." able,'' noted junior concert band memSophomore concert band member agl.'eed that "parts [of the concert] were lehgthiness. Mr. Lustig.also felt that the thinning ber Angelica Barrios. "It was the last Kathie Ng agreed. "Everybody worked unorganized, but overall it was a fun of the audience towards the end of the concert of the school year and the last extremely hard for this concert, and ev- experience." The main complaint that both stu- concert.was "not fair" to Tenth B~nd and one for seniors of the class of 2007. erybody played ' and sang beautifully,'' dents and faculty had concerning the the concert band. .They're a great part of the band and will she said. "Even though [the concert] should truly be missed by alL" The Spring Concert was the last con- concert was its length. Although it was ,

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The Classic

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June 2007

Sk.Pa,triot·Walk-< honors fallen ·heroes of 9/11 by Kate Lu Volunteers wound their way around the t,rack and the·Queens College campus during the Pa· triot Group 9/ II Memorial Walk on April 2 L The walk, organized by English teacher Helen Rizz\.1 to an <!I Pat•riot Group founder Captain ·A ifredo Fuentes, celebrated rhe lives of the 343 firefighters who peri.s hed on Septem her ·II , 200 I . Students, teachers, and relatives of the firefighters attended the event, each receiving an ID with a picture of one of the fallen. Although last year's ·walk was punctuated by cloudy skies and rain, which Captain Fuentes told walkers was the tears of the fallen firefighters

crying forjoy that they were still remembered, this year the , s.unshine made for a. beautiful . afternoon . 'As the· Captain addressed the .large ·g roup of vol' unteers on the Queens College track before the walk began, he . added that the ' v-ictims had replaced their tears with smiles. · Walkers were directed to complete several laps around the designated -path, which spread from the Queens Co~ lege track to a loop around the Queens College campus. Vitamin water was given out along the way to refresh the volunteers. Captain Fuentes asked that they take a little time during the walk to "talk" to the fallen firefighter whom they represented with their ID tags, and that they ask for help for a difficult situation that they were going · through. He added that from now on, the walkers would have the spirits of the firefighters behind ·~ them for guidance. .C> Most students were pl.eased with the results ot'"the walk. "I thought !he walk was '

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Paying a tribute: family members of fallen firefighters and Harrisites commemorate their fallen heroes. pretty successful," said senior · volunteers were greeted by a J.B. Estil. "I think people were barbecue that took place in the pretty enthusiastic and that was Townsend Harris courtyard. good to see." They ate in the student dining Sophomore Kathie Ng hall while additional volunteers agreed. "It's a really good idea served burgers , hotdogs, and to have this remembrance for condiments. The families of the the victims of 9111 ," she -said. fallen firefighters were also "I think we should do this ev- treated to cheesecake. The ery year because they shouldn't Chamber Music Ensemble and the Jazz Band entertained the be forgotten." ~ After completing the walk, walkers while they ate.

"I enjoyed [performing]," said sophomore Reena Sam, a member of the Chamber Music Ensemble, "~ut I wish people had paid more attention to [us] when we were playing." Funds raised by the walk will pay for training sessions in which firefighters will learn how to patrol the Mississippi River in a fireboat donated by the NYC Fire Department.

Locks ' 19PP~d .for love of Children .losing hair by Ariel Brodsky was embraced by Harrisites·. Love organization, creating 15 Inspired by a five-year-old "As a teacher, I realized I · hair pieces total. Participants child witj-) . boBe~ c'!ncer wbo)n · ••Could: have .a . profound .i ntlu- needed to donate at least I 0 she befriended while working · cnce--Qn·my students," said Ms . in-ches of hair, and Ms. as a camp counselor in college, Widman. "I knew I was going W:idman, who hopes to hold a ni,;th ~eacher A,le~za Widmary tQc,u t my ~wn ~air, [so]why .Locks of Love event every year brought the po-.yer of gjving to not get as many. people to do it at Townsend Harris from now Townsend ·H arris th'rough the with'me as· p~ssible?" . · on, .added that many students L{>cks ~(L~ve: ol-g'ariizatipn. . ' On May 14, L2students, Ms. "did not think their hair was Lock,s of Love, whic.( is, dedi~ Widma_n,, ,an•Q Theresa long enough to cut the minicated to making ;.igs.for ,chil- -., Pizzichillo, Principal J'J:tomas mum requirement of IOinches. drer who have exr,erienf~d- hair '. ~u.~n:inghat;n 's secretary, do~ I think next year's event will be loss due to a rnedicalpr9blem, , nated their hair to the Locks of. .: as great a succesJ; as this '·

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Smile for the camera! Fresh,mm1 Agne;; B.. Luna is interviewed by a reporter from New York One as she donates her hair at lhis y'e<ir 's Locks of Love event.

year's." fibrosis in July, I started donatHarrisites who donated their ing money to different drives hair were proud to participate. because I know it' II make her "I hope I'm doing someone a happy that we can make somegreat favor by donating my one smile from their hospital hair," said freshman Nataliya bed because she spent a lot of Esperson. "It makes me feel time in the hospital, too. Next good that I can help in some- year, when I turn 16, I'm also thing that money can't really ·planning to donate blood." Ms. Widman was equally give.': . "Donating hair was always proud of the students. "Students something I've been hesitant here. not only want to, but promise to help others," she -said, re~bout, but at the same time something I've always wanted ferring to the pledges embedded · to do," freshman Kristina in the Ephebic Oath. "I believe Rodulfo said. "Being that my this form of generosity goes mom works at a cancer center, beyo_n d simple _charity. StuI've been exposed to the many dents are not only donating their stories of young children suffer- hair; but many of them have also ing with cancer. .. I figured that . raised money for the cause. I · . donating my hair would be the am so proud of these teenagers most I could do right no~ to who are more than willing to help, and I felt .that it would give.up some ot· their own vancontribute by helping a suffer- ity to help others.'' ing child to smile.',' . As for students' involvement Freshman Jen Choe partici, in future events; Ms. Widman pated in the event in memory of has high hopes . "Townserid her friend, who recently passed Harris is a very special place," away from cystic fibrosis. "I she said. "I truly feel these studecided to donate my hair about dents could be an inspiration to two or three years ago for my others ... In the future, I would best friend Michale Cassidy," like to collaborate with students she said. "She wanted to donate to further the cause [by] doing her ~air, but her parents things such as knitting chemo wouldn't let her grow it long caps , and perhaps visiting paenough. I decided that I'd do it tients in community hospitals.'' · for her.· After she died of cystic

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Blood collection 'improving' used for making the donation, by Marisa Lupo Forty-three pints of blood donors are pricked in their finwere donated by both students gers to check for the amount of and teachers during the third iron in their blood. Donors are blood drive on May 29. Coor- also subject to a blooo pressure dinator of Student Activities test before they make their doAdam Stonehill, along with se~ n'ation. Nevertheless, most of niors Olivia D'Cunha and the donors did not mind the proCaswana Spruill, organized all cedure. Olivia said, "I know three of the blood drives that sometimes people get bruises when they donate, but a bruise took place this year. Mr. Stonehill noted that "we does not compare to the satisare improving" in terms of the faction of knowing that we amount of blood donated at helped saved lives." Renata noted, "I think there each drive. The ·second drive yielded 40 pints of blood, while were a lot of the same people as last time." According to Mr. the first yielded 27 pints. Although there was an in- . Stonehill, attracting lifelong crease in the donations col-. donors is one of the main goals lected this year, there continues of the blood drive. He said, "We .to be a: blood shortage in the now have a number of students - New York City area. According who are consistently donating." Although the donors do reto the New York Blood Center, ceive a free coupon for a Subclose. to 2,000 people need blood transfusions every day.' In way sandwich, this is not usufact, New York City has to im- ally their motivation for donatport.blood from other locations ing. Junior Vito Arena, a second-time donor, said, "I donate in order to meet demands. Sophomore Julia Fusfeld because people need it. I do it said, "I decided to give blood to help people." Overall, Mr. Stonehill said, because my mom has always done it and it helps people, so "the drive was a success - alif I'm eligible, I don't see why ways, doing more to help those I shouldn't do it." in need is a success." He is still Junior Renata Thakurdyal , a optimistic, however, that more first-time h.lood donor, said, contributions may be made in ''They perform a lot of tests on the future . He said, "I wish we you tomake sure you're ready could get over I 00 donors befor it.;' In addition to the needle cause iLis that important."

Vow· of silence taken i-n fi·ght to win sexual equality by Cristine Khan Supporters of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community observed a day. of silence on April 18 to show their solidarity. Approximately 20 students participated in the II th annual Day of Silence, which promotes justice in .response to the _ violence against LGBTs in schools nationwide. ·· "This was my third year participating in the Day of Silence," said sophomore Annette Paciorek, who organized the event "I saw an ad on MTV a while back, and I thought it was a good cause. This year, I tried to get more people involved by posting My space bulletins and telling all my friends about it. The outcome was great!" Five thousand schools across the nation participated, making it one of the largest student-led protests. However, many Harrisites were unaware of the event. "Eve·n though I participated in it, I think our school should make the students more aware of the Day of Silence," said junior Melissa Lin. "In many of my classes, teachers and students ... seemed interested in it" Sophomore participant Sasha Collins, a self-proclaimed talker, said, "It was really hard. Not only did I do it to show my support for LGBTs, but I also wanted to train myself not to talk so much. I realized how much talking is part of my life." Sophomore Keren .Sharon also participated in the event. "I thought it was really important to let people know about the violence and discrimination against homosexuals that goes on," she said. "Participating in it was my way of letting them know that I care." Keren was one of the few particip~nts to uphold her vow throughout the entire day. Students can sign up for next year's Day of Silence at "http://dayofsilence.org/". '

Intruder·drill$ emphasize safety after Te,ch trag~e-dy by Ariel Brodsky The tragedy at Virginia Techni-cal University (Virginia Tech) on April 16, where 32 s.tudents and faculty :members we.re kH1ed by a disturbed fellow student, bas left many s.cft.ools questioning tile effectiveness of their own se:curity measures. Altbeugh Harris is known f-or its h~.3h level of safety, th~ administration is not taking any chances. According toActing Assistant Prin-cipal of Organi.zation BHen Fee, tile security mea~ sures are n-ot a direct result ef tlie Vi;rginia Tech sllooting. Every menth, a scllool safety committee made up of Principal Thomas Cunningham, Dean Wanda Nix, the assistant principals, and others meets to fli:scuss the need for l:ooWown drills. fN:e artl~s. and even snelter drills tf:) deal witll the tml!fkely event of an emergency such as a tornado in Flushing. Lockdown dritls enable students and £avulity to become familiar wiltll the safety measures that must be in place if a shooter were to enter the building. Although one took place in November, lookdown drills were "not taken seriously" at that time. It was ultimately tile Virginia Tech shooting that ''sped up the date" of the most recent .lockdown dritl in May. Ms. Fee added that the Department of Education has no laws or gu.idelines concerning &ucb drills, and that Harris "l.s the only school that t:tied conducting a l:ookdown drill for their students.'' This month, tile school safety committee will reconvene to d1s:cuss what improvements can be made. Despite the Department of Education's lack of standard procedures when it comes kf lockdown dri11s, Ms. :Fee mentioned the "School Safety Plan" packet that has been distributed to all schools. The packet "gees over every little thing that could happen," from shootings and evacuations to even k.idnappings. It also contains notes on alarm systems, exits, and other safety issues. Harrisites are divided over Harris's security measures. Sophomore Tatiana Pawelec stated, "I think it's a ridiculous way tl') protect us. I really don't know how tllat can keep us safe. It's ridicul-ous because the people who shoot up schools usually go to the school [s0] they'll know where we're hiding." Junior Cindy Low disagreed, "I think that [the lockdown drill] was a useful drilL. We'll know where to hide and what to expect, and the drills will train us to keep ourselves safe.''

Latin team est primus by Sarah Mahmo()d . The Latin teamtriu,mphed on Thursqay, May 31 at the Bronx High School of Science, Wirining both first and third place. Also at a Latin competition at Stony Brook University on March 26, the sophomore and senior teaJ11s came in first place and the junior team followed in second place . . The sophomore team was compromised of Essie Assibu, Peter Michelli, Lilly Hsu, and Reena Sam.. Iona Panescu, Ksenija Matijevic, Melissa Cheng, and Warren Cheng were on the junior . team. Lance Tomas and Amanda Baker made up the senior team. The victory came as no surprise, for, accordingto Latin teacher and club advisor Jonathan Owens, "The students felt very well prepared." Sophomore Reena Sam explained, "I felt we were able _ to work as a team better than the other schools." Essie Assibu, sophomore, agreed. "We tried to work as a team and tried never to answer impul~ive)y without absolute certainty. I feel we were better prepared than some of the schools because we assigned topics for each team," she said . Harris was the only New York City school at the competition. All the other schools were from Long Island. Ion~\ Paunescu, jun- . ior, said, "The other schools were very prepared. Most of the other . schools had been Stl!dying Latin for a longer time period than the students at Townsend Harris. On~ teacher was surprised to hear that we had only he~n studying Latin for one and a half years. " Senior Lance Tomas acjded, "The.other teams we~e really cool. They weren't a bunch of nerdy Latin kids, with thick glasses." Mr. Owens said, "The sticces.s of.our teams not only speaks volumes about rhe intellectual prowqs .of our students ; it ' also · says a lot about the Latin pwgram at. Townsend Harris. All the students who competed ha,ve had multipleLatin teachers. Therefore, thanks must ·b~ extended also to [Latin teacher~ 1 Andrew Hagerty, Sarah Laderoute, Andrea. I{ouklanakis, .and Margaret Landry who do arria.zing work ev~r,yday."

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ablend of Southeast-Asian music <\nd proudly display their culture at this year's Festival of Nations.

Arou.nd the"World at FON .

by Gabriella Duke

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An array of ethnic dances, musiqt ' izeit t}'lat [ttie amount of time is) not so pieces, and skits were featured on Mar~h ' · bad. All the hard work pays off in the 29 during Festival of Nations, a'n annual enq. When you're perfbrming and celebration of cultural diversity orga- ev<:r)'ofle's cheering for you, you just get by Jacquelyn Lekhraj nized by ~ Assistant PJ:incipal of Lan ~ this rush . It's jl!st so much fun.'' •A colorful demonstration of school and the cross represents the Christian guages Other than English Lisa ·Mars Sophpmore ' Car·m elle _Aiipio, a spirit 'took place during Mulricultural faith of the Greek people ." Junior and FcstiYal .of Nati ons co-p'residents : d~mcer in "Filipino Tinkling," expressed Week, March 24 - March 29. Nations Fatima Chaudhury wore a Pakistani John Santucci and Lina Li. similar feelings . "I loved participating' from Guatemala to Greece were repret1ag. "Multicultural Week was a great This year's. event featured a large in FON'" she said. "Everyone worked . sented through traditional clothing,, opportunity to represent our countries number of dances, including a Filipino so hard to put on a fantastic show and t1ags, and music. Although there was · since the United States is so diverse,". · dance, Greek line dancing, two fan succeeded. It was really something to some confusion over the themes of the she said. dances (Chinese <ind Korean), a hipa- · see everyone working so harmoniously various days, both students and faculty Many students also took part in Dress nese fishing dance, and,. s~veral Indian -no cultural rivalry, but full of respect widely participated in the week's eel- . Up Day. Junior Navjot Kaur described dances. The AP Spanish; French L:itera- arid appreciation for each other's craft." ebrations. her traditional Indian garment: "This is The event with the most participants a simple red and white salwar which I 'The show wasJ1awless," said John. ture, Hebrew, and Japanese classes also contributed musical numbers and skits: "Al'l our performers had the expected jit- was Flag Day. Some students wore thei'r would typically wear to the temple," she At first, the Festival was scheduled ters, but when they hit the stage it was nation's t1ags from head to toe. Sop~ o- explained . Seni9r Louis Mergler went to take place on two nights instead of pure magic . As the last group went on more Amalia Stavropoulos explained . for a more subtle representation of his one . Thiswas·changed so that the Festi- stage, I was standing behind the curtain the significance of each aspect of her country by wearing shoes with a design _val would remain a one-night show. just smiling. All the time and effort ev- Greek t1ag: "The nine strip~s represent of San Juan , Puerto Rico . There was a: John added, 'The show has never been eryone had put into this show had each syllable of th~ motto 'Freedom or Traditional Garb Contest in each lunch two nights [long], with the exception of proven 01ice again that it all pays off in Death' ;the colors blue and white repreband and the three best dressed students sent the foam of the waves and the sky, were declared winners. the show that took place during the · the end ." 2003-2004 school year. This year Latin and Greek teacherAnour plan was to attempt to try this .. drew Hagerty serenaded cafeteria goers with his vocal talents again. However, due to lo~ studuring a lunchtime karaoke. He dent participation, we could not.'; sang a rendition of Christina Despite the seeming lack of Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle" student participation, the show was so popular that tickets were in Spanish. AP World Teacher sold out by the Wednesday before John O'Malley put an unusual spin on the concept of /, the performance. . "The show was really fabuMulticultural Week by wearing ' cl!)thes· that were not from his lous," said sophomore Michelle Irish heritage. Instead, he wore Hulewicz. "I especially enjoyed a curta pajama, a traditional outthe fan dances. However, I believe fit for Indian males . · it would have been even more enjoyable if there [had been] an inStudents were also given the . tcrmission. since the auditorium opportunity to submit cultural music to be played on the loudseats aren't that comlortable to sit speaker. The Spanish song "La in aftera few hours." ·Duena del Swing'; .inspired Sophomore Heney Patel, who ·§ son1e students to dance through performed for the first tin;1e in the ,;;; the hallways. Numerous Punjabi Indian dance "Soni Kydian,'' £songs were featured,. such . as stated, "Performing was amazing. 0 . . ] John Mayer's hopeful anthem Last year I was supposed to be in o.. "Waiting on the World to FON, but then I -dropped out beJuniors Astrid Beza and Vaughn Watson open the show by leading the Change." cause it took too much time. This Champs-E/ysee.1·.

The Classic ·

June2007

Mambo! Jets and· Sharks

The .Jets: Vaughn Watson , Ellie Phillips, Jordano Sanchez, and David Ferari sporting their jets~

Musical pr·o.v es .t o be

memorable success by Jasmine Daniel and Sydney Lowe "Tonight, tonight, won't be just any night," sound the melodic words to Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein's "Tonight." This April that night was two nights, Friday the 27th and Saturday the 28th, as the Townsend Harris Players performed the classic musical West Side Story. The play, directed by English teacher Joseph Canzoneri _and produced by Assistant Principal of Humanities Susan Getting, starredjunior Melanie Sovern and freshman Joseph Spiialeri as the love-struck Maria and Tony. "In a lot of ways I think we're very similar," says Melanie of her character. "I made her very silly and pouty and young and very passionate. She's an endearing character, very likeable." "I like how they made it seem real and bring you into the story," said sophomore Lydia Nitchman at the play. The work of vocal directors English teacher Judy Biener and Lara Torgovnik, class of 2006, also impressed the audience. "The singing was really, really good!'' exclaimed freshman Liz · Kussman. Senior Samira Dewidar agreed. "I loved the music-I'm learning that a lot of people are secretly talented!" she said. AP World History teacher John O'Malley said, "The play was marvelous! With the sets and the music and the dancing-it "was all fantastic." ,

Aside from showing off their tal- ~ ents, the cast found other exciting .3 things about participating in the play. ~ "My favorite part was getting to ~"' shove people out of the way," joked£ junior Sasha Diamond, who playecl ] Anybodys . "I got to meet people that c. I wouldn't ·have socialized with pefore," said junior Jahnesha Huertas, Snowboy. "A lot of people in the play I didn't even know existed, so I got to build new friendships ." Melanie agreed. "It's amazing, almost unusual, how close the cast got. Everyone is so unwilling to let the show go. People are doing dances in the gym in their spare time," she said . Junior Monica Morales, who played Anita, felt · the same way. "We've spent weeks practicing together, and then afterwards, it's all gone. You spend so much time with these people and get so attached to them . It's incredible," she said. West Side Story is Mr. Canzoneri's favorite musical. "I love it because there isn't a bad song in the whole show," he said. "It's got a little bit of everythingfunny scenes, romantic scenes, action scenes ... plus, the dances take incredible effort, which is part of the reason the musical has never been revived [on Broadway]. You really need all .the actors to be triple threats." The leading roles were cast in September and October. Mr. Canzoneri said he looked ''tirst and foremost" for a cast

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Lights, Camera, Action! Cast members Sasha Diamond, Demetra Kentrotas, Monica Morales and Sarah Viola have a good time while they prepare for showtime.

that was "able to sing." thinking about doing a Shakespearean The dancers tried out in January. play or A Funny Thing Happened On . "There really was no rush in casting the the Way To the Forum, only because putdancers," said Mr. Canzoneri. "I wanted ting on musicals is expensive. You're to make sure that the actors felt okay $1000 in debt before you even start." with their parts first. I must say that choDespite his happiness with the play 's reographers Laura Schubert and science turnout, there were a few things that Mr: teacher Katherine Ludvik did a remark- Canzoneri was unhappy with. " If anyable job." Additionally, art teacher thing, the weakest parts of the show Margherita Wischerth painted the scen- were the scenes themselves, because we ery with a crew. of students. spent so much time on song and dance," Casting, however, is based on a little · he said. He also found that the hardest more than being able to dance or to hit part of working on the musical was coa high note. "For me casting is 95% di- ordinating everything. "I can't really recting and so I cast students on how train singers; I can't teach dance," he well they fit together in a group," said explained. "Music is very difficult." Mr. Canzoneri. "Sometimes kids don't Despite the hardships, Mr. Canzoneri is understand why I cast one person in- proud of his cast and crew. "Thank you stead of another. You want people who for letting me be a part of the best musiare not shy, and who seem committed." cal I've ever seen· on a high· school Mr. Canzoneri is P.lanning on another stage," he said. Mr. Canzoneri also had musical for next year. Contrary to popu- a message to the audience. "I hope that lar belief, however, it won't be Grease. they enjoyed the show and that they "I wouldn't mind doing The Sound of continue to support arts in the school, Music next year," he said. "But I'm also because that's really important," he said.

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The Sharks: Cast members Damian Charles, Samantha <=1ifasi, Raoul Vale ncia. Dionisio Espinal , and Essie Assibu show off their sharks.

--The Aftermath:· Cast members Raoul Valencia, Stephen Frias, Dionisio Espinal, [lavid Ferrari , and Jordanu Sanchez help director Joseph Can zont<ri take down the set.

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Ellie Phillips reads to fellow cast members Jordano Sanchez, Sasha Diamond. and Melanie Sovern.

Bernstein re.veals thought process behind father's music & lyr~cs

Jamie Bernstein, daughter of West Side :itory composer acts out the way the kts gang snaps to their theme song.

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The Classic Editorial Staff ''I'm his daughter, so I'm allowed to be crazy about his music," announced Jamie Bernsteilt, daughter of West Side Story composer Leonard Bernstein . Ms. Bernstein treated the cast and crew of the school production of West Side Story to "The Composition of West Side Story," a discussion of Bernstein 's music, on Wednesday, April II in the auditorium. A question and answer session followed the lecture. According to Ms. Bernstein, director Jerome Robbins' original idea for We.1·t Side Story was a ·dash between Catholics and Jews in which tensions . boil over on Easter. He changed his idea to a conflict between the Jets and the Sharks, the white gang and the Puerto Rican gang, respectively, to create the well-kn(>wn, modern Romeo and Juiiet. Mr. Bernstein's music enhances this conflict, pitting the Latin and quintessential American rhythms against one another. "You can tell from these finger snaps that the Jets feel comfortable on their turf," she explained. She animated her point by playing the song and snapping in tune with the Jets. The Sharks, in turn, "move to jittery Latin percussion" to show their nervousness. A commonly used technique, the distorted major chord or tritone, provides the key for the score. It app~ars in the opening, "Maria," the Jet song, and "Something'.s Coming," and highlights

the musical ambiguity throughout the citizen." Although the family spent sevplay. Tonality combats atonality with the eral years in Chile separated from Mr. use of the tritone. Bernstein while he worked in the United Mr. Bernstein himself experienced States, he and his wife often communiseveral conflicts in his life, which in- cated via letters , and it was she who spired him during the writing of the West proved to be his greatest source of moSide Story score. tivation. Back in America, Mr. "As a composer, he struggled against Bernstein was "very much a family the prevailing music theory advocating guy," and he would sometimes even ''in12-tone music, but my father couldn't vite the family with him on tour.'' In fact, give up writing a tune," Ms . Bernstein . Ms . Bernstein and her siblings did not said. "You have to admire the guy for realize the magnitude of Mr. Bernstein's trusting his instincL~ and writing from celebrity until they saw a .Flintstone's his heart, even if it meant losing re- episode in which Wilma and Betty were spect," said Ms . Bernstein . going to see "Leonard Berns tone' ' perOn a more personal leve!, he had a form . At the end of Ms. Bernstein's aniconflict with his father over his decision to become a musician . His father, who mated lecture, time was allowed for a had a successful hair-cutting business in question and answer period with the auBoston and wanted to pass it on to his dience . Questions included inquiries son, could not understand why about Mr. Bernstein's other famous "Lennot," as he was called, would want works, such as his composition of the musical score of the movie On the Wa to pursue a career In music. Ms. Bernstein described her father's terfront, his greatest influences, and his music and acted out spec ific aspects of views on the movie version of West Side the play for the audience. For example, Story . Ms. Bernstein explained, "Hereshe took o·ut a rubber band and began to ally didn''t like the film, and he didn't snap it, using it as a metaphor for the like the changes that they made." These Jets' "frayed nerves." She added, "Mu- changes included a rearrangement of the sic can describe the characters' fee lings, order of the songs. even when the characters themselves One of Ms. Bernstein's last comcannot put those feelings into words." • ments was about the West Side Story At times, the lecture also strayed to song "Something's Com ing." She sai,d anecdotes of the Bernsteins' private that its message was perhaps one that family life. Ms. Bernstein described her all Harrisites should consider: "Maybe childhood as "special," though she con- what we reach for is so desperately out siders herself now to be "just a normal of our reach- or is it?''

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The Classic

June 2007 .

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This fot~mal style would in clude a letterhead , a salutati on, and a written message, . concluded by a signature. , Regardless of the writing styles used , the terms that <ire comlllon,place on the Internet 22 % a re bec})min g f'o rmal !zed. 43.~ Google 'fill soon be officially classifie~ as a verb in the II '11 · e dition ; of th e Merriam . Webster C o lle g iate Dictio_- nary, defined as "to use the . Google search engine io ob-· tain information on the World Wide Web" (The Globe and ..: ' . Mail). Google will ,~nter the ~ !j · ·dictionary joined by other ; •. terms such as 'mouse potato ' · 3-4 Ho'~tS 'I. o·-7 ~H~ u rs' 1·2 ~ou· ~ •8~ 10 Holrrs II More Th~h ·10 Hours ' LesS Than 1 Hour ; (" a perscm who. spends agreat .. :11 ,_- - -,------- -------- - -~ -: - - -- --- ~- -- -- - - ---- - -- - - -- ~ ---- -- -----._- --------- - -' 1 deal of time using acomputer") and ' spyware' Crystal's Language and the your imagination ,' and it is spe("software that is installed' Internet provided an "' 11naly~ is cifically u'n ique for our generahoursperday, andanaddltlonal 25 % spend ap. in a computer wiQ1out tht;: ~ of how discourse is evc\Iving on tion ." Lee't is bein"g used in e-mails proximately . five to user's knowledge and ·the Interriet.'' in -the book, br. and ' text messages in place of seven hours . Eighty-four transmits information about Crystal "concludes that the standard language . Despite the percent responded that : the user 's computer activi- Internet is not going to spawn code's rising popularity, senior they use Instant Messagties over the Inter~et") . · a generation of illiterates, as a Hsieh..was not convinced Janice ing, Text Messaging, e-mails , English leacher Georgette "I do.n't think [Google] curso-ry l9ok at any of·its s,ignificance. "[Those who o·i·.other forms of technological Wallace also expressed her con- should be a term used in the die- · undergraduate 's e-m<1il mig~t use itJ think it's cool ,'' she said. communication "all the. time ~" cerns, saying, "It would be my ' tionary," said Marcus. He de- sugge·stY · _ "I think it's useless ." But what influence will this hope that we do not lose the scribed Google more as "a "We've already butchered "Although it's a Germanic phenomenon have on the future belles lettt·es," literally trans- · company trying to advertise it~ !the English language] enough, origin]," of both written and spoken En- lated from the French as 'beau- self. " Ms. Biener disagreed, what with texting and our lang:uage " [.in Madeleine explained, "English glish? According to a recent tiful letters.' saying, ''I think the dictionary Internet typing, '~ said ·senior article in The Seattle Times, Senior Marcus Ng holds a should reflect the way people Luis Vega. "If you want to be has been influenced by so many "Teachers, administrators and different opinion of the ~peak," adding that the devel- picky about grammar, do it for languages, including Latin, businesspeople say abbrevia- Internet's effect on English. opment of language is what some proper language, like Spanish, French, Chinese, and tions commonly used in e- "My grammar has steadily im- makes English "vital, many others." And now mails, instant messaging and proved since freshman year" wonderful, interesting, the Internet can be added text messages are creeping into due to IM, he said. He makes a and stimulating.'' to that list. Some students ~lssignments . " practice of "often trying to even take their IM slang The dictionary's inStudents and faculty mem- speak in proper English" while clusion of Internet termito school wi"th them , wanbers have conflicting opinions conversing with friends . dering the hallways with nology "shows that Ianabout the influence of the Likewise, others do not in- guage is a living, breathcomrnents of 'OMG ' ('oh Internet on language , as was , elude colloquial terms in their ing thing that grows, changes, Spanish or French, not this dis- my God ' ) and even 'LOL' shown by the in-school survey. online language . "I cannot. and evolves," according to se- gusting hodgepodge we call ( ' laugh out loud') . As the world of online communication con"Some people speak Internet stand netspeak grammar," said nior Madeleine Wright. "If mil- English." lingo in person by accident," junior .Sarah Pepe. ''I correct lions of people are using In addition to common ex- tinues to grow, so does English wrote one female freshman , people. : .even in e-mails." En- ' Goagle' as a verb, then it's the pressions and abbreviations as a whole . Well , ' GTG' ('Got to go ') . "and there have been cases glish teacher Debra Michlewitz lexicographer 's job to include used in netspeak, leet-speak where it appears in reports." compared her style of e-mail to it In the dictionary," she said. (defined as an "organized set of · Talk to ' ya' later. 'TTYL'. The ex.act translation of the Some students feel that if numbers and symbols,'' accordwords such as 'Google' and ing to The Augusta Chronicle) first paragraph's fe e t and 'spyware' are now a part of the is. another language that devel- netspeuk message reads , Time Harrisites Spend Using IM, E-mails or "Hello. Do you-want to meet for dictionary, others may accom- oped through the Internet. Leet, Other Forms of Technological Communication pany them in the future . Sopho- known also by its code tninsla: coffee~ Talk to 'yu 'Luter. " Conmore Michelle Castano noted tion ' 1337', is·a language made sult www.netlingo.com or that Myspace, a popular social of sy~bols and numbers that at- www.urbandictionary.com for networking site, "should be tempt to resemble the letters of more information about considered" as well. the English alphabet. In leet, netspeuk. j

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According to The Seattie some symbols can represent Times, "Some believe [Internet multiple letters~ making it a difterminology and abbreviations ficult language to translate and are] hurting the way students understand. think." The article further exAn example of leet-speak is plained that "E-inails are usu- "70\/\(/\/53/\/[) #4121215," ally composed at lightning which translates to "Townsend speeds, without any concern · ·Harris." On the survey, 39% of about editing, clarity or word students identified this corchoice ... [and] the prQblem rectly, realiZ-ing that each symarises when students begin bol or group of symbols correthinking at that speed without sponds to a letter of similar pausing to consider what, ex- shape in English. actly, they are saying." "I feel that lee! is a crearive .Conversdy , a New York way to express yourself,'' wrote Times book review of David one male junior. "You can use

Sources: Bostick, Karnillt: . "Break the -code: Text messaging gets complex with leet -speak." The Auxusta Chronicle 24 Oct. 2006: B07. Eisenberg, Anne. "Pooh-Poohing the Purists, a Scholar Revels in Netspeak." The New Ytn·k Time.i 13 Dec. 2001: G7. '"Google'- the verb- makes Merriam-. Webster dictionary." The Globe and Mail July 2006: 88. Hayslett, Chandra M. "No L.OL mat· ter: Cyber li'ngo shows up in academia .. .. The Seattle Times 26 Nov. 2006: A 14. "Mouse Potato." Merriam-Websler ColleKictle.Diclimwry. II th ell . 2006. ''Spyware." Merriam· Websler Colle· - Killle Dic:lionary. II th ed. 2006.

The Classic

June 2007

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EIIE project recognized by Benjamin Snyder

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Educate to Elevate (EIIE), a dub in which students·share their different cultures with each other, recently received recognition for its work on a project enabling a small town in India to receive water purifiers, as well as for its help educating students in methods of hygiene. · The project was first brought to the dub's attention around February of last year by English teacher Joe Canzoneri, whose friends, Mike and Kathy-Libman, began the project with their daughter, Carrie, several years ago. According to Abbey Rani, the dub's vice-president, "Mike[Mr. Libman] worked in India for m~ny years and found out that people were dying because of impurities in the water." As a result, Mr. Libman found a way to solve the water problem by installing water purifiers in the village. The mythod allows the villagers to bring water to the · various purifiers , pour it in, and then receive filtered water in return . "The project is very inexpensive," s<J.id Ericka Jaramillo, a member of Educate to Elevate, "and it's the best way to really get it to work." After finding out about the project last February, members of the dub, which is advised by mathematics teacher Sarah Liu, got to work on various elements of the project by creating posters, poems, and even a jingle. Although water purification played a large role in the overall mission of the task at hand, E~ucate to Elevate decided to take a slightly different route by teaching young students about hygiene . "Our purpose was to emphasize the effects of dirty water as well as hygiene," said Ericka. In recognition of their work , the dub received a plaque that reads , "Certificate of Appreciation- Townsend Harris High School Educate to Elevate Club. Thank you for your support!" and depicts one of the posters created for the project as well as the people" in charge of the operations in Itidia.

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· "D:-1lte newest Arfflr ef instant noodles @Acutely perceptive; having keen discernment The Princeton Review will not only teach you how to find the right answers, but, we'li show you the quick and easy way to get there. And after the test you'll leave feeling quite perspicaciot~s. To enroll or get more information about all of our prep options, including tutoring, smatl group tutoring, and online programs, visit PrincetonReview.com or call us at 800-2Review.

Psychology Cl_ub

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by Faith Aronowitz

for members to discuss issues such as Interested in Psycholo.gy·> .eating disorders , anxiety, and stress. Ms. The new Ps·ychology Club , whieh . Shen· is also planning< fo r members to held its first general meeting on April volunteer at either a nursing home or a 13, was created by club president Alice nursery school to help out, as well as to . Kai with the help of science teacher see psychology in action . Shibing Shen , the dub's _advisor. The Psychology Club meets Friday <:lfterPsychology Club will provide a forum noons in Room 6':35.

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those who know the whole Webster's - savvy seniors like club presidents Jodictionary by heart ? Thanks to word seph Lin, Rowena Eng, and Kevin Chen, · the Scrabble Club meets every Monday in room 531. The 15Scrabble Club members met for the first time on .January 8, when they played a game of Scrabble and discussed plans for the club's future . Joseph , Kevin , and Rowena 's p'assion for word games ex te nd s back to ·L-.. freshman year when all th ree would play an online ve rsion of Scrabbl e, Literati. "The experience of pl aying Scrabble together- the jokes we make, the con ver. L, ·~ l 3 - sations we have, the silly words we play, 3 were al l in this seeming ly med iocre u':)IJ-.. t game," explained Joseph. Play ing word ) LHH~ scon games was an unlikely bonding experi: ence they wished to share with the rest of the school. The next step was to find a club suQ(lll!!>\ pervisor. They were told by who they •· WOitl ~co·~ later discovered to be ari unreliable .. source that Ms. Fee was a Scrabble fan. DO\Illlf ~ This led Rowena, Joseph and Kevin to lETHR KOltl approach her, on ly to discover the shaky past of Ms. Fcc and Scrabble. "We found out that she actually lost interest in Scrabble after she was driven crazy by

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her Scrabbl e- obsessed rela'rives ," said [person]. But Ms. Fee didn ' tiel this stop hter from becDmin g club supervisor. "Ms. Fee was enthusiastic to help us , and she is always filled with creative and brilliant ideas," said [-- ]. T he three friend s then proposed their idea at the Consultative Council meeting . One of their goals in establishin g the Scrabble Club was to d is prove stereotypes about word games. " At Scrabble Club," ~a id Joseph, "we want to s how that the game of Scrabble can be fun for everyone." They also felt that a word game would pea fun way of enhancing students' vocabularies, especial ly 'with the stress of language classes and SATs . "Above all, there's nothing like a good game among fri ends to calm the nerves," added Joseph. Despite its name, Scrabb le won't be the only aCtivity the club will focus on. In the future , games such as Taboo, Boggle, and Scattegorics will be played. The leaders also plan to acquire foreignlanguage Scrabble boards so that students taking courses such as French or Spanish can practice their skills and learn new. vocabulary.

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12 ::~:::~c ~----------~-~-Archon ceremony honors community service achievements · by Ariel Brodsky Marni Dangellia, and Merlyn Vilma. Over 160 students were either in- After the Flower of Tradition Ceremony dueled or re-inducted into Archon, the in which ' outgoing Executive Board prestigious honor society that celebrates members welcomed the incoming Exthose who uphold the principles of the _" ccutive Board members, separate indueEphebic Oath through outstanding com- tion pledges were administered to first, munity service , un. March 15 . Require- second, third, and fourth year members, ments for all members include a mini- and students walked on stage to receive -mum of 80 hours of community service their awards. As is custom, members and an overall average of 85 or higher each placed two jars of baby food in a last term; returning members are also ex- 'donation box before their names were pee ted to have completed at least two called; this was their first act of service charity walks and one charity event. in the new Archon year. After the cer"I think Archon in many ways is the emony, everyone invited to the lobby for most important recognition," said refreshments "to celebrate as a commuCOSA Adam Stonehill, who oversees nity," as Mr. Stonehill said. Archon proceedings. "It's an opportu"It felt wonderful to be honored for nity to recognize those who give back helping the community," said sophothe most. " He also acknowledged the more Margaret Ngo, a first year mempcrseverance of students who are able ber of Archon . "It's one offhe best feelto perform many hours of community ings of accomplishment.''service and still succeed in a demandOutgoing President of Archon ing high school. Their charity work, Markrete Krikorian is especially fond of which includes deliverin¥ food and Archon and all that the society entails, working in research labs, is "incredible even though she will soon be gradualon top of all their regular school work ." ing. "Archon allowed me the opportuThe induction ceremony took place n'ity to help others and give back to my in the Townsend Harris auditorium be- community," she said. "I will continue fore an audience of parents and guests. -to seek out ways to improve and impact Various speeches were given by f<iculty my community in college and beyond, and members of the Archon Executive but I will remain ever grateful for the Board, and musical presentation breaks community service opportunities with were performed by Adriana Mateo, which Archon generously provided me."

--~~-----~--

MuAl·p·ha Theta

inductees ce-lebrate with pizza on n day by Alexander Lord Are you smarter than a 5'11 grader? The Mu Alpha Theta Induction Ceremony was held on March 14, otherwise known as "pi" day, at exact Iy 3: 14 pm. In addition to featuring a mathematical theme , the "pi" .party included pizza pie from Gino ' s and fruit-flavored pies , which were served during tl1e festivities . Additionally, three students accepted the challenge to compete in a mock game show with real 5' 11 grader Annalise Fee, Assistant Principal of Mathematics and Mu Alpha Theta advisor Ellen Fee 's daughter. One hundred and twenty two students met the requirements for accep~ tance into Mu Alpha Theta, which include completion of Math B, a minimum 90% overall average, a minimum 93% mathematics average, and an additional $5 entry fee . Of the 122 students, seniors Katie Sullivan and Eric Chernow were the only third-year inductees. The informal "pi" party took place .after school. and was held in the student dining halL "It was very nice that it was ri,ght after school, so more people could come," said Katie, Senior Represent'ative. The informal atmosphere is "more of my per-sonality," explained Ms . Fee" "I don't like very formal [ceremonies] ." - The party included a raffle, which

gave away a graphing calculator, two temporary elevator § passes, and ~ :; three tote -~ bags. Senior ;;; ~ Jas.on Lee ;>, ..0 was "ex ~ 0 tremely ex~ 1'i cited " after winning the TI-84 calculator, and added that he'll "put it to good use in college." Senior Marcus Ng was a winner in the raffle as well, walking away with an elevator pass and a spot as a contestant on the moe k game s)10w Are You Smarter than a 5'" Grader? "I was ecstatic and overcome with emotion;'' said Marcus . "It's ·always nic~ to be ·a winner." As a contestant, Marc-us competed with Annalise Fee, whom_ ., he described as "a great partner." Katie, as an audience member, described the game show as "interactive and fun." According to Ms. Fee, all of the math teachers submitted potential questions for the game show, including a final million doll~r question of ep 1, jnvolving polar coordinates. "I got to the million dollar question," Marcus said, "but they gave me a question which was so obviously not for a 5' 11 grader. That was so unfair." (/)

Seniors succeed at Quality of Life competition continued from page I did I dig myself into?' Nevertheless, I investigated the correlation between say they didn't feel like taking it. I was _problem identified. Past students have tried my best to continue, and looking type of residence .and recycling rates. a little irritated that they got my hopes seen their proposals for reform sup~ back, I guess I didn't do such a bad job Upon reading a New York Times article up, but I still had to force myself to smile ported by local government etforts and after all," she said. that stated that many people do not know · and say 'Thank you,"' she explained. actually implemented as a result of their Sleep and Truck Noise which items are recyclable, she decided Alexandra Stark~s project also examthorough research :' Lavinia's project investigated the ef- to take action. ined recycling participation, but among Food Stamps fects of truck noise on the sleeping pat"According to the article, 10,276 re- middle school students. Specifically, she _June's project examined the citywide terns of residents in Council District 26. cycling summonses wer.e issued in . was looking for a correlation between under-enrollm.e nt rates in the food staJT!p · She proposed that women are more 2005! I thought that was depressing, so middle scho<]l students' awareness imd . program. She hypothesized that single bothered by ·truck noise and tested the I decided that I wanted to help people knowledge of recycling and their parmothers do not enroll in it to avoid the residents' awareness of the i lie gal truck with recycling for rriy project. Besides, ticipation levels. · stigma associated with welfare pro- traffic in the area. Using surveys, I care about the environment too. We "Before my project, I didn't think grams . Through her research, June con- Lavinia found that her hypothesis was should all keep it clean," Valeria ex- much about recycling, but now I really cluded that while stigma is a factor, the correct and th~ll 65% . of her sample . plained. reoognize its importance and hope that complicated process of applying and population does not report the illegal She suggested that people living in other people do too. It's such an easy . lack of time to do so are larger issues routes of the trucks because they do not apartments areI less likely to recycle than thing to do and so beneficial, alild yet so that pr.event single mothers from apply- know how to do so. Therefore, she sug- people living in hous.es. In her research few people do it," Alexandra said . ing for food stamps. H:er research pro- gested an online template to report ille- however, she found no correlation beShe found that most students do not . cess included handing out surveys at city gal truck traffic with the New York De- tween type of residence and recyoling knbw how to reco_yide . T hus , they do not food pantry sites and interviewing ad- partment of Transportation_. To raise rate. People are . generally confused recycle regularly and do not believe !evocacy group dire.Ctors . . awareness of her findings, she has about recycling procedures, regardless cycling is important. Alexandra also ''We cannot expect society to move drafted an article to be published in . of what type of residence· they live in . found that the New York City Departforward if one of the most basic needs www.streetsblog.org, the online Trans- To help alleviate the problem, she pm- ment of Education (NYC DOE) does not [for] survival is not met. We can inform port·ation Alternatives magazine, and in posed .holding a recycling fair where provide standardized lessons about repeople that help is available, and that local newspapers. participants can play an interactive game cycl.iNg for students. Thus, she was in·there is no shame in taking it," she · _ "I realized that even I had trouble to Jearn about recycling laws and . im- spired t o work with Gregory Borman , stated. falling asleep at night because the trucks proving the environment. the science education specialist for the June also acknowled-ged the diffi- passing by produced a tremendous Valeria used . suryeys as a research NYC DOE, to put lessons about the ,enculty in committing so much- time to · amount of noise, and so I wanted to see tool, but found that di:;triputing them vironment and recycling into the science s·uch a demanding project for two years. if other residents had similar problems," was harder than she e-.xpected. cwrriculum . She also suggested that stu"On top of all my other school work, it said Lavinia. "The worst part was 'rhen I asked dents learn about recycling through sometimes became so overwhelming Valeria Chi's project, "The Effe.ctive- people if they would like to take a sur- . statewide English and mathematics that I often said to myself, 'What exactly ness ofRecycling in New York City," vey and then they would smile at me and continued on page 14 -·!

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The Classic

June 2007

Leading. doub·le lives.: A l·ook at Town-sen·d twins by Benjamin Snyder sibling better." _ strong-minded as well as generous and Walking down the halls and seeing One problem with ..going to the same kind. " Eliana said of her and tier twin , the faces of all your classmates day in school and , more specifically, having the "Our style is also very similar. We actuand day out may be routine by now. same classes , according to sophomore ally share clothes. However, we do have However, how would you feel if you fraternal twins Andrea and Melisa Yoo, very different personalities," she conlearned that someone you knew actually is that "we usually think alike in our tinued . "While I'm outgoing and talkhad a double life - a life in which, on . homework and reports,- so we have to ative, she likes to keep more to herself." · the outside, they look strikingly similar try to make things look different so. that As Gabriella explained, "It's quite • to another person you have never met? teachers won't accuse us of cheating or different being a twin than having a In the halls of Townsend Harris, plagiarizing." Both gave examples of regular sibling because twins go through there are many twins, some we know how they have helped each other by giv- milestones at the same time and always about and some ·we don't. If you've ing "support," as E\iana wrote, or even have a playmate of their age. This altaken or are currently taking biology, · just by helping to "lessen the workload ," lows for the development of social skills you might have studied the differences between identical and fraternal twins. Identical twins are conceived when, during cleavage, the zygote is split in· half. Because the y come from the same egg, the resulting babies have com" pletely identical genes. Fraternal twins, on the other hand, according to bi ology teacher Shebing Shen, occur- because "some women can ovulate from both ovaries and when their eggs get fertilized it's two different eggs that are fertili zed by two different sperm ." While · identical twins are of the sam e gender and have the same physical features, fraternal twins , continued Ms . Shen "can have different genders and different features because they are from two different zygotes." Studies are being done to determine why the egg splits iuto two Double take! Do you recognize the Duke sisters? ' in the case of identical twins . Sophomore Eliana Paradis has a fra- as Gabriella mentioned. "We can also at an earlier age." In this sense, having ten1al twin sister, Barbara, who currently help each other ~i-th rests and reports,'' a twin sibling helps because it allows rttends Bronx High Schoot ·of Science . . said Gabriella, "especially if we are you to have someone that you can re/According to Eliana, "One negative working tog.e ther on a group project. late to on many different levels. Eliana thing I can think about being a twin is Sometimes our collaborative efforts agreed, "You always have someone always being compared. Of course we . lessen the worklO,.ild significantly." there to support you in every aspect of don't compare each other and neither do Gabriella and Deborah have averages your life," she said. our parents, yet others ha~ve .a hab~t"'@f that differ by only one point Fraternal. Scientists are conducting studies to comparing me and my !l'ister ·in ~cho0!, twins Eliana and Barbara are a·!so simi- analyze the similarities and differences our styles and our personalities." lar academically. "Barbara did get into between twins . According to David I. Because they attend different Townsend last year," said. Eliana, "but Kirp in his New York Times article, "Afschools, .however,. it has been quite ' a the school she wanted to go ro most was · ter the Bell Curve,'' "Identical twins are different experience.for Eliana, ,wlilo, up BronX' Science. She got accepted into in· effect clones who share all their until now\ went to the same schooL .as both schools but ultimately went with genes ." By testing twins, many insights he·r twin si.ster. "My sister andi had been the school that she thought would make can be gained regarding how environin the same school Jorever,' ' El-iam1 said, her happier." "When ir comes to ment affects intellectual growth. Kirp "High school has ,been the firsuime,that we've ever been separated." . Despite this, she went on to .say,, "Personal!.y ' it doesn't matterto me if we're in the same 'Being in separate schools has given us the school or in separate schGols .. Being in .. opportunity to grow as two different people.' separate schools has given us the opportunity to grow as two different people." Sophomore Lydia Nitchman, another twin, agrees with Eliana. Both Lydia and her fraternal twin Abigail requested school," Eliana continued, "my sister writes, "If heredity explains most of the to be separated in eighth grade so that and I have similar habits. We're very stu- difference in intelligence, the I.Q [in"we c.ould be our own people," said dious and we both have an eagerness to telligence quotient] scores of identical Lydia. "Since then," she continued, "we . learn." Andrea and Melissa also agreed twins will be far more similar than the · have had a better relationship ." _that they are both highly motivated stu- I.Q. 's of fraternal twins." Based on "a In contrast to Eliana and Lydia, dents with good grades, although, An- century worth of quantitative-genetics literature," Kirp concludes that "a sophomore twins Gabriella and Deborah drea added, "I tend to get better ones," Duke both attend Townsend Harris, The twins. noted that they share many - person's I.Q. is remarkably stable and "We're pretty sure we're identical other similarities as well. Gabriella said, that about three-quarters of I.Q. differtwins," Gabriella said, "although we're "We don't have many differences be- ences between individuals are attributnot 100 percent sure." Gabriella and tween us. We have different birthmarks able to heredity," Other twin studies investigate the Deborah face the difficulties which and Deborah's nose points up a little bit Eliana avoided by separating from her more. Deborah also tends to have more possible role of heredity in the develtwin in high school. Gabriella said, freckles . Otherwise, we are similar and opment of personality. Ms . Shen, who "Sometimes it's hard being in the same we like the same clothes." She contin-, also teaches psychology, explained, school, e.specially when we are in the ued: "our personalities are pretty much "There are a lot of twin studies done in same class. There is always the fear that the same. We have the same friends and psychology because, even though identhe teacher will compare us or like our enjoy the same stuff. We both are very tical twins might be separat~d at birth,

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they still end up with the same type of lifestyles and personalities." She added, "According to some of the studies, personality is the result of nature and nurture and if identical twins are put in similar environments, it should result in simil'ar personalities." While twins often run in families, new treatments for infertility are causing an increase in multiple birt,hs. In fact, according to statistics released in 2004 and cited by the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs, "since 1980, th~ number of twins has climbed by three-fourths and the rate by two-thirds. " One study reported in a 2006 New York Times article linked the ovulationinducing drugs used to treat infertility to "a significant risk of producing multiple births." The study showed that this treatment, used on I ,494 women at the Center of Human Reproducti on in Chicago, resulted in 3 ~ 4 single babies, 88 pairs of twins , 22 sets of triplets, I 0 sets of quadruplets, five sets of quintuplets and two sets of sextuplets . A higher consumption of dairy products by the expecting mother has also been linked to the birth of fraternal twins. According to Nicholas B<ikalar's New York Tiines article, "Rise in Rate of Births May Be Tied to Dairy Case," this is caused by the hormones given to · the dairy cows . During their interviews , the twins were willing to share twin-related anecdotes. Being a twin opened up special opportunities for Gabriella and Deborah . "Well, we do get more attention because · we're twins," said Gabriella, "People tend to notice us more." In fact, both did some modeling for magazines when they were younger. According to Gabriella, "Our 'twinship' is what got us recognized." She added; "Sometimes people don't even realize we're twins, which also provides us with some good stories. At summer camp, .. most of the boys didn ' t notice we were twins until we had been going there for three years. They just thought we changed our clothes a lot." Andrea also has similar experiences with her twin. She said that "some people are surprised to find out that we are twins, and it's especially funny if it's someone that we knew for a long time." All of the students interviewed agreed that being a twin is something special an<;! ultimately beneficial. When asked whether she ever wished that she weren't .a twin, Gabriella responded, "We don't really thili'k about. that too much. We've never known life any other · way so it would be hard to envision life . without each other. Life would certainly be a whole lot different and not necessarily in a good way." I

Sources Bakalar, Nicholas. "Rise in Rate of Twin Births May Be Tied to Dairy Case." Ne11· York 7/me.,· 30 May 2006. "Treatment Tied to Increased Multiple Births .... New Ytu·k Times 6 July 2006. Kirp, David I. "Atkr the Bell Curve ." NeiV York 1/mes 23 July 2006. "Multiple Births ·statistics." National (hxaniwtio:l of'MotherJ of'T~im ~lubJ 2004. .

·,

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The Classic

June 2007

-p.JN · s,ystem ·p rOmises faster cafeteria serVice by Ariel .Brodsky Stu~ents no longt;r need tickets and cash to receive a meal. Townsend Harris was recently selected to participate in a new automated Point of Service (POS) system sponsored by Food and Nutrition Services, in ho.pes of shortening breakfast and lunch lines by eliminating the need to get change. Eventually, all New York City public schools will serve meals on this system . Since the system was implemented on March 20, students have been paying for food in advance through an online ac- . count. This can be done in one of three ways. One way is for parents to deposit lunch money into the account at the website www .MyLunchMoney.com, for which they will be charged a transaction fee of $1 . They must first create an account by accessing the website, clicking . on "Enroll Now," and following the prompts to register. Parents can log into the website with a username and password and deposit money, or they can set up their account for automatic payments. The second way parents can deposit money into the account is by calling (800) 479-3531 and making payments through a credit card . Lastly, students can ac(:;ess their account through "myPAL" kiosks that

will be placed in the cafeteria. In this way, they can add to their account themselves by following the instructions on the screen and inserting money. When a student is ready to buy breakfast or lunch, he or she enters a 6-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN) on a PIN pad. This deducts money from the account based on whether the student receives reduced or full-paid meals. Those with free meals must also enter their PIN, and everyone is encouraged to memorize his or her PIN to help lines move more quickly. "I personally think this system is better than lunch tickets," said Parent-Teacher Coordinator Winnie Hallex. "It's easier to remember a 6-digit PIN than to carry around a ticket book .... Hopefully, wheri everyone knows their PIN, the lunch line will go faster because change won't have to be given back to students.". She also added that the system "will give students the opportunity to practice for college. Many colleges have meal plans attached to the students' ID cards, and the students just swipe their cards when they eat." Acting Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee also supports the PIN system . "We're all going to appreciate the ease of this new techno!-

ogy;" she said. · Students have varying opinions. Freshman Gabriella Roselli thinks that the new system is "a good idea to keep the liqe moving." Some sophomores, however, . are skeptical of it. Yulia Shalamov and Michelle Chan agree that ".it's a waste of money, " and Danielle Dirhaculangan added that "it's going to be more of a hassle for us because people have to remember their PIN number, and they might .. forget it," which could potentially lead to even slower-moving lines. Victor' Bota said "the Board of Education should invest its money in improving food in school cafeterias before wasting its money to change ways in which I can pay for food." Kathie Ng disagreed, saying, "I don't mind the PINs because mine _is easy to remember." Juniors also had varying reactions. Lisa Chan -said, ".The problem of the lun~h line. be•;,ing so slow is not because of the money exchange, but because of how long every.one takes to get their food." .On the other hand , Christopher Chen feels that it was a "good idea" because "it is more convenient

·cunningham reti·res . continued from page 1 to deter.mine which candidate was selected by the superintend~nt.

Should the process be delayed into late summer, there are several possible outcomes. It is possible that the c~30 process could be reopened and the search either partially 01' completely repeated. There is the possibility that an acting interim principal would have to be chosen, a positi'on Mr. Cunningham wou ~d consider taking . "My purpose is not to leave the school without a new principal being selected," he explained. Another possibility is that the Chancellor's office would appoint someone to be principal because, starting July I, he will have the authority to do so. This process changed significantly from the time founding Pri.ncipal Malcolm Largmann retired six years ago. At that time, the C-30 commit-

ee reviewed the resumes of all nual school play. the applicants for the position "There are several things and chQse the people they tnat have changed [under my wished to interview from that leadership] ,"· he said. larger pool of people. This "Townsend Harris is more gave the committee more widely known .... Electives control over who c·ould be have increased ... . [and imselected as principal. This proved] technology brings Us year, Mr. Beirne's office only into the 21st century." presented the C-30 committee Mr. Cunningham hopes that with four names to choose his successor has "intelligence, from, even though there had wisdom, the capacity and debeen over 20 applicants for sire to learn, character, t1exibilthe position. ity, strong human relationship Regardless of who is se- skills an an ability to commulected to be his successor, Mr. nicate well, and [is] above all, Cunningham sees Townsend someone who recognizes and Harris continuing to uphold its . follows the dictates of the traditi.on as a Humanities Ephebic Oath." school and is proud of his acHe offered the following complishments as principal. He advice to his successor: "Confeels his most important contri- tinue to respect the traditions butions have been the introduc- of Townsend Harris High tion of more Advanced Place- School and follow the dictates ment courses and electives, the espoused in the Ephebic Oath. upgraded technology in classBe true to our Humanities misrooms, the increased number of sion while providing an excelc;lubs and activities, as well as lent education in all subject arthe reestablishment of an an- eas."

It's as easy as 1-2-3: Junior Vikram Pooni pays for llfnth using the new cafeteria PIN system. '

to have a· source of money., Ms. Hallex pointed out one you'll know you wil'l always ()f'the be_nefits of the ·PIN syshave." Kim Ashley Chua said, te~ wnether, or not it actually "I think the new system will be helps to~ sh~_!ten lunch lines . animproven1ent.. .J think it. wilJ,,.. ~J!Je, ll;JOpey tpat's ,put into t~he gb· faster slnc·e· people-'· don""t.. "' ac-eooni daif''6nly bi' spent bn have to be fumbling for food frolT).the 9ining hall ," ~he money." . She also suggested 'said, ··~oat Least aparent·knows that students keep a copy of where the money is going." their PIN inside their ID.

Quality. Of Life continued from page 12

exams by solving problems and reading stories about 11ecycHng. "ft was actually exciti'lllg t'<> think -that the· panelist o:f judt}e~ at the rmails even wanted to hear about my ideas and were interestoo in what I &ad to stty,,•• AlHandra said. Their teacher, Franco Scardino, attributed the stiltdents' success to their diligent work ethics and reseru.tch methods. . "Wbat afl of t:hem. had it:! common was a sound reseanch method and fi,ndings, Their recommendations for solving their issues are logical outgrowths supporteti by their research,'" he said. He idso poit!tted ottt the faet that students work lily themselves mr two years, in a oon-traditiooal sewng. Students W0rk aecordi~tg tq their own deadlines. w-ithout weekly tests, notesl er ~tures, common te o•r courses. "The twdest tniag is to make the transition from a traditional~ng~nv~~ "t() an H!~nt learning env~t. J' 4o~'fevtii

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'~ 86~- ~'&om this•independence and 1earfl to take initiative in theit respective OOI}I:r:nUnities in order to solve a partiwlar issue," said

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LaviniL "I ~vc that Mr. Scardino .f& a teacher of experiences., rather l1an of a tex(t)ook, more like a consu1taot than l)k-e an in$~. ln the ead, it an boils down to one thing: do -you~~~~ than·~ your acad~ g~ades?'' saill June.~~DJ. ~.f devot.ton to the prOJect.

....

The Classic June 2007

Sports awards celeb-rates athletes' achievements by Ashley Knight Honored athletes put on their dancing shoes as they were recognized for more than just their brains at the annual Athletic Sports Awards Dinner held on June 6 at theReception House on Northern Bpulevard. · The festivities began with the celebration of the achievements of Maureen McCluskey and Devotia Moor~, both recipients of the prestigious Heisman awards. Maureen was honored as a champion swimmer and Devotia as a top-rated runner. Linda Thai also received a Heisman award for handball, and Amy Feng receiv~d one ,for fencing. Also honored was the Girls' Swim team, who along with an undefeated season won the PSAL and City Championships this year: Fol-

lowing the loud round of applause for them was a standing ovation for Principal Thomas Cunningham, who in his final year at the school's helm celebrated his last Sports Awards Dinner. Other notable awards included Athlete of the Year honors, which went to Samuel Ok and Devotia Moore, both members of the Hawks' track team. Teams marched up one afteranother to be recognized for their outstanding seasons. Four members of every team were awarded the most valuable· player, most improved player, coach's, and rookie of the year awards. Sophomore. Sheldon Jones of the Hawks' basketball team was awarded most valuable player two y.ears in a row and senior Cletu~ Schuy.Ier won his first most valuable player award for the Hawks' Baseball

team. After the awards ceremony, Harrisites got jiggy with it as they danced to their favorite hip hop and pop tunes. ·Senior Sean Doerfler described the event as "fun and exciting." He added, "It was great to see ali my friends finally win aU the awards they · deserve." Junior Diana Kokoszka, however, was disappointed by some aspects of the evening. She said that "the table service didn't give you as much selection [as in years past] and a lot of people had to wait to be served." She added, however, · that "the dancing and music . were good." Some students paid for their $40 tickets through can"dy sale fundraising The money they raised went directly to funding their own tickets.

Like sports?

Girls' Soccer team heads the Division. by Robert McCull~h After falling in the first round of the playoffs in consecutive years, the Girls' Soccer team hopes to convert their regular season success into playoff victories as the season comes to a close. The Hawks have accumulateQ a 9-1 record going into the season's final weeks and have built up an insurmountable lead in first place over com. petitors Francis Lewis and the tligh School for Arts and . ' Business. . The girls most recently won a close 4-3 contest over Long Island City High School on May IS and will close out the 2007 season against Francis Lewis and the High School for Arts and Business before heading to the city playoffs for the third straight season. Junior Maria Romano has led the team for the second straight season. Her I 0 goals are not only tied for the team lead but for tops in the Queens A-VI division. Her mark has been matched only by a teammate, sophomore Lorena Russi, who is playing this season for the first time after not getting into any matches last year. Romano's strong s.e ason of scoring has brought her career total to an astounding 3S goals, a total which is sure to be augmented in the remainder of this season and playot"fs as well as next year. Fellow junior Diana Kokoszka has also done well in her third season as the Hawks' goalie, 'amassing 72 saves on the year while holding Ol'ponents to under two goals a game. She has been helped on the defensive end by senior sweeper Cait Kilpatrick who, in addition to being the team's defensive stopper in her four years,' has made an impression on the offensive side by scoring three goals on the year to raise her career total to

.The.Classic_ .nee,d$ Y:0.4J We apologize for our shabby ·sports coverage this - issue. We ·are suffering from a dearth of interested sports writers. If you're interested-in writing sports for ,The Classic, speak to Ms. Cowen in room 505. Many positions are open for interested candidates!

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Female fencers foiled in finals

IJ:y R:~ert McCullqll Arter making die •'final folilf" in tennis for~--~. Ute ~oy&~Te.U.,~~· to tbe Beacon Sekeol in this year's city quat'Wftnak.' (~ tt;tqon~ die:stfeak of ~fmal hiftbs~ The loss conclwled a disapp(}intiftg season fOr the.Haw~ wiic)·· ~tl. ia 3-7 recor<! Which included a forfoit an4 a cofttf(}versial• to Lincolo' in WhiCh tw0'~We.rc forfeited. The Hawks Welle unable to, heat perennial p<>Wers Cardtizb andlSrooklyn Teeb. in tbeHp· ~~ seasGtJ, bat ats, tels in thQ.$tandings ~ oi..~.~-~;Jmnes ~- Francis Lewis. as wetl as the .iatcl:l1lt.tinoollfth•~,~·a ~s.s ·~ :f!le~V.:~ and the~~ . .ysi4e, W:~ was_~ ~~~~i~;qliJ:Iy~~ty~:~~W,k~ did <ileffit Lmc•la i;n a playt>:lf mnatcl!:li>y ~i.~ 5.,.() . . . .g~ pro~ tfiat1\ey ~ IJave be~ th~ m fhe-~ar SeasQa, WM;l itey not ·~ for~. •or ~~ players di&reat p.ositjoos ~noqoal. and f~ced to fof{~ The 4--lloss to ~a: ·.-~ thea' end .of~~~ ~Oiq of se~ ·~ Doe'dler and Mike Malhmne. Doedlcr, • was moreasiftgfJ umwmtable·iO tile team·o-Yer the ltiitwo sbasGas be:cause of ~r eommitBtenm tt> the ~oUtSide of school. ftnisliied ·his b.i.gl:l sdtoot careel!.Wrth an impressive 3'6--7 record. '1'lle 36 wins were <.me more tha1l Ad Oayor. a 2005 ,ratiuate who we.o the Heismao tr<Opby for best ·sobe-lar-atblete in tentli$ and now plays at DattmoutL Mallmne. who C()mpeted in botla siagles and doubles in his four years wj1h the Hawk$, matched bis e0usin Doerllor's reoord fi>r wins by acoom!Jladng a 34-9 reoord in his career. Junior startetts Oabrle1 Feldet:, wlwse brother Julian wilt also be leaving the teart:l next y~ac after his ~aduati()tt, and Wai Loo Wong will be eou.nted on next season to get the Hawks back t-o the sennfi:nals and beyond.

maoaged_

by Robert McCullagh For the second straight year, the Girls' Fencing team, coached by English teacher Debra Michlewitz, met up with Stuyvesant High School in the city finals. The result was not the same as last year, when, coming into the tournament as a lower seed, the Hawks defeated Hunter and Cardozo before · upsetting Stuyvesant to win the city title. , Hopes were higherfor the Hawks this year, after they went uncjefeated in eight matches in _the regular seasun and easily dispatched South Shore High School and Tottenville High School in earlier playoff rounds. The plans for a repeat as champions were dashed, however, when the girls lost to Stuyvesant by a score of 6.2S-2.7S in the city final, held at Long Island City High School, on May 2. · Though they were defeated by Stuyvesant; the girls were able to hold their heads high after a very successful season. In need of new fencers after four of seven team members from last season graduated, the team received help from both old and new places. Seni·ors Amy Feng ami Christina Lam, who both returned from last season, each placed amongst the top I 0 in the city in wins with IS and 12, respectively. Though neither of them led the city in victories in their final seasons, it was a Hawk who held that honor. Sophomore Margaret Ngo, in her first season with the team, won 16 games in the "C" position to lead notjust the Hawks' division but the entire city in wins. Sophomores Shelby Hecht and Rupinder Gar:cha, as well as junior Sun Mei Liu, also placed highly J.n the winning ranks, which gave the team .renewed hope. for continued success next year after the graduation of Feng and Lam.

The Classic -

J~ne2007

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