October 2014 by The Classic

Vol. 1 No. 1

FRESH PERSPECTIVES Comparing the freshman experience of two classes separated by thirty years of tradition page 8

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Contents

The Classic Magazine In the Classroom: A spotlight on Mr. Scardinoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sophomore Social Science Research class and the research process that led three students on the road to success. Pages 4-7

Cover Story: Explore the freshman experience of two THHS classes, separated by thirty years of tradition building, changes in educational policy, and cultural transformations. Pages 8-11

Student Life: A look into the fandom subcultures of current Harrisites, and how books, movies, television shows, and the communities that worship them shape these studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; lives. Pages 12-15

The Classic Magazine is an open forum for the expression of student views. The opinions expressed therein should not be taken to represent those of the administration or faculty, or of the student body as a whole. We welcome letters to the editor. Townsend Harris High School 149-11 Melbourne Avenue Flushing, NY 11367 The Classic Magazine reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and concision. Cover photos courtesy of the first Crimson and Gold and Yash Sharma

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OCT 2014

Nicole Barros, Mahirah Billah, Asmaaul Chowdhury, Sarah Ebbrecht, Jamie Fung, Stephanie Geier, Durell Gill, Stanley Harcharan, Shaunak Kapse, Abinash Kaur, Mehr Kaur, Rebecca Kwon, Jason Lalljee, Nina Leeds, Alexa Luciano, Angelika Narewski, Catherine Ng, Fariha Nizam, Emma Noblesala, Zachariah Ooi, Dimitri Perdik, Nijah Phills, Abygail Rampersad, Ekta Rana, Erin Robinson, Rebecca Shi, Daniel Szewczyk, Kasey Wagner, Jennifer Walsh, Stephanie Yeh, and Woo Jung Yi Advisor: Brian Sweeney

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MAKING HISTORY: ORIGINAL RESEARCH BEYOND THE TEXTBOOKS by Stephanie Geier

Photo By Kari Iocolano

The Classic Magazine · October 2014

ast June, three Harrisites qualified for the National History Day (NHD) contest held at the University of Maryland. Malik Khan, Vigunthaan Tharmarajah, and Howard Tai, all current juniors, were students in Franco Scardino’s Social Science Research I (SSR) class, which focuses on historical research and creating entries for the History Day contests based on annual themes. Malik and Vigunthaan’s project placed sixth nationally in the Group Website category, while Howard’s project placed third in the first round of the Individual Exhibit category. In order to achieve this feat, however, the three Harrisites spent months out of their comfort zones, delving into historical archives and reaching out to experts to bring hidden stories to light. SSR teacher Chris Hackney often compares this tedious, eight-month long process to running a marathon. “It takes a whole bunch of little steps to complete the process,” he said. Choosing a topic is a dynamic step in itself. Students must first conduct research on potential topics and write a paper. They must then narrow this information down to an arguable thesis and decide on the best method for displaying the information. Howard decided to research illegal surveillance conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) with a focus on radical civil rights activist James Forman. During the 1960s, the FBI called out certain activist groups as being “black extremist groups.” After claiming that these groups were dangers to domestic security, the FBI subjected them to broad surveillance programs. Howard feels strongly about the nature of these programs: “In reality, these surveillance programs were launched because the FBI was a racist organization that targeted African Americans, as opposed to real threats to domestic security, like the Ku Klux

Klan.” Howard’s work argued that, due to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 stating that no person in the U.S. should be “subjected to discrimination under any program...receiving federal financial assistance,” the surveillance program was unconstitutional. Though Malik and Vigunthaan initially planned to form a thesis around the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, they scrapped this idea for a lessresearched topic and argued instead that the combination of ongoing racial bias against Asian Americans after the Pearl Harbor attacks led to the deprivation of Japanese-American rights during the twentieth century. “We found the incarceration of Japanese Americans to be interesting because it fascinated us to see the United States target specific peoples throughout its course of history,” explained Malik. When asked what made the pair’s project stand out, Mr. Scardino said it was how they approached the topic of Japanese incarceration “from a perspective not normally taught.” He added that both projects “challenged mainstream viewpoints of looking at the role of government in matters of civil rights.”

THE RESEARCH PROCESS After choosing a topic, students spend the following four-to-five months completing the bulk of their project--the actual research process. Though the SSR teacher guides students and provides deadlines, it is the student’s responsibility to keep up. Howard’s research consisted of two main parts. The first was compiling archives of FBI’s airtel (a now outdated communication system) and documents of its surveillance of Mr. Forman that proved the FBI’s corruption. THHS’s location came in handy with this step--at the time, Queens College had recently opened a new collection

Malik and Vigunthaan’s project placed sixth nationally in the Group Website category, while Howard’s project placed third in the first round of the Individual Exhibit category.

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“It’s no longer just a story students read about in a textbook, but a real event students are investigating.” on James Forman to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. “I visited their archives several times, combing through boxes of FBI files for hours each time,” described Howard. Malik and Vigunthaan also collected sources from the Queens College archives, as well as the New York Public Library, the Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles, and “Densho,” an organization dedicated to preserving the memories of Japanese-American incarceration. The second step of the research process is interviewing experts. Howard emailed multiple veterans of the Civil Rights movement who worked for the SNCC and even met one veteran, Dorothy Zellner, in person. From Ms. Zellner, Howard learned that the FBI had sent undercover agents into civil rights groups to disrupt the sense of community between activists by planting fake notes and newspaper articles. Mr. Scardino believes that Howard’s extensive interviews and impressive “depth of research” especially made the project shine.

Malik and Vigunthaan, meanwhile, reached out to professors from institutions such as the University of California and New York University, and asked an NYU student majoring in Asian Studies to review their website. National History Day contest manager Adrienne Harkness said that this period of first-hand interaction with various documents and experts is crucial because it “makes [the student’s] topic come alive.” “It’s no longer just a story students read about in a textbook,” she continued, “but a real event they are investigating.”

CHALLENGES ALONG THE WAY While Vigunthaan’s favorite part of the SSR process was going through archives, he did run into difficulties with experts not responding to his emails. Mr. Hackney is well-aware that students often run into this problem. “Interacting with people outside of THHS is not always a positive experience,” he said. “Students will com-

A page from the website created by Malik and Vingunthaan

The Classic Magazine · October 2014

“Many students discover they have a passion for a subject they didn’t even know about.” Malik and Vigunthaan. Photo By Kari Iocolano plain about being ignored.” He further added that SSR students “often reach out to people who don’t want anything to do with them.” In this case, students have to demonstrate that their research is beneficial to the person they want to interview. This is especially common with politicians. However, Mr. Hackney also sees this problem as an opportunity for Harrisites to become more persistent and proactive. Mr. Scardino agrees that “fifteenyear-olds suddenly [having] to deal with notable people” can be difficult. “Some kids would be intimidated by that kind of a task.” The three national qualifiers, however, clearly overcame this.

THE FINAL PROJECT The final stretch of the “marathon” for the three juniors was the national competition. During the weeks leading up to NHD contests, students present their projects in front of the class for practice. After each NHD round, they improve their projects based on judges’ comments. “[SSR] is analogous to a roller

coaster with its many highs and lows,” reflected Vigunthaan. “While the weeks leading up to entry submission are very stressful, the satisfaction and happiness when you receive appreciation for a product you’ve produced is unmatched.” Mr. Hackney noted that attending NHD contests is beneficial in itself because Harrisites are exposed to equally hardworking and intelligent students from different areas. He humorously recounted one specific moment embodying this surprising level of competition. For the citywide NHD contest in 2001, a THHS student made a documentary about the first women’s national soccer team. Her confidence, however, was instantly deflated as she was bumped to second place when a student from Mary Louis Academy entered a different documentary with a surprise guest. Flabbergasted, Mr. Hackney and his students watched as former president Jimmy Carter appeared on the screen in a live interview conducted by the student.

THE LARGER PICTURE Since math and science research is currently on the rise, some may look down upon the social science

research process. After all, the past is the past, so what could be the purpose of digging it back out? Vigunthaan, initially caught offguard by the complexity of the research process, eventually appreciated its usefulness, saying, “I think it is a good skill to have as research is an integral part of many professions.” According to Ms. Harkness, highlighting past events also teaches society to learn from mistakes and build on past work in order to move towards societal improvement. Naturally, however, the SSR process impacts no one more than the students themselves. Ms. Harkness said that as a result of SSR, “many students discover they have a true passion for a topic they didn’t even know about,” with some continuing their research even after the contest. “In a broader sense, the research process helps students understand not just dates and places, but actual people and events that have shaped how we live today,” Ms. Harkness concluded. That knowledge, she contends, is vital: “This hopefully leads students to wonder: what can I do today to make a difference for tomorrow?”

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: k c a b h s 4 a 1 l 0 2 F . s man 984 v

FresEhAS A HARRISbIyTER, a1chel Chabin

DAY ON

here the Robert F. Kennedy Community High School now stands on Parsons Boulevard, there was once a small, vibrant, and driven high school population of about 200 students. Though new to the area and still establishing its place in the New York City educational system, the school had roots going back over half a century to its previous existence as an elite, all-boys public institution in Manhattan. It was known as Townsend Harris High School, and in September 1984, through the efforts of its alumni, it was reopened as a coeducational public school. Due to these circumstances, the first day of freshman year at THHS for the class of ‘88 differed greatly from that of today’s freshmen. Interviews with both the alumni of ‘88 and current freshmen at THHS show that compared to today, the freshman class of thirty years ago entered an entirely different environment with subtly different mindsets. Apparently, however, there are certain aspects of a freshman’s first day that time (and space) cannot change.

FIRST DAY FRIGHT “It was scary going to a new school... everyone and everything was new,” recalled alumna Lori Kroun. This sentiment applied to both sets of freshmen, many of whom felt nervous yet excited at the prospect of a new beginning. However, there was one obvious factor that added more apprehension, or possibly excitement, to the class of ‘88 on that day--its members were about to start their next four years at a high school still being built from scratch. Because THHS lacked the stellar reputation it now has, certain alumni were hesitant about applying. Some were even discouraged from applying because doing so at a new school

The old home of THHS

A student participates in an early “Spirit Day.” All images in this feature are from the first edition of The Crimson and Gold

The Classic Magazine · October 2014

The first class carpools as seniors.

Dancing in the ‘80s.

Students from every class at THHS have dealt with public transportation.

would be foolish. “I will say that [the decision to apply] wasn’t met with great warmth,” remembered Townsend Harris Alumni Association [THAA] co-president Tanya Odom. “The quote, actually, I think from my principal [to my parents] at the time . . . was something like ‘do you really want her to be a guinea pig?’” Alumna Dana Zachary also noted the tentative vibe that came with choosing to attend THHS, but approached it with optimism, saying, “THHS wasn’t all that far from where I lived, and I was up for the experiment.” However, this uncertainty did not last for long. “Evidence of our success that first year is the huge number of students who applied for admission to the THHS program in the second year,” said former principal Malcolm Largmann. “And, that phenomenon has continued for years thereafter.” As a result, today many freshmen aspired to attend THHS years in advance. “People know Townsend Harris now, whereas people really didn’t before,” said Ms. Odom. “The difference for me is looking at the fact that Townsend Harris has a reputation.” Freshman Renaenia Pangan had been exposed to high opinions and rankings of THHS for a while, so being a student at THHS was a dream of hers. “I wanted to go here since fifth grade,” she said. Freshman Patricia Xu also had high expectations of THHS on her first day, saying she applied because “it seemed like a really good high school and would prepare [her] for college.” Thus, while current freshmen walked in assured that they were attending one of the best high schools in the city, many members of the class of ‘88 came in with less certainty. That’s not to say current freshmen did not have their own apprehensions walking into THHS on their first day.

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“I remember meeting in the library and talking about how we had no books, no desks, no traditions.” “I felt overwhelmed,” recalled freshman Alyssa Mohamed. “I didn’t really know what to expect.”

MEETING NEW PEOPLE

freshmen entered schools with decided “work-in-progress” feels to them. The old building on Parsons Boulevard was much smaller than the current building, so much so that violin chamber groups would sometimes practice in hallways. “I remember that it was tight in the hallways. I remember the cafetorium, which was a little odd to have the cafeteria and auditorium in the same place,” said Ms. Odom. However, the small size also had its benefits. “Would it have been lovely to be in that big beautiful building on QC campus, of course it would have been!” said Ms. Odom. “And yet I think there were definite pluses to being in a building that was small where we were with each other all the time.” If one was to look into the library at the introductory meeting the class of ‘88 had on the first day, another obvious difference would become immediately apparent: there were no books except for an Oxford dictionary. “I remember meeting in the library and talking about how we had no books, no desks, no traditions. We needed to build a school from scratch,” explained alumna Julie Ramirez. In addition, on the first day of school the class of ‘88 walked into homerooms named after letters of the Greek alphabet rather than digits, with two teachers per homeroom rather than one. Unlike today, there were folding chairs instead of desks inside the classrooms, as desks with chairs hadn’t arrived yet. “I was ‘gamma’ . . . so not only were we a small school, but we were broken down into these small homerooms,” said Ms. Odom. Furthermore, on the first day of school the home-

Alumnus and current professor of the senior Humanities Seminar Joseph Merino vividly recalls his first day at THHS, saying, “I remember clusters of nervous and excited teenagers milling about in front of the school on Parsons Boulevard and then, later on, in the gymnasium.” In a way, however, because THHS has always culled students from various pockets of Queens and the city in general, all freshmen come to their first day with few social attachments, unlike in schools where everyone moves up together from middle school to high school. Mr. Merino confirmed, “there were interesting social dynamics since most of us knew only a handful of the other students previously.” He added that this made it easier to introduce himself to “strangers” at THHS. Aside from one person he knew from middle school, Mr. Merino’s first two acquaintances were from his homeroom. Several current freshman said they were apprehensive about having to meet new people. When asked how she felt the moment she walked into school on the first day, freshman Marisha Liliah, who said seven people from her middle school came to THHS, was “very anxious” because she was afraid she wouldn’t know anyone in her “There were definite pluses to being in a building classes. that was small where we were with each other all the In the end, freshmen from both the class time.” of ‘88 and the class of ‘18 formed close connections with their classmates. Freshman Alyssa Mohamed said, “I expected not to room teachers gave a speech on THHS’s first “yearly make friends but it turned out there were a lot of friend- theme”: Order and Chaos. ly people here.” An excerpt from the 1988 Crimson and Gold reads, “On the first day that the class of ‘88 entered the school, THE “CHAOS” OF FIRST CLASSES its homeroom teachers described the concept of a yearly theme. Just as in Western creation mythologies, there It is incontrovertible, however, that the physical en- was chaos. Order stemmed from the confusion and exvironment surrounding the class of ‘88 on the first day citement of the first entering class and opening of a new differed greatly from that of present day. However, giv- school.” en the construction scaffolding surrounding the buildOf course, chaos never really died out on the first day ing at the start of the current freshmen’s first day, both for freshmen and instead has become a tradition itself.

The The Classic Classic Magazine Magazine · October · October 2014201411

Students from the first freshmen class take the Ephebic Oath in 1984 at the First Founder’s Day at Colden. In fact, freshman Jiaxing Chen described his first day as“chaotic.” When asked how he felt walking into THHS on his first day, Paul recounted, “At first I was really scared because there were so many people and I didn’t know where to go.” On his first day, he walked into the wrong class and sat there for twenty minutes. When he realized his mistake, the class laughed at him. “I thought I was going to Biology but I think it was a twelfth grade Spanish class,” he said.

SENIORS FROM THE START Because the school was new, the class of ‘88 had the advantage of being the only class in the building on its first day of school. Current freshmen, however, walked into the building with over four times the number of students inside than the class of ‘88 did. “It was just our class in the “big” school and it seemed overwhelming,” said alumna Randi Feinberg Caldwell. However, Varsha Ghosh noted a benefit to to the small student population, saying, “The social environment was a lot easier than it would have been in a bigger and older high school.” Mr. Merino pointed out another obvious advantage:

“there were no worries about seniors picking on freshmen. We were the ‘seniors’ from day one!” Renaenia, however, admitted to being conscious of the seniors at THHS on her first day, saying, “I always had this fear they were gonna push or jump me.” Freshman Patricia Xu said it was “a little intimidating” to be the youngest in the building, but added that the seniors she has met so far have been helpful. However, there were downsides for the class of ‘88 to being the only class in the building. “Well I think it was awkward because we were the only students in the school; there were no older students to pattern our behavior after,” said Ms. Ghosh. Thus, united by the common goal of setting the foundation for a new school and facing the challenges of the first year, the class of ‘88 experienced a greater sense of intimacy and camaraderie on their first day than current freshmen did. “Things that just happen [in 2014]--spirit days, decorating of lockers--they’re just taken for granted as part of the culture whereas we were some of the pioneers in building that culture,” confirmed Tanya. “I think about what it means to be part of a group of trailblazers and pioneers. Like with many people who are the first at anything, there are some challenges.” “The “First Class” was a wonderful family,” said Steve Kargman.

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The Hidden World of

Fandoms by JENNIFER WALSH

e’ve all seen Facebook posts begging dent body, 81 percent of respondents identified themothers not to post television spoilers on- selves as being part of a fandom. These students parline or excitedly discussing the latest en- ticipate in online activities, with 68 percent reporting tertainment news. Everyone has at least that they binge-watch fandom-related content and 57 one friend who always seems on top of the latest and percent posting on social media sites about fandoms. greatest in pop culture, be it that new sci-fi series, the next big young adult novel, or something else entirely. HOW DO FANS INTERACT But what causes this fan frenzy? WITH EACH OTHER? Fandoms—large, highly active communities of Freshman Valerie Shum says she connects fans—have caused a recent surge of mainwith most of her fandoms through Fastream popularity for things tradicebook groups, drawing boards, and tionally considered geeky. Some Tumblr, her “second home.” of the biggest and most active “I remember seeing that fandoms at the moment ina lot of [a Tumblr blogger’s] clude those of One Direction posts at the time were Home(Directioners), Doctor Who stuck-based, even including (Whovians), and Game of a closet cosplay of a characThrones, which has no parter from the series,” Valerie ticular name for its fans. said, recalling the beginning These organized subof her interest in Homestuck, cultures have united peothe practice of dressing up a web comic. “I joined a drawple with a common interest as a character from a moving board kind of website and a through clubs, conventions, ie, book, television show, couple [of] groups devoted to the or video game and creative activities for over a fandom afterwards, and since then, century, but they have become largit’s basically changed every aspect of my er and more visible than ever because view on Western media and art.” of the Internet. Sites such as Tumblr, Twitter, One junior weighed in, “I’ve interacted with some of and Reddit have made connecting with fellow fans and sharing fandom-themed content easier than ever. my past fandoms quite a bit via writing fanfiction, roleStreaming services like Netflix allow people to binge- playing, art, doing covers. I’d say it’s impacted me quite watch shows, giving viewers the instant gratification of a bit especially in terms of art, considering the fact that watching whole seasons of their favorite programming I first started doing commissions because people found in one sitting, and, in some cases, causing some degree out about my art in the respective fandoms.” Though some may not consider virtual communities of obsession. In a survey conducted on the Townsend Harris stu- to be as substantial because they exist online, mem-

Fa n do m Dictionary

Cosplay (n.)

The Classic Magazine · October 2014

Ashton Santo cosplays as Clear from “DRAMAtical Murder” a Japanese visual novel. Photo courtesy of Ashton Santo.

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Living in a world of fantasies bers feel a genuine connection to each other and the material. “My best friends were made through an internet game over three years ago,” Valerie recalled. Freshman Aaron Fernando, a frequent user of Percy Jackson and Harry Potter message boards, echoed Valerie’s sentiments. “I’ve met a lot of people from all over. I’ve become friends with people from Chicago, from Argentina,” he said.

F a n do m Dictionary

Fanfiction (n.)

A piece of fiction written within a fandom using characters and situations from a pre-existing work including books, television programs, films, and comic strips.

WHY BE IN A FANDOM? “[A fandom] makes me connect to people on a deeper level,” agreed senior Taylor Johnson. “I have lots of friends in different countries because we connect through the show.” Anna Surendra, sophomore, frequently engages in “cosplay,” an activity in which fans dress up as characters from their favorite shows, books, etc., and roleplay as those characters, often at conventions or fan-organized meetups. “Cosplay kinda brings your inner self out, and you can make a lot of friends, people who relate to you and so on. When you cosplay and go to a con[vention], it’s as if you have a family,” she said. Outside observers may gawk at the effort spent creating fan art, writing fanfiction or curating blogs full of fandom content. They may wonder why people would bother to put that much effort into something so frivolous. However, fandoms often serve as an extended family of sorts, which is a large part of the psychological appeal that attracts devotees worldwide. Ferdinand Tonnies’ idea of Gemeinschaft, a community motivated by personal values and beliefs, also applies to fandoms. The central link—be it a television series, band, sports team or book—connects people and allows for more intimate online interactions due to shared values. The chance to connect with people and find a place to belong, even if it’s online, is appealing to many.

Ashton Santo also cosplays as Karkat Vantas from “Homestuck,” the online comic from “MS Paint Adventures.” The comic is over 6,000 pages long.

The Classic Magazine · October 2014

Sophomore Anna Surendra cosplays as Butler (top) and Ichigo Kurosaki (bottom). Photos by Kari Iocolano.

“Fandoms often serve as an extended family of sorts, which is a large part of the psychological appeal that attracts devotees worldwide.”

F a n do m Dictionary Otaku (n.)

Person who passes the time by watching anime, playing video games, surfing the web

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Visit facebook.com/ humansofthhs

From September 15: See this year’s “Humans.” “Is this for Humans of Like the page at Townsend Harris? Evefacebook.com/humansofthhs. ryone look natural!” Photo by Karen Su

Produced by the Photography Staff of The Classic