Arsivity 2013, issue 2 by Andrew Fischer

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin Principal Jie Zhang Faculty Advisor Maryann Ferrara The Executive Council 2013 - 2014 Christine Xu President Eric Zhang Executive Vice President Danielle Polin Vice President of Events Tiffany Tsai Vice President of Tutoring Michele Lin Vice President of Communications

Fall 2013, Issue II

Note about this Newsletter The Communications Committee is proud to present the second installment of ARISTIVITY: The ARISTA Bulletin, our premier newsletter! Our goal is to keep members informed of policy changes, events, and other special announcements. This newsletter will also give the opportunity for members to share their volunteering experiences. We hope to share with the rest of the Stuyvesant community the amazing services of our chapter of the National Honor Society. Introducing this Year’s Executive C ouncil E ric Zha ng, Vic e Pre s ide nt

Hey, ARISTA! I would first like to congratulate everyone on a very successful summer; all the events have gone very well and most of you have already finished all of the credit requirements. ARISTA has been a big part of my life and I hope it will be for you too. Whether it is volunteering at a fundraiser or tutoring a struggling freshman, you are now a symbol of Stuyvesant’s Honor Society. My advice to every member is to go above and beyond in all that you do for ARISTA. I have no doubt that this year will be amazing, and I look forward to working with all of you. Da nie lle Polin, Vic e Pre s ide nt of E ve nts

Content Note about this Newsletter Pg 1 Committee Reflections Pg 1-2 Announcements Pg 3 Events Scrapbook Pg 4-5 Credits Pg 5

The Events Committee is a group of fearless leaders dedicated to guiding the charitable and hardworking members of ARISTA on adventures in the world of volunteering. As commanders of the gray-clad army, we scout the city for events that require volunteers, contact coordinators, and open the doors of opportunity to fellow ARISTA members. Our troupe of altruists has provided and, thanks to the efforts of the Events Committee, continues to provide a helping hand in every corner of New York City. From small rewards like ARISTA volunteers answering the optional questions on sign-up sheets to more significant ones like event coordinators. reaching out and giving thanks to our impressive volunteer force, being on the Events Committee is endlessly gratifying. Between traditions old and new, our little corner of ARISTA has fostered a tightly knit bond and a boundless enthusiasm to give back to both our school and to our community. My job as the VP of Events isn't very different from what it was as a Committee member except now I have to work with a significantly larger number of Google Docs. 1 © Copyright 2013, Fall 2013, Issue 2

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

As VP, I oversee the Events Committee and make sure that their roles as fearless leaders are being fulfilled. The twelve of us, as well as the five members of the Executive Committee, are looking forward to making this a fun and productive year. We've been working hard to transcend precedent and hope that you're as enthusiastic to proceed as we are! Tiffany Tsai, Vice President of Tutoring

As a means to introducing myself as a person to you, my friends, bear with me in this short biography. I spent most of my childhood in Taiwan, and moved to NY at the start of sixth grade. Upon entering Stuyvesant High School, I was not entirely impressed, I am sorry to admit, by the rigor of the Stuyvesant curriculum and the talent of the student body. The eureka moment, however, soon came when I attended a clay sculpting workshop held at the Met. There I met Alice, the museum educator who taught uncountable kids like me what art meant to her—a medium of expressing something that is important to the artist. From then on I became engrossed with expressing myself—through all forms of rhetoric (speaking, writing, and I would argue, drawing and painting)—whether it be in the Junior States of America or in the Teen Advisory Group at all my classes at and outside of Stuyvesant. This year I had the honor of not only forming an art club with my best friend Mira, but also of being part of the Tutoring Committee, which toiled against tutoring requests and crediting as Jacob fought against the Angel of God. Through ARISTA, I met senior, sophomore and freshmen friends who thanked Arista Tutoring for its help in bringing together tutors and tutees in a mission to overcome academic obstacles together in a way that provides a valuable experience for both. As the poster at my elementary school proclaimed: “If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have an apple… but if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.” Best of luck for the new school year! Michele Lin, Vice President of Communications

As a member of the Communications Committeee, I’ve been responsible for a number of tasks throughout this school year. The committee as a whole is responsible for ensuring that ARISTA posters are up during key times of the school year, and I’m one of the members in charge of designing them. Additionally, tasks such as creating the ARISTA banner that hung on the second floor entrance also fall under my duties. There’s also the task of communicating directly with the student body, which is often done through social media. Of course, there are the occasional tasks that pop up that require the committee’s immediate attention, such as sending messages to members about strikes or other important notifications. Being in the communications committee means fulfilling an assortment of tasks. Our responsibilities vary, ranging from making posters and newsletters to managing the ARISTA website. Although we all have different duties to deal with, our common goal is to make sure that ARISTA remains relevant in the minds of our members and the student body. –

Michele Lin

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

Announcements Member of the Month: Danny Qiu

Hey all, I am currently a junior at Stuy. Here, I’ve developed my passions, which include engineering, robotics, set-building, SING!, volunteering, and Key Club. As a member of ARISTA, I've continued to volunteer not only because I'm passionate about it but because it gives me an opportunity to give back to the school and community. Just helping others out of the goodness of your heart is the best thing you can do, and it goes quite a long way. With that, I'd like to thank the ARISTA EC for awarding me with the Member of the Month!

New T-Shirt Designs We are pleased to present to you the designs for this year’s T-shirts! If you still haven’t submitted your T-shirt size to the EC, please do so through this link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1hDZOm9ZwHR_LA6n8abU4pY6SxAdf1EWnk11ZpIqk0Y/viewform

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

Reminder: The SECOND trimester for EVENTS has started. The FIRST trimester for TUTORING will end at the end of November. Get your credits in!

Events Scrapbook We cannot thank the Executive Council and Events Committee enough for all the hard work they’re put into finding events, spearheading them, and gathering large groups of our members together to help our New York City community. Additionally, we are tremendously grateful for the commitment and compassion each ARISTA member has demonstrated from volunteer opportunities as small as helping the guidance office to as large as helping the Unity Preparatory Charter Middle School get its start. You rock! In case you were unable to attend some of the amazing events ARISTA has had a lot of honor (and fun!) participating in, this scrapbook shares some members’ experiences.

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLIE ZHEN AT THE WALK TO END ALZHEIMER'S EVENT

PHOTO COURTESY OF SHANNON DANIELS ARISTA MEMBERS HELP WITH THE INITIATIVES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL CLUB. CONTACT DANIELLE POLIN IF YOU ARE INTERESTED!

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLIE ZHEN VOLUNTEERS HELP AT THE SUSAN G KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE

PHOTO COURTESY OF CHARLIE ZHEN GREETING RUNNERS AT THE NYC TRIATHLON

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

Save-a-Suit for Veterans (9/16/13) By Wenhao Du

At Citi-Field Stadium, we worked on getting formal clothing (suits, ties, dress shoes, etc.) out of a Budget rental truck that had faced some major damage: one corner of steel was entirely ripped off, exposing a few suits and shoes inside the truck to the afternoon sunlight. There were hangers, and after tidying them up we began moving them to another floor of the stadium, a very fancy Delta lounge. We weren't just the only volunteers: interns for some familiar companies, along with members of a rugby team, joined us in our endeavor. Over the course of the afternoon and the night, I not only found out how heavy suits are, but also more about the event. This was a charity event to help war veterans, many who could ill-afford to dress in formal attire for job interviews, by organizing donated suits in preparation for a job fair the next morning. Veterans would be able to come and dress respectably, and walk into interviews held a floor above, with the confidence they would need. Due to time constraints, our group, many of us with a heap of homework and assignments to do, left after fulfilling the original listed hours. Since I lived close, I stayed a little longer until the security guards told the event organizer, an older woman in her 40's, that the stadium was closing. Veterans adjusting back to civilian life don't need air support, but rather a suit and a job, and I was glad I could help them by putting in my hours.

Stuyvesant Opens Doors to Prospective Students (10/9/13 - 10/10/13) By Alanna Wong On October 9th and 10th Stuyvesant opened its doors to potential students eager to learn more about the school. Students and parents created a line that extended beyond the Tribeca Bridge and started pouring into the school at five oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock. Students from ARISTA and other clubs led various group tours around the school. Families received pamphlets detailing the history of the school, the statistics, and significant achievements of the teachers and students. Three cycles of school tours, in addition to several presentation in the auditorium, were held for parents and potential students . Certain features were of particular interest to the guests, such as the Rothenberg Memorial Wall and the science labs. There were also many inquiries about the cubes embedded into the walls, which include materials from all over the world, such as chunks of the Berlin Wall on the 7th floor and mementos from previous graduating classes (including one from 1904). Course presentations were held all over the school, and there were several showcases as well, like the jazz band on the first floor and the robotics club on the fourth. Families cheered on as the students used their creations to fling frisbees at staff members to catch. Parents and potential students asked tour guides questions regarding student life and classes to get a more accurate view. Questions ranged from what the general atmosphere at the school was like to what students typically had for lunch. A popular question was whether swim gym will be a required class in freshman year. The pool remains 6

ARISTA Stuyvesant High School National Honor Society ARISTIVITY: The Stuyvesant ARISTA Bulletin

under construction, however, and it is unclear when it will be renovated completely. The school received a notable number of interested minorities as a result of the Try4Stuy program created to promote diversity within the community of Stuyvesant applicants. Try4Stuy was created by the administration in 2011 and is targeted towards African-American and Latino middle school students. Although the orientations officially ended at seven, many families were genuinely interested in the school and lingered to ask more questions. There was a large number of visitors on both nights, indicating a strong and continued interest in Stuyvesant.

Credits Editor and Layout Design Shannon Daniels Lon Yin Chan Special Thanks Charlie Zhen Alanna Wong Wenhao Du The ARISTA Executive Council