April/May 2018 - Volume 81 Issue 2

April/May 2018

Volume 81 Issue 2

The Bronx High School of Science

www.thesciencesurvey.com

Brian Josephson Named Valedictorian

“Never Again”: Students Walk Out to Protest Gun Violence

Batya Wiener and Maya Parness Tie for Salutatorian

By SOFIJA RADULOVIC Alexander Thorp / The Science Survey

Alexis Pan and Miles Conn / The Science Survey

By TALIA PROTOS and CHRISTINA PAPAGEORGIOU

From left to right: Batya Wiener, Brian Josephson, and Maya Parness. All three are extremely accomplished in and out of school.

Many students wielded signs during the walkout; some gave speeches via megaphones.

Students walk out of the front entrace and onto Harris Field at 10:00 a.m., during fourth period.

On February 14, 2018, Nikolas Cruz killed seventeen students and injured seventeen more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School with an AR-15 rifle. To mark a month since the shooting, survivors from M.S.D. led over a million high schoolers in a nationwide school walkout.

On March 14, 2018, nearly 2,000 students from Bronx Science and the High School of American Studies joined in the national movement and walked out of their respective schools to stand on Harris Field in protest of lax nationwide gun regulations and to show solidarity for victims of gun violence. The protest, held from 10:00 to 10:17 a.m., included speeches from Leah Yoes ’18 and Michael Miller ’18, the leading Bronx Science walkout coordinators, as well as Duncan Freeman and Riley Gordon from High School of American Studies.

Students from both high schools assembled by

the bleachers closest to Science. Most prominently, the students held up seventeen posters, each detailing the life of a different Parkland victim. From 10:00 to 10:17 a.m., following a moment of silence directed by Yoes, seventeen students took turns passing megaphones to briefly talk about each lost life. Students who stood on the field brought posters and signs with messages including, “The N.R.A. has blood on its hands,” and “Will I be next?” Students followed each of the seventeen speeches with rallying cries of “Never again!” and “Enough is enough!”

Yoes and Miller spoke following the students on the bleachers, beginning their call to action with a quote from Marjory Stoneman Douglas; “You have to stand up for some things in the world...our political activism cannot exist solely in our bubbles.

It’s not enough to be aware, it’s not enough to share Continued on Page 5

Staying Connected: Free Wi-Fi is Back Victor Tesoro / The Science Survey

By TAYLOR HUANG

Wi-Fi access allows students to more easily catch up on schoolwork throughout the day.

In the midst of midyear week, Bronx Science students were given unexpected yet uplifting news: the return of student Wi-Fi access.

As a specialized high school, Bronx Science is known for having ample resources to ensure the success of its students such as modernized classrooms, advanced STEM labs, and contemporary spaces for the visual and performing arts.

Yet bandwith was not as ample; limitations with bandwidth previously prevented student use during the school day, in order to prioritize instruction. Student access to Wi-Fi during school hours has always been a struggle between students and the available resources, despite being widely considered as a tool for academic achievement. While students were permitted to use the school’s Wi-Fi without restriction at the beginning of the 2016-2017 school year, this access Continued on Page 5

On June 21, 2018, the Class of 2018 will graduate at the United Palace Theatre with Brian Josephson as valedictorian along with Batya Wiener and Maya Parness as salutatorians.

Josephson has a GPA of 97.92.

Wiener and Parness tied for salutatorian with the same GPA of 97.76. This rare occurrence has happened only once before in Bronx Science’s history, in 2015, when Harry Liu and Stephanie Pang also tied as salutatorians.

There has never been a tie with valedictorians at Bronx Science.

Their impressive GPAs landed them at the very top of their class, but these numbers alone do not define them: all three students have a wide array of interests and and have achieved much both in and out of the classroom.

Aside from academics, Josephson is occupied with being a co-director of the Big Sibs program, a volunteer tutor, and part of the National Honors Society.

However, he cites that gymnastics is his favorite activity. He is captain of both the Boys’ Varsity Gymnastics Team in school as well as the Chelsea Piers Junior Olympic Team, where he competes at level 10.

“I have had the same coach for many years now, and we have become very close. In fact, after I found out that I was the valedictorian, my coach bought a cake, and my team and I celebrated together,” said Josephson.

As captain of the Girls’ Varsity Tennis team and a varsity member of both indoor Continued on Page 5

After Aziz, #MeToo Merits a Closer Look

By TALIA PROTOS Amidst the tumult of the #MeToo movement, including the exposure of Hollywood production mogul Harvey Weinstein, the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar, comedian Louis C.K., and many more men as sexual predators, a small story was published by online news source Babe denouncing renowned comedian Aziz Ansari for supposed sexual assault.

Under the headline “I went on a date with Aziz Ansari. It turned into

the worst night of my life” and written by Katie Way, the article details the encounter that a 22-year-old woman named “Grace” had with the famed comedian.

As told by Way, Grace’s testimony did not paint a clear picture of what happened between her and Ansari.

Grace said she was extremely uncomfortable with how quickly things progressed and the way that Ansari kept her close and kept making sexual advances. At one point, Grace told Ansari that she didn’t want to feel

forced into things, to which he responded with apparent understanding. She reflected that in retrospect, she recognized Ansari’s actions as assault, since in her eyes, she made “clear non-verbal cues,” despite never verbally telling him to stop.

Grace’s testimony garnered extreme criticism from all sides.

While she gained some support from the public, many self-proclaimed feminists and advocates

By WINNI YOU Black History Month saw the release of Marvel’s ‘Black Panther,’ the first movie headlining a black superhero and a nearly all black cast. The film is considered a cultural phenomenon and has sparked conversation across social media.

Starring a 90% black cast that includes Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and Oscar-winning Kenyan actor Lupita Nyong’o, ‘Black Panther’ takes place in the fictional African city of Wakanda. Instead of

the stereotypical stagnant African society that we have grown accustomed to seeing in American film and news, Wakanda is portrayed as an advanced metropolis of skyscrapers and spaceships, a vision for the future of African society. “The city of Wakanda is much more advanced than any city in reality, but it depicts Africa in a positive light by giving its people the potential to grow as a civilization far beyond what others thought they were capable of,” said Daniel Yoh ’18.

‘Black Panther’ preserves the rich cultures of African society by portraying African languages and traditional clothing. The characters speak the African languages of Xhosa and Hausa and wear traditional African clothing. The Dora Milaje bodyguards wear costumes modelled after the clothing of the Masai people of Kenya, and Queen Mother Ramonda wears a headdress similar to the Zulu women’s headwear of South Africa. In various scenes, characters Continued on Page 10

Continued on Page 2

Review: ‘Black Panther’ Breaks Barriers

EDITORIAL

NEWS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“Students are Undervaluing Libraries”

By ALYSA CHEN

“De Blasio’s School Renewal Program Spirals to Failure”

By MALIHA AKTER

“The Game That is Taking Over”

By CHLOE FRAJMUND

Libraries across the country are losing visitors as young people turn to their cell phones instead of books; this is a mistake.

Mayor De Blasio’s initiative to fix at risk schools has failed; why this happened and why it is significant.

An up-close look at HQ Trivia, an increasingly popular game show that students can play on their phones.

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Editorial

Editors-in-Chief Anna Clevenger Skylar Kleinman Anastasia Koutavas Jeanette Lee Talia Protos Ronin Rodkey Managing Editors Alexa Asch Sinaia Keith Lang Bridget Kulcsar Brianna Le Rena Masoutis Christina Papageorgiou Oona Zlamany Business Managers Jehiel Butt Andrew Lee Yan Fen (Yanny) Liang Meghan Tan Rahma Tasnim Alia Yeancades

2017-18 Editorial Board Front Page Editors Artea Brahaj Alysa Chen Nuzat Zaman

News Editors William Fisher Haeun (Hollie) Park Joahim Romanosky

Editorial Editor Lakhsmi Chatterjee Payel Islam Jemma Lasswell

Online Editors Jason Cheung Ahana Chowdhury Stephanie Weng

Features Editors Tiffany Chen Sarane James Mian Hua Zheng

Sports Editors Adam Israelevitz Theodore Lowen Vivan Ma Marco Zembo-Palzer

Arts and Entertainment Editors Alexandria Ang Radiah Khandokar Jessin Wang

Layout Designers Sara Buklan Imaan Hoque Victoria Levy Ilomai (Lolo) Rohner Rebecca Singer Leah Yoes Newspaper Layout Designers Melissa Cen Dora Cham She-Vaughan Edwards Joselyn Kim Jeanette Lee Talia Protos Ronin Rodkey Political Cartoonist Ria Cha

Students are Undervaluing Libraries

By ALYSA CHEN Today, Bronx Science students are notorious for doing homework on computers and playing phone games in the school library. In many cases, I sympathize with the average student’s desire to finish homework and relax with friends in a school that has a heavy workload. Our school is also supporting the well-being of its students by providing us with the resources we need, such

Science Survey Facebook Editors Alexandra Ang Haeun (Hollie) Park

Spotlight Editors Tasmia Kabir Max Steiker Angie Yang

Alysa Chen / The Science Survey

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Faculty Advisor Alexander Thorp

The Science Survey Staff Reporters

Maliha Akter, Kristina Ang, Samira Ashif, Melina Asteriadis, Emily Bedolis, Ada Cheng, Oliver Chin, Lauren Choi, George Crooks, Katherine Doss, Chloe Frajmund, Sadia Haque, Labiba Hasan, Tahira Hasan, Michael Ho, Susan Huang, Taylor Huang, Elizabeth Jung, Lyn Kajihara, Christi Kim, Ivan Lacroix, Brianna Le, Andrew Lee, Hyein Lee, Sofie Levine, Annie Liu, Matilda Melkonian, Gearod Murphy, Nicole Neil, Christina Pan, Anisa Persaud, Sofija Radulovic, Farhan Rahman, Jonathan Rodriguez, James Snyder, Eileen Tan, Sydney Teh, Pietro Topa, Maggie Wong, Lin Xiang (Aaron) Wu, Kelly Xiao, Winni You

Corrections Policy The Science Survey welcomes all non-anonymous corrections to any published material. Submissions must arrive within two weeks of release date for printed articles, and within one week for online articles. Corrections should be e-mailed to the Managing Editors.

Mission We strive to provide information that is accurate, thorough, and unbiased. We aim to enlighten as well as to inform, and we seek to intellectually engage our readers. We wish to serve as a journalistic voice for our diverse student body, and we strive to achieve the highest degree of journalistic integrity, both in our written articles and in our photojournalism.

About The Science Survey is the award-winning student newspaper of The Bronx High School of Science, and it has been published continuously since our high school was founded in 1938. It is planned, researched, written, edited, and designed entirely by students as part of the elective 'Journalism: Newspaper & Yearbook' class, and is published once every two months in a print edition and also continually published online.

"After Aziz, #MeToo Merits a Closer Look" (continued from A1) of the #MeToo movement claimed that Grace’s application of the label “sexual assault” to her experiences was incorrect and that it invalidated the experiences of actual victims. Others chose to nitpick Grace’s story, calling her out for including details that had nothing to do with Ansari’s actions, like how he served her white wine instead of her preferred red.

Regardless of whether you believe that Grace is a victim of assault or that she turned her discomfort into an unmerited accusation, her story brings to light a set of valuable insights in an age of third-wave feminism and the #MeToo movement.

Sexual assault encompasses any

unwanted physical sexual advances that the victim has not clearly consented to. While victims are NEVER at fault for being assaulted, the fact that Grace was vividly uncomfortable and yet never explicitly told Ansari to stop points to a lack of empowerment that many women experience. The crusade to end sexual violence posits that society is responsible for identifying assailants and making their actions known, but there needs to be a discussion about how victims, specifically women, need to learn how to stand up for themselves.

Even if Ansari’s behavior with Grace was not sexual assault, his actions are still deeply disturbing and problematic. From what we can tell, Ansari was forceful in making sexual advances with

Grace and at times when she may have seemed uncomfortable, he didn’t pick up on it, nor did he at any point stop to ask if she was okay with what was happening.

This points to a fatal flaw in our society: that men are not taught to be sensitive to the potential discomfort of others because their feelings are what matter, and more importantly, that men are not taught what consent is or how to go about asking for it.

Grace’s story, controversy aside, also tells us that no matter what the experience, whether it be of sexual assault or a disturbing encounter, all women’s and victims’ stories are valid and each and every one of them can bring a new realization to the table all that we have to do is listen.

The Survey Strip

By RIA CHA

The Computer Science and Philosophy & Psychology shelves of the school library. as computers and printers.

However, at the same time, libraries all across the nation are in danger of being undervalued, downgraded, and transformed.

Some see traditional libraries as obsolete; it is no longer worth the trip if books are accessible online.

Some simply do not value reading books anymore. Yet, libraries are in fact more relevant in the age of technology because of the nature of their public accessibility and their enduring academic reputation.

To bring to light this issue, it is important to recognize why people should be concerned about this social phenomenon. Libraries are more than rooms with shelves of books. Libraries are symbolic of the democratization of education and the indestructible value of classics and primary texts. They represent the cyclical process of ideas in the pursuit of free speech. They reveal the great lengths that our species has reached in knowledge, including but not limited to essays re-evaluating human society, journals reporting scientific research, novels portraying the realities of human condition, and fictional books experimenting with human imagination.

To assess the importance of reading itself, the process of obtaining new knowledge is crucial to our lives, because it allows us to prepare for the world around us. Reading critically is essential to participating in discourse in education. Interpretation and reiteration are skills that improve communication, thus benefiting one’s experience in higher education and a career.

Moreover, academics recognize the need to be up-to-date with the academics of the past.

“Each day, students sit in a room surrounded with words and teachings from the greatest philosophers, theorists, and thinkers in history, yet they might as well be sitting in an empty room,” Ms. Kim, one of Bronx Science’s librarians, pointed out. “Those who do not read and explore outside their ken are missing the richness and bounty of life. The ability to learn and to change comes from accessing ideas and teachings of wise humans who have come before us, and who are in the world now.”

However, libraries face many complications today. Library usage is falling. Libraries are clos-

ing around the world. Libraries are not receiving as much funding as they previously did.

According to the Pew Research Center, the percentage of adults in America who visited a library in the past year dropped from 53% to 44% from 2012 to 2015.

The same report also found that many adults were unaware of the key educational resources available at public libraries. Another Pew report in 2018 showed that 24% of American adults were non book-readers (including digital books). Additionally, according to BBC, 343 libraries closed in the UK in 2016 due to decreased government spending, and the number of paid staff in libraries decreased a staggering 25%.

Even at Bronx Science, change is evident. “I still do see students reading in the library, but not as frequently as before,” librarian Ms. Sweis said. Both librarians at Bronx Science speculated as to the reason for the decline in the number of students reading. Ms. Sweis spoke about the NYC DOE policy that allows cell phones in school, and Ms. Kim spoke about the new digital entertainment age. “Texting, social media, movies, games, and so on, are all distractions that take away from our lives,” Ms. Kim said.

Yet, is technology to blame for threatening libraries? Admittedly, the age of internet has achieved much in the past few years. It has revolutionized the means of communication and learning and has brought an entirely new system of entertainment and media to people. However, with the change in means of communication and data, the benefits of technological access are hindered with the ridiculous distractions that it offers. “If not used responsibly, technology becomes a distraction and a substitute for real life engagement and discussion. I can understand using it as a stress relief, but there must be a balance,” Ms. Sweis said.

Other reasons may be that students feel more comfortable reading online from home. In the age of digitized media, e-books are widely available on library websites to borrow or download.

“The way you read should be comfortable for you,” an anonymous student from a sophomore Rhetoric and Composition class said. Although that is perfectly reasonable, reading online is more subject to internet distraction than reading physical book copies. However, it is still better than not reading at all.

As members of the generation significantly impacted by digital media and technology, we must recognize and uphold the action of reading books. Moreover, as students, we need to continue to be aware of our surroundings and be constant learners. In respect of true equal access to education and learning resources, we must also support funding to libraries.

I understand that Bronx Science students are extremely busy with work, but I urge students to check out a book from the school library one day. Visit the research library at Bryant Park for a research project. Check out the online facilities of the New York Public Library website. Go in the summertime. It will be most rewarding.

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Editorial Future of Gene-Editing Carries Hope and Uncertainty

By JAMES SNYDER billions of dollars. Furthermore, children can live happier lives without the fear of succumbing to an unpredictable disease that may have originated from a single faulty gene.

However, this increased sense of control comes with several negative aspects. With the ability to alter one’s appearance through gene manipulation, parents may be interested in having ‘designer babies’ that have their ideal physical features, such as blue eyes or brown hair. This idea is not anything new – humans have been exploring ways to give themselves artificial enhancements for hundreds of years, utilizing anything from steroids to stimulants to gain an edge on their competitors. If parents are concerned with creating the next NBA star or Nobel Prize winner, gene-editing would allow them to design a child with suitable characteristics. Additionally, mothers who have exposed their children to drugs and alcohol during their pregnancies would want to reverse their irresponsible behaviors by editing the mutated genes of their children.

“Aesthetic enhancements would also create a social divide.”

The risks of these aesthetic enhancements would also create a social divide between those who have access to and can afford gene modification and those who cannot. A germline modification from the Harvard University Stem Cell Institute can cost anywhere from $16,500 to $19,100, not a small figure for the average person. Those who cannot afford the enhancements — including the 40 million Americans reported living below the poverty line in 2016 by the U.S. Census Bureau — would be left behind. The concept of a ‘class conflict’ has appeared in a wide range of philos-

Is the Economy in Trouble?

By PIETRO TOPA

ophy, literature, and film, from Karl Marx to ‘Brave New World’ to ‘GATTACA’, a 1997 movie that explored a future of genetic characteristics dictating one’s placement in society. These fictional tales have considered the concerns of technology moving too quickly to the point where power is concentrated among the elite who can determine a caste system for everyone else to follow. In a time of political and social turmoil, it is time for us take these possibilities more seriously.

With these implications of gene-editing on the horizon, it is clear that there should be increased restrictions on who has access to the DNA-altering technology and for what purposes it should be used. GMO production is already under regulation in United States, primarily focusing on the nature of the products rather than the process by which they are made. In Europe, the general consensus is that GMO use should be avoided with the numerous restrictions being placed upon its development. If GMOs for agriculture are already under scrutiny, then why should CRISPR be treated any differently? Gene-editing research should be thoroughly reviewed at every step of the process to ensure that there are no malicious intentions within the technology.

To ensure that the life-altering power of gene-editing does not fall into the wrong hands, restrictions need to be placed upon its use. In the short term, colleges, universities, and not-for-profit research groups should be allowed to study the possibilities of CRISPR and other software after approval. This would involve finding and correcting common mutations in DNA sequences before implementing these discoveries into human patients.

Although it is said that competition leads to innovation, there should be strict limitations for biotech companies that plan on marketing gene-editing to consumers.

The Subway Situation

By CHRISTI KIM

Pietro Topa / The Science Survey

In recent months, discourse over the coverage of the economy in itself leads to American economy has been at the center declines in the economy by causing stock of national attention. Some newspapers, selloffs. including The New York Times, have said All of this points to a major issue with that the conditions in the economy point the media — the rise of outlets whose sole to an economic bubble and expect the purpose is to publish alarmist and false areconomy to crash in the near future. Much ticles so that they may boost their views. of this negative coverage points to a large The “fake news” problem has existed since bias problem in media that contributes to long before the 2016 election. However, the idea of “fake news.” it has been brought to people’s attention Recently the economy has seen great- due to the discovery of Russian meder growth than in dling through previous years. the use of false the Dow Jones Inarticles as well dustrial Average as the presihad increased by dent’s comments some 7000 points on the subject. and the Standard Since then, pub& Poor’s 500 inlic faith in the dex increased by media has de600 points, and clined steadily both continue to on both sides look strong. This is of the aisle and important because now many don’t these are generally trust any news Dilan Minutello ’19 believes the economy is good measures of doing just fine under the new administration. they read unless economic success it agrees entireas they measure the strength of some of ly with their views. This has affected the the most important companies in the Unit- economy because people who read only ed States. On top of this, the United States anti-Trump articles will surely have lost Gross Domestic Product (GDP) started to some faith in the American economy. Congrow faster. GDP measures the amount versely, people who only read pro-Trump of goods produced and services rendered articles will have gained an unwarranted in a fiscal year. In President Obama’s last amount of confidence in our economy. year in office, the GDP grew by 1.85 percent compared to 2.53 percent in Trump’s “Aside from the mefirst year - a trend that economic analysts expect to continue. dia’s portrayal of the Many media outlets, including CNN, economy, have attributed this growth to the lead- American ership of the new administration. Trump there is little to be conhas brought a certain stability to the economy because of his promise not to further cerned with.” regulate it. “Businesses know that there Aside from the media’s portrayal of isn’t going to be widespread regulation, so they’re more willing to invest in the econo- the American economy, there is little to my,” said Dilan Minutello ’19. Paired with be concerned with. Across most metthe new tax laws which were passed in De- rics, including employment, GDP, and cember 2017, this has helped to cultivate the stock market, everything looks staa strong economic climate with a large ble and there is truly little evidence to suggest that there will be a recession in amount of growth Despite all of this, some media outlets the near future. This doesn’t mean that are still crying, “Recession!” Has growth you should invest all of your money into increased exponentially in recent months? the stock market, but, especially with the Yes, but that doesn’t mean that we have to recent dip in the economy showing that go crazy and claim that the economy is go- the market has corrected itself, there ing to crash. In fact, this ignorant media is much to be hopeful for in the future.

Flushing Main Street Station.

The subway was once a revolutionary feat to both onlookers and residents of one of the greatest cities in the world, New York City. Even until recently, New Yorkers ridiculed seemingly inferior transportation systems around the world, boasting about their 24/7 system with 27 lines, 472 stations, and 665 miles of track coverage. However, the subway has derailed the commutes of New Yorkers due to poor maintenance and neglect over the past few decades.“It is often tardy and unpredictable, as delays arise from signal malfunctions to track conditions, and everything in between,” said Sebastian Baez ’19.

Subway delays have been on the rise.

There are now thousands of incident reports created every month, ranging from ‘Signal Trouble’ to ‘Insufficient Crowding/ Capacity,’ and such problems described in these reports have added up to the accidents and crises over the past year. The track fire on the A line in Harlem, the derailment of the Q train in Brooklyn, and the F train stuck between stations for hours without power, have all made headlines in the past year.

What was once been deemed a marvel is now falling apart and is termed as a nightmare. Subways are submerged in water that corrodes the infrastructure, and most stations need major repairs or renovation. Train speeds are slower than they were in the 1950s. The signal system of the 1920s and 1930s cannot track the exact location of subway cars and needs replacing.

Ridership has increased to an average of six million riders daily, and the subway system has progressively declined.

Who is it to blame for the deterioration

of the subway system?

Governor Andrew Cuomo is officially responsible for the state of the subway.

He has spent an exorbitant amount on the opening of the Second Avenue subway, disregarding more pressing issues with other subway lines. However, after public backlash, Cuomo created the 836 million dollar ‘NYC Subway Action Plan,’ which consisted of raising the littering fines, buying track cleaning equipment, and creating a new advisory panel to fixing the subway. However, it remains unclear who will exactly pay for this plan.

There has always been a problem of who exactly would cover the costs of the subway system. In the beginning, the federal and state governments helped to compensate for the MTA’s lack of funding.

However, starting from the 1990s, Governor George Pataki and Congress refused to cover the MTA’s costs. Since then, the MTA has looked for a new source of income as the system continues to deteriorate. In fact, it is fair to blame the entire New York political establishment for the subway’s decline. The Governor presides over all of New York state, and people who do not live in New York City do not want their taxes to help pay for a subway that they do not ride. It is at root a structural problem.

The subway needs, in total, $111 billion, according to the Regional Plan Association. It has been the subway that brought Christi Kim / The Science Survey

Last summer, a remarkable breakthrough was made in the world of science that could alter mankind’s role in nature for the remainder of time. In August 2017, it was announced that researchers at Oregon Health & Science University had successfully removed a mutation in human embryos that was linked to a common hereditary heart disease known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This disease is linked to a dominant mutation in the MYBPC3 gene, which causes the heart muscle to thicken and is the leading source of premature death in young athletes.

This gene edit, the first of its kind to be tested on humans, was made possible with Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats, or CRISPR-Cas9.

How does this technology work? A specialized type of RNA unique to a gene is inserted into a genome that guides an enzyme called Cas9 to a particular location where the DNA’s double helix is separated, allowing geneticists to remove, add, and rearrange sequences to correct mutations.

Genome editing can create a genetically healthier society. Certain genes can be altered to improve disease-resistance, something already being done for millions of crops, thereby increasing agricultural output. Applying the use of GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, to improve human life can eliminate several hereditary ailments from germlines, including cystic fibrosis, sickle cell anemia, and heart disease. This technology is even capable of reducing human susceptibility to disease, for example through the modification of mosquitoes with a malaria-resistant gene in the DNA. This advancement can also give people greater control over their children’s genetic makeup. Certain genes can be modified to avoid gene mutations and hereditary ailments that would cost families thousands of dollars to treat later on in life. With almost 3-4% of infants worldwide born with a birth defect, gene-editing would save the global economy

Christi Kim / The Science Survey

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A rat scouring for snacks at the Flushing Main Street station about physical, social, and economic mobility to New York City.

Respectively, it allows for movement around the boroughs, diversification, and boundless opportunities. Most importantly though, it has contributed to the impressive New York City that we know of today.

News

“A grand total of $125,000 was spent on giving students their Wi-Fi back.”

The Parents’ Associations efforts should not be overlooked. A grand total of $125,000 was spent on giving students their Wi-Fi back.

Furthermore, Mr. Ranells played

Miles Conn / The Science Survey

a large role in working out the logistics of returning student Wi-Fi access during the day. This included working with engineering firms that run the networks at Bronx Science in order to upgrade the old system to now be fully capable of dealing with schoolwide Wi-Fi. “We had to upgrade the core switch to handle the new bandwidth, including installing a new wireless access control system,”said Mr. Ranells.

“This is so that the Internet speed per student is now regulated with everyone having access to Wi-Fi again, so the system won’t slow down like before.”

“We truly owe a big thanks to the P.A. who provided the funds for our increased bandwidth, to Mr. Ranells who is the brains behind the operation and endured our constant requests about it, as well as the administration who helped and supported us throughout the way. We couldn’t have done it without them,” said Chloe Frajmund ’19, secretary of the Student Organization, who has worked closely with the school’s leadership in the process of getting Wi-Fi back for the students.

The student body appears to be greatly satisfied with their free WiFi. “I think the fact that we have access to the Wi-Fi once again is amazing,” said Moitrayee Dasgupta ’19, “During free periods I can now do schoolwork that requires me to use the Internet for research.”

Ivy Tong ’19 agrees; “It’s great that I can now do homework during the school day that I need Internet access for, especially when I have to stay late after school and don’t have to wait to do it until I get home. It’s just much easier now that Wi-Fi is back for everyone, and the library isn’t as crowded either.”

Both the S.O. and the administration hope that this access can remain open to students permanently.

“As time goes on, the Wi-Fi will hopefully be able to become faster and broader which is something that I am looking forward to for the future students of Bronx Science,” said Matthew Burke ’18, vice president of the Student Organization. “The plan is for the Wi-Fi to stay, and now with P.A. support and a strong enough bandwidth this has all been made possible.” Wi-Fi has no doubt already changed Bronx Science. Students are happier, more focused, and — most importantly — more connected.

theories that the students were paid actors.

In response, companies such as Delta Air Lines, Metlife, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Walmart have rallied behind the Parkland students and took a stand against the N.R.A. by either cutting ties with them or by making it more difficult to purchase firearms from their stores.

The N.R.A. is scrambling to fix its public image, but the left stands firm in its opposition.

In response to increasing public pressure and student activism activism, the Florida state government passed a gun control and school safety bill known as the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act. The bill, which governor Rick Scott signed on March 9, 2018, raises the minimum age to purchase guns to 21 from 18, and enacts a three-day waiting period for such purchases. The bill also allows teachers — with the consent of the local sheriff’s office and school district — to be armed.

The N.R.A. continues to oppose almost all David Lipkin ’18 and Leah Yoes ’18 were among gun control legislation, and has filed a lawsuit the students who spoke during the walkout. alleging the Florida bill unconstitutional.

This new bill passed as federal bills to This protest marks a shift in the discussion improve gun regulations and background about American gun violence; for the first time, checks lost momentum in Washington. It students are leading the charge for legislative remains to be seen whether progress toreform. Using social media as a political plat- ward greater safety will continue in othform, some of the upstanding students from er state legislatures or on the federal level.

M.S.D. focused national attention on policy issues, challenging lawmakers to answer their questions directly and take immediate action.

Students from M.S.D. confronted members of the N.R.A. in a televised debate about the Second Amendment and garnered national support for their proposed policy changes. Florida Senator Marco Rubio was asked by Cameron Kasky point-blank if he would ever accept N.R.A. money after the shooting. The crowd erupted into cheers, but Rubio hesitated.

The N.R.A. and far right pro-gun lobbyists responded to the students political protests by A passionate student joins group publishing attack ads, questioning the integrichants during the walkout. ty of the protestors, and promoting conspiracy Emily Bedolis / The Science Survey

“Staying Connected: Free Wi-Fi is Back” (Continued from A1) was revoked once again last March due to the limited bandwidth provided by the Department of Education to our school at the time.

Until recently, the DOE has provided the most funds for the school to support a stable Wi-Fi system. Consequently, the network was solely controlled by the DOE rather than Bronx Science’s own administration. “The bandwidth that the DOE provided us with before was only enough to provide Wi-Fi for about twenty families,” said Mr. Ranells, Director of Information Technology at the school. “This is problematic when we have 3,000 students plus faculty trying to get access to this one server.”

As a result of this, Mr. Ranells further explained, the speed of school Wi-Fi for everyone was massively delayed, which led to the restriction of Wi-Fi to staff only last year.

Students responded negatively to this repeal, with many arguing that Wi-Fi access was essential to doing work during free periods and accomplishing projects in class.

Since then, however, the Bronx Science administration has worked tirelessly to restore Wi-Fi access to students during all hours of the day.

With pleas from the student body and Student Organization to increase the Wi-Fi bandwidth, meetings were held continually to discuss the viability of this demand.

Consequently, this year, due to a generous donation made from the Parents’ Association, school-wide WiFi with no time restrictions has become a reality once again.

So how did they do it?

“The Parents Association often steps in and provides funding for programs and initiatives needed to improve the school and benefit the entire community,” explained Ms. Parness, who was the first to announce this new implementation via email to the Bronx Science community.

“Students Walk Out to Protest Gun Violence” (Continued from A1) that post on Facebook. When we see injustice, we have a moral imperative to take action, to demand a resolution. Today we do more than say never again! Today we transform words into action!”

By some estimates, more than two thousand students participated in the walkout.

Concerns on the Future of Unions

By LAUREN CHOI Unions throughout his- the bridge between workers who believes that his First tory have provided negotia- and businesses. “Unions have Amendment rights, the rights tion platforms between union proven to benefit the work- of freedom of speech and asmembers and the busisociation, are violated by nesses that employs the the agency fees that he is members for better workforced to pay whether he ing conditions and other is a union member or not. benefits. Improvements in The majority of public working conditions have union political activities shown benefits in the health have aided the Demoof workers, through comcratic and Working Famplementary health care acilies parties. Therefore, cess and the promotion of workers like Mark Janus healthy behaviors that often feel pressured to agree accompany a union mem- Tenzi Zhouga ’19 expresses her thoughts with the platforms of the bership. Furthermore, the Democratic and Working about unions. improved health results are Families parties due to a significant influence on the ing class in the past with the the agency fees. living conditions of the work- changes that they have made.

If the Supreme Court were ing class. Unions also promote The issues they have resolved to side with Janus, unions education in their support of shape the work environment would experience severe detriliving conditions. that we function in today, ments. There would be a major Although the history of whether it be clean schools for decline in union membership, unions can easily be traced to students, or manageable work and New York’s government providing workers throughout hours. The change that unions unions alone could annually America with shorter working have created in the past and lose a maximum of $110 milhours, healthcare, and oppos- the possible changes unions lion just from agency fee reving manipulative corporations, may make in the future high- enues that were received from the membership rate has de- light why unions are neces- non union members. clined from 20% in 1983 to sary and desirable,” said Tenzi The Supreme Court issue 12.4% in 2008. This decreas- Zhouga ’19. However, other risks the loss of even more ing trend in membership rate people have different opinions members over the idea about has continued, especially due about the union, especially payments to the union whethto the current Supreme Court about workers paying agency er or not one is a member. case: Janus vs. AFSCME. The fees to the union regardless of History has seen the decline Supreme Court case regarding whether they are union mem- of unions and the question of the constitutionality of unions bers or not. whether they are necessary any charging non-union members The same issue was heard more arises. Although no final for ‘freeloading,’ which is not at the Supreme Court two decision has yet been made in participating in the union, has years ago, but due to a split the Janus vs. AFSCME case resulted in the questioning of in decision between the judg- yet, the results may drastically the benefits and the necessity es and no swing vote by the change government labor relaof unions. last judge to decide, the same tions and state politics in New Some people believe that issue was introduced to the York and many other states unions are beneficial over- Supreme Court by Mark Ja- that are a part of this case. all and should continue to be nus, an Illinois state worker, Nuzat Zaman / The Science Survey

of difficult courses such as Linear Algebra and AP Physics C, Wiener and Parness both agree that AP Calculus BC is the hardest course in the school.

“I worked harder for that class than I’ve worked for anything in my life, which I think was definitely one of the most valuable and rewarding experiences of my time at Bronx Science,” said Parness.

“The class is challenging and taught at such a fast pace that I honestly did not think that I would be able to manage it in the beginning of the year. With time, I adjusted to the class’ difficulty, and the material fascinates me, so it is well worth all of the work,” agreed Wiener.

While Josephson also agreed that these courses are challenging, he stated that the hardest course he has experienced at Bronx Science has been AP European History.

“Although most people say the hardest classes are AP Physics C and AP Calculus BC, both of which I am actually taking now, I found AP Euro challenging, yet also very intriguing and worthwhile,” said Josephson.

All three agree that all their years of hard work have paid off and they are all excited to speak at graduation.

“I am very excited to be speaking at graduation! Being given this honor out of a class of 717 students is a feeling that I can’t describe and something for which I will forever be thankful,” said Josephson.

Miles Conn / The Science Survey

“Brian Josephson Named Valedictorian” (Continued from A1) and Outdoor Track and Field Teams, Wiener has had to structure her time wisely to maintain her average. Her long list of extracurriculars does not stop with athletics. Wiener is also an intern at a biochemistry lab at Hunter College, president of the Current Events Forum, co-director of Big Sibs, and a volunteer tutor at her synagogue’s Hebrew school. Wiener credits her success to her ability to use idle time to her advantage.

“I was probably more productive on my commute to and from school on the Bx10 than at home. I did practically all of my homework and studying then!” Wiener said.

Although Parness also has a long list of extracurriculars, including being on the math team, a member of the National Honor Society, and a mentee at NYU with the Regeneron Social Science research program, being a captain of the Speech and Debate Team is her favorite. Currently, Parness is also one of the top-ranked speakers in the state, currently placed second in Humorous Interpretation and sixteenth in Duo Interpretation.

“Speech has taught me so much about how to be poised, confident, and outspoken about the things that I care about, and it’s also given me an amazing, dedicated community and family to be a part of,” Parness said.

Although their schedules consist

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News Differentiating the Course Additions

Mathematics department unveils three new courses

Kelly Xiao / The Science Survey

The Math Department is welcoming three new courses for the 2018-2019 academic year. These exciting additions to the Bronx

By KELLY XIAO tiveness of presented algorithms, while learning how to develop their own. Data structures, used to help organize data efficiently, will

Timothy Zhao ’19 plans on taking Mathematical Applications in Engineering during his senior year.

Science curriculum include: Algorithms, C++ Programming, and Mathematical Applications in Engineering; these classes do not require special permission in order to enroll.

The Algorithms course is based on theoretical computer science. Simply put, algorithms are a way for any computational device to solve a problem given certain conditions. Both simple and complex algorithms — from random number generators to search algorithms utilized by Google — are entirely essential to the functioning of our current society. Students who take this class will analyze designs and evaluate effec-

be a major component in understanding the essence of algorithms. Algebra II and Coding For All are prerequisites.

C++ is one of the most popular programming languages with versatile applications, such as in gaming, image processing, and applications within browsers.

The C++ Programming course strengthens overall coding ability and provides experience for students who are interested in engineering or computer science careers. C++ programming will be used in conjunction with Mathematica, a computing system which has a more modern platform, to create codes. Students

will explore the many fundamental features of C++, such as pointers (which indicate the address of another variable) and templates (which can re-adapt the original code for another purpose). AP Computer Science is a prerequisite.

“Mathematical Applications in Engineering connects mathematical concepts to real-life situations.”

Mathematical Applications in Engineering connects mathematical concepts to real-life situations. Major topics covered include structural engineering, optimization, computing and finite element analysis. The computer program Matlab will aid students as they calculate models and see how modern technology can revolutionize the world of complex engineering. Timothy Zhao ’19, an aspiring engineer, said, “As someone who has always been more STEM-inclined, I feel like these additions create more room for students like me to explore specific interests.

I now have more explorable options that are tailored exactly to fit my area of study.

City Invests One Billion Dollars in Improving Tap Water Stephanie Weng / The Science Survey

By STEPHANIE WENG

Mian Hua Zheng ’19 drinks from a water fountain.

New York is renowned as one of the few cities in the country that can supply most of its tap water without relying on an expensive filtering system run by a corporation. Since the 1990s, the New York government has spent over $1.7 billion to protect this unfiltered water reserve.

Now, New York City has decided to commit another $1 billion to protect what The New York Times cites as the “nation’s largest municipal water system.”

Although commonly overlooked, New York City’s water system is viewed as an important capital asset. The city’s water supply has to travel countless miles in order to reach filtration plants from three lakes and nineteen reservoirs. Ten percent of our drinking water is filtered from Westchester

and Putnam counties. A $3.2 billion filtration plant in the Bronx at Van Cortlandt Park under a golf driving range is the newest addition. These filtration plants are monitored by numerous scientists and robotic monitors to further ensure the quality of the water. Scientists test the quality of the water by examining the contents, assessing its safety levels more than 600,000 times each year for over 250 variables. With another $1.6 million each year for additional robotic monitors that test the water, clean water that does not require any further filtration is a given.

The $1 billion investment is to further ensure that the quality of the water that circulates throughout New York City remains high. It involves not only protecting the million of

acres of land that surround the reservoir, but more importantly, improving wastewater sewage plants.

This is especially pivotal as the filltered wastewater is released back into the environment and reservoirs.

Another portion of this investment has been allocated to creating more reservoirs from eroded streams and reducing pollutants from local farms. Additionally, as water cycles on Earth, advocating for fewer pollutants to be deposited into the soil is essential, as these pollutants will migrate to water and contaminate the reservoirs. This portion is an effort to refine the water quality and provide flood mitigation program support, allowing for further maintenance of New York City’s crucial reservoirs.

These growing investments are in an effort to combat the influx of concentration of lead and other metals found in the water sources. New York’s water is commonly viewed as cleaner and tastier. When Alyson Chin ’19 compares this water to Florida’s, she said, “It’s 100 percent better than Florida’s water and very palatable.” New York’s drinking water is truly deserving of the title “the champagne of drinking water,” thanks to our intricate filtering system.

De Blasio’s School Renewal Program Spirals to Failure

By MALIHA AKTER with community-based organizations to address the needs of students and their families outside the classroom such as mental health counseling, dental care, and support to help make sure students come to school.

By the end of this school year, the city will have spent $582 million on Renewal, yet there is scant evidence DeWitt Clinton High School is one of the that the schools have made many NYC DOE schools in the renewal program. significant improvement.

Three years into the In a typical high school classroom, stu- nation’s largest turnaround initiative, the dents furiously scribble notes as the teach- department intends to close or merge fourer quickly flips through powerpoints. On teen schools in the program, while movsome days, fifteen hands shoot up in the ing twenty-one other schools which have air to participate in a friendly discussion, shown progress, out of the program. Comwhile on others mouths spit fire during a ing after smaller rounds of closings and heated debate. With only a teacher and mergers, the changes will leave forty six thirty -four students, the room emits a schools in the program, less than half the lively aura. Mayor De Blasio aspired to number at its inception three years ago. provide such a valuable experience for evRecently, the Panel for Educational Polery child in New York City. He outlined a icy held a meeting on behalf of shutting vision in stark contrast to the policies of down a few schools. The board is comhis predecessor, Michael R. Bloomberg. prised of thirteen members appointed by Where Bloomberg closed schools that the mayor and borough president, and had performed poorly, opening hundreds is part of the governance structure of the of new, smaller schools in their place, De DOE. In particular, they vote on policy and Blasio said that troubled schools would make decisions about school closures and be wrapped in supports. He promised fast consolidations. During the official meetand intense progress. ing, they had reached a conclusion that the The Department of Education origi- schools must be closed permanently. nally announced the Renewal Program Enraged by the decision, many parin November 2014. Among the schools ents and teachers protested against the participating in the program, forty-three decided fate of ten schools. According to are located in the Bronx, twenty seven in them, the schools lack proper funding Brooklyn, twelve in Manhattan, and twelve which ultimately led to the depletion of in Queens. The ninety-four schools were resources and staff. They advocated that identified by the State as Priority or Focus if there was enough money, their chilSchools. In other words, they have demon- dren’s grades would definitely improve. strated low academic achievement for each “The whole issue is complex; students may of the past three years, ranking in the bot- have the potential to receive better scores tom twenty five percent of City schools on when funding is increased, but other facMath and ELA state exam scores or grad- tors have a great influence over education uation rates, and showed limited capacity as well. No matter how much money is for improvement with a rating on their pooled, if the school is located in a neighbormost recent Quality Review of “proficient” hood that threatens the security of children or below. and teachers, then its downfall is inevitaDe Blasio pledged to flood the city’s ble, ” said Nuzhat Bhuiyan ’20. The faillowest-performing schools with support to ure of Renewal schools will force students lift the performance of the identified strug- into overcrowded regular schools, which gling schools. Each school in the program may effect the education system overall. has had an additional hour added to its With the uncertainty regarding the fate school day. Teachers receive extra instruc- of Renewal Schools looming, it is evident tion in how to teach. Schools are paired that the future of these children is at risk.

Ronin Rodkey / The Science Survey

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Pennsylvania Redraws Gerrymandered Districts

By MATILDA MELKONIAN In anticipation of the 2018 midterm publican. An increasingly nonpartisan elections, the Supreme Court voted on map could possibly help Democrats regain February 5, 2018, that Pennsylvania’s the House, making three seats lean more highest court ruling, requiring lawmakers Democratic, and less Republican. to redraw the state’s congressional district On February 13, 2018, two days bemap, would stand. Pennsylvania originally fore Pennsylvania’s deadline, their govhad until February 15th to draw their new ernor, Tom Wolf, vetoed the redrawn map. map put forth, claiming that it was still The case was first brought to the Su- gerrymandered. As published in The preme Court by Pennsylvania Republicans New York Times, President Trump was when the state Supreme Court found the upset with the Supreme Court’s decision extremely partisan congressional districts to even reconsider the map in the first to go against the state constitution, as they place, stating that the redrawn map was were favoring the Republican party. As cit- “unfair to Republicans and our country.” ed from their constitution, “elections shall “Whether in your favor or not, gerrymanbe free and equal,” and the overly gerry- dering is wrong and undemocratic,” said mandered districts do not ensure an equal David Lipkin ’18. election.

Currently, Republican lawmakers have Gerrymandering is the manipulation filed a federal lawsuit against Pennsylvaof lines dividing congressional districts nia, saying that the state went against its to favor one party versus another. Two constitutional authority when it discarded methods of gerrymandering are ‘cracking’ the old map and proposed a new one. They and ‘packing’; either cracking up districts now are aiming for the impeachment of the so that, for example, there are not enough five state justices making the decision.

Democrats in any district so that they do Although this case might be soon settled not win that area, or packing all the Demo- for Pennsylvania, partisan gerrymandering crats into one district so that they only win and its constitutionality is still an issue at one or two districts out of, for example, fif- hand for several reasons. Gerrymandering teen. “In gerrymandering, there is always can come in many forms, including racial clear favoritism. In Pennsylvania’s case, and partisan gerrymandering. This June, there was no question that the lines were the Supreme Court will decide on whethunfair,” said Aliana Sheers ’18. er or not gerrymandering goes against the With the previous Pennsylvania map, US Constitution. If found unconstitutional, thirteen of Pennsylvania’s eighteen seats several states will be be forced to redraw in the House of Representatives were Re- their maps prior to the 2020 elections.

Feature The Flavors of Musicals: Behind the Curtains of S!NG

Gearing Up for the Spring Musical

By AARON WU Alexander Thorp / The Science Survey

By GEORGE CROOKS

S!NG participants pose for a group photo.

Musical performances, whether they are fastpaced hip hop from ‘Hamilton’ or catchy jingles Disney musicals, have an everlasting impact to people. At Bronx Science, some aspiring theatre-loving students have branched out from the drama department, and developed S!NG. It consist of actors who are passionate about choreography and music composition. Every year, these students tell a story that captivates their audiences.

S!NG is divided into two different parts, a stage crew and the performing cast. The crew manages all the props and decorates the background for scenes, while the cast performs the musical on stage. The crew team also consists of the program team, which is responsible for organizing advertisements and designing posters and t-shirts.

Before the official performances, the crew members painted flats and organized the props room.

“We designed the set and props for the shows ‘More Than Pride’ and ‘Politics of Conflict,’” Felicia Chen ’20 said. “We worked hard for two and a half months in order to create the best experience for our actors and audience.”

While the crew was busy drumming up hype, the cast members were constantly rehearsing the show, doing everything from learning the choreography to memorizing their lines. This year, there were two captivating shows with different plots: ‘The Politics of Conflicts’ and ‘More than Pride.’

These two stories are the result of the hard work of the talented and creative members of both the cast

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and the crew of S!NG. One show, ‘The Politics of Conflict,’ discussed the growing diversity of students competing for the role of SO President. ‘More than Pride’ involved two novice screenwriters who explore the corrupted community that is Hollywood. “As a writer of More than Pride, I created a story structure for the rest of the writers to work with,” Gregory Ginsburg ’18 said. “We had a lot of fun and interesting characters, so I really enjoyed helping to write a plot around them.”

“We had a lot of fun and interesting characters.”

The faculty advisors, Ms. Vicki McGuigan and Ms. Kristen Parness were both ecstatic and content with the final product. “This year’s group was highly creative, energetic and ready to entertain.

It was a great show!” Parness said. “Also, for the first time since the S!NG reboot, both shows were mixed grades, meaning there was no longer an underclassmen show and an upperclassmen show but instead grades 9-12 in both shows.”

S!NG consists of some of the most enthusiastic members of the Bronx Science theatre community. “Thank you for coming out to support your peers and the arts. Please join S!NG in the fall or consider buying an ad in our program for S!NG 2019!” McGuigan said.

It’s becoming that time of year again, in which the dedicated students of the Bronx Science drama department commit themselves to putting on a musical to bring Broadway culture to the diverse atmosphere of the school. The musical this year is the comedy ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ a lighthearted parody on the musicals of the 1920’s, such as the Bronx Science 2016 musical, ‘Anything Goes.’

‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ centers around an old man, and his favorite musical, the fictional ‘Drowsy Chaperone.’ The musical within a musical centers on a wedding between a ex-actress and an average joe, and the hijinks surrounding their wedding day. Filled with numbers about romance, baking, and monkeys on pedestals, it is anticipated to be one of the best shows that Bronx Science has put on to date.

After days of auditions and callbacks, the chosen cast and ensemble gather after school every day until 6 p.m., working on perfecting notes and nailing choreography.

On top of this, the chosen few who are given roles learn their lines and blocking, each movement meticulously thought out by the directors to provide an engaging experience for the audience. The actors additionally will have to memorize their lines and deliver them in a way that makes the audience react the way that they are supposed to react in a given scene. Theater is an intricate art, and almost no one has a keener eye for detail than the students and faculty of the drama department.

The senior director, Kristina Ang ’18, noted her history with

the show itself. “It was just last year when Ms. Heidi Li first came to me about doing ‘The Drowsy Chaperone,’ and the moment she introduced it to me, I knew it was the one I wanted to direct.” The directors are tasked with making sure that everything runs smoothly. The senior director is the head of the project, tasked with telling actors where to go and what to do and how to act their part, and their two colleagues, the junior and sophomore director, are there to ensure that the senior director’s plans pan out.

This year was a particularly difficult one to get rolling, given the record size of the enthusiasm shown for the project. “I was so shocked and excited to see this year’s audition turnout come out to a total of seventy-five people! We recently finished casting the show after three weeks and have a cast size of forty-six, one of our largest casts we’ve had here at Bronx Science,” said Ang. With luck, what this means for future productions is that more students can shine in a way that is unexpected for a school known for its science.

In a time of stress for almost all students, given exams and college planning and the workload, it’s difficult to find respite. But the show is consistently a source of relief, not only for those who come to see it, but for the students who put a large amount of time into making it. “I highly encourage everyone, even if you’ve never heard of ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’ or even if you’re not a fan of musical theater, to watch this year’s Spring Musical because it’s going to be the cat’s pajamas!” said Ang.

The Spring Crossword: Food!

By ALEXA ASCH, BRIANNA LE, and JAMES SNYDER Across 8. Uncooked form of a classic dessert usually dipped in milk 10. Fruit snack sold by Mott’s in small plastic cups 11. Vietnamese soup made with broth and typically meats such as beef 12. A sugary condiment made during “Tapping Season” through the months of February to April 13. A soup traditionally served cold 14. Creamy pasta topping created in 1908 by a titular chef to entice his wife to eat after giving birth to their first child (It worked!)

16. A classic American dish originating in NYC but often mistaken for having originated in Italy 17. Acronym for a classic American sandwich 18. Gordon Ramsay’s most well-known dish which includes the key ingredients pâté and duxelles 23. Creamy confection invented

by Archibald Query of Somerville, Massachusetts; can be combined with peanut butter to produce a sweet sandwich 25. One of the nine beef primal cuts that comes from the underside of a cow 26. Colored chocolate layer cake typically layered with cream cheese frosting 28. Italian dessert made as the result of whipping egg whites and sugar 29. Fruit found in Thailand known as the world’s smelliest fruit

Down 1. Type of cake flavor filled with rainbow sprinkles 2. A coconut almond biscuit adopted by Italian Jews 3. A fruit on a stick, dipped into a sugar coating 4. A traditional Japanese spherical doughy snack filled with octopus 5. World’s most expensive (and edible) fungus 6. A warm cereal alternative made with oat grains 7. A glaze, icing, sauce, or filling for pastries made from chocolate and cream 9. Edible crimson fruit seeds high in fiber and antioxidants 15. Raw fish wrapped in rice 17. Boiled, developed duck embryo eaten as a delicacy in the Philippines 19. Unfinished food that can be re-served at a later time 20. Variety of tea with many disputed health benefits made through the fermentation of yeast and bacteria 21. Flatfish commonly found in arctic waters in Canada and the northern U.S. 22. An herb from the Mediterranean used to flavor foods such as stuffing, roast lamb, pork, chicken, and turkey 24. A berry known for its aphrodisiac quality 27. Food that people purchase from restaurant that they intend on eating elsewhere

Feature Speak the Speech

By TIFFANY CHEN

Alexander Thorp / The Science Survey

Having taken at least of my acting,” said Vercesi.

Some performances by eight years of English classOther participants found the students were powerful es, many Bronx Science this competition interesting in how the lines were prestudents have familiarized because of the thrill of the sented, but what may have themselves with the seven- performance. “The friends set Vercesi and Wang apart teenth century playwright, I made through the drama from the rest was their William Shakespeare. To department really pressed body language, embodying pay respects to this the scene with the enfamous writer, The tirety of their body.

English-Speaking In their respective Union, a non-profit performances, Vereducational charicesi fell to her knees ty, has held annual moments after she Shakespeare compebegan, and Wang titions since the year began positioned on 1920. The first level the floor, hugging of the thirty-fifth her knees. Wang Annual Shakespeare had performed Act Competition was Three, Scene Two, held in the English lines 106-125 of wing with about Ava Vercesi ‘19 (winner, on left) and Jing- ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ thirty participants. Mae Wang ‘20 (runner up, on right), stand in reenacting Romeo’s The objective of the front of a print of the newly discovered Cobbe death scene as she portrait of William Shakespeare. event was not to (Juliet) cries by simply find a stuhis side. Similar to dent who recited lines well, me to participate, so I re- the performances of othbut to find a student who luctantly agreed. However, er finalists, Wang had to demonstrated dramatic once I picked out a mono- not only imagine the other command and skill with logue and began to build my characters but also the motheir monologue or son- character, I started to have tivations behind the characnet. The competition was a lot of fun with it,” said ter. Since the speeches are judged by Mr. Alexander Jing-Mae Wang ’20, this monologues, all actors need Thorp, Mr. Robert Brown, year’s runner up. Some- to visualize what does not and Mr. Joseph Gazzola, times activities can appear actually exist. all of whom have extensive boring and uninteresting Participants must unbackgrounds in theater and until students see how en- derstand and essentially speech and debate judging. joyable it can be when they feel the emotions of the try something new. “I like character in the context of to act because it allows me the story. “I usually trans“It is painful, to express different parts late the monologue into the human experience in normal English so that I can and I wanted of different ways. Every char- figure out the emotions that to explore that acter ever created has a little I convey…and then work at piece of the author in them, conveying the same kind of side of my act- and it is amazing to become emotions in Shakespearean someone else, even for a lit- English and putting emphaing.” tle while,” said Vercesi. One sis in similar areas. There’s Compared to reading of the clubs at Bronx Sci- a lot of figuring out where a science fiction novel in ence, the Actor’s Workshop to move, what you should school, reading Shake- Club led by Vercesi, helps be doing with your hands, speare’s plays are the equiv- individuals to build on the what your facial expression alent of seeing and hear- skill set and techniques should be at what time - a ing the events of that time one knows in order to give lot of small details that have through his eyes. Written a captivating performance. to be thought through and dramas can reveal common Besides the language used, practiced,” said Gabrielle issues that people have en- which sounds different and Sevillano ’18, runner up countered, as well as larg- foreign to some, the scenes of the thirty-third Annual er problems politically, capture a range of emo- Shakespeare Competition.

After winning finals economically, or socially tions and force the student specific to certain eras and to become a new person. at Bronx Science, Verceregions. Rather than watch- Wang paid careful atten- si moved on to participate ing an actor on stage, it tion to details, brushing her in the City Semi-Finals on can be even more exciting knees as she stood up like March 1, 2018 at the main to channel a character and her character would have, branch of The English act in a scene. This year’s having kneeled by her late Speaking Union. Although winner, Ava Vercesi ’19, husband’s side. Others like she did not win the comparticipated with Tamora’s August Pabua ’18 chose to petition, Vercesi made it monologue from ‘Titus An- participate due to Shake- to semifinals, having dedronicus.’ “I was so touched speare’s unique poetry. “I livered a “short and sweet” by it. It is painful, and I like the old words,” said act to represent the artistic side of Bronx Science. wanted to explore that side Padua.

Senior Council Works Hard for Students to Play Hard Watch out seniors, because the Senior Council has events planned to make your remaining time at Bronx Science memorable. Consisting of Emily Bedolis, Michael Miller, Cy Toriello, Irene Masoutis, Prachi Arora, Max Secular, Louis Silverman, Natan Shaviv, Romir Karnik, Uma Balachandran, Jessica Lin, and Nusrath Jahan, all Class of 2018, the Senior Council has been working relentlessly to make senior year the best it can be.

The Senior Council is a student government group selected by Mr. Daniel McNickle to design monthly senior events, encourage class pride, communicate with the senior class about activities and senior responsibilities, work with the administration, and attend meetings regarding senior activities.

In meetings led by Senior Council President Miller and advised by McNickle on Mondays and Thursdays during 7th period, the Senior Council has been working together to plan events such as the Senior Movie Night, Homecoming, and Prom.

“We have an agenda for each meeting and go down the line of things we have to discuss,” said Jahan.

“Mr. McNickle is an amazing Senior Class Advisor!

He supports our ideas and plans, and makes sure that we know the proper steps it takes to execute each event effectively.”

So far, the Senior Council has executed the Senior Brunch, Senior Shirt Day, Homecoming, Assassins, Senior Scream, Senior Movie Night, Senior Game Night, and the Senior Destress Event. The Senior Council planned these events far before they took place in order to ensure their success with the seniors.

“Each of the events required about two weeks to a month of preparation beforehand to ensure the events ran smoothly,” said Jahan. “All aspects of the events were discussed,

By BRIANNA LE down to every detail. For example, Assassins required a lot of preparation so the game would work without any errors.”

While the seniors have gotten to enjoy the diligent work of their Senior Council, planning the events has been rewarding for

to create a Prom Video, which will include teachers talking about their respective prom experiences.

“This video is still in the works and its goal is to encourage more Seniors to attend Prom, as it is a memorable night of Senior Year,” said Jahan.

Brianna Le / The Science Survey

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Senior council president Michael Miller and member Uma Balachandran discuss ideas with Senior Class Advisor Mr. McNickle. the members of Council as well.

“Being one of the people publicizing the event, choosing the date, and spreading the word was what helped me realize the finality and greatness of senior year,” noted Bedolis.

“We deserve a break after all of our hard work.”

On top of all they’ve done already, the Council has many plans for the remaining months of Bronx Science’s Class of 2018.

As more seniors become committed to colleges, the Council has been preparing events such as College T-Shirt Day, Spork Wars, Prom, and Graduation.

“All of these events are for every single senior at Bronx Science, and everyone is strongly encouraged to participate!” said Bedolis.

Regarding Prom, which is taking place for the first time at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square, the Council is planning

Prom is also expected to be cheaper than it has been in recent years. “We are really trying to make it as affordable as possible for as many seniors as possible,” said Balachandran.

“Whether or not you have a date, are going alone, or are going with friends, prom will be a spectacular night, and we highly encourage everyone to come for an amazing time.”

The Senior Council has been tirelessly working in order to achieve one goal: to make their final year at Bronx Science unforgettable. “I think that all of the seniors, including myself, are hoping for a relaxing second term above all,” said Bedolis. “We just went through arguably the most stressful experience of our lives so far with the college process, and we deserve a break after all of our hard work.”

In consensus, the Senior Council anticipates that the senior class will be pleased with their hard work.

“We hope everyone has a stress-free and memorable second term and look forward to doing all that we can to make that happen,” said Balachandran.

The Largest NYC High School Research Competition

By ELIZABETH JUNG follows. Posters must be prepared in order for students to concisely display their research conclusions to a panel of judges. “I am working on my presentation a lot with Dr. Shapovalov, and I am figuring out which points to emphasize in my presentation. I made the Elizabeth Jung / The Science Survey

The New York City Science and Engineering Fair (NYCSEF) is the largest research competition for New York City high school students. Students who have made it to the preliminary round presented their research projects at the City College of New York on March 4, 2018.

These students presented their work to a panel of judges who are experts in STEM fields for the opportunity to win awards and represent New York City in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF).

The road to preliminary rounds for NYCSEF is not easy. Research students spend months designing an individual project, performing data analyses in a graduate laboratory, and discussing their conclusions with research professionals such as professors and doctors. For many students, research competitions like NYCSEF allow them to showcase their accomplishments in graduate level research, along with an opportunity to share their ideas with other scientists.

“I am excited to see my hard work pay off and to share my knowledge with others. I remember going to the lab every other week to do the experimental part of my project and spending hours on the computer to do the computational part of my project,” said Annie Wang ’18.

Beyond the technical laboratory research, there is a long process of poster and speech preparation that

Megan Yin ’18 is a senior research student who presented her research on March 4, 2018, at the NYCSEF preliminary round. posterboard in December, but since then, I have more data and results to add, so I’m hoping to get to reprint my poster, as I think these additions will really boost

my performance at NYCSEF,” said Megan Yin ’18.

On the day of the presentations at City College, students had the opportunity to speak with professionals and other students while giving their own panel presentations. The professionals who participated in judging panels come from a variety of fields, such as medicine, business, and engineering. Students competed in different categories that correspond with their project submissions. These categories cover a broad range of topics like environmental sciences, social sciences, molecular biology, health sciences, computer science, and engineering.

There’s no doubt that competitions like NYCSEF are the first step for many future research scientists, creating a strong foundation for laboratory experience.

Students are also able to establish important connections with established people in their field and pursue their passions. “I would absolutely recommend other students to apply to the NYSCEF competition. It’s a great way to find your interest and to meet others as interested in STEM as you are! It’s also a great way to inspire your peers to pursue similar activities during their high school career,” said Jennifer Cheung ’18.

For students who are unsure of how to get started, competitions like NYCSEF are a fantastic way to establish a position in the world of graduate level research.

Arts & Entertainment

By CHLOE FRAJMUND

Chris Yeung/ The Science Survey

“Hello HQ-ties!” beams the habitual der to cash in your prize, you have to have cheery voice. A little behind schedule as at least $20 in your account, which can usual, it’s Scott Rogowksy, also known as take more than ten wins to accomplish.

‘Quiz Daddy’ or ‘Trap Trebek’ by fans, the While the payoff might not be very big, stubeloved host of the daily HQ Triva show. dents find that the activity helps to spice up HQ is a new live trivia game show app which their day. “It’s like Kahoot, but there are a airs at 3 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays, million kids in your class,” Joseph Moser and at 9 p.m. Easter ’19, another HQ Time daily. The host enthusiast, said. asks twelve multiple Alexia Frangopochoice questions, each ulos ’19 plays the with three possible game every night answers. Players who with her sister, get a question correct saying that she within the ten second looks forward to limit move on, while the daily notifithe rest are eliminatcations on her ed, although they can phone and Rocontinue watching if gowksy’s familiar they so choose. For voice and corny players that make it jokes. “I usually Students (left to right) Alison Cheung ’18, through all twelve play it at night Swara Kalva ’18, Chloe Frajmund ’19, questions, a cash prize Sabrina Raouf ’18, and Zaid Sarmad ’18, at their with my sister to awaits, usually split see who can win, daily 3:00 p.m. gathering to play HQ. evenly among all the or answer the winners. For most games, the prize is around most questions correctly. The person who $2,500, but it can be as high as $250,000 on gets the most questions correct gets the right special occasions, such as the Super Bowl. to ask the other for help on one homework Creators of the app experiment with differassignment,” said Frangopoulos. ent game models to keep audiences coming Although the game has generally received back, such as a ‘winner takes all’ style that positive feedback from Bronx Science stucontinues to ask questions until only one dents, there are a few skeptics, suspicious of player remains. The unique humor of the how the company is making any profit by just host also attracts new and returning players, giving away money. Cy Toriello ’18 believes dubbing particularly challenging questions, that the app is “hypnotizing innocent people or those that eliminate a large number of who now have the potential to be activated players, as ‘Savage Questions.’ by the government and instantly turned into Students see HQ as an easy way to make mindless henchmen at a moment’s notice.” money and show off their knowledge of othIn reality, HQ has been funded by Silicon Valerwise useless facts. “I never thought that ley venture capitalists. As the audiences have the random facts I learned from the internet grown, new lucrative sponsorships from corwould ever pay off until I heard about HQ,” porations like Nike and Warner Brothers are said Ryan Yam ’19. paving the way for even bigger prizes. Many Quite a few Bronx Science students have speculated that the extended breaks behave actually won HQ games, claiming that tween questions will be used as ad space for although none of them made much of a additional revenue. profit, the title was more than enough for As HQ-mania sweeps the world, Bronx them. “I won the 1,000 dollar prize alongScience students continue to tune in every side 339 other people, so I got $2.95. It day for a quick after-school escape from rewasn’t a lot of money, but it does give you ality, a chance at at making a few dollars and, bragging rights,” said Jared Samarel ’19. most importantly, bragging rights.

A loophole in the rules dictates that in or-

Meet Your 2-D Doppelganger Images from Ethan Paliwoda and Lin Zhang

By ANGIE YANG Picture this. You ty awesome.” are wandering the Her match was seemingly endless a portrait titled galleries of the Met“Jayson Oliveropolitan Museum ria” by artist of Art, when you Elaine Navas. come upon a paintBut outside of ing of a person who Bronx Science, is the spitting image some even go as of yourself. The far as to claim preposterous illus- Ethan Paliwoda ’19 and Lin Zhang ’19 share their that the artifitration shares your results from using the Google Arts & Culture app. cial intelligence facial features, even your ‘vibe.’ As rare as behind the matches is ‘racist.’

Many finding your doppelganger hanging in an art are, for instance, Asian-Americans who see gallery might seem, recently it has become a the intelligence as lacking diverse results for rather common occurrence (although digi- Asian faces, and thus offering ‘stereotypical’ tized.) Google’s Arts and Culture app has a matches that ‘just look Asian.’ Catherine Shu new feature that lets you find your museum from online news source TechCrunch wrote, ‘portrait’ through the tap of a button. “[Some] got matches filled with the stereoThe app’s recent selfie craze is based on so- typical tropes that white artists often resortcial media posts showing straight-faced selfies ed to when depicting people of color: slaves, juxtaposed with painted portraits, with vary- servants.” ing levels of resemblance between the two.

Despite this, many see this ‘lack’ of diverse Arts and Culture was originally made for art representation as only showing the truth awareness and appreciation (it offers a myriad about Western art, and its perceptions of miof other interesting features such high-defini- norities. “It just happens that history is about tion ‘zoom-ins’ of paintings) and now offers a figures of ‘beauty’ and ‘power.’ That’s exemface-match function. All one has to do is take a plified through many paintings of court offiselfie and wait for your results to pop up. Sev- cials and geishas,” said Serena Wu ’19, regarderal ‘matches’ are offered, with percentages to ing the repeated appearance of subjects like detail just how strong the resemblance is for geishas in results of Asian-American women each. (and men).

However, responses have been mixed.

The original goal of the function was to Some social media posts express delight, make art as a whole more accessible and relatwhile others are disappointed or even insult- able to the culture at large, stated Amit Sood, ed by the comparisons. “I am very flattered,” the president of Google Arts and Culture. In said Ethan Paliwoda ’19, who got a portrait of his hometown of Mumbai, art was a “posh the composer Chopin as his face-match. “My experience,” not meant for every Joe but the family especially enjoys his music.” Others more highbrow. By creating ‘personalized’ were impressed. “At first I was surprised since art experiences, his app hopes to make the the results did not really look like me, so I art world friendlier. But as can be seen from tried taking more pictures for better results,” mixed reactions, Sood may have gained, but said Lin Zhang ’19. “Overall, I think the app also lost peoples’ hearts through this cause. did detect some similarities and that is pret-

Art Crawl with Anna

By ANNA CLEVENGER notably, his ‘Broken Kilometer’, installed only a few blocks away from the ‘Earth Room’ in SoHo, showcases 500 metal rods which, when lined up, measure one length

Every year, as the tion on Madison Avenue weather becomes warmin Midtown. The piece er, the city becomes depicts faces in anguish, crowded with tourists. on the West side of the Museums, especially wall, painted by Thierry those with free admisNoir and Kiddy Citny in sion, are crammed with the 1980s. Other pieces out of state visitors, can be seen in Batseemingly making it tery Park City, and at impossible for New the United Nations.

York City students Free sculptures to explore art. Howare not an uncomever, there are many mon sight in New art exhibits outside York City. Whether of museums, with it is a new installafree admission and tion in Rockefeller no tourists.

Center, or the eponThe ‘New York ymous statue in CoEarth Room’ is one Walter De Maria’s ‘Earth Room.’ lumbus Circle, there such place that proare dozens to see. vides a quiet haven, an in kilometer.

The Socrates Sculpture alternative to traditional Academically inclined Park in Queens is no exart exhibits. Created by students might enjoy art ception. The park, which Walter De Maria in 1977, installations that relate to spans five acres, has evthe ‘Earth Room’ is a lessons learned in school. erything from sculpture 3600 square-foot gallery Multiple sections of the workshops to yoga lesspace in SoHo - filled en- Berlin Wall, located in sons, all of which one tirely with dirt (22 inches different parts of New can do while surrounded deep, to be exact). With York City, relate modern by beautiful sculptures free admission, it pro- art with lessons of the and greenery. Free art in vides a calm sanctuary Cold War that students New York City is not just from the hustle and bus- discussed in their history limited to pay-what-youtle of the crowded city classes. Much of the Ber- wish museums; there are below. lin Wall was dismantled infinite unconventional For those who prefer into small pieces when it things to see. So instead galleries that are free of was torn down, but large of spending second term dirt, De Maria has cre- sections of it are strewn wasting away inside, ated other sculptures around Manhattan, in- check out the offbeat art around the city. Most cluding a twenty foot sec- that NYC has to offer.

Anna Clevenger/ The Science Survey

The Game That is Taking Over

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda

By ALEXANDRIA ANG When ‘Simon vs. the ty. That’s until one day The story also transHomo Sapiens Agenda’ when his classmate Mar- lates well on-screen. If

by Becky Albertalli was tin reads his e-mails and you, like me, are fed up first released in 2015, decides to blackmail Si- with all the mediocre it was well-received mon with his secret, in Young Adult adaptations by readers all over the return for his help as a that have been churned world. With an extensive wingman. This is a heart- out recently, trust me list of awards backing warming story of finding when I say that this movthe book’s reputation love, acceptance, and ie is nothing like the oth- such as the National friendship. After all, ev- ers. It has light-hearted Book Award Winhumor that adds an ner (2015), William extra element of enC. Morris YA Debut joyment when you’re Award (2016) - it was sitting in the theater no wonder 20th Cenlaughing out loud tury Fox snatched up with your friends. the rights the same The actors really year it was published, brought the characto make it one of ters to life, especial2018’s spring blockly Nick Robinson as busters. The movie Simon. You can see has been renamed his confidence blos‘Love, Simon,’ after som throughout the the lead protagonist movie. The friendSimon Spier, and it ship, both in the ‘Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens features both emergbook and the movie, Agenda’ is now a major motion ing and iconic acis so precious and is picture released to theaters tors in Hollywood. even better when you on March 16, 2018.

Book-adaptation drag your friends to veteran Nick Robthe theater to watch inson is cast as the pro- eryone deserves a great it with you. And if you tagonist, his fourth film love story. still need another reason that has been a Young It’s hard not to love a to watch the movie, they Adult adaptation. There story so much when it’s make quite a few changes are also rising stars like incredibly relatable to to the story, so saying you the ‘Thirteen Reasons your own life. From doz- read the book already will Why’ actress, Katherine ens of cups of iced coffee not be a sufficient answer Langford, and Alexan- to high school crushes, as to why you won’t go dra Shipp from ‘X-Men’s there are so many aspects out to see it.

Apocalypse.’ The movie of this book that will It’s very rare to see a also features some well- warm the heart of any film with a closeted gay known names in Holly- high schooler. This book teenager, or much less wood like Jennifer Gar- navigates through im- any film with queer charner and Josh Duhamel. portant adolescent topics acters, backed by such ‘Simon vs. The Homo like falling in love and a large studio as 20th Sapiens Agenda’ follows the fear of not being so- Century. The release of 16-year-old Simon Spier cially accepted. I’ve read this film is major for the as he navigates through too many Young Adult LGBT+ community and his junior year of high books set in high school it could mean more repschool with a huge se- that are simply unrealis- resentation in the media cret…nobody knows he’s tic and riddled with bor- in the future. Simon is a gay. Only the mysteri- ing tropes. Simon is the must-see for teenagers ous boy named Blue who closest thing I’ve read to who are seeking an auSimon has been corre- a ‘normal’ high school ex- thentic high school story sponding with through perience, one that a ma- that is different from anye-mail knows his secret, jority of high schoolers thing else on the market. but not of his identi- can relate to.

Alexandria Ang / The Science Survey

9

10

Arts & Entertainment

Winni You / The Science Survey

“Review: ‘Black Panther’ repels negative assumptions about Breaks Barriers” (Continued casting diverse actors. “The fact from A1) that the casting directors actually In addition to the representadecided to cast black actors and action of black culture, ‘Black Pantresses was an incredibly powerful ther’ is a celebration for black statement, particularly because of women. Director Ryan Coogler the ‘whitewashing’ that Hollywood portrays women as empowered is known for,” said Vivian Ma ’18. individuals by veering them away Coogler portrays the struggles from typical sidekick roles and of black individuals through the giving them strong, expressive stories of the characters of Wakanvoices. Many prominent roles are da to create a sense of kinship attributed to female actors, including the Wakandan general, Okoye, and T’Challa’s sister, Shuri. They represent the leadership and intelligence that women are capable of, but are usually not given, in American movies.

Okoye’s role as general is relatively un- Kilala Vincent ’18 thought that ‘Black Panther’ common in movies, was exhilarating and hopes to see more but she promotes representation for all cultures in future movies. the ability of women to fight and lead armies. Shuri’s between the characters and viewability in the lab is representative ers. Killmonger embodies black of the potential that women, espesuffering and anguish through his cially those of color, have to sucexperiences and his background. ceed in the STEM fields. For black He grew up in an impoverished women, these characters represent neighborhood filled with gun vitheir beauty and intelligence and olence and discrimination, much affirms their humanity. For black like the communities that many women, these characters inspire African Americans live in. Coogler them to believe that anything is ensures that Killmonger’s pain will possible. spark recognition and understandIt was believed that a diverse ing of the struggles that the black cast might lead to lower box office community faces. “I think that the revenue from viewers abroad due movie teaches the world how the to discrimination against Afriblack community has suffered and can Americans. In previous films, been put down. It mentions the white actors have played characpoverty and the misery that the ters of different ethnicities, nameblack community has had to face at ly Scarlett Johansson, who played the hands of our government and the Japanese cyborg Motoko Kuthat of many other governments,” sanagi in ‘Ghost in the Shell’ and said Kilala Vincent ’18.

Angelina Jolie, who played the AfMarvel’s latest movie not only rican American character of Fox in embodies cultural representa‘Wanted.’ However, this method of tion for African Americans, but film production has been criticized also represents a turning point since last year’s Academy Awards, for ethnic variety in the film inwhere only white actors were nomdustry. Reaching $400 million inated. Outrage from people has in revenue at the box office in brought the issue of representation just ten days, ‘Black Panther’ will and diversity into the spotlight. undoubtedly leave a legacy for The almost exclusively black cast not only the Marvel Cinematic of ‘Black Panther’ marks a breakUniverse and the box office, but through in the film industry’s pracalso for black culture as a whole. tice of whitewashing. The movie

The Comic Film Craze of the 21st Century Pietro Topa / The Science Survey

By GEAROD MURPHY

Gearod Murphy ’19 with a slew of Marvel and DC superhero comics, including The Flash, Iron Man, Captain America, and The Avengers.

‘Avengers: Infinity War’ is the nineteenth film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series, and comes out on the tenth anniversary of the first film in the series, Iron Man. Since 2008, and more so since the dawn of the 21st century, the superhero genre has dominated the box office, television screens, and minds of the country and world. But how did this happen?

One can trace the influence of superheroes in the mainstream media back to the 1978 premiere

of ‘Superman: The Movie’ with Christopher Reeves, or 1989’s ‘Batman’ with Michael Keaton and Jack Nicholson, but the more modern influence of the comic book to film medium started most recently in the year 2000, with the films ‘X-Men’ and ‘Unbreakable.’

Premiering on July 14, 2000, ‘X-Men’ delivered the first chapter in the titular X-Men film franchise, telling the tale of Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier and his team of ‘mutants,’ who were super powered individuals feared and hated

My Shining American Star: A Review of the New World for Tonya Harding There never was a tale so deserving of the moniker “modern myth” as the story of Tonya Harding. A tragedy in three acts, Tonya Harding was born in 1970, in Portland, Oregon, to an unstable, violent household. Her respite from domestic turbulence was figure skating, a love that would lead her to Olympic mythology. In her performance, she was truly unconventional.

She had a rugged body from living in the Oregon suburbs and a tendency to put a taste of working-class culture into her routines, all to the distaste of the judges. Her famous triple axel, a move only successfully completed once before, was what cemented her as an American pride, a crown jewel in an era of American exceptionalism.

In 1994, the amazing story of Tonya Harding came to a shuddering close. Harding was an alleged collaborator in a plot to break the kneecaps of Nancy Kerrigan, another up-and-coming Olympic figure skater, with a similar, but not identical past to Harding. She was found guilty, and was banned from all competitive figure skating for life.

The United States, in iconoclastic rage, scorned her and threw out their former hero. The name Tonya became reviled as quickly as it had been adored. In time she was forgotten in a harsh, but perhaps deserved end, for someone who had once shone so brightly.

The American cultural landscape is mercurial, and will find itself revisiting seemingly random, buried events on a whim.

The exhuming of the story of Tonya Harding is the crux of the two pieces of media being reviewed in this article. First, the song ‘Tonya Harding’ by Sufjan Stevens, and then the movie ‘I, Tonya,’ directed by Craig Gillespie.

Anyone who has spent

by the general public in a parallel to racism and antisemitism. The team, led by Stewart and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, faced off against extremist mutants called the brotherhood, led by Ian McKellen’s Holocaust survivor character Erik Lehnsherr, or Magneto.

The film was positively received by audiences and hailed as one of the best superhero films of all time.

Meanwhile, fresh off his smash hit ‘The Sixth Sense,’ writer/director M. Night Shyamalan released the film ‘Unbreakable’ on November 22, 2000, to positive yet confused critical acclaim. ‘Unbreakable’ told the story of Bruce Willis’ security guard David Dunn, who survived a horrendous train wreck without a single scratch on him.

Dunn is then approached by Samuel L. Jackson’s Elijah Price, who believes that Dunn may in fact have superpowers and not even know it.

The film was quietly received at the time, but in years since has gained a following with fans, even receiving a 2016 thematic sequel entitled ‘Split,’ and the upcoming 2019 third installment, ‘Glass.’

With these two films testing the stage for superhero approval, superhero films began to come out slowly but surely, with 2005’s ‘Batman Begins,’ and of course the Sam Raimi ‘Spider-Man’ Trilogy (2002, 2004, and 2007). ‘Spider-Man’ (2002) was a large stepping stone in the superhero and american culture, releasing only months after

By GEORGE CROOKS enough time around this author, or even glanced at his retrospective of Carrie & Lowell, know how he feels about Sufjan Stevens as an artist. Sufjan displays his appreciation of mythical Americana, and delivers a heart-to-heart with the story of Tonya Harding. This song has reportedly been thirty years in the making, and it definitely shows. Despite the song being about Harding, the trademark personal touch of Sufjan is tragically tangible (“Well this world is a cold one/but it takes one to know one”). The single itself was released in two keys, D major and Eb major. The former is more ethereal, more technological, evoking his work on Planetarium or Age of Adz, and that gives it a more tragic tone, as if it was recorded in the literal ruins of an Olympic career. The latter is the more simple folk, reminiscent of his work on Seven Swans or Carrie & Lowell. All in all, it is an ode that fits neatly into the tapestry of the Sufjan canon, and one that does justice to the legacy of Tonya Harding The movie, ‘I, Tonya,’ is a spiritually similar exploration of the story of Tonya Harding. On a technical level, it is an amazing piece. The punchy, rapid-fire editing is reminiscent of Edgar Wright at his strongest, and the skating scenes in particular have a whirlwind intensity to them that evokes the actual figure skating performed by Harding.

The casting deserves special recognition; Margot Robbie performed an enrapturing, charismatic Tonya, and Sebastian Stan plays her incompetent, volatile first husband and instrumental character in the attack on Kerrigan, Jeff Gillooly. However, these castings are both outdone

by Allison Janney, whose performance of LaVona, Harding’s mother, is equally comical and monstrous.

the devastating World Trade Center attacks on 9/11, with its impact felt everywhere. Who can forget the iconic image that was released so soon after the attacks, where in the trailer Spider-Man posed in front of the American flag? Everytime I see the iconic bridge rescue scene, I tear up. “Hey! Pickin’ on a guy tryin’ to save some kids! This is New York! You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!” Needless to say, the superhero culture provided a much needed escape from the world issues of the time, but also promoted the proud sense of unity that prevailed after the World Trade Center attacks.

The eventual start to the MCU, 2008’s ‘Iron Man’ continued this trend of superhero culture invading that of the American conscious.

Telling the tale of former War Profiteer Tony Stark, who was captured by terrorists during one of his weapon testings, Tony created a suit of armor to save his life and used it to fight against those who sought to destroy him. However, while ‘Iron Man’ was incredibly well received, earning a rating of 94% on ‘Rotten Tomatoes,’ it was not until the ending of 2008’s ‘The Incredible Hulk’ that the current MCU phenomenon fully started. In the ending of ‘Iron Man,’ the seeds were planted with Nick Fury’s appearance to create the iconic super-team the ‘Avengers,’ and in the ending of ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ it was revealed that the two films

These actors all deliver on the near farcical nature of the whole affair. Also, the soundtrack, has to be commended. It is host to a variety of punchy 80’s and 90’s pop hits, though ironically not the Sufjan song, which were carefully selected to be entirely evocative of the era. A cover of Iggy Pop’s “The Passenger”closes the movie and is one of a number of tracks that perfectly shapes it. The entire movie has a shiny chrome gloss about it, a veneer of humor and style that covers an ultimately hollow and tragic story.

It is important to note that these two pieces of media both have a remarkably unbiased, almost sympathetic view of Tonya Harding. They do not paint the story of Harding as one jealousy gone rampant, as the newspapers all shouted, but as one of tragedy.

The question that hangs over these cultural events, asked by just about every cultural pundit and indeed Harding herself is: Why now? The story of Tonya Harding ended just over two decades ago. Why unearth it now?

It is hard for us to quantify now, and will be much easier to reflect on,but we are in a period of cultural exodus, shaken to the core by shift after shift.

To many people, what it means to be American is not American anymore. When there is nothing you can trust while looking forward, people are compelled to look back. Perhaps people are looking back to find what it means to be American. The story of Tonya Harding was a story of class, gender, abuse, media, love, and hate. It was of the dizzying high and plummeting lows of fame. It was a cold and hollow and violent story all dolled-up in dramatic chrome and covered in bright red paint to show off to the world. It was a story that was thoroughly American. took place in the same universe, leading to the unification of the Avengers.

Suddenly, superheroes were more popular than ever, spawning films like ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), and the smash hit ‘The Avengers’ (2012). The phenomenon even spread to the small screen, with the television series Arrow premiering in 2012 on the CW Network. The show gained traction with fans, and in the second season a spin-off was hinted at, and ‘The Flash’ ran onto screens in 2014, whose light hearted but serious emotions made it a fan favorite.

Currently, the “Arrowverse” has four live action television shows, including ‘Supergirl’ and ‘Legends of Tomorrow,’ and animated spinoffs on the DC Seed app like ‘Vixen,’ ‘The Ray,’ and the soon to premiere ‘Constantine’ relaunch.

In truth, the comic-book craze has extended beyond that of superheroes, some of the largest names in television and films have been based on graphic novels. Such feats are shows like ‘The Walking Dead’ (2010-), ‘Preacher’ (2016-), ‘Riverdale’ (2017-), ‘Happy!’ (2017-), ‘Lucifer’ (2016-), and films like ‘Hellboy’ (2004), ‘Dredd’ (2012), and ‘Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World’ (2010).

Comic books have invaded the mainstream media, and hopefully they are here to stay.

Spotlight

Introducing the Vox Discipulorum: World Language Magazine

By ARTEA BRAHAJ

By JESSIN WANG

and explore the world. It’s from the bottom that each student starts their journey, making friends and memories along the way, striving for some unforeseeable future. There are specific events and achievements that lingers in each students’ memories, for those occasions are a defining moment in their life. For Natasha Stamler, this occasion was being selected as a Regeneron semifinalist.

On January 9, 2018, Stamler ’18, along with seventeen other seniors, was informed that she was chosen as one of the 300 semifinalists for the Regeneron Science Talent Search Scholars competition, an amazing feat considering the qualifications that every candidate must satisfy, as well as the magnitude of the pool of entrants. Her research project is entitled “Creating a Model to Optimize and Evaluate the Heat-Reducing Capacity of Green Infrastructure.” It proposes a model that will improve New York City’s current green infrastructure program. Stamler devised a composite map showing where green infrastructure is needed most with consideration of different heat vulnerability factors (ie. seniors, children), which may to used to revitalized and optimize green infrastructure for the future.

As a research student, Stamler, along with the rest of her peers, entered the Regeneron competition.

Students’ first steps during sophomore year involved looking for a mentor, a professional in the field, to aid them with their research. After dozens of e-mails and interviews, Stamler finally found her mentor,

“Her research is eye-opening.”

Stamler has also had the chance to co-author a manuscript, which bore the title, “Urban heat islands and cooler infrastructure - Measuring near-surface air temperatures with hand-held infrared cameras.”

It was published in ‘Urban Climate,’ a journal created by Elsevier that serves to publicize research on theory and science relevant to urban climate conditions.

Her journey in research has been eye-opening for Stamler. “My research has clarified my interest in STEM by showing me that no problem is insurmountable,” said Stamler. Her plans to continue researching into college will give her the opportunity to effectively influence legitimate policies.

the Artists at Science

By ADA CHENG Bronx Science is well-known for being filled with a wide-range of talented students. From Speech and Debate to Regeneron research, to track and field, there is no doubt that we possess many gifts.

However, aside from the trophies and Regeneron research posters, our school is decorated with many works of art from our own students. Walking down the second floor hallway, we notice the beautiful work posted on the walls. Brightening up the school hallways, these works of art by our student artists typically fly below the radar in school.

Emma Mohammad ’18, a talented Bronx Science artist who will be attending Barnard this fall, began her journey as an artist when she saw her older sister drawing cartoons from television. Drawing is a way to relieve stress for Mohammad, as college applications and schoolwork put a lot of pressure on her this year. Though she has a lot of work, she still dedicates

Vox Discipulorum can be translated to ‘voice proficiency in Italian to connect to his family’s of the student’ in Latin. In a school as diverse roots and further explore his culture. “Besides as Bronx Science, the voices that flood our hall- having one class of less than thirty students, ways possess many languages, from French to Italian is very underrepresented in our school.

Japanese to Chinese to Spanish. Thus, the name Vox is so great because it gives me a rare oppor‘Vox Discipulorum’ is quite fitting for our World tunity to express my love for Italian outside of a Language Magazine as the publication seeks to traditional classroom setting,” said Topa. allow all students to express themselves in a Those who cannot commit to attending the language they know or are learning in a creative meetings are still welcome to submit their work. setting.

Lucy Jin ’19 posted a paragraph in Chinese tiSeñora Maria Olmedo, AP Spanish Language tled 日本 (Japan) in which she detailed why she and Literature teacher, decided to restart Vox wished to visit Japan, specifically Tokyo and this year after a twenty year dormancy.

Osaka. This interplay between Japanese and In light of today’s political climate, immigrants have been ostracized and foreign language has been villainized despite the fact that our nation is globalized. Thus, when President Trump proposed a plan to create a more selective immigration process, it became apparent there was a need for an outlet for students to celebrate their diversity.

“The World Languages department has wanted to bring back Vox for many years. That Pietro Topa ’19, a writer for Vox Discipulorum, being said, the political climate reads a student’s submission. has certainly influenced our decision to restart the magazine.

The current climate acted as a jump-starter in Chinese influences directly translates to Jin’s many respects,” said Olmedo. everyday life.

President of the publication, Uma Balachan“I take Chinese classes in school so I can dran ’18, described the necessity for such a pub- better communicate with family. Submitting to lication. “We believe that now, more than ever, Vox allowed me to showcase how much I have we have a responsibility to learn languages and improved since I first started learning the lanto use them to break down barriers that exist in guage. I wrote about Japan because I also take our world between different groups of people,” Japanese classes and the culture is so fascinatsaid Balachandran. ing to me,” said Jin. As someone who wishes to The publication is currently in the form of an pursue international business, having a diverse online blog. Vox accepts student submissions ray of languages under her belt is especially in any foreign language, even if the language helpful. is not offered by the school. Each student has Other writers utilize Vox Discipulorum as complete artistic freedom to write about any a platform to voice their political beliefs. Cesia topic that they feel passionate about, the only Massott ’19 published a Spanish poem in rerequirement being that the piece of writing is sponse to the immigration issues and blatant accompanied by an English translation. During racism she heard on the news. “In the poem the meetings every Monday, members work on that I wrote, I felt that history does indeed their writing and review student submissions. repeat itself and we seem to have a history of In addition to the online blog, the Vox showing no compassion towards immigrants. I Leadership aims to publish a hard copy of the spoke about earlier immigration issues back in magazine which will include student artwork, the eighteenth and nineteenth century simply photography, poetry, political essays, and ev- to showcase that when we study these times in erything else in between. history class, we denounce the actions of poliJonathan (Jack) Nicastro ’19, Vice President ticians driving by nativism and racism, but we of Vox Discipulorum, explained the broad ar- lack that same passion to speak out about the ray of opportunities the publication provides. issue in our own times,” said Massott.

“Above all, we aim to foster a sense of appreciIn the words of Ms. Olmedo, “Language has ation for foreign culture, art, and writing,” said always been a driving force behind change, Nicastro. progress, and transformation.”

One of the staff writers for the publication, At Vox, students are given the opporPietro Topa ’19, joined the Vox team because tunity to experience language as a force of it allowed him to further pursue his passion for action, benefitting from all it has to offer.

Italian. As a child of immigrants, Topa used his Artea Brahaj / The Science Survey

Natasha Stamler ’18

Dr. Stuart Gaffin, a research scientist at the Center for Climate Systems Research at Columbia University’s Data Science Institute, allowing her to formally begin her research. For research students, mentors play a critical role in the student’s research process, and may contribute in various forms: assisting with research, helping the student with organizing their data, or guiding them with the structure of their research paper. Working alongside her mentor, Stamler acquired invaluable field experience and research skills. “I enjoyed my research immensely and learned a lot. The work I did with my mentor was pretty different from my own but was fun, albeit tiring,” said Stamler.

Stamler has also had the chance to take part in the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium to present her research and data regarding green infrastructure improvements around the city, to a panel of judges and an audience of their peers. After careful consideration, she has been selected as a regional finalist after having been chosen as first place for the environmental sciences category. JSHS is a similar program to Regeneron STS in that JSHS promotes original experimentation in STEM fields and publicly recognizes students for their outstanding research.

Stamler’s research is eye-opening in that it has the chance to properly change the currently imperfect infrastructure that is installed around the city.

time to to work on her art. “I like to draw and paint, because it requires no thought and I’m just able to portray whatever I feel without having to think about it,” she said.

For many of our artists, drawing is an outside world beyond school, allowing them to express their emotions and creativity on Ada Cheng / The Science Survey

Alexander Throp / The Science Survey

Every Bronx Science student starts from the same position: as a freshman who has yet to branch out

thing in her world bursts with color Her passion for design comes from watching runway shows from brands like Chanel, Givenchy, and Dior. These brands fuel her inspiration to create her collection of fashion designs. Looking back on her old work, Ang cringes at it, but she is proud of Ada Cheng / The Science Survey

Stamler Gains Recognition in the Scientific Community

11

Kristina Ang ’18 is attending Parsons in the fall, fulfilling her designer dreams.

Emma Mohammad ’18 showcases her sketchbook, filled with personal art pieces.

a piece of paper. Mohammad emphasized how the best part of creating art pieces is seeing her ideas become tangible.

Kristina Ang ’18 focuses on designing and sewing. She will be attending Parsons, a school known for fashion, art, and design in the fall. Her work gives her complete creative freedom outside of school. Every-

the progress she has made. She continues to consistently improve her work. “I definitely think my technique got better with time. I truly think that practice does make perfect, but even now, my work is not perfect,” Ang said. She looks up to other designers in awe as their collections inspire her to create more designs of her own. She

hopes to be as successful as them one day as she chases her dreams of becoming a high fashion designer.

Arturo Guillen ’18 uses art as an escape from the stress of Bronx Science. As a kid, art has always played a role in Guillen’s life. As a kid he always had his nose stuck in a coloring book, working with legos, or sculpting with play-dough. Guillen said, “I was always drawn to the expression shown through all sorts of art form. It was always so intriguing to create a world of your own whether that be on a page or canvas or the side of my notes.” His most recent piece of artwork was a digitally edited photograph.

In comparison to his first work of art, which was a character with lasers shooting out of its eyes, his newest piece has more meaning. “Creating things that have a purpose for existing and that could stand alone to tell a story if the observer thinks enough about it,” Guillen said.

It is clear that our school is filled with more than just athletes, debaters, and scientists. The artists of our school are important to our school’s diversity, even if they sometimes go unnoticed in the halls of our school. Without our student artists, our school hallways would not be as vibrant as they are now.

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SURVEY SPORTS

By JOSELYN KIM picture: us as a whole team rather than just Baton in hand, sweat in their eyes, myself. We challenged each other to not be muscles burning, the Girls’ and Boys’ In- mediocre and really pushed our limits.” door Track team this season came in first The boys have previously won the in the Bronx Boroughs Championship. Bronx Boroughs Championships and Last year, the Girls' Varsity Indoor Track with each passing year, they have greatly team came in third place in the indoor and improved by challenging their personoutdoor season of track. Determined to al records individually and as a team. make sure they placed first this year, the Kevin Chow '19 said, “Without the coachgirls and boys have es, captains, and worked hard, consismy teammates, tently holding pracwe would have tice Mondays through not won BorThursdays in school oughs. They gave and at the Armory us the motivaTrack. This year, tion we needed more than thirty new to get to the finmembers have joined ish line.” Chow the Girls’ team as well has improved as almost forty new from last year’s members to the Boys’. The seniors of this season’s Indoor Track Outdoor Track In addition to team are nostalgic about their last season season with his the new members of Indoor Track, yet are excited for the split time for the Spring Outdoor season. of the track team, 4x200 relay from there is also a new twenty seven secassistant coach for the Girls’ team this onds last season to twenty four this season. year. Coach Anthony Vaughan, also Dipu Chowdhury '19 said, “Cross Country known as Coach V., has played a huge really prepared us for the Indoor season by role alongside Coach Marlene Payton. making us stronger.”

Issabella Huynh '20, one of the captains for Both teams hope to carry their success the Indoor Track season, has really pushed over to the Outdoor Track season in the the girls to perform their best at each meet. Spring. Caroline Odia '20 said, “Indoor “Coach Payton, Vaughan, and the girls were "Without the suport really determined to win boroughs this year, and it was definitely a goal for the this seawe gave each other, son. We even started preparing for the meet we would not have in the beginning of the season to progressively improve for Boroughs,” said Huynh. won this year."

Although Indoor Track is often seen more as an individual sport, the girls have proven this to be incorrect. Track, while being its own sport, is more of Amy Liu ‘19 said, “If I learned one thing, a preparation for the Outdoor season. I’m it’s that Track is not an individual sport. confident that we will once again win the Without the support and motivation that Borough Championships, and we’ll jump we gave each other, we would not have right into the new season with no time to won Boroughs this year.” The bond be- lose our strength and we’ll put in a trementween the team members grew even stron- dous amount of effort and get ourselves ger; knowing each other’s strengths,weak- back into shape.” nesses, and what they needed to improve The Boys and Girls’ Track Team on ultimately led the girls to their victory. hope for greater future endeavors to Huynh added, “One thing that I did this bring a big win for the outdoor seaseason was to focus more on the bigger son and track seasons to come.

By DORA CHAM The 2017-2018 school year left a mark combines precision and intensity perfectin Bronx Science’s sports history. After a ly.” A big part of the team’s success came long season of hard work, the Girls’ Varsity from their coach. Madison Shimbo ’19, Table Tennis Team finished as undefeated Doubles Sub, would like to give a shoutchampions, qualifying for semifinals. Be- out to Coach Sisilli for “being the MVP!” ing on a team comes with great determi- Working their way to semifinals was a manation and effort, which is exactly what it jor accomplishment that came with a lot of took for these Wolverines to witness their cheering and brought on a lot of emotion. hard work pay When they off. “We all try won the game our best, because that deterit's not a sport mined their where you can qualification slack off and still to semifithink that you'll nals, Liang do well,” Yanny said, “All my Liang ’19 stated. brain could Over the season, think was the team has ‘!!!!!!!!!!!!’” It won all twelve of didn’t have their games, ten to be put of which were into words 5-0, paving their to reflect just way to semifi- Athena Ding '19 focusing on the table tennis game. how happy nals. It was the and proud team’s first time advancing to semifinals, she was in that precise moment of time. so it meant a lot to each and every one of Seeing how the team grew into a lasting them. “Being a part of a team that finally family is one of the best things about Ren’s made it to semifinals is truly inspiring,” ’19 experience this season. Ren ’19, admires said co-captain Ellen Ren ’19. Members the fact that despite the team consisting of a of the team are not only proud of their majority of new members, “the old cliques individual accomplishments, but of their dissolved to embrace the new members.” collaborative work. The one person who From all of the fooling around to defeatmay have been the most proud was Coach ing their biggest rival, Eleanor Roosevelt Nicole Sisilli. “Seeing the pride and happi- High School, Ren ’19 cherishes how every ness in their eyes reminded me why I be- member of the team became long-standcame a coach in the first place,” Sisilli said. ing trustworthy people in her life.

However, this season has not always been The team officially ended their season as an easy road to success. Sisilli admitted, one of the top four teams in the city. Al“At the beginning of the season, the only though they did not advance to finals, they thing holding us back was inexperience.” are proud of their success this season.

However, once practices started, and she The team is set on working even hardsaw how well everyone worked together, er, qualifying for semi-finals again, and she was confident in the team’s ability to making it to finals next season. Shimbo be successful. It was because of the team’s ’19 knows that “it's extremely important evident effort to improve that Sisilli had a to show your teammates support and to newfound appreciation and respect for the cheer them on,” and that is exactly what athletes, as well as the sport itself. “What the girls team does at all of their games.

I have grown to love about the sport is the They have built on friendships and skills incredible agility, speed, and hand-eye so far, and will continue building for next coordination needed to be successful. It season. As Ren said, “Here’s to growth!”

Leaders of Tomorrow Award Given to Evaluna Smith '19 and Julia Check '20

By SUSAN HUANG “On your mark, get set, go!” yelled the starter firing the pistol. The twenty-fourth annual U.S. Hispanic Games were held at The Armory’s New Balance Track and Field Center in Washington Heights on January 6, 2018. Being one of the most renowned meets of the PSAL Indoor Track & Field season with thousands of high school athletes in attendance, it was an incredible feat for two of the eleven competing Bronx Science students, Julia Check ’20 and Evaluna Smithgartner ’19, to receive the Leader of Tomorrow Award for demonstrating academic excellence in school and leading their community.

As a junior, Smithgartner has been part of the Outdoor Track and Field Team for a year and the Indoor Track Team for the past three years. Being a recipient for this award motivated her to strive harder and to lead her community.

“When I got this award, I was beyond excited. I knew that my coach had nominated me, but I wasn't expecting to receive it,” she said. “I was especially happy because my teammate Julia also received the award, and we were both so happy to have an opportunity to be recognized by the Armory track,” Smithgartner said.

Check has always been an active member in both her community and in athletics. She is constantly practicing and running both inside and outside of school to

improve her times as well as spreading positivity throughout her team.

“I felt very honored to receive this award, and I think it is very important to recognize those who are always positively contributing to their teams,” Check said.

After being recognized by her coach and the armory, Check wants to maintain her positive outlook for the team.

Both Check and Smithgartner believe that being on the track team has been one of the most unforgettable experiences in their time at Bronx Science. The recognition that they gained from receiving this award proved that all the work and effort they put into attending practice every day and endless competitions was worth it.

“I come to practice basically every time we have it, and I have made friends with people in many different grades on the team, so track has been a very positive experience for me,” Check said. The team always has had a familial bond that encourages them to cheer each other on and motivate one another to work harder in order to improve their individual times.

Both athletes have high expectations for themselves for the current Spring 2018 Track & Field season. They wish to continue to work hard both in school and for their community.

“I hope to continue to lead my community and be successful in my future endeavors,” said Smithgartner.

Dora Cham / The Science Survey

Girls’ Table Tennis: Paddling to Victory

Josleyn Kim / The Science Survey

Girls’ and Boys’ Indoor Track Teams: Second Lap of Victory

Sexual Predator Sentenced to Nearly 200 Years in Prison

By AHANA CHOWDHURY Michigan State University and Karolyi Ranch were once highly regarded institutes in the gymnastics world. However, these were also the establishments that used to employ a former sports doctor, Larry Nassar, who sexually abused over 265 women and one man over a period of two decades, with ages of the victims ranging from as young as a 6-year-old to teenagers.

Gymnast Rachael Denhollander was the first to speak up about her experience with Nassar, explaining she was assaulted sixteen years ago at the mere age of 15. Over 150 young adults followed, coming forward to speak about what Nassar had done to them and how they feel.

Samantha Gong ’18, one of the captains of the Girls’ Varsity Gymnastics Team, stated, “He will be behind bars for the rest of his life, knowing that his victims have come together to stand up to him. And although what happened should never have been even a thought, these gymnasts are stronger now for showing their dedication to each other.”

Nassar was charged for up to 175 years in prison for his actions, with Judge Rosemarie Aquilina telling Nassar, "I just signed your death warrant." During the trial, many women came together to tell their stories, leaving statements that resonated throughout the audience, jury, and general population. Since the accusations against Nassar were initially brushed off, the victims finally felt they were able to see some sort of justice.

Yasmin Andrews ’18 said, “In regards to the outcome, I think that it was fair. Gymnastics is already a mentally challenging sport, and years of abuse and manipulation on top of that is highly damaging to the athletes.”

Nassar’s case shed light on the way U.S.A. Gymnastics (USAG) and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) protected Nassar by ignoring accusations against him. This revelation cost USAG several sponsors and its training center at the Karolyi Ranch.

Many members of the USAG administration stepped down, including Steve Penny, the President and CEO. After the Pyeongchang Olympics ended, Scott Blackmun, the CEO of the USOC also stepped down, although he cited medical concerns as his reason for doing so. Despite the change in administrations, the implementation of real change about in the world of gymnastics is still unsure.

“I think USA Gymnastics should have been more concerned about the gymnasts rather than the reputation of their company,” Gong added. “Instead of trying to validate themselves by producing higher scoring gymnasts, their main concern should have been the safety and well-being of the girls. USAG should never have let any doctor work unsupervised, and their priority should have been to protect the gymnasts.”

Continued Online