Volume 106, Issue 2 by The Stuyvesant Spectator

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

Volume CVI  No. 2

October 2, 2015

NEWSBEAT uidance counselor Jo Mahoney will replace former Assistant Principal of Mathematics Maryann Ferrara as faculty advisor of ARISTA; Ferrara retired last June.

ne hundred thirty-one Stuyvesant seniors were named National Merit Scholarship Semifinalists. Stuyvesant had more students receive this award than any other high school in New York State, and the second largest number of students of all high schools in the nation.

ophomore Shivasuryan Vummidi and biology teacher Dr. Jeffrey Horenstein attended the prestigious Lasker Foundation Award Ceremony for biomedical research and public service. Prior to the award ceremony, they were invited to have breakfast with Lasker Award winners and other students from around the country.

he Stuyvesant Speech and Debate team claimed third place in the overall standings of the Yale Invitation Tournament, from September 18 to 20. Seniors Pablo Blanco and Nino Dickerson won first place in Policy Debate, and sophomores David Doktorman and Isaac Segal finished as semifinalists. Senior Rishika Jikaria claimed third place in the Oratory category.

stuyspec.com

Which Ones Work? By Sonia Epstein A 2013 article in The Spectator, titled “Why Don’t They Work?” reported that on any given day that year, an average of only 65 percent of escalators were operating by eighth period. This statistic remains accurate today, when motionless escalators are a frequent sight. Though students lack the ability to improve the quality of the escalators, steps can be taken to improve students’ experiences with the escalators that are working. Such was the idea driving senior Krzysztof Hochlewicz’s new application, which monitors the escalators and reports which ones are working. The information is displayed on tablets that are mounted at the bottom of each escalator and linked to each other wirelessly. Past students in Software Development classes have attempted similar ideas, but were hindered by the inability to observe directly the escalators, making it difficult to determine whether they are working. Hochlewicz’s program uses the scroll wheel of a computer mouse as sensor to determine if the escalator is on. He plans to mount the mouse underneath the escalator’s handrail, where it will not obstruct student traffic. If the escalator is on, it will push against the scroll wheel. The tablet connected to that mouse will pick up that information, and the graphic of that escalator on the application’s interface

will turn green. The application then sends that information to a server. All the other tablets in the building fetch that information every 10 seconds and show that escalator as green too. If the escalator stops moving, the tablet detects that the scroll wheel is no longer moving. The graphic of the escalator will turn red, and a few seconds later that escalator will be depicted as off on all the other tablets in the school. Hochlewicz got permission from the administration and head custodian to mount the tablets by the two-to-four and four-to-six up escalators on Tuesday, September 29 to perform a test run of the program. The program ran smoothly from second period until Hochlewicz dismantled it at 4:30, with just a couple issues arising during the day. Around fourth period, the operating system on the tablet monitoring the four-to-six escalator crashed. “I looked it into it and I’m pretty sure it’s just a problem with the tablet, and not with the app I coded,” said Hochlewicz, noting that the application ran well on all of the other tablets. Additionally, Hochlewicz had difficulty positioning the tablets so that they were in range of the school Wi-Fi. “The new network actually has better coverage in Stuy’s building, so that’s what actually made the escalator monitoring system possible without using any kind of mobile hotspots,” Hochlewicz said. “[But] I’ll probably have to

Soham Ghoshal / The Spectator

“The Pulse of the Student Body”

work on modifying the tablets so they’ll have a stronger ability to [connect to the Wi-Fi].” The mice mounted crudely under the handrails with rubber bands and duct tape did not fall off during the test run. Hochlewicz hopes to 3-D print brackets to hold the mice with the help of a friend in robotics, to ensure that they will remain attached throughout the day. “In general I would call the test run a success. I was expecting to have at least some issues with the system and there were really no major ones, so that’s great news,” he said. After modifying his program to address the issues that arose during the test run, Hochlewicz plans to circulate a petition asking the administration to support his project. “There are some parts of it they might not like, like actually taping tablets

to the walls or mounting them full-time,” Hochlewicz said. “If these were to be set up fulltime then they would have to be plugged into wall outlets in the hallways and that’s something the administration would probably have an issue with.” For the test run, Hochlewicz bought back-up battery packs to support the tablets, which have roughly a two-hour battery life. If the system is fully implemented, one problem is that students could break or steal the tablets, which Hochlewicz plans to take down at night, but otherwise leave unattended during the day. Hochlewicz, however, doesn’t think this will be an issue. “I would have enough faith to hope that people wouldn’t just break continued on page 1

New SU Holds First Meeting and Passes New Constitution By Sharon Chao and Selina Zou The Student Union (SU) held its first meeting of the year on Friday, September 18, to vote on a revised Constitution and discuss goals for the upcoming school year. SU President Ares Aung, SU Vice President Matthew So, the Executive Branch, grade caucuses, and faculty advisor Matthew Polazzo attended the meeting. The Constitution details the responsibilities of each SU member, and the impeachment, amendment, and implementation protocols. This year is the first time it has been revised in eight years. Major changes include halfyear instead of full-year terms for Branch members and the elimination of unnecessary positions. Both Polazzo and Aung wanted to revise the Constitution. When Polazzo was Coordinator of Student Affairs (COSA), eight years ago, the Constitution was revised at the end of every year. “But, that [tradition] stopped during the time that I was not COSA,” Polazzo said. “Now, I feel that it’s best to begin the new year with a new Constitution.” Aung and So planned to

WHAT’S INSIDE? FEATURES OPINIONS

The Student Union Cabinet and Caucuses (left to right: Mary McGreal, Taylor Joines, David Kang, Namra Zulfiqar, Winston Venderbush, Enver Ramadani, Matthew So, Danny Poleshchuk, Ares Aung, Pallab Saha, Tahseen Chowdhury, Social Studies teacher Matthew Polazzo, Paulina Ruta, Chloe Delfau, Asim Kapparova, Krzystof Hochlewicz, and Astrid Malter) discuss the constitution at a meeting on Friday, September 18. Xin Italie / The Spectator

modify the Constitution due to student interest, such as sophomore Ryan Boodram’s May 28, 2015 Spectator article, “A Lesson in Constitutional Law for the SU.” “[The article] and all the 2015 election campaigns opened our eyes to the change that was

The Programmers: Everyday Superheroes How our schedules are put together, from A to Z.

being called for,” Aung said. Aung and So decided to write a new Constitution largely based on the old one. They wrote its skeleton, and members of the new Executive Branch added on after they were chosen over the summer.

Half-year terms for Branch members were originally in place when Polazzo was COSA the first time, but the policy changed after he left the position. The reversion back to half year-terms is to ensure a wide range of student opinions and to hold Branch

members more accountable for their work. “Half-year terms bring new perspectives to the SU twice a year instead of one. Also, it encourages Branch members to be more responsible because their seats during the second term are no longer guaranteed,” Aung said. The new Constitution also removed certain SU positions and clarified the roles of the ones that remained. The Directors and Assistant Directors of Maintenance and of Special Events positions were removed. “These roles didn’t really do much in the past, as in they were really titular and had no real meaning. Now, each position has actual responsibilities that are outlined very well [in the new Constitution],” senior and SU Chief of Staff David Kang said. Before voting on the new Constitution, senior and Technology Coordinator Krzysztof Hochlewicz voiced his concern about the impeachment protocol, which was not changed from the old Constitution. It states that only the Executive Council—composed of the Executive Branch and grade caucuses—can vote to continued on page 2

Forming A More (Im)perfect Union Critical analysis of the new constitution and its impact on student representation.

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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News Which Ones Work? continued from page 1

these for no reason,” he said. “This is here to help everyone.” Hochlewicz has been thinking about this project for almost a year. He realized in June that the Android tablet’s native USB mouse support allowed him to use the mice as sensors. “I then spent most of the summer when I was on vacation… teaching myself how to make applications for Android,” he said. Hochlewicz is currently using assorted Android tablets for the project, which he paid for himself. “In the process of repairing phones and preparing for a club I run, Stuy Circuit, I got a really good deal on about 25 of these broken tablets for about $30 total, which was really cheap. And I managed to fix most of them, thank-

fully.” If the project is successful, he hopes to standardize the tablets, ideally upgrading to Barnes and Noble Nooks. The project does not require extensive funding to support, with most of the money going toward repairing or replacing broken tablets. “If I can show that the idea works then I would get money from the Parents Association or the Alumni Association… and if I could get $2,000 that’s enough to run it for two years, maybe even three or four years.” If the project proves to be successful, Hochlewicz plans to teach members of Stuy Circuit to manage the system and replace the tablets. “If I trained a couple of people to do this, then even after I graduate this is something people could keep doing.”

New Wireless Network Implemented at Stuyvesant

New SU Holds First Meeting and Passes New Constitution continued from page 1

remove an SU official. “[The current protocol] is incredibly easy to abuse: all a president has to do is fill the cabinet with close friends, and he’s set for the rest of the year. There’s little reason for them to work hard, because they’ll never be impeached,” Hochlewicz said. During the meeting, Hochlewicz said that each grade should be able to impeach its caucus and the general student body the Branch members. However, Polazzo said that a more specific amendment that includes the number of students needed to impeach an SU official was needed before modifying the Constitution. “The student body elects the SU, so it shouldn’t be so easy to remove them. My inclination is to allow the year to go forward with the current Constitution, and [Hochlewicz] or anyone else can come back with a fully fleshed idea,” Polazzo said. “In any case, the administration and I always have the right to remove anyone from their position.” The 17 SU members present at the meeting then voted on the Constitution. Everyone voted in favor except for

Hochlewicz, who abstained. “The new constitution is lacking in its impeachment protocols and [other] minor details. Overall, however, [it’s] extremely well written and is so much easier to work with than the old one,” Sophomore Caucus President Pallab Saha said. A new confidentiality agreement that the SU enforced at its August 14 meeting was also announced. The agreement, which is only among Council members, says that members are allowed to share information from meetings that aren’t open to the student body solely with other attendees. “This isn’t to hide information from the students; it’s to not mislead the student body unless we are 100 percent sure that what we are discussing can happen,” Aung said. Senior Caucus Vice President Danny Poleschuk then brought up two issues that he had noticed. “A problem [that] a lot of kids faced last year was stolen bikes or bike parts,” Poleschuk said. “[Also,] I heard some people comment that they wished they could go out during third period. This is important because students seem to have specifically third free.”

As of right now, the consent form to leave the building only applies to periods four through nine. The SU is also unsure whether bike racks can be installed in the building to protect students’ bikes. Nonetheless, both of the issues that Poleschuk raised will be discussed with the administration. Additionally, Polazzo updated the Council on opening the fifth floor balcony to students, which was one of Aung and So’s campaign promises. “I contacted the Alumni Association, and they were willing to fund it. [Principal Jie Zhang] was also excited about the idea when I talked to her. I just need an approval from Battery Park because it owns the Stuyvesant building. But, I don’t know how long that step will take,” Polazzo said. The SU is trying to set up monthly meetings so that its members will know the status of all the issues. “We have new goals this year, and the revised Constitution is just a great way to begin the new year,” Kang said. “It’s a new step forward for us, and we hope to be as coordinated, clear, and coherent as our new Constitution is.”

such as having a 94 percent average for mathematics and a 90-92 percent overall average. Another reason for the removal of the Algebra I-Geometry system was its inconsistency. “Sometimes they had the same teacher and sometimes they had two different teachers. Sometimes they had [Algebra I and Geometry] back-to-back, and sometimes [the two classes weren’t] even together,” Zhang said. Possible alternatives to doubling up on Algebra I and Geometry were discussed. Zhang had proposed a “double-Geometry” class that would encompass algebra concepts. However, the mathematics department did not like the idea. Still, both Zhang and the majority of the mathematics department agreed that taking Algebra I and Geometry at the same time was not effective for students. They concurred that it would be best to split the two classes and place freshmen who needed it in Algebra I. Zhang and former Assistant Principal of Mathematics Maryann Ferrara finalized this during the summer. Once the school year started, students and some math teachers voiced their disagreement with the decision. “[The school] should offer algebra and geometry double period, because the students would at least have the chance to be able to catch up and be at the same pace as other [peers],” said sophomore Yuan Chen, who took the double period Algebra-Geometry class during her freshman year. Another concern was that freshmen taking Algebra I may feel “left behind” compared to those taking Geometry. “Those who take Algebra I [would] feel behind and ‘lesser’ than their peers. The double period allows them to get the algebra help they need but still be on track with their peers,” said math teacher Melissa Protass, who formerly taught Algebra I-Ge-

ometry double period classes. During the last two years, the number of Algebra I-Geometry classes have been cut in half, which also concerns math teachers. “They went from four to three to two [Algebra I classes] in the last two years. Some students are not getting Algebra I help but need it and will struggle unnecessarily in Algebra II,” Protass said. The approximately 60 freshmen who are currently taking Algebra I are worried about their math education at Stuyvesant. “Those who take Algebra [I] fall a year behind in math classes and do not have a chance of taking more challenging courses later on in high school,” said freshman Muhib Khan, who is currently taking Algebra I. “[Many] students, such as myself, are willing to put in the extra effort of taking two math classes so we can take things such as Calculus.” Zhang understands faculty and students’ concerns. “I have told teachers to identify kids that, after seven days, show very strong algebra skills in class. [If they have done well on the Regents], I would be happy to move them to Geometry,” Zhang said. She has also had discussions with students who did not perform well on the placement test but still believed they should be in both Algebra I and Geometry. “I have had kids […] come up to me and really want to [double up with] Geometry, and I’ve looked at their Common Core grade and their school grade, and I have actually almost made some exceptions,” Zhang said. “I’m still sitting on the idea of giving [freshmen] two periods. Even today, I’m thinking.” Despite this, Zhang stands behind the decision to take out the Algebra I-Geometry double class. “We just didn’t think [double algebra-geometry] worked. There are definitely more pros than cons [to the single class],” Zhang said.

Kimberlyn Cho / The Spectator

Freshman Algebra I-Geometry Double Period Class Discontinued

By Tiffany Chen, Vicky Chen, and Jessica Wu

By Grace Cuenca, Jan Wojcik, and Jessica Wu The Department of Education (DOE) has replaced Stuyvesant’s wireless network in an effort to upgrade school wireless networks across the city. Installed over the summer by the Division of Informational Technologies of the DOE, the new Wi-Fi network has supplanted the network used by students and faculty since 2009. This change, called the Next Generation Wireless Network Upgrade, originated in March, 2015, when the DOE lifted the ban on cell phone use in schools. Almost immediately afterwards, from March to June, the DOE received complaints of slow Internet connection due to over-usage, according to Principal Jie Zhang. The DOE reconfigured the Wi-Fi with two major goals in mind: to optimize the network and to utilize it to enhance education. According to the DOE website, the new network will “provide increased high speed access capacity, flexibility, mobility and secure wireless access” and ultimately result in “a better wireless experience for students and teachers in the classrooms.” When the Wi-Fi was reconfigured, the DOE told the administration to make the network unavailable for private use by the students and faculty, thus mitigating traffic on the network, increasing Internet speed, and improving learning. Additionally, a number of websites have been blocked, many of which were not blocked under the old network. The new password has not officially been shared with the student body, unlike the old password, which was readily available.

Despite the DOE’s policy, students have found ways to use the new school Wi-Fi. Because the DOE is the “owner” of the Wi-Fi, it will have to handle a situation in which students are overusing the Wi-Fi. “I don’t plan to punish anybody,” Zhang said. “Maybe the DOE will tell us to periodically change the password, but if they don’t say anything, I can’t do anything about it.” Since the DOE controls the Wi-Fi, it can track the network’s usage. If the DOE wants to, it could police all its networks and see who is following the no-personal-usage rule, but according to Zhang, this process would be too complicated, due to the sheer number of devices using the WiFi. “It would be very difficult to track everyone down,” she said. “In theory, the DOE can see who is doing what, but I don’t know whether they will come in and enforce the rule.” Some students who use the Internet to do homework have been inconvenienced by the restrictions on personal access to the Wi-Fi. “I like to finish as much homework I can at school, so I have enough time to complete the rest after I get home,” sophomore Joey Chen said. “It was just easier to be able to sit down on a quiet bench and finish my work instead of having to worry about getting to a computer in the library before they were all taken.” The Wi-Fi password will not be distributed to students in an effort to limit Internet access in the classroom. “In theory, [the DOE internet] was never meant for personal use, so nothing really has changed,” Zhang said. “Even when we put up the password for the old Wi-Fi, [the Wi-Fi] was always intended for learning.”

Beginning this school year, the Algebra I-Geometry double period class for freshmen who performed poorly on the placement test will be discontinued. Instead, these students will be taking a single period Algebra I class during their freshman year and a single period Geometry class in their sophomore year. As a result, freshmen beginning with Algebra I will most likely graduate without taking Calculus. Mathematics teachers first proposed eliminating the double period two years ago, noticing that some students were struggling with two periods of math class. “The conversation began in the math department,” Principal Jie Zhang said. “They feel that there is a small group of students that would benefit from not doubling [up on Algebra I and Geometry].” The main problem discussed is that the students taking both Algebra I and Geometry often feel very pressured by taking two math classes. “They [are] taking two completely independent math courses,” Zhang said. “When you are weak in Algebra and then you have to go into Geometry, you are handling two different sets of math concepts that are far from each other. The algebraic skills required in geometry class are completely different from the algebra you’re taking.” This differs from taking math electives along with a required math course, such as doubling up on Calculus and Precalculus during junior year, where the required math knowledge for the elective is taught by the teacher in that class. In this case, students learn certain Precalculus topics earlier in the year than when they are required for Calculus. Additionally, students who double up on Calculus and Precalculus must reach certain requirements to be considered,

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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News Students Required to Take One or More AP Exams to Graduate By Blythe Zadrozny Beginning with the class of 2017, every student must sit for at least one Advanced Placement (AP) exam during his or her time at Stuyvesant in order to graduate with a Stuyvesant Endorsed Diploma. Many specialized high schools have long required their students to take at least one AP to graduate with a diploma from the school. Although Stuyvesant has historically not followed this trend, Principal Jie Zhang believes that it is time to do so. The idea for the change was first presented by Zhang to the School Leadership Team (SLT). The decision to implement the policy was made in the spring of 2015. “It’s a slow movement that I want to implement, with the hope that students will have the experience of at least sitting for a College Board exam,” Zhang said. In the past, about 85 to 86 percent of each graduating class has taken at least one AP exam. The approximately 120 students

remaining have not done so, for one of two reasons: either they have taken the class but opted out of the test, or they have not been able to take the actual class. Although Zhang believes

“It’s a slow movement that I want to implement, with the hope that students will have the experience of at least sitting for a College Board exam.” —Jie Zhang, principal

that most students will be able to score well on the test without taking the class, she has decided to look at it on a case by case basis to decide whether or not the new rule will apply to every student. For example, if a student has extremely poor grades and is not able to reach the cut off grade for APs, she might be exempt. “If they’re not passing courses, I’m not going to force this because they were not going to get the Stuy Diploma anyway,” Zhang said. Zhang believes the new change will give everyone the experience of taking an AP exam and open up opportunities for students. Since websites, such as US News and World Reports, rank high schools by their college readiness, Stuyvesant has fallen behind by not requiring students to take APs. By the US News and World Reports standards, Stuyvesant is now 96th in the nation, and 15th in the state. Similar specialized high schools are much higher on the list, with Bronx High School of Science 51st nationally and seventh statewide.

It is likely that by dramatically raising the percentage of students taking APs, Stuyvesant’s ranking will also rise. Although Zhang has expressed the belief that rankings are not of great importance, she does think the new initiative will help make students and their families happy. “If students can contribute a little with our ranking, it’s not a bad idea,” Zhang said.

“It just makes Stuy standards higher, and we’re an academically prestigious school.” —Joyce Lee, senior Some students are unsure about the effects that this new requirement will have on Stuyve-

sant. One concern is the school’s ability to program students into APs. “I don’t know how it’s going to work out because a lot of students end up not getting into the AP class of their choice, despite having signed up for three,” senior Joyce Lee said. “If this is how Stuy is going to pursue their graduate requirements, they need to change the system in which they program kids into APs, because if you haven’t got the average to make it into a class, how would you graduate?” The programming office has yet to comment on the change. On the other hand, there are some students with a more positive outlook. “For most people, it doesn’t really make much of a difference since most students at Stuy end up taking at least one AP anyway. But, for those who don’t take any AP classes, it would probably be a little challenging. But then again, they’re at Stuyvesant High School, which means they should be able to handle it,” said sophomore Venus Nnadi in an e-mail interview.

Inspecting the Board of Elections By Danielle Eisenman and Johnathan Rafailov Last spring, after winning the primary elections for junior caucus, then-sophomore Sachal Malick posted on-line saying he would provide the other candidates, specifically those who had been eliminated from the race, with positions in the Student Union (SU) if he and his running mate, Anna Usvitsky, won the final election against Namra Zulfiqar and Enver Ramadani. Though Malick stated his move “[was] not bribery” in his message to the also-rans, this was the charge leveled against him by the Board of Elections (BOE). The reputations of Malick and Usvitsky were damaged and the two students were subjected to abuse and cyber-bullying. Concerns over the feasibility and ethics of Malick’s proposal arose quickly after his initial post: whether he could actually create the SU positions, given his limited power even if elected as vice president of the Junior Caucus, and what his motives were for offering incentives before the election; some said the impetus was for endorsement from the losing tickets, due in part to the fact that the theme of making endorsements was more popular than it was in recent years. However, in his messages, Malick stressed that he would offer the positions to eliminated candidates regardless of their support of his campaign. After the proposition was reported to the Board of Elections (BOE), Usvitsky and Malick lost four points on the grounds of “Miscommunication with other tickets”—specifically, for failing to notify the BOE chairs of their proposition before talking to the losing candidates. It was then decided, by the BOE collectively, that the ticket’s offer was completely legal, and did not warrant accusations of bribery. When reporting the incident to the Class of 2017’s Facebook group, however, the BOE cited the reason for the point deduction as “bribery.” This slanderous accusation was not rectified until the night before the final election, after a Fa-

cebook firestorm involving numerous personal accusations, the worst of them calling Malick a “sociopath” and comparing him to Adolf Hitler. In the final elections, Usvitsky and Malick lost by 101 votes, representing a dramatic shift from their 21-vote lead in the primaries. This incident brought up several questions surrounding Stuyvesant elections. It was not an isolated occurrence—for example, in the spring of 2013, Jack Cahn (‘14) and Remi Moon (‘15) were elected President and Vice-President of the SU, but were disqualified after the BOE found out about seemingly minor campaign violations. In the spring of 2014, Senior Caucus candidates Adam Dehovitz (‘15) and Sanam Bhatia (‘15) were declared winners, though they in fact had lost by 210 votes; a technical glitch in the voting system affected

sonally, I think nine points is too many,” Student Union (SU) President Ares Aung said. The BOE officially designates itself, according to the Student Union website, as the entity that “exists to manage and oversee all elections to Student Union offices [...] while maintaining the rights of Student Union officials, but remaining independent of the oversight of the Executive Council.” The board generally consists of 12 to 15 permanent members, and is headed by two or three chairmen. Though the board is entirely student run, its actions are overseen by the Coordinator of Student Affairs (COSA), social studies teacher Matthew Polazzo. But Shaikh insists that Polazzo only gives suggestions—not directives— to courses of actions. “It’s a student-run organization and it will be [run] as such,” Shaikh said.

“Stuyvesant students are incredibly creative and competitive [...] and, because of that fact, a lot of people devote a tremendous amount of time and energy to their campaigns,” Polazzo said. “And they often read rules very creatively to find loopholes that help them achieve their desired ends.” Malick believes that the BOE’s power gives it the capacity to “change the will of the student body” and therefore manipulate election outcomes. “[The BOE’s] mistake caused us to lose an election.” SU President Aung believes that the BOE does not have too much power, but “too much unchecked power. I think that there should be more than just two chairmen or chairwomen. With two, you can’t really break a tie.” Malick noted the close friendship between BOE chairman Shaikh and candidate

“Could some incredibly crafty, fiendish BOE— in some incredibly insidious way—steal the election? I don’t want to say that it’s impossible, but it seems to me to be highly unlikely.” —Matthew Polazzo, Coordinator of Student Affairs the vote count, the BOE said. The BOE is trying to improve its process of administering student elections. Since the spring of 2014, it has shifted from a three-strike system to a nine-point system to justify a ticket’s disqualification. “The three-strike system was not essentially effective because it seemed like a ball game. The major and minor infractions were held equally accountable. With the ninepoint system, there is more leeway,” former BOE chairman Shazif Shaikh (‘15) said. Not everyone agrees with Shaikh, though. “[The change] leaves room for candidates to skirt the rules, but also evade huge scandals, such as Jack Cahn and Remi [Moon]’s. Per-

The board exists partly because of mandates by the Department of Education. Part 1H of Chancellor’s Regulation A-601 dictates that “every student club or organization must have on file a constitution or bylaws which set forth, at a minimum, its purpose, [...] election process, and impeachment procedure.” In this case, the bylaws of the SU constitution necessitate a separate organization, the BOE, to legislate the SU’s election process. Among the primary responsibilities of the BOE is to make decisions in special situations, by a majority vote, and to amend the rules annually to reflect the highly pressurized nature of elections. This can sometimes lead to improprieties.

Zulfiqar, which seemed “pretty strange” to Malick, considering Shaikh’s position “is supposed to be unbiased.” Malick points to TBH (“to be honest”) Facebook posts, which show that Shaikh’s post on Usvitsky’s wall was relatively impersonal, but his post on Zulfiqar’s wall professed his affection for her. However, Shaikh said it was human error that had misled him. “I take full responsibility for failing to realize that the word [bribery] was misused. It was human error that you can chalk it up to,” he said. Polazzo had a different explanation. “I think the reason why [Usvitsky and Malick] didn’t succeed wasn’t because they were penalized by the BOE,” he said. “I think that, ultimately,

even though [Malick’s proposal] might have been within the technical rules, the voters were put off by the idea itself.” The BOE isn’t prone to scandals because it’s corrupt, but because of the competitive atmosphere at our school, according to Polazzo. “In an environment where you’ve got a zero-sum game and a bunch of people duking it out for something only one of them can have, [...] it seems, unfortunately, not surprising that the BOE would find itself in the center of a whirlwind,” he said. “And when they do ban candidates or deduct points, it’s almost inevitable that that candidate is going to cry foul, and they’re probably going to make some kind of sophisticated argument, and, before you know it, you’re deep into the weeds,” he said. With each scandal that has occurred, Shaikh said, the candidates have presented ingenious ideas, but “no place in the rulebook for whatever it is they’re doing.” He hopes the BOE can anticipate problems before they occur. “Every single time, someone comes up with an idea and they want to see if it will go through without the BOE noticing, and it usually does, which causes an issue later on,” he said. “Maybe having more administration involvement would be ideal,” Malick offered. Aung believes that the BOE should continue with Shaikh’s policy of transparency. “Shazif was releasing three, four, five page statements about BOE decisions and how the BOE discussed it as a whole,” Aung said. “I want to see more of that. That would give me faith in the decisions they come to make as a BOE.” But regardless of the changes the BOE makes, avoiding scandals is impossible, according to BOE member Ashley Lin. “There’s honestly no way to prevent [scandals]. We can adjust the rules to what happened in the past, just make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said. “There’s always new things happening and we can’t control that.”

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The new PSAT will be tightly aligned with the new SAT. Kweller Prep is a proud co-sponsor of the Stuyvesant Student Union Call 1(800) 631-1757 to register or sign up online at www.KwellerPrep.com

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The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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Features

In Translation: Something Lost, Something Found By Nalanda Sharadjaya Narendra Modi, India’s Prime Minister, smiles at me from a worn poster on a highway pillar, eyes glazed, lips stretched out unconvincingly. A slogan in Tamil and its translation in English are emblazoned across his chest: “A Hearty Welcome!” (I am driving home from the airport.) I’ve elected to call it endearing and say no more on the subject. Minutes pass. I drink it all in. The familiar curves in the beatup road, the misspelled signs, the fruit vendors, the small children with their smudged cheeks and unkempt uniforms and bright smiles, the old beggars, the skeletal figures outstretched on the sidewalk, asleep or maybe worse. The driver rolls up the windows as we approach a small river whose banks are lined with garbage and human waste. You can still smell it through the door. There are tin huts and tiny children leaning against the side of the road. The car turns. The huts and children are gone, and with them the smell. Ahead, a traffic sign. The letters in English are larger than the Tamil characters beneath them, but I pretend they are invisible and focus on the language I do not already know, sounding each character out loud like I am four and a quarter: ma – yi – laa – p – poor. Mayi – laa – ppoor. The driver chuckles. Mayilaappoor. Mylapore, the neighborhood where my grandmother lives. My

eyes flash up to the English letters to check, and although I already know where I am headed, it is still satisfying to have written confirmation in two different languages. *** Home. I can tell because I read the name of the apartment complex in Tamil (ch – ne – ka, cha – tha – n. Chneka Chathan. When you correct for Tamil’s irritating plurality of the consonant: Sneha Sadan), and also because I recognize the gate. But mostly because I read the sign. The driver opens the trunk and makes a fuss when I insist on wearing my backpack and carrying my smaller suitcase up two flights of stairs to my grandparents’ flat. I ring the bell. Listening carefully inside, I can make out the jingle of my grandmother’s day nurse’s anklets. I pretend not to be a little disappointed that neither of them could make it to the door. Through a window in the stairwell, I can see the driver waiting for me to enter the house before he starts to climb upstairs with my suitcase. This, as I have come to understand, is a gesture of politeness. My grandmother’s day nurse opens the door and her smile is uncharacteristically broad. I try to respond in kind as I step over the threshold. To my left is the living room: the drawing hall, as it’s called here, although my grandfather’s long and arduous battle with the English language has corrupted this to “draa-ying haal.” Here, when I was young, my grandmother and I would sit

on the floor and play games with miniature cooking utensils and spoonfuls of dried lentils. The real cook in the real kitchen is making some delicious snack to reward me for my return. I can smell the frying onions from across the flat. A younger grandmother, a smaller me sits cross-legged on the floor, translucent, laughing muted, a quiet memory. *** I sit cross-legged on my grandparents’ bed, now out of my plane clothes and in my plain clothes—a kurta and a churidar, both cotton, both freshly pressed in anticipation of my arrival. I rub my fingers over my forehead uncomfortably: there is no red pottu above my nose, no tight plait in my hair. I might be wearing the clothes, but to my grandparents I still look different, foreign, American. My grandmother’s day nurse comes in and asks if I am hungry. I formulate my response carefully, with as little English as possible (this proves to be somewhat problematic): Yes, I hungry. What is to eat? I wanting snack, no meal. Rice no. Samosa yes. My grandmother, my patti, is talking about something from the TV. I try to listen attentively, but the Parkinson’s makes her speech a little slurred and it’s hard to understand what she’s saying. This episode of “Super Singer” (theoretically a knockoff of one of those Simon Cowell shows, but in practice, a glorified sound-and-light display) is nearly over. A screen flashes before it goes to commer-

cial, too quick for me to read most of it, but I can make out a few of the characters: a – du – ttha vaa – ram. Aduttha vaaram. As I would say it colloquially, adtha vaara. Next week. My mind has wandered far away from the TV (when my grandmother asks me a question—do you not wear earrings anymore?—I have to turn around and ask her to repeat it), to the way it feels to curl up in my bed back home, cliché and all, and the fact that I can’t stand the fact that I miss it. The next morning, I walk by her room to see her on her chair, rocking back and forth, reciting prayers from a small, worn, wellthumbed paperback, just close enough to recognize the script. And I have an idea. *** In the closet, behind my mother’s old silk saris, there are children’s books from when I was little. Most are in English, but there is one, I know, I remember, a book of folk tales, that is in Tamil. (I spoke the language much better as a child.) The panchatantra, a collection of allegorical fables, translated from Sanskrit. I slip it out from a great pile of thin paperbacks, wedged between a story about a monkey who cut off its tail and one of a proud, vain lion. Dust collects in the ridges on the soles of my feet; I can feel it as I walk barefoot from my room to my grandparents’. When I step in, I see patti on her seat with a cup of coffee in her trembling hand. She

looks small. I put on a big smile and show her the book—look what I’ve found, patti! Do you remember when you read this to me?—she puts down the cup, her hands trembling, the cup rattling all the way, and peers down at it. Yes, she remembers. Great, I tell her, I want you to read it to me. She opens to the first page and starts to read aloud to me. I close my eyes and it’s ten years ago—the words are familiar and foreign at the same time. Every so often, she pauses to tell me what it means. I can’t read along, I read too slowly, so I watch her instead, because something kind of amazing has just happened. Her hands have stopped trembling. Her body has stopped rocking. For a few moments, she is still. *** Being bicultural means belonging to too much and not enough. I was born here, I wear the clothes they do here and like the music they do here and speak the way they do here but I don’t feel like I’m from here. I feel like I’m from There. I eat their food and feel more comfortable among speakers of their language, whether I understand what they’re saying or not. I like their clothes better, but I like my life here more. I hate jeans but love Netflix. I hate the mosquitoes but I love the heat. I love Starbucks but I miss the spicy food. I’m in this weird sort of limbo, neither here, nor there…

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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Features The Programmers: Everyday Superheroes By Elizabeth Lawrence To the average Stuyvesant student, the creation of schedules is a mysterious yet pivotal process. This year, the process was even more enigmatic because of the retirements of former programming anchors Edward Wong and Sophie Liang and the transition from the school’s old scheduling software, Daedalus (Student Tools) to the new one, Student Transcripts Academic Record System (STARS). In the past, the programming office “leaked” schedules online for a short period of time, but this year, students were left unsure of their schedules until September 8, the day before school started, when they appeared in the students’ Student Tools accounts. These schedules were created by three important Stuyvesant staff members: Jonathan Cheng (Programming Assistant and Librarian), Joy Hsiao (Programming Chairperson and Pre-Calculus teacher), and Jerry Lin (Data Specialist). Cheng worked at Stuyvesant in the past as a full-time librarian, occasionally helping Wong and Liang out in the programming office. Now, he is an official member of the programming team, who helped carry out this task with his knowledge of the old system and the many quirks of Stuyvesant schedules. Lin, recently hired, is the second member of the trio. He came to Stuyvesant in June, bringing his extensive knowledge that he acquired at his previous job of the new STARS system. Hsiao started working at Stuyvesant right before school started. She has programming experience that she gained at former

jobs in other schools, and is skilled in the art of Microsoft Excel. There were two major documents that the programmers used to create schedules. One of these was the request file. It began with the selection of AP and other special classes, last March and May, respectively. Cheng received the request data through Student Tools and used it to generate the request file, which is a compilation of each student’s course requests. The request file started out with the required classes students must take. Then, Assistant Principals of each department informed the programming team of which students got into AP classes. On the request file, the team indicated whether the AP class replaced the regular required course, or if it was just an extra class. In addition to AP classes, the request file stored elective choices. The second major

Sunny Chen / The Spectator

document used in programming was the master schedule. The master schedule is a grid that shows which classes are in which periods, who teaches each class, and how many sections of a class there are. One of Lin’s main jobs in the team was setting this up. The department chairs gave the team the schedules of the teachers in their departments. Lin took these and organized them into the grid format. They then fed the request file and the master schedule into the STARS system to create the individual schedules and to make sure things fit. Around 90 percent of students had their programs created by the machine, but for the other 10 percent there were complications that the programmers had to fix manually. For example, some students requested two different courses that happen at the same time, such as an AP class and an elective. From here, the team had to make some difficult decisions. “I [had] to weigh that difference. I [had] to decide whether you want to take that AP class or that elective class,” Cheng said. His go-to decision was to choose the AP course, because he figured that was more important to the student. But he still tried to give the student an elective, so he went back to the request file to see the student’s second and third choices. If the student chose the same elective three times, he was unable to give them anything. Sometimes, students were

missing classes because they had not sent their requests in on time. In this case, the team tried to decide which classes would be right for them based on their transcript grades. But their main focus was to create a finished schedule. “At some point you can either get an incomplete schedule or a complete schedule with a class that you don’t like. It’s better to have a seat in something than to try and fight for a seat that you can’t get,” Cheng explained. When the situation required it, Cheng called students over the summer to ask them which courses they preferred. If students were unreachable, the programmers just had to choose something, which is why some students got courses that they felt were randomly selected. In order to make all of the schedules the best they could be, the team had to manually mix and shift around the schedules of other students: even those that were not flawed to begin with. To make incomplete schedules successful, they needed to change around other schedules. The programmers tried to make students as happy as possible when switching around classes in individual schedules. “When we change people’s programs, we do try to make them better. We try not touch to many classes together whenever possible, and that sort of thing. We [take] them into consideration,” Hsiao said. However, they were not able to complete their quest to produce the best programs possible without facing some formidable foes. These obstacles were created by the implementation of the new system. The old system dealt better with the quirks of Stuyvesant schedules, so the team had to get creative this

year in order to make things work with the new system. Cheng especially had difficulty with the new system, as he was most familiar with the old one. “The old system helped us fix schedules because it shows on the side what you’ve taken, what you’ve passed, what you failed, so we have a clue of what you need to take,” Cheng said. With the new system, however, he had to pull up transcripts from a separate file manually. There were positive sides to the new STARS system, though. The old system ran very slowly because of the elderly computers it performed on. It took six hours to run it, and another six hours to see the programs again after making changes. STARS is based on the web, so the program can easily be pulled up on newer computers, making it more efficient. And “because [STARS] is online, different people can access different information. So your assistant principals, guidance counselors, the principals—they can see the information real time,” Hsiao pointed out. This is vastly different from the old system where people could only see programs once the programming team had uploaded them. Despite all the changes the programming office had to deal with this year, they brought their goal of generating working schedules to fruition. When schedules showed up on Student Tools this year, students complained about their delay but did not acknowledge the strenuous situation behind the scenes. Now that students have the full scoop on how difficult programming can be, hopefully they will consider the time and effort that was put into their programs.

Ashley Lin / The Spectator

As the Curtain Rises

By Mariya Gedrich It’s the day of the big show that you’ve been working on for months. Everyone around you is excited, bustling about the rehearsal halls. Some people are in the corner, in their own worlds, practicing their songs while others take up the center of the room, rehearsing complex dance routines. Dramatic monologues, music, and laughter resonate in your ears as the performance time approaches. You are filled with a sense of breathless excitement and nervousness. It’s almost time to take the stage. Senior Zi Ying Cao stands tall, with confidence and a playful pride in her dark eyes. She has

been immersed in this vibrant, idiosyncratic world for the last seven years. Four times a week since the fifth grade, Cao has commuted to the Maravel Arts Center on 45th street to learn the art of musical theater with a program called Rosie’s Theater Kids. Founded by actress and television personality Rosie O’Donnell, the program aims to introduce city students to theater. Cao first learned about the program in fifth grade when mentors from Rosie’s Theater Kids came to her elementary school. Having never done theater before, Cao was introduced to a new world as she and her classmates learned how to sing and dance. Previously, Cao had participated

in other programs at her elementary school where she sang in choirs and learned choreography, but she never did the two together. “I was just like, wow, I feel really happy doing this,” Cao said. At Rosie’s, they learned “Me and My Fabulous Feet” and performed it at the end of the year. Exhilarated by the feeling of being on stage, Cao was excited to get involved after the program ended. “They picked a few of us to audition for Act Two [the second part of the program], and I’ve been there ever since I got in,” Cao said. For the audition, Cao and the other participants sang into recorders and learned new choreography. “One thing I remember is that they had us run across the stage, jump up, and do a move while saying our name[s]. Some people did splits. Another girl did a cartwheel. I jumped up and made a star and said, ‘Zi Ying,’” she said. During the school year, Cao and other participants in the program take classes in singing, theater dance, modern dance, and drama. The summer, however, takes on an entirely different pace. In a month and a half of intensive rehearsing, participants prepare a short production written collectively with their mentor and perform it at a gala later in the year to raise funds for the non-profit organization. This past summer, Cao played the lead role in a show called “Malala,” inspired by the young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai. “I played the part of a girl who was unsure of what she wanted but knew she wanted more from life than just Twitter, Facebook, and selfies,” Cao explained. “[My character] found inspiration through Malala and decided to fight for the cause of having schools not just for boys but for girls as well.” Each morning, Cao and her ensemble learned several songs. In the afternoons, they would

practice monologues and scenes, or synthesize their songs with choreography to create the stage production. This was a whole new experience for Cao, who had never had such a prominent role in a production before. She faced new challenges, such as memorizing countless monologues and facing the audience alone. “I remember a scene in which [my character] talked about how we need to do something for kids who are stuck in Pakistan with no access to education. I had a long monologue and throughout it, the audience was so quiet. There were a lot of dramatic pauses and the silence was really apparent during those. It was really different because you know that everyone was listening to you and that you held the stage,” Cao reflected. Not only did Cao perform in a play this summer, she also refined her skills as a dancer. Under the tutelage of renowned choreographer Caitlin Trainor, Cao and other fellow participants learned modern dance techniques and routines. It was different from theater choreography as it incorporated more ballet technique. However, the experience also brought a new mindset for Cao. The modern dance style taught by Trainor demanded more creativity from the participants. “She told us to act how we felt and use our body movements to express how we were feeling,” Cao explained. At the end of their time together, Trainor combined the participants’ choreographies into one piece, which they performed. “I thought it was a cool experience, even though all of our own routines were much more taxing on the body than hers,” Cao said. Throughout her acting and dancing endeavors, Cao has found a constant source of support in her family. Never stifling her talent, they have only encouraged her to follow her passion for

musical theater—especially her mother, who attends all her performances. “I think it’s because she didn’t have this experience in musical theater that she pushed me to try it out. She encourages both me and my little sister to be musical,” Cao explained. Despite having essentially grown up with the program, Cao, unfortunately, has to leave the program this year. Cao was also selected for a prestigious scholarship granted to hand-picked seniors in the program who have exhibited dedication to theater and significant growth. The scholarship of $100,000 will go towards her college education, lifting a great financial burden from Cao’s family. Rosie O’Donnell herself announced the winner of the scholarship during the last spring concert. “When she said my name I went up to her, and said thank you, and just started crying because I was so happy. Because it’s not just the money. You know that these people that you’ve known for so long support you, and they thought you deserved it,” Cao said. But Cao is leaving the program with more than just a scholarship. She has discovered and developed a profound love for music, dance, and theater. Eager to apply what she’d learned at the program, Cao participates in various school activities related to musical theater. “I’m part of chorus and Stuy Squad. Without the confidence from theater, I never would have joined,” she said. Cao also takes Stuyvesant’s acting elective and often goes to see musicals on her own, like “Matilda,” “Chicago,” and “The King and I.” Even though she isn’t entirely sure what career path she will take, Cao hasn’t entirely ruled out the possibility of a career in musical theater. “It’s iffy right now, but it’s because of the program that I can even begin to think about theater in my future,” Cao said.

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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Features Introducing Stuyvesant’s Freshest Faces Thomas Cook, Chemistry Teacher

By Kamila Radjabova and Maya Mitrasinovic On the first day of school, freshmen were getting ready to enter the doors of Stuyvesant High School. They stood anxiously, waiting for them to open so they could go in, get their schedules, and start their first day of school. But there was also a different group of new faces wandering around the halls and getting ready for their classes that morning, though they come in fewer numbers. These new faces belong to Stuyvesant’s newest faculty members. As new teachers and staff members, they began teaching their classes, as excited as the freshmen were on the first day of school. Now all these new personalities, from energetic freshmen to experienced math teachers, have fallen into their routines, still learning but less hectic, and ready to begin a new chapter of their lives at Stuyvesant.

David Peng, Advance Algebra and Geometry Teacher Coming to Stuyvesant as a new chemistry teacher, Thomas Cork already fits in. “I was a dork in high school. I did math league and science bowl,” Cork said. In college, Cork majored in theatre and science and came to New York to pursue playwriting. “However, it was very unappealing because I lost the part of me that was chemistry. But what I really enjoy is that I can take science and theatre and put them together in the classroom,” he explained. Cork realized that teaching was a way to express himself in the two things he enjoys the most. Prior to teaching at Stuyvesant, Cork taught in private schools, but Cork enjoys the different environment at Stuyvesant, which gives him “that feeling of excitement.” Cork is happy to teach in a school full of kids who try their best in every aspect of their studies. Though school had already begun, during the summer Cork spent his free time “helping coach policy debate and extemporaneous speaking,” and is now an active mentor to our Speech and Debate team.

Svetlana Firdman, History Teacher “Studying why the world is the way it is, is just fascinating and empowering,” history teacher Svetlana Firdman said. “I think students don’t realize how much history affects their current lives and maybe that’s why they don’t value it sometimes.” Firdman had always wanted to be a history teacher and is now making her dream come true at Stuyvesant. “I was a tour guide at my college. I gave tours of the campus, which is kind of like teaching. And it was fun,” Firdman said. “I expect that my students genuinely do their best. Everybody’s best is different but I expect them to respect one another and never stop challenging themselves, not just academically, but also in the way that they see the world and the way that they interact with other people,” she explained. Similar to the kids at Stuyvesant, Firdman was always ambitious and active throughout her high school years. ”I was an art nerd in high school,” Firdman said. She considers it a great privilege to be at Stuyvesant, and she loves the dynamic that is given off by a specialized high school. “Is 10,000,753 an option [for how excited I am to teach at Stuyvesant]?” Firdman asked.

Mathematics teacher David Peng has returned to Stuyvesant after graduating a couple years ago. “A lot of teachers I’ve had, they’re still here and now it’s just a different experience to see them as my peers,” Peng said. Peng attended Carnegie Mellon and studied finance, but after graduating, he said that he “always spent time tutoring and helping students.” Though Peng opened his own family business, he decided to go back to teaching. Being at Stuyvesant, Peng sees his own self reflected in the students and their behavior. “The attitude and the work ethic of the students here [are] definitely different. I feel that I don’t have to micromanage as much, in terms of getting students to be on task,” he said. Peng relates to the students at Stuyvesant and feels that they know that he understands them. “So far this year, the few days that I’ve been here, it has been pretty memorable,” Peng said. “Having these kind of students really is a gift.”

Kristina Uy, Guidance Counselor

Marina Madden, History Teacher

Guidance counselor Kristina Uy has just become a new and bright addition to the office we have all been to on the second floor. Since being a guidance counselor is all about the connections you make with your students, Uy explained that “[Stuyvesant] was a good fit because I think the type of students here are similar to how I was and what I grew up in.” Uy was also a hard worker and a persistent student during her high school years: “I worked hard and I took lots of [Advanced Placement classes]. I didn’t sleep a lot. I did procrastinate,” she said. Uy previously taught math in middle school, but she felt that during class, she never had enough time to get to know her students better. “I was a teacher for nine years, and I really enjoyed my one-on-one interactions with students and getting to know them on a more personal level,” Uy said. She decided to become a guidance counselor to create stronger relationships with her students. Though she finds Stuyvesant a little overwhelming, she is “starting to get the hang of things.”

Teaching history at a school like Stuyvesant, Martina Madden is living her dream. “I’ve always loved history, since I was a child.” Madden said. “So, I mean, this job is like heaven for me.” She grew up in the Bronx, and as a hardworking student, she stayed late at school, partaking in so many extracurricular activities that her parents became “worried she was up to no good.” She describes herself as similar to a Stuyvesant student, trying to be well-rounded, but prioritizing her education. While in college, she double-majored in history and Italian; Madden is not only bilingual, though, as she is fluent in English, Italian, and well-versed in Croatian. Unfortunately, she doesn’t quite speak the language herself. She loves taking her students to “at least one place every year,” and she hopes that she will be able to continue her tradition of school trips at Stuyvesant. She loves the quirkiness and acceptance that she sees in each of her new students in this school, that resembles everything she ever wished for in her academic life. “I always wanted to teach at a selective school where the kids are very motivated and my colleagues are top notch,” Madden said. “I feel so lucky to be here. I really feel like I won the lottery.”

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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Features Natasha Dillon, Web Design

Miguel Ramirez, French Teacher

Web design teacher, Natasha Dillon, sits staring out the window towards the Hudson River with her headphones on before classes start in the morning. The solemn and calming mood given off by her presence contrasts with her animated personality in the classroom. “I was very happy to get the offer [to teach in this school],” Dillon said. “This is my first year teaching.” Dillon moved to New York in 2007, but before that, she spent years working to “design a coloring book for a government committee in Trinidad,” where she is originally from. However, having previously tutored students, Dillon took on teaching because “it was a good feeling when students understood what I was trying to put across and passed their class.” As someone who was always “trying to do her best in high school,” Dillon expects her students to be committed to her assignments and to understand the content that’s given to them in her classroom.

Jia Zhou, Mandarin Teacher

When people think of fashion shows and catwalks, they don’t necessarily think of high school students in a foreign language class. However, French teacher Miguel Ramirez has a tradition of hosting faux fashion shows in his classes. “I usually do a fashion show in whatever language I’m teaching,” Ramirez said. “The kids have to do a catwalk to bad techno music—it’s one of the requirements—and I actually give them a score on their walk.” However, Ramirez didn’t choose teaching just to hold mini fashion shows. After jobs such as working in finance and doing subtitles for shows like “Friends,” teaching was the first time in his life when he woke up and looked forward to going to work. Ramirez comes from a primarily bilingual family, and he always wanted to communicate with them better. “It really bothered me. I was usually able to master things really easily,” he said. “I couldn’t master a foreign language just in one year. There was always more verb tenses to know, always more vocabulary to know—and I like a challenge,” he explained. Learning a language is a step-by-step process that takes years, and as the only French teacher, Ramirez “gets to see students progress from super beginners to really advanced,” which he cherishes.

Megan Weller, English Teacher

Fitting into such a big school as a new teacher has taken an unexpected turn for Mandarin teacher Jia Zhou. “I look like a student, so whenever I get into the elevator many teachers will stop me. So I need to wear my badge everyday,” Zhou said, laughing. Zhou is not only a new teacher but also only arrived in the United States three years ago to study in a graduate program at New York University. Back in her native city, Shanghai, Zhou taught English to students and “fell in love with teaching.” Being at Stuyvesant has been an exciting experience because she feels that “students at Stuyvesant learn and study really hard.” She senses that with their work ethic, she can finish her lessons more quickly. “I expect my students to work hard and hopefully, through my teaching, I hope my students fall in love with Mandarin and the culture.”

Minkyu Kim, English Teacher

“I have only ever been a teacher,” English teacher Megan You’ve You’ve seen seen us us speak at You’ve seen us speak atat Weller said. “Senior and junior yearspeak of high school, in my English classes, I started to get an inkling that I could do this. I Stuy Stuy meetings... meetings... Stuy PAPA meetings... could talkPA about books with students all day,” she recalled.

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English teacher Minkyu Kim has found his passion teaching English. “To me, it’s the best job in the world. I went [to teach] English because it was my favorite subject when I was in school.” Kim said in an e-mail interview. “I like to think I was a normal happy kid [in high school]. Not the most popular, but I had good friends who were creative and smart. I sang in the choir and played in the orchestra. I was bookish; I read a lot, which is to say I was a nerd. I was ok with it then, and I’m proud of it now.” Kim has always enjoyed reading and still spends his free time with his face in a book. “[Over the summer] I embarked on a book ‘marathon,’ where I set out to read 26 books in two months. I read 28!” Kim said. Having previously spent time as a student teacher at Stuyvesant, Kim enjoys the spirit found in the school. “It is a bastion of learning where students are as motivated as the teachers, so it creates this amazing symposium of ideas and mutual growth,” Kim said. He thinks that teachers and faculty at Stuyvesant put ameet lotmeet of care into teaching with their students. “My hiring Now Now one-on-one one-on-one with *Presented *Presented *Presented at Stuy atin at Stuy PA Stuy meetings PA PA meetings meetings in 2013 in in 2013 and 2013 and 2014 and 2014 2014 process was memorable. My interview was actually July, after school had already let out. When I went to teach Keith Keith Berman, President President and and *Alumnus *Alumnus *Alumnus andand admissions and admissions admissions interviewer interviewer interviewer atfive both atteachers at both Harvard both Harvard Harvard and and Yale and Yale Yale back my demo lesson, the room was packed with about twenty fiveBerman, students and who had all come *Keynote *Keynote speaker speaker atsuch events at at events atof Columbia, at at Columbia, Columbia, Princeton, Princeton, Harvard, Harvard, Harvard, to sit for a class taught by, essentially, a*Keynote stranger. It speaker was a events kind thing, andPrinceton, showed such care for their school; founder founder of Options Options for for College® College® MIT, MIT, Yale, MIT, Yale, the Yale, the Hong the Hong Hong Kong Kong Kong University University University of Science of of Science & Technology, & Technology, & Technology, I knew, if they’d have me, this was the place for me,” Kim said. As a new teacher atScience Stuyvesant, Kim hopes that his Scholar Scholar Search Search Search Associates Associates Associates Educational Educational Educational Forums, Forums, Forums, Association PAPA Association Association students will try their best in his class. “[IScholar expect] that they think. And they’re good toPA each other.”

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The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 11

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The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 12

Editorials Staff Editorial

Dear 2015-16 Student Union… We Have Advice

In a recent post on “Stuyvesant Confessions,” a Facebook page that allows students to post anonymously, a student declared her refusal to stand for the Pledge of Allegiance on September, 11, 2015, because of the racism towards Muslims that exists in our country. The post prompted aggressive antiMuslim remarks, curses, and insults from one of the administrators of the page, who posted from the Stuyvesant Confessions page so that his identity was concealed and it appeared that the page itself was attacking a student’s view. Others replied to the comment, many of them passionately criticizing it. The post was ultimately removed from the page, and author’s administrative powers were revoked.

The problem with the current method of handling cyber-bullying is that it rests on the assumption that students will report incidents to the administration. In such a large online community, it’s easy for Stuyvesant students to ignore someone who is being targeted, either because they assume someone else will take care of it or they find it simpler to avoid the situation entirely. When we spoke to Moran, he was unaware of the case when Stuyvesant Confessions posted racist comments, an example of harmful material going unreported. The SU is our most direct link to the administration. The campaign website of our current SU President and Vice President, Ares Aung and Matthew

In such a large online community, it’s easy for Stuyvesant students to ignore someone who is being targeted, either because they assume someone else will take care of it or they find it simpler to avoid the situation entirely. Instances like this one are unfortunately not uncommon on our school’s Facebook pages and in the large “Dear Incoming Class” advice groups. In a place like Facebook, where people can state contentious opinions while hiding behind a screen, mayhem reigns. Students get into heated arguments about various topics, and in the midst of all this, people get hurt. Our Facebook pages and groups run without any strong authoritative figures, which despite its benefits, is generally detrimental to the online Stuyvesant community. We talked to Assistant Principal of Security, Student Affairs, and Health and Physical Education Brian Moran to learn about how Stuyvesant currently handles situations of online harassment. The first thing Moran stressed in the interview was the severity of cyber-bullying. “Cyber-bullying happens 24/7,” Moran said. “It’s out there for all of their friends and everyone else in the school to see.” The administration, however, does not have a concrete method of recognizing, handling, and preventing these incidents. “We don’t assign staff to scroll around Facebook,” Moran said. “We have students who have reported things anonymously and parents and other people [who have reported] things anonymously. When it does happen, we take action.” We think that the administration’s role on Facebook is an appropriate one, and do not advocate for increased administration presence on our Facebook pages. Rather, we think that students themselves, specifically the Student Union (SU), should do its part to monitor Stuyvesant-affiliated Facebook forums.

So, boasts a history of working with the administration. According to the website, this experience is “irreplaceable for an efficient and effective school year full of events catering to both the academic and joyous sides of Stuyvesant.” We believe that the SU should further take advantage of this relationship to foster the emotional health of the student body.

sleep-deprived student’s evocative comments clash. In this case, an SU member could intercept a comment-war, and if it continues to be a problem, the SU member could take the incident to the administration. An incident of this sort happened just last spring in the “Dear Incoming Stuyvesant Class of 2017” Facebook group when a student made a post accusing Junior Caucus candidates Anna Usvitsky and Sachal Malick of bribery—a claim that was false. The post started out with only a few people registering insults and criticisms directed towards the candidates, but soon enough, more and more students hopped on the bandwagon. There was an overwhelming number of negative reactions, and Usvitsky and Malick were being personally victimized. Had the SU been monitoring the Facebook page at the time, the cyberbullying could have been shut down swiftly and easily. Clashes like this are rare. These groups are usually very welcoming. Harassment is more likely to occur on the pages like the Stuyvesant Confessions page. Of course, it is not the SU’s responsibility to run these pages, but we do think it necessary, given the page’s history, for there to be a group that has the responsibility to report any instances when the page’s content is directly hurtful to others or leads them to suspect that a student might be in danger of harming himself or being harmed by others. The SU’s presence both online and in school will increase students’ accountability both for their own actions and for others. Stuyvesant students are fortunate to be a part of a community of students who are willing to help each other out,

Thus, in order to prevent online harassment from spinning out of control, we suggest that the Student Union (SU) form a bridge between the administration and our many school related Facebook groups to monitor them and report incidents of cyberbullying.

It is unreasonable to ask the SU to monitor all school related activity, but by monitoring just a few popular Facebook groups, it could cover a lot of ground. We suggest restricting the administrators of the “Dear Incoming Class” advice groups for each grade to only the SU President, Vice President, and Grade Caucuses. While these groups are usually a hub of school-related activity, where students can ask questions and get answers within the minute, the SU should make sure that no discussions turn foul when one strong-willed student’s spirited answers and another

and the high level of activity on our Facebook groups indicates the comfort students feel when asking each other questions. Even so, cyber-bullying does exist and it is important that we have a stronger method of reporting such incidents to the administration if they do occur. The SU has a unique opportunity to effect changes that will have a concrete impact on many students’ high school experiences, and we strong encourage it to take initiative and monitor Facebook groups and pages to prevent future occurrences of cyber-bullying.

The Spectator The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

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C HIEF

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E d i to rs

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d ire c to rs

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Adv i so r

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Please address all letters to: 345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282 (212) 312-4800 ext. 2601 letters@stuyspectator.com

The Spectator We are compiling an archive of past issues. We are looking for issues published before 1995. Please send any newspapers to:

The Stuyvesant Spectator 345 Chambers Street New York, NY 10282 If you have any questions, e-mail us at: business@stuyspec.com

R E TRA C TIO N The Spectator deeply regrets publishing an article on the Junior Caucus election in our June 15, 2015 issue that included a charge of bribery against two candidates, then-sophomores Sachal Malick and Anna Usvitsky. These students were never involved in such a violation, and in fact should never have been associated with such actions, according to Coordinator of Student Affairs Matthew Polazzo. The Spectator based its coverage on an accusation by the Board of Elections, due a lack of thorough investigation and editing. We are truly sorry for any anguish this experience has caused Sachal and Anna; we also regret the stain of the affair on the newspaper’s reputation and on our Stuyvesant community.

F o r t he

Rec o r d

In the previous issue of The Spectator we did not recognize Executive Branch Delegate, Winston Venderbush; Chief Financial Officer, Justin Skobe; Budget Directors, Daniel Gendler, Niels Graham, and Jonathan Yuan; Assistant, Astrid Malter; Clubs and Publications Directors, Paulina Ruta, and Chloe Delfau; Clubs and Publications Assistants, Asim Kapparova and Inbar Pe’er; Technology Coordinator,Krzysztof Hochlewicz; SLT Representative, Asher Lasday; SLT Alternate, Lorenz Vargas.

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 13

Opinions

By Kofi Lee-Berman Every day, there are new reports of migrants drowning off the coast of Turkey or Italy or Greece. A disproportionate number of the victims are infants and children. The images—like that of three-year-old Aylan Kurdi’s lifeless body washed up on a Turkish beach—are distressing and unforgettable. Such are the results of Europe’s rapidly developing “migrant crisis,” as it has been termed by politicians and the media. Across Northern Africa and the Middle East, individuals and families are embarking on the costly—and sometimes fatal—journey to Europe. The migrant population, much of which is waiting at the EU’s borders, is a diverse group. The majority of them are refugees, many running from the Syrian civil war. Some migrants say they have fled after being drafted by Assad’s army because they don’t want to kill civilians. Others lived in active conflict zones; others still are members of targeted racial and religious groups. And many more are not fleeing conflict, but simply seeking escape from poverty. Regardless of their reasons, these migrants are a

people willing to risk everything for a chance at safety: they pay people-smugglers upwards of $1000—a fortune for most Syrians—to cross the Mediterranean on overfilled, ill-equipped dinghies and rafts. As civil war rages on in Syria, a new conflict develops on the northern shores of the Mediterranean. The world’s wealthiest continent, still in the midst of an economic crisis, now faces a difficult question: what must be done, what can be done, for the countless migrants arriving on Europe’s shores? In past few weeks, EU governments have been extremely indecisive. Just days ago, German chancellor Angela Merkel embraced lenient and pro-refugee policies that allowed migrants to pass into Germany from Austria. Yet in the face of right-wing protests and concerns over the German economy, Merkel has since dramatically retreated from her original position. Controls along the Austro-German border were implemented on September 13. Hungary has since followed suit, sealing its borders by constructing a razor-wire fence, consequently stranding thousands of migrants within the Serbian border. At best, this behavior is immature and irresponsible. At worst, it’s criminally negligent. But the economic implications of the migrant crisis are complex. Accommodating migrants is by no means inexpensive—a government may spend thousands a year in allowances and housing to support a single refugee. Multiply that by the hundreds of thousands of displaced persons in or near the EU, add an ongoing economic crash, and European hesitation becomes understandable. However, understandable doesn’t mean acceptable. European governments cannot defend their intolerant choices by simply citing expenses. There

are many more costly endeavors than supporting migrants. Take, for example, their repatriation: European nations have spent billions on deportations in recent years. So exactly what is the scale of Europe’s “migrant crisis”? As of August, about 200,000 migrants had entered Europe in 2015. Even if their numbers were to increase tenfold (a very unlikely proposition), the total would amount to a mere 0.26 percent of Europe’s population. Lebanon, poorer and smaller than almost any nation in Europe, has already had to cope with 1.2 million migrants—about 25 percent of its total population. Europe is a continent with vastly greater wealth and area; it could accommodate millions. What Europe needs now, more than anything else, is a sense of perspective. It is an aging continent with a shrinking workforce and a collapsing economy. In contrast, the migrant population is relatively young and needs work. An influx of new workers might eventually breathe life into the continent. Far beyond the economics, however, this is a humanitarian crisis, and one of tremendous proportions. The migrants waiting at the Serbian, Austrian, and Turkish border crossings seek safety, security, and protection. Yet European governments keep this vulnerable population in uncertain circumstances. What the migrants need is not to be treated with fear, but with simple human compassion. These are a people with nowhere to go—if Europe turns them away, they will return to the suffering they’ve tried so hard to leave behind. Why, exactly, does such a burden fall on the EU? Ultimately, these migrants should not be exclusively Europe’s responsibility. For now, however, European states remain the only feasible communities for the relocation of the migrants. Other wealthy na-

Zovinar Khrimian / The Spectator

Julie Chan / The Spectator

Europe, Stop Complaining

tions do face a moral obligation to accept a migrant population in the future. For example, the United States has, in addition to pouring billions in aid into Syria and its surrounding states, let in 1,500 migrants and promises to admit an additional 10,000 by year’s end. Ideally, the US will accommodate more than this tiny fraction of migrants in the future, but the front-end cost of doing so now is simply economically unfeasible. Compare the price of getting a migrant from Belgrade to Berlin with the price of getting that same migrant to New York, and it becomes clear why Europe—the only region with both the proximity to the migrants and the economic infrastructure to support them—must front the emergent responsibility. The United Nations have spoken; François Crépeau, UN Special Rapporteur on migrant rights, has called upon European leaders to show leadership “in strengthening the free movement of persons throughout the EU,” saying that “democratic borders are porous by nature.” Yet, the

Kaia Waxenberg / The Spectator

A Working Deal

By Theodore Danzig The United States, along with Britain, France, Germany, China, and Russia, concluded a historic accord with Iran this past July. Building on an interim agreement from November 2013 and a further framework agreement reached this past April, the deal aims to curb Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from sanctions. In the past two months, the U.S. has been swept up in heated debate concerning the deal, with polemical rhetoric coming from both proponents and detractors. Before I get into the meat of the agreement and its implications, it is important to note that a better deal could not have been negotiated. Many influential hardliners in Iran are outright opposed to the negotiated agreement. Moreover, it would

be impossible for the U.S. to back out of the agreement and still maintain pressure on Iran, given that the international community largely backs the deal. Although the deal has its flaws, it is the best available option in preventing Iranian nuclear proliferation. President Obama has repeatedly said, “Every pathway to a nuclear weapon is cut off.” Opponents on the far right such as Ted Cruz and Donald Trump vehemently advocate that we can’t trust the people negotiating for us. This has no credence whatsoever. Ernest Moniz, a top nuclear physicist and the Secretary of Energy, was in fact negotiating the technical details. He was one of the most knowledgeable and trustworthy people able to do this job, ensuring that once the terms of the deal go into effect, Iran’s “breakout time,” or the time it would take to produce a nuclear weapon, will be lengthened from the current twoto-three

months to an entire year. This is specifically achieved through putting a cap on Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium, limiting Iran’s number of centrifuges, and conducting exhaustive inspections of all sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program. Because of all this, even if Iran rushes towards a bomb, the U.S. and its allies will know, and will have ample time to act. On the Iranian end, it behooves them to uphold the agreement. The main reason that Iran came to the table was the effect sanctions were having on its economy. Unemployment had been as high as 12 percent immediately prior to the start of negotiations, and the value of the Iranian Rial had plummeted with inflation over 40 percent, driving up the cost of basic goods. Oil exports, which account for over 80 percent of Iranian exports, were plummeting. This issue compounded by falling oil prices around the world. Once Iran’s compliance is verified, sanctions will be lifted, including oil embargoes and restrictions on commerce

with Iranian financial institutions. According to Ian Bremmer of Time, “Iran’s economy will grow… to more than five percent GDP growth, within a year. After an additional 18 months, GDP growth could reach eight percent.” With all of these benefits coming only with compliance, there is little chance Iran will try to cheat or violate its commitments, at least while the deal is still in effect. For all of this deal’s merits, it is still has very real and dangerous flaws that must be addressed. First and foremost, Iran’s freed up assets and soon to be resurgent economy will enable it to further sponsor terror in the Middle East. Iran already provides arms, funds, and training to terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah throughout the region. Its proxies flourish in countries including Yemen, Iraq, and Syria. Additionally, Obama himself admitted this past April that “in

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UN (like many other international organizations) can do little more than call upon leaders to take action; the EU remains the only body with any real power in this situation. But Europe can only act effectively by acting together. Local governments have made border decisions on a piecemeal basis, producing an inconsistent European response to the crisis. As a result, migrants have been stranded in Hungary, Austria, Serbia, Greece, and other states as individual European governments fail to produce a unified response. Fundamentally, the time has come for Europe to grow up and realize that it is not in the midst of a “migrant crisis.” There is only one migrant crisis—that of the migrants themselves, once at the mercy of their own governments, now at the mercy of a fickle and fragmented European Union. It is no longer Europe’s choice whether or not to aid migrants— it is Europe’s duty and obligation to humanity.

year 13, 14, 15, they have advanced centrifuges that can enrich uranium fairly rapidly, and at that time the breakout times [will] have shrunk almost down to zero.” Under such circumstances, if Iran chooses to race for the bomb, military force will be our only option. Despite these flaws, there are a few potential steps that the U.S. can take to mitigate them: First, increase intelligence cooperation with Israel and the Gulf States to counteract the growing threat of Iranian sponsored terrorist groups. Moreover, the deal will be much more effective, both while it is being implemented and after it expires, if it is supplemented with deterrence. To this end, the U.S. should continue to develop and deploy advanced bunker busting weapons, such the Massive Ordinance Penetrator (MOP), which are capable of taking out buried Iranian sites. This will ensure Iran that should it race towards a bomb, whether in the next 15 years or after, because there is a credible threat of force to stop it. As we move forward with the agreement, it is important to remember that is by no means a peace treaty between the U.S. and Iran. As President Obama stated in his interview with Jane Eisner, the editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, “the goal of this deal is to make sure that the one real game-changer—nuclear weapons—is taken off the table.” If that was our goal, then at least for the time being, we have succeeded.

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The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Opinions

By Ryan Boodram Readers might recall that last year I wrote an article entitled “A Lesson in Constitutional Law for the SU,” in which I pointed out the numerous flaws within the Student Union (SU) Constitution and the ways in which the SU repeatedly violated and ignores the document. The issue resurfaced during Student Union elections, when several candidates promised to amend the Constitution and to start adhering to it. Part of the SU cabinet, with Ares Aung as President, met behind closed doors to amend the current Constitution on September 18. If anyone should be happy that the SU tried to fix our Constitution it should be me, but I’m not. In fact, I am disappointed and a little bit angry, because the only thing that the SU succeeded in doing was making the Student Union less democratic. First and foremost, the amendments to the SU Constitution do little, if anything, to address the numerous problems that plagued the Constitution. The largest flaw in the old Constitution was the inordinate amount of power granted to the SU President, such as the ability to singlehandedly appoint a majority of the members of the Executive Council, the SU’s chief

legislative body. The fact that the SU President was, and still is, allowed to appoint anyone to these positions without any oversight means that there is no mechanism to ensure that qualified people are appointed to these positions. This often leads to a largely ineffective Student Union whose members fail to perform their duties and are largely inclined to vote in line with the President. Rather than rectify this or any of the numerous other problems with the SU Constitution, such its lack of election regulation, the new Constitution is an almost exact copy of the previous one, with a few small changes that only serve to increase the already enormous power of the SU President. The first of these changes is the elimination of the position of Secretary. Instead, the SU President is now responsible for keeping and posting the minutes and agendas of SU meetings. The failure to release these records, which allow the student body to stay informed on the activities of our student government and record how our officials stand on the issues facing the student body, has been a long standing problem and was a major constitutional violation under the previous SU administration, in which Aung served as Vice President. Allowing the SU President to keep the minutes instead of an impartial Secretary leaves the door open to bias in the records of SU meetings, thereby increasing the President’s already large influence over the Council’s actions. The new Constitution also allows Caucus Presidents to dissolve their Advisory Councils at the discretion of the SU President if they can “propose a system of organizing and distributing information to their respective classes.” Advisory Councils were intended to be a way for Caucus Presidents to seek input and ideas from each homeroom to ensure that the student body could receive information and have its needs considered. It also gave each homeroom a student who could be the point person for all contact with

the SU, making them a great tool to fight student apathy. In recent years, these bodies’ influence has dwindled as homeroom has become less frequent, Caucus Presidents have called meetings less frequently, and Caucus Presidents, such as Namra Zulfiqar, have interpreted the Constitution to mean that physical meetings are not necessary to fulfill the requirement that they be “consulted monthly.” These physical meetings allowed for a degree of discussion and debate that is difficult to achieve online. Furthermore, the lack of physical meetings has made it more difficult for Representatives to work together to lobby their Caucus President. Rather than increasing the power of these bodies, putting the power back in the hands of the students, and making the system more democratic, perhaps by making Representatives elected rather than appointed and allowing them to vote to make binding decisions, the new Constitution takes a step in the opposite direction, allowing them to be abolished altogether. The greatest change made to the Constitution was the exacerbation of the previously mentioned problem of Presidential control of the Executive Council. Under the previous Constitution, the President appointed 10 of the 19 voting members of the Executive Council and nine of the 18 Budget Committee members. The SU Vice President, and the Caucus Presidents and Vice Presidents comprise the rest of the members. When his running mate, the Vice President, is counted with his appointees, the SU President controls a majority on both the Council and the Committee, putting him only two votes shy of the two-thirds majority needed to pass anything in either body. With this majority and his veto power, the SU President was able to prevent anything he didn’t like from passing (even if it had the support of the eight Caucus Presidents), and very easily pass any measure that he wanted. This is even more problematic now that the new constitution re-

moves the limit on the number of people who can be appointed to several SU positions, allowing him to appoint a potentially unlimited number of Chief Financial Officers, Budget Directors, and so on. Each of these appointees is given a vote on the Executive Council. This leaves the potential for vote stuffing, where the SU President can appoint as many people as he wants until there is a clear majority on the council who share his opinion. If at some point during the year these appointees no longer agree with the SU President, he or she can simply appoint more people to the Council who do. Meanwhile the voice of the few elected representatives on the Council becomes smaller and smaller. The SU may have been undemocratic before, but now it is nothing but a farce to make us think we have a democracy. The question on everyone’s mind might be how could such an undemocratic constitution came into existence. The answer is, it was created in an undemocratic way. Sources within the SU note that President Aung and Vice President Matthew So wrote it themselves, and simply submitted it to the Executive Council for approval. No effort was made to solicit the input of the student body, nor were we given a chance to see the constitution and voice our concerns. It was

voted on by the Executive Council, the same broken institution that a new constitution was supposed to fix. Most of its members were appointed by President Aung and some of their identities haven’t even been publicly announced yet. The meeting to vote on the new constitution was held without notifying the student body and, ironically, no minutes of the meeting were kept. Both of these constitute violations of the procedures for amending the Constitution in the SU Constitution, even before it was changed. As a result, these changes should be considered illegitimate and ignored. I still believe that the SU Constitution needs a complete overhaul in order for us to have an effective Student Union capable of serving the student body. However, as we can see, it is foolish to think that this new constitution can come out of the flawed system created by the old one. The constitution that it produced is undemocratic at its core and the process used to create it even more so. The only way for the Constitution to be fixed is for the current Student Union to be dissolved and for a Constitutional Convention of elected homeroom representatives to come together and write one that accurately represents the will of the students.

Yuchen Jin / The Spectator

Tanumaya Bhowmik / The Spectator

Forming A More (Im)perfect Union

James Young / The Spectator

The Case for Killing Rhinos

By Stephen Nyarko With pacifist PETA activists on one side and rifle-toting trophy hunters on the other, the issue of big game hunting has divided the nation. However, recent media attention has primarily called out the hunters, most notably in the case of Cecil the Lion this summer. So, as a Cecil-supporting New Yorker that has never held a gun in his life, I was surprised to find myself wholeheartedly supporting Corey Knowlton, a wealthy Texan hunter, in his quest to kill a rare black rhinoceros. The situation for black rhinos is currently rather bleak. The African Wildlife Foundation (AWF) has deemed the species “Critically Endangered,” and it’s easy to see why, with just over 5000 alive today. According to statistics from

the AWF, the black rhino population has gone down 97.6 percent since 1960, and humans are their only predator. Though much of this population decrease used to be caused by habitat loss from human expansion rather than poaching, recently, the pendulum has swung rapidly in the opposite direction. In fact, according to data from the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, during 2014, 1215 rhinos were poached, or one rhino every eight hours. When I first heard about the rhinos, and that an American, Corey Knowlton, killed a majestic, endangered animal, I—like many expressing outrage on social media—was horrified. However Knowlton is not a poacher: he’s a conservationist. His rhinoceros hunt in Namibia was entirely legal, and had both economic and scientific rationales to support it, based on the theories of “conservation hunting,” the idea that killing an individual animal can actually benefit its species or community as a whole. In the past, most conservation hunting has been limited to overpopulated species, like the North American whitetailed deer. However, in 2012, Namibia expanded their conventional conservation efforts to include conservation hunting. Unlike culling the herd in the case of the white-tailed deer, Namibia’s program aims to ultimately increase population size, rather than to

shrink it. Namibia acted on evidence provided by a scientific report published in the Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy in 2005, which concluded that the targeted killing of just a few rhinos a year could boost the overall rhino population tremendously. Further, since Namibia contains 40 percent of all remaining black rhinos, their policies have extremely far-reaching implications. Namibia’s black rhino hunting policy is as follows: first, researchers identify rhinos that are a danger to their species. Rhinos are normally very aggressive and territorial, and, according to an article in Conservation Biology, “Black rhinoceros have the highest rate of fatal fighting known for any mammal.” Older males, which can no longer reproduce, often become even more aggressive with age, killing

Luna Oiwa / The Spectator

other, younger, more fertile rhinos. Therefore, these rhinos hinder population growth. These are the rhinos that Knowlton, and other trophy hunters like him, are given permits to kill. Once the rhinos are identified by researchers, permits to hunt them are put up for auction. The auction is where the economic rationale for conservation hunting comes from, as they raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the conservation cause that would not be generated otherwise. Almost all of this money goes to anti-poaching and conservationist efforts, but a small portion of the revenue also goes to the owners of the land where the rhinos reside. Thus, the limited legalization of trophy hunting provides an incentive for independent landowners to introduce the species onto their lands in the hope of receiving a slice of the revenue. This has been shown to work in South Africa, where, according to Conservation Magazine, the endangered white rhinoceros saw its population go up “from fewer than one hundred individuals to more than 11,000” in the 11 years following the partial legalization of trophy hunting. Some opponents of these measures claim that, since human interference was what caused population issues in the rhino community in the first place, interfering further

will only exacerbate them. However, if our goal is to save the species, we must intervene. There’s no way to reverse a 97.6 percent population decline in a day, especially since most of the killing is the result of illegal poachers, who cannot be stopped by changing the current permit policy. But perhaps the larger issue is how we respond to these events over social media. Many who condemned Knowlton as a coldblooded killer were not aware of the entire situation, and focused only on the feeling in their guts, rather than making an effort to understand the true purpose of his hunt. Being an animal rights activist is about more than simply sharing the latest link on Twitter—it’s about doing research in order to understand what actually helps. As far as rhinos go, most conservationists prioritize the fight against poaching, as they should. However, provided that the data continues to support it, conservation hunting should be expanded in scope to other countries and species. Increased ingenuity and scientific research, rather than a Twitter user’s visceral reaction, is what will allow conservationists to take the next step in protecting Earth’s wildlife. Rhino hunting is just one example of how a new way of thinking can lead to unexpected solutions, but opening your mind to untraditional, innovative methods that combat contemporary problems is crucial when fighting for any cause.

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

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The Spectator ● October 2 2015

Arts and Entertainment The Zagat Survey: Advice to the Class of 2019 Edition By Zovinar Khriman It’s that time of year again, when just shy of 900 fresh new faces step into the glorious halls of Stuyvesant High School, a world just waiting to be discovered. You, the freshmen, may soon be feeling the blues of being cooped up all day in the daily classroom-to-classroom cycle. There is but one way to break the monotony—food! From the many who came before you, young’uns, this guide gives a uniquely presented peek at the best spots around town, noting the food, comfort and atmosphere (let’s face it, the wall isn’t the most glamorous place to be chowing down on your first bite of Halal cart concoctions), price,and distance. Including direct comments from the most esteemed foodies at Stuy and scores out of 30 rating the quality of the food and the ambience at each stop, this is your guide to all things that may fuel you up for the mentally taxing day ahead.

Gourmet Market (AKA Ferry ’s)

terry's Food: 16 comfort: 25 price: $7 distance from stuyvesant: < 0.1 Miles

Nicole Rosengurt / The Spectator

Ferry’s debatably less attractive and more introverted older brother, Terry’s, only exceeds the former with its nice atmosphere. It has fewer choices than the big man up the block. The pizza bagels are a delight to be eaten at Hudson Meadow, which is conveniently located across the street. Best of all, there are shorter lines, which means more time to enjoy the good weather while it lasts.

Zucker's Bagels

Alicia Chen / The Spectator

Food: 18 comfort: 25 price: $7 distance from stuyvesant: < 0.1 Miles Perhaps the most popular of all, Ferry’s is number one in location but also in crowds. While the name over the door reads “Gourmet Market,” you seldom hear it referred to as such. It has been renamed, “Ferry’s,” a shortened version of “fake Terry’s” referring to the deli down the block. At this larger scale bodega-meets-deli, fans are hooked on paninis and rave about the bacon avocado chipotle. Don’t forget the coveted popcorn chicken you have probably already seen resting on the sides of the bridge, which is occasionally the only place you can chow down on your deli food since Ferry’s has no seating. Expect Ferry’s to have a super long line but don’t expect to be paying outrageous prices for delicious sandwiches and the like.

chipotle

Food: 19 comfort: 20 price: $8.50 distance from stuyvesant: 0.4 Miles Considered by students to serve the “best local bagel” in the area, Zucker’s boasts a variety of tempting deli foods. While bagels can be pricey, students receive a 10 percent discount. For those who appreciate lox, students recommend choosing the less expensive lox spread in place of a bagel topped with thin slices of Nova Scotia salmon. Opt for creamy blended “vanilla iced chai” to complete the meal, and perhaps a sweet treat from the wide area of cookies, brownies and other goodies.

Whole Foods

Food: 26 comfort: 20 price: $12 distance from stuyvesant: 0.3 Miles Decidedly the tastiest quick fix in the area, Chipotle is, well, Chipotle. With heaping burrito bowls filled with all kinds of flavorful and well-seasoned goodness, they truly are a “bang for your buck.” While typically there aren’t any seats and quite often a line, speedy service will get you in and out in less time than you’d imagine. While you may not be able to sit in the establishment itself, there is always the wall by Stuyvesant and the Whole Foods cafeteria to enjoy whatever goodness was whipped up by the friendly staff at Chipotle.

Dirty Bird

Hailed for variety, Whole Foods, the health food supermarket chain, features a salad bar, Indian food and a fairly priced “pastry bar” along with pretty much anything else that you may be craving. While the burger station in the back is well priced, the hot food bar is less appealing at $8.99 a pound. Healthiness, variety, and convenience are what rule at Whole Foods, but for students, it’s the comfortable seating area on the upper floor that gives Whole Foods its welcoming environment. A burger station, mini pizzeria, and pseudo-Chipotle ensure something for everyone.

cafe amor pizza Food: 16 comfort: 22 price: $5 distance from stuyvesant: 0.3 Miles When pizza is on your heart, Cafe Amore is down the block. While noted for “mediocre everything,” this pizzeria has a standard plain slice for the customary $2.50. Garlic knots are a soft and delectable inexpensive snack. There is plenty of room to enjoy time with a big group of lunch buddies, especially because the owners don’t mind outside food being eaten on their grounds.

Alicia Chen/ The Spectator

Andrew Fischer / The Spectator

Food: 23 comfort: 26 price: $12 distance from stuyvesant: 0.3 Miles

Food: 25 comfort: 22 price: $11 distance from stuyvesant: 0.3 Miles Many claim Dirty Bird to be one of the finest quick-fix establishments in the area. The “lunch special”is a less expensive favorite, complete with excellently prepared chicken in both fried and roasted form, tasty sides, and a beverage, the special is a go-to. Food is served in a reasonable amount of time and great cookies are available to satisfy your sweet tooth.

rafiqi's Food: 21 comfort: 15 price: $3 distance from stuyvesant: 0.2 Miles Debatably the most popular halal cart in Tribeca, Rafiqi’s has now extended its reach to two locations that conveniently happen to be on the same block. Both cheap and simply delicious, the chicken here is excellent and just a “step down from Chipotle.” One of the more accessible places to grab a (greasy) bite, Rafiqi’s has you covered—except, of course, from the rain.

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 17

Arts and Entertainment Music By Shaikh Z. Mahsheeat

Katherine Pan / The Spectator

Let Troye Sivan take you on a journey with his mesmerizing voice and you will be immersed in a world of both the magic and the mundane, of swimming pools and living rooms and airplanes. “WILD,” the latest album from Sivan, has received massive recognition since its debut on September 4, 2015. It has even been approved by the queen of pop, Taylor Swift. Sivan has had other hit songs in the past, the most popular being “Happy Little Pill” (2014). But the songs on “WILD” stand triumphantly above the rest. With soft and electric tracks, Sivan develops his unique sound as he ventures away from pop and toward an entirely new genre. Sivan is a talented person, specializing in acting, singing, and songwriting. The beginning of his musical career spanned from 2006 to 2009 as he opened for telethons and other start-ups. He pursued his musical career and released his debut EP, “Dare to Dream” (2008) as an indepen-

It’ll Make You Go WILD dent artist. But his true breakout in the music scene was with his album, “TRXYE” (2014), which placed him fifth on the US charts. Yet, his style remained amateur and clouded, as if it were a dusty and unassuming stone. In “WILD,” however, that stone has been polished into a gem. Sivan’s voice adorns enticing rhythms in the dark lullabies on his newest album. Although it’s quite short, quality beats quantity. The album provides a menu of forbidden love, temptation, heartache, frustration, and insanity. “WILD,” the song, expresses sorrowed woes about guilty pleasure in each pressing beat. It tells the story of a bittersweet and tantalizing romance with lines of desperation like, “’Cause there’s too long till the weekend / Too long till I drown in your hands.” It captures the listener with a story about torturing, and conditional love, enhanced by children’s voices singing along in the chorus. “BITE” limits narration, hones in on sound, and drives more on sensuality than emotion. It adds a spicy kick to the mix. The lines, “Kiss me on the mouth and set me free / But please don’t bite,” repeat throughout the song, allowing the instrumental sounds to take the spotlight. This track is seductive and captivating, and has no need for an abundance of lyrics. The track, “FOOLS” channels a frustration that is almost contagious. “FOOLS”is about undeniable heartache and cold fury. An

interesting quirk about this song is its multifaceted nature—the lyrics tell many unique stories. The song can tell the stereotypical story of bitter and unrequited love, self-directed frustration, or even a lifestyle empty without love. With the repeating lines, “Only fools fall for you” embroidered with soft electric beats, “FOOLS”is a unique spin off of the usual love song. Very few albums are spotless, and unfortunately, “WILD” isn’t one of them. Although the majority of the album is repeat-worthy, the songs featuring Broods and Tkay Maidza (“EASE” and “DKLA,” respectively) are a bit disappointing because despite being beautifully orchestrated, the other artists’ voices do not complement Sivan’s.The songs seemed to be included solely for the sake of featuring other artists. Because of the brooding nature of “WILD,” you might think Sivan’s music sounds like soft EDM. The genre, however, has its own name: synthpop. This newly popular, yet age-old genre is slowly climbing its way up the charts with songs like “Mine,” by Phoebe Ryan. Synthpop dates back to the ‘80s and is characterized by the use of synthesizers. Artists like as Sivan and Ryan are bringing it back with no signs of slowing down. However, Sivan is relatively new to the genre, identifies with it less than he considers it to be an evolution of his style. Songs on “TRXYE” sounded more like classic pop, only giving subtly synthesized hints about an upcoming genre switch.. But on “WILD,” Sivan comes swinging boldly into this new genre. As Sivan emerges onto the music scene with his sensational synthpop, only this can be said about his new album: Let “WILD” tantalize you. Let “BITE” entrance you. Let “FOOLS” drive you into helpless aching. Let “THE QUIET” sweep you into hopeless frustration. Let the pure emotion of the album drive you WILD.

Food A Costly Mistake By Jenny Jiang We are all familiar with typical Japanese food, from sushi to teriyaki. However, at Ootoya, a Japanese restaurant with multiple locations around the city, you will not see the foods you have come to know and love. It is an authentic restaurant not just with regard to its dishes, but its décor, as well. Ootoya boasts Japanese paintings and traditional wooden furniture, delicately enhanced with dim lighting. Due to my respect for authenticity and my general love for Japanese food, I entered Ootoya with high expectations. The first thing I encountered was a long and confusing menu— lists of unfamiliar Japanese dishes accompanied by cryptic descriptions. I had trouble envisioning what each dish would look like, so I consulted Google Images and eventually ordered the “Tonkatsu,” “Buta Kurozu Itame,” “Beef and Cheese Potato Croquette,” and “Kake Soba.” “Tonkatsu” is a breaded and fried pork cutlet that is usually served with shredded cabbage, vegetables, and tonkatsu sauce, which tastes like tangy vinegar. Ootoya’s version of the dish also comes with steamed egg custard, rice, and miso soup, all on one tray. Resembling pudding, the mysterious custard is called chawanmushi, and was as soft as silken tofu, sour on top but plain and grainy beneath. Though not unpleasant, the sour and gritty texture was just too unusual for me to enjoy. On the other hand, the pork loin and sauce were consistent with the Tonkatsu served in other restaurants. The crispy, soft, and juicy meat, paired with a brief vinegar taste from the sauce, was just short of perfection. “Buta Kuorzu Itame” has pork like “Tonkatsu,” but it has a smaller portion of meat, an excess of colorful and bitter vegetables, and Ootoya’s “famous” sweet and sour vinegar sauce. The dish was disappointing, mostly because the “famous” sauce tasted ordinary, like muted vinegar.

On the other hand, eating the “Beef and Cheese Potato Croquette” (the Japanese adaptation on a French dish, also called “Korokke”) was a refreshing experience. The croquette is a ball of mashed potatoes filled with spicy minced beef and white cheddar and decorated with fried breadcrumbs. They oozed warmth and stretchy cheese, reminiscent of mac and cheese with ground beef. Soba is a classic Japanese dish, but Ootoya’s “Kake Soba” disappointed. The soup was similar to miso soup with a drop of soy sauce, although it became gradually more sour. Bonita flakes, or dried fish flakes, are usually wispy and fun and melt in your mouth, but once put into soba, they turn chewy. Unexpectedly, the bonita flakes unleashed a flood of salt into the soup and with the overwhelming sour and salty taste of the Kake Soba, it was hard to judge the rest of the dish. For dessert, I had a “Crepe Ootoya Style.” The presentation was curious: a green tea ice cream scoop and crepe, which had more ice cream inside, and came with unexpected thin crunchy noodles. The crepe was also in a small square shape, unlike the customary triangular ones. Though the ice cream was creamy and palatable, nothing was particularly special about it. Ootoya’s dishes are not worth the price—each main dish costs more than $18, because I ordered meal sets. Entire orders were barely filling, and my satisfaction waned further with the less than sublime quality of the dishes. From the atmosphere to the dishes to the Japanese greeting, Ootoya gave me an authentic Japanese cuisine experience. But because the dishes’ tastes did not amount to their prices, I can safely say I won’t be returning to this restaurant.

Ootoya is located at 8 W 18th St in Chelsea, 141 W 41st St in Times Square, and 41 E 11th St in East Village.

Let’s Play a Name Game

playlist

The adrenaline rush that comes with the first day of school is wearing off, and you are settling in to a long, bland routine of train rides, classes, and homework. Nevertheless, it is the first few weeks of September, and you are still trying to learn, or relearn, the names of your classmates. In the hallway, you direct a quiet “hello” at a familiar face, praying that you have not just called a Michelle a Mary. Here are some songs that perhaps can serve as helpful reminders before you run into a “Mary-Jo-Lisa... that’s not my name” situation.

Yujie Fu / The Spectator

“Valerie” Amy Winehouse Soul

“Billie Jean” Michael Jackson Funk

“Uma Thurman” Fall Out Boy Pop Rock

“Ave Cesaria” Stromae Euro Dance

“Jackie and Wilson” Hozier Alternative

“Jenny” Walk The Moon Indie Rock

“Pierre” Ryn Weaver Pop

“Marvin Gaye” Charlie Puth Pop

“Anna Sun” Walk The Moon Indie Rock

“Iris” The Goo Goo Dolls Alternative

“Anna (Go to Him)” The Beatles Rhythm and Blues

“Cecilia” Simon & Garfunkel Folk Rock

“Hannah Hunt” Vampire Weekend Indie Rock

“You Can Call Me Al” Paul Simon Pop Rock

“Buddy Holly” Weezer Rock

“Arabella” Arctic Monkeys Alternative Rock

“Kennedy” Ratatat Electronic

“Jeremy” Pearl Jam Grunge

“Hey There Delilah” Plain White T’s Pop

“Ana Ng” They Might Be Giants Indie Rock

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The Spectator ● October 2 2015

Arts and Entertainment Music Classical Musicians Join “Black Lives Matter” Movement By Liana Chow

Anne Chen / The Spectator

When Eric Garner died in Staten Island last summer after a police officer put him in a chokehold, he joined the list of unarmed black Americans killed by police officers. In response to a grand jury’s failure to indict the officer, people took to the streets all over the U.S. to protest police brutality and racial injustice. Queens-based clarinetist Eun Lee began to organize an unusual kind of protest, in which classical musicians from the five boroughs responded to her call for change. They picked up their

instruments and came together in an ingenious civil-rights advocacy concert called “The Dream Unfinished: A Symphonic Benefit for Civil Rights,” founded and produced by Lee. The show, a slice of the “Black Lives Matter” movement, took place in the Salvation Army’s 14th street auditorium on the first anniversary of Eric Garner’s death, July 17. “The Dream Unfinished” called for racial equality and social justice with passionate music and optimistic speeches. The orchestra performed works by William Grant Still, Leonard Bernstein, and Jessie Montgomery. The event also hosted prominent African American activists as speakers: civil rights leaders, political figures, a radio host, and a Broadway actor, to name a few. Running throughout was the theme of a long-standing “dream” for justice. The festival’s use of classical music might raise eyebrows of

crossword

spectators who see the genre as pretentious, old-fashioned, abstract, and exclusively enjoyed by white people. It’s the antithesis of rap, which many associate with blacks. These notions, however, are put to rest by “The Dream Unfinished.” It tapped into what classical music has to offer: strong bonds to history, a large mass of musicians, and pure emotion. Speeches calling for justice enriched and grounded the sounds of the symphony, and any doubts about the compatibility of an orchestra and racial advocacy were erased. You wouldn’t know that the musicians had only one day to rehearse. They were mostly volunteers, but they came from prestigious orchestras around New York City. They played cleanly, the fervor of the music making clear their passion for the subject of equality. Lee guessed that it was “the most diverse orchestra ever assembled in New York.” Because the orchestra members were a multicultural and talented body of people, they positively represented the aims of the racial justice movement: to create a world where people of all colors can work together. In this way, the genre of classical music was presented as a stereotype-breaker: “Consider why the sight or sound of a black classical musician surprises many of us, but an underserved, poverty-stricken black neighborhood does not,” Lee implores in the program. The featured composers also broke stereotypes of their own times. For example, Leonard Bernstein (1918–1990)—to

the dismay of his conservative contemporaries—actively supported the Black Panther Party. To celebrate Bernstein’s sense of justice, “The Dream Unfinished” performed his “Pas De Deux” (Dance for Two) from “On the Town” (1944).

“A year later, still no justice.” —Erica Garner

“Soul Force” (2015), a commanding piece by Jessie Montgomery, was inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King’s call for non-violent protest in his “I Have a Dream” speech, specifically when he said, “We must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.” The composition premiered at this concert and was introduced by Montgomery herself, who is a black woman in the whiteand male-dominated world of composing. Inflected with jazz and hip-hop, the piece told the narrative of individual voices— represented by horns—gathering

together to overpower violence— represented by clanging percussion that gradually became buried under the swelling horns. One of the most moving speeches given at the festival was by Erica Garner, Eric Garner’s twenty-four-year-old daughter. She called up vivid images of her dad being playful and loving his family, and reminded the audience that the officer who chokeheld him was not indicted, ending ended her speech on a blunt, ready-to-fight note, saying, “A year later, still no justice.” Compared to the many professional speakers at the event, Garner delivered the least polished speech of the night. However, she was the only one to receive a standing ovation. Her speech was evidence that people who were directly scarred by racial inequality are fighting back, and hard. After Garner’s speech came a composition of William Grant Still (1895–1978), an African American man who composed classical music in the 20th century, “Weeping Angel (Grief)” (1953). Because “Weeping Angel” followed Garner’s speech, it sounded as if it were mourning her father’s death, bringing the message of a 62-year-old song eerily to the present. Not everyone in the city takes interest in classical music. A symphonic concert’s audience is typically an elite population that we don’t expect to associate with spirited activism. But with the dream of social equality very much unfinished, voices must continue to be raised from every forum available.

The Adjustment Period

The year has officially begun… Well, sort of. At the moment, our brains are technically supposed to have the ability to absorb information—but we have yet to be given the opportunity to prove ourselves academically capable. Every year starts the same way. Our teachers seem to understand the culture shock we experience when we return to our classes—we’re not used to being squished against other adolescents at every waking moment, and our bodies aren’t as capable of stomping up and down broken escalators as they were three months ago. We’re being caressed by the false notions that geometry doesn’t get more complicated than True/False statements and that the most difficult part of Computer Science is trying to remember what CPU stands for. We’re biting our nails while we impatiently wait for the year to begin (like, really begin) and emotionally preparing ourselves for the ugly transformations awaiting our brand new notebooks and sparkly-clean rooms. So, to traverse the anxiety void, try awakening your dormant brain cells with this getting-in-the-swing-of-things crossword!

ACROSS 2. Physical _________; not “Gym” 8. State-enforced assessment that requires you to run back and forth until you have vomited up your internal organs 13. $3 HALAL!!!!! 16. The only class at Stuyvesant in which the teacher will discuss male sexual organs during the first month of school 18. The most prestigious print publication in the history of the world 19. “Keep it _________” 20. The _________-floor pool; a real thing

DOWN 1. Annual musical-writing competition and proof that Stuyvesant students can’t conjugate (e.g. “Are you going to do _______?”) 3. She’s back! 4. You are taking nowhere near enough of these kinds of classes! 5. A drug widely consumed by most Stuyvesant students and faculty members 6. Standardized test that you signed up to take this month, despite the fact that you have yet to crack open a single prep book 7. Little people roaming around our school with confused faces 9. Acronym for two extracurricular activities (one that puts on plays and musicals, another that discusses subways, possibly) 10. Provider of aesthetically pleasing EVERYTHING (specifically, your gel pens, your notebooks, and your cat-shaped post-its) 11. “The _______ of Life” 12. _______ pic 14. _______ changes; biannual nightmare 15. The bane of your existence; (occasionally) moving staircases that are meant to facilitate easy transport from floor to floor 17. Beloved librarian, substitute, and certified Cool Dude; will be missed

Answers for Issue 1 YEEZUS STICK COLLEGE CHEVRON LANYARD GLOBE LEGENDS SUMMERSTAGE SMORGASBURG WHITNEY HAMILTON TRUMP TRAINWRECK KNITTING NETFLIX SNOWDAYS LOUVRE CRAVEN

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 19

Arts and Entertainment calendar

Get a Life: The Cultured Edition

ONGOING “Picasso Sculpture” The Museum of Modern Art Art

10/05/2015

10/23/2015

“Korn” in Concert Irving Plaza Music

“Teen Night at the Frick” The Frick Collection Miscellaneous

OCTOBER

“Rashid Johnson: Anxious Men” Drawing Room Art “The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey” Westside Theater Theater “FAILE: Savage/Sacred Young Minds” Brooklyn Museum Art Through 10/04/2015

10/02/2015

10/07/2015

“Ibeyi” in Concert Webster Hall Music

“Slice Out Hunger: NYC’s Biggest Pizza Party” The Lower Hall Miscellaneous

10/02/2015 - 10/04/2015 “The New Yorker Festival” Various Locations Miscellaneous

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The Spectator ● October 2 2015

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 21

Humor These articles are works of fiction. All quotes are libel and slander.

Brave Students Fight Back Against Bathroom PTSD By Shaina Peters and Wasif Zaman Stuyvesant High School freshman Ann Caplin went to the bathroom on the morning of September 16, 2015 not to cheat, but to “take a break in the relaxing atmosphere of a toilet stall, and maybe use my phone to Google some things.” Caplin had been taking a test in biology teacher Shangaza Banfield’s class, a place similar to the bathroom, except better decorated. But when Ann left, she got much more than she bargained for. What greeted Caplin when she opened the bathroom door were once-white walls that hadn’t been cleaned in a while, a smell worse than death (but slightly better than frog dissections), and the bathroom’s local Adderall drug ring. Caplin immediately took out her phone, but realized that she didn’t have the new Wi-Fi password. Defeated, Ann decided to cry in the stall. “That was probably the worst mistake I’ve ever made,” Caplin reported, visibly shaken. “Immediately, I found something that resembled a Jackson Pollock. The floor was slightly squishy, and I’m currently praying very hard that the stuff that I stepped in was gum. I think there are at least 10 legal viola-

tions here, and that’s not even counting the animal that was sacrificed in the sink.” When Ann exited the bathroom, she wasn’t able to stop shaking. “I learned afterwards that I now had ‘Bathroom PTSD,’ which, according to WebMD, is this condition where the bathrooms were so filthy and unkempt that I had a mental freakout,” Caplin said. “Also, WebMD told me that I have a cold, a flu, several parasites, strep throat, and smallpox. Go figure.” Fortunately, Caplin and the other victims have recovered. Principal Jie Zhang sent brochures to wailing families, offering heartwarming words of consolation. “Look on the bright side,” the brochures said. “At least your child has something to write a college essay about.” Hordes of students gather every Friday to create signs and cheer on survivors. “It’s really inspiring,” nurse Danielle Karunadasa said. “Sure, it’s probably highly illegal for us to have bathrooms like that, but at least no one’s looking at us right now.” Teachers have gathered

in support of victims out of sincerity, and out of wanting to look like they care. “The teachers’ bathrooms are spotless, so I don’t have any complaints,” history teacher Michael Waxman said. “But I’ll get some more money if I can facilitate some more clubs, so it’s all good.” But students like Caplin have refused to let the disease get the best of them. Ann has reportedly written a national bestseller, entitled “Bigger than the Bathroom” (on sale on Amazon for $29.99) and received a Medal of Valor from President Barack Obama, although presidential candidate Donald Trump claimed that she still wasn’t a real hero.

Humor Writer Out of Ideas By Laszlo Sandler Humor Editor-in-Training Laszlo Sandler declared himself out of ideas as he sat down to write this article on Thursday, September 24, at approximately 6:07 p.m. After considering writing an article about escalators, the pope, or the smell of the pool locker rooms, Sandler could not think of a funny idea and then proceeded down the path this article has taken.

“This article is just a waste of space.” —Kevin Nakagawa, sophomore

Cristina Chong / The Spectator

Migrant Crisis Builds in Stuyvesant

As per usual with Humor articles, this article has drawn mixed reactions from the Stuyvesant community: some students chuckled a few times, others found it mediocre, and still others rolled their eyes before throwing this issue of The Spectator into the nearest trash can or set of subway tracks. “This article is just a waste of space,” said sophomore Kevin Nakagawa, pointing out that the same ink used to write this article could have been used to write about freshmen sitting on the sophomore bar, that one kid who always breaks the 4-6 escalator, or that cute girl who sits next to him in his chemistry class. “It just seems like whoever wrote it was totally out of ideas.” Assistant Principal of Health, Physical Education, Security, and Student Affairs Brian Moran said that he was not amused by this article. “I thought [the Humor Department] had found more interesting things to write about by now,” Moran said. “But I guess I’m the person they come back to when they’re out of ideas.” Unsure of how to conclude it, Sandler saved the article at 6:48 p.m. and sent it to Editorin-Chief Emma Bernstein, hoping that he would be forgiven for writing this sorry excuse for satire.

Program Changes: Pros and Cons Yet again, the Stuyvesant Programming department has suppressed the biannual uprising with minimal casualties. But could there be any downsides to addressing the needs of 800 students in a single hectic afternoon? Let’s take a look.

Queenie Tang / The Spectator

Pros

By Jacob Faber-Rico Over 3,000 teenagers, each marked with a specific number, huddle into a poorly lit, overcrowded auditorium, desperately hoping to enter better classes. Guards stand by the doors, looking over them for any sign of unruly behavior, and the threat of cellphone confiscations ensure that children are unable to communicate with their families. Many are fatigued from a long week of traveling throughout the Stuyvesant programming system and bouncing around uncertainly between administrators as the school figures out how to deal with the schedule refugees. For most, the final destination is an AP class. “I’ve heard that in AP European History, anyone can work hard, obtain good grades, and get into a good college,” said sophomore Anthony Hom, who, like many other students, has found himself doubting his future in non-AP classes, where students routinely experience extreme

shortages of basic vital resources, such as homework. “I just want a better life,” Hom added. Still, many migrants are motivated by more than just the promise of AP classes. Senior Jacob Hoffman fled his band class, complaining that he was “subjected to cruel and unusual punishment” when walking from the first floor to the ninth floor, and junior Gregory Dudick reported that he “endured unbearable starvation” because of eighth period lunch. Unfortunately, the school will most likely be unable to accommodate every single student. “Classes such as AP Computer Science simply do not have the resources to take in all 90,000 students who wish to enter. It is a difficult situation, and we are working as hard as we can to find a solution, even if that means busing thousands of students to Brooklyn Tech,” said Principal Jie Zhang, who noted that such drastic measures may be necessary as the school deals with a number of pressing challenges.

Yujie Fu / The Spectator

Cons

•

Recognizes and caters to the students with the most immediate needs, determined on a basis of whether the student has 9th or 10th free.

•

What does the programming department even do for the other 5 months of the semester?

•

There’s nothing like a competitive, everyman-for-himself afternoon of shoving your way to the front of the line to get students in the mood for another semester at Stuyvesant.

•

There’s no way I signed up for Modern Neopaleosophistology because I have no idea what that means.

•

The weak and unfit don’t really belong at Stuyvesant, anyway. The trampling of the inferior is a fortunate side effect.

•

What’s really more important: me finally getting weight training after like three years or some loser getting his precious ‘graduation requirements’?

•

Only allowing one day per grade minimizes the stress put on the programming department by the hundreds of demanding students who expect them to do their jobs.

The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 22

Humor

Courtesy of Business Insider

‘El Chapo’ Invited to Give Business Talk At Stuyvesant

By Shaikat Islam Stuyvesant has been no stranger to exclusive and intriguing personalities. As evidence that Stuyvesant has a unique position in attracting high profile guests, many may recall the impromptu visit from the WolframAlpha genius Steven Wolfram just a year ago, or the variety of speakers present at the StuyxTed talks this past June. Other guests have included Conan ’O Brian and Jeremy Lin (via YouTube). The Stuyvesant auditorium is annually home to the broadcast of all walks of life, from plays to SING! to the yearly theatrical production by the administration, called “Program Changes,” so popular, in fact, that it requires a queue for students to participate. One thing, however, that seems to be lacking in representation, are talks related to business. Junior Justin Kim expressed his disapproval. “You know, I want to be a businessman. I want big bucks, a lambo, and a

mansion. I need the fat stacks. I want Kanye to bow down to me while I destroy his Yeezy 3s. Is it too much to ask for some business talks during our frees, instead of, you know, some old computer nerd or comedian?” he said. Given the overwhelming outspokenness and popularity for business as a career choice, the administration confirmed an upcoming talk, which will be conducted in the auditorium during the most inactive periods of the day (due to fear of overcrowding), by a notable Mexican businessman. When asked about the nature and biography of the mystery speaker, the Student Union, in coordination with the administration, released a statement via e-mail yesterday: “It is in the best interest of the speaker that he isn’t named, due to his overwhelming popularity. It is simply impossible to reveal his identity when so many unfavorable people want to see him such as his unofficial fan

club, the DEA. For this reason, we can only reveal a portion of his biography. The speaker was born in Sinaloa, Mexico and is the president of the organization Sinaloa Carvel, a company famous for its reputation in the procurement and exportation of various treats and pharmaceuticals. Our speaker is also an ‘escape artist,’ a hobby that involves testing locations for security faults, and recently demonstrated his greatest escape from a location in Mexico this July. We are also extremely happy to say that our guest speaker will stay at Stuyvesant indefinitely, due to security concerns with his extreme fans, namely, INTERPOL and the PGR. Come to this talk in the auditorium for some secret insights into the world of importing and exporting, as well as the secrets of maintaining a low profile while running one of the most prolific pharmaceutical companies to date.” A few students such as Junior Drugsar Kul have already expressed hopes of joining the businessman for work experience: “I already applied for an internship at the company, and I’m looking forward to travelling to Mexico over the summer to get paid and have fun. I just know Wharton is going to be impressed when they hear about my talents for product distribution and chemistry—I hear we’re manufacturing benzoylmethylecgonine, whatever that is!” Many students have also given the mystery guest a nickname: “El Chapo,” possibly a reference to chapstick, given the smooth and cool nature of the speaker.

Zamansky Leaves Stuy for New, Younger School By Randolph Higgins STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL — After more than two decades together, computer science teacher Mike Zamansky broke up with Stuyvesant High School, saying that he needs a new high school that better understands his needs. Although Zamansky has not named his new school, he’s confirmed that he has found a younger, more modern school that will be more willing to try the new things that he wants to do.

Stuyvesant will now be left with the children that Zamanky has helped raised for two decades, and according to Stuyvesant “he’s always been the one they liked more, with him gone, I’m not sure what they’ll do.”

Claiming that his relationship with Stuyvesant High School has become dull and repetitive, Zamansky left Stuyvesant for good on Wednesday, telling reporters, “All we do anymore is fight and argue, so I said, ‘Enough is enough,’ and left.” Sources near Zamansky confirmed that the decision followed an argument over whether Zamansky is as spontaneous as he used to be. Stuyvesant High School was reportedly crushed by his decision, telling friends that it didn’t know what it had done wrong and that it had tried everything it could to show Zamansky how much it still loved him. Stuyvesant will now be left with the children that Zamansky has helped raised for two decades, and according to Stuyvesant, “He’s always been the one they liked more. With him gone, I’m not sure what they’ll do.” Zamansky has previously admitted to being the father of New York City computer science education, but he denies that the move will adversely affect his kids. “I will visit, now and then, and the students can come visit me when I’m with my new school,” he claims. Zamansky also confirmed that Stuyvesant should put the computer science department in boxes as soon as it can, so he can pick it up in his van once he’s moved in with his new school.

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The Spectator ● October 2, 2015

Page 23

Sports Girls’ Swimming

Stuyvesant Penguins Hope to Take Flight

Jennifer Dikler / The Spectator

Though the loss of Lu does create a gap in the 4x100 relay, three of the members still remain on the team. Lara, Almeida, and Wang hope to improve after placing second in the PSAL A Championships last year, finishing just 0.26 seconds after Francis Lewis High School. All three will have a much larger role this season, both in the relay and the individual events. “Seniors like Cynthia and Grace definitely contributed a lot to our relays, but thankfully

By Justin Lin As the last couple of girls dived into the pool to end the 4x100 relay, the Stuyvesant Penguins cheered, knowing they had secured their victory against the Brooklyn Tech Engineers. After shaking hands with their opponents, they lifted their banner, excited to add it to Stuyvesant’s ever-growing collection. With their seventh consecutive championship, and also seventh one overall, the Penguins once again proved their dominance in the PSAL. But this most recent championship is in the past and now they are looking to make it happen again. When one discusses PSAL swimming, the Stuyvesant Penguins are bound to come up as one of the traditional powerhous-

es in the city. As the new season comes around, however, they have to consider how to make up for the recently graduated seniors and make it back to finals again. These swimmers include former captains Kimberly Wong, who swam the 100-yard breaststroke; Sappha O’Meara, who swam the 500-yard freestyle; Cynthia Lao, who swam the 50-yard freestyle; and Grace Lu, who swam the 200yard individual medley and the 100-yard breaststroke. Lu was also part of the record-breaking 4x100yard freestyle relay, with seniors Krystal Lara, Gabriela Almeida, and captain Carol Wang. Wong, O’Meara, and Lao also placed top 16 in their individual events. If the Penguins hope to match their success last season, the team will definitely have to learn to adapt to the loss of these seniors.

“I feel very confident because I know I had a pretty intense training this past summer. I know [it] will reflect in this upcoming season.” —Krystal Lara, senior

we have several returning Penguins that could possibly fill those gaps,” said Wang. “I have no doubt that [junior] Britney Cheng and [sophomore] Madeline Wong are

fast enough for us to have another record breaking 400-freestyle relay this season.” Both Cheng and Madeline Wong are big upcoming candidates that can step up. Cheng, whose fastest 100-yard freestyle time is a 57.98, and Wong, whose fastest 100-yard freestyle time is a 57.23, are both on par with Lu, who swam a 58.76 in the relay. While the Penguins will figure out how to deal with their gap in the group events, they are still quite strong the individual events. Events such as the 100yard breaststroke, which Kimberly Wong swam, still retains strong swimmers, including Cheng (1:13.27) and sophomore Annie Wu (1:18.00), who are highly proficient. The 50-yard freestyle has junior Paulina Ruta (26.82), who had a great performance both individually and in the relays last year. The 100-yard butterfly has both senior Gabriela Almeida (59.80) and Lara (55.16), who both made states last year with Lara breaking the record. And the 100-yard backstroke has Wong (1:02.37), who placed in the top eight in Opens, and also Lara (55.57), who had made Olympic Trials during the summer, a feat which a Stuyvesant swimmer has not accomplished since En-Wei Hu-Van Wright, who was a member of the Pirates, Stuyvesant boys’ swimming and diving team, in 2012. “I feel very confident because I know I had a pretty intense training this past summer,” Lara said. “I know [it] will reflect in this up-

coming season.” The new-look Penguins, led by captains Wang, senior Yuxiao Lei, and senior Clara Zheng, will

“I think the Penguins will do an outstanding job like they do every year.” —Gabriela Almeida, senior face adversaries like Brooklyn Tech, who lost to the Penguins in the finals last year, and Francis Lewis High School, a team that tied with the Penguins two years back but lost to Brooklyn Tech in the semifinals last year by a small margin of points. With these opponents in mind and obstacles to face, the Penguins hope to go into the year like they have done in the past: with full steam ahead and the main goal of winning another championship. “I think the Penguins will do an outstanding job like they do every year,” Almeida said. “Everyone really puts their heart into it, and I know no matter what the lineup or the situation may be, the team will pull through.”

October 2, 2015

Page 24

The Spectator SpoRts Boys’ Football

SPORTS CALENDAR

Julia Lee / The Spectator

Stuyvesant Finds Its Formula

By Dean Steinman After an unsettling 18-6 loss to Eagle Academy, the Stuyvesant Peglegs (0-1) took the field Friday, September 11 in pursuit of a rebound against the William C. Bryant High School Owls (0-1). The Peglegs defeated the Owls 18-0, but it was the Peglegs’ only success this season; the team is dealing with the burden of replacing 18 seniors who led the team to a championship game appearance last year. When asked to compare this year’s team to last season’s, coach Brian McCarthy said, “The difference with this team is that we are asking guys that don’t have much varsity playing experience to step up and be major contributors to this team. We lost most of our leaders to graduation and this team is still trying to find their identity.” Furthermore, junior quarterback Josh Rayham is suffering from a torn ACL, and will miss the entire 2015-16 season. Setbacks aside, Stuyvesant got off to a hot start early in the game, scoring a touchdown in the first two minutes. Before the end of the first half, the Peglegs obtained an 18-0 lead on account of superb rushing As a team, Stuyvesant racked up a

total of 207 yards on the ground— nearly 75 yards more than last week—with a whopping 10.35

“The only thing between the end zone and me was green grass. Nothing was going to stop me from scoring.” —Michael Joh, junior rushing yards per play. Stuyvesant’s “smash mouth” mantra was visible when junior Michael Joh broke four tackles along the way to a 43-yard touchdown score. “The only thing between the end zone and me was green grass. Nothing was going to stop me from scoring,” Joh said. Senior and captain Henry Takizawa also had a phenomenal game, rushing for two touchdowns.

Takizawa lauded the offensive line and credited the linemen for their performance, “All of the credit goes to our linemen. Without them holding their blocks and opening up holes for me, I wouldn’t have been able to break off those plays.” Takizawa also made a lot of noise on defense. After dealing several monster tackles, he rejuvenated the team, seemingly willing the defense to success. “I guess there is a sort of shift in the attitudes of all our players when I make those big plays, but I just see that as another responsibility that I have as one of the captains of the team,” Takizawa said. Noticing the run-heavy trend in the opposing team’s offense, the Peglegs changed their defensive formation by adding more pressure to the line of scrimmage, resulting in six tackles for a loss of yardage. This aggressive style of defense enabled red zone stops, holding William C. Bryant H.S. to zero points. Of the team’s 270 total yards, only 63 resulted from passing plays. This is partialy the result of the absence of last year’s star quarterback, Eric Morgenstern (‘15), but also due to Stuyvesant’s run-heavy offense that caters to senior quarterback Laolu Ogunnaike’s speed and ability to move out of the pocket. By converting more third downs in the second half during future games, Stuyvesant can maintain as they have yet to score a touchdown in the fourth quarter this season. “We need to play a complete game. The first quarter was amazing but we slowed down as the game continued. To beat the better teams in our league, we need to finish our games as strongly as we begin them,” Ogunnaike said. Despite losing talented seniors, the Peglegs have a strong chance to be contenders once again this season if they can stay healthy and work cohesively.

Boys’ Fencing

Untouchables Poised to Bounce Back By Islam Elsaid With a disappointing season last year, the Untouchables look to get back to their winning ways and are poised to make another championship run this season. Having won the city championship two years prior, the Untouchables finished in a disappointing fourth place last season. The Untouchables have won 33 city champion-

juniors, I believe they will be able to bring our foil team on par with the levels we were at in the 2012-13 and 2013-14 season.” While the foil team still has lots of room to improve, the epee team appears to be on top of their game. Seeded first in last year’s playoffs, this year’s team looks even better and is filled with highly rated players. “[Senior] Nick Yang is B rated

“Under my leadership, I hope to bring back the foil team to a championship contending condition.” —Aaron Choi, senior ships in total and have a revered reputation in the PSAL. Last year, the Untouchables underperformed for a number of reasons. They lost their former captains Kyle Oleksiuk and Malcolm Wells before the start of last season and were unprepared to fill the gaps. Also, when playoffs rolled around, a ninth seed in foil, lower than the Untouchables expected, proved to be too much of a hurdle to overcome. With the same foil starting lineup returning this year, their year of experience should help improve. “Two of our foil starters last year were sophomores, which is unusually young for starters, who are generally seniors and juniors,” senior and co-captain Edward Ansour said. “But now that they are

[second highest USFA ranking], [senior] Tim Lu is C rated, and Edward Ansour is D rated,” senior and co-captain Aaron Choi said. This offseason, the Untouchables have been practicing and improving on their game. “Four of us [on the epee team] went to a training camp over the summer with the U.S. national team,” senior Nicholas Yang said. Another point of improvement will be the quality and quantity of practices held. Though the Untouchables had a lot of practices last year, the captains believe that the team can put in even more work. “We are focusing on making school practice much more organized in order to make sure everyone is properly prepared for the

current season,” Ansour said. Much of the team has been improving this offseason. Lu has been promoted to starter this season. Just as other members have continued to improve, Lu has practiced regularly and has become an integral part of the Untouchables’ roster. Junior Jian Ting Gao, now the third foilist, was on the foil lineup for the first time last year. With his first experience as a starter last year, he hopes to perform better this season. When asked who else is set up for success this season, Yang mentioned juniors Jack Schluger and Justin Chae as two other members to keep an eye on. At the end of the day, the Untouchables are confident that this season is a great chance at winning another championship. This season’s team retains most of the roster from last season, now with an extra year of experience under their belt. With greater roles, players such as Lu and Gao will score more for the team. Younger players, such as Schluger and Chae, look to play greater minutes and show the team the work they have put in during the offseason. The Untouchables have to work hard to have a legitimate shot at victory, but after recognizing that the team carries greater talent and experience in both epee and foil events, as well as motivation from a disappointing season last year, the Untouchables are as hungry as ever to get back to their winning form.

OCTOBER Girls’ and Boys’ Cross Country: Mayors Cup at Van Cortlandt Park Directions: Take the 1 to 242nd street and walk left until you arrive at the Tortoise and Hare statue in the park.

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Boys’ Fencing vs. Long Island City at Sixth Floor Gym

Boys’ Football vs. East Harlem Pride at Pier 40

Directions: Take a 20-minute walk on the Hudson River Greenway.

Boys’ Soccer vs. Columbia Secondary School at Randall’s Island Field 83 Directions: Take the 4/5 at Brooklyn Bridge-City Hall to 125 St. Take the M35 at Lexington Ave/125 St. to Main Rdy. Field 90 is a minute walk away.

wRAPUP enior Krystal Lara made it to the Olympic Trials after winS ning the 100-meter backstroke in the Futures Championships, held in Greensboro, North Carolina from July 30 to

August 2. The Trials will take place at the end of July 2016 in Omaha, Nebraska. enior Henry Takizawa ran for 210 yards and three touchS downs, but the Peglegs, Stuyvesant’s varsity football team, lost to Long Island City 32-28 on September 19. After only

three games, the Peglegs’ two losses resulted in a tie with their number of losses last year. he Centaurs, Stuyvesant’s varsity soccer team, added T their fourth loss to the season on September 25 against Bard, getting shut out 3-0. The Centaurs are third in their division, behind Martin Luther King Jr. High School and Fredrick Douglass Academy.