Classic newspaper Volume 26 Issue no. 6

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., Vol. 26 No.6 March 2010

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aSSlC Townsend Harris High School at Queens College

Chancellor amends junk food policy

Festival of Nations: See page 10

by Emma Court and nationwide.

Daniel Pecoraro "I believe we will still After student consterna- maintain (or [be] close to) tion and protest, the New York . our fundraising levels from City Department of Education last year....,The profit is pretty (DOE) amended Chancellor 's good and the items to be sold Regulation A-812, which pre- will mo st likely be purchase d viou sly banned the sale of all by students, since that' s all non-cafeteria food item s dur- that's offered," said Ms. Fee. ing the school day.

"I do wish ¡ individual The revised regulation, teams/ clubs could do more issued February 25, allows bake sales of homemade school stores and vending ma- goods, but I know that's hard chines to sell food during the to enforce ...so many kids school day, provided it meets these days bring bought cakes certain criteria. anyway. I think the days of -The DOE allows the cupcakes sold for .a club are sale of caffeinated and non- . mostly gone," she continued. caffeinated beverages if they Clubs will not be afhave no more than 25 Calories fected as much, according to per eight-ounce serving.

SU Treasurer Angela Kim. "I Schools can also sell think it won't affect the clubs snacks that are no more than as much as the teams and 200 Calories, 200 mg of so- school activities like Festival dium, 35% of Calories from of Nations (FON); teams refat, 10% of Calories from ally need to raise money for saturated fat, and .5 grams of uni formsuudequipment and those things add up to a lot trans fat.

The new regulation bans of money.... [The money for] use of any artificial colors, fla- FON costumes can also add vors, or sweeteners and only up quickly."

The regulation has had allows the sale of food outside a significant effect for those of the student cafeteria.

Students may sell non- teams that relied on bake sales approved food after 6 PM, as a source offunding.

Sophomore Emily Chao, and the Parent-Teacher Association can sell approved food a member of the Girls' Swim in the student cafeteria once a team, dislikes the policy because she thinks "students will month , At a meeting on March still buy junk food; they'll just 18, Principal Kenneth Bona- buy it elsewhere." Past swim mo: Assistant Principal of Or- team bake sales have brought ganization Ellen Fee, and Co- in hundreds of dollars.

Lauren Caiaccia, coach of ordinator of Student Activities Aleeza Widman analyzed the the Girls' Varsity Basketball amended regulation to allow team, feels that the bake sales "didn't do a lot, but brought in for its implementation.

Regulation A-812 is part nice supplemental funds ."

The Hawks in past years of a new wellness policy that aims to combat childhood were able to buy warm-up sweatshirts with their bake obesity.

According to a 2009 re- sale profits.

Though money from bake port by the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hy- sales may not be essential to giene, four out of 10 children . their survival, teams used it to are overweight, and two of purchase equipment.

Mr. Bonamo noted that these children are obese. New York City children are more the new regulations may likely to be overweight and force teams and clubs to find continued on pg 11 obese, compared to children ..

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Social science projects win awards

by Salma Mohamed and Yuval Solomon With 15 students placing at the New York City History Day Competition on March 7,

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"I am overwhelmed by the on group projects, they have depth and expertise of some of learned to interact with profesthe projects that have moved sionals in thei r field of study, on, and some that did not also . arid they have learned to speak The work is among the best I and present in public," said

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Social Science Research students show off the medals they won at the New York City National History Day.

this year's sophomore Social Science Research (SSR) class placed the most out of all the competing high schools.

Twenty-one students from the class, which won more prizes than any before it, competed individually or in groups to produce documentaries, websites, research papers, exhibit boards, or performances that pertained to the theme "Innovation in History: Impact and Change."

Formspring .

Bullying pg. 9

Oscars pgs.6-7 I

149-11 MelboumeAvenue, Flushing, NY 11367

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have ever seen in SSR," said their teacher Franco Scardino.

Students worked on their projects for almost six months.

Mr. Scardino believes that the best part of the process was ''when students realized they achieved something they did not previously imagine was possible ."

He also thinks that the students gained a lot from the experience. "They have learned to collaborate with others

~dd ing Teachers ""

on Facebook pg.9 I

Mr. Scardino.

Rebecca Enis, whose group won second place for a website on the impact of the gramophone in World War I, said, "It felt incredible to accept an award with my group after all of our hard work, as well as moving on to the state finals ."

Students who placed first and second in the competition will move on to the state competition in Cooperstown.

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Eating Disorders

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The Classic

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March 2010

College loan reform: essential, but not enough Rachel's Challenge

The health care reform package , signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 24 , didn't just address health care - it inA throng of fre shmen formed a giant circle in the library. cluded an essential first step towards an overhaul of the student loan One by one , they surprised each other with an unknown fact program as well. about their lives. "Respect for All " w as the lesson at hand.

As a result of the student loan reform law, the government will The students in Marc Duke's Conflict Resolution elective directly provide federal loans to .college students instead of using facilitated an open discussion about respect on March 18 and private banks as intermediaries. This move will save taxpayers $61 19 with freshman Linguistics classes . From sexism to racism to billion over the next 10 years. The government will spend $36 bildiscrimination based on sexual orientation, the peer educators lion of these savings on Pell grants, which do not have to be paid aimed to address all forms of intolerance. They discussed back, over the next 10 years . The maximum annual Pell grant will be stereotyping and harassment and hop ed to foster a greater sense rai sed to $5,975 from $5,550 by 201 7. By 2020, th e government will of self-respect within' each individual. Because thi s one-day provide an additional 820 ,000 grants to low- incom e students . Efactivity was only targeted tow ards fres hmen, The Classic feel s fective July 20 14, students who borrow money can cap repayments that a Respect for All semi nar should be given more breadth, at 10% of income above a basic living allowance, compared to the especially in light of recent verbal attacks on the internet. (See previous 15% . If they are consistent with their payments, their bal page 9.) With the emergence of websites like formspring.me, ances will be forgiven after 20 years, instead ofthe original 25 years. harassing one's peers through a veil of anonymity is now a If they are in public service professions, such as teaching or nursing, possibility. Worse still, the victimized students often invite the balances will be forgiven after 10 years. these horrendous comments when they take the initiative to These measures are crucial for college students. College tuition, create their Formspring accounts. already outrageously high, is continuously increasing. According to "I have this theory that if one person can go out of their the College Board, the average price for a private four-year college way to show compassion, then it will start a chain reaction increased by 4.4% from last year for the 2009-2010 school year; the of the same." Rachel Scott wrote these words in an essay average price for a public four-year college increased by 6.5% from for her fifth period English class. Months later, she was the last year. More Americans are going to college now than ever - the first to die in the Columbine school shootings in April of government needed $13.5 billion just to cover the shortfall in the 1999. Rachel's Challenge, a program whose mission is to Pell initiative caused by the increasing number of college students. iinspire, equip and empower students at every level to make a However, while this reform is much needed, it is not enough. difference in their world, was born out of this tragedy. Guest The.law mainly helps low-income students, ignoring the needs speakers relate the details surrounding Rachel's life as well as of a very large group of Americans: the middle class. The average herdeath. An interactive "training session" inspires students to income of a family with a Pell grant student is $20,000; the initiacreate a positive impact through possible events and projects. tive does not award grants to students with a family income over "Attendance is up, disciplinary referrals are down, and the $50,000. According to the 2009 US census, the median income in students feel a sense of community. Students speak out against .each. state, was..w ell.over that number.c'I'he.Pell-grant helps only a . bullying and intimidation and inform the administration ofother minority ofAmericans. While the government's efforts fi~ip lo~­ inappropriate behavior," stated one principal in a testimonial. income students are commendable, middle-class families should not In 2009 alone, program presenters have made 1,315,370 people be ignored. Not wealthy enough to afford college tuition, and not aware of Rachel's philosophy poor enough to receive much aid, middle-class families are placed in The efforts of Mr. Duke's students are to be thoroughly a difficult situation. commended. But in order to reach as many Harrisites as Ifrelief is not provided to middle-class families, equality of oppossible, Coordinator of Student Activities Aleeza Widman is . portunity will be compromised. All too often, hard-working and talworking to get Rachel 's Challenge at Townsend Harris next ented students must choose between being saddled with debt to go year. The Classic urges the administration to support her in this to a college that caters to their abilities, or going to a less-exp ensive endeavor. college that doesn't provide them with the resources they need to flourish. Whi le there are some excellent colleges that are affordable, they are far too few. Students should also be able to choose the education that is best for th em, not be forced to make a decision based COMING NEXT ISSUE: on affordability. It is important for the welfare of our country that .students who are best able to contribute to the nation are able to have • English teacher Robert Babstock's contribution access to the best resources and opportunities, regardl ess of their to the first Book of the Month column ' ability to pay.

• School-wide perceptions of feminism The Classic urges students to write to their elected officials to encourage them to help middle-class students afford the rising costs of college.

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News Staff: AlliSQn Bennett, Candace Burton, Frank Corazza, Hayley Desmond, Caroline Egan, Eunice Lau, Nicholas Lupo, Freddy Millan Jr., Lory Martinez, Kristina Rudolfo, Rupeshi Shah, Grace Shin, Rebecca Suzuki, Tracey Wang

Sarak Mahmood Editor-in-Chief Pearl Bhataagar Estker Whang News Co-Editors Sharmin Rashed Ph otography Editor

Rebecca Seidel • Feature Editor

EUin Perez Spor ts Editor

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Feature St aff: Indira Ablskaroon, QUinn Batten , Emma Court, • Chandi Ghuman, Margaret Jia, Abigail Koffler, Ella Leviyeva, The Classic IS an open forum for the exGenna Mastellone, Salma Mohamed, Catherine Moskos, Dem- pression of st·u dent views. The opinions exLiz Kussman etra Panagiotopoulos, Katherine Valles,Yuval Solomon pressed th erein shou ld not be taken to rep-

Ar t Editor

Aliza Altman Dipabali Chowdhury Busilless Managers lisa Cowen Caroline Cross Co-Advisors

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Townsend Har ris High School at Queens College 149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY

Kellnetb Bonamo Principal

resellt those of the administration or faculty Sports Staff: Rahul Bhasin, Benjamin Horowitz, Oliver Lee, or student body as a whole.

Daniel Pecoraro, Eilin Perez, Grace Shin, Arthur Tarley Art Staff: Richie Bonilla, Edward Farquharso n, Alice Hung, Readers are invited to submit l.etters to the e~ Katherine Valles, Amy Wang, Amy Yuan tor. Letters should be placed In Ms. Cowen s mailbox or e-mailed to tW1sclassic~gtnail.

Pbotography Staff: Pearl Bhatnagar, Rebecca Chu, Nicole Go- com. The Classic reserves the right to edit all dreau, Samiha Khan, Karen Rose Kim, Misty Kim, Nicolette letters. Letters must include name and ofiicial Nanton, Marissa Shieh,YUval Solomon class. Names will be withheld upon request.

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The

Classic

March 2010

Science Olympiad team places 33rd ln .state competition

by Pearl Bhatnagar After winning second place in the Citywide competition, the Science Olympiad (SciOly) team went on to place 33rd out of 55 at the state level on March '19-20 at the United States Military Academy.

"The state team members gave it their all and the effort they put into this competition alone deserves high praise.

The states competition in New York is the most rigorous [Science Olympiad] state competition in America," said SciOly president Huy Nguyen, senior.

The team competed in 24 events, each of which fell within a specific category: "Life, Personal & Social Science," "Earth & Space Science," "Physical SCience & Chemistry," "Technology & - Engineering" and "Inquiry & Nature of Science." ': 'J; In :~ the ,"J,ife; .-Personal &

Social Science" category, senior Rachel Rosengard and junior Caroline Egan received a fifth place medal

investigate the outbreak of the HI N I virus.

"You're asked to make calculations such as incidence,

possible source of. exposure?

I'm considering pursuing a career in public health, so it seemed like a good idea to try

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for the "Disease Detectives" event. · The two used an epidemiological approach to

case fatality rate, and just analyzethe outbreak ingeneral.

Who is at risk? What is the

[the event]," Rachel said.

Eventleaders,oftenseniors, instructed their teammates in

We The People team wins second place

each of the six categories.

"The leader would arrange meetings, send practice tests, ' answer any questions [teammates] might have about a particular topic, and offer support in anyway possible," Huy explained. .

The help of Coach Thomas Sangiorgi and Assistant Principal of Science and Technology Susan Brustein also proved crucial.

"Teachers from the science department, particularly, Mr. Sangiorgi and Mrs. Brustein, would stay with us after school numerous times - even when they were not obligated to so that team members could study or build their devices," Huy said.

Like its mentors, the SciOly team was generous as well.'

Rachel quipped, "We baked cookies for the other teams at West Point. We're a cute bunch, I must admit."

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.H IVIAI DS Day peer.educators d.k I d . I . sprea nowe ge In c asses

. In addition to enjoying ~ second place finish, the students enjoyed the time spent together upstate.

The class went o~ a gUi~ed by Hayley Desmond ness." tour of the state Capitol buildSpreading awareness of a Peer educators encouraged ing, ,where thex, .y(WIQf~.~..~hcr;' ;'life~tm-eatehing, ;~Une6Sl' peer ;~afusite6Jto;.Qsk an.y.i}Ues~ns ~' HaHs 'andchambers ofthe Sen- 'educators traveled to fresh- -;'t hey had and promised conate and Assembly. man, junior and senior classes fidentiality. Students seeking "I think the tour was great on HIV/AIDS Day, March 10. more information or resources The event, coordinated were referred to the SPARK and definitely one of the highlights. The Capitol building by physical education teacher office.

Keith Hanson and counselor "Although it's .-only one Marc Duke, included an as- day, I think that one day has an sembly during a double third impact," said Mr. Duke. "As band. a result, some students have The assembly featured ' come to ask me where they can Nairobi Shellow and Mona get tested [for sexually transLisa Head ofLove Heals, the Alison Gertz Foundation. .z'0 Mr. Shellow pre-e = sented statistics and PI:: other facts concerning = '= '" ';: HIV/AIDS, while Ms. ~ Head provided her pero sonal account oflife af~ ~ 'tl ... ter -infection with HIV o o = o Educators taught 8 ..= o lessons concerning the '0 ..= ~ l:l. ..= transmission of HIV, ...<IS<IS risk reduction, safer rJJ Dr. Steinmann's AP Government class gets ready to compete in the We The People Competition. sex, peer pressure and .:.: decision making. ...o Freshman Mort... before judges with prepared they were practicing. I felt was beautiful and the differ- ta Bautrenaite said <IS speeches about constitutional confident that we would place ent architecture within it was that the lessons were principles, then take part in but I really. wasn't expecting stunning," senior Rahul Bha- "informative, but respontaneous follow-up ' ques- we'd place so high," said Dr. sin said. . petitive." mitted diseases]."

Steinmann. tioning.

Dr. Steinmann was par"I learned a lot, but it "[HIV/AIDS Day] went The class competed ticularly pleased with the stu- was weird to hear from se- well, as expected," commentStudents said they practiced extensively. against Half Hollow Hills dents' friendly attitudes not niors about putting on a con-, ed Mr. Hanson. ."There are no "My unit memorized our High School (a winner for 16 only to one another, but to the dom correctly," said freshman better kids to work with than speeches until about 11:30 the years) and Edward Murrow other teams. , Juelle Clyne.

Townsend Harris kids. They're night before the competition. High School (another past "I was pleased about our "Some people were obvi- responsible, they're conscienWe also looked into informa- winner). "To beat all those great sportsmanship. [The stu- ously uncomfortable with the tious, and they try to do it good tion surrounding our ques- other schools with high scores dents].were so gracious' to all subject matter," said peer edu- job ." tions ....We worked until the in the past was unbelievable," the teams that were there. That cator Philip Kim, junior. "As Sophomores did not relast moment to ensure that we she said. made me so proud," she said. educators, we tried to stress ceive lessons because HIVI the importance of thelessons, AIDS is covered in the curricregardless of any awkward- ulum of their Health classes.

by Kristina Rudolfo . . . had all the right information," Linda " .Steinmann's · AP said senior Yena Purmasit. · Government class placed sec"Weactuallycameupwith ond in the state finals of the our own follow-up questions WeThe People Competition in and brainstormed answers.

Albany on March 6, after com- The questions we prepared ing in third in New York City were the questions that the lastJanuary, "--~ - ,- .• ~~ ~ """Judges' as Ke'a' \i~':' We'6H?tldH't' "We The People: The Citi- have been more lucky!" said zen and the Constitution" is a senior Tejal Desai. simulated congressional hear"I knew we would be good ing in which students testify because I heard them when

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March 2010

Skyhawk places 17th in robotics contest Performers help bring

by Katherine Valles

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fying matches," said senior the team in the three years it The Steel Hawks robotics Walter Bartellino, the head has participated. team placed at 17 out of 64 programmer.

"We saw a major improveteams at the New York City "Competition day was ment and gained much experi- 'by Catherine Moskos regional US First Robotics amazing. We got to hang with ence," said freshman Alex The Free the Children competition at the Javits cen- all the other robotics kids," ' Wei. Variety Show raised $1165 on ter, held the weekend ofMarch said Miranda. . "Seventeen out of 64,is March 1 to build a clean water 12. ' "One part of the underly- a respectable placing....It's system in Ecuador.

The competition culmi- ing ethos of FIRST is 'Gra- about the best the school has The show featured a piano nated the intensive process of cious Professionalism,' the done in the few years we have duet by sophomore Emily Chao designing and building the ro- belief that fierce competition competed," said senior Law- and junior Frank Hoffman. The bot, named Skyhawk. . does not preclude treating op- renee Yu. two played songs from around "We spent six weeks ponents with respect and kindIn that period, teams were the world, including "Wait a building the robot, including ness," said Ms. Brustein. required to construct and ship Minute," "I Took the Night," weekends," said senior Miran"All the teams help each the entire robot, although mi- "Pa Que la Pases Bien," "El da Meyes, captain of the Steel other and give you a few point- nor changes were allowed af- Sol y la Playa," and the "Indian Fusion Remix."

Hawks. ers about robotics," she said of ter the allotted time period.'

The robotics team was the supportive atmosphere at "[It is] a lot of world" ex"I performed because Dr. mentored by their coach, sci- .US First, despite the intense claimed Walter, and said they [Mariko] Sato, the Chamber ence teacher Philip Jones; As- competition. . ,''would stay on a regular school [Music] teacher, wanted sistant Principal of Math, SciThis year, teams compet- . day until about 7:00 pm."

Emily Chao and me to play the "We hoped to be.able to do piano duet for which we won ence and Technology Susan . ed with each other in a game Brustein, and James Carpino, called "Breakaway," where 'everything: drive over bumps, a citywide contest. Overall, a graduate student at Queens robots earned points by "kick- drive under tunnels, grab a it felt nice to play for such a , College. ing" and rolling soccer balls bar with an arm, and kick the ' good cause, and I think the "I am grateful to Mr. Jones through designated "goals" on ball," said Lawrence.

Free the Children organization and Mr. Carpino for the sup- a 27 x 54 foot field.

After designing several would be happy to know that port and guidance they have Qualifying matches deter- prototypes, the team pro- such a talented group of kids given our team, and for the mined a team's ranking and grammed two robots. represented them on that day," dedication of our outstanding ultimately, which teams would "There was one main ro- said Frank. student roboticists," said Ms. participate in the final's tour- bot and a testing robot," said Junior Francine Pinchero, Brustein. nament on Sunday. senior Kin Yam Tsoi. who sang ' at the event, also The Steel Hawks 3;~ : .

"In the Finals Tournament, No prior engineering .ex- acknowledged the skill of the also sponsored ' by Michael the top eight ranked teams be- perience is required to join 'the students with whom she shared Bloomberg, Con Edison, the . come what is known as 'alli- team. the stage.

Alumni Association, Queens ance captains,'" said Walter.

"Most team members "Sometimes, you never College, and the Parent Teach- "Alliance captains choose didn't have ' much prior ex- really know how talented our ' er Association. two other teams to form alIi- perience but you learn from schoolmates are until there is . ;.~lthR.,!g9Ht~~G 9R.JP..B~M~ipn anceti ~1<? c2..J!lp'ete_JV!!tt,,;!ttf m wqr!5illgl :'OA QW.:.J2P9t:L.~~!gâ&#x20AC;˘. a show like the Variety Show," sl1e comment6(I.' c " , 11 " (" , ~ " ,>., officially began on March. 13,....: for a shot at.winning.this finals , Miranda. . many teams arrived early to tournament and earning a spot "You can learn and pick Senior Kristina Rudolfo practice. in the national competition." up things on the way," said sang 'Everybody' by Ingrid ' "Friday was known as Although Harris did not Walter. "People [should] join Michaelson because she build day, in which you get to qualify to compete as an alli- next year. It's a lot.of fun. You practice on the actual field and ance in the finals tournament, learn a lot, [it] looks good on make any last minute modifi- , this year's competition proved . college stuff, [and] there are cations before any real quali- to be the most successful for leadership opportunities."

clean water to Equador thought the song's message was appropriate for the event.

"The song .. .is not only a favorite of mine, but was very . relevant in sharing the message that everyone, especially those in need, wants to be loved," she said.

"It was a wonderful experience watching the Variety Show because it was for an important cause: dean water for children in Ecuador.

I hope more events like this one will be held throughout the school year because small steps like these make a better world for us to live in," said freshman Samantha Koloniaris.

Members of the Free the Children club organized the Variety Show. "It feels so good knowing that 1 could contribute a little of my time to help raise money to build a water system. Everyone should know how good it feels to help make this world just a tiny bit better," said freshman Izabella Sek, club member.

According to club advisor Charlene Levi, donations are still being solicited for this fundrasier.' "So far, we've collected $1165, but T-shirts are still .being purchased .

OtherS are 'also dorl:ating," she said. "Any contribution to this noteworthy cause would be appreciated."

Club of Women fights negative stereotypes of feniinists i

by Sarah Mahmood

Arranged by Club of Women advisor Judy Biener as a celebration of Women's History Month, several faculty members and students wore shirts saying 'This Is What a Feminist Looks Like' on March 25.

Ms. Biener wanted to reclaim the original definition of the word as' "the word feminist [now] has a terrible reputation." .

According to the Randomhouse dictionary, feminists are people who believe in the "doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men."

However, a feminist is commonly stereotyped in American culture as a bitter and aggressive man-hating woman.

Hoping to combat this idea, Ms. Biener especially sought to involve male teachers to show students that ''men

can be feminists, too,'just like whites can be anti-racists."

"I believe in equality for all people, regardless of their natural-born characteristics, one ofthem being gender," said Principal Kenneth Bonamo, who also participated in the event.

"It's important to make a statement that as students and teachers, we subscribe to the idea of equality and maintain an environment that respects all people," he continued.

"Women have the same prerogatives and freedoms as men. I feel very strongly about feminism," said English teacher Robert Babstock.

"Like any kind offreedom, it's tenuous."

"I'm a humanist," said Ms. Biener. "I think all humans should have the right to live equally with justice."

Fora more in-depth look at the perception of feminism at Harris, read the next issue of The Classic.

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Teachers, administrators, and students publicly declare themselves as feminists on March 25.

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Classic

March 2010

First Open House woos class of 2014 Contest Winners New York City National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium Kimberly Young, senior: NYC Delegate to the National competition Audriana Zablan, senior: first place winner in Mathematics and Computer Science Semifinalists: Senior Social Science Research students: Stefan Evans, Eva Fan, Sherry Leung 'and Rachel Mayo Senior Science Research students: DipabaliChowd hury, Katherine Valles, Olivia Scandura, Sheena Tsai, Audriana Zablan and Kimberly Young

New York City Science and Engineering Fair Semifinalists: Senior Social Science Research students: :; :.- $.jmranjit.Singh, ~ehavioral & Social Sciences Senior Science Research students: Dipabali Cnowdnury, Microbiology Stefan Evans, Physics Aziz Rahman, Environmental Sciences HachelRosenqard, Medicine & Health Sciences Katherine Valles, Microbiology Kimberly Young, Cellular & Molecular Biology Audriana Zablan , Computer Science ._ - ..... _.-JunTor Science Researchstudents: " Stephanie Gergoudis, Biochemistry Ishrat Ghani, Behavioral & Social Sciences Karishma Ruparel Anima l Sciences

by Es ther Wh an g With just a few days to make their final decision, some admitted students still pondered the imminent question - which high school they should attend next fall .

On February 23, Harris helped some of them make that choice, as it held its first Open House for students and families accepted during the first round of the high school admissions process.

Hoping to encourage students to choose Harris, the administration and faculty welcomed them to tour the building, get a taste of the academics and extracurricular activities, 'and hear from current Harrisites themselves.

The goal ofthe Open House was to show students how ''terrific we are, for families to make a choice that was right for them, and to get more wonderful students," said Assistant Principal of Pupil Personnel Services Janet Solomon, who helped organize the event.

With 450 seats offered during this cycle, a total of 480 guests attended the Open House. tof whom 204 weread-:" mitted students.

A team of administrators, teachers, and staff, that included Principal Kenneth Bonamo, Assistant Principal of Human- ., '. ities Susan Getting , As'slstant路/~ Principal ofMath, Science, and

Technology Susan Brustein, Assistant Principal of Music, Art, and Languages Other than English (LOTE) Lisa Mars, and Assistant Principal of Organization Ellen Fee planned the event in one month.

The team also consisted of Dean Wanda Nix, Parent Coordinator Dafne Manhart, and Coordinator of Student Activities Aleeza Widman . The Parent Teacher Association (PTA) contributed to the effort as well .

Mariko Sato's chamber ensemble class welcomed the guests with mus ic as they walked through the front doors, and students and families proceeded to the auditorium, where they were introduced to various speakers, 'including Mr. Bonamo, the assistant principals , Ms. Manhart, and senior Michae l Chen .

Peter Lustig 's Jazz Band also showcased its musical skill with several pieces , and a "lip dub" video directed by seniors Mobin Varghese and Alexei Furs was also shown .

Ms. Fee believes the video, which gave a tour of the building and ' fe'ahubd,..thevarious sports teams and clubs mouthing the words to Queen's "Don't Stop Me Now," was especially helpful. ."The lib dub 'video was the . be"Stpirl'of1liifiWeseniitlon," she said . "The presentation

was shorter, and people said they could tell that Harris is a fun place to be."

With a snowstorm having postponed the Open House two weeks from its original date, and with the rainfall on the night itself, Ms. Mars said that the number of attendees showed that ''there is genuine interest in coming to Townsend Harris High School."

She also said it was ''very heartening" to see that they came despite the weather conditions .

Both Ms . Solomon and Ms . Getting had told them that families said that Harris's Open House was "the best" they've attended.

Senior Sherry Leung , who played in the Jazz Band, said, "It was just really nice talking to students and parents, and using my own experience to provide insight on why they should come here ."

Ms. Fee, who helped organize the auditorium and gym, said that admitted students saw that "our school is a small, fun, and engaging environment to learn in." " i r, JH ;' :WitI{a'1l the positive'opin- 1" ion, Mr. Bonamo said, "there's always room for improvement, and we will certainly review all the feedback." .. Nonetheless, he -said that '4": :" I t~ "-e r...,t\~-L1. nt "" ~ "O ,,,n ~lttl~V\ I-t ..,. n ror ne 'TIrsl nne <ou , . we should be very proud."

American Computer Science League Contest #2

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Sarah Chen, Karmin Chong, and Kin Yam Tsoi, perfect scorers

Latin Club aces Certamen

by Salma Mohamed know everything, even with an The Latin Club won first advanced degree in Classics," place overall in the annual she said .

New York City Latin CertaBoth Dr. Colakis and Mr. men on February 5.

Owens feel that the most reThe Junior Latin Level warding part of the competiTwo team came in first place tion was seeing the students against The Brearly School, who worked hard together do and the Sophomore Level Two so well. team came in second place to "Destroying Stuyvesant Brooklyn Latin. The Senior [High School] was a joy," said Advanced team was a runner- Mr. Owens . up to that of Bayside High Junior Bledi Hysa regardSchool. ed the experience as "really The three competing fun, [especially since I was] teams answered questions on on the winning team ." He felt Latin grammar and the my- . that the quiz bowl was "a great tho logy, history and daily life way to show off one's Latin of Rome . Latin teachers Mari- skills ." anthe Colakis and Jonathan Third time competing juOwens played practice games nior Indira Abiskaroon also with students every Tuesday enjoyed "hearing that we had after school to prepare for the won ." quiz bowl.

The Latin Club is preparDr. Colakis had not ex- ing for upcoming Certamens pected many of the questions that will be held at Bronx Scithat were asked . "It 's impos- ence High School and Harvard sible to covereverything or to University this April.

Alumnus of the Month SAM JAFFE

..

by Tracey Wang If Sam Jaffe were a student at Harris today, he would probab ly be in the upcoming school production of ThroughlyModern Millie .

Born as Shalom, Sam was a member of one ofthe first graduating classes ofHarris . He later studied engineering at Columbia University and worked as a math teacher in the Bronx. Shortly after, Mr. Jaffe began pursuing his dream of being a professional actor.

After appeari ng in numerous Broadway plays in the 1920s and '30s, Mr. Jaffe turned his attention to film. In 1934, he played Grand Duke Peter in Josefvon Sternberg's The Scarlet Empress and the mysterious High Lama in Lost Horizon in 1937. In 1939, he played the title role' in Gunga Din (1939) alongside Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen and Joan Fontaine. Mr. 'Jaffe even acted in The Barbarian and the Geisha (1958), a film about Townsend Harris, the diplomat.

In 1951, Mr. Jaffe received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal ofcriminal mastermind Doc Erwin Riedenschneider in John Huston's The Aspha lt Jungle (1950) . He also appeared as Simonides in the Academy Award winning Ben-Hur (1959) .

Mr. Jaffe was blacklisted by Hollywood studios during the Red Scare because he was believed to be a Communist sympathizer. The studio even tried to remove him from a movie he had already signed on to play, The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) . However, producer Julian Blaustein believed that Mr. Jaffe's role as Professor Jacob Barnhardt was so essential to the film that he successfully appealed to the studio chief.

Mr. Jaffe died of cancer in Beverly Hills, California in 1984.

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The Classic

6-March 2010

WholWhat Should Have Won the Academy Award

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.by Freddy Millan Jr .,

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Best Picture: Winner: The Hurt Locker Should Have Won: Up

If the Academy was not so horribly biased against animation (only two animated movies have ever been nominated for Best Picture), Up would have been a serious contender, frontrunner, and possible winner of the category.

Best Actor: Winner: Jeff Bridges Should Have Won: Jeremy Renner Playing bomb expert Sergeant William James in The Hurt Locker, Renner brought an intensity and nuance to the role that helped make the movie realistic.

Best Act ress: Winner: Sandra Bullock Should Have Won: Gabourey Sidibe

Gabourey Sidibe showed an amazing amount of skill and emotion for someone who wasn't even planning on becoming an actress - more than most who have been intending to all their life. As the titular Precious, she makes herself both vulnerable and tough-as-nails at the same time.

Best Supporting Actor: Winner: Christoph waltz Should Have Won: Christopher Plummer

He's an amazing actor, he's been in tons of movies, and he's eighty years old. How is this his first nomination? Christoph Waltz was good, but Plummer is a legend. Give that man an Oscar already.

Best Supporting Actress: Winner: Mo'Nique Should Have Won: Mo'Nique

Playing majorly against type , Mo'Nique, the star of such quality films as Phat Girlz, shows true acting ability playing Mary Jones, Precious's abusive and evil mother. You hate her from the beginning until about ten minutes before the credits, when she delivers her final monologue. At that point, words can't describe how much you despise her.

The Hurt Locker wins over audience

by Tracey Wang explosives . He reacts by taking off his "The rush of battle is a potent and bomb suit, saying, "If I'm going to die, often lethal addiction, for war is a I'm going to die comfortable ."

James's recklessness may seem drug. " This quotation by New York Times brave, but it causes him to clash with war correspondent Chris Hedges, the levelheaded Sanborn, whose placed at the beginning of The Hurt rationality is the archetype of the Locker, foreshadows that StaffSergeant .responsible soldier. The two even .

William James (Jeremy Renner) has an exchange physical blows.

The complexity ofJames's charactei addiction problem .

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the alone is reason enough to watch this film follows James and his Explosive movie . Nominated for an Academy Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit Award for his role, Renner gives an consisting of Sergeant J.T. Sanborn excellent performance and one than (Anthony Mackie) and Specialist worthy of Mark Boal's Oscar-winning Owen Eldridge (Brian Geraghty) screenplay.

Boal used his experience as an as they disarm dozens of roadside bombs in Iraq. These bombs, called embedded journalist with an EOD unii improvised explosive devices (IED), in Iraq.Through his characters, the are the biggest killers of both soldiers audience explores what it's like to have the ~ and Iraqi citizens.

James is a man of action. He loves most dangerous the adrenaline rush ofwar, and he often -job in the world .

The best part gets carried away when he's disarming bombs. As Sanborn and Eldridge act as ofthe film is that it has no lookouts, James, wearing a 75-pound political protective bomb suit, analyzes and agenda: it is takes apart IEDs. The lives of soldiers and innocent simply an honest civilians depend on him and one wrong look into the lives of move may end his own. James thrives soldiers during wartime.

The audience members care on that kind of pressure; he likes being deeply about the characters, watching in the danger zone.

At one point in the film, James is anxiously, hoping that the unit will called to dismantle a car filled with make it alive through its tour.

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Classic

March 2010

British teen gives up Oxford to get An Education degree .

Jenny challenges her, though : what is the point ofstudying endlessly, which is boring, only to become a teacher and grade essays endlessly, which is also boring?

After dropping out of school, Jenny learns something about David that changes everything. The movie falls apart after this revelation, becoming predictable. The ending is unsatisfying.

Luckily, though, up until the climax, An Education is funny, exciting, and completely engrossing .

Thoroughly earning her Academy Award nomination, Mulligan gives an amazing performance as an intelligent, but still narve, teenaged girl.

The other performances, especially that of Jenny's father (Alfred Molina), are strong, too.

The characters of Jenny and David are written very well.

Jenny's emotional growth is completely believable. David's quirks by Sarah Mahmood mamage. his secrecy about his job, his Living in the suburbs in 1960s Before David proposes to her, refusal to take Jenny to his London, 16-year-old Jenny (Carey Jenny, pressured by her parents, had house, his sexual immaturity Mulligan) longs for excitement in planned'on going toOxf6rd uni~rsity - are revealed slowly, so that her dull, routine life at an elitist prep to study literature. Her parents see the audience members' Oxford as a means to a successful uneasmess creeps school.

One day, as 'she waits for the bus career as a teacher in a time when on them. after 'cello practice, Jenny meets England had limited career options for Based on David (Peter Sarsgard) and is swept off women. the memoirs of her feet. Almost twice her age, David is David, however, is so wealthy that British journalist a charming, glamorous gentleman who there is no need for Jenny to work. She Lynn Barber, takes her to concerts, the opera, and gives up her plans for Oxford and drops An Education is even France. out of school. overall an amusing, Her parents, normally strict and Only Jenny's English teacher well-written, and very boorish, are just as dazzled by David and headmistress (Emma Thompson) worthwhile watch.

- so much so that they advise her to cautions her against the marriage, of reminding her that she is a highly accept his proposal intelligent 'girl who would benefit from an Oxford education, not just the

..

Snubs

by Freddy Millan

Records

by Freddy Millan 路Precious is the first film directed by an AfricanAmerican to be nominated for Best Picture.

Kathryn Bigelow is the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director (for The Hurt Locker) Meryl Streep set the record (with Julie & Ju/ia) for most acting nominations with 16 and most Best Actress nominations with 13.

Up and Avatar are the first Best Picture nominees to be originally released in 3-D. Up is the first film to be nominated for both Best Picture and Best Animated Feature.

Geoffrey Fletcher is the first African-American to win a screenwriting award (for Precious). artwork by Richie Bonilla pictures used with permission from the Academy Awards Press site

Best Picture I Best Original Screenplay: Zombieland Zombie/and was at a major disadvantage because it is a mixture of the two things that the Academy loathes: comedy and horror. Breaking stereotypes, Zombie/and is an involving story with interesting characters.

If the Academy had broadened its horizons , this definitely would have been a contender.

Best Original Screenplay: (500) Days of Summer The media had initially declared this movie a frontrunner to win in this category (and rightfully so), but the Academy didn't even nominate it. The screenplay is deserving because. of its unusual approach to romantic comedy.

Best Adapted Screenplay: Where the Wild Things Are This screenplay took a story that was 10 sentences long and turned it into a flawless feature-length film. It stays true to the feel of the original story, unlike the cash-ins or rehashes that many other adapted screenplays feel like.

Best Actress: Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan) Isabelle's performance was so shockingly chilling and pitch-perfect that one will never be able to see her in another movie without worrying for the other characters' lives.

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The Classic

8--~ March 2010

Breaking seniors

winning streak, Sophmen win SING!

'"'n<;;:•• A r\ by Candace Burton and dent Activities (c~~ Ella Leviyeva "When I heard people say Breaking the seniors' win- that SING! was fixed, I would ning streak since 2002, the get offended," he continued. "I sophmen emerged victorious find it almost insulting." in SING! However, . he acknowlIn SING!, seniors, juniors edged the judges may have and sophmen (freshmen and been biased. "Most of the sophomores) compete against judges were close to seniors each other to put on the best [as alumni] and this might musical. . have skewed it," he said.

This is the third time in the "It might revitalize the history of Harris High School other grades. They won't bethat the seniors lost SING! lieve the urban myth that "The reality is that people SING! was fixed," Mr. Stonethought it was rigged [so that hill continued. seniors always won], but it Catherine Wallin, director wasn't," said Adam Stonehill, ofjunior SING!, said, "I really the former Coordinator of Stu- thought [the Sophmen] put

Sophmen, the winners of SING!, play characters from the game ' Candyland.'

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Life is Stressful Today

Today, I came back to school after being absent for a day. I found out I have a quiz and three tests this week. MLiT. Today, I saw a bunch of numbers on my friend's hand, and said, "Do la la. Whose number is that?" She stared at me blankly, and replied, "It's my math homework." MLiT. Today, I had a fight with my mom and told her to kiss my angle-side-side. She stopped mid-sentence, mostly from confusion. MLiT Today, at college, I attended a lecture on the Lutheran reformation. The speaker asked how many people could read Latin. I was one of tlie two people, the other being herself. MLiT. Today, in class, in order to speak privately to a friend who sat next to me, I texted on my calculator instead of passing notes like a normal person. MLiT. Today, in an effort to delay doing my homework, I joined 6 face book groups about procrastination.

MLiT. Today, I opened my binder and realized that it had the all the colors of the rainbow. MLiT.

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together great I _ show. Some of the juniors even started cheering for them."

Many of the semors were very upset about losing SING!.

"I directed SING! all three years that I could. It was nice to see something I started and finished for the majority of my high school career.

This coming to a Seniors play teenagers searching for a little boy trapped in the game 'Clue: Decades Edition.'

close was bittersweet; I wish it would have ended on a higher note. The seniors as a whole are extremely bitter about the whole thing," said Ashley Newman, director of senior SING!.

"I ; do think the reactions of the seniors were completely unnecessary, but as

they say, sometimes emotions get the best of us," said Cathenne.

This year's theme for SING! was board games.

In senior SING!, four teenagers searched through 'Clue : Decades Edition' to find a little boy trapped in the game.

A take on the 'Game of Life,' a college graduate had to choose between fame, fortune, or family in Junior SING!.

Characters from the game 'Candyland' followed a boy to school in Sophmen SING!.

"This was my first year seeing SING and it was great.

The hard work of each grade showed," said Alexandra Embelton, a junior.

"SING! should be more about the performance level and the experience than about winning," said sophmore Kari Wei-Tu. "It was a great SING!,"said ·" Aleeza Widman, COSA. "All three shows were really entertaining."

Next year, SING! will be moved to the fall semester to avoid clashing with finals week. It will also only run for two nights, as there was poor attendance this year.

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Last-minute to-dos before taking a test

by Ramona Gobinrajloo Tick tock. Tick tock. Seconds away from taking a major test and' these are the only words restlessly pounding in your mind.

You look to your right and see the smarty-pants of the class smiling as if he were getting a piece of chocolate cake.

You look to your left and see a girl clasping her hands in deep prayer. You look behind you and see a boy doing some last minute cramming. You look down at the test paper just placed on your desk and repeat in your mind, "I can do it. I can do it."

For some Harrisites, the moments before a test are spent in bone-chilling and sweaty madness, while for others, the pre-test moments are spent doing something else...

"I take a deep breath and try to convince myself that I know everything," stated senior Cindy Kei. Relaxing before a test is a frequent recommendation because it helps in calming down one's nerves; also, there is a higher chance of making a mistake if a person is too jittery.

"On regular test days, I don't relax but try to get myself as nervous as possible the first few minutes before the test," said senior Swetha Mumini. "My head is racing

in thoughts and I know it's the exact opposite of what all testtaking books say, but for some reason it helps me do better."

Others prefer to clear their minds. "I try to erase my mind of everything I know," junior Niaz Ahmed remarked. "It's like rebooting my mind so it comes out fresh."

Some find refuge in prayer before a test.

"I pray that I have a pencil and that the pencil has a tip," stated senior Kaila Pfistai.

On a more serious note, senior Anne Dong exclaimed, "I pray because it's calming and it takes the test out of my hands."

Senior Kyla Seereeram thinks that praying before . a test is "sacrilegious" because it does not make sense that a person would pray to keep their parents safe and then pray to get a 105 on a test.

Some students utilize the little moments before a test to squeeze any possible drops of information into their brains.

"I try to cram everything I can. I go over my notes just in case I missed anything," stated junior Misty Kim. Cramming right before the test is often not a good idea because many people cannot retain the information that they just read or saw.

However, many students feel the urge to cram. "I go

over my notes and then, very forcefully, close them - my textbook and papers," admitted senior Aminta Liu. "After I close them, there 's no turning back. I do my best and try not to worry."

Some students exhibit an idiosyncrasy in their pre-test moments.

"I pull my water bottle out of my bag and leave it on the floor," stated Kyla. "I don't drink it, but it has to be there."

"Sometimes•.! eat a piece of chocolate because I heard it's good luck," stated senior Amy Khanai. .

There is some truth to what Amy said, for a study conducted by researchers at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia (Weston) showed that chocolate could lead to better focus. A few results of the study were that dark and milk chocolate increase reaction time and attention span. In addition, milk chocolate can help one's memory.

No matter how strong and compelling your prayer may be or how great the size of chocolate you may eat, it seems clear that the only real chance you . have of doing well on a test is if you know the material.

Source: Weston, Nicole. "Chocolate can improve cognitive performance."

Slashfood. 29 May 2006. Online.

Internet. I February 2009. <http:// www .slashfood.comI2006/05/29

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9

The Classic

Hateful, ano-ny-mous p-ostfn-gs on Fo~msp ri ng-.me spur reactions '

by Hayley Desmond and Lory Martinez From Tumblr to Twitter, internet trends seem to come and go in the click of a mouse, The latest fad to explode across the homepages of Harrisites is Formspring.me, a site where one can create a public inbox for questions, comments and critiques, Formspring boosts its appeal through anonymity; one can ask a question without revealing one's identity, It may be this option that has sparked attacks on users' personalities, appearances, religions, races, sexual orientations and other qualities.

"They [the posters] would say things like someone should shove you into an oven, close the door and tum up the heat," said a junior girl. She deleted her account, but continued to see remarks about herself on the pages of classmates.

She added, "After getting negative comments like' that, you're walking in the halls thinking that this is what other people think of you. It becomes a trust issue."

One female junior, who 0

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also received insults on the site, said, "That's all people talk about the next day: who said what on whose Formspring," "It's social networking for cowards," said Kerry McEnerney, junior.

A number of Harrisites were bothered by the thought that their classmates were the ones insulting them.

"I recently noticed the amount of homophobic questions/statements/rants on Formspring attacking myself and people I know, It never really bothered me until I realized that I probably walk through the same halls as . these people every single day and these thoughts are running through their heads," senior Izzy Ocampo wrote in an online post.

"I've had students come to me and break down because of what people have said to them [on Formspring]," said Marc Duke, SPARK counselor, Although Formspring.me forbids users to ''transmit any pornographic, obscene, offensive, threatening, harassing, libelous, hate-oriented, harm0

"You don't know how ful, defamatory, racist, illegal Mr. Bonamo.

"I think that the school someone is going to react or ' otherwise objectionable material or content," it also should approach it [cyberbul- when you put those things out makes it clear that users ''may lying] through counseling, so there," commented Sara Skoencounter content that may be that they can understand the da, guidance counselor.

Assistant Principal of Hudeemed objectionable, obscene ramifications of their actions. or in poor taste, which content If they still engage [in this be- manities Susan Getting noted, mayor may not be identified havior], then you have to take "If you don't have the nerve to as having explicit language," corrective action," he contin- put your name to something, you shouldn't be doing it," Several members of the ued. school administration and staff "Think about how you In the case of Formspring, feel that Fonnspring is a growwould feel if you were ing problem. Principal Kenthe recipient," advised 'They would say things like Janet Solomon, Assisneth Bonamo addressed the issomeone should shove you tant Principal of Guidsue at a recent senior meeting, and advised, "The simplest sointo an oven, close the door ance. lution is not to read it."

Some feel that and turn up the heat.'

Sophomore Katherine """""""""""""'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''"'''''''''''''''''''''''' having a Formspring account is making Dominguez said ,that anonymous, ''personal'' postings however, the anonymity of oneself vulnerable to attacks.

One junior boy commentdon't bother her, "Why should most posts eliminates the posI be concerned about the sibility of direct intervention. ed, "[Users] are the ones putthoughts of a spineless idiot?"

"There's nothing [the ad- ting themselves at risk by sayministration] can do but try 路 ing 'ask me 'anything." she said.

Formspring is one of the to educate," said Wanda Nix, "I don't think people dean.

"It's nothing worth [stumany forms of cyberbullyshould open so many doors for hatred [through] a site like ing that raises the question dents'] time." of whether interference by Mr. Duke added, "I'm not that," said a sophomore girl.

"I think Formspring is the schools is a violation of stu- so concerned about people getdents' rights under the First ting punished for it, so much type of social media site [that] Amendment. as that it gets addressed." people should expect the worst "Freedom of speech Some faculty members from when they sign up," Izzy doesn't extend to harassment, encourage students to be more added. "Ifpeople don't want to bullying, threats, or slander empathetic towards class- deal with the insults and hate, they don't have to have one." in schools, or in society," said mates.

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Administration discourages student-teacher friendships on Facebook

by Rebecca Seidel . notes that 11 teachers in MisFacebook: the ultimate souri were convicted of such virtual social gathering. behavior within two years.

Statistics like this one have The procrastinator's dream.

Home of the infamous Farm- led some school boards and ville. It's a place where stu- local governments to begin dents can have hundreds, drafting guidelines detailing even thousands, of ''friends.'' acceptable modes of commuThe question now is nication outside the classroom.

There are no such guidewhether teachers, who oflines in Townsend Harris reten have their own Facebook accounts, should, enter this garding online friendships realm of student friendship. between students and faculty.

Last month, principal "We can't regulate what peoKenneth Bonamo went to ple do outside of the buildclassrooms to discuss the is- ing," Mr. Bonamo said. "All sue of student-teacher interaction on social 'We can be friendly, but networking sites like we're not your friends.'

Facebook. He advised students to use discretion in establishing these types of we can do is advise them relationships, Teachers were to make wise decisions." given the same message.

Teachers expressed mixed Mr. Bonamo said that the feelings about the idea of intopic came up at a faculty meet- teracting with their students ing following "an inquiry from via Facebook. While some see a parent about student-teacher it as a potentially useful means connections on Facebook." of networking, others feel that "Our consensus was it's downright inappropriate, "Teachers are not students' that both students and teachers should be discouraged friends," said one teacher, who from making these types believes that student-teacher of connections," he said. relationships should not extend Nationwide, there has been outside the classroom, let alone growing public conce.rn about online, "We can be friendly, the nature of student-faculty but we're not your friends." "friendships" online. Schools Another teacher, who in districts across the country has a Facebook account, said have seen instances of sexual that "it has never crossed relationships between students my mind" to add students as and teachers stemming from friends. ' ''I think it's immaonline social networking. A ture," she remarked, "There 2008 article on CNN.com is a big distance between me 0

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and my students; Facebook isn't going to fix that gap."

Junior Kelly Cordray sees no problem in students interacting with teachers on Facebook. "I think it's perfectly fine," she said, reasoning that ifteachers establish these types of relationships in the first place, they will be careful not to post anything questionable or inappropriate. "Teachers are conscious of the fact that they have jobs, and especially in these economic times, they don't want to lose those jobs ."

Some members of the Harris community think that Facebook friendships are acceptable only in certain seenarios, "I think it's okay ifthe teacher is also your coach or something, because then you have a different, and probably closer, relationship with them," said junior Emily Siu, One teacher agreed that interaction via Facebook is fine if it's related to a specific club or planning a school event.

"It depends on the nature of the content, and the nature of the friendship," she said.

Mr. Bonamo said that although student-teacher interaction via Facebook can sometimes do more harm than good, he also "see[s] the potential to _use Facebook in a productive way."

He explained, "Facebook is but another means of communication, Every means can be used both properly and improperly."

0

According to a recent to assignments, email is usustudy published by the Phi ally sufficient. She mentioned Delta Kappan, an education Nicenet (nicenet.org), an onpolicy magazine, various line discussion forum for class. teachers in schools nationwide es. On Nicenet, teachers can have indeed used Facebook "as set up a class roster and a mesan avenue to enhance instruc- sage board, to which students tion." Some teachers feel that can post written assignihents. this type of online corresponWhat sets networking dence encourages students sites like Facebook apart from to be more vocal and to par- email and sites like Nicenet is ticipate more in school events. their added personal dimenThe Townsend Harris sion. With Facebook, things Guidance Department seized like photos and status updates upon this idea last spring, when -. meld into a full personality it created its own Facebook profile, Granted access to a group and invited students to person's Facebook page, one join . The page was designed can learn a great deal about to promote discussion of teen that person's lifestyle, - proissues, and it features links vided that the person chooses to websites relevant to teens. to disclose such information.

Sofar,this endeavorto conThis poses problem on nectto students virtually hasn't both ends of the spectrum. been very successful, accord- Many students don't want deing to guidance counselor Jon- tails of their private lives to be athan Hirsch, who also started available to teachers, and likea Twitter account last year to WIse, teachers don't feel that reach out to his students. "I studentsneedtoknowwhatthey don't know if anyone looks at do outside of the classroom. the material," he said, "May"Real life - our everybe they [the students] think day routines in school - they we're intruding on their lives." give me all the infonnaMr. Hirsch added that al- tion I need about my stuthough the Facebook group dents," said one teacher. is there for students' conve"I think it's great for kids nience, he doesn't think that and teachers to want to comonline "friendships" between municate with each other, students and faculty are neces- but I think that in today's sary or appropriate. "We have world .. ,you have to set payour emails," he said, explain- rameters," said Ms. Getting. ing that that's the only contact She added, "If you need to information faculty members talk to a teacher, talk to them really need from their students. in person. If you can't talk Ms. Getting also said that to me face-to-face, then mayfor correspondence pertaining be we shouldn't be talking."

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10-------The Classic

March 2010

Festival of Nations celebrates cultural diversity Ezquerra . Audience members traveled around "Words alone cannot describe the the world on the night of March 17 as [greatness of the] groups, the advithey watched over 400 dancers, sing- sors, and of course our committee. We ers, and actors perform in the annual [Laraib and I] could not have been hap- .

Festival of Nations (FON). pier working with each one of them," The 21 performances displayed the said Aquib.: cultural diversity of Townsend Har"Being on the other side ofthe curris. Acts included a song and skit from tain was certainly hectic. We started orlanguage teacher Marianthe Colakis' ganizing everythingin the beginning of Latin classes, a Chinese fan dance rou- this year. .. .FON was one of the most tine from the student group "The FAN- stressful yet rewarding experiences of tastiks," and a Hawaiian routine from my life," said Laraib. . the "Hula Mamas & Co." The evening Assistant Principal ofArt and Muended with a sing-along to John Len- sic Lisa Mars, who also helped organon's song "Imagine." nize the event, said, "I loved their proAs this year's FON coordina- cess of-watching, learning, and gaining tor, Spanish teacher Beatriz Ezquerra respect for each 'other's culture:" worked with co-presidents Laraib Ijaz Many ofthe participants were very '(senior) and Aquib Yacoob (junior). pleased with the event.

"The presidents were very well or"Our hard work truly paid off. We ganized. I never felt alone: The team- are so thankful that we were given the work was quite rewarding," said Ms. opportunity to showcase our culture by Rupeshi Shah

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photos by Pea rl Bhatnagar, P a r amjeet Kaur, Sharmin Rashed, Marissa Shieh

and we made soine new friends too!"

The audience was packed with said junior Melina Iacovou, part of the . parents, students, and teachers on the Hellenic culture group, '.'We Are The night ofFON. Greeks."

As sophomore Jennifer Yoo and Senior Inti Rojanasopondist, of Sharon Kang of the Korean Pop group "The FANtaskticks," said, "This is "Seoul 'd Out" exclaimed together, ."We our last year, High school is about tak- were so good ...we SEOUL'D OUT!" "I have been a part of FON since ing part in this kind of experience. We wanted to make it unforgettable." freshman year and each year, it exceeds Many audience members enjoyed my expectations. FON is very close to FON as much as performers enjoyed my heart," said Laraib, . participating.

"It's a chance to experience new Rifat Ismail, junior, said, "FON is cultures as well as represent your own. always exceptional and this year was It's also an opportunity for the underno different! I loved all the costumes classmen to interact with the upperand the effort and time everyone put classmen and become friends," she into their performances was evident. It continued. was great! l ' There were 15 committee members "I really liked the Show Stoppers. involved in FON. Ms. Mars had weekly Their dances and their mix were very goal-setting meetings with Aquib and good. And the stepping was so in sync! .Laraib to troubleshoot and get through It was really nice!" said junior Alexan- , each step. Groups began practicing last dra Embleton.

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The Classic

March 2010

Urgent help available for eating disorders

by Georgianna Panos ders include family dynamic s, social over, they go home as if they went to help to cure these people.

The school must follow certain . She obsesses over her weight and pressures, failure at school, and trau- school and returned after. Others are intakes frequent trips to the bathroom af- matic events. policies when a student at school "Bulimics and anorexics are perter meals. She hides food and has conis found to have an eating disorfectionists, and the pressure to be thin der. stant mood swings. / ' Nutrition specialist and She has started wearing baggy is incredible. What they put in their / health teacher Keith Hanson reclothes, won't change in front of peo- mouth to eat is the one thing they have called a time when a student told ple in the locker room, and swaps her control over," explained Ms. Assante.

Eating disorders have serious him she had an eating disorder. gym shorts and T-shirts for sweatshirts consequences. An estimated ~.

He asked the guidance departand sweat pants in Phys-Ed class. ment to call her parents to notify But she is your best friend, and you six percent of people with (; them of her behavior. don't want to hurt her feelings. You've serious cases die.

Anorexia Nervosa can known her your whole life and she's While the parents said that never shown any signs of a problem, also result in joint pain, they would take her to medical until now. You wonder if you should menstrual changes , heart professionals, they never did. problems, and hypothermtell someone, anyone.

Her condition worsened, and she did not receive help until her Eating disorders are a major prob- ia. lem for about seven million women Bulimia Nervosa neighbor called child welfare can cause difficulty in and she was taken to a hospital. and one million men across America.

Today, however, ifguidance Anorexia Nervosa, characterized breathing, tears in the irregular by the patient's restriction of food and esophagus, counselors are informed that a failure to maintain a minimal normal heart rhythms and occastudent has an eating disorder, body weight because of a desire to be sional sudden death. they are required to see a note Sara Skoda, thin. It is one of the main disorders affrom the student's doctor in orguidance counselor, fecting adolescents in the country. der to ensure that the he or she Most anorexics lose weight by shared some recolis being taken care of properly. limiting their food intake and they may lections from her days Those who suffer from eatstart by limiting or excluding foods as a mental health worker ing disorders must see health that they recognize as having high fat at Schneider Children's professionals. There is nothing Hospital Day Program for or caloric content. friends or family can do on "People tend to associate thin with young people with eating their own. healthy, which is not the case. We need disorders.

If students know that a She sat with children durbody fat to live,"said Maria Assante, classmate has an eating disoring their meals, held groups, health teacher. der, they should notify a guid...;.:;:.. ..

Those who suffer from Bulimia and focused on their specific ance counselor immediately. artwork by Amy Yuan Nervosa, the other most prevalent eat- problems.

A best friend will probably ing disorder, binge eat a.Q..QJJnme9ill!~.ly: ........,.':M.~.tp~eJlJ:t c0l1!~ be the first to know, and telling sgmepatients 路tliat spend " the - night one ~m~t~' l: tm fIght ttliiilg' to throw it up in order to prevent weight to the hospital durgam. there and are under physicians' do, whether sworn to secrecy or not. ing the day and have care," said Ms. Skoda.

Eating disorders are mental issues school classes as well as Source Mayo Staff.

"Eating Disorders." MayoClinic. .' that show themseves physically. discussion groups and There are many outreach pro23 Jun 2009 .

Web. 1 Apr 2010.

Typical reasons for eating disor- monitored lunch. Then when the day is grams with psychologists on staff that

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SPIRIT WEEK

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Seniors Natalia Agui rre, Cynthia Perez, Caitlin O'Grady and Eleni Gizas dress as women from the '80s in Blast to the Past Day on March 18, part of Spirit Week.

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Chancellor revises junk food continued from pg 1 less expensive activities, or other sources of funding, like membersh ip dues. . He said, "This runs counter to the philosophy of open access for all student activities," and that "there should not be a financial obstacle for every single thing we ~o outside ofthe classroom."

The bake sale ban has encouraged clubs and teams to get creative in regards to fundraising opportunities.

The Hawks recently hosted their first Basket-Bowl event, which raised money for the team to purchase sneakers.

One majo r concern regarding the bake sale ban is that bake sales are not the only way students may obtain unhealthy foods.

Some students pointed to the school cafeteria as the biggest culprit.

Junior Adel Manoukian noted that "food at bake sales is in moderation, but they have fries and pizza every single day in the cafeteria."

There are also healthier options.

As Principal Kenneth Bonamo pointed out, the school cafeteria also offers fresh salads, whole wheat bread, and many low fat options on a daily basis.

policy

But Principal Bonamo noted that many schools are next door to delis and fast food restaurants, so it must be considered that "schoo l bake sales are but a small factor in the world of unhealthy food options we inhabit."

Ms . Fee, however, thinks the new regulations will help.

"Culture is changed slowly. Remember when recycling was a joke?

Now it is much more accepted and in everyone's daily practice. There will always be regular, fatty chips sold, but I believe that baked chips and healthy alternatives will start to be accepted soon too," she said.

"I think the compromise of this regulation is good for everyone. It allows us to still raise funds and yet helps us to eat less Entemann's chocolate cake ' and more healthy granola bars," she continued.

As for how to change regulations, Angela thinks that there should be "sweeter options in the vending machines - things that are sweet-tooth satisfying but still have words like 'whole grain' and 'baked not fried.'

If the DOE removes all 'unhealthy' choices, students will just binge out after school."

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The Classic

12~--足 March 2010

2010 Winter Olympics marked by tragedy,_triumph

by Daniel Pecoraro With 37 medals (9 Gold, 15 Silver, 13 Bronze), the United States set a new record for the most medals won at a single Winter Olympic gam es at this year's Olympiad in Vancouver, British Columbi a.

The host nation of Canada took home the most Gold medals with 14, showing the partial success of their $ 120 million "Own the Podium" program.

"I think that it was a really, really great Games," said English teacher Caroline Cross .

"Canada is a pretty good host, especially in Vancouver," continued Ms. Cross, who claimed it was also a "very surprising Games."

Max Bachhuber, tenth grader, enjoyed the event as well, saying , "It was a f un diversion - and it beat the usual television dreck on NBC." Senior Keegan Valbuena, howeve r, expre ssed his negativity toward the Winter

Games, saying, "To quote GQ, 'Two Winter Olympics equals one Summer Olympics.' I think that basically sums up my feelings on the subject."

There were many other disciplines over the course of the Games, with one of the most polarizing this year being luge .

The 2010 Olymp ics were ma rred in traged y befo re they even began, with the death of . Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili on the track in Whi stler, Briti sh Columbia, hours before the Games opened at BC Place .

Although the track is said to be the fastest in the world, the Internat ional Luge Federation and International Olympic Committee stated that the track was not responsible for Kumaritashvili's death.

The Games were dedicated in his hono r, with the entire Georgian team walking in with black armbands and sneakers in memory of the ir fallen athlete.

Boys swing into baseball season

by Rah ul Bhasin The sun is shining upon the crisp green grass of the baseball field, the clouds are parting, and the weather is becoming warmer.

The cream of the crop in the Queens B Central division is the Robert F Kennedy Panthers, a team that went 15-1 and has its own share of young talent.

The Panthers thrashed the A~ ~pnng i!my~~. ~~ d~~~ the crack of the bat, the dives Hawks last year 12-0 and ifthe in the outfield and the shouts Hawks want to improve, they must show some might against of the umpires.

Baseball is back in full them .

Said Tarley, "Kennedy is a force and the Townsend Harris Hawks are preparing greatteam and went deep in the for a season which they hope playoffs last year but we feel will end with glory and a that with a strong effort from our pitchers and solid defense championship .

After a first round exit in behind us, .we can hold our last year's playoffs at the hands own ground in this division . of A. Philip Randolph Campus The goal is to take the season one game at a time - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - and make the ' We can hold ou r own ground playoffs. " Added Perez, in this division. The goal is to "The team will take th e season one game at a only get better time and make the playoffs.' as the season progresses.

High School, the Hawks hope As we practice and get back to build from their experiences into the rhythm of baseball, and on the positives of last I see everyone around me improving." year.

"Hopefully, we can get off Senior Matt Aj zenman said, "We had a great team to a hot start, learn from our last year and losing last year's mistakes early and capital ize seniors hurts, but we have on our developing offense and good seniors this year and solid pitching," he continued. underclassmen, so we should If the Hawks hope to reach compete and have a chance to the playoffs, t hey must get off win every game." to a strong start as they face The Hawks return with an two solid teams to start off the outstanding core of players, season, Robert E Wagner Jr. . highlighted by .Aj zenman, the week of April 4 and.High . junior Ben Horowitz and School for Arts & Business the seniors Arthur Tarley, Javed week ofApril 11.

Chitaman and Eilin Perez .

The fundamentals of the With their leadership and game, pitching and defense, a blossoming young group of remain the steppingstones for players, the team should only success for 'the Hawks, who improve upon its 9-7 record in hope to improve upon last year's playoff appearance. division play last year.

Further, wh ile there were talks over whether to cancel the luge events, it was decided to allow the events to go on as planned, a move Ms . Cross agreed with. "That's what he [Kumaritashvili] trained his whole life for," she said .

"Though we can never know for sure, I think he would have hated to see the event he dedicated himself to cancelled," she continued .

In ice hockey, the United States hoped to repeat the historic "Miracle on Ice" victory 30 years ago at the Lake Placid games .

Canada . and the United States squared off in the final event of the Game s, the Gold Medal Game of the men's ice hockey tournament.

New Jersey Devils forward Zach Parise scored his fourth goal of the tournament for the United States with less than a minute to go to tie the match at 2-2.

In sudden death overtime,

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, playing for Canada, scored past Buffalo Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller - who , after leading all goalies in the tournament in minutes played, saves, and save percentage , was the Most Valuable Player of the tournament - to strike Gold for Canada, which also won gold in the women's hockey tou rnament.

For the US, the loss was disappointing, but unsurpnsmg .

"No one expected the US to win in hockey," said Ms. Cross.

"The US Hockey team made us proud!" exclaimed Valbuena. "Nowifonlyanyone woul d watch the NHL." Senior Christina Giap pone most enjoyed the bobsled events - in which the U.S. team won Gold in the 4-man event - and snowboarder Shaun White, who won Gold in the men's halfpipe on his

first run.

Senior Frankie Spitaleri enjoyed the frightening sport of ski jumping, while Ms .

Cross claimed, "I've always enjoyed the figure skating events, but I love the thrill of the speed events."

In downhill skiing, phenomenon Lindsay Vonn overcame a bruised shin to become the first American woman to win Gold, whil e in speed skating, Apolo Anton Ohno became the greatest American athlete in Winter Olymp ics history, winning his eighth medal.

There was one sport that was among the most divisive and mysterious, though curling.

"I tried to watch curling, but I do not understand curling," Ms. Cross said .

However, Bachhuber enjoyed it, saying, "It was ju st odd enough to catch my attention, yet not alienate me with its weirdness."

Runners off to quick start in PSAL meet

by Eilin Perez With the first shot of the starter pistol, the Boys' Track team ushered in the outdoor track season at the PSAL Opener meet on March 20; exchanging the confined indoor track of the Armory Track and Field Center for the open air and spacious fields of Icahn Stadium.

The team was strong out of the starting blocks, with many athletes coming close to or actually eclipsing personal records in their first performances of the young season.

The upstart Hawks featu red several bright stars in their first meet, and they hope more will emerge as the season progresses.

Senior captain Christopher Wang ran as part of the 4 by . 800-meter relay, running a 2:12 individual time .

The team finished second in its heat with a total time of 9:06, but in seventh place overall, losing a medal to the Port Richmond Red Raiders by a mere two seconds.

"As I passed the baton, I saw that we were in first place <

in the heat. I had to make sure I made a clean pass to [sophomore Steven Seegob in] to maintain the lead."

Wang also competed in the 400-meter dash, finishi ng the race in 57 .18 seconds .

Aside from being the first leg of the 4 by 800-meter relay, junior Emmanuel Daring . finished his second event, the 400-meter dash, in a personal record of 53.9 seconds.

"My start was a little slowerthan I would have liked, but I made up the difference during the end of the race and won my heat ," said Daring.

Daring has high hopes for this season, and sees them already beginning to manifest themselves into something tangible .

"Every personal record bring s me closer to breaking the school record, and having this time at the first race really gave me a boost ofconfidence," added Daring.

Junior Edward Caraccioli competed in the 1600-meter run and was also the fourth leg of the 4 by 800 meter relay.

Caraccioli completed his 1600-meter run with atime of

5:01, two seconds off of his personal record. This time was good enough for 15th place out of a pool of 101 1600-meter runners .

"Since it was the first meet, I wanted to see where I was at and I didn't want to over-exert mys elf," said Caraccioli.

In the pole . vault competition, junior Matthew Go set a personal record after clearing a height of 7 feet, 6 inches .

Go's performance left him tied for seventh place, one spot away from a medal. .

Coach George Rio has coached track teams around the city for over fifteen years and is aware that the transition from indoor to outdoor season may not by easy.

He commerited, "It's early in the season. Athletes usually have to adjust to the elements, which they didn't have to face during the indoor track season."

Wang echoed this sentiment, saying, "The weather was unusually good for this time of year, but the transition from indoor to outdoor season is tough."

Upcoming Games Baseball: 4/7 v. Robert F. VVagner, 4/9 @ Robert F. wagner Softball: ~/9 v. Hunter College HS, 4/15 v. HS for Environmental Studies Boys' Tennis: 4/7 v. Benjamin Cardozo HS, 4/9 v. Francis Lewis Girls' Tennis: 4/7 @ Benjamin Cardozo HS, 4/8 v. Benjamin Cardozo HS Boys' Volleyball: 4/8 v. Martin Van Buren, 4/9 v. John Bowne Boys' and Gi rls' Outdoor Track: 4/10 Mayor's Cup Track and Field Champ ionship Girls' Fencing: 4/13 v. Bejamin Cardozo HS Boys' Handball: 4/8 v. Bayside HS, 4/13 v. Benjamin Cardozo HS