Vol. 26 No.7 May 2010
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aSSlC Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
149-11 Melbourne Avenue, Flushing, NY 11367
Ephebic Oath Walk honors fallen firefighters of 9/11 by Lory Martinez
The Ephebic Oath Project Walk brought over 200 Harrisites to the Queens College campus on April 25 to commemorate the lives of the 343 firefighters who passed away on 9/11 . English teacher Helen Rizzuto's sophomore classes, with the help of the Ephebic Oath team of juniors, organized the 5K (3.1 miles) walk. It served as a fundraiser for the permanent memorial to be ereated in the Malcolm Largmann library by the 10th anniversary of 9/11. The event, named after the ancient Greek pledge taken by Harris students to leave their city better than they found it, began early Saturday morning when walkers flooded the school lobby to sign in and receive their official FDNY tshirts. "There was a great sense of community among all the sophomores and it [the turnout] showed how much our hearts are truly in this project," said Tarzana Mohamed, who helped set up for the event. Committees set to work that day to keep things running smoothly. The greeters welcorned the family members of the firefighters being celebrated. Sophomore Earnesteina
Chung led the group as they got to know the families. Sophomore Emily George, a greeter, was happy to participate. "It's not very often that one gets the chance to pay homage to national heroes, brighten the day of amazing people, and work alongside "inspirational, giving people; at the walk I was able to do just that," she said. Having seen all the effort her classes had put into making the event possible, Ms. Rizzuto said, "I was really inspired by the spirit of everyone who turned out for it and by all of those who contributed their time to the walk." Before the official walk start- offby the track team, the families were brought down to the cafeteria where they enjoyed a rendition of "Somewhere over the Rainbow/ What a Wonderful World" by juniors Elaiza Santos, Chelsey Pellot and Rebecca Seidel. Elaiza, reflecting on the experience, said, "Our performance for the family members was such an intimate moment. I didn't even know where to look while singing. There was something in their faces and in the calmness of it all that human words fail to convey." Soon the walkers and families were guided to the track,
where the walk officially began after sophomore Karl Wei sang the National Anthem and Captain Alfredo Fuentes, who lost his fellow firefighters on 9/11, made a short speech. He thanked everyone for remembering his brothers, adding that the perfect weather was a sign that they were happily smiling down over the walkers. "It was very nice. The music filled up the silence and made it very lively. Captain Fuentes was very moving and it made it even more meaningful. It [the speech] definitely made me want to do more for the project," said junior walker Jeremy Manheim. Track members ran the track and continued on to the QC campus to lead walkers. "I felt great being able to run for a cause and it wasn't even a race. We ran together the whole time and crossed the line together holding hands," said junior Ellie Wu. Other walkers, like sophomore Faith Robinson, felt the same sense of unity throughout the day. "I felt connected to something greater than myself. It was like we were all moving together as one in remembrance of people we had never met but who, somehow, still touched our lives. And I' ve never been prouder," she
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said. "We walked for an hour, but it felt much shorter because of the atmosphere of togetherness and happiness given off by the people there," added senior Ashley Newman. After the route was completed, the walkers returned to the cafeteria. Thanks to nurse's aide Maria Barone, they en-
joyed a catered luncheon to the sound of Band Teacher Peter Lustig's jazz band. As the walk came to a close, thanks were given to all those who gave their time to the project. As quickly as the place filled with people, it emptied leaving only the faces of the firefighters posted on the walls outside the cafeteria.
Female human rights issues addressed during Week of Women by Pearl Bhatnagar
"Every day, women and girls face a multitude of abuses that unfortunately go overlooked, and we are hoping to shine some light on these abuses," said junior Aquib Yacoob, president of Amnesty International. Both Amnesty and the Club of Women (COW) sponsored a "Week of Women" from May 24 to May 28 to champion women's rights on both an international and local level. "Getting word out about a problem, an issue, is the first step in creating a solution," Aquib added. Stationed at "activism tables" during lunch bands throughout the week, .-
members ofboth Amnesty and COW informed their peers of the human rights abuses felt by women. Students had the opportunity to take action by signing a different petition each day. The issues addressed ranged from female genital mutilation to female health care as a human right to stopping violence against women. The clubs collected hundreds of signatures for each petition. Students were also asked to decorate construction paper t-shirts and butterflies, and to create their own versions of popsicle stick "worry dolls." "The practice of making worry dolls first emerged in
Babstock Book Review
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(CEDAW) treaty, known by many as an "international bill of rights for women." " A Women's Rights Forum held May 27 during lunch bands addressed the issue of maternal mortality. Guest speaker Heather Lasher, coordinator for Amnesty's "Stop Violence Against Women" campaign, informed students of the high rate of pregnancy-related deaths around the globe. She explained that a pregnant woman will die each minute this year. English teacher and COW advisor Judy Biener followed up with a self-defense class. "Internationally and proportionally, women are the vic-
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tims of violence at the hands of men. These are huge issues and one way we can address them is by teaching small groups self-defense who will then teach it to others and on and on," she said. Aquib believes that Harrisites have an obligation to help this cause. He said, "Upon entering Harris, students take the Ephebic Oath, pledging not to leave 'their city any less, but rather greater than they found it.' Getting involved with women's rights, human rights in general, is a great way to fulfill that pledge." (For Harrisites' attitudes on women' s issues, see page 9.)
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the Mayan civilization as a means to cope with the worries of daily life. Amnesty has revived this ancient activity as a means of symbolizing the mothers of the world who are daily losing their life to violence, inadequate health care and other pregnancy-related complications," said Amnesty member and senior Laraib Ijaz. The dolls created by Harisites will contribute to Amnesty International's greater goal of collecting and sending 10,000 dolls to Congress to support the ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
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"American Idiot" Review
Debating Feminism
pg. 7
Alice in Harrisland
pg. 9
pg.10
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