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March2011 Vol. 27No. 5 f
Townsend Harris High School at Queens College
Festival of Nations s owcases cultural diversity by Margaret Jia and Yuval Solomon Audience members traveled around the world on the night of March 10 as they watched over 400 dancers, singers, and actors perform in the annual Festival ofNations (FON). The 22 performances displayed the cultm:al diversity of Townsend Harris. Acts included songs from Classical Languages teacher Marianthe Colakis' Latin classes, an Indian dandiya routine from the student group "Chamkudi Re," and a Filipino routine . from "Flip and Funky Fresp." The evening ended with a sing-along to Katy Perry's song "Firework." Spanish teacher Beatriz Ezquerra, this year's FON coordinator, worked with co-presidents Aiya Aboubakr andAquib Yacoob, both seniors, to put the event together. "I had the chance of attending practically all rehearsals and I have seen how committed and enthusiastic students were to show their cultures and how proud they are to be able to present their traditions in our school," said Ms. Ezquerra. "The Festival ofNations is not just a showcase of our school's ethnic mosaic, but an appreciation and tolerance of such diversity," said Aiya. "It was most fascinating to see students of contrasting cultures work together to teach one another their respective dances and celebrate their individuality." Assistant Principal of Languages, Art, and Music She added, "Every year [FON] is different Lisa Mars, who also helped organize the event, said, because there are different cultures [participating]." "It was wonderful to see students learning cultural Two of the new cultures this year included Romanian expressions and teaching each other in a very and American. Many performers and audience members said respectful and dignified manner."
Administration mandates AP US History for juniors by Rebecca Seidel The administration is requiring all juniors to enroll in Advanced Placement (AP) United States History starting next year, citing statistics indicating student preparedness for the course, as well as a growing trend in AP enrollment nationwide. This decision has drawn mixed reactions from students - some vehemently oppose the idea - but Principal Kenneth Bonamo maintains that it's in the students' and the school's best interests to mandate the course. "Similarly talented students in other schools are taking this class," said Mr. Bonamo, adding that programs with more AP classes are becoming the norm for top college-bound students. "I want our school to be as competitive as possible." Statistics from AP Potential, a service from the College Board, show that the top 75% of Harris students score in the top 20% nationwide on the PSAT. Past correlations between Harrisites' PSAT scores and their AP US History scores suggest that a large portion of juniors have the potential to excel on the AP exam. continued on PaJte 3
INSIDE: FON ticket scalping
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they enjoyed the event. Senior Brian Rivera performed in FON last year but was a spectator this year. "There was a lot more energy than usual," he said. continued on Page 6
Japanese relief effort commences by Ella Leviyeva and Genna Mastellone Following the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and resulting tsunami in Japan, students immediately began efforts to aid the affected region. COSA advisor Aleeza Widman held a committee meeting for Japanese relief on March 17. Students attended in order offer their support to the fundraising effort. "Everybody wants to do something, which is amazing but it needs to be more organized," Ms.Widman said at the meeting. She continued, "It shouldn't be divided by clubs; it should be a school event: our community helping another community." The students at the meeting discussed fundraiser ideas such as collecting money in envelopes, wearing ribbons, holding bake sales, and making 1000 paper cranes. For each crane students make, the Bezos Family Foundation will donate two dollars to the Japanese relief effort. Junior Max Bachhuber said, "Considering I am running Harrisfest, the proceeds [of
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which] are being donated in their entirety to Japan, I believe our efforts will be very effective. Last year we collected a 'large amount, but any amount tends to go far in relief efforts." Ms.Widman later stated, "The Consultative Council meeting pointed out that this should be done quickly because world tragedies happen almost every other week nowadays, so action should be taken in a timely manner." Junior Kari Wei, a student in Principal Kenneth Bonamo's Current Events class, said, "People think, 'Well, Japan is a wealthy country and it doesn't need outside financial help,' but in retrospect, we are an equally wealthy country, but New Orleans required outside assistance as well after Hurricane Katrina." Harris's Red Cross Club is also participating in accumulating contributions. Club member and sophomore Androniqi Kurtezi said, "Volunteers will be going continued on Page 3
Weight Training
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Pecoraro on Millionaire page9