TO THE COMMUNITIES OF STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL, TRIBECA, AND BATTERY PARK CITY

The Stuyvesant Standard

www.stuystandard.org

“Your School, Your World—Your News” 
Volume VI, Issue 9 Friday, February 02, 2007 Free

Candy for Sale PLUS

OPINIONS P/3 Freak Chickens
Video Game Review
Produce Drug Special, Stuy Voice,
Containing Eggs
priorityfundraising.com

Parents: Where Did The Sports Beat, and

healthscotland.org.uk
SCIENCE P/8
They Go Wrong? much more inside...
SCIENCE P/8 corbis

Harvard Proposes Junior Comedy Night

Campus Expansion BY DAVID YIN
STAFF WRITER
Several students who went to
the event found the experience to
be incredibly hilarious. Junior
Junior Comedy Night took
BY HESHAM SALEH ject will take about 50 years and place on Friday, January 19 at the Tracy Mak said, “It was really
STAFF WRITER billions of dollars to complete. Laugh Factory near Times Square fun. The comedians were great.
On January 11, Harvard Uni- The proposal, which is still from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Comedians They really gave us good jokes.”
versity announced its plan to ex- awaiting city approval, would entertained the various juniors Indeed, the jokes dished out by
pand the Harvard campus from change Allston in a dramatic fash- who attended. The students were the comedians kept the students
Cambridge to Allston, which is ion. First, it will move Soldiers served chips and soda as they laughing and craving more. When
across the Charles River. This Field Road, a major street in Alls- laughed wildly at the perform- asked which joke was the most
plan is supposed to convert over ton, underground. This change ances.
will give students easier access to Continued on Page 2
200 acres of land into another
Harvard Square, which will have the Harvard campus. The plan
academic and athletic buildings,
as well as student dormitories.
will create wider streets and 30
acres of free space. Results of the Columbia
This proposal looks very benefi- Harvard’s football stadium
cial to the Allston community
because it will create 14,000 to
and Harvard Business School are
already situated in Allston. The
Invitational
15,000 jobs. However, this pro- Continued on Page 3 BY GARRY CHIEN take part in five preliminary
STAFF WRITER rounds. In Lincoln-Douglas (LD)
From January 19 to 21, The Debate, the debate is one-on-one.
Stuyvesant Speech and Debate In Public Forum Debate, it is two-
Team competed in the Columbia on-two. There are two divisions
Invitational Tournament located in Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Jun-
at Columbia University. ior Varsity and Varsity; Public
In Lincoln-Douglas and Pub- Forum has one division. In each
lic Forum Debate, competitors Continued on Page 3

An Interview with
Olivier Martinez
Nintendo

BY JENNIFER SCHLESINGER
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Olivier Mart inez pl a ys
Gabriel, the leader of a group of
loup garoux, humans who can
turn into wolf-like creatures, in
“Blood and Chocolate,” which
debuted on January 26. I recently
had the chance to interview the
actor along with other student
journalists.
Martinez was asked many
questions about his role in “Blood
and Chocolate.” He felt the role
was a challenge because “[he]
was being half-man [and] half-
wolf.” He said that he was French actor Olivier Martinez.
“sharing [the] role with [the]
wolf.” wolves, they went to a “wolf-
In order to help Martinez and camp.” Martinez called the ex-
the rest of the cast learn about perience very interesting and ex-
Continued on Page 7
Page 2 Friday, February 02, 2007 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

THE STUYVESANT STANDARD  Wii Contest Kills Woman

Founded 2001
BY ALLEN WANG was going to be easy,” said fellow
  STAFF WRITER contestant James Ybarra of
  Woodland. “They told us if you

news.bbc.co.uk
don't feel like you can do this;
  don't put your health at risk.” Un-
“Your School, Your World—Your News”  der normal circumstances water
intoxication is a very rare condi-
Executive Leadership Team tion. It happens when a person
intake too much water in a short
period of time causing the tissues
DR. JOHN NIKOL FACULTY ADVISER of the body to swell with water,
JENNIFER SCHLESINGER EDITOR IN CHIEF which in turn can cause seizures,
DEREK WENG MANAGING EDITOR comas and death if not treated.
DIANE CHEN CO-CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER One of her coworkers, Laura
KHOI NGUYEN CO-CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
FANNY TANG LAYOUT EDITOR
Rios, had a phone conversation
The contestants started on small bottles
DANNY ZHU COPY CHIEF and worked up. with Strange. She said that
JIMMY ZHANG NEWS EDITOR Strange’s head was hurting very
PRISCILLA MELO OPINIONS EDITOR A contest to win a brand-new much as she was on her way
EMMA RABINOVICH ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
Nintendo Wii was the cause of home. “She was crying and that
ERIC MAYO SPORTS EDITOR was the last that anyone has heard
JOSEPH KRUTOV death of a 28-year-old women,
SCIENCE EDITOR
Jennifer Strange, who would have from her.” Strange was trying to
HANFORD CHIU BUSINESS EDITOR win one of the consoles for her
JESSE ZHANG WEBMASTER been the runner-up of the contest.
The contest, called “Hold Your three children. She was later
BENNETT HONG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER Wee for a Wii,” was held by found dead in her home. After a
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS KDND 107.9 in California. It preliminary autopsy, it was deter-
pitted contestants against one an- mined that she died from water
other to see which one of them intoxication. John Geary, vice
Publication could drink the most water with- president and marketing manager
out having to go to the restroom. for Entercom Sacramento, the
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a nonprofit and nonpartisan publication pro-
Contestants were given eight- station’s owner, said station staff
duced by the students of Stuyvesant High School.
ounce bottles to drink every 15 were “stunned” at the tragedy.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi-weekly
minutes, although it’s unclear The radio station immediately
basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and through-
how much water Strange actually fired 10 people, including all of
out the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park City.
took in. “They were small little the DJ’s related to this incident. ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any published mate- half-pint bottles, so we thought it
rial. The viewpoints of contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Standard staff.

Copyright ©2006 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

Junior Comedy Night
Continued from Page 1 were given raffle tickets, and at
Contact Us memorable, junior Sam Crisanto the end of the show, one of the
comedians, along with junior
replied, “[the] Asian guy when he
Please direct all correspondence to: [just arrived in] America [and] president Michelle Lee, drew the
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD couldn’t get his Metrocard to raffle tickets. Mak said, “I wanted
345 Chambers Street work. Too fast, too slow, too fast, to win the Starbucks gift card.”
New York, NY 10282-1000 too slow… you should take bus! . Junior Alvis Yuen won a movie
readers@stuystandard.org . . too fast, too slow . . .” Crisanto pass through the raffle.
Find us on the web at www.stuystandard.org also said that “the best comedian Junior Comedy Night was a
there was the main act with the great experience for many stu-
Advertising African American,” who consis- dents. The comics were hysteri-
If you would like to advertise in THE STUYVESANT STANDARD, please e-mail tently threw funny sexual innuen- cally funny and told incredibly
advertising@stuystandard.org to request an advertisement form. We offer dos at the crowd. side-splitting jokes. Chips and
a broad range of options including full color capability for your advertis- After the show, there was a soda were served and constantly
ing needs. raffle, with many small prizes. refilled. Many students found the
Anybody who went was eligible raffle to be a nice ending to the
to win a free smoothie, a Star- show. As Crisanto put it,
Subscription bucks gift card worth five dollars “Overall, this was a fun event to
or a free movie pass. Upon en- celebrate the end of a term.” ◙
trance, members of the audience
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
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THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Harvard Proposes Campus Expansion
Continued from Page 1
plan intends to also move the sci-
ence research and athletic facili-
ties into Allston, as well as the
Harvard Graduate School of Edu-
cation and the Harvard School of
Public Health.
The plan will also create an
industrialized community. There
will be room for stores, museums,
performance centers and a mall.
In many ways, the community
will be the linkage between the
residential neighborhood of Alls-
ton and the Cambridge campus.
There are some people who
approve of the plan, and others
who are opposed to it. Mayor
Thomas Menino commended the
proposal for the new community,
saying, “The community will
benefit with the job creation ef-
forts and new amenities.”
Results of the Columbia Invitational
Continued from Page 1
preliminary round, there is one
judge, who decides the winner of
the round and gives speaker
points. The number of speaker
points ranges from 1 to 30 and is
based on how well a debater
spoke. The first two preliminary
rounds are based on random se-
lection. After that, the rounds are
“power matched,” so that com-
petitors debate against people
with similar win/loss records and
speaker points. After the five pre-
liminary rounds, the top 32 debat-
ers in each division advance to
the elimination rounds. The elimi-
nation rounds are double-octos,
octos, quarters, semifinals, and
finals. In these rounds, there is
more than one judge. If the deci-
sion isn’t unanimous, it goes by
majority.
In the Junior Varsity LD De-
bate competition, Arthur L. John-
son High School’s Alexander
Castro defeated TJ Golden from
Sacred Heart High School to win.
Lee Schleifer-Katz of Stuyvesant
made it to the semifinals, losing
Generation Imitation
BY AMNA AHMAD
COLUMNIST
Sometimes the overwhelming
amount of schoolwork and preoc-
cupation we have with securing a
successful future force us to ig-
nore the things about our genera-
tion that make it stick out from all
the others. Then again the ques-
tion surfaces of whether there
would be anything at all that we’ll
be able look back on in our old
Friday, February 02, 2007 NEWS/OPINIONS
Rowers on the Charles River paddle toward an arched bridge near Harvard and
Cambridge Universities.
Although the mayor has
shown his approval of the plan,
to Castro. In Junior Varsity, Stuy-
vesant’s Khatiya Chelidze and
Neha Sharma made it to double-
octos.In the Varsity division, Nis-
kayuna High School’s Sam Gron-
dahl defeated Walt Whitman High
School’s Xiaoqi Zhu. Stuyve-
sant’s Jared Dummitt and Yan
Slavinskiy made it to the quarters,
losing to finalist Grondahl and
Hunter College’s Zayn Siddique.
Stuyvesant’s Claire Bulger and
Georgia Stasinopoulos made it to
double-octos.
For the speech side of the
tournament, the speakers are
grouped into groups of about six
and judges rank them. The top-
ranked speakers make it to the
elimination rounds. In the Decla-
mation Speech contest, for which
students give speeches written by
other people, Stuyvesant’s Jimmy
Wang, Christine Yeoun and
Karthiga Emmanuel made it to
the semifinals. In the Duo Inter-
pretation Category, for which two
speakers work together a give a
performance of a piece of litera-
ture, Stuyvesant’s team of
STUY VOICE
age and laugh at.
When I think of the fashion
that defines our generation, I
think of Chuck Taylors, multicol-
ored tights, and teased skinny
jeans. But isn’t that what teenag-
ers have been wearing since the
1980’s? After looking through an
old yearbook from 1985, I’m not
sure what I’ll do if I see another
pair of Chuck Taylors again.
Vintage clothing seems to be in
fashion lately, but to me, exploit-
corbis
many people in the community
have not. Bob van Meter, Presi-
Rosenbaum & Hon placed fifth.
Extemporaneous Speaking is a
category where each speaker is
given a topic to write a speech on
and limited time to write the
speech. In this category Suman
Som made it to the semifinal
round and Shabil Billah made it
to the quarterfinal round. For Oral
Interpretation, each speaker reads
a piece of literature in an engag-
ing manner. Evan Kolesnick
placed third, and Miles Purinton
and Nina Charap made it to the
semifinal round. Warlito deLeon,
Jennifer Lau and Paul Silverman
made it to the quarterfinal round.
The Original Oratory Category is
one in which speakers write their
own speeches and give them.
Stuyvesant did very well in this
division, with Maureen Chung
placing third, Michelle Luo plac-
ing fourth and Evan Schwartz
placing fifth.
Overall, the Stuyvesant
Speech and Debate Team did well
at the Columbia Invitational. ◙
ing a dead woman’s clothes just
to look like Madonna is a desper-
ate attempt to duplicate an earlier
age. In accordance with this
view, 86 percent of students agree
that our generation of pop culture
borrows from or imitates past
generations.
As far as music is concerned,
I find myself preferring music
from decades ago over the music
of today. It’s evident that teenag-
Continued on Page 4
Page 3
dent of the Allston Brighton
Community Development Corpo-
ration, said, “Folks in the commu-
nity are trying to figure out how
Harvard’s growth can coexist
with a vital urban neighborhood.”
He was also a bit uneasy about
the plan himself, saying “I think
there’s still a lot of unanswered
questions.”
Some residents, such as
Harry Mattison, are afraid that the
plan, if it is carried out, will cut
the two communities apart. This
contradicts the original purpose of
the plan — to unite these two
communities. Mattison summed
up many people’s worries when
he said, “Could it be that they’ll
[Allston and Cambridge] be di-
vided by not that much distance,
but in some ways be miles apart?”
◙
Candy for
Sale
BY HUI TING JIANG
STAFF WRITER
One in three Americans skip
breakfast on a regular basis. This
is shocking, considering the nu-
merous studies that make clear
the dire consequences of this ill-
advised choice. For Stuyvesant
students, it is either going to
school early to get the free break-
fast available in the cafeteria or
rushing up the steps and buying a
candy bar from a vendor. Every-
one knows an ideal nutritious
breakfast is something that is not
hartenterprisesfr.com
Many of what is sold are not healthy
for students.
only healthy, but satisfying and
wholesome as well. But who actu-
ally takes the time to sit down and
enjoy the lost meal we call break-
fast? “I just get some SweetTarts
or chocolate,” said freshman
Yvonne. Who is the accomplice
to the crime of choosing a bad
breakfast?
It might just be you: the per-
son who carries a box of candy
around the halls of Stuyvesant.
The consumer can choose from
the “satisfying” Snickers bar,
cubes of sugar known as Star-
bursts, or the peanut-buttery taste
of Reese’s Cups. The sugar con-
Continued on Page 4
Page 4
Candy for Sale
Continued from Page 3
corbis
A healthy alternative to candy bars is
trail mix.
tent in candy bars is staggering. A
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar
alone contains 22 grams of sugar.
Some like, Ada Leung, call it a
“sugar rush in the morning.” At
this rate, the only rush you’ll be
getting is one to the hospital if
you don’t change your eating hab-
its. Even Hershey’s warns you to
“enjoy in moderation.” Although
the profit goes to the funding of
Stuyvesant’s numerous clubs, the
Keep Cool In a Hot
Market Or You Might
Just Get Burned
BY SIHONG HUANG
STAFF WRITER
Today’s market is filled with
excitement as talk of record-
breaking highs circulates around
Wall Street. The reactions from
investors and brokers are usually
one of two:
a) Stocks are rolling again; I
must get in on the action.
b) I’ve seen this before, better
keep it safe and bail.
Usually when 55 percent of in-
vestment newsletter writers are
bullish, the market is at the top.
As of right now we’re at:
• 14 percent: 2006 return of
the S&P 500
• 60 percent: newsletter writers
who are optimistic (bullish)
• 56 percent: bulls in January
2000 before the market
crashed
One of the reasons investors
should stay cool in a hot market is
that when a market is at the top,
the fall could hurt. People tend to
feel optimistic after hearing about
bonus pays for Wall Street firms
reach new heights and that there
is invested cash sitting in mutual
funds, but in this kind of situation
people also feel giddy or scared.
When you’re feeling a lack of
Friday, February 02, 2007 OPED/BUSINESS
consequences are not so profit-
able. The apparent decrease in
health has already been noted by
the government. Physical educa-
tion tests have been issued in
some elementary and middle
schools. A ban of trans fat was
recently put into effect. Commer-
cials offering pills for weight loss
such as the NV pill are common-
place. Even school lunches are
getting health-conscious by bak-
ing foods that are usually fried.
As for selling candy for the
benefit of clubs/pubs at Stuyve-
sant, I suggest vending wiser food
choices such as whole grain gra-
nola bars, or hearty trail mix. The
occasional indulgent Dark Choco-
late Raisinets won’t be a problem
since Stuyvesant has ten stories
for students to walk up and down.
When purchasing these snacks,
keep in mind that you’re helping
the Stuyvesant community as well
as your grumbling stomach,
which needs vitamins and miner-
als. Bon appetit! ◙
control, the way to get it back is
not to initiate a rash commitment
that will be regretted in the fu-
ture.
People are better off invest-
ing if they get over the impulse to
try to “nail it.” People do greater
harm than good when they mess
with their portfolios. Brett N.
Steenbarger, a clinical psycholo-
gist and author of “Enhancing
Trader Performance,” stated that
humans experience nervous
breakdowns when a big gain or
loss in wealth occurs, that our
brains don’t work correctly the
way they do when we’re calm.
In an unscientific survey con-
ducted by Money magazine, three
people were asked if they were a
bull or a bear in response to the
current market:
a) “A bull. Real estate will
correct a bit, but everything
else is moving along.” –
Cary
b) “I’m a bull, I’m a bull.” –
John Woram
c) “A bear. Times are chang-
ing and things are going to
get tough.” – Lloyd Clunie
Sr.
Most people fall for the trap
and act bullish when it is more
opportune (according to ex-
perts) to stay a bear. ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
STUY VOICE
Generation Imitation
n’t deserve. I’m sure that every-
Continued from Page 3
one has heard an older person
ers today simply cannot let go of
describe how much harder school
the classics of the 70’s, 80’s and
was without the Internet. Be-
90’s such as Queen, The Beastie
cause of this technology, too
Boys and Nirvana. Maybe it has
much is expected of us. I guess
something to do with a long
that certain individuals are reluc-
streak of bad music in our current
tant to consider the possibility of
generation. For me, it’s difficult
a computer crash within minutes
to decipher one song from another
of a Saturday deadline for a re-
and everything just sounds like
port, or the possibility of your
organized noise.
...86 percent of students agree that our gen-
eration of pop culture borrows from or imi-
tates past generations.
homework being posted on Sun-
Just what is it that causes our
generation to lag behind in day at four in the afternoon and
due the next morning.
uniqueness? It may have some-
thing to do with the current ad- It’s arguable what we should
think of our generation now, but
vancements in techn olog y.
Maybe if teenagers of our genera- the truth about it will be revealed
in the near future when we look
tion spent more time playing
sports in the street with the back and see how little things
have actually changed. I wonder
neighborhood kids like our par-
ents did, rather than hanging out what I’ll say to my kids when
on YouTube, we’d be getting they ask me what life was like
somewhere. When asked whether when I was a teen. As disappoint-
technology in a way defines our
current generation, 95 percent of
ing as it may seem, I’m not sure if
I’ll have anything interesting to
students responded “yes.” In ad- say because it seems that the so-
dition to having far too great of
an impact on the life of a typical
cial evolution of the world has
come to an end — a generational
teenager, technology has given Armageddon. ◙
our generation a label that it does-
The Next Wall Street
Could Be in China or
Europe
BY HANFORD CHIU The report concluded that
BUSINESS EDITOR New York and the United States
According to a report issued were trailing in the following
three ways: lack of regulation
in part by Mayor Bloomberg,
against frivolous lawsuits, com-
New York City is trailing behind
plicated regulatory laws and a
the rest of the world as a leading
declining pool of talented work-
financial capital, and could soon
ers. One of the concerns is the
lose the title in as little as 10
red tape of regulation all over
years. Senator Charles Schumer
large businesses since the col-
(D-NY) joins with Bloomberg in
lapse of Enron. In response to that
issuing a 134-page report urging
and other accounting fraud, Con-
legal and regulatory reform to
gress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley
make the United States market
more attractive. Continued on Page 5
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
The Next Wall Street Could Be
in China or Europe
Continued from Page 4
Act in 2002 to impose a number
of financial control reforms. The
act is policy that fails to empha-
size principles of ethics, but
rather imposes many small rules.
Furthermore, strict immigration
policies have affected the number
of skilled professionals allowed to
work in their fields, leaving col-
lege-educated immigrants work-
ing in jobs food carts on the
streets. The impact of this regula-
tion is clear in the effects on Wall
Street. Just 16 percent of global
A collage of “All in the Family,” a controversial CBS sitcom that aired from 1971
to 1983.
All in the Family
BY TASSO BOUNTOUVAS
STAFF WRITER
“All in the Family” aired on
CBS from 1971 to 1983. For five
years, it was the top-rated show
on American television and won
four consecutive Emmy Awards
for Outstanding Comedy Series.
“All in the Family” was one of
the most successful, significant
and influential sitcoms in history.
It began a new era of American
television filled with programs
that weren’t afraid of addressing
controversial or social subjects.
The plot of “All in the Fam-
ily” centered on the Bunker fam-
ily in Queens, New York. The
family patriarch, Archie Bunker,
played by Carroll O’Connor, was
a bigoted loading dock worker
bothered by the changes in
American society. To Archie,
achievements by the “Spades,”
“Spics” or “Hebes” of America
(as he usually referred to Blacks,
Hispanics and Jews, respectively),
came at his expense and that of
other lower-middle class
“whites.” His sweet but flighty
“dingbat” wife, Edith, was the
Friday, February 02, 2007 BUSINESS/A&E
IPO’s (initial public offerings)
were listed in New York, con-
trasted to Europe’s 63 percent
share, more than double last
year’s percentage. The United
States is still the world’s largest
financial market with $51 trillion
worth of equities, debt and bank
deposits in 2005, but markets in
Europe and Asia are growing
faster, and securities jobs are in-
creasingly being created overseas,
while financial services in New
York are declining. ◙
sitcomsonline.com
complete opposite. Edith, played
by Jean Stapleton, usually toler-
ated Archie’s rants in order to
avoid disagreement. However,
that wasn’t the case with Archie’s
live-in son-in-law Mike Stivic,
played by Rob Reiner. Mike was
a liberal college student who mar-
ried the Bunkers’ daughter, Glo-
ria, played by Sally Struthers. The
quarrels between Archie and
Mike, or as Archie called him,
“Meathead,” served as the foun-
dation for much of the show’s
comedy. Because both characters
were extremely vocal about their
viewpoints, heated conflict be-
tween the two was guaranteed.
“All in the Family” seemed to
revel in breaking primetime’s
previously unshakable prohibi-
tions. Archie’s regular attacks
laced with racial and ethnic la-
bels, Mike and Gloria’s appar-
ently active sex life, and the
sounds of Archie’s belching and
of flushing toilets all broke sit-
com convention. Even though the
show’s pilot episode consistently
rated below average in research
Continued on Page 7
Dreamgirls:
Just Another Pretty Face
BY EMMA RABINOVICH
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
movies.yahoo.com
Sharon Leal, Beyonce Knowles, and
Anika Noni Rose in DreamWorks Pic-
tures' and Paramount Pictures
“Dreamgirls.”
With all the Golden Globe
buzz surrounding the movie, I
expected another bittersweet tale
of three girls who came from the
wrong side of town, fought
against the odds, and finally made
it, singing along the way. Fortu-
nately, in terms of plotline and
musical number, the movie defi-
nitely exceeded expectations.
The musical numbers were
Children of Men
BY ROBERT COLBOURN
STAFF WRITER
Yahoo! Movies
Poster of Universal Pictures'
“Children of Men.”
For most of 2006, sci-fi
movie-goers were undoubtedly
disappointed by the severe lack of
decent science fiction movies.
However, they definitely felt a
sense of awe and relief if they
saw “Children of Men” this De-
cember. A depiction of a dark,
post-apocalyptic future is just
Page 5
well placed and helped the movie
gain momentum. The fact that
they were sung by girls with pow-
erhouse voices is just icing on the
cake. “Listen,” which acts as Be-
yonce’s little coming-out party, is
actually so good you’ll want to
buy the soundtrack.
Created by writer and direc-
tor Bill Condon, “Dreamgirls” is
based on the Broadway musical
about a trio of black female soul
singers who cross over to the pop
charts in the early 1960’s. Deena
Jones (Beyonce), Effie White
(former American Idol contestant
Jennifer Hudson) and Lorrell
Robinson (Anika Noni Rose) start
out as small-time singers aiming
for the top, with Effie in the lead.
However, when their manager
Curtis Taylor Jr. (Jamie Foxx)
decides that the slimmer, prettier
Deena should sing lead, tensions
explode and Effie ends up leaving
the group. Fortunately, the swing-
ing door goes both ways and she’s
quickly replaced by Michelle
Morris (Sharon Leal).
There is a 10--minute inter-
lude when you’re bombarded by a
collage of pretty images of Be-
yonce in different outfits and
hairstyles that acts as an “and
Continued on Page 7
what the public needed. It clearly
surpassed all expectations in its
use of computer-generated im-
agery, and the cast was perfectly
put together. Its controversial
view of 2027 was an emotional
thriller, with virtually no comedic
relief to break the moment.
Theo Faron (Clive Owen), a
reluctant activist-turned-
bureaucrat, is living in a world in
which the youngest person in the
world has just died at 18. Women
have become infertile slowly,
with no known scientific reason.
It is a time of complete anarchy;
the only nation in the world that
has not been thrown into chaos is
Britain. As a result, it has to act
as a refuge for many people in the
world, causing a war between the
government, which is trying to
limit immigration, and terrorist
groups, which are trying to create
equal rights for the refugees. Yet
when one refugee woman, Kee
(Claire-Hope Ashitey), is found to
be pregnant, hope for the survival
of the human race emerges. Theo,
now thrust in a struggle to protect
this woman, goes through a jour-
Continued on Page 7
Page 6
Video Game Review Special
Elite Beat Castlevania
Agents
BY JONATHAN XIKIS
COLUMNIST
Nintendo
Elite Beat Agents, a game for the
Nintendo DS.
Imagine, for a moment, that
you are a teenage girl and you
want to go steady with your foot-
ball jock boyfriend. Just as you
are about to ask him, the doorbell
rings and you are given four
rowdy children to baby-sit for!
Who could possibly save you
from this plight? Time to call in
the Elite Beat Agents! These gov-
ernment agents help people solve
ordinary — or extraordinary —
problems through the power of
dance. Also known as EBA, this
long-awaited rhythm pseudogame
for Nintendo DS looks decep-
tively simple, but is jam-packed
with quality music, amazing
graphics and four difficulty lev-
els, each with different main char-
acters, catering to everyone from
the first-timer to the experienced
master.
The mechanics of EBA are
almost exactly like those of “Osu!
Tatakae! Ouendan!,” a Japanese
game released in 2005, which,
though it had limited success in
its home country, soon became an
import phenomenon. Its pick-up-
and-play nature made it fun even
for those who couldn’t understand
Japanese. EBA takes this winning
formula, upgrades it, and sets it in
Americanized surroundings, with
completely new scenarios and
songs. In both games, you play as
a secret agent, specially trained in
the art of dance, who uses the
uplifting power of music to help
people in trouble around the
world. EBA replaces the trench-
coat-clad dancers of Ouendan
wi t h b l a c k - s u i t e d , B l u e s -
Brothers-esque agents, who travel
around in a 60’s-style convertible.
The goal of the game is to
help the person, who is intro-
Continued on Page 8
Friday, February 02, 2007 A&E
Back to the Future of Gaming
BY JONATHAN XIKIS
COLUMNIST
The year is 1944. World War
II has taken its toll, and millions
of souls wander the Earth without
peace. In the midst of destruction
and chaos arises the ultimate evil:
Dracula’s Castle. However, there
is hope, in the form of novice
vampire hunter Jonathan Morris
and teenage witch Charlotte
Aulin. This unlikely duo pos-
sesses the skills needed to destroy
Dracula once and for all — as-
suming the two manage to get
past Brauner, a powerful vampire
who has barred the way using
magical paintings of immense
power, as well as his two daugh-
ters, who hide a dark secret.
“Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin” is
the newest game in the Castleva-
nia series, which is famous for
making good use of old-school
side-scrolling action.
“Portrait of Ruin” improves
on its predecessor, “Dawn of Sor-
row,” in many ways. Now, you
control not just one, but two char-
Battlefield 2142
Has the Series Frozen Over?
BY JONATHAN XIKIS
STAFF WRITER
After a century of political
stalling and nonstop atmospheric
pollution, humankind has realized
that global warming is, indeed,
very real. After melting the
Earth’s ice caps, it has caused a
phenomenon resembling “The Day
After Tomorrow,” plunging the
Earth into a new ice age. The last
fertile land left, around the equa-
tor, is enough to fight — and die
— for. This is where the online
first-person shooter Battlefield
2142 begins, as you play the role
of a soldier from one of two op-
posing factions, the European Un-
ion and the Pan-Asian Coalition,
both of which are fighting for con-
trol of Europe and the unfrozen
land of North Africa. BF2142 of-
fers nonstop action, but sticks too
much to the formula of its prede-
cessor, Battlefield 2, for its own
good.
BF2142 still accommodates
up to 64 players at once on truly
gigantic maps. This makes for epic
battles, in which multiple things
can be happening at once. Un-
doubtedly, there will be at least
one moment in which you are
IGN.com
The two main characters in Castleva-
nia: Portrait of Ruin.
acters at once, on their quest to
fight their way through Dracula’s
Castle and save the world. Jona-
than is confident and strong with
physical attacks, while Charlotte
is skilled in magic, but otherwise
weak. The well-developed partner
system allows you to fight with
both characters at once, or use
them separately to solve puzzles.
A screenshot of Battlefield 2142
stunned by your Rambo-esque act
of bravery, such as single-
handedly destroying the core of a
giant flying fortress and parachut-
ing to safety. This is countered by
the fact that you may be banging
your keyboard after being repeat-
edly killed by an overzealous APC
gunner or a bad pilot. The game’s
graphics are slightly better than
BF2’s, with enhanced explosions
and dust effects that will put a
load on all but the most advanced
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Along with this, new skills have
been introduced which allow the
characters to use powerful team
attacks or jump on each other’s
shoulders to reach high areas. A
quest system has been introduced,
in which you can find rare items
and spells. Finally, the frustrating
“dominance” system from DoS, in
which the main character would
randoml y absorb monsters’
“souls” to gain special attacks,
has been eliminated in favor of a
more predictable, skill-based sys-
tem, in which your attacks in-
crease in power the more you use
them.
A slew of new monsters,
weapons and items have been
added since Dawn of Sorrow. The
most interesting is Jonathan’s use
of whips, specifically the power-
ful Vampire Killer, which will be
instantly recognizable to veterans.
The game even goes so far as to
place some of the previous
game’s best-loved bosses into a
special area, the “Den of Evil,”
Continued on Page 7
bdgamers.com
graphics cards. A staple of the
series is its large variety of vehi-
cles, such as the tank and the air
transport. Unfortunately, the only
new vehicle types added since
BF2 are the Battlewalker (a slow
but powerful mech-like tank) and
Gunship (a future version of the
helicopter with a jet engine). This
change has given more power to
ground forces, which were once at
the mercy of a good jet pilot. One
Continued on Page 8
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Olivier Martinez in MGM’s “Blood and Chocolate.”
An Interview with Olivier Martinez
Continued from Page 1
citing. He said, “I am fascinated
by [the] wild in general, [the]
wolf in particular.” He enjoyed
experiencing the knowledge of
the wolf as he felt wolves could
perceive one’s feelings, so people
must not be afraid around them.
The filming of the movie was
done in Romania. However, Mar-
tinez said that he did not see
much of Romania, as he was
working hard and had to concen-
trate on his part.
The actor was unable to cate-
gorize roles in such groupings as
villain or good guy. He said, “I
don’t see a role as good or bad.”
Instead, he tends to see roles as
“interesting or not.” Of his role as
Gabriel, he said that humans may
see him as a villain, but from the
point of the wolf he is just fulfill-
ing his nature. Of roles in general,
Martinez said, “all [of my] roles
have a common point, me.”
Martinez was also asked
questions about his acting in gen-
eral. Of his choice to become an
actor, he said, “I did it by
chance.” He used to be a boxer,
Dreamgirls: Just Another
Pretty Face
Continued from Page 5
movies.yahoo.com
Beyonce Knowles and Jamie Foxx in
DreamWorks Pictures' and Paramount
Pictures' “Dreamgirls.”
then some time later,” but after a
while even the biggest Beyonce
fan will feel overwhelmed. In
fact, the movie’s greatest short-
coming is its inability to take the
camera off its leading lady long
enough to give someone else a
Friday, February 02, 2006 A&E
movies.yahoo.com
but a car accident left him unable
to continue. In his own words, he
“didn’t know what to do.” Look-
ing back, the actor said, “I don’t
regret [the decision].” Despite the
fact that his family did not believe
in him, Martinez kept dreaming,
and dreaming big. He is more
interested in enjoying his profes-
sion than its benefits. Martinez
sees the awards that he has won
as a result of circumstances and
nice, but not extraordinary. He
said that being recognized does
not bother him. Overall, he said,
“I consider myself a very privi-
leged person”
Martinez feels that any role is
a challenge as the actor cannot
control the role. He said an actor
has to improvise, especially when
working with children or animals.
Fortunately, Martinez likes this
aspect of his job. He said he must
always show the best to the crowd
even though an actor’s perform-
ances are a mix of “what you
want to do and can do.” However,
he did note that an actor never
stands alone; there is always a
team behind him. ◙
turn.
The sudden change in mood
in the second half of the movie
(after the exit of Effie) is also too
drastic. It goes from hopeful to
melancholy too quickly with
nothing in between; the Dream-
girls fight for their dream and
then the dream falls apart. The
movie takes a very clichéd ap-
proach to success and only shows
that it destroys people and cor-
rupts friendships, which makes
the girls’ dreams of success seem
meaningless and empty.
However, the actors give ter-
rific performances (especially
Jamie Foxx and Jennifer Hudson)
and the music is great, so in the
end, everything falls into place. ◙
Page 7
Children of Men
Continued from Page 5 which everyone has lost hope and
ney of confusion, heartbreak and the world is being torn apart. Its
a drive to actually make a differ- use of CGI is also fantastic. CGI
ence in the world. is not used in many instances
The concept behind this (besides for showing futuristic
movie was amazing. The highest technology), but it flows seam-
points had to be its cast of charac- lessly when it is.
ters. Claire-Hope was a new- This film is not something
comer to Hollywood, and yet she that one would watch while in
was able to stand out with the best search of some light-hearted sci-
in this movie, such as Michael fi. This is a film that will make
Caine and Julianne Moore. Every one question governmental ac-
character added significantly to tions and the meaning of life. This
the plot, even the minor ones. is a must-see for anyone looking
They set the mood of the movie: a for a deep, emotional, theatrical
bleak and hopeless world in experience. ◙
All in the Family
Continued from Page 5 out there and hustle for it, like I
done. I didn’t have no people
thatcherwilliams.com
marchin’ and protestin’ to get my
job.”
EDITH: “No, his uncle got it
for him.”
The impact of “All in the
Family” impact was so strong that
it went beyond the world of tele-
vision. The show became the
heart of a fiery national debate on
whether the use of comedy was an
appropriate means by which to
fight prejudice and social inequal-
ity. Archie Bunker also became
an American symbol because of
The cast of “All In The Family,” a his sympathetic qualities, allow-
sitcom that aired on CBS from 1978 to ing many viewers to see Archie in
1983. a positive light despite his obvi-
ous faults.
tests conducted by both ABC and The show’s influence on
CBS, CBS debuted the show on American television is difficult to
January 12, 1971, though with ignore. It helped introduce a new
fairly little publicity. The first generation of comedic programs
show began with an unforgettable that replaced the light plotlines of
exchange between Archie and television’s early years with topi-
Edith: cal themes of social importance.
ARCHIE: “If your spics and In this way, its impact on prime-
spades want their rightful share of time programming continues to be
the American dream, let them get sensed decades later. ◙
Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin:
Back to the Future of Gaming
Continued from Page 6 new online mode, in which play-
which is unlocked when most of ers from around the world can try
the map has been explored. Por- their hand at co-op mode to try
trait of Ruin’s graphics have been and defeat a gauntlet of bosses in
revamped, with some enemies and the least time, or sell their hard-
backgrounds being rendered in earned items in a virtual store to
full 3D. The diverse assortment of friends who have extra gold. The
areas within Brauner’s paintings online mode is not perfect, how-
assures more variety and a much ever, due to a number of small
larger map than were present in glitches which have been discov-
Dawn of Sorrow; however, some ered. One allows you to get
bosses are a bit easier than in the unlimited items from quests, al-
previous game. This does not lowing any player to sell them for
mean the game is easy — in fact, unlimited gold. Regardless, Por-
upon completion, the game lets trait of Ruin should be obtained
you use secret characters and play by anyone looking for a quality
on difficulty levels that would be game for the Nintendo DS, as it
challenging even to the most bat- reaches the gold standard set by
tle-hardened Castlevania veteran. Dawn of Sorrow. ◙
Portrait of Ruin includes a
Page 8
Elite Beat Agents Review
Continued from Page 6
duced by a manga-style animated
comic on the top screen; you
solve the dilemma by guiding the
agents’ dance moves using the
stylus and the touch screen. This
is done by tapping multicolored
dots to the beat, as well as hold-
ing down on moving balls and
spinners to make the agents, ren-
dered in full 3D, get their groove
on. You can string together com-
bos and earn points to make your
“Elite-O-Meter,” which is con-
stantly decreasing, go up, much
like Dance Dance Revolution. If
you make too many mistakes,
however, it might drop danger-
ously low, causing the person on
the upper screen to mess things
up, to hilarious effect. If the meter
drops to zero, you’re through.
Although this may seem like a
piece of cake, it soon becomes
harder to handle, as the dots ap-
pear at a blindingly fast rate on
the higher difficulty levels.
This might sound frustrating,
but thanks to the carefully chosen,
high-quality songs, ranging in
genre from “September” by Earth,
Wind and Fire to “La La” by Ash-
lee Simpson, the game is anything
Parents: Where Did
They Go Wrong?
BY KENNETH LAM
STAFF WRITER
A child runs
around the
house, scream-
ing and break-
ing things as he
runs. A frus-
trated mother
runs behind
him, yelling and
Corbis
screaming for
her child to stop. When she fi-
nally catches up to him, she grabs
him and screams in his face. The
child begins to cry, and the
Freak Chickens Produce Eggs Containing Drugs
BY RAMMIYA NALLAINATHAN
STAFF WRITER
As weird as it may seem,
people have long imagined differ-
ent things that could be found in
chicken eggs. However, no one
really thought about finding drugs
in chicken eggs until now. Scien-
tists confirmed on January 15,
that genetically modified hens
could produce drugs. These drugs
would be found in the albumen
(white) of eggs.
Helen Sang and other re-
searchers of Roslin Biocentre
Friday, February 02, 2007 A&E/SCIENCE
but. Although some of the songs
might seem downright ridiculous,
they fit in perfectly with the
game, thanks to sound-alikes that
are better than many of the origi-
nal singers.
The ultimate goal is to
achieve a perfect “S” ranking for
each and every song, but that will
require much practice. EBA also
manages to throw in some im-
proved features, such as being
able to skip scenes and adding a
replay mode to show the world
your “elite skills.” The game’s
multiplayer mode is icing on the
cake, and lets you face off against
a rival in battle — if you make a
mistake with your tapping, your
opponent gets the upper hand.
Elite Beat Agents is a fun and
involving game, with a few twists
and an insanely intense ending
that will leave you wanting more .
. . and more . . . and more. You
will have to beat the game at least
twice in order to unlock the final
difficulty level, “Hard ROCK,” in
which you play as the beautiful
“Elite Beat Divas.” This game has
to be played to be believed, and
should definitely be picked up by
anyone with a Nintendo DS. ◙
mother angrily begins to spank
him, but to no avail. Eventually
she lets him go and slumps to the
ground, exhausted, her head be-
tween her arms. She says to her-
self, “Where did I go wrong?”
This sounds like a job for the Su-
pernanny!
What leads to a need for such
desperate measures? The answer
is simple: a lack of proper disci-
pline of the child. A new study
showed that 31 percent of parents
do not find their methods of
teaching their children to be ef-
Continued on Page 10
inserted genes for miR24, an anti-
body, and interferon b-1a, an anti-
viral drug, into the genes of a hen
which produce ovalbumin, which
makes up about half of the egg
white. The hens were thus made
to produce the two substances in
their egg whites.
This technology is a great
advance for pharmaceutical com-
panies. Current methods for pro-
ducing drugs are very expensive.
With this method, production will
be a lot cheaper.
This is because once a trans-
Battlefield 2142: Has the
Series Frozen Over?
Continued from Page 6
player from each team can apply
to be the Commander, who has a
detailed battle view and can send
orders to squads using his laptop.
The rest of the players can choose
from one of four classes — down
from seven in BF2 — each with its
own specialties. For example, the
Engineer class can defend with
mines or attack with a rocket
launcher, while a player who cho-
ses Recon can specialize in Spe-
cial Forces training or sniping. A
new feature in BF2142 allows you
to customize your kit with a multi-
tude of different upgrades, all of
which have to be unlocked by
IGN.com
A screenshot of Battlefield 2142.
gaining ranks through playing
online before you can use them.
Although you can use some gadg-
ets almost immediately, it takes a
while to unlock a gun. However, it
seems that weaponry has not
changed much since 2007; in fact,
it got weaker. That’s right — in
more than a century, there are no
lasers, plasma rifles, microwave
beams or death rays. The soldiers
use inaccurate conventional weap-
ons, and the anti-air emplacements
have gone from missiles to flak
cannons. To be fair, many weap-
ons were toned down for balance
issues, and now feel more realis-
tic. Some of the gadgets, such as
the antipersonnel mine or C4, are
just futuristic carbon copies of the
current version. There are some
useful exceptions, though, such as
spawn beacons, auto-turrets and
active camouflage.
In BF2142, there are two dif-
genic hen is made, it can pass
along the gene from generation to
generation.
After the eggs are laid, the
white can be separated from the
yolk and purified. It would go
through certain trials to make sure
it is safe. To avoid any bad ef-
fects, the chickens would not be
eaten by humans, though they do
not seem to be any different from
regular hens except for the special
proteins found in their egg whites.
Transgenic hens have been
produced in the past. However,
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
ferent gameplay modes.
“Conquest” is the most popular
mode, where players compete to
capture and hold “control points”
and ultimately deplete the other
team’s “tickets,” or chances to
spawn, to zero. ”Titan” is the new
kid on the block, and features two
mammoth flying transport ships
called “Titans” (one per team)
which players fight to destroy by
either capturing missile silos or,
once their shields are down,
boarding them. This new mode
adds new depth to the game, al-
though there is a major problem:
lag. While the Titan is moving,
your soldier, as well as any items
or bodies on the floor, tend to
move jerkily by themselves, as
they are not exactly in sync with
the movement of the ship. Al-
though a recent patch disallowed
Titan movement once its shields
are down, it is still a nuisance.
While Battlefield 2142 is ad-
dicting and fun, it suffers from
some minor problems and glitches.
For example, you might be frus-
trated to learn that the Gunship’s
TV missile is too fast and almost
impossible to aim and that the
transport you were piloting has
exploded after crashing into a tree.
The game’s menu looks almost the
same as BF2’s, which, though it is
familiar to veteran players, feels
stale. Finally, the much-loathed
EA Games felt it necessary to in-
clude controversial in-game ads to
deepen their pockets, and are sus-
pected of including spyware
(although the software is supposed
to collect region information
only). There are a few minor im-
provements, such as with the
server browser and the allowance
of the creation of multiple soldiers
with the same account. This game
should be bought by any Battle-
field aficionado who wants more
of the winning formula, but if you
need an introduction to the series,
buy Battlefield 2 first. ◙
they had very low success rates.
Animals other than chickens have
also been used in this kind of ex-
perimentation, including goats,
rabbits, sheep and cattle. Cattle
can produce the proteins so that
they end up in milk.
Researchers and scientists
have come a long way since the
first transgenic animal was made.
Now, the question is how these
results will affect our future. Will
it be for better or for worse? ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Chewing Gum in Development to Combat Obesity
BY SANGHEE CHUNG
COLUMNIST
A chewing gum that can fight
obesity has just started to be de-
veloped. At Imperial College
London, scientists have developed
a drug based on a natural hor-
mone that makes the body feel
full and satisfied.
The scientists have received
£2.2 million ($4.4 million) to cre-
ate the drug in the form of chew-
ing gum. Professor Steve Bloom,
who has studied appetite control
for over 20 years, believes that
this natural hormone, called pan-
creatic polypeptide (PP), is key to
solving the worldwide problem of
obesity. So far, the hormone has
only been used experimentally,
but the long-term goals are to
create it into a chewing gum or
nasal spray that may be used for
Differences in HDL and triacylglycerols observed in different ethnic groups may be
due in part to carbohydrate intake.
Cholesterol Levels
Related to Ethnicity
BY OMAR AHMAD
STAFF WRITER
Scientists have been puzzled
for many years by certain condi-
tions that are prevalent only in
certain ethnicities. These condi-
tions include some diseases, fat
intake, longer lifespan, and even
high cholesterol level. Recently,
specific tests were conducted that
helped determine the answer to
the cholesterol differences be-
tween two ethnicities.
Dr. Anwar T. Merchant of the
Population Health Research Insti-
tute in Hamilton, Ontario stated
that previous research had been
done on this topic with diet, life-
style, genes and obesity as possi-
ble factors, but none gave suffi-
cient information. Recently, he
noticed that most studies were
concerned with only the fat con-
sumed in diets, not carbohydrates
or proteins.
Friday, February 02, 2007 BUSINESS/A&E
life.
“We hit on the idea of a
chewing gum because obese peo-
ple like chewing,” said Professor
Bloom.
Pancreatic polypeptide is
produced by the pancreas after
each meal and alerts the brain that
Chewing gum would be key to solving
the worldwide problem of obesity.
the stomach is full so that
eating does not go out of control.
It has also been found that differ-
ent people have different levels of
the hormone and being over-
weight tends to decrease the
amounts of the hormone in the
body. The effects of the hormone
were first noted after discovering
Corbis
Cholesterol in the blood that
can be of two forms: LDL or
HDL. LDL, or low-density lipo-
protein, is the form which can be
dangerous to the human body and
is normally related to disease.
HDL, or high-density lipoprotein,
is harmless and actually assists
the body in maintaining the cell
membranes of all animal cells.
It is now known that the con-
sumption of certain carbohydrates
can affect the conversion of lipo-
proteins into cholesterol or their
storage as energy for the body.
Not only does it affect the conver-
sion rate, it also influences the
levels of these cholesterol cells
that are evident in the body.
The two groups that Anwar
Merchant recently studied were
South Asians and Chinese. Those
who were studied were monitored
for several months. The South
Continued on Page 10
that patients with a pancreatic
tumor generated more PP and had
relatively thin bodies without ill
side effects.
“People with benign pancre-
atic tumors who secrete large
quantities of PP remain chroni-
cally thin but have no other side
effects,” said Professor
Bloom. “When the hormone is
given to volunteers who are then
allowed to eat as much as they
like, the amount they eat is re-
duced by between 15 and 25 per-
cent.”
The hormone was tested on a
group of 35 overweight but
Two-Headed Reptile Is
Discovered In China:
A Fossil, That Is
BY LOREN OUMAROVA
STAFF WRITER
“When I saw it, I immedi-
ately realized it was something
extremely unusual,” said paleon-
tologist Eric Buffetaut of the Cen-
tre National de la Recherché Sci-
entifique (CNRS) in Paris,
France. He was referring to an
ancient fossil, recently discovered
in the Yixian Formation of north-
eastern China. For years, the site
A tiny dinosaur-era reptile with two heads has been found in China—the first time
the extremely rare developmental anomaly has been seen in a fossil.
has been a famous treasure trove
of feathered dinosaur and early
bird remains from the Cretaceous
period, around 120 million years
ago. Dozens of well-preserved
imprints can be found in the fine
grain sediments and volcanic
rocks of the formation. What
makes this latest discovery so
particularly special?
The small fossil was classi-
fied as an ancient reptile called
Hyphalosaurus lingyuanensis,
similar to many others that were
found around it. It had a typical
Page 9
healthy volunteers. They were
offered buffet meals and were
free to eat as they wished. Those
who received the PP injection
ended up feeling less hungry and
ate 15 to 25 percent less than
those who merely received an
inactive salt solution.
In the United Kingdom, ap-
proximately one in five adults is
obese and this figure could rise to
one in three by 2010. Obesity
causes 1,000 deaths a week.
“This need for effective anti-
obesity therapies is currently un-
met,” said Dr. Ted Bianco of the
Wellcome Trust, the organization
that gave Bloom the funding. “We
believe that Professor Bloom’s
research holds great promise and,
with our support, can be trans-
lated into tangible benefits to
health.” ◙
barrel-shaped body, short tail, and
long serpentine neck. Only one
interesting aspect alienated it
from the rest of its species: it had
two heads with two separate
necks fused at the base! Scientists
believe that this small creature is
the earliest known victim of a
birth defect called axial bifurca-
tion (two-headedness).This defect
occurs when an embryo is dam-
aged in the womb. Usually, a le-
Royal Society
sion will form, causing a certain
part of the offspring’s body to
duplicate itself. Nowadays, axial
bifurcation is a relatively com-
mon birth defect among lizards,
snakes, turtles, tortoises, and
other modern reptiles. This birth
defect is a strong piece of evi-
dence against the saying that two
heads are better than one.
“Having two heads obviously
causes huge coordination and
behavior problems, since it means
having two brains which function
Continued on Page 10
Page 10
Cholesterol
Levels
Related to
Ethnicity
Continued from Page 9
Asians, who consumed the most
carbohydrates on a daily basis,
had the lowest levels of HDL and
the highest levels of LDL, and the
Chinese, who ate the smallest
amount of carbohydrates high
levels of HDL and low levels of
LDL. The lifestyles of these peo-
ple had a great influence on their
cholesterol levels and this study
shows that carbohydrates increase
your risk of high cholesterol sig-
nificantly, and a low level of car-
bohydrates can assist in maintain-
ing health.
This study is further evidence
of the disparity between different
ethnicities in regard to health. It
is not only what you do that can
affect your health, but your ethnic
background as well. ◙
Two-Headed
Reptile Is
Discovered In
China: A
Fossil, That Is
Continued from Page 9
more or less independently, while
other organs within the body cav-
ity, such as the heart and diges-
tive tube, are usually not dupli-
cated,” Dr. Buffetaut explains. In
fact, one report describes a two-
headed snake one of whose heads
bit the other off!
Although two-headed crea-
tures have been known to live
over ten years in captivity, this is
a very rare case. Most victims of
axial bifurcation die at a very
young age, especially in the wild.
The newest fossil from China is
no exception to that rule. The
small reptile imprint is 2.8 inches
(7 centimeters) long. This is tiny
compared to the average length of
an adult Hyphalosauras, which
was about one meter long. The
two-headed reptile was merely a
hatchling when it died. It was
either still-born or it passed away
in the very early stages of its life.
Two-headed creatures are not
only figments of our imagina-
tions, but actually exist. Though
two heads impair motor function
and other necessary processes,
there’s no denying how amazing
they are! ◙
Friday, February 02, 2007 SCIENCE/SPORTS
Parents: Where Did They Go Wrong?
Continued from Page 8
fective. Among these methods
are yelling and spanking. How-
ever, another statistic also shows
that 38 percent of parents are sim-
ply using the techniques that their
parents once used on them. This
leads to the question: What is the
best method for parenting?
There are many techniques
that can be used in parenting.
However, these techniques vary
with age, and will tend to develop
into negotiation as the child
grows older. Rather than simply
yelling and screaming at a child
to teach them, parents should at-
tempt to reason with the child. In
addition, such negotiations should
be specific to the task at hand,
instead of simply telling a child
not to do something. A parent
should make an active effort to
act more on the positive side by
rewarding good behavior rather
than punishing bad behavior.
Although there are many
positive ways to deal with chil-
dren, there are also many wrong
approaches to disciplining a child.
One such example of a negative
approach to parenting is to make
empty threats. Empty threats in-
THE SPORTS BEAT
The Double Standard
Continued from Page 12
season, Merriman was suspended
for four games for violating the
NFL’s policy on steroids and re-
lated substances. He blamed the
test results initially on an over-
the-counter supplement he was
using, but declined to appeal the
suspension and sat out the four
games. When he returned, it was
as if nothing happened. He was
being seriously considered for
Defensive Player of the Year be-
fore finishing third to Jason Tay-
lor of Miami and Champ Bailey
of Denver.
The hard thing to fathom is
the hypocritical actions by the
media in this case. Merriman is a
known steroid user, something
that should put his entire career
under intense scrutiny. He should
be held to the same standard has
disgraced former slugger Rafael
Palmiero, who tested positive for
steroids at the end of his career
and threw any chance he had at
the Hall of Fame out the window.
An yone who watched
McGwire over the end of his ca-
reer knew he was taking some-
thing. He has admitted to taking
supplements, but not steroids. The
point is that there is no proof that
McGwire took anything he wasn’t
supposed to. Though he does not
deserve to make the Hall of Fame
clude threats that are exaggerated,
such as threatening to ban some
activity for life, or any threat
made and not followed through
with. By making an empty threat,
one is undermining one’s author-
ity over the child, and the child
will begin to think that the parent
Corbis
Spanking teaches children that violence
can solve problems, and will cause
children to fear their parents rather
than to come to them with problems.
really does not wish to punish
him or her, and will continue with
the wayward activities. In addi-
tion, as children grow older and
enter their teen years, parents will
generally use the removal of
privileges to teach a teen right
from wrong. However, they
should also give teens more free-
Corbis
McGwire was recently up for induction
into the baseball Hall of Fame.
until he tells what he knows about
steroids, he doesn’t deserve to be
the poster boy for the steroid era.
It boils down to the high stan-
dards that we place on baseball.
Baseball is the American pastime,
and as much a part of the Ameri-
can spirit as the flag itself. Amer-
ica brought baseball to the world.
Football, while a true American
sport, doesn’t have the same in-
ternational appeal as baseball. A
baseball problem is a global issue.
A football problem is a national
issue. That doesn’t excuse the
double standard. ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
dom, as this will teach their chil-
dren independence and decision-
making skills.
An extremely common nega-
tive approach to disciplining chil-
dren is spanking. This practice is
generally frowned upon, but
many parents still engage in it, as
they think it is the only way to get
a message through to a child that
doing something is wrong. How-
ever, this method fails to commu-
nicate the message. Instead, it
conveys conflicting messages to
what one wants one’s child to
learn. It teaches children that
violence can solve problems, and
will cause children to fear their
parents and not come to them
with problems.
Although nearly a third of
parents state that their methods
are failing to bring the message
across the board to their children,
two-thirds of these parents will
use methods that they feel are
effective, such as time-outs.
However, there is no clear-cut
solution to parenting. Each child
is different, and correspondingly
each parent’s parenting style will
differ. ◙
Super Bowl
XLI Preview
Continued from Page 12
attack. This game is just too
evenly matched.
With the offenses and de-
fenses perfectly aligned, it will
come down to special teams.
Devin Hester for the Bears may
have been a threat in the regular
season, but so far in the playoffs,
he has not put up a single big gain
on a return. Robbie Gould has
been known to struggle in warm
weather, and the game is to be
played in Miami. For the Colts,
Terrence Wilkins has not been
playing up to par on his returns,
leaving only one player on special
teams with any importance, Vi-
natieri. So far this year, he has
been perfect in warm weather, 9-
12 on grass, 9-11 outdoors (all
misses were over 50 yards), and
perfect against the NFC. Each of
those factors will be satisfied dur-
ing the Super Bowl. As the of-
fensive and defensive units clash,
the scoring will either be high or
low, but either way, it will be
close. Vinatieri has three game-
winning kicks in Super Bowls,
and another one would not be a
surprise.
My score for the Super Bowl
is 24-21 in favor of the Colts,
with Adam Vinatieri driving in a
game-winning field goal, again. ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Monday Tuesday
February 5 February 6
Boys Basketball
Vs. HS of Math, Science,
and Engineering
@ Stuy
4:30 PM
vs. Washington Irving
@ Stuy
4:30 PM
Boys JV Basketball
Vs. High School of Food
and Finance
@ High School of Food
and Finance
4:30 PM
February 12 February 13
Boys Gymnastics Boys JV Basketball
Vs. Dewitt Clinton Vs. Beacon
@ Stuy @ Stuy
4:00 PM 4:30 PM
The Unpredictable Knicks
Continued from Page 12
The Knicks started the season
with a record of 5-11, losing 11 of
their first 16 games. Since then,
however, they have been decent,
with a record of 12-12.
This season, for the most
part, has been much better than
last year’s. With still another half
of the season to play, the Knicks
need only six more wins to tie
their total wins for last year. Un-
mistakably, the Knicks have im-
proved this season, and there are
several key players responsible
for this transformation.
Eddie Curry has in fact been
playing like an all-star this sea-
son. He’s averaged 19.1 points
per game (ppg) and 7.3 rebounds
per game (rpg). In fact, Curry
leads all Eastern Conference cen-
ters in terms of scoring. Stephon
Marbury faced much criticism last
year, especially during his strife
Eddie Curry, left, leads all Eastern Conference centers in terms of scoring.
Friday, Feburary 02, 2007 SPORTS
Sports Calendar
Wednesday Thursday
February 7 February 8
Boys Basketball Boys JV Basketball
Vs. HS of Food and Vs. George Washington
Finance @ Stuy
@ High School of Food 4:30 PM
and Finance
4:30 PM
February 14 February 15
Boys JV Basketball
Vs. Martin Luther King Jr
@ Martin Luther King Jr
4:30 PM
with Brown. Marbury started the
season off at a mediocre level, but
his game has flourished during
January, during which he has av-
eraged 21.1 ppg and 6.1 assists
per game (apg).
Quentin Richardson had an
awful season last year, with
nearly no impact on the Knicks.
This year, however, he is per-
forming much better. He is aver-
aging 14.1 ppg and 7.1 rpg.
David Lee is also playing
very well this season. He is aver-
aging 10.7 ppg and 10.4 rpg. He
is one of only eleven players in
the NBA to average a double-
double in points and rebounds.
With veterans performing at
an all-star level and a crop of im-
pressive youngsters, the Knicks
look to build upon their decent
first half of the season and make a
run for the playoffs. ◙
Corbis
Friday
February 9
vs. Baruch College Cam-
pus
@ Stuy
4:30 PM
Boys Gymnastics
Vs. John F Kennedy
@ Stuy
4:00 PM
February 16
The Best Show in Town
Continued from Page 12
Yao Ming, the Chinese center for the
Houston Rockets, is the all-time lead-
ing vote-getter, with a record-breaking
2,342,738 votes in 2006.
forward, guard and center. The
voting is done by the general pub-
lic, and this is the time when loyal
fans show their avid support for
their favorite players.
Of course, what the All-Star
game really comes down to is a
popularity contest. The players
who sell the most jerseys or run
the most sneaker ads are usually
the ones who get chosen. Or, in
the case of Yao Ming, whoever’s
country has the most voters. Yao
Ming, the Chinese center for the
Houston Rockets, is the all-time
leading vote-getter, with a record-
breaking 2,342,738 votes in 2006.
He has been a starting center
since 2003, and expect no less
from him this year. Last year, the
East starters were: Allen Iverson,
Dwayne Wade, LeBron James,
Page 11
Saturday Sunday
February 10 February 11
February 17 February 18
Indoor Track
Manhattan
Championships
@ The Armory
Vince Carter and Shaquille
Corbis O’Neal. The West had Kobe Bry-
ant, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan,
Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
2006, with LeBron as MVP, was
all about the rise of the new gen-
eration of emerging young stars,
along with Wade and Anthony.
For 2007, expect more of these
young players like forward Chris
Bosh, center Dwight Howard and
guard Chris Paul to step up.
This year, All-Star veterans
return as well, players who were
once young stars themselves like
Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.
Time seems to pass by so quickly,
as it was just yesterday they first
accepted their acceptances with
wide smiles, to now, when it has
become an expected tradition and
duty to perform their best in the
game. The current active players
with the longest All-Star tenure
are probably Shaquille O’Neal
and Kobe Bryant, former team-
mates of the Lakers dynasty. For
2007, they will go head-to-head
again, because of Shaq’s trade to
Miami two years ago. Iverson’s
trade to Denver will shift some
guard power to the West, but look
for James and Wade to fill in and
dominate. The West used to have
the big men, but with the East’s
Shaq, Wallace and Howard, it has
evened out. Look for Bryant
guarding James, Carter defending
cousin McGrady, and O’Neal on
Yao. Look for spectacular Nash
alley-oops, James sky-walking,
and Yao facials. This time, there
will be old faces, and there will
be new faces. But either way, the
2007 NBA All-Star game will be
a blast. ◙
Page 12
Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher (left) holds up the NFC Championship
trophy
Super Bowl XLI Preview
BY ZAKHAR SHTULBERG
STAFF WRITER
The 2007 Super Bowl will be
one for the ages. The Chicago
Bears will battle the Indianapolis
Colts for the NFL championship,
and it will all come down to one
man: the man who won three Su-
per Bowls by himself, Adam Vi-
natieri. Here’s why.
The contending teams are
matched too closely for the game
to be a blowout. The Bears have
the best defense in the league, led
by Brian Urlacher. The Colts
have the best offense in the
THE SPORTS BEAT
The Double Standard
BY ERIC MAYO
SPORTS EDITOR
One player has been rumored
to have been taking steroids. One
player has been caught and sus-
pended for using steroids. One
was held out of the Hall of Fame.
The other was rewarded with a
trip to the Pro Bowl and serious
consideration for Defensive
Player of the Year. The differ-
ence? One plays baseball, and the
other football.
I’m referring to Mark
McGwire and Shawne Merriman.
McGwire, former all-star first
basemen with the Cardinals and
Athletics, was recently up for
induction into the baseball Hall of
Fame. He only received 23.5 per-
cent of the vote, far short of the
75 percent needed for entry.
Many writers refused to vote for
McGwire because of his sus-
pected steroid use during the
“juiced” era of the late 90’s. His
testimony on Capitol Hill during
Friday, February 02, 2007 SPORTS
Corbis
league, showcasing substance
over style, led by Peyton Man-
ning. The Bears beat the most
explosive offense in the NFC
championship game, and the
Colts beat the most consistent
defense in the AFC championship
game. The Bears lost a key
player in the defensive running
game, Tommy Harris. The Colts
don’t have much of a running
game. The Colts’ run defense has
been weak against the NFC in
recent games; the Bears don’t
have much of offensive running
Continued on Page 10
Corbis
Shawne Merriman of the San Diego
Chargers is a known steroid user.
the steroid hearings two years ago
added further circumstantial evi-
dence to his story when he re-
marked, “I am not here to talk
about the past.”
Merriman is an outside line-
backer for the San Diego Charg-
ers. Before Week 8 of the regular
Continued on Page 10
The Unpredictable
Knicks
BY HESHAM SALEH
STAFF WRITER
This might be Isaiah Tho-
mas’s last season as the Knicks’
head coach — or it might not be.
After firing Larry Brown, James
Dolan gave Thomas a one-year
ultimatum to turn the Knicks into
a decent team with potential.
The Knicks played their 41st
game on January 19 against the
New Jersey Nets, which marks
The Best Show in Town
BY RICHARD MAI
STAFF WRITER
Mark your calendars: Febru-
ary 18. The event? The 56th an-
nual NBA All-Star game, which
is being hosted in Las Vegas,
where it is sure to be the best
show in town.
The yearly event is a big
draw in the NBA. It is where
players can make or break their
careers; everything from their
egos to their performance for the
rest of the season can be on the
line. Some of the greatest mo-
ments in basketball occur here,
where the best of the NBA play
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
exactly half of the season. Their
record as of that game was 17-24.
Although that puts them in the
11th seed in the Eastern Division,
all they need is a couple of wins
to become the Atlantic Division
leaders, and ensure themselves a
playoff berth. But that might be
much easier said than done, espe-
cially for such an up-and-down
team as the Knicks.
Continued on Page 11
together on the same court for one
unforgettable night. The All-Star
game, however, is also a game
just for fun. Every year, NBA
fans from across the globe with
Internet access are able to vote for
the members of the NBA All-Star
team. There are two teams, the
West and the East. Players whose
teams are in the western U.S. are
chosen for the Western Division
and players whose teams are in
the East are chosen for the East-
ern Division. Voters online are
able to select players according to
their respective positions, such as
Continued on Page 11