Source: Corbis

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THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

TO THE COMMUNITIES OF STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL, TRIBECA, AND BATTERY PARK CITY May 1, 2007
“Your School, Your World—Your News” Visit us at: www.stuystandard.org VOL. 6, No. 13

Shooting at Virginia Tech and MTA

Implications at Stuyvesant Security
Cameras
Source: Reuters

Students and faculty alike were unaware of the first

Mourners grieve at a candlelight vigil for the victims for the
victims of the Virginia Tech shootings.
by David Yin, staff writer and Jennifer Schlesinger,
editor in chief
On April 16, shots rang through the Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State University. Students were
seen jumping out of windows and scrambling to seek
refuge as the gunman, Seung-Hui Cho, began shooting at
them. The shooting began when Seung-Hui attacked
West Ambler Johnston, a residence hall, leaving two dead
and many injured. While police were still investigating
the residence hall, Cho continued on to Norris Hall and
began shooting again.
shooting until two hours after the incident. By that time,
Seung-Hui had already begun to attack again. Students
panicked and desperately tried to avoid the gunfire. In
one account Perkins, a student at Virginia Tech, said “We by Timothy Tong, staff writer
got down, tried to get on the ground. There were a couple
of screams, but for the most part it was eerily silent, other The MTA has installed high-
than the gunfire.” Students as well as faculty began tech surveillance cameras, which
locking themselves in rooms, barricading the doors in will be watching for suspicious
order to protect themselves and keep the gunman out. activities and crimes.
Eventually, Cho claimed his own life, but not before This enormous plan to plant
taking 32 others with him. several hundred dollars’ worth of
Cho was a South Korean student at Virginia Tech. closed-circuit security cameras is
He was a loner and rarely talked to anyone. Even a large-scale response to the
before this incident, there were many complaints about many recent terrorist threats to
his behavior and many were worried. Lucinda Roy, highly-populated areas and the
head of the English department, had been contacted high number of crime rates in
before with regards to Seung-Hui’s disturbing writing. subway stations. The London
Many of his poetry classmates refused to attend class terror bombings were especially
because of his disturbing writings. Roy had to resort to significant in thrusting this plan
individually teaching him. She told CNN that she “felt into play. After those bombings
that he was strongly suicidal.” He had written two occurred, cameras helped crime
violent and profane plays in another writing class. One investigators identify and capture
play, called “Richard McBeef”, was about a teenage the bombers, who had been
boy who accused his stepfather of trying to molest him dressed casually.
and of murdering his father. As a result, the boy had a This is great news to some
people who fear the worst. A few
VIRGINIA TECH continues on page 3
cameras may possibly mean the

Teenage Caution Online

by Hanford Chiu, On April 18, The Pew released the results of a telephone
business editor Internet and American Life Project survey of over 900 teenagers on
the subject of online behavior. One
of the conclusions that were drawn
was that over two-thirds of
Check out the Standard’s teenagers who use blogs or social
networks such as MySpace restrict
coverage of the Food Festival! access to their profiles, either
through passwords or an approved
friends list. Furthermore, only
about one-third of those users post
their full names or e-mail
addresses on their profiles, and less
than two percent post their cell
phone numbers.
The study ameliorates the
prevention of a crime before it
occurs, or extra help in capturing
criminals who committed their
crimes under them unwittingly.
However, for some it is an
invasion of privacy. Some find it
uncomfortable knowing that law
e n fo r c e me n t o f f i c i a l s a r e
watching them, and believe that
cameras give officials too much
power.
Often, cameras are invaluable
devices. A few years ago, a terri-
fying occurrence gripped the na-
tion. A mother was in a nearly
vacant parking lot with her baby
child. She put her baby in her car
MTA CAMERAS
continues on page 3
Source: MTA

concerns that parents and children

have regarding the existence of
online predators and strangers on
social websites such as personal
blogs, MySpace or Facebook, in
which teenagers, among other
people, are encouraged to
personalize their pages for the
The Food Festival photo essay can be The MTA plans to install surveillance
found on page 10 TEENAGE CAUTION cameras to watch for crimes and sus-
continues on page 9 picious activities.
2 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13 NEWS

MAKE THE
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Founded 2001
 

MOST OF LIFE
 

“Your School, Your World—Your News”

Executive Leadership Team Virginia Polytechnic Institute experienced a great tragedy recently:
DR. JOHN NIKOL FACULTY ADVISER senior Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people and then himself. It’s things like
JENNIFER SCHLESINGER EDITOR IN CHIEF these that make me think about the meaninglessness of existence and the
ERIC MAYO MANAGING EDITOR futility of it all. But those are heavy-handed terms and don’t really do
DIANE CHEN CO-CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER reality justice. Take, for instance, Liviu Librescu, as of now my personal
KHOI NGYUEN CO-CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER hero. A Holocaust survivor, he died trying to stop the gunman from en-
SANGHEE CHUNG LAYOUT EDITOR
DANNY ZHU COPY CHIEF
tering his classroom, saving many of his students’ lives by giving them
JIMMY ZHANG NEWS EDITOR time to escape through the windows. It was a tragedy, but it’s not the
PRISCILLA MELO OPINIONS EDITOR norm — life is generally good.
EMMA RABINOVICH ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Existentialism, the philosophy of meaninglessness, is a very relevant
RICHARD MAI SPORTS EDITOR topic. I personally have felt depressed many times in the past — I actu-
JOSEPH KRUTOV SCIENCE EDITOR ally was depressed a few moments ago, and I often ask myself what the
HANFORD CHIU BUSINESS EDITOR point of it all is. What is the point?
AMNA AHMAD LITERARY EDITOR
ROBERT STEVENSON ASSISTANT LITERARY EDITOR
This leads to the actual definition of existentialism: a philosophy
JESSE ZHANG WEBMASTER that regards human existence as unexplainable and stresses freedom of
BENNETT HONG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM choice and responsibility for the consequences of one's acts (at least ac-
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER cording to www.dictionary.com). I find solace in this definition, because
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS if human existence is unexplainable then there is no need worrying over
it. The moral of the story, the cliché of all clichés: live life to the fullest
Publication and simply do what you can.
I’m a junior now, and I’m already looking back on my high school
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a nonprofit and nonpartisan publication pro-
experience — what could have been done better, or rather what I could
duced by the students of Stuyvesant High School.
have done at all. And unfortunately, there’s a lot I would change. But I
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi-weekly
am a generous person, and with this advice I will try to make sure that
basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and through-
you don’t make the same mistakes — and if you do, you can expect no
out the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park City.
less than an “I told you so.”
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers.
Get involved in the Stuyvesant community. Join clubs, stay after
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any published mate-
school every day, have fun. High school will be over before you know it
rial. The viewpoints of contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of
and, believe it or not, you will miss it when it’s gone. So get out there
the Standard staff.
and meet new people. The way I see it is that there are more than 3000
Copyright ©2006 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
people in our school, so there’s bound to be at least 100 that you like —
maybe even 101?
Contact Us I don’t know if you’ve ever felt depressed or melancholic or
Please direct all correspondence to: hopeless, but by getting involved with the entire school you will keep it
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD from happening in the future. You simply won’t have time to feel
345 Chambers Street depressed. And ten years later, when you think of your experiences at
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readers@stuystandard.org you won’t have a single regret. Right?
Find us on the web at www.stuystandard.org Idealism is the only way to go, in case you’re wondering about the
practicality of my advice. I see the problem. There are actually two of
Advertising them. One, what about grades, and getting into that Ivy League Univer-
sity? Well, what about it? I’m not saying you shouldn’t study, and stay-
If you would like to advertise in THE STUYVESANT STANDARD, please e-mail ing after school, joining Sing!, the Speech and Debate Team, or the
advertising@stuystandard.org to request an advertisement form. We offer Cheese Club will actually improve your grades. Calcium is known to be
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Subscription Another problem may be the “but how do I do that?” problem. I
understand. But I don’t think it’s even a problem. Joining Sing! is easy;
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piece of cake: we all did it, so can you!
SUBSCRIBE TODAY This editorial has turned into a bit of a banal motivational piece, and
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 NEWS
Bird Flu Comes to
Bangladesh
Source: Reuters
Bird flu was detected in poultry near Dhaka, the
capital of Bangladesh.
by Nousin Haque, staff writer
Governmental issues, in addi-
tion to bird flue in chickens, spell
crisis for Bangladesh. The avian
influenza virus was first detected
in Savar, which is about 25
kilometers west of the capital,
Dhaka. This place is a sanctuary
for chickens from various areas so
that they can avoid the cold
winters in their homes. On March
22, the former Adviser for Health
and Family Welfare, Major
General ASM Matiur Rahman, and
Adviser of Fishstock and
Livestock CS Karim announced
VIRGINIA TECH
continued from page 1
deep desire to murder his
stepfather. Cho was most ill; he
had prescription medicine to treat
his illness. The police had
suggested that Cho visit a
counselor because of his suicidal
behavior and sent him to Carilion
Saint Albans Behavioral Health
Center, a mental health facility.
Cho had sent video clips and
images of himself to NBC before
the incident. He often mentioned
his hatred of the wealthy and how
this entire incident could have
been avoided. For example, in one
video, he said, “You had every-
thing you wanted. Your Mercedes
wasn’t enough. Your vodka and
cognac wasn’t enough. Your trust
fund wasn’t enough. All your de-
baucheries weren’t enough.” Po-
lice say that these clips may be
essential in their investigation.
There are people in the
university who are outraged at the
slow response of the university.
The university did not send an e-
mail informing of the shooting
that took place in the residence
hall until two hours after the
actual incident.
At Stuyvesant High School,
MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13
THE STANDARD NEWS
that a farm in Savar probably had
the bird flu. To confirm their
results, the government officials
sent a sample to the National
Institute of Animal Health in
Thailand and the Bangladesh
Livestock Research Institute. Both
results came back positive for the
H5N1 variety of bird flu.
The government has
p r o h i b i t e d t h e s e l l i ng o r
exporting of any chickens from
India, Myanmar or any other
country affected in the previous
two years. Some believe that the
guest birds in the poultry farm
brought the virus in the country.
The government took immediate
action to prevent the widespread
of the virus by sending soldiers to
places where the virus has
appeared. The soldiers culled all
the birds that had the virus and
killed them on the spot. This has
caused a lot of problems for
farmers, the majority of whom
were exporting to several
countries at once, such as North
FLU continues on page 4
some effects of the shooting can
be seen. While most students
were not individually affected, the
event did cause shock. Junior
Tatiana Michelena said, “It was
horrible…It happened at a place
where students were supposed to
be safe.”
Students questioned the
reason for the slow response, but
also noted that colleges do try to
give students freedom. Junior
Anna Fomitchova said,
“Ultimately the problem lies in
the school’s lack of opportunity to
notify parents and authorities
when they recognize a problem,
simply because the student is no
longer a minor.” However,
students did feel that mental
screening should be done to try
and prevent such tragedies.
Formitchova continued, “I believe
that people should be screened for
instable psychology and mentality
by authorities before they are
given a license for arms and sold
a weapon.”
Students had concerns about
college safety. When asked if the
event would make them think
about a college’s security more,
most students replied that it
definitely would. Many admitted
that it is not usually something
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Raids on Immigrants
Possibly Biased
by Hesham Saleh, staff writer
“Your house is supposed to be
where you’re safe, right,” said
Andres Leon, a Hispanic immi-
grant whose house was violently
raided one morning by federal im-
migration officers. “When you see
police, you’re supposed to feel
protected. But the way they acted,
we don’t feel protected; we feel
violated.” On February 20 at 5
a.m., federal immigration officers
knocked violently on his family’s
front door. After Leon’s mother let
them in, the officers searched the
house for Patrizio Wilson Garcia,
an illegal immigrant who was mar-
ried to Adriana Leon, a resident of
the house. The Leon family, along
with other three Hispanic families
whose homes were raided that
same morning, believes that the
attacks are biased.
The Leon family’s neighbors
have filed a total of 18
complaints against the Hispanic
family, who lives in East Long
Island. These complaints range
from violent volleyball games to
they think about when looking at
a school. Stuyvesant students
tend to feel that their high
school’s security is strong.
Formitchova said, “I feel that it
[Stuyvesant’s security] is about as
good as it can get without being
too oppressive.”
In response to the event, the
Stuyvesant Parents’ Association
has released a statement: “Both
security and students’ mental
health are issues that the PA is
always concerned about as parents
and we continue to address them
with the school in an ongoing
way.”
Other schools in New York
City have been more directly af-
fected. For example, Notre Dame
Academy in Staten Island had 12
alumni attending Virginia Tech.
Junior Katelyn Kreytak said,
“Thankfully no one was hurt, but
still it's scary to think that one of
your own, a classmate, a fellow
peer could possibly something
like that to you.”
Overall, students, and the
American population, will remem-
ber the tragedy that took place◙
3
illegally parked cars. The police,
however, only found a fraction of
these complaints to be true, and
issued fines, which the Leon
family quickly paid.
T h e n ei gh b o rs ’ h a t r ed
towards the Leon family is not a
figment of the imagination.
Lucinda Murphy, one of their
neighbors, said that she thought
that the Leon family members
were “freeloaders.” “I’m paying
taxes, they’re not,” Murphy said.
“Yet their kids still get to go to
school with the privileges of my
kids. I resent it.”
Although plenty of evidence
BIASED RAIDS
continues on page 4
Source: Associated Press
Evidence has shown that the raids are
biased towards Hispanics immigrants.
MTA CAMERAS
continued from page 1
and turned away to return a shop-
ping cart. Right at that moment, a
kidnapper snatched her baby
away. Thankfully, surveillance
cameras caught everything on
tape and footage of the event was
quickly spread, providing valu-
able physical characteristics for
police to use. The kidnapper was
quickly found and caught, and the
baby was returned to her mother
safely. If it weren’t for these cam-
eras, the mother might have never
seen her baby again.
On the other hand, many feel
that MTA cameras are too
invasive. An anonymous
Stuyvesant student stated, “Just
knowing that there’s a camera
watching me makes me act
nervously. I subconsciously act
like a suspicious target. Like I
might tug at my hair or crack my
knuckles and repeatedly look at
the camera.”
Regardless of personal opin-
ion, one thing’s for certain —
times have changed. Terrorists
threaten to bomb highly popu-
lated civilian areas, and it’s defi-
nitely better to be safe than sorry.
4 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13 NEWS
BIASED RAIDS
MEET THE TEACHER continued from page 3

Meet Ms. Wild! proves that these raids are biased

towards Hispanics and other Span-
ish immigrants, William E.
by Tim Chang. columnist Even though this is only Wild’s first year here at McGintee, the town overseer, de-
Stuyvesant, she welcomes the change in environment. nied such claims. “We have Ecua-
Elizabeth Wild is the newest member of the chem- As crazy as it sounds, one of the things she could dorians, we have Peruvians, we
istry department. Raised in the Midwest, Wild grew up never do in her previous job was smile at her students. have Mexicans,” he said. “We
in the suburbs of both St. Louis and Chicago. She was “I love being able to smile for my students,” she says, don’t know who is living in those
the fifth child of six in her family, with three brothers with a small smile to reinforce her statement. Nor- houses; we get complaints, and it’s
and two sisters. Wild’s first aspiration was poetry, but mally, she says, a teacher should never smile before complaint-driven.”
she later discovered that math was her strong subject and October so to command respect. That need has disap- Over the past years, residents
abandoned her previous peared, however, with of East Long Island have shown a
goal. In high school, Wild the highly-motivated desire to eliminate illegal immi-
participated in figure skat- kids at Stuyvesant. grants from their town. Richard
ing and tennis, and played Wild’s students have Dunn, a resident and teacher, de-
the piano. much to say about her scribed the feelings of most of the
Chemistry was a com- tests and teaching style. town’s residents. “This is a town
promise subject for Wild, “She has really cool that’s driven by money and real
who was strong in math and [ i n - c l a s s ] estate. People who are so con-
loved biology. It was only experiments,” cerned about Latinos feel they’re
in her freshman year of exclaimed sophomore being driven out.” Dunn also said
college at Columbia Uni- Winnie Mei, “[but] her he has “nothing but good feelings
versity that Wild decided tests are really, really for them.”
she wanted to become a hard.” Wild’s AP But this raid has grasped the
teacher. Her inspiration chemistry class is very attention of many people, including
came from her amazing information-intensive, local church clergy, and even a
high school AP chemistry wh i c h so me t i me s Costa Rican religious group. “It
teacher Lee Marek, who has leaves students baffled. would appear that in the war
appeared on the Letterman “I'm usually still against terrorism, agents of our
show multiple times with confused by the end of nation are now acting in the role of
Name: Elizabeth Wild
science demonstrations. the lesson, but you can terrorizers,” members of the clergy
Place of Birth: Kansas City, MO
Wild also believes that wrote to a Congressman.
Subjects Taught: Regents and AP Chemistry (SC2, tell that she tries hard
there simply “aren’t enough to help us understand The Leon family has been so
SCX4)
good chem teachers the material,” said distraught by the hatred directed
Favorite Food: Ice cream Favorite Color: Purple
around,” and hopes to junior Susan Kim, a towards them that they have
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
change that. former student. thought about moving. Aguilar
Wild’s first job in the When Wild is not doing work for school, she is Leon said, “My wife wanted to sell
New York City public school system was at the Bronx very active in her church and occasionally in the house. I told her no, anywhere
School of Law & Finance. As a student teacher there, she volunteer work. She also enjoys running, cycling and you go, you’ll have the same prob-
found the kids a lot less motivated and the environment swimming. Wild also plays the Korean drum, and lems. I feel like for us it’s, like,
completely different than at her eventual job at Stuyve- hopes to travel to Korea in the near future. ◙ getting harder in this town. The
sant. There, she found herself acting as a disciplinarian laws that they’re putting on us, it’s,
much of the time, a self-proclaimed weak point. like, against Hispanic people.” ◙

FLU continued from page 3

CLUB SPOTLIGHT:
French Club
by Yana Gontcharova.
columnist
For those who enjoy speaking
and learning foreign languages,
French Club may be an exciting
option. The goal of this club is to
explore French culture and practice
French language. This is done
through eating French food, doing
French crossword puzzles, and
watching French movies.
A typical meeting starts out
with a game, played in French, to
break the ice. A club favorite is
the French version of the game
telephone, loved because it often
ends in a fit of laughter.
Afterward, an informal discussion
on topics chosen by a club officer
is held, followed by either a
French puzzle, most often a
crossword, or a French movie.
To keep members fed,
French desserts that the club
members make at home are made
available at each session. The
foods brought in so far include
crepes, éclairs, and Napoleon
cake. French music, ranging from
classical to rap, is also played at
the meetings and, along with
food, provides for an authentic
French experience.
Meetings take place about
twice a month, and, unless a
movie is shown, are about 30
minutes long. At the average
meeting there are about seven
people; membership is consistent,
thereby creating an intimate envi-
ronment.
The faculty advisor is Ms.
Augustave.
Anyone interested in joining
this club should send Eugene
G o l u b i t s ki y a n e -m a i l a t
ap0calyptique@gmail.com or
contact him on AIM at xstuygeek.
◙ thereof, at fast-food and regular
India, Nepal, Middle East and
some European nations. The
Bangladeshi government has
promised to compensate farmers
for the outrageous number of
chickens killed. The virus also
attacked two poultry farms in
Jamalpur district, 185 kilometers
fro m D h a ka , c au s i n g t h e
executions of more than 50,000
birds there. An agricultural expert
has calculated the overall loss to
be around 857 million U.S.
dollars, which is a lot for a small
country like Bangladesh.
The European Union (EU)
has also agreed to aid Bangladesh
in fighting the virus, stopping its
outbreak, and rehabilitating the
farmers. Mashiur Rahman, presi-
dent of the World Poultry Science
Association Bangladesh Chapter
estimated that 10 million farmers
are directly affected by the poul-
try industry. Chicken and eggs
sales have dropped about 50 per-
cent, especially in Dhaka, where
this is evident through the pur-
chase of chicken, or the lack
restaurants, and markets. The
people are afraid to purchase
chicken, even though prices have
decreased by about 30 percent.
Although the government is
trying to eradicate the virus from
the country, it has reached five
more villages after only a week-
end. In Noakali, 1000 of the 1800
chicken died due to infection. In
another village where 123 chick-
ens died, presumably from the
bird flu, an owner culled all his
other chickens without any fur-
ther tests. There also have been
some chickens that died report-
edly from cholera and Ranikhet
disease. Now, the virus has
reached 21 farms and is still
spreading. Those who cull chick-
en8 are given a dose of Oseflu,
and about 400 of the workers
have been given doses of
Tamiflu. There haven’t been any
reports of anybody positive for
the disease in the country, but
over the last four months, 169
people around the globe have
died from it. If not stopped, this
problem has the potential to be-
come a catastrophe. ◙
OPINIONS
The Disappearing
Childhood
by Hui Ting Jiang, staff writer
In the 21st century, many
children are shedding their
innocence faster than past
generations. Six-year-old girls are
wearing two-piece bathing suits
instead of the traditional one-piece
and wearing tank tops as opposed
to comfortable T-shirts. It’s even
more shocking that eight-year-olds
are cursing at teachers, parents and
fellow peers when their anger
takes over. Ten-year-olds are now
finding companions of the opposite
sex faster than you can say
“abracadabra.” Some of you
reading this may think: Are you
serious?
On April 9, The Tyra Banks
Show discussed the rapid matura-
tion of children in America today.
Due to the viewing of music vid-
eos on MTV and glossy magazines
on shelves, girls tend to think that
dressing sexy is “cool.” As gullible
as young girls are, they will do
anything to achieve their place in
society. The media influences not
only how adolescent girls think,
but also how they act. A test was
conducted by Banks to see how
girls from ages four to twelve
chose their clothing. During the
experiment, a four-year-old tried
on a shirt with the phrase “Single
& Fabulous,” but was perplexed
when asked to explain its signifi-
cance. All the girls admitted to
imitating the styles of celebrities
they looked up to: Lindsay Lohan,
Paris Hilton and Christina Aguil-
era. “Mischa [Barton] has the cut-
est clothes,” stated freshman
Karen. In addition, many girls
linked the idea of dressing pro-
vocatively to having confidence.
Dear Editors,
Letter to the Editors
Re: “Science Olympiad States
Competition at West Point”
Issue 12 3/12/07
As a member of the Townsend
Harris High School Science Olym-
piad Team, I was dismayed to find
one minor and one major inaccu-
racy in your article. The minor
spelling mistake (Townshend) was
easily avoidable, as our school has
a comprehensive website with the
correct spelling of our high school
MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13
OPINIONS
Locked Out
by Shadia Karim, staff writer
I can deal with swiping my ID
That is not the case for most girls
card into school, being kept out in
when they misinterpret sexual be- the cold before lunch is over, hav-
havior for assurance. Jessica
ing food and all small electronic
Weiner, author and self-esteem devices confiscated, but being
expert, said, “There’s a big differ-
locked out of the bathroom?
ence between . . . supportive en- Really, anyone with a shred of
ergy and a guy asking you if you
self-respect would think that’s
want to have sex. That’s not confi- taking it too far.
dence at all.” A better way for girls
I’ v e h e a rd t h e wo r d s
to channel their confidence is to “bathroom privilege” used by
organize a rally against the injus-
teachers and school personnel so
tice of genocide in Sudan. often and instinctively that it’s
Young boys are also subject
become as much a rule as “don’t
to the pressure that society places cheat on exams” or some other
on their shoulders. Athletes such
ostensibly beneficial philosophy.
as Alex Rodriguez and Peyton The outrageous fallacy of the term
Manning send the message that
had never registered with me —
boys must be quick, strong and, until 7:54 a.m. last Thursday, when
most importantly, athletically fit.
I found myself on the fourth floor,
Fathers send their sons off to shivering, soaked to the skin, and
sports boot camps so that they
glaring at the locked door to the
can train to become professional girls’ bathroom. Since when has
athletes. Boys are taught to be
going to the bathroom — a bio-
rough and tough at a young age. logical necessity — become a
The media have made a lot of
privilege? Since when has a public
mistakes, and the disappearing facility — once upon a time open
childhood is one with many bad
to all 24/7 — come to be private?
repercussions. ◙ And since when have school per-
sonnel been given the grand au-
Source: usmagazine.com
thority to punish and discipline us
by keeping us from relieving our-
selves (as nature intended)?
The bathroom issue is repre-
sentative of an variety of issues
falling under “blatant breaches of
student rights” in the still-
suppressed Stuyvesant memoir.
Add to that the library’s newest
policy — why, that is both the
most appalling and annoying thing
I’ve ever heard of. For those of
you who have not had the pleasure
yet, this policy refers to the one
where you get to wander the halls
Girls try to imitate the styles of after the library doors have shut
such celebrities as Lindsay Lohan ten minutes following the ending
(left) and Mischa Barton (right) .
name prominently displayed. The This hyperbole is both inaccurate
major mistake was when the au- and offending, and would have
thor stated “Stuyvesant came forth been easily verified if our website
as the highest ranked of New York www.thhs.qc.edu was checked in
City, defeating their long time ri- confirmation.
val, Townsend Harris High
School...” By using the words Sincerely,
“long time rival,” the author im- Rachel Mayo
plied that Townsend Harris has
been competing in Science Olym-
piads for an extended period of Dear Rachel,
time. However, that is extremely
inaccurate because it is only our Thank you for writing to The Stan-
third year in the regional competi- dard about your concerns. I am
tion; we began competing in 2005. sorry for the mistake in the spell-
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD 5
bell, even if you have proof of
admissibility in the form of an ID
card.
There seems, always, to be
some sort of miscommunication
between administrators and stu-
dents as to why the latter might
want to spend time in the library.
Administrators assume, with the
touch of cynicism characteristic of
the adult, that if one out of ten stu-
dents are truly a bunch of noisy,
disrespectful, computer-hogging
kids, that the rest of us by our mere
proximity morph into the same
species. The brilliance of this is
that it makes life for them so sim-
ple: all they have to do is bar all of
us, instead of just the problematic
ones, from entering. The responsi-
ble students, obviously, are the
ones that made it there on time —
just like they are the ones who
know when to let their bladders
bother them.
While there are definitive
codes of behavior and work for
using any public facility, they
should not be unreasonably de-
manding because they exist in es-
sence to serve us. We can all agree
that we go to the library more of-
ten than not to work, but that we
do so, and should be allowed to do
so, at a leisurely pace. While the
library is our resource center, the
bathroom serves our basic needs;
thus, both should be available
without restraint (unless they are
filled to capacity, of course). Cut-
ting is electronically recorded —
most of us know that and know the
consequences it bears on our
grades. If one chooses to continue,
can being denied entrance any-
where really make a difference?
The cutters will find ways to keep
cutting, and kids will be kids. Until
they grow up. ◙
ing of your school. It was an unfor-
tunate error. At the end of the arti-
cle, there should have been a dis-
claimer: Jimmy Zhang, the author,
is a member of The Stuyvesant
High School Science Olympiad
Team. Thus, the article was writ-
ten from his perspective and con-
tained his point of view.
Regards,
Jennifer Schlesinger
Editor in Chief
eic@stuystandard.org
6 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13 SCIENCE

SCIENCE
Blueberries May Help Curb Colon Cancer The Art
by Alexandros Kaliontzakis, staff writer

of Cloning
that even though the findings are interesting, there is
no guarantee that the substance will be useful in hu-
A study conducted by researchers at Rutgers Univer- mans. More testing and models are needed before it
sity and the United States Department of Agriculture can be determined whether it is truly useful in curing
showed that blueberries can be used to help stop the colon cancer. by Omar Ahmad, staff writer
growth of colon cancer. These little berries are extremely Regardless of whether blueberries are cancer-
healthy and useful, as they are already known to The cloning of an animal or
curing or not, we should still eat them
Source: www.foodreference.com

help stop and prevent memory loss and heart the ethical implications of such a
and other berries, says James Joseph,
disease. In the study, a new natural substance process are often discussed in the
chief of the neuroscience laboratory at
was found, called pterostilbene, which resides news, but what exactly is cloning?
the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutri-
mainly in blueberries and blackberries. The sub- The dictionary describes it as a
tion Research Center. “Eat berries re-
stance helped prevent precancerous colon lesions process that creates something that
gardless of this study,” he said.
when tested on rats. The study leader, Bandaru is identical to the unit from which
“There’s lots of other data out there on
Reddy, said that colon cancer is a major problem it is derived.
the health benefits of berries. In gen-
mostly in western countries, and that the study First of all, there are three
eral, be sure to eat 10 servings of fruits
was the first to show that the newly-found sub- different types of cloning. These
and vegetables a day, especially color-
stance can be used against colon cancer. are recombinant DNA cloning,
ful ones that are high in antioxidants.”
The researchers gave 18 rats a chemical reproductive cloning and therapeu-
Blueberries are not the only type of
called azoxymethane that induces colon cancer. tic cloning. All of these processes
berries that have evidence of being
Half of the rats were fed a balanced diet, while Blueberries, besides con- are equally significant scientific
cancer-curing. It has been found by
the other half were fed the same diet as well taining antioxidants, reduce various other researchers that chemi- research, but reproductive cloning
along with pterostilbene. After two months, the risks of some cancers, in- cals from grape-seed extracts can be is the most popular today.
rats who were fed pterostilbene had 57 percent cluding colon cancer. Recombinant cloning
used to prevent sunlight-induced can-
fewer precancerous lesions in their colons com- involves cells other than animal
cer when fed to mice. Also, another study showed that
pared to the other group. Eating the pterostilbene also when mice were fed blackberries, they had 80 percent cells, cells that would undergo
helped decrease colonic cell creation and stop the inflam- fewer colon tumors and 60 percent fewer esophageal mass duplication naturally. In this
mation of the cells, both of which are considered risk tumors. In Germany, a study was also conducted process, a cell, such as a
factors for colon cancer. bacterium, will receive extracted
showing that drinking two or three glasses of unfil-
Before pterostilbene can be used in human trials, it tered apple juice a day can also help curb colon can- DNA from another such
must be used in other animals to see whether it can pre- organism. These genes will be
vent tumors. Jon A. Story, a professor of foods and nutri- cer.◙ placed into the bacterium
tion at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., said immediately before it performs
mass cell division, leading to
duplication. When the cell begins

Thanks A Lot, Bot!

by Kenneth Lam, staff writer
A metallic object on wheels
moves through an obstacle course.
Upon bumping into an object, it
backs up. Moving forward, it
bumps into the object again. Once
again, it moves back. This time,
though, it decides to move to the
side, avoiding the object, and man-
ages to complete the obstacle
course. In another arena, an arm is
performing surgery on a person.
Behind the controls of this arm is a
doctor, who is guiding the arm as it
makes incisions and other move-
ments involved in surgery. How is
all this possible? The answer is
simple: robotics and artificial intel-
ligence.
Although the case in which a
robot performs surgery is not one
of artificial intelligence, it is an
example of how robots are being
employed in more of our lives.
During surgery, robots are used to
operate through small incisions,
rather than using the larger ones
associated with conventional sur-
gery. This enhances recovery time,
as the incisions heal much faster.
Essentially, a robotic arm makes a
small slit into the patient, and in-
serts the tools necessary for the
operation into the body through the
incision. From there, a doctor ma-
nipulates the instruments from the
control desk, using two joysticks to
move the instruments. Although
this is slightly risky in that the ro-
bot can undergo mechanical fail-
ure, the operations are more pre-
cise, since the robot is not as sub-
ject to the many influences that can
cause a human hand to go off
track. Another way robots have
worked themselves into regular life
is in the factory lines, where they
assemble everyday objects, like
cars, in a repetitive manner.
A more interesting aspect of
robots, however, is artificial intelli-
gence. A subset of artificial intelli-
gence involves the ability of a ro-
bot to “learn” from its environment
and to apply this to whatever tasks
it may be performing at the time.
An example of this is when a robot
is in a maze. A robot with artificial
intelligence might be able to deter-
mine which paths are the correct
paths by taking knowledge from
past experiences and applying
them to find the exit. One such
example of a robot learning from
its terrain is the “bump and go”
robot, which essentially bumps
BOT
continues on page 8
FANUC Robotics America is the lead-
ing supplier of industrial robots.
to divide and duplicate, the gene
that was placed in the bacterium
is copied along with the rest of
the genetic material. The needed
DNA then can be extracted from
all the resulting cells. Thus,
scientists can use the abilities of
cells for their own benefit.
Reproductive cloning, the
process of completely cloning an
animal, is much more complex. In
this procedure, an egg cell of a
member of the same species of
the animal to be cloned is ob-
tained. The genetic information
of this egg is removed and re-
placed with the chromosomes of
the subject. The egg is then
stimulated by electric currents to
undergo cell division. Once the
egg reaches a fairly developed
stage, the egg is implanted into
the wall of the uterus of an ani-
mal of the same species. The egg
continues to develop until birth. It
is notoriously known that the
clone often dies soon after it is
born. Not only is there scientific
disappointment, but many people
have stated that reproductive
cloning is unethical and “naming
oneself as God.”
Therapeutic cloning also
raises very difficult questions
CLONING
continues on page 7
SCIENCE MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD 7
CLONING
continued from page 6

about ethical solutions. This proc-

ess involves stem cells. A stem
cell, or embryonic cell, is har-
vested and goes under various
experiments. These experiments
have a purpose other than tradi-
tional reproductive cloning. This
cell is used in determining the
development of diseases during
the embryonic stages of a cell.
The problem with this procedure
is that the extraction of stem cells
destroys the embryo in the proc-
ess. This raises the issue that a
possible future child shouldn’t be
killed in order for science to pro-
gress. Also, there has been a re-
cent claim that amniotic fluid of a
mother contains healthy stem
cells just as the embryo does, so
there is no need to harm an em-
bryo to retrieve stem cells.
In the world of cloning, much
progress is being made. In the
case of stem cell research, or
therapeutic cloning, the discovery
involving amniotic fluid may
open many doors for future inves-
tigation and, hopefully, beneficial
information about the human
body. If you want to learn more
about this, you can research this
topic online or take a course that
discusses it, such as Medical Eth-
ics. ◙
Stem Cells: An Ethical Dilemma
by Jonathan Xikis, staff writer
A huge debate is currently
occurring between Democrats and
Republicans about the use of
stem cells for research. Stem cells
are, a basic form of cells, which
can develop into any number of
other cells. This makes them
useful for research and medicine,
since scientists can transform
them into muscle or nerve cells
and grow organs without the need
for a donor, or inject them into
tissue to treat diseases. These
primal cells are found in a variety
of places, such as premature
embryos and adult tissue. Why
then, do some treat stem cells as
unethical and immoral and not to
be allowed? The answer lies on
the battleground between science
and religion.
Embryonic stem cells, unlike
their adult counterparts, have
unlimited capacity for cell differ-
entiation; they can transform into
almost any type of bodily cell.
There is a problem, though, and
its name is “viability.” Put forth
during the Roe v. Wade case in
the Supreme Court, which upheld
the right to abortion, this loosely-
defined term refers to the mini-
mum time from conception to
birth at which it is possible for an
embryo to fully develop into a
human. As of now, the magic
number is 22 weeks, meaning that
any baby born after this time is
technically a living “person,”
albeit an unconscious one. Even
babies born before this “viability”
point are still the subject of de-
bate, since the Bible states that
humans are instilled with a soul
at conception, thereby making the
removal of an embryo murder,
even if it has had no chance to
develop.
The debate on the usage of
embryonic stem cells has reached
the office of President Bush, who
banned federal funding for any
new studies on these stem cells in
2001, and recently pledged to
veto a bill sponsored by Senate
Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-
Nev.) which intends to lift the
rest ri ct i on. Thi s dec i s i on,
however disappointing it may be
to scientists, is not the death knoll
for all stem cell research. In fact,
there are a few alternatives to
embryonic cells that do not have
the same moral problems. First
are the aforementioned adult stem
cells, which can be isolated from
tissue samples. This eliminates
t he pr o s pe c t o f “ k i ll i n g”
anything, but these cells do not
have as extensive a capacity for
differentiation as embryonic
cells. Second, and possibly more
promising, is a new type of stem
cell found in amniotic fluid,
outside of the embryo. If these
cells turn out to have the same
capacity for change as the ones
being so vehemently opposed by
the religious right, they could end
the extraction of embryonic cells
once and for all.
Stem cells will definitely be
the subject of debate long into the
future. The time until viability
will continue to decrease as medi-
cal technology advances, and,
someday, doctors will be able to
save all premature babies, no
matter when they are extracted
from the mother’s body. Hope-
fully, by then, we will have found
an alternative means of obtaining
stem cells that works just as well,
or even a new way of growing
cells altogether. ◙

BOT
continued from page 6

into an object and changes its di-

rection to avoid the object. An-
other example of usage of artificial
Autism on the Rise?
by Rammiya Nallainathan, has become less restrictive, now baby does not meet this basic
intelligence is when a robot is trav- staff writer including those with a less severe criteria, then a parent should see a
ersing unknown terrain. When a form of the disease. One thing doctor before the child starts to
certain patch of terrain is unfamil- that many can agree on is that develop a more serious form of
As the years go by, doctors
iar to the robot, be it very bumpy, genes play a major role in the the disease.
and researchers say that certain
or obstacle ridden, the robot can development of children. For ex- Some families have come out
diseases or medical conditions
essentially switch directions and ample, one study shows that dele- and shared their experience when
have been declining in appearance.
head around the object. tion of duplicates of the genetic they found out that their child
However, there is one condition
To analyze their surroundings, code for oxytocin can have a seri- was diagnosed with autism. One
that has been on the rise: autism.
robots require sensors, such as ous impact on social behavior. mother said that she really started
According to the Centers for
cameras or microphones, that can Although it can be hard to to see that her child was autistic
Disease Control and Prevention,
pick up information from the envi- face reality, it is true that the ear- when he stopped picking up vo-
about one in 150 children have
ronment. A camera works with an lier a child is diagnosed with au- cabulary words. She had a very
autism spectrum disorder, or
image-recognition program in or- tism, the better the chances are hard time when she did find out
ASD. Individuals with ASD are
der to determine what a specific that treatment will help. By the that her son was diagnosed with
deficient in communication,
object is, and to determine what time a baby is three months old, autism. She said, “With that one
socialization and imagination,
exactly to do with that object. It is the baby should start to make word, ‘autistic,’ your dreams for
and show repetition in behavior.
also possible to use two cameras in noises and develop a smile of his your child leading a normal life
These numbers are quite startling
order to gain a sense of depth. or her own. At six months of age, crash down before you.” ◙
given that only fifteen years ago,
Other robots use sounds to locate a baby should be happy to see his
only about one in 2000 children
objects in a manner not unlike or her parents and start to
had ASD. This increase in cases
echolocation. However, there are
Durham-autism.com

has caused researchers to “babble” as well as make eye

many other sensors that are em- contact. By the time the baby is
speculate how this may have
ployed other than just video and nine months old, he or she should
happened.
audio, such as smell sensors. start to recognize facial expres-
Some say that it might be
A robot is a machine which is sions and have interactions.
because of the advanced technol-
already capable of assisting When the baby has reached the
ogy that allows doctors to see in
humans in many aspects of life, age of one, the baby should start
advance whether a child may
from manufacturing to surgery. to say one-word phrases and start
grow up to be autistic, and the
However, the day where robots pointing at different things. At
actual number of autistic people
become sentient beings and able two, he or she should have a vo-
has not changed, merely our abil-
to think for themselves is still far cabulary of at least fifty words
ity to detect them. Others say it’s
away. ◙ and say two-word phrases. If a An Autism Awareness ribbon, used to
because the definition of autism
bring attention to Autism
8 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13 BUSINESS

The Effects of T-Rex: The Chicken of

Global Warming Yesterday
by Omar Ahmad, staff writer feet, similar thigh bone structure,
by David Feng, staff writer are already present, such as and analogous molecular
increased flooding of coastal The T-Rex comes from a structure of proteins. Collagen, a
Global warming has become a regions, a rise in malnutrition and chicken? After studying 68-
catch-phrase as scientists ponder fibrous protein found in skin,
disease, and exacerbated water million-year-old flesh remains in bone and other connective
its effects on the earth. And many shortages in already-dry regions. the bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex,
of these effects are very detrimen- tissues, is found in striplike
Perhaps one of the most seri- scientists believe that they have set pieces in the tissue of a chicken’s
tal to us, whether it is the melting ous problems is the effect of the a milestone in paleontology. The
of the glaciers at the North Pole, or thigh and those of other avians.
melting of glaciers on the people Tyrannosaurus rex is known as John Asara discovered at his lab
the constant increasing of the tem- of Pakistan. “The glaciers that “The King of Dinosaurs” or “Lord
perature. Besides these major ef- that such patterns are evident in
[people in Pakistan] depend upon of the Reptiles,” so many scientists the Tyrannosaurus rex and other
fects of global warming, there are are predicted to disappear in 35 found it difficult to believe that its
many others that we might never similar reptiles and amphibians,
years or so. This is not that far closest living relative is the such as frogs and newts.
be aware of, and some of them are off,” says Kathleen Miller, a lead domesticated, controlled and
actually beneficial to us. Paleontologist Thomas Holtz
author for the report and scientist common chicken. of the University of Maryland in
One of the many effects of with the Institute for the Study of John Asara of Beth Israel
global warming is the migration of College Park said, “It wasn't terri-
Society and Environment at the Deaconess Medical Center in bly long ago we thought there was
animals. Due to the rising tempera- National Center for Atmospheric Boston and Mary Schweitzer of
ture, many plant and animal spe- no preservation whatsoever in fos-
Research in Boulder, Colo. This North Carolina State University sils.” According to prior knowl-
cies are migrating to other places might become a very big humani- in Raleigh, exposed a
with cooler climates, whether they edge in the world of archaeology,
tarian crisis in the future, as the T yr a n no s a u r us r e x b u r i e d paleontologists have stated time
live in the ocean or on land. What lives of people in Pakistan will underneath 60 feet of sandstone
is very interesting is that there are and time again that organic mate-
definitely be changed, and proba- in Hell Creek, Montana. The rial should not be able to sustain its
new species of plants in formerly bly not for the better. specimen’s location kept the
forbidding Antarctica. However, a physical well-being over such a
In general, global warming bones remarkably nintact. After vast span of time as 68 million
large migration of animals from has more negative impacts than rigorous inspection of the
one place to another can cause years. This discovery is a phe-
positive on our world. Although dinosaur remains, John Asara nomenon that widens the spectrum
food and supply shortages. The the climate change that global discovered that many small
increase in temperature of global of possibilities of future study in
warming creates is becoming deposits of tissue remained inside the areas of archaeology and pale-
warming also has a very devastat- more and more obvious, it can be the thig h bone. The tissue was
ing impact on people who live in ontology. Many past projects and
slowed in many ways. Only time then transported back to Asara’s specimens now need to be re-
Asia. For every additional one can tell if these actions really lab in the sandstone that it was
degree Celsius of warming, water viewed once again to determine
help, but we will at least be able ori gi nal l y found i n. Th is whether tissue has survived and
will become scarce for an addi- to try. ◙ procedure was to help prevent
tional 1.2 billion people in Asia. what new knowledge can be ob-
contamination. The few grams tained.
Global warming also greatly that were tested were first ground Opening many new doors,
Source: news.yahoo.com

affects agriculture. The impact is into small pieces, then subject to

two-edged. The increasing levels this study has changed our views
various DNA examinations. of fossils. Holtz has stated that “we
of carbon dioxide help crops These examinations revealed
grow, and warmer weather will have a lot more to learn about
gre a t s i mi l a r i t i e s be t we e n fossilization.” This information
boost wheat, corn and rice yields chickens and the Tyrannosaurus
in North America while causing may lead our knowledge of
rex. dinosaurs to a more modern
them to decline precipitously in There are known physical
tropical regions. Many other perspective, hopefully aiding our
similarities between the chicken perceptions of evolutionary
effects in agriculture are also and the Tyrannosaurus rex,
being expected to come soon or Smoke rising from factories in Thai-
including related talons on the processes. ◙
land contributes to global warming.

BUSNIESS
The Incessant Growth of Starbucks
by Si Hong Huand, staff writer
Source: Corbis

its rapid growth without diluting Starbucks in certain areas is neces-

The once single-stored and
little-known Starbucks brand has
become the fastest-growing coffee
business in the world. In three
decades, Starbucks has managed to
piece together a coffee-serving
empire of 13,000 stores, with plans
to construct another 10,000 stores
worldwide in the next four years.
Many investors are question-
ing whether the Seattle, Washing-
ton-based company can maintain
its brand. There seems to be con-
troversy over the fact that Star-
bucks seems to dot every block in
New York City and many other
densely populated cities; according
to Mr. Satzman, a director of new
store development for Starbucks,
there are places where Starbucks
can be seen on three of the four
corners of a city block; sometimes
even a fourth one is constructed if
the logistics can be worked out. He
says the installation of numerous
sary because most customers won’t
wait in line for more than six to
eight minutes for coffee no matter
how dire their desire for it is. It
seems crucial that Starbucks cap-
ture those spur-of-the-moment
cups of coffee that consumers wish
for, which brings forth questions
such as, “Was the location on the
side of the street where people Starbucks Corporation is the largest
coffeehouse company in the world,
with 5647 licensed stores in 39 coun-
STARBUCKS
tries.
continues on page 9
A&E
TEENAGE CAUTION
continued from page 1
purpose of finding connections or
new friends. Furthermore, the
cover of anonymity also creates
some antagonistic strangers, such
as “spammers,” who mass-
message random people via the
social networking sites’ online
messaging tools, or “flamers,”
who post hostile messages on the
comment spaces on people’s
profiles. Social-networking sites
have responded to all these
growing concerns by offering
users more controls over how
much they make public and
warning them about revealing too
much. For example, MySpace
has an option for users to be
denied access to your page unless
they can provide your last name
or e-mail address. However,
despite the control over the
admission to their personal pages,
teenagers are not so worried
about the personal content they
display to their friends; 79
Reign Over Me
by Robert Colbourn, staff writer
When seen from afar, “Reign
Over Me” seems to be a decent
movie idea for modern times. But
upon seeing who’s in it, and what
type of movie it is, I’m sure many
people were shocked to see Adam
Sandler play the lead. Throughout
his entire career, he’s always
played immature, childlike charac-
ters on screen, with his most dra-
matic role so far being in “Big
Daddy,” and only for about five
minutes. In this movie, he was
thrust into a role that commanded
true depth of character, and I have
to admit, it was very hard to be-
lieve that he could pull it off. Yet
he did give a stellar performance.
That alone is reason enough to see
it, but the touching plot and occa-
sional comedic moments further
add to the beauty in this film.
Alan Johnson (Don
Cheadle) is living in a
contemporary New York City,
with his family. He lives a
relatively uninteresting life,
feeling strapped down by the lack
of freedom in his marriage and
the lack of interesting people he
has to interact with in his dental
office. One day, he bumps into
his college roommate, Charlie
Fineman (Adam Sandler), who
seems to have become an odd
individual. Alan tries to get
deeper into Charlie’s life, and it
turns out that Charlie lost his
wife, children and family dog in
MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13
percent of teenagers include
photos of themselves, with girls
more likely to do so, while 82
percent use their first names and
50 percent name their schools.
Yet the safety provisions that
these teenagers take are quite ra-
tional and justified, as most of the
teens with profiles say they use the
sites to stay in touch with existing
friends. Thus, by barring strangers
from visiting, they can safely post
their personal information in order
to share it with their personal
friends. Less than half of teenagers
say they use these websites in or-
der to make new friends.
In addition to all this, over 45
percent of online teenagers appar-
ently do not even use these social-
networking sites, either because of
ambivalence towards online pro-
files and contact or because of
fears of predators.
The telephone study of 935
American youths, ages 12 to 17,
and their parents was conducted
Oct. 23 to Nov. 19 and has a
margin of sampling error of plus
or minus 4 percentage points. ◙
ARTS&ENTERTAINMENT
the attacks on 9/11. Because of
this, Charlie is suffering from a
severe case of post-traumatic
stress disorder and needs help in
order to get his life back on track.
The focus is on the growing
friendship between these two.
One of the amazing aspects about
this pair is that every time Charlie
lashes out, Johnson always
forgives him and continues to be
his friend. Charlie’s agony is
portrayed very well by Adam
Sandler. Surprisingly, one can
truly see a man who is suffering,
and who is going through
something very profound and
complex.
There are, however, many
occasions of comic relief, in
which Sandler is able to show his
comedic side in a non-idiotic
way. He provides some base and
witty humor, which adds to the
humor of the various scenes.
There is also a large amount of
symbolism, in even the most
seemingly unimportant of scenes.
For example, Fineman is shown
pla yin g “S hado ws of the
Colossus” on his PS3 in his
apartment. This game is all about
a man who has to fight large
monsters called colossi in order
to resurrect his dead wife (see a
connection?). “Reign Over Me”
shows a surprising amount of
compassion, with a little added
humor, making it a must-see this
season. ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
STARBUCKS
continued from page 8
head to work?” and “Was it on the
end or the middle of a shopping
center?” Mr. Satzman explains that
if you’re on the opposite side of a
crowded street, it’s unlikely that
you’ll cross the street just to get to
a Starbucks, so in a case like this, a
Starbucks would be constructed on
both sides of the street; according
to The Wall Street Journal, this
sounds like the corporate version
of the old chicken joke: “Why did
Starbucks cross the street?” “To
get to the customers on the other
side.”
With so many Starbucks in
such close contact with each other,
it’s hard to believe that any profit
is actually made. Starbucks obtains
some of its sales from selling cof-
fee beans, ice cream and bottled
drinks in grocery stores and dis-
pensing its brew in restaurants and
on airlines, but the majority of
Starbucks’ sales come from the
selling of lattes, macchiato and
Gilmore Girls: The End
by Emma Rabinovich, Arts and
Entertainment editor
When “Gilmore Girls” finally
returned with new episodes this
April, I was a bit anxious. The
season has been a little rocky so
far. The banter hasn’t been as
witty, the relationships haven’t
been as smart and Stars Hollow
hasn’t been as sweet as it was with
former executive producers Daniel
and Amy Sherman Palladino. And
there were only five episodes left.
In the April 17 episode,
Logan (Matt Czuchry) comes to
visit Stars Hollow while the town
hosts the Spring Fling Festival.
As with every other town event,
this one is quirky and eccentric
and has a little too much hay.
M e a n w h i l e , L u k e (S c o t t
Paterson) and Lorelai (Lauren
Graham) finally apologize to each
other amid the hay and Lorelai
confronts Logan’s lack of
direction during a midnight
snack.
The hay maze idea is pure
Stars Hollow magic. I missed the
town meetings when everyone is
reminded of just how crazy Tay-
lor (Michael Winters) really is.
But most importantly of all, the
stunning supporting cast, which
brings charm and wit to this fun
little show, finally gets a chance
to shine. From Michel’s (Yanic
Truesdale) rants to Paris’s insan-
ity, every note hits perfection.
The past episodes of this sea-
son haven’t focused on Stars Hol-
9
Frappuccinos. On average, a Star-
bucks costs $390,000 to build and
returns first-year sales of approxi-
mately $900,000; the sales to in-
vestment ratio is 2.3, which is ex-
tremely beneficial. The springing
up of numerous Starbucks stores
near each other has not had any
negative impact, but rather in-
creased the coffee giant’s profits.
According to CEO Jim Donald, a
Texas store manager complained
that his store’s sales of $1 million
a year were compromised by a new
drive-through Starbucks, which
managed to bring in $3 million
dollars in its first year. So in the
same area, Starbucks was now
pulling in $4 million dollars a year
instead of the $1 million or $3 mil-
lion if there was only the store or
only the drive-through in that area.
Not only is Starbucks rapidly
expanding, but it is also
maintaining its growth, which is a
rather impressive feat. At this rate
of expansion, Starbucks will
undoubtedly leave a permanent
mark on society for generations
to come. ◙
low at all, which has certainly
hurt the show. Meanwhile, Lore-
lai’s relationship with Christo-
pher seemed tedious because of
the indelicate writing. Their rela-
tionship was always light, fluffy
and easy because of their close-
ness but the new writers created
an atmosphere of comedy without
any of the fun, so it felt like a
time-filler until she could get
back with Luke.
But the show finally seems to
be on the right track. Lorelai and
Luke seem ready to make
amends, which, while a little safe,
seems appropriate and satisfying.
Rory (Alexis Bledel) , still lack-
ing the distinct spirit and charac-
ter that she had in previous sea-
sons, seems to be making a come-
back.
There’s still no word as to
whether the season finale in May
is going to the series finale, but as
much as I love this show, I think
it’s time to go. Lorelai needs to
settle down with Luke and start
the boring life she wants and de-
serves. Rory is graduating from
Yale and becoming an adult. It
seems like the show has gone its
way and come full circle. One
more season will only hurt the
devoted fans who know how it’s
going to end already. ◙
10 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Last Thursday, April 19th, 2007,
students and faculty gathered in
the cafeteria to champion a com-
mon cause: delicious international
food. The 32nd International Food
Festival, sponsored by the Foreign
Language Department, raised a
over $2000 and featured a wide
variety of ethnic foods.
Photo Credits: Elissa Tam, Hui Ting Jiang, Ada Zhang, Tim Chang, and
Bennett Hong. Comic Credit: Robert Stevenson
MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13 SPEICAL
Anyone who has gone to the Food
Festival in the past knows about the
swarms of students that show up to
enjoy the wealth of food. Crowds
were especially thick around the
Chinese table, where a line had
formed simply to reach the table. All
around the cafeteria crowds were
thick, but sitting down with a plate
full of delicious food was not a prob-
The Food Festival featured a cornucopia of ethnic foods ranging from the
lem. popular Chinese, Japanese and Korean tables to the lesser known Greek,
Jewish and French tables. While many foods were chiefly desserts or
snack foods, several main course items could be found at each table.
THE 32ND INTERNAIONAL FOOD FESTIVAL:
A Photo Essay
by Tim Chang, columnist
The busiest people at the Food Festival were undoubtedly the volunteer
students and teachers staffing the tables and serving food to hungry cus-
tomers. The Chinese table was particularly with the mobs of students and
teachers waiting to get food. Also shown is the Japanese table, which
faced a high demand for sushi from students and faculty.
After navigating the crowds and purchasing their food, students finally
got to enjoy the multicultural cornucopia on their plate. Seating was
limited to a few tables on the floor, so some students sat by the window or
simply stood and ate. Everyone present seemed to enjoy themselves.
LITERARY
PUZZLES&LITERARY
Important News
HIGH SCHOOL
continued from page 12
12-0, winning their division as
well. As for swimming, both the
Pirates and the Penguins are per-
fect examples of the level Stuy
sports has reached. The Pirates
have dominated the PSAL swim-
ming scene in recent years, and
“settled” for a co-city champion-
ship this year with Brooklyn
Tech. The baseball team, the Hit-
men, has made the playoffs for
the past eleven straight years de-
spite not having a home field. In
coed sports, Stuy has done re-
markably well too. Even though
MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13
by Robert Stevenson
the bowling and fencing teams
have been split in recent years,
Stuyvesant still remains at the top
of both boys’ and girls’ bowling
and fencing.
Being students at a math and
science school, the athletes of
Stuyvesant do not get the
recognition they deserve. The
students work just as hard in the
gym as they do in the classroom.
Whether it is TI-89 or pigskin in
hand, pacing the test or the track,
stretching mental or physical
endurance, the Stuy sports player
is an example of a true scholar-
athlete.
Editors Note: Richard Mai is a member of the
Stuyvesant baseball team
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
IMUS continued from page
ther, offending all women and Af-
rican-Americans alike.
However, Imus’ comments
weren’t intended to be racist.
Imus has a long history of
offensive comments, which
further encouraged many people
to call for his termination on CBS
and MSNBC. For example, in
recent years, he called former
Secretary of State Colin Powell a
“sniffling weasel,” and the New
York Knicks “a group of chest-
thumping pimps.” Although
Imus’s recent comment crossed
the line, he has not meant to
offend a certain group of people.
The comment was merely another
one of his offensive remarks. So
why was he punished so
severely?
Perhaps it is because people
have finally had enough of him;
perhaps it is another reason.
Whatever it may be, let this be a
lesson to all of us. Regardless of
where we are, whether in school,
in the newspaper, on television or
on the radio, we must be
extremely careful in picking our
words because they just might
offend the wrong people. ◙
Want the
answers?
Check out
The Stuyvesant
Standard’s website
at:
www.stuystandard.org
11
How She
Coped
by Stephanie Tam,
staff writer
Greek myths teach one and all
How to cope when a person has
left
Such a myth is about Penelope
The lovely wife of Odysseus who
wept...
It was Penelope who was afraid,
Afraid that Odysseus's death came
true;
It was Penelope who dealt with the
suitors,
Savages she had to subdue;
It was Penelope who was wise,
Wise enough to trick the men;
It was Penelope who remained
calm,
Until her husband came home
again.
Riddle
By Jeffrey Liaw, Puzzle
Columnist
So this idiot at work is jumping
on a pogo stick and falls into a
vat full of liquid. He got out and
was miraculously dry. However,
he was taken to a hospital. Why?
1) The liquid was at room tempera-
ture
2) He failed to read the caution
signs near the vat
3) He didn’t pass out in the vat or
get hit
4) He was wearing work clothes,
aka no protective gear
5) He didn’t drink any of the liquid
Profitable In-
spection
By: Amna
Ahmad
12 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
by Eric Mayo, sports editor
Innocent until proven guilty.
That’s a phrase thrown around by
every defense lawyer in every case
across the country. The phrase is
the basis of the legal system. Yet,
in light of recent cases, it looks
like everyone needs a refresher
course in this simple yet powerful
phrase.
Earlier this month, North
Carolina Attorney General Roy
Cooper dismissed all remaining
charges against the three Duke
students accused of kidnapping
and sexually assaulting an exotic
dancer who danced at the party.
The rape charge was dropped in
December. Cooper said that
“there were many points in the
case where caution would have
served justice better than
bravado.”
Stuyvesant: Specialized Sports High School
by Richard Mai, staff writer
To most people outside of
Stuyvesant High School, the stu-
dents here are best known for their
academic achievements: high stan-
dardized test scores, multiple ad-
MAY 1, 2007—VOL. 6, No. 13
SPORTS
The Sports Beat: Innocence
Mike Nifong, the Durham
County District Attorney who
originally charged the three la-
crosse players, called the three
“hooligans.” Jesse Jackson said
the Duke team itself was “out of
control.” The news was saturated
for weeks about the differences
between rich, white Duke Univer-
sity and poor, black Durham.
These players are not entirely
innocent. As Jackson accurately
mentioned, 15 out of the 47 mem-
bers of the lacrosse team had
been arrested before. Most were
also at the party which seemingly
got under control.
There’s plenty of blame to be
spread around. Jackson and Al
Sharpton need to apologize to the
three players for assuming their
guilt. Nifong needs to be dis-
barred for covering up important
vanced placement courses, and a
rich history of Nobel laureates.
Stuyvesant has some of the best
math and robotics teams in the city
— but do people know we also
have some of the best swimming
and cross-country teams too? The
DNA evidence which severely
damaged his case. Every member
of the media who wrote a story
condemning these lacrosse play-
ers should write another article as
an apology.
That brings me to another
member of the sports world who
is under constant scrutiny: Barry
Bonds. Like with the Duke
Lacrosse players, there is no
concrete evidence of Bonds’
steroid abuse. There’s plenty of
circumstantial evidence, as is
documented on a variety of
websites.
It’s not like Bonds does any-
thing to help his case. He isn’t
accessible to the media. His per-
sonal trainer spent a good amount
of time in jail refusing to testify
in front of a grand jury looking
into whether Bonds perjured him-
popular notion that Stuyvesant
students are lifeless, nerdy kids
who play on their calculators all
the time is not always true. In fact,
what most people don’t know is
that Stuyvesant has a really well-
rounded, if not strong, sports pro-
gram. Stuyvesant has 17 different
PSAL sports, one of the most di-
verse in the city, which amount to
a total 33 teams. The sports offered
range from the standard, like foot-
ball, baseball and basketball, to the
less popular, like bowling, fencing
and golf.
For most schools, their athletic
accomplishments are best defined
by their major sports. Usually, the
defining sport of any high school is
football, in which Stuyvesant does
not have a good history. Unfortu-
nately, many people take a look at
our Peglegs’ record and label us as
incompatible with sports. How-
ever, the Peglegs went 5-5 this
year, a big improvement from the
1-8 of last year. Besides, critics
have to learn to look beyond that.
In almost all other sports, Stuyve-
sant has winning teams with above
.500 records. The boys’ cross-
country team was for many years
one of the best in the city, winning
consecutive Triple Crowns and
“undefeated in the new millen-
nium.” The boys’ varsity basket-
ball team, the Runnin’ Rebels, won
their division for the first time in
50 years with a solid 13-5. The JV
team was even more impressive at
HIGH SCHOOL
continues on page 11
SPORTS
self. And of course, his power
surge after age 36 leaves us with
many more questions than an-
swers.
We’ve now seen the effects
that presumed guilt can have on
our lives. We all must strive to
take a step back and look at the
situation objectively, for there is
nothing more valuable than inno-
cence.
Source: Associated Press
Duke lacrosse team coach Jon Da-
nowski speaks to the team after the
North Carolina Attorney General Ray
Cooper declared three of their former
players innocent of rape allegations.
The End of
Don Imus
by Hesham Saleh, staff writer
Everyone has heard the sexist
and racist remarks Don Imus made
on his show, where he called the
Rutgers women’s basketball team
a group of “nappy-headed hoes.”
His remarks raised a great amount
of controversy from the public in a
short amount of time, including
people such as prominent leaders
Reverend Al Sharpton and Jesse
Jackson, who both promoted his
firing.
Despite apologizing several
times, Don Imus, known for his
legacy of insults and inappropriate
remarks, was fired from MSNBC
and CBS on April 12. Imus
showed great regret over his re-
marks. On Sharpton’s show, he
said, “Our agenda is to be funny
and sometimes we go too far. And
this time we went way too far.” On
his own show, Imus tried to con-
vince people that he had simply
made a mistake. He said that he
was “a good person who made a
bad mistake.”
There is no doubt that Imus’
remarks were inappropriate, to say
the least. They were not only sex-
ist, but also racist. Any time such
comments are made on national
television, an unfavorable outcome
can be expected. Of course, the
Rutgers players were offended,
and they definitely had a right to
be. But Imus’ remarks went fur-
IMUS continues on page 11