THE STUYVESANT

STANDARD
Friday, February 27, 2009 Volume 8 Issue 8

HVAC Is Out of Stuyvesant Home to

Our Hands Two Intel Finalists
By: Muhammad Tambra When approached for By: Elissa Tam
and Hesham Saleh comment Mr. Teitel explained that
the HVAC ( heating, ventilating,

TSS/ Elissa Tam

At Stuy many students
complain about the problems with
the temperature in some rooms.
Students who sit next to the vents
complain that it gives out cold air
during the dead of winter and ex-
cessive heat during warmer days.
There always seems to be one
room on a student’s schedule that
he or she dreads because of its ex-
treme conditions. Some teachers
even refuse to teach in classrooms
that they deem to be too uncom-
fortable.
The custodial staff head,
Mr. Lopa, responded to the ques-
tion of why such a problem exists
by saying “There is no problem,”
and declined to comment further
and air conditioning) system “runs
on an old operating system so we
can’t control some of the system.”
And according to Teitel, the De-
partment of Education does not
plan to do anything about this.
Teitel jokingly said, “We’re poor.
They don’t have any money,” al-
luding to the current state of the
economy and cuts to school budg-
ets across the country. And the
school administration will not be
doing anything to combat the prob-
lem. Teitel explained that, “the
school itself doesn’t handle it.
School Facilities [a company that
provides “school administrators
and facility managers that provide
safe, comfortable and modern cam-
puses for students of all ages” ] Anissa Mak and Adam Sealfon are two of this year’s Intel competition finalists.

stating that the logistics of the is-
sue were between him and Mr.
Teitel. Other members of the cus-
todial staff said that they do not
know about it and it is the engi-
neer’s job to take care of it. The
custodial engineer, Edward Malli-
coat, was unable to be reached for
comment.
A Tribute to
takes care of it. The school will not
spend any money on it.”
Students have differing
views about the HVAC issue. Jun-
ior Emily Zhang said, “generally
they’re [the condition of rooms]
okay. But there are rooms where
it’s freezing all the time and it’s
Continued on page 3
Forty high school seniors
were named finalists of the 2009
Intel Science Talent Search on
January 28, 2009. Two of the final-
ists are Adam Sealfon and Anissa
Mak, students of Stuyvesant High
School. The Intel STS is Amer-
ica’s oldest and most prestigious
pre-college science competition for
high school seniors. It is owned
and administered by Society for
Science and the Public since 1942.
Anissa Mak submitted a
modular decomposition of a
graph. One cannot be sure that the
computation of an algorithm is
free of error. However, one way
to check that a computation is
correct is by using a certifying
algorithm. Anissa’s project uses a
certification algorithm for modu-
lar decomposition.
Anissa began working on
her project in May 2008. Her
math research teacher, Mr. Rubin-
stein introduced her to mentor Dr.

Sari Halper-Dickson
mathematics project for the Intel Ross McConnell, a professor at
Science Talent Search that created Colorado State University. His
a certification algorithm for the
Continued on page 3

By: Rammiya Nallainathan
Sari Halper-Dickson,
from Stuyvesant class of 1987,
passed away the morning of Janu-
ary 30, 2009 from cancer at the
Sloan-Kettering Hospital. She
was the President of the Stuyve-
sant High School Alumni Asso-
ciation from 2002 to 2006 and
served on the Alumni Association
for 13 years.
As a student of Stuyve-
sant High School, she was best
known for being one of the man-
agers for the high school football
team, the Peglegs. She worked
diligently and was very close to
the team. After graduating in
1987, She attended the State Uni-
In This Issue
versity of New York at Bingham-
ton and there she received a
Bachelor of Arts in Political Sci-
ence in 1991, and an M.A. in Pub-
lic Policy Analysis and Admini-
stration in 1992.
Page 3 Page 5 Page 9
Halper-Dickson held posi- Impact of Teaching A Look at
tions in various organizations
throughout the city. She was on the Stimulus Methods Stuy’s Own
New York City Board of Elections
for Queens County. She was also On Matter Mark
one of the fifteen on the Advisory
Board for the Queens Council on Education Surya
the Arts. In addition to this, Sari
served as Assistant Commissioner
at the New York State Division of
Housing and Community Renewal
under David Diamond Counsel's
Office and on the Roosevelt Island
Operating Corporation. Before she
passed away, she was Director of
Continued on page 3
 2 The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009–VOL.8, NO. 8

Staff Editorial:
Too Hard to Grin
The Executive Board and Bear It
AMNA AHMAD EDITOR IN CHIEF
HESHAM SALEH MANAGING EDITOR There a number of things calls upon representatives of the
DAVID MANNES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE about a school environment that can Parents Association alongside
ANGEL WONG DIRECTOR OF FINANCE distract students from learning. Stu- Principal Teitel to pressure the De-
SHAYRA KAMAL LAYOUT EDITOR dents exhausted from juggling the partment of Education into allocat-
GUERGANA BORISSOVA COPY CHIEF demands of extracurricular activi- ing the necessary funds to update
RAMMIYA NALLAINATHAN NEWS EDITOR ties, and academics, in the midst of the HVAC system and train mem-
MUHAMMAD TAMBRA NEWS EDITOR their social obligations must com- bers of Stuyvesant’s custodial staff
MARINA TAWFIK OPINIONS EDITOR mute to school and travel up and to not only operate the system, but
ROBERT COLBOURN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR down ten floors to reach their to sustain it as well.
OMAR AHMAD SCIENCE EDITOR classes. The least any student could Librarians should not have
QI FAN ZHANG TECHNOLOGY EDITOR ask for is heating in the fall and to work in a space that is air condi-
ROBERT STEVENSON LITERARY EDITOR winter and cool air conditioning and tioned in the dead of winter.
MICHAEL BLOCK SPORTS EDITOR the spring and summer months in Teachers should not be forced to
ELISSA TAM DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM the classrooms where they find adjust their regular classroom ac-
MEGAN BRESLIN FACULTY ADVISOR themselves for the majority of the tivities to accommodate a class full
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER school day. of uncomfortable students. Mr.
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS Normal temperature condi- Waxman explained to his tenth
tions should not be treated as a lux- period economics class: “For the
ury by the administration. Whereas first time since I started teaching
the faculty members responsible for
Publication ensuring that the HVAC (heating
at Stuyvesant I actually needed to
put on a coat to keep warm in a
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a non-profit publication produced by ventilating and air conditioning) classroom.” Employees working
the students of Stuyvesant High School. system is functioning properly are for any company would be out-
unable to repair the outdated system raged by the conditions Stuyve-
themselves because the Department sant’s faculty members have put up
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi- of Education is responsible for with for so long.
weekly basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and funding maintenance of the system, Therefore, because Stuy-
throughout the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park City. the Stuyvesant community should vesant simply does not possess the
not wait around for the Department means to correct the HVAC prob-
of Education to take notice of the lem, the Department of Education
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers. For a sheer magnitude of an issue that has an undeniable obligation to
letter to be reproduced in print, a name and method of contact must be pro- they have merely ignored in the make certain that normal tempera-
vided. past. ture conditions are restored to
The Stuyvesant Standard Stuyvesant High School. ◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any published
material. The viewpoints of contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Standard staff.
Copyright ©2009 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

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 NEWS
Stuyvesant Home to
Two Intel Finalists
Continued from page 1
location led to an obstacle for
Anissa’s project. “Graph theory is
visual,” says Anissa. However,
Anissa communicated with her
mentor through e-mails and tele-
phone calls, which made it difficult
to perceive what her mentor was
trying to convey. Anissa completed
her project in November of 2008.
Other teachers at Stuyvesant who
helped and encouraged her were
Mr. Brooks and Ms. Pascu.
“I really didn’t expect to
become a finalist,” Anissa ex-
plains, “especially since it was a
math paper.” Unlike doing re-
search for a science paper, doing a
math research papers requires you
to “discover something new.”
Adam Sealfon submitted a
computer science project in which
he studied algorithms for testing
HVAC Is Out of
Our Hands
The HVAC system at Stuyvesant has been the cause for a great deal of concern among students and faculty members
Continued from page 1
kind of annoying to carry a sweater
around for the entire day just for
that one class.” Junior Anastassia
Kapeles explained: “I find that
some rooms are either way too hot
or way too cold. It’s ridiculous. I
think the school should do some-
thing about it. I understand the issue
about the budget but at least they
should do something to make us
comfortable.” Many teachers also
find the situation unbearable at
times refusing to teach in the class-
rooms with extreme temperatures.
Teitel said they have the option of
taking their classes to either one of
The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO. 8
The Standard News
Impact of Stimulus
on Education
By: Muhammad Tambra
properties of hypergraphs. Hyper-
graphs are used in areas such as
As the state of the United
biology and particle physics. In States economy worsens, the
the study, Adam found the com-
Obama administration moves for-
plexity gap between adaptive and ward with an economic stimulus
non-adaptive algorithms. An adap-
bill worth around $787 billion.
tive algorithm is a query that de- Around $83 billion allocated spe-
pends on the outcome of previous
cifically for childcare, public
queries, whereas non-adaptive al- schools, and universities according
gorithms are queries that do not
to the New York Times. This is
necessarily depend on the outcome relief to many schools across the
of previous queries.
country. As reported in an earlier
Last year, four students article run by the Standard [Budget
from Stuyvesant were named final-
Cut Woes; Issue 6] the Mayor
ists, more than any school in the wants all City agencies to cut back
nation. This year, two students
in spending by 2.5% this school
from Stuyvesant were named final- year and 5% the next. In the case
ists, both of which are math re-
of the Department of Education
search papers. Students and teach- that will mean $180 million and
ers speculate that In the years to
$385 billion, respectively. And as
come, Stuyvesant High School reported earlier on the Stuyvesant
students will continue to excel in
website, Stuyvesant faces a
the annual Intel Science Talent $340,000 cut to its budget this year
Search as they have in past years. ◙
and a projected figure of $754,000
next year.
Many students were re-
lieved at learning the news. Junior
Manuel Castro said, “thank good-
ness that President Obama realizes
the value of public education. I
don’t know what the school system
would do if they got even further
cuts. As it is schools are known to
TSS/Elissa Tam
be understaffed and have very lim-
ited resources. This influx of
money will help combat the cuts.”
Senior Rofi Islam said, “the money
will help out our financially
starved schools who can barely pay
for anything as it is. I think the
money should go towards reinforc-
ing the already existing programs
and also giving more to the arts
which are really overlooked in
most schools.” The money allo-
cated to schools is reported to be
used for payrolls for state and
A Tribute to
Sari Halper-Dickson
the lecture halls. But some teachers
and students may view this as a Continued from page 1
disruption to the class.
Public Affairs and then Director of
With the winter coming to
Annual Giving for New York Hos-
a close many students are breath-
pital.
ing sighs of relief but also growing
On November 17, 2002, she
more anxious as the warmer
married John Dickson in Manhat-
weather will cause their rooms to
tan. She and her husband lived in
go from unbearably cold to un-
Forest Hills, Queens. She had three
bearably hot. They hope that they
children, Diana (five years old),
will not have to deal with the
Aleksander (three years old), and
rooms infamous for their less than
Zachary (one year old). The eldest
acceptable conditions including
two, Diana and Aleksander, were
rooms 727, 427, and the rooms on
adopted from Russia.
the ninth and tenth floors. When
Being on the Stuyvesant
asked if students will see any im-
Alumni Association Board for thir-
provements to the situation Teitel
teen years, she was involved in or-
said, “I don’t think you’ll see any
ganizing many events and projects
resolution.” ◙
such as the 100th Anniversary Stuy
Centennial series of events, The
3
school districts as money from
taxes is dwindling according to the
Times.
However some people are
skeptical of the bill’s promised aid.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan
said in a statement that the aid is,
“not nearly as much as we need.”
Some students also feel that it is
not enough just to pump in money.
Junior Mark Mays said, “they [the
government] is doing a good thing
by providing some money to
schools in aid, however this is not
enough. The stimulus provides
short-term relief to us but if looked
through a long terms lens it won’t
do much good. Once the money
runs out what will they [the gov-
ernment] do then? And who will
pay off the massive debt that the
government is incurring trying to
stabilize the country? It’s going to
be us, our children, and maybe
even our children’s children.”
The bill’s money alloca-
tion to schools though is mostly
seen as a good thing. With every-
thing else going down the tubes
schools are pressing hard to make
sure their students are not it too
hard by the recessions widespread
effects. According to a report by
the NY Times principals across the
city sent protest emails to the dep-
uty schools chancellor in charge of
finances, Kathleen Grimm, calling
the cuts unfair. Mayor Bloomberg
disagrees though. “One of the great
disciplines of managing anything
is to walk in and question every-
thing you’re doing and say, ‘Let’s
see if you can do it with a smaller
budget,’ ” the mayor said in a
statement to the Times, “That fo-
cuses your attention on which
things work and which things
don’t.” But as the influx of money
comes in schools can breathe a
small sigh of relief. ◙
Alumni Spectator, Reunions, Allo-
cations, and Scholarships and
Grants.
A Memorial Service was
held for Sari Halper-Dickson on
February 1, 2009, at the Forest
Park Chapel.
From now until March
2nd, there is a New York Times
guestbook where you can leave
your comments. Any contributions
can be made in memory of "Sari K.
Halper Dickson" to Wide Horizons
for Children (www.WHFC.org) or
American Cancer Society. In addi-
tion to this, the Sari Halper Dick-
son '87 Memorial Scholarship has
been established by the Alumni
Association in her memory. ◙
4 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Obama Begins His Long Journey
Charlotte Ruby
At eleven o’clock on No-
vember 4, 2008, Barack Obama
was announced the 44th president
of the United States. All around
New York City and the country,
people cheered and rejoiced. As
January 20 slowly approached,
Democrats and Republicans alike
awaited the arrival of President
Obama in Washington, and with
it, the change that was promised.
People expected so much from
Obama, that he once commented
that contrary to popular belief, he
was not born in a manger.
With the weight of the
world on his shoulders, Obama
took office and immediately
sprang into action. The first thing
to handle was Guantanamo Bay.
In my opinion, this was a very
good move on his part. No matter
what party one belongs to or what
religion he or she practices, no
one who is not a sadist can think
about torture without cringing a
little bit inside. He signed an ex-
ecutive order closing the camp, as
well as banning the CIA from
using from using coercive inter-
rogation methods. This move
showed that “we are not going to
continue with a false choice be-
tween our safety and our ideals,”
as Obama said, but it also made it
Would you like to join us as a staff writer?
EIC@Stuystandard.org
Email us at:
The Standard Opinions
clear that Obama is a man of mor-
als.
In my opinion, everyone
deserves health insurance. Some
people may work but still cannot
afford health insurance for their
children. Other countries have
taken steps in the direction of uni-
versal health care, and so should
the United States under our new
leadership. Allowing people to
survive and be healthy is not so-
cialism any more than taxes for
other purposes are. Health care is
something vital, like education,
and people should not be forced to
live without it because they cannot
find a well paying job. Obama, a
man of his word, expanded State
Children’s Health Insurance Pro-
gram (SCHIP) shortly after taking
office. The legislation he signed
expanded the program to four mil-
lion children and pregnant women.
This is something that is absolutely
needed, and was tried twice during
the Bush administration. However,
Bush, being the person he is, ve-
toed the legislation.
This rapid succession of
executive orders and legislation
has not come as a surprise as
Obama has begun to clean up the
mess Bush left for him. These are
policies backed by the Democratic
Party and the large Democratic
majority in the House and Senate.
February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8
Obama is not doing things in the
interest of himself and his friends,
nor is he doing things to benefit
buddies in the oil companies.
Obama is trying to bring this coun-
try the change it desperately needs
and deserves.
Nothing Obama has done
so far is something that millions of
Americans did not sign up for
when they flicked the switch next
to his name in voting booths across
the country. Besides shutting down
Guantanamo Bay and expanding
SCHIP, Obama overturned an ex-
ecutive order, thereby granting
foreign aid to groups in other
countries that do abortion counsel-
ing. He placed tough restrictions
on people in his administration
being able to leave the office and
lobby. He also helped push an 800
billion dollar economic stimulus
plan through the Senate and the
House. All of the things that
Obama has done are things that are
desperately needed. With our econ-
omy in the toilet, we need some
kind of stimulus plan. Some Re-
publicans are opposed to this plan,
because it includes some Democ-
ratic programs. However, the
largely Democratic House and
Senate have passed it, and liberals
around the country have much sup-
port for it.
As reported in multiple
OPINIONS
media outlets, there has been
some outrage over the members
of Obama’s cabinet who have
not paid their taxes. Senator
Daschle, who was supposed to
work on Obama’s healthcare
plan, has had to decline the
nomination because of tax prob-
lems. However, Obama is deter-
mined to look to the future.
healthcare will go through with
or without Daschle. One person
is not enough to get in the way
of Obama’s vision for the coun-
try.
Obama has just begun to
clear out the mess that this coun-
try has become, but in my opin-
ion he is doing a good job. Be-
fore criticizing him, one must
take into account the amount of
pressure and responsibility that
comes with being president. One
simply has to put the articulate,
calm, cool, and collected Obama
next to former President Bush to
realize that he is not so bad after
all. Hopefully, in the days to
come, Obama will continue to
push through legislation that will
help Americans and small busi-
nesses instead of benefiting large
corporations. He simply has to
keep his head up and stay deter-
mined to make this country the
country he promised us in his
many uplifting speeches. ◙
 OPINIONS
Teaching Methods
Matter
By: Angela Fan
Common methods that teachers use in the classrooms include class discussions, lectures, guest speakers, and video-
tapes.
Period One likes to lecture.
Period Two is a film. Period Three
is Physical Education. Period Four
likes to have you copy notes. Period
Five is lunch. Period Six is another
note-taking class. Period Seven is
always a discussion. Period eight is
even more notes. Period Nine is
free. Period Ten you’re gone.
We all have so many teach-
ers, and with that comes adjusting
to the many ways they teach. As a
new term has now begun, we all
scramble to get to know our teach-
ers and become accustomed to vari-
ous teaching styles so that we can
get the best grade possible in a cer-
tain class.
Many teachers like to lecture, but
this puts several students at a disad-
vantage. Namely, those poor stu-
dents sitting on the windowsill
without desks are at an inconven-
ience. But it is not just they who do
not appreciate the long class lec-
tures. It is those of us who cannot
necessarily write fast, and those
who just cannot pick out the main
idea before the teacher moves on to
the next idea who do not appreciate
lectures. Some of us end up with
only a few sentences of notes a day,
while others are able to write com-
plete transcriptions of their teach-
ers’ speeches.
Other teachers are more
note-oriented and are known for
writing copious notes on the board
for students to copy. This is a good
way to learn, except for those of us
who happen to have sore hands after
a few minutes of intense scribbling.
Some teachers like to hold
extensive class discussions, which
are fun for all of us…unless we do
not like to participate. Others
among us find it hard to take notes
during a discussion, making it hard
The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8 5
Living in NYC:
A Blessing or a Curse
By: Anna Tsenter
TSS/ Elissa Tam
TSS/ Elissa Tam
Despite living in the leading global city, with numerous sources of entertainment and culture, New Yorkers are not
necessarily the most pleasant of people.
Most of us probably do not streets, and the life define a city.
realize how different New York New York, by that definition, is vast,
City is from the rest of our coun- exciting and diverse.
try. In movies, we have seen little I went to a friend’s house in New
suburban towns with one super- Jersey a few weeks ago. The whole
market, one mall, and a single time I was there, it was eerily quiet. I
school that all the students attend, heard no outside noise the entire
but most of us cannot relate. weekend aside from one or two cars
Even other big cities like Los An- that passed by the empty street. It felt
geles and San Francisco cannot hollow, and I felt like a part of me
compare to the vastness of New was missing the whole time. This
York and the variety that it has to feeling followed me up until I came
offer. Yes, LA is a huge city out to the crowded streets of Broad-
to remember exactly what we dis-
stretching over 20 miles, but it way. With my first breath of the con-
cussed from a week ago.
does not have all of the excitement gested Manhattan air that never stops
Which is better? Would you
and possibility that New York smelling like hot dogs I felt at home.
rather have a teacher that talks all
does, and even though it is a met- All the awkwardness completely dis-
period, writes all period, or has the
ropolitan area, it is sometimes hard appeared when I got pushed aside on
class lead the lesson? Some teaching
to get around without a car. In sub- the sidewalk for standing motionless
styles benefit certain students, and
urban areas, most kids get their a little while longer than I should
others put many students at a disad-
driver’s license at the first possible have.
vantage. Teachers should teach with
moment, because without it, they New York is actually not as
many different ways throughout the
are trapped inside the walls of their hostile as people believe it to be.
term to make sure that all of their
house with no way of getting any- Most outsiders claim that they never
students are learning something.
where. In New York City, how- see smiles on our faces. People think
People say that it is up to the student
ever, many young people do not that we all hate each other, and some
to learn what the teacher is teaching,
even bother getting a driver’s li- even hate walking down NY streets
but sometimes, you simply cannot
cense because using public trans- because of all the unfriendly stares. I
write fast enough. Teachers should
portation is much easier and more personally do not see that at all. Of
help us by teaching in ways that ac-
efficient than driving. course some people are rude when
commodate all of us. Maybe one day
New York is very large, they push you aside, rushing to work,
they would have a discussion, other
yet it is also very easy to get but mostly people are not hostile. On
days would be lectures, and other
around the city. The networks of many occasions, I have seen passen-
days could be lots of class notes.
buses, trains, and railroads make gers give up their seats to the elderly
This way, every student has a chance
the big city seem small and acces- on the train.
to catch up and understand what is
sible. The size of the city might In less populated cities and
going on in the classroom.
seem like a problem, but if you states, even though there might be a
Freshman Maya Averbuch
consider it, would you be able to little more hospitality, it cannot be
says the following: “I think that
go to ice-skating, eat, and catch a used as much, since there is less in-
teachers should attempt to incorpo-
movie afterwards all in a 3-block teraction between people. People use
rate a variety of methods into their
radius somewhere in Missouri? their own personal cars to get to a
teaching because people learn best in
Probably not. New York might specific place and then drive back.
different ways. Discussion stimulates
even be considered “smaller” than They are isolated, keeping in touch
your own thoughts about what you
suburban cities since everything is only with people they know. There is
are learning and leaves room for
connected. There are many things little room for anything spontaneous
opinion, lectures help me understand
to do, so you can easily stay enter- or interaction of any sort. You cannot
whatever I have read in the textbook
tained within the comforts of your find yourself walking randomly
much better, and notes are beneficial
neighborhood, or around school. down a crowded street looking into
for reviewing. It should really be a
Living in NYC does have its draw- little stores, becoming inspired by the
decision between the teachers and
backs. The massive number of different cultures, people and new
the students in each class, and not
people constantly pushing through things. In New York, you can be-
just something the teacher decides.”
the streets creates large crowds, come acquainted with different parts
Anika Rastgir believes that
lines, and overpopulated transit. of the world just by walking far
“it all depends on the subject. In
There is likely to be more garbage enough down one street. You cannot
English, discussion is the most effec-
surrounding us, as well as more find such fluent mergence of so
tive style because that is how the
pollution. It might seem more un- many different people and cultures
class can communicate. I personally
comfortable than a clean quiet little anywhere else. The exciting atmos-
like some variety in teaching with
town with 500 residents, but who phere of New York cannot compare
the other subjects. There should be a
likes quiet? Who likes boring? I to anything else. I cannot imagine
combination of lecture and notes
would greatly prefer somewhere ever moving to a less populous and
with a class discussion to see if the
crowded and loud to somewhere diverse area. But then again, who
class can grasp the concepts.” ◙
quiet and boring. The people, the knows where life will take me? ◙
 6 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
The Standard Science
Subway Sounds Harmful For Commuters
By: Omar Ahmad
Stuyvesant High School,
an institution which boasts its in-
tra-borough diversity, is largely
composed of students and faculty
alike who travel to the school by
public transportation, specifically
the MTA’s train system.
In a survey of noise levels
of the New York City transit sys-
tem, researchers at the Columbia
University Mailman School of
Public Health found that contact
with noise levels in subways has
the likelihood to surpass recom-
mended guidelines of the World
Health Organization (WHO) and
the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
According to the investiga-
tion, as modest as 30 minutes of
exposure to decibel levels meas-
ured in the New York City trans-
portation system per day intro-
duces the possibility of a result in
hearing loss.
"Noise exposure and
noise-induced hearing loss is a
global health problem of signifi-
cant magnitude, especially in urban
settings, yet published data are ex-
tremely limited," stated Robyn
Gershon, professor of Sociomedi-
cal Sciences and front writer of the
study. Dr. Gershon and co-authors
detail that, "Daily exposure to
noise on subway platforms and
subway cars has the potential to
cause hearing loss. At the highest
level obtained on the platform (106
decibels), the allowable limit under
WHO and EPA is only 30 seconds.
More than 1 in 10 of the platform
measurements exceeded 100 deci-
bels—which translates into an al-
lowable limit of only 1.5 minutes."
February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8
Standard and highest
sound measurements were made
using an accuracy sound level me-
ter on subway platforms located
Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx,
and Queens. The average maxi-
mum noise level on subway plat-
forms measured was 94 decibels.
The average maximum inside of
subway cars was 95 dBA, and at
bus stops, the average maximum
was 84 dBA. For comparison, ap-
proximate levels of familiar sounds
are: 45-60 dBA for normal conver-
sation, 100 dBA for a chainsaw
and 140 dBA for a gunblast. The
logarithmic nature of decibels
means that every 10 dBA equals a
10 fold increase in intensity. Thus,
according to the study, a 90 dBA
sound is 10 times as intense as an
80 dBA sound.
When asked about his
daily commute, junior Alan Wong
SCIENCE
stated that “[his] father has been
traveling to work everyday by train
for the past 20 years,” and now,
“needs to use a hearing aid, and
wears ear muffs often, to drown
out all of the noise.” Alan, being a
student who also commutes daily
to Stuyvesant said that he
“[doesn’t] feel any different, but
[hopes] not to end up like [his]
dad.”
Many students ride the
trains daily as a round trip, to get
from home to school and vice
versa. However, few truly take into
consideration the health hazards
involved with taking the trains and
buses of New York City, such as
the Department who encourages
use of the MTA by distributing
free-fare Metro-Cards to all who
live past a certain distance from
the school. ◙
 TECHNOLOGY The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8 7

The Standard Technology

Circuit City Goes Out Of Business

TSS/ Omar Ahmad

By: Qi Fan Zhang

The bubble finally burst

with the collapse of Lehman broth-
ers and Merrill Lynch. While shop-
pers prepare for economic hard-
ships by purchasing fewer prod-
ucts, they inadvertently cause the
collapse of another company. After
more than sixty years of providing
shoppers with the latest, most ad-
vanced electronics, Circuit City is
going to be liquidated. Liquidation
is the process in which a business
is permanently shut down and its
assets are redistributed.
According to James A.
Marcum, the president and chief
executive of Circuit City, in
“Circuit City to Shut Down” by
New York Times’s Stephanie
Rosenbloom, liquidation is “the
only possible path.” It does not
have the means to support itself,
and therefore will be closed. This
means that all its merchandise will
be sold by the end of March and its
567 stores will never been opened
again. Its 34,000 employees are
going to join the fast growing un-
employment pool in America.
But what does the dissolution of
Circuit City mean to its customers?
According to Rosenbloom’s
“Q&A- Circuit City’s liquidation,”
Circuit City would still accept gift This Bay Ridge Brooklyn Circuit City branch is but one example of the hundreds of Circuit City stores closing across the country.
cards throughout March and re-
turning or exchanging purchased is handling the sales, Circuit City’s four more weeks as signs through- the products during the liquidation
products is possible within four- Unbeatable Price Guarantee and out various Circuit City stores process are not necessarily the
teen days of purchase. Extended One Price Promise will not be ad- marked down prices by as much as lowest. The prices of many prod-
warranties on electronics will still hered to. thirty percent. ucts, when compared to the prices
be honored because the warranties As of February 18, 2009, Many shoppers are taking that Best Buy offers, are higher.
are supported by other companies the liquidation process is going advantage of this opportunity as Therefore, it would be a
and Circuit City’s Advantage Pro- smoothly, according to Reuter’s they acquire the newest camcorders, wise choice to compare the prices
tection Plans are supported by As- “Circuit City Liquidation Sale iPods, cameras, plasma televisions, of goods from many stores in order
surant Solutions. However, the Ahead of Schedule.” The $1.7 bil- and laptops. However, according to to get the best deal. After all,
Circuit City website is shut down lion inventory is expected to be MSNBC in “Liquidation Sales Not America is in a recession. ◙
and because a liquidation company completely sold within three to Always a Good Deal,” the prices of

Cameras Competing For

Attention of Consumers
By: Qi Fan Zhang
Walking down the halls of
Stuyvesant, you are bound to meet
someone holding a digital camera
or have one hidden in his or her
book bag. In fact, digital cameras
are so popular at Stuyvesant that
there are even Digital Photography
classes. Yet, among the sea of
cameras, which one is the best?
According to cnet.com, the best
five digital cameras are Nikon D3
(body only), Nikon D90 (with 18-
105mm lens), Sony Cyber-shot
DSC-H50 (Black,) Canon Power-
Shot SD880 IS (gold), and Canon
PowerShot A590 IS.
Out of the five cameras,
Canon PowerShot A590 is a great
candidate. It is not only less ex-
pensive than the others (the price
range is between $109.00 and
$129.99), but it is also travel
friendly. In other words, it does not
take up much space in a book bag
(it is 3.7 inches by 1.6 inches by
2.6 inches) and it is not that heavy
(6.2 ounces). Aside from these
positive physical attributes, Canon
PowerShot A590 IS produces crys-
tal clear and sharp photos. It has an
8 megapixel senor resolution and it
contains optical stabilization fea-
tures to prevent blurring of images
due to shaking or moving of sub-
jects. To further its qualities, it has
fast shutter speed at the rate of
1/2000 seconds and it has a con-
tinuous shooting speed of 1.4
frames per second. Moreover, it
has a build in flash that is effective
within one to twelve feet and it can
automatically reduce red eyes.
Yet, one of its drawbacks
is that it is not aesthetically appeal-
ing. Many other digital cameras
are colorful and eye catching but
Canon PowerShot A590 IS is
chunky and gray. Additionally, it
sometimes functions slowly. With
the flash turned off, it is discovered
by Will Greenwald in the “CNET
Editors’ Review” that it can only cap-
ture a new picture every 2.3 seconds
and with the flash on, the wait time
increase to an excruciating 5.2 sec-
onds.
Nevertheless, Canon Power-
Shot A590 IS is a good camera for
amateur photographers. It is not as
expensive as other cameras and it pro-
duces clear pictures. That way, you
can document your years at Stuyve-
sant with numerous albums. ◙
 8 The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8 LITERARY

The Standard Literary

By: Robert Stevenson

The Standard Word Search

T L W E A D D E R L D W

N O A E A R E T L A T E
By: Robert Stevenson
R T O G L D P S S H I G

U B H H E D R H U E R N

B U T G S R E G N A E I

D O M U I R S G L D D N
Find all of the words
A D A O W L S N I L L I listed below.
R W K R R I I I G W O A
The remaining let-
A G C O S O O W H E S G
ters will spell out the
T E E H S N N S T L T R puzzle’s
L G H T A Q I S A M B A
secret word.

A C C E P T A N C E X B Look in the next is-

sue to find out what
Word Bank it was.
SUNLIGHT LION BOARS DASHER
TWILIGHT CHECK HEAD BURNT
[The 5 stages of ADDER SOLDER MORONS
grief (DABDA)] THOROUGH WELD SWING
THUGS SHEET ALTAR SHOOT
ASLAN CHAT ALTER REGAL
RAIN OWLS
ENTERTAINMENT The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8
The Standard Entertainment
A Look at Stuy’s Own
Mark Surya
Senior Mark Surya has been known to share his musical talent with the Stuyvesant community.
By: Robert Colbourn
It is safe to say that Stuyve-
sant is rife with talent of all sorts.
Whether one is looking for an ath-
lete or a mathematician, it wouldn’t
take long to find them in this
school. For instance, the musical
talent in our school is widespread--
most of which is demonstrated
within the numerous bands, orches-
tras, choirs, and musicals that exist
within the building. Among these is
a small group of composers, one of
which I have had the pleasure of
interviewing. Mark Surya is a rising
talent in the music industry, already
successfully composing numerous
pieces featured throughout the Stuy-
vesant community.
Despite having a family
who isn’t musically oriented, Mark
discovered his love of music early
on, beginning with the piano. He
played pieces that he describes as
“modernist classical”–a relatively
experimental genre. His willingness
to experiment is exemplified in the
other instrument he plays, the
theremin–the first electronic instru-
ment, played by very few people in
the world, so there is no set tech-
nique. However, he soon discovered
that he wanted to compose. So, he
started closely listening to some of
his favorite artists, including Frank
Zappa, Erik Satie, and John Cage.
Then, he took ideas he had from a
personal notebook he keeps. So,
what exactly did he draw upon
when he began to compose? “The
oddest s*** in the world inspires
me.” Mark responded in a matter-
of-fact manner. “For example, I was
in AP music theory one day, and the
bell rang. I noticed that it was a
9
microtone and found that very in-
teresting. So I studied microtones
after that so I could make musical
pieces out of them.”
What has Mark done mu-
sically in Stuyvesant? He has been
an active member of the commu-
nity, starting with his participation
in the Chorus, for which he was
the director for some time. He has
also been the chorus director for
SING! (in addition to being in the
cast). A very great achievement
though was his involvement in
Stuyvesant’s Composer’s Forum–a
gathering of composers that was
started a year and a half ago. He is
currently working on a piece for
the Composer’s Forum concert in
June which will be entitled “On the
Rise”–dedicated to Ava Hecht. In
addition, he is working on a piece
that truly embodies his ideas about
music as an art form. Mark be-
lieves in simplicity of music–even
modern classical composers have a
tendency to create very complex
melodies, which aren’t necessary.
So, Mark decided to compose a
piece called “Crackerjacks for Dr.
Seuss” (Seuss, according to Mark,
was a minimalist. Green Eggs and
Ham only had about 40 unique
words in it, and “More happens in
Green Eggs and Ham than in War
and Peace.”). He is doing this on
his toy piano, believing that it will
force him into writing “simpler,
more beautiful” music.
Mark Surya’s vision of
music is one that is sure to inspire
many generations of musicians. In
parting from the interview, he
passed along the overarching idea
he was trying to get at: “Music is
everywhere.”◙
10 The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8 ADVERTISEMENT
 SPORTS The STUYVESANT STANDARD February 27, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.8 11

The Sports Beat:

Lakers Looking
for Championship
Continued from page 12

Some anticipate that the Lakers will compete with the Cleveland Cavaliers led by Lebron James for the championship.

Pau Gasol, a cross between a The Lakers, hardly strang-

power forward and a center, ers to the NBA finals, will almost
averages 18.2 points, 9.4 re- certainly be seeing either the Bos-
bounds, and an impressive 3.5 ton Celtics, led by Kevin Garnett,
assists per game. Derek Fisher, or the Cleveland Cavaliers, led by
the point guard, averages 10.2 Lebron James. At this point how-
points and 3.8 assists per ever, it seems that the Lakers have
game. Lastly, the small for- everything in the bag, since the
ward Lamar Odom averages Lakers beat both the Celtics and
10.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and the Cavaliers in their recent con-
2.4 assists per game. The point frontations. As long as they stick
is that even without Kobe Bry- with their current strategies and
ant starting and playing the hard work ethic, it is very likely
entire game through, the Lak- that they will make it deep into the
ers can still hold their own NBA Playoffs this season. ◙
relatively well.

No Wins For Garden

Sports Event Analysis:
Home Teams During
Phelps’s Reputation
Dream Week
Goes Up in Smoke
Continued from page 12 Continued from page 12
over their products. It’s not Kel-
world champion Boston Celtics, logg’s responsibility to determine
York teams, sports fans got ex- of marijuana then Phelps is a saint whether or not marijuana is okay
“the big three” and company actly what they wanted. New
were looking to avenge a loss to compared to the alternative heroes to use. Kellogg’s could not care
York has always appreciated its in our world of sports. The fact less what he does at parties as long
the Knicks on January 4th at the own players, both outstanding
Garden. The action was back- that Phelps got caught with a can- as it’s the golden-boy Michael
individual performances and nabis pipe and not a syringe or a Phelps and not the pothead Mi-
and-forth all night, and the great team play, and during this
game was even tied at one point powdery credit card should be a chael Phelps that joins Snap,
week we got a taste of every- real sigh of relief to everybody. Crackle, and Pop on the Rice
in the 4th quarter. With little thing. Every single game was
time left, however, the Celtics With all that said, I can’t Krispies box.
exciting and close and while feel too bad for the guy if he loses Michael Phelps was trying
proved to be just a bit too much die-hard New York sports fans
for the Knicks, as they pulled some of his endorsements. As to have a few minutes of a normal
weren’t happy with the out- harmless as I think the occasional 23 year-old life – chances are by
away with a 110-100 victory. comes, there’s no denying that
Although none of the use of marijuana is, Phelps cannot the time he wins his 15th gold
“dream week” at the Garden expect people to be perfectly okay medal and sets his eighth world
games during the week were really was something special. ◙
won by the home-town New with him being perceived as a drug record, no one will care what he
user while his face is plastered all was smoking in his free time. ◙
12 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Sports Event Analysis:
Phelps’s Reputation
Goes Up in Smoke
By: Zack Goldberg
For an Olympic swimmer,
smoking probably isn’t the healthi-
est choice. But at least Michael
Phelps’ coaches know he’s doing
some form of breathing exercise.
That’s the first thing that came to
mind when I saw the picture of the
Beijing hero holding a bong at a
party. But seeing as I’m not a doc-
tor, personal trainer, or a swimmer
(I do occasionally dabble in the art
of the doggy-paddle) – he probably
knows what’s okay to put into his
body much better than I do.
Not so shockingly, how-
ever, Phelps’ lung capacity wasn’t
The Sports Beat:
Lakers Looking
For Championship
By: George Wu
Recently, things have
been going very well for the
Lakers. Once a team that heav-
ily relied on the performance
of its star player, Kobe Bryant,
the Lakers seem to be faring
just fine with Kobe sitting on
the bench, sometimes for en-
tire halves of games. The
coach, Phil Jackson, has done
a great job in developing a
team that is not only very pow-
erful offensively, but also
tough defensively.
In a recent showdown
between the Lakers and the
Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lak-
ers traveled to Cleveland and
served the Cavs their first
hometown loss this season.
The Cavs had a home record of
23-0 and an average margin of
victory of 15.7 points. The
Lakers did a fantastic job of
shutting down Cleveland’s
offense, restricting them to 11
out of 39 shots made from the
field; Lebron James, who only
made two out of 13 attempted
what concerned young children,
parents and the media. This 23
year old man swims over 7 miles
a day, and yet we focus on his use
of a bong. Smoking pot in this
country is barely a crime any-
more; it’s a victimless offense
that in many states constitutes just
a fine. The guy isn’t shooting
people or holding up liquor stores.
Michael Phelps is guilty of some-
thing that a sizeable fraction of
the country is guilty of doing eve-
ryday.
In fact, if I were the par-
ent of kids who idolize Phelps, I’d
be ecstatic that it was just a bong
because if it’s just occasional use
Continued on page 11
Dream Week at Madison Square Garden culminated with a record-setting performance from Kobe Bryant and Lebron
James's final performance in New York this season.
field goals in the second half,
was only able to make five out
of 20 field goals that day.
Much to the concern of
Lakers fans however, Kobe
Bryant has been running into
minor injuries here and there.
After the game against the
Cavaliers, Kobe was reported as
being disoriented and having
flu-like symptoms. Bryant, a
scoring machine, busts out 27.3
points, 5.6 rebounds, and 5.1
assists per game. He has helped
the Lakers achieve their 41-9
record, and is in essence the
“face” of the Los Angeles Lak-
ers. Jackson, however, wants to
limit Kobe’s hunger for scoring,
instead encouraging him to help
other teammates score more,
and thus create a team that can
score proficiently, even when
Kobe is sitting on the bench.
The Lakers also played
very strong offense. Andrew
Bynum, the young 7 foot Shaq-
in-training, averages 14 points
and 8.2 rebounds per game. Re-
cently, in a game against the
Clippers, Bynum managed to
score a career high 42 points.
Continued on page 11
February 27, 2009–VOL.8, NO.8 SPORTS
No Wins For Garden
Home Teams During
Dream Week
TSS/Elissa Tam
By: Cody Levine
former teammate. After a very
heartfelt speech from Graves
himself, his jersey was raised to
chants of “Gravy, Gravy” and
If you’re a New Yorker “Let’s go Rangers.” The game
and are a fan of teams who play in
that followed was a close and
Madison Square Garden, you had exciting one with the home-town
some week. In a somewhat mis- Rangers scoring a goal in the
named “dream week” at the Gar- last 10 seconds of regulation to
den, the “world’s most famous tie the game. Though the team
arena” played host to the Los An- lost in overtime, it was a night to
geles Lakers, Adam Graves’ jersey remember.
retirement, the Cleveland Cavaliers After Kobe’s spectacu-
and finally the world-champion lar performance the general
Boston Celtics, all in a span of five thought was, “what will Lebron
days. do to outdo Kobe?” Lebron
Monday night the L.A James answered that question in
Lakers came into town with one of the first quarter alone, scoring
the best players in the league, 20 points compared to Bryant’s
Kobe Bryant, ready to put on a 18. The game was another very
show. The fans got quite a per- close one with the Knicks los-
formance and then some. Bryant ing, 107-102. James, until the
dropped a Madison Square Gar- game was reviewed afterward
den-high 61 points in the Lakers’ and some stats were changed,
win. The performance was so im- had the first 50 point triple-
pressive that the home crowd even double performance since Hall-
chanted “MVP, MVP” for Kobe as of-Famer Kareem Abdul Jabar
he left the floor. did it in 1975. Though the
Following up the Bryant league took away a rebound and
performance was Adam Graves’ thus a triple-double from James,
night at The Garden. The “Heart the performance was remarkable
of a Ranger” ceremony before the nonetheless.
game featured former Ranger After an off-night on
greats including Mike Richter, Thursday, the Garden-faithful
Mark Messier, and Brian Leetch, got to see yet another exciting
who made speeches about their game on Friday. Hosting the
Continued on page 11