THE STUYVESANT
STANDARD
Monday, April 6, 2009
Programs Like SPARK May Soon Lose
Their Spark
Vivian Zeng
In recent weeks, Mr. An-
gel Colon of SPARK has been or-
ganizing a massive effort to save
SPARK and many other commu-
nity–based social clubs. According
to “Hard-hit New York State May
Ax Veteran School Drug Counsel-
ors” in the March 8 issue of the
Daily News, the state plans to get
rid of over half of several hundred
school-based drug counselors and
put their jobs up to the highest bid-
ders. This action will save around
2 million dollars of the state’s
budget. However across the region
people are rallying to save the
counselors.
Mr. Colon came to Stuyve-
sant High School in the fall of
2005 making this his fourth year at
the school. He jokes, “I’m a senior
here.” Since then, he and the
SPARK members have worked to
revitalize SPARK and have gotten
rid of the negative connotations
associated with the program. Mr.
Adam Sealfon Reflects:
Week As an
Intel Finalist
By: Rammiya Nallainathan
From March 5 to March
10, the forty Intel finalists went to
Washington D.C. to present their
projects to the panel of Intel
judges. After going through a long,
intense process, the final winners
of the competition were announced
on March 10.
The top three winners in-
cluded, Eric Larson who won a
$100,000 scholarship for his pro-
ject on classifying mathematical
objects called fusion categories.
His work describes these dimen-
sions for the first time. William
Sun won a $75,000 scholarship for
his project that studied the effects
of a molecule that could help treat
bacterial infections and prevent
neurodegenerative disorders such
as Alzheimer's disease. Philip
Volume 8 Issue 10
TSS/Elissa Tam
Colon says that, “[SPARK has] be-
TSS/Elissa Tam
come a community component.
The students make it what it has
become today.” Within SPARK Mr.
Colon and his dedicated members
have worked to address issues such
as drug education, self-esteem,
stress, diversity and social relation-
ships to name a few. Senior Chris
Moll said, “As for how I view
SPARK, I see SPARK as an impor-
tant resource for my peers not only
because we're Stuyvesant students,
but because we are teenagers as
well. Not only do we face academic
challenges, but we also have to deal
with problems where we need out-
side help. I feel that SPARK pro-
vides a place where we can reach
out to fellow peers as well as to a
professional adult for advice with-
out being judged. Without SPARK,
I think that the school would face a
lot more problems that would have
been considered resolvable if it had
been addressed earlier properly.”
On March 18, 2009 Mr.
Colon attended a conference in Al-
As a result of efforts to conserve money and resources in the state’s budget, Stuyvesant’s SPARK program led by
Angel Colon may potentially be among the programs to be cut.
Continued on page 3
In This Issue
Page 3 Page 5
Stuy STRIVE Realizes
Goals Through
Making the Decision
Streich won a $50,000 scholarship
for his project on carbon nanotubes
that can lead to the development of
ultra-strong materials and ultra-fast
nano-electronics. Adam Sealfon,
one of Stuyvesant’s Intel finalists,
knew Eric Larson very well. They
met during a math summer pro-
gram and shared their interest in Page 6
mathematics. “He is smart and ex-
tremely nice,” said Adam. Point Counterpoint
The week consisted of
many events. Below is a break-
Stuyvesant Grades Are
down of the exciting week the Intel Syndrome Not Everything
finalists had written by Adam Seal-
fon, one of two Intel finalists from
Stuyvesant High School.
Page 9
We arrived on Thursday,
March 5t, and started to get to
SING! Review:
know the other finalists. Getting to
know one another over the course Senior SING! Rocks the
of the week was incredibly fun. House
Continued on page 3
 2 The STUYVESANT STANDARD April 6, 2009–VOL.8, NO. 10

Staff Editorial:
SPARK Needs Our
The Executive Board
Support
As reported in our front at Stuyvesant and is a program that
AMNA AHMAD EDITOR IN CHIEF page article, “Programs Like has guided students to find positive
HESHAM SALEH MANAGING EDITOR SPARK May Soon Lose Their alternatives to life choices that
DAVID MANNES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE Spark,” Stuyvesant High School’s could potentially result in self-
ANGEL WONG DIRECTOR OF FINANCE SPARK program headed by Angel devastation. Members of SPARK
GUERGANA BORISSOVA COPY CHIEF Colon is at serious risk of being have also been active in develop-
RAMMIYA NALLAINATHAN NEWS EDITOR eliminated at the culmination of the ing programs and participating in
MUHAMMAD TAMBRA NEWS EDITOR 2009 school year. While it is under- events that have brought students
MARINA TAWFIK OPINIONS EDITOR standable that cutting programs like not directly involved with the pro-
ROBERT COLBOURN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR SPARK in schools across the state gram down to Earth by reminding
OMAR AHMAD SCIENCE EDITOR may save 2 million dollars for the them that some things in life are
QI FAN ZHANG TECHNOLOGY EDITOR following school year, SPARK is a more important than the perfect
ROBERT STEVENSON LITERARY EDITOR program that a great deal of students G.P.A. such as the Peer Partner-
MICHAEL BLOCK SPORTS EDITOR would certainly be hard-pressed to ship Program (which helps orient
ELISSA TAM DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM live without. Stuyvesant students with special-
MEGAN BRESLIN FACULTY ADVISOR Angel Colon is one of the education students that also use the
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER first members of the Stuyvesant building) and the recent Breast
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS community that incoming students Cancer Walk.
and their parents meet during the While it is understandable
Open House and Camp Stuy. He that Principal Teitel did not allow
reassures students and parents that students to follow Angel Colon to
Publication he will always be there for a student Albany to defend the continuation
in a time of need, and he definitely of SPARK and similar programs
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a non-profit publication produced by has been. It comes as no surprise because it took place during school
the students of Stuyvesant High School. that high school can be an ex- hours, we call upon students,
tremely stressful atmosphere some teachers, and other members of the
students because of the academic school administration to vocalize
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi- expectations and social pressure that their concerns for the effects that
weekly basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and influences students in the otherwise the potential termination of
throughout the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park City. comfortable learning environment SPARK may cause for students in
that thousands of us call our “home the future. Angel Colon should not
away from home.” be without our support in his en-
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers. For a SPARK is not a frivolous deavors to preserve the program
letter to be reproduced in print, a name and method of contact must be pro- program that exists simply because that he has watched grow in influ-
vided. students enjoy what it has to offer. ence over the past four years.◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any published On the contrary, SPARK is needed
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
Programs Like
SPARK May Soon
Lose Their Spark
Continued from page 1
bany regarding the future of coun-
selors like himself. At the confer-
ence, all sorts of advocacy groups
and representatives from the city
were present defending the counsel-
ors and the programs. Some of the
letters from the letter writing cam-
paign were read to the panel. Ac-
cording to Colon, these were very
heartfelt and sincere testimonials
from students involved in SPARK
describing how it had helped them
make positive choices, provided
opportunities to help other students,
and was an open, welcoming,
friendly, and safe support base.
Principal Stanley Teitel also
expressed his concerns about the
future of the program. He said,
“Mr. Colon is a valuable member
and I certainly would not want to
lose him because of all he does.”
However he explained, “You have
to be realistic. When you look for
things [to cut] the classroom is
where you look last. What is going
to go through? You’re going to
have to decide.” In regards to
whether or not the school had any
back up if SPARK were eliminated
Mr. Teitel said, “Not at the moment.
It’s not just a matter of picking and
choosing. Mr. Colon is specially
trained and I don’t think anyone on
the staff is qualified to take his
place.” Even though Mr. Teitel did
Adam Sealfon Reflects:
Week as an Intel Finalist
Continued from page 1
We stayed in the St. Regis hotel.
March 6 and 7:
The two days after that
were mostly devoted to judging.
There were four panels of three
judges each. Each finalist was
asked a series of questions on all
different areas of science by each
of the twelve judges. The ques-
tions ranged from biology to phys-
ics to chemistry to mathematics to
astronomy to other miscellaneous
topics that may be hard to define.
It was an exhausting process, since
everyone was either waiting to be
judged or being interviewed by the
judges. There was not that much
time to think either, so you really
had to be quick on your feet. The
questions the judges asked were
very interesting and thought-
provoking. Many of them did not
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
The Standard News
not allow students to accompany
Mr. Colon to the conference due to
concerns over “loss of instruction
time,” Mr. Colon is in full agree-
ment with Mr. Teitel and said that,
“Mr. Teitel was concerned about
safety because the conference was
held at 6am and students would
have to travel extremely early to
school to make it to Albany and
class time and I agree. Mr. Teitel
and the rest of the Stuyvesant com-
munity support our cause.”
As the June 1, 2009 ultima-
tum approaches Mr. Colon is con-
tinually rallying support to save
SPARK and the other programs.
And as he does so many students
and staff members are lending their
efforts to the cause. One student
who wished to remain anonymous
said, “SPARK is a large part of the
Stuyvesant community. Everyone
knows it is a safe haven for students
and it is the only place in Stuyve-
sant High School a student can go
to talk about their problems.
SPARK has been a crutch for me
since my freshman year. I started
out sitting in the SPARK room dur-
ing my free periods, learning about
my teachers and the school from
upperclassmen. When I eventually
felt comfortable enough, I confided
in the SPARK Counselor, Angel
Colon. I was having a lot of per-
sonal problems both in school and
Continued on page 4
have an immediately-clear, single
correct answer, and they were in-
tended to illuminate our thought
processes. It was fun, but also a
bit nerve-wracking, since you
could be asked questions about
absolutely anything.
March 8:
The next day we presented
our projects at the National Acad-
emy of Sciences. The judges
walked around to the different
presentation boards and talked to
us about our projects and asked us
questions. In the afternoon, the
gallery was opened to public view-
ing. A number of students from
Hunter College High School came
to Washington D.C. and visited the
gallery.
March 9:
On the morning of March
9 we did more presenting at the
April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO. 10
Stuy STRIVE Realizes
Goals Through
Power Shift 2009
By: Rammiya Nallainathan
In order to raise awareness
about current climate issues, con-
cerns about energy use, and their
repercussions on the economy,
seven Stuyvesant students from
Stuyvesant’s STRIVE club, in ad-
dition to 12,000 other strong sup-
porters, attended the Power Shift
’09 Conference held by the Energy
Action Coalition in Washington
D.C. The conference ran from Feb-
ruary 27 to March 2. The goal of
the conference was to get the
President and Congress members
to pass an energy policy that would
put forth renewable energy, green
job creation, and a cap on carbon
emissions.
On February 27, the four-
day event started off with a green
career fair and a conference with
famous guest speakers. Some
speakers included Van Jones, au-
thor of Green Collar Economy,
and Majora Carter, an environ-
mental activist from the South
Bronx. Though the snow storm
affected many areas of the city,
various events still went on. These
events included seminars, panels,
workshops, legislative briefings
and activist trainings. To conclude
the event, on March 2, hundreds of
National Academy of Sciences.
Nobel laureate Dudley Hirschbach
was also there. It was extremely
exciting just getting to meet him.
Around noon, we went to the
White House to meet the President.
White House security is rather seri-
ous. We were not allowed to bring
so much as a pen onto the grounds.
Meeting President Obama was just
amazing. He said a few words to
us, and then he asked everyone to
introduce themselves to him and
shook our hands. It was something
of a dream-come-true for me. He's
incredibly charismatic, even more
so than I'd imagined.
March 10:
In the morning, we went to
Capitol Hill. We got to meet some
congressmen. Two of the three
Physics Ph.Ds in the House of
Representatives came to speak
with us. Afterward, many of us
3
lobby visits were made and rally
took place on Capitol Hill with
more than 3,000 people. Jessy Tol-
kan, director of Power Shift organ-
izer Energy Action Coalition, said,
“This year’s participation is twice
as big and twice as energetic as our
last gathering in 2007. We stand at
a critical point in our nation’s his-
tory, ready to work with our new
leadership to pass bold climate and
energy policies. We won’t allow
this moment to pass us by.”
Rather than attending the
rally, Stuyvesant’s STRIVE club
went to every New York City’s
congressman’s office to propose a
“Green School” plan for all New
York City schools. After doing
much research, the group found
out that New York City public
schools do not pay any of the en-
ergy bills or waste costs. Because
of this, there is no reason for
schools to save energy or reduce
wastes. To create an incentive for
schools, STRIVE proposes that
schools should be given part of the
money they save when reducing
energy and waste bills. The group
was also able to sit down for a
meeting with the staff of Congress-
Continued on page 4
were able to meet with our repre-
sentatives. The New York finalists,
including Anissa Mak and myself
got to meet with Senator Schumer.
Senator Schumer was very nice
and interestingly enough, he is
from Brooklyn. We also bumped
into Al Franken in Senator
Schumer’s office. That evening
was the Awards Gala. The key-
note speakers were former Secre-
tary of State and Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell
and Secretary of Energy Steven
Chu. It was rather inspirational to
get to hear from them.
March 11:
The next morning, we flew
back to New York. It was hard to
leave. It was an amazing week,
and it was incredible getting to
meet so many amazing people and
getting to know the other final-
ists.◙
 4 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Stuy STRIVE Realizes
Goals Through
Power Shift 2009
Continued from page 3
men José W. Serrano and Greg-
ory W. Meeks. Both representing
parties showed strong support for
the proposal.
Marcela Rodriguez, one
of the co-presidents of the Stuy’s
STRIVE club said, “Power Shift
was a totally new experience. The
trip to D.C. and to the hotel was
an adventure, as we had to walk
ten blocks to and from the Metro
either way. We were exhausted
by the time we got to the confer-
ence center Friday night to regis-
ter. There was so much energy
the whole weekend! We would
see people everywhere and any-
where in D.C. with their Power
Shift lanyards. It was kind of
surreal. I learned skills that will
help me immensely as a leader of
STRIVE in a Recruiting and
Programs Like
SPARK May Soon
Lose Their Spark
Continued from page 3
at home but thankfully, I received
a lot of moral support and sound
advice from Angel and well, I felt
much better. Since that time, I
have stayed on as an active and
committed SPARK member and
[I have been] helping and advis-
Delegation workshop. That and the
Lobbying workshop were the most
powerful of the ones I attended; we
practiced lobbying for Monday by
assigning a role to each member:
leader, storyteller, note-taker, and
'ask'-er. Van Jones and Majora
Carter were very inspiring speak-
ers and made us understand that
the environment connects to al-
most every major social and eco-
nomic issue we have today.. The
environment is everything. Every-
one should check out the videos of
the speakers online!"
Stuy STRIVE also plans
on garnering as much support as it
can for its “Green School” idea
during the Earth Day Festival on
April 22, 2009 in Rockefeller Park.
Those interested in learning more
about this proposal, are encouraged
to visit
www.sustainablestuy.weebly.com.
◙
ing/counseling others and have
been involved in just about every
SPARK activity that Angel has
promoted or created."
In spite of the best wishes
of students, little will be known of
the future of program like SPARK
until June.◙
April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10
Obama’s First
100 Days
Muhammad Tambra
Barack Obama, the
United States’ 44th President, has
made history by becoming the
nation’s first black president. He
has inspired millions with his
campaign slogans of “Hope” and
“Change.” He became an over-
night icon of how Americans
have beat the odds. And as any
president, his first 100 days are
placed under careful scrutiny.
Since the time of Franklin De-
lano Roosevelt, the 32nd Presi-
dent, historians have looked at
the first 100 days as the time pe-
riod, which could make or break
a presidency. FDR’s first 100
days were spent trying to imme-
diately help the America get
back on its feet after being
knocked out by the Great De-
pression. Obama entered a simi-
lar situation when he came into
office. With the economy on the
rocks, two ongoing wars, and a
long list of international crisis
staring down the barrel at him,
Obama had to act quickly to
maintain his credibility as the
free world’s leader.
According to Reuters,
Obama made it clear that the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict was
one of the main foreign policy
concerns on his agenda. This
ongoing conflict had heightened
in the month leading up to his
inauguration. Obama also signed
executive orders closing Guan-
tanamo Bay and other secret CIA
prisons that are located overseas
in hopes of cleaning up Amer-
ica’s image. The stimulus bill
was also beginning to be written
up within the first few days ac-
cording to the report from
Reuters, highlighting Obama’s
achievements over the first 100
days. Senior Mehrab Islam said,
“I think Obama has been very
Students React to
Possible Time
Management Course
Shahzad Anwar
The transition from mid-
dle school to high school can be
both an exciting and nerve-
wracking one. After entering high
school, many freshmen realize
that they have less time to goof
off and to procrastinate than they
had formerly. Many freshmen
become overwhelmed by the in-
tensity and rigor Stuyvesant de-
mands of them. Because of this.
there have been preliminary dis-
cussions by the administration to
NEWS
effective in making his goals
clear and it’s amazing he’s able
to juggle all the stuff being
thrown at him with the world
like it is today.”
However, there were
some slipups on the part of
Obama’s cabinet nominees.
Obama tried and failed twice to
get his nomination for the Secre-
tary of Commerce. The most
recent failed nominee, Senator
Judd Gregg (R-NH), withdrew
himself from the nomination due
to differences with the admini-
stration over the stimulus bill
and the Census Bureau, accord-
ing to the Sun Times February
12, 2009 issue. There was also
the issue of unpaid taxes with a
handful of the nominees includ-
ing Tim Geithner, the Secretary
of the Treasury, and shady busi-
ness dealings involving Hillary
Clinton, the Secretary of State,
according to the AP. Some stu-
dents felt that this may have
marred his first few weeks in
office, making him an ineffective
executive. Senior Rofi Islam
said, “Obama was so skillful at
managing such a large campaign
that it surprises me that he and
his aides have been unable to
successfully get through some
key nominations. It seems that in
his effort to get the ball rolling
he tripped up a bit.”
Obama has been likened
to FDR in regards to his massive
plans to bring about positive
change in the country and save it
from the Great Depression.
However, Obama faces many
other challenges as well, ranging
from foreign policy concerns to
the environmental crisis. There
are mixed reviews as the newly
elected President begins his jour-
ney to try and do all that is ex-
pected of him.◙
set up a time management program
for freshman.
Principal Stanley Teitel
said, “There has been some discus-
sion but nothing firm at all.” Mr.
Angel Colon of SPARK, who is
also involved with the develop-
ment of programs like these, said
that he and Mr. Teitel had talked
about starting a time management
course in the near future and they
are coming up with groundwork
planning to start it as soon as pos-
sible.
Continued on page 9
 OPINIONS The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Marina Tawfik
Junior year is considered
the most stressful year of a student’s
high school career, and with good
reason. It is the year we take that
highly anticipated SAT, which in
itself is enough reason for moun-
tains of stress. But even now, as
some juniors can finally turn their
heads away from those endless lists
of vocabulary words, the strain is
not gone. We must instead turn our
focus to the next step: deciding
which colleges we shall apply to in
the fall.
For many students, college
is something we have thought about
since we were in elementary school.
At Stuyvesant especially, students
have been dreaming about their
eventual acceptance into Harvard or
Yale since they were merely six
years of age, and their parents may
have even encouraged such think-
ing. Now, however, it is time to get
serious and figure out which col-
leges we truly want to consider
spending our time and money ap-
plying to. There are several factors
we need to consider in this process,
many of which are either overem-
phasized or not emphasized enough.
One factor that is certainly
overemphasized is the prestige of a
university. At this competitive high
school, it is often hard to imagine
going to a university that is not in
the top ten of U.S. News and World
Report’s ranking of national univer-
sities. The truth is that there are
many schools that may be over-
looked as a result of their not being
highly recognized in society. We
must stop making our decision
based on what others will think of
Americans Have Great Expectations
for Obama’s Approach to Economy
Hui Ting Jiang
Ever since President
Barack Obama’s inauguration,
Americans all over the nation have
been anxiously waiting for him to
uproot the United States from this
economic recession. People ex-
pected him to do something dras-
tic, like Franklin Delano Roose-
velt’s New Deal, as opposed to the
continuation of doling out billions
of dollars of bailout money to cor-
rupt and irresponsible corporations
like AIG. Those billions of taxpay-
ers’ dollars could be spent on con-
structive and beneficial programs
such as public works projects to
create temporary jobs, the idea of
The Standard Opinions
Making the Decision
While Stuyvesant students may have a fairly good idea about where they would like to see themselves as college students in
the coming years, it is necessary to consider a number of factors before deciding where to apply and where to eventually
accept placement.
us, and instead base it on where we
know we will be happy. Yes, it will
look very impressive to others when
you tell them you will be attending
M.I.T., but if you end up suffering
under loads of work that you cannot
handle, you will surely feel some
regret. For some people, a university
with a less rigorous workload will be
the better choice, even if it is not as
highly acclaimed.
Cost of attendance is obvi-
ously an important factor to consider
when choosing a college, but it
should not prevent students from
universal health care to aid the citi-
zens of America and perhaps even
the nationalization of businesses that
were thought to be “too big to fail.”
People expected him to uplift
the economy with his promised taxes
on the wealthy and tax cuts for the
middle class, but with objections
from the Senate and the House,
Obama’s idea is at a stalemate. Sup-
porters state that tax cuts will lift up
the still economy by prompting peo-
ple to spend their money instead of
putting it underneath their mattresses
because banks have proven them-
selves to be untrustworthy. Oppo-
nents argue that increasing taxes on
the wealthy will halt the economy to
a higher degree due to the trickle
April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10 5
chance that the university will find
TSS/ Elissa Tam
something to give you, especially if
you express extreme interest in at-
tending it.
There are several other fac-
tors that can affect a student’s deci-
sion about where they wish to apply,
but their importance differs for every
student. The location of a university
may be very important to a student
who does not wish to go far away
from home, but may not matter to
another student. The number of stu-
dents enrolled may not mean much
to a student who feels comfortable in
all types of environments, but may
cause another to gravitate more to-
wards or away from very large
schools. The extracurricular activi-
ties available may cause one student
to want to go to a certain university,
while another student may not plan
on becoming very involved and thus
will not pay much attention to them.
Students have differing opin-
ions regarding what the most impor-
tant factor to consider in choosing a
college is. Junior Emily Wine be-
lieves that, “if you are someone who
has a wide variety of interests, you
should go to a college where you can
take classes in a variety of different
applying to a college they truly love. subjects and where there will be a
It is not rare to find colleges giving
variety of extracurricular activities
out scholarships to students they for you to participate in.”
would like to have at their university,
The good news is that we are
especially if the student has a special not in this alone. We have guidance
talent in music, sports, or academics.
counselors, college counselors, fam-
Additionally, there are many govern- ily, and older friends and siblings to
ment loans and scholarships avail-
help us set our priorities straight.
able to students who come from Although it may seem like a daunt-
families of low income. While it may
ing and crucial task we have at hand,
be depressing to realize your family it is something that will be over be-
could never pay for the full cost of
fore we know it. If we prepare our-
attendance of your dream school, selves from now, senior year will be
you should not let this get in your
that much easier to get through. ◙
way of applying. There is always a
down effect. The wealthy need their one huge corporation, they can no
money to invest and relieve their lo- longer operate under the unreliable
cal communities, because, appar- method of laissez-faire. Secondly,
ently, all millionaires and billionaires executives need to learn the value of
are philanthropists. a dollar through careful and secure
Perhaps the people of Amer- management instead of expecting the
ica had expectations that could not be government to baby them when their
reached within three months of Presi- “Get Rich” scheme fails. Executives
dent Obama’s inauguration. Like all should not be allowed to receive bo-
situations in life, the recession needs nuses with seven figures if they
to take time to slowly evaporate and caused money of twice that value to
become a figment of our memories. evaporate into thin air. Thirdly, the
Firstly, the problems that fiscal world needs to be repopulated
caused such a circumstance to arise with intelligent people who know
need to be addressed. Corporations how to handle finances properly. Per-
need to be kept in check by the gov- haps the future bankers and business-
ernment. In order to maintain a stable men of the new Wall Street will be
economy that is not monopolized by students sitting next to you in class.◙
 6 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Stuyvesant
Syndrome
By: Tiffany Choi
Have you ever found your-
self chattering about the latest test
or complaining about the grade
your teacher recently gave you?
You probably caught the dreaded
Stuyvesant syndrome. We all un-
derstand that grades do not define
who we are, because as humans,
we cannot be summed up by num-
bers on our transcript. Grades may
not even be an accurate measure-
ment of one’s academic accom-
plishment. Still, they are simply an
imperfect measurement of what
one has learned in various courses.
If we all understand this concept,
what instills fear among us and
causes us to continuously fight for
better grades? One word can sum
up the answer: college.
Grades are an important
factor used to determine your abil-
ity to succeed in college. Although
this may be an unfortunate con-
cept, it is sadly the truth. In par-
ticular, if you want to enter gradu-
ate school, grades are more impor-
tant than you think. The competi-
tion among the applicants for
graduate schools is difficult, since
grades are the main factor in deter-
mining one’s entry. Test scores are
simply a reality check to justify
one’s grades, not vice versa. In
addition, according to the Peter-
son’s website, the number of gifted
high school seniors applying to
college in the United States is con-
tinuing to rise each year. In fact, in
the next few years, the total num-
By: Yana Azova
It has happened to every
single one of us, and you simply
cannot deny it. Imagine, one fine
day you are walking somewhere,
most likely through the school’s
hallways, and you see a familiar
friendly face. You wave, smile
shyly, or even worse: say hello.
Yet, your acquaintance shows no
sign of having seen your friendly
gesture, and continues walking on.
Embarrassed, you quicken your
tempo and with a flushed face con-
tinue on. Of course, the exact de-
tails in every person’s individual
story will vary, such as whether the
person whose presence you are
trying to acknowledge actually
makes eye contact with you and
just quickly looks away, or actu-
ally does not see you. The point is,
communicating with people in per-
son is not easy, unless of course
you are very good friends.
In our school, we are given
a mere four minutes to pack our
belongings, weave through the
Point Counterpoint
ber of high school graduates is ex-
pected to rise ten percent. As John
L. Mahoney reports in “The Com-
petition” featured in the Spring
2006 issue of the Boston College
Magazine, “the college admissions
process is today becoming more
unpredictable, more intimidating,
more costly, and more time-
consuming than ever before.”
Given that the competition
is at such a rapid, grueling pace
today, students are justified in car-
ing a lot about their grades. Most
students would do anything to
achieve the highest grade they can,
including pestering a teacher who
has made a mistake in grading.
Although at first it may seem like
just a few points, they can eventu-
ally add up. In the end, it would
count for something, making all of
the extra effort worth it.
There may be other parts
of the college application such as
teacher recommendations and ex-
tracurricular activities, but selec-
tive colleges all state that one’s
transcript grades matter the most.
Without these grades, no matter
how many hours one has volun-
teered at the hospital or how su-
perb a teacher recommendation is,
one will have no chance at a selec-
tive school.
The competition for col-
lege is intense, so it is natural for
students to be just as tense about
the college process. It may sound
nice and reassuring, but it would
be impractical to state that students
should not be worrying over their
grades. ◙
Hello?!
crowded halls and staircases in
order to get to our next class, and
unpack the needed materials for
this class. In such a short amount
of time, communication with our
fellow peers tends to be extremely
limited. Personally, as I trudge my
way from the third to the eighth
floor, I have no time to stop and
have even a one-minute conversa-
tion with my friend who happens
to pass by as he goes down. All I
can manage is a quick "hello.’
That is definitely not enough, and
if that person tends to be a not-
very-close friend, the situation be-
comes even more awkward. Yet,
what can you say? To launch into
an honest detailed reply is point-
less. By the time you begin, the
person is already walking away.
Even if they really do care and
want to hear your response, there is
an invisible rope tugging on both
individuals, warning them not to
be late to class.
Besides the time constric-
tions enforced in school, technol-
ogy also plays an immense role in
the way we communicate. Through
networking sites such as Facebook
April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10 OPINIONS
Grades Are
Not Everything
By: Nada Elmansy
has no interest in learning will
eventually stop learning when the
Have you ever seen a
grades do not matter anymore. Do
friend approach a teacher about a
students who care so much about
‘mistake’ in their grade, or even
their grades believe that the learn-
question why they lost certain
ing is supposed to stop after high
points on a test? Chances are that
school and college? With that kind
you have, since at Stuyvesant, this
of mentality, I find it hard to be-
is not very uncommon to see.
lieve that we will ever witness a
Every time a teacher returns an
21st century Albert Einstein or
exam to students, as soon as the
Thomas Edison. It is true that
class is dismissed, he or she is
grades matter, but they are not the
bombarded with a displeased
only thing that matters and defi-
group of students questioning them
nitely should not be the most im-
about their grades.
portant. You might become suc-
The teacher, usually asked
cessful by only caring about your
about every lost point, gets frus-
grades, but only to a certain point.
trated and refuses to listen to any
It is the desire to learn that leads to
objections. We have all seen it
ultimate success and a benefit to
happen and many of us have also
yourself and society. In my opin-
been a part of it. Of course, when
ion, if the learning process is en-
you know you deserve an extra
couraged by good test grades, then
point, then you are justified to ask
after high school and college, some
about that point. However, is it
people will feel that there is no
really right to nag our teachers into
longer a need to learn.
giving us that extra point? I mean,
Basically, this common
if you get a 98 on a test, is it really
belief takes away from the value of
necessary to criticize the reason
whatever was learned in the previ-
you lost those two points?
ous years and discourages any fu-
I personally believe that
ture learning. In fact, maybe if
there has to be more to school than
there was less emphasis on test
just trying to get the highest possi-
grades from students as well as
ble grade on every test. Shouldn’t
teachers, then the “grade grubbing”
learning the material and under-
would eventually come to an end.
standing it count more than your
Perhaps, students would even start
grade? If you really think about it,
to learn for the sake of learning
students might be learning more if
and still be able to get into the col-
they focused on the material they
lege of their dreams. After all, the
were learning and actually cared
desire to learn should lead to both
about it rather than only caring
a success in education and impres-
about the grades they receive.
sive grades. ◙
After all, a student who
TSS/Elissa Tam
It is often difficult to greet other students during passing because of the extreme crowding of the halls, limited amount of
time students have to go from class to class, and large size of the school.
tension. You have the opportunity
and MySpace as well as email,
instant messaging, and even video to think, edit your comment, and in
some cases even erase it and post a
chatting, communicating with
friends is easier than ever. With new one. So when it comes to ac-
tually seeing your pal face to face,
just a few clicks and several taps
on a keyboard your friend in you may be at a loss for words. Of
course most teenagers’ friendships
Alaska or Australia will receive
your message almost instantane- thrive by both seeing each other in
person and communicating with
ously. Despite its speed and effec-
tiveness, communicating over the the aid of technology, but it is es-
sential to meet your friends face to
Internet and through texts has a
huge down side. Without actually face in order to become closer and
avoid that awkwardness that comes
seeing the person you are commu-
nicating with, the atmosphere loses with a lack of communication. ◙
 SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
The Standard Science & Technology
The Science Behind Class Sizes
By: Gabriel Hope
Stuyvesant students have
many reasons to feel overwhelmed.
Social pressure, college admis-
sions, and demeaning extra cur-
ricular activities are all factors that
can affect how students perform in
school. But what about the size of
their classes? As one of the largest
and most selective high schools in
New York and an expected incom-
ing class of roughly 998 students
next year, Stuyvesant is faced with
many issues concerning large class
sizes and overcrowding.
According to a report pub-
lished by the New York Depart-
ment of Education, Stuyvesant
classes average 32 students per
class, six more than the citywide
average of 26. Stuyvesant also has
a very high student-teacher ratio
with about 21 students for every
teacher, the third-highest in the
city. As the student population
continues to grow, Stuyvesant
could be facing problems regard-
ing class size in the future.
There has been contro-
versy over the issue of ideal class
sizes for decades. Many people
believe that smaller classes should,
in theory, provide students with
more fulfilling and individualized
educations. With fewer students,
teachers can focus more on the
needs of individuals and encourage
greater participation from every
member of a class. Smaller classes
By: Amy Chen
Shortly after the Septem-
ber 11th terrorist attacks, letters
containing the bacteria Bacillus
anthracis were placed in envelopes
and mailed to the Hart Office
Building in Washington D.C. and
to media company offices. This
spore-forming bacterium causes
anthrax, an acute infectious disease
that infects domestic animals such
as goats and sheep, but has also
been known to infect humans. Vic-
tims who opened the envelopes
unknowingly inhaled the culture of
bacteria, which was responsible for
killing five people and causing six
others to become ill.
Anthrax can be transmitted
from infected animals to humans
through exposure or by tampering
with products from these animals.
Eating undercooked meat of in-
fected animals also causes anthrax.
Although infected animals are not
common in the United
States, the anthrax bacteria can be
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Stuyvesant High School’s average class size is well above that of other schools which leads many to question what the
ideal class size would be.
should also provide stronger and
more personal working relation-
ships between students and teach-
ers. “[At Stuyvesant] you’re talk-
ing about 170 student-teacher rela-
tionships… it’s easy for a student
to disappear,” commented one
teacher, “In my opinion the ideal
number would be between 15 and
20 students per class.”
Many studies have also
supported the idea that smaller
classes can help improve student
performance. A study conducted
by the Tennessee Board of Educa-
tion found that smaller class sizes
Anthrax:
A Scare of the Past?
easily isolated from them and cul-
tured in large quantities at cheap
prices. After that, the bacteria can
be dried into powder that can de-
velop and grow normally for many
years.
The first anthrax letter was
postmarked on September 18th,
2001. Soon after, several people
became ill from the disease, in-
cluding an assistant to Tom Bro-
kaw of NBC. The assistant was
tested positive for anthrax after she
handled two letters addressed to
Brokaw. Two postal workers in
Washington D.C. died on October
22. Health officials say the prob-
able cause was anthrax. The fifth
death happened on November 21,
2001, when a 94 year old woman
from Oxford, Connecticut died.
She had somehow mysteriously
inhaled anthrax.
Following the attacks, fed-
eral prosecutors suspected that
Bruce E. Ivins, a scientist with a
doctorate in microbiology from the
University of Cincinnati was re-
April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10 7
TSS/Elissa Tam
dents in lower grades, many re-
searchers believe that the benefits
may lessen as students grow older.
The same University of Paris study
found that the effects of smaller
classes tend to trail off by the time
students reached 8th and 9th grade.
While the experience of students and
teachers alike may benefit from less
crowded classrooms, the effect on
performance seems less pronounced.
Nevertheless, many private
and government organizations still
campaign for reduced class sizes.
The New York City Department of
Education is currently in the second
year of a five-year plan to reduce
class sizes, but this new legislation
has had little effect so far, with aver-
age high school class sizes actually
increasing slightly since the plan was
approved in 2007. The lack of suc-
cess can be attributed to a number of
factors, not the least of which is the
deteriorating economy, which is pre-
in lower grades could affect the
venting the Department of Education
performance of students. Students
from hiring many new teachers.
from smaller classes tended to
Whether or not Stuyvesant
have higher graduation rates, better
should be taking steps towards re-
SAT scores and better averages—
ducing class sizes is a question that
benefits that extended through high
could be very important in the near
school. A University of Paris study
future. Even if smaller classes do not
also showed that 6th and 7th grad-
significantly affect the academic per-
ers performed better with smaller
formance of students, smaller classes
classes, stating, “An eight to 10
could still be advantageous in creat-
student reduction of class size puts
ing a more inviting and personal
the child of a non-educated mother
learning environment—a benefit that
on an equal footing with the child
could help relieve some of the daily
of a college-educated mother.”
stress that Stuyvesant students face.
While class size seems to
◙
have a significant effect on stu-
sponsible for the unleashing this enough sometimes controlling my
bioterrorism weapon. Ivins worked behavior. When I am being eaten
at the United States Army Medical alive inside, I always try to put on
a good front here at work and at
Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases at Fort Detrick in Mary- home, so I don't spread the pesti-
lence. I get incredibly paranoid,
land. He had examined some of the
world's most malicious and deadly delusional thoughts at times, and
there's nothing I can do until they
pathogens and viruses for more
than three decades in hopes of go away."
These e-mail messages
finding cures lest they might be
used as weapons. Nonetheless, the became a main source of informa-
tion for the Federal Bureau of In-
prosecutors were preparing to in-
dict him on murder charges related vestigation at providing a light into
his personality. Dr. Ivins wrote
to the 2001 anthrax attacks. Ivins,
62, died on July 29, 2008 after poems about having two personali-
ties. He said that he had "mindless
committing suicide.
In the weeks leading up to drives" to mail gifts and letters
anonymously. Records released
his death, email messages written
by Ivins as the Federal Bureau of made it obvious that Ivins had suf-
fered from mental problems and
Investigation confirms, indicated
that Ivins's behavior became in- had been deeply troubled.
Through the anthrax at-
creasingly volatile. Even more than
a year before the 2001 attacks, tacks, it became clear that biologi-
cal weapons could be unleashed
Ivins admitted that he was becom-
ing delusional through his e-mails. quickly and easily. The supplies
needed can be obtained easily.
"I wish I could control the thoughts
in my mind," wrote Ivins. "It's hard Current research is focused on de-
veloping tools to detect attacks. ◙
 8 The STUYVESANT STANDARD April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10
The Standard Entertainment
Senior SING! Rocks the House
TSS/Elissa Tam
By: Robert Colbourn
Second term is here, and with
it tensions are running high through the
school. Sophomores and Freshmen are
busy trying to sky-rocket their GPA’s,
Juniors are dealing with SAT’s, and
Seniors have just recently received
their college decisions. However, eve-
ryone knows that there is one main
event that gets Stuy students riled up
and excited to be in school–SING!
This tradition, part of Stuyvesant’s cul-
ture for decades, allows students to
invest a large amount of creativity into
a competition of sorts–each grade at-
tempts to come up with the best overall
performance which takes the form of
an atypical musical. This year’s SING!
TSS/Elissa Tam
did not disappoint, and was filled with
classical Stuy wit and pure talent that
makes everyone proud of their class.
Soph-Frosh SING!
The performance of the night
began with as an interesting tale of
woe and, like all SING! tales, ended
with relief. Apparently, a bathtub’s
natural denizens (such as a “confused”
rubber ducky and a shampoo bottle
whose personality is reminiscent of
pepe le pew) face a dilemma when
their world is invaded by “Mild” and
“Moldew”--two mischievous entities
sent by the shower drain in an attempt
to muck up their world. However, their
plan is discovered just in time to pre-
vent any lasting damage, of course.
This plot and setting did have some
creativity behind it and is a good base
for a potentially very amusing SING!
While, again, there was much
potential, a lot of the big aspects of
TSS/Elissa Tam
SING! were lacking in this perform-
ance--most of which must be blamed
on the insane number of sophomores
booted from the crews due to grade
issues. This caused problems in almost
every dance, making them feel empty
and thus very limited. They did the
best with what they had, but still fell
very short of the mark with many of
the dances. The only real “musical”
saving grace was the presence of many
solo singing numbers, which were
comprised of some very good talent
and added quite a lot to the production.
From what was expected of Soph-
Frosh, especially after news of the
mass loss of people involved, I must
say that they did quite well in their
own right. Unfortunately, it wasn’t
enough to beat out the other two grades
in the end.
Junior SING!
The next performance brought
something a bit different to the table.
The Juniors were superheroes going up
against a disastrous foe, Peter Parker’s
super-rich and unloved brother (known
as P.P. Man). He decides, out of jeal-
The seniors (top) took the winning title while Junior SING! (middle) and Soph-Frosh SING! (bottom) fell short of ousy, to steal all of their powers and
Senior SING!
ENTERTAINMENT
defeat them once and for all. However,
he does have a change of heart after
finding love, and thus allows the super-
heroes to have their powers back, let-
ting them live on happily. This plot led
to a script that did contain a few good
laughs, but in the end came out to have
a few too many cheap shots and some
jokes that just flew under the radar (or
simply weren’t funny).
There were some dance num-
bers that remained pretty impressive,
unfortunately some of those were off-
set by other numbers. For instance, lots
of talent was portrayed in Tap, Indian,
and Hip-Hop, but there were some
problems with Latin and Swing–the
former being stylistically unimpres-
sive, and the latter being technically
flawed. Their band was quite gifted
though, and provided proper settings
for every style of dance portrayed. The
Chorus also performed interesting vo-
cal interludes that fit well in the story.
However, the ending bit of the Junior
performance was a bit jarring, as it
seemed that they ran out of plot, but
still had several dances to go, leading
to a couple of awkward transitions.
The overall production was not disap-
pointing; however it could have been
improved upon in certain select areas.
Senior SING!
The ending of SING! was one
that was a bit uneven--there were many
show stopping moments, but some bits
did pale in comparison to the rest. A
computer geek traveled inside the
internet itself to find a dancer whom he
fell for. His trip, though, gets inter-
twined with a plea to help save the
internet from a mysterious computer
hacker who seems to be up to no-good.
His quest to save the internet ends in
triumph, but his personal love story
ends up as a bit of a shock. The setting
and plot are difficult to comment on,
due to the fact that the target audience
for most of the script is a bit limited
(only to those which spend a lot of
time on the internet, which admittedly
is quite prolific in Stuy), so while I
believe that the jokes could have been
a bit less specific, they were quite
amusing to those who actually got
them.
The highlight of this SING!,
however, was not necessarily the hu-
mor, but was in the dance numbers.
There was little that was flawed within
this category, and as one sat there
watching a dance, it was always hard
to believe that they could continue per-
forming so well, yet the Seniors kept
on delivering. Highlights were defi-
nitely Hip-Hop, Chinese dance, and of
course, Step. It was in these that the
amount of coordination and skill
achievable in a dance routine was
shown, and they left the audience
floored. Senior SING! may have had a
couple of moments that left the audi-
ence confused, but it had plenty more
that made it apparent that they truly
deserved their win in 2009. ◙
 ENTERTAINMENT/LITERARY The STUYVESANT STANDARD April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10 9

Watchmen:
Decent Movie, Poor Adaptation
By: David Mannes
Warning to readers: this
article is essentially going to be a
four hundred and sixteen word rant
condemning the new “Watchmen”
film. However, first, I would like
to make clear that as a standalone
movie I thought it was halfway
decent, but having read the graphic
novel, the movie paled in compari-
son.
The real “unselling” point
for me was when my parents came
home from seeing the movie, and
my dad said “I didn’t really buy
the ending—they blow up a bunch
of cities, blame it on the blue guy,
and the whole world starts holding
hands and singing kumbaya?” Al-
though the film lifts entire sec-
tions directly from the graphic
novel, thematically the two works
are worlds apart.
The “Watchmen
‘ graphic novel was one of the
first realistic depictions of cos-
tumed adventurers (i.e. superhe-
roes). Yet everything about the
movie—from the brightly colored
costumes to the fanciful special
effects to the oversimplified
plot—seemed like a throwback to
the romanticized Batman and Su-
perman movies of the eighties and
nineties.
This departure from real-
ism was as much a fault of the
movie’s script as of its direction.
In an albeit failed effort to fit the
novel into the standard two hour
long mold, the script cut out eve-
rything that wasn’t essential to
plot. However, in doing so, it
also removed much of the story’s
mood, meaning, and credibility.
The three most striking of these
omissions are “Tales of the Black
Freighter,” Rorschach’s conversa-
tion with the psychologist, and all
mention of the New Frontiersman
prior to the last scene of the
movie.
In addition, the changes
that were made to story’s ending
were absurd. First off, it was un-
necessary—Alan Moore’s ending
worked just fine for the book, and
it would have worked fine for the
movie. Secondly, by blaming the
city’s destruction on Dr. Manhat-
tan, the ending loses all traces of
the psychological terror that are
abundant in the book. And fi-
nally, the ending just doesn’t hold
water. If the emblem of Ameri-
can dominance suddenly went
rogue, the rest of the world would
not come to America’s aid; they
would point and laugh. More-
over, with a familiar humanoid
scapegoat like Dr. Manhattan the
conflict is bound to come to a
head rather soon, leaving the
world right back where it
started—on the brink of war.
In short, the film adapta-
tion of “Watchmen” didn’t do the
source material justice, and this is
probably why Alan Moore has
never given his blessing to any of
the Hollywood distortions of his
works. ◙

Students React to Possible Time

Management Course
Continued from page 4
middle schools where we may sports teams and have a 96 average should perhaps ask their Big Sibs
have been the star pupils and may while others are barely passing and or other upper classmen for ad-
Many students expressed don't have any extracurricular ac- vice.”
have been able to do our work in
their approval of the plan. Junior tivities? It's all about a person Adjusting to a new envi-
an hour or two makes it difficult
Anastassia Kapeles said, “I think knowing his or her own study and ronment has proven to be a diffi-
when we come to Stuy and are
that something like this would work habits. They just refuse to cult challenge for some and one
overwhelmed by the level of rigor
greatly improve the overall quality acknowledge that they need to put every student in Stuy has had to
expected from us. I personally
of life for many students at Stuyve- more time into school and thus do face when they arrived. While
found that I have trouble keeping
sant. As a freshman, I remember worse.” Junior Mark Mays also some argue that the creation of a
with a schedule. I think if I learned
how overwhelmed I was with the brings up the point, “a program time management workshop for
how to make a good schedule and
amount of work. I was so used to like this is a good idea. At the mo- freshmen would provide them with
stick to it, I would have more time
finishing my work in an hour and ment though I think it is out of the the tools necessary to succeed in
to have fun and sleep alongside
when I got to Stuy I was unable to question. Stuy recently had its their academic careers and in other
schoolwork.”
finish my homework and have budget greatly reduced due to the areas of their lives. There is also a
However some students
enough time to do the things I fiscal crisis. At a time like this, question about its immediate ne-
disagree with the plan. Junior
liked.” Freshman Syed Ferdous adding a new strain on the budget cessity and its validity. It will have
Kevin Qiu pointed out that, “Time
said, “I think my fellow freshmen would take away from the bare to be seen whether or not the work-
management is common sense.
and I would really benefit from a necessities. If students do have shop will be established in the
Why can some people be on two
program like this. Coming from trouble managing their time, they coming months. ◙

The Standard Literary

The Standard Word Search
By: Robert Colbourn

C T A H W H O R A N G E Word Bank
H N W A S H E R P O H H [The 5 elements that make HATCH
E E W A T E R V R L O C up Captain Planet] GARMENT
R M A X R A I N I E S T RAINIEST GHOST
SMOKE [The 3 months of Spring]
R R R I A R E A L M T A FLAMES RAGWEED
Y A T S W T C N O R E H CHEAP BAGEL
S G H L B H D K X E R C EXPENSIVE GROPE
[The 4 flavors of original GENDER
E W O A E P E N Y T R R
Starbursts] WHERE
M E G A R M E R I A Y A WARTHOG WHY
A E P O R G O Y E W M M REALM HERON WHAT
NEAT WASHER
L D W H Y G E N D E R X
AXIS
F I R E X P E N S I V E
10 The STUYVESANT STANDARD April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10 ADVERTISEMENT
 SPORTS
The Sports Beat:
Race for the MVP
Continued from page 12
be this year’s top candidate for
MVP. James averages 28.6 points,
7.6 rebounds and 7.3 assists per
game. Not only is he younger than
Bryant, but he is also one of the
most athletically dominant players
in the NBA (call him Superman if
you will, no offense to Dwight
Howard). He has matured quickly
as a player, becoming both a better
team player and a more prolific
shooter. He knows how to get his
team involved and help his team-
mates score. What truly makes the
difference in the MVP voting be-
tween Kobe and Lebron is that the
Cavaliers wouldn’t be able to
function without James. He liter-
ally carried his team Statue of Lib-
erty style to the record that they
have today. He is the best thing
that has happened to them since
refrigerated Gatorade.
When discussions arise
about who will be MVP this year,
Lebron and Kobe are always
talked about as the top two candi-
dates, but there is a third player
who must be considered along
with them – Dwayne Wade.
Though Wade is the “third” candi-
date, he still has worked extra hard
and deserves more than any other
Sports Event Analysis:
Man-Up
Cutler
Continued from page 12
of money to write this article, I
would understand if I occasionally
had to listen to the editor. It’s al-
most a shame that these athletes
are so good because it allows them
to act like little schoolgirls. This is
World Baseball
Classic Draws the
World’s Attention
Continued from page 12
the Atlanta Braves would have
been his replacement. In a similar
situation, McCann was forced to
play left field following an injury,
a situation the Braves surely aren’t
happy with. Country pride and all
aside, the regular season is and
always will be more important than
the Classic. It is what the players
get paid for and what they wait all
off-season for. So, World Baseball
Classic, allow for the replacement
process to be more lenient and
keep players playing in their ap-
propriate positions.
The STUYVESANT STANDARD April 6, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.10 11
player to be that third pick. Like
Lebron, Wade has brought a me-
diocre team into the NBA playoff
race, and unlike Lebron and Kobe,
Wade was plagued with injuries
during the past few seasons, which
led many to think that his prime
time in the NBA was over. He
overcame the odds though, and is
currently the leading scorer in the
entire NBA. Because he is physi-
cally smaller than Lebron and
Kobe, and thus has to work harder
to put up all the shots that he does,
I call him the Batman of the NBA,
because he does not have the
“powers” that Superman has, yet
he still manages to put up superhu-
man stats while carrying his team
to the top.
That’s what the MVP
award is all about. It’s about being
the most valuable player to your
team, not the best player in the
league. Kobe is an all around better
player than Lebron and Wade, for
he is more experienced, has no
tendencies to score a certain way,
and can creatively get a tough shot
off in clutch situations. But that’s
probably not going to get him the
award this year because the broad-
casters are naturally drawn to
Lebron’s playmaker style of bas-
ketball. ◙
why college basketball is better
than NBA basketball, and NCAA
football is better than NFL football
–because people man up and play
for reasons outside their bank ac-
counts. ◙
The World Baseball Clas-
sic has all the potential in the
world (literally) to be extremely
popular. Look at the aforemen-
tioned Netherlands; everyone went
crazy over that story. It almost
seemed as if the Dominican Re-
public was going to break into a
state of mayhem with headlines
like “disgrace” and
“embarrassment” on the front of
their newspapers. With world-wide
popularity at stake, the WBC needs
to make the necessary adjustments
so that it really can be what its
name suggests – Classic. ◙
 12 The STUYVESANT STANDARD April 6, 2009–VOL.8, NO.10 SPORTS

One Student Reflects:

World Baseball Classic
Draws the World’s Attention
By: Cody Levine

TSS/ Amna Ahmad

The World Baseball Clas-
sic is an event that many players
look forward to. It is an event that
allows players to represent their
countries and play the game they
all love so much. But at the end of
the day, is the World Baseball
Classic really worth it? Maybe af-
ter fixing a few flaws it could be.
If you’re a sports fan, you
must have heard the story about
the Netherlands beating the power-
house Dominican Republic twice
to advance to the next round. You
must have heard all of the statis-
tics: 24 major league players ver-
sus 2, the 510 career wins versus
95 or the $84 million major league
payroll compared to a measly
$480,000. When looking at it, you
can’t help but think what a great
story the Netherlands has created.
But, who are we all kidding? Are
the Netherlands actually a better
baseball team than the Dominican
Republic? No, absolutely not. The
beauty of baseball is that on any
given day, any team can beat any
other team which is precisely why
the World Baseball Classic really
wants to show which teams are
the best, make the match-ups 3
game series or even 5 game se-
ries. That way, the better team,
more often than not, will prevail.
Furthermore, the Classic
is played right at the beginning of
Spring Training which opens the
possibility of injury. Players and
managers alike know this risk is
prevalent but the pride in repre-
senting their country overpowers
the fear of injury. To deal with
this, the head of the WBC should
make the roster replacement pol-
icy much easier to handle. Nearly
half of the original team USA
starting roster is no longer with
the team due to injury, and in-
jured players may only be re-
placed at the beginning of each
new round. The extent of the inju-
ries has gotten so bad that in the
first inning of a game New York
Mets third basemen David Wright
hit a foul ball off his toe and was
in excruciating pain, but didn't
come out of the game because if
he had, catcher Brian McCann of Baseball players came to represent their countries of origin in the 2009 World Baseball Classic .

the season is 162 games long. If Continued on page 11

The Sports Beat: Sports Event Analysis:

Race for the MVP
By: George Wu
The Maurice Podoloff
Most Valuable Player Award
is awarded annually to the
player voted to display the best
combination of leadership
skills and athletic superiority
in the NBA. The winner is de-
cided by a panel of 125 sports-
writers and broadcasters, three
from each of the 30 cities rep-
resented by NBA teams. Previ-
ous winners of the award in-
clude Michael Jordan, Larry
Bird, Magic Johnson and Ka-
reem Abdul Jabbar. The two
leading candidates this year are
two of the NBA’s best players,
Lebron James and Kobe Bry-
ant.
Kobe Bryant has filled
the void for the NBA’s “great
player” since Jordan left. Bryant
is Lakers coach Phil Jackson’s
protégé, and is considered to be
the most skilled scorer in the
NBA today. A former MVP
who once averaged 35 ppg,
Kobe is not putting up as many
points now as he did in previous
seasons, and many believe that
Kobe’s “MVP era” has passed.
Kobe has much more experi-
ence than Lebron, is a better
shooter, and can really pull off
the clutch plays in playoff
games. But the truth is, his team
is too good. With Andrew
Bynum, Derek Fisher, Pau
Gasol, and Lamar Odom, the
Lakers have one of the strongest
lineups in the NBA. In fact,
they could still be one of the top
teams without Bryant.
Lebron James seems to
Continued on page 11
Man-Up
Cutler
By: Zack Goldberg tainly is dispensable.
After Cutler realized
While this may be inspired that his team was willing to
most recently by Jay Cutler’s al- trade him, he felt betrayed. As if
most impressive show of PMS – the six year, $48 million dollar
the truth is I’ve always wanted to contract Cutler received in 2006
write this. I have decided that if I wasn’t a sufficient display of
am ever in the position where I am commitment. I adamantly be-
offering a professional athlete mil- lieve that Pat Bowlen has 48
lions of dollars to show up and million reasons for not having to
throw a ball that I will ensure that hold Jay Cutler’s hand as long as
the contract includes some clause he’s signing his checks.
to guarantee the kid I’m paying Jay Cutler did not invent
doesn’t turn into a little princess. the pro-athlete tear-fest – the
Jay Cutler’s big temper Terrell Owens and Corey Dil-
tantrum started when he was of- lon’s of the world will always
fered in a three-way trade proposal whine and moan despite the mil-
with the Patriots and Buccaneers. lions of dollars that get tossed
Somehow Mr. Cutler had built up their way to play a game they
in his head that he was an indis- love 16 Sundays a year.
pensable asset. Let’s just say, if I were
Peyton Manning is not being paid an inordinate amount
indispensable; Tom Brady is not
indispensable; and Jay Cutler cer- Continued on page 11