THE STUYVESANT

STANDARD
Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Volume 8 Issue 11

MSA Finds Success at

MIST Competition

TSS/Muhammad Tambra
By: Shahzad Anwar including poetry, debate, basketball,
web design and much more. The
StuyMSA team participated in a
This year Stuyvesant’s
number of these competitions.
Muslim Students Association
They placed first in the following
(MSA) partook in the Muslim Inter-
competitions: nasheed boy’s rap,
scholastic Tournament also known
boy’s basketball, 2D Islamic Art,
as MIST. MIST is a competition
Memorization, Tajweed, Prepared
designed to “to develop leadership,
Essay, and Debate. The team was
promote communication, and in-
ranked in the top three for a number
spire creativity while gaining a
of other competitions as well and
deeper understanding of Islam and
ended up coming in third place
Muslims,” according to the MIST
overall, qualifying for nationals.
website getmistified.com. This
The Bronx Science MSA won first
competition was brought to the at-
place as some MSA members pre-
tention of the Stuyvesant High
dicted they would.
School MSA by Stuyvesant alum
Mahfuzur Rahman Tamim
and former MSA president Ubaid
Miah, the co-vice president of the
Bandukra. The executive board of
MSA, was the main organizer of the
the Stuyvesant MSA felt that this
team, and was instrumental in get-
competition would help promote a
ting everything prepared. He also
sense of pride among the members
won 2nd place overall and earned a
of the MSA and help foster the
cash prize for his participation.
club’s unity.
When the MSA decided to partici-
The MIST competition has
pate in the competition, there was
Members of the Stuyvesant Muslim Students Association celebrate the awards they won at the Muslim Interscholastic an Islamic focus, but is not just
Competition held at Hofstra University during spring recess. about Islam. It has 35 competitions Continued on page 3

Peer Partnership Science Olympiad

Students Make Stuy Takes Tenth in
Their Home Competition
cilities include Legacy High
By: Rammiya Nallainathan School, Chelsea Vocational High By: Jenny Shan the total points (the lower the bet-
School, and Stuyvesant High ter). Fayetteville-Manlius High
School. The main objective of the School came in first place with 172
One of the community- The annual New York State
school is, “to motivate all stake- points. In tenth place, Stuyvesant
building programs run by SPARK Science Olympiad State Competi-
holders toward independence by had 485 points. Stuyvesant ranked
is the Peer Partnership Program, tion was held at U.S. Military
preparing them to be productive first in two events, Cell Biology
where students meet with the Spe- Academy at West Point on March
and contributing members of soci- and Electric Vehicle.
cial-Ed students during their lunch 21, 2009. Stuyvesant’s Science
ety by providing them with oppor- The captains of the Stuy-
period every Thursday. The pro- Olympiad team placed tenth in the
tunities to have a dynamic educa- vesant Biology Olympiad team are
gram was initiated in January of state out of forty-nine participating
tional environment based on 'best Karl Guo and April Lee. There
2007 by Angel Colon, Stuyve- high schools.
practices' for meaningful and en- were five biology related events
sant’s SPARK coordinator. Scoring on the New York
riched academic, social and occu- which are categorized as Life, Per-
The main organization, State Science Olympiad is based
pational or work experiences.” sonal & Social Science: Cell Biol-
P.S. M721- Manhattan Occupa- on rank. Students are ranked in
At Stuyvesant, there are ogy, Disease Detectives, Ecology,
tional Training Center (MOTC), each event with a number, 1 being
only three classes of students from Health Science and Herpetology.
responsible for these students is the highest rank. The numbers are
P.S. M721. Some of the students Most of these events were taken as
located on 250 West, Houston then added up for each school, and
attend the Stuyvesant site because tests, though some events such as
Street. However, the school has the schools are placed according to
many off-site locations. These fa- Continued on page 4 Continued on page 3
Page 3

Page 5

Page 7

In Juniors An Easily Vision

Celebrate Manipulated Correction:
This Contact Lenses
Spirit Week Nation
Issue and Eyeglasses
 2 The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009–VOL.8, NO. 11

Staff Editorial:
Getting Others to
The Executive Board
Give Back
There have been only a sincere hope that other student or-
AMNA AHMAD EDITOR IN CHIEF handful of times in the past few ganizations will follow in their foot
HESHAM SALEH MANAGING EDITOR years in which student-run organi- steps for the future. It came as a
DAVID MANNES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE zations have united the student- pleasant surprise that even as AP
ANGEL WONG DIRECTOR OF FINANCE body with the objective of giving exams began creeping up on stu-
GUERGANA BORISSOVA COPY CHIEF back. Fortunately however, Stuyve- dents, and even after seniors re-
RAMMIYA NALLAINATHAN NEWS EDITOR sant students have had the privilege ceived news from colleges and
MUHAMMAD TAMBRA NEWS EDITOR of participating in two such events universities, the members of
MARINA TAWFIK OPINIONS EDITOR in the past few weeks, namely, the STRIVE and Free Hugs did not
ROBERT COLBOURN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR STRIVE Earth Day Festival and the hesitate to take the time to con-
OMAR AHMAD SCIENCE EDITOR 2nd Annual Fundraising Carnival sider the prospect of somehow
QI FAN ZHANG TECHNOLOGY EDITOR for St. Jude’s Research Hospital. making a change for the better
ROBERT STEVENSON LITERARY EDITOR Both events proved to be successful, even if it meant temporarily setting
MICHAEL BLOCK SPORTS EDITOR not only in promoting a sense of their own personal commitments
ELISSA TAM DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM community among students, but aside.
MEGAN BRESLIN FACULTY ADVISOR also in raising awareness and The well-known and per-
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER money for two very notable causes. haps overly used expression, “To
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS Members of the STRIVE whom much is given, much is ex-
club and the Free Hugs club were pected,” clearly resonates with the
extremely successful in their efforts idea that as privileged students, it
to attract a large focus group of stu- is our responsibility to step outside
Publication dents to the events. In fact, it was of ourselves for the greater good of
clear that due to the popularity of humanity. While some students
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a non-profit publication produced by the events, students as well as ad- may feel as though their efforts to
the students of Stuyvesant High School. ministrators were enjoying them- secure change would prove to be
selves at the same time as they were fruitless, the success of STRIVE
either raising money for cancer re- and Free Hugs in getting others to
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi- search or learning how to lead a give back exemplifies the impact
weekly basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and more eco-friendly life. that the vision of just a handful of
throughout the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park City. The Stuyvesant Standard students can have on the lives of
commends STRIVE and Free Hugs others. We have the potential to
on their successful efforts to help change the world.◙
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers. For a get others to give back. It is our
letter to be reproduced in print, a name and method of contact must be pro-
vided.
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
Stuy MSA Finds
Success at MIST
Competition
Continued from page 1
concern that there would not be
enough students to float a team.
Since the competition took place
during spring recess, some students
within the MSA opted not to partici-
pate. However the executive board
was able to wrangle up a sizeable
team of about 20 members. There
was also a large debate over the
team’s name. With names like
“Stuy Stallions” and “Stuy Stars”
floating around the team finally de-
cided upon “Empire Untouchables”
in the end.
This year’s competition
took place at Hofstra University,
located in Long Island. The Stuy
MIST team faced a challenge with
determining how the members
would make the trip to Hofstra. Be-
cause none of the team members
could drive they had to rely on the
generosity of team member’s par-
ents and friends to drive them up to
Hofstra.
One of the drivers was
caught speeding and given a ticket
on the way to the competition, and
as the MSA members learned, mak-
ing it to the competition on time
was not worth the risk associated
with driving over 90 mph on a rode
where the speed limit is 45 mph to
Juniors Celebrate
Spirit Week
By: Muhammad Tambra
March 30 through April 3
marked the first ever Junior Spirit
Week held at Stuy. The event was
organized by the Junior President,
Valeriya Tsitron, in an attempt to
promote Junior unity and also rally
school spirit. Each day had its own
color theme. Monday was red,
Tuesday was yellow, Wednesday
was green, Thursday was pink, and
Friday was blue. Juniors were en-
couraged to wear shirts corre-
sponding to the color theme of the
day. There were also events on the
first floor near the rear of the thea-
tre. These events involved cha-
rades, board games, and a remix of
some SING! performances. There
was a lot of hype for the event and
even a Facebook group created in
order to promote it.
A lot of students felt it was
a good way to promote unity and a
sense of pride among the class.
Sophomore Rebecca Chang said,
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
The Standard News
make up for lost time.
Danielle Lebenson, a mem-
ber of the StuyMSA executive
council and first place winner for
the Prepared Essay competition
said, “The first day was disorgan-
ized and unpromising, but the next
two days were unforgettable. There
was an atmosphere of brotherhood
and sisterhood that can't really be
easily found elsewhere, combined
with friendly competition and really
interesting workshops. I think that
we went into MIST hoping to just
compete in some stuff and feel like
we were involved, but what we left
with was greater; I know that, at
least for the sisters in MSA that par-
ticipated, it was a really good bond-
ing experience. For an MSA that
isn't really as "tight" as we would
like it to be, this gave us a chance to
really hang out with each other,
learn about each other, work to-
gether, etc. In building up team
spirit, we built up a strong MSA
bond that we definitely didn't have
before."
The Stuyvesant MSA feels
a sense of accomplishment and
hopes to do better next year, “and
maybe even win first place”, added
a confident Shehab Hasan.◙
“I thought it was really cool how
the juniors were able to organize
all of this and establish themselves
as a dominant force in the school. I
think being in the shadow of the
senior year makes them feel less
important and in this way they can
show Stuy that they’re proud of
who they are.” Junior Anastassia
Kapeles added, “I think Junior
Spirit week is an awesome idea. As
juniors we’re extremely stressed
due to a lot of things, AP’s, SAT’s,
and the prospect of applying to
college. I think that this gave us a
chance to say ‘hey, we’re awe-
some!’”
On the other hand, not
everyone shared in the enthusiasm
surrounding spirit week. They are
fearful of school sectionalism. And
others feel it’s a bit early to be
celebrating. Senior Mehrab Islam
said, “I think it’s a bit early for a
spirit week. They’ll have plenty of
senior spirit days.” Junior Manuel
Continued on page 4
May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO. 11
Science Olympiad
Takes Tenth
in Competition
Continued from page 1
Cell Biology required students to
identify cells while Herpetology
required students to identify live
animals. Students worked in pairs.
The captains of the Stuy-
vesant Chemistry Olympiad team
are Rena Chen and Charles Choi.
The three chemistry events were
Chemistry Lab, Environmental
Chemistry, and Forensics. Each
event consisted of a series of mis-
cellaneous questions and an ex-
periment. Two people would work
together on each event.
The captain of the earth
science team is Jenny Zhang. The
Earth and Space Science events
were Astronomy, Dynamic Planet,
Fossils, and Remote Sensing.
Other events were Physics
Lab, Technical Problem Solving,
Experimental Design, Solar Power,
Egg-O-Naut, Elevated Bridge, and
Junkyard Challenge. Some events
required students to do experi-
ments and answer questions
(including Physics Lab, Technical
Problem Solving, and Experimen-
tal Design) while the other events
required the students to build
things ( including Egg-O-Naut,
Mongolian Throat
Singing Club Draws
Attention
By: Mohammed Rahman
The Stuyvesant Mongolian
Throat Singing Club was started
in the spring of 2008 and has
since then grown into a club
with over 25 members. Patrick
Rozgonyi, president of the Mon-
golian Throat Singing Club, was
lured by the art of throat singing
by watching a close friend in
action. Patrick began to practice
rigorously everyday and eventu-
ally developed the skills to be
able to teach others how to
throat sing.
Patrick understood that
Mongolian throat singing was
an unusual and widely unknown
talent that had to be promoted.
Therefore, he created a club de-
voted to the cause of spreading
Mongolian and Inuit tradition.
The rhythmic hymns of Mongo-
lian throat singing are very deli-
cate and have been a part of
Mongolian culture for centuries.
Throat singing is a complex
3
Elevated Bridge, and Junkyard
Challenge). David Tan is the cap-
tain of the Physics Olympiad team,
while the captain for the technol-
ogy team is Oscar Liu.
Though the Stuyvesant
Science Olympiad Team does not
have teachers who specially coach
the team, the science teachers oc-
casionally help the team out when
necessary. The captains are mainly
responsible for preparing the team.
“We have to pretty much teach
people ourselves based on what we
have learned from previous cap-
tains and what we can learn by
ourselves” says Charles Choi, cap-
tain of the chemistry team.
When asked how he felt
about the team coming in tenth,
Karl Guo, captain of the biology
team replied, “We expected to be
in the top ten. We’ve [got top ten
at States] for three years in a row
now. We hope to continue the
streak to maybe get more funding
for the team.”
With additional funding
and more assistance from teachers,
the Science Olympiad Team mem-
bers anticipate that they will con-
tinue to excel in the competitions
in the future.◙
form of singing that comes from
the bottom of the throat, con-
trary to the common form of
singing we hear on the radio as
part of the more conventional
sphere of music. The sound
waves generated by the throat
resonate to the environment and
can be tuned by widening and
shutting the mouth.
Many Stuyvesant students
are stunned when they hear this
type of music. Patrick Fu, a jun-
ior at Stuyvesant, stated: “I was
shocked the first time I heard
Patrick throat sing. It was so
inhuman like. I kept looking
around the room, expecting the
noise to come from a machine
or an animal. Finally I realized
Patrick made such unorthodox
noises.” Throat singing is truly
exotic and is respected in the
Inuit and Mongolian tribes.
Throat singing, a long-lasting
custom in Mongolia, is learned
at a very young age so that chil-
Continued on page 4
 4 The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 NEWS

Peer Partnership Students Juniors

Make Stuy Their Home Celebrate
Continued from page 1
while.
The institute is also associ-
gather in the dining hall to have
breakfast. Then, while some go off
Spirit
Week
ated with the Model Transition to their work site, the other stu-
of the issue of unsuitable handicap dents work to develop skills in
Program (MTP) and the Associa-
accommodations at the main site. math, ELA, and social studies
tion for Help of Retarded Children
Because there are no elevators at classes. Later in the day the stu-
(AHRC). The Model Transition
the main site, students in wheel- dents have occupational therapy,
Program helps students by provid-
chairs are not able to get around and counseling, and participate in a Continued from page 3
ing them with a job readiness cur-
from class to class easily. At the physical education class. Patricia
riculum. Dr. Chris Suita, from the
Stuyvesant High School building, Pawliczak noted that being a part Castro said, “I’m not sure whether
University of Buffalo, guides stu-
these students are not only able to of the Peer Partnership program is or not this was a good thing or not.
dents through her workshops on
get around more easily, but they a great experience for these stu- I mean, yes it does promote junior
self advocacy. AHRC helps with
also benefit from the smaller com- dents. “It is a good opportunity for spirit but what about the under-
job coaching, and providing par-
munity of students from the Spe- them to socialize. Most kids want classmen? I think they might feel
ents and students with access to
cial-Ed institute. Classes are to feel like other high school stu- left out. It might escalate into
vocational rehabilitation and edu-
capped at eight to twelve students, dents.” Senior Rebecca Sharma, an where the grades are trying to
cational services given by the Vo-
and there is an emphasis on one- active member of the Peer Partner- outdo each other instead of work-
cational and Educational Services
on-one attention from paraprofes- ship program, said, “ Peer Partner- ing together.”
for Individuals with Disabilities
sionals. ship has been such a great experi- Many students reported
(VSID). Some work-site partner-
P.S. M721 is also linked to ence. Before, Mr. Colon instituted seeing students wearing clothing
ships offered by the MOTC in-
other groups to help these students the program, I think the Special-Ed that was the color theme for the
clude the Cabrini Nursing Home,
become accustomed with what students were separated from the day throughout the hallway but the
Greenwich House, NY Public Li-
would be expected of them as em- rest of the Stuyvesant community. response to the implementation of
brary, Mott Street Senior Center,
ployees in a work environment in However, this program is able to Junior Spirit Week was definitely
and the Village Nursing Home.
the future. One group, known as bridge that gap and allows us to not as large as expected. Even on
In addition to these ser-
the Entrepreneur Group, helps stu- have more interaction with the the Facebook group many juniors
vices, the school provides In-
dents prepare and train to be part other students.” opted to choose the “not attend”
House Entrepreneurships in Hospi-
of the OTC, or the Occupation While the P.S. M721 stu- option. In junior classes it seemed
tality (Enterprises) and Food Ser-
Training Center. Their group dents have undoubtedly benefited that only a small minority of the
vices (Confetti Cafe), Inclusion
leader, Olga, guides them by hav- from their involvement in the Peer students cared enough to wear the
programs at Legacy and Chelsea
ing them participate in activities Partnership Program, Stuyvesant color theme for the day. It was pre-
High Schools, Structured teaching
such as bake sales. The group is students themselves have also dis- sent enough to incur the interest of
classes (TEACCH), and classes in
located on the ninth floor in Room cussed the value of the friendships teachers and other students but it is
Math, Science, Art, Music, Social
926. they form with students that are to be seen whether or not it incited
Studies, ELA/NLA, Physical Edu-
Another group the organi- just a bit different than they are. any major changes in junior
cation and Computer Technology.
zation works alongside is the Fed- Some of the students have used the spirit.◙
Their physical education classes
eration Employment Guidance Ser- program as a way to teach others
include Fencing, Wrestling, Flag
vices, also known as F.E.G.S. Stu- about themselves.
Football, Cheerleading, Basketball,
dents who are between the ages of Kelvin, a twenty-one-year-
Golf, Swimming, Double-Dutch,
eighteen and twenty-one attend
Would you like
Jump Roping and Tennis. In ELA old student, has memorized every
work sessions as part of F.E.G.S. zip code in New York City and can
classes, MOTC provides various
from Monday to Friday, 9:30 to identify the neighborhood which
communication and language-
11:30 am. They learn how to make
their own clips during these ses-
based programs such as Star Re-
porter, Splash, MEville to WEville
each zip code represents. Kelvin
has demonstrated his ability to
to join us as a
writer?
sions. When asked how he felt overcome the obstacles that his
with Extended Literacy Lessons
about working, Thomas, a twelfth disability has caused him in other
curriculum, Weekly Reader, and
grade student, said, “It makes me ways as well. For example, Kelvin
Next to help the students develop
happy. I have fun being with taught himself how to speak after
important language skills. For in-
friends.” Miguel and Derek, two being unable to communicate with
Feel free to
stance, Star Reporter allows stu-
other students who also work at others through words for part of
dents to act as newspaper writers,
F.E.G.S. noted that they have to his life. Each of the students has
editors, and photographers and
stay quiet and concentrate on their
work. By working with F.E.G.S.,
encourages them to learn the com-
munication skills they need to
their own story to tell just as Kel-
vin has his.
email us at:
students are able to learn the dif- Largely as a result of the
know how to work in small and
ference between a typical school Peer Partnership Program, Stuyve-
large groups. In fact, the students
environment and work environ-
ment. Miguel added that he learns
publish their own newspaper enti- sant students are beginning to inte-
grate themselves with the students
EIC@
tled, The Stuyvesant Times.
to be a good co-worker by working
so diligently. When asked what the
Each of the students at of P.S. M721 in ways they had not
before. Stuyvesant students can
stuystandard.org
Stuyvesant High School site follow
best part of working was, they all now be seen in the halls greeting
their own schedule during the
seemed to agree that the monetary the Special-Education students
school week. Every morning the
compensation made it all worth the with a high five or a friendly hug.◙
students and their instructors

Mongolian Throat Singing Club

Draws Attention
Continued from page 3
throat singing to focus on and
dren can entertain the elders of then work throughout the year
the tribe. Understanding the on mastering that style. At the
prestige of the skill, the club end of the year, a throat singing
meets about once every week to competition is held outside of
practice. Members of the club school to determine which
choose one of the many styles of member has made the most pro-
gress. In light of the fact that
throat singing requires a great
deal of dedication, members are
expected to devote a substantial
amount of time to the activity to
get the most out of it. Mongo-
lian throat singing is a style of
music that Patrick expect to en-
tice all audiences. The presence
of the Mongolian Throat Sing-
ing Club has been said to con-
tribute to the diversity of inter-
ests that Stuyvesant High
School students possess.◙
 OPINIONS The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 5

The Standard Opinions

An Easily Manipulated Nation

TSS/ Elissa Tam

Marina Tawfik

For most students and

Americans throughout the country,
a typical day involves watching
television, listening to the radio,
reading magazines, or all three of
these things. They listen to news-
casters and reality television show
hosts, and read articles about politi-
cians and fashion.
Some of the information we
gain is invaluable information that
we would be inconvenienced with-
out. For example, being able to
check the weather every morning to
see the temperature and find out
whether or not it will rain helps me
in choosing my wardrobe for that
day. However, other things the me-
dia provide us are not as helpful.
The media is highly influ-
ential in the lives of Americans, and
as a result, its influence is exploited
to its full potential. Whether it be by
telling us what products to buy by
creating dazzling commercials or by
discreetly pointing out the errors in
politicians’ speeches, the media is
often used to make Americans do or
believe a number of things that
those behind the media would like
them to.
This past year, presidential
candidates spent millions of dollars
on their campaigns. These included
television ads, internet ads, radio
announcements, and even billboards
promoting them. Odds are that they
would not have spent those vast
amounts of money on advertise-
ments if had they not known for
sure that they would increase their
chances of winning the election.
The sad truth is that Americans may
be very easily swayed to one side or
another simply based on which can-
didate has the more dazzling cam-
It goes without mention that the media has a great impact on the way individuals think. However, the reasons that the media assumes such a role is still up for debate.
paign. Additionally, not only did the
candidates themselves promote
themselves on ads, but some televi-
sion and radio stations made it clear
that they were not as unbiased as
they were perceived to be. For in-
stance, constant criticisms of Sarah
Palin’s speeches by certain television
stations and newspapers certainly
influenced the number of people who
voted for McCain negatively.
The good news is that I be-
lieve students at Stuyvesant do not
fall into this trap as readily as other
Americans have proven to. Stuyve-
sant students seem to be intelligent
and independent enough to form
their own opinions about what they
like and dislike, what they believe
and do not believe. Though there are
work, but it is because of their addic-
a few students who are clearly
tion to the shows. If they watch it
swayed by everything they hear, the
that often, it has to be influencing
majority of our student population
them.”
seems to understand what their op-
While it is true that students
tions are in all aspects of their lives.
may sometimes spend less time
They also have the ability to analyze
studying than entertaining them-
these options and figure out what
selves with television and the inter-
they will do based on their own opin-
net, I do not believe that this happens
ions. The opinions of their friends
to most Stuyvesant students. It ap-
may also sometimes play a role in
pears to me that most students focus
their decisions, but for the most part
on studying and getting homework
the media does not.
done. It is true that there are some
Junior Elsa Thomas dis-
who insist on not missing a single
agrees with this point. She believes
episode of their favorite television
that “television influences students a
show, but the rest understand how to
lot. A lot of people I know stay up
balance their priorities, and thus are
late to watch TV shows, so their lack
not in danger of being too influenced
of sleep is not because of school-
by a single source.◙

Which is Harder
Doing Well in an AP or Choosing One?
By: Anna Tsenter
Choosing which Advanced
Placement classes to take is a very
difficult task for everyone. Since
we just finished going through the
process, I am sure everyone under-
stands how hard and annoying it
may be.
First we have to decide
how many APs to take. Most of the
time, that choice is made for you
based on your average, but do you
really want to take three or four
APs, even if you are allowed to?
Then comes the choice of
which ones to take. This fairly dif-
ficult choice to make is narrowed
down fairly quickly. First you bump
the classes that bore you to death.
Then go those that you know you are
going to fail, whether or not you put
a lot of effort into them. Not to men-
tion all the off-limits courses that are
unavailable because you do not have
the necessary pre-requisite courses
needed to get in. On top of all of that,
you need to have high grades to get
into the handful of APs left to choose
from.
I understand that APs are
difficult classes, and only people
with good averages should be able to
take them, but the standards should
be a little more lenient. Our grading
system in Stuyvesant is not so fool-
proof; hence, the cut off grades and
averages should not be set in stone. If
you had a very bad teacher who
failed everyone last year in biology,
it should not mean that you are auto-
matically denied the privilege of tak-
ing the AP Biology course. What if
your grade of 88 was the highest in
the class? A situation like this could
deny someone very interested in biol-
ogy, someone aspiring to become a
great doctor, the right to take the
class they are passionate about.
Grades are not always the
best representation of a student in a
certain area of knowledge. An overall
average, of course, is pretty accurate,
but since we are dealing with single
class grades, sometimes available
from only one or two terms, there
needs to be a better way of evaluat-
ing students. Teachers should be able
to see lists of people applying and
have the opportunity to promote
some deserving students. Parents,
who are probably most aware of their
children’s abilities, should have some
say in the process as well.
A person’s nature should also
be considered in the process of
choosing students for an AP course.
There are some people that under-
stand everything without studying,
Continued on page 6
 6 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
A Year on ARISTA Executive Council
By: Rammiya Nallainathan
On Wednesday, April 22,
Stuyvesant inducted its 100th chap-
ter of ARISTA, Stuyvesant’s Na-
tional Honor Society. About 170
new members were inducted into
ARISTA, all of whom met the four
pillars of ARISTA: leadership,
character, service, and scholarship.
The induction lasted from 6:30 pm
to 7:30 pm. With the help of the
administration, faculty members,
and ARISTA ushers, the induction
ran very smoothly.
Compared to last year, get-
ting into ARISTA this year was a
lot more competitive. As former VP
of ARISTA Tutoring, I had the
great privilege to read many of
these applications and judge
whether or not these students fit into
the honor society. Of course, there
were some cases where the execu-
tive council had to think twice be-
fore accepting or rejecting these
Which is Harder
Doing Well in an AP
or Choosing One?
Continued from page 5
While AP classes are understood to be very difficult, perhaps the administration needs to reexamine the way they
determine who is and is not qualified to take an AP course.
and effortlessly do well in normal
courses. There are others who con-
stantly study and take their work
seriously. Accepting those who
study would be a better choice,
because their habits indicate that
they will strive to do their best in
the AP class. Those who do not put
effort into their work might find
themselves lost in a class that is
above the level of their quick un-
derstanding. Having bad working
habits will not lead to good results
and the person will not do well in
the class. But since characteristics
of people are hard to distinguish by
transcripts, and even by most
teachers, these values should be
May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 OPINIONS
students. For those who found dis- tor, there are two VPs of Tutoring bers on the Tutoring Committee.
appointing news, I must add that (rather than just one,) and there is Without their help, I highly doubt it
there is an appeals process on its no longer a Junior Representative. would have been possible to run all
way. During this process you can Such changes were made based on
the programs we have. In addition
show us why you feel you belong in either the unclear purpose of some
to the one-on-one tutoring, ARISTA
ARISTA. positions, or the need for more rep-
has worked on some new programs,
With the induction of new resentation in different areas.
such as AIS/ARISTA help with the
members, comes the induction of During this past year, I had
Math, Biology, (and now Chemistry
new officers. Rather than holding an a great time working with the rest of
and Physics Departments), an after-
election, this year’s Executive the Executive Council and our fac-
school program- Math Inquiry
Council decided to pick its new of- ulty advisor, Mr. Weil. Each officer
Team, Study Buddies, outside
ficers through an application proc- contributed to ARISTA depending
ARISTA tutoring, and its new pro-
ess. The 2009-2010 ARISTA Ex- on what he or she did best, and I
gram –PEEP-where students can get
ecutive Council includes, President believe we all worked well together.
their essays edited. I truly believe
Nicole Leung, Vice President Omar From the first general meeting we
that next year’s Co-VPs of ARISTA
Ahmad, Vice President of Service held in October, to the preparations
Tutoring, Shirley and Kashyap, will
and Events Kaitlyn Kwan, Co-Vice for the induction ceremony, I know
be able to continue running these
Presidents of Tutoring Shirley Xu we all stuck together, even if we
programs and even initiate some
and Kashyap Rajagopal, and Direc- were in sticky situations. Though it
new programs inside and outside of
tor of Communications Amit Saha. was Mr. Weil’s first year as
school.
It is clear from the list of council ARISTA faculty advisor, he was
As my final words, I just
members above that the Executive still able to guide us through and
want to thank the administration
Council made a few changes to the helped us make the necessary
who worked with us this year, the
structure of the ARISTA leadershio changes we needed to make this
old Executive Council, and our fac-
team. For example, VP of Admini- year a productive one.
ulty advisor, Mr. Weil. Good luck
stration was fused with the VP of In addition to being on the
and best wishes to the 2009-2010
ARISTA, the Editor of The Herald Executive Council, I also had a
ARISTA EC and members!◙
is now the Communications Direc- great time working with the mem-
TSS/Elissa Tam
incorporated into the decision by
some sort of interview process.
As hard as it is to get into
an AP class, some Stuyvesant stu-
dents strive to take as many as they
can. We do not get scared about
losing our already uneventful so-
cial lives or our already too few
hours of sleep. Taking on as much
as possible, we struggle to do eve-
rything and anything we can to
excel. This is what I most admire
about Stuy students: their defini-
tion of “enough” keeps stretching
further without end, and they will
not stop until they reach their
goals. In my point of view, how-
ever, our school should take a
more holistic approach to permit-
ting students to select Advanced
Placement courses.◙
 SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
The Standard Science & Technology
Vision Correction:
Contact Lenses and Eyeglasses
By: Omar Ahmad
A substantial portion of
Stuyvesant’s students wear correc-
tive lenses, whether they be con-
tact or frame lenses, in order to
ease their school day and maintain
better vision. However, few nor-
mally consider the other options in
corrective treatment, how these
fixations may work on a long-term
basis, or why they chose that spe-
cific type of visual aid.
Many children, starting at
ages as young as 5, are given vis-
ual exams in order to estimate their
eyesight. If the child has lesser
than average eyesight, meaning
below 20/20, they are often given
corrective aids, most commonly,
glasses. However, this is fre-
quently without weighing in other
possible options for eye care, such
as contact lenses or surgical cor-
rection, which could in turn, result
in a dependence on glasses for the
future. This dependence is clini-
cally shown to lead to overuse and
misuse of the eyeglasses, fre-
quently resulting in deteriorating
eyesight and blurred vision.
One such instance was in
the case of freshman Adeline Cho
Mono Makes Sharing
Food and Beverages Dangerous
By: Omar Ahmad
Most children, from a
young age, are taught to share.
They are told that the act of shar-
ing develops stronger friendships,
and assists in the development of a
child’s maturity. However, few
fully understand the repercussions
of teaching students-to-be to share
their snacks and beverages.
Infectious mononucleosis,
more commonly known as mono,
is a stem off of the classified Ep-
stein-Barr herpes viruses. Particu-
larly prevalent in middle to high
school students, this disease has
recently been monitored closely,
and its victims grow steadily
though more rapidly in number
each year. This disease normally
transmits itself through the saliva,
providing itself with the name of
the “kissing virus.”
A person with mono may
also pass the disease along by
coughing or sneezing, causing
small droplets of infected saliva or
mucus to be suspended in the air,
thereby being able to be inhaled by
others in the area. However, these
circumstances are less likely, with
the cause of the majority of mono
cases being saliva residue found on
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
A considerable population of Stuyvesant High School students rely on either glasses or contact lenses to enhance their
vision throughout the course of the school day.
who wore glasses for the majority
of her childhood, and now has re-
sorted to contact lenses. She said “I
now have really bad vision, so my
contacts are extra thick, still keep-
ing me uncomfortable with the
frequent itch.”
Though many high school
students today have the ability and
resources to properly weigh the
options provided to them by their
shared foods.
According to Medicine-
net.com up to 95 percent of adults
between the ages of 35 and 40
have antibodies directed against
Epstein-Barr viruses, especially
mono. This indicates that most
people at least once in their life-
time, have come across or been
infected by a mono-like virus.
Though most of these adults did
not recall mono-like symptoms,
such as high fever, swollen glands,
and chills, in their medical past, it
often exhibits flu-like symptoms in
early years of development, like
mild fever, running nose, or sore
throat.
Research has shown that,
depending on the method used to
detect the virus, anywhere from 20
percent to 80 percent of people
who have had mononucleosis and
have recovered, will continue to
secrete mono in their saliva for
years, due to periodic
“reactivations,“ or abundant ap-
pearance of the viral infection.
Due to the fact that healthy
people without obvious symptoms
also secrete the virus during reacti-
vation periods throughout their
lifetime, isolation of the virus is
neither reasonable nor possible.
May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 7
TSS/Amna Ahmad
Contact lenses, the more re-
cent development in corrective eye
aids, often seem to be a more power-
ful contender in the vision battle, as
they leave one’s appearance unal-
tered, while at the same time provide
complete peripheral vision to the
user. Even so, eyeglasses are easier
to maintain and can be removed eas-
ily. Eyeglasses may be less expen-
sive on a long-term basis than con-
tacts as well. When asked about his
experiences with both contacts and
glasses, sophomore Matthew Kim,
another student well involved in
sports stated that “Peripheral vision
is key. With contacts or glasses, you
should be able to see the ball in front
of you. But only with contacts can
you detect it in the corner of your
eye.”
Other procedures such as
ophthalmologists, many find no corneal transplant and Lasik correc-
real need for change. tive surgery are often costly and
Junior Joshua Lee, an avid complex, and carry with them the
lacrosse player, stated that wearing possibility of degenerative vision
glasses, even in a high contact that leaves many consumers uneasy
sport “is just the same as wearing about considering them as options.
contacts.” All in all, both contact lenses and
However, when given this eyeglasses prove to be effective vis-
opportunity, many students have ual aids, though their appeal greatly
difficulties in choosing between varies based on the consumer.◙
contact lenses and glasses.
This makes the virus particularly Many students find mono
imperceptible in large, concen- to be slightly more uncomfortable
trated groups of people, such as than a severe flu, though it may
often cause symptoms worthy of a
can be found in a school setting.
When asked about mono, hospital stay. Edward Gottfried, at
student at Bowdoin College, was
junior Jack Lee stated that “the
virus seems to be slipping through one such case where intensive
medical attention was necessary. In
the cracks at Stuy.” His brother, a
freshman at Bronx Science got the an interview with the Bowdoin
Orient, Gottfried stated that glands
virus recently, but he told Lee that
he “probably got it from his friend, in his neck swelled up two weeks
prior to his hospitalization. It was
who he shared a sandwich with.”
When asked about his perspective not until a full week later, when he
was in Greek class, that he knew
on the act of openly sharing food,
Lee responded that he “never he must have mono.
"I was translating aloud
really thought about it before,” and
that “Sharing food is an instantane- and got to the end of a sentence
and realized I had no idea what I
ous thing. No one really has time
to consider sharing or not when had said in the previous minute
and a half. That sort of lack of cog-
someone asks.”
Even so, sophomore Jesse nitive function is somewhat
unique, and led me to believe that
Volto stated that “everyone has
their own set of germs. The air is something was seriously wrong
with me," he said.
filled with our saliva, and most
viruses are inevitable if you plan Though cases vary de-
pending on age, location, or con-
on going to school.”
FDA researcher and writer centration of the virus, mononu-
cleosis has proven to be a danger-
Judith Willis disagrees, with the
argument that, though mono, or ous and discomforting disease in
all environments. The number of
viruses similar to it, may be inevi-
table, the degree to which a person mono victims continues to rise.
Therefore, one should avoid eat-
may react to the disease can be
regulated through proper sanitary ing, or drinking after others in or-
der to prevent the spread of the
behavior.
virus.◙
8 The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 ENTERTAINMENT/LITERARY

The Standard Entertainment

Duplicity Dupes
Viewers
By: Robert Colbourn
Films depicting the classi-
cal spy role do appear on the mar-
ket frequently, so it’s difficult to
find a gem among all the drivel.
With each new release into this
genre comes a more convoluted
plot that typically fails to make any
sense or provide the viewers with a
story of substance. Despite this,
more and more movies with big
budgets and a stellar cast get re-
leased into the spy genre, clutter-
ing up the box office. “Duplicity”
does not stray from this pattern– it
is a pointless film that attempted to
be comedic, romantic, and thrill-
ing, yet failed miserably at all
three.
Ray Koval (Clive Owen),
an MI6 operative, and Claire Sten-
wick (Julia Roberts), a spy for the
CIA, cross paths in Rome, where
an unfortunate incident between
the two occurs. However, a meet-
ing three years later sparks a part-
nership in order to take advantage
of a feud between two rival corpo-
rations over a secret new product
one of them is about to release.
Tensions between the couple rise
when questions about their love for
each other come up and the poten-
tial for betrayal increases to a
maximum.
Initially, this clichéd plot
did hold promise for at least being
somewhat entertaining. However,
even in this respect it failed. Its
plot became overly convoluted in
uninteresting ways. Character mo-
tives became increasingly foggier,
the plot progressed through moves
by characters that made little
sense, and the audience was left
knowing too little, with the end
rushing to catch everyone up.
There was little to counteract these
downfalls, due to the lack of inter-
esting cinematography or tense
moments.
There were few things that
were good about this film and one
of them was the acting. It wasn’t
anywhere close to being stellar, but
fans of Julia Roberts, Clive Owen
or Paul Giamatti will be somewhat
pleased with their performances.
Roberts’ and Owen’s relationship
was passionate and complicated
(mostly during the moments when
it was antagonistic,) while Gia-
matti provided a lot of comic re-
lief. In addition, the scenery was
very pleasing. Viewers will be en-
tranced by a big hi-tech corporate
atmosphere, an underground spy
network, the outdoor beauty of
Rome, and other pretty locations
across the world. Unfortunately,
these positive aspects weren’t
nearly enough to offset the awful
remainder of the movie, truly mak-
ing it almost unwatchable. Duplic-
ity, despite the stellar cast and nice
scenery, will still be considered
one of the big flops of 2009.◙

The Standard Literary

The Stuyvesant Standard is always in search of motivated and

passionate students to contribute to our publication. If you are
interested in joining The Stuyvesant Standard
feel free to email us at:
EIC@stuystandard.org
ADVERTISEMENT The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 9
10 The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 ADVERTISEMENT
 SPORTS
The Sports Beat:
Preview of the
2009 Mets
Continued from page 12
Maine is coming off of off-season
surgery and hasn’t been impres-
sive during spring training. Perez,
the key off-season signing for the
rotation, came back from the
world baseball classic feeling tired
and overweight and, like Maine,
looks unimpressive. Pelfrey is
coming off his first full season in
the big leagues and while he looks
good, there are always questions
regarding a young pitcher. If Her-
nandez can do his job, that is, eat
innings and be somewhat produc-
tive out of the 5-spot, the Mets’
rotation should be just fine.
This year’s lineup looks
very similar to that of last year
with the only notable change that
U.S. Results Mixed at
Skating World
Championships
Continued from page 12
Kim skated to
"Scheherazade" by Nikolai Rim-
ski-Korsakov in the long program
during the second night of compe-
tition. She missed landing one tri-
ple jump, but skated to the rest of
the program with confidence.
"I was very comfortable
when I was skating," said Kim, to
the New York Times. "I felt that I
was able to do well because of all
the people cheering me on in the
stadium."
"I don't think about the
points," she said. "Being the world
champion was my dream and I did
it here, so this is just amazing."
Kim's coach, Brian Orser,
said to the Times, "It's one of those
moments in skating people will
always remember."
The United States women's
team did not do well enough to
secure three spots in the 2010
Olympics in Vancouver. The
United States women had to finish
a combined place of 13th or better,
but were only able to earn 16th
place after the second night of
competition, from 21st place in the
short program. For the first time
since 1994, the USA will only
have two female skaters in the
Olympics.
Alissa Czisny, the 2009
U.S. Nationals Champion, was
14th going into the long program.
She fell twice, managing to garner
53.28 points the first night.
"Today was disappointing
The STUYVESANT STANDARD May 12, 2009 –VOL.8, NO.11 11
Lundqvist Leads
Rangers to Victory
Continued from page 12 Ovechkin said to the AP. “We
were in this situation last year and
Daniel Murphy is the fulltime left- back with a good game when we we came back. We got that experi-
fielder. Murphy, a young and very struggled a little bit the last game. ence and it was good experience.
talented player, is often compared The way we responded is perfect.” We know how to come back..”
to Joe DiMaggio in terms of his But they know it will be difficult, It appears as if the Rangers
hitting ability. With Murphy bat- as last season the Capitals were in will be able to take this series and
ting 2nd and following Reyes, the the same situation and were able to move on to the second round, in
most exciting leadoff hitter in the force game 7 in the series, eventu- which they will face the Boston
game, coupled with the likes of ally losing in overtime. “It's not Bruins. With Lundqvist playing the
David Wright, Carlos Beltran and done yet,” Capitals forward Alex way he is, anything is possible. ◙
Carlos Delgado, the lineup looks
like it should be successful.
While anything can hap-
pen over the course of a baseball
season, most people can expect
this team to be in the playoffs,
whether it is via winning the divi-
sion or the wildcard. With a pow-
erful lineup, a sound bullpen and a
seemingly steady rotation, it is fair
enough to think that the Mets will
be revisiting the playoffs again. ◙
Do you have an opinion
about The Stuyvesant
Standard that you would
because that's not the way I've
been practicing. I have higher ex-
pectations of myself, and it just
like to share?
didn't happen," she told the Times.
Czisny finished in 11th place over-
Tell us what you think.
all. "The outcome is not in my
hands. There's nothing I can do
about it," said a disappointed
Czisny.
16-year-old Rachel Flatt of Your comments, ques-
USA placed 5th with a score of
tions, and suggestions
172.41. The World Championship
is her first senior level competi-
are welcome with us.
tion. "Skating two pretty solid pro-
grams was very exciting for my
first worlds," said a smiling Flatt.
"This experience was irreplace-
able. I couldn't ask for anything
more." To celebrate, Flatt is going
Feel free to email us at:
to Disneyland.
The two American 15-
year-old skating sensations Caro-
line Zhang and Mirai Nagasu did
not qualify for worlds. Zhang fin-
ished third at the 2009 US Nation-
als. Nagasu, the 2008 US cham- EIC@stuystandard.org
pion, has been trying to adapt to a
recent growth spurt, which has in-
terfered with her jumping abilities.
She withdrew from the 2009
World Junior Figure Skating
Championships.
However, the United
States men performed well. Evan
Lysacek, 23, skated to George
Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue,"
and became the 2009 world cham-
pion, winning the gold medal with
242.23 points. Three spots for
Vancouver were secured for the
United States men.◙
 12
Lundqvist Leads the Rangers to Victory
By: Michael Block
On Wednesday, April 23
the Rangers took a commanding 3-
1 series lead in their first round
playoff series against Alexander
Ovechkin and the Washington
Capitals. Before a full Madison
Square Garden crowd, the Rangers
just squeaked by, 2-1.
The first 10 minutes of the
first period featured the Rangers
outskating and completely outplay-
ing the Caps, but Washington 20
year old rookie goaltender Simeon
Varlamov was up to the challenge,
extending the Rangers scoreless
streak to over 120 consecutive
minutes. Finally, late in the first
period, the Rangers broke through
on a Paul Mara shot that deflected
over Varlamov’s shoulder. The
period ended with the Rangers out-
shooting the Caps 11-9, but start-
ing the second period shorthanded.
The Rangers nearly col-
lapsed in the second period. The
Capitals outskated them and beat
them to every loose puck, and if it
wasn’t for save after brilliant save
by Ranger’s goalie “King” Henrik
Lundqvist, who faced 19 shots in
the second period and stopped all
The Sports Beat:
Preview of the
2009 Mets
By: Cody Levine
As a die hard Mets
fan, it’s difficult to admit this,
but the Mets have something
to prove this season. After a
great 2006 season that ended
one game short of the World
Series, the Mets followed up
with two late season collapses
resulting in the team missing
the playoffs. Last season, a
depleted bullpen blew 29 leads
and was the main reason the
Mets missed the playoffs.
This off-season, how-
ever, those needs were ad-
dressed. The Mets signed free
agent closer Francisco Rodri-
guez, fresh off a record 61
save season. They then traded
for Seattle closer J.J Putz, very
much improving a previously
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
The New York Rangers rose as the victors in a heated game against the Washington Capitals largely as a result of the performance of their goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
of them, the Rangers could easily
have been losing at the end of the
period. But it was the Rangers,
who only had 5 shots during the
second, who capitalized on a mis-
take by Varlamov, as Chris Drury
was able to put back a long re-
bound to give the Rangers a 2-0
lead.
In the third, the Rangers
came out skating strong, but it
unsteady back end of the bull-
pen. Though they lost reliever
Joe Smith, the Mets were also
able to get rid of Aaron Heil-
man and Scott Schoenweiss,
who were two of their worst
bullpen pitchers last season.
Suddenly, the Mets bullpen has
gone from being a liability to
being one of the strongest parts
of the team.
While the bullpen has
been solidified, the starting ro-
tation remains a question mark.
Ace Johan Santana is a rock at
the top of the rotation, despite
feeling discomfort in his elbow
early in spring training. The
remaining 4 starters are John
Maine, Oliver Perez, Mike Pel-
frey and Livan Hernandez.
Continued on page 11
May 12, 2009–VOL.8, NO.11 SPORTS
TSS/ Amna Ahmad
was the Capital’s Ovechkin, the post), they were able to pull out
leading scorer in the NHL this the extremely important victory
season, who scored his first goal and take a 3-1 series lead into
of the series about 3 minutes into Game 5 in Washington.
the period, on a wrist shot over After a tough second half
Lundqvist’s shoulder. The Rang- of the season, the Rangers are
ers then had to hang on to a 2-1 feeling good about how they
lead for the rest of the game, and played Wednesday night and in
despite several close chances to the series as a whole. As
tie by the Capitals (including an Lundqvist told the Associated
Ovechkin shot that rang off the Press, “It's so important to bounce
Continued on page 11
U.S. Results Mixed at
Skating World
Championships
By: Amy Chen finished the competition with
191.29 points. Miki Ando and
The audience's applause Mao Asada of Japan placed third
had barely ceased ringing in Kim and fourth, respectively.
Yu-na's ears when reporters began For the past two world
crowding around her and asking championships, Kim won the
her questions. Afterwards, the bronze medal in both competi-
South Korean president and prime tions. She came into the 2009
minister called Kim to congratulate Worlds expecting her toughest
her. rival to be Mao Asada, last
Kim Yu-na, 18, of South year's world champion. The two
Korea won the 2009 World Figure had been competing since they
Skating Championships at the Sta- were novices. However, Kim
ples Center in Los Angeles with a skated gracefully to her short
world record of a combined total program music "Dance Maca-
of 207.71 points from both the bre" by Camille Saint-Saens.
short and long program. This is the Her skating was strong both
first time a woman has shattered technically and artistically. Kim
the 200 point barrier. Kim won her landed all of her jumps solidly in
first world title by more than 16 the short program and seemed
points above the silver medalist, like a ballerina dancing on the
Joannie Rochette of Canada who ice.
Continued on page 11