THE STUYVESANT
STANDARD
Thursday, January 15, 2008
Teitel, Teachers, and Students Convene to
Discuss Stuyvesant’s Future
Omar Ahmad
With a new year in store for
Stuyvesant High School, there is a
plethora of concerns regarding the
school’s welfare.
One of the largest changes
to be made is the alteration of the
Stuyvesant High School website in
order to create a resource for par-
ents to monitor the attendance and
grades of their children. As put by
Mr. Teitel “The goal of the Depart-
ment of Education is to give parents
access to their children’s info.”
Mr. Edward Wong, Assis-
tant Principal of Technology Ser-
vices, is heading the new interface
known as “Parent Tools” to be fea-
tured on the Stuyvesant website. As
a sidebar option to be taking full
effect on January 1, this facet of the
site will connect parents with the
Stuyvesant High School experience,
providing them with easier access to
information about their children that
were previously inaccessible to
them.
One of the features gives
Colleges Counter
New SAT Policy
By: Faheem Zaman
The College Board recently
released their new Score Choice
policy, which allows students to
select which SAT scores they want
to send to the college of their choice
without any repercussions. The pol-
icy will be effective starting March
2009 and will be first available to
the class of 2010.
However, the Score Choice
policy has a loophole in its con-
struction that colleges have picked
up on. Colleges have the choice not
to implement the new policy. Ac-
cording to Newsweek, some col-
leges such as Stanford, University
of Pennsylvania, Pomona, the Uni-
versity of Southern California, and
Cornell have already decided to re-
quire their applicants next fall to
send in all of their SAT scores.
Other colleges such as Yale and
Princeton have yet to decide on
whether to forego the scoring policy
Volume 8 Issue 6
phones as cheating materials on
TSS/ Omar Ahmad
exams. “One possibility might be
to tell the student body that if you
are caught using a cell phone dur-
ing an exam you will fail the
course, not the test, the course.
That might be a deterrent. We’ll
have to see. I don’t have a solution
just yet,” he said.
An additional measure that
may be taken would be to com-
pletely prevent students from leav-
ing the room during a school-
administered exam.
Of paramount significance
Various issues raised during the most recent SLT meeting have wide reaching effects and concern every student.
as well is Stuyvesant’s inconsistent
quested the use of metal detectors heating and cooling system. The
parents the ability to send mes-
to thwart students from carrying school has been confronted with
sages to specific teachers, to see a
electronic devices into Stuyvesant. energy problems, as well as the
detailed roster of a student’s ab-
“We made a request and I was in- ineffectiveness of the HVAC sys-
sences and cuts, report cards from
formed that [the metal detectors’] tem. This system, responsible for
a student’s start at Stuyvesant, an
purpose is to respond to schools in the entire school’s temperature
unofficial transcript, owed text-
which there is a known threat or regulation, is wholly out of com-
books, as well as college admis-
they have some reason to believe mission. The central control’s
sion statistics from past years.
there could be violence in the software is not only out-dated, but
Another topic that was
schools. [The DOE] just wouldn’t there does not seem to be a way to
explored during the most recent
give it to us,” said Teitel. get around the complications of the
SLT meeting was the possible use
According to Teitel, addi- DOE to eliminate the problem (that
of metal detectors at Stuyvesant. In
tional procedures may possibly be would be considered extremely
order to prevent cheating on Re-
taken to discourage the use of cell significant
gents and final exams, Teitel re- Continued on page 3
In This Issue
Page 3
Page 4
Members of
Number of ED S.T.R.I.V.E. Take
while Harvard University and the Applications a Stand for the
University of Chicago will honor
the scoring policy starting next Rises Environment
fall.
Alice Ilioaei, a junior, be-
lieves that the decisions of several
colleges to forego the policy are
unfair to their applicants. “[The
Page 17
scoring policy] gives us a little
breathing space. It’s not really fair Looking Back on
considering we’re paying to take
the tests over and over again.
Stuyvesant’s
On another note, Laura Annual Holiday
Ye, also a junior, thinks colleges
are entitled to the knowledge of
Concert
their applicants’ scores.
“[Colleges] have the right to know
how the applicant has done on pre-
vious attempts of the SAT. Obvi- Page 10
ously, a student who took the SAT
more times and scored higher on Medical Ethics
only one of them is not a better
candidate than a student who took Symposium:
the SAT one or two times and did
very well
A Spiritual Awakening
Continued on page 3
 2 The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO. 6 NEWS

Staff Editorial:
Student Union
The Executive Board
Must Be Reminded
AMNA AHMAD EDITOR IN CHIEF
About StuySpace
HESHAM SALEH MANAGING EDITOR
DAVID MANNES DIRECTOR OF FINANCE The Stuyvesant Standard has with the best interests of the school
ANGEL WONG DIRECTOR OF FINANCE regularly communicated its disap- in mind. That the Student Union
GUERGANA BORISSOVA COPY CHIEF proval of what can be considered in- should even need to be reminded to
RAMMIYA NALLAINATHAN NEWS EDITOR creasing apathy on the part of the Stu- continue a campaign that had gar-
MUHAMMAD TAMBRA NEWS EDITOR dent Union this year. nered so much support from the
MARINA TAWFIK OPINIONS EDITOR Nothing better exemplifies student body is altogether difficult
ROBERT COLBOURN ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR the need for a change in pace in stu- to understand.
OMAR AHMAD SCIENCE EDITOR dent government than the suspension In the past our writers have
QI FAN ZHANG TECHNOLOGY EDITOR of the StuySpace campaign begun at discussed the problems that have
ROBERT STEVENSON LITERARY EDITOR Stuyvesant last year by the Student resulted from an increasing student
MICHAEL BLOCK SPORTS EDITOR Union in conjunction with Building population. The crowding of the
ELISSA TAM DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM the Stuyvesant Community. hallways and growing class sizes
MEGAN BRESLIN FACULTY ADVISOR At the December Stuyvesant have only served to exaggerate the
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER Leadership Team meeting in which problem that StuySpace was created
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS Teitel, faculty members, and students, to solve.
sat together to discuss various issues Although it is essential for
that Stuyvesant now faces, the ques- the Student Union to reexamine its
tion as to how to improve the condi- decision to put StuySpace on the
Publication tion of the hallways throughout the
school arose. Student Union Vice
backburner, it is also the responsi-
bility of the student body to be con-
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a non-profit publication produced by President Casey Griffin explained that siderate and treat the school build-
the students of Stuyvesant High School. StuySpace (a student-run initiative to ing as their “home away from
improve the condition of the Stuyve- home” because that is precisely
sant school building) was not contin- what it is.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi- ued because representatives from Because it is altogether dif-
weekly basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and busi- Building the Stuyvesant Community ficult to feel comfortable in a space
nesses throughout the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park have not yet responded to an email where one must watch the floor be-
City. that was sent to them regarding the fore stepping into puddles of coffee
resurrection of StuySpace earlier on in and double-check one’s seat to
the semester. avoid sitting in a sticky wad of
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers. For a Why the Student Union does someone else’s gum, The Stuyve-
letter to be reproduced in print, a name and method of contact must be pro- not simply pick up where it left off sant Standard feels the need to re-
vided. last year without Building the Stuyve- mind students that courtesy can be
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any published sant Community remains a mystery. achieved with or without the color-
material. The viewpoints of contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of Not getting a response to a single ful fliers and free t-shirts that
the Standard staff. email should not be used as an excuse StuySpace employed to get the mes-
for not taking the initiative to work sage across.◙

Advertising
If you would like to advertise in THE STUYVESANT STANDARD, please
e-mail dmannes44@gmail.com to request an advertisement form. We offer a The staff of The Stuyvesant Stan-
broad range of options including full color capability for your advertising
needs. dard would like to express its deepest
condolences to the family members and
Contact Us friends of Ava Hecht.
Please direct all correspondence to:
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
345 Chambers Street
Ava was a brilliant, vibrant, and
New York, NY 10282-1000 talented individual whose memory will
readers@stuystandard.org
be celebrated by all of those who came
to know her as not only a wonderful
student, but also the type of person
who made the world seem just a bit
brighter. The Stuyvesant High School
community is surely at a grave loss
without her.
Proud Members of the
National Scholastic
Press Association
NEWS The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Students Choose
Spring Electives
By: Faheem Zaman
The window for online reg-
istration for student electives re-
cently closed. Online programming
ended on December 2 at 3 PM, after
being open for students since No-
vember 19, 2008. Current Stuyve-
sant students were allowed to apply
for electives, request various physi-
cal education activities and choose
specialized courses, such as AP and
honors classes.
Stuyvesant’s varied selec-
tion of courses and extracurricular
activities are some of the main at-
tractions for prospective students. “I
supported my son’s decision to go
to Stuy, not only because of the
great academics, but all of the spe-
cial courses that couldn’t be found
anywhere else,” said Stuyvesant
parent Farida Akhtar.
Students are choosing elec-
tives to meet prerequisite mandates
as well as classes tailored to their
individual interests. Sophomore
track star James Chen decided to
continue on with Molecular Science
by taking the attached course, Mo-
lecular Genetics. The two courses
together are called the Molecular
Biology sequence, open to sopho-
mores only. This prestigious course,
taught by Dr. John Utting and Ms.
Ann Manwell, has produced multi-
ple Intel Science Talent Search fi-
nalists in the past, placing it in high
demand. Students in the Molecular
Biology sequence are taught with a
combination of theoretical and prac-
tical lessons and learn valuable lab
techniques along the way. Molecu-
lar Biology students are selected by
application, which can be obtained
from freshman biology teachers
during the spring.
Sophomore James Chen
thought that the teachers of Molecu-
lar Biology made all the difference.
“Dr. Utting is legend—he’s on my
shortlist of future Nobel winners,”
Colleges Counter
New SAT Policy
Continued from page 1
on both.” Regarding the College
Board’s new policy, Ye said, “I per-
sonally don't support the SAT Score
Choice Policy. It's unfair to those
who don't have time and money to
take the test over and over again.”
Not surprisingly, the College
Board’s new policy was created from
fiscal motivation. A primary reason
behind the new policy was to in-
crease the popularity of the SAT,
which has been in recent past years,
losing in market sales to the ACT,
another college entrance exam.
said Chen. Sophomore Ramkumar
Balasubramaniyan agreed. In addi-
tion to taking Molecular Biology, he
opted to take Human Diseases. “I
always wanted to become a doctor,
and taking these courses will give me
a preview,” said Balasubramanian.
“Also, it’s a pre-requisite for AP Bi-
ology.”
Some students are dissatis-
fied with the prerequisite system,
however. “My course options are
severely limited because I took phys-
ics in freshman year,” said student
Tom Lin. “I can’t take any of the
biology electives.” Lin has chorus,
and is also applying for Acoustical
Technology, which is taught by math
teacher Michael D’Alleva. Stuyve-
sant student Daniel Zhang agreed.
Zhang is considering mostly mathe-
matics electives, such as Statistics,
taught this year by Paul Fitzgerald,
who conducts the Advanced Place-
ment Statistics class.
Another course generating
interest is Civil Law, open to sopho-
mores, juniors, and seniors. Accord-
ing to the course description on the
programming website, “Any student
who wishes to explore current legal
issues, who wishes to explore the
basic legal concepts underlying the
civil system, who may be thinking of
law as a career or who wishes to un-
derstand his or her rights and obliga-
tions as a citizen should take this
course.” Students taking the class
study the differences between crimi-
nal and civil law, the role of lawyers,
tort law, the bill of rights and more.
Civil Law is only offered during the
spring.
Freshmen are less than satis-
fied with their choices of electives.
Ninth-grader Danny Chen was par-
ticularly dissatisfied with the lack of
options for him. “It’s a really hard
choice between math research and
math team,” said Chen sarcastically.
Chen is looking forward to his future
years at Stuyvesant, where he hopes
there will be a greater selection of
electives available to him.◙
When asked how their per-
sonal plans for college will be af-
fected by the colleges’ decisions to
forego Score Choice, Ilioaei replied, freezing,” however, the next day she
“There are things you can complain felt the room was “too hot.”
about but can't change. You should-
n't let [the college’s decision] stop
you from at least trying.”
Ye said, “I don't think I'll be cant 15 percent by following simple
using the Score Choice policy come tasks. These include turning off all
senior year. At one point or another, computers at the end of the day, cut-
I'll probably be tempted to use it, but ting down on paper usage, putting
I think that not telling the entire truth the beverage machines on timers,
is lying.”◙
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO. 6
The Standard News
Number of ED
Applications Rises
Along With Tuition
By: Rammiya Nallainathan
November 1, 2008 was a
day many seniors despised. It was
the day Early Action (EA)/ Early
Decision (ED) applications were
due. Because of the downward trend
in the economy, some admissions
officers predicted that EA/ED appli-
cations would decrease since fami-
lies would either assume or know
that they could not afford to pay the
rising costs of tuition. However, this
was not the case.
Just last month, SUNY
schools released information stating
that tuition costs would be increas-
ing by $620 in 2009. Top-tier
schools, such as Harvard and Yale
also increased their college tuition
for the 2008-2009 school year. Har-
vard increased its cost of attendance
by 3.5 percent to a total payment of
$47,215, while Yale and Princeton
increased its cost by 2.2 and 3.9
percent, respectively. However,
these same colleges have been quite
generous in their financial aid pack-
ages, thereby allowing many stu-
dents who come from middle-class
families the chance to
November 1, 2008 was a
day many seniors despised. It was
the day Early Action (EA)/ Early
Decision (ED) applications were
due. Because of the downward trend
in the economy, some admissions
Teitel, Teachers, and
Students Convene
Continued from page 1
had it occurred in any other main-
stream Manhattan building. Also, in
order to operate the mechanism, the
administration would need to obtain
a copy of the control’s software,
which is now no longer on the mar-
ket and is obsolete.
Last year, Mr. Citron’s Envi-
ronmental Science class did a study
regarding the temperature regulation
of a select few rooms at Stuyvesant,
and received results that proved the
temperature to considerably from
room to room. This was also empha-
sized by Ms. Bierig, who stated that
in her room, 735, one day last spring,
she was forced her to notify the ad-
ministration that “the room [was]
This study also determined
that Stuyvesant High School can re-
duce its energy emissions a signifi-
and leaving only the required amount
3
officers predicted that EA/ED ap-
plications would decrease since
families would either assume or
know that they could not afford to
pay the rising costs of tuition.
However, this was not the case.
Just last month, SUNY-
schools released information stat-
ing that tuition costs would be
TSS
increasing by $620 in 2009. Top-
tier schools, such as Harvard and
Yale also increased their college
tuition for the 2008-2009 school
year. Harvard increased its cost of
attendance by 3.5 percent to a
total payment of $47,215, while
Yale and Princeton increased its
cost by 2.2 and 3.9 percent, respec-
tively. However, these same col-
leges have been quite generous in
their financial aid packages,
thereby allowing many students
who come from middle-class fami-
lies the chance to attend these pres-
tigious universities.
The threat of increasing
college tuition during this econ-
omy crisis has not stopped students
from applying to their early
schools. Senior Christina Singh
said, “I think students are not as
concerned about the economy and
paying for college as they are wor-
ried about just getting in. Also,
some students have simply grown
attached to the school to which
they applied early and want to end
the col-
Continued on page 5
of hallway lights on after school for
the custodial staff to be able to carry
out their jobs.
The final issue of great con-
cern was the state of cleanliness in
Stuyvesant’s hallways. It was sug-
gested that Stuyvesant imitate New
York State’s “Adopt-a-Highway”
program. Under this program a club
or publication would be assigned a
certain section of a hallway to keep
clean and name after their organiza-
tion. When asked why the endeavor
known as StuySpace hadn’t been
carried out thus far into the new year,
Student Union Vice President Casey
Griffin stated that the organization
known as “Building the Stuyvesant
Community ran StuySpace last year,
in association with the Student Un-
ion, but this year, they have not con-
tacted us, so we cannot do anything
until we make contact.”
This SLT meeting brought a
great deal of current issues out from
the shadows and gave individuals the
opportunity to propose possible solu-
tions to these problems. Only time
will tell whether these issues will
ever be solved.◙
 NEWS
Stuyvesant Students Become
QuestBridge Scholars
By: Jenny Shan
Given current economic
conditions, many seniors may find
that going to college also means
emptying a great deal of money out
of their pockets. Some may not
even be able to afford college.
Luckily, QuestBridge, one of many
scholarship programs, can help
these students who come from low-
income backgrounds attend a pres-
tigious university.
Since at least1987, the
Quest Scholars Program was offi-
cially started in 1994 as a five-week
summer program for high school
juniors that took place on the cam-
pus of Stanford University. The
Quest Scholars Program created
QuestBridge in 2004, with the goal
to help “bright, high achieving, low-
income students seeking opportuni-
ties.”
QuestBridge’s National
College Match Program grants
qualified applicants acceptance to
one of their partner colleges with a
partial or full four-year scholarship.
QuestBridge partners with twenty-
six colleges around the United
States, including Columbia, Prince-
ton, Stanford, Yale, and more. This
year, 260 students were offered full
four-year tuition, three of which
were from Stuyvesant. Efforts were
made to contact those three students
who were admitted to Yale Univer-
sity, Princeton University, and the
University of Pennsylvania but re-
quests for statements were not re-
Members of S.T.R.I.V.E.
Take a Stand for the Environment
By: Rammiya Nallainathan
On November 18, 2008,
thirteen members of the Stuyvesant
High School’s Students Taking
Resolute Initiative to Vindicate the
Environment (S.T.R.I.V.E) Club
walked to the office of Congress-
man and Stuyvesant alum Jerrold
Nadler, north of Stuyvesant High
School. This walk was part of a
larger event in which Stuyvesant
S.T.R.I.V.E. members would have
a discussion with Jerrold Nadler
about environment-friendly plans
as well as present him with a large
card that had the signatures of two
hundred Stuyvesant students in
support of the initiative.
The thirteen students, in-
cluding S.T.R.I.V.E. co-presidents
Divya Dayal and Marcela Rodri-
guez, walked along the West Side
Highway to get to Nadler’s office,
located on 201 Varick Street. After
going through tight security, the
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
QuestBridge’s College Match Program is a widely recognized organization that helps match winning students with a school they are qualified for and offer them entrance free or
tuition and other college living expenses.
turned.
To apply, students must
complete a QuestBridge application,
ranking up to eight of its twenty-six
partner colleges. If admitted, the
applicant usually must attend the
college that admits them. When
QuestBridge selects finalists, some
of the things taken into considera-
tion are academic achievements and
financial status. Most of the stu-
dents who have received the Col-
lege Match Scholarship come from
families earning an annual income
of less than $60,000. Teacher rec-
ommendations and the Secondary
School Report are also factored in
the selection process.
S.T.R.I.V.E group was informed
that Jerrold Nadler was in Wash-
ington D.C. However, Micah
Lasher, a Manhattan community
representative working for Nadler,
kindly answered questions and in-
formed the group about Nadler’s
efforts in making sure that the en-
vironment would be his main con-
cern during his term in office.
Lasher explained that
Nadler, who is on the Transporta-
tion Committee in Congress, is
working on New York’s cargo
transportation problem. Most parts
of the United States actually use an
effective railway system to trans-
port materials within and between
states. New York, however, mostly
uses trucks to transport goods
within the state, especially within
the city. One of Nadler’s goals in-
cludes reconnecting New York
with the national railway system.
Nadler has also supported environ-
mentally friendly solutions to other
problems such as congestion pric-
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6
Yevgeniy Liverant appreci-
ates what the QuestBridge program
does. “It is great program that can
open opportunities for those who
can't financially afford college.
Maybe some of these people will
become successful scientists some
day and discover new things.” How-
ever, some people are uncomfort-
able with the obligation of having to
attend the college if accepted.
“Although this is a wonderful op-
portunity for many students,” says
Lucy Tan, “it will inevitably be dif-
ficult for some who are indecisive at
the moment, as they will be obliged
to attend the school chosen for
them.”
ing, which would ultimately de-
crease the number of cars on the
streets, and fuel efficiency stan-
dards for the motor industry.
Lasher supported the students’ ef-
forts and encouraged them to con-
tinue what they were doing.
The students presented the
200 Stuyvesant student signatures,
asking for Climate Leadership
Now from Congress. They also
informed Lasher about inviting
Nadler to speak at the school dur-
ing the Earth Day Festival. The
members then talked about their
proposal to have New York City
schools that save energy and re-
duce waste, receive a portion of
those savings. This would at least
provide some incentive for the bet-
terment of the environment. Lasher
was able to provide the contact
information of the people the
group should talk to in order to
realize their goals.
When asked about the ex-
perience, Marcela, one of the co-
4
TSS/ Elissa Tam
In addition to its College
Match Program, QuestBridge also
has a College Prep Scholarship,
aimed to inform and help low-
income high school juniors with the
college admission process. Some of
its programs allow juniors to attend
summer college programs with no
cost.
In 2005, QuestBridge re-
ceived 2200 applicants, with 46 stu-
dents offered full tuition. In 2008,
QuestBridge received 4889 appli-
cants, with 260 students offered full
tuition. As each year comes, Quest-
Bridge will reach out to more low-
income students and give them the
opportunities they need. ◙
presidents of the S.T.R.I.V.E. said,
"We are looking forward to visit-
ing most of New York's represen-
tatives and city council members
over the course of this year to pro-
mote climate change initiatives
such as a green school incentive
proposal that we are drafting this
month. Since the city pays for en-
ergy and trash disposal rather than
the school, the proposal would
give the school an incentive to cre-
ate an energy and waste-saving
plan by having the city give it a
portion of its savings from cutting
down on energy and trash disposal
costs. We hope to use our proposal
and further, larger rallies to
achieve our goals of reducing our
school's greenhouse gas emissions
by reducing energy use and recy-
cling."
Although Nadler was not
able to attend the event,
S.T.R.I.V.E. members considered
it a success. ◙
 5 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Gas Prices Take a Dramatic Plunge
By: Nada Elmansy
It is no longer news that our
economy is going into the worst
recession since the Great Depres-
sion. However, it comes as a sur-
prise for most people that although
our economy is going deeper into
recession, our gas prices seem to be
decreasing everyday.
In fact, prices have gone
from $147 a barrel in July to about
$40 a barrel in December. It is also
believed that these prices will con-
tinue to decrease, despite the eco-
nomic crisis, but at a slower pace.
Analysts believe that it is no sur-
prise that the economic situation is
not improving even though gas
prices are falling. Rather, they have
their own theory on the price de-
cline.
It is believed that gas prices
aren’t declining because the eco-
nomic situation should be improv-
ing. Instead, gas prices are declining
because the current economic situa-
By: Vivian Zeng
Under the pressure of the
economic recession and in light of
the below-average approval ratings
of President Bush, Obama’s cabinet
picks are scrutinized by the Ameri-
can people. The most recent list of
Obama's anticipated Cabinet selec-
tions includes Hillary Clinton for
Secretary of State, Janet Napolitano
for Secretary of Homeland Security,
Timothy Geithner as Treasury Sec-
retary, Eric Holder as Attorney
General, and Bill Richardson for
Secretary of Commerce. Obama has
also decided to keep the Bush ad-
ministration's secretary of Defense,
Robert Gates, at least for a year.
Obama announced that
Clinton was would be appointed to
the post of Secretary of State. Ironi-
cally, Obama and Clinton were bit-
ter rivals in the race to become the
presidential nominee for the De-
mocratic Party. Hillary Clinton
commands the loyalties of signifi-
cant segments of the Party. The im-
plication is that Obama will need
these segments for what he is trying
to do. She also has a good reputa-
tion abroad and allied countries will
find it easier to work with the U.S.
With better foreign affairs, America
as a nation can become more re-
spected.
Timothy Geithner, as the
nation's top financial authority,
would supervise the Bush admini-
stration's $700 billion bailout plan
for Wall Street and a faltering U.S.
economy. Geithner is the President
of the New York Federal Reserve
Bank, often considered the second-
most powerful position in the Fed-
eral system. He has a reputation as a
pragmatist when it comes to plan-
ning rescue plans for trou-
bled banks. Geithner worked at the
Treasury for 13 years ending in
tion is so bad. Previous gas prices
were so high that they lowered the
quantity demanded for oil and this
is where the supply and demand
theory plays an important role. With
the quantity demanded so low, gas
companies were forced to lower the
prices in order to profit.
The second theory also re-
volves around supply and demand.
Economic analysts believe that the
after the quantity demanded fell, the
Organization of the Petroleum Ex-
porting Countries (OPEC) increased
production and naturally supply and
demand would tell us that when
supply is high and demand is low,
prices drop in order to make profit.
Some people even believe
that the drop in gas prices may be in
part because of the government.
This belief comes from the fact that
the US government stores some of
the oil it buys from other countries.
Some people believe that the stored
oil is what is currently being re-
leased into the market. This, how-
ever, may not be a valid conclusion
Obama’s Cabinet Elect
2001, having played a key role in
shaping the U.S. response to the
Asian currency crisis of 1997.
Geithner is seen as experienced.
Obama’s choice for Secretary of
Treasury was based on the eco-
nomic crisis the country is in.
Janet Napolitano, the gov-
ernor of Arizona was chosen to be
the Secretary of Homeland Secu-
rity. Obama chose Napolitano be-
cause she has experience in immi-
gration and border security issues.
As the secretary of Homeland Se-
curity Department, she will super-
vise the department created after
the 9/11 attacks, and be responsi-
ble for everything from aviation
and maritime security to disaster
response and protecting the presi-
dent. (The department’s agencies
include the Coast Guard, Secret
Service, Border Patrol, Transporta-
tion Security Administration and
Federal Emergency Management
Agency.)
Obama selected Eric
Holder as his attorney general.
Holder has large background in the
U.S. justice system. Holder joined
the U.S. Justice Department's new
Public Integrity Section during an
interval lasting from 1976 to 1988.
Holder served on the Bench as a
Judge of the Superior Court of the
District of Columbia under the
Reagan administration. In 1993,
Holder accepted an appointment
for U.S. Attorney for the District
of Columbia from President Bill
Clinton. With Holden’s experi-
ences in the U.S. justice system,
Obama hopes to fix internal crises
in morale and a public crisis in
credibility for the U.S. Justice De-
partment.
Some have expressed their
disapproval of Obama’s selection
for the Secretary of Defense,
Robert Gates. They believe that
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 NEWS
TSS/Amna Ahmad
Gas prices have substantially decreased. It has been a relief for some during these harsh economic times.
to make. of course some peoples' parents
Stuyvesant sophomore lost big during this current finan-
Amna Anwar agrees with the supply cial crisis. My parents have told
and demand theory. “The gas compa- me to cut down on my expenses
nies obviously want to make profit and spend only when necessary."
and were forced into lowering the Hopefully, the gas prices remain
gas prices to maintain the profit.” stable and maintain these low re-
Amna also hopes that these gas cords. As for the economy, it may
prices “don’t skyrocket without just be a long wait until we are
warning.” able to come out of the recession.
Stuyvesant Senior Aneem For now, the gas prices don’t seem
Talukder still expressed his concern to be affecting the economy in any
over the worsening state of the econ- way. ◙
omy by saying, "As for us students,
wrong choices have been made in for his cabinet. He chose the mem-
the past eight years, and they are bers based on their ability and ex-
condemning Gates for many ac- perience with the responsibilities
tions. Gates served for 26 years in they will have in their new posi-
the Central Intelligence Agency tions.” Sophmore Rebecca Chang
and the National Security Council, answered, “I hope Obama chooses a
and under President George H. W. cabinet that will help us out of the
Bush as Director of Central Intelli- economic crisis… I think a lot of
gence. Disregarding critics, Obama people hope that.” As President-
decided to keep Gates as his Secre- elect Barack Obama is building his
tary of Defense, for at least one cabinet, he must consider what is
year. important to the American nation
When Junior Tasha Kape- with pending national difficulties
les was asked what her opinion of and debates such as the wavering
the selection was, she responded “I economy, national security, and
think Obama made good choices foreign policy. ◙
ED Applications Rise
ever, schools such as Brown and
Continued from page 3
Williams actually had a decrease
in ED applicant numbers, a 4.5
lege process now.” According to a
and 6.5 percent decrease, respec-
New York Times article, senior
tively.
associate Dean of Admissions at
There was also an in-
Wesleyan said, “It’s hard to be-
crease in applicant numbers for
lieve that one group of 17-year-
EA schools such as Yale, Massa-
olds has become more decisive
chusetts Institute of Technology
than the group you saw the previ-
(M.I.T), and Stanford. Yale went
ous year. So maybe it’s that in a
up 10.4 percent, Stanford went up
time of economic uncertainty,
18 percent, and M.I.T. went up 25
people want something settled.”
percent. M.I.T., as well as other
Wesleyan was one of the ED
schools, can credit its increase in
schools which had its number of
applications because of their part-
early decision applicants increase
nership in the Questbridge pro-
by 40 percent.
gram, a nonprofit group that con-
Many other ED schools
nects low-income students with
saw the same trend. Some of the
top colleges.
other colleges which use ED in-
Now that application
clude: George Washington Uni-
numbers have come out, all stu-
versity, which went up 30 per-
dents can do is wait for the deci-
cent; Duke, which went up 25
sions. The impact of the economy
percent; Northwestern, which
on future financial aid packages
went up 15 percent; Dartmouth,
for accepted early students can
which went up 12.5 percent, and
only be seen then. ◙
New York University (NYU),
which went up 2.3 percent. How-
 NEWS The STUYVESANT STANDARD
President-Elect Confronts
the Economic Crisis
By: Tiffany Choi
The nation’s economy is in
a dire condition. The $700 billion
bailout plan for financial institutions
does not seem to be functioning
effectively and the auto industry
appears to be in a dismal state. So
what is President-elect Barack
Obama planning on doing to help
the economy?
Obama’s first priority is to
get his own economic stimulus plan
passed by Congress. At first, his
administration was considering allo-
cating about a half-trillion dollar
package meant to lift the economy
out of the recession and launch a
massive public works program,
which includes shoring up the na-
tion’s infrastructure. That figure has
possibly gone somewhere from
$700 billion to $1 trillion now. Ac-
cording to the December 9 Wall
Street Journal article “Santa Has to
Bring a Reality Check” by Gerald
F. Seib, Obama has two conflicting
roles to play. Obama’s plan will
allow the country to “spend hun-
dreds of billions of dollars on eco-
nomic stimulus,” but the nation
must also “have something to show
for it when the crisis ends.” Simply
put, the money spent should not be
“mindless spending.”
Obama is in favor of sup-
porting General Motors, Chrysler,
Students React to Terrorist
Attacks in Mumbai
By: Rebecca Kim
On November 28, terrorist
attacks struck India’s commercial
capital, Mumbai, wounding at least
205 and killing at least 101. The
attacks began Wednesday night,
leading to the destruction of sev-
eral five-star hotels and many land-
marks. Unlike previous terrorist
attacks in India this year, these
attacks were extremely upfront and
coordinated.
The target areas of the at-
tacks were popular tourist attrac-
tions. Using boats to arrive at the
peninsula, the terrorists used ma-
chine guns and grenades to attack
several five-star hotels, a movie
theater, a hospital, and Mumbai’s
largest train station. Hours after
those attacks, the Taj Mahal Palace
and Tower Hotel, along with the
Oberoi Hotel were in flames, still
trapping numerous people.
Although many were vic-
tims of the attacks, the terrorists
singled out the Americans and
Britons, many of whom were on
Obama now faces the challenge of achieving the perfect balance between what he believes is right for the American
people and what needs to be done to save the economy.
and Ford, who are collectively
known as the “Big Three. “The fi-
nancial conditions of these compa-
nies have gone from bad to worse.
Their top executives had first re-
quested $34 billion from Congress
in November, but were rejected.
The figure dropped to $14 billion,
and now it is somewhere in between
$5 to $7 billion. In his first post-
election interview, Obama said in
“60 Minutes” that, under normal
circumstances, it would be a viable
vacations or business ventures. As
the attackers barged into hotel res-
taurants and rooms, they specifi-
cally targeted those with British or
American passports, taking many,
including executives of Hindustan
Unilever, the multinational corpo-
rate giant, hostage and shooting the
others. Nearly all the victims were
taken to large rooms, and held in
captivity. Some members of the
European Parliament were also
residing in target hotels during the
attacks, hiding from the terrorists
and making desperate phone calls
to TV stations, describing the
situation. While some survived by
hiding, others, such as the chief of
the antiterrorism squad and the
commissioner of police were re-
ported dead.
An extremist group calling
itself Deccan Mujahedeen claimed
to have been responsible for the
attacks, but the group was un-
known, and the claim was not defi-
nite.
In response to the attacks,
Indian military forces and several
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 6
TSS/ Amna Ahmad
the Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy
impacted the economy in such a
negative way.
Obama also said in the in-
terview that it “may be a little
harder politically, but it's more im-
portant” to do something about en-
ergy independence, referencing to
the fact that the price of oil per bar-
rel has decreased noticeably. It
would therefore be more difficult to
pass legislation when the problem
has temporarily subsided, but is pre-
sent nonetheless.
On the subject of Obama
and his general plan for the econ-
omy, junior Ayala Mansky said that
"I think it's better for Obama to do a
bit too much for the economy than
too little. In addition, I do think that
the auto industry should be bailed
out, if not for the survival of econ-
omy, then for the sake of the many
people whom they employ. How-
ever, there needs to be some bal-
option for a company such as GM ance, for the government just does-
to declare bankruptcy. However, in n't have the resources to bail out
the current economic condition, that every industry that is on the verge
option is no longer available. Ac- of bankruptcy."
cording to the December 13 New Senior Danielle Lebenson
York Times Op-Ed piece “A Finger voices the concern of many Stuyve-
in the Dike” by Nicholas D. Kristof, sant students by asking, “these sec-
Lehman Brothers employed 25,000 tors of the economy are important.
people, which pales in comparison However, what about us, the stu-
to the 400,000 currently employed dents? We are the future of this
by the Big Three. It would therefore country and we are losing money
seem nonsensical to allow the Big fast. Why doesn’t the government
Three to declare bankruptcy, when give us a bail out?”◙
officers from the central govern- (MSA) Co-President condemned
ment’s Rapid Action Force arrived the terrorist attacks that took place
at the scene to assist the police. as, “irrational and evil actions that
Many hospitals in Mumbai have
no sane human being should ever
been graciously accepting blood think about doing. Hopefully the
donations, and schools and the
families of the victims, whoever
stock exchange were closed the they were, can get through this and
next day.
move on and hopefully something
When asked about the terrorist at- like this never happens again.”
tacks, many Stuyvesant students
This still developing story
were extremely shocked and upset. has continued to make an appear-
The incident has been discussed in
ance in newspapers and on news
various history classes and has broadcasts because of the damage
been likened by a number of indi-
that resulted from the incident. The
viduals to the attacks on the Twin Bush administration, along with
Towers that took place just a
President-elect Barack Obama and
stone’s throw away from Stuyve- his transition team denounced the
sant High School. "It was so unex-
deadly attacks, and are offering
pected. I didn't expect something help and support to unfortunate
like this to happen in India because
victims and their families. As the
I don't think anything this terrible White House stated, “The U.S.
has ever happened in India be-
government continues to monitor
fore,” said an anonymous source. the situation, including the safety
Sophomore Sang- A Bae agreed.
and security of our citizens, and
“They’re inhumane and cruel; no stands ready to assist and support
one deserves that kind of treat-
the Indian government.” As of
ment!” now, many stand ready for action
Mehrab Islam, current
and the reconstruction of an in-
Muslim Students’ Association jured India.◙
 7 The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 OPINIONS

The Standard Opinions

Pushing Past Our Metal Gates Here to
Limit Widen the Gap
By: Marina Tawfik in extreme cases such as during fi-
By: Tiffany Choi
nals.
Members of the administra- That is not to suggest that I

TSS/ Elissa Tam

tion have seen nothing stopping them believe implementing the use of per-
from taking away many of the free- manent metal detectors would be a
doms students possess, one by one. fair decision. Students need their
They have restricted the floors on cell phones as a means of communi-
which we can congregate, imple- cating with their parents in cases of
mented scanners for scanning in and emergency. Some students’ parents
out of the building at the start of insist that the student calls them
school and during lunch, and have when they are done with a test, or to
introduced a locker system that pro- let them know when the student has
vides each student with a locker in a reached school safely. In a post-9/11
nonnegotiable location with a lock society, this is not too extreme of the
purchased by the school. All these parents, because there is always the
things they do for our safety, so there chance that something could go
is no arguing their decisions despite wrong on a student’s commute to or
the inconveniences they may cause from school.
us. It is difficult to believe that
It is important to take the time to acknowledge our prospects as privileged students with a future in sight. However, recently the ad- metal detectors could solve the prob-
ministration has made a proposal to lem of students cheating on finals.
further restrict what students do. It Using cell phones as a means of
I am sure we can all agree
tive, and students are expected to was explained that the administration cheating is riskier and much more
on the fact that good grades lead to
accomplish more than humanly pos- hoped that during finals week, Mon- tedious than other methods of cheat-
success. From a rather young age, I
sible. We have forgotten that we day, January 26 through Friday, ing that students have been known
was always told that I needed a
aren’t even adults yet, but it is hard January 30, the metal detectors to use. Junior Elsa Thomas believes
good GPA, extracurricular activi-
to pull away from the competition if would be implemented in order to that “it won't really work because
ties, and a great SAT score in order
everyone else around you is part of stop students from bringing their cell kids have other ways of cheating
to get into a good college and ulti-
it.” phones into the building and using besides just using their phones. They
mately succeed in life.
One student commented: “I them to cheat. And although the ad- can always write formulas, key
At Stuyvesant, we have a
think it’s the parents - after all, how ministration was notified that such a terms, etc on their arms or some-
huge workload. Many of my friends
many Stuyvesant students really desire would not be realized because thing without having a teacher ever
confess to pulling “all-nighters” the
wanted to get into Stuy? Not many. metal detectors are intended for the notice, and some even bring little
night before tests. Since extracur-
The parents pushed them to do it. purpose of protecting students at cheat sheets with them.” Indeed, it is
ricular activities such as sports
Also, the school causes stress by giv- schools with serious safety risks, the much more common to see students
teams or Speech and Debate often
ing too many tests at the same time. fact that they would even make this using tricky methods of hiding an-
drag on until 5:30 - 6:00, and stu-
Teachers try to force us to do well decision is altogether difficult to un- swers than to see them using cell
dents do not get home until 7:00 or
and stand out in New York City.” derstand. phones, because even the most de-
later, even on nights when they do
“Parents and society,” says Julian The use of metal detectors termined of cheaters do not want to
not have tests, students rarely sleep
Michaels, a freshman. “Why did you for the intended reason can be vali- risk the extreme punishments of
before midnight.
go to Stuy?” he asks. “Both my par- dated for several reasons, and indeed cheating on a final, and cheating
We want to excel, but who
ents went there. People connect Stuy Principal Stanley Teitel and other with a cell phone greatly worsens
can we blame for this pressure? Is it
to Asians to Ivy League schools, be- members of the administration have the possible consequences.
parental influence? Or is it simply
cause they think that Asian kids have legitimized it by claiming that the If the administration wanted
ourselves, striving to reach towards
a huge drive from their parents, no-cell phone policy has been in ef- to overcome the problem of cheating
that goal? The expectations of soci-
which is why they become so smart. fect for a while, and they are simply on finals, there are several ways that
ety are high upon us as well. Re-
But then, their parents are stubborn, enforcing it. While this is undoubt- they could do so without taking
cently, I was asked what school I go
because they have ‘only Ivy League’ edly true, their intentions remain away the single means of communi-
to, and the reaction was “Oh, you’re
mentality, which is futile because questionable. cation students have. Proctors could
smart.” Is this expectation from out-
there are other great schools.” The purpose of metal detec- go around the room continuously
siders too much?
When I asked a parent, she re- tors is to prevent students from and always keep their eyes open for
The competitive nature
sponded, “We want the best for our bringing in weapons and other harm- suspicious behavior instead of just
among students in high school also
children, and the Ivy League will ful items into school, thereby pro- sitting at the front of the room as
contributes to the pressure. Many of
give them that.” tecting their right to a safe environ- many proctors do. That way, it
us are so used to being the “best” in
However, at the recent Par- ment. However, by implementing would be less likely that students
our old schools that we have trouble
ent meeting, the topic of a “Fitting metal detectors solely to check for would find opportunities to cheat. If
adjusting to a school as elite as
College” was discussed. The speaker cell phones, the administration cell phones are still viewed to be the
Stuyvesant, and instead force our-
elaborated on the point that students would be abusing the purpose of the major issue, there is a less extreme
selves to work into all hours of the
must go to a college that fits them. metal detectors. Cell phones do not approach than using metal detectors:
night to retain our “number one”
He stated that many students are pose risks to any student’s safety, Thomas suggests, “It would just be
status.
pressured into Ivy League schools, and so should not be checked for as better to have teachers do something
When asked what he
but do very badly, because the diligently as weapons are. like put all the phones in the front of
thought puts the most pressure on
schools do not fit them. By implementing these metal the room while taking the test. That
students, Syed Rashid said, “I’d say
Some students just cannot detectors only during finals week, it way, students can still use their
that it’s the society. The Board of
handle the pressure, hence the rela- seems as though the administration phones to call their parents when
Education has made getting into
tively high suicide rate at Stuyvesant would have only been making a half- they are done or things like that.”
good colleges very expensive, so
and other elite high schools and uni- hearted attempt at stopping students’ Instead of punishing the en-
high school students act in fear of
versities. Maybe it is time for us to use of cell phones. If they check for tire student body for the errors of a
not being able to pay for college
wake up and realize that the Ivy them during this week and not any select few, the administration should
without a scholarship.”
League is not always the best choice, other, are they not suggesting that be working towards helping those
When asked the same ques-
and it is pressure from our families, this is the only week during which who are causing problems get back
tion, Maya Averbuch comments, “I
as well as the ideals of society that students cannot have cell phones? on track. If the administration were
feel that it is mostly the society we
push us to work so hard. ◙ This is not reinforcing the district able to implement this policy, it
live in that is flawed. The environ-
policy as Principal Teitel suggests, would be punishing everyone and
ment we have in schools such as
but rather, it is presenting the policy inevitably widen the gap between
Stuyvesant is excessively competi-
as something that is only necessary students and teachers.◙
 OPINIONS
A Courteousness
to be Appreciated
By: Nada Elmansy
With women gaining
more rights in society compared
to than they had years ago, some
women fear are very strong-
minded in their opinions that men
can be sexist when it comes to
certain issues. They view any-
thing that a guy does for them as
him seeing women as inferior to
men. But since when was holding
the door for a girl, a sexist act
from a guy? Many women feel
that doing things such as this or a
guy giving up his seat on the train
for a girl are all sexist actions.
When you really think
about it though, is it not it part of
tradition and culture for men to do
these things for women? Rather
than let a door hit a woman in the
face, most men have been raised
and taught that the polite and gen-
tlemanly act would be to hold the
door for the woman. In fact, the
same tradition applies to holding
the door for anyone. It is simply
an act of kindness and chivalry.
When a guy does this for
a woman, he is just trying to do
what he was taught to do and
what seems like the right thing.
He is not acting chivalrous be-
cause he feels that women are not
strong enough to hold the door for
themselves or stand on the train.
Rather, these small acts of kind-
ness just show respect, whether
you are a man giving up your seat
for another man or for a woman.
When asked what they
thought about these acts of chiv-
alry, most women thought that it
was just a polite thing to do and
should not be taken as a sexist act.
In fact, it should just be consid-
ered when men do such things,
they should just be seen as help-
ing someone out, regardless of
whether it’s that person is a man
or a woman.
There are some things
that men only do for women, and
not for one another. When it
comes to only holding the door
By: Marina Tawfik
In the past, many Stuyve-
sant alumni have been notable suc-
cesses; as a result, many are now
actors and actresses, Nobel laure-
ates, and important government
officials, including members of
Obama’s cabinet. However, do
Stuyvesant students still have this
potential, and are these great things
still possible?
I think that all the students
The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.5 8
Point Counterpoint
Thanks, But I’ll Hold
My Own Door
By: Marina Tawfik
We cannot allow men to
TSS/ Elissa Tam
TSS/ Elissa Tam
continue going about pretending
that they are the superior gender.
Women are trying to gain all the
rights that men have in order to
become equal to them in the work-
place and in society in general.
However, once alone with men,
women fall back to their primitive
instincts, allowing men to take
charge over their lives and perform
unnecessary tasks for them. This is
simply contradictory behavior. If
women want to be seen as men’s
equals, they must act like they are.
While it may be out of the ordinary
and untraditional, women need to
take a stand for their independence
and say no to men treating them
Some women believe that polite gestures toward women Some women dismiss “chivalrous actions” as demean-
like fragile items once and for all.
from men should be appreciated. ing. There are several ways
women can fully gain their inde-
Ever since the Seneca Falls pendence and become seen as
Convention in 1848, women have strong, independent people in
for a woman and not a man, then it
been fighting for more rights and men’s eyes. First of all, the fight to
is just the way traditions are and the
independence, taking each chance gain independence in society must
way certain people grew up. It is
they get to equal themselves with go on. There is no reason that
often the case that men who do such
men. It seems insane to think that women should be paid less than
things have been almost trained to
women could not even vote for the men to do any jobs, and women
show acts of courtesy since they
leaders of their own country until should not be discriminated against
were children.
1920. We seem to have made much when trying to gain jobs or high
People that believes such an
progress, with women becoming positions in workplaces. If this
act is sexist should consider the
CEOs of businesses, and recently, does occur, both men and women
opposing viewpoint many women
even attempting to gain presidency should realize that it is wrong and
have. These many women complain
of the United States. However, there fight the action through whatever
that men treat them badly, so why
is one sexist practice that seems to means necessary. Secondly,
should they complain when they
be the same as it was hundreds of women must stop acting like they
encounter men who they are just
years ago: men continue to treat need men to do things for them if
trying to show respect towards?
women as fragile porcelain dolls they know they can do fine on their
Women have been working so hard
that need to be taken care of. own. For example, if men try to
to earn their current status that at
Men need to realize that insist on paying for meals each
times,; it almost seems ridiculous to
women have come a long way with time they are out with women,
pick on these small acts that go ages
their progress in becoming inde- women must take charge and re-
back. In the end, feel very strongly
pendent, and they are the only ones fuse to leave without paying for
these acts are just polite and should
who are hindering further improve- their share.
not be complained about. In fact,
ments. Holding doors open, pulling It may seem unconven-
the next time someone holds the
out chairs, and paying for all meals tional to many to let women do
door for you, or gives up their seat
are practices that may once have these things, since men have long
for you, rather than consider it a
seemed chivalrous. However, soci- taken pride in their dominance
sexist act, think of it as a sign of
ety needs to recognize that these over women in such everyday
respect and thank the person. After
practices are actually quite sexist, situations. However, women can-
all, it makes a person feel good that
and when women allow men to do not truly say that they have won
their act was appreciated. There are
all of these things for them, they are the fight for independence and
and some traditions that just don’t
portraying themselves as princesses equality until they have gotten rid
die out over time. ◙
that need to be rescued by their of every single thing that threatens
knights. them, and that means everything.◙
Reaching for the Stars
here have the potential to achieve sant gives students a better chance havior is senseless, because the
incredible feats. Since Stuyvesant at reaching for some of the higher fact that Stuyvesant has a better
is known as the best public high ranks of society and achieving reputation than other schools does
school in New York City, the stu- things that many others may not not give its students the right to
dents must still be exceptionally have the opportunities to do. slack off. On the contrary, it is a
gifted. Because of Stuyvesant’s However, the students of waste of their potential and a waste
reputation, many people assume our generation seem to be less in- of their being at Stuyvesant. Many
that if you attend this school, you spired to do great things compared students in New York City would
are really smart. From what I have to previous generations. I have love a chance to go to our prestig-
seen, the public’s assumptions are seen people slacking off and acting ious school, because going to a
mostly true: we are smart and we as if they do not care about their good high school would mean a
all have talent. Attending Stuyve- future accomplishments. This be- better
Continued on page 9
 9 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Unreasonable
Grading
By: Charlotte Ruby
“Put away your books and
take out a pen.” This is perhaps
one of the most frightening sen-
tences a teacher can say. It implies
a pop quiz, and if a student is not
prepared, possibly a failing grade.
No one is smiling as the students
grudgingly slam their binders shut
and put them in their bags.
Even announced tests
strike fear into the hearts of many
students – at least the students who
want to do well. For many people,
another test means another morn-
ing commute spent frantically
studying, or an afternoon spent
wishing you had studied that morn-
ing. Everyone knows the feeling
when you find out from your
friends that you got a question
wrong on a test, but not many peo-
ple feel that way when they get
something wrong on their home-
work.
There are many reasons
why tests make people so nervous.
The biggest reason, though, is that
they count for so much. One failed
test can bring your average down
significantly. While teachers claim
that tests are only part of your
grade, they do make up a signifi-
cant amount of it. Tests can make
up as much as 80 percent of a stu-
dent’s grade, depending on the
teacher and the subject. In music
appreciation, tests make up 100
percent of students’ grades for the
first and second marking periods,
and only in the last marking period
is class participation taken into
account.
Tests really should not
count as much as they do. Not only
do they make things extremely
unpleasant for students, but they
are also not always an accurate
way of determining how well a
student is doing. While some peo-
ple are amazing test takers, others
do quite badly under pressure. In
addition, some people just have
bad days. In some ways, tests only
measure how well you were feel-
ing on a certain day. If a student
has stayed up all night doing a pro-
ject, he or she is not going to do as
well as they might have if they had
gotten some sleep.
Tests also judge how much
free time a student has to spend
studying and how well they can
study. I can memorize things pretty
quickly, but one of my friends will
study for hours and still not have
all the material memorized. For
one test, he studied for four hours,
while I studied for less than one,
and I got eleven points higher than
Do you have an opinion of your own that you’d like to share?
Email us at:
EIC@stuystandard.org
he did. Our teacher cannot say that
he did not study and that is why he
did not do as well as he would
have liked. Either the material was
taught badly or my friend is just a
bad test taker. Either way, it is not
his fault, but he is stuck with that
grade.
Teachers should make it so
that test do not count as much as
they do. They should put more em-
phasis on homework, class partici-
pation, and projects. Doing home-
work, although time consuming, is
not very stressful. It does teach you
some things, though, and it shows
that you care about the class if you
do the homework. Projects are also
a fair way to grade a student, be-
cause they often have to do with
everything the student has been
learning. Ideally, they do not show
how the student was doing on one
day, but rather on all the days they
were working on the project.
Class participation is a
tricky issue, because some students
are genuinely shy, while others do
not participate because they are
lazy or asleep. However, it can be
beneficial for some students who
need class participation to balance
out their lousy test grades. I think
my math teacher, Mr. Stern, has
the right idea. If someone partici-
pates a lot in class, then he will
raise their grade by a couple of
points when he is making up their
grade. If, however, they do not
participate, he will not lower their
grade because of it. If a student is
doing badly on tests, he or she can
overcome their shyness or laziness
and participate in class, which will
boost their grade. If they are doing
fine, they do not need to participate
if they really do not want to, or if it
makes them uncomfortable.
There should not necessar-
ily be a school-wide system for
grading, because class structure
does differ from subject to subject.
Science classes have to take labs
into consideration, while English
classes generally have more writ-
ing and papers. If a class is very
challenging, many students might
be doing badly on tests, in which
case the teacher should also see
who does their homework and who
participates. There really is no per-
fect system, but that does not mean
that it should stay the way it is,
with all the emphasis on tests.
Stuyvesant might be a lot less
stressful if students did not con-
stantly worry about a number on a
paper – and that is all that tests are:
numbers on papers. Sometimes,
tests only show as much about a
student as their student ID number
does.◙
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6
Unfair
Loopholes
By: Tiffany Choi
As juniors are trying to
take advantage of the new SAT
score policy, some colleges are
finding loopholes to get around it.
A new policy will allow students
to hide bad scores in their SAT
records from colleges, which both
lowers anxiety for high school stu-
dents and creates an uproar among
some colleges. Before this policy,
students who took the SAT I or
SAT Subject Tests more than once
had to send all their scores to the
colleges they were applying to.
However, with this score choice
policy, many juniors are signing up
for consecutive tests, because it is
simply another try at a good score
without any penalty. Because they
recognize that many students are
now doing this, there is a loophole
that some colleges are using: opt-
ing out of the SAT score choice
and requiring applicants to report
every SAT I and SAT Subject Test
score.
Next fall, Stanford, Cor-
nell, the University of Pennsyl-
vania, and other colleges will be
opting out of the Score Choice and
will require each applicant to send
in all of his or her scores. An ad-
missions dean at Pomona said that
he was worried about the financial
benefits that this Score Choice pol-
icy will give wealthy students, as
wealthy students can afford to take
the SAT multiple times, while oth-
ers cannot. I disagree with this no-
tion because wealthier students
Reaching
for the Stars
Continued from page 8
chance of going to a good college.
Students should work ex-
ceptionally hard at Stuyvesant,
because since everybody here is so
smart, it becomes rather hard to
appear unique to colleges and to
the world. Therefore, going to a
good school and being lazy pro-
vides the same results as going to a
normal high school would: the stu-
dent appears to be nothing out of
the ordinary.
Everybody has the poten-
tial to be someone important, but
each generation’s motivation
seems to be sliding a little lower
every year. People do not seem to
care about others’ perceptions of
OPINIONS
would not be the only ones to stand
to benefit from the policy as other
students will also have the option
of taking the test multiple times.
The College Board provides two
fee waivers for those who qualify,
so poorer students are not neces-
sarily at a disadvantage. Although
it may be a hassle to pay for multi-
ple SAT tests, this SAT Score
Choice Policy will undoubtedly
benefit both rich and poor.
“With the new SAT score
choice policy, I would be able to
take the SAT without pressure. But
with this loophole, I am not quite
certain if I would be taking the test
without pressure anymore,” junior
Steven Lee said. In fact, the pur-
pose of the Score Choice is to get
practice without pressure. Some
students are nervous test takers,
and it will be to their benefit to
practice taking the test under real
conditions.
Generally, if the College
Board wants to enforce the score
choice policy, colleges should re-
spect that policy, just as they have
with the ACT policy for years. It is
simply unfair for colleges to put
loopholes onto a policy that is
meant to benefit the students.
Many may oppose to this Score
Choice policy because of financial
problems. However, when it is
seen from the perspective that the
SAT assists the underprivileged,
there should be no reason why col-
leges should be given the option to
opt out of the Score Choice pol-
icy.◙
them and about the things that hap-
pen in their futures anymore.
Nowadays, many students worry
about the way they look, their so-
cial standings, and their grades, but
people do not seem to care about
using their talents to their advan-
tage. Many people that I know just
care about surviving Stuyvesant
and going to college, but their
plans for the future end there.
However, I think that there is more
to life than just that. Life is about
proving that you have potential and
using that potential to reach for the
stars. If you are going to do some-
thing, you should use all of your
energy to achieve your goal, and
most importantly, you should
never give up.◙
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
The Standard Science and Technology
By: Omar Ahmad
The 23rd Annual Medical
Ethics Symposium: Mind, Body,
and Beyond, was hosted by Medi-
cal Ethics instructor, Roz Bierig,
and guest speakers included Dr.
Bernie Siegel, author of Love,
Medicine, and Miracles, Saranne
Rothberg, a breast cancer survivor
who promotes laughter as a
means of medical treatment, and
Wendy Burton, author of the book
Joy is a Plum Colored Acrobat:
45 Life-Affirming Visualizations
for Breast Cancer Treatment and
Recovery.
Dr. Siegel, an experi-
enced physician, stated, “I noticed
many patients lived longer than
their doctors expected. I wanted
to know why.” In order to do so,
he began observing and inquiring,
and ultimately discovering that
the long-term survivors were “the
ones who began to pay attention
to their feelings.” As they ex-
pressed their emotions, made wise
choices, and became more spiri-
tual, their bodies benefited, and
the physical changes were “the
side effects of an altered life.”
He mentioned that this
altered life was made possible
through understanding one’s envi-
ronment, and, especially in the
case of the terminally ill, to be of
clear conscience, and remem-
brance of the fact that “success
and healing refer to what you do
with your life, not how long you
avoid death.” Through spiritual
renewal, Siegel claims that one is
able to accept the disease or other
misfortune, and marshal all of
one’s energy towards countering
it. Dr. Siegel even brought up that
“You are better off denying your
illness completely, than accepting
a prediction that sounds like a
death sentence.”
Saranne Rothberg, CEO
and founder of the Comedy Cures
Foundation, visited with a more
interesting perspective on how to
deal with traumatic diseases, such
as her personal struggle with
breast cancer. Comedy Cures, a
nationwide effort to educate pa-
tients of all ages, was started
when Rothberg developed cancer.
Being in a “little hole of despair,”
Rothberg, the divorced mother of
a 15 year old, discovered that the
only way out of depression and
self-denial was through optimism,
and more remarkably, the simple
act of laughing.
Soon, after adjusting to a
more sanguine and stable mind-
set, Rothberg was able to quickly
receive proper treatment, and had
a successful procedure done to
The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 10
Medical Ethics Symposium:
A Spiritual Awakening
TSS/ Omar Ahmad
remove her cancerous tumors.
After this triumphant ex-
perience, Rothberg had decided
that it was her duty to spread the
laughter and joy that benefited her
so greatly to the rest of the world.
At 44, she has traveled the globe
to inspire patients of all ages to
find reasons in their lives to laugh
and look for a brighter state of
mind. Rothberg has held therapeu-
tic humor workshops for 9/11 vic-
tims, Iraq War veterans, and
TSS/ Omar Ahmad
bombing victims in Israel.
After getting the audience
up and dancing, she concluded by
stating, “laughter is the best medi-
cine” and restating the Comedy
Cures hotline, 1-888-HA-HA-HA-
HA.
Wendy Burton picked up
the baton of breast cancer discus-
sion when she began by discussing
her new children’s novel, Joy is a
Plum Colored Acrobat, a collec-
tion of drawings that Burton had
created as a cancer patient. She
said, "I had an extraordinarily
positive experience with breast
cancer, due largely to the visuali-
zations I did during treatment. Af-
ter I finished six weeks of radia-
TSS/ Omar Ahmad
tion therapy I woke up one morn-
ing and announced I was going to
write a book. I sat down at the
computer and literally didn't sur-
face for 48 hours. I would guess
that 50% of the manuscript had
presented itself at that point.”
One of the poems, accom-
panied by a drawing of a young
girl, arms spread apart, and stand-
ing in the center of a vast yellow
field, was entitled: A Wheat-
Colored Field. This work encom-
passes Burton’s readiness to con-
TSS/ Elissa Tam
front the cancer that she would
inevitably be forced to overcomw.
There are also thematic
chapters divided chronologically
into visualizations for Protection,
Treatment, Comfort, Energy,
Overcoming Fear, Healing, and
Continuing Health.
This final speech con-
cluded the 23rd Annual Medical
Ethics Symposium, leaving the
Stuyvesant Community with a
renewed perspective on overall
wellness. As in past years, the
TSS/ Elissa Tam
medical ethics symposium was
ultimately successful in bringing
together professionals in a field to
lend their knowledge to those who
are interested in what they have to
say. The skits by the students of
the Medical Ethics class and the
raffles brought an air of lightness
to very serious topics and helped
to keep the audience fully engaged
throughout the event.◙
 11 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Genome Research Expands to Sports
By: Omar Ahmad
In a health-conscious
world, the areas of genome re-
search have largely dominated in
terms of focus, as well as develop-
ment. Particularly, in a high school
setting, the primary focal point
would be that of genetic intelli-
gence, and those who have a par-
ticular advantage over others,
based on genetic inheritance. How-
ever, recent studies have shown
that certain genes within young
children make themselves obvious,
in pertaining to the ability to excel
in sports.
According to the New
York Times, Atlas Sports Genet-
ics, a nationally recognized physi-
cal therapy lab, is promoting the
obsessions of parents by offering a
$149 test that aims to predict a
child’s natural athletic strengths.
The process is simple. Swab inside
the child’s cheek and along the
gums to collect DNA and return it
to a lab for analysis of ACTN3,
one gene among more than 20,000
in the human genome.
The test’s goal is to deter-
mine whether a person would be
best at speed and power sports like
sprinting or football, or endurance
sports like distance running, or a
The Secret to Active Learning
By: David Huang
In light of the very much
evident consequences of not obtain-
ing the prescribed number of hours
of sleep, one may start thinking
about the effects such deteriorating
behavior may incur. To the juniors
and the seniors, AP course loads,
standardized tests, and college ap-
plications are the chief concerns and
of paramount importance in their
daily lives, and good deal of stu-
dents are willing to sacrifice hours
of sleep for studying, completing
homework, and procrastinating– all
for the sake of academic excellence.
However, studying until two or
three will not help one memorize
much of what needs to be read for
the test, and consistent sleep depri-
vation will only result in gradual
instability of mental performance.
When we sleep, our brain is
doing something that is quite coun-
terintuitive: it is active instead of
resting. When we said that “our
brains need rest”, what that really
means, from a purely scientific per-
spective, is that our brain needs
time to process and analyze what
we have learned in the classroom
and what we have done during the
day, thoroughly. In essence, the
brain, during the sleep cycle, is ac-
tively stabilizing and protecting
memory formed during the day
time.
It has been discovered that
December 8, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6
combination of the two. A 2003
study discovered the link between
ACTN3 and those athletic abilities.
In this era of genetic test-
ing, DNA is being analyzed to de-
termine predispositions to disease,
but experts raise serious questions
about marketing it as a first step in
finding a child’s sports niche,
which some parents consider the
road to a college scholarship or a
career as a professional athlete.
Atlas executives acknowl-
edge that their test has limitations
but say that it could provide guide-
lines for placing youngsters in
sports. The company is focused on
testing children from infancy to
about 8 years old because physical
tests to gauge future sports per-
formance at that age are, at best,
unreliable.
Some experts say ACTN3
testing is in its infancy and virtu-
ally useless. Dr. Theodore Fried-
mann, the director of the Univer-
sity of California-San Diego Medi-
cal Center’s interdepartmental
gene therapy program, called it “an
opportunity to sell new versions of
snake oil.”
“This may or may not be
quite that venal, but I would like to
see a lot more research done before
it is offered to the general public,”
he said. “I don’t deny that these
Sleep:
π key memory and salient facts via
Sleep may just be the key to easier learning as students are constantly distracted by lack of sleep.
during sleep, the brain reactivates
patterns of neural activity that it
performed during the waking pe-
riod. Through this reactivation,
neurons that fire at the same time
have their connection strength-
ened, thus locking the pattern of
memory for future recall–this
process is known as long-term po-
tentiation. Wouldn’t it be more
efficient and more beneficial to
consolidate memory during our
waking hours, thus enabling more
memory consolidation in total?
Harvard sleep researchers Saper
and Stickgold point out that “an
essential part of memory and learn-
ing consists of nerve cell dentrites
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
genes have a role in athletic suc-
cess, but it’s not that black and
white.”
Dr. Stephen M. Roth, direc-
tor of the functional genomics labo-
ratory at the University of Mary-
land’s School of Public Health who
has studied ACTN3, said he thought
the test would become popular. But
he had reservations.
“The idea that it will be one
or two genes that are contributing to
the Michael Phelpses or the Usain
Bolts of the world I think is short-
sighted because it’s much more
complex than that,” he said, adding
that athletic performance has been
found to be affected by at least 200
genes.
Dr. Roth called ACTN3
“one of the most exciting and eye-
brow-raising genes out there in the
sports-performance arena,” but he
said that any test for the gene would
be best used only on top athletes
looking to tailor workouts to their
body types.
“It seems to be important at
very elite levels of competition,”
Dr. Roth said. “But is it going to
affect little Johnny when he partici-
pates in soccer, or Suzy’s ability to
perform sixth grade track and field?
There’s very little evidence to sug-
gest that.”
The study that identified the
TSS/ Amna Ahmad
zzzzz
zzzzz
sending information to the cell body
to be organized into new “neuronal
connections.” Such a process de-
mands that no external signal or
disturbances can be presented to
these dendrites; suggesting that
memory stabilization and knowl-
edge consolidation requires undis-
turbed sleep. This implies that sleep
deprivation prevents the brain from
undergoing long-term potentiation,
and thus decreases in mental and
memory recall. And the minimal
amount of sleep required for this
process to be effective is 6 hours. In
simple terms: cramming all night
will not help.
connection between ACTN3 and
elite athletic performance was pub-
lished in 2003 by researchers pri-
marily based in Australia.
Those scientists looked at
the gene’s combinations, one copy
provided by each parent. The R
variant of ACTN3 instructs the
body to produce a protein, alpha-
actinin-3, found specifically in
fast-twitch muscles. Those muscles
are capable of the forceful, quick
contractions necessary in speed
and power sports. The X variant
prevents production of the protein.
The ACTN3 study looked
at 429 elite white athletes, includ-
ing 50 Olympians, and found that
50 percent of the 107 sprint ath-
letes had two copies of the R vari-
ant. Even more telling, no female
elite sprinter had two copies of the
X variant. All male Olympians in
power sports had at least one copy
of the R variant.
In Stuyvesant High
School, where sports activity is
widely recognized and understood
as a commitment of great value,
this jump into the future of lives of
students and children everywhere
may soon have an affect pertaining
to how students choose their sports
teams, as well as who the teams
will accept. ◙
In addition to stabilizing
memory structure, experiments
have demonstrated that the brain
might even be dissecting out
memories and retaining the most
salient details and facts, such as the
fact that you have a AP English
essay due in two days or all the
equations needed for your physics
test on quantum mechanics. In ad-
dition, these new memories that
form and consolidate during sleep
are actively analyzed by the brain
during slumber. Active analysis
enables the brain to solve problems
and infer new information from
correlation. So if you happen to
have difficult and peculiar math
problem that seem to have strange
answers, take a nap, it will help.
School work, tests, and
college applications may be the
most important events the aca-
demic lives of many students and
many people would certainly do
anything to excel academically.
However, one must remember that
by sacrificing sleep for study time,
the amount of time in which one
can recall the information the next
day is reduced in some degree and
chronic sleep deprivation will re-
sult in lower mental capability and
memory function, which may lead
to lower immunity and dietary side
effects. Had Stuyvesant students
been previously armed with this
information perhaps lack of sleep
would be less of a problem.◙
SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY
By: Qi Fan Zhang
Research In Motion
(RIM) has just released the
much anticipated Blackberry
Storm. However, many people
found this new phone to be a
disappointment because it fails
to satisfy the demands of its us-
ers. Yet, others have ignored the
phone’s negative aspects and
have embraced the Blackberry
Storm because of its numerous
applications and uses.
One of the things that
RIM has boasted about is the
new phone’s touchscreen key-
board. In fact, it is the first
Blackberry to have a touch-
screen keyboard that when
pressed hard enough, emits a
clicking sound. Yet, many peo-
ple have complained about this
feature because of the lost of
originality of the phone. Ac-
cording to New York Times
journalist David Pogue, one of
the defining features of Black-
berry phones is an actual key-
board. While RIM has tried to
duplicate one of iPhone’s fea-
tures, it fails because the touch-
screen keyboard of its new
phone is not as user friendly as
Online Coupons Gain Popularity
By: Qi Fan Zhang
In light of the economic
downturn, it is not surprising
that many consumers are surf-
ing the Internet, searching for
online coupons that can poten-
tially save them money when
shopping online. By entering a
secret code, consumers can get
discounts that are not available
in stores and save a lot of
money on brand name items
from companies like Victoria’s
Secret and Dell. In fact, the
month of November had over
27 million hits on coupon web-
sites, such as RetailMeNot.com,
FatWallet.com and Coupon-
Mom.com, according to KCBS.
As shoppers said goodbye to
Black Friday, they said hello to
Cyber Monday, the Monday
after Thanksgiving when shop-
pers begin the online shopping
frenzy.
Coined by Shop.org,
Cyber Monday is one of the
most congested online shopping
days of the year. Many people
are still in their vacation mode
when they go back to work. As
a result, they spend their free
The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 12
Blackberry Storm:
Pro or Con
TSS/ Elissa Tam
Despite some of its drawbacks, the Blackberry Storm introduces competitive features not included in earlier phones into the consumer market.
it strives to be. Despite the lack
250 songs and has a 3.2 the Internet. Verizon, one of the
of a three dimensional key-
megapixel camera that can take carriers of the phone, offers an
board, the Blackberry Storm has
crystal clear pictures. Further- Internet network in only 258
multiple typing systems, such as
more, it has an expandable American cities, far from reach-
the SureType®, Multi-tap, and
memory, with the use of mi- ing the goal of Internet access
QWERTY.
croSD cards and can have a bat- everywhere. However, once the
Aside from the SureP-
tery life of fifteen days. Blackberry Storm has con-
ress™ touchscreen, the new
A Blackberry would not nected to the Internet, it can
Blackberry Storm also contains
be a Blackberry if it did not load the webpages with a full
numerous capabilities. It can
contain web browsing features. html browser or with a mobile
view and revise Microsoft files,
While the Blackberry Storm has layout.
such as Microsoft World,
improved Internet functions While there are some
Powerpoint, and Excel. Addi-
over its predecessors, it is still kinks in the new Blackberry, it
tionally, like many other
technologically behind its main is still thought by users to be an
phones, it can be used as a cam-
competitor, Apple’s iPhone. It innovative and user-friendly
era and a music player. In fact,
does not have Wi-Fi connec- phone. ◙
this new phone can stored up to
tivity so it is hard to connect to
TSS/ Elissa Tam
decrease. Even though 83.7 per-
cent of online retail stores were
estimated to have offered spe-
cial promotions, celebrating the
first Monday after Thanksgiv-
ing, ComScore is predicted that
“online retail spending for No-
vember and December to be flat
compared with the same two
months in 2007” according to
CNN.
In order to counter the
predicted decrease in online
shopping, many websites are
offered free shipping and in-
stant rebates. Others offered
one day specials or zero percent
financing on select items. For
example, Amazon.com is will-
ing to decrease the prices of
watches by more than 65 per-
cent and is offering one-day
deals on numerous items such
With the recent economic collapse, online coupons are becoming popular.
as knife sets.
In their attempts to
time by browsing through nificantly risen over the years,
stimulate spending, many retail
online sales, looking for prod- as more people are becoming
stores are offering special deals.
ucts that they were not able to accustomed to Internet surfing
It is likely that consumers will
buy on Black Friday. In fact, and more retail stores offer Cy-
respond to the online sales and
according to Scott Silverman, ber Monday promotions.
begin to buy the merchandise
on the Cyber Monday of 2004, Yet, this year, with the
that the Holiday season shop-
more than 77 percent of retail recent economic situation, con-
pers have left behind at much
stores reported an increase in sumer spending is expected to
lower prices than usual.◙
their sales. This number has sig-
13 The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 LITERARY

The Standard Literary

The Standard WordSearch
By: Robert Stevenson N M O N D A Y P S Y H R
E A E V A A E C A P E R
Find all of the words E L S Y I E E D T A A O
listed below. X G I T L W S H U R R Y
P N A S Y E Q S R E D A
O I R A U D U Y D N A D
The remaining letters N R E T I N A L A T B I
will spell out the puz- E E D R I E D D Y H O R
zle’s secret word. N E N M S S U A O E O F
T H U R S D A Y Y S I T
Look in the next issue S C H K C A U Q E E N I
S E T A R Y O S N S G S
to find out what it
was.

Last issue’s Word Bank

secret word: PARENTHESES HURRY CAPER SLEEP SUNDAY
EXPONENTS DRIED SCUM SQUAD MONDAY
TASTY RETINA DAILY QUACK TUESDAY
COLLEGES NASTY PIERS MINUS CHEERING WEDNESDAY
ROSES BOOING THURSDAY
THUNDER DANDY (x2)
RAISE HEAD FRIDAY
SODA HEARD RATES SATURDAY

When Fairytales Collide By: Robert Stevenson

ADVERTISEMENT The STUYVESANT STANDARD December 8, 2008 –VOL.8, NO. 14
 15 The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 ENTERTAINMENT

The Standard Entertainment

Culture Fest: The Aftermath
An Opportunity of the Apocalypse
to be Cultured By: Daniel Alfonin
works bought over the rights for
the Fallout series fans had mixed
reactions. Many were worried
By: Robert Colbourn Thousands of anticipated that Bethesda would alter the
gamers rushed to the stores in game too much from its prede-
order to be the first ones to get cessors, taking away the ele-
their hands on Fallout. Becoming ments that defined the series.

TSS/Elissa Tam
a huge success from the start,
Fallout took its rightful place
among one of the best RPG’s of
all time and gained millions of
dedicated fans all around the
world. Two years later developer
Interplay Productions released a
sequel. Improving on many as-
pects of the game and delivering
a rich world to explore, the game
was unfortunately marred by
numerous bugs making it seem a
little rushed. The third installa-
tion in the Fallout series has
gamers rubbing their hands to-
gether in excitement. And they
have a right to do so, for Fallout
3 was definitely worth the wait.
In 2004, after it was an-
nounced that Bethesda Soft-
Fortunately for everyone Be-
thesda made a highly memorable
game that gamers will be talking
about for years to come.
The storyline of Fallout
3 takes place 200 years after a
catastrophic nuclear war which
wiped out most of humanity. The
large portion of survivors now
live in underground facilities
known as vaults, led to believe
that the surface is unsustainable
for life. The beginning of the
game takes place in Vault 101,
located underneath Washington
D.C., and takes you from child-
birth to around the age of 19.
This “growing up” stage of the
game
Continued on page 16

Quantum of Solace:
Students perform a traditional Asian cultural dance at Stuyvesant’s Annual CultureFest.

Fans Can Certainly

Despite the general multi-
culturalism that makes up Stuyve-
sant High School, there aren’t
very many events that celebrate or
even take note of it. Several years
ago, people had to be content with
a couple of festivals dedicated to
either east Asian or south Asian
culture, which, while attracting
large audiences, restricted the
demographic to just that audience.
Last year, however, the two sepa-
rate festivals came together to
create Stuyvesant’s Annual Cul-
ture Festival. For some, it was a
chance to observe other people’s
cultures openly. For others, it was
an opportunity to eat some great
food. No matter what the reason
for attending was, the culture fes-
tival was an enjoyable night that
demonstrated culinary and per-
forming talent of certain members
of the Stuyvesant community.
The festival was divided
into two portions: a buffet, featur-
ing samples of various samples of
Asian cuisine, and a show that
represented popular culture within
countries that included China,
Korea, and India. The buffet por-
tion was organized inside the
cafeteria, with food tables placed
around the periphery and tables
set up for people to sit down and
eat. There were several tables
with separate lines, so even if
there were a lot of people, the
lines went by relatively quickly.
While people had a cap as to how
much they could take, there was
enough variety so each student
could try everything and be satis-
fied with the course. The food was
of good quality and was a delight to
try.
The show itself began half
an hour after the cafeteria closed its
doors. Taking place in the audito-
rium, this portion of the fest (hosted
by Niloy Iqbal and Angi Guo) con-
tained a variety of talented perform-
ances, ranging from dances to skits.
While many performances were
based off modern culture (i.e. Ko-
rean hip hop and break dancing)
there were many that represented
more classical styles of art (i.e. the
Guzheng and fan dance)—a refresh-
ing reminder of entertainment long
gone. The performances were or-
ganized in such a way that every
culture represented was interspersed
within each other; if one would only
stay for half an hour, one would get
a taste of everything. However it
was truly a treat to stay for the en-
tire show.
Technical flaws were pre-
sent, but did not fatally mar the pro-
duction. There was some lack of
coordination and there were per-
formers clearly more talented than
others, but that emerged as part of
its charm. It demonstrated that we
are a high school and as such, we
aren’t professionals, and even then
there is still enough to put on a per-
formance this entertaining. The
Stuyvesant Annual Culture Festival
was more than just a thrilling
night—it was a representation of
just how far the students of this
school have gone, and it showed
just how unique we are as a com-
munity. ◙
Find Solace Here
By: David Mannes
The latest James Bond
film, “Quantum of Solace,” did
not disappoint: though it contin-
ued with the darker, less-
romanticized style begun in
“Casino Royale,” it held true to
all the classic requirements of a
Bond movie (almost).
Daniel Craig played the
part of the cool, suave super-
agent, and Olga Kurylenko
played the beautiful female lead,
Camille, whose own vendetta
ends up aligning her with Bond.
Together, the two combat Quan-
tum – an enemy organization
well suited to our times – which
plans to become rich by mo-
nopolizing water and oil, in addi-
tion to other high value re-
sources.
As Bond’s pursues
Quantum there is no lack of ex-
plosions, shootouts, or chases;
however, while the action scenes
were both exhilarating and visu-
ally stunning, they were so per-
vasive that by the end of the
movie an axe-fight and subse-
quent escape from a burning
building was beginning to seem
almost mundane.
The only reprieves from
the action were provided by Judi
Dench’s character, M. Judi Dench
did an incredible job of balancing
out Bond’s character: her appear-
ance on screen was always sure to
signal an update on the plot, a jus-
tifiable setup for the next action
sequence, a commentary on
Bond’s character arc, or merely a
reminder of what Bond had actu-
ally been doing when he got into
the latest chase.
To be fair, (with Judi
Dench’s assistance) both Bond and
Camille underwent a fair deal of
character development, especial
for a 007 film. The characters deal
with themes of vengeance and duty
– the major turning point for
Camille occurred as she contem-
plates what to do next now that she
has avenged her murdered parents,
and for Bond when he finally
leaves one of the bad guys alive for
interrogation.
In short, it is an exciting,
action-packed film – which is, in
essence, what a James Bond film is
meant to be. It wasn’t the deepest
or most complex picture of all
time, but it didn’t have to be, and
in the end, I think the most serious
grievance to be had with the movie
was that in an hour and forty-six
minutes of screen time, Bond
never slept with the female lead. ◙
ENTERTAINMENT
Recently Released
Films May Deserve
Oscar Nods
By: Robert Colbourn
The Academy Awards is
an important tradition that is meant
to recognize outstanding achieve-
ments in the film industry -- some-
times it recognizes an actor’s
amazing ability to portray an alter-
nate persona convincingly, and
other times it is a reward for a di-
rector’s dedication and hard work
to make all the pieces of a produc-
tion fall into place perfectly. Every
year, myriad films come out in
December, hoping to receive Oscar
nominations, and this year is no
different. Within the next two
weeks, many potential Oscar win-
ners are being released, starting
with:
Doubt–December 12th
Possibly the most likely film to
get multiple Oscar nods is this
story of the principal of a Catholic
School who suspects a priest of
inappropriate activity with a young
male student and her quest to find
evidence to support her claim. Not
only is this a big contender for
movie of the year, but Meryl
Streep’s performance as the proud
protagonist is a surefire nominee
for Best Actress.
Seven Pounds–December 19th
In this new Will Smith drama (a la
“The Pursuit of Happyness”), a
suicidal IRS agent attempts to
change the lives of seven complete
strangers. This is Will Smith’s sec-
ond major dramatic vehicle. While
he was only nominated for best
actor in his last one, it has been
said that his performance saves the
film from a dull and uninteresting
Do you know an
undiscovered talent?
Do you have a piece of work
you would like to share?
Email us at:
EIC@stuystandard.org
The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 16
The Aftermath
of the Apocalypse
Continued from page 15
is vital for this is where the player
another thing that makes Fallout 3
stand out in the market. Battling an
gets to choose his appearance, enemy in the game is divided into
plot, so it could be the win he’s
learn the controls, and ascend his two different perspectives: real
been trying to achieve.
first few levels. Leveling up in time shooting and the Vault-Tec
Fallout 3 gives the player three Assisted Targeting System
The Tale of Despereaux–
points through which he can up- (V.A.T.S.). When you activate
December 19th
grade his S.P.E.C.I.A.L. (strength, V.A.T.S. the battle pauses and dif-
perception, endurance, charisma, ferent body parts of the enemy get
This animated feature film starring
intelligence, agility, and luck) highlighted, accompanied with
Matthew Broderick and Dustin
skills along with secondary attrib- percent values. The percentage is
Hoffman depicts a story of a
utes such as medicine, science, and the probability that one of your
mouse that is fond of literature
lock picking. Around the age of bullets will hit that part of the
(contrary to his fellow mouse
19, your father suddenly disap- body. When you make your choice
brethren) and his quest to save a
pears and you decide to escape the a slow – motion cinematic shows
princess. Last year’s animated pic-
vault after him in a quest to track the colossal amount of damage you
ture winner, “Ratatouille,” was
him down. This is the part when inflict along with gushing torrents
also about a rodent hero, and con-
the real fun begins. of blood.
sidering the all-star cast and vet-
In addition to the main But the truly interesting
eran directors San Fell and Robert
storyline you can indulge yourself part about this system is that ac-
Stevenhagen, it is possible that this
in a bunch of side quests which cording to the part of the body you
year’s animated film win will go to
give the player a large amount of choose you can make your enemy
this film.
freedom in the sense of how the act differently. For example, by
quest is completed. Quests always hitting his arm you can make him
The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button–December 25th have alternative ways of experi- drop his weapon, or by hitting his
encing them so no two players will leg there is a chance that you will
always act the same. For example, make him limp. This, along with
Finally, this fantasy/romance
imagine you have to retrieve a cer- tons of more features makes Fall-
could potentially lead to a Best
tain object from somebody. You out 3 probably the only post –
Actor or Best Actress nomination.
can either sweet – talk your way apocalyptic game you’ll be playing
“The Curious Case of Benjamin
through it, steal it at night by pick- this gaming season. So whether
Button” depicts just what the title
ing a lock, or simply by blasting you have an Xbox 360 or PS3 this
says -- a very strange person who
the guy in the face with a shotgun game is definitely one that you
is born old and dies young
and taking it. should keep your eye out for.◙
(literally living his life backwards).
The heart wrenching performances The new combat system is
inspired by the story of star-
crossed lovers is sure to at least get
Brad Pitt and Kate Blanchett the
nominations for Best Actor and Coldplay is About to
Receive an
Best Actress, respectively.
While this list is nowhere
near complete, it does account for
most of the big releases of Decem- 8th Grammy–For
Copyright Infringement
ber. With the huge amount of great
movies that came out this year, the
Academy Awards (airing in Febru-
ary) are sure to be filled with sur-
prises, and they are sure to high-
light the amazing talent that was
By: Jonathan Li sounded “substantially similar” to
showcased in 2008.◙
Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida,” he also
“Viva la Vida,” Coldplay’s has to prove that Coldplay had ac-
Grammy nominated song, is back in cess to his own work, which compli-
the headlines; this time involving cates the lawsuit.
“copyright infringement.” Joe Sa-
triani, a “guitar rock god”, is suing
Interestingly enough, this
isn’t the first time that the band was
sued. Coldplay was accused of copy-
Coldplay for stealing and copying
portions of his own song “If I Could
Fly” from the album “Is There Love
ing the melody of "The Songs I Did-
n't Write" by American alternative
in Space?” He is asking Coldplay to band Creaky Boards in 2007 for the
either share the profits made from Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida” hit sin-
gle. Creaky Boards placed the blame
the song or stop using it. In a recent
interview with Satriani conducted by
musicradar.com, Joe said: “I felt like
on Chris Martin, lead vocalist, claim-
ing that he had heard them perform-
a dagger went right through my
heart. It hurt so much," when asked
ing in a live concert. However, the
lawsuit was dropped when they
about his reaction toward the alleged found out that Coldplay had recorded
act. a version of “Viva La Vida” five
Martin– Coldplay’s front- months before.
man and lead singer– insists that he
dreamed up the song at question
In a statement released on
December 9 on the band’s official
site, they stated that: “Joe Satriani is
(“Viva la Vida”) “in the middle of
the night” and that any similarities
between the two pieces were “purely
a great musician, but he did not write
the song ‘Viva La Vida.’ We respect-
coincidental.” fully ask him to accept our assur-
Fortunately for Coldplay, for ances of this and wish him well with
the lawsuit to pass, Satriani not only all future endeavors.”◙
has to prove that his own song
17 The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 ENTERAINMENT

Looking Back on
Stuyvesant’s Annual Holiday Concert

Photos By:
Elissa Tam
ADVERTISEMENT The STUYVESANT STANDARD January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 18
19 The STUYVESANT STANDARD
Titanic Season
By: Michael Block
The Tennessee Titans of
the NFL have started this season
off well – they have lost only
one game (8-3), to the New York
Jets. After a successful regular
season in 2007 followed by a
first round loss to the San Diego
Chargers in the playoffs, the Ti-
tans came back this season moti-
vated to get themselves to the top
of the AFC South division and
hopefully to Super Bowl XLIII
in Tampa, Florida.
The Titans had what
originally seemed to be a night-
marish season opener. Vince
Young, star quarterback and for-
mer rookie of the year, threw
two interceptions and seemed to
lack confidence during the game.
Then, in the second half he
sprained a knee ligament, mean-
ing that he would have to miss
about one month. This forced
back-up quarterback Kerry
Collins into the game. The Ti-
tans managed to squeeze out a
victory over the Jacksonville
Jaguars, 17-10. But the Titans
had to decide – go with Collins
for a month and wait for Young
to return? Or try and sign or
73-Year-Old Plays
College Basketball
Continued on page 20
Mink is adjusting to the lifestyle
change of attending school again.
He’s upholding a 3.0 GPA, and
had to take sociology in lieu of
Spanish, which was giving him a
lot of trouble. Obviously, he also
doesn’t have the luxuries of party-
ing like a college kid either. When
his teammates invited him to a
party at another player’s apart-
ment, Mink asked his wife for per-
mission, who immediately replied
no. In an interview with the New
York Times, Coach Nesbit said, “If
he starts breaking training, it’s all
downhill”.
Mink has stirred up a lot of
attention after beginning to play
college ball. Mink has increased
attendance during games from
about 100 people to 400. At the
season opener game, Mink’s wife
Emilia, wore a retro cheerleader
outfit, along with saddle shoes and
a poodle skirt, while holding up a
Do you think you have a sports story
that others should hear about?
Email us at:
EIC@stuystandard.org
trade a quarterback better than
Collins, which would mean giving
up money or players for a quarter-
back who would presumably play
for four weeks?
The Titans opted to go
with Collins, and have never
looked back. They went on to win
nine games in a row after that, be-
coming the only 10-0 team in the
league this season. On Sunday,
November 23, they finally lost a
game, 34-13 to the Jets. But in
their next game, on Thanksgiving,
the Titans were visiting the worst
team in the league, the winless De-
troit Lions. The Titans, probably
upset over the slaughtering against
the Jets, came out and blew away
the Lions. They scored 35 points in
the first half, and won the game
47-10.
The Titans have a great
chance of finishing with the
league’s best record, as two of
their remaining four games are
against teams with 4-7 records this
season. Behind veteran Collins,
and with a solid defense anchored
by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Al-
bert Haynesworth, the Titans have
to feel good about their chances of
going deep into the playoffs and
finding themselves in Tampa in
February.◙
sign that said “Ken Can, He’s Our
Medicare Man.” In a game against
Lambuth University, Mink was
open behind the three point line at
the corner. He threw a pump fake,
luring the opposing player to jump
and foul him. Mink was awarded
two foul shots, and he made both
of them. Mink says that his goal
for the season is to score in double
digits. For the whole season, that
is.
Although the two afore-
mentioned points are his only two
points, it’s acceptable considering
that he is only played during situa-
tions where his team is leading by
more than 10 points. In order to
achieve his goal, Mink has at-
tended all of his games, traveling
with his teammates in a less-than-
roomy bus, receiving small
amounts of playing time here and
there. However you see it, Mink is
proof that age hardly matters, in
terms of eligibility, when it comes
to playing sports at a college
level.◙
Stuyvesant’s Boys’ Basketball team has shown itself to be
making serious progress this year and celebrates its pros-
pects.
against. However, says coach Phil
Fisher, “I don’t look forward to any
game but the next. You can’t, or
you will not prepare well for the
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6 SPORTS
New York
On Fire in Vegas
By: Michael Block single-season saves leader, to a 3
year contract. The following day
they traded relievers Aaron Heil-
Perhaps the most antici-
man and Joe Smith, beloved met
pated time of the baseball year, the
Endy Chavez and minor leaguer
winter meetings play host to a
Mike Karp for J.J Putz, the Seattle
plethora of rumors and free agent
closer. This immediately bolsters a
signings. This year’s meetings
shaky bullpen with the presence of
have taken place in Vegas, a fitting
the great closers at the back at of
location because of the “heat” go-
the rotation.
ing on in these meetings. Two
Across town, the need was
teams in particular have come out
for starting pitching, and starting
firing to try to add significant play-
pitching they got. Two days after
ers to their teams. These happen to
signing huge (literally and figura-
be the two New York teams, the
tively) free agent CC Sabathia to a
Mets and the Yankees.
seven year, $161 million deal, the
The Mets are coming off
Yankees threw more money at A.J
of another disappointing season in
Burnett, landing him for five years,
which they saw a division lead slip
$82.5 million. You can’t but look
away from them down the stretch,
at the projected Yankees rotation
largely due to the bullpen, or lack
of Sabathia, Burnett and Wang as
thereof. The Mets blew 29 saves
frightening.
this season, the most in the league,
With a financial crisis
and they lost closer Billy Wagner
sweeping the country, the Mets
for the year and all of the 2009
and Yankees wasted no time in
season due to Tommy John sur-
digging deep into their bank ac-
gery. With this in mind, General
count to address necessary needs.
Manager Omar Minaya had one
While more pieces of the puzzle
main goal at these winter meetings:
are to be added, both New York
a closer. Well the Mets addressed
teams have made significant leaps
that need and then some. They
in the right direction.◙
signed Francisco Rodriguez, the
Rangers Off
to Fast Start
Continued from page 20 fend off opposing attacks. They
have executed the fore-check ex-
ior Mike Kurfess, member of the tremely well which keeps the puck
Stuyvesant hockey team and long- in the offensive zone and creates
time Rangers fan. “[The Rangers] more scoring chances. They boast
seem to play with the feeling that the leagues best penalty kill per-
they can get back into the game centage as well as an average power
whatever the situation.” play percentage which is beneficial
The Rangers have one of the because it helps keeps opponents
best goalies in the league, Henrik off the scoreboard. If they haven’t
Lundquist, and heavily rely on his gotten your attention already, it’s
sheer talent. They also have a great about time to start watching the
defense and use it to help Lundquist New York Rangers.◙
Rebels Run Away
With Win
Continued from page 20
TSS/ Amna Ahmad
game.” Diamond agrees, noting
that “The most important thing is to
stay focused and not get distracted.”
The team is confident about
their playoff chances. “If we can
play with confidence without be-
coming cocky and learn to protect
the ball we can make a very deep
run into the playoffs this year,” says
junior Zack Weiner. Hopefully they
will have better luck than last year
in the playoffs, when they lost a 40-
40 game on an alleged scoring er-
ror. They are as good, if not better,
this year, however, and they have
that chip on their shoulder. But like
coach Fisher said, “let’s not get
ahead of ourselves.”◙
20
Whereas some Stuyvesant students understand themselves to be well-suited for sports, other don not. However, most stu-
dents seem to find it difficult to believe that a 73– Year– old man would be able to handle the physical demands of
playing college basketball.
The Sports Beat:
73 -Year-Old Plays
College Basketball
By: George Wu
If you visit Roane State
Community College, you just
might find Ken Mink, 73 practic-
ing for his upcoming basketball
game. No, he’s not number 73,
he’s actually 73 years old. While
others that are Mink’s age are pop-
ping pills to maintain their health,
Mink is popping jump shots along-
side players half a century younger
than him. One teammate made a
facetious remark regarding Mink’s
age. After joking that he had
friends in high places, guard Philip
Helton replied, “Where?
Heaven?” You might be asking
yourself, what made Mink consider
playing basketball at this late stage
in his life?
Newspapers from all over
the world such as Telegram in the
United Kingdom as well as more
familiar papers such as The Daily
News have been covering Mink’s
story. He can also be found on
YouTube. Mink had played bas-
ketball at Presbyterian Lees Col-
lege in Jackson, Kentucky, when
he was younger. Mink had earned
The STUYVESANT STANDARD
a four-year scholarship, and played
as a shooting guard. One fateful
day however, the coach’s office
was vandalized with shaving
cream, and Mink was accused. Al-
though Mink denied the allega-
tions, he was expelled immedi-
ately. Within a matter of days,
Mink was on a bus headed home.
All these years later, while
shooting around at a neighbor’s
basketball court, Mink noticed that
he still has a soft touch on his jump
shot. Subsequently, he picked up a
pen and sent letters to about 8 col-
leges near his home in Knoxville,
Tennessee. Nesbit, the Roane
coach, was fascinated by Mink’s
proposal. He himself was a former
point guard at the Citadel, and was
curious to see how a 73-year old
player on his team would hold out.
The next instant, Mink was attend-
ing Roane State and playing on
their basketball team. Mink calls it
unfinished business, because he
felt that he was wrongfully thrown
off the team in his initial college
years.
Aside from basketball,
Continued on page 19
January 15, 2008 –VOL.8, NO.6
Rebels Run Away
With Win
By: Michael Block
On Friday, December
12, well after school hours, the
bleachers of the third floor gym
were filled with nearly 300 stu-
dents cheering on the Stuy Run-
nin’ Rebels against A.P.
Randolph. The Rebels led the
whole game and beat Randolph
52-41 to improve their record to
5-0 in the league and 7-1 overall.
Despite being led by 20
points from senior guard Alan
Tse, who hit several important
three-pointers, and 15 points
from senior center Nolan Becker,
Stuy was held to its lowest point
total all season. A. P. Randolph
played tough defense throughout,
and Stuy turned the ball over
several key times that could have
allowed their opponent back in
the game. The Rebels were able
Rangers Off
to Fast Start
By: Cody Levine
The New York Rangers, of-
ten forgotten about by the average
sports fan in New York, are forcing
people to take notice. They currently
hold the best record in the Eastern
Conference and the second best re-
cord in the entire league behind only
the San Jose Sharks. The Rangers
feature a team with a terrific blend of
youth as well as experienced veter-
ans. Youngsters like Brandon
Dubinksy, Colton Orr, Ryan Calla-
han and Dan Girardi all play key
parts in the team’s success while sea-
soned veterans such as Chris Drury,
Scott Gomez and Markus Naslund
provide great play and excellent
leadership.
This off-season was a very
successful one for the Rangers as
General Manager Glen Sather has
done a splendid job of bringing these
parts together and making a success-
ful team. Having lost sure-fire Hall
of Famers Jaromir Jagr and Brendan
Shanahan, fans weren’t expecting the
best. But Sather brought in former
Vancouver Canucks star Markus
Naslund as well as Aaron Voros and
Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev and Nas-
SPORTS
to make big defensive stops, how-
ever, when they counted, and
pulled out the 11 point victory.
The Rebels are off to their
best start in many years. When
asked about the keys to the team’s
success, junior guard Ben Dia-
mond says, “As a team we really
have every threat. We have shoot-
ing, strength, speed...everything.
We feel like we can beat anybody
out there at any time.” He recog-
nizes that the team has its weak-
nesses as well. “Our biggest prob-
lem of late has been that we occa-
sionally get too confident and be-
come lazy with ball,” he says.
Looking ahead on the
schedule, the Rebels must be look-
ing forward to their rematches
against High School of Economics
and Finance, Landmark School and
Seward Park, all of whom Stuyve-
sant either beat in overtime or lost
Continued on page 19
lund are first and second on the
team in scoring, respectively.
The team plays with a con-
fidence and grit that is noticeable
not only in the wins but in the losses
as well. Take the defeat on Novem-
ber 19 for example. Playing the
Vancouver Canucks the Rangers
found themselves in a deep, 4-0
hole rather quickly. With one of the
best goaltenders in the league,
Roberto Luongo, in net, it would
have been very easy to throw in the
towel and call it quits. But not this
team, not this year. After scoring a
goal and letting another one up to
make it 5-1, the Rangers turned it
on. They scored two goals to make
things interesting at 5-3 and then hit
the post with another shot, which
would have made it a one goal
game. From then on the pressure
was on and Luongo had to make
spectacular save after spectacular
save to keep his team on top.
Though the Rangers came away
with a loss, it was a classic example
of how this year’s team is different
from those of previous years. “You
can just tell there’s a different at-
mosphere in the Garden,” said jun-
Continued on page 19