Volume XCVIII No. 3 October 4, 2007

The Spectator “The Pulseof the

StudentBody”

To The Stuyvesant Community

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

The Ladies Behind “Frontrunners” Discuss Teen DemocracyA documentary on the 2006 Student Union elections

reveals the secret to getting the youth vote.In this new series, Stuyvesant teachers dish on theirstylish couture.

Stuyle Profile: Colette BrownArticle on page 11.Arts & EntertainmentFeatures Article on page 3.

stuyspectator.com

By NOAH RAYMAN and PRAMEET KUMAR

Contrary to what PrincipalStanley Teitel had previouslyclaimed, the Department ofEducation (DOE) regulations donot mention whether studentscan leave school premises dur-ing free periods.

Teitel acknowledged that hemistakenly believed that aChancellor’s policy forbade stu-dents from going outside duringfrees. “We can’t find any regula-tion that specifically talks of theissue of the free period,” hesaid. “I actually thought therewas a regulation.”

The Spectator first reportedon the absence of such a direc-tive on June 5, 2007 in the arti-cle “Nice Guys Finish Last”:“Just this month [Teitel] quoteda nonexistent Chancellor’s reg-ulation that required studentsto remain in the building duringtheir free periods. In actuality,the Chancellor has said that it isup to Teitel himself to dictatesuch policy.”

Despite the absence of sucha policy, Teitel said he will notallow students to leave duringfree periods, citing security rea-

sons. “It’s my job to keep yousafe,” he said.

Teitel said he is concernedfor the students’ well-beingonce they leave the building.

“It’s true that if somethingdoes happen, he is heldaccountable,” Student UnionPresident Jamila Ma said.

Senior Aditya Doddapanenisaid he would like to leave theschool during free periods.“They can keep track of us sincethey’re using the scanners any-way,” he said.

According to Teitel, theComprehensive Attendance,Administration and SecuritySystem (CAASS) ID scannerscannot be programmed to allowstudents to leave during freeperiods.

“I assure you this is not alimitation of the CAASS sys-tem,” said Erick S. Johnson,Vice President of BusinessDevelopment of Access411,Inc., the manufacturer of thescanners.

“CAASS works by readingthe student’s schedule for thatday,” Johnson said in an e-mailinterview. “If a student has a

Teitel Won’t Allow StudentsOut During Frees

No DOE Regulations Exist

By PEI XIONG LIU and OLGA MYSZKO

The administration will nowrevoke the out-to-lunch privi-leges of students who returnlate to school from lunch basedon when they scan back intothe building, as part of a newpolicy instituted by PrincipalStanley Teitel.

Students who come backlate for the first time will havetheir out-to-lunch privileges

revoked for 20 school days.Another violation of the policywill cause the student to lose hisor her privileges for the rest ofthe term.

“You should get a warningthe first time, and it depends onhow late you get back,” fresh-man Vishal Prosad said. “Thisneighborhood is one of thesafest neighborhoods. You don’treally have to track kids all the

Teitel Instates NewLunch Lateness Policy

According to new lunch policy, students who return after the warning bell will havetheir lunch privileges revoked for 20 school days.

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By NOAH RAYMAN and PAULINA KARPIS

The Saint John’s Universitystudent apprehended for pos-sessing a gun at his collegecampus in Queens onWednesday, September 26,graduated from Stuyvesant in2002.

Omesh Hiraman, 22, wascarrying a loaded rifle in ablack plastic bag and wearing aPresident Bush Halloweenmask when a school securityofficial stopped by a schoolsecurity official and an off-dutypolice cadet. No shots werefired and nobody was hurt.

Hiraman was arraigned onFriday, September 28 via avideo link from BellevueHospital where he has beenheld since the incident. Thejudge called for a psychiatrictest to determine whetherHiraman is capable of standingtrial.

He is charged with twocounts of fourth-degree crimi-nal possession of a weapon, amisdemeanor and othercharges, and faces a year inprison.

At the arraignment,Anthony Colleluori, Hiraman’sattorney, offered a reason forHiraman’s actions.

According to Colleluori,Hiraman has been on medica-tion for schizophrenia. Arecent back surgery, however,made it difficult for Hiraman tokeep down food, he said. WhileHiraman took his medication,it may not have been digested,leading to Hiraman’s unusualactions.

Colleluori said Hiramanwore a mask and bought thegun because he thought heneeded the items to protecthimself.

According to a September28 Newsday article “It’s 9/11Aftermath,” Colleluori previ-ously attributed Hiraman’sactions and emotional prob-lems, in part, on his experienceon September 11, 2001, whenHiraman was a senior atStuyvesant.

The article reported,“Moments before the 9/11 ter-ror attack, Omesh Hiraman

St. John’sGunman is Stuy Alum

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By ALEXANDER SHIN

The Department ofEducation (DOE) added a newspecialized high school last year,bringing the total number tonine. The Brooklyn Latin School,located on Bushwick Avenue inBrooklyn, was founded inSeptember 2006, but this year’sfreshmen are the first classadmitted based on theSpecialized High SchoolAdmissions Test (SHSAT).

With this second class, theschool has a total of 63 students,268 fewer than the secondsmallest specialized high school,the High School of AmericanStudies at Lehman College.

The Brooklyn Latin School isbased on the prestigious BostonLatin School, which provides anacademic program in the classi-cal tradition, including the studyof Latin.

The school is now the onlyspecialized high school thatenforces a uniform dress code—a white and purple outfit.

“The culture of The BrooklynLatin School is very differentfrom any of the other specializedhigh schools,” said BrooklynLatin Head Master JasonGriffiths. “There are few schoolsin New York that offer a classicalliberal arts curriculum in asmall, disciplined close knitschool community.”

Griffiths wrote in an e-mailthat the school “will attract aspecific type of student, one thatis different from other special-ized high schools.”He said thatbecause the school plans toaccept fewer than one hundredstudents in each of the upcom-ing years, “I do not see us havinga significant impact on the otherspecialized high schools.”

The SHSAT is used foradmission to the specializedhigh schools, selective publichigh schools run by the DOE. In1972, the New York Legislaturepassed the Hecht-Calandra Actestablishing Stuyvesant HighSchool, Bronx High School ofScience, Brooklyn Technical

High School and Fiorello H.LaGuardia High Schol of Musicand Performing Arts as the origi-nal four specialized highschools. The act also laid out hterequirement for admission intoLaguardia, which is the onlyschool whose admissions arenot based on the SHSAT.

In 2002, the DOE expandedthe number of these selectivespecialized high schools toinclude American Studies atLehman College; High Schoolfor Math, Science andEngineering at City College; andthe Queens High School for theSciences at York College. Staten

DOE Adds Another Specialized High School

continued on page 3

continued on page 2

By GLENN KIM

Seniors will now be able tosubmit multiple Early Action(EA) applications as a result of achange in Stuyvesant’s applica-tion process.

Before the change, seniorswere allowed to submit only oneEA application. The new policydoes not affect ED applications.

The College Office informedseniors of this change through aposting on Stuyvesant’s Website, e-mails to their Stuyvesante-mail accounts and phone callsto their homes on September 25.

EA, which is non-binding,and Early Decision (ED), which

is binding, allow applicants tosubmit their applications soonerthan the regular deadline inorder to receive an earlieradmissions decision.

Students can apply ED toonly one school, while most col-leges allow students to apply EAto several schools. Some col-leges, however, have a SingleChoice EA policy, which restrictsstudents to apply EA only totheir school.

“A number of parents raisedthe question […] about the limiton Early Action schools” at a col-lege meeting held for the par-ents of seniors on September 20,Parent Coordinator Harvey

Blumm said.Blumm expressed concerns

about the change. “Students feeltremendous pressure to applyearly to a school, even if they’renot 100 percent sure if that’s theschool they want,” he said.“They’re doing it because theyknow that for many colleges, it’seasier to get in early than it isregular decision.”

Principal Stanley Teiteldeclined to comment on thechange, and College Advisor PatCleary was unavailable for com-ment. Other college advisorsdeclined to comment.

Senior André Lazar sharedBlumm’s view. “The whole point

of the Early Decision/EarlyAction process is that studentscan indicate their number onechoice, where they’d really liketo go, and if they can just applyto a lot of schools, then thatmakes it redundant,” Lazar said.

Junior Alon Sicherman likedthe idea of having multiplechoices for EA admissions. “Youcan just get over the collegeadmissions process earlier,” hesaid.

“It’s become a monster,”Blumm said, regarding theexcitement and stress over earlyadmissions processes.

Visit stuyspectator.com forfollow-ups to this article.

College Office Allows Multiple EA Apps

The Spectator • October 4, 2007Page 2

By EILEEN CHANG

Jan Siwanowicz, the mathgenius and former school aide,returned to Stuyvesant, for sev-eral visits during which he hasvolunteered to help out in mathclasses.

Siwanowicz left Stuyvesantafter the spring of 2006 to workat Bergen County Academies(BCA) in Hackensack, NewJersey, at the request of formerStuyvesant Assistant PrincipalMathematics Daniel Jaye, whowas also leaving to become theprincipal of that school.

This year, Siwanowiczreturned to New York City topursue a degree in mathematicsat City College. Siwanowicz firstthought that leaving BCA wouldallow him to resume contribut-ing in classes at Stuyvesant inthe morning. Afterwards, how-ever, he said he “found the work-load too much and could notcome back on a daily basis.”Instead, he has been makingoccasional visits.

Siwanowicz came toStuvyesant in 2000 as a schoolaide and was assigned to libraryand scanner duties. ButSiwanowicz also contributed inmath team and math researchclasses, guest-lectured in othermath classes, and helped outwith the Board Game Club andthe Robotics Team. Because hedid not have the necessarylicense, Siwanowicz did not offi-

cially teach any classes.But according to Jaye, he was

“the spinal cord of the mathdepartment.”

Jaye said in an e-mail that hefirst met Siwanowicz at a NewYork City Math Team trainingsession at Stuyvesant. Jaye saidhe saw Siwanowicz as an invalu-able resource for students andlooked into how he could bringSiwanowicz to Stuyvesant.

“It became clear that the onlyway he could join the mathdepartment was signing on as aschool aide, a position not typi-cally held by world class mathe-maticians,” Jaye said.

According to Alec Klein’snew book about Stuyvesant, “AClass Apart,” Jaye feltSiwanowicz, at Stuyvesant, wasnot living up to his potential.“Mr. Jaye knows that Mr.Siwanowicz is wounded by theindignity of his monitoringduties even though he acceptsthem in silence,” wrote Klein.

At BCA, Siwanowicz washired primarily as a technologyspecialist.

According to Jaye, this wasthe only title that providedSiwanowicz with a fair salarywithout a teaching license. Sucha position was not available atStuyvesant because theDepartment of Education didnot provide it.

According to Klein,Siwanowicz also received a30,000 dollar salary increase in

his move from Stuyvsant to BCA.Siwanowicz also worked on

curriculum development withJaye, helped out with classes,and ran a tutoring center to helpstudents get into theInternational BaccalaureateDiploma Program.

This fall, Siwanowiczreturned from BCA to enroll as afull-time student at City College.There, he is currently takingStatistics for ComputerModeling, Physics and SystemicSciences, a course he describedin an e-mail as “a combinationof geology, chemistry and mete-orology with a dash of microbi-ology and astronomy.”

Jan said, “ [I am] sad that Ican’t be at Stuy regularlybecause I miss seeing students.[I] love being in front of theblackboard and have to keepmyself from talking too much in[my classes], but I believe I amdoing the right thing for me.”

Students said they will con-tinue to miss him. Junior AlbertLee, who had Siwanowicz formath team freshman year, said,“He was a good teacher and Ihope he’ll be able to come back[to Stuy] in the future.”

Math teacher Jim Cocorossaid Siwanowicz is “incredible,one of the nicest people I’ve evermet [in the] Stuy community, orat least New York City mathcommunity, for a very long time,so it’s unfortunate that he’s notable to come in anymore.”

Jan is Back, Just Visiting

By VICKY CHU

Freshman year is gettingeasier.

The first two semesters ofhigh school are still rife withchallenges, from adjusting to abigger workload to worryingabout theft in the school build-ing. But the class of 2011 islikely to have an easier go of itthan students in years past.The hazing rituals that werecommon as recently as 2001have fallen by the wayside, andstudents feel less outside pres-sure to think about college.That means this year’s fresh-men can devote more time toenjoying the high school expe-rience, by making friends andlearning the ropes.

One of the best thingsabout starting high school thisyear is the absence of“Freshman Friday,” whenfreshmen supposedly bear thewrath of senior pranksters.

“I don’t think [FreshmanFriday] exists,” freshmanKristina Koon said. From thestart of the school year, fresh-men have noticed a lack ofpranks on Fridays.

Freshman TammuzHuberman said, “FreshmanFriday was just like any otherday.” In fact, Huberman said,upperclassmen have treatedher well even when provoked:“I did step on this senior’sfoot,” she said, “but he wascool about it.”

According to senior DonaldChow, Freshman Friday hasconsistently become nicereach year. “Seniors haven’treally been doing anything,”said Chow. “Last year wasn’t sobad. [The seniors] wouldchoose a freshman, and thenat the end of the day [they]made them fight each otherlike Pokémon. [They wouldsay] ‘I choose you, [insertFreshman name here]!’ ‘UseFireball [insert Freshmanname here]!’”

That’s a far cry from theway things used to be.

“‘Freshman Friday’ is any-thing but dead at Stuyvesant,”wrote Joshua Chang in

“Freshmen Beware” of aSeptember 2001 issue of TheSpectator. According to Chang,upperclassmen had targetedfreshman girls by pouring rub-ber cement into their hair.Male freshman hazing includ-ed forced imitation of homo-sexual acts.

Senior and Big Sib Chair LizSo doesn’t think this year’sfreshmen are likely toencounter problems. But ifthey’re worried about pranks,she said, Little Sibs should try“staying in groups and stickingwith Big Sibs if they feeluncomfortable.”

Another problem that’sbetter than it used to be is thepressure from family, friendsand teachers to start thinkingabout college.

Justin Fox told The

Spectator 15 years ago that“after two weeks as a freshmanat Stuyvesant H.S., I havealready been told to start plan-ning for college.” Fox said hewas bombarded with collegeadvice from all sides.

If this year’s freshmen areworried about college, it’sbecause it’s important to thempersonally—not becausethey’re facing outside pressure.

“Any anxiety that I feel iscompletely self-driven,” fresh-man Sam Furnival said. He’sbeen thinking about collegesince seventh grade and wor-ries he will “end up going to acommunity college” if he doesnot make the top 25 percent ofthe class with an average highin the 90s.

Other students have morelaid-back attitudes about col-lege admissions.

“I don’t really think about ityet,” said Koon, the studentwho considered FreshmanFridays extinct. “I have a yearor two left before I have to startdeciding on these things.” Fornow, her biggest worry is get-

ting to class on time.Huberman, the freshman

who thought Fridays were likeany other day, agrees. Shethinks first-year students aremore occupied with adjustingto a new environment thanwith thinking about college.“At the moment, everyone’sjust trying to fit in and makenew friends and start off on theright foot,” said Huberman.

But not everything haschanged for the better. Crime,a long-time problem atStuyvesant, is still a concern.

Huberman said a friendhas already had two walletsstolen. That’s not much differ-ent from tales circulated inprevious years. The Spectatorreported in “Theft BringsChanges in SU” of an October2002 issue that there was a“$2,000 swiping of cameraequipment from the Spectatoroffice.” The same issue said astudent stole a Game Cuberight under another student’snose, while a third student wasmugged on the Tribeca bridge.

Still, seniors say freshmanyear isn’t as bad as it’srumored to be. Most upper-classmen have avoided theftsand gotten into college. Andsome are too short to razznewcomers.

“If I were taller than thefreshmen, I might [have]play[ed] a creative joke onthose little cute ones. But look-ing at [this] year’s incomers, itseems like it won’t happen,”said senior and Big SibMichelle Lee, who is five feettall.

Seniors’ best advice tofreshman is to look for thegood. The first year, for exam-ple, has the lightest workload.

“If you’re the type of per-son to slack off, freshman yearis the time to do it,” said seniorBetty Zhao.

Past and Present: Freshmen Obstacles

‘Free Period’ scheduled, thenthey would be allowed to leavethe building during a free peri-od, then they would be able togo wherever a free period is per-mitted to go. So for example, ifstudents were allowed to leavethe building during a free peri-od, then they would scan theirbadge and it would verify thatstudent could leave against thestudent’s schedule.”

While scanners atStuyvesant can be programmedfor free periods, the DOE pro-vides the scanning system withlimited scheduling information.The scanners only recognizethree periods: start, lunch andgym.

According to DOEspokesperson Dina Paul Parks,

the DOE approves companiesfor dealing with individualschools. In approving thosecompanies, there may be“parameters and regulationsthat [companies] must complywith.” She said that there was apossibility that the DOE con-tract with the CAASS companymay not have included freeperiods.

Parks said that beyond thesecontractual agreements, theschool administration candecide how the scanners areused.

Teitel recently instated anew scanner-related policy thatautomatically revokes students’option to go out for lunch if theycome back from lunch late morethan once.

Earlier last month, at thegrade assemblies, Teitel said he

would not use the scannerspunitively for late students.

“If I said it, I don’t recall it,”Teitel said.

Students with free periodsduring the day said they wouldprefer to be able to leave thebuilding. “It’s a free period andyou are not really doing any-thing,” said freshman BrianLukito. “You should go out.”

“You see how the library’sreally loud,” said freshman AncaDogaoiu. “If people got to gooutside, the library would be aplace to study and the parkwould be the place to hang out.”

At a meeting with the SU onFriday, September 28, Teitelsaid he was not going to changethe policy, even without anyregulations from above.

“That will never happen,”Teitel said, according to Ma.

Teitel Won’t Allow Students Out During Frees

No DOE Regulations Exist

By JAMES DENNINwith additional reporting by

PRAMEET KUMAR

Seniors Chloe Goodwin andNicki Fleischner, veteran mem-bers of Stuyvesant’s speech team,will be subjects of a documentaryon the National Speech andDebate Tournament.

The untitled documentarywill be similar in format to the2002 film “Spellbound,” a docu-mentary of the 1999 NationalSpelling Bee. The filmmakers willfollow seven teams, including theteam of Goodwin and Fleischner,on their journey to the NationalTournament in Las Vegas,Nevada.

The filmmakers tracked downthe duo through Ryan Hubbell,who has been a Stuyvesantspeech team coach since lastyear. Hubbell is a friend of one ofthe filmmakers, and recommend-ed Goodwin and Fleischner forthe documentary. The filmmak-ers are students at the Universityof Southern California, and took ayear off to make this film. Theirproduction company is calledNot Just Dead Bodies, Inc., whichis a play on the word forensics,

which refers to both speech andcriminal science.

Goodwin and Fleischner arethe only all-female speech teamat Stuyvesant performing DuoInterpretation (Duo for short), inwhich performers must completea scene without looking at ortouching their partners. The film-makers, who had themselves per-formed Duo as students, chosethis event as the focus of the film.

“It’s very rare to find two girlsdoing a funny Duo,” Hubbellsaid.

Goodwin and Fleischnerpractice every day after school foran hour. Before tournaments,they “could be at speech until 8p.m. or 9 p.m.,” Fleischner said.

Cameras followed Goodwinand Fleischner for a week as thedirectors of the documentaryfilmed the girls in class and athome.

“They filmed us one morningas we were waking up,”Fleischner said. AssistantPrincipal English Eric Grossmangave the directors a tour of theschool and allowed them into hisAdvanced Placement GreatBooks class, which both girls take.

The girls’ parents were equal-

ly hospitable. Goodwin’s parentsspoke with the producers untilalmost midnight, before lettingone of the filmmakers sleep over.Otherwise, he would have “had togo all the way back to his hotelnear Coney Island and be backhere by 6 a.m.,” Goodwin said.

Fleischner’s parents hadreservations to her appearing inthe film. “My mom even hired anentertainment lawyer,” she said,to scour the release formFleischner had to sign to appearin the film. Members of thespeech team were also asked tosign waivers.

Goodwin and Fleischner havehigh hopes for the film, but areworried about the slight chancethey will be cut from it.

“[The filmmakers] expectChloe and Nicki to go to nation-als, which isn’t easy to do,” saidsenior and speech team memberMubashir Billah. “It is a lot ofpressure on them.”

MTV has shown interest inthe film, and the duo hopes it willawareness about speech. Theproducers intend to set up ascholarship fund with the film’sgrosses.

Seniors to Star in Speech Documentary

continued from page 1

“I don’t think[Freshman Friday]

exists.” —Kristina Koon,

freshman

“Any anxiety that I feel is completely

self-driven.” —Sam Furnival,

freshman

The Spectator • October 4, 2007 Page 3

Island Technical High Schoolbecame a specialized highschool in 2005.

According to Griffith, “aca-demic expectations and not hteway students are selected definewhat a specialized high schoolis.”

Griffith said Brooklyn Latinhas “always operated from thepremise that we are a special-ized high school.” Though thiswas the first year admissionswere based on the SHSAT, hesaid there has been “no signifi-cant difference between yearone and year two aside from thefact that we have added a tenthgrade.”

Adding specialized highschools is meant “to give under-represented students moreopportunities to qualify for spe-cialized high schools,” said DOEspokesperson Andrew Jacob.

The ninth specialized highschool has received differingresponses.

“We should definitely addmore specialized high schools,”said Parent Coordinator HarveyBlumm. “It gives good optionsfor students who are seriousabout academics. This is defi-nitely a step in the right direc-tion for helping out black andLatino kids.”

According to DOE statistics,at Brooklyn Latin, 46 percent ofthe students are black and 30percent are Hispanic.

At the three original SHSAT-based specialized high schools,black students make up an aver-age of around 7.3 percent of thestudent body and Hispanic stu-

dents make up around 6.2 per-cent.

In 2006, 25,085 eighthgraders and 1,878 ninth graderstook the SHSAT. This high num-ber of students “shows a needfor more [specialized] highschools,” Blumm said.

Blumm said another special-ized high school can providestudents with another option,especially for students who livenearby Brooklyn Latin. “When itcomes time to choose the highschools, Stuyvesant is quite rep-utable, except when it comes totravel.

Principal Stanley Teitel doesnot find the ninth specializedhigh school to be advantageous.“I think at this point, we haveenough exam schools,” he said.

Teitel said he does supportscreened program schools,which use a selection methodthat is based on the academicrecord, standardized test scoresand attendance history ofprospective students.

The addition of a new spe-cialized high school is seen tohave a small impact onStuyvesant High School. “Formany reasons we remain thefirst choice of most students,”Teitel said.

Some students agreed. “Ichose Stuyvesant as my firstchoice, and I’m pretty sureother kids would also,” saidsenior Joshua Clemente.

“Stuyvesant’s pretty popu-lar, so people would choose itanyways,” said sophomoreMonika Tuchowska. “As for thecity, if there are more [special-ized] high schools, more kidsget a better education.”

DOE Adds Another Specialized High School

continued from page 1

time, especially if they’re doingwell in school.”

This school year is the firsttime that the scanners havebeen used during lunch peri-ods. Teitel first announced hewould be using scanners duringlunch in a June 2007 memo.Students must now scan their IDcards when they go out to lunchand re-enter the building after-wards.

According to Teitel, thescanners can only be pro-grammed to recognize one ofthe four-minute passing timeson either end of the period asbelonging to that designatedlunch period. Teitel chose toexclude the passing time at theend of the lunch period.

“You can’t expect [the stu-dents] to come in early,” junior

Shirley Lin said.”They don’t letyou in until 10 minutes beforethe end of the period. So youcan’t be early and you can’t belate. It’s really unfair.”

Teitel said that he intro-duced this policy to keep bettertrack of students who enter andleave the building during lunchperiods. “I’m ultimately respon-sible for your safety,” Teitel said.“You never know when anemergency will occur.”

He also said that studentsreturning late from lunch candisrupt classes. “Sometimes thelateness is abusive,” he said.“They come in 15 minutes late.”

Junior Solana Ma was only afew seconds late coming backfrom lunch. “I scanned in rightat the bell, and it marked melate,” she said. “[AssistantPrincipal Organization RandiDamesek] told me not to do it

again or else she would take[my out-to-lunch privileges]away.”

Other students do not mindthe policy. “If it’s for safety pur-poses, I don’t really carebecause it’s not much of a has-sle,” said senior Chris Rong.“We had to take out ID cardsbefore anyway.”

The Student Union (SU) hasplans to meet with Teitel inorder to negotiate over the late-ness policy. “We’ve known for along time we would have toscan out for lunch,” said SUPresident Jamila Ma. “But thelateness policy was a surprise.”

At the School LeadershipTeam (SLT) meeting onTuesday, September 25, Teitelinvited SLT members to form asubcommittee whose purposewould be to propose an alterna-tive to the current lunch policy.

Teitel Instates New Lunch Lateness Policycontinued from page 1

By RACHEL KIM

Principal Stanley Teitelimplemented a new policy thisyear that requires the StudentUnion (SU) to make appoint-ments to meet him through theCoordinator of Student Affairs(COSA) Lisa Weinwurm.

According to Teitel, the newpolicy was implemented toimprove communicationbetween the SU and Teitel byensuring that the COSA will bepresent at all of the meetings.

Previously, the SU couldarrange meetings with Teitelwithout having to consult theCOSA. If the COSA wanted toattend a meeting, she wouldhave to rearrange her scheduleto accommodate the date cho-sen by the SU.

The COSA’s role in the meet-ings is to moderate the discus-sion between the SU and Teitel.

“In some ways, it’s nice tohave an adult there to back youup,” said senior and SUPresident Jamila Ma. “They canvalidate certain things.”

Teitel said the new policyalso increases the efficiency ofthe meetings by allowing him toprepare the appropriate materi-al in advance.

To schedule a meeting, SUmembers must now fill out aform that asks them to explainthe purpose of their meeting.Weinwurm must sign the form.

“I just want to know whatthe meeting will be about,” saidTeitel.

The SU is concerned aboutthe new policy. “I don’t feel that

it’s necessary,” said Ma. “It’s anextra barrier that continues todistance the administrationfrom the students.”

Junior and SU Vice PresidentJames Kim agreed. “As of now, itis a minor inconvenience, but inthe long run it might be a prob-lem if [the administration] con-tinues to assume our responsi-bilities.”

“It makes sense for Teitel toknow about the meeting before-hand, but I’m unhappy aboutit,” said sophomore and SUmember Casey Griffen. “Weshould be allowed to talk to theprincipal of our school if we feelthe need [to] even if Weinwurmisn’t there.”

Weinwurm declined to com-ment.

Teitel Requires COSA’s Presence at SU Meetings

By JULIE KIM

Administrators created twonew homerooms, 1OO and1UU, in mid-Septemberbecause the number of fresh-men in several official classesexceeded the legal limit of 34students.

According to PrincipalStanley Teitel, the mistake wasmade because he was notaware that the stipulation lim-

iting class size in the UnitedFederation of Teachers con-tract applies to homerooms.

UFT representative EllenSchweitzer informed Teitel ofthe error in early September.

In the beginning of theyear, all freshman homeroomshad either 38 or 39 students. Afew freshmen from each over-crowded homeroom were cho-sen randomly to be transferredto 1OO or 1UU.

There are now 24 freshmanhomerooms with 34 studentseach.

“I’d rather not havechanged homerooms,” saidfreshman Elliott Weinberg.“Now [I] have to meet and getacquainted with everyoneagain.”

Freshman Alex Dongagreed. “I don’t really like it,”he said. “I had a lot of friends,but I don’t really mind it toomuch [either].”

The creation of two newhomerooms also affects BigSibs.

“We were originally worriedthat there wouldn’t be enoughBig Sibs in the program,” saidsenior and Big Sib Chair Liz So.“We were worried that thehomeroom ratio was too big.”

Homerooms 1UU and 100do not have designated BigSibs. “We’ll have a few Big Sibscheck up on the two [new]homerooms, since somehomerooms have 7 Big Sibs,”said senior and Big Sib ChairKatherine Wycisk. “We’re notassigning any [Big Sibs] tothem because we feel that thefreshmen have already bondedwith their Big Sibs, and wewant to keep those bonds.”

Senior and Big Sib ChairAllison Weiner agreed. “[Thefreshmen have] already gottento know their Big Sibs and theyhave made friends in theiroriginal homerooms. We’remaking sure that the Big Sibsare taking extra care to keep intouch,” she said.

Foreign language teachersFan Guan and Carl Tan areassigned to homerooms 1OOand 1UU respectively.

AP Guidance EleanorArchie declined to comment.

Administration CreatesTwo New Freshman

Homerooms

By DANIELLE OBERDIER

English teacher Colette Brown recently took aleave of absence to spend time with her daughter,Alexandra. Aside from teaching English, Brownenjoys taking Pilates and playing video gamessuch as Dungeons and Dragons. The Spectatorcaught up with her before her birthday weekendto talk about her clothing ensemble.

The Spectator: That’s a nice dress. Does it haveany particular history?Colette Brown: This is one of many I own.Dresses are easy in this kind of weather when it’shumid and the jersey material is also very com-fortable. I’m teaching about Athena and Penelopeso I’m wearing a Greek-looking garment tomatch.

TS: Is comfort a quality you look for in clothes?CB: For the past 18 months, I’ve worn clothes Ican just wash and wear so I’m ready to go to theplayground with my daughter and to Pilates.

TS: Why do you choose Pilates?CB: It’s a really good form of fitness. I used to doyoga and I find Pilates more toning. I’ve beendoing it for about six months. One of my friendsopened a studio and so I started going and nowI’m going three times a week at 6 a.m. Knowingthat you’re waking up at 5:30 [a.m.] to go to a gymclass really wakes you up and gets the blood mov-ing.

TS: Would you encourage Stuyvesant students totake an early morning gym class such as Pilates?CB: You guys get so much exercise from runningup and down escalators. Stuyvesant has one ofthe most physically fit student bodies. It sayssomething about the school, that it has a goodphysical fitness program, which it does. It maynot offer Pilates, but you guys get step aerobicsand weight training and swim gym.

TS: Tell me about your necklace.CB: Actually it’s pretty funny. I’m very close to mymother-in-law. I’m lucky enough to have a goodrelationship with my mother-in-law. She was ateacher for 37 years and she retired last year andmoved to New Mexico. She and her friend took abeading class and she made a beautiful necklacefor herself. When she asked what I wanted for mybirthday, I told her to make me something inbeading class and she made me this. It’s got glass,crystal, freshwater pearls and some plastic beads.It has a matching bracelet too.

TS: Do you have any special plans for your birth-day?CB: This Sunday, I’m going to a concert forFarmAid with [social studies teacher Debra]Plafker and both our husbands. The concert pro-ceeds benefit farms in New York State. DaveMatthews and Neil Young will be there. I knowthat farmers in America have a hard time, but Ibelieve that people should be able to farm theland. The concert’s all about awareness and get-ting people to go to Farmers Markets like the onenear here. Since I had a child, I’ve been thinking alot about eating healthy food. My husband and Iand our daughter all eat organic food. It’s betterfor you and it supports an important cause.

The Stuyle Profile: Colette Brown

“We were originallyworried that there

wouldn’t be enough Big Sibs in the

program.”—Liz So,

senior and Big Sib Chair

The Spectator • October 4, 2007Page 4

By STEPHANIE BARTOLOME

There are three ways to win chess.Chess is a game of skill and quick thinking—

chess players must think several moves ahead ofeach current one. Of the three ways to win,sophomore Robert Hess has lost only to two.

1. Chess players can checkmate their oppo-nent.

This is when a player corners his or her oppo-nent’s king into a position where it cannot movesafely. A checkmate is a victory gained purely byskill.

Hess is an International Master, a titlerewarded to only the most outstanding chessplayers. He has competed in over 400 chess tour-naments—both around the world, from Greeceto Argentina to the Czech Republic, and aroundthe country. To seal his status as the bestAmerican chess player of his age, on July 21,2006, Hess competed in the United States JuniorChampionship—a competition for the best chessplayers under 21 years old—and won.

Hess started playing chess when he was inkindergarten. His dad taught his brother, his sis-ter and him at the same time. Although his broth-er and sister did not go on with it, Hess contin-ued to play. “My family has always been support-ive,” Hess said. “My dad would take me acrossthe country, across the world even, to play.”

A typical tournament for Hess consists ofnine rounds. In the “Swiss system” of chess tour-naments, Hess is paired off with competitors ofvarious skill, and everyone plays the full ninegames. In order to prepare himself for these gru-eling chess tournaments, Hess regularly doeschess homework, which includes chess problemsthat his coach leaves for him.

Hess goes into each competition with a clearand focused mind. “Usually, I’m pretty calm, andI don’t try to show too much emotion becausethat gives my opponent ideas of how I’m think-ing,” Hess said. “Your opponent will take advan-tage of that, and will try harder to keep mountingthe pressure until you succumb to it.”

2. A player’s opponent can run out of time. “That’s another aspect of the game that’s so

important,” Hess said. “You have to balance yourtime well, because if you run out of time you losethe game.”

Despite an increasingly busy chess schedule,Hess is also captain of the junior varsity footballteam. “Football is a lot different [from chess].There are a lot of mental aspects of football,” saidHess. “You have to be into the game. Obviouslythere’s the physical aspect that chess doesn’thave. You need to use your strategy and at thesame time either be ready to tackle someone ortake a hit.”

Hess often finds it difficult to balance timebetween school, football and chess, especiallybecause of the numerous away tournaments heattends. However, this challenge only pushesHess to work even harder. “It’s so much school-work that you have to work really hard to redeemclass notes and everything you missed,” Hesssaid.

In school, on the football field and at home,classmates and friends are always surprised atHess, the football-playing chess champion.“Most people are like, ‘Are you kidding me? Youdon’t play chess,’” Hess said. “As the stereotypegoes, chess players don’t do anything besidesnerdy things.”.

“On the field, he’s so intense. You forget thathe plays chess,” junior varsity football coach WillAibinder.

3. A player’s opponent can give up. “It’s not recommended, but when you get to a

high level people know just to give up,” Hesssaid. “[Some] think it isn’t worth fighting for.”

Hess is passionate about everything he tack-les in his life. Though he has played chess for along time, Hess still gets excited about competi-tions. “Some games are just wild and crazy. Youneed to make the best move every single move inorder to either win or lose, it can be that close,”Hess said. “One move will make the difference ofthe game.”

Hess has a drive to succeed. “Sometimes Ihave bad tournaments, but I just try to put thatbehind me because if you look back on poor per-formances, you’re just going to continue per-forming poorly,” Hess said. He applies the sameoutlook to schoolwork. “If you have a test prob-lem you can’t really think, ‘This is too hard, Ican’t do it,’” he said. “Either you can do it or youcan’t, and hopefully you can.”

“He’s a good chess player, but also a goodcaptain,” said fellow junior varsity football playerand sophomore Seth Berg. “He makes us workhard, and he sets a good example for us by man-aging to keep up his academics.”

Hess hopes to become a grandmaster, thehighest title a chess player can achieve. For Hess,this goal is easily attainable within a few years’time. As for what he wants to be when he growsup, “I have a little while to think about that one,”he said. “Though almost certainly not chess-related.”

Life of an… International Chess Master

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Sophomore Robert Hess, an international chess master, isalso captain of the junior varsity football team.

and his classmates at nearbyStuyvesant High School gath-ered outside to take their seniorclass pictures, his lawyer saidyesterday.”

In fact, that morning, all stu-dents were in the building untilthe school was evacuated fol-lowing the attacks. Class pic-tures are taken after school, andwere not taken that morning.

Principal Stanley Teitel, whodid not know the student per-sonally, said he does not knowof other students who requiredserious psychological helpbecause of their experiences onSeptember 11.

“Each of us is affected differ-ently by what we witnessed onthe morning of 9/11,” he said.

The events of September 11“definitely made me a morenervous person,” said LilaNordstrom (‘02), who knewHiraman and was at Stuyvesantthat day. “Everyone wasscared.”

Although guidance coun-selors were available to stu-dents, “No one really tookadvantage of the school coun-seling services,” she said.

Hiraman “was a very niceguy and very friendly. He waskind of goofy. It seems really outof character from what we knewof him,” she said.

Naju Mancheril (‘02) metHiraman freshman year. “I

always remember him beingreally funny and outgoing,” shesaid. “He was pretty smart,”said Mancheril. According toher, Hiraman took Physics C hissenior year.

“He’s your average, regularStuy teenager,” said DamaniTaylor (‘02), who was friendswith Hiraman at Stuyvesant and

spoke with him as recently as aweek before the incident, atwhich point “he was fine.”Hiraman was also on the trackteam with Taylor.

“He had a close group offriends and [was] like everyother teenager,” he said.

According to Taylor,Hiraman was “a bit insecure.”Taylor was surprised byHiraman’s actions. “It’s a tragicthing that happened. It’s unfor-tunate. Like we didn’t blameanything.”

Mathew Vorsanger (‘02),though “very very shocked”about the incident, had noticeda change in Hiraman in theyears after Stuyvesant.

“He was very quiet,” saidVorsanger. “He was a lot morereserved. It seemed like he hadsome issues.”

Social studies teacherMatthew Polazzo taughtHiraman US History his junioryear. When he learned of theincident, he was “terriblyshocked.”

Polazzo said Hiraman was“an active participant in class.”

He said that whileschizophrenia might have had adramatic effect on Hiraman, “Ireally have to think he wouldn’thave used the gun.”

Following high school,Hiraman, a Guyanese immi-grant, attended CornellUniversity for engineering untilthe spring of 2005. This year, hewas taking classes at St. John’sbusiness school.

After the shooting at VirginiaTech on April 16, St. John’sdeveloped an emergencyresponse system in the case thata similar incident would occurat that school. Within twentyminutes after Hiraman wasspotted with a gun, the schoolnotified all students of the situa-tion via text messages and e-mails. Students were requestedto stay inside, and all classeswere cancelled for the day.

Teitel said this incident willnot directly affect school policy.But, “this isn’t going to help the[Student Union (SU)]’s case ingetting you out,” he said, refer-ring to the SU’s attempts to endthe school policy that prohibitsstudents from leaving the build-ing during free periods.

“We don’t live in the sameworld as we did before 9/11,” hesaid.

St. John’s Gunman is Stuy Alumcontinued from page 1

By JENNY YE

In May 2007, Stuyvesantadministered 2794 AdvancedPlacement (AP) exams. In aschool where regular courses aremore complex than those ofother high schools, the demandfor a higher academic challengethrough AP classes is ever-high.

Stuyvesant’s many AP classesare part of an extensive list ofalready challenging courses.“Sometimes I think that all class-es at Stuyvesant should be APsbecause students work reallyhard in their classes,” said guid-ance counselor Undine Guthrie.

Usually starting junior year,students are able to choose froma wide range of AP courses. “APsare generally 50 percent morework,” said guidance counselorJay Biegelson. “They are collegelevel courses.”

English teacher Walter Gern,who teaches both AP coursesand regular courses, distinguish-es the workloads of the two. HisAP English class “allows me toteach more material than myEarly British Literature class. Igive more work and cover morematerial,” said Gern.

The contrast can also bemade for science courses.Principal Stanley Teitel, who has

taught both Regents Physics andAP Physics, said, “The differencebetween them is the difficulty ofproblems.”

The intensity of AP coursesdoes not prevent Stuyvesant stu-dents from loading up on them,some opting for four or more.The pressure to take AP coursesmay stem from false impres-sions. “Most Stuyvesant stu-dents see APs as a requirementto their transcript,” said juniorRammiya Nallainathan.

Many parents have voicedtheir opinions on expanding theAP program to provide moreopportunities for students. PaolaDeKock, co-president of theParents’ Association, said “Weall know that colleges like APs. Ifyou don’t have any, then itdoesn’t look good.” The currentsystem regarding the number ofAP courses a student can take isbased primarily on the student’sgrade point average. A minimumoverall average of 88 percent isrequired to take two AP classes,93 percent to take three AP class-es and 95 percent to take four APclasses. “As far as setting a limitto the number of AP courses youcan take, I really see both sides.There are budgeting limits toconsider, and there is always alimited number of spots in a

course. The other side is the stu-dent who feels pressured toimprove his/her transcript withmany AP courses,” said DeKock.

However, there is some con-cern about whether the GPArequirements are well-publi-cized. “A lot of kids don’t reallyfocus during the fall term, butwhat they do in the fall matterswhen programming comesaround. Personally, I find thatunfair. I think that requirementsshould be publicized early sostudents know early on,” saidDeKock.

Attached to the definition ofan AP course is the prospect ofgetting a head start on earningcollege credits. “If you takeenough [AP courses] and windup saving one year’s tuition incollege, there’s certainly a finan-cial benefit,” said Teitel.

Awarding credits for APcourses depends on the college,the score on the AP exam and astudent’s major. College credit issomething that is desired by APstudents. “For financial reasons,if I take the course and take theAP exam, I really hope that I getcollege credit,” said juniorPamela Soto.

The chance to create a moreattractive transcript remains amajor reason for why many stu-

dents choose to sign up for APcourses. “Along with other rea-sons, Stuyvesant students takeAP courses because it looks goodfor college and because theywant to advance themselves,”said Guthrie.

“I’m taking an AP becauseit’ll look good on my transcript,”said sophomore Bonnie Li.

On the contrary, not all stu-dents take AP classes for thisreason. Junior Tiffany Yau, an APchemistry student, refers tochemistry as her favorite subject.“The class runs at a very quickspeed. You have to be able tocatch on fast and study on yourown a lot,” she said.

The tendency to overload onchallenging courses is a recur-ring issue. “In general, people inthis school tend to take toomuch,” said Biegelson.

“I always encourage studentsto make sure that the course isone that [they] really want totake on [their] own volition,”said Guthrie.

Teitel acknowledges thestress that AP courses causemany students. “For all we try todo to relieve stress, it is the deci-sion of the student.”

Still, the main player in theAP game is The College Board,which writes and conducts all

the tests. “The College Board is aprivately owned company, andthere is big money on the table,”said Teitel. At $84 an exam,Stuyvesant alone generates hun-dreds of thousands of dollars forthe College Board.

“Lurking in the backgroundis the question of whether stu-dents should be required to takethe exam,” Gern said. In his APEnglish class, many seniors optout of the exam at the end of theyear.

The College Board has setnew regulations for teachers. Asof this school year, teachers arerequired to submit their APcourse curriculum for approval.“Faculty members like myselfworry about this,” Teitel said onthe need for consent.

“Initially, I was appalled bythe amount of work it took tohave my class approved,” saidGern. Nevertheless, “it made meaware of things that I could doand will do.”

Amid the increased workloadfor teachers and the large flow ofmoney, the appeal and frenzy ofAP courses are staying put. “Asfar as I’m concerned, the CollegeBoard has managed to get every-one in the mindset that you haveto take [AP courses] to get intoTier 1 colleges,” said Teitel.

Dissecting the AP Mindset

“He had a close group of friends and

[was] like every other teenager.”

—Damani Taylor (’02)

Page 5

47number of students who

forgot their ID’s on September 18, 2007

2,777number of Advanced

Placement exams taken at Stuyin the 2006-07 school year

By SROTOSHINI BHALOBASHAand KATHERINE WYCISK

The term “teacher’s pet”reminds us of those eager-eyedstudents who are anxious toplease. But what about the realteachers’ pets—the loving ani-mals who also serve as teachers’companions? As it turns out,teachers are just as passionateabout their lovable critters asthey are about conjugations,proofs and literature.

“My wife and I are ridicu-lously devoted to our dog,” saidEnglish teacher Jonathan Weil ofhis nine-and-a-half-year-oldmutt, Jasper. However, whenWeil and his wife went to theCenter for Animal Care andControl (CACC) looking for anew dog almost a decade ago,the two were unsure if they evenwanted one. “[Jasper] was a littlebigger than we thought we’dget,” said Weil. “[And] he was alunatic. He was disgusting. Hewas living in a cage and his hairwas matted and he’d beenrolling in his own filth.”

Jasper was to be put downthat very night. Due to over-crowding, the CACC puts downany animal who has been at theshelter for more than 48 hours.Jasper had been at the CACC for10 days.

Later that day, “[the CACCworker] opened the cage so wecould see him, and [Jasper] start-ed walking to the front of thecage and it didn’t look like hewas going to stop,” said Weil. “Iput my arms out and he walkedout of the cage, fell into myarms, and then he just went‘ahhh.’ And we took him home.”

Weil admits things haven’talways been easy with Jasper.After only a month in his newhome, Jasper jumped off Weil’srooftop.

Fortunately, luck was onJasper’s side. He cleared a four-foot alley and landed on the roofnext door. “He wouldn’t knowthere was nothing on the otherside,” said Weil. “He probablyfigured he’d land in a field withflowers and squirrels.” Jaspersustained a fractured vertebrabut recovered so completely that“six weeks later he was jumpingup and kissing my face when Iwalked in the door,” said Weil.

English teacher Emily Mooreis a self-proclaimed cat person,but her cats’ names also reflecther passion for literature.Moore’s three-year-old gingertomcat Tea Cake was namedafter the character in the novel“Their Eyes Were WatchingGod,” by Zora Neale Hurston,while her two-year-old calico catEsme was named after J.D.Salinger’s short story “For Esmewith Love and Squalor.”

Moore found Tea Cake afterbeing seized with the idea thatthe cat she was meant to havewas at the pound at that verymoment. “I went up to [a]pound on the Upper East Sideand I literally looked across acrowded room into the cat adop-tion pen,” she said. “Tea Cakeand my eyes locked and I said‘Did anyone take him yet?’ Theysaid no and I said, ‘That’s mycat.’”

Although Esme has less of astirring adoption story (“I got[her] at a cat giveaway area,”said Moore), she is certainly no

less exciting than Tea Cake athome. Esme responds to bothEnglish and Japanese com-mands, thanks to Moore’sJapanese roommate, and catch-es mice, sleeps in a basket of hairribbons and is experienced atstealing pork chops from thekitchen. One evening, whileMoore’s roommate was makingpork, “Esme, who maybe weighssix pounds, jumped on thecounter […] stole a pork chop,and then ran it down the hall inher mouth,” said Moore. It’s nowonder that Moore named hercats after such vibrant and livelyliterary figures.

Math teacher Joy Schimmelis used to the antics of small andimpish pets. She is the proudowner of two Maltese dogsnamed Eve and Luke who,among their other quirks, hateaccessories. “So we’re in thepark and it’s raining. I’m tryingto zip up their froggy raincoats,”said Schimmel. “They ran awayfrom me, [and] the froggy rain-coats [were] all over the place.So I’ve got two dogs, two froggyraincoats, and I’m trying to getthem back together. I was chas-ing them all over the park.”

Such antics are business asusual in the Schimmel home,where Eve, four, and Luke, two,love to make mischief. “I don’twant to call [Eve] a kleptomani-ac,” Schimmel said. However,Eve has a habit of diving intopeople’s bags and stealing pock-etbooks and lipstick tubes tohoard in her cage. Once, shestole a package of Skittles fromthe front display of a deli whileSchimmel was out shopping. “Ididn’t know how to go back and

tell the man that my dog juststole [his] Skittles,” Schimmelsaid.

Luke has his own idiosyn-crasies. “[He] thinks he’s aRottweiler,” Schimmel said. “It’sa big problem. When I go outwith him and he sees a big dog,he wants to eat the dog. I am soconcerned that he’s going to getbitten. I call him Macho Man.Four pounds of macho dog.”Despite their peskiness, theirover-confidence and their dis-taste for froggy raincoats,Schimmel loves her dogs.“They’re adorable and […]they’re very sweet,” she said.

Spanish teacher Milton Diazowns three canaries, all of whomwere born in his home. He haskept canaries for seven years,though he gives away most ofthe birds’ offspring before hissummer vacation. His youngestbird is dark yellow, while theother two are multicolored. Hekeeps them in spacious cages sothey can fly around comfortably.Diaz is also careful to maintainconditions in his apartmentoptimal for the birds’ health.Diaz keeps his apartment venti-lated, is careful not to expose thecanaries to fumes and covers thecages after sundown so his birdscan sleep peacefully.

Canaries are known for theirbeautiful songs. “They create awonderful climate because theysing. It’s not intrusive or loud.It’s soft and melodious,” he said.“I prefer their song to music,actually.” With all his love andcare for them, Diaz’s birds aresurely a trio of happy teacher’spets.

When William Wong (‘05)entered his classroom as a fresh-man, social studies teacher PhilScandura recognized the boyimmediately. Wong lived on hisblock and had often accidentallythrown his ball behindScandura’s fence. Scandura’sdog, a Black Scottish Terriernamed Bullwinkle, would bringthe ball to the house so Wongcould get it back.

According to Scandura, hisneighborhood adoresBullwinkle, who he has ownedfor 11 years, ever since “Bull”was a puppy of seven weeks.Well deserving of his nickname,the tough and energetic dog isgiven much room to run aroundand play catch in the encloseddriveway provided for him. Hisother favorite pastime is watch-ing people pass by the house.“He is extremely affectionate,”Scandura says, “and eventhough he has gotten sick in thepast, he has recovered almostfully due to his hearty spirit.”Bullwinkle is treated like justanother family member with hisown bed in the house and anabundance of squeaky toys.With a heart of gold andadmirable determination, it’shard not to fall in love with theneighborhood pride of theScanduras.

Teachers demonstrate theirlove for their various subjectseveryday. But when the last bellrings, they have another outletfor their love—their very own“teacher’s pets,” who havebarked, meowed and cuddledtheir way into their owners’hearts.

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All pet photos courtesy of teachers

The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Page 6 The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Introducing Stuy’s Freshest Faces

Name: Dr. Jamal AliSubject: Regents Physicsand EngineeringMechanicsTeaching Experience:Taught at four city uni-versities—Borough ofManhattan CommunityCollege, BronxCommunity College,Hostos CommunityCollege and City Collegeof New York—for nineyears

Previous School: The Queens Prep Academy Favorite Topic: Photonics— the science of gen-erating, controlling, and detecting photons—and holds 14 publications and three patents onthe topic Largest Challenge about Teaching at Stuy:Writing lesson plans that challenge the studentsand ultimately improve their performancesFavorite Thing About Stuy: “So far I love every-thing about it. The students here are great stu-dents,” he said.Hobbies: Reading, playing soccer and watchingsports

Name: Linda WeissmanSubject: U.S. Government and APAmerican HistoryTeaching Experience: Has beenteaching for 20 years and taught atThe Bronx High School of SciencePrevious School: Midwood HighSchoolFavorite Topic: Government andSupreme Court CasesLargest Challenge about Teaching atStuy: Collecting and marking home-work in time to redistribute them ona daily basis, and preparing for each

lesson. “The lessons I do are geared specifically for my classes,”said Weissman.Favorite Thing about Stuy: The students, facilities and col-leagues. She feels the students are involved, articulate and par-ticipative. “I love what I do,” said Weissman, “It’s very reward-ing,” said Weissman.Hobbies: Running and dance classes—particularly Salsa

Name: Vasken ChoubaralianSubject: Physical EducationTeaching Experience: This is his first year teachingPrevious School: NoneFavorite Topic: Square dancingLargest Challenge about Teaching at Stuy: The intensity of the student body—”At first, it was a little intimidating,” he said.Favorite Thing About Stuy: Watching his students learn and improve over timeHobbies: Wrestling, handball, volleyball, skydiving and mechanics

Name: Jon-AlfDyrland-WeaverSubject: Introductionto Computer Scienceand AdvancedPlacement (AP)Computer ScienceTeaching Experience:Taught at BrandeisHigh School for twoyears

Previous School: Brandeis High SchoolFavorite Topic: Emergent behavior—”seeingwhat unknown group behaviors that wouldcome out of individual behavior patterns,” hesaid.

Name: Jeffrey KiviSubject: RegentsChemistry TeachingExperience:Taught at theScience SkillsCenter High Schoolfor a yearPrevious School:Science SkillsCenter High SchoolFavorite Topic:Nuclear chemistryLargest Challengeabout Teaching at Stuy:“I have to adjust to different target audiences,”he said.Favorite Thing About Stuy: EverythingHobbies: Watching football, especially teamsfrom his home state, Wisconsin

Name: Brendan QuestSubject: Physical EducationTeaching Experience: Thisis his first year teachingPrevious School: NoneFavorite Topic: VolleyballLargest Challenge aboutTeaching at Stuy: Teachingdance classes because hehas little experience in thisarea.

Favorite Thing about Stuy: The positive attitude of students.“All the students are cooperative and eager to learn,” said Quest.Hobbies: Swimming, running, cycling and training fortriathlons

Name: Hemal PathakSubject: Regents Living EnvironmentTeaching Experience: Taught grad students atthe University of Pennsylvania for two yearsand was a student teacher at GeorgeWashington High School and I.S.171 AbrahamLincoln School over the summerPrevious School: I.S.171 Abraham LincolnSchoolFavorite Topic: “Anything involved with thebrain,” Pathak said. Largest Challenge about Teaching at Stuy:“Trying to figure out what the students need toknow and trying to figure out how to fit all thatinformation in a limited amount of time,” hesaid. Favorite Thing About Stuy: “Students are reallycommitted to learning and doing well inschool,” he said. Hobbies: Learning to play the piano

Name: Manuel SimonSubject: Second and third year SpanishTeaching Experience: Taught at Brooklyn College, Canarsie High School andthe Abraham Lincoln High SchoolPrevious School: Lafayette High School Favorite Topic: Teaching present tense and the first year curriculumLargest Challenge about Teaching at Stuy: Teaching students so that they growmoreFavorite Thing about Stuy: “It’s a pleasure being here in all aspects,” he said.Hobbies: Watching wrestling, swimming, playing basketball and traveling

Name: Jee PaikSubject: Regents ChemistryTeaching Experience: This is her firstyear teaching. Over the summer, shewas a student teacher at ThurgoodMarshall Academy-Lower School andThe School of the Future.Previous School: The School of theFutureFavorite Topic: Endothermic andexothermic reactions Largest Challenge about Teaching atStuy: NoneFavorite Thing About Stuy: “The students do their work and doit well. The staff is so helpful and supportive, especially the labtechs,” she said.Hobbies: Traveling and watching movies

Name: KristynPluchinoSubject:RegentsChemistryTeachingExperience:Taught chemi-cal warfare atthe UnitedStates Air Forcefor about a yearbefore joiningthe public

school system—this is her second full year ofteachingPrevious School: The Renaissance CharterSchool Favorite Topic: Nuclear chemistryLargest Challenge about Teaching at Stuy:“There are some kids who already know thesubject. [That] definitely makes my jobtougher,” she said, because she wants to chal-lenge all of her students.Favorite Thing About Stuy: “It’s nice to bearound students who want to learn and arerespectful. They are so attentive and theadministration is so supportive. I absolutelylove it here,” she said.Hobbies: Playing basketball

Name: Shangaza GeorgeSubject: Regents BiologyTeaching Experience: Has beenteaching for five yearsPrevious School: Declined to com-mentFavorite Topic: Cellular respiration Largest Challenge about Teaching atStuy: “Grading [the students’] home-work,” she said.

Favorite Thing About Stuy: “The students are nice,” she said. Hobbies: Traveling

Name: DanielPilloffSubject: RegentsLiving EnvironmentTeachingExperience: Taughtfor two years at theLong Island Schoolfor the Gifted andone semester of

enzyme kinetics at the Albert Einstein Collegeof Medicine—this is his first year teaching at apublic high school.Previous School: Long Island School for theGiftedFavorite Topic: Protein synthesis and traffick-ing pathwayLargest Challenge about Teaching at Stuy:“Being a new teacher”

Name: Neil WangSubject: Regents PhysicsTeaching Experience: Taught at MurryBergtraum High School for 12 yearsPrevious School: Murry BergtraumHigh SchoolFavorite Topic: Particle physicsLargest Challenge about Teaching atStuy: “I have to modify my style to fitthe pace of the students. After a year, itwill be easier because I’ve adjusted,”said Wang.

Favorite Thing about Stuy: “Stuyvesant is very different frommy old school. The students here have a very clear mind fortheir future,” said Wang.Hobbies: Swimming, cross country skiing and traveling

By RACHEL KIM and SUSAN LEVINSON

It is every teacher’s dream to teach a city’s best andbrightest students. When Stuyvesant had openings forteaching positions over the summer, only 14 out of manyqualified applicants made the cut. These fresh faces of Stuywere drawn to the school for various reasons, but all haveone thing in common—a genuine passion for teaching.

All photos by Anna Menkova

The Spectator • October 4, 2007 Page 7

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Editorials and OpinionsPage 8

F O R T H E R E C O R D• In Issue 2, the photograph in “What a Waste!” was miscredited. JuniorTincey Wang took the photograph. • Sophomore Robert Hess’s surname was misspelled in “Cassandra Lee:Taking on a ‘Man’s Game.’”

E D I T O R I N C H I E FGui Bessa*

M A N A G I N G E D I T O RSnigdha Sur*

N E W S E D I T O R SPaulina Karpis

Prameet KumarNoah Rayman

F E A T U R E S E D I T O R SSusannah Gruder

Abby Schaeffer

O P I N I O N S E D I T O R SRebecca Elliott

Talia Kagan*Yasha Magarik*

A R T S &E N T E R T A I N M E N T

E D I T O RJames Dennin

Ivana Ng*

S P O R T S E D I T O R SSam Cytryn

David DeGuzman

P H O T O G R A P H YE D I T O R SEzra Glenn

Sean Gordon-LoeblJacob Newman*

A R T D I R E C T O R SDiana FedorovaConnie Leong

L A Y O U T E D I T O R SBethina Liu

Anne Wu

C O P Y E D I T O R SCindy Law

Lara SeidenHua Szu Yang

B U S I N E S S M A N A G E R SAnika Afroz

Paula Bu

W E B C O N T E N T E D I T O R

Mark Chiusano

W E B A R C H I T E C TSam Gerstenzang

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OP-ART

Student activism finally seems to have takenhold at Stuyvesant. The Student Union (SU) hasbecome less hesitant to criticize the administra-tion and a new Web site, stuywatch.com, hasformed around the banner of student action.Stuywatch’s attempt to build a community inwhich students can converse on a large scale iscertainly laudable.

Yet these movements are not without theirdrawbacks. Most notably, they polarize students,creating a divide between those in support of andthose skeptical of stuywatch and/or studentaction. Some students have even created a Website to satirize and oppose stuywatch’s efforts:watchstuy.com. This polarization diverts studentsfurther from the goal of increasing studentactivism, which includes compelling the adminis-tration to better serve student interests by includ-ing students in the decision-making process.

The Spectator has long urged that policies beintroduced to students before they are instituted,and that students have some power over whatpolicies are implemented. We are glad to see morestudents thinking about these issues, but we stillhave a way to go.

Although the “Kids First” motto on stuy-watch’s fliers was not coined by the site, when theslogan was conceived, it represented a set of val-ues similar to those held by the site’s founders. Aformer Stuyvesant student first used the slogan forformer Principal Jinx Perullo, whose administra-tion inspired stuywatch.

Perullo, who served from 1995 through 1998,believed in progressive education, an approach toteaching and school administration that empha-sizes trusting the students. The opposing philoso-phy is regressive education: trust the administra-tors, not the students. Under progressive educa-tion, students are given rights and are expected tolearn responsibility through education and experi-ence, and then apply this to future decisions. Butregressive education dictates rules, which areenforced by the administration, for students.

Regressive education involves students hand-ing over the power to determine their own rightsand responsibilities to the administration at theschoolhouse gate. But at Stuyvesant, the question

remains whether this trust and power can rightlybe handed over.

The simple answer is no. The administrationhas abused its authority in several instances byintroducing unfair policies without consulting thestudents. Using ID scanners throughout the dayand yet refusing to grant us the right to go out dur-ing free periods is one example.

Another example of regressive education is thelunch policy. Rather than trusting students tocome back on time to avoid facing academic con-sequences, administrators took the problem intoits own hands. It cut down the time in students’lunch periods and is penalizing them dispropor-tionately for coming back late. As if that weren’tenough, members of the administration haverecently asked certain students to refrain frompublic displays of student activism.

The installation of cameras and ID scannersillustrates this abuse of power. The heightened“security” provides little, if any, protection fromterrorist attacks. Using the events of September11, 2001 to justify policies limiting student liber-ties is completely inappropriate. For example, theadministration has discontinued foreign exchangeprograms, claiming American students would betoo vulnerable to attacks outside the UnitedStates. The steadfastness with which Teitel con-nects everything to September 11 and refuses tonegotiate is unacceptable, and makes changefrom within extremely difficult, if not impossible.

Despite some setbacks, stuywatch has made avaliant effort to unite the Stuyvesant communit.But this does not mean the site is the crest of allactivism. Both it and the students need to contin-ue to raise awareness on all fronts. In addition toeducating themselves and those around them,students should pursue altering unfair policies bypressuring Teitel to negotiate. Students shouldalso inform parents of what goes on within thisschool: parents can actively participate in thiseffort. On its end, the SU should aggressively pur-sue bilateral negotiations with parents andadministrators on a variety of policies.

If efforts toward diplomacy and negotiationfail, the students will be left with no other choicebut to organize for student action.

Left Behind at the Schoolhouse Gate

The Spectator • October 4, 2007

OpinionsPage 9

By KIRAN SURY

Thirsty at Stuy? If you don’tbring a drink with you, youwon’t have many options. Youcan go thirsty. Or, you can drinkfrom one of many public waterfountains. But if the water isn’tcold enough or if you just don’twant to drink from a publicfountain, it’s understandable.Your last choice is to spend abuck on Snapple bottled wateror Snapple 100% Juiced!, soldfrom five vending machineslocated around the school.

In 2003, the city decided itneeded to replace soda vendingmachines after sodas werebanned from being sold in pub-lic schools and municipal build-ings. After several companiessubmitted bids for a deal withthe city, Snapple won the con-tract, and is now part of a five-year contract with New YorkCity that took effect in April2004.

The deal included giving thecity $166 million, which includ-ed $60 million for advertisementand $40 million for publicschools, the latter mostly forathletic programs. In return,

Snapple became the soleprovider of fruit juice and bot-tled water at schools.

While the bottled water isfine, the juices are another story.One of the official reasonsSnapple won the contract overits competitors was many per-ceive fruit juices have more vita-mins, less sugar and an overallhigher nutritional value thansoft drinks. But, depending onthe flavor, a can of Snapple100% Juiced! has 39 to 41 gramsof sugar, while a similarly-sizedcan of Coke has only 39 grams.

Eating a piece of fruit ismuch healthier and comes with-out the cloyingly sweet taste oftoo much sugar.

Why does a product made of100% juice and fortified withvitamins have the same or aneven greater amount of sugarthan one that’s nothing butsugar, water and bubbles?Nutritional experts have criti-cized the city’s decision on justthis point since the contract wasfirst signed.

According to “For the City,Selling Snapple Becomes a GlassHalf Empty,” a March 9, 2006New York Times article by

Sewell Chan, Snapple has sincefailed to honor its contract withregard to the city’s share of themoney (which is $126 million,separate from the $40 millionpromised to the schools)because of disappointing sales.

So Snapple changed theagreement, giving New York Cityis getting only $33 million. Whilethe schools seem almost on tar-get to get their $40 million, a $93million loss is still a lot to swal-low. And most of the money thecity has already earned is beingused for more marketing pro-jects.

Students were also left out ofthe negotiations. The competi-tive bidding process never tookstudents’ opinions into account.Perhaps city officials felt that weweren’t old or experiencedenough to decide what we want-ed for ourselves. By cutting uscompletely out of the equation,factors such as students’ desiresand nutritional needs werepushed aside in for money.

In April 2009, when the cityagain begins the competitivebidding process, it needs to fixits mistakes. The bidding pro-cess must be open to the pub-lic, as we are the ones whohave to live with the result.Students should be polledabout what drinks they’d like tohave available to them inschool. If healthy drinks are notan option, at least give us achoice among unhealthy ones.Instead of having the vendingmachines of only one compa-ny, allow different companiesto put their products out on theschool market.

With its monopoly on drinksin schools and so many healthi-er choices unavailable to us,Snapple might consider revisingthe statement that it’s “Madefrom the Best Stuff on Earth.”

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By BEN WADOWSKI

Everybody eats. But noteverybody eats in the sameplace. Not everybody eats at thesame time. And not everybodyeats for the same price.

New York taxpayers providefunding for each public schoolstudent to eat breakfast, free ofcharge. This program wasimplemented late in 2003.Sound generous? Plenty of peo-ple think so. Nearly 400Stuyvesant students line up forbreakfast to grab trays filled witheggs, bacon, oatmeal, muffinsand yogurt before first period—the lines sometimes stretch outof the silver cafeteria doors.

I was one of those kids, untilone day I was in the mood forless than a complete meal. All Iwanted was a container of applejuice. But when I tried to scanout, the woman at the registerstopped me and forced me totake two more items, “includingone bread,” she said. At anytime later than 7:45 a.m., Iwould have been surprised bythe pointlessness of this rule.Instead, I was simply confused.As I dumped my two extra itemsin the trash can, I wondered

what other groundless rules theywould come up with next.

The food servers are alsovery strict about which mainfoods go with which sides. Atbreakfast, for example, a bagelcannot be accompanied by abox of cereal. Nor can a donut.Nor can an egg sandwich.Actually, the cereals seem to beunder tighter regulation thanclassroom attendance is.

Even at lunch, on the sand-wich line, a student can get aturkey and salami sandwich,while roast beef isn’t allowed topair with anything save cheese.And why can’t one take twominiature plums in place of asingle large apple?

After all, if food is being pro-vided, and no money is beingexchanged, how much or whattype of food each student takesshould not matter. Each mealcosts the Department ofEducation (DOE) money—there’s no point in buying foodthat’s just going to end up in thetrash.

It turns out that the food reg-ulations aren’t entirely ground-less. For each complete break-fast Stuyvesant serves, it is reim-bursed $1.35 by the UnitedStates Department ofAgriculture. But a container ofapple juice does not constitute abreakfast, and thereforeStuyvesant does not get com-pensated.

The DOE’s health and fooddepartments specify what foodswe can and can’t have to ensurewe get all the right nutrients atevery meal. Putting a minimumon the number of breakfast

items I can take prevents thefree breakfast from becoming asugary snack service. The citydoesn’t want to look like it’s giv-ing away unhealthy food.

But as a high school student,I have enough of an awarenessof my own body’s needs to makeeducated decisions about myeating habits. The city doesenough babysitting in the formof scanners (to know where weare) and banning iPods (to help

us concentrate)—it can afford toleave our eating escapadesunregulated.

Fortunately, students andparents alike are becomingaware of school policies that areconstantly growing tighter andstricter. These issues need to beopenly discusseed so they canbe dealt with reasonably. Everyrule is another brick in the wall,and if we let brick after brick gounchallenged, then we will findourselves facing a very tall, verysolid wall indeed.

Food for Thought

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By REBECCA ELLIOTT

Je veux voyager. Yo quieroviajar. I want to travel. Maybeyou know what one of the afore-mentioned sentences means.But being able to communicatecomfortably in that language isanother story.

The phrases, sentences andvocabulary that we learn in lan-guage classes set us on the roadto proficiency, but most of thisknowledge dissipates due todisuse. Though Stuyvesant’sforeign language program cur-rently offers a diverse selectionof course options, few studentshave the opportunity to practicetheir language of choice outsideof a 41-minute class period andnightly homework.

Stuyvesant should encour-age students to become fluentin a foreign language by offeringforeign exchange programs.Assistant Principal WorldLanguage Arlene Ubieta saidtraveling is “not just about thelanguage. It’s about the peopleyou meet. It’s about a differentculture.” If the school trulybelieves this, it should consider

implementing such a program.As globalization increases, it

is becoming more important tobe able to communicate withpeople from other countries.The United States is far behindthe rest of the world in thismovement.

This summer, my family andI spent two-and-a-half weekstraveling in Spain. I wanted togain foreign experience andmaybe improve my Spanishskills. Especially in larger cities,however, almost everyone knewmore English than I knewSpanish.

While waiting in the lobby ofour hotel in Granada, I over-heard the receptionist check inthree different groups of peoplein three different languages. Asfar as I could surmise, she spokeall three languages fluently.Maybe my goal to improve mySpanish skills enough to be ableto get by wasn’t lofty enough.

In Europe, entirely differentcultures and languages exist justacross borders, encouragingpeople to learn multiple lan-guages. But in the United States,few of us live near countrieswhere a language other thanEnglish is spoken.

To address this issue, some

New York City high schools,public and private, offer theirstudents the option of studyingabroad for a semester.

Before 2002, someStuyvesant students also hadthis option. The Ronald S.Lauder Foundation sponsored aforeign exchange program forStuyvesant sophomores andjuniors.

A participating Stuyvesantstudent would host theEuropean student for the fallsemester, and then go abroad inthe spring. Visiting studentswould enroll in Stuyvesant forthe semester, and Stuyvesantstudents would keep up withtheir courses at the Europeanschools, which were often inter-national schools.

The school administration isconcerned that, with such pro-grams, students “would losevaluable instructional time,even though they would gain somuch from the experience,”said Ubieta. But Stuyvesant stu-dents handled their courseswhen the program was in place.

During the selection pro-cess, students had to be inter-viewed and write an essay—only highly motivated studentswould even be offered thechance to participate.Additionally, only foreignschools capable of offering acomparatively rigorous educa-tion would be allowed to partic-ipate in the exchange.

There are also existingexchange programs not affiliat-ed with Stuy that students canresearch and participate in onan individual basis. However, inthese cases, students run therisk of not being allowed returnto Stuyvesant, at the discretionof the principal. The adminis-tration should instead be moreopen to allowing exchanges onan individual basis if studentsdemonstrate a commitment totheir coursework.

In the meantime, summerprograms such as Experimentfor Living present excellentalternatives for individuals whowish to spend a month inanother country. School breaksare also an opportunity totravelabroad. The Beacon School,another New York City publichigh school, sponsors exchangeprograms to multiple countriesduring Thanksgiving andFebruary breaks. While immer-sion for only two weeks is notideal, it is an option Stuyvesantshould seriously consider.

Americans need to under-stand the importance of speak-ing other languages and appre-ciating other cultures.Stuyvesant has taken a smallstep by changing the title of theForeign Language departmentto the more accepting WorldLanguage department. But thisattitude shift must also bedeveloped into a curriculumchange. Stuyvesant, and theUnited States in general, needsto re-think its approach toteaching languages.

Bon Voyage!

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If food is being provided, and no

money is beingexchanged, how

much or what typeof food each

student takes should not matter.

If healthy drinks are not an option,then at least give

us a choice amongunhealthy drinks.

As globalizationincreases,

it is becomingmore important

to be able to communicate

with peoplefrom other countries.

Stuyvesant should encourage

students to becomefluent on a foreign

language by offeringforeign exchange

programs.

The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Arts & EntertainmentPage 10

By LEILI SABER

Clad in red skin-tight pants,layers of chunky jewelry and aglinting nose ring, sophomoreAudri Augenbraum looks everybit the rocker chick that she is.But there is more toAugenbraum than meets theeye.

Besides having a broadtaste in music, she has beenplaying rhythm guitar andsinging backup in the band“The Strangers on theFootpath” for about a year. Shefound the band through aMySpace bulletin posted by afriend’s older brother. TheStrangers on the Footpath ismore than just an averageteenage rock band, and getsbooked fairly frequently atpubs.

In just a few months, it willbe competing in a battle of thebands that will be held in theLower East Side. “We don’tclassify ourselves. You have tosit and listen to it and describefor yourself. We’re evolvingconstantly,” said Augenbraum.

Music became a part ofAugenbraum’s life when, at ageseven, her grandfather gave hera guitar for Christmas. Shestarted taking lessons and soondeveloped a passion for it. AtBank Street, her junior highschool, she found her very own“Jack Black-like rock n’rollmentor,” and the two of themhit it off right away, as they dis-covered their mutual interestin music.

Augenbraum’s mentor wasin a band of his own, and asthe two of them got closer, hestarted letting her play a songor two to open up his shows.Eventually, whenever her men-tor’s band had a gig, theywould split the stage time sothat Augenbraum could per-form solo pieces, somethingshe still does now.

At Bank Street,Augenbraum began to developa taste for theater as well. Theschool emphasizes the per-forming arts, and Augenbraumspent much of her timeonstage. She has also commit-ted to Stuyvesant productions,and has become a prominentfigure in the theater communi-ty, with roles in Soph-Frosh

SING! ‘07 and Godspell.From Augenbraum’s back-

ground, it is not surprising howAugenbraum combines rockmusic and literature. She grewup surrounded byShakespeare, both at homeand in school, and her fatheralways fostered her literary tal-ents. Augenbraum’s mother,Carla Scheele, has spent manyyears experimenting withmusic and entertainment ofdifferent cultures, among themAfrican tribal dancing andplaying in a Javanese(Indonesian) orchestra.

While Augenbraum is a fanof Shakespeare, she also lovesreading works by what shecalls “writers who are obnox-ious just for the sake of beingobnoxious. […] They take youout of your comfort zone.”

Augenbraum has also beenwriting poetry for many years.“The only difference now,” shesays, “is that it’s gotten a lotmore cynical.” Scheele viewsher daughter’s work different-ly. “Songwriting is such a greatmedium for Audri, because itcombines her beautiful poetrywith music,” she said.

Family is not the onlysource of support forAugenbraum. She has manyfriends who adore her talent.Lead singer of The Strangerson the Footpath andAugenbraum’s boyfriend GabeShanahan said he “wouldn’ttrade her for anyone else in theworld […] [because] nobodykeeps it real quite like Audri.”Augenbraum’s friends outsidethe band are also there for her,and she loves how they willshow up and surprise herwhenever she performs. It iseasy to understand why theywould make the trip, seeing as“she is so incredibly super-tal-ented,” said sophomore SinghaHon.

Phrases Augenbraum usesin routine conversation oftensound like lyrics to a rock song.She is “a creative and brilliantsoul, like no one else is,” saidsophomore Lazar Bozic. Someof her English classmateswould likely agree, as fewbesides Augenbraum woulddescribe a character from TheTaming of the Shrew as“rockin’ in the free world.”

Audri Augenbraum: One Part Rocker, One Part Scholar

Sophomore Audri Augenbraum, who acted in “Godspell” and Soph-FroshSING! 2007, recently recorded a solo music CD with seven tracks.

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By IVANA NG

At age seven, I didn’t under-stand the epic of “Titanic” orthe raging hormones in“Dawson’s Creek,” but I under-stood the Backstreet Boys(BSB). They were like theBeatles of our generation win-ning me—and many othertween girls—over with theirgood looks and insanely catchysongs.

Like the Beatles, BSB firstfound success in Europe. Theyearned their first Gold recordfor their self-titled debut CD inGermany, which is where theBeatles often performed beforethey hit it big in England. In1997, BSB released their self-titled CD in the United States.

I loved everything aboutBSB—and I still do. I can stilldistinguish Brian’s charmingtenor from Nick’s slightly whinyalto. I still swoon when A.J.sings “Every body, yeah / Rockyour body right / Backstreet’sback, all right” in his strange,sinister way. A.J. and Howie’snasal voices complemented thesmoother voices of the otherthree so well.

Admittedly, BSB sang somecheesy lyrics. In “As Long AsYou Love Me” and “All I Have toGive,” they croon about beingdesperately in love. But I, alongwith millions of other girls, fellin love with BSB because their

image was so squeaky-clean.They knew their target audi-ence: the seven-year old girlwho doesn’t yet know aboutlove firsthand but knowsenough to fall head over heelsfor this boy band.

The song that made me aloyal fan was “Quit Playin’Games (With My Heart),” a sug-ary ballad in which the Boyssing, “Everything I do is for you/ So what is it that you can’tsee.” Nick, who struggles to hitthe high notes in other songs,has the perfect vocal range forthis tune. And A.J., the tokenbad-boy of the group, soundsso sincere here—how could Inot fall in love?

“If You Want It to Be GoodGirl (Get Yourself a Bad Boy),”

however, almost alienated me.Even at age seven, I knew whatthe title was insinuating. Butthe peculiar sound was entic-ing: a hybrid between synthe-sized pop and R&B, the tunebegins with an obnoxious artifi-cial oboe-like sound—so I lis-tened on.

Ten years later, I still listento this record occasionally,amazed at my ability to remem-ber the lyrics. When you’reyoung, you remember every-thing. Now it’s time to remem-ber the Backstreet Boys.

Visit stuyspectator.com to listento the Backstreet Boys.

“Unbreakable,” their new CD,comes out October 30.

Unearthed from the Slush PileBackstreet’s Back Everybody

By JAMAL ALOKASHEH

For some aficionados ofMiddle Eastern cuisine short onmoney and time, the onlyoption available to them is thenearest gyro cart. This is theequivalent of going to Taco Bellto enjoy Mexican food. Thosewho want a more authenticexperience should go toMamoun’s Falafel, an eaterylocated in the heart of St. Mark’sPlace. Open since 1971,Mamoun’s has become popularby word of mouth among NewYork University (NYU) studentsdue to its fast, friendly serviceand low prices.

“It’s my favorite place to eataround here,” says NYU studentDerrick Walsh. “The guys hereare very friendly, and it’s great to

find something I’m always in themood for.”

“It pretty much started asone guy,” says clerk SeanMcLemore. “The original owner,Mamoun, came from Syria andestablished [the restaurant] in1971. Now, his sons have takenover, but he still pops up everyonce in a while to check onthings.”

Aesthetically, Mamoun’s isunimpressive. It is cramped anddimly lit, with only two tablesand a counter to lean on. Thefan wiggles drunkenly from theceiling, and for decoration, thereis a large picture of a fruit on thewall. However, Mamoun’s loyalcustomers pay no attention tothe decor. It is the food thatmakes eating here an unforget-table experience.

Mamoun’s signature dish isthe falafel sandwich ($2.50),which is made to order by thecook. The freshness of the sand-wich is obvious from the firstbite: the hot, crispy falafel iscomplemented by the tahinisauce and the warm, fluffy pitabread. “I’ve only ever [ordered]the falafel sandwich,” says TaraMaranucci, a resident of theGreenwich Village. “It’s greatbecause I’m a vegetarian.” Forthose who wish to try somethinglight and fulfilling, the menualso offers lentil soup ($2.50).Made with a generous amountof lentils and onions, the fra-grant soup has a coarse struc-ture and tastes slightly nutty.Some items required more of awaiting time, such as the chick-en kebab sandwich ($4.50).While slightly dry, the dish’ssilky sesame sauce and the exot-ic spices make it delicious.

The most impressive item onthe menu is the side hummus($1.50). Served with piping hotslices of pita bread and drizzledwith olive oil, the dish is rustic,despite being served in a papercup. With just the right amountof lemon juice and sesamepaste, the result is a pleasingmedley of tartness and smooth-ness that melts right in themouth.

“I love ordering the falafel,and just dipping it in the hum-mus,” says Walsh. “It’s justincredible.”

The baba ghanouj ($1.50) isalso excellent: the sesame pasteand olive oil complement thesmoky and bitter eggplant. Forthose who must have dessert,baklava ($1.50) is offered, but itis disappointing. In fact, most ofthe sweets are stale and soakedin syrup.

Mamoun’s true strength liesin its affordability and authen-ticity. It is a place where you caneat your fill for under five dol-lars. And it is so much morerewarding than any gyro cartexperience.

Step Away from the Falafel Cart!

Mamoun’s Falafel Restaurant, founded in 1971 in the Greenwich village, recent-ly opened another branch on St. Mark’s Place.

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The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Arts & EntertainmentPage 11

By ALAN SAGE

It all started in the smallTropicana Cafe in Sydney,Australia. Tropfest founder JohnPolson wanted to host a smallscreening for his cast, family andfriends. But when the event drewan unexpected 200 others, hestarted thinking big.

Currently the “world’s largestshort film festival,” Tropfest hasmade its home in Tribeca.Initially part of the Tribeca FilmFestival, this year’s festival washeld separately due to the vastnumber of attendees at lastyear’s festival.

“Tropfest’s films really fallbetween amateur and profes-sional, and so you really get amix of all different kinds of peo-ple,” said production coordina-tor Dan Fountain. These films,screened publicly for the firsttime, are required to be underseven minutes long and includethe year’s Tropfest SignatureItem (TSI) at least once. Thisyear’s TSI is a “slice,” which isopen to interpretation for writ-ers and directors.

The festival opened withthree hours of music. DJ Shorty,who normally plays at theGramercy Park Hotel, started bypresenting music “that wouldkeep people feeling groovy to beoutside on a beautiful fall day,”he said. His mix of the Brazilian,soul and reggae genres created amellow ambience.

Second Dan, an Australianband, played next, offering

music whose sheer volume,despite unique lyrics and strik-ing melodies, detracted from theconversational mood DJ Shortyhad established. Haunt, aMassachusetts-based band,delivered subtle melodies andlyrics that complemented thestunning views of the HudsonRiver and Jersey skyline.

“The show really makes agreat impression in the sunset,and makes it like a perfect end-of-summer day,” said second-timer Vicki Tanovan.

As the festival started screen-ing the films, it seemed a largenumber of the 16 would becomedies. “Tropfest alwaysdraws a lot of comedies, and thelaughter’s definitely conta-gious,” said Fountain.

“The Switch,” directed byJonathan Emmerling, was thefunniest film of the evening.Tom, romantically desperate, ison an unsuccessful 19-minuteblind date before he meets Wes,and considers becoming gay. Hecompares his decision to a“downtown” guy who finds anunbeatable uptown apartment.

“‘The Switch’ was really oneof the funniest things I’ve seenin a long time because of theunique concept,” said audiencemember Mike Mackenzie.

Though the humor was evi-dent, some felt the film’simagery wasn’t up to par. “It’soften very hard to make trulygreat images with a low budget,and with directors who are stillyoung,” said Daniel Koelliker, a

Swiss filmmaker staying in NewYork.

One of the more visuallybeautiful films was “The Closet,”directed by Bob Sentipal. Withgritty black-and-white footage,the film is a cinematicallyabstract and wordless tale of aman spending a day with his dogbefore the dog is killed.

“‘The Closet,’ though itwasn’t my taste, seemed to bethinking about aesthetics a lot,and it was definitely one of themost interesting films,” saidKoelliker.

After the intermission, thefestival featured a number ofdistinctive concepts. “SuperSlice,” directed by StephenFranconia, Jr., was a satire ofsuperhero movies, and featureda character that worked atFamiglia by day but moonlight-ed as a super hero. “Super Slice”showcases the action and sus-pense of a Hollywood film with-out being cheesy.

The festival concluded withJosiah Signor’s “Homecoming,”one of the more subtle films.Filmed in Brooklyn in black-and-white, “Homecoming” isthe tale of a returning soldierwhose father refuses to speakwith him, no matter how hard hereaches out.

“The father in my film kindof represents ‘blind patriotism’or people supporting the war.The son represents the soldiers[…] ringing the doorbell to con-front his father about this. Timeto wake up,” said Signor.

Six awards were presented atthe festival. James Wright, whoacted in his own animated film“Black Tears” deserved and wonbest actor for fulfilling the role ofa character with a hot temper yettortured soul, bounded by soci-ety.

“The Switch” took third placeoverall, which some found sur-prising. “I really think ‘TheSwitch’ deserved first because ofits funny concept,” said audi-ence member Peter Baxter.“Snookered,” about a misunder-standing in a men’s locker room,took second place and “ThePicnic,” about a young man whobrings a new female friend to apicnic, only to have her set upon

by another female friend, tookfirst.

“The Picnic” is a strangechoice for first place since itoffered little innovation. Thoughjudges must consider a film’sacting, dialogue and imagery,“The Picnic” did not show great-ness in any of these three areas.

Despite this disappointingoutcome, Tropfest began its solocareer on a fantastic note andwill likely become a definitive pitstop for burgeoning filmmakers.In the world of professional film,it is rare to find a widely attend-ed and prestigious festival forthe more casual audience andparticipant, especially one thatdoes not cost a dime.

A Small Time Festival Hits it Big

TropFest, a short film festival previously hosted as part of the Tribeca Film Festival, washosted independently for the first time on September 23 at the World Financial Center.

By SAM GERSTENZANG and ISAAC MCGINN

Less than two years ago, doc-umentary filmmakers CarolineSuh and Erika Frankel askedthemselves, “Is America readyfor a teen president?” They cameto Stuyvesant hoping to findanswers, and filmed the demo-cratic process in one of its moreprimitive forms: the 2006Student Union (SU) elections.Suh and Frankel followed formerCoordinator of Student AffairsMatt Polazzo and then-juniorsHannah Freiman (‘07), MichaelZaystev (‘07) and George Zisiadis(‘07) on the campaign trail. Theresult, titled “Frontrunners,” wasrecently screened at AngelikaCinemas. The directors sat downwith The Spectator to discussthe documentary.

The Spectator: What inspiredyou to make a film about highschool elections?Caroline Suh: We’ve alwayswanted to make a political cam-paign documentary with a twist.

TS: Why did you chooseStuyvesant?CS: We set out to make a filmabout teenagers running for

office. We sort of asked around,spoke to people we knew and weheard of Stuyvesant as a verycompetitive, high-achievingschool. And then we heard thatyour elections were a bit insanefor a high school. We spoke toMatt Polazzo about this. […] Hesaid that Dick Morris, [Bill]Clinton’s campaign advisor,went to Stuyvesant and that heran in a campaign and said itwas the hardest race he everfought.

TS: What surprised you aboutStuyvesant’s elections in com-parison to national elections?Erika Frankel: They’re so com-plex. They basically are nationalelections. It seemed likeStuyvesant students have con-sidered everything from demo-graphics and the make-up of aticket to strategic methods forrunning in a campaign.TS: What steps did you take togain permission to film at Stuy?CS: Principal [Stanley] Teitelbasically said [to Polazzo] if youwant to do this, you can givethem access and Matt [Polazzo]said sure. Also we had to get per-mission from the [Department]of Education.

TS: What did you think aboutthe candidates? Were you root-ing for any candidate in partic-ular? CS: I don’t think so. I mean weloved everyone at Stuyvesant.[…] We fell in love with theschool. And the candidates wereall, in a way, too good to be truein terms of having each otherand having distinctive personali-ties. And then The Spectator, weloved The Spectator. EF: [The Spectator is] veryimpressive. It kind of added alevel of seriousness to the storythat we were really happy about,because The Spectator reallydoes treat the elections in a simi-lar way that The New York Timeswould treat national elections,with endorsements and every-thing.

TS: What impact do you thinkendorsement had on the elec-tion?CS: It’s hard to judge. We knowthat George and Hannah took itvery seriously. It was interestingto see both of the candidatesand their relationships with TheSpectator editors and reporters,paralleling real elections in lotsof ways.

TS: Will “Frontrunners” bereleased soon?EF: We’re looking for distribu-tion, trying to find people whoare really interested in it. TV dis-tribution, small venues. So therereally is no release date yet butideally we’re going to be going tofestivals and there are a few peo-ple interested.

TS: What impressions of Stuywere you left with after makingthis film?CS: The film is really aboutStuyvesant. It’s not only aboutthe election, but it’s about thiswhole place. People really leavewith what is basically our pointof view of the school, which is

that it’s almost ideal in someways in that it’s really good to behard-working, it’s really good tobe engaged in the world. EF: In truth, we really only camein contact intensely with a smallgroup of people. The candidates,their running mates, TheSpectator, people who hung outin the SU. CS: We tried to talk to other stu-dents. […] There are parts of thefilm about people who don’treally care about the elections.We tried to cover a lot of pointsof view.

TS: What do you think aboutvoter turnout at Stuyvesant ver-sus national elections?CS: [Former SU President]Kristen Ng, [(‘06)], actually madea comparison to American Idol,that more people voted forAmerican Idol than for the presi-dential elections. More peoplevote for SING! than vote for thestudent body elections. It wasonly a small percentage thatactually turned out to vote. Butwhen you’re there, there arepeople waiting on line to casttheir ballots. And that’s impres-sive to me.

TS: Were there any problemsthat arose during the making ofthis movie?CS: We realized the people wewere filming were teenagers andwhenever you make a film aboutanyone, you are concerned withhow they’ll feel about their por-trayal. And obviously people winand people lose, and we’re veryconcerned about the effect thatthe film might have on people’slives. But luckily, by the end, thatwasn’t really an issue.

TS: How did the voting scandalcome into play in the film?CS: We struggled with how todeal with it in the film and you’llsee how it plays out. […] Oureditor, Jane, was actually the one

who caught it. She had all thisfootage of the vote count onblackboards. And she was doingthe math and something didn’tadd up right. […] This was obvi-ously not on purpose, but it mir-rors what happens in a nationalelection.

TS: Do you plan to screen this atStuy?CS: We do want to have ascreening. We have some issuesin terms of timing. We’d like tohave it in the spring in 2008. Wewant everyone at Stuyvesant tosee it. Everyone during, beforeand after the filming, was sogenerous with their time, talkingto us whether it was on cameraor off it, that we really want tokeep all of you involved. Wewant to share the process withall of you.

TS: Are you working on any-thing right now?EF: We’re just starting a projectabout the Korean table tennisteam going to the Olympics. […]It’s a classic sports film but it’salso about Asian nationalism.

TS: Who would be most inter-ested in seeing this film?CS: In a way, [“Frontrunners” is]a film for people of our age. I’m36, Erika’s 29. It’s nostalgic.When you watch it, you remem-ber all of these things aboutbeing in high school. It really hasthe feel of being in high school.And so we’re curious as to howyou would view it being that it’syour everyday life and you seethat building every day. Wedon’t know if it would be asinteresting to you as it is to peo-ple our age. Also, to see howpeople dress, how people’shairstyles are now, people lovethose kind of details about thefilm. Seeing how you speak,what you look like. For you, itmight be so boring but not forsomeone like us.

Q&A: The Ladies Behind “Frontrunners” Discuss Teen Democracy

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Director Caroline Suh and producer Erika Frankel put teenage democracy on displayin their documentary on Stuyvesant’s Student Union elections, “Frontrunners.”

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Page 12 The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Crossword

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A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Introducing Overheard at Stuy, The Spectator’s newest Web exclusive! Overheard anything interesting in the hallways? On the escalators? In class?

Did it make you laugh? Was it absolutely ridiculous? If so, Overheard at Stuy needs you! Submit a quote with a nickname to

overheard@stuyspectator.com and check it out at www.stuyspectator.com/overheard.

CartoonsThe Spectator • October 4, 2007 Page 13

Page 14 The Spectator • October 4, 2007

Sports

By MELISSA LOK

The Stuyvesant football team, thePeglegs, and cheerleading squad had atreat on Wednesday, September 25: EricColeman a safety for the New York Jets,a professional football team, spoke tothe students about nutrition and healthduring third and four periods in thelibrary. Coleman, school food programrepresentatives and the Department ofEducation chef, Jorge, discussed theimportance of a proper diet.

Coleman explained appropriatenutrition by talking about his daily foodconsumption. “He eats fruit and yogurtbefore his games because it is notdense,” junior and cheerleading squadmember Christine Chung said althoughhe said his favorite food is “his mother’sspaghetti and meatballs.”

Coleman’s priority was to promotethe school’s food program since New

York students do not take full advantageof the free breakfast and cheap lunchavailable. “Other states have a higherpercentage of kids eating school lunch,”said senior and Pegleg, Patrick McNally.

Following the presentation was aquestion and answer session. Duringthis time, Coleman took an oppurtunityto speak specifically about his footballexperience.

Those who asked questions receivedautographed memorabilia and althoughhe was asked to attend the Peglegs’homecoming game on FridaySeptember 28, he was forced to declinebecause he had to play a game the samenight.

Many players however, felt that thelecture on nutrition was disappointing.“It was irrelevant, he didn’t really talkabout football,” said sophomore and co-captain of the junior varsity Peglegs, AriFima.

Jets’ Safety Eric Coleman Comes to Stuy

don’t have time to play sports.”Weinstein remains active in the

Princeton community though he nolonger plays college sports.

“I’m trying to focus my energies onstudent government and classes,” hesaid.

His involvement in student govern-ment dates back to his early days atStuyvesant. After Gary He (‘02) grantedhim control of stuynet.com, the popu-lar online student forum, Weinsteinused his skills as a webmaster torevamp this site and change its name tothe current stuycom.net.

This got him involved in the StudentLeadership Team (SLT), an organiza-tion in which students, parents, andfaculty discuss school issues and poli-cies. This gave him the experience henow needs to work on extending stu-

dent services at Princeton. Specifically,he is trying to add a discount systemsimilar to the Stuyvesant AdvantageCard.

Weinstein is majoring in East AsianStudies, with his primary area of focusbeing China. He has been to China thepast two summers as part of an inten-sive language program called Princetonin Beijing.

“I could’ve taken French, butinstead I decided to try something new,something interesting,” he said, onchoosing to take Chinese. “I just gotreally into it.”

Weinstein has some advice for cur-rent Stuyvesant athletes. “Focusing onschoolwork is very important. So ifyou’re going to do a sport, put yourheart into it, and don’t just do it for thesake of doing it, because you can reallyhave a great experience if you trulyenjoy it,” he said.

Athletic Stuyvesant Alumni: Where Are They Now?

continued from page 16

By JOHN CONNUCK with additional reporting by

DAVID DEGUZMAN

Many things have changedfor the Stuyvesant’s boys’ bowl-ing team.

Former coach Larry Barthhas retired. Three of last year’sbowlers are gone, includingGeorge Zisiadis (‘07), whobowled an average score of173.63. And boys’ tennis coachTimothy Pon, who endured a 4-6record with that team lastspring, is taking up the reins ashead coach of the boys’ bowlingteam.

The Stuyvesant athletic pro-gram has also reduced theteam’s funding. Though thePublic Schools Athletics Leaguewill continue to pay for the sea-son’s games, the team will payfor practice sessions and tryouts.

“It’s disheartening and sur-prising that they would do thatto a team that has the bestrecord in Manhattan,” sopho-more Leo Ernst said. Last year,the team finished its regular sea-son with a 10-0 record in theirdivision.

Currently, the team is paying$5.75 per game for practice ses-sions at Leisure Time Lanes,located at the Port Authority Bus

Terminal. Previously, each gamecost $4.50.

Despite these obstacles,“Going undefeated this year isdefinitely a possibility, seeing aswe have a very strong team,”senior and captain Scott Rittersaid.

Reaching the standard thatBarth has set over the past fewyears will be difficult. Barthretired from coaching last springto focus more on his family. Hehad coached the boys’ bowlingteam for since 1986 andachieved a 52-4 overall recordover the last four years.

“I think Mr. Pon is up for it,”Ritter said. “Bowling is bowling,no matter how you look at it.”

Yet some team membersdoubt whether Pon, who nowserves as a substitute teacher atStuyvesant, is right for them.Since coaching the boys’ tennisteam in 2001, Pon has coachedonly three teams that finishedwith a winning record.

“He’s not as involved asmuch as the team expects himto be,”senior Andrew Yang,returning for his second year onthe team, said. “The rest of theteam doesn’t seem to appreciatehow he coaches.”

“He really wants to win andhe does that by putting the team

in the hands of the seniors,” saidErnst. “That’s a good decision.”

While Pon hasn’t had recentsuccess in boys’ tennis, the boys’bowling team has already wonthe first two matches of the sea-son. But this performance hasmore to do with the bowlersthan with the coaching. “WhileMr. Barth’s experience is notthere, the older members of theteam have done a good job pass-ing their suggestions on to theyounger guys,” Ritter said.

One of those younger guys issophomore and rookie JackPipitone, who bowled a 135-point average in his first twomatches this year.

Ersnt is also shaping up to beone of the team’s top bowlersthis year, earning 176 points onThursday, September 27 in amatch against Food and FinanceHigh School. Stuyvesant defeat-ed Food and Finance in threegames: 547-361 in the first game,643-347 in the second and 414-361 in the third.

It would appear the onlything missing from this year’steam is a name. “We’ve thrownaround a few names ourselves,nothing has really stuck. Thename is definitely a work inprogress,” Ritter said.

Boys’ Bowling Seeks Perfect ScoreBoys’ Bowling

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Senior and captain Scott Ritter leads his team to victory over Food and FinanceHigh School at Leisure Time Lanes at the Port Authority Bus Terminal.

SPORTS CALENDAR

Boys’ Cross Country and Girls’ Cross Country

Mayor’s Cup CrossCountry Championship

Van Cortland Park

Saturday, October 6

Girls’ Swimming vs.

Dewitt Clinton

4:30 PM at Stuyvesant swimming pool

Tuesday, October 9

Girls’ Bowling vs.

Murry Bergtraum

3:45 PM at Leisure Time Recreational

Boys’ Fencingvs.

Millenium

4:30 PM at Stuyvesant Gym

Wednesday, October 10

Boys’ Soccervs.

Julia RichmanEducation Center

4:00 PM at Central Park:North Meadow Field A

Thursday, October 11

Girls’ Swimming vs.

Curtis

4:30 PM at StuyvesantHigh School

Monday, October 15

Boys’ Bowlingvs.

UniversityNeighborhood

3:45 PM at Leisure Time Recreational

Tuesday, October 16

Girls’ Volleyballvs.

Washington Irving

5:30 PM at Stuyvesant Gym

Wednesday, October 17

Boys’ Soccervs.

Beacon

4:00 PM at East River Park /

Grand Street

Thursday, October 18

Boys’ Footballvs.

Wadleigh

3:00 PM at Brooklyn Tech Field

Saturday, October 20

The Spectator • October 4, 2007 Page 15

Sports

theory, but there are somerestrictions. The Department ofEducation (DOE) and the PSALenforces a retention rights poli-cy, which allows coaches whohave coached in a school fortwo years to retain one of theirteams. There is also an equityclause in the United Federationof Teachers contract that statescoaches within the same schoolmust work equal hours.

The retention rights policyand the equity clause play a rolein determining which peoplecoach which teams. They bothheavily affect how many coach-ing jobs are open to others,while making it possible for cer-tain coaches to continue coach-

ing the same team for consecu-tive years. And if a coach hasmore than one team, he or sheis guaranteed to have only oneof those teams in the upcomingseason.

In the past, there has beenoutrage over the results of thisrule. In 2005, when Fisher hadto choose to keep coachinggirls’ basketball over girls’ soc-cer, even though he said he had“put the whole [soccer] teamtogether,” he lost the soccerteam to James Herlihy, coach ofboys’ and girls’ soccer team lastyear.

The equity clause has alsoinfluenced coaching changes.

For example, if one coach hasthree teams, and another coachhas only one, then most likelythe first coach would give awayone team so that both coacheswould have two.

These requirements causemany Stuyvesant staff membersto decide against coachingteams. “There are not a lot ofpeople that apply for coachingjobs,” Fisher said. “It’s not aglamour job.” This often leadsSinger to look outside of theStuyvesant community forcoaches.

Current coach of theHitmen, John Carlesi, who is ateacher at PS 230, was hiredafter being suggested by Hahnand former coach PeterBologna. “He was an assistantcoach for about three years,”said Hahn. “Before that hecoached [junior varsity] ball atLincoln [high school] inBrooklyn.” Carlesis also ownsthe Florida Spring TrainingCamp in florida which the teamattends every April. Followingan interview with Singer,Carlesiwas hired.

Singer has also foundcoaches through advertising ormutual friends. More oftenthan not, she said a prospectivecoach gets the job by “being inthe right place at the right

time,” as was the case for JoelWinston, coach of the boys’ andgirls’ fencing teams. He wasoffered the position almost assoon as he became a teacher atStuyvesant. In other cases,someone recommends a quali-fied person to Singer. Fisherrecommended Adam Goldstein,who was hired as the boys’ andgirls’ soccer coach.

Experience and prior suc-

cess in a sport go a long way ingetting a coaching position. Ifthe team is “not getting theirneeds met,” said Singer, thenthe coach is likely to beremoved.

Coaching is a position thattakes dedication. “For that 45minutes of glory, you got to doeight to ten hours of gut work,”Fisher said.

One Way or Another, Coaches Find Their Place

continued from page 16

receiver Dmitriy Timerman fora 59-yard pass to Smith’s one-yard line. After being sacked onthe first down play, Alam threwa short touchdown pass toPegleg junior and wide receiverNick Goldin. The extra pointhelped the Peglegs regain thelead, with the score 11-8 at half-time.

The Stuyvesant offenseimproved from the start of thesecond half as Peglegs seniorand running back Amos Dai ledthe rushing attack on eachPeglegs drive. Timermancaught two touchdown passesand senior, captain and run-ning back James Morrissey ranan additional touchdown frominside the 10-yard line.

“We feed off of our defensebecause sometimes we havesome trouble starting,” Alamsaid. “Our defense really helpsus settle down.”

The Peglegs preventedSmith from gaining a first downin the second half and Goldinmade his second interceptionat the end of the game to pre-

serve the 30-8 victory. The victory is the Peglegs’

first at Pier 40, their new home.Their first game against JohnAdams High School onSeptember 7 resulted in a 22-8loss. Last year, the team playedhome games at BrooklynTechnical High School’s field.

“Playing at Brooklyn Techwas nice, but there’s nothingreally like this,” Goldin said.

The fans played an impor-tant role in the Peglegs’ home-coming win, according to Alam.“People came out [for] home-coming [and] supported us,”said Alam. “We really get aboost whenever they come.”

Despite an improvedoffense, Sacks praised thePeglegs’ defense, which he saidwas the “cornerstone” of theirperformance. “We saw a coupleof holes in [Smith’s] defenseand took advantage,” Sackssaid. “A couple of guys got theirhands on the ball and that’swhat we needed.”

The Peglegs still have sixgames to play in their seasonbefore they meet their goal:making the playoffs.

Peglegs’ Offense Brings Win Home

team and we came out with thewin,” said Levy.

An animated confrontation,which almost turned into an all-out brawl, added to this game’sexcitement. In the second half, aJulia Richmond player gesturedthreateningly at Stergiou, whoresponded defensively, prompt-ing players from both teams tocongregate around them. Theimmediate intervention of thereferee prevented a brawl,although the same JuliaRichmond player was handedthe only yellow card of the game30 seconds later for attemptingto hit senior defender NedalDarwish with the ball.

This incident aside, the solidvictory is evidence that theBallerz’ new coach, AdamGoldstein, and his new practiceroutines, are paying off.

“We’re training hard, puttingin a lot of work. I’ve seenimprovement,” said Stergiou.

Though sophomore defend-er Andres Fernandez said theBallerz are “crunched forspace,” Stuyvesant has beenable to use its small field on the

Pier 40 roof to work on cardio-vascular exercises such as run-ning and leg lifts, as well as toimprove upon soccer funda-mentals.

“It’s amazing what we areable to do without a permit,”said Goldstein.

In addition, a more knowl-edgeable coach and a generalsense of enthusiasm and profes-sionalism have helped the

Ballerz improve both on and offthe field.

“The coach brings a newlevel of discipline and control tothe team,” said Levine. “Duringpractice, the team stays moreacclimated with each other,which allows us to be morecomfortable on the field.”

“There’s a lot more of a teambond, and we’re playing betterbecause of it,” said Levy.

Stuy Ballerz Almost BecomeStuy Brawlerz in 3-0 Rout

continued from page 16

continued from page 16

our ‘A’ bouts, which are [each]worth one point out of a nine-point game. They trained a lotand we just got swept,” saidTang.

But the Hunter fencing pro-gram lost several integral play-ers that graduated in June 2007,including one of the strongestplayers in the city, MichaelElfassy (‘07). Besides leading histeam to back-to-back citychampionships in 2006 and2007, Elfassy also won severalindividual titles, as well as agold medal for his club team atthe Under-17 Junior Olympicsin 2006.

With Elfassy off to PrincetonUniversity and most of theUntouchables’ lineup still intactfrom 2006, the Untouchableshave good reason to be confi-dent.

Tang said, “This yearthough, I don’t think they standa chance and I’m 99 percentsure it’ll be our win.”

“Everybody in my startingteam this year has a national

rating,” said coach JoelWinston, coach of theUntouchables for only the sec-ond consecutive year since theco-ed team split into two.

Fencers like Tang andsenior Angus Armstrong have anational rating from ‘A’ to ‘E’based on their participation innon-school related nationalcompetitions held by theUnited States FencingAssociation. An ‘A’ ranking isthe highest ranking available.Most of the team is eitherranked ‘D’ or ‘E’ based on theclassification system.

Winston said, “I think wehave a very strong team. Welook undefeatable.”

With Two of the Best GoneFrom Hunter, Untouchables

Begin “Undefeatable” Seasoncontinued from page 16

“All the coaching jobs are open every year

[…] to anyone.”—Philip Fisher,

coach

Football

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Boys’ Soccer

Boys’ Fencing

The Peglegs’ defense takes down a running back from Alfred E. Smith High Schoolduring the varsity team’s 30-7 victory game at homecoming Friday, September 28.

Coaches must beteachers, even if

they do not teach at the school at

which they coach.

THE SPECTATOR SPORTSPage 16

By OLUMUYIWA IDOWU and CHRISTOPHER ZHAO

with additional reporting bySAM CYTRYN

Derek Jeter, Carlos Beltranand Eli Manning will forever beremembered and glorified asthe heroic players of theirteams. Yet behind these ath-letes are geniuses of the sports,rarely credited for their dynam-ic strategies and great knowl-edge of the game: the coaches.They manage the teams andlead them to success. How theyare chosen may ultimatelydetermine the fate of the team.

Stuyvesant High School ishome to 33 Public SchoolsAthletic League (PSAL) sportsteams, including everythingfrom football and basketball tofencing and handball. Manycoaches also hold a teachingposition at Stuyvesant.

Choosing the people whocoach our sports teamsinvolves a strict procedure.Beginning in June, AssistantPrincipal Health and PhysicalEducation Martha Singer postsinformation about open coach-ing positions for the upcomingschool year.

The job, however, does not

come without requisite qualifi-cations. Coaches must be certi-fied in First Aid training and incardiopulmonary resuscitationas well as automated externaldefibrillation (CPR/AED).Training is provided by theAmerican Red Cross and eachcertification must be renewed.First Aid certifications must berenewed every three years,while the CPR/AED test mustbe passed annually.Furthermore, coaches must beteachers, even if it is not at theschool at which they coach. “I

can’t be the official coach onpaper because I am not a teach-er,” said assitant coach of theHitmen, the boys’ baseballteam, Matt Hahn.

After candidates fill out anapplication, an interview withSinger is set up.

Girls’ volleyball coach PhilipFisher, who has coached fiveteams during his eight years atStuyvesant, said, “All the coach-ing jobs are open every year[…] to anyone.” This is true in

One Way or Another, Coaches Find Their Place

continued on page 15

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Whether already teachers at Stuyvesant or found through advertising or mutualfriends, coaches must be trained in first-aid.

Joshua Weinstein Soccer and Hockey

Princeton ‘09

By LUC COHEN

The last time JoshuaWeinstein (‘05) appeared inthis newspaper, it was inrecognition of his high schoolathletic achievements. He wasthe co-captain of the soccerteam, for which he playedthree years of defense andmidfield, and the co-captainand two-time MVP goalie ofthe ice hockey team.

“He was captain and hetried to lead the team,” saidsenior and co-captain AlexStergiou, who was a freshmanon the soccer team duringWeinstein’s senior year.

“Whenever we needed tobe picked up after somethinghappened, he was usuallythere,” said senior and co-cap-tain Matthew Konigsberg.

Due to the increasedamount of work he wouldencounter upon enteringPrinceton, Weinstein decidednot to join a varsity team,which would require a greatamount of time and commit-ment. Still, for Weinstein, itwas a tough decision to make.

“When I got to Princeton, I

was deciding between joiningclub hockey and club soccer,”Weinstein said. “Because Iplayed it from freshman tosenior year, I decided clubhockey would be a better bet.”

Club sports are a growingtrend on college campuses.Since club teams hire coaches,practice and play againstother schools, they providemore competition than intra-murals without requiring theintense commitment of varsityteams.

Currently a junior,Weinstein stopped playingclub hockey at the end of hissophomore year. “The clubexperience was okay,” he said.“There was a lot of competi-tion for spots because I was agoalie.” Freshman year, heshared playing time with ajunior goalie, until the fourthstring varsity goalie decided toplay on the club team, limitingtheir respective playing time.By sophomore year, the otherclub goalie had priority sincehe was a senior, so Weinstein’splaying time suffered again.

“This year and next year Iwould have had a lot of play-ing time,” he said. “But I justdon’t really have the time todevote to it anymore.”

There is a lot he missesabout playing sports in highschool.

“Stuyvesant hockey andsoccer were great experi-ences,” he said. “I had a reallygreat time and I made somegood friends. I exercised a lot,which, sadly, I guess is takenfor granted when you’re inhigh school, because whenyou’re in college, people are sobusy that they forget aboutgoing to the gym and they

Athletic Stuyvesant Alumni:Where Are They Now?

By YIFENG ZHAO

Coach Brian Sacks, in hissecond year leading theStuyvesant Peglegs, the boys’football team, got drenchedwith water well after the brief,yet heavy rain stopped prior tothe varsity team’s homecominggame Friday, September 28.

The team doused Sacks withwater after it won, 30-8, againstAlfred E. Smith High School. “Itfeels great. I’m nice and wet,”Sacks said.

The Peglegs’ second consec-utive victory improved theirrecord to 2-2. The varsityteam’s win also came at theheels of junior varsity win, 14-0,against Smith.

The Peglegs gave the stu-dents, parents and alumnipacked in the bleachers at Pier40 something to cheer for. Thedefense kept Smith from scor-ing more than a touchdownand a conversion, while thePeglegs recovered two fumbles,and forced two safeties and twointerceptions.

The Peglegs came into thishomecoming game with doubtsabout their offense after past

performances.Both sides played the first

half sloppily. Several bad puntsnaps by Smith helped thePeglegs gain excellent fieldposition in opponent territory.Junior and Pegleg linebackerMichael Oh helped Stuyvesantget on the scoreboard after hesacked Smith senior and quar-terback Luis Garcia in the endzone to force a safety, giving thePeglegs a 2-0 lead.

However, the Peglegs’offense was unable to takeadvantage of numerous oppor-tunities in the red zone.Stuyvesant had only a 4-0 leadmidway through the secondquarter.

Things started to look grimwhen the kicking teams failedto catch the safety punt andSmith senior and running backShamar Wright broke free withthe ball. Wright then ran downthe field to score the touch-down. Following the conver-sion, Smith had an 8-4 lead.

The Peglegs answered whensenior and quarterback ShafiAlam passed to senior and wide

Peglegs’ Offense Brings Win Home

continued on page 15

By MATTHEW BATTIFARANO

In the 2006 Soccer WorldCup, French midfielderZinedine Zidane infamouslyhead butted Italy’s MarcoMaterazzi as part of a secondhalf brawl. Although comingclose to a similar fate, theBallerz, Stuyvesant’s varsityboys’ soccer team, avoided suchaction when cruising to a 3-0victory over Julia RichmondEducational Center onThursday, September twenti-eth.

Some players viewed thisgame as the team’s firstwinnable one of the season,seeing as the only other gamesthe Ballerz had played wereagainst Martin Luther King, Jr.

High School (MLK), which wasranked third in the nation lastyear, and Beacon High School, aperennial challenger to MLK.Still, the victory was by nomeans an easy one.

Looking to break the 0-0 tiefive minutes into the first half,senior midfielder AlexanderStergiou ran a fast break up theleft side. The ball was cleared,and only five minutes later,freshman forward Arik Ravivappeared to have scored on adirect free kick. But the refereecalled an indirect free kick.According to Public SchoolsAthletic League (PSAL) regula-tions, at least one other playerwould have had to touch theball before it went into the goal.Since this didn’t happen, the

goal didn’t count.“After they disallowed it, I

wanted to hit the referee,” saida frustrated Raviv.

Nonetheless, Stuyvesant didnot have to wait long for a goal.At 20 minutes, Stergiou scoredoff a header from junior for-ward Dylan Levy. Raviv andsophomore midfielder CodyLevine each contributed a goalin the second half.

“I had an open path to thegoal,” Levine said. “I felt pres-sure coming from behind andtook the shot from the right cor-ner. The ball headed toward theright corner of the goal.”

“We really played hard as a

Stuy Ballerz Almost BecomeStuy Brawlerz in 3-0 Rout

continued on page 11

By HOWARD LAM

While other fall sports teamshave already begun the season,the boys’ fencing team, theUntouchables, doesn’t beginplay until Wednesday, October5. Yet, the team looks forward toits much anticipated rematchwith Hunter College HighSchool, which is coincidentallyStuyvesant’s first opponent ofthe season.

Tryouts were held during thefirst and second weeks ofschool. More than 40 studentstried out for the 20 spots on theteam.

“Tryouts this year were real-ly intense. Since there can only

be so many people on the team,we all had to bout each otherquite a few times and the peoplewith the worst records got cut,”said sophomore veteran LiamO’Brien.

Two new high schools, NewExplorations in Science,Technology and Math HighSchool (NEST+M) andMillennium High School, havejoined the Manhattan FencingDivision with Stuyvesant thisyear. But the Untouchablesknow very little about them.

Since there are no scrim-mages, the team won’t know thestrengths of other teams in thedivision until Stuyvesant playsthem during the regular season.

“We basically have thestrongest team in the city andwe worked really hard to get towhere we are,” said senior andcaptain Jonathan Tang, “Wepractice outside of school aswell but we almost never seeother teams practice outside infencing centers.”

Yet, the team knows muchabout Hunter’s team, which theUntouchables tied with for firstplace in the division last season.Stuyvesant then lost the cham-pionship match to them lastNovember.

“The reason we lost last yearwas because we lost all four of

With Two of the Best Gone FromHunter, Untouchables Begin

“Undefeatable” Season

continued on page 15continued on page 14

Boys’ Basketball

October 4, 2007

Boys’ Fencing

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Joshua Weinstein (‘05) was captain ofboth the hockey and soccer teams aswell as the now defunct lacrosse club.