issue 8 alpha

8/14/2019 Issue 8 Alpha

1/12

Proud Members of the

Nat iona l Scho last ic Press Assoc ia t ion

Tuesday March 18, 2008 Volume 7 Issue 8

V is it u s a t w w w .s tu ys ta n d ard .o rg

News:AIS Tutoring Canceled

Page 3Entertainment:Diversity Week

Page 9Opinions:Memoirs of a Scoliosis Surgery Patient

Page 4

SING! Ar t ic le


2/12

If you would like to advertise in THE STUYVESANT STANDARD,please e-mail [email protected] to request an adver-tisement form. We offer a broad range of options including full

color capability for your advertising needs.

Advertising

THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a non-profit publication produced bythe students of Stuyvesant High School.THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi-weekly basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High Schooland throughout the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and BatteryPark City.THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers. For a

letter to be reproduced in print, a name and method of contact mustbe provided.THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any publishedmaterial. The viewpoints of contributors do not necessarily reflectthe views of the Standard staffCopyright 2007 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

The Executive Board

Publication

Please direct all correspondence to:THE STUYVESANT STANDARD345 Chambers Street

New York, NY [email protected]

Find us on the web at www.stuystandard.org

Contact Us

EDITORIAL2 NEWSTHE STUYVESANT STANDARD March 18, 2008VOL. 7, No . 8

JENNIFER SCHLESINGER EDITORIN CHIEFERIC MAYO MANAGING EDITOR

DIANE CHEN DIRECTOROFFINANCEANGEL WONG DIRECTOROFFINANCE

SANGHEE CHUNG LAYOUT EDITORDANNY ZHU COPY CHIEFTIM CHANG NEWS EDITOR

HESHAM SALEH NEWS EDITORJIMMY ZHANG NEWS EDITORAMNA AHMAD OPINIONS EDITOR

EMMA RABINOVICH ENTERTAINMENT EDITORROBERT COLBOURN ASST. ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

RICHARD MAI SPORTS EDITOROMAR AHMAD SCIENCE EDITOR

HANFORDCHIU BUSINESS EDITORROBERT STEVENSON LITERARY EDITOR

JESSE ZHANG WEBMASTER

KIRIL GOURUV ASSISTANT WEBMASTERELISSA TAM DIRECTOROF PHOTOJOURNALISM

MEGAN BRESLIN FACULTY ADVISORDANIEL EGERS (03) FOUNDER

ERNEST BASKIN (04) EDITOR EMERITUS


3/12

THE STANDARD NEWS

3THE STUYVESANT STANDARDNEWS Ma rch 18, 2008VOL. 7, No. 8

Stuyvesant High School Naturalizedby Jennifer Schles inger

ed i to r in ch ie f

AIS Tutoring Cancelled Due to Budge Cutsby Rammiya Nal la inathan

s ta f f w r i t e r

Due to the challenging natureof Stuyvesants classes, many stu-dents find that they need help. Thisterm, Stuyvesant had to cancel allAIS tutoring due to recent budgetcuts.

According to Susan Olds, theexecutive budget director of theDepartment of Education, because

the economy is in a downwardtrend and the city is not receivingexpected tax revenues, the citymust spend less. Therefore,schools across the city in districts1-32 have had to face a 1.75 per-

cent budget cut so that the city canmeet the $100 million tax levyreduction. Stuyvesant alone haslost $277,522.

The decision on how to adjustwith the budget cut was made onFebruary 5 at the School Leader-ship Team (SLT) meeting. Accord-ing to the plan, either afterschoolAIS tutoring had to be cut, or therewould be no replacement for KateOliver, a college counselor whorecently left. Understanding thesituation, students and parentsagreed that hiring a replacementfor Oliver was more important, andso AIS tutoring was cancelled.James Kim, vice president of theStudent Union, said, We could

have found another way to relieveus of the deficit. However, cuttingtutoring was probably better thancutting a college advisor. I am surewe will work through this well.

ARISTA Tutoring and BigSibs will have to help out with theafter-school tutoring sessions.When asked about the situation,Dennis Ng, ARISTA vice presi-dent for tutoring, responded enthu-siastically, saying, ARISTA Tu-toring is an excellent way for stu-dents to get academic support.Students can choose to be tutoredone-on-one or in a group. Ourdedicated tutors are quite knowl-edgeable. While the suspension of

AIS Tutoring will greatly affectthe way students get help for theirclasses, ARISTA Tutoring is readyto lend a hand. Junior NaziatZaman agreed. I think nowARISTA and Big Sibs will becomean even more important and cru-cial part of the Stuyvesant commu-nity.

ARISTA tutoring is availableeveryday and is walk-in. Becauseof the expected increase in thenumber of students, ARISTAtutoring has moved from thelibrary to room 511. The Big Sibsare also playing its part by

providing one-on-one tutoring formany students.

Stuyvesant held a UnitedStates naturalization ceremony for300 citizenship applications, in-cluding two students, on February27. The ceremony was the first ofits kind to be held at Stuyvesant,which has served immigrants sinceits conception in 1904. The currentstudent body contains representa-tives of a large number or coun-tries; thirty percent of the freshmanclass is composed of immigrants,

making Stuyvesant a fitting placeto hold the ceremony.

The ceremony was proposed by Natalie Lui Duncan, whograduated from Stuyvesant in1993. She currently works for U.S.Citizenship and Immigration Ser-vices (USCIS).The ceremony began with Stuyve-sant principal Stanley Teitel givingthe opening remarks. Afteward,Alfonso Aguilar, chief of the US-CIS Office of Citizenship, whowas serving as the master of cere-monies, asked the guests to rise for

the singing of the National Anthemand for the presentation of colors.The Stuyvesant High School Cho-rus sang This is My Country andGive Me Your Tired, Your Poor.

Next, the applicants for citi-zenship were called by name andcountry. There were 55 countriesrepresented. Emilio T. Gonzlez,director of the USCIS, led the can-didates in the Oath of Allegiance.A video was then played with amessage from President George

W. Bush.

Then, the two students, sopho-more Yimei Hu and senior Min-glian Pan, were called to the stage.They led the Pledge of Allegiance.According to the New York CityDepartment of Education(NYCDOE), both students immi-grated from China. Hu said, Itsan honor. Ive always wanted to

become a citizen. I finally knowwhat it means to be a real Ameri-can, on the ceremony.

Afterward, Gonzlez con-

gratulated the new citizens. He

honored Secretary of LabourElaine Chao with the OutstandingAmericans by Choice award. Chaois the first Asian-American womanto be a member of the Presidentscabinet. She emigrated from Asiawhen she was eight, which in-spired her to dedicate most of her

professional life to ensuring that people have the opportunity toimprove their lives. She gave thekeynote address.

The ceremony ended with

senior SangHee Chung playing

God Bless America on the piano.The guests of the ceremony

included many Stuyvesantcommunity members, includingchemistry teacher Dalia Bulgarisand history teacher Reuben Stern,who immigrated to the UnitedStates. Also in attendance wereJamila Ma, president of theStudent Union, and BobSherwood, president of the AlumniAssociation.

A naturalization ceremony was held for 300 citizenship applicants, including two Stuyvesant students. The ceremony was the first of its kind to

be held at Stuyvesant High School.

PhotoCredit:


4/12


5/12

5THE STUYVESANT STANDARDOPINIONS Ma rch 18, 2008VOL. 7, No. 8

STUY VOICE

continued from page 4

left unused, I was still somehowobligated to include their voices,and honor their participationdespite their reluctance to followdirections.

I decided to share some ofthe extraneous material written onsurveys with hopes that thevoices of these students wouldindeed be heard. Flipping througha stack of surveys administered inearly November, I came acrossone survey in particular on which

all responses were written usingan orange pen. As if the use ofmacaroni-colored ink wasntweird enough, I realized that this

particular individual had alsowritten a few strange comments

such as Yea Boi and Im

always right as answers to thequestions being asked.

Now, while Im not entirelysure how those two commentsrelated to the survey at all, Ithought they were a bitentertaining. But then again, itdid make me question thesensibility of the focus group ofstudents that I had so earnestlyrelied on for some genuinefeedback. Im not sure if I shouldvalue even to the least extent theopinion of a person who answersa yes or no question with an

expression like Yea Boi.Not only are these essentiallyunnecessary side-notes at timesentertaining, but they can also bea bit offensive. For instance, oneindividual must have thought I

was dumb enough to not know

the difference between fact andopinion as can be seen from thefollowing statement written onthe survey: I dont know! badquestion, really bad question,factual not opinion. FIX THIS!Who would have known thatasking a peer whether or not theyknew that in some religionscoffee consumption wasforbidden would cause such a

passionate response?Some other examples of

comments that I have read in theshort time I have been writing

this column are:DEPORTATION, Whenarent they? How are those tworelated?, and Voided . If youthink these examples make nosense out of the context of the

survey on which they were

written, I can honestly assure youthat they wouldnt make anymore sense to you if you wereactually in possession of thesurveys in question, and if youwere to ask me where the smileyface came from on the lastcomment, I simply would not beable to tell you.

Thus, I offer this piece to youas an ode to self-expression, be-cause now that I take the situationinto consideration I cant help butask myself what makes me soqualified to judge the actions of

those students who were motivatedprincipally by a desire to put theirideas out there or make their markon an idea in their own individualway, in both a literal and figurativesense.

are treated with surgery. All Icould do was hope that my curvewould be less than 25 so I wouldnot have to worry about an an-noying brace. I thought it wasvirtually impossible for my curveto be bad enough to require sur-

gery.Boy, was I wrong. When I

got to the office, they took x-raysof my back and then I got tospeak to the doctor. He spent a lotof time figuring out the variousangles and taking what seemedlike millions of measurements.Then came the news that shockedme. I had a curve of 76 andneeded surgery as soon as possible. We set the date for the sur-gery right then, deciding it would be on December 4th at the NewYork University Hospital for

Joint Diseases.Feeling scared and brave at

the same time, I spent the daysleading up to the surgery doingmore and more research about theprocedure, as well as making ar-rangements for tutors to comeduring the two months of schoolthat I would miss. I found out thatthe surgery is performed by hav-ing two metal rods fused to thespine and connected with severalscrews.

By December 4th, I felt as prepared as I was going to get,

and entered the operation room as bravely as possible. There weretwelve doctors there, each with aseparate purpose, like handlinganesthesia or monitoring my spi-nal cord.

When I woke up, all I re-member was feeling pain. A nursegave me a button I could press toreceive a dose of pain medicine. Itwas specially designed, of course,so that I could never overdose onthe medication, no matter how

many times I pressed the button.The first couple of days after

the surgery, I spent most of mytime sleeping because the painmedication made me extremelydrowsy. A physical therapistcame everyday and made mepractice sitting up in a chair andwalking around. I hated sitting up because it was so painful, but

walking actually did not seem toobad.

After a week in the hospital,they let me go home. I spent thefirst week or two at home onlylying in bed, basically takingcomplete advantage of the factthat there was no physical thera- pist there to force me to walkaround. A different tutor would

come for each subject, and sothere would be one person com-ing each day for two hours. Theworkload wasnt too bad, butthere were definitely several occa-sions on which I wished I couldjust sleep instead of learn.

After about four weeks ofimmobility, I decided there wassomething wrong. I should have

been getting better, but instead Iwas still always in bed. I had as-sumed that my body would healon its own, and only time wouldmake me better. However, as Iattempted to sit up for half anhour and quickly felt pain, I de-cided that I would have to pushmyself if I was ever going to im-prove and get back to school.

The progress I made wasamazing. As I gradually started practicing doing things on myown and walking around myneighborhood in short trips out-

side, I realized that my toleranceof not lying down was increasing.It wasnt long before I was able togo to the mall, and eventually Iwas back to school, feeling moreenergetic than I had been in thepast couple of months.

I can honestly say that I havegained more through thisexperience than I have fromanything else in my entire life,and Im not simply referring tothe three inches I gained inheight. Having this surgeryopened my eyes to what real pain

is, and how hard it is to truly persevere instead of giving in.Most importantly, I have learnedthat no healing is possible withoutunison of body and mind. Nomatter how long one waits torecover from either physical oremotion pain, nothing will happenuntil one has mentally decidedthat he wants to improve.

MEMOIRS


Scoliosis is a medical condition in which a person's spine is curved from side to side or frontto back. The spine may also be rotated.

Source:http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/Wiki_pre-op.jpg


6/12

6 SCIENCETHE STUYVESANT STANDARD March 18, 2008VOL. 7, No . 8

THE STANDARDSCIENCE

Microbes, such as those shown above, constitute 90% of our bodies, bringing new questions i n the realms of

both biology and theology.

Eating Dirt: When Microbes Make Us Wellby Devyn Buckl ey

s ta f f w r i t e r

MICROBESco ntinues on pag e 7

Many of us have heard that weshould eat yogurt after taking around of antibiotics if we everwant to digest food again. Withinthe last few years, phrases likelive cultures and probiotichave found their way onto dairy

product labels at even the mostmainstream grocery stores. Whatsup with that?

According to Science Newsand reports in professional journalslike Immunology, in the last

decade, new research has disclosedan increasing awareness of thecomplexity of microbes and theirfunction in managing wellness inthe human body.

The news from think tankslike Washington University in St.Louis, and Germanys FederalResearch Center for Nutrition andFood is that the microbes, theflora, the fungi, and other livingthings that find their way into our

bodies as hitchhikers on our lunchor as a kind of microbe starter set,courtesy of Mom at birth, do a lotmore than anyone ever thought.

Why else would our systems allowtens of trillions of microbes to

thrive and communicate with oneanother in our bodies?

Interestingly, one line of newresearch suggests that our bodiesactually are mostly microbes.Since microbes outnumber cells inthe human body by a factor of 10,it looks like we are actually about90 percent microbial. Weird, huh?Rather than a single human body,we are more like a teeming super-organism, made up of symbioticcommunities of microbes. This isan interesting find for evolutionary

biology, not to mention theology.One of the most important

implications for microbes revolvesaround immunity. Since thegastrointestinal tract, where mostmicrobes live, is the largestimmune organ of the human body,researchers are looking at the roleintestinal flora play in resistance.

In one study, individualsinfected with a common cold viruswere given three different

probiotics (microbes) at earlystages of the illness. Analysisshowed that the probiotics did notcure the common cold. However,

the microbes clearly minimized thesymptoms and shortened the

illnesss duration and intensity. It

was found that the human bodyhad responded to the probiotictrigger by creating more T cells.

In German studies, microbesas probiotics were found to affectthe intensity of allergic reactions,an aspect of immune response. Theresearch involved mixing cells ofallergic people and nonallergic

people together. When immune-stimulating substances were addedto the cell mixture, all of the cellsreacted, but the allergic cellsreacted aggressively. Interestingly,when probiotics were added to thecell mixture, the response of theallergic cells was subdued. Studieslike this one suggest that additionalresearch may lead to the use ofmicrobes to treat allergies.

Another line of microbe re-search has engaged the pharmaceu-ticals. They are interested in the

possibility of creating medicinesthat treat the microbes that manageour wellness. We may be takingspecialized bugs helpful bacte-riaas treatments and we may betaking medicines that alter the

bugs in our bodies. A lot of re-

Source

:http://www.biogeosciences.org/images/dolo_microbe2.jpg


7/12

7THE STUYVESANT STANDARDSCIENCE Ma rch 18, 2008VOL. 7, No. 8

search must be done before mi-crobes will become an everydayremedy, of course.

Genetic researchers are busilydescribing the more than 100,000genes that exist in the microbes our

bodies harbor. Considering thatour own bodies offer only 30,000genes to manipulate, the broadertarget of microbe genes is

promising.For pharmaceutical investors,

there is interest in the possibilitythat microbes may hold the secretto Americas first truly effectiveweight loss medicine. Becausemicrobes can be used to alter theemulsifying acids that make fatsdigestible, frontline researchinst itu tes like Nestle, inGermany, are looking to microbesas a possible treatment for

obesity.Perhaps even more important

to the human tribe is the strongevidence that microbes can beused to make absorption ofnutrients more effective, making

probiotics a possible tool in the prevention of hunger andstarvation, especially amonghuman cultures that havecarbohydrate-heavy diets. Ifmicrobes can be used to makedigestion more efficient, then itscertainly possible that they canhelp combat hunger.

Where is the research that

indicates such far reaching resultsof probiotic treatments? Dr.Jeffrey I. Gordon of WashingtonUniversity is one researcher whohas led the way. A group of micedelivered by sterile CaesareanSection and raised in germ-freeconditions were far less efficientat absorbing nutrients, includingvitamins B12 and minerals likecalcium, than control mice. Theyate up to 30 percent more andwere generally smaller and lesshealthy than the control group.This same line of research is also

likely to look at whether probiotics can delay bone loss inwomen after menopause, perhaps

preventing osteoporosis.What other paths will this

exciting early research lead to?Will children once again beencouraged to make mud pies and

play in the dirt? Will handlingsoil become the next newtherapy? Will we ever learn tolike being sneezed on in thesubway? Wherever we end up,regardless of the curves along theway for surely microbes willhave a dark sideits likely that

our thinking about germs maynever be the same. After all, itseems that, well, we are thegerms.

MICROBES

co ntinued from pa ge 6

You Are What You Drink,

And Your Hair Knows Itby Shayra Kamal

s ta f f w r i t e r In the past week, the field of

forensics has been dramaticallyadvanced with the advent of a newtype of hair analysis which candetect where and when a personlast ate or drank. Developed byUniversity of Utah scientists ThureCerling and Jim Ehleringer and

published on February 25 in theProceedings of the National Acad-

emy of Sciences, the method in-volves analyzing hair samples forcertain isotopes of oxygen andhydrogen. The amounts of theseisotopes in hair have a direct corre-lation to those found in drinking

water, and may thus be used totrack movement of criminals ormurder victims.

The premise of the new hairanalysis method is to measure thelevels of the common isotopeshydrogen-1 and oxygen-16 againstthe levels of rarer isotopes likehydrogen-2 and oxygen-18. Whilethe ratios of these isotopes arefixed in air, they vary in drinkingwater from region to region.

By examining oxygen-hydrogen isotope ratios in scalphair from across the United States,scientists Cerling and Erhleringer

have been able to show that thereis an 85 percent correlation be-tween the isotopes found in a per-sons hair and the ones found in anareas drinking water, showing that

drinking water leaves isotopes ingrowing scalp hair.

By demonstrating how a per-sons hair is affected by the localwater supply, this new type ofanalysis has great relevance toforensics. From just one strand ofhair, police can determine the hy-drogen-oxygen isotope ratios of aspecific individual, then comparethem to the isotope ratios of thesurrounding area. Consequently, a

persons movements can be tracedback several weeks or even years.In fact, this technique hasalready been put to use bythe

police, including an instance inwhich a murder victim was found

outside of Salt Lake City, Utah. Byanalyzing the hair samples presentamong the remains, detectiveswere able to determine her locationchanges up to two years prior toher estimated time of death.

However, analyzing isotopesfound in scalp hair often yieldsresults that do not indicate a per-sons exact location, but rather awide a geographic area. Nonethe-less, hair analysis in this manner

has many possibilities beyond fo-rensics. If perfected, this methodmight even be used by anthropolo-gists and archaeologists to deter-mine migration patterns of ancient

peoples.

Scientists have discovered a new method of forensic science: hair examination.

PhotoCredit:ElissaTam

Behind the Satelliteby A lexandros Kal iontzak is

s ta f f w r i t e r On February 21, 2008, a

failing United States spysatellitewas shot out of the sky by a U.S.

Navy missile. The satellite,weighing about 500 pounds andapproximately the size of a school

bus, lost power shortly after itreached orbit in late 2006 and wentout of control, slowly descendingtoward Earth.

The Navy was concerned that pieces of the satellites debrismight be big enough to fall toEarth and cause damage. The pri-mary concern was to make surethat the missile destroyed the satel-lite's hydrazine fuel tank and

vented its toxic gas into space. Thesatellite was destroyed to keep thetoxin from affecting humans as it

fell to Earth. Nowadays, satellites get into

orbit attached to a rocket or in thecargo bay of a space shuttle. Forthe ones launched by rocket, the

rocket is at first aimed straight up,to get it through the thickest part ofthe atmosphere, quickest and withthe least consumption of fuel. Therockets guidance mechanism thenchanges the course of the rocket tofollow the rotation of the Earth (tothe east), which gives the rocketincreased acceleration. Althoughthis advance might seem insignifi-cant, it is actually very important.The immense weight the rocketmust lift, which includes its ownweight, the weight of its fuel, andthat of the satellite, means that

getting into space takes a lot ofenergy. So, rotational velocity,which is greatest at the equator,

plays a very important role in get-ting a satellite in the air.

Once the rocket reaches a suf-ficiently thin portion of the atmos-

phere, about 120 miles above the

ground, the navigational systemfires small support missiles to as-sist the rocket in maintaining ahorizontal position. The satellite isthen released, and the missiles areignited once again to provide space

between the satellite and the trans-portation rocket.

When a satellite reenters theatmosphere, only 10 to 40 percentof its mass is likely to reach thesurface of the Earth, as the heat ofreentry burns up the majority of itsmass.

Even though it seems unlikely,

there remains the possibility ofdebris striking the Earth whereinhabitants may be dwelling.


8/12


9/12

THE STANDARD ENTERTAINMENT

9THE STUYVESANT STANDARDENTERTAINMENT Ma rch 18, 2008VOL. 7, No. 8

by Emma Rabinovich

enter ta inment ed i to r Warmer weather means spring is justaround the corner and a new batch ofmovies is on the way. Not a veryambit ious bunch (hardly a

blockbuster in sight), these upcomingflicks seek to entertain without flashyCGI sequences, resorting rather toraunchy humor and star power.

Drillbit TaylorThe latest film from producer JuddApatow, creator of the now-classicSuperbad and Knocked Up, isabout three nerds who hire a

bodyguard to protect them fromschool bullies. Their bodyguard-of-choice is played by Owen Wilson, inwhat promises to be another hilariousouting from Seth Rogen, who wrotethe script.

Superhero MovieTaking the same general idea that

powered the hilarious Scary Moviefranchise, Superhero Movie spoofswhat can probably be called the mostdeserving genre of all: comic-book

blockbusters. Drake Bell (Drake &Josh) stars as Rick Riker, a highschool student who transforms intoDragonfly after being bitten by agenetically altered dragonfly. Sound alittle familiar? (In theaters March 28.)

Baby Mama

Starring Amy Poehler and Tina Fey,Baby Mama is about a woman(Fey) who desperately wants a family

but cannot conceive. Enter white-trash surrogate mom (Poehler) readyto lend the struggling career gal heroven. These two Saturday Night Liveveterans should make for an interest-ing watch. (In theaters April 25.)Miss Pettigrew Lives for a DayUsing a more adult brand of comedy,Miss Pettigrew stars Amy Adams

(Enchanted) as a bubbly Americanactress and Frances McDormand asMiss Pettigrew, a frumpy exgover-ness living in pre-WWII England.Based on the 1938 novel by WinifredWatson, the film details Miss Petti-grews adventures when she getscaught in the glitzy, romance-filledlife of Adamss Delysia Lafosse. (Intheaters March 7.)

21

21 stars Jim Sturgess (recently seen

in The Other Boleyn Girl) as abrilliant MIT student looking to earnsome cash with the help of his girl-friend (Kate Bosworth) and a math

professor (Kevin Spacey). Based onBen Mezrich's 2002 nonfiction best-seller Bringing Down the House,21 has a promising trailer and anamazing cast. Its also based on truestory, however loosely. (In theatersMarch 28.)

Diversity Week: An Effort

to Bring About the End of

Disunityby XXX

XX X

DIVERSITY WEEKco ntinues on page 10

February is truly a month inwhich people of all cultures, races,religions and ethnicities have triedto band together and shatter pre-

conceived notions about them-selves. It is a time to celebrate allthat everybody has to offer. For-mally, February is Black Historymonth and celebrated at the end ofthe month is Diversity Week. AtStuyvesant, Diversity Week wascelebrated with a series of guestspeakers who spoke about theirown experiences dealing with seg-regation and their observations onthe situation today.

The list of speakers was quitediverse, including Frank McCourt(author of Angelas Ashes), Dr.Leon Bass (part of a segregatedU.S. army unit in WWII), JudithSloan (author of Crossing theBoulevard), Yvonne Campbell (aJewish child in Toulouse, Franceduring WWII), Dr. Terrance Rob-

erts (part of the Little Rock Nine)and Sarah Jones (wrote and starredin Bridge and Tunnel). Thesefigures really were close to thetopics they discussed because oftheir extended experience in deal-ing with segregated people. Judith

Sloan figuratively embodied perse-cuted people with her stellar talkand performance.

Judith Sloan was born inQueens, which she revealed wasthe most diverse place in the coun-try in 1999 and 2000. Because shestill lives in this wonderfully di-verse place, she decided that itwould be a wonderful opportunityto interview immigrants that emi-grated from their countries after1965 and came to live in Queens.These immigrants struggled toadapt to an incredibly new envi-ronment, but many were not beaten

down by this. Some were ex-tremely optimistic, as revealed by

Spring Movie Preview


10/12

THE STANDARD LITERARY

10 LITERARYTHE STUYVESANT STANDARD March 18, 2008VOL. 7, No . 8

PresidentialShowdown

by Jensen Cheongs ta f f w r i t e r

W M A N N Y T H E M E D I U M O N D

H T O M E H T D A E R B I C K Y R E

E H J J A C K I E T H Z F H T I P K

F E E H H R T N Y H U D K P L O V T

T Y S M O T H E R B O A R D D F B H

H T U Y S D J Z Y J H J E T I J H E

E H I G S L Z V B N H G D G Y S F C

H E G I S U I O Q R Y C A N H W F R

A H G C B S E D J E N S E N F I F A

K A J D U U R Y E Q B J F G H D R B

E C U E L P C G D R A T D G S G T P

R K Y E E T A D D R M A R B L E S R

D E L E T E L S A E E D F N Y T U I

D R R T T F I Y A T H G H D B I J N

E W E I E F G H T S S K J R Y I H C

R Q G G E D I A A A W I C K E D G E

G I C V S G M S D F G H J K Y U I R

D J S A M V A N D E R R O M V F R G

CyberspaceWordsearch

by Jensen Cheongs ta f f w r i t e r

Ms. Sloans impersonation of aKazakstanian immigrant: When Icame to this country, I thought that

the people were the nicest in theworld.

Littered through Ms. Sloansslideshow were pictures ofQueens, of the good and the bad(mostly bad), and of the amazingcharacters that she included in her

DIVERSITY WEEK


Manny the Medium Icky Jackie Inez Dr. MarblesMotherboard Slider Buzz The HackerDelete Digit Sam Vander Rom MattWicked Widget The Crab Prince

Diversity Week Talent Show

performance and her book. Shetold the stories of some of the peo-

ple she interviewed, and while thesubject of racism is a serious one,many of these were more light-hearted and humorous. For in-

stance, the Kazakstanian immi-grant revealed his thought thateven the criminals were nice inAmerica, because one day, when amugger pulled a gun to his head inhis cab in order to rob him, themugger ended up giving the immi-

grant a dollar because of his lackof money. Some stories weremarked with irony, such as theRomanian immigrant who wasracist against non-whites and gyp-sies in her early life. Then, whenshe came to Queens, she ended upgoing to school with many Middle

Easterns, blacks, and Hispanics.Judith Sloan truly opened every-ones eyes to the true meaning of

Diversity Week, not through over-used clichs, but with a perform-ance that will not be forgotten.

Photo Credit:

Elissa Tam


11/12

11THE STUYVESANT STANDARDSPORTS Ma rch 18, 2008VOL. 7, No. 8

in the first round as a #1 seed, butthat doesnt really matter. I am the

jealous type, and karma must beavenged.

Then theres also the pridefactor. As the sports columnist, Ifeel obligated to know my stuff soI dont get embarrassed. At one

point last year during the secondround, I was in second-to-last

place in my group and the SportsEditor for a different paper waslast. Two years ago, one of myfriends, who Im pretty sure stilldoesnt follow college basketball,won my group because he decidedto put Florida in the Final Four.Theres only one thing to take forgranted: Anything can happen inMarch.

THE SPORTS BEATcontinued from p age 12

MARCH M ADNESSco ntinued from p age 12

The NBA Shuffleby David Feng

s ta f f w r i t e r As the trade deadline passed

recently, there was a flurry of block-buster trades that stormed the NBA.In swaps that involved superstarnames like Shaq, The Matrix and J-Kidd, almost the entire power struc-ture of the Western Conference wasreordered. Some of them were goodtrades, while others were less so.

First, lets us take a look at theLakers-Grizzles trade, in which theLakers traded Kwame Brown,Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, thedraft rights to Pau Gasol's brotherMarc, and first round picks in 2008and 2010 for Pau Gasol and a 2010second-round pick. This has shownto be a great deal for the Lakers, asthe Lakers won game after game

with Gasol on the lineup. WhenBynum returns from injuries, theLakers will have one of the beststarting lineups in the league. How-ever, it is not fair to say it is a com-

pletely disadvantageous trade for theGrizzles. This deal allows them torebuild the team while developingyoung and talented players. Yes,they have given up this season, butat least they are planning for thefuture.

Next up, the Nets sent J-Kiddto Dallas in return for Devin Harrisand a few other players. A good

point guard, like Kidd in Dallas, canreally improve a team. Only a fewguys in the NBA see the floor betterthan Kidd. He can make plays forothers and give open shot opportuni-ties to Dirk. It is true that Kidd is

aging, but it seems like his passingability improves as he ages. The

Nets did not live up to their expecta-tions this season, so they hope toturn things around through this trade.As for now, the role of Harris in the

Nets is unclear. As an emerging star point guard, will Harris be able to

live up to Kidds legacy in the Nets?The most shocking trade has to

be the Shaq-Marion deal. Even peo-ple in the league were shocked aboutthe trade. Many people started towonder about Steve Kerr (the Suns

GM)s judgment. The Suns run-and-gun style can be ineffective as aresult of Shaqs presence. However,theres still logic behind this trade.Even though the Suns were and stillare an excellent team during theregular season, they failed to go deepinto the playoff because they didnt

Kevin Durant to the NBA. If Texascan beat Kansas in the Big 12Tournament, a #1 seed and a trip toSan Antonio are in the cards.4 Teams to Stay Away From:

1. Memphis: In the past 10 years,only 3 teams not from one of themajor conferences have made theFinal Four: George Mason in 2006,Marquette in 2003 (from the oldConference USA), and Utah in

1998. Although Memphis hasshown its impressive talents innon-conference wins against Con-necticut, Georgetown, and Ari-zona, its conference schedule has

been filled with bad teams likeTulane and the University of Cen-tral Florida. The grind that teamslike Duke and UCLA get from

playing challenging schedules yearround will be a disadvantage forMemphis in the later rounds.

2. Duke: If Duke hits their three- pointers, they could conceivablywin the tournament. If they gocold, theres no telling when theycould lose. A recent stretch ofDuke basketball had them losing

by 13 to Wake Forest and 1 to Mi-ami. In those two games, Duke

have that big man that can dominatethe post Amare is more suitableas a power forward than as a center.Good trade or not for the Suns, onlythis Aprils playoffs can tell. As forthe Heat, the addition of Marion will

definitely be helpful for changingtheir miserable record. Pat Riley saidthat Wade and Marion reminded himof Jordan and Pippen, although thissounded like an exaggeration.

Last but not least was theKings-Hawks trade, in which theKings sent Mike Bibby for AnthonyJohnson, Tyronn Lue, LorenzenWright, Shelden Williams and a2008 second-round draft pick.Bibby, as we know, is one of the

best point guards in the league whenhe is healthy. As time goes on, hewill see that he can rely on his newteam because it has a lot of new tal-

ents like Joe Johnson, Josh Smith,and Al Horford. Then, with the100% recovered Bibby, the Hawkscan be a very dangerous team. Thedeal doesnt work as well for theKings because the players that theyreceived are not quite at the levelBibby is. To make it worse, the Westis too good and they need a veteran

point guard.The trade deadline has passed,

and the teams are set. It is now up tothe players to see who can adapt totheir new environment the quickestand help their team reach the play-offs.

The Suns attempt to tweak their style of play without losing t heir fast-paced identity after trading to acquire

PhotoCredt:ElissaTam

shot 29 and 40 percent from be-hind the arc respectively. Lackingany semblance of an inside game,the Blue Devils will have to be hotto make it to the final weekend.One unfavorable matchup, such asthe Lopez twins of Stanford in theElite Eight, and the Blue Devilswill be toast.

3. Xavier: Currently ranked ninthin the AP Top 25 poll, Xavier hasyet to be challenged in conference

play. Looking through their sched-ule, there isnt much to be im-

pressed with besides a home winagainst Indiana. Losses at Miamiof Ohio and at Temple show thatXavier still has some work to do ifthey want to make the secondweekend.

4. Any #16 seed: Dont do it. Theclosest any #16 seed has come towinning a game was a loss in over-time in 1990.

4 Players To Watch:

1. Michael Beasley, forward, Kan-

sas State: The do-it-all forward is acontender for the National Playerof the Year. Averaging 26.7 points,12.6 rebounds and 40 percent fromthree, Beasley has single-handedly

put Kansas State on the map. Hell

be a handful for any team playingthe Wildcats.2. Adam Emmenecker, guard,Drake: This former walk on hasled Drake to their first postseasontournament victory in the school's32 years of Missouri Valley Con-ference (MVC) play. In addition toaveraging 8.5 points, 4.6 rebounds,and 6.2 assists, Emmeneckerclaimed the MVC player of theyear as well as the MVC Tourna-ment MVP. He's also a quadruplemajor in finance, management,entrepreneurial management, andgeneral business. And you thoughtyou had a lot of work.

3. Ty Lawson, point guard, NorthCarolina: An ankle injury againstFlorida State exposed North Caro-linas weak depth at point guard.Lawson needs to be at 100% if theTar Heels want to make it to theFinal Four. If hes healthy and theHeels can beat Duke in Durhamand then again in the ConferenceChampionship, a #1 seed should betheirs.

4. DJ White, Forward, Indiana:

Indiana has gone through a lot thepast few weeks, with coach KelvinSampson forced to resign in arecruiting scandal. Althoughrumors of the team walking out on

interim coach Dan Dakich wereunfounded, a lot of pressure isgoing to be on this senior forward.

Named a Second Team AllAmerican by Sports Illustrated,White is averaging 17.2 points and10 rebounds a game. If starfreshman Eric Gordon goes cold,White needs to pick up the slack inorder for the Hoosiers to make it tothe final weekend.


12/12

March Madness: The

Power of Four

Its

Madness

THE SPORTS BEATco ntinues on pa ge 11

For as long as I can remember, one of myfavorite days of the year, besides my birthdayand the last day of school, was the Monday

after Selection Sunday for the NCAA CollegeBasketball Tournament. I would spend all mytime before school trying to decide who would

be the champion of college basketball.Im clearly not alone. According to out-

placement firm estimates, the economy suffers$1.5 million in lost productivity during themonth. That includes filling in the brackets,researching the picks, and following the games.Millions of people, most of whom will neverwatch a college basketball game, follow thesame ritual every year.

The problem for the ultra-competitive typelike me is that picking winners is like winningthe lottery. Take two years ago, as an example.Out of all the brackets filled in on ESPN.com,

only two had George Mason, the biggest sur- prise of that years tournament, in their finalfour. One person, a software engineer fromOmaha, Nebraska, confused George Masonwith George Washington, another mid-Atlanticschool. The difference was that George Wash-ington had a 26-2 record while George Mason

barely snuck into the tournament. The second, a15-year-old, has claimed he filled in more than20 brackets last year (ESPN only allows for 5).To summarize, to win is to be lucky.

This year, picking teams will be compli-cated by the college admissions process. As anapplicant to four schools who should qualifyfor the tournament, I must be prepared to takerevenge on any school which sends me a rejec-tion letter. Yes, that means I might pick NorthCarolina to become the first team ever to lose

12 SPORTSTHE STUYVESANT STANDARD March 18, 2008VOL. 7, No . 8

by Er ic Mayo

managing ed i to r

MARCH M ADNESSc ontinues on page 11

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a voluntary association of about 1200 institutions, organizations and individuals that organ-izes the athletic programs in many colleges and universities in the United States.

Spring is coming, the birds are chirping, andbrackets are being filled out. Oh, what a joyousmonth March is. To help you prepare for theupcoming tournament, heres a preview of whatsto come.

4 Teams To Watch:

1. UCLA: The only thing that has stood betweenthe Bruins and back-to-back NCAA titles is theFlorida Gators. Although Florida graduated its bigfour (forward Joakim Noah, forward Al Horford,guard Corey Brewer, and guard Taurean Green),UCLAs core players remain with one addition.Freshman forward Kevin Love is in contention forthe PAC-10 player of the year award, averaging17 points and 11 rebounds per game. If UCLA cansneak up and claim a #1 seed, they should be ableto go to San Antonio.

2. Davidson: Not many teams can boast playing North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA in the sameyear. Very few teams could keep it competitivefor all three games, which is precisely what theWildcats did. Their incredibly strong non-

conference schedule prepared them well for theirSouthern Conference schedule, allowing them towin their last 19 in a row. Currently projected as a#11 seed by ESPN.com, Davidson will give alarge headache to their first-round opponent.

3. University of Southern California: Last year,

USC advanced to the Sweet 16 before beingeliminated by an 18-0 run by North Carolina. Theteam returns two of the stars from that squad,guard Daniel Hackett and forward Taj Gibson.Leading the way this year is freshman guard OJMayo, who has averaged 20.7 points per gameand is expected to be a first-round pick in the up-coming draft. Although the team has stumbled thisyear, losing games to Mercer at home and Califor-nia on the road, the talent on this team is enoughfor a repeat trip to the Sweet 16.

4. Texas: Though Davidson managed to play North Carolina, Duke, and UCLA competitively,Texas has defeated UCLA in Los Angeles, thenKansas and Tennessee at home. Led by sopho-more point guard DJ Augustin, the Longhornshave not missed a beat even though they lost

issue 8 alpha

Documents