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Page 1: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

The

SpectatorThis special commemorative issue is distributed

courtesy of the Newspaper in Education Program ofThe New York Times.

Page 2: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

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––EEtthhaann MMoosseess

AAllll pphhoottooss iinn tthhiiss iissssuuee aarree bbyy sseenniioorr EEtthhaann MMoosseess��

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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There have been a lot of thankless tasks to perform over these past few weeks, and everyonefrom the Stuyvesant administration to city officials has risen to the occasion. While rescue work-ers, fire fighters and policemen deservedly may come first in our thoughts, we at The Spectatorwant to thank those in their shadows. They have done the myriad things necessary to ensure thatboth Stuyvesant and the city return to normal as soon as possible. And they have done it all underthe most stressful of circumstances.

Thanks first of all to Principal Stanley Teitel, Assistant Principal of Organization Steven Satin,Assistant Principal of Student Services Eugene Blaufarb and to all the supervisory assistant prin-cipals, teachers and staff at Stuyvesant, who helped us to evacuate the school quickly and safelyon the day of the tragedy. Their leadership helped to ensure that all students at Stuyvesant reachedareas of safety as soon as possible. Teachers helped students in many ways: walking them overbridges and for miles to their neighborhoods, giving out their phone numbers, and staying withthem until they reached their families.

Thank you to the Program Office staff, led by Eddie Wong and Steve Kramer, who stayed upnights to create and print new programs for all the students for our time at Brooklyn Tech.

Thanks to the schools across the country who have rallied and raised money for theStuyvesant community.

Thanks to the counselors who have come to school to provide help in getting everyonethrough this difficult and emotionally trying time, and to the School Safety Officers of the NYPD,who risked their own safety to protect ours.

And thank you, too, to the custodial staff, who spent hundreds of hours working beyond thecall of duty taking care of our building for the rescue workers and for us.

Close to home there is the Parents’ Association, whose efforts have helped us not only to keepthe same schedules and teachers while at Brooklyn Tech, but also to expedite our safe return toStuyvesant. In addition, Deputy Chancellor David Klasfeld told the Stuyvesant community that itwould be his main job to make sure that we get back to our building as soon as possible. Withouttheir aid, it might have been considerably later than October 9 that we returned to our building.

With so many things happening at once, it would be disastrous if information were notrelayed to all the students and teachers. Stuyvesant Network Administrator Michael Zamanskykept everyone in touch and up to date by recreating the Stuyvesant website, which he did with thehelp of graduate Charles Knipe, who was able to get him access to a server, memory, and Stuy’smailing lists. He has also sent e-mails that have informed, comforted, and united the Stuyvesantcommunity. Students Gary He and David Blackman have also helped to keep everyone updatedthrough the the website stuynet.com and the Student Union website, respectively.

And finally to Eden Marx, who organized the mural painting that brought the Stuyvesantcommunity together.

Thank you all.

Editor’s Note: This publication is an updated reprint from our October 2 issue of The Spectator. Allof the articles are from that date unless otherwise noted.

The SpectatorThe Stuyvesant High School Newspaper

“The pulse of the student body”

Editor in ChiefJeff [email protected]

Managing EditorCandace Nuzzo

News Laura KrugAbigail Deutsch

Features Patrick ManganAbbie Zamcheck

Opinions Jeff DelauterDanny NassreBen Magarik

Arts & EntertainmentMax WillensJane PaeYousaf Khalid

Sports Josh RossArthur TebbelStanley Fang

PhotographyEthan [email protected] Firetog

LayoutDavid GetsoffEddie ChoRegan Fox

ArtAlison Shapiro

CopyRobyn SteimanChristina Shin

Business ManagersIsaac BotierGaia Filicori

Business ManagersWill Terrano

Faculty AdvisorHolly Epstein [email protected]

For a subscription to TheSpectator, send $25, or for areprint of this issue, send $3 to:

The Spectator345 Chambers StreetNew York, NY 10282(212) 312-4800 ext. [email protected]

©2001 The SpectatorAll rights reserved by the creators.

This publication is provided to Times readers by the Newspaper in Education program of The New York Times. The content was created solely by the students ofStuyvesant High School and did not involve the reporting or editing staff of The NewYork Times. We welcome your comments to: Newspaper in Education, The New YorkTimes, 229 West 43rd Street, 9th Floor, New York, N.Y. 10036-3959, or via e-mail [email protected].

R.R. Donnelley, one of the largest printers in the U.S., is proud to bring this work tolife at its own expense. The paper was furnished by Stora Enso North America.

In addition, we wish to thank the following for their generosity:

• The College Board, The Surdna Foundation, and The New York Times CompanyFoundation, for underwriting our printing costs for the original printing of this issue;

• New York State Housing Finance Agency and The State of New York Mortgage Agency,Keyspan, Polytechnic University, and Global Youth Action Network, for furnishing officespace and equipment;

• Young PRESS (www.youngpress.org) for supporting young journalists and connecting us tovaluable resources;

• Dr. Jane Goodall for submitting pieces for the original edition;• Dr. Steven Shapiro and Mr. Douglas Goetsch for their guidance;• And the numerous people who spent time and energy providing expertise, advice, and

support.

We could not have done it without you, and we are grateful.

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

From the Editors

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They were told the towers wouldn’t fall.Principal Stanley Teitel was sitting at his desk

at 8:48 A.M. on Tuesday, September 11, when heheard a bang and felt the school tremble. He sawthat the north tower of the World Trade Centerwas in flames and called the superintendent’soffice.

“[The deputy superintendent] said, ‘Is any-one in danger?’ and I said, ‘[There’s] no danger tous,’” Teitel said. “She said, ‘Then keep everyonein the building and they’ll be safe.’ And that’swhat we did. Until about ten minutes later.”

The second plane struck the south tower at9:03 A.M., jamming communications and leavingthe administration without further guidancefrom the Board of Education. But the F.B.I. andSecret Service agents who appreared in Teitel’soffice on the first floor wanting to use it as a com-mand center had some information to offer, theprincipal said.

“I looked over to [the agent in charge], andall I said was, ‘I have just one question. What arethe chances of those towers coming down?’ Helooked at me and said, ‘No chance.’ Based onthat, I made my decision.”

Teitel announced that students were to stayin the building.

“You need to understand at this momentthat there are no trains and no buses in LowerManhattan,” Teitel said over the loudspeaker. “Soleaving the building, you can’t go home. There’snowhere to go, and I think it’s dangerous in thestreet because of falling debris. Stay in the build-ing. Stay away from the windows on the southside of the building. Those are the windows nearthe Statue of Liberty.

“We have security in the building, and feder-al agents,” Teitel continued. “If anyone asks forID, please, just present your ID or your programcard so we know you belong in the building.Whatever you do, just stay calm. Try to go toclass. If you stay in the hallways we just don’thave enough room for walking. If you have a freeperiod and you want to sit quietly, you’re wel-come to come to the theater. I will try to come onthe PA before 10:30 and give you more informa-tion. Thank you.”

Several days later Teitel said he could notrecall making the announcement.

A little while later, Assistant Principal ofStudent Services Eugene Blaufarb announced

over the loudspeaker that students were to reportto homeroom; he soon announced he wasextending homeroom until further notice.

“The federal officials were talking aroundme, saying they didn’t know whether the planeswere part of an overall plot,” said Blaufarb in alater interview. “It could have been a larger plot,with people on the ground, coming out of covertplaces. One of my concerns was closing theperimeters, keeping the students inside thebuilding; that’s why everyone was sent to home-room.”

They were told the towers wouldn’t fall. Butthey did. At 9:50 A.M. the south tower collapsed,sounding a great boom and sending a shockwave through the school.

“And we realized the guy who told me wewere safe had no clue,” Teitel said. “No clue.”

“A federal official came to me and told methe north building was in danger of falling, and itcould hit us—which it couldn’t,” Blaufarb said.“But the shock wave, if it came at us, could bringour building down.”

Teitel huddled with other members of theadministration and after “just a few minutes”they devised a new plan. Blaufarb announcedover the loudspeaker that students were to evac-uate the building from the north side, slowly andcalmly.

“My main concern was panic,” Blaufarbsaid. “Many students were crying and gettingscared, and for good reason. I wanted everyoneout of the building as quickly as possible, but assafely as possible.”

To that end, Blaufarb said, he had to appearcalm. “It was important to say, ‘Okay, there’s nodanger,’ even though the danger was tremen-dous.”

He added, “It’s my job even when I’m scared.I have to keep in mind what my duty is.”

Teitel and Blaufarb positioned themselves inthe lobby, Teitel near the security desk, Blaufarbstanding on a chair, instructing students “to keepmoving slowly, exit the building, and move northtowards Chelsea Piers,” Teitel said. “We justwanted to get you north.”

“We were trying to evacuate 3,500 peoplethrough two doors,” Blaufarb said. “I’d let 200through the door, wait 15 seconds, and let thenext 200 through.”

Teitel said he thought the evacuation went

An Administration in Crisis

AAbbiiggaaiill DDeeuuttsscchh

Spectator staff members col$lected scores of personalaccounts from Stuyvesant stu$dents and faculty members�These anecdotes describe theirexperiences before� during�and after Tuesday’s attack asthey remember them�

Reporting by:

Marlon BishopChristina Chang

Adina DavidLindsey Gurin

Jane PaeSusie Poppick

Jessica SkolnickDaniel Walker

Lisa XuLily Yoon

Shali Zhang

I watched in horror as I sawwhat I first thought was rub$ble� but then realized was peo$ple jumping from the building�People stood in the gash in thebuilding waving jackets andshirts� trying to catch theattention of the people below�I looked up at the TV in theroom and noticed debris wasbeginning to fall rapidly fromthe upper floors� I looked outthe window and saw the thou$sands of people on the streetscreaming and running north$ward and ambulances and fireengines below the buildingbegin to be engulfed in a pileof debris and ash� I wasmotionless as I realized thecloud was moving towards theschool and the lights flickeredand the building shook…�When I finally got onto WestStreet I turned around andlooked at the place that theTwin Towers once stood andlooked to my left� where Inoticed that a man was walk$ing� shell shocked� covered inwhite dust� All I could think ofwas the resemblance to aghost this man had� He eerilywalked forward because thatwas the only thing that hecould do� he just kept walking�It was almost like walkingalongside a man who wasn’tthere� You got the feelingthat he understood just howclose he came to death�—Sasha Gsovski� senior

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Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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very smoothly: the studentbody was quieter than he’dever heard it.

At 10:30 A.M., as studentswere filing out, the northtower came down.

After the students left,Teitel went into I.S. 89, theintermediate school acrossChambers Street fromStuyvesant, to see if he couldhelp them evacuate safely.

But I.S. 89 had alreadybeen evacuated, so Teitel re-entered Stuyvesant to makesure it was empty too. Then hewalked north to Chelsea Piers,where he and several teachersorganized younger studentsinto groups for transportationhome. Other teachers cameupon students walking homeand took them under theirwing, helping them find theirway.

“Teachers walked stu-dents across the BrooklynBridge, the 59th Street Bridge;others went up to the EastSide, the West Side,” Teitelsaid. “Another teacher gavestudents his home phonenumber in case there wereany problems.”

Teitel then proceedednorth to Superintendent TonySawyer’s office, located inMartin Luther King, Jr. HighSchool on 66th Street andAmsterdam Avenue.

The superintendent waswaiting to hear from Teitel “sohe could tell the Board what the status was of stu-dent safety in all the schools of that area,” Teitelsaid. “Much earlier, his deputy had told me to sittight. He had no way of knowing what hadensued from that point. As soon as I got there Iwent right into his office.

“So I gave him the report; I said as far as Iknew, Stuyvesant High School was evacuated,that no one had been hurt in any way—physical-ly, of course—that everyone was now being

walked by faculty members to other boroughs.”And now that it’s over, how do the adminis-

trators feel? “I’m still very affected, still very trou-bled by what happened,” Blaufarb said.

Teitel’s take was slightly different. “I thinkhaving the responsibility of 3,000 students, 200-plus adults, everything I’ve had to do in the lasteight, nine days, I haven’t had time to sit downand think about what I’ve witnessed as an indi-vidual,” Teitel said. “I’ve just been too busy.”

If this were a movie evacua$tion it would have been fun;my friends wouldn’t be cry$ing; I wouldn’t be crying� Ifthis were a movie my legs

wouldn’t be sore from walk$ing from Stuy to Lexington

Avenue� and dummies wouldfall from the buildings� not

people; the Twin Towerswould not be scattered across

Lower Manhattan and thatdark cloud would have not

caught in my throat as Iwalked away as fast as I

could� But this isn’t a movie�It’s the scariest day of my life�

—Lu Han� sophomore

These things happen in theworld� The only way it’s dif$

ferent from other events likethis is that this happened in

the U�S� You don’t see theother people in other coun$

tries be as crazy as we are—most of those people don’t

realize that it’s perfectly fairto have an attack on our soil�

considering the politicalstands we have all around the

world�—Brian Chu� sophomore

I saw people jumping andthey looked like debris� I did$n’t know people would jump�

—Marisa Ip� sophomore

I had been called to the officeimmediately following thefirst plane crash� so I didn’t

get to see much of myteacher’s reaction� because afriend’s dad was there to get

me…� Some of my friendswere crying� others were try$

ing to make jokes� becausethat was how they dealt with

it…� I can’t watch the newsanymore� so I have been

helping at fundraisers andclothing/food drives� I went

to a candle lighting ceremonyin the park� and it made me

feel a lot better� —Erica Meyer� freshman

While both towers were stillstanding, people started makingtheir way north. Here, they passunder the TriBeCa bridge, which

leads into Stuyvesant.

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Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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Union Square, September 16, 2001

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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As I reached the senior bar�my friend JoJo told me that

the crowd of people gatheredin front of her had all entered

the building bearing reportsof a plane that had hit the

World Trade Center� Ithought it was a joke� Or a

little plane� one of those tinythings that carry maybe

seven people� I thought itwould have bounced right off

the tower���� More cryingnow� My best friend’s dad is

in the building� We don’tknow where� The phones aredown� I have no idea what todo so I actually go to my nextclass� We were able to watchthe news there� There was alive setup� a woman describ$ing what she had seen as she

escaped from Tower One�Bloody people� She screams�

The camera pans towards thetower and something hap$pens� The TV goes off� the

lights go off� the floor shakes�I grabbed onto my friend’s

hand and started cryingagain���� I just remember� as

we were running up WestStreet� I turned back� expect$

ing to see one burning tower�and all I could see was smoke

and dust�Every night� though� I make

myself stay up as late as I canin order to avoid any difficul$

ty in falling asleep or anynightmares� I am scared to bealone� I try to see my friendsand do fun� “normal” thingsto get my mind off of what

happened� It works temporar$ily� I am no stranger to grief�

as my mother died when Iwas eleven� Yet each day Ithink “OK� I’ve passed that

stage where it upsets me somuch� I won’t cry anymore�”

And each day I’m wrong�Each day I have cried just a

little bit more�—Jessica Copperman� senior

We need to take action; thisisn’t a time to sit back and

see what happens� Enough isenough�

—Tal Itzkovich� senior

7

Oct. 24—Tuesday, September 11, started off as anormal day for Stuyvesant’s custodial staff. Themorning shift began at 6:00 A.M. It seemed thatthe only thing that would pose a major problemthat day was a malfunctioning passenger eleva-tor.

But when word got out that planes hadstruck the World Trade Center, that day becamethe beginning of a three-week restoration efforton the part of our school janitors.

From the day of the attacks until October 1,Stuyvesant’s 30 custodians worked 24-hourshifts for the first week, followed by 12-hourshifts.

“After the first day, I left here Wednesday,9:00 at night, and I was back here at 6:00 the nextmorning,” said Chief Engineer Thomas Bulger,who is part of the morning staff and was amongthe seven custodians who had been in the build-ing as the disaster unfolded.

According to Bulger, the first order of busi-ness as the towers began to collapse had been tomake sure that everybody got out of the buildingduring the evacuation. From then on, the custo-dians worked to secure the building until theywere advised by the police to evacuate the build-ing as well. According to Custodial EngineerPeter Lopa, the police were taking precautionsagainst neighboring gas mains that had sufferedstructural damage and posed a possible hazard.“We left the building and we were walking up theWest Side like everybody else was,” Bulger said.

The custodians managed to get back intothe school with the help of Custodial SupervisorJerry Berke, who had stayed in the building thewhole time. The custodians immediately offeredtheir services.

“The first thing was to get to the bath-rooms,” said custodian Kyle Hogan. “Because wedidn’t have any electricity in the building, noneof the toilets could flush.”

“All the firemen and cops were coming in touse the bathrooms, and guys had to come in toclean,” said custodian Michael Scoma. “I can’tbegin to describe the filth.”

The building’s electricity, as well as all thepower, had been cut once 7 World Trade Centerfell, leaving much of the school without poweruntil an emergency generator was turned on.But even with backup power on, many of theschool’s services remained off, including thewater pumps.

“The emergency generators only providepower for the elevators, corridor lights, andstairway lights,” explained Bulger. “They’re notdesigned to run the building, per se, but rather[are designed to] help with evacuations andother emergency situations, which we had.”

Without water, and with little food and rest,the custodial staff worked under what theydescribe as “extreme conditions.” Some workedtwo to three days straight without going home.Later that week, with the help of the police,another generator was set up outside the school,

which finally allowed the water pumps to beturned on.

From that point on, everybody, according toHogan, simply “made themselves useful.”

“We basically had to do anything we coulddo,” he said. “There was too much to do at alltimes, so there was never any reason to not bebusy.”

In addition to mopping behind other emer-gency workers and making sure everything wasclean, the custodians set up numerous tables onthe stage of the theater, which served as a tem-porary headquarters for the fire and policeforces.

The custodians were quick to mention thatwhile they worked, humanitarian groups like theAmerican Red Cross helped them out.

“The first day, we didn’t have enough sup-plies, but a couple of days later, we had toomuch of everything,” said Bulger. “The Churchof Scientology was absolutely outstanding. Theywere giving massages, they had chiropractorshere, they were giving out toothpaste, tooth-brushes, towels, you name it.”

But despite all their work, a number of cus-todians were saddened by the fact that certainNew York City newspapers had referred toStuyvesant as being “closed.”

“This building wasn’t closed at all, just off-limits to the students and teachers,” said Hogan.“There were still people inside this building,working hard to make everything clean.”

“The papers should have gotten their factsstraight,” added Bulger. “This building was des-ignated by the OEM [Office of EmergencyManagement] back in ‘96 or ‘97 as an emergencybuilding during the whole Y2K situation. So itwasn’t actually closed.”

As the relief efforts and the cleaning processfinally came to an end on October 1, the custodi-ans were pleased with the amount of work thatthey had put in.

“What we did for these people, I feel verygood about it,” said Bulger. “We did a good job.”

However, the effects of remaining in theneighborhood for an extended period of timehave become evident, as many members of thecustodial staff suffer from residual symptomssuch as headaches, sore throats, and nauseaupon smelling the air.

“I’m no expert, but when you come homeand your nose is bleeding and your head ispounding, that ain’t psychosomatic,” saidBulger. “There’s something wrong.”

But despite the chaos, the illness, and thelack of recognition, the custodians have man-aged to see the whole situation in a positivelight.

“The camaraderie was just amazing,” saidHogan. “People pulled together like you would-n’t believe.”

Scoma agreed. “We did what we had to do,”he said. “We worked out hearts out, and we’rehappy with what we did.”

Amid Chaos, Custodians Lend Helping HandsJJoohhnn LLeeee

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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I couldn’t think anything� Iwas so upset� I saw red� Myfriends couldn’t calm medown� I wasn’t crying likemost� I was enraged� Theanger came from the help$lessness—I was so close� but Icouldn’t do ANYTHING� Andno matter how strong Ithought I was���I still foundmyself running away fromwhere I had close friends andfamily�—Meg Kuczynski� junior

It all seemed to be a blur; theonly vivid images I rememberis when I was on the marblestaircase� I saw the cloud ofsmoke and dust rush theschool� You could not see outthe windows� All the teach$ers I interacted with werecalm and tried to console thestudents as best as theycould…� I feel homesick� Ithink it makes all of us appre$ciate our school much morethan we did�—Jukay Hsu� senior

I yelled to my class “the TwinTowers just blew up� There’sa big hole in it�” Then every$one went to the windows andpeople were like� “cool” andstuff���� I felt really guiltyafter because I shouldn’t beso intrigued by this tragedy�The shock died down and Igot the picture later on���andit wasn’t pretty� —Lindsay Kim� sophomore

It was a scary experience� Thescariest part was when wewere being evacuated and weheard a crash� Everyone wentrunning in all directions andthere was total panic� I havenever felt so scared in mylife�—Ernest Baskin� sophomore

We sat there and I was talk$ing to my friend who wastalking about the logistics ofthe whole thing and what hewould have done with thePentagon instead�—Hamilton Davis� sopho$more

8

Oct. 24—Even if you’ve suffered from headaches,bloody noses or watery eyes, you have little toworry about, maintained Board of Education, cityand private officials last week in spite of concernsthat air quality is less than perfect.

“The tests so far have really scientificallyproven that everything is all right,” said HowardBader of H.A. Bader Consultants, Inc., a firm ofenvironmental consulting engineers, “It’s gooddata. There really was minimal contamination ofthe school.” The Parents’ Association enlistedBader Associates to review the test results compiledby ATC Associates, Inc., the air testing companyhired by the Board of Education.

According to both Bader and Nancy Orr, man-ager of safety and industrial hygiene at Beckton-Dickinson, a company that manufactures medicalequipment, the testing done by ATC was thoroughand the instruments used in the testing wereappropriate and sensitive enough to detect anysubstances in the air, most particularly asbestos,that might be harmful to the health of the schoolcommunity.

Orr expressed confidence in the accuracy ofthe test results gathered by ATC, which she referredto as a “quality firm.”

“ATC would have calibrated the pumps, proce-dures would have been followed, and results wouldhave been read by an accredited lab,” she said.

The air quality testing has been rigorous,according to Bader and Orr. In fact, Bader said thatwhen the Board of Education declared Stuyvesantready for reoccupancy, he was not immediately sat-isfied. Because the initial testing had been con-ducted without the school’s ventilation system on,it was only after a procedure called “Aggressive AirTesting”—which involves agitating any settled dustin order to inspect it more closely for asbestos andother contaminants—had been done that he feltthoroughly confident that classes should resume atStuy.

Bader said that 53 air samples taken from theschool were found to be “perfectly clean,” and Orradded that the danger threshold for asbestos is 0.1fibers per cubic centimeter, while the air samplesfor the school were found to contain 0.0046 fibersper cubic centimeter.

“If you don’t even reach 50 percent of thethreshold danger level,” said Orr, “there’s no realdanger.”

In addition to asbestos, the air in the schoolhas also been scrutinized for substances such asfiberglass, silica, lead and other particulate matter.Fiberglass is found mostly in insulation and soundsystems, as well as ceiling tiles, said Bader.Fiberglass can be “very itchy and it’s a respiratoryirritant,” but its levels at Stuy, as well as those forsilica, are “way below levels of concern.” He addedthat no lead has been detected in the air at all, andthat since lead paint and other products containinglead have been illegal since 1961—well before theWorld Trade Center complex was built—none isexpected to be found. Also, although levels of cer-tain potentially hazardous materials, such as diox-ins and PCB’s, have been found to be elevated atthe actual World Trade Center disaster site, the lev-els of those substances in the school building arenormal.

Orr also noted that the rains since the disasterhave brought down many of the particulates that

might have been suspended in the air. She alsocites the street cleanings performed by theOccupational Safety and Health Administration aswell as the Environmental Protection Agency asinstrumental in the cleanup effort.

Still, students report that they are sufferingfrom symptoms that they fear may be caused by theair quality inside the building.

“A lot of my friends have been getting sick,”said freshman Amar Doshi. “We’ve been takingpolls … teachers have been curious and they asktheir classes about it and a lot of students raise theirhands.”

However, “Schools in general are lacking whenit comes to really good air quality,” said Bader. “Ithink right now everybody is really focusing on it.Something that might not be an object of concernnormally suddenly is.”

It is not just the air quality directly inside theschool that is worrying the parents of Stuyvesantstudents, according to Parents’ AssociationPresident Marilena Christodoulou. The bargesdirectly north of school, into which loads of debrisfrom the disaster site are being transferred beforebeing hauled to Staten Island, have also become asource of concern because of the dust that theactivity is disseminating into the air. During theOctober 16 PA meeting, which Christodoulou esti-mated was attended by about 1,000 parents, manyvoiced a desire to see the barge removed.

“The motion was passed by a large percentageof the parent body to work with the community toattempt to have the barge moved to another loca-tion,” said Christodoulou in a later interview.

The high incidence of reported health prob-lems also sent worry rippling through the audience.

“One parent mentioned that her child had bro-ken out into hives,” said Christodoulou, “and thensomebody asked for a show of hands of whose kidshad displayed any symptoms. I would say that 20%of the audience raised their hands.”

Christodoulou said that the PA had requestedthat eight more air testing locations be set uparound the school, to supplement the single onethat had originally been established.

“I’m very concerned that we continue to mon-itor [the air quality],” said Donovan Moore, aStuyvesant parent and treasurer of the PA. “As longas we continue to monitor, we shouldn’t get tooconcerned over whether it’s healthy.”

Regarding the health issues reported by Doshiand others, Bader suggested that many symptomsthat members of the school community are experi-encing may be psychosomatic or induced by thestress of returning to the building for the first timesince the September 11 tragedy.

“The foul odor comes from the barge area, andI can only speculate that the odor leads toheadaches, teary eyes,” said Deputy Press Secretaryfor the United Federation of Teachers Ron Davis. “Itappears that the Board of Education officials aretaking all the proper precautions they can take. Theonly other thing would be to somehow encase thebarge area so that particles don’t become airborneand drift toward Stuy. But that’s a judgment call forcity officials.”

Moore added that, although there is no data towarrant it, “Sometimes the most dangerous thingin the air is hysteria. And [hysteria] has been hap-pening at Stuy.”

An “A” for Air QualityLLaauurraa KKrruugg

With additional reporting by AAbbiiggaaiill DDeeuuttsscchh

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 9: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

A poster hangs on the wall of the second-floor entrance hall, right off the bridge. Itannounces, in bold black capital letters:CLUB/PUB INTEREST MEETING 9/20. It’s atypical sight in the halls of Stuyvesant—exceptfor the row of army cots set up on the floorbelow it.

The Stuyvesant building has been trans-formed into a sanctuary for the rescue person-nel working at Ground Zero, according to mili-tary police. And it shows. Almost every floor ofthe building has been affected in some way,from the lobby to the tenth floor.

It wasn’t easy getting into the building inthe first place. We were denied access by threegroups of police officers in rapid succession. Iwas ready to leave, but Ben wouldn’t give up. Wenext tried West Street, where a friendly group ofofficers stopped us and asked our business.After a whole lot of kibbitzing, and showingthem every piece of identification in our wal-lets, they allowed us to pass. I’ll never forgetwhat one of the officers told me before we leftthem.

“Smile!” he said, laughing at my seriousface. “It’s going to be a beautiful day.”

It was comforting to know that despite thetension that rides the dust clouds all over LowerManhattan, some people have retained humorenough to cheer up those who might be unhap-py. I silently wished him every good thing Icould think of as we walked away.

After talking our way through at least fiveother checkpoints, surer each time that wewould never get through, we find ourselves inthe first-floor lobby of the school. Sensory over-load rushes over me as I survey the buildingwhere I’ve gone to school for more than threeyears. Right away, I notice the loud, insistentbarking of a dog, the strange mustiness of theair, and the crates stacked in piles—far tallerthan I am—leaning against the lockers past thesecurity desk.

I notice, as we run up the stairs to the sec-ond floor, that the steps are half-covered withdust. The custodial staff will have a fit, I think,as we race toward the even-floor escalators.

The fourth floor is littered with boxes, butthe strangest thing is the yards and yards ofelectric wires, draped like cobwebs from outletsto lights, taped to walls, floors and columns.Generator power, I conclude silently. We alsonotice that the elevator banks are festoonedwith signs reading “Hot Food 2nd Floor,”“Bedding 3rd Floor” and “Showers 5th Floor.”

The sixth floor is dead silent. I’ve neverseen or heard it that way before.

Finally, panting, we run into a teacher out-side her classroom. She’s shocked to see us, andasks how we managed to get in. We don’t reallyknow.

We collapse into chairs inside the roomand start commenting on the things we’ve seen.She says the first thing she’d noticed was a pile

A Different World

LLaauurraa KKrruugg

I saw a lot of people cryingaround me and on me� and I

couldn’t figure out how ithelps ease any pain that they

were having by crying� —Levon McMullen� sopho$

more

The first one I thought wasan accident� the second I

thought was terrorists� WhenI heard the Pentagon had

been done in too I thought Iwas gonna die� One kid

walked into our class late andsaid that they were making a

movie outside; we all laughedat the time because we had$

n’t realized what had hap$pened�

—Rene Kessler� sophomore

Most people who experiencedthe atrocity on TV said theywere terrified immediately�

However� from a first$personperspective� watching a

World Trade Center towercollapse from the Dth floor� Ican honestly say I was not in

the least bit afraid� It was afeeling of great excitement

instead� as if it was Die HardE or Godzilla & or something�

I was just thinking of howinsane it was� not how many

thousands of people weredying as I was watching�—Paul Banec� freshman

I got uptown� and I was try$ing to find a way to get

downtown� because I wasthinking� ‘I need to get to

work! I’ll miss my classes!’That’s all I was thinking� ThenI sat down and listened to the

news� At that point Ithought� “Okay� something’s

wrong� Forget about going towork; worry about what’s

going on here� Worry aboutfinding your family� worry

about getting home� I nevermade it downtown�

—Jennie Chan� Englishteacher

My mom� who works onCanal Street� had gotten an

urgent call from my dadtelling her that one of the

World Trade Center buildingshad been accidentally hit by a

small plane…� Her firstthoughts were immediately

of me� She ran down to Stuyin under four minutes flat�

—Manny Bierman� freshman

Stuy Reinvented A Glimmer of Hope

On Saturday, September 22, Laura Krug and Ben Magarik went toStuyvesant to survey the scene. These are their stories.

BBeenn MMaaggaarriikk

The train doors open at Franklin Street, and westep out onto the platform. The first thing that hits us isthe air. It’s sharp and piercing, and full of sour pain. Wewalk out to a deserted street, a Saturday morning ghosttown. In the distance, there’s fog, or is it smoke?

Walking to the first checkpoint, we encounter jit-tery policy officers guarding the street. I’m not surewho’s more nervous, us or them. They deny entrance,telling us to go to the next block, where the story’s thesame: keep walking.

We reach the BMCC park, where a man standsnear the checkpoint, furiously videotaping. For the firsttime, I see Stuyvesant, and for some reason, a glimmerof hope strikes me. Here the officers radio their com-mander and we’re told to walk back to the sergeant, aman in a white shirt.

He’s a tall, stern fellow, full of harsh assurance.There’s no way the two of us are getting in. Looking for“the command post” where we can get mayor’s passes,the two of us ramble around the BMCC area, beingturned away by more cops. Laura despairs, she’s sick ofwalking around, she wants to go to work. I insistentlyquestion her about her job, all the time leading ustoward West Street. We finally reach some sheriffs fromSuffolk County, and I talk to the first genuinely friendlyperson in Lower Manhattan. He smiles and points to agroup of cops milling on the corner. Taking out ourschool I.D. cards, we walk up to them, and the negotia-tion begins.

I introduce myself in a firm, steady voice—in starkcontrast to the timid, scared tone I’d used earlier. Weshow them the cards, and they note, in somber jest,that they could be fake. I take out my wallet, handingover my program, Jewish Theological Seminary I.D.,Ultimate frisbee membership card, video rental pass,and my student MetroCard. I pass them over swiftlyand with phony confidence. Suddenly, the key turns inthe lock, and the officers start laughing. They give usour cards back, saying it’s all right, we can go in. Stay tothe left as long as possible, there’s heavy machinery onthe right. I look back at the chuckling officers, noticingone in particular. As we walk away, I’m hoping he livesfor another hundred years.

We’re in.After walking on the left side of the highway along-

side emergency vehicles, buses and barricades, wehave to climb over flowerbeds to cross the street. Myheart is pounding. There are soldiers at a commandpost on our left, heavily armed cops on our right, andeverywhere, construction workers. And at the corner ofChambers and West, yet another officer, after yetanother explanation, smiles and lets us through. Wethankfully tell him to have a nice day.

Into the school we walk, triumphantly holding ourI.D. cards high, through the forbidden front entrance.As we enter, there’s a crowd of cops, rescue workers,and National Guardsmen milling around. They don’tlook at us, and we don’t look at them.

It’s a different world down here. You breathe differ-ent air, the people move differently, and everywherethere is a quiet sense of urgency. Round here, there’s notime for politics, despair, or flag-waving. As we walkaway from the school, I see the site—the twisted skele-ton of a dead animal, a giant whale. We hike throughthe empty streets, carrying philosophy textbooks.

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continued on page 21

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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As New York City reeled from the shock of theWorld Trade Center tragedy, hundreds ofStuyvesant students gathered in Greenwich Villageon Sunday, September 16, to paint two giantmurals commemorating the previous Tuesday’sdestruction and the lives it claimed.

At a time when volunteers and donations offood and clothing overwhelmed relief organiza-tions around the city, Stuyvesant senior Eden Marxorganized an outlet for students, and encouragedeveryone from freshmen to seniors to participatein painting.

“It just struck me as a good idea,” said Marx. “Iwanted to help out in someway.” By bringing Stuy stu-dents together to expressthemselves in a creativeproject, Marx hoped tohelp by both “getting peo-ple’s feelings out and doingsomething nice.”

Marx estimated thatover 400 students gatheredin Washington SquareVillage in Manhattanbetween 10 A.M. and 9:30P.M. to sketch and paint thetwo 12-by-80-foot pieces oftarp. The first mural,designed by John Headley,a graduate of Teachers College at ColumbiaUniversity, depicted a tree growing out of rubblewith “Tree of Life” written in over 35 languages.Senior Alzaber Rubayet designed the second muralon the spot. It was a montage of a city skyline, anAmerican flag, a police badge, a Red Cross armband, and an upside-down fire helmet with asapling growing out of it. At the bottom was a par-tially destroyed brick wall spray-painted with thewords, “New York Thanks Its Heroes.”

Although mostly Stuyvesant students partici-pated in the project, the school’s name was notincluded in the murals because, according to sen-ior Danny Garwood, to do so would have been“selfish.”

Nonetheless, Marx said he wants the muralsto hang on Stuyvesant’s walls. “We need somebodyto physically put it up,” he said. For now, themurals are sitting in Marx’s apartment.

In addition to valuing the murals as artwork,many students said theyenjoyed how students of allgrades and circles cooperat-ed in the face of adversity.“The mural painting was anembodiment of the positiveresults of this tragedy, in thatStuyvesant students had achance to reach out to oneanother and partake in a col-lective event that I believegave the school a greatersense of community,” saidsenior Alice Cao. “I went tothe mural painting because Ifelt that we would be creat-ing a project that represent-ed the togetherness presentat Stuy. It was great to see thelarge turnout and everyoneso eager to lend a hand.”

“I really felt we as a school came together,”said senior Ethan Glasser-Camp. “I wanted tocome because it was a chance to do somethingimportant.”

Marx said he chose the 12-by-80-foot pieces oftarp because he wanted “the dimensions of themurals [to] reflect the image of the two towers andserve as a precious reminder of the immense lossof human life.”

Despite the size of the murals, there wasn’talways enough space to accommodate all the stu-dents at once. Marx said he was surprised by the“incredible” turnout, considering the fact that all

the information was sentout the night before, prima-rily by e-mail. EvenPrincipal Stanley Teitel,Stuyvesant NetworkAdministrator MichaelZamansky, and Stuyvesantfather and U.S. SenatorChuck Schumer stopped byin the early afternoon toobserve the progress.

Marx’s mother,Madeleine, purchased allthe supplies, making theevent possible. Participantswere asked to contribute tendollars to help finance the

project. The profits will be donated to a charity tobe selected.

Photos of the murals can be seen atwww.stuy.edu/mural. Marx was very pleased withhow the project ran. “Everything went so smooth-ly,” he said. “Everyone totally cooperated and werevery spirited about the whole thing.”

Mrs. Marx, who also created the RichardRothenberg Memorial on the fourth floor ofStuyvesant, agreed. “It was a very important dayfor kids to get together and do something con-structive and wonderful,” she said. “And I thinkthey accomplished that.”

Note: The Tree of Life mural was displayed on theeastern side of Stuyvesant. The mural was unableto withstand the wind, and was therefore removed.The second mural was cut in half and bordered theUnited States flag for the senior photo, and will beused for the Graduation Ceremony in June.

Painting for PeaceA Community United by Tragedy

JJaannee PPaaee

My teachers listened to allthe announcements and fol$lowed orders� It was weirdbecause I was with a teacherwho was extremely confusedand none of us understoodhim� I was mostly concernedabout everyone in Stuy�including my brother���� Iremember being in the lobbyas the second tower camedown and being really scared;all of the emergency vehiclesand workers came rushingtowards us and everyonestarted pushing to go out theother way�—Jeremy Wooster� freshman

Walking closer to the WorldTrade Center complex� wewere searching for a betterview� We found� literally�more than we could handle�Standing on the corner ofChambers Street andGreenwich Street� time stoodstill� For what seemed like aneternity� I stood there�clutching my best friend� andstared���� Then the tower fell�Scared out of my mind� Idragged my friend backtowards our school� hopingto find my brother and runaway� To the south� a dustcloud was going west andnorth—towards where wewere standing� A mass ofpeople moved� becoming atonce a single� frightenedorganism and several chaoticparts� Finally in school� Icouldn’t hold it in anymore����For the first time since Ifound out my mom was sick�I cried�—Laurence Wooster� senior

10

ENDINGS by Alison ShapiroThe plane has gouged a mouth into the side of the building. The mouth exhales tidal waves of deep gray smokethat curl around the building’s sharp steel angles like the way the smoke from the heroine’s cigarette always curls perfectly around her face in old movies. People fall like meteors alongside the debris. The first guy I ever really loved somehow ends up holding me.It is the first time we have touched in over a year.

I am no heroine. I walk uptown chainsmoking while downtownpeople are dying from breathing smoke. I hear a mother singingthe end of the song: Life is but a dream. Her daughter cries.I think about the things I never told people.I think about the horrible beauty in the collapse of a mountain,and how graceful some things can be, falling apart.

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 11: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

Mural painting on Sunday,September 16, brings the Stuy

community together.

Opposite page: Kara Bensonand Nina Townsend lift spirits

with a squint and a smile.

Clockwise from top left:

Finishing touches.

SooChong Kim and EunsuChang put their SING! art

crew experience to good use.

What’s more American thanblue jeans and the flag?

It ain’t easy being green, butLaurence and Jeremy

Wooster, Carolyn Soroka andKate McCormick have each

other.

A tree grows in Manhattan.

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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Hundreds of Stuyvesant students gathered in Greenwich Village on Sunday, September 16, to paint two murals.Here, they take time out to celebrate their expression of hope and unity. See article on page 11.

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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Greenwich Street, September 11, 2001

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 15: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

Are Stuyvesant students missing? Are theschool’s windows blown out? Was the tragedy ofSeptember 11 predicted hundreds of years ago?

These are just some of the questions beingasked, as rumors fly and confusion abounds inthe wake of the terrorist attacks. The Spectatorhas compiled a list of seven myths that have beencirculating. While occasionally rooted in truth, therumors generally prove to be outlandish exagger-ations or falsifications.Rumor: Two Stuyvesant students are missing.Truth: “Each and every one of the Stuyvesantstudents was brought to a place of safety,” saidDeputy Superintendent of Manhattan HighSchools, Joan Perez, in her address to theStuyvesant community at Brooklyn Tech onSeptember 20.

In Principal Stanley Teitel’s letter to studentsand parents on September 16, he commendedstudents for their mature and responsible behav-ior, allowing a “successful evacuation.”

Assistant Principal Eugene Blaufarb also gavecredit to faculty members for walking “with kidsfor miles. Our staff was there for the kids.” Theadministration has not received any reports ofmissing students or faculty members, so all thosewho were not in school at the time of the evacua-tion are also presumed safe, according toBlaufarb.Rumor: Physical Education teacher WilliamClemmons is missing.Truth: Clemmons explained how this rumormay have started as he sat outside of BrooklynTech on Friday afternoon. His first class is notuntil third period, but he usually gets off of hisexpress bus around 8:45 in close proximity to theWorld Trade Center. However, “it just so happensthat I was running a little late that morning,” saidClemmons. He missed his usual bus that wouldhave just arrived in Manhattan at the time of theattack. Clemmons’ express bus came to a halt inthe Brooklyn Battery Tunnel as traffic was stoppedafter the first tower was struck. Students and fac-ulty aware of his daily commute worried that hemight have gotten caught at Ground Zero as thetragedy unfolded, but “I never made it in,” hesaid.Rumor: Stuyvesant has been used as a militarybase and a morgue since the time of the attack.Truth: According to The New York Times (9/12),emergency management officials originallyintended to use Stuyvesant as a triage center.Trauma surgeons were on hand, and a makeshifthospital had been set up. However, many doctorswaited in vain, as they had only rescue workerswith minor injuries to treat.

When asked if any deceased victims of thedisaster had been moved to Stuyvesant, Teitelsaid, “No way. Never.” He and Assistant PrincipalSteven Satin reentered the building within 48hours of the attack and verified its use.

Stuyvesant was later used to house emer-gency workers and was one of the area’s threecommand centers, according to an e-mail fromthe office of Chancellor Harold O. Levy. Thebuilding was under the auspices of the City’sEmergency Management Office, not the U.S. mili-tary.

As reported in the Newark Star Ledger (9/17),a team of nearly 100 volunteers have workedaround the clock to provide rescue workers,police officers, and fire fighters with gourmetmeals, hot showers, sleeping cots and both men-tal and physical therapy. Some of New York City’stop chefs serve nearly 1,000 meals per day, which

are cooked in the cafeteria and served on the sec-ond floor. The first floor and theater are used asmeeting places and information centers, whilehallways upstairs are stocked with donated goods. Rumor: Stuyvesant and the TriBeCa Bridge, whichcrosses West Street, suffered structural damage dur-ing the terrorist attack.Truth: Teitel and head custodian Peter Lopahave both confirmed that Stuyvesant has not suf-fered any structural damage. In addition, bothcity engineers and the PA’s own engineers ana-lyzed the building and found it structurally sound.Photos do show that the area is littered with dustand debris, but the school has suffered no brokenwindows or other damage. Rumors that theTriBeCa Bridge has been damaged and even col-lapsed may stem from confusion with other col-lapsed pedestrian bridges that once spanned theWest Side Highway, further south.Rumor: Sixteenth-century French philosopher,Michel de Notredame, or Nostradamus, predictedthe September 11 tragedy.Truth: Numerous Stuyvesant students receivedan e-mail that read: “In the year of the new cen-tury and nine months/ From the sky will come agreat King of Terror/ The sky will burn at forty-fivedegrees. Fire approaches the great new city/ Inthe city of York, there will be a great collapse/ Twotwin brothers torn apart by chaos/ while thefortress falls the great leader will succumb/ thirdbig war will begin when the big city is burning.”

According to The New York Times (9/18), this mes-sage combines sentence fragments from variouspassages by Nostradamus with words that he didnot write, creating a provocative but phony pre-diction.Rumor: Since the attack on The World TradeCenter, Arab-Americans have been murdered in thestreets.Truth: In his speech to the packed BrooklynTech auditorium of Stuyvesant students and fac-ulty members on Thursday, September 20,Student Union Vice President Himanshu Suri saidthat Arab-Americans have been the targets of hateand violence following the attack on the WorldTrade Center. In many instances, this has beentrue. The New York Times (9/17) reported that aSikh gas station owner was shot to death inArizona. The F.B.I. is also investigating two othershootings as possible hate crimes.

However, Suri went on to say that “a man wasbeaten to death in public,” and “two women inFlushing, Queens were killed,” in connection tothe tragedy. Suri said that he got this informationfrom friends, but a reporter at the Daily News CityDesk said that there have been no reports of suchretaliatory murders.Rumor: Stuyvesant received a bomb threat shortlyafter the attack on the World Trade Center. Somesay that a bomb was detonated outside of theschool.Truth: Teitel said that Stuyvesant did notreceive a bomb threat and that a bomb definitelynever exploded near the school. However, “downthe street, a pipe had been ruptured,” he said.“Somebody heard about a gas leak a few blocksaway, and now we have a ‘bomb threat’.” Teitel asked, “Ever play the game ‘Telephone’?”

As Smoke Descended, Truth BlurredPPaattrriicckk MMaannggaann

Ever play the game ‘Telephone’?—Principal Stanley Teitel

I first found out a plane hitwhen Teitel made the

announcement that “a smallplane has crashed into the

World Trade Center�” but theway he said it he made it

sound like some moron in a&$person charter plane forgot

to pull up on his stick and itwas a complete accident� so

everyone started laughingand we thought nothing of it�

—Rocksheng Zhong� sopho$more

We walked briskly in thehalls� looking for people we

knew to walk with� watchingall the people in hysterics

holding each other� everyonewas terrified� a lot of people

had family in those buildings�God� My friends had family in

there� And we’re all ready to burstand cry and we all are run$

ning into each other� andwe’re scrunched up against

the whole world� and every$one’s wanting to get out!

It’s a terrible situation� every$one is talking about every$

thing� my friends are makingpages for the students to

post messages about whatwe think and what’s going onnow� After it happened we’reall realizing all the things we

liked about that area�Everyone had their special

spots� We loved to go to the“faraway deli�” as we called it�

for lunch� We loved to go tothe “Cinderella stairs” andwalk across the mirroredbridge� and we’d see the

orchid show� and hang out inthe bookstores� and there

were just so many things thatwe will miss…

—Meghan O’Halloran� junior

I really didn’t expect all thatto happen…� I didn’t expectthe buildings to fall down� I

think it’s too hard to compre$hend� Seeing it on TV is justnot the same� I can’t under$

stand the magnitude of it�—John Mui� guidance

counselor

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Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

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After selecting BrooklynTechnical High School asStuyvesant’s foster home late inthe week of the World TradeCenter tragedy, the Board ofEducation decided to start ourschool day at 11:00 A.M., stick to40-minute classes, and reshuf-fle programs. But protests fromthe Parents’ Association helpedlead to a change of plans,according to Parents’Association President MarilenaChristodoulou.

In order for the originalplan to work, the Stuyvesantcommunity would share thebuilding with Brooklyn Techstudents and faculty for fourperiods in the middle of the day.

“It was hoped that we couldgive as much of an originalinstructional day as possible,”said Principal Stanley Teitel.“During the overlap periods, wewere going to program lunch forour students. That was the rea-son for the reprogramming. Ineeded us to have lunch earlierin the day because they didn’thave enough classrooms.”

But the plan had flaws,according to Teitel andChristodoulou. For one of theoverlap periods, only 10% ofStuyvesant’s classes would be inclassrooms, Christodoulousaid, and “up to 40 classes—1,400 kids—would be in the the-ater being taught by 40 teachersusing portable chalkboards. ThePA felt no meaningful instruc-tion would take place under thecircumstances, with 40 teacherstalking at once.” In addition,students were upset at theprospect of changing programs,which would probably meanswitching teachers.

Teitel said he directedAssistant Principal ofTechnology Steve Kramer toprogram classes for the audito-rium and planned, during classtime, to walk around the build-ing with Brooklyn Tech princi-pal Dr. Lee McCaskill and try toidentify safe areas where classescould meet.

“We’ll identify spaces, thenmove them from the auditori-um, [one] class at a time,” Teitelsaid. “But somewhere along theway we came to realize that thenumber of spaces was not goingto be enough.”

Overcrowding brought notonly space problems but alsosafety problems, Christodoulousaid. There would be over 7,000people in a building that, shesaid, is suited for closer to 6,000.The PA asked Chancellor HaroldO. Levy for a certificate of occu-pancy and evacuation plansand requested that Teitel askManhattan SuperintendentTony Sawyer and McCaskill forthe same information, whichwas never supplied, she said.

Another concern was thatgoing back to Stuyvesant assoon as possible would be bestfor the students, Christodoulousaid—students had been trau-matized enough and needed areturn to normalcy.

To those ends, the PA begane-mailing Levy “big time,” saidTeitel.

According to Christodou-lou, on the weekend of Septem-ber 15, the PA tried to call everyStuyvesant family to informthem that Stuyvesant classeswould resume at Brooklyn Techthe next Thursday, and to askthem to go online and read thePA’s mission statement on itswebsite. On Monday, Septem-ber 17, the PA held an emer-gency board meeting and post-ed a statement on the site ask-ing parents to e-mail theChancellor.

“We didn’t tell them what tosay,” Christodoulou said. “Wewanted the parents to say howthey felt. We gave the facts andour concerns, and if the parentsfelt the same way, we gave theChancellor’s e-mail.”

“By Wednesday morning,the Chancellor had receivedhundreds of e-mails asking for

the immediate return of kids toStuy,” Christodoulou said. Theparents also requested a splitschedule—in which theBrooklyn Tech and Stuyvesantcommunities would never be inthe building at the same time—and 30-minute periods.

Levy requested onWednesday, according to Teiteland Christodoulou, that parentsstop flooding his inbox becausethe deluge had made it difficultto conduct business, and faxhim instead. Christodoulousaid she told Levy her safety andacademic concerns, and he saidhe’d look into it. Later that dayTeitel and Deputy ChancellorDavid Klasfeld informed herthat students would be on asplit schedule. Instead of the30-minute periods the PA hadrequested, 26-minute periodswere implemented. BrooklynTech students had 37-minuteperiods, down from 42. Theyarrived for school at 7:15 A.M.and left by 1:15 P.M. First periodfor Stuyvesant began at 1:30 P.M.and the school day ended at6:23 P.M. According to Teitel,because Stuyvesant studentswill no longer be in the buildingat the same time as Tech stu-dents, we won’t need lunchearly in the day to ease crowd-ing, thus reprogramming wasunnecessary.

Christodoulou said she waspromised that the Stuyvesantbuilding would be underStuyvesant’s control by October1. A 24-hour cleanup crew isstanding by; it will take betweentwo and five days after the vol-unteers now using the buildingleave to clean it, Christodoulousaid. Both city engineers andthe PA’s own engineers analyzedthe building and found it struc-turally sound.

“I know from experiencethat in the Board of Ed, whenparents unite as ours did and e-mail the Chancellor big time,he’d [have] to realize he had toreconsider the program he hadput forward,” Teitel said.

For now, Christodoulousaid, her main concern is seeingthat the October 1 deadline iskept.

“It is very important tohave the most continuity andthe least disruption,” she said.

Pressure from Parents, Change of Plans

AAbbiiggaaiill DDeeuuttsscchh

It was shocking� It made yourealize how vulnerable we areas a country� how unpre$pared� It was so easy to dowhat they did� The scariestpart of it� for me� is thatwe’re fighting an unconven$tional war� It’s not like fight$ing against Iraq� There’s nomilitary base to bomb� nocountry to target���� I’m verydoubtful of our ability toeliminate terrorism�Politicians keep making prom$ises that they can’t keep� Theterrorists have guerilla fight$ers� they’re on strange ter$rain� much of Pakistan is sym$pathetic to their cause� It’ll bevery difficult�—Robert Sandler� social stud$ies teacher

We heard this screechingnoise and then a real loudboom� It was so loud it shookall the desks� and our desksare fastened to the floor; itwas a lab room� We thoughtit was just a car accident� butthe kid next to me was sure itwas something more—hethought it was a plane crash�About five minutes later� wesee the second plane justcrash into the second build$ing� and we’re in hysterics�We think the debris has justbecome immense� until welook closer and realize thatit’s actually people jumpingfrom the WTC���� A few min$utes later� we see the secondbuilding crumble� They even$tually evacuate us and we’rerunning outside� And thenpeople are just screaming thatthe other building had crum$bled as well� so they rush usback in the building� but mostof us are already out� and thepolice push us out� but thenwe hear gunshots� and there’schaos everywhere� Peoplestart firing guns� and thepolice tell us to stay low andrun for our lives� so five mileslater� we look back� and seeeverything in smoke� Today isentirely different in NewYork� The once bustling city issilent with tears�—Jeng Tyng Hong� junior

16

For one of the overlapperiods ... up to 40 class-es—1,400 kids—would be

in the theater beingtaught by 40 teachersusing portable chalk-

boards.

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 17: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

Several white flakes of paint fell on juniorDavid Pagano as he sat in the stuffy Brooklyn Techauditorium. He quickly assured his classmatesthat this debris did not remind him of the towers’collapse.

The planes hit, the tower smoked, our citychanged, our world changed; and it all happenedin front of our eyes. As students returned toschool at Brooklyn Tech Thursday, September 20,these images were still fresh in our minds.

Some students said the emotions of theirclassmates were affected by how much of the dis-aster they viewed. And fewer students thanexpected availed themselves of the counselingprovided by the school.

Assistant Principal Gene Blaufarb said thestaff of 12 professionals received only a “trickle” ofstudents on the first Monday after the attack, aday students were informed via the Internet thatthey could receive counseling at Brooklyn Tech.After Friday’s full cycle of classes, guidance coun-selor Eleanor Archie had not seen the number ofstudents that she expected. “We’ve been reachingout to kids,” she said.

However, some sought relief from othersources.

According to senior Gary He, the World Trade

Center Disaster discussion board on his websitereceived over 3,000 ‘hits.’

Senior Ruby Jong said that discussing theevent with her friends helped to get it out of hersystem. On September 11, Jong and most of herfriends felt safe the entire day. She said only whenshe got home did she realize the magnitude of theevent, though it never seemed to “directly affect”her.

But junior Matt Zeidel said there was amarked difference between those who witnessedthe flailing limbs of workers falling from the WorldTrade Center and those who did not. “A lot of peo-ple saw more than I did,” he said. “These peoplehave been a lot more hesitant to talk aboutthings.”

Although Zeidel didn’t see the jumpers,another image dominated his mind. “I saw thebridge being completely covered in a cloud ofdust,” said Zeidel. “At that point I thought this isgoing to affect us big time, this isn’t something wecan just get past.”

But Pagano wishes he could just forget.He said, “Safe is still a place in my home, in

my bed, where I can pretend none of this everhappened.”

“Everyone’s in denial,” said Archie.

After barely four days at Stuyvesant, fresh-men were abruptly driven out of their new schoolwhen two planes crashed into the World TradeCenter on September 11. The freshmen, barelyaccustomed to travelling to and from Stuy, wereforced to find their way home, some equippedonly with the basic survival information they hadacquired from their Big Sibs during orientation.

Freshman Hannah Pinski said, “I thoughtthat my dad was in the building, or near it, and Ithought that he was dead. When I saw the firsttower falling from biology class, I thought that itwas all over and that I was going to die that day.”Pinski later found out her dad had changed hisplans that morning, and had not gone downtown.

In the hallway, Pinski met a friend who hadjust seen people jump from the Twin Towers.Perhaps from shock, the friend “suddenly wentfrom laughing and broke down crying hysterical-ly.” When the building shook slightly and thelights flickered, freshman Alex Zedlozich said hebecame scared because he thought a part of theplane had hit the school. Freshman TheresaLangschultz said she feared that the towers wouldfall, like a tree, onto the school. Langschultz saidlater that before the attacks, her greatest worryhad been remembering her locker combination.

As they evacuated Stuyvesant, the 800-plusclass of freshmen clustered in groups for support.They stumbled out onto the sidewalk where theyencountered a cloud of smoke and ash movingtowards them. “A man told us the smoke wasabout two minutes behind,” said freshman RachelGlicksman, “and at that point we knew we had torun.” In a state of confusion and fear, the fresh-men, along with older students more familiar withthe area, made their way up West Street and toChelsea Piers.

As they headed up the Hudson, many tried invain to get in touch with their friends and families,

their cell phones useless. Since they had attendedorientation and the first couple of days of classes,some said they had a good understanding of theschool and its location by that time.

Other freshmen were perplexed about towhat to do next. One wandered a bit too faruptown and ended up lost at 82nd Street. Luckily,he was assisted by sophomore Elisa Lau and herfriends who directed him home. Freshman NickMroz never made it to school—he was turnedaway from the entrance by police just after thesecond plane hit. He was told to walk up the WestSide Highway, where he met up with seniorSuzanne Grandt, who was in an identical plight.Glad to see each other, the two “decided to sticktogether,” according to Grandt. They walked toGrandt’s mother’s office on 53rd Street and waitedfor train service to resume. At around 4:00 P.M.they took the 4 train to Queens, where Grandtlives. She told Mroz how to get home to StatenIsland from there.

Meanwhile, unable to make contact withtheir children, many mothers and fathers had towait for hours until they received word. “When Ifinally called my mom she broke down in tears,”said Pinski. “When my dad came home, I cried forthe first time all day,” said Glicksman.

A few of the freshmen interviewed said theyhad given serious thought to transferring out ofStuy. “Although my parents never thought of it,”said Silvia Ferreira, “I can’t say it didn’t cross mymind a couple of times. I realized, though, that itwould be unreasonable.” Glicksman said that herfather “wants me to be back in school, returningto normal as soon as possible.”

The next task for the freshmen will be reac-quainting themselves with Stuy. Freshman SophiePollit-Cohen said she had just started to feel athome at Stuyvesant. “I had just figured out wherethe bathrooms are,” she said.

Frazzled Freshman Class Gains BearingsJJeennnnyy LLiinn

Additional reporting by AAbbbbiiee ZZaammcchheecckk

I thought it must have beenan accident and I stood and

watched� I saw people jump$ing out of windows� That’s

when I realized people weredying�

—Annie Thoms� Englishteacher

So this was terrorism� But it’shappened before� right?

Oklahoma City in %JJD� theTokyo subways in %JJK� WTCin %JJL� for goodness’ sake� I

spent all summer learningabout how rare terrorism wasand how exaggerated the fearof it was� It wasn’t something

we hadn’t dealt with before�right? Things like this have

happened� The countryknows how to deal with

this���� This was how I con$soled myself against the nag$

ging voice that told me some$thing was really wrong����

Then I listened to the news�They talked about how it wasan unprecedented shutdown

of the city� The attacks onAmerica were unprecedent$

ed���� We had never entered aterritory so dangerous� Wehad never been this threat$ened� Things never lookedlike it could go so wrong�

From here� things could go sowrong we can’t even imagine

it�—Michelle Chu� junior

It was frightening and horrif$ic� My seniors were terrifiedbecause we were up on the

tenth floor and we had seenthis catastrophe next door���� I

think our main concern wasbeing evacuated to a lower

floor because from our van$tage point� we could see

hordes and streams of peoplefleeing north� But we waited

very patiently until wereceived word to evacuate����

The students behaved veryresponsibly� The courage and

strength of our studentswhen it comes to adversity

was amazing� It was justbeautiful to see how brilliant$ly they responded to this cri$

sis�—Fee Soohoo� art teacher

TThhee SSppeeccttaattoorr •• FFaallll &&''''%%17

Students Are Outwardly CalmAAbbbbiiee ZZaammcchheecckk

Additional reporting by PPaattrriicckk MMaannggaann

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 18: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

TThhee SSppeeccttaattoorr •• FFaallll &&''''%%

The grammatically incorrect “America UnderAttack: I Survive the Attack,” is just one of the slo-gans printed on a cheap white T-shirt depictingthe World Trade Center with the American flag inthe background. Street vendors all over the cityare cashing in on any item—from belt buckles tocamouflage hats—that incorporates America’sStars and Stripes.

The flag waves from car antennae,offices, and houses, and is proudlyworn by New Yorkers across thecity. While our newfound senseof patriotism may be consideredadmirable, many are unawareof, and may be breaking, theflag’s rules and regulations.

Title Four, Chapter One,Sections One through Eight ofU.S. Code and ExecutiveOrder 10834 clearly defineproper “flag etiquette” to theslightest detail. For example,“The flag should not be drapedover the hood, top, sides, orback of a vehicle.”

Do not expect to beapproached by one of New York’sFinest for covering the hood of yourcar with the Stars and Stripes, because therules of flag etiquette are not actual statutes.However, protocol says that “when the flag is dis-played on a motorcar, the staff shall be fixed firm-ly to the chassis or clamped to the right fender.”

When the flag is folded, a particular methodshould be followed that involves folding it intotriangles.

Furthermore, “The flag should never be used

as wearing apparel, bedding, or drapery.” Yetsome New Yorkers have been spotted attendingvigils or just walking the streets with a flag flap-ping in the breeze behind them, as they wear it asa cape.

Old Glory should also never be used in anyform of advertising. A number of Stuyvesant stu-

dents who wore Polo Jeans Company andOld Navy T-shirts emblazoned with the

flag on the school’s first day atBrooklyn Tech should consider

themselves warned.Senior Gary He has used the

American flag as wearing apparelby fastening one to his back-pack. He also admitted that theflag probably touches theground when he sets his bagdown. When informed that hebroke two rules of proper flagetiquette, He said, “I will removeit if it’s disrespectful,” as he

improperly folded it, and placedit in the outside pocket of his bag.

A street vendor namedThomas, who works at the corner of

East 56th Street and LexingtonAvenue, sells anything from pins to hats

decorated with the American flag from acollapsible table. The Vietnam War veteranlooked past the flag’s many technicalities to thelarger picture of patriotism. “United we stand,”he said.

But according to U.S. Code, if you were plan-ning on covering your ceilings, decorating yourcar, or setting your dinner table with theAmerican flag, think again.

As Etiquette Slips, Patriotism Flies HighDuring homeroom� we weretold to evacuate the school�We followed the generalmass of students onto thesecond floor� Suddenly� aloud rumble could be heardand people rushed in fromthe first floor� Chaos erupt$ed� I was standing on thestairs that led to the firstfloor with my friend Wendyat the time� Both of us stoodfrozen in confusion until aman yelled at us to get down�At that� I grabbed hold ofWendy and together we randown the stairs�—Jerry Wei� sophomore

While everybody else waswalking up the West Sidehighway� I roamed down$town trying to find a placewhere I could be put to use� Ifound the volunteer triagecenter in the square at Centerand Worth� In the square� thewounded were being seen towhile volunteers were askedto give their blood� clothingand assistance in any waypossible� I gave my shirt to beused as a tourniquet� Thewhole experience felt surreal�the dust blocking out the sunand the sound of buildingscollapsing in the distance� Werode into the choking smoke�only to be turned awaybecause air conditions werenot safe� I stayed around any$way through the night asthey trained me in rescueprocedures� We never endedup going in� However� I willalways remember themoment I mentally preparedmyself to write the word“DEAD” legibly on foreheadsof the victims I would find inblack marker�—Anonymous Stuyvesantstudent

No one I knew personallywas working there� but I sawa man falling … and that’ssomeone’s father or husbandor friend� And he had a suiton�—Anonymous Stuyvesantstudent

PPaattrriicckk MMaannggaann

18

Newspapers have described the September11 attacks on America as “mindless” terrorism,and President Bush has referred to the perpetra-tors as “evil doers.” “Mindless evil,” a facelessenemy, is something everyone can rally against.But the coming “crusade” (again Bush’s descrip-tion) must be more than a simple rallying ofAmerican forces to support the cause.

Not all Arabs are terrorists just as not allwhite Southern Americans were in the KKK. Yetmillions in the Arab world hate the United Statesand what they feel it stands for: modernizationand cultural incursions into the Arab world.Islamic religious extremists have threatenedtheir own governments long before they turnedtheir hate toward the U.S. Syria, Egypt, Algeriaand Tunisia have all faced and mercilesslycrushed extremist groups. Many Arab regimes,controlled by corrupt dictators, have deliberate-ly deflected domestic criticism from themselvesonto America by allowing their press to freelycritize America.

Although Bush directly addressed Arabs andMuslims in his September 20 speech beforeCongress, great care must be taken to avoidwidening the gap that already separates the U.S.from the Arab people.

Osama bin Laden is a Muslim extremistwho believes in a pan-Islamic need to overthrowsecular regimes and install purely Islamic gov-ernments. He, and those like him, are commit-ted to exterminating “infidels” in Islamic lands.They see the U.S. as an infidel because of itscontinued financial support of Israel, a nationthat he, like many Muslims, regards as an alienpresence in Islamic land. They resent Americansupport for the Shah of Iran, American presencein the Arab holy land of Saudi Arabia during theGulf War, U.S. sanctions against Iraq, and thatthe support America gave to Afghanistan againstthe Soviet Union was withdrawn when the con-flict ended.

Hatred for the West among Arabs beganlong before bin Laden took up his battle againstAmerica. In his 1973 book, The Arab Mind,Raphael Patai devotes an entire chapter to “Whythe Arabs Hate the West.” Professor Patai, whotaught at Princeton and Columbia, suggests thatbecause Arabs were at one time superior to theWest culturally and militarily, there is a resent-ment of modern Western superiority. In the pastthirty years American influence has multiplied,

The Minds of the “Mindless”JJeeffff DDeellaauutteerr

continued on page 19

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 19: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

TThhee SSppeeccttaattoorr •• FFaallll &&''''%%

“So what did you learn inschool today?” On September11, I gave a horribly truthfulanswer to this familiar ques-tion: “I learned that it is easy totell a falling body from a fallingpiece of debris because bodiesfall much faster.” We stood inthe ninth floor chemistry lab foralmost an hour, shocked by thesight of men and women inexpensive clothes glancing backinto what was once their office,before throwing themselvestoward the chaotic sidewalkhundreds of feet below. Someappeared to have had a runningstart while others stood at theedge until the flames lickedtheir skin and pushed them offinto the endless cloud of smoke.Some held hands, while otherspreferred to dive alone intowhatever fate followed thatsmoke.

At one point, two teachersnoticed us in the vacant lab,and began to reprimand us for

being in an unsupervised room.Without a word, we pointed tothe window, and the teachers’authority disappeared as eachburst into hysterical tears. Byten o’clock, there were sixteachers lined up next to thefour of us, crying on each oth-ers’ shoulders just like we were.

When I had heard that a

small commuter plane hadaccidentally crashed into theNorth Tower, I had rushed intothe dark unoccupied chemistrylab on the south side of thebuilding to see for myself.

When I saw that giant blackgash in the North Tower, I felt apain in my heart from which Ishall never recover.

Soon after the secondplane hurtled into the SouthTower, we were ordered to evac-uate the school. FBI agents andNational Guard soldiersswarmed about the schoollobby and then led us on ourexodus up West Street as bothtowers collapsed.

As we marched north, theOrpheus in me periodicallyglanced back over my shoulderto behold the smoky void whereninety minutes prior the TwinTowers had soared invincibly.Likewise, the Israelite in meprayed that someone wouldstep out from the fleeing massof people, part the Hudson, andlead us away from that chaotichell and into the promised landof New Jersey.

—Dylan TatzOctober 2, 2001

The explosion� the image ofthe first building crumbling in

on itself� I can’t forget that�And the image of all thosepeople on the ground run$

ning as the smoke coversthem� You could see an

emptiness in everyone’s eyes�like no one really knew whatwas going on� They were all

looking for some explanation�and yes� some girls started tocry� Then their friends started

to comfort them� I had tearsin my eyes�

—Vlad Isakov� senior

I saw people running towardthe bridge� and when I lookedout the window� I saw a holein the World Trade Center� I

ran and got my camera� and Idecided just to leave it on� I

tried to get a little bit of thecommotion surrounding the

events���� When the secondblast happened� I tried to runback into the building� I was

scared to death� They would$n’t let me back in� though�Senior pictures were being

taken� and I was banging onthe door for them to open it�

and the people inside just[shrugged apologetically]� I

crawled back to the front ofthe building and ran up thestairs� Everything was calm

inside���� The next day Ihurt—the experience had

been physically draining� Itwas painful to me that some$

one would hurt us like that�I’ve always considered

America as very innocent� avery innocent society� I think

this was our loss of inno$cence�

—Elka Gould� technologyteacher

Every day since that hap$pened� I’ve cried at least once

a day� I don’t really knowwhy� After all� I’m one of thelucky ones� I wasn’t hurt� my

family wasn’t hurt and myfriends weren’t hurt�

—Gabriela Magda� sopho$more

19

I learned that it is easy totell a falling body from apiece of debris becausebodies fall much faster.

Dear Diary,I want to explain to every-

one I know why I’ve been out ofsorts recently.There are two rea-sons. The first is that I, likeeveryone else, am struggling todeal with what happened, andit’s a very hard thing to do.Everything has an association. Istare out the window of myPoetry class and rememberwhat I saw there over a monthago, the towers smoking likechimneys—and I see now theobscene amount of sky, the sunthat was never there before, theodd rectangular outline in thearchitecture. I want to walk outof my classes and into the hall-way and out into the street andwander TriBeCa and walkuptown or maybe across theBrooklyn Bridge or take a ferryto Hoboken.

I want to get out. I am sohappy to be here but I want toget out. I’m so happy that I’mbeing forced to handle it but Ican’t handle it. And I must say Iwish everyone talked about itmore.

That’s the first reason I’vebeen out of sorts. The secondreason is the work. Yes, you’ve

heard this before. Your class-mates, your students have writ-ten tons of essays about workand how it’s doing away withthem. There is a difference now.The difference is that the worldwe knew slipped out of exis-tence on September 11 and wenow face a new, less certainworld. We watched the newsabout the worst terrorist attackin history and we saw thebridge to Stuyvesant. We wereclose. We were too close and weare trying to handle it. And yes,we are here because we like andare good at Spanish and historyand precalculus and English.But we are not here, not now, tofocus on making up for losttime. We are here to focus onthe world we lost, how we lost it,and how we can begin to regainsome semblance of what weonce took for granted. And yes,school is important. It is key toget back into a routine, to think

about limits and James Joyceand biochemistry once more.

But teachers, please thinkabout what we students are try-ing to handle. You’re probablytrying to handle the same stuff.And it’s hard, isn’t it?

I’ve stayed up past 1:00 A.M.finishing homework too manytimes. I’m exhausted andstressed and we were too close.We were too close and we needsome kind of break. On the sub-way today I stopped doinghomework and closed my eyesbecause I wanted to sleep, and Ithought about what I’d beenthrough and I couldn’t believehow much work I had, how littlesleep I would get again tonight,how little time I’ve had to thinkabout what happened and whatit means.

We care more about regain-ing some kind of peace thanrushing so we’ll finish the cur-riculum in time. Please respectthat.

It is now 12:30 A.M., and I’mgoing to bed.

Good night all, and getsome rest.

—Abigail DeutschOctober 24, 2001

and consequently so has Arab anti-Americanism.

It has been suggested that terrorist targetshave been military ones (the Al-Khobar barracksin Saudi Arabia, the warship U.S.S. Cole, thePentagon) and cultural/economic ones (dis-

cotheques, Sbarro pizza shops, the World TradeCenter) rather than “traditional” institutionssuch as schools and churches, because the targetis the U.S. military and cultural expansion intothe traditional Arab world.

America never succeeded in winning the“hearts and minds of the people” in Vietnam.American attempts to change the Arab extrem-ists’ minds will be just as difficult.

continued from page 18

The Diary of a Mad Senior is a regular column.

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 20: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

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Oct. 2—Junior Himanshu Suri wanted tovolunteer downtown, but his mother wouldn’t lethim step out the door. “My parents were scared,”he said. “People don’t see a difference betweenSikhs and Muslims.”

Suri, who is Hindu, was referring to theAmericans who have directed their angertowards people they perceive—because of skin-color or garb—to be representative of the terror-ists in this attack.

Suri is part of a clique of about 40 juniorsand seniors who often congregated behind Stuy’sfourth floor escalator. While the bunch is alsomade up of Jewish, Christian, Sikh, and Jain stu-dents, the majority of its members are Hindu orMuslim. Despite historical tension betweenthese peoples, they have been friends since theirfreshman years. And following the September 11attack, in the face of shared persecution, theyhave become even closer.

Senior Mudassir Khan, Vice President of theMuslim Student Association, said about 15members of the group managed to walk togetheras they evacuated the Stuy building. The bunchtrudged to 23rd Street, where they ate, and wait-ed several hours until train service resumed.

“When we were walking there was no argu-ing,” said Suri. “We just valued each other’s com-pany. You could see this among much of theschool as well.”

The students said that while they haven’tbeen harassed by members of the Stuy commu-nity, they have experienced bigotry throughoutthe city.

According to senior Naazia Husain, a pedes-trian who passed her group of diverse Stuyvesantstudents dining at 23rd Street said, “Look at thePalestinians celebrating.” Husain wears a hijab,the traditional garment worn by certain Muslimwomen. She said that because it distinguishesher as a Muslim, she is more susceptible to prej-udice. But despite this incident, she said that herfriends at Stuy have been very supportive of her,especially since the attack.

Senior Tahmeed Ahmad said, “People triedto scare me by calling me a “stupid terrorist,”and told me to “go home,” he said.

Senior Mohmmad Alam, who worked underthe supervision of a man now buried under therubble of the North Tower, said in the days fol-lowing the evacuation, he has been“approached” by strangers, who give him coldstares. But this hasn’t prevented him from play-ing basketball most days. Alam said people needto understand that “I didn’t do it, I’m not respon-sible for this, the people who [carried out thisattack] are representing their own group, notIslam.”

Ahmad said he believed that the backlashagainst the Arab and Indian communities con-sisted of isolated incidents mostly far from NewYork, though he mentioned several hate crimesreported nearby.

Through group e-mails, these friends were

able to discuss their experiences. They spoke ofthe hate crimes they had heard of on the media,and what they had seen on the streets.

The first Tuesday after the attack, the groupgot together again, this time just to enjoy eachother’s company.

During last Thursday’s student assembly,Suri, who is Vice President of the Student Union,made a speech in which tolerance among theStuy community was the major theme. Suri said,“I hope that we, as Stuyvesant students ... workat educating others who have been blinded byanger.”

Alam said the group had discussed most ofthe statements in Suri’s speech beforehandonline.

“We stuck together, and [the non-Muslimstudents in our group really supported us in thistime of hardship,” said Alam. “We are definitelycloser now.”

Diverse Friends Unite Against Racist Backlash

I was a little excited and curi$ous at the fact that our bor$ing normal school day hadbeen interrupted� I didn’trealize how serious it waswhen I saw the towers on TVduring Lrd period�I think the most vivid image Ihad was before the towerscollapsed and still had a thickstream of smoke coming out�It was just so amazing to seesomething so grand and mag$nificent just go up in smokelike that�There was definitely a lot ofexcitement among the class$es� although most peoplewere quiet as they were star$ing at the TV� shocked andnot knowing what to say�—Justin Ma� junior

When I got into room E'O formath� I saw a lot of peoplewalking away from the TwinTowers� One guy said itlooked like a “parade�”…Then Mr� Teitel gave us thehorrific news that two planescrashed into the towers andanother in Washington����Everyone was trying to reachtheir family via cell phones� Itried to reach my dadbecause he worked a fewbuildings away� but all thecells were down� It seems likethey never work when youneed them to���� We finallygot to a payphone at West&Lrd and %%th to call our par$ents� All the lines were reallylong and people talked forev$er� But I reached my momand told her I was OK� Shetold me my dad’s office wasevacuated and he’s all right� —Erin Jou� sophomore

AAbbbbiiee ZZaammcchheecckk

20

bbyy EElliizzaabbeetthh OO’’CCaallllaahhaann

Always wear your walking shoes

‘cause you never know how far

you may have to walk.

They told me to

go North but

They didn’t tell me when to stop.

So I kept walking.

Everyone flees.

The World has come crashing down

leaving a gaping hole where I stood

Yesterday.

But I’m wearing

Comfortable shoes.

I’m ready to walk away

away from the ash

that falls like snow in winter

and my feet will carry me

Home.

Alw

ays

Wea

r Yo

ur

Wal

kin

g Sh

oes

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 21: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

After the North Tower washit� I was sitting in my secondperiod class and it dawned on

me that my brother workedin that building� so I left the

classroom to try and callsomeone���� I soon found out

that my cell phone wasn’tworking� I ran into two of my

closest friends� and I was sofrantic that they had to lead

me to the phones on the firstfloor� The lines were long and

I couldn’t get through whenit got to be my turn� We

heard about how some stu$dents were using Ms� Levine’s

office to make calls� So werushed up� and eventually Igot in touch with him� andthe second I started to cry

from joy� they all did thesame� It made me appreciate

how much they helped� Itturns out my brother decided

to just stay home that dayfor no good reason�

Some luck� —Kristin Loughran� senior

I felt the building shake� but I couldn’t tell if it was thebuilding shaking because

I was shaking�—Kameli Chow� senior

I really kept my head in thesand� I tried not to look out

the windows� I went outsideand had a cigarette� I could

see the whole tower setagainst the deep blue sky� It

was stunning to see the holesand the fire against such a

rich blue background� It wasincongruous� almost like itwasn’t real� It was actually

beautiful� I had a hard timecoping with my initial reac$

tion� I felt guilty about it�smoking my cigarette in aweof this spectacle while peoplewere dying� I went back into

the building� and I finallywent to look out the window

… and saw this dark� roilingcloud of smoke and debris

coming at us� We’d beenwaiting for further instruc$

tions� but it seemed thatthere wouldn’t be any furtherinstructions� My thought wasjust� ‘Let’s get the hell out of

here�’—Robert Floersch� social

studies teacher

Oct. 2—Leaders on all levels, fromPresident George W. Bush to Student UnionPresident Jukay Hsu, have preached the impor-tance of a return to normalcy, exalting the pro-ductive and therapeutic benefits of routine. Butfor Stuyvesant students, displaced from schooland unable to attend classes for nearly twoweeks after the tragedy, life is anything but nor-mal. “Right now we need time to adjust fromthe terrorist attack and also from the return toschool,” said junior Nick Kasatkin.

So for the time being, something almost asunprecedented as the terrorist attack itself hashappened to the student body: grade-drivenattitudes have been suspended indefinitely.Instead of afternoons filled with club meetings,evenings with homework, and sleepless nightswith essay writing, Stuyvesant students largelyspent the past few weeks with family andfriends, trying to reflect on what happened andalso divert their attention from the devastation.Many think the attack put their scholastic pur-suits in perspective. “It seems meaningless,”said junior Benjamin Sarlin, who said he hasabsolutely no regrets that he didn’t look at atextbook during his time off from Stuy. Instead,Sarlin volunteered at Ground Zero for the RedCross, which he called “extremely rewarding.”While junior Alex Dergachev is happy that hestudied modestly for the SATs, he found moresolace in seeing friends and working out.

Still, while students are not rushing backinto the normal school routine, most believe itssleep-depriving daily grind will return. Forfreshmen who had only experienced four days

of school, juniors who are starting what is tradi-tionally the hardest year in high school, andseniors beginning the college applicationprocess, the realities of competitive academiashould eventually set in. Many agree that thereturn to the familiar confines of 345 ChambersStreet will bring a sense of normalcy and com-fort. “The normal setting should bring back thenormal routine,” acknowledged Dergachev.

But a quick recovery is not guaranteed.The psychological distress of witnessing theattack may hinder Stuy students academically.The Wall Street Journal estimates that a third ofthe witnesses to the Oklahoma City bombingsuffered and in some cases continue to sufferfrom post-traumatic stress disorder. This meansthat hundreds of Stuyvesant students mayexperience such symptoms as loss of appetite,insomnia, poor concentration, and irritability.

Students are not the only ones faced withspecial challenges. Stuyvesant teachers mustfind ways of dealing with the conflictingdemands of understandably distracted studentsand a dramatically shortened schedule.Advanced algebra and precalculus teacher JohnPratt, known for his substantial nightly home-work, said he will assign a lighter workload.Still, he will take a no-nonsense approach toteaching, he said, as he believes there is noother way to get through the curriculum he stillhas to tackle.

Students who have trouble concentratingon academics will be referred to counselors,according to Pratt. “We hope to interveneearly,” said Pratt.

21TThhee SSppeeccttaattoorr •• FFaallll &&''''%%

of shovels in the lobby’s foyer. Neither Ben nor Ihad seen them. We had also missed thecamoflauge-clad National Guardsmen sleepingoutside on “the Wall” and cops eating fare from aMcDonald’s food tent on the corner of Chambersand Greenwich.

She points out the little details that show thather room’s been used: a flashlight sits on her desk,papers have been ripped in half in her drawers, aset of numbers is written on the chalkboard: 31, 3,29, 49, 8, 30, 52 with the 52 circled. Powerball num-bers? Stationed fire fighters? It’s a mystery.

We offer to help her carry her bags of booksand ride the elevator to the fifth floor. The doors tothe locker room are propped open and crates arepiled against the walls, as on other floors. A big guy,a fire fighter perhaps, gets into the elevator with us.I realize that he’s wearing a blue Stuyvesant PeglegsT-shirt and shorts. Maybe they raided the StudentStore, the teacher suggests after he leaves.

Back on the first floor, the teacher asks us towait while she makes a trip to the library. We sitside by side on the steps, taking in the scene. The

dog’s barking grates on my nerves until I rememberwhat it’s being used for. If I were crawling over pilesof buckled steel and shattered concrete looking forbodies all day, I’d demand some attention too.

Tables are set up all over the lobby with pack-aged snacks and medical supplies like bandagesand saline solution. Over near the pool entranceare more stacks of cardboard boxes, marked thingslike “New Socks” and “Underwear.” Some of theboxes are open and are filled with food, tissues andprotective face masks, all of which, I realize, camefrom donors.

On the second floor behind the escalators, wesee a hot bar set up. Firemen walk around withtrays of French toast and bacon, and cots are set upeverywhere. Inside the SU are more cots and boots,and there is even a cot set up inside The Spectatoroffice. It is covered with a red sheet and a pinktowel; a box of Epsom salts sits next to it. But otherthan that, the office looks the same.

Leaving, we had just enough time to notice asign hanging on ropes in front of the senior bar:“Chiropractor, Will Lift Your Spirits.”

They’ll need it. The rubble outside is the sad-dest thing I’ve ever seen.

DDaanniieell VViizzzziinnii

‘Normal’ Redefined for Students

continued from page 9

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 22: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

Nov. 13—Stuyvesant’s proximity to theWorld Trade Center has had a devastatingimpact on the psyche of the student body.Nonetheless, Stuyvesant’s athletic commu-nity has turned this terrible tragedy into asource of motivation. Mirroring the nation’snewfound unity, Stuyvesant’s teams havebonded as never before.

This struggle for unity has not beenwithout its obstacles. Since September 11,most teams were not able to practice atnormal times, nor at familiar locations.Furthermore, the New York Public SchoolAthletic League (PSAL) shuffled gameschedules to accommodate Stuyvesant’sawkward situation.

The boys’ soccer schedule has beenamong the most affected by the tragedy.Over a period of 11 days, October 22 toNovember 2, they had nine games, includ-ing one on a Saturday. Brooklyn Tech gra-ciously let the soccer team practice on itsfield during Stuy’s time there, giving them achance to prepare for the onslaught ofgames to come.

The varsity baseball team, which does-n’t play its first game until April, was alsoaffected by the disaster. Tryouts, which areusually held from September 15 to October15, had to be rescheduled and condensed,as well as moved from the East River fieldsin Manhattan to Bay 8th Street in Brooklyn.“Every year I feel as if I’m able to reach outto every kid that wants to play baseball,”said baseball coach Matt Hahn. “This year I

don’t know if I’ve done that.”The girls’ volleyball team also had

scheduling problems. Because of time con-straints, they were forced to play a double-header on October 22, that included a 4:00game against High School of Humanitiesand a 5:00 game against Washington Irving.According to PSAL regulations, teams musthave at least a 24 hour rest between events.Further, the volleyball team did not haveaccess to Brooklyn Tech’s gym, forcing themto practice before school at the St. FrancisCollege gym from 9-11 A.M. just to staysharp.

“We lost about 15 practices,” saidcoach Phil Fisher. “I’m not able to spend thetime I want to with the veterans or therookies. This will probably prevent us fromreaching our full potential.”

While having to practice early mayhave seemed like an inconvenience, the vol-leyball team made the best of the situation.According to co-captain Amanda Zifchak,the volleyball team went out for lunchtogether after practices, using the time tobond. “We talked things over,” said Zifchak.“I feel like we definitely became a closer-knit team, and it helps to talk things over,especially now.” The volleyball team isundefeated so far this season.

Senior Thomas Kunjappu, a boys’ soc-cer co-captain, said his team is bonding inthe same way. “There’s always a bondbetween team members, just becauseteams spend so much time together,” said

Kunjappu. “But now we’re seeing each otherevery day. The tragedy has definitelybrought us closer together.” As of now, theboys’ soccer team is 5-2.

In a gesture of good sportsmanship,Hunter College High School’s girls’ cross-country team presented the Stuyvesantteam with cupcakes before a meet onOctober 10. According to co-captainMichele Hirsch, Hunter, a chief rival ofStuyvesant, is usually the one “glaring at usbefore meets. It’s amazing, because whathas happened has allowed us to put our dif-ferences aside and come together.”

Not all teams have been that support-ive. During the Stuyvesant football home-coming game on October 7, Boys and Girlstaunted them from the other sideline. Aftera sack, a Boys and Girls defensive linemanshouted, “A quarterback is gonna get hurttoday, boy!”

The football team, however, was able toreceive professional help—literally. OnOctober 23, New York Giants wide receiverAmani Toomer came to a Peglegs practiceto speak to and instruct the wide receivers.Further, on November 7, the Peglegs willhead to Hofstra University to attend a NewYork Jets practice. These gestures were inresponse to the amount of public sympathyStuyvesant has received in recent weeks.

Martha Singer, Assistant Principal ofPhysical Education, said, “Just as we’ve unit-ed as a country, Stuyvesant’s athletes arebonding together as teams.”

Teams Bond as Schedules Fall ApartJJoosshh RRoossss aanndd AArrtthhuurr TTeebbbbeell

Among the hordes of volunteers donat-ing time, goods, and their very blood afterthe September 11 tragedy were dozens ofStuyvesant students.

Despite having been so close to thehorror, many Stuy students were eager toreturn to the area to help. Others servedfood, organized supplies, or just cheered onrescue workers.

SU President and Chairman of theAmerican Red Cross Queens Chapter YouthGroup, Jukay Hsu, began working at hisbranch that very afternoon. He fieldedphone calls about donations, helped estab-lish a shelter at Shea Stadium with suppliesand a rest area for workers, and took part infundraisers at Queens Center.

On Thursday, September 13, Hsu visit-ed Ground Zero with other Red Cross vol-unteers. “Our main purpose there was toget the rescue workers to come to SheaStadium and rest, since many of themworked 20 hours a day and got very littlesleep,” he said.

On Friday, junior Max Mecklenburg,energized by five cans of Red Bull energydrink, worked from 8 A.M. to 5 P.M. at LowerManhattan’s P.S. 234. He was able to catchan emergency rescue vehicle (ERV) toGround Zero. Mecklenburg went back fortwo consecutive days, eventually beingturned away by the Red Cross because ofhis age.

Sunpei Okochi, a sophomore, also got

close to the wreckage by going to the 66thStreet Red Cross four days in a row. On thethird day, Saturday, September 15, an ERVdriver allowed him to come along and helphand out supplies to the “very tired, dust-covered, rescue workers,” according toOkochi. At the end of the day, “I was tired,but content at being able to have helpedout,” said Okochi.

Stuyvesant football players, many injerseys, donated their time at the SalvationArmy and helped out on a boat called“Chefs with Spirit,” which was stationed atChelsea Piers. Seven members, includingseniors Nick Oxenhorn and SergeyWeinstein, were on the boat from midnightto 8 A.M. on the morning of Sunday,September 16. According to Oxenhorn,“Three of us served food, and four of us didblue collar-like chores to help on the boat.”According to Oxenhorn, the dinner guestsincluded emergency workers and officers,many “traumatized by the way in whichthey found people in the wreckage.”

Many students wanted to assist insome way, but organizations were over-whelmed with volunteers.

Sophomore Rebecca Fisher went withCollegiate School, a private school on theUpper West Side, to a Clarkson Street supplycenter near the West Side Highway to dis-tribute food, clothes, buckets and othersupplies. The center had so many volun-teers that the Collegiate School was turned

away. However, Fisher and other studentswere not discouraged and went back withsigns to cheer on the rescue workers. “Mysign said ‘Help make the world a betterplace’ and had pictures of fire trucks andAmerican flags on it,” she said.

With significant time away fromschool, many students needed a distractionfrom the tragedy. Those who couldn’t get toManhattan helped out local organizations.

Senior Lawrence Bianco assisted withfood donations at Zion Lutheran Church onStaten Island on Saturday, September 15.“The sandwiches we made got sent to thework site along with bottled water, socks,and other goods.” He continued, “It wasn’tmuch, but if everyone does a little, it addsup.”

Stuy Students Support Stunned CityAAddiinnaa DDaavviidd

Stuyvesant lost over $1 million worth of equip-ment and other materials during the recoveryeffort. To donate to the Stuyvesant Recovery

Fund, please contact:

Stuyvesant High School PA Recovery Fund

P.O. Box 3531Church Street Station

New York, NY 10008-3531

TThhee SSppeeccttaattoorr •• FFaallll &&''''%%22

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 23: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

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This page and back: Union Square, September 16, 2001

Commemorative edition by the students of Stuyvesant High School

Page 24: The Stuyvesant Spectator - 9/11 Edition

We must love one another or die.W. H. Auden

“September 1st, 1939”