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Volume V, Issue 20
Arista’s 97th Induction
Ceremony
BY JIMMY ZHANG
NEWS EDITOR
Arista, Stuyvesant’s Chapter
of the National Honor Society,
held its 97th induction ceremony
on May 31. With over 250 induc-
tees, some students were not even
able to be seated regularly and
were offered seats at the front.
The induction was supposed to
start at 6:30 PM, but the inductees
did not even start filing in until
much later. The inductees walked
to their respective seats in rhythm
to the James Bond theme, which
Inductees at the Arista Induction Ceremony.
Test Scores On the
Move – For the Worst
BY SANGHEE CHUNG
STAFF WRITER
While national science test
scores reveal that fourth-graders
have made improvements and
eighth-graders have held steady,
high school seniors have declined
in the past decade.
“It’s fairly well-recognized
that students are not where we
want them to be,” said Terri
Clark, vice president of the Con-
necticut Academy for Education
in Mathematics, Science, and
Technology. “The question comes
down to: What do we do about
it?”
The National Assessment of
Education Progress, which tests
sid OF STUYVESANT HIGH SCHOOL, TRIBECA, AND BATTERY PARK CITY
June 13, 2006
was meant to be a tribute to the
2007 inductees.
After the national anthem, the
welcome address was made by
Emi Suzuki, now former presi-
dent of Arista. Afterwards, the
faculty advisor’s address was
made by Dr. Olga Livanis, and
the principal’s address was made
by Principal Stanley Teitel, who
ensured the parents that gradua-
tion will not start more than two
hours late.
After a pleasant interlude by
the band, which included John
Continued on Page 11
TSS/Bennett Hong
students in earth, life, and physi-
cal science, is administered to
approximately 300,000 students
across the nation. While 60 per-
cent of seniors were placed at or
above basic level in 1996, 59 per-
cent are currently at this level.
Only 18 percent demonstrated
proficiency, compared to the 21
percent in 1996.
“Our fourth-graders are doing
better — that’s the good news,”
said Darvin Winick, chairman of
the Department of Education.
“But the twelfth-grade results are
distressing; there’s no other way
to slice it.”
Many experts are concerned
Continued on Page 4
“Your School, Your World—Your News”
Stuyvesant Students
Inducted Into National
Hebrew Honor Society
BY JOSEPH KRUTOV
SCIENCE EDITOR
The first Stuyvesant annual
induction ceremony of the He-
brew National Honor Society was
conducted on May 30. The Na-
tional Hebrew Honor Society, or
Eta Beta Rho, has a stated pur-
pose of recognizing outstanding
achievements in the study of the
Hebrew language and literature,
stimulating study and research in
this field, and promoting an un-
derstanding and appreciation of
Israel’s culture. Hebrew teacher
Michael Waxman is the Eta Beta
Rho faculty advisor.
Awards Night 2006
BY JENNIFER SCHLESINGER
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Awards Night 2006 took
place on June 7. It began with the
Pledge of Allegiance, led by Sen-
ior Class President, Michael Kim-
lat. Then, the “Star Spangled Ban-
ner” was sung. After that, Stanley
Teitel, the principal of Stuyvesant
High School, gave his opening
remarks. There were two new
awards given out, the Dr. Robert
Ira Lewy Award and the John
Malfa Award. The first was pre-
A chorus performing at the Award Ceremony.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
-----——————————-
News...........................2-12
Business......................12-14
Opinions.....................14-15
Literary......................15
 
Free
Sixteen Stuyvesant students
were inducted into Eta Beta Rho
in a ceremony that included
speeches by representatives of the
Israeli Consulate, Orthodox Un-
ion, and the USCJ. Waxman and
Ellen Lehman, President of the
Stuyvesant Chapter, led the in-
duction ceremony.
Mr. Waxman, who started
teaching Hebrew at Stuyvesant
this year, spoke about the changes
that are intended to invigorate the
Hebrew program at the school.
Establishment of the Eta Beta
Rho chapter and combining lan-
Continued on Page 5
sented by Dr. Robert Ira Lewy
and the second by Umberto
Malfa. After this, Megan Rodney
Noah announced the recipient of
the Robert Rodney Scholarship
and Linda Chiu Rourke an-
nounced the Wen Cheng Liao
Memorial Scholarship. Next, El-
eanor Archie, Assistant Principal
of Guidance took to the podium to
announce more awards, such as
perfect attendance and National
Merit Finalist. Each of these
award winners received a medal.
◙
TSS/Jennifer Schlesinger
Puzzles..............................16
Science……………….......17-18
Arts & Entertainment......17-9
Sports................................19-20
Page 2 June 13, 2006 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

THE STUYVESANT STANDARD  Iran Threatens To Use

 
Founded 2001
Oil As Bargaining Chip
 
BY EMMA RABINOVICH The tensions have made oil
  ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR consumers and investors even
“Your School, Your World—Your News”  more apprehensive due to the cur-

AP
rent sky-high oil prices, now
above $70 a barrel.
Executive Leadership Team Although the United States
agreed to join forces with Euro-
DR. JOHN NIKOL FACULTY ADVISER pean nations and created a pack-
JENNIFER SCHLESINGER EDITOR IN CHIEF age of incentives to pacify Iran,
DEREK WENG MANAGING EDITOR
Defense Secretary Donald H.
KHOI NGUYEN CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
FANNY TANG LAYOUT EDITOR Rumsfeld has openly labeled Iran
DANNY ZHU COPY CHIEF as one of the leading terrorist na-
JIMMY ZHANG NEWS EDITOR Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves to the tions in the world.
PRISCILLA MELO OPINIONS EDITOR crowd before his speech. While Washington has so far
EMMA RABINOVICH ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR announced that it hopes to reach a
ERIC MAYO SPORTS EDITOR Iran, the world’s fourth- diplomatic solution, it refuses to
JOSEPH KRUTOV SCIENCE EDITOR largest oil supplier, has recently rule out the possibility of using
HANFORD CHIU BUSINESS EDITOR announced that if the United military force.
LADA KUKUY LITERARY EDITOR States continues to infringe on its
DANNY ZHU
Washington has offered to
WEBMASTER right to develop nuclear power, join France, Britain, and Germany
BENNETT HONG DIRECTOR OF PHOTOJOURNALISM oil trade from the region may take
DANIEL EGERS (‘03) FOUNDER in talks with Iran, the first in over
a hit. 25 years, but says Iran must first
ERNEST BASKIN (‘04) EDITOR EMERITUS
The message came from suspend uranium enrichment, a
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah demand Iran has so far rejected,
Publication Ali Khamenei, who has defiantly saying enrichment is a national
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD is a nonprofit and nonpartisan publication pro- defended Iran’s nuclear program right.
duced by the students of Stuyvesant High School. and denied the United States' Ayatollah Khamenei has con-
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD distributes 2,000 free copies on a bi-weekly charges that the program is devel- tinually pointed out that Iran has
basis to the students and faculty of Stuyvesant High School and through- oping weapons and using the ci- not threatened any of its
out the adjoining neighborhoods of TriBeCa and Battery Park City. vilian nuclear power program as a
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD welcomes letters from its readers. cover. Continued on Page 5
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD reserves the right to edit any published mate-
rial. The viewpoints of contributors do not necessarily reflect the views of
the Standard staff. Wild Animals in NYC
Copyright ©2006 THE STUYVESANT STANDARD BY NEETA MALVIYA entering the city began as numer-
STAFF WRITER ous bears wandered into residen-
Contact Us Deer, bears, seals, coyotes,
tial areas in New Jersey over the
past few weeks. The three largest
Please direct all correspondence to: turkeys, dolphins, and moose are
land mammals as well as others
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD in and around New York City
found in the eastern United States
345 Chambers Street causing chaos.
have been wandering into New
New York, NY 10282-1000 Discussions on wild animals
readers@stuystandard.org Continued on Page 4
Find us on the web at www.stuystandard.org
Robert Stolarik/The New York Times

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THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
China’s Three Gorges Dam:
Triumph or Tragedy?
BY JONATHAN XIKIS
STAFF WRITER
For millennia, the Chinese
have dreamed of controlling the
powerful Yangtze River, which,
though it provides sustenance, is
also the bringer of destruction
with its repeated, massive floods.
However, this dream never man-
aged to manifest itself into a real-
ity — until now. China has re-
cently completed its Three Gorges
Dam, the largest dam ever built.
Although it will not be ready for
operation until 2008, the Xinhua
News Agency reports the comple-
tion of the wall as a “landmark in
the construction of the project.”
The Three Gorges Dam is
made out of almost 16 million
cubic meters of concrete. It is
capable of containing about 40
million cubic meters of water, but
has extra space for more than half
of its normal amount during
floods. The dam is expected to
generate around 15 million mega-
watts yearly, or 1/30 of the na-
tion’s total energy usage, when all
other parts of the dam are com-
Non-Nuclear ICBMs
Spark Controversy
BY JONATHAN XIKIS
STAFF WRITER
military.cz
A diagram of ICBMs.
Thankfully, the Cold War did
not turn hot, and, thanks to the
premise of mutually assured de-
struction (MAD), the interconti-
nental ballistic missiles (ICBM)
are rusting in their silos. The
problem is, what should the
United States do with these
hugely powerful and costly nu-
June 13, 2006 NEWS
pleted in 2008. This will help end
the power shortages of cities such
as Shanghai without the use of
polluting fossil fuels. Locks and a
ship lift are included in the dam
Continued on Page 4
The Three Gorges Dam have obvious adverse effects.
project to allow ships to travel
over the dam, increasing river
shipping by 500 percent. As an
added bonus, the government
claims it will stop the flooding
which has plagued residents along
the river for thousands of years.
clear missiles that are being used
for absolutely nothing?
Recently, the Pentagon has
pressured Congress to recycle the
military’s Trident II submarine-
launched missiles by removing
their nuclear tips and replacing
them with nonnuclear bombs.
These bombs come in two
types: the metal slug “building
destroyer” and the flechette
bomb, which would cover a larger
radius. This would allow the
United States to strike any poten-
tially dangerous targets, such as
terrorist hideouts, in a huge ra-
dius, within an hour, a concept
nicknamed “Global Strike.” If
approved, this would be the only
nonnuclear weapon designed for
fast and accurate strikes on tar-
gets thousands of miles away,
preventing the hassle of air
strikes, which can take days, or
bombers, which can take hours.
For example, if an enemy was
about to launch a single missile,
this type of warhead would be
much more convenient than a
nuclear bomb, which could lead
to fallout and other complications.
It would, says General James E.
Continued on Page 5
Page 3
other, undiscovered relics that,
when covered by water, will stay
that way forever. This will un-
doubtedly make many archaeolo-
gists — and residents of the many
towns and villages about to be
covered with water — very dis-
As the old saying goes, “if pleased. It will also destroy a siz-
something seems too good to be able part of the cultural heritage
true, it usually is.” Opponents of of the area. The government has
ignored these pleas, saying that it
the dam argue that this is the case,
will provide the people made
and that the dam will cause a
homeless by the flooding with
users.midwestmail.com
residences elsewhere. However,
that is not all that environmental-
ists are angry about. The dam
could cause the extinction of the
endangered Chinese river dolphin
and Chinese paddlefish, and the
destruction of almost all the wet-
lands in which the Siberian crane
lives, a critically endangered spe-
cies with only 3,000 to 4,000
members left in existence. Critics
say that the dam will not even
stop flooding, but make it worse
in the flooded areas and leave it
unchanged in the nonflooded ar-
eas. Finally, the cost of the dam is
a factor — China reports that the
dam stayed within its budget of
$25 billion, but there are rumors
number of problems that over-
that it actually cost $100 billion
shadow its benefits. For one, it
or more. Even with this massive
will cause massive flooding be-
budget, the dam was built so slip-
hind it, drowning 13 towns, 4,500
shod that part of it had to be de-
villages and 162 archaeological
sites. Some are being moved to
higher ground, but there could be Continued on Page 4
Possible Antimissile
Shield in Europe
BY IVAN TSE sile Treaty to make his plans fea-
STAFF WRITER sible. This plan is intended to
create 10 antimissile interceptor
news.bbc.co.uk
sites in Europe by 2011. The De-
fense Secretary Donald H. Rums-
feld has asked the Congress for
$56 million to begin building the
sites. The estimated overall price
is $1.6 billion.
By building these in-
terceptors in Europe,
it is implied that the
defense relationship
The US has already begun testing its
anti-missile system.
between the two coun-
tries is tightened.
President Reagan envisioned
the United States missile defense Possible locations of the anti-
program to have a space-based missile sites are in Poland and the
antimissile shield to counter po- Czech Republic. By building
tential dangers from nations like these interceptors in Europe, it is
Iran and North Korea. Now, 20 implied that the defense relation-
years later, the Bush administra-
ship between the two countries
tion is proceeding with the anti- will be tightened. However, the
missile system by proposing an
negative feedback of this is from
establishment of new antimissile Russia as it charges the United
site in Europe. President Bush
States of sneaking an American
made this program a priority presence in the former Warsaw
when he took office and he with-
Pact nations. In addition, a Rus-
drew from the Antiballistic Mis-
Continued on Page 4
Page 4 June 13, 2006 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

Test Scores On the Move – For China’s Three Gorges

the Worst
Continued from Page 1
with the trend because the nation
is striving for more scientists and
engineers, after warnings of a
shortage of scientists. In 2002, the
National Research Council re-
ported that United States students
performed worst in math and sci-
ence out of all industrialized na-
tions. As a result, many leaders,
including President Bush, wanted
to increase the emphasis on sci-
ence in schools. In Connecticut,
schools will be re-examining the
Luce. “We have too few teachers
with majors or minors in math
and science. That clearly is a
problem.” This lack of teachers
may arise from having too few
science majors or too few who
chose to become classroom teach-
ers. “What happens is that the
system tends to beat them down,”
said Michael Padilla, a professor
at the University of Georgia.
“Working conditions are poor, it’s
a difficult job, and the pay isn’t
that great.” Furthermore, accord-
Dam:Triumph or Tragedy?
Continued from Page 3
molished in 1999 and a major
crack appeared in it. Having poor
quality construction materials will
not work when the dam is near
not one, but two major active
fault lines. The government, how-
ever, boldly claims that the dam
will stand up to all but the strong-
est earthquakes.
Although the Three Gorges
Dam will bring many benefits to
China, its criticism has been
harsh, and shows that it could
cause a number of environmental
problems, as well as raises ques-
tions about the solidity of the dam
itself. However, despite opposi-
tion, the construction of the dam
will go forwards as planned. Only
time will tell whether the dam
will become a modern marvel or a
mammoth mistake. ◙

science curriculums and teacher
programs to meet the state guide-
lines.
Several reasons for this de-
cline have been proposed. One is
the shortage of fully qualified
teachers, especially in areas of
low income. “We lack enough
teachers with content knowledge
in math and science,” said Assis-
tant Secretary of Education Tom
yahoo.com
ing to high school science chair-
woman Julia Sherman, science
receives less emphasis because of
greater stress on reading and
math.
“We need to do better and
pay more attention to science edu-
cation,” said Elizabeth Buttner of
the Department of Education.
“I’m optimistic we’ll see growth
by 2009.” ◙
The plan of the Three Gorges Dam.

Possible Antimissile Shield in Wild Animals in NYC

Continued from Page 2 even be more animals than just
Europe York City and around it causing those that have been spotted.
concern. The wildlife director at the
Continued from Page 3 approve of the initial engineering With the crime rates in New New York State Department of
work for the sites and so the Pen-
BBC

York City lower the police offi- Environmental Conservation,

George W. Bush and Russian President
Vladimir Putin have agreed to hold talks
for building a missile defense shield.
sian general spoke in a Polish
newspaper in hope of stirring
some opposition to the plan.
The Bush administration as-
sures Russians that the system is
tagon is asking the Congress to
fund the installment. The Penta-
gon is also seeking $9.3 billion
for the defense work in 2007.
$2.4 billion of this money will go
for development of new sites and
maintaining old ones while the
rest of the money is for additional
research and testing.
Most of these planned inter-
ceptors are to protect the United
States specifically from Iranian
threat. Although the Missile De-
fense Agency knows that Iran is
years from having technology of a
cers have a new task at hand,
which is tracking animals around
the city. The city pound in Har-
lem had to make space for a
white-tailed deer that was cap-
tured on city streets.
The reasons for these animals
coming into the city are environ-
mental. These animals are forced
into the city due to the destruction
of their natural habitats. The city
seems ideal to these animals be-
cause of the mild winters and the
urban greenways available to
them. The coyotes, for example,
Gerry Barnhart, said that the wild
animals are being spotted in the
city due to the large population
increase among them.
Experts advise people not to
have activities which attract some
of these animals. People are ad-
vised not to place meat scraps in
the open. They are also warned
not to feed wild animals. Last
summer, seals at Coney Island
were fed bananas, which can lead
to more animal problems in the
city. ◙
NY Times

not aimed at them by informing
them of their visits to Warsaw.
However, the Russians are still
unhappy and see it as something
that would destroy the ties be-
tween NATO and Russia.
There are nine interceptors in
Alaska and two in California.
Each interceptor are a 155-pound
rocket that collides with an enemy
missile. Critics have said that the
technology of interceptors are not
functioning as well as they
wanted. However, Henry A.
Obering III, chief of the Missile
Defense Agency, disagreed and
said that the technical problems
have not been showstoppers. He
also says that there will be more
tests in this year and early next
year.
Because of the technical
problems, the House Armed Ser-
vices Committee has refused to
missile that can target United
States, Iran is still seen as a threat
because of their recent uses of
missiles and possible collabora-
tion with North Korea. However,
it is not too soon to build the
sites, given the time it takes to
install the systems. In addition,
the Pentagon is upgrading a radar
complex in a British air base to
improve the coverage against a
potential threat.
The installment of the anti-
missiles will drastically change
other nations’ view of the United
States, some in positive ways and
some in negative. To the Rus-
sians, Iranians, and North Kore-
ans, this step reflects negatively
on the European security system.
But to Poland and Czech, the
United States is protecting both
them and itself from missile
threats. ◙
are allowed an easy food supply
from the city. Small animals such
as squirrels and other rodents as
well as garbage make it beneficial
for the coyotes to remain in the
city. On March 22, one coyote
had police on a chase all through
Central Park before it was finally
captured and tranquillized.
While on a boat scientists
spotted about twenty seals off the
coast of Staten Island near Swin-
burne Island. Shortly following
this incident a wild turkey was
spotted in Harlem. A few days
later, one was spotted outside of
the Museum of Natural History. A
seven-foot female moose was
found in Westchester County,
which is only 27 miles from the This seven feet tall adolescent female
city. This sparks a fear of it com-
moose was spotted in the suburbs of
ing into the city. A frightened
New York.
deer ran into and then drowned in
the Eastchester Bay. There might
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Non-Nuclear ICBMs Spark Controversy
Continued from Page 3
Cartwright, let the United States
“pre-empt conventionally and
precisely” while reducing collat-
eral damage. The program would
cost $500 million over five years.
There are problems with this
plan, however, which are making
lawmakers nervous. The problem
with making a nuclear missile
nonnuclear is how other countries
will know it isn’t a nuclear war-
head being launched at them?
Both nuclear and nonnuclear vari-
ants of the same Trident II will be
loaded onto the same submarines.
Other nations could mistake the
launch of a nonnuclear missile as
a pre-emptive strike and fire their
own nuclear weapons. For exam-
ple, Russia, whose early warning
system has not been updated since
the Cold War, might face trouble
identifying the missile. China,
whose system is ineffective, could
also misinterpret the missile. Ad-
Iran Threatens To Use Oil As
Bargaining Chip
Continued from Page 2
neighbors and that the accusations
by the United States are a “sheer
lie.” He has also, however, ques-
tioned Israel’s right to exist and
said that the Jewish state should
be “wiped off the map.”
The US has taken steps to
gain allies in its stand on Iran’s
nuclear program, but Russia and
China recently allowed Iran to
participate in the Shanghai Coop-
eration Organization, a regional
organization that includes Russia,
China and Central Asian nations,
which shows they may not be
ready to pick sides.
However, the United States
Stuy Students Inducted Into Na-
tional Hebrew Honor Society
Continued from Page 1
guage instruction with learning of
the culture are some of these
changes. Drawing from her per-
sonal experience as an immigrant
from Cuba, Arlene Ubieta, Assis-
tant Principal of Foreign Lan-
guages, spoke eloquently about
the importance of learning foreign
languages and the satisfaction of
being able to not only read or
speak a language, but also under-
stand the culture.
Junior Tal Akabas read the
proclamation from congressman
Gary Ackerman, congratulating
the new members on their joining
Eta Beta Rho and the establishing
June 13, 2006 NEWS
vocates claim that warning the
countries before launching a non-
nuclear missile or letting them
observe tests would mitigate this
fear. Critics counter that gather-
ing enough intelligence to confi-
dently launch a ballistic missile in
an hour would be very hard, and
that America does not need this
type of weapon, since the Air
Force can already reach almost
may find allies elsewhere. The
Gulf Cooperation Council, a
group of six Gulf Arab states in-
cluding oil giant Saudi Arabia,
said they were “deeply worried
about the developments in Iran’s
nuclear program,” after a meeting
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was
only two months after Iran staged
naval war games in the Gulf, a
shipping route that accounts for
about two-fifths of all globally
traded oil, signaling that it may be
ready to disrupt global oil trade in
case of international conflict.
With Iran’s refusal to back
down, the future of oil prices
looks uncertain. ◙
of its chapter at Stuyvesant. Fol-
lowing was a musical interlude
with vocal performances by the
inductees and musical accompani-
ment by Max Newman and Sam
Alperin.
The inductees were joined by
their parents and classmates, as
well some teachers. It was a
heart-warming event, and the fes-
tivity was only enhanced by the
celebratory balloons, the hand-
crafted banner, and the ethnic
foods, such as humus, pita and
bagels. ◙
anywhere in the world.
Nonnuclear ICBM’s are both
a blessing and a curse. Although
they give the United States the
ability to attack anywhere in the
world extremely quickly, and
could even be used to kill Osama
Bin Laden, they have the poten-
tial to start World War III if coun-
tries mistake them for nuclear
weapons. Also, if the United
Sound Bites: Assessing
Noise Pollution in NYC
BY JINJI KIM
GUEST WRITER
The writer, Jinji Kim.
It is every city dweller’s
dream: a white, sandy beach next
to an aquamarine sea, a swinging
hammock, and the cooing sounds
of the waves and the soft chirping
of the birds, so blissful, so peace-
ful, so quiet…
CRASH! BUZZ! BOOM!
The happy dream bursts into
nothingness as the person be-
comes aware of the omnipresent
and constant sea of noise that sur-
rounds him. He is irritated and
cringes in stress, but reluctantly
accepts noise as an elementary
part of the urban atmosphere. Life
goes on in full volume.
Noise pollution, the constant
emission of man-made noise in
the populated settings, is con-
Page 5
States adopts widespread use of
ICBM’s, then other countries will
follow suit, increasing their offen-
sive capabilities. Unless the mili-
tary thinks up a foolproof plan to
alert other countries, this program
might prematurely detonate in the
Pentagon’s face. ◙
Jonathan Xikis
stantly growing in severity in
New York City. However, as seen
as in the case above, the populace
is unaware of the effects of noise
pollution in their lives and ac-
cepts as a consequential aspect of
their urban lifestyle. “[Noise pol-
lution] does not affect me much, I
think. I know there is something
like it, with cars and all, but if
you do not listen out for it, it is
really unnoticeable,” stated junior
Scientific findings
indicate that the na-
ture of noise pollu-
tion in the Big Apple
is close to being ex-
cessively and openly
flagrant.
James Wu.
Yet, in their unwillingness to
embrace the issue, New Yorkers
are revealing their lack of knowl-
edge about the possible harms
that can be brought about by the
continuation of noise pollution.
According to “Noise Effects
Handbook: A Desk Reference to
Health and Welfare Effects of
Noise” by the United States Envi-
ronmental Protection Agency,
there are three major health de-
fects that can be caused by noise
pollution: hearing disabilities,
Continued on Page 7
Page 6
CLUB SPOTLIGHT
Stuy Robin Hood Fund
BY JIMMY ZHANG
NEWS EDITOR
Robin Hood, a famous ficti-
tious character was said to steal
from the rich and give to the poor.
Since stealing is illegal, the Stuy-
vesant Robin Hood Fund plans
instead to raise money to give to
various foundations. “The Stuyve-
sant Robin Hood Fund was insti-
tuted to help organizations that
we feel need the support of their
community: organizations such as
Boys and Girls Club and Red
Cross,” saids sophomore Yan
Slavinskiy, founder and president
of the fund.
When asked about other ser-
vice clubs, Slavinskiy said that
they are “awesome.” However, he
believes that the fund will be dif-
ferent. “We raise money to di-
rectly sponsor foundations that
don’t necessarily get enough re-
sources. We give money. We vol-
unteer to get the money. And then
we give money,” Slavinskiy
proudly stated. Unlike other some
other service clubs, the Stuyve-
sant Robin Hood Fund will raise
Meet Ms. Bulgaris!
BY DAVID YIN
STAFF WRITER
While many teachers can be
nice or friendly, few teachers are
described as being “as sweet as a
grandmother” as one student de-
scribes Ms. Bulgaris. Born in
Kaunas, Lithuania, Bulgaris came
to the United States in 1949, and
grew up in Detroit, Michigan.
She graduated third in her high
school class, and later came to
Fordham University, where she
got an M.S. degree in organic
chemistry. Bulgaris got her cred-
its for a PhD, but never finished
her research, which concerned the
study of certain inert yet carcino-
genic organic compounds. She
did not think it was interesting
and she soon decided to become a
teacher.
With the knowledge and ex-
pertise of a PhD student, but with-
out a degree in education, Bul-
garis started out teaching at two
private schools for five years.
After she got her degree in educa-
tion, she, with the coercion of her
colleagues, decided to go into the
more stable New York City pub-
lic school system. Bulgaris
started teaching at Brooklyn Tech
as a substitute, until she was ap-
June 13, 2006 NEWS
money to donate to foundations,
but not necessarily work directly
for that foundation. Slavinskiy
has a plan for a five-step system:
candy, tutoring, raffles, special
events and volunteering. Slavin-
skiy hopes that the Stuyvesant
Robin Hood Fund will have
reached a goal of $25,000 by the
time he leaves Stuyvesant. His
dream is for the fund to expand
out of Stuyvesant and into the
community.
Sophomore Tamir Yewdaev,
executive vice president, said,
“Right now, we are just starting to
get on our feet, but hopefully,
through next year, we will be able
to grow more and raise enough
money to make a difference.” So
far, the Stuyvesant Robin Hood
Fund is planning to participate in
the Night of a Thousand Dinners
in November to raise money for
land mine clearance.
“Join our fund. It’s not a
huge commitment and it’s really
worthwhile,” Slavinskiy boldly
said. His e-mail address is ysjeter-
fan@aol.com. ◙
QUICK PROFILE
Name: Dalia Regina Bulgaris
Place of Birth:
Kaunas, Lithuania
Subjects Taught:
Chemistry (SC2, SC2H)
proved as a full-time teacher. In
1979, she was transferred to Bry-
ant High School in Queens. One
year later, she came to Stuyve-
sant, where she has been teaching
Student Union
Elections 2006
BY ERIC MAYO AND JENNIFER
SCHLESINGER
SPORTS EDITOR AND EDITOR IN CHIEF
On June 2, the 2006 Stuyve-
sant High School Student Unions
(SU) held the primary elections
for Junior Caucus, Senior Caucus,
and SU President and Vice Presi-
dent. Each current sophomore and
junior had two votes for their next
class representatives and two for
SU President and Vice President.
Freshmen had two votes for SU
President and Vice President. The
two sets of candidates for each
position with the most votes
moved on to the general elections,
which were held on June 12. The
candidates were for Junior Cau-
cus, Michelle Lee and Andrew
Kim, and Amos Dai and Sara
Yoon, for Senior Caucus, Mike
Tsidulko and Lenny Frenkel, and
George Tsivin and Alex Kitay-
gorodskiy, and for SU President
and Vice President, George
Zisiadis and Vanessa Charub-
humi, as well as Hannah Freiman
and Lauren Gonzalez.
On Tuesday, June 6, a special
bell schedule was arranged so that
there was a 20 minute homeroom
TSS/Tim Chnag
Favorite Food: Spicy Food, es-
pecially Indian, Chinese, and
Mexican
Favorite Color: Blue
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
since.
Bulgaris is extremely pas-
sionate as a teacher, and truly
enjoys what she does. “I organize
material in the simplest possible
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
that allowed for a debate between
George Zisiadis and Hannah
Freiamn to take place. Zisizdis
said, “I believe we were both cer-
tainly eloquent. I was impressed
with Hannah’s eloquence. I felt
the debate was a milestone,” of
the debate. He continued to ex-
press the feeling that this debate
was the first time Stuyvesant ad-
ministrators went out of their way
to help further the elections.
The Stuyvesant Standard
wishes to congratulate all the win-
ners of the Student Union elec-
tions. The following is a series of
interviews conducted with the
candidates prior to the general
election. We hope this provides
greater clarity into what each
group wants to accomplish in the
following school year.
George Zisiadis and
Vanessa Charubhumi
This team has five years of
experience in the SU. Zisiadis has
served as freshman president. Of
his time as freshman president, he
said, “[I] felt very comfortable [in
Continued on Page 12
manner,” she says. Chemistry
lessons are easy to understand
that way, and her students agree.
“Instead of dumping all the mate-
rial on us at the same time like
some teachers might, she takes it
step by step,” says sophomore
Celeste Ho, one of her former
students. Bulgaris is currently at
the age where she can retire; in
fact, several of her friends her age
have already done so. However,
Bulgaris loves teaching kids so
much that she cannot give up
teaching just yet.
Bulgaris loves going to the
performing arts when she is not
grading tests or homework. She
especially enjoys opera, ballet and
even some plays in the city. She
also attends some of the various
productions that the Stuyvesant
community puts on. When asked
how the shows at Stuyvesant
compare to professional concerts
and shows, she said, “They’re of
a very high quality for the high
school level… Some of the musi-
cians are extremely talented.” ◙
If you know a teacher you would
like to see profiled and read
about, please contact us at meet-
thisteacher@stuystandard.org
with the subject line “Teacher.”
Thank you!
Column by Tim Chang
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Sound Bites: Assessing Noise Pollution in NYC
Continued from Page 5
cardiovascular and psychophysi-
ological system malfunctions, and
loss of sleep coupled with social
disorders. In the case of severe
noise pollution, the handbook
specifies, ramifications as severe
as a permanent shift of the hear-
ing threshold and acoustic neu-
roma (tumor in the cranial nerve
that causes hearing loss) can oc-
cur.
But how bad is the current
noise pollution in New York?
Often enough, New Yorkers have
grown immune to the sudden out-
bursts of sound around them. “It
is not really that bad. I do not feel
continual discomfort. Of course
there are the occasional sirens and
alarms, but only from time to
time,” said senior Namita Biala.
However, scientific findings indi-
cate that the nature of noise pollu-
tion in the Big Apple is close to
being excessively and openly fla-
grant. Decibel (dBA) measure-
ments by public agencies show
readings of busy street corners at
a staggering 80 dBA, close to the
sound level of a male adult
screaming at a person 6 ft away;
large trucks at 90 dBA, a sound
The End of Another Great Year for the Speech and
Debate Team
BY TAMIR YEWDAEV
STAFF WRITER
Overall, this is one
of the best years the
Stuyvesant Speech
and Debate Team
has had and thus
there was truly much
to celebrate.
On June 4, the Stuyvesant
Speech and Debate Team cele-
brated the end of another fabulous
year at the annual team dinner.
The dinner is held at the end of
every year and is meant to allow
parents and students to celebrate
their achievements. This year it
was held at Stuyvesant beginning
with an assortment of speeches
and presentations provided by
parents, students and teachers at
the Murray Khan theater. The
festivities then moved on to the
dining hall for an early dinner.
Many parents were present at
the dinner. Much of the presenta-
tion was geared toward parents,
allowing them to get a glimpse of
what their children spend so much
June 13, 2006 NEWS
level that causes definite hearing
damage; and subways at about
120 dBA, near the threshold of
pain and permanent hearing loss.
Unbeknownst to the public, noise
pollution in New York City con-
The New York Subway system is a great contributor to noise pollution.
tinues on with full force.
Nevertheless, the greater is-
sue is that the problem of noise
pollution in the city cannot be
stopped at the time. Tom An-
time doing through the year.
There were short introductions to
Lincoln-Douglas as well as Policy
Debate provided by the senior’s
as well as a show of some of
Stuyvesant’s finest speakers.
Between these presentations
there were speeches made by all
summing up the school’s accom-
plishments for the 05-06 season
and there were many. Among
572 schools present from through-
out the country at the Catholic
Forensic League’s national com-
petition, Stuyvesant tied for first
place overall. Stuyvesant also
took victory at the JPMorgan
Chase Lincoln-Douglas Debate
and reclaimed its title at the Vil-
lager Tournament. In addition to
this, Stuyvesant made a good
showing at the New York State
Championship getting high ranks
including first place in many cate-
gories. Overall this is one of the
best years the Stuyvesant Speech
and Debate Team has had and
thus there was truly much to cele-
brate.
Many agreed that this year’s
dinner was also one of the best in
recent years. Junior and Admin-
istrative Captain of Lincoln-
Douglas Claire Bulger explains,
“I think this year's dinner was one
giotti, in an article in the Gotham
Gazette, points out that various
government agencies such as the
MTA have served as major im-
pediments to the stopping of noise
pollution. “The MTA is one of
www.kestan.com
those untouchable state authori-
ties that seem to think first about
satisfying its bondholders and
keeping its hands in its cus-
tomer’s pockets,” he said. Mean-
of the best I've been to, the per-
formances and speeches were all
really good but not overly long,
and I think it was good that LD
did a demonstration debate for the
first time in a while.” The pres-
entations were all very enjoyable
and parents got a good sampling
of the talents of Stuyvesant stu-
dents; claps were heard through-
out. The presentation ended with
a goodbye to all of the seniors
who spent their high school ca-
reers getting the team to where it
is.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
WWW.STUYSTANDARD.ORG
Page 7
while, since the preventive meas-
ures for stopping noise pollution
involve the use of advanced tech-
nology and renovation of old road
and tracks, etc., the city has
shown its lack of support for stop-
ping noise pollution. The city
government has a new noise code,
which was enacted December 29,
2005, but enforcement has been
turned out to be lukewarm, as
indicated by a recent survey by
eTownPanel research foundation,
which found out that calls to the
311 helpline for noise have in-
creased by nine percent in 2006).
Conclusively, in addition to the
general unawareness of the pub-
lic, noise pollution is unrestrained
and is allowed to exacerbate to
the point where it harms New
Yorkers.
It is hard to imagine New
York City without its constant
ruckus of people, cars and planes
all merging to give the city its
uniqueness and metropolitan air.
Still, it must be realized that such
idiosyncrasy can come at the
price of the general welfare of the
populace. “I thought noise pollu-
tion simply came from young
people listening to loud music.
But it was not. Peace and quiet…
Don’t we deserve it as well?”
stated freshman Dan Paek. ◙
The day closed with a meal
of tacos at the dining hall. Drinks
and desert were also served. With
time, people began to leave with
smiles still on their faces. This
dinner was a celebration of all the
work put into the Team by the
students, teachers and parents and
its success represented the suc-
cess of those involved. Thus, the
forensic year closed on a good
note and all can rest, until next
year. ◙
Your School,
Your World,
Your News
Are all just a short
click away.
Come visit
Page 8 June 13, 2006 NEWS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

Standard At Five!
A Letter from the Founder:
When I along with a group of friends founded The Standard in
March of 2001, we never imagined the paper would still be publishing
five years later. We doubted we could even put together one issue.
Printing a newspaper is a lot like the joke about making sausages. It’s
not pretty, and it’s much harder than it looks.
We started The Standard because we believed Stuyvesant would
benefit from having another outlet through which students could be
informed of the events and issues that matter to them, within and be-
yond the confines of 345 Chambers Street, while presenting divergent
opinions on a wide range of subjects.
While commonplace at colleges, a high school having two
school papers is virtually unprecedented, and The Standard met with
understandable scepticism. However, we had the essential support of
faculty members who praised our “entrepreneurial initiative,” as one
social studies teacher put it. I and the entire Standard family are im-
mensely grateful for the trust, faith, and encouragement of, among
others, Dr. John Nikol, Jennifer Suri, Ellen Schweitzer, Gary Jaye,
Anthony Valentin, Eugene Blaufarb, and Dr. Lydia Shulman, who
from the outset saw the value in our project.
Their support was critical the first year The Standard published,
which was exceedingly difficult, played out in the shadow of the
events of 2001. Looking back with the benefit of perspective, matur-
ity, and hindsight, many of us realize we could have handled things
better that year, and we recognize and have learned from the mistakes
that were made.
The value of The Standard, like any high school extra-curricular
organization, is that it provides an educational and social benefit to its
members. High school is a learning experience, and over the last five
years, hundreds of Stuyvesant students have worked on the paper and
have gained valuable experience working with others, researching top-
ics, handling administrative and financial issues, meeting deadlines,
and gaining a better understanding of their school and their commu-
nity.
There is certainly room for improvement. However, The Stan-
dard has come a long way since 2001, when it was a monthly, eight to
twelve- page, black and white publication. Since then it has expanded
to 16 pages and publishes bi-weekly, experimenting with color front
pages, and has added sections on science, business, literature and
games, to meet the interests of more and more students, while dealing
with disadvantages such as the lack of an in-school office, a journal-
ism class, and ninety years of institutional memory. In 2001 and 2002,
we paid for the issues by selling donuts, and one memorable event was
trudging through the snow in Ridgewood during a blizzard to pick up
the papers from our printers.
The paper never would have become a reality without the dedi-
cation and effort of a group of people, fuelled by youthful idealism,
who believed in The Standard’s cause and truly wanted to be part of
something they thought would make Stuyvesant a better place and a
more enriching academic environment. Our work on the paper forged
deep and long-lasting friendships. They all deserve a mention here:
Alex Epstein, who had his account of 9/11 published in At Ground
Zero, a book of young journalists’ reports on that tragic day. Rufino
Mendoza, a certifiable business genius, who came up with the idea of
distributing The Standard throughout TriBeCa. Alex Levin, valedicto-
rian of the class of 2003. Will Frankenstein, Cindy Lee, Isaac
Glovinksy, Conor Moran, Sophia Chan, Sunny Wong, Michael Boc-
chinfuso, and Mark Leff. A band of brothers and sisters.
I am incredibly grateful to Ernest Baskin, who followed me as
Editor-in-Chief, who made certain the paper would not die when the
class of 2003 departed, and introduced a literary section and journal-
ism workshops, open to all students, given by Dr. Nikol, Dr. Schul-
man, and Mr. Rolle. He has been followed by exceedingly competent
editors Annie Deng and Winnie Lee, who left their own marks on the
paper. They have said that The Standard is “in their blood.” Jennifer
Schlesinger has done so much in her short time as editor, adding new
features and unveiling a new design.
Here’s to five more years of The Standard!
- Daniel Egers, Founder of The Standard

A Look at the Previous Editors

This is the final issue of The scholastic year ends, many of the
Stuyvesant Standard this year, our 2005-2006 Editors will graduate
fifth year as a newspaper. Over along with many staff members.
these five years we have grown to We would like to thank them for
include new ideas and changed to all they have done and for all they Alex Epstein
accommodate our readers both in help they have given in training
Stuyvesant High School and the us, the current editors. We also After Stuyvesant, Alex Epstein '03 (Opinions Editor, Executive
outside community. The Stuyve- wish them the best in college and Editor) became part of the second graduating class at the brand new
sant Standard would not be what beyond. We would also like to Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering just outside of Bos-
it was today if its foundation had give a special thank you to Win- ton. While pursuing an engineering degree with a materials science
not been built by hard work off nie Lee, Editor in Chief ’06 for concentration at Olin, Alex has also regularly taken classes at
those who came before us. We are her continued guidance. nearby Babson College, Wellesley College, and Brandeis Univer-
deeply grateful for all their previ- Congratulations Stuyvesant sity. His connection to Wellesley college has earned him not only
ous deeds and for their continued High School Class of 2006! academic, but also email, ID card, parking permit, and girlfriend
support. We would like to take privileges. In the summer of 2005, Alex conducted nanobiomateri-
this opportunity to remember our -The Stuyvesant Standard als research at Princeton University, and his resulting papers have
past editors and staff. As the Executive Leadership Team now been published in the Journal of Materials Research and MSA
Journal. He has since accepted an invitation to return to Princeton
for another summer of research under a Microscopy Society of
America scholarship, and he will be presenting new work at a con-
Ernest Baskin ference in Chicago in the summer of 2006. On Olin's campus, Alex
has taken the initiative to institutionalize two of his recreational
passions--ping pong and social dance, especially Argentine tango--
I was the EIC before Annie Deng and after Daniel Egers. I am
as vibrant clubs; and his role on the Wellesley-Olin Working Group
now attending University of Pennsylvania majoring in Finance, Op-
has helped develop academic and social relations between the
erations and Information Management and Anthropology. I love to
neighboring colleges.
ballroom dance and have put on two shows already. Although I do
not work for the school newspaper at Penn, I still write actively
since I am engaged in a lot of Anthropology research which I hope
to get published in the Harvard Business Review.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD June 13, 2006 NEWS
Clara Ng
I'm currently attending Steinhardt School of Education at NYU and
majoring in Communication Studies. Apparently there are a lot of Stuy
kids at NYU. I realized this during the third week of school. I walked into
the student lounge and there they were, about 20 Stuy kids, sitting in not-
so-cushy armchairs. It made me a bit sentimental. In other news, I found a
job at a typesetting company and book publisher and have been working
there for the past seven months. For the summer, I'm considering taking
bartending lessons and maybe working as a bartender, because I despise
my financial aid package and would prefer not to live in a ditch while pay-
ing off my college loans. I'm also hoping to study abroad in Florence or
Shanghai in the spring. And that's pretty much it for my first year at col-
lege.
Rain Bian
College life has been about programming for WKCR (FM 89.9, lis-
ten!), mentoring middle school students, work-studying, campaigning for
Linda Rosenthal of the Upper West Side, catching random jobs in be-
tween, cramming, procrastinating (spending two hours each on lunch and
dinner), and horrific on-campus food. I have yet to get back to the old
hobby of news writing and interviewing, though I’ve been studying jour-
nalism on a macro level through a class called Media and Politics. Happy
fifth birthday to The Stuyvesant Standard! I’ve seen tremendous improve-
ments since my time and am confident of better years to come under the
new leadership.
Rufino Mendoza
Rufino Mendoza currently attends Georgetown University as a double
major in Finance and International Business. Currently, Rufino works as a
Member Service Representative with the Georgetown Alumni and Student
Federal Credit Union, the largest student-run credit union in the United
States. He is also the Executive Vice President of the Rufino Mendoza
Group, LLC, a real estate company, where Rufino has input on major capi-
tal decisions, but is detached from the day-to-day operations of the com-
pany. He is a Founding Partner of Global Platinum Securities, LLC, an
intercollegiate educational investment company, and is heavily involved in
both the investment research and administrative aspects of the com-
pany. He is also the 209th member in the entire sixty year history of the
Georgetown Chimes, Georgetown's oldest and only all-male a cappella
group. He will be spending the summer of 2006 touring Europe while
studying Comparative Strategic Management and International Finance at
Oxford University.
Karen Liu
Karen Liu worked first in the layout department and later changed
roles to become webmaster. She is pursuing a degree in computer science
and will study at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Computer Sci-
ence. She is part of a high school mentoring program at Morgan Stanley
involving students from Stuyvesant’s computer department, and will take
part in an internship at Morgan Stanley over the summer. She has no plans
yet for specific careers, but hopes to explore studies in computer graphics.
Jacob Arluck
Jacob Arluck joined the Standard in the spring of 2005 following en-
couragement from Sho Uemura, the copy chief at the time. He succeeded
Sho, waging a heroic yet ultimately doomed struggle against bad grammar
and slovenly writing. He also taught interested students about prose style
and article structure.
He will be attending Princeton University in September; he is unsure
what he wants to major in, though he definitely wants to join the Daily
Princetonian, the student newspaper there. His summer plans are indefi-
nite; he is desperately searching for a job but, so far, to no avail.
Page 9
Dmitry "Dima" Slavin
I was one of the first members of the Standard, having
joined in October 2001. I wrote for the Standard for four years
and served as the Standard's second ever, and so far longest-
tenured, sports editor, working over two years in that position. I
had a strong and loyal readership and I want to thank any of my
readers who are still at Stuy.
Since graduating Stuyvesant in 2005, I have been attending
Washington and Lee University, where I play ice hockey, serve
as a tour guide, and occasionally write for the Ring-Tum Phi, a
student newspaper. I was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma
(Freshman Honor Society) in May. I am proud to say that I still
read the Standard through my subscription and am proud of the
progress it has made in the five years since its inception. It is
truly a top-notch student newspaper that can hold its own
against many college newspapers.
David Wang
Stuyvesant is like the 20th level of Super Smash Brothers
as it came out on the N64. It churns out its grads by the boat-
load, and the more motivated of the bunch become the future
lawyers, doctors, and pharmaceutical technicians of the
world. But will what does that degree do for you, as a per-
son? If you're graduating from one of the finest institutions
this country has to offer, do you really think it matters whether
you graduate as an English or a math major? Tack on that mi-
nor in finance, and you'll all be consultants in five years. But
don't forget about that interest in music or photography you
always wanted to pursue. College gives you enough time to do
whatever it is that you want, and not taking advantage of it is
like graduating from Stuy having taken less than five APs – it's
a waste of everybody's time.
Sure, my reference to the video game may be a bit little
off, but the underlying message is clear. Now go out into the
world of non-stop cutting, cramming, and pong, and show 'em
what you're made of. And if you're an underclassman, well, at
least you'll get to witness the next batch of freshmen squirm
into those pearly second floor doors in the fall.
Osman Nemli
Hello and goodbye to all. 'Twas really a bit of fun writing
for this paper and being an editor. I hope to keep up this writ-
ing at Trinity College, and would like to thank all you readers
and fans of mine. Keep of the good work, and make sure you
check out my book in the future.
Melissa Chan
The past few months have been a roller coaster ride for me,
but it has also been my best year at Stuy. Between college ap-
plications and prom and graduation planning, I've almost for-
gotten how long it was since I handed down the Business Sec-
tion to Hanford. So let me catch you up on my life. This sum-
mer, I will be continuing my internship at Merrill Lynch. My
family and I are also heading down to Disney for a little fun
before I start school next year at The Johns Hopkins Univer-
sity.
Words cannot express how much I will miss this school
and everything that has come along with it, but at the same
time, I am anxiously awaiting the next stage of our lives. I
would like to wish The Standard Executive Leadership Team
much luck in the coming year. When I first started the Business
Section for The Standard, I never imagined the paper would
become this successful. I know that when I come back to visit
next year, the paper will become even greater than it is now.
Congratulations to the Class of 2006, you worked hard for this
moment, so enjoy it.
Page 10 June 13, 2006 NEWS
Daniel George Egers
Daniel has just completed a year of studying at Oxford Univer-
sity’s Mansfield College as a visiting scholar. In September he will
return to Georgetown University and will graduate in December, half
a semester early, with a B.S. in Foreign Service. He plans on start-
ing law school in the fall of 2007.
A John Carroll Scholar at Georgetown, Daniel has studied under
former Assistant-Secretary of State and Dean of the School of For-
eign Service Robert Gallucci as a Peter Krogh Scholar, focusing on
issues of arms control and nuclear proliferation. While at George-
town, he has worked as a legislative intern for upstate Congressman
John Sweeney (R-Clifton Park). At Oxford, Daniel served as a re-
search assistant to Dr. Emanuele Ottolenghi, the Leone Ginzburg
Research Fellow in Israel Studies, for his upcoming book on the rise
of anti-Semitism in Europe and its implications on European rela-
tions with Israel.
Daniel is currently employed as a legislative aide for Queens
State Senator Frank Padavan (R-Bellerose). Daniel is an elected
member of the Queens County Republican Committee, has been ap-
pointed a delegate to the 11th District Judicial Nominating Conven-
tion by the Vice-Chairman of the Queens County Republican Party,
and is secretary of the Whitestone Republican Club.
Daniel is founder and president of Friends of Oakland Lake and
Ravine, Inc., a tax-exempt not-for-profit corporation of volunteers
dedicated to caring for Oakland Lake off of Northern Boulevard in
Bayside, holding clean-up and planting events and raising funds to
repair the pathway around the lake. Daniel is also a member of vari-
ous community and civic organizations such as the 109th Precinct
Community Council, the Beechhurst Property Owners Association,
the Whitestone Village Revitalisation Committee, the Alley Pond
Environmental Center, and the Bayside Historical Society.
Ting Lin
My name is Ting Lin and I'll be going to Princeton University in
the fall. I have been with the Stuyvesant Standard's Business Depart-
ment for one year and a Financial Officer for four years. It's been a
very dramatic and colorful four years at Stuyvesant. It's hard to
imagine starting over again as a freshman, not knowing anything.
My time with the Stuyvesant Standard has been fun in addition to
meeting friends; learning about life, work and school. I would stalk
the hallways with my candy box looking for potential customers. In
class, passing candy and money back and forth while the teacher's
back is turned. Unforgettable memories. They really taught me how
to sell, candies, skills, personalities, college applications. Those
skills will come in handy this summer while I work at Pacific De-
light World Tours. Growing up is difficult, but I feel that the friends
I made while at Stuyvesant Standard has made it a whole lot easier,
and more enjoyable.
Winnie Lee
Next year, I will be attending Georgetown University-
McDonough School of Business. Before I arrive at GU, I would like
to be exposed to the real corporate world. Fortunately enough, I man-
aged to get a internship at Allianz Global Investors Managed Ac-
counting and will be directly under the Chief Operating Officer
(COO) and Business Analyst. My job would be updating and editing
the procedural manual and other unannounced assignments. Hope-
fully, this would continue to spark my interest in a business major and
allow me to decide whether I should double major in finance or ac-
counting along with International Business and a minor in Chi-
nese. My plan for the future can only go this far at the moment along
with establishing a Winnie Lee Scholarship Foundation for Standard
staff and editors. In the meanwhile, I am privately tutoring and work-
ing with several families, so if you are interested in an experienced
tutor please contact me at winley.l@gmail.com. As the Editor in
Chief '06 and Chief Financial Officer '05, I wish Standard a Happy
5th Anniversary. You are in my blood and I look forward meeting
future and current Standardites when I visit Stuy in the fall. Keep up
the amazing work!
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Mike Bocchinfuso
I graduated Stuyvesant in 2003 and went on to Stevens Institute of
Technology in Hoboken, NJ. I am pursuing a Bachelors of Engineering
in Electrical Engineering and am in the 5-year co-op internship pro-
gram. I've worked for a year at Datascope Corporation and one semester
at Panasonic Corporation in the R&D labs of both companies.
I'm a member of the radio station, WCPR (http://wcpr.org), where I
served two years as Business Manager and am currently the Publicity
Manager and Mobile Unit Manager. I have helped WCPR undergo
changes both technically and organizationally and I interact with every-
one who requires our Mobile DJing services.
I'm also the Director of Operations for our campus TV station, SITtv6
(http://www.sittv.com). I organize the filming of events around campus
and interact with various organizations and people that require our ser-
vices. I also write scripts for various shows and short films.
I am also a Senior Senator in the Student Government Association,
a Peer Mentor for the Academic Service Center, member of the Con-
sole/Gaming Society, and occasional writer for our school paper The
Stute. I spent a good deal of my free time participating in various short
films in varying degrees (sound, script-writing, production, editing),
DJing parties and other events, and of course, watching more Star Trek
than is probably healthy.
Jessie Luk
Standard staff members of the past, present, and future: You all
may know me as the first puzzle columnist of The Stuyvesant Standard,
if not, now you do. I started this page because I was a puzzle lover. I
used to do crosswords all the time (including in class which is a trend
some of you people follow too). I must admit I had fun writing up all
those crosswords and getting various creative puzzles from staff writers.
They made the paper more fun, not that it wasn’t already.
Well, it’s hard to leave such a wonderful school such as Stuyvesant,
but sadly, we must all move on at some point in our lives. As for me, I
will be going to CIT of Carnegie Mellon University studying Biomedi-
cal Engineering. My path has always been in the life sciences. I plan to
follow my life long goal of becoming a physician, though in what field,
I’m not sure of.
I wish you all the best of luck in the future of The Stuyvesant Stan-
dard and as students as well.
Sho Uemura
Sho Uemura, the former managing editor and copy chief, is going
to Caltech. There he plans to use his experience by joining the staff of
the California Tech as a copy editor and working his way up the ranks
as he did over two and a half memorable years at The Standard; he is
looking forward to joining a publication where he will not have to build
a copy desk from the ground up. His summer will be spent acclimatiz-
ing to the delightful climate and geography (viz. beaches) of southern
California. He will also start on studying his planned core subjects,
physics and linguistics, with a crash course (with any luck, not literally)
in driving and reading road signs.
YanJie Hou
YanJie Hou was the Opinions Editor for “The Standard” for the
majority of the 2005-2006 school year. She is a graduating senior and
will be attending college at NYU’s Stern School of Business this fall.
Her summer plan for most of July is avoiding the sun at all possible
cost by shutting herself inside her house and blinding herself with TV-
watching marathons for the first two weeks after school ends. Then she
will visit her friend in Charleston, WV for a few days in mid-July be-
fore she heads back to China for the rest of the summer where she will
endure weeks of confused marveling from her family in China over how
fat she has grown since the last time she visited them.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Arista’s 97th Induction
Ceremony
Continued from Page 1
Passaro, Sam Tepper, Aukosh
Jagannath, Lu Yang, Adam
Spencer and Daniel Jaffe, the
newly elected officers were pre-
sented, who are: Connie Tao,
webmaster; Ellen Liu, Herald
editor in Chief; Hua Szu Yang,
junior representative; Victor
Won, vice president for tutoring;
Megan Nesbeth, vice president
for services and events; Cindy
Huang, vice president for admini-
stration; Sonny Kung, executive
vice president; and Johnathan
Khusid, president.
Afterwards, the candle-
lighting ceremony took place. The
four pillars of Arista — leader-
ship, scholarship, character and
service — were represented by
candles. As the former officers,
accompanied by the new officers,
lit the candles, all of the inductees
watched in awe. “It was nice how
they represented each candle as a
different trait,” commented David
Yin, a sophomore inductee.
After Khusid delivered the
new president’s address, the in-
June 13, 2006 NEWS Page 11
TSS/Bennett Hong
ductees were to recite the induc-
tion pledge, led by Suzuki. Most
inductees complained that it was
long. This long pledge was con-
veniently printed on the backs of
the yellow booklets, preventing
any confusion. However long the
pledge may have been, it was, of
course, a pledge of a model Arista
student, a student to whom others
will look up for guidance.
The inductees lined up by the
stage to wait for their pins and
certificates. After some confusion
with absentees and name-calling,
all of the inductees were awarded
their shiny pins. The 12 members
of the month were granted their
well-earned awards. The induc-
tees were especially awed at Mot-
taqui al-Karim, who was member
of the month of May before he
was even inducted.
Last, the special faculty
members were presented with
appreciation gifts. At the reces-
sional, everyone rushed out. Most
headed straight for the cafeteria,
where there was food served spe-
cially for the occasion. ◙
Page 12
Student Union Elections 2006
Continued from Page 6
the SU]. I realized through events
I organized that I understood the
SU and its importance. I felt this
was my place…as a freshman, I
aspired towards SU President.”
Charubhumi has served as her
class’s freshman and sophomore
president. The team could not
specifically say what they would
do if they could only accomplish
one thing because, as Charubhumi
explained, “There are so many
things George and I want to do.”
The team’s main goals if elected
are to fix the current budget and
to clean up the SU. They plan to
fix the budget by increasing it
from the current amount of ap-
proximately $78,000 to $100,000.
Part of it includes their Grand
Candy plan, which is to buy
candy for clubs to sell. They will
sell they candy at cheaper than
current prices to benefit the clubs
while still benefiting the SU.
They also want to increase the
number of Stuy Advantage cards
sold and try to get grants from
performing arts groups to help
with the costs of Sing! Further-
more, Zisiadis and Charubhumi
will make secure investment with
SU funds, such as certificates of
deposit. They will give specific
amounts of money to major Stuy
groups, such as The Speech and
Debate Team, Model United Na-
tions, and Math Team. The team
plans to clean up the SU by actu-
ally cleaning the SU office and
making it more of a place stu-
dents can come to. They also fix
the SU website, www.stuysu.org,
and post minutes from meeting
there as well as on the SU bulle-
tin. Moreover, the team is dedi-
cated to making the current Club
grid for reserving classroom more
effective. They will work with the
administrators and teachers to
make sure rooms are available.
Furthermore, the team is dedi-
cated to protecting student rights
as shown by Charubhumi’s re-
sponse to the possible moving of
the SU office. She explained that
BY KENNETH YU
STAFF WRITER
Yahoo ranked as the most
popular website on the Internet,
has long been a one-stop shop for
many computer users. According
to Alexa Internet and Netcraft,
companies that track web trends,
it is the most-visited website to-
day. One main reason for its suc-
cess lies in its multitude of ser-
vices and offerings such as e-
mail, finance, music, news, and
search engine all on a single web-
June 13, 2006 NEWS/BUSINESS
putting the college office behind
the SU is equal to put administra-
tors there and will lessen the free-
dom of the Senior Bar, and will
eventually lead to its end as well
as the end of other privileges.
Hannah Freiman and
Lauren Gonzalez
This team never responded to
efforts by The Standard to contact
them, so any information is based
on their platform and the candi-
date debate. Freiman has no pre-
vious SU experience, which she
feels is an advantage because she
brings new ideas to the table. She
has been involved with other Stuy
organizations, such as the Cheer-
leading team and theater produc-
tions. Gonzalez has been fresh-
man and sophomore vice presi-
dent. The team wants to keep the
students informed of school
events with a newsletter and of
world events with a series of lec-
tures from experts in their fields.
They plan to be open to sugges-
tions and to host some new
events, such as a fashion show
and a drive for Locks of Love.
Mike Tsidulko and
Lenny Frenkel
This team never responded to
efforts by The Standard to contact
them, so any information is based
on their platform. Their main goal
is to allow the senior class to have
fun bonding events and an excep-
tional prom. They will use and
expand their class’s website,
www.stuy07.org, and try to listen
to what the majority of their class
wants. Tsidulko is the current
Junior Class President and Fren-
kel has been involved in SU af-
fairs.
George Tsivin and
Alex Kitaygorodskiy
This team decided to run be-
cause as Tsivin said, “I was the IT
coordinator [of the SU] and I saw
Yahoo: A Million in One
Yahoo.com
Jerry Yang, the cofounder of Yahoo.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
TSS/Jennifer Schlesinger
how things were run. I chose Alex
because he was a balance.” If they
could only do one thing in office,
it would be to arrange a stellar
prom. Moreover, they did say that
many of their plans are inter-
connected and would ultimately
lead to a better prom. Their plans
for prom include having a live
band, holding it at the Waldorf,
and having their class turn in pho-
tos of their times at Stuy and
hanging the photos on the wall.
The team plans to pay for prom
by selling candy, holding events
Michelle Lee and Andrew Kim.
TSS/Jennifer Schlesinger
Prom and will pay for it by fund-
raising events.
Michelle Lee and Andrew Kim
Lee and Kim decided to run
for elections because, as Lee said,
“We had a lot of ideas…We want
George Tsivin and Alex Kitay- to relax the class with college and
gorodskiy. have some fun.” The team’s main
such as Comedy Night. Of Com- goal is to create a website for the
edy Night, Tsivin said, “[It was] Junior class to get the class in-
very profitable, I worked on it.” volved and let students speak out.
They also will hold other events They plan to in all decisions, go
such as a faculty and student im- with the majority. About Junior
prov workshop and seasonal Prom, Kim said, “Junior Prom has
dances. Another main goal of been successful in the past two
Tsivin and Kitaygorodskiy is, if years, I’ve heard. We plan to keep
elected, all decisions will be by what is working and make some
referendum. They will utilize improvements.” Lee and Kim
their class website, plan to pay for prom by holding
www.stuy07.org, to do this. Ki- fundraising events, such as an
taygorodskiy said, “We want to International Desert Fair, which
harness the class’s ideas.” will involve cultural clubs and
possibly the Foreign Language
Amos Dai and Sara Yoon Department, and a raffle ticket
event in which all students could
The Standard had trouble get involved and but tickets for
arranging an interview with this prizes. The team plans to always
team because of conflicting be accessible to their class by
schedules. Going by their plat- keeping a suggestion box in the
form, Dai and Yoon want to SU, which they will check every-
lower the amount of stress faced day. Lee and Kim have no previ-
by the Junior class. They plan to ous experience in the SU, but plan
do this by organizing social to learn by working with both the
events. They also want to get in- current sophomore and junior
put from their class, so they will class presidents and vice presi-
extend the duties of the Junior dents. They also see this as an
Advisory Council, as well as advantage because it allows them
making the application process to bring new ideas. ◙
for the council name-blind. They
plan to have an amazing Junior
site, yahoo.com. lar.
Yahoo was founded by Stan- As Yahoo’s popularity grew,
ford graduates David Filo and its features expanded. Yahoo now
offers an e-mail service, instant
Jerry Yang in January 1994.
messaging client, group mailing
Originally named “Jerry’s Guide
lists, online games, online shop-
to the World Wide Web,” it fea-
ping, and various information
tured a directory of other sites
portals. Many are based on inde-
organized in a hierarchy. The site
pendent services acquired by the
was renamed Yahoo shortly after.
company, such as Rocketmail,
A backcronym for the name was
which was a major Hotmail com-
“Yet Another Hierarchical Offi-
petitor, but later turned into Ya-
cious Oracle,” since it was not the
hoo Mail. The company has also
first directory of its kind, but it
was the first one to become popu-
Continued on Page 13
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD June 13, 2006 BUSINESS/BOOK SALES Page 13

Yahoo: A Million in One

Continued from Page 12
formed partnerships with tele-
communications and Internet pro-
viders such as Verizon in the
United States and Rogers in Can-
ada to create content-rich broad-
band services to rival those of
AOL.
Although Yahoo offers its
products globally, it has drawn
fire for aiding Chinese authorities
in jailing Shi Tao, a Chinese jour-
nalist, in 2005 and Li Zhi, a po-
litical dissident, in 2003. Both
have received jail sentences.
These actions have led to con-
demnation of Yahoo by many
human rights organizations.
In February 2006, Yahoo and
AOL allowed users the option to
certify their outgoing mail by
paying one cent for each email.
The system is controversial be-
cause while spamming would be
decreased, it has the potential to
harm other businesses and other
groups. The certification system
would allow the email to avoid
spam filters, but is seen as a tax
on speech by opposing groups.
Companies that implement the
system would be tempted to
broaden the types of mail classi-
fied as spam in order to encour-
age users to pay for its certifica-
tion.
Yahoo Mail was revealed to
ban e-mail names with the word
“allah” in them on February 20,
2006. According to Yahoo, it was
an attempt to stop users from pro-
moting hate, yet other religious
and offensive words were not
The Yahoo homepage.
banned. The ban was lifted on
February 23, 2006 after wide-
spread media attention.
Yahoo is always expanding
its services and has bought sev-
eral businesses in its strategy to
extend its product offerings. Ya-
hoo dropped Google-powered
search results in 2004 and began
Yahoo.com
using its own search engine de-
veloped from companies it had
acquired, such as Overture Ser-
vices, owner of Altavista. In
2005, Yahoo acquired several
community sites such as Flickr,
del.cio.us, and Webjay. It also
bought VoIP provider Dialpad
Communications and widget en-
gine Kofabulator. In a quick re-
branding, Yahoo bought media
center software maker Meedio
and released a renamed software
called Yahoo Go in less than a
week.
Taking a page from Google’s
playbook, Yahoo Next was intro-
duced as a testing ground for fu-
ture Yahoo technologies, similar
to Google Labs. Although the
products are in beta, users can
discuss their problems or give
suggestions in the forums for each
new service of Yahoo Next. Beta
services include search extensions
and community-oriented sites
such as Yahoo Audio Search and
as Yahoo Answer. Yahoo has also
recently introduced a new website
design for easier navigation and
aesthetically cleaner appearance.
◙

BOOKS TO SELL
• Barron’s Regents Exam and Answers: Math A (Red book) 2005 Edi-
tion (Condition: Barely used, not written in, Original Price: $6.99)
Price: $3.50 Do you want to earn some
• Barron’s Let’s Review Physics (Blue Book) Third Edition
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• Barron’s Regents Exam and Answers: The Physical Setting Physics Are you desperate to get rid of
(Red Book) 2004 Edition (Condition: Never Used, Original Price: those review books that you will
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• Barron’s SAT II Physics 8th Edition (Condition: Never Used, Origi-
never open again?
nal Price: $14.95) Price: $9.00
• Barron’s AP European History 3rd Edition (Condition: Used but not There is a solution to your
written in; Original Price: $16.95) Price: $9.00
problem!
Contact: Jennifer Schlesinger
eic@stuystandard.org The Stuyvesant Standard is now introducing new sec-
Prices Negotiable tion– the Sell Your Review Books, at the affordable
and cheap introductory rate of 3 percent of the selling
price, you can advertise your review books to not only
• McGraw Hill: Chemistry Demystified—A Self Teaching Guide the student community at Stuyvesant High School, but
(Condition: New/Mint Condition; Original Price: $19.93)
Price: $3.50 also to parents, teachers, the surrounding Tribeca area.
• REA AP European History w/ Software (Condition: One test written An email with your books listed will also be sent to The
in but still new; Original Price: $29.95) Price: $25.00 Standard’s web group.
• SparkNotes Just Tests! 5 More Practice Tests for the SAT II Biology
(Condition: Slightly used, one test written in; Original Price: $14.95)
Price: $5.00 Interested? Email Khoi Nguyen, the Chief Financial
Officer, at cfo@stuystandard.org with your Name, ID,
Contact: Lauren White contact info, and list of books with prices and condi-
traslucida@aol.com tions the books are in that you want to sell.
Phone: (718) 465-7046
AIM: traslucida
This is an opportunity that cannot be missed.
Page 14
Cheap Songs Through a Loophole
BY HANFORD CHIU
BUSINESS EDITOR
Think 99 cents for a song is
cheap? Move over, iTunes, be-
cause a new song service is offer-
ing albums for that price. Al-
lofMP3.com is a new site based in
Russia that offers a wide variety
of artists and songs, including
songs from the Beatles and Metal-
lica, who have forbidden most
other song services from offering
their songs. The songs can also be
copied without restrictions. This
new offer is almost too good to be
true.
Well, it is true, but it may not
be legal. Operating using sup-
posed loopholes in Russia’s copy-
right law, AllofMP3.com is able
to distribute these songs without
permission from the artists or
paying them royalties. Russian
courts have so far allowed them
to continue with this activity, de-
spite the protests and assistance to
prosecutors from record labels
such as Warner and Universal.
Many consumers are running to
Girl Power
BY PRISCILLA MELO
OPINOINS EDITOR
More than three billion peo-
ple live on less than two dollars a
day, and the majority of them are
women. The 20th century was
charged with women empower-
ment, giving rise to almost 50
female presidents and prime min-
isters. Yet this surge of female
independence is basically limited
to the Western world, with
BRAC.net
BRAC seems to educate Bangladeshi
women.
women making up 66 percent of
the world’s illiterate adults in
Africa and the Middle East. This
is not a good statistic, since social
equality should be commonplace
in modern times.
This horrible pandemic can
only be stopped by people, not
governments or faceless organiza-
tions. Education and other forms
June 13, 2006 BUSINESS/OPINIONS
the site, including some from
Britain and the United States.
Over 345,000 unique visitors
from America were reported in
April, though this is still just a
small fraction of the 19 million
that purveyed iTunes.
The AllofMP3.com homepage.
Nevertheless, this issue is
drawing heavy attention from
many sources. AllofMp3.com has
drawn massive criticism from
record labels, artists, the Interna-
tional Confederation of Societies
of Authors and Composers, and
even the United States govern-
of empowerment can be achieved
by actual contact between the two
parties, not just a useless poster
on some unreachable city offering
free reading lessons. The example
of an efficient nongovernmental
organization is the Bangladesh
Rural Advancement Committee
(BRAC), founded by Fazle Hasan
Abed.
BRAC began in the 1970’s
and is considered the world’s
most effective nongovernmental
organization. By going door to
door and teaching women how to
make a simple oral rehydration
solution (a mixture of salt, sugar
and water), BRAC reduced infant
mortality rates by 50 percent, a
miraculous feat.
The majority of Bangladeshis
are Muslim, and Abed realized
that within each community,
women would be most effective
in teaching other women, many of
whom were not permitted to leave
their courtyards. To actually teach
women, one has to teach the men
that women deserve the right for
an education, and economic and
political freedom. BRAC has
helped to educate many men on
the need for women to be edu-
cated and involved in health care
and economic activities.
Abed introduced programs
and initiatives that have enabled
3.8 million women to establish
village microfinance organiza-
Continued on Page 15
ment. With Russia’s reputation as
a country rife with digital piracy
and intellectual theft, the exis-
tence of this site further blurs the
line of legality concerning intel-
lectual property. United States
trade negotiators are so concerned
AllofMP3.com
that they say this single web site
may jeopardize Russia’s entrance
into the World Trade Organiza-
tion.
How does AllofMP3.com
defend its legality? By citing a
license issued by a royalties col-
lecting agency, called the Russian
Save the World Today!
BY GUERGANA BORRISOVA
STAFF WRITER
As the world around us
changes constantly, it seems as
though our first instinct is to ig-
nore it. Many of us rarely think
about the depletion of the ozone
layer or the melting polar caps
because we’re too busy taking a
nap on the train or studying for
the SAT II’s. However, it is about
time we did something about the
dangers facing the future of our
wonderful planet, even if it only
means using the back of that
piece of paper for scrap instead of
throwing it out.
The first step in accomplish-
ing this arduous duty is appreciat-
ing Earth and all its worth. We
are very lucky to have such a
planet, and although scientists are
Students picking up trash at their local park.
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Multimedia and Internet Society
(ROMS). Because all that is
needed for legality is the collec-
tion of royalties for the artist, all
ROMS has to do is create con-
tracts with the copyright holders
and promise to pay them royalty.
However, the loophole lays in
Russia’s 1993 copyright law, in
which collecting societies, such as
ROMS, do need consent of the
copyright owner to collect royal-
ties for them. As such, ROMS has
no need to give the royalties to
the copyright owners, nor ask for
permission to distribute their
work for royalties, as there is no
agreement with them.
So, for now, this borderline
pirated music is legal, but what is
more important is the issue of
intellectual protection. Surely,
pirated music downloads are free
and illegal from peer-to-peer net-
works that anyone has access to.
However, more heat is drawn to
this website because its very exis-
tence threatens the power of intel-
lectual property law. If this site is
allowed to exist, what is the next
step but a loophole to allow web-
sites to distribute pirated music
for free? ◙
looking for life forms and new
alternatives on different planets,
they have been unsuccessful so
far. Earth is such a unique place,
fostering millions of species and
natural wonders that cannot be
returned or replaced once they
become extinct or damaged. Eve-
rything exists in such a magnifi-
cent equilibrium, but humans are
the leading cause of tipping the
scales over to the “dark side,”
where the environment is failing
to meet the needs of its inhabi-
tants. We are not concerned with
this because we think that it does
not pose a threat to humans di-
rectly, and this certainly supports
the theory that it is in our nature
to be selfish.
There are many things that
we can all do to make this a
Continued on Page 15
cityhigh.org
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Girl Power
Continued from Page 14
tions.These loans have allowed
women to create small businesses,
such as poultry farming, cow
rearing and dairy farming. Over
the years, one of BRAC's most
critical contributions has been
keeping poor rural children in
school, and the organization now
runs 31,000 one-room, one-
teacher schools.
All of these initiatives have
been essential to women empow-
erment. If more programs like
BRAC were spread throughout
Bird
BY JENNIFER LEE
STAFF WRITER
Hidden behind a smoke-blue curtain,
She sits there, lighting slim cigarettes be-
tween
Her white fluttering fingers.
And she has stacks of ancient books,
All of their covers dust ridden. Pale lavender
With little specks of gray in them.
Behind that long, broad curtain, she
Sits and sits in front
Of a portrait sized window.
Their panes are wide open.
And in the early twilight,
When the first signs of peach glazed clouds begin
To appear again,
She opens a book to the memorized page from
Yesterday, and reads aloud to the
Children of Dawn.
She sits and sits, and
Reads, and reads, on and on.
Each lovely rose morning. Behind that
Smoke-blue curtain, and in front
Of that glass window,
It would appear to outside pedestrians,
She were only a mere shadow,
Whose voice unfurls into plumes;
[a {night}in gale].
Ice and Desire
BY PENNY MALAMUD
STAFF WRITER
Times like these, I catch love napping
It twists me over, murmuring desire.
It says that nowtimes, life has lost its clamor,
Has lost its agelong burning at the pyre.
And if the world should end in hate and
ice,
It cannot end while love sleeps in its bed.
Love needs to wake and live and perish;
It needs a last performance ‘ere it’s dead.
It needs to howl and raise a ghastly din;
It needs to roar defiance at the cold;
It needs to burn; a single shard of frost
Must melt a little ‘ere the ice takes hold.
June 13, 2006 OPINIONS/LITERARY
regions, like Western and Sub-
Saharan Africa, that have such
discriminative policies and cul-
tural stigmas against women, the
world would be a better place. It
has been shown that when women
are economically independent,
more money will go to education
and health, not alcohol or gam-
bling. And everyone knows that
the battle of the sexes is inher-
ently unfair — girl power is much
more potent than its male counter-
part. ◙
Page 15
Save the World Today!
Continued from Page 14 you, don’t worry. There are still
greener and friendlier place for plenty of things to do to contrib-
all. Take some time this summer ute to the effort of saving the
to visit your local park and ask if world. Even just raising aware-
you can volunteer for a few hours ness in your neighborhood
and plant some flowers. As Ralph (preferably without handing out
Waldo Emerson once said, “Earth fliers or posters, which require the
laughs in flowers.” Who wouldn’t chopping down of trees and the
want to see this planet happy? destruction of animal habitats)
You can also bring your friends, would be a good start. Asking
making the experience much your parents to recycle paper,
more fun and productive. It is plastic and aluminum cans, or to
important to wear a high SPF sun- buy organic food (which is also
screen while going anywhere this healthier and does not have as
summer, especially the park, be- many pesticides harming the envi-
cause the ultraviolet rays are ronment) are also great ways to
take part.
stronger and more dangerous than
ever, with only a thinning ozone The alarms are going off and
layer to protect us from them. Earth is crying for help. Aren’t
If plants do not really interest you going to do something? ◙
Magical Raindrops
BY STEPHANIE TAM
STAFF WRITER
Little droplets falling down
Dripping and dropping on the ground
Tiny balls of crystal clear
Encircling me it’s all I hear
Precious jewels, from the sky
Expressing feelings way up high
The droplets before me start to dance
Skipping around me, I’m in a trance
This beautiful memory, I can recall
I’m in the center of it all
A picture perfect moment in time
There is no other that’s so divine
Raindrops, raindrops, so magical indeed
There are just some things I try to seek
Raindrops, raindrops, so vital to mankind
A wondrous existence in my mind
Rain
BY ROBERT STEVENSON
STAFF WRITER
The sky looks dark, the wind picks up, and people start to rush,
umbrellas open, doorways close, then suddenly, a hush.
The wind just stops and all is quiet, tricking everyone,
because just when the wind has stopped, the pouring rain’s begun.
People run to find an awning, or an open store,
while some just look into the sky from just inside their door.
The lightning flashes light the sky and make it seem like day,
and just behind, the thunder crashes take your breath away.
Page 16 June 13, 2006 PUZZLES THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

Sudoku Video Game Word Search

BY JEFFREY LIAW BY JONATHAN XIKIS
PUZZLE COLUMNIST STAFF WRITER

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THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Lasers: Revolutionizing Warfare
BY MOTTAQUI AL-KARI
COLUMNIST
On March 23, 1983,
President Ronald Reagan pro-
posed “Star Wars,” a program for
the use of lasers to destroy enemy
missiles. Since then, scientists in
government-sponsored facilities
and private enterprises have
sought to revolutionize warfare
by banishing bullets and bombs
altogether and replacing them
with laser and plasma rays. Pro-
gress in this field has been made
in leaps and the world shall soon
The U.S. military is
considering equipping
its next generation de-
stroyers with these la-
sers for close range
defense.
see the rise of warplanes and war-
ships equipped not with Gatling
guns and heat-seeking torpedoes
but with free electron lasers and
electrolasers.
Laser guns, formally known
as directed energy weapons, are
defined to be weapons that direct
energy in a particular direction
without the use of a projectile. All
lasers contain a gain medium,
which transfers outside energy
into the laser and excites atoms so
that they radiate photons. These
photons are then reflected back to
A Hot North Pole
BY SALLY CHEUG
STAFF WRITER
When we think of North Pole,
we think of polar bears and pen-
guins. We also think of the North
Pole as a cold, chilling place with
icebergs. However, new studies
The North Pole was once 23oC and looked like the everglades of Florida.
June 13, 2006 SCIENCE/A&E
TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY TODAY
the excited atoms via the optical
cavity, which consists of a series
of mirrors that serve to amplify
the photon waves. As the photons
return to the excited atoms, they
excite the atoms to even higher
levels, which results in more pho-
tons. These photons are then
ejected from the laser as a coher-
ent beam.
Most directed energy weap-
Laser guns may be utilized for the purpose of war in the future.
ons cannot reach great energies
due to blooming, a phenomenon
which occurs to air molecules
when high-energy beams travel
through them. The air molecules
absorb enough energy from the
beam to lose some of their elec-
trons, thus creating plasma. This
causes the laser beam to defocus
now show that 55 million years
ago, the North Pole was much
warmer than scientists imagined
— it was, in fact, as warm as a
hot summer day in Florida, with a
temperature of around 23°C!
Through a detailed analysis
Continued on Page 18
crystalgoodies.com
and scatter.
One type of laser, called the
electrolaser, however, actually
takes advantage of blooming and
uses it to function. The elec-
trolaser uses the plasma to run a
current to the target. An extra
laser beam or a powerful ground
current may be used to complete
the circuit. The electrolaser is
between one thousand and one
www.camdencc.edu
billion volts in power. The Ma-
rines are currently contracting a
company based in Indiana, called
Xtreme Alternative Defense Sys-
tem, to build an electrolaser
“rifle,” which is currently in its
developmental stages. The elec-
trolaser will probably be used to
disable and incapacitate troops
Soul Patrol: Taylor
Hicks Becomes Fifth
American Idol
BY AMY QIU
STAFF WRITER
AP Photo/Richard Drew
'American Idol' runner-up Katharine
McPhee appears on the NBC 'Today'
television program, in New York's
Rockefeller Center
Page 17
without killing them.
Bob Yamamoto worked with
defense contractor TRW during
Reagan’s Star Wars program, but
went to the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory when the
program was shut down. Now,
fifteen years later, he is develop-
ing a solid-state laser which has
the ability to generate about forty-
five kilowatts of power. Yama-
moto’s laser uses light-emitting
diodes (LED’s) to glow at high
intensities toward the neodymium
ceramics, the gain medium of the
laser. The LED light excites the
neodymium atoms and liberates
the photons that are to be part of
the laser beam. A beam diagnos-
tic system makes sure that the
laser beam is satisfactory. If the
beam fails the diagnostics evalua-
tion, adaptive optics on the laser
make quick changes to the beam
so that it maintains its coherence
and intensity.
There are both advantages
and disadvantages with Yama-
moto’s solid-state laser. The
foremost advantage is that it can
be fit into a space 30 feet long,
which is considered to be small.
A disadvantage to the laser is that
it needs one minute to cool off for
every 10 seconds it fires. How-
ever, this is compensated for by
the fact that the laser never needs
to refuel, since the neodymium
gain medium will always generate
photons when stimulated. The
Continued on Page 18
As the year winds down,
many of us will start by summer
recounting our favorite moments
from throughout the year. For
Idol fans, the list of special mo-
ments wouldn’t be complete with-
out the crowning of this year’s
“American Idol,” Taylor Hicks.
With his gray hair and energetic
dancing, Taylor definitely stood
out among the other contestants
on the hit Fox TV show. During
the season finale, it was hard to
tell to if he would win against
Katharine McPhee, after
“McPheever” gripped a nation of
people in love with her amazing
voice. Nonetheless, Taylor’s up-
beat personality and raw singing
talent had millions of people root-
Continued on Page 19
Page 18
TOMORROW’S TECHNOLOGY TODAY
Lasers: Revolutionizing Warfare
Continued from Page 17
greatest disadvantage to the laser
is that the beam begins to degrade
due to blooming and temperature
disparities which occur as more
and more LED’s are used to fire
the laser. This is probably the
main reason that the United States
military will discontinue funding-
Xtreme Alternative Defense Systems (XADS) Ltd., a producer of less-than-lethal
defense technologies, will aid the U.S. Navy in the development of the next genera-
tion of non-lethal, directed energy weapons, such as the laser and lightning guns.
for Yamamoto’s research.
George Neil was a colleague
of Yamamoto, but after Star Wars
had fallen apart, he went to work
at the Department of Energy’s
Thomas Jefferson National Accel-
erator Facility in Virginia. There,
he designed another type of laser
that has since gained a lot of at-
tention in the military. Neil’s free
electron laser uses the injector, a
superconductor, to interact with
an outside laser to liberate elec-
trons to flow into the gain me-
The Watching, by the Director of Photojournalism of The Standard, Bennett Hong, received the Silver Key Award in Scholastic's Art and Writing
Competition earlier this year. He would like to thank Mr. Winston and Ms. Juracek for all the help and guidance they had given him to improve his
photography.
June 13, 2006 SCIENCE/A&E
dium. Before traveling into the
gain medium, the electrons go
through an accelerator where mi-
crowaves increase their speed and
energy. The beam then enters the
wiggler, where alternating mag-
netic fields cause the electrons to
eject photons. The electrons are
then discarded into an “electron
Xtremeads.com
dump,” while the photons are
amplified through several mirrors
and finally released as a coherent
beam.
The greatest advantage of
these lasers is that they can be
modified to work in any wave-
length desired. This means that
they can be operated in rainy or
foggy conditions. The U.S. mili-
tary is considering equipping its
next generation destroyers with
these lasers for close-range de-
fense. Be prepared. ◙
A Hot North Pole
Continued from Page 17
of 57-million-year-old climatic,
biological, and geographical re-
cords of the region, from the sedi-
ment core samples drilled from
the sea bottom in 2004, it has
been revealed that long before the
Pole froze, it was covered with
floating azolla ferns and the sur-
face temperature of the Arctic
Ocean was 23°C. Most azollas
grow in freshwater ponds, canals,
and rice fields in tropical and sub-
tropical regions. Their presence
near the North Pole suggests “a
substantial rise in Arctic sea sur-
face temperature to subtropical or
tropical levels” and contributes to
The Inconvenient Truth
BY TINA LIU
STAFF WRITER
nwprogressive.org
The terror of global warming
reaches its climax in “An Incon-
venient Truth,” a documentary
starring Al Gore that intends to
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
the new findings that the North
Pole was once a summer destina-
tion.
These new findings are now
forcing scientists to reassess their
understanding of the regions be-
cause contrary to past theories
that sea ice started to form 15
million years ago, the ice, in fact,
began forming 30 million years
earlier. In addition, the new find-
ings show that much remains to
be learned about climate change
particularly in the Artic. This is
just another example of disproved
hypotheses that were formed
based on inaccurate assumptions.
◙
warn the masses about the dan-
gers facing the earth. Directed by
Davis Guggenheim, the film is
truthfully scary as it depicts the
shocking consequences of our
actions.
The film documents Al
Gore’s trip in educating the public
about the encroaching effects of
global warming, including the
melting of glaciers and ice caps,
the destruction of nature reserves,
and the demise of countless ani-
mals. No longer is global warm-
ing hypothetical;; it is now evi-
dent everywhere. The ice caps are
melting at a faster rate than ever
before. With more ice caps melt-
ing, the ocean level will increase
all over the world, submerging
the islands of Manhattan, Shang-
hai and San Francisco.
In addition, Al Gore shows
Continued on Page 19
THE STUYVESANT STANDARD
Soul Patrol: Taylor Hicks Be-
comes Fifth American Idol
Continued from Page 17
ing for the “Soul Patrol” from
Alabama. After his victory was
announced, he said, “It’s an ex-
hilarating feeling. I’m flabber-
gasted. I can’t believe I’m the
next American Idol.”
Though this is the show’s
fifth season, the ratings are
stronger than ever. In fact, nearly
63.4 million people voted on the
final episode when it came down
to Katharine and Taylor. As Idol
host Ryan Seacrest said, it was
“more than any president in the
history of our country has ever
received”. Of course, one should
take into account that voters don’t
need to be at least 18, allowing
for younger Idol fans to partici-
pate. Also, voting can be done by
simply calling a number, which is
convenient for the handicapped
and others who have a harder time
going outside. However, even
taking this into account, the num-
bers show the show has had an
effect on Americans.
One of the show’s biggest
draws is its group of talented
hopefuls trying their best to
achieve stardom. What makes it
even better is that viewers get to
vote. For most televised competi-
tions, there are judges who
choose the winner, while viewers
only watch passively. However,
on American Idol, the contestants
Underdog Taylor Hicks becomes the fifth American Idol.
June 13, 2006 A&E/SPORTS
are singing to impress the people
watching at home because they’re
the decision makers. The show
becomes more engaging because
you can actually make a differ-
ence in what happens. This fact
leads to another reason for Idol’s
success: unpredictability. Though
viewers may all have different
guesses about who stays and goes,
overall the show has its share of
surprising eliminations. Then
there are the judges: Randy Jack-
son, Paula Abdul, and Simon
Cowell. Though they don’t get to
decide who the winner becomes,
they are the ones who select the
top 24 contestants. (It’s only at
this point that viewers get to
vote). Also, their thought-
provoking comments help provide
something extra to the show.
Probably one of the main aspects
of Idol is personality, and the
contestants certainly have plenty
of that. For people who enjoy the
show, it’s not only about the sing-
ing but about the performers,
whom you get to know as the
show progresses.
As for Taylor Hicks, his fu-
ture holds much in store for him.
Apparently, the same can be said
for the show that made it all pos-
sible, American Idol. ◙
cbsnews.com
The Inconvenient Truth
Continued from Page 18
the public he has a down-to-earth
side. He likens the environment to
his son and the agony he experi-
enced when his son was injured in
a car accident. He asks the public,
“What would you do if something
so precious to you was in dan-
ger?”
Many critics, however, view
this film with skepticism because
of Gore’s possible 2008 cam-
paign, but this is a moral issue
rather than a political one. Any-
one with a moral conscience
should consider what industriali-
zation has done to the environ-
ment, and how it will affect mil-
lions of people in the future.
Despite what the antagonists
Al Gore in “The Inconvenient Truth.”
JV Hitmen End A Decent
Season
Continued from Page 20
on, things did get better. The Hit-
men vastly improved their de-
fense through outfielders Michael
Oh and Kevin Fertig as well as
infielders Aaron Donato and Ter-
rence Lee. On the mound, Rich-
ard Mai and Robert Chung
pitched solid innings to support
the bullpen. In the batter's box,
the deadly 3-4-5 batters provided
the drive to keep the Hitmen in
the game: designated hitter Axel
Jensen, third baseman Matt Buch,
and first baseman Daniel Gian-
sante all had batting averages
Love sports? Love to write?
Join the team.
recruitment@stuystandard.org
Page 19
may say about the validity of
global warming, the documentary
is superb in terms of Gore’s clear-
cut explanations that transform
diverse and complex scientific
data into simple everyday lan-
guage. The film’s frightening use
of statistics does wonders as the
film preys on the public’s fears
and makes one realize that global
warming will affect everyone.
The film is by no means try-
ing to convert anyone into a tree
hugger, but is rather reaching out
to the soft spot in everyone’s
heart and begging for sympathy
toward our dear old Mother Earth
and her soon-to-be wretched chil-
dren. ◙
ffmedia.ign.com
over .300.
“It's been coming together the
past few weeks. The practices are
hard, yeah, not to mention all that
equipment we have to carry
around and the running coach
makes us do, but it's for our own
benefit. It feels good to win and
know that you earned it,” said
outfielder Jeremey Lau. The jun-
ior varsity Hitmen may have a
large graduating class this year,
and hopefully, new talented fresh-
men will come along and help
boost the team next year. ◙
Page 20 June 13, 2006 SPORTS THE STUYVESANT STANDARD

THE SPORTS BEAT

ESPN: I Want My Sports

BY ERIC MAYO
SPORTS EDITOR
ESPN is one of sports fans’
favorite channels. Since I have
digital cable, not only do I get
ESPN, but ESPN2, ESPN Classic,
and ESPN News, which are all
dedicated to providing 24-hour
coverage of your favorite sports.
Well, at least that is what they are
supposed to be doing.
If you flipped to ESPN last
week, you might have found
yourself watching the National
Spelling Bee instead of your usual
shows. ESPN has been broadcast-
ing the later rounds of the bee
since 1994, and had been broad-
casting the finals until this year,
when ABC decided to make it a
primetime event.
Personally, I always found
the National Spelling Bee odd for
ESPN. For one, ESPN feels the
need to employ commentators.
The commentators always scare
me. They approach each speller
like they are great quarterbacks of
the NFL. The commentators use
the same whispering voices that
they use during golf tournaments.
I found myself almost waiting for
them to say, “This kid is great
The ESPN website, shown above, covers stories such at the National Spelling Bee
and Texas Hold ‘Em Tournaments.
with words with Latin roots, but
could use some more practice
with 12-letter words with Greek
roots.”
This year, ESPN went too far.
When I went on ESPN.com on the
day of the spelling bee, I found
Darren Rovell’s picks for the win-
ner. To his credit, his list did in-
clude the actual winner Katherine
Close. But for a guy who is
ESPN’s Sports Business reporter,
doesn’t he have better things to
Being good at poker is a skill, but lets be
realistic. I don't see poker professionals throw-
ing their chips at 100 miles per hour.
ESPN.com
do?
To make matters worse,
ESPN included the spelling bee in
its top headlines, mixed in with
its NBA and NHL Conference
Finals coverage.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the
only “sporting event” that ESPN
gives too much coverage to.
Sometimes, ESPN televises more
poker tournaments than they do
Sportscenter. Being good at poker
is a skill, but let’s be realistic. I
don’t see poker professionals
throwing their chips at 100 miles
per hour.
Another event which ESPN
should stop covering is foodeat-
ing contests, or more specifically,
the hot-dog-eating contest at Na-
than’s, which is in about a month.
It’s an American pastime won by
Takeru Kobayashi every year. It
isn’t a sport. It isn’t even worth a
reality show. Food-eating contests
are repulsive in nature due to the
hunger and poverty around the
world, and further glorifying it on
television is in bad taste.
I don’t want any spelling
bees, Texas Hold ‘Em tourna-
ments, or eating contests on my
ESPN. I want my sports. ◙
Author’s Note: Here’s the link
for those of you who thought I
made the fantasy spelling bee up:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/
p a g e 2 / s t o r y ?
page=shanoff/050601&num=1
Got a comment for the Sports
Beat? Email us at
sports@stuystandard.org

JV Hitmen End A
Decent Season
BY RICHARD MAI early. They were crushed by Leh-
STAFF WITER mann several times by double
figures. The Hitmen received
psal.org

their first win over rival Bronx

The Stuyvesant Hitmen.
The end of the junior varsity
baseball season brings a subpar,
but not entirely disappointing,
conclusion to the Hitmen's games
this year. The Hitmen, who had
high hopes coming into the sea-
son, did not fare as well as they
had hoped. From the beginning, it
took a while for everyone to settle
down and get into a rhythm.
Hours upon hours were spent on
practice drilling various tech-
niques and plays. Not having a
home field or any field close to
school made it more difficult.
The Hitmen came into the
season facing very difficult teams
Science, a much-needed boost to
the team. By late April, the Hit-
men started to look better as the
practices started to pay off. They
were able to beat some of the
teams, and in the games lost, they
were close games that seemed to
have just gotten away.
In many of the games, poor
defense and weak offense led to
the costly losses. Pitchers Scott
Kanner and Roan LaPlante,
though decent pitchers, gave up
many runs that let other teams
think it was batting practice.
Pitchers deliver the ball, and have
one of the most important roles in
the game, but some of the blame
must be shared with the defense.
Infield played solidly, but made
costly errors. The outfield was a
wreck, letting line drives get by
and letting easy fly balls drop in
front.
Slowly, as the season went
Continued on Page 19