BHSEC’s Student Newspaper
THE BARDVARK Volume 11, Issue 3
“All the young dudes carry the news,” - David Bowie
Taking the STAGE: BHSEC’s Feminist Club Offers a New Voice Simone Messer, ’15 When I saw the signs at the club fair announcing BHSEC’S new feminist society, STAGE (Students Taking Action for Gender Equity), my first thought was, “Why didn’t I think of that?” As a l i b e r a l school in a liberal city, and with the ratio of female to m a l e students currently at around 2 to 1, BHSEC, believe it or not, has a h u g e feminist population. As cofounder BHSEC students taking part in the “I Need Isabel Cristo (Y2) Feminism” Project. Photo credit to STAGE. puts it, “There is a pretty active and vocal feminist presence in this school. [Cofounder Priya Dietrich (Y2) and I] wanted to mobilize it and organize it and get everyone in the same room.” With the idea that feminism is pertinent to everyone and thus a conversation that is necessarily all-inclusive, STAGE has created a forum that is organized and clear in its objective, yet open and extremely accepting of a vast variety of ideas and viewpoints, where students can work out what feminism means to them as individuals and what it has the potential to mean for their generation. One way in which Cristo and Dietrich have communicated this all-inclusive idea of feminism is by reaching out to different clubs and groups both outside of and within the school. STAGE maintains a blog, has participated in the national “I Need Feminism” Project, and is in the midst of establishing relationships with several organizations such as Hollaback!, which works to eradicate street harassment. Within the school, the club has already held a “hesitant feminists” meeting that attempted to Cont’d Page 2 address what about feminism is problematic for those
Dec 2013/Jan 2014
BHSEC Confessions: How Are We Acting Online? Madison Fernandez, ‘17 Many students find social media to be an outlet for relaxation or procrastination. Some may think it’s a safe haven away from the drama of “real world” and face-to-face interaction, but what happens when posts on Facebook turn out to be more serious than game requests and copy-and-paste statuses? In an attempt to connect school life to the internet, “confessions” groups have been a trend where mostly high school students post anonymous messages about other students, faculty, and their schools in general. A page called “BHSEC Confessions” was created in November, and became a forum where BHSEC students harshly took advantage of the page’s anonymity. Although the page was eventually taken down, many students either saw or participated in these cruel posts dealing with bullying, sexual innuendo, and suicidal messages. As a community, we had to learn how to deal with these brutal messages and how to prevent them from happening again. The concept seemed simple enough: post anything you want about anybody you want anonymously, it gets posted for everyone in the group to see, and no one knows it’s you. Unfortunately, that was the very problem. Submitting posts through ask.fm, an anonymous question-and-answer website, secures the privacy of the sender, but not the privacy of the post’s subject. “BHSEC Confessions” surfaced around Facebook for a little over a month, in the beginning of November. It originally started with playful messages about students written by friends. Within days, the jaunty behavior took a turn for the worse. “At first it was lighthearted, then it got mean with rumors and rude comments,” explained Lily Gordon, a freshman who saw the page. Within days before the page was shut down, an influx of suicidal messages were posted with less than helpful comments from students who didn’t know how to deal with them. The page was primarily visited by ninth graders and was “apparently set up by a 9th grade student,” according to an email sent by Dr. Lerner the night before Thanksgiving break. In this email, freshmen were told to gather for a Town Hall addressing the problems of this Cont’d Page 2 page.
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Taking the STAGE Cont’d from Page 1 who are ambivalent about adopting the label, and a meeting focused on the LGBTQ movement and culture and how it overlaps with the feminist movement. “One of the most important things that I’ve learned about is the idea of intersectionality, which is that lots of different structures of power are related to each other, so it is impossible to just talk about gender structures without including a discussion of race or class,” says Cristo, reflecting on the importance of incorporating as many different groups of people as possible into the conversation of feminism. When faculty members were invited to the club to share what feminism has meant to them and their generations, the conversation seemed to resonate particularly strongly with all those present. The discussion both situated feminism today as the product of a multigenerational struggle that, at least for me, really drove home the concept that feminism is now my generation’s to take and run with, and yielded some extremely insightful comments from both teachers and students. The conversation centered mostly on gender dynamics in the classroom and, more generally, the role of men in the feminist movement. Perry Bleiberg (Y2) summed up a point of view that I heard echoed by quite a few male students at the meeting: “I joined STAGE because it came at a time when I was becoming aware of problems my female friends were having that I hadn't noticed before and, in some cases, had trouble understanding.” That a male-dominated system is damaging to everyone is something that STAGE really aims to highlight, and hearing that so many men in attendance acknowledge this idea was comforting. On an even more basic note, the sheer amount of males present was great to see. I had never really viewed feminism as something pertinent to men before, nor, for that matter, had I viewed men as particularly pertinent to feminism. However, as Mojique Tyler (Y1) put it, “Just as you can't stop racism without talking to white people or anti-Semitism by only talking to Jews, you can't stop sexism by only discussing amongst women.” Overall, the general feeling about the meeting was well encapsulated by Lilly Donlon (Y1), who remarked, “Leaving that meeting was probably the most proud I’ve ever felt to go to BHSEC.” Despite all this, a few Bardians still remain on the fence about, and are even overtly uncomfortable with, the feminist cause. States one Year 1, “Although I do agree with everything feminism stands for, I think the word has negative man-hating connotations and that’s why I don’t call myself a feminist.” While I agree that the word “feminist” has become a fairly loaded term, the fact is that it is now becoming up to us where feminism will go and what it will stand for. With this comes the power to determine and tailor those connotations to fit our generation’s needs. As STAGE emphasizes, feminism is a broad idea and a conversation, and we as individuals can adopt the aspects that speak to us. “The [feminist] movement is massive and imperfect, but it is also incredible—so you make the effort to understand both its strengths and its failures and you identify with the particular parts of the movement that feel powerful to you,” says Dietrich. Future STAGE plans include coordinating with BHSEC’s film club to screen Girl Rising, about the education of women around the world, as well as more targeted meetings similar to the “hesitant feminists” and faculty-involved ones. A lot of what lies in store for STAGE remains up in the air, however. “We’re figuring it out as we go along,” confesses Cristo. “We want people to take initiative and bring what they’re interested in to the table, so we’re just planning for the next week or two weeks at the most.” Says Dietrich, “I can’t even guess what this club will be doing this spring or next year or later, but there are a lot of passionate, wonderful people involved in it and I have really high hopes.”
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BHSEC Confessions Cont’d from Page 1 Although this was not the first time a page like this was made, a Town Hall was necessary to explain to freshmen not only the seriousness of suicide, but the risks of not monitoring oneself on social media – which can lead to possible suspension or expulsion, and can affect college admissions decisions. The Samaritans, a suicide prevention team, came in to discuss the situation with the 9th grade. “You don’t want these messages to be happening while it’s not being moderated by an adult,” said Dr. Lerner. When he first saw the page, he was dismayed and upset by the behavior of BHSEC students online. “It’s like people change. They just type before they think,” he added. Many of the students shared similar feelings; they were uncomfortable simply seeing the page on their Facebook newsfeeds. There was an all-over relief when the page was taken down. In fact, students on the page didn’t know how to handle the messages. As freshman Dewan Hassan said, “We were unable to stand up to those who bullied others, and we didn’t want to make it a serious issue although it already was.” A representative from The Samaritans explained signs of suicide in others, the group in which suicides are most apparent, and what to do when a friend or family member threatens to commit suicide. Although the 9th grade found the Town Hall helpful in some aspects, they didn’t think it directly correlated to the situation at Cont’d Page 3 hand. “All we did at the
BHSEC Fall Sports Recap Ben Pickman, ’15 In Remember the Titans, Denzel Washington portrays Herman Boone, the coach of a high school football team in Virginia. During the movie, Boone utters the following to his team: "According to Greek mythology, the Titans were greater even than the gods. They ruled their universe with absolute power! Well, that football field out there tonight, that's our universe. Let's rule it like Titans!" Now, though BHSEC does not have a football team, this quote captivates the attitude of many of BHSEC’s student-athletes, who combine sports competitiveness and academics — and as in the case above, knowledge of Greek mythology. This fall BHSEC sports teams were very successful, whether competing on the pitch or in the gym. In the toughest division in Manhattan, the BHSEC boys’ soccer team finished third overall, showing great strides from the previous two seasons. Cont’d Page 4
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assembly was talk about what to do if someone we know wants to commit suicide; very basic information was provided…people who actually do want to commit suicide were not addressed at all. It was a jumble of considerably useless statistics, in the sense that they barely had anything to do with us, therefore not really impacting us that much, and did not help in my opinion,” said Britney Franco, a freshman. Others felt as if the talk on bullying, which was only for a small portion of the assembly before The Samaritans spoke, should have been more involved. They thought that it should have been discussed why bullying is dangerous for the victims and why it’s wrong, and how the victims should respond. Zoe Fruchter, another freshman, believed that discussions related to suicide and other social issues should occur independently of a page; discussion of the page and the consequences should be its own assembly. Dr. Lerner explained that the Town Hall didn’t focus on bullying because although it is an unfortunate circumstance, it could be dealt with on an individual level, between the bully and the victim. Suicide prevention is something that every student needed to know, he indicated. Yet while students realized the necessity of suicide prevention, many felt as if it overshadowed the barbaric nature of the page. Ultimately, despite the negativity of “BHSEC Confessions,” this situation taught students how to make our community stronger and more supportive. “I think it taught us how fractured our community is,” said Britney Franco. Lily Gordon added, “We learned that we really have people in the school to turn to for help.” The 9th graders learned a valuable lesson on controlling themselves on social media, as well as how to handle serious issues they come up online. Dr. Lerner advised, “We’re trying to educate students about how to behave online,” and not to start another “confessions” page, because there is no need for it. If you ever feel threatened, stressed, or under any other sort of strain, make sure to contact a trusted person or call the Samaritans suicide hotline at (212)-673-3000, rather than reaching out anonymously over the internet. Face-to-face communication can save lives.
Finals Week: A User’s Guide
Amy Milin, ’16 Finals Week — a time of terror and anxiety for many BHSEC students — is almost here, and sensible advice from fellow students may be the only thing that can keep us sane. Isabel Schneck, a Y1, urges caution, saying, “There’s a lot of hype about Finals Week, but if you look at the syllabus, sometimes [the final is] only 10-15% of your grade. That isn’t too bad—you can put it in perspective. If you’re doing well in the class, you don’t need to worry. If you’re not doing well in the class, then go to the teacher throughout [the semester]. The final doesn’t completely determine your grade.” Jasmine George, a Y2, advises the 9th and 10th graders to manage their time. “Start reviewing tests and quizzes earlier in the game instead of the week of finals,” she says. “Two weeks before gives you time to go to teachers and do other things. Don’t cram the night before your test. Relax. Watch some T.V.” While Y1s and Y2s have become seasoned veterans of finals by now, even the greener 10th graders have insight about how to deal with this stressful time. Geddes Alexander II, a 10th grader, advises to “make sure you’re going into the test with a purpose….set goals for yourself, and decide what you want to achieve for your final grade. If you’ve paid attention in class, [the final] shouldn’t be that hard. Try not to rush, slow down, [and] stay focused.” Ty-Tianna Purvis, a 10th grader, also offers sage advise, saying, “Don’t cram for [the final]. Try to see if you can talk to your teachers about the hardest thing that will be on it. Then you know what to study for.” Her friend and classmate Amethyst Flores agrees and advises, “Definitely get enough sleep. [To stay calm,] I keep a piece of scrap paper with me, just in case I have a flip-out moment and need to write something down for myself. But that’s just me, because I’m crazy.” Cont’d Page 4
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The Snapchat Craze: If You See Something, Snap Something
Sophie Houser, ‘15 Last week, as I laughed out loud while taking a photo of my childhood teddy bear on the toilet, my mom looked up from her computer and uttered some of the truest words I’ve ever heard her say: “Sophie, Snapchat is clearly your creative outlet.” Snapchat, an app available for smartphones, is an important outlet for many others as well; people send over 400 million images via Snapchat every day. Snapchat allows users to take photos or short videos and add captions or draw on the images. Users then send the images to designated “Snapchat friends.” The image is fleeting; it disappears after up to 10 seconds (unless the viewer screenshots it). Snapchat is different from other social networking sites like Vine, Facebook or Instagram that are feeds, available for all of one’s followers to see. I recently deleted my Facebook profile because I realized I had created an online persona for others to understand as “me” but wasn’t the real me. Likewise, I was doing the same by perusing through my friends’ profiles, clicking through pictures of people I had met only a few times to “get to know them.” Unlike those other apps, Snapchat is not about showing off how many friends or followers you have. Ever since downloading the Snapchat app on my iPhone six months ago, I have become addicted, sending on average about 20 “Snaps” a day. I love Snapchat because I don’t have to worry about the audience that might be viewing the pictures or videos I take. I can send all the selfies I want with my teddy bears and I know that the people I choose to send them to will laugh and not think I’m some weird 16-year-old who never grew up. I also know that the images will disappear in a number of seconds. Sometimes that’s sad because I know I won’t be able to look back nostalgically on the images later in life. However, most of the time the transient nature of the images just makes me feel uninhibited to send whatever I want. Although the content of my Snapchats tend to be mundane (normally just variations of ugly selfies), I still feel closer to the people I Snapchat. One Snapchat can turn into a night of back and forth funny, weird images and inside jokes.
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BHSEC Fall Sports Recap
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Led by Y2s Gus Saltonstall and Eli Shirk, two of the better soccer players in the entire city, the Raptors finished in the Manhattan A division with a 7-4-1 record. The Manhattan A division is also home to the city champion Martin Luther King Jr. and runner-up Beacon High School. The BHSEC Raptors also advanced to the second round of playoffs after failing to make the postseason last year.
Eli Shirk, NYC Mayor’s Cup participant, finished the season with 10 goals and 11 assists. His 10 goals were good enough for fourth in the entire Manhattan A division, and his 11 assists were good enough for second in the division. Thanks to consistent play from seniors Sam Gilbert, Jonathan Correa, and Gus Saltonstall, as well as a productive junior season from Peter Freitag, the Raptors proved themselves to be about more than just academics. Co-captain Gus Saltonstall said, “Our success this season came from our ability to come together as a unit and play for a collective goal. We had a lot of younger players step into bigger roles and contribute in meaningful ways.” Look for the Raptors led by current Y1 midfielder Peter Freitag to build on their successful 2013 campaign and be even better next season. In an equally difficult division, the girls’ soccer team was incredibly successful as well. Led by Y2 Safiyah Riddle and Y1 Katie Safter, the Lady Raptors finished their season with an 11-5 record, which was good enough Dylan Granger, a 10th grader, encourages students to have a more Cont’d From Page 3 care-free attitude about finals. When asked how he is studying for finals, he said, “I’m not.” Taking on a more serious tone, he continued, saying, “I’m certainly not putting in the work I see other people doing. I’m doing fine in my classes, and it’s not worth it to go crazy.” Rebecca Buchanon, a Y1, says, “I would say go to your teacher before the final. Don’t wait. Go way in advance. Make study guides; don’t just use your friend’s, because when you make your own you understand the material more. And if you’re having
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for third in their division. After an up-and-down start to their season, the Lady Raptors closed with six consecutives wins en route to the playoffs. Katie Safter, one of the key offensive cogs in the Lady Raptors machine, finished fifth in their division with 14 goals, but tallied an equally important 14 assists, which led the Manhattan/Bronx AI division. After a disappointing 3-1 defeat to Susan Wagner in the first round of the playoffs, the Lady Raptors stayed positive, recognizing just how far they had come. “The team has continued to grow over the years and we have continued to get better. I feel this season was very successful. The team chemistry on and off the field was great,” Safter said. The Lady Raptors are losing nine seniors as they go on to college next fall; some will continue to play soccer after BHSEC. Congratulations to Safiyah Riddle for going on to Haverford to play soccer there next fall. BHSEC’s girls’ volleyball team also performed well this fall, finishing the season with a 7-5 record. The girls made the playoffs for the team’s fourth consecutive year. It is especially impressive that a team that lacks a home gym is able to perform to such a high degree. The Lady Raptors are only losing two of their fifteen players come next season, so look for the volleyball team to build on its successes this year and become even better next year. As fall has turned to winter, both boys’ and girls’ basketball teams are looking good so far. The girls’ team has jumped out to a 4-0 record and look to continue their success throughout the entire year. The Boys’ team has been plagued by injuries early, missing their best two players for more time then they would have liked. Shooting guard Jonathan Correa injured his ankle in the first game of the season, but looks to be alright for the rest of the winter. The Raptors’ leading scorer, Gus Saltonstall, fractured a bone in his arm and will miss the entire regular season, a setback that could plague the already undersized Raptors squad. Also this winter, there is the debut of Bard Baseball club, which is looking for both boys and girls interested in playing the great game of baseball. The club will ideally become the schools’ next sports team, and will be meeting after school twice a week in the winter and spring. trouble with something, it’s most likely going to be on the final, so don’t procrastinate. Use your time wisely.” She also reminds stressed students that finals week doesn’t have to be agonizing. “Once you get in the room and start taking it, it’s not that bad. Then after you’ve taken it, you just want to run screaming down the hallways. So that’s really good.” Most students at BHSEC seem to have arrived at the conclusion that students need to determine what they need to study, avoid procrastination, see their teachers, and get enough sleep to function properly. Yet the most important advice is this: don’t equate finals week with Judgment Day. Put things into perspective.
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Op-Ed: How Bloomberg Tarnished His Legacy Everett Pelzman, ’15 New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, an innovative leader at times in his first two terms (and occasionally in his third), wrecked his legacy with unadvisable public policy in his third term. Bloomberg failed to anticipate that his legacy would in fact be construed from the dialogue surrounding the 2013 mayoral elections.
Former Mayor Bloomberg. Photo credit to Getty. Michael Bloomberg emerged a victor in the city’s 2001 elections, an unlikely candidate with a background in business. The media mogul, worth more than any man in New York State (today at an estimated $21 billion), comfortably fit into the lifestyle at City Hall and Gracie Mansion (although opting to reside at much more sleek E. 79th St. brownstone). He dedicated himself to clean streets and building partnerships with non-profits, often using his personal wealth. Under his leadership, the city was flooded with new businesses and commercial enterprises, eager to work beside one of their own. But Bloomberg’s tenure took a subtle but emphatic turn when he petitioned the City Council to extend term limits he himself had written. After the Council approved his offer, Bloomberg went on to win a third term over City Comptroller Bill Thompson, but by a narrow margin. Bloomberg, the Independent, could no longer depend on the votes and public support to carry his proposals through the New York City Council. But, given his previous successes, he assumed a mandate from the voters, and proceeded to reimagine an ideal city without listening to public outcry. Bloomberg, who earlier in his administration had wrested control of the Department of Education from the State of New York, began a letter-grading system for New York City schools. These letter grades measured isolated qualities in the schools and lacked the input of many educators. Some complained that Cont’d Page 6
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BHSEC Students Hail 2014, Resolving to Improve Helena Klonis, ‘17 With the arrival of 2014, many people and BHSEC students alike are trying to start the new year fresh by making New Year’s resolutions. According to Oklahoma State University, New Year’s resolutions have been made since the time of the Babylonians, and were later on adapted by the Romans and Christians. The type of “resolutions” these ancient peoples made were religious, either in the form of a sacrifice or a promise to the gods to fulfill something during the course of the new year. During the Great Depression, New Year’s resolutions became popular in the United States. The types of resolutions people made evolved over time. Originally oriented towards general welfare, they turned into self-oriented or frivolous ideals. According to examiner.com, 45% of Americans will most likely make a New Year’s resolution, but only 8% succeed. In addition, 47% of New Year’s Resolutions have to do with education or “selfimprovement,” which proved to be popular among BHSEC students. There were a couple of common themes throughout the resolutions of BHSEC students, and a few goals that were more unique and personalized. Most resolutions were education-related. Procrastination is one habit that a great amount of students wanted to change for 2014. Many students want to alter their approach to finishing work, and improve their time management skills. 10th grader Liana Van Nostrand says her resolution is, “to cut down on my procrastination and get more sleep!” Other students have different and more specific academic goals for the new
year. Kaltrina Novaj, a 9 th grader, says, “I want to widen my vocabulary.” Freshman Holly Hutchinson wants to “be part of more [extracurricular] things,” and 9th grader Ellie Safran says her resolution is to “improve [her] grade in math.” Another 10th grader says she wants to “try to stay more focused.” Other students’ New Year’s resolutions are health-related. Whether it be exercising, eating healthy foods, or playing a sport, many students want to improve their physical wellbeing. 9 th grader Helaina Ferraioli wants to “get back into shape.” George Scott, also a freshman, wants “to eat less junk food.” Some students have more specific health goals, like 9 th grader Kevin Mendez who wants to “get abs,” Cadyn Morgan-McGregor, a freshman, who wants to “qualify for States [swimming],” and Amelia Alman, also in 9th grade, who wants “to exercise more, be able to do a split, and join [the] track team.” Students at BHSEC have also come up with some more unique resolutions for 2014, that are a bit different from the rest. Freshman Delilah Kutler wants “to make a New Years resolution and actually remember it by next year,” and Jake Johnson, also in 9th grade, wants “to make Mr. Mueller laugh.” “I also want to make more time to spend with my friends and have fun because I feel like this year I’m so overwhelmed with school work,” says Maida Abid, a Y1. 9th grader Grant Christien Robertson wants to “take better control of [his] life,” and freshman Mariana Lucero wants to “[get to] sleep earlier.” It is a difficult task to achieve a goal set for New Years, but with hard work and determination, people can strive to make their New Year’s resolution a reality.
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Digital Piracy: Crime vs. Convenience Bloomberg Ayla Safran, ‘15 Piracy is no longer under the purview of scurvy swashbucklers with peg legs and parrots on their shoulders. Instead, digital piracy allows anyone with a computer to steal a veritable treasure trove of entertainment, and it seems that most people have seized the opportunity. “I think everyone does it,” claimed one BHSEC student. Digital piracy, defined as any form of reproduction of original video or audio material, is now an everyday practice, even if it is illegal. Millions of people knowingly disobey anti-piracy laws, which are poorly enforced but, according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), can lead to “a felony record, accompanied by up to five years of jail time and fines up to $250,000.” Despite these daunting consequences, there are many websites for downloading or streaming movies and television shows, not to mention those for downloading audio files. Apparently, BHSEC students are among those who believe that the laws are too loosely enforced to catch them. Although downloading either movies or music constitutes piracy, some students feel that there is a distinction between the two. “I used to be extremely opposed to [illegal downloads] because of artists’ rights” said Y1 Cena Loffredo, “but now
because I'm downloading mostly movies, I don't feel as bad.” However, she did acknowledge, “I still feel bad when I download music, but I don't have the funds to keep up with it.” Like Cena, many students feel guilty about failing to support their favorite musicians. While Y1 Anna Goldelman thinks that illegally downloading music is “great,” she added that, “I only do it if I've bought something from the artist first, though, like to show my appreciation.” Y1 Fatima Elmansy agreed, saying, “You're robbing the artist in a way.” However, she explained, “I don't really feel that guilty because they're still making a lot of money.” Admittedly, many popular musicians make a large amount of money (like Beyoncé Knowles, for example, who makes over 50 million dollars per year), despite their fans’ unwillingness to spend money in order to listen to their music. Most students do not let their reservations stop them from committing piracy, but Y1 Max Jenkins-Goetz explained, “I mostly don't do it because I don't know how.” Other students agreed; their technical ignorance discourages them from downloading files illegally far more than their moral sensibilities. Yet once discovered, file-sharing websites or apps are easy to use, if one is willing to put up with the unavoidable deluge of pop- Cont’d Page 7
BHSEC’s Students’ Activities Center Leila Eliot, ’16 Wandering from floor to floor, up and down each hallway in hope that you may find a classroom to study or talk in is never fun. Why not go to the Students’ Activities Center (SAC)? — a place where students can go when there are no free classrooms, where they can decompress, and get work done without the chatter of the library. The comfortable chairs arranged around a low coffee table are almost always empty. These padded chairs invite lounging, unlike the wooden chairs in the library or in classrooms. Yet there are almost never students in this alleged Students’ Activities Center. If the SAC was created for the sole purpose of aiding the students of BHSEC, then why are there rarely ever students there? When BHSEC students were asked the last time they went to the SAC, most
said something along the lines of “I’ve never been.” One student responded with, “What is that? Wait, is it that thing in the corner of the building?” The idea that some students aren’t even aware of the existence of the SAC is appalling. It should be actively open to the masses at BHSEC. The more students feel the SAC is open for the use of the students, the more time will be spent actively supporting and using it. But why should students remember a place in which they spend no time, unless they need to talk to a faculty member or it’s that one time of the year when they want to buy a candy gram? Half of the SAC is actually the office of Jenny Tibbles-Jordan, Pearl Marasigan, and Kristi Powell. The SAC does not even get an entire classroom. But the SAC is still great as long as you can eat your Cont’d Page 7
Cont’d From Page 5 the grades shifted the focus away from learning at public high schools. Often, Bloomberg would use the letter grades to close down schools, leaving teachers and students floating in the system with few options. But the letter grades were Bloomberg’s vision, and, on the tails of Cont’d Page 6 his earlier successes, he marched forward. This would have a disastrous effect on his legacy. Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s first education-related promise after retaining the voters’ mandate was to eliminate Bloomberg’s letter grades and end the mass school closings that have become an annual tradition. Bloomberg also isolated many black and Hispanic communities in the outer-boroughs with a relentless “Stop and Frisk” program that gained new attention in the years after his second reelection. Politically speaking, Bloomberg’s legacy on the NYPD could have been salvaged, if he had listened to the renewed calls for reform in 2009, new Commissioner Bill Bratton notes. Bratton says that if Bloomberg and Ray Kelly had listened to their own police officers describing the effect of the program on community-police relations, the dialogue in 2013 might have been different. But Bloomberg would not listen to reform, and eventually faced the repercussions when the city was faced with a lawsuit during the mayoral election itself. Bratton, who himself began a version of Stop and Frisk, insists that he will remain transparent with the new Mayor, who has promised to end an era of racial profiling in which over 87% of the stops are on black and Hispanic men, a demographic that makes up barely a quarter of our city’s population. Bloomberg’s success prompted him to overreach and ignore the will of the people. He assumed a mandate given his previous successes, but this only resulted in a disaster for his legacy, shaped by the 2013 election cycle.
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Digital Piracy Cont’d From Page 6 up advertisements. Students who frequently use these websites are generally far more comfortable with piracy. “I do not own one song that I've bought off iTunes,” admitted Y1 Elena Perez. Money is what motivates many high school students to break anti-piracy laws. “I download a lot of music, so it would be expensive to buy it all” said one student, whose reasoning echoed that of nearly every other student questioned. Teenagers on a meager budget find it extremely difficult to pay for all of the music that they want to listen to. While the teenage demographic is responsible for driving most music trends, it might not be funding most of them. Websites such as Spotify and Pandora, which let users listen to music for free, albeit with advertisements every few songs or a paid subscription, are popular as well, but they are not as easy or versatile as music on an iPhone or mp3 player. Nor are there comparable resources for watching movies or television shows. Netflix, for example, requires an eight-dollar-per-month subscription and does not have much recently released content. It is easy and tempting for students (often looking for a way to procrastinate) to watch the same shows for free online, only a Google search away. Overall, BHSEC students seem not to be opposed to digital piracy; rather, they view it as a useful tool for access to content, free of charge and hassle.
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The Art of Rhetoric: BHSEC’s Debate Team Ifeoluwa Aiyelabowo, ’15 The BHSEC Speech and Debate Team was founded by BHSEC alum Hannah Frishberg in the second semester of 2011, and is currently led by juniors Isaiah Back-Gaal, Mojique Tyler, and Gabe Haddad. B H S E C Debate is an amazing and diverse team that has discussed political topics such as nuclear proliferation, N S A surveillance a n d immigration reform. On a yearly basis, the team d e b a t e s against our s i s t e r BHSEC Debate’s proud captains and advisor Mr. Mikesh at a s c h o o l s recent tournament. Photo credit to Eliza Fawcett. B H S E C Queens and BHSEC Newark at “Big Bard.” The trip is entirely funded by Bard College, and many BHSEC debaters have found it to be a very enjoyable experience. The Debate Team is student-run, and has been winning numerous awards at recent tournaments. Currently, the team is the most academic-award-winning team at BHSEC. For example, earlier this year at tournament headed by the New York City Urban Debate League, the team won second place (just behind Brooklyn Tech), and beating out many other teams, some of which are considered to be some of the best teams in America. The majority of tournaments that BHSEC debaters go to are held by the New York City Urban Debate League at the Institute of Collaborative Education (ICE). Such tournaments are held Cont’d Page 8
BHSEC’s Students’ Activities Center lunch and talk to your friends. Who actually cares if Ms. Powell, Ms. Marasigan, and Professor Jordan are doing their work in the same room where you are spending your free period? Right? Well you can talk to your friends, as long as you are speaking in a whisper. As for eating lunch, don’t even try it. There is no eating, and as stated before, no loud voices. There is one thing the SAC still has going for it: the coffee machine. Ever since the Student Union bought this amazing coffee machine, coffee, tea, and hot chocolate have been available to the students at BHSEC for a dollar. Wait no, sorry; the coffee machine is indefinitely out of order. With the coffee machine no longer in service and the size of the space for students slowly decreasing, the drive to go to the SAC has plunged.
Cont’d From Page 6
Without all of these rules the SAC could be buzzing with people, but with so many regulations, the SAC loses its appeal. Students shouldn’t have to feel uncomfortable going to a classroom created for their use. A SAC should be a place where you can listen to music, eat, and talk, rather than having to keep your voice down and find somewhere else to eat. Calling it a “Students’ Activities Center” is no longer a correct phrase considering it does not benefit the students. The concept of a Student Activities Center is great – a place where students can hang out during free periods when it’s too cold or wet to go outside. The size of the classroom doesn’t matter as long as students have a relaxing space in the building for the students, controlled by the students. If the Student Activities Center is truly going to be a space that serves the student body of BHSEC either the Activates Center or the offices need to be moved.
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THE BARDVARK
The BHSEC Winter Concert Sierra Block Gorman, ’16 The BHSEC Winter Concert was a success once again this year, with a high turnout and a lot of great performances! The show was opened by the Step Team, who were met with a warm reception as per usual. Their powerful chanting, well-timed claps, stomps, playful banter and sound effects drew cheers from the crowd, and their routine was catchy and entertaining. Next up were the College Ensemble Dancers, performing to the song “Team” by Lorde, and they were compellingly well coordinated and dynamic. Their routine was exciting and fun, catching the attention of students in the audience. Next up was Chorus, beginning with the song “Midnight,” which was slow and quiet, with a good balance of soprano and baritone. After that was “Lean On Me,” with solos by 10th graders Helena Abrams, Sarah Allen, Solidad Tejada and Len Kaupert. During the song, each student said something they were thankful for that someone did for them, lending a personal touch to the song. Next was “Think On Me,” featuring Y2 Thea Lang and Tejada. This song was written by Mary Queen of Scots, and is historically charged by the old fashioned language. They finished with “Christmas Time Is Here,” from A Charlie Brown Christmas, with Tejada as guest conductor. It gave a nostalgic, Christmas feeling to the atmosphere. Following the Chorus’ performance was the Chamber ensemble, which began with “Allegro,” a wellplayed piece that included saxophone by Mr. Despommier. Next was “Lento,” a short, sweet and lilting song. Finally, they played “Playtune,” a faster, upbeat song that was appropriately playful. Next up was half of the 10th Grade Dance Ensemble, dancing to a Jackson 5 song. It was a sunny performance with a lot of cute interactions and lifts, and at the end, one of the dancers threw his hat to the audience with a flourish, eliciting much excitement in the front rows. After that was World Drumming, playing a Brazilian samba. This call and response style song was exuberant and focused, featuring a wide range of percussion. The World Drumming class then did a collaboration with the 10th grade Dance Ensemble, performing an exciting traditional African drumming song. As a whole, it was a good melding of dance and drum styles. Then, World Drumming collaborated with the College Dance Ensemble. They did African percussion with rhythmic dancing. The dancers were very in sync and coordinated. After that, the Rock Ensemble took the stage, all of them dressed in plaid. They were introduced by 10th grader Rhys Manley as “Radio Jed,” and proceeded to play “Space Oddity.” It had great vocals and an intricate guitar solo by Martin Andreev. Next the band was introduced as “The Grateful Jed,” and they played “Slide,” a slow, beautiful song with vocals by Y1 Brittany Suleiman and acoustic guitar by Joseph Dudley. Finally, they were introduced as “Jed Zeppelin” by Y2 Spencer Brownstein, who then commented, “It’s funny because our drummer’s name is Jed.” We were all Cont’d Page 9 sort of wondering about that. Spencer
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BHSEC’s Debate Team
Cont’d From Page 7
on a monthly basis, and they give BHSEC debaters the opportunity to qualify for the City, State, and National Debate Tournaments. So far, the farthest that BHSEC debaters have gone was to the qualifiers for the State Debate Tournament. It was there that Y1s Eliza Fawcett and Isaiah Back-Gaal won the club’s first semifinalist award. At the weekly meetings, on the third floor, BHSEC debaters prepare the resolutions that are introduced on a monthly basis to most teams in America by the National Forensics League, the national overseer of most debating teams in America. Many high schools in America have numerous debating styles that students do according to their desire. BHSEC’s debating team, however, only does the “Public Forum” style of debate. In this style of debate, two teams of pairs argue against each other in a series of half-an-hour rounds. In Public Forum debate, one team supports the resolution, and the other team negates the resolution. After one student from each team speaks, they clash in a crossfire, where they ask each other questions. After all students speak and clash in crossfires, all speakers clash in a grand crossfire. Then, members of each team present final focuses and a summaries, where students can rebuild the points that have been refuted, point out any of their own points which have been dropped, or state anything else that would move their judge to vote for them. If the judge votes for them, then there is an increased chance for that team to win a top-team award. The judge also records the amount of speaker points that each member of the team gains, which determines whether the individual members on the teams will win a speaker award. For every debate tournament, student pairs have to prepare pro and con cases for the resolution. Debaters do not know what side they are going to debate on until the rounds of the tournament start. Even though debating is very tiring, it is also very fun and beneficial. Many students join the BHSEC Debate Team because it is a good thing to have on one’s college résumé, but others join because they want to learn skills that could help them in the future. In fact, half of the politicians in the U.S. government — Supreme Court Justices Sonya Sotomayor and Stephen Breyer, for example — were on their school debate teams. Many others like former South African president Nelson Mandela, former President Bill Clinton, former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, actor Brad Pitt, and multibillionaire Oprah Winfrey refined their speaking skills early on, thanks to their high school or college debate teams.
THE BARDVARK Editor-In-Chief, Eliza Fawcett, ’15 Layout Editor, Iolanthe Brooks ’15 News Editor, Liana Van Nostrand, ’16 News Editor, Everett Pelzman, ’15 Arts Editor, Riley Pearsall ’15 Opinions Editor, Danya Levy, ’15 Photography Editor, Ayla Safran ’15 Music Editor, Oliver Divone ’15 Faculty Advisor, Steven Mazie
Volume 11, Issue 3
THE BARDVARK
The BHSEC Winter Concert Cont’d from Page 8
Illustration credit to Sierra Block Gorman. performed an original rap, “Blow Up,” a remix of “Where Is My Mind,” by the Pixies. The College Dance Ensemble then performed to the song “Icebox.” They were experimenting with lights, and their expressive dance featured very creative use of chairs.
Finally, the Jazz Ensemble began with “C-Jam Blues,” a smooth, cool and well-executed song with 10th grader Rachel Frizell on piano. Then, with Y1 Charlie Shine on piano and Y2 Rayna Holmes on vocals, “Here’s That Rainy Day,” was a slow, emotional, melancholic song. The next song was “What Is This Thing Called Love?” It featured Y2 Keila Lopez doing vocals and 10th grader Jesse Jenkins on piano. It had a slow, wistful beginning, then broke into an energetic, jazzy tone. The last song was called “Doxy,” with Y1 Mo Tyler on piano. It had a groovy, mellow tone, and was a great finisher to a great show. There was also an art exhibition down the hall. It featured drawings by the 9th Grade Introduction to Visual Art class that experiment with different styles. There were also drawings and paintings by the Intermediate Drawing class that explore light, shadow, texture and different mediums. The paintings by the College Painting class showed fantastic use of color in both realistic and stylistic portraits and still lifes. There were also photos from the Photography class that showed expressive use of light, focus and zoom. Overall, it was a great show.
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Revisiting the Silver Screen, in Black and White Leila Eliot, ’16 Almost everyone reading this has watched at least one movie in the last week; maybe even in the last day. What makes a movie appealing to the average person? Is it an interesting storyline? Complex characters? A thought-provoking summary? More often than not it is a movie you just remember a friend recommended or Netflix thinks is like the movie you just finished. What people don't generally want is anything made before the 1990's. What they don't realize is that just because a movie is in black and white or made before they were born doesn't mean it isn't worth their time. When BHSEC students were asked the last time they watched a black and white movie the answers were surprising. There were people who responded that they were “never really interested.” The most consistent response was “they don't come to my a t t e n t i o n . ” I t Cont’d Page 11
Mr. Putin: Tear Down this Satellite Image! Eli Binder, ’15 and Max Jenkins-Goetz, ’15 The last twenty-five years have seen the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of a new Russian Federation. Our relations with the ‘Evil Empire’ have eased considerably over the years, but the ‘Northern Menace’ still has a lot to hide. One ominous, looming threat against the United States is the covert activity happening on a certain island in northern Russia. October Revolution Island: an island shrouded in secrecy. Situated in the Artic Circle, just north of Siberia, it is an ideal location for covert activities. Providing a blanket of ice and snow, nature serves as an ideal cover for clandestine occupations. But Mother Earth doesn’t cover everything—Google Inc. does the rest. Google Maps provides unique concealment for the October Revolution Island. Its satellite view indiscreetly censors a large swath of the region in CIA-style black and white stripes. Something is clearly going on. The question is: what? The only possible explanation for this anomaly is that the Russians are up to something … something bad. Google, a private corporation, accommodates government requests to censor content deemed to be in violation of local laws. Google has reported 108 requests for censorship from Russia alone. Let me repeat: 108. Yet not one of these requests involved the censorship of October Revolution Island on Google Maps. 107 of these requests concerned content related to suicide and drugs
while the other referred to a video that caused religious outcry. These are commonly available statistics; clearly, Russia has no qualms about publicly requesting that Google
Blatant censorship of October Revolution Island. Photo from www.maps.google.com censor certain information. So, why is the censorship of October Revolution Island a secret, and how can it be explained? To answer this question, we need to look Cont’d Pg 10
THE BARDVARK
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back to the year 2000, when Vladimir Putin was first sworn in to the office of President. Putin, an eccentric public figure, is notorious for his shirtless hunting escapades and his strange love of bottlenose dolphins. That year, Vladimir Putin succeeded Boris Yeltsin to become the second president of the Russian Federation. Putin instituted on a series of reforms that opened up the country, and Russia began to move further away from its Soviet image. However, Putin is not without secrets and shady habits. As mentioned previously, he is known to have an infatuation with bottlenose dolphins. October Revolution Island has an American counterpart—Area 51. Area 51 became a public sensation in America, while October Revolution Island is not a household name in Russia. BHSEC student Anastasia Brezhnev ‘15 (name changed for the sake of anonymity) who lived in Russia for five years offered an explanation. She explained, “American society is open, and if there is a scandal, people expect to find out what happened.
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schemes. Anastasia commented, “The Russians have their secrets, but we don’t even know what they’re hiding … there is some secret stuff going on there.” So, what does the censorship of October Revolution Island mean for us as Americans? The Cold War is over, but tensions with Russia are not. The civil war in Syria has only highlighted the fragility of our relations. In this time of increasing global agitation, nations like Russia will do anything to get ahead. The idea that Russia may be militarizing bottlenose dolphins in an attempt to gain a tactical edge on the US may sound insane, but we’re talking about a relationship that is only kept stable when both sides increase their number of world-ending weapons of mass destruction, so crazy isn’t exactly out of the realm of normal, or at least conceivable. Dolphins provide many potential advantages in wartime scenarios. Their advanced systems of communication and observed participation in some form of society would allow them to work together and gather intelligence efficiently and secretly, while their inability to speak our language would prevent any sort of interrogation techniques from succeeding. Not to mention, they are immune to water boarding. So clearly, dolphins could feasibly provide military and intelligence-related benefits to whoever is able to wield them. The question is, what evidence is there that bottlenose dolphins are being trained by Putin on October Revolution Island? Rather than answer that, let us Vladimir Putin enjoying the company of bottlenose dolphins in a leaked photo. Photo credit to move on to how the www.43things.com and www.funnyordie.com Russians are carrying out However, Russians are not necessarily interested in state these shady and threatening activities—with the help of secrets, or too afraid to talk about them. So, even if Google Maps. something is going on, no one would talk about it. You Putin has been recorded swimming and don’t ask people how they got to Siberia, because more coming into close contact with a number of bottlenose often than not, you’re going to get a bad answer.” dolphins. It is likely – no – near certain that he, along with So, how do corporate censorship, an Arctic island, the other government high-ups and KGB top dogs, are inserting Russian president, bottlenose dolphins and aliens come themselves into the lives of these impressionable animals, together? At this point, hard to say. But a few things are rearing entire generations of them on a healthy appetite of clear. The Russians are hiding something, and Google fish and Communism. As the dolphins grow up this way, Inc. is helping them. Vladimir Putin does have an they are manipulated into serving Putin and his people. The obsession with bottlenose dolphins, and it seems more dolphins, essentially brainwashed, are instructed on how to than likely than not that there are extra-terrestrials on swim across to the US, gather important and highly October Revolution Island. classified aquatically stored information, and then bring it We spoke with BHSEC student Nicolai Dobrynin ’15 back to Russia. (name changed for the sake of anonymity), a Russian The implications of this secretive project are national, who offered a different story about Putin and enormous. With Russia gaining such an advantage in the the island. When asked if he believed that Putin might be field of aquatic-mammalian militarization, the US must conducting secret operations within Russia, Nicolai did make efforts to catch up before it is too late. One can only not give a straight answer. He did say, however, that any imagine what Putin could be planning to attempt with his censorship must have been attempting to hide military new force of cuddly weapons. But there is no doubt that bases, and that the US does this as well. A quick Google massive damage could ensue unless the US steps up. We search revealed that the US does not always blur military must once again prove ourselves to be the leaders of the free bases. world—by training dolphins to be the patriotic heroes they Clearly, the Russian education system has done a are meant to be. good job of blinding its children to the realities of Putin’s
Mr. Putin
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Volume 11, Issue 3
THE BARDVARK
Commuting in the Cold
Rush to go see Rushmore!
Emma Evans, ’15 It’s cold outside, but the treacherous walk from the subway to school is no shorter. Comfortably commuting in these subarctic temperatures requires dedication, contemplation and preparation. Unfortunately, most students are misinformed, believing several myths about keeping warm in the winter that only heighten the misery on their walks. When the temperature dips below 32 degrees, keeping warm is an endeavor that begins before you even step out of your home: maintaining a desirable body temperature begins with the right breakfast. People typically assume that on a cold winter day, a hot breakfast is not complete without a warm stimulating beverage, such as coffee or tea. Yet these hot beverages have detrimental affects on your warmth. Hot drinks trigger specific receptors on the tongue that tell the body to begin sweating (sometimes profusely) to maintain a stable temperature. Since nobody wants to be sweaty under layers of thick clothing on a crowded subway, people must rethink their breakfast choices. Instead of indulging in a hot cup of coffee, students should enjoy a restorative glass of ginger tea or a lovely gingerbread loaf cake or cookie. In several scientific studies, ginger aided the blood circulation of rats, providing the sensation of warmth, making foods containing ginger a much better breakfast choice. Students must also consider the proper outer attire needed to embrace the cold. A warm hat, gloves, a scarf, and a heavy coat are obvious requirements. Although any brand and style will do, the color of your accessories and outer layers play a significant role in keeping you nice and toasty. Though it is true that black absorbs heat, while white reflects it, a black coat is not actually as warm as a white coat. A coat that is black on the inside will absorb the precious heat that the body produces, while a white coat will reflect the heat radiating from the skin back towards the body. A white coat keeps you warm; a black coat keeps itself warm. Yet if you are not willing to commit to a white coat, another solution is to wear a large white garbage bag under your clothes. A garbage bag layer provides sizable insulation and guarantees that a darker-colored jacket won’t rob the body of its crucial heat. Hand warmers are another worthwhile investment for those who get easily chilled. These small, disposable, and inexpensive devices provide long-term heat and can be used almost anywhere on the body, despite the misleading warning label. Most hand warmers are fast and effective, and with brands like "Grabbers" or “Little Hotties,” no shaking is necessary: just take them out, expose them to the air, and a pleasant heat begins to come immediately from the small packages. Once you are fully fed with heat-inducing foods, dressed appropriately, and equipped with multiple hand-warmers, you are finally ready to embrace the cold! So good luck on the commute: we’re deep in winter, so you’ll need it!
Lilabet Johnstongil, ‘15
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Rushmore, directed by W e s An d e rs o n , i s n ’ t exactly a classic film. It came out w i t h i n most of our lifetimes— 1998—and is in full Photo credit to drafthouse.com color. However, it was both Jason Schwartzman’s first movie and the movie that brought Bill Murray’s career back to life. Wow! This movie is about a teenage boy named Max Fischer (Schwartzman) who goes to the prestigious Rushmore Academy. Forever on the brink of flunking out and devoid of friends his own age, Max befriends Herman Blume (Murray), the father of two of Max’s classmates, and falls in love with a teacher named Rosemary Cross who is, according to Blume, “sweet but…fucked up.” These two relationships lead to all sorts of loony antics, chief among them the illegal building of an aquarium and one mystery character getting beaten up by a bunch of ten year olds in Halloween costumes. The greatest triumph of Rushmore is its surprisingly accurate portrayal of teen angst in a way that feels the exact opposite of contrived or generic. Technically it’s a coming of age movie, but only in name. The cast of this movie is nearly perfect, from Seymour Cassel as Max’s soft-spoken father to Brian Cox as the inscrutable Dr. Guggenheim. The soundtrack, which was originally nothing but the Kinks, is made up mainly of British Invasion that draws the whole movie together. Of all the quirky coming-of-age movies to come out in our lifetimes, this one is far and away the best. Grab your beret and go watch it!
Revisiting the Silver Screen became apparent that those who watched black and white movies the most had been doing so for their whole lives. In contrast, these movies have to be explicitly encouraged for most teenagers to watch them. It is not just black and white movies that people seem to be unaware of, but most movies made before the 90's. In fact, a professor of film theory at the University of Utah said that people don’t tend to watch movies made before their time because “the film industry does not put money into advertising them.” If movies are not being advertised, and neither friends nor family members are suggesting them, most students have little initiative to watch black and white movies. But just because movies are no longer being encouraged by the media does not mean that they are not worth watching. If you see a black and white movie, or a movie made before your era that you think is amazing, recommend it to a friend or family member. Motivate the people around you to bring these stories back to life. Not all movies made before the 90's are amazing; there are plenty of bad apples. Yet some of the movies being neglected are truly extraordinary. Next time you want something to watch something, Google the best movies from the 1930's and see what comes up. Watch a few previews or read a few summaries. You might be surprised! Cont’d from Page 9
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THE BARDVARK
Volume 11, Issue 3
Word Search Anna Messer, ’15
What are our Favorite Offices at BHSEC? Iolanthe Brooks, ’15
Teacherisms Jed Lenetsky, ‘15 Ms. Gamper: “That's why they pay me the big bucks.” Student: “Some people say school is geared for girls since boys have trouble sitting still all day.” Dr. Mazie: “BHSEC is for young women and girly men.”
JOIN THE YOUNG DUDES! The Bardvark is always looking for new writers, photographers, artists, and puzzlers!
We meet Wednesdays in 413! Email bardvark@gmail.com
THE BARDVARK
Volume 11, Issue 3
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Staff Picks Rayna Holmes, ’14 Jan 31
Feb 1
TCNYC show @ 72 First Saturday @ Brooklyn Museum (FREE)
Feb 2
Feb 3
Feb 4
Feb 5
Kim Gordon @ No School! PS1(early show 4pm)
Add/Drop begins
2 Chainz & Pusha T @ Roseland Ballroom
Feb 9
Feb 11
Feb 12
Feb 10
Add/Drop ends
Feb 16
Feb 17
Feb 18
Feb 19
Feb 24
Feb 7
Feb 8
Brooklyn Night Bazaar (FREE)
Feb 13
Wednesday Night Slam: Sign Up & Slam @ The Nuyorican
MIDWINTER BREAK BEGINS
Feb 23
Feb 6
Feb 14
Feb 15
Emancipator The Soulfolk Ensemble w/ Star Experience @ Slinger @ Best Buy BAMcafé (FREE) Theatre (16+)
Feb 20
Feb 21
Feb 22
Earl Sweatshirt @ Suuns @ Death By Four Tet @ Webster Hall Audio Terminal 5 (16+)
Feb 25
Jean Paul Gaultier Classes resume exhibit @ the Brooklyn Museum closes!
Feb 26
St. Vincent @ Terminal 5
CHECK OUT THE YOUNG DUDES ON FACEBOOK! facebook.com/BHSECBardvark
Feb 27
Feb 28
Young the Giant @ Hammerstein Ballroom