Volume XCIV No. 1 September 12 , 2003

By YITIAN LIU

On Tuesday, August 14school was not the only thingout. Electricity was lost acrosspart of the East Coast and MidWest. Many essentials van-ished along with the power,including the subway system,refrigerators, and computers.

Stuyvesant students, bothin and out of the city, wereaffected by the blackout of2003. The school buildingitself suffered from glitchesdespite its back-up generators.Nonetheless, Stuy students didnot let the power failure keepthem down.

Junior Alexa Yim had justfinished shopping in Flushingwhen her number seven trainstopped moving in the station.At first, she believed the prob-lem to be with the train, andproceeded to the nearby LIRRstation. Yim later found outfrom a passerby about theblackout. She had her cellphone and was able to contacther mother but her usual half-hour ride home was tripled inlength.

Yim’s night was unusuallyquiet; even her younger sib-lings had given in to the heatand darkness. “I spent mytime reading the first HarryPotter book by candlelight. Ihad already read it four or fivetimes before, so it wasn’t themost exciting thing to bedoing,” said Yim.

She was happy to visit heruncle with his battery-operat-ed fans, and even more ecstaticto get her electricity back at5:30 A.M. the next day.

Junior Andrew Kayseriantook refuge at a friend’s housein upstate New York during theblackout. Despite his friend’sgas-powered generator,Kayserian remained a bit bitterabout the blackout. He runs acomputer programming busi-ness that gets rid of computerviruses. A Stuyvesant studentto the core, Kayserian was anx-ious about some unsaved workthat he had done.

“I lost about two hours ofwork. Right after the blackout,all the changes were wipedaway. I couldn’t even put inthe command to reboot [thecomputer],” said Kayserian.Despite his worries, Kayseriansaid that his business did notsuffer too much from thepower outage after all.

“The blackout was sort ofbittersweet because I did havefun partying with my friends,”Kayeserian continued.

Senior Roman Goldin wasabout to board a train a blockfrom his house when the lightswent out. Goldin had littlechoice but to walk back home.Soon after, he met with a groupof his friends in his neighbor-hood and they played boardgames throughout the night.

The Spectator “The pulseof the

studentbody.”

To The Stuyvesant Community

The Stuyvesant High School Newspaperspectator.stuy.edu

Where Were YouWhen the Lights

Went Out?Battling the Blackout

continued on page 2

By EUGENE THEODORE

As 155 Stuyvesant teachers sat in the theater Tuesday,September 2, Principal Stanley Teitel introduced the new staffand took a moment to remember those who had left. Thedepartments most affected were Chemistry/Physics, having lostfour of their own to retirement. The Technology Departmentwas also greatly affected, losing three of its veteran staff-mem-bers and raising questions of whether certain classes ,like wood-working, would be available for the 2003-2004 school year.

For the full list of teachers who have left for the fall term, seepage 2.

Stuyvesant Bids Farewell to Veteran Staff

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Freshmen and their Big Sibs engaged in a number of icebreakerson Tuesday and Wednesday, August 26 and 27 at Camp Stuy. Inaddition, the freshmen were given tours of the school, attended anintroductory assembly, took their swim and language tests, andhad their ID pictures taken. See page 10 for photo essay.

By THERESA LANGSCHULTZ

When students returned toschool on September 8, theywere faced with numerous newregulations, according toPrincipal Stanley Teitel. Thisfollows a year in which regula-tions such as new hallwayrestrictions and a longer schoolday were imposed on students.

School Day ShortenedThis year, the school day

has been cut 40 minutes, withan A schedule day beginning at8 A.m. and ending 3:20 P.M.,according to Teitel. The daywould include 10 periods ofinstruction with four minutesfor passing. This comes after ayear in which the normal 8 A.M.to 3:40 P.M. day was elongatedby 20 minutes.

According to Teitel, thechange comes after parents andstudents voiced their concernsover staying late for extracurric-ular activities, as well as otherproblems which arose from theextended day.

“The day was long, kidswere tired. Unless somethingjumps out at me, we’ll try thisschedule for a year,” said Teitel.Concerns about the old sched-ule had been voiced as early asFebruary, but the administra-tion decided to finish the yearwith the old schedule, citingconcern over changing theschedule twice in one year.

For many students, theshorter day comes as a wel-comed surprise.

“I get to go home earlier, domore college stuff, get moresleep. Also, it will work better

for me since I will have track,”said senior Yang Chen.Typically, for many sportsteams such as track, practiceslast for at least an hour andmeet several times a week.

For junior Brett Forrest, theshorter school day means thathe can leave school earlier afterclub meetings, and sports prac-tice.

“It’s a lot easier nowbecause instead of missing classto go to soccer games, I can justgo after school now,” Forrestsaid.

In addition to the change inthe length of the school day, thenormal C schedule—includingthe 20 minute homeroom—hasbeen eliminated.

“That schedule was usuallyfor seniors to get information,and to hand out flowers or otheritems. Mr. Lonardo told me thathe didn’t need that many 20minute homerooms this year, soI told him when it was neces-sary, we would just make a spe-cial schedule,” Teitel said.

The change means thatboth the regular A schedule, aswell as the 10 minute home-room B schedule are shortenedforty minutes, while the old Dand E schedule days willbecome C and D schedule days,respectively.

Eliminating Long Lines Atthe College Office

Starting this year, seniorswill no longer need to wait inline to speak to a college guid-ance counselor at the collegeoffice, as each student will

New RegulationsGreet New Faces

continued on page 2

Spectator Recruitmentswill be on Monday andTuesday, September 29and 30 in Lecture Hall A

after 10th period.

By JON EDELMAN

“I have no clue who theyare and what they do,” saidsophomore Amy Yee.

Yee is referring to AssistantPrincipal of Pupil ServicesEleanor Archie and AssistantPrincipal of Organization RandiDamesek, who are found inrooms 103 and 207 respectively.Although the two organizemany activities, from studentsocial events to fire drills, moststudents have only a vague ideaabout their duties.

“I never even heard thenames before,” said sophomoreKatherin Verestoun.

Archie is Stuyvesant’sAssistant Principal ofAdministration and PupilPersonnel.

“Last year I did Camp Stuy,and the family orientation. Wedid the open house in March forkids who made Stuy. I broughtin the speakers for staff devel-opment. I supervised the guid-ance department. I was the sitesupervisor for summer school. Isupervise the deans, programoffice, and college office. I workwith the Big Sibs,” Archie said.

According to Archie, shealso conducts guidance hear-ings for suspensions, and worksto improve the guidance, col-lege, and program offices.

“I’m the ‘umbrella of thedepartments,’” she said.

Said senior Ariel Gros-Werter, “I love [Archie]! She lis-tened to me when I was in a dif-ficult situation with a class.”

Senior Bernadette Zielinskihas also benefitted fromArchie’s guidance.

“She told me where to gowhen I told her I needed work-

ing papers.” Archie can also help you if

you lose something. “My MP3 player got stolen,

so I reported it to Ms. Archie.”said sophomore Shelly Njoo.

Archie is not alone in heranonymity. Many students arealso unaware of the duties ofher fellow AP, Damesek.

“The only impression Ihave of Ms. Damesek is throughthe SING! impersonation lastyear. I’ve never seen her,” saidsenior Pakeeza Alam.

Damesek is Stuyvesant’sAssistant Principal ofOrganization. According to herjob description, her responsibil-ities include supervising secre-taries, school aides, and civilservice employees, being a liai-son to school safety agents, thepolice and fire departments,and the superintendent’s office.She also oversees the schoolbudget and Department ofEducation spending, along withoverseeing building supplies,the program office, the facultypayroll, the weekly and termcalendars, and exam schedules.She’s also responsible for hiringdaily substitutes and organizingmonthly fire drills.

Damesek declined to com-ment for this article

“Ms. Damesek was instru-mental in creating the new timeschedule, which is a win-winsituation for students, teachers,parents, and the administration.She created the school SafetyPlan. The AP of Organization isresponsible for all of the thingsstudents don’t see, and benefitgreatly from,” said AssistantPrincipal of MathematicsDanny Jaye.

Stuy’s Hidden Administrators

continued on page 2

Freshman Fun @ Camp Stuy

“Actually, I thought it waskind of nice having a dark quietstreet for once,” said Goldin.However, he was still relieved tofinally have electricity backagain at 7P.M. on Friday night.

Stuyvesant students outsideof the city felt the effects of theblackout as well. JuniorMarlaina Lee was at Lake Placidwhen she first heard about thepower outage from her grand-mother in Queens. AlthoughLake Placid itself was not affect-ed, a neighboring town, SaranacLake, did lose its power.

“I was watching TV upthere, and saw officers rescuingpeople from the subways, and Iwas hoping that nobody I knewwas stuck in that situation,” saidLee. When Lee returned to thecity she learned that a friendhad been trapped in a subwaycar for over an hour on the dayof the blackout.

Junior Nilam Wadhvaniawas also trapped—in an airportin Boston. Wadhvania had justcompleted a tour of Europe withher entire family. Wadhvaniasaid that she was not delightedwith her cot and airline pillowsin the airport after her luxurioustrip. All the local hotels had

already been booked. She wastrapped with two other groupsof passengers from flights head-ing to New York City.

“I didn’t sleep because therewere all these news reportersvideotaping people sleeping. Myfamily surrounded our cots withour luggage, but a CBS reporterstill managed to get us on tape,”reported Wadhvania. Souvenirshops full of t-shirts and mugswith “Trapped in Boston” writ-ten on them didn’t help lift herspirits. Although assured thather family would be able to get aflight home the following day,Wadhvania’s family bought tick-ets for a Greyhound bus instead,and arrived home on Saturday at1 A.M.

Some members of theStuyvesant community werepresent in the building to bearwitness to the blackout.Although Principal StanleyTeitel was absent, he said thatthe back-up generator waseffective; the public address sys-tem, however, which would beessential in any emergency, wasnot placed on the generator.

“I am in the process of writ-ing a letter to get [the publicaddress system] placed on thegenerator before the next emer-gency,” said Teitel.

Program Coordinator ofComputer Science MikeZamansky said that the school’snetwork of computers remainedin good condition.

“When power came backon, most of the machines cameback up with no problem. Someof them required some manualintervention due to hardwareissues,” said Zamansky. He wasable to fix most of the problemswithin a day.

Nicholas Mortensen,Stuyvesant’s CustodialEngineer, said that immediatelyfollowing the onset of the black-out, “the power went out, andthe emergency generator wasturned on, so the elevators andthe fire system were running.”

Mortensen, along withAssistant Principal of PupilServices Ms. Archie and severalother teachers who had beengrading their Regents, were all inthe building at the time.

Although Stuyvesant oper-ated at its normal pace, the restof the city did not. Mortensenremained in the building for 32hours straight because there wasno way he could return home.He and fellow custodian KyleHogan stayed overnight thatThursday to keep watch over theschool.

The Spectator would like honor those teachers who will nolonger be with us but made students’ experience at Stuyvesantmore fruitful:

Social Studies

Stephen Abramsky: RetiredBrad Badgley: Leave for continuing studies in China

William Bernstein: RetiredChris Davila: Transfer for assistant principal position

Osei Kwame: Transfer

English

Gary Dukofsky: RetiredDavid Kastin: RetiredHolly Ojalvo: On leave

Ashley Massie: Maternity leave

Foreign Language

Rosa Silverio: Maternity leaveMaria Munyampeta: Transfer

Technology

Alphonse Scotti: RetiredAlan Becker: Retired

Vincent Grasso: Retired

Math

Tina Mathias: TransferRosemarie Jahoda: On leave Shawkat Eskander: Transfer

Science

Suigene Aukim: Terminal leaveDr. Robert Browning: Transfer

Donald Bucher: ResignedDaisy Furth: Retired

Nicole Leifer: Resigned to get masters degree at Hunter CollegeLi-Feng Liang: Transfer

David McMullen: TransferAnton Perzy: Transfer

Robert Rodney: Retired

Page 2 The Spectator • September 12, 2003

Stuyvesant Bids Farewallto Veteran Staff

Battling the Blackoutcontinued from page 1

receive an appointment,according to Teitel.

“Each student needs sometime to talk about their collegechoices,” Teitel said. “In thepast, students would have towait on long lines, either duringtheir lunch period or a free peri-od, and they may or may not getto see anyone.”

The college office decidedto change this by instituting anew policy. As of this year, eachstudent must fill out a collegeinformation sheet online. Fromthe online form, appointmentswill be made, with students whoare applying early decision orearly action going first. Mostappointments will be scheduledfor a free or lunch period.

The goal of the appoint-ments would not only be tocheck in with the students, butto use the information sheet tomake sure each senior’s choicesare appropriate.

“Each kid must have a safe-ty. I want Ms. Cleary to be ableto say that there is one schooleach student is going to get into,” Teitel explained. “The lastthing I need is to have a parentssitting with me in May withseven rejection letters.”

All forms were due byTuesday, September 9, the dayafter a college meeting forseniors and nearly a monthafter seniors were mailed noticeof the change.

For some students, thoughthe policy will mean shorterlines, filling out the online formis a daunting task.

“It feels really impersonalnow. The questionnairereminds me of those onlinesearches that give you this gen-eral list of colleges,” seniorBernadette Zielinski said.

Senior Ann Lin agrees.“I think it is unnecessary

because many students are noteven sure of where to apply,”Lin said.

New RegulationsGreet New Faces

Damesek is also responsi-ble for enforcing school poli-cies. “[Damesek] was yelling atsomebody at the senior bar fornot having their ID,” said juniorSoliel Ho.

Senior Daniel Bogdanovsaid that Damesek’s attitude isoften misinterpreted by stu-

dents. “She’s very official. She’s a

very busy woman, and I thinkthat sometimes people perceiveit as rudeness. But she’s actual-ly nice, she arranged for myping pong tables to be storedaway over the summer,” saidsenior Daniel Bogdanov. “Shetold me not to worry about it.”

Stuy’s Hidden Administratorscontinued from page 1

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The Working of a Mind was started over the summer and will include quotes from severalfamous thinkers. The mural was the work of Stuy alumnae Christina Ward and Vicky Yuan,and junior Avery Singer. Singer wishes to work on similar projects and is willing to paint amural for anyone in the school who would like one.

continued from page 1

Spectator Receives New Mural

By EUGENE THEODORE

As Stuyvesant High School prepares for its centennial birthday, it will do so with a change in staff, the biggest anyone can remember. Ofthe 155 or so members of the school’s teaching staff, this past summer twenty-six have left or retired. Five teachers have returned from their

leaves or sabbaticals; an additional 23 were initiated into the Stuyvesant family last Tuesday, September 2.

New and returning teachers include:

Social Studies

Ragnar BloomClarissa Bushman

Josina DunkelFred Mirer: Return from

Sabbatical

English

Colette BrownAlbert Colón

Julie Sheinman:Return fromSabbatical

Elli Dukofsky

Foreign Language

Susan BarrowGabriela Dehn-Knight

Victor Liang

Technology

Leslie BernsteinHayley Malin

Beth Anne RominieckiMargaret Schepp

Math

Gary RubensteinMichael D’Alleva: Return from Sabbatical

Science

Jerry Cintron: Return from LeaveFlora Huang: Return from Leave

Dr. Carlos ChengSamantha Daves

Brian DibbsMaria John-LewisChristopher SmithApparao Sunkara

Physical Education

Howard Barbin

Organization

Pauline Hagler: College OfficeSecretary

The Spectator welcomes the newteaching staff into the Stuyvesant

family.

Stuyvesant Welcomes New Recruits and Returning Staff

The Spectator • September 12, 2003 Page 3

By CAITLIN RODRIGUEZ

Founded in 1903,Stuyvesant High School willbegin its yearlong centennialcelebration on Sunday,October 19. Events open to theentire Stuyvesant community(students, alumni, current andformer teachers, administra-tion, and parents) will beincluded in the centennial cel-ebration. In June, an all-classreunion is scheduled to wrap-up the year’s special events.

On October 19, theStuyvesant Strut will kick offthe centennial celebration. TheStrut is a five-kilometer walkfrom Stuyvesant High School’sold home, 345 East 15th Street,to its current home, 345Chambers Street. Participantswill meet at Stuyvesant Park,which is adjacent to the oldbuilding. Assistant Principal ofPupil Personnel Eleanor Archiesaid that senior citizens whoare a part of the Stuyvesantcommunity will be able to takea special taxi from the old siteto the new one, instead ofwalking the distance.

Freshman HannahFreiman said, “I’m eagerlyanticipating the Strut becauseit sounds like fun and a niceway to meet people at my new

school.” The Stuyvesant marching

band will be alongside thestrutters during the wholeevent. When they finally reachStuyvesant’s current building,they will be able to regainsome of the calories theyburned with refreshments anda oversized birthday cake.Lastly, participants will beinvited into the school to learnabout Stuy’s current eventsand achievements.

According towww.stuy100.org, a Web sitecreated specifically for centen-nial information, there aremany purposes of the centen-nial celebration. The first is tocommemorate the origins andhistory of Stuyvesant HighSchool. Next is to positionStuyvesant locally, nationally,and internationally as themodel school for science,mathematics, and technologyin the 21st century. Anothergoal of the events planned is toinspire alumni to revitalize andstrengthen their commitmentto Stuyvesant. Lastly, the cele-bration should enhanceStuyvesant’s fundraising capa-bilities, which in turn wouldstrengthen the public/privatepartnership that has contribut-ed to its 100-year tradition ofexcellence.

Struttinginto

Stuyvesant’sCentennial

On October 19, theStuyvesant Strut willkick off the centenni-

al celebration.Oversize birthday

cake included.

All photos by Anna Wiener.

Apparao Sunkara.

Samantha Daves.

Brian Dibbs.Gabriela Dehn-Knight.

Mary Guidice.

Josina Dunkel.

The Spectator • September 12, 2003Page 4

Cartoons

Page 5The Spectator • September 12, 2003

The Spectator • September 12, 2003

Editorials and OpinionsPage 6

E D I T O R I N C H I E F

Jenny Lin*

M A N A G I N G E D I T O R

Emily Cooperman*

N E W S

Theresa Langschultz*Josh Ross

F E A T U R E S

Carly GlazerAudrey Uong

O P I N I O N S

Sarah OuthwaiteAlex Tilitz*

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

Jane SussmanYvette Wojciechowski

P H O T O G R A P H Y

Naomi Gordon*Hunter Pedersen

Anna Wiener

S P O R T S

Evan MeyersonJacob Smith

L A Y O U T

Cynthia KooJeremy Wooster

A R T

Barry JinNicole Singer

C O P Y

Sal Bonaccorso*In Ho Lee

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

Sam Yoo

S P E C T A T O R O N L I N E

Christopher Pak

F A C U L T Y A D V I S O R

Hugh Francis

Please address all letters to:345 Chambers StreetNew York, NY 10282(212) 312-4800 ext. 2601StuySpec@hotmail.com

We reserve the right to edit letters for clarityand length.

spectator.stuy.edu©2003 The Spectator

All rights reserved by the creators. * Managing Board Members

The Stuyvesant HighSchool Newspaper

“The pulseof the

studentbody”

The Spectator

By ALICE TAO

Hello, freshies! Greetingsfrom a fellow Stuyvie—a senior,actually. At the risk of soundingpreachy, I’m going to attempt ahow-to-survive-Stuy guide. Butdon’t turn the page yet! Youmight see something your par-ents and Big Sibs haven’t toldyou.

Although an old topic, theissue of grades needs somerevisiting. I’m bringing up thisterribly hackneyed subjectbecause I think you should beprepared. Most teachers don’thand out incredibly inflateddenominations like in juniorhigh school. And by the timeyou’re a junior, looking overyour cumulative transcript, youstart regretting all the timeswhen you could have put insome effort but didn’t. It couldmean the difference between a90 and a 95 average.

What this entails is actualstudying with as little procrasti-nation as possible. Make sureyou understand the material

covered in each class—don’tmechanically commit every-thing to memory. (By the way,skimming notes on the subwaythe morning of the test does notwork, trust me.) Finally, doeverything you can to avoid all-nighters. All you end up with is aheadache and a project/test thatcould have been better had youspread the work out over severaldays. Bottom line: Time man-agement skills are a must-have.

Still, don’t spend yourentire high school career buriedin books. By not getting involvedin extracurricular activities, notonly will you be missing an inte-gral (and fun) part of highschool, you will also leave your-self with many big blanks onyour college applications.

This is not a good thing. So join something! Join a

club, pub, or team and volun-teer—it doesn’t matter what youdo, as long as it’s something yougenuinely enjoy. Your first yearis a good time to experimentwith various activities. Then set-tle down. You don’t need tohave 20 club membershipsdown by the time you gradu-ate—you just need to show anactive commitment to a few.

It’s a delicate balancingjob—taking a reasonably chal-

lenging course load while partic-ipating in a handful of otheractivities. Just don’t go over-board on extracurricular activi-ties at the expense of grades.

If there’s one thing youshould remember from this arti-cle, it’s this: Never hold yourselfback. Sometimes you’ll seesomething you want to try buthesitate because you haven’tdone it before. Whatever it is, gofor it! Don’t say, “I’ll joinSpectator…next year.” “I’ll par-ticipate in SING!…next year.”“I’ll start taking challengingclasses…next term.” You mayfind some things out aboutyourself that you didn’t knowand discover abilities you didn’tknow you had. You’ll even havea chance to make new friendsalong the way. If you let eachopportunity pass, that’s a lot ofwasted potential—and manyregrets. Keep an open mind.

One last note. Don’t obsessover college yet. Maybe don’tobsess over it at all. If you wantto, leave it for junior year. Stopthinking of high school as amere stepping-stone to college.High school is an entity by itself,too. Remember—it’s your fouryears. Make them worthwhile.Best of luck!

By CHANDA WONGwith additional reporting by

ALICE TAO

The commencement to thecentennial celebration of ourschool, the “Stuy Strut,” is afive-kilometer walk from the oldStuyvesant to the new one. Withall the hoopla surrounding theevent, we must ask ourselves,are we going over the top?

The name “Stuy Strut” isnot a wise choice for our walk.The word “strut” is conceited.Strutting our way through thecity implies more than a leisure-ly gathering of the community;it implies a pompous, self-important gait. “Stuy Strut” por-trays us parading our schoolpride like models showing offon a runway.

The CentennialCommittee’s birthday bash forStuyvesant is a huge, unprece-dented event, one that deservesmerit for creativity andgrandeur. However, throughthis, we are setting an examplefor the city high schools stillcoming of age and theirimpending birthday celebra-tions. The impression we givemust not be too arrogant, espe-cially since many already seeStuyvesant as an elitist school.

The Strut links our past toour future, in the words ofPrincipal Stanley Teitel, andStuyvesant’s history is certainlylong and glorious. Teitel hopesthat everyone connected toStuyvesant, from oldest alumnito brand-new freshmen andtheir families will participate.

According to Teitel, theStrut bears its name because itmakes the distance of the walkseem less daunting. He doesn’twant to discourage possibleparticipants. In that case, ‘stroll’would be equally appropriate.

Beth Martin, Development

Director of Friends ofStuyvesant, states that ourschool will “strut with pride”and that “strut” implies schoolspirit. Indeed, it does, but thereare many healthier expressionswhich would make us seem lessarrogant. Call it a walk, a march,or a parade if you want, but astrut? A “Stuy March” could justas easily convey school pride.“Stuy Strut” does not just dis-play school pride—it flaunts it.

The primary goals of theStrut and other centennialevents is to strengthen ourimage as one of the top sciencehigh schools and boost fundingfor Stuy. The duly designedCentennial Committee’s Website, www.Stuy100.org, is part ofthis plan. However, theStuyvesant represented by thesite is embellished and glorified.“Stuyvesant stands ready tolead,” reads the site, “To contin-ue this country’s leadership in afast-changing world, it is vitalthat the future of this unique,specialized high school besecured.”

Are we that important?The “Stuy Strut” and all of

its publicity are fitting forStuyvesant’s 100th birthday, forwe are a thriving school withsome wonderful attributes. Butthe way the centennial is styl-ized, we seem to be tooting ourown horn a bit too loudly. Wehave a right to be proud of goodold Pegleg, but let’s please keepthat delight down to a dull roar.

Others may attribute thisnegative hype to Stuy students,as well. Recent Stuy graduateElise Ng said, “[The Strut] mightbe all in good humor to us, butI’m worried it may give people anegative impression of the atti-tudes of Stuyvesant students.”

The Stuyvesant Strut isscheduled for Sunday, October19, 2003.

Stuy “Struts” Its Stuff,But More Than Enough

After September 11, Stuyvesant studentsreceived praise for their resilience and abilityto perform and move on after tragedy had hitso close to home. True to the image of thetough New Yorker, Stuyvesant students com-pleted successful Intel projects, maintainedtheir GPAs, and earned perfect scores ontheir SATs, even after the trauma ofSeptember 11. Still, it’s difficult to talk oreven think about the attacks. Many studentshave yet to try.

Two years ago, the school, mayor, andpresident gave us a message: move on. Manyof us stuck to this statement. During theimmediate aftermath of a traumatic event,“moving on” is often the best way to cope.There is a certain comfort in a familiar rou-tine. Then, once routines have been reestab-lished, talking with friends and, sometimes, acounselor is the next step. But a lot of us just

kept moving. We plunged back into normalcyimmediately, and we’ve kept a brisk paceever since.

At some point, we all need to slow downand sort things out. About half of us bore wit-ness to the attacks heralded as the most trag-ic event in United States history, and dis-missing them is not a viable solution. Thetwo-year anniversary of the World TradeCenter attacks is a fine time to think hardabout what you saw and, beyond that, what itmeans. Talk to other students. Find out howthey feel and how they are dealing with thesefeelings. Draw conclusions. Write thingsdown. Do what you need to come to termswith your experience.

But don’t rush.Rushing to confront this is just as bad as

blindly moving on.

Two Years Later

Note “to” theUnderclass

By NICK GREENOUGH

A few weeks ago, I foundmyself once again at freshmanorientation. But this time round,I wasn’t a freshman. I was ajunior and finally a Big Sib.

I left home that morningwith some fellow Big Sibs andentered the theater 20 minuteslate, only to hear everyonescreaming out the names oftheir respective homerooms,trying to bring their new fresh-man home to roost.

Homeroom leader LauraPaliani quickly asked me to takeover the yelling as all the otherBig Sibs had already lost theirvoices. I began yelling “1P! 1P!”,but after a few moments, I real-ized that I was yelling louderthan anyone else was and hadalready rendered several of myLittle Sibs catatonic. I adjustedmy volume accordingly.

My homeroom has a varietyof students. One Little Sib keptinterrupting the other freshmensiblings as they went around theroom introducing themselves.

Eventually we were making solittle progress that another BigSib took out his CD player,walked over to the kid, and putthe headphones on his head. Bigexplained to Little that heshould listen quietly so that theothers could introduce them-selves uninterrupted.

Introductions brought outsome interesting facts. It turnsout that some of our Little Sibsare the actual little sibs ofseniors from last year and thatone of my Little Sibs “compul-sively urinates.”

The day had many laughs,not all of them directed at fresh-men. As I was giving some of myLittle Sibs a tour, we cameacross the ninth floor chemistryclassrooms. Noticing their tiredshuffle and bored faces, I decid-ed to show them a magic trick.So I opened one of the cabinetsunderneath the chalkboard andannounced that I would crawl inand disappear. Smiling smugly, Icrawled inside and climbed intothe hollow wall behind the black

board. Once I did this, I heardthe noise of a yardstick placedthrough the cabinet doors,effectively locking me in.

My Little Sibs left the room,came back about two minuteslater, unlocked the cabinet andlooked inside, shocked to seethat I was indeed not there. Ithen dropped down, forced myway out and was blasted by arubber hose. My Little Sibs hadfocused all the water on mygroin, making me appear to bethe compulsive urinator.

A little banged-up, I tookmy little sibs to see Ms. Hall totry out for chorus. Starting thisyear, this tryout had become amandatory orientation activityfor all incoming freshmen. As Isat near the piano, I remem-bered my own music apprecia-tion class with Ms. Hall.Throughout the tryouts I wasfrequently told to “shut my yap,”and rightly so.

At the end of the freshmen’sauditions, I auditioned for Mrs.Hall for the fourth time. Sheconfirmed that my voice hasfinally settled, after moreunsteady days as a freshmanand sophomore.

I guess I really have gottenolder.

The BiggestSib of All

JuniorRamblings

The Spectator • September 12, 2003

Opinions Page 7

How many of us cantruthfully say that we haven’tdaydreamed once or twiceabout walking into Stuy as anhonest-to-God senior? Aftergazing wistfully at the self-confident strides of seniors forthree years, I must confessthat I, at least, am guilty of justsuch thoughts.

Senior year. No, SENIORyear. It means finally perchingatop the senior bar and racingthrough the final days of ourlives as minors. Not to men-tion we get to end that hellishfour-year marathon, the col-lege application process. Oh,and most importantly, aseverybody knows (or at leastsitcoms do), seniors rule theschool.

But perks aside, now thatthe final year is upon me, I donot know if the excitement ofbeing a senior has worn awaywith time or if it were simplynever there. When asked overthe summer by some newfriends what year I would begoing into this fall, my reply,“Senior year,” didn’t elicit thethrills I had imagined it would.Instead, the words rang omi-nously—while I am startingthe mythically wonderfulsenior year, I am concludingthe chapters of my high schoolcareer.

So, I hate to break it toyou non-seniors: I’m notexactly excited. Rather, I findmyself frantically recallingevery fun-filled Stuy experi-ence I have had since my firstyear. Moreover, this mind-wringing reminds me that Ionly have another 180 moredays at Stuyvesant. Whilesenior year is definitely a timeto ask those oh-so-clichédquestions “Who am I anyway?”“What do I want in life?”“Where are my purple socks?”there is more to it. It’s a wake-up call, one that screams,“APPRECIATE WHAT’S LEFT!”

I gave my Little Sibs atCamp Stuy a lot of advice, butmy favorite bit has to be,“Enjoy this school.” Have I fol-lowed my own advice? I havetried, but gruesome recollec-tions of AP exams, finals, andlast-minute essays scar an oth-erwise happy experience. Yet Iam now unabashedly proud ofthese scars. Much as I used topoint to marks on my backand proudly say, “From hik-ing,” I can now gesture to mycorner of dusty papers andStarbucks coffee cups and say,“From hard work.” This year, Igreet the promise of anonslaught of new scars withless distaste than in the past.

Urban legend says thatseniors rule the school and geta kick out of their last year. Iwill raise a toast to this latterdeclaration. However, whileother seniors may rule theschool, I assure you that this“scrawny” 5’3” senior doesnot.

—Adeline Lo

By DEREK YUNG

I feel I have wasted my sum-mer. I stayed in Brooklyn, didn’tgo hiking once, and never eventhought about fishing. However,not all was lost.

I did manage to take an SATprep course.

As exciting as it sounds, thisdid little to enrich my life. Ittaught me neither prose norpoetry nor calculus. What thecourse did do was multiply myrepertoire of archaic words two-or three-fold and bring my MQ1skills up to muster, all in thename of standardized testing.

These prep courses exist,for the most part, because manyparents believe their progeny’sbest is not good enough. Andthey are not parsimonious whenit comes to preparation, oftenshelling out hundreds or eventhousands of dollars to get theirchildren prepped. It’s no won-der that so many people haverisen to answer this call forpreparation.

While this system works outvery well for those prepping,

those prepped get a much rawerdeal. When we look back on oursummers, can we say that thiscycle of inconclusive tactics, lex-icon of words, and cache ofnumbers was the best possibleor even a good summer experi-ence?

For as long as I can remem-ber, I have not had a summerwhere I was not shuffled intosome dank room at nine in themorning. I would like to believethat I wanted to attend theseprograms on my own free will,but the not-so-subtle pressure ofmy parents definitely played apart: “Hey, rather than sleepinga few hours, why not take a

class?” “Big party? Why not do acouple of pages of math beforeit?” In my search for possibleretorts to these interjections, thebest I’ve come up with is a ques-tion: Are these extra preparatoryclasses actually helpful?

Even if you get credit for theclasses you take, what have youachieved? In the case of college-level summer classes, you maybe able to graduate from collegeearly, thus saving money. Butmany students choose to take ona second major or go for a mas-ter degree instead of graduatingearly.

Well, you figure, even if itdoesn’t save money or gleancredit, it at least prepared youfor the real college thing, comefall. But has this made the prepcourse worthwhile? Sure, you’llprobably get high grades, but atthe cost of your summer. Andwouldn’t it be safe to assumethat if you were willing to spendyour summer learning material,you would be equally devotedduring the school year?

Parents pressure us toattend these classes to get ready

for these tests. The meaning ofeducation and pursuit of knowl-edge has been lost in the sea ofstandardized testing. It’s rarethat you find someone whowants to learn for the sake oflearning. The only reason wecram numbers, equations, andobscure words such as “philan-derer” and “sycophant” into ourminds is the jeweled 1600 on theSAT, one of several holy grails inour high school careers.

It is ironic how even atStuyvesant, the supposed homeof the meticulous scholar, thateven our best is sometimes notenough. “So, you did well inyour class?” “Why didn’t youtake an AP? Why not Intel?” “Youshould do more extracurricularactivities!”

I suppose it isn’t surprisingthat we have such a fervid devo-tion to preparatory classes inStuyvesant. After all, I’m surethat many of us took classes topass the Stuy test. Nevertheless,I don’t want to look back on mysummer and realize the onlything I accomplished was learn-ing the meaning of erudite.

Summer of the SAT

By SARAH OUTHWAITE

Unnecessary. Pointless.Essentially useless.

Last year, we trudgedthrough extra class time at theend of every day. With last year’steaching contract, teachers wererequired to work an extra 100minutes each week.

The Stuyvesant administra-tion chose to split these minutesevenly, not only between thedays of the week, but alsobetween periods. Each periodincreased by approximately twominutes.

Two minutes may not haveseemed like much, but the stinglay in the concept rather thanthe reality. Rather than puttingthe teachers’ new requirements

to good use, this schedulesquandered their time. The twominute increase added littleinsight to our lessons.

The extra 20 minutes addedto our schedules every afternoondidn’t exactly blot out the sun.But it darkened the day with ashadow of annoyance andthoughts of “I ought to be out ofhere by now!” in the back ofyour head around 3:45 P.M.

Highlighting the needless-ness of the new schedule wasthe fact that the administrationinitially tried to make somethinguseful out of the situation. Theadditional 20 minutes originatedas a mandatory tutoring sessionevery teacher offered after his orher last class. Which was good.Which was wise. Teachers are

often too busy to tutor.Why didn’t the system per-

severe? Nobody came for help.So much for students taking

the school up on advantageousoffers. In place of tutoring, wewere saddled with longer days.

Of course, the administra-tion should not have written usoff so quickly. It was the begin-ning of the fall term. Questions,like flowers, take time to germi-nate and grow. They must formin our minds before we seekanswers and assistance.

A full year has now comearound, and the fall term startsagain—time to pollinate our fer-tile brains once more. Only thisSeptember, the future looks a lit-tle bit brighter. The 20 minutesof nuisance have magically dis-

appeared. Evaporated. Poof!Furthermore, joy upon joy, theschool day is shorter than ever,with dismissal occurring at 3:20in the afternoon instead of 3:40or 4:00.

A hearty thank you to thewhole administration is in order.After certain glitches in student-faculty relations last year, theStuyvesant community mayhave looked to September withforeboding. Now it looks like weare getting a fresh start, withoutlingering animosity.

The shorter schedule hasgiven the student body a gift oftime: useful, longed for, andessentially ours. This is a won-derful way to begin the schoolyear, and I hope it proves a goodomen for the months to come.

Requiem for a Nuisance

The meaning of edu-cation has been lost

in the sea of standardized testing.

Page 8 The Spectator • September 12, 2003

Arts & Entertainment

By PERRI OSATTIN

Oral sex, drinking, cursing,shoplifting, drugs, and piercingsare all in a day’s work for Tracey(Evan Rachel Wood) and Evie(Nikki Reed) in Thirteen, anindependent film co-written byand inspired by the real-lifeexperiences of Nikki Reed dur-ing her first year as a teenager.Tracey is initially a sweetstraight-A student, while Evie isthe sexy, sassy, and promiscu-ous ringleader of the popularclique at their Los Angelesjunior high school. WhenTracey is eventually accepted asone of the “in” girls—aftersuavely stealing a wealthywoman’s wallet—she steadilybegins her downward spiral.

The grainy, grayish qualityof the film adds to its realism,making us believe that we’rewatching our 13 year old friend,daughter, or sister on hiddencamera. The most powerfulaspect of this movie, though, isthe acting. Wood’s acting abili-ties shine—the sullen, angryexpression of troubled adoles-cence on her face, or her defiantattitude, or her cold steely eyeswhen she berates her mother asif it were sport. It’s also verydifficult to tear your eyes awayfrom the screen when Traceycuts her arms with a razor in thebathroom, despite the horror ofwhat she is doing; Wood hasthat much power and hold overthe audience.

The most surprising char-acter in this movie is not one ofthe teenagers, but Tracey’smother Mel, an ex-alcoholic,played by Holly Hunter. She isrefreshing in that she religiouslyattends AA meetings and speaksto her sponsor, loves her chil-dren, provides for them by cut-ting hair, and does not once goon a desperate drinking binge,which is practically mandatedin movies involving recoveringalcoholics.

Unfortunately, the activi-ties that Tracey and Evie engagein in Thirteen are not as shock-ing and earth-shattering as theyshould be in theory. By thetime the incoming Stuyvesantfreshmen, many of them 13years old, begin attending class-es at 345 Chambers Street eachyear, a good portion of themmight have been pressured toshoplift or experiment withdrugs, or at least know someonewho has taken part in thesedestructive deeds. Thirteeninjects some reality into themovies by showing how earlyself-destruction can begin.

Ultimately, Thirteen is apowerful and, for the most part,depressing movie that is utterlyworth seeing. The perfor-mances, the cinematography,and the writing that realisticallyreflects the way teenagers talk,bring an eerily familiar layer tothe movie that Stuy kids wouldenjoy and relate to.

Thirteen is Rated R.

Fallen AngelBy GRACE DUGGAN

Comedy, the drama of com-ing of age, musical numbers,and talented youth abound inthis vibrant film about a sum-mer camp for youth in the per-forming arts. Written and direct-ed by Todd Graff, Camp is a filmabout the drama surroundingthe teenage years and the pro-ductions the campers work onall summer.

Based on Stagedoor Manor,an actual camp for young per-formers established in 1977,Camp is a hilarious, moving,and refreshing look at what it’slike to be a teenager. Backhome, no one fits in with thecrowd, but Camp Ovationbecomes a haven for all the odd-balls, the misfits, and the misun-derstood. The young actors,singers, and dancers at CampOvation are all unique individu-als, all searching for acceptanceand a place to belong.

The characters includeEllen (Joanna Chilcoat), the tal-ented girl who doesn’t thinkmuch of herself, Michael(Robinde Jesus), the gay male who getsbeat up for attending his high

school prom in drag, Jill (AlanaAllen), the resident primadonna, and Jenna (TiffanyTaylor), whose weight problemhas her jaw wired shut to avoid asummer at weight-loss camp.The movie also features Vlad(Daniel Letterle), arguably themost complex character in the

movie. The only straight boy incamp, Vlad learns a lot abouthimself after spending most ofthe summer trying to please allthe girls and guys vying for hisaffections.

With songs by legends likeSteven Sondheim and theRolling Stones, the movie’s sell-ing point is its musical numbers.Performed by the kids of CampOvation for their annual post-

summer benefit performance,these selections are bubbly,entertaining, and provide wel-come light hearted interruptionsin a film that’s focus is comingof age in an often exclusive andharsh world.

Graff avoids clichés, keep-ing Camp from becoming ashallow, mediocre film. Thelives and struggles of thecampers—as well as those of thealcoholic has-been counselorBert Hanley (Don Dixon)—arenot sugarcoated at all. Theproblems these characters faceare not artificially obliterated toleave the audience with a feelgood, happy ending finish. Afterthe success of the benefit per-formance at the end of the sum-mer, Hanley is seen sneakingliquor and Michael will still haveto go back to a school full ofintolerant peers and parentswho refuse to accept his homo-sexuality. The movie’s underly-ing focus is on the struggles ofbeing young and having to growup feeling like it’s you versus theworld, something everyone canrelate to.

Camp Ovation Deserves One

By JANE SUSSMAN

Pack up the bathing suits,put the white clothes in the backof the closet, and lock the beachbags in storage—withSeptember comes the end ofsummer, and the beginning offall and a new school year. Ifback-to-school blues plagueyou, the best remedy is to investin some of the fun fashion thatthis season brings.

Taking over the runwaysand pages of fashion magazineseverywhere has been a retroturned glam phenomenon. Legwarmers are heating up thefashion scene—a ’70s resurrec-tion of comfort and style, theyare coming back with avengeance. Bright colors arebest (I recommend blues, pinks,and yellows) but this trendworks with conservative colorsas well. Leg warmers can befound in many stores includingUrban Outfitters, whose prices

generally range from $15 to $25.My favorite place for leg warm-ers is the Sock Shop on St. Marksbetween 2nd and 3rd Avenue,where they start at about $7,depending on colors and pat-terns.

Another retro-glam stylehitting the fashion world thisseason is large, colorful, plasticjewelry. Big neon earrings withmatching bangles are cheap,colorful, fun accessories for thisseason. This kind of jewelry can

be found almost anywhere fromthe cheap stands on the streetsof SoHo, to affordable stores likeClaire’s, up to the pricey newjewelry line from Chanel.

Perhaps not the sexiest orchicest style of fall, but probablythe most comfortable, is theUgg. Ugg is an Australian bootcompany that makes a flatsheepskin boot with wool lining,by far the most comfortableshoes in the world. These comein a variety of colors and stylesand have been seen coveringthe feet of celebrities—KateHudson is a proud Ugg wearer.While these boots are decidedlyUgg-ly—flat, plain and practicallooking—and more than a littleexpensive (about $160 for a pair,though the price differs accord-ing to style), they are unbeliev-ably comfy and durable.

All in all, this fall bringssome funky old looks and somecomfortable new ones. So, forfall, keep it cool, but keep warm!

Fashion for the Fall

Camp is a hilarious,moving, and refresh-ing look at what it’s

like to be a teenager.

If back to school bluesplague you, the best

remedy is to dive intosome fun fall fashion.

Interested in writing for theSpectator A&E section?

Come to the Spectator recruitments on Monday andTuesday, September 29 and 30, in Lecture Hall A

after 10th period.

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By ATRISH BAGCHI

During August 2003, VH1aired a feature called“Inside/Out” about terminally illrock legend Warren Zevon. In2002, Zevon was diagnosed withinoperable lung cancer. Theshow documented his fightagainst cancer, and the record-ing of his farewell album, TheWind, which was recorded afterhis diagnosis.

In the 1970s, Warren

Zevon’s genius left behind sever-al classic rock albums, such ashis 1976 self-titled release, andhis 1978 album Excitable Boy(which featured the rock radiostaple “Werewolves of London”).His music is known for both itssimplistic Southern Californiansound (boasting influence forcontemporaries, such as theEagles) and Zevon’s poetic witti-cisms.

Released August 26, TheWind has been hyped by both

the VH1 show, and a host of starcollaborators including EaglesDon Henley and Joe Walsh,Bruce Springsteen, JacksonBrowne, and Tom Petty.

The Wind, unlike his classicalbums, is stripped of almost allof Zevon’s signature lyrical cre-ativity. Instead, it serves upstraightforward songs filled withtrite clichés about love and life.When he does decide to be witty,it seems uninspired and lacksenergy.

The Wind is not a strongalbum, overall. The instrumen-tations often fail to provide a fullkaleidoscope of sound, makingsongs drone on. This is particu-larly evident in “Disorder in theHouse.” Other than BruceSpringsteen’s stunning guitarsolos, there is nothing fulfillingabout the arrangement. Inaddition, Springsteen’s banshee-like backing vocals often drownout Zevon’s breathy, aged voice.The union of the two vocalssounds messy and disjointed.

Like other greats of rock thathave attempted comebacks,Zevon’s songwriting prowess isnot what it used to be. Some ofthe songs on The Wind lackpunch and Zevon’s fragile healthshows through on his extremelyfaint vocals. His voice clashes

with the harmonies of the back-ing vocals, ruining the intendedeffect of the edgier tracks.

Despite its overall bland-ness, the album does have itsmerits. Zevon’s vocals on manyof the heartfelt acoustic balladsare utterly sincere. When hesings, on the album’s closingtrack, “Shadows are falling andI’m running out of breath,” he is,in fact, on the verge of his lastbreath. The album shines onthese acoustic tracks. Zevon’sheartfelt cover of Bob Dylan’s“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” isa gem. However, it is the acous-tical “Keep Me In Your Heart”that is the most stirring track.The lyrics sound genuine, andthe fluttery guitar riff ispoignant.

Some of the straightfor-wardness, if not innovative, isenjoyable. Rock ‘n’ roll trackslike “Numb As A Statue” don’t

fail to please. The slide guitarwork on some of the tracks, likethe Fleetwood Mac-esque“Prison Grove” is incredible.And the album is eclectic, rang-ing from the hushed tones of“She’s Too Good For Me” to theraw, rollicking blues of “Rub MeRaw.”

Credit must be given toZevon, because it would havebeen very easy for this album tobe filled with excessive self-pity.His illness is a central theme inthe album that pulls all of thetracks together, but it does nottake over the album and turn itinto a weepy melodrama. Whenhe must “party the rest of thenight,” it has such desperation inits delivery as if it were his lastnight. This isn’t rock music atits best. This isn’t even WarrenZevon at his best. However, it isa genuine attempt by a man togive music his last words.

Page 9

Arts & EntertainmentThe Spectator • September 12, 2003

By LILI PACH

The Sziget is a place whichmany only dream about—aworld of illusions and perfectharmony. An ideal societybrought to life for just a week,but that one mere week isenough to give people backtheir faith in humanity.

Sziget is a yearly music fes-tival, the biggest one in Europe.The atmosphere of it is a mixbetween Woodstock andOzzfest—full of hippies andmetalheads (lots of peace, love,and happiness, with some seri-ous mosh pits thrown in).

It is held the first week ofAugust in Budapest, Hungary,on a little island right next tothe capital. For that one week,the island (which is “sziget” inHungarian) is transformed intoa music haven with about 50concert tents, hundreds of foodshacks, store outlets, theaterareas, and an insane amount ofplain grass so that people canset up tents to live in for theweek.

The whole thing is surpris-ingly safe—there have neverbeen any serious injuries orcrimes as there have been atlarge shows in the UnitedStates. The people at the festi-val vary in age from 12 to 50and there are children’s pro-grams during the morninghours. Since most people gofor the concerts—and the con-certs vary from jazz and metalto punk and classical—you canimagine the mix of people thatcan be found at the Sziget.People from different back-grounds, countries, ethnicities,ages, and genders are there, allin the name of music.

And the concerts areincredible—it is almost impos-sible to find so many goodmusicians in the same place, atthe same time. The musiciansare from all over Europe andthe United States and aregrouped into concert tentsbased on the genre of musicthey play. This makes it easy tobrowse from tent to tent, hear-ing music you have probablynever heard before from eitherbig name artists (Shaggy, PattiSmith, and the like) or tiny,local European bands singingwords in languages you don’tunderstand but enjoy hearing

anyway.This year, the highlights

were Buena Vista Social Clubwith Ibrahim Ferrer, PattiSmith, The Skatalites (thegroup Bob Marley startedwith), Shaggy, Dub Pistols,David Krakauer’s KlezmerMadness, My Dying Bride,Dreadzone, Morcheeba, andSlayer. Out of these, BuenaVista Social Club stood out themost—the mood was incredi-bly upbeat, and the audienceloved the whole performance,dancing and clapping theirhands along with the music.Patti Smith was great, as she isone of the most talented musi-cians, and has been since shestarted singing over 30 yearsago. But Slayer really blew meaway with its loud sound andenergetic vibe. Even thoughSlayer was almost painfullyloud, the mosh pit at the per-formance was awesome andthe crowd was really helpful(meaning when these hugeguys trampled over you, theyactually helped you up after-wards). It was a very positivesurprise, especially if you couldunderstand the lyrics, whichwas difficult to do most of thetime.

But its not just the con-certs and food that are specialabout the festival; it’s the wholeexperience. You can make somany friends during the week,and since you live together, thefriendships tend to last evenafter the festival is over. Andeveryone feels united the wholetime, because its just relaxingto be with a bunch of peopleyou like and listen to greatbands at the same time.

So if anyone is in Europethe first week of August nextyear, I recommend going tothe Sziget festival—it’s definite-ly an experience you’ll neverforget. For more information,check out www.sziget.hu forexact dates of performancesand ticket prices (usually quitecheap). This is my favoriteweek of every year, and it’s sosad that New Yorkers don’t getto experience this festival—sonow I’m sharin’ the love andtelling all you people out thereto go to the Sziget if you havethe chance!

Hungary for Music

Last Wind

By DON JOHN

If there’s one thing that’scertain about summer movies,it’s this: Summer is the trashdump for movies and we haveto rummage for the good ones.In this kind of search, anyonewho lays claim to the best reallyknows it is only more or less anelevated stinker. So here are thetop five of those elevatedstinkers.

I. Sequels: Continue to Disappoint.

Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd.

The title appears to be writ-ten by a five-year-old, and sadly,so does the screenplay. With anoriginal that was moderatelysuccessful, the Farrelly brothersshould have realized the limitsof their creative flair. The moviesets new standards for the word“dumberer”—a word used todescribe a movie that’s moreawful than a local rodeo show.But at least it made its predeces-sor look Oscar-worthy.Best Review: “The cinematicequivalent of an overeager,block-headed puppy chasing itstail.” –Megan Lehmann, NewYork Post

II. An Old FormulaThat Doesn’t Cut It

Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle

Even today’s movie-goingaudience is not willing to sacri-fice plot for scantily clad womenwho have the ability to leaphundreds of feet into the air.Not only does this movie defythe conventions of filmmaking(in the bad way, not the goodway), it also defies all principlesof physics. While these girls tryto fight evil in style, going

undercover as strippers doesnot serve any purpose otherthan to sell more tickets tomales. Charlie’s Angels: our eyecandy twenty-first centurysuperheroes.

Best Review: “Watching FullThrottle is like being pummeledfor two hours with a featherduster. It leaves no scars, butyou do feel the pain.” –PeterTravers, Rolling Stone

III. Titles That Should Never Exist

The League ofExtraordinary Gentlemen

First came the title, then wefound out it starred SeanConnery, then came the story-line, and if that wasn’t enough,we heard the title again. Somemovies fail because they arebad, others (i.e., this one) failbecause they are about as excit-ing as their title. To the infre-quent moviegoer who hears thisname, this movie could just beabout a group of senior citizenswho discuss monopoly over alkaseltzer at a gentlemen’s club.And perhaps, that would havebeen the better movie. It seemsthis movie was based on anunpopular and abandonedcomic book that no child hasread and which no parent hasheard of.

Best Review: “...scores a BadCinema Trifecta—ugly, boring,AND stupid.” –Margaret A.McGurk, Cincinnati Enquirer

IV. Ehh…It’s Just a Bad Film

Grind

Summer movies cannot becomplete without the teenmovie that has to flop and Grind

has accepted the role for thissummer. The film is the typical,wholly predictable, and over-done film—a couple of guyswho like to skate go on a searchfor discovery, and find a wholebunch of underdressed girls onthe way. The film goes wrongwhere many other teen moviesdo as well: too much pottyhumor. And in this movie thattype of bad comedy is taken to asickening length: There is just asmuch excrement, vomit, andother bodily emissions in thismovie as there is skating.

Best Review: “Far too much ofthe movie’s energy is devoted torampaging hormones and irrita-ble bowels.” -Stephen Holden,New York Times

V. A Movie So BadIt’s Become a Classic

Gigli

If you take the wit of Dumband Dumberer, the storyline ofLeague, the characters of Grind,the acting of Charlie’s Angels,bottle it up and pass it on tosome unsuspecting director,Gigli is what you’ll get. A moviethat goes beyond the limits ofsarcasm, Gigli only leaves roomto squirm and squeal at the hor-rible acting, terrible story, andawful jokes. The onscreenromance between Ben Affleckand Jennifer Lopez is morepainful than enjoyable to watch.Gigli is a test of endurance andmental capability—to stay inthe theater before the film isover is a feat in itself. If you feelthat something was missingfrom the movie, you would beright, for there was no plot.

Best Review: “So bad, it vergeson the legendary.” –EleanorRingel Gillespie, AtlantaJournal-Constitution

Top Five Painful Picksfrom Summer Flicks

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Freshman OrientationPhotos by Anna Wiener and Sasha von Olderhausen

Page 10 The Spectator • September 12, 2003

SportsThe Spectator • September 12, 2003 Page 11

Boys’ Wrestling12/3/2003 Springfield Gardens (Away)12/5/2003 Harry S. Truman (Home)12/10/2003 Herbert H. Lehman (Home)12/13/2003 Sheepshead Bay (Home)12/17/2003 William C. Bryant (Home12/19/2003 Long Island City (Away)1/9/2004 Newtown (Home)1/15/2004 Far Rockaway (Home)1/17/2004 Abraham Lincoln (Away)1/23/2004 Dewitt Clinton (Home)2/4/2004 Alfred E. Smith (Away)2/6/2004 Francis Lewis (Away)

Fall Sports SchedulesGirls’ JV Volleyball

10/14/2003 Washington Irving [Away]10/22/2003 Murry Bergtraum [Home]10/28/2003 HS Of Humanities [TBA]11/6/2003 Washington Irving [Away]11/14/2003 Murry Bergtraum [Away]11/17/2003 HS Of Humanities [Home]

Girls’ Swimming10/1/2003 Fort Hamilton (Away)10/3/2003 James Monroe Campus(Away)10/10/2003 Dewitt Clinton (Away)10/15/2003 Townsend Harris (Home)10/17/2003 Hunter College HS (Away)10/22/2003 Brooklyn Technical (Home)10/22/2003 Midwood (Home)10/24/2003 Fiorello H Laguardia (Away)10/28/2003 Benjamin Cardozo (Home)10/30/2003 Bronx HS Of Science (Home)

Co-Ed Fencing10/3/2003 Beacon School (Away)10/15/2003 HS Of Art & Design (Away)10/15/2003 Fiorello H Laguardia (Away)10/17/2003 Hunter College HS (Away)10/17/2003 HS Of Art & Design (Home)10/24/2003 Fiorello H Laguardia (Home)10/24/2003 Beacon School (Home)10/29/2003 Hunter College HS (Home)

Boys’ Soccer9/15/2003 Julia Richman Educational Center (Away)9/17/2003 HS Of Art & Design (Home)9/19/2003 HS Of Humanities (Home)9/22/2003 Beacon School (Home)9/24/2003 Martin L. King Jr (Away)9/29/2003 Park West (Away)10/1/2003 Hunter College HS (Home)10/8/2003 Julia Richman Educational Center (Home)10/10/2003 HS Of Art & Design (Away)10/14/2003 HS Of Humanities (Away)10/17/2003 Beacon School (Away)10/20/2003 Martin L. King Jr (Home)10/22/2003 Park West (Home)10/23/2003 Hunter College HS (Away)

JV Football9/21/2003 Bayside (Away)9/29/2003 John F. Kennedy (Away)10/4/2003 Evander Childs (Home)10/11/2003 Dewitt Clinton (Away)10/19/2003 George Washington (Home)10/26/2003 Adlai Stevenson (Home)11/1/2003 South Bronx (Away)11/9/2003 Christopher Columbus (Away)11/16/2003 Herbert H. Lehman (Home)

Schedules courtesy ofhttp://www.psal.org

Interested in writing for the SpectatorSports section?

Come to the Spectator recruitments on Monday andTuesday, September 29 and 30, in Lecture Hall A

after 10th period.

Page 12September 12, 2003Spectator

S P O R T S

Varsity Football9/6/2003 NL Thomas Jefferson (Away)9/13/2003 McKee/Staten Island Tech (Home)9/20/2003 William C. Bryant (Away)9/26/2003 Lafayette (Home)10/4/2003 Long Island City (Home)10/12/2003 Boys & Girls (Away)10/18/2003 Evander Childs (Away)10/25/2003 Harry S. Truman (Away)11/2/2003 George Washington (Home)

Fall Sports Schedules

By EVAN MEYERSON

There is only room forimprovement for the 2003-04Peglegs, Stuy’s football team.Last year’s squad achieved anembarrassing low in recent Stuyfootball, winning just one regu-lar season game for a finalrecord of 1-7. No other team inthe division had more than fourlosses in the season, makingStuyvesant a lock to finish last inthe Bronx/Manhattan standings.However, this year’s team trulyholds the possibility of reversing

the Peglegs’ recent misfortunesand putting Stuyvesant back onthe map of New York City foot-ball.

This season’s Peglegs appar-ently have the will, urgency, anddesire necessary to outdo lastyear’s disappointment. Theteam will be much more thanjust a walkthrough for oppo-nents for the first time since1996, when the A and B divisionsin Manhattan and the Bronxwere combined into one.

This year’s varsity team hasbeen aided immeasurably by the

addition of more than 10 juniors.Headlining this new class ofplayers are defensive back/kick-er Simon Lee, linebacker JordanMirrer, and tight end/defensivelineman Alex Zedlovich. Theyrepresent a group of junior varsi-ty players who “are coming off awinning season last year [6-2]and are hungry to play,”according to junior startingquarterback Brian Newman.

These new players have addeda new element to the Peglegs, atalented depth chart not seen inlast year’s team. Furthermore,

the possibility of starting jobsbeing taken by the incomingjuniors has lead to more compe-tition among the players them-selves, which can hopefully helpthe team improve at a morerapid pace.

Optimism for the 2003-04 sea-son does not come unwarranted.The Peglegs displayed theirstrengths and talent when theytrampled Thomas Jefferson HighSchool, 25-14, in the September6 preseason opener. Theirhigh-spirited performance washighlighted by senior runningbacks Elliot Herman (121 yards)and Theodore Hernandez (95yards). Senior co-captain RickyHudson also had a big game,making solid hits on defense andimpressive grabs at the receiverposition on offense.

“The keys to winning our sea-son opener was a balancedattack and a tenacious defense.We rushed for almost 250 yardsbehind great blocking from ouroffensive line and that openedup the play action passes. Thedefense only gave up two firstdowns the entire game andJefferson’s points came off oftwo big plays. Both sides of theball played fiercely all game,”said Newman on the team’s vic-tory over Jefferson.

Nonetheless, “this was one ofthe easier games we have thisseason, and I think it will onlyget harder,” said senior co-cap-tain Justin Rose. Yet, as long aswe can minimize the mistakeswe make and continue to playphysically, I believe we will stayat the top of our game.”

The team’s early and immedi-ate focus has seemingly beenplaced on defense. “Doing the

little things on defense especial-ly will help us move through thisyear successfully,” said juniordefensive back Will Aibinder.Hard hitting and the eliminationof thoughtless errors on defenseshould allow the offense moreopportunities to capitalize onlow scoring games.

Finally, these Peglegs are, asthey have proclaimed them-selves, much more united earlyin the season than last year’steam.

Not to be underestimated isthe heart and leadership provid-ed by the more than 10 veteranplayers. Also helping the devel-oping Peglegs is the returningcoaching staff, specifically headcoach David Velkas. From theplayers’ side, Captains Hudsonand Rose hope to mold thisyear’s group into a serious con-tender.

More than anything else, thisyear’s Peglegs seem to be fight-ing for pride and respect, amongthemselves, the Stuyvesant stu-dent body, and the opposition.This attitude is exemplified inRose’s comments. “I’m confi-dent that we will finally prove tothe school that we can beatthese other teams.”

For those on the team, theirhigh aspirations include not justa sudden rise from the cellar-dwellers, but the possibility ofStuyvesant’s first playoff birth inmore than five years.

In spite of this, hype and hopecan only take a team so far. Therest of the job must simply beaccomplished by a determinedwork ethic and resiliency. Itremains to be seen if thesePeglegs will finally salvage thetarnished name of Stuyvesant

Peglegs Undefeated, for Now

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Seniors and varsity football team captains Justin Rose and Ricky Hudson.

Girls’ Varsity Volleyball10/1/2003 HS Health Profession/Human services (Away)10/2/2003 Murry Bergtraum (Home)10/7/2003 Chelsea (Home)10/9/2003 Seward Park (Home)10/14/2003 Washington Irving (Home)10/15/2003 HS Health Profession/Human services (Away)10/22/2003 Murry Bergtraum (Away)10/24/2003 Chelsea (Away)10/27/2003 Seward Park (Away)10/29/2003 Washington Irving (Away)

Bowling9/30/2003 HS Of Humanities (Away)10/1/2003 HS Of Art & Design (Home)10/2/2003 Seward Park (Away)10/7/2003 Beacon School (Home)10/8/2003 Chelsea (Away)10/9/2003 Norman Thomas (Home)10/14/2003 HS Economics & Finance(Away)10/15/2003 HS Of Humanities (Home)10/16/2003 HS Of Art & Design (Away)10/20/2003 Seward Park (Home)10/22/2003 Beacon School (Away)10/23/2003 Chelsea (Home)10/27/2003 Norman Thomas (Away)10/29/2003 HS Economics & Finance(Home)