The Stuyvesant Spectator

Entries from June 2007

Student Union President and Vice President Endorsement

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 ·

The past few years have been tumultuous ones for the Student Union (SU), and the next one might be no different. The SU and the students will require a strong student president capable of defending student rights from further encroachments by the administration. While both tickets for SU leadership this year— junior Vanessa Charubhumi for [...]

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Senior Caucus Endorsement

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 ·

Juniors Michelle Lee and Lauren Gonzalez are vying for Senior President and Vice President, respectively, along with juniors Andrew Kim and Vivian Luu. Though both tickets have commendable abilities, enthusiasm for their positions and a firm knowledge of what their responsibilities would entail, The Spectator endorses Lee as President and Gonzalez as Vice President (VP). [...]

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Junior Caucus Endorsement

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 ·

This year’s primary election for the Junior Caucus was notable for its exceptionally low voter turnout. But with only two tickets, both were guaranteed a spot in the general election. Sophomores Daniel Goldstern and William Oh pulled ahead of sophomores Philip Kim and Jenny Han by 12 more votes. In an election in which many [...]

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Diary of a Retired Columnist

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 · By TIFFANY WONG

So this is it. After writing for nearly every issue this year, this is my last article in The Spectator. Ever.
It took a while to get into the groove of writing as a columnist. Unlike those who came before me, I didn’t start out with a very pointed, carefully honed writing style. In fact, it [...]

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A Farewell to Arms

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 · By WYNDAM MAKOWSKY

I stood in the doorway and began to speak. The coach looked at me and raised her eyebrows. I wasn’t a pretty sight: a barely five-and-a-half-foot tall freshman with crew-cut hair, tight jeans and a baggy shirt. And my voice, at an octave higher than your average eighth grade girl, left much to be desired. [...]

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At Stuyvesant and I’m Bad at Math. Now What?

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 · By JAMES DENNIN

The magic of the sixth floor has lasted well beyond its famed Magic card players’ last days. The well-known secret? Stuyvesant’s English Department.
I have loved the English classes I have taken at Stuy. Whether through table readings of Shakespeare or a seven-page paper on the nature and origins of indie music, my teachers have inspired [...]

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Nice Guys Finish Last

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 · By MICHAEL SCOTT LIPKIN

In Comparative Government, we’ve learned about the various political systems of countries from around the world. We’ve covered their history, economic situation and demographics all in an effort to fully understand their political system. But what we don’t learn about as much is opportunity. Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s president, could have been the country’s best leader [...]

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The War on Enjoyable Education

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 · By YASHA MAGARIK

Students complain way too much these days.
They complain about bathrooms: being barred from every other bathroom throughout the school day, bathrooms that are locked after school earlier each passing day and bathrooms that run out of paper towels and become disgusting before most students get a chance to use the facilities.
Students whine about ID scanners. [...]

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Staff Editorial: The British Have Come

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 ·

Last fall, the Department of Education (DOE) hired an expensive private education firm, Cambridge Education, to survey New York City’s 1,400-plus public schools as a part of its Quality Review program. The goal was to help New York City schools recognize and work toward eliminating their weaknesses. The firm gave Stuyvesant [...]

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Staff Editorial: What We’ve Got Here is a Failure to Communicate

Opinions- June 5th, 2007 ·

Cops versus robbers; Jedi versus Sith; students versus administration; us versus them. Since the dawn of time (or the dawn of media), that’s how the pitched battle between positive and negative has always been framed. For many, it is easier to outline the debate between student rights and administrative policy in [...]

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