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2016-2017 Archives BSGE by Samantha V '18 Features News students

Shhh…It’s the Day of Silence

The Day of Silence is an event that BSGE participates in annually. This year, on April 20, students will be given the choice to support the cause by either staying completely silent or by respecting those who are and by just supporting the cause. Both equally show one’s support for the LGBTQ community, so don’t think that someone who is supporting cares less than someone who is being silent. Nationally, the Day of Silence is on April 21, but this would coincide with Helping Hands’ Earth Day trip.

 

This year, the organization that the Day of Silence committee is planning to donate to is the Ali Forney Center. The Ali Forney Center is an area that provides a safe space for LGBTQ youth. They are provided with necessities such as food, medical attention, and shelter, if necessary. It helps young homeless members of the LGBTQ community feel safe and they are given the resources to feel comfortable expressing their sexuality.

 

Showing your support for the Day of Silence is very important because you are showing that you respect those who are forced to stay closeted and can’t express themselves because they are afraid of being judged for their sexuality. Even if you aren’t going completely silent, showing your support by wearing the support cards—that are handed out in the morning—is spreading the word and showing support.

 

A final note that should be made is that staying silent on the Day of Silence should be taken seriously. It is not a day to stay silent for the sake of not having to participate in class. Also, staying silent means no communication with any other person at all. This means no passing of notes, no texting, and no hand gestures. This goes against the purpose of staying silent and it should be used as a day of support, not joking around. At the end of the day, the silence is broken during a “Breaking of the Silence” ceremony where everyone can break the silence at together.

 

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2016-2017 Archives by Samantha V '18 Culture News World

What it is Like to Live in a Developing Country For Two Weeks

Two weeks in the Philippines. This may not seem like a lot of time for a vacation, but it was perfect for an eye-opening experience. While I was in the Philippines, I learned about how different the local lifestyle was from the my lifestyle in New York. There were many moments when I felt extremely grateful for how privileged I was, but there were also many times when I wished I could have these Filipino experiences everyday.

The first thing I noticed was how much traffic there was. While New York has its fair share of traffic, it is nothing compared to the never-ending traffic on the streets of the Philippines. Almost every hour seemed to be rush hour and it was almost impossible to get anywhere on time. Whether taking a car, a tricycle, or jeepney, commuting was definitely a struggle. Mass transportation such as trains weren’t used as often because they were inconvenient and inefficient. There were a limited number of stops and the trains didn’t reach many areas. This causes more people to drive, which in turn creates more traffic. From talking with family members, I learned that they were used to the traffic and it has become a part of their everyday life. They learned to always expect traffic, so they tend to leave a lot earlier just to get to work or school on time. A possible solution that was passed in 2003 was the Unified Vehicular Volume Reduction Program, more commonly known as coding. Still used today, what the program does is that it restricts certain vehicles from using main roads at specific times based on the last digit of its license plate. Even with coding in use, traffic is still very prominent because of the lack of mass public transportation.

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2016-2017 Archives by Anokha V '19 Culture Features News students U.S.

A Personal Experience of the March on Washington

On January 21st, 2017, my mother, friends, and I chanted “We want a leader, not a creepy tweeter!” loudly throughout the streets of Washington D.C.

Less than twenty-four hours after country musicians strummed their guitars for America’s new president, I marched with more than two million women, men, and children across the globe protesting Donald Trump and what he stands for. With the recent election and inauguration of Donald Trump as America’s 45th president, tensions have been high, to say the least. Each day has introduced new scandals and potential constitutional violations. From taking down the pages on climate change and LGBTQ rights on the White House website on his first day in office to waging a full fledged war on the media, Donald Trump has been a very controversial figure. However, this article is not meant to focus on Trump or his supporters, but on the Women’s March on Washington. While I went to the Women’s March primarily to protest Trump’s administration and the man himself, the Women’s March was used by many to advocate for women’s rights. The idea for the Women’s March originally sparked when a retired attorney from Hawaii, Teresa Shook, created a Facebook page for 40 of her friends, attempting to create a small march in protest of Trump’s election. Overnight, 10,000 people had RSVPed for the event, and that’s when the movement gained momentum. The march had its fair share of controversy, however. When it was originally conceived by Ms. Shook, she named it the Million Women’s March, which was a march organized for black women in 1997. This naming drew some backlash, and felt quite racially exclusive, so the march was handed over to female activists Linda Sarsour, Carmen Perez, and Tamika Mallory, and named the Women’s March on Washington. From there, the march became the monumental event that it became known as on January 21st.

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2016-2017 Archives by Mrittika H '20 Faculty Features

Teacher of the Month: Ms. Beane

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri.

What type of person were you in high school?

I was, and this is actually true to this day, I still have friends who say, ‘you didn’t belong in any one group’ and so I had friends in lots of different groups. I was a dancer, I used to dance in the high school musicals. I was the editorial page editor for my school newspaper. I was a swimmer, I was the captain of the swim team when I was a senior.

Was there anything that influenced you to work with students with special needs while growing up?

That’s an interesting question. My interest in teaching was really cultivated by my high school history teacher. She helped me really turn around because I wasn’t really doing well in my tenth grade year. I had her for my junior and senior years and I just became a much better student because of her, and so that’s where that began. As to working with special needs, my brother has done that for a very long time… at first, it was very difficult and I wasn’t sure I made the right choice, but now I’ve adjusted and I really really love it. Like I don’t know, if somebody said to me ‘would you like to work in general education English,’ I think I’d miss my kids that need extra help. I’ve gotten too attached.

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2016-2017 Archives by Katherine Y '22 Opinion students

Dealing With the Crowded Hallways and Stairways

Imagine needing to reach your next class in a hurry and getting delayed because the stairways and hallways are crowded with students who are all on the wrong side. A BSGE student has to deal with this problem in between almost every pair of class periods. Sometimes, people even get delayed because others are cutting them off or running in front of them. Two common ways to deal with this problem are brushing off these people or cursing them out. Which option is used more often and which one is better?

Numerous people believe brushing people off would be the best option. However, some people admit they curse others out. Samin Chowdhury ‘22 admits that he curses people out an extensive amount. But, cursing is a natural thing to do. Humans can’t really control their mouth in a rush or a bad mood. However, if you curse too loudly, just hope that there aren’t any administrators around you. If you have trouble holding back your swears, try using words to replace them. “Try saying flipping chicken licker to replace the F word,” suggests Liam Costello ‘22.  Wei Wei ’19 presented the alternative of sticking to a basic replacement such as “Frick”.

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2016-2017 Archives by Lalla A '20 Clubs/Activities Student Life

The Civic Discussion Club

We live in a time of great change. Faster than anyone thought possible, society has been evolving to better suit today’s modern culture. Every day, a new topic is brought to the table along with the controversy surrounding it. Issues such as LGBTQ rights, woman’s rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, abortion, and health care never seem to be too far away. The wars and conflicts in the Middle East are becoming more and more apparent in BSGE students’ everyday lives. Technology has been advancing beyond a level people can easily comprehend, while lives become more reliant on it, as well as new threats such as global warming now loom over humanity. There has never been a time when society has more rapidly been changing than right now. It’s hard to fully comprehend everything that’s been occurring, especially since the news spits out one thing after another. There barely is any time to discuss and fully think about what is happening. This is the reason Daniel Sahr ’20 has created the Civic Debate Club, “so students can learn about current events and issues.”

The club was created after he experienced a series of political discussions with friends and classmates. It has, Daniel said, “the ultimate goal of preparing the members to be able to formulate opinions and ideas based on information and facts, and work with other people to find effective ways of presenting.” Especially with the recent changes facing the country, the club serves as a way for people to become more “politically active in forming and defending opinions.” According to Olivia Wegrowski 20’, the club has “helped me see people’s viewpoints on significant issues we have and opened my eyes to those issues as well.”

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2016-2017 Archives by Jacqueline C '20 by Lisbeth A '20 Clubs/Activities Entertainment and Culture Health Sports Student Life

Putting the “Fit” in “Fitness”

From its original four seniors to the present eight, the Fitness Club has begun to grow, yet most students don’t know it exists. It was established to create a comfortable forum in which people can not only get their essential physical activity but also enjoy the experience with their friends in a judge-free zone.

The club leader, Mohammed Roshid ‘17, wanted to “work out during the week and inspire people to join the gym … [and] to try and get fit.” He explains that incorporating a fitness club into the building makes it possible for those who have a difficult commute to their local gym to work out. He does this for those he shares a similar story with. Mohammed explained that in the past few years he began going to the gym with his older brother, but found it difficult to make time during school days to work on his routine. Thus, he was inspired to motivate others with similar struggles to work out at school. Frequent club member Ryan Zhuo ‘17 expresses the same challenge.  He said, “My gym is too far from [my home] so coming here makes it a lot easier.” Not only is this club a great way to encourage physical activity, but it’s also very convenient. In fact, Ryan continued that the convenience is what he “likes most about the club.

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2016-2017 Archives Books by Helen T '20 Entertainment and Culture Opinion Student Life

Views on Curriculum Based Books

Everyone has some taste in books, whether it ranges from nonfiction to complete fantasy, but what about books given to students by their teachers? English teachers assign readings based on their lesson plans, and there are many opinions about reading these books for class and assignments.

In BSGE, books that are read by many students this year include Of Mice and Men, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Things They Carried, The Metamorphosis, The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea, and Black Boy. In books such as these, students are expected to read closely and keep in mind specific aspects of the story that are beneficial to finding the meanings or the theme of the book. Depending on the teacher, there may be quizzes or assignments based on it as well, and possibly a final assignment once the class has finished reading the book. Many English teachers have different views on how they feel the curriculum based books

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2016-2017 Archives Books by Krista P '22 Entertainment and Culture

I Wonder Sometimes…

Wonder, by Raquel J. Palacio, is a tale of how differences can be overcome if you simply look past them. A boy named Auggie has a severe facial disfigurement, which causes him to have an “unsettling” appearance that others are scared of interacting with. He was not enrolled in a public school because he was always in the hospital receiving surgeries. During this time, his older sister Via was his best and only friend. For his fifth grade year, Auggie is enrolled in a private school and makes new friends, while also having to deal with students in his grade who constantly bully him.

Wonder is broken up into parts, which are each told from a different character’s point of view. This setup is able to show many sides of the story, and how each character feels throughout the book. These parts progress in time, so the character telling the story will not retell the last event, but rather tell life how they are seeing it in real time. This immerses the reader into their world and continuously changes their perspective on the story, which makes it a more interesting novel.

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2016-2017 Archives by Ritwika B '22 Clubs/Activities Student Life

The Robotics Club

With robotic technology advancing rapidly, robots will be a large influence on our world today, making everyday tasks easier for us humans. As well as doing simple chores for us, robots will also provide interaction for people, especially the elderly. Further, these benefits of robots apply not only to humans, but also to animals, which is something many don’t realize. As such, BSGE’s Robotics Club, though not very well known, has an important role in the world.

The club works on programming robots to portray educational themes. They have completed several previous missions, which challened them to create differently functioning robots. According to Eric Karhan ’19, the leader of the club, they are currently preparing for the Lego league competition and will compete against several other schools. The theme of the competition is animal allies, and the Robotics Club chose bees as their animal, since the bee represents BSGE. Specifically, the club focused on beekeepers, people who take care of bees and keep them healthy. This shows an interaction between humans and animals having a positive impact on the animals. When bees sting the bee suits of beekeepers, it is very expensive to clean, and the suit is attractive to bees, which can hurt the beekeepers. Thus, the club’s goal is to use robots to create a cheaper and stronger alternative, preferably white instead of the yellow, since bees aren’t attracted to white.

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2016-2017 Archives by Mansha R '22 Culture Entertainment and Culture Student Life Style

Advice for Lockers

Every student at BSGE has an assigned locker, but many do not use them to the full extent that they should. Here are some tips for using your locker!

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2016-2017 Archives BSGE by Kevin W '20 N.Y. News U.S.

He Will Not Divide Us

The phrase “He will not divide us” was repeated over and over near the Museum of the Moving Image, but what exactly does this mean?

January 20, Inauguration Day, was the first day that the “He Will Not Divide Us” camera, located on a wall outside of the Museum of the Moving Image, became public to all. Actor Shia LaBouef intended to streamed the wall constantly, throughout the duration of Trump’s presidency, and people were invited to chant the phrase “He will not divide us” as an act of “resistance or insistence, opposition or optimism,” according to the event’s website. However, this project was abandoned by the Museum of the Moving Image due concerns regarding public safety, and had since been relocated to a wall in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

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