HARD NEWS:New SGO Constitution: Policy Change for the Tech Student Government

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VOLUME 89 NO. 1 NOVEMBER 2011 WWW.BTHS.EDU

FEATURES:The Dress Code Discussion Continues: Is the enforcement of the rules consistent?

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ARTS:Museum Review: Check out what’s happening at some of New York City’s top cultural institutions!

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SPORTS:Tech Bowling Rolls Out Some Wins: the Boys Bowling team starts the season strong.

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A change has come – and, no, this is not about President Obama. There is a new Vacation Homework Policy that promises to redefine the word “break” in the Brooklyn Tech dictionary. Students at Tech have complained about the vast amount of work they get from every teacher during vaca-tions. Having heard the concerns of the student body, former Junior Class President of the Student Government Organization (SGO), Jacob Azrily-ant ’12, drew up a simple, but radical document that curtails the homework that can be given during a vacation. According to the new policy, a teacher can only assign one night’s worth of work for every four days of vacation.

The SGO’s Carolyne Ri-cardo’13, former Sophomore Class President, says that the new policy “Is taking a step in the right direction.” “It is…making the stressed out, sleepless, and successful student’s voice heard from underneath the piles of homework, examinations and proj-ects,” she adds, “the policy is voic-ing the idea that vacation is meant to follow its definition, which includes

the ability to relax and enjoy social contact.” The new policy, implemented in September 2011, states that vacation homework assigned must be given a 5-school day buffer period, where a student will have a total of 5 school days prior to and/or after the break to complete the assignment. This means that assignments cannot be assigned to be due right after break— giving students precious time to perfect the assignment, or get valuable rest, which is, after all, part of the accepted defini-tion of a “break”. Furthermore, exams cannot be given the first day upon returning from break. However, it is important to note that this policy does not apply to any AP course. It is at the teacher’s dis-cretion to assign work at this time. Ricardo says that this policy does not apply to AP classes because, “The AP course requires completion of the cur-riculum about two months before the school year is over.” Unfortunately, those textbook-read-ing assignments will not be getting any lighter. The policy allows teachers to assign daily reading over the break. So, if you’re in a class where you get nine pages of reading a night on a regular basis, and you have a ten-day break … well, go figure. On the upside, the SGO stresses that the policy will be enforced as heavily as possible. As Ricardo points out, “It will be an [ineffective] use of [the Assistant Principals’] time to check every single teacher’s assigned vacation homework.” She adds that the magnitude of the school is the reason why there is no exact protocol. The SGO advises the student body to “Inform the Assistant Principal of the department if [they] recognize a faculty member is not abiding by the policy.” Loren Hall, a chemistry teacher, says that “[Teachers] know there’s a policy, but [they] were not informed of the specifics.” Surprisingly, faculty members are not the only ones “left out of the

loop.” A large percentage of the stu-dent body is unaware of the mechanics of the Vacation Homework Policy - if they even know of its existence. Keith Joseph ’13 says, “No teachers have spoken to me about it.” Adrian Robin ’13 was oblivious, “Had no clue” until the interview. Upon finding out about the new school policy, the students reach the same consensus. Robin welcomed the policy with open arms saying, “It’s completely fair. We deserve it.” Joseph agrees, “A relaxation period is needed.” The lingering question is whether or not this will affect student perfor-mance. Joseph claims that it will not be detrimental to his success. Rather, “Too much work can be [harmful], because it’s too much to handle.” Hall said, “I don’t see it changing performance. I don’t see it. I don’t see it because students already don’t want to do homework over breaks anyways. Whether it’s a lot of homework or less work, it’s up to the students to decide if they are going to do it. Well, maybe it might give them an incentive.” While the effectiveness of this new policy has yet to be determined, the SGO has definitely given the student body an incentive to trust its represen-tatives. Students are looking forward to getting more “break” from their breaks.

By Jeremy Rajaballey & Allex Desronvil

Survey Staff Writers

New Vacation Homework Policy will Allow Students to Take a Break

The policy is voicing the

idea that vacation is meant to fol-low its definition, which includes the ability to relax and enjoy social contact.

However, it is important to

note that this policy does not apply to any AP course. It is at the teacher’s discretion to assign work at this time.

EDITORIALS:Advice to Freshman: A new advice column for students.

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It’s just past midnight and you finally finished your English paper the night be-fore the due date. You‘re ready to print out the ten-page essay, when suddenly, your printer runs out of ink. We’ve all experienced this on at least one occasion. We also all know that in 2011, it isn’t easy to get the “my printer

broke” excuse past your prudent Eng-lish teacher. “Ask a friend to help you” or “Don’t wait until the last minute” are among the likely repurcussions you will experience from your teacher, resulting in a zero for the assignment. Until this year, most Tech students were unable to print assignments during the day. However, on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, Brooklyn Tech’s very own Print & Copy lab opened to all students in room 7N7. Students welcome the new facility and intend to make use of it as needed.“I used to forget to print stuff all the time,” says Samuel Cantillo ’15. David Fanning, the Assistant Principal of Organization, and Mr. Sukhai, the Di-rector of Facilities, explain how easy the print lab is to use: The Print & Copy lab will be open every period except third, because this is when the announcements are read. Secondly, it will be accessible in the morning, before class, and in the afternoon, after school. Lastly, since it is

on the seventh floor, the print lab is easy to get to during your lunch period. “Having a specific area just for print-ing allows students to quickly print their document without running around the school looking for an available printer,” says Michelle Gorbonosov ‘12, Senior Class President. Special software is used to maintain security and confidentiality of students who send documents to the printer. Be-fore you can print or copy, you must first purchase an SGO card for five dol-lars during your lunch period at the SGO store in the center section of the cafete-ria. Although you may grimace at the thought of paying to print, it is “a neces-sary evil.” “Imagine having 5,000 students printing things,” says Fanning. Without charging a small fee, Tech would be pay-ing out of the budget and less money would be available for other ongoing projects around the school. For each sheet of paper that is printed, the cost

will be ten cents, meaning that you will be able to print forty sheets of paper per SGO card (one dollar is deducted from the five dollars paid to go toward paying for manufacturing the card). “Paying will teach kids a lesson, too,” adds Cantillo ’15. In order to print, you will either have to send the assignments to your email, or have them saved onto a flash drive. Com-puters will be accessible in the Print & Copy lab where you will be able to send the documents to the printer. Afterwards, you just swipe your card and receive what you need. The process will be sim-ple, fast, and ten to fifteen students will be able to print at one time. The Print & Copy is another great addition to Brooklyn Tech’s rich network of facilities and resources. Make sure to stop by 7N7 to experience what the lab has to offer, and know that the broken printer excuse is now out of the question as you wonder how to explain your miss-ing assignment on your way to class.

This year, the Student Government Organization (SGO) has made some changes to its constitution that will affect the Brooklyn Tech’s student body. Some immediate changes include: the addition of a new position in SGO, adjustments to the current impeachment policies, and more.

“Most of the changes we made are intended to fix problems we’ve seen in the past and [we are trying] try to do these things differently,” says Joseph Kaelin, the Coordinator for Student Activities. “It’s really a process of trial and error process every year.”

One of these main changes SGO has made is the creation of the Student Advocate position. The Student Advocate will serve as a more personal link between the student body and the SGO.

“Students will be able to go directly to the Student Advocate with their problems,” said River Bunkley‘14, the Sophomore Class President.

If enough people are suffering from the same issue or have any complaints, the Student Advocate will be responsible for creating a plan and implementing a solution. Students will finally have a

specific person they can go to with any complaints they may have about the school.

The Student Advocate’s official job is to represent the student body in executive council meetings as an advisor to the executives, as well as provide a new perspective. As the SGO’s connection to the students of Brooklyn Tech, the Student Advocate will play a major part in decision-making, but will not be able to cast a vote. The Student Advocate’s role will be to bring a new perspective to the Student Government’s meetings.

He or she will work directly with students, the members of SGO, and the administration in order to improve communication between Student Government and student body. With so many students and faculty members, getting help can be a daunting task.

“One of the major problems with such a big school,” says Kaelin, “is the lack of communication between the student population, Student Government, and the Administration. The Student Advocate will communicate directly with the students.”

Students will also be able to attend open Student Assembly meetings. At these meetings, people will be able to voice their concerns about Tech, and after splitting into smaller groups of students

with the same issues, they will be given the opportunity to devise a plan of action.

With this revised Student Assembly formation comes an open forum of communication between the students and the Student Government, rather than simply a group of elected representatives as it has been in the past.

According to Kaelin, one of the reasons for this change is that, “Student Assembly has been one of our branches that hasn’t worked very well in the past, because we get representatives who don’t seem to be invested. We’re hoping that this year, we will get students who are really concerned about the issues, and willing to come to meetings.”

The date for the first meeting has not been decided yet, but rest assured. It will be heavily advertised when it nears.

Another revised aspect of the constitution is the impeachment policy. To assure that the government is as efficient as possible, the impeachment policy has been edited so that executive council members who cannot handle their responsibilities may be removed from office.

Any executive council member might face impeachment if he or she receives a G.P.A. below 85 for two consecutive marking periods, misses six or more SGO meetings, or otherwise neglects their duties. All members of the Student

Government may file grievances, which can also be held against an executive in the case of a possible impeachment.

A majority decision within the executive council begins the process of impeachment. A trial is conducted where the SGO president serves as the judge. The jury consists of randomly selected members of all four branches of the Student Government, with a maximum of four executives. Both the defendant and the prosecutor are represented by attorneys. After both sides have presented their cases, the jury may impeach the chosen executive with a two-thirds majority. Clearly, members of the SGO will not be stripped of their position lightly.

The SGO’s constant interest in school improvement is evident in Kaelin’s statement, “It’s important to look at the constitution every year, and figure out what works and what doesn’t and change the things that don’t.

“At the very least, you should be doing something different. I think that doing the same thing year after year just because you’ve been doing it for so long—that’s true stupidity. Everything can be improved.”

This year’s changes to the Student Government Organization’s constitution improve the communication between Student Government and the student body and keep the Student Government as efficient as possible.

It seems as if these changes to the Student Government Organization’s constitution will make a noticeably positive impact on Brooklyn Tech.

2 November 2011HARD NEWS

The SGO Revises their Constitution to Improve Student Advocacy

By Anna Schierenbeck & Savannah PeeseSurvey Staff Writer

Tech’s Newest Print & Copy Lab: Printing Assignments Has Never Been Simpler

By Erika LopezSurvey Staff Writer

Students are now allowed to use a new print and copy center.PHOTO COURTESY OF JULIA SIKORA

3 November 2011

With the onset of the 2011-2012 school year, most Brooklyn Tech students return to school with new guidance counselors.

“Every year, there is always something new. Last year it was SGO cards; this year it’s guidance counselors,” says Karen Huang ‘13. While it is an old tradition to have guidance counselors randomly assigned to students, Brooklyn Tech says goodbye to this, and initiates a new strategy.

Guidance counselors are now assigned to students based on their major—a change that will greatly impact the faculty and student body.

When asked why this new strategy was implemented, Nadia Ambroise, guidance counselor for the Industrial Design major, responded with, “Mr. Asher has been thinking about this change [for a long time] and thus, he

initiated it this year. The new system also allows the guidance counselors to be better acquainted with the students. [The guidance counselors] want to know more about the teachers in the major of their students, so that they can work collaboratively to serve the students better.”

The purpose of guidance counselor-teacher collaboration is supposed to create a closer relationship between the student and guidance counselor, which may prove helpful when students are in need of recommendation letters. These letters are vital when applying for college, special programs, or internships.

“I feel that students are more affected by it, because sometimes the freshman and sophomores get attached [to their guidance counselors],” says Liza Zilbershteyn ’12. This change, however, may be problematic for freshmen and sophomores due to their attachment. Zilbershteyn adds, “Although some will complain... [this decision] will be good

in the long run.” By assigning each guidance counselor

to a specific major, he or she will be able to devote more time to the concerns of the students within each major. “One major, for example, ‘Architecture,’ [would have a guidance counselor more focused on that] and would give better advice about colleges for that major,” Zilbershteyn explains.

According to Huang, Ambroise, and Neena Garcia, guidance counselor for the Social Science Research major, this new strategy allows the guidance counselor “to make an announcement to a class of students in that major,” instead of going around the school to seek them out. Garcia agrees in that [it’s] “definitely a plus.”

The students and guidance counselors consider this decision to be easier for everyone. “Now everyone in my major will report to one guidance counselor, instead of being scattered [to many different ones],” Huang says.

Regardless what others think of this change, Ambroise feels, “We still have to serve the students.” “However, like many others,” Huang strongly believes that “the outcome of this change will turn out to be good.”

“To me, this change is a more efficient way to communicate with students,” proclaims Garcia. This new strategy increases communication between guidance counselors and students by a large percentage. Similarly, Ambroise adds, “This new change gives us [the guidance counselors] the flexibility to be able to communicate not only with students, but also with teachers.”

Creating Bonds Through Majors: Guidance Counselors Reassigned

By Razia Sultana & Shijin Zheng

Survey Staff Writers

If you’ve entered the office of Jennifer Sullivan, the Assistant Prin-cipal of Student and Parent Engage-ment, lately, lunch forms are ubiq-uitous. “They’re everywhere! Piles of them! I’ve had kids alphabetizing for weeks,” she says. Many students assume lunch forms are only for free or reduced lunch, but this is not the case. Lunch forms help to fund Brooklyn Tech’s needs. Brooklyn Tech has 5414 students and Sullivan hopes that she will have 5414 lunch forms on her desk as soon as possible. “On October 21st, I have to enter all the information on the lunch forms that I have,” she explains. Families of students doubt that they qualify for free or reduced lunch and don’t think it will make a differ-ence in their lives. However, on lunch alone, a student with free lunch can save $250 in a school year. The federal government sets a cut off for the percent of low-income students that a school

needs in order to receive extra fund-ing. “Two years ago they lowered threshold to 40% and we received over $4 million. The cutoff now is back up to 60%, where it was before,” explains Sullivan. “Unfor-tunately the income eligibility guide-lines are decided in Washington D.C. and are set for the entire country. New York City has a much higher cost of living because it’s so much

more expensive.” When Brooklyn Tech received this money two years ago, it funded advanced placement classes, teach-ers’ paychecks, as well as specialized classes for majors. Fee waivers for advanced placement (AP) exams, SATs, and college applications are also given based on the information on a student’s lunch form. Funding from lunch forms also helps Tech

purchase new textbooks. “Fee waiv-ers are a big pull for handing them in.” Sullivan feels that the school does a good job at getting students to hand in their lunch forms. Kai Sen Lathrop ’12 disagrees. “The school could do a better job at inspiring students to return their lunch forms by explaining how it would benefit the individual student, rather than the school as a whole. I don’t see a reason for handing in my lunch form,” he explains. His thoughts summarize the feel-ings of some of the other students in the school, while, at the same time, faculty try to get students to hand in their forms. Announcements remind students to turn them in during third period, and e-mails have also been sent out. Still, a large proportion of students do not hand them in. Brooklyn Tech receives most of its funding from the city, taxes, the alumni association, PTA, and the federal government. Sullivan ex-plains that each student is worth a set amount of money and “money follows the kids”. This explains the increase in the number of students in the freshman class each year. She is also quick to point out that Principal Asher has never laid-off a teacher because of budget cuts.

By Chloë Schwartz & Zack Zapolsky

Survey Staff Writers

Lunch Forms – Love ‘Em or Leave ‘Em?

HARD NEWS

Lunch forms, identical to this one, have been handed out to all Tech students through their English teachers.PHOTO COURTESY OF NAZNIN JAHAN

Crystal Bonds is the former Assistant Principal of Guidance.PHOTO COURTESY OF SIMRAN PATEL

High school is where people realize who they’re going to be when they’re older and where they create aspira-tions for themselves. After all, finding oneself in this world isn’t easy. Every-one will face problems and challeng-es. Nonetheless, one should be aware that they can face these challenges and get through them. One thing students should know is that, here in Brooklyn Tech, they’re not alone. Brooklyn Tech has a special program called SPARK. It stands for “Substance Prevention and Rehabilitation through Knowl-edge.” Whether a student faces fam-ily problems, attendance problems, academic problems, poor self image or esteem issues, grief or relationship problems, they can turn to SPARK.

Although it began as a substance

abuse intervention or prevention pro-gram in the 1970s, SPARK is a pro-gram in which one can discuss any-thing and everything. Ms.Ramona, who has been a part of this program for 14 years, is the SPARK Coordina-tor of Brooklyn Tech. She runs group and individual counseling and work-shops. There are also classroom pre-sentations about sexuality, drugs, re-lationships, stress and anything other issue that may impact a teen’s life.

Students are able to get help from other students that may understand their issues. Besides discussing issues and receiving help, there are other benefits of attending SPARK meet-ings. “So many kids believe they are the only one with their particular is-sue and attending meetings and talk-ing to people is a great way to see that you really aren’t alone. Also, you can make friends and learn so-

cial skills by being in a group,” Ms. Ramona says. She can be contacted in Room 7C7 (in the center sec-tion of the cafeteria) and is available Monday to Friday, 2nd to 9th period.

Students might wonder whether at-tending sessions is actually beneficial. “Yes, it’s a good venting tool. It’s stress relieving; everyone in Tech has stress. If you’re having a bad day, coming to a session can relieve you from some stress before you continue on with the rest of your day,” says Adam Melen-dez ’12. He goes on to add that one can meet new people, have long conversa-tions with them and connect. Students can attend an individual or group session during their lunch period.

Melendez recommends students to attend the program if they’re willing to talk about personal matters with people that they probably don’t really know. If a student is not the type who

can be open with ‘strangers’, they can have one on one conversations with Ms. Ramona. According to Melen-dez, “Ms. Ramona is down to earth and not judgmental. She’s very open to everything you say- whether she agrees with it or not. Besides, she’s also a very cool person. After all, she’s the leader of the girls step team!”

When one can’t handle what-ever may come their way, they shouldn’t try tackling it alone. The best way of conquering these prob-lems and them is by opening up. Stu-dents should be given the opportunity to talk to people who listen to them, understand where they are coming from, and have been in their shoes. Go-ing to the same high school, student’s can understand each other. There-fore, it’s important for them to help peers and friends. SPARK is where this perfect opportunity is given.

Igniting the SPARK of Our Generation By Samira Ahmed Survey Staff Writer

Watch What You Wear: The Dress Code Dispute Continues

Last year, many students felt the shift in the way the Brooklyn Tech dress code was enforced, especially for girls. As students entered the build-ing, girls wearing shorts were stopped and told by school staff to change into their gym uniforms. This became a regular event that students witnessed when swiping their I.D.s.

Brooklyn Tech does have a dress code, however most students are not familiar with it. It states in part, “Skirts, shorts or other garments cov-ering the lower body must reach at least one hand width above the knee in length.” Some students feel that the dress code may be enforced indiscrim-inately. Students report that girls are called out for dressing inappropriately more so than boys.

The dress code also states that “clothing that promotes alcohol, drug use or offensive language is prohibit-ed.” A marijuana leaf is an image that often shows up often on boy’s cloth-ing, yet the boys are not told to change. A student who wished to remain anonymous said, “Guys shouldn’t be allowed to wear crude or offensive symbols. That’s just as bad as wearing short shorts, if not worse.”

Enforcing the dress code has come to mean making girls wear gym shorts, while all the other rules have been lost in the mix. Naomi Francois’13 stated that, “Our gym shorts are shorter than the stuff some girls wear—and that’s what they are forced to change into.” It is questionable whether gym shorts are a suitable alternative.

Some argue that the dress code enforcement is necessary and effec-tive. Marinique Mora’13 said, “I don’t know why girls feel the need to wear sexed up outfits; we’re in school to learn, not seduce.” This does raise the issue that, although enforcing the dress code may be biased, it has a pur-

pose. The humiliation of being called out does make you think twice about what you’re wearing, and makes many girls dress the way the Department of Education believes is appropriate in a school setting. The rules are intended to improve the learning experience of all students.

Marc Williams, the Assistant Prin-cipal of English, brought up another aspect of the dress code- state laws. He said, “The hardest thing about a dress code in any school, across the nation, is that state laws regarding dress codes are vague, and because they are vague, students may see some inconsisten-cies.”

When considering the school rules, students should remember the state laws in place; school officials don’t decide every aspect of student life. The staff has to work with the laws they are given, which, as Williams points out, are not always clear. “For example, state law says that clothing that is disruptive to instruction should not be permitted; that statement is subjective.” Although state laws do decide what goes into our dress code, they are merely an outline for how it is enforced.

Returning students have noticed that so far this year the dress code has not been as strictly enforced. However, the school year has barely started and the beginning is always hectic for stu-dents and staff members alike. As the weather will soon prohibit any kind of short garments, no one expects to see them until the spring. Williams said “You are more under the radar when the weather is colder and it [short garments] isn’t expected. Adults are thinking about enforcing it.”

Brooklyn Tech’s dress code is like any law or rule—it has a purpose in making students conform to an accept-ed standard for the good of all. How-ever, if a rule is made, it should be en-forced upon everyone and objective.

By Alex Haines-LeBlancSurvey Staff Writer

Juanita, known amongst students to be a strict enforcer of the dress code, greets students every day as they enter the school and the cafeteria.PHOTO COURTESY OF SIMRAN PATEL

4 November 2011FEATURES

Skedula is the new grading system that has been implemented in Brook-lyn Tech. Among students and teach-ers alike it is getting mixed reviews. Many find the kinks in the system to be a major turn-off, but for some, the problems with the online system are only minor drawbacks.

Mary Cao ’14 believes, “Skedu-la is good, because you get to see where the grades come from, but some teachers might have a harder time doing things like curving tests.”

A freshman adds “Skedula is helpful because it allows you to ac-cess your grade all the time, instead of at the end of each marking period, so you can stay on track more eas-ily.”

While many agree that having

access to the breakdown of your grades is helpful, the reports may not always be accurate. For students who have teachers who do not input grades frequently, inaccurate grades can cause unnecessary problems at home, with parents who do not un-derstand Skedula.

A senior summed up the issues well, “Skedula is useful for kids who need to improve their grades, but it causes problems for others.”

Mohammed Asif ’13 points out the two problems that all students seem to be facing, “A lot of teach-ers don’t update regularly anyway, and a lot of the time, a test or quiz might not be entered, and your aver-age goes way down.”

Teachers have different opinions, and more insight into the situation at hand. Randy Levadas, from the Languages Other Than English De-partment, believes, “Skedula helps with grading, and makes everything move faster. Kids and parents can

see test grades, which gives them more responsibility.” Both students and teachers see the benefits in see-ing test grades, mostly for those who need improvement or need to be closely monitored.

Sharon Solomon, the AP Euro-pean History teacher, has a different perspective. Skedula is run com-pletely the by computer. For those who are less computer literate, get-ting Skedula to work in the first place is problematic. The training program for the teachers was all some needed, but for other it was inadequate. “One hour of training is not enough,” Sol-omon said.

Teachers have been working hard to implement this new mandatory system. But then again it is only the beginning of the year; perhaps all of the problems will be addressed within the coming months. Hope-fully by the end of the school year Skedula will be better integrated into the Brooklyn Tech grading system.

Believe it or not, doors are an important part of life at Brooklyn Tech. They are portals for teachers to stick their heads out of to yell at students, but they also keep the com-puters safe, and rooms fireproof.

To members of the Tech commu-nity, some doors may pose a danger to students and teachers alike. These

are not the doors that lead to stair-wells or classrooms; these are the doors that separate the floors into sections. They are all almost identi-cal; old, worn, grayish blue, spider webbed windows (or missing glass altogether) and heavy, very heavy.

Every student at Tech has been hit with these doors at some point. There doesn’t seem to be a purpose other than to slow down the students and take away from the aesthetics of the

school. “It takes me a while to open the door and get out of the way of someone coming through. If there was a fire I’d be scared that one of those doors would end up hitting

me, slowing the evacuation process down,” said Jennifer Aguilar ’14.

Although, it is possible these doors do serve some sort of pur-pose. Originally they were fireproof and moved with the slightest push, but from their look, they are as old as the school itself. Today the doors only create bottlenecks and make sure students are five seconds later for class. If they are for fireproofing reasons, then they are a hazard not help. It takes long enough for all the students in the school to file down the stairwells and these doors don’t help.

Mei Seva’14 said, “I believe these doors are an actual danger to anyone who passes through them, they are very heavy and if you are not paying attention when you walk towards them, you may find your-self hit with them. Also they sim-ply make life more difficult for any teachers that are wheeling around carts with materials on them.”

These doors are not liked by any-one; even teachers that were asked had nothing positive to say. It also causes problems for custodians who

have to push the garbage bins and cleaning supplies through the doors.

The question is: why do we still have these doors? It is very likely that it will take a lot of effort, money, and time to take them down. It would have to been done over the summer when school isn’t in session. For now, students will just have to be mindful of swinging doors, and walk quickly.

Those Hallway Doors of TechBy Paolo Peralta

Survey Staff Writer

Tech Responds to SkedulaBy James GibbelSurvey Staff Writer

Doors like these are found at both ends of the East and West hallways on almost every floor at Tech.PHOTO COURTESY OF PUJYATA RAJBHANDARY

For those who are less

computer literate, getting Skedula to work in the first place is problematic. The training program for the teachers was all some needed, but for other it was inadequate. “One hour of training is not enough.”

I believe these doors are an actual

danger to anyone who passes through them, they are very heavy and if you are not paying attention when you walk to-wards them, you may find yourself hit with them.

5 November 2011FEATURES

PHOTOS COURTESY OF SEMIRA GODUSEVIC

6 FEATURES

Do we ever get a break? From September to June students have very little time to do much other than

school related work. Our time for recreational reading is limited to our brief

and scattered breaks and summer. Most of the time, instead of opening up

our favorite novel during our commute to school, we pull out hefty textbooks

or standardized test review books. Like us students, it seems as though most

teachers don't get a break when it comes to their reading material as well.

Julius Caesar: “I love teaching Shakespeare! I’ve seen several of his plays at the Globe Theater in London and at the Utah Shake-speare festival. By experiencing his plays live, I want my students

to have the same passionate feeling when they read and perform key

scenes from Julius Caesar.”

Delaney Book: “Most interesting book I’ve ever seen!”

Spanish Textbook: “¡El español es fantástico!”

Calculus Textbook: “The Calculus is beautiful.”

English Department, Mr. David Lo Chemistry Department, Ms. Loren Hall

Math Department, Dr. Thomas BlozyLanguage Deparment, Mr. Randy Levadas

November 2011

7 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Did you know the Brooklyn Mu-seum is just 1.8 miles from Brooklyn Tech? There are tons of things for stu-dents to see at the museums, and even more ways for students to get involved.

The facade of the Brooklyn Mu-seum is extremely aesthetically pleas-ing, with a modern glass entrance, large columns, and a timed water fountain on exhibit. It is a great way to experi-ence culture without going all the way to Manhattan, to an equally interesting

but more touristy and crowded museum. Some may think museums in gen-

eral are boring, but the Brooklyn Mu-seum is part of a complex that includes the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Prospect Park, and the Prospect Park Zoo; you can view nature as well as artwork. The museum is free to enter, although there is a suggested entrance fee of six dollars, but again students are not obliged to pay.

The Brooklyn Museum is well known for its expansive collections of Egyptian and African art, but it also in-corporates a lot of modern pieces in its exhibitions. Exhibitions in this mu-

seum change daily and all the updates are located on the museum’s website.

A classic favorite enjoyed by many is The Dinner Party, a piece of femi-nist art. It is composed of a banquet with thirty-nine place settings dedi-cated to important women in history. This exhibit is a long lasting installation.

Raw/Cooked is an exhibition of an under the radar Brooklyn artist, Kristof Wickam. The art involves commonly used objects are combined with casts of the human body. This exhibit closes No-vember 27th, so go before it’s too late!

The Brooklyn Museum offers many volunteer opportunities for teenagers. In-ternships for high school students include the Brooklyn Cultural Adventures Pro-

gram, a job at a cultural institution summer camp, Gallery/Studio Work-Study Pro-gram, for teens interested in assisting with art classes for young people. As well as the Museum Apprentice Program, for stu-dents interested in learning and teaching young visitors about the Museum, and the Teen Night Planning Committee, for teens interested in planning monthly teen events.

The most convenient way to find in-formation is to join the Brooklyn Mu-seum Facebook page at www.facebook.com/brooklynmuseumteens. This Face-book page includes information intern-ships and job opportunities at the Brook-lyn Museum. For more information check out www.brooklynmuseum.org/.

The Brooklyn MuseumBy Celine NehmeSurvey Staff Writer

The New Museum of Contemporary ArtBy Mahgul Mansoor &

Maria SawirisSurvey Staff Writers

The New Museum of Contemporary Art is a unique temple for modern and con-temporary artists. The first attraction of the museum is not an exhibition but rath-er the construction of the museum itself. The building’s architecture is quite simi-lar to a panicked stacking of boxes, and one appealing stack at that. On the second box in rainbow writing, is an illuminated sign reading “Hell Yes!” Considering this, the New Museum is quite hard to miss.

Inside you are greeted with friendly employees, an intriguing gift shop, a café (both of which are accessible with-out the purchase of a ticket) and a piece created by Elana del River dedicated to the 9/11 tragedy. This exhibit is com-posed of office documents that were

scattered from the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks. Each scrap of pa-per is sewn individually on to a roll of fabric, which is hung from the ceiling.

Sprinkled throughout the museum, inside elevators, in corners of stairs and galleries, there are these interesting “bombs.” Some are made out of coke bottles, some out of olive oil bottles, and some even out of popcorn bags.

The museum’s largest exhibition, Ostalgia, stitches together the work of fifty foreign artists. The word, “ostalgia” takes its name from the German word, “ostalgie”, which means a longing for the era before the fall of the Berlin Wall. The masterpiece reflects the emotions of Eastern Europeans at the peak of com-munism and prior to the fall of the Wall.

The New Museum of Contemporary Art has many programs and opportuni-ties for high school students to participate

in. These opportunities include a seven-week summer internship program spe-cifically for high school students. In this program teens are exposed to working in each department at the museum and get to take part in some performances.

Harron, a receptionist at the museum mentioned, “Some teens volunteer during our annual summer block party, which if you guys wanted to attend, is free.”

If you are interested in these programs and would like to learn more, please con-tact: Kimberly McKenzie (kmckenzie@newmuseum.org/ 212.219.122x231) or Michael Ano (mano@newmuseum.org/ 212.219.122x235). Tickets for teens under 18 years of age are free, students older than 18 have to pay $8.

The New Museum of Contemporary ArtPHOTO COURTESY OF ALEKSANDRA MIKHAYLOVA

The Met is a world-renowned mu-seum that attracts more tourists than city dwellers themselves. Many New York-ers don’t realize that it’s a fantastic way to spend the day. The building of the museum itself is beautiful and is famous for the grand steps leading up to the en-trance where many people, visitors of the museum or not, love to sit and hang out.

When you walk in you first see the Great Hall and you can go in any di-rection. The museum is huge and there are countless exhibits to visit. Stu-dents who bring their ID card and a teen pass, which can be found on the website, are allowed free entrance. Otherwise, entrance is a small dona-tion with recommended prices but it’s

your choice how much you want to pay.The permanent Met collection is

phenomenal. Quite honestly, it’s impos-sible to do this trip in one day. Almost every culture is represented in this mu-seum. Visitors can see artifacts and pieces from Ancient Greek and Roman times, as well as the works of famous Modern painters, like Jackson Pollack.

Current exhibitions, other than the permanent collection include The Art of Dissent in 17th-Century China: Mas-terpieces of Ming Loyalist Art from the Chih Lo Lou Collection (through Janu-ary 2, 2012), Stieglitz and His Artists: Matisse to O’Keeffe (through January 2, 2012), Wonder of the Age: Master Painters of India, 1100-1900 (through January 8, 2012), Heroic Africans: Legendary Leaders, Iconic Sculptures (through January 29, 2012), and Infinite Jest: Caricature and Satire from Leon-ardo to Levine (through March, 4, 2012).

There are many programs available especially for teens. Students can join an art work-shop and learn about the art and the behind the scenes work from a staff member. Students can discuss the art with other teens and a mu-seum educator. Many stu-dents get inspired by a col-lection in the museum and create their own piece of art with the Celebrate and Cre-ate programs. Summer internships are available to all high school students.

Students can also have a good time with their families with story time at the Nolan library and receive guided tours. They Met also offers a wide range of lec-tures and discussion on art, performanc-es, concerts, documentaries and films.

On exhibition until January 22, 2012, is The 9/11 Peace Story Quilt. It includes

three panels and twelve quilts. The art-work tells a story about peace and accep-tance of others. The quilt was designed by Faith Ringgold and students helped construct it. This is just one example of how you too can help create artwork and get involved if you visit the Met and take advantage of its many rewarding pro-grams and exhibitions. For more informa-tion go to http://www.metmuseum.org/.

BY Jessica Salowa &Ziasmin ShahanoorSurvey Staff Writers

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of ArtPHOTO COURTESY OF MICHELLE LAM

November 2011

The Museum of Modern Art, otherwise known as MoMA, lo-cated in the heart of Midtown Man-hattan, on 53rd Street, not only offers amazing art but also oppor-tunities specifically for students.

MoMA has a fantastic perma-nent collection, including paint-ings of many famous painters such as Picasso, Monet, and Mark Rothko. On top of this, there is always something new happen-ing at MoMA. At the moment, on exhibition in particular at MoMA has grasped the attention of many patrons and visitors, this is the De Kooning: A Retrospective an ex-hibit that will end January 9, 2012. This is a special exhibition devoted to Williem de Kooning. This col-

lection of De Kooning’s work as an abstract expressionist of the 20th century, is organized chrono-logically so that the visitor is able to see the themes that influence de Kooning’s work from different phases of his career. This exhibition contains about 200 of his pieces.

Technites go to MoMA for home-work as well. “I’m in the Architec-ture Major with Ms. Eng and she made us go to the MoMA in order to practice sketching. The assignment was to find three sculptures/paint-ings/pieces of art and sketch them using hatching and shading tech-niques,” Michelle Li ’13 remarked.

Students in the Industrial De-sign and Media Majors would find MoMA exhibits interesting as well, as many include aspects of design and use of various forms of media.

Since the museum’s collection is

large, one way to approach your visit to MoMA would be to start on the highest floor and work your way down. Anybody interested in the arts should take advantage of what this museum has to offer.

First of all, admission into the mu-seum itself is free if you are sixteen or under. They offer many free art programs, where artists teachers in-struct students, helping them create their own pieces. Students interest-ed in art and building up a portfolio can use this program to add in im-pressive pieces of work. At the end of the program, the students’ cre-ations are displayed at MoMA.

Sadly, at the moment the mu-seum’s Teen Internship program is on a hiatus, so no internship or vol-unteer opportunities are available. Still, students should apply for their art classes and visit the mu-seum to enhance their understand-ing of Modern Art. Visit http://www.moma.org/ to learn more.

The Museum of Modern ArtBy Tim Wu

Survey Staff Writer

Artists, researchers and Brook-lyn Tech art lovers, mark your cal-endars! Many interesting things are happening at Guggenheim Museum this month. With the on-going in-stallation of Maurizio Cattelan: All, which opens on November 4th, admission price has been re-duced from $15 to $10 for students.

Guggenheim Museum offers various exhibitions, volunteer op-portunities, and programs that are beginning this month, as well host-ing the tirades of events that mark the beginning of fall. Brooklyn Tech students should check their schedules and see if they can visit Guggenheim Museum this month!

Such events include special ex-hibitions, like The Hugo Boss Prize 2010: Hans-Peter Feldmann (May 20-November 2, 2011), Pop Objects and Icons from the Guggenheim Col-lection (September 30, 2011-Febru-ary 8, 2012), Kandinsky at the Bau-haus, 1922-1933 (ongoing), and A Chronology: The Guggenheim Col-lection, 1909-1979 (February 26-No-

vember 27, 2011). The Thannhauser Collection (ongoing) is also on view.

The Guggenheim Museum is a great place for students in need of volunteer jobs. They offer a wide range of volunteer work for stu-dents in need of volunteer credits,

but more importantly interested in art. Teen volunteers can help out in year-round weekend family pro-grams that have a four-hour commit-ment on either Saturday or Sunday.

One volunteer named Laura, a ju-nior in the High School of Art and Design, says that, “It’s pretty easy to do and it helps you get the com-munity service credit when you need it. For me, I mostly just act as a link between the families in the lobby for the family programs. It’s easy enough and can fit into your schedule too.”

They also have other volunteer jobs such as assisting with the lis-

tening devices (free after paying admission), daily tours, working as an information desk assistant, and helping out at the Aye Simon Reading Room, to name a few. The Guggenheim Museum is a great place for Brooklyn Tech students who need some volunteer jobs.

The Guggenheim offers some great after school and summer pro-grams as well. Many Brooklyn Tech students can see the work of previ-ous students and learn about the pro-grams, as well as about volunteer-ing and exhibitions, online at http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york.

By Yuri LeeSurvey Staff Writer

The Guggenheim Museum

The Guggenhein MuseumPHOTO COURTESY OF HAZEL MILLARD

8 ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT November 2011

The Guggenheim Museum is a

great place for students in need of volunteer jobs. They offer a wide range of volunteer work for students in need of volunteer credits, but more importantly interested in art.

Sadly, at the

moment the museum’s Teen Internship program is on a hiatus, so no internship or volunteer opportunities are available.

You have all experienced the first day of high school in Brooklyn Tech, an in-credibly daunting adventure. Tech is one of the largest high schools in America, larger than some colleges. Its sheer size can be terrifying, not to mention its aca-demic rigor, but don’t fret; Tech only ac-cepts students with substantial talent.

Your acceptance should be enough proof of your capabilities. If you’re still unsure about your situation maybe a little encouragement can help. The situation is static, but changing our perspective is what can make the circumstances good or bad.

A big school might be scary but on the plus side it gives you more opportunities. There will be more teams to join and many courses to take. The right balance is what you need, and we’re here to give you the formula to succeed at Brooklyn Tech.

Sure, joining a team can be a lot of work, but there is so much to gain from it. As freshmen you may not know many people, so joining a team will allow you

to meet new people and build concrete friendships. It is also a new way for you to meet upperclassmen. Don’t hesitate to ask them for help. They can pass down old review books, which can help you save money, give you advice, and help you fit into the social circles that exist.

Also, the practices for any team will make you fit. The rigorous exercise of Tech’s teams will make you strong and more alert for class. By senior year, team activity will make your college applica-tions stand out. Keeping up schoolwork while being on a team is not as hard as you think. Once you become accustomed to it, it will become routine.

Majors? Advanced Placement? Stan-dardized tests? The rumors of the difficulty of the next four years are getting you wor-ried, but don’t be! As a freshman, Brook-lyn Tech’s workload definitely seems intimidating, especially if you haven’t en-tered from an elite or honors program in middle school. The best thing to do is to get ahead. Freshman year is an opportu-nity to get started with good grades con-sidering the majority of your classes are regent level and there are no significant tests to worry about yet. Remember, Tech

only gets harder from here, if you do bet-ter early, chances are you will be able to handle a growing amount of work.

Social Science Research, Law and Society, Biological Medicine, and Archi-tecture, just to name a few. You’re always hearing about these Majors, but you have no idea what they are. Brooklyn Tech models its major system like those in col-lege: Sophomore year you will choose a major that has classes pertaining to the major subject, which you will take junior and senior year. Majors are the least of your worries as a freshman, but having said this, you should start thinking about what classes seem interesting to you.

Preparation makes things more man-ageable. As far as standardized testing goes, Tech makes you take the PSAT mul-tiple times as well as periodic math and English assessments. But we suggest not to be be intimidated by them, embrace them. The PSAT is a chance to see how well you’re doing with your standardized test taking ability and will give you a di-agnostic on how you need to improve for the SAT.

This brings us to the SAT, the test that makes everyone anxious. Don’t freak out! You have more than two years to gradu-ally improve for your SAT, studying and stressing early won’t help at all.

Advanced Placement classes will be-

gin to be offered as options for your soph-omore year. When applying and selecting courses for next year, it’s important to re-member that AP courses are college level and you will be challenged, so be prepared for a lot of work. The best advice I have is to begin with some Honors classes. As sophomores you will have the option of taking Chemistry, Mathematic, and Eng-lish honors courses.

All in all, your freshman year will be academically easier than the other upcom-ing years at Brooklyn Tech and you should take advantage of this. Whether it’s join-ing a team, club, or any other extracurricu-lar activity, it will help you become a well-rounded student, as long as you maintain an average you are happy with. Grades are important, because a good start now will have you relieved in your sophomore year when the time comes to choose majors.

Don’t feel anxious just yet, you may think it’s hard to fit in with over 5,000 stu-dents, but that’s just the thing: the more students there are, the more opportunities you will have to meet someone like you. On that note, here are some final tips for the freshman class: immaturity works to no avail, no need for an overstuffed book bag, be prepared for gym, and watch out for the deans!

Welcome back! By now the majority of us have settled into our schedules, going to bed late and waking up a little too early for our liking.

Last June Ms. Filippelli, Geoffrey Greene (Features Copy Editor), and myself took on the task of sorting through stacks of archived Surveys. We found issues from almost every year, dating as old as 1923. Back then the Survey wasn’t really a newspaper, but rather a little magazine. There were articles about student government elections, sports and Tech news through the years. We hope to take all of these issues of the Survey spanning almost 90 years, and create a digital archive to allow easy access to our expansive collections.

Recently we have been told that what is now the Survey storage room, is going to be turned into an office. After the Survey staff makes a serious effort to clean up and organize our closet, Brooklyn Tech decides that they could really use this extra space. This move would displace our archives to the Foundry on the seventh floor. Luckily enough for the Survey, Ms. DeWitt and the Horizons magazine staff graciously offered to share their closet space with us. So, on the behalf of The Survey, I’d like to thank Ms. DeWitt and the Horizons staff for helping us out.

Anyway, I am extremely excited to have this first issue out. I hope our work provides the Survey a good foundation to grow off of for this upcoming year. In this issue we have a special review of New York City museums, which I hope inspires Technites to take ad-vantage of some of the great student deals for these museums.

Some additions will be made this year to The Survey, including a column. This advice column, written by Erica Lei and James Tschikov, will provide advice from students to other students. This issue will include guidance for freshman. Check it out!

A goal of mine for the Survey is to increase the communication between our staff and the general student population. I hope to set up a correspondence between students and myself by using a Letters to the Editor email for students to send their opinions and ideas about Tech and the Survey. Please send your messages to surveyeic@gmail.com. I hope to hear from everyone!

Also I encourage everybody to join “The Survey: Brooklyn Tech’s Student Newspaper” Facebook group. Feel free to post leads, ideas, and opinions on this page. I hope both of these forums will help the Tech community and the Survey increase their communication effectively.

As always, thank you to our readers for your support! Sincerely,

Hazel Millard Editor-in-Chief

Advice to FreshmanBy Erica Lei & James Tschikov

Survey Staff Writers

The Survey29 Fort Greene Pl.

Brooklyn, NY 11217

The Survey is a forum for student expression. It does not reflect the beliefs, thoughts or opinions of the administration.

Advisor: Elizabeth FilippelliPrincipal: Randy Asher

AP of English: Marc Williams

Editor-in-ChiefHazel Millard

Managing Editor: Kimberly Berman

Hard News Editor: Artem OsherovCopy Editor: Lily Xian

Editorials Editor: Isabella DivilovaCopy Editor: Diana Rhyzova

Features Editor: Nikita DubonovCopy Editor: Geoffrey Greene

Arts Editor: Aleksandra MikhaylovaCopy Editor: Aimee Liang

Sports Editor: Jimmy HuangCopy Editor: Jimmy Talisse

Layout Editors: Cindy ChouKelly IeongAmy Ye

Dear Survey Readers,

9 November 2011EDITORIALS

Join The Survey, Brooklyn Tech’s

student run newspaper!

We always welcome new writers, photographers, and

business staff.

Come to 5E14, 10th Period, Wednesdays.

Want to see your ad here?

Contact surveyeic@gmail.com for a list of prices and sizes.

11

PHO- TO COURTESY OF NANCY NGOK

The college application pro-cess, in general, is stressful. Hon-ing in on what school would suit a student’s particular interest or skill is stressful. Writing an essay that would altogether define a stu-dent is stressful. Sitting through a college interview is stressful. And for seniors at Brooklyn Tech, it is more stressful than for others.

The stress results in inadequate college applications that either don’t present the students’ abilities well or get sent to the wrong schools. The college office has a hard job in trying to send over a thousand kids to the right college every year and is usually blamed for not complet-ing the virtually impossible task.

However the students of Tech are dangerously uneducated about the college application process and expect the college office to take care of all their needs, instead of simply guide them through the process.

Students blame the school and

college office for this is unfortu-nate predicament. Kelly White-head ’12 blatantly says, “The col-lege office is inadequate because there aren’t nearly enough advi-sors.” Therefore students don’t receive the attention they need to understand things thoroughly, ren-dering them dazed and confused. Without the ability to give students specified attention, advisors cannot

properly encourage and push stu-dents into the right direction. This causes students to feel discouraged and not apply to the right schools.

Another assumed fault of the college office is saving all college related concerns for seniors. There are juniors, sophomores, and fresh-men at Tech who don’t even know what the college application pro-cess is. When asked what she knows about the process, Marinique Mora ‘13 said, “All I know is you have to fill out an application for each school”, while Alex Haines- Le Blanc ’13 said, “I know the ba-sics, like essay and transcript, but I haven’t really thought about it.”

Both students are in their junior year, their knowledge of the college application shows that students fig-ure all of this will be taken care in time. To some the college office is invisible until their senior year. When it came to the college advi-sors Mora said, “I didn’t even know our school had college advisors.” Haines-Le Blanc asked, “isn’t Mr. Malchiodi one of them?” Many

students have these same thoughts, and seniors wish the college office had reached out to them sooner in-stead of waiting until senior year.

But blame cannot rest solely on the college office’s shoulders. Though not perfect, the office and school policy have made a great deal of effort to efficiently guide students through the pro-cess. As seen on the school web-

site, Brooklyn Tech employs six college advisors and numerous guidance counselors who are all qualified to aid with the process.

Throughout the first three years of the Tech experience students are indirectly starting the college ap-plication process. The school and college office begin hinting with the freshman power point, which

encourages student to take the SAT subject tests in their strong suits. Whereas, in schools like Long Is-land Lutheran High School, that is not the case: “No, there’s nothing like that,” says Kennley Lominy ’13. And unlike other schools—such as Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, for ex-ample, where according to student Rachelle Lacoste ’12: “no one has to join anything”—Tech has policy of joining a team or club for service credits to pad students’ applications by making the students rounded individuals instead of numbers.

Major selection in sopho-more year makes students con-sider their interests and college majors. The AP courses in their major schedules make student think about college in general.

The college office has a section on the BTHS webpage where all announcements are made and re-sources made available, the office also sends out a weekly email to

all seniors to make sure they are all on track. Overall the college office and school make a great effort to guide students in the right direction.

But the college offices efforts can only be rendered useless if stu-dents don’t take use of them. Ap-plications are inadequate because students aren’t using the tools the college office has given them. It is up to the students to use the tools and take initiative. Research col-leges and make a list before their senior year and look at sample applications to understand the re-

quirements that that have to be met during their remaining time in high school, so the earlier the better.

The college handbook, which is available on-line, outlines what students should be doing pertaining to college semester by semester. If a student already knows the rudi-mentary basics of the college ap-plication process, as well as what school he or she wishes to attend, advisors can guide the student in more depth instead of using time to explain things. The more active a student is in the process, the more the student has a chance of get-ting into his or her dream school.

As stressful as the college ap-plication process is for Brook-lyn Technical students, it can be made easier if students take initia-tive. If students take advantage of the guidance given to them, they can facilitate each step forward to the wonderful world of college.

By Naomi FrancoisSurvey Staff Writer

Student Views On The College OfficeDo They Help Enough in the Application Process for Students?

If students take advantage of the

guidance given to them, they can facilitate each step forward to the wonderful world of college.

Adam Stevens, a teacher, a club, and now scholarship advisor, works with student, Jamie Lei, discussing a Questbridge scholarship.PHOTO COURTESY OF BILLY ZHAO

November 2011EDITORIALS

On November 12th, 2011, while everyone was enjoying their idyl-lic three-day weekend, runners in the PSAL were gearing up for the Cross Country City Championships. About 400 competitors from twenty-three schools traveled to the Bronx to race in Van Cortlandt Park, a world-re-nowned course, known for its back hills- a series of rugged hills.

According to a prognosis from newyorkcitytrackandfield.com, the top three contenders were Bronx Sci-ence, Stuyvesant, and Curtis. Brook-lyn Tech was predicted to have a ninth place finish.

There were a glut of track stars on the field- including many state qualifiers- such as Stuyvesant’s Kon-rad Surkont, Bronx Science’s Pier Berkmans, Sheepshead Bay’s Mitch-ell Kun, Thomas Jefferson’s Sidgie Greene, and Brooklyn Tech’s Sam Philbrick ’12, an early indication that there would be a lot of competition.

As the Varsity 5K race began, Tech got into some early trouble; Stuyves-ant had a pack of runners leading the race three minutes in. As time passed,

the course slowly fatigued the run-ners, making it hard to discern who was in the lead. About 14 minutes into the race, two heads –and then two bodies- abruptly appeared from the dense underbrush of Van Cortlandt. It was Konrad Surkont in the lead with his Stuyvesant teammate Jack Steven-son. They finished in 16 minutes 30 seconds and 16 minutes 32 seconds, respectively.

Finishing in third and fourth place were Pier Berkmans and Adam Yo-hanan, both Bronx Science runners. They finished in 16 minutes 43 sec-onds and 17 minutes 5 seconds, re-spectively. Even though Stuyvesant got the first two runners in first, Bronx Science was able to get five runners in before Stuyvesant did, winning the ti-tle championship over Stuyvesant just as the prognosis called for.

However, the fight for third place and a spot on the podium was still go-ing on. Sam Philbrick finished first for Tech in thirteenth overall with a time of 17 minutes 37 seconds, giving Brooklyn Tech a shot at the podium. As more and more runners finished, it was evident that Tech wasn’t going to make it.

The top four teams are invited to

attend the State Championships; Tech was not one of them, as they placed sixth. Tech runners still did an amaz-ing job; second for Tech and twenty-third overall was Kai Oshima ’12 with 17 minutes 47 seconds, third for Tech and thirty-ninth overall was Maksim Horowitz ‘12 with 18 minutes 17 sec-onds, fourth for Tech and forty-third overall was Harris van Alterman ‘13 with 18 minutes 20 seconds, fifth for Tech and fifty-second overall was Kenneth Rodriguez ‘14 with 18 min-utes 31 seconds overall, sixth for Tech and fifty-third overall was Luis Ro-sado ‘13 with 18 minutes 33 seconds, and seventh for Tech and ninety-fifth overall was Artur Balanovskiy ‘12 with 19 minutes 40 seconds overall.

Even though the team as a whole didn’t qualify for States, Philbrick and Oshima were able to make it to States as individual runners.

The legacy of Brooklyn Tech Cross Country still continues even with a loss. As a team, they broke expecta-tions by placing sixth, while being seeded as ninth. Tech Track has al-ways been a perennial power, winning more Track championships than any other school.

It is a dynasty that continues to get better despite the many obstacles. The team is gaining depth; even though four varsity runners are graduating this year, there are many sophomores and juniors that can step up to the plate next year.

The bowling season has begun with a great start for Tech. The Bowl-ing team won their first game of the season against FDR High School.

The team is split into three teams, which are called A, B, and C, respectively. Usually, team A and B play in against other schools; if one team wins while another team loses, team C gets to play in their place during the next game.

The game against FDR was located at Maple Lanes in Brooklyn. Many Tech supporters were present.

Many players were very nervous for their first game of the season. Brandon Leung ’13, from Team A, expressed his nervousness, saying, “I’ve

never bowled in Team A before; it was my first time … my feet were wobbly from all the anxiety. When I saw the oth-er team bowl, I was back into the game.”

Donny Jiang ‘13, from Team B, re-members it being “very nerve-wrack-ing going up in front of the crowd” as he just joined the team, play-

ing his first game at Maple Lanes.With the support from friends

and fans, Team A was able to win the game. Hermes Ko

’13 from Team A bowled seven strikes. Team B, unfortunately, was un-

able to win their game, most likely be-cause many of them were new to the team.

Jiang said, “I was pretty nervous throughout the whole game and I bowled a score that was lower than I expected. It was my first game and first

time being the captain of Team B. In the end, it was a good learning experience.”

With every game comes skill, which can bring the team further and further in the future, perhaps to a championship. With Team A’s win, Team C was able to have a chance to play against FDR’s Team C to determine the tiebreaker. After a long game and a lot of cheer-ing, our Team C was able

to win the first game for Tech. Hopefully this is just one win out of many this season for Tech Bowling.

12 SPORTS

Tech Bowling Beats FDR in First Game of the Season

By Angela Chen and Jennifer Tang

Survey Staff Writers

The Boys Varsity Cross Country Season Comes to an End

By Jimmy HuangSurvey Staff Writer

Girls Fall Sports Highlights

The Bowling TeamPHOTO COURTESY OF SERENA LUK

November 2011

Congratulations:Girls Varsity Volleyball won their division title.

Girls Varsity Bowling won their division title.

Girls Cross Country won borough championships.

Girls Swimming and Diving won their

division title.

PHOTO COURTESY OF PUJYATA RAJBHANDARY

PHOTO COURTESY OF DANIEL PO

PHOTO COURTESY OF MINJUNG KIM

PHOTO COURTESY OF ELONA KOSHARNY