Planning for a Better Year: Resolutions for the Stuyvesant Administration and Students

Questions: What New Year’s resolution do you hope the Stuyvesant administration achieves in 2024? What resolution will you make to improve Stuyvesant in the coming year?

“I hope that Stuy can add Halal food to the school meals. I don’t like not being able to eat school food because of religious restrictions. I’ll try my best to keep the school clean by putting trash into the right bin.” —Isha Rashid, freshman

“I want the administration to give more funding to sports. I will win NHD [National History Day] and make [history teacher Mordecai] Moore happy.” —Sydney Wong, sophomore

“I want the school to open up more rooms for afterschool clubs and activities. I will try my best to advocate for my student body as Junior Caucus President.” —Grace Rhee, junior

“Stuyvesant should have a small fun event on the last Friday of each month. Maybe Stuyvesant could sell cookies/food to students or play a short movie in the theater. Bottom line is that there should be something for the student body to be excited for at least once every month. [..] For my personal resolution, I will try to host many fun events in Indian Culture Club, including movie days and potlucks. Additionally, I will try to spread many fun-filled memories and positive vibes with my friends, which is very important in [a] busy, hectic student life.” —Trisha Kumar, sophomore

"Letting kids come back in before the warning bell, because it's cold and you wanna eat inside. Going outside doesn't mean you wanna eat outside, especially during the winter months. I hope to have more opportunities to sing for the school with Stuy A Cappella and create a fun musical environment." —Alison Ren, sophomore

“I hope that we’re allowed to use AirPods in school—at a safe volume, of course—because I think music helps people focus, [and] therefore, get better grades. [...] I’m going to be more interactive with the school.” —Amy Gurcharan, sophomore

“I hope the Stuyvesant administration implements an opening time of 7:15 a.m. instead of 7:30 a.m. I will make the resolution of helping others who are struggling in class to improve Stuyvesant in the coming year.” —Jayden Vallejo, freshman

“One New Year’s resolution I want the school to achieve is perhaps enforcing the daily homework limit more strictly. While most of my teachers are able to stick to this rule, many teachers are unable to grasp an idea of how long the work they are assigning actually takes. One New Year’s resolution I have for myself to benefit the school is to help maintain my balance between schoolwork and things I do outside of school. I would also like to work on improving my relations with other students to help improve the sense of a unified community.”  —Ridwhan Khan, Freshman

“Having all teachers only post [assignments] within school hours. I want to go to sleep earlier and make sure it’s at the same time every night.” —Ibtida Khurshed, junior

“I hope that [the] Stuy administration tries to hold more meetings on college preparedness, and maybe give more guidance on what courses you should take if you're interested in a certain subject, etc… While I don't think I can improve Stuy, I'll try to do my part to take care of any trash I have and make sure I don't leave classrooms and other areas a mess to make sure the school stays clean.” —Rahul Kissoon, sophomore

“A resolution I hope the administration implements is focusing on improving student body spirit, specifically through school-wide events. To improve Stuyvesant, I hope to create a larger amount of in-school activities for students who are not STEM majors and for students who need help in picking a career path.” —Aasha Zamir, sophomore

“I wish the school would let us back in after 4:00 p.m., maybe change the return time to around 4:30 p.m. instead [...] because it’s really hard to get back into the building by 4:00 p.m. For my own resolution, I’ll try to participate in more volunteer opportunities.” —Jareefah Alam, sophomore

“I hope the Stuyvesant administration and teachers will continue to support students who are studying for upcoming regents and APs by providing more lenient deadlines on homework or assigning work further in advance. This year, I’ll keep supporting the people working on STC shows and SING! by attending their performances with friends and family.” —Vivienne Stevens, sophomore

“Hopefully less homework over breaks three days or over so I don’t have to stress about homework over the longer weekends. I hope to be able to branch out further in order to make Stuyvesant more welcoming to others still adjusting to Stuyvesant.” —Raymond Zheng, freshman

“I wish they would make Talos better. I will map out every floor of Stuyvesant High School and post it somewhere public, because there is a shortage of maps of Stuyvesant High School that are up to date and available.” —Theodore Eicher, junior

“I hope the administration seeks to resolve conflicts openly with students if any arise, instead of shutting us down, and I will clean up after messes made. (Seriously! The floors can get filthy when people don’t pick up after themselves.)” —Amanda Greenberg, sophomore

“I hope Stuyvesant admin continues to support school-wide events like those run by the SU to promote unity among the student body. My resolution is pretty simple: I’ll help out my classmates and peers whenever I can, like studying together for a tough test, because it’s the small things that count!” —Celise Lin, junior

“The [gym] uniform policy thing! I don’t know where that came from, but it’s weird to me. I tend to come in my uniform as it’s easier for me and also I don’t spend time in a locker room (I don’t like locker rooms). Maybe having a color printer would be cool, but like, [one] solely dedicated to poster making. Admins also—maybe having articles about their high school experiences so we can relate to them more, because, to be honest, I can relate to very few teachers at this school. I’d like to improve my connection to the community and staff—like there are just some people in admin that you can be so casual around, and others, it’s like walking [on] a tightrope.” —Zarrin Ahmed, junior

“Actually listening to student feedback on teachers. I’ve been lucky to have had all great teachers so far, but some of my friends haven’t. I know we all do the student feedback survey thing. I know the teachers see it. I know the school sees it. The lack of action, however, is disappointing. [I will pick] up trash.” —Jenny Tan, junior

 “I hope [the] Stuy administration can make the swimming pool warmer in the winter time/have better heating in certain rooms of the school. I will try to improve my study/homework habits to give Stuyvesant a better reputation regarding its homework time!” —Rebekah Abraham, sophomore

“I think a good resolution for Stuy is making sure the escalators work. To make Stuy better I'd like to make a new club.” —Arianne Hinds, sophomore

“I think there should be more interaction between teachers, because I have five tests next week in a four-day week, and they should be spreading the tests out more. I hope to attend more club meetings, as it feels like I'm not really involved in the community a lot of the time.” —Ray Lattapongpisut, sophomore

“I hope that [the administration] highly recommends that all teachers give extra credit. Also, I hope they bring back Albert [this year.] I also hope to build Humans of Stuy and help connect the community.” —Madelyn Li Nunez, sophomore

“Something that I hope Stuyvesant accomplishes in the coming year is maybe keeping the lunchroom cleaner, and something people can do is throw out their trash.” —Daria Garkun, freshman

“I feel like the administration should also try to schedule club fairs because from what I heard the Spring Clubs fair was canceled though I’m not sure about it, but I think the administration should in some way make sure there is a spring club fair so people are able to start clubs halfway through the year. I will probably just maintain the clubs that I’m part of and make sure they continue thriving in the coming years” —Jakob Weir, junior

“They should bring back more conference days. They give the students a slight break during the week and all the students would love to have one every other week. I will keep the hallways cleaner to improve Stuy.” —Li Han (Eric) You, junior

“They should try to keep the locker rooms at a reasonable temperature. It’s always either freezing or it’s scorching and I feel like a Thanksgiving turkey in the oven. I will improve my Precalculus grade so I am not single-handedly dragging the class average down 472,847,928,493 points.” —Vanessa Chen, junior 

“They can perhaps reconsider implementing senior trips so the graduating class creates lasting memories and a positive conclusion to our time here at Stuyvesant. As a senior I hope to be contributing the most I can to our community spirit by participating in more school events and whatnots, along with offering my services to involve myself more within the student body.” —Yuhn Yan, freshman 

“I heard there’s a club out there that wants to install bike racks near the school. I hope the administration offers them a budget to get that done or takes on their suggestion! I’ll try and keep looking out for my peers as always—it’s important to support and cherish the people around you.” —Yarza Aung, senior