Arts and Entertainment
2021 Fashion: A Year in Review
A review of 2021’s fashion trends and examining the impact of fast and sustainable fashion.
Spec+
From Alumni to Teachers: Are Ivies Worth It?
By Afra Mahmud, Dexter Wells, Francesca Nemati, Kelly Yip, Sasha Socolow
Through interviews with various teachers and alumni, The Spectator evaluates the necessity of attending an Ivy League college.
Sports
Just Another One for the Collection
By Nakib Abedin
Lionel Messi was awarded an unprecedented seventh Ballon d’Or, a decision that came with controversy but nonetheless well made.
Opinions
School, Not Jail
Though metal detectors can be effective at deterring violence in the short term, we need to focus more on solving the long-term root causes of gun violence in schools, which are often untreated mental illness and gang violence
Opinions
Robert Bork’s America and the 2022 Midterms
By Muhib Muhib
The Republican Party has increasingly catered to its reliable anti-abortion voters in attempting to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and has ignored the firmly pro-choice electorate that will be instrumental in their defeat.
Humor
Looks Like the Teachers Made the Naughty List
Teachers mysteriously receive coal in their mailboxes on the day before the holiday break, who could have done this?
Arts and Entertainment
“Licorice Pizza”: Inexplicably Tasty
By Roxy Perazzo
A review of “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest nostalgia film.
Opinions
Holidays Don’t Need Fixing
By Aya Alryyes
The history of Christmas reveals that to treat religious tradition as exclusionary and untouchable is to deny the richness of cultural exchange.
Arts and Entertainment
“Talk Memory”: An Instrumental Escapade
How BADBADNOTGOOD develops their sound to new peaks in “Talk Memory”
Humor
“Christmas Democracy” Gone Awry
By Muhib Muhib
Peer pressure and outbursts after a minutes presenter forgot their gift results in a “Christmas democracy.” Some plagiarism inspiration from history.
Features
Winter Break Burnout
By Theo Sassano
A look at whether students end the first semester on a positive or negative note.
Spec+
College Mythbusters
By Alyssa Choi, Anisha Singhal, Kenisha Mahajan, Maya Nelson
Stuyvesant students create echo chambers of misinformation about the college process. We’ve broken down four of the most common Stuyvesant college myths.
Humor
A Whole New World
By Sara Heller
A student wakes up in an alternate universe and finds that its version of Stuyvesant is very different from the one in our dimension.
Humor
Cases of Missing Children Rise Sharply as Santa Impostors Terrorize Neighborhood!
Children across the five boroughs are mysteriously going missing, and a gang of impostor Santas seems to be responsible for the disappearances.
Humor
New Grading Policy Encourages Making Freshmen Cry, Delights Upperclassmen
We examine the student body’s reception to a new grading policy that trades freshman tears for extra points.
Arts and Entertainment
The Undeniable Brilliance of Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy is an incredibly influential figure in modern hip-hop and pioneered internet marketing for rappers.
Arts and Entertainment
Dancing with a Drummer Boy
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
A&E’s 2021 Holiday playlist!
News
Discussing “Freedom Swimmer”: A Story about Immigration and Freedom
By Maggie Sansone, Mozen Kalefa, Nada Hameed
The Stuyvesant Alumni Association hosted a Book Talk discussing themes of immigration and freedom prevalent in “Freedom Swimmer,” a recent novel by alum Wai Chim ’00.
Humor
Stuyvesant Elves Go On Strike!
By Anjali Karunadasa, Michelle Huang
The elves in the basement are tired of the unpoggers conditions and go on strike.
Humor
A Holiday Tale for Students Young and Old
A festive tale in the form of a poem for all the little lads, lasses, and others this holiday season.
Science
Flying Closer to the Future
By Jovanna Wu
The release of a flying car in the early 2023, the AeroMobil 4.0, brings us closer to living our vision of a futuristic world. However, we must look at the benefits and drawbacks it brings to our society as a whole, before it's accepted into the mainstream.
Features
Winter Blues
By Elicia Chau
Winter blues and seasonal depression have always been common, but it’s been increasingly severe over the past year.
Features
Road to the Olympics
By Lauren Lee
The newest addition to the girls’ table tennis team, freshman Alyssa Kang, is reaching for the Olympics.
Science
Is Omicron as Ominous as it Sounds?
By Karina Gupta, Sophia Wan-Brodsky
The novel Omicron variant is spreading across the globe and, though not extremely severe, worry is centered around the transmissibility rate and efficacy of vaccinations.
Features
From Marvel to Music, the Life of William Wrigley
From a coffee addiction in Italy to almost being a hip-hop superstar, art teacher William Wrigley finds ways to incorporate his action-packed life into his everyday lessons.
Arts and Entertainment
Spotify Wrapped: Is Graphic Design their Passion?
An exploration of Spotify Wrapped 2021’s strange design choices.
News
Senior Oscar Fishman Models for Louis Vuitton Fashion Show
Senior Oscar Fishman walked Louis Vuitton’s “Virgil Was Here” show, commemorating the death of designer Virgil Abloh on November 28.
Features
Lore of the Sixth Floor
By Andrew Oh, Isabelle Lam, Soobin Choi
Students, teachers of the English Department, and others give insight to the various facets of the renowned sixth floor, making it a more open book.
Spec+
Mother Knows Best: Parents’ Takes on the College Process
By Krish Gupta, Momoca Mairaj, Raymond Yang
Stuyvesant parents from various grades share their insights about their experiences and expectations for their kids regarding the college application process.
Features
Conjuring Up The Holiday Spirit
By Ariana Devito, Ava Fung, Faima Safwana, Sofia Allouche
Christmas break is a fun and exciting time for many students where many different holidays are celebrated.
Spec+
College Culture Is Stuyvesant Culture
By Aaron Visser, Jenny Liu, Shafiul Haque
We all know the Ivy-or-bust culture is toxic. So why does it still exist?
News
“European Literature” Requirement to Become “Foundations of Literature”
By Kevin Chan, Mahir Hossain, Nada Hameed
European Literature, the required English course for sophomores, experienced a name change to Foundations of Literature in an effort to expand the course beyond Eurocentric works of literature and create a broader definition of foundational texts in the course.
Arts and Entertainment
A Year in Review: 2021’s Best Albums
By Morris Raskin, Shivali Korgaonkar
2021 has been a long year. Here are the albums that got us all through it.
Science
NASA’s DART Protection Project is a Step in a New Direction
By Justin Li
NASA launches a mission called DART that sends space probes into space to intentionally slam into an asteroid. Test mission, NASA new mission concept/role.
Humor
Mass Abduction of Nation’s Milk and Cookies Explained
A report on identifying Santa Claus as the man behind the mass abductions of the nation’s milk and cookies
Features
How Teachers Parent
By Suyeon Ryu
Being a teacher and a parent provides both benefits and challenges, but ultimately influences both professions positively.
Arts and Entertainment
Window Display Wonderland
By Ivy Halpern
An exploration of New York Cities Christmas windows.
Opinions
American Sign Language and the Fight to be Heard
By Virgenya Zhu
Learning sign language is easy to integrate into our education system, beneficial to all parties involved, and valuable to the hearing-impaired community.
Spec+
Seniors' VOICES on the College Process
By The Features Department, Unknown User
As seniors apply to colleges this fall, three reflect on their journey so far.
News
ARISTA Partners with Olympian Nzingha Prescod’s “Fencing in the Park” Program
By Jasmine Yuen, Olivia Haven, Ruiwen Tang
ARISTA recently partnered with Stuyvesant alumna Nzingha Prescod to organize Fencing in the Park, a program to provide tutoring services to students in underprivileged areas.
Humor
Pool Colored Green and Red to Increase Holiday Spirit
By Virgenya Zhu
The SU makes the decision to dye the pool green and red in honor of the holiday season, and students revolt.
Sports
The Runnin’ Rebels Hope to Run to Victory This Season
By Roxie Gosfield, Susie McKnight
A look into how the Runnin’ Rebels are putting Stuyvesant boys’ varsity basketball on the map.
Opinions
Safety First
By Erica Li
Metal detectors are a constant security presence on school campuses, deterring violence and thus helping students, teachers, and staff members feel safer.
Science
The Future Depends On Power. A New Way of Power.
By Rania Zaki
Fighting climate change and surviving weather storms, while globally expanding to every region, is everything the current grid isn’t. A new type of “smart” grid is needed.
Sports
The Dark Side of the “Beautiful” Game
An inquiry into the extent that sexual assault crimes and rapes that go unnoticed in the world of soccer.
Opinions
Japanese Jukus: The Cramming Lifestyle
Japanese cram schools are disadvantageous to students, considering the reluctance to go, the high prices, and the exorbitant amounts of time spent in them.
Spec+
Stuyvesant’s Feelings, Philosophies, and Fears about College
What do the freshmen and seniors think about college?
Science
The Future Depends On Power. A New Way of Power.
By Rania Zaki
Fighting climate change and surviving weather storms, while globally expanding to every region, is everything the current grid isn’t. A new type of “smart” grid is needed.
Spec+
Letter from the Editor
An introduction to The Spectator's College Issue from the Editors-in-Chief.
Science
Ear-Prints and the Future of Digital Security
By Elma Khan
Advancing technologies have revealed a prospective yet unexpected biometric that rivals fingerprints in uniqueness and might be just as common as them in the future: ears.
Spec+
College by the Numbers
By Adrianna Peng, David Chen, Jared Moser, Logan Ruzzier, Shafiul Haque
How do Stuyvesant’s college admissions and enrollment numbers compare with other colleges across the country?
Opinions
Shine the Light on Taiwan
By Duncan Park
With the growing tensions between Taiwan and China, the United States finds itself at the forefront of this issue.
Science
The Future Depends On Power. A New Way of Power.
By Rania Zaki
Fighting climate change and surviving weather storms, while globally expanding to every region, is everything the current grid isn’t. A new type of “smart” grid is needed.
Sports
A Glimpse Into Ralf Rangnick’s Career
Many have voiced their doubts on Rangnick, who has yet to receive any huge silverware at the club level, but a few weeks into his appointment, Rangnick has already been able to organize the team as a cohesive unit. As a result, he has been well-received by pundits and fans alike.
Science
The Pressing Issue of the Prion
Proteins, crucial to our minds and bodies, have potentially devastating effects when misfolded. Prions lend us terrifying insight.
Sports
Mind Over Matter
By Matt Melucci
Recently, athletes have started to recognize the power of their minds on their performance and prioritize their mental health as teams begin to incorporate mental skills coaches on their staff.
Sports
Miniscule, Alone, and Powerless: How a League Failed Its Own Players
The NHL has too often displayed an inability to take action or accountability, allowing for incidents that threaten players’ mental and physical health to occur. It’s time they step up.
News
Omicron COVID-19 Variant Spreads in the U.S.
By Aditya Anand, Jady Chen, Kai Caothien, Sakura Yamanaka
Students and faculty share their thoughts on the new COVID-19 Omicron variant and its effect on Stuyvesant.
News
The Long and Winding Rhodes
By James Lee
Stuyvesant alumnus Liam Elkind (’17) is among the 32 Americans selected as Rhodes Scholars for the class of 2022 due to his work at Invisible Hands, 3.97 GPA at Yale University, and desire for social change.
Humor
Home Alone (Stuy Edition)
By Abigail Jin, Alex Zheng, Oliver Hollmann
A Stuyvesant student is left alone in the building to defend it from two intruders.
Arts and Entertainment
A&E’s 2022 Grammy Predictions
By Julie Grandchamp-Desraux, Samira Esha
Our predictions for the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Arts and Entertainment
Style Over Substance: A Review of “House of Gucci”
A lack of a consistent tone and poorly written and acted characters squashes the potential of “House of Gucci.”
Features
Full of Life, Wisdom, and a Love of Surprise
An interview with Khudija Eddahbi, the school cafeteria’s assistant manager, who works every day to make sure Stuyvesant students are fed.
Spec+
Some Advice for Applying to College
Stuyvesant alumni and Harvard first-year Jonathan Schneiderman provides some advice for students going through the dreaded college process.
Humor
Cases of Missing Children Rise Sharply as Santa Impostors Terrorize Neighborhood!
Children across the five boroughs are mysteriously going missing, and a gang of impostor Santas seems to be responsible for the disappearances.
Arts and Entertainment
2021 Fashion: A Year in Review
A review of 2021’s fashion trends and examining the impact of fast and sustainable fashion.
Spec+
From Alumni to Teachers: Are Ivies Worth It?
By Afra Mahmud, Dexter Wells, Francesca Nemati, Kelly Yip, Sasha Socolow
Through interviews with various teachers and alumni, The Spectator evaluates the necessity of attending an Ivy League college.
Features
From Marvel to Music, the Life of William Wrigley
From a coffee addiction in Italy to almost being a hip-hop superstar, art teacher William Wrigley finds ways to incorporate his action-packed life into his everyday lessons.
Arts and Entertainment
Spotify Wrapped: Is Graphic Design their Passion?
An exploration of Spotify Wrapped 2021’s strange design choices.
News
Senior Oscar Fishman Models for Louis Vuitton Fashion Show
Senior Oscar Fishman walked Louis Vuitton’s “Virgil Was Here” show, commemorating the death of designer Virgil Abloh on November 28.
Sports
Just Another One for the Collection
By Nakib Abedin
Lionel Messi was awarded an unprecedented seventh Ballon d’Or, a decision that came with controversy but nonetheless well made.
Features
Lore of the Sixth Floor
By Andrew Oh, Isabelle Lam, Soobin Choi
Students, teachers of the English Department, and others give insight to the various facets of the renowned sixth floor, making it a more open book.
Opinions
School, Not Jail
Though metal detectors can be effective at deterring violence in the short term, we need to focus more on solving the long-term root causes of gun violence in schools, which are often untreated mental illness and gang violence
Spec+
Mother Knows Best: Parents’ Takes on the College Process
By Krish Gupta, Momoca Mairaj, Raymond Yang
Stuyvesant parents from various grades share their insights about their experiences and expectations for their kids regarding the college application process.
Features
Conjuring Up The Holiday Spirit
By Ariana Devito, Ava Fung, Faima Safwana, Sofia Allouche
Christmas break is a fun and exciting time for many students where many different holidays are celebrated.
Opinions
Robert Bork’s America and the 2022 Midterms
By Muhib Muhib
The Republican Party has increasingly catered to its reliable anti-abortion voters in attempting to overturn Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and has ignored the firmly pro-choice electorate that will be instrumental in their defeat.
Spec+
College Culture Is Stuyvesant Culture
By Aaron Visser, Jenny Liu, Shafiul Haque
We all know the Ivy-or-bust culture is toxic. So why does it still exist?
Humor
Looks Like the Teachers Made the Naughty List
Teachers mysteriously receive coal in their mailboxes on the day before the holiday break, who could have done this?
Arts and Entertainment
“Licorice Pizza”: Inexplicably Tasty
By Roxy Perazzo
A review of “Licorice Pizza,” Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest nostalgia film.
Opinions
Holidays Don’t Need Fixing
By Aya Alryyes
The history of Christmas reveals that to treat religious tradition as exclusionary and untouchable is to deny the richness of cultural exchange.
News
“European Literature” Requirement to Become “Foundations of Literature”
By Kevin Chan, Mahir Hossain, Nada Hameed
European Literature, the required English course for sophomores, experienced a name change to Foundations of Literature in an effort to expand the course beyond Eurocentric works of literature and create a broader definition of foundational texts in the course.
Arts and Entertainment
A Year in Review: 2021’s Best Albums
By Morris Raskin, Shivali Korgaonkar
2021 has been a long year. Here are the albums that got us all through it.
Science
NASA’s DART Protection Project is a Step in a New Direction
By Justin Li
NASA launches a mission called DART that sends space probes into space to intentionally slam into an asteroid. Test mission, NASA new mission concept/role.
Arts and Entertainment
“Talk Memory”: An Instrumental Escapade
How BADBADNOTGOOD develops their sound to new peaks in “Talk Memory”
Humor
Mass Abduction of Nation’s Milk and Cookies Explained
A report on identifying Santa Claus as the man behind the mass abductions of the nation’s milk and cookies
Humor
“Christmas Democracy” Gone Awry
By Muhib Muhib
Peer pressure and outbursts after a minutes presenter forgot their gift results in a “Christmas democracy.” Some plagiarism inspiration from history.
Features
How Teachers Parent
By Suyeon Ryu
Being a teacher and a parent provides both benefits and challenges, but ultimately influences both professions positively.
Arts and Entertainment
Window Display Wonderland
By Ivy Halpern
An exploration of New York Cities Christmas windows.
Features
Winter Break Burnout
By Theo Sassano
A look at whether students end the first semester on a positive or negative note.
Spec+
College Mythbusters
By Alyssa Choi, Anisha Singhal, Kenisha Mahajan, Maya Nelson
Stuyvesant students create echo chambers of misinformation about the college process. We’ve broken down four of the most common Stuyvesant college myths.
Opinions
American Sign Language and the Fight to be Heard
By Virgenya Zhu
Learning sign language is easy to integrate into our education system, beneficial to all parties involved, and valuable to the hearing-impaired community.
Spec+
Seniors' VOICES on the College Process
By The Features Department, Unknown User
As seniors apply to colleges this fall, three reflect on their journey so far.
Humor
A Whole New World
By Sara Heller
A student wakes up in an alternate universe and finds that its version of Stuyvesant is very different from the one in our dimension.
Humor
Cases of Missing Children Rise Sharply as Santa Impostors Terrorize Neighborhood!
Children across the five boroughs are mysteriously going missing, and a gang of impostor Santas seems to be responsible for the disappearances.
News
ARISTA Partners with Olympian Nzingha Prescod’s “Fencing in the Park” Program
By Jasmine Yuen, Olivia Haven, Ruiwen Tang
ARISTA recently partnered with Stuyvesant alumna Nzingha Prescod to organize Fencing in the Park, a program to provide tutoring services to students in underprivileged areas.
Humor
New Grading Policy Encourages Making Freshmen Cry, Delights Upperclassmen
We examine the student body’s reception to a new grading policy that trades freshman tears for extra points.
Humor
Pool Colored Green and Red to Increase Holiday Spirit
By Virgenya Zhu
The SU makes the decision to dye the pool green and red in honor of the holiday season, and students revolt.
Arts and Entertainment
The Undeniable Brilliance of Soulja Boy
Soulja Boy is an incredibly influential figure in modern hip-hop and pioneered internet marketing for rappers.
Arts and Entertainment
Dancing with a Drummer Boy
By The Arts & Entertainment Department
A&E’s 2021 Holiday playlist!
News
Discussing “Freedom Swimmer”: A Story about Immigration and Freedom
By Maggie Sansone, Mozen Kalefa, Nada Hameed
The Stuyvesant Alumni Association hosted a Book Talk discussing themes of immigration and freedom prevalent in “Freedom Swimmer,” a recent novel by alum Wai Chim ’00.
Humor
Stuyvesant Elves Go On Strike!
By Anjali Karunadasa, Michelle Huang
The elves in the basement are tired of the unpoggers conditions and go on strike.
Arts and Entertainment
A Year in Review: 2021’s Best Albums
By Morris Raskin, Shivali Korgaonkar
2021 has been a long year. Here are the albums that got us all through it.
Humor
A Holiday Tale for Students Young and Old
A festive tale in the form of a poem for all the little lads, lasses, and others this holiday season.
Humor
Spotify Wrapped 2021
By Eshaal Ubaid
Ready to get exposed for every reason you’re scared of revealing your playlist?
News
The Long and Winding Rhodes
By James Lee
Stuyvesant alumnus Liam Elkind (’17) is among the 32 Americans selected as Rhodes Scholars for the class of 2022 due to his work at Invisible Hands, 3.97 GPA at Yale University, and desire for social change.
Science
Flying Closer to the Future
By Jovanna Wu
The release of a flying car in the early 2023, the AeroMobil 4.0, brings us closer to living our vision of a futuristic world. However, we must look at the benefits and drawbacks it brings to our society as a whole, before it's accepted into the mainstream.
Humor
Home Alone (Stuy Edition)
By Abigail Jin, Alex Zheng, Oliver Hollmann
A Stuyvesant student is left alone in the building to defend it from two intruders.
Features
Winter Blues
By Elicia Chau
Winter blues and seasonal depression have always been common, but it’s been increasingly severe over the past year.
Arts and Entertainment
A&E’s 2022 Grammy Predictions
By Julie Grandchamp-Desraux, Samira Esha
Our predictions for the 2022 Grammy Awards.
Features
Road to the Olympics
By Lauren Lee
The newest addition to the girls’ table tennis team, freshman Alyssa Kang, is reaching for the Olympics.
Science
Is Omicron as Ominous as it Sounds?
By Karina Gupta, Sophia Wan-Brodsky
The novel Omicron variant is spreading across the globe and, though not extremely severe, worry is centered around the transmissibility rate and efficacy of vaccinations.
Arts and Entertainment
1991: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music
At 30 years old, these albums changed the scopes of their respective genres forever.
Sports
NBA Roundup: Basketball’s Biggest Surprises
By Ty Anant
Certain teams have been either over or underachieving this season, and this piece takes an in-depth look at some of those teams: the Bulls, Suns, and Lakers.
Sports
The Runnin’ Rebels Hope to Run to Victory This Season
By Roxie Gosfield, Susie McKnight
A look into how the Runnin’ Rebels are putting Stuyvesant boys’ varsity basketball on the map.
Opinions
Safety First
By Erica Li
Metal detectors are a constant security presence on school campuses, deterring violence and thus helping students, teachers, and staff members feel safer.
Science
The Future Depends On Power. A New Way of Power.
By Rania Zaki
Fighting climate change and surviving weather storms, while globally expanding to every region, is everything the current grid isn’t. A new type of “smart” grid is needed.
Arts and Entertainment
Style Over Substance: A Review of “House of Gucci”
A lack of a consistent tone and poorly written and acted characters squashes the potential of “House of Gucci.”
Sports
The Dark Side of the “Beautiful” Game
An inquiry into the extent that sexual assault crimes and rapes that go unnoticed in the world of soccer.
Features
Full of Life, Wisdom, and a Love of Surprise
An interview with Khudija Eddahbi, the school cafeteria’s assistant manager, who works every day to make sure Stuyvesant students are fed.
Spec+
Some Advice for Applying to College
Stuyvesant alumni and Harvard first-year Jonathan Schneiderman provides some advice for students going through the dreaded college process.
Opinions
Japanese Jukus: The Cramming Lifestyle
Japanese cram schools are disadvantageous to students, considering the reluctance to go, the high prices, and the exorbitant amounts of time spent in them.
Spec+
Stuyvesant’s Feelings, Philosophies, and Fears about College
What do the freshmen and seniors think about college?
Science
The Future Depends On Power. A New Way of Power.
By Rania Zaki
Fighting climate change and surviving weather storms, while globally expanding to every region, is everything the current grid isn’t. A new type of “smart” grid is needed.
Spec+
Letter from the Editor
An introduction to The Spectator's College Issue from the Editors-in-Chief.
Science
Ear-Prints and the Future of Digital Security
By Elma Khan
Advancing technologies have revealed a prospective yet unexpected biometric that rivals fingerprints in uniqueness and might be just as common as them in the future: ears.
Spec+
College by the Numbers
By Adrianna Peng, David Chen, Jared Moser, Logan Ruzzier, Shafiul Haque
How do Stuyvesant’s college admissions and enrollment numbers compare with other colleges across the country?
Opinions
Shine the Light on Taiwan
By Duncan Park
With the growing tensions between Taiwan and China, the United States finds itself at the forefront of this issue.
Opinions
Studying Self-Defense
By Ushoshi Das
Schools need to teach students how to respond to dangerous situations because everyone should know how to defend themselves, especially in a big city.
Science
The Future Depends On Power. A New Way of Power.
By Rania Zaki
Fighting climate change and surviving weather storms, while globally expanding to every region, is everything the current grid isn’t. A new type of “smart” grid is needed.
Sports
A Glimpse Into Ralf Rangnick’s Career
Many have voiced their doubts on Rangnick, who has yet to receive any huge silverware at the club level, but a few weeks into his appointment, Rangnick has already been able to organize the team as a cohesive unit. As a result, he has been well-received by pundits and fans alike.
Science
The Pressing Issue of the Prion
Proteins, crucial to our minds and bodies, have potentially devastating effects when misfolded. Prions lend us terrifying insight.
Sports
Mind Over Matter
By Matt Melucci
Recently, athletes have started to recognize the power of their minds on their performance and prioritize their mental health as teams begin to incorporate mental skills coaches on their staff.