January Randolph Times FINAL COPY

Volume II, Issue 5
by Mercedes
Steele
January 21, 2016
Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity for Art Appreciators
Seeks Student Curators
Calling all art lovers!
Schomburg Teen Curators is
a new art history enrichment
program that is recruiting
fifty students who appreciate
art for hands-on learning at
the Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture. Students in this free
after-school program will
study African-American
and African Diasporan art,
with the goal of increasing
the “historical and cultural
literacy of teenagers and
promot[ing] their artistic,
intellectual and professional
engagement,” says Ms. Abigail Jefferson, the Center’s
education coordinator.
Ms. Jefferson says that this
program focuses on African-American and Diasporan
artwork because “people of
African descent have made
major contributions to the
world, especially to the
world of art. Many people
are unaware of these contributions.” By Diasporan, she
refers to people of African
descent who live outside
of Africa - not just African-Americans, but “Dominicans, Haitians, Jamaicans,
Brazilians, Cubans, Europeans of African descent, and
so many others throughout
the world.” Jefferson hopes
that “students will gain a
greater appreciation for art
that has been created by
people of African descent.
In addition, students will
study the behind the scenes
work of creating, collecting,
preserving, archiving, and
interpreting art.”
Ms. Jefferson adds that
the program’s goal is “meeting an educational need for
NYC students in the artsrich Harlem community.”
The program helps give an
“opportunity for urban teens
to gain culturally relevant
knowledge about art as a tool
for documenting history.”
Students in the program can
expect to be “immersed in
aesthetic experiences with
the Schomburg’s collec-
will also be eligible to apply
for the summer paid-internship at the Schomburg
Center, which can help them
“use their growing expertise
in positions that advance
their professional development.”
All of these opportunities
are made possible by the
Pierre and Tana Matisse
Foundation, which has generously funded the program
for the past five years,
Interested
students should contact Ms.
Jefferson at [email protected] or call her
at 212-491-2051, or visit
the Teen Curators website
to complete an application
http://www.nypl.org/help/
about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/teen-curators. This
is an exciting opportunity to
learn more about art, culture,
and our community.
Photo courtesy of Ms. Abigail Jefferson
Blood Drive Falls
Short of Goal but
Shows Generous Spirit
by Marufa Jabin
tions.” Activities include
intensive art object study,
art history research, acting
as docents who give tours,
and “hands-on curatorial
and exhibition work.” The
program also extends outside
the walls of the Schomburg
Center, as students conduct
interviews with artists,
participate in community
programs, and go on field
trips; some trips in the works
include the Metropolitan
Museum of Art, the Whitney
Museum, The Studio Museum of Harlem, and The
Cloisters. Student curators
This program will meet
the Schomburg Center for
Research in Black Culture,
located on Malcolm X Boulevard between 135th and
136th Streets. The program
will meet on Tuesdays and
Thursdays from 3:30 to 6
p.m., starting on February
2nd. Students must be able to
commit to nine hours of their
time a week, which may
include some Saturdays. The
admissions are on a rolling
basis, but if you really want
to be a teen curator, apply
by the priority application
deadline of January 26th.
Randolph’s first blood drive
of the year was on January
11. The Student Government
helped this year by organizing and overseeing the event
which took place in the auditorium. Students age 16 and
older who met the height and
weight requirements were
able to come to the auditorium and donate blood during
their lunch periods.
This time, unfortunately, the
SGO could not meet their
goal of 60 students donate
blood, although a still admirable number of 35 students
donated. It wasn’t a matter
of students not wanting to
do it, but some of them did
not meet the requirements to
ensure safe blood donation.
“A lot of people who were
anemic or...underweight”
says Student Government
Advisor Elena Butuzova,
so these students were not
cont. on p. 3
Page 2
Letter From The
Editor
Randolph, it is time for
us to unite; it is time for us
to get together and make
positive change in our
community. The school is
now opening up to new
things; this is the first year
in many years that Randolph
is actually seeing positive
changes, from the lounge
to the football team that
is still up for discussion.
This message is directed at
the people who complain
but never do anything to
change. Let us see your true
potential by standing tall to
support your school with its
first Football team and all
the positive things that are
going on. Sign a petition,
come up with a new idea, or
simply stand behind those
who are striving to make
New Reading Program
Allows Students Modern Options
by Eliana Santos
Reading for pleasure is
more than a way to pass the
time - it can improve reading
skills as well. A reading
program launched by the
DOE, NYC Reads 365, is
on its way to Randolph with
the goal of bringing books
that “teens may want to read
and be encouraged to read”
into the English classrooms,
according to school librarian
Mr. Dodes.
“Reading helps develops
an entire student,” says Mr.
Dodes, adding that reading for pleasure promotes
success in high school as
well as college. NYC Reads
365 is “based on identifying about 20 books per two
grade levels [in our case,
The Randolph Times January 21, 2016
school a better place to
spend six-plus hours a day.
All we really need now is
the support from the student
body so support these new
ideas.
Sincerely,
Justin Leo Rivera
Editor-In-Chief
Justin Leo Rivera ‘17
Faculty Advisor
Joann Mariani
Founding Members
Fernando Flores ‘15
Justin Leo Rivera ‘17
Business Manager
Justin Rivera ‘17
Staff: Fauzea Abida, Vincent Antwi, Tamia Ejekpopko, Nazario
Gonzalez, Sarah Kone, Marufa Jabin, Jenny Li, C’Asia Miles,
Eliana Santos, Kholood Sherhan, Matthew Smart, Jahvon
Smith, Mercedes Steele, Jorge Toribio, Shannen Torres, and
Chrisjen White
9-10 and 11-12], cross-genre
including nonfiction, novels, fiction, horror...all types
of reading!” The program
promotes modern books that
students might be interested in within high school so
that reading isn’t just about
English classes in grades
K-12 . There isn’t a formal
grading process for the program and students will not
be penalized for choosing
not to read books on the list.
Mr. Dodes mentioned that
the kick-off to the program
allowed him to procure
multiple copies of the books
on the list so there is availability as well as choice.
Students get to read what
they like and grades may
improve as a result – it’s
a win-win! Stay tuned to
The Randolph Times and
your English classrooms for
future updates.
Shakespeare and Othello, for
example. Every book on the
list for students to read was
published in 2012 or more
recently.
The program will be
presented to all non-elective
Pictured: Some of the choices from the NYC Reads 365
program.
From the Bronx to the
Ivy League: A Harvard Student Talks
Straight to Randolph
Students
by Kholood Sherhan
Ms. Cruz, Randolph’s very
own college advisor, set up
a meeting with a Harvard
sophomore, Robert Rush,
which took place in the library on January 8th. Many
college-bound students,
from all classes attended.
Rush wasn’t what I expected, a white guy in a tux
with an arrogant attitude;
rather he was a Bronx native, someone who’s funny,
level-headed and honest.
He spoke from experience,
his hand gestures becoming a vivid example of the
message he tried to convey.
He even drew an imaginary path to represent how
“life affirming” Harvard is.
Moreover, when Rush was
asked to share his grades and
the requirements needed to
make it into the Ivy League,
he did not share his grades
with us but he did tell us he
was a strong student but that
there were some dips in his
grades; those dips reflected
things going on in his life
that he explained in more
Blood Drive, cont. from p. 1
able to donate. In addition,
some students had recently
donated plasma, a process
which afterwards does not
allow the withdrawal of
blood until after 112 days.
On the brighter note, plasma
donations also go towards
helping people and the fact
that Randolph students were
kind enough to give their
plasma how much they care!
Some teachers also
donated. A shoutout to Mr.
Dodes, the school librarian,
who once again donated for
his community. In terms
The Randolph Times January 21, 2016
Page 3
detail in his personal statement. Rush told us it’s not
always about having grades
that are perfect but static;
in fact, many schools like
to see applicants with an
imperfect transcript because
it tells a story about their
progression.
As one question led to
another, he was asked how
the transition for him was
from high school to college.
Rush replied that his perspective of the Ivy League
university has changed
since he attended it, he says
he was surprised to see “a
lot of us, people I can rock
to class with.” Aside from
his changed perspective
he informs us about how
the Harvard staff make the
transition an easy process
and how the very personal survey is a huge factor
in making the transition
between high school and
college an easy one.
Rush also shared some of
the unique ways in which
students choose classes and
focuses for their studies.
“Shopping week” allows
students to literally walk
into any class and choose
the classes they take based
on their observations. He
also explains how concentrations, rather than majors, are
better for students because
they allow flexibility in the
courses students take while
allowing them to still fulfill
the requirements to obtain
their desired degree. Rush
also touched on internship opportunities on and
off-campus as well as the
over five hundred 500 extracurricular activities offered
at Harvard.
As informative as this
session was, it was also inspirational and welcoming.
Rush even stayed afterwards
to talk to students and gave
them his email so they can
reach out to him.(It’s rrush@
college.harvard.edu - he offers it to all students!) Rush
made sure to convey the
message to students to never
sell themselves short and
believe in themselves because schools like Harvard
recognize potential. He even
told one student “believe in
yourself and try and you can
bring all of this with you”
as he pointed out his style in
clothes.
Ms. Cruz also praises her
students on their level of
maturity and adds “Mr. Rush
was phenomenal, he really
connected with my students
and made them feel like the
dream of going to an Ivy
League is attainable if you
work hard no matter where
you come from”. Anyone interested in information about
attending an Ivy League college. should see Ms. Cruz,
it’s her job to help.
The gist of this session
was ambition and potential
are key to success but that
won’t be possible without
having faith in oneself.
Thanks to Rush, those who
attended all learned that
valuable lesson.
of numbers, Mr. Dodes
has more points than any
teacher for blood donation in
Randolph. He has 30 points
and each point represents
how many times he donated blood from our school.
When asked why he chooses
to do this kind act every
year, he said, “I’ve been
giving blood for a number
of years… [and it has to do
with] how my parents raised
me. I also have family members...with blood cancer,
specifically leukemia, which
I want to raise awareness
for.” As humble as he is, he
does not boast about con-
sistent blood donations. “I
try to give as often as I can,
when I can,” Mr. Dodes
added.
Speaking of shout outs,
Ms. Ruiz spoke most generously about the current
Student Government President, Henry Figueroa for his
enthusiasm and work. Ms.
Ruiz showered him with
compliments. “He has been
awesome, very supportive.
He has been my captain and
he was the person who gave
out all my applications, all
my posters, he went to the
cafe to recruit [donors]. He’s
been a great leader and it’s
been an honor to meet him
and have him as a part of my
team” she proclaims. She
ends her statement with “I’m
going to miss him when he
leaves”.
Upset you could not partake in this month’s blood
drive? Don’t worry! Ms.
Ruiz says that there will
be another one: “We are
looking forward to our third
blood drive where people
who could not donate this
month would be able to
donate blood in April”. See
Ms. Ruiz in room 151 for
more information on how
you can give the gift of life.
Photo credit: Ms. Ana Crus
Page 4
NHS Strives to Improve School and
Community
by Shannen Torres
The National Honor Society at Randolph has continuously had a positive impact
on our school environment
and the lives of its student
members. Ms. McLean, a
beloved Living Environment
and A.P. Psychology teacher
here at Randolph, has been
the advisor for this remarkable association for about
three years, and hopes to
make students aware of its
many opportunities.
Since its establishment in
1921, this NHS has recognized exceptional high
school students who demonstrate the desire to succeed
and help their local neighborhoods.
Ms. McLean emphasizes
that the NHS is based on,
but not only about, academics. It gives students the
chance to interact outside
of the academic environment and discuss projects
and topics of interest that
are not mentioned in class.
She desires to have students
join the program as a way
to converse about social and
environmental issues. She
also expressed the personal
importance of the society
and the service it may do for
our communities.
Ms. McLean was inspired
to help students achieve
social progress by her own
experience. With parents
who both worked full time,
she was not able to interact
with her neighborhood in
New York when she was
younger. She realized the
need to teach people at a
young age and to encourage
students to think about their
contribution to their communities. The National Honor
Society is therefore continued in schools across the
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
country to allow students to
reflect and ask themselves,
“What can I do to change
my environment?”
A few of our fellow Randolph peers expressed their
feelings and experiences
toward The National Honor
Society. Irving Gonzalez, an
eleventh grader who is very
active at Randolph, and who
has been a member since last
year, loves that NHS gives
him “the opportunity to be
active inside and outside our
school communities”. He
also adds that Ms. McLean
continuously motivates him
to work in his environment.
These benefits are not
just academic. NHS also
requires its members to do
20 hours of community
service, and Ms. McLean
strives to plan events for the
enjoyment of the students
and the improvement of our
school. While one of the
biggest projects of the year
is the drive to have a stop
sign installed across the
street from the building (see
sidebar) NHS will continue
to represent Randolph at
annual walks in New York
City and raise money for
AIDS and breast cancer; the
group raised five hundred
dollars for breast cancer
research last October, and
will participate in the annual
AIDS walk in May.
The organization, founded on of the four pillars of
success (scholarship, leadership, service, and character),
has certain requirements for
a student’s admission. An
NHS honor student should
maintain an 85 grade point
average and not fail any
classes, which Ms. Mclean
admits can be difficult to do.
Ms. McLean urges students to apply now and join
the more than one million
students across the nation.
If you are interested, see
Ms. McLean in Room 511
after 8th period to get more
information and apply!
Most Randolph students
either walk or take the bus
or take the train to school.
Many of those students walk
up the St. Nicholas Park
steps and have to cross the
intersection of 135th and
St. Nicholas Terrace to get
to school. The crosswalk is
on a narrow street with cars
parked on both sides. This
combination means pedestrians have to pole their heads
to check for any oncoming
cars, or, if they fail to do so,
risk getting struck by a car.
Stop! In the Name of
Safety
by Tamia Ejekpopko
Most Randolph students
either walk or take the bus
or take the train to school.
Many of those students walk
up the St. Nicholas Park
steps and have to cross the
intersection of 135th and
St. Nicholas Terrace to get
to school. The crosswalk is
on a narrow street with cars
parked on both sides. This
combination means pedestrians have to pole their heads
to check for any oncoming
cars, or, if they fail to do so,
risk getting struck by a car.
Often times, cars approaching the crosswalk do not
slow down and rudely honk
at pedestrians for being in
the middle of the street.
Ms. McLean expresses
concern and urges that a
more visible cross walk and
stop sign be put in place.
“As far as I know, we have
been lucky,” Ms. McLean
said, but, as everyone
knows, luck runs out. McLean foreshadows that “with
the increase of pedestrians
coming in the park that [an
accident] will eventually occur.” A stop sign and crosswalk would force vehicles
to stop and let pedestrians
cross and go to school.
Ms. McLean wants to
make the issue of installing
these safety precautions a
civil service - something
one does for the community - preferably as an activity conducted in a class or
club. McLean wants NHS
curating the civil service,
but doesn’t want to limit
it to NHS members – she
urges all of the Randolph
community to participate
because the crosswalk issue
affects us all. Please see
Ms. McLean in room 511 if
you want to help make our
school and community a
safer place!
Below: Oncoming car on
St. Nicholas Terrace, approaching Convent Street
Randolph Junior
Shines in Sophie Davis HPREP Contest
by Matthew Smart
A. Philip Randolph’s own
Fauzea Abida recently won
an award for her personal
and scientific statement in
the published Sophie Davis
HPREP (Health Professional Recruitment Exposure
Program) Writing Contest,
competing against students
from (among others) Cardozo High School. After she
was urged to enter by the
program’s director, Dr.Cusack, Fauzea submitted her
winning pieces, a scientific
report on the mental illness
Dissociative Identity Dis-
CSI in Your Own
Backyard
by C’Asia Miles
Have you ever watched
forensic scientists on TV
solve a crime armed only
with their lab equipment?
You can learn the basics of
toxicology in a new after-school program. Science
teacher Ms. Villar recently
announced that A. Philip
Randolph will be starting
a Backyard Toxicology
program, advocated by
our principal Mr.Fanning.
The Backyard Toxicology
program is a college-level
course that’s been integrated
in our school as a science
elective. One of the purposes
behind this new program is
to create a culture of high
school students and college
students working together.
Toxicology is the study
of how poisonous materials
interact with organisms,
combining aspects of physics, biology, chemistry, and
geology. In the Backyard
Toxicology program toxins
are the central topic, as inferred from the name, but it
does touch on topics all over
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
Page 5
order (DID) and a personal
statement.
“DID is a chronic mental
disorder in which two or
more distinguishable versions of oneself constitute
the whole of the individual’s mind. These versions
become two completely
different demeanors of that
person,” Fauzea says. However, DID is much grimmer
than most other personality
disorders due to its origin,
which almost always stems
from trauma experienced by
the person with the disorder. The dissociative aspect
is thought to be a coping
mechanism -- the person
literally dissociates him/
herself from a situation or
experience that’s too violent, traumatic, or painful
to assimilate with his or her
conscious self.
Fauzea’s motivation to
choose this topic came with
her interest in neurology, but
she was ultimately hooked
by its obscurity in the medical world and felt a responsibility to spread awareness
of it through her report.
However, this obscurity led
to her experiencing struggles
when it came to researching
the topic; she had difficulty
trying to write a five to seven page report on a topic she
barely knew anything about,
with only small snippets of
information. Her research
included websites like The
science. If you’re expecting
the typical classroom lectures you’d be wrong. Those
that are interested should
look forward to delving into
scientific literature, as well
as lab work and group activities. Ms. Villar and Assistant Principal Ms. McShall
are working to make the
curriculum “inquiry-based,”
hoping that students will not
only gain knowledge, but
also attain a love for science.
Ms. Villar adds how happy
she would be if one of her
students developed a deep
enough understanding of
science that they take the
a subject test during their
SAT’s.
Sessions for the program
will take place in room 509
on Mondays and Tuesdays,
from 4 to 5 p.m. The program will begin in late February and end in late June.
See Ms. Villar in room 509.
First Food Drive of the comments that in most food
drives, people “feel unsucYear Finishes
by Fauzea Abida
January 15th marked
the end of the NYC Food
Drive for this segment of
the year. Cans are collected by City Harvest trucks
and distributed to people in
need. According to Daily
News Food Drive, “nearly
1.4 million New Yorkers are
facing hunger.” The organization serves to fight this
problem. For Randolph, this
year’s collection wasn’t the
greatest as noted by seniors
Henry Figueroa and Elena
Butuzova. “Three to five
boxes” of peanut butter,
cereal, macaroni and cheese,
canned soup, and non-perishable foods in general
were able to makes its way
to the drive. Unfortunately,
announcements about the
food drive began in December and only a few items
could be gathered. Despite
the short notice, posters
were taped all around the
school urging people to “get
involved.” Henry and Elena
managed to get 10 people
from the student government to donate cans. Henry
National Institute of Mental
Health (NIMH), WebMD,
and several medical journals.
Yet, writing about herself
in the personal statement
proved to be the most challenging part of the project.
This was due to the difficulty of writing about a part of
her she feels isn’t complete,
and not easy to share with
others. However, after overcoming this, Fauzea not only
won a gift card but gained
the experience of becoming
more accustomed to the
process of writing a research
paper and knowing “the brutality of writing something
about herself” through the
personal statement.
cessful” because a lot of the
foods have already expired,
but Randolph checked all
boxes for unusable products
before donating. The two wish that the
next food drive in April
will produce better results
with Elena expressing that
“hopefully people of A. Philip Randolph will bring food
over time.” Let’s make the
thought concrete, students.
For anyone interested in
continuing a Good Samaritan tradition and donating to
the Daily News Virtual Food
Drive, visit cityharvest.
org/virtualfooddrive. Every
dollar saves four pounds of
wholesome food.
Page 6
Islamophobia
by Kholood Sherhan
Islamophobia in America
is spiraling out of control.
It seems that Donald Trump
isn’t the only Republican
candidate Islamophobia
has consumed, because like
Trump, other candidates
have done the same exact
thing, just in a more subtle
manner. Ted Cruz and Jeb
Bush called to accept Syrian
refugees only if they are
Christians, technically banning Muslims from entering
the United States too.
Trump isn’t actually the
problem here. Rather, he’s
merely indulging a sentiment that was already
widespread. The distinction
between Bush and Cruz’s
Muslim-banning plan and
Trump’s is largely one of
scale, not of kind. Yet the
fact that only Trump drew
widespread outrage shows
how accustomed we have
become too out-in-the-open
anti-Muslim prejudice in
this country, and the extremes that we now tolerate.
According to a YouGov poll
conducted 55% of Americans have an “unfavorable”
opinion about Islam. Moreover, Islamophobic sentiments are more common
among Americans who are
45 and older, those who are
Republican, and those who
are white.
Attitudes toward Islam
and attitudes toward Muslims as individuals should
be considered separately
– however, studies suggests
that the two overlap considerably, as many people
fail to distinguish between
the two. Moreover, The
YouGov poll that looked
at unfavorable attitudes
also asked respondents if
they knew any Muslims,
74% said they didn’t, and
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
OPINION
when asked if they had any
Muslim friends, 68% said
they didn’t. This indicates
that their biased opinions are
formulated not on experience and understanding, but
based on stereotypes that the
media perpetuates. Flipping
the script now, a survey conducted by Pew for Muslims
found that negative experiences were commonplace:
28% of those interviewed
said that in the past year,
people had acted as if they
suspiciously of them, 22%
said they had been called offensive names, and 21% said
they had been singled out by
airport security.
Islamophobia is becoming
a widespread issue because
Terrorism in Any Color is Still Terrorism
of the biased and inaccurate
media. People need to become educated on the matter
of terrorism and learn the
truth for themselves. This
means they need to interact
with Muslims and get to
know them and their beliefs and traditions and then
formulate their opinions of
Islam on their own.
the definition onto a specific
ethnicity.
As the notion of Islamophobia progressively
emerges within our country
once again, Americans are
led by the media to associate
terrorist actions with Islam.
After the tragedy of September 11th, 2001, Muslims
were killed or injured due
to the poorly conceived
“patriotic” decision to
release American anger
on the Middle East and
were the targets of racial
hatred and hate crimes
at home. ISIS, according to their coordinated
attacks, does not have a
By Shannen Torres
The KKK and ISIS have
both made severe impacts on
their surrounding societies.
Although the two extremist
organizations have both
committed crimes against
a certain group of people
based on religious and/or
racial prejudice, only the
latter is usually labeled as
a terrorist group. Terrorism
(defined as the intentional
use of fear and/or violence
for a political objective) is
often portrayed incorrectly
in both the social media
as well as our daily news
reports. Media tends to affix
specific religious preference
as they enforce their views
on any religious groups that
disagreed with their political
ideals, especially Muslims
(even though they claim
their actions in the name
of “Allah”). An example of
them prioritizing their attention on their target to pledge
obedience and not religious
conformity is their bombing
of Islamic Mosques. Their
constant political issues
with Syria ( a country with
75 percent of a Muslim
population) is proof of their
disconcern for a country’s
religion.
Therefore, why is ISIS
so closely associated with a
desire of religious missionary pursuits? The right-wing,
Christian, White KKK has
always been a threat to the
United States, even more
so than ISIS, as their racial
hatred has terrorized African- Americans and ethnic
immigrants since its establishment in the Reconstruction South. The KKK’s actions have included violent
lynching of African- Americans, bombings of black
institutions, and violence
against Civil Rights activists – both Black people and
their White allies. However,
they are not considered to be
terrorist, due to their privilege as a Christian-based
group and not an organization filled with predominantly brown people.
Just this month, there was
an unprecedented raid of the
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge this January in
Oregon (which is federally
held land) by white ranchers
who claimed to be protesting against the government
for selling their land. Law
enforcers were also continuously seen to be politely asking the trespassers to retreat,
cont. on next page
Terrorism in Any Color
cont. from previous page
rather than removing them
by force
Conservative website
The Right Scoop claims
that because the number of
deaths committed by ISIS
is greater than the KKK,
the Christian group cannot
be considered terrorists.
However, terrorism is defined by the action, not the
actors. Therefore, a group
of whites who lynched and
killed blacks for only about
a century or more, and ISIS,
a group made by America
who branched off on their
own because of their misrepresentation, should both be
considered terrorists.
With this in mind, should
America receive privilege
and not be forced to claim
their own terrorists group
just because it is considered
the “land of the free” and
Let’s Give Steve Harvey a Break
by Vincent Antwi
“I have to apologize.”
These are the words Miss
Universe host Steve Harvey
was forced to use after Miss
Colombia, Ariadna Gutierrez was already wearing the
crown to the cheers of the
crowd.
“The first runner-up is
Colombia,” Steve said.
That is when the whole
crowd and the real winner,
Pia Wurtzbach of the Philipines, began to look around
in shock. The moment was
contained with suspense that
it felt unrealistic.
Harvey went on by apologizing to the viewers at the
end of the show, taking total
responsibility of his actions.
“Listen folks, let me just
take control of this,” Harvey
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
the land that is supposed to
suppress terrorism in the
evil middle east instead
of on their own land? No,
and in the words of Malala
Yousafzai, survivor of a
Taliban attack and Nobel
Prize Winner, “The more
you speak about Islam and
against all Muslims, the
more terrorists we create”.
said as he showed the crowd
and the thousands viewing
on live TV the card which
listed the runners-up.
“This is exactly what’s on
the card. I will take responsibility for this. It was my
mstake.”
Before the telecast was
even over,
Harvey received
many harsh criticisms on social
media. It went
as far as him
being called the
N-word, mostly
by angry Colombians who
thought maybe
Steve shouldn’t
be on TV for his
unprofessionalism. Truly, I
believe “Steve
Harvey” and
“unprofession-
The Oscars Should
Reflect the Face of
America
by Tamia Ejekpopko
The hashtag #OscarsSoWhite has taken over
Facebook, Twitter, and
Instagram. This is due to the
Academy (for the second
year in a row) nominating
solely white people in the
major categories, although
there were multiple good
films out with African
American stars, directors
and producers: Straight
Outta Compton, Beasts of
no Nation, Chi-Raq This
has caused backlash in the
African American community, especially people in the
industry. Jada Pinkett Smith
and Spike Lee are among
the celebrities who will be
boycotting.
It is true that the Oscars
have lacked diversity, but
why are people making the
alism” should not be used in
the same sentence - for this
man has hosted many television shows without mishap
and apologized sincerely
and immediately. His humor, abundant wisdom and
philosophical outlook makes
him a great man and no one
Page 9
issue solely about African
Americans, rather than all
the minorities in the film
industry, who are also overlooked, including Latino,
Asian, and female artists
also. The Oscars should focus on having more diversity
as in different minorities
being represented and nominated. The best way for there
to truly be diversity is for
minority groups to come together, not segregate. What
are your opinions?
Below: Film and TV star
Jada Pinkett Smith explains
her reasons for boycotting
(especially if you haven’t accomplished the many things
he has) shouldn’t verbally
degrade him. After all, we
are all humans; making mistakes is in our genes and no
one should be shamed for it.
Page 10
A Science Master With
A Creative Side
by Chrisjen White
“The best part of the job
is being able to be creative,”
Dr.Cusack says on what
is the most enjoyable part
of teaching. “To share that
creativity with students...I
like doing that.” If you
hadn’t guessed by now, this
month’s teacher spotlight
goes to the one and only Dr.
Cusack. I recently had the
opportunity to sit down and
get to know who Dr.Cusack
really is. She has profound
love for the sciences and this
year, she teaches anatomy,
physiology, and chemistry.
Outside of the education
field, Dr.Cusack has a practice in Natural Medicine,
teaches workshops, and
writes books – in fact, her
new book is coming out in a
couple of months- on general sciences. However, being
a science teacher wasn’t
always her dream.
Growing up in Houston,
Dr. Cusack loved acting, and
even wanted to go to college
and get a degree in theater.
Student Spotlight:
Carlos Ordonez
by Jahvon Smith
The Randolph Times has
often celebrated those who
have been academically
successful, but Randolph is
a sea filled with an array of
students. This month we acknowledge Carlos Ordonez
for his participation in Randolph’s sports teams, including track & field, swimming,
lacrosse, and a sport beloved
by him, soccer.
Carlos Ordonez hails
from Ecuador and when he
came to the U.S. at the age
of eight, he played soccer for the New York Red
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
RANDOLPH PEOPLE
To further be exposed to the
acting world, Dr. Cusack
went to a humanities-based
high school in France. There
she learned many new things
that she would forever
treasure, but due to it being
a humanities curriculum
school, she didn’t have to
take any science classes.
When applying to the University of Denver, like most
colleges, Dr.Cusack had to take a
science class. Her
first year was like
any other college
student’s: Fun,
exciting, and
new. She took a
biology class and
“loved it.” Realizing her love for
the subject, Dr.
Cusack switched
her degree and
decided to major in biology
with minors in chemistry
and women’s studies. Dr.
Cusack got her undergraduate degree at University of
Denver, then later achieved
a two-year Masters degree
and finally, spent five years
to get her doctorate degree at
Clayton College of Natural
Health.
Dr. Cusack started working in retail and restaurant
management. She was “always working with teenagers” and since she got along
really well with adolescents,
Dr.Cusack decided she could
give teaching a shot. Being
able to have the same breaks
as her two daughters further
confirmed her decision.
She went back to
college to get her
teaching certificate.
Teaching for
18 years now, Dr.
Cusack still finds
enjoyment from it.
Even though she
has to do things
she doesn’t like
such as grading
written projects;
“Anything that
involves a lot of reading,
I hate grading those.” Her
main goal is to “help [students] achieve their goals”
and form relationships that
helps motivate students to
reach for higher places, like
her grandmother did for her.
During the Depression, Dr.
Cusack’s grandmother was
a strong and driven woman.
She wouldn’t give up her
job and fought against the
organizations and social
norms during those times.
“She was a big time flapper
girl” Dr. Cusack says. Her
grandmother helped shape
Dr. Cusack into the women
she is today.
Bulls. The Red Bulls played
kick-and-run soccer, which
was not the form Carlos
preferred, but he didn’t
have to stick with them for
long. Noting Carlos’s skill,
the coach of the Red Bulls
referred him to a team more
suitable to his style of play;
FC Gottschee, located in
New Jersey. It is here that
Carlos took strides in his
game, allowing for him to
be seen by Division One
colleges as a good pick for
their team. The Surf Cup, a
competition that takes place
in California, is a summer
showcase that will give Carlos, and his team members,
more exposure to college
recruiters.
Soccer may be his primary
sport, but to get better he
needs to expose his body to
different methods of training, which his participation
in swimming, track, and
lacrosse can provide.
Participating in as many
sports as Carlos has can put
a strain on someone both
mentally and physically, decreasing the quality of their
work. His mother gave him
an ultimatum: “If you want
to play...do well in school,”
and that is exactly what Carlos has done, maintaining a
strong GPA while dedicating
physical and mental energy
to sports.
This motivation Carlos
had shown both on and off
the field is why we have
recognized him in Student
Spotlight!
Photo credit: Justin Leo
Rivera
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
FEATURES
The Faults in Our Res- both practical and realistic
by starting off with short
olutions?
by Fauzea Abida and
Mercedes Steele
It’s that time of year again
to hear the infamous “New
year, new me.”
A New Year resolution is
a decision or goal someone
wants to accomplish. People
make one when they want to
work on something in their
lives. They
usually start at
the beginning
of the year, but
not everyone
sets to their
goal of “new
year, new me.”
It can be difficult to keep
the promises
we make to
ourselves, but there are ways
to avoid the predicament.
Of course everyone is
entitled to decide whether
or not they want to make a
New Year’s resolution, but
you should try not to bite
off more than you can chew.
For someone to change the
direction of their life to ‘better living,’ they should take
reasonable measures. You
should make goals that are
Eating Around New
York: French Fries
by Sarah Kone
French fries are everywhere, I mean we’re from
here, so we’ve all had our
fair share of fries. From
what I’ve learned and tasted
so far not all fries are good
and for the best, you don’t
actually need ketchup.
Since I haven’t tasted every
French fry in the world, I
can’t determine who the
best, is but I can name some
top contenders in New York
City.
-McDonald’s is definitely
term goals to get to your
long term goal. You should
also only make one resolution at a time. According to
the article “Why We Make
New Year’s Resolutions,”
Nona Jordan states “the fact
that people keep making
resolutions even when they
don’t always follow through
ultimately means that they
have hope and a certain
8% actually end up sticking
to them. The most common goal among people
is losing weight and the
biggest mistake lies in that
goal. It’s great to want to be
healthy, but to what extent
is this resolution beneficial
to our well-being? Creating a weight-loss objective
immediately after a new
year can go downhill in a
matter of days. If a person is
unable to work with a cer-
level of belief in their ability
to change and be more of
who they really want to be”.
She basically implies that
people want to change and
keep making resolutions to
change themselves to be a
better person.
Making a resolution does
have its share of negatives.
Research shows that about
45% of people make New
Year’s resolutions, but only
tain diet plan, he or she can
be susceptible to feelings of
disappointment and general
sadness. As mentioned before, when a goal lies on the
unrealistic spectrum, there is
a chance of feeling guilt and
blaming one’s self for failure
to accomplish a personal
wish. To combat these possibly unhealthy outcomes, a
person has the choice of setting goals such as losing one
a top contender. No matter
how many people call the
fries fake or comment on
how they never really spoil,
people always go back. They
are highly addictive and they
don’t need anything to make
them taste better. Anyone
who’s tasted the fries from
has always gone back for
more.
-Even though Nathan’s
is mainly known for their
famous hot dogs, their
cheese fries are on a map of
their own. They are melted
awesomeness on amazing
goodness, crinkle-cut freshly
fried fries topped with seasoned cheddar cheese. On a
good day everyone deserves
their own order of Nathan’s
cheese fries.
-Coming up next is our
very own Shake Shack.
Of course when you have
famous burgers, they have
to be complemented with
famous
fries.
Both their
regular and
cheese
fries have
a great
reputation
of never
disappointing a
Page 11
pound every week instead
of attempting to lose twenty
in a week. This provides a
positive atmosphere for a
person to live in. Thinking
things like, “No more junk
food” and “no more meat”
aren’t quite the best resolutions either. Cutting back on
junk is fine, but depriving
yourself of it all can cause
an binge-fest which may
lead to a repetitive cycle and
hinder you from getting fit.
Resolutions
can help you
or hurt you
depending on
what type of
goal you’ve set
up for yourself.
On another
note, you don’t
have to follow
in the footsteps of others. Construct
aims throughout the year,
areas you would like to fix
or sharpen. At the end of the
day, what matters is reaching
the summit, not when you
began the climb up.
costumer. According to them
the secret is caring for every
single fry because they do
all matter.
Page 12
Death of a Bachelor:
A band from start to
now
by Nazario Gonzalez
After ten years of being a
in the music industry, Panic!
At The Disco, an American
alternative rock band founded Las Vegas Nevada in
2004, just released their fifth
album, Death of a Bachelor
on January 15, 2016.
The origins of the Panic!
At the Disco started after the
members completed high
school. In 2004, original
members Ryan Ross and
Spencer Smith were looking
for a replacement guitarist
and found a young man by
the name Brendon Urie, and
after discovering his vocal
capabilities he became the
new lead vocalist.
After completing several
demo songs, the band took
a courageous step and sent
the demo to Pete Wentz
of Fall out Boy, and that
was the start of their music
The Art of Movie-Making Comes to
Life
by Pamela Puello
Looks like art couldn’t
get any better. Ms. Mariani’s film class visited the
Museum of the Moving
Image on Friday, January
8, 2016. Film as Literature
is an Humanities/Art class
that focuses on examining
how a film portrays certain
ideas through the influence of different cinematic
techniques. This semester,
they have been watching a
wide variety of films and
connecting to themes like
stereotypes and power and
corruption, and genre studies
like psychological thrillers. At the museum, these
film students first watched
Bulworth, a 1998 political
comedy about a senator who
courageously speaks about
all the flaws in the system
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
successes under the label
DecayDance Records. But
it wasn’t until the release
of the single “I write Sins
no Tragedies” that the band
started to take off. Their
debut album A Fever You
Can’t Sweat Out began to
sweep the market.
Since then, the band has
seen many lineup changes.
As of now, Brendon Urie is
the only remaining original
member.
In the newly released
album, Death of a Bachelor, we can really see how
due to his suicidal attempt
of hiring an assassin to kill
him during the course of his
campaign. After the screening, students claimed they
enjoyed the film primarily
because of the main character’s use of satire, hoping
a politician of our time will
go “Bulworth.” They were
all engaged discussing the
film’s relevance and the
entertaining Hip Hop music
purposely used as a way to
relate to the film’s theme of
social inequality.
For the rest of the trip,
students were given a tour
in the museum with thrilling peeps of several film’s
production designs. Students
were able to analyze the
designs of one of semester’s
main film, The Silence of
the Lambs. Our tour guide
showed us a display of Freddy Krueger’s Chest of Souls
sweater used in A Nightmare
on Elm Street 4: The Dream
Master. She revealed that
over the years as a musician
Urie’s influences and confidence as a producer and
vocalist changed dramatically. Carrying a hyper-extended vocal range, he’s not
afraid to show off his vocal
capabilities in both range
and techniques.
The new album carries a
very pop-influenced style.
But don’t let that scare you.
The album still carries the
band’s typical theatrics they
were always known for.
In the title song “Death of
a Bachelor” and “Impossible
Year” we touch on Brendon’s major musical influence as he places homage
to his musical idol, Frank
Sinatra. The lyrics and
musical style of both songs
capture the essences of the
long-since-dead musician,
and leads to a great and
memorable song.
The theatrics we all love
and know the band for can
be seen through the songs
“Emperor’s New Clothes
“and “Hallelujah” through
risqué music videos, and interesting lyrical style. Both
songs were released prior to
the album’s debut, and only
gave it more well-deserved
hype.
Death of a Bachelor has
many memorable tracks,
and as always carries great
musical pizzazz. The only
fault lies with its random nature; the album may present
without a centralized style
and in certain songs such as
“The Good, The Bad and
The Dirty,” certain songs
can feel a bit forced into it.
The album doesn’t compare
well to the debut album A
Fever You Can’t Sweat Out.
But for an 11-track release
with all credit going to a
now solo artist, it’s very
impressive. Just stay away
from “Don’t Threaten Me
With A Good Time” and
you’ll enjoy.
the huge sweater was made
that way because the creators struggled with making
this scene realistic. So for
it’s special effects they had
a couple of actors literally
trapped inside the giant
sweater Senior Sharlyne
Cabral declared this museum as a favorite because
it was “truly interesting
getting a glimpse of the real
life costumes and props of
the movies [she’s] watched
and enjoyed”. Another film
student, Fernando Ortega,
admires this trip because he
had the chance of meeting
face to face with the head
spinning Linda Blair dummy
from The Exorcist. He says
Pictured: Panic! At the Disco
frontman Brendon Urie
it’s “honestly an unforgettable and haunting image
planted in [his] mind”.
Since this trip has become
an absolute favorite among
the film students, Ms. Mariani is planning another one
in the future.
Pictured: The Exorcist doll
and Freddy’s larger than life
sweater from Nightmare on
Elm Street 4:
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
The Walking Dead:
Six Seasons Strong of
Ghoulish Fun
by Marufa Jabin
If you are into action,
suspense, a driving plot,
and a whole lot of zombies,
AMC’s The Walking Dead
is the perfect TV show for
you! If you haven’t been
following it, you still have
time to binge-watch before
the season picks up. The
Walking Dead will keep you
at the edge of your seat and
have you watching the next
episode before you even
realize it!
AMC’s most popular
series first aired in 2010.
It was the live action rendition of the comic book
series by Robert Kirkman.
The series began with Rick
Grimes (Andrew Lincoln),
the protagonist, waking up
from a coma in the hospital. Unaware of the world’s
downfall, he walks outside
of the hospital only to find
the town he knew in utter
destruction and no one in
sight...until he meets his first
“walker” (fun fact, the word
“zombie” doesn’t exist in
the series. The undead are
referred to as “walkers”,
hence the title.) After he
learns what became of the
world, he goes out to find his
wife Lori (Sarah Wayne Callies) and son Carl (Chandler
Riggs). The series follows
Rick and his family and
friends through their survival in this apocalyptic era.
The Walking Dead would
best be characterized as a
spontaneous roller coaster. You will never know
what will come next. From
splattering zombie guts
on oneself to camouflage
oneself from real zombies,
to being meals of cannibalistic humans, this world is
definitely not for everyone.
The Walking Dead, unlike
most typical zombie movies
or shows, does not centralize
the plot to figuring out why
and how the undead monsters came about. Instead it
questions how these people
can survive among them.
The show is not only limited
to surviving the undead; the
living pose a threat as well.
The end of the world as we
knew it brings out the true
nature of people. The main
characters must face off with
other groups of people who
emerge in their path one
way or the other. There are
people who are ready to kill
other people for survival,
food, and for their own sick
the viewers when they are
in a dangerous situation. In
addition, there are many celebrity guest stars who come
on the show like Tyler James
Williams (who plays Chris
on Everybody Hates Chris)
and Emma Bell.
Andrew Lincoln does an
amazing job portraying the
complicated Rick Grimes.
One side of Rick is loving
and dedicated to his friends
and family, but as a leader
we also see his aggressive,
controlling side. Daryl (Norman Reedus) and Carol (Melissa McBride) will become
your favorite characters with
their rebellious personalities
but caring nature. The TV
games.
While amongst these circumstances, Rick’s band of
survivors also face internal
conflicts. What do you do
when your wife cheats on
you with your best friend?
How will you raise a baby
while fighting for your
lives? What do morals mean
when we have to kill others
to survive? One thing that
makes this show great is that
the show’s creators are not
afraid to kill off major, beloved characters in order to
advance the plot. Although
it is hard to let most of them
go, their legacy makes it
interesting and different
from other survival shows
who tend to stick with the
same characters. Knowing
main characters can die
makes it more threatening to
series also has twists of plot
for the comic book fans to
make it more exciting for
them.
AMC expected the series
to initially attract the comic
book fans and they only
wanted to create one season.
However, due to the super
awesome content of a zombie apocalypse, it skyrocketed with popularity. Ratings
went off the roof and AMC
announced at the end of
season one that there would
be a few more seasons due
to the immense attention the
series had gotten. The show
consistently breaks ratings
records, especially among
people aged 18-49 (the most
wanted viewers by the networks because they are more
likely to buy products advertised on commercials during
Page 13
the show.) All four previous
seasons of TWD have gotten
high ratings, but the Season
5 premiere was watched by
17.3 million viewers and
dubbed “the highest ratings
in series history,” according
to entertainment industry
magazine Deadline. The
season finale is expected to
be watched by 22 million
viewers.
In the mid-season finale
episode of The Walking
Dead, the walkers were
able to infiltrate Alexandria,
thought to be a safe haven,
due to the fallen tower that
brought down the wall. How
will Rick and his group be
able to fix this one? Check
out for yourself
when Season 6
resumes, February 14th on
AMC!
Goodbye to a Beloved
Actor
by Monira Begum
An actor who played a
huge part of the Harry Potter Series has passed away.
Alan Rickman, (age 69) who
played Professor Severus
Snape in all eight films, died
on January 14, 2016, after a
brief battle with pancreatic
cancer. Pancreatic cancer
is one of the most deadly cancers, affecting the
gland that produces digestive juices and hormones
that regulate blood sugar.
Rickman played a huge role
in the movie Harry Potter
universe, and we should pay
tribute to him.
Why should we care? He
played a huge role in one of
the best series ever. Without
Alan Rickman, there is no
Professor Snape. Professor Snape is the one who
The Randolph Times Jan. 21, 2016
saved Harry when he was a
baby after Lord Voldemort
(A.K.A, The One Who
Shall Not Be Named) killed
Harry’s parents. He’s the
was with Alan Rickman.
Although he never won
an Oscar for playing Professor Snape, Rickman did
get other awards for acting,
including Golden Globes
and Emmy Awards, and the
BAFTA Award (that is the
British equivalent of the Oscar.) He left us too soon and
will be missed by many.
Below, Rickman. Left,
Rickman, Emma Watson,
Rupert Grint, and Daniel
Radcliffe in Harry Potter
one who knew Harry’s mom
when they were young and
she was being called a freak.
He fell in love with her
but it was one-sided, as he
watched her fall in love with
another person. Snape saved
Harry multiple times in the
series and watched over
Harry. Throughout the series, Professor Snape changes. He was cruel and thought
Book Review: It’s Kind intense academic pressure.
His stress eventually manof a Funny Story
by Jenny Li
It’s Kind of a Funny Story
is a riveting tale chronicling
a fifteen-year-old boy’s
struggle with depression.
The author, Ned Vizzini,
based the novel off of his
own experience in a psychiatric ward, in which
he stayed for five days as
a young man.The novel
centers around around Craig
Gilner and his path through
dealing with the stress of
being a teenager.
Getting accepted to the
prestigious Executive
Pre-Professional High
School was not unexpected
for Craig Gilner since he
studied laboriously to win
admission. But everything
soon comes crashing down
when he becomes overwhelmed by the school’s
to be the antagonist when he
actually wasn’t. Professor
Snape was loyal to Dumbledore. Due to his loyalty
and trustworthiness, Dumb-
Page 14
ifests itself into an
eating disorder, using
marijuana,sweating
profusely, and suicidal
thoughts. He eventually goes to see a
psychiatrist, but even
that is not enough to stop
the suicidal thoughts. From
there he goes backwards
and is soon admitted into a
psychiatric ward. There he
meets others also dealing
with problems and realizes
he should pursue the things
that make him happy and
ledore instructs Professor
Snape to kill him in order to
get Lord Voldemort’s trust.
In the series, Voldemort gets
Professor Snape killed and
his memories are played by
Harry from the tear Harry
collected. Even though the
series concentrates more on
Harry, Ron, and Hermione,
Harry Potter wouldn’t have
been quite as special as it
that the only expectations he
truly needs to meet are his
own.
It’s Kind of a Funny
Story kept me entertained and amused
throughout the entire
book, not something I
expected from a story
about a boy dealing
and the Prisoner of Azkaban
offers a memorable fictional description of teenage
clinical depression. Though
Vizzini sadly lost his own
battle with depression and
committed suicide at the age
of 32, the humor and honesty in his novel may even
help others dealing with the
same issue. This is definitely
a recommended novel for
young adults of our time.
Pictured below, book cover; left,
still from the film starring Keir
Gilchrist, Zach Galifinakis, Zoe
Kravitz and Viola Davis
with depression. My belief
was that this was going be
like any other tragic tale
dealing with ideas like
suicide; dreary, sad, and
heartbreaking. Instead It’s
Kind of a Funny Story is
humorous and unlike any
other book I’ve read. Vizzini