Blue Devil Newsletter - Issue 4

Adapted from the original Newsletter by Alexiandria Cintron, Erick Criollo, Nicole Castiblanco and Kathy Chiam
November, 2012

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SOS CORNER: I always say that you will be judged more on how you handle adversity than how you handle success. Life is full of joy and sorrow. Unfortunately life has been bumpy the last few weeks; the passing of my brother, Hurricane Sandy, and an early nor’easter. I have felt and seen a tremendous amount of support from our school community. People seem to really come together when the chips are down. I want to encourage all of you to take “si oh en tee are O el” of your lives. Don’t wait for things to happen. Be proactive and preventative when it comes to the world around you. I believe that we write our own destiny. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring and therefore we must make the most of each minute we have. You will get out of life what you put in. Sometimes things are difficult to read.  We must find the inner meaning and how we are going to use it. Do you see the glass as half full or half empty? This is a question to ponder for our next SOS installment.

Baruch Film Club

            The Film Club is Baruch's oldest club and unites students from every grade to sit and watch, discuss, and analyze chosen films. With this, The Film Club encourages every student to create and share films for the end of the year BCCHS Annual Film Festival. Over the years, documentaries, dramas, comedies, animations, etc. have been made and viewed by many of the talented and bright students of Baruch. The mission of The Film Club is to introduce movies that may not be normally watched on a daily basis, thus allowing members to develop their list of seen films. "Film Club has introduced me to an array of movies that I now love. I don't know if I would have ever seen them unless I attended," stated Charles Noyes, Film Club member of two years. Gabriel Sommer, senior, and President of Film Club, takes in suggestions and recommendations in order to explore various categories of film. "The work done to execute a decent film is often over looked," said Sommer. "Many do not realize all of the characteristics and details in a film that creates a story. When we watch a movie after school, we inspect and review these aspects." With this, Mr. Zimmerman leads the club through discussions and the study of certain scenes of a given film. It is never too late to show up, sit down, and watch some delightful movies. Film Club meets every Friday at 3 o'clock in room 307.

By G.Sommer

Why I Vote

            Election Day, 2012.  I don’t believe that my vote will make any difference today.  In the elections for national office, nothing I can do will make a difference.  New York State’s 29 electoral votes are certain to be cast for Barack Obama, who leads Mitt Romney in recent opinion polls in our state by over 25 percentage points.  In the race for a U.S. Senate seat from New York, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand leads her challenger by over 40 percentage points.  And the U.S. Congressional representative from my district in Brooklyn, Yvette Clark, is likely to win – again – with well over 80% of the vote.  Given this imbalance, and comparable ones (in either direction) in a number of districts throughout the United States, many Americans could be forgiven for avoiding the trouble of voting today.

            Add to that the fact that many Americans either do not know much about the candidates for elected office, do not care for any of the candidates, and/or do not believe that they will notice much difference no matter who wins, and you have a recipe for what’s called “low voter turnout”.  Voter turnout refers to the percent of the voting-age population who bothers to vote in an election.  Voter turnout in the United States has generally hovered just above the 50% mark since the early 1970s in presidential election years, and just above the 35% mark in midterm election years (elections for Congress halfway through a four-year presidential term).  Compared with voter turnout rates of well over 70% in most democracies, it would seem that Americans are uniquely disinterested in (or disenchanted with) politics.  Young Americans are especially tuned out (or turned off).  Voter turnout among Americans younger than 30 has typically been well below 50% in presidential election years, and below 25% in midterm elections.

            There are many reasons for Americans’ – and especially young Americans’ – apathy about voting, beyond those noted above.  First, there are institutional reasons, too technical to get into in this column, regarding the electoral system in the United States and its tendency to create noncompetitive districts and two-party races.  Second, the advent of broadcast & internet media – along with a host of changes to the format of election campaigns – have combined to make political campaigns a messy, rude, and incredibly expensive affair, complete with gross exaggeration of facts and attempts by powerful interest groups to deliberately mislead the public.  And although the number and type of media outlets have ballooned, the quality of information differs dramatically, and it takes some effort on the part of individual citizens to make sense of all the information available to us.  Third, both technological advances and other trends over the last few decades have significantly changed our lifestyles, generally in ways that force political awareness to compete with many more immediately stimulating activities (video games, YouTube, American Idol, etc.) for our attention.  Add to that the fact that the American political system was designed to make major change incredibly difficult, and you have a recipe for citizen – and especially young citizen – boredom, annoyance and disinterest.

            And it is precisely this boredom, annoyance and disinterest that can allow powerful interest groups, with the attentive ear of politicians, to take advantage of an opportunity to push policies that favor them, regardless of the effect on most of us (or, especially, on future generations).  And that is precisely why I vote.  Because whether we notice it or not, there are big changes taking place in the world that do matter very much to real people.  And government policy can certainly make a difference in how we respond to these challenges.

            For example, climate change is very real, and its personal and economic effects are already being felt, perhaps even by us (evidence indicates that powerful storms like Hurricane Sandy have become much more frequent in recent decades as a result of climate change).  Another example is growing inequality.  In recent decades it has become much more difficult for Americans to improve their socioeconomic status, in part because our education system tends to be incredibly unequal.  And, of course, there are important issues of civil rights & liberties, such as the right for same-sex couples to marry.  Several states have passed laws in recent years allowing gay & lesbian citizens to marry, while many more have passed laws denying them that right.  And even if you are not concerned about any of the aforementioned issues, you should at least be concerned about how government policies affect your access to (and the cost of) health insurance, or the kind of taxes you will have to pay in coming years.  And the differences between candidates – and political parties – on these sorts of issues are very real.

So here is my “one-thumb-up” endorsement for voting.  No, it is not usually very romantic.  And your one vote will probably not make a difference on the outcome.  And most of the time, you won’t notice big differences in your life depending on which candidate wins.  However, even if I don’t think that either presidential candidate running for election today will make significant progress (for better or worse) on any of the issues mentioned above; and even if I believe that my lone voice will not be heard by those with the power to make change; and even if the process of policymaking is slow, confusing, and disappointing; I’d rather sleep at night knowing that somehow, in some small way, I contributed to the world by voicing my support for the candidates that I think somehow, in some small way, will contribute to making a little change for the better.

By: Aaron Sparrow

The Iran Job

            In late September, the AP Comparative Government and Politics class, taught by Mr. Sparrow, was given the opportunity to go see “The Iran Job.” This movie created controversy in our society. Iran is one of six countries that our class will be focusing on. This was a perfect chance to explore different aspects of this country. The film is about Kevin Sheppard, a basketball player in the United States, who accepts a job to play on an Iranian team. Although he feared going to a precarious country, he was very optimistic and hopeful about having a successful season. While in Iran, he met three Iranian women that were very outspoken about their views on religion, culture, and politics. Regardless of how dangerous it was for these women to speak their minds, they felt like people needed to know the truth behind their country. These women could have gotten arrested, abused, and even killed just for being in this film. Even that didn’t stop them! In addition to showing us Kevin Sheppard’s lifestyle in Iran, director Til Schauder reveals the heartbreaking sides of Iran, giving us insight to a country often seen as a mystery. This film was really informative and I can honestly say I enjoyed it. It was humorous and unique, and most importantly, the film had a message. I encourage people of all ages to go and watch it.

By Nicole Castiblanco           

Wrestling Is Back

            Baruch Wrestling is readying for a campaign 2012-13 winter season. Seniors Isaiah Blake & Matthew Estrada attended the Beat the Streets (BTS) Leadership Camp at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid. Matthew and Isaiah had already attended the BTS camp at Sullivan County along with sophomore Jean Marti and freshman Mathew Quinones. In addition to these camps, Isaiah, Jean & Matthew all attended the infamous J Robinson Intensive Wrestling Camp this summer. The J Rob camp is widely considered the most rigorous high school sports camp in the world. All three Baruch Wrestlers completed the camp, and freshman Matthew Quinones graduated leaving with the “I did it!” shirt. Baruch Wrestling Club practices start this week. All wrestlers will get USA wrestling cards, which will insure them during pre & postseason wrestling for a full year. Preseason practice runs from 10am-12pm on Saturdays at the BTS Manhattan Training Center.  This is a great place to learn the sport in a relaxed environment without the stress of having to compete. Contact Head Coach Frank Portella – frank@BaruchWrestling.com or talk to Isaiah Blake or Matthew Estrada to find out how to join. (We’re always looking for more team members!)

Volleyball on Hold

            This year’s season of the girls’ Volleyball team has been put on hold due to Hurricane Sandy. Our last two games have been postponed until further notice. The season was supposed to end on November 1st, but now we just have to sit tight and wait for any news of our season continuing (or sadly, ending). On another note, the girls lost the game against School of the Future. However, they came back together and won against W. 50th in two sets!! Congrats girls!! Unfortunately, we lost against MLK on Oct. 24th. But overall, this has been a wonderful season. I don’t think I have ever seen us fight this hard before. This was also the year we switched from playing against Manhattan North schools to Manhattan South schools. Enjoy the rest of the year!

By Linda Huang

Start of Girls Varsity Basketball

            Basketball season has officially started for both the boys and the girls. The girls Vasity team, even without a big turnout of girls, is looking good for the beginning of the season.  We have seven returning girls from last year’s team and three freshmen who came out to join the team. We have a lot of talent, returning talent and new talent. Everyone is excited for the season especially our two coaches Ally and Jessenia. They have been pushing the girls hard in practice even though the season only started three days ago. Excitement is growing as the season’s first game is arriving. The girls’ first game is November 26th and it is a home game. Please make sure to attend the games to support, as well as bringing in your cans and bottles too. 

By Mikaela Bordonaro

Beginning of Boys Varsity Basketball

            Basketball season had arrived and you know what that means, try outs. The boys had their first workout on Monday for both the Varsity and Junior Varsity teams. There have been approximately 35 boys showing up for 24 spots. There were some returning players and many new faces. Edward Lui, Peter Lok and James Davis leading practice, they started off with some ball handling into some shooting, then working on defense stance. The crowd split in half with JV on one side and Varsity on the other. The intensity in the gym was evident by the hunger for success that these boys displayed. Ending with some 5 on 5 and a clap up to end practice. It's going to be a great season.

 By Kathy Chiam

A New Chapter in Girls Soccer

            The Girls soccer season has ended. Starting off with only 11 girls to having at least 20 on the team, shows our development. We may not have won the championship or played our first play-off game, but we are all winners. We come to practice being ready to work even if everyone doesn’t show up. We push each other, we critique each other but at the end we are all a team and we help each other develop. The last week was tough, games were cancelled, and we didn’t even have a couch for a week but we managed considering the circumstances. It's our last year on this soccer team, Kaylin, Patty and I. We may not have led them to the championships but we led a good team. We did our best and now it's time to hand this leadership role to the young ones. Good luck to you girls next season. GO BLUE DEVILS!     

 By Kathy Chiam

From your student body president

               In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, we, as a community we must come together to support those who are in need. Many of our students have been severely affected by the hurricane, and it is essential that we come together and help them through this rough time. In the upcoming week, the student government, along with many other clubs, will be collecting donations for the victims. Details will be provided by your advisory representatives on Tuesday. Enjoy your three day weekend.            

         Daniel D.