Archives for August 2016

Teens Hit the Streets

August 16, 2016 by l.tufino Leave a Comment

Teen Night: planned by teens, for teens.

These events are located on places like the New, Brooklyn, and Metropolitan Museums and the High Line. These events are completely free to teenagers. Teen night at these museums consist of activities like scavenger hunts which require you to look for specific pieces of art, screen watching movies, art making, workshops, along with live music and dance performances. Places like the High Line provide photo booths, face painting, tarot card readings and more hands on activities.

Each Teen Night has a different theme which everyone loves. Now senior at LaGuardia High School, Alma Rodriguez, an intern at the Brooklyn Museum Teen Night events, states “Teen Night events hosted by museums are incredibly fun without a doubt-in their own ways of course. It is evident that most Teen Nights are fun and are great hang out spots for teens. However, there is a lot of work that goes into these one night events. The Teen Night Planning Committee at the Brooklyn Museum works tremendously hard to plan the Teen Nights that take place in museums. Being a part of the committee, I have focused on social media outreach, planned art activities, food, and contacting performers. For every Teen Night event we plan, we always have a theme. Our themes are based off of the exhibits the museums hold. We spend some time in the exhibit and/or galleries and base our ideas by the exhibitions, which is why for every Teen Night has an activity. We ask teens to go on a scavenger hunt in specific exhibitions, hopefully, to gain an understanding of the work.”

“The main purpose of constructing our Teen Nights from exhibits is to persuade teens into becoming involved and familiarizing themselves with the arts and bring attention to some issues and do it in the most fun way possible. Most of our Teen Nights share a common goal: activism.” Alma adds on. One example of that would be was Teen Night: Call2Action. It was based of the exhibit called “Agitprop!” which was based on political propaganda in the form of art and literature. The teens who attended were called to take a stance on issues they face in everyday life. They’ve set up a wall which teens can write about the issues they care about and asked then to write down names of activists that they consider important.

Rising senior at University Neighborhood High School, Willie Batista says “Teen Nights for me have always been a cool way to hang out and interact with peers across the city. It’s like the only time people of my age group can conjugate and have fun. Attending has always been fun with friends and I make a lot of new friends at them as well.”

Alma believes “As a planner, my main goal is for teenagers to enjoy the Teen Nights given by the music and activities that we plan, but we hope that they leave the event with an open mind and question why we chose our theme and how it pertains to the importance of the exhibition we chose. Our Teen Nights are a great form of entertainment but our events always go beyond its theme.”

Skateboarding In The Summertime

August 11, 2016 by Aleida Menchaca Leave a Comment

Skateboarder Roy Rivera doing an Ollie. Picture taken by Skateboarder Unitus Bright

“I love to skate because I feel liberated when I do so. I don’t have to follow any rules or depend on any team. Although there are competitive contests, skateboarding is not a competitive sport. I’m only really competing with myself,” said Roy Rivera who has been skateboarding for about 6 years now.

Others may not describe it the same way but make no mistake, skateboarders from all around New York are hitting the streets this summer. Feeling the wind in their face and doing an “ollie”(skateboard trick).

Why is warm weather important to skateboarders?

“Spring/summer is very important to skateboarders, especially to the East Coast. Sadly we’re forced to be seasonal skaters due to weather. So when summer breaks out and it’s nice and warm, it becomes crunch time to do what you love,” stated Wade Yates, who has been skating for nearly a decade. Summer is the season for skateboarders to go all out learning new tricks and perfecting the tricks. “Well here in the East Coast the warmer weather is such amazing time for skateboarding. Because of the fact that during the winter there aren’t many places to skateboard with all the snow everywhere. We’re not fortunate enough to have warm weather all around like the West Coast,” stated skateboarder Luis Rios who recently broke his ankle in half while skateboarding and is no longer skateboarding.

The cold weather makes skateboarding much difficult. With snow on the ground a skateboard can’t be used. During the summertime, skaters wear t-shirts or even go shirtless. But when it’s cold outside, wearing many layers to keep warm limits a skater’s movement. When skaters do try to skate in cold weather, they get cold and fall down. Falling hurts significantly more than falling down in the summertime.

There are many skateboarding competitions and jams around and near New York. Events such as Go Skate day, Street League Skateboarding contest, Zumiez best foot forward contest or National Go Skate Day. Another event is Harold Hunter Day, Wade Yate is part of making this event possible. The Street League Skateboarding is a grand scale professional skateboarding contest that takes place across the world. Each stop takes the best professional street skateboarders in the world and pits them against each other for a night of insane skateboarding. The contest will take place at Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey on August 28, 2016.

You can catch skateboarders such as Roy or Wade out in the streets of New York skateboarding, feeling the air in their face. “Sometimes I’m just flustered with emotions and the only thing I can do is go out and skate. It’s gotten me through some tough times,” said Unitus Bright who has been skateboarding for almost three years.

The Double Standards of Slut Shaming

August 11, 2016 by l.tufino Leave a Comment

“Hi, I’m a slut.”

“And no, that doesn’t mean I am nothing”

“The ones who cry whore the loudest are the ones who are thirstiest for my blood”

Savannah Brown’s chilling performance of her original slam poem, “Hi, I’m a Slut”, brings up a very controversial issue: slut shaming.

Blogger, Andrea Rubenstein, defines slut shaming as “the idea of shaming and/or attacking a woman or a girl for being sexual, having one or more sexual partners, acknowledging sexual feelings, and/or acting on sexual feelings.”

In modern society, the ideal image of a women often have contradicting ideas: pure, innocent, a virgin, but not too much of a prude and not too much of a tease. So if a women is sexually active, or dressed a certain way, she is labeled as a slut. On the other hand, men are allowed to be sexually active and dress however they want without shame.

Finally Feminism 101, a feminist blog, shares a quote from Cambridge University Press back in 1995 that states there are “220 words for a sexually promiscuous woman but only 20 for a sexually promiscuous man.”

Even celebrities deal with slut shaming. Model, Amber Rose, stated in an interview with Daily News, “They come at me and Kim so hard because I was a stripper and she had a sex tape. So if we could sing, it would be OK if we were on stage half-naked. We all love Beyoncé, but she’s on stage half-naked and twerking all the time, yet people say, oh, she has talent so she’s able to do that. We don’t have the talent that Beyoncé has, so we get criticized as former sex workers, but at the end of the day we’re just women—we’re all women—and we should all embrace each other. No one is greater.”

Bumps in the Road to Queer Equality

August 11, 2016 by Zerina bicic Leave a Comment

Should you celebrate who you are, even if it puts you in harm’s way?

After the shooting on June 12th at Pulse nightclub, many in the LGBT community looked to pride month with uncertainty. June, officially proclaimed LGBT pride month by President Barack Obama, usually attracts many eager queer people and allies ready to celebrate with events such as the pride parade and dyke march. However, the safety of those marching seemed to be in jeopardy after the Pulse shooting directly targeted queer people. Many were faced with a decision: take the risk and express yourself, or play it safe. LGBT New Yorkers living near Greenwich Village, home to a gay center and the famous Stonewall Inn, gave their input.

“I mean, yeah, there’s always the risk of someone attacking us, but hiding is what they want us to do,” remarked one lesbian sitting in the Gay Center’s small coffee shop. “They can’t stop us from being who we are.” Most other LGBT people asked gave a similar response: aware of the dangers, but willing to face the odds.

Knowing the dangers of LGBT visibility, some people chose to play it safe and spend pride month at their local gay centers. The Greenwich Village gay center hosts activities and events for those in the community, as a queer person or as an ally. Clubs for queer youth, such as a video game meetup affectionately named “Gaymers,” allow mingling and community building in a safe environment.

Despite this breach in the safety of queer people, an overall societal acceptance of LGBT individuals has been observed. Schools, hospitals, workplaces, and other communities all show this: many buildings have stickers tacked on the wall with small rainbows, reading “safe space for all.” Manhattan, New York, and the entire northeast region of North America show long-term growth in support, to where the Economist even states that “Quietly, but quickly, anti-gay attitudes are vanishing in schools.” It’s a rocky path to complete equality for gay and trans people, but New York continues to be one of the safer places for them to live.

Students’ Lack Preparedness for Adulthood

August 11, 2016 by Maggie Loh Leave a Comment

Many high school students learn how to apply the pythagorean theorem to a right triangle, but how many students know how to administer first aide to an injured leg? Schools value core subjects such as English, science, math and history over courses such as educational fitness, art, and health. This misplaced value is evident when comparing the disproportion in credits assigned to each subject. Students are taught that core classes are more essential than extracurriculars which has resulted in detrimental effects.

Art and music classes have made their way to the sidelines. The city education department is partially at fault for this trend. Standardized testing is only required for the core subjects, encouraging students to devote more time to their math assessments and English essays. This unequal distribution of standardized testing reduces the importance of the arts in the eyes of students.

Of the underappreciated classes, health and physical education are needed more than ever. As the obesity rates in the United States rises, the importance of health increases exponentially. According to CNBC, the world’s leading cause of death is heart disease. How many people in the street would know what to do in case of heart failure? To better prepare students for the real world, schools should incorporate more classes that deal with life skills, such as CPR, first aide, comprehensive sexual education, economics, business etiquette, and home economics.

The Daily Mail reported, “One in 3 university students can’t even boil an egg.” The increase in standardized learning has lead to the prominent lack of preparedness for adulthood. Students do not have the ability to cook, or clean for themselves, rather 45% of college graduates move back in with their parents, according to The Atlantic. The problematic push towards standardized education has disabled graduates, deterring their ability to live independently.

Adding classes that prepare students for basic independent life teach students what they need to thrive.

The Wonders of Vandalism

August 10, 2016 by Jenny Liu Leave a Comment

"Respect is the Strongest Compliment" mural — “Respect is the Strongest Compliment” mural

“It’s not adding to the mural—it’s subtracting from it,” twenty-two year old Theresa said.

Theresa doesn’t live in the neighborhood, but she noticed that people started to write their opinions responding to the sexual harassment young women experienced in the community. The “Respect is the Strongest Compliment” mural located at Myrtle Avenue, Brooklyn was painted last year by females under eighteen, who want to display “the inner turmoil” they feel as women, according to Nekita Blue, an African American who painted four murals with Groundswell.

Groundswell gathers youths “to use art as a tool for social change, for a more just and equitable world,” according to the Groundswell site. Through this project, youths bring attention to the issues they face in their community.

Despite the time and effort these youths put into the mural, people scribble remarks over it, such as a “Very True” pointing at the butt of a painted female figure or “Hypocrisy” in another area.

When another fellow artist sent Blue a SnapChat message of the remarks, she said, “it made me sad that this person didn’t take the time out to understand the message we were trying to make clear.” She also said that the goal of the mural was not to change the world, but to get the people to stop and think about the bigger picture and recognize sexual harassment as an issue in the community. According to Blue, the figures in the mural represent real experiences of the artists.

Allison Keene, a twenty-four year old, who recently moved to the neighborhood, said that the responses from the community draw focus to a bigger question: what is art? She said, “The annotations can contribute to the overall artwork if the original artists meant for it to be a multi-artists project.” Keene also said that the mural is in a “public accessible place” so it’s perhaps “meant to be acted on.”

Blue also said, “The ultimate goal of the mural was to bring awareness and start conversations.” While the group was painting last summer, they engaged in many conversations with the general public addressing the sexual harassment issue.

However, Bailey, an individual who works at the Housing Authority, said the scribbles “take away from the value” of the mural. “It’s similar to bringing people to your house and they bring mud with them—it ruins the original image.” He considers the feedback to be “plain vandalism”.

New York Teens Still Feeling the Bern

August 10, 2016 by j.ward1 Leave a Comment

The presidential election has seen a lot of attention from those the media likes to call “millennials.”

Former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders grasped the attention of young people across the States with his free college propaganda and attention towards under- represented groups have faced such as, unmarried women, Native Americans and other minority groups, and middle class and poor citizens.

Local mainstream media and studies, have missed out on the educated opinion of 2 million young people under the age of 18, who took attention to the future president of this country.

Harvard’s Institute of Politics conducted a poll with people in the age group of 18 to 29 years old, discovering that 47% of young people believe that today’s politics are unable to meet the country’s challenges, like police brutality, wage gaps, terrorism and immigration.

Favorability polls indicate that 54% of people find Bernie Sanders favorable, leading the polls.

After interviewing New York teens under the age of 18, their opinions seem to correspond to the Harvard IOP results.

Troy, 17, first heard of Bernie Sanders in a meme of him running for a train. Some of the scenario’s show some of Bernie’s campaign angles, here’s an example:

For many of the teens interviewed, the campaign came to attention at school. Melissa, 16, recalls her friends beginning to discuss their outrage of this campaign during Fall 2015. “ My friends dislike Tump… they were more upset for the fact that people actually support his racist rhetoric.”

In an under the radar interview Bernie Sanders announced to MSNBC that he’d be voting for Clinton, ultimately meaning that he supports her and is no longer in the race. Students like Hui Qi,16, revealed their disappointment and had to admit the gaps in Bernie’s policies, like free college. “Free college would be an awesome thing to have, but to make college free for everyone would mean compromise in other areas of society.”

The belief of why Bernie is so popular is because he is so radical, he is not even included in the Democratic party. The next radical choice would be Donald Trump, but he isn’t well supported by this group of teens.

“Hillary is the only safe choice… a lot of Bernie supporters are only voting for her because we just cannot vote for Trump… it is sad but it is reality.”

When asked if the knew that there are third party candidates, they automatically said “They can’t win.” Only Troy could name both, Jill Stein and Gary Johnson.

Matthew,17, expressed that only if one of them dropped out and their voters combined, would the third party candidate be noticed, because Gary has 10% of the vote, whereas Jill only has 5%, and they would need 15% to be included in debates with Trump and Hillary. “That would be in a perfect world.”

At this point many feel that this presidential election will either make or break America. A popular belief is that Hillary Clinton is the status quo vote and Donald Trump is a ‘racist bigot’.

It is safe to say that young people do not tolerate insolence. Kids like Troy will still be sporting their Bernie merch, from pens and stickers to t-shirts and ball caps.

Under the Sea with The Little Mermaid in Battery Park

August 10, 2016 by LISANDRA Leave a Comment

Dive into the ocean with 30 huge blue, red, purple, and pink fish and prepare for the ride of your life. As you lie down on the fish you can see the colors of the fish change from the the surface of tropical beaches to the blue of the deep sea in the SeaGlass Carousel.

The SeaGlass Carousel’s one year anniversary is less than 3 weeks away and since August 20th, 2015, it has taken Battery Park by storm because of its modern and chic take on the classical Merry-Go-Round. It has had an impact on people of all ages, especially those who have who have been living in Battery Park for many years and those who often go to Battery Park.

The SeaGlass Carousel cost five dollars and not only spins around but and up and down as well. Although it is not a water ride it manages to make you feel like you are under the sea.

Ashley, a photographer who works for the SeaGlass Carousel, says that this ride is available to everyone. Ashley thinks what attracts many people to this ride is that it floats, it is colorful, and it glows in the night.

She also says that after the ride opened last year there have been more people in the park.
Melissa, a 16-year-old, who often goes to Battery Park has also seen a huge increase in people visiting there since the grand opening of the ride.

Melissa’s 10-year-old sister, Haley, thinks that what attracts so many to the SeaGlass Carousel is the fishes and design. However, 6-year-old, Valeria does not think the design was pretty she just liked the way it moved.

But one thing Melissa, Haley, Valeria and Ashley have in common is that they all believe the SeaGlass Carousel is better than the old school classic Merry-Go-Round.

Ashley stated that the SeaGlass Carousel, “Is much better because the poles are attached to the floor.” This makes the ride safer and prettier.

Haley and Melissa both think that the SeaGlass Carousel is better because, “It goes in more than one direction and has prettier designs.”

The SeaGlass Carousel took the old school Merry-Go-Round and made it into something better by taking it under the sea and modificating it.

Summer Time, More Like Work Time

August 10, 2016 by Ali Ayoub Leave a Comment

Summer time is usually the time for fun and games, but for many students it is time of rigorous hard work. Carlos Lossa, Cynthia Mojica and Adrien Cohen are upcoming seniors at Quest To Learn, who are working for the first time this summer.

Carlos Lossa who has been working at McDonalds since late May. “I’m only going to work for the remainder of the summer because I have to focus on my senior year” he said. “When I was working, it didn’t have an effect on my school work because I had passed all my finals and regents in June”, he said “I’ve always been an average student, nothing more, nothing less”, he added.

Cynthia Mojica who has been working at a cafe on Wall Street as a cashier since mid June. “Til summer’s over, so when school starts I’m out,” she said. Cynthia was picked to attend the College Now program but she simply said, “I had no interest in joining”. “Takeaways: Work doesn’t equal school, which is kind of obvious but for me I like taking a day off once in awhile to cool my head or something but nope, work doesn’t let you do that. It’s exhausting but pretty worth it once you get your paycheck”, she said. “Work makes you appreciate the days you have off”, she said, “I guess it just depends on where you work” she concluded.

Adrien Cohen who has been a bus boy at Sunset Beach. “I’m quitting for the school year because I gotta focus on school, and it shuts down in the fall anyway,” he said. “And it helps in a lot of ways, you get great people skills, you learn how to interact with people”, he said. “You have a respect for the people serving you, you have a respect for life”, he concluded.

The New Phase in Bensonhurst

August 10, 2016 by MATTHEW ENG Leave a Comment

A photo of 86th Street show Asian and non-Asian businesses side by side.

BENSONHURST – This area was once dominated by Italian-American residents but over the past decade Now, just like in Little Italy across the East River, they are losing their stronghold of the community to newly immigrants. The neighborhood is now mostly families and businesses of Asian origin. Not that this southwestern part of Brooklyn lacks diversity. Ethnicities such as Russians, Poles and immigrants from Latin America and Middle East also have a presence in this sprawling neighborhood.

“It is one of the greatest chapter of neighborhood evolution” Councilman Mark Treyger described in a phone interview, describing diversity in the Bensonhurst Community.

In 2013, Councilman Treyger assumed office as District 47’s councilman, which covered majority of prominent local Southern Brooklyn neighborhoods including Bensonhurst, Gravesend, and Coney Island. His first office was on Neptune Avenue, but he later added another district office in Stillwell Avenue near 86th Street, because “I wanted a store-front office that is closer to the neighborhood,” and therefore he would be more accessible to all businesses and residents.

The Councilman said that the community is “rich in diversity and heritage” and he is a firm supporter of how food is globally represented throughout the neighborhood. He mentioned, “I am a big fan of the coconut and pineapple bun from a Chinese bakery on 86th Street and a cannoli from 18th Avenue…I could get great Mediterranean style food from Istanbul (a restaurant located on Bay Parkway and 86th Street) and pizza from Lenny’s Pizzeria.”

As an advocate of businesses coming together, he established a Merchant Association, so local merchants could combat different problems, such as theft and vandalism. Furthermore, he helped pass the law that made the NYC Department of Emergency Services translate pamphlets on what to do during an urgent situation in ten different languages.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Bensonhurst…was known as a middle class, Italian-American enclave for much of the 20th century…but its demographics are rapidly changing as…Chinese families flock the area”. The US Census Bureau reported that Asian population are “…growing 57% between 2009 and 2010.”

The New York Times reported that “Bensonhurst has the largest number of Chinese-born residents of any neighborhood in the city, with 31,658, narrowly edging the populations in Flushing, Queens, and Sunset Park, according to a 2013 city report that offered the most recent data on immigrant New Yorkers.”

There are still old time merchants left, such as Meat Supreme, which has four locations, with two located on 86th Street, in the heart of Bensonhurst. The stores have sold mainly Italian delicatessen, produce, packaged meat and provide catering service for over 30 years. Meat Supreme adapted their business along with the evolution of the community demographics. They experimented with the addition of seafood and fresh produce departments. The seafood department was soon phased out as a result of decrease in popularity, but the outdoor produce stand is a success. According to the store manager, “We had the fresh produce stand a year ago.”

At around 6 pm on a Thursday, there were only a few shoppers. Meanwhile, the next door Asian supermarket was jammed with customers buying fresh fruit, produce, seafood and fresh butchered meat. Despite Meat Supreme’s effort, they are no match for the ever growing Asian stores around them.

The Main Pharmacy, a third generation local pharmacy also located on 86th Street, improved its business after it moved across the street to a brand new renovated location. The owner and pharmacist is an adjunct professor at the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Long Island University. Since 1946, Ken’s family has been serving the Bensonhurst community not just with medications but with household supplies, cards, and many more. Ken said, “My grandfather and my father were both pharmacists…and I was brought up with loyalty.” He said “In the past, if you help someone…they will not even think twice about having your back.” He further described, “Loyal customers would come back to you, but new residents like to shop in these big name pharmacists such as CVS, Duane Reade, until they make a mistake.”

In addition, Ken mentioned that the new residents and businesses do not hesitate to saturate any profitable market. For example, his own LIU pharmacy student recently opened up a tiny pharmacy just a couple of doors away from him. Although inundated with competition and burdened with Affordable Care Act restrictions, Ken has been able to adapt to challenges. He researched and implemented new marketing strategies such as advertising in different languages and adding different ethnic products to his stock, “I have a whole shelf dedicated to the community.” Proudly displayed were various weekly specials posted on the store front in Chinese, and a shelf of Chinese herbal products, such as Chinese imported molasses displayed in the front of the store. Plus he hired Asian staff for the front desk, because “…people want to talk with their own kind of people.” In simple terms, he was reducing the language barrier and able to communicate with the neighborhood. He will continue to find ways to promote his business and generate profit.

Bensonhurst’s recent booming real estate and economic developments signifies the cosmopolitan flair of the neighborhood. What attracts so many people and businesses to this community are the strong school district, convenient commute by public transportation, abundance of parks and recreation, and most importantly, a safe close knit community. As Councilman Treyger mentioned, “We are the beneficiary and I am proud of it [variety within Bensonhurst]”.