After leaving for school in the morning, most students won’t be seeing their parents again for seven or more hours. However, sophomore Natan Zamansky and senior Batya Zamansky have the opportunity to see their father, computer science coordinator Michael Zamansky, all day long, because his office is always just a staircase away. Being at Stuyvesant together has proved to be an interesting experience for all three, sprinkled with awkward moments but also endless dinnertime conversation topics that stem from being at the same place at the same time.

Michael Zamansky is proud that a large part of his family has been educated at Stuyvesant, including his two children. It is a place where “you’re surrounded by a bunch of smart people with a wide range of talents,” he said. “I love the fact that 75 percent of the Zamansky family is in the same place every day.” Despite Michael Zamansky’s belief that the family spending so much time together is a benefit, one might think that the kids wouldn’t agree because of the resulting awkwardness. However, Natan and Batya enjoy the benefits of their father’s presence more than they are bothered by it.

Having a father at Stuyvesant is “not particularly awkward,” Natan Zamansky said. The only awkward aspect is that he is often identified as “Batya’s brother” or “Mr. Zamansky’s son” by people whom he is not acquainted with. He added that his experience at Stuyvesant would be “comparatively normal” if his father did not teach here, as attending school with a sibling is not a particularly unique experience.

Natan Zamansky rarely interacts with his father during school and does not think that there are any substantial drawbacks to his father’s presence in the building. In fact, there are advantages, namely “conveniences, storage, and easy communication,” he said. Both Zamansky siblings benefit from their father’s office. Natan Zamansky stored his oboe in the office last year and occasionally stops by in the morning, while Batya Zamansky goes there for the cookies.

Similarly, Batya Zamansky does not find being at the same school as her father a big deal. “I knew what I was getting into when I got into [Stuyvesant], and I accepted that. It was the school that made me go here in the first place,” she said. “I would not have gone here if it would be a major issue, because I knew had the choice.”

Traces of awkwardness do arise in Michael Zamansky’s Software Development class, however, because both she and her boyfriend are in the class. But “[it’s] okay because [he’s] my dad,” Batya Zamansky said, brushing it off as merely familial intimacy. She often reminds her father about extensions, homeworks, or project due dates that he forgets to send out to his Software Development class. She also described that her father’s presence offers other advantages than just convenience. For example, she learns about fall programming earlier and has an easier time getting program corrections. Plus, it is easier for her to receive parental permission for activities during the day or after school because her father is only minutes away.

Batya Zamansky does, however mention that her father’s presence comes with some immediate embarrassments. For the past two years, for example, during parent visitation days, Mr. Zamansky has stopped by his daughter’s classes. The only problem is that he brings his current class with him.

“Family has always been a priority,” Michael Zamansky said. The Zamanskys spent a lot of time together at home, but in school, Michael Zamansky allows his kids decide how to define their relationship. He thinks it has been working out well, especially because his children are good students. “Overall I think [we’ve] got an amazing dynamic,” he said.

Michael Zamansky did admit that before the family was sure how things would work out, there was one particularly odd incident. When Batya Zamansky had a Rowing Club competition, she asked her father, who was also the faculty advisor of the club, to attend. However, she was reluctant to invite her father because she wasn’t sure what the other rowers would think. However, all of them were excited that Michael Zamansky would be coming on their trip. “That’s when I knew the dynamic would be great,” Michael Zamansky said.

With a large amount of alumni and two current students at Stuyvesant, Batya Zamansky feels there is some sort of Zamansky legacy at Stuyvesant, especially after hearing stories about her relatives at the school as a child. Michael Zamansky, however, feels differently, focusing his pride on the network of computer science alumni from Stuyvesant. “I don’t think the legacy part amounts to much,” he said. “I’m actually prouder of the Stuyvesant computer science alumni family—I consider them my legacy and I consider Batya part of it […] Natan, hopefully as well, but we’ll see what he decides to do over the next two years.”

Having siblings and a parent at the school has certainly made the Zamanskys’ experience at Stuyvesant unique. For example, it opens up possibilities like Natan and Michael Zamansky biking to school together or Batya and Michael Zamansky performing a duet at Open Mic. “It has been a gift to be able to see both of them develop and grow on a daily basis over these years,” Michael Zamansky said.

This was the sign I carried during an April 10th rally in Washington D.C. It was one in a series urging the government to support a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Millions of people from a number of backgrounds—Asians, whites, Hispanics, blacks, the kid next to you in physics class—are deported yearly. In the fiscal year 2012, the Obama administration deported a record-breaking 400,000 people. 400,000 families ripped apart, 400,000 dreams smothered, 400,000 lives changed forever. Multiply that by at least four to get the real picture—after all, these numbers on the page have children, parents, siblings and more that depend on them for everything from a good night kiss to bread on the table.

Despite immigration being an urgent issue, there is no clear legislation addressing it. Instead, a discriminatory system continues to wreak havoc on the lives of undocumented immigrants. Everyone knows an undocumented family who has lived here for five, ten, or fifteen years. They pay taxes. They work hard daily. They contribute to America’s economy. But because they lack social security numbers, they aren’t allowed to travel internationally, join unions, further their educations, or even drive cars. Social attacks and stigmas have come into play at alarming levels – this population is undeservedly viewed through deriding stereotypes.

Most disturbing about current immigration law is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) can deport whomever it wants, whenever it wants, and however it wants. It’s arbitrary and racist—ICE can do walk-ins, lock down workplaces, and detain and deport people who “look suspicious.” What if a deportee is a single dad? No one comes to pick his daughter up from school, and she becomes a ward of the state, an orphan. From a strictly economical point of view, she’s a government cost. That aside, how do you explain to her that Dad, Baba, or Papi’s not coming back? That she’s been abandoned against her parent’s will?

This is a common question: If immigrants came illegally, why should we support breaking the law? Why stop deportations? Well, I ask you: Why do people immigrate? Why do they leave what little or much they have—their homes, communities, way of life—and move to a new country where they don’t know the people, the customs, or even the language?

To work.

And wouldn’t you do the same if you were living in poverty? Isn’t this the morally upright decision: to sacrifice to give your children a better life?

People immigrate to work, get paid, send the money back to starving families, and achieve higher ‘standards of living. It’s not a conspiracy to steal American jobs, threaten border security, or deal drugs. Would you let your daughter, mother, or cousin work as a dishwasher 12 hours a day, six days a week, for only $300 a week? These are the types of jobs immigrants are “stealing”—undesirable ones that educated Americans rely one but don’t want to take. Who harvests your carrots? Who builds your coffee shop? Who takes care of your elderly grandma and children?

America is built on immigration. It is indeed the “promised land” for those seeking a better life. If we let the government close that door, we let them lock out important sources of income and people’s entitlement to basic human rights: food, water, shelter. Since when is it a crime to pursue self-betterment? If immigrants provide so much for this country, it’s only fair to acknowledge their existence. Let them vote, hold jobs officially, and drive.

We’ve heard this before. After growing up with this blasted into our minds, our generation has especially alienated itself from illegal immigration—it’s just a sensationalized reality. We can’t see past the words or headlines on paper. It’s time to actually hear it. Have you considered what it’s like to live in fear of persecution? Because that’s what the reality is—outright persecution just to work for bread. Do you deny that the division of families by a law is inhumane? Question instead how our government can lose itself in politicking instead of facing the issue directly.

And try as we might, no amount of flowery language or opinions articles from different angles can change that immigrants live “in the shadows,” constantly fearful that today will be their last in America, that the ICE will walk in, or that someone will stop them and ask, “papers?” It’s not just sad to see that this topic is perceived as cliché— it’s disturbing. We’ve become so desensitized that it’s “normal” for a citizen without the mental faculties to protest to be deported, or for a student to be beaten on the streets for looking “illegal.”

I was surprised at the sheer number of diverse groups—Jewish, Indian, Asian, and LGBT alike — protesting in D.C. for comprehensive reform. In NAACP President Benjamin Jealous’s words, this is “the second part of the civil rights movement.”

A bipartisan group of senators, the “Gang of Eight,” is finalizing an agreement to overhaul the country’s immigration law for the first time since the Reagan era. The comprehensive proposal has recently been publicized and will reach the Senate floor this summer. The biggest challenge will be to pass a Republican-controlled House.

The nation cannot continue postponing this discussion. Thinking back to the day of the Washington protests, I hear 11 million voices agreeing.

“What do we want?” leaders ask.

“IMMIGRATION REFORM!” we roar.

“When do we want it?”

“NOW!”

Now, America. Let’s do this now.

With the installment of the scanners on Monday, April 15, students were required to swipe their ID cards when requesting entry into the student lunchroom. If it was not a student’s lunch period, he or she was not allowed into the cafeteria. This became a source of confusion and frustration for some, as in the past, students have been allowed into the cafeteria during free periods. The scanners also resulted in a longer line for entry into the cafeteria. “It’s a bit ridiculous how [the administration] wants you to scan into the cafeteria and then again when you buy lunch,” sophomore Emile Jean-Baptiste said.

“The scanners were added on a trial basis for two lunch periods,” Assistant Principal of Security, Safety, and Student Affairs Brian Moran said. “We were trying to add more accountability for entering the cafeteria and reduce cutting.”

In another recent change, implemented on Thursday, March 7, students have been allowed to enter the library only within the first 15 minutes of any period the it is open. “While the library is open to everyone, a member of the library staff has to stand near the door, checking ID cards and making sure the library won’t get overcrowded. We asked the administration to implement the policy to free up a member of the library staff from door duty after the first 15 minutes, and to make the library quieter for students who are working. It takes a few minutes for a group of people to settle down when entering the library, and now that is limited to the first 15 minutes,” librarian DeLisa Brown said.

Students with a Writing Center appointment or a teacher’s pass are permitted to enter after the time restriction. “We’re also open to letting a student come into the library after the first 15 minutes if they are in a special situation and have talked to us about it beforehand,” Brown said.

Some students agree with the logic behind the new policies and believe that following fire code regulations is crucial. “If they have certain reasons, especially safety reasons that have been implemented, I think safety comes first for everybody and everybody is going to agree with that,” sophomore caucus president George Kitsios said. “It’s being discussed between Ms. Zhang and the librarians so it results in a good outcome for everyone that’s involved.”

Zhang replied with an e-mail on Friday, April 19. The response was then spread to the student body via social media by Lieber and SU Vice President and junior Tahia Islam. In her e-mail, Zhang stated that the scanners in the cafeteria would be removed by Monday, April 22, and that she would meet with the librarians to further discuss issues regarding the time restriction. The library policy is currently still in place.

Señor Diaz and his eighth period Spanish Conversational class performed a variety of acts in celebration of the late poet Federico García Lorca.

Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), a widely acclaimed and influential Spanish poet, playwright, and songwriter, is being recognized this year in “Lorca in NY: A Celebration,” a three-month citywide event for commemorating his life and works that will last from April 5 through July 21.

In the spirit of the festival, Stuyvesant Spanish teacher Milton Diaz organized “A Celebration of Federico García Lorca” for the afternoon of Thursday, May 2. The event, featuring Diaz’s conversational Spanish class, presented some of García Lorca’s poetry, plays, and music in the library during ninth and tenth period.

Students in Diaz’s other classes were encouraged to watch the performances, and many attended. Several teachers were also in the audience.

The performers learned about García Lorca and studied his works in Diaz’s class for much of the year. “We knew about him, we read his poetry, we took tests about him,” senior Chamel Li said, one of two stage managers for the event.

As Garcia Lorca’s works are difficult to understand even for fluent Spanish speakers, it can be very hard for English-speaking Spanish students to appreciate them. However, Diaz was able to achieve that goal. “I often find some of Garcia Lorca’s work confusing at first, and his language can be a little hard to decipher. But with the help of Señor Diaz, everything began to make sense to me,” junior Won Young Choi said.

Also in attendance was Garcia Lorca’s niece, Maria García Lorca, who was vacationing in the United States when she received Diaz’s invitation to attend the event.

Though she never met her uncle, Maria García Lorca knew about him from her father. “I heard that he was a really warm, friendly, happy person who liked sharing things and having a good time,” she said.

Maria García Lorca thought the students did justice to her uncle’s work. “I think it was very moving and I think he would have loved what the kids did. What this is all about [is] very much related to what he was about,” she said. “I feel very grateful to have been a part of this and I think it’s very important to do things like this, on all levels. It was an incredibly moving experience.”

Junior Bikash Rahat, the second stage manager, explained the process of preparing for the event. “We met for the first two weeks in class and got together all the parts. It was really in the last week where we started putting everything together,” he said. Rahat acted as a coordinator for the event, making sure everyone knew their roles and that everything was prepared for Thursday afternoon. This proved a challenge. “It’s a really complicated thing when not everyone has a Facebook and not everyone is online all the time or familiar with texting,” Rahat said. “It’s really hard to get certain groups together, and it’s hard to get information out when we need to.”

The wide variety of performances included dramatic interpretations of scenes from García Lorca’s plays and readings of his works. Two students even read original poems inspired by those of García Lorca.

Though García Lorca wrote only in Spanish, about half of the performances at the event were in English. This was done “to facilitate our work, to save time and to try to make it a little bit more understandable for some people who may not know Spanish,” Choi said.

One performance, featuring Diaz and music teacher Joseph Tamosaitis, stood out in particular. The act, a performance of the song “Nana, Nino, Nana,” included two student singers, Diaz on the guitar, and Tamosaitis on the bass. The finale of the event was a moving rendition of García Lorca’s poem “A Las Cinco de la Tarde” (“At Five in the Afternoon”), read collaboratively by the entire cast.

Diaz, who has a theater background and has been involved in Stuyvesant Theater Community productions (including one of García Lorca’s plays) in his 13-year career at Stuyvesant, was very proud of his students. “I was extremely moved. At the end of the performance, [Maria García Lorca and I] were in tears because it was so moving to hear the kids really express their deepest feelings and thoughts from a very real place. It’s not about getting a certificate or being part of an honor society or any of those trappings that go with meritocracy. It was something that had deep meaning. It was about them and developing personalities and individuality,” he said.

When Principal Jie Zhang announced to her cabinet in early April that Assistant Principal of Organization (APO) Randi Damesek would be moving to room 103 and that Assistant Principal of Security and Student Affairs Brian Moran was to take her place in room 207, it was the first time either of them had heard of the move.

According to Zhang, the move was a routine bureaucratic switch; traditionally, the APO’s office is next to that of the principal, and the Assistant Principal of Guidance (APG) is closer to the guidance suite. When Zhang arrived at Stuyvesant in September, this was immediately an issue of concern for her, but she decided to wait for former Assistant Principal of Pupil Services Eleanor Archie to retire before announcing the switch.

In addition to managing the guidance office, Moran is responsible for the security of the building. “The big need in my opinion is to handle the building safety […] Knowing that he’s walking around the floors makes me more comfortable,” Zhang said. Because room 207 is located near the bridge entrance, Zhang believes it is an appropriate place for Moran to work with the school’s security guards and safety agents. Room 207 also offered a convenient location for a SAVE room, which is a room designated by the school to house delinquent students during their suspensions. Previously, the SAVE room was located in the Principal’s conference room.

In spite of Zhang’s justifications, many students and teachers have been taken aback by her decision. While the Stuyvesant community can sometimes seem to court controversy and even enjoy its dramas, the backlash against Damesek’s change of office appears to be one of the rare issues to unify students and teachers.

Senior Bernie Birnbaum said that the recent change was accompanied by many “loud and angry Facebook posts” in the seniors’ Facebook group, even causing another anonymous student to claim that there was a “conspiracy to limit Damesek’s power.”

“All I know is that they might have had their reasons, but just to take someone’s office after all these years is kind of like a slap in the face,” said a teacher who requested anonymity.

Much of the backlash stems from the symbolism behind the change. Damesek’s new office is not only substantially smaller than her old office, but, in the words of junior Zeerak Abbas, “room 207 is a place of power because it’s near the second floor entrance.”

As expressed by many students and teachers, a respect for Damesek’s competence appears to be at the core of her support. “If I have a problem I go to her and she takes care of it if she can,” one teacher said. Another agreed: “With Damesek, [the motto is] ‘if she can, she will.’”

Many students believe that the change of offices represents a deeper rift within the administration. “Does it symbolize a shift in power?” junior Gene Gao asked. “What does it represent?”

Zhang admits that Damesek’s role within the building is changing. “[In September] I learned that the work was unevenly distributed… Damesek is willing, but I want to be fair,” Zhang said. Since then, Zhang’s goal has been to “make Damesek [more like] a traditional APO… She took on more than she should have,” she explained.

So far, Moran has taken over a few of Damesek’s former responsibilities. These include managing fire drills, leading school safety meetings, and maintaining school safety policies and procedures.

Other options were available. “I originally wanted to be in room 101,” Moran said, regarding his proposal to occupy the room that is currently used to store lacrosse equipment.  Alternatively, Moran could have taken room 103, and left Damesek in room 207.

Zhang remains popular among the student body. “So far Zhang has been helpful, open minded and listened to our concerns,” said SU Vice President and junior Tahia Islam, who recently raised her concerns with Zhang regarding the move. Islam is optimistic that Zhang will address the students’ unease in this situation with poise, as she has done in past.

Another teacher acknowledged that there might be reasons beneath the surface of the move. “There are two sides to it. When a new manager comes into any organization, she needs to feel like she has a team that she can work with and trust.”

Tension between administrators is spilling over into the hallways of Stuyvesant. Teachers are beginning to describe the creation of two different alliances within the school, a pro-Damesek camp and a pro-Zhang camp. But students don’t want division. A student requesting anonymity summed up the issue. “Both Ms. Damesek and Ms. Zhang do a lot for the school, together they basically run every element of it and they both do a great job. But this tension is making it harder for each of them to do their respective jobs and it’s negatively affecting the student body, which is the most important thing.”

The Food Festival was held immediately after school in the cafeteria and featured cuisine ranging from East Asian to Spanish ethnic food, distributed by volunteers from various culture clubs in the school and other interested students.

Each year, the foreign language teachers invite students in their classes to bring in the ethnic food of the language that the students are enrolled in. The food is then sold for prices ranging from three to five dollars for a plate of food, with all the profits given to the foreign language department. “The idea of it is having the experience of trying the foods of the language and culture that you are studying in school,” Assistant Principal of World Languages Arlene Ubieta said. “But if we need a projector or a computer, or a certain software, we use the money that we raise from Food Fest.”

Some students, however, believe this system of selling the food brought in for free to be unfair. “The pricing was pretty unfair. Students brought in free food and then were charged to eat it. That doesn’t make sense,” sophomore Karendeep Alluhwalia said.

Others support the system. “The prices seem worth it,” freshman Jonathan Aung said. “It’s nice to try out the foods of different nations, plus the proceeds go to the school so it’s fair considering.”

Following the Food Festival, Culture Fest began at 5:30 in the auditorium, featuring eighteen diverse dance and musical performances, including boys’ hip hop, the erhu, and Korean ethnic dance. Tickets to the show were five dollars each.

Though it is usually held in December, Culture Fest’s date was pushed back due to complications with Hurricane Sandy.

The show is built purely on student participation, offering the opportunity to all students to showcase their cultural talents. “A lot of students don’t really get to participate in a lot of other productions like SING! and STC because they have a different agenda,” Lin said. “But with Culture Fest, it’s more of a showcase of cultural talent and diversity. It’s not the same atmosphere, because Culture Fest is more of a school spirit experience, so it’s more fun. It’s supposed to be an opportunity for more students to get involved.”

Culture Fest gives students who have interesting cultural talents a chance to put their abilities on display. Junior Katherine Oh performed a traditional Korean drum dance solo. “I started when I was three years old, so I’m in my 13th year,” Oh said. “I had taken pretty hardcore lessons from a young age, but I had to give that up when I went to high school.”

Though named after its ethnic performances, Culture Fest incorporated many non-ethnic performances. For example, groups of Stuyvesant students performed rave and hip hop routines unassociated with any particular ethnicity. “I picked up a lot of freshman who told me they wanted to dance after the event called StuySquad happened, and I told them that we had practice almost every week and that they could join us. And because they’ve all improved so much, I wanted to give them an event where they could show off their skills,” junior Philip Lan said.

SPARK coordinator Angel Colon explained that Culture Fest, and, in part, the Food Festival, are both aspects of a larger cultural initiative at Stuyvesant aimed at displaying and promoting the cultures of the 59 nationalities represented at the school. “It’s something where we are trying to get the community to be more together, and to really rebuild the community here at Stuyvesant High School,” Colon said. “That’s the way Stuyvesant does things. You guys are awesome in terms of juggling academics and extracurricular activities and still being able to squeeze in school community type of activities. And that’s the type of thing we want to promote more and more.”

Junior Tsun Wong is among approximately 1,000 finalists who emerged from a nationwide pool of some 10,000 entrants competing in the UNSCO. Sponsored by the American Chemical Society, the competition consists of a series of tests put together to determine the four top high school students who will comprise the U.S. Chemistry Team. This team will compete in the International Chemistry Olympiad Competition, to be held this year in Moscow from Monday, July 15 to Wednesday, July 24.

The first phase, known as the local exam, was held on Saturday, March 2. It was a 110-minute exam consisting of 60 multiple choice questions. Each question was worth one point, with no deductions applied for wrong answers. The local test had a broad focus, covering topics such as nuclear chemistry, periodicity, bonding, and acids and bases. Any student with at least a 95 average in Stuyvesant’s AP Chemistry course was allowed to take the local exam.

The next phase of the competition, the national exam, was administered on Sunday, April 14 at Adelphi University in Long Island, NY. The national exam is a three-part, 270-minute exam. The first part is a 90-minute battery of 60 multiple choice questions, once again covering “broad chemistry topics,” according to the UNSCO website. The second part lasts 105 minutes and includes 8 short response questions, all of which pertain to chemical theories and models. The third and final part of the exam is a 75-minute laboratory section, consisting of two laboratory practical application tests. In this section, the student is told the goal and ideal result of a lab and is given the materials. The student must then design and test an experiment.

Due to the broad range of topics covered, studying for the two exams can be a challenge for many students. “I knew the test was going to cover a lot of subjects in really complicated ways, so I made sure to study in a lot of ways,” Wong said. “I went online and searched for old tests. I did a lot of problems from the practice tests. I also read through my notes from AP Chemistry.”

The top 20 scorers on the exam will be announced on Tuesday, May 14. These 20 students will then attend a study camp at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from Sunday, June 4 to Wednesday, June 19. There, after two weeks of college-level training, including problem-solving exercises, lab work, and testing, the four-member U.S. Chemistry Team will be announced.

Despite his success, Wong expresses concern over the low number of Stuyvesant students aware of the competition. “There wasn’t much advertisement. The only time it is announced is through the speakers. I believe it should receive more attention,” Wong said.

Further discouraging students is the time commitment demanded of participants. “Oftentimes, our best students don’t take it because of the prep time needed. Kids here are too busy with APs and other stuff for this exam,” Dibbs said. “Some schools actually take kids out of class to prep them.”

To address the low participation in the Chemistry Olympiad Exam at Stuyvesant, Wong plans to create a Chemistry Olympiad club, similar to the one that already exists to prepare for the Physics Olympiad test. He aims to generate greater student interest in the exam and provide an organized framework for studying for the exam. As of now, preparation is simply up to the students involved and their teachers, with no formal program of study.

Wong now joins seniors Beverly Zhou and Saif Choudhurry as one of three Stuyvesant students to reach the national finalists stage in the Chemistry Olympiad in the past decade. Though neither Choudhurry nor Zhou made it past this stage of the examination process, hopes are high for Wong. “He worked hard to study for this hard exam, and hopefully he will make a bit of school history with this,” Dibbs said.

French teacher Elsie Augustave’s debut novel, “The Roving Tree,” explores one Haitian woman’s quest for identity and personal voice. The book was released on Tuesday, May 7.

French teacher Elsie Augustave tells the story of a Haitian immigrant’s struggles for personal identity in American society in her new novel “The Roving Tree,” which came out in bookstores on Tuesday, May 7. The novel was published by the Open Lens imprint of the independent, Brooklyn-based writing press Akashic.

Augustave relates the experiences of a five-year-old Haitian girl in America. Iris Odys, the main character, is the daughter of Hagathe, a Haitian maid who wants nothing more than a better life for Iris, and Brahami, a father who wants little involvement with his daughter. When Iris is five, Hagathe gives Iris up for adoption, hoping that the American couple adopting her will give her a life better than what Hagathe could offer. Iris is consequently taken from her small Haitian village, Monn Neg, to live in American suburbia.

The book explores Odys’s struggles with identity, loss, separation from her origins, and “the impact of class privilege and color consciousness,” Augustave said. Set in the American suburbs and Haiti under an oppressive regime, the novel portrays Odys’s attempts to return to her roots in a class-conscious society.

Born in Haiti, Augustave was inspired by personal experiences and events she witnessed in her own life. In pursuit of her passion for culture, she has traveled to various countries like France and Senegal. She also spent time in Haiti with a graduate summer research grant from Howard University, during which she studied Haitian folk culture and the voodoo religion. “I wanted to reflect on what I knew about Haitian culture. It is about what roles traditions play in that society,” Augustave said. “The book was a way to bring all these influences together.”

Augustave collected journals, notes, and poems she had written over the years and decided to write a novel many years ago. Her investigations into the cultural practices of the Haitian people, along with her own imaginings about an adopted Haitian girl she had been told of, inspired her to write “The Roving Tree.”

For Augustave, the writing process was an “on-and-off process for several years,” she said. She would sometimes go three years without even touching the book. Nevertheless, “It was something I felt I had to do,” she said. “I needed to do it.”

The novel was Augustave’s first experience in fiction writing. Even so, she is already halfway finished writing her second novel and has begun writing a memoir. Augustave explained that though “writing can be a frustrating experience, the reward of writing is being able to sit back and read what you’ve written,” she said.

Since the announcement of the book’s publication, Augustave has been “called upon to do things [she’s] never done before,” she said. Augustave is participating in radio interviews, book readings, and various book signings in locations throughout the East Coast, including a book signing in the Tribeca branch of Barnes & Noble on Friday, May 22.

“This convenient new system replaces the old paper report, which will no longer be mailed,” Zhang said in the e-mail.

According to the official College Board website, there are many benefits to this new program. Students can review their entire score histories and see the statuses of their orders. Furthermore, students no longer need to request that scores be sent to institutions by phone, mail, or fax, since the scores will be available online.

This new online system requires users to have College Board accounts. Through the information provided with these accounts, the College Board will send students e-mails on how to obtain their AP and SAT scores and send these scores to colleges. Students can also opt to receive practice questions for these exams by e-mail.

In order to access their AP scores, students will need to know not only their usernames and passwords, but also their student identification or AP numbers. The student identification number will be the same nine digit number on Stuyvesant ID cards, and AP numbers can be found on the AP Student Pack, which is distributed the day of the exam. These Student Packs will include a tear-off card with individual AP numbers that students can save for future reference. The College Board advises students to keep the tear-off cards, but if they are lost, students can call the contact numbers provided on the College Board website and provide identification information to access their scores.

“I don’t check the mail regularly, so obtaining the scores online is much more convenient for me,” junior Albert Leung said.

In the past, students were given the option of receiving a mailed or electronic copy of their scores. “Most students seemed to prefer the online scores, and it is more convenient to have one standard [electronic] system that everyone uses,” a College Board representative said in a phone interview.

This year’s AP score reports will be available at 5:00 a.m. EDT on Monday, July 8. If students need to send their scores to colleges before the online service is available, they may purchase a rush processing order. In New York, students will be able to access their scores by Friday, July 5.

College Board will provide more information and details on the new system through its website and e-mails to students who already have College Board accounts.

“Now, we’re not sure about the circumstances or the exact details,” freshman Caucus President Henry Takizawa said. “But what we do know is that the suspect arrived at the school between 7:30 and 8:00 dressed in what looked like a vest and actual shoes. Depending on a few factors, including whether his tie was a clip-on or not and if he carried a handkerchief, we could be dealing with a serious violation of code here.”

The event, which made its unexceptional but triumphant return last week, has not been held for three years as part of Stuyvesant’s five-year plan to curb students’ general enjoyment. However, due to a recent U.S. News report that placed Stuyvesant as the top-ranking school in such categories as “Hell on Earth” and “Where Creativity Goes to Die,” the administration was coerced into once again offering the city’s foremost awkward social gathering for teenagers. Many were prepared for a sweaty and uneventful night of less-than-fun, but the dance turned out to be anything but.

“I actually expected such treatment from these plebeians,” the anonymous freshman said, stopping to take a sip of Earl Grey tea. “The ball was quite droll, anyhow; there was only minimal twerking to be seen that night.”

According to several sources, the ill-clad intruder faces up to fourteen years of voided lunch, plus a term of fashion rehabilitation taught by social studies teacher Avram Jezer.