Greetings fellow Stuy96*ers,

It has been quite awhile since we’ve actively sent a message out. I think since the last message went out we were in the middle of the historic Presidential campaign and very much more has happened around the world featuring all of you and all that you do and enjoy. Many have you have celebrated milestone celebrations (ones for yourself, loved ones, and/or some of you with your respective new little ones!) and others have continued to make sure that we are involved with the community we care about. Here’s some alumni news that I’ve taken the time out to select and share.

Hope you’re all and keep in touch!

Andy

By the way, your college (undergraduate, that is) 10 year reunions are quickly approaching, so keep an eye out for those plans.

NEWS:

1) Classmates:

a) Great job Quinn Raymond as he made was selected one of the finalists to become the ultimate winner of the WNYC radio Satire Slam! contest

If Quinn is picked as a finalist he'll get to perform at the Greene Space--the new WNYC auditorium. It will be decided from the four remaining contestants in our Satire Slam! Finale. Judges Mo Rocca, comedian, and Faith Salie, actress/comedian and former host of Fair Game for PRI, provide commentary on the contestants' work.

Note from Quinn:

I just wanted to take a moment to thank Brian, Faith, and Mo for their feedback and thoughtful comments. It was a little intimidating to be there in front of the pros, but I really enjoyed participating and they were very kind. I hope that in the future WNYC is able to do more humorous segments like this.

I also wanted to congratulate Gerry on his win-- I really enjoyed his song. Kudos to Erin and Charles too, they were able to write excellent follow-up pieces with very limited time.

WNYC, do more funny stuff!

Best,

Finals:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2009/05/05/segments/131101

Semifinals:

http://www.wnyc.org/shows/bl/episodes/2009/04/29/segments/130308

Flickr Photos:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wnyc/3510494049/

You can also hear Quinn on CD which is available on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001KD5OOS/ref=sr_f2_album_21?ie=UTF8&child=B001KD5P74&qid=1242603768&sr=102-21

b) The Deuce and the Quarter featuring our classmate on the keys Adam Chimera adamchimera@....

Check them out on YouTube and MySpace:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZyxIPLV_Y

http://www.myspace.com/thedeuceandaquarter

c) Check out Jonathan Fisher on piano with his performance of

Franz Liszt: Apres une Lecture du Dante, Recorded live from solo recital

Where: Synagogue for the Arts Spring in Tribeca Concert Series

When: 3/22/09

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOAXBwGP4ug

Part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMQICFRwHw0

d) Check out our favorite Hollywood star, Kelly Karbacz, with her Acting Reel on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eGJzF9lcGdM

e) I’m not big on saying things about what I do, but it would be nice to spread the word about Con Edison the company I believe I do so much good for. I was awarded the company’s most prestigious honor, the 2009 Con Edison Living Our Values Award, for my work as an Electrical Engineer within the company helping design and maintain a safe and reliable underground electrical network system and also being active within the community with mentoring students with Asian American community awareness, political empowerment, high school robotics and technology mentoring, and also my alumni connecting. Andy Woo at the May Awards ceremony:

http://profile.ak.facebook.com/v228/123/109/n17500447_8874.jpg

2) Stuy Ranks 23rd In American High Schools In Their 2nd Annual High School Rankings:

For a place like Stuy, rankings do not mean anything on the outside, so we as students were never ranked any way. But what it can do is promote spirited competition even with our friendly neighbors at Bronx Science. Interestingly in this updated annual U.S. News ranking the school went from 15^th to 23^rd. For some insight in the rankings, a newer small school: the Dual Language and Asian Studies HS (located at the Seward Park HS campus) ranked a phenomenal No. 31 on the same list of the country’s top high schools ahead of the likes of our historical city rivals:

29 High School of American Studies at Lehman College Bronx, NY

31 Dual Language and Asian Studies High School New York, NY

32 Staten Island Technical High School Staten Island, NY

33 Bronx High School of Science School Bronx, NY

38 Baccalaureate School of Global Education Long Island City, NY

48 Queens High School of Science at York College Jamaica, NY

67 Brooklyn Technical High School Brooklyn, NY

71 Townsend Harris High School Flushing, NY

http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/new_york/stuyvesant_high_school

http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=2796&state=NY

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/90111/nine-city-public-schools-ranked-among-nation-s-best/Default.aspx

http://www.downtownexpress.com/de_294/schoolwithesl.html

Yet another ranking of top schools lists Stuyvesant but as a Top Performer.

http://www.greatschools.net/school/parentReviews.page?id=2796&state=NY

Also of note, our former teacher, Danny Jaye, and now Director of Bergen County Academies (BCA) school is mentioned here:

http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/jan2009/bw20090114_146291.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=614&Itemid=1353

3) Metal Detectors At Stuy For Exams:

In December 2008, Stuyvesant High School's bid to install metal detectors as a cheating deterrent had been rejected. The school’s principal, Stanley Teitel, confirmed that he had asked the Department of Education for permission to temporarily install roving scanners for the January 2009 exams at the school.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/12232008/news/regionalnews/metal_detector_flunks_145537.htm

This May, Stuyvesant High School began scanning students with hand-held metal detectors to seize hidden cellphones and other electronic gadgets before Advanced Placement exams earlier this month, The New York Post reports. Administrators at the College Board — which runs the AP exam program — and national cheating and safety experts said the school’s use of wands to ward off cheating (as opposed to detecting weapons) was unprecedented. One student did admit that devices such as iPhones are used to cheat on exams.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05132009/news/regionalnews/whizzes_wanded_168988.htm

4) Intel Science Talent Search hits FB and Tweets while 2 Stuy Students Are Named Intel Finalists, Academic Talent marches on

http://stuyspectator.com/2009/02/09/two-stuyvesant-students-are-named-intel-finalists/

With 114 semifinalists, New York is the best-represented state. The top two public high schools with the most semifinalists in New York are also gold medal schools. They are No. 23-ranked Stuyvesant High School, which produced 11 semifinalists, and No. 33-ranked Bronx High School of Science, which produced 9.

A full list of 2009 Finalists can be found at www.societyforscience.org. To view ongoing updates about the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search, join the Facebook* group at www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=42362919370

and follow Twitter* updates at www.twitter.com/intelsts09.

Long Island trumps NYC schools in Intel contest

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--intelsciencecompe0114jan14,0,3005635.story

2 LI School Students Named Presidential Scholars, 2 NYC Students include one Stuy senior

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-lipres0512729957may04,0,7294122.story

5) Another type of winner for Stuy’s future:

Omika Jikaria: The Type A Teenager

A Stuy 2011 sophomore trying to take on everything from Speech and Debate and Beauty Pageants

http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/1-in-8-million/index.html?ref=nyregion#/omika_jikaria

6) Specialized HS students admittances

The other specialized high schools they were trying out for were Brooklyn Technical High School; Brooklyn Latin School; Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan; the Bronx High School of Science; the High School for Mathematics, Science and Engineering at City College; the Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, and the High School of American Studies at Lehman College.

Fears that the tanking economy could drive private- and parochial-school students to the city’s elite public high schools in droves were not backed up by Department of Education data. Applications from children in nonpublic schools to the likes of Stuyvesant, Bronx Science and Brooklyn Technical High Schools edged up only slightly this year, to 4,553 from 4,470 last year.

http://www.silive.com/news/advance/index.ssf?/base/news/1233924309323930.xml&coll=1

http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/02/islands_stellar_students.html

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=27&id=26254

http://gothamschools.org/2009/02/05/more-students-admitted-to-laguardia-in-specialized-hs-round/

7) Top high schools’ racial stats mimic NYU diversity

http://www.nyunews.com/news/city_state/top_high_schools_racial_stats_mimic_nyu_diversity-1.1361145

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/gap-persists-in-test-for-specialized-high-schools/

8) Mourners remember Bayside teen

City suspects meningitis in Stuyvesant High School student’s death

http://stuyspectator.com/2009/02/09/celebration-of-life-memorial-held-for-ava-hecht/

http://www.yournabe.com/articles/2009/01/15/queens/doc496f713e3f4d8650031814.txt

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20241992&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574902&rfi=6

9) Facing Legal Pressure, PSAL Changes Girls’ Soccer Season from spring to fall sport seasons

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/on-education/2009/01/16/best-high-schools-send-students-to-science-semifinals.html#1763015

http://stuyspectator.com/2009/02/08/facing-legal-pressure-psal-changes-girls%E2%80%99-soccer-season/

http://www.psal.org/psalsports/school/psal_schoolprofile.asp?cschool=02519

10) Stuyvesant Alum Barbie Turns 50

http://gothamist.com/2009/02/19/barbie_turns_50.php

11) Frontrunners movie is released to DVD on 1/20/2009
Directed by Caroline Suh

http://www.exclaim.ca/motionreviews/latestsub.aspx?csid1=115&csid2=871&fid1=36686

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20252508,00.html

OUR STUY NOTABLE ALUMNI ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Eric H. Holder, Jr. '69 Confirmed as President Obama’s Attorney General

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=eric+holder&hl=en&emb=0&aq=f#

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5559643756726725289&ei=tSmiSYm7MpKwqwKXoYCnBw&q=eric+holder&hl=en

Attorney General Eric Holder was the keynote speaker at the 2009 Department of Justice African-American History Month program. In his remarks he called the American people "essentially a nation of cowards" in failing to openly discuss the issue of race. He urged Americans to engage in forthright discussions of race issues rather than ignore topics that some might find uncomfortable.

David Axelrod, '72 was Chief Campaign Strategist for President Barack Obama's presidential campaign, is currently serving as senior Adviser to the President.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC1R1yVsVew

While at Stuyvesant, Axelrod was the editor of Caliper, the literary magazine. He was part of the Student Parent Teacher Committee, the forerunner of the Student Leadership Team, a member of the debate team, and he wrote for The Spectator. Would any of us be able to meet the next President of the United States during our careers?

http://stuyspectator.com/2009/02/09/david-axelrod-from-stuyvesant-to-the-white-house/

Harris Pastides '71 becomes the new President at the University of South Carolina

Dr. Pastides '71 had been elected as the 28th President of the University of South Carolina. He had served, formerly, as VP for Research and Health Sciences, and Dean of Public Health. Before joining USC in 1998 he was a Professor of Epidemiology and Department Chair at the Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst:

http://president.sc.edu/PresidentPastidesBio.php

Leo Chalupa '63

Dr. Chalupa will serve as George Washington University's chief research officer, charged with leading GW into the top tier of the nation's research institutions.

http://www.gwu.edu/~newsctr/pressrelease.cfm?ann_id=29667

LOCAL STUYVESANT HS COMMUNITY NEWS

A scholarship created to in memory of former Stuy Alumni Association President Sari Halper Dickson '87, who passed away on January 30, 2009 from cancer

http://www.shsaa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=357&Itemid=34

Our past teachers still doing their best:

Mr. Warren Donin, still at Stuy, continues to bring up interesting topics about race and civic action:

http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=25377

Mr. Danny Jaye, as New Jersey's Bergen County Academies has brought the school attention with the 2007 Intel Distinction recognition and this year as New Jersey’s top overall performer.

http://bcts.bergen.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1238&Itemid=1453

Ms. Susan Brustein continues to strive for greater science and technology education at a great high school as Townsend Harris’s Assistant Principal of Science and Technology while being recognized in November as the recipient of the Intel 2008 School of Distinction for Science Excellence award.

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2008/1126/features/016.html

http://www.qgazette.com/news/2009/0128/features/013.html

Volunteer and Participate:

2009 World Science Festival

Wednesday, June 10, 2009 – Saturday, June 14, 2009

http://www.worldsciencefestival.com/