Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections What is happening to Colombus Day? Macai Augustine Volume 5 Issue 2 November 25, 2024 Image Provided by Max Ching Did you know that Columbus Day is false? I mean, Columbus didn’t really discover America, so who did, and what's going to happen to Columbus Day? Columbus Day celebrates Christopher Columbus discovering North America on October 12, 1492. That day been celebrated since 1932 and marks the year when it became an official United States holiday. So, what’s the pushback on this holiday, and why has it become so controversial? Christopher Colombus was an Italian navigator and explorer born between August 26 and October 31, 1451, in Genoa, Italy. He later lived in Portugal, Porto Santo Island. As Columbus grew older and became a teenager, he obtained a job on a merchant ship until 1476 when a group of pirates overthrew his ship while it was sailing north along Portugal’s coast. The boat ended up sinking, but luckily, Columbus survived and floated back to shore. This was only the beginning because Columbus started to study cartography, navigation, mathematics, and astronomy. At the time a new issue arrived in that Columbus strived to solve. At the end of the 15th century, it started to become nearly impossible to get from Europe to Asia. The Silk Road started to become extremely dangerous, and unsafe for travel, and the Ottoman Empire started to tax travelers to pass through. To solve this issue, Portuguese explorers sailed along West Africa’s coast. This method worked, but Columbus believes that it was unnecessary and knew that there had to be an easier way to get to Asia instead of sailing along the big continent of Africa. He had the idea that the size of the Earth was much smaller than believed and getting to Asia by sailing northwest could be easier. In 1492, he introduced his plan to officials in Portugal and England, and the Spanish monarchs were interested in Columbus’s idea. Columbus, Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish monarchs, also wanted to be famous and rich, so Columbus promised that he would split 10% of the treasure he found. So, on August 3, 1492, he finally set sail. While at sea, he kept a diary to write down all his findings and ideas. When he finally reached, he was able to talk and trade with natives in North America. In Columbus’s diary, he also mentioned the idea of enslaving the people of the land. He knew that these people did not have all the riches and technology that the Europeans had. He wrote, “They have no iron…They would make fine servants…With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” The problem with Christopher Columbus is that he isn’t a very good man to celebrate, and we should be celebrating differently. Columbus may have helped colonize America, but his actual, often untold story is filled with fear and violence. This is why many cities and states are changing Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day. Sources: https://www.history.com/topics/exploration/christopher-columbus https://www.britannica.com/summary/Christopher-Columbus https://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2023-10-09/indigenous-peoples-day-why-its-replacing-columbus-day\ https://allthatsinteresting.com/who-discovered-america BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections The History of Rosa Parks By Manal Layachi Volume 1 Issue 6 March 18, 2021 Image provided by Her Agenda Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her parents split up and she lived on her grandparent’s farm. Living in Montgomery made Parks tougher and stronger. Parks was very smart, and she started laboratory school for her secondary education, but she was forced to drop out because her grandmother was ill. During this time, there was a lot of segregation. Blacks and whites used separate things like public bathrooms. Whites got better things than Blacks. This was only because of their skin color. One day, Parks met Raymond Parks. This was the first activist she encountered. In 1933, Parks returned to school and got her high school diploma. This was a great accomplishment because very few Black people in Alabama got this degree. In December of 1943, Rosa Parks joined the NAACP. She helped establish the Committee for Equal Justice. In 1948, Parks became the Alabama state secretary of the NAACP. Everything was going very well, but on December 1, 1955 something huge happened. Parks was on a bus when the driver told her to give up her seat to a white man. She refused to give up her seat and got arrested. The news spread, and the Black community began a boycott of Montgomery buses. They refused to go on buses, and they walked to work or any place they needed to go to. Parks got arrested again for boycotting and was quickly released. She decided to flee with her family to Detroit. She fought for voting rights. On August 6, 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. Parks won a lot of awards. In August of 1979, the NAACP presented her with the Spingarn Medal. On January 14, 1980 Martin Luther King Jr. awarded Parks with the Nonviolent Peace Prize. On September 15, 1996 Bill Clinton awarded Parks with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On June 15, 1999 she received the Congressional Gold Medal. Sadly, on October 5, 2005 Parks died at the age of 92. Rosa Parks changed the world for the better. One of her best quotes is "You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right.” Source: rosaparksfacts.com BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Welcome to BSU! By Sasha Smalls and Ahmya McMillan Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Original logo by Sasha Smalls Black Student Unions have been a space for advocacy and education operating in schools and universities around the country for decades. But where did this begin? During the Civil Rights Movement, in response to racial injustice, Jerry Varnado and James Garrett created the first Black Student Union at San Francisco State University, a predominately white campus. Vernando and Garret started a campus movement that demanded institutions of higher learning to address the needs of their black students. This has laid the groundwork for reform, advocacy, and change across many student bodies in various U.S. communities. “Welcome to BSU!” The title for our first meeting that announced the revival and revamping of Valley Stream North High School’s very own Black Student Union. The club began last year as an effort by some Class of 2020 seniors to rally school spirit and support for the Black student demographic here at North. Kristina Dormeus, Carlton Paris, Tonei Laroche, Sydney Hunt, Amir Grant, along with our gracious advisors Assistant Principal Mrs. Small and Teacher Member Ms. Coleman, put BSU on the map. The current cabinet is grateful for much of the groundwork established by last year’s cabinet and acknowledge all the contributions they have made to get the ball rolling for this club. When COVID-19 hit Long Island and soon thereafter Valley Stream, the school went full-remote during the month of March. Over quarantine, BSU, like most clubs, found it challenging to make the switch to virtual. Gratefully, in all this chaos, we managed to hold elections for this year’s cabinet: President Sasha Smalls (Class of 2021), Vice President Tobi Adebowale (Class of 2021), Treasurer Chris Devis (Class of 2021), Secretary Mereddith Rony (Class of 2021), Head Event Coordinator (Ahmya McMillan Class of 2021), and Junior Council Member Ariana Paul (Class of 2022). Over the summer of 2020, BSU was remodeled with a new mission and renewed perspective (not to mention a fantastic website and Instagram that you should check out - see below ). Our mission is to enhance North's community. We are an inclusive organization open to students of all backgrounds. We desire to create a welcoming, judgment-free learning environment and safe space. Through a mixture of information and discussion, we serve to educate and inform the community. We want the conversations of our meetings to transfer out and positively affect how North students conduct themselves: respectfully, kindly, with integrity, and with the utmost confidence. With a focus on Black history and culture, BSU delves into perseverance and overcoming adversity. Discussing current events and topics gives our members insight concerning the minority youth of America. Above all, we emphasize embracing the younger students at North. The sooner they feel empowered, the sooner they can outwardly influence the community here at North and around the world. Let’s discuss how we go about achieving all this. This year’s cabinet members sat down soon after our first club meeting and decided it would be best to do bi-weekly meetings. “Quality over quantity,” said Mrs. Small, and we all agreed. The cabinet meets independently twice. Once to solidify a club meeting topic, determine who will be designing the PowerPoint presentation, and discuss agenda items; then we meet again by Sunday to collaborate on the shared PowerPoint and delegate who speaks at what slide. By Tuesday, we have run everything by Mrs. Small, and we are ready to meet with our club. We have found that certain discussions warrant longer discussions, and we want to give everyone who desires, a chance to share. Therefore, we will have a longer discussion/meeting topic such as police brutality or political perspectives followed by a shorter meeting topic such as plans for Black Solidarity Day. We believe this balance is essential, or we fear we may lose the interest of club members who have to divide their time between schoolwork, jobs, and extracurriculars - much like the members of our cabinet. We acknowledge that the club is a Black Student Union, but we are an inclusive organization, as you may read in our mission statement. Our topics correlate with an issue plaguing the Black community members in America, but we also address other communities such as Latinx and Middle Eastern. We also put an emphasis on perspective and fervently exercise “playing the Devil’s advocate” during our meetings to balance the conversations. Now that you have learned about BSU, we would love to hear from you! You can reach out via email, Instagram, our website, or Teams chat. We have listed all our information below. Email : vsnbsu@gmail.com Instagram : vsn_bsu Website : esmalls28.wixsite.com/vsnbsu Microsoft Teams code : zwf3p7w BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Art Back to Sections The Art of Photography By Sahar Ali Volume 2 Issue 4 February 10, 2022 Original photography by Rehan Kumar Photography is the art of capturing light to create an image. It’s a form of visual art, which includes art forms that are mostly composed of visual images. It may not seem like it, but photography adds a lot of value to our lives. Photography gives us the ability to record special events, people and places and helps us make memories. Photography is a hobby that provides individuals with many possibilities for creative expression, which is being able to use our minds and our imagination to create something that portrays ourselves. A freshman at Valley Stream North, Rehan Kumar has a passion for photography. Thanks to him, I was able to interview him. Below are his responses to the questions. Q & A: Q: Why did you start photography? A: “I started photography because I was bored.” Q: At what age did you pick up photography? A: “13.” Q: What are some of your favorite things to photograph? A: “Cars.” Q: What type of camera do you use? A: “Sony a7c.” Q: What are some tips you would give to anyone who wants to start photography? A: “Equipment doesn’t matter.” Q: Why do you have a passion for photography? A: “The photos look very cool.” Go check out some of Rehan’s photos! You can visit his Instagram page: @photos_by_ree, where he has posted some of his amazing photos. There is no specific age to start a new hobby, so if you have an interest in photography, give it a shot. Simply start off by taking photos with your phone. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections C0D3 4NG3L Annie Diep Volume 4 Issue 4 May 29, 2024 Image Provided by Annie Diep PROLOGUE Thirty years ago, alien beings, later referred to as “angels” -- due to their eerie resemblance to the messengers of God -- began descending and wreaking havoc on the land of Ethyst. The once peaceful and prosperous land of Ethyst became overran with monstrous beasts that are more similar to demons in nature than angels. It wasn’t clear what their intentions were. However, what was clear was that the power of these foreign beings overpowered those of Ethystians. From their ability to regenerate lost limbs, to their ability to intercept magnetic waves and perform intense light energy radiation, it was clear there was no way of defeating them, let alone eradicating them....or is there? These never-ending attacks led Ethystians to come together and use their wits to create weapons and develop technologies, as well as evolve within themselves different abilities to counteract these mystical beings. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Portrait Back to Sections Family Photo By Luiginna Frederique January 20, 2021 Photography Volume 1 Issue 4

Back to Articles Letter from the Editor Back to Sections Letter from the Editor: End of Year Report By Craig Papajohn-Shaw Volume 1 Issue 8 June 8, 2021 Original photo by Christy Mansfield What a year! Relaunching North Star, North’s Student News and Literary Magazine was no easy task. However, with the assistance of our administration, teachers, and of course our writers and editors, we were able to bring you 8 issues of original articles and artwork that reflected the creativity of the students at North. We have accomplished a lot in the short 7-month period since the magazine relaunched, so let’s review: ~ Live Inauguration Coverage With the controversial events surrounding politics this year, North Star made its goal to provide both unbiased stories to keep you in the know, while also featuring our writer’s own views regarding the circumstances of this year’s election cycle. On January 20th, the magazine was able to publish live updates on the Inauguration of President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. With the help of our Chief Editor, News Editor, Managing Editor, and Website Designer, we were able to post minute-by-minute updates of all the notable events that took place throughout the historic day. ~ Adelphi University Press Day On February 26th, 15 of our club members attended the Virtual 2021 LI High School Press Day hosted by Adelphi University. The magazine submitted work from six categories to be considered for a Quill Award. This was the first competition the magazine entered into since its relaunch. Lucy Wu, our website designer, placed 3rd for the best layout to represent us in the competition against other school newspapers across Long Island! We look forward to preparing for future contest entries in Volume 2, coming in Fall 2021. ~ Mental Health Corner North Star wanted to address significant issues affecting our students due to the events surrounding the pandemic: mental health. Back in late February, the magazine published an editorial addressing mental health concerns within the Valley Stream Central High School District. Proposing multiple solutions to rectify the contents discussed, we decided to launch a mental health corner on our website. From quick links from the Guidance Newsletter to curated tips and tricks from our own writers, we were able to create a comprehensive guide with the intention of helping the student body. You can find and click on our Mental Health Corner button in every issue. ~ Social Justice Awareness North Star expressed its solidarity with monthly features to celebrate awareness months. In February we featured articles and artworks in accordance with Black History Month. We coordinated with Valley Stream North’s Black Student Union (BSU) to publish additional articles with the intention of further educating our audience on the racial prejudice. In March, we continued with the course of celebrating awareness months by highlighting Women’s History. Once again featuring original artwork and articles, the magazine was able to publish over 10 pieces to highlight appreciate the strides made by women. Lastly, in this issue, we are featuring works that show our support for the LGBTQ+ community during Pride Month. Collaborating with North’s Gay-Straight Alliance (no known as The Alliance club), our front page is brimming with new content to display and promote inclusivity of all communities. ~ We are thrilled to increase our readership in our next Volume by releasing new components to our magazine, such as renaming the Fiction and Creative section Polaris, the name of our former Literary Magazine here at North. We want to thank our senior editors and writers for the contributions they made and wish them well in their future endeavors. North Star is looking forward to welcoming new editors and writers across all grade levels. It has personally been a pleasure to work with this staff of editors and to watch the magazine grow. Keep an eye out for our release of Volume 2 coming early next Fall. Happy reading! ~ Craig Papajohn-Shaw Managing Editor BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Interview with Volleyball Star Alessandra Llubit By Argelina Jeune Volume 2 Issue 4 February 10, 2022 Original photography by Alessandra Llubit Alessandra (Ally) Llubit is a senior and has played volleyball for all four years of high school. It has taught her how to be a teammate and friend. Not only has it helped her grow physically but mentally as well. North Star interviewed Ally to understand her perspective on her experience over the past four years. What do you like about your sport? Volleyball has always sparked an interest in me. This is a sport that involves teamwork and I have a lot of love for my team. Compared to the other sports I play, volleyball comes more naturally to me. Since I have also played volleyball for around seven years, I have gained a lot of confidence and experience. In my opinion volleyball is satisfying to watch and play and will always be my favorite sport. What has your sport helped you learn about yourself? Playing volleyball has helped me realize that I love being a part of a team. This year's season in particular was so special, and I believe it had to do with the bond that my teammates and I created. I have learned how to pick my teammates up and to never give up on them through playing this sport. If even one player is down and not performing at their best, I was able to comfort them while giving them a pep talk and get their head back in the game. How has this sport shaped your life and you as a person? I believe throughout the years of playing volleyball I have gained a lot of leadership skills and I have become more vocal. I feel that playing sports in general can help you communicate better with others, especially with team sports such as volleyball. As I have played more games, I have become stronger mentally, allowing me to focus and relax during nerve-racking moments, such as playing this year's playoff game. What will you miss about playing at North? What I will miss the most about playing at North is definitely the team aspect. I have gained many long-lasting friendships playing volleyball. Especially this year's team, there are many sophomores and juniors and I never expected myself to become so close with them. Because of the bond we all had between us, we gained plenty of trust while learning from one another, and it all showed in the fact that we won conference champions. In addition, I will miss the guidance and encouragement that Coach Parisi provided all these years and Ms. Parisi plays a big part in my success as a volleyball player. What do you look forward to in college? College has caused me to experience a variety of emotions, such as excitement and stress. Throughout the application process, I have felt the most pressure and stress I have ever experienced in a while. However, wondering what my future may hold is still very exciting and anticipatory. In addition to being more independent and being able to make new friends, I am looking forward to having more freedom. The college experience overall is quite thrilling, and I cannot wait. Do you plan on continuing to play this sport? Although I have thought about playing volleyball in college, I decided not to play division volleyball, but instead to play club volleyball. Volleyball is not something I plan to play seriously, but only for fun, since I know I will still be drawn to the sport. In general, I enjoy playing the sport, so I don't plan to completely give it up. North Star would like to thank Ally for the time she spent answering the questions for this interview; we wish her luck in her future endeavors. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Yusuf By Elizabeth Andre March 28, 2022 Mixed Media Volume 2 Issue 5

Back to Artwork Lights On for Education Back to Sections Gilana Etame - Lights On for Education - 2 By Gilana Etame April 22, 2021 Digital Art Volume 1 Issue 7