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Back to Artwork Lights On for Education Back to Sections Line Study By Kimberly Shrestha April 22, 2021 Study Volume 1 Issue 7

Back to Artwork Perspective Back to Sections Victoria Scarpa - Perspective - 2 By Victoria Scarpa December 16, 2020 Digital Art Volume 1 Issue 3

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Hofstra University: The Place to Be Cody Sung Volume 4 Issue 3 March 13, 2024 Image Provided by Hofstra University Many factors play into the search for a perfect college. Some people wish to move far away and try something new; others yearn for comfort and to stay close to home. If you belong in the latter category, Hofstra is one of your many choices. In Hempstead, New York, it is only 15 minutes away from North High School. Hofstra University was created from the estate of businessman William Hofstra. The university started as an extension of New York University under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of New York University and held its first classes in 1935. It changed its name to Hofstra College in 1937 and according to Wikipedia became independent in 1939. From then on, it steadily grew and became a university in 1963. Today, Hofstra reports it has over 10,000 students, with over 6,000 of them being undergraduates. Hofstra is situated on 244 acres, or 0.38mi2, of land split in two by Hempstead Turnpike. It has 117 buildings, including seven distinctive towers, three stadiums, and an exhibition center. Much of the land is used by other sporting facilities, including tennis courts, a swim center, a rugby field, and a baseball field. In total, they house 21 varsity sports, 10 for men and 11 for women. The buildings on the rest of the campus house fourteen different separate schools of study, with around 175 study areas available at them. Hofstra also has 35 residence halls, including six high-rises – the seventh is a library. It has a vibrant student life, with six theaters, 220 student clubs, and an art museum according to their website. It has its very own radio station – WRHU, 88.7 FM – and a television studio. Of course, these are all factors that make Hofstra a great school, but statistics alone do not tell us the whole story about the school. I know, because I went there. Hofstra has programs such as Saturday gifted and summer classes for elementary and high school students to learn on campus. From there, I was able to do all kinds of activities. I was able to participate in mock trials, learn sign language, play Minecraft, drop eggs with protective contraptions from roofs, launch toy rockets, and even talk on the school radio about the latest sports matches. It was a fantastic series of experiences for me and the many others who participated in them. I was always mesmerized by the seven towers when I approached campus, and I vividly remember sitting on a basketball court waiting for my mom to pick me up. Walking around campus, I always looked at the maps posted in various locations. Even as I am writing this article, I enjoy panning around Google Maps and the satellite images it provides of the university. All of this does not mean that Hofstra will be the right fit for you; translating those special classes into real college life will result in discrepancies. However, to me, Hofstra should be a choice for you to research more if you want to stay local for college. Sources: www.Hofstra.edu/about/glance.html www.google.com/maps BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Juneteenth Leah Ally Volume 5 Issue 1 September 20, 2024 Image Provided by Elaine Ching Also known as Emancipation Day, Freedom Day, Black Independence Day, and Jubilee Day, Juneteenth has only become recognized as a national holiday within the past three years. However, it has a rich, complex history that has been around since 1866. But why was Juneteenth only made a national holiday recently? And why is it celebrated? Celebrated on June 19th, Juneteenth celebrates the emancipation of slaves in the United States following the Civil War. It was first celebrated in Galveston, Texas where on June 19th, 1865, Union General Gordon Granger announced the following, “The people of Texas are informed that, in accordance with a proclamation from the Executive of the United States, all slaves are free” (Associated Press, 2023). This meant slavery was no longer permitted and African Americans were ensured personal rights. Celebrations immediately began with parades and readings of the Emancipation Proclamation. This marked a second Independence Day as African Americans gaining their inalienable rights were compared to 1776 when the U.S. gained independence from Great Britain. Not only were African Americans and formerly enslaved people now free but they had more opportunities than ever before. For instance, some worked for more social reform or even attempted to run for office. It is crucial to understand that without the 13th Amendment, this social change would have never been possible. Even though Abraham Lincoln began the movement by declaring the Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War, it only freed slaves in Confederate states, while the 13th Amendment freed slaves nationally (Taylor, 2024). As stated by Abraham Lincoln, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” However, this amendment did not prevent a new form of slavery that would soon emerge. Law enforcement took advantage of the phrase “...except as a punishment for crime” and would arrest or hurt African Americans for small inconveniences. Regardless of the long history that Juneteenth has in the United States, it only became a national holiday on June 19th, 2021. It stems from the protests against police brutality in 2020 with the most well-known example being George Floyd’s death. During this time, the Black Lives Matter movement also known as BLM was prompted and as a result, sparked conversations concerning racial justice and equality. Prior to Joe Biden signing Juneteenth as a federal holiday, it was a lengthy process. It began with 96-year-old Opal Lee, a dedicated activist who was the first to begin a campaign advocating for Juneteenth to be a national holiday. After rallies and support for the holiday by many citizens, The United States House of Representatives officially voted on the bill and received over 400 votes in favor of it (Taylor 2024). It was then implemented and effective immediately. Similar to Juneteenth celebrations in 1866 and other current national holidays, festivities include processions and community events with food and games. However, it is important to recognize that Juneteenth is more than a day off work or school, it is a celebration of freedom and equality for all. Since Juneteenth was declared as an official holiday, it has created more public awareness and education for all. By bringing attention to this news especially for young people that are continuously getting the opportunities to learn more about the struggles and challenges their country has faced and are still facing. Historical figures such as Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and many others have spent their lives working for not only African American equality but also the chance for recognition and celebrating black individuals. Juneteenth is only a small example of the many ways the United States has progressed in enforcing remembrance and reflection that paves the way for a more inclusive society. Juneteenth stands as a powerful symbol of freedom and resilience, marking the emancipation of enslaved African Americans and the ongoing quest for equality and justice. It deserves to be commemorated not only because of its significance in history but also because there are over 40 million African Americans in the United States who make contributions to politics, the economy, and society every day. Sources: Juneteenth: The History - The New York Times ( nytimes.com ) The Story Behind Juneteenth and How It Became a Federal Holiday | Chicago News | WTTW 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is Passed | National Museum of African American History and Culture ( si.edu ) Juneteenth | National Museum of African American History and Culture ( si.edu ) BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Powerful Women throughout Culinary History By Christina Ossa Volume 1 Issue 6 March 18, 2021 Image provided by the James Bear Foundation The culinary industry, as with any other industry, has been known to favor men while pushing women off to the sidelines. Men have predominantly been more recognized and well-known throughout culinary arts while women who achieve just as respectable and amazing goals as men do not receive the same level of recognition. As we celebrate powerful women who have paved the way for the ambitious younger generations that exist today, here are a few extraordinary women who have made amazing progress throughout culinary history. Buwei Yang Chao (1945) : Have you ever wondered how Chinese dishes such as the delicious “stir-fry” have become so widely popular in our country? Well, the best answer to that is because of the progress Buwei Yang Chao made in terms of having more Chinese cooking easily accessible to the U.S. population. She was born on November 25th, 1889, and in 1945 first coined the names of Chinese dishes like “stir-fry” and other recipes in her Chinese cookbook How to Cook and Eat in Chinese which was published in the U.S. While Chao did not even know how to speak English, with the help of her husband and daughter’s translations, she was able to make previously inaccessible Chinese dishes available to the wider English-speaking population. Earning critical acclaim from The New York Times who reportedly called it “an authentic account of the Chinese culinary system”, Chao was able to make a huge splash with her first Chinese cookbook while not even being able to speak the language of her audience! She continued her great influence on Chinese cooking-culture in the U.S. through her next Chinese recipe book called How to Order and Eat in Chinese to Get the Best Meal in a Chinese Restaurant . Chao’s story is extremely inspiring, especially for women of color who have similar situations to Chao and wish to achieve great feats in the culinary industry. Buwei Yang Chao not only influenced Chinese cuisine in the United States to the point it has achieved today but also paved the way for future generations of young Chinese and other minority girls to achieve their dreams of finding success in the culinary industry. Ruth Fertel (1965): Ruth Fertel was a single mother who had high ambitions and a courageous personality which helped her to achieve her culinary goals. She was born February 5th, 1927, and is the founder of Ruth’s Chris Steak House which today is an extremely well-established restaurant chain known for its delicious, juicy steaks. Aspiring to send her sons to college in 1965, Fertel took a risk and bought a restaurant for sale in New Orleans where she opened Chris’ Steak House. After finding success with her locals, one local in particular named Thomas Moran was handed the Ruth’s Chris franchise which he expanded by opening several other locations which today stands at 80 different locations. Until Fertel became ill in 1999, she continued her powerhouse journey in the culinary industry and found great success as an extremely successful franchise owner. So, if you ever find yourself near a Ruth’s Chris Steak House, location now you know the history behind Ruth Fertel’s inspiring career. While Ruth is no longer with us, she will continue to be an inspiring role model for younger generations and older generations looking to establish a career in the culinary industry. Susan Feniger/Mary Sue Milliken (1999): When Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken first settled as chefs into the Las Vegas strip, it was primarily marketed toward men and had a predominantly male workspace. Feniger was born in 1953 and Mary Sue Milliken was born in 1958, and this powerful duo began their careers in Chicago at the restaurant Le Perroquet. After their time at Le Perroquet, they chose to join together in LA which led them to achieve outstanding goals with one another. They’ve led extremely successful careers since their kick-off in the 1970s, and have won awards from the James Beard and Julia Child Foundations, Food Network shows, have had radio appearances, and even a Top Chef Masters win. But one of their most influential feats was when they opened their Mexican restaurant Border Grill in the Las Vegas Strip during 1999, which as I mentioned before was a male-dominated area. However, they experienced great success becoming the first women to run an extremely and high-profile restaurant on the strip. This duo also began their own foundation to encourage women to continue achieving great accomplishments in the culinary world, named the Women Chefs & Restaurateurs and Chefs Collaborative. 15 years after the duo’s achievements, Giada de Laurentiis and today Lorena Garcia, the first Latina to open a restaurant on the strip, established highly successful restaurants on the strip as well. Feniger and Milliken’s achievements throughout their careers have certainly paved way for new generations of women and younger girls to establish their careers in the culinary industry and their achievements will continue to influence young women to chase their dreams! BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections Erika Carranza - Prism By Erika Carranza November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles News Back to Sections A New Benefit for Poop By Cody Sung Volume 2 Issue 7 June 13, 2022 Image provided by Clevland Health Clinic Scientists have found a new benefit for poop. According to the New York Post, a company named Fitbiomics is making poop pills under the name Nella . According to their website, the pills focus on improving your gut’s microbiome, the bacteria that lives in your digestive tract. The pills contain bacteria from the guts of professional athletes that can improve performance. The bacteria is extracted from their poop. According to the New York Post, one person who tried it, a man named Steve Gallagher, was able to work out 40% longer and with more intensity. On Nella’s website, there are comments from other professional athletes praising the pills for improving their performance. Here is how the pill was created, and how science may not back it up at all. The CEO of Fitbiomics, Dr. Jonathan Scheiman, said he started off as a basketball player who had a dream of being in the NBA. He did not make it, and so turned to studying biomedicine and got a PHD in the subject area. He wanted to know how superstar athletes stood out, and Scheiman went down the path of gut microbes. In 2015 he started going around Boston, where he resided, and began collecting poop samples from 15 elite runners training for the Boston Marathon, as well as ordinary people. Scheiman found out that in the runners, there was more of the bacterium Veillonella atypica than in the ordinary people. To see if the bacteria made any difference, Scheiman put two groups of lab mice on treadmills. One group was given the bacteria while the other was not. The Veillonella-assisted group ran 13% longer than the group not given the bacteria. Scheiman though he had found it. So, does science say if it actually works? It’s not entirely clear. Despite the performance increase shown by Scheiman, according to the New York Times and NPR, there are other factors to consider involving this topic. Veillonella may work differently in people who are not physically active, including the possibility of dying instantly. The research also did not analyze whether the baseline levels of the bacteria made racers finish the marathon quicker or whether it was the effect of a higher concentration of lactate, which Veillonella eats. Finally, the 13% longer endurance benefit may not even end up scaling to humans. However, scientists are still not sure whether the factors mentioned before actually play a key role in whether these poop pills work or not. So, we will not know if these poop pills actually work until more evidence is found. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Welcoming Mr. Bracco! Mikayla Aziz Volume 6 Issue 2 December 22, 2025 Image Provided by Christy Mansfield You may have seen a new face around the halls during passing periods or dismissal. With a big personality, upbeat energy, and lovable demeanor, he is hard to miss. This school year, we welcomed Mr. Bracco to North High School. His official position at North as our interim principal means that he is temporarily filling in for Dr. Small as principal. Do not worry, we are in great hands for the meanwhile. Mr. Bracco is no stranger to administrative positions. In fact, he has 30 years of experience in this area and many more with teaching Science. And though he is not here permanently, he is certainly worth trying to get to know and accept, nonetheless. Mr. Bracco is not a Long Island native; he grew up in Astoria where he began teaching at St. John’s Preparatory School. He is a science guy who taught a variety of classes including regents, general, and AP chemistry, microbiology, and seventh and eighth grade science. He then moved to John Adams High School where he continued teaching science for a year before eventually landing at Elmont Memorial High School where his administrative journey began. Bracco started off teaching science at Elmont and later became a science chairperson there until being asked to apply for assistant principal. He holds fond and humble memories of this time, saying “I was truly fortunate to have some good mentors when I was over at Elmont, so people took interest in me. They saw that I had leadership potential, so they encouraged me to go for my administrative degree.” With his leadership skills and years of prior experience under his belt, Mr. Bracco felt that this type of position was the next logical step in his career. He got his administrative degree at “CW Post”, now known as Long Island University Post, and was an assistant principal at Elmont for 7 years. However, he did not stop there. After moving further on Long Island, he was a principal in Suffolk County for 20 years before eventually retiring from Kings Park School District. But even after working in administration for 27 years, Mr. Bracco could never forget his teaching experience. “If you want to be a good administrator, you need to be a teacher at heart, you cannot forget the days you spent in a classroom. That is critical,” he claims. Now, following 8 years of retirement, Mr. Bracco is temporarily back in action. You may be wondering why he would want to leave such an easygoing and laidback lifestyle of relaxation, traveling, and family time; however, according to him, retirement is not all it is cracked up to be. “After 4 or 5 years [of retirement], when you have done something for 40 years and you just find yourself sitting at home on your couch, you say to yourself, ‘Is this all that is left in life? For me to watch Netflix all day long?’” he remarks. Sitting around all day is especially hard for someone as passionate as Bracco, as he recalls, “I felt an urge to come back because I still feel like I have something to give.” Now, as he fills in for Dr. Small for the time being, he promises to work to the best of his ability to ensure that when she does come back, North is the place that she left, and “she doesn’t feel like she’s missed a beat.” But what exactly does a principal even do? According to Mr. Bracco, a high school building principal such as himself oversees hiring, safety, and even working with colleges such as Adelphi University or SUNY Albany to implement AP classes and programs in our schools. Overall, he describes his job as doing “whatever needs to be done to ensure that the kids entrusted in our care are leaving here with the best possible education that they can muster for the 21st century.” Principals who are engaged and show such clear care for their schools are beyond impactful and important for a high school community. So far, Mr. Bracco has been loving his time at North High School. When asked about his experience thus far, he states, “the kids are fantastic, the staff is excellent, and the community, I mean talk about community and support!” going on to say “I like the fact that it is a diverse community. We can all learn from each other: diverse cultures, different languages, I mean that is the best scenario because that is what the world is. It is a mosaic.” With his determination, experience, and charisma, I am positive that we at North can benefit and learn from having Mr. Bracco here as well. During his retirement, Bracco has been able to focus more on his hobbies and interests. Outside of work, one of his main hobbies is reading. He challenges himself to read 15 books per year as he considers himself an “avid reader” who particularly enjoys fiction and historical fiction. Though unpaid, he loves sharing his thoughts and making book reviews on Good Reads, and he is a part of the Barnes and Noble review staff as well. He has recently finished The View from Lake Como by Adriana Trigiani, a fictional romance novel following a woman dealing with divorce, loss, and self-discovery. Another enjoyable read he highly recommends is The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy. This book is a historical fiction thriller about siblings Bobby and Alicia Western coping with the legacy of their parents’ work on the Manhattan Project. Aside from literature, Mr. Bracco is a huge family guy. He loves spending time with his wife of 42 years and his four grandchildren who live nearby. He also considers fishing to be his biggest hobby. Mr. Bracco has always been extremely passionate about his career. As a student, you can usually tell when a teacher is there for money versus when they love their job and care about their students, and Mr. Bracco falls into the latter group. Teaching was more than just a form of employment for him. He believes that “the teacher profession in general is a profession, but it is also a vocation. Not everybody can be a teacher. It takes a tremendous amount of demanding work, understanding, patience, and perseverance to be a teacher.” From the way he reminisces on his teaching days and how he was just itching to get back to work, you can tell he really practices what he preaches. “Ponce de León tried to find the fountain of youth, and I always say the fountain of youth is working in a building with students,” Bracco also added. Just being able to give back to younger generations and the impact he has is enough to keep him young too. And when you meet someone as bubbly and genuine as Mr. Bracco, it is impossible to doubt that he genuinely loves what he does. So, the next time you see Mr. Bracco in the hallways or happen to be passing through the cafeteria hall, stop, and say hi to welcome him to our little community at North. We have been lucky to have him here! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections *Period* Madison Thomas Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 Image Drawn by Madison Thomas BACK TO TOP