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Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections The Compliment of Green - 2 By Olivia Muscatelli November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections The Culture Fair’s Magnificence By Jeselys Naylana Vazques Volume 2 Issue 6 April 14, 2022 Image provided by Ariadne Yurem Palacios Martinez On April 1st, 2022, the first VSN Culture Night since the start of the pandemic was held to celebrate the end of World Language Week and everyone's unique and special nationalities from all around the world in school. It was my first time going, and I was excited to see all the different tastes of foods from all parts of the world and the entertaining performances. When you entered that evening, you saw a hallway with various options of food you could try—each one looking tastier than the next. I tried a Mexican dessert; it was amazing and could make anyone happy with just one bite. People wore their traditional clothes, looking spectacular, representing their ethnic backgrounds. Decorations all over the first floor and posters on each table to represent what part of the world the food was from and its significance. There was also a henna booth, and a competition to vote on posters! You thought that was all? As some time passed, it was already time for the fashion show of who wore the best outfit from their culture. It was a hard decision, but the two best dressed won an Amazon gift card! After all this, there were dance performances; participants choreographed and sometimes sang a song. I can't even put into words how spectacular Culture Night was. If I were to, though, I would say it was magnificent, and I wish to not only attend again next year, but to also participate in it all. If you couldn't participate in or make it this year, never forget there is always next year! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections Hair Ice Cody Sung Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 Image provided by Hair ice: By Vielfalt - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=98907791 Fungus: By Jerzy Opioła - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38872654 Have you ever heard of hair ice? It’s silky, elongated, reminiscent of hair. It shouldn’t be able to exist since recrystallization, which breaks the shape, should happen very quickly. And yet it doesn’t. When and where can you find it? How does this happen? Hair ice is a rare phenomenon to encounter. It is only found on dead wood in forests between the latitudes of 45 and 55 degrees north, encompassing the forested parts of the northern United States, such as Washington, Montana, Idaho, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and Maine, southern Canada, most of Europe, and southern Russia – you can find it in a lot of places around the world, but not in New York! However, it only forms in these forests when the temperature is just below freezing (32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius) and if it is humid – wet - outside. The ice produced by the wood, hair ice, is thin and silky, forming curls and waves reminiscent of its namesake human hair. Due to its unique shape, it is very brittle, more so than actual ice. Despite the odd shape and how fast recrystallization happens at the temperatures it forms at – it should happen within minutes - how does hair ice stay as it is for up to days at a time? The dead wood has a fungus, Exidiopsis effusa, usually found in hair ice. German and Swiss researchers in 2015 noted that every hair ice sample they found had the fungus on it, indicating that the fungus was the cause of the hair ice phenomenon. Interestingly enough, the possibility of a fungus making ice was proposed over a century ago by the discoverer of continental drift, Alfred Wegener. Unfortunately, the dead wood the fungus lies on cannot produce hair ice for that long; it can only do it for a few years, still an impressive period. The fungus can do this by being on a piece of dead wood and waiting until conditions are right and ice starts to grow on the wood. It can then release recrystallization blockers, so the ice doesn’t immediately recrystallize. However, this process remains mostly a mystery. As a fungus causes it, hair ice on a piece of dead wood is disabled. Additionally, the researchers found hot water has the same effect. However, this has the potential for further exploration. Sources “Hair ice”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hair_ice “Exidiopsis effusa”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exidiopsis_effusa “45th parallel north”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/45th_parallel_north “55th parallel north”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/55th_parallel_north BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Abraham- Matteo Somma Matteo Somma February 24, 2023 Volume 3 Issue 3

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Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections Spiral of Ants by Lemon Demon By Stephy Varughese Volume 1 Issue 6 March 18, 2021 Image provided by Onedio Spiral of Ants - YouTube Over and over The pheromones, the overwhelming harmony Consuming the colony The Circle rules your life Chop, chop! Don't want to be late Lift up and carry your weight You've got no choice but to dance in a spiral of ants True bugs might laugh in your face Don't fret, you're leading the race Don't let the bastards step on your hands in a spiral of ants You can't remember where you came from (In a spiral of ants) You can't remember where you're going (In a spiral of ants) You can't remember knowing You are one ant Over, it's over The pheromones, the self-avoiding odyssey Consuming the colony The Circle rules your life Now, now! Don't run out of breath Don't feel surrounded by death, no Take the wheel, this could be your chance, in a spiral of ants False bugs, you'll soon be alone See how they drop like a stone You're free now forever to dance in a spiral of ants. Now you remember where you came from (From a spiral of ants) Now you remember where you're going (To a spiral of ants) You've got to keep it flowing. You are one ant (Over, over, over) Over and over The pheromones, the overwhelming harmony Consuming the colony Creating its own gravity Before we knew it, we became a hurricane. And the bugs who laughed got blown away. As we proclaimed: The Circle rules your life _______________________________________ Lemon Demon is a band made by internet star Neil Cicirega. Cicirega had been on the internet making funny videos like “The Harry Potter Puppet Pals,” Ultimate Showdown, random skits, and of course, Lemon Demon, since the late 2000’s and as a teenager. The song “Spiral of Ants” comes from one of his more recent albums, Spirit Phone , which focuses on strange phenomena in history, mixed with a story. I highly recommend listening to his music if you like weird indie songs and overall randomness with upbeat tunes. Spirit Phone is a great starter album if you are interested. The title “Spiral Ants” is a natural phenomenon that happens in real life to a certain species of ant. There are ants called Army Ants who, unlike other species of ant, are completely blind. This is because of their compound eyes that are used to sense light activity instead of sight. However, because of this, these army ants have a tough time sensing each other out. The solution to this problem is releasing specific pheromones so that the ant before them can sense their pheromone and vice versa. When the scent of the last ant gets lost, the ant before that ant gets confused and get cut off from the main pack. The ants then look over and over, following the wrong trail which makes them walk in a never-ending spiral. Because they aren’t aware that they are walking this spiral, they keep walking thinking that they are reaching their destination. This leads to them walking till they eventually die. This is called the Death Spiral or, in this case, the Spiral of Ants. The speaker is never mentioned in the song, but we can assume that the speaker is a high being or just a disembodied figure. This is proven by the speaker speaking directly about you especially in line 20 “Now, now! Don't run out of breath” and the constant use of “you’re” in the chorus. Repeatedly in the song, the speaker tells “you” which is to assume is the listener. Also, in the song, they refer to the listener as “one ant”. This would mean that we are considered “ants.” The tone of the song sounds repetitive, mysterious, and collected in the beginning then goes into a very upbeat tune while still keeping the same unsettling vibe. “Before we knew it, we became a hurricane” is a metaphor that compares ants to a hurricane. This whole song in itself however is a metaphor in itself because it's comparing us people the spiral of ants. The song’s theme or the message is that despite living in and endless death loop, you’ll always be part of society. What I mean by this is that the “spiral” represents society, and the ant, you. The song starts you off with an omen-type tone as if you were not there at all, yet everything is still in shape. In lines five though eleven, the song hurries you up as if to say, “Come on, it's time to start your life!” Everything in the tone feels like you are new, unfazed by death or harm. This is supported in the lines when “you can’t remember where you are going” or “you don’t know where you came from.” This proves that at this stage, you simply are naïve about how the “spiral” is. Like how they, “you are one ant” like, you are only just a person existing. Then when it says “true bugs might laugh in your face”, they are referring to people outside of your life or people who try to weigh you down. This is confirmed later in the song where it says, “And the bugs who laughed got blown away.” This shows that despite people weighing you down and making fun of status, they aren’t in a worse situation as you. This also shows the change you felt before about the outside bugs changed when you got more engulfed into the spiral for in the beginning, these bugs were called “true bugs” while later in the song, these true bugs were now called “fake bugs.” By the second verse, the sudden realization that you are being controlled by society kicks in. Especially when the speaker says, “don’t feel surrounded by death.” You are now realizing the reality of it all, yet you try to get ahold of yourself and be a leader since “it could be your chance in the Spiral of Ants.” Later on, as stated previously, all the true bugs become false bugs as you realize that the true bugs you looked up to aren’t the same bugs anymore. The chorus of the song, however, brings this statement farther up by saying that you know where you are going and doing yet all in all, you are still just an ant. Yet you work and work to keep that spiral going. Then the repetitiveness of “over” really hits hard on this sad outcome of life. Then reaching the last chorus, we see the noticeability of the destruction of life. The overwhelming harmony of society that “consumes” the colony still goes on and on from the moment you were born till now. The remaining lines reflect how chaotic and crazy everything is to you as even society makes “its own gravity.” Everything is swirling around like a hurricane and all scattered in a mess. However, in the last two lines, it shows that despite it all, the circle still rules your life and repeats itself over and over again. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Black Lives Matter: Effects of Social Movement on Social Media By Nehilah Grand-Pierre Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Image provided by The Pew Research Center June 2nd, 2020 started as each day of quarantine did, resisting the urge to check Instagram first thing in the morning. Yet, this day was different. Unlike the previous days of quarantine posts, there were no whipped coffee or at-home workouts shared. There were only black squares, from classmates and friends to celebrities like Rihanna, and companies such as Apple and Netflix. According to Forbes, there were already 28 million black squares hashtagged “ #blackouttuesday ” by 11:14 am that morning. So, I posted mine, perhaps out of sheer obligation, but asking myself if that really helped. What is Black Out Tuesday? The reason behind this mass sharing of nothing for the day was because June 2nd marked one week since the passing of George Floyd, the 46-year-old black man murdered by the white police officer, Derek Chauvin, captured on the viral video which shows Chauvin kneeling on Floyd’s neck. Instagram was not the only platform on which users demonstrated a viral response to the tragedy. However, Researchers at Pew concluded that from May 26th to June 7th, #BlackLivesMatter was used 47.8 million times on Twitter alone. “George Floyd's death was filmed, but he still died” states Sasha Smalls, 17-year-old high school senior, and President of the Black Student Union here at Valley Stream North High School. “The filming hasn’t changed anything other than the fact that more people can see it in real time.” Now, it just isn’t that the world is watching, but also reacting, as on May 28th 2020, 8.8 million Twitter users shared post tagged with #BlackLivesMatter while protests began to emerge across the country, and the globe. The Difference With the advent of social media, movements like Black Lives Matter are able to gain traction fast, and with a larger audience than ever before. “The use of social media has evolved from simple conversations” says Tomi Akitunde, the head writer of MaterMae, an online resource with articles and aids for black mothers, which strides to educate others on the black community; the MaterMae Instagram page currently has over twelve thousand followers. “People are using it to be seen and say things they might’ve thought but never felt comfortable speaking out loud because they didn’t have people in their immediate community who felt like them or looked like the way they did. Now they have the whole world to listen to them”. Instagram and Twitter offer the opportunity for more people to get involved, with news coming in faster than experienced by any previous generation. “These social issues have become a part of our day to day lives” states Akitunde. “Now everything is right there because of social media. Now celebrities are involved, it's in your face”. The video of George Floyd’s death perhaps was the most in-your-face example of police brutality, a key conflict that the Black Lives Matter movement seeks to eradicate. Though the Black Lives Matter movement began in 2016 when the murder of Treyvon Martin occurred, more people have been forced to join the conversation in 2020 because of how undeniably graphic George Floyd’s death video was, whether they agreed it was worth protesting against or not. The Day Everything Changed Though Floyd’s death did not mark the first instance of a black man dying at the hands of police officers, June 2nd marked the first day of the change in atmosphere that has been present on Instagram. #TheShowMustBeStopped , another hashtag shared on Black Out Tuesday, highlights that change needed to be brought to Instagram in order to provide space for black voices and stories, as the hashtag #Amplifyblackvoices went viral as well. This shift in attitude presented on Black Out Tuesday demonstrated lasting effects. Instagram users continue to use their accounts to share infographics, petitions, links and other helpful resources months after George Floyd’s death. Posts from pages like @soyouwanttotalkabout and @chnge appear on Instagram stories, as educating others has almost become the new trend of Instagram, and both pages now have a combined following of over 4.1 million. “If I want to know how I can help out or educate myself, all I have to do is click on an Instagram story” states Smalls. “I was scrolling through Instagram 3 days ago like a normal gen-z teen, and I followed @chnge , so it came up. I stopped and I read the story without having to get up and go watch the news. Just as though I was trying to check up on Kylie Jenner, I could read about something that could affect my community.” There have been negative effects from the educational atmosphere that has seemed to present itself onto Instagram, however, despite its benefits of bringing important social issues to light. “People are finding a community, but at the same token, there’s this really polarized ‘I’m right you're wrong’ [and] no room for different viewpoints. Everything is very extreme because Black Lives Matter is a matter of life or death” states Akitunde. “Those infographics are really good at making people want to tag and share. The dangerous thing is when they are not sourced. I had to educate this woman I went to high school with once, because she shared something saying ‘Hey White People if you want to be a good ally stop saying black lives matter...what you need to say is this:...’. The source was an organization that doesn’t exist”. Allyship Though non-black POC and white allies may have the best intentions, sharing information on any social media platform should be done with caution. “Being a good ally is not something you call yourself, someone in the community has to bestow it upon you and it's also something you constantly have to be working at” tells Akitunde. The importance of allyship, however, doesn’t negate the fact that there still needs to be space left for black voices, though speaking up might be frightening. “I would love to have more white people, and republicans join the BSU meetings” Smalls says. “When I upload something like ‘Black Lives Matter’ to the BSU Instagram, I don’t want to push out potential club members.” The Takeaway Instagram has been a space where users can present the best of themselves (by literally posting their highlight reels), and display themselves through their pictures and captions. However, when the show must be stopped, social movements cause users to respond. Though selfies have been replaced by petitions, and VSCO links by www.blacklivesmatters.cardd.co/ , posting a black square is not enough to evoke change, and shouldn’t be thought of as such. “This kind of performative activism, where some people think that just posting a black screen with a hashtag is enough to evoke change, some of these people only do it because they don’t want to be hated on by those around them and then they go back to doing something that doesn’t help the movement” Smalls states. Therefore, it is not what the screen says that will push social change, but rather the character of that person behind the screen. Instagram may now provide the resources, but it is still the responsibility of the user to want to push the social movement beyond the walls of social media, and truly make the work happen, and the world a better place. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Senior Day By Olivia Neuner Volume 1 Issue 7 April 22, 2021 Original photos by VSN photographer (top left), Sumaiya Ramsaroop (left middle), and Garrrick Neuner (bottom right) On March 26th, the day before spring break, North's seniors were invited to partake in the district's first-ever Senior Day! A few weeks before the event, students were asked to create pods of 10 households to keep things organized and COVID safe. I say 10 'households' because groups with twins were allowed more than 10. For some, this was the first time they had been in the building since March 2020. Grades 7-11 had a fully remote day, and seniors who chose not to participate were excused from classes. The day started early, with some students arriving early for group pictures (including my group, who went all out with matching shirts and had my Dad take professional pictures! Included in collage .) First period, students signed in with our vice principals, had their temperature taken and scanned in with their ID's. Small groups were then let inside the lobby to partake in candy guessing games, which were kept COVID safe; students scanned QR Codes, which took them to a form where they guessed how many candies were in each jar. The winners got to take the candy home. The seniors were then given a goodie bag with a T-shirt, lanyard, drawstring bag, and snack. They were also given a one raffle ticket, which was immediately thrown into the drawing pile. For the rest of first period, students relaxed in the cafeteria while waiting for the day's main activities. In between each period, Mr. Frazer hyped up students and announced raffle winners who received gift cards donated by the parents. He also sang popular songs, including the SpongeBob theme, which many students (and teachers) joined him in singing. The hallways were decked out with streamers, balloons, and handmade posters by VSN underclassmen and club members. Many students caught up with their favorite teachers during free time, saw old friends, and took LOTS of pictures. Because of the COVID pandemic, these pictures will make up a significant amount of our yearbook. Each pod received a schedule for the day, which followed the regular bell schedule. The activities were as follows: Gym Activities: Badminton, Cornhole, Kan-Jam, and Spikeball were set up in the gym. Students were given a chance to play with others who were not in their pod. Breakfast: Donations from parents and teachers made up breakfast, including bagels (premade with butter/ cream cheese) and juice. Students were seated 6 feet apart, just like in an average lunch period. Students could emerge from their pods here as well. Senior Story: Each group was given a large post-it note and instructed to write down their favorite memories at North. Some used bullets, while others wrote out anecdotes. Lunch: A generous donation from the Valley Stream Teacher's Association provided seniors with various wraps from Valley Caterers. Drinks, chips, and snacks were provided by parent donations. Students were also asked to fill out a form to be put in a time capsule during this period, which will be returned in 10 years. Some of the questions included info about favorite teachers, goals, and favorite things. Tik-Tok Challenge: Groups were given one period to create a "pass the phone" challenge video. At the end of the day, all videos were submitted to the Senior grade advisors for judging (winners TBD). I Scream for Ice Cream ! – Lenny's Twistee Freeze truck parked next to the gym, where students were given one coupon for a cone or bar. The beautiful weather was perfect for enjoying the sweet treats. Teachers were also able to grab a bite thanks to a donation by VSN Principal, Ms. Green. Senior Sign: Every Senior in attendance signed a large banner. For the rest of the period, students hung out in the courtyard, caught up, and took pictures. Scavenger Hunt: Each group started the period by finding a hidden envelope in the lobby which contained hints for the hunt. Pods were instructed to take pictures on the football field, with George, by our main sign, next to something with school colors, and next to an inspirational quote. They were also asked to create a meme. All pictures were sent to our grade advisors for collection. At the end of the day, the 30 raffle winners claimed their prizes, and the Seniors helped to clear the halls by ripping down streamers and selecting their favorite posters to take home. After that, we were let out for our spring break! For me, Senior Day was by far one of my favorite days of high school. It felt awesome to be appreciated and to spend quality time with my friends. My favorite part was the ice cream truck and the scavenger hunt. We are so grateful for all the work put in by our school Director of Student Activities Mrs. Italiano, and all teachers, parents, staff, underclassmen, and administration. A very special thank you to our grade advisors Mrs. Oliver and Mrs. Balducci! Thank you for everything you do! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Feature Back to Sections Interview with Mr. Arata  By Gurjosh Multani Volume 3 Issue 1 November 7, 2022 Image provided by VSCHSD Q: State your name and your occupation. " My name is Anthony Arata, and my occupation is Permanent Sub here at Valley Stream North, but I am in Grad school at St. John’s University in order to become a Special Education teacher.” Q: Have you lived anywhere other than Valley Stream and if so, where? “I live in Franklin Square.” Q: Do you enjoy your job? “I love my job.” Q: Anything else to add to that? “It's an honor to be able to come back to where I went to high school and to inspire kids how I was inspired to be a teacher.” Q: What inspired you to start working this job? " My 10th grade special education teacher Mr. Achatz.” [pronounced “ACK-its”] Q: How do you feel about the recent threat to this school? "It's scary, but the reality of every day as a teacher and a student is that it can happen anywhere and there's protocols to be safe, but there're people who want to harm students and we just have to be as safe as possible always. And if you see something, always say something.” Q: What would you do for the security of the school if you were in charge? “If I was in charge of the security... Hmm Well, we already have cameras everywhere, which is definitely necessary, and the ID is to keep track of who comes in and out. But I would maybe just have scanners that way they could see when you walk through, so it scans you. That way we can prevent the lines in the morning, so it'd be an easier transition for students and faculty.” Q: Do you have any advice for the new generation of kids? "Find your passion and do something that you love because I go to work every day, I'm happy to be there, and I love what I do. As long as you do something that makes you happy, it's then that you'll be set for life.” BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Back to Sections Nora Chery By Nora Chery November 7, 2022 Volume 3 Issue 1