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Back to Articles Art & Culture, Polaris Back to Sections Crack A Smile Nora Chery Volume 4 Issue 1 November 6, 2023 BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections The End Annie Diep Volume 5 Issue 1 September 20, 2024 Image Provided by Elaine Ching What does a story mean by ‘The End’? How can we know what exactly is ‘The End’? What is ‘The End’? Why do these simple words, ‘The End’ invoke such intense emotions? Why do these simple words, dictate my mind's destination? Is ‘The End’ for a scholar a B in their carefully formed A’s? Is ‘The End’ for a woman when their hair starts to grey? Is ‘The End’ for a mother when they lose what keeps them at bay? Is ‘The End’ for a creative when they’ve lost their way? Is ‘The End’ for a daughter when they disobey? BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections Former President Donald Trump's Conviction Sahar Ali Volume 5 Issue 1 September 20, 2024 Image Provided by White House Historical Association On May 30th, 2024, former president Donald Trump was convicted of 34 counts of falsifying business records, making him the first former president in United States history to be convicted of criminal charges. Falsifying business records is considered a felony in the State of New York, which makes the former president a convicted felon as a result of his actions. But what did Trump do that led him to this position? Former President Trump is notorious for the many actions that he took during and after his presidency, most notably the January 6th riot at the Capitol, in which thousands of Trump supporters protested the results of the 2020 election. The 2020 election was between Democrat Joe Biden and former president and republican Donald Trump, the outcome being a victory for the Democrats. Following the election, Trump made many public statements regarding the outcome of the election and proceeded to claim that voter fraud was involved, causing Trump supporters to gather at the Capitol and protest for their president whom they perceived to be the rightful president of the country. Trump openly spread false statements and made multiple attempts to revise the results of the 2020 election. Not only did Trump influence the storming of the Capitol, but he had also been impeached twice, making history as the only president in the United States to be impeached more than once. Trump was victorious in the 2016 election, as he beat Democrat Hillary Clinton. However, according to CBS News, Trump’s conviction originated from a “hush money” payment that was made to Stormy Daniels, an adult film star to keep quiet about her claims that she engaged in intimate activities with the former president years before the 2016 election. “But the actual charges that Trump faced were far less salacious and dealt with the comparatively mundane paperwork that was generated when he reimbursed Cohen for the payment” (CBS News). True to form, the former president would deny the claims by stating that the statements made by Daniels are false. However, according to BBC, giving a person hush money is not considered illegal; the reason he was convicted was because Trump claimed the $130,000 payment was for legal fees. Along with that, Trump made claims regarding the outcome of the 2020 election that were concluded to be false as he attempted to overturn the decision of the election. According to CBS News, New York election laws make it unlawful for “any two or more persons to conspire to promote or prevent the election of any person to a public office by unlawful means,” which is what Trump did as he attempted to quiet Daniels but also claimed that the money was for legal fees, which as we know, was not true. But with the power and position Trump holds, it is unlikely that he would have to face jail time. Legal experts believe that a fine would be the most Trump has to face. Even with such a big felony on his name, it is very likely that the public will see Trump run in the 2024 election later this year as he meets all the criteria to be president which, according to CNN include, being a natural-born citizen, above 35 years of age, and living in the US for at least 14 years. SOURCES: What was Trump convicted of? Details on the 34 counts and his guilty verdict - CBS News   Two weeks since Trump’s New York guilty verdict: What have we learned? | Donald Trump News | Al Jazeera   A guide to Donald Trump's four criminal cases ( bbc.com )   Can Trump still run for president? Can he still vote? | CNN Politics BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Advice Back to Sections Be Aware and Stay Focused By Jeselys Naylana Vazquez Volume 2 Issue 4 February 10, 2022 Image provided by Google.com Wow! The fall semester is already over, and now our spring semester schedule has begun. Our lovely and hardworking teachers have been rocking it away in putting up our final grades into the school portal, so we should take the time this week to reflect and focus on what we need to work to do well and succeed in the grade we hope to accomplish. We may be unsatisfied that we didn’t reach our goal for the grades we wanted or satisfied with what we earned, but it isn’t too late to improve. Don’t think you can’t because we’re getting closer each day to the end of the school year and you don’t have time to make a change because it is never too late to take a step and own up to it. On February 4th, our report cards came out, so I hope you took/will take the time to look over them and ask/ask yourself, “Is the best I could do, or could I try harder next time?” Then you can figure out what you need to focus on, and what you need to do for yourself to increase your average. Also, always remember: It’s your choice; if you feel you can do it, then do it! Don’t underestimate your power of wisdom and intelligence. Well, I have a spring semester to catch, and so do you, so see you there! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections The 2020 Atlantic Hurricane Season: Records Broken By Matteo Somma Volume 1 Issue 3 December 16, 2020 Image provided by the Weather Channel As we all have noticed, 2020 has been a whirlwind - for example with the COVID-19 virus growing by the day and the social injustice citizens have been experiencing recently. But what many aren’t looking at is the growth of natural disasters around the world which have been breaking records. As the record-breaking hurricane season just recently ended here on the east coast, we felt the wrath. It started around halfway through May, over half a month before the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season. The season began with the two tropical storms: Arthur and Burtha. Burtha slowly died off into nothing, but Arthur had other plans. Arthur started on May 14th just off the coast of Cuba. As the system headed towards the straits of Florida, it slowly died down to a tropical depression. Two days after the storm tuned down into a tropical depression, it cranked up winding towards the Outer Banks, NC. After crashing towards the banks, it slowly depreciated into nothing as it turned back toward Cuba. Six out of the 30 named tropical storms, hurricanes, cyclones, or depressions were categorized as major hurricanes, while in 2019 we had only half of those numbers. The worst was the hurricane named Laura. Laura caused 10-12 billion dollars of damage, in comparison Superstorm Sally, which caused 8-10 billion dollars of damage. The way a hurricane forms is when moist, humid air passes over warm water. From there, the humid air is pushed upward with warm ocean water as well as forming storm clouds. As the clouds rise, it begins to rotate forming a hurricane. The recent rise in warm waters all over the earth causing all these hurricanes over the Atlantic is due to global warming. The hurricane is roughly 300 miles long on average with an eye and surrounding thunderstorms. The eye of the hurricane is relatively calm and spans anywhere from 20-40 miles across. Churning through 2020 has often been nightmarish. The hurricane season officially ended on November 30th, 2020, with no new storms forecasted or on their way as of our publication date. This season saw double the average number of storms, with 12 named and 6 total hurricanes, while this year we had 30 named storms and 16 hurricanes. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections Pi — It’s Waaaay More Than You Think! By Elyas Layachi Volume 2 Issue 5 March 28, 2022 Image provided by New Atlas Introduction March 14th of every year is the date all mathematicians and math-lovers yearn for: Pi Day. Its name comes from the number its date creates: 3.14, the first three digits of the mathematical constant pi. It’s an endless number, and while we use pi in our math classes, do we really know what the number is, its origin, and its uses in the real world? After reading this article, you will know everything there is to love about pi, in addition to a few fun facts! Brief History of Pi British mathematician William Jones is responsible for giving the value pi a Greek symbol, but the actual number comes from centuries of secular thought and experimentation. According to exploratorium.edu, the number has been around for almost 4000 years, with the ancient Babylonians (1900 – 1680 BC) being the first to try to find pi’s value. They calculate the area of a circle by taking three times the square of its radius, which gave pi a value of 3, but they approximated it to 3.125. In the same period, the ancient Egyptians found the area of a circle using a formula and produced 3.1605 for their pi value. However, it wasn’t until Archimedes of Syracuse that pi was accurately calculated. He was one of the greatest mathematicians of the ancient world, and, simply put, he used the Pythagorean Theorem (a^2 + b^2 = c^2) to find the area of a circle and the value of pi. Although he did not find the exact value of pi, he knew he was close, and produced a value between 3 and 1/7th and 3 and 10/71. Today, Syracuse is known as the creator of pi. Pi Uses Today What an interesting history! It’s crazy to think that it took the world’s most renowned mathematicians and minds, along with centuries of thought, to produce merely an approximation of the real value of pi. You may ask, what’s the importance of all this? I’m never going to need pi in my life, so why is it such an important number? Well, depending on what profession you’re thinking of pursuing, you will most likely need pi. Astronomers need pi for estimating the sizes of planets, architects and construction workers need pi to design buildings, pi was used to calculate the size of your car wheels, and even plumbers need pi form piping and tubing! Furthermore, sports manufacturers need pi to determine the amount of material needed to make a basketball or soccer ball. Anything that involves circles, cones, spheres, and cylinders needs pi. Fun Facts about Pi Pi is the most recognized mathematical constant in the world, with scholars considering it “the most important and intriguing number in all of mathematics.”1 Since the exact value of pi can never be calculated, we can never find the accurate area or circumference of a circle.2 Since pi is an irrational value, computers have been used to calculate it to more than 22 trillion digits!3 Conclusion I hope you guys learned something new about pi! I sure did, just from doing research for this article! So the next time you see pi on a math test or in class, take a second to appreciate the value of the number, the centuries it took for its value to be discovered, and its many uses in society. Happy Pi Day! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections A Frightening Welcome to the 117th Congress: Impeachment 2.0 By Craig Papajohn-Shaw Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 No Image available at this time January 6, 2021, 2:07 PM: a moment that history will never forget, when domestic terrorists ransacked the Capitol while congressional leaders were meeting to certify the election for Joseph R. Biden (D-DE). High ranking officials on the floor feared for their lives. The office of Congresswoman Kathleen Rice (D-NY), who represents the students and parents within the Valley Stream Central High School District, responded to my request for a statement; the Congresswoman expressed “For those of us who were in the Capitol that day, this attack will haunt us and our families for the rest of our lives. For every American, it will leave a permanent stain on the great history of our democracy.” The Congresswoman’s statement emphasizes the heinous acts that were committed on the Capitol that horrid day. The 117th Congress was sworn in on January 3rd, having a new perspective on what can happen when democracy is threatened. They would start their term by voting for the Speaker of the House. In the House of Representatives, a slim 222 majority for the Democrats still allowed the party to re-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) for Speaker of the House. The leader of the most diverse and dynamically female-led House in history, Pelosi was still blamed by some Democrats for the loss of 10 seats in her party and Republicans gaining 15. Many progressives were dubious about voting for the Speaker but did not want to further voice the divide within the Democratic Party. Speaker Pelosi urged representatives to come together stating, “our promise to [our constituents] will [be to] continue to work in a bipartisan way to build a future worthy of their sacrifice.” Even with Pelosi’s promising speech, problems arose on the first day of order in the 117th House of Representatives. A screaming match, as Business Insider described it, occurred within the chamber because of Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) refusal to wear a mask properly. A freshman politician, Representative Greene is seen in many pictures throughout the historic day without a mask. Furthermore, she was one of 121 GOP lawmakers who supported the objection to the presidential election on January 6th. A staunch supporter of President Trump, wearing a mask reading “Trump Won,” Greene has been in strong opposition to the Democratic caucus’ impeachment of the President for a second time, and many of her Republican colleagues also voiced their disapproval of the Democrats’ impeachment efforts. Pelosi brought impeachment papers to the floor on January 11th, citing that Trump encouraged the mob of his supporters to attack the Capitol. The charge, incitement of insurrection (inciting violence against the government against the United States) , was agreed upon in the House by a vote of 232-197 on January 13th, with 10 Republicans breaking party lines. Led by the 3rd highest ranking Republican in the house, Liz Cheney (R-WY) voted for the impeachment of Donald Trump stating, “[he]summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack.” Cheney and her nine Republican colleagues who voted for impeachment have been called on to resign by constituents and other GOP representatives alike. However, a spokesperson for Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), rejected the idea stating, “[The Minority Leader] does not support efforts to remove her as conference chair. The agreed resolution will now go to Senate where an impeachment trial will take place.” The 117th United States Senate will be under new leadership. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel (R-KY) will now be titled as Senate Minority Leader. The two Senate runoffs in Georgia which occurred on January 5th decided the fate of the Senate. For the Democrats to obtain the majority, both Jon Ossoff (D-GA) and Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA) needed to win their elections. Both defeated their opponents by over a 0.5% margin, so no automatic recount will occur per Georgia’s state election rules. A concession speech from GOP incumbent David Perdue (R-GA) read, “Although we won the general election, we came up just short of Georgia’s 50% rule, and now I want to congratulate the Democratic Party and my opponent for this runoff win.” In defiance of President Trump’s claim of voter fraud once again, both GOP senators from Georgia gracefully accepted defeat. With 50 Democratic senators and 50 Republican senators, the president of the senate, who is the vice president, breaks the tie to hold the majority. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris (D-CA) would hold this position, therefore presumptively making current minority leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the majority leader. With regards to an impeachment trial, Mitch McConnell, who will still be majority leader until the election for the Georgia runoff is certified in mid-January, has stated that due to scheduling, a trial can occur no earlier than January 19th. As a majority leader, an emergency session can be called prior to this date under his leadership; however, he will refuse to do so. A president may be impeached after they have left office. President Trump being impeached in the House would make him the only president in American History to be impeached twice. In the Senate, a two-thirds majority is necessary to find the President guilty, and while some GOP Senators, such as Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Pat Toomey (R-PA), have vowed to charge the president as guilty, it is unlikely that 17 Republican senators will follow suit with their Republican colleagues. The 117th Congress will have to make complex decisions within the first few weeks of office. With both the legislative and executive branch controlled by the Democrats, an ambitious agenda by the Biden administration will be easier to accomplish with a majority in both chambers of Congress. The new leadership will make a priority of overcoming the coronavirus pandemic and helping their constituents, some of whom are in dire need of financial and public health support. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections After 96 Hours of Counting, We Have a Presumptive Winner By Logan Balsan Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Image provided by CNN Written by: Logan Balsan (in coordination with Craig Papajohn-Shaw) Disclaimer: Election Results can change as campaigns are contesting election results in court On Saturday, November 7th, 2020, the Associated Press announced that Former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. would win the State of Pennsylvania and its 20 Electoral Votes, putting him over the 270 minimum needed to win the Presidency. However, the results of congressional elections across the country could seriously affect the Biden/Harris agenda within the next four years. In the House of Representatives elections, the Republicans have (so far, last update on Sunday, November 15th, 2020 as there were still mail-in ballots to be counted) gained 5 seats. Even here in New York, State Assemblyman Andrew Garbarino, Republican, won to succeed retiring Rep. Peter King, Republican, in his House seat. In Staten Island, Max Rose became a single-term representative, losing to State Legislator, Nicole Malliotakis, a registered Republican. Upstate, Claudia Tenney, Republican, ousted Anthony Brindisi to also make him a single-term representative. Many polls (according to Realclearpolitics.com ) had many of these incumbents or Democratic challengers up. For example, FiveThirtyEight projected Jackie Gordon, Democrat, to have a 55 percent chance of defeating Andrew Garbarino to succeed Rep. King. In the Senate elections, the Republicans held significant seats that had Democratic challengers up in polls. In Maine, Senator Susan Collins, Republican, survived a challenge from State House Speaker Sara Gideon, Democrat by more than 7 points, while polling had Gideon up 6 to 7 points. In North Carolina, incumbent Republican Senator Thom Tillis nearly lost to former State Legislator Cal Cunningham, but after a scandal cast a shadow over Cunningham’s reputation, Tillis was able to squeak out a win for the GOP. Republicans did the same in Montana between Senator Steve Daines (GOP) v. Governor Steve Bullock (D). The Republicans lost two senate seats though. In Arizona and Colorado, Senators McSally of Arizona and Cory Gardner of Colorado lost in big races that favored their Democratic challengers. The Senate majority is in tandem, with two Senate seats in runoffs: both of Georgia’s Senate Seats. Senator Perdue failed to reach 50%+1 votes in order to avoid a runoff, and in the Special Election, Senator Kelly Loeffler and Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock were unable to reach 50% as well, leading to a runoff. These two seats will decide the fate of the Senate Republicans’ majority come January. If the Republicans made gains in Congress, how does it translate to Joe Biden, Democrat, winning the Presidency? Normally, when Republicans see gains in their congressional races, it gives the Republicans a higher chance of winning the Presidency. President Trump was calling for votes to stop in some places, and recounts in others. After Joe Biden started to lead in Georgia, it was all over for President Trump, because once Biden won Arizona, he needed Georgia to have a chance to win. Did we expect Trump to concede from the get go if he lost? As predictable as he is, Trump filed for numerous court cases in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, and Wisconsin, on the basis of voter fraud. Trump did not see much victory in any Michigan court cases, as the Michigan Supreme Court denied his cases a hearing. However, there were tabulation errors in Michigan. For example, voting technology accidentally projected Biden to win Antrim County, while Trump actually led by 6,000 votes. The Michigan GOP Chairwoman called for a hand recount in all other counties, since they used the same technology that created this error. Trump’s campaign, however, won a case in Pennsylvania that required all counting to be monitored by observers. In the Supreme Court, Justice Alito required all mail in votes that came in after Election Day to be counted separately. Another rumor was spread that voters in Arizona were given sharpies to submit their ballots, and that they bled through the ballot and therefore the scanner could not read it. Due to all the confusion and the numerous rumors spread, it is difficult to determine whether all these rumors are true or false. While it is too early, 2024 will be determined by what President Biden will accomplish in his term, as he has stated on the campaign trail he would only seek one term. Will Biden’s environmental agenda put the economy on the backburner? Will Biden’s tax program actually raise taxes on the middle class, and in New York State alone to a 60 percent cap? Will Biden be able to work with a Republican Senate majority, and a possible House majority after the 2022 midterm elections? While this may be speculation, there is a reality that concerns Biden’s ability to work with the Republican Congress that may kill his agenda point blank, and it may cost the Democrats, and possibly Vice President Kamala Harris, the election in 2024. Now, the Election of 2020 is over, and President Biden must decide the direction of America over the next four years. He has much to do, with the entire world watching him. 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 News Back to Sections Hutchinson Makes Three By Samantha Altieri Volume 3 Issue 4 May 18, 2023 Image provided by The Arkansas Democrat Gazette On Sunday, April 2nd, 2023, former Arkansas Governor, Asa Hutchinson, announced his presidential bid for the 2024 Election. Former Governor Hutchinson becomes the third candidate on the Republican side to announce their candidacy for the president of the United States in the 2024 election cycle, with President Donald Trump and former Governor Nikki Hayley announcing previously.  Hutchinson’s announcement comes with a dig at the former president he runs against, declaring Trump should drop out of the race immediately. Hutchinson’s remarks come at a tense time for Trump, who will now face charges in Manhattan for an alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels during his 2016 presidential election campaign.  Hutchinson has been critical of the case against Trump but expresses his respect for the criminal justice system. The former Governor shared a desire to respect the process taking place through the courts, while also respecting the office of the presidency.  BACK TO TOP