Back to Articles News Back to Sections 2022 Midterm Elections Not Far Away: Possibility of a Polar Opposite of 2018 Results By Logan Balsan Volume 1 Issue 5 February 12, 2021 Image provided by CNN We are only two weeks into President Biden’s 4-year term, and he has signed 47 Executive Orders on a range of issues. As more Senators and Representatives announce their retirements after the 2022 midterm elections, what does the playing field look like for both parties now that Donald Trump is no longer in the White House? The United States House of Representatives is the most vulnerable for the Democratic Party. In 2020, in which the Democrats took both the Senate and the White House, the Republicans gained more than a dozen seats in the House of Representatives, with two of the crucial seats being in New York. This could mean that the Republicans are on the path to a majority in 2022, with the end result being Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the current House Minority Leader and Leader of the House Republican Conference. The United States Senate is currently the most vulnerable to the Republican Party, a surprise for a midterm year during a Democratic White House. Several key Republicans have announced their intents to retire in 2022, including Senators Rob Portman of Ohio, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, and Richard Burr of North Carolina. Along with the 2020 Democratic pickups in Georgia, Senator Raphael Warnock is up for a full term in 2022, which the Republicans will be fighting vigorously to take back. The most vulnerable swing states for the Republican Party happen to be those who have announced their retirements, including Wisconsin. The Democrats have an opportunity to gain up to 2 seats with more than a 50 percent probability, but if they overperform, they can gain up to 4. In 2018, the Democrats took the House from the Republicans while the Republicans gained 2 seats in the Senate from the Democrats. 2022 can have the potential to bring the exact opposite of 2018’s results. As more Senators announce their intentions to run for re-election or not, more predictions will be made on the outcome of who will hold the majority of the Senate. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Letter from the Editor Back to Sections Volume 4- Letter from the Editor Noa Cordova Volume 4 Issue 2 January 16, 2024 Image provided by Noa Cordova and edited by Elaine Ching Welcome to Volume 4 For the 2023-2024 school year, we are pleased to introduce Volume 4 to our readers. I am sure that on par with the previous North Star volumes, this edition will demonstrate the hard work and creativity my peers and I have to offer. Although I am a recent addition to North Star ’s leadership team, I have genuinely enjoyed working with the talented writers and artists who make having a publications club here at North possible. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work alongside our advisor, Mrs. Mansfield, who dedicates her time to guiding us all in our writing endeavors. Without her leadership and the cooperation of our writers, we would miss the valuable experience of running a publications club. As a publications club, we strive to uphold the standards of modern-day journalism and ensure our readers a diverse selection of articles. From the poetry of POLARIS to the reporting of student news, there is something for everyone. As I see it, journalism holds significance in a school community as it allows us all to share our ideas, passions, and opinions in our ever-changing world. As the Editor-in-Chief, I get to read about numerous events, cultures, people, history, visual arts, and various perspectives; I hope our readers enjoy the reading and learning experience as much as I do. I find that I have become increasingly open-minded as I learn about others' experiences through writing, and I think that is the power of journalism; we get to see a little bit of everyone. We are incredibly fortunate to have the freedom to express ourselves through writing, whether through poetry, film reviews, or a lengthy article. I believe I write on behalf of all our members when I say that part of the reason, we write for North Star is to foster an appreciation for journalism here at Valley Stream North in both the students and the staff. The names “ North Star, ” and “POLARIS,” and the star names we give each issue, all enhance our prominent astronomy-themed student newspaper. It is a perfectly suitable theme in my opinion. Much like space, the world around us is so vast and impossible to discover entirely; however, sharing our ideas through written works may be our best shot at understanding our dynamic world. For our readers who may be interested in journalism, I encourage you to share your ideas because, like all our current writers, you also have something to contribute. With the right amount of dedication, willingness, and support, we can all find a way to make our voices shine. This year, I hope to work effectively with the other editors and writers to provide plenty of content for our readers, and much like the actual North Star, or Polaris, our student newspaper can always be found in the same place, at any time. Thank you to all our readers and staff for the support they have demonstrated this school year, and I look forward to seeing all this year’s thoughtfully crafted art and editing the thoughtfully written pieces. Stellar regards, Noa Cordova Editor-in-Chief BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections The Season of Summer By Carolina Grace Figueroa Volume 1 Issue 8 June 8, 2021 Image provided by SpiritGroups My favorite season of the year is summer! I love the warm weather, school vacation, and endless fun attached to summer months. The warmer weather is the perfect atmosphere for social and outdoor activities like camping, roller skating, bike riding, and beach days. One of my favorite parts about summer is the fact that school is closed for two months. This means you are free to do whatever you want and don’t have to worry about curfews or waking up early for school. The summer break calls for staying up late and waking up whenever you want to. Everyone works hard during the school year, so they deserve this free time. There is no worrying about homework, projects, or studying for a test. Hot and humid summer weather is stress free and the perfect time to relax and unwind with family, hang out with friends, soak up the sun at the beach, dive into a fresh cold swimming pool, try your luck at surfing or water skiing, go boating or fishing, and play tennis or beach volleyball. Summertime is also the perfect season for concerts, carnivals and festivals. Many concerts take place at outdoor beach stadiums. Lots of local celebrations and festivals take place, like the Strawberry Festival, the Jazz Music Festival, the Nassau County Fair, and the Jones Beach Air Show (featuring the Thunderbirds). You can never get bored on a nice summer day or night. There are fun daytime activities, like picnics, parks, barbeques, sports, swimming and playing cornhole. Friends and family love to spend time together with lots of good food, drinks, music, and sing-a-longs. Everyone is laughing and having a great time together! Summer nights are full of outdoor movies, parties, gazing at the sparkly stars and bright moon, playing fun games, and enjoying stories while making s’mores around campfires. I look forward to staying up late and watching a good movie while eating junk food! I like wearing more comfortable and lighter clothing, putting on a bathing suit, sporting snazzy sunglasses, and slipping into flip-flops to feel cool under the hot sun. I also enjoy hearing the iconic jingle of my favorite neighborhood ice cream truck, as I always look forward to it approaching my house. Ice cream is cold and refreshing on a hot summer day! One of the best events of the year happens during the summer: the Fourth of July. Celebrating Independence Day is very extravagant, especially when people gather around to watch the spectacular display of fireworks. The vibrant colors and loud sounds of the fireworks are amazing. To me, Memorial Day is the official start of Summer and Labor Day concludes the summertime. Many friends and families take off from work for well-needed exploration, summer vacations, and travel to exotic or tropical destinations. Summer is a low point in television viewing (other than younger children’s shows) because there is so much to keep one busy outdoors. There are also many summer jobs to explore, like lifeguards and industries that cater to recreation. Typically, animated movies are popular to be released theatrically in movie theaters during the summer months. Many children attend fun-filled summer camps, either daily or overnight, and develop a sense of independence and self-confidence as they learn new skills and try new adventures away from home. Certain fruits, like mangoes, watermelon and pineapples, become ripe during the summer, so this season presents the opportunity for people to enjoy them. Summertime makes me so happy! It allows for bright and longer days (therefore, shorter nights), exposes the beauty of nature, flowers are in bloom, grasses are greener, and many birds and animals return to blossoming fields. I look forward to visiting the sunflower farms and lavender fields out on Eastern Long Island during the summer, as well as picking my own strawberries and blueberries to delight in. The summer gives life, birth, and rebirth to life all around us, as plants blossom, animals happily resume activity, and nature feels “alive” again. I love carefree summer days and can’t wait for them to arrive! BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Winners and Losers – An Overview of Double Elimination Brackets By Garrick Neuner Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Image provided by Wikipedia The single elimination bracket pairs opponents by predetermined seed in a cutthroat competition, where one loss brings the end of a competitor or team’s run. The NCAA March Madness tournament demonstrates the volatility of the system year after year, often losing some of its most highly ranked teams early on due to a single loss. Despite its flaws, the system is simple and understandable, helping cement March Madness as a household name to sports fans across the nation. Double elimination, though, requires a thorough explanation to detail its nuances. As the name suggests, a double elimination bracket ejects competitors after two losses, not one. At the onset of a traditional double elimination tournament, all competitors are seeded into the “winners' bracket,” much like in March Madness. The winners of each match move on to face the winner of a different match, repeating the process until the contest’s finals. Following a competitor’s first loss though, they are sent to the purgatory unique to double elimination: the “losers' bracket.” In this bracket, competitors play matches in a field that grows with the passing of each round as more players fall out of the winners’ bracket. Thus, to keep the size of the losers’ bracket stable, more matches are played. Losing your first match early is not a death sentence, but a grueling challenge. Competitors who succeed in the slog of losers' bracket are said to have a great “loser’s run,” commending their extra effort for staying in the tourney. The pattern of a shrinking winners’ and slowly dwindling losers continues until the apex of the tournament: the finals matches. While March Madness has a rapid one-game determination of a winner, a double elimination bracket has three matches to declare a champion. The first of these is “winner’s finals,” wherein the remaining two perfect players battle for a spot in the grand finals. The winner of that match enters grand finals undefeated on the “winners' side,” while the loser is sent to “loser’s finals.” This match pairs the latest loser with the last competitor battling through the loser's bracket. The loser of this game is eliminated at 3rd place, while the victor enters grand finals on the “loser’s side”. Now for the final twist. Remember how a competitor must be eliminated twice to exit the tournament? This law still holds true in the grand finals. For the combatant on the loser's side, this means beating the undefeated player in the tournament twice ! That player can “reset the bracket” by defeating the winner’s side champion, thus setting both players to one loss in the tournament. At this point the second grand finals match determines the first-place finisher. If the winner remains undefeated through match one of the grand finals, though, they win the tournament with a perfect record. Through all this explanation, you may ask, why bother? Why use such a complicated system when single elimination is so much easier to understand? You see, the kinds of games that hold double elimination tournaments rely on at least one of two key factors of their brackets: more matches and more drama. One major group of double elimination brackets is children’s sports leagues such as the Little League. For players so young, the experience of playing more matches and continuing on after a loss provides valuable experience, strengthening skills and having more fun on the field. The other major group, my personal favorite, are fighting game competitions. In these convention-style events, hundreds of competitors meet and pay considerable cash to battle for glory. For the brand new to average players, double elimination gives more tournament experience for their dollar, once again providing invaluable teachings. For spectators, though, the double elimination bracket provides drama . Watching your favorite player lose a heartbreaking set early on, only to climb their way to grand finals is a sensation unparalleled by single elimination. The mythos of the winner’s bracket puts palpable pressure onto the best of the best, urging them to win or be sent to a much more difficult loser’s run. The grand finals most importantly supports a built-in underdog story, making the conclusion of every tournament a heart-racing brawl. In these settings, the confusion of the bracket is outweighed by aspects of the sports themselves, breathing a new life into these already fascinating games. Click to view the table summary here Winners’ Bracket - for undefeated players, similar to a single elimination bracket Losers’ Bracket - for players who have lost a game in winners and are on the brink of exiting the tournament. Winners’ Finals - the last match in the winner’s bracket, with the winner exiting on “winner’s side.” Loser’s Finals - the match following winner’s finals, pitting the loser of that match against the champion of the loser’s bracket. The winner is sent to grands on the “loser’s side” Grand Finals - the last match(es) of a double elimination bracket Bracket Reset - when the loser’s side competitor defeats the winner’s side entrant in match one of grand finals, triggering a second and final match where both competitors each have one loss. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections The Black Hole – A Dark Phenomenon By Elyas Layachi Volume 2 Issue 2 November 19, 2021 Image provided by Katie Bouman Introduction Ever since the telescope was invented in 1608 by Hans Lippershey, scientists have been making discoveries regarding the universe around us and our place in it. From determining the Earth's and planets' orbits around the sun to discovering that the universe is ever-expanding, we now know more about our universe than ever before in human history. However, most phenomena we have discovered are still theories, such as black holes. While scientists have laws, observations, and general ideas about what black holes are, they have not been limited in their ability to directly study them. History of Black Holes Black holes were originally theorized by astronomer and astrophysicist Karl Schwarzchild. However, Einstein's theory of relativity helped prove Schwarzschild's black hole theory. Using E = mc^2, Einstein theorized that gravity could behave like matter. This became known as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, and it introduced space time, which adds a fourth dimension to the current dimensions of length, width, and depth: time. We cannot see space time directly, but black holes prove space time exists by “bending” the space time fabric. Schwarzschild, using Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, theorized that there comes a point where every particle, including light, becomes gravitationally trapped. He dubbed this point the “event horizon,” and he also theorized that as matter approaches the event horizon, time slows to a complete standstill. Several decades later, astronomers found evidence to support this theory, and named the systems they discovered black holes, since even light cannot escape them. Astronomers discovered Cygnus X-1, the first black hole discovered, by observing it suck gas and matter away from a blue supergiant star. This proved black holes have an immense gravitational force, and since scientists could not physically see the black hole, due to it trapping light past the event horizon, this proved Schwarzschild’s theory. Current Scientific Understanding Today, the current acceptable definition of a black hole is that it is a region of space time where gravity is so strong that nothing – no particles, or even electromagnetic radiation such as light – can escape it. According to NASA, black holes form when the center of a very massive star has so much gravitational force that it collapses upon itself. This causes a supernova, or an exploding star, that blasts parts of the star into space. Out of the supernova comes a black hole, which increases in size as it consumes more matter. Black holes have three parts, or layers: the outer and inner event horizon, and the point of singularity. The event horizon, both inner and outer portions, is the boundary around the mouth of the black hole, and once light passes this part, it can no longer escape the gravitational force of the black hole. The point of singularity, which is the inner region of the black hole, is the most massive part of the black hole. This region is the point in space time where the mass of the black hole is concentrated. Scientists theorize that the point of singularity has an infinite density and therefore is a point of infinite curvature of space time. At the center of our Milky Way galaxy exists a black hole named Sagittarius A, and all stars and star systems in our galaxy, including our solar system, orbit around the supermassive black hole. Astronomers Bruce Balick and Rober Brown used the U.S. National Radio Astronomy Observatory’s radio telescope to study the center of the Milky Way. They found that a small point, or central core, was emitting immensely powerful radio waves. With more observations, the astronomers concluded a supermassive black hole was at the center of the Milky Way. The Future of Black Hole Research Today, scientists use several satellites and tools to help them observe black holes, including the Hubble Space Telescope, the ASTRO-H Satellite, the Swift mission, and radio telescopes on Earth. In the future, scientists at NASA plan to develop more satellites and telescopes to study the relationship between gamma ray emissions and black hole gravity. I hope you learned something new about black holes! BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Who Am I Back to Sections Social Media Hate Comments By Elaine Ching November 19, 2021 Watercolor Volume 2 Issue 2

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections Professional Sports' Response to the Corona Virus By John McCarthy Volume 1 Issue 2 November 24, 2020 Image provided by Al Belo COVID-19 has had a major impact on multiple aspects of our lives. The response to the virus is a dividing issue that strengthens or weakens the faith in a system. The question surrounding every school, business, and state, has been whether to reopen their facilities or to remain closed to prevent the spread of the virus. Have professional sports leagues dropped the ball in their COVID-19 responses? Sports fans are emphatic about the fact that once again, professional sports are being played. We love watching and talking about the excitement, competition, and tradition of our favorite teams and players. Although viewer engagement and money flow through sports once again, coronavirus cases are a common occurrence, especially in the contact sports. There have been many cases of players and staff members contracting COVID-19. On the grand stage, every decision and repercussion is amplified for league officials. Each of the Big 4 leagues, the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL, have given players and staff the choice to opt-out of activities because of coronavirus concerns, but does the operation of the leagues themselves eschew the severity of COVID-19? The Los Angeles Dodgers recently won the 2020 World Series over the Tampa Bay Rays after a shortened sixty game season. After the seventh inning of game six of the World Series, Dodgers’ third baseman Justin Turner was taken out of the game because he tested positive for the coronavirus. The Dodgers went on to win the game and the series. A World Series celebration typically consists of a dog pile on the pitcher’s mound followed by popping champagne, and there was no exception this year. A beautiful and crazy moment for the franchise, winning their first championship in 32 years. Justin Turner participated in the celebration, hugging his teammates and coaches without proper PPE (Dave Roberts, the Dodgers’ manager is a cancer survivor). Although the excitement can get the best of anyone, nonetheless this was a blatant example of a poor decision that shows a lack of integrity on the part of Turner. The NFL has seen its fair share of COVID-19 cases in its first ten weeks. Games have been postponed because of positive testing. Eleven Tennessee Titans players and 13 staff members contracted the virus after their Week 3 game. Instances such as these can cause a ripple effect across the league due to contact tracing. The Titans were fined by the NFL for not following the safety protocols. However, no suspensions were made. Players and staff contracting the virus on various teams continues to cause postponed games. The NBA has set a great example of a safe way to conduct their league despite the coronavirus. The league set up a “bubble” in Orlando, Florida where every game would be played. Moreover, players would live in the Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World. Lakers center, Javale McGee, said life in the “bubble” was similar to dorming in college or a three-month road trip. The “bubble” worked extremely well. The LA Times wrote, “The NBA may be the U.S.'s best coronavirus success story, thanks to the bubble.” The NHL had a very similar protocol to the NBA. In a 24-team playoff bracket, the NHL reported zero coronavirus cases in over 30,000 tests. The league set up two bubbles, one in Toronto for the Eastern Conference and one in Edmonton for Western Conference teams. With stringent guidelines and minimal travel, the NBA and NHL show how sports can continue safely and orderly, with much of the excitement a normal season would have. Although the coronavirus cases caused modified seasons the return of sports, most of the major leagues put good safety protocols in place so we can all watch the sports we love. The world of sports, parallel to America, had its economy shut down for months, causing measurable suffering for multimillionaires. The real suffering was apparent in the boredom of die-hard fans unable to tailgate or watch their favorite teams. If league commissioners and players would have known how many cases would occur league-wide, would money and TV ratings still prevail? I believe sports have been shut down long enough, but the league operators and team administrators need to recognize the intense health issue COVID-19 presents and step up their game. I hope that sports continue to entertain, inspire, and empower safely in spite of a formidable opponent, COVID-19 BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Prism Back to Sections The Compliments to Shape and Color By Nehilah Grand-Pierre November 24, 2020 Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Artwork Art Guild Back to Sections RBG By Keren Dial November 24, 2020 Colored Pencil Volume 1 Issue 2

Back to Artwork Heckscher Back to Sections Reflection Entry 2 April 14, 2022 Watercolor Volume 2 Issue 6