Back to Articles Editorial Back to Sections Choice and Voting Jasmine Roberts Volume 4 Issue 3 March 13, 2024 Image Provided by Harvard Law School When one thinks of voting, we usually settle on the idea of large showings of national support for a specific candidate especially with the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election occurring this year. However, with most of us being barely old enough to step into a ballot box, I would like to support the idea of voting and voice an opinion in general: to be important no matter your age. I believe that one of the most universal feelings every teenager feels no matter their age or grade, is the hinderance to their autonomy. In such a chaotic world of growing up, parents, and school, it can feel as if the world is pulling you from one side to another without your word or consent on the matter. In truth, this isn’t your fault. Even though we are the ones maturing in a world that seems to reject large groups of us, we don’t have to suffer in silence. In this technologically advanced world, it is both immature and folly to believe that minors do not have a grasp on mature ideas. Ironically, some adults barely even have a grasp on these ideas themselves. We cannot blindly follow the leader. We minors deserve our own voices. People who desire to oppress the voices of youth are the same that train a future of compliance and the status quo, even when that norm might be despicable and detestable. We need bold, intelligent kids who desire change for the better, and we need courageous, articulate adults who will not comply with the evils of the rich and powerful. Even in the classroom and in homes, there needs to be a precedent of allowing minors to have opinions and convey their feelings, respectfully of course, because we are humans too! One silent voice is always one step away from democracy. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork Black American Artists Back to Sections Pansies in Washington By Alma Thomas February 12, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 5 Medium: Acrylic on Canvas, Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Back to Articles Entertainment & Media Back to Sections The Holiday Season and Representation By Alain Deen Volume 3 Issue 2 December 23, 2022 Image provided by Elaine Ching The modern holiday season occurs during the months of November through early January. Most notably, the holiday season encompasses Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Thanksgiving. It is also associated with a rigid increase in shopping, sales, and marketing. Furthermore, the holiday season has faced immense commercialization throughout the years, with industries developing a stark desire for profit. The film and media industry are primary culprits of this concept, often prioritizing profit margin in contrast to producing films which appeal to a variety of audiences, especially in the United States. This is ironic, especially considering the diverse populace of modern United States. With various races, ethnicities, and religions inhabiting the United States, it is utterly crucial to adhere to the representation and portrayal of minorities within these groups In a 2018 Variety article, the Motion Picture Association of America conducted a study to identify the spread of racial demographics in terms of movie-going. The MPPA’s report highlighted that Latinos, which represent about 18% of the U.S population, composed 24% of consistent moviegoers. Additionally, Asians fall not too far behind, accounting for 8% of frequent moviegoers. It is worth noting that Asians represent only 6% of the U.S population, as well. Caucasians, comprising 61% of the U.S population, amounted to 54% of consistent moviegoers. The study also demonstrated the ever-growing popularity of film culture among minority audiences across the United States, with the number of frequent African American moviegoers doubling to 5.6 million in contrast to the year prior. Of particular interest, film culture is only expanding across marginalized audiences within the United States, as the film industry begins to implement representational techniques in writing, casting, and directing to efficiently entertain the U.S populace. Therefore, there seems to be an increasing need for the film industry to represent and depict stories regarding the lesser-known holidays of the holiday season. To properly evaluate the necessity of representational films regarding minority-based holidays, it is best to analyze specific examples and determine their ineffectiveness in providing audiences with memorable content and even nostalgia. Specifically, seasonal films most often involve Christmas with subtle Hanukkah sublots to ensure a sense of “inclusivity.” However, to actually represent and appeal to the Jewish population, it is crucial to include the cultural values of Hanukkah itself. When most people think of Jewish holiday films, their minds might drift to Adam Sandler’s Eight Crazy Nights. In short, the film involves Davey Stone, a 33-year-old party animal who finds himself in trouble with the law. For one last chance at redemption, the judge allows Davey to the spend the holiday season performing community service as an assistant referee for a local youth basketball league, or else he heads to jail. With a severely underwhelming IMDB rating of 5.3/10, Eight Crazy Nights proves to be a massive flop for Jewish audiences across the nation. Rotten Tomatoes reviews are no help either, with critics calling the film distasteful, stereotypical, unwatchable, and offensive. This is a prime example of the necessity of the film industry to develop rich, authentic, stories regarding Hanukkah, effectively and sensitively representing the Jewish population. A similar sentiment is present with Kwanzaa, as about 12.5 million people in the United States celebrate the holiday. It is crucial to represent cultures of all kinds, especially through the medium of film. Most modern films regarding Kwanzaa are documentaries, namely The Black Candle (2008). Even so, the film yielded an underwhelming 6.6/10 rating on IMDB. It is also worth noting that I could not find any fictional films with Kwanzaa-related themes, plots, or even sublots, demonstrating the sheer need for films regarding the lesser-represented holidays of the holiday season. Overall, the lack of representational holiday films demonstrates the ever-growing need for compelling, rich, and nuanced stories to be told through a holiday-oriented lens. However, it is not too late. Film culture is always growing among “minority” audiences in the United States. Therefore, young filmmakers, writers, and creatives alike may join forces to create a new, diverse era of holiday classics. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Science & Technology Back to Sections Must be Love on the Brain By Christina Ossa Volume 3 Issue 3 February 24, 2023 Image provided by Shuttershock With Valentine’s Day passing and many people in developing or long-term relationships, the question rises, where exactly does love affect our bodies? Love's most significant effect on our bodies is within several brain regions. The brain is vast, and, to some extent, confusing; we still only know around 10% of how the brain functions, but what we do know well is that love makes people do crazy things. Love is almost like a drug: intoxicating, and more of a phenomenon than anything. Even the most level-headed, practical people can fall victim to being absorbed by love. The Honeymoon Stage (Neurologically) Where exactly does love affect our brains? Why does our brain sometimes react to our deep feelings peculiarly? Well, it depends on what stage of love one is in to truly determine which part of our brains is taking the lead on controlling our emotions and reactions. During the early stages of love, the areas of the brain known as the ventral tegmental area (VTA) and caudate nucleus control your dopamine levels, better known as the “feel good” neurotransmitter. Early into a relationship, you experience the “honeymoon phase,” not only because we as humans crave new things but also because your VTA and caudate nucleus release dopamine in every interaction you have with your loved one. You love spending time around this person and can’t get enough of them because your VTA and caudate nucleus are spewing dopamine; even if the intense feelings are true, they are also biologically caused since the body is a fiend for dopamine at times causing you to feel almost a “high” from your loved one. Testosterone and estrogen are hormones released by the pituitary gland that causes the sex drive to activate in the early stages of relationships, which can also explain the addictive feelings that the honeymoon stage creates. The pituitary gland also releases oxytocin, another “feel good” hormone associated with love. The hypothalamus creates this hormone known as the “love hormone”. It is highly associated with love since, once released into the bloodstream, it causes many positive effects, such as activation of sex drive (in conjunction with testosterone and estrogen) and building of recognition, trust, romantic attraction, and even parent-infant bonding. All these hormones and neurotransmitters work together, forming the reward system in our brain. Other areas of the brain also releasing these hormones and neurotransmitters are the cerebral cortex, the medial insula, the anterior cingulate, the hippocampus, and (in the subcortex) parts of the striatum and also possibly the accumbens. Scientists are actually unsure of how these parts work together to cause us to act “lovey-dovey” with our loved ones. But, the most important thing to note about these areas is that they make up our reward system in addition to the VTA, pituitary gland, hypothalamus, and caudate nucleus. Not Just a Biological Phase If these strong feelings persist past the honeymoon stage, well, not only will one have a lifetime or long-term supply of dopamine and hormones, but also, you’ll have a healthy (hopefully) way of deflecting stressors and decreasing pain/negative feelings. Your VTA intensifies as more and more dopamine is released when you’re around this person; you’ll feel as though you’re immune to bad feelings, or at the very least, you’ll feel safe since you have a safety net of dopamine to either come home to or talk to at any moment. Dopamine is extremely important to long-term relationships. In a study, many married couples still felt intense “honeymoon stage” love for each other. They showed very similar activity to the honeymoon stage in dopamine-rich areas such as the VTA. Therefore, if you want to know if you genuinely have a “deep love” and not just a honeymoon stage fizzled relationship, think back to those dopamine-rich moments you’ve had with your partner early on. Are they still the same now as they were before? Obviously, a relationship matures and grows over time. But based on this study on married couples, the brain sometimes can’t tell the difference between these “stages”. Biologically, love seems to remain stable in the brain when one in a long-term, healthy relationship (or unhealthy too, which can be the issue in many abusive or toxic relationships). So, ask yourself throughout your relationship periodically, do you still have those feelings or has your relationship truly fizzled out? The Crash As much as many of us would love for this love to persist throughout our lives (as with drugs – you get used to the high), sometimes it doesn’t, and it’s heartbreaking. Whether the feelings are still there or fizzled out, your brain essentially experiences withdrawal after a breakup. But why do we experience these intense moments? Your brain and body exhibit behaviors unnatural to your usual personality during break-ups because break-ups activate your fight or flight response, thanks to a structure in the brain known as the amygdala. The amygdala bypasses the rationale of your brain and thoughts as it perceives danger and life-or-death situations. Clearly, while a break-up may be painful, it is not simply “life-or-death.” But your brain quite literally treats it as such. So, when in a breakup, you melt down because your amygdala is causing your body to act as if it were dying. That withdrawal of love is so powerful that it truly causes our bodies to act in a life-or-death manner. The withdrawal can persist for months in unwanted breakups, as shown by a study that scanned the activity in the brains of young adults who experienced unwanted breakups and still felt love for their people. The individuals still sent their loved one's texts and even felt depressed for months. Also, when shown pictures of their ex-partners, the reward areas of the brain (VTA, ventral striatum, and nucleus accumbens) were activated, and dopamine was released. So, even if you’ve been broken up with a person for months, you can still feel that love and dopamine rush when seeing them or even looking at a picture of them. Another series of studies showed that the pain of heartbreak could even manifest as physical pain like a severe burn or broken arm. The areas of the brain, such as the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), the secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), the anterior cingulated cortex, the insular cortex, the and the prefrontal cortex, and the thalamus, are activated as a result of the pain of heartbreak. These areas of the brain are associated with pain and activate when you are in physical pain, so even in breakups, it can be as if you’ve broken your arm. Endorphins are released as a result of the pain, and the pain persists until the endorphins act to calm your body and mind down. Love is a Biologically Taxing Process Love is complicated, even biologically. There’s still so much to learn about how love manifests in our brains and bodies, but the most crucial advice to take away is to enjoy love while it lasts. If it does last, keep enjoying it. Be with your loved one, endorse those dopamine releases, and enjoy the moment. And if that love ends, if you experience the crash, know that it’s normal and okay to feel those heart-wrenching emotions and pain. Think of it like a broken arm: you need time to heal it. So, love is not just an experience that possesses our brains and causes our bodies to act out of wack. It’s complicated but beautiful. Therefore, appreciate love because your body and brain work very hard to make it happen. References: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-goes-on-in-our-brains-when-we-are-in-love/#:~:text=More%20specifically%2C%20in%20a%202012,VTA )%20and%20the%20caudate%20nucleus . https://www.filmsforaction.org/articles/the-neurobiology-of-love-and-relationships/ https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/what-does-love-do-to-our-brains#Where-in-the-brain-is-love ? https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/22618-oxytocin https://bigthink.com/neuropsych/breakup-neuroscience/ https://www.physio-pedia.com/Chronic_Pain_and_the_Brain#:~:text=Studies%20using%20functional%20MRI%20have,prefrontal%20cortex%20and%20the%20thalamus . https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23040-endorphins#:~:text=Endorphins%20are%20hormones%20that%20are,reduce%20stress%20and%20improve%20mood . BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Polaris Back to Sections Alana By Nora Chery Volume 2 Issue 6 April 14, 2022 Image provided by Rodeny Stewart Is this real life Or is it my radiant fantasy? My mind flooded to a landside, To escape from reality. I unlatched my tight eyes, Looked down at the crib to see, I’m a cruel girl, God will give me no sympathy There’s no chance for an easy life, an easy home A little life, nor a little home. The winds blow, Against the full yet silent crib, Does it matter to me? Alana, Just took you back, Put a pillow against your head, cut your breath And now you’re dead. Alana, a lily sprout that bloomed, I’ve gone and ripped it from the dirt. Sweet Alana, I hated your cries, But now I’m sure I’ll hear them again tomorrow I’ll carry on, carry on, as if what I did, hadn’t mattered at all. It’s too late, midnight had just begun The moonlight sends shivers down my spine, Hands been shaking all this time. Goodbye, my Alana, though you’ve gone so soon Kicked you out and faced the truth. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles Sports Back to Sections NFL 2021-2022 Season By Leah Ally Volume 2 Issue 5 March 28, 2022 Image provided by Sports Illustrated The 102nd NFL season, the first to hold a full 17-game schedule, has officially ended. This football season was an unusual year, which would be an understatement, as the league worked through the coronavirus pandemic for the second consecutive year. COVID-19 outbreaks hit several teams, affecting more than hundreds of players throughout the season. With a new season comes new regulations, including COVID-19 protocols regarding the health and safety of every team. The league began by encouraging vaccination among each player, coach, and staff member. On July 22nd, 2021, the NFL later issued a warning to teams that if Covid-19 outbreaks developed between unvaccinated players and a game cannot be rescheduled within the 18-week regular-season schedule, the team responsible for the epidemic will be charged with a forfeited loss, as well fine the players $14,650 that violates protocols. The 2021-2022 NFL playoff tournament began with a late start, as it was pushed back until January 15th, 2022. Rather than 12 teams, the NFL playoffs are now made up of 14 teams- with seven teams from each conference, AFC, and NFC, making the postseason longer than usual. This was the first postseason since 2010-2011. Neither the top-seeded teams advanced to their respective championship games; it was also the first playoffs in which neither Aaron Rodgers nor Tom Brady reached a conference Championship game since 2009-2010. The postseason was later concluded with Super Bowl LVI (56) on February 13th at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California, between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game ended with the Rams defeating the Bengals, 23-20. BACK TO TOP

Back to Articles News Back to Sections MBK Zo Elrington Volume 5 Issue 3 January 14, 2025 The My Brother's Keeper Club at their Project Adventure trip. Image Provided by Ms. Coleman. The My Brother's Keeper (MBK) initiative, started in 2014 by President Barack Obama, seeks to “Change the Narrative” of boys and young men by closing and eliminating the opportunity gaps they face and helping them reach their full potential. Last year, the initiative was brought to the Valley Stream Central High School District. The pioneering members of VSN's MBK embraced the mentoring brotherhood organization at VSN. VSN’s MBK went on a field trip to Brookville Outdoor and Environmental Education Center’s 20-acre land. In conjunction with the other MBK chapters of our Valley Stream Central High School District, the young men participated in adventure education and teambuilding courses focused on developing trust, communication, problem-solving, risk-taking, and cooperation. Spanning over the center’s twenty-acre former NIKE Missile Base, the teams, diversified into six to eight MBK members from each group, navigated a series of field challenges and trials in the chilling cold. Collective Motion In the first challenge, the boys were tasked by their Brookville Sherpas to complete a racecourse wearing giant team skis. The classic teambuilding exercise, amplified by the biting cold and slippery gravel, initially proved challenging for the boys before they applied their MBK tenets to the exercise. They realized the key to the exercise was to unify and actively listen under one leading voice, a tenet they practice in their respective weekly meetings with the aid of a talking piece or stick. After having this epiphany, the boys were able to finish the racecourse in never-before-seen times and fashions - forwards, backwards, and even while facing different directions on the same skis! The important lesson of unifying under one voice provided a solid example and reinforced the initiatives founding beliefs of organized communal collective work to achieve the same goals and in this case, staying afoot. Building Bridges In the second challenge, the boys were tasked by their Sherpas, in riddle like fashion, to transport each brother platform to platform across three wooden blocks spaced ten feet away from each other. The boys could only use two short planks to set transversely across the gap, relying on their brothers to stand and secure the first plank as they walked across to the second one which overlapped the first plank and connected to the next platform. Repeating this process, they placed plank on top of plank and reached the end ensuring that every brother crossed safely, leaving no man behind. The practice reinforced and symbolized the process of building bridges, a tenet important to MBK’s mission to build bridges of opportunity for boys and young men of color. By Each Other’s Bootstraps The next challenge seemed to be the thrill of the day for many of the brothers. The men shot gasps and gawks at the twelve-foot wall that hung amongst the Brookville trees. The Sherpas, demonstrating the danger of the exercise, told the boys what they’d have to do in a serious fashion, losing the blissful ignorance that might’ve been construed by the previous riddles. The boys would have to support each other up the wall and onto the platform above. Those who summited first assisted in pulling the scaler up the wall while those on the bottom boosted their teammates by cupping their feet in their hands and pushing upwards. The coordinated support and trust of the boys secured and simplified the seemingly risky exercise, as they pulled each other over the wall. The overarching message could not be ignored, as they learned the lesson of peer support in overcoming physical and social obstacles in pursuit of improved outcomes. Redefining the idiom, they pulled each other up by each other’s bootstraps above the wall, symbolizing collective assistance in overcoming social inequities, an important goal of the MBK initiative. The Future The junior members, two of whom will attend the MBK New York State Symposium in Albany this year and continue “Changing the Narrative,” cannot wait to have this experience again. They only hope that next time the weather is a little warmer than thirty-five degrees. MBK North expresses its gratitude to Faculty Advisor Ms. Coleman, Mr. Heyward, and the VSCHS District for facilitating this trip. They hope to be featured once again in the school paper with a positive report from the 2024 New York State My Brother’s Keeper Symposium in Albany. BACK TO TOP

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Back to Articles News Back to Sections 25th Amendment vs. Impeachment By Matteo Somma Volume 1 Issue 4 January 20, 2021 Image provided by Getty Images History will remember the tragic events that took place January 6th of 2021. On that Wednesday, a group of Donald Trump supporters rioted at our nation's Capital building in Washington D.C., and what started as a peaceful “Save America March” quickly escalated into a mob of people swarming the Capitol building. Many blame Donald Trump. The mob of people trapped members of Congress inside and put the Capitol building on lockdown. As crowds of rioters climbed the Capitol walls, broke windows, and pushed past Capitol police, National Guard, Secret Service, and the building's security, they broke into the building. With bomb threats and armed domestic terrorists, Representatives and Senators were afraid for their lives. Multiple Senators, both Democratic and Republican, agreed that this was a humiliation to our country. Whether or not this was Donald Trump’s fault, many can agree that this was one of the most disappointing days in the history of our nation. Following the events of January 6th, many are blaming Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi. Speaker Pelosi has urged Vice President Mike Pence and the rest of President Trump's cabinet to invoke the 25th amendment which states, “Whenever the Vice President and a majority of either the principle offers of the executive departments or such other body as Congress may by law provide, transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives their written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office, the Vice President shall immediately assume the powers and duties of the office as Acting President.” In simple terms, if Vice President Mike Pence and Donald Trump's cabinet agreed on removing President Trump and Congress went along with it, President Trump would be removed as President, and Vice President Mike Pence would become the Acting President and continue the duties of a President until the inauguration of President-Elect of Joseph Biden on January 20th. The second option for Donald Trump's removal of office is impeachment. This would be his second impeachment while serving his time as our nation’s President, but this time Congress is ready. Speaker for the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, stated “We must take action” on removing President Trump from office. She and the Democratic caucus in the House unanimously impeached Trump on January 13th as Vice President Mike Pence did not move forward with invoking the 25th amendment. It was not just Pelosi who wanted President Trump removed from office, it was countless Republican and Democratic politicians as well. A handful of Republican Senators, such as Pat Toomey (R-PA), stated that Trump simply “needs to get out.” President-elect Joe Biden also stated that “for a long time President Trump was not fit to hold the job.” Whether Trump was impeached or the 25th amendment invoked or neither, two things are for certain: President Trump’s presidential authority expires on January 20th at 12:00 PM, and January 6th will go down in history as a dark day in America. BACK TO TOP

Back to Artwork The Memory Project Back to Sections Anonymous - Memory Project - 2 By Anonymous March 18, 2021 Volume 1 Issue 6