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October 2010 Vol. 27No. 2 Soft news TV show Townsend Harris High School at Queens College revised, not censored by Rebecca Seidel Although many factors resulted Mock arrest stirs support in the infrequency and revised content of the Election Simulation's soft news for prisoner on death row television shows, administrators said by Lory Martinez that censorship was not among them. "Alice Kim, you are under arrest." Speculation about the ·show A "police officer" handcuffed Alice, had been circulating among Harris senior, who struggled and repeated, "I didn't students. The second show aired do anything wrong!" as she was taken into the schoolwide departed dramatically in courtyard for a student-run "trial." content from the first, leaving viewers Supporters cheered, "Save, save Alice wondering whether the show had been Kim!" and drew a large crowd ofHarrisites to censored. the courtyard, where the quick trial resulted in "All I said was that it has to be her death sentence. appropriate," said Principal Kenneth Aquib Yacoob, president of the Townsend Bonamo. "There's no need for me Harris chapter of Amnesty International, to be this heavy-handed censor. The organized the mock arrest to raise awareness students ... will monitor themselves." about the fight to abolish the death penalty and Students working on the soft­ save a man named Troy Davis from an unjust media show affirmed that the edits they death sentence. made were based on group de~isions. Troy Davis was accused of committing All of the revisions to the show were murder at a convenience store in Georgia. He by consent of the group and under was sentenced to death after nine witnesses the supervision of their teacher, Chris said that he had committed the murder. Soon Hackney. after, seven out of the nine witnesses retracted Though the administration did their testimonies. Amnesty International has not explicitly demand the removal created a global campaign to abolish the death of content, both Mr. Bonamo and penalty and save innocent people like him. Assistant Principal of Humanities "I'd been mobilizing since the summer af­ Susan Getting said that students' ter his trial, and once Alice said she wanted rights of expression are limited in a to do something about it in school, I jumped classroom setting. on the opportunity and presented it to Ms. Fee continued on Page 3 and Mr. Bonamo,'' Aquib said. Senior "police officers" lead Alice in handcuffs to the courtyard for a mock triaL continued on Page 3 Special Interest Rally educates voters on party issues by Hayley Desmond groups presented differing With parodies, politicians in viewpoints on topics such as tutus and talking ballot boxes, health care, finance and education, seniors comprising the Election drawing mixed reactions. Simulation's special interest "Both the Democrats and groups vied for the votes of Republicans did a phenomenal underclassmen at the Special job," said senior Stephanie Interest Rally on October 20. Gergoudis of the Democratic Teacher and organizer Franco group PSC-CUNY Professors. Scardino's AP Government "I think it's going to be a close classes aimed to entertain, inform election, just like in real life." and sway the select classes that "It was very informative and ~., came to the auditorium to watch helped clarify each candidate's rg ~ the skits. objectives. Not only was :;:: ~ The function of a special the information useful, but ~ interest group is to get the_ entertaining as well. I thoroughly ~ ~ candidates who best support enjoyed all of the skits," said c its issues elected. Seniors from sophomore Catherine Moskos. ~ Democratic and Republican Alexis Martinez, sophomore, continued on Page 5 INSIDE: Rachel's Challenge SING previews MLIT Glee review page4 pageS page6 page7 2- OPINION October 2010 sound off! Craving Cold Pizza Wait ... Since the Election Simulation began in 1996, there have been guidelines What am. I.running for, agait for candidates and media classes to follow. The 2010 Teacher's Manual for the Election Simulation, available online and in classrooms, states the following It is hard to miss the political posters plastered on nearly every under the "Media" category: inch of available wall space throughout the school. It is harder, though, "Each media outlet needs to develop a particular style of reportage; however, to describe the platforms of some of the candidates whose names the the primary focus must remain substantive. The substantive focus of all media, advertisements proclaim. including soft media, is the election and the issues surrounding it." Students surely can't be expected to pause in the middle of a busy That leaves us with just one question: hallway to read policies off the wall. Even real political advertisements Whatever happened to Cold Pizza? generally only have a name and a slogan on them. Posters shouldn't be If you're reading this and thinking of cafeteria food, you're not a senior. used as sources of large quantities of information; seniors portraying But if you are a member of the Class of 2011, the phrase will bring you way candidates, however, should be. back to the days of freshman year. This year's Election Simulation has produced a mixed bag of In 2007, Cold Pizza was the name of the Election Simulation's soft news imitation politicians. While some seniors have risen to the challenge of television show. It featured lighthearted interviews with candidates, mostly conducted by host "Andrew Last-name-too-hard-to-pronounce." It doesn't accurately portraying candidates and their views, several others have sound all that extraordinary, nor do specific features or interviews stand out at been negligent of their duties to inform the student body. There is a lack this point. But mention Cold Pizza or Andrew to any senior, and chances are of both knowledge and enthusiasm amongst those in the latter group. that he or she will smile instant with instant recognition. Certain candidates have responded with utter silence when asked Both Cold Pizza and this year's interpretation of soft news ultimately have basic questions on radio shows. One gave an incorrect explanation of a sense of humor driving them forward. But the drastic difference between the transparent governrnent. Another was stumped when questioned as to two shows, spaced only four years apart, showcases just one more way that the whether he is running for federal or state senate. Some do not even Election Simulation has evolved- and not for the better. know what district they are hoping to represent. What will this year's freshmen remember- or not? Well, there was the Rather than presenting students with facts, several candidates have Amazing Show Show, which ultimately morphed into the Sunshine Happy chosen to promote themselves solely by empty slogans, gimmicks and Show, with some other name-changes in between. The show marginally involved candidates, but ultimately turned into a medium for addressing and bribery with baked goods. Although these are time-tested traditions of satirizing student grievances unrelated to the candidates or their campaigns. the Election Simulation, they are meant to accompany, not replace, the If the purpose of all Election Simulation media is to focus on "the election education on politics which seniors are supposed to provide. and the issues surrounding it," then the soft news show has gone way too This lack of familiarity with the politicians and their stances is most far astray. One could argue that the elections themselves are not inherently likely due to the seniors' disinterest in the Simulation, which is more interesting. However, there is plenty of potentially humorous material in the than evident in their monotone voices and aloof demeanors. These real election;for an example, just look at the recent gubernatorial debates at candidates treat their campaign efforts as chores. Hofstra. Similarly, it would be relatively simple to poke fun at some of the · The apathetic aftihid"e-present ill the '2010 Election Simulatio~ is simulated candidates here at Harris. The show's main object of satire should be unfair to the underclassmen, particul<irly the freshmen. The performance the election itself, not the problems occurring behind the show's curtain. of the senior class determines the freshmenis view and understanding of In the end, humor is a matter oftaste. But in a television show geared towards the Simulation. By setting a poor example for them, these candidates the election, the focus should not be on testing the limits of the administration, may be sabotaging the Simulations of years to come. nor should the content stray out of its intended context. There's no doubting that producing a television show is grueling work, and The Classic encourages the candidates in question to strive to we commend the entire media class for working so hard - especially with the better educate themselves and the student body on the politicians unfortunate timing of the studio renovation. However, future seniors should whom they represent. Additionally, we urge underclassmen to hold keep in mind what the television shows are supposed to accomplish. The soft seniors accountable by researching, asking questions and testing their news show is meant to entertain, but in a way that keeps in character with the knowledge. Election Simulation as a whole. It's time to reconsider priorities and go back to the manual - or at least, back to the days of Cold Pizza. Letters to the editor are always welcome. If you have a response to a piece we've written, or an issue you want addressed in The Classic, email your letters to [email protected]. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Rebecca Seidel ADVISOR Caa-olme Cr-oss FEATURE EDITOR Hayley Desmond PRINCIPAL Kenne:th Bonamo The Cl-trss;ic is an open forum NEWS EDITOR Rupestu.

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