The International Insider » lunch

Eurotrip: Swiss Style

Adam Levine and Carolina Jiminez and Sean Fisher — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 04:04:49 +0000

With part one of the exchange finished, 17 eager students, along with English teacher Ms. Heather Prevosti, Spanish teacher Ms. Violetta Suroweic, and Math teacher, Ms. Ho-Ling Lo, embarked on their journey to Winterthur, Switzerland.

Similar to the school’s past two exchanges, students on this exchange lived with a host Swiss student and his/her family while touring the country, shadowing them while in school, and getting to know their host families.

“I wanted to see life from another perspective,” said junior Vanessa Kreytak.

The flight took off at 6:50 PM from Newark International Airport. After seven tiring hours on the plane, students couldn’t wait to land in Switzerland. The Americans arrived at 6:00 in the morning, where they were greeted by three Swiss students and one teacher from our host school, Kantonsshule Im Lee.

Students and teachers were taken to school where they were greeted by the Swiss principal and offered lunch.

“Their school food is so much better than our food; they actually have chefs working,” said junior Glenn Kugelman.

After the “official” welcome, the school day was over and the American students were free to go home and spend the weekend with their host students.

Some students had the pleasure to travel during the weekend, going as far as Bern, the capital of Switzerland and Rome, Italy.

On Monday, students arrived at school bright and early to start sightseeing. At first, the students went on a walking tour of the town where the Swiss hosts lived, followed by free time to shop and eat.

During the afternoon, the students were given the opportunity to tour the historic Kyburg Castle.

Tuesday was the day the students were able to see the Rhein falls. Students walked along the sight seeing paths taking many pictures with the falls as the background.

“One of my favorite students was traveling with the students, we had a lot of fun touring the cities and meeting the other [Swiss] students in their school and how they interact. I feel our students truly experienced the culture,” said Ms. Suroweic.

The Americans were set to attend school all day Wednesday. The Swiss hosts were all in the same classes, so the Americans weren’t separated. Our students attended classes such as Biology, Literature, and Calculus. This was also the day where the Principal of Kantonsshule Im Lee gave the students a fond farewell as well as a small gift. Each student received a Swiss army knife that was in the form of a credit card.

On Thursday, the American students, accompanied by their Swiss friends, traveled to Zurich where they went sightseeing around the town and finished up their last minute souvenir shopping.

That Friday marked the day of departure back to the United States. Our travelers had a connecting flight in Frankfurt, Germany before reaching there much wanted homes here in the United States. With each student’s family waiting and the crowd giving our students a round of applause as they exited the customs area. Each student couldn’t help but agree that this trip was anything but unforgettable.

Dragons Everywhere!

Kimberly Hernandez — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:57:39 +0000

Tirath Singh | The Insider
The winning ornament from the school contest.

Being an international school, we have many people that celebrate fun holidays, but we mostly acknowledge Christmas. But what about the other holidays such as Hanukkah or Kwanzaa?

Have they been pushed aside? Definitely not. The tree outside the main office will be decorated to represent each.

The school is also starting a new tradition. The Recycled Dragon Ornament Contest, held between the advisories, began at the end of November and ended December 18th.

“It would be cool to decorate all the holidays. And we want to incorporate international symbols of peace because our school is international,” said Principal, Ms. Aimee Horowitz.

In keeping with our green mission, every advisory competed in the ornament contest. The ornaments are made completely from recycled materials, such as empty Snapple cans or scraps of paper. During E-Block lunch, recently many girls went from table to table, asking for empty milk cartons.

Some advisories have very intricate designs. The Barrett Advisory’s design was said to be made entirely of metal material and could possibly be mobile.

Other advisories, like Ms Guo’s, used what was lying around their advisory or brought in materials.

Students around the school enjoyed themselves while competing.

“I liked it because we didn’t have independent reading,” said freshman Travis Dove.

Not only were the students enthusiastic about the competition, the advisors were just as thrilled.

“We’re in it to win!” said senior advisor, Ms. Garcia, who refused to show her G-block class what her advisory made before the competition.

But why a dragon of all things? Since our school first opened, the dragon has always been the mascot, so the hope was to show off school pride.

The winning advisories were, Mr. Barret’s senior advisory, Mrs. Emerson’s junior advisory, Ms. Guo’s sophomore advisory, and the Stefanski and Packowski advisories for the freshmen.

School Scores an ‘A’on Its Progress Report

Rosa Carucci — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:46:13 +0000

It’s report card day and students are anxious to see what they received. Surprisingly, staff in our school could relate to this as they awaited the release of our school’s Progress Report on November 16th.
In NYC, each public school receives a report card based on their previous school year. This year is the third year that schools are being issued progress reports, and according to the New York Times, 139 high schools received A’s.
“I never heard of schools getting report cards, but I can see how it can be effective because it may motivate some principals and teachers to really take action in their school, that is if they want to be within at least the top 20 percent,” said a senior student.

A school’s grade is based on the previous school year and is a reflection of school environment, student progress, student attendance and student performance. After being evaluated based on these categories, our school was graded an A. Numerically, that equals an 86.3 out of 100, placing our school in the 11-20 percentile citywide.

Our report was based on the 2008-2009 school year, since this process only occurs when a school has a graduating class. Previously, our school was only given predicted scores that were never released.

“Our school has done several things as far as keeping students on track. Tutoring is offered both before and after school and during lunch periods. For kids who fall behind, we offer credit retrieval to keep them on track, and we also have strong teacher-to-parent communication. Using Engrade helps students keep track of their grades, and student led conferences allow students to take responsibility for their work. Our staff is hardworking and always looking to improve our students’achievement,” said Principal Ms. Aimee Horowitz.

Individually, our school received an A in both the student performance and student progress categories. However, our school’s lowest rating was a B in school environment.

The school environment section of the report revolves around student, teacher, and parent surveys. Our School Leadership Team is currently working with Ms. Aimee Horowitz on ways to improve our school based on feedback from the surveys by analyzing the responses to each question to see the areas our school can improve. We received 9.9 out of 15 on this section.

“We are reflecting on the feedback from the surveys to improve our school. Also, we are trying to find ways to explain the questions on the survey so that people in each constituency have a better understanding of what the question is asking and what the response choices mean,” said Ms. Horowitz.
According to a NYC DOE press release on November 19th, principals and assistant principals at 63 high schools’, secondary schools, and K-12 schools’will receive bonuses for meeting target areas and for achieving scores in the top 20 percentile citywide. Certain schools’teachers and other UFT members met student performance targets set at the start of the 2008-2009 school year.

Also, a contract that the city has with the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators allows principals to earn bonuses based on the success of their students. If a school scores in the top 20 percentile citywide, the principal of that school is eligible to receive a bonus of up to $25,000. In schools where principals receive bonuses, assistant principals receive half the bonus amount that their principal receives.

Our principal, along with 30 other principals qualifies for this category, earning her a $7,000 bonus and our assistant principal, $3,050.

“It is nice that principals get a bonus to pay off for their hard work, but I think it’s controversial since there is no money to be put into schools for things such as Pre-K programs or just general funding for schools. Can’t they give extra funding to the schools instead of giving principals a bonus?,” said sophomore Jamie Lepard.

Bloomberg has made the school report cards crucial to their existence. Schools that receive low grades face major consequences, such as leadership changes or even closure. Chancellor Joel I. Klein, has closed 9 high schools since the city began issuing progress reports.

The school grade is a solid reflection of our school and may increase or decrease the number of students who apply.
“After coming to the open house in November and hearing about the teachers’dedication to the student’s education and all the different types of experiences the school has to offer, it is to no surprise to me that CSI High School has received an A on its report card. I hope my son gets to be apart of this kind of community,” said Maria Trani, parent of an 8th grader at I.S. 72.

Students Eat, Mingle and Meet in the Cafeteria

Priscilla Torres — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:13:12 +0000

Students eating in the lunchroom.
It was 12:25 p.m. on a rainy Wednesday, when a huge swarm of students filled the lunchroom cafeteria. One by one they received their lunch and sat at a table with their closest friends, freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Most students were obnoxiously loud, while others sat alone staring off into space. Expression on the faces of some told that they didn’t want to be here, while others reflected excitement to be spending some time with their friends.

The cafeteria smelled strongly of bleach and food, and colorful language came from every direction of the room. A girl in a green Egolism t-shirt and a gray Abercrombie sweater burst out in laughter, and continued for several minutes, until she realized she was being observed. “Oh, no she didn’t. Stop!” she yelled.

Across the room a boy sat quietly eating take-out Japanese food.

In the girls’ bathroom, toilet paper littered the floor, soap and water swam around the sink, and used napkins were spread across the counter. Two girls entered, fixed their make-up and argued with each other on their way out.

Back in the lunchroom a group of students competed with each other to be heard.

“This lunch period’s boring,” said the girl in the green Egolism shirt. “There’s a bunch of freshmen and sophomores who curse for no reason.”

Principal Ms. Aimee Horowitz scolded a boy in a white shirt and light jeans, asking him to pull his pants up and buckle his belt tighter to keep them from falling down. The boy pulled up his pants, but quickly lowered them when she headed back to the office.

Suddenly, a few feet away, a girl tripped and almost fell. She stood straight, looked around, and recomposed herself, hoping no one saw her. Outside, a group of boys played handball with a small blue ball.

By the basketball courts a girl and a boy held their arms around each other and cuddled. On her way out, Ms. Horowitz, noticing the two, shouted to them to keep the PDA (Public Display of Affection) off school grounds.

Lunch near over, Mr. Joseph Canale came outside and blew his whistle, the signal to head to classes.

All in all, our school cafeteria is a place where students eat and mingle comfortably.

“On occasion, students walk across the tables instead of walking around them. Students throw somethings out, and others clap,” said Assistant Principal Joe Canale. “Still so far there’s been no major issues. Student’s are respectful and compliant. They show good citizenship.”

Shopping Their Way Through Culture

Adetola Adeosun and Michael Grigoli — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 22:12:27 +0000

Walking into the supermarket, smelling sushi, seeing pastries, and aisles upon aisles filled with food, candy and other Asian delicacies was mouth-watering, and trying to practice what they learned in class students tried to read the labels written in Nihongo which was an adventure on its own.

Along with Japanese teacher Mrs. Natalia Higashide, seventy-seven Japanese students at our school enjoyed a fun-filled day at the Japan ese inspired Mitsuwa Marketplace located at 595 River Road in Edgewater, New Jersey.

The students were exposed to a whole different type of environment in which their skills in Japanese were tested. There Mrs. Higashide expected her Japanese students to learn about Japanese culture and relate it to American culture.

The purpose of the trip was for students to find some cultural features reflected in the market, such as decorations, the setup of the market, greetings, interactions, and how customers in the stores acted.

“Mitsuwa Marketplace is a recreation of what stores in Japan would look like, so it would be good for students to have a sense of what Japan would be like,” said Mrs. Higashide.

The Japanese students would improve their speech by using the Japanese dialect known as Nihongo to interact with the salesmen and women, which includes purchasing lunch at the cafeteria, buying books at the bookstore, and toys in the toy store.

“Also being an international school, students should have this type of exposure to cultures in other countries,” said Mrs. Higashide.

When the students got to the lunch area some were staring in awe at the various menus littered with plastic recreations of rice, noodles, chicken and eggs, shrimp tempura, miso soup, amongst other things.

The food was not only delicious but inexpensive as well. A medium sized bowl of rice with shrimp tempura, a side of miso soup, and a salad goes for around $6.00.

“My friends and I spent like $20 on food, and my favorite place was the supermarket because that was the only place I bought stuff,” said sophomore Destiny Audinett.

“I liked the bookstore, and I think that my Katakana got better” said junior Glenn Kugleman.

The Marketplace has a total of twenty-five stores, a supermarket, a food court, and a specialty plaza.

Besides just the food court ,there is also a Japanese bookstore, Cosmetics store, video store, a table wear store, and a toy store. There is a lot to do when you go to the marketplace.

Some of the freshmen who have never been to Mitsuwa Marketplace were very excited to go for the first time and see what it is like.

“I’m excited to go and walk around,” said freshman Travis Dove.

Dove likes the Japanese culture so much, that he came to our school to take Japanese. He expected to learn about food they eat and the books that they read as well.

“It’s my favorite class,” said Dove.

Many of the Japanese students had fun on the trip and enjoyed walking around and buying things.

“On the Japanese trip I just bought a lot of food and a little stuffed elephant,” said sophomore Emely Funes.

The trip this year was very much enjoyed and students hope to return to Mitsuwa again next year.

Thompson on Bake Sales

Nicole Margolies and Sean Fisher — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:35:38 +0000

Assemblyman Sheldon Silver introducing Bill Thompson

This year, the New York City Department of Education has severely cut funding and enacted strict new limits on bake sales in all New York State public schools.

Events such as Breast Cancer Awareness days and the Walk for Devon, not to mention our Insider, have relied on bagel and other baked goods sales for the last two years.

“I believe restricting bake sales will limit the ability of students to raise funds. My biggest concern is supplementing funding for senior dues and our newspaper – I think the new regulation definitely complicates the process for students because it is very narrowly tailored as to what is allowed to be sold,” stated Assistant Principal Mr. Joseph Canale.

The New York State Comptroller’s Office has determined that the DOE was not regulating bake sales, leading to Draconian new standards.

The DOE Chancellor’s Regulation A-812 states that “schools are not allowed to sell any food … that competes with the School Meals Program from the beginning of the school day until the end of the last lunch period.”

And they are serious. “Failure to follow its provisions may result in a directive to bring the school into compliance and, further, may impact adversely the principal’s compliance performance rating,” the regulation warns.

The only thing that’s safe right now at our school is the bagel and muffin sale on Wednesday morning, but all sales must end before the first period bell.

“The new regulations are ridiculous. Participation in extracurricular activities is a huge part of student life. And colleges tend to favor well rounded students who take part in clubs and other school programs,” said Guidance Counselor Ms. Marie Pastena.

Schools all over the city have been scrambling to come up with new fund raising ideas. Everyone, students and staff, are feeling the stress of the new rules.

Members of our newspaper staff recently attended a press conference at City Hall Park and were able to talk to mayoral candidate Bill Thompson.

“State Regulations mandate physical education, and instead what we have gotten from Mike Bloomberg and Joel Klein is ending bake sales. That’s a mistake.”

But many students feel new reguations will have little impact.

“This won’t change how we eat at home,” said junior Ricky Vega.

The number of overweight children in the U.S. has increased by more than 50 percent, according to this year’s DOE sponsored School Nutrition Report 2008-N-15.

However, it’s not likely that cutting bake sales will remediate this.

In the meanwhile, alternative means of fundraising must be explored.

Something must be done.

“Maybe we can have the bake sales if we list the ingredients,” said sophomore Chris Hepworth.

Taking a Walk Along the ‘College Brick Road’

Jackie King and Rosa Carucci — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:31:45 +0000

Despite the long and rainy four hour bus ride, 45 students were anxious to arrive at the schools and breathe in the sweet air of college life.

Touring colleges is a major part of deciding which college to attend. This year some sophomores, juniors and seniors went on a college trip to further understand how academics and campus life vary from school to school.

Guidance counselor, Mrs. Marie Pastena planned the trip this year to D.C., Baltimore and Delaware to visit American University, the University of Delaware, George Washington University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Each college has a variety of majors, a unique campus, in terms of life and environment, and different admissions requirements.

“The schools were chosen based on campus setting, admission requirements and cost of attendance. We tried to show the students a sample of different types of school,” said Mrs. Pastena.

While on the trip, students were encouraged to ask themselves several questions while touring some of the schools. Do I want to go to a big school or small school? What is the range of scores that students need to be admitted? What will my major be? How far away do I plan on going from home? Will I study abroad?

“Each school had informative sessions which helped students understand the financial process, and made kids realize that a $50,000 college may be attainable,” said Parent Coordinator Annette Lentini.

Stop number one was at George Washington University, located in the heart of Washington D.C. where the weather was gloomy. However, the spirits of the students were high, as they were eager to get started on their college tour.

George Washington University is a unique 4-year private college with an urban setting. The middle fifty percent of students accepted to GWU received a score of 590-680 on SAT Reading, 600-690 on Math , 600-690 on Writing, and a 25-30 on the ACT Composite Exam. What makes this college so unique is that its relatively close location to the capital. This is a benefit to students majoring in political fields because they have an advantage to secure internship opportunities.

“I’m going to apply for George Washington University because I love the campus and the location. It’s really convenient,” said senior Wingsum Cheung.

About three miles away from GWU is American University, stop number two. American University is also a 4-year private college, however, this college setting is suburban. Normally 53% of applicants are admitted with a 580-700 on Reading, 510-670 on Math, 580-680 on Writing, and a 25-30 on the ACT. Alumni of American University include New Orleans Inspector General Robert Cerasoli and Australian politician Tom Lewis.

“The college trip was very informative. It helped me realize that I would love to go away for college. It also helped me decide that my major for college is going to be Communication Disorders and Speech, and I would like to apply to American University. I had a lot of fun too,” said junior Breanna Pizzolo.

After a night’s rest, students began their day with Retriever Fever at The University of Maryland. Different from AU and GWU, University of Maryland is a 4-year public university. Ninety percent of the students are in state residents and the other 10% are from out of state. The middle fifty-percent of first year students receive a 520-630 on Reading, 560-670 on Math, 520-630 on Writing, and a 22-27 on the ACT.

“The trip was very informative. It gave us background information about each college, all the majors and how to apply. My favorite college had to be the University of Maryland. I am going to apply there because it seems like a great place to go to school. It also has everything I am looking for in a college,” said senior Jeribeth Fradera.

Our last stop was at the home of the Blue Hens, the University of Delaware. Although students only stayed for an information session at The University of Delaware, they were able to get a feel for the campus setting by having lunch in the college’s cafeteria.

The University of Delaware is also a 4-year public university where 56 percent of applicants are admitted. Usually, the middle 50% of students admitted receive a 550-640 on Reading, 570-660 on Math, 560-650 on Writing, and a 25-28 on the ACT Composite exam.

Although each school is different and has its own feel, they all have things in common such community service requirements and internship offereings. However, the SAT/ACT acceptance scores are looked at differently in each school along with AP courses, college level courses and weighted averages.

The overnight trip allowed students to get a feel for what most colleges look at when going through the admissions process. Each college also has Division 1 sports programs.

Visiting a college you plan to apply to is essential. Although doing research about a school is important, actually visiting the school gives you the opportunity to take notice of a lot more than just stats on a website.

So what if your friends love it? You’re the one who is going to need to focus on your studies. And you should feel comfortable with your surroundings.

For more information about each college, visit collegeboard.com.

Backbreakers in CSI

Tyler Leung — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:29:19 +0000

How often have you had someone chastise you for a hunched back or a slouching position? Probably way too many times.

As back problems increase with age, students are unaware that too much weight being carried can cause serious problems such as minor scoliosis, hernias, neck, back, shoulder pain, and most commonly posture problems.

Backpacks in all shapes, sizes, styles and designs are how students currently carry their books to and from school everyday.

Some packs have wheels, some sling around your shoulders, some are large purses, and some are gym bags.

Most backpacks symbolize a fashion statement, given that popular backpack companies like JanSport and The North Face have several different bags in many colors.

Studies from the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons show that the best backpacks should be lightweight when empty, have two wide, padded straps, and be worn around both shoulders.

“I highly recommend that backpacks should be no more than 15 or 20 percent of your own body weight,” said Dr. Ana Dejesus, an orthopedic doctor at the NYU Hospital for Joint Diseases Department of Orthopedics. “If you feel pain in your shoulder, hip, or spine areas, you should probably see your pediatric doctor, who might recommend you to a chiropractor, or give you tips on strengthening your body muscles.”

If you do experience back pain due to your backpack, there are things you can do.

“If you have back problems, yoga is a good way to go,” said Sarah Ling, a yoga instructor in California. “Yoga is a less expensive and less drastic alternative to chiropractics, but I think it’s just as good. Stretching your tight leg muscles does not only put your back at ease, but also helps you feel more relaxed, physically and psychologically. It straightens out your spine and hip bones.”

Lockers are a huge help to fight the backbreaking situation. Some students put books, jackets and gym clothes in their lockers within minutes of their classes starting.

According to our school’s handbook, going to lockers is prohibited during and before class time, but students can use their lockers before school and during lunch.

Ways to manage the weight of your backpack are organizing the interior, taking out any useless materials, buying an efficient backpack and by wearing it properly.

You can do this by carrying your heaviest books and leaving your textbooks at home or in your locker.

“I carry a few things in my backpack – a pack of Poptarts, a binder, a folder, an English journal and a bunch of miscellaneous papers,” said sophomore Michael Luppino. “I do not think my backpack is very heavy, but it weighs like thirteen pounds. As of now, I don’t have any back problems, but I think I should better take out those miscellaneous papers just in case.”

Anna Sui – The New Sensation of Style

Marissa Mule — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:20:06 +0000

New fashion designer Anna Sui

For all you trend-setting fashionista’s, there’s a new sovereign of style. Anna Sui, affecting the world of fashion and attracting people all over the world with her unique designs, is now branding a new line only sold at Target. This new collection consists of nineteen Gossip Girl inspired looks.

Detroit-born designer Anna Sui, has always created a boho/ vintage to the bone- type style but in a way that’s more glam than earthy. Sui started out in the 80’s and debuted on the runway in 1991. Today, her patchwork, and aesthetic way of fabricating a piece of material into a clothing design, is instantly recognizable.

Anna Sui has a Soho flagship, 32 boutiques, international boutiques in Asia, and a successful beauty line. According to www.vogue.co.uk, Sui has always been a fan of designer partnerships with mass retailers. In fact, Anna Sui has become the second designer to participate in discount retailer Target’s Designer Collaboration series. Moreover, Sui’s designs are meant to push forward the fashion envelope for Target.

“My favorite character on the show is Jenny. I love her pop-rock style, and her dark makeup. Anna Sui has probably created designs to look just like hers,” said senior Angela Matrone.

Large mass retail stores are looking for designers who are edgy and bring something unique to the floor.

While other designers, including Anya Hindmarch, Luella Bartley and Proenza Schouler, have collaborated with Target in the past on limited edition ranges and its Go International project, Anna Sui has combined the elements of art, city, spirit, punk and glamour all in one, to create a strikingly trendy line.

According to the official Target Website, Anna Sui will be taking on a major role while being a part of the massive growing retail store. Commercials are currently being aired based on Sui’s Gossip Girl interest, initiative for designing, and power to express a characters personality in a series of special garments.

“I love the show Gossip Girl, and I always shop in Target. Although I have never heard of Anna Sui, I’d really like to try on one of her designs,” said senior Bethany Greenman.

According to The Fashion Book, published by Phaidon book company, the key to Anna Sui’s look is the electric way she mixes her clothes, rather then the individual garments themselves.

Moreover, she brings a look together from several directions. According to the official Anna Sui website, www.annasui.com, she always had it in mind that a designer had beautiful fabrics around her, a big sketchbook, and would drape cloth around a mannequin, then go out to lunch.

People are attracted to Sui’s fashions, because of all the elements she includes. There’s always a sweet, feminine, and girly aspect to them. Her designs also set off the aspect of trendiness/ hipness, while trying to create an edge of Rock-and-Roll coolness.

So remember ladies, be true to yourself. Dress the way you want to, and create a statement with any piece of clothing you own. Peace, love, and Anna Sui.

Saving the Planet, One Country at a Time

Simit Christian — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 20:14:29 +0000

It’s no longer about polar bears, melting ice caps, or even global warming. Climate change is now the biggest national and global security crisis, as confirmed by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Since climate change is a serious issue, the United Nations’ 192 members plan to meet in December in Copenhagen, Denmark to create another agreement that will be more effective than the Kyoto Protocol. To make sure the negotiations are smooth, some of the UN delegates gathered this September in New York City in order to pre-negotiate and to prepare.

Previously, environmental issues have emphasized saving nature. In the past few years, however, the alarming rate of climate change has caused many human deaths and causalities.

Although the connection might not be clear, climate change is responsible for many of the issues that threaten the world today, according to members of United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Bank. Asthma, other respiratory diseases, desertification, natural disasters, famines, and flooding are only a few examples.

The flood in Istanbul, Turkey, for example, killed eight on September 9 this year. The repetitive floods in Bangladesh, which caused thousands of casualties in the past few decades, is yet another example.

These floods and other natural disasters will occur more frequently if countries continue their environmentally damaging activities, according to UNICEF employee Kerry Constabile. Countries like China, Canada, and the U.S. are most at fault because they are the highest emitters of greenhouse gases, the leading cause for rising temperatures and sea levels.

It might not seem like a concern for the U.S., but climate change is currently harming and will continue to damage developing nations the most. These countries suffer from the footprint advanced nations like the U.S. and China leave on the environment because ultimately we all share the same air, water, and certain resources. It is obviously not fair that the actions of developed nations damage those that are poor and developing.

Adefola Adeosun and Adetola Adeosun at the conference
posing with actor Djimon Hounsou.

“The countries that are the most vulnerable have the least history in carbon emissions,” said author, NY Times reporter, and active environmentalist Andrew Revkin.

Many island nations like Papa New Guinea will no longer exist in the upcoming decades due to rapidly rising sea levels. The 380,000 people living on the Islands of the Maldives live only one meter above sea level. Yet, they barely contribute to climate change but will soon loose their homes and most likely have to relocate to Australia.

While speaking to the UN delegates, the President of the Maldives, Mr. Mohammed Nasheed addressed this possibility stating “We will die. Our country will not exist.”

Besides facing destructive disasters and extreme weather conditions, many people lack basic resources, including useable water and arable land, especially in underdeloped countries like Bolivia and Indonesia.

“People are currently fighting simply over water,” said environmentalist Caroline Howe, referring to the water wars occurring in countless nations and even among U.S. states.

Although climate change is a compelling issue, the most important goal for the UN delegates is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050, but the negotiations happening now and in December deal with agreements that need to be met by 2020.

80 percent is a high number even with 41 years left, but according to World Bank Specialist and former Senior Advisor at the Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Edward Cameron, the scientific community agrees if that number is not met, we are likely to expect even more calamities caused by higher temperatures that are the result of greenhouse gases.

Moreover, none of the nations that agreed to the Kyoto Protocol fulfilled their 5 to 7 percent reduction requirement.

“If we failed on five percent, how can we reduce 80 percent?” questioned Mr. Cameron.

Surprisingly, several nations agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Sweden promised a 25 to 45 percent reduction, the EU collectively offered to reduce by 30 percent, China by 15 percent, Japan by 25 percent, and a few other nations made similar promises that they plan to meet by 2020.

Sadly, President Obama didn’t commit to any significant reduction; he simply boasted about what the U.S. has done so far and added that the U.S. will contribute to the fight against climate change, only if the rest of the world also contributes.

“How far does the other side have to jump before we move,” asked Mr. Nasheed, implying that countries asking each other to go

first are making childish decisions.

Despite the simplicity of many of the solutions for climate change, the UN faces serious challenges as its members attempt to create an agreement that is this progressive.

Firstly, UN delegates, presidents, prime ministers and other leaders are chosen by their people to represent their respective national interests, and fighting climate change appears to be a global issue that might not necessarily benefit all.

Countries are also arguing that developed nations, as primary contributors of greenhouse gases and consumers of the world’s resources, should be fighting climate change.

“The negotiations are going far too slow, and they are still lacking real progress,” said Mr. Reinfeldt, Prime Minister of Sweden.

Besides disagreements among countries, for many political leaders, especially those with term limits, it seems climate change is an issue that will be relevant to national policy. However, nations that face the repercusisons of climate change today should be leading the race against it.

“They [world leaders] don’t think outside the to-do list for today… It’s not like everyone is going to sign the sheet,” said Mr. Revkin.

“I know deep down you [U.N. members] are not listening,” agreed Mr. Nasheed

If countries fail to act, an already large number of countries will lose resources, biodiversity, and most importantly people, due to the impacts of climate change.

Fortunately, some leaders are concerned and are willing to make wise decisions for the future.

“[Climate change is] a truly global responsibility, said President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame.

Despite the lack of action from many politicians, youth around the globe are expressing their concerns about the planet and adapting to climate change.

According to Caroline Howe, college students in India and Connecticut, raised funds to install solar panels at their campuses.

Similarly, students at a German high school were the first to donate to the adaptation fund created by the UN.

After viewing the enthusiasm of young people around the world, UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon and UNICEF selected 13 NY high school students, with diverse ethnic backgrounds and one exchange student from Pakistan, to persuade world leaders to promote eco-friendly policies. These 13 student delegates each wrote a letter about their personal experiences with climate change, and four of them narrated a film to the UN members asking the members to act instead of simply talking.

Later another four of the 13 students shared a luncheon with the spouses of UN delegates, including Michelle Obama, during which they discussed the importance of climate change education.

“They [the first spouses] were so down to earth. And knowing they shared our concerns about education and climate change made the lunch all the more interesting,” said junior from the High School for International Studies in Brooklyn, and student delegate Gabriel Wahab.

Actor Djimon Hounsou also participated by reading a passage from Carl Sagan’s The Pale Blue Dot.

International, national, and local efforts against climate change are essential to preserving the planet because, as Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said, “The consequences will be made more serious for all of us.”

Collaboration is also needed. “We cannot simply accept the situation where part of the world wants to save the planet while others simply don’t care,” said French President , Nicholas Sarkozy.

Although the speeches in the Assembly Hall might have had strengths and weaknesses, hopefully the presidents and delegates had more productive discussions in the hallway and during lunch, where their poltical success is not on the line.

“The most important decisions happen behind closed doors,” said former lobbyist and UNICEF employee, Vidar Ekehaug.