MTA Raises Fares

Housing over eight million people of the American population, New York City is known for being the most populous city in the United States. Millions of people travel from all the five boroughs and depend on public transportation to get to their destination. According to the MTA Network, an average of 7,700,000 million people use the MTA services weekly, over 85% of people use public transportation. However, for the new year of 2017, the MTA increased the price of commuting fares for public transportation. Despite the unwanted change, these new fares were effective on March 19th.

● The 30-day unlimited MetroCard has risen $4.50 from $116.50 to $121.00

● The 7-day unlimited MetroCard has risen $1.00 from $31.00 to $32.00

● The 7-day Express Bus plus Metrocard has risen $2.25 from $57.25 to $59.50

● The single fare ride will remain $2.75

● For MTA bridges and tunnels, cars using E-ZPass will see a rise of $.25, while drivers paying with cash or toll by mail will see an increase of 6.3% to 9.1%.

● Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road will rise 3.75% in prices.

Many commuters believed that this change was unfair and argued that the MTA does not provide the outcome the public expects for their investment. However, a budget deal made in 2009 requires that the MTA increase its fares every two years. They plan to increase revenue by 4% and give the additional funds to the MTA workers.  The next fare rise will be in 2019.

Port Richmond High School Band Department

By Hayoung Choi

The Port Richmond Band Department has long been a pride and joy of the Raider community. People from all kinds of musical backgrounds join together to create harmonious music that entertains the crowd in pleasant tones. In order to connect to the essence of the greater community, the PRHS Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, and Marching Band have actively participated in events held in Staten Island and areas in Manhattan. For instance, the Jazz Band performed at P.S. 68 for the ribbon cutting ceremony and also at the Burrito Bar on Forest Ave. for brunch. The Symphonic Band took a walking tour of lower Manhattan of the Revolutionary Wars to get a historic perspective of the music. The Marching Band recently marched through the city of Manhattan in the Memorial Day Parade in honor of the current and fallen soldiers of America. The three departments of band offered at Port Richmond High School are Jazz Band, Symphonic Band, and Marching Band. The Jazz Band is a musical ensemble that plays jazz selection. The band is made up of a rhythm section and a horn section. Symphonic Band, also called Concert Band is a performing ensemble that consists of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion families of musical instruments along with the double bass or bass guitar. The Marching Band is a group where the musicians who play instruments typically in the woodwind, brass, or percussion families march while playing musical selections for entertainment or competition purposes. The Port Richmond Bands offer an enjoyable and amazing way for incoming students to explore the world of music.

Criminal Minds Review:

By: Alexa Manno
Criminal minds is for students above the age of 17. This show is a little intense for any age under that. This show is very gory and let’s you sees things from a F.B.I. profiler’s perspective. What makes me want to  continue watching this show is that it keeps you on your toes, leaves episodes ending with a cliffhanger, wanting you to watch more. I watched this show daily, day and night, almost everyday that I didn’t have something to do. All in all the show teaches you a lot about the group and what they do on an everyday basis. There is still another season coming with more exciting and different things that will come their way and I cannot wait until it begins. Criminal Minds helped me also decide what I want to do with my career path and the job that I want to follow through with in my life. In college I will be triple majoring in forensics, criminal psychology and computer science. My job choice will be the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

Criminal Minds TV series is based in Quantico, Virginia, the Behavioral Analysis Unit (BAU) is a subsection of the FBI. Called in by local police departments to assist in solving crimes of a serial and/or extremely violent nature where the perpetrator is unknown (referred to by the Unit as the unknown subject or unsub for short), the BAU uses the controversial scientific art of profiling to track and apprehend the unsub. Profiling entails coming up with basic characteristics of the unsub and the victims (referred to as the victimology), using evidence from the case and matching that information to historic precedents and psychological analyses as a means to solve the case. Because of the nature of the work conducted by the BAU - the work being time consuming and psychologically demanding - its members are fiercely loyal to the Unit and to its other members. Also because of the work's overall demanding nature, not many members of the BAU have been able to maintain a happy or stable family life.

An elite squad of FBI profilers analyzes the country's most-twisted criminal minds, anticipating the perpetrators' next moves before they can strike again. Each member of the "mind hunter" team brings his or her expertise to pinpoint predators' motivations and identify emotional triggers to stop them. The core group includes an official profiler who is highly skilled at getting into the minds of criminals, a quirky genius, the former media liaison who manages to adeptly balance family life and the job, and a computer wizard.

     Is the Dress Code Beneficial or Detrimental?

By: Hayoung Choi

 

As summer approaches and warmer weather awaits, many students eagerly wait to bask in the summer sun with friends and family. With the first waves of heat reaching schools all over America, students have been wearing summer-cooling outfits to combat the sweltering heat in their distinctive fashionable ways. However, many of the outfits students choose to wear are considered a “violation of the dress code” and are often being detained, suspended, or even expelled. Proponents to the dress code say appropriately dressed students promote better learning environments with no distractions. Opponents to the dress code argue that the dress code restricts individual rights of expression that represent the very essence of American democracy.

Port Richmond’s Principal Timothy M. Gannon has stressed that “Students who arrive at school dressed inappropriately will have their parents contacted, will not be permitted to attend classes, and will be required to change into more appropriate attire. Students who repeatedly disregard the dress code will face more severe disciplinary action as afforded by the NYC Department of Education Discipline Code. “ Administrators have enforced that the dress code prevents any unintentional confrontations that may occur while students have acted in defiance against the dress code.

The Port Richmond High School Dress Code:

1. Students shall be responsible for maintaining pants and skirts in an appropriate manner as observed in a professional business environment. All pants and skirts should be secured at waist level and may not fall below the waist to such a degree that a student’s posterior or underwear is shown in any manner.
2. Head coverings, except for religious purposes, for both males and females, are not permitted.
3. Halter-tops, tank tops, and tube tops are not permitted unless worn with a covering shirt or jacket. Tops must extend to the waist and meet the waistband of pants, skirts or shorts. Shoulders and backs should not be bare.
4. Shorts and skirts must extend to the length of one’s fingertips when standing straight up. Miniskirts or short-shorts may not be worn.
5. Slogans or pictures that are obscene or deemed inappropriate by school officials cannot appear on clothing.

Whether the dress code is beneficial or detrimental to American public school children is a topic that will continually be debated among individuals influenced by the daily effects of the educational departments.  

Port Richmond High School Baseball Team Finishes a Strong Season

The Port Richmond High School baseball team finished their 2017 season with a record of 10-6. This record was due to each player being organized and attentive during each play, and the team’s overall determination to succeed.The first couple of games of the season started off well with 3 consecutive wins, all high scoring games. Starters Vincent Zeh, Edward Rodriguez, Angel Santiago, Robert Hart, Joshua Lopez, Christopher Maiorana, Eric Benedetto, Jim Baez, Ryan Masterson, and Christian Harjo, who got injured midway into the season, were major contributors to the team’s successful season. When the regular season ended, the team’s first playoff game was against Roosevelt Educational Campus, where Eric Benedetto pitched to a 3-1 win, Robert Hart, Jim Baez, and Joshua Lopez got the bats swinging, and scored those three runs.Coach John Sce’s quote, “Ball, Base, Backup” are words that the team plays by.  Although their season ended in the next game against Petrides, the Raiders came in 4th in the regular season and got farther than they had in the last two years.

Port Richmond Supports Ramadan at Prom

By:Pedro Santiago

Prom is a high school tradition that students look forward to from their freshman year.Anticipation is building as everyone wonders who will go with who and who will wear what. Usually people do not have to worry about when they eat their meal. However, this year Ramadan occurs during the month of June and affects muslim students attending prom. Port Richmond High School family took special consideration for muslim students in the PRHS family.

Port Richmond High School COSA (Vincent Medugno) Stated that their will be a separate cocktail hour at prom and no one will eat the main meal until it is 8:20. “We will wait because we are a family”. This demonstrates how important it is that we make our students comfortable and make our students enjoy everything they have worked for. Prom is the symbol of culmination from four years of dedication to scholarship and friendship.Students on track for graduation should be able to participate in all aspects of wonderful evening including the food. This should not even be a thought to consider; schools should be mandated to accommodate all students especially if the students are the ones paying for prom and not the school itself.

Ramadan started on May 27th of 2017 and will continues for 30 days. On the 29th day of Ramadan if the moon does not prevail Ramadan will continue to the next day and you must fast the 30th day and EID will begin the day after. Ramadan is a time of patience , “ To see if we have patience, it’s a time to not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset and an overall peaceful month.” (senior Nivin Hamed) you are not allowed to eat or drink from, “3:55am to 8:20pm”. EID which is , “A time to celebrate, to drink special coffee and enjoy time with family.” (senior Sabrine Haq). So why is it that such an important tradition filled with good morals is not being incorporated with prom. Port Richmond High school student Nivin Hamed stated, “ I felt sad for the muslim students at Brooklyn Tech because they are fasting and have to choose between their religion or going to prom and not eating. “I am very proud that I am a Port Richmond High School students because my school has made special accommodations for the Muslims students. It really shows that they care and respect all students”.