So for the time being, something almost as unprecedented as the terrorist attack itself has happened to the student body: grade-driven attitudes have been suspended indefinitely. Instead of afternoons filled with club meetings, evenings with homework, and sleepless nights with essay writing, Stuyvesant students largely spent the past few weeks with family and friends, trying to reflect on what happened and also divert their attention from the devastation. Many think the attack put their scholastic pursuits in perspective. “It seems meaningless,” said junior Benjamin Sarlin, who said he has absolutely no regrets that he didn’t look at a textbook during his time off from Stuy. Instead, Sarlin volunteered at Ground Zero for the Red Cross, which he called “extremely rewarding.” While junior Alex Dergachev is happy that he studied modestly for the SATs, he found more solace in seeing friends and working out.
Still, while students are not rushing back into the normal school routine, most believe its sleep-depriving daily grind will return. For freshmen who had only experienced four days of school, juniors who are starting what is traditionally the hardest year in high school, and seniors beginning the college application process, the realities of competitive academia should eventually set in. Many agree that the return to the familiar confines of 345 Chambers Street will bring a sense of normalcy and comfort. “The normal setting should bring back the normal routine,” acknowledged Dergachev.
But a quick recovery is not guaranteed. The psychological distress of witnessing the attack may hinder Stuy students academically. The Wall Street Journal estimates that a third of the witnesses to the Oklahoma City bombing suffered and in some cases continue to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. This means that hundreds of Stuyvesant students may experience such symptoms as loss of appetite, insomnia, poor concentration, and irritability.
Students are not the only ones faced with special challenges. Stuyvesant teachers must find ways of dealing with the conflicting demands of understandably distracted students and a dramatically shortened schedule. Advanced algebra and precalculus teacher John Pratt, known for his substantial nightly homework, said he will assign a lighter workload. Still, he will take a no-nonsense approach to teaching, he said, as he believes there is no other way to get through the curriculum he still has to tackle. Students who have trouble concentrating on academics will be referred to counselors, according to Pratt. “We hope to intervene early,” said Pratt.
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