Category: Stories

By May Bar
Hendrick Hudson High School

The Zuccaire Gallery is a place where students and staff alike come together to admire art in all forms on the Stony Brook campus. 

Art is made to display a message in a way that words cannot fully express and to make a person feel emotions about it.

“Co-los-ses,” an art piece by Noel W. Anderson in his Black Excellence exhibit, is a powerful and spiritual cotton tapestry representing the suppression of African-Americans in society. The piece contains an African sculpture called a Dogon priest. The raised arms of the Dogon represent prayer and spirituality. 

In addition to the raised arms representing spirituality, in other art pieces in the gallery raised arms represent police arrests or surrender. There is a police barricade hung up on the wall of the exhibit to show restraint of the people by the police.

Following the police theme, there are also mugshots that display the stereotype of African-American men being seen criminally rather than being seen as people that are capable of more.

Anderson shows famous African-American people that display excellence as well as people who fall short of that standard such as O.J. Simpson. 

All of the tapestries are made from cotton distressed in different ways as well as cotton balls held together in a 3D collage-like box that holds African-American culture throughout history.

Almost all of the pieces display cotton in some way as it is meant to represent the labor and lives of enslaved people in America. They depict history and hope in the future for the African-American community.

Two authoritative pieces show African-American figures on a throne that are intentionally raised above the others in that room to convey authority and higher status. 

The placement of the art is very powerful and intentional, not only in these two tapestries but in every piece in the exhibit.

The art director and curator of the gallery, Karen Levitov, organized and reached out to Anderson to have his artwork displayed.

Levitov grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska, and majored in anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, then received her master’s degree in art history. She then later earned her PhD in art history at Stony Brook University. Levitov has experience working and interning in many museums such as the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art in Wisconsin, the Chazen Museum in Wisconsin, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Italy and the Jewish Museum in Manhattan before coming to the Zuccaire Gallery, where she has been the director and curator for 12 years.

“I always loved art — going to museums, taking art classes, learning about artists and art history — but didn’t know until my senior year of college that I wanted that to be my career,” Levitov said. 

Exhibits like Anderson’s Black Excellence are examples of powerful art that will create hope and inspiration in the future generations to come, just as art did for Levitov.

With reporting by Yasmin Bardales, Angie Larrea and Gregory Valestin

By Briana Dworsak
Baldwin High School

While attending a professional sporting event can cost a family hundreds of dollars, the Long Island Ducks continue to demonstrate that great baseball doesn’t have to come with a major-league price tag.

The Ducks, who play in the Atlantic League Professional Baseball, which is a partner organization of Major League Baseball, have developed one of the largest and strongest fan bases in independent baseball by prioritizing affordability, family entertainment, free giveaways and community.

“We make it a very important focus each year that families can still afford to come out to our games without breaking the bank,” said Michael Polak, vice president of communications for the Ducks organization.

A trip to Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip is envisioned as more than just watching nine innings of baseball. From the moment fans walk through the front gate, they are welcomed into an atmosphere that is intentionally centered around fun and accessibility. 

A single ticket costs $20. Parking is free, and there are themed promotional nights, giveaways and interactive activities designed to create an experience that appeals to fans of all ages. Postgame base running gives children opportunities to become part of the action rather than just watching. 

The Ducks believe they have mastered the formula for making baseball a family-friendly destination. With QuackerJack the mascot, between-inning entertainment, fireworks nights and kid-friendly activities, there’s always something happening, especially for those who may not be able to follow every pitch. Parents can enjoy professional baseball while kids are entertained all night, creating memories beyond the score.

“We pride ourselves on being an affordable and family friendly organization,” Polak said.

The proof is in attendance: The Ducks consistently attract larger crowds than many of their Atlantic League competitors. Since their opening season in 2000, the organization has welcomed around 10 million fans and recorded more than 720 sellout crowds. The franchise has also captured four Atlantic League championships.

By Jonnae Greene
Baldwin High School

Success has never been what has motivated Tiny Vinyl co-founder Neil Kohler. Instead, it’s the challenge of creating something meaningful.

“I’ve had enough wins in my life that I’m not that moved by success,” he said. “What gets me up in the morning is the challenges rather than succeeding.”

This mindset has helped Kohler craft miniature versions of items in music culture that allow fans to experience listening to their favorite artist in a new way.

Growing up in Huntington, Kohler was fascinated by miniature collectibles. He also described himself as a perfectionist. At the beginning of his career he mainly worked in the toy industry.

When his friend Daniel Donato introduced Kohler to the emotional power of music, he started collecting it. He saw an opportunity to combine his passion for small things with a culture that people connected with.

The result was Tiny Vinyl, a miniature collectible disk that plays music on a turntable that serves as a tribute to artists and their fans.

The hardest part of marketing Tiny Vinyls was explaining what it was to potential buyers.

“The convincing that Tiny Vinyl was a real thing instead of a gimmick was the hardest moment of my career,” he said.

To overcome that obstacle, he met with buyers, connected with colleagues and continued to refine his work. His hard work paid off when Target agreed to sell Tiny Vinyls exclusively. The company boomed.

“We printed and shipped our one millionth vinyl,” he related. “Our business is built on rewarding the fans of the artist. That really gives the fans something that they’re excited about.”

Tiny Vinyls is a product that helps preserve the experience of music on vinyls. Michael Houlihan, manager of RECORD STOP in Patchogue, believes that listening to music on vinyl is special.

“I always say it’s an experience,” Houlihan said. “Sometimes there’s lyric sheets inside of the album. You get to take out the vinyl and place it onto the record player. … It’s important to keep physical media alive.”

Despite his success, Kohler remains focused on the future.

“We have ambitious plans for Tiny Vinyl,” he said. “It’s going to be good for Tiny Vinyl as a platform to get broader.”

He explained that he’s in discussion with other retailers to carry the player.

Aside from work, Kohler enjoys exercising, traveling and arranging flowers. When reflecting on his love for gardening, he said: “It’s very relaxing and therapeutic, and I get a lot of satisfaction because it’s authentic to me.”

When he thought about how family and friends would describe him, he gave three words: “playful, curious and adventurous.”

While he now lives in Nashville, Kohler credits Long Island for shaping his outlook.

“I’ve always felt super lucky to have grown up in New York for all the cultural reasons,” he said.

Asked what advice he would give his younger self, Kohler replied: “Younger Neil, don’t be afraid. If you never tried something, you never failed. Failing is normal, not bad. … I just had to learn how to dust myself off and pick myself up.”

By Angie Larrea, Hempstead High School
and Gregory Valestin, Brooklyn Technical High School

Because Lorraine Woodward and her two sons have muscular dystrophy, they have always had troubles finding accessible vacation homes. Not wanting other families to experience those same difficulties, Woodward launched a website.

The website, Becoming rentABLE, lists short-term rental homes tailored to people with disabilities. On its website, it describes its goal as creating “a future where accessible short-term rentals are the standard, not the exception.”

“We want everyone to have the opportunity to travel,” said Woodward, 64, of Raleigh, North Carolina.

Muscular dystrophy is a hereditary condition that weakens muscles over time, and Woodward uses a wheelchair.

When she launched her business Becoming rentABLE five years ago, it was intended to make travel easier for people with disabilities by helping them find short-term vacation rentals.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 28.7% of the US population has a disability. Despite the passage of the Americans With Disabilities Act in 1990, which mandates hotels to have accessible infrastructure, many rentals in the United States fail to meet the need for disabled tenants. According to a study titled “Enabling people with impairments to use Airbnb” by the Australian researchers Melanie Randle and Sara Dolnicar in the journal Science Direct, “People who use wheelchairs are especially exposed to obstacles, and consequently, are often excluded from experiencing and participating in tourism offerings.”

Becoming rentABLE lists more than 900 properties across the United States and Canada, including two in New York City. The listed homes have 63 different features, such as 36-inch doors, lower light switches, elevated toilets and hard-surface driveways. Woodward said she is expanding her business to accommodate people with hearing and sight loss in addition to cognitive disorders.

“Accessibility is more than wheelchairs,” she said. “We look at needs for people with crutches, walkers and cognitive disabilities like autism, dementia, depression and anxiety.” 

“When you come to our site looking for an accessible place to stay, you identify your needs. They’re all different,” she continued. “You might need a hard‑surface driveway, a short ramp, grab bars in the bathroom or a property with a swimming pool.” 

A common misunderstanding, according to Woodward, is that it costs more to rent a property with accessibility features. “It’s not necessarily more expensive,” she said.

Every home on Becoming rentABLE is verified by a paid team that examines the infrastructure. “I decided not to work alone,” Woodward said. “I brought together volunteers — 21 in total — for the first two years. Now I have paid team members.” 

“It’s not something AI can do,” she said. “A human needs to look at the images submitted and validate what a property owner lists as accessible. Technology helps us organize the information, but verification is manual.” 

Woodward said that there is a critical undersupply of accessible rentals in North America. “The short‑term rental industry also needs to change. Platforms like Vrbo have filters, but they’re vague — ‘wide doors,’ ‘wheelchair accessible.’ What does ‘wide’ mean? Thirty-two inches? Thirty-six?” 

According to Woodward, many people give up and think they can’t travel.

“To create global change, we need industry‑wide filter improvements and better education,” she said.

With reporting by Yasmin Bardales and May Bar

By Isabella Davis, Sacred Heart Academy,
Yennifer Soriano, Hempstead High School,
and Allie Harrison, Ward Melville High School

From its wooded areas to its beautiful sea shores, it’s safe to say nature on Long Island is wonderfully diverse — and worth protecting. From Memorial Day to Labor Day this year, organizations across Long Island are coming together to create the “Keep Long Island Beautiful” campaign. 

Save the Great South Bay, Balloon Mission, Reworld Waste Management, and Long Island South Shore Waterkeepers are the sponsors, and Beautify L.I. hosts the campaign’s website. 

Beautify L.I. is a nonprofit organization founded by Timothy McArthur, who grew up in Islip. After he moved away, he said, he noticed how clean other areas were compared to his hometown. He established Beautify L.I. in 2022 to help rectify the problem. 

“I started to think I could help raise awareness,” he said.

Beautify L.I. interviewed people and organizations, and while it was forming, the “Keep Long Island Beautiful” campaign was beginning to take shape as well. This led McArthur to connect with the executive directors of Save The Great South Bay, Balloon Mission, and Reworld Waste Management.

When asked what the overall goal of Beautify L.I. was, he spoke about a new social aspect for Long Island. “Its goal is to create social transformation in a way that will help us keep Long Island beautiful,” he said. 

Beautify L.I. displays campaign events on its website, including volunteer opportunities for residents of various Long Island communities. 

McArthur said that he created this website so people can learn how to get involved in volunteer work. “We want to drive people there,” he said, offering examples such as beach cleanups, “creek defender” events, or balloon-recycling campaigns.

Save the Great South Bay, another nonprofit group, is dedicated to reviving Long Island’s Great South Bay. The organization hosted a panel discussion in Oakdale on July 24, where it and several other groups shared ideas to protect the environment. 

Cynthia Seibold, founder and executive director of Balloon Mission, brought up the idea of the “Keep Long Island Beautiful” campaign to Robyn Silvestri, the executive director of Save the Great South Bay. At the panel event, organizers tallied how many cleanups had been done for Keep America Beautiful. 

Keep America Beautiful itself is a national nonprofit. Working with volunteers, agencies, and corporate and local partners, the group’s goal is to reduce litter and increase recycling, according to its  website.

Balloon Mission is an organization focused on one particular aspect of litter on Long Island and throughout the country. Seibold, a resident of North Merrick, said over 100 million balloons are intentionally released each year. Additionally, balloons typically have warning labels for being choking hazards for young children. “If they’re a choking hazard for children, they’re a choking hazard for animals,” Seibold said. 

To combat the harm of balloons in the environment, Balloon Mission collects balloons after events in a “pop and drop” system. The balloons from Long Island go to Reworld Waste Management, where they can be used to generate energy. In other parts of the country, Balloon Mission has partnered with TerraCycle, a company that recycles the used balloons.

By Heily Sandoval
Northport High School

Do you want to know what a penguin eats?

For a hint, you could ask six researchers who followed satellite images of an Adélie penguin colony across Antarctica going back nearly forty years from outer space. The team has found new information about the penguins’ food web by tracking their guano from space through satellite images.

The six researchers ― Casey Youngflesh, Christian Che-Castaldo, Mathew R. Schwaller, Michael J. Polito, Shawn P. Serbin, and Heather J. Lynch ― peeked at the colony for their article, “Space-based monitoring of penguin diet links sea ice, food webs, and population change.”

Lynch, a quantitative ecologist at Stony Brook University’s Institute for Advanced Computational Sciences (IACS), led the team. She has also conducted other research on penguins using satellites, which in fact, can also be used to study the weather or as communication devices.

The researchers used satellite images to study the colony of Adélie penguins, and their guano, to understand what penguins digest in Antarctica.

The team members “wanted to understand how penguins’ diet varies over space and time and whether that’s important,” Youngflesh, an assistant professor at Clemson University in South Carolina, said in a phone interview. He conducts research in ecology, the study of the natural world.

The researchers found their idea to study penguin colonies and their diets through Schwaller, who has worked for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Youngflesh said that Schwaller believed researchers could discover that a satellite could help them conduct their studies of penguins and their habitats in Antarctica and could get more information with an overview from space.

“I think it was the ‘90s at some point, [Schwaller] came up with this idea that you could look at penguin colonies from space, based on the color of their guano, their poop,” Youngflesh said. “He’d been thinking about this for a long time, but it wasn’t really until more recently where we had enough subtle information that we were able to actually monitor the entire species range across Antarctica using satellites.”

More than twenty years later, the team members continue to give credit to the satellite images, even though at the time, the satellites were not intended for that research.

“We started this study, raising satellite imagery, getting back to the mid-1980s,” Youngflesh said. “These satellites weren’t created to study penguins. They certainly weren’t created to look at the penguin diet, but we can actually use this in these ways that they were certainly not intended to be used … to do all sorts of cool science and understand how the natural world works.”

To complete their work, the team of researchers used the spectral signature — a way to measure color — of guano to determine what the penguins were eating. The team discovered the penguins were eating krill, which are small shrimp-like creatures, and the guano changed color depending on the krill species.

Most of the researchers watched from space, but Polito, who works for the University of California Santa Cruz, was on the ground among the penguins. He said in a phone interview that he endured chilly winds through his tent and the smell of the guano.

He and his team reached this conclusion in the article: “Rapid environmental change is reshaping Antarctic ecosystems through shifts in temperature and sea ice dynamics, with implications for species such as the iconic Adélie penguin.”

Alexandra Butuc, Christopher Cabrera, and Haru Dukanac contributed to this story.

By Haru Dukanac
Eastchester High School

The Long Island Music and Entertainment Hall of Fame (LIMEHOF) is hosting a limited-time immersive exhibition on the beloved sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” available to see until Labor Day.

“Everybody Loves Raymond” is a comedy series that first aired September 13, 1996, and officially concluded on May 16, 2005, running for nine years. With 210 episodes released throughout nine seasons, the beloved show, which is set in Lynbrook, is celebrating its 30th anniversary.

Visitors do not need to be fans of the show to be fascinated when they walk into this exhibit. Walking in, they are met with multiple displays of iconic costumes and props that were used on the sitcom, quotes from the show on the floor and walls, and the original studio sets of the colorful house of the Barone family. It’s a piece of entertainment history that people can walk into.

Norman Prusslin, a co-founder of the LIMEHOF, gave credit to the curator and designer of the exhibit hall, Kevin O’Callaghan, for the eye-catching interiors that add character to the building.

“I didn’t know what to expect. The Raymond exhibit is like going down a memory lane,” said visitor Diane Ladanza from Jericho. “I found myself laughing and remembering the jokes inside the show.”

Other than the “Everybody Loves Raymond” exhibit, the hall of fame has hosted two past exhibits: an “overview of the venues and the clubs on Long Island that kind of created the Long Island music scene,” as Prusslin described it, and the two-year hit exhibit “Billy Joel – My Life, A Piano Man’s Journey,” which Joel himself cooperated in making.

Upstairs in the LIMEHOF, a room dedicated to Joel’s music career still exists, along with the Hall of Fame Room, where photos of honored music artists, in all kinds of genres like rock and jazz, are displayed on the walls.

The LIMEHOF started from a profound appreciation for music and Long Island’s culture. The initial idea for the hall of fame — which was founded in 2004 originally as a mobile museum bus and opened its Stony Brook building in 2022 — came from a deep-rooted love for music that Prusslin has had since he was young.

“I’ve lived through a lot of decades of all kinds of music … but it’s important to me to stay interested in the current bands that are happening now,” Prusslin said.

His reflection on his passion for music and pride for the music community in Long Island led to his idea for the hall of fame.

“I’ve always had a love for music, and Stony Brook has had a long history, for decades, of bringing bands to perform,” Prusslin said. “I always knew that something needed to be done to celebrate the history of Long Island.”

He and Jeffrey James, a board member of the LIMEHOF, also emphasized the importance of Long Island when it comes to music and how many well-known artists have actually come from Long Island, from Billy Joel to the Blue Öyster Cult.

“A lot of what we do here is introducing people to music that they may not necessarily know,” James explained. “Part of our reason for being here is to bring that information to people and to get them to listen to this music and appreciate it.”

Alexandra Butuc, Christopher Cabrera, and Heily Sandoval contributed to this story.

By Kayci Guardado
Central Islip High School

Stony Brook Children’s Hospital is trading overcrowded hallways for specialized trauma bays, breaking ground on a $55 million expansion built to handle a historic surge in pediatric emergencies.

According to Stony Brook Medicine officials, the hospital, especially its emergency pediatric unit, has experienced a steady rise in patient volume, from 19,000 visits in 2014 to more than 27,000 in 2025, with a spike during flu season. 

“This project has been in evolution for almost a decade now,” said Dr. Carl P Kaplan, associate professor of emergency medicine and pediatrics at Stony Brook.

Kaplan said a pediatric ER department should ideally have one room for roughly every 1,500 children seen per year. “We don’t have that now. We need that.” 

Sometimes, he said, overcrowding means that doctors examine patients in the hallways, which comes with privacy concerns and medical situations that require special equipment or sterile fields. He said this is just another reason why the project is needed.

Architectural renderings show the expansion will quadruple the space of the current facility, scaling it up from 4,20-square-feet to over 17,000-square-feet. To keep in line with the aesthetic of the main children’s hospital, the theme of the new emergency department will be nautical. The waiting room will look like a sandbar, the fast track a tide pool, and the back end a deep sea. With each transition between rooms will come different kinds of artwork and sculptures.

Dr. Jessica Miller Mantell, a clinical assistant professor in pediatrics who has been with the hospital for five years, said she is excited about having innovative medical tools and their own specialized trauma base. “Those will be all new units geared towards kids,” Mantell said. “And there will also be new rooms with a faster flow to allow us to see kids quicker and easier.” 

Kaplan said the motivation for the construction came from hospital leadership, including Chief Executive Officer Carol Gomes and Department of Pediatrics chair Dr. Carolyn Milana. “We started planning it, actively, approximately two years ago. 
And we were trying to design a unit that is child-friendly,” noted Kaplan. “That is going to be a place where we can practice state-of-the-art medicine, and where we can train the next generation of residents and fellows, to practice pediatric arts medicine.” 

Hospital officials said the expansion will cost $55 million, with $21 million of that coming from nearly 200 donors.

Site work began in the fall of 2025, and the full project is scheduled to be completed by 2029. The construction is broken into two distinct phases. 

”In the first phase, they’re building a brand-new building adjacent to the emergency department in a parking lot, which is currently closed for construction … Following the completion of that, we will move into that area, and then the current physical plant that we’re in now will be remodeled into a fast-track area,” Kaplan said. 

He also said the construction will not impact the hospital’s daily medical workflow until the first phase is completed, at which point the team will remodel the layout.

Mantell added that the day-to-day changes have been minor. “The other day, I thought a helicopter was landing with a patient, but it turns out you can just hear the drilling.”

The two doctors agreed it’s an exciting community innovation. “As we continue to grow and expand, we’ll be able to advocate for kids more and give even better care,” Mantell said.

With reporting by Asher Squires and Myles Darby

By Allie Harrison, Ward Melville High School
and Yennifer Soriano, Hempstead High School

When one thinks of exploring the moon, they might think of a NASA control room or astronauts planting a flag in the ground, but space exploration is so much more than that. 

Planetary geologist and Stony Brook University professor Tim Glotch, Ph.D., spoke about his work on NASA’s new Artemis IV team on July 29, which will help us learn not only about the moon, but about Earth as well.

Artemis IV will transport astronauts to the moon for the first time in over 50 years. Ever since the Apollo missions first brought people to the lunar surface, there have been satellites and rovers but never crewed landings. However, with the mission scheduled for 2028, this is all about to change. The four astronauts will collect samples for geologists like Glotch to study. These studies can be used to learn about how the rocks on the moon — and on Earth — form.

“The selected scientists will bring a wealth of expertise to this team to ensure we are supporting crews on the Moon to achieve the missions’ science objectives,” Joel Kearns, deputy associate administrator for exploration in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, said in an announcement. “Exploring the lunar surface and executing the U.S.’s science objectives is a major step toward sustained operations at the Moon and preparation for human exploration of Mars.”

When asked about how trips to the moon will help us learn about Earth’s history, Glotch’s answer was simple — rocks. “We have these very, very old rocks from the moon that are much older than anything we have on Earth,” he says. “And because the moon and the earth formed basically at the same time and right next to each other … the moon, those ancient moon rocks, record processes that would have happened on Earth at around the same time.”

On Earth, tectonic plate movements destroyed those similar rocks long ago. However, the moon lacks these tectonic plates, leaving the samples intact. The more lunar samples NASA can obtain from these Artemis missions, the more scientists can learn.

Glotch and other geologists are also involved in figuring out where exactly on the moon Artemis IV should land. Because of the potential for finding water, he said, they know that the landing point should be near the moon’s south pole. Craters in this area are extremely cold — some of them only about 12 degrees above absolute zero. So whenever comets or other objects bring water to these areas, it freezes and remains there. If scientists ever wanted to remain on the moon for longer periods of time, the presence of water would “make it cheaper, more affordable, and more sustainable,” according to Glotch. 

When it comes to how scientists even gather all of this information initially, the answer is a process called infrared spectroscopy. This uses infrared light, which has wavelengths longer than those the human eye can see.

“It turns out you can use infrared almost like a fingerprinting technique. Every rock, every mineral, has its own infrared spectral signature,” Glotch said. “We can basically zap rocks with the red light and look at the reflected light, where we can look at the emitted infrared light from hot rocks and figure out what they’re made of.”

Just like any profession, Glotch’s work is not without its challenges. Obtaining funding for projects is a difficult and competitive process. “When we write proposals, sometimes you think you have an awesome idea, and people don’t agree with you,” he says. In that case, he would have to write another proposal to re-argue his case with the hope that the project would then get approval. 

Despite this struggle, Glotch said, the Artemis missions will go on. After the 2028 operation is complete, he and his colleagues will have material to study to learn about not only outer space, but the Earth as well.

With reporting by Isabella Davis and Noah Eichenholtz