Orwellian, almost: Student winners of arena tour required to write essay, "What's the best thing about the Barclays Center?"
It's Orwellian, almost . As indicated in the graphic below, the Invictus Youth Initiative , a program of Atlantic Yards Community Benefits Agreement signatory Downtown Brooklyn Neighborhood Alliance (best known for distributing free tickets), held a contest in which schools could win a private tour of the Barclays Center. Three schools were winners: Prep For Success at Medgar Evers College in Crown Heights; JS 113 (presumably MS 113 , whose principal is a sister of the DBNA executive director and daughter of the DBNA chairman) in Fort Greene, and PS 181 in East Flatbush. "Bring a class or use the opportunity as an incentive for student achievement!!!" potential entrants were asked. Boosting Barclays Note this requirement: "Students who attend the tour must submit 1-2 page essay/composition, answering the question, 'What's the best thing about Barclays Center?'" Isn't such a requirement the opposite of education? (Here are s...