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Reviews and Commentary by Teens from Queens

The Classic Critic

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Reviews and Commentary by Teens from Queens

The Classic Critic

Reviews and Commentary by Teens from Queens

The Classic Critic

Reviews and Commentary by Teens from Queens

The Classic Critic

2025-2026 Staff

Editor-in-Chief

Samia Orva

Editor-in-Chief

Israel Morales

Editor-in-Chief

Celeste Bagga

Rufaida Anowar
Managing Editor

Rufaida Anowar

Rufaida is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves listening to music and playing with her pet cat. She's either hanging out with her friends or trying out new restaurants.

Uma Tevlin
Managing Editor

Uma Tevlin

Uma is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves watching The Bear and New Girl and always has Olivia Dean playing in the background. In her free time, she likes to cook, even if the food doesn’t always turn out as expected.

Kavya Reshamwala
Managing Editor

Kavya Reshamwala

Kavya is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. She enjoys playing badminton and baking. She also loves listening to music and binge watching Netflix.

Vaibhvi Patel
Managing Editor

Vaibhvi Patel

Vaibhvi (VB) is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves listening to her favorite artist Billie Eilish, and enjoys walking in the city. She "eats" in the kitchen when baking chocolate chip cookies, and is absolutely in love with the color purple.

Operation Tomatometer Host

Melissa Lai

Melissa is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. She likes listening to 2010s music and loves any kind of crafty project. She’s either rewatching Interstellar for the 5th time or crafting the perfect matcha.

Operation Tomatometer Host

Emmie Krikheli

Emmie is a Junior at Townsend Harris. She loves hanging out with her friends, listening to music, and watching movies. If she's not somewhere in school, she's probably getting food with her co-host and best friends.

Mikayla Jiménez
Fashion Review Editor

Mikayla Jiménez

Mikayla is a Junior at Townsend Harris High School. She’s an avid reader who enjoys playing volleyball, shopping, and sunbathing in the summer. During the winter months, you can catch her sipping hot cocoa, listening to music, and stocking up on her favorite holiday-scented candles.

Vidhi Patel
Food Review Editor

Vidhi Patel

Vidhi is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves to stress bake after every major life event. Reading and listening to music is her ultimate relaxing time; however, she will have moments where she binge-watches entire TV shows or movie series.

Natalie Tamma
Food Review Editor

Natalie Tamma

Natalie is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. When she isn't doing her assignments, you can find her reading, taking nature walks, or trying out new recipes with her family.

Maryam Ansari
Film & TV Review Editor

Maryam Ansari

Maryam is a sophomore at Townsend Harris High School. She’s a makeup lover with a shopping addiction who enjoys hanging out with friends. She’s always either looking to take pictures together or wanting to go to karaoke.

Jonas Zhao
Film & TV Review Editor

Jonas Zhao

Jonas is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. A huge Transformers, Star Wars and Marvel Studios fanatic, Jonas has also been seen searching streaming platforms for anything that piques his interest, like “Cobra Kai” or “The Penguin,” and tries to keep up as much as he can with film news. He strongly dislikes zero band.

Literature Review Editor

Miriam Heikal

Miriam is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves shopping, going on walks and going to the gym. You can find her scrolling through Instagram reels or dancing to music.

Jordan Tsao
Literature Review Editor

Jordan Tsao

Jordan is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves to read mystery novels, binge-watch her favorite TV shows, and find new music to listen to. You can usually find her on a sports field or hanging out with her friends.

NIcole Harvan
Literature Review Editor

NIcole Harvan

Nicole is a junior at Townsend Harris High School who can probably be found doing one of three things: blasting Taylor Swift like it’s a full-time job, devouring romance and fantasy books like they’re oxygen, or baking something suspiciously undercooked with her friends. When she’s not busy pretending to be in a novel, she’s cuddling with her dogs.

Salma Aouissi
Music Review Editor

Salma Aouissi

Salma is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. Listening to Lana Del Rey on full blast and scrolling through Ticketmaster brings her joy, in addition to playing the piano and guitar. ...

Amelia Zara
Music Review Editor

Amelia Zara

Amelia is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. In her free time, she enjoys baking, singing, drawing, and listening to k-pop music. She is excited to take on her role as music editor this year.

Copy Editor

Amina Asad

Amina is a senior in Townsend Harris. Whether it's books or movies, she enjoys anything horror or psychological thriller. You can find her starting new projects, such as a digital magazine or upcycling art projects with children. When not creating, she enjoys hanging out with friends and going to the mall.

Mahi Sehgal
Copy Editor

Mahi Sehgal

Mahi is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. She loves to read books, spend time with friends, and loves to have a good time. She loves listening to rap or pop music and in her free time she is always dancing.

Shayaan Dewan
Multimedia Editor

Shayaan Dewan

Shayaan is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. He likes to drive and go outside with his friends. He likes to try out new things from time to time and is pretty spontaneous.

Jasleen Banga
Multimedia Editor

Jasleen Banga

Jasleen is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. She has been into social and multimedia since her freshman year. She’s either at the gym or baking brownies.

Podcast Producer

Ishmal Ali

Ishmal is a junior at Townsend Harris High School. When she isn’t preoccupied with school work or after school activities, she enjoys her free time hanging out with her friends and taking hour long naps. She likes to explore the city and try new restaurants.

Podcast Producer

Hiba Malik

Daniel Symons
Sports Podcast

Daniel Symons

Danny is a rising sophomore at Townsend Harris. He likes basketball, the New York Knicks, and his dog Tino. He loves hanging out with his friends and listening to Malcolm Todd.

Sports Podcast

Zead Husain

Zead is a senior at Townsend Harris High School who loves staying active, whether it’s through playing sports or gaming with his friends. Known for his great sense of humor, he brings laughter to any situation. Outgoing and social, he’s down to meet new people and make new connections.

Emir Gutic
Sports Commentary Editor

Emir Gutic

Emir Gutic is a senior at Townsend Harris High School. He is known to excel in history, and enjoys his free time by being outside, as well as practicing his handwork with machinery and equipment. He also loves sports, as they express culture and bring people together, and enjoys pairing them with watching movies and shows.

James Castrodad
Sports Commentary Editor

James Castrodad

James is a senior at Townsend Harris High School who plans to pursue a career in mechanical engineering. He’s a big sports fan, especially when it comes to basketball, football, and combat sports. In his free time, he enjoys playing sports, reading, and drumming.

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