The Warrior
a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly
Niskayuna High School
December 9, 2011
Volume 38, Issue 12
New curriculum means future changes
by
James Azzaretti
News
Almost half way through the
school year, and major changes in
school curriculum are suggested
at a state level. These changes
will adjust the way math and
English are taught in New York
State along with the way teachers
and principals are prepared and
evaluated. The changes will be
put into place by 2014.
The basis for these curriculum
adjustments is rooted in the fact
that although New York has a
high graduation rate, many kids
who graduate high school are not
well prepared for college and the
outside world.
The latest graduation survey
shows that while 73% of students
in New York, graduate from high
school, fewer of them are ready
for college and beyond. In New
York ,40% of people in two-year
college courses are taking remedial courses; that number shoots
to 75% in certain schools in the
state. Basically, a lot of students
who have graduated from high
school end up going to college
only to pay for more classes at
the high school level. This is the
issue John King (the creator of
these changes) aims to fix. King
will have teachers take training
courses to evaluate their teaching methods and change them
according to the new standards.
These shifts are mainly based in
the math and English categories.
The changes in English will
switch the focus to more attention to reading and specific
details. Other new ideas include
adding a “staircase of complexity” to advance comprehension,
focusing on text-based answers,
writing from specific sources, and
expanding vocabulary.
Also, a lot of the reading work
will be taken away from the English department and put on some
of the social studies and science
classes. This shift is meant to
put the reading focus on more
informational pieces of writing
rather than the imaginative literature that most students read
in English class today.
continued on page
2
[CHANGES]
Sharing the love of anime
by
Kat Taylor
News
Anime Club, what is it exactly? Sure, you’ve
all heard of it in those brochures you get at
the beginning of the year, but what is Anime
Club? What odd activities do the people in
Anime Club do? Are they a bunch of kids
sitting in a room, watching cartoons for fun
after school?
Anime Club is a small club, with roughly 20
members who attend the meetings weekly. And
yes, since the club name is Anime Club, they
do watch anime within the club. But they also
do various other fun things. At the beginning
of the year, they have a small raffle of various
interesting items that only people who attend
know about. Later on in the year, Anime Club
members watch anime and discuss the different manga (Japanese graphic novels) and
art styles. They also share with each other
different manga and anime
they like best, and even have
a ‘manga swap’ during one of
the meetings. A manga swap is
when the people in Anime Club
swap their favorite mangas
with each other. This lets each
member widen their manga
collection and in some cases
their own personal collection
of books.
The members of Anime Club
are close friends. The environment itself is very warm and
friendly, and almost anyone
would feel welcome there.
continued on page
[ALL]
2
Photo Credit / James Edgar
PARTY TIME: Current president Kaz Lukacs, last year’s president
Addy Conley, Gabby Dunyan, J. Reichman, Juliet Foroughi, and
Maeve Williams enjoy Japanese goodies at a club party in June 2010.
Inside this issue...
Hipster culture
dying,
page 4
Live Expresion
makes NHS the
place to be,
page 6
New basketball
coach joins,
page 7
2
News
All
continued from page
December 9, 2011
about
1
[SHARING]
Senior Kaz Lukacs, the current
president of Anime Club, said,
“If I had to describe the Anime
Club, I would say that it is a
place where any fan of Japanese
animation or graphic novels could
come and meet people who share
that interest.
Anime
The Warrior
Club
“We also talk about parts of
Japanese culture, history (animerelated). They also show up to the
club just to have fun.” English
teacher James Edgar, who is the
club advisor, attends each meeting to ensure that the environment remains happy and friendly.
Last week, the members of
Anime Club sat and learned
about a popular Japanese computer program called “Vocaloids,”
which is a singing program. The
Art Credit / Jessica Chen
A WORK OF ART: A classic Anime character drawing by junior Jessica
Chen
Photo Credit / James Edgar
FULL METAL ALCHEMIST: Inspired by the anime character Edward Elric,
the anime club ate this cake made by one of their members at their end of
the year party in June 2010.
members listened to songs by
the more popular Vocaloids, and
learned a bit about them in a
presentation by Lukacs. For the
next few weeks, Anime Club will
be showing ‘Soul Eater’, a very
popular anime and manga in
Japan and America. Also to come
is a “Pokémon Day.” Anime Club
members will be discussing the
different anime Pokémon has had
in the past and present, as well as
the various games. Also promised
for later on in the year are drawing
lessons on how to draw mangastyle. The members of Anime
Club have voted on other anime
to watch later on in the year, and
are also open for suggestions for
anyone who is interested.
If you are interested in joining,
or are curious to see what kinds
of things go on during Anime
Club, please feel free to attend a
meeting Thursdays after school
in room D105.
comes the question of whether or
not such revisions are needed.
These changes are designed to
prevent students who successfully graduated from high school
from having problems in college.
Frankly, Niskayuna does not have
that problem. People who graduate from the high school tend to
do very well in college and the
outside world. That fact really
questions the necessity of these
changes. Many students feel
that classes here are fine the way
they are and do not need change.
English Department director Eva
Jones disagrees and feels that
these changes will help the high
school significantly. “Any sort of
evaluation to the way material
is taught is a good thing,” said
Jones. The changes put in place
were not designed for Niskayuna
students but for the entire state,
but Niskayuna will obviously follow these changes.
Changes in schooling on the way
continued from page
1
[NEW]
Changes in mathematics include a new statewide Algebra
I exam to go along with the
Regents. Also, many subjects
studied in Algebra will be moved
to 8th grade mathematics (or 7th
grade advanced math). Algebra II
and Trigonometry will have less
trigonometry in it and focus more
on the algebra portion of the class.
In all math classes, fewer topics
will be covered but the topics
that are covered will be covered
more in depth than at present.
“There will be more time pledged
to fewer topics, not an inch deep
and a mile long like before,” said
district mathematics director
William Wales.
However, with this new change
The Warrior
PDA
by
out
Justin Pollock
Feature
There seems to be an epidemic
sweeping the halls of the high
school lately. It hides in the hidden vestibules of the school. It
is in your face near your locker
and near almost every gathering
spot possible. Public Displays of
Affection have taken over!
Senior Meaghan Graham says,
“I know that you guys love each
other, but I don’t need to see
it.” More than any other year
here PDA in the halls has grown
much more obvious than it has
previously. It could be due to the
influx of love going on. Maybe the
holiday season has everyone in
good spirits.
Whether there is invisible
mistletoe hanging from the ceilings of the corridors or not, PDA
is growing exponentially. Even
last week, during my French
class, someone spotted a couple
“showing plenty of affection” from
our classroom. Why the couple
decided that then and there was
a good place for a display of affection, I’ll never know. All I know
is that it made my class laugh,
and made my teacher, Madame
Martin, run after them.
Senior Rachel Staudt said, “I’m
sorry, but I do not want to be
sitting in class, looking out the
window and watch two people
suck faces. I understand like a
peck or whatever but anything
more than that can wait until
after school. Or at least find a
December 9, 2011
of
better place.”
For all who don’t know, it is
against school policy for PDA
to happen in the school. In the
words of the High School Code
of Conduct, “Physical displays
of affection are inappropriate in
school.” If it is a school violation,
why are so many people continuing to do it and why doesn’t the
school put it to an end?
PDA happens in all areas
of the school and in varying
degrees. There are the simple
“pecks” and the more “intense”
levels of affection. The place I see
this occur most frequently is at
Crossroads before school hours,
when Crossroads is normally so
crowded it’s almost impossible to
move through. Senior Brandon
Pollock says, “Guys, it’s 7:30 in
the morning. I don’t want to see
it.” Other places are near lockers,
or rather in front of people’s lockers. The general consensus among
students I’ve spoken with is when
they need to get to their lockers
to get materials in order to get to
class on time. It is awkward for
everyone, we just want to get to
our locker.
Awkward seemed to be the word
of choice for most everyone. While
people understand that couples
want to show affection towards
one another, between 7:40 and
2:45 it should be minimal. Holding hands, hugging and small
pecks are the max that the rest
of us can handle. When more
than that occurs, all the innocent
the
News
3
hallway
Warrior Art - Ken Omiya
bystanders feel awkward, which
is not fair to the people who are
just trying to pass on their way
to class.
In closing, we ask that you just
take it easy. We understand you
guys love each other, but your
relationship with your significant other will go on without an
intense public display of affection
at every second of the day. It’s
very difficult to miss these notso-elusive portrayals of “love”
in the hallways: you’ll see them
tomorrow and maybe again the
next day. There are better ways
of showing affection that won’t
bother the students and teachers,
and many hope people learn soon.
The Environmental Study Team
wants to issue a friendly reminder
to all students and faculty to continue
composting in the old and new
cafeterias to keep our school green!
4
Opinion
The Warrior
December 9, 2011
Hipsters misrepresented in society
by
Daniel Zhao
Opinion
Hipsters. The very word can signify different meanings for different people. Some share a common
loathing for hipsters, despising
their obscure music tastes, indie clothing, and sense of social
superiority. Others respect them,
and many even
secretly strive
to be one. The
ambivalence
and diversity
of opinions towards hipsters
is perhaps almost as interesting as the
hipster culture
itself.
First, we have
to define the
term “hipster.”
For years, the
term has been
vague and many
people weren’t
really quite sure
what it meant. Indeed, even
today, there are still subjective
interpretations of what being a
hipster entails. The most prominent aspects, though, are the
love of obscure music artists that
are under an independent label,
such as S. Carey, Wolf People, The
Besnard Lakes, Manishevitz, and
Peter Wolf Crier. Their clothing
styles are characterized by bright
skinny jeans and flannel, most of
which is bought from Urban Outfitters and various vintage stores.
The most passionate of hipsters
collect vinyl records, spend hours
on their last.fm pages, among
other activities.
Many, though, are fond of despising hipsters, as they think
that hipsters have a sense of
snobbery and superiority. While
this can be a common perception of hipsters, many people fail
that define them.
On the other hand, there is an
ounce of truth to every stereotype.
While the term hipster should be
used less in a negative connotation, or be used less to group
people into a totalizing faction.
People should make an active
effort to try to not simply fall into
the very pitfalls
that get people
calling them hipster in the first
place. Liking obscure music is
fine, but talking
loudly about an
obscure band or
scoffing at certain “popular”
songs or artists
can often per petuate the term,
hipster and its
negative connotations. Likewise,
one can be individualistic, but
Warrior Art / Daniel Zhao making sure to
to make a difference between
not express that
hipsters, which can often have
individuality by simply conformnegative connotations, and people
ing to a lesser known group must
who merely have a fine taste in be made a priority too.
music and clothes. This difference
needs to be made more prominent and people need to be more
cognizant of such differences.
ALL OPINIONS expressed on
While hipsters do indeed exist,
the op-ed pages represent the individual viewpoints of their authors.
at least, in the sense that there
The content does not necessarily
are a group of people that share
represent the views of The Wara set of common characteristics,
rior, the high school, the school
many so called hipsters are indeed
district, or the Board of Education.
individuals who have distinctly
different traits and characteristics
The Warrior
Niskayuna High School, 1626 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, NY, 12309
http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/nhs/warrior
Editor-in-Chief:
Maggie Jordan
Emily O’Brien
News:
Sarah Miner, Editor
Grace Strong, Editor
Hannah Wistort, Editor
Jackson Montrym, Asst
Anna Mattis, Asst
Opinion:
Jason Kasman, Editor
Daniel Zhao, Editor
Tim Rice, Editor
Entertainment:
Eunu Song, Editor
Olivia Cox, Asst
Sports:
Christopher Herman, Editor
Joe Petraccione, Editor
Aniket Tolpadi, Asst
Olivia Jaquith, Asst
Magazine:
Inga Bagepalli, Editor
Shikha Dharia, Editor
Advisers: James Edgar Alisha Desai, Editor
Russell McDowell Swati Mehrotra, Asst
Additional Staff:
Gabriel Holodak, Copy Editor
Alison Xu, Copy Editor
Maura Griffith, Photo Editor
Sohaib Syed, Graphics Editor
Ken Omiya, Graphics Editor
Kaitlin Hungershafer,
Business Manager
Bridget LeMon & Rachel Bickauskas,
Distribution Managers
Fast Opinions!
What
do you think
about hipsters, and
hipster culture?
The core drive of
hipsternism is independence, yet they
ultimately destroy
their original motivations.”- senior
Ken Omiya
The human nature
to feel part of a
group overrides the
attempt to be completely self-reliant.”
- Junior Eunu
song
Every Hipster can
do whatever they
want; there’s nothing wrong with that
but posing’s bad.”
- Senior Jon
Monroe
EDITORIAL POLICIES
Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the school
community, and can be delivered toWarrior staff or sent via
email to: [email protected]. The Warrior reserves
the right to edit letters for grammar, length, and content.
Signed opinion articles express the opinions of their creators.
Unsigned editorials represent the consensus of the paper’s editorial board,
consisting
of the Opinion section and the Editor-in-Chief.
For a one-year subscription to The Warrior, please send a check for $25.00 to: The Warrior, c/o Niskayuna High School, 1626 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, NY 12309.
The Warrior
December 9, 2011
Opinion
5
Professional atheletes are worth it
by
Shikha Dharia
Opinion
Many people think that athletes
are overpaid for their work, but I
disagree. You have to have great
talent and work really hard to
be on a professional team. Not
everybody can be on the New York
Yankees, or the LA Lakers, just
like not everybody can be a great
singer or artist.
I am all for working hard to
earn your money. The harder you
work, the more successful you
will be. Athletes put a lot of hard
work into their careers. They have
to practice year round and travel
a lot during the season. It is not
easy to be on a professional team
by any means. They work just as
hard as musicians and actors who
make millions of dollars as well.
Many people feel that their
salaries are too high. Different
teams want athletes and compete
with one another by offering the
player high amounts of money
and a guarantee of being on
the team. For example, the New
York Yankees might offer Derek
Jeter $200,000,000 for the next
ten years. It doesn’t make Jeter
a bad person if he takes the job
that offers him the highest salary.
Anybody would choose to work
with the people who offered them
the highest salary and a guarantee
of a job.
If the New York Yankees have
enough money to offer him millions of dollars it’s because it
comes from people like us. That
money comes from all the fans
who go watch games at Yankee
Stadium and buy $8 hotdogs,
and who feel that both the hot
dogs, the short stop, and the
game day experience are all worth
exponentially more than their
ticket values. It comes from all
the people who buy Jeter jerseys
to wear to the games. This is how
any other busniess works. People
buy the goods or services, so the
business makes money.
Also, athletes’ money comes
from their salaries. Professional
athletes take advantage of business opportunities. If they are
offered an endorsement for a
company, of course, they are going
to take it. They are going to make
more money and the company will
too. It is a win for both sides. So
many famous people do this, such
as the Kardashians who are the
face of Quick Trim. Athletes are
allowed to be good business men
and work for other companies if
they want.
Pro-athletes are not only businessmen, but also entertainers
and rolemodels. Everybody knows
most men will be glued to their TV
sets Sunday and Monday nights
to watch their favorite NFL teams
play while keeping track of their
fantasy teams (incidentally, and
perhaps too often overlooked, so
will many women). They inspire
children to work hard at sports
that they love, but it truly transcends the bounds of inspiration
for a higher level of athletic performance. Ask any child who idolizes
or has ever idolized an athlete,
and I have no doubt that they
will cite the impact this person
had not just on their game but
also on the way that they carry
on their day to day existence.
Athletes are more than just role
models who push people to work
their hardest- they are the most
important sideline coaches on the
field of life.
So, when people ask me if
professional athletes are paid too
much, I will always say no. They
work hard, they inspire people,
they take advantage of business,
like everybody else should. And,
quite frankly, they do not do anything to harm the public at large.
Actors, musicians, and artists all
carry themselves in similar manners. Athletes simply run faster.
A burst of search engine excitement
by
Gabriel Holodak
Opinion
Have you ever wanted help
with your calculus homework?
Do you want to know how many
calories you will burn going sledding, or how common your name
is? Do demographic facts about
Schenectady interest you? If you
answered yes to any of those questions, then Wolfram Alpha (found
at www.wolframalpha.com) is the
search engine for you.
In a world dominated by the
utilitarian monotony of Google,
the outdated uselessness of Yahoo, and the indescribable awfullness of Bing, Wolfram Alpha is a
breath of fresh, inquisitive cyber
air. It has a ridiculous range of
very detailed information, and
is useful for tasks ranging from
the everyday (try typing “Where
am I?”) to the highly specialized
(there are 4.03 million miles of
roads in the US, compared with
880 thousand in Canada and 222
thousand in Mexico).
Wolfram Alpha is the brainchild
of scientist Stephen Wolfram,who
also created Mathematica, a
widely used program for math and
science. It was launched in May
2009 and has been growing ever
since. In fact, Wolfram Alpha is
continually adding new features
and more data. Wolfram Alpha is
so powerful that it is even used
by other search engines, such as
Apple’s newly-released Siri and
Microsoft’s Bing.
For high school students, Wolfram Alpha’s greatest benefit is
probably its use for homework.
Once you begin using it, it becomes indispensable for looking
up facts and statistics. However,
Wolfram Alpha’s uses don’t stop
there. It can solve math problems,
and even better, it can give you
the steps for the solution. It can
also give information for science
homework, such as balancing
chemical equations, giving the
atomic spectrum of hydrogen,
or translating a DNA sequence.
And Wolfram Alpha doesn’t stop
with science. It can give information about musical chords, color
combinations, word origins and
foreign languages. The more you
use it, the more useful things
you can find.
Indeed, perhaps the best part
of Wolfram Alpha is its inherently
indescribable quality that lies at
its core and dominates the feeling
one gets whenever using it to navigate the vast depths of the world
wide web. It is a kind of tounge-incheek snarkiness, almost as if the
site is making sure that you know
just how different and incredible
it is, and also leaving no doubt
in your mind that it, too is aware
of its superiority amongst search
engines.Wolfram ALpha, for lack
of a more apt or debatably more
flattering monicker, is like the
hipster of search engines.
Last but certainly not least,
Wolfram Alpha has a number
of amusing Easter eggs (funny
hidden features). These features
make searching the Internet interesting and exciting, and also allow
one to procrastinate for hours on
end without ever having to log on
to Facebook or StumbleUpon.
Searching, for example, for “What
is the average airspeed velocity of
an unladen European swallow?”
yields an answer of 25 miles per
hour. Entering the famous “How
much wood could a woodchuck
chuck?” tongue twister also gives
the correct answer. And, of course,
42 is the answer when you ask
“What is the meaning of life?”
In a world where phones can
do anything, the uniqueness of
Wolfram Alpha is the next logical
cyber step.
ALL OPINIONS expressed on
the op-ed pages represent the individual viewpoints of their authors.
The content does not necessarily
represent the views of The Warrior, the high school, the school
district, or the Board of Education.
6
Entertainment
December 9, 2011
The Warrior
Friday nights are fun at Live Expression
by
Sarah Beitch
Entertainment
It isn’t unusual to hear Niskayuna inhabitants complain about
where they live. The usual grievance is that there isn’t anything
to do! This is true to some extent,
but if you’re willing to look hard
enough, you can immerse yourself in anything. If you’re a fan of
music, listen up!
The art/music performance
club Live Expression, formerly
known as Art Pod, has been
remade into something that will
hopefully be bigger and better.
Live Expression is a performance
group open to anyone interested
in showing off their artistic skills
through all types of medium. Such
media can include film, art, music
and more.
A large aspect of Live Expression’s goal is to raise money for
important causes. Two causes
that they are supporting at
the moment are the Bethesda
House of Schenectady and the
Leukemia Foundation. The profits made
from their concerts
are given to either of
these two foundations.
One other goal of Live
Expression is to offer
concerts every couple
of months showcasing
bands of high school
students. The advisor
of Live Expression, Peter Warren, enthuses,
“I’m very pleased that
Art Pod has morphed
into a music/charity
function and I’m even
more pleased with the
enthusiasm, musical
Warrior Art / Eunu Song
talent and dedication SHOWCASING LOCAL TALENT: One of the
of the current members. many posters for Live Expression found around
They’ve put on three the school to promote one of their shows featuring local bands.
high quality shows so
concerts in the New Café at 7
far this year and I’d
invite the student body to check p.m. The bands featured will
be The Vibe, Mental Trigger, JJ
out [today’s]show as well!”
Today, Live Expression will Fosterio, Nocturne,Vitale,Two
Generations, and Dave and Joey,
be holding another one of their
with Milestone headlining! The
artistic community of the high
school cannot thrive without an
audience, so remember to grab
your friends and head on over to
the New Café tonight.
Also, if you’re interested in
showing off any of your artistic
skills to a welcoming group of
critics, or if you just have ideas
for Live Expression, come to room
F304 on Wednesdays. If you’d like
to play in any Live Expression
show, make sure to have at least
one representative of your act
come to a meeting on Wednesday
to qualify.
Junior Dane Jennings says,
“Bring all your friends. There
will be live music and Amnesty’s
famous smoothies. What could
possibly be more fun on Friday
night?” Dane is right! If you’re
looking for something to do in
boring old Niskayuna tonight,
come on down to the New Café
for a night filled with great music
and delicious smoothies!
Movies and music spread holiday cheer
by
Keri Matley
Entertainment
As you know, the holiday season is in
full effect for the year, and what could be
a better way of getting into the spirit than
watching Christmas TV specials or listening
to holiday music? Classic Christmas stories
such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”,
all reflect what true holiday spirit is about.
Luckily enough, you can catch this story on
ABC Family along with other movies like “How
the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “The Polar
Express.” The best part of the holidays is
settling down in the evening with your family
and enjoying a classic Christmas story about
the meaning of good spirit.
This time of year Christmas is broadcasted
everywhere – in stores, at Dunkin Donuts, and
even at the gym. The sound of Christmas music
jingling can be quite joyful. Luckily, Justin
Bieber and Michael Bublé have both released
Christmas albums displaying their talent in
original songs and personal interpretations
on classics. Michael Bublé created his own
rendition to the carol, “Santa Baby”, where he
instead addresses good ol’ Santa Claus as his
buddy and his pally. You don’t have to be ill
with Bieber fever, or even be a fan of Michael
Bublé to enjoy these albums, as they appeal to
wide audiences with Christmas classics that
everyone loves. Chances are, you’ve already
heard the same songs they cover several times
this season. It just happens to be the time
of year to pick up one of these albums, and
listen by the fireplace.
Now if you don’t enjoy Christmas music, movies, or just the spirit, try watching
“A Christmas Carol.” Maybe the ghosts of
Christmas past, present and yet-to-come
will change your outlook on the meaning of
the season. Christmas is about giving, and
“How the Grinch Stole Christmas” shares a
great story about this. Even if you happen to
be a little scroogish towards the holidays, it
never hurts to drop a little change in the red
buckets of the Salvation Army. After all, it is
better to give than to receive.
If you’re really feeling the grasp of the season, don’t miss out on “Rudolph the Red-Nose
Reindeer” or any of the movies ABC Family’s
25 Days of Christmas is playing, and maybe
then too you will believe in the holiday spirit.
“The Polar Express”, for example, is a great
look at what believing can bring.
The holidays only come once a year, so the
best thing to do is enjoy them while they’re
here, so that next year you have something to
look forward to for the holidays. It’s always a
great and relaxing time when the family can
sit around and watch a holiday movie while
they enjoy each other’s company. Isn’t that
what the holidays are about? Take a step
back from the stress school and other activities might bring you and sit down a night or
two and enjoy “A Christmas Carol”, “Frosty
the Snowman”, or even a simple Christmas
melody. ‘Tis the season!
Your Weekly
Entertainment Fix
Movies: Sherlock Holmes: A
Games of Shadows, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol
Music: Josh Ritter, Rammstein
Books: Locked On by Tom Clancy,
Death Comes to Pemberley by P.D.
James
Video Games: Doctor Lautrec and
the Forgotten Knights, The Oregon
Trail
The Warrior
December 9, 2011
Sports
7
Basketball embarks on a new season
by
Aaron Gordan
Sports
Although Nisky basketball’s
head coach Ian McShane did
not get the win in his coaching
debut, it was still a successful
outing. Niskayuna, after starting
slowly, had the halftime lead 2922 with control of the game and a
six point spread heading into the
fourth quarter. Unfortunately,
through some sharp shooting
by Queensbury’s Charlie Peltz
and a game-high 22 points, the
Spartans were able to complete a
comeback and take the seasonopening, non-league game 60-43
in a much closer closer than the
score illustrated. Senior forward
Austin Clock led Niskayuna’s
scoring with 20 points and a bevy
of three point field goals.
McShane learned from some
of the Capital District’s finest
basketball minds, having coached
under Bob Montana at Union
College and Mark Sausville at
Schenectady High School. He was
most recently an assistant coach
at Shenendehowa High School.
Joining him on the varsity bench
are assistant coaches John Killian
and Mike Polsinelli who bring a
tremendous amount of experience
and enthusiasm to practice everyday. Freshman history teacher
Bryan Mattice has moved from
assistant varsity coach to take the
helm of the junior varsity team,
while Blake Bellinger and eighth
Grade science teacher Chris
Bianchi remain at the freshman
and modified levels respectively.
Significant changes in offensive and defensive styles are
being introduced this year. The
newly-installed “run-and-gun”
transition offense is a pro-style
approach utilizing a fast-paced
combination of rebounding,
passing, running and shooting.
This will be a new look for all of
Niskayuna’s opponents in the
Suburban Council, and is difficult to defend against. Not only
is it enjoyable for the players to
participate in this type of offensive
scheme, it is also exciting for the
fans to watch. A mix of press,
man-to-man and 3-2 zone defense
also throws the opposition off
guard. The defense is designed
to force turnovers, resulting in
fast-break points.
Photo Credit / Tom Lawson
REBOUND: The team looks to score after of a shot off of the rim by an outside shot.
Photo Credit / Tom Lawson
KEEP FIGHTING!: The Niskayuna boys give a good effort in an attempt to
comeback in the 4th quarter.
The theme for the team this year
is to out work the opponent. The
team practices six days a week
and spends a significant portion
of that time conditioning. The
team feels that their success will
be predicated on their work ethic.
Clock said, “Coach McShane has
done a great job so far in practice.
Everybody is willing to work.”
The team has set some high
goals as evidenced by junior
Liam Byrne, who says his goal
is to “win a Sectional championship.” Seniors Clock, Chris
Giglio, Aidan McGonigle, Mitchell
Brown and Justin Zywot lead
the team with their combined
varsity experience. In contrast
to previous years, Niskayuna’s
current roster consists of a much
younger and smaller team, with
the tallest player, Brandon Fine,
standing at six feet, four inches.
There are five juniors including
Connor Andrews, Brent Oliver,
Brandon Fine, Uwem Akpanikat
and Liam Byrne. Finally, three
sophomores, Ryan Lawson, Mike
Sise and Aaron Gordon, round
out the squad. Sise has a year
of previous varsity experience.
The number of juniors and
sophomores is not phasing the
team. Clock states, “I think we will
surprise a lot of teams this year.
We’re a young group of guys and
it will be a good season.” Returning player McGonigle agrees with
Clock and adds, “Young guys on
the team will be big contributors
to our success.”
Following the game last Friday
at Queensbury, McShane said,
“Our kids played very hard and executed very well for 3 quarters. We
need to make sure we work hard
in practice and prepare to compete and execute for 32 minutes.
Overall, [it was a] good effort and I
trust our kids will respond and we
will get better every day.” The team
believes they can play with anyone
and are staying positive despite
the tough loss. After the game,
the locker room was filled with
comments about how Niskayuna
is going to upset Shenendehowa
on the Plainsmen’s home court the
following Tuesday. Niskayuna’s
Suburban Council schedule begins this Tuesday at Shen and
continues with their home opener
Friday against Ballston Spa. All
of the Friday night games begin
at 7 pm and the team is looking
forward to great student support
from the Red Zone.
8
December 9, 2011
Sports
The Warrior
BPL in midst of intriguing season
by
Suman Padhi
Sports
As Manchester City continued
on their rampage, humiliating yet
another team by a score of 5-1,
Chelsea restored some order to
their campaign by beating the New
Castle Magpies 3-0. Manchester
United, the once-dominant face
of Manchester barely squeezed
three points out of their trip to
Aston Villa with a 1-0 victory,
and Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal
club manager, continued to prove
himself despite constant skepticism by fans, pulling out a 4-0
against Wigan Athletic. Even the
Hotspurs won their game against
the Bolton Wanderers by a convincing three-goal margin. All
seemed in order this week in the
Premier League, as most clubs
played their 14th game of the
season, with no results drastic
enough to be considered a true
upset. However, if someone who
had stopped following the sport
even five years ago laid eyes to
today’s Premier League table, they
would be shocked by the degree
of change in domination.
The previous “Big Four” of
Manchester United, Chelsea,
Liverpool and Arsenal, are no
longer as dominant or isolated in
the race for the title. Three new
contenders—Manchester City,
the Tottenham Hotspurs and
Newcastle United—now sit atop
the table in what ought to be considered a seven-horse race for the
four Union of European Football
Associations (UEFA) Champions
League spots the Barclays Premier League offers. While most
might consider Newcastle United
fortunate to be so high up the
table, one has to acknowledge
some of their remarkable feats
this season. Having held their own
against Arsenal, the Hotspurs and
Manchester United in draws, they
truly deserve the respect of every
team in the Premier League.
Manchester City, on the other
hand, after spending over 100 million euros in 2011 alone bolstering
their ranks, has not surprised
anybody by leading the pack by a
solid five points. Roberto Mancini,
having spent equal sums over the
past couple seasons, is starting to
be criticized by not only his fans,
but also by the board. There was
a limit, of course, to how much
of an issue team chemistry would
prove to be. But the team, after
acquiring over 150 million euros
of striking prowess alone (mainly
because of Sergio Aguero, Edin
Dzeko, David Silva, and Mario
Balotelli), and having all the
teammates somehow mesh with
perfect cooperation and no clash
of egos, the team has been a scoring machine of late, with 48 goals
in 14 games and an outstanding
goal difference of +35, almost
double that of their second place
competitors, Manchester United.
Of course, it did not help Manchester United’s cause when they
were embarassed by Manchester
City earlier in the season.
Manchester United has yet
again proved they can score goals
when it matters and strung together a series of results in their
favor that really could have gone
either way. Featuring quality
players such as striker Wayne
Rooney, midfielder Luis Nani, and
center back Nemaja Vidic, Manchester City has been seemingly
unbeatable this year, and will
give Manchester United serious
difficulty finding their way to the
title. Another most interesting run
is a team I have adored for over
eight years now, Chelsea. While
their new manager, Andres Villas
Boas, more than proved himself in
Porto over the last two seasons, he
remains to show his true colors in
charge of the Blues. He has made
some serious acquisitions since
joining the club, with his apparent
masterful move to add Spanish
standout, Juan Mata, to the team.
However, Chelsea’s inconsistency
this season is inexcusable and in
all honesty, scary to me as a Chelsea fan. They continue to show
flashes of luster and brilliance
that they have lacked over the past
seasons, but their overall inconsistency has led to so many ties
and losses that truly should have
ended in Blue victories. It is thus
that I wish the Blues luck in their
current endeavors. I sincerely
hope, for the good of the world
of football, as it is rightly known,
that Fernando Torres stops missing open nets and starts scoring
for his team. Without a leading
scorer, I fear the Blues will fail
to live up to their true potential.
Photo Credit / Football Fixtures
BOOTED OUT: Chelsea midfielder Ramires looks on dejectedly as he is
shown the dreaded Red Card in their loss in Manchester United, a scene
that perfectly portrays the Blues’ season so far.
Don’t forget to recycle this issue when you finish reading it!
Silver
The Warrior Magazine
Volume 38, Issue 12 December 9, 2011
Living in a winter wonderland
Editors:
Inga Bagepalli
Shikha Dharia
Alisha Desai
Asst. Editor:
Swati Mehrotra
Silver
The Warrior Magazine
Winter
by Alexis Rattner
Dear Readers,
We know it isn’t
exactly winter
yet, but it is approaching. We
live in an area
that gets extremely hot and
6 months later
is freezing cold.
Do you like that?
Here are some
opinions on the
wonderful, yet
really cold season
we call winter.
Love,
The Editors
Cover Photo / Maura Griffith
is
December 9, 2011
the
best
the day doing something the grill, it’s all lumberjackMagazine you love; cruising down worthy meals from December
It’s that feeling you get the trails or landing that on. Also, embracing your
when you see the first snow- trick you fell on your head Gold’s Gym membership
flakes falling from the sky. attempting last season. over the winter months
Some of you will cringe and
All year, I wait for the is a great way to combat
begin your constant com- chance to go back to the these extra winter calories.
plaining about the chilly mountain to strap in and
Winter tends to bring
weather while othpeople closer.
ers (like myself) will
It’s the perembrace it as being
fect time to be
the most magical
with the people
time of the year.
or person you
What does winlove. Bundling
ter hold in its many
up underneath
weeks? Hot chocoyour favorite
late, soups of multiple
blanket while
kinds,snowboarding
sitting next to a
and most importantly
crackling fire is
the most awesome
one of the most
holidays of the year.
relaxing ways
Christmas, Kwanza
to spend time
and Hanukkah all lie
with that spePhoto Credit / Brendon Grates cial someone.
in the snowy weeks of
THE SLOPES: Sophomore, Brendon Grates enjoys skiing and
winter. I’m assuming HITTING
Going out
learning new tricks.
you’ve all had valid
with
your
childhoods. If you haven’t board. During the winter friends or family to go sledexperienced the pure joy that time there is nothing better ding is another a fun way
comes with the huge amounts than spending a weekend- to spend the snowy days
of presents, lights, movies day driving up to Gore or outside; even snowshoeing
and songs that are buddied Killington to hit the glades to a friend’s house can be a
up with these holidays, then or trails with my friends. great way to exercise when
you need to yell at your
The first day I see legiti- the roads are paved with ice.
parents for not exposing you mate snowfall is the equivaThe moral of this article
to the joys of the holidays. lent of a holiday in itself for is to show you that you
Between decking the me, because I know that it’s shouldn’t hate winter for
halls or lighting the first the start of all the mountains the ice and the cold. Winter
candle on the menorah, opening up their trails. I is really an amazing season,
there’s nothing like the get to spend every week- and it’s my personal favorite.
atmosphere that captures end doing something I love.
This season allows you
everyone during the winter.
Let’s be real: winter also to not only sled, eat ridicuThe happiness that comes gives us reason to be fat. As lously fattening meals and
from tearing open that bright- the winter weeks progress it’s snowboard, but it brings
ly colored wrapping paper to inevitable that we’ll all start people closer and is jamreveal the gift you’ve been to eat differently. I person- packed full of some of
asking for for weeks makes ally wish I could take a week the most looked-forwardme wish the winter holi- or two just to hibernate. to holidays of the year.
days came twice each year. Hearty foods such as chili,
Love winter, and embrace
For those of us who snow- lasagna and soups help me the cold, because in the
board as well as ski, being do at least half of what hi- end winter is considered by
able to take out your snow- bernation’s all about eating. many as the most magical
board or skies again is like
My mom tends to com- season of the year. I’m sure
welcoming back an old friend. pletely change her game everyone could think of a
You go back to the slopes plan for dinner. No more special winter memory that
with the intent of spending burgers, salads or chicken on stays close to their heart.
Silver
December 9, 2011
The Warrior Magazine
To be frank, snow is cold
by Katherine Quinn
Magazine
I think it’s safe to assume
that snow is a substance
with which most people are
familiar. It is fairly common
in this northern region and
is something which comes
regularly to inconvenience
people at one of the busiest
times of the year. Though
seemingly beautiful, snow is
only so wonderful for a brief
time before it becomes the
well-known encumbrance
that has burdened generation after generation.
Without having to think too
much, most can recognize
that snow is a very simple
substance. There is no magic
behind it nor does it hold any
charm it is merely water in
the form of ice crystals. In
The
by Sarah Beitch
the winter, snow will form
when it is cold enough for rain
to freeze.
That’s it.
It’s not a
complex
process
or rare
occurrence.
And it is
certainly
no cause
for mass
over excited celebration,
such as
that witnessed earlier this October,
when the first snowfall arrived. No amount of snow
should warrant high-pitched
squealing or pointing out sev-
joys
Magazine
If you’re like to me, you love all aspects of winter. It starts at the end of
fall when Thanksgiving is over and the
craziness of black Friday has vanished.
You get this warm, cheerful feeling in
the pit of your stomach, like for-once,
everything is good in the world. You can
tell you’re not the only one with this
great feeling because for-once, your
family is living in harmony. The little
things can’t bother you, allowing you
to spend quality time with the people
you love. You can feel it coming. It’s
the feeling of winter, and you know it.
As a person who was raised in a Jewish family, similar to lots of teens in
Niskayuna, you don’t get to experience
the so-called “joys” of Christmas. You
can only imagine. These popular clichés
that are associated with Christmas
(although I’ve never honestly experienced them) come off as one of the
great joys of winter. From an outsiders’ perspective, it seems that during
Christmas all is well in the world and
things tend to be extremely joyous.
eral times to everyone within
a 3-foot-radius that, yes,
it is snowing. As the
reaction
worsens
when the
day ends
and students are
dismissed,
it becomes
apparent
that when
some people are
excited,
they have
Warrior Art / Sohaib Syed
an urgent
desire to throw things at
anything and anyone. And
what’d be better to hurl
across the parking lot than a
heaping chunk of fresh, cold
of
Activities that are associated with
Christmas, such as decorating a
Christmas tree, Christmas dinner or
anything of the sort always tend to be
happy occasions. Perhaps my opinion
of the Christmas season has been corrupted by television and pop culture.
Either way, the Christmas season
seems to be one of the more redeeming qualities of the winter season.
If you were anything like me as
a child, you would go insane over
the idea of missing a day of school
to play in the snow. It was by far
one of the most exciting activities
of my young life during the winter.
Waking up on a weekday and hearing
that we didn’t have to go to school was
so thrilling that I would forget about
sleeping in and go play in the snow. My
sister and I would wake up, get dressed
and immediately bundle up in our snow
pants, jackets, hats, mittens, and coats
and hop right outside. Sledding was, one
of the most enthusing things in our young
lives. We only went inside occasionally
to take some sips of hot cocoa to warm
up. Shortly after, we’d jump right back
snow? This behavior, along
with cheering and whooping,
is a total overreaction, nearly
comparable with that invoked
by the the “Twilight” series.
The reaction is much greater
than the actual thing itself.
To be frank, snow is cold.
Snow is too cold, really, to
be thrown at you, to have to
walk through, to shovel, and
to build lumpy figures with.
continued on
page 4
[SNOW]
winter
into the beautiful, white snow. These
are some of my best childhood memories with my sister and perhaps one
of the reasons I’m so fond of winter.
There is no other season that you
can rightfully spend all day inside
with your loved ones and watch movies endlessly. It’s the perfect time
to indulge in the classics while sipping on some frothy hot cocoa. It’s
the laziest time of the year, which is
what makes it so great and relaxing.
Perhaps what makes winter the best
and worst season of the year is the
cold, white, beautiful snow we all
love and hate. When reality kicks in
you eventually have to get up from
the comfort of the cozy couch and face
your responsibilities. Honestly, I don’t
believe anyone enjoys waking up from
their warm beds to trek out to the snow
covered carand go to class. It might be
considered one of the worst feelings in
the world. Winter will remain the best
season despite its downsides. Even if you
don’t enjoy winter, look on the bright
side: it reminds you every day that the
hopeful season of spring is on its way.
Silver
Winter
by Nicole Singsheim
Magazine
As temperatures drop, clothing gets
piled on! The holidays are swiftly approaching and a new wardrobe is in
order. Whether you’re searching for a
gift or something for yourself you have
to keep style in mind. Winter is the
time to show off your boots, scarves,
knit sweaters and new jackets. Neutral and cool colors make an appearance for the blistery cold that sweeps
Niskayuna. It’s time to bundle up!
Winter may seem discouraging,
and weighted down with homework,
holiday food overload, pale skin and
arctic accomodations.There is hope,
though. With a little creativity and
some investment in the winter essentials anyone can make it work.
For the girls, make sure you have a
few good pairs of leggings, tights and
socks with patterns to pair with high
boots. Whether your boots are slouchy
or covered in buckles, rock them out.
The runways have been adorned
with big chunky cable knit sweaters in grays, blacks, beiges and light
Snow:
continued from
page 3
[TO BE]
There is little holiday cheer
spread when your alreadyfreezing toes are assaulted
with the bone-chilling wetness of melted snow that
manages to seep through
your supposedly water-proof
boots. No one thinks of the
picturesque “white Christmas” when they are shoveling
a driveway at eight in the
morning. Everyone forgets
those few precious minutes,
December 9, 2011
The Warrior Magazine
fashion
trends
pinks. Also, fly away sweaters, which
we’ve seen before, are being brought
over from the summer “native” trend
to a sweater pattern. The cowl neck
sweaters have been seen a lot as well.
Adding a little flare is always okay.
Clothes that are covered in zippers,
lace, metallic pieces, or feather patterns are totally in. They make the
outfit more unique and triendier.
Around this time, malls are crazy, but
you need to shop! No matter where you
shop, you will find great winter pieces. It
is a necessity when living in the Northeast.
Now, for all the guys out there, winter does not give you permission to be
lazy and sloppy and wear sweatpants
every day. Also, don’t wear shorts on
the coldest day of the year that doesn’t
make you tough, it only makes you look
dumb. Just because it is cold doesn’t
mean you give up on your appearance.
Dark jeans or light wash, plaid, sweaters, vintage long sleeves and sweatshirts,
a nice pair of boat shoes or sneakers are
all great alternatives to the ripped
sweatshirt and football sweatpant look
that should only be worn once in awhile.
The guys who rock the khakis with a
nice button down or a flannel know
what they’re doing in the fashion world.
Guys have it harder because they wear
just about the same thing all year round,
but there are certain winter pieces that
don’t make an overstatement. Pick out
new sneakers that match your outfits,
wear the nicer jacket and put that
little extra thought in the morning into
what you’re wearing. It does not take
too long and you all can look amazing.
You don’t have to shop at the the
most expensive stores to look good.
So, put a spin on a trend and make
it your own but always look to the
designers and stores for new ideas.
In these months, embrace the chilly!
Layer up and show off your cold weather
accessories of gloves, scarves and hats.
You’ll be glad you did, they can spice up
any outfit and keep you toasty warm.
Winter is one of the happiest seasons,
show off the greatest time of year
in fashion! Pair your boots sweater,
scarves and hats and create new outfits
and styles that have never been seen
before. Winter is the accessory of all.
the
death
even hours, if lucky, of excitement over snowfall once the
phenomenon has set in and
the burden of having to deal
with snow becomes reality.
Snow falls whenever it
wants. This year, the first
snowfall occurred during
mid-October, when most
people were just setting up
their Halloween decorations
and planning their costumes.
Despite weather forecasts,
no one ever seems to really
be prepared for snow and
the element of a “surprise”
snowfall could set off another
excited overreaction. This
reaction will, without fail,
wear off when a trip outside
requires one to totally suit
up in puffy winter coats to
avoid the chill. What’s worse
is that snow makes the air feel
even colder than it usually
is in winter. Cold weather
might not be so bad, but it
becomes a major annoyance
when frustration with the
weather seems to be the conversation topic of the month.
As an additional annoyance, snow always seems to
be wet. No amount of thick
layers can protect your bare
skin from the icy cold shivers that wet snow causes.
I personally guarantee that
within thirty minutes of being out in the snow, some
part of you will get wet
and, in turn, even colder.
With all of these frustrations with snow, one would
think that it would at least
look pleasing. Yes, maybe
for a meager three hours, a
perfect, pristine white blan-
of
me
ket will cover the ground.
However, when daylight
breaks and traffic begins,
snow will melt into brown
slush, plows will roar through
the streets, snowbanks will
be stained black with exhaust, and any hopes of a
“white Christmas” or even
a snowday are dashed away.
In short, Mother Nature
is fickle and unpredictable.
Sometimes it’s difficult to appreciate the beauty in nature
when it is such a hindrance
and it’s often overlooked.
Snow can be “okay” sometimes, but being cold and
wet is a matter of preference, I guess. In my opinion,
I would be just as happy
spending the holiday season
in warm-weathered Florida.