January 21, 2005 - Niskayuna Central Schools

Since 1974,
Now Weekly
Niskayuna High School
January 21, 2005
Volume 31, Issue 16
Students join tsunami relief effort
by Manisha Padi
survivors can begin to recover and rebuild Interested students have been gathering
NEWS their lives.
for weekly meetings in the Connections
After the South Asian tsunami ocThe tsunami relief drive has involved Room (D208), and a widely supported
curred in the end of December, many a variety of clubs, including MCS, NICS, ribbon sale has been going on for two
have been hurrying to help as much RAG, and many others, as well as with weeks. Individual clubs have been planas they can with any relief efning diverse ways to help the
forts. Many have sent private
cause, from simple bake sales
donations to various charities,
to ice skating nights. As these
or have donated clothing or
events are planned, they will
supplies to the cause. Now,
be announced and advertised
Niskayuna students are uniting
separately. However, the ulin a schoolwide effort to raise
timate fundraiser that will
money to send to the victims of
be taking place in support
the disaster.
of the tsunami relief fund
Adults and children in over
is a student-teacher talent
ten countries were affected by
show, which will be held in
the tsunami; the hardest hit
the auditorium on March 18
nations included Indonesia, Sri
at 7:00 p.m. It will include
Lanka, India, and Thailand. The
musical acts by groups such
death toll, which has reached
as the jazz band, as well as
170 thousand, is continuing to
hip-hop dance performers. A
rise. Many officials believe that
diverse range of teacher acts
the final count may be over 250
will also be featured. The
thousand. Five million were left
ticket sales from this event,
homeless after the tragedy, and
as well as money earned from
Warrior photo / Leanne Merrill
many of those that were taken WORLDWIDE EFFORT AT SCHOOL: Sophomore Phil Manor buys a other projects, will be sent
were children. Myriad horror blue ribbon from junior Lynna Gu. Several students, whether or not they directly to charity.
stories have surfaced of moth- are associated with a club, are selling the ribbons for a dollar each to help Though the unthinkable
ers being forced to choose which raise money for a district-wide donation to the Red Cross.
devastation to South Asia
child to save, and about mass graves interested individuals to plan a concerted can never be reversed, enough relief
containing entire extended families. Yet, effort that will raise a communal donation money can give survivors hope of a better
with the help of every country’s citizens, from the school district to the Red Cross. life ahead. Every dollar counts.
Visibility presents to NHS health classes
by Brendan Doyle
NEWS
Niskayuna’s Gay Straight
Alliance, Visibility, recently
gave presentations to some
of Niskayuna High School’s
health classes. Visibility holds
these interactive discussions
in order to promote recognition
of Visibility as an NHS club,
and, most importantly, to raise
awareness regarding the problem of homophobia in the school
community and beyond.
For the annual presentations,
Visibility goes into each health
class and leads a discussion that
incorporates many topics including homophobia, language
usage, and other topics that
students bring up themselves.
This year, most of the presentations consisted of between
three and ten Visibility members. They began the discussion
by asking, “What do you guys
think about homophobia in
Niskayuna?” Many students
quickly responded, which led
the discussion in many directions and let the students be
self-directed in their thoughts
and debate.
In regards to our school
climate, most of the students
felt that while homophobia exists in Niskayuna, it is not as
pronounced compared to many
other schools.
During one presentation, the
discussion revolved for a long
time around language use; in
each class, students talked about
the frequency with which the
word “gay” is used carelessly.
Many stated that when they
called a teacher, test, or legal
ruling “gay,” they intended to
express their dislike for it, rather
than to call it a homosexual.
The participants came to see
how associating this term with
a negative opinion suggested
that the language unfairly presupposes negative things about
the gay community. Also in the
vein of language use, students
compared the widespread social
usage and acceptance of the “F”
word (not the four-letter one)
and “D” word, as opposed to
that of the “N” word. At first,
most students thought the
words deserved to belong in two
completely separate categories,
but after some discussion of the
roots of the “F” and “D” words,
several students realized just
how much those words could
offend someone.
Social acceptance of alternative lifestyles also emerged as
a topic when students were
asked how difficult it would be to
(continued to page 2,
CLUB)
2
News
January 21, 2005
REGENTS SCHEDULE
Date
7:40 a.m.
Mon., Jan. 24
Last day of 1st semester classes
Tues., Jan. 25
RCT Math,
Comp. Eng. Session 1
Math A
Wed., Jan. 26
RCT Science,
Comp. Eng. Session 2
Comp. French
Comp. Spanish
Earth Science
RCT US Hist./Gov’t
Thurs., Jan. 27
Chemistry
Physics
RE Global Hist./Geo.
RCT Writing
RE US Hist./Gov’t
RCT Reading
Fri., Jan. 18
Math B
Biology
RCT Global Studies
The Warrior
Noon
For a complete list of both Regents and Final Exams, visit http://www.nisk.k12.nu.us/nhs/index.shtml. A link to bus schedules is
Concert Chorale sings at Bethlehem
by Joanne Qiao
Bass on Up, an non-audition male (without accompaniment) pieces.
NEWS group that meets after school, perThe close connection between the two
The Bethlehem High School Choraliers formed a startling arrangement of school districts and their choirs is a new
played host to a combined concert with the Barbara Ann, originally by the Beach bond, but the directors of the ensembles
Niskayuna High School’s Concert Chorale Boys. “They couldn’t have made that have known each other for several years.
on Wednesday, January 12.
song more cool,” said Niskayuna junior Jason Dashew, who conducts all of the
Many of the singers who perBethlehem High School vocalists,
formed that evening were the
is a graduate of Niskayuna High
same ones who participated in the
School and was instructed by Paula
American Music Abroad (AMA)
Brinkman, current conductor of
program in Europe this past sumthe vocal ensembles at Niskayuna
mer. During this trip, Niskayuna
High School. Earlier in the year, the
and Bethlehem students formed
Choraliers traveled to Niskayuna
strong friendships, and wanted to
to perform some of their own music
be able to stay in touch and perform
as well as the combined numbers.
together again. Thus the idea for a
Students from both schools say that
combined concert was born.
they would like to see it continue.
The concert was composed enNiskayuna sophomore Laura Isatirely of vocal ensembles, featuring
bella, a soprano in Concert Chorale,
such Bethlehem singing groups as
said, “The concert was a learning
the Concert Singers, their freshexperience for both groups.” Junior
man vocal ensemble; Sound SysJesse Hunter, a bass in Concert
tem, their jazz/pop choir; Bass on
Chorale, said, “the concert was a
Photo courtesy CSP Video
Up, their all-male vocal ensemble; SING IT: The NHS Concert Chorale joined the Bethlehem rare experience, and not something
Choristers, their non audition Choraliers at Bethelehem High School on Wednesday. Many that we usually have the opportuvocal ensemble; and finally the of the singers spent time together this summer on their trip to nity to do.” Senior Ben Uytiepo,
Choraliers, their select mixed choir. Europe with AMA.
a tenor, said, “I believe that this
The Choraliers performed two combined Laura Simpson, a member of the Con- is one of the few times two schools can
numbers, “Cindy” and “Echo Song,” with cert Chorale soprano section. The other come together without competition. It
Niskayuna’s Concert Chorale. The two groups performed traditional choral was an awesome experience that I won’t
groups are evenly matched in ability.
literature as well as some a capella soon forget.”
January 21, 2005
The Warrior
News
3
Yearbook ready to preserve memories
by Sohail Syed
NEWS
When you ask someone what clubs a
school usually has, they always mention a
yearbook club. In many schools, however,
the yearbook club may not be the most
well-known organization in the school
community. It is often overlooked, even
though the yearbook itself is always a
big deal.
Niskayuna High School’s Crossroads
yearbook club is run by a student group
and directed by senior Sarah Bourque,
Editor-in-Chief. Bourque started working
in the club by assisting her sister and
a friend, who were already members,
before she became an active member
herself. Now her job entails supervising
the work of other editors and making
final revisions to their material. Her
other job is to ensure that the book is
assembled in the correct order and is
ready to be published. “[It’s] fun, but a
lot of work,” she said.
Other students hold different positions
on the club’s staff, such as the Faculty
Editor, junior Sarah Philips. She is responsible for staff photos and arranges
them for the yearbook’s layout. Junior
Sarah Hannah is the Underclassmen
Editor, and she arranges the layout of
the photos for the freshmen, sophomores,
and juniors. Commenting on what it
feels like to have invested a lot of time
into the yearbook’s production, Hannah
responded, “It feels good to know you
made a book that is going to remind
people of when they were in high school
later on.”
There several other sections in the
yearbook such as Sports and Community
(a focus on other clubs), and other positions in the club such as the Writing Editor, who reviews the introductory pieces
for each section. To lay out the pages in
Crossroads, the editors use the computer
programs Adobe Photoshop and Elite Vision. Photoshop is used to edit photos (for
example, cropping them and sharpening
their quality), while Elite Vision is used
to organize their layout.
The students who invest their time and
effort into completing the yearbook each
year express great enthusiasm in what
they do - acquiring a basic mastery of
useful computer applications, interacting with others, and ensuring that Niskayuna High School students will have
something over which they will laugh and
reminisce long into the future.
THE CROSSROADS OF MANY YEARS: NHS’s
yearbook club is responsible for putting out Crossroads,
which is distributed every spring.
Warrior graphic / Juliette Price
The Word
of the Week
WORD OF THE WEEK
DEFINED
WINTER:
AS THE SPAN OF TIME STRETCH-
WINTER SOLSTICE TO VERNAL
EQUINOX (IN THE NORTHERN HEMISPHERE,
THAT IS), THE WORD WINTER HAS APPEARED
IN OVER 30 DIFFERENT FORMS SINCE THE 9TH
CENTURY AD. ORIGINALLY STEMMING FROM
THE INDO-EUROPEAN ROOT WOD- OR UD-,
WINTER PASSED THROUGH OLD ENGLISH AND
MIDDLE ENGLISH, RECEIVING TITLES SUCH AS
WYNTREN, VYNTYR, AND WINTERIS. HERE AT THE
WARRIOR, WE DONʼT CARE WHAT YOU CALL
THE COLDEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR, JUST AS
LONG AS VERNAL EQUINOX WILL HURRY UP
AND GET HERE.
ING FROM
Sources consulted: The Oxford English Dictionary:
New Edition (2002)
Club members bring
enlightening message
to health classes
(continued page 1,
VISIBILITY)
“come out” in Niskayuna. Responses
to this varied; most students said
that they would at least feel taken
aback if a teacher were to announce
their homosexuality. There have been
the past and continue to be teachers
who practice alternative lifestyles, and
some may not feel safe making it public
in the school environment.
Current events in the news entered
the discussion, at the mention of the
Army’s famous “don’t ask, don’t tell”
policy, the ongoing debate over gay
marriage, and the stereotyping of gay
characters in television and other
popular media.
In addition to presentations like this
every semester, Visibility sponsors the
Utopia dance, holds movie nights, and
organizes the Day of Silence at the
high school. The Day of Silence is a
national event held in the springtime,
and was created to raise LBGT (Lesbian, Bisexual, Gay, and Transgender)
awareness. The club meets Wednesday
afternoons in Room A212, and all are
encouraged to attend.
4
Opinion
January 21, 2005
The Warrior
Resource centers too noisy The Warrior
In our school, whenever a student
misses an examination due to absence,
they must make it up as soon as possible
in the Department Resource Center for
the respective subject of the missed class.
This policy applies to all departments.
Most of the time, a student will make
up a missed test or quiz in a free period
or after school. In either case, many
of the Department
Resource Centers are
crowded with boisterous students and
teachers, making test-taking sometimes
very difficult. Of course, a Department
Resource Center’s main purpose is to
provide a location for students to seek
help from their teachers. So, naturally,
some degree of noise is to be expected.
The social banter between students
and teachers that is common in many
resource centers, however, is highly
distracting and unnecessary.
This problem is not isolated in one
or two departments; members of the
Warrior have encountered difficult testtaking circumstances in every resource
center in the school.
The solution to this problem is more
complicated than it may seem. To instruct
teachers to keep resource centers as a
location for quiet test-taking only would
be to undercut the original purpose of
such centers. However,
many students would
benefit if teachers kept
their conversations in
the centers to helping students, or if
an alternate location to make up tests
was found.
Teachers use their non-class time in
the resource as a social opportunity, joking and laughing with their colleagues.
While such camaraderie between teachers is certainly positive, during a test
situation, some students have extreme
difficulty focusing with the constant
background noise.
EDITORIAL
TV advertising excessive
by Alec Wilson
OPINION COLUMN
This past weekend, I
decided to partake in a
ritual activity that all
Americans perform on a
daily basis —the watching of the all-powerful
TV. After having been
away from it for so long, I
relished this opportunity
to reacquaint myself with
modern culture.
Unfortunately, modern
culture and I disagree, it
seems. The wonderful
aura of blissful TV that
I imagined was immediately shattered by the
dreaded commercial.
And not just one, no, it
was five minutes of these
wonderful vignettes,
which attempted to appeal to everything from
my stomach or my need
f o r a n o v e r- p o l l u t i n g
gas-guzzling monstrosity to my dangerous
cholesterol levels. Then
I got to the program.
Needless to say, I was
somewhat affronted.
You would think that
a program scheduled for
an hour would last for
an hour, but sadly, no. It
would seem that modern
American society enjoys
spending 15 to 20 minutes out of every hour
viewing mindless drivel
that no one cares about.
It is a well-known
fact that commercials
cost money. Not only do
SMART ALEC
companies have to shell
out for the production
of the commercial itself,
but they also have to pay
for airtime. Now, if any of
us have taken economics,
we know that the opportunity cost of shelling out
money for commercials
differs form commercial
to commercial, but either
w a y, c o m p a n i e s s t i l l
spend a lot of money that
they could use for other
purposes.
We can conclude from
this observation that
the money spent on
commercials isn’t just
wasted, since that would
be silly. Instead, there
must be lots of wonderful people out there
who watch these commercials and base their
product selections in
part on these commercials, thus allowing the
various assortments of
companies who put out
these commercials to
make money. Whew!
Therefore, I guess it
isn’t mindless drivel.
Or, perhaps, some people
are mindless? Or maybe
we are just an overly
active, materialistic
society, and we don’t
know when to stop? Who
knows? The possibilities
are endless.
Needless to say, I found
my TV experience lacking. I ended up watching as much commercial
airtime as I did program
airtime. Another thing
that frustrated me to no
end is that it now seems
(continued on page 5,
COMMERCIALS)
Niskayuna High School
1626 Balltown Road
Niskayuna, NY 12309
(518) 382-2511, Ext. 351
http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/nhs/warrior/
THE STAFF
EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Alice Lee, Alec Wilson
NEWS EDITORS: Jesse Conti, Julia Napolitano,
Joshua Xiong
ASST. NEWS: Lesley Yemi Adewunmi, Ian
Davis, Eric Zhou
OPINION EDITORS: Evan Ballan, Jeremy Wolos
ASST. OPINION: Stephanie Kaylor
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Sarita Upadhyay
ASST. ENTERTAINMENT: Steve Chao
SPORTS EDITORS: Anthony Guzman,
Andrew Marshall
ASST. SPORTS: Caitlin Horgan, Gavin Labate
HEAD MAGAZINE EDITOR: Kathryn Fantauzzi
MAGAZINE EDITORS: Katerina Gross,
Alex Rivadeneira
COPY EDITOR: Abby Alger
GRAPHICS COORDINATOR: Laura Simpson
GRAPHICS EDITOR: Juliette Price
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BUSINESS MANAGER: Erik Donhowe
WEB SITE MANAGER: Scott Brainard
ADVISORS: James Edgar, Russell McDowell
EDITORIAL POLICIES
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are welcome from all members of the school
community. The Warrior reserves
the right to edit letters for grammar
and length.
S IGNED OPINION ARTICLES AND
CARTOONS express the opinions of
their creators.
UNSIGNED EDITORIALS represent
the consensus of the paper’s editorial board, which may not reflect the
majority of the students’ views.
THE OP-ED PAGES are a forum for
students’ opinions and ideas.
The Warrior is published each Friday
the high school has classes (33 times
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For a one-year subscription, send a
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High School to The Warrior, Attn:
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January 21, 2005
The Warrior
Opinion
5
Automobile ownership: is it overrated?
by Alice Lee
OPINION COLUMN
On the surface, I seem like
a normal seventeen-going-oneighteen American teenager. I
go to class, do my homework,
say please and thank you, talk,
laugh, and eat three regular
meals a day. My teeth are
good. My smile is pleasing.
I have healthy bones and no
self-esteem issues, as far as
I can tell.
But I have one secret failing.
I can’t drive.
While you’re busy trying
to vanquish the extra eyes
and limbs that have suddenly
sprouted out of my body, allow me to explain. If it were
just that I didn’t have a car of
my own, I could bring up that
righteous litany of financial
limitations that students are
so fond of hurling like stale
stink bombs at other, supposedly better-off students. If a
gleaming Beamer suddenly
offered itself on my driveway,
though, I still wouldn’t have any
use for it. The shameful truth
is that I conformed by getting
my permit at 16 (after receiving
the PTO’s thoughtful pay phone
toll and implied “Don’t drink
and drive!” warning), but then
enshrined the piece of plastic in
my wallet and never bothered
with it again.
It’s not that I don’t want to
learn how to do it. Driving,
like baking pineapple upsidedown cake, would be a handy
skill, if only I could learn it
by studying a book instead
of actually plunging into the
whole sticky process. My parents have enough difficulty
with me walking someplace
by myself, let alone taking
a 20,000-dollar equity along
for the ride. And since walking, sitting, and in extreme
cases, swimming will get you
through four years on most
college campuses, saving that
precious cash for tuition seems
like a better idea. In any case,
I’ve kept my neighborhood a
safe habitat for mailboxes and
ficials who would otherwise
have to find a place for me to
park, for the police officers who
would have to curb my erratic
driving on Friday nights, and
for those guardians who already have to get their pocketbooks around their kids’ steep
insurance policies. I don’t miss
the ego boosting that I could
have enjoyed by chauffeuring
myself to school for a year and
a half. Despite the rush to get
wheels to get status, achiev-
THE LOOKING GLASS
Warrior art / Laura Simpson
trash cans.
“Isn’t it inconvenient?” people ask me, their amazement
at my continuing survival
reflected in their wide eyes. I
figure my own inconvenience
is worth that of the school of-
ing mature adulthood is not
as simple as paying a fee and
sitting for a picture. I’m not
in a hurry to join the millions
already stuck in traffic jams
in a country where cars far
outnumber college degrees.
Commercials continued
(continued from page 4,
TV)
that having commercials during
movies is perfectly acceptable.
Maybe TV sitcoms are filmed in
such a manner that it’s okay to have
TOOT H PA S T E ! e v e r y t e n m i n u t e s ,
but so m e h o w, t h e a m b i a n c e o f G o n e
with t h e Wi n d s e e m s l e s s e n e d b y
these lovely little interjections.
Perha p s i t ’s j u s t m e .
Suffice to say, I now perfectly un-
derstand why infants with too much
TV time allegedly have increased
risk for developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder later on
in their lives. “Rhett, Rhett, Where
shall I go? What shall I do?” BAM!
DEODORANT! “Frankly, my dear, I
don’t give a damn.” BAM! VIAGRA!
Ending credits and symphony finale.
BAM! BAM!
I could feel my brain cells quietly
frying, too.
Our house is kind of old, too.
There’s not that much space
in the garage.
Even my habit of sitting in
the back seat instead of riding
shotgun has attracted suspicion; for a while, I was rumored
to have been in a traumatic
car accident as a young child.
I have no airbag phobia, but I
do like having a place to chuck
my leaden backpack and other
assorted burdens when I hitch
a ride with my father on his
way to work every morning. I
really should take the bus, I
know, but righteousness has
its limits when confronted with
sleeplessness. If I doze off, at
least other drivers won’t suffer
the consequences.
It really is my own fault,
though. If I learned well
enough to be on the road safely,
if I earned the money to pay
for my own two tons of metal
and plastic, insurance, gas,
and all the rest, then driving
would be greatly appealing.
But that’s a lot of work, and I
keep persuading myself that
there are more pressing things
to do at this time in my life,
seventeen-going-on-eighteen,
American, teenager. Lazy
procrastinator. I suppose I am
normal after all.
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, nor
the Board of Education.
Have an
opinion about
our opinions?
Letters to the
editors can be sent to:
thewarrioropinion@gmail.com
6
Entertainment
The Warrior
January 21, 2005
Globes award quality entertainment of ‘04
by Evan Ballan
ENTERTAINMENT
In my lifetime, I’ve come to learn a thing
or two about the Golden Globe Awards. I
remember when I won my first one back in
‘01. Since then, I’ve run out of space to keep
them all. This year, I decided to take a break
and let others have the limelight for a while.
Here’s who I wanted to win ‘em.
Best Picture - Musical Or Comedy:
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
Mind you, I am not a person who typically
enjoys the “Romance” genre. Point in fact,
I attempt to avoid it. This movie, however,
was genius. The story of a couple undergoing a memory erasure procedure to forget
the painful memories of the other is funny,
sad, surreal, and insightful all at the same
time. With a great script from Charlie
Kaufman and excellent acting, Sunshine
truly shines.
Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or
Comedy: Jim Carrey, Eternal Sunshine of
the Spotless Mind. There’s not too much to
say other than Carrey did an excellent job.
Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or Comedy: Kate Winslet, Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I liked the
movie a lot, all right?
Television Series - Drama: Eternal
Sunshine of the Spotless—oh, wait. 24.
FOX’s hit thriller show is one of, if not the
best show currently on television. Sadly, it
tends to not get much recognition because
it is an action show. However, 24 brings
powerful moments to the viewer better than
any other show could. 24’s third season, the
one up for the Globe, was particularly dark,
included a deadly virus which was released
by terrorists in a hotel and infected hundreds. During another haunting moment,
the hero, Jack Bauer, was forced to execute
his boss at point-blank range under terrorist
demands. Sadly, I predict Nip/Tuck will
win this one, because it just happened. The
plastic surgery soap opera beat 24. Evan
not happy.
Television Series - Musical Or Comedy: Arrested Development. This show,
another child of FOX, is perhaps comedy
at its best. The story of what may be one
of the world’s most dysfunctional families
continues to entertain week after week with
bizarre situations, quirky characters, and
excellent acting and writing.
Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or
Comedy Series: Jason Bateman, Arrested
Development. It’s only fair, right?
Actress In A Leading Role - Drama
Series: Jennifer Garner, Alias. Garner’s
Sydney Bristow is an amazing character,
transforming from rear-end-kicking CIA
agent to vulnerable human. In Alias’ third
season, Bristow struggled to figure out what
happened after Season Two’s cliffhanger,
which ended with her in a restaurant with
no idea that she had been missing for two
years. In that time, her love interest had
gotten married, and a tape indicated that
Sydney herself had assassinated a Russian diplomat. Attempting to learn what
happened in those two years, along with
coping with her abandonment while going
on action-packed spy missions, gave Garner
the chance to play a wonderfully complex
role, which she did nearly flawlessly.
Adding this conclusion the day after, it
seems that a sole selection I made actually
wound up with an award, and those above
as well as the other ones I was hoping for
(namely Uma Thurman for best actress in
Kill Bill) all lost out. It looks like when the
rest of these people have to locate a country,
they won’t be doing it with the chic style of a
Golden Globe; a normal plastic one will have
to suffice. Then again, I hear tell the Golden
Globes don’t spin around, so maybe it’s not
so bad after all. Spin, globe, spin!
by Sabrina Adikes
ENTERTAINMENT
Best Picture - Musical Or Comedy: Although I loved Phantom of the Opera, I’ll have to
go with Eternal Sunshine. This was definitely
Jim Carrey’s best role and one of my favorite
movies—a standout among the rest.
Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or
Comedy: Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine
Of the Spotless Mind wins by a landslide. His
typical role is the obnoxious, funny guy, but in
Eternal Sunshine, he is a shy man left brokenhearted by his girlfriend, just trying to forget.
Unusual for him, but still a real winner.
Actress In A Leading Role - Musical Or
Comedy: Emmy Rossum did an amazing job
as Christine in The Phantom Of the Opera, with
a powerhouse voice and grasp of the character.
She was the perfect girl for the part and if you
haven’t seen the movie, go see it right now.
Television Series - Drama: The Sopranos leads the way; the on-screen chemistry
in their family is like mixing baking soda
and vinegar. A must-see for all drama fans
and Mob bosses out there.
Television Series - Musical Or Comedy:
Desperate Housewives rocked this year’s Globes,
with actresses and actors in most of the categories, including three nominations for Best
Actress in a musical or comedy series. It is going
to take over television, one viewer at a time.
Actor In A Leading Role - Musical Or
Comedy Series: Tony Shalhoub does a great
job in Monk, the story of an ex-San Francisco
detective with obsessive compulsive disorder.
The show is funny and original and maintains
the whole crime scene feel, and it’s all thanks
to Shaloub.
Actress In A Leading Role - Drama Series:JenniferGarnerhasbeen amazinginAlias,
one of the few girls with the guts to kick butt
every week. Although her wigs could use some
touching up (especially the red one), she still does
a great job, and I’m a definite Alias fan.
Here are the nominees and winners:
Actor in a Lead- Television
Actress in a Leading
ing Role - Musical Series - Musical Role - Musical or Comor Comedy
Or Comedy
edy
Jim Carrey in Eter- Arrested Devel- Annette Benning in Benal Sunshine of the opment
ing Julia
Spotless Mind
Desperate
Ashley Judd in De-Lovely
Jamie Foxx in Ray Housewives
Emmy Rossum in The
Paul Giamatti in Entourage
Phantom Of the Opera
Sideways
Will & Grace
Kate Winslet in Eternal
Kevin Spacey in
Sex and the
Sunshine Of the Spotless
Beyond the Sea
City
Mind
Kevin Kline in DeRenée Zellweger in
Lovely
Bridget Jones: The Edge Of
Reason
Television Se- Actor In A Leading
ries - Drama Role - Musical Or
Deadwood Comedy Series
Jason Bateman in
Lost
Arrested DevelopNip/Tuck
ment
24
The Sopranos Zach Braff in Scrubs
Larry David in Curb
Your Enthusiasm
Matt LeBlanc in Joey
Tony Shalhoub in
Monk
Charlie Sheen in Two
and a Half Men
Best Picture Actress In A Lead- Musical or ing Role - Drama
Comedy
Series
Eternal
Edie Falco in The
Sunshine of Sopranos
the Spotless Jennifer Garner in
Mind
Alias
The Incred- Mariska Hargitay
ibles
in Law & Order:
The Phantom Special Victims Unit
of the Opera Christiane Lahti in
Sideways
Jack & Bobby
Ray
Joely Richardson in
Nip/Tuck
The Warrior
January 21, 2004
Sports
7
Winter sports 2005: Mid-season update
by Anthony K. Guzman
SPORTS
Boys Basketball: In a
recent game, the Warriors
cruised to a 63-51 victory over
Saratoga, building a 16-7 lead
early in the first quarter and
never looking back. Powerhouse center senior Jeff Howe,
whose consistent play both offensively and defensively has
been a cornerstone of the team’s
play, led with eighteen points.
Junior Larry Ritter scored
twelve, and senior Donny Jones
chipped in eleven of his own,
including two three-pointers.
With this win, the team improves to 8-4 overall, and 6-3
in league play.
Girls Basketball: The girls
tallied a solid win against
Saratoga, with a final score
of 49-38. Although Saratoga
started with an early lead,
Niskayuna rebounded with a
dominating 17-0 run in the first
quarter, led by seniors Becca
Mcgee and Emily Levine, who
finished with fifteen and fourteen points, respectively.
Boys Indoor Track: In the
most recent league meet at
RPI last Sunday, sophomore
standout John Reilly continues
his outstanding performance
on the track, posting a 38.5s
300m dash victory. Senior Jon
Wetzel led the distance team
with a 2:44 1000m run, while
junior Colin Niezgoda placed
second in the 600m run. Other
vital team contributors include
triple-jumper senior Michael
Barry, distance runners, senior
Mark Kopecki and sophomore
Kyle O’Connor, as well as juniors Birant Akbay, Brandon
Niezgoda, and Josh Gordon.
The team looks forward to
competition at Yale University
this weekend, and is arguably
a favorite for a three-time sectional championship.
Girls Indoor Track: Junior Ashlee Atwell continues
her dominance in pole vault
competition, recently clearing
ten feet, six inches to set a new
school record at the Brown
Invitational. Field eventers
senior Katie Sheehan and
junior Jillian Gold have also
been important contributors
to team success. On the track,
junior Sarah McTague and
senior Jessica Sokolow have
been successful in middledistance competition, while
junior Sara Schechter, junior
Julia Stori, freshman Alicia
D’Allesandro, and senior
Meagan Detrani have been
sprinter standouts.
Skiing: Last Monday, the
17th, the boys’ and girls’ ski
team competed at Gore Mountain, and although it faced icy
conditions, still had some solid
performances. On the boys side,
team leaders have been junior
Nick Cioffi, senior Justin Grolley, senior Sean Evanoff, and
junior Rob Millspaugh, while
on the girls side, senior Mallory
Cooper, junior Jen Weiskopf,
and Kelsey Cioffi have been
important team contributors.
Hockey: The Niskayuna/
Schenectady Mohawks stand
10-5-0 on the year, with their
most recent win over Shaker/
Colonie last Friday. Standouts
include senior Sean Pasley, who
leads the team in points this
year, as well as seniors Marc
Labelle, Louis Croce, Nick
Sapia, and Carl Christy. Junior
Tim Zakriski has contributed
with outstanding play in the
goal this year.
Wrestling: Although facing
several injuries to key athletes,
the team continues to be one
of the most competitive in the
Suburban Council this season,
with an overall record of 3-2,
including victories over key
rivals, including Shenendehowa. Team leaders include
senior Louis Kiernan, senior
Cory Daniel, senior Adam Daniel, and junior Ethan Lusted.
The team, led by coaches Dan
Guerin and Peter Reyes, expects to have several sectionalcaliber competitors, with Daniel
and Kiernan as favorites to win
their respective weight classes.
Kiernan scored a pin at the most
recent competition, a close loss
to Guilderland.
Boys Swimming: Outstanding individual performers include senior captain David Mitsche, foreign exchange
student David Rudolf, and
state-caliber swimmers, senior
Rob Manor and sophomore
Spencer Booth. Recently, a
relay team composed of these
four athletes captured the
200m medley school record.
Infused with new, young talent, the team looks to be one
of the best in the section,
while several key competitors,
namely Booth, and Manor, look
to be competitive at the state
level and beyond.
by Abby Alger
than a 112.1-billion dollar
impact on US gross domestic
product and accounts for the
employment of 330,000 people. Purses, or prize money,
have grown 21 percent since
1998, and today they total
over $1 billion. Across the
country, more horses are being bred, bought, and raced.
More money is being paid
to acquire these creatures;
the recent Keeneland Thoroughbred auction grossed
52 million dollars in five
days. Plus, more people
are betting on horse races
and more people are calling themselves horse racing
fans, as ESPN polls show.
But the numbers don’t even
begin to tell the whole story.
Contemporary racing has
been blessed with a series
of standout stars. Just this
spring, Smarty Jones took the
sports world by storm, as the
plucky Funny Cide had done
the year before. Champion
mare Azeri returned to the
track for her fifth consecutive season and earned one
impressive victory after the
next. Precocious Kitten’s
Joy consistently beat out
seasoned veterans in a nearflawless campaign. Just in
this past week, the US-bred
Ghostzapper, the electrifying
winner of the 2004 Breeders’
Cup classic, was named the
best horse in the world.
Now, days into this racing
season, a new world record
has been set in Florida. With
that auspicious jump out
of the gate, it is no wonder
that 2005 is predicted to be
another banner year. The
three-year-old crop that will
star in the Kentucky Derby
has been hailed as the fastest
group ever. No less than ten
of them have Beyer Speed
Figures over 100. These
numbers, known simple as
“Beyers,” are ratings of speed
in a race; most racehorses
will finish their career never
breaking 70. Favorites of
last year will be returning to the track, including
Ghostzapper, Kitten’s Joy,
and champion juvenile filly
Sweet Catomine.
So some may say that horse
racing is on its way out. As
the facts, the figures, the
fans, and the horses themselves show, though, it’s really anything but. Long live
the sport of kings.
Horse racing: all hail the sport of kings
SPORTS
Its history overshadows
that of any other sport. For
over three hundred years,
horse racing has captured
the imagination and the
competitive spirit of people
across the world. Thoroughbreds today are raised and
trained in all corners of the
globe; North America, South
America, Europe, South
Africa, Japan, Australia,
and the Middle East. Internationally in 2002, 230,000
horses raced in 168,000 races
for over 3.274 billion dollars
in prize money.
Still, some persist in arguing that horse racing is
a dying sport. To be frank,
they’re totally wrong. American horse racing has no less
The Warrior
January 21, 2005
Sports
8
The worst of professional wrestling
by Andrew C. Marshall
game with a tape recorder. He lasted about attitude and persona. However, Vince had
SPORTS three weeks; people didn’t notice until about other ideas, as he turned the former street
Professional wrestling is by no means a three years later.
fighter from Blackpool, England, into what I
sport. It’s sports entertainment, a scripted
3. Johnny B. Badd, complete with at first thought was the construction worker
and choreographed show that is broadcast confetti gun: Eventual “Wild Man” Marc from the Village People. His promos included
on cable every Monday and Thursshots of him squeezing oranges into
day nights. It’s also one of the most
a cup to make orange juice and cutentertaining and addicting things
ting logs. His entrance music was a
to ever get a TV contract. World
work whistle, followed by an all male
Wrestling Entertainment, more
chorus singing about how much of
commonly known as WWE, is the
a man he was. No wonder he went
biggest and best of them all, featurback to WCW after what seemed to
ing premiere athletes and money to
be a week.
spend on theatrics and pyrotechnics.
1. The Gobbledy-Gooker, The
However, with the good comes the
Giant Turkey wrestler: This was a
bad, which is also just as entertaintough call. For several reasons, I felt
ing. Yes, storylines and gimmicks
inclined not to even include this. The
(the wrestlers’ characters) can get
story of the Gooker takes us back to
pretty bad, but it always starts with
1990, when for months the then WWF
someone thinking it’s a good idea.
was carting this large egg around to
For anyone that cares, Marsh on
its live events. It finally hatched on
Sports is proud to bring you the five
an event close to Thanksgiving, with
worst wrestling gimmicks, ever.
the legendary correspondent Mean
Photo Coursety of: wrestlecrap.com
5. David Arquette, Wrestler?
Gene Okerland trying his best to
Someone that is famous for mar- Gookered: Mean Gene Okerland interviews The Gobbledy Gooker.
save face. To wrap things up, it
rying Courtney Cox and making
ends with Okerland and the man
1-800-CALL-ATT commercials should not Mero gets tutti-frutti and tries his hardest in the giant turkey outfit square dancing in
wrestle. Furthermore, they should not be to transform himself into the white version the middle of the ring. The reason I feel bad
made champion, let alone champion for longer of Little Richard. Now, correct me if I am including this is that this was one of the more
than necessary. One of the worst things ever wrong, but I am pretty sure Little Richard brilliant ideas Vince McMahon ever had.
done on television, let alone ever.
never carried a confetti gun to shoot at his People actually paid admission and bought
4. The Goon, Evil Hockey Player: Yeah, audience. Just an observation.
the telecast to see what was inside the egg.
2. Steven Regal, “Real Man’s Man”: Unfourtunately, while everyone was looking
you read that correctly. Complete with boots
made to resemble ice skates, he carried a Following the demise of WCW, it seemed only to see what was inside the egg, McMahon
hockey stick to the ring and entered to music a matter of time until Regal would find his was laughing on his way to his own little
that sounded like someone went to a hockey way into the WWE, with his classic blueblood piece of Hawaii.
The Reservation: fan tradition lives on
By Gavin A. Labate
SPORTS
Some call the massive group of fans that
dominate the cheering section at the Schenectady Country Air Force Rink the best
group of supporters in the section; others
simply call them The Reservation. The
Reservation is the loyal fan base of student
supporters that is always teeming at Varsity
ice hockey games for the Niskayuna/Schenectady Mohawks. During any given home
game, The Reservation is certain to fill at
least two sections of the arena. It takes
nothing more than a glance at the supporters to show that The Reservation is larger
and louder than the fans supporting the
opposing team.
Led by senior Basil Darastos, The Reservation has a lasting tradition with names such
as graduated seniors Corey Hinton, Kevin
O’Conner and Joe Asmussen in the star-studded list of its members. In a particularly sentimental game that took place on December
22, the Reservation saw the return of some
of its members who are currently enrolled in
college (Pat Carney, Judson Dacher-Shapiro
and Kevin O’Conner were present, to name
a few). The Mohawks obviously recognized
the presence of these dedicated fans, as they
thrashed their opponent Mohonasen/Schalmont 12-1. This win was just one of many in
which The Reservation offered loyal support
throughout the game. While it is the wins
that make the fans and team happy, The
Reservation supports the Mohawks in all
of their endeavors, even those that are not
necessarily successful.
The environment in The Reservation is
difficult to put into words. However, junior
Reservation ringleader Brian Kennedy
attempted to describe the atmosphere, saying, “The Rez is real rowdy. We’re like soccer hooligans from Europe. And with the
NHL gone, we need this to get by.” Popular
amongst the underclassmen is senior hockeyplaying sensation Ben Clayman. Known for
his ferocious beard and excellent displays
of sportsmanship both on and off the ice,
Clayman is a fan favorite for many. Shouts
such as, “In Clayman we trust,” and, “Hey
Clayman, thanks for inventing this game,”
have been heard echoing throughout the
arena. Furthermore, fans have attempted to
emulate his style; sophomore John Dutcher
was found wearing a Ben Clayman beard
at a recent game. However, these Clayman
fans, known as Claymates, would like to
reiterate that they are not there for just one
individual, but for the support of the team as
a whole. Dutcher concluded with a message
to the fans, stressing the importance for all
students to support the team, saying, “The
Rez is strong, but it’s going to need to be
stronger if we’re going to beat Shen when we
face them at home. The freshmen are going
to have to step it up a lot.” The Reservation
welcomes you and your enthusiasm for what
is sure to be a battle when the Mohawks face
rival Shenendehowa.