Inside this issue... Poetry Out Loud is a success People`s Pixel

The Warrior
a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly
Niskayuna High School
February 5, 2010
Volume 36, Issue 17
Poetry Out Loud is a success
by
Kate Tepper
News
On Jan. 12, Niskayuna held its
annual Poetry Out Loud school
competition. It was the result
of many classroom contests in
the previous weeks. One or two
students were selected as winners
from each respective English class
to compete in the school contest.
In the class contests, students
were required to memorize and
perform one of the many poems
from the huge list that Poetry
Out Loud makes available. They
were scored on a rubric and
were given points for physical
presence, dramatization and
understanding and analysis of
the poem they were performing.
Twenty-seven students were
selected to compete in the school
competition. The competition was
held in the Little Theater and
each student recited their poem
from classroom competitions.
“It was a little nerve racking
since the competition was so much
more intense than
last year, but it
was a lot of fun
because people got
so into it,” said Amy
Yao, a junior who
was competing for
the second time.
The performances were quite intense, as there were
many diverse and
in some cases dramatic pieces picked.
Standout perfor mances included
senior Shane Porter,
Photo Credit /Brandi Weidman
reciting “Playing
TO BE OR NOT TO BE: Sophmore Jason Kasman
Dead” by Andrew
demonstrates his winning talent.
Hudgins; sophomore Katherine
Romans, reciting “Shakespeare
Sonnet CXVI” and juniors Denise
Lobo and Emily Wilkerson, reciting “Eagle Poem” by Joy Harjo and
“I Carry Your Heart With Me” by
E. E. Cummings, respectively.
Also true standouts were the
four winners picked to compete
at the regional competition in
February at the New York State
Museum. Those winners were
senior Ryan Alden, who recited
“The River of Bees” by W.S. Merwin; sophomore Jason Kasman,
who recited “The Death of Allegory” by Billy Collins; junior
Emma Bowman, who recited
“Monet Refuses the Operation”
by Lisel Mueller and junior
Amy Yao, who recited “Domestic Violence” by Eavan Boland.
continued on page
3
People’s Pixel Project finalists selected
by
Emily O’Brien
News
Three films done by former and current students at the high school were
recently announced as finalists in the
1st annual People’s Pixel Project sponsored by the Lake George Arts Project.
Last fall, a request went out to the local
region for entries for the upcoming competition. The entries had to be 3 to 5 minutes
long and created by someone living within
a 75-mile radius of Lake George. The three
short films, all created in the Advanced
Studio in Video class were selected out of 17
entries to be finalists in the contest, which
offers 3 awards for each of the 6 categories.
The Lake George Arts Project sponsors a
variety of different opportunities for artists
to display their works in all forms of media,
saying that their mission is to “provide exposure and income opportunities to professional and emerging artists and to provide
quality arts programming for the residents
and visitors of the Lake George region.”
The short films that were selected from
the high school are: “A Work in Progress”,
directed by seniors Mark Stenson, Peter
Koehler and Ryan Nerney, “Roberry”, by
alumni James Belcastro and Matt Cioffi, and
finally “Talk to the Hand” by Chris Murphy.
Each of the three films represents a different style of filmmaking.
Continued on page 2
[FILM]
Inside this issue...
Facebook v.s.
Myspace,
page 4
Radiohead: Fact
or Fiction,
page 6
Boys’ Basketball,
page 7
2
News
The Warrior
February 5, 2010
Platinum Harmonies becomes a reality
by
Shikha Dharia
News
Finally, the high school has its very own
show choir. After long auditions and call backs,
the school’s newest musical outlet Platinum
Harmonies was created. If you like the hit
show “Glee” on FOX, this club is for you.
Platinum Harmonies was created by
sophmores Caroline Codd and Alex Sanders,
who spontaneously asked Christina Pizzino,
the choral director, if they could start a show
choir. Pizzino immediately loved the idea.
The first round of auditions were held on
Thursday, Jan 14 and Friday, Jan 15 in the
little theater. About 50 kids showed up to try
out. Even more students tried out during free
mods, if they couldn’t make it previously.
To audition, everybody had to fill out an
application form, indicating which musical
Films
groups they were in and if they had any type
of dance experience. They also had to sing
Seasons Of Love, from the musical RENT.
The judges for the auditions were seniors
Joel Shapiro and Macie VanNorden, juniors
Andrew Downey, Emily Wilkerson, Cassandra
Coppola, and Alex Koste as well as Codd and
Sanders. About 30 kids were called back.
Call backs were held on Jan 22 in auditorium where Coppola made up a dance
and she judged everyone’s performances.
After a lot of discussion and arguments
the judges were able to make the final cut.
Since the judges did not want to hurt anyone
feelings, especially their friends, the decisions
were very hard to make. They based it all on
the student’s tone, pitch, ability to blend, and
dancing. On Monday, Jan 25 the final list was
posted outside the choir room. In the end, 26
featured
at festivals
production under it’s belt titled
“Tom Lamanna’s Breakfast”.
[PEOPLE’S]
Murphy’s still-frame ani“A Work in Progress” is shot
mated short “Talk to the Hand”
using traditional methods and
enters the competition with high
traces the story of two teenage
honors from other festivals.
boys who are trying to figure
The winner of “Best Animation”
out what to do for their next
at the prestigious CineYouth
film and are having issues comFestival follows the unusual
ing up with a main character.
meeting of two friends with
the new kid at school.
Along with being shown
at the Westport Youth
Film Festival, the film
was awarded for “Best
Editing” and “Honorable
Mention” at last spring’s
Capital Region Media
Arts Festival in the Narrative Comedy category.
The awards will be
screened tomorrow at
7 p.m. at the Rock Hill
Bakehouse Café in Glens
Falls. All the entries for
the People’s Pixel Project
will be shown on a loop
during the gallery hours
at the Lake George Arts
Project. The finalists will
be displayed in the lobby
of Aimee’s Dinner ThePhoto Credit/ Peolpe’s Pixel Project
ater from February 2-12.
FOR THE PEOPLE: Students from the high school have been featured in the People’s Pixel Project a local festival with the
continued from page
above logo.
1
The title is a play on the plot
line, as the film that the boys
are trying to create is constantly “a work in progress.”
Belcastro and Cioffi’s “Rober ry” is a stop-action short about a
young man who is trying to make
a blueberry pie but lacks the
necessary ingredients. He ends
up having to steal the ingredi-
students were picked, including the officers.
As of now, the Platinum Harmonies are
really kicking into gear and working on some
music. “I can’t believe this is actually happening, but I’m so stoked!” says Caroline Codd.
Alex Sanders was also excited about the
club and the type of music they will perform.
He said, “We wanted the chance to do music
that’s more popular. We want to do music
with fun people and not be as constricted.
We want freedom as students to do what
we what, not what we’re told. The auditions
went well, but it was exceptionally hard because there were so many talented people.”
In the future, they are planning to book
some gigs at at community centers and
such. Spots for next year are not guaranteed, so if you are interested, try out!
ents from his neighbors,after
coming across several obstacles. The film has already won
“Best Animation” at the Westport Youth Film Festival and was
shown in CineYouth Festival,
which operates as a section of
the Chicago International Film
Festival. The Belcastro-Cioffi
duo has another award-winning
The Warrior
February 5, 2010
News
3
Poets perform in Little Theater
continued from page
1
[POETRY]
The four students who will be continuing onto the state competition will be vying for a spot in the national competition
that will take place in Washington D.C.
at the end of April. The winner of the national competition will receive a total of
$50,000 in awards and school stipends.
“I had a lot of fun performing and
memorizing my poem, and it was really
interesting to watch other people perform.
The poems that people chose were pretty
diverse, which made it more fun,” said
Emily Wilkerson, a junior who competed.
Most of the poems that students chose
showed a lot of variety, but one interesting aspect of the contest was the fact
that multiple students won their classroom competitions on the same poem.
There were two poems duplicated in the
school competition, “Famous” by Naomi
Nye and “I Am Learning to Abandon The
World” by Linda Pastan. However, both
duplicated poems were recited with very
different performance styles, making it a
very interesting aspect of the competition.
The competition was very fun and entertaining to watch and was a fabulous
way to showcase the talents of many
students in the high school. Good luck to
the four students continuing onto States!
AFS and EST take Manhattan
by
Marcelle Tuttle
News
On Wednesday Jan. 20, the
Anerican Field Service (AFS)
and Enviroment Studies Team
(EST) clubs went to New York
City together. The two clubs
rode one bus down to the city,
but ended up at very different
places. AFS went to see the
revival of “South Pacific” on
Broadway, while EST went to
the Museum of Natural History.
The trip was originally scheduled for December, but was cancelled due to heavy snow. While
Thanks
Thank you to
everyone who
donated pajamas to the
Rosendale 5th
grade Girl
Scout Troop
2640. All the
pajamas were
donated to The
Quest for Grace
Foundation
that provides
clothing to foster children.
Warrior Photo/Kelly Jennings
everyone else was celebrating
the snow day, participants of
the trip bemoaned the fact that
their trip was canceled. Some
even showed up to the school
and waited for the bus only
to be told that they could not
go. Despite worries that their
money would not be refunded,
the trip was eventually rescheduled for Jan. 20. Early in the
mor ning, the students had
better luck and left the school.
AFS stands for American Field
Service. The primary goal of this
club is to foster understanding
for
between different cultures. With
greater understanding, they
hope to foster peace around
the world. In order to accomplish this, they host students
from all around the world.
This year, the club is hosting
seniors Natchaya “Ting Ting”
Chaowirakit from Thailand and
Alexandre Gilmet from Belgium.
The purpose of the trip was to
show a bit of American culture to
the exchange students. Before
the show, the students went to
an organic food market in a mall
to pass the time until the much
anticipated show. After the
show, they returned to the bus.
EST Primarily, they study
environmental issues and human impact on the world. In
order to further their scientific study, they went to the
Museum of Natural History.
After a day of fun and excitement, the students returned
to Niskayuna. For the next few
days, they were very busy because they had to make up back
work and go to school the next
day. In all, the students had
a great time in the Big Apple.
participating!
4
Opinion
Facebook
Dan Zhao
February 5, 2010
vs.
cessible. As mentioned before,
News Feed also allows everything
everybody does to be visible to
everybody, given they’re on your
friends list. So now, teens that
want to look deep can post song
The Warrior
Myspace
layout of Facebook. However, the
primary disadvantage of that is
apparent: long loading times.
Furthermore, Myspace really
doesn’t have anything else to
offer aside from that, but it is
either blatant lies/attentionhogging groups like ‘Dislike option
Social networking sites have
here if you join’. The worse part
been the new fad ever since the inis that people actually join these
ternet became an enormous part
groups. Both features are subject
of our lives. It is easy to see why;
to criticism, but Facebook still
social networking sites
edges out Myspace
are a way for awkward
in general just due
people to interact with
to sheer simplicfriends without necesity and innovation.
sarily having to talk faceAlthough Faceto-face and for already
book has its flaws,
close friends to commuthe great features
nicate even when they
Facebook has (inare out of school. Sites
cluding the ‘netlike Facebook that have
work’ system in
services such as ‘News
which students
Feed’ also allow users to
can quickly find
become attention hogs,
their classmates
with their posts showing
in a given school,
up for all to see. It was
News Feed, the ease
these aspects that really
of uploading phoallowed the social nettos, among others)
working fad to take off.
make Facebook the
There was the Mysclear winner. The
pace, Xanga, and curobvious difference
Photo Credit / Sohaib Syed
rently, Facebook fad.
THE CLASH NEVER ENDS: Facebook and Myspace’s layouts side by side. Facebook offers users a stan- between the two
A common question in dardized, minimalist approach, whereas Myspace allows customizable backgrounds and embedded midis. is that while Mysmany people’s minds
pace really is only
lyrics as their statuses and teens
admittedly a vital and secondary attractive to teens and preteens
may be this: which social netfeature to social networking sites.
working site really is better? In that want to show how culturally
who are attracted by the music
Facebook’s features of games, widgets and colorful profile layNiskayuna, most may look to open they are can constantly
groups, and such, really slow the
Facebook because most of us update their statuses on how
outs, Facebook allows people of
good sushi tastes. It is really site down while serving trivial all ages to communicate with one
have Facebooks; however, let
obvious, then, that Facebook purposes. If people wanted to
us truly look at the advantages
another, even through long disand disadvantages of each social really trumps Myspace in the play games, they could play tances or long-gone relationships.
a game console or at the very Furthermore, the little things like
networking site to determine category that matters most in soleast play a random flash game
which one truly is the best. cial-networking: communication.
the little notification box really
However, on other subjects, online. Facebook doesn’t need make Facebook so much more
Facebook allows teenage girls
Myspace may edge out Facebook. to offer that, but, surprisingly simple and fun to use. In this
to upload pictures of themselves
making various facial expressions For example, the ‘profile layout’ Facebook has and, perhaps even
regard, Facebook emerges as the
more surprisingly, people actually
in front of a webcam and teenage in Myspace complete with a
clear winner, an innovation in
theme music for your profile and play the games on Facebook, like
guys to secretly express their love
social networking, and more imcustom aesthetic layouts allow Farmville. Groups, on the other portantly, something to do when
of photography. In this respect,
users to express themselves a hand, serve no other purpose than
Facebook really beats Myspace,
we are bored doing homework.
lot more than does the often dull
a group of people uniting under
as photo-sharing is so easily ac
by
opinion
The Warrior
Niskayuna High School, 1626 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, NY, 12309
http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/nhs/warrior
Editor-in-Chief:
Anagha Tolpadi
Julie Slotnick
Opinion:
Nick Farina, Editor
Kaela Bamberger,
Editor
Archith Murali, Editor
Daniel Zhao, Asst
News:
Marcelle Tuttle, Editor
Maggie Jordan, Editor
Entertainment:
Emily O’Brien, Editor
Chris Murphy, Editor
Lucas Lobe, Editor
Sports:
Jason Xu, Editor
Talia Salenger, Editor
Magazine:
Caroline Brown, Editor
Annie Schwendler, Editor
Jackson Montrym, Asst.
Additional Staff:
Kelvin Lin, Copy Editor
Sohaib Syed, Copy Editor
Brian Vedder, Business Manager
Abhinav Adi, Advertising Manager
Nina Santiago, Distribution Manager
Kelly Jennings, Graphics Editor
Advisers: James Edgar
Russell McDowell
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-inChief.
The op-ed pages are a forum for students’ opinions and ideas.
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
Opinion
February 5, 2010
5
Reform Supreme Court selections
by
Lucas Lobe
Opinion
The one aspect of our country’s democracy that we always
hold true to our hearts is the
fairness that goes into a nomination process. That fairness,
however, is being challenged
more and more, as becoming
nominated for anything these
days seems much more like a trial
rather than a process to become
a high-up political official. This
sense of trial, as apparent as it
is with most political position
nominations, is most perceptible
in deciding who, exactly, should
be a Supreme Court justice.
A long time ago in a world of
medievalism and new beginnings
for our brand new country, it
was decided upon that a national court was very necessary
in keeping order amongst the
rowdy citizens of our country.
With the implementation of what
we now know as the Supreme
Court, it seemed as if our country was on the verge of social
and domestic breakthrough. As
time progressed, however, the
Supreme Court would constantly
shift and conform to the ways of
the federal government as new
appointees were appointed and
corrupt judges flooded the scarce
number of seats. Today, we still
maintain this policy in regards to
our Supreme Court judges. This
policy is determined, as written
in the Constitution, by the President, as this is one of the major
job descriptions as President.
The concept behind the actual
nomination process is simple on
paper, yet, when acted upon, a
world of confusion and political
chaos storms over Washington.
When our forefathers first wrote
up the Constitution, what qualities their appointed justices were
to have was left up to the imagination of the current president. In
other words, no real standards
were given in regards to how a
Supreme Court justice should be
nominated by the president. With
such loose guidelines, the president can hypothetically nominate
whomever he wants, regardless of
the amount of experience he has.
Once the President has elected
said nominee, usually whichever lawyer best represented
the President’s political views,
the decision has to be verified
by the Senate. The Senate does
this by holding hearing at which
they interview the nominee and
question him about any decisions he has made in his career
as a lawyer, as well as digging
up skeletons in his closet. The
Senate judges them based on
where they stand on key issues
at the time, and any secrets in his
or her personal life are suddenly
revealed to the world and put on
the front page of CNN’s website.
It has become more and more
rare for a nominee to be flat out
rejected by the Senate; however,
since the beginning of the 20th
century, the process itself has
become much more public. As a
result of its publicity, it is much
harder for the President to simply
select whomever he wants. Today, everyone on the President’s
team is involved in the selection,
mostly so that they can appoint a
judge who best suits the progress
they are aiming towards without
being too radical in their decision.
To be honest, I’m a little torn
in deciding whether or not this
process of election is appropriate. I don’t think it is fair for
the nominee to be appointed by
solely the President, but this has
been changed dramatically as
we enter the 21st century. The
process now relies heavily on
the president’s team as a whole,
instead of just the President.
When the President was the
only one deciding, he would
disregard anyone who was actually qualified at the time if his
or her views on political issued
differed too much. The President
would often elect the lawyer who
was most comparable to him
on the political spectrum. In
doing so, the President would
allow no room for opposing
voices in his political system,
and the decisions that would
result would be unfairly biased.
It was somewhat limited with
the Senate hearings, and the
checks and balance system as
a whole, but it was greatly challenged, especially if the majority in the Senate is heavily one
sided in favor of the President.
But, as I said, it is becoming
increasingly less and less biased and more and more demo-
cratic as our country progresses
domestically and socially.
On the other end of the
spectrum with the questioning
of the Senate, I think we do a
good job. While I am a strong
advocate of leaving aside all
personal issues far away from
the decision process, I think it
is actually a good job to dig up
unwanted secrets in the past
lives of judges. It brings to the
table a new level of critiquing,
and raises the nominee’s moral
standards and lets us see who
exactly is being appointed to
the court. I think much more
of the decision should be based
off their past judicial experience
and where they stand politically,
but their personal lives should
also be touched upon so we
make sure we are not electing a
misogynist racist, as this would
only result in being detrimental
to our progress. Because that
is what the court is all about
is it not? Progress. The Court
can rule one way or the other,
and that ruling will result in
new laws and code, new moral
standards by which we must live
by, so whoever makes those decisions better be cut out to do so.
Much of the time, the President does not offer a responsible nominee. Reagan, for
example, offered Robert Bork
as his nominee, and, if he
were sworn into the court, the
resulting America would be as
it was in the 60’s in regards
to civil and women’s rights.
Same rights for same sex marrige
by
Michael Audi
Opinion
When somebody likes a person of the
same sex, it does not make them any less of
a person than somebody who likes a person
of the opposite sex. People who like the same
sex are allowed to buy houses, buy food,
play sports, work the same jobs as anyone
else and make their own decisions. However,
they are not allowed to marry in most of the
states. Although allowing “gays” to marry in
all states would make life for them the same
as everyone else, people do not like the idea.
There is no reason that someone in the world
should be denied the right to marry someone
they want just because people disagree with who
that might be. Allowing “gays” to marry where
ever, whenever will help our economy greatly.
For example, when somebody gets married they
tend to spend a lot of money on invitations, a
place to have it at, drinks, food, people who
help with the wedding, and sometimes much
more. Also, people who go to a wedding tend
to spend money on gifts. With all this money
being spent around the US for each wedding, it
will help keep businesses up and going, which
will then allow more jobs and more money to
be spent, creating a never ending cycle. Even
though this won’t get America out of the slump,
it will be a great start to a better economy.
There is not many people who would say “I
would be happy if I was denied the right to get
married!” Why should somebody have to deal
with all of the disappointment of not being able
to get married just because they choose to marry
somebody of the same sexuality? Hopefully one
day the United States will allow everyone to get
married no matter who they would like to marry.
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
February 5, 2010
The Warrior
Radiohead shows its colors
by
Nick Farina
Entertainment
There are some events in life for which you
remember exactly where you were when they
happened. Although an album release is seemingly insignificant, the release of “In Rainbows,”
Radiohead’s seventh studio album, was one of
the most hyped of all time. Radiohead debuted
this album by letting consumer choose the
price they were going to pay for the record.
This was unheard of at the time of release.
I woke up early on the Wednesday morning
that it was available to download, paid my (I am
ashamed to say) $0.00 and downloaded one of
the best albums I have ever heard. I quickly put
the music onto my iPod and ran out to catch
the bus while the electronic uneven, beats of
the opening track, “15 Step,” blasted into my
ears. It immediately reminded me of one of my
other favorite Radiohead tracks “Ideoteque.”
The next three tracks contrasted beautifully
with each other. The raw, fast-paced, garageband sounding Bodysnatchers was drastically
different from the relaxed, orchestral sounding Nude. Next was the ambient All I Need,
which builds to one of the most powerful
climaxes I have ever heard in a song. Similar
to You and Whose Army from Amnesiac or
Exit Music (For a Film) from OK Computer.
After even more wandering through various musical stylings, the albums comes to a
solemn ending. “Videotape” may be the most
beautiful song ever written. It opens and closes
with a few sparse piano notes and in between,
it expands into a soundscape unlike anything
I’ve ever heard before. Though the lyrics may be
about suicide, the song is not entirely unhappy.
All in all, if you like Radiohead from
the post-OK Computer phase, you will
definitely love this album. Fans of Coldplay, Muse or music in general will most
likely take a little from “In Rainbows.”
Grammys: More fun than a pillow fight
by
Alex Milstein
Entertainment
As many of you may already
know, last Sunday was the
premiere of the 52nd Grammy
awards. Arguably the most
important night in music, this
awards ceremony could easily
make or break the careers of
any popular artist today. The
Grammy awards not only recognition the artist for his or her
acheivments, but distinguish
the artist as a part of music history. This year it seemed like Beyonce’s year. Nominated for ten
awards, Beyonce took home 6,
including song of the year, best
female pop vocal performance,
best female R&B vocal perfor-
mance, best traditional R&B vocal performance, best R&B song
and best contemporary R&B album. Beyonce responded to the
awards by saying, “Wow, thank
you so much. This has been
such an amazing night for me.”
Country artist Taylor Swift
finished second to Beyonce with
four awards including Album of
the Year. At the age of 20, Swift
has become the youngest singer
ever to win Album of the Year
at the Grammys. Along with
Album of the Year, she also won
best female country vocal performance and best country song.
Swift responded to the sucess
by tweeting, “I will remember
this night, this celebration, the
screaming and hugging of people
I love. The words on cards of
hotel room good luck roses.”
Although this year’s Grammy
awards had many surprises,
Taylor Swift’s off pitch performance with Fleetwood Mac’s,
Stevie Nicks topped it off as
number one. After being nominated for various categories,
it was a great surprise to the
award show’s viewers that
such a talented artist could
be such a bad live performer.
Regardless of her perfor mance, many other artists
were able to make up for it like
Pink, the Black Eyed Peas, and
Green-Day. Finishing in third
place with three awards were
the Black Eyed Peas, Jay-Z and
Kings of Leon. There was a long
list of presenters including famous artists such as Ricky Martin, Lionel Richie, and Jennifer
Lopez. Also part of the festivities,
Jennifer Hudson, Celine Dion,
Carrie Underwood, Smokey Robinson and Usher made a tribute
to Michael Jackson by singing
“Earth Song.” After, Micheal
Jackson’s children accepted
an award for their father. 23
year old Lady Gaga took home
two Grammys as well as the
Most Extravagantly Dressed
Award. Overall, it was a very
exciting night and a great night
for music. God save the queen,
and God love Micheal Jackson!
iPad: iPod Touch, but worse?
by
Daniel Zhao
Entertainment
The iPad came out only recently, but already
there are groups being created on Facebook
named ‘If you get an iPad you are a tool,’ and
critics poking fun at the iPad left and right.
Most of it boils down to this: it’s basically a
big iPod Touch. It is not even at the level of an
iPhone because it can’t make calls. Everybody,
including Steve Jobs, knows that this product
is going to go down the drain. The day that the
iPad came out marks a day of tragedy for Apple.
Okay, let us look at the flaws of the iPad. It
doesn’t have Flash Support, it cannot multitask, and it doesn’t have a camera. What
this means is that basically there’s really no
advantage to buying this thing except for a
bigger screen and the glory of knowing you
essentially bought a bigger iTouch. However,
as with all Apple products, the iPad still looks
pretty slick and awesome. The rich kids will
own the iPad and the kids whose parents
won’t buy it for them will make fun of the
iPad and complain about how expensive it is.
Now, let us look perhaps more optimistically at the iPad; maybe it won’t be such a
failure. After all, Apple must be aware of all
these issues that people point out as blatant
problems. What Apple most likely is thinking is that it simply won’t matter; the iPad’s
sheer simplicity and the Apple logo will be
enough to make it the next big thing. The
worst thing is, no one really doubts it either.
In a few years, we’ll see everybody with tablets, the new iPod. Speaking of which, when we
look back to the iPod the same problems and
issues arose. People looked at it and criticized
it; it doesn’t have this, it doesn’t have that.
However, if we look at it today, obviously none
of that mattered. What people want is simplicity and innovation, and although the iPad is
not exactly innovative, it definitely shines in
the simplicity category simply because it uses
the same layout as the iTouch and iPhone. This
makes a very easy conversion from the guys
using the iTouches to start using the iPad.
Although many may scoff at Apple’s new
product, none of it is going to matter. Apple’s
logo alone will be alone to drive people to buy
the product, along with its relatively cheap
price for an Apple product. The missing features won’t matter, because it will open up so
much for a wider audience, sort of like what
the Wii did. The only difference is that the iPad
is very much beautiful and high-quality, as
something made from Apple. As long as these
factors are still there, people will buy the iPad.
The Warrior
February 5, 2010
Sports
7
Boys’basketball shoots to success
Syed, who is an avid supporter
of the Silver Warriors, said, “The
boys’ basketball team is baller!”
The Niskayuna boys’ basketEvery game has a great
ball team has had an excellent
turnout. Fans come pouring
season so far in these winter
in to support the team no
months. Against tough opposimatter who they are playing.
tion from around the Suburban
Even at away games, dediCouncil, the players have shown
cated fans show up with red
their character and ability, wincolors to encourage our team.
ning key matches to improve
How many other schools can
their record for the season.
say this about their fan base?
Led by the head Coach Mike
For the seniors - Wyngowski,
Black and assistant coaches
Waltman, Royce and LaMar,
Mike Polsinelli and Bryan MatSenior Night’s game was one
tice, the Nisky boys played Saraof the last games of their high
toga last Friday on their Senior
school career. The seniors have
Night. The last time these two
all played
teams faced
superbly for
off, the SilNiskayuna,
ver Warriors
and
will
lost in a very
be rememclose game
bered by all
with a score
the under of 65-63. The
classmen
boys hoped
for their
to beat Sarahar d work
toga at home
and contrion Senior
butions to
Night, but
the team.
were again
The last
defeated
games of
4 4 - 2 9 .
the season,
During the
chronologiquarters,
cally, looks
the Warriors
like this:
were down
away
at
11-5, 20-11,
Burnt Hills
28-21, and
on
Feb.
then 44-29.
5,
home
“ We d i d n ’ t
a g a i n s t
play the way
Shen on Feb.
we would
9, and the
have liked,
last game of
but it’s bethe season
hind us now
Photo Credit / Chris Finn which will
and we are
GET IN THE ZONE: The Niskayuna fans cheer ecstatically after senior Brandon Lamar hit a game-winning shot against
be Tuesfocusing on Ballston Spa. The team won 47-44.
day, Feb.
winning our
11, away at
next game,”
Ballston Spa. Like Bush stated,
turing one of the school colors.
s aid junior Emmitt Bu s h . Colonie and Saratoga Springs.
the team will really focus on winThe top scorer of the game Phrases such as “Get in the
This statement really shows
ning these next games, drawing
was junior Kyle Bayly with 8 of Zone! Red Zone!” are used to
the positive attitude that each
from lessons learned from past
member of the team has. The the 29 points. As number 32, gather more and more people for
games. The team has beaten
Bayly has also been Niskayuna’s the big games. Another phrase
boys have emphasized focusing
these teams in the past, so the
top
scorer
overall,
weighing
in
was
coined
for
the
senior
night
on the last few games instead
at a season total of 186 points.
game against Saratoga: “We boys can definitely pull off vicof dwelling on past games. One
game doesn’t mean too much He has scored as many as 23 need the Red Zone!” Loyal fans tories in these last few games.
by
George Jiao
Sports
compared to the numerous
games played throughout the
season. As long as the boys
have fun and enjoy playing the
game, the wins will come and
will only boost team morale.
The varsity team consists of
juniors and seniors. The juniors
are A.J. Akpanikat, Kyle Bayly,
Emmitt Bush, Peyton Houghtaling, Chris Finn, John Michael
Fragnoli and Jacob Syed. The
senior players are Brandon LaMar, Matt Royce, Guy Waltman
and Aaron Wyngowski. The team
competes in the Class AA division in the Suburban Council
league, which means it plays
teams such as Queensbury,
Columbia, Shaker, Burnt Hills,
have scored 692 points total this
season. With 225 field-goals,
34 three-pointers, 140 free
throws, and 240 three throws
attempted, the boys maintained
a decent 58.33% free throw average. The team’s league record
is 5-7, while its overall record
is 7-7. Niskayuna has had
great wins in the past against
teams such as against Queensbury (62-53), Burnt Hills (4738), and Bethlehem (64-56).
The Silver Warrior fans are
obviously dedicated to their
team. The unofficial term for
the fans is the “Red Zone”, fea-
points in the past, when playing against Queensbury and
Bethlehem. The Silver Warriors
always shout, cheer, and yell
during all of the games to support the boys. Junior Hamza
continued on page
[BASKETBALL]
8
8
February 5, 2010
Sports
The Warrior
Basketball team plays well
page
7
The exhausting basketball seasons have
always been great in the past. Everyone on
the team always loves the experience even
if they do not win every single game. The
boys will definitely try their best in their last
Winter
by
Jason Xu
Sports
The Winter Olympics are coming soon.
Vancouver will host the games and it is
certain that there will be new heights
reached by the competitors from various
countries around the world. The United
States’ teams look very formidable coming into the competition and have excellent chances of winning many medals.
Recently, the U.S. Olympic Qualifiers
took place, determining which American
athletes would represent their nation on
the world stage in Vancouver. Stars such
as Kelly Clark, Johnny Weir, Gretchen
Bleiler, Shaun White and Scotty Lago
few games, especially the seniors, because
they will be playing the last games of their
high school basketball career. Niskayuna
really appreciates all of their hardwork and
everything they have done for us in the
past.Let’s wish our seniors and everyone
else some great last games! Hope to see
you there supporting the Silver Warriors!
Olympics
will be competing for the United States
and there are also many other talented
athletes on the U.S. team. The U.S. has
strength not only in the individual competitions but also in the team ones. The U.S.
hockey team will look to medal against
other strong teams such as Canada and
Russia. The men and women’s two-man
and four -man bobsled teams will also
face stiff competition against teams such
as Germany, but still have aspirations of
placing in the top three in their events.
The Winter Olympics, taking place
once every four years, are sure to be an
exciting event and it will be a great show
of talent and competition in the snow.
www.grindtv.com
SNOW KING: Scotty Lago (above) competed at the U.S. Snowboarding Grand Prix at Copper, putting on
a masterclass on snowboarding technique.
Don’t forget to recycle this issue when you finish reading it!
Boys’ Basketball
Nisky Scoreboard
Continued from
[BOYS]
1/29 vs. Saratoga
Lost 44-29
Girls’ Basketball
1/29 vs. Saratoga
Lost 42-43
Boys’ Swimming
1/19 vs. Guilderland
Won 85-94
1/21 vs. Saratoga
Won 82-101