Girls Varsity Basketball Team Looks for Success

8/14/2019 Girls Varsity Basketball Team Looks for Success

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Volume 61 Issue 3 FREEGuilderland Center, NY 12085 February 2010

Journalthe

By and for the students of Guilderland Central High School

Girls Varsity basketball team looks for successMike Marcantonio

The Guilderland girls basketball team

is experiencing a devastating season this

year, as they have a record of 1-9 in league

play and 2-10 overall, but that doesnt

mean the girls still dont have spirit.

Its one of our worst seasons in

school history, said co-captain, Kat

Keegan. But we try to get each other

pumped up and its great to come to

practice; I want to be here, which speaksabout our team chemistry. Head coach,

Frank Cacckello and co-captain Melissa

Winne feel the exact same way.

Everyday I have a youthful enthu-

siasm when I go to practice, Cacckello

stated. When you have a group that is

willing to work and get better it makes it

easy as a coach.

Weve definitely struggled so far this

season, but we will continue to work hard

and improve, said Winne. We cant

change the past; we just have to concen-

trate on whats in front of us.

The team celebrated its first league win

on January 8th against Ballston Spa, 56-44.Senior, Erin Kelly, posted a career-high of

29 points to lead the Dutchmen to their

second win of the season.

We were so happy! exclaimed

Keegan, in reference to their first league

win. After that game, we thought about

how we wanted to win again, and we

worked even harder in practice.

I felt that it was good for our team

because it motivated us to keep play-

ing hard, stated senior guard, Chelsea

Weston, after their game against Ballston

Spa. Weston is third on the team in points

with 69 points. Likewise, Cacckello was

very proud of his girls and thought that

they were finally rewarded for their hard

work.

Senior Lissie Martin, whos also guardfor the Lady Dutch, believes that the team

has the potential to do well on the court,

but its a matter of executing their offense

when its game time.

Cacckello said that his team is working

on getting better at basic offensive funda-

mentals and team defensive concepts.

The red and white started off their

season with their other win, dominating

Schenectady, 61-29 in early November.

Winne, led Guilderland with 18 points,

which is nothing compared to her total

points for the season. She currently

has recorded 148 points over 11 games,

averaging 13.5 points a game. She is

presently ranked 32nd in the area for her

total number of points, which, accord-

ing to Cacckello, is directly related toher offseason work ethic. While the

individual attention is great, Winne said

that her main focus is the team.

Its nice to see hard work pay off,

but right now my focus is for us to keep

improving and win some games. Thats

whats important right now, Winne

stated.

Since their first game against Sche-

nectady, the Lady Dutch have suffered

horrendous losses against Mohonasen

(50-38), Shenendehowa (54-37), and

Averill Park (52-37). Martin said she

was happy with her teams performance

against Averill Park because they are

ranked number one in Class A girls in

the state.

Though there have been some close

matches between Guilderland and some

of their rivals, such as their game against

Colonie, in which they lost by four points,

55-51, and their game against SaratogaSprings, losing by only two points, 35-33.

Captains, Keegan and Winne combined

for a total of 45 points from those two

games.

Winne explained that the under-

classmen have really stepped up to the

challenge of playing on varsity and are

continuing to get better. Sophomore,

Cristal Benton, has had an amazing

season, according to both Keegan and

Winne. Benton has 41 points on the

season so far.

The red and white are unfortunately

ranked last place in the South Division,

which is a subdivision of the SuburbanCouncil (they are tied for last place with

Ballston Spa in all of the Suburban Coun-

cil). Both captains are looking forward

to the rest of the season as their spirit is

still high and their motivation still strong.

Cacckello said that even though the teams

record is down compared to past years, he

has great student athletes that are willing

to give their best every day.

Im very blessed to coach girls bas-

ketball at Guilderland.

The Guilderland Skating Dutchmen

picked up another win against Burnt

Hills at Union College on the 11th of

January. Burnt Hills was up 1-0 going into

the second period before the Dutchmen

offense caught fire with 4 goals in the

second period to pull ahead 4-1. Goals

were scored by Tony Liguori, Robby

King, Nate Weinberg, and Ryan Ghizzoni

in the second period. Guilderland then

cruised to a victory in the third with two

more goals by Ghizzoni. The sophomore,

who some are now referring to as MoonWalk Ghiz finished with a hat trick and

2 assists and later said it was a solid win

for the team, we played some of our best

hockey. Liguori finished with a goal and

2 assists, Conor Hurley had 1 assist and

Jared Klein had 2 assists. Nigel Simmons

played solid in goal with 29 saves. The

Dutchmen now have four wins and seven

losses on the season.

Guilderland 4

Burnt Hills 1

Boys Varsity hockeyMatt Simon

Photo by Abby Levy /The Journal

Above: A Dutchman skater takes the

puck down the ice in a 4-1 victory over

Burnt Hills January 11th

Boys Varsity basketballDevin KeenholtsThe Guilderland boys varsity basket-

ball team played Burnt Hills away on

Friday night January 22nd. The final score

was Dutchmen 52- Spartans 42. The first

quarter ended with the Spartans holding

a solid lead 12-6, and the Spartans held

their lead thought out the second quar-

ter. In the third quarter the Dutchmen

fought for a lead and gained 14 points.

The Dutchmen had an amazing run in

the fourth quarter. Ryan Ochs and An-

thony Gallo lead the Dutchmen. Anthony

Gallo scored 15 points and Ryan Ochsscored 13. Dallis Mahoney had his best

game of the season, scoring 8 points. Joe

Terry put in 6. Andrew Brown and Mike

Drislane both scored 3 points. While

Justin Horne and Jordan Weeden both

scored 2 points.

The Guilderland boys varsity basket-

ball team played an exciting game against

Balston Spa at home on friday night. The

final score was Guilderland 52- Balston

Spa 42. Anthony Gallo made five 3-

pointers, with a total of 17 points scored.

Nate Sentz hurt his ankle in the second

quarter. Before he got hurt, Sentz scored

seven points. While Joe Terry scored nine

points. The game started with a one point

lead for the Scotties, but in the second

quarter the Dutchmen flew past the

Scotties. The Dutchmen held their leadthroughout the game.

Senior Captain Mike

Drislane jumps to lay the

ball in during a 52-42

Guilderland victory over

Ballston Spa here at GHS

Photo by Abby Levy /The Journal

Senior co-captain, Kat Keegan, looks upcourt as Coach Cackello watches.

Photos by Abby Levy/The Journal

Guilderland 52

Balston Spa 42


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(theJournal) page 2 February 2010

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2008-2009 Staff

Jen Crowley

-Management-

Editor-in-ChiefSohee Rho

Associate EditorLucia Qian

Associate EditorBecky Glazier

Managing EditorBeatrice Malsky

-Content-

Hallways EditorMike Marcantonio

Fine Arts EditorGreg Barber

Pop Arts EditorTony Pitkin

Around Town EditorBeatrice Malsky

Opinions EditorMeghan Bodo

Sports EditorsCasey Gerety

Brendon Phillips

CopyeditorsKyungduk Rho

Noah RubinVed Tanavde

-Design-

Photography EditorAbby Levy

Graphics EditorKaydee Bickmore

-Business-

Business ManagerKenny Satterlee

Advertising and DistributionJohn Ciccerelli

Libby Gioia

Faculty AdvisorChristopher Mazura

Building PrincipalBrian McCann

Superintendent of SchoolsJohn McGuire

Founded in 2006 by Devang Bhoi-wala, Students for Improving Healthcare(SIHC) is a small club that still makes a bigdifference in our community school byhelping out in many different ways. SIHC

is based on volunteering, fundraising andeducation to help educate and improveour school and community about varioushealthcare issues.

By volunteering in the communityand increasing awareness of issues atschool, SIHC has accomplished a lot inits short history. With healthcare reformconstantly in the news, SIHC really hopesto increase education in the school aboutthese issues this year. Off to a promisingstart SIHC has high hopes for this yearand those to come.

In the past three years the club hasfundraised to help many health clinics in

the capital region. It also helps volunteerat various hospitals and health care cen-ters in the capital region. Members alsohave learned about various healthcareissues from many different medical pro-fessionals and students in the area.

Gaining from these experiences SIHChas helped educate the student bodyabout these topics and their relevancein our lives and what we can do to helpimprove the many problems that lo-cal people suffer from because of our

countrys healthcare system.In the past the club has also raised over

one thousand dollars for the Whitney andYoung Foundation as well as many otherclinics and foundations in the area. In

only a few years SIHC has accomplishedquite a lot.This year the club is run by president

Sindhura Mandava, supported by co-vicepresidents: Steven Ratner and SobhanPotluri. This year the club wants to in-crease fundraising for local foundationsand clinics and hit the $1000 mark, andpossibly even surpass their previous ac-complishments.

The club also plans to increase educa-tion in the school more than ever sincehealth care is such a big issue these days.Since high schoolers dont pay for healthinsurance, SIHCs goal is to try and give

students a better perspective of what itinvolves and what problems the health-care system has created for many peopleacross the country.

Sindhura Mandava hopes to increasemembership this year to accomplish allthese goals, The more people that join,the bigger difference we can make, be-lieves Mandava.

Students for Improving Healthcarehas many projects planned for this year,from bake sales to charity walks, this club

Students for Improving HealthcareDevon Gingrich

Every year, hundreds of brave anddaring souls gather on the frigid shore ofLake George for a rather refreshing New

Years Day swim: the Polar Plunge.The Polar Plunge was founded in the

early 1970s by the late Charles PapaBear Albert. The event took place onFriday, January 1st, 2010, at ShepardPark Beach and was the official kick-off to the annual Lake George WinterCarnival, which runs through the end ofFebruary.

Event organizers said 996 peopleparticipated in the 2010 Polar Plunge,shattering a previous record of 860.Registration took place at Duffys Tavern,

where a long line of anxious go-gettersstretched out to the neighboring parkinglot. After the plungers signed a waiverregarding the risks of the dive, a $10 en-try fee got these swimmers the braggingrights, a T-shirt, and a certificate.

After offsetting the cost of T-shirts,the money raised will go to a local charity.

While event organizers werent sure which

cause would receive this years funds, lastyears recipient was Women in Need.

Many first-time plungers had differentreactions to the bone-chilling 38-degree

waters. Although most took the plungeand quickly rushed back to shore for dryland and their fluffy towels, countless div-ers surprisingly stayed in the freezing cold

water and swam around a while.Casey Gerety, senior of GHS, and

Taylor Muztafago, senior, were amongthe first-time Polar Bears, too. Im ab-

solutely frozen, Gerety said. But, welldefinitely be back next year.

Although there were plenty who tookpart in the plunge, there were many morethat came to witness this breathtakingevent and cheer on their friends andfamily.

Melissa Winne, senior of GHS, andShannon Walsh, senior, came to cheeron their friends. I felt like they coulduse some support, especially because itstheir first time taking the dip, Winnesaid. After their friends came rushing

A refreshing start to a new yearKyungduk Rhoout of the freezing cold lake, Winne and

Walsh greeted them with warm towelsand clothes.

When asked whether or not she wouldtake place in the plunge next year, Winnesmiled and said, I would prefer to stayon the dry side.

People sure dont have to wait untilnext year to give it a try. Other PolarPlunges will be held at 3 p.m. each Sat-urday and Sunday in February as part ofthe Lake George Winter Carnival. Every

year, hundreds of brave and daring soulsgather on the frigid shore of Lake Georgefor a rather refreshing New Years Dayswim: the Polar Plunge.

The Polar Plunge was founded in theearly 1970s by the late Charles PapaBear Albert. The event took place onFriday, January 1st, 2010, at ShepardPark Beach and was the official kick-off to the annual Lake George WinterCarnival, which runs through the end ofFebruary.

is ready to make a difference. This yearSIHC plans to volunteer at the Heart

Walk and The Race for the Cure alongwith helping run free clinics such as theArbor Hill Center and the Whitney and

Young Center.They also plan to help these centersby fundraising so look out for some deli-cious bake sales coming up. This springduring National Uninsured week SIHCmembers will be coming to classroomsto help educate students about variousgrowing healthcare issues.

Now more than ever Students forImproving Healthcare is trying to educatestudents about healthcare. Currently itsone of our countrys biggest issues andSIHC is trying to help teach studentsabout the changes to stop any confusion.

Although SIHC tries to educate about

Obamas healthcare reforms, the clubhas no intentions of changing anyonespolitical ideas or promoting a certainparty. Regardless of your stance on theissues SIHC is just out to inform.

Students for Improving Healthcaremeets on Wednesdays in room 37.Students for Improving Healthcare isa small club making a difference in ourcommunity and school and has a verypromising future.

Above: Participants courageously plunging into the ice cold waters of Lake George on the first day of this new decade. A new

record of participants was set this year with 996 polar plungers.

Left: Taylor Muztafago, senior, Casey Gerety, senior, and Kyungduk Rho, junior, with the polar bear. The polar plunge has been a

tradition since the early 1970s.


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Hallways

With global warming a growing con-cern, Guilderland High School is looking

toward a greener future led by the effortsof the Energy/Conservation Coordina-tor, Fred resselt. Energy saving projectstook off four years ago when resselttook on the job, and with the new addi-tion to the high school, these efforts aremore important than ever.

After four years, resselt has been ableto save the district 2.4 million, savingover $500,000 each year by employinga few very effective strategies. These in-clude a Night Setback and changing thelighting in the gyms. By going into NightSetback the schools heating is turneddown to 58 degrees at night, opposed tothe regular 68 degrees during the schoolday. Heating is also turned down or offduring school breaks as well. By doing sothe district has saved energy, electricityand money. he heating has also changed

with the new Energy Management Sys-tem, so that classes can be individually ad-justed to meet the 68 degree requirement.

resselt added, Night Setbacks and thenew system have been so successful be-cause it gives us real flexibility to the waythe school is heated.

he lighting in the gyms has been a go-ing concern but with the new changes tothe lights the district has been able to savemoney and improve playing conditions.

he old lights used much more energy,but were also much darker that it becamea concern for competitions. Now both

gyms have switched to florescent lights,imilarly to the changes many people are

making in their homes as well.These lights give more light, save

energy and increase our control of thelighting, stated Tresselt. The new lightshave saved the district about $3,000 eachmonth.

The district saves more money and en-ergy than ever with these changes; howev-er they have alsocome with somec o m p l a i n t s .Concerns havecome up regard-ing the heatingin classroomsand resselt hastaken these con-cerns head on.

he objectof the programis to make thebuilding com-or t ab l e andu i t a b l e f o r

learning, saidresselt. My

approach is to lis-ten to concerns because a lot of times itsan indication of something not workingright. Because of these concerns, chang-es have been made to the insulation and

ventilation along with routine checkupsand temperature readings to help keepclassroom temperatures regulated.

From all the concerns and complaints

es heard, Tresselts number one concernight now is the classroom air blowers andhe cold air they spit out all day. A bigomplaint from many students; Tresseltaid hes trying to regulate the cold air andminimize the cold air being blown in tory and keep classrooms warm. New

York State requires rooms to have eightair exchanges each hour so theres no

way to avoidthe blowers,however bymonitoringand adjustingc l a s s r o o m

t e m p e r a -tures along with keepingdoors closedclassroomsdont have tobe human re-frigerators.

ant totake mattersin to yourown hands?

There are a fewways that students and teachers can try

o help save energy and keep the school

ice and warm this winter. Tresselt ad-vises to keep doors and windows shut, toemember to turn off lights, computers

and other appliances when not in use, andost importantly to report any concerns

to teachers or janitors so that improve-

ments can be made.With the new addition almost com-plete the school is going green withsome cutting edge technology. Newheating systems are being used that arefurther from the classrooms that stillbring all the heat without all the annoyingnoise of boilers right by the classrooms.

he new classrooms will also use LightHarvesting which is a system designedto light the classrooms using the natu-ral light when possible to cut down onenergy wasted on lighting. Guilderlandrecently received a grant for a whopping334,000 from the New York State En-

ergy Research and Development Author-ity (NYSERDA) and plans to install 50kilowatt solar voltaic panels on the gymroof by late summer; expected to saveabout 10,000 yearly. he panels will col-lect the suns energy and convert it intoelectricity to use for the school.

hese changes have, and continueto cut huge costs for the district, along

with environmental improvements. Overthe last four years the district has saved3,768 tons of carbon dioxide which isequivalent to having taken 676 cars offthe road for an entire year. In responseto these accomplishments Tresselt said,

It took an awful lot of cooperation tomake it this successful, and with the newyear and the new addition ahead, GHSlooks to continue these energy savingefforts with the help from teachers andstudents alike.

Guilderland going Green in the new yearDevon Gingrich

Weeks before Battle of the Bandsoccurred at Guilderland High School,Future Business Leaders of America(FBLA) was planning all the behind thescenes things that are needed to make theshow run smoothly. With Mrs. Hubbard

as the advisor of the club, she helped toorganize everything that needed to beorganized so that the show could be asgood as it was previous years.

Its my job to announce to the bandsthat there will be auditions, find a soundguy, chaperones, and help set up theconcessions, said the coordinator, Mrs.Hubbard.

Auditions arent really held, but moresimply, a demo tape is handed in and itis the students job to listen to them andpick which bands get to play. Most years,bands would have to be cut because thereare only eight slots available.

his year was really a growing year.We have a lot of younger bands whichmeans younger listeners so they have tocoordinate rides, and it was bad weathertoo, so this year wasnt as successful

as previous years, she explained. herunning total of how much money wasmade isnt known yet, but it is estimatedat around $700.

The judges get a sheet that Mrs. Hub-bard also makes, and it is broken down

into a point system. The judging is com-pletely anonymous so that the judges can

write what ever notes they feel the need toand no ones feelings get hurt. They gradethe bands out of 100 points and whoevergets the most points, wins a cash prize.

his year the first place prize was 100.his years attendance was running

low, but with the lighting being run byour very own Mr. Maycock, the show

was still a good one. he money raisedgoes to FBLA and helps to pay for fieldtrips, competitions that the club attendsand other business things that the club isassociated with. Overall the show wasnt

as productive as previous years for variousreasons, but a good chunk of money wastill raised and will be helpful in contribut-

ing to future FBLA activities.

FBLA hosts Battle of the BandsLibby Gioia

oac unne ta es ome t e

grand prize of 100 at the

2010 Battle of the Bands.

emem ers nc u e an

Campbell, Ryan Wager, Nico

urek

Graphic by Katherine Bickmore/The Journal

Photo by Mike Marcantonio /The Journal

If you havent already noticed, theonth of December sparks a new trend

among the staff of Guilderland High:eards. A few years ago, Jeffrey Gregory, a

omputer technition at GHS, and a cou-ple other teachers wondered how manyaculty members they could get to groweards. Soon after, that idea evolved into

a competition to see who could grow theest beard for a worthy cause.

his Beard-Off asks faculty to groweards the month of December until theoliday break to raise money for oys forots. his past December was the third

year the Beard-Off took place and thirty-ix members of the faculty participated,

including a few females.n the last day before the holiday

reak, with the help of National Honorsociety, students vote for their favoriteaculty beard by donating spare change

during their lunch mod. Whichever fac-ulty member raises the most money for

Toys for Tots wins the competition. Thisyears winner was science teacher, EricHeidinger.

It was nice to know that kids arethinking about the charity and theyre alsothinking about who they want to vote for

which is neat. What I was happy aboutwas that a lot of kids donated a lot ofmoney, said Heidinger.

his years Faculty Beard-Off raisedtwo hundred and forty-one dollars for

oys for ots.

Photos by Mike Marcantonio /The Journal

Beard-Off resultsbby Levy

r. Baker shows off his beard (left), junior, Dev Gingrich and Mr. Gregory are

av ng some un w t s rea ear r g t , an w nner r. e nger top .

(theJournal page 3February 2010


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he presence of cliques is blatantly ob-vious to anyone who has ever set foot ina school. Individual cliques/groups blockhallways, lockers, and of course, make it

virtually impossible to travel through thelobby. When asked if they believe cliquesexist in Guilderland High School, everysingle person polled (with the exceptionof one teacher and one student) saidyes.

However, with the results of this sur-

vey came a surprising twist: not only didcliques resonate with students, but also

with the faculty. Not only do teachershave to worry about trying to stop theeffects that cliques have in the classroom,but they also have to deal with cliques inthe professional world.

When asked if they believed that theybelonged to a clique only about 35% saidthat they did; however, the only thing thisstatistic proved was that people didnt

want to admit that they were indeed partof a clique because an overwhelming71% said that an outside opinion would

probably consider them as being part ofa clique.

Clique is usually a word that is con-nected with a younger crowd, so what isthe reason for the spread into the profes-ional world? According to English teach-

er Derek Shuttleworth, cliques amongteachers depend on common interests.For example, teachers and staff withoutkids form bonds because they have dif-erent responsibilities than teachers and

taff that do have kids. While we found this to be true we

also found that the professional cliquesare mainly grouped by what departmentyoure in. Its tough when youre se-cluded, stated math teacher Andy Ryan,in reference to being tucked away in themath wing. At GHS, the departments arekept separated from each other. Whileits good for organization, separation ofteachers by subjects may be part of whatscausing the adult cliques. A Spanishteacher and a Science teacher arent goingto have many chances to interact through-

out the day because they are basically onopposite sides of the world.

ne of the schools solutions to break-ing up the professional cliques was to usefaculty meetings as undeclared mix-it-updays for teachers. Once deemed the bestplace to observe the different profes-sional cliques, the meeting coordinatorsare mimicking techniques used by teach-ers to break up cliques in their classroom,like the popular labeled tables trick where

people are given random cards and ex-pected to sit with people with the samecard. While faculty members appreciatedthis attempt, it was deemed unhelpful.[You] try to talk before the meeting butit starts too fast, said math teacher, araMcConaghy.

ts obvious that professional andstudent cliques have some connections,but can student cliques and professionalcliques be harmful to the work environ-ment? When members of the faculty wereasked if they feel comfortable in their

work environment, 100% said yes. When

asked if the existence of cliques affectstheir professional life, 50% answered yes;however, 30% of those answers were inrelation to dealing with student cliques.

While the majority of the faculty seemsto be happy there is still a small percent-age that is affected. Members of facultyadmitted to hearing coworkers upset thatthey arent being included. There haveven been occurrences of faculty whohave cried due to clique related problems.

Proving that even as an adult, cliques canhave a truly resonating and emotionalaffect.

Why is it so shocking that GHS fac-ulty has cliques? Probably because mostkids who fall victim to cliques are told allthroughout high school that it will getbetter. hey leave with the hopes of alsobeing able to leave the pressure and painthat comes from cliques behind. In somejobs that may just be false hope; maybe itsjust human nature to want to be aroundpeople who share common strings.

At 19, Renee had already suffered fromabuse, depression, and addiction, withcuts etched into her arm and cocaine inher system. Declared too great a risk for

her treatment center, her friends took herin for five days, filling Renees life withlove and music, showing her that there arethings to hope for, to live for. Finally, atthe end of the fifth day, Renee approachesone of her friends, Jamie, and hands himher last razor blade, deciding to not onlystop cutting, but to turn her life around.

And with this, Jamie writes her story forthe world, letting them know that thereis hope, that you can be saved.

o Write Love on Her Arms is anot-for-profit organization founded by

Jamie workowski in 2006, when Jamiehad written his inspirational story about

Renee (using the unusual line from hisstory, o Write Love on Her Arms, areference to her scars, as the title). Heposted it on MySpace, and sold shirtsto raise money for her treatment. Theresponse he received was overwhelming.

Thousands of people everywhere wrotein, commenting that Renees story wastheirs as well, or their friends. Peopleasked for help, admitting that these wereissues they had suffered from but neverdid anything about. Realizing that theycould help more people like Renee out

here, the organization began, with theame name as the story. o Write Love on

Her Arms, or TWLOHA, exists to helpand give hope to people struggling with

issues of depression, addiction, self-injuryor suicide.It appeals to students who are often

orgotten about, explained Mitch Hahn,an English teacher at Guilderland Highchool. It focuses on those students who

dont feel connected, and make them feelonnected. hey do this by presentingacts as well as listing websites, hotlines

and books that provide information andmay help those suffering, on their website:

www.twloha.com. his movement, aboveall, exists to let others know that they arenot alone.

his generation, more so then previ-

ous ones, has suffered from these issues.In fact, suicide is the third leading causeof death among 18-24 year olds, with un-reated depression being the leading cause

of suicide. And unfortunately, two thirdsof people who struggle with depressionnever seek help. raises awareness abouthese issues and encourages people in cre-

ative, interesting waysmainly throughmusic, which we know is a powerful andffective way to communicate messageshat words simply cannot sometimes.

When their friends from a band (Jamie

notes that members of Switchfoot andAnberlin are some of his closest friends,and the first to wear his shirts at concerts,helping spread the word) would let themtake the stage some nights, Jamie, along

with other members from WLOHA, would get up and speak to the crowdabout the message of their organizationand encourage people to get help if theyneed it, or help a friend who is suffering.WLOHA is different than our parents or

teachers who, while meaning well, wouldpreach us facts that we dont take seri-ously and wouldnt listen to. WLOHAconnects with young people in a way thattheycan relate to: through music, stories,t-shirts, etc. here was even a WLOHAbooth at every stop of the 2007 Warped

our. Its different to hear the messagefrom a peer who actually understandsbecause theyve been there.

hese issues arent foreign to us. Infact, we know tragedy. We know suffering.Even if we ourselves have not suffered,

we have heard of or seen others whohave. While we cant have perfect, flaw-less lives, we can learn how to deal withour emotions and issues in a healthy way,instead of taking them out on ourselvesthrough cutting, bulimia, suicide attemptsor other harmful methods. If anything,

TWLOHA reinforces that-- despite what

we may think-- we are loved, and our sto-ries matter. It reminds us to reach out toothers that are broken, or if we ourselvesare broken, to speak of our pain rather

than keeping our silence.TWLOHA has saved so many lives,perhaps more then they may realize. Itsan outlet for me, said Lauren Morse, a

Junior at Guilderland. She admits thatTWLOHA has helped her or her lovedones in many ways, but the stories aretoo personal to reveal. By providing hopeand encouraging people to find help, theyshow that rescue is possible and we canbecome whole again even after our painand suffering. hese dark moments willpass.

he stars are always there but we missthem in the dirt clouds. We miss them in

the storms, Renee told Jamie, when theyarrived at the treatment center. ell themto remember hope. We have hope.

To Write Love on Her ArmsJenn David

O WRITE L

OVE ON HER ARMS.

ese p ctures spay t s amazng

ause.

Emily DroobyTeacher clique at Guilderland High School

February 2010Hallways(theJournal) page 4


5/11

Around Town

Do you know how many people live

in our small town of Guilderland, New

York? As of July 2008, Guilderland has

about 34,781 people living in it. Our

neighboring city of Albany has 93,539

people, where as Schenectady has 61,152.

Naturally, larger populated cities experi-

ence more crime.

As a way to help battle crime, Albany

and Schenectady have installed video

cameras, to record the day to day life of

people in their cities, in hopes of catching

and stopping crimes.

As of today, the city of Schenectady

has over 58 video cameras lining the

streets of seven different neighborhoods.

he surveillance cameras help police

officers catch criminals and solve cases.

These cameras have been used for five

years now.

Recently, Urban Area Safety Initiative

has granted Schenectady 125,000 to

install nine new video cameras to help

minimize the amount of crime in the

area. he new cameras will be installed

in the spring.

As of last April, five new cameras

have been donated by Union College

and Northside Business Association,

and were placed on Van Vranken Avenue

in Schenectady. he new cameras cost

a total of 65,000. In addition to the

growing amount of cameras, Washington

is giving Schenectady 35,000 for better

video memory. All of this equipment

added together has cost over 225,000,

and thats just Schenectady. Albany also

has a large amount of cameras, specifi-

cally used in the college neighborhoods

of Saint Rose and UAlbany.

But is it working? At this time, Sche-

nectady has retired police offices in their

ead quarters on Liberty Street, where

hey simply monitor the tapes and watch

or crime. However, the police officers are

ot watching the tapes round the clock.

hey also get a list of reported law

reaking activities and review the weeks

apes to see if they caught any crimi-

als in action. he cameras are really a

ource of evidence. Simply by watching

he tapes, police officers have caught 40

drug offenses.

Along with that, they have caught

everal violent crimes, including a Sche-

ectady stabbing death in June. Unfortu-

ately the street cameras have not been

as helpful in stopping crimes as they have

een in catching the offenders.

Even with the cameras being moni-

ored, the police officers cannot always

get to the crime as it is being committed.

f course, the cameras are not fully

Security cameras added to city streets to ensure safetyNicole Siracusa

All a parent wants for their child is

for them to grow up happy and healthy.Never would they wish harm on their

child and they would do anything to

make the bad go away and replace it

with the good. Rachel Rodino is a 7 year

old girl. Rachel has been diagnosed with

Huntingtons disease. Huntingtons is a

neurodegenerative genetic disorder that

affects the way your muscles and brain

function. The disease is caused by a

dominant mutation on either of the two

copies of a specific gene. his takes place

on chromosome 4. he disease was first

discovered by George Huntington in

1872. It all started when Rachel was sup-

posed to enter Kindergarten. She bruisedeasily and was falling down very often.

She soon began having seizures.

A child with an affected parent has a

50% risk of getting the disease. If both

parents are carriers of the disease then

the childs chances of getting the disease

increase tremendously. here is no set

cure for Huntingtons disease. he disease

can appear at anytime during the infected

persons life. Symptoms normally begin

between ages 35 and 44. Only in rare cases

do symptoms begin under the age of 20.

Rachel is only 7. he disease progresses

the quickest in children.

Rachels disease is so far along that

he can no longer perform normal bodilyunctions. Taking care Rachel is a full time

job. Her mom, Lori Rodino, quit her job

to take care of her. Rachels father also is

battling Huntingtons disease. He cannot

work and because of this the family is

without an income. Rachels mother has

been caring for Rachel for almost three

years, during this time family has been

truggling. Rick Rodino, Rachels father,

can no longer work for Million Air at

Albany International Airports because

of the disease. he family is struggling

to get by on the generous donations of

the community.

o help the family out even more onDecember 18th McDonalds was generous

enough to host a McDonalds Night. A

McDonalds Night is a way to raise money,

normally used for schools and sports

teams. A percentage of the money made

between the fundraisers hours go towards

the cause. In this case the money made

goes towards the Rodino family. he

Fundraiser was held at the McDonalds

located on Western Avenue across from

Dunkin Donuts. It ran from 4pm to 7pm.

Several hundred people showed up to at-

tend the fundraiser. The lines during some

point went all the way to the back of the

building. Many people just stopped in to

leave donations and support the Rodinosin their time of need. he turnout was as

expected, overflow parking was offered.

uring that time, the money that was

made is taken and then a percentage of

it is given to the cause. Including the

percentage of money, a tray of items was

being carried around. All the money that

those items made went straight to the

Rodino Family Fundraiser. here was a

separate place for donations that would

go straight to the Rodino Family. Solar

Butterfly lights were also being sold at

McDonalds Night. One of the Rodinos

neighbors has been selling them since

the summer. he symbol for the RodinoFamily Fundraiser is a butterfly. Selling

these lights has helped raise several hun-

dred dollars for the family. Each butterfly

lights sells for $30 for one and $50 for

two. More than 800 butterflies have been

sold. From McDonalds Night Fundraiser

a total of $735 were raised for the Rodino

family.

Along with the McDonalds night, sev-

eral organizations and people have helped

the family out. Some of them being,

Kathy Burbank, the regional food bank,

the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce,

Senator Neil Breslin, and a few others.

achel has two siblings, an older

brother, Anthony, who is 17 years oldand an older sister, Giana, who is 15 years

old. Rachel enjoys snuggling with their

golden retriever on the hospital bed in

their living room.

octors are telling Lori that Rachel

may not live through this year. Her health

has been declining the past several years

and started using a wheelchair around

Christmas of 2008. Rachel started using

a permanent feeding tube as of February.

Her vision is completely gone and she can

only see shapes and outlines.

o child should have their life ended

early. hey shouldnt have to spend their

time in a hospital waiting for treatments.Sadly, this is all some kids know. here are

more children and adults just like Rachel

suffering from Huntingtons disease. If

you would like to help the Rodinos or

learn more about Rachel and her disease

you can go to rodinofamily.com. If you

would like to learn more about Hunting-

tons disease you can visit hdsa.org which

is the Huntingtons disease Society of

America. Here you can learn more about

where to donate to help find a cure, and

more on the disease.

e o ays r ng an opportun ty to e p t e o no s

February 2010 (theJournal page 5

Taylor Tyksinki

stopping the crimes. Is it because the

criminals do not know the cameras are

there and recording, and if they do know,

do they care?

Another initiative to keep citizens and

police officers safe is the newly acquired

car-mounted cameras. hese surveillance

tapes are placed on top of police cars,

and they record wherever the car goes. If

police officers happen to arrest a criminal,

the camera on top of the car records the

entire arrest, for evidence of criminals

hitting police officers or potential police

brutality. hese cameras are being in-

creasingly used in the city of Albany.

opefully, with these cameras and

other improving technology, Albany and

Schenectady will continue to improve

their cities.


6/11

page 6 ( Journal) Wide

Decade I

2000 2003 20052004

The Red Sox end an 86 year drought and win

a World Series. Down 3 games to 0 in the ALCS

against the Yankees the Red Sox win 4 straight,

including sweeping the Rockies in four games to

win one for the city. The Red Sox would later win

another world series in 2007.

Following the attacks on September 11th, the

sports world was put on hold until baseball resumed.

Whether it was the New York Mets playing in

NYPD or NYFD hats, baseball united the nation.

The 2001 World Series will be remembered for Luis

Gonzalezs single clinching it for the Diamondbacks,

however baseball kept the Nation intact.

Beyonce: In this decade she found her ground in the

music world, starting the early part of the decade in the group

Destinys Child, and then making a solo career for herself.

She has become a huge star and is speculated to be the next

American icon such as Whitney Houston, Cher, Madonna.

IPods: New levels of

teen apathy emerged in this

decade, now they can blast

thousands of songs louder

then ever before and not even

hear a word you say. This is

bad for teachers, but great for

the future medical providers

of America. If you have a

song stuck in your head,

chances are someone in that

room has that song.

Facebook / Myspace /Twitter: Finally people

in America can be sure that their life is document

for the world to see. In this decade we saw on

these networks that people had a lot of friends, but

we quickly learned that it was not for real. Now I

can read about everything people have done even

though its not interesting in the least bit. Im sorry,

but I really dont care.

One of the main technological

achievements of tgis decade is the

internet. While the world wide web has

been around for years, social networking

became one of the main uses for the

internet during the new millenium.

With sites like MySpace, Facebook, and

Twitter, this phenomenon continues to

rise.

September 11, 2001 is a day that will

never be forgotten. Early that morning

two planes hijacked by terrorists were

flown into the Twin Towers in New York

City. That afternoon, a third plane was

flown into the Pentago, killing thousands

of American and international citizens.

This horrific event caused fear andmistrust among people across the

world, but eventually brought a wave of

nationalistic feelings to America.

In 2001 former president George W. Bush

was informed that the Iraqi government was

in the process of creating nuclear weapons

of mass destruction. In order to ensure the

safety of Americans, Bush began the War

in Iraq. After removing Sadaam Hussein

from his Iraqi dictatorship, and eventually

hanging him, Bush sent in more American

troops to instate an effective democratic Iraqi

government. US troops are still present in

Iraq today.

Reality TV: The explosion of reality TV occurred

during this decade for two reasons, people love good

stories about someone making their dreams come true

(American Idol), and they love the drama. Some people

have developed a voyeuristic, hedonistic, and sadistic

sense of entertainment.The newest and seemingly popular

reality TV show would have to be Jersey Shore which

taught us that people are just as shallow as they appear..

20022001

Another cataustrophic event

occured in New Orleans during

August 2004. Hurricane Katrina

wiped out nearly the entire city,

flooding towns and washing away

entire communities. While most

New Orleaners were evacuated

to the Super Dome in 2004

many were left stranded and

starving for weeks. While former

president George W. Bush used

funds to aid these people and

reconstruct the below sea-level

city, New Orleans is still feeling

the effects of this disaster today.


7/11

( Journal) page 7Angle

2007 20102006 20092008

The New York Giants stun the world

and upset the New England Patriots in the

2008 Super Bowl. The Patriots perfect

season was over, and Eli Manning led the

Giants to victory

After the devasting effects of Hur-

ricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saintswere forced out of their stadium for the

2005 NFL season. The Saints returned

in 2006 and the city was revived. The

Saints won their return game against

the Falcons, and have carried the city

on their shoulders.

A 33 year old record was broken as

Barry Bonds eclipsed Hank Aarons all

time home run record of 755. A 3-2fastball from Matt Basick of the Nation-

als, Bonds hit number 756. The steroid

questions lingered and to this day, some

still argue whether or not the record

should stand.

The baseball world is rocked as George

Mitchell releases his report on the Steroids, raising

questions and calling this era of baseball the Ste-

roid Era. Athletes records are tainted, asterisks

are questioned and Hall of Famers question who

should be let in the Hall and who shouldnt.

In the fall of 2008, our nation was in an

economic crisis. After the market crashed and

unemployment reached an all time high, President

Obama gave bail out money to some of the top

big businesses like AIG and GE. Now, these

companies have begun to get back on track but

they are still giving large bonuses to employees

despite the poor economy. Now, in 2010 with

an unemployment rate at nearly 10% President

Obama is still working to solve our economic

problem.

A true American hero was revealed when a

US passanger plane was miraculously landed

in the Hudson River last winter. After noticing

engine failure pilot Chesley Sully made the

bold decision to land the plane, including

an 18-month-old baby. This incredible story

restored the publics faith in the safety of US

airline travel.

History was made in 2008 when Senator Barack

Obama was elected President of the United

States. Obama, the first ever African-American

president, brought hope and excitement to

the nation with his yes we can attitude. His

rhetorically intensive speeches promised

economic prosperity and efficient health care

plans to the American people. Currently, Obama

has his hands dipped in many affairs, but has

most recently been recognized for donating the

millions to the Haiti relief programs.

Lady Gaga: Now we have a new and up in

coming artist that can stir up talk unlike any we

have seen for a while. Everything from her outfits,

performances, and songs seems to get people talking.

Taking individuality to a new level; a Pop star in a

dress made of Kermit the frog puppets- now that is

something I have never seen before and cant really

say I ever wanted to.

A major phenomenon of the decade

was the nations newfound pride in a

healthy environment. Going green as

it is known to many, provides our future

generations with an unpolluted, ever

growning environment. With continuous

energy, water, and other environment

preservations, our beautiful world will

surely continue to grow.

Sarah Palin: The woman who taught

us so much this past year, such as if you

can see another country youre an expert at

foreign policy or that you cant really get a

call from the president of France. She is the

newest up in coming comedienne, though

everyone but her can realizes it.

In the midst of an economic

crisis, the H1N1 virus spread

across our nation. The virus,

more commonly known as

Swine Flu, killed dozens

of young children before a

vaccine was created to prevent

the illness. This vaccine is still

being distributed to Americans

to continue the prevention of

the disease spreading further.

In the 2008 summer Olympics United States

swimmer Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitzs record

of gold medals won in a single olympic games.

Phelps took home eight gold medals en route to one

of the greatest olympic performances ever.

n ReviewBy Becky Glazier, Brendon Phillips, and Kenny Satterlee


8/11

Pop Arts

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel

If you enjoy wasting eleven dollars on

a movie ticket to get a power headache

or an hour and a half or if you enjoy

listening to animated rodents who sound

like they constantly inhale helium butcher

op songs, then youre in luck! The latest

assacre of a classic cartoon,Alvin and the

Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquelwas released

into theatres recently for kids of every age

(or not)! However, if youre the type of

erson who doesnt enjoy the things listed

above (like 99.6% of the student body)

hen do yourself a favor and spend the

oney on something better, say, a haircut,

4 gumballs, basically anything.he same furry little animated chip-

unks that started out over fifty years

ago are back for the sequel of the 2007

emake, with the same infuriatingly high

itched voices. Justin Long, Mathew

ray Gubler and Jesse McCartney play

he voices of Alvin, Simon and heodore,

espectively. As if their voices werent

annoying enough already, the trio then

ontinues on to make a mockery of sev-

ral music groups, including he Kinks

and Flo Rida. hey even made a parody

of the Bee Gees song Stayin Alive

about Alvins love of cheeseballs.

he plot of the story is pretty simpleo follow, as long as you dont let the chip-

unk voices get to your head. Continu-

ing the story of the last movie, the chip-

unks become international icons on a

world tour when their guardian Dave gets

injured by some of Alvins over-the-top

antics at a concert. Then the chipmunks

all into the hands of Toby, Daves lazy,

immature cousin. Even though he tries

o be responsible, he cant quite get it

ight. The chipmunks end up going to

chool, which somehow

doesnt surprise anybody

at school. Who would be

urprised if three talking

chipmunks sat next to you

in class? Anyway, the rest

of the story is basically

just a classic, unoriginal

high school drama story of

three friends, except which

is already dumb enough.

his movie, however, takes

the idea to an entirely new

level of stupidity, using

mall talking rodents asthe characters instead of

people. Alvin becomes a

popular football jock who

deserts his brothers to

hang out with his popular

friends, and ditching sing-

ing rehearsal for football

practice.

Now lets take a min-

ute and look at that last

entence again. Alvin, an

eight-inch tall chipmunk

who weighs about of

a pound becomes a football jock. You

could forget the rest of the movie, justthat one statement absolutely screams

tupidity. But wait, it doesnt stop there!

he teams down by five with one play

left in the game for them. Who scores

the game- winning touchdown by clinging

onto the ball as it soars down to the end

zone? You guessed it! All the while, a rival

group of singing girl chipmunks known

as the Chipettes is rising in popularity,

and is threatening to take the Chipmunks

pot as the high schools representative at

a regional music contest. he Chipettes

also butcher their fare share of songs,with titles from Beyonce and Kate Perry.

Will Alvin ever stop being a jerk to his

brothers? Will the Chipmunks unite to

win the contest and the 25,000 for their

chool? Will I stop asking unnecessary

uspense building questions? Yes.

In one word, this movie was awful. It

was filled with desperate slapstick scenes

and high-pitched chipmunks that drive

you crazy all thrown into a cheesy mix-

ure. he icing on the cake: a dull plot

with terrible acting. I would say that

the credits were the best part, but therewas another Chipmunks song playing

during them. I just had to book it out

of the theater before I went completely

insane from the horrific music. his

movie might appeal to children, but for

anyone over the age of 7, enter at your

own peril. ylenol and earplugs might

be a wise investment.

You thought auto-tune was bad? T-Pain has a new rival, and theyre only a few inches tall!

ram Peterson

Graphic By Haejin Hwang

Invictusfollows the true and inspiring

tory of how South African President

elson Mandela joined with the South

African rugby captain, Francois Pienaar

o unite their country after years of

apartheid. Starring Morgan Freeman as

andela and Matt Damon as Pienaar,

his Clint Eastwood movie delivered a

ruly motivational story all through the

ommon language of sports.

aking place after the end of Apart-

eid and Nelson Mandelas release from

rison, the movie followed Mandela ase made radical changes in South Africa.

acial tensions were high across the

ountry and he knew improvements had

o be made before riots broke out na-

ionwide. hats when he decided to turn

o the rugby team, the Springboks. he

pringboks were South Africas national

eam but they were nearly all white play-

rs and because of this, most black South

Africans rooted against the Springboks.

Tensions ran wild and the Springboks

oor playing performance only made

atters worse.

This is where Mandela came in. He de-

ided to join forces with Francois Pienaar,

the Springboks

captain, to make

the team a na-

tionwide leader

for both blacks

a n d w h i t e s .

Mandela wanted

the Springboks

to un i te the

country despite

the huge social

and economic

differences. Not

only that, Man-

dela wanted the

Springboks to

become a wor-

thy contender

for the 1995

World Cup. Pi-

enaar took on

the challenge

and slowly began

changing the country with Mandelas sup-

port the whole time as the two became

closer. All their efforts culminated at the

World Cup as South Africans, both black

and white, joined together to root for the

pringboks.

lint Eastwood

delivers yet another

great movie with In-

victusfollowing last

years Gran Torino

and Changeling. he

ovie accurately

overs real events

while following

he book Playing

the Enemy: Nelson

Mandela and the

Game That Changed

a Nation by John

arlin. While a bit

dry at first, the plot

uilds as you learn

ore about Pien-

aar and Mandela.

y the end of the

lm, youre cheer-

ing right along with

the South Africans for the Springboks.

Morgan Freeman does a beautiful job

portraying a very convincing Mandela

that you cant help but love. Hes really

the strong point of the movie. At times

it seemed a little unbelievable that just

one sports team could actually turn a

country full of deep set racism into one

united nation.

My only real critique is that going

in to the film I didnt know why it was

called Invictus and by the end of the

movie I still hadnt figured it out. Later I

discovered that the title was much more

brilliant than it first let on. hroughout

the film, Mandela recited this beautiful

ictorian poem that he read in prison

that gave him encouragement to keep

going. He also appeared to give this Pi-

enaar before the World Cup. he name

of that poem is Invictusand was actually

written by William Ernest Henley in 1875

and means unconquered in Latin. his

poem summed up the feelings of hope

and perseverance found throughout the

film. his movie tells an uplifting and true

story closing in these beautiful lines of

the poem: I am the master of my fate: I

am the captain of my soul.

Now nominated for three Golden

Globes, including Best Actor and Best

Director, Invictuslooks for more victories

this award season.

Invictus is a victoryevon Gingrich

February 2010(theJournal page 8

Image courtesy of Amazon.com


9/11

op Arts

Five misfits, three cheerleaders, two

ootball players, a singing Spanish teacher,

a twisted cheer leading coach, a pregnant

eenager, romance, lies, secret love and

usic; that pretty much sums up therst season of the instant hit showGlee.

When Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)

learned about his high schools glee club

eeding a teacher, he volunteered, vowing

o get them a place at sectionals, knowing

hat otherwise, the club funds would be

ut off. he group of singers to compete

tarted out with only five, though it grew

as time went on. But, as Mr. Schus rival,

ue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), learned of his

uccess, she started to plot his downfall

hrough getting her Cheerios (cheer-

leaders) to get inside information. he

ead Cheerio, Quinn (Dianna Agron),

who is dating Finn (played by Cory Mon-eith), finds out that shes pregnantwith

ucks child (Mark Salling). Not to men-

ion that Kurt (Chris Colfer) comes out

of the closet and Rachel (Lea Michele)

loves Finn, who has no idea that his

girlfriends baby isnt his.

As you can probably tell, theres a lot

of drama, which in addition to comedy

are only some of the reasons that thou-

ands of self proclaimed Gleeks tuned

in every Wednesday night to fill their

weekly craving.

If youre not one to enjoy watching

a typical high school experience on V,

hen you might enjoy watchingGlee orits catchy new takes on classic songs. he

pilot episode ended with an incredible

emake of the most downloaded song in

i unes history; Dont Stop Believing; with

ew melodic surprises and harmonies.

or some people, this is the only draw

of the show, but for many it just adds to

the charm.

n my, and millions of other viewers

opinions, Gleeis by far the most enter-

aining show on television today. It has

aptivated the audience by keeping them

begging for more of the unrequited love,

hate, and humor, all while incorporating

social problems such as the issue of being

gay in a modern high school, or just being

unpopular. It is an outstanding show withgreat acting and singing, coming from

people like Lea Michele who starred on

Broadway from the age of eight.

he season finished off with Mr.

Schuesters Glee club, New Directions,

coming in first place at sectionals. Next

season holds the promise of rivalry with

another Glee club, Vocal Adrenaline,

whose coach is rumored to be played by

actress Idina Menzel who has starred in

many Broadway shows including REN

and Wicked. here will be more evil

manipulations from Sue Sylvester with

additional drama from Quinn, Finn and

Puck. Emma, the schools guidancecounselor (Jayma Mays) has been secretly

in love with Will, whose wife erri (Jes-

salyn Gilsig) has been faking a pregnancy

to save their dying relationship.

f its even possible for Glee to im-

prove, the next seasons ratings will soar.

Gleeis no longer just a national phenom-

enon, as it has premiered in other coun-

tries. Now, all thats left to do is wait, as

Gleeks count down the days until April

13 h when the second season will air at

its new time, uesday at 9:00 on Fox. If

you havent yet been mesmerized by this

remarkable show, tune in for drama and

music, and who knows, maybe you toowill one day be proud to call yourself a

Gleek.

Glee: The cult sensationallie Swyer

mage courtesy o mazon.com

Lady Gaga is one of the new artists

hat emerged in 2009 and took the music

world by storm. Her new album, The Fame

Monster follows up her first chart topping

uccess, The Fame. Gagas new 8-song EP

xceeded my already high expectations.

he EP includes the already chart topping

it, Bad Romance, which has already

dominated radio charts everywhere. It

includes eight catchy tunes with the sick

eats and unique style that earned Gaga

he spotlight in the first place. With

songs telling tragic stories of love, the

EP feels fun to listen, sing along, and

dance to. Original fans will be impressed

with the new tracks for their library. For

newcomers, a two-disc special edition

was released including all of Gagas first

album The Fame as well as the new mate-

rial. he dance beats will please, and keep

the world waiting to see what the fame

monster has up her sleeve.

ey racks: Bad Romance, Alejan-

dro, Monster

rianna Reed

his fresh album from the iconic rap

legend, Snoop Dogg is just plain bad; for

lack of a better word. An album like this

from Snoop is only going to further sup-

port the gradual decay of the rap music

world. With tracks from the new includ-

ing: 2 Minute Warning and I Wanna

Rock have nothing good to say about

them other than a catchy, yet hackneyedrap and hip hop beat. With vulgarity at

an all time high for Snoop Dogg, and

rust me, the bar was set very low. If

a clean version was even available, you

will most likely be listening to white

noise. Genuinely and sincerely said;

his album is nothing great. It is sug-

gested that you dont waste your money

and buy this horrific album. Even Lil

Wayne surpasses the quality ofMalice

N Wonderland.Key racks: Luv Drunk, I Wanna

Rock, 2 Minute Warning

Ian Campbell

h

e Braverys new album, Stir the

lood, cant seem to make up its mind.

Despite the negative reviews, the album

is great for dancing. With mainly syn-

hesizers and heavy drum rhythms, the

and makes an attempt at combining

a Killers-esque sound with rave music.

Slow Poison is a well-paced song with

heery back-up singers and a good cho-

us. Other songs have fast rhythm, light

hords, though sinister lyrics. Shes So

endable has good words, but a drab

melody. Even the most uncoordinated,

un-rhythmic listener wont be able to sit

still. With its wild combination of sounds,

ranging from he Cure, to Duran Duran,

the album draws mixed emotions. Stir the

Blood is over all, mediocre. It was a nice

attempt to create something with lasting

effect, but the only place this music will

last is on the dance floor.

ey racks: Slow Poison, Red

Hands and White Knuckles, I Have

Seen the Future

Julia Slezak

TheL

ates

tAlbum

s

ages courtesy o

Amazon.com

February 2010 (theJournal page 9


10/11

( Journal) page 10February 2010

Opinions

The state has run out of money, Thiswas the statement that Governor Pater-son had for us on December 13th whenhe announced that he would cut 10% ofthe $1.9 billion dollar education budget.

The state, apparently, is one billion dollarsshort. He also made another 19% budgetcut to the additional $3 million dollarsappropriated for public schools at theend of December. These cuts, he has de-clared, will make up for the gap between

what the state has and what it owes.Although we may think these steps are

admirable, they are in fact saving the statefrom bankruptcy, we have to think aboutthe effects they will have on our schoolexperience. Schools across the state arebeing effected in varying degrees by thecuts: Buffalo is bearing the brunt, missingout on $5 million, while Albany countyfairs a bit better, were only expected tolose $750,000.

No one is happy with this plan. EvenPaterson himself conceded that the situ-ation is far from ideal, remarking that,

The education cuts are draconian, thehealth care cuts are prohibitive, the taxesthat are being levied on New York citizensare not fair, but when you add it up, wethink we delivered the pain evenly, Inthe governors mind, the end justifies themeans, and he is willing to do just aboutanything to keep the state from runningout of money.

One of the most controversial aspectsof the plan is the $68 million that New

York City schools are slated to lose. Pa-terson defends this massive cut on thepoorest district in state by saying his planto spare poor districts was rejected, so hehad no choice but to accept the currentplan which gives these already strugglingregions no allowances.

As was mentioned, Governor Paterson was aware of how unpopular his planwould be. It didnt come as a surprisewhen on December 16th, three days afterthe plan was announced, state educatorsmoved to sure Governor Paterson, inan attempt to stop the withholding ofpayments to schools. The governor con-demned these groups as extra-specialinterests who were looking for specialtreatment during this trying time.

With Patersons decision to implementthis plan, he is effectively saving the state.But is it fair for him to call educators whoobject to the cuts selfish? Personally Ihavent seen any indication that the cutsare having a huge effect on Guilderland,other than the librarians being extra stingy

with the amount of paper we can print. Iguess we will have to wait and see if thecuts prove to be a godsend for the stateor a nuisance for students and teachers

who come to school everyday.

ArePatersonsbudget cuts

the bestchoice forschools?Hannah Cohen

Gift giving has been a holiday traditionfor centuries. Each year friends, family,and colleagues exchange presents to showtheir appreciation towards one another inthe spirit of the holiday season. But hasthis long known tradi-tion become just anoth-er form of obligatorymotions and repayingcommodities?

Many people willargue that giving giftsaround the holidayssimply shows you love

and respect for the giftreceiver. Gift givingisnt the importantpart, senior TaylorMuztafago said. Ithink the whole pointof the holiday [season]is just being with thepeople that you caremost about and know-ing that they care aboutyou just as much if not more.

While this may be true with family andclose friends it may not be true with peersand colleagues. Gift giving definitely has

some pressure related to it, senior Alyssa

Cubello said.Honestly, how many of you can say

that you have never felt obliged to givea gift to someone you do not truly careabout? Nearly everybody has at one point

given a peer a gift because they knew theywould have felt guilty if they didnt.

We all know the situation. One peer

walks up to another and in the midst

of a friendly conversation whips out aholiday gift wishing them a happy holiday.

Typically, the gift receivers first reactionis to smile and thank them for the gift.But suddenly they realize this personis expecting a gift in return--a gift theyhave not planned on giving. Instinctivelythey make up an excuse for not havingtheir gift with them and quickly removethemselves from the situation.

Thats where this situation begins todiffer depending on the person receivingthe gift. In one case the person may sim-ply send a holiday card thanking them for

the gift and wishing them well. In anothersituation the person may blow off thetransaction completely, rudely acceptingthe gift with nothing in return. But in afinal situation, the one most common inour society today, the gift receiver willquickly search for a last minute gift to givetheir peer within the following days.

As awkward and uncomfortable it is,this situation is far too well known by thegeneral American public. It has becomea situation that has turned the holidayseason into yet another business deal, a

way to get ahead, a way to impersonalizea sacred season.

Graphic courtesty of Jasmine Andres / The Journal

Implications of gift givingBecky Glazier

You are confused, and may not evenknow it. As it turns out, that is the casefor many viewers of cable news networks,the quality of whose content has becomeunder increasing scrutiny. A study con-ducted by the Program on InternationalPolicy Attitudes (run by the Universityof Maryland) found that viewers of FoxNews Channel (FNC) and CNN hadbeen misinformed on at least one majortopic concerning the war in Iraq. Thestudy showed that over half the viewerson both channels believed in incorrectinformation concerning the war in Iraq,

with eighty percent of FNC viewers prov-

ing to have misinformation and fifty-fivepercent of CNN viewers. Further more;the study concluded that, those who paymore attention to news are just as likelyto be misinformed as those who dont,and viewers of the cable network FNCbecome more misinformed the morethey watch. According to the Program onInternational Policy Attitudes study, onlypeople getting their news from printed

venues proved to have less informationthe more they read.

By ratings, FNC is the number onecable news program, with CNN andMSNBC heavily competing for the

second spot. All these networks reportnews constantly on a twenty-four sevenbasis. Diane Young, a teachers assistantat Guilderland High School believes thatsuch vast amount of free time result intwenty-four hour news networks turn-ing small issues into national events. Sherecalls that when Michael Jackson diedthere was nothing more important [to thenews networks] for weeks. David Logan,

a law professor at Wake Forest Universitycommented in an essay he wrote thatjournalists at twenty-four hours news or-ganization get the news first and fastest,not first and right. This he believes hasled to decreased quality in news contenton twenty-four hour networks.

Other challenges to cable news qualitycome from accusations of political bias.Such accusations come from both theleft and right. A documentary madeabout FNC called Outfoxed accusedFNC of conservative bias, while many

Right-of-center citizens feel that muchof the mainstream media carries a liberalbias. MSNBC has disallowed two of itsprogram hosts, Chris Matthews and KeithOlbermann, from anchoring general newsevents due to what many see as a liberalbias held by the two hosts. Pew Researchpolls show that as of 2009 the percent of

Americans who believe the media is unbi-ased, as well as the percent of Americansbelieving the media is accurate, has hit an

all time low. Only twenty-nine percent ofthose surveyed believed that the mediais generally accurate, while only eighteenpercent of those surveyed believed thatthe media was unbiased.

The events of Friday September 11,2009 and the medias reaction are citedby many as a prime example of the qual-ity of cable news. CNN, FNC, and othernews organizations reported a possiblelink between radio transmissions theyintercept about a Coast Guard ship con-fronting another vessel along with reportsof shots being fired, to the anniversary of9/11. This confrontation was reported tobe in the Potomac River in Washington,D.C. near where President Obama wasremembering 9/11 victims.

The Coast Guard latter released astatement saying that no shots were fired,and the radio transmissions were partof a routine drill. Critics accused CNNand FNC of reporting the story without

verifying it, and proceeding to speculateas to the radio transmissions link to terrorand 9/11. Among these critics was PressSecretary Robert Gibbs.

Such events are used as examples tosupport studies like the Pew Researchpoll on Americas trust and belief ofquality in media. As Ms. Young said onthe topic of cable news quality theytake little news stories and turn theminto national events. She made it clearthat she would much rather stick tolocal news and the newspaper for hersource of current events. Researchsuggest that Americans might be moreinformed if they did the same.

Graphic courtesy of Dev Gingrich/The Journal

Quality or Quantity?

(and other issues facing TV News)Nick Connolly


11/11

( Journal) page 11 February 2010

The night begins just like any other

Monday night; youre most likely at home,trying to multi-task your homework,

Facebook, and eating all at the same time,

when your British aunt comes in your

room and asks, Ello [insert your name

here], would you perhaps like to come to

a high school concert with me and your

mum? At first, though, youd probably

think, ugh school concert,remembering

your brothers concert from last week,

when the 5th graders played the Looney

Toons theme song for the eighth time (I

do give them credit for trying). Regard-

less, you really dont want to finish your

math homework, and youre pretty sure

supporting your classmates is a viable

reason to put it off. Now imagine three

hours later, youre sitting in an auditorium

packed with people, completely overcome

by the striking vocals and haunting me-

lodic tunes. Youll never see the singers

who sit in the back of your 3rd period

Chemistry class the same way again.

On December 21st , hundreds of

people came together to watch not only

Guilderland High students, but also past

alumni and Farnsworth 6th graders per-

form the ever-popular, and memorable

opus of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.

Conducted by Rae Jean Teeter and Nancy

Casellini, the concert was definitely a

highlight of the year. Ill be honest and

say I didnt know much about Carmina

Burana walking into the concert, other

than its uncanny resemblance to the Lord

of the Ringssoundtrack. Since then, Ive

learned that the 20th century oratorio was

first performed in 1937, in Frankfurt, by

the Frankfurt Opera, but was originally

discovered in a Bavarian monastery in

1803. Carmina Burana is composed of

13th century poems, stories, and songs,

which focus on reality and the pleasures

and temptations life brings. I was sur-

prised to learn that the story isnt about

death and vengeance (unlike LOTR) but

about life and love. The lyrics vary from

themes of spring, fortune, and lust, to

the deadly sins of drinking, gluttony,

and gambling, surprisingly similar to the

themes of the music written today.

As interesting as the lyrics to the song

are, it was the musicians that brought

the song to life. The concert may have

been held at Voorheesville High for its

larger auditorium, but it deserved an

audience the size of the Palace Theater.

The vocals, completely eerie and surreal,

were not ones of a typical high school

choir, but instead ones that had been

matured, nurtured, and perfected. Hit-

ting notes I didnt even think the human

could detect, and holding them with such

heavy vibrato, I would have thought the

voices had gone through years of intense

training at a performing arts school. Not

to mention Carmina Burana is written

in both German and Latin; learning the

piece must have been quite a challenge.

Regardless, every voice was beautifully

unified, producing sounds so mesmer-

izing that one can only be envious and

wish that they had joined the choir.

It wasnt just the singers that had to

learn the music, though. It took me

three months, says Jonathan Bintz, one

of the 3 accompanists. I practiced every

day for an hour, and maybe two for the

last month. He explains, Learning the

music wasnt the hard part. The hardest

part about playing for a choir is that you

cant make mistakes. When you do, you

are off, and when youre off the choir

sounds bad. Its also important to point

out that most of these students play on

sports teams, are enrolled in honors class-

es, and participate in other clubs around

the school. With everything they do, its

amazing to see all the time and hard work

they put into practicing pay off with such

an unforgettable performance.

From the gripping beginning to the

closing notes of O Fortuna, the 245

singers and 14 instrumental ists were sure

to give you goose-bumps. This awe-in-

spiring performance deserved more than

just a standing ovation. Everything from

the inspiring alumni to the aspiring sixth

graders made this concert what it was.

As my British aunt put it, The concerts

we had when I was in high school dont

even compare to the talent here tonight.

Brilliant, just brilliant, and I couldnt

agree more.

The expression It just aint over untilthe fat lady sings, is a possible reference

to the operas of Richard Wagner (1813-

1883), whose revolutionary works estab-

lished many of our impressions about

opera today. As a result of Wagnerian

opera, the overweight soprano with a

Viking helmet screaming in German has

become a popular symbol of opera.

But beyond Brnnhilde, who is prob-

ably responsible for this image, Wagner

crafted a variety of characters in many

intricately woven stories that have led

some scholars to say that Wagner pos-

sessed a masterful understanding of the

human psyche. His most famous operas,Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nrn-

berg, Tristan und Isolde, Tannhuser, and

his extremely long four opera cycle, Der

Ring des Niebelungen are regarded as

masterpieces of western art.

One of the most influential compos-

ers ever, Wagner introduced the idea of

a Gesamtkunstwerk, that is, a collective

artwork. His operas put music in dramatic

settings that had been unmatched up until

his time, believing that the musics effect

was enhanced greatly by it.

Wagner, indeed, has also pervaded into

American popular culture. At most every

wedding one can hear Wagners Treulichgefhrt from the beginning of Act III

of Lohengrin, best known in the United

States as Here Comes the Bride. And

his Ride of the Valkyries from Die

Walkre is often used in film and televi-

sion to portray tense (and sometimes

comical) scenes.

And yet, for all of his popularity and

genius, Wagner is also one of the most

controversial composers today. Part of

this undoubtedly stems from the fact

that Wagner, long after his death, became

popular with people who are terribly

unpopular. Adolf Hitler affectionately

referred to Richard Wagner as the Mas-ter, and cited Wagnerian opera as one of

his greatest influences and the epitome

of Aryan art.

However, it must be acknowledged

that the Nazis, as with many other things

such as the philosophy of Friedrich Ni-

etzsche (who discouraged anti-Semitism),

selected aspects of Wagners work that

supported their position and ignored

others. The Nazi propaganda minister

banned the opera Parsifal, for example, as

he thought it encouraged pacifism.

But Wagners philosophy, particularly

towards Jews, seems to be in line with

that of the Nazis. In fact, the grimmestpart of his legacy today is perhaps his

publicly declared anti-Semitism. Wagner

wrote an 1850 article entitled Judaism in

Music in which he indirectly attacked his

Jewish contemporaries of the time, Felix

Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer.

According to Wagner, Jews were alien in

German culture and therefore incapable

of creating any art of substance. By

Wagners interpretation, Jews only com-

posed for the money.

Naturally, such a history taints Wag-

ners reputation as a man, but what about

his groundbreaking, revolutionary music?

This is where some controversy lies.Some point to the genius of the music,

claiming that Wagners prejudices are ir-

relevant. Others say that Wagners life and

his music are inseparable, and the music

cannot be played without remembering

the anti-Semitism.

Surprisingly, Wagners own great

grandson, Gottfried Wagner, who has

been disowned by his family, says that, I

cannot just sit and enjoy his music. I never

put on Wagners music in my home...

Richard Wagners anti-Semitic writings

will always overshadow my life. Gott-

fried Wagner even went on a lecture tour

in Israel discussing his g reat grandfathershistory of anti-Semitism.

Among Jews, especially in Israel where

there are many Holocaust survivors, the

music remains contentious. In a 1981

concert with Zubin Mehta and the Israel

Philharmonic Orchestra, some audience

members left and others began shouting

when the orchestra performed a Wag-

nerian overture as an encore. Similarly

received was a 2001 performance of the

same piece in Jerusalem conducted by

Daniel Barenboim.

Even so, many, even in Israel, believe

that as a critical part of the history of

classical music, the music of Wagnershould be performed regularly. Yaakov

Mishori, an Israel Philharmonic Musician

points out that, He actually worked with

many Jews. Wagners public relations man

was a Jew named Neumann, Hermann

Levi conducted Wagners works at the

time, and a musician named Rubenstein

finished the orchestration of some of his

operas.

The classical music director of Israels

state radio station, Avi Chanani, takes a

stance that banning Wagner would be

undemocratic. He says, Wagner was

a revolutionary in music. His work is

central to the development of Europeanmusicthe public has a right to know; it

must be exposed to all information.

Richard Wagner, a critical part of the

development of classical music and a

legend in the world of opera, has had a

very troubled reputation as a composer.

Though an open anti-Semite and perhaps

a symbol of Nazism, musicians and audi-

ences in the United States seem to accept

a distinction between the Wagnerian

personality and Wagnerian music, and the

music continues to stay in the standard

orchestral and operatic repertoire despite

lingering controversy.

Choral spectacle proves too big for GuilderlandKatherine Bickmore

Fine Arts

UpcomingEvents

At Guilderland

February 6:

Pops Concert -Pops Goes to the Movies

Around

Guilderland

February 6:

Crossgates Mall

ESYO Playathon

February 25-27

Palace Theater

Albany Symph/

duo Parnas

Noah Rubin

Wagner remains taboo for many Israeli Jews

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