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The WarriorNiskayuna High School

a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly

April 28, 2006 Volume 32, Issue 25

Nisky students return from FranceBY IAN DAVIS

NEWS

For twenty-one students and three teach-ers at Niskayuna High School, spring break was anything but American. The students, chaperoned by language teachers Jane Ainslie, Caroline Gardiner, and Amy Martin, traveled to France for two weeks of sightseeing and spending time with the French students who visited Niskayuna this past fall. The group departed from Niskayuna on Saturday, April 8, for their Paris-bound flight from Newark International Airport in New Jersey.

Upon arriving in Paris the next day, the group had the once in a lifetime opportunity to have the route to their hotel blocked by the Marathon de Paris. In order to cross, students and teach-ers alike had to sprint across the road one by one, luggage in hand, avoiding the runners the whole time. “[It was] a fitting start to our adventures,” com-mented senior Matt Law.

For the next three nights, the group stayed in the MIJE youth hostel, and traveled around Par-is during the day. The group vis-ited many famous landmarks in Paris, including the Notre Dame cathedral, the Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, the Champs Elysées, the Arc de Triumph, and Versailles Palace. The travels in Paris also allotted time for one of the essen-tial components of travel to any major city: shopping. Students were able to shop at the world-

famous Galleries Lafayette department store in Montmarte shopping area.

On Thursday, students departed Paris aboard the world-famous TGV bullet train,

which whisked students away towards Al-bertville. Albertville, located in the French Alps, was host to the 1992 Winter Olympics, and most importantly, is home to the host

families of Niskayuna students. During their stay in Albertville, Niskayuna students attended classes with their host students as well as visited the Olympic museum. Over the Easter week-end, students were given free time to spend with their host families, during which many went skiing or visited nearby cities.

Following the Easter week-end, the group continued to do activities such as ascend to the highest observation point of Mont Blanc (the highest moun-tain in France) via teleferic and visit a cheese factory. Regarding the visit to Mont Blanc, Law expressed that “being in the Alps was almost surreal.” The final two days of the trip were marked by a day-long excursion to Geneva Switzerland, where students had free time to eat, walk, and shop. The following day, students visited the city of Lyon, where they saw Roman ruins, a cathedral, and again, had time on their own.

Niskayuna Students departed on Saturday, April 22. After over 20 hours of travel, they arrived home in Niskayuna once again. Overall, the trip was a success. “Being immersed in another culture for fourteen days is an experience none of us will ever forget,” concluded Law.

Warrior photo / Sarita Upadhyay

BONJOUR: Students visited Sacre Coeur in Montmarte, a region of Paris, dur-ing their trip to France from April 8-24.

Boys baseball 4-2 in league play, page 7

Student critiques popular band Guster, page 6.

Students protest for human rights in New York City, page 2

2 April 28, 2006 The WarriorNews

Students get on the bus to protestBY JULIETTE PRICE

NEWS

“Show them what democracy looks like,” crackled a voice from a bullhorn into the crowd. 1500 voices rose up in response: “This is what democracy looks like.”

On Friday, April 21, a group of 17 Niskayuna High School students traveled to New York City to participate in an Amnesty International pro-test. The event is called Get On The Bus, and this year was its eleventh year running.

Get On The Bus (GOTB) started in 1996 when 30 Amnesty International members from Somerville, Massachusetts decided to take a trip down to the United Nations building in NYC to demonstrate for human rights. Each year since then, GOTB has gotten larger and larger and has been able to accomplish more. The group coordinates everything including making posters, getting keynote speakers to talk to the students, and coordinating with the NYC Police Department.

Several members of the NHS Amnesty In-ternational chapter along with other NHS stu-dents concerned with human rights decided to participate in the day’s events. Meeting up with students from Bethlehem Central High School early Friday morning, the group of 30 students began their journey into the heart of human rights.

Arriving at St. Bartholomew’s Church at around 11 a.m., the group was given the chance to listen to a series of speakers who were impacted by the issues the students would be protesting. The first speaker, Adriana Beltran, worked with the Washington Office on Latin America for over seven years on its Guatemala program which seeks to help

improve human rights conditions. Beltran addressed the crowd about crimes against women which she had personally seen and witnessed such as the murder of over 1,900 Guatemalan women and girls between 2001 and present day.

Next was Dr. Meqdes Mesfin, daughter of Ethiopian prisoner of conscience Professor Mesfin Woldemariam. Woldemariam was the founder of the Ethiopian Human Rights Council and has been detained since Novem-ber 2005. He is currently on trial for treason and genocide along with hundreds of other human rights defenders. Mesfin also shared personal stories about her childhood which

silenced the room and brought the speaker to tears.

Another speaker was a student who shared her knowledge about the genocide which is currently under way in Darfur, a western area of Sudan. The student shared her close personal ties to the Holocaust and urged students not to let this type of genocide hap-pen again.

After hearing the inspirational speakers, students filed out of the church and onto the protest areas.

The first protest took place in front of the Sudanese Mission to the United Nations. Starting in February of 2003, armed groups began fighting against the Sudanese govern-ment complaining of the lack of protection for farmers and the general abuse of the population. The government of Sudan has backed Arabic-speaking nomadic groups who continue to carry out attacks on the villages. There have been terrible human rights vio-lations in the region including wide spread killings, rape, abduction and displacement. At least two hundred thousand citizens have been killed by the fighting and 2.5 million citizens have been displaced. As the protest raged on, the Sudanese Consulate agreed to meet with a representative of Amnesty International.

Students chanted protests together while a few students led the group. Some of these chants included “1-2-3-4, Genocide can be no more, 5-6-7-8, Stop the violence, stop the hate.”

CONTINUED ON PAGE THREE,[STUDENTS]

Warrior photo / Jeremy WolosTHE POWER OF THE PEOPLE DON’T STOP: Amnesty International members from around the coun-try came together to protest (above). Juliette Price and Jeremy Wolos lead the crowd in a chant (below).

Warrior photo / Jillian Gold

3April 28, 2006The Warrior News

CONTINUED FROM PAGE TWO,[STUDENTS]

Shortly thereafter, the protestors moved across the plaza to protest in front of the Ethiopian Mission to the U.N.. Elections were held in Ethiopia in May of 2005, yet the government took months in announcing the results. When citizens took to the streets to protest this political move, the Ethiopian People’s Revolution-ary Democratic Front arrested and detained more than 4,000 people. The police also shot into the crowd, killing and wounding hundreds. Among the people detained was Professor Mesfin Woldemariam. Students rallied for his release as well as the release of all prisoners of conscience in Ethiopia. Among the crowd were students from Ethiopia who are studying in

the United States. Some of them even had friends who had died in the conflict.

After a short walk in NYC, the group arrived at the Guatemalan consulate to protest the femicide in Guatemala. The protestors cheered some chants in English, as well as some in Spanish includ-ing “Ni una mujer más, Not one woman more.”

“It was a great experience and I found it relieving to see so many people who are committed to helping the world, especially those as young as us since we are the ones who will have to do the job in the future,” said Niskayuna sophomore RJ Kosineski.

The last protest was at the Chi-nese consulate on the other side

of Manhattan. The group gathered at the edge of the Hudson River and protested the censorship that the Chinese government implemented on their country’s internet access. In China, much of the Internet is off-limits to citizens through internet censorship and citizens who send emails denouncing the government and its policies are punished. A 36 year-old writer, poet and journalist Shi Tao sent an e-mail using his Yahoo personal email account to a friend telling of the injustices of the Chinese government. He was

arrested on November 24, 2004 for “illegally divulging state secrets abroad.”

The crowd, perhaps knowing it was the final protest of the day or perhaps knowing that Amnesty has had tremendous success with improving China’s human rights situation, gave it their all. The cries of the 1500 students could be heard loudly and clearly, and as a united voice against human rights abuse. The group showed the world what they believed in, and showed them “what democracy looks like.”

SAY “HUMAN RIGHTS”: Above, the group of students who went on the trip pose after a hefty day of protesting. The 17 NHS students protested along with 1500 others at four different sites in New York City. Students such as Jerehme Bamberger, below left, were able to voice their opinions to the crowd.

Students raise their voices in NYC

Advanced Placement Exams

7:40 AM

12:00 PM

English Language

5/1

French Language

5/45/35/2 5/5

World History

English Literature

Statistics

Computer Science A Computer Science BSpanish Language

Calculus A Calculus BMusic Theory

German Language

US History

Studio Art

The second week s̓ schedule of AP Exams will appear in the next issue of The Warrior

Warrior photos / Jeremy Wolos

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: thewarrioropinion@gmail.com. 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 edito-rial board, consisting of the Opinion section and the Editors-in-

Chief.

The op-ed pages are a forum for students’ opinions and ideas.

The WarriorNiskayuna High School, 1626 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, NY, 12309

http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/nhs/warriorEditors-in-Chief:Julia NapolitanoJeremy WolosNews:Evan Ballan, EditorIan Davis, EditorJuliette Price, EditorKaterina Gross, Asst.Laura Isabella, Asst.Joanne Qiao, Asst.

Opinion:Leanne Merrill, EditorJosh Xiong, EditorLeo Brown, Asst.Steph Kaylor, Asst.Entertainment:Sarita Upadhyay, EditorTim Vo, EditorAdam Evans, Asst.

Sports:Caitlin Horgan, EditorGavin Labate, EditorJoyce Dadekian, Asst.Josh Kovler, Asst.Magazine:Jean Qiao, EditorAlex Rivadeneira, EditorLyndsi Holmes, Asst.Emily Payton, Asst.Rachel Naparstek, Asst.

Additional Staff:Eric Zhou, Copy EditorSteve Chao, Distribution ManagerChris Nelson, Graphics ManagerErik Donhowe, Business ManagerMichael LaJeunesse, Web ManagerAdvisors:James EdgarRussell McDowell

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.

4 April 28, 2006 The WarriorOpinion

Are you a victim of indie arrogance?BY JULIA SCHNELL

OPINION

Downloading copyrighted music off the internet without paying for it is illegal, right? It’s stealing, right? It is hoped that you’ve been taught by now that stealing is wrong. Good. You and I are on the same page, then. Before that whole Napster vs. RIAA buzz several years ago, you probably loved being able to listen to that catchy Spice Girls number you heard on TRL without suffering the shame and embarrassment of dropping eighteen dollars on it.

Despite its immorality, some good has come from filesharing, and that good is called “indie.” Of course, of course, I already know what you’re thinking. Music groups signed to independent labels existed long before LimeWire, and albums recorded in basement studios have been sold at underground shows for decades. The differ-ence now is the wider selection of music avail-able with just the click of a mouse. Listeners

don’t have to drive hours to seek out a concert put on by friends-of-friends in the basement of a church in order to hear something a little less mainstream. A quick visit to websites like Pandora and 3Hive can breathe new life into a tired playlist, as well as give lesser known artists some airplay they wouldn’t get on commercial radio stations.

This wealth of new independent music comes with a potential down-side: indie arrogance. It’s an unfortunate sort of mental illness, marked by a snobbish desire to know and like music so new that even the band hasn’t yet heard of itself. A bug-eyed, paranoid stare often comes over the faces of those affected by the disease, as they keep a constant vigil in fear of po-seurs. The lyrics

scratched into their notebook cov-ers are frequently crossed out and replaced.

If you’re unsure whether or not you’ve been

Warrior art / Julia Schnell

exposed to this illness, here are a few potential warning signs, stated for your own protection. Indie arrogance appears first as a loss of interest in musical quality. If you are Newark Lumberjack Invasion’s only fan, perhaps there’s a reason that’s the case. If you’ve ever deleted a band from your iPod in its entirety for having been on MTV, it may be time for you to talk to your doctor

about a heavy dose of reality. Left unchecked, indie arrogance can lead to stints on college

radio, flaunting a knowledge of indie so expansive that in an entire school year’s worth of broadcasts no band will be

played twice (such as one DJ at Case Western Reserve University). No-body wants to be that guy.

W h i l e y o u should take ad-vantage of (legal) opportunities to download new and dif ferent music on the Internet, con-

sider this a warn-ing. Turn on a mainstream radio station every now and then to ground yourself. Don’t shy away from popular music just because

the rest of the world likes it, too.

You might find yourself having some-thing in com-

mon with other people, and will finally be able to crawl out of the corner of the record store. Indie arrogance may be overwhelming, but there is hope.

How to get rid of a lame duckBY JOSHUA XIONG

OPINION

When President Bush won his re-election in 2004, he admitted that he would spend his political capital wisely. Two years later, after the one thousandth American casualty in Iraq, the Valerie Plame fiasco, and the Abramoff and Delay scandals, the president is far from popular with Americans. With only a 36% approval rating, Bush has seen his political capital run dry. Conservative pundits have been arguing since the start of 2006 that the president can fight his fate of a second-term lame duck. I personally feel that the president can pull a Machiavellian trick that might just reinvigorate his last two years in office: fire Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

The first proposal is largely for symbolic rea-CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE,

[RUMSFELD]

5 April 28, 2006The Warrior Opinion

Letter to the EditorsStudent reacts to criticism of foreign policy

This letter was written in re-sponse to Mike Eisenstein’s article, “Does our federal government disobey the Geneva Convention?”, which appeared in Issue 24 of The Warrior.

To the Editors:The United States has shown

support for all of the Geneva Con-ventions throughout history. In 1886, the United States signed the Convention for the Amelio-ration of the Condition of the Wounded in Armies in the Field, which was the First Geneva Convention. This established the International Committee of the Red Cross, an organization that provided humanitarian assistance during war. In 1932, the United States ratified the Convention Be-tween the United States of America and Other Powers, Relating to Prisoners of War; July 27, 1929 (the Third Geneva Convention). Finally, the United States ratified the Second Geneva Convention and the Third Geneva Conven-tion (along with revised versions of the earlier two) in 1949. Mike Eisenstein’s article summarized the key points of what was agreed upon in 1949.

The United States has not breached the Geneva Conventions, particularly the points brought up by Mike Eisenstein about Op-eration Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom.

First of all, anybody reading the Third Geneva Convention will (or should) notice that most of the anti-United States insur-gency is not covered under that.

Specifically, the two definitions of “prisoners of war” in Article 4 that Mike Eisenstein must be incorrectly using are “Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory” and/or “Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units.” Although it initially sounds like the insurgency is covered under the first, it goes on to state that they must be “com-manded by a person responsible for his subordinates,” have “a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance,” carry “arms openly,” and they conduct “their operations in accordance with the laws and cus-toms of war.” The Iraqi insurgency complies with all or at least most of this. Likewise, the second definition also does not apply, stating that they must “carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.” Thus, the United States is not obligated to provide most Iraqi prisoners the POW rights provided under the Geneva Conventions.

Secondly, Mike Eisenstein missed a critical part of Article 3 of the Third Geneva Convention when he listed the various acts prohibited that he alleges the United States committed. The article states, “in the case of armed conflict not of an international character.” This clearly does not ap-ply to Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Thirdly, the Third Geneva Conven-tion clearly lays out how breaches of

Rumsfeld, Cheney require removal CONTINUED FROM PAGE FOUR,

[HOW TO]sons. While nobody can be sure of what exactly Dick Cheney has done in terms of hard policy, we can say that the American public sees him as the brooding, sinister right hand man of the president. Cheney is the devil on his left shoulder, so to speak. Cheney represents all that is perceptively negative about this administration—arrogant un-willingness to take advice from professional bureaucrats, lack of transparency to the public, tendency to bully and dismiss the opposition, and a habit of only belatedly admitting mistakes. Yes, the president trusts Cheney and views him as almost an equal in his governing philosophy, but whatever useful advice Cheney can offer would be better dis-pensed to the president outside of the limelight. Move Cheney to a faraway political “outpost” and you remove the negative PR baggage that comes along with him.

My second proposal is a bit more serious. One of the first and foremost arguments for the removal of Donald Rumsfeld is and always will be Abu Ghraib. In some ways President Bush was a fool for not accepting Rumsfeld’s offer of resignation after that scandal first broke out in 2004. But just because such an offer is no longer on the table doesn’t mean his outright removal is un-justified. The case can be made again in this light: Abu Ghraib was a gravely demoralizing blow to the war effort. It sent a message to the very Muslims we were and still are trying to win over that the U.S. has no respect for Islam. Because of that scandal, America lost its moral high ground in this war by conveying to the Iraqis that we did not care for their human rights. And it only fueled the flames of Fundamentalist Islamic rage and added ammunition for Al Qaeda’s conversion efforts. As the civilian commander in charge of that en-tire operation, Donald Rumsfeld should be held fully accountable

for such a terrible failure. More-over, the case for his removal has been bolstered by recent events. Six retired generals have called for his resignation––something almost unprecedented. On top of that is the declining confidence of the military in their civil-ian commander and the litany

of politicians, Republican and Democrat, who have expressed their disapproval with him. As The Economist has argued, “The secretary of defense has become a liability that Mr. Bush’s troubled administration can no longer af-ford: a distraction at home and a barrier to success in Iraq.”

If the president is serious about leaving a legacy and serving his country by implementing the bold vision he originally possessed, then he will do whatever it takes to fight back hard. If along the way he must endure some casualties in the form of Dick and Rummy, then so be it.

the Convention must be handled in Articles 129-132. The United States response to the actions at Abu Ghraib Prison (Baghdad Central Confinement Facility) completely followed Article 129, as all required action was taken against the offenders.

Fourthly, private military contractors such as Blackwater USA are only in post-war Iraq to help maintain security, which cer-tainly does not violate the Geneva Conventions. It is misleading to call them “mercenaries,” since they are organized corporations completely responsible for their own actions.

Finally, Operation Iraqi Free-dom could not be about “one man and his friends’ profit” since forty-eight countries were publicly committed to the Coalition at the time of the invasion.

When there is widespread unjustified domestic opposi-tion against the United States government, the terrorists have achieved a piece of victory. This is not some “label” applied to those who argue that certain poli-cies should be changed; rather, that is exactly what should be done in democratic countries whenever possible. It has been proven that nations are weakened by significant civilian opposition to government policies during wartime , specifically when Polish resistance created the illusion of an anti-Hitler movement in Na-tional Socialist Germany during World War II, which contributed to Germany’s defeat.

-John Warczak, Class of 2008

6 April 28, 2006 The WarriorEntertainment

BY TIM VO

ENTERTAINMENT

On Friday, April 14, Guster came to Union College to play a concert in the old Ramada Inn as part of their first annual “Campus Consciousness Tour”. The music was delightful.

I managed to enjoy myself at the concert, even though I’m not really a huge fan of Guster to be-gin with. My sister bought their Lost and Gone Forever CD when it came out a few years ago, and I remember listening to it in the car while driving around with her. I also remember kind of hating it. I thought their songs were kind of catchy, but I disliked their sound. The lead singer’s voice irritated me, and I remember thinking that the fact that their drummer plays almost exclusively on hand drums (such as bongos) was a little gimmicky.

So, three weeks ago, I was on the fence about going to see them at Union. But at 10 dollars, who could say no to tickets. I said, “Hey, what the heck,” and bought myself a ticket.

I arrived kind of late to the concert, but thankfully, the opening band hadn’t started yet. I managed to move up to the front of the crowd and got a spot not five feet from the stage. Soon, the opening band Luke Temple took the stage, and everybody went crazy. Luke Temple is a man, but he’s so much more than that. His playing could be summed up in one sentence that one of the seem-ingly drunk college kids standing next to me kept shouting: “YEAH WE LOVE YOU LUKE TEMPLE!” Actually, Luke Temple was pretty terrible. The sound system seemed to have a few kinks in it; we could barely hear his voice, and the mic positioned to pick up his acoustic guitar didn’t pick up any sound at all. The bass guitarist wasn’t that great either, so basically, all I was able to hear was the keyboardist and the drummer.

Listening to Luke Temple live, I thought he sounded a little like a bad version of The Flaming Lips, and that he might actually

have an interesting sound on a recording. This suspicion was not confirmed, however, when I got home and googled “Luke Temple”; the sound clips on his website sounded as bad as, if not worse than, the way he sounded live. As a friend I met there remarked, “His singing sounds like somebody is strangling a baby.”

The crowd listened to the first few songs patiently, but gradually, the crowd’s patience ran out as the songs got more and more ir-ritating. The applause after each song grew more and more tepid. It felt like people around me were close to booing; somebody near me threw an empty bottle on stage. But Luke Temple kept going. He told the crowd (as best as I could make out above the noise) that

we should treat these songs like a secret between two close friends, or something like that. “Maybe these songs should stay a secret, because they’re so bad! Oooh, burn,” I thought.

Finally, Luke Temple left the stage, and the stage managers for Guster started setting up. The crowd was incredibly restless. Especially towards the front of the stage, people were packed really tightly together; several separate groups of drunk-looking guys tried shoving their way to the front, but I and the people I came with boxed them out pretty success-fully. They gave up and settled for a position directly to the right of us, with much jostling.

After about half an hour of setup, Guster finally appeared, and everybody started yelling. I yelled a lot and I didn’t even like them very much! The lead singer looked like he was trying to tell the crowd something, but we didn’t let him. We just kept yelling.

He finally gave up and started playing one of their most popular songs. I recognized the song, and knew some of the words; it seemed like everybody around me was singing along. It was surprisingly good live; the energy in the crowd was enormous, and it’s hard to not let yourself get caught up in it.

The apparent drunkenness of the crowd, though, made itself apparent shortly after they were a few songs into their set. A group of red-faced, frat-looking guys

with really glazed eyes went crazy and started moshing (at a Guster concert, of all places), which probably was the worst thing that they could start doing with people packed so tightly in such small quarters. The people in the front were repeatedly shoved into the stage barrier. The motion in the crowd was exactly like a longitu-dinal wave that you’d learn about in physics class; the moshers shoved people into other people into other people, so by moshing, everybody was just getting shoved around. A friend of mine lost one of her shoes.

People started crowd surfing. You could tell that the band was not used to this type of energy

at their shows. The lead singer paused between songs and tried to tell people to calm down and stop pushing; that didn’t do anything. He tried doing it again, and again, nothing happened. Finally, he said, “Let’s try something new. This next song, why doesn’t every-body just slow dance. It doesn’t matter who you’re dancing with. If some of you guys can’t find girls to dance with, just dance with each other and it’ll be cool. Trust me.”

They started playing the song, and I looked behind me, and all the people that were crowd surf-ing and moshing were actually slow dancing. It was incredibly funny.

At another point, the lead singer remarked that the crowd smelled a

lot like beer, to which everybody started cheering. He also asked if there was an age limit on the concert, probably a comment on the appearance of the group of people that had managed to make it all the way to the very front of the stage, and remarked that his band has probably been playing together for longer than some of us had been alive.

The music itself was surpris-ingly good. Live, Guster had so much more energy than on CD, and the almost-too-clean quality of their sound

was erased. The few songs that I recognized` I really liked. They also played a few songs from their upcoming album. The energy of the drummer as he played his hand drums was also incredible, something that is almost totally lost when transferred to a recording. He had to tape up his hands at one point, because his fingers were bleeding.

I had a good time at the Guster concert even though I had not previous been a fan of their music. And even the barely-able-to-stand drunks behind us, despite being super annoying, were able to lend an energy to the concert that, for me at least, made it probably a little funner and less… safe.

Guster concert proves surprisingly good

Photo courtesy kweevak.comLOST AND GONE FOREVER: The latest Guster performance pleased fans and new listeners alike.

7April 28, 2006The Warrior Sports

Baseball going strong in the leagueBY AARON STAUDINGER

SPORTS

The Niskayuna boys varsity baseball team has opened the season strongly, posting a record of 6-2 in their first eight games. Their two losses have come from Suburban Council powerhouses Shenendehowa and Columbia. A strong core of seniors includ-ing Scott Battiste, Anthony Fallacaro, Brian Grastorf, Lucas Isabella, Steven Kozakiewicz, and Matt Simone leads the Warriors. The team also gets strong support from the ju-niors and sophomores on the team, fielding an 18-man roster, one of the largest squads in recent history. All of the players play a key role in the success of the team whether it is on the field or in the dugout supporting the team.

The Silver Warriors are also looking strong in the Suburban Council with a record of four wins and two losses. The Council boasts some of the strongest programs in the area and

is always competitive at both the Sectional and state levels. Columbia won Sectionals two years ago and made a strong run into the state tournament and Shenendehowa finished second to LaSalle at last year’s states. These two teams happen to be the ones that have handed the Warriors their

only losses. The Warriors have built the

program around the pitching of Battiste and Simone, who will attend SUNY Binghamton next year, and juniors Matt Kelly and Aaron Sapp. The team also gets spot perfor-mances from Isabella and Grastorf as well as a number of other pitchers that can step in at any moment. The team also is strong defensively despite having to shuffle the lineup in order to create openings for players. Having always been known for the strong pitching and defense, the Silver War-riors have surprised many with their ability at the plate. They approach each at bat aggressively and always look

to put the ball in play.

Coach John Fury adheres to the philoso-phy that the most coura-geous thing for an athlete to do is to step in the batters’ box time and t ime again and take a good hack at

the ball with every swing. The Silver Warriors built momentum earlier

this month during a game that has since been deemed “The Marathon” by many of the players. After playing 11 innings in a scoreless game at Mohonasen, the game was paused due to night setting in, which left the

game unplayable. The next day it was resumed and in the thirteenth inning, the Warriors scored a run to take the 1-0 victory over one of their many rivals. This momentum was carried for the next two games, powering the War-riors to a come-from-behind win over Bethlehem, which was high-

lighted by Drew Bartlett’s 3-run homer to secure the win, and a solid win over Shaker. Over the past few days, however, the Silver Warriors have stumbled, suffering a two-game losing streak. One of these games was played against Columbia at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy. The team got the chance to play the Blue Devils under the lights of “The Joe,” home to the Tri-City ValleyCats. Whether it was the home field advantage or it was just their night, Columbia came out on top in this game. They won 8-3 in a game marked by long innings on defense and short at-bats for the Warriors. The team was looking forward to getting back to winnings ways with a home game on Monday against Colonie; however, a late afternoon rain storm saw the game postponed. With their ace Simone on the mound, they will be ready for Colonie when the game is rescheduled.

With only a 20 game schedule the Warriors are well on their way to making another ap-pearance in the Sectional tournament. The team only needs a .500 record in Council play to make the tournament and with four Council wins already they are looking to make the tournament and gain a high seed. With such depth in the pitching rotation and consistency in the field the Warriors are look-ing good for the remainder of the season. If they can produce more offense and enable their stronger pitchers to rest their arms the team could generate a strong run at the end of the season and take the Suburban Council title. This would give the team a lot of momentum heading into the Sectional Tournament where it will face the toughest teams in the Capital Region.

BATTIER THROWS ONE: Scott Battiste follows through on a pitch against Columbia at Joe Bruno Stadium.

Warrior photo / Gavin Labate

READY TO RUN: A unidentifiable Nisky player is ready to take off from first base against Columbia.

Warrior photo / Gavin Labate

POWERIN’ PRIVATERA: Sophomore Joe Privatera swings and makes contact in a late inning of a game against Columbia.

Warrior photo / Russell Sherrill

8 April 28, 2006 The WarriorSports

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Girls lacrosse the team to beatBY R.J. KOSINESKI

SPORTS

It is midseason for Niskayuna Silver War-

riors girls varsity lacrosse and the team is off

to a strong start with a league record of 4-1

(5-2 overall). Led by leading scorer and co-

captain Mia Valetta and goalie Karlee Blank,

the girls have won their last three games,

including an 18-4 blowout of Ballston Spa

last Friday.

In that game, Valetta led the team with

five goals, giving her a total of eleven for the

season, and sophomore Leanna Pace added

three more. Blank had eleven saves, which

is just below her season average of just over

twelve saves per game. Blank is ranked fourth

in saves in Section II with a total of seventy-

three (as of April 24).

On Wednesday, April 19, the Silver Warriors

played a highly anticipated game against the

Shaker Blue Bison. Despite the fact that in

recent history games between the two teams

have been decided by a mere one to two goals,

the Warriors were unable to beat Shaker in

any of their meetings during the past three

seasons. This year however, the girls were

able to overpower their rival, and pulled off

a 10-9 nail-biter, highlighted by Pace and fel-

low sophomore Allie Pfohl each scoring four

goals. Blank’s thirteen saves helped the team

secure the win.

Discussing the team’s success, Valetta

explained; “every girl on the team has the

potential to score, which makes us a hard

team to defend.” The validity of this statement

was demonstrated in Friday’s game against

Ballston Spa. Ten different players scored

to create the team’s total of eighteen goals.

With just one loss in league games, the girls

are looking to keep their winning streak alive

and continue to improve. The girls are cur-

rently working on cleaning up their transitions

down the field. There are nine games left in

the season, including six home games, and

with the tough game against Shaker behind

them, the girls hope to finish the season as

well they have begun.

The girls’ only league loss came at home

against Guilderland on April 11. Since then,

the players have come back strong and avoided

defeat. Valetta commented, “We could have

beat them. We weren’t on that day, but if we

see them again in Sectionals I think we defi-

nitely can and will [win].” And if they continue

to play the way they are currently, the girls

will undoubtedly make it to Sectionals and

be more prepared than ever to win against

any team, including Guilderland.

Pfohl added, “We get along very well together

and that is the key to most of our success.

We have a lot of talent on our team. It is very

unique to have more than one high scorer,

which we do.” The scorers that she is talking

about include: Mia Valetta (with 11 goals),

Leanna Pace (11), herself (9), Kendra Lamb

(7), Chelsea Ross (7), Jenn Primeau (6), and

Kelsey Lamb (5); all of them are among the

top 100 scorers in Section II.

As said before the girls have 6 more home

games, 9 in all, and hope to finish out the season

strong. They are fortunate enough to be led by

so many great players and are a difficult team

to defend because everyone can has the ability

to score. They also have one of the top goalies

in Section II. The team gets along well and has

great chemistry on and off the field.

Looking to the future, twelve out of the eigh-

teen girls on the teams are eligible to return

next year, so their ability communicate on

the field and play together will only continue

to improve. So with that in mind, get out and

watch your girls varsity lacrosse team represent

Niskayuna and try to continue to improve its

winning record.

Baseballvs. Shenende-

howa Lvs. Columbia L

Boys Lacrossevs. Guilderland

10-5 Wv s . S a r a t o g a

Springs 15-5 W@ Mahopac 17-8

W

Girls Lacrosse@ Shaker 10-9 W@ Ballston Spa

18-4 W

Softball vs. Shaker 11-1

L@ Shenendehowa

15-1 Lvs. Columbia 5-

4 W@ Schenectady 3-0 W

Boys TrackBallston Spa Invy

4-19

Girls TrackBallston Spa Invy

4-21

The Boys Silver Warrior squad proved victorious against CBA on April 18. Senior Tyler Con-nelly, left, clutches his stick while protecting the ball from a CBA player. Look for the boys to continue their success as the season progresses. The Warrior will continue to document their wins.

Photo courtesy timesunion.com

The Warrior MagazineApril 28, 2006 Silver

The Editors-in-Chief of The Warrior are among students most dedicated to their extracurricular activity. As Editor-in-Chief, our week starts early Sunday afternoon, as we begin to call each section’s editors to ensure that they remembered to assign articles. Sunday night, we begin to edit articles for Monday afternoon and evening we are the last people to leave layout, often staying past 8 o’clock. Tuesday morn-

ing at 7, one of us is off to get the paper approved by Mr. Rickert, and the PDF file of the issue is then dropped off at the print shop. We spend the rest of the week over-seeing distribution, and getting a start on the next week’s issue. In all, we sometimes spend as many as 10 to 15 hours on The Warrior, but we enjoy doing what it takes to keep The Warrior one of only a handful of weekly newspapers nationwide.

Silver is a regular feature of The Warrior, printed as a four-page insert twice per month. The mag-azine section of the newspaper gives students an opportunity to express them-selves more per-sonally and cre-atively than they might otherwise in the specific format-driven sections like News or Opinion. Because of the size and creative aspect of Sil-ver, compilation of the magazine section of the newspaper takes

Being entertainment editor is a glorious and honorable job. The entertainment section only consists of one page (page 6), but it is full of fun facts and reviews about the latest movies, music, theatrical productions, television shows, and restaurants. We would definitely say entertainment is the most en-tertaining section–we have a wide variety of articles and the subject matter is generally interesting. As an editor, we stay after school every Monday to lay out the page. During the week, we contact writ-ers and assign articles. Over the weekend, we edit the articles that we got during the week so that they’re ready for Monday’s layout. The job requires responsi-

bility, but it’s also a lot of fun. APPLY NOW!PS- NOTICE THE FLOW CHART IN OUR PIC-TURE TO THE LEFT. <--

longer than most other sections. Additionally, because the maga-zine covers such a wide variety of subjects and themes, defining ex-

actly how to write an ar-ticle for the section tends to differ from issue to issue. Magazine edi-tors have to be creative in devising issue topics and must be able to work with

and manipulate computer graphics, create and distribute polls and surveys and be good writers and communica-tors.

Editors-In-Chief

Entertainment Section Magazine Section

Next year’s sports editors should be people who enjoy high school sports. It is advised that you know a fair amount about many different sports and the jar-gon associated with them. The job of an

editor necessitates that many interviews be conducted with both coaches and players who we might not know, so an

Sports Sectionoutgoing personality is needed. It is best for editors to have good orga-nizational skills and prepare ahead of time for each weeks issue. Sports articles can take a considerable amount of time to write, and therefore writers need to be given sufficient advance time to write their articles. Any creativity and enthusiasm you can bring to the job is also encouraged!

Warrior photo / Chris Nelson

Warrior photo / Chris Nelson

Warrior photo / Chris NelsonCOPY EDITOR

● A few hours later in the evening on Mondays, Thursday afternoons for distributions.● Must have an excellent grasp of grammar rules, spelling, punctua-tion, etc., and willingness to use dictionaries, journalism guides, and phone books for reference.● Should be detail-oriented and particular about correctness; needs to learn Warrior layout / style rules in order to maintain consistency.

t Don’t forget: ALL War-rior staff must be responsible, communicative, cooperative,

positive, able to meet deadlines, and willing to learn.

Miscellaneous

Warrior photo / Chris Nelson

The Warrior MagazineApril 28, 2006

Dear Readers,Welcome to the “Making the Paper” edition of Silver. In this magazine, we hope you’ll learn a little more about The Warrior and what goes into its production. Perhaps you’ll even choose to fill out the application to be on The Warrior staff next year.

The Warrior has four weekly sections: News, Opinion, Entertain-ment, and Sports, as well as this biweekly magazine, Silver. De-scriptions of what goes into editorships and assistant editorships for each section follow on the next two pages.

While prior experience working on/writing for the newspaper will be considered positively on applications, we need newcomers, so please don’t hesitate to fill out an application and drop it off in the English Resource Center.

Sincerely,The Editors

Silver

@

To be a news editor, the obvious qualification of being a good writer and editor is essential. Besides that, a news editor must be well informed on the happenings in the school and community. Since The Warrior comes out weekly, it is essential to be constantly searching for stories to assign for the next week’s issue.

Every Mon-day, Warrior editors meet to lay out the paper. This is when all the editors read the articles, edit them, and then figure out a way to place the articles on the page in conjunction with any pictures which may have been taken for news-related happenings.

SECTION EDITOR (2-3 News, 1-2 Opinion, 1-2 Entertainment, 1-2 Sports)

● Late on Monday evenings for layout, Thursday afternoons for distribution.● Must have experience writing for the paper, espe-cially for the section for which they apply.● Must be comfortable interacting with people.● Must be willing and able to communicate within the section.● Must have short-term, as well as long-term, sec-tion plans.Note: Magazine editors and assistant editors have the same requirements as regular sections; Thursday af-ternoons, but every other Monday evening (the Silver magazine is currently a bimonthly 4-page publication that is incorporated into the regular paper).

ASSISTANT EDITOR (1-2 per section)

● Late on Monday evenings for layout, Thursday afternoons for distribution.● Should have experience writing for the paper.● Must be comfortable interacting with people.● Must be willing and able to communicate within the section.● Must be willing to spend time to improve layout/editing/ writing skills, and to help editors.* Assistant editorships in every section are the first step towards more in-depth involvement in the paper. Positions of greater responsibility are almost always drawn from the ranks of former assistant editors.

General Section Info

News Section

Warrior photo / Chris Nelson

Opinion SectionEditing the Opinion section of a newspaper holds a unique set of challenges. If you are outspoken enough to be a part of a newspaper staff, chances are that you have some of your own opinions on issues that affect our school and society. The success of an Opinion section depends on the

editor’s ability to moderate the injection of his or her own opinions into the editorial process. Contributors to the sec-tion will be angry if the content or meaning of their work is changed; however, as an editor, your duty is to make the quality of the writing as good as possible. As Opinion editors, we try to strike a balance between expressing the same nuance of opinion that the writer originally intended, maintaining the writer’s voice, and improving the qual-ity and readability of the article or letter. Another duty of an Opinion editor is to write editorials that express the opinion of each of the two Opinion editors and two editors-in-chief. This requires cooperation and compromise.

Warrior photo / Chris Nelson

The Warrior 2006-2007 Staff Application This is an application for editor positions. Please return this and the requested materials to the box labeled “Warrior” in the English Resource Center by Wednesday, May 3. Editors will be notified of positions by Friday, May 5, and the new staff will begin Monday, May 8. Interested in being listed as a writer, photographer, or artist? Sign up on the sheet en-titled “Warrior” in the English Resource Center. Editors will contact you with information.

Name______________________________________ Homeroom_____________Grade in ‘06-’07______

Phone #____________________________________ Email_____________________________________

Desired position(s): Rank in order of preference (refer to previously described job descriptions).

___ Editor-in-Chief

News Opinion Entertainment Sports Magazine ___ Editor ___ Editor ___ Editor ___ Editor ___ Editor ___Copy Editor___ Assistant ___ Assistant ___ Assistant ___ Assistant ___ Assistant Other notes: Are there any sections, positions, or people in which or with whom you’d prefer not to work? This information will be kept confidential and will help us establish an efficient, friendly staff environment.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Past Warrior experience: Please list, by year, positions held and/or sections for which you’ve written/drawn/photographed. Also, what has been your distribution attendance? Note that we are looking for new members, so inexperience is not a problem.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Other time commitments: Please briefly list the other extracurricular activities in which you intend to participate in the 2006-2007 school year, including the seasons and days of the week af-fected. Note that other commitments will not negatively affect selections, and often add to the diversity of the staff’s experience.______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Finally: Have you written for The Warrior in the past? If so, please list the issue numbers of one or a few

articles that you feel best exemplify your abilities as a journalist:_____________________________________Additionally, for all applicants seeking an editorial position, we’d like to see how you write outside of The Warrior. Locate any piece of writing (between one and three pages) that you’ve written for a class, writing contest, or anything else, and staple a copy to this application page. It is not necessary to write something original for your application— we just want to get a better sense of your abilities as a writer, editor, and grammarian.

Volume 8, Issue 14 April 28, 2006 SilverThe Warrior Magazine

MAKING THE PAPER

Jean Qiao & Alex Rivadeneirawith Lyndsi Holmes, Rachel Naparstek & Emily Payton

t SPECIAL EDITION - SEE INSIDE TO LEARN ABOUT THE INNER WORKINGS OF THE PAPER AND TO OBTAIN A COPY OF THE WARRIOR 2006-2007 STAFF AP-PLICATION