Niskayuna High School

Since 1974,Now Weekly

January 7, 2005 Volume 31, Issue 14

Spanish Club travels to Boston

BAILEN!: Spanish Club members learn how to perform a flamenco dance dur-ing their trip to Boston on December 17.

Photo courtesy Caroline Gardiner

Members learn about Spanish culture, dancing on tripby Diane Kim

NEWS

Flamenco dancing, dining at a gourmet restaurant, and a visit to Boston’s Quincy Market offered members of the Spanish Club a unique cultural opportunity on December 17.

The students, chaperoned by fi ve teachers including SenoritaRachel Brewer and Senorita Caroline Gardiner, departed from the high school at 7:15 a.m. and ar-rived at their fi rst stop, a dance studio in Boston, at 11:30 a.m. There, they took a private fl amenco lesson with professional fl amenco danc-er Ramón Reyes. Reyes, who is internationally known, has been dancing since he was a little boy, along with his entire family. Flamenco is the traditional dance of the Gypsies (fl amencosGypsies (fl amencosGypsies ( ) of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is a graceful and rhythmic dance consisting of

different steps and beautiful arm motions. Flamenco consists of fi nger snapping, hand clapping,

shouting, singing, and castanets. Flamenco dance looks fun and easy; however, students learned that it requires a high level of

skill and coordination.After the dance lesson, stu-

dents went to the Spanish res-

taurant Tapeo for lunch. Seated in a private dining room, they took the opportunity to converse in Spanish with the waiters, who

brought out several samples of Spanish cuisine. The students tasted a number of dishes, such

as tortilla española (an omelet consisting of potato and onions in a pie shape), croquetas de pollo (chicken croquettes), chorizo a la plancha (grilled Spanish sausage), and pa-tatas bravas (baby potatoes with piquant tomato and ali oli sauces). For dessert, stu-dents tasted fl an, a custard native to the Spanish-speak-ing part of the world.

Freshman Alisia Engle described the atmosphere as “romantic and beauti-ful,” a sentiment echoed by several others for the restaurant’s dim lighting and festive decorations.

In the afternoon, stu-dents went to Boston’s famous Quincy Market to

join a crowded holiday shop-ping scene.

“It was considered a good time by all,” said Gardiner.

by Jesse ContiWORLD NEWS

In the western half of Sudan lies Darfur Province. Since the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) took up arms against the government 23 months ago, this area has been the focus of international attention.

Darfur has long been an area of clashes between farming communities and nomadic tribes. Over the years, these tribes have been involved with hundreds of instances of pillage and murder. The government has blamed com-petition for scarce resources as the primary cause for these clashes.

In February of 2003, the SLA rebelled against the government, citing a lack of protec-tion for their people and general abandonment of the area by the government. The nearby farming communities gave their support to the SLA. A splinter group called the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) was also created

Darfur hostilities continue in Sudan after the SLA’s initial rebellion.

The Sudanese government responded by empowering the Arab militia, the Janjawid, to attack the villages of Darfur. The militia began systematically raping and pillaging throughout the area. Homes and water sources were destroyed and livestock were slaughtered. Many thought this just to be Janjawid work, until it was disclosed that government planes had been bombing vil-lages in Darfur before the militia attacks.

The UN estimates now that well over a million Darfur residents have been dis-placed and that some 120,000 refugees have crossed the border into the neighboring country of Chad. Those who have remained in Darfur are living in squalid makeshift camps that are constantly on the move, fl eeing from the Janjawid.

The SLA, JEM, and the Sudanese govern-ment signed a ceasefi re agreement in early

April 2004, but claims of genocide by the SLA and Amnesty International sparked a UN fact-fi nding team to travel to Darfur that same month. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Dertrand Ramcharan, reported to the Security Council that the Sudanese government had directly or indi-rectly carried out “massive human rights violations in Darfur.”

Since that time, the government has failed to end its attacks on the SLA, and the Janjawid has continued its campaign throughout Darfur. The UN has issued multiple statements and resolutions plead-ing with the government to disarm the Janjawid and end the atrocities, but the government as of yet has been unwilling to cooperate.

Despite the ceasefi re, fi ghting continues (contiuned on page 2,

U.N.)

News January 7, 2005 The Warrior2

by Julia NapolitanoNEWS

As of Monday, the death toll in the wake of last week’s Sumatra earthquake disaster reached an estimated 140,000. The earthquake, which registered a nine on the Richter scale, occurred off the west coast of Sumatra in the Indian Ocean on the morning of December 26, triggering massive tsunamis that pummeled the coasts of more than ten countries at nearly the speed of an airplane. Entire villages and coastal resorts were de-stroyed, as people, structures, and vehicles were swept away by the tidal waves follow-ing what has been deemed the world’s most powerful earthquake in over 40 years.

Several local groups have pledged to help raise money to support relief efforts, includ-ing the Hindu Temple in Albany. For more information, contact them at 459-7272.

Students at Niskayuna High School are also in the process of setting up a relief fund with the help of several clubs. A meeting was held Tuesday to discuss the plans. Funds raised by the clubs will be consoli-dated into one large donation and sent to a nationally-recognized relief organization. Look for more information in an upcoming issue of the Warrior.

(continued from page 1,DARFUR)

between the Sudanese gov-ernment and the SLA. Last Sunday, CNN reported that an African Union monitoring helicopter was shot at while on an intelligence mission. Humanitarian aid agencies have met resistance in their attempts to provide goods to refugees in Darfur. The inter-national relief organization Save the Children recently reported two of their workers killed in the Darfur region. The Sudanese government denies any responsibility.

Both sides have refused to lay down their arms in an immediate ceasefi re. The Sudanese government said on Sunday, December 18 that they would “immediately and unconditionally cease hostilities in Darfur and ask that the UN and African Union request the rebel forces to do

Relief Organizations for Monetary Donations

At the recommendation of USAID, the UN, and other government and non-governmental organizations and authorities, monetary donations should be sent to non-profi t relief organizations working in the regions affected by the tsunami in order to fund the costs of relief and reconstruction. The following are just some of the organizations involved in the relief effort that are in need of monetary sup-port. Contact any one of them to contribute.

The Red Cross - A humanitarian organization that helps millions of people each year to prevent, prepare for, and cope with emergencies. The Red Cross is a non-governmental organization.

Oxfam International – A confederation of 12 organizations, it seeks to end global poverty, suffering and injustice. Oxfam aims to make global equity on the same priority level as economic growth, and espouses a policy of economic and social justice.

UNICEF – The United Nations Children’s Fund is an unsponsored program of the UN that seeks to improve the living conditions of children worldwide, with a focus on those living in developing countries. To achieve this, UNICEF endeavors to combat poverty, establish education institutions, provide basic nutrition and health to children, and provide emergency assistance and funding to nations in crisis.

AmeriCares – AmeriCares is a non-profi t humanitarian and relief organiza-tion that provides emergency medical aid to those in need. The organization has mobilized emergency response teams and airlifts into Sri Lanka and India, with preparation underway for similar Indonesian operations.

Network for Good – A network of international organizations varying in specialties of emergency response, food aid, and anti-poverty.

World, students re-spond to Southeast Asia tsunami crisis

U.N. assesses Sudanese confl ict

(continued from page 3, JAZZ)

playing and ‘stick to it.’” Niskayuna has had a few opportunit ies similar to Snidero’s visit. Todd Cool-man, a saxophone player and jazz musician, visited the school two years ago. Cool-man did not work with the students as much as Snidero did, but instead brought his own jazz band that performed for the students, offering them a firsthand impression of what a professional jazz band is like. The Niskayuna jazz ensemble will have yet another great opportunity to work with professional jazz musicians when they attend the Jazz Invitational, which will be hosted by Guilder-land High School on March 30. The band will have the opportunity to work with

the same.” The SLA and JEM are both skeptical, citing the broken ceasefi re agreement that the government signed in April.

The UN has deemed the situ-ation in Darfur to be the worst humanitarian crisis ever in UN history, estimating that over 2.3 million people are in need of aid. The approaching rainy season only looks to make things worse.

Students gain knowledge from saxophonist’s recent visit

jazz musician Harry Allen, another accomplished saxo-phone player.

At the end of the lesson, Snidero played a bit with the rhythm section of the Niskayuna Jazz band, a good closing to the experience. Afterwards, he autographed posters for the students; some even asked him to autograph music books that Snidero had written.

Senior trumpet player and senior Liz Brown, “I liked how he focused on little details with each section, because even the tiniest thing could make a big dif-ference—and I liked that he signed posters with a Sharp-ie!” Students were thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Snidero and to improve their jazz skills under his guidance.Source: world-gazetteer.com

3NewsJanuary 7, 2005The Warrior

Jazz musician visits NHS

Sources consulted: Dictionary of Word Origins by John Ayto and Websters New Collegiate Dictionary, Fourth Edition.

of the WeekThe Word

WORD OF THE WEEK

JEOPARDY:THE MIDDLE-LATIN PHRASE JOCUS PARTITUS LITERALLY MEANS “DI-VIDED GAME” AND CONVEYED THE MEANING OF “AN EVEN CHANCE.” THIS FOUND ITS WAY INTO OLD FRENCH; THE TERM JEU PARTI LITERALLY MEANS “A DIVIDED GAME OR PLAY,” OR, ONCE AGAIN, “EVEN CHANCE.” THE EXPRESSION WAS USED WHEN PLAYING CHESS AND OTHER BOARD GAMES. THE ENGLISH WORD JEOPARDY IS A PHONETIC ADOPTION OF THIS

FRENCH TERM.

THE SEMANTICS OF THE WORD CHANGED BY THE 14TH CENTURY; PEOPLE FOCUSED MORE UPON THE “CHANCE” THAN THE “EVEN” PART OF ITS DEFINITION. JEOPARDY HAD COME INTO ITS MODERN SENSE, “RISK OF LOSS OR

HARM, DANGER.”

RELATED WORDS INCLUDE “JOKE,” “JEWEL,” AND “JUG-GLER.” WHETHER YOU ARE TELLING ONE, STEALING ONE, OR STANDING IN THE VICINITY OF ONE, THESE TERMS CERTAINLY INVOLVE

AN AMOUNT OF RISK.

INSTEAD OF ASKING SOMEONE TO PLAY A FAIR GAME, THOUGH, YOU CAN NOW ASK HIM IF HEʼD LIKE

YOU TO PUT HIM IN JEOPARDY.

by Jess WallNEWS

Any student who attended Iroquois Middle School can remember starting off the day with a WIRO broadcast. WIRO is a TV studio run by eighth grade students at Iroquois; it is broadcast to a television in each classroom. Two years ago, a group of students at Niskayuna High School, inspired by fond memories of their middle school WIRO experiences, came up with a plan to create a TV studio in the high school to model the one at Iroquois. Business Edu-cation and Technology teacher Matt Evans agreed to help them start the TV Studio Club.

The club, however, quickly encountered an obstacle. TV

Studio President, senior Matt Stopera, explained that club members worked hard to “cre-ate a TV studio like the one at Iroquois, but unfortunately we had to accept that we did not have enough money.”

Nevertheless, Stopera, Vice President senior Virginia Moore, and the rest of the club members didn’t take the lack of funds as a defeat. Realizing that a TV studio within the school was not possible, they decided to try something on a smaller scale.

In an effort to advertise the club and obtain students to be a part of their fi rst project, the club has hung been signs around the school trying to recruit vol-unteers for a “Niskayuna High

School Survivor.” The TV Studio Club has made their own version of the popular reality TV show, which Stopera described as “just like the original; two teams will compete in challenges and the losing team will vote someone off.” Katie Bushnell, one of the students participating in the show’s fi lming, corrects a fallacy when she says that the current show is unlike the original CBS version of Survivor in some respects. Bushnell adds, “It will be like the real Survivor, but these challenges aren’t as dangerous and there won’t be any overnight encampments or anything.” The two teams are made up of sixteen Niskayuna High School students, and the club began fi lmingon December

15. The show will be broadcast on the public access channel, with weekly episodes sometime in April.

The club has no specifi c plans, since the founding members are seniors. They are, however, compiling a senior class DVD. Senior Matt Stopera, the club president, encourages all stu-dents to “watch the show! It’s good and has lots of emotions. It will be interesting to see who wins.”

Students open studio programNiskayuna club airs its own ‘Survivor’ show

by Birant Akbay and Stephanie Cogen

NEWS

Students and faculty at the high school were pleased to have the opportunity to host one of jazz’s most infl uential musicians. Jim Snidero, a well-known solo-ist and recording artist, came to Niskayuna High School on Friday, December 17, to help the Niskayuna High School Jazz Ensemble on few of their pieces. He also provided the students with enthusiasm, advice and strategies on how to become better jazz musicians.

Snidero, who was born outside of Washington D.C. and cur-rently lives in Saratoga, grew up with jazz. As a young child, he listened to his favorite jazz musicians and tried to imitate their sound. He has written many tunes for young musicians, but also desires to give back to the music community in other ways. On top of working with Niskayuna High School, he has also worked with high school jazz bands from Saratoga and Guilderland. When asked if he enjoys helping young musicians, Snidero replied, “Yes! Absolutely! I think it’s good to meet students. I was given guidance when I was

a kid and I want to bring the same type of interest to kids today.”

Snidero visited NHS during three of the four lunch mods, working mainly with the jazz ensemble, as well as with stu-dents in the stage band. He lis-

tened while the jazz band played through some of their songs, such as “Some like it Blues,” “A Happy Thing,” and “Isfahan,” all pieces that the ensemble performed at their last concert. Following

their performance, Snidero gave the band constructive criticism and helped them to polish certain sections in the music. He also gave the class tips on how to improve their style of playing to make it fi t that of jazz. After this, he went on to give the ensemble a lesson on improvisation, teach-ing them various techniques and styles that he himself uses while playing. Snidero also told the students the techniques he used to become a better player, and emphasized why listening to favorite musicians is the best way to learn how to play and expand jazz technique.

Tenor saxophonist and junior Chris Law was one of many who enjoyed Snidero’s input. “He gave a good overview on the roots of improvisation and how to become a better sounding jazz musician,” said Law.

Junior Kyle Smith, an alto saxophone player, said, “Not only did I enjoy how he took his time in helping us, but I liked how he threw in an occasional ‘You did a good job, man,’ after someone played a nice solo, and how he kept telling us that the most important thing is to keep

(continued on page 2,STUDENTS)

SAX TO THE MAX: Renowned jazz mucisian Jim Snidero recently worked with the jazz ensemble on perfecting their style.

Photo Courtesy jazzhouse.org

444 OpinionOpinionOpinion

The Warrior

The Warrior is published each Friday the high school has classes (33 times a year).

For a one-year subscription, send a check for $25 payable to Niskayuna High School to The Warrior, Attn: Subscriptions, 1626 Balltown Rd., Niskayuna, NY 12309.

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T H E S T A F F

January 7, 2005 The Warrior

EDITORIAL POLICIES

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are wel-come from all members of the school community. The Warrior reserves the right to edit letters for grammar and length.

SIGNED OPINION ARTICLES AND CARTOONS express the opinions of their creators.

UNSIGNED EDITORIALS represent the consensus of the paper’s edito-rial board, which may not refl ect the majority of the students’ views.

THE OP-ED PAGES are a forum for students’ opinions and ideas.

EDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Alice Lee, Alec WilsonNEWS EDITORS: Jesse Conti, Julia Napolitano,

Joshua XiongASST. NEWS: Lesley Yemi Adewunmi, Ian

Davis, Eric ZhouOPINION EDITORS: Evan Ballan, Jeremy WolosASST. OPINION: Stephanie KaylorENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Sarita UpadhyayASST. ENTERTAINMENT: Steve ChaoSPORTS EDITORS: Anthony Guzman, Andrew MarshallASST. SPORTS: Caitlin Horgan, Gavin LabateHEAD MAGAZINE EDITOR: Kathryn FantauzziMAGAZINE EDITORS: Katerina Gross, Alex RivadeneiraCOPY EDITOR: Abby AlgerGRAPHICS COORDINATOR: Laura SimpsonGRAPHICS EDITOR: Juliette PriceDISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Ian DavisBUSINESS MANAGER: Erik DonhoweWEB SITE MANAGER: Scott BrainardADVISORS: James Edgar, Russell McDowell

EDITORIAL

Tsunami relief necessary

by Evan BallanOPINION COLUMN

Looking around lately at calendars, computers, and other devices displaying the year, I’ve found myself faced with a serious ques-tion: Who moved my 2004? The year that seemingly had only just begun had sud-denly vanished, and this stranger, 2005, had taken its place. Whenever the year changes, many people have traditions of making New Year’s resolu-tions; they set goals that they attempt to commit themselves to in the coming year. Granted, by January 2, most of those resolutions are out the window. I’m not that big of a New Year’s resolution person. I don’t see New Year’s as a fi tter date to resolve to do anything than any other day. Nevertheless, I tend to come up with several, if for nothing other than the sake of tradition. “Oh boy,” you’re probably thinking, perhaps whilst emitting a groan, “don’t tell me he’s going to tell me all of his resolutions!” Never fear, dear reader; I’ve got something much better in store for you.

I didn’t think that it would be particularly interesting to publish my own resolutions in The Warrior, so here are some resolutions I would like to see someone else make.

I would like to see the school resolve to put in place some kind of climate control in our school. It seems that classrooms have two settings: I-have-heating apparatus-but-it-never-ever-turns-off-no-matter-what-

constantly-blasting-hot-air-into-the-room-and-over-heating-everyone-in-it, and my-heating-apparatus-ap-pears-to-have-skipped-town-and-somehow-defying-logic-this-room-is-actually-colder-than-it-is-outside. Both of these are equally unpleasant, and a happy medium needs to be found. Additionally, I am concerned that in rooms with neverending heat, the heat is managed by some central computer over which there seems to be little control. I’ve seen enough robot movies to know that this is how it all starts. Step 1: Take over the heating system. Step 2:

Take over the world. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t be able to save us from this one.

I would like to see me-teorologists resolve to not get our hopes up that there may be a snow day or a delay when, in fact, there will not be one. Several times this year already, there has been discussion of the prospect for a snow day. Students all over participated in

bizarre night-be-fore rituals, but, alas, they were

to no avail; suffi cient snow did not arrive. This is not very good. Granted, this probably isn’t the me-teorologists’ fault. Maybe I instead should be asking the weather to resolve to obey what the meteorologists tell it that it is going to do. Then again, there is something that the meteorologists of the world could do to ensure good results in the future, and that is to hire Miss Cleo to predict the weather. Not only would Miss Cleo make weather correct, she’d also make it fun! Of course,

(continued on page 5,EVAN)

Evan welcomes the new year

When a deadly natural disaster wipes out a signifi cant portion of Asian coastline and makes thousands more homeless, those who haven’t been directly affected tend to react with horror and sadness, which many people translate into charitable deeds for the survivors.

So, when a massive tsunami hit South-east Asia on the day after Christmas, many Americans immediately and nobly decided to send monetary donations to a wide variety of aid organizations. However, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand, and other countries were receiving an eclectic variety of donated goods, including excessive quantities of canned ham and women’s jeans.

Although the donation of these goods may have been made with the best intentions for the poor, starving, and homeless villagers, many of those in need never caught sight of

it. Instead, uncoordinated relief efforts sent a good portion of American citizen relief to the wrong areas, which had not been hit as strongly by the disaster, while entire villages starved in remote areas. Furthermore, some of the aid that did reach the needy also didn’t do much good. Many of the recipients adhere to religious restrictions on diet and attire.

Therefore, though Americans meant well when they sent their val-ued belongings overseas,

many of those relief contributions could be lying in Asian dustbins. Donating spare change, on the other hand, may help chari-ties buy exactly what these traumatized people need, including water purifi cation tablets to prevent disease and food and clothes that the victims can utilize. Mon-etary donations are a more effi cient way to provide much-needed relief tailored to particular regions and their inhabitants.

FOR EVAN’S SAKE

How the rich got their wealthDear Readers,

Money makes the world go ‘round. The global and domestic economies are based on the confidence of the masses in the ex-changeable value of cur-rency. Between foreign investments in United States bonds, to the inter-est of foreign nations in the continued depreciation of the dollar, nothing has a greater effect on the world’s supply of goods, services, and natural resources more than money.

Such is the topic of this issue. We’ve taken the op-purtunity to focus on the history of our currency, specifi cally that of the most circulated piece of our cur-rency, the dollar bill. We also focus on how some of the wealthiest individuals in the nation have obtained their fi nancial status, such as Paris Hilton, Martha Stewart, and Bill Gates. We also discuss how you, as a student, can receive monetary income.

-The Editors

In the last edition of Silver, the name of two members of the foreign language department who had helped edit articles were acciden-tally cut off. We apologize for this mistake and would like to thank Señor Jones and Magistra Miller for their help!

Correction

by Ian DavisMAGAZINE

As one examines modern soci-ety, it is obvious that a myriad of rich people exist. Some of these people are famous; others are not. The mystery surrounding the rich and famous is just how they got their money. That is why I have taken on the task of informing society just how the rich and famous became rich and famous.

The fi rst person whom I am focusing on is Paris Hilton. Hil-ton is the great-granddaughter of the founder of the Hilton hotel chain and has an inheritance of about $330 million. Now, one may ask himself: “How can one person be worth such an immense sum of money at such a young age?” The answer is simple. If you have rich parents, you will get some of their money. Despite being able to live off of her parents, Hilton is currently pursuing an acting career.

Martha Stewart, another famous person in modern society, earned her fame and fortune from the ground up as the CEO of Martha Stewart Liv-ing, which produces television

shows as well as magazines and books. Currently in prison, rumor has it that Stewart plans to make a comeback after her release.

The third person I am going to discuss today owns many expensive buildings in New York City and has recently purchased its largest land plot. If you haven’t already guessed, I am talking about world fa-mous real-estate tycoon Donald Trump. Like Stewart, Trump had humble beginnings, start-ing his career as a landowner with his father in Brooklyn. His business then evolved to what it is today, a multi-billion dollar corporation owning some of the most expensive properties in Manhattan. Trump’s proper-ties include luxury apartments, hotels, and the famous Trump Tower offi ce building.

What is the only company that owns an airline, a record label, and cell phone service? The answer is simple. Virgin. The founder of this wildly suc-cessful international company is Sir Richard Branson (yes, he is a knight). Started in Britain, Virgin was at fi rst simply a

record label. In the 1980s Virgin Atlantic Airways began service. A few years ago, Vir-gin Mobile came into the cell phone market. So, whenever you listen, fly, or talk, think about the money you are put-ting in Branson’s pocket.

Last, but not least, is former Microsoft CEO Bill Gates. Gates founded Microsoft shortly after dropping out of Harvard in the 1970s. The company grew over the years as it con-tinued to develop software. Its staple products include the popular operating sys-tem, Windows, as well as Microsoft Office, a produc-tivity suite. Today, Gates is worth $48 billion and is Microsoft’s chief software architect.

Well, the end has come to the list of the rich and famous. Hopefully, you now know more about the mysteries of their wealth. Hopefully, you know (if you didn’t know before) just who you are supporting when you use a Windows computer, buy a CD, rent an apart-ment in New York City, or read a cookbook.

Monetary cash fl ow for the high schoolerby Ben Hayashi

MAGAZINE

As students go through high school, it seems that money gets to be more and more of a problem, for better or worse. At this point in your life, parents are most likely still doling out the cash in order to pay for their s t u d e n t s ’ necessities and other items such as spor t -ing clothes and sports equipment, gasoline, the dreaded car insurance itself, and even that cup of Starbucks coffee that you end up getting more often than you probably should. With all of this, there is obviously a greater need for a job—or at least some

way to earn some money on the side after school or during the summer.

The main way a student can earn a little cash is obvious. Get a job. Yes, you’ll have to do a little work, but look at it this way: since you usually have plenty of time during

the summer to lie around and spend money, you might as well earn a few bucks during the day to have at least some funds to go by. Around the town, there are plenty of places to get a job; d o i n g

things like washing dishes, or cashing people out at stores, or even the popular lifeguard-ing—if you take the time to ob-tain lifeguard certifi cation—will

earn you big bucks. There are also plenty of places around the area where you can do something a little more active, such as helping out at a farm, or acting as a counselor at a camp. If you have a specialized skill of one kind or another, sometimes you can get a job as an in-structor or apprentice and really start to rake in the cash.

However, if during the summer you’re quite busy with your family, traveling, or camps, there are also plenty of jobs during the school year that one can take

(continued on next page, JOB)

Image courtesy illinoisleader.com

Job opportunities for enterprising kids (continued from fi rst page,

MONETARY)advantage of. Some of the same jobs are usually available then as during the summer, and can be had for hours that are also school-friendly (businesses are trying to entice younger, more energetic workers). If you’re re-ally busy during the week with sports or other school-related activities, you can get a job working Saturdays or Sundays. Furthermore, if you don’t mind waking up early, you might be able to work mornings at

a shop nearby. There are also some specialized jobs in the school available to students. With these jobs, you can work during your free mods and get some money without traveling far. There’s also the ever-popu-lar seasonal jobs, like picking apples for an orchard during the fall, or plowing driveways during the winter—if for some reason you have more time during a particular season of the year.

In addition to all the hard work, saving the money that

you earn is absolutely key. Save a little money here and there, whether it be by refraining from getting that soda that you enjoy every day after school and just drinking water, not buying the popcorn at the movies, or maybe opting for the Tall, not the Grande-sized cappuccino at Starbucks, and your savings will soon add up to hundreds of dollars. Never forget the old adage: a penny saved is a penny earned. Small sacrifi ces won’t kill you, and you probably won’t miss those small indulgences

much anyway. Most people will be surprised how much they actually do add up.

By making a little bit of money during the school year or getting a job during the summer, and spending a little less money here and there, it’s possible to successfully address your money problems. It’s particularly important for students to get into good money-handling habits at a young age in order to be suc-cessful with money manage-ment throughout life.

Options for locally available part-time employment

How well do you know your currency?

1. Who is on the penny? (83% correct)a) Kennedy b) Roosevelt c) Jefferson d) Lincoln

2. Who is on the dime? (42% correct)a) Hamilton b) Roosevelt c) Jefferson d) Franklin

3. Who is on the quarter? (84% correct)a) Jefferson b) Washington c) Roosevelt d) Lincoln

4. Who is on the dollar? (83% correct)a) Washington b) Jefferson c) Roosevelt d) Franklin

5. What building is on the back of the ten? (52%)a) National Treasury b) White House c) Capitol d) Lincoln Memorial

6. Who is on the twenty? (72% correct)a) Jackson b) Johnson c) Hamilton d) Monroe

7. What building is on the back of the hundred? (32% correct)a) Monticello b) Independence Hall c) Library of Congress d) Supreme Court

Bonus: Who is on the two? Answer: Jefferson (22% correct)

It is apparent that the majority of Niskayuna High School students surveyed maintain a basic knowledge of the pictoral representations of our currency. It can be discerned that students have obtained this information through observation, because a greater percentage of the students sur-veyed answered questions regarding currency of greater value incorrectly. The average high school student does not generally handle bills of great value, and therefore has a minimal familiarity with their appearance.

Our survey presented various questions regarding the appearance of commonly circulated currency, as well as more obscure currencies, such as the two-dollar bill. The survey also asked questions re-garding bills of signifi cant value, which are less frequently used in transactions. The following quiz was distributed at random to 130 students. Answers are in bold.

Worst-Scored Question: What building is on the back of the hundred?

Best-Scored Question: Who is on the quarter?Who is on the quarter?

by Evan BallanMAGAZINE

Each day in the United States, millions of dollar bills change hands. The process is one familiar to us all: reach in wallet/pocket/purse, remove bill, hand over bill. Rarely does one stop to take a look at a bill and examine closely all of its in-tricate idiosyncrasies. Recently, I did just that in an attempt to evaluate our country’s currency. What follows are my fi ndings.

Before I commence with an in-depth analy-sis of each side, I’d like to share an observation about the dollar as a whole. I can’t help but feel that the bill is try-ing to insult my intelli-gence. The number “1,” or the spelled-out word “one,” appears no fewer than sixteen times on its two sides. I’d have to say that’s just a little bit overkill.

The front of the bill offers a plethora of items to tantalize the eyeball. Surrounding the bill is a lovely

leafy sort of border. Across the top, it reads, “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.” (That’s in case you forget where you are.) In the middle is a portrait of George Washington. Then there

are serial numbers. (That’s in case you’re a bank robber and

they need to hunt you down.) Towards the bottom of the bill, there are two signatures. One is of the Treasurer of the United States, and the other is of the Secretary of the Treasury. On

my bill, a 2003 model, the signa-tures were a bit tricky to read. My best guess put the name on the left at Posaris Cmerin, and I read the one on the right as John W. Snno. Suspecting I wasn’t entirely correct in my interpretation, I sought out the real names of the owners of these positions. The correct names are Rosario Marin and John W. Snow, respectively. Clearly, the handwriting award goes to Mr. Snow. In each corner of the bill there appears a letter followed by a number. Mine says B92 in one corner, and B2 in the other. BINGO!

“THIS NOTE IS LEGAL TEN-DER FOR ALL DEBTS, PRI-VATE AND PUBLIC,” proclaims the upper left corner of the front side of the bill. That’s good to know; prior to that insight I was under the impression that the bill could be used as a paper hat, or even a good conversation piece when put on display on a

coffee table.The back of the dollar bill

continues entice the ocular re-gion of one’s facial unit. In the middle is located the word ONE, above which in smaller letters

it reads, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” They seem to have this thing with using all-capital letters on the dollar. I’m not en-tirely sure whether or not “IN GOD WE TRUST” belongs on our money, but that’s a discussion for an-other day. The word is flanked by two images; on the left, a bizarre pyramid with the top severed and fl oating above it. In that top section is an eye staring me down. Is this some sort of Egyptian currency? “THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA” across the top of the bill would seem to indicate other-wise. Some research yielded that the pyr-

amid was the seal of the United States, the pyramid represents strength and durability, its incompleteness symbolizes the incompleteness in building the nation (we’re talking 1700s when this thing was made). The eye is supposed to be that of God overseeing the country. I’d probably get in trouble with my Latin teacher if I didn’t mention that the words “ANNUIT COEP-TIS” (again with the capitals) above the pyramid translate to “He has favored our undertak-ings.” Below the pyramid, a banner reads “NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM,” meaning “a new order of the ages.” On the right side of the over sized “ONE” is a picture of what I believe to be the Presidential seal, only it doesn’t say so on the bill.

You know, looking at dollar bills sure is fun, but what’s more fun is spending the money on some excellent Chinese food. Sayonara, bill, it’s been swell!

Evan examines an infamous dollar bill

Ever wondered where the money in your wallet came from? Or, af-ter spending it, where it’s on its way to next? A website entitled “Where’s George?” was created to track exactly that. Located at www.wheresgeorge.com, users can go and enter the serial numbers of any

bills that they happen to come across. If someone has entered that number before, the person will see a list of its travels; if the number is entered again later on, the user is notifi ed by email and can check the updated route of the bill. Statistics available on a bill include current location, past locations, and miles traveled. Users can also leave comments on the bill, including its condition and where exactly they received or plan to spend it.

Where’s George?

Image courtesy treachery.net

Image courtesy archive.cnn.com

5OpinionJanuary 7, 2005The Warrior

ALL OPINIONS expressed on the op-ed pages represent the individual viewpoints of their authors. The content does not necessarily repre-sent the views of The Warrior,the high school, the school district, nor the Board of Education.

by Jeremy WolosOPINION COLUMN

Niskayuna district officials recently announced that former Niskayuna High School Principal Edward Carangelo, who has been acting as interim principal of Craig Elementary School, will continue in that position for the remainder of the school year. According to a recent article in TheDaily Gazette, although statewide searches have yielded several qualifi ed candidates, none, according to District Superintendent Kevin Baughman, have fi t the “culture” of our district and community.

The notion that certain traits of our school district give us character does not seem controversial or diffi cult to accept, but is our “culture” really so universal and unique that we were unable to fi nd a single individual who could fi t in?

The students of Niskayuna are constantly reminded of the stereotypes with which out-siders supposedly view us: extremely wealthy, academically obsessive, and horribly competi-tive. These ideas are supported in a feature in last year’s Crossroads, the high school’s yearbook, which asked Niskayuna students to provide what they feel would be the most accurate objective observation of the school. Responses included phrases like “extremely cliquey,” “a lot of really nice cars,” and “this school is really about grades and who goes to what college.”

It is doubtful that any of these is what

Baughman meant when he referred to our culture; the Niskayuna elementary school environment doubtfully suffers from cliquish-ness, has no students with expensive cars, and uses a grading scale in which the top mark is a mild-sounding “O” for “outstand-ing. All of these stereotypes can, however, be linked to another, unifying characteristic of the Niskayuna community: overbearing parents for whom their children’s education is of supreme importance.

In a school district in which panel discus-sions on issues like grade-weighting and block scheduling have historically drawn crowds

of parents numbering in the hundreds, this seems to be a fairly essential part of our cul-ture. Perhaps Baughman was implying that a principal of Craig Elementary School had to be prepared to handle the inevitable barrage of academically-crazed parents concerned about their eight-year-olds’ academic future.

Of course, it is possible that the “culture” of Niskayuna is entirely unrelated to school. Then again, academics seems to be the single unifying characteristic of our town. Since the consolidation of fi ve wealthy school districts formed Niskayuna Central School District fi fty years ago, our community has remained highly educationally focused.

In fact, it is diffi cult to think of something

that sets our district apart besides academ-ics. Schenectady has its basketball team, and Saratoga has its cross-country girls, but Niskayuna lacks a strong association with any particular area of athletic excellence. A few longtime residents might refer to a perennial wrestling dynasty of bygone years, but, judging from the fact that nearly every single landmark of the Niskayuna community named for an individual carries the legacy of 1984 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Jeff Blatnick, it seems clear that we struggle to fi nd non-academic distinction.

Some might argue that Niskayuna’s “cul-ture” is visible in our annual community festival, Niska-Day, but even this year’s event could not draw itself away from the town’s academic fi xation; the declared theme of last May’s proceedings was “Celebrating 50 Years of Educational Excellence.”

Of course, interest in academics is hardly a negative, but could it really be the only true, universal aspect of our cul-ture? As a Magic 8 Ball would inevitably reply, signs point to yes. Obviously, the fact that the phrase “educational excellence” appears dozens of times on our district website is not coincidental. When Baugh-man referred to the need for an individual who matches our “culture and expecta-tions,” he probably meant, simply, that it requires a special individual to meet the pressures of maintaining our commitment to academic superiority.

Academics dominate Niskayuna culture

Evan continues to welcome the new year(continued from page 4,

EVAN)there’s the little problem of the fraud charges she encountered several years ago, but nothing that a time machine couldn’t fi x!

Note to self: Resolve to invent time machine.

I would like to see Hollywood resolve to make some better movies next year. If this is not possible, I would like to see movie theaters resolve to lower their ticket prices. If I’m going to see a bad movie, it should at least be at an ac-ceptable price. On the same note, I do not like paying for a movie, whatever price, and then being bombarded with advertisements, from fl yers I receive the moment I purchase my ticket to commercials that air before the fi lm begins. I am

not interested in paying money to be advertised to, and if I were, I would go elsewhere.

I would like to see the letter Q resolve to make itself more useful. It became a bit more widespread with its usage in reference to the war in IraQ, but other than that, it’s rare to fi nd. Maybe ditching “u” and going solo would help out its career.

I would like to see you, the reader, resolve to not waste your time by reading any non-sensical articles. Wait, scratch that one.

I would like to see The Warriorresolve to pay me vast sums of money for writing this column in the form of a briefcase of un-marked bills. If this proves dif-fi cult to do, payment in the form of a private jet is negotiable.

I would like to see telemar-keters resolve to have some respect for when they choose to call. Well, this probably isn’t so much the fault of the indi-vidual telemarketer is at is his boss. I also do not appreciate being called and then told to “please hold for an important message,” when whoever has this message was the one who called me! If the message is of such utmost importance, the least the messenger could do is stay on the phone to tell it to me when I answer. Of course, the reason he does not is because he is probably on an-other line, telling someone else about this urgent message. In fact, I doubt that this person cares whether or not I receive this important message. More likely my number was chosen at

random by a computer that then dialed it. Perhaps the number wasn’t so random after all, and the computer that’s calling me is the very same one that runs our school’s heating system, trying to spy on me and my family in our home.

Finally, I would like to see this article to resolve to conclude itself in a clever and concise manner.

Hey, I tried.

JEREMIAD

January 7, 2005666 EntertainmentEntertainmentEntertainment The WarriorThe WarriorThe Warrior

by Boyang ZhouENTERTAINMENT

The fi rst moments of Ocean’s Twelve start out well. By the fi rst moments, I mean the War-ner Brothers™ symbol fl ashing by and the names of the all-star cast, including (but not limited to) Brad Pitt, playing detail man Rusty Ryan; Catherine Zeta-Jones, playing Isabel La-hiri; George Clooney, playing the leader Danny Ocean; Matt Damon, playing pickpocket Linus Caldwell; Bernie Mac, playing safecracker Frank Cat-ton; Andy Garcia, playing the casino owner Terry Benedict; Julia Roberts, attempting to play Danny’s wife, Tess Ocean; and even a short cameo from Bruce Willis.

The plot picks up three years after the original Ocean’s Eleven concluded; to oversimplify the original, a gang of eleven thieves storm a Vegas casino and take everything in the vault. After splitting the $168 million, all of them try to set their lives straight, but the diffi cult challenge soon proves impossible. A feud between Ocean and Benedict escalate

Anticipated sequel gets oceans of reviewsby Adrija Basu

ENTERTAINMENT

The astounding success of Ocean’s Eleven created high ex-pectations for its sequel, Ocean’s Twelve. The pre-Christmas launch of this movie was a stra-tegic move by the distributors to harness the festive holiday mood. Their strategy proved to be successful; Ocean’s Twelvewas a box-offi ce hit right after its release, even making number one for a while.

Like many other sequels, this movie is indebted to its original movie, which was an action-

Grade: A-Grade: B-

when Benedict gets close to proving Ocean’s involvement in the Vegas heist. However, Ocean has plans of his own to carry out a bigger heist to pay him back.

The problem with the movie should be apparent to anyone who’s ever spent a week watch-ing TNT (and to some who haven’t). The plot is unoriginal; actually, it goes beyond un-original into a realm of James Bond-esque fi lms in which it copies its generic predecessor. But, as a student living in Niskayuna, I’ve become quite accustomed to the same ol’ thing. So after taking a gulp of soda, I once again, regretfully, started to listen to the dialogue. The most insightful comment I managed to grasp was from Scott Caan, played by Turk Malloy: “Come on, he’s one guy, and he’s French.” As I left the theater, I felt that I was the one who had been cloyingly robbed out of ten dollars, 120 minutes, and my good mood.

Ultimately, this article itself turns out to be a perfect paral-lel to Ocean’s Twelve; it starts out looking promising, features several half-witty comments, and ends up fl at.

actually the twelfth thief. But if they decide to make Ocean’s Thirteen, Zeta-Jones will prob-ably be the thirteenth person. Vincent Cassel, as another villain, also makes the movie more powerful. As the in the original, director Steven Soder-bergh uses high-tech devices which allow the characters to elevate the level of diffi culty of their robbery. Unlike the original, the story transcends the borders of United States and becomes a series of inter-national robberies.

This movie works out pretty well as a sequel. I would give this movie an A-, because it

To see reviews on another highly antici-pated holiday sequel,

Meet the Fockers, check out the Warrior Enter-

tainment next week.

packed comedy. Ocean’s Twelve, in comparison, has less action but more comedy. The charac-ters help build up the intense mood of this movie. The fi rst twenty minutes of the fi lm are kind of boring, but as soon as the implementation of the group’s strategy begins, the movie be-came more enjoyable and exhila-rating. There are many twists which also help build up the excitement. Actors Bernie Mac, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and Julia Roberts do an excellent job of acting and make the movie enjoyable. Catherine Zeta-Jones, the new major edition to the cast, is cast as an English cop, and adds more drama to the movie. A lot of people might think that she is the twelfth member of the ring, but she isn’t; Julia Roberts is

wasn’t as good as the original, but it was defi nitely entertain-ing. It is always diffi cult for a sequel to meet the expectations of the audience because it has to compete with the strengths of the original movie. Consider-ing the movie’s overall pros and cons, if someone enjoys comedy as well as action, Ocean’s Twelveis a must-see.

MASTER THIEVES: Daniel Ocean (George Clooney) and Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) plan their master theft in Ocean’s Eleven, the prequel to Ocean’s Twelve.

by Steve ChaoENTERTAINMENT

There is a new sequel to the cinema hit, Ocean’s Eleven,out, and if anything, it is at least as good, if not better, than the old. With an all-star cast including the likes of George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Ju-lia Roberts, Matt Damon, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, Ocean’s Twelve was a hit even before hitting the big screen.

Before seeing Ocean’s Twelve for myself, I had read many different rev iews, many of which were not favorable. Because the movie had such an acclaimed cast, I was disap-pointed but had to see it for myself. I am now extremely happy that I did. The money I spent to see it was definitely well spent.

In this sequel, director Ste-ven Soderbergh puts together a very intricate plot, full of twists and turns that are ex-pected in any Oceans movie. Beside the wonderful plot line, there is quite a bit of comical exchange between many of the characters, giving the movie a humorous touch. One of the most enjoyable humorous rela-tions is the one between Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt) and Danny Ocean (George Clooney). Be-tween these two thieves, there is an air of cool as well as many witty but snide comments.

Overall, Ocean’s Twelvewas ultimately a movie worth seeing; rarely does one see a movie with such an impressive caliber of actors juxtaposed with such an amazingly com-plex and involved scheme. Un-like the critics of the movie, I was not at all disappointed.

Grade: A

Photo courtesy www.onepark.netian.com

7SportsJanuary 7, 2005 The Warrior

Boys indoor track looks to stand strongby Julia Stori and Ashlee Atwell

SPORTS

After little over a month of training, the Niskayuna boys indoor track team, twice-reigning Section II Class B Champions, has finally com-menced their season. Head coach Jason DeRocco,leads the team with the assistance of Michael Peters and Peter Melito. As the new addition to the coaching staff, Melito noted, “We’ve got a pretty good group of guys, so if they work hard they could be suc-cessful as individuals and as a team.” The team shares his view and understands that its hard work and dedica-tion over the past month of training will pay off when it counts.

While they have had only one meet, the seed of success have already been planted. Peters stated, “The first meet made me very excited about the season. We have a lot of potential and I am really excited for the season to come.” The results for this meet, which took place

on December 12 at RPI, proved that Niskayuna will be a force worth reckoning with in Section II. The boys placed first among Class B schools that will be their Sectional competitors and fourth overall, only losing to Shenedehowa, LaSalle, and Greenwich. The boys proved their strength on the track with fifteen individuals or relay teams placing in the top six overall.

The 1000m run appears to have been a Niskayu-na specialty, as the boys swept places first through fifth with sophomore Kyle O’Connor leading the pack in 2 minutes, 41.6 seconds, followed by junior Birant Akbay (2:50.2), junior Josh Gordon (2:51.4), sophomore Timothy Ryan (2:54.5), and sophomore Jef frey Paul (2:56.2). Another top fin-isher includes sophomore Zak Smetana, who was a powerhouse in the 3200m, clocking in with a first place time of 11:11.1. Junior Colin Niezgoda helped the team with a strong second place

finish in the mile with a time of 5:00.4. Also placing second was senior Mark Kopecki in the 600m (1:30.1), with senior Jon Wetzel following him closely across the fin-ish line for a fourth place finish (1:31.1). With a time of 1:46.2, the 4x200m relay team of senior Michael Barry, freshman Aaron Staudinger, senior Anthony Guzman, and junior Matt Smith placed second. Placing third was the 4x400m relay ‘A’ team of Gor-don, junior Jack O’Brien, ju-nior Brandon Niezgoda, and junior Zach Malone (3:58.5). The 4x400m relay ‘B’ team of junior Jeff Roeser, freshman Jacob Claridge, freshman Robert Kosineski, and sopho-more Terry VanWert placed sixth in 4 :16.6 . Placing third was the 4x800m relay team of Gordon, Smetana, senior Dennis Seaman, and O’Brien in a time of 9:12.8. Finally, Brandon Niezgoda had a strong individual showing, placing fifth in the 300m dash with a time of 41.1 seconds.

In order to add a little

extra motivation and rec-ognition for a job well done, the coaches decided to add a new tradition of naming two boys and two girls as the “Warriors of the Meet.” Those nominated are athletes who stood out in the eyes of the coaches, either for helping the team point-wise or for improving greatly on an in-dividual level. This meet, the coaches chose Gordon and Smetana as the recipients of this honor.

This year’s team, although much larger than in previous years, is still quite close-knit, and freshmen and seniors alike have similar outlooks. Kopecki noted, “We work well together and the younger kids are moving up nicely, and in the next few years we should be a strong team.” As a first time member of the team, freshman James Pagano observed, “There’s a great coaching staff and a fun atmosphere.”

While the boys team has only just begun their season, the team is sending athletes to Brown Relays, a quali-fiers-only meet on Decem-ber 27. Qualifying athletes include the 1600m sprint medley team, the distance medley team, and Barry in the triple jump. The sprint medley relay consists of Tim Ryan running the 400m, Staudinger and freshman Vince Bergami running the 200m races, and Michael Ryan anchoring with the 800m. The distance medley team is made up of Kyle O’Connor in the 1200m, Brandon Niezgoda in the 400m, Kopecki in the 800m, and Wetzel in the 1600m. Barry commented, “The competition will be a step up from what we’re used to, and the experience should be a lot of fun.”

To sum up the prospects for the remainder of the sea-son and Sectionals, Michael Ryan said succintly, “Good things to come!”

Source: www.geocities.com/niskytrackBoys Track: Members of the boys indoor track team take a break for a photo shoot after an impressive per-formance at the Brown Invitational.

8SportsJanuary 7, 2005 The Warrior

by Gavin LabateSPORTS

Two years ago during the winter season, the Niskayuna Varsity swim team was in the midst of a mediocre season, posing no credible threat to any of the dominant teams in the section. However, since the addition of a new pool to the school in 2003, the team has improved dramatically, and looks to build upon last year’s successful season with another run in Sectionals.

The turning point in the Niskayuna swim program came with the expansion on the school, bringing a new pool as well as a home for the swim team. However, individual contributions have played a large role in get-ting Nisky to the 5-0 record it currently possesses. The team is led by senior cap-tains Dave Mitsche and Alex Judd, who have provided the experience and leadership to put Nisky in a great position to dominate the section. The team has great confidence in their captains. As senior Rob Manor said, “It’s a great team, and the captains make it all

the better. We know how to work, which gives us the will to win.” However good these two captains may be, though, they are not enough to win a meet for the team, as it requires a good performance from every swimmer to come away with a victory.

Though led by seniors, some of the team’s most crucial swimmers are underclass-men. Sophomore Spencer Booth is looking forward to another strong season on the team, after swimming at the Varsity level for his first time last year. Booth, who is in his fourth year of competitive swimming, placed fourth in Sectionals last year and rep-resented the team at States, placing eleventh. Manor, a swimmer regarded as one of the strongest in the area, looks to dominate this season and would like it known that he plans to set the new school record in the 500m freestyle in an upcoming meet. However, Booth may be a hindrance to this plan. In addition, for-eign exchange student David Rudolf joined the team this year, bringing from Hungary a

powerful backstroke certain to devastate his opponents.

In just five meets this sea-son, this team has already made great accomplishments. A relay team consisting of Booth, Mitsche, Manor and Rudolf set the school record in three events: the 200m medley, 200m freestyle and 400-meter freestyle. While Niskayuna has several swimmers who can compete with anybody in the section, Booth reiterated the fact that a strong performance was necessary from the whole team in order to accomplish anything this season. Said Booth, “It’s important that everybody swims their best every meet. It’s great to win events but it’s just as im-portant that we have guys finishing in second, third, and fourth also, to earn our team points. That is where meets are won and lost.” Put simply, the success of the team’s season is dependent on the team’s ability to per-form as a whole, rather than on the performance of select individuals.

To ensure performance as a group, team camaraderie is

critical. However, it appears the team has no problem sup-porting each other or getting psyched for their meets. In a sport in which so much is determined by one’s attitude, it is important that the team has the proper mindset go-ing into races. Senior Mike Fritz, who is new to the team this year, holds the unofficial title of team motivator. Com-mented Fritz, “One motivated person can’t win a meet, but when that person takes it upon himself to encourage his team-mates, it creates a bond within the team, and after that each individual can thrive off one another.” The bond that Fritz speaks of is a powerful one, one which has united students from four different grades and two different countries. Said Rudolf, “The team was a great place for me to make friends and have a good time.”

According to other swim-mers, it is their coach, Michael Stone, who provides some of the most critical motiva-tion. One member recalled a pre-race speech in which Stone promised that if the swimmers performed to their highest capabilities, the meet would go down as a legend that they could tell to their grandchildren. Such motiva-tion is critical in a league in which every meet is com-petitive. Last season, some of Nisky’s biggest rivals in the section were Shenendehowa, Saratoga and Bethlehem. This year, these three teams will also be strong, but Nisky is proud to say that they can place themselves in the top four in the section. An impor-tant victory came for the team on Thursday, December 16, when the team overtook one of these rivals, Saratoga. Ni-skayuna has yet to face many teams of Shenendehowa’s caliber, the team that won Sectionals last year; how-ever, the team has the same mindset as Booth, who stated, “We’ll be ready for whatever they throw at us.”

A TEAM TO BEAT: Off to a great start this season, Niskayuna is a strong contender for a victory at Section-als. With a win over their rival, Saratoga, Nisky has proved they can compete with the best.

Swim team off to impressive start

Warrior photo / Gavin Labate