Volume 64 Issue 5 FREE Guilderland Center, NY 12085 April 2011

Journalthe

By and for the students of Guilderland Central High School

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Her palms were sweaty, her feet were shaking, her heart was beating, and all she could think about was not tripping while dancing. Then the music came on and her body went loose. She could feel the rhythm within her. “I was so excited. Ner-vous, but excited,” exclaimed Latin dancer and GHS senior Megan Malamood. “I could feel the adrenaline driving my body once the music started. It was a feeling that I’ve never felt before, and a feeling that I’ll never forget.”

On April 12, 2011, students, staff and community members celebrated the 26th annual Cultural Fair, GHS’s big-

gest and most popular event. Sindhura Mandava, the president of International Club, which hosts this event, explained that the purpose of the Cultural Fair is to expose students to different cultures and ways of life they may not have known about and to emphasize the importance of diversity. She said the reason why the fair is so popular is because it’s so unique. “There really aren’t many other opportunities for students to come and see different dances, eat difference foods, and buy items from all over the world.”

The Cultural Fair is the only event at GHS that actively involves every student

in the school either by watching and learning or by participating. Students can’t wait for the Cultural Fair to come around. Junior Julianne Legnard is always excited to attend the fair and is one of those students that cannot wait for it every year. “I love the food and learning new things about cultures that I may never have even heard of before,” she explained. This is exactly what Mandava wants students to get out of the fair.

“We aim to stress that we should not only tolerate different ways of life, but

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Principal McCann to retire Mary Powathil

Mike Marcantonio

As you walk into Mr. Brian Mc-Cann’s office, you can’t help but take a moment to look around. On all sides of the room, from the plastered off-white walls, to the many bookcases, there are mementos of all the good times he had here at Guilderland High School. His desk takes up about half the span of the room itself and is stacked high with files and books of all subjects. It is easy to see the job of a high school principal is never done. And now, for the first time in two de-cades, the halls of Guilderland High School will witness a void of Mr. Mc-Cann’s positive attitude and leadership as he plans for his retirement.

Three years ago Mr. McCann took over as the Building Principal of GHS and will hold that position until the end

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Photo by Dev Keenholts / The Journal

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Building Principal, Brian McCann smiles while he answers his phone.

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of this year. McCann’s three year stint at this position was the longest in recent history. Before this he served as an As-sistant Principal for 17 years.

“I’ve had a blast during the 20 years I ’ve spent here a t Guilderland,” McCann said. “I couldn’t have asked for a better group of students or staff to work with.” These are just some of the kind words Mr. McCann offered when asked about his time at Guilderland. Later, when asked as to what his most memorable moments were, Mr. McCann stopped McCann 3

Photo by Tara Jackson / The Journal

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Around the World

page 2 (theJournal) April 2011

How to contact The JournalMail: The Journalc/o Guilderland High School8 School Rd Guilderland Center, NY 12085Phone: (518) 861-8591Ask for The JournalEmail: journal@guilderlandschools.org

The Journal is published by and for the students of Guilderland High School and is the school’s official student newspaper. We publish accounts of, and perspectives on, people, issues, and events that affect members of the school as well as the community.

Although initialed by the writer, editorials reflect the majority opinion of the editorial staff. Reviews, columns, commentaries, and letters to the editor, however, represent the view of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the staff.

Although we try not to solicit advertise-ments from competing businesses in a given is-sue, we cannot guarantee that a conflict involving advertising will not arise. Advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their respective advertisements. We are not responsible for print-ing and/or typographical errors that may occur in a given advertisement. We reserve the right not to print a given advertisement. Also, we cannot assure that columns, editorials, news, reviews or feature stories will not cover issues or events relating to any advertiser in this newspaper.

We welcome signed letters from our readers. To be printed, letters must be of a reasonable length and contain neither libelous, slanderous, nor profane material. We reserve the right to reject any letter received. Unless otherwise noted by the editor-in-chief or the managing editor, all accepted letters will be printed in the letters to the editor section. We reserve the right to edit for length, grammar and content.

2010-2011Staff

-Management-

Editors-in-ChiefMike MarcantonioBeatrice MalskyManaging Editor Gregory Barber

Associate Editors Tony Pitkin

Ved Tanavde

-Content-

Hallways Editors Abby Levy, Devon Gingrich

Fine Arts Editor Noah Rubin

Pop Arts Editor Anastasia Mazur

Around Town Editor Haejin Hwang

Opinions Editor Libby Gioia

World & Cultures Editor Meghan BodoSports Editor

Bram Peterson

CopyeditorsHannah Cohen, Jimmy McQuade, Larry

Gerchikov, Rory Carroll, Hannah Liu

-Design-Photography Editor Devin KeenholtsGraphics Editor Katherine Bickmore

Layout & Design Editor Mike Dvorscak

-Business-Business Manager Mike Crupi

Distribution Manager Tara JacksonAdvertising Manager Matt Simon

Marketing Manager Austin Cornell

Faculty Advisor Christopher MazuraBuilding Principal Brian McCann

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marie Wiles

Journal

Sometimes politics confuse me.Actual results on YouTube for “Arnold Schwarzenegger, predator, �ght, Hollywood”

Arnold Schwarzenegger �ghtsa bear. “Hercules in New York”(1970)

Every Arnold scream fromevery Arnold movie

Arnold Schwarzenegger �ghtsfor the disabled @ Regency court, California

By Isaac Malsky

by Tucker

Seinberg

JournalApril 2011

Hallways

At only fifteen years of age, Casie Girvin has managed to become a singing sensation at Guilderland High School. She wowed the crowd and the judges at Guilderland Gold on Friday, April 1st. Starting off her first round with the song “At Last,”originally performed by Etta James.

“’At Last’ is my go-to song because it’s my grandpa’s favorite song. He was really happy to be able to hear me sing it on stage,” Girvin says.

The singing sophomore was thrilled and suprised with her win at Guilderland Gold remarking,“I didn’t even think I was going to make it to the final five!” Talented and modest, Girvin sang “Don’t Know Why,”originally performed by Norah Jones for her second round song, clinching her victory.

“’Don’t know why’ has always been one of my favorites.”

Girvin’s passion for singing started when she was still in diapers, at the very young age of two years old. Her mother even has a videotape of her singing on the stairs around age two. Having had such a long singing career, Girvin was barely nervous for her performance at Guilderland Gold.

“I was nervous that I would forget the words, but other than that, I was fine. I was

also excited to be competing against my boyfriend in the contest,” she commented.

Girvin won over the audience and the judges as they both applauded and cheered after each of her stellar performances. Both of her songs were also accompanied by her fellow classmates, sophomore Hae-won Hwang, and senior Tia Asyifa. Girvin gushes,“Haewon played piano beautifully and Tia played the guitar amazingly as well.” Along with accompanying Casie, Tia also competed and won runner-up.

Girvin has been musical as long as she can remember and doesn’t plan on stop-ping any time soon. She plans to go to college for music so she can continue on with her musical dreams.

“Hopefully someday I’ll be on Broad-way, teaching kids choral music, or direct-ing musicals.”

Well, we all know she can sing fantastically, and hopefully she can accomplish her goal so more people can hear her beautiful voice.

Singing sensat ion: Casie Gir v in

In a world with angry birds and tiny wings, it is surprising that Words With Friends is one of the top games in the Apple Inc. app store. Words with Friends is a multiplayer word game, where op-ponents take turns crafting words into a crossword style, very similar to the board game Scrabble.

The app was released in July 2009, but hasn’t gained much popularity until the last couple months. The app now has over 1.6 million daily users and count-ing. The app, which is currently the tenth most popular app, has also swept

Ryan Ghizzoni

Graphic by Zach Sicard

Girvin smiles with her winnings at Guilderland Gold. Photo by Devin Keenholts / The Journal

through Guilderland High School at as-tounding speed. Students with iPhones or Androids can play anytime during the day, and have been battling back and forth during free time and advisory.

Students have also been posting high scores and clever words on Facebook to show their friends their skills.

The app is available for free (with ad-vertisements) or for $2.99 (ad free). Next time your friend asks you for a 4 letter word ending with Z, you know they are playing Words With Friends.

Libby Gioia

McCann’s Retirementcontinued from pg. 1

I’m proud of all the support people gave me during my time

here.

think, with there being surely too many for him to recall. He then took the time to explain that he would never forget that moment when he received a standing ovation from the teachers as he first assumed the position of our building principal.

Later, when asked if he had any regrets, he confidently re-plied, “I’ve had a b las t , and I wouldn’t change a thing.” He explained that he is most proud of this opportunity to serve as our principal, and enjoyed working for the teachers. Mr. McCann also noted, “I’m proud I was part of installing the Block Scheduling, and I’m proud of all the support people gave me during my time here.”

Students responded varyingly as to how they felt about Mr. McCann’s re-tirement. Many felt that he had done much for our school, explain-ing that some of the programs he had seemingly instituted were out of his con-trol. Students also noted the many memo-rable moments throughout Mr. McCann’s career, from the T.V. News appearances, to his all-around outgoing nature. Yet many of us

can agree that the most memorable of all moments would be the loud-speaker announcements. These announcements ranged from one to five minutes long, were always delivered at the perfect

time, started in the same way, and al-ways lightened the mood in a class-room.

A f t e r w a r d , when asked about h i s r e t i r ement plans, Mr. McCann explained that he

sees his future yet again in the field of education. Prior to his career as an ad-ministrator, Mr. McCann was a world history teacher. He hopes to continue teaching, perhaps at a college level, or as a student teacher. Another option he may pursue would be training student teachers or interns. As for the new principal, the decision is yet to be made and it is out of Mr. McCann’s control. Interviews and meetings are what shall be the deciding

factors for the fu-ture of this posi-tion. The position comes with many rewards, but it must be earned and thus properly executed.

When asked if he had any part-ing messages for

the students, Mr. McCann boldly replied, “I love ya, and I’ll miss ya. It’s been a hoot.”

Seven-Letter Words To Improve Your ScoreAnisole- a colorless insoluable liquid with aromatic odorEtesian- occurring annuallyGenitor- a parentLatrine- a toilet or something used as a toiletOlearia- small trees with large daiseylike flowersNiobate- any salt of niobic acidNorites- a igneous rock consisting of dark and light mineralsRomaine- a variety of lettuce

I’ve had a blast during the twenty years I’ve spent here at

Guilderland...

How are you asking?

For Noah Poskanzer it was on the 11X field trip to Washington, D.C. that he planned to ask his girlfriend Marissa Cubil-los in an unorthodox way. “My friend Joe Gallo, who’s dad owns Frank Gallo & Son Florist, hooked me up with a bag of rose pedals to take with me,” explained Poskanzer. On the second night of the trip Cubillos’ friends managed to get her out of the room and with the help of her friends Poskanzer snagged the room key. “I snuck into the room and set up the petals on her bed spelling out ‘PROM?’ Then I wrote in Twizzlers ‘YES/YES’, meaning that her only option was yes.”

Cubillos explained, “At first I didn’t think it was on my bed so I was thinking ‘Aww that’s so cute someone got asked to prom!’ Then I realized it was my bed and I had a huge smile on my face and all my friends came in screaming. Noah walked in from the hallway and gave me a big hug and of course I said yes. I had no idea this was going to happen!”

Ellie Carr walked in during vocal warm ups to discover a teddy bear in her seat with a sign attached saying “Squeeze me”. Expecting what it was she looked over to her dear friend Bobby Ruggles, who was grinning eagerly and trying his hardest not to make eye contact. Finally the choir’s director Mrs. Teeter, who was in on the plan, began the next warm up by singing “Squeeze the Bear.” “The entire room fell silent and I was finally able to squeeze it,” Carr explained. The build-a-bear, pre-recorded with Ruggle’s voice uttered, “Ellie, will you go to ball with me?” “Everyone, in unison, said ‘aww’ and I ran over to Bobby to hug him,” Carr happily recalled. “Of course I said yes! It was such a cute and creative way to be asked!”

Meghan Bodo and Andrew Coy’s journey to ball started at Indian Dance practice.“I wanted to find a somewhat interesting way to ask her and be cute about it,” said Coy. One of Bodo’s friends suggested

baking a tray of brownies and writing the question in frosting. “I thought it was a very good idea as it was inexpensive, a little off the beaten path, and even if it didn’t work I could eat my sorrows away.”

At the next practice Coy asked Bodo to be the first to try his brownies. She took off the wax paper revealing the frosting covered question, “Meghan, will you go to ball with me?”

“I was surprised because I wasn’t expecting it at all; of course I said yes,” explained Bodo.“There was that voice in the back of my head saying that she might turn me down,” said Coy, “but I guess that’s all part of

what makes asking someone fun; not really knowing for sure what they’ll say.”

The Friday phenomenon that is Freestyle Friday has gained much attention this year but no one would’ve guessed that it would harbor as much surprise as it did several weeks ago. Harry Brodsky, the performer at Freestyle Friday, made a joke to Meghan Collins that he would ask her to ball in one of his raps. She laughed and approved of the idea but when Harry’s friends kept telling her she had to be there she knew what was going to happen.

“Normally when he writes his raps he shows them to me but when he was writing this one he would always skip two lines,” confessed Collins. “It was really cute. The weird thing was after that I kept getting ‘googly’ eyes from the girls, it was really strange. It was very Harry-ish.” “I wanted it to be special so I put some hard work into it. How could she say no?” said Brodsky.

JP Horan decided to create an adventure for his date, Kyra Malamood. A scavenger hunt that started with flowers on her lawn led her through Tawasentha Park, Guilderland Elementary School, Dicapprio Soccer fields, his house, Corner Ice Cream and finally ended at Mike’s Diner with a question. “He asked if I would go to ball with him. I couldn’t help but smile a lot,” said Malamood. When asked about the planning Horan said, “I figured if I wanted to ask in a good way I might as well beat everyone else to it and in the best way possible.”

Marissa Testa was pulled out of gym class by Mrs. LaMountain because of a supposed “emergency” in the yearbook office. “I was freaking out that the yearbook was deleted or something bad had happened,” said Testa. Her friend and also editor-in-chief, Zoe King, immediately changed and went running down to the office. When they opened the door, Jake Pol-fleit was standing there on the Journal side of the office. Next to him lay 74 chocolate bars and a bag full of Hershey Kisses spelling out “Will you go to ball with me?” on the table. Testa explained her reaction, “I was still freaking out thinking that the yearbook was deleted so I started screaming at Jake because I was so mad, but then I gave him a hug and said yes that I would go with him. I was really happy after I screamed at him.”

To most a homemade fortune cookie would seem far too crafty and complicated but to John Ciccarelli it was simply a way to ask a date to ball. Shante Papa, a long time friend of his, shared Spanish class with him and. after a long night of making the cookies Ciccarelli had saved one final fortune for Papa. After some hesitation she cracked the cookie open to find a mes-sage reading, “Will you go to ball with your Nicki?” an inside joke amongst the two. “I literally stopped in the middle of the hall way and screamed because I was taken off guard and it was honestly just the cutest thing that anyone had ever done for me,” explained Papa. “I was kind of at a loss of words because it was so random and he stood there for a good minute waiting for me to answer until I finally said, ‘Duhhh of course I’ll go with you!’ The

fact that he took the time to look up and use the recipe to make fortune cookies, place the note perfectly inside and hand it to me without me having any idea what was coming. There was no way I could say no, the creativity definitely needed to be rewarded.”

With all of the creative ways to ask someone to prom or ball, few could be better than these. The students of GHS are always finding creative ways to ask that

special someone to the big dance, whether it’s through a rap in front of hundreds of people, spelling the question out in chocolate bars, or even with rose petals.

Tony Pitkin

page 4 ( Journal) Hallways April 2011

GHS The

When: Friday, May 20th - 7:00 pm

Where: Guilderland Auditorium

Cost: $5 Advance / $6 Door Proceeds benefit St. Jude’s Research Hospital

Come out to support your friends and see who wins!

April 2011page 5 ( Journal)

JournalApril 2011

Around TownGuilderland’s finest diner showdown

Most commonly known for their array of menu items, diners are the go-to place for quick and inexpensive meals. In the area of Guilderland, we boast three well known diners that have a reputation for serving up these delicious meals: Mike’s Diner, Western Diner, and the newly acquired Capital City Diner. After eating at all three of these, I have come up with titles that highlight the best quality of each diner.

Mike’s Diner boasts the best breakfast meal. Besides the multitude of omelettes and egg combinations, the diner serves up six types of French toast, twelve types of waffles, ten types of pancakes, muffins, fresh fruit, and even Danish pastries. The options are countless and the different

sides add to the already overwhelming decision. Every taste, every texture, every size is available on this menu. There are also low cholesterol versions of these items. Among the breakfast choices, pan-cakes seem to be the favorite choice. Pan-cakes can be made out of corn, pumpkin, oatmeal, buckwheat, or sweet potatoes; they can be topped with banana, walnuts, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, apples, raisins, chocolate chips, cranberry-orange, or cinnamon. No matter what, you’re sure to find something delicious on Mike’s breakfast menu.

“Best Atmosphere”, however, goes to Capital City. When arriving at Capital City, it is the retro look and the gleaming silver that first catch your view. The im-

age continues to portray “classic diner” as you enter. The fast moving waitresses politely assist you to a booth and within seconds another waitress is assigned to you for your meal. I found the waitresses to be not only good at what they do, but also entertaining as they tell their favorites on the menu or memories in the diner. Softly playing in the background, the music is combined with the chatter of the surrounding diners. The noise level is modest and comfortable. The diner is one big family and when going there to eat, you feel like you can be a part of it too.

Lastly, Western Diner takes the best for the kids award. For an adult, the dining at Western is good but standard. When kids arrive at Western, it’s another story. The

Marissa Buyck

20 Mall’s complete makeoverAs April showers bring May flowers,

it’s not easy to overlook the new shopping center blossoming at the very heart of Guilderland. 20 Mall, the former grayish-blue plaza, owned by the Lia family of the car dealership phenomenon, is expe-riencing eye-popping changes as it is dis-mantled and repaired by HCP Architects in the current and upcoming months. The once overlooked shopping center will undergo such drastic transformations that visitors will be amazed at the upcoming changes going on in the plaza.

Previously known as the Loehmans Plaza and Guilderland Barkers Center, 20 Mall is, first and foremost, getting a whole new name change in respect to the area’s historical values. Located along Route 20, the mall will be renamed “Hamilton Square” in honor of the Village of Hamil-ton previously settled by the Dutch during the early Age of Exploration.

Furthermore, “Hamilton Square” will ultimately receive an improved area for parking, new lighting and building de-signs, new landscaping, and quite frankly, a whole new appearance. But with a new facade comes the ultimate sacrifices. With Gold’s Gym serving as one of the plaza’s main attractions, the gym is expected to experience a huge expansion, which means stores will be receiving new loca-tions within the shopping center.

Bernadette Javier“We’re lucky that we’re staying right

where we are,” Meera Velagandula, one of the two owners of Kumon, said of the relocation process that they, as tenants, endured in the previous weeks.

Tenants of the plaza were given just a few weeks notice on whether or not they were staying in their current places or being moved to another vacant location within the newly reformed “Hamilton

Square.” Kumon, a learning center for children located next to Gold’s Gym, was fortunate enough to keep its current location in the plaza. Others, however, were not as lucky as they were forced to relocate. In order to move the entrance of Gold’s Gym to the front, for example, Yankee Dollar was forced to relocate into the old Eckerd store beside Price Chop-per at the beginning of March.

But despite these new plans to move and expand stores, only about 85% of the shopping center is fully occupied. The remaining 15% left by the old Hollywood Video and video game store is still vacant to new tenants. Rumor has it that this area is set to be transformed into a brand new restaurant, enhancing the selection of eateries within the plaza. Let’s face it -- the old 20 Mall didn’t exactly have any decent places for visitors to eat. This may be a perfect opportunity to attract more visitors and really turn Hamilton Square into an appealing location to shop.

Still, while it would be a nice addition to the blossoming new shopping center, the plaza management has yet to reveal the real name, or names, of these new tenants. With construction beginning as early as February, the multi-million-dollar three-month renovation is set to conclude in the Spring of 2011.

Photo courtesy of Craig Raymond / The Journal

kid’s menu boasts much more than the average grilled cheese and fries. In fact, Western serves up eleven different kid’s choices from a pizza burger to stuffed shells to peanut butter and jelly. Each of the kid’s choices is named after an animal which, to the kid, makes ordering from the adult menu seem a little lame. The kid’s menu items also come with a small soda or milk and ice cream or jell-o. Al-though the menu advertises the ice cream as a one scoop, these “scoops” resemble a sundae to me. Kids undoubtedly have the most selection at Western, and sitting in the restaurant, it definitely showed.

Gold’s Gym and Kumon are two of the main attractions of 20 Mall that will undergo expansions and other renovations within the next coule of months.

Left: The interior of the Capital City Diner is nicely furnished in a new retro look, slightly more modern than the old Metro 20. Colorful mosaic strips adorn the walls in each of the booths.Right: The exterior of the Western Diner is similar to that of a small cottage.

Photos courtesy of Craig Raymond / The Journal

page 7 ( Journal) Around Town April 2011

Tawasenthan attractions for teensJulianne Legnard

It’s a warm, sunny day in town--slight breeze, Frisbees aloft, hot dogs charring on the grill, just the way you like them. Seem too good to be true? Really all it takes is a coast down route 146, ten min-utes or less! For over 50 fun-filled years, Tawasentha Town Park has privileged the Guilderland community; bringing fresh air and entertainment to active teens and their families.

Nestled into the greater Norman-skill region, the “Vale of Tawasentha” stretches over 200 acres of towering pines and rolling hills. Hav-ing served dutifully both as revolutionary battlefront and ru-mored Indian burial ground, the soil is rich with early American history. In 1969, the land was purchased, tilled, and transformed by the town of Guilderland into a public recreation site. The estate has since continued to grow and develop, as affirmed by 30-year Park director, Dennis Moore: “Tawasentha is a place to go relax and enjoy nature right in the center of our town,” he notes, “Every year thousands of visitors come to enjoy our facilities.” Most recently in 2008, a pedestrian bridge crossing over the Normanskill River was constructed, connecting the main park to its winter-time sledding slopes and over 5 miles of woodland trails.

At the heart of the site, endless out-door recreation possibilities are available for Guilderland residents—who are permitted free entry from dawn to dusk. Enjoy a quiet wooded picnic under the shade of a tree, a blue skied-morning exploring the community gardens, or chal-lenge your soccer buds to a muddy match in the fields. A large baseball diamond, basketball and tennis courts are open for organized sports, as well as a pool and playground for your next babysitting venture. Canoeing, kayaking, and fishing equipment are also open for rental, as the Normanskill river winds through the Ta-wasenthan valley. No matter the weather

or way you experience Tawasentha, a qual-ity outing is guaranteed to ensue.

Perhaps the most appealing area of the park for teens is the expansive grassy space encompassing the large and small pavilions. The ideal grad party venue, Tawasentha offers playing fields for new GHS alum to throw the disc, while Gram and Gramps rock the shuffleboard court right nearby. Let’s not forget…every-one’s gotta eat! Large outdoor grills are stationed at each pavilion, along with 40 picnic tables in the large and eight in the

small. Starting at just around $100 for a full-day rental, pavilion time slots are filling up fast. So head’s up seniors—one last as-signment—snag a Ta-wasentha party rental before the caps are

off!Graduation celebrations aren’t the

only needed component of the ultimate teen summer; jams and jobs are just as essential. The Town Park hosts free con-certs throughout the summer, kicking off with Nervosity; one of the most heav-ily attended by teens. A night of music, moshing and madness, this concert event (to be held on June 17th) showcases local band talent while raising benefit funds for AIDS. Thursday night fever can also be cured at Tawasentha, with groups of ev-ery genre and caliber performing weekly at the main stage.

Lastly, Tawasentha provides job op-portunities for teens on the lookout for summer work. Though positions are limited, the town park is hiring for certi-fied life guards as well as summer camp staffers.

As spring settles in and the snow melts away, GHS teens dream of more temper-ate days. Serving as Guilderland’s chief party, employment and performance hot spot, Tawasentha Park is sure to bring about well-deserved summer break fun. So sport your shades, take a drive, turn in at the “Tawasentha” sign, and don’t forget the sunscreen.

Top: a corner of the famous playground perfect for the enjoyment of children.Middle: one of many areas furnished with picnic tables and lots of space.Bottom: The largest and most popular pavilion accommodates the large groups.

Tawasentha is a place to go relax and enjoy nature right in the center of our town.

Event: First Ever Falls View Park Arts & Music FestivalWhen: May 1st from 1 P.M. to 4:30 P.M.What: Cohoes will celebrate the re-opening of Brookfield’s Falls View Park accompanied by the Cohoes City school District art show and musical performances by Cohoes City School District children, local artists, and Ernie Williams.

Event: Mother’s Day Northeast Art and Craft ShowWhen: May 3rd - 5thWhat: Held at the Empire State Plaza, fine crafters from all over the Northeast will present their craftsmanship to interested buyers. Food booths will also be available.

Event: 2011 Relay for Life at Guilderland High SchoolWhen: May 21st from 6 P.M. to May 22ndWhat: Join families, friends, and cancer survivors to commemorate loved ones who have battled and continue to battle cancer. Make a relay team with friends and participate in the beautiful event.

Event: Tawasentha Park summer volunteer and job opportunitiesWhen: Go online now to sign up as a volunteer or counselor!

Photos courtesy of Julianne Legnard / The Journal

Upcoming local events

Photo courtesy of Tara Jackson / The Journal

theJournalApril 2011

World & Cultures

From the food to the prayers that are read only once a year, Passover is a sym-bolic holiday. The horseradish represents the bitterness of slavery, the charoset; the mortar used to build the pyramids. As for the matza ball soup, I’m still puzzling over that.

A long long time ago, in a desert far away, the Jewish people were slaves to the Pharaoh of Egypt. They toiled building the pyramids, a task full of backbreaking labor. One nice Jewish boy, Moses, hap-pened upon an incarnation of God in the form of a burning bush. God told him to warn the Pharaoh that unless the slaves were freed, a series of plagues would be unleashed upon Egypt. When the Pharaoh refused, a series of horrors began, starting with the rivers running with blood and ending with slaughter of all Egyptian’s first-born sons. Unable to stand the torment, the Pharaoh finally let the Jewish people go, a promise he would soon rescind. The Israelites were in such a hurry to go that they didn’t even let their bread finish cooking. This gave ‘rise’ to the tradition of eating Matzah instead of leavened bread.

Passover begins with a Seder, a feast (sort of) that is a representation of the Jewish people’s strife in Egypt and their exodus with the help of Moses. For many families, Passover has become intertwined with a reunion. Every year, in mid April people would gather to observe a holiday and sit together. Almost on queue, small disagreements would pop up like the gophers in whack a mole. As everyone would sit around the table, still trying to get their points across, the youngest fam-ily member would start to say the prayers. Ma-nishtana halyla hazeh; why is this night different that all other nights? In my opinion its not because we sit reclined, it’s because of the attitude that we take on. Passover is about remembering the hardships of our ancestors and being thankful for what we have now. I think this is what the Matza ball soup represents after all. It’s an incarnation of how on Passover we can all gather to acknowledge how good our lives are and how different they could have been. Also it tastes good.

Isaac Malsky

A celebration of freedom (and also food)

also that we should appreciate them and, ideally, be interested in learning about our world and the many people that live in it,” she said.

♦♦♦♦♦♦

I am a senior and embarrassed to say that I’ve never participated in the Cultural Fair. For three years I have attended this event, watching the spectacular dances, visiting each country’s booth, and buy-ing any mini Buddhas I could find. But this year was different, and I’m proud to announce that I have successfully experi-enced the Cultural Fair first hand.

Early in the year when a friend needed a partner for Latin dance, I reluctantly said yes. Having past experiences with dancing I knew that I lacked any rhythm or movement in my body. I didn’t want to be embarrassed in front of basically the entire student population, but I didn’t want to let one of my best friends down, so I agreed. I was a little scared knowing that this could either be a disaster or a success, but I was up for the challenge, and I’m glad that I took it.

The Cultural Fair: a personal reflection

Throughout the year we practiced countless amounts of times, mostly dur-ing advisory, and after awhile I began to find the rhythm I needed for Latin danc-ing. Having only experienced Merengue dancing in Spanish class freshmen year as the only dance in my life (Just Dance on Wii doesn’t count, although I’m a boss at that game), Latin dance was difficult to learn. I acknowledge that this dance isn’t as nearly as challenging as true Latin dance, but it’s a little snippet of what this genre entitles.

The year went by so quickly and be-fore I knew it, it was Cultural Fair time. Arriving at the Cultural Fair this year was magical. Somehow the fair looked different than all my other years at GHS. Maybe because it was my last year at-tending, maybe because it was just awhile since the last year’s fair, or maybe because I was actually in this year’s event, I don’t know. All I know is that I felt amazed and I liked it.

After arriving I watched my fellow performers each do their special dance. I was honored to watch them perform and was stunned at how great each dance was.

Soon the moment was upon the Latin dancers to take the stage. I was sweat-ing profusely and the only thing I could think about was messing up my routine and embarrassing my partner and I. But once the music began, I was in my zone and there was nothing that could touch me. I let my body move to the music and I danced. I danced, and I danced, and I danced until the song was over. After-wards, many people came up to me and told me how good I was. I was so relieved to hear that I didn’t look like an idiot out there. I felt honored to be part of this year’s Cultural Fair.

Looking back, the fair was incred-ible this year with the new dances and the crepe station added. The theme of “Around the World in 7 Hours” was very creative and I thought that fit this year’s event perfectly because attendees could truly experience the world in a matter of hours if they really wanted to with all the different foods, the booths and the dances. This year’s fair was definitely the best of my four years at GHS and I can now say that Latin dance was a success and I’m so glad that I did it.

continued from page 1

Confessions of a Latin dancer

Photos courtesy of Tara Jackson and Dev Keenholts/ The Journal

page 9 ( Journal) World & Cultures April 2011

Aro

und the World in 7 Hours

Cultural Fair 2011

Kim WeinbergJunior

Ethnic Booth

“It’s a great experience for all the elementary kids to get a

taste of different cultures from around the world.”

Julian Girard“I’ve been flipping crepes since

the day I could stand. It’s the best way to express my deeply

rooted French heritage.”

Annie WalshJunior

Irish Step Dancer

“I’ve been dancing for ten years. I like learning about countries and cultures in

more depth than in class.”

Mark CiccarelliSenior

Switzerland Booth

“I love the Cultural Fair, and working at the Switzerland

booth was great because that’s where I plan to spend the next

year of my life.”

Bram PetersonJuniorPeace Corps Booth “The dances are fun. I

like the clothes. They’re neat. ”

SeniorCrepe Booth

Confessions of a Latin dancer

page 10 (theJournal)

Sean “Puffy” Combs begins

running his own label, called Bad

Boy Entertainment, out of his apart-ment. His company grows rapidly, and

Combs soon signs two up-and-coming MCs, Craig Mack and a

Brooklyn native named Christo-pher Wallace, Notorious B.I.G.

1993

Now signed to Dr. Dre’s Aftermath En-tertainment, Eminem makes his major label

debut with The Slim Shady LP. The album and debut single, “My Name Is” announces the

darkly comical rapper as a star in the rap world. This newbie, white-rapper garners praise for his humor, originality and mockery for the album’s

misogyny and vulgarity. Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. aka Lil’ Wayne debuted his first album The

Block Is Hot at age 17.

1999Jay-Z releases

The Black Album, his supposed final release. Announc-ing his retirement, he sort of leaves music

behind to focus on his business and per-sonal endeavors, including clothing,

marriage, and a partial ownership with the New Jersey Nets. Jay-

Z’s retirement shows that many hip-hop artists can

grow up and mature.

2003 Young Money is founded by Lil’

Wayne.Lil’ Wayne is

named president of Cash Money Records.

2005

Kanye West releases his latest album, My Beautiful

Dark Twisted Fantasy. With this album, his fan base

increases to a wider audience.

Notorious B.I.G. finally releases his

debut album for Bad Boy, Ready to

Die. It produces two hit singles, “Juicy” and “Big Poppa”, and returns the East

Coast to the top of the charts after a two-year absence. It also promotes

Puffy Combs’ Bad Boy label to the top of hip-hop.

1994

Notorious B.I.G. signs his

protégés, the Junior M.A.F.I.A. to the small Untertainment Label. Their debut album, Conspiracy is a fair hit and pro-

vides a platform for a young female rapper named Lil’ Kim.

1995

After leaving the Soul Train Music Awards in

LA, Notorious B.I.G. is shot and killed in a drive-by

shooting that eerily re-sembles what happened to 2Pac six months ear-

lier. With the twin murders of two of its principal stars, the hip-hop nation is forced to take stock of itself and what

it represents. Biggie’s second album, propheti-

cally titled Life After Death is released only a few days after his killing and becomes

the best-selling rap album of all time.

1997Nicki Minaj’s debut

album, Pink Friday is released, starting a feud with the queen

of rap herself, Lil’ Kim.Lil’ Kim responds back to Nicki

Minaj with her album, Black Friday.

2011

RapThrought

he

Ages

page 11 (theJournal)

1972A club DJ from

Manhattan called DJ Hollwood

begins rhyming over popular disco hits at his night clubs.

It is alleged that Hollywood coins the term “hip-hop”, though some say his partner, Lovebug Starski, came up with the term.

Russell Simmons is

introduced to a young col-

lege kid named Rick Rubin, an eager fan of rap music. Together, Simmons

and Rubin start a small record label called Def Jam.

1984

The Grammy com-mittee announces that

the genre of rap will be given its own of-ficial Grammy category. The news is bitter-

sweet; however after, it is announced that the presentation will not be televised. Because of this, many prominent rappers, including Salt-

N-Pepa, Public Enemy, DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, Ice-T, etc. host a Boycott-The-

Grammys Party on MTV the night of the broadcast. DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince

go on to win the award.

1989

Dr. Dre and Suge Knight begin a partnership and cre-

ate their label, Death Row Records. Their first project

features a young rapper from Long Beach named Snoop Doggy Dogg. Dr. Dre releases his solo debut, The Chronic. With its heavy emphasis on funk grooves

and deep rolling bass--it takes hardcore gangster rap into more accessible, radio-friendly territory. It

becomes the biggest rap album of the year behind the huge single, “Nuthin’ But A ‘G’ Thang.” Dre’s new

sound--dubbed “G-Funk”--reinvents the entire West Coast rap scene, and signals the beginning of a West

Coast-dominated rap charts.

1992

Lil’ Wayne was arrested and

charged with four felonies: posses-

sion of narcotic drug for sale, possession of dangerous drugs, misconduct involving

weapons and possession of drug parapher-nalia.

2008

Eminem ends his four-year sabbatical with the release of Relapse. The album debutes at No. 1 on the Billboard Album

Charts and scores a Grammy win for Best Rap Album. T.I. is sentenced to 12 months in federal prison for illegal weapons possession.

Drake signed a recording contract with Lil’ Wayne’s Young Money Entertainment.

2009

Kanye West releases his latest album, My Beautiful

Dark Twisted Fantasy. With this album, his fan base

increases to a wider audience.

2010

To the center spread, Rap Through the AgesReading through the Journal, favorite two pagesMeasuring the growth, rap’s evolutionSo many artists, who’s your favorite contribution?

From Tupac to Drake to Notorious B.I.G.A Tribe Called Quest or Run D.M.C.Jay-Z to Nas, the Clan of Wu-TangOld school like Dre and Sugar Hill GangEast vs. West, both you will findIn this rap through the ages event timeline

Whether you believe that rap music was given a rib and ate the forbidden fruit or that it grew legs and op-posable thumbs, there’s no denying that the genre has evolved over time. When Hip Hop began in the late 70s and early 80s in the Bronx, it was art. Artists made music to express themselves, tell stories and entertain fans. More recently the music industry has shifted from being lyrically motivated to being motivated by sales. When the internet became widespread rappers began putting music up for free; the playing field was

leveled. Hip Hop became open to anyone who wished to create or access it. Is this change for the good? Or was rap better the way it once was? Guilderland has mixed opinions on the issue. When asked who their favorite rap artists are, Guilderland students replied most often with Lil Wayne, Lupe Fiasco, Kid Cudi, Mac Miller, Kanye West and Wiz Khalifa. None of these rappers were prominent in the 90s or earlier.

When asked about the changes in rap, Senior Bran-don Cleveland stated, “I’m an old-school guy. I think new music has lost its meaning, it’s all about drugs and sex now. Lyrically old rap is much better.” When asked about their opinions on the way rap is changing a ma-jority of people stated that they think rap is heading in the wrong direction, however these very same people also picked recent rappers as their favorite artists. Is the rap music of today really as homogenous as it seems? Physics teacher Kristofer Gigante stated, “I can’t say whether or not I like the direction Hip Hop has trav-eled in because it’s changed in so many ways. Rap is a lot more diversified now. Authenticity has been lost in the mainstream but there are still branches of rap music that have lyrical meaning.”

Like all genres when they become popular, rap has expanded exponentially in the past decade. The audience has also grown; it is now not uncommon for kids in the suburbs to be huge rap fans. Lyrics have moved away from the struggle in the ghetto to more connectable ideas. As rap has grown in society, it has also grown in Guilderland. Judging by the popularity of Freestyle Friday, this is just the beginning; rap is the future. Help this prophecy come true by attend-ing the GHS Rap Contest on Friday, May 20th in the auditorium!

The evolution of rap

Authenticity has been lost in the mainstream but there are still branches of rap music that have lyrical meaning.

Graphics by Zach Sicard

Tara Jackson

Compiled by Mike Marcantonio

ThroughAges

GHS Students debate:

theJournalApril 2011

Pop ArtsA video that will live in infamy

Rebecca Black was formerly an average 13 year old girl. She loathed middle school, loved music lessons, and then partied like an animal on the weekends-at Chuck-E-Cheese’s. Her parents paid $2,000 dollars to Ark Music Productions for this amalga-mation of modern music tropes. Usually, you would have to audition for a chance to sing. However, money helped Rebecca skip those auditions. So does Rebecca Black re-ally have talent? Or is she just rich?

-Julia Chong

A look at the new Youtube hit

Asking Alexandria’s new CD Reckless and Relentless came out earlier this week and it has gotten mixed reviews. The bands newest CD is as intense as ever. If you go back and listen to the band’s old album Stand up and Scream you will realize that they have made many benefi-cial steps to abandon the monotony that held them back in their previous albums. The album opens up to fake orchestra and synthesized drumming, but it almost immediately turns to an explosion of screamed vocals that captures your atten-tion. The CD opens with such power that it sets up high expectation for the rest of the tracks. In Asking Alexandria’s newest CD they have done a phenomenal job in staying away from forced breakdowns and although it appears at first to have the typical screamed verse chorus song structure, there are cleverly placed in-terludes in the songs and the lead singer Danny’s layered screams work well with the rest of the songs. The album has more

singer doesn’t mean that she should “go die in a hole” as some of the comments on Youtube proclaim. In fact, we should attribute the overall atrocity of the song to the poor auto-tuning and the lyrics of the song itself. If Black had not been singing lyrics like, “Tomorrow is Sat-urday, and Sunday comes afterwards”, then we might take her more seriously. At the very least, she wouldn’t be the joke she is now.

Recently, Black sang an acoustic version of “Friday” on ABC’s Good

Morning America Show. Honestly, it wasn’t much better than the auto-tuned version, but it showed us that she can sing on-key at the very least. She also sang the national anthem – which was surprisingly good. After that, we can only claim that the obnoxious song is the fault of the composers and producers. I don’t think anyone could make “Friday” sound good.

If you really hate the song, then don’t listen to it. Instead of bashing it, ignore it. The worst thing you could do would

The start of it all:

be to pretend it doesn’t exist. The more you make fun of it, the more fame and money she gets. She already has over 57 million views on Youtube. Yes, she is not amazing at singing, and yes, it’s hard to imagine how she could believe that “Friday” was a good song to start off a career with – unless she wanted to be the joke she is today. It’s better to just forget her – otherwise, she might come out with more songs; something none of us want.

-Hannah LiuThe comments towards Black are un-needed. Simply because she is not a good

than just a few points that standout and although does have some rather boring parts, in all and all asking Alexandria has created another great CD. I would recommend everyone giving it a chance and listening to it. Reckless and Relentless is one huge step in the right direction for Asking Alexandria to break free of the scenecore label and regain respect in the metalcore society.

Key Tracks: “Someone, Somewhere, a Lesson never learned”, and “The Match”.

Breakdown-overloaded metal core has flooded the heavy-metal industry in the past few years making it extremely hard for bands to live up to the listeners ex-pectations. Today bands must go beyond the same sounds everyone else is produc-ing to make their music memorable, and that’s just want Born of Osiris did, with their newest CD, The Discovery coming out in late march. Their third full-length album has the band sharpening its skills and adding more melody in their guitar riffs and keyboard fills. The synthesis of technical breakdowns, synth noises, and solos, make for some really good tracks on the CD. The Band has continued their unique sound while venturing into new music territory. The songs on this CD are well composed and written. The songs flow together track by track and you can tell the band put extra effort to make them stand out. If you are into metal music you should definitely check out Born of Osiris’s new album. You

won’t believe your ears when you hear growth in their composition skills. In The Discovery the band wrote actual songs with recognizable riffs and melodies that repeat throughout the song rather than packaging a collection of ideas and breakdowns. This CD won’t disappoint and will leave you wanting more.

Key tracks: “Devastate, recreate”, and “A Solution”.

Newest metal albums releasedAimee Denn

Photos courtesy of Creative Commons

“From that miraculous moment that the three minutes and forty-five second video, ingeniously titled ‘Friday’ started, I was practically living at the edge of my seat. The video kicks off with a virtual calendar flipping through the days of the week labeled with all the unalienable joys of middle school life such as tests and end-less homework. Right after the wonderful calendar stopped its flipping, the greatest part of the video began: the singing. The lyricist responsible for the mind-bending lyrics of the song not only deserves, but should be a shoe-in for this year’s Grammy award for songwriter of the year award. The lyrics were, in one word, phenomenal. I mean, who else can write a song filled up with the sequential daily happenings in the life of a 13 year old girl?”

-Reza Sayeed

“I gave it a listen. Her nasally voice messed with my ears. It’s a revolting, horrible sound that makes even the most mindless pathetic zombie walking the hallways gag.”

-Andrew Fedorov

page 13 ( Journal)April 2011 Pop Arts

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Imagine picking up your favorite artist’s new album and seeing your own reflection stare back at you! For senior Sarah Sonenberg, this has become her reality.

Counting Crows lead singer, Adam Duritz who’s famous for songs like “Mr. Jones” and “Accidentally in Love” posted a rather vague request on his facebook and twitter accounts: come up with the cover for his new solo album, “All My Bloody Valentines”.

Around 1600 people replied, posting anything from clip-art to professional photographs and paintings. Sonenberg, decided to give it a try as well figuring she had nothing to lose, but when Du-ritz posted the top twenty five she was surprised to see that she had made the cut. She had sent in three different cov-ers, the one that Duritz liked happened to be the one she herself had posed for. From there she was e-mailed that she had less than a week to turn in a design for the back of the album and make any variations they wanted to the front. Sonenberg spent hours working on the back, taking pictures she had taken herself and re-arranged them in an order until one stuck. Then she was left to wait.

Duritz released the top five and again she was shocked to find she made it, but by then she had resigned to the fact that fifth place was as good as it was going to get. In the end Duritz had a surprise, he unveiled that two had won the top prize

of their art being printed on five hundred limited edition vinyls.

Sarah had won along with another girl, Lesleigh Memme. He posted on facebook, “I chose 2 cuz I don’t wanna live w/o either. Leslie’s heart is perfectly jarring in its artificiality, a cold reminder the holiday itself sometimes, but the back, broken pieces scattered about, is a more fragile Valentine. Then there’s Sarah. I sat alone & made these songs. I showed you me. No cover showed ANYTHING as personal, honest, & bare as Sarah’s simple portrait. What truer Valentine can u give than yourself ?”

Of course with the good comes the bad. Some people responded to her

win by leaving harsh comments about her artwork, calling her out on anything from the font she used to being “too goth”. The Counting Crows defended her leaving this encouraging remark, “Sarah, thank you so much. The cover is simply beautiful. I’ve made a lot of album covers now. I’ve worked meticu-lously beside the artists designing ours & I’ve helped countless friends make theirs. Album covers are tough because they need to hold all the feeling of the work inside them. You so utterly cap-tured a side of this record. Most people, graphic artists or not, won’t ever really understand what you just did. They can’t, I guess. But I do. Their criticism is so

pedestrian & laughable because I KNOW you understood. I guess they just didn’t. That’s their loss. Your beautiful album cover was my gain. Thank you Sarah.”

To Sarah, nothing could mean more. Her favorite artist not only recognized, but encourages her and her art. “Adam Duritz, who’s one of my biggest idols likes my picture, then I could care less about “snide remarks” on my photo,” Sonenberg stated positively saying that it’s been one of the best things that could have happened to her. Sonenberg’s tale is a first hand testi-mony to the payout of hard work; even when the odds seemed to be against her, she persevered, making a dream, a reality.

Wasalu Muhammad Jaco, or better known as Lupe Fiasco recently released his third critically acclaimed debut album, “Lasers.” The album, in its entirety, swept the nation with its witty lines, catchy beats, and unique sound.

Lupe’s release eradicated any low ex-pectations. Reviewers were anticipating a “cookie cutter” sound similar to Lupe’s

first two albums, “Lupe Fiasco’s Food & Liquor,” and “The Cool.” Instead, fans were faced with a revolutionary sound that Lupe cleverly crafted. He took the fundamental building blocks of the electronic genre and ingeniously fused it with his own Hip-Hop sound.

“Lasers,” which was initially anno unced for release back in June 2009, was

held up by Lupe’s main recording labe l , At lant ic. They falsely per-ceived that the Al-bum wouldn’t get enough attention. Fans from across the globe in an outrage protested, ultimately persuad-ing Atlantic’s to re-schedule a release date. Thousands of fans missed school, work, and other priorities to gather in front of Atlan-tic’s office in pro-test during a day that they call “Fi-asco Friday. “That blew me away. It really touched me.” Fiasco remarked. Without such a fan base we might have

GHS senior takes top prizeAnastasia Mazur

never heard another marvelous Lupe Fiasco masterpiece.

After four years of absence the devot-ed Muslim Chicago Native, Lupe was rein-troduce to fans through perhaps the most memorable and enjoyable song of the LP, “The Show Goes On.” It combines the melody of “Float On” by Modest Mouse, with Lupe’s brilliance. The single debuted at #57 on the Billboards Hot 100.

In Lupe Fiasco’s manifesto he ex-claimed, “Lasers are shining beams of light that burn through the darkness of ignorance. Lasers shed light on injustice and inequality. Lasers act and shape their own destinies. Lasers find meaning and direction in the mysteries all around them. Lasers stand for love and compassion. Lasers stand for peace. Lasers stand for progression. Lasers are revolutionary. Lasers are the future. We’re not losers…We are LASERS!”

Photo courtesy of Sarah Sonenberg

Benjamin Segal

We’re not losers, we are “Lasers”

Junior Amanda Dame takes GHS Concerto Competition by storm

Junior Amanda Dame has won Guilderland High School’s annual Con-certo Competition of the Music Depart-ment. Her prize is the opportunity to per-form her concerto with the high school’s chamber string ensemble in the upcoming spring concert. She played the Gordon Jacob Flute Concer-to which is a beauti-ful flute concerto, although it is not very well known. “Doing the com-petition was a great learning experience for me because it was the first time I’ve ever played a piece memorized.” Dame said.

She started playing the flute in fourth grade. However, the flute was not her first instrument. “When I was in kindergarten, I started the violin. I realized by fourth grade that I was much more interested in

Hannah Liu

scholastic environment. Reading for yourself if fun. You take whatever hints you can get and enjoy the pursuit of knowledge. Hop-ping from book to book on suggestions from friends or the author's influences.

Reading in schools is not organic process. It is work and labor and not enjoyable. “1984 is dead literature” says Mr. Mazura. It is dead because in a classroom environment a book is dissected until it's heart is so cut up it can't produce a pulse.

The rebellious fiction of yesterday quickly became the books forced upon us school-children. Today's rebellion is tomorrow's classics and nobody enjoys something called a classic and nobody enjoys something called a politician either but for some reason they are tolerated. Catcher in the Rye is no longer read by rebellious kids hiding it and enjoying it so much more. Now Catcher is handed out by parents who's predecessors would have slapped the kid for reading them. As Charles Slater wrote in The Nation, “Catcher has become something even less harmless than a joke or postmodernism: a classic.”

Maybe I've been thrown so dangerously out of the loop that no matter what I shuffle through I can find no intellectual rebellion in today's youth or maybe we are no longer as George Orwell described us children, “a mass of egoism and rebelliousness”. Maybe we are apathetic docile intellectual sluggards with no fire crackling in our minds. Whatever we can muster in the way of rebellious art, as history has shown, will be absorbed into the ever expanding cesspool that is state mandated culture and wither like the paper it is printed on in that well of sewage. Drooping, crinkling, and drowning.

Revolution and rebellion plaster TV screens a few channels away from your real-ity TV and market researched comedy. If you glanced away from the all knowing glare of the master screen you might notice that your own school has been squashing the possible intellectual rebellion of the students for years.

Admittedly you don't see students wan-dering around with Jackboot marks on there foreheads, but in this world where everybody is content and the public consensus is that everything is just peachy because everybody is sheltered you don't notice the boots imprints on our minds.

Would George Orwell, the man who tried teaching but ended up beating the “little brats”, have wanted his work to be distributed by a government body to students? We know T. S. Eliot was not a fan of being read in schools, he said to Groucho Marx who quoted him in a letter, “he had no wish to become compulsory reading.” Would J.D. Salinger en-joyed having his book part of the curriculum of a place where, as he described school in Catcher in the Rye, “all you do is study so that you can learn enough to be smart enough to buy a goddam Cadillac some day”.

What is happening to the work of these writers is that our commercialized society, as Chris Mazura, a teacher at Guilderland High School, puts it, “forces it into the role of re-establishing the society it once critiqued... the very thing that they were fighting against is profiting off their legacy”

Oscar Wilde once wrote, “it is well to re-member from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.”

The process of exploration is an important element of learning that does not exist in a

Andrew Fedorov A Recent History of the

...GHS Concerto Competition

2008: Liz Barber Mozart: Horn Concerto No. 3

2009: Samantha Crouse Haydn: Oboe Concerto in C Major

2010: Gregory Barber Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2

2011: Amanda Dame Jacob: Flute Concerto

Rebellious literature neutralized

It’s always refresh-ing and inspiring to hear someone perform a piece with fluidity and talent.

playing flute, so I did that. I've also taken some piano lessons.” says Amanda. She draws inspiration from many profes-sional flutists. “When I listen to record-ings of pieces, I am totally inspired to make my sound and technique sound

more like theirs. It is always refreshing and inspiring to hear someone perform a piece with fluidity and talent.” she says. However, she has a particular favorite – professional flautist Alexa Still.

As of now, Aman-da is still unsure of whether or not she

will be pursuing a career in music in the future. However, we all know that she has the talent to succeed if she does. Congratulations Amanda!

Picture Courtesy Amanda Dame

JournalApril 2011

Fine Arts

Orwell’s classic 1984 has established its place on reputable reading lists, most libraries, and GHS’s English curriculum. It is often described as a morbid tale, filled with obscene ways and cynical charac-ters. And it was. The totalitarian society portrayed in 1984 is commonly seen as one of the most undesirable places of existence. Indeed, it is. And after reaching the back cover, many will rigidly search their surroundings. And alas, they breathe a sigh of relief that it is not Orwellian.

I did too. But perhaps we don’t have all that much to be grateful for.

The society in which we exist is one that promotes the rights of individuals, limited only by the concept of bringing no harm to others. One may speak what one thinks, and often one does.

Daily life consists of collaboration. At GHS, the exchange of ideas is only loosely restrained. This relaxed environ-ment allows for easy connections and exposure to new perspectives.Without fearing persecution, an unending stream of thought exists here.

In the totalitarian society, these privi-leges such as free speech exist as well. But not without consequence. A communica-tion network is nonexistent. A wrong ac-tion, spoken sentence, or expression can cause one to be ‘vaporized.’. Rash deci-

sions are often made exclusively regarding the consequences of these occurrences in society, and individuals’ fates.

Although there seems to be an obvious ‘good’ society somewhere between the two, I argue that there is not. Aspects in both societies progress and evolve the human species.

The society of 21st century United States has learned to take advantage of communica-tions to carry out daily tasks. Suc-cess is almost never achieved in isolation. We are constantly tel l ing others about our ideas. This is perhaps the most versatile way of bettering one’s knowledge.

Though, because we have become so used to, and absorbed, in this rapid flow of communication, we spend more time thinking of what we are going to say next rather than the knowledge we receive.

Our communication system allows for an easy way to absorb other’s thoughts and perspectives, but the quick exchanges of these thoughts do not provide enough time for an individual to process what the other is saying. The thoughts in exchange

lack depth in meaning.It is not uncommon to forget what

the topic of conversation was at dinner last night, or the elevator chitchat this morning. It is a desire to converse, but a reflex to reply.

In the 1984, the lowly class of prole-tariats exists in a society similar to our modern day society, they are allowed to communicate with one another and are

loosely controlled. This is because their intelligence is per-ceived as minimal by the upper class of Inner and Outer Party members.

Orwell’s percep-tion of the proles,

in a way, may predict our society’s future. The proletariat society is similar to our own: broad freedoms and privacy. We are in a way the proles. But throughout the course of Orwell’s plot, the proletariats to not progress in any direction. Perhaps this is Orwell’s subtle message regarding the fate of our society.

Moving upward in the 1984 class sys-tem, freedom is compromised, causing a reluctance to speak, and even a reluctance to think. This extreme restriction struck me as negative in the beginning, but soon

it dawned on me that this seemingly mad way of life drives progress in society. Those in the Outer and Inner Party that still choose to think, but not speak, are constantly refining their thought. The 1984 environment would not be capable of culturing extensive deep thought ex-change between people; thoughts would be kept inside one’s mind and be con-stantly revised.

The thoughts in a 1984 society would progress more quickly, but we are not able to tell if it would be in a ‘good’ di-rection. Government heavily controlled what the population was exposed to, and because people rarely communicated their thoughts to one another, they would only be able to refine thoughts through eyewitness and observation. What they saw may or may not have been accurate. And even if their thoughts progressed, society may not have progressed, because these thoughts would most likely never be circulated. The thoughts would have a high possibility of dying with the thinkers.

Societies as we know them contain, obviously good and bad qualities. But, as in everything, there is the ‘good’, the ‘bad’, and according to Socrates, a greater ‘good’ that may be achieved by modifying what one knows—knowledge both ‘good’ and ‘bad’.

Justina Liu

Jack, and this was only complicated by the presence of bullies. Jack endured bul-lies who were physically and emotionally harmful, escalating to the point of threats being made to Jack. “[The bullies] would threaten to beat me up unless I did some-thing for them,” explained Jack.

The bullying took a toll on Jack, who continued having trouble fitting in among his new classmates. However, Jack began finding solace through band, and playing an instrument. “[Band] helped me take my mind off of bullying, and focus on something else,” said Jack.

Although Jack was beginning to find other outlets to be comfortable in school, the budget cuts taking place across the district may now threaten one of the only places where Jack has a chance to shine.

When Jack began playing music at Farnsworth, he was only participating

in sixth grade band and stage band, two less selective bands available at the middle school. However, one day Jack was prac-ticing his NYSSMA music piece for his instructional music teacher, who was very impressed with Jack’s skill. Jack and his music teacher then went to see the Select Band teacher.

Jennifer Austin, the Select Band teacher, was also very impressed by Jack’s percussion skill, and moved him directly to select band, a group of musicians from all three middle school grade levels. “The combination of getting chosen to be put on select band… and belonging to a group across all three grade levels in the middle school really made a huge difference, it helped him find his spot socially,” commented Kelly Buttridge, Jack’s mother.

“I have made a lot more friends in percussion than I have anywhere else,” said Jack, who now participates in seventh grade band, Stage Band and Jazz Ensem-ble. Jack made the decision to stop taking Select Band in favor of Jazz Ensemble this year, due to the time needed outside of normal school hours to practice with each group.

Now, Jack gets to see his friends often. “I mostly see them in band, in the hall-ways sometimes,” he said.

“[Stage Band and Jazz Ensemble] are under consideration for the elimination,” said Guilderland Superintendent Marie Wiles, who went on to explain that the

stipends for the teachers that run those programs may not be included in the 2011-12 budget.

“In our district students come from 5 elementary schools and get divided into houses. Band time, in many cases, is the only time they reunite with other students from their elementary school. It is also a way in which students make new friends,” explained Utter

Stage Band director Shannon Woodley agreed, saying that the students in band programs “get to work with the kids from other grade levels, get to work with other teachers, get to ‘find themselves’ as musi-cians and as people.” Woodley continued, explaining that “Since [the students] are in houses at the Middle School, this is where they get the chance to form these bonds over similar interests and not who they have classes with.” If these programs were to be cut, Jack would lose one of the few outlets he has to connect with his friends, a loss many Guilderland students would experience.

Since Jack has started participating more actively in band, his overall middle school experience has improved, and his past problems have faded away. When asked if his bullying has continued after joining band, Jack replied: “If people have been making fun of me, I haven’t really noticed.”

“They would take stuff out of my hands and throw it on the floor, they would make fun of me, they would threaten me,” explained Jack. His transi-tion to the middle school was tough, and it was hard for Jack to find his place. He found that place with music.

Jack Buttridge, a seventh grader at Farnsworth Middle School, has been playing organized music for three years as a percussionist. When he arrived at the middle school in the fall of 2009 as a sixth grader, he had been split from his former friends, a fate many groups of elementary friends meet when begin-ning middle school. “When I moved up to middle school I didn’t know as many people in my classes. I knew a couple from my elementary school but only 2 or 3,” recalled Buttridge.

Making friends was hard at first for

Bram Peterson

Music department select groups are refuge for students

At left: FMS’s Select Band recently performed at the Empire State Plaza in Albany.

Orwellian society revisitedPicture Courtesy Guilderland Central Schools

Orwell’s perception of the Proles, in a way, may predict

our society’s future.

page 15 ( Journal) Fine Arts April 2011

OpinionsJournal

April 2011

There is one night we dream about and anticipate throughout our careers as students. The buildup is incredible, the expenses are momentous, and the pay-off is, to say the least, lackluster. Prom is just supposed to be one night of fun. We dress up, we dance, and we have the time of lives. However, for most of us, reality doesn’t quite measure up to the childhood fantasy. As it turns out, prom is a lot more stress that it’s worth.

For girls in particular, prom prepara-tion begins very early. In January, we begin to ask ourselves and each other who our choice dates would be, and by

February or March, the pressure really begins to mount to find the perfect date. Those of us without significant others are nervous that we won’t be asked, and those of us that do feel obligated to preserve the relationship until prom is over. After all the time and stress that goes into the search for the perfect date, many of us end up disappointed. They are either too clingy or don’t pay enough attention, and we are rarely satisfied.

As the day comes closer, the date is only one on a long list of concerns. The next is the dress. We struggle to find the style that looks best at the right price,

and many of us end up spending way more than necessary on a dress we will only wear once. Many of us claim we will have our long dresses shortened so that we can wear them again, but that rarely comes to fruition. Most of us have a dress that costs hundreds just taking up space in our closets, never again to see the light of day.

Yet another cause for concern is what group we will go with in a limo, or for one group last year, in a trolley. Will you go with your friends, or your date’s? What will you do afterwards? So many ques-tions need to be answered, and it is hard

to be completely satisfied with your choices. If you go in the nice limo with all your friends, it could be another hundred dol-lars, but if you choose to drive your own car there you run the risk of looking “lame.” Every little detail becomes a deci-sion and ner-vousness only grows as the event draws nearer.

Prom is something that gets built up for years as some sort of

magical night that we will remember fondly for years to come. For the ma-jority of us, it is only a reminder of the stress we felt leading up to it. Many of us ask ourselves if it was worth all of

the time and money we spent, and, to be honest, the answer is no for

many. Instead of the climax of the high school experience, we turn prom into something to dread. Between the hunt for a date, transpor-tation, dress, and

after party, very little time is left

to enjoy our-selves.

So much unecessary drama for one nightHannah Cohen

For years it has been the GHS tradition to have a picnic at the end of the year for the graduating class. Seniors would come to school, take a bus to Tawasentha Park and have a picnic for the day with bar-beques, frisbee games, and other activities that we would do on a beautiful spring day. It was seen as a time to relax together as a class one last time before graduating. However,this year, the student body voted for a change in the tradition. This year, we’re going to Six Flags.

I understand that Six Flags is a fun place to go on a nice day, but, not only does it cost money, it just is not the same as a senior picnic. Senior Hannah Cohen agrees, “Six Flags is so big that there is no way we can all see each other. Plus, a lot of people don’t like roller coasters.” The picnic was designed to be a final time that we could all see each other and get our yearbooks signed, until our reunion in twenty years. It was a time to preserve happy memories from high school and forget about the negative ones.

Going to Six Flags will cause a more chaotic environment and make it a lot harder to meet up with everyone and see them before we all go on our separate ways to start a new chapter in our lives. Some may say that it doesn’t matter

where we go because we’re just going to hang out with the same people that we always hang out with, but this is just sealing that fate. Personally, I want to see everyone in my grade and talk to people who I haven’t talked to in a while, and now it will be very hard to do so.

“The senior picnic was about spending one last day as a class together. The focus was about reflecting on our high school experience and getting the opportunity to say goodbye before we all go our sepa-rate ways. While Six Flags is a fun place to go, I don’t think that it should have taken the place the senior picnic” says senior Meghan Bodo. We can go to Six Flags anytime we want. We cannot be together as a class any time we want. The next time we will all be together (and even this is a stretch) is at our high school reunions.

We’re missing out on an opportunity to see our classmates and gaining yet an-other opportunity to cling to the people we know and have been with for the ma-jority of our high school careers. I don’t know why they decided to vote this year for a change and everyone I’ve talked to said that they’d much rather have a picnic instead of a trip to Six Flags (especially because Physics goes on that trip and that’s seen as more of a senior class).

Six Flags trip replaces senior picnicLibby Gioia

Graphic by Dana McLaughlin

Graphic by Heidi Pikcilingis

page 17 ( Journal) Opinions April 2011

I’m sure we’ve all seen movies, TV shows and music that like to promote the “fascinating” effects of alcohol— Skins, Mean Girls, Jersey Shore, Thirteen, Su-perbad. Each portaits stumbling, passing out, puking, dancing, hugging the toilet all night, memory failure the next day, and most importantly, drunk driving. Statistics show that experimentation with alcohol starts, on average, around the age of 12.

Picture your little sister or brother in fifth grade holding a Corona.

Students know that it’s illegal to drink underage. They also know that it’s bad for you - it harms the liver and progresses to negative health issues. The real question is, however, do teens in the 21st century know how to drink responsibly?

To a small group of students at Guilderland High, the “in” thing is to

go to downtown Albany, get “trashed”, and then “forget” about it in the morning with a pounding headache.

“Teens don’t know how to drink re-sponsibly. It’s irre-sponsible to break the law in the first place. Teen brains are too young, underdeveloped, and inexperienced to manage the ‘thrill’ of drink-ing,” says Rachel Korman, a senior at Guilderland.

When teens go to parties, they of-ten have a “DD,” or designated driver, but how well do they even know their designated driver? How do they know

that they’re not going to drink AND try to drive? In 2010, 32% of car accident related deaths resulted due to alcoholic impairment.

“ U n d e r -ag e d r ink ing can always be prevented and there needs to be more regu-lation, but that only goes so far. People need to be responsible. Always have a

DD and plan ahead.” says Britney Lynch, senior at Guilderland. Honestly, teens are still kids. It doesn’t matter if you’re 18 or not. Your brain isn’t fully developed until the age of 21 anyways. Sure, you may be

able to drive (barely), and see R-rated movies, but no, you can’t drink.

“One last thought from a health per-spective, the earlier that people begin to use alcohol, the greater the chances are of that person becoming an alcoholic later in life, suffering negative physical with-drawal symptoms, and harming his/her brain during development.” comments health teacher Shelly Strack. It doesn’t give you the right to lose your mind doing things you’ll regret in the morning if you can’t even remember them.

For the students who have been driv-ing drunk back home from downtown Al-bany, get a designated driver. Point blank.

Teenage drinking is still a serious issueClarissa Schmidt

Nuclear energy warfare continuesPro-nuclear energy Anti-nuclear energy

Mike Dvorscak

Humans have a history of overex-tending their power over nature. As a race, we have constantly found inno-vative ways to use the world to our advantage. But we are too confident in our skill.

We cannot possibly believe that we can control the powers of nuclear

fission without dangerous consequenc-es. The use of nuclear power is far too hazardous for our use.

Japan has been the victim of two nuclear disasters. Both were the fault of man. The more recent was a seemingly accidental incident involving the mal-functioning of nuclear reactors due to the tsunami and earthquake. Some call this a natural disaster, one that is un-avoidable. It is clear that a tsunami can-not be controlled, but, without nuclear power, the crisis on top of the natural disaster could have been avoided.

The power of fission is so outstand-ing. It took a daring project by top en-gineers to stop terrible havoc in Japan. Minor mistakes could have obliterated cities. This happened once in the past, in Chernobyl. This horrible incident should have halted use of nuclear power on the spot.

There are a lot of things we risk in life. But the threat of the de-struction of our planet for cheaper energy is not a risk worth tak-

ing. Humans may be powerful, but we simply cannot handle

dealing with the energy that fuels the sun. Nuclear power should be avoided.

Matt Simon

There needs to be more regulation, but that only goes so far.

In a world which is mostly run on coal, it has become increasingly neces-sary to find alternative sources of elec-trical power. While some people may be frightened by the thought of the nuclear power plants and the nuclear disasters we have seen in the past, the risks of splitting atoms pale in comparison to the dreadful toll exacted by fossil fuels.

Just because we cannot al-ways see the direct effects of global warming, a process caused by the burning of fossil fuels, it is always there, destroy-ing our world in ways we cannot imagine. A study from MIT predicts that worldwide energy usage will triple by 2050, and if we continue burning coal and fossil fuels at the rate we are going, our world will be gone within the blink of an eye. Nuclear energy is a way to reduce that stress.

But nuclear energy is not the only answer. Although much bet-ter for the environment than tra-ditional coal plants, nuclear plants still create radioactive waste. This is why nuclear energy needs to bridge the gap into truly renewable sources for power, especially because nuclear power is cheaper than ever. Soon, nuclear energy could realistically replace coal in the US without a cost increase, and ultimate-ly lead the way to a clean, green future.

ImPACT really wanted to make it affordable for

schools to do the right thing.- Regan Johnson, Asst. Athletic Director

Concussions are a danger faced across all high school sports, especially high contact sports such as football and wrestling. The rate of high school concussions is higher than ever before, but changes are being made to the way schools look at concussions. ImPACT is looking to help make the return from the sideline back into the game safer for high school athletes.

Photos courtesy of Dev Keenholts/ The Journal (Top), Justin Cummings/ Cummings Family Studio (Left)

JournalApril 2011

SportsHigh school student athletes are be-

coming stronger and the pace of sports is becoming faster than ever before. This dangerous combination is causing the highest concussion rates ever recorded among high school athletes, a major threat to the health and well being of their still growing minds. Guilderland has begun taking steps to help minimize

this risk as much as possible. Guilderland became the second Sec-

tion 2 school to begin to institute base-line and post-concussion testing, which were first administered in the spring of 2010. The district decided to use a testing program called Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing, more commonly known by its

acronym ImPACT. ImPACT was developed in the early

1990s by neurosurgeon Joseph Maroon and neuropsychologist Mark Lovell to help sports teams at all levels know when it’s safe to play an athlete with a head injury. It is a program that tests a post-concussion athlete’s verbal and visual memory as well as their processing speed and reaction time. It then compares that data to their results gathered before they were concussed. This analysis is then used as a tool to help determine if it is safe for an athlete to return.

In the year 2000, the concussion rate among high school athletes was 5.6%. Over the past decade that number has grown to 8.9%, according to the National High School Sports-Related Injury Sur-veillance Study. This means that almost one of every nine high school athletes suffer a concussion. Of those concussed athletes, a study done by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital showed that 40.5% of them returned too early during their recovery. The threat is greater than ever, and changes to protect athletes are spread-ing across the country.

“[ImPACT] is the same concussion program that the NFL and the NHL uses…it’s the best,” said Guilderland Athletic Director Wayne Bertrand about the high school’s new steps toward safety. The real face of this program’s intro-duction has been Regan Johnson, the Assistant Athletic Director at Guilderland. Johnson, who originally went to school to be an athletic trainer, has taught physical education for fifteen years, and is now in his fifth year acting as the Assistant Athletic Director.

“New York State recieved a grant to educate coaches, teachers, parents and doctors about concussion management,” said Johnson, who is currently a member of the Section 2 management team that sets and controls the protocols for deal-ing with concussions in the section. This movement towards greater safety helped usher in the use of ImPACT.

“The state already had had good rela-tions with ImPACT, and it just seemed like the best choice,” said Johnson on the deci-sion to use ImPACT. The program was already being used throughout the coun-try, as seemed like the best decision after other products were reviewed as well. Im-PACT is also very financially convenient for schools to use, costing only $425 per

year for unlimited baseline and follow-up concussion tests. “ImPACT really wanted to make it affordable for schools to do the right thing,” commented Johnson on the program’s reasonable price.

The first baseline tests were admin-istered at Guilderland to athletes last spring. “Spring is great because it has the least amount of athletes participating…and we were only doing it for the contact or collision sports,” said Johnson. As ImPACT grows in the district, more and more sports team are beginning to use it as a tool in case of injuries, possibly including cheerleaders and gymnasts next school year.

The testing picked up where it left off with this school year’s fall sports season with the continued use of the baseline tests. There were a dozen concussions suffered by Guilderland athletes in the fall,

and the ImPACT data helped determine when it would be safe for them to return to their sport.

“It’s hard to get [high school students] to understand…they don’t always realize it’s important,” commented Guilderland athletic trainer Kate Gawrys. Although ImPACT can be very helpful in deter-mining when an athlete will return, both Johnson and Gawrys made it very clear that it is only a tool in the equation, and that people will always make the final deci-sion. “If [an athlete] gets hit and are still having headaches and can’t concentrate, but does well on the test, were not going to put them back in,” explained Gawrys.

The use of ImPACT will undoubtedly help the decision making process for al-lowing concussed athletes to return to their sport, but is still only a factor in an equation of many variables. “One benefit of it is that coaches don’t put pressure [on athletes], because now they know,” said Johnson, referring the added confidence given to recovering athletes and their coaches and parents.

The safety of student-athletes is the highest priority to the school, and this tool helps them ensure the right choices are made. As Johnson put it, “We just want to make sure we’re doing the right thing.”

Guilderland takes steps towards concussion safety Bram Peterson

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Coming off of one of the greatest post-season runs in Guilderland sports history, the Guilderland Varsity Baseball team plans to have as good of a season as they did last year. With 17 returning play-ers and a well-coached group of athletes, the team hopes to pick up right where they left off from last season.

Due to the loss of the team’s one through five hitters, including suburban council player of the year Matt Zanotta, it’s very evident that some adjustments will be needed for the team to be suc-cessful this season. Senior Conor Hurley said “We are going to have to rely more on pitching and defense this year than last year.”

Senior Andrew Faragon agreed, saying “We are a very fast and athletic team that is not afraid to bunt and play small ball, and also play strong defense.”

The team definitely has a target on their back this season after what they ac-complished last season. “The season will obviously be a tough road because ev-eryone will be gunning for us.” explained Faragon. However he stays confident saying “I think we have the ability to get back to the Joe (Joe Bruno Stadium, site of championship game).”

“As long as we stay together as a team and play our game, we’re confident that we will be pretty good,” said senior Brett Macneil. Senior Nick Mastrianni has high hopes for the team as well, “The team’s looking real strong. We have a lot of speed and we’re good in the field. As long as we are able to hit well and have each others backs, we’re going to be tough to beat.”

Sen io r c ap t a i n Ha r r y B r od -sky seemed to sum it up best when he said, “We’re not the 2010 team, but we’re ready to win like them.” The Dutchmen began their Suburban Council south division schedule with a 4-3 win over Columbia on Friday, April 8, followed up by a 6-2 win over Saratoga on Monday, April 11.

Defending Section 2 champs start season strong, 2-0John Evans

The Guilderland varsity tennis season is under way. Coached by Curtis Snyder, the Dutchmen are coming off of a quarterfinals finish in the 2010 season and are looking to make it even further in the 2011 season. Senior Shane Foley said, “We lost a lot of our big players last years and we are looking for new people to step up to fill their role.” The Dutch-men have started off this season with a 4-0 record. “I think we have a chance to contend for the section this year.” com-mented Foley.

Jess Marini signs with LeMoyneShelby Iapoce Sam Burgasser

Strong start for Boys tennis team

Senior Sobhan Potluri (top) and Junior Austin Malerba (left) warm up for a match.

Senior Vinny Tamburello (top), Senior Harry Brodsky (right), Andrew Faragon and Tamburello (far right).

Photos by Abby Levy / The Journal

page 19 (theJournal)April 2011 Sports

Choosing the right college involves taking countless numbers of things into consideration: class size, location, tuitions, etc. It’s a complicated and time consum-ing process without even thinking about something else in the front of many stu-dents minds— sports, and playing sports in college.

The level of play, likeability of coaches, possible amount of playing time, and abil-ity to balance the rigorous college curricu-lum and athletics are added concerns that student-athletes have to think about when they choose a college. However, many still entertain the thought of playing sports in college, as 420,000 student athletes were registered with the NCAA last February. One of Guilderland High School’s own, Jess Marini, will be among the 420,000. Jess has been a part of the Varsity Soc-cer team since she was a freshman and of the Varsity Lacrosse team since she was a sophomore. This year, she was a captain of both the soccer and lacrosse team. She decided to play soccer at LeM-

oyne, located in Syracuse, New York. “It’s a good distance away from home-not too close, but not too far,” Marini says “I got scholarship money, and I like the smaller class size. There are also a lot of different major options.”

However, Jess already has a major in mind. She is planning on being a biology major, which takes a lot of time in itself, without incorporating practices, training sessions and games into her schedule. “It’ll be tough to balance athletics and schoolwork. I’ll have to manage my time and use soccer as a motivation to keep focused on my work because that’s the priority.”

The balance between school and sports is a thought and concern on many student-athletes’ minds. For other student athletes, Jess has an important piece of advice: “Be sure to look at the college as if you weren’t playing a sport. Ask yourself if you’ll be comfortable there if, for some reason, you don’t end up playing.”

Photos by Bram Peterson / The Journal

Photos by Tara Jackson / The Journal

Tony Albanese

Sports April 2011 page 20 (theJournal)

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Tara Jackson

Guilderland girls lacrosse look to repeat as champs

The Lady Dutch lacrosse team has proven to be insuperable in section two, winning the title for the past four years and moving on to the regional competi-tion.

Many lacrosse enthusiasts critiqued the Lady Dutch this year stating that with the loss of many vital seniors the team would be much less of a threat. When asked about the outlook for the team this year, Junior Shelby Iapoce stated, “We may not have as many standout players as in the state, but we have depth. I’d trust any one of us on the field. There’s no doubt in my mind that every player would work their hardest and never give up.”

So far the chemistry between the seasoned veterans and the varsity fresh meat has proven to be a recipe for suc-cess. The team has risen to the occasion, with the season officially starting and the Guilderland Girls Lacrosse Team with a record of 3-0. On Thursday, March 31st, the Lady Dutch played their first confer-ence game against Bethlehem, trouncing the Lady Eagles 17-3. On Saturday, April 2nd, the Dutch played a nonconference game against Fayetteville-Manlius fight-ing hard for an 18-14 victory. Senior Erin Mossop led the team in scoring with an impressive ten goals. The FM Hornets

have been ranked in the top ten teams in the nation since 2003, so this win was a significant one. Last Thursday, April 7th, the Lady Dutch shut-out Columbia High with a 17-0 victory.

Though the Guilderland Girls La-crosse team is undefeated as of now, their official slogan of the season has been, “We want more!” The team isn’t content with just winning; winning only means one team played better than the other team. Guilderland doesn’t settle for better, they only settle for their best. When asked about the Columbia game it was stated, “We played hard, but threw the ball away at times. We need to learn to make better choices and we’ll be set.” The Lady Dutch have a lot of work ahead of them, always pushing toward the ultimate goal of state champions.

The boys lacrosse team kicked off their regular season with an 18-2 win over Columbia High School on Thursday, April 7. The team made it to sectionals last year and are hoping to do the same this coming season.

Jun io r l a c ro s s e p l ay e r Dan -ny Sanantandrea desc r ibed h i s thoughts of the team, explaining “We lost a lot of seniors from last year, so kids are going to have to step up and play a different role on the team.” The lacrosse team had a pre-season tournament on Saturday, March 26. “In the tournament, we played 5 games and finished with 2 wins and 3 losses. It was disappointing because we could have done a lot better,” said Sanantandrea.

When asked `which aspect the team needs to improve on, Sanantandrea replied “We are having problems with commu-nication. We also need to be moving off the ball more then we have been. If we resolve this, we will have a good season.”

The team also had a scrimmage on Tuesday, March 29 against Albany Acad-emy. Junior lacrosse player Sean Klim expressed his thoughts of the scrimmage. “We played very well against Albany Academy. We won the scrimmage but there is still a lot of work to do. We played well but we faced a weak team. We need

to prepare for more competitive games that are sure to come this year.”

Junior player Nick Haluska also gave his thouhgts on the season, saying “I think that we will do good. We have a solid team, I predict that we wi l l go to sect ionals again.” It is clear that the players are confident about this years team. The team has had a solid pre-season and is working hard to repeat a sectional run.

Top: Senior Andrew Genovese takes out Columbia player, Right: Sophmore Stephen Polsinelli handles the ball against a defender.

Photos by Dev Keenholts / The Journal

The Lady Dutch go in for a huddle before their game against Columbia (top), Freshman Morgan Hardt runs the ball down the field (left), Senior Erin Mossop dodges a defender (right).

Boys lacrosse kick off season, knock off Columbia