Niskayuna High School

Since 1974,Now Weekly

April 8, 2004 Volume 30, Issue 22

by Sarita UpadhyayNEWS

Many Niskayuna High Schoolforeign language learners willbe travelling on foreign exchangetrips during April break, withthe intent of improving theirknowledge of culture and lan-guage. German students will beaccompanied to Germany byteachers Joe Carosella and TracyPrebish; French students byJane Ainslie and Amy Martin toFrance; and Spanish studentsby Kelly Linehan and FilomenaZarrelli to Mexico.

Students participating in theexchange program will spend atleast one week, and two in somecases, living with foreign“brothers” or “sisters,” and theirfamilies. Many Niskayuna stu-dents have already spoken withor written to their exchange part-ners. Said sophomore Germanstudent Marina Dosch, “My Ger-man ‘sister’ and I have ex-

changed e-mails talking aboutmusic, sports, friends, etc.”Meanwhile, other students havealready hosted their foreign “sib-lings,” including senior JuliaBurkey. “I’m so excited to seeher again,” she commented.

Students will have the chanceto see the countries and theirattractions, including famousmuseums, cities, and land-marks. The exchange studentsin Mexico will be visiting theAztec Pyramids, Mexico City,and a cheese factory, and Ger-man students will see Berlin,Hamm, and the Pergamon Mu-seum. Meanwhile, the Frenchstudents eagerly await their up-coming days in Paris, andAlbertville, home of the 1992winter olympics.

Spanish Teacher KellyLinehan said that exchange tripswhere students live with hostfamilies tend to be more benefi-cial then tourist-type trips.

“When students stay with fami-lies, it is an extensive languageexperience,” she explained.

“I’m excited about the learn-ing experience and I’m sure itwill help with [the] regents[exam]. But I’m also nervous; Idon’t feel like I’m proficientenough in Spanish to go, but Isuppose it will come naturallyonce I’m there,” said junior KatieSheehan, who will be leaving forMexico on April 2nd. Many otherstudents are also anticipatingthe new cultural experience, aswell as the new kinds of peopleand places they are sure to en-counter. “I’m nervous to go andbe immersed in a foreign culture

Nisky students to partake in exchangefor the first time, but excited atthe same time to see newplaces, meet new people, andbetter learn the French lan-guage,” remarked juniorChelsea Boska. Dosch also add-ed “… My confidence will defi-nitely go up with my improvedspeaking and language skill. Ithink this will be an experi-ence which will benefit me foryears to come.”

These long-awaited ex-change trips are approachingrapidly as April draws nearer,and many anxious studentscount the days until departure.�With additional reportingby Ian Davis

Germany, France, and Mexico all in the cards for April vacation

Because of computer problems, The Warrior couldnot print and distribute this issue, intended for April2, until today April 8. We apologize for the delay andask that our readers excuse and resulting inconsis-tencies.

by Katerina GrossNEWS

Although math can sometimes be stu-dents’ most difficult subject inschool because of its rigidityand complexity, math teacherIrene Jovell has always man-aged to lighten up the mood inthe classroom, while convey-ing high-level concepts in astraightforward and interest-ing manner. Unfortunately forNiskayuna High School, afterthirty-three years of faithfulservice to our school commu-nity through the math depart-ment, Jovell will be retiring atthe end of this school year.

After graduating fromRussell Sage College with adouble major in Mathematicsand Chemistry, Jovell beganworking at Niskayuna HighSchool in the fall of 1971. Over

Respected mathematics teacher departing

(Continued page 2, JOVELL)

TIME TO SAY GOODBYE: Veteran math teacher Irene Jovell assistsjunior Sarah Faddegon. Jovell will be retiring at the end of this year,ending a long and exciting career.

Warrior photo / Jesse E. Conti

the years she has taught every math courseoffered at our high school, except for thosein calculus. This year she is instructing

the Math 2A, Pre-Calculus, and AP Sta-tistics classes

In addition to teaching in our own school,Jovell has spread her wealth ofknowledge and experience onlocal, state, and national levels.As many students have alreadydiscovered, Jovell has writtennumerous mathematics textswhich the Niskayuna school dis-trict now makes use of. Throughthe well-known publishing houseof Holt, Rinehart and Winston,Mrs. Jovell has authored the Al-gebra I series and co-authored aPre-Calculus book.

She also has held severalprestigious positions in Math-ematics-related organizations.Jovell has been president ofthe New York State Associa-tion of Mathematics Teachers,and the New York State Math-

2 News April 8, 2004 The Warrior

(continued from page 1,RESPECTED)

ematics Supervisors. As herstudents frequently notice,Jovell is often invited on busi-ness trips to be a speaker atlocal, state, and nationalgroups, such as the NationalCouncil for Teachers of Math-ematics (NCTM.) Further-more, Jovell is actively in-volved as a trainer in mathfor the association Technol-ogy For All Students (TFAS.)This group holds conferencesin which Jovell teaches otherteachers how to implementnew types of technology intheir own classrooms. More-over, Jovell has taught aspir-ing math teachers at UnionCollege how to teach.

In addition to receivingacknowledgement for her pro-fessional accomplishments,Jovell has been recognized forher teaching ability by manystudents at both local andstate levels.

Reflecting upon her more

than three decades of teach-ing at the high school, Jovellcommented, “I’ve been throughthree generations of mathteachers. This is a professionaland collegial atmosphere. It isone, especially in the math de-partment, where we can alwayswork together and there isnever a dumb question.”

Upon learning of her retire-ment, fellow Niskayuna mathteachers expressed their feel-ings about the impact thather leaving will have uponthe school. “Having workedwith her for so long, all I cantell you is that the district islosing a tremendous resourceto all the people she workswith. She has been a teacherto all the other teachers,” saidJoseph Baciewicz. KarenMaxwell also expressed hersentiments, stating, “She andI have been together for thirtyyears, because we went to col-lege together, so it’s like I’mlosing my sister.”

When Jovell retires, she

plans to continue doingteacher training, professionalgrowth, and demonstratingnew techniques in the class-room. In addition, in her freetime, Jovell would like to con-

centrate on decorating herhouse more extensively.

Jovell will be sorely missedby the Niskayuna High Schoolcommunity, but she leaves alasting legacy.

Jovell ready to hang up the protractor

The Warrior would like to congratulate percus-sionist and NHS junior Jim Benoit, winner ofthis year’s Lois Lyman Concerto Competition,who was featured in last week’s issue of the

Warrior. Benoit performed his marimbaconcerto, Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints byAlan Hovhaness, with the Empire State Youth

Orchestra this past Saturday at the TroySavings Bank Music Hall.

Benoit’s flawless performances merited a fullfive-minute standing ovation from the packedhouse. Several observers expressed their aweat the young musician’s exceptional skill as he

embraced musical director Francisco Noya.

Congratulations!

NEWS BRIEFS

FRESHMEN: The Warrior is seekingfreshmen staff writers. It’s not too lateto get involved in time to apply for aposition next year. Please come to roomD103 during homeroom or after schoolMonday or Thursday for info.

SCHOLARSHIP INFORMATION:Pep club is offering four scholarships toseniors who have a 3.0 GPA or betterand have participated in at least onevarsity sport.

COLLEGE VISITS: Sophomores, jun-iors, and seniors interested in visitingSUNY Oneonta, Cornell, and Ithacamust get a permission slip from Guid-ance by April 10.

SENIOR SPIRIT WEEK: From April5 through the 8. Check flyers posted inhomeroom for details.

SOCCER REFS: Refs are still neededfor Town soccer. See Mrs. Ferencik inMedia for application.

AP EXAMS: Students planning to takethe AP Exams need to turn in the nec-essary forms to the Guidance Office byApril 7.

�Compiled by Tim Vo

3NewsApril 8, 2003The Warrior

Triennial Choral Festival hits a high note

By Joshua XiongNEWS

For the YMCA Outstanding YouthAward, guidance counselors nominatedfive seniors from the Niskayuna SchoolDistrict this past month. MattEisenstein, Evan Fenaroli, Jim Kelley,Matt Larkin, and Aaron Mednick re-ceived this honor, whch is presented tostudent leaders in Schenectady Countywho personify the core values of theYMCA (Caring, Honesty, Respect, andResponsibility), and have achievedgreat academic success throughouthigh school. These five students arepart of a group of 37 nominees fromSchenectady County high schools whowere recognized at the Glen SandersMansion on Thursday, March 25.

Also recognized was Niskayuna HighSchool Health teacher Lonnie Wilson,who was awarded “Outstanding Educa-

tor of the Year” for her constant service tothe Niskayuna High School community, andeverlasting care for her students.

Students who participated in this rec-

ognition process had to, with the help ofmembers of their high school communi-ties, provide references and send in appli-cation forms. After the applications were

sent, they were reviewed by a boardmade up of employees and executivesof the Capital District Young Men’sChristian Association, or the CDYMCA.A Schenectady High School studentwon the main award.

The honor that these seniors haveattained reflects the principles of ser-vice and community awareness thatare fostered in Niskayuna. The effortsof these students throughout their highschool years not only fully deservescommendation by the CDYMCA but bymembers of the Niskayuna School Dis-trict, the high school, and the commu-nity in general.�����With Additional Reporting byMatt Larkin

by Nate StaudingerNEWS

The Niskayuna Choral Fes-tival took place last Monday,March 22, in the high schoolauditorium, and the previousThursday, March 18, in theNew Gym. This event, whchtakes place every three years,celebrated not only the musi-cal success of all the Niska-yuna elementary, middle andhigh school singing groups,but also the 50th anniversaryof the Niskayuna CentralSchool district.

Both evenings featuredsongs from each group, and anall-inclusive finale entitled“Sing A Song of Celebration,”composed by Dr. Ralph andMrs. Dorothy Schultz.

The song was commissionedat the high school, which meansthat this was the first time itwas ever performed.

“We were invited to writethe piece by the Music Depart-ment for the special anniver-sary of the school district,” saidDr. Schultz. “The districtwanted to celebrate this uniqueevening by combining all theschool choirs.” He continued,“The best part of the festival

was watching the expressionson the children’s faces and justbeing a part of the wholeevening. It was obvious thatNiskayuna has a strong, thor-ough music program. It was

also enjoyable to watch theprogression of the singersfrom the kindergarten groupsto the most selective highschool groups.”

Putting together the MusicFestival was no easy task. SaidMichelle Sousa-Gatta, who

helped coordinate the event,“The hardest part of the festi-val was the organization – thesheer logistics of it all. Decid-ing where everyone was sup-posed to stand, when everyone

was supposed to sing, andwhere everyone would meetbefore singing was quite thechallenge.” When all was saidand done, the Music Festivalwas a great experience for boththe audience and the perform-ers. Alyson Kelly, a senior

member of Concert Chorale,commented “I enjoyed how thechoral festival brought to-gether all of the schools’ vocal-ists for a unified evening ofmusical enchantment thattruly embodied Niskayunaschool spirit.” Said Eliza Kalm,an eighth grade singer fromVan Antwerp Middle School,“Iliked being able to hear thehigh school select groups. WhenI enter the high school nextyear, those will be the kids whoI will look up to, and those willbe the groups I aspire to join.”

“Sing a Song of Celebration”also featured select brass mem-bers from the high school. Jun-ior Caleb Staudinger, a trom-bonist, commented, “I liked be-ing given the unique opportu-nity to perform with the sing-ers, as well as with the schools’best brass players.”

Mrs. Schultz best expressedthe extremely positive gen-eral reaction to the ChoralFestival, saying, “It was greatto hear the children singing–we could tell they were sing-ing from their hearts and giv-ing everything they had tothe performance. It was trulya delight.”

Outstanding Youth Award gives students community recognitionYMCA honors select Niskayuna seniors

Photo courtesy Matt LarkinSTANDING TALL : Seniors (from left) Aaron Mednick,Matt Larkin, Jim Kelley, Evan Fenaroli, and MattEisenstein were recognized with a leadership awardfrom the YMCA.

Warrior photo / Nate StaudingerSING IT!: The Niskayuna High School Choir performs with other choirsfrom throughout the district.

4 Opinion4 Opinion April 8, 2004 The Warrior

Letter to the Editor

To the Editors:It has come to my at-

tention that you have,yet again, chosen toforgo the usual AprilFools Day newspaper.In case you have forgot-ten what this source ofextreme hilarity was, itwould be the most en-tertaining edition of theyear. Of course, it wouldbe possible to argue thatthis is a newspaper, andit is not necessary toprovide entertainment,but it is also a point thatthis is a school newspa-per. Of course, it is easyto presume that youfolks have real, cutting-edge articles that needto be brought to life,and, of course, Iwouldn’t argue withthat. I’m sure it couldprevent a grand injus-tice, and, if it does, then

Where’s the April Fool’s issue?I applaud your visionaryapproach to the schoolnewspaper industry.

But what is this publi-cation if not for the stu-dents who will be read-ing it? Are they not thelifeblood upon whichyour organization feedslike a blood-starved vam-pire? Pardon the illustra-tion, but it seemed appro-priate. I do, in fact, un-derstand that this articlegives you folks the extranecessity of being funnyand literate, but I knowyou are up to the task.

There are reports thatthis publication would begiven some sass frompeople who disagreewith the acts of hilarityare discouraging, and ifthat was the reason forwhich you would be sup-plying no wittiness forme, and dare I say it,

most of the school to en-joy, then it is not a largeproblem. I agree, if it’stoo much trouble thendon’t do it. Just ask anyof my teachers. But if youdid happen to publishthis issue, which I al-ready know that you plannot to do, there are manypeople who would be morethan happy to provide youwith a surplus of articlesfor your ever-so-enjoyedliterary organization.

I’m not trying to sayyou guys are wrong fornot doing this, I’m justsaying it might have beenenjoyed by easily-enter-tained high school stu-dents devouring a par-ticularly entertainingedition of our most be-loved, albeit only, schoolnewspaper.- James Chapman,Class of 2005

When a student goes to such an excellenthigh school as Niskayuna, one would hopeand possibly expect that the rest of thestudent body would reflect that. However,it would appear that at Nisky High this isnot the case, and in fact itwould seem to be quite theopposite at times. For a stu-dent body with some of thebest advantages, there is an exorbitantamount of petty thievery and dishonestconduct.

Several thefts have occurred in the gymlocker rooms; large amounts of money, cloth-ing and accessories have been taken.Granted, many people have left their stuffoutside of their gym lockers, away from anysecurity, open to any passerby. But really,students should be able to leave belongingslying out on the benches without fear ofdishonest peers stealing their things. Hasour community become so corrupt that ourmaterialistic needs outweigh our basic senseof right and wrong?

Furthermore, what’s even more despi-cable is the fact that most of the acts havemost likely been perpetrated by students

Morals lost in locker rooms

EDITORIAL

who have no real need for any of the items,but are consumed simply by their own senseof greed. To these people it is somehow okayto take the earned money/items of otherstudents because they themselves are obvi-

ously too lazy or immoral topartake in honest work them-selves.

Does the concept of right andwrong have no sway? There are reasons whysociety tells us stealing and dishonesty arebad. In order to function as a society we can’thave people constantly mooching off of oth-ers in this parasitic manner. People whocontribute nothing only harm others’progress. Do we really want to turn out thatway? Wouldn’t it better to simply not committhe crime?

Students shouldn’t take advantage of otherstudent’s vulnerable position, even if leavingone’s things accessible to the public is not thebest idea. There is a reason why honesty andhard work are a virtue in society. Maybesome of us need a remedial course in charac-ter building, because these are the skills thatmeasure us as a human beings, much morethan any gradable attributes.

The Warrior

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

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

Niskayuna High School1626 Balltown RoadNiskayuna, NY 12309

(518) 382-2511, Ext. 351http://www.nisk.k12.ny.us/nhs/

warrior/

T H E S TA F FEDITORS-IN-CHIEF: Tae Andrews,

Elspeth EdelsteinNEWS EDITORS: Jesse Conti, Leanne

Merrill, Julia Napolitano, JeremyWolos

ASST. NEWS: Nate StaudingerOPINION EDITORS: Kishori Rajan, Alec

WilsonASST. OPINION: Evan BallanENTERTAINMENT EDITOR: Stephanie

Blair, Matt LarkinSPORTS EDITORS: Jonathan Chow, Lisa

D’AnielloASST. SPORTS: Peter ChalfinMAGAZINE EDITORS: Alice Lee, Anna Yu,

Kathryn FantauzziASST. MAGAZINE: Anjana RajanWeb Site Manager: Scott BrainardDISTRIBUTION MANAGER: Jackie NguyenBUSINESS MANAGER: Erik DonhoweADVERTISING MANAGER: Jonas ChangGRAPHICS COORDINATOR: Evan FenaroliCOPY EDITOR: Abby AlgerADVISORS: James Edgar, Russell

McDowell

EDITORIAL POLICIES

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR are wel-come from all members of theschool community. The Warriorreserves the right to edit lettersfor grammar and length.

SIGNED OPINION ARTICLES AND CAR-TOONS express the opinions oftheir creators.

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

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

5OpinionApril 8, 2004The Warrior

by Peter ChenOPINION

A short foreign affairs quiz: From whichcountry did fifteen out of the nineteen 9/11hijackers originate? And which country hasa confirmed stash of weapons of mass de-struction and has admitted that it exportedthese weapons to two members of whatBush branded “the Axis of Evil?” Last, whichcountry was responsible for setting up theTaliban, the regime that harbored al Qaeda?

These answers have long-term implica-tions for American national security, thisyear’s biggest election issue. They also illus-trate that Bush’s foreign policy and hisinvasion of Iraq are misguided and impedethe true war on terror.

If you’re wondering, the answer to thefirst question is Saudi Arabia. It shouldcome as no surprise that so many terror-ists, and, indeed, Osama bin Laden him-self, came from this country. SaudiArabia is a kingdom ruled by a cor-rupt and oppressive regime whosesurvival depends on two things:oil and radicalism. The huge prof-its from oil are what fund the lav-ish lifestyles and palaces of themembers of the House of Saud, andradicalism is what deflects anger fromordinary Saudi citizens away from theirleaders and towards the West. The SaudiArabian regime sponsors madrasas, or fun-damentalist schools, all over the world. Keyaspects of the doctrine propagated by theseinstitutions include strict obedience to theancient, draconian Islamic law: blaming theMiddle East’s problems – both current andpast – on the “imperialist” West and Israel.The doctrine also advocates jihad to over-throw these powers, if necessary, throughterrorism. The graduates of madrasas go onto spread their ideology to others, intimi-date reformers, and, yes, join terrorist groupsand fly planes into buildings. Hence, alQaeda and 9/11.

And the answer to the last two questionsis Pakistan. Not only did its intelligenceservice play an instrumental role in usher-ing the Taliban to power in neighboringAfghanistan by providing weapons, mon-etary aid, and information, but Pakistanalso gave nuclear secrets to the rogue statesof Libya, Iran, and North Korea. Reveredscientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, with the sup-port of many top army generals, sold ad-vanced centrifuge technology to whoeverwas willing to pay for it. This went on fromthe 1970s up to as recently as 2002. TIMEhas called Pakistan an “A-bomb bazaar.”

Clearly, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan posegrave security threats to the US. Indeed,

US anti-terrorism policy missing key points

Warrior Art / Alice Lee

ALL OPINIONS expressed on the op-ed pages represent the individual view-points of their authors. The contentdoes not necessarily represent the viewsof The Warrior, the high school, theschool districtor the board of education.

collectively, they fit the reasons for Bush’sinvasion of Iraq much better than Iraq everdid: oppression of the populace, possessionof weapons of mass destruction, distribut-ion of these weapons, sponsorship of alQaeda, and the breeding of Islamic militantextremism. Yet these nations are treated asallies, partners in the war against terror.

To be fair, neither Saudi Arabia nor Paki-stan is overtly opposed to the US, and they

have suppos-edly launched anti-terrorist efforts. But theroot of the problem in Saudi Arabia, theneed of the regime to deflect popular angerat the West caused by its own oppression,goes unaddressed. Thus, the madrasas con-tinue to receive funding and continue toteach radicalism. In Pakistan, troops havenot been active in patrolling rural regionsnear the border with Afganistan, where binLaden is expected to be hiding. Moreover,the military dictatorship led by PervezMusharraf is unstable as a result of its owndisavowal of the Taliban and its support ofthe U.S. The outrage this has caused madeMusharraf’s popularity plummet and in-spired extremists to attempt to assassinatehim, their attempts including two narrow-misses within the last month.

A reevaluation of US policy towards thesetwo countries must occur. A tougher call toget rid of madrasas, and the development offuel-efficient technology are two criticalAmerican steps that would lessen depen-dence on Saudi oil, thus forcing more pres-sure on the regime to sever terror ties. As forPakistan, a short-term solution is to giveMusharraf the support necessary for hissurvival and continued assistance againstextremism, but also to predicate this help onthe promise of future reform.

The direction of the Iraq war also needs

another look. Don’t get me wrong- I’m justas delighted as anyone to see Saddam re-moved from power and captured. But thewar had nothing to do with combating ter-rorism, contrary to what Bush claims. Theparty responsibile for 9/11 was al Qaeda.The ideology which inspired 9/11 came fromSaudi schools. The backer of al Qaeda wasAfghanistan’s Taliban. The leader of alQaeda was bin Laden. Saddam supportedthe Palestinian Liberation Organization,but that had no connections to al Qaeda.Thus, invading Iraq hurt the ultimate aimof destroying al Qaeda.

First, resources were diverted away fromhunting the remnants of the Taliban andal Qaeda leaders. After the successfulcampaign in Afghanistan, the might ofthe US military shifted to Iraq when it

was needed where it already was. Spe-cial operations troops in Afghanistan

transferred into Task Force 121 tofind Saddam. As a result, bin Ladenand former Taliban leader MullahMohammed Omar remain free.

Second, the perceived illegiti-macy of the Iraq invasion hasbred more terrorists. Madrasasnow have more recruits than ever,

ones that they send to Iraq indroves. Youths and adults through-

out the Middle East see the occupation of aneighbor by a Western coalition as imperial-ism redux. This perception will only deepenif a stable democracy does not emerge inIraq. Indeed, the results of the effort torebuild Afghanistan are an example of howa similar effort in Iraq will also fail: theopium trade has revived, crime runs ram-pant, and the national army is composed ofmilitias still loyal to their tribal warlords.

In the end, the Bush Administration’srecord on fighting terror is mixed. The Af-ghanistan campaign was a brilliant suc-cess, but the costly invasion of Iraq wasunnecessarily counterproductive. Insteadof going after a regime with no WMDs andmarginal ties to the PLO, the US needed tofocus its resources on the reconstruction ofAfghanistan and the pursuit of the Talibanand al Qaeda leaders. In addition, US policyneeds to be tougher towards Saudi Arabiaand Pakistan to make sure they’re on theright side in the war on terror. After all, withfriends like these, who needs enemies?

6 Entertainment April 8,2004 The Warrior

Concert Chorale heads to Washington DCby Lara Murphy

ENTERTAINMENT

Have you noticed that quite a fewfaces have been missing from our hallsand classrooms yesterday and today?Well, if you have been mystified by thisgroup disappearance, this article maybe of some interest to you. The fifty-three people that are M.I.A. are themembers of the schools’ select choralgroups, Concert Chorale and Bel CantoVoices, which are cur-rently participatingin the “Washing-ton Superior Fes-tival” at the Uni-versity of Mary-land in Washing-ton, D.C. In fact,by the time youread this, the twogroups will havepacked their be-longings, boardedthe buses, anddriven to Wash-ington D.C., put-ting them onlyhours away fromtheir adjudications.This will be a milestoneevent for the groups, and theyare anxiously and excitedly await-ing the musical experience.

Preparing for this competition, how-ever, has left the students with, to put itmildly, a lot on their plates. ConcertChorale will perform three extremelychallenging and varied pieces of musicselected earlier this year by Mrs. PaulaBrinkman, who always chooses such in-teresting, challenging programs. Theirrepertoire consists of classical, spiritual,and folk music, the different genres chal-lenging in different ways. The folk song“Feller From Fortune,” for example, con-sists of some of the most complex rhythmsthat the group has ever attempted tomaster. Senior Allison Chesky, a mem-ber of Chorale, commented, “This is trulyone of the most difficult pieces of musicI’ve ever had to learn. The changingmeters are so complex that at first Ithought we’d never master it.”

The group has spent months prepar-ing for this competition, as the musicalselections they will be performing re-quire an enormous amount of trainingand skill. Another one of the selectionsthe singers will perform is the full sec-

ond movement of the Beethoven Mass inC Major, titled, “Gloria.” James Mobley,a sophomore and member of Bel CantoVoices and Concert Chorale commented,“It’s a really challenging piece. The partsare very complex and the music is in-credible. I’m glad to be a part of a groupthat can pull it off.” These talented mu-sicians have certanly pulled it off so far:the group received a standing ovationafter performing this incredible piece at

this year’s ChoralFestival.

Each groupwill be competing against two othernationally-recognized high school choirs,with hopes of maybe returning with onetrophy (or more!) in hand. Awards willalso be given to outstanding soloists.Concert Chorale has five soloists whomay be eligible for such an honor: seniorDonovan Shickley (tenor), junior MeghanHardin (alto), junior Jesse Conti (bass),and sophomore Claire Ligon (soprano)singing in the “Gloria,” and seniorDominic Fallacaro, who sings the bari-tone solo for the spiritual piece, the Rob-ert DeCormier arrangement of “Let MeFly.” But to some it is not just aboutwinning the trophy. Senior vocalist JuliaBurkey remarked, “It’s such a great op-portunity and honestly, I’m really proudof Chorale for being recognized nation-ally— just for being invited to this com-petition is great. It has been a real chal-

lenge, but I feel it will be a rewardingone.”

The adjudications will begin today at3:15 p.m. for Concert Chorale, and ap-proximately 4:15 for Bel Canto Voices.They will be followed by vocal clinics,with several different judges attending.This will be highly beneficial to the group,as hearing musical professionals’ sug-gestions is the best way for an ensemble,as well as its individual members, toimprove vocally.

Concert Chorale will spend the re-mainder of the evening sightseeing in

Washington,and hope-fully relax-ing, after per-forming forthe first timein a nation-a l l y - r e c o g -nized competi-tion for whichthey’ve spentendless hours

preparing. Thegroup will be see-

ing Shear Mad-ness at the

Kennedy center,and eating at Medi-

eval Times and theRainforest Cafe while

in D.C. The awards cer-emony, where the sing-

ers will be recogized fortheir talents, will come

after the groups’ dinner atMedieval Times. The group will re-

turn Sunday evening after an extremelybusy weekend.

The countdown begins today. They’vesold the candy and done other fund-raisers, learned the tunes, and memo-rized the words and meters. Now all thesingers can do is present to those judgesthe final combination of all their hardwork, dedication, and musical talents.

Senior Concert Chorale member HollyBaumgartner stated, “We’ve really workedhard to make this work. We’re all excitedand a little nervous, but we just have to givethe judges our best. Hopefully that will beenough.” It had better be enough, becauseonce they are up there on the stage in frontof those judges, standing in their gowns andtuxedoes with all they’ve practiced storedin their memories, their best is all they’vegot to give!

Warrior Art / Tim Vo

Talented Niskayuna singers travel off to impress adjudicators

7 Sports April 8, 2004 The Warrior

March madness takin’ the world by stormBy Jack Prior

SPORTS

The music is thumping and over sixhundred teenagers and twenty-some-things have come to dance. Yu p, it isthat time of year again where someonecan say things like “Diaper Dandies”,“Emeka Okafor”, “Gonzaga”, and“Cameron Crazies” and actual makesense. It is a short period when a collegebasketball neophyte can predict morebasketball games correctlythan the analysts on ESPN. Itis...March Madness!

Sixty-five teams (includingthat pathetic squad that willlose the play-in game) arriveat basketball courts across thecountry and fight to be called“National Champions”. Thetradition of this tournamentis like no other, from Chris-tian Laettner’s game-winningturn around shot to MichaelJordan’s utter domination. Sofar, this year’s tournamenthas been everything and any-thing but a disappointment.

Surprisingly, the first roundof the tournament was muchmore quiet than in past years.In both the Atlanta and Phoe-nix Regionals there were nofirst round upsets. However,on the other side of the infa-mous bracket, the twelveseeds cleaned house as Manhattan man-handled Florida and Pacific’s basketseemed as large as an ocean as inconsis-tent Providence fell short. The best story,though, of not only the first round butthe tournament as a whole may havebeen the gutsy Nevada team coming fromthe Western Athletic Conference. Afterspending all season competing with in-ferior players from teams such as South-ern Methodist, San Jose State, and Tulsa,this once unknown group dominated

seven-seeded Michigan State. This winwas one of the first steps to make thephenomenal guards Todd Okeson andKirk Snyder the most famous namesattached to the state since Elvis andTrishelle from the Real World. Be thatas it may, Nevada would not be the lonesurprise in the St. Louis bracket, asUAB rained threes all over Washington.This display of basketball beauty ledmany bracketologists to ask, “where did

this UAB team come from?” However, Isimply wanted to know what UAB stoodfor. Over the following two rounds, as thenumber of teams dropped from 64 to 32 to16, the University of Alabama-Birming-ham would finally make a name for itself.

Amazingly, UAB’s victory over Ken-tucky would not be the only win by anAlabama squad over a number one seedin the second round. Alabama toldStanford to hit the books as they won 70-67. In addition, as the tournament con-

tinued, reigning champions Syracusewent streaking after Gerry MacNamera(aka G-Mac) scored 43 points. However,these Orangeman were red in the face asAlabama ended their run for a repeat.Meanwhile, some other bracket-busterswere Vanderbilt, Texas, and Xavier.Even though Texas was a higher rankedteam, the nation was stunned as themen in North Carolina Blue lost grasp ofa win towards the end of the second half.

In addition, Vanderbilt upsetNorth Carolina State, whichwas a team that many, includ-ing me with the “help” of anunnamed source (you knowwho you are- thanks for noth-ing), thought could make a runto the finals. Also, Xavierproved that it was the X-factoras it eliminated MississippiState. However, when the clockstruck twelve, the Cinderellaswere the weakest links, so theyhad to say goodbye, as onlyfour teams remained.

From the Phoenix bracket,a popular Connecticut teamkept its star player, EmekaOkafor, healthy, derailingAlabama. In the fantasticallynamed, “East Rutherford”bracket, Oklahoma Stateproved that it was more thanOK as it defeated the regularseason powerhouse, Saint

Joe’s. Also, the once-underestimated Dukesquad finally defeated pesky Xavier, andentered the final four. Then Georgia Techled by silky smooth (and my personalfavorite) Jarrett Jack told the Jayhawksto jaywalk back home to Kansas. Withonly four teams left, many would argue forOK State, UConn, or Duke. However,Jarrett Jack puts the “jack” in the GeorgiaTech Jackets and will carry his team tovictory. If you think otherwise, then youdon’t know Jack.

recordantage, and improve on last season’s15-5 record.

An major goal for the Warriors is toreach the Sectional finals, where Niskylost to Shen last year. However, seniorMatt Panneton wants to take that goal astep further. “With a very focused group ofguys that complement each other in dif-ferent ways, “ said Panneton, “we all hopeto make it down to West Point to play inthe State Regional Finals and go fromthere.”

Niskayuna’s defense looks very strongthis year, and is led by Mastroianni,Johnston, senior Tim Mullaney, andsophomore goalie Noah Fossner. Defen-sive midfielders Hinton, Jim Kelley, DanHjeltnes, and Peter Schick also look veryimpressive thus far, and will doubtlesshave a big impact on the team. If thedefense can play as well as they lookright now for the rest of the year,Niskayuna looks like it’s in good shape.

The starting midfielders are juniors

8 Sports The Warrior

Boys’ lacrosse looking towards a good season

Varsity Sports Home ScheduleBaseball: April 12: Saratoga, 12 pm

April 13: Columbia, 12 pmApril 15: Bethlehem, 12 pmApril 28: Averill Park, 4 pmApril 30: Mohonasen, 4 pmMay 03: Shenendehowa, 4 pmMay 12: Shaker, 4 pm

Boys’ Track: April 20: Guilderland and BurntHills, 4 pm

May 06: JV Meet, 4 pm

Boys’ lax: April 06: Shenendehowa, 4 pmApril 12: Shaker, 12 pmApril 14: Saratoga, 12 pmApril 20: Columbia, 4 pmApril 28: Guilderland, 4 pmMay 07: Bethlehem, 7 pmMay 14: Colonie, 7 pm

Boys’ tennis: April 05: Bethlehem, 4 pmApril 08: Shaker, 4 pmApril 20: Shenendehowa, 4 pmApril 26: Guilderland, 4 pm

Crew: April 07: Burnt Hills, 4 pmApril 15: Emma Willard, 4pmApril 23: Shenendehowa, 4 pmApril 24: Northfield Mt Hermon, 4 pm

Softball: April 12: Saratoga, 12 pmApril 13: Columbia, 12 pmApril 15: Bethlehem, 12 pmApril 16: Schenectady, 12 pmApril 28: Averill Park, 4 pmApril 30: Mohonasen, 4 pmMay 03: Shenendehowa, 4 pmMay 12: Shaker, 4 pmMay 13: Burnt Hills, 4 pm

Girls’ Track: April 07: Mohonasen and BH, 4 pmApril 29: Guilderland and Shen, 4 pm

Girls’ lax: April 07: Schenectady, 4 pmApril 12: Averill Park, 12 pmApril 14: Colonie, 12 pmApril 16: Columbia, 12 pmApril 22: Guilderland, 4 pmApril 29: Saratoga, 7 pmApril 30: Queensbury, 4:15 pmMay 06: Shenendehowa, 7 pm

by Matt FriedsonSPORTS

With lacrosse season approaching rap-idly, many people have high hopes for thisyear’s squad. Led by senior captains DanHjeltnes, John Mastroianni, CoreyHinton, and Kyle Johnston, the squadhopes to become the team to beat in theSuburban Council.

However, to do so, the Warriors willhave to go through Shen and Saratoga,which, according to Coach Mike Vorgang,are the team’s toughest competition thisyear. This doesn’t seem to bother Hinton.“Shen will definitely be our toughest op-ponent, but we are familiar with most ofthe strategy that they run. Either way,just about any team can take the sectionthis year; it all depends on who comes outto play,” he said.

Vorgang expects a lot, especially sincethe team is only missing one player fromlast year. The team wants to use seniorleadership and experience to its adv

Basil Daratesos, Mark Bryan, MarkPetter, and Nick Sapia. The attack is ledby senior Matt Panneton, and also looksgood, even though the team doesn’t yetknow who will join Panneton in the start-ing spots.

One very interesting fact aboutNiskayuna’s team this year is that ithad eight players in the Empire StateGames this year, a very impressive num-ber. Junior Basil Daratsos is one of theeight. “As always, Niskayuna lacrossewill have a good team and this year, willhave a large amount of Empire guys thatwill strengthen the lineup,” said Daratsos.“With that said, every team we face is goingto try and knock us down, but as a team wewill come together and overcome it.”

Overall, the boy’s lacrosse team this yearlooks very solid, with a lot of leadership andexperience. The team also seems to be veryconfident about handling Shen and Saratogain the Suburban Council, and is lookingforward to the start of the season.

April 8, 2004