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Volume 61 Issue 3 FREEGuilderland Center, NY 12085 February 2010
Journalthe
By and for the students of Guilderland Central High School
Girls Varsity basketball team looks for successMike Marcantonio
The Guilderland girls basketball team
is experiencing a devastating season this
year, as they have a record of 1-9 in league
play and 2-10 overall, but that doesnt
mean the girls still dont have spirit.
Its one of our worst seasons in
school history, said co-captain, Kat
Keegan. But we try to get each other
pumped up and its great to come to
practice; I want to be here, which speaksabout our team chemistry. Head coach,
Frank Cacckello and co-captain Melissa
Winne feel the exact same way.
Everyday I have a youthful enthu-
siasm when I go to practice, Cacckello
stated. When you have a group that is
willing to work and get better it makes it
easy as a coach.
Weve definitely struggled so far this
season, but we will continue to work hard
and improve, said Winne. We cant
change the past; we just have to concen-
trate on whats in front of us.
The team celebrated its first league win
on January 8th against Ballston Spa, 56-44.Senior, Erin Kelly, posted a career-high of
29 points to lead the Dutchmen to their
second win of the season.
We were so happy! exclaimed
Keegan, in reference to their first league
win. After that game, we thought about
how we wanted to win again, and we
worked even harder in practice.
I felt that it was good for our team
because it motivated us to keep play-
ing hard, stated senior guard, Chelsea
Weston, after their game against Ballston
Spa. Weston is third on the team in points
with 69 points. Likewise, Cacckello was
very proud of his girls and thought that
they were finally rewarded for their hard
work.
Senior Lissie Martin, whos also guardfor the Lady Dutch, believes that the team
has the potential to do well on the court,
but its a matter of executing their offense
when its game time.
Cacckello said that his team is working
on getting better at basic offensive funda-
mentals and team defensive concepts.
The red and white started off their
season with their other win, dominating
Schenectady, 61-29 in early November.
Winne, led Guilderland with 18 points,
which is nothing compared to her total
points for the season. She currently
has recorded 148 points over 11 games,
averaging 13.5 points a game. She is
presently ranked 32nd in the area for her
total number of points, which, accord-
ing to Cacckello, is directly related toher offseason work ethic. While the
individual attention is great, Winne said
that her main focus is the team.
Its nice to see hard work pay off,
but right now my focus is for us to keep
improving and win some games. Thats
whats important right now, Winne
stated.
Since their first game against Sche-
nectady, the Lady Dutch have suffered
horrendous losses against Mohonasen
(50-38), Shenendehowa (54-37), and
Averill Park (52-37). Martin said she
was happy with her teams performance
against Averill Park because they are
ranked number one in Class A girls in
the state.
Though there have been some close
matches between Guilderland and some
of their rivals, such as their game against
Colonie, in which they lost by four points,
55-51, and their game against SaratogaSprings, losing by only two points, 35-33.
Captains, Keegan and Winne combined
for a total of 45 points from those two
games.
Winne explained that the under-
classmen have really stepped up to the
challenge of playing on varsity and are
continuing to get better. Sophomore,
Cristal Benton, has had an amazing
season, according to both Keegan and
Winne. Benton has 41 points on the
season so far.
The red and white are unfortunately
ranked last place in the South Division,
which is a subdivision of the SuburbanCouncil (they are tied for last place with
Ballston Spa in all of the Suburban Coun-
cil). Both captains are looking forward
to the rest of the season as their spirit is
still high and their motivation still strong.
Cacckello said that even though the teams
record is down compared to past years, he
has great student athletes that are willing
to give their best every day.
Im very blessed to coach girls bas-
ketball at Guilderland.
The Guilderland Skating Dutchmen
picked up another win against Burnt
Hills at Union College on the 11th of
January. Burnt Hills was up 1-0 going into
the second period before the Dutchmen
offense caught fire with 4 goals in the
second period to pull ahead 4-1. Goals
were scored by Tony Liguori, Robby
King, Nate Weinberg, and Ryan Ghizzoni
in the second period. Guilderland then
cruised to a victory in the third with two
more goals by Ghizzoni. The sophomore,
who some are now referring to as MoonWalk Ghiz finished with a hat trick and
2 assists and later said it was a solid win
for the team, we played some of our best
hockey. Liguori finished with a goal and
2 assists, Conor Hurley had 1 assist and
Jared Klein had 2 assists. Nigel Simmons
played solid in goal with 29 saves. The
Dutchmen now have four wins and seven
losses on the season.
Guilderland 4
Burnt Hills 1
Boys Varsity hockeyMatt Simon
Photo by Abby Levy /The Journal
Above: A Dutchman skater takes the
puck down the ice in a 4-1 victory over
Burnt Hills January 11th
Boys Varsity basketballDevin KeenholtsThe Guilderland boys varsity basket-
ball team played Burnt Hills away on
Friday night January 22nd. The final score
was Dutchmen 52- Spartans 42. The first
quarter ended with the Spartans holding
a solid lead 12-6, and the Spartans held
their lead thought out the second quar-
ter. In the third quarter the Dutchmen
fought for a lead and gained 14 points.
The Dutchmen had an amazing run in
the fourth quarter. Ryan Ochs and An-
thony Gallo lead the Dutchmen. Anthony
Gallo scored 15 points and Ryan Ochsscored 13. Dallis Mahoney had his best
game of the season, scoring 8 points. Joe
Terry put in 6. Andrew Brown and Mike
Drislane both scored 3 points. While
Justin Horne and Jordan Weeden both
scored 2 points.
The Guilderland boys varsity basket-
ball team played an exciting game against
Balston Spa at home on friday night. The
final score was Guilderland 52- Balston
Spa 42. Anthony Gallo made five 3-
pointers, with a total of 17 points scored.
Nate Sentz hurt his ankle in the second
quarter. Before he got hurt, Sentz scored
seven points. While Joe Terry scored nine
points. The game started with a one point
lead for the Scotties, but in the second
quarter the Dutchmen flew past the
Scotties. The Dutchmen held their leadthroughout the game.
Senior Captain Mike
Drislane jumps to lay the
ball in during a 52-42
Guilderland victory over
Ballston Spa here at GHS
Photo by Abby Levy /The Journal
Senior co-captain, Kat Keegan, looks upcourt as Coach Cackello watches.
Photos by Abby Levy/The Journal
Guilderland 52
Balston Spa 42
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(theJournal) page 2 February 2010
Mail:
The Journal
c/o Guilderland High SchoolGuilderland Center, NY 12085Phone: (518) 861-8591
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Email:[email protected]
The Journalis published by and for the studentsof Guilderland High School and is the schools
official student newspaper. We publish ac-
counts 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
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sarily those of the staff.
Although we try not to solicit adver-tisements from competing businesses in a
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We reserve the right not to print a given
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2008-2009 Staff
Jen Crowley
-Management-
Editor-in-ChiefSohee Rho
Associate EditorLucia Qian
Associate EditorBecky Glazier
Managing EditorBeatrice Malsky
-Content-
Hallways EditorMike Marcantonio
Fine Arts EditorGreg Barber
Pop Arts EditorTony Pitkin
Around Town EditorBeatrice Malsky
Opinions EditorMeghan Bodo
Sports EditorsCasey Gerety
Brendon Phillips
CopyeditorsKyungduk Rho
Noah RubinVed Tanavde
-Design-
Photography EditorAbby Levy
Graphics EditorKaydee Bickmore
-Business-
Business ManagerKenny Satterlee
Advertising and DistributionJohn Ciccerelli
Libby Gioia
Faculty AdvisorChristopher Mazura
Building PrincipalBrian McCann
Superintendent of SchoolsJohn McGuire
Founded in 2006 by Devang Bhoi-wala, Students for Improving Healthcare(SIHC) is a small club that still makes a bigdifference in our community school byhelping out in many different ways. SIHC
is based on volunteering, fundraising andeducation to help educate and improveour school and community about varioushealthcare issues.
By volunteering in the communityand increasing awareness of issues atschool, SIHC has accomplished a lot inits short history. With healthcare reformconstantly in the news, SIHC really hopesto increase education in the school aboutthese issues this year. Off to a promisingstart SIHC has high hopes for this yearand those to come.
In the past three years the club hasfundraised to help many health clinics in
the capital region. It also helps volunteerat various hospitals and health care cen-ters in the capital region. Members alsohave learned about various healthcareissues from many different medical pro-fessionals and students in the area.
Gaining from these experiences SIHChas helped educate the student bodyabout these topics and their relevancein our lives and what we can do to helpimprove the many problems that lo-cal people suffer from because of our
countrys healthcare system.In the past the club has also raised over
one thousand dollars for the Whitney andYoung Foundation as well as many otherclinics and foundations in the area. In
only a few years SIHC has accomplishedquite a lot.This year the club is run by president
Sindhura Mandava, supported by co-vicepresidents: Steven Ratner and SobhanPotluri. This year the club wants to in-crease fundraising for local foundationsand clinics and hit the $1000 mark, andpossibly even surpass their previous ac-complishments.
The club also plans to increase educa-tion in the school more than ever sincehealth care is such a big issue these days.Since high schoolers dont pay for healthinsurance, SIHCs goal is to try and give
students a better perspective of what itinvolves and what problems the health-care system has created for many peopleacross the country.
Sindhura Mandava hopes to increasemembership this year to accomplish allthese goals, The more people that join,the bigger difference we can make, be-lieves Mandava.
Students for Improving Healthcarehas many projects planned for this year,from bake sales to charity walks, this club
Students for Improving HealthcareDevon Gingrich
Every year, hundreds of brave anddaring souls gather on the frigid shore ofLake George for a rather refreshing New
Years Day swim: the Polar Plunge.The Polar Plunge was founded in the
early 1970s by the late Charles PapaBear Albert. The event took place onFriday, January 1st, 2010, at ShepardPark Beach and was the official kick-off to the annual Lake George WinterCarnival, which runs through the end ofFebruary.
Event organizers said 996 peopleparticipated in the 2010 Polar Plunge,shattering a previous record of 860.Registration took place at Duffys Tavern,
where a long line of anxious go-gettersstretched out to the neighboring parkinglot. After the plungers signed a waiverregarding the risks of the dive, a $10 en-try fee got these swimmers the braggingrights, a T-shirt, and a certificate.
After offsetting the cost of T-shirts,the money raised will go to a local charity.
While event organizers werent sure which
cause would receive this years funds, lastyears recipient was Women in Need.
Many first-time plungers had differentreactions to the bone-chilling 38-degree
waters. Although most took the plungeand quickly rushed back to shore for dryland and their fluffy towels, countless div-ers surprisingly stayed in the freezing cold
water and swam around a while.Casey Gerety, senior of GHS, and
Taylor Muztafago, senior, were amongthe first-time Polar Bears, too. Im ab-
solutely frozen, Gerety said. But, welldefinitely be back next year.
Although there were plenty who tookpart in the plunge, there were many morethat came to witness this breathtakingevent and cheer on their friends andfamily.
Melissa Winne, senior of GHS, andShannon Walsh, senior, came to cheeron their friends. I felt like they coulduse some support, especially because itstheir first time taking the dip, Winnesaid. After their friends came rushing
A refreshing start to a new yearKyungduk Rhoout of the freezing cold lake, Winne and
Walsh greeted them with warm towelsand clothes.
When asked whether or not she wouldtake place in the plunge next year, Winnesmiled and said, I would prefer to stayon the dry side.
People sure dont have to wait untilnext year to give it a try. Other PolarPlunges will be held at 3 p.m. each Sat-urday and Sunday in February as part ofthe Lake George Winter Carnival. Every
year, hundreds of brave and daring soulsgather on the frigid shore of Lake Georgefor a rather refreshing New Years Dayswim: the Polar Plunge.
The Polar Plunge was founded in theearly 1970s by the late Charles PapaBear Albert. The event took place onFriday, January 1st, 2010, at ShepardPark Beach and was the official kick-off to the annual Lake George WinterCarnival, which runs through the end ofFebruary.
is ready to make a difference. This yearSIHC plans to volunteer at the Heart
Walk and The Race for the Cure alongwith helping run free clinics such as theArbor Hill Center and the Whitney and
Young Center.They also plan to help these centersby fundraising so look out for some deli-cious bake sales coming up. This springduring National Uninsured week SIHCmembers will be coming to classroomsto help educate students about variousgrowing healthcare issues.
Now more than ever Students forImproving Healthcare is trying to educatestudents about healthcare. Currently itsone of our countrys biggest issues andSIHC is trying to help teach studentsabout the changes to stop any confusion.
Although SIHC tries to educate about
Obamas healthcare reforms, the clubhas no intentions of changing anyonespolitical ideas or promoting a certainparty. Regardless of your stance on theissues SIHC is just out to inform.
Students for Improving Healthcaremeets on Wednesdays in room 37.Students for Improving Healthcare isa small club making a difference in ourcommunity and school and has a verypromising future.
Above: Participants courageously plunging into the ice cold waters of Lake George on the first day of this new decade. A new
record of participants was set this year with 996 polar plungers.
Left: Taylor Muztafago, senior, Casey Gerety, senior, and Kyungduk Rho, junior, with the polar bear. The polar plunge has been a
tradition since the early 1970s.
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Hallways
With global warming a growing con-cern, Guilderland High School is looking
toward a greener future led by the effortsof the Energy/Conservation Coordina-tor, Fred resselt. Energy saving projectstook off four years ago when resselttook on the job, and with the new addi-tion to the high school, these efforts aremore important than ever.
After four years, resselt has been ableto save the district 2.4 million, savingover $500,000 each year by employinga few very effective strategies. These in-clude a Night Setback and changing thelighting in the gyms. By going into NightSetback the schools heating is turneddown to 58 degrees at night, opposed tothe regular 68 degrees during the schoolday. Heating is also turned down or offduring school breaks as well. By doing sothe district has saved energy, electricityand money. he heating has also changed
with the new Energy Management Sys-tem, so that classes can be individually ad-justed to meet the 68 degree requirement.
resselt added, Night Setbacks and thenew system have been so successful be-cause it gives us real flexibility to the waythe school is heated.
he lighting in the gyms has been a go-ing concern but with the new changes tothe lights the district has been able to savemoney and improve playing conditions.
he old lights used much more energy,but were also much darker that it becamea concern for competitions. Now both
gyms have switched to florescent lights,imilarly to the changes many people are
making in their homes as well.These lights give more light, save
energy and increase our control of thelighting, stated Tresselt. The new lightshave saved the district about $3,000 eachmonth.
The district saves more money and en-ergy than ever with these changes; howev-er they have alsocome with somec o m p l a i n t s .Concerns havecome up regard-ing the heatingin classroomsand resselt hastaken these con-cerns head on.
he objectof the programis to make thebuilding com-or t ab l e andu i t a b l e f o r
learning, saidresselt. My
approach is to lis-ten to concerns because a lot of times itsan indication of something not workingright. Because of these concerns, chang-es have been made to the insulation and
ventilation along with routine checkupsand temperature readings to help keepclassroom temperatures regulated.
From all the concerns and complaints
es heard, Tresselts number one concernight now is the classroom air blowers andhe cold air they spit out all day. A bigomplaint from many students; Tresseltaid hes trying to regulate the cold air andminimize the cold air being blown in tory and keep classrooms warm. New
York State requires rooms to have eightair exchanges each hour so theres no
way to avoidthe blowers,however bymonitoringand adjustingc l a s s r o o m
t e m p e r a -tures along with keepingdoors closedclassroomsdont have tobe human re-frigerators.
ant totake mattersin to yourown hands?
There are a fewways that students and teachers can try
o help save energy and keep the school
ice and warm this winter. Tresselt ad-vises to keep doors and windows shut, toemember to turn off lights, computers
and other appliances when not in use, andost importantly to report any concerns
to teachers or janitors so that improve-
ments can be made.With the new addition almost com-plete the school is going green withsome cutting edge technology. Newheating systems are being used that arefurther from the classrooms that stillbring all the heat without all the annoyingnoise of boilers right by the classrooms.
he new classrooms will also use LightHarvesting which is a system designedto light the classrooms using the natu-ral light when possible to cut down onenergy wasted on lighting. Guilderlandrecently received a grant for a whopping334,000 from the New York State En-
ergy Research and Development Author-ity (NYSERDA) and plans to install 50kilowatt solar voltaic panels on the gymroof by late summer; expected to saveabout 10,000 yearly. he panels will col-lect the suns energy and convert it intoelectricity to use for the school.
hese changes have, and continueto cut huge costs for the district, along
with environmental improvements. Overthe last four years the district has saved3,768 tons of carbon dioxide which isequivalent to having taken 676 cars offthe road for an entire year. In responseto these accomplishments Tresselt said,
It took an awful lot of cooperation tomake it this successful, and with the newyear and the new addition ahead, GHSlooks to continue these energy savingefforts with the help from teachers andstudents alike.
Guilderland going Green in the new yearDevon Gingrich
Weeks before Battle of the Bandsoccurred at Guilderland High School,Future Business Leaders of America(FBLA) was planning all the behind thescenes things that are needed to make theshow run smoothly. With Mrs. Hubbard
as the advisor of the club, she helped toorganize everything that needed to beorganized so that the show could be asgood as it was previous years.
Its my job to announce to the bandsthat there will be auditions, find a soundguy, chaperones, and help set up theconcessions, said the coordinator, Mrs.Hubbard.
Auditions arent really held, but moresimply, a demo tape is handed in and itis the students job to listen to them andpick which bands get to play. Most years,bands would have to be cut because thereare only eight slots available.
his year was really a growing year.We have a lot of younger bands whichmeans younger listeners so they have tocoordinate rides, and it was bad weathertoo, so this year wasnt as successful
as previous years, she explained. herunning total of how much money wasmade isnt known yet, but it is estimatedat around $700.
The judges get a sheet that Mrs. Hub-bard also makes, and it is broken down
into a point system. The judging is com-pletely anonymous so that the judges can
write what ever notes they feel the need toand no ones feelings get hurt. They gradethe bands out of 100 points and whoevergets the most points, wins a cash prize.
his year the first place prize was 100.his years attendance was running
low, but with the lighting being run byour very own Mr. Maycock, the show
was still a good one. he money raisedgoes to FBLA and helps to pay for fieldtrips, competitions that the club attendsand other business things that the club isassociated with. Overall the show wasnt
as productive as previous years for variousreasons, but a good chunk of money wastill raised and will be helpful in contribut-
ing to future FBLA activities.
FBLA hosts Battle of the BandsLibby Gioia
oac unne ta es ome t e
grand prize of 100 at the
2010 Battle of the Bands.
emem ers nc u e an
Campbell, Ryan Wager, Nico
urek
Graphic by Katherine Bickmore/The Journal
Photo by Mike Marcantonio /The Journal
If you havent already noticed, theonth of December sparks a new trend
among the staff of Guilderland High:eards. A few years ago, Jeffrey Gregory, a
omputer technition at GHS, and a cou-ple other teachers wondered how manyaculty members they could get to groweards. Soon after, that idea evolved into
a competition to see who could grow theest beard for a worthy cause.
his Beard-Off asks faculty to groweards the month of December until theoliday break to raise money for oys forots. his past December was the third
year the Beard-Off took place and thirty-ix members of the faculty participated,
including a few females.n the last day before the holiday
reak, with the help of National Honorsociety, students vote for their favoriteaculty beard by donating spare change
during their lunch mod. Whichever fac-ulty member raises the most money for
Toys for Tots wins the competition. Thisyears winner was science teacher, EricHeidinger.
It was nice to know that kids arethinking about the charity and theyre alsothinking about who they want to vote for
which is neat. What I was happy aboutwas that a lot of kids donated a lot ofmoney, said Heidinger.
his years Faculty Beard-Off raisedtwo hundred and forty-one dollars for
oys for ots.
Photos by Mike Marcantonio /The Journal
Beard-Off resultsbby Levy
r. Baker shows off his beard (left), junior, Dev Gingrich and Mr. Gregory are
av ng some un w t s rea ear r g t , an w nner r. e nger top .
(theJournal page 3February 2010
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he presence of cliques is blatantly ob-vious to anyone who has ever set foot ina school. Individual cliques/groups blockhallways, lockers, and of course, make it
virtually impossible to travel through thelobby. When asked if they believe cliquesexist in Guilderland High School, everysingle person polled (with the exceptionof one teacher and one student) saidyes.
However, with the results of this sur-
vey came a surprising twist: not only didcliques resonate with students, but also
with the faculty. Not only do teachershave to worry about trying to stop theeffects that cliques have in the classroom,but they also have to deal with cliques inthe professional world.
When asked if they believed that theybelonged to a clique only about 35% saidthat they did; however, the only thing thisstatistic proved was that people didnt
want to admit that they were indeed partof a clique because an overwhelming71% said that an outside opinion would
probably consider them as being part ofa clique.
Clique is usually a word that is con-nected with a younger crowd, so what isthe reason for the spread into the profes-ional world? According to English teach-
er Derek Shuttleworth, cliques amongteachers depend on common interests.For example, teachers and staff withoutkids form bonds because they have dif-erent responsibilities than teachers and
taff that do have kids. While we found this to be true we
also found that the professional cliquesare mainly grouped by what departmentyoure in. Its tough when youre se-cluded, stated math teacher Andy Ryan,in reference to being tucked away in themath wing. At GHS, the departments arekept separated from each other. Whileits good for organization, separation ofteachers by subjects may be part of whatscausing the adult cliques. A Spanishteacher and a Science teacher arent goingto have many chances to interact through-
out the day because they are basically onopposite sides of the world.
ne of the schools solutions to break-ing up the professional cliques was to usefaculty meetings as undeclared mix-it-updays for teachers. Once deemed the bestplace to observe the different profes-sional cliques, the meeting coordinatorsare mimicking techniques used by teach-ers to break up cliques in their classroom,like the popular labeled tables trick where
people are given random cards and ex-pected to sit with people with the samecard. While faculty members appreciatedthis attempt, it was deemed unhelpful.[You] try to talk before the meeting butit starts too fast, said math teacher, araMcConaghy.
ts obvious that professional andstudent cliques have some connections,but can student cliques and professionalcliques be harmful to the work environ-ment? When members of the faculty wereasked if they feel comfortable in their
work environment, 100% said yes. When
asked if the existence of cliques affectstheir professional life, 50% answered yes;however, 30% of those answers were inrelation to dealing with student cliques.
While the majority of the faculty seemsto be happy there is still a small percent-age that is affected. Members of facultyadmitted to hearing coworkers upset thatthey arent being included. There haveven been occurrences of faculty whohave cried due to clique related problems.
Proving that even as an adult, cliques canhave a truly resonating and emotionalaffect.
Why is it so shocking that GHS fac-ulty has cliques? Probably because mostkids who fall victim to cliques are told allthroughout high school that it will getbetter. hey leave with the hopes of alsobeing able to leave the pressure and painthat comes from cliques behind. In somejobs that may just be false hope; maybe itsjust human nature to want to be aroundpeople who share common strings.
At 19, Renee had already suffered fromabuse, depression, and addiction, withcuts etched into her arm and cocaine inher system. Declared too great a risk for
her treatment center, her friends took herin for five days, filling Renees life withlove and music, showing her that there arethings to hope for, to live for. Finally, atthe end of the fifth day, Renee approachesone of her friends, Jamie, and hands himher last razor blade, deciding to not onlystop cutting, but to turn her life around.
And with this, Jamie writes her story forthe world, letting them know that thereis hope, that you can be saved.
o Write Love on Her Arms is anot-for-profit organization founded by
Jamie workowski in 2006, when Jamiehad written his inspirational story about
Renee (using the unusual line from hisstory, o Write Love on Her Arms, areference to her scars, as the title). Heposted it on MySpace, and sold shirtsto raise money for her treatment. Theresponse he received was overwhelming.
Thousands of people everywhere wrotein, commenting that Renees story wastheirs as well, or their friends. Peopleasked for help, admitting that these wereissues they had suffered from but neverdid anything about. Realizing that theycould help more people like Renee out
here, the organization began, with theame name as the story. o Write Love on
Her Arms, or TWLOHA, exists to helpand give hope to people struggling with
issues of depression, addiction, self-injuryor suicide.It appeals to students who are often
orgotten about, explained Mitch Hahn,an English teacher at Guilderland Highchool. It focuses on those students who
dont feel connected, and make them feelonnected. hey do this by presentingacts as well as listing websites, hotlines
and books that provide information andmay help those suffering, on their website:
www.twloha.com. his movement, aboveall, exists to let others know that they arenot alone.
his generation, more so then previ-
ous ones, has suffered from these issues.In fact, suicide is the third leading causeof death among 18-24 year olds, with un-reated depression being the leading cause
of suicide. And unfortunately, two thirdsof people who struggle with depressionnever seek help. raises awareness abouthese issues and encourages people in cre-
ative, interesting waysmainly throughmusic, which we know is a powerful andffective way to communicate messageshat words simply cannot sometimes.
When their friends from a band (Jamie
notes that members of Switchfoot andAnberlin are some of his closest friends,and the first to wear his shirts at concerts,helping spread the word) would let themtake the stage some nights, Jamie, along
with other members from WLOHA, would get up and speak to the crowdabout the message of their organizationand encourage people to get help if theyneed it, or help a friend who is suffering.WLOHA is different than our parents or
teachers who, while meaning well, wouldpreach us facts that we dont take seri-ously and wouldnt listen to. WLOHAconnects with young people in a way thattheycan relate to: through music, stories,t-shirts, etc. here was even a WLOHAbooth at every stop of the 2007 Warped
our. Its different to hear the messagefrom a peer who actually understandsbecause theyve been there.
hese issues arent foreign to us. Infact, we know tragedy. We know suffering.Even if we ourselves have not suffered,
we have heard of or seen others whohave. While we cant have perfect, flaw-less lives, we can learn how to deal withour emotions and issues in a healthy way,instead of taking them out on ourselvesthrough cutting, bulimia, suicide attemptsor other harmful methods. If anything,
TWLOHA reinforces that-- despite what
we may think-- we are loved, and our sto-ries matter. It reminds us to reach out toothers that are broken, or if we ourselvesare broken, to speak of our pain rather
than keeping our silence.TWLOHA has saved so many lives,perhaps more then they may realize. Itsan outlet for me, said Lauren Morse, a
Junior at Guilderland. She admits thatTWLOHA has helped her or her lovedones in many ways, but the stories aretoo personal to reveal. By providing hopeand encouraging people to find help, theyshow that rescue is possible and we canbecome whole again even after our painand suffering. hese dark moments willpass.
he stars are always there but we missthem in the dirt clouds. We miss them in
the storms, Renee told Jamie, when theyarrived at the treatment center. ell themto remember hope. We have hope.
To Write Love on Her ArmsJenn David
O WRITE L
OVE ON HER ARMS.
ese p ctures spay t s amazng
ause.
Emily DroobyTeacher clique at Guilderland High School
February 2010Hallways(theJournal) page 4
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Around Town
Do you know how many people live
in our small town of Guilderland, New
York? As of July 2008, Guilderland has
about 34,781 people living in it. Our
neighboring city of Albany has 93,539
people, where as Schenectady has 61,152.
Naturally, larger populated cities experi-
ence more crime.
As a way to help battle crime, Albany
and Schenectady have installed video
cameras, to record the day to day life of
people in their cities, in hopes of catching
and stopping crimes.
As of today, the city of Schenectady
has over 58 video cameras lining the
streets of seven different neighborhoods.
he surveillance cameras help police
officers catch criminals and solve cases.
These cameras have been used for five
years now.
Recently, Urban Area Safety Initiative
has granted Schenectady 125,000 to
install nine new video cameras to help
minimize the amount of crime in the
area. he new cameras will be installed
in the spring.
As of last April, five new cameras
have been donated by Union College
and Northside Business Association,
and were placed on Van Vranken Avenue
in Schenectady. he new cameras cost
a total of 65,000. In addition to the
growing amount of cameras, Washington
is giving Schenectady 35,000 for better
video memory. All of this equipment
added together has cost over 225,000,
and thats just Schenectady. Albany also
has a large amount of cameras, specifi-
cally used in the college neighborhoods
of Saint Rose and UAlbany.
But is it working? At this time, Sche-
nectady has retired police offices in their
ead quarters on Liberty Street, where
hey simply monitor the tapes and watch
or crime. However, the police officers are
ot watching the tapes round the clock.
hey also get a list of reported law
reaking activities and review the weeks
apes to see if they caught any crimi-
als in action. he cameras are really a
ource of evidence. Simply by watching
he tapes, police officers have caught 40
drug offenses.
Along with that, they have caught
everal violent crimes, including a Sche-
ectady stabbing death in June. Unfortu-
ately the street cameras have not been
as helpful in stopping crimes as they have
een in catching the offenders.
Even with the cameras being moni-
ored, the police officers cannot always
get to the crime as it is being committed.
f course, the cameras are not fully
Security cameras added to city streets to ensure safetyNicole Siracusa
All a parent wants for their child is
for them to grow up happy and healthy.Never would they wish harm on their
child and they would do anything to
make the bad go away and replace it
with the good. Rachel Rodino is a 7 year
old girl. Rachel has been diagnosed with
Huntingtons disease. Huntingtons is a
neurodegenerative genetic disorder that
affects the way your muscles and brain
function. The disease is caused by a
dominant mutation on either of the two
copies of a specific gene. his takes place
on chromosome 4. he disease was first
discovered by George Huntington in
1872. It all started when Rachel was sup-
posed to enter Kindergarten. She bruisedeasily and was falling down very often.
She soon began having seizures.
A child with an affected parent has a
50% risk of getting the disease. If both
parents are carriers of the disease then
the childs chances of getting the disease
increase tremendously. here is no set
cure for Huntingtons disease. he disease
can appear at anytime during the infected
persons life. Symptoms normally begin
between ages 35 and 44. Only in rare cases
do symptoms begin under the age of 20.
Rachel is only 7. he disease progresses
the quickest in children.
Rachels disease is so far along that
he can no longer perform normal bodilyunctions. Taking care Rachel is a full time
job. Her mom, Lori Rodino, quit her job
to take care of her. Rachels father also is
battling Huntingtons disease. He cannot
work and because of this the family is
without an income. Rachels mother has
been caring for Rachel for almost three
years, during this time family has been
truggling. Rick Rodino, Rachels father,
can no longer work for Million Air at
Albany International Airports because
of the disease. he family is struggling
to get by on the generous donations of
the community.
o help the family out even more onDecember 18th McDonalds was generous
enough to host a McDonalds Night. A
McDonalds Night is a way to raise money,
normally used for schools and sports
teams. A percentage of the money made
between the fundraisers hours go towards
the cause. In this case the money made
goes towards the Rodino family. he
Fundraiser was held at the McDonalds
located on Western Avenue across from
Dunkin Donuts. It ran from 4pm to 7pm.
Several hundred people showed up to at-
tend the fundraiser. The lines during some
point went all the way to the back of the
building. Many people just stopped in to
leave donations and support the Rodinosin their time of need. he turnout was as
expected, overflow parking was offered.
uring that time, the money that was
made is taken and then a percentage of
it is given to the cause. Including the
percentage of money, a tray of items was
being carried around. All the money that
those items made went straight to the
Rodino Family Fundraiser. here was a
separate place for donations that would
go straight to the Rodino Family. Solar
Butterfly lights were also being sold at
McDonalds Night. One of the Rodinos
neighbors has been selling them since
the summer. he symbol for the RodinoFamily Fundraiser is a butterfly. Selling
these lights has helped raise several hun-
dred dollars for the family. Each butterfly
lights sells for $30 for one and $50 for
two. More than 800 butterflies have been
sold. From McDonalds Night Fundraiser
a total of $735 were raised for the Rodino
family.
Along with the McDonalds night, sev-
eral organizations and people have helped
the family out. Some of them being,
Kathy Burbank, the regional food bank,
the Guilderland Chamber of Commerce,
Senator Neil Breslin, and a few others.
achel has two siblings, an older
brother, Anthony, who is 17 years oldand an older sister, Giana, who is 15 years
old. Rachel enjoys snuggling with their
golden retriever on the hospital bed in
their living room.
octors are telling Lori that Rachel
may not live through this year. Her health
has been declining the past several years
and started using a wheelchair around
Christmas of 2008. Rachel started using
a permanent feeding tube as of February.
Her vision is completely gone and she can
only see shapes and outlines.
o child should have their life ended
early. hey shouldnt have to spend their
time in a hospital waiting for treatments.Sadly, this is all some kids know. here are
more children and adults just like Rachel
suffering from Huntingtons disease. If
you would like to help the Rodinos or
learn more about Rachel and her disease
you can go to rodinofamily.com. If you
would like to learn more about Hunting-
tons disease you can visit hdsa.org which
is the Huntingtons disease Society of
America. Here you can learn more about
where to donate to help find a cure, and
more on the disease.
e o ays r ng an opportun ty to e p t e o no s
February 2010 (theJournal page 5
Taylor Tyksinki
stopping the crimes. Is it because the
criminals do not know the cameras are
there and recording, and if they do know,
do they care?
Another initiative to keep citizens and
police officers safe is the newly acquired
car-mounted cameras. hese surveillance
tapes are placed on top of police cars,
and they record wherever the car goes. If
police officers happen to arrest a criminal,
the camera on top of the car records the
entire arrest, for evidence of criminals
hitting police officers or potential police
brutality. hese cameras are being in-
creasingly used in the city of Albany.
opefully, with these cameras and
other improving technology, Albany and
Schenectady will continue to improve
their cities.
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page 6 ( Journal) Wide
Decade I
2000 2003 20052004
The Red Sox end an 86 year drought and win
a World Series. Down 3 games to 0 in the ALCS
against the Yankees the Red Sox win 4 straight,
including sweeping the Rockies in four games to
win one for the city. The Red Sox would later win
another world series in 2007.
Following the attacks on September 11th, the
sports world was put on hold until baseball resumed.
Whether it was the New York Mets playing in
NYPD or NYFD hats, baseball united the nation.
The 2001 World Series will be remembered for Luis
Gonzalezs single clinching it for the Diamondbacks,
however baseball kept the Nation intact.
Beyonce: In this decade she found her ground in the
music world, starting the early part of the decade in the group
Destinys Child, and then making a solo career for herself.
She has become a huge star and is speculated to be the next
American icon such as Whitney Houston, Cher, Madonna.
IPods: New levels of
teen apathy emerged in this
decade, now they can blast
thousands of songs louder
then ever before and not even
hear a word you say. This is
bad for teachers, but great for
the future medical providers
of America. If you have a
song stuck in your head,
chances are someone in that
room has that song.
Facebook / Myspace /Twitter: Finally people
in America can be sure that their life is document
for the world to see. In this decade we saw on
these networks that people had a lot of friends, but
we quickly learned that it was not for real. Now I
can read about everything people have done even
though its not interesting in the least bit. Im sorry,
but I really dont care.
One of the main technological
achievements of tgis decade is the
internet. While the world wide web has
been around for years, social networking
became one of the main uses for the
internet during the new millenium.
With sites like MySpace, Facebook, and
Twitter, this phenomenon continues to
rise.
September 11, 2001 is a day that will
never be forgotten. Early that morning
two planes hijacked by terrorists were
flown into the Twin Towers in New York
City. That afternoon, a third plane was
flown into the Pentago, killing thousands
of American and international citizens.
This horrific event caused fear andmistrust among people across the
world, but eventually brought a wave of
nationalistic feelings to America.
In 2001 former president George W. Bush
was informed that the Iraqi government was
in the process of creating nuclear weapons
of mass destruction. In order to ensure the
safety of Americans, Bush began the War
in Iraq. After removing Sadaam Hussein
from his Iraqi dictatorship, and eventually
hanging him, Bush sent in more American
troops to instate an effective democratic Iraqi
government. US troops are still present in
Iraq today.
Reality TV: The explosion of reality TV occurred
during this decade for two reasons, people love good
stories about someone making their dreams come true
(American Idol), and they love the drama. Some people
have developed a voyeuristic, hedonistic, and sadistic
sense of entertainment.The newest and seemingly popular
reality TV show would have to be Jersey Shore which
taught us that people are just as shallow as they appear..
20022001
Another cataustrophic event
occured in New Orleans during
August 2004. Hurricane Katrina
wiped out nearly the entire city,
flooding towns and washing away
entire communities. While most
New Orleaners were evacuated
to the Super Dome in 2004
many were left stranded and
starving for weeks. While former
president George W. Bush used
funds to aid these people and
reconstruct the below sea-level
city, New Orleans is still feeling
the effects of this disaster today.
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( Journal) page 7Angle
2007 20102006 20092008
The New York Giants stun the world
and upset the New England Patriots in the
2008 Super Bowl. The Patriots perfect
season was over, and Eli Manning led the
Giants to victory
After the devasting effects of Hur-
ricane Katrina, the New Orleans Saintswere forced out of their stadium for the
2005 NFL season. The Saints returned
in 2006 and the city was revived. The
Saints won their return game against
the Falcons, and have carried the city
on their shoulders.
A 33 year old record was broken as
Barry Bonds eclipsed Hank Aarons all
time home run record of 755. A 3-2fastball from Matt Basick of the Nation-
als, Bonds hit number 756. The steroid
questions lingered and to this day, some
still argue whether or not the record
should stand.
The baseball world is rocked as George
Mitchell releases his report on the Steroids, raising
questions and calling this era of baseball the Ste-
roid Era. Athletes records are tainted, asterisks
are questioned and Hall of Famers question who
should be let in the Hall and who shouldnt.
In the fall of 2008, our nation was in an
economic crisis. After the market crashed and
unemployment reached an all time high, President
Obama gave bail out money to some of the top
big businesses like AIG and GE. Now, these
companies have begun to get back on track but
they are still giving large bonuses to employees
despite the poor economy. Now, in 2010 with
an unemployment rate at nearly 10% President
Obama is still working to solve our economic
problem.
A true American hero was revealed when a
US passanger plane was miraculously landed
in the Hudson River last winter. After noticing
engine failure pilot Chesley Sully made the
bold decision to land the plane, including
an 18-month-old baby. This incredible story
restored the publics faith in the safety of US
airline travel.
History was made in 2008 when Senator Barack
Obama was elected President of the United
States. Obama, the first ever African-American
president, brought hope and excitement to
the nation with his yes we can attitude. His
rhetorically intensive speeches promised
economic prosperity and efficient health care
plans to the American people. Currently, Obama
has his hands dipped in many affairs, but has
most recently been recognized for donating the
millions to the Haiti relief programs.
Lady Gaga: Now we have a new and up in
coming artist that can stir up talk unlike any we
have seen for a while. Everything from her outfits,
performances, and songs seems to get people talking.
Taking individuality to a new level; a Pop star in a
dress made of Kermit the frog puppets- now that is
something I have never seen before and cant really
say I ever wanted to.
A major phenomenon of the decade
was the nations newfound pride in a
healthy environment. Going green as
it is known to many, provides our future
generations with an unpolluted, ever
growning environment. With continuous
energy, water, and other environment
preservations, our beautiful world will
surely continue to grow.
Sarah Palin: The woman who taught
us so much this past year, such as if you
can see another country youre an expert at
foreign policy or that you cant really get a
call from the president of France. She is the
newest up in coming comedienne, though
everyone but her can realizes it.
In the midst of an economic
crisis, the H1N1 virus spread
across our nation. The virus,
more commonly known as
Swine Flu, killed dozens
of young children before a
vaccine was created to prevent
the illness. This vaccine is still
being distributed to Americans
to continue the prevention of
the disease spreading further.
In the 2008 summer Olympics United States
swimmer Michael Phelps broke Mark Spitzs record
of gold medals won in a single olympic games.
Phelps took home eight gold medals en route to one
of the greatest olympic performances ever.
n ReviewBy Becky Glazier, Brendon Phillips, and Kenny Satterlee
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Pop Arts
Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
If you enjoy wasting eleven dollars on
a movie ticket to get a power headache
or an hour and a half or if you enjoy
listening to animated rodents who sound
like they constantly inhale helium butcher
op songs, then youre in luck! The latest
assacre of a classic cartoon,Alvin and the
Chipmunks 2: The Squeakquelwas released
into theatres recently for kids of every age
(or not)! However, if youre the type of
erson who doesnt enjoy the things listed
above (like 99.6% of the student body)
hen do yourself a favor and spend the
oney on something better, say, a haircut,
4 gumballs, basically anything.he same furry little animated chip-
unks that started out over fifty years
ago are back for the sequel of the 2007
emake, with the same infuriatingly high
itched voices. Justin Long, Mathew
ray Gubler and Jesse McCartney play
he voices of Alvin, Simon and heodore,
espectively. As if their voices werent
annoying enough already, the trio then
ontinues on to make a mockery of sev-
ral music groups, including he Kinks
and Flo Rida. hey even made a parody
of the Bee Gees song Stayin Alive
about Alvins love of cheeseballs.
he plot of the story is pretty simpleo follow, as long as you dont let the chip-
unk voices get to your head. Continu-
ing the story of the last movie, the chip-
unks become international icons on a
world tour when their guardian Dave gets
injured by some of Alvins over-the-top
antics at a concert. Then the chipmunks
all into the hands of Toby, Daves lazy,
immature cousin. Even though he tries
o be responsible, he cant quite get it
ight. The chipmunks end up going to
chool, which somehow
doesnt surprise anybody
at school. Who would be
urprised if three talking
chipmunks sat next to you
in class? Anyway, the rest
of the story is basically
just a classic, unoriginal
high school drama story of
three friends, except which
is already dumb enough.
his movie, however, takes
the idea to an entirely new
level of stupidity, using
mall talking rodents asthe characters instead of
people. Alvin becomes a
popular football jock who
deserts his brothers to
hang out with his popular
friends, and ditching sing-
ing rehearsal for football
practice.
Now lets take a min-
ute and look at that last
entence again. Alvin, an
eight-inch tall chipmunk
who weighs about of
a pound becomes a football jock. You
could forget the rest of the movie, justthat one statement absolutely screams
tupidity. But wait, it doesnt stop there!
he teams down by five with one play
left in the game for them. Who scores
the game- winning touchdown by clinging
onto the ball as it soars down to the end
zone? You guessed it! All the while, a rival
group of singing girl chipmunks known
as the Chipettes is rising in popularity,
and is threatening to take the Chipmunks
pot as the high schools representative at
a regional music contest. he Chipettes
also butcher their fare share of songs,with titles from Beyonce and Kate Perry.
Will Alvin ever stop being a jerk to his
brothers? Will the Chipmunks unite to
win the contest and the 25,000 for their
chool? Will I stop asking unnecessary
uspense building questions? Yes.
In one word, this movie was awful. It
was filled with desperate slapstick scenes
and high-pitched chipmunks that drive
you crazy all thrown into a cheesy mix-
ure. he icing on the cake: a dull plot
with terrible acting. I would say that
the credits were the best part, but therewas another Chipmunks song playing
during them. I just had to book it out
of the theater before I went completely
insane from the horrific music. his
movie might appeal to children, but for
anyone over the age of 7, enter at your
own peril. ylenol and earplugs might
be a wise investment.
You thought auto-tune was bad? T-Pain has a new rival, and theyre only a few inches tall!
ram Peterson
Graphic By Haejin Hwang
Invictusfollows the true and inspiring
tory of how South African President
elson Mandela joined with the South
African rugby captain, Francois Pienaar
o unite their country after years of
apartheid. Starring Morgan Freeman as
andela and Matt Damon as Pienaar,
his Clint Eastwood movie delivered a
ruly motivational story all through the
ommon language of sports.
aking place after the end of Apart-
eid and Nelson Mandelas release from
rison, the movie followed Mandela ase made radical changes in South Africa.
acial tensions were high across the
ountry and he knew improvements had
o be made before riots broke out na-
ionwide. hats when he decided to turn
o the rugby team, the Springboks. he
pringboks were South Africas national
eam but they were nearly all white play-
rs and because of this, most black South
Africans rooted against the Springboks.
Tensions ran wild and the Springboks
oor playing performance only made
atters worse.
This is where Mandela came in. He de-
ided to join forces with Francois Pienaar,
the Springboks
captain, to make
the team a na-
tionwide leader
for both blacks
a n d w h i t e s .
Mandela wanted
the Springboks
to un i te the
country despite
the huge social
and economic
differences. Not
only that, Man-
dela wanted the
Springboks to
become a wor-
thy contender
for the 1995
World Cup. Pi-
enaar took on
the challenge
and slowly began
changing the country with Mandelas sup-
port the whole time as the two became
closer. All their efforts culminated at the
World Cup as South Africans, both black
and white, joined together to root for the
pringboks.
lint Eastwood
delivers yet another
great movie with In-
victusfollowing last
years Gran Torino
and Changeling. he
ovie accurately
overs real events
while following
he book Playing
the Enemy: Nelson
Mandela and the
Game That Changed
a Nation by John
arlin. While a bit
dry at first, the plot
uilds as you learn
ore about Pien-
aar and Mandela.
y the end of the
lm, youre cheer-
ing right along with
the South Africans for the Springboks.
Morgan Freeman does a beautiful job
portraying a very convincing Mandela
that you cant help but love. Hes really
the strong point of the movie. At times
it seemed a little unbelievable that just
one sports team could actually turn a
country full of deep set racism into one
united nation.
My only real critique is that going
in to the film I didnt know why it was
called Invictus and by the end of the
movie I still hadnt figured it out. Later I
discovered that the title was much more
brilliant than it first let on. hroughout
the film, Mandela recited this beautiful
ictorian poem that he read in prison
that gave him encouragement to keep
going. He also appeared to give this Pi-
enaar before the World Cup. he name
of that poem is Invictusand was actually
written by William Ernest Henley in 1875
and means unconquered in Latin. his
poem summed up the feelings of hope
and perseverance found throughout the
film. his movie tells an uplifting and true
story closing in these beautiful lines of
the poem: I am the master of my fate: I
am the captain of my soul.
Now nominated for three Golden
Globes, including Best Actor and Best
Director, Invictuslooks for more victories
this award season.
Invictus is a victoryevon Gingrich
February 2010(theJournal page 8
Image courtesy of Amazon.com
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op Arts
Five misfits, three cheerleaders, two
ootball players, a singing Spanish teacher,
a twisted cheer leading coach, a pregnant
eenager, romance, lies, secret love and
usic; that pretty much sums up therst season of the instant hit showGlee.
When Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison)
learned about his high schools glee club
eeding a teacher, he volunteered, vowing
o get them a place at sectionals, knowing
hat otherwise, the club funds would be
ut off. he group of singers to compete
tarted out with only five, though it grew
as time went on. But, as Mr. Schus rival,
ue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), learned of his
uccess, she started to plot his downfall
hrough getting her Cheerios (cheer-
leaders) to get inside information. he
ead Cheerio, Quinn (Dianna Agron),
who is dating Finn (played by Cory Mon-eith), finds out that shes pregnantwith
ucks child (Mark Salling). Not to men-
ion that Kurt (Chris Colfer) comes out
of the closet and Rachel (Lea Michele)
loves Finn, who has no idea that his
girlfriends baby isnt his.
As you can probably tell, theres a lot
of drama, which in addition to comedy
are only some of the reasons that thou-
ands of self proclaimed Gleeks tuned
in every Wednesday night to fill their
weekly craving.
If youre not one to enjoy watching
a typical high school experience on V,
hen you might enjoy watchingGlee orits catchy new takes on classic songs. he
pilot episode ended with an incredible
emake of the most downloaded song in
i unes history; Dont Stop Believing; with
ew melodic surprises and harmonies.
or some people, this is the only draw
of the show, but for many it just adds to
the charm.
n my, and millions of other viewers
opinions, Gleeis by far the most enter-
aining show on television today. It has
aptivated the audience by keeping them
begging for more of the unrequited love,
hate, and humor, all while incorporating
social problems such as the issue of being
gay in a modern high school, or just being
unpopular. It is an outstanding show withgreat acting and singing, coming from
people like Lea Michele who starred on
Broadway from the age of eight.
he season finished off with Mr.
Schuesters Glee club, New Directions,
coming in first place at sectionals. Next
season holds the promise of rivalry with
another Glee club, Vocal Adrenaline,
whose coach is rumored to be played by
actress Idina Menzel who has starred in
many Broadway shows including REN
and Wicked. here will be more evil
manipulations from Sue Sylvester with
additional drama from Quinn, Finn and
Puck. Emma, the schools guidancecounselor (Jayma Mays) has been secretly
in love with Will, whose wife erri (Jes-
salyn Gilsig) has been faking a pregnancy
to save their dying relationship.
f its even possible for Glee to im-
prove, the next seasons ratings will soar.
Gleeis no longer just a national phenom-
enon, as it has premiered in other coun-
tries. Now, all thats left to do is wait, as
Gleeks count down the days until April
13 h when the second season will air at
its new time, uesday at 9:00 on Fox. If
you havent yet been mesmerized by this
remarkable show, tune in for drama and
music, and who knows, maybe you toowill one day be proud to call yourself a
Gleek.
Glee: The cult sensationallie Swyer
mage courtesy o mazon.com
Lady Gaga is one of the new artists
hat emerged in 2009 and took the music
world by storm. Her new album, The Fame
Monster follows up her first chart topping
uccess, The Fame. Gagas new 8-song EP
xceeded my already high expectations.
he EP includes the already chart topping
it, Bad Romance, which has already
dominated radio charts everywhere. It
includes eight catchy tunes with the sick
eats and unique style that earned Gaga
he spotlight in the first place. With
songs telling tragic stories of love, the
EP feels fun to listen, sing along, and
dance to. Original fans will be impressed
with the new tracks for their library. For
newcomers, a two-disc special edition
was released including all of Gagas first
album The Fame as well as the new mate-
rial. he dance beats will please, and keep
the world waiting to see what the fame
monster has up her sleeve.
ey racks: Bad Romance, Alejan-
dro, Monster
rianna Reed
his fresh album from the iconic rap
legend, Snoop Dogg is just plain bad; for
lack of a better word. An album like this
from Snoop is only going to further sup-
port the gradual decay of the rap music
world. With tracks from the new includ-
ing: 2 Minute Warning and I Wanna
Rock have nothing good to say about
them other than a catchy, yet hackneyedrap and hip hop beat. With vulgarity at
an all time high for Snoop Dogg, and
rust me, the bar was set very low. If
a clean version was even available, you
will most likely be listening to white
noise. Genuinely and sincerely said;
his album is nothing great. It is sug-
gested that you dont waste your money
and buy this horrific album. Even Lil
Wayne surpasses the quality ofMalice
N Wonderland.Key racks: Luv Drunk, I Wanna
Rock, 2 Minute Warning
Ian Campbell
h
e Braverys new album, Stir the
lood, cant seem to make up its mind.
Despite the negative reviews, the album
is great for dancing. With mainly syn-
hesizers and heavy drum rhythms, the
and makes an attempt at combining
a Killers-esque sound with rave music.
Slow Poison is a well-paced song with
heery back-up singers and a good cho-
us. Other songs have fast rhythm, light
hords, though sinister lyrics. Shes So
endable has good words, but a drab
melody. Even the most uncoordinated,
un-rhythmic listener wont be able to sit
still. With its wild combination of sounds,
ranging from he Cure, to Duran Duran,
the album draws mixed emotions. Stir the
Blood is over all, mediocre. It was a nice
attempt to create something with lasting
effect, but the only place this music will
last is on the dance floor.
ey racks: Slow Poison, Red
Hands and White Knuckles, I Have
Seen the Future
Julia Slezak
TheL
ates
tAlbum
s
ages courtesy o
Amazon.com
February 2010 (theJournal page 9
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( Journal) page 10February 2010
Opinions
The state has run out of money, Thiswas the statement that Governor Pater-son had for us on December 13th whenhe announced that he would cut 10% ofthe $1.9 billion dollar education budget.
The state, apparently, is one billion dollarsshort. He also made another 19% budgetcut to the additional $3 million dollarsappropriated for public schools at theend of December. These cuts, he has de-clared, will make up for the gap between
what the state has and what it owes.Although we may think these steps are
admirable, they are in fact saving the statefrom bankruptcy, we have to think aboutthe effects they will have on our schoolexperience. Schools across the state arebeing effected in varying degrees by thecuts: Buffalo is bearing the brunt, missingout on $5 million, while Albany countyfairs a bit better, were only expected tolose $750,000.
No one is happy with this plan. EvenPaterson himself conceded that the situ-ation is far from ideal, remarking that,
The education cuts are draconian, thehealth care cuts are prohibitive, the taxesthat are being levied on New York citizensare not fair, but when you add it up, wethink we delivered the pain evenly, Inthe governors mind, the end justifies themeans, and he is willing to do just aboutanything to keep the state from runningout of money.
One of the most controversial aspectsof the plan is the $68 million that New
York City schools are slated to lose. Pa-terson defends this massive cut on thepoorest district in state by saying his planto spare poor districts was rejected, so hehad no choice but to accept the currentplan which gives these already strugglingregions no allowances.
As was mentioned, Governor Paterson was aware of how unpopular his planwould be. It didnt come as a surprisewhen on December 16th, three days afterthe plan was announced, state educatorsmoved to sure Governor Paterson, inan attempt to stop the withholding ofpayments to schools. The governor con-demned these groups as extra-specialinterests who were looking for specialtreatment during this trying time.
With Patersons decision to implementthis plan, he is effectively saving the state.But is it fair for him to call educators whoobject to the cuts selfish? Personally Ihavent seen any indication that the cutsare having a huge effect on Guilderland,other than the librarians being extra stingy
with the amount of paper we can print. Iguess we will have to wait and see if thecuts prove to be a godsend for the stateor a nuisance for students and teachers
who come to school everyday.
ArePatersonsbudget cuts
the bestchoice forschools?Hannah Cohen
Gift giving has been a holiday traditionfor centuries. Each year friends, family,and colleagues exchange presents to showtheir appreciation towards one another inthe spirit of the holiday season. But hasthis long known tradi-tion become just anoth-er form of obligatorymotions and repayingcommodities?
Many people willargue that giving giftsaround the holidayssimply shows you love
and respect for the giftreceiver. Gift givingisnt the importantpart, senior TaylorMuztafago said. Ithink the whole pointof the holiday [season]is just being with thepeople that you caremost about and know-ing that they care aboutyou just as much if not more.
While this may be true with family andclose friends it may not be true with peersand colleagues. Gift giving definitely has
some pressure related to it, senior Alyssa
Cubello said.Honestly, how many of you can say
that you have never felt obliged to givea gift to someone you do not truly careabout? Nearly everybody has at one point
given a peer a gift because they knew theywould have felt guilty if they didnt.
We all know the situation. One peer
walks up to another and in the midst
of a friendly conversation whips out aholiday gift wishing them a happy holiday.
Typically, the gift receivers first reactionis to smile and thank them for the gift.But suddenly they realize this personis expecting a gift in return--a gift theyhave not planned on giving. Instinctivelythey make up an excuse for not havingtheir gift with them and quickly removethemselves from the situation.
Thats where this situation begins todiffer depending on the person receivingthe gift. In one case the person may sim-ply send a holiday card thanking them for
the gift and wishing them well. In anothersituation the person may blow off thetransaction completely, rudely acceptingthe gift with nothing in return. But in afinal situation, the one most common inour society today, the gift receiver willquickly search for a last minute gift to givetheir peer within the following days.
As awkward and uncomfortable it is,this situation is far too well known by thegeneral American public. It has becomea situation that has turned the holidayseason into yet another business deal, a
way to get ahead, a way to impersonalizea sacred season.
Graphic courtesty of Jasmine Andres / The Journal
Implications of gift givingBecky Glazier
You are confused, and may not evenknow it. As it turns out, that is the casefor many viewers of cable news networks,the quality of whose content has becomeunder increasing scrutiny. A study con-ducted by the Program on InternationalPolicy Attitudes (run by the Universityof Maryland) found that viewers of FoxNews Channel (FNC) and CNN hadbeen misinformed on at least one majortopic concerning the war in Iraq. Thestudy showed that over half the viewerson both channels believed in incorrectinformation concerning the war in Iraq,
with eighty percent of FNC viewers prov-
ing to have misinformation and fifty-fivepercent of CNN viewers. Further more;the study concluded that, those who paymore attention to news are just as likelyto be misinformed as those who dont,and viewers of the cable network FNCbecome more misinformed the morethey watch. According to the Program onInternational Policy Attitudes study, onlypeople getting their news from printed
venues proved to have less informationthe more they read.
By ratings, FNC is the number onecable news program, with CNN andMSNBC heavily competing for the
second spot. All these networks reportnews constantly on a twenty-four sevenbasis. Diane Young, a teachers assistantat Guilderland High School believes thatsuch vast amount of free time result intwenty-four hour news networks turn-ing small issues into national events. Sherecalls that when Michael Jackson diedthere was nothing more important [to thenews networks] for weeks. David Logan,
a law professor at Wake Forest Universitycommented in an essay he wrote thatjournalists at twenty-four hours news or-ganization get the news first and fastest,not first and right. This he believes hasled to decreased quality in news contenton twenty-four hour networks.
Other challenges to cable news qualitycome from accusations of political bias.Such accusations come from both theleft and right. A documentary madeabout FNC called Outfoxed accusedFNC of conservative bias, while many
Right-of-center citizens feel that muchof the mainstream media carries a liberalbias. MSNBC has disallowed two of itsprogram hosts, Chris Matthews and KeithOlbermann, from anchoring general newsevents due to what many see as a liberalbias held by the two hosts. Pew Researchpolls show that as of 2009 the percent of
Americans who believe the media is unbi-ased, as well as the percent of Americansbelieving the media is accurate, has hit an
all time low. Only twenty-nine percent ofthose surveyed believed that the mediais generally accurate, while only eighteenpercent of those surveyed believed thatthe media was unbiased.
The events of Friday September 11,2009 and the medias reaction are citedby many as a prime example of the qual-ity of cable news. CNN, FNC, and othernews organizations reported a possiblelink between radio transmissions theyintercept about a Coast Guard ship con-fronting another vessel along with reportsof shots being fired, to the anniversary of9/11. This confrontation was reported tobe in the Potomac River in Washington,D.C. near where President Obama wasremembering 9/11 victims.
The Coast Guard latter released astatement saying that no shots were fired,and the radio transmissions were partof a routine drill. Critics accused CNNand FNC of reporting the story without
verifying it, and proceeding to speculateas to the radio transmissions link to terrorand 9/11. Among these critics was PressSecretary Robert Gibbs.
Such events are used as examples tosupport studies like the Pew Researchpoll on Americas trust and belief ofquality in media. As Ms. Young said onthe topic of cable news quality theytake little news stories and turn theminto national events. She made it clearthat she would much rather stick tolocal news and the newspaper for hersource of current events. Researchsuggest that Americans might be moreinformed if they did the same.
Graphic courtesy of Dev Gingrich/The Journal
Quality or Quantity?
(and other issues facing TV News)Nick Connolly
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The night begins just like any other
Monday night; youre most likely at home,trying to multi-task your homework,
Facebook, and eating all at the same time,
when your British aunt comes in your
room and asks, Ello [insert your name
here], would you perhaps like to come to
a high school concert with me and your
mum? At first, though, youd probably
think, ugh school concert,remembering
your brothers concert from last week,
when the 5th graders played the Looney
Toons theme song for the eighth time (I
do give them credit for trying). Regard-
less, you really dont want to finish your
math homework, and youre pretty sure
supporting your classmates is a viable
reason to put it off. Now imagine three
hours later, youre sitting in an auditorium
packed with people, completely overcome
by the striking vocals and haunting me-
lodic tunes. Youll never see the singers
who sit in the back of your 3rd period
Chemistry class the same way again.
On December 21st , hundreds of
people came together to watch not only
Guilderland High students, but also past
alumni and Farnsworth 6th graders per-
form the ever-popular, and memorable
opus of Carmina Burana by Carl Orff.
Conducted by Rae Jean Teeter and Nancy
Casellini, the concert was definitely a
highlight of the year. Ill be honest and
say I didnt know much about Carmina
Burana walking into the concert, other
than its uncanny resemblance to the Lord
of the Ringssoundtrack. Since then, Ive
learned that the 20th century oratorio was
first performed in 1937, in Frankfurt, by
the Frankfurt Opera, but was originally
discovered in a Bavarian monastery in
1803. Carmina Burana is composed of
13th century poems, stories, and songs,
which focus on reality and the pleasures
and temptations life brings. I was sur-
prised to learn that the story isnt about
death and vengeance (unlike LOTR) but
about life and love. The lyrics vary from
themes of spring, fortune, and lust, to
the deadly sins of drinking, gluttony,
and gambling, surprisingly similar to the
themes of the music written today.
As interesting as the lyrics to the song
are, it was the musicians that brought
the song to life. The concert may have
been held at Voorheesville High for its
larger auditorium, but it deserved an
audience the size of the Palace Theater.
The vocals, completely eerie and surreal,
were not ones of a typical high school
choir, but instead ones that had been
matured, nurtured, and perfected. Hit-
ting notes I didnt even think the human
could detect, and holding them with such
heavy vibrato, I would have thought the
voices had gone through years of intense
training at a performing arts school. Not
to mention Carmina Burana is written
in both German and Latin; learning the
piece must have been quite a challenge.
Regardless, every voice was beautifully
unified, producing sounds so mesmer-
izing that one can only be envious and
wish that they had joined the choir.
It wasnt just the singers that had to
learn the music, though. It took me
three months, says Jonathan Bintz, one
of the 3 accompanists. I practiced every
day for an hour, and maybe two for the
last month. He explains, Learning the
music wasnt the hard part. The hardest
part about playing for a choir is that you
cant make mistakes. When you do, you
are off, and when youre off the choir
sounds bad. Its also important to point
out that most of these students play on
sports teams, are enrolled in honors class-
es, and participate in other clubs around
the school. With everything they do, its
amazing to see all the time and hard work
they put into practicing pay off with such
an unforgettable performance.
From the gripping beginning to the
closing notes of O Fortuna, the 245
singers and 14 instrumental ists were sure
to give you goose-bumps. This awe-in-
spiring performance deserved more than
just a standing ovation. Everything from
the inspiring alumni to the aspiring sixth
graders made this concert what it was.
As my British aunt put it, The concerts
we had when I was in high school dont
even compare to the talent here tonight.
Brilliant, just brilliant, and I couldnt
agree more.
The expression It just aint over untilthe fat lady sings, is a possible reference
to the operas of Richard Wagner (1813-
1883), whose revolutionary works estab-
lished many of our impressions about
opera today. As a result of Wagnerian
opera, the overweight soprano with a
Viking helmet screaming in German has
become a popular symbol of opera.
But beyond Brnnhilde, who is prob-
ably responsible for this image, Wagner
crafted a variety of characters in many
intricately woven stories that have led
some scholars to say that Wagner pos-
sessed a masterful understanding of the
human psyche. His most famous operas,Lohengrin, Die Meistersinger von Nrn-
berg, Tristan und Isolde, Tannhuser, and
his extremely long four opera cycle, Der
Ring des Niebelungen are regarded as
masterpieces of western art.
One of the most influential compos-
ers ever, Wagner introduced the idea of
a Gesamtkunstwerk, that is, a collective
artwork. His operas put music in dramatic
settings that had been unmatched up until
his time, believing that the musics effect
was enhanced greatly by it.
Wagner, indeed, has also pervaded into
American popular culture. At most every
wedding one can hear Wagners Treulichgefhrt from the beginning of Act III
of Lohengrin, best known in the United
States as Here Comes the Bride. And
his Ride of the Valkyries from Die
Walkre is often used in film and televi-
sion to portray tense (and sometimes
comical) scenes.
And yet, for all of his popularity and
genius, Wagner is also one of the most
controversial composers today. Part of
this undoubtedly stems from the fact
that Wagner, long after his death, became
popular with people who are terribly
unpopular. Adolf Hitler affectionately
referred to Richard Wagner as the Mas-ter, and cited Wagnerian opera as one of
his greatest influences and the epitome
of Aryan art.
However, it must be acknowledged
that the Nazis, as with many other things
such as the philosophy of Friedrich Ni-
etzsche (who discouraged anti-Semitism),
selected aspects of Wagners work that
supported their position and ignored
others. The Nazi propaganda minister
banned the opera Parsifal, for example, as
he thought it encouraged pacifism.
But Wagners philosophy, particularly
towards Jews, seems to be in line with
that of the Nazis. In fact, the grimmestpart of his legacy today is perhaps his
publicly declared anti-Semitism. Wagner
wrote an 1850 article entitled Judaism in
Music in which he indirectly attacked his
Jewish contemporaries of the time, Felix
Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer.
According to Wagner, Jews were alien in
German culture and therefore incapable
of creating any art of substance. By
Wagners interpretation, Jews only com-
posed for the money.
Naturally, such a history taints Wag-
ners reputation as a man, but what about
his groundbreaking, revolutionary music?
This is where some controversy lies.Some point to the genius of the music,
claiming that Wagners prejudices are ir-
relevant. Others say that Wagners life and
his music are inseparable, and the music
cannot be played without remembering
the anti-Semitism.
Surprisingly, Wagners own great
grandson, Gottfried Wagner, who has
been disowned by his family, says that, I
cannot just sit and enjoy his music. I never
put on Wagners music in my home...
Richard Wagners anti-Semitic writings
will always overshadow my life. Gott-
fried Wagner even went on a lecture tour
in Israel discussing his g reat grandfathershistory of anti-Semitism.
Among Jews, especially in Israel where
there are many Holocaust survivors, the
music remains contentious. In a 1981
concert with Zubin Mehta and the Israel
Philharmonic Orchestra, some audience
members left and others began shouting
when the orchestra performed a Wag-
nerian overture as an encore. Similarly
received was a 2001 performance of the
same piece in Jerusalem conducted by
Daniel Barenboim.
Even so, many, even in Israel, believe
that as a critical part of the history of
classical music, the music of Wagnershould be performed regularly. Yaakov
Mishori, an Israel Philharmonic Musician
points out that, He actually worked with
many Jews. Wagners public relations man
was a Jew named Neumann, Hermann
Levi conducted Wagners works at the
time, and a musician named Rubenstein
finished the orchestration of some of his
operas.
The classical music director of Israels
state radio station, Avi Chanani, takes a
stance that banning Wagner would be
undemocratic. He says, Wagner was
a revolutionary in music. His work is
central to the development of Europeanmusicthe public has a right to know; it
must be exposed to all information.
Richard Wagner, a critical part of the
development of classical music and a
legend in the world of opera, has had a
very troubled reputation as a composer.
Though an open anti-Semite and perhaps
a symbol of Nazism, musicians and audi-
ences in the United States seem to accept
a distinction between the Wagnerian
personality and Wagnerian music, and the
music continues to stay in the standard
orchestral and operatic repertoire despite
lingering controversy.
Choral spectacle proves too big for GuilderlandKatherine Bickmore
Fine Arts
UpcomingEvents
At Guilderland
February 6:
Pops Concert -Pops Goes to the Movies
Around
Guilderland
February 6:
Crossgates Mall
ESYO Playathon
February 25-27
Palace Theater
Albany Symph/
duo Parnas
Noah Rubin
Wagner remains taboo for many Israeli Jews