ThW e arrio a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly rweb.niskyschools.org/warrior/issues/2012_2013/Issue05_10122012.pdfTaylor Lautner, and Taylor Swift passionately speak

The WarriorNiskayuna High School October 12, 2012 Volume 39, Issue 5

a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly

Inside this issue...Korean pop song dominates the charts,page 6

Girls soccer boasts top rank-ing,page 7

Debates change tide of elections,page 5

Hair extensions raise awarenessby LesLey santos

news

October is a festive month for many as it is a time for several family traditions and fun holidays. People around the country look forward to the seasonal favorites of pumpkin pie, apple cider, and of course, Halloween. It is also a month full of hope and prayers as it is nationally regarded as being the month of Breast Cancer awareness.

Breast cancer has been prevalent for a long time and has significantly affected many individuals and families. Though it can show up in men, breast cancer is one of the most common cancers affecting females. According to the American Cancer Society, 230,480 new cases of invasive breast can-cer were estimated to be diagnosed among women in the year of 2011. The same orga-nization estimated the disease proved fatal to 39,520 of the women diagnosed in 2011.

Based on these statistics, numerous fami-lies each year lose loved ones to this cancer and have their lives turned upside down as they struggle to deal with grief, among several other burdens. At the same time, many indi-viduals and families rejoice when medicine and treatments are successful and cure a patient of cancer. For such reasons, families and individuals across the continent join together this month to support women and their families that are struggling with breast cancer. In addition, many strangers to the disease are moved by the passionate stories of survivors and pitch in to help with research funding. People around the world make gen-erous donations to fundraising efforts in the hope that more scientific study will bring us closer to finding a cure for this devastating disease. Many popular figures like celebrities or even large organizations like the NFL and its

teams don the familiar pink ribbon which represents Breast Cancer Awareness and the efforts of the Susan G. Komen Foundation.

In a similar fashion, Niskayuna High School wanted to help make a change. It wasn’t long be-fore announcements were made about raising money to help this cause. Walk-ing through the hallways, posters and flyers were seen taped to the walls informing everyone about this exciting endeavor.

Last Friday, hair stylists from Mirror Images Spa & Salon set up a stand just outside crossroads, prepped with pink hair extensions. During lunch mods, students were al-lowed to go to the stand and check it out. Students who wanted the extensions as a part of their hairstyle paid ten dollars each, and all the money that was raised went towards helping support breast cancer patients.

One of the hair stylists helping at the stand, Jill Johnson, said she recognized the importance of raising awareness and that she was glad to be a part of this event. Ac-cording to Johnson, she has been a part of several similar events “with any colors for any charity” and has been doing so for ap-proximately five years. When asked if she has had many customers from our school so far, she said, “Absolutely. This is for a great cause

and I think students really like the option of doing something different to their hair.”

As we celebrate the month of October, we should not forget the many individu-als who were unfortunate enough to have been diagnosed with breast cancer. As much as we can, we should try to help raise money and awareness to help fight this disease. Through all of the tough times, we must always remember to stay strong!

Warrior Art / Katherine QuinnRALLYING FOR HOPE: In October, many organizations launch fund-raising campaigns for further cancer research. The iconic pink ribbon represents breast cancer awareness and is a common sight as aware-ness events.

2 The WarriorNews October 12, 2012

D e b a t i n g f o r A m e r i c aby RobeRt Kaucic

news

This past Wednesday, Oct. 3 was the highly anticipated date of the first Presidential debate.

Drawing over 70 million people to their television screens, Repub-lican candidate and Massachu-setts Governor Mitt Romney and Democratic candidate President Barack Obama spent ninety min-utes presenting their pieces on an array of topics. Their debate subjects ranged from economic management to governing styles and methods. The debate was originally planned in six fifteen-minute segments, but each of the first three segments on economy ran over time, leaving two segments on governmental policies severely shortened and one completely left out. Modera-tor and former PBS NewsHour anchor Jim Lehrer, had his work cut out for him trying to keep the President and Governor Romney within their two minute time slots, and in the end even his experi-ence with eleven past Presidential debates didn’t help him. Both Romney and Obama went over their allotted time on several oc-casions and somewhat unprofes-sionally interrupted Lehrer and each other within the debate.

As for the substance of the debate, the focus on economy is made clear by Google’s popular search data, which shows that “Simpson-Bowles,” a deficit-reduction plan created in 2010 after its proposal by Obama, and

“Dodd-Frank,” an act on financial regulation for businesses signed into federal law in 2010 by Obama were top trending searches of the night. Both Romney and Obama elaborated their posi-tions on funding for the country’s education and military while also addressing the issues of taxes and the looming national deficit. Possibly the greatest criticism of the night was Obama’s claim that Mitt Romney had completely

The general mood of Repub-licans after the debate had concluded was one of pride and satisfaction, claiming that Governor Romney had put his best foot forward, speaking well for someone in his position and challenging Obama’s policies with an energetic vigor. However, ac-cording to the Obama campaign, Romney lacked substance and left out much of what he planned to do for the country in the future

in an organized, concise manner. Despite this, in a campaign event held by Obama the following day, attendees claimed he “exuded an energy and aggressiveness that he seemed to be missing” at the previous night’s debate.

The polls are inconclusive, with different news stations presenting different statistics on the public opinion of who won the debate. Fox News claimed that polls were in Romney’s favor 67% to 25%, leaving 8% undecided. Con-versely, MSNBC News said that Romney’s lack of consistency in comparison to Obama left voters favoring Obama for the night.

On a different note, a statement by Governor Romney, in which he said he would stop borrow-ing money from China to fund programs that would have to be discontinued rustled the feathers of many a PBS fan. As much of the funding for the network is government-subsidized and thus borrowed from foreign countries, namely China. The following outburst of Twitter trends like @BigBird @BigBirdRomney and @FiredBigBird are, at the very least, testaments to a certain lightheart-edness of the people reacting to a sole shred of humor in the debate.

Two more Presidential de-bates are scheduled and one Vice Presidential debate com-ing up, there will be much to talk about in the world of politics and potential opportu-nity for either candidate to gain a secure lead before the election.

SAT

WORD OF

THE WEEK

Find it every week

and save your

copies to get a

chance to win a

t-shirt at the end

of the year.

Prevalent:

widespread in a particular area at a particular time

“ Possibly the greatest criticism of the night was

Obama’s claim that

Mitt Romney had com-pletely changed his

stance ...just five weeks before the

election.”changed his stance on some of the aforementioned topics just five weeks before the election. Romney answered with clearly articulated responses that left no question as to his thoughts on the various matters of the debate.

and in effect, made weak jabs at Obama’s platform, having no better alternative. Obama, on the other hand, was criticized by Re-publicans for lacking connectivity in his ideas and not presenting ar-guments and counterarguments

3October12, 2012The Warrior News

October recognizes bul ly ingby eLyssa connoLLy

news

“Terrible...Made me cry...Why would somebody do that?...I can’t even describe it…”

If you asked anyone about their personal bullying experience, they would probably be able to relate to comments like these. More than 16,000 students in the U.S. stay home from school everyday because they are scared of being bullied, according to nationalawarenessdays.com. Since October is National Bul-lying Prevention Month, many organizations are opening their eyes to the severe effects and consequences of bullying.

Bullying comes in many forms, such as physical and verbal. Bul-lying is defined by web sources as any act that is abusive or unwanted, aggressive behavior that creates a real or perceived power imbalance. Bullying can present itself in several different mediums, and in this internet age, cases of cyber-bullying are be-coming more and more prevalent.

Bullying leads to many prob-lems for victims. Depression, dropping out of school, lowered

self-esteem, and even suicide can result from different degrees of bullying. Most behavioral ana-lysts note that many bullies have been bullied before or have some problem or insecurity that they want to hide. They feel that bul-lying will give them more power.

Recently, many people up-loaded videos to YouTube called “My Story” or “My Secrets.” In most cases, these people have been bullied, known people who are bullied, or just have personal issues that they need to come to terms with. This is why bullying needs to stop.

In the first week of school, my homeroom teacher told us about a girl who was being harassed. He informed us that when he asked her about it, she said she didn’t care, but after a while, she broke down and said it really hurt her. It is very likely that many people in our school are bullied. Some people say they don’t tell anyone because it’s “normal” or “not a big deal.” But it’s not. Most bullying starts in the early school years, and then worsens in intensity and hurtfulness from there. In high school, most bullies have a per-

ceived sense of confidence or a big ego, despite the fact that they may have a great deal of insecurities themselves. It’s not acceptable to subject yourself to bullying with-out taking a stand against it. If you are the victim, you can reach out and talk to someone. Even if it seems as if you are alone, there are people in your life that care about you and will do their best to help you. If you or a friend you know is a victim of bullying, talk to someone. A teacher, parent, friend, councilor, or anyone you can trust can help you. Even the simple reassurance of having a confidant can alleviate the pain.

Fortunately, several organiza-tions and public figures have made a point of raising awareness during this month. PACER has a large website dedicated to bullying prevention. It includes victims’ stories, events, merchandise, and videos all about bullying. Even celebrities who were bul-lied in school, such as Emma Watson, Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga, Taylor Lautner, and Taylor Swift passionately speak out against bullying.

National Bullying Prevention

Month also allows us to reflect on what we have said or done to others that might have been hurtful or abusive. Even if you feel like you have resolved the drama in your life, sometimes, apologies aren’t enough to make up for the harm of bullying. Words can never be taken back. A teacher in New York demonstrated this idea in a lesson about bullying. She told her class to take a piece of paper and crumple it, stomp on it, but not to rip it. Then she told her class to open the paper and try to smooth it out, and told them to tell the paper they were sorry. Even though they tried, the paper was scarred and dirty. It shows that even if you say sorry, a bullying victim will never be the same.

October will remind us to al-ways think of the consequences of our words. We can change the way people treat each other. As the website pacer.org said, “The End of Bullying Begins With Me.” If you see bullying, not doing anything is just as bad as bul-lying the person directly. Reach out and take a stand against bullying this National Bullying Prevention Month.

iPhone 5 revealed for the masses by HannaH HamiLton

FeatuRe

Is it possible to fall in love with a brand? Some people will only wear GUESS boots, others will only carry Coach bags. We all have that one friend who will wear noth-ing if it doesn’t have that little Abercrombie moose on it. While many fashion brands do have their masses of fans, the most popular brand of the decade is undoubtedly Apple.

The night that the iPhone 5 came out, queues of people flooded malls and swarmed Apple stores in London, New York, and numerous other cities. Apple had been boasting for months that this was their “fastest, lightest” product yet, and the hype among tech-nerds, trend setters, and apple-lovers had developed to the point of hysteria by the time that the iPhone 5 was actually released on Friday, September 21st.

Much of the obsession with Apple products is political. The latest technology is almost a staple for elite socialites. A wealthy man needs to be able to prove to his colleagues that he has the best product that the market has to offer. For those among us in the other 98%, it’s just a cool thing to be able to pull an iPhone 5 out of your pocket to show off to your friends.

Apple is calling the iPhone 5 “the biggest thing to happen since the iPhone.” Of course a lot of this is just the company marketing their product. Forbes Magazine states that, “The iPhone 5 is impressive, but not revolutionary.” The screen is a half an inch wider and the phone itself is thinner, taller, and brighter. The iPhone 5 is advertised as being capable of 8 hours of internet browsing, 8 hours of talk time, or 10 hours of video playback. Ad-ditionally, it is 20% lighter than the iPhone 4s.

Another innovation of the product is the

charging cord. We all know how expensive it can be to replace a charging cord on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod. There are many online sellers who sell cheap, effective imitations of the product for mere pennies. However, a new feature in the iPhone 5 is making it almost impossible to replicate the cord. This is good for Apple company, but potentially bank-breaking for anyone who is prone to losing their cord.

While the iPhone 5 may just be another scam to get people to spend $600 on some-thing that they more or less already had before, it’s also a really cool trend and a big step in technology for a lot of people. Who knows? Maybe the iPhone 6 will be able to float in the air and read our minds, so we don’t even have to press the keys when sending a text. What’s for sure is that we’ll be seeing a lot of these new iPhones around the high school in the coming school months.

C a n w e a f f o r d t o d r i v e ?

EDITORIAL POLICIES

Letters to the editor are welcome from all members of the school community, and can be delivered toWarrior staff or sent via

email to: [email protected]. The Warrior reserves the right to edit letters for grammar, length, and content.

Signed opinion articles express the opinions of their creators. Unsigned editorials represent the consensus of the paper’s edito-rial board, consisting of the Opinion section and the Editor-in-

Chief.

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

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For a one-year subscription to The Warrior, please send a check for $25.00 to: The Warrior, c/o Niskayuna High School, 1626 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, NY 12309.

4 The WarriorOpinion October 12, 2012

by JosepH stRuys

opinion

Everyone has no doubt noticed that gas prices are through the roof. Although more fuel effi-cient cars have come out, most vehicles still require around $80 to fill up. And sadly, electric cars have been largely unsuccessful due their inability to go long distances. According to AAA’s “Daily Fuel Gauge Report,” gas prices currently average $3.80 per gallon. Leading the pack is California, which has a stagger-ing average of $4.60 a gallon.

Change obviously has to hap-pen. We can’t just keep paying more just to go to school or work. These are important activities

and we can’t just stop going to them. I don’t think anyone is willing to trade in their car, truck, or van for a bicycle, but as the average American goes to fill up their tank they have to wonder: what’s the solution?

I think we have to start with the problem--it’s a complicated one. It essentially stems from a reliance on foreign countries that have monopolies over the fuel industr; this allows them to charge whatever price they want to. And no matter what the price is, the U.S. will pay it because it’s our only source. Environ-mentalists feel that taking our fuel from here in the U.S. would be harmful to the natural land-

scape and fear that the wildlife would be harmed by the drilling. Another reason for the increased prices is that oil companies can also control sales by decreasing their supply thereby causing higher demand. They’re getting rich and we cannot afford that.

The solution is to start using the fuel we have right now. Envi-ronmentalists should know that with today’s technology, drilling will be much less destructive to the environment. We have to use what we have right now. And when foreign countries see this, they will feel economically pressured and lower their prices.

Although you and I can not change this ourselves, we can

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make changes in our own lives. Whether you buy your own or you want to save money for your parents, there are a few good things you can do to save gas. Keeping your engine run-ning when making quick stops is a start. This saves more gas then turning it off and then back on. Another tip to keep in mind, especially for seniors who are looking for a new car, is try to get something fuel efficient, which might be more expensive, but will save you more money in the long run. This is important because no one knows how long prices will be this high. We can only hope that our leaders will get our gas crisis under control soon.

Journey to the center of the Earthby FeLicia DoDge

opinion

Similar to the fictional movie “Journey to the Center of the Earth” starring charming actor Josh Hutcherson, geologists involved in the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) are also planning to accomplish the feat of reaching the Earth’s mantle

The mantle makes up about 85% of the Earth and is com-posed of solid rock. Contrary to popular belief, the mantle is not at all liquid, making it nearly impossible to drill through.

The project will be conducted in the Pacific Ocean because that is where the Earth’s crust is the thinnest. There, it is a mere six kilometers thick, compared to sixty kilometers on land.

Although we know a lot about our planet and the way it works, this mission will allow us to have an even better understanding of what is around us, or in this case, below us. Scientists say that re-covering samples from the mantle could be the solution to many unanswered questions, such as how the Earth itself evolved.

Some as that if this mission will bring so much valuable knowl-edge for scientists and people, why haven’t we already done it yet? But actually, we’ve been trying since the 1960s. People have made attempts to descend past the ocean’s crust and into the mantle but none of these missions have been successful, which is why many of us have not heard about them. The IODP, which has been

preparing for this mission since 2002, launched the drilling vessel (called Chikyu) recently. Chikyu set a world record by reaching and collecting rock samples at a depth of 2,111 feet. The drills on this vessel are durable, but only can last 50-60 hours before needing replacement.

In order to complete this mission, engineers will have to improve the drilling techniques to avoid switching the drills ev-ery few days. If done correctly, this mission could be a turning point in geological history, but so far it is just a goal with high expectations. The team of inter-national scientists planning the mission refer to it as “Mission Impossible.” However, with the advancements in technology

and engineering, it is definitely possible. If Tom Cruise could prove them wrong, so can we.

Another question that many are wondering is whether or not it’s worth it. This mission is estimated to cost over one billion dollars and will take years of intense plan-ning. Some will argue that the cons overrule the pros, but I think a better understanding of how life evolved is well worth the risk.

With this in mind, it is also understandable that the mis-sion will take time and discrete planning, as it is projected to take more than a decade to start the mission to reach the mantle. By the time the IOPD is ready to send the vessel into the Pa-cific, our generation will be the ones in charge of the operation.

5October 12, 2012The Warrior Opinion

ALL OPINIONS expressed on the op-ed pages represent the indi-vidual viewpoints of their authors. The content does not necessarily represent the views of The War-rior, the high school, the school district, or the Board of Education.

Election crackdown: week twotHe DemocRat

poLiticaL coLumn

I wish I could write a different article this week. I wish I could say how President Obama capi-talized on Romney’s boneheaded 47% remarks and knocked it out

tHe RepubLican

poLiticaL coLumn

Last Wednesday’s debate marked a major turnaround for Mitt Romney’s campaign. Whether you are a Democrat or Republican, it is obvious that Barack Obama suffered a defeat. Last week’s debate was all about setting the tone for what is becoming a full-on horse race for the 2012 presidential election. This goes especially for the first half-hour of the debate, which was dominated by Mitt Romney.

As I stated in last week’s Warrior, Romney needed to be more assertive and take a stronger stance against the President’s campaign, like he did with Newt Gingrich, if he wanted to win. This is exactly what he did. Romney appeared to be confident, practiced, and at ease throughout the match. He actively criticized the President and promoted his ideas effectively. He ap-peared balanced, and dare I say, even more presidential than what seemed to be a very lethargic president.

Obama may have been stressed out trying to bal-ance an effective campaign while governing a country, but his lack of preparation showed. The entire time, Obama was on the defense, a position that can never

lead to victory. His performance was dull and weak. In his dry, slow, and cautious responses, he seemed to be overshad-owed by Romney’s confidence.

The purpose of last week’s debate was to set a strong base

There ’s a s to rm a b rewin ’by JeFFRey maRtin

opinion

The Weather Channel has decided to start naming winter storms to communicate and spread the word about the storms. This decision was made to help people tell the difference between normal winter weather and bliz-zards and other dangerous winter storms. Personally, I think it is a great idea because most people confuse normal weather with blizzards, and that is not a good thing. Some people last year did not hear about the potentially

dangerous weather and they end-ed up paying the price for that.

I think the names are actually pretty interesting and somehwhat funny. They are based on mythol-ogy, historical emperors, and even the Broadway express train Q. The Weather Channel picked the name Q for the letter “q” since when they went through the alphabet, they said they couldn’t figure out what else to put, so they put down Q. One storm name is Euclid after the mathematician from ancient Greece who is better known as the father of geometry. Another is

named Brutus after a Roman Sen-ator and Julius Caesar’s assassin. The final name for all the storms is Zeus, the supreme ruler of Mount Olympus and the gods who lived there in ancient Greek mythology.

I am hoping that Zeus hits the United States this year and is a very strong winter storm with lighting, heavy rain, heavy hail, and of course, heavy snow. Athe-na will most likely be early in the season and be a very light storm, causing no serious damage. But if we have a winter season like the United States had last year, there

will likely be about ten serious storms, which will bring us to Jove (the English word for Jupiter), the Roman god of light and sky. It will be very interesting to see the reac-tion of critics to this new naming system this winter storm season.

of the park on Wednesday night. But, I can’t. Fellow Democrats, President Obama lost the first Presidential Debate by a land-slide to Governor Mitt Romney. Not that this is news to anyone.

Everyone and their brother tuned in for the butt-kicking of a lifetime, but it went the opposite way than expected. Obama just did a lousy job. And yes, Mittens completely flip-flopped on his points, and yes, he lied, and yes, he contradicted himself faster than it takes Bill O’Reilly to insult an en-tire race, but the point is, Obama never argued. Obama never pointed out the contradictions; Obama never pointed out the lies; Obama never even brought up the 47% comments!

We missed the chance to really take a big lead in this election. Frankly, I think it’s a little crazy that the former editor of the Harvard Law Review has to even compete against a man who be-lieves in magic under-wear, but this is what this country has come to.

Even though we got hit hard, Obama just needs to wipe the dirt off his shoulder and pre-pare for the next debate.

POLITICAL CARTOONBy Lex Alston

6 October 12, 2012 The WarriorEntertainment

Is “LWWY” the new “YOLO”?

If one were to think back to two months ago, America’s pop music was flooded with the usual likes of fun, Maroon 5 and Justin Bieber, or essentially the same people we have heard in the past year and years before. However, four hundred mil-lion YouTube views and a number two billboard hit later, K-Pop or Korean pop artist PSY is the new most talked about thing in music with his hit “Gangnam Style.” All it took was a flashy Korean man in sunglasses coupled with one of the most simple dance crazes to be seen in years. Yes, the dance move PSY is doing is supposedly the act of riding an invisible horse, and he rode that invisible horse from the generally ignored Gaon charts of Korea all the way to the top of the U.S. charts and iTunes playlists.

It is amazing, to say the least, that such a song could get this popular in America when maybe four words of the entire song are in English. At first glance it seems obvious to attribute the success of

“Gangnam Style” to the video, which has certain likeability to its random nature. But the song’s audio track only, foreign as it may be, has managed to climb its way to the number one spot on iTunes and get more and more airplay on pop radio stations. At this point, I feel a translation is necessary.

The words “Gangnam Style” refers to a neighborhood in Seoul, South Korea that can be compared to Beverly Hills. Essentially, Gangnam is the place where the wealthy youth of South Korea go to party. The rest of the song’s lyrics don’t differ much from what we are exposed to here, after transla-tion. Also, like most pop artists today, PSY spends most of the song seemingly hitting on a girl he says is “warm as the day” and then gives himself simi-lar compliments to show how much they have in common.

Other interesting lines in-clude PSY addressing the fact that he doesn’t necessarily have

the pop star physique saying that he has “bulging ideas, not bulging muscles.” Whatever these bulg-ing ideas are is up to individual interpretation. My favorite line comes during the second verse. In Korean, it is pronounced “Keopi shikgido jeone wonsyas ttaerineun sana-i” and it loosely translates to PSY bragging to a girl that he “one shots his coffee before it cools down.” This shows that true men don’t need to brag about their money or women but just about at what speed and temperature they drink their coffee. Surprisingly enough this is the second mention of coffee in the song after PSY compliments a girl, telling her that she is one who “enjoys the freedom of a cup of coffee.” Frankly these don’t sound like chart topping lyrics, but that just goes to show how powerful a catchy tune and dance can be.

After reading the translation to the lyrics of today’s hit song one cannot be more perplexed of how this song became one of, if not the, biggest song of the year. Lets not

forget that “Gangnam Style” had to get to the top of Korea’s Gaon chart before it got onto billboard. It definitely wasn’t just because of the music accompaniment, which mostly consisting of the same riff repeating at different volumes throughout the entire song. No, even after looking at whatever meaning there is in the lyrics, the success of “Gangam Style” goes back to the strange charm of the music video. All that being said, one can imagine the legend of “Gangnam Style” will live on.

by James azzaRetti enteRtainment

A Reflection on “Gangnam Style”

Sold out tours worldwide, millions of screaming fans, and number one hits to boot. One Direction has taken America by storm.

Part of the recent British Invasion (which includes The Wanted, Cher Lloyd, Ellie Gould-ing, Taio Cruz, Jessie J, Calvin Harris, Ed Sheeran and a few more), these five boys (Harry Styles, 18, Zayn Malik, 19, Louis Tomlinson, 21, Niall Horan, 19 and Liam Payne, 19) have been living the dream after they were thrown together on the seventh season of the X Factor (UK) in 2010. All five band members originally auditioned as solo performers, but were put together by judge Simon Cowell who thought they would do better as a group act. Styles came up with their band name because he thought it would sound good when announced to audiences. Surprisingly, however, they did not even win in the group category. In fact, they weren’t even the runners-up. They placed third. However, that didn’t stop One Direction from becoming the next big thing!

I was extremely fortunate to get tickets to go see One Direction when they came to the Palace Theater last February. That was when they were only an opening act for American

boyband Big Time Rush and performed only five songs. Even then, they were popular because as I looked around the theater, the number of One Direction posters was equal or possibly even greater than the number of Big Time Rush posters held up by fans. The theater was literally bouncing as all the fans were danced along to their carefree music.

If you’re thinking about going to see them soon, you might be out of luck. Almost all of their tour dates set in 2013 sold out in minutes, so you’re just going to have to wait by the phone and hope you get lucky with some of One Direction’s radio contests.

One Direction’s most recent song, “Live While We’re Young” (or also referred to as “LWWY”), in my opinion, is their response to the phrase that has been used by almost every teenager this summer: “YOLO”. “YOLO”, which originated from the song “The Motto” by Drake feat. Lil Wayne, means you only live once, and encourages carefree living. Personally, I think “LWWY” is a much bet-ter way to go through life than the fact that you only live once, because for some reason, “YOLO” seems to justify crazy, foolish, or even dangerous actions. We high school students now just have to wait and see if this new catchphrase from one of the most popular bands in the world gains traction and gives today’s adolescents a new motto to live by.

by iRene KuLbiDa

enteRtainment

Music: God Speed You! Black Em-peror, Mika

Movies: Paranormal Activity 4, Books: The Secret Keeper by Kate Mor-

ton, Outliers by Malcolm GladwellVideo Games: Worms Revolution, Roll-

erCoaster Tycoon 3D

Your Weekly Entertainment Fix

Photo Credit / Irene Kulbida

news.com.au

One Direction performing at the Palace Theater back in February 2012. The band currently has a spot on the charts with the song “Live While We’re Young,” which carries a catchphrase comparable to the popu-lar motto, “YOLO,” or “You Only Live Once.”

Korean pop sensation PSY demon-strating the “Gangnam Style” dance, in which one pretends to ride a horse.

7October 12, 2012The Warrior Sports

W a r r i o r s a l l t h e w a yby Jenny cascino

spoRts

What more could you ask for in a school sports season than players ready to compete, good attitudes brought both to on-field play and team activities off the field, and an 11-0-0 record to boot? Not much, as the Niska-yuna Girls Varsity soccer team is quickly realizing. In all statistical senses, Niskayuna’s 2012 squad remains the unheralded leader amongst other teams in their

league this season. The girls, who currently stand in first place in the Section II Suburban Council North Division as the only team in the Council still harboring a clean record, were of late ranked second in New York State by the NYS Sportswriter’s Association, and last week topped maxpreps.com’s national listing of the best girls teams in the nation as the eleventh-ranked team in the United States. With a collective 39 goals, the majority of which have come from the dynamic scoring duo heading the Silver Warriors’ offensive line in junio Meghan Doyle and senior Anka Parzych (think Alex Morgan and Abby Wambach!), 39 assists, and 43 saves by goalie Kristin Hart-lage, the numbers seem to speak leagues as to the bright things in store for this young team of girls.

Numbers are not the only things

that make teams. The numbers which statistically capture a pic-ture of teams’ offensive might and defensive prowess in goal may not even exist, or come to a team as effectively as they do, were it not foremost for their chemistry and cohesiveness as a unit, a surro-gate family of sorts, both in prac-tice, in games, and off the soccer pitch entirely. Kayleigh Gurney, a new senior forward and member of the squad this fall season, said it best when noting of her fellow

soccer squad-mates, “As with any great team, the chemistry proves just as important as the talent. And we have both. Our team is continuing to work on both aspects and has had a lot of fun doing it! I can’t think of many things I’d rather do than hang out with my Nisky teammates on the soccer field.” Whether through pasta parties, pre-game rituals, warm-up circles, or dress-up days before games against the most noted of the Silver Warrior rivals, “this Niskayuna team has come to feel closer than ever,” As a senior central-midfielder, I cannot say enough good things about our team. First off, I’m so proud of the girls this year. A lot of the younger members have truly stepped up both as technically-skilled leaders on the field and as active members of our team’s ongoing good chem-istry! Additionally, everyone has

been con-tributing to the suc-cess of our team, ev-ery mem-ber of our squad is vital to us function-ing as a whole, and I cannot i m a g i n e my senior s e a s o n w i t h o u t any one o f these girls! For sure, I’m going to miss them loads next year.

There is no doubt amongst any of the players, coaches, or teams of the Suburban Council league that this dynamic mix of raw, technical talent, aggression and competitive spirit, positive attitude, and a commitment to team will prove anything but a recipe for soccer success for the Niskayuna girls this season. Bethlehem, Shenendehowa, and Saratoga––teams which have traditionally given Niskayuna varsity soccer the most trouble

in the regular and postseasons alike––had to pay painful witness to what a spectacle this heady mix can truly be throughout the first half of the season, falling to the Silver Warriors with respective

scores of 3-1, 3-1, and 2-0 after generally dominant performances on the part of their opponent. With only five games remaining in regular season play (one a night game rematch against the Shenendehowa squad at home on Tuesday, October 9, which should prove to be a truly competi-tive, hearty matchup), Suburban Council girls soccer fans will soon see if this combination can endure the onset of both a cold autumn as well as the Section II Postsea-son Tournament, slated to begin October 24 after the official end of

league play across the state. The Niskayuna girls have not made it past the Sectional Tourna-ment’s semifinals in nearly half a decade. But this may be the year the Warriors go all the way.

Photo Credit / Jenny CascinoSTAND YOUR GROUND: Senior Jenny Cascino (8) and junior Maddie Karafanda (3) position themselves to gain possession of the ball in a match against Burnt Hills.

Photo Credit / Jenny CascinoBREAK IN THE ACTION: Niskayuna’s senior soccer players stand for a picture. From left to right: Liz Farley, Anka Par-zych, Allie Shea, Jenny Cascino, Iuli Parzych, Kayleigh Gurney Olivia Jaquith.

Photo Credit / Jenny CascinoBACK OF THE NET: The team celebrates with junior Megan Doyle, who just put one in the back of the net.

October 12, 2012 The WarriorSports

Sc

he

du

le

an

d S

co

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s Football

10/5 @ ShakerLost 34-48

10/12 vs. Schenectady

Boys Soccer

10/2 vs. MohonasenWon 4-0

10/16 vs. Burnt Hills

Girls Soccer

10/4 @ MohonasenWon 3-0

10/16 @ Burnt Hills

Girls Tennis

10/4 vs. BethlehemLost 4-5

Girls Volleyball

10/2 vs. BethlehemLost 2-3

Girls Field Hockey

10/17 @ Bethlehem

Cross Country

10/16 Home Dual Meet

8

Don’t forget to recycle this issue when you finish reading it!

Tennis ends season 9-1by JacLyn camugLia

spoRts

Last Friday afternoon, the Niskayuna Girls’ Varsity Tennis Team faced off against Bethlehem for the last game of their incred-ible season. Both teams were undefeated and the clash of these elite teams produced a competitive spirit that made the match truly exciting to watch. Unfortunately, Bethlehem won by a narrow margin of 5 to 4. Christina Battiste, a senior on the team, stated, “It is disappointing to come so close and then lose, but this season has been amazing and we have accomplished so much more than we could have ever hoped for!”

Despite this heart breaking loss, the Niska-yuna Girls Varsity Ten-nis Team can hold their heads high after playing an amazing season and ending with an almost per-fect record of 9-1. When asked about the team’s season this year, junior Alyssa Frost said, “This season for the Niskayuna Girls Varsity Tennis was amazing. I am so proud of our team. We were a young team going into this season yet we managed to come together at crucial moments. We pulled out many wins and had an almost perfect season.”

Remarkably, Niskayuna’s first doubles team of senior captain Eunu Song and junior Sarah Connolly, as well as second singles player and freshman Nisha Detchprohm both had undefeated individual records. Song and Connolly are thus the top girls doubles pair in Section II, and Detchprohm the best second-seeded singles player. Con-nolly said, “This season was so unexpected; as a young team, we pretty much accepted the fact that this year was for improving. But each unpredicted win boosted our confidence in ourselves and in each other. I would not trade any moment of the season for anything.”

Sophomore Annie Phillips, Niskayuna’s first seeded singles player, agreed with this sentiment and said, “After four years of being on this team I can honestly say that this has been my favorite year. This season has been amazing, not only for me, but for the whole team. When the season started I was really nervous, the team was so young so I wasn’t sure how everything would play out. But after beating Guilderland I knew it was going to be a great season.” Phillips also ended the season with a successful individual record of 8-2. She had a notable victory over Beth-lehem senior Jamie Rosen, who had previ-ously beaten Emily Laurilliard, Niskayuna’s

former number one, for the past two years. Now that the season has come to an end,

the girls look forward to sectionals with eagerness and anticipation, as well as next season. Even though many skilled seniors will not be returning for next year, includ-ing senior captains Eunu Song and Sarah Taub, the team has many young players who will be returning with the hopes of having another incredible season. Another year can only help these young players improve their games, and help out the team in a big way. Congratulations to the girls on their impres-sive season and best of luck at sectionals!

Photo Credit / Pang FrostPICTURE PERFECT: Niskayuna’s girls tennis team pauses for a photo prior to a match at Central Park. Not pictured here is freshman Val Lutt-man.