TWh e a rrio a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly ...web.niskyschools.org/warrior/issues/2007_2008/Issue03...TWh e a rrio r Niskayuna High School October 5, 2007 Volume

The WarriorNiskayuna High School October 5, 2007 Volume 34, Issue 3

a student-run publication since 1974, now weekly

Schoo l o f f e r s pe rmi t t e s t

Whales in space: practical?page 5

Heroes season premiere,page 6

Girls swim team makes a splash,page 8

Nisky students featured in musical

by Archith MurAli

News

Starting next week, the Niskayuna High School will start a program that enables its students to get their learner’s permit in the school. There will be no need to go all the way to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to take the test. Instead, students can take it inside computer lab. This is a New York State initiative, and many schools have adopted it along with NHS. This has been made possible due to the work of NHS with the DMV. This collaboration between the NHS and the DMV began at the end of last year. The

DMV contacted the high school administra-tion and asked whether the school would be interested in creating a system for obtaining a driver’s permit at the high school. Mark Treanor, the Dean of Students, researched the subject, and consulted with the media center and computer lab technicians. After a lot of thought, the high school decided to go ahead with the project, due in large part to the hard work of Treanor and Arlene Shee-han, who works in the Mac computer lab. Under this system, a student will set up an appointment with Sheehan to take the test. Sheehan herself will have the sign-up sheet. Two days will be set aside during the week for administering the test, which will take place in the Mac lab. This way, students can take the test in their free periods. This pro-cedure is Web-based, and only Treanor and Sheehan have access to the Website. There are 25 multiple-choice questions. If a stu-dent passes, he or she will be given a ticket. The student then has to go the DMV and exchange the ticket for a learner’s permit. “The permit is actually given by the DMV, and not the high school,” stated Treanor. He will be handing out driving manuals and packets, which will hopefully help most stu-

dents make the passing grade. The students who fail can always retake the test. “There are a lot of advantages with this procedure, and any disadvantages are out-weighed,” said Treanor. The test is free of cost for the school and the students. More-over, anyone who is old enough to take the test may do so. This includes students who have gotten suspensions or who are getting bad grades. The test also saves a lot of time for students. “They don’t need to go all the way to the DMV, and then wait in a long line,” said Treanor. The only disadvantage of this program is that a lot of time and effort was needed to create the program. Long hours put in by Sheehan and Treanor made this plan pos-sible. “It was a lot of work, but as long as it will help our students, we’ll do it,” said Treanor. The program will run for as long as students want it to run. “We’ll see how the response is, and based on that we will make any changes or adjustments that are necessary,” said Treanor. This program will undoubtedly prove to be beneficial for stu-dents who are interested in getting learner’s permits without all of the frustration that is inherently a part of the DMV.

by terry spiNelli

News

Several talented Niskayuna High School students performed at Proctors two weeks ago as part of a Syracuse Civic Theatre stage production of the popular movie “High School Musical.” The staged version remained true to the love story of a brainiac girl and a basketball team captain, adding even more singing and

dancing. Performances were on Saturday and Sunday, 22 and 23 September. Auditions for the musical were held back in June. “It was pretty intense,” said senior Stephanie Chow, “We had to do a dance combination and sing a song of our choice. There were five people also trying out and two judges in the room.” All of the Niskayuna students

were cast as members of one of the stereotypical cliques in the show. Cliques that made their appear-ance included cheerleaders, nerds and jocks. High school students who performed in the musical in-clude seniors Eliza Kalm, Stepha-nie Chow, Holly Dykstra, Victoria Fulton, Samantha Dejohn, and Buddy Baglow,

continued on page three

[junior]Photo / www.proctors.org

Photo / www.DMV.org/New-York

Inside this issue...

2 October 5, 2007 The WarriorNews

Student spends summer in Ghana

AFS teacher travels from Chinaby AlisoN sNyder

News

The staff of Niskayuna High School was recently joined by a visiting American Field Service teacher from China. The Chinese teacher, Kohler Shi, has been in the United States for one month and plans to remain in the country for the remainder of the school year. Shi is from the Nanjing Foreign Language School in China, where he teaches English to children ages 12 to 16. He is alone in the U.S., although he has a wife Marina, and a 19-month-old son, Marco, at home in China. Marina is an English teacher as well, and the family enjoys speaking English at home. Shi loves traveling, jogging and reading, and he is interested in social studies and many other subjects. For this reason, he is taking a French II course during his time at the high school. In an interview, Shi spoke of the AFS program. “AFS is short for American Field Service, a non-government, non-profit, international program. It was founded 40 years ago. After two world wars, some Americans realized that the inefficient cultural exchange is the cause of wars and hate. So they sold their ambulances in Europe to start a fund, which supports sending volunteers to countries different from their own cultures. It is definitely good for peace and progress.” The AFS sends many teachers and students to different countries every year. “These experiences [in the program] help me with learning English and give me a broader perspective,” Shi stated. So far, Shi is enjoying his time in America. “I’ve been to the Big

Apple,” he said. “I spent an afternoon at the Metropolitan museum.” However, he still wants to visit Washington D.C. and Boston. While Shi is in Niskayuna though, he wishes to experience and see what it has to offer. “Students here [are] truly nice. So are the teachers and staff,” he commented. Shi also stated that he greatly appreciates the American hospitality. “Lots of people have helped me. The only thing I can do is work hard.” Shi also hopes to teach students in Niskayuna about the Chinese culture, including Chinese characters, history, school, festivals and cuisine. “I will try my best to introduce Chinese culture to you,” he said. Shi has already made one presentation on China’s geography to Rosemary Hirota-Morris’ global history class and will be presenting in other classes later this year. He would also “like to observe teaching here, compare and contrast it with the Chinese system.”

by beN cutler News

While most high school students spent their summer by the pool, Kayla Herrington spent part of her summer in the African nation of Ghana. Herrington, a senior at Niskayuna High School, and a team of 30 students traveled there as part of the American Field Service (AFS). During the month of July, Herrington helped out in an orphanage and worked specifically with a class of 20 children, ages 4 to 6.

AFS is a worldwide organization that specializes in exchange programs for high school students. Approximately 1500 students are involved in their programs each year, and AFS heads exchanges in 40 countries. Students get the chance to travel, experience life in a foreign country first hand and help create a better world through community service. Herrington worked in an orphanage teaching young children the English alphabet and how to count in English. While there, Her-rington did not live in a hotel but rather experienced the day-to-day existence by living with a family who had no electricity or running water.

Herrington’s work in the orphanage was a demanding volunteering experience. Each day, she would get up and travel to the orphanage. This required taking a taxi to

the bus stop, where she met the other volunteers. Then they would commute on a “tro-tro,” a local term for a mini-bus. At the orphanage, her chores made her part teacher and part sum-mer camp counselor. She would teach, play and eat lunch with her students. She spent the morning playing for two hours and then she taught them letters and numbers in English. After lunch, they played soccer, which is a huge sport in Ghana. There was time for a little more learning in afternoon before Herrington returned to her host family in the evening. Working at the orphanage could be difficult at times. Herrington recalled certain experiences that were challenging for an American teen to deal with, such as poverty and sexual harassment.

The orphanage where Herrington worked had approximately 140 children in it. The children all had different reasons for being there, but one thing was clear—all of them had no parents. About 40 of them lived with relatives but the other 100 children were not so lucky as to have the support of extended family. They had no one to live with and relied on the orphanage for their food, clothing and shelter.

For Herrington, AFS was a life-changing

experience. Traveling to a foreign country was truly enlightening for her and she is a bit wiser because of it. Herrington said, “If kids have the opportunity to do this, they should definitely do it.”

Warrior Photo / Chris Nelson

AFS TEACHER: Kohler Shi recently came to the U.S. to observe the American school system.

Warrior Photo / Chris NelsonGoing to Ghana: Senior Kayla Herrington traveled to Ghana this summer. There, she worked in an orphan-age and taught children how to speak English.

3October 5, 2007The Warrior News

Students take part in local HSM showcontinued from page one

[baglow]junior Michael Whitney, and fresh-men Cassandra Coppola, Andrew Downey, Allie Ferraro and Cameron Kwiatkowski. The show required a great deal of time and effort from the performers as soon as rehearsals started in August, according to Kalm, who played a cheerleader. “In the beginning it was every Sunday for about six hours, if you were in both [of two] casts. In the week leading up to the show there was rehearsal on Thursday night and all day Friday from 9:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night. On Saturday we had to get there early and rehearse until the show with breaks for lunch and dinner.” When school began in September, the performers had to balance their demanding rehearsing schedule with homework and other commitments. “It was really hard to manage my time,” said Chow, who played a brainiac, “but I think it helped with time

management.” Kalm commented that she enjoyed perform-ing on the newly expanded stage at Proctors, and both she and Chow enjoyed the fast dance numbers and making new friends. One difference between this production and a Niskayuna High School musical was that

the cast of “High School Musical” generally did not know each other before the show. For Kalm, who performed in “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” and “Beauty and the Beast”, a highlight of the musical was “being in a musi-cal production with people I didn’t know. It was a great experience.”

Photo Courtesy / Stephanie Chow

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! : NHS Students Eliza Kalm, Stephanie Chow, Holly Dykstra, Victoria Fulton, Samantha Dejohn, Buddy Baglow, Michael Whitney, Cassandra Coppola, Andrew Downey, Allie Ferraro and Cameron Kwiat-kowski performed recently in a HSM show at Proctors.

Two NHS students call Japan homeby AtosA GhAsripoor

News

This year two Niskayuna High School seniors went to Japan with the American Field Service (AFS). Lora Colose and Chris Fallis are going to school within an hour of each other on the southernmost Japanese Island, Kyushu. Fallis is currently staying with a large host family in Fukuoka, which is north of Colose’s home in Nichi-nan, Miyazaki.

The two students are both avid anime fans, which Colose’s moth-er, Barbara of the art department, says, “is really what got them into it.” Both Colose and Fallis are Anime Club co-presidents, but their love for the country which spawned the phenomenon grew over time. Lauren Powzyk, a good friend of both students, said “Chris’s Japanese is very good.” Others in anime club have called Chris ‘almost fluent.’ Colose, as well, took Japanese lessons with a tutor, which she honed in a six week stay in Japan last year with AFS. Powzyk accompanied

Colose on this trip, which she found to be an amazing experi-ence. All three students praise the AFS program. “We loved it. Of course Lora has used it twice now. It’s very personal and close, the program allows you to feel at home,” Powzyk stated.

School in Japan is another mat-ter. Fallis has been very busy with his schedule. The long commute to the high school he is attend-ing has been tiring. The private institutions both students attend are very strict. Colose’s school forbids makeup, jewelery, fake nails, and hair deemed to be too long. Fallis was also made to cut his hair. “He was so proud of it!” said Powzyk. Mandatory for almost all Japanese schools are the uniforms, which Colose says she doesn’t mind much.

The school year starts in Febru-ary for Japanese students, which became a slight problem when Colose arrived according to the American school plan. “The lan-guage itself is a little overwhelm-ing for her at times, especially dur-

ing lessons” said Barbara Colose. Apparently Colose regularly calls her mother just to be able to speak Eng-lish again. Stu-dents at Colose’s school who are taking English (a required course in Japanese schools) are often too shy to practice their skills with her. Both students were at first very homesick (feelings they have little time for now, with their busy schedules) but have become accustomed to their new host families. Fallis’ host family is large, with five children. Bar-bara Colose tells of how funny her daughter found her family and school friends’ reactions to her fair skin and hair, something uncommon Japan.

Overall, Colose has been hav-ing a wonderful time. Her host mother, a traditional Japanese housewife, has already taken the

liberty of buying and dressing Colose in a surprisingly expensive silk kimono, worth well over six thousand dollars. An exchange trip takes careful planning, which included (for Colose) taking the most important classes in her junior year in order to avoid having to redo her senior year. Both Colose and Fallis intend to continue their study of Japan next fall. Colose plans to pursue East Asian studies in College. It’s obvious that an exchange trip is extremely important to these students. As Barbara Colose said, “You learn so much, It’s definitely worth it.”

http://ale.physics.sunysb.edu

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.

The WarriorNiskayuna High School, 1626 Balltown Road, Niskayuna, NY, 12309

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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 October 5, 2007 The WarriorOpinion

Editor-in-Chief:Elizabeth HeldManaging Editor:Christopher NelsonNews:Vanessa Lobo, EditorJulie Slotnick, EditorSteven Tang, EditorDiane Kim, Asst. Casey Mullaney, Asst.Helen Willis, Asst.

Opinion:Kaela Bamberger, EditorSam Grondahl, EditorJenna Lohre, Asst.

Sports:Aaron Staudinger, EditorJoeseph Schwendler, EditorRachele Marra, EditorMatt Grifferty, Asst.

Entertainment:Lauren Niedbalec, EditorSohail Syed, EditorCaitlyn Norling, Asst.Magazine:R.J. Kosineski, EditorSarah Barry, EditorKatie Nottke, EditorJacob Finkle, Asst.John Qiao, Asst.Stefan Dosch, Asst.

Additional Staff:Jonathan Warczak, Copy EditorJoanne Qiao, Copy EditorBrian Vedder, Business ManagerRoshal Patel, Web ManagerSam Grondahl, Distribution ManagerAdvisers:James EdgarRussell McDowell

by MeGAN sweeNey

opiNioN

Recently, while driving in the car, I’ve been noticing a lot of election signs popping up. Election Day is still a month away, but there are many election signs for various candi-dates, and many have already been up for a while. Within a drive from my house to the high school I counted 39 election signs. So if someone commutes even ten miles round trip to work or school each day, he or she would see about 650 signs in a typical work or school week. Imagine that.

It’s not that I have a problem with people expressing their opinions about who they want to represent their town, state, or country. I mean, that is one of the main principles on which our country is founded, the freedom of speech. Of course, simply voting for someone without filling your lawn with signs gets the same point across, that you are in favor of that particular candidate’s views. Election signs make a perfectly nice yard look ugly. They interrupt the natural beauty with plastic and metal concoctions that may not even be effective.

I think that the main point of election signs, other than expressing a personal opinion, is to make a person’s favorite candidate’s name well-known. If people see a name enough times, maybe when they go to vote they will pick that candidate just because of the fa-

miliarity. If this is what actually happens, there is something is really wrong with our democracy and way of voting. People who

really care about their votes will, at the very least, see what the candidate’s ideas and values are. Whether they get this information from a newspaper, the internet or a flyer, they are actively involved in choosing who will best govern them. Why would election signs sway their carefully constructed views? It seems like election signs are promoting voters to make an uninformed vote rather than one well thought out.

The uninformed voter is the kind of person whom election signs are trying to influence. This should not be the type of voting that our country is encouraging.

People who take voting seriously don’t become influenced by election signs. They would do some research and formulate their own opinions. In the end, very few people are actually influenced in their voting by the mil-lions of election signs, not to mention the fact that they are unflattering to the lawn. So why are there so many of them? It seems strange to think that voters are being encouraged to make uninformed decisions, but I think that this is exactly what election signs are trying to promote.

Presumptuous election signs

by JereMy rockMAcher

opiNioN

It is an obvious fact to any-one that attempts to traverse the halls between classes this year that the high school is overcrowded. This only exac-erbates the problem of commu-nal sickness: when you share your surroundings with a large amount of people, sickness spreads like wildfire. Walking through the halls promotes a level of personal contact gener-ally reserved for sappy romantic comedies, and I can hardly

count the number of times that someone has sneezed or coughed way too close to my personal bubble. Of course the number of people who are sick at any given time is large in any community, but did you have to come to school with whoop-ing cough, boy with a terrible haircut? And you, girl with too much mascara, do your parents not understand how contagious pneumonia is?

Last year, I had the flu twice. TWICE! Trust me, I understand that it’s hard to catch up on

your work when you’ve been absent, but think of the misery that you’re spreading when you come into school sick as a dog. That’s really a terrible expres-sion. I mean, how many sick dogs do you know? But in all seriousness, no one appreci-ates you spreading around your contagions while sneezing your way through math class. You know how you sit in the front row, and have to pass all of those papers back? Well, now everyone behind you is going to catch strep throat because you

had to cough on them. When you’re sick, use your

common sense and be courte-ous to everyone around you. Cover your mouth when you cough, sneeze into a tissue, and don’t come into school when you’re temperature could reheat the school lunches. Trust me, we’d all love to give you a wide berth in the halls, but I’ve gotten too unintention-ally friendly with the people around me already. And, for the record boy with too many tacky T-shirts, I saw you wipe your nose on your sleeve.

Keep your germs to yourself

Warrior art/ Kaela Bamberger

5 October 5, 2007The Warrior Opinion

ALL OPINIONS expressed on the op-ed pages represent the individual viewpoints of their authors. The content does not neces-sarily represent the views of The Warrior, the high school, the school district, or the Board of Education.

by sAM GroNdAhl

opiNioN

There has been a great deal of controversy throughout past years over the death penalty, controversy that will not ever be ultimately resolved inasmuch, as the cause for conflict is ideological in na-ture. That is, the tangible costs and benefits are so in-significant and scientifically contested that they cannot be used as legitimate justifica-tions for the policy.

Nonetheless, many will still claim that the death penalty has deterrent, or even brutal-izing effects. But Donohue and Wolfers’ 2006 study pro-vides evidence sufficient to de-rail either of these arguments. As they point out, statistical evidence which varies enough to be precisely analyzed, is not available in a United States context, for the number of state sponsored killings receiving public attention is too small to be significant. Moreover, studies which com-pare homicide rates with the

number of public executions over a given time period fail to recognize that the deter-rence effect would not be ap- plicable to violent

crimes which do not car-

ry with

t h e m the pos-s i b i l i t y o f death. Finally, the lack of puni-tive certainty almost always means that an of-fender will not consider the severity of the punishment (if caught) while committing the crime.

So how can utility be added to a seemingly pointless pun-ishment? For one, to clearly define which punishments function retributively with respect to each crime would seem to make the punishment certain and thus deter future

offenders. But this relies on two assumptions that will al-most always be faulty in real world applications.

First, the state is expected to act in accordance with the codified rules, though as an institution it can never be held to such standards.

More importantly, this plan fails to recognize extenuating circumstances that would

either render the punish-ment unfair or would

prevent all state ac-tion insofar as it

would have to cons ider

i n f i -

n i t e e x c e p -tions when writing the law. The list goes on, but at its core this d e -bate is one of fundamental ideology. Opponents will

Death: a conflict of ideologiesmake claims about evolution-ary morality and every indi-vidual having agency while proponents will posit that in committing the crime the felon has surrendered his or her rights and agency.

All such arguments neglect the fact that all conceptions of the good are predicated upon first principles, which are in turn unfounded. Notions of justice are established as static and definite when in reality such conceptions diametrically oppose it. In truth, it is the vast and empty antinomy that is, in itself, justice. The empty form is the only accurate conception of justice and right, and thus justice is a procedure.

In that vein, any state action is justified in that it takes

place. The only actions that can be said to be (po-

tentially) unjust are ones that are never taken. Any even then it is a stretch. Therefore, if the state makes use of the death penalty it is always-already justified. And in that sense, the debate is settled.

Whales in space? I think not!by duNcAN MAclAury

opiNioN

Whales are justifiably noble creatures. They exude confi-dence and passion with their every flipper stroke. But, for all their excellent qualities (both stated and unstated), they are not made for space travel.

The recent decision by the head administrator of NASA, Michael Griffin, to involve whales more fully in space travel has been heralded by many as a genius step in ad-vancing whale equality. “Why shouldn’t whales have the same rights as us?” asked one vocal supporter of the new NASA measure. A fair ques-tion to be sure, but a question easily answered by those of

us who are more in tune with whale biology than Griffin’s supporters.

Whales are the largest mam-mals on the Earth and sending them into space would just be disastrous. We, as humans, take for granted that whales can not properly steer a vehicle of any size; the command of a space shuttle in the hands (or fins) of a whale would be predetermined without giving whales the proper training required. And that brings up another point: The cost of sending whales into space would be astronomical!

Training of these space whales alone would be in the millions of dollars range. If we were to train, outfit and equip

space craft so that whales can more easily be sent into space, the entire budget for NASA would be allocated to this one project for the next 10 years.

It also can’t be stressed enough that the main prob-lem with sending whales into space is not the high cost or the anti-whale rights activists; no, the main problem would be filling up the space craft with hundreds of thousands of gallons of water (as well as the various microbiological organisms that would exist in a whale’s natural environment). This added water weight to any existing space craft would cause the immediate abortion of the mission considering the

fact that water is really, really heavy. The engines needed to carry the weight of the watery space craft would in turn need engines of their own to carry their weigh.

Simply put, whales are not equipped with the proper tools, and neither are we as humans, to send whales into space. While some may call it discrimination, I would argue that in reality it is simply a fact that can not be argued against if one looks at all the details with a clear mind.

Warrior Art / Sam

Grondahl

6

Orchestra performance outstandingby terry spiNelli

eNtertAiNMeNt

The Philadelphia Orchestra gave twelve sparkling concerts during its three weeks in residence this summer at SPAC. The season has something to offer everyone, whether avid fans of orchestral repertoire, enjoyers of dazzling soloists or inclined towards more popular music. Why is it, then, that on many of the beautiful summer nights I spent at SPAC the amphitheater and lawn were pain-fully unfilled?

The season began with a very pleasing performance of the ever-powerful Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, in which four competent solo singers and a large chorus brought the four-movement work to an exciting close. The following night also showcased singers, this time with a medley of Broadway songs. Every summer the Philadelphia Orchestra puts on a “pops” concert to attract concert-goers who would not usually come to a concert of clas-sical music. Last year, this concert was an interesting collection of movie music.

As the season went on, a highlight was certainly the impressive array of soloists. These included violinists Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell, pianists André Watts and

Emanuel Ax and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. All of these spectacular performers brought the audi-ence to their feet, but none incurred such enthusiasm as Yo-Yo Ma’s performance. As if he had known this would be the case, Yo-Yo Ma played both the Shostakovich Cello Concerto No. 1 and the Saint-Saens Cello Concerto No. 1, as opposed to the usual single concerto!

The orchestra itself was consistently radiant in its playing of pieces from the standard orchestral repertoire, and conduc-tor Charles Dutoit inspired musicality from the orchestra with his expressive (and en-tertaining) conducting style. On the subject of entertainment, the famous 1812 Overture had justice done to it this year, especially by the cannons. Sixteen real cannons fired blanks where Tchaikovsky calls for them in the score! Audience members who expected the lame recorded shots of last year or who were unfamiliar with the piece were blasted out of their seats, some screaming in panic. The audience cheered later as SPAC once again rang with the sounds of explosions during the fireworks display following the concert.

Two days later, Berlioz’s Symphonie

Fantastique, a dramatic five-movement work telling the story of a doomed young artist’s obsession with a beautiful woman, brought the season to an exhilarating end. The orchestra paid an incredible amount of attention to de-tail, which led to a very emotional reading of the work. Although the orchestra did perform several twentieth century works throughout the season, a concert focusing on American composers such as Bernstein and Copland would be well-received.

My only wish is that more people our age will be there to experience these concerts next year. For those students who are in the orchestra at school, these summer concerts are a great chance to learn from the best. Whether you are a violinist or a harpist, there is something that every muscision can gain from simply hearing the talent of the Orches-tra. For those who are fans of types of music other than classical, come to try something new. There are few joys comparable to the discovery of a new pleasure. And for those who don’t usually attend concerts, the experience of listening to music as you sit on the lawn and eat something tasty is an experience no one should deprive themselves of.

‘Heroes’ suspenseful success by sAMit dhAriA

eNtertAiNMeNt

The second season of ‘Heroes’ hit the ground running last Tuesday, providing anticipation addled viewers with the dramat-ic and engaging beginning to the new season. The season finale in May left everyone asking many questions, and the newest episode has done nothing but raise a whole lot more.

The episode started off with he lead, Mohinder, giving a lecture about genetic mutations and the possibility for people to do extraordinary things. He recounted that he personally encountered individuals who could stop time or even fly. After his lecture, he’s offered a job by a mysterious man, who we later learn has something like Midas’ touch. Obviously, this ability would remove any financial restrictions on Mohin-der’s research. In an interesting twist we later learn that Mohin-der actually wishes to take the

mysterious company down.We then later learn Claire’s

family has moved to California, where they must live a “normal” life. On Claire’s first day there, she is almost run over by a truck and has to deal with the extremely original dichotomy of choosing to be a “cheerleader” or a “nerd.” She chooses to be a nerd, as per her dad’s request; later in the show she has a breakdown over her conflicting choices. As she weeps we see that a boy from her school is actually hovering outside her second story window watch-ing her.

We also see how Matt Park-man is dealing with the adop-tion of Molly, who can find anyone on the earth. Molly is having recurring nightmares about a certain person, who is portrayed as being more evil than last season’s villain, Sylar. After being informed of this, Matt uses his telepathy to hear part of her nightmare: a man’s

voice telling Molly he can see her. Molly then wakes up crying.

Then we see the story of the character we all came for, Hiro Nakamura. He is in 1671 Japan, and he has to convince legendary emperor, Takezo Kensei, to take his place as a moral emperor. Takezo declines and continues his corrupt ways. No matter how hard Hiro tried, Takezo wouldn’t succumb, and now Hiro believes he has changed the course of the future.

Then we are introduced to 2 new heroes, Maya and Alejandro. They are both on the run because of Maya’s power. We don’t know what it is, but we do know that she kills people uncontrollably. On their way to America, Maya kills even more innocent people, and her brother is comforting her as she cries.

As is apparent, the season pre-miere created a lot of questions that hopefully will be resolved later in this season, which seems to be very promising. The episode

itself was very captivating, and it set the stage for an exciting season to come. For those of you who haven’t seen “Heroes,” I would recommend starting now, while you have only one season to catch up on. With so many questions yet to be answered, we can be sure that it will be a great season.

October 5, 2007 The WarriorEntertainment

image courtesy of www.NBC.com The main Hiro of Hero

7October 5, 2007The Warrior Sports

Warr iors fa l l shor t to Pat r io tsby MAtt liebers

sports

The final score of the loss at Schenectady on Friday night does not reflect the fight the Warriors put up. While the score, 34-21, and the stats do not look very good on paper, Nisky actually played some good football. In front of a massive, loud crowd of Pa-triots fans, Nisky generally held their own, and even took the lead at one point. Many swings in momentum and some big plays by both teams kept the game close for a while, but in the end, Niskayuna’s defense fell apart.

Initially, the Silver Warriors looked pretty rusty after two weeks rest, and Schenectady took advantage of this at first. Schenectady came out with two quick touchdowns, but missed an extra point and failed to convert a two-point conversion, making the score 12-0. Both of these were 20+ yard runs by Shenectady’s Marc Thompson. Nisk-ayuna heated up in the second quarter

following the disappointing opening. On the very next drive, the Warriors drove down the field, and Quarterback Dan Peters sneaked in for a three yard Touchdown. Niskayuna’s best offen-sive spectacle culminated when Chris Okonski beat out his coverage, caught a twenty yard pass, and ran it into the end zone for a touchdown. At this point, Nisky’s offense was clicking, and their defense was holding firm. Gregg Rahn’s two extra points put the Silver Warriors on top at 14-12 at half time. Sadly, this momentum did not carry into the second half, and the Patriots would use what time was left to exploit perhaps Nisky’s biggest weakness.

The turning point occurred in the 3rd quarter when Peters threw an in-terception, halted an offensive drive, and leaved Schenectady with good field position. Schenectady jumped on this opportunity and took control offensive-ly. With the continuing Schenectady rushing attack, the Patriots scored three more times with relatively little interruption. After a disappointing third quarter, the Niskayuna offense did manage seven points in the fourth with a short reception by junior run-ning back Josh Martin. Despite this, the Patriots’ Marc Thompson just could not be stopped. So, it was Thompson who sealed the win with a 72 yard touchdown run. Though the game was not an all out catastrophe, it did destroy any hope of gaining some positive momentum for this season.

After last week’s promising showing against Shaker, there were high hopes for this week’s start. The Silver Warriors defeated the Shaker Blue Bison 40-20 with six touchdowns, and a stifling defense which included two sacks for Nisky senior Jake Newcomb.

The simple fact was that Nisky couldn’t stop the opponent’s running game. In the process of giving up three rushing touchdowns, Nisky allowed op-ponent running back Marc Thompson to break a Schenectady High rushing record for most rushing yards in game. But this isn’t the first time this has hap-pened. In the first game of the season, LaSalle had over 650 offensive yards, 400 of which were rushing. Anyways, this is a problem that has to be fixed, because in truth, Niskayuna has been quite strong in other areas so far this season.

junior Dan Peters, Nisky’s starting quarterback, has been a very strong presence on the field this year, especially when he hooked up with wide receiver senior Chris Okonski. Okonski and Josh Martin are the stars of an extremely po-tent offense this season. Another team leader is center Gary Chrys, a fourth year veteran and captain on the team who was named all-state center last year. Gary is the heart of a very strong offensive line this year, consisting of four seniors and one junior. In addi-tion to Gary, the tough O-line includes tackle Mike Kopecki (Sr.), tackle Max Schuler (Sr.), guard Kyle Florell (Sr.). Pete McGuirck (Jr.) and Mark Gerardo (Sr.) share the right guard position.

The good news is that they still have a chance at making the playoffs if they win their next two games, which is a chance coach Furey and his team will try to make a reality. If the Silver War-riors win the next two games and go 3-3, then they have a chance of making the playoffs. This may sound like a bit of a stretch, but Nisky has a lot going for them. The last two games are both home, and the opponents are Colonie and Columbia, respectively. Regarding the game next week versus Colonie, Chris Okonski said, “It is going to be a tough challenge for us. Colonie is a very good team, but I believe our team is ready to rise to the occasion and keep our playoff hopes alive .” The last game of the season should be the easier of the two, but without some serious defensive improvements, both of these games will be difficult.

Come and watch our Varsity team face off against Colonie at 7 p.m. at home on October fifth. The game against Colonie will also be televised as the “game of the week” on channel three. Colonie is 3-2 with wins against Shaker and Schenectady. The final game will also be home at seven on October 12th against Columbia, and will wrap up the six game regular season. The Columbia game is very winnable for the Warriors because the Blue Devils have not won a Surburban Council game this season. The game against Columbia is also im-portant because it is the homecoming game and it is also senior night for the senior-laden team.

Warrior Photo/Chris Nelson

WALKING THE LINE: The Warriors line up be-fore the game starts.

8

Girls’swim team has eye on future

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9/24 @ Colonie9/25 @ Averill Park9/26 vs. Bethlehem9/27 vs. Columbia

Boys’ Volleyball9/24 vs. Mohonasen L 0-39/26 @ Shaker W 3-29/28 @ Bethlehem W 3-19/29 vs. Guilderland L 1-3

Girls Volleyball9/25 Averill Park W 3-09/27 vs. Columbia W 3-09/29 Colonie Tournament 1st Place

Boys’ Soccer9/25 vs. Guilderland L 0-19/29 vs. Averill Park W 2-1

Field Hockey9/26 vs. Saratoga W 1-0

Girls’ Soccer9/24 vs. Guilderland W 4-09/26 vs. Bethlehem L 0-19/28 vs. Mohonasen W 5-09/29 @ Amsterdam W

by Mike held

sports

The girl’s varsity swim team season started off with a bang this Sunday. The team hosted the first annual Niskayuna Girls Invitational. While few would con-fuse these girls with Goliath, there is no doubt they are extremely talented. The team consists of 14 swimmers, five fresh-men, two sophomores, five juniors, and three seniors.

Led by captain Karoline Hart, the squad is one and four this season. The team would not deny their record leaves something to be desired, but everyone remembers Thomas Edison failed 1000 times before he created the light bulb.

The team did very well at the Niskayuna Invitational. Individual performances were key on Saturday. Freshman Emily Whita-ker placed third in the 100-yard freestyle

with a 56.71. Whitaker also placed third in the 200-yard freestyle with a 2:00.59. Hart won the 100 yard breaststroke with a 1:09.66. Junior McKenna Murphy won the 100-yard butterfly with a time of 1:02.07. Murphy also finished in third place in the 50-yard freestyle. “While the team is small, individual performances have been very good this year,” commented coach Michael Stone, but he didn’t deny that “Having a small team has been our weakness when it comes to relays.”

That weakness wasn’t evident in the 400 yard freestyle relay. The team was

able to finished first by a margin of one second. The team was made up of Karoline Hart, Emily Whitaker, Rachele Marra and McKenna Murphy. They swam a 3:47.09. While the state qualifying time is 3:42.43, the team came away knowing that they put their best foot (or arm) forward.

The pool diving record of 434.95 was shattered by three divers, Kristen Meier, Nicole Borriello and Meghan Coyne, from Valley Central High School in Schaghti-coke.

The diving team was also in the water on Saturday. Freshman Megan McDevitt placed 7th with a score of 290.15 for 11 dives. The meet was the last chance to qualify for states in diving. The state quali-fying score 395.00. The team came in 7th out of 9 teams, but were able to draw some positives from their performance.

With the season certainly not over, the team is starting to look forward to future goals. Freshman Katie Dartt illuminated that, “There have been a lot of girls trying to make state championships this year.” The girls still have time to qualify for state championships. Hart is breathing down on her goal, as she is just .05 seconds away from qualifying in the 100 breaststroke. Murphy is not far away either, just .07 seconds away in the 50 freestyle. Whitaker is slightly more than one second away from qualifying in the 200 freestyle.

With these three in mind, Hart spoke about the team’s overall goals for the rest of the season, “We po-tentially want to send four swimmers to the State swim meet this year,” she said.

The state meet will be November 16-17 in Long Island. And while State’s are the ultimate goal, the team refuses to overlook the obstacles they are currently facing. Hart added

that they “also want to get everyone to Sectionals this year.” Sectionals will be held November 1-3 at RPI.

Closer even than States or Sectionals is the girls’ upcoming home meet against Shen on October 3rd. In the weeks fol-lowing they’ll be put up against Suburban Council foes Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake and Bethlehem, and there’s no doubt that after the somewhat disappointing start they’ll be looking to come out on top.

Warrior photo/Chris Nelson

WATERWORKS: swimmers Karoline Hart, McKenna Mur-phy and Emily Whitaker slice through the water during practice. The three girls and Rachele Marra make up the 400 yard Free relay team, currently ranked first in the sec-tion.

October 5, 2007 The WarriorSports