Volume 65 Issue 4

the

Journal

Since 1946

By and for the students of Guilderland Central High School

Volume 65 Issue 4

Guilderland Center, NY 12085 May 2014

FREE

The 2014 Cultural Fair

The first Cultural Fair without Mrs. Mackey in 28 years is vibrant but bittersweet Mike Zhu

In the last two years, GHS International Club lost its advisory, its mentor, and its hope. Last year’s Cultural Fair gave us strength, but bred fear and uneasiness: would it ever be the same?

Would this year’s fair be able to match last year’s magical phenomenon?

How would this year’s fair be different because of the enormous changes that had affected the International Club?

Would it establish a new era, one hampered by a lack of time and the absence of Mrs. Mackey, but one just as powerful and extraordinary as before?

From what we saw, the 2014 Cultural Fair restored hope to students that this tradition, this triumphant day in early spring, will not falter in the face of difficulty and will emerge only stronger from the ashes.

The 2014 Cultural Fair was characterized by a massive array of booths, dances, foods, songs, attire, and items.

The sides of the new gym were lined with country booths staffed by knowledgeable students and adults, Photo courtesy of Pranav Nayak

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SAT changes Capital District sushi: a comparison Leonard Bopp

Andrew Fedorov and Hayley Chang

Recently, the College Board, the administrator of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), announced major changes to the structure and nature of the exam that will be in effect beginning in 2016. The changes represent a new focus by the College Board on skills that are necessary f or college and related to high school curriculums.

On March 5, 2014, at the press conference announcing the changes to the exam, College Board president David Coleman stated that the SAT had “become disconnected from the work of our high schools.”

The changes could be seen as a response to fierce competition from the ACT, an alternative to the SAT that is more directly linked to high school curriculums. The ACT is increasing in popularity among high school students; last year, more students took t he ACT than the SAT. Indeed, the changes to the exam are comprehensive and thorough. There will be two sections - Evidence-Based Reading and Writing and Mathematics - with an optional essay that will be scored separately.

It is rumored that the California roll was invented sometime between 1983 and 1985 and the concept of sushi quickly spread through the United States and across Europe following the creation of this little delicacy. Before this, in Japan, sushi was something sold in street carts. The trend over the last century in sushi has been the rise of sushi from a mere street game to a level of an actual art with countless participants across each continent. It takes steady hands, creativity, and an unfaltering eye for beauty in order to create this geometrically simple, edible art. Our own humble city has a fair number of practitioners and we, tourists in the land of sushi, decided to enlighten our little area of the map by attempting to find our local master.

To begin our journey we ventured to Sushi Tei. When we stepped inside we were struck with how many people were in the small quarters of Sushi Tei. There were people in every single booth and table aligning the small cramped space. Even with all these people there,

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What’s inside: Hallways Pop Arts World&Cultures Centerspread

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Around Town Fine Arts Opinions Sports

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Hallways

Spotlight on the stage crew

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we were seated promptly in a little back corner across from the sushi bar that had two very focused sushi chefs hard at work. For all of the restaurants we decided that we would get three standard items: tuna sashimi, California rolls, and a tamago. The sashimi and tamago were each $1.25 while that California roll was $4.25. Shortly after ordering, our food arrived – we were ignorantly surprised at the preparation time. In the California rolls, the avocado was quite overpowering, and we noticed how patchy the rice was around the seaweed nori. After discussing our lack of excitement about the California roll, we each picked up a piece of tuna sashimi. The tuna sashimi was mainly just tuna cut neatly into a small rectangle. We didn’t notice anything special about it, except that it tasted like tuna.

We then both reached for the tamago, which is an egg omelet of varying yellowed color that has been cooked in such a way that it has become a small rectangle. Although the tamago had fallen apart while trying to pick it up Centerspread

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Alternative spring break: two students walk 150 miles

with chopsticks, we conceded that it was actually very good.

The insides of Hana were an impressive site. For a restaurant it was sprawling. Booths and tables reached in every direction from the central sushi bar. The place was permeated by the thoroughly western sounds of classic rock. Each piece of glass seemed to have a picture frosted into it of an old Japanese site and above each booth hung a light encased in an imitation of a classical Japanese lamp, each an unnatural shade of blue. Above the lights, the ceilings stretched high but a feeling of unalloyed expansion was preempted by tic tac toe patterns of wooden beams which made it feel more comfortable.

The countertop was of granite, and at the center of it all a sushi chef beaming from behind the display of fish in his sushi bar. We ordered our three customary pieces and an extra order of dragon rolls.

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Fine Arts

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The Guilderland Players perform “All Shook Up”

The Journal May 2014

Hall ways the

Journal 2013 - 2014

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

Although initialed by the writer, editorials reflect the majority opinion of the editorial staff.

Reviews, columns, commentaries, and letters to the editor, however, represent the view of the individual writer and not necessarily those of the staff.

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

We welcome signed letters from our readers.

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

How to contact The Journal Mail: The Journal c/o Guilderland High School 8 School Rd Guilderland Center, NY 12085 Phone: (518) 861-8591 Ask for The Journal Email: theguilderlandjournal@gmail.com Submit stories to: theguilderlandjournal@gmail.com

Editors-in-Chief Isaac Malsky Luxi Peng Managing Editor Leonard Bopp -ContentHallways Editors Karthik Ramesh, Hayley Chang Around Town Editor Max Chao Pop Arts Editors Julia Davidoff, Elana DeSantis World & Cultures Editors Michelle Xiong, Mike Zhu Fine Arts Editor Katie Lamar Opinions Editors Andrew Fedorov Sports Editors Tevor Laicha, Kyle Levy Photography Editor Pranav Nayak Graphics Editor Ioana Sima

GHS faces issues with reckless driving Andrew Lin

During your time at Guilderland High School, you will learn how to drive and get your license. With this new privilege though comes great responsibility. A responsibility many students are treating lightly, ignoring the laws of driving. According to the morning news, some of the teens at Guilderland High School have not been driving safely and obeying traffic laws. The severity of this fact led to two days straight of announcements made by Officer Ingle stating that through his investigation there were shocking results. Officer Ingle found that students were driving very recklessly and breaking a number of school regulations and state driving laws. This includes no seat belts, speeding, texting while driving, etc.

These driving behaviors were not expected. These could lead to accidents, injuries, even death. This tragic lesson should be brought to our immediate attention. Officer Ingle is greatly concerned about the safety of students. In an interview with him, he stated: “We need to raise awareness so we can avoid

accidents. Young operators have limited driving experience and should use extra precautions while driving.”

In the same interview, we asked Officer Ingle what he would do about this and he said “It is our intention to raise awareness by making a public service announcements(school news), increase adult supervision, issue warnings and talk to drivers about their infractions, and to issue traffic tickets if needed.”

We had an interview with a senior driver at Guilderland High School. She said: “Some students are overconfident and careless while driving. They also really like to show off and aren’t concerned with safety.” Everyday she tries to get out of the student parking lot as soon as possible, “I don’t want to get caught up in the traffic getting out of school because it is not a very big parking lot and there are many students drivers,” she added. The school parking lot can get flooded with students and cars at school dismissals, which could cause accidents if not being cautious. Students should not assume that their skills and their car can handle some conditions

The basic reason for the current problems is that students fail to follow not only the schools but the state’s mandated traffic laws. Most students know that they cannot drive recklessly on public roads and on school grounds, which the speed limit is 10 mph. Students can be fined or ticketed if failing to follow the regulations.

Overall, teens are not the safest drivers. Because of their lack of experience, safety measures are the most important in and out of school grounds. The rules given by the school are only for protection and well being of students and drivers. Nowadays, there are a lot more distractions when driving that could lead to bad driving habits, but we should all try to act as responsibly as we can when driving in or out of school.

Disobeying any of the laws can lead to loss of permissions to park in the GHS parking lot. Driving is a privilege and not a right and that privilege can be taken away.

What makes a Deserving Dutchman?

Angelo Amore

Last year, a poster board went up in the lobby to honor a very select few students in our school every quarter. These students have demonstrated exceptional personal growth, academic achievement, kindness, community service and many other areas of recognition in their classrooms and in Guilderland High School.

These students are known as Deserving Dutchmen.

Mr. Brooks started Deserving Dutchmen last year because he saw excellence all across the high school, in a variety of areas. He made it a point of his to reward those who truly make Guilderland a special place. Mr. Brooks sorts through each individual application, which can be submitted by anyone in Guilderland

High School for any student they believe should be recognized. These are the students who deserve attention from their peers as well as teachers, but remain unobtrusive. They frequently help out with others and volunteer themselves in class. Those who excel academically understand their role and that when they finish their work, there may be a few students who don’t understand, and go to assist them. You will never feel uncomfortable or subjective to any sort of judgment when talking to a Deserving Dutchman. That’s the kind of people they are, and that’s what makes them deserving.

One of the Deserving Dutchmen’s best qualities is unrelated to academ-

ics. Being a Deserving Dutchman is an award for character, an award much more difficult to earn according to Mrs. McConaghy. These kind and thoughtful individuals also have a positive effect on themselves and those around them, which is awesome, she went on to say.

Deserving Dutchmen are the role models in the classroom that teachers truly appreciate to have. Prior to Deserving Dutchmen, there was no way to publically acknowledge these students.

This is very honorable so if you see a Deserving Dutchman it would be very nice of you to congratulate him or her!

Staff Writers Jake Hill, Salil Chaudhry, Katie Gonick, Shannon Gerety -BusinessBusiness and Advertising Managers Brent Katlan Matt Scatena Distribution Manager MaryGrace Graves Faculty Advisor Erin McNamara

Photo courtesy of Isaac Malsky

May 2014

Hallways

Stage crew deserves the spotlight Emily Honen

The Guilderland Players’ recent production of the musical “All Shook Up” was, in a word, amazing. In another word, astounding. And in a third, awesome. With so much pizzazz occupying the audience’s minds, however, a few details are often overlooked--i.e., the sets, lighting, and the scene changes.

All of this is accomplished by our school’s introverted, black-clad stage crew. However, while the crew and cast are essential to each other’s success, the two groups could not be more different.

For example, while the cast is constantly instructed by directors, conductors, and choreographers of all types, the stage crew is mostly left to its own devices.

“There’s practically no supervision,” says Maureen Philippi, a first-year senior of crew. “All we have to do is let Mr. Maycock [the director] know that we’re using a certain tool and we’re good to go.

He checks in on us sometimes, maybe once a week. But most of the supervision comes from the stage mom and the other seniors.” And while it may seem odd to have a bunch of young teenagers using power tools with their only supervision an auditorium away, the stage crew certainly knows what it’s doing. Using official plans sent by the producers of the play, the members of stage crew get their materials together and start draw-

ing up simplified versions of the plans that better fit the school’s budget and time availability. After working as a team to sort screws, build a bus, and construct crates, the crew then decides who will be moving what when during the scene changes. After the show, the crew’s work doesn’t end. The heartbreaking “strike” entails methodically taking apart what everyone has worked so hard on for the past four months--almost like a final curtain call.

All this work combined with a student-led structure definitely makes being a member of stage crew a demanding job--not to mention the risk of danger from wayward screws, splinters, and the occasional malfunctioning power tool.

How do those new to crew manage to get the hang of the saws and screws? The answer is simple: watch and learn. “Once you’re in crew, you’re expected to learn the skills you need pretty quickly - put in screws without splitting the wood, help when someone’s cutting some plank or sheet of plywood, the like,” said Victor Rau-Sirois, a senior who has participated in every GHS stage production since his freshman year. Newcomers to stage crew don’t have to worry about things like missing the day where the instructor explains how to use a drill or the chop saw, as knowledge and privileges are gained on a gradual basis. “We learn [how to

use the tools] through observation. The seniors teach us how to do it first by having us watch them closely, then they have us take on smaller projects with their help,” explains sophomore Sophie Rich. “Then when it comes time to build and plan larger things, the freshmen know exactly what to do and can be left to their own devices with no problem.”

It’s no secret that the crew is a little underappreciated--after all, they get one curtain call around the stage before the show while the cast suffers no shortage of bows and roses--but the crewbies are usually more concerned with making sure every set piece is finished correctly, on time, and with feeling. And like every other club, there’s the ongoing issue of exasperation and disagreements between members. “If I had to choose the biggest annoyance, it’s that newcomers often have a very lax attitude about the whole thing,” says Victor. “We have a lot of stuff to do, in what can feel like very little time, using little space, and we generally have to keep quiet because rehearsals are going on right next to us, and it can be quite difficult to get some people to take that seriously.” Time constraints and resource management are also cited as key issues in the crew spectrum.

The keystone of crew is its official leader, the stage manager--or, as the members prefer to refer to her, the stage

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Journal)

mom. Acting as both an authority figure and a beacon of emotional hope in the face of structural breakdown, the stage mom has a tough, yet rewarding job. “Being in stage crew was the most stressful thing I couldn’t wait to do again,” says Janet Rogers, a GHS alum and co-stage mom for last year’s production. “It felt like we never really knew what we were doing, but somehow everything always worked out better than expected. I mean, we messed stuff up- every day, it felt likebut since everyone messed up something, it never was a matter of blame when things went wrong. It was just ‘Well, this is the problem we have today. How do we fix it?’ And we’d always come up with something that could tide us over until the next problem came up.”

Being a member of the stage crew is a difficult job involving lots of work for little reward. However, being able to plan, create, and quickly move around an entire set using mainly the manpower of high-schoolers is somewhat of a reward in itself. Being able to hang out with a group of your buddies after school every day for four months doesn’t hurt either.

“Stage crew is an awesome team and an awesome family,” says Janet. “I’m glad I got to do it for four years.”

Major changes coming to SAT format Continued from page 1

The test will return to the old 4001600 point scale, lower than its current 2400 point scale. Furthermore, the College Board is eliminating the so-called “guessing penalty” that subtracts points from a student’s score for incorrect answers; this allows the student the freedom to provide the best answer they can to each question on the exam.

The new SAT will do away with the current test’s vocabulary questions that require test-takers to know archaic and obscure words; instead, the exam will focus on words that are relevant to high school curriculums and college classrooms, words that are more commonly used in life, such as “empirical” and “synthesis.” The new math section will narrow its focus to linear equations, functions, and proportions, and calculators will not be allowed on some parts of the math section.

In addition, the College Board has restructured the essay section in response to criticism that, in its current form, it does not accurately assess student’s writing ability and intelligence. Rather than the current essay prompts, for which students must developing a stance on the topic presented, the new essay will be an analysis of a document. Lastly, one of the documents on each new test, whether it is in the Evidenced-Based Reading and Writing section or the essay, will be a major work from American history, such as the Declaration of Independence of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.”

The announcement of the reimagined SAT comes in the midst of widespread concern over the necessity, fairness, and

value of standardized testing. According to Coleman, a mere twenty percent of classroom teachers see standardized college admissions tests as an accurate measure of the intelligence of high school students and the work they have done. Furthermore, many colleges, even some of the most competitive in the nation, have anknowledged that high school grades are a better predictor of college success than admissions tests.

In recent years, some schools have even adopted “test-optional” admissions policies, meaning they require only a transcript, and no admissions test scores, from their applicants.

Mitch Hahn, an eleventh grade English teacher at GHS, agrees that the SATs are not a fair measure of a student’s success and knowledge. “The SATs are greuling, and are often more a measure of test-taking ability than knowledge,” he says. “However,” he anknowledges, “test-taking is an important skill.”

Many students, too, question the fairness and value of the SAT. “It’s so frustrating in the sense that you can do everything right in high school - take hard classes, get good grades, work hard - and it’s still very possible to just not do well on the SAT,” comments junior Elana DeSantis. “The three or four years of dedication are being put next to a five hour test you take o n a random Saturday morning - and the latter is given similar consideration,” she says.

Such concern over SAT scores have led many students and their families to get SAT tutors, take study classes, and purchase review books. However, these resources are not availbale to people

of all socioeconomic c lasses, as many people c a n n o t a f f o rd such privileges.

Sometimes, as in the case of many under-funded inner-city schools, the students simply have not had the same educational resources that would permit children in better schools to perform better on standardized tests.

Numerous recent studies have shown that, often, a child’s SAT score is directly correlated to their parent’s annual income. This has the effect of skewing the results of the SAT, and reveals significant inequality brought about standardized testing, college admissions, and our nation’s education system. In response to these criticisms, the College Board announced new fee-waivers for low-income students to take the SAT and send their scores to colleges. In addition, they have announced a new partnership with the popular online tutoring blog Khan Academy to offer online practice problems coupled with instructional videos on how to solve them. But while these new tools for low-income students may diminish the inequality inherent in t he

Graphic courtesy of Jasmine Eustache/ The Journal

standardized tests, will they be enough to eliminate it?

For high school juniors throughout the nation and around the world, the SAT strikes fear into their minds, and appears as a barrier between themselves and college admission. While the new SAT may solve some of the current test’s shortcomings, it may not be enough to quell the debate over standardized testing. And for high school juniors, it will continue to be a daunting, grueling, and, sometimes, frustrating rite of passage.

The Journal May 2014

Pop Arts

Editorial: Why do we stereotype music?

Salil Chaudhry

Over the past 15 years, music has changed dramatically. Artists such as Miley Cyrus, Lil Wayne, Kanye, and Justin Bieber have become the figureheads of modern music.They’re all controversial and are known worldwide. But what else do they have in common? They all fall into the genre of rap, R&B, or pop. These three genres have dominated music for the past decade. Why is this the case? Why don’t we see folk, country, or heavy metal on the top of the charts?

Music is an art form and there’s no doubting that. Art as a whole is generally a response to events that are occurring during that time period. The hippie-type rock of the 60s and 70s was a response to the Vietnam War. Rap music of the 90s, with acts such as the Wu-Tang Clan and N.W.A., were responses to major inner city violence. Nowadays we live in an age of technology. Life is fast paced and our music reflects that.

Modern music is sleek and smooth with heavy influences of electronic within it.

Synths are prevalent and bass is huge.

Lyrics are based around partying and

Graphic courtesy of Vivian Dai / The Journal

having non- stop fun. This music sells.

It reflects what people generally want to hear. Artists such as Bieber and Lil Wayne create very simplistic, electronic/ hip hop based music. This type of music is loud, repetitive and catchy.

Trends like these occur every decade and there’s nothing wrong with them.

I’m not here to tell you that it’s bad to listen to mainstream music. I enjoy numerous mainstream artists such as Justin Timberlake and Kendrick Lamar. However, I feel like we’ve somewhat closed ourselves off and set up stereotypes against music that might be different than the norm. These stereotypes have forced us to believe that we need to “fit in”. This shouldn’t be the case. If you hear a song that might be “different”, keep your mind (and ears) open. Appreciate that the artist put some time and effort into that song. It’s okay to listen to heavy metal. When a singer screams, that’s okay. Trends are inevitable, just keep your mind open. I have found some of my favorite musical artists by doing so. Artists such as Deafheaven, a metal band, Local Natives, an alternative band,

and Toro y Moi, an electronic band, have impressed me greatly.

We shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a song by its genre.

We all know stereotypes are bad. So why should they be acceptable in music?

His room at the start is bare except for a mattress, some detection manuals, and an image of Christ whose holiness he doesn’t believe in. In the present day, he’s a drunk who lives behind a bar.

He considers himself a realist and, at one point, while considering the final moments before death, describes his philosophy, “you know, you yourself, this whole big drama was nothing but a Jerry rig of presumption and dumb will and you could just let go. To finally know that you didn’t have to hold on so tight, to realize that all your life, all you love all you hate all your memory all your pain, it was all the same thing it was all the same dream, a dream that you had(points to skill) inside a locked room, a dream about being a person.” Earlier in the show he tells Marty, “we are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, that accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everbody’s nobody.”

Marty is family man who puts on a show of being a perfect citizen while concealing dark proclivities. The most interesting things about Marty are how

he differs from Rust. In fact, Marty is far more similar to the common man than Rust and he serves to show us our own deficiencies. Rust tries and has access to the worlds darkness and unlike Marty doesn’t live in a state of denial.

Cohle’s philosophy has been put down by countless critics as being put in his mouth by the showrunners to make him seem crazy in fact the ideas that he expresses have been expressed by the west’s greatest thinkers. “Time is a flat circle” is an idea right out of Nietzsche that relates to his concept of eternal recurrence. The concept of man as mere machine with the illusion of consciousness had its first great popular expression in the thought of La Mettrie in his 1748 volume, Man a Machine. His thoughts on religion, “what’s that say about life when you have to get together and tell yourself stories that violate every known law of the universe just to get through the day?” are part of a long strain of rationalism skepticism that was triggered

by Rene Descartes, though Descartes failed to take this essential step in universal understanding and it was his followers who applied this newfound

skepticism to religion. These are not the empty ravings of a madman(though it may be objected that the line between brilliance is very thin). These are echoes and remnants of past heights that our thought, as a culture, reached.

The only major objectionable thing about these ideas is that they are of a particularly pessimistic strain of early continental philosophy which has been properly objected to by the 20th century existentialists. They agreed that the world was essentially meaningless and that existence was a mere fluke. They however were not satisfied with merely “bearing witness” to the procession of life. Show creator Nic Pizzolatto says, and I can’t help but agree, that the show is about “with how people wait out darkness, with courage and hope and love. I think, in the end, the total piece points toward a kind of optimism that’s hardearned and redemptive.” True Detective is the story of the desertion of despair and the discovery of the little thought of utmost importance, which George Orwell phrased so succinctly in the last month of his life, “our job is to make life worth living.”

“True Detective”: philosophy and popular television Andrew Fedorov

“True Detective” is a show that explores the old T.S. Eliot line, “humankind cannot bear very much reality.” It pairs two detectives, Rust Cohle, played

by Matthew McConaughey, and Martin Hart, played by Woody Harrelson, and tells the story of their seventeen-year search for the man who committed a repulsive ritualistic crime. The show has a contained storyline for each season with entirely new characters at the start of a new season. It is brilliantly written

by Nic Pizzolatto and brilliantly filmed

by Cary Fukunaga.

At the start of the show, Rust is an extremely intelligent, obsessive new addition to the state homicide unit in Louisiana, and Marty is an old part of it. Rust is a work-obsessed brilliant insomniac who claims he’s usually able to think his way away from a drink. He needs to sedate his brain because it is constantly and unremittingly engaged with the greater mysteries of human existence. In his work he uses whatever methods necessary, even resorting to brutality, and so becomes an amalgamation of Dirty Harry and Nietzsche.

The Mountain Goats come to the Capital Region Isaac Malsky

For many of the band’s early years, The Mountain Goats were made up of John Darnielle, his guitar, a boom box, and not much else. Darnielle formed the band in Claremont, California in the early 1990s. Orginally, most of the music was Darnielle’s poetry set to music, recorded on a dual-cassette recorder. The early years of the band can be characterized by low-fi equipment, changing band members, and a

series of tours of San Francisco and the Midwest. From 2002 until 2007, John Darnielle played guitar and his friend Peter Hughes played bass. During this time the two made several of the band’s most popular albums including “Tallahassee,” “We Shall All Be Healed,” and “The Sunset Tree.” Eventually, the duo met Jon Wurster, and the three formed a trio that has been performing since.

Recently, the band, accompanied by Owen Pallett on strings and Matthew

E. White on horns, released “Transcendental Youth,” their newest album.

The Mountain Goats musical style resembles sung poetry. Darnielle uses recurring themes of mythology, Latin roots, and broken homes in many of his albums. “The Sunset Tree” in particular focuses on Darnielle’s childhood growing up in central California. Many of the Mountain Goats’ songs are rough around the edges and could use some polish. However, part of the allure of

their body of music is how simple it is.

Listening to “The Sunset Tree” sounds more like a memoir set to music than a studio album.

The Mountain Goats are now planning a series of concerts in California.

The tour, beginning in June, works a meandering path towards the East Coast and ends in Carrboro, North Carolina.

The Journal May 2014

World and Cultures Change comes to the Cultural Fair

Continued from page 1

while the center of the gym featured elegant dances, martial arts performances, and an exhibit of ethnic clothing proudly worn by students during the fashion show. In one corner, the food booth attracted students eager for aromatic Chinese, Italian, Indian, and Mexican cuisine. In the other corner, Madame Rant’s French 5 students manned the always-busy crepe booth, serving crepes topped with Nutella, sugar, and caramel.

Collections of jewelry, toys, and other trinkets from all different cultural background covered the ethnic items table.

The center stage was reserved for various dances, a time-honored tradition of the Cultural Fair. Longstanding favorites like Indian dance and Arabian dance thrilled the crowds that gathered to watch each performance. There were also dances new to the fair, like junior Rachel Quinn’s performance of the quickstep—a style of ballroom dance—with partner Greg Hayner of Shaker High School, which combined graceful modernity with fiery passion.

What made this Cultural Fair truly great, however, was not only what it had, but how it changed. Last year was about rebirth; this year was about rees-

tablishment, and that required drastic adjustments.

For one, food had to be provided from external vendors this year, something that differed from the past. Club officers ordered food from local restaurants such as El Mariachi, Ichiban and Sitar. “It was a major change,” Ritwik Dan, vice president of International Club, says, “it was difficult because we had to contact all the restaurants and count money so that we could make a profit.”

Perhaps most importantly though, there would be no more randomness in the food selection, no more asking for a completely unfamiliar dish with an unpronounceable name and wondering what you were about to bite into. Thus, despite the long waits at the food booth, the loss of variety showed us that there’s so much more out there than what we see.

One of the most memorable highlights of last year’s fair was the tear-jerking presentation of flowers to Mrs. Mackey, longtime advisor of International Club and organizer of the Cultural Fair who retired last June. With her parting, questions began to arise about the future of the fair. What would become of it? How would the fair change? The answers were unclear to officers, faculty, and students

Above: Students perform in a high-flying, wood-chopping taekwondo exhibition.

alike. But, the responsibilities were passed down to two capable and dedicated teachers with years of experience helping Mrs. Mackey run the Fair—Mrs. Bedian and Mrs. McManus—and they more than exceeded expectations. “They’re awfully good with administration,” Reza Sayeed, president of International Club, says. “A lot of things were done quicker than last year.

They did a fantastic job, especially dealing with changes.”

And yet, despite the hope running high after the past two Cultural Fairs, we once again face another difficulty: the departure of the many seniors that gave their hearts, time and energy to the fair. As officers, they were the backbones of International Club; as Above: Sophomore Angela Zhu writes a Chinese character in students, they were the the traditional art of Chinese calligraphy inspiration and enthucan continue the legacy.” siasm that propelled it.

But ultimately, the message of this “The seniors played a major role,” says year’s Cultural Fair had to do with emRitwik, “mainly because not that many underclassmen are strongly involved bracing change. “The Club really came in the club.” The seniors, affectionately together as a team,” Sayeed says, “We known as the last Advisory group, had did it despite the hard changes. It was vital experience that proved important astounding, and it was really special, esin dealing with the enormous changes. pecially on the day of the fair, seeing us What this means for the rest of GHS all come together.” We have to embrace is that International Club needs under- it, welcome it, and challenge it with creclassmen to take on leadership roles. “You ativity and imaginative ideas.

Last year’s Cultural Fair was comhave good advisors,” Reza says. “We’re pared to a phoenix, rising from the burnt a close family, and that’s really helpful.”

He counsels the underclassmen,“you may ashes in a spirit of fevering strength. doubt yourself when it comes to orga- This year’s Cultural Fair has risen once nizing the next fair, but we’ve doubted again to the heights of years past, despite ourselves these two years, and look what challenges and difficulties and insistent we’ve made. Just keep on going, you can change. But despite these past two fairs, do it.” Ritwik adds, “I’m hoping that after can we do the same for next year? I’d like they see what the fair is really like we can to believe so.

Photos courtesy of Pranav Nayak / The Journal recruit more underclassmen so that we

A word with the new International Club advisors Michelle Xiong I sat down with Mrs. Bedian and Mrs. McManus after the Cultural Fair to discuss their thoughts about the experience.

What does the Cultural Fair mean to you?

Bedian: It’s our opportunity to share with the community the things we learn about everyday in school.

McManus: I think the Cultural Fair embraces everything that is right in our school in terms of our values of diversity and appreciation for all that is different and makes us unique. It’s a change for us to learn about other cultures in a fun and positive way.

What were your initial thoughts as soon as you decided to become the advisors to International Club?

Bedian: I was like, Oh my GOODNESS, I was really nervous because it

was such a large undertaking. I wouldn’t say nervous is the right word; I was more apprehensive and worried about what I would do with it, with changes and everything that needed to happen. For one, there wasn’t one person anymore, so that in itself was a pretty large change.

And, of course, I couldn’t help but think of the new changes with the food booth and how that was going to happen.

McManus: I was excited for the opportunity to lead the group, but also nervous with the legacy that Mrs. Mackey had created, and with what the fair and the club meant to her. I was afraid I wasn’t going to live up to it.

What were you thinking along the way in the months leading up to the fair?

Bedian: I was anxious about how it was all going to come together. It was exciting to hear all of the new ideas that

were implemented along the way and how they all eventually came to life. I was also taken by surprise by all of the little details there were to pull off the fair. We didn’t realize them when Mrs. Mackey ran everything, but, thankfully, we had a lot of help to get it all done.

McManus: I think I could say the same. I felt that through the process, I was so appreciative of doing it all with someone else. We really worked off each other’s strengths. Once you step back and see that it was once done by only one person, it’s incredible. I’m really proud of having everyone with us; I could go on thanking every teacher who helped out. I couldn’t imagine doing it alone.

If you could say anything about the Cultural Fair to the students, what would you say?

Bedian: [The fair] is probably one of the most amazing student-run events

that I’ve ever participated in at GHS. There is so much to do, to learn, and to experience here. I think it’s something that is so inclusive. There is always a niche for you here to participate, no matter what skills or talents you possess.

It makes me happy because, well, isn’t this what diversity is? That’s our mission, and everything we work for.

McManus: First of all, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your participation and willingness to help.

For those who liked what you saw, I’d definitely encourage you to get involved.

I’m really proud of everyone. You were exactly what we value as the citizens of our community. You were respectful, hardworking, and really embodied what our message was. I’m hoping all of you can come and participate for years to come.

May 2014

World and Cultures

The Cultural Fair in Pictures

page 7 (

Journal)

Top Left: Seniors Karthik Ramesh and Luxi Peng strike a pose in Indian Dance Top Right: Junior Rachel Quinn and her dance parter Greg Hayner perform a graceful ballroom dance Center Left: New International Club advisors Mrs. McManus and Mrs. Bedian smile for the camera, and to a wonderful Fair Bottom Left: African Dance rouses the crowd to its feet in an audience-interactive dance Center Right: Seniors Jack Watson and Nga Ying Eng show off tradtional Japanese attire for the fashion show Bottom Right: Two young students in the Guilderland community enjoy the various artifacts presented at the country booths of the Fair Photos courtesy of Pranav Nayak and Mrs. Mackey/ The Journal

Page 8

May 2014 The Journal

A walk in the woods Two GHS seniors walk the 150 miles from NYC to Albany Andrew Fedorov

We weren’t sure why we were walking the 150 miles from Manhattan to Albany. We had spent months routing, planning, saving and dreaming for this trip, yet, until Matt Gu and I arrived at the train station, we hadn’t really considered why we were doing it. Whenever asked, I would say “to see our state at a pace that won’t let us miss anything.”

When I’d grow irritated at the questioning I’d snap, “Why aren’t you?”

Yet, neither of these answers were completely adequate or true. Matt and I had always operated on our intelligence and took a coldly analytical approach to life. Now, we were following some ancient nomadic instinct; out to expose ourselves to the world and to adventure.

Our train left Albany on Friday, the 11th of April, bound for Penn Station in New York City. We arrived that evening at about seven and took a stroll on the High Line, an abandoned elevated locomotive line turned into a park for three mile-per-hour wanderers.

Afterwards, we spent most of the night adjusting to walking with 30 pound backpacks and were joined by our friend and Guilderland alumnus Ishan Mehra.

Matt and I spent the night in the apartment of Gerard D’Albon, an aspiring artist and Guilderland alumnus. Matt cramped on the couch and I sprawled on the floor on a pillow.

When we woke up, we raided Gerard’s tiny and almost empty cardboard container labelled “food box,” before the three of us took the subway out north as far as we could. We walked about another mile from the stop and tried White Castle for the first time. It wasn’t all that Harold and Kumar had led us to expect. Then, we split up and left in opposite directions. Matt and I headed north, and Gerard, unwilling or unable to pay for a subway ride, walked 17 miles home in thin-soled sneakers.

We walked the next 12 miles of the day along the Old Croton Aqueduct Trail, heading north. The Old Croton Aqueduct Trail is a ten foot-wide state park that winds its way through towns scattered on the banks of the Hudson River. It is a dirt path with a fence of trees that separates the trails from residential areas, first of almost wretched

poverty but then, as one heads north, obscenely rich areas with monstrous houses and lawns worked on by teams of hired help.

We made a stop at Lyndhurst, the old home of 19th century railroad baron Jay Gould who built it to look like Dracula’s castle. Its laundry building alone dwarfed the two-story suburban

houses that fill much of Guilderland.

The main house was closed, but the grounds were open and the deserted estate with the sun setting over it was a thing of somber beauty.

The last three miles of day one were tough, but arriving at the Days Inn in Elmsford was heavenly. Matt and I devoured an entire pizza.

The next day was 15 miles through what looked like Middle Earth. At some points, I daydreamed of air conditioning and lawn chairs, but because we used a website called Couchsurfing. org at the end of the day, we got all that and more.

Couchsurfing.org is a way for weary travelers to find willing hosts, and also the most useful social network I’ve found. Countless overwhelmingly generous people across the world offer up their couches entirely free of charge in order to assist people on interesting adventures, and to facilitate their own.

When we arrived, our host Jeff greeted us with a warm smile, cold water, and a soft couch. He was a 70-year-old former Spanish and French teacher who had signed up on Couchsurfing.org for a trip this summer to Peru. It was his first time hosting and our first time surfing, and we were all tremendously excited.

He remembered an attempted walking trip of his from Paris to Geneva in his youth and was sympathetic to the state of our feet. Using his kitchen, we made enough eggplant parm to feed Jeff and his wife for a few days as a gesture of our gratitude. That evening, we talked about their son’s nomadic lifestyle, literature, philosophy, politics and tennis long into the night.

Day three was certainly the toughest of the entire venture. The 25 miles we had to walk was expected; the steepness of the unpaved “scenic route” was not.

We spent hours on the Old Albany Post Road, which seems to have not changed since soldiers of the Revolutionary War marched it. Looking out a car window from the comfort of a seat, it might be called rustic but it’s more accurately labelled gruelling when walked.

By the end of the day, there was nothing I hated more than my backpack and nothing I loved more than water. We made a foolish and disastrous detour to the town of Cold Spring and decided to splurge on an Italian meal. Because our legs were shot after walking 20 of the planned 25 miles, we decided to try hitchhiking and spent about two hours with thumbs outstretched until Alan came along. He was a professional photographer who, in his youth, had

May 2014 The Journal page 9

hitchhiked up the West Coast, once waiting 17 hours for a ride, and had recently gone around Europe. While in the car, he invited us camping with him and his friends to see the eclipse and red moon, an offer I now regret not accepting. Instead, he dropped us off at the Countryside Motel where our third day concluded. It was a hard day, but a good adventure, and it only got easier from there.

The next morning began with the rather unpleasant new sensation of being trapped under heavy rainfall, looking like jawas from “Star Wars” in our goofy ponchos. We were soon drenched.

Yet, the rain continued to bombard us, the temperature reached unpleasant frigidity, the sky turned a shade of dark gray, and I’d stomped my blistered left foot into numb submission. We had reached optimum worst-case scenario conditions, and suddenly my lips spread into a masochistic grin. I continued in this elated state until the end of the day, and whenever Matt looked at my joyous face he would scowl.

We arrived at our destination for the night, the Vassar College co-op where we were couchsurfing again, looking like crazed trick-or-treaters. Logan - veteran couchsurfer, first time host - and his fellow co-op members were extremely talkative. He told us about his urban studies major, how he’s spending the next 15 months in Copenhagen assistant teaching and would be able to host us there if we visited, and about his

recent adventures hitchhiking around Europe. He was also generous enough to give us his room while he pulled an all-nighter on his thesis project. Matt hated this day. I loved it. We were wet, tired, and we got where we were going.

All was as it should have been.

On day five, our eight mile rest day, we visited the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and had some inspiring and surprisingly reasonablypriced food at the Apple Pie Café. Matt checked out the home of FDR while I recovered from accumulated injuries.

The following day was the best 19 miles we had. We witnessed the sublime beauty of the rural, punctuated by quaint small towns, and saw a multitude of familiar and unfamiliar faces. Upon entering Red Hook, I saw an old fellow dressed as a cowboy, except with moccasins instead of boots, reading on a bench. I waved and he looked up and smiled. As we walked, I received a strange phone call from an unknown number with a 518 area code. The voice on the line said, “I saw your twitter and decided to follow you. Where can we meet?” I gave the voice the intersection Matt and I were at, and we sat down to see who would come. Our acquaintance, Edmund Doyle, and his father rode up on their bikes. It was nice to see familiar faces, and we chatted with them for a while before moving on to the Hearthstone Motel.

We had a 17-mile walk on day seven, and though we were slightly less

energetic than the day before, we experienced the same sensation of awe at the same rural sights. We also saw lots of roadkill. I counted three rotting deer carcasses, and many dead cats, gophers, squirrels, and rabbits. We couchsurfed in the town of Hudson with Kasia Clark, a former doctor who was diagnosed with cancer, won a malpractice lawsuit, used that money to make a feature-length documentary about her treatment, and is now sponsoring and tutoring two Afghani girls. Simply put, she is exactly the type of fascinating, generous person one meets through couchsurfing.

The next day was 16 miles. In the morning we passed through small towns with yards filled with rusty farm equipment, where listening to Woody Guthrie singing about the labors of the wandering working man felt right. We passed Valatie and Kinderhook, home of President Martin Van Buren. The presence of multiple Stewarts’ stores made us feel close to home.

On day nine, our final 24 miles, final day, and also Easter Sunday, we made great time and saw many festive bloody rabbits along the road. When we neared the bridge into Albany, seeing the Capitol, the Egg and the surrounding Empire Plaza, it inspired an astonishing euphoria I had never imagined I could feel for Albany. Walking the rest of the way and seeing all the familiar sites and streets was a pure joy, and, walking into my house, I felt a feeling of completion just before the exhaustion set in. Matt

walked into his house four miles down the road from me, and the adventure was complete.

After 150 miles, I still wasn’t really sure why we had done it, but I had formed a vague idea. Along Route 9, on the outskirts of farms, there are countless uniform signs nailed to trees that read, “No trespassing for any purpose.”

When reading these signs, we felt free to trespass. In those moments, we reached and grasped the paradoxical point of the entire journey- to simply be, without having our minds crowded by purpose.

If we agree that that it is our minds that assign meaning and purpose to everything, and our ancestors walked long before we reached our current intellectual maturity, then we see that focusing on the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other can liberate us of purpose. In our best moments, we walk to revel in the purity of existence.

Far left: a section of the Croton aqueduct. Below, in clockwise order: Andrew and Matt at the 100 mile mark, the Washington Irving Monument, and a landscape near Red Hook.

The Journal May 2014

Around Town Inland fishing: sushi around Albany Continued from page 1

When the sushi came, it came with both a fork and a chopstick, further testifying to Hana’s western pedigree. The tamago was a brighter shade of yellow and more sweet than Sushi Tei’s, though not too sweet. It was also colder with better tasting rice. The tuna sashimi was more fresh though not remarkably more so. We received far too many of the California rolls and these were inferior to those at Sushi Tei. They tasted more bland and the rice stuck to the teeth. The dragon roll had eel on it and a good sauce. Thus our experience at Hana was quite enjoyable until the arrival of the bill.

It’s staggeringly expensive for people without full wallets. For the California rolls it was $4, for the tuna sashimi it was $3, and for the egg tamago it was $2. What really killed us was $24 for the dragon roll. In the end that lunch cost us $45.36.

The décor at Mr. Fuji in Stuyvesant Plaza was sleek and modern though with certain distinctly Japanese elements that while evoking the culture were neither clichéd nor lazy. After Hana the prices were a relief with $5 for the California rolls and $2 each for the tamago and tuna sashimi.

Everything was, just about, fine until the food arrived. Perhaps our palates were soured by the sheer multitude of sushi we had consumed in the day, but the sushi at Mr. Fuji was by far the worst we had that day. The tuna sashimi was like consuming colored cardboard. It was the hue of Swedish fish but lacked any spike of taste. The California rolls were larger than average, fully covered with rice, cold, had flecks of flying fish roe. The tamago tasted like it had four pounds of sugar poured onto it. It was mysteriously brown and unlike every other tamago we tried it splintered. Its one redeeming feature was that the rice was warm.

We paid our bill, gave away our California rolls to the surprisingly overjoyed people sitting next to us and left rather disappointed.

Shogun in Albany had lots of windows allowing us to see outside from our table well, something which both of us enjoyed. We ordered our usual order and looked around at the interior of Shogun while we waited for the sushi to arrive.

The restaurant was sort of segregated into three different parts. There was a portion with a bar and some booths, a section that faced the windows that contain high top tables and is where we were seated, and a section that was a dinner area off in the corner with a sushi bar and some more booths. The interesting part about Shogun in Albany was that out of all the restaurants we had been to this one had the largest amount of wait staff, yet we waited for our food and check longer than at any other place. The sashimi looked just like all the others, and tasted relatively average.

The tamago was saltier than the last few we had eaten. Both of us we relatively unimpressed with both items. The California roll had a nice crunch from the cucumber, and there was enough fake crab in the roles that you could taste it. Overall, we were unimpressed.

From top: a sampling of sushi dishes from Hana, Shogun, and Sushi Tei Photos courtesy of Andrew Fedorov and Hayley Chang

May 2014

Around Town

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Journal)

Short and Stout: a family affair Sindhu Mateti and Mohima Iqbal

Short and Stout is the newest tea shop in in the Capital Region. When we asked Matt, the owner, about why he picked this cute name, he said it reminded him of a teapot. It all started back in December 2007 when Matt came home with a surprise anniversary gift for his wife Joyce. Matt wanted a present that they could both enjoy; the surprise was some loose tea from a tea room. Back then, both Joyce and Matt rarely drank tea so it was a new experience for both of them. On the same night they started to brew their own tea and liked it very much- they couldn’t believe how relaxed it made them feel. A few years later, the tea room closed.

Since that day, Matt and Joyce have experimented with lots of different kinds of tea flavors. As they got more familiar, and as their knowledge grew with the tea, they started to share their love of tea with others. Matt started a tea club at his work. They developed a passion for the tea and soon the thought of opening a tea shop dawned on Matt and Joyce. First, they developed a website for their tea to get some money to open up a restaurant, which at first did poorly. A few days later Matt’s older daughter started going to school and saw an arts and crafts program on the school calendar where vendors could sell their products. One of Matt’s friends convinced him to sell their tea, and though Matt was at first apprehensive, it paid off in the end. They started selling lots of tea at the program, and ended up making friends and connections there.

Finally, they found their niche.

One day Joyce bumped into the owner of a store on Western Avenue, and, on a whim, asked them if their store was for rent. Turns out, it was. The price was half of any other place they had seen, and it was right near their neighborhood. Within just a few months, Short and Stout was open for business. “The timing wasn’t right, but at the same time, it will never feel right” Matt said. Since then their business has been flourishing.

Joyce and Matt work very hard to get the perfect tea for their customers. They hand-select and sample the same variety of tea from several different companies and importers until they get the perfect tasting tea. They also mix different kinds of tea to get exceptional, unique and exciting blends. In their cafe and their online store, they carry varieties such as White, Green, Oolong, Black, Rooibos, Yerba Mate, Herbal Tisane and Fruit Tisane. There is a type of tea for everybody, even if you’ve never had tea before; “Everybody loves tea, they just don’t know it,” says Matt. They take suggestions from their customers about the tea flavors; for example, a customer might ask for a type of tea that they don’t have, and the next day, they will pursue the blend for their store. “Short and Stout is about fun and exciting tea.

Everybody might not know that tea is in our culture, but it is.” says Matt. They want tea-drinking to be enjoyable for everyone. Short and Stout tea is not just asian or british style, but combines tea from all cultural origins.

Short and Stout has several best sellers like “Black and Blue” which is fruit tisane, a caffeine-free “tea” that does not

actually contain the tea plant in it. And, of course, Bubble Tea. Bubble Tea is a tea-based drink that contains tapioca pearls in it that comes in many flavors including mango and matcha. Short and Stout carries food, such as Masala Chai cookies, Matcha Green Tea cookies, Belgian Chocolate Brownies, Chicken Curry Puffs, and much more. Cookies are tea-infused, so you can taste the classic and exotic tea flavors right in your cookie.

For Matt and Joyce, business is going pretty well. They have new customers coming in everyday and have many adopted many regulars. They love being a local cafe where people can hang out and enjoy a hot drink. Matt says that one of the advantages of being local is that he can have that one-on-one relationship with customers that he wouldn’t have in a different location.

When asked about what advice he would give high schoolers about running their own business or having a career, he said,“Make your vocation a vacation, do what you love. Dedicate everything.

Don’t look back, act as if there is only one way to go. There are sacrifices you have to make.”

Short and Stout is truly a great place to hang out with friends, study or just relax with a cup of tea. The comfortable seating and great, loving atmosphere makes them unique in our area. Plus, because of their “fun fusion,” you can travel the world with their eclectic tea flavors. Next time you’re in the area, come on in and check it out.

Matt and Joyce pose with their family in Short and Stout.

Photo courtesy of Sindhu Mateti

Indoor trampoline park to open in Albany

Mohona Sengupta

When we were kids, it seemed so much easier to get exercise without thinking too hard about it. We’d run out at the crack of dawn and come home at twilight after spending all day at the pool, or jumping on the trampoline in the backyard, or even just playing tag.

As we get older, the idea of exercise gets less and less attractive when we also have to contend with school, a job, and, hopefully, a social life. Who wants to bother with counting calories, watching carbs or having a strict schedule at the gym? Life would be so much easier if we could go back to how we were as kids.

Thanks to the Sky Zone organization, it looks like we can. Welcome to Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park, a huge 15,000 square foot building dedicated to regular trampolines, foam pits, launching decks, and sport areas like basketball hoops and dodgeball courts.

With the purchase of a ticket (and a waiver), you can spend hours jumping around in what used to be a postal

service building between Central Ave and Route 155.

Set to open this summer, the park is good for anything, from birthday parties to exercise classes to Flight Club, a possible class for just teens. The Park is owned by a Mr. Mark Bigelow, a native Californian moving to Albany to set up more northeastern branches, hopefully as soon as possible.

Like with any physical activity, there are always risks, hence the waiver that everyone has to sign. You also have to rent shoes, because regular shoes and socks aren’t allowed in the park. Despite that, the Park is ultimately designed for people of all ages, and it’s expected to sell out early. Although tickets aren’t available for purchase just yet, the Park is expected to open up in May of this year, so keep an eye on the website and grab those tickets before you lose your chance to enjoy the Sky Zone Indoor Trampoline Park.

Graphic courtesy of Michelle Xiong / The Journal

The Journal May 2014

Opinions Should students grade their teachers?

Con

Pro

Andrew Fedorov

Eddy Yu

opposed to it being created by some Students should most definitely not Grading teachers is one of the in- random person. genious strategies that will lead to enThese “grades” that students give can be able to grade their teachers in a public hanced education in America and will be helpful to incoming teachers from forum. If students were able to grade bring us closer to the academic caliber colleges that schools are looking to hire. their teachers where everyone could see of countries such as China and India. The “rookies” could look at these grades it, it could have drastic negative effects.

This grading system would imply that and learn from past teachers’ mistakes. Most students are not mature enough to students would get to grade/rank/rate Schools can also decide more strategi- be honest and responsible and actually their teachers based on various fields cally what kind of teachers they should provide constructive feedback.

One reason why students such as teaching ability, attitude, strict- hire. This way, there would be more should not grade their teacher ness, first impressions, etc. These “grades” teachers who are “good” to is the high probabiliwould then be publicly displayed for start out with. ty that they will anyone willing to see, but the students Some might take this would have the option of whether they object that opporwant to be shown as anonymous or not. s t u tuEverybody has had teachers that they just despise. Either their personality is dull, their rules are too strict, or the students are just not intrigued and the teacher fails to make the atmosphere interesting and appealing. Confucius posited that “The master is morally obligated to create and provide an environment in which the subject is able to flourish and thrive.” This directly correlates to how a teacher is morally obligated to provide an academic environment in which his students enjoy the class and, most importantly, learn. For the most part, students should not be blamed for getting bad grades if and only if their teacher is unable to satisfy them with their style of teaching. For this reason exactly, teachers need to be graded so that they can analyze what’s wrong nit y with them and attempt to adapt to their dents as a students’ desires. are not chance to I believe that the nicer teachers are, m a t u r e “get even” with the happier and nicer the kids become. e n o u g h t o their teacher if they This ultimately leads to a better aca- grade their teachers Graphic by Isaac Malsky feel that they have been demic society. This assumption might because “bad” students would imply that if students really like their just use it as a way to unleash anger on wronged or if they didn’t do so well in teachers, and their teachers run clubs, their teachers and not really give any his/her class. Students will be biased and grade from a personal standpoint dethen their students might join that club productive feedback. just because they like the teacher so Hopefully, some variation of this pending on their relationship with that much. This could lead to more students plan will be incorporated into academic teacher. Students will feel even more getting more involved overall. systems, so that students can have better comfortable lying and speaking badly of their teacher if they have the option Students should be able to grade and brighter educational futures. of sitting in their house on a computer their teachers and the grades should be without anybody watching them. For displayed publicly. While many people example, through most student won’t would immediately attack this idea, I admit it, homework really does help think this would be a key factor in the them learn and practice what they have reason that this idea would work. The learned. Students will say teachers give public humiliation of being rated so low too much homework and are just sayby students would be a great motivating ing it so they can just have more free factor for teachers to mend their ways. time. If a teacher really believes that is This concept is similar to that of a webwhat the kids feel, he/she may give less site called ratemyteacher.com, with the homework which may interfere with a exception being that the school is actustudent’s learning. ally an advocate of the grading system

Many students will abuse the privilege of being allowed to grade their teachers. Let’s be honest, many students like to joke around or play pranks on teachers when given the opportunity.

If principals, supervisors, or employers see all these negative things about the teacher, they may have prejudice or not hire the teacher even though he/she is a great teacher and some students just thought it would be funny to mess with their teacher and post mean, untrue facts, just because they had nothing better to do. Students may also have prejudice against a teacher they are about to have because they have seen all these negative things about the teacher and what students think they usually believe even if the truth is staring them straight in the face. Being a student I already know that students talk about teachers at school but with the aid of a website, the comments be a lot more public and will remain public for a much longer time.

No one likes to be insulted, including teachers. Many teachers wouldn’t mind constructive criticism but many teens will likely be harsh and unforgiving when they speak about their teachers. There’s no need for a public site where teens will be allowed to criticize their teachers even if they are all constructive and beneficial (which I seriously doubt). Any teacher can take two minutes out of their class time and ask the class for feedback on his/her teaching skills. This way not only will the teacher get instant feedback, the feedback will a lot more likely be constructive and positive since the students are talking face to face with the teacher.

Students should not be able to grade and criticize their teachers where it is shown publicly. Many are not mature and responsible enough to actually help their teachers become better teachers.

Instead the teachers will find the kids saying bad things about them and feel hurt which will not help them with their teaching. There are better ways for teachers to get feedback than for providing students a tool to be nasty and condescending towards them

Questions, comments or complaints? Send an email to The Journal at theguilderlandjournal@gmail.com

Opinions

May 2014

page 13 (

Journal)

Buying political power is dangerous to democracy Hayley Chang

Food, water, shelter, clothes can all be bought with money, and, after a recent Supreme Court Case Ruling of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, so can politics. In the case, the plaintiff, Shaun McCutcheon, an Alabama Businessman and longtime donor of the Republican Party, along with the Republican National Committee, claimed that his freedom of speech was limited by the previous laws against contributions to political parties. McCutcheon was victorious in the early April ruling as it was decided in a 5-4 vote that the previous limit on partisan contributions has been lifted.

Now, political largesses aren’t limited.

They can be as large and as frequent as the donor appropriates.

In a way, I could see how the con-

nection between freedom of speech and donation of money could be formed. It’s your own money, you should be able to use it however you please. But money has a way of easily coercing people to do things they would’ve otherwise done, allowing, possibly, for the door of political favors to be cracked open. It’s possible that anyone donating large sums of money could gain too much influence over his or her political party. If everyone had enough money to donate millions of dollars to one political campaign then that would be fine, but not everyone does and therefore not everyone gets an equal say.

Money comes with an large amount of power, but now you don’t even need to be an elected official to have a large amount of say in government, you can bypass the whole democratic system

that claims to give everyone an equal say and allows for one person to buy more power. The money that one person is donating to one political party gives the party more power too. The more money a political party has, the more campaign ads they can run, the more posters they can print, the better the campaign they can furnish. The more exposure people get to their party means there’s an increased likelihood that people will vote for them. The other parties with possibly less campaign contributions because they have fewer large donations coming in therefore can’t compete as well, and the Democratic system fails to provide equality among voters.

That’s why this court ruling is so dangerous to democracy. Although capitalism should allow for, theoretically, everyone to have the chance at the so-

called American Dream, it also allows for a select few people to rise to the elite. This, in turn, allows them to have a large amount of power in our country because they have the most amounts of money, or at least more than most of the populace. Our Forefathers created a nation based in the hopes that the monarchical system would be abolished for good and that most citizens would have a fair say in government. I would say we have regressed just a bit,this court case has pushed us back farther than it has brought us forward.

is independent of its thinker.

A society thinks in the way we believe humans think. Humans, however, consist merely of separate nerve cells firing off from the stimulus of preceding nerve cells; therfore, for a single nerve cell to take credit for all that preceded it is manifestly unjust.

If all thoughts have been thought before and we have, in reality, received them from the culture and public mass consciousness, isn’t appropriating them and labeling them as ours for our own materialistic purposes theft in the most basic and exact sense of the word? In truth, to take credit for art, philosophy, anything without direct pragmatic purpose, is stealing it from the public sphere and mass consciousness.

This is not a case for silence. It may not be wrong to express an idea in order to publicize it and to perpetuate it in the public consciousness. If all the conscious were silenced, society would cease to exist; we would suffocate the great societal brain, destroying all those beautiful ideas that pop up so often. This is, however, a case for acknowledging your predecessors and understanding that we are travelling well-trod paths, for not making claims upon ideas and

purely delighting in your awareness of them and their expression.

A note: I am aware that I have precedents in this thought. It was inspired in part by the anarchist theorist Pierre Joseph Proudhon’s statement that all property is theft and relies heavily on Jung’s idea of the collective unconscious.

The most obvious direct comparison, apart from Jung, is that it draws a similar conclusion to Ludwig Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, albeit through a different pathway. I am sure that there are precedents I am unaware of. I am also aware that it is in some sense hypocritical to publish this with a byline, but though the content is almost certainly unoriginal and though I have no moral right to claim it as my own, the form of the expression may be commendable and worthy of credit.

Let bylines be bygones

Andrew Fedorov

In 1858, Alfred Russel Wallace, in a joint publication with Charles Darwin, gave the world the first inkling of the idea of evolution by natural selection.

It is, perhaps, well known enough that Wallace and Darwin independently “discovered” this principle, but their cultural context remains much more murky in most minds. It is also not unheard of to cite the influence of Erasmus Darwin, Charles’ grandfather, or the economist Thomas Malthus, who expressed the idea of natural selection as a mechanism in society. Both of these certainly influenced Darwin directly, his grandfather through ideas present in the family and Malthus in the period of intense reading that Darwin had while thinking about what he saw while on the Beagle.

It is less well known that prominent thinkers throughout history had expressed the theory of natural selection and that the idea was part of the public consciousness long before Darwin and Wallace set foot on this earth. The ancient philosopher Aristotle, whose writings became the basis of the new structure of Western thought after the collapse of the Roman Empire, expressed the idea in his Physics, though,

admittedly, he quickly dismissed it.

Later, the great Roman Epicurean poet Lucretius, famed for his De Rerum Natura, expressed the same idea, which he picked up from Empedocles. When the west collapsed the idea survived in the writings of the Arabic thinker Al-Jahiz.

Thus, we see that in any period of societal intellectual blossoming this idea was expressed. To properly understand the expression of this idea, we must not only lament that Wallace is undervalued, but we must understand the unoriginality of the idea and the processes by which it developed and see how genuinely little credit is due to the man who put his name on The Origin of Species.

What if all claims on originality, and not simply that of the theory of natural selection, are theft? We can see this as a pattern in countless other great discoveries. Where do these “novel” ideas come from?

Every single person is influenced by his or her society and lives in a world that is not dissimilar to that of the people with first written records. This recycling of ideas through history and the necessity of the societal process of creation leads to one inescapable and perhaps disconcerting notion: every idea

President of International Club may be Muslim Isaac Malsky Stunning new reports from International Club’s most senior members have cast doubt onto the president’s religious standing. Although Mr. Reza Sayeed has always been an upstanding member of the community, the details of his personal beliefs are now in question. Speculations are running wild, but evidence now points to an Islamic background.

When asked if he had prior knowledge of the President’s religion, International Club Vice President Mr. Dan said,

(Satire)

“Absolutely not. I had always assumed that he was Christian.” Many students are now reeling at this discovery and unsure if someone other than a Christian could lead.

This debacle casts a shadow over the entire International Club administration. The religious uncertainty of the President shows that there may be other members of International Club who are not Christian.

“I’ve been to the Mosque with Mr. Sayeed several times,” said Mr. Dan, “and I can assure you that while I was

there [Mr. Sayeed] was praising only Jesus. Being one of his closest friends I am heartbroken to find out about these rumors.”

An email is now circulating that asserts that Mr. Sayeed may in fact have made several of his campaign speeches while placing his hand on a Qur’an.

Although having a Muslim president is not banned by the Constitution, there has been a precedent of having white, Christian presidents of International Club.

New DNA evidence shows that

not only is Mr. Sayeed of Bangladeshi heritage, but that he may in fact not be white. Although Mr. Sayeed has yet to release an official birth certificate, he maintains that he was born in America.

When asked to comment, Mr. Sayeed was reluctant and responded, “tui ki pagol hoyegechish (Are you an idiot) ?”

Many students feel that having a Muslim president may not be as bad as some fear. Nevertheless, is it possible to be truly safe with such uncertainty?

The Journal May 2014

Fine Arts

Lace up your blue suede shoes Katie Lamar

This year’s spring production of “All Shook Up,” performed by The Guilderland Players, drew in an enormous audience with its Elvis Presley music and timeless plot. Based off of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night,” this DiPietro show boasted a number of love interests and showed an in-depth examination of human relationships. “It was a very confusing love circle, and everybody fell in love with the wrong person until the very end. Regarding the song, ‘One Night with You,’ that really showed how falling in love the moment you see someone was important to the plot,” says Sam Pitkin, who played the lead, Natalie, “When the show was first announced I was a little nervous because I had never heard of it, but I instantly fell in love with the music.”

Something quite electrifying about the show was the fact that it was comprised

of just so many famous Presley songs, which effect was evident on the audience’s faces. “We sang hits like ‘Jailhouse Rock,’ ‘Hound Dog,’ and ‘Burning Love” says Hannah Hernandez, who played the smart and witty Miss Sandra, “My favorite that I got to sing was definitely ‘Hound Dog,’ because it was such a high energy song that we all have so much fun singing,” she beamed. Her character also had a sense of pure desperation about her when she was looking for her love interest, Ed (who was actually the character, Natalie in disguise), which “ended up being a pretty funny dynamic.”

This year’s cast was also composed of a much different variety of students than shows before it. “There were only three or four sophomores,” says Eliana Rowe, who played Sylvia, “And there were a lot more freshmen in the show, which was awesome. They were all really nice. There

were a lot of seniors, too, like Marissa Sino, Alec Lee and Sam Pitkin. It was super fun because the vibe of the show was really carefree and it wasn’t hard to act with a group we are all very comfortable with,” she says.

The plot of the show was quite compelling as well, with a guitar-playing roustabout as the male lead and an outlaw of “loud music, public necking, and tight pants,” on the town where his motorcycle broke down, it was easy to see where morals might bisect. Avery Maycock, a junior, held this role of Chad. “It was a lot of fun to come to rehearsal everyday and play a character that was much cooler than I am,” he says. Avery had some difficulties with the singing aspect of his role, for Chad is a tenor while Avery is normally a base, “To prepare I did a lot of vocal stuff because the role is really high out of my range. It took a lot of exercises to

get it in shape in four months,” he says.

“All Shook Up,” which was originally a Broadway production, hit our Guilderland stage March 13 through the 16. Andy Maycock, the musical director, was really enthused about this year’s show and shared his thoughts about how he is leaning towards the Holme’s musical, “Curtains,” for the next spring musical.

The cast, crew, and pit put on another great production this year, and though emotional for those graduating, will forever be remembered as an amazing rock n’ roll show.

Springtime writing opportunities Becca Tucker and Katie Lamar

Are you looking for writing opportunities to occupy yourself in the spring or summertime? How about a relaxed community filled with people who share the same love for creative writing just like you? There are so many places in the capital district and northeast that offer excellent writing camps and conferences to get your creative juices flowing. It is important for writers to come together to share ideas and possibly spark new ones as well.

One writing opportunity is at Alfred University in Western New York; they offer an overnight camp right on their campus. The camp allows writers to meet

with other writers, have much leisure time for independent writing, and converse about what inspires each of them. Students entering grades 10-12 can check it out right on the Alfred University’s website. This summer program is co-ed, and runs from June 29th-July 3rd.

Another opportunity is a writing camp at UAlbany called “Write Now,” which releases an anthology every year to showcase each participant’s talent. Serena LaFave, a sophomore at GHS, spoke up about her experience at the SUNY camp; “The camp provided a comfortable environment that promoted creativity and allowed me to get lost in my writing. It was very easy to make friends who shared

my interests and helped me with my writing. I’m eager to going back this year,” she beamed. The camp is run by some of the teachers at FMS, including Molly Fanning, a 7th grade English teacher. The camp is run in three sessions, the last session focusing in on poetry.

There is a young peoples’ writing conference all the way in Richmond, Virginia for those who enjoy poetry and dark dramas by Edgar Allan Poe. In this conference, you will attend lectures and seminars focusing on the art and style of Poe’s work, and then given time to practice what you’ve learned. The lectures and seminars also focus on different types of writing, such as; non fiction, journalism,

mechanisms of grammar, and more.

All of these camps and conferences’ prices can range from $300-$700 dollars.

They provide a range of different activities to improve your writing ability and skills. A huge benefit that comes from attending these camps is improving in writing, and finding out what styles and techniques are most suitable for you.

“The Book of Mormon” comes to Proctors Josh Kahn

“The Book of Mormon” was one of Proctors most highly anticipated musicals of the season. The Broadway musical is a winner of nine Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score. The show’s comically offensive style comes from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, the writers of “South Park.” While audiences rave about the musical, the Church of Latter-Day Saints begs to differ.

Set in the modern day, two young missionaries Elder Price (Mark Evans) and Elder Cunningham (Christopher John O’Neill) are paired together on a mission to Uganda. The pair immediately becomes reluctant to their new home after being robbed at gunpoint. Mafala Hatimbi, the village chief explains to the young missionaries the common saying “Hasa Diga Eebowai.” The whole village begins to break happily into song.

Price and Cunningham are mortified to learn the saying is a sacrilegious statement toward God. Elder Cunningham is introduced to Nabulungi, the chief ’s

daughter (Alexandra Ncube) and manages to butcher her name many times by referring to her as Neosporin, Neutrogena, and even Neil Patrick Harris. The show continues with many songs and outrageous dance numbers including “Spooky Mormon Hell Dream.”

While many laud the production, some criticize “The Book of Mormon” for its objectionable and offensive comedy.

The show produces lines that to some may be considered jocular while others would consider immature and disputatious. Throughout the evening, jokes are targeted towards but not limited to religion, race, and sexuality.

Some of the shows most popular hits on their Grammy winning soundtrack are “I Believe” where Elder Price shares his devotion to God and the Church.

“Sal Tlay Ka Siti” is a slow ballad where Nabulungi expresses her want to find a new place that Elder Cunningham has told her about. This song’s style is very similar to that of “Somewhere That’s Green” from “Little Shop of Horrors”

and “Part of Your World” from “The Little Mermaid.” The songs are some of the catchiest tunes produced on Broadway. The tunes take a modern approach to the classical style that has been around on the renowned stage for years. The music makes the show truly unique.

The production has ran on Broadway since 2011 and continues to sell out on a weekly basis. The first national tour began previews on August 14, 2012 at the Denver Center for Performing Arts and has traveled all over the US alongside the second National Tour. Evans and O’Neill joined the cast in 2012 replacing the original members.

The Church’s initial response was not surprising to either Stone or Parker. The Church released this statement: “The production may attempt to entertain audiences for an evening, but “The Book of Mormon” as a volume of scripture will change people’s lives forever by bringing them closer to Christ.” Some reform mormons have even found the show appealing because they agree it is equally

offensive to everyone despite the church’s statement.

Despite its controversial theme, “The Book of Mormon” is one of the most successful Broadway show to date. It is like no other musical and even “non-musical theater people” will have a blast. This is a must see for “South Park” fans. The tour continues across the nation ringing the next city’s doorbell singing “Hello!”

Sports

Major League Baseball season begins:

Jake Hill We may not be experiencing the weather we’re used to this time of year, but spring really is here and with it comes an all new Major League Base-

Changing faces, new rivalries

ball season full of interesting storylines and plots.

One of the biggest news stories in baseball was Derek Jeter’s announcement that this season will be his last

Graphic courtesy of Amy Guo

Spring Sport Records Boys’ Tennis: 11-0, Suburban Council Champions Girls’ Lacrosse: 10-4, won straight league games Boys’ Lacrosse: 5-7, 2-0 against Bethlehem Baseball: 6-5, Won 5 out of their last 6 Softball: 7-3 in league games,10-5 overall Boys’ Track & Field: 9-1, 3 invitational wins Girls’ Track & Field: 8-2

season. Jeter is entering his 20th season in the Big Leagues, all of them with the Yankees. During his tenure, he has solidified himself as one of the greatest players of all time. The Yankees are hop-

ing to create a memorable last run for Jeter with a new team that is poised to contend with the big guns.

In other news, this year teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers have surpassed the Yankees in spending to pull together a team led by reigning Cy Young winner Clayton Kershaw and Yasiel Puig, who burst onto the scene last year with an electrifying start to his career. The Dodgers are now positioned to take on other National League teams such as the Washington Nationals, St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates, who are all aiming to go deep into the playoffs. In the American League, the Detroit Tigers, led by reigning MVP Miguel Cabrera and the Los Angeles Angles, led by Mike Trout, have their sights set on last year’s World Series Champion Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox were one of the best stories from last season as they rallied around the tragedy that occurred at the Boston Marathon and won a championship for a city at a time when it most needed something hopeful to rally around. The Red Sox will be the team with the target on their backs, though, and it will be quite interesting to see how they do.

This season is shaping up to be an exciting and memorable one, but for now there’s only one thing to say: Play Ball!

May 2014

Sports

From Dutchmen to Dragons Trevor Laicha

Although football season is long gone, football players are still making news. Many Dutchmen go on to play in college. Most people stay in the northeast because that’s where they can go and compete right away. But when Jake Smith, Micaiah Henningham and Julian Christiano all committed to Cortland State within a week, that caught some people off guard.

Smith led the team with 11 touchdowns and Henningham was second on the team with ten touchdowns.

Christiano may not have his name in the stat book, but, without his blocking,

most of those touchdowns wouldn’t have happened.

I sat down with the three future Red Dragons and talked to them about playing together next year. I asked them what made all of them choose Cortland, and Smith said, “The coaches are cool, the facilities are awesome, and they have a successful program.” and the other two reiterated that.

It wasn’t just a coincidence that they all committed within the same week.

“We all visited together,” Henningham said. “I was the first to commit and they were in 99%...we all knew once we got there, that was the place we would end

up.” Christiano backed this up saying, “I just knew as soon as I visited that I wanted to go there. It’s a great place to go if we want to win.”

Smith was also considering Ithaca College, Utica College, SUNY Brockport, and University of New Haven.

Henningham was considering Pace University, Buffalo State, Wagner College, University of Massachusetts Amherst and Springfield College. Christiano had it down to Utica College, Ithaca College and Wagner College. All of them turned down the opportunity to play Division I so they could play and compete at Cortland right away.

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Journal)

Photo courtesy of Jack Phelan

Cortland football is changing conferences to the Empire 8, a conference with better competition and a lot of familiar faces. Many Guilderland graduates play in the Empire 8, including Jimmy McLaughlin (Utica), Nigel Simmons (Ithaca), Tony Stanish (Ithaca), Connor Drislane (Ithaca) and many more.

Smith, Cristiano and Henningham are going to compete right away at Cortland. They’ll get to the play for the coveted Cortaca Jug and get to face off against old teammates.

Huskies come out of tournament as top dogs Andrew Thomas and Eddy Yu

March Madness has taken the country by storm, as it does every year. It’s an event that is more exhilarating than the NBA Finals or the Super Bowl. Plethoras of brackets are printed out from online and filled out by over 60 million Americans each year. However, no one has ever made a perfect bracket since the tournament was created in 1939. Before the start of the tournament, businessman, philanthropist, and billionaire Warren Buffett created a contest that awarded one billion dollars to anyone who had a perfect bracket. By the second day of the tournament, all brackets that had been entered into the contest had been deemed incorrect.

For the second year in a row, the UAlbany Great Danes team made it to the Big Dance. Last year, the 15-seeded Danes lost to second-seeded Duke 7361. This year they had an even more overwhelming task. UAlbany first had to play an early game vs Mount St. Mary’s in order to advance to the first round of the tournament. They won 71-64 and advanced to the second round as a 16th

seed, only to face the number one overall seed, Florida Gators. The Danes forced lead changes back and forth the entire game until late in the second half, when the Gators finally managed to pull away and win 67-55. The Danes put up a great fight thanks to stand-out stars such as Peter Hooley and especially DJ Evans, a UAlbany senior point guard who led all scorers with 21 points.

The fact that little to no people have even heard of Mercer College made their upset over Duke that much more unbelievable. Duke, a team that consistently makes the NCAA tournament under the leadership of Coach Mike Krzyzewski. The 15-seeded Mercer Bears won 78-71 against the secondseeded Duke Blue Devils despite all of Duke’s star power. Jabari Parker, arguably college basketball’s hottest name, as well as a candidate for the Naismith Award, struggled late in the game as well as other teammates such as Rasheed Sulaimon, Rodney Hood and Quinn Cook.

Great efforts were made, but Mercer was able to get a run going late in the game and came out with the win.

In the second round, Dayton made a small but significant upset, beating Ohio State 60-59 thanks to a last second running bank shot from guard Vee Sanford. Advancing to the third round, Dayton would go on to pull off a shocker against Syracuse beating them 55-53.

Syracuse freshman guard Tyler Ennis has been outstanding this season, taking on the role as the primary point guard.

Ennis led all scorers with 19 points and has now officially announced that he is entering the NBA draft.

UConn, Florida, Wisconsin and Kentucky all advanced to the Final Four.

Of all the people who filled out brackets, 69.9% had Florida in the Final Four.

Only 1% of brackets had UConn in the final four. With UConn’s surprising win over Florida and Kentucky’s buzzerbeater win over Wisconsin, put a seven and eight in the Finals.

The day of anticipation. Thousands of people who were angry over all the upsets that had cost them tons of money in their bracket pools were happy to just relax for once and watch the biggest game of the year.

Kentucky was locked and loaded with an all-freshmen starting five, something that hadn’t happened since Michigan in 1992. On the other side, UConn senior Shabazz Napier was ready to bring the championship trophy back to Connecticut along with star teammates Ryan Boatwright and Deandre Daniels.

Led by Shabazz Napier and his 22 points UConn came out with the National Championship. UConn’s second championship in four years. Shabazz entered the tournament a second round pick in the NBA draft. He left it a lottery pick.

Graphic courtesy of Mark Fyvie