2 NEWS
September 29, 1989
GRYPHON
CLUBS
State drops in SAT scores
NHS elects
officers
The Wita A. Bond Chapter of the
National Honor Society elected the
1989-90 officers. Officers are presi
dent, Todd Wallace; vice-president,
Meredith Tucker; secretary, Angie
Abemethy; treasurer, Laura Elliot;
and parliamentarian. Heather Cox.
The Society members also dis
cussed future plans with new advi
sors Ann Ruggerio and Gene Lewis,
who took over for librarians Barbara
Edwards and Ella Davis. Three
bloodmobile drives and a candy sale
fundraiser are slated for the future.
First SRA
meeting held
The fu-st Student Representative!
Assembly (SRA) meeting of the.
1989-90 school year was held on
Sept. 7. In this meeting, homeroom
representatives received instructions
for their first responsibility as repre
sentatives: collecting money for
parking stickers and activity fees.
The money for parking stickers
was collected during the week of
Sept. 11-15. The activity fee, which
is a new way of raising funds for
dances and other school-sponsored
activities, was collected from Sept.
25-29.
The SRA fire drill committee
held its first fire drill on Wednesday,
Sept. 6. Committee members were
stationed in various parts of the
building in order to time the evacu
ation.
Jets Club
meets
The Jets Club held its first meet
ing on Sept. 13. Requirements for
membership are enrollment in upper
level math and science classes. An
average no lower than a “B” in each
is required. Eleanor Doyle, sponsor
of the Jets Club, said that she had a
good tumout.
Jets members participate in state
wide science competitions and in the
annual Physics Day held at Busch
Gardens every May. Some science
events consist of an egg drop contest,
a Science Quiz Bowl, and contests
that require knowledge of the Peri
odic Table.
The $5 fee includes a subscription
to the Jets magazine and a member
ship in the National Jets Club.
TODD WALLACE
Editor
The Scholastic Aptitude Test
is an examination that is an
admission s test required by vir
tually all of the nation’s most
selective colleges and universi
ties. This test is one of the decid
ing factors in determining col
lege admissions, yet students of
today are scoring lower on the
test than in previous years.
In fact, N.C. ranks dead last
out of all 50 states in the country.
The average math score for the
state is 439, while the verbal
average is 397 for a state total of
836. Closer to home, the scores
are even lower than the state
average. This school system with
a score of 841 is the only area
system to score higher than the
state average. The other systems,
Nash, Tarboro, and Edgecombe
scored well below the state aver
age.
So why are students scoring
so poorly on the SAT? There are
several fectors that can affect a
1989 SAT Area Results
m 787
m
Edgecombe
1 841
Rocky Mount
Tarboro
m 789
^836
North Carolina
El
Verbal
Math
student’s score. Certainly, a
home environment can affect a
student’s performance. In pre
paring for the SAT or even regu
lar schoolwork, a quiet, uninter
rupted environment must be pro
vided.
Preparation can and should be
made before taking the SAT. The
College Board which creates and
publishes the test state that stu
dents can not be coached for the
SAT, yet this is not true. Stu
dents of today have advantages
they should use in their favor.
For example, there are several
publications on the market which
show a student what to expect on
the SAT. Old SAT tests used five
to ten years ago are available, as
well. Using such information
gives a student a chance to prac
tice taking the test, to grade his
examination, and to correct his
errors.
Locker open after 11 years
CHRISTY POLAND
Asst. Business Manager
When math teacher, Evelyn
Jenkins, issued locker 1840 to a
homeroom student, a historical
cornerstone was discovered.
Beyond the locker door, Jenkins
discovered a Gryphon newspa
per dated Dec. 15,1978.
Until Aug. 30, no one had
bothered to open the locker. In
years past, homeroom teachers
assigned new lockers and disre
garded any troublemakers. Jen
kins was not going to be stopped
by a lock. At Jenkins request,
Dolores Walker, assistant princi
pal, sent a maintenance worker
to successfully break open the
locker. Inside were various pa
pers, a newsletter from the super
intendent, and the copy of the
Gryphon newspaper.
Much has changed since
1978. For instance, Timmy
Tucker, a senior student that
year, is now a math teacher.
Stanely Bastien, then a wrestling
coach, is now an assistant princi
pal.
Pictures in the paper pre
sented students dressed more
! classic than beatnik, compared to
' the dress of today. Most of the
articles, however, seemed to
concur ideas prevalent with to
day. Nothing has changed when
it comes to rudeness. One of the
articles in the paper stated that
boiliiig, littering, and congregat
ing was a big annoyance to
adults and fellow students. This
is still a problem now.
Another major difference
from then to now is the attitude
toward drama. In 1978, the stu
dent body showed much enthusi
asm in watching plays, unlike the
attitude expressed today. The
centerfold exhibited headlines
that declared the attendance of
150 students and many involved
parents to One play. If only
school spirit could be influenced
by past events, maybe going to
school would be a little more
exciting.
Teenage lingo making comeback
SHAUNA HAY
Advertising Manager
Slang has bccome a major
part of language in our society.
Most teenagers use slang to com
municate with each other. Slang
is any word that is colorful and
expressive, yet short-lived.
Slang can vary from person to
person or clique to clique.
Most slang words change as
music does. During the late 60’s
and early 70’s, the Hippie Bohe
mian age, many new phrases and
words came about through folk
and rock music of that era. In the
70’s, music took a different feel
and disco slang was derived.
Teens in the 80’s use words to
represent their generation’s mu
sic. Since the outbreak of rap
music, a word such as “Yo!”
takes on a whole new meaning.
“Yo!” can mean anything from
hello, yes, or okay.
People feel compelled to use a
certain word, because others use
the same word and tends to not
want to be considered “nerds.”
Everyone has his own words
that he, only, understands. Junior
Stephanie Barlow calls a hand
some boy a “Clydesdale.” Even
though others may not use the
same word or they do not have
the same meaning for it, Barlow
chose this word and meaning.
Thus slang can vary from person
to person.
Most teenagers are looking
forward to the 90’s to see what
type of slang will be “cool” to
use and with which to confuse
adults.