GRYPHON
September 29, 1989
FEATURES 3
Exchange students discover new life
Coninbuted Photo
Getting involved
Exchange student Bard Nordby helps his new classmates with senior preparations before
the first day of school at the home of Todd Wallace. Nordby assisted in decorating t-shirts
and posters.
one; however, he does have to
HEATHER MULLINIX
Entertainment Editor
When students hear that Hugo
Cortes gets out of school at 12
noon, they think, “Hey, I can
deal with that!” Suddenly their
smiles turn to frowns when they
hear that he goes to school at 7
a.m. in the morning. That is how
they do things at the private
school Cortes attends in Colom
bia.
Cortes, one of the three ex
change students in school, is not
the only person who has had to
adjust to a change in schedules.
Anne Edwards, from the island
of Barbados is accustomed to a
nine to three school day; how
ever, classes last only 35 min
utes. After three periods, stu
dents get a 30 minute break.
Edwards receives a one hour
lunch break. Bard Nordby, from
Norway, starts school at 8:30.
The schedule for the school
day is not the only thing that is
different The teaching style is
different. Nordby said, “In the
school I attend, teachers do not
lecture. They give the basic ideas
on a piece of paper.” Cortes said,
“In Colombia, the teachers, not
the students, change classes.”
Exchange students are famil
iar with dress code. “I never had
to think about what ’to wear to
school,” said Edwards, “In Bar
bados, I had to wear a uniform.”
Cortes is accustomed to wearing
a uniform, also.
In Colombia, Norway and
Barbados, the dating scene is
basically the same as in the U.S.;
however, there are a few differ
ences. “In Colombia it is consid
ered an improper display of af
fection to hold hands in public,”
said Cortes.
How would you feel if you
had to be 18-years-old to get
your driver’s license? That’s
how it is in Norway. Norwegians
have to be 18-years-old to get a
license and students cannot drive
to school. Edwards and Barba
dos does not have that privilege
either. Surprisingly enough, Co
lombian Cortes is allowed to
drive to the private school he at
tends.
All three exchange students
, .^y.that there isn’t a big.drug
problem in their schools. Ed
wards headed a project called
“Clean-up Campaign.” There
were some students who were
experimenting with drugs, so she
and some of her friends decided
( to talk to them. The program
worked because now there are no
drugs circulating in her school in
Barbados.
Another cultural difference is
in the curfew familiar to Ameri
can teens. Nordby does not have
call his mom and let her know
where he is.
First impressions of this
country are not the same. Cortes
said, “It bothers me that I can not
speak English. It especially both
ers me at home when all the
members of the Davis family are
talking, and I cannot understand
them. It also gives me a problem
S.R.A. collects fee
MISSE LARSEN
Business Manager
When the Student Represen
tative Assembly met on the after
noon of Sept. 7, they decided to
do away with the early fun
draiser. In place of the fundraiser
all students will pay a $5 activity
fee. The fee was collected Sept.
25-29.
The SRA decided on the fee
because the fundraisers have not
always worked in the past years.
The reason that the fundraiser
did not work was that students
did not raise enough money to
support school activities. The fee
of $5 should cover all activities.
The money collected from the
fee will support such activities as
the Prom, the Twerp dance, and
some senior activities like the
picnic. If enough money is
raised, then there is the promise
of more activities, possibly more
dances.
There will be no separate
class collections for the fee. Stu
dents who pay the fee will be
allowed to participate in these
activities. Not paying the fee will
bar the individual from any
school activity that the money
helps to support. For instance,
students who do not pay the S5
fee can not go to the Prom under
any circumstances. “There will
be no last minutes collecting of
fees,” said SRA advisors Linda
Tharin and Dina PitL
United way
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