Novem'ber 24, 1981 page 2
A Haunting Halloween
I was the only fool stupid enough to do my laundry
on Friday, the night before Halloween. No, I don't
believe in ghosts, and I do make it a point to keep my
feet on the ground, but at the moment they happened to
be propped against the washer as it spewed an inch of
dirty water over the floor. It was entirely dark out
side, except for the glow of the moon and a few stubborn
stars that refused to let the dense, hanging clouds
snuff out their rays. The ferocious vibrations of the
washer and the murky lighting of the room prevented me
from finishing Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher."
Dry leaves swirled in l^hrough the door, dancing across
the suds that now covered most of the floor. I wasn't
exactly scared, but, after all, I was in the old morgue
and it was the night before Halloween.
So I threw all my clothes in a dryer and shot over
to the 1908 building , where I began my two hour wait
to see NCSSM's second annual Haunted House. It was
similar to waiting to ride a roller coaster; the
screams of all the people at the front of the line
convinced everyone behind them that watching TV or
going out for a pizza would have been better ideas.
The air was chilly, so I jumped around and sang Christ
mas carols with the people in front of me. When our
group of ten finally advanced past the hanging cobwebs
and was ushered into a hall of darkness, we knew what
we were in for and stuck together like a Rice Crispies
marshmallow cooki.e, an unfortunate thing for our. poor
guides, who had trouble moving us along. Except for
falling through a nonexistent door, I made it through
relatively painlessly and recovered watching Charlie
Brown in Wyche basement.
I went to bed early, at 1:00 a.m., since I had to
march over to E.K. Poe to take the PSAT Saturday morn
ing. Trick-or-treating started at 6:U0 p.m., so I had
all afternoon to decide how to be the cowardly lion in
a "Wizard of Oz" group. After meeting half the student
body at Northgate, where I bought yarn for my tall and
a couple of bags of sweet tarts, I stayed on the hall
popping popcorn, decorating, and eating half the candy
I'd bought. The creative personalities ofNCSSM
soon emerged as monks, punk rockers, bands of Romans
clad in togas and laurel, the tooth fairy, and a black
cat with real velvet ears, to name a few. Some of the
students appeared as aliens, although they claimed that
they were just being themselves. Most of the students
were generous and showered their visitors with bubble
gum, candy corn, and enough munchies to last through
the weekend.
I boogied down to the assembly building at 8:00 p.m.
to get down with Phase Three. Witches, clowns, and quite
a few undefinable creatures rocked the building until
midnight, while strobe lights scrambled the brains of
anyone too pooped to dance. By 1:00 a.m. I was running
on negative energy, as most of the students seemed to be,
a condition which even our bags of candy couldn't remedy.
No, of course I didn't get any homework done that week
end, but exceptions must be made when Halloween rolls
around in the Old Watts Hospital, where dungeons and
dragons are everyday phenomenon.
Special Thanks go to Ms. Kathy Benzaquin,
Mr. Branson Brown, Scott Johnson, and
especially to Mr. Joe Liles, for our
masthead.
To see the dream that we all live,
produced by one who knows how to give.
The magic thoughts that let us grow,
Set up in such a way to let us know,
that spirit flows so peacefully.
A bond so shared by you and me.
Joe Liles has just that gift of love,
that puts your life a step above.
The style of film we saw before,
is just a grain within his door.
He works beyond the limits set,
and I for one have just now met,
a man who gives my soul to flight.
A man who shpws "The School of Light".
My Side of the Matter
with a little over a month's experience at The North
Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, I am asked to
write a "junior's view" of the school, I being the junior.
I am still in the process of adjusting to the school and
everything that comes along with it, so this view is still
a bit premature.
Overall, I can say that I am satisfied here. That's
a difficult thing for me to say since so much goes into
being satisfied. But just as all the new juniors, I have
had major problems. I have never lived away from home
before, but I knew I could handle it; besides I would be
going home twice a month. Well, it didn't turn out that
way at all. For the first week or so, I was miserable,
but I would never think of leaving merely for emotional
reasons. I would have to have a reason more rational than
that, and I couldn't find one, so I stayed.
After the first week, I stopped being preoccupied with
myself, and I began noticing the things around me: the
administration, the teachers, and the other students, and
I made some unfamiliar observations. The faculty and the
others responsible for running the school seem truly dedi
cated to making NCSSM a place for us to feel comfortable in,
to learn in. Although it is difficult for them to
know the real student "experiences", they do try. I am
really pleased with my teachers especially since the
extended weekend. Then, I had the opportunity to visit
my old school. The teachers at NCSSM do not spend, half of
the class period lecturing us on the importance of bring
ing our books to class, not chewing gum, and completing
all homework assignments, usually in a threatening tone.
We aren't treated like children. The teachers here spend
the class period concerned with relevant material to
learning, not trivial matters. I am glad my class time is
not being wasted by the teachers.
I have found the students here to be interested in
learning. I have to admit, though, I have seen some of
the strangest things ever in the past month, but usually
I pass those things off as "making life more interesting",
or al least I try to.
Now, when people ask me "How do you like school?",
I don't say,"It's the same old thing." There's never a
boring moment, and best of all—I think I'm going to like
it here.
Merit Competition
Setting precedents is nothing new for NCSSM's class
of '82. The very first students to attend the school,
they now have another "first" to add to the list. Eligi
ble to enter the National Merit Scholarship Competition
for the first time, NCSSM had 43 members of its Initial
class to qualify as semi-finalists. This figure cata
pulted NCSSM into second place nationwide in the number
of 1982 National Merit semi-finalists.
First place was clinched by Stuyvesant High School
in New York City. Stuyvesant has ranked first in the
country for five years. This year Stuyvesant claimed 53
semi-finalists from an enrollment of 2,600, as compared
to NCSSM's 43 semi-finalists out of last year's student
body of 147.
Semifinalists, determined by scores on the 1980
Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit
Qualifying Test, represent the top half of one percent
of each state's senior students. To advance to finalist
standing, a variety of factors are taken into considera
tion. They include class rank, academic record, teacher
recommendations and comparable SAT scores. Approximately
15,000 students were selected this year as semi-finalists.
From these, about 13,500, or 90 per cent are expected to
become finalists and qualify for substantial scholarships.
Finalists, who will be announced in April 1982, will
be eligible for scholarships ranging from ^1000 to $8000.
The National Merit program is the largest independently
financed competition for college undergraduate scholar
ships in the United States. A non-profit organization,
they have conducted the competition since 1955.
NCSSM's semi-finalists are Jassim Al-Saadi, Keith
Annas, Doug Appleyard, John Armitage, Richard Arnold, Lee
Bulwinkle, Sean Cambell, Richard Chapman, Charlotte Chiu,
Julie Danek, Alex Daughtey, Rachel Davis, Richard Ever-
ette, Brian Habit, Jeff Haines, Darryll Hendricks, Susan
Herbert, John Humphrey, Brad Ives, Scott Johnson, Sarah
Krigman, Janet Leatherwood, Robert Lee, Sarah Lewis,
William Mauney, Naomi McCormick, Ken Murphy, Jeff Parker,
Jamie Pate, Andrew Philpot, Keith Promislow, Alex Rim-
berg, Eric Roush, Butch Sigmon, Melanie Smith, Chris
Staffa, Gary Steele, Dean Thompson, Shauna Tilly, Ward
Travis, Richard Troutman, Mark Williams, and Andrea Wisner.