november
99
age 7
le a day do it?
h issues faced by NCSSM students
‘On a good night, I usu-
t about four to five hours
:p,” said Junior
lafer.
\t NCSSM, an
ten rule dictates
that stu
dents can
not sleep,
work, and
be social.
They must
choose
two out of
the three.
“ I
can’t even
choose
two out of
three. I’m
doing
work constantly
and getting mini
mum socialization
and minimum
sleep,” said Senior
Candace Randall.
Students
find different solu
tions for staying
up through the
night and just as
importantly, sur
viving their phys
ics classes the
next day without
drooling all over
the desk.
“I usually
have to pull one or
two all-nighters a
week. When I do
and feel that I
can’t stay up on
sheer will power, I
turn to either No
Doz or Ginseng. I
don t recommend
using those prod-
a regular basis, though,
nber that I started hallu-
g one night. Everything
! colorful all of a sudden,
xvas freaky,” said Senior
latt Petrie.
Students have
Dund that they are so
usy that they have
'ouble eating right,
lany students are not
etting their flye to six
ervings of fruits and
egetables everyday,
hough the pPM meets
le requirements of a
'ell-balauced meal, offer-
ig food from each food
roup, naany students
; food to their distaste,
istead rely on the occa-
)izza delivery and pack
en to cany them over to
the next day.
“It’s hard to eat healthy.
T h e
cleanliness
of the school
leaves some
thing to be
desired.
I’m always so busy and the
cafeteria’s vegetarian meals are
so greasy. I’ll admit that the caf
eteria is getting better with its
meals though. I do try to eat
right, and usually eat some fhiit
from the cafeteria (though it’s
always not fresh),” said Senior
Cameron Randall.
Also, vegetarians en
counter problems when choos
ing what to have for dinner.
‘Bfr
ing a
vegetar
ian here
is hard -
there’s
not a lot
of HOT
meal op-
t i o n s,
but I
can al
ways eat
a sand
wich or
salad,”
said Se-
n i o r
Claire
Logsdoa
more people who are willing to
lend an ear and help work things
out. SLI’s, guid
ance coimselors,
academic advi
sors all are here to
back up and help
the person,” said
Senior Alex
Yockey.
The school
may offer a sup
port system to
prevent the harm
ful embodiment
of depression or
shots to prevent
seasonal ill
nesses, but the
most successful
solution could
come from stu
dents preventing
their own ill
nesses through
good habits or
living in an environment more
conducive to the prevention of
health problems.
Students have found that
exercise can positively influ
ence their time management
skills, as well as build up the im
ally run. Last year, I somehow
managed to be a part of the swim
“I feel like drugs and
alcohol at S&M, just like in any
“I usually have to pull
one or two all-nighters a
week. When I do and feel
that I can’t stay up on
sheer will power, I turn to
either No Doz or Gin
seng.” Matt Petrie
Junior John O ’Dowd stays up late at night working on his english
project.
Malnutrition only adds to
the effects of sleep deprivation,
and students often feel the psy
chosomatic effects of a weak
body. If a poor diet is heaped
onto schoolwork, athletics and
extra-curriculars, students can
easily feel stressed out or de
pressed.
“I consider depression
to be a problem when suicide
rates are skyrocketing, but I
don’t see that happening yet at
NCSSM because of the support
system we haye here. If some
one is depressed, he or she
should know that there are
many people in the same situa
tion, and that there are even
mune system, and improve self-
image, preventing depression in
some cases.
“Being on the cross
country team has let me put
things into perspective. When
I come back from practice, I can
prioritize what I have to do, be
cause I only have an allotted
amount of time to do it all in.
And besides, running makes me
feel invigorated,” said Senior
Justin McCollum.
But just finding time to
devote to sports can be nerve
wracking.
“I’ve had trouble finding
time to exercise regularly. When
1 do find that magical time, 1 usu
team. I was tired, but happy and
relaxed,” said Senior Lindsay
Jones.
This neglect of the body
can then lead students to de
veloping other unhealthy hab
its to relieve stress, such as the
abuse of drugs and al
cohol. When stu
dents are not turning
to healthy alternatives
to improve health,
most likely they are
turning to hazardous
solutions.
“I find that
most students use
drugs of any kind as a
release fi'om the pres
sures or an award for
the hard work they
have done all week. It
sometimes cures
S boredom and some
people just like to do
it for the hell of it. It
all depends on the
person or persons at hand.
Drugs are used by many people
at this school, and I think it is
ridiculous that just because
S&M is supposedly a ‘smart
school’ that people think we
avoid the big bad world of
drugs. Many extremely intelli
gent people use drugs for all dif
ferent reasons,” said Senior
Cindy Hendren.
The administration has
observed the growth of drug
abuse on campus, or at least the
growth of students abusing
substances and getting caught.
Many students respect that the
administration intervenes when
protecting other students.
situation, are used for good and
bad reasons. We at Science and
Math, however, should be lead
ers of our destiny. There is a
point at which, I understand, in
tervention must occur. How
ever, I don’t feel like situations
this drastic occur very often,
and when they do, the adminis
tration is good at keeping us in
check - if we screw up too badly,
we’re in deep trouble, but if
we’re discreet, we can get away
with it. I think there is a ques
tion as far as discipline is con
cerned, however. I feel like if
someone is caught drinking or
doing drugs, they should not be
cut any slack. If you aren’t be
ing smart as far as the adminis
tration is concerned, you
probably aren’t being smart as
it starts to interfere with other
areas of your life, that’s the only
time you need intervention.
If it’s pretty low-key, like in
your doom room and quiet
and nobody notices, no
body should care,” said
Grand Senior Aaron
Stoertz.
However,
most students do not feel
that the NCSSM environ
ment engenders more alco
hol or drug abuse than at
their public high schools
back home.
“In the eyes of
some, S&M may seem to
have a substance abuse
problem, but not any more
than other schools. Drug
use here just causes more
of a problem because we
live on campus and have
curfews. Most of the
people that I know of use
drugs as an escape from reality
and stress or as just something
to do in their free time. I don’t
condemn drug use (in modera
tion), however, I do advi$_e
against enjoying such activities
on campus. A good education
should be worth much more
than a temporary buzz,” said
Senior Emma Hardison.
Students at NCSSM
have a lot to lose if they decide
to use drugs and get caught for
it. The range of punishment var
ies from level Ill’s, to losing the
privilege of attending Science
and Math.
From a lack of cleanli
ness to sleep deprivation to the
use of drugs and alcohol, un
healthy environments and haz
ardous health practices are
issues of con
When students are
not turning to healthy
alternatives to improve
health, most likely they
are turning to un
healthy solutions.
far as your personal well-being
is concerned either, and should
be stopped,” said Senior Rosie
Stoertz.
“I feel like it’s people’s
rights to use drugs and alcohol
as they feel. It’s when it’s made
obvious to other people that it
becomes abuse. It’s also when
cern at
NCSSM. The
health issues
that NCSSM
faces come as
a result of
each other.
Therefore,
students feel
that the most
effective way
to handle
these prob
lems and pro
mote healthier lifestyles on
campus is not to center in on
one problem and try to solve it,
but to improve every area. Im
proving the diet offered by the
PFM is just as important, and
should be allotted as much time
and as many funds as those for
cracking down on dmg abusers.