the stentorian | ncssm
features
february 2003 ■ 3
Fire Alarms Plague
Girls’ Residences
Angera Ma
I t's four o'clock in the
morning. I've just gotten
two hours of sleep after
having to study for a looming
Dr. Miller test. I'm graciously
woken up by the rhythmic
pulses of our lovely fire
alarms. It is not only twenty
degrees outside, but there is
also a wind chill factor of "too
bloody cold." In addition to
the lovely blaring of the drills,
I'm also regaled with two hun
dred voices complaining
about this recent travesty; now
you have to hear mine.
For a period of a few
weeks, residents of the Beall,
Bryan and Reynolds complex
es were awakened by fire
alarms sporadically at three,
four, and six AM. During this
time, the female population at
Science and Math gained
great practice in the art of
leaving a building"on fire" to
go stand in the Siberian
wilderness in pajamas and
slippers. In addition to our
already enjoyable escapade,
...hi,', iri,. / j
we gained a new found
respect for the smart card sys
tem that does not let us into
Bryan Lobby after 10:30 PM.
These fire alarms have
worried a lot of residents.
"People no longer take them
seriously," says Michelle
Mian, RLA on Fourth Bryan.
"If there were a real fire, no
one would evacuate."
Others, such as Sarah
Worley-Hill, feel more strong
ly about the issue, saying,
"sometimes I just want to knee
them in the groin."
The discontent with these
drills has even spread over to
the male side of campus.
Austin" Luton found that these
repeated fire drills have been
impairing his social life, inter
rupting conversations, and
hurting his relationships.
"It's really annoying
when you're trying to talk to
someone on AIM and they
have to leave every five min
utes," says Luton. "One night,
a girl was about to ask me to
Sadie Hawkins/marriage, but
an untimely fire alarm put her
out of the mood, and I blame
all of my lack of success with
the ladies on these fire drills."
Coupled with these
alarms. Science and Math
girls are greeted in the mom-
Mr. Laird
Continued from
Front Page
an opportunity to teach ele
mentary string classes; that
was when I began to realize
the beginning of my passion
for teaching.
My enthusiasm for music
is really bom of an enthusiasm
for people and teaching has
allowed me to use music as a
vehicle to bring people togeth
er, and really, that's my pas
sion.
How did you begin your
career?
My first year of teaching
at Palmyra High School in
Pennsylvania, I got to know a
really talented musician
named Kurt Bachman. I
taught him to play the cello.
He was a great player before
that.
During his senior year,
his band. Believer, got a
recording contract, and they
asked me to play as a studio
musician on the record.
That record, called
Extraction from Mortality,
garnered quite a bit of atten
tion from college radio.
Believer went on to record
two more CDs and the third
one, called Dimensions, was
nominated for a Dove Award
in 1993, and it has sold about
80,000 copies worldwide.
Have you had the chance to
work with any famous artists
in your career?
Mya was in my orchestra
for four years while a student
at Eleanor Roosevelt in
Maryland. She played violin,
sang in the gosjjel choir, and
took a course that I taught in
begiiming piano. Even then,
she was a world-class tap
dancer, and I often went to see
her perform at the Kennedy
Center. She even thanks me in
the liner notes of her first
record.
I've been a sponsored
artist with Zeta Music
Systems for the last ten years.
Part of my responsibilities to
Zeta is to teach the associated
technology of electric violins.
When the Crash CD came out,
back in about 1997, I spent a
great deal of time working
with Boyd Tinsley of the Dave
Matthews Band. Since that
time, Boyd and the rest of the
band I have stayed in touch
and maintained a professional
relationship.
Crying Wolf:
False Alarms
Leave Students
Cold
Ryan Campbell
When will this madness cease?
Senior Laura Duvall waits for
the fire alarms to be shut off.
ing with cold showers and at
night with network failure
when WebAssigns are due. I
would not describe these liv
ing arrangements as pleasant.
From the threat of cameras
looming over our backs, to
cold showers, to an internet
system that barely seems to
work, to fire drills at all hours
of the morning, one really
begins to wonder just how we
all manage to survive.
Do you play in the Durham
area?
Once it gets warm in the
spring, I play just about every
Friday night at Devine's,
across the street from
Brightleaf Square.
What do you play?
I play a mix of my own
music and cover tunes com
bining acoustic guitar, bass,
vocals, and electric violins
using technology to mix all of
the instruments. I play music
from my solo CD called
Freeway and newer, original
music that will be released on
a CD very soon called
Journeys.
The technology I use to
perform my own music is very
closely related to concepts of
signal flow and overdubbing
that I teach in Principles of
Recording Technology.
Tell me a little about your
family.
My wife, Barbra, has a
degree in Journalism and spe
cializes in Public Relations,
but she's currently staying at
home with our three sons,
Matthew, six, Joseph, two and
a half, and Cael, ten weeks.
Leah Hawkins and Angela
Antony
A s most know, rampant
fire alarms have
recently been disturb
ing the residents of the Beall,
Bryan, and Reynolds build
ings. These incessant alarms,
said to be due to unavoidable
technical difficulties, have
unfortunately resulted in a
wide range of problems.
The most important con
cern is that these excessive
fire alarms are making stu
dents immune to the urgency
the drills demand. Though the
fire alarms have been met
with displeasure, the onset of
these recent alarms have driv
en many to blatant disregard
of the drills.
As one frustrated student
put it, "The fire drills interrupt
my sleep, prevent me from
working, and force me to
stand outside in the cold
weather, shaking and shiver
ing. If it is not a practice drill
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3{ey OSa£y ! £een one
£ell of a mont£ anf £7 £now
it Olidyel Seller,
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To Judji He,
These years have been
wonderful. I look for
ward to many, many
more. With all my
love, David
Vear Thayer,
I love/y(70/honey,
Happy Valentine^y
Vay! Love/,
Leah
To: My Peter Pan
Took into my eyes and you
will see what love is doing
to me. My eyes have
learned to smile.
I LOVE YOU,
AUVAYS AND FORE VER!
To: Yuki Puki
I never imagined life
as such...
But being with you
has given me so much,
that nothing I could
possibly do could ever
replace the d9y we
met...
Andrew
or a real fire, I might as well
stay in my room."
An even more aggravated
student declared, "I'm not get
ting up for another fire alarm
until I can roast marshmal
lows on my way out."
However, the situation
has escalated to the point that
even the most conservative
students have begun to prac
tice quiet rebellions to the
alarms, such as waiting for an
RLA or SLI to bang on their
door before leaving their
room.
The most dangerous
problem here is that students
are losing faith in fire alarms.
If a real fire did occur, the
majority of girls, who now
acquiesce to the urge to con
tinue sleeping, would not real
ize that it was a real fire until
smoke crept into their dorm
room.
The recent abuse of fire
alarms, devices created solely
to protect students, is now
jeopardizing their safety.
Dear 1st Beall,
We love you girls!
Happy Valentine's Day
to the smartest hall!
Love,
Room 116
To: Jittorz
Thank you for being
everything I ever needed.
The laughs and the
tears all mean so much
and I'm so blessed to
have you in my life. I'm
here for you always and
I know you are for me.
I love you Hun.
~Mwah, Terri
To: The F-dot-ourpIc
You CAN double it by four,
You MAY rape Orlando
Bloom, You DO act like
canned stew, and there
WERE thumbs!
I love you guys ~ Sarnia
tSea/i,
S7 can V Sefieue ifs Been
3 monl/is; Sf ve ftacf so
muc/i fun. Soue, U/iayer
To: Seniors
I have a few words of
encouragement: The bat
tle is almost over, yet a
new battle will begin.
- William Mack