Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / May 1, 2003, edition 1 / Page 4
Part of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Student Newspaper / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
ncssm I the stentorian may 2003 ■ 4 Opinion on War Waitlist Happy Thirtieth Anniversary The Siege on Roe v. Wade Nancy Zhang A recent poll taken by the Washington Post- ABC News reveals 7 out of 10 Americans support "Operation Iraqi Freedom". In the classroom and at home, the talk of the war on Iraq has entered the lives of NCSSM students. When I watch the news coverage on Iraq, I see planes, buildings, Saddam and other leaders of the world, and I see the broader impact of what is happening in Iraq. Being at home over the past weekend, I remember my father switch ing on his daily 10:00 Chinese news. The top story was of the number of casualties in Iraq, not buildings suspected of keeping weapons of mass destruction. Extended images of hospitalized children and the elderly were shown with high of numbers of Iraqis injured. Our government is not fighting the war. Our soldiers, our people, and we are fight ing the war. America goes into war believing in a cause, and often comes out of war with out any realization as to the human cost. There is so much in the world to believe in, to fight for - but is government really among those causes worth dying for? America will always remember the Lusitania, Pearl Harbor and World Trade Center. Ultimately war is about the people, not the gov ernment. Government care fully controls what we see on the news, what we hear on the radio. If a system wants to control what we think, is it really worth fighting for? In the classroom, at home, the talk of the war on Iraq has been filtrating into the lives of NCSSM students. A recent poll taken by the Washington Post-ABC News reveals 7 out of 10 Americans support "Operation Iraqi Freedom"; however, a war based on preventative meas ures at this time of American economic distress.seems pret ty suspicious. I ask myself as I try to search for a good reason for US involvement: cause that would suffice the reasons why we are going into War. It is said that weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq but does not America have weapons of mass destruction also? It does not matter who is in control of the weapons whether it be a sadis tic ruler or a country who seems to be a light bearer. In the end, a weapon is a weapon, no matter how you use it. When I watch the news coverage on Iraq, I see planes, I see buildings, I see Saddam and other leaders of the world and I see the broader settings of what is happening in Iraq. I do not believe that these are the things or people that are fighting the war directly. It's about the people. I don't believe that we as Americans are seeing enough of the peo ple involved in the war. Maybe if we see the Iraqis and their children who are bleed ing, who have no legs from the air strikes we will change our minds. I am reminded of a quotation from one of my favorite authors: John Dos Passos. "Of all the things in the world, a government is the thing least worth fighting for." - John Dos Passos Survey Says: Do students Support a Switch to a Trimester System? Uninformed 18% Yes 8% Undecided 13% Taken by Dane Emmerling Actual Numbers: yes = 21 no= 150 undecided = 33 uninformed = 44 Continued from Page 2 feel like maybe the admis sions office was right and maybe I am not smart enough to be here." Juliana Weaver found that her attitude towards NCSSM was totally changed by her number 2 position on the wait list. "I thought that being wait listed was a sign that the expe rience to come would be hor rific." Not every hopeful sopho more can be accepted to NCSSM, and not every one will take the opportunity, so a wait-list is an inevitable part of admissions. Yet there may be ways to improve the process that make the experi ence easier for the students. Each congressional dis trict in the state must provide 5.8% to 8.8% of the incoming junior class. This restriction creates a disadvantage for qualified students from dis tricts with a large applicant pool. One student from the Triangle area says, "My expe rience has been that region plays entirely too large a role in admissions. I understand that it is a mandate from the state but I think that it does not help the school gain the best possible students." Once students are on the wait-list, many wish to moni tor their position and gauge how much longer they have to wait. To be updated on their status, they must call Admissions and ask. Jason Bischof suggests "some kind of running count down online so that wait-list students can see if they've got a shot at making it instead of wondering what's going on." According to one senior, students and parents would be more comfortable if they were informed of the wait-list rules and regulations. "I know that there were a lot of rumors that certain people were pushed up on the list, and certain num bers were skipped, etc." There may be some com plaints about the wait-listing process, but some have turned it into a positive experience. "I don't really feel like being a finalist instead of a wait-list student would have impacted me socially," says Andrea Clark. "But academi cally I think being on the wait list made me work harder in order to prove that I deserved to be here." Thanks to Dr. Warshaw for providing information about the admissions process, and many thanks to those who responded to the survey. Your help is greatly appreciated. Rebecca Buckwalter O n March 13, the Senate passed a new federal partial birth abortion ban, voting 64-33 to begin a formal siege on US abortion rights. Statistics demonstrate that partial birth abortions comprise less than one percent of abortions in the US. Partial birth abortions generally take place when the fetus is severely handicapped or incapable of surviving birth and the bill makes exceptions for medical necessity. Thus, the new legislation applies to less than one percent of abor tions, and the majority of that percent take place due to med ical necessity. Also important is the fact that the majority of states already have legislation in place against the abortion of a fetus beyond twenty weeks. So, what exactly does the new partial birth abortion ban accomplish? The newest federal abor tion legislation is simply a nationalization of existing state law with an extremely limited application potential, and an extremely large poten tial to begin the demolition of a woman's right to choose. Partial birth abortions have already been directly banned in thirty-one states, and indirectly harmed by abor tion laws in other states, such as North Carolina, where abortions past twenty weeks are already illegal. Forty states and the District of Columbia already have post-viability (twenty week) abortion laws in place. Very few legal partial birth abortions occur yearly without medical necessity as a factor. It is dubious whether the new legislation, with a clause for medical necessity, will actually impact the num ber of partial birth abortions occurring yearly. Thirty years after the piv otal Roe V. Wade decision, abortion activists are back on the defensive, trying to protect abortion rights from further infringements and working to gain back lost territory. The new bill is just the drummer boy for an entire anti-abortion army, leading a charge against Roe V. Wade. The rights women worked so hard to gain are now diminishing and shrinking before our very eyes. In his preliminary days in office. President Bush rein stated the gag rule originally imposed by Reagan, refusing to give aid or funding to a country that supports abortion in any form. Years of work toward birth control and women's rights through US agencies and orgartizations overseas just starting to shovi results have lost their funding and can no longer provide birth control education or materials. Bush's funding cuts resulted in three-qiwters of the Kenya chapter of Planned Parenthood shutting jiovra, leaving expensive . private clinics as the only other avail able source of birth control. The attack on abortion rights is most prominent with in the US via the new legisla tion, but an assault is taking place on reproductive rights in the international community as well. The new legislation in the US is just the national manifestation of the conflict. Roe V. Wade is under fire. What is our generation going to do about it? o stentoria n the north Carolina school of science & mathematics 1219 broad street, durham, nc 27705 http://www.ncssm.edu/stentorian Editors-in-Chief: Leah Hawkins and Bryan Butler Advisor: John Woodmansee News & Features Editors: Seun Ajiboye and Angela Antony Layout Goddess: Mandy McDermott Photography Editors: Dane Emmerling and Logan Couce Website Editor: Jason Denney Sports Editor: Kevin Han Staff Writers: Christine Fang, John Abemethy, Anna Goldstein, Becky Buckwalter, Jeff Sibrack, John Zhang, Judy He, Justin Fleming, Kevin Han, Nancy Zhang Layout: Terri Eller, Yuki Jung, Sarnia Bias Photographers: Dane Emmerling, F.l.R.S.T Robotics Team
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Student Newspaper
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
May 1, 2003, edition 1
4
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75