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m i i / i. f t l_ I 7 / I // t r i t ; I I >. i t t f. I L / 4 stentorian 2004 the stentorian I ncssm The Scare Tactic: Curing Senioritis? Angela Antony S urely most seniors can recall the highly-publi cized story of senior Mark Edmonson from Northwest Guilford High School in Guilford County, North Carolina. Edmonson, despite a 1600 SAT score and National Merit finalist status, had his admission to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill revoked due to a steep decline in his grades dur ing senior year. With clippings of this article plastered all over the school, captioned with sub tle admonitions such as, "SENIORS, THIS COULD BE YOU," it would not come as a surprise if the image still lingered in the minds of some students. The question is: does the scare tactic really work? Senior Mckenzie Burris does not seem to think so. "It didn't make me work any hard er," she says, "because it seemed pretty unrealistic. I would never slack off to that extreme- not enough to get D's Amanda, Happy Valentine's Day! You 're such a great and F's." Senior Jennifer Larrimore thinks differently; she says, "It actually did have an effect on me. I honestly did n't think that people really got accepted then rejected for bad grades... seeing the article everywhere definitely kept the fact that they are 'always watching' in the back of my mind." The subtle threats are by no means limited to Science and Math billboards, either. As some seniors begin receiving their first college acceptance letters, their feelings of joy, rapture, and relief are often capped with a side order of guilt and/or anxiety from the last few sentences of the letter- the same few sentences that Mark Edmonson wrangled with desperately in court when he filed, and lost, his law suit against UNC. From mild cau tioning such as, "...please remember that this offer of admission is contingent upon your continued strong academ ic performance," to more Evolution denounces love. -Drifty Drews friend. My Take On Affirmative Action Kristoph Kleiner I J une 23, 2003: The Supreme Court upheld Affirmative Action for United States colleges and uni versities. In Gratz v. Bollinger, the Court ruled 6-3 that the process of distributing 20 points to every minority appli cant out of a possible 150 points violates the 14th Amendment's 'equal protec tion' clause. However, in Grutter v. Bollinger, the Court ruled 5- 4 that schools are justified in ensuring that a "critical mass" of minority stu dents are admitted, even when white students with higher grades and standardized test scores are denied admis sion or wait-listed. Affirmative action seems to be a requirement to ensure diversity. Without Affirmative action, colleges and universi ties might become racially homogenous, but the current process of affirmative action is incorrect and thoughtless. The traditional purpose of affirmative action was to pro vide minority students and stu dents with low socioeconomic status with an advantage that improved their chances of being accepted to college. Why should minority students be rewarded for being a minor ity? Ethnicity is not an obsta cle that minorities need to overcome, so why do we treat it as such? The real problem lies with underprivileged stu dents; it is time to break away from ethnieity-based affirma tive action Why should minority students be rewarded for being a minority?" j toward address ing the problem that affir- m a t i V e action has been indi rectly tackling, admission for low-income and disadvantaged students. Recently, there have been several attempts to change affirmative action methods while maintaining campus diversity. The most successful attempt was created by the University of Texas and known as the Ten Percent Plan. The Ten Percent Plan offers auto- See “Affirmative Action” Page 7 direct sentiments such as, "Since we don't accept slack ers, this offer of admission relies upon your completing the year with flying colors," the scare tactic is fully employed by universities throughout the country. It is certainly hard to say whether or not the indirect threats being imposed on stu dents are effective, or just offensive, but one thing is cer tain: the pressure and continu ous coercing from teachers, admissions officers, and par ents is far from over. One sen ior described how the contin gency statement and the seem ingly never-ending push for seniors to work harder are somewhat insulting. He says, "I think if we got into a good school, they should know that we're not idiots. Honestly, I think we actually deserve a lit tle latitude in our last few months of school. I'm not say ing we ditch work entirely like Mark Edmonson, but some of us seriously need to relax a lit- Becker/Buckwadder/ Bucky/Becky (Slurp), Garbage, swollen Germans, and Paglia will always be ours. You really are more awesome than Emma and Janeane. I admire your decision to be openly ethnic. You'll always be my favorite wispanic. For the next 4 years or more we will be city-swapping and sharing like crazy. Your fabulous wore- an, Buller/Bryan (Sport) Oh Leahl Sweet sweet Leah! As the sun rises in the East, so the breaking down of my love begins. As the sun sets in the West, I am overwhelmed with a burning desire, one that can't be concealed any more. I long for one tender touch that will last a lifetime. Yours forever and ever. Craig Z. (Dr. IsJifson, £e mty 'Oafeniine ! ! ! --Warner tie. If we can't during second semester senior year, when can we expect to?" Senior Mani Maheshwari gives her own thoughts, saying, "I think it's reasonable for a college to warn us like that because, per sonally, it keeps me focused. Besides, so many great classes are offered at this sehool; I wouldn't pass up the opportu nity to take a few of them. Especially since it is second semester when I can finally take almost any class I want." Hopefully the members of the Class of 2004 will soon find a happy medium between work and play to finish off their last semester of high school with. Until then, there will be no shortage of scare tactics left to try and steer them in the right direction. UNC’s decision to reject an applicant after his grades dropped sparked controversy among S&Mmers. 4th West, Ode to the Legion, Strike one for the Flamethrower, and the Italian Stallion, eternally, 4W legionnaires -the Asian ^us! wanieJlo wis£ you a yfappy Oalenline j l^ay. SIfoueyou scdweeUe. you are aSsofutefy deautfuL jBooe, CdU Stat G-block, Alpha levels, P-val- ues. Errors, Type I and II Statistics is super Just like you! -Guess who? Hubert Liu-Hoo, Happy Valentine's Day! You are such a great person and 1 love you lots! Oh yeah, 5 months and 1 day..hehe! / CPdillip GoIIaJay, JfeySc lAnoocAums ! Oioses are red, u/oleh are AIu liAe SIm so lucAy to Aaue a yuy ■yo SHappy T-day! Boue, Gu/ie Jackson He, I'm sorry you lost the bet. If you made it this week you would've won. Love, Morgan My Angels, I've had many good times with you three over the past two years. I hope you all enjoy putting up with me. Happy V-day. Love, Charlie TlanteJ ylooeyou sweet- Aeart. JTappyDalentine's Tlay. UAree years. tSocie, your SPrincess O 'Brian, I really don't think there are words to express exactly what you mean to me. You have taught me how to love "in spite of..." and I will never forget that! / never believed in love at 1st sight, but... / Love you, M. Renee
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Feb. 1, 2004, edition 1
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