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2 august 2004 the stentorian I ncssm Livin’ it Up: Summer 2004 Jeff Tang T ime 'til Graduation: 29 days, 21 hours, 7 min utes, 6 seconds. For the seniors it meant 29 days, until freedom from the school and the beginning of something new and exciting, the college journey. For the juniors, it meant 29 days until a peaceful rest, devoid of homework, tests, and sleepless days. And then, poof! Summer came, as if unexpected, like a little kid who sneaks up to you and pulls down your pants. And just as quickly, summer left, and so here is a glimpse of how we’ve spent it, this period of such high anticipation and longing. For Kevin Tsui, Class of 2004, summer meant traveling abroad for a couple of months. He was glad to visit China and Hong Kong for a month this summer as a break from two years of hard work at NCSSM. “We saw Huangshan, Hong Kong, and Taishan, but the majority of the time was spent in Hong Kong. There, I " visited family ^ friends, saw J_.. some historical sights, and went shopping a lot. I loved Hong Kong. It’s very fast- paced and large city, suitable for everybody. If you don’t like shopping, go eat. I miss Hong Kong.” But after his vacation escape to China, Kevin had to return for C-TOPS, UNC Chapel Hill’s orientation pro gram. For senior Zach Long, summer meant fun in the sun in Honolulu, Hawaii from June 10th to August 9th. “Waikiki is a great place, shopping open till 10 o’clock p.m. and then walking along Kevin the beach under the moon light. I've been doing my com munity service at the Hawaiian Humane Society as well. It’s computer work, lots of data input and phone calls.” Though it doesn’t sound very exciting to be doing commu nity service on vacation, where would be better than in Hawaii? Nick Cook, a fellow senior, ] spent two weeks I of his summer in Greece and Italy. “I managed to have fun; Rome was nice, but the hotel was horri ble. I preferred the less-populat ed areas of Italy, like Capri. Rome is also steeped in history, but it’s very crowded. I Tsui’s family had the best pizza I’ve ever eaten in Florence. There I had a very odd tour guide, an old devout ly Catholic lady who cursed us the whole time for being late. She was quick though, an obvious veteran at the art of darting through crowds at lightning speed. I liked the parts of Greece that weren’t Athens, such as the Gulf of Corinth..” To finish his sum mer, he made his yearly visit to Maine where he once lived. “We visit Maine for an extended period of time every summer that we don’t go to the UK. We normally fly up, but as I want to use the chance to visit New England universi ties, we drove up and stopped along the way in Princeton and Cambridge.” There we have it, a look into three students’ sum mers. One thing to notice is the balance of fim with work, as all three had relaxation mixed with academic work or community service. It seems like summer met its hype after all. Well, except for those of us who are toiling over sum mer to write Stentorian arti cles for you, that is. Top Secret Summer Research: no secret anymore! Kristoph Kleiner and Ying Liu J une 14th, 2004: A strange phenomenon was qb?erved, in, , the greater Durham area. Science and Mathers were walking, crawl ing, and riding short buses to various universities around the Triangle to conduct top secret research. Twelve stu dents grew bacteria, isolated DNA, and computed complex algorithims during an intense two to three week session. Who are they and what did they do? We’re letting the secret out. Biology Folks: Five students, funded by GlaxoSmithKline, carried out Caroline Saul H ere at Science and Math we may be smart, but we can get a little lazy with our linguis tics. Instead of using the entirety of a phrase, title, or building, we usually refer to it by its TLA, three letter acronym. To abate any confu sion that may arise from the usage of TLAs, here is a glos sary of frequently used TLAs. PEOPLE: RLA- Resident Life Assistant- Most halls have two seniors who plan hall activities, take check, check housekeeping, and help perplexed juniors. MFC- Multi-Cultural Peer Counselors- serve a dual role on V. ..ipus; they counsel indi viduals and groups who seek their help and strive to high research under the supervision of Dr. Amy Sheck. Andy AbuMoussa investigated the immune system response of mice to intense light or sound by extracting blood. Rebecca Woltz observed the response of butterflies after a change in their phenotypes. Brittney Wiggins researched the anxi ety response of male mice when food or females were introduced. Kristoph Kleiner studied the correlation of ter mite social behavior and the genetics between termite colonies. Amanda Mason investigated speciation in Mimulus Guttatus and Mimulus Nasutus. Not only did students develop strong research skills, but they also gained experience in handling light the diversity of the school through programs, fes tivals, and discussions. PCC- Peer College Counselor- These students are here to help you get into college. They col lect scholarship information and arrange for college representatives to visit NCSSM. SGA- Student Government Association- They meet weekly during Wednesday com mon lunch to plan festivities and lobby for your needs. There are both offi cers and residence hall repre sentatives, but anyone can attend the meetings. SLI- Student Life Instructor- Each residence hall has one mice, catching reluctant but terflies, and riding in cars with Dr. Sheck. Chemistry Folks: Claire Reddy and Jingjing Gao looked at the dispersion of carbon ' hanotiibes after' using different preparation methods under an scanning electron microscope. Ryan Neely investigated the effect of carbon dioxide on trees in Duke Forest. Ying Liu and Jeff Hu researched the effect on inactivation in E.coli K-12 after exposure to UVC and ascorbic acid. Some chem istry people conducted more research off campus at A&T and UNC-Charlotte. Not only did they also gain knowledge not necessarily related to chemistry, they also lost TLAs weight by walking an hour to Duke to catch the bus every morning. Physics Folks : Nobody but Nick Cook and Lee Ricketson and maybe Nick’s"“^^'djpa" really'under stands what they did for three- weeks. We are under the impression that they spent a lot of time drawing random diagrams and fimny pictures on the whiteboards of the physics department. In their free time, they simulated nuclear reactions in a superno va using a theoretical comput er model. They dealt with the abundance of rare heavy ele ments produced in the explo sion through neutron capture. Apparently they made a very significant breakthrough, but we just can’t explain what it is right now. Maybe later. Overall, everyone had a fun three or so weeks. After an exhausting day of research, what did Science and Mathers do? ' They bugged their SLIs to take them off campus. So the time was spent on Franklin St. drinking coffee, on 9th st. drinking coffee, and every where else drinking coffee. We learned that research is hard work, boring at times (for some people, like Kristoph, not me, because we had to run after E.coli), but very reward ing. It was a memorable three weeks full of new knowledge like algorithms are for sale and mocha has chocolate in it. adult who helps facilitate hall activities and meetings and in some instances act in a parental role. SLIs also teach the student life course in which juniors learn about such intriguing topics as drugs, diversity, and leadership. PLACES: PFM- Professional Food Management. It is the name of a previous food service provider (1999-2000). When you run out of ramen or are in a hurry, this is your source of sustenance. PEC- Charles R. Eilber Physical Education Center - Home to the rac- quetball courts, workout rooms, dance studio, and Kristoph Kleiner gymnasium. These are all open for student and faculty use during the day and evening. Sure it may be a little odd running on a treadmill or pumping iron next to your math teacher, but you will get used to it. The rock climbing, located in the wrestling room, is usually open on Saturdays. School dances and lock-ins are also held in this building. ETC- John Friedrick Educational Technology Center- Home of the music rooms, lecture hall, auditori um, wet lab, student center, woolworth room, dry lab, e- lab, and distance learning offices. Just like at Hogwarts, the third floor corridor is off limits to anyone who does not wish to suffer a most painful death. BBR- Bryan, Beall, and Reynolds- Home to the afore mentioned residence halls, the library, the PFM, as well as science and English class rooms.
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Student Newspaper
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Aug. 1, 2004, edition 1
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