Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / Feb. 1, 2005, edition 1 / Page 6
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the stentorian | ncssm By Emma Htun The Alarm of Terror—er, Annoyance liic ucA r I t’s something that all of us NCSSM students have gone through. Imagine sit ting down at your desk at 10:30, refreshed after Happy Half and check, ready to get cracking to study for that all- important physics test the next day. Or, picture this scenario: relaxing at 11 after a hellish day of classes, let ting hot soothing water run over you in the showers. Even better, 2:30 in the morning (hope fully) peacefully sleeping and resting up for the next day. Then Suddenly BEEP BEEP BEEP Fire alarm. We’ve all been through it. No sooner are you about to start something, just when you fall asleep or get into that shower, the fire alarm never fails to sound at the worst time. What follows are the multiple slamming of fists on desks, the anguished yells of your hallmates and pounding of feet in the hall as everyone troops into the cold night air for yet another nighttime fire drill. We moan, we complain, we If there ever was an actual Are during the day and I was In class, I’d have no Idea what to dn." answer is that school security wants us to be prepared in the advent of an actual fire, no matter how late the hour. But how prepared are we really? “I think it’s really stupid that we always have fire drills at night,” says senior Kacie Updike. “If there ever was an actual fire during the day and I was in class. I’d have no idea what to do.” The few times we did have a fire drill during classes, there was a lot of confusion as teachers began calling lists of hall names and forcing stu dents to somehow find the up). It certainly is more con venient for those who have to take roll for students, but there are definitely drawbacks for most of us. “It’s annoying...” .they need to stop doing It at odd hours so we doni lose sleep-” grumbles junior Kamrul Rokon. “Especially during the winter when it’s cold outside.” teacher who represented their , junior Sara Seffels adds, “I whine as we trudge out to that wet grass or cold pavement in thin clothes, the few lucky ones having time to grab a coat. It’s times like these that contemplations on why exactly we have so many fire drills begin. The obvious hall. “There’s no way they could have found out where everybody was,” adds senior Bonnie Merrell. “It’s just ridiculous.” Which leads to perhaps why fire drills are usually at night, everybody is on hall and able to be accounted for (unless they haven’t woken imderstand that the drills are done at night so they can take roll while we’re in the build ings...but they need to stop doing it at odd hours so we don’t lose sleep.” That’s what most of us get upset over, the odd hours of fire alarm operation. Usually the latest fire alarms go off are aroimd 12:30, but there have been instances where alarms go off at 2:30, 4:30, and 5. Of course then there’s times were the alarm becomes broken while it’s going off, and thus begins to ring in 15 minute intervals in the early morning. So the next time the fire alarms start their cursed wailing while you’re just about to fall asleep or get in the shower, think not of the supreme annoyance of having to get out of your warm bed and into the cold night, think not of how much you want to rip one of them off the walls and smash them into pieees. Think of how it works to con dition us to safety when there’s a real hazard. Or just get really aimoyed and stomp outside in righteous anger like the rest of us. Camacho’s Colombia Derek Paylor H er accent is charming, infusing the musical lilt of Spanish into bland mono-syllabic English words and transforming our language into something lyri cal. She is the first Spanish teacher many of us have had who is actually latin, literally thinking in the very language she teaches. To students of other languages, she’s the pleasant brunette Ms. Camacho, but to those who’ve had the privilege of hearing machine-gun-fire Espanol at 8:00 AM, she is la Senora Camacho, pro- fesora of AP and Advanced Spanish. A speaker of sev eral languages, Sra. Yvonne Camacho is Colombian, and proud to tell everyone. Her office is lined with idyllic panoramic scenes of the capital, Bogota, her home town. To escape to her office is to experience a piece of la vida of this South American cultural diplomat. After a brief conversation one soon realizes this woman knows more than just how to conjugate the irreg ulars and roll her r’s-she is a fountain of knowledge con cerning Hispanic culture. This past December, Sra. Camacho returned to her homeland, her roots, of Colombia. Eager to educate, she answered a few questions for the Stentorian about her travels and the country so dear to her heart. Colombia, who did you see? What places are top on your list to visit? My sister picks me up at the airport, usually, and I stay in her apartment. I go to visit my relatives, and particu larly my mother who is old and ill. I don’t like to go sight seeing or to other cities because my primary interest is to see my family. Besides my mother, I have two brothers and two sisters, and many cousins. We get together and chat, play the guitar, sing, tell jokes, reminisce. However, Bogota is a very large and modem city, and it “«.one soon realizes this woman knows more than just how to conjugate the irregulars and roll her rs - she Is a fountain of knowl edge concerning Hispanic culture.” celebrated with a novena and a pesebre. The novena started on the 16th of December, and it consisted of getting together with all your relatives for the nine nights that led to the 24th of December. During the get- togethers we would read the story of Jesus, sing carols, eat, do fireworks, and even dance. We would gather around the pesebre, which is a nativity scene. This time around, we didn’t have the novena or a pesebre. There were Christmas trees all over (you realize that we do not have such trees in Colombia), there was no carol ing, or story-telling. On the 25th, my imme diate family got togeth er, exchanged gifts, and ate a homemade meal. When you arrive in offers lots of entertain ment-theatre, museums, con certs, movies, restaurants, dancing. I tend to focus on eating, theatre, and dancing. How did you cele brate your holidays? What is one of the largest contrasts you see between traditions in Colombia and the US? The largest contrast is between the present and the past. We were more European a few years ago. Now we are more “americanized.” For example, Christmas used to be What are some things people here should know about Colombia? The obvious, which our mind sometimes make elusive: we are regular people, who have been plagued by the drug-dealing busi ness. A very large number of Colombians have died in the effort to stop the traffic of drugs. Describe Colombia in the honest manner you'd like for us to see it. Think of the place that you love the most, the one that offers you memories, deep emotions, family ties, long term friendships, childhood adventures, young loves, favorite flavors and aromas... this is Colombia for me. To a strarvger Tassinvg stran^erl You do Mt krvow how Lonv0tiivgLy I Look uporv fjou. you ncust be he t was seek- or she I was seekiri0, (it oorues to rue as of a drearu) I have soruewhere surely Lived a Ufe ofjoy-with‘0dd^^ ALL is reoaUfd as we 0t be each other. Fluid, affeotiorvobe, ohaste, matured, you grew uf with me, were a boy with me or a '§trl with me, I ate with you. ar>d slept with you, your body has become not yours orUy Nor ttf/t my body ruirve orUy, you give rue the pleasure of your eyes, face, flesh, as we pass, you take of my beard, breast, harvds, tu, return., I am rvot to speak to you, I am to thirvk of you when, I sit alorve Or wake at night aloue, I am to wait, I do rvot dokbt t am to rueet ■ ypu^ggain., t am to see to it that ! do n.ot lose you. -Walt whitman. —submitted by Sara wise— TO g’arah and Meg Happy Valentine’s Day My co-conspirators (Want to hear a secret? I love you guys') -Teresa g'chubert Dear Dwight, You are the greatest person In the World! -Dwight Ja Michael Schoenfield yoMS. ate ihUui^ and oA- oa-aihite y.o-m e^e» the^ mi^ht he jiteen tn Blue. Jometin^ mith amaking^ height. \ djfe^ Miheg J ihinh me lihe uauu n eats To veerva an.d Niesel "Our Love is like a river, peaceful an,d deep; your soul is like a secret that I rvever could keep.' -your fellow N'syn.c-er- To our Dearest John Kolena, This is a long overdue expression Of oitr undying affection * for you. We will undoubtedly miss you terribly At the end of our time together And throughout the rest of our lives Your astounding wit and charm Has plucked the funda mental fibers of our beings. Striking an everlasting chord in our intellects, Thi^'yMtfcontinue to Tkere\ anoth^^l^^eader alpha. Affectionately yours. Your secret E-block Admirers PS. We want our hugs!!
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