the stentorian | ncssm
opinion
October 2008
Ask
Eli Hornstein
Dear Uni,
I just don’t like my roommate. What can I do
to change roommates or the situation?
-Hoping for a Better Rest of the Year
Dear Hoping,
Most people would probably tell you to talk
it out with your roommate; I will not demean your
intelligence by saying that you don’t know when you
do or don’t like someone. Open confrontation could
lead to an uncomfortable rest of the year governed by
some (possibly ill-conceived) agreement, or at worst
open hostility. Also, changing roommates typically
requires a much more serious problem than yours,
so you can probably go ahead and take that out of
the question. The answer to your problem now lies
in biology.
It is fairly well known among those that study
animal behavior and human psychology that through
a process known as attenuation, an individual can
become used to a formerly negative stimulus. What
you should do is think about how you can gradually
come to accept whatever it is that bothers you about
your roommate.
I suggest that you start by minimizing your
exposure to these negative stimuli, and when you do
feel annoyed or angry, distract yourself as quickly
as possible. As you gradually become more used
to these things, you will have an easier time being
around your roommate, which means your exposure
will also increase, and you will become attenuated
more and more. In time, you should be able to
completely accept your roommate.
I know how integral a roommate is to your life
here, but roommate trouble doesn’t have to be the
end of the world.
Good luck in the rest of the year,
-Uni
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student Government -
Is It Getting it Right?
By Emma Hawkins
You may love them, or you may
hate them, but the student body voted
for them—so now are they doing their
jobs?
In the first Stentorian issue of
the school year, current editor-in-chief
Devika Chawla interviewed seniors
Kevin Kimball and Ashwin Peres-
da-Silva on their plans for this year’s
student body government. Both of
them expressed their visions of having
a more active, communicative, and
involved administration.
Kimball, Chief Justice of
the newly formed Judicial Branch,
particularly wanted SG to “run
smoothly and accomplish its number
one goal -helping students! ” Peres-da-
Silva, President, offered his promise
to encourage a more communicative,
active, and representative body of
government: “This year, we are going
to take a more aggressive stance on
things, and really try to get all the
students involved.”
So what has become of these
visions? Has SG kept these promises
to its constituents?
In terms of communication
and publicity, I would say that that
is a resounding “yes.” With the
development of a Facebook page and
a revamped website, every SMather
is provided with an easily accessible
portal of student government goings-
on from new proposals to scheduled
events to video updates from “the
prez.” (By the way, Mr. President:
when is the next one going to be
posted? I do so enjoy those vids).
Senate President Sydney Ness
has played a starring role in keeping
the student body directly informed
by coming straight to everyone’s
very own inbox every week! Even
those that have no inclination to check
out the website can yet maintain
some semblance of participation or
knowledge in our governing
body. Kudos to Sydney.
Undoubtedly, our elected
representatives have been quite
active in introducing proposals
to administration. Peres-da-
Silva himself is spearheading
campaigns for a student discount
. card as well as adjusted hours of
operation for the PEC and library,
both of which have yielded
significant returns insofar. Senior
Dorm Senator Emily Baker
As for other proposals,
those regarding the PFM seem
to be prevalent on the floor.
Namely, there are calls for better
food and increased convenience
for students. I recognize and
appreciate the initiative behind
getting these proposals moving,
yet I see them for the most part
as manifestations of the excesses
that students seem to think
they are entitled to. SMathers
should be more conscious and
considerate of pertinent factors
such as budget, means, and
human service when assessing
the PFM situation. Perhaps it
would be wise to accept that there
is only one dish drop-off location
and dismiss antagonizing the
cafeteria (surely this is not what
the President had in mind when
he said “a more aggressive
stance on things”?) in favor
of spending valuable time on
priority issues. I would hate to
see student government not taken
seriously because administration
wearies of an excess of frivolous
proposals.
This year, the SG ranks
havp swelled to bursting with
added senatorial posts and
the new positions within the
judicial branch. I do so hope
that these changes will fulfill this
metaphor as an upward-bound
balloon rather than as an oozing
pustule. Indeed, the total number
of representatives in student
government as it stands now is
thirty—twenty-one of which are
senators. But the count will soon
grow to thirty-seven, with the
appointment of yet another seven
senators who are to be posted as
“senators at large.” Interesting to
note is that each state in America
may have only two elected
members in the national senate,
no matter how many millions of
people may reside in the state..!
yet we will have 21 senators for
a population of less than 700
students.
I asked junior Josh
Chappell his opinion regarding
this issue, and he mirrored Peres-
da-Silva’s sentiment by saying “I
also believe that 20 people are
not enough to fully represent our
school. Adding senators-at-large,
which are appointed rather than
elected, would better represent
the student body because the
senators are appointed based
on qualifications rather than
popularity.” Baker was of a
similar mind, supporting the
induction of more senators.
It seems that the consensus
is that having more senators
is equivalent to better student
representation, though I am
rather inclined to disagree...but
we shall see how this goes. I look
forward to being convinced that
it’s not just a case of increased
opportunity for resume padding.
In all, the student body
government has done quite well
in keeping to its promises by
staying vocal, active, involved in
the community, and accessible to
students.
stentorian
the north Carolina school of science and mathematics
1219 broad street, durham, nc 27705
stentorian@ncssm,edu
Editors-in-Chief: Eli Hornstein and Devika Chawla
News Editor: Carey Averbook
Features Editor: Daixi Xu
Opinion Editor: Hillary Seybold
Sports Editor: Brooke Wolford
Photo Editor: Kate Norris
Writers: Dustin Burleson, William Condon, Emma Hawkins,
Will Jackson, Lenair Lett, Alex Lew, Peter McNeary, April Pulliam,
Avani Uppalapati, Kirby Vamadoe-Russ, Erica Venning, Jen Zhu
Advisor: John Kirk