august 2009
lifestyles
the stentorian | ncssm
iAddicted? Embrace the Experience
By Avani Uppalapati
It would be no exaggeration
to say that NCSSM students
are addicted^ to the Internet.
The place practieally demands
it: we send emails to teachers,
administration, fellow students
and others daily. Most of us
use Facebook, AIM and other
social networking software
almost every day. We check
assignments on Moodle
and then submit them on
WebAssign.
We rely so heavily on the
Internet that the students and
staff were almost handicapped
for information when the
server was under repair for a
few days during third trimester
last year. I remember hoping
fervently for the Internet to
work again so that I could
stop running through the halls
to communicate with teaehers
and administration.
I realized the importance
of the Internet at this school
the summer before I started
attending itself. Months before
the school started, I was already
being asked to learn ehemistry
online and communicate
electronically with my new
roommate.
Beeause NCSSM makes it
so important to be connected
24/7, it is easy to forger that
you don’t really need to be
connected everywhere you
go. I learned this lesson in
India this summer. Over the
course of the school year, I
had become very attached to
my laptop, and of course took
it with me on my trip. What
I found was that it had been,
in some ways, a bane to my
experience there.
Though my laptop provided
great entertainment and some
produetivity, it also served as
a huge distraction from my
family. I spent about half the
time I normally would have
around people with my laptop.
Back at school, hours of
time seemed to waste away. The
explanation is that I spent time
doing little to nothing useful
on my laptop. I used YouTube,
Facebook and AIM much more
than I should have. The hours
I wasted were precious ones I
could have used for sleep and
work.
Before you start using your
laptop or the Internet, ask
yourself if it is really worth
it. Are’you losing (or gaining)
anything by going online?
Could you be using your time
more effectively? Short term
choices can pave the way for
long term repereussions that
may or may not be easy to
fix. Now that I have had time
to reflect, I realize that with a
little more self control, I would
have been a lot happier about
how I spent my time.
You can enjoy yourself
without your laptop. Go to
Ninth Street with friends, take
pictures, read. There really
is time for a lot more things
to happen than it may seem
like. How your time is used
depends on the choices that
YOU make.
The Internet will be your
friend at NCSSM, but beware:
it can also turn into a foe.
Make sure that you don’t let
yourself waste away in front of
the computer screen, spending
more quality time with social
networking sites and YouTube
videos than with the human
beings breathing right across
the hall.
By Erica Jane Venning
It won’t be long before the
advice starts pouring in: obey
the two-week rule, bring food
from home, take the stairs. But
perhaps the most important
piece of advice any senior can
offer you is to fully embrace
the NCSSM experienee.
Embracing the NCSSM
experience will mean much'
more than simply attending the
elongated meetings scheduled
for you in your orientation
paeket. By this time, I will
assume that you have avidly
flipped through your packet of
information and read the Move-
In Schedule on At-A-
Glanee at least three times.
If so, you will have notieed
many of the informational,
intimidating, and
potentially embarrassing
functions we have
prepared.
Why would the
administration put you
through this? Mostly, it’s
to help you get to know
your peers. However, in
order for us to meet you,
you must not be afraid.
Please, feel free to ask
questions at the meetings
you are most interested in. Be
sure to be brave during the
“scary” ones, and be outgoing
during the embarrassing ones.
At NCSSM, we humiliate
ourselves on a daily basis— it
becomes your norm, and you
will learn to love living in such
a socially free and accepting
environment.
The other perhaps most
prominent aspect of the
NCSSM Community is the
renewed sense'of family. In
your packet, you will notiee
mentions of “Hall Meetings and
Brother/Sister Hall Activities.”
These are chances to bond with
your on-campus family for the
year.
Referring to your hall as
your family may sound a little
extreme to our newcomers, but
every senior will look back and
relay the same message. Your
roommate may not seem, at
first, like someone you would
want to live with. Give them a
chance.
Roommates at Scienee and
Math are matched up according
to interests and habits, and
more than likely you will find
that your roommate is more
than willing to work with you
to make your living experience
as fantastic as possible. Do not
be afraid to get to know your
hall. Your seniors, your RLA’s,
to dance or not. I remember
meeting my RLA’s at this first
dance, and acting like a fool
with all of them. I had never
felt so welcome around kids
my age before, and hopefully
all the new juniors will feel
just as comfortable.
The other aetivity that
helped me familiarize with
the NCSSM norm was the d*
West Mixer. This annual mixer
beeomes much more than
simply a “dance.” If you choose
to attend, you will hear your
seniors mention the ceiling
“raining” sweat. This will
hopefully be explained by your
seniors the night of the mij^er.
Venning enjoys herself at a 4W mixer.
your SLI, and the other juniors
on the hall will be there for you
no matter what, whether you
choose to place your faith in
them or not.
Hall Activities and Required
Meetings are not the only
ways to get out and meet your
new family. One of the most
significant “Meet-and-Greet”
activities to me was the Ice
Cream Social/Dance. This
annual activity allowed me, as
a junior, to beeome acquainted
with the overall NCSSM
attitude. Nearly everyone is
out on the dance floor when
music starts, whether they like
August 2T‘. These mixers are
different and original from
other dances hosted by our
school because we use our own
students as DJ’s, instead of our
regular hired hand. This year,
expect to see lots of faees you
don’t reeognize, attributed to a
large grand-senior attendance.
With at least a quarter of the
campus expected to attend,
every junior and senior will
have a chance to meet new
people, seream like there are
no rules, and danee like no
, one is watching- which, to me,
embodies the social lifestyle
that is NCSSM.
Budget Crunch
With the state budget ratified, the tuition grant has been secured for this year’s
seniors. But what about the rest of the budget? NCSSM to cut costs and tighten its
belt this year as the state and country go through a serious economic recession.
By Alex Lew
The state budget was rati
fied recently and things looked
good for NCSSM. A manage
able budget cut of around 6%
will require NCSSM to tighten
its belt. On the other hand, the
eut is much less severe than
NCSSM had anticipated.
“The process really affirmed
the support that they give us
and their appreciation of our
mission,” Director of Devel
opment Brock Winslow said.
“I’m certainly grateful for the
support that we’ve gotten, but
that’s not to say that it’s every
thing we wanted.”
In one of the triumphs in
this legislative battle, NC-
SSM’s administration secured
the tuition grant for the classes
of 2009 and 2010. (But watch
out—it only extends to 2014,
so students taking a gap year
may not get their last year of
college free.)
On the other hand, NCSSM
did have to make some sacri
fices. Under normal circum
stances, all annual funding
would be adjusted. for infla
tion and budgeted accordingly.
However, this year teacher sal
aries and electricity costs were
not adjusted for inflation.
“On the one hand, everyone
still has a job, that’s a good
thing. But in real terms, as
suming inflation has occurred,
we make 97% of what we made
last year,” Winslow pointed
out. “The energy is another
issue. We can control what we
pay people. We can say, ‘We’ll
pay you X, and you can stay or
you can go’. But we can’t tell
gas companies we’ll pay them
X.. Let’s just hope for a warm
winter this year.”
Budget cuts
also came from the
state’s Department
of Public Instruc
tion. The DPI has
suffered large cuts
this year and has
had to lay off a
few teaehers from
around the state.
The DPI partially
funded NCSSM’s
distance learning
program, paying for
four faculty mem
bers to teaeh distanee learning
courses. This year, it’s had to
cut that down to two. However,
NCSSM is committed to not
letting anyone go.
“They’re now only giving
us 2 [full-time employees], but
we’ve committed to finding a
way to pick up the slack,” Win
slow said.
Cut things, not people, is
and will be NCSSM’s motto as
it works through this difficult
time.
The blow is not as severe as
it might have been, as NCSSM
still receives a per-student al
lotment of around $27,000 per
student per year. Because it
created 11 new spots for stu
dents this year, NCSSM will
reeeive almost $300,000 this
year in' enrollment growth
funding.