Newspapers / North Carolina School of … / Feb. 1, 2010, edition 1 / Page 11
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the stentorian | ncssm news february 2010 11 School to attempt world record: an inside look Continued from front page out how they recorded and documented all of that, and they sent me PDFs of their excel spreadsheets. So, they were very, very helpful and offered any help they could get us until we actually attempted.” More than thirty NCSSM students are currently active in organizing the food drive through committees. There are five committees: civic organizations (Lions Club, YMCA, community service- oriented organizations), K-12 schools within the Triangle Area, colleges, businesses, and religious organizations. These students do everything from working with NCSSM alumni at the different local colleges to going out and talking to different businesses to put up flyers and ask for raffle and food donations. Although spaces on the committees are filled, Lewis encouraged all to help out in any way: “Join a Facebook group and invite all of your friends! Come to a volunteer meeting because there are plenty of opportunities to volunteer in shifts on the day of the food drive, and any volunteer will get one of our Together We Can NCSSM World Record shirt free of . charge.” Because Lewis is overseeing the entire world record attempt, she turned over the committees to adult sponsors to manage: “It’s kind of up to them [the adult sponsors] how frequently they’re meeting and how they’re organizing their committee. So I’m kind of hands off [with committees]— answering questions, but I have other things on my plate.” What Lewis does do day-to- day is answer e-mail messages from the Durham Herald-Sun newspaper, which has already run four articles on the NCSSM world record attempt, respond to e-mail messages on the NCSSMFoodDrive@gmail. com account, return phone calls, and contact different corporations to help sponsor . the food drive bills. Lewis has already been contacted by several food distributers: Cisco Foods and the food provider of the PFM, which will make large food donations to the food drive on the day of the event and supply snacks and beverages for the volunteers during the event. Lewis remarks, “It’s really exciting how the event is snowballing, how more people are finding out about it, and how we’re getting the support of different communities and organizations. Lewis and her taskforce of students are not alone in their work for the food drive. Ryan haircloth of Developmental Office helped to write the Guinness World Record attempt proposal and ha's been working with Lewis in contacting various corporations for donations. Therese Taxis has been reaching out to alumni and parents to get involved. Lauren Everhart, Director of Communications, has been working on press releases, created and is helping to maintain the website, and worked with the Durham Crop Walk to schedule Durham Fight Hungers weekend as the same weekend.as the food drive. NCSSM Asiafest is also on the same day as the record- attempting food drive. The Asian Cultures Club (ACC) Officers immediately jumped to help the cause by hosting a VIP Seating Challenge. Groups of 4-5 individuals, both students and faculty, are expected to collect cans and other non- perishable , food items as teams, and the nine groups that collect the most pounds of food will be recognized during the performance and given the first three center rows in the auditorium fortheperformance. A special prize would be additionally rewarded for top collecting team. Rebecca Pham, ACC Officer and NCSSM Food Drive Business Committee member, explained, “The [Asia]fest celebrates the diversity of Asian ethnic groups and is one of the largest annual events at NCSSM. I immediately realized' this would be a great opportunity to contribute to the world record attempt. AsiaFest this year promises to be a great show as always; seats fill up fast and what better way to guarantee a spot for the best seat in the house?” Asian incentive, every person who donates on March 20 will receive a raffle ticket and another raffle ticket for every ten pounds donated. These numerous raffle prizes include autographed items by television stars Daneel Harris of One Tree Hill and Jensen Ackles of Supernatural, NCAA National Basketball Champion Eric Montross, and Anoop, Desai of American Idol. There will be ffine raffle for the general public and one Science and Math-only raffle. There will also be prizes for the male and female hall that collect the most pounds of food and for the individuals that collect the most pounds of food. Lewis reminded not to forget the main cause of the food drive: “The thing I’m bank for Central and Eastern North Carolina. As Miniterm and trimester break approaches, the NCSSM World Record taskforce will be encouraging students to bring back food. A virtual food bank is also available on www. ncssm.eduyfooddrive. When somebody visits the virtual food bank link and enters his debit or credit card, the food bank will provide eight pounds of food for every one dollar spent. This method promises non-perishable food at cheaper prices that can be generally found in grocery stores. Lewis urged, “Every little bit helps— one more person participating to help our cause, one more person’s contributions to help reach goal of beating world record. When I think of it. blCSSNl Junior Marlee Sloan of residential hall 1E2E2D designed the logo for the NCSSM Food Drive. Cultures Club is also asking for at least a one-can donation in exchange for experiencing an Asian cuisine buffet before the show. Pham said, “One can per person is not a big request and the effort can go a long way.” The NCSSM .World Record taskforce is working to encourage as many individuals to donate as possible. As trying to keep in mind is not breaking the world record but bringing as much as we can to the food bank, ff we break it, that’s -great, but if not, then it’s fine.” Nearly half a million people are at risk of hunger in the 34 counties that make up Central and Eastern North Carolina, and all food raised from the world record attempt would go directly to the food if each person can bring one paper grocery, bag full [of non-perishable food] from the grocery store, if you fill that [bag] up—that’s approximately 25-30 pounds of food you can bring, and that’s just in one bag.” For more information on the NCSSM Food Drive, visit its website at www.ncssm.edu/ fooddfive. Continued from front page Boarman proposed the tuition grant to Senator Kay Hagan because “the [students] deserve a reward.” He based his idea on the Georgia’s Helping Outstanding Students Educationally scholarship. The scholarship is for students who attend in-state universities and keep grades above a certain level. Since its inception, fewer students have gone out of state for college. However, because future classes will no longer receive Boarman steps down after 10 years the tuition grant, he believes that the school should pursue more articulation agreements in the future. Boatman’s term as chancellor has had its share of controversy. When construction began on the NCSSM soccer field, homeowners in the surrounding neighborhoods were worried that the light from the field would be disturbing to local residents. Then in 2005, the administration informed faculty council president and math teacher Carol O’Dell that her contract would not be renewed. O’Dell claimed that the school’s academics were declining and later told media such as NBC 17 that she was pressured to give A’s and B’s. Recently, Boarman has come under fire from local newspapers that reported that his salary increased from $185,028 in 2004 to $245,000 in 2009. Boarman responded to that, “It’s kind of interesting, because I don’t control my salary. The Board of Trustees actually controls my salary. When Boarman first arrived at the school, this graffiti-covered power plant stood where the swingset now does. It was surrounded by barbed wire. I’ve turned down raises twice because we didn’t have the budget.” As far as the future of NCSSM isconcemed, Boarman was instrumental in planning the Discovery Center, which he hopes will provide great opportunities for students. He believes it will be the hub of student-oriented activity. It will have a brand new library, student center, cafe, outdoor movie theater, and student store. Student enrollment is expected to increase , to between nine hundred and nine hundred-and-fifty when the new center is built. Boarman hopes the school will offer more online courses and that instruction will be more blended; that is, students will study independently more. He sees our campus extending to all of the Triangle, and not just the Durham community. Looking back, the school provided him with many memorable experiences. In 2001, he remembers that the school had its first Siemens’ winner. Boarman is excited that the number of applications to this school has more than doubled since the beginning of his time here. Boarman says he is glad to see students having more of a voice, and administration listening more. All of the cultural fests, social events sueh as Mr. Unicom pageant, and seeing students run to the Butterfly House at prom have been part of his favorite experiences. He likes conversing with students in the cafeteria as well. He has enjoyed seeing students at reunions and finding out where students go after here. Boarman admitted, “I’m not sure that I’ll ever find a school like this again.” He hopes that whoever the University Board of Tmstees finds to replace him, that person is student-centric. “My philosophy is students first. Whatever the program is or the mission is, or what you want, is this best for the students? If it is, fine. If it isn’t, we need to make sure, and ensure, it becomes the best program for students.”
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Student Newspaper
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Feb. 1, 2010, edition 1
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