the stentorian | ncssm
features
august 2011
Students share thoughts about NCSSM discipline
By: Caroline DeSaussure
The class of 2013 will sit
through countless orientation
lectures learning about NC S SM
discipline. The class of 2012
has heard and experienced
the brunt of this' discipline.
NCSSM’s seniors share their
personal experience, tips, and
opinions punishment for rule
breaking at NCSSM, “levels”,
in particular.
Levels range in severity
in numerical order: one, two,
and three, a level one being
the least serious. This includes
missing check, missing
mandatory meetings, and late
work. Level two’s can result
from repeated level ones or
more serious rule-breaking,
such as walking off-campus
alone or after dark. Level
threes can, and often do, result
in expulsion and are typically
the result of sex, drugs, and/
or alcohol. The following are
some of the most common and
controversial rules at NCSSM.
* “"Disclaimer: do not
attempt to break any of these
rules. Despite what is said
in this article, any of these
scenarios may result in a level
and/or room restriction**
Walking barefoot- Walking
barefoot on a residential hall
is permitted. However, if one
steps outside of hall without
shoes on, it is considered “self-
endangerment” and could
result in a level two. Often
students are simply given a
verbal warning.
Using someone else’s
keys- Halls are not united in
BBR, meaning that if someone
from First Beall wants to go
see someone on Third Bryan,
they have to bang on the door.
Some people fix this solution
by borrowing someone else’s
access pass to get on their
particular hall. Although this
may seem perfectly fine, it
can be punishable with a level.
The argument is that with this
exchange, someone may be
able to get access to another’s
room without their consent or
get onto a hall of the opposite
sex.
Being in prohibited areas
after dark- This rule is in
place just to make sure that no
further rule-breaking goes on.
Prohibited areas are usually
classroom areas. After dark,
most teachers go home, leaving
these areas abandoned. Senior
Cassandra Lindquist shares,
“SLI’s should check Hunt
Lobby and other areas before
they become off-limits so that
sleepy/sick people aren’t left
to get in trouble without
knowing.”
In-room- Breaking in
room means that you’re
found in someone else’s
room after a certain
hour. On weekdays,
this is midnight and on
weekends it is 2:00 am.
This is one of the most
common levels because
SLI’s make rounds
through the halls and
catch people breaking
this rule.
“Sometimes last
year, I would sleep in
the lounge because my
room fluctuated between
extreme temperatures.
This is considered
breaking in-room and I
was caught a few times,”
said Emily Chen.
Prohibited phone
usage- Phones are not
supposed to be visible or
used during mandatory school
events, including meetings and
classes. A level one may result
and in extreme cases, one’s
phone may be taken away
for a week. Denise Elizondo
tells, “I was playing games
on my phone during a junior
yiA».
Courtesy of Caroline deSaussure
The NCSSM dark room: an example
of a prohibited area after dark.
meeting and received a level
one without warning.”
Missing a mandatory meet
ing- Junior and senior meet
ings are when administration
shares something important
that we should know and typi
cally occur once a month. They
are mandatory and missing one
is usually an automatic level
one.
“I accidentally missed a
meeting with the attendance
director once and was
confronted. It seemed like I
would be dismissed with a
written warning, but come to
find out that I received a level
one and two nights of room
restriction,” says Jeremiah
Collins.
Missing check- Check is
important because it ensures
that we are all safe and on-
campus. However, sometimes
students will .accidentally
sleep through check without
knowing and wake up to a
level. If a fire alarm goes off
after the last check of the day,
everyone in the building has to
evacuate and sign check again
once it is over.
Denise Elizondo shares,
“Find a buddy on your hall to
knock on your door to make
sme you’re awake in case of
an emergency!”
Advice on popping the bubble at NCSSM
By: Noah Lieberman
It is cbrhmon knowledge
that NCSSM is a bubble; most
students are informed of the
organizations, such as CNN.
com or NewYorkTimes.com.
By using multiple, credible
Newstand on 9th street.
latest developments at the
school, but are shocked when
they hear of what’s going on
outside the bubble.
Because students at
NCSSM don’t have much free
time to stay connected with the
news of the world, the bubble
is difficult to pop. Below is
advice to staying informed,
educated, and well-rounded
while at NCSSM.
1. Find Multiple Sources:
One news source may seem
like enough to some students,
but this can be deceptive.
Websites run the risk of using
unverified information or
running stories based upon
rumors, since they are not held
to the same standards as more
established publications.
Exceptions from this rule
include sites run by news
Courtesy of Caroline deSaussure
sources, you can separate fact
from fiction. Using one source
may also lead to an uninformed
student because of a bias
inherent in the organization.
This may be a political
bias, skewing the information
by only including information
that supports the journalist’s
beliefs, or a content bias, only
covering stories that fall under
certain areas, like technology
or sports news. By using
several sources, a student will
get more exposure to different
stories and be less vulnerable
to bias.
2. Get news from different
areas:
Another common mistake
that leads to a false sense of
being informed is only getting
news of a certain scale, such as
national or international news.
While it is surely important to
be informed on various events
around the world, one should
not ignore the
stories shaping
the Durham
region or the state
as a whole.
Using sources
such as WWW.
heraldsun.com
for local news or
charlotteobserver.
com/state for
state-wide stories
can help keep you
fully informed.
On the other
hand, students
should try to stay
informed
on what is
happening
around the
country or
around the
world, since it may affect
them just as much as local
events.
3. Use different
mediums:
Students trying to stay
informed on life outside
of the bubble should try
to get information from
as many different types of
news as possible.
The stories or type of
journalism one gets from
reading a newspaper or
magazine is very different
from that of a news
program on television or a ■
collection of stories on the
Internet.
Getting news from
different mediums will
also help one avoid bias, as
a local paper and a national
news program will have
very different content and
points of view. Mediums that
you should try to use include
radio, television, and print.
4. Talk to other students:
Having a group of friends
who you can talk to about the
news allows you to get different
viewpoints on important events
or learn about stories that you
may have missed.
While an informal
discussion may be enough for
some, there are also several
clubs at NCSSM that offer a
more structured discussion of
current events. Look for these
clubs at club fair and try to be
a part of their forums as much
as possible.
5. Have news be part of
your routine:
With everything that
students at NCSSM have to
deal with, staying on top of the
news may not be a top priority.
Having a news source be a
constant part of your life is a
great way to keep from falling
behind.
Some simple methods for
sneaking news into every
day include setting a website
like HuflfingtonPost.com as
your home page, having your
alarm clock wake you up with
a radio station such as NPR,
or attending the meetings of
news-oriented clubs.
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