September 2011
news / sports
the stentorian | ncssm
Libyan government faces
overhaul after fall of Qaddafi
French, and U.S. intervention.
As Minister of Justice
Mustafa Abdul Jalil said, “The
entire world has reached the
consensus that Qaddafi and
his regime have not only lost
their legitimacy but also their
credibility.”
The international commu
nity helped the rebels make
headway in their fight against
the Qaddafi government. How
ever, neither party could agree
on a mutually pleasing course
of action.
The fighting continued and
the International Criminal
Court pressed charges against
Qaddafi, intelligence chief
By Molly Bruce
Over the past year, there
have been constant reports
of civil unrest and public
uprisings in northern Africa,
especially in Libya.
Feb. 16, 2011 marked the
beginning of the protests
against Libyan dictator Muam-
mar al-Qaddafi. Originally
concentrated in Benghazi,
within days, anti-Qaddafi dem
onstrations spread across the
country. Nearly eve;y major
city was in upheaval and the
death toll numbered in the hun
dreds.
Libyan opposition member
Ibrahim Jibreel commented,
“Libyan peo
ple have been
oppressed for
more than 41
years and they
see to the west
and to the east
of them, peo
ple have been
able to rise and
to change their
fate.”
Still, the op
position forces
in Libya would
not overthrow
Qaddafi as eas
ily because of
the dictator’s
firm grip on
the oil econo
my.
c Qaddafi attemots to rally support.
support of the ^ j
minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil
was appointed the new leader
of Libya. Qn his plans for the
new Libyan state, Jalil said
“We are the same as people in
other coimtries, and are looking
for the same things...We want
a democratic government, a
fair constitution, and we don’t
want to be isolated from the
world anymore.”
The international communi
ty has a warrant for Qaddafi’s
arrest, once he is found. He or
dered attacks on peaceful civil
ians when the Libyan uprising
began.
It is likely that, if captured,
Qaddafi will stand trial and
military, the
Libyan government was able
to dispel rebel forces from
many of the cities surrounding
the capital of Tripoli. Despite
costly ground and air attacks
by the Libyan military and a
rising death count, opposition
groups maintained weak
control of Benghazi.
The, national community
was catapulted into the
situation on March 17, 2011
when the UN Security Council
authorized military action
in Libya, leading to British,
Abdulla al-Sensussi, and Saif
al-Islam for war crimes against
humanity.
Although the Libyan rebel
Transitional National Council
was internationally recognized
as the new Libyan government
in July 2011, the true end to
Qaddafi’s regime did not come
until nearly a month later.
On Aug. 21, 2011, rebel
fighters and citizens of Tripoli
captured Qaddafi’s compound,
forcing his family and him to
flee the country.
In his place, former justice
Courtesy of Newsweek.com
be convicted for war crimes
against humanity. If found
guilty, Qaddafi could face life
in prison.
Still, the new Libyan leader,
Mustafa Abdul Jalil, is not
delaying construction of a new
Libyan government, but father
pushing forward.
Abdul Jalil commented,
“We strive for a state of the
law, for a state of prosperity,
for a state that will have
Islamic sharia law as the basis
of legislation.”
The theatre
program: NCSSM's
best-kept secret
By Noah lieberman
NCSSM hosts many
nationally acclaimed programs.
Besides the school’s Science
and Math Departments, which
are coimted among the best
in the country, the school has
an outstanding Humanities
Department, an abundance
of foreign languages, several
engineering and computer
sciences courses, and
mentorship and research
opportunities that are second
to none. However, when one
is listing the accolades of
NCSSM, very rarely do you
hear he or she mention the
theatre program.
Adam Sampieri has been
head of the theatre program
for five years and describes
his program as “the best kept
secret in the school.” However,
Sampieri says the theatre
program does not want to stay
a secret any
longer.
In order to
understand the
theatre pro
gram, one has
to understand
the passion
that drives its
participants.
He says_that _
he views his role here not only
as instructor and supervisor,
but as artistic director.
“I get bored just directing
what’s written in the stage
directions.” Sampieri says,
“We need diversity and
creativity in creating work.”
It is this motto that has driven
Sampieri to make innovative
decisions, from last year’s
show Radio X, which was
compiled exclusively from
old radio transcripts, to his
decision to include a chorus
of mimes in the school’s
production of Love’s Labours
Lost? It is this willingness
to experiment that sets the
‘We need
diversity
and
creativity.
school’s theatre program apart
from all the others in the state.
Still, Sampieri says that
he could not accomplish all
he does without the dedicated
theatre community at the
school, which he describes
as “the heart and soul of the
program.”
Among the members of
this community are Zack
Fowler, who has starred in
every production, and Coraline
Badgett, who has been part
of the dedicated tech crew.
Both are members of the
Drama Board and are quick
to point out the great sense of
community in the program.
For Fowler, his shining
moment came in the opening
night of 2011 winter musical.
Footloose. “There’s just such
high energy and high interest
from everyone. It’s when I
realized theatre
can pull the
school together.”
Likewise,
Badgett’s
greatest moments
are during the
shows when she
and her team are
keeping the show
running. “We’re
always making sure things run
smoothly behind the scenes.
We’re ninjas.”
All these members of the
theatre community agree on
one thing; the need for others
to get involved.
“Don’t be afraid,” says
Fowler, “We’re a tight
community and everyone can
help to grow the department.”
Sampieri echoed those
sentiments. “Anyone who gets
on stage will have my highest
respect win lose or draw. The
three words we always say
before a show are you, me, and
us because it takes the work of
all of us.”
99
NCSSM hosts its first cross country meet
By Ahmed Zaeem
NCSSM held a cross
country meet on campus on
Tuesday, Sept. 13. This was
the first time that NCSSM had
hosted a race on its own turf.
Many students came out to
the race to show their support
for the runners. Having student
support meant a lot to many
runners on the team.
It also gave the NCSSM
students an opportunity to
witness a meet for the first
time. The residential aspect of
NCSSM makes it difficult to
go to other meets as spectators.
Senior Debanjali Kundu
says, “It was really cool to see
everyone running around the
track on NCSSM’s campus. It
was fun that we were able to
cheer on our runners on their
home track.”
Coach Nick Lehman was
debating whether or not to
hold the meet on campus or at
a local park.
Lehman continues,
“We decided to hold
the meet at NCSSM
because we thought
that runners from other
schools would enjoy
visiting our campus,
even from a competitive
perspective. Not to
mention, the students of
NCSSM would be able
to watch all the action.”
The course was a
total of 5 kilometers
(or 3.1 miles), standard
for a high school
race. From what the
campus offered as far
as topography, the
course seemed to defy
expectations.
The course had three
loops. The women’s
team ran before the
men’s team. Runners
began on the comer
NCSSM students competing in cross
country meet.
Courtesy of Samantha Hartsoe
of the soccer field. They ran
around the softball field and
exited through the gates near
Hunt East.
They then proceeded to
Watts Circle, up to the Biyan
Parking lot, and then down
to the comer of Spmnt Street
and Broad Street, mnning
back down in the opposite
direction along the dirt path
that surrounds campus. The
mnners then followed Spmnt
Street up to the gates that led
into the IM fields.
The next part of the course
required the mnners to change
terrain and mn up the sidewalk
that led up to the PEC along
Maryland Avenue. Qnce the
mnners went around the PEC
and back down into the soccer
field, they repeated the loop.
At the end of the third lap,
the mnners finished their lap
around the soccer field. They
sprinted to the finish, rather
than exiting the gate again.
Senior Stephen Mulherin
finished among the top
contenders in the race. He
says that both NCSSM teams
exhibited “great performance
and determination”.
Cedar Ridge, DSA, and
Franklin Academy displayed
great enthusiasm for being on
our campus. The success of
the meet was the result of the
organization and collaboration
of Lehman and other members
of the NCSSM Athletic
Department.
Based on the success of this
meet, Mulherin claims, “There
will be more to come”.
Both the NCSSM men’s
and women’s teams finished
in first place. Prior to the race
on campus, the men’s team
was ranked eleventh in all
classifications of high school
cross country teams in North
Carolina.