the stentorian ] ncssm
opinion
december 2011
Procrastination: NCSSM students
share their favorite sites to visit
when not doing homework
By: Olivia Truax
Walking down the hall
yesterday, I heard an all-to-
familiar conversation between
two juniors. It went something
like this:
Girl 1: Oh my god I am so
tired. I am going to die.
Guy 1: Why? How much
sleep did you get?
Girl 1: Like an hour and a
half. I had a Miller paper due
last block and I didn’t start until
like 11 last night.
Guy 1: Wait, what? I
thought you didn’t come to
dinner with us because you
were starting it, at like seven.
Girl 1:1 really tried. I sat at
my computer from like seven to
eleven and didn’t do anything.
All of a sudden it was 11 and I
all I had on my paper was the
first sentence.
Guy 1:1 have no sympathy
for you.
Girl 1: I don’t even
remember what I did!
We will probably never
know for sure what Girl 1 did
for the 4 hours during which
she wasn’t writing her Miller
paper, but I think that I have a
pretty good guess: Facebook.
But, Facebook isn’t the only
site bleary-eyed Smathers curse
during the early hours of the
OWXn cutting
NOW
Anthony Lee. Tumblr, a
microblogging site, is a popular
among NCSSM students, and,
according to Coraline Badgett,
“Can take up hours of your life!
2ri*£.W
morning...
When I asked NCSSM
students what, besides
Facebook, they did on the
Internet while avoiding
homework, here is what they
said:
“Probably Tumblr’’ say’s
CourtesyofTumblr.com
I can easily get on intending just
to check something and look up
three hours later.”
“YouTube definitely,
it’s so easy to start watching
one video and just get lost
and all of the related videos”
says Chris Nellis, “You just
keep clicking...” “I’ll start
listening to music, but then I’ll
be distracted by the video...”
Adds Christin Green
“I’m gonna say Twitter.
Follow me, y’all.” - Says Anita
Simha.”Twitter has to be one
“of the most narcissistic things
ever, but I’m addicted. I deleted
my facebook for college app
season, but I’ve just ended up
wasting time on twitter!” says
Wynter Wolff.
“I waste time on imgfave.”
- Jade Lu. “I’m totally addicted,
I actually spend a lot of time
on imgfave during AmStud...”
says another NCSSM junior.
“1 go on ‘I waste so much
time’, it’s just picture with
captions but I can go on for
hours.” says Waverly Wolff. “I
go on there all the time too,”
adds her roommate Elizabeth
Lilley.
These five are just a few of
the multitude of sites available
for those who have no desire to
start there work on time. It’s a
wonder anything ever gets done
with the Internet turned on.
Comics infrequently studied in
NCSSM classes
By: Abigail Gruchacz
Combining both the
written word and pictures is an
incredible method to tell a story,
one that takes creativity from a
team of writers and artists.
Watchmen by Alan Moore
and Dave Gibbons offers
commentary on the Cold War,
American social structure, and
the superhero genre.
God Loves, Man Kills by
Chris Claremont and Brent
Anderson uses the conflict
between The Purifiers and The
X-Men to show how religion
could be twisted to gain power
and promote prejudice but
could be used for a source of
good and hope as well.
Mans by Art Spiegelman is
a haunting memoir about The
Holocaust, and is a winner of
the Pulitzer Prize. To list all the
examples of comics that could
be considered literature worthy
of study is too monumental a
task for anyone. Yet, despite
all the social commentary and
themes that comics have, they
are not read in the classroom
frequently.
They are occasionally used
as historical documents, such
as when Instructor Meredith
Murphy uses the first issue
of Iron Man and the cover of
Action Comics #58 to show the
racism of the era. Yet, comics
are still ignored as works of
literature.
Admittedly, a comic might
not be studied because there is
a preconceived notion that the
medium as a whole is “childish.”
This is because comics were
The
Stentorian
the north Carolina school of science and mathematics
1219 broad street, durham, nc 27705
stentorian@ncssni.cniii
Editors-in-Chief: Caroline deSaussure, Ashley
Jemigan, and Olivia Truax
News Editor: Molly Bruce
Features Editors: David Ojo and Noah Lieberman
Opinion Editor: Steven Philips
Sports Editor: Ahmed Zaeem
Photo Editor: Samantha Hartsoe
Entertainment Editor: Madelaine Katz
Editor: Wynter Wolff
Writers: Abigail Gruchacz, Jordan Harrison, Joy
Hill, Mia Madduri, Marcie Pedzwater, Rosalia
Preiss, Carl Yin
Advisor: John Kirk
subject to strict censorship in
the 1950s and 1970s, so were
marketed to children.
Another reason is that some
of the best comics to study,
such as the aforementioned
Watchmen contain graphic
violence, which some parents
might not approve of However,
it mostly comes down to the fact
that when a teacher is planning
a lesson, some things have to
be cut and priorities have to be
ordered.
A teacher may want to
study God Love, Man Kills but
there might not be enough time
to cover both it and a traditional
piece of literature, like Catcher
in the Rye.
Adding to the difficulty
is the fact that the two main
distributors of comic books.
Marvel and DC are viciously
protective of their intellectual
property. They may refuse to
put an issue in an anthology that
is not being organized by them.
Older comics, especially
those published before the
1950s are very hard to find
in good condition, and if
they are to be found, they are
expensive.
Despite all of this, comics
are making their way into the
classroom. Mans, the Pulitzer
Prize winning book, is studied
as a work of English literature,
European History and Jewish
Culture in some colleges and
universities.
Movies such as The Dark
Knight are helping to dispel the
notion that comics are solely for
children. The Internet allows
easy access to older comics that
are under public domain.
At NCSSM, the expansion
of American Studies from two
trimesters to three trimesters
allows teachers to increase the
number of books the class can
look at together.
Perhaps this often-ignored
medium will finally gain
the scholarly recognition it
deserves.
Coutesy of Kristen Larson
Should
art be a
required
class at
NCSSM?
By: Mia Madduri
There is a debate on
whether or not the arts, such as
music, theater, or visual arts,
should be made a requirement
for NCSSM academic
curriculum.
The graduation
requirements already put in
place are five trimester credits
of a math, six trimesters of a
laboratory science, American
studies and two additional
trimester credits in English,
one credit of any PA course,
mastery of a world language,
and two to five elective credits.
Research has shown
that students who take more
art courses have improved
cognitive function and have
strengthened regions of the
brain linked to attention, self-
control, and focus-intensive
tasks. Not only is it shown
to help with these brain
connections, the arts are also
a way to relieve stress and add
to a person’s well roundedness.
Several students have
been absolutely pleased with
their experience with the arts
at NCSSM, such as Haley
Erickson, a junior, who states,
“I think they should be required
because they stimulate your
brain, are relaxing, and are fun;
a good stress reliever. So many
people take part in the arts and I
think that is a good reason why
it should be required.”
This sentiment is echoed
by several other students, which
would lead one to believe that
this is an experience all students
should have.
However, those against
making it a requirement state
that, because the fine arts are
a means of expression, they
should not be required because
it would take away the freedom
of creating it in the first place.
“We are a specialty school
in the areas of science and
math. I believe that it’s our
responsibility to provide a
vibrant arts program for those
who wish to participate, but not
make it a requirement,” says
music instructor Scott Laird.
Laird continued to say
that a large number of students
taking extracurricular activities
are engaged in the fine arts.
Because of high amount of
interest already, he said, the
NCSSM administration does
not feel the need compel
students to take these courses.
Steve. Warshaw, Vice
Chancellor of Academic
Prorgrams, agreed. “We have
facilities required to provide an
outlet for every student as a way
for students to explore their
creative talents. If they were
required, they would become
more standardized, but it is
important for us that we make
the opportunity abundantly
available.”