TENTORIAN
VOLUME XXXII ISSUE SEVEN
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
stentorian@ncssm.edu
MARCH 2012
NCSSM students celebrate Holi
Holi is a Hindu religious festival that celebrates the victory of good over evil. The demonist Holika carried a young devotee of
Hindu god Vishnu into fire. Holika was burnt but the devotee escaped without any injuries because of his unshakable devotion. In
celebration, Hindus burn fires, throw colored powder at each other, and celebrate wildly. It has also come to celebrate spring and
the upcoming harvest. NCSSM MAFIA organized its own festival of colors on March II.
Kony 2012: a media
war on the home front
By Wesley Darling
Kony 2012 is a video
campaign shrouded in a great
deal of controversy. Not only
did the factuality of the initial
video with the same name cause
some to question the motives
of the company that created it.
Invisible Children, Inc., but also
the insane antics of the leader of
said company, Jason Russell.
The original video, posted
on Vimeo and Youtube in late
February and early March,
respectively, told the harrowing
tale of Ugandan children stolen
from their homes and forced to
fight in warlord Joseph Kony’s
Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA),
a Ugandan guerilla group.
The main purpose of this
30-mimite documentary was
to educate viewers about Kony
and rally support from people
around the world. Invisible
Children, Inc. also began selling
‘action kits’ comprised of
t-shirts, posters, and wristbands,
for people to spread the word
about the LRA and Kony, as
well as raise funds for the
company.
Jason Russell stated in
the video that the reasoning
behind the campaign was to
“make Joseph Kony famous,
not to celebrate him, but to
raise support for his arrest and
set a precedent for international
justice.”
Within days of being
posted, the original video
received millions of views,
and spread
through social
networking
sites like
wildfire.
Celebrities
tweeted about
the video,
people shared
the video and
told others to watch it on
their Facebooks, and many
supporters purchased the action
kit, so quickly in fact that when
I myself attempted to purchase
the action kit, the earliest
available in-stock date was the
middle of April. [As of now, the
action kit is no longer available
for purchase.]
Also posted shortly after
the original video, however,
were countless articles,
demographics, and videos
shining a new, harsher light on
the Kony 2012 campaign.
Charts showing the
Invisible Children, Inc.
company’s budget and finances,
showing where that their profits
were not, in fact, being given
in support to Afirica, and were
instead given to production
companies, and workers at
the company itself, for
funding the video, travel, and
merchandising.
Also,
several videos
appeared of
Ugandans
stating that
Kony had
in fact been
arrested several
years prior to
the making of the video, and
that order had been restored in
that part of Africa.
Others disproved the
campaign, on the basis that
child soldiers had been used in
numerous other military units
around the world, and there was
never a great fuss about it; why
should we stand up and donate
funds to a company to take care
of it now?
After these skeptics posted
their responses to the original
video. Invisible Children
released a subsequent video
stating the truth about the Kony
situation, or at least part of
it: that the LRA had moved
from Uganda to the jungles of
surrounding countries several
years ago, that the number of
children kidnapped had been
greatly exaggerated, that Kony
is still alive, however he has
moved, and that the income
from videos and advertising
does go towards production and
upkeep costs.
This new video by the
company, that says that they
did indeed embellish a bit on
the Kony situation, caused
some doubt among donators,
as they don’t know who to
believe. Many questioned and
put a great deal of pressure on
Invisible Children, Inc.
One interesting result of
this increased stress was the
arrest of director Jason Russell
for going on a naked rampage
in the streets of San Diego.
At first thought to be publicly
masturbating, Russell flailed
around and yelled at onlookers in
the nude, before being detained
by the police. He claimed it was
from the stress of the criticism,
as well as being dehydrated, and
exhausted.
Whatever the eause of
Russell’s rampage may be,
it adds a fascinating twist to
the uproar surrounding this
controversial video campaign.
Share the
Spotlight
dance
concert
in fourth
year
By Kristen Larson
On March 10, the NCSSM
Dance Ensemble sponsored
“Share the Spotlight,” a
community dance concert in
its fourth year.
“Share the Spotlight”
evoked the idea of community
that defines the Fine Arts
programs at NCSSM,
by incorporating dances
choreographed by local artists,
dance groups, and NCSSM
students.
When asked about the
motivation behind organizing
the event, NCSSM dance
instructor Kathryn Berberian
said, “Four years ago when I
started, I thought it would be
a great way for us to not only
share our students with the
community, but open up the
opportunity to let other artists
share their talents with our
students.”
Each year, Berberian
sends out an email to the North
Carolina Dance Alliance with
an invitation to any artists that
are interested in performing in
the toncert.
This year, complications
with Mini-Term, flight delays,
and last minute cancellations
were major stressors for those
involved, but the show came
together to present a wonderful
repertoire of pieces from a
variety of dance genres.
Guest artists included the
local North Carolina Arts in
Action LEAP team, dancers
from the North Carolina Dance
Institute, Maura Garcia from
Maura Garcia Dance, and
former Dance Ensemble
president and NCSSM
alumnus Elizabeth Sanford.
Juniors Alexa Gregory,
Phoebe Castelblanco, Nina
Ondona, and Anita Simha,
Seniors Lauren Knox, Selena
Hamilton, Debanjali Kundu,
Tess Stohrer, and Emily
Strother also choreographed
other dances for the concert.
The NCSSM Dance
Ensemble, Bhangra, and the
“From Studio to Stage” Mini-
Term also presented group
pieces.
Dance is alive and well
at NCSSM. From Bhangra,
to ICIDIC, Dance Bnsemble
to the Step Team, student
organizations at NCSSM
provide a way for those
passionate about dance to
continue their pursuits away
from home.