stentorian
vol. XXXIII, issue 4
north Carolina school of science and mathematics
NCSSM to host TEDx
By Jungsu Hong
The third annual
TEDxNCSSM conference
will occur on Saturday, Jan.
18 from 9:00 am to 1:00 pm.
Modeled after TED talks,
TEDxNCSSM allows students
and professionals network and
exchange information.
This year’s theme is Puzzles,
and students are encouraged to.
apply. The application is due 5
pm on Thursday, Dec. 12, and
forty students will be selected
by Dec. 18 to participate in this
special event.
NCSSM is the first high
school to host TEDx. Biology
instructor Amy Sheck founded
this event three years ago:
“The first year they did
NC Science Festival, I said
we can do a TEDx, which
is a great event to do during
Science Festival,” says Sheck.
“1 thought it would be easy
to do which was wrong, but
as I thought it is engaging. I
NCSSM
organized TED event
The stage from last year’s TEDx
appreciate that it is a good way
to give students opportunities
to have organizational skills
and meet the people they
meet.”
Fifteen NCSSM students
have been plarming with Sheck
for TEDxNCSSM, organizing
everything from food, guests,
speakers, and music. “It is
conference.
like a wedding; we have four
special guests, food for the
wedding, and invitations for
our distinguished guests.”
There is a TEDx music con
test hosted by the TEDxNC
SSM music committee that is
selecting music that will be
played at for the conference
on Jan. 18. Both past years
TEDxNCSSM has featured
„ theme music by an NCSSM
i student. The TEDx NCSSM
j committee has also added an
I art contest to use art inspired
j by the TEDx conference,
p One hundred guests will
I be invited to TEDxNCSSM
i including 20 distinguished
' guests, 20 faculty and staff, 40
NCSSM students, and 2 seats
for non-NCSSM Durham area
students.
“It’s an interesting mix of
people. Speakers are the main
draw but they also meet people
in the audience. Students have
found mentors for the summer
and year I would encourage
people to come.” says Sheck.
This year’s speakers are
Dr. Cheryl Woods Giscombe,
Assistant Professor and
research scientist at the
University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill School of Nursing-
an NCSSM alum; Misha
- TEDx continued oh
5 Page 3
Harris Teeter opens on Ninth St.
By Betty Liu
To the delight of many
NCSSM students, the new
Harris Teeter supermarket
had its grand opening on
Wednesday, Nov. 13.
The Harris Teeter is part
of the Shops at Erwin Mill,
a newly renovated shopping
complex located at the
intersection between Ninth
Street and Hillsborough
Road. The 53,000 square-foot
grocery store is the centerpiece
of this square, housing a new
Starbucks, an Asian food bar,
a pizza kiosk, bread stand, and
a hot food bar inside the store.
Many NCSSM students
were excited for the grand
opening. Kayla Boling, junior,
says “I absolutely love the new
Harris Teeter.”
Kayla went the day of
the grand opening and was
“excited to see the pizza bar,
and the Asian bar, and the
Starbucks.”
Jovan Baslious, senior, was
also excited that there would
be a new grocery store in the
area. When asked why he was
excited about the new Harris
Teeter, he responded “The
store is huge, it offers a lot
more variety.”
During the opening
weekend, students flocked to
the groeery store. It seemed
that there was an NCSSM
student around every comer.
Students were exploring the
store, tasting the food samples,
and loading up on groceries.
In hindsight, the amount of
people should not have been a
The new store is located at 2107 Hillsborough Road
shock. The grocery store offers
goods for cheap prices and is
in within reasonable walking
distance from the sehool,
making it an attractive option
for NCSSM students.
With its success and
popularity, Harris Teeter may
have adverse effects on local
businesses. Offering cheaper
prices and a shorter walking
distance, Harris Teeter is now
favored by many students from
NCSSM. Compared to other
alternatives such as Kroger and
Whole Foods, Harris Teeter is
situated ideally for NCSSM
students.
Baslious, on the cheap
prices relative to the other
local markets, said “Now 1 can
afford groceries again.”
Carly McKenna, junior, is
also glad about the variety that
the new store brings. She says
“Now we don’t have to rely on
Whole Foods for groceries.”
McKenna noted that with
the variety of food choices
available at Harris Teeter, she
might never again order at the
local restaurants in town, such
as China Star.
Despite the convenience of
Harris Teeter, some local shops
maintain a loyal following.
Many students still prefer to
go to the local coffee shop, Joe
Van Gogh’s, rather than the
new Starbucks located inside
the grocery store.
“The quality of the coffee
from Joe’s is far superior to
that of Starbucks,” said Junior
Steven Weatherspoon.
Also, though Harris
Teeter offers a selection
of books, many students
would rather browse
through the Regulator
’ Bookshop, located on
5 Ninth Street.
5 “The atmosphere
j is different. At the
5 Regulator, you can tel 1 that
i the employees genuinely
care about helping you
with books. Harris Teeter is
just a grocery store,” says
Baslious.
Whole Foods also has
a substantial support base,
with many students willing
to go the extra steps to shop
there. It seems that to some,
quality still wins out over
convenience and a lower price.
Only time will tell how the
emergence of this market giant
will affect the community.
With the new retail shops and
restaurants such as Panera
Bread, Pure Barre, Massage
Envy Spa, and The Duck
Shop, the Shops at Erwin Mill
shopping complex is offering
a greater variety of shops to
Ninth Street.
While it is possible that the
new complex can be a burden
to local businesses, it could
also be a boon. Along with the
new apartments in the area,
the complex could attract new
customers to Ninth Street.
With the increased consumer
base, perhaps both local and
corporate businesses will be
able to benefit from the new
complex.
December 2013
stentorianl23@gmail.com
SG
update
By Kim Ngo
This past month. Student
Government has been working
on several projects Including
improving food in the PFM
and the Mr. Uni.
Junior Senator Daniel Ren
has led the effort improving
PFM food. He recently sent out
a survey asking for students’
opinions on PFM food, which
received over 450 responses.
He has compiled the results
and will share your opinions
with the PFM staff and the
administration.
Additionally, Senator Ren
and Student Government
PFM Liaison Danielle
DeJoumett have established
a PFM committee composed
administration and PFM staff.
Its meetings are open to the
student body. Its next meeting
will occur in Jnauaiy.
Student Government
recently organized Mr. Uni, an
all-male pageant show casing
some of NCSSM’s talented
students. Senior Senator Julia
Yu, head of the Programming
Committee, led and directed
Mr. Uni on Dec. 7, 2013. Next
up from the Programming
Committee will be a winter
lock-in in the coming months.
For more information about
all that Student Government
has be dofiig visit www.ncssm.
edu/sg.
Networking
workshop
at NCSSM
Women in Bio, a RTP
group, is hosting a Networking
Workshop on Tue. Jan 28 and
Thurs. Jan. 30 from 4:45-6:15
PM. They will teach students
how to do networking and
expose them to a networking
event where they will apply
what they learn through the
Networking Workshop.
Topics covered include
how to start a conversation,
reading body language,
and discovering common
interests. Both girls and boys
are invited to attend. After
the two evening networking
workshops, students will
attend a networking event at
Biogen Idee (pharmaceuticals)
on Feb. 3, leaving campus at
5:30 PM.
This event is first come,
first serve, with twenty-eight
spots available. Sign-ups will
be posted by Dean of Science
Amy Sheck via signupgenius.
com on the NCSSM science
webpage.