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News
®I|E Cirypljon
Who do you think you are, Einstein?
Nick Coppedge
When someone says something stupid, you may sarcastically say, “Sure, Einstein”. Maybe
when someone says something extremely smart or has a great idea you may say, “Who are
you, Einstein?” Einstein is a universal household name, and we think of Einstein as a
synonym for genius.
Very few people, however, really know why his name is equivalent to genius.
Everyone has heard E=mc^, the most famous equation in the world. Yet, most people don’t
understand its importance or its meaning. E=mc^ is the basis for Einstein’s greatest
achievement which is his theory of relativity. E=mc^ means energy equals mass X celaritus
squared. Einstein used the Latin word celaritus which means quickness, but he used it to
express the speed of light.
What does all of this mean? If you could suck all the energy out of just one gram
of mass you could supply a large family with power for over 100 years. Scientists thought
this equation couldn’t be right, because it seems to defy common sense. For example, if
you were to bum one gram of gasoline, very little energy would be released from the
chemical reaction which takes place. After many years of denying E=mc^they realized it
was correct after intense studies on nuclear energy problems, explaining why a little
hydrogen bomb can have devastating effects when detonated.
Although knowing the meaning of the most famous equation, E=mc^, may seem
useless and unimportant to many people, it is an extraordinary achievement in the world of
physics.
New Ucense
restrictions
Marques Williams
A new license restriction has been placed
on 16-17 year old drivers. In addition to only
driving from Sam to 9pm, the new law states
that 16 year olds may have only one
passenger riding with them. The law was
enacted because teenagers represent about
14% of all drivers, and teenagers are
involved about 7% of the fatal crashes that
occur on America’s roadways. Experts feel
that teens should spend more time behind
the wheel in driver’s education rather than
going on the road early. In addition to more
time behind the wheel, instructors say that
it would benefit the teenage driver to have
more experience in the world of driving.
One Year Later:
Remembering
September 11th
After the attacks, students watch Presi
dent George W. Bush address the na
tion. The time was about 12 noon.
-Photo by J. Oswalt
Official Publication of Rocky Mount Senior High School Journalism Class
1969-2002
308 South Tillery Street
Rocky Mount, NC 27804
Nisi populus stulta non interdum ageret, nihil interlligens unquam ageretur.
Editor.
Elizabeth Massingill
StaffWriter.
Patrick Matthews
Editor.
Justin Oswalt
StaffWriter.
Mandy Smith
Ads Manager....
Nick Coppedge
StaffWriter.
Brooke Smith
Sports Editor.....
Trey Salacki
StaffWriter.
Marques Williams
News Editor.
Elizabeth Massingill
StaffWriter.
Shaquita Williams
Entertainment Editor....Serena Arrington
StaffWriter.
Lindsey Battle
Photographer....
Justin Oswalt
StaffWriter.
Adrienne Mitchell
StaffWriter.
SharitaBattie
StaffWriter.
Caidin Johnson
StaffWriter.
Kareem Gantt
StaffWriter.
Darace Bames
Letters from students, faculty, and community members are welcomed and may be
sent to The Gryphon in room 016. The editors reserve the right to limit content and
to withhold libelous or profane material.
No moment of
silence?
Caitlin Johnson
On September 11*, the nation was asked to
observe a moment of silence at 8:46 a.m.
This was to commemorate the moment of
the fu-st attack against America exactly one
year ago. It was not mandated that we hold
a moment of silence; it was a request that
RMSH didn’t observe. There was no school-
wide moment of silence. This is very
disappointing.
September 11* is a day that will
never be forgotten. Not having a moment
of silence was very disrespectful to all those
who lost their lives that day. It was also
very un-American.
Why would there not be a moment
of silence? There is nothing about it that’s
against any religion. During a moment of
silence, you drop everything that you are
doing at that moment. You don’t have to
pray, you could just sit there and stare at
the wall. As long as you don’t make any
sound and disturb others, you are okay.
I asked Mrs. Bradshaw for her side
of the story. She said, “I left it up to the
teacher’s discretion. Some teachers had
already had things planned to
commemorate the attacks, such as ordering
the special edition of the News & Observer.
Some even had their own moment of silence.
But no, there was never a school wide
moment of silence planned.”
I do not agree that it should have
been up to the teacher’s discretion. I feel
that there should have been a school-wide
moment of silence. I think that it’s pretty
bad when kindergartners have a moment of
silence, but high schoolers do not. My mom
said that when she was at the church where
she works, on Sept. ll‘\ the kids at
Englewood Elementary school were
dressed in red, white, and blue, waving flags,
singing patriotic songs, and had a moment
of silence. My brother, who is in the U.S.
Navy, on tour at the base in Charleston,
S.C., said that a man came over the intercom
and said, “The president wants us to have
a moment of silence.” RMSH didn’t do
anything school-wide. It was just treated
like a regular day. Some teachers may not
have planned anything because they may
have been trying to move on and not dwell
on the tragedy.
Next year, we should remember all
the people lost on that day, together, as
one school and along with the rest of the
nation.
Disclaimer: This article is the sole opin
ion of the writer and does not neces
sarily reflect the views or opinions of
The Gryphon or Rocky Mount Senior
High.
Budget Crisis
Caitlin Johnson
The budget crisis is affecting many Nash-
Rocky Mount Schools, even RMSH.
In May, the state made
recommendations to cut budgets in
education from kindergarten up to college.
Gov. Mike Easley had vowed education
would not be affected by the state budget
crisis. Easley thought that shortfall would
be $900 miUion to $ 1.2 billion. The shortfall
actually amounted to $ 1.5 BilUon
The Nash-Rocky Mount School
System lost 23 teacher and 48 teacher’s
assistants. RMSH also had positions cut.
This year, there are 2 secretaries in the office.
Last year, there were 3 secretaries.
The teacher’s cut has saved the
district $2 million, but has resulted in larger
class sizes. This is evident at RMSH, where
the average class size is near 30 students
with only one teacher.
Hello! You need
glasses!
Darace Bames
Have you ever been sitting in the classroom
taking notes from the board and realize that
your sentence makes no sense? You wrote,
“the orange elephant took the fish.” You
ask your friend what the sentence on the
board says. She tells you that the sentence
says, “the gray dolphin chased the fish.” If
you do that, hello, you need glasses.
Statistics show the most common
sign of vision problems are rubbing eyes,
squinting, turning or tilting your head,
losing your place when reading, or using
your finger to follow along when reading.
Other symptoms include headaches, red
eyes, wandering eyes, and complaints of
blurred vision. If you have any of these
symptoms, hello, you need glasses.
If you have glasses and want to
stop your eyes from getting worse, you
should take frequent eye breaks, look up
and away from extended near-computer
work, spend time outdoors, don’t hold
reading materials too close to your face,
practice eye focus skills as recommended
by doctor, and ensure you are wearing a
current lens prescription. In most cases
glasses wiU not cause deterioration that will
not otherwise occur. Wearing glasses for
activities other than recommended,
however, could cause problems. Examples:
Distant glasses worn to read up close. This
may cause your eyes to work harder than
they need to.
Make sure that you look out for
the symptoms and go to the doctor and get
check-ups.