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Volume 7 Number 4
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
March 30, 1988
Eilber Suggests Faculty Council Restructuring
by Pete Elsenhauer
Director Chuck Eilber
recommetrded to the Board of
Trustees that the Faculty
Council be reduced to a group
of 11 to make It a more ef
fective forum for discussing
faculty Issues. The 11 will In
clude six teachers elected by
the faculty, four teachers ap
pointed by the director, and
the principal.
The Faculty Council, es
tablished by the Board of
Trustees In 1986, Is composed
of the entire faculty and func
tions as an advisory body to
the Principal on matters of
academic policy and faculty
welfare.
Currently, Faculty Council
meetings are closed to all ad
ministrators, limiting advising
power on faculty issues only
to the faculty. Some faculty
members find the council to
be dominated by a vocal few
and agree with Eilber’s plan,
Three faculty members,
three administrators, and three
members of the Board of Trus
tees were appointed by the
Board of Trustees to evaluate
the proposed Faculty Council
changes. Dr, Jo Ann Lutz,
president of the council, made
a presentation to the task force
and wrote a five page report
in response to "some of the
Students Make Sharing Day a Success
Thasfl itudants wowad milliaHi witk tkair Ckainiitry Magic Shaw.
D.A. Application Process Begins
by Bo Wallace
primary Importance in a D.A.s
The rigors of the dormitory repertoire. Students would
assistant application process rather relate problems to their
have begun, with over one- peers, says Marty, and it is
hundred Juniors competing for
thirty-four positions.
A general meeting In mid-
important for a D.A. to be
able to servo in that capacity.
Because D.A.s are expected
February began the application to serve as role models, time
process, giving the juniors a management skills are also im-
brlef description of the respon- portant; students are very per-
stbllltles of the job. Following ceptive to the amount of time
the meeting, the applicants met his or her D.A. spends study-
with their Individual R.A.s to ing.
pick up an application, learn The next step in the ap-
more about a D.A.s role, and plication process Is a two part
gain a realistic Impression of workshop which will be used
their chances for D.A. appoint- to further familiarize the ap-
ment. pllcants with a D.A’.s roie.
"Being a D.A, means more Applications, which Include
than just doing room check," eight essays, are due March
explained Marty Wagner, coor- 30th, Faculty members In su-
dinator of the application pervlsory roles will complete
process, Marty ‘stresses peer evaluation forms which give
counseling as the job of the R.A.s an Impression of
how a student Is regarded out
side of the dorm.
In late April, the R.A.s
will announce the semlflnallsts,
and Interviews conducted by
two R.A.s and a D.A. will fol
low. From the arbitrary num
ber selected to undergo Inter
views. thirty-four D.As will be
chosen. Though a pool of al
ternates will be selected, they
won’t be notified as such.
There Is no definite date for
notification of the applicants.
but Marty expects to be
finished by late May.
Marty is very impressed
with this year’s junior class.
"I'm sure that we will have
more than thirty-four qualified
applicants," explained Marty,
"and I regret. that is all we
can take."
accusations made by the Direc
tor" in his statement regard
ing the council’s structure.
Recently, when the Facul
ty Council considered a
proposal for the election of
department heads, Eilber sent
a letter to the council, uncon
ditionally condemning the Idea
on the grounds that an elected
official could not effectively
evaluate teacher performance
or take necessary disciplinary
action due to desire for reelec
tlon.
Other Issues recently ad
dressed by the council Include
using Independent study cour
ses and seminars toward
graduation requirements and
ending the first semester before
Christmas.
The Council elects Its own
officers and meets once a
month. Officers are Dr, Jo Ann
Lutz, president; Dr. John
Kolena, vice president; and Dr.
Don Houpe, secretary.
Four Students Visit
Out-of-State Schools
Louisiana School Offers
Well-Rounded Curriculum
by Hui Sun Kim
Senior Michele "Rudi"
Rudisell and junior Mitchell
Tatum represented NCSSM in
the Special Projects Week stu
dent exchange program at the
Louisiana School of Science,
Math, and the Arts (LSMSA)
in Natchitoches, Louisiana,
The LSMSA curriculum,
geared toward students Inter
ested In the arts as well as
math and science, offers a
wider variety of humanities
courses than that of NCSSM.
Both exchange students agree,
however, that NCSSM science
courses are more rigorous and
student-oriented. Rudl and
Mitchell also assert that
NCSSM features superior lab
facilities compared to the
Louisiana labs which are built
Into the classrooms.
Most LSMSA students
take between five and eight
courses. On Monday, Wednes
day, and Friday, classes last
fifty minutes while Tuesday
and Thursday classes last
seventy-five minutes.
Although the school, with
a student body of 400, is lo
cated on the Northwestern
State University campus, the
main classrooms are housed in
a former public high school
building. Several of the univer
sity facilities, including the
swimming pool, are used by
the LSMSA students.
Students at the Louisiana
school pay a $600 fee to the
school upon acceptance. Of this
fee, $500 goes toward room
and board and the rest to stu
dent activities.
At most schools. Institu
tional food Is typically the tar-
See Louisiana, Page 3
Reissnei. Moigan Travel
to Three-Year Illlnnls
School
by Eugene Yen
Senior Steve Relssner and
junior Mark Morgan travelled
to Aurora. Illinois, during Spe
cial Projects Week as exchange
students to the Illinois Math
and Science Academy (IMSA).
Because IMSA is only in
its second year and is a three-
year school for ..tenth, eleventh,
and twelfth grades, the class
of 1989 will be the first to
graduate. The curriculum has
expanded each year to accom
modate the demands of each
new class. The average course
load for IMSA students is six
to seven classes of fifteen to
twenty students.
Currently, the science
department offers no advanced
courses; only general physics,
chemistry, and biology. The
mathematics department is
similar to that of NCSSM.
Several course additions are
planned with the coming of
the first senior class. .
The Illinois school features
the "Plato Lab", a computer
workplace consisting of Apple
Macintosh computers which in
terface with terminals at Il
linois State University.
The ISMA science labs ate
better than those of an average
high school but don’t measure
up to the facilities In the
NCSSM biology and chemistry
labs.
Each dorm room, slightly
smaller than those in the new
dorm, is shared by two stu
dents and has a phone and
a full bathroom. The doors to
the rooms are locked and un
locked by electronic cards car
ried by students. The ISMA
See Illinois, Page 3