stentorian
Vol. XIV, No. 4
Around the
world and back
By MAGDA KOTEK
News Editor
National
■ With a vote of 234 to 199, the House
of Representatives passed Newt
Gingrich’s “Contract With America.”
The Contract plans to overhaul the wel
fare system and give states monetary
block grants for welfare distribution.
■ The Senate has voted 69-29 to give
President Clinton a line item veto in
spending legislation.
■ Several nominees have been named to
run for the Republican part of the Presi
dential ticket. Included are Representa
tive Pat Buchanan with his “America
First” campaign, conservative G.O.P.
California governor Pete Wilson, and
pro-choice Pennsylvania Senator Arlen
Spector.
NCSSM, 1219 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705
April 13, 1995
■ Colin Ferguson was sentenced to 200
years in jail for opening fire in 1993 on
the Long Island Railroad, NY. During
the shooting, Ferguson killed six people
and wounded nineteen others.
International
■ Ten people were left dead and 5,500
were injured after the Tokyo subway
was targeted with a nerve gas attack.
After investigation into the crime, police
raided and discovered nerve gas produc
tion capabilities in the suspected Aum
Shinrikyo cult’s holy shrine.
■ Two Americans accidentally crossed
the Iraqi boarder from Kuwiat and were
arrested forillegally crossing the boarder.
American officials say that the two men
are likely to appeal the arrest soon.
■President Clinton and Boutros-Boutros
Ghali have agreed to evacuate American
troops from Haiti and to turn over control
of the island to the United Nations.
■ Gary Lauch, otherwise known as the
see AROUND THE
WORLD, page 2
Nawal El-Saadawi kicks off
NCSSM women’s conference
oto courtesy of
Marilyn Monroe (English teacher Ms.
Elizabeth Moose) struts her stuff to
"Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend" at
the closing ceremony of the Women's
Conference. Aretha Franklin also did a
number with her back-up singers.
By SARA BIRKEMEIER
Co-Editor in Chief
Nawal El-Saadawi, Egyptian
feminist, health activist, and writer,
kicked off the first “celebration of the
women” at NCSSM on March 22.
Previous imprisonment did not keep
her from following her beliefs and an
early morning assembly did not keep
many students from attending ber talk.
“My faith in all students was renewed as
I saw how many non- required seniors
crawled out of bed on an alt- Day for an
8:30 assembly,” commented one
administrator.
El-Saadawi’s talk about being an
Arab women and the struggles she has
gone through was followed by sessions
dealing with everything from domestic
violence and pornography to
homosexuality and breast cancer. The
sessions were led by NCSSM students
and faculty, college students and people
from surrounding areas. The day ended
with performances and dedications from
members of the NCSSM community.
Several organizations from around
town also particpated inlcuding : Asian
Cultures Club, the American Cancer
Society, the Rape Crisis Center, and
Feminists for Animal Rights.
“The NCSSM Women’s Conference
enhanced my appreciation for the
precious gifts of: the power, passion
and sisterhood of women; the natural
bond and spirit created as women work
together; supportive, concerned men
who are proud to call themselves
‘feminists;’ and my hope for our future
as I marvel at the energy, dreams and
awareness of today’s young women,”
said Guidance Counselor, Ms. Gail
Hudson.
“My most sincere thanks go to the
devoted students, staff, faculty and
administration who made this
remarkable event possible. It will be
our treasured memory for years to
come.”
Science and Mathers work magic at local schools
By JODY TUCKER
staff Writer
No physics... no chemistry... no polymers,
but magic was the explanation from many
Hillandale and Chatham County Elementary
school students. Maybe they were convinced
a little that what they saw on the last two
consecutive alt-days was pure science, but
mostly these students think that here at Science
and Math, we possess magic.
The kind of magic that turns water blue,
red, green, purple, orange, and yellow. The
kind of magic that turns a little food coloring,
some funky powder, and a little detergent into
what they call Gak and we call S lime (depend
ing on how old you are). We can crush
aluminum cans and make flasks adhere to our
hands on command. Science and Math stu
dents float on huge discs around school, and
we can even move walls. Just call us Merlin
(or Mr. Wizard)!
All of this has occurred at this year’s two
extremely successful and very fulfilling
science fest demonstrations where Science
and Math students demonstrated that science
can be fun— and that it isn’t just for grown
ups.
The kids do think, though, that they are
sometimes tricked. One child, obsessed with
magnets, was sure the demonstrators were
using magnets to make the wall move (a well
known physics floor demo) and to make the
physics ball go where they wanted it to in
gravity experiments.
Each experiment generally teaches some
scientific principle.
The slime teaches the
kids about polymers. The
colored solutions teach them
about chemical reactions.
The crushing cans and ad
hering flasks demonstrate
gas laws, and the physics
toys demonstrate general
physics principles such as
inertia and gravity.
The kids learn a lot from
these activities and they have
fun doing it. Science and
Math students also gain a lot
from the endeavor. •
If you have not heard it
from a science demonstra
tion person yet, volunteers
receive free pizza from ap
preciative teachers and school administra
tions for going.
Although pizza is a good reason to do just
about anything, there are other reasons to
attend also.
Science and Math students get a lot of
laughs, stress relief, and gain insight from the
see SCIENCE DEMONSTRA
TIONS, page 2
r.vv ;
Seniors Magda Kotek and Jody Tucker teach children
about chemistry at a recent science demonstration at
North Chatham Elementary School.
♦ Bits, Bytes, and Internet Sites A look at
the use of technology at NCSSM, inlcuding
wi^ to get started on the Internet, page 6-7.
♦ Leave My Stuff Alone One student’s
reaction to the increase of on-campus theft,
page 3.
♦ Poor Weezer New releases by Weezer have
gained instant pop fame, but this popularity will
most likely be short-lived, page 10.