MAY 1997
PAGES
NCSSM shows appreciation for women
ANNA MORRISON
LEONADELMAN
March was National Women’s History
Month and, to celebrate, NCSSM organized
a Women’s Conference to recognize and
honor women.
“[The object of the women’s conference]
was to make women of all ages aware of the
past, present, and future of women,” guidance
counselor and Women’s Conference commit
tee member Gail Hudson said. “The theme
was the celebration of women, to celebrate
who we are, where we’ve been and where
we’re going.”
Activities were planned throughout the
month including “Bring-A-Special-Women-
to-School” days, a Film Fest, and a Powder
Puff football game.
The “Bring-A-Special-Women-to-
School” project was designed to allow stu
dents to show a important woman in their
lives the NCSSM community.
The Film Fest included films by and
about women to facilitate discussion. The
Powder Puff football was a way for the
women of the community to come together
in fun.
The March ALT Day was the focal point
of the Women’s Conferenee. Activities
planned for that day included speakers con
nected to the school community, and perfor
mances by the modem dance group, the danee
team and the step team.
Fish Bowls, discussion groups where stu
dents were able to discuss women’s issues,
also occurred.
Senior Dorothee Alsentzer, a committee
member, said the main objective was to cre
ate “an inclusive at
mosphere” for the
conference, so that
everyone could take
part.
For this reason
all activities, except
for a sleepover on
Mar 14 in the PEC,
were open to both
sexes and men were
strongly
encouragedto par
ticipate. In fact, a
Women’s Confer
ence committee
member went to ev
ery hall in order to
promote participa
tion in the confer
ence.
“ ■[ T h e
Womens’Con
nference] was a cel
ebration of women
through their body,
mind, and spirit. Ev
eryone, men and
women from the
NCSSM conununity
and surrounding area
came away knowing more about women’s
mind, body, spirit and felt good about taking
part in these activities,” committee member
H Boshart senior said.
This is not the first year of the Women’s
Conference. The NCSSM Women’s Confer
ence was first held in 1995, after Tyrell
Haberkom. an NCSSM alumnus, who En
Tyrell Haberkom, founder of original Women’s Conference in 1995, speaks to studenbts
during the 1997 Celebration of Women.
glish teacher Jane Shlensky describes as “a
natural feministleader,” suggested to Hudson
that something needed to be done for women’s
appreciation in the NCSSM community.
The gathering featured Nawaah Sabawi,
a renowned speaker on women’s issues. Leigh
Whelper, who works in Outreach Department,
ference.
Even though the first conference
was very successful, the committee has de
cided to start fresh for this year. The com
mittee agreed that the students should be the
leaders of this conference and many students
have become involved.
Cultural Celebration at NCSSM
ANNA MORRISON
On April 27, the Asian Cultures Club,
sponsored by Jim Litle and Jane Shlensky,
hosted NCSSM’s 1997
AsiaFest, a celebration
of Asian cultures
through displays such
as dancing and booths.
The purpsoe of
AsiaFest was to edu
cate NCSSM about
Asian culture in the
community.
“AsiaFest is like a
celebration of unity in
diversity,” senior ACC
member Darice Wong
said.
The fest included
booths with displays of
culture and food
samples. Some of the
cultures included were
Indian displays. Hare Krishna information,
Chinese calligraphy, and Korean displays.
Later in the afternoon, students performed
Indian and Chinese dancing. Senior Smita
AsiaFest is
like a
celebration of
unity in
diverstity.
~ s e n i o r
Darice Wong
Trivedi choreographed many of the dances
and taught some simple steps once the danees
were over.
Junior Mandrill Taylor, a participant in
one of the dances, said, “It
was an enlightening expe
rience that I will always
treasure.”
The afternoon finished
with a Martial Arts demon
stration.
“I’m glad I wasn’t the
cinderblock,” said junior
Daryl Williams, who was
impressed by the demon
stration.
AsiaFest is normally an
annual event, but was not
held last year.
“We’ve never done it be
fore, we’ve never seen it
before,” Wong said.
However, various reports
showed that the celebra
tion was successful.
“[AsiaFest] is the first lime I have ever
done a demonstration and 1 enjoyed it,” mar
tial arts participant junior Karen Tang said.
described Sabawi as the highlight Of thg eon-
^ r 1 I L -
J
interest grows
iomMcCumber
^ The only thing kicking higher than stu
dents at NCSSM is the interest in martial
arts^ Students on campus show interest in
many different forms of this type of exer
cise, including Aikido and Tae-Kwan-Do.
Physics teacher Dr. Andres Manring said
that these students have shown their dedi*
cadon by making time in their schedules
to participate in this sport.
Between school work and other activi
ties, students have to find time to go to the
martial arts programs. Although junior
Karen Tang said that the dedication has al
ways been present, junior Maria Trent was
still surprised with the extent of dedica-
■ tion. ^
“With the woridoad here, you can’t ex
pect too much, buta lot of people, they’re
really dedicated, and they come to every
class,” said Trent. Both Trent and Tang are
instructors of the Tae-Kwan-Do seminar.
In contrast, varisty sports take more
time, and ome students find it difficult to
make time to participate in them. “It’s
difficult to balance sports and school,”
said senior Katie Hobbs. Martial arts pro
vide students with an opportunity to ex
ercise and compete without placing as
much of a time constraint on themselves.
“(Martial arts] competes with other
student sports available,” said Manring,
teacher of the Aikido and Thi Chi semi
nars and sponsor of the Tae-Kwan-Do
seminar.
Trent said that in the Tae-Kwan-Do
seminar, students are taught basic forms,
kicks, blocks, punches, and Korean ter
minology, language, and history.
Manring said that martial arts pro
vide students with guidance to leam how
to center and develop balance physically,
psychology, and spiritually. Collectively
they are “one of the paths of wisdom,”
he said.
Martial ^ have many benefits for
severyone on campus. “I leam something
every time 1 do it, about myself, and about
the art,” said Manring.