October
99
page 11|
Respecting others’ religious beliefs
Mass emails
were just the
surface of a
widespread
problem
jillian green
I’m sure every student
has been aware of the abuses
of the “all students” address.
Two forwards describing an ex
plicitly Christian doctrine were
sent before the address was
canceled: Mass Emails telling of
the wonders of Jesus Christ.
These emails have under
standably caused a lot of anger
and controversy in the school:
If I were a devout Muslim, Jew,
Hindu, Taoist, Buddhist, Bahai,
Agnostic, Atheist or any other
religion I would not appreciate
receiving this email. In fact, I
would be offended to the point
of anger.
I would like to believe that
the religious tension and intol
erance at NCSSM is limited to
these two emails. But it is not.
Last year I could not ig
nore the underlying of tension
at NCSSM over the issue of re
ligious tolerance: And I don’.t
just mean Christians spouting
dogma to non-Christians (which
personally I see as a common
misconnotation when the words
“religious tolerance” are used.)
I am Christian and many
times last year I was scared to
assert that fact in class. Far too
often Christians are assumed to
be brainless followers who sim
ply believe everything that they
read in the Bible. I strongly re
sent this stereotype. Personally,
I have participated in numerous
organizations that tackle with
serious theological issues, such
as “what is the nature of God,”
“why is there evil if God is
good,” “is there even really a
God,” “what is the Bible really,
and how can I use it in my life?”
Additionally, I research
historical on the validity of the
Bible, sometimes even going
over to Duke’s Divinity school
to use their library. Many other
Christians really have a need to
research the validity of the
Bible, looking at the book both
from the viewpoint of a follower
and scientist. The assumption
that there is no place for Chris
tianity (when there is a place for
other religions and agnosti-
atheism) in the scientific method
is a form of religious intoler
ance.
Here af NCSSM, I see the
need for two main improve
ments. First, respect other
people’s views. As strongly as
you may disagree with people
for their views, don’t assume
that they are stupid, or that there
is something wrong with them
because they don’t believe what
you believe. If you really are cu
rious how on earth someone can
believe what they believe, en
gage in a discussion with that
person, but be respectful.
Secondly, don’t judge
people by their religious affilia
tion, but as Martin Luther King
woi^d say, judge them by the
content of their character. Judg
ing is wrong; however, recogniz
ing that it is inevitable, judge
people on how they live, and
how well they carry out the doc
trine to which they prescribe.
Religion is such a beauti
ful expression of a human strug
gling to understand the outside
world. Let’s not make the rite of
passage of searching for the joy
one has in finding a theology
that speaks truth to them) a bur
den to bear. After all, don’t we
have enough to worry about?
Making the most of NCSSM
heather fned
This year, the student
body has made many complaints
about the administration, the
mles, and changes in the school.
Unfortunately, because of these
frustrated sentiments about
things we do not like about the
school, we have lost sight of the
positive things about the
school. There are reasons that
we are all here. The school has
characteristics that we love and
value enough to remain here,
though at times we wonder why
we did not leave a long time ago.
What truly makes NCSSM a
great place to be, and distin
guishes it from other high
schools, goes further than the
academics, the administration,
and the structure, and lies
within the students themselves.
At my old school, many
of the students were very pro
vincial. If you wanted to feel like
a part of the group you had to
conform to the views of the
group, which were biased and
superficial at best. Furthermore,
cliques dominated the school.
If you were lucky enough to
make yourself acceptable to a
group of people you wanted to
be “friends with, those were
the only people you associated
with. While 1 had friends, many
of whom belonged to different
cliques, I felt the tension be
tween them and other students.
I lacked intellectually stimulat
ing conversation with my peers
while I was there, and felt 1 rarely
had the chance to be myself and
let others know the real me.
When I came to NCSSM 1
noticed a distinct difference in
the atmosphere here from that
of my old school. One of the
greatest things about the
school, one of the traits that dis
tinguishes it from other high
schools, is the openness and ex
pressiveness of the student
body. People here are not afraid
to be exactly who they are, and
because of that students have
mutual respect. They are will
ing to respect anyone’s beliefs
and lifestyle, and are not afraid
to share their own, no matter
how different theirs may be.
They are more open and accept-
ing than students at other
schools tend to be. Things that
the teenage society condemns
everywhere else are normal
here.
Students are not just
open about diversity at this
school, but tend to celebrate it.
This not only applies racially or
culturally, but to diversity of
character. Everyone here is a
distinct person, with unique
views and qualities. Yet these
distinctions are never a basis
for exclusion, or the forming of
cliques. We all have something
different to offer the school, and
unlike other schools, this fact
is appreciated here. I have
learned so much from the other
students just by getting to
know who they are.
Such an astonishingly
diverse group of people is not
unique to Science and Math.
Student bodies everywhere
have people every bit as origi
nal as here. However, NCSSM
has an amazing ambiance of
comfort that does not exist at
other schools. The pressure to
conform is not felt. Students
can be absolutely comfortable
being whoever they want to be,
and have the peace of mind that
comes from knowing that no
one will judge them for it. In this
sense, the students here are
probably happier than at any
other school 1 have ever seen.
The result of this variety
gives us another benefit. With
so many people here interested
in so manv different things, e\ -
eiyone has someone here to talk
to. It is impossible to not find a
single person here with whom
you can have a good conversa
tion. I have found that not only
do I have more fnends here than
at my old school, but I know
them better, on a much more per
sonal level. We often hear older
people tell us that we will not
make fnendships that will last
forever until we are in college,
but I, along with many others,
have found those friendships at
Science and Math. I know that 1
never want to lose touch with
my fnends, and that I want them
to still be there the way they are
now when I go through experi
ences later in life. We do not re
alize how close we get to others
living in this bubble together,
but it happens. We depend on
each other, and have fun to
gether. I find myself staying up
later than I need to many nights,
not to pull all-nighters, but to
talk with friends.
NCSSM has many things
to offer its students. However,
sometimes we are so caught up
with academics, extracurriculars,
and complaints, we ignore some
of the greatest benefits we are
getting from attending the
school. Nowhere else could we
live in a setting so conducive to
individualism. We should em
brace the knowledge and rela
tionships made possible by this
atmosphere, and appreciate the
contrast from our former
schools. We may not walk away
at graduation with the best
grades, a sports record, or the
knowledge that we have forever
changed the school. We will
leave with a better sense of our
selves and others, security and
confidence in ourselves, and
friendships that will last a life
time, all things we may never
have gotten from our old
schools.
Ditch the Fitch
jonathan raxter
Many of you have prob
ably noticed a large volume of
designer clothes walking on
campus this year. Names such
as Tommy Hilfiger and
Abercrombie and Fitch should
be familiar to you. I, along with
many other people on campus,
am a little disturbed by this
clothing craze.
First, I would not pay $50
for a pair of blue jeans, or $40
for a shirt with a big name on
the front. Wearing these clothes
just shows how foolish a per
son is with his/her money.
Second, these clothes
sometimes lead to assumptions
about the owner. I, for one, try
not to assume anything about
anyone before I get to know
them well. However, when
people are wearing clothing of
a grossly over priced name
printed on the front in large let
ters, such as Abercrombie and
Fitch, it is difficult not to assume
that they are fairly wealthy and
enjoy flaunting this wealth. As
one junior put it, “Those shirts
make you look like a walking bill
board.”
Now, when large groups
of people begin to wear these
clothes, as has happened in the
fir.st few weeks of school here,
the clothes become sort of a
“coolness” symbol. 1 actually
did a little experimenting during
2nd West I-viz on the first week
end after classes began. I
walked down the hall and back
dressed as I was, and then again
about thirty minutes later wear
ing an Abercrombie and Fitch
hat (don’t say anything...the hat
was a gift). Both times 1 did not
initiate conversation with any
one. The first trip no one spoke
to me, and on the second trip
three junior girls (two were walk
ing together) introduced them
selves to me, and the group of
two gave me compliments on
the hat. 1 realize this is not a
great experiment as far as the
scientific method is concerned,
but the results speak for them
selves.
Some students also seem
to have the same type of feel
ings. Everyone 1 talked with
about this issue said they didn’t
care or had negative opinions
about the clothing craze. Alex
White, a senior, said, “People
sometimes make assumptions
based on clothing and create
their own cliques based on
these assumptions; they limit
their interactions with the rest
of the student body.”
In short, I challenge ev
eryone to wear clothing that is
unassuming and makes every
one get to know you before they
conjure up biases. 1 challenge
everyone to ditch the Fitch. If
you already own some Fitch,
donate it to Goodwill. Well, at
least don’t wear it too often.