CD
voLXX
stentorian
north Carolina school of science and mathematics
1219 broad street, durham nc 27705
february 2001
North Carolina School Bonds
Igor Gorodezky
Though November 7"’,
2000 may best be remembered
for creating some of the great
est confusion in the history of
American politics, it was also
a landmark day for educational
institutions in North Carolina.
That day, the citizens of North
Carolina approved the Higher
Education Improvement Bond
Package referendum, which
called for $3.1 billion to improve
and renovate the state’s public
universities and community col
leges. Currently, the student en
rollment in these public
institutions is rising dramati
cally, and many colleges already
have problems with space and
obsolete facilities.
The bond money will be
given to North Carolina’s 59
community colleges and 16
public universities, including
our own school (registered as
part of the UNC system), which
will receive $5.2 million. The
package also directs a portion
of the money to UNC-TV. A
similar package was proposed
last year but was not approved
in a referendum due to lack of
promotion and the funds’ pro
posed souree, increased prop
erty taxes. This package will
consist solely of
borrowed money,
and so will nearly
double North
Carolina’s current
debt in 5 years.
Some also have a
problem with the
unequal distribu
tion of money be
tween the state’s
“flagship” institu
tions (such as
UNC-ChapelHill)
and other
schools, includ
ing historically
black universities.
But all propo
nents of the pack
age applaud the
state’s education
initiative.
At NCSSM, the Board of
Directors was relying on the
passage’s approval to complete
renovations of Royal Center
(formerly Wyche House) and
Bryan Center, which Board
member Ed McBride calls “criti
cal to NCSSM.” The school has
already completed preliminary
work on both of the buildings,
including removing lead point
and asbestos from the Royal
Center and completing electri
cal upgrades in Bryan. The
The Royal Center, formerly Wyche House
Cheating at Science and Math
Theresa Anasti
Finding solutions to
test problems, plagiarizing pa
pers, and copying someone’s
homework: all of these acts
have been done in schools
around the world. But what if
you are discovered cheating at
a vigorous academic institution
such as NCSSM? In looking
over surveys of students around
the country, many believe that
cheating is not a serious ordeal,
and should be dealt with de
pending on the situation and the
circumstances of the student.
According to these same sur
veys, many students state that
cheating is necessary in certain
cases; the case most often sited
as necessary is the eonflict be
tween athletics and academics.
As NCSSM is academically fo
cused, the school does not
stress athletics as much as
other schools. However, at
NCSSM, students deal with
other pressures, such as keep
ing up in their classes and try
ing to get into a prestigious
college. But do these difficult
circumstances justify cheating?
“Sometimes, on col
lege transcripts, that C makes a
big difference, and you may be
pressured to cheat though you
are working as hard as pos
sible,” says a senior.
“Here, you really can’t
spend all your time learning ev
erything you have to know, and
so you may resort to cheating,”
says a junior.
“I can’t understand
why students can’t just resort
to getting a lower grade; it
won’t make that much of a dif
ference,” says Dr. Britton.
Though ru
mors of cheating and plagia
rism float around on campus,
most students and faculty mem
bers agree that the amount of
cheating here is equal to or less
than the amount of cheating at
other, less academically chal
lenging schools.
“I have heard a few an
ecdotes about students cheat
ing at this school over the last
couple of years, but they were
mostly rumors from students
and teachers,” says Warren Bas
ket.
“I think at NCSSM,
people are more concerned
about learning rather than about
the grade. I feel that the stu
dents at my old school cheated
a great deal more,” says a jun
ior.
“Percentage wise, we
probably have about the same
amount of cheating as other
schools,” says Dr. Barber.
Thus, while NCSSM may have
a high incidence of cheating it
is not that different relative to
other schools.
school has also designated de
signers for both projects, and will
also form planning committees to
oversee the work.
No major renovations have
been performed on the Bryan
Center since 1953, and the cur
rent plans call for renovation of
the Physics floor and student
life offices. These have not been
worked on since the school’s
opening. The building is to be
brought to current building
codes by upgrading the me-
ehanical and electrical infra
structure. About $3.2 million
have been assigned to this
project.
The Royal Center, un
used since 1989, will also have
mechanical, electrical, and
plumbing systems replaced at
a cost of $2.0 million. The
building will provide housing
and services for residential stu-
: dents, as well as those partici-
; pating in outreach programs at
: NCSSM.
What exactly defines
cheating? Should cheating on
little assignments such as
homework and quizzes have the
same consequences as cheating
on test or exams? Or are they
eompletely different actions
which should have different
consequences.
“There really should
not be any minor or major
cases. You are either academi
cally honest or you are not. All
cases of academic dishonesty
should go to a dismissal hear
ing,” says Dr. Barber.
“I really don’t think
that minor cheating should have
the same consequences as ma
jor cheating. They both have
much different effects on your
grade, so they should have more
serious consequences in the
long run,” says a senior.
“1 can’t imagine cheat
ing in any form being accept
able. Every situation involving
cheating will come to us, and
all situations involving cheating
are dismissable,” says Warren
Basket.
“A good way to deal
with this issue is to have a open
forum discussing this issue, and
the honor code. I love the idea
of how I believe schools like
ours are moving ahead, and de
veloping an honor code where
we can trust the students not to
cheat,” says Dr. Barber.
Pets that Glow in the
Dark...
*
Kitty Fromson
We have all heard the
debates that rage about geneti
cally modified food and its
benefits and dangers. We have
heard of scientists who experi
ment with genetic engineering
to produce new and possibly
better organisms. The Human
Genome Project is in full
swing to map out exactly
where our genes are loeated.
Dolly the cloned sheep be
came famous. Manipulating an
organism’s DNA for scientific
purposes is not a new concept.
But what about genetic art?
Eduardo Kac is dealing with
the implications of using sci
entific procedures to create
what he calls transgenic art.
Ever since he created Alba, a
glow-in-the-dark rabbit, the fur
has been flying.
Kae (pronounced
Katz) specifically stated that
Alba was not created for
breeding purposes; she is pure
art. This raises ethical ques
tions about artists using ge
netic manipulation. Is art as
valid a pursuit as science? Is it
acceptable to mix genes from
different species? Does the
gene that makes her glow hurt
Alba in any way?
Most of the time. Alba
looks exactly like any other al
bino rabbit, with white fur and
pink eyes. Under ultraviolet light,
however, she glows a brilliant
lime green. She is a transgenic
organism, which means that she
has another organism’s DNA in
her own. Kac created Alba by in
jecting an ordinary rabbit zygote
with a gene that produces and
expresses green florescent pro
tein (GFP) and which comes from
jellyfish. Each of her cells has
normal rabbit DNA and the in
serted sequence. Kac says that
Alba’s creation is only one part
of his artwork, entitled ‘GFP
Bunny’. The other parts are “the
public dialogue generated by the
project and the social integration
of the rabbit.”
There certainly is not a
lack of dialogue about Alba. As
well as all the large-scale ethi
cal questions scientists and phi
losophers are debating, there are
specific issues about Alba her
self She was bom in a labora
tory in Jouy-en-Josas, France,
in February 2000.
“I will never forget the
moment when I first held her in
my arms...She immediately
woke in me a strong and urgent
sense of responsibility for her
well-being,” Kac states.
Kac’s intent was to bring
Alba home with him to complete
her socialization. French au
thorities intervened in his plans.
See “Pets,” Page 4'