4 ■ november 2002
the )l36dDage
ncssm I the stentorian
Community service: Is a delightful
our work working?
meal with your face
Samia Ilias
Chris Saunders
A s you all know, before
we begin our senior
year, we are required
to do sixty hours of communi
ty service, or "service learn
ing" at any nonprofit organi
zation near our hometown.
This is a great idea, in theory,
if only for the fact that sixty
extra hours of community
service looks good on college
apps. However, things may
be flawed with the program as
a whole.
First of all, the idea of
forced volunteer work is quite
ironic in itself. It is also one
of the main reasons that some
Science and Math-ers resent
the program. Many people on
campus think that if the
guidelines were not so strin
gent, the requirement would
n't be nearly as hard to com
plete. As indicated by my stu
dent leader reflection sessions
that we had on the first ALT
day, people want their volun
teer work to be more volun
tary.
One of the foremost
problems addressed was the
rule that we can't work any
where other than nonprofit
organizations. In my own
case, I was limited to choos
ing from the nursing home
and the public library because
there are no other nonprofit
organizations in my home
town. Neither would have
given me much training for
my endeavors later in life, but
I ultimately chose the library.
Besides that, many peo
ple complained about the fact
that we were not allowed to
switch jobs in the middle of
the sum-
m e r .
While it
would
compli
cate
things for
those
involved
in han
dling the
communi
ty service
paperwork, some students
expressed concern that they
may be given projects that do
not take the full sixty hours to
complete and may wish to
continue working on another
project with another organiza
tion.
I can't say that I fully
support this philosophy, but it
would have been nice to do
something other than cleaning
children's book covers with
Windex because the library
didn't have anything else for
me to do.
Moreover, the reflection
that we must do on our com
munity service seems a bit
pT my own case, I
was limited to choos
ing from the nursing
home and the public
library because there
are no other nonprofit
organizations in my
hometown.
Current Events
Continued from
Front Page
Musharraf reelected in
Pakistan
Pakistan has held its first
general election since 1999.
General Pervez Musharraf is
continuing as President,
although he has been contro
versial for his support of the
United States in Afghanistan,
his handling of the disputes in
the Kashmir region, and the
coup that brought him to
power.
Cuba signs contracts with
U.S. companies
Cuba signed contracts
worth $90 million with
American food companies.
This is the largest trade agree
ment negotiated since 1962,
when America began a trade
embargo.
In Namibia, no more
"Mickey Mouse Club" or
"Dallas"
Namibia's president and
information minister, Sam
Nujoma has forbidden west
ern television in the country,
but with few programs pro
duced in Namibia, program
mers were unsure what to do.
Dalai Lama now in contact
with Chinese government
According to an envoy of
the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan
religious figure is in contact
with the Chinese government
again.
Religious bill considered by
House
In response to the June
ruling by the U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals that the
phrase "under God" in the
Pledge of Allegiance was a
violation of separation of
church and state, the House of
Representatives considered a
bill that supported references
to God in the Pledge and
national motto. The bill
affirms support for "under
God" in the Pledge, and it
restates that "In God we trust"
is our national motto.
questionable as well. Many
of us really have little to
reflect upon now except the
sweet reassurance that it's
over and we're a step closer to
graduating. The poster ses
sion this year was, like the
previous poster sessions, a
great way for people to share
their projects, but it wasn't
really taken
seriously by
the students.
Most of the
discussion
about the
posters
stemmed
from the two
that did not
pass inspec
tion.
The fol
lowing student leader ses
sions seemed to be overkill
too; those who discussed fur
ther had few positive things to
say about their experiences
and focused on how some of
us were underestimated,
underappreciated, and under
paid; not to mention under
whelmed with the amount of
skills that we gained from our
community service projects.
All in all, the project is a
great way to give back to our
respective hometowns, but for
it to be truly successful in the
futme, volunteering will have
to seem a little less forced.
Letter to
the Editors
P erhaps some students
have noticed others in
the cafeteria eating
meals, dessert, or even fhiit
with their faces. Are they just
too lazy to get up to get fork?
Are they doing some sort of
weird experiment? No, and
no. They are just having a
nice, quick stress-reliever
called an eating contest.
Eating contests are great
for everyone. One can not
only eat his food but end up
with it up his nose and smell it
for the rest of the day. It pro
vides a little laughter for
everyone to see their best
friend look like a fool, and
laughter is always a good
thing - especially on a day
when you have three tests
back-to-back.
Recently, these eating
contests have come to the
attention of some staff mem
bers who are not exactly
thrilled with the idea of eating
with faces. Although the
administration has not banned
eating contests, they do
request the participants to
reduce the attention that eat
ing contests attract. To avoid
any possible problems with
staff members, I suggest fol
lowing these guidelines to
make the PFM experience
pleasurable for those who do
and do not enjoy eating con
tests:
1) Have eating contests in the
back of the cafeteria.
2) If there is a crowd of spec
tators watching, keep the
crowd at a maximum of six
people, as not to cause too
much of a commotion.
3) Request that the spectators
cheer for the contestants with
their inside voices and have
finger-claps.
4) Whenever possible, try to
include a teacher or SLI in the
contest, just to avoid any pos
sible problems with other staff
members. Mr. Lathan is
always happy to participate.
5) Always clean up after your
self!
By following these five
guidelines, one can be ensured
to avoid receiving levels and
have a de-stressed mealtime.
•'lit.
Give me ''Letters to the
Editors" or give me
death!
I am very concerned - you
could even say distressed -
about the lack of "Letters to
the Editor" in this fine journal
istic institution. Each time a
fresh copy of The Stentorian is
laid at door, I turn to the
Editorial Page with vain hopes
of finding a priceless senti
ment from another student.
As always, though, my hopes
are dashed and I throw away
the paper in disgust. I will no
longer stand this abomination.
Give me "Letters to the
Editors" or give me death!
J. Wan
Letter Policy
The Stentorian reserves the right to
edit for mechanics, content, and/or
appropriateness. The Stentorian
may choose not to print any letter
based on quality, content, or
space. We do not print anonymous
letters. We ask authors to remain
respectful of all persons and insti
tutions when voicing their opinions.
Mandy McDermott
Paul Smith, Mr. Lathan, Dylan Sandler, Jason Denney, Samia Ilias,
Sher Vogel, and Ben Jarrett participate in a dessert eating contest
out on Bryan lawn.
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