2 november 2003
the stentorian I ncssm
Milan Night
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Janet Ahn
Angela Antony
F ive of NCSSM’s finest
have recently qualified
to participate in the
highly competitive Milan
Night, an Indian Dance com
petition at NC State. Seniors
Ishani Sud, Mani Maheshwari,
Beena Imam, Devki Gharpure,
Pavani Thotakura, and junior
Neha Doshi will be perform
ing at the event.
Ishani Sud, a long time
Indian dancer and competitor,
was the mastermind behind
the dance. After receiving
information on Milan Night
from grand senior and current
NC State student Cliff Tse,
Sud rounded up a group of tal
ented Indian dancers. The five
girls learned the dance in a
single day and, as Maheshwari
described, "became sore as
ever!" Maheshwari also shares
how team felt about their rou
tine: "I think we felt a little
uncertain, given that we were
learning the dance in just one
day and then trying out for a
big performance. But we just
tried to have fim and make it
to the tryouts."
All their hard work cer
tainly paid off; a few days
after their audition on October
19, they received an email
telling them that they had
qualified. Imam relates,
"When I found out, I was so
surprised that I started scream
ing!" At Milan Night, they will
be competing against at least
six other adult dance groups
for a first prize of $200 and the
honor of winning such a high
ly anticipated event in the
Indian dancing community.
Milan Night will take place on
November 1st, 2003 at the BTI
Center across from the
Fletcher Hall in Raleigh.
NCSSM students will be at the
event cheering on the "Science
and Math Dancers," as their
name appears on the Milan
Night program, and everyone
wishes them the best of luck.
Lights Out/ Internet Policy:
One Quarter Later
Seun Ajiboye
r^r.
policy as a
L ast ye^. Dr. Boarman’s
announcement of the
new Lights Out/
Internet Policy triggered an
indignant outcry from the ris
ing senior class. It was not
uncom
mon to
hear stu- I" Dr. Barber
dents
accuse the
adminis- empowering'
tration of dents"
unfairness
or of tak
ing away the freedom to
access information at any
hour. One quarter after the
policy’s implementation. Dr.
Joan Barber, Director of
Student Life, sat down with
The Stentorian to clear up the
purpose of the policy and
update the Student Body on its
progress.
The Lights Out/
Internet Policy was a collabo
ration between Student Life
and the school improvement
group, as a part of the
Was War the Right Choice?
Mani Maheshwari
T he Bush
Administration’s main
goal in the war against
Iraq was to remove Saddam
Hussein and his regime and rid
them of their destructive
power. A harsh dictator for
over two decades, Saddam
Hussein is believed to have
caused the death of almost two
million Muslims and instigat
ed wars between Iraq and
neighboring countries.
Believing that he still has con
nections to terrorism and hous
es various deadly weapons, the
United States and most of the
western world considers him a
serious threat. Is the war in
Iraq to our advantage? When
weighing out the pros and
cons, one realizes that it is
beneficial to oust Hussein and
his suppressing government,
but there are consequences to
such action.
The cons are few but
significant. Currently, the
number of casualties in Iraq is
up to 1,124 Americans, and the
number is rising every month.
Also, there have been many
cases of civilians being
wounded and killed. Along
with rising number of deaths,
the cost to carry out the war is
increasing. Moreover, if the
US keeps on with its actions,
will an "anti-American" senti
ment grow out of all this?
How does one really know if
Saddam Hussein houses the
purported weapons of mass
destruction? There has been
no hard evidence found.
Currently, the US seems to
have security and economic
problems. Could this war just
hurt the US economy, increas
ing the deficit? Another
major issue is the loss of Arab
allies of the United States.
Perhaps, the most pressing
point to consider is oil. To
retaliate, Saddam could bum
oil fields, triggering the
increase of prices of oil, and,
of course, environmental dis
aster. Whatever course the
nation takes, America must
remember the weapons that
Saddam could potentially use.
The pros all point to
peace. According to the US,
Saddam is a leading threat in
the stability of the Mid-East
region, in world peace and in
neighboring countries. With
him out of the picture, the US
and other countries are not
obligated to leave their troops
in Iraq. Moreover, Saddam
could be connected to terrorist
organizations, supplying them
with financial ’ aid and
weapons. After 9-11, the US
began to focus on security
more than ever. The war
against Iraq may also yield
greater security of the US and
its interests. If Saddam
Hussein’s government is oust
ed, warnings of breached secu
rity would likely decrease,
along with oil prices.
Now knowing a few
of the pros and cons, one can
contemplate if going to war
was the right choice. In any
case, none should be divided-
everyone should unite for the
future of our country.
Exercise-Sleep-Nutrition
Initiative, aimed at promoting
a "healthy, living, and learning
environment." The policy is
based on research that says
students who get an "adequate
amount of sleep perform on a
higher level in class, are less
stressed, and
are in an over
sees the all better
way of
policy states
the StU" that all over-
J head lights are
to go off at 12
AM and all
lights are to be turned off by 2
AM, Monday-Thursday. The
internet automatically shuts
off at 12 AM, Monday-
Thursday as well.
According to Dr.
Barber, NCSSM parents did
not seem to have a problem
with the new policy and have
always supported students get
ting more sleep. In fact, a few
years ago when the school was
still discussing the wireless
system, parents recommended
that the students only have
limited access to the network.
Some teachers have reported
to Dr. Barber that the students
seem more rested, while oth
ers have seen no change.
However, the committee is
still in the process of measur
ing the policy’s success.
Dr. Barber sees the
policy as a way of "empower
ing" the students to take
responsibility for their health
by allowing them to be
responsible for turning out
their own lights. (The com
mittee is still a long way off
from bringing about an "insti
tutional change".) This is the
philosophy behind the
Exercise-Sleep-Nutrition
Initiative. Dr. Barber felt that
the students thought they were
supposed to always be stressed
or tired and the Initiative is an
attempt to curb some of the
side effects of Science and
Math. In any case. Dr. Barber
would like to thank the stu
dents for being supportive of
the healthy living initiative.
At-A-Glance
Speech and Debate
Team
Jonathan Smith
An American sollder guards the rubble in Iraq
T he North Carolina
School of Science and
Math has a bad history
with competitive debate.
Many times before in the
school’s history, the incoming
classes of juniors have had one
or two students who were
experienced in debate and
eager to continue debating at
NCSSM. These students have
done well in competitions,
including some national quali
fiers. However, when those
few students left, the program
would die out, due to a lack of
interest.
The current junior
class has over 12 people that
are actively interested in com
petitive debate at NCSSM. It
is our hope that we will be the
first class of a permanent
debate team, allowing futine
generations of students to ben
efit from the educational and
social benefits that debate
brings. After traveling the
debate circuit last year, I know
of at least five debating soph-
mores that are planning to
apply here. Therefore, I
believe that the team will have
a promising future.
The NCSSM debate
team participates in Lincoln-
Douglas Debate, Controversy
Debater (for those new to
debate). Extemporaneous
Speaking, and Student
Congress. Pending interest,
new events may be added as
needed.
For more informa
tion, please go to http://never-
land.ncssm.edu/debate, or
email myself or Buro
Mookeiji ^t
smithj@ncssm.edu or mook-
eijib@ncssm.edu.