Words of wisdom from some of our
favorite Grand-Seniors
pgs 2-3
EXAMINING THE U$
EDUCATION SYSTEM
PC 6
Music i^o our Eiars:
A visiting orchestra causes
ahigstir!
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the north Carolina school of science and mathematics 1219 broad street, durham nc 2 7705
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Grandsenior Perspectives on College and NCSSM
Columbia University
Julian Himes
How has your college
experience been for you thus
far?
Well, the "college
experience" for most people is
something I already lived
through at Science and Math.
How do I like being at an insti-
'tution with students who actu
ally want to be here? How do
I like having professors who
make themselves available
outside of class, who give me
the impression that they have
lives besides their course?
Please. Been there, done that.
For juniors or seniors
considering Columbia as one
of their undergraduate
options, give us a few words on
how you feel about the school.
I love New York.
That was a huge part of the
decision for me, and should be
a factor for anyone considering
Columbia. If you're not com
fortable dealing with incom
prehensible taxi drivers, impa
tient waiters, a nicotine addic
tion, and general sensory over
load, I wouldn't even make the
trip to visit. But it's not all
about the city. What really
drew me here is the Core
Curriculum. It still invigorates
me to walk down College
Walk and see, inscribed above
our library, the names of great
(albeit dead, white, and male)
writers - one of whom the
author of the book I and
almost all of my friends would
be currently reading. I took
the science
added to the Core and had the
opportunity to hear famous
biologists and Nobel laureates
speak - perfect /or someone
who'd gotten all the science
they need at NCSSM. Next
semester I'm taking a class
called Verdi and Shakespeare.
Just don't come for the football
or the fraternities.
What are a few perks of
college life to which our anx
ious seniors can look forward?
Um... well, take a look at
NCSSM's disciplinary policy.
Make a list of every offense
that's punished with a Level
III. That's my answer. Oh,
and the internet works after
midnight.
Do you have any advice
for the seniors as they wrap up
their final months of NCSSM
life?
Once you figure out
where you're going to college,
I have two suggestions: 1)
Stop thinking and talking
about that school, and 2) Stop
worrying about your grades.
You're in, you're going, and
there's nothing more you can
do that won't alienate your
friends, who are the most
important part of the end of
your senior year. Just sit back,
relax - and for the love of God,
break in-room
continued on pg. 2
Point-Counterpoint: Israel and Palestine
Aneesh Kulkarni (pro-
Israel) & Jonathan Smith
(pro-Palestine)
General Info/History of
Conflict
Smith:
The issue here begins
before the common era, when
the Jews were persecuted by
many thousands of groups. In
Roman times, Jews were toler
ated for a time, then destroyed
to what seemed an unrecover
able state: their temple
destroyed, never to again be
rebuilt, their people scattered,
and their possessions tom
from them. Then, in 1948, the
UN created the sovereign State
of Israel, granting it all the
rights of other nations. To cre
ate this nation, the UN took
land from what was deemed
the historical providence of
Judaism. This, displacing
Arabs, angered many. These
Moslems, forced to live under
a new (Jewish) rule of law,
reacted with displeasure. Then
the real trouble began. The
newly formed Israeli govern
ment began to enact policies
that were designed to make
the nation of Israel into a
haven for Jews around the
world. This is an admirable
cause, but one pursued in the
wrong manner. Thus, these
Moslems who did not wish for
this new government were
forced to give up many of their
possessions and rights to the
Jewish immigrants. Then, in
1967, the Israeli military
engaged Syrian, Iraqi, Iranian,
and Egyptian forces for con
trol of the West Bank and
Gaza. This attack caused an
unrepairable rip in the status of
Israeli-Arab relations, which
has only been exacerbated by
internal conflicts over the sta
tus of Palestine.
Security Fence
Kulkarni:
The security of the people
of Israel is the first priority of
the peace-loving State of
Israel. Despite numerous
attempts to end the violence by
Israel, the stubborn
Palestinians still prefer a sui
cide bomber over a diplomat.
There has been no real effort
on the part of the PLO to end
this terrorism. However, Israel
cannot let its people suffer
because of the apathy of the
Palestinian Authority. In order
to prevent further lamentable
loss of life, the State of Israel
has unfortunately had to
impose a physical barrier to
prevent fanatie Palestinians
from entering Israel and eaus-
ing wonton destruction and
loss of innocent Israeli lives. It
is unfortu
nate that
Palestinian
defiance
necessitated
the security
fence to pro
tect Israeli
civilians.
Smith:
There is
little evi
dence that
the "securi
ty" fence
will provide
any security
at all. Fences
are penetra
ble, and
many within
Sharon's own
governmental believe that the
fence will not provide any
effective protection from ter
rorists. If this is the case, then
why would the Israeli govern
ment want to put up something
that would only anger the
Palestinians more. This fence
would stop those Palestinians
that need to be able to move
about the country for legiti
mate (business, personal, gov
ernmental, as well as other)
reasons. In America, we pride
ourselves in allowing those
itm ^
Israel
HeNegm
Sinai Desert
Jordan
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/pales-
tine/images/palestine-map-s.gif
who are peaceful to do what
they please. Most of the
Palestinian people are just
wanting the same basic rights
that Americans get every day.
The wall would only serve to
deny them those rights.
Temple Mount/Dome of
the Rock
Kulkarni:
The problems regarding
the Temple Mount are another
area where Palestinians con
tribute to hatred in the region.
The region, now a site con
trolled by Palestinians, was the
site of Jewish temples long
ago. While Christians and
Jews are forbidden from pray
ing on the hill the Bible desig
nates as a site holy to the God
of Israel, Muslims are free to
worship and preach incitement
against Israel from the four
mosques straddling the Mount.
While Christian and Jewish
prayer on the Temple Mount is
not tolerated by the* Islamic
Authorities, Muslim clerics
are free to spread hatred of the
Jewish people and the State of
Israel in weekly sermons in the
mosques on the hill. And a
Muslim scholar, Ahmad
Muhammad 'Arafa, explains
that the mosques on the
Temple Mount are not holy to
Muslims. He states that the
mosques were only built
because of a political rivalry
and were not the center of wor
ship for the followers of
Muhammad. Thus, Israeli
Jews are being kept off a
Jewish holy site by Palestinian
authorities because of a mis-
contimMcl on pg. 4