09 To Date or to Wait— NCSSM lingo Challenge Students Perform Glaxo CO the Two-Week Rule : forJnnior&pageS Summer Research: page 4 ■■■ page 2 the north Carolina school of science and mathematics 1219 broad street, durham nc 27705 vol. XXVI, issue 1Stentorian@nCSSm.edUAugust 2005 The new SLIs are ready to take their positions: Mike Fliss, Tammy Parks, Gail Morgan, Jennifer Ashe,-Zoey LeTendre, Keisha King, and Ben Wright. New SLIs storm NCSSM with ideas, enthusiasm BY Robert Davis L ast year, Jeremy Tuchmayer, the former Student Life Instructor of 1st Hill, announced that he would be abdicating the posi tion of SLI in order to pursue graduate work at Vanderbilt University. This wasn’t really news, though, or at least it wasn’t news to us. Rumors had been floating around campus for months about different SLI’s who were planning to leave Sci ence and Math for various rea sons. There were seven men and women in total to leave the ranks of the NCSSM residen tial life elite last year. They are Kasey Ashton, Jackson Brown, Sabrina Calato, Kylene Dibble, Stephanie Mooring, Jeremy Tuchmayer, and Quanda Will iams. For those of you who don’t know, the SLI’s are an extreme ly important component of the NCSSM community. This eclec tic group of twenty individuals serve as the surrogate mothers and fathers that keep the Sci ence and Math wunderkinder from going completely insane in the absence of our own par ents’ watchful eyes. At the end of the school year, many students felt that an unusually large portion of the SLI staff were leaving, and they were right. According to Kevin Cromwell, Director of Student Services, “We have been fortu nate the last few years to have a small turnover in staff. Four staff members at the end of2004 and 2003.’’ Indeed, with nearly half of the SLI staff leaving, the admin istration had quite a task ahead of them when it came to finding replacements. Cromwell said, “All applicants that receive an interview must have a back ground in education, counsel ing, student life, or residence life. Once the group to be inter viewed is selected, the appli cant goes through a half-day interview process.” The interview process itself isn’t a walk in the park. “They meet individually with the VP of Student Life, die Director of Student Services, and the Di rector of Residence Life. In ad dition, they interview with a panel of current SLI’s and final ly they are interviewed by a group of current and rising RLA’s while they do a tour of campus.” Aner this extensive selection process, who did they finally choose? They are Jennifer Ashe (3rd Bryan), Mike Fliss (2nd Hill), Keisha King (Reynolds 1C, 2C, ID), Zoey LeTendre (Ground Royall), Gail Morgan (1st Royall), Tammy Parks (4 th Bryan), and Ben Wright (2nd Hill). One of the chosen, Mike Fliss, is a former construction worker, social studies teacher. Service Learning Coordinator at the Durham Nativity School, and sculpture model. Current ly, Fliss is a martial arts teacher, Zen Buddhist, and the official new SLI of...well, me and the rest of 1st Hill. Fliss graduated from Duke in 2003, and has lived in Durham for about eight years. Talking to Fliss, though, you wouldn’t easily guess at the details of his past. Instead you’re more likely to hear about his eminently original plans for his hall in this coming year. These plans include field trips with half-hour stops at some of the more obscure attractions to be found around Durham, and housekeeping blitzes with all of the hall working while dressed in black and completely silent. Zoey LeTendre, another new SLI, graduated from UNC-Chap- el Hill just last year, and is an NCSSM alumnus fi'om the class of 2001. When asked if she felt the same sort of foreboding about the approaching year that occurs to rising seniors faced with incoming juniors she said, “it’s not really the fear so much as the anticipation.” LeTendre went on to say, “I had a really positive experience [at NCSSM] and I want this to be a place where they feel they can come back to and want to come back to rather than a place where they graduate from and just close the book.” There may have been a large turnover in the SLI staff this year, but as Kevin Cromwell put It, “I am excited by the enthusi asm and energy that the new staff will bring to our communi ty. I don’t believe a noticeable shift will be perceived, but I ex pect SLI’s to continue to be supportive, and conduits of building a positive community.” Former Governor Hunt to be Convocation speaker BY Sara Wise O n Tuesday, August 23’'*, NCSSM will celebrate its 25th anniversary dur ing the 2005 Convocation cere mony. Former North Carolina Governor James B. Hunt, Jr. will be the guest speaker of the evening. The appearance of the man largely responsible for the founding of NCSSM will be warmly appreciated by students and staff. Governor Hunt envisioned a school where students could specialize in Science and Math ematics in an intense and inter esting academic environment. And so, with the help of former Governor and Duke University President Terry Sanford, and John Ehle, a distinguished area academician, NCSSM was founded in 1980. The establishment of NCSSM is just one of the many ways in which Governor Hunt has worked to im prove public edu cation in North Carolina. As gov ernor from 1977 to 1985 and again from 1993 to 2001, he served four historic terms filled with educa tion initiatives. His will to focus on new technologies resulted in the cre ation of the Micro electronics Center of North Carolina and the North Carolina Biotech nology Center. During his third Former Governor Hunt term, he helped to launch Smart Start, a non-profit partnership that focuses on early childhood development. He has also worked to raise the standards in public schools as well as im prove the quality and experi ence of teachers. Governor Hunt’s efforts contributed to his goal of mak ing North Caro lina schools the best in America by 2010. The Convo cation ceremony will be held in the ETC Auditorium at 6:30 pm, fol lowed by a re ception on the Bryan Lawn at 8:00 pm. All members of the NCSSM commu nity are invited to initiate the school year alongside Former Governor Hunt. NCSSM Tuition grant bill amended, passed BY Connie Chu A bill amending the NCSSM Tuition Grant was passed by the North Carolina State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Mike Easley on August 13th, 2005. In section 9.14(a) of the newly approved budget, the tuition grant was changed from only covering the cost of tuition to covering the cost of atten dance. The bill states that “... no tuition grant awarded to a stu dent under this section shall exceed the cost of attendance at the constituent institution at which the student is enrolled. a tuition grant under igibl this sub- If a student, who is eligible for m gr section, also receives a schol arship or other grant covering the cost of attendance at the constituent institution for which the tuition grant is awarded, then the amount of the tuition grant shall be reduced by an appropriate amount de termined by the State Education Assistance Authority. ... This section applies to any eligible student who is enrolled full time in The University of North Carolina after July 1,2005.” This decision benefits stu dents planning on attending any college that is part of the University of Nortcn Carolina system, which includes NC State, Chapel Hill, and Appalachain State, among oth ers. Now that the tuition grant is based on the cost of atten dance, rather than just tuition, the Classes of 2005, 2006, and 2007 may be receiving more money for college. Future grad- fs/iroACfiitliiaed ta page 4