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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