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Students swamped by tests and major assignments: page 2 MIK day-What does It mean?: page 6 Mini-Term trips span the globe: pages stentorian the north Carolina school of science and mathematics 1219 broad street, durham nc 27705 stentorian@ncssm.edu vol. XXVI, issue 4 February 2006 2006 NCSSM applications increase 15% By Kathleen Hubert T he great application pro cess forNCSSM is in firll swing. The apphcation deadline was January 15 this year, and over 1320 sophomores from across the state have ap plied, compared to the 1150 from last year. The number of apphcants has increased drastically in just a few short years from the late 1990’s when only 750 students applied. With the large number of applicants increasing every year, the selection commit tees will have trouble reading through so ttrany essays and transcripts. Letita Mason, Di rector of Admissions, suggested that a semi-finalist process could be introduced in years to come to handle the large numbers. This would not be the first time that changes have been made. In the past, applicants were required to be interviewed by a member of the NCSSM staff. This personal touch was taken away because of the numbers of applicants and the trouble involved with training interviewers. But Mason said that the application process will not dwindle down to running pa perwork tlnough a computer to decide who is accepted and who is denied. “We have to handle a large number of applications, which shows our success right now, but to have human eyes look over them is critical,” Mason said. A sophomore from Meck lenburg County commented on the difficulty of the essay. “I’mcomfortable in science aiil math, but writing is a challenge. Tlie essay was the hardest part of the application for me.” NCSSM is expecting to of fer admission to 310 students, with 40 males and 40 females on the wait list. The number of enrolled students clianges every' year depending on how many juniors do not return for their senior year. According to statistics from the Admissions Department, tliis year around 55% of the applicants are female and 44% are male. Traditional emoll- ment trends are 51% male and 49% female due to dorm sjjaces. “Many students take longer to finish their application be- 2006ctiitinuedtniaie2 Board mandates research requirement By Rachel Shauoer and Sara Wise N CSSM plans to imple ment a research require ment for all students in the near future, beginning with a pilot program for select juniors next fall. According to Tom Clayton, Director of Academic Programs, the administration woitld like to put this program into action to emich education at NCSSM and prepare students for further education The Board of Trustees man dated the eventiral reqirirement for research, which has been fur ther developed by the Research Experience Committee along with two Curricitlirm Develop ment groups. To test which of the three proposed options will be executed, approximately 30 to 50 juniors will participate in an experimental program begin ning next year. The different research op tions include a required weekly research curriculum, mentor ship, special study options, research courses, or a mini-term project. The unique options could be combined or changed accord ing to the results of the pilot research program. Several problems with the current proposals may postpone the implementation of the re search requirement. Adeqiaate amounts of futxl- ing wotrld be necessary for this project. With over six hundred students performing research at once, extra space is needed for students to store and work on their projects. Also, more resources a^ research equip ment will be needed. “However, this is something that lends itself to outside furrd- ing that wouldn’t necessarily constrict us to our regular state funding. Other fourrdations and folks are willing to contribute to us. This is the kind of thing that gets a bunch of grants and gets a lot of people actively involved. People like to fund this sort of thing, especially friends of the school,” Clayton said. Available faculty is also a concern. Teachers would have to teach research courses and mentor students in addition to their regular course load. The biology department in particular would be overburdened, with 37% of students choosing that discipline as their first choice for resea^ch, and 29% choosing it for their second choice. Many students have voiced problems and concerns with the research requirement proposal. “There are already enough opportunities here for students to do research if they want to. I don’t understand the desire for compulsory research,” Senior Quiim Morris said, who has participated in the research in chemistry class. According to the research pro posal survey, 68% of students f would voluntarily do research if time were not an issue. How ever, time is an issue for many students. Many students have to juggle extra-curricular activities with schoolwork and may not have the time to dedicate to a research project. “In scientific research, tak ing real live data demands a lot of attention Its something you might have to be concerned about all the time because things are constantly happening and changing,” Morris said. According to the various research proposals, time would also be required in the class room, either during a research course or Mini-Term. With the addition of a required research class, students would not have room in their schedules to take as many electives. Many students have voiced concerns about dedicating one of their Mini-Terms to their required research project. “Mini-term has always been a time to pursue something you really wanted to do. And if research isn’t something you care about, then that’s not fulfilling the original vision of Mini-term,” Morris said. Clayton argues that a re- search-oriented Mini-Term would be beneficial for stu dents. “We’d like to piake this a positive, nice opportunity, soinething that people can do with independence and choice. We want it to be something they enjoy doing, like Mini-term. We want people to look at it like Mini-term, as one of the best things they do at Science and Math,” Clayton said. 34% of students claim that their strongest incentive for With the advent of the research requirement. Chemistry for juniors Brittany Croom and Natalie Singleton may mean more than a class and a lab. Change in overnight policy sparks debate among students By Whitney Baker R ecent changes in the pol icy on overnight visitors left much to be desired among contused students. Students are no longer able to have guests on campus over night without prior approval from Senior Vice President of Student Life Joan Barber. “I didn’t stay the night here before I came, but the original policy did influence my deci sion to come," Junior Jenna Puckett said. Since she lives near WilmingtoiL she thought that she would be able to have friends come and stay to see where she is living—but not anymore. The policy had been un der scrutiny for the past two years, according to Barber. She said that a main reason for the change in policy was the liabil- it}' involved in having visitors that the school knows notliing about, in contrast to the piles of paperwork associated with each student in residence. Under such circumstances, the administration had no infor mation regarding guests incase of an emergency. Barber said. Sometimes the emergerrey itself was propagated by visitors tak ing advantage of the leniency of the policy. “We are a microcosm of society, so we can expect things happen, and we want to mini mize the amount of risk our present students are at based on outside visitors,” Barber said. Barber said that instead of prohibitng overnight guests, the administration is looking to make the process more con trolled. “We’re looking at a stream lined process by which students can have visitors,” she said. So far, this process only entails e- mailing Barber with a request. She said that in the foreseeable future, students will be required to submit overnight visitor forms at least a week in advance and there will be restrictions on what types of visitors will be allowed. No matter the process, all re quests for overnight visitors are referred straight to Barber for approval. Prospective guests that are likely to be approved irKlude siblings looking to ap ply and friends from home in extreme cases of homesickness. The latter. Barber said, would be scrutinized more closely and only allowed in extreme cases of homesickness. There is the potential for an “interested weekend” that would be a hybrid mix between foreign exchange programs and discovery day: students would Guest cgntbiued M gage 4
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Feb. 1, 2006, edition 1
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