stentorian
vol. XXVII, issue 4
the north Carolina school of science and mathematics
february2Q07
stentorian@ncssm.edu
SGAto
unite
schools
By Grace Kim
Students from member schools of
the National Consortium for Specialized
Secondary Schools of Mathematics,
Science and Technology will meet on
campus Feb. 14-18 for the National
Consortium Student Leadership Group
Conference.
The NCSSSMST is a national
organization of more than 90 schools
dedicated to emphasizing math, science
and technology in their curriculum, and
the conference’s main goal is to create
the Association of Consortium Student
Leadership Groups, a new alliance
whose primary purpose is to improve
communication among its members
through their respective SGAs.
“Through this organization, I want to
create a forum for dialogue between the
student leaders of the residential high
schools of the NCSSSMST to discuss
ways that we can be more effective
within the context of our schools,” SGA
President Michael Jones said.
Sixteen students from Illinois, South
Carolina, Maine and Missouri will
shadow NCSSM host students for five
days, beginning Feb. 14.
“[They’re coming to] compare and
contrast,” said junior Caleb Horton, co
chair of SGA’s Consortium Committee.
“We’ll look at our governments
and constitutions and recommend
changes.”
Kevin Cromwell, director of
student services, is optimistic about
the opportunity to build long-term
relationships between schools.
“The intention is to share from each
institution but to also set up a structure
that will allow for dialogue among
schools each year,” he said.
SGA might find such connections
particularly meaningful because of its
differences from leadership groups of
neighboring high schools.
“There’s such a difference between
regular student governments and student
governments of schools like ours,” said
senior Katherine Demby, the Consortium
Committee’s other co-chair.
Before the work begins, visitors
will catch a glimpse into the life of an
NCSSM student.
“The students will be shadowing
classes, going on a tour of [UNC-Chapel
Hill] and participating in NCSSM social
life,” Demby said.
According to Jones, the conference
will lead to gains for all involved.
He said, “I think the primary purpose
of the organization—to enhance
communication between our campuses—
will benefit students in schools like
NCSSM all across the country.”
Pledge routine may change
By Mary Kohlmann
Due to poor attendance at daily
Pledge of Allegiance recitations, a focus
group of students and administrators
met on Jan. 29 to discuss changes in its
implementation.
“Dr. [Joan] Barber and the other
adrriinistrators were worried about how
the Pledge was being administered now,”
said junior Roger Que, who was one of
four students involved. “They’re worried
that if someone comes to the school
and sees it, they’ll feel that we’re just
working around it instead of trying to
accommodate it.”
Possible negative attention from the
media was a concern addressed in the
meeting.
“They mentioned that we’d been
getting a lot of good press lately, but if,
’say, a reporter for a Durham newspaper
had come in during the daily recitation,
they might have been surprised to see one
student participating out of a population
of630,” said junior Zach Alexander, also
present at the meeting.
Discussion focused on ways to
integrate the Pledge more thoroughly
into student life without placing undue
pressure to participate on individuals.
The first step was an analysis of the
current policy, which mandates daily
recitations in Bryan Lobby and by the
flagpole.
“I was kind of
disappointed that most
people seemed to not
be coming, not because
they didn’t want to
say it, but just out of
apathy,” senior Quint
Reid said.
This lack of
response made
planning for the
future somewhat
difficult.
“The
administration
seemed to be a little
disillusioned with
the student body
in that most of the
students didn’t
voice objections,
but didn’t show
up to recite
[the Pledge],” .
Alexander said.
Que
mentioned that
the sheer pace
of life kept
some students
from going out
of their way to
recite daily.
“I think for a
lot of students.
something like [the Pledge] is important.
But it’s out of the way, it’s time taken out
of the day,” Que said.
Theimplementationofaschoolwide
recitation faces challenges due to
the very nature of NCSSM.
“At a lot of other
schools, they have
a wired intercom
system, which we
don’t,” Que said.
“There were
plans for
outside of
the classroom,
if we wanted to
continue doing it like
we do now—perhaps
changing the time or
location. The Bryan Lobby
is not really a central location.
There was something about during
lunchtime in the PFM.”
The most widely lauded plan
involved the use of the school’s internet
radio station to broadcast the Pledge to
all classrooms via laptops at a yet-to-be-
determined point in the day.
PLEDGE continued on page 2
Photo by Luis Zapata
Hill House lies in rest as its residents enjoy a two-hour snow delay on Jan. 25. The rare inch of snowfall was gone by
midafternoon, but students took advantage of the morning to enjoy snowball fights and other winter fun.
Don’t
miss:
Have you seen the blue
Ultimate penalty
Swim team makes
screen of death?
under debate
a splash
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