Stentorian
VOLUME XXXII ISSUE TWO
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
stentorian@ncssm.edu
SEPTEMBER 2011
Opinion
Give the
PFMa
break
By Olivia Truax
Complaining about the
PFM is practically a sport here
at NCSSM.
Fish Fridays are feared,
at the drink machine you are
likely to get brownish water
instead of blue poweraid,
and there is widespread
speculation that weekend
dining at the PFM is “Worse
than what they give you in
prison.”
But, if we really look at
the PFM’s problems can we
truly blame the underfunded
free service that is actively
trying to improve itself, or
does the blame fall equally
on the apathetic student body
that whines yet refuses to
provide feedback and make
suggestions.
Vegetarian Day, a single
meal during which the PFM
showcased some of their new
vegetarian recipes, was met
with righteous indignation
by much of the student body.
“They are taking our meat!”
was a sentiment shared by
much of the student body.
The PFM developed the new
entrees showcased during
Vegetarian Day in response to
feedback from the Accept the
Greener Challenge Club.
Despite the fact that it
was student sponsored, many
students checked that they
didn’t enjoy any of the entrees
because they “didn’t like the
whole Vegetarian Day thing”.
Because of this, much of
the data the PFM collected
that day about what entrees
were well received is tainted.
Vegetarian Day, a day so hated
by the student population that
“It will go down in infamy”,
was the PFM attempting to
respond to student’s needs.
Director of Residential
Life Michael Newbauer and
the director of the PFM held a
forum for student suggestions.
Two students attended. The
directors of Residential Life
and the PFM made time in their
days to hear student feedback
and only two students had any
feedback to give.
I have never met anyone
who was 100% happy with
the PFM, yet only two
students took the time to voice
their complaints and make
Continued on page 4
Dr. Roberts divulges secrets of his trade
By Caroline DeSaussure
NCSSM Chancellor Todd
Roberts, part of the NCSSM
community since the 2010-
2011 school year, reflected on
his time, at Science and Math,
elaborated on the details of
his job, and shared where he
hopes the future of the school
is headed.
A majority of students at
NCSSM do not know what
Roberts does on a day-to-day
basis around campus. Senior
Grace Yook says, “1 am not
really sure what the chancellor
does. If 1 had to guess, 1 would
say he attends meetings with
faculty about how the school
is doing and talks with officials
about the budget.”
Roberts’ primary respon
sibilities are to manage, lead,
and run NCSSM. His meet
ings with faculty, staff, and ad
ministration are to ensure that
things are running smoothly on
campus. However, his scope
extends info the state and na
tional realms, as well.
There are seventeen
chancellors in the UNC
system: one for each university.
Because NCSSM is a part
of the UNC system, Roberts
interacts with officials outside
of Durham, unlike a principal
at a normal public high school.
“1 am more like a
superintendent because 1 work
with officials from across the
state instead of just one region.
However, 1 get to interact with
students and staff more as a
chancellor, which is one of
my favorite parts of the job,”
Roberts elaborates.
Because of the 6.9% net
budget cut for the 2011-2012
school year, Roberts has
been busy
overseeing
the budget
and raising
funds for
NCSSM.
'“It is im
portant that
we become
less depen
dent on state
funding so
that we can
create a
sustainable
future . for
our school,”
said Rob
erts.
Through
the Strate
gic Planning
'initiative that
launched earlier
this month, different mem
Courtesy of the Ann Arbor Chronicle
Chancellor Todd Roberts
Continued on page 3
NCSSM earns 66*^ spot
on Newsweek ranking
By Wynter Wolff
According to Newsweek,
NCSSM is the 66th best school
in the nation. Every summer,
Newsweek publishes its list
of the top 500 high schools,
chosen from over 1000 that
submit their
statistics.
Scoring de
pends on six
components; .
graduation
rate (25%),
college ma
triculation rate
(25%), and
AP tests taken
per graduate
(25%), plus
average SAT/
ACT scores
(10%), aver
age AP/IB
scores (10%),
and AP cours
es offered per
graduate (5%).
Science and
Math broke
the top Courtesy of Newsweek.com
here are taught more about
critical thinking, whereas other
schools are focusing on test
taking,” says senior Hannah
Sheffield.
The categories where
variety of AP classes, the school
also offers over fifty 6.0, the
same as college level, classes
, (WECS, WRRD, Polymer
Chemistry, Graph Theory,
Research in Biology, etc.) that
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100, but our rating of 66th was
thought to be surprisingly low
by most students.
“It seems like most of
the scoring categories where
Science and Math were lower,
in comparison were based
on test taking skills. People
-NCSSM was lacking were
AP Courses offered per
graduate and AP tests taken
per graduate. Making up 35%
of the scoring, these two areas
contributed significantly to the
lower than expected rating.
While NCSSM offers a
were not counted toward the
“AP Courses offered” category
in the Newsweek rating.
Because of these
specialized classes, NCSSM
students are taking AP level
Continued on page 3
NCSSM
alumni
give back
By Ashley Jernigan
Jud Bowman and Taylor
Brockman, NCSSM alumni
from the class of 1999,
donated $100,000 to NCSSM
students to promote students’
development through the
Bowman and Brockman
scholarship. Current
students may apply for
funding from the Bowman-
Brockman Entrepreneurship
and Advanced Research
Endowment to further their
entrepreneurship and research
projects.
“The school is an incubator
for great new ideas,” Brockman
said. “We’re trying to formalize
a way for these students to
get access to extra funding.
It could lead to the next big
biotechnology company or the
next Motricity.”
The idea is to invest about
$5000 each year in five to
ten motivated and inventive
students at NCSSM. This has
the opportunity to fuel an idea
into something revolutionary.
The funding is intended for
entrepreneurial projects,
research projects, or academic
competitions.
The fall application
deadline was on September 15,
Continued on page 3
Libyan government
Students
faces overhaul
deal with
after fall of Qaddafi
homesickness
Page 2
Page 3
NCSSM evolves
through the years
Page 4