TENTORIAN
VOLUME XXXII ISSUE SIX
The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
stentorian@ncssm.edu
FEBRUARY 2012
NCSSM students performing Hair spray on the weekend of Feb. 10
Courtesy of Phoebe Castelblanco
Political protests met
with violence in Egypt
By: Caroline deSaussure
The transition from
military to civilian rule
in Egypt was marked
by protests that were
intended to speed up
the timetable for the
Egyptian presidential
election.
The protests
achieved their goal of
establishing an earlier
nomination date in
March rather than June.
Mohammed Hussein
Tantawi, head of the
ruling military council,
called for a quick
completion of election
procedures in order
to minimize violence
throughout Egypt’s
capital city of Cairo.
However, protesters
have faced hostility from
police forces, resulting in
several casualties. Police
stationed outside of the
Interior Ministry had
were engaged in armed
combat against protesters
hurling stones.
They also released tear
gas into the crowds. Although
the police brutality has resulted
in conflict, it has also achieved
its goal; protesters are straying
from conflicts.
Some civilians continue
with protests because they want
to bring the current militant
government regime to an end.
Other civilians are threatening
Protestor waves Egyptian flag near Interior Ministry
to bring the country to its knees.
Regardless, journalist Haytham
Ismail said, “What’s happening
isn’t bringing down the regime
but bringing down the state.”
The death count as a result
of anti-government riots has
risen to 13 in lieu of the most
recent cases of violence.
The government has also
attempted to limit protest and
punish those who broke laws by
putting on trial several Egyptian
and American protesters.
These civilians were from
pro-democracy non-licensed
organizations. The Americans
under investigation have been
barred from leaving Egypt.
These developments in
Egypt may restrict future
American interaction with the
Courtesy of Reuters
country.
The American financial
assistance programs with Egypt,
which lends about $1.3 million
annually, may be in jeopardy.
Communication with
Egypt continues as America
tries to understand the work that
non-governmental organization
are doing to maintain the
stability of civilian life.
Chinese
teacher
visits
NCSSM
By: Jay Buchanan
Zhang Lei, an English
instructor from Hangzhou
Province, China, visited
NCSSM on Jan. 29, 2012.
Zhang, as a representative of
Hangzhou Foreign Language
School, spent the majority of
her day on campus interacting
with students, visiting classes,
and celebrating the Chinese
New Year with students in the
Mandarin program.
The school where Zhang
Lei teaches is very similar
to NCSSM in that it is a
government-funded secondary
school which students are
accepted to after a competitive
admissions process.
Zhang, who is bilingual,
is an English teacher in China.
Her curricula focus is on the
basic grammar and syntax of
the English language.
“Hong Li (who teaehes
Intermediate) made the original
eontact with Zhang laoshi,”
says Caryn Louie, NCSSM
Introductory Chinese instructor.
“The connection was made
with the intention of exploring
the potential of establishing an
educational exchange program
between NCSSM and Zhang
laoshi’s school.”
Zhang spent E-block and
lunch celebrating the Chinese
New Year with NCSSM
students, several humanities
faculty members, and various
other guests. Led by Louie
and Li, the students performed
an array of poems and songs,
finishing by enjoying a meal
with Zhang.
“The students in all
three classes did a great job
preparing for the celebration,”
Louie says. “They helped by
decorating, setting up the food
(Natalie Ung’s mother made
100 eggrolls), memorizing
a poem and three songs and
performing them, offering to
demonstrate the yo-yo and,
of course, offering to take our
guest on a eampus tour.”
Zhang also spent a
significant portion of her
time at NCSSM exploring
the Distance Education and
Extended Programs facility, as
the virtual exchange program
would likely be dependent
upon NCSSM’s technological
resources in these departments.
Zhang also spoke at length
with Elizabeth Moose, Dean of
the Humanities Department,
Steve Warshaw,Vice Chancellor
of Academic Programs and
Tom Clayton, Director of
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