april2012
opinion/news
the stentorian | ncssm
Letter to the editor
from Student Government
To The Students of
NCSSM:
In a year where young
voters will play a key role
in determining the path our
country takes, the importance of
our voices must be recognized.
Legislation passed now will
directly affect our generation
state.”
At NCSSM, the Student
Government Association heard
various complaints from the
student body about the proposal
and its potential repercussions.
We polled our peers and found
that 87% of students polled
opposed Amendment One. In
AMENDMENIONE
PROTECT - NC FAMILIES ORE
87% of students polled said they would vote against Amendment One
Courtesy of protectallncfamilies.org
in the future.
On May 8th after the vote
on Amendment One, there
is a chance that some of us
could lose our rights. The
proposed amendment to the
state constitution seeks to define
marriage between one man
and one woman as “the only
domestic legal union that shall
be valid or recognized in the
response to this majority, we
unanimously passed a resolution
in opposition to the legislation,
which states, “the ambiguous
language of Amendment One
will inevitably affect more
North Carolinians than the
targeted group of individuals,
and is therefore opposed by the
NCSSM SGA.”
We did not pass this
legislation in an effort to make
a political statement, but rather
to fulfill our duty as a governing
body. Our goal is to protect
our students and defend their
rights. Amendment One is
a human rights issue and, if
passed, it would hinder far more
individuals than the intended
targets.
With
students
from every
congressional
district coming
from different
racial and
socioeconomic
backgrounds,
NCSSM
students
accurately
represent the
youth of North
Carolina. We
have students
from every
corner of the
state with
parents from
every corner
of the world.
Some of our
students cannot
yet vote, but
the rights of
our students
hold significance along with
their opinions because changes
taking effect now will affect us
in the future.
For those who will be
eighteen by November 6th,
2012, voting will take place in
the ETC.
The
Stentorian
the north Carolina school of science and mathematics
1219 broad street, durham, nc 27705
stentorian@ncssm.edu
Editors-in-Chief: Caroline deSaussure,
Ashley Jemigan, and Olivia Truax
News Editor: Molly Bruee
Opinion Editor: Steven Philips
Entertainment Editor: Madelaine Katz
Editor: Wynter Wolff
Advisor: John Kirk
Writers: Jay Buehanan, Sarah Lee, Marcy
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NCSSM
Government
Student
Student Government Association
to begin its 32nd session
Simha, Lee, Gupta chosen for 2012-13 Executive Board
By; Sarah Lee
With the 201 1-2012
academic year approaching its
end, the current 31st session
of Student Government
Association is preparing for
yet another year of strong
leadership and collaboration.
After weeks of
campaigning, the Student Body
President, Treasurer and seven
Senior Senators were directly
elected to represent the student
body while the voting members
of the current session elected
the President of the Student
Senate.
The elected Senior
Senators are Albert Hong,
Siddharth Modi, Garrett Powell,
Corey Su, Natalie Ung and Yu
Wang. The Executives Board
is led by the Student Body
President Anita Simha, Student
Senate President Sarah Lee, and
Treasurer Ankit Gupta.
Being an elected
representative is not the only
way to get involved in SGA,
however; Students who wish
to be appointed may apply for
cabinet positions such as the
Director of Public Relations,
Director of Information
Technology, Elections Board
Chair and Parliamentarian.
The appointed cabinet
members will then form
specialized committees to better
serve the school community.
Some of the committees
include the Public Relations
Committee, PFM Committee
and the Elections Board in
which students may apply for
in the near future.
As the 32nd session begins
on May 3, SGA will undergo a
major change in its structure.
To increase its effectiveness,
the Senate will sustain four of
the five existing committees-
Student Affairs, Academic
Affairs, Programming
and Public Relations. The
committees, led by committee
chairs, generally meet once
a week to complete different
projects. Students are allowed
and welcomed to join any of
the those committees to make
a difference on campus.
“If you bring a feasible idea
that will make a positive impact,
we will work with you to make
it a reality,” shared Natalie
Ung. In addition, the SGA will
reinforce communication by
expanding the Public Relations
committee.
The weekly General
Meetings during Thursday’s
common lunch will continue.
Like the rest of the meetings,
non-SGA members are
encouraged to attend the
General Meetings.
As for the current session
of SGA, the members recently
formed a Rules Review
Committee to review the
student handbook and any
related rules or school policies
affecting students.
They are negotiating and
striving for change with the
administration on behalf of
the student body. For example,
rules regarding the sign-out
procedure and dorm life are
being discussed. The current
Senators are also working to
finish the Ground Reynolds
Art Mural, reforming the Arts
Department and fulfilling
Campus Beautification and
Accept the Greener Challenge
projects.
Senator Grant Means
is currently working on
introducing the campus to green
solutions. Means is working
to seal the windows to along
Reynolds and Watts Breezeway
to make our HVAC systems in
BBR consume less energy. This
will reduce 30% of the energy
cost which will save a range of
450 to 1,000 dollars every year.
He hoped to eventually expand
the installation, saving money,
and helping save the Earth.
The newly-elected Senior
Senators are also planning the
upcoming Powderpuff Football
Game and the end-of-the-year
SG Lock-In while pursuing
restaurant discounts.
“Student Government at
NCSSM does so much for the
school and a lot of times, our
efforts go unrecognized and
unrewarded,” shared Senior
Senator-elect Corey Su. He
continued, “But overall, it’s a
great organization made up of
people that truly love the school
and are willing to invest their
time for it.”
The SGA represents the
student voice and serves as
a partnership between the
students, administration, and
faculty. Apart from being the
student voice, the SGA seiv'es
the student body in various
ways. Clubs also fall under
the SGA’s responsibilities. For
further concerns or questions,
email sg@ncssm.edu.