The Stentorian | NCSSM
Features/News
August 2014
Ready Player One is chosen as summer
reading, well received by students
By Max Schlenker
staff Writer
As the school year draws
closer, a decent majority
of Juniors and seniors have
finished Ready Player One
by Ernest Cline, the assigned
reading for summer 2014.
Despite a handful of cliches,
this reader inevitably found
himself completely invested
in the story, and was definitely
rooting for the main characters
by the end.
Ready Player One is a
young adult science-fiction
novel published in 2011 by
Random House publishing.
The book generally received
positive reviews from critics
and won the Alex Award
from the American Library
Association.
Ready Player One is about
a teenager named Wade Watts,
a geek living in a 2044 trailer
park called the Stacks. But in
actuality, he lives in OASIS,
the online world used for
almost everything.
It’s up to him to find the
Easter Egg hidden in OASIS
by its founder and save it from
the corporate antagonists, lOI,
making friends and finding the
perfect girl along the way.
The book manages to be
predictable but entertaining at
the same time, and uses fun and
relatable characters to convey
a more serious message about
our technology-dependent
culture.
Ready Player One, whose
premise of a futuristic virtual
reality is all too familiar, fits
perfectly in with the recent
trend of dystopian-teenage
novels, but proves to be much
more well-executed then its
predecessors.
The novel is certainly
science fiction, but the author
manages to weave in a
surprisingly heavy dose of 80’s
culture throughout, referencing
classics like Monty Python and
the Holy Grail to more obscure
arcade games like Joust. The
juxtaposition of futuristic
technology and Matthew
Broderick is awkward at first,
but becomes commonplace
quickly.
Unfortunately though,
unless you’re as immersed in
and knowledgeable of 80’s
culture as the main characters,
it’s difficult to be enthusiastic
about their realizations over
negligible details in song lyrics
and rulebooks for Dungeons
and Dragons.
It’s clear from the beginning
that Ready Player One, despite
being set in the future, is meant
to address modem issues.
Cline tries a little too hard to
draw the connections between
dystopian 2044 and present
day, but the parallels are still
uncomfortably accurate.
In the novel, more people
vote in the virtual elections
than in the US Presidential
elections, blatantly using
superficial entertainment to
drown out the harshness of
reality.
Even today, millions of
Americans pay more attention
to celebrities and reality
SG Update
NCSSM’s Student
Government Association is
ready for this upcoming year
and we hope that you are too.
This is Student Government’s
34"' session and that means
this is the 34"’ year Student
Government will work it’s
hardest to serve and represent
its student body.
Student Government’s
duties include writing bills
and grants, hosting events for
students, as well as advocating
for students.
Unlike at most high
schools in the state. Student
Government plays a huge role
in life at NCSSM. Together
with all students, SGA tackles a
wide variety of problems, from
academic dishonesty and grade
transparency to environmental
sustainability and PFM food
quality.Examples of events
hosted and organized by
Student Government include
“Lock-Ins” and the Dr.
Unicom Pageant/Talent Show.
All in all, SGA is an integral
part of the academic and social
lifestyles at NCSSM and a
great way to give back to the
school and other students.
If interested, there are
several opportunities to get
involved throughout the year.
Here’s what’s coming up
during U' Trimester:
The most direct way to
join SG is as a Junior Senator,
whose elections are coming
quickly. Nominations open
August 22 and Primaries
will be September 9. Other
opportunities will follow, such
as Dorm Senator and Senator
At Large. More information
will be provided as the year
progresses.
If you have any questions,
feel free to contact any of the
current members of SGA. The
Executive members include
President Abhishek Kulgod,
Senate President Daniel
Ren, and Treasurer Vinay
Kshirsagar.
The Senate is comprised
of Senators Erick Aguilar,
Thomas Andrews, Ebube
Chuba, Christian Joseph,
Howard Li, and Peter Ojo,
and Parliamentarian Shreyas
Kolavennu.
Executive Board members
include Senita Portlock,
Kristian Gaylord, Lisa Samal,
Kali Smith, Chichi Zhu, Bailey
Blankenship, Pintoo Deora,
Katherine Wang, and Jacob
Botros.
TV than the
violence in the
Middle East
or genocide in
Sub-Saharan
Africa. On
Facebook’s
“Trending”
section, you
have to scroll
through the
Toronto Blue
Jays and the
Teen Choice
Awards before
you can read
about the war
in Iraq. Ready
Player One is
an extreme
example, but
it certainly c
gets the point »
across. ^
Ernest “J;
Cline is an §
excellent x
writer, and E
takes a ^
seemingly ^
unoriginal 's
concept, J
like virtual t
reality, and o
shapes it to o
be unique and Jg
^^^ertainmg^ing Cline (above) poses in front of his custom made Back to the Future
is crisp and Delorean. The car was awarded to a reader who discovered a series
intelligent, and of clues hidden in the novel. Craig Queen won the car by setting the world
he captures record in Joust on Aug. 9, 2012.
the voice of a distinguish. He uses a solid
frustrated and lonely teenager
surprisingly well.
However, Cline’s writing
becomes occasionally self-
righteous and sermon-like, and
his hyper-liberalism is easy to
two pages to randomly attack
Christianity, and then never
discusses it again.
Regardless, Ready Player
One is smart and exciting, a
rare combination for summer
reading. The novel can come
across a bit hackneyed in
some places, and too serious
in others, but ultimately the
interesting characters, enticing
story, and important message
are what really shine.
Students attack lawnism
By Kau Smuh
staff Writer
While moving into
NCSSM, students might
have noticed a new addition
to the lawn between Hunt
and the PEC- yes, the Anti-
Lawn Association’s vegetable
garden. Truly a labor of the
people, many helping hands
from around the school have
contributed to this green
masterpiece.
The team worked hard to
bring the student population
fi-esh vegetables and to show the
proper use of a lawn. Grounds
worker Todd Bollinger
provided space and compost.
Vice Chancellor of Academic
Programs Steve Warshaw and
fonner Humanities Instructor
Michael Mulvey watched over
the garden while students were
away this summer. Students
from Bridge weeded it. One
student donated a potato out
of their room to the garden
without permission.
As you can see, the garden
has grown through the labors
of the NCSSM community
and that is who the Anti-
Lawn Association feels
should reap the benefits. The
garden is home to a variety
of dilTerent vegetables that
will be available for student
consumption: tomatoes, okra,
squash, zucchini, and more.
In the coming weeks they
will hold a fanners market
of sorts with fresh produce
available for any who wants
it- and for free as well! So
hurry out to indulge in this
opportunity while it is here.
If you find yourself craving
vegetables after the garden
has run out, every Saturday
morning there is a Durham
Farmers Market that holds a
wide selection of in-season
produce and homemade
pastries (the cinnamon rolls arc
to die for).
The garden is a testament to
eating locally and sustainably.
While it is small this year, it
is hoped that it will expand
it over time so it can be used
as both a source of food and
an educational tool for the
community. Growing and
consuming local food has huge
environmental benefits and
health benefits as well.
Large amounts of natural
resources and unhealthy
chemicals like pesticides go
into transporting food long
distances and keeping it in
perfect grocery store condition,
meaning one store-br)ught
salad can leave a big carbon
footprint.
Buying fresh, seasonal foods
from a local farmers market,
or growing food yourself and
sharing with neighbors, can
lessen your environmental
impact, improve your health,
and build strong community
bonds.
If you want to see the garden
continue to be successful in
coming years, the Anti-Lawn
Association invites you to join
their club. They have exciting
ideas for the new year and will
be sponsored by humanities
instructor Michelle Brenner.
The previous sponsor,
Mulvey, leaves with these final
words. “I am so proud of the
ALA students who diligently
worked to achieve the goal of a
community garden. My hope is
that the garden will grow and
bloom for many a generation
of future Unicorns.” Let’s not
let him down.