Stentorian?
vol. XXXIV, issue 6
North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
April 1 + 6, 2015
stentorianl23@gmail.com
Unbearable I The Ursa threat
By Dolan Potter
staff Writer
Families across the great
state of 'North Carolina send
their children to the North
Carolina School of Science
and Mathematics so they might
receive a better education than
they would at their home high
school; indeed, NCSSM’s
acceptance rate is lower than
that of many colleges.
NCSSM is a highly
selective public school.
Many parents are only
comfortable with sending
their little angels off due to •
the exemplary reputation
regarding the safety of the
school.
Some are skeptical but there
are Code Blue phones on nearly
every comer of the campus and
the mles surrounding curfew
help to prevent anything from
happening to the students after
dark (and, oftentimes, before
dark).
Despite these measures, the
real threat to the students of
Science and Math lies within
its perimeter; a towering
menace of fur and teeth: The
Great Bear of NCSSM.
Not much is known about
this bear but its attacks are
regijar and fierce. Just this
year, over ten students have
been assaulted by the bear,
already outnumbering last
year’s attacks by over ten.
Its victims rarely remember
much of the attacks but they
and onlookers assert that the
bear is a monster unlike any
they have ever seen.
“It was' huge,” states Mary
O’Neil, a junior at NCSSM;
“It was eight, no, more like
ten feet tall. It left me with
bmises everywhere. I bearly
got out alive. I now have PTSD
because of this beat.”
Their wounds in question
surrounded the majority of her
neck, leaying red qnd purple
splotches for days to come.
Onlookers were horrified;
what sort of creature could
do something so horrific
time
to such a model student?
Just last week, the bear
attacked again, this
targeting beloved
senior Michael Li
before his Entropy
rehearsal.
Li sighted it just
outside the ETC
lobfcy attempting
to run away from
it, doing a front flip
in order to escape;
the bear, however,
sabotaged his flip,
causing him to fall
face first on the cold
tile below.
“The bear was
yellow and wearing
a red shirt,” says Li;
“1 have a deathly
irrational phobia of
honey and the bear
was reeking of it. 1
was so .traumatized
that I got sent to the
ER.”
Other injuries sustained by
the bear include a gash on the
head of senior Samuel Cook,
two scrapes on the knees of
senior Dolan Potter and poor
The neck wounds of an anonymous
NCSSM student who was the latest
victim of hear attacks on campus.
Amy Burton, who was on
crutches for two months and
in a supportive brace for three
months after.
With students wondering
about possible solutions to
this epawdemic, Vikram Aikat,
recently elected student body
president of 2015-2016, who
spoke out on the subject and
said, “I honestly cannot bear
I the attacks). I have had many
restless nights thinking about
this newborn menace.”
When asked what he would
do to prevent attacks in the
future, he assured us that “In
hard times like these 1 always
turn to my childhood hero,
SpongeBob SquarePants...
...Mis advice was to draw an
Anti-Sea Bear Circle in the
sand, so we should do the
same. Remember guys, Anti-
Bear Ovals don’t work.”
Truly, the Great Bear of
NCSSM has proven to be
quite a problem this year.
However, with these proposals
from Aikat, students can sleep
safely knowing measures will
be taken to prevent this menace
for years to come.
NCSSM miniterm contacts aliens, kind
of like the X-Files but not exactly
By Sierra Dunne
Editor-in-Chief
During this year’s miniterm,
a large variety of courses
and trips were available to
students throughout NCSSM.
Some experienced the science
of cooking and anatomy of
terror on campus, while others
traveled around the world to
places like Greece, China,
Berlin, and CERN. There is
one miniterm, however, that
no one is talking about: the
X-Files miniterm based off
of the hit dramatic television
series that aired during the 90s.
The group became interested
in finding aliens themselves,
and decided to take a trip to do
so on March 2. They have been
missing ever since.
The miniterm consisted
of seven students and one
sponsor. Dr. Kroithfg who
has no direct affiliation with
NCSSM. The group began by
watching the television show
and analyzing episodes in a
manner similar
to the Firefly
miniterm with
Humanities
instrucotr
Dave Thaden.
The show is
follows two
FBI agents as
than disqualify any answer that
isn’t completely scientific or
logical.”
One of the main aspects
of the course was to travel to
a secluded area near Ocean
they investigate unsolved
paranormal cases. One agent.
Fox Mulder, believes aliens
have intervened in these cases,
while agent Dana Scully uses
science to refute his work.
The students used the
same files examined on the
show, then used logic and
forensic science to solve
the cases themselves. All
of the students participating
did so because of their love
for the show or for forensic
science, but none of them
believed in the existence of
aliens.
“It’s an interesting show,
but we’re not wasting our
time on chasing aliens or
anything stupid like that,”
one student explained.
“We’re focusing more on
the hard science of it and
? u- Alien expert Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, who is often seen on
e m I. e a now it s History Channel, can attest to these strange events.
fake.”
While the students all
felt the same way, Kroithfg
seemed to differ in opinion:
“I’m trying to get these kids
to keep an open mind. Science
is obviously a crucial focus
for them, but I think they can
learn more from looking at
both sides of these cases rather
Isle Beach, where UFOs
were spotted in August 2014.
They would stay there for
only one night, so it would
not count as towards the
students’ one allocated travel
experience. The group left for
their destination early on the
morning of March 2, around 9
am.
They took one van and had
no other chaperones on the
trip. According to a friend of
one student, they arrived at the
beach around 12 pm. “I told
her to text
me when
she got
there,”
the friend
reported.
“She did,
but when
1 texted
her again
asking a
question 1
got this in
response:
insert
alien text
here). I
have no
idea what
it means,
and 1
haven’t heard from her or
anyone else on the trip since.”
In fact, no one has heard
from the group. Despite
various efforts to get in touch,
no communications have
been made since that last text.
NCSSM’s administration has
not spoken out on the matter.
and they refused to give any
background information on
Kroithfg when prompted.
Students, parents, and the
surrounding community have
been pressing authorities and
school administration for more
information, but neither will
comply.
“We are doing the best
we can to find these missing
students,” said Otficer
Davenport, who is in charge
of the investigation. “There
is only so much we can
do, though, and the more
people pressure us with these
preposterous theories and
questions, the harder it will be
to focus on the case.”
It has been almost a month
since these seven students
were seen, and the entire
investigation is being kept
under strict confidentiality. No
media outlets have reported
on it, and even many of the
students here at NCSSM were
left unaware that this miniterm
existed in the first place. The
friends and family of those still
missing are left to wonder what
happened, and why no one will
let them know anything about
the events that occurred on
March 2.