Volume 75 No. 4
Grimsley High School"
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
January 29,1999
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The annual Shakespeare recitation contest,
sponsored by the English-Speaking Union of
the United States, will be held on February 13
at Grimsley High School during 2nd period.
21 students are participating this year. Each
will recite a monologue of his or her choice.
Judges will select first, second, and third place
winners. The first place winner will advance
to the Guilford County Competition.
All juniors are eligible for the Princton Uni
versity Ten -Minute Play Contest. Applicants
may only submit one play which will be judged
by the Princeton University Theater and Dance
faculty. Submissions must be postmarked by
March 12, 1999. All English teachers have
information about the contest.
£TC '99, Weaver's performing company, will
present its version of the renowned movie and
play "Steel Magnolias" on February 5 and 6.
Tickets w ill be sold only at the door and will
cost $5.00. Curtain call is at 7;30pm.
/B Environmental Science and IB Philosophy
are two new courses that are being added to
Grimsley's curriculum. IB Environmental
Science is a two hour course, and students must
present a faculty recommendation for the IB
Philosophy class. Students may register for
these courses in February.
TWIRP will take place on February 27 this
year at Bur-mil from 8:00pm to 12:00am.
Tickets cost $ 15.00 per person and win be sold
during the week before the dance. This year's
theme is "Lady in Red." TWIRP King self
nominations will be held during the first week
of February.
niJLS. competitiiie at GHS
By Nicole Rozelman
Reporter
The back of the National Honcr Society
Fall Induction flyer states, “Grimsley’s chap
ter of the NHS has long honored the high and
desirable qualities of man in his quest for
knowledge.” So why are so many students
who have this quest for knowledge not per
mitted into the organization?
Grimsley National Honor Society, given a
charter in 1922, may be the oldest one in the
state, but many students feel resentment to
ward this club. Denise Singley, an EB diploma
candidate says, “1 feel I have an excellent re
sume, and 1 do not understand why 1
was unable to be inducted. 1 chose
not to apply for the second acceptance
this fall because I no longer want to
be a part of this society, who obviously
does not base their admittance on
honor.” Sarah Swink, who was also
denied admittance last spring, did not
apply a second time, “ljust didn’t see
any point in pursuing it,” she said.
In order to even be considered for
this self-nominating organization, a g
student must have a 3.6 GPA and I
must show both leadership skills and |
service participation on and off cam- ^
pus.
Specifically, there are four main
decisions.
Michael Gould, a senior who has early accep
tance to UNC, but was denied membership to
the National Honor Society in his; last two attanpts
says, “Many of my fellow students, myself in
cluded, feel that this group may get ma-e respect
if they had a better process of choosing who they
will induct by leaving the names off the resumes,
and not allowing the character references to ap
ply in an unbalanced way to the application.” He
later stated, ‘ There is some efficiency in the com
mittee, but there is much to be done with the say
teachers have in the selection process. The com
mittee must decide whether it is mere important
to have good grades, plenty of extra-curricular
activities, many leadership experiences, and an
be a part of the club would be admitted. Mrs.
Teague has the authcrity to ova--rule any of the
decisions the committee makes, but she says, “1
feel that our faculty makes wise decisions with
whom they admit into this association.”
What recourse does the student rejected from
N.H.S.have? l)Disregardtherejection,2)Speak
to Mrs. Manahan, advisor of theclub, or 3) Speak
to Mrs. Teague. Three students did pursue an
swers about their rejection. “I asked Mrs.
Manahan what was missing on my application.
She pointed to a lack of leadership. I immedi
ately pointed out my leadership in Girl Scouts
and Exchangettes. She had trouble giving me a
straight-forward answer," says Singley.
Gould and Hackworth made an appointment
with Mrs. Teague. “We wanted to find
out what we did wrong,” said Hackworth.
“She said all of the information in the
process was confidential and that slie
supported the committee.”
Tlie students hope that the selection
process changes to reflect more of a
balance of the four areas and to reflect
the “National” tide. According to the
students, if theN.H.S. is a national or
ganization, then it should not be more
difficult to enter the club at Grimsley
than at any other U.S. high school.
categories from which students in the spring
of their junior year, or fall of their senior year,
are chosen: academic, leadership, service, and
character. However, students feel that the
“charactef’aspect highly outweighs the other
sections, because this section is striedy deter
mined by the teacher’s point-of-view.
Senior Scott Hackworth says, “1 do not
understand why academically inclined stu
dents like me, with a great deal of leadership
skills and service projects, are not allowed to
be a member. My fear is that future classes
coming in wiU have the same trouble. The
selection should not be based on popularity,
introvert, extrovert, or whatever.”
When a student submits his resume with
his name on it, Mr. Cahall, the head of the
committee, selects a panel of teachers and
guidance councilors to look at not only their
achievements, but also the opinions of the
student’s past teachers to make their ruling
Studciili galJit^r at the spring *98 N.H.S. inductions . These students
! fulfilled the required criteria of the National Honor Society.
obvious college future, or how outgoing they
may be in die classroom.”
Students point to anotlier patblem with the
.selection process: It is difficult to log all tlie hours
spent on some activities such as church, dance,
or music. “The people who are deciding, don’t
know how much time we .spend on activities,”
said Gould. Students noted the practice hours,
peifonnance hours, and leaderslup involved with
music, and sense that the committee overlooks
this area. “AU of these really .smart music people
didn t get in, with a couple of exceptions,” said
one student.
Church is another area tliat requires extensive
time commitment. “I spend so much time at
church in leadership and service roles,” said
Swink.
A large majority of students feel that if stu
dents left their names off their resumes, and the
committee did not account so much for the “char
acter” reference, more students who de.serve to
Rejected Students:
Student 1; GPA: 4.95
Flag Corps
Youth Group President
Governor's School
Student 2: GPA: 4.46
Band Section Leader
Governor's School
Cross Country
Student 3: Class Rank: 29
Assistant Soccer Coach
Urban Ministries Volunteer
Student 4: GPA: 4.8
Junior Marshal
Girl Scout Silver Award
IB Diploma candidate
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