Volume 78 No. 6 Grimsley High School 801 Westover Terrace Greensboro, NC 27408 Wednesday, Febuary 27, 2002 The Original Four February 2,2002 On February 1, 1960, David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair, and Joseph McNeil walked into a downtown Woolworth’s waiting to be served. When they were refused service because of their color, these men did not budge. Their sit-in incited a chain reaction, not only across Greensboro, but across the entire nation as the country entered a new phase of the civil rights movement. These men are now immortalized in a statue, sculpted by North Carolina A & T State Univer sity art professor James Barnhill and now stands in front of Dudley Memorial Building on the campus of North Carolina A &T State Universtiy. Here, the “Origi nal Four” gather in front of the bronze sculpture over 40 years after their heroic feat. , I IM VV'" .V .... ,'^k" 'i™', f' 'I ' ' ;; M- ' --v .. II-.rw \ ■ if If- % ^ Win ~ —- News & Record photo College applications lead to many deferrals \A/ifh an Innrn^ With an increasingly large number of students staying in school, college acceptance becomes more and more of a struggle around Grimsley By Nicole Washington Staff Writer January 15•^ Winter puts a defi nite chill in the air and seniors ev erywhere begin to dream of spring break, graduation, and college. Carolina, a top destination for many Grimsley seniors, makes its The new AP Diploma Program offers a less rig orous approach than the IB Program, yet still al lows students to push the academic envelope. By Margaret Hair Reporter Imagine leaving high school with enough credit hours to enter college as a sophomore. With such an advantage, one could take a year decisions available through their website at 11:00 A.M. Shouts of jubilation fill the hallways. Elsewhere, students whisper the eight-letter word that is the bane of every college bound senior: de ferral. Don’t confuse this kind of de ferral with deferred admission af ter acceptance. Under this deci sion, accepted students defer their admission to a given school for a year. The student is guaranteed a spot in the next year’s incoming class. Some loans and scholar ships may also be deferred until the next year. Applicants under Early Deci sion or Early Action admission plans usually have higher deferral rates by the nature of the plan. Early Decision is a binding com mitment to one school. In other words, students apply early with the understanding that if they get in, they will matriculate, or enroll. Early Action is the same thing, but the commitment is non-binding, so students can apply to other schools. As more students take advan tage of these two programs, more colleges are filling their available slots sooner. This means that the colleges accept only the most well- qualified applicants. Applicants for early admission usually fall into one of two groups. They are ap plying to their first choice school or they are applying to a “safety school.” Other students who meet admissions requirements may be deferred, meaning that their tran scripts, scores, essays, and rec ommendations are weighed against the regular admission applicant pool as opposed to the early ad mission applicant pool. Senior Lane Van Buren, who ap plied Early Action to Philadelphia University, said, “I didn’t want May to roll around and me not know where I was going to school.’ College enrollment is up across the country. Coupled with the ter rorist attacks on September ll'\ many more students are remaining in school, translating into one of the most competitive college ad mission years in recent history. That, in turn, means fewer spots, and thus more deferrals. Grimsley has had several seniors deferred from not only national institutions, but local schools like Carolina, UNC-Wilmington, Appalachian and East Carolina. In a recent address to the sen- nior class, Ms. Teague touched on the issue, offering to do whatever Featured Inside to travel, a year to experience life, a year that would not have been open had it not been for the col lege credit earned while pursuing the new AP Diploma. This year, the school system will implement an innovative pro gram known as the Guilford County Schools Distinguished Scholars recognition. Students who earn the IB Diploma will be eligible for recognition, as well as students who earn a new honor, the AP Di ploma. To receive the Advanced Place- new academic program ment Diploma, students must take Hnier, ment Diploma, students must take 5 AP classes and their correspond ing exams. Four of these exams must be from core areas, which are Language, Science, Math, and So cial Studies. The Language area in cludes both English and foreign languages. The fifth exam can be from any area, including electives such as Computer Science, Studio Art, and Music Theory. Most stu dents who aspire to earn the di ploma but have not met all the specified requirements are lacking an exam in the science area. In ad- Diversity Absent A History of Rap AP and IB classes lack Starting from humble enrollment from minor- beginnings, rap has a unique story. page 11 dition to taking the class, candi dates for the diploma must score a three or better on all of their exams. Superintendent Dr. Terry Grier, along with a committee headed by Assistant Superintendent Chuck Morris and Executive Director of Communications and Community Relations Julie Zwahr, brought the program into existence. Concern ing what inspired him to start the program, Dr. Grier said, “During my first year in the district, I met with a group of student leaders. They told me that we should offer more ity students. page? Olympic Ties The Olympics provide lasting memories for Grimsley students. page 17 AP courses and that more minor ity students should be enrolled in those courses. We also know that exposing more students to higher level courses is a good strategy to close the achievement gap that ex ists between white and minority students in the district.” Among the goals specified for the diploma are: to recognize out standing achievement, to motivate students to do well on and take AP and IB exams seriously, and to en- Continued on page 3 News 4 Editorial 5 Features 8 Sports 17

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