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