Volume 79 No. 6
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
Friday, Februaiy 28, 2003
Museum reminds city, nation of struggles
The Civil Rights Museum
will serve to remind
Greensboro and the world
about the racial injustices
of the past.
By Margaret Hair
StaffWriter
On a chilly day in February, 43
years ago, four young black stu
dents from North Carolina A&T
University walked into the
Woolworth’s dime store and sat
in defiance at the white-only lunch
counter.
For years now, community lead
ers throughout Greensboro have
sought to commemorate that day,
which sparked similar acts of civil
disobedience across the South.
Sit-in movements, such as the one
that took place here, sought to
break down the barriers of segre
gation. In honor of such an event,
construction began December 12,
2002 on the International Civil
Rights Museum, w4uch will be lo
cated at the site of the old
Woolworth’s store on February
One Place in downtown Greens
boro.
When completed, the 51,000
square-foot facility will be home
to classrocans, exhibit areas, a CivU
Rights Hall of Fame, and a recre
ation of the original sit-in lunch
counter.
One of the main goals of the
Bartow photo
The ftiture Civil Rights Museum wiD be located against the downtown backdrop of February One Plaza
and Elm Street The location is at the heart of historic Greensboro, a stme’s throw away from various
attractions sudi as Triad Stage, the Children’s Museum, the downtown Library and a variety of diners.
Civil Rights Museum is to serve as
a constant reminder to the children
of today of the injustices of the
past. History teacher Mrs. Dayle
Stephens recalls the importance of
the sit-in movement to furthering
the battle for civil rights.
“Discrimination, segregation,
and prejudice were an evil part of
my everyday life growing up in
Greensboro. I joined the Civil
Rights Movement in the 6“' grade;
it was only natural for me to fight
against these wrongs. The sit-ins
provided the way to express my
discontent,” said Mrs. Stephens.
Grimsley students are also
aware of the importance of the
museum’s construction.
“I feel that it gives the people
of Greensboro an opportunity to
become cultured and aware of the
surplus of struggles people over
came for us,” said Brandon Jones,
a sophomore.
Planners of the museum hope
its message extends far and wide.
Grimsley teacher on special as
signment, Mrs. Jane Higgins, who
wait to church with two of the four
participants in the original sit-in
and marched for the Civil Rights
Movement in the 1960s, agrees
that the subject of the Civil Rights
Museum deserves similar treat
ment.
“I wish it could be on a bigger
scale so that people don’t forget
My concern is that the kids today
in school take a lot of things for
granted. I hope that by having
the museum, they will see why
they are able to do the things they
can do now.”
The Civil Rights Museum has
been in the planning stages for
some time, and the project has met
various obstacles along the way.
Fundraising is a vital element in
the creation of the museum, and it
has been less productive than
project leaders originally hoped.
Efforts such as selling bricks from
the original sidewalk in front of the
store, and receiving a share of prof
its from artwork published in
magazines such as Ebony, have
not succeeded in raising the tens
of thousands anticipated.
Despite bumps in the road,
those in charge of the project hope
that by this time next year, the out
side of the Wool worth building will
be restored to what it was visually
in 1 %0, and the inside will be split
up into the initial groundwork for
exhibits and classrooms. In Feb
ruary of 2005, the museum is set
to open, marking the 45“* anniver
sary of the sit-in that sparked
change throughout the South.
Environmental Club plants
seed of eco-awareness
The new Environmental
Club raises awareness
about the consequences
of mistreating the Earth.
By Rachel Rodriguez
StaffWriter
For all students looking to
raise environmental awareness
around their school and commu
nity, Grimsley’s new Environmen
tal Club provides an eco-friendly
extracurricular opportunity.
Mr. Rob Lamb, a new emoron-
mental science teacher, started the
club this year, now known as the
“LOTax” after the nature-loving Dr.
Seuss character who “speaks for
the trees.”
The Lorax generally meets after
school on Wednesdays or Thurs
days in room 423 in the New Sci
ence building. Current club mem
bers say tliat the first priority of
the club is to involve more stu
dents, both as club members and
as participants in outreach-style
programs designed to raise envi
ronmental awareness throughout
Grimsley and the Greensboro com
munity. Activities currently in the
plaiming stages include educa
tional forums and projects for Earth
Day, which occurs on i^ml 22,2003,
and possibly collaborating with
other schools to take on larger
projects.
“I would really like our club to
get involved with the community,”
said Mr. I,amb, the club’s founda
and advisor. “We want to get to
gether with otha schools and en
vironmental groups so that we can
deal with bigger issues.”
Lorax also intends on revamp
ing the recycling program at
Grimsley, which students say has
been somewhat disorganized in the
p)ast. Although plans for this ac
tivity are currently indefinite, the
club is eager to involve Grimsley
students in helping to make the
school cleaner and more pleasant
while recycling items that would
otherwise end up in landfills. Since
the Environmental Club is a new
organization, they emphasize that
they are op)en to suggestions from
students and would like to get as
Continued on page 2
Grimsley stands
at head of class
While retaining diversity
and size, Grimsley scores
well among NC schools.
By Sarah Hamptm Cheatham
StaffWriter
On Februaiy 20,2003, the State
Board of Education, in association
with the North Carolina Education
Research Council, released the
Grimsley High School Rqxat Card
for the 2001 -2002 school year.
The report card compares sta
tistics specific to Grimsley with
data from the school district and
the entire state concerning aver
age class size, student perfor
mance, and teachers.
The findings show that
Grimsley is far larger than most
high schools, with 1,766 students
as opposed to the state-wide av
erage of 1,024. While the course
sizes remained similar, there were
some discrepancies, most notice
ably Grimsley’s 26 students per
physics class in contrast with 16
pupils on a state level.
The report card also illustrates,
with only one exception, a higher
percentage of Grimsley youth per
formed either at or above grade
level on required end-of-course
(EOC) tests than students on a dis
trict or state-wide level. On the
English I EOC, 81.7% of Grimsley
test-takers scored at or above
grade level, canpared to 65.6% dis
trict-wide. On the physics EOC,
Continued on page 2
No Pep for Preps
Extracurricular activities
draw less than amazing
crowds.
page 4
Rape Risks
Knowing date rape drugs
and statistics is crucial
for awareness.
page 7
Happy Trails
Hiking trails become
popular as the weather
changes for the warmer.
page 15
News 1
Opinion 3
Features 5
Sports 11