the
h i II" r
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Hi I I IhI
Students from Jennifer
Wilson’s Creative Writing
class share their poems
and short story excerpts
that earned them awards
and puMc recc^nition.
pages 6-7
Volume 84 No. 7
Grimsley High School
801 Westover Terrace
Greensboro, NC 27408
April 5,2012
fflahLIFE
Acquiring
too much
freedom
at one
time may
result in
catastrophic cmsequeiice&
Statistics show that
young adults are more
likely to smoke and
drink within the first
few months of moving
out on their own.
Madison Campbell
page 4
News
Thousands of GCS
employees confirm
that they are generally
satisfied but feel pay
increases are long
overdue. page 3
Opinion
New finds suggest
that organically grown
foods may not be nearly
as beneficial or healthy
as advertised.
pages
Features
Susan Collins
gains more attention
for her book “The
Hunger Games once
its March film release
in March. page 8
Sports
Men’s golf team
anticipates successful
season, once again
with the help of senior
Bryan Griffin.
page 11
Index
News
2-3
Opinion
4-5
Spread
6-7
Features
8-9
Sports
10-12
ACT becomes more
significant, less costly
BY CAROLINE GRANDIS
Reporter
Once considered more im
portant for college admission,
the SAT no longer stands domi
nant in the state of North Caro
lina. As in many other states,
the ACT is now a required ex
amination, not a voluntary
one. All juniors in the state of
North Carolina completed the
ACT for free on March 6.
While the school does not
give the SAT as a school
practice, the building is a test
ing site for Collegeboard.
"Recently, the state has
adopted the ACT test as part of
its schools' accountability to
insure that high school stu
dents are college and career
ready," said curriculum facili
tator Ashly Morrison.
While both standardized
tests have characteristics in
common, there are differences
as well. The ACT is a content-
based test, unlike the SAT,
which is a reasoning test. The
test format is also quite differ
ent. The ACT includes five test
sections with 215 questions, an
optional essay, and a test time
of about two hours and 55 min
utes. On the contrary, the SAT
has nine sections, although
they are much shorter than
those on the ACT, with 170
questions, a required essay, and
a test time of approximately
three hours and 45 minutes.
The curriculum-based ACT in
cludes science questions, but
the SAT test does not.
Constructed in such a way
for students to succeed, the
ACT offers straightforward
questions, while the SAT ques
tions are often tricky and set
students up for error if they do
not pay close enough attention
to the individual questions.
Another advantage of the ACT
is its affordability; the SAT
costs $49 to take, and the ACT
costs only $34.
Taking the ACT "will be free
to juniors for the one
statewide administration,"
said Morrison, "but I don't
know if the district will
continue to fund the
PSAT for students in
grades ten and eleven."
North Carolina Virtual Pub
lic Schools, known as NCVPS,
now offer preparatory courses
for the SAT and will probably
offer similar instruction for the
ACT in the near future. Coun
selors and teachers suggest
students take both examina
tions to see how well they do,
especially if the colleges of their
choice will accept either score.
Whirlie grad, naval officer
takes full command of ship
BY CLAY MILLS APS
Reporter
Grimsley graduate from the
Class of 1990, Monika Washing
ton Stoker officially became
Commander of the USS Mitscher,
a guided missile destroyer, on
February 24. She is the first Afri
can-American woman ever to
hold that title. Stokes took charge
of the 300 crew members in Nor
folk, Virginia to lead them for 20
months as an executive officer.
So far, the 39-year-old has
no regrets. During her senior
year of high school. Stoker was
accepted into the United States
Naval Academy with a nomi
nation from U.S. Rep. Howard
Coble. She graduated from the
Naval Academy in 1995, at
which time she was appointed
a Division Officer. Her first as
signment was aboard the USS
Kearsarge, and later served
aboard both the USS Cole and
USS Arleigh Burke.
Stoker continued with
extensive training that set her
on a course that caused her to
raise! her rank fairly quickly.
She progressed to Department
Head, then Executive Officer,
and now Commanding
Officer. She believes all of the
training has paid off.
"It's a lot of school. I have a
lot of sea duty. The Navy defi
nitely prepares you to do this,"
said Stoker, as posted at
www.carolinapeacemaker.com.
Additionally, she is the
mother of two children; conse
quently, Stoker admits that she
has trouble fitting her family
into her busy schedule. She
does not have much time off
from heading the crew of the
ship and completing other
commander duties.
"It is hard work, but you're
not at sea the whole time. You
do shore tours in between your
different jobs, so you fit your
family in where you can," said
Stoker on digtriad.com.
As the first African Ameri
can women in her role, she
holds a worthy role in Ameri
can history. The military was
a sore subject for many
African Americans just a few
generations ago since
segregation in this country
existed until the 1960s.
Stokes intends to remain
in the Navy for as long
as she can. She wants to
continue serving her country
to the best of her ability.
The next time she leaves
American shores, she will
pilot a US Navy ship.
While a Whirlie, Stoker was
very active. She played JV Vol
leyball and served on both Stu
dent Council and the Student
Affairs Committee. She also
sang with the Madrigals, per
formed with the orchestra,
participated in the Interna
tional Club, and was a mem
ber of L'Acadmie Francais'.
An exceptional student, Monika Washington Stoker, sets
a good example for her children. Her promotion from
the US navy was well deserved. 1990 Whirligig photo.
Congratulations to Anna Bearse,
who placed second out of 15
worthy competitors at the
English Speaking Union’s
Guilford County Branch Level
Competition on Saturday, March 3.