It’s that time of the year again, the annual dance that NCSSM hosts at the nearby Museum of Life and Science: prom! In the weeks leading up to the anticipated event, there is much to do; reservations for dinner need to be made, locations for pictures need to be decided and students must decide who they are going with and what they are going to wear. There’s a lot to do, so here is a quick guide and some free advice on how to navigate this fun event.
First, dinner reservations. Durham boasts a myriad of restaurants, many of which serve unique cuisines. You can find almost any kind of restaurant downtown; Greek, Indian, American, Italian, Thai etc. However, some restaurants do not take reservations and are first come first serve. If you are going with a large group to prom, it is probably better to look for restaurants that can accommodate large party sizes. Don’t wait til the last minute though; restaurants book up quickly!
Finding a place to take pictures isn’t as difficult as you might think; Durham and most of the triangle area have multiple scenic parks and gardens for photos. Downtown also offers a vibrant, fun background for pictures. However, most NCSSM students end up at Duke Gardens; famous for its botanical sceneries and beautiful architecture, Duke Gardens is one of the top places for prom pictures. There’s plenty of space to spread out and lots of opportunities to get pictures with friends (and family!).
The prom is held at the Museum of Life and Science, a quick drive from NCSSM. It is decorated according to the year’s theme – Medival Promenade is this year’s choice – and will have food, drinks, and a DJ! The museum offers plenty to explore and even more opportunities to take photos with friends. The prom is from 8 pm-12 am, with an After-Prom Pizza Party at 12:30 am.
Remember, if you are leaving campus overnight, you must fill out a form; if you are using your car, you must also request permission. However, NCSSM does provide transportation to and from the museum. All this information and more can be found on the NCSSM Prom 2025 website.
Seniors and juniors alike are looking forward to the “promenade” this year, with some seniors having mixed opinions on their experiences last year.
Hannah Stevens ‘25, stated, “I really liked the snow cone truck, and I enjoyed having the dance at the museum.” When asked about something she disliked, she added, “I felt there wasn’t much for me to do once I got there.”
Adryel Christie ‘25 also chimed in. “I went in there thinking there would be lots of food; there was indeed not food, only small snacks and plates.”
Christie also noted that he had not gone to dinner before, and he and Stevens recommended eating a full meal before attending the prom.
Stevens said they ate at the Pomodoro Italian Kitchen when asked where they went last year. “I recommended it,” Stevens said. “It was chill.”
Juniors Rebekah Switzer and Atha Brantly are both looking forward to the butterfly garden at prom. When asked about their opinions of this year’s theme, Brantly stated “It will be either really good or really bad.”
MacKenzie Sanford ‘25 stated that she enjoyed the idea of having prom at the museum, but felt that it decreased interaction. “Because you are in the museum, there’s not a lot of intermingling between groups – you are kind of spread out.”
Regardless of whether you go with a date, a friend, by yourself, or with a large group, prom is a night where people can dress up, make memories, and indulge in good food and dancing. The night will fly by, and while it may be a first for some, it is the last for others. Enjoy the memory of your high school prom, as it’s a memory you will look back on for years to come.
As we near the end of our time here at NCSSM, I find myself not just reflecting on those moments that defined our experience, but on the people who made it truly unforgettable. When I embarked on this journey as Student Body President, I promised to lead for, and not over, the student body. And that’s exactly what I’ve tried to do, whether it was listening to your ideas, advocating for your needs, or creating new opportunities that would leave a lasting legacy.
One of my most proud accomplishments is organizing the Inaugural Annual Alumni Career Fair, a thought that came from a brainstorm between student government and the alumni association that evolved into a spectacular event connecting students with graduates who were once in our shoes. It was a reminder that innovation is not just located in the lab or on a research poster, but also in how we build bridges for each other.
And wow, did we have fun this year. I don’t think any of us will ever forget the chaos and the hilarity of spoons, watching people sneak around campus, spoon on the nose in a desperate attempt not to get out. Or the Lock-Ins throughout the PEC, where we played basketball to dodgeball after inspection, reminding us that NCSSM is as much heart as it is brains. Prom at the Museum of Life and Science was out of a fairy tale, and viewing everybody looking sharp taking pictures at Duke Gardens was like being in a movie. Walking through downtown Durham or 9th Street after submitting Orah passes. Going to the Eno River to have fun with friends. The annual Watermelon Club race and how watermelon was scattered all across Hill Street. Speaking of Hill, we were able to see Hill House’s transformation in the new renovations that took place earlier this year.
This year, the Class of 2025 became more than just students, we became a family. From singing Taylor Swift during the power outage of our junior year to celebrating each other’s accomplishments across every discipline, our bond grew deeper, stronger, and more meaningful. We’ve been role models to our juniors, showing them what it looks like to lead with kindness, creativity, and courage.
Where do I even begin naming all of our accomplishments? Our student body received national research awards, wrote peer-reviewed articles, launched innovative start-ups, won athletic tournaments, created amazing and inspiring art pieces, and was accepted into so many spectacular schools. Another major accomplishment is getting to this point. The long night study sessions and the projects we spent hours working on has finally paid off. We really did lock-in this year!
We showed that greatness comes in many faces and from many different places. And we accomplished all of this while attending the #1 Public High School in America, as ranked by Niche, a title earned day in and day out.
To our faculty and staff, thank you for believing in us even when we did not believe in ourselves. Your mentorship over the past two years have been the keys to our success. And to Chancellor Roberts, thank you for your unwavering leadership and for reminding us that education is not about success, but about purpose.
As we go forward from here, I want all of us to carry the NCSSM unicorn spirit with us in all that we do. Keep asking questions. Keep building communities that represent the values we lived here. And also, give back whether that be through mentorship, giving, or sharing your story with future Unicorns.
We are the new generation of changemakers. And though we’ll be all over the world pretty soon, we’ll always be part of this legacy. I want to stay connected to all and each of you. If you’re celebrating something like a graduation, wedding, job offer, probate, or anything that you want to be celebrated for, I will always love to show up. I want to keep showing up for you as you’ve been showing up for me.
Thank you for believing in me to serve as your president. Thank you for making NCSSM a place where brilliance thrives. I am so proud of us, how much we’ve grown, how hard we’ve worked, and how we’ve carried ourselves through it all.
Here’s to the Class of 2025: the changemakers, the trailblazing unis, my friends for life.
With the weather turning from spring to summer, the later sunsets and the reminder that last day of classes and finals are around the corner, students in the past can be found socializing with friends whom they may not see till term, anxiously gossiping about final projects, or just enjoying the warm weather outside during the last 30 minutes before check. However, as you walk down Hill Street and past Hill Lounge, the campus is quiet; students aren’t packed together, throwing footballs with the steady stream of chatter flowing down the road. Hill Street and Hill Lounge are dark and ominous, with no student life. What has become of the beloved Happy Half tradition? Is there any way to save it, or have we accepted that some traditions die off and others must be born?
For those unaware, Happy Half is a time during the last half an hour before check at 10 pm where students can chat with friends, hang out outside, and unwind from the stress of the day. During the months when the weather is warmer, Hill Street is noisy, with lots of student chatter. Even in the colder months, students could be found congregating in Hill Lounge, playing foosball or ping pong. For students, it’s a nice thing to look forward to after classes and studying all day. However, it has quite literally “died off”. Instead of the yells of classmates to “Meet at Happy” in the library or the whispers of “I’ll tell you at Happy” during class, there is nothing.
Some seniors have opinions about why that is.
Felicity Lipchak ‘25 shared that she believes that Happy Half declined due to the Class of 2024 leaving last year, and that the current seniors didn’t protect the legacy.
Zoe MacDonald ‘25 also voiced a similar opinion and added, “The former classes would be disappointed to know that Happy Half has ceased to exist. Class of 2026, it’s up to you to bring it back before it’s gone.”
Other seniors recall some of their favorite memories from Happy Half.
Connelly Martin ‘25 shared, “Happy Half was once a place that I found lots of joy and socialization with my peers from all across the student body. And now, as I’m reaching the end of my senior year, Happy Half has transformed into something that is not attended by many. It’s slowly dying, which is sad for me to see, as it was once a place of such joy, every night.”
Lipchak shared her favorite parts of Happy Half. “I loved just going out to talk to everyone after long days, especially when we were gone for long weekends or breaks; everyone would go out for the first half we were back. There were great conversations. And that’s how a lot of like friendships were built. And now that doesn’t happen at all.”
However, when asked what the junior class thought, these were their responses.
Morgan Price ‘26 stated, “I’ve never been to Happy Half”, which adds to the point that the nightly tradition is becoming less and less popular among both the junior and senior classes.
Lilly Ferry ‘26 chimed in, saying she thinks the importance of Happy Half was relayed to the juniors, and that the junior class “were busy and didn’t care.”
When asked her favorite memory of Happy Half, she said she liked to attend and sit in the hammocks and watch the spikeball games.
There are certainly other traditions and annual events here at school. The annual watermelon run hosted by the Watermelon Club, the Holi events during the spring, senior skip day and senior sunset/sunrise, and many more. These traditions have lasted and endured, which raises the question of why Happy Half hasn’t?
So what does this mean for future classes at NCSSM? Is Happy Half gone for good? It’s up to the current juniors to decide if they want to keep the tradition alive or allow it to rest for good. If so, what new custom will they bring to the table, and what will it have in store for the rising juniors? Only time will tell…
Late campus walks, no longer stressing about grades and walking to Ninth Street every day. Ding, ding, ding! That is the sound of a second-semester senior’s life at NCSSM.
As a current junior, I have watched this life from afar; knowing it will be mine next year, but still looking at it wishfully.
How Junior Year is Going
Transitioning from a large, public high school to a smaller one was not an easy decision for me. From taking new, rigorous coursework to watching life pass by without me at my home high school, I was terrified during my first semester at NCSSM.
There seemed to be no end at the tunnel; with assignments piling on and winter drifting in, I settled into a familiar routine; study during the week, study during the weekend.
However, I soon found my own pockets of community within NCSSM. With friends in my hall and classes, I realized that through all the studying, the tight-knit sense of belonging I acquired was what kept every senior going, even during their junior year.
Dear Seniors
“Maius Opus Moveo,” or in other words, “Accept the Greater Challenge.” With spring on the way and cap and gown ceremonies near, I would like to send my seniors off with this message: thank you for your guidance, your unwavering support, and your belief. Through you all, I have seen what NCSSM embodies; a small–yet mighty–community of future changemakers.
AVA CUMMINGS ‘25 AND SAACHI ARUN ‘25 OF RBIO WITH THEIR RESEARCH POSTERS AT NCSEF REGION 3B ON FEBRUARY 17. (ANNELIESE HEYDER)
By Anneliese Heyder, Stentorian Editor-in-Chief
The “Science Season” is upon us: when the summer months start getting closer and science fairs, conferences, and competitions begin popping up like flowers. Throughout the spring semester, students at NCSSM will be presenting their research at school and around the state and country.
The North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair, or NCSEF, kicked off on February 17th at NCSSM as Region 3b, with both juniors and seniors competing by sharing their research with judges, teachers, and students. Some students completed research independently or with a team, while others were part of the RSci or Mentorship programs.
Luke Malta ‘25 was an RChem student who presented at NCSEF. “I spent a lot of time perfecting my poster, sitting down and making sure I have as much information as possible,” he described his preparation. “I also planned on practicing presenting in front of the current RChem students to get some feedback from them and Dr. Bruno.”
Sawyer Kribbs ‘25 from RBio did the same.“I began to prepare by practicing my speech a couple of nights before presenting it to the judges. I was pretty nervous, but I felt ready,” he said, adding that he enjoyed talking with other students about his research and was impressed with the other projects at the fair.
Some of the students who presented did their research at another university with a mentor and a team of undergraduate or graduate students. “I would say NCSEF was a great experience! It prepared me for future symposiums I plan to attend since there will be judges who are experts in the topic I’m researching, and how to interact with them,” said Hima Manne ‘25, who was part of the Mentorship program.
Manne also explained how she prepared for NCSEF, stating “Planning included updating my research findings on the poster I previously had and prepping for specific questions about methods and future directions.”
DANTE TRINGALE ‘25 WITH THEIR RESEARCH POSTER. (Anneliese Heyder)
Most of the eight categories advance the three top winners to the state-level North Carolina Science and Engineering Fair. The categories include Biological Science A, Biological Science B, Chemistry, Environmental/Earth Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Technology, and Physics. There are other special prizes as well, such as the Regeneron Biomedical Science Award, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize, and the NC One Water Award. However, the grand prize is an all-expense paid trip to the International Science and Engineering Fair in May.
Not only must they practice their speaking and speaking skills, but students must also make sure they have all the required documents signed and their posters ready to be presented. Mentors play a significant role in helping their students prepare–printing posters, checking over materials, and organizing the event.
Both teachers and students dedicate their time to making sure the fair goes smoothly for everyone. NCSEF provides an opportunity for peers to show one another their passions and skills and learn about various research topics. It is also a great way to make connections and meet professionals in the field–for some students, their research is just the first step in their future careers.
Barboriak, as a junior, takes a picture with Eddie Zhang ’24 while playing Spoons. (Vincent Barboriak)
By Tejasvi Shirolkar, Guest Contributor
Usually used in a bowl of PFM cereal or soup, spoons are an essential part of the NCSSM dining experience. However, this February marked an annual tradition many chose to partake in: “Spoons.” Holding a wooden spoon to their nose, NCSSM students pass through hallways, go up stairs, and to their dorm halls.
To an outsider, Spoons may seem like a silly pastime. However, any NCSSM community member knows that the tradition is so much more; it celebrates the beginning of the Spring semester and allows both Seniors and Juniors to connect beyond the classroom.
The Mastermind Behind This Year’s Spoons
Vincent Barboriak ‘25, from 3rd West, is this year’s supervisor (or “Spoon’s Master,” as he describes it). As last year’s Spoons winner, Barboriak became the overseer for this year. He tracks eliminations, updates charts related to the game, and modifies rules for all participants.
How The Game Works
On February 5th, 205 Juniors and Seniors each received a spoon with another player’s name on it–the person the player had to eliminate. For any player to be eliminated, they must be tapped on the shoulder with the spoon.
However, there is a catch: if a player has held up a spoon to their nose, that player is protected. Additionally, educational spaces such as classrooms and the library are considered “safe zones” to prevent distractions while learning.
Some NCSSM students go to great lengths when playing Spoons. Antavious Ashe, a Community Coordinator (CC) on 2nd Hill, chimed in regarding some of the Spoons stories he had heard of. A member of 2nd Hill went as far as carrying his spoon in the shower, preventing another hallmate from tapping him out.
Chloe Harnphanich ‘26, from 3rd Beall, echoed a similar story. While walking out of the PFM, Harnphanich kept her spoon to her nose. Near her, her eliminator lurked, waiting until the moment Harnphanich took the spoon off her nose. Despite her elimination from Spoons, Harnphanich seemed satisfied regarding her participation in the game.
What Spoons Means to the NCSSM Community
When asked why she participated in Spoons, Harnphanich stated, “[I] wanted to collaborate more with the student body [as a Junior Senator] and I think in general, [this game] is a very fun, engaging way to have a stress relieving aspect in… life, especially with such rigorous coursework at school.”
As a former student and now as a CC, Ashe responded, “At first, I thought [Spoons] was really random, but in a way, it seems to bring the campus together… I think [the competition] can be taken to extremes, but for the most part, [Spoons] is a good thing.”
To Keep or Not to Keep?
While the winner for Spoons this year is yet to be declared, the student body seems to be in consensus: the sense of community, friendly competition, and camaraderie the game creates is what makes every participant a champion. The annual game is here to stay, and hopefully be embedded into the rich history of NCSSM.
I hope this finds you well. I am writing this to spread information about the vast impacts Hurricane Helene has had on my home community and the surrounding western North Carolina (WNC) region.
My family was fortunate enough to be out of town when the hurricane hit and we are safe and physically well. The county I have grown up in almost my entire life, Yancey County, has been virtually destroyed. It has been extremely disheartening to experience this knowing that people in my own state have little to no knowledge about the severity, because of a lack of media and news coverage.
I understand that this does not only apply to my county but the entire WNC region. If you are willing to read the following about the situation, I ask that you do so with care and attention to detail. I hope that people can grasp at least a sliver of what my community is going through and find sympathy to donate and reach out to those in need. At the very end of this email are various links to help donate and pictures of my hometown in its current state.
Before Hurricane Helene even swept through, the region was flooded from predecessor rain events (rain that occurs around 36 hours before a storm and can span 600 miles poleward from the storm’s center). These rain events brought in about 12 inches of rain- enough to flood interstates, fill the ground, and create a few inches or so of present groundwater. Hurricane Helene brought a total of 30 inches to my town Burnsville in Yancey County, NC.
On Thursday night and Friday into the early afternoon, Hurricane Helene swept through my county. On Friday morning, I was in contact with a friend in my hometown about the conditions of the area where she had already lost power but was able to communicate through her family’s solar-powered satellite wifi.
After 10 a.m., I was no longer able to contact anyone from my county or surrounding counties. No one else could communicate either, not within the area or outside of it. To give context, in many of these rural communities, families have lived here for generations. Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and other family members (of multiple generations) live in the area and these small towns are all their last names have ever known. This area is also one of the most impoverished areas of the state.
For loved ones who were not directly impacted by the storm but were concerned for their family, no communication meant that they had no one to reach out to. Their entire extended family was at risk and suddenly everyone was isolated from one another. Scrolling on Facebook pages of my town was and is still apocalyptic-like. Hours spent scrolling through family members reporting their loved ones missing and asking for any information on specific roads/areas. This absence of communication is still ongoing but has improved daily and there are wifi centers set up, if people can access them.
My dad is an OB/GYN and travels to regional hospitals for his work. He was working in a hospital just south of Asheville. Even at a hospital, he had no power or service. He reported to us at 4 a.m. on Saturday that he was okay. The hospital had no source of information besides looking out the windows and hearing reports from people stumbling into the building. My dad was also told that he was the only surgeon in the hospital for the day and night he was there.
From a friend with a family member who works at the hospital closest to my house, the hospital was again described as “an apocalypse” after the storm passed. With no running water or service, people were showing up at the hospital doors with major injuries, severe limb damage, and pleas for help.
The story of a man who was pinned under a tree for three hours is most haunting. A friend shared with my mom the story of a nearby sheriff: how he worked for 72 hours straight rescuing and searching for others; how his team had to leave bodies floating down flood waters; how the death toll is still increasing as more bodies are uncovered.
Access to emergency facilities was incredibly limited because of the destruction of the roads. Major interstates are closed between towns and into towns due to fallen trees, mudslides, bridges collapsed, flooding, powerlines down, or the pavement is literally no longer there and swept away by flood waters. This not only applies to major interstates and highways but to almost every single side road, neighborhood, and driveway.
The damage to these roads is severely isolating. Without access to homes by car, people must walk for miles to reach a main highway or even any sort of public infrastructure. To provide additional context, Yancey County has a population of about 19,000 and has a square mileage of 312.6 miles. Durham County has a population of about 333,000 and has a square mileage of 287.5 miles. I include this to say there is no large neighborhood. There is not a centralized location. People across my county are incredibly spread out. There is no interstate in my county, only 2 major highways that connect the thousands of side roads. Bridges that connect these roads to the highways are washed out completely. Hundreds of trees and powerlines have fallen on singular driveways. Many live on gravel roads, and those are completely impassable. It will take months and years to fix this issue and until then, traveling to or from home will be impossible or extremely difficult.
With this lack of transportation and communication, people are starved of physical resources and resources of knowledge. At this time only a few locations throughout the county have power. Many homes do not have running water, electricity, service, a source of food, or transportation (and for those who do have a way of traveling with their vehicles, there is barely any access to gas). This applies to those fortunate enough to have an intact home. For some, flood waters have destroyed levels of their home, trees have fallen on rooms or entire houses, their houses are completely underwater, mudslides have caused the houses to lose their foundations, or houses near rivers have been swept away entirely.
Damage to this extent has not only impacted homes but also cars and public buildings. The post office closest to my house consists of only the cinder block foundation now. I spent my summers swimming in the South Toe River; the swimming hole is down about 20 feet in a ravine from where you park your car. The river is now level with the road. The multiple bridges to access my house are completely washed out. Our neighbors hitchhiked into town to send us an email urging us to not return for a while.
I have been fortunate enough to hear from a majority of loved ones, but even 48-72 hours from the storm I worry about friends and valued community members. The majority of people are okay but conditions are terrible. Communities have banded together to make it through this. It will take months and years to reach relative stability.
I write all of this to provide context that hopefully helps you to understand the severity of the situation. I strongly urge you to share this email or by word of mouth with everyone: spouses, parents, friends, colleagues, teachers, neighbors, anyone. Below are pictures of my hometown and links to ways to donate money and resources.
Thank you,
Ellie Murphy
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HERE ARE SOME BEFORE AND AFTER PHOTOS. I HAVE TRIED TO MATCH THE IMAGE OF DESTRUCTION WITH AN IMAGE FROM GOOGLE EARTH A COUPLE YEARS AGO. WHITE BUILDING IS THE POST OFFICE CLOSEST TO MY HOUSE. IT IS NO LONGER THERE AND THE BUILDING DIRECTLY NEXT TO IT IS MISSING A WALL. (ELLIE MURPHY)
Happy Half has been an NCSSM tradition for years: the last 30 minutes before check is the precious time when students can socialize with friends and take a break from the stress of school.
While participation can vary depending on the day and weather, you can usually find at least 15-20 out on Hill Street enjoying the half an hour before check. However, a new element has been brought into the Happy Half scene: spike ball.
Spikeball is a game that involves a ball, a net, and four competitive players. It’s become a popular activity at NCSSM and boasts a club that hosts tournaments and events dedicated to the sport. Recently, however, spike ball has caused Happy Half to move from its famous spot on Hill Street to the Royall Lawn, affecting the Happy Half scene–something many students are indeed not “happy” with.
Cooper Uhl ‘25, a frequent Happy-goer, asked students their opinions one night.
“[Spikeball] was cool at first when it was just one or two [nets], but now it’s like five or six,” stated Stevie Richardson ‘25.
“I think it has been detrimental to the culture of Happy Half because it’s meant for people to be able to talk about their days,” Lola Larsen ‘25 said. “But when you are playing spike ball, it’s very difficult to have a conversation.”
Not all students are against the new Happy Half addition; many are very supportive and believe it should be here to stay.
“It’s a good activity to keep people moving and it brings the school together. It really builds a community to be able to come out to,” said Hannah Amadi ‘25.
Rishi Jalagam ‘25 believed spike ball was “the greatest thing in the history of the school.” When asked to elaborate, he replied, “Are you gonna do a legislative law? Because I’m all for anarchism.”
There is quite a divide between students when it comes to who should dominate the last 30 minutes before check–some are upset with the addition of spike ball, and others believe it brings something new and exciting to the atmosphere.
Landon Jiminez ‘25 expressed the idea of a compromise. “I don’t think it’s bad, but I also feel that we need normal Happy. Maybe we can make a deal–three days a week, 1-2 nets. But 4-5 nets every single day… it’s just kind of ruining Happy for years to come and the years to follow.”
After a minute, he added, “We’re losing our tradition as the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics!”
Ethan Burkett ‘25 agreed. “You don’t get to hear about the daily shenanigans, and you miss out on the socialization and familial ties of Happy Half.”
What happens if spike ball suddenly dies out? Will Happy Half continue on the Royall Lawn? Traditions are important to students at NCSSM–it’s what makes the two years we spend together memorable. However, who says that traditions can’t change? Maybe it’s time for the classes of 2025 and 2026 to add their own traditions to the mix.
Editor’s Note: This article was initially planned to be published in October 2024.
Many will remember the shocking events of the past month involving the school’s ventilation system–the mold growth in the Hunt maintenance room. However, this isn’t the first mold incident in residential buildings; students have something to say about it.
Ellie Murphy ‘25 recounted her experience, beginning at Move-In Day. “My roommate and I had mold growing on our desk chairs, 3 ceiling tiles, our closet door, and sides of our desks,” she said. “The problems were ‘fixed’ by maintenance by spray painting over the ceiling tiles and wiping down the furniture.”
Murphy isn’t the only one whose hopes for maintenance repairs have been disappointing. Brandon Yang ‘25 expressed that Hunt has “fallen into complete disrepair”.
“I’ve gotten used to seeing problems on hall, such as our landing door failing to unlock and broken lights in our hallways, knowing that they’ll take months to get fixed despite submitting work orders,” he said.
Yang includes that he “understands minor inconveniences are bound to arise in a building that is over 30 years old” but is disappointed that the administration has chosen to ignore the mold growth in the HVAC system, prioritizing “marketing and branding.”
It’s true–NCSSM’s buildings are over 30 years old, the last modification being in 1980. Structural issues are bound to arise, and most students understand that NCSSM isn’t a new building with the latest architectural and engineering designs. The frustration is the lack of response, lack of action, and lack of improvement. Students live here for nine months–the last thing they want is to be breathing in mold, finding it on their chairs and in their clothes.
“Our room is so humid that our towels never dry and mold has grown on different personal items. When we returned from fall break, 5 or so ceiling tiles had mold growing of different colors and we put in a request for a dehumidifier to fix the issue,” Murphy stated.
Some students have taken things into their own hands. Petri dishes and at-home mold tests were created and passed around. After the video leaked of the mold growth in Hunt, some students were determined to find out for themselves what was really going on. Cameron Shue ‘25 explained his choice to investigate.
“I obtained a petri dish from my friend and I swabbed my air vent and the chipping paint in the corner of my room,” he said. “I checked it a couple of days later after forgetting about it and the petri dish was full of black mold!”
Mold isn’t the only black substance that students have discovered. Lola Larsen, ‘25 recounts her experience with a mysterious black liquid on 1st Beall. She told me she was sitting in the hallway when “this black liquid started dripping from the ceiling”. She described it as “matte black and thick, like oil”. When she requested maintenance, they found much more in the ceiling; maintenance determined it was black water caused by mold and humidity. When asked how she felt she stated “It was a very strange and concerning experience. It makes me wonder how many years that liquid had been sitting up there for the water to turn matte black.”
Students want their voices heard and taken seriously–they want transparency and actions that show the school is truly taking in their concerns and using all their resources to find a solution. It seems that Murphy spoke the mind of the student body when she declared, “This experience has been unpleasant, to say the least.”
In his order directing the Pentagon to end diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, Trump said the programs discourage merit and leadership, and discriminate on the basis of race and sex.(NPR)
By Viviana Gardner, Stentorian Staff Writer
On January 20th, 2025, the day of his inauguration, President Donald Trump enacted an executive order that sought to end “radical and wasteful government DEI programs and preferencing.”
DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) programs and policies have existed in many different forms since the mid-1960s when an executive order outlined that government employees were to be hired without bias toward gender, race, or religion. Since then, there have been larger strides to counterbalance the systematic discrimination that exists within our society, such as Executive Order 13985 enacted by President Joe Biden where he claimed in Ex that, “the Federal Government should pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”
On the other hand, the January 20 Executive Order, criticizes DEI programs by claiming that the programs themselves are discriminatory, as the order operates off the idea that DEI’s goal of advancing racial and gender equity was only favoring certain groups of people – ignoring the centuries of oppression and biases that still remain within societal structures and government organizations.
In implementing this order, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), the Attorney General, and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) have been tasked with ensuring the end of DEI programs within federal agencies while also reviewing their financial impact. This has affected countless programs and people across the nation—even in our own school, where our DEI-ties program ended and our Student Climate Opportunities, Outreach, and Programming (SCOOP) program began.
Recently, there has been an uptake in content condemning DEI and celebrating what seems to be the “end” of these programs, with many claiming them to be part of the same “woke liberal agenda” of other policies concerning ethical issues, such as those created by the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG).
Overall, the January 20 Executive Order has sparked debate around the existence of the policies and programs that served to make federal agencies more inclusive. In dismantling DEI programs that have allowed for a more equitable environment and that have addressed the deeply ingrained systemic inequalities, this executive order poses the risk of undoing decades of progress. As the federal government moves forward with these changes, the harm that these changes will and have caused will become a prominent topic and issue within minoritized and disadvantaged communities across the country.
