The Stentorian Newspaper

Tag: fiction

  • NCSSM Spikeball Is Not For The Faint-Hearted

    NCSSM Spikeball Is Not For The Faint-Hearted

    By Hima Manne, Stentorian Staff Writer

    NCSSM Spikeball is not for the faint-hearted. It’s a high-stakes battle for pride, glory, and satisfaction of proving absolutely no one can beat your superior reflexes–at least until they do, and then you make excuses. 

    There’s an art to this madness, a rhythm that combines the agility of a jungle cat with the competitiveness of a caffeine-fueled teenager. At its core, spikeball is about spiking a ball onto a tiny trampoline with a ferocity that makes it difficult for the opposition to spike it back onto the net within three passes.

    No earlier or later than 9:30 p.m., three spikeball nets are set up on Watts Lawn with dozens of people leaving the Happy Half scene to instead witness spikeball rivalries. For a school that takes pride in its STEM prowess, you wouldn’t think people would be so excited to run around chasing a tiny ball that’s basically trying to outsmart them at every turn. Yet here we are.

    Of course, being a part of this spikeball culture means learning how to navigate the occasional failure with grace–or, at least, with a semi-acceptable excuse. If you miss the ball, it’s not because you’re bad at the game. It’s because “the wind caught it,” or “the net was uneven,” or “I wasn’t ready,” or the classic “my partner didn’t set me up right.” There’s a whole catalog of explanations ready to go at any moment, because no one ever truly misses a spikeball. It’s always the environment conspiring against you.

    Still, for all the sarcasm and the competitive edge, spikeball at NCSSM is the best kind of chaos. There’s something oddly satisfying about diving for a ball that’s already out of reach, or that rare moment when your team pulls off a combo so perfect that the other team can only stand there in awe (or confusion—either works). You bond over the shared frustration of a close game and the memories that come from all the laughter and bruises. Because let’s be real: if you’re playing spikeball and you’re not leaving with at least one new bruise, did you even play?

    At the end of the day, spikeball at NCSSM is more than just a game. It’s an unspoken tradition, a rite of passage, and a chance to momentarily forget about that upcoming test or lab report. Plus, it’s just plain fun, even when you lose. And if you do lose, there’s always the next game. 

    Or a good excuse.

  • Spoons: NCSSM’s Sacred Tradition

    Spoons: NCSSM’s Sacred Tradition

    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.

  • Mysterious Illness: A Spoons-demic?

    Mysterious Illness: A Spoons-demic?

    By Emma Hunt / March 20, 2024
    With these spoons being passed from person to person, touched by the noses of strangers, and never sanitized, are we unknowingly contributing to the spread of this disease? A spoons-demic, if you will. (Teresa Fang/The Stentorian)

    Recently at NCSSM, an unidentified illness has been going around. There has been a large uptick in the number of students choosing to wear masks, and coughing can be heard ringing throughout the buildings. With the source of the illness unknown, one can only wonder… is it due to Spoons, the schoolwide game?

    According to one NCSSM student, “I saw an individual wipe their runny nose on their spoon and then go tap a fellow student with the spoon.” 

    As we all know, the transfer of bodily fluids is one of the fastest ways to spread cold-like illnesses. With these spoons being passed from person to person, touched by the noses of strangers, and never sanitized, are we unknowingly contributing to the spread of this disease? A spoons-demic, if you will. 

    The newspaper’s own Suchi Kona reports, “There was even a person who licked their spoon and then tagged someone else.”

    The game, though fun, shows a common occurrence: North Carolina’s “best and brightest” acting in an unintelligent manner. As developments are made within the game (the recently-attempted website as a prime example), one might suggest a more sanitary approach to the game. Maybe it’s time for a permanent change. Why must the spoon be touching the nose? Is there not a more sanitary body part we could choose, especially with the game being played in peak cold/flu season?

    When questioned about the addition of padding to the round part of her spoon, Thanai Votanopoulos states, “I add extra padding to my spoons so I don’t attract the ‘SSM cold.” Even going so far as to wipe it off with a Lysol wipe every day, my interview with her was still punctuated with a round of coughing. 

    We can’t know for sure, but I think it’s safe to say that Spoons is encouraging unhygienic practices and possibly even taking out NCSSM students – though not in the way it intends to…