5/18/2021 A Year in Review & Editor’s NoteA NOTE FROM AN EDITOR:In a normal year, the Stentorian would run monthly editions, passed out to students dorm rooms before breaks, filled with news and features to capture to mood and traditions of the student body. In a normal year, we would print five or six editions, with ample opportunity for staff to write on what they loved, or even what they didn’t. This year, we printed only two. It is the responsibility of the Stentorian to serve as a record for future students, so they can look into the archives and view our opinions, our quotes, our stories. With the limited number of prints, we haven’t been able to say much, so here are a few of the things we were unable to cover this year: A YEAR IN REVIEWPolicy changes were made at the beginning of the year, as the school transitioned from trimesters to semesters. First, the daily schedule was changed. Now, classes begin at 8:30 AM, end at 4:05 PM and have a maximum of four meeting periods a week. Morning labs get out at 11:50 AM instead of 12:15 PM, and blocks have been added to Tuesday and Thursday afternoons for students to use as flexible time. Class absences, which would’ve caused a student to receive a Level 1 in the past, now directly impact students grades if too many classes are missed. This change is likely meant to encourage student attendance, though many students are unhappy with it. Some of these policy changes have been readily accepted, and others have not. Proponents of the changes feel that the new schedule and semester system made NCSSM more similar to a university system, reducing stress—especially that of the winter trimester—and better preparing students for college. Those who do not like the changes, including a sizable portion of the seniors, feel that the new schedule has limited their ability to take elective classes. However, it is difficult to observe the full impacts of the new system because...
COVID-19 caused massive changes, as the school had to learn how to operate amidst a global pandemic. To reduce transmission in dorm rooms and at school, only half of the students could attend in-person at one time, while the other half stayed at home. Students were grouped into cohorts based on residence hall and class schedule, with Cohort A and B first semester and Cohort C and D second semester. Each cohort stayed on campus for approximately 6 weeks; most students had single rooms. RLAs could choose whether or not to attend each cohort, and FR, or fully remote, students chose not to come to the Durham campus for the semester. Students on campus were required to wear masks and maintain a six feet social distance. In the first semester, stairways around campus were one directional, but complaints about access to the upper floors of Bryan, difficulty navigating the school and slightly relaxed CDC guidelines led to this system being removed second semester. Students on campus during the second semester receive weekly COVID tests, and hold grievances with the Daily Health Assessment, a form which is due at 10:00 AM on weekdays and 12:00 PM on weekends. Students who fail to fill out the form a number of times are sent home for the rest of the semester. Many students are not happy to have to fill out the form in order to stay on campus. Varsity sports were cancelled this year due to the pandemic, disappointing many seniors who were looking forward to returning to their teams and many juniors who were looking forward to joining. Intramural soccer and intramural ultimate frisbee were also cancelled due to the difficulty of maintaining six feet social distance while playing. The PEC (Physical Education Center) also has a reduced capacity, closing two racquetball rooms and requiring students to sign up for spots in the weight room. To combat these losses, other intramural sports took place across the cohorts, including tennis, volleyball and badminton. Workout sessions were also organized, both by the school and by students, and held either virtually or on campus. Clubs have had a difficult time this year, especially dance clubs. Recruiting members to attend speaker events and various other Zoom activities has been exceptionally difficult, as many students are experiencing Zoom fatigue and burnout. Dance clubs, usually the most popular clubs on campus, have had a large reduction in members due to the difficulty of practicing on campus, given that the dance studio is closed. Construction and campus upgrades are underway, although, as always, more are needed. The ETC courtyard was closed during the second semester as it underwent renovations, but the roof of Reynolds is still falling apart. Luckily, the school received a 7.5 million dollar anonymous donation for the purpose of renovating the campus and residence halls. Meals are also experienced differently this year, as students were given (instead of having to pay for) reusable takeout containers in order to reduce capacity within the PFM. A wall was added to the PFM to separate lines of students dining in or eating out, and the stir-fry bar, salad bar and ice cream machine were closed. Because much of the food is packaged, there is now more waste coming from the PFM, and during Cohort A the compost bins were not available. A few new restaurants were added to Ninth Street and Broad Street: The Loop, a diner, took the place of Deeluxe Chicken; Möge Tee, a bubble tea store, took the place of Snow Factory; the long-anticipated Secrets Pho Noodle Bar opened on Ninth Street. Perhaps as a sign of the enduring nature of humanity, the PFM still serves fried chicken on Wednesdays, and Hunt Kitchen is still always a mess. Student activities have also experienced a shift this year, with many moving online, including bi-weekly SAB trivia. Tents were placed around campus to encourage student interaction in outdoor spaces, as indoor spaces have capacity limits. The library is quiet. This in itself is unusual. Walking off campus has been restricted, and the evening rules from last winter did not make an appearance this year. Students are not allowed to be transported off campus by anyone other than their parents; Ubers cannot be used and the school vans have sat unused in the parking lot. Students were not allowed to visit other residence halls this year, including ones in their own building. Interhall visitations (what’s the plural of i-viz?) did not happen, including the notorious 4W mixer and the annual 4E Haunted Hall. However, students in Cohort C and D did get to experience the Spring Initiative, a weeklong series of activities around campus that includes a block party on Hill Street. Many school traditions (see page 3) also could not happen this year: Spoons, prom, winter semi-formal, the Halloween Dance, trick-or-treating and lock-ins. Cultural festivals (see page 4) were moved online. Juniors have had an interesting experience: the grounds vs. cafeteria debate was halted by removing campus service altogether. Supervised study also disappeared this year, as did housekeeping. Notably, the yearbook was shrouded in controversy. Despite the best efforts of the yearbook staff, senior quotes and over 100 pages were removed (hence the quotes being listed here). This change is likely due to a reduction in the number of students purchasing yearbooks. However, the student body was not informed of this change until after yearbooks had been purchased. As much as the admin has done for us this year, they really messed up on this one. Mental health has been harder to manage this year, with many students away from their friends, struggling to do NCSSM’s level of work and deal with living in a pandemic at the same time. In the spring semester, students were given an academic support week, enabling them to catch up on late work and destress. Seniors have had quite the experience this year, and to make up for it, “three” days were given before graduation for all of the seniors to be on campus at one time. These senior days include a semi-formal senior dessert, food trucks, IM opportunities and many other events. These last couple days give seniors the opportunity to be on campus together, for the first time in over a year. I’m sure that there is much that I have missed, and much that we have all missed. But despite all of the loss and changes, these past two years have still been some of the best of my life. I will miss you all dearly. Thank you for reading this final edition of the 2020-2021 Stentorian newspaper. 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