By Stephanie Kane
Carrboro Commons Writer

Carrboro High School is in the initial stages of developing the Carrboro High School Academic Integrity Committee (AIC), which will be composed of faculty, students and parents who are concerned with promoting honor at Carrboro High.

Marc Millard, a Carrboro High science teacher, is primarily responsible for the organization of the Academic Honor Committee.
Staff photo by Stephanie Kane

The creation of the committee comes in response to the discovery of an elaborate cheating scheme at Chapel Hill High School this February.

Carrboro High Principal Jeff Thomas said the incident at Chapel Hill High has “put the microscope on our whole school district. We have a high performing school district and high schools from which many students are accepted into Ivy Leagues, so the media attention has been heavy. But I think some good can come of this, and we can learn and grow from a negative situation.”

The Carrboro High AIC will be modeled after the East Chapel Hill High School AIC, which has been in operation for several years and is firmly established in the school’s system.

Marc Millard, a Carrboro High chemistry teacher who previously taught at East Chapel Hill High, is organizing the committee and says the AIC will be up and running for the 2008-2009 school year.

Millard plans to have at least one faculty member from each department present at AIC meetings and is currently gathering teacher recommendations for students who “embody personal integrity and honor.” These students will be extended an offer to join Student Academic Integrity and Leadership (SAIL) next year.

Millard also hopes to have parents in attendance who can voice valuable input and serve as a support unit for faculty, but they will have more limited involvement when confidentiality is at risk.
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By Kate Searcy
Carrboro Commons Writer

Move over, Jonas Brothers. There’s a new boy band in town – literally.

Lord Destiny, far left, dances as members of Miah and the Girl Toyz treat the crowd to their vocal and guitar-playing talents. The group of brothers, including Christopher and Jeremiah, far right, hopes to make their band a household name in the music world with continued daily practice..
Staff photo by Kate Searcy

Miah and the Girl Toyz, a high-energy quartet of young musicians from Carrboro, put on a lively show at McDougle Elementary School on April 20.

The group consists of Christopher, 15, who plays bass guitar; Jeremiah, 14, who sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar; Stori, 11, who plays the keyboards and sings backup vocals; and Vincent James, 10, the drummer.

The “Miah” in the band’s name is a shortened form of “Jeremiah,” according to Jacob Jacobs, the group’s manager and adopted father of the boys.

The performance was part of an entertainment series called Entertainment Adventures that is sponsored and coordinated by the town of Carrboro and the Carrboro Recreation and Parks Department. There is a different performance on the third Sunday of each month, said Robin Jones, the coordinator of the event. Jones is also a recreation specialist for the town of Carrboro.

Jones saw the group perform at the Carrboro Music Festival and asked them to join the series.

“We don’t usually have musical acts,” Jones said. “But I heard a few of their songs, and we decided they would be good for our program.”
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By Shannon David
Carrboro Commons Writer

“Get pumped CHS juniors because the first ever Carrboro High School prom is here! Get ready to turn the lights down and turn the music up,” read weekly announcements at Carrboro High School.

Students at Carrboro High School lined up on April 21, 2008 to buy tickets to Carrboro High School’s first prom. The prom will be held at the Carrboro Century Center on May 10, 2008 from 8 p.m. to midnight.
Staff photo by Shannon David

On May 10, Carrboro High School will hold its first prom from 8 p.m. to midnight at the Carrboro Century Center.

The student body has been working hard all year to put on this event. “We have pretty much done everything,” said Erin Harrington, student body co-president. “We have been in charge of finding a DJ, finding a venue, picking out a theme. We are doing most of the grunt work really.”

According to Harrington, the theme for the prom is “Glow in the Dark,” and the catch phrase for event is, “turn the lights down and turn the music up.”

Harrington has worked closely with fellow student Andrew Morin in planning the prom, and Harrington and Morin believe that students overall are excited about the upcoming event.

“We had problems promoting spirit at first,” said Morin. “Some kids said they would rather go to prom at Chapel Hill High.”

“And originally we were disappointed that we couldn’t afford a nice venue like a hotel,” continued Harrington, “but we are really happy with how everything turned out.”
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By Shera Everette
Carrboro Commons Writer

If the Carrboro Film Festival were a plant, in a few months it would be getting ready to sprout legs and leap.

“There’s a plant metaphor for plant growth and development that says the first year, ‘steep;’ the second year, ‘creep;’ and the third year, ‘leap,’” said Selena Lauterer, chair of the Carrboro Film Festival. “For plants, their third year is when they’re most robust. In relationships and organizations, you’ll see that in the third year, things just magically grow.”

Committee members of the 2007 Carrboro Film Festival display the event’s fun spirit.
Photo courtesy of Carrboro Film Festival

The Carrboro Film Festival, which began showcasing local artists’ narratives and documentaries in November 2006, will have its third annual competition on Nov. 23, at the Carrboro Century Center.

“Can you believe the growth that we’ve seen?” asked Jackie Helvey, one of the festival’s founders. “Last year was a standing-room-only event and it was incredible. I can’t wait to see what happens this year.”

The deadline for submissions is Aug. 29, with late submissions being accepted until Sept. 22. Films can be no longer than 20 minutes, and the filmmaker has to have had a brush with Orange County at one time in life. They will be competing for one of the Kay Kyser Awards, which is named in honor of the 1940s Chapel Hill big band leader known as the “ol’ professor of swing.”

Lauterer said it is imperative to get the word out now, before students leave for summer vacations.

“We want as many student filmmakers as possible to be participants,” Lauterer said. “Who knows, maybe you will see the next big director.”
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By Allie Maupin
Carrboro Commons Writer

Come July, Chapel Hill may look like a ghost town, but just down the road in Carrboro local businesses say their sales remain relatively strong throughout the summer.

Hillary Vandewart prefers summers in Carrboro to Chapel Hill due to Carrboro’s diverse mix of restaurants and shopping.
Staff photo by Allie Maupin

In the summer months, the student population of the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area shrinks from more than 27,000 to about 6,000.

While Chapel Hill businesses are significantly affected by the summer migration of students, local business in Carrboro remains mostly unaffected.

“We expect summer to be a great time for us,” said Kevin Murach, a Fleet Feet employee and UNC-CH student who plans on remaining in the area this summer. “The lack of students around really should not be much of an issue for us.”

Jenny McMillan, owner of Nested, a gift shop located on East Main Street, said her business comes in cycles but that summer is not particularly a slow period.

“I don’t have a huge student customer base,” McMillan said. “I think it’s probably like that for a lot of stores in Carrboro.”

Many businesses cited Carrboro’s settled, family-focused residents as a reason sales do not dip.

“I think more people permanently live around downtown Carrboro than in Chapel Hill,” said Murach. “Summer is not a down time because most our regular customers are still here.”

McMillan also attributes the seasonal differences in the two towns to the types of business each one attracts.

“Franklin Street is totally student-oriented,” she said. “There is not much to buy there besides cheap food and blue T-shirts.”

Hillary Vandewart, a UNC-CH student who spent last summer in Carrboro, agreed that downtown Carrboro has more to offer in the summer.
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By Kennedy Carruthers
Carrboro Commons Writer

A team of four Carrboro women initiated a community-wide art project in 2001 called “5,000 Flowers” to commemorate the lives lost on Sept. 11.

The project was so successful that Carrboro and Chapel Hill residents created more than 50,000 paper flowers and placed them in venues throughout the towns.

Committee members of the Community Art Project pose at Open Eye Café during the opening reception. Front row (from left to right): Maggi Grace, Barbara Ziff, Janice Tyler. Back row: Jackie Helvey and Andi Sobbe (co-chairs this year), Barbara Jessie-Black, Ann Kendall and Laura Casey.
Staff photo by Kennedy Carruthers

Today, a similar art project continues. In its fifth year, the Community Art Project introduces a theme to Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents and urges them to submit a personal creation inspired by that theme.

“It’s such a great way for us all to be creative,” said Jackie Helvy, co-chair of the Community Art Project and a member of the original team of women who initiated “5,000 Flowers.” “The truth is, we’re all artists, we just have to find it within us.”

This year, “Elements” was the theme. From photos of leaves doused in dew and ducks swimming into the sunset to a picture representation of the elements in the periodic table, the participants’ interpretations were limitless.

Andi Sobbe, co-chair of the Community Art Project with Helvey, said the project has matured every year. “There were so many ways to interpret one simple theme, ” Sobbe said. “It’s the evidence of the degree of creativity in this community.”

Former themes include “Self Portrait,” “Dream,” “Lost and Found” and “Why.”

On Thursday, April 17, these creations, in the form of mosaics, watercolor and oil paintings, collages, flower arrangements, pencil and crayon drawings and ceramics, were featured in a slide show at Open Eye Cafe as a commencement to the community-wide project.
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By Shera Everette
Carrboro Commons Writer

The Carrboro Citizen’s publisher, Robert “Bubba” Dickson (left), and editor, Kirk Ross, say the paper follows a community-centered approach to writing.
File photo by Justin Smith

Readers who picked up the March 27 edition of The Carrboro Citizen got a real surprise: a story about an aerial gondola coming to Carrboro.

Whether readers believed it or not, they saw what community journalism is about.

Especially the April Fools’ edition.

“I like humor,” said Kirk Ross, editor of The Carrboro Citizen. “I think newspapers ought to have a sense of humor. It was a good exercise in learning how different people read the newspaper.”

Catering to the community

Only a community newspaper could report a fictitious town development plan and avoid severe backlash from its readers. Ross said the relationship that The Citizen has built with its readers is the reason why the newspaper is still around after a year of publication.

“I think it’s really connected with a lot of people,” Ross said. “The great thing is that people are taking ownership of this paper. We tell our readers, ‘We’re a couple of folks who know how to make a newspaper, but we’re making it for you. Tell us what you want.’”
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By Sean Umstead
Carrboro Commons Writer

Carrboro High School Athletic Director April Ross sits at her desk preparing the necessary behind the scenes work that must be done for sporting events to go off without a hitch.
Staff photo by Sean Umstead

When the Charlotte Bobcats began their inaugural season in 2004 they won a modest 22 percent of their games. Setting up one team clearly has challenges; setting up 20 new teams could be overwhelming.

That is what April Ross, Carrboro High School’s athletic director, has on her plate after taking over for Steve Reinhart, who resigned in December.

Ross, originally from Bath, was an athletic administrator at Briggs High School in Columbus, Ohio, before returning to North Carolina.

“I had been looking to come back home, and to open a brand new building to start something great from the beginning, which was one of my career goals,” Ross said.

Ross said her responsibilities include managing coaches, monitoring athletes’ academic eligibility, ordering transportation, scheduling and everything else that’s required to make a program run smoothly.

Ross said the new student athletes are putting forth an extraordinary effort to get teams off to a good start.

“The student athletes try extremely hard,” Ross said. “They give it 100 percent.”

Ross said she understands the difficulty of a new school trying to compete with established and perennially successful teams.
“We don’t have that experience factor,” she said.

Ross said chemistry within each team is key to building strong foundations, which is even more important when competing with teams that have been together for many years. She said such as foundation can be established by athletes working with their teammates throughout the summer.
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Por Alexandra Mansbach
Carrboro Commons Reportera
Traducido por Leah Szarek

Algunos de los estudiantes en Carrboro High School están tomando el aprendizaje al próximo nivel — el nivel internacional.

La Academia de Estudios Internacionales, o AIS según la sigla en inglés, en Carrboro High School prepara a los estudiantes para vivir y trabajar en un mundo diverso. Los estudiantes aceptados en el programa aprenden de culturas diferentes, los idiomas y los asuntos y las prácticas necesarios para ser individuos más globalmente enterados y cultos.

Los estudiantes de la clase de asuntos globales de Sra. Kalleberg de 2007. Veinticinco estudiantes están participando en el programa.
Foto gracias a Judith Kalleberg

El programa incluye una serie de clases, seminarios, investigación, servicio comunitario y interlocutores visitantes para proveer a los estudiantes de una variedad de oportunidades para aprender.

“Hemos tenido un primer año bueno y repetiremos nuestra asociación el año próximo,” dijo Judith Kalleberg, una de las directoras de AIS. “Los estudiantes están muy emocionados por los cursos electivos ofrecidos, y la matrícula para las clases parece bueno.”

Más de 60 estudiantes toman uno o más clases de AIS, Kalleberg dijo, y acerca de 25 estudiantes son miembros del programa. El proceso de solicitar requiere que el estudiante descargue y rellene una solicitud del sitio Web del programa. La aceptación en AIS está basada en el interés del estudiante en estudios y culturas globales y en una recomendación del maestro. Los estudiantes pueden solicitar entre su primer y tercer año, y cuando están aceptado, los estudiantes deben conformarse con los requisitos de academia.
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