Writing Prompt #13 - Residential Life

Writing Prompt #13:  Write a story about living in a dorm room on campus.

Due Date:  March 23, 2026

Details:  Write a story about your experience living in a room in a dormitory on campus, probably for the first time in your life;

Or write about the difficulties or advantages of living away from home;

Or write a story about one of your residential advisers;

Or write a story about one of your roommates. 

Blog landing page URL: https: https://half-sheet-of-paper-workshop.blogspot.com/

New Post URL: https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/6942635268531392674 

Background:

Practically from inception, the NC School of Science and Math was envisioned as a public residential school, housing students from across the state. Although the cost of providing housing was probably researched and debated by the Governor's Task Force, (and the NC legislature,) the core idea of providing room and board for students was preserved.

The property was purchased with both dormitories and classrooms (and laboratories) in mind.  The historic Watts Hospital property had previously housed nursing school students for decades in the Wyche building. There were also existing rooms in the newer Hill House building.  And there were rooms that were created in the main building that had once served as a maternity ward.

In 1980-81, Wyche House and the third floor of the Main building were used for boy's dormitories, and Hill House was used for the girl's dormitory.

In 1981-82, two floors on Wyche House and a portion of the Valinda Beall pavilion housed the women.  Two floors on Hill House (1st & 2nd) and two floors in the newly, christened Bryan building (2nd & 3rd) formerly called the "1953 building", housed men.

Kathleen "Kathy" Benzaquin was hired to be the first director of the Department of Residential Life in 1980, and her staff included eight young residential advisors, whose jobs were to live on the students halls, provide guidance, and assist in planning non-academic student activities.

1980-81 Residential Advisers:
Warren Basket - Housing Coordinator - Warrenton, NC
Andy Minnis - Publications - Hillsborough, NC
Branson Brown
Zack Smith

Crystal Hunter - Student Activities - Raleigh, NC
Nancy Bodenhorn
?Karen Lutz

November 1981 Dialogues Article:

NINE NEW RESIDENT ADVISORS JOIN THE STAFF 

Nine new Resident Advisors, five women and four men, have been added to Kathy Benzaquin's staff this year. They join three members of last year's staff who have returned as RAs— Warren Basket, Chrystal Hunter, and Andy Minnis—and one member of the original staff, Branson Brown, who is returning as Physical Activities and Wellness Coordinator and Athletic Coordinator. RA Tom Boddie and the Work Service Program are featured in this issue. Below are brief backgrounds on all new RAs. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/INTRAMURALS 

Steven Branson, Hill House, from Asheville 

B.S., Recreation Resources, North Carolina State University, Raleigh; graduate work, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Wake Forest; Master of Recreation Resources, North Carolina State University. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/RESIDENTIAL COORDINATOR (Inventory, Research) 

Jane Collins, Wyche House, from Springfield, Virginia 

B. S., Library Science, Radford College, Radford, Virginia; M.Ed., Guidance and Counseling, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/COMMUNITY SERVICE 

Stephen Alan Dovenitz, Hill House, who lists his home as "Air Force Bases" 

B.A., History, State University of New York at Albany; M.S., Recreation Administration, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/RESIDENTIAL COORDINATOR (Dorm Counselor/Dorm Assistant) 

Mary Holahan, Wyche House, from Darby, Pennsylvania 

B.A., Psychology, and M.Ed., Counseling, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her husband is Bill. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/STUDENT ACTIVITIES 

Deb Hynninen, Beall Pavilion, from Atlanta, Georgia 

B.S., Biology and Chemistry, Berry College; working on an M.S. degree in administration supervising and counseling, North Carolina State University, Raleigh. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/HUMAN SERVICES 

Dorothy Lee Ingram, Wyche House, from Greensboro 

B.A., Student Personnel Services and Psychology, Bennett College, Greensboro. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR 

Chris Loftis, Bryan Center, from Gastonia 

B.S., Zoology/Science Education; Duke University, Durham; fulltime Graduate Student at Southeastern Theological Seminary, Wake Forest. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/RESIDENTIAL COORDINATOR (Office Management) 

Stacie Smith, Beall Pavilion, from Grand Forks, North Dakota 

B.A., Music/Psychology, and B.S.Ed., Secondary Education, both degrees magna cum laude, University of North Dakota. 

RESIDENT ADVISOR/WORK SERVICE 

Tom Boddie. Hill House, from Thomasville 

B. A., Social Science, Western Carolina University. Graduate Courses, Guidance, North Carolina A&T, American University in Washington, D.C. Job Responsibility: Work Service. Mr. Boddie has worked as a Liaison Teacher for two years, has directed the Extended Day School in High Point and has been a Group Representative for State Mutual of America in Washington, D.C. He also spent 18 months at the Pentagon as an aide to the Chief of Staff of the Army, where among his duties was protecting the President. Mr. Boddie will also serve as Speech and Debate coordinator at NCSSM.

[Dialogues Vol. 2, No 3, November 1981; Dialogues; NCSSM Digital Collection]

First Hill Rules!

by Steve Gallup

New rooms and new roomies.

Between the first year of classes ('80-'81) and the second academic year ('81-'82), there was a complete rearrangement of the living quarters at the School of Science and Math. New dormitory wings were renovated to accommodate an entirely new class of juniors -- a doubling of the student body. And rooms in the two biggest dormitories of the first class year were also reassigned.

Boys were moved from Wyche House to Hill House or to two of the floors in the (newly christened) "Bryan" Building. Girls were moved from Hill House to Wyche  House or the remodeled Valinda Beall Pavilion. (Boys living on the third floor of the Main Building were the only students who had the option of staying put.) About 150 new 11th grade students were being thrown into the mix. Sometime in May of 1981 there was a dash for choosing new roommates and signing up for premium dorm rooms. Room size, location, and bathroom water pressure were high on the list of considerations.

Some of the newly promoted seniors chose to stay in one of the dorms on the north side of campus (Hill House or Wyche House), with it's slightly more woodsy, traditional vibe.  Some chose to move into the renovated wings of the former hospital (Bryan and Beall), where there was a more urban aesthetic, like living in a high-rise apartment.  But everyone moved, and nearly everyone had new roommates to boot.

Despite this rearrangement... or, perhaps, because of it... hall pride and allegiance began to surge. Each dorm seemed to cultivate it's own brand of loyalty. Newly arriving juniors were welcomed to their rooms on the dormitory floor as if they were joining an exclusive club or circle. When meeting a new student for the first time, the most common question (after, "Where are you from?") was, "So, what hall are you on?"

Of course it wasn't just the building, or it's location that mattered. It was the collection of juveniles, living in close proximity, struggling to measure up to expectations, that mattered. We were there to support and/or torture one another. We became like family -- perhaps closer than family. We hung out together, played ping pong together, listened to record albums together, studied together, and played pranks on one another.

Early in the art class of 1981, Joe Liles taught screen-printing, and within weeks posters and t-shirts were being mass produced, frequently extolling the virtues or superiority of one hall or another. Today, my t-shirt is neatly folded and stored in a pile of other keepsake apparel on the top shelf of my bedroom closet.  It says, "First Hill Rules".

The contest for superiority.

Somewhere in the middle of my senior year, while living on the first floor of Hill House, we decided that we should plan an event to demonstrate our true quality. We decided to throw a party of some sort -- an invitation only event -- not only to enjoy... but also to demonstrate our greatness.  We had grandiose dreams to start with -- a black tie event... or a gala -- but in the end we agreed to hold a traditional cookout, somewhere off campus, and invite a chosen few of our friends and mentors.

Pretty quickly, it became apparent that, besides getting the necessary permissions and approvals, we would actually have to raise some funds to pay for food and supplies.  This was the topic of discussion at a full-fledged hall meeting -- all of us squeezing into our overstuffed recreational area. In retrospect, that hall meeting may have been one of the only times when our hall really got together, hashing out the nuts and bolts of our planned extravaganza.

In the end, we did the one thing that we all knew how to do to raise money. We held a car wash. Some time in early Spring, in 1982, we got some hoses... and buckets... and soap... and we set up a car wash in the faculty parking lot at the back of Wyche House. Mostly by word of mouth... surprisingly... a phalanx of cars began driving in for a lather and rinse, of somewhat questionable quality. After a few hours of working, playing, and directing one another, our "treasurer" proudly displayed the fruit of our efforts -- a handful of paper bills -- enough to prepare in earnest -- to finance a cookout.

Somewhere along the line I volunteered to create an invitation (shown below). I had them printed at a business in Cameron Village, in Raleigh -- my hometown. I still have the bag with the business logo on front. It might have been one of the first times I felt the weight of  responsibility of doing something for "the greater good".

The First Hill Cookout.

So each student on our hall was allowed to send either one or two invitations for the cookout. I no longer remember how many were allowed, or who I invited. But, at the time, it was thrilling, first, to plan, and then, to bring to fruition, such an exclusive engagement.

Although the invitation indicates that the cookout was to be on the Eno River (north of campus), it ended up being held at Wrightwood Park, on Anderson Street, about one mile south of the Sarah Duke Gardens (and south of campus).  Wrightwood Park was so small, that from the street, you would think it was only a baseball field, but the park itself actually ran up into the woods on a hill above the baseball diamond, and was a lovely enclave for our party.

We went through the traditional fuss of bringing things to grill -- fixin's, and refreshments. One of us oversaw the cooking, and pretty soon grilled, conspicuously non-cafeteria food was served, to be consumed on paper plates and picnic tables. 

The day was warm and sunny, but it was shady under the tall pines. 

We were fat and happy after waiting for dinner, and we shuffled off to play on the playground. 

Eventually w struck up a game of softball way down on the baseball field. 

We talked with our guests - teachers and friends (mostly girls), and we did virtually nothing.

It was blissful.

The cookout was held only five weeks before our commencement exercises in June of 1982. Our graduation was a much, much bigger production -- held at Cameron Indoor Stadium, on Duke's campus, and followed by a picnic and gathering on the lawn outside the main entrance to the Bryan Building at NCSSM.

But for a few hours in a small park in the middle of Durham... in the magical month of May... a small cadre of young men from "1st Hill" shared the fruit of their planning and labor with the people at school that they loved and respected the most -- a feast of food and a celebration of hall pride.

Writing Prompt #12 - Phasing

Writing Prompt #12:  Write a story about the Student Judicial System, which included "three phases" of disciplinary action.

Due Date:  March 2, 2026

Details:  Write a story about how you, or someone else, received a Phase 1, 2, or 3 disciplinary action;

Or write about a close call with the judicial system, and how judicial action was avoided;

Or write about the climate of good or bad behavior that you observed, fostered or exemplified;

Or write about the interactions (the give & take) between the administration and the students. 

Blog landing page URL: https: https://half-sheet-of-paper-workshop.blogspot.com/

New Post URL: https://www.blogger.com/blog/posts/6942635268531392674 

Background:

The NC School of Science and Mathematics is, and was, a residential high school for exceptional students who applied to attend, from across the state of North Carolina.

In 1980, the first Student Handbook laid out the Code of Conduct (the rules) and the Student Judicial System (the consequences) for the new high school. In his message to the students, in the Handbook, Director Charles Eilber compared the Handbook to a foundation for a building; serving as a support for the structure, while not necessarily dictating the final appearance.

He said:

The content has been planned, discussed, and revised over many months by an experienced staff and faculty, and it represents our effort to assure students and parents of an orderly environment in which living and learning can begin to happen.

However, as we live together and learn from the experiences of this first year, the Handbook must reflect the lessons of experience.  It will evolve and change because many more of us - including students and parents - will be here to contribute to its use and development.

The Code of Conduct

Pages 26 through 30 (five pages) of the 1980-81 NCSSM Student Handbook covered the code of conduct. It served as a warning against mischievous criminal activity, covering every bad thing that an adolescent might dream of doing. It prohibited the use of alcohol, the use of drugs, truancy, vagrancy, possession of weapons, use of fireworks, vandalism, gambling, indecency, and disturbing the peace.

It covered all of the usual forms of misbehavior; but it didn’t begin to consider the forms of provocative behavior that we (“gifted and talented” students) could imagine. Pranking and PDA (Public Displays of Affection) ran rampant in the early days. Amateur experiments in chemistry and physics were common, testing the limits of the defined rules.

The Handbook also defined the parameters of our world. It covered where we were allowed to be, and when we were allowed to be there. There were sections on curfew, dorm visitation, and quiet hours. There were various required permissions, including permission to ride in cars… to leave campus… to visit home… or to stay overnight (elsewhere off campus). There was a short section addressing “off limits” areas, including areas under construction, and areas where minors were never permitted.

These restrictions were immediately and repeatedly tested. Some students attended a frat party at Duke University, early in the Fall of the school’s first year. We were often found, in the room of a student of the opposite sex, and not always during the hours of visitation. Classifying places as “off limits” (the tunnels, the morgue, the OR, and the pavilions of the campus -- a former hospital) was an exercise in futility. What teenager, in the golden age of the D&D gaming, wouldn’t dare to explore such an incredible maze of haunted spaces?

Student Judicial System

So the Code of Conduct was tested… frequently tested, from the moment we arrived. And that’s when the Judicial System took effect. According to the Handbook, “This system consists of three phases which indicate the disciplinary status of the student.” They were “Phase 1”, “Phase 2”, and “Phase 3”.

The jargon itself… the “Phase” system… was a source of amusement. The terminology was unfortunate, because many of us (science nerds) were fans of Star Trek, the original series, which was reaching a big audience through syndication before our school opened. Being “phased” by the administration seemed like a surreal experience -- as if we were part of a Star Trek plot where the phasers were set to “Warning” or “Stun” or “Kill”.

Most violations fell under the definition of a Phase 1 offense; which basically amounted to a written warning. It included things like a violation of curfew hours or visitation policy, or a failure to sign in or sign out.

Phase 2 generally resulted from repeated offences, and resulted in a call to the student’s parents and a written letter in the student’s file. It was considered a probationary status, which could put the students continued enrollment in peril. Still, it was not uncommon.

Phase 3, on the other hand, was no joking matter. A phase 3 violation was considered a serious offence. A phase 3 allegation could result in strict probation, suspension, or even dismissal from school. And it would result in a disciplinary hearing in front of faculty and staff; and in a school of only 150 students, living elbow to elbow, a disciplinary hearing would become common knowledge.

The Student Judicial System, as described by the Student Handbook ("The Phase System")

The 1980 and 1981 Student Handbooks included three pages describing the student judicial system.  Those policies have been transcribed below.  

There were minor changes in the 1981 description, primarily describing the composition of the hearing board and the timing of the hearing for a phase 3 violation.  Those changes are noted in brackets.

STUDENT JUDICIAL SYSTEM 

The Student Judicial System is used to determine the status of students who allegedly violate the school policies and guidelines. This system consists of three phases which indicate the disciplinary status of a student. Students may be placed on a phase status by a delegate of the Dean for Student Personnel Services (Head of Residential Life, Resident Advisors).

Phase I 

Report of an alleged violation is registered with the appropriate office, i.e.. Resident Advisor, Head of Residential Life, Assistant Director and Dean for Student Personnel Services, Director of the School. This representative re-views the case and determines the extent of the violation. If circumstances warrant, the representative will meet with the person(s) involved to determine whether Phase I should be initiated. Phase I is a warning in the form of an official written document from the individual initiating the Phase I status. The student has the right to appeal this decision to the Dean for Student Personnel Services or to the Director of the School. [...changed to - "to the Head of Residential Life" in 1981.] 

Examples of, but not limited to, Phase I status: 

- violation of curfew hours or quiet hours, failure to sign in or out, violation of visitation policy, abuse of kitchen privileges. 

Record of Phase I status: 

- a student who has been placed on Phase I status will receive a formal letter notifying him/her of this status decision. A copy of this letter will remain in the student's file and will be destroyed at the end of the academic term in which it was written (Fall/Spring) 

Phase II: 

Phase II is a condition of probation and can imply serious consequences regarding a student's status as a member of the school community. 

In cases of a more serious nature or if further violations occur after a student is placed on Phase I, the following options are utilized: 

1. The student may waive his/her right to a hearing and accept a Phase II status from the Student Personnel Services representative initiating the action. 

2. The case may be referred to the Head of Residential Life for a hearing. The hearing would include the student(s), the RA or individual reporting the violation, the Head of Residential Life, and a representative of the Student Personnel Services staff.

Examples of, but not limited to. Phase II status: 

- repeated violations, repeat of a Phase I incident or status as a result of a Phase III hearing.

Record of Phase II status: 

- a student who has been placed on a Phase II status will receive a letter from the Head of Residential Life. A copy of this letter will remain in the student's file and will be destroyed at the end of the school year. 

- any violation that merits a Phase II status decision will be reported to the student's parents. 

Phase III 

A Phase III disciplinary hearing is conducted in cases of serious instances of  violation of school rules, regulations or policies. 

In circumstances warranting strict probation, suspension or dismissal from school, the case will be determined by a School Hearing Board consisting of faculty and staff.

A Phase III hearing will occur once a case is referred to the Hearing Boar.  A student has a right to be represented as well as to present evidence and/or witnesses.  Hearings are informal and held in a closed setting.  A transcript of the hearing will serve as the official record of the hearing.

[Following section was substituted for the 3 preceding paragraphs, in 1981:

The Hearing Board will consist of: 

1.     Assistant Director and Dean of Student Personnel Services 

2.     Dean for Academic Affairs 

3.     Head of Residential Life 

4.     A full-time, faculty member 

4.  [sic]   Another full-time faculty or staff member chosen by the student in a given incident and may be the student's sponsor. This person will be an ad hoc member of the Hearing Board to provide appropriate insight with respect to the student involved, and perspective with respect to the hearing proceedings . (Non-voting) 

6.     A secretarial (non-voting) person will assist by recording the hearing proceedings.

Every effort will be made to institute the hearing within twenty-four hours following an alleged incident of student violation of regulations or policies. This time frame is subject to the availability of as much data as possible concerning the alleged incident .

The Hearing Board will render a decision based on a simple majority vote.]

Examples of but not limited to Phase III hearings, and/or status:

-alcohol and drug possession and/or use, vandalism, abuse of fire safety equipment, use of explosives.

Record of a Phase III status: 

-A student who has been placed on Phase III status as a result of a hearing will receive a formal written notice of the decision. A copy of this letter will be placed in the student's permanent school file for a period of time to be determined by the Hearing Board. 

-The School Hearing Board will determine the length of time that a student will remain on Phase III probation. [This part added in 1981: "...or suspension. Parents or guardians of the student involved will be informed of the judiciary action."]

Appeals Procedures: 

Phase I 

        A Phase I decision, if unacceptable to the student, can be appealed to the Head of Residential Life.

Phase II 

        A Phase II decision can be appealed to the Assistant Director and Dean of Student Personnel Services.

 

Phase III 

        A Phase III decision can be appealed to the Director of the School. Any Phase III decisions that involve suspension or dismissal from school can be appealed to the School's Board of Directors.  In an appeal of this kind, the official transcript of the hearing will serve in place of a new hearing. All students will be notified in writing of the appeal decision.

[Student Judicial System, Pages32-34, Student Handbook - 1980, NCSSM Historical Collection, NCSSM Digital Collection]

Consequences (Prompt #12 - Phasing)

by Ami Shah

On December 5, 1980, Kathy Edgerton, Kim Thrower and I, along with an 8 month pregnant Joanie Brown, went to dinner at Darryl’s. I think it was just before the birthdays of Kathy and me, but we were still underage. We decided to order a glass of wine each! (Technically Darryl’s should have been in trouble as they are the idiots who served alcohol to a 15 year old!)

Right after the first sip, who should come around the corner but [our resident advisor] Nancy Boden! She casually looked at us... knowing she caught us... and quickly said that we would all be facing consequences when we came back to school!! -- Phase 2, as it turns out. (I thought it was going to be a Phase 3, but Johnny Adams did something worse that weekend, hence just a phase 2!)

Here's the Phase 2 letter:

Kathy and Kim’s parents let them come home for the weekend, but mine were like, “You did what? You suffer the consequences”!

Hence my 16th birthday was spent in Durham on campus with no celebration! Below is the card for my 16th birthday, from school director, Chuck Eilber. Pretty sure Kim , Kathy and I were the first to receive a Phase 2, but Johnny got the first Phase 3 by setting a record at a progression party at Duke. (Thank you Johnny!)

My Juvenile Behavior (Prompt #12 - Phasing)

by Steve Gallup

In my junior year (my first year at NCSSM) I tallied a number of Phase I violations. I was late for curfew. I pranked other people on the hall. I failed to show up for my community service assignments. 

But for the most part, my transgressions were minor. I had no ambition for causing distress...  or creating havoc.

And during the summer (at home, between my junior and my senior year,) I was an assistant Sunday school teacher at church. I worked as a substitute newspaper delivery carrier for my mother and others. I helped my family and neighbors with yard and household chores. I played basketball with the children of refugees from Vietnam. 

I was a pretty good citizen. My mother even said so in writing.

She wrote a letter in my defense the following fall -- the first semester of my senior year. She described all of those positive actions, after she had been notified of the trouble I was in -- the trouble I’m about to describe.

She must have thought I was a pretty good kid, even though I would sometimes misbehave or shirk my responsibilities.

In a typewritten letter, addressed to the Dean of Student Personnel, she said, “…Naturally there were many... good and bad decisions Steve [has] made… and he has usually paid for or learned from each episode on the way to maturity."

And why did she write the letter, at all?

Let me tell you a little story....

The Vending Machine

Shortly after my senior year began (in 1981), I found myself exploring the bowels of Hill House late at night. Hill House held rooms for male students, including myself, on the first and second floors. I lived on the first floor.  But it wasn’t just a dormitory building. The basement of Hill House also held classrooms and a mail room. 

And somewhere in the basement of Hill House, there was a tunnel that led beneath the ground to the oldest buildings on campus - to the abandoned passages of the renovated hospital. But that tunnel had been completely hidden... somehow... in a feat of wizardry or engineering. (I can scarcely credit its disappearance to the administration, whose efforts were usually so insubstantial.)

Perhaps we were looking for that tunnel in vain, or perhaps we were just wandering the halls alone, but somehow, sometime after midnight, the four of us found ourselves in a vending area in the basement. 

We were in an off limits area, after curfew (a phase II offence at worst). It was me, my roommate, Robert Lee; my soccer teammate, John Armitage (all seniors); and an innocent junior, named Hooman Sabeti, who also lived on our hall. He had the unfortunate luck to be under our very bad influence that evening.

So... late at night, in a room in the basement, we happened to come upon a vending machine. Not a sparkling new machine, lit-up like a beacon of deliciousness.  On the contrary, this vending machine was in poor condition. It was unplugged and unlit, dusty and broken. 

Parts of the plastic barrier at the bottom of the machine were scratched and splintered. Some of the metal spirals, that would turn and propel the snacks forward, were disengaged and hanging loose. 

Some of the snack packages were still to be found in an orderly row, but most of the snacks  had been purchased long ago. It appeared to have been months since it had been restocked. Clearly the machine was out of commission and defunct.

It was the perfect opportunity for practical experimentation.

We wanted to see what kind of dexterity was required to dispossess this machine of its wares. 

Mind you, this was more like a form of quality control. We wanted to see if the vending machine could withstand a ne'er-do-well's efforts at theft... or if the machine's engineered protections could be circumvented by the right set of contortions, using our scrawny arms and nimble fingers.  We had not the slightest thought of selfishness, greed, or malice. It was purely scientific.

Robert went first.

He crouched down -- one knee on the ground. He had to get his shoulder low, close to the level of the teetering L-shaped plastic tray at the bottom -- the one that was normally pushed in to retrieve the purchased item.

He managed to get his arm through, with the tray partially opened, and with some contortions of arm and torso, he managed to turn his elbow and upper arm from a horizontal to a vertical position, within reach of a moldering pack of crackers. 

He was so close. We all watched in admiration.

As he strained to complete the maneuver... as we observed in rapt silence... we heard a man's voice behind us say, with no hint of amusement, “What’s going on here?"

In the Hands of the Authorities

A Phase III hearing was completely unexpected. I fully expected to skate by with a Phase I reprimand -- the customary penalty for a curfew violation. Instead we were accused of vandalism -- an egregious offence, and (in my opinion) a huge over-reaction.

I chalk it up to ill humor. Our Resident Advisor, T-- B----- reported the incident; lodging the complaint. The head of student services, Michael Collins scheduled the hearing, ensuring our punishment. 

Mr. B----- couldn’t see the slapstick comical humor of Robert’s practice attempt. He only saw loitering and a stymied attempt at theft. Mr. Collins didn’t see a merry band of prospective engineers deconstructing the machine-client interface. Rather, he perceived a misguided attempt to cause damage and destruction.

As a result of their lack of imagination… their lack of humor… their lack of judiciousness… the phase III hearing was set in motion.

But that wasn’t the worst part. As I sat in the office with Mr. Collins, being interviewed and admonished, he advised me that he would have to call my mother... and that I would have to tell her what had happened... and that I would have to do it in the room while he was listening!

That might be when I developed a hatred of authority.

He asked me for her phone number.

He called, and he said, “Mrs. Gallup, I’m here with your son. He has something that he has to tell you.”

And he handed me the phone.

The Judicial System in Action

The Hearing was held a few days later. John Armitage asked a faculty member to be our representative -- probably Dr. Miller, our English professor.

Dr. Miller had a sense of humor and a sense of perspective. He was respected, and he spoke with the resonant voice of of a practiced orator. 

He had the additional virtues of being thoughtful and objective. He was able to show that the vending machine had been long abandoned. The vending machine snacks had all passed their expiration dates long ago --  more than 6 months prior to our late night excursion.

I’m sure all of our stories were the same… because they were all true.

We had engaged in some foolishness. We had been caught red-handed. We had done nothing with malicious intent. We were just exploring and experimenting.

So, we were put on probation. We weren’t kicked out of school.

We were detained and humiliated instead.

My Phase III Letter

I tried rationalize my experience and the aftermath, spinning it into a spectacular transgression, and a victory for the little guys -- the oppressed.

We faced off with the administration, and we won… sort of.

Of all of the ephemera of my time at NCSSM, my Phase III letter is my most prized possession, on a par with my graduation diploma.

This is what it says, in full. (You be the judge.):

September 29, 1981

Steven Brian Gallup
2807 Wayland Drive
Raleigh, North Carolina 27608

Dear Steve:

This letter is to officially document action taken in response to the Phase III hearing conducted with you Tuesday, September 22, 1981. The hearing was conducted because of a report by a Hill House Resident Advisor that you participated with three other students in tampering with a vending machine, as well as having unauthorized access to student mailboxes. This incident was reported to have happen [sic] Sunday, September 20, 1981 at 2:00 AM.

As a result of the hearing, confirmation of your participation was made. The Hearing Committee was made aware that the incident was more spontaneous than premeditated. However, that does not detract from the fact that your actions were thoughtless and that you assumed you had the right to do what was reported. You must reflect on your behavior. It is not consistent with the goals of the School nor what is set forth in the Student Handbook.

The Hearing Committee decided to reduce the incident to a Phase II response. Accordingly, you are to make restitution of $10.00 for your fair share of the repairs to the vending machine. Please make check payable to NCSSM Residence Life Fund and submit it to Kathy Benzaquin, Head of Residential Life. In addition, you are placed on Phase II probation until the start of the second semester. Probation will be lifted, assuming no repetition of this or similar incidents, on January 27, 1982.

You have the right to appeal this decision in writing to the School’s director, Charles Eilber. The deadline for an appeal is October 8, 1981.

Finally, I wish to point out that the Hearing Committee reviewed your disciplinary situation within a context of what is fair and right for you. Much time was given by individuals here to work through your problem with you and give you every possible consideration. We expect a positive, helpful response from you and nothing less.

Please contact me if you have any concerns about this matter.

Sincerely,

Michael E. Collins, Dean

Student Personnel Services

cc: Mrs. Margaret Gallup

Taking a Big Risk

You would think that I had learned my lesson -- that I would do what was right, “and nothing less”.

But it wasn’t much later, that I made plans to sneak over to Wyche House, the girl’s dorm, at night. Three of us were going. I was going to provide my friends with support. One of us wanted to spend time with his girl friend, but didn’t want to go alone. I wished I had a girlfriend, and thought, "Maybe if I do this audacious thing, the girls will be impressed". I was young and foolish… very foolish.

So we snuck over to the girls dorm. They aided us in this breach of “The Code” by opening the door to the basement, to let us in. They had arranged to let their RA know that they were going to have a pajama party in the basement -- a cover for our intrusion.

Our plan was executed to perfection. In concept it was a success. But I have never spent a more miserable night, worrying about the repercussions, should I be caught whilst still on probation. I was never happier to sneak back to my proper place at sunrise, and slip back into my dorm room bed. The relief was palpable.

In my mind this breach of protocol… this trespass… this violation was much worse -- more lowly… more intentional… more fool-hardy, than the laughable matter for which I had been previously reprimanded. 

And yet, no hand of justice came down to punish me. This time, except for my troubled sleep, no repercussions came down.

Epilogue

I don’t know if I learned from my delinquencies.

Perhaps I learned to distrust authority.

Or that justice is blind.

Or that a mother’s love is unconditional.

I never did, from that point on, attempt to retrieve a packet of crackers or chips from a vending machine without a proper purchase. And so, I never did complete the misdeed I had been so ingloriously convicted of, in 1981.

Although I flirted with a major in Engineering, I quickly lost my excitement for the field, at Vanderbilt University, where the engineering program seemed focused on computerized advancements, and human ingenuity seemed to be of little concern. I changed to a pre-medical major instead.

I tried to stay out of trouble (though I didn’t always succeed), and I tried to surround myself with people with a good sense of humor (though they are sometimes hard to find) -- people with kindness, understanding, and affection.

I tried to learn from the experience "on my way to maturity".

~~~~~~~~~~

Appendix - Letter from Mrs. Margaret Gallup to Dean Collins regarding an unhappy incident involving her son at the NC School for Science and Math.

That Old Familiar Pain (Prompt #10 - Music and Song)

by Steve Gallup

If you ever wanted to conjure up the essence of high school in just one song, it would be practically impossible.

Some moments in high school are moments of loneliness and quiet desperation -- moments of teenage angst.  Some are moments of defiance and freedom -- moments of teenage rebellion.  And some are moments of love and hope -- moments of youthful optimism.

In the '80s, Under Pressure by Queen, and Out Here on my Own, from the movie Fame, sort of exemplified our feelings of stress and loneliness at the School of Science and Math.

Songs that encapsulated our dreams and defiance included Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar, and Don’t Stop Believin’ by Journey.

Songs of relief and revelry included Best of Times by Styx, Let the Good Times Roll by The Cars, and Celebration by Kool & the Gang.

Each of those singles bring  back certain pieces of the high school experience. But there are two songs that go a little deeper -- that bring back a memory of the whole achievement, looking back on it as if it has just concluded -- Dream Weaver by Gary Wright, and Same Old Lang Syne by Dan Fogelberg.

Dream Weaver is etched in my psyche. It sets off my limbic system. Whenever I hear the burbling, synthesized arpeggios at the beginning of the song... I’m transported back in time... to a dimly lit, crowded room in school, surrounded by classmates watching a slideshow -- photographic slides fading in and out. 

You see, our art teacher, Joe Liles, took lots of photos. He created slideshows and set them to music. After preparing the show, he would arrange to have the entire class gather in a room (or auditorium) to sit for a moment and watch the show together. It was a chance to reflect and bond after a year of tribulation.

The slideshow became a tradition and the tradition survived. At nearly every reunion, Joe's slideshow is played again.  Each time we have grown a little bit older.

For the class of '82, that slideshow always begins with the swirling synthesizer intro of Dream Weaver, taking us straight back to our junior year. It's followed by the evocative lyrics, "I've just closed my eyes again...". And pretty soon, listening to the haunting melody, I've "climbed aboard the dream weaver train", right along with Gary Wright.

Whenever I hear the song... anywhere in the world... I think of my class gathered together, watching familiar faces from out of the past... set to the playlist of the era... starting with Dream Weaver. 

Same Old Lang Syne has a similar affect. It was released during our stay at NCSSM, but the meaning and the emotion of the song has grown even stronger over time. It's nostalgic. In fact, nostalgia is written into the lyrics,  mournfully sung by Dan Fogelberg:

We drank a toast to innocence
We drank a toast to time
Reliving in our eloquence
Another auld lang syne…

When he sings, "Just for a moment, I was back at school, And felt that old familiar pain",
it’s truly gut-wrenching — the realization and acceptance that we can’t go back and revisit the past, no matter how much we might like to.

So now, each New Years Eve, I indulge myself, in a few minutes of musical nostalgia.  I play Same Old Lang Syne, or I post it on my Facebook page.

For a moment, I think of my close friends and my mentors. I think of their passing or their distance.

I think of the angst and the heartbreak, the dreams and desires, the success and celebration.

I think of the love... and the love lost... when we went our separate ways.

Dr. Jon Miller's letter on the Significance of Poetry

Letter composed by Dr. Jon Miller

-accompanying the gift of "Modern American and British Poetry" by Louis Untermeyer

J--------,

This is much too small a token to repay all the... [personal details omitted by the editor]

The book is for me a special one; it has even been a dangerous one.  Perhaps because of your present course, it will be equally special, equally dangerous for you also.  It is an old book, not old enough to be antiquarian, but old enough to be well used.  I have a number of editions of it in my collection; I acquire them whenever I see them, and I don't see them very often anymore.  I have given one or two to other students whom I though might care.  I even gave on once as a wedding present.  The couple still speaks to me.  you are getting a copy of what for me is the most special edition of all.  The smooth, faded blue cloth and the beveled edges are just as they are on my mother's copy of this same edition.  I wonder if the $3.50, once penciled into the corner of the front free-fly, that I erased, was the original price.  Does it seem a bit high for the depression?  Anyway, no other book, regardless of price, has contributed so much to my own lo e of poetry.

I will tell you the story that I have told to most of the others upon whom I have inflicted other copies.  The telling, too, is this time all the more special because of the connections of our families... [personal details omitted.]

When I was growing up, my family spent several weeks each summer in the home of my grandparents in the small, very small, town of Alden, Iowa.  Small towns are wonderful for small children.  We could go anywhere, do anything.  The few shops along Main Street were much more accessible to us than any of Durham's larger, grander stores.  Your Grandmother will remember that Durham was in those days "the city of exciting stores."  The river running through Alden was all that a river could be, complete with falls; Alden was, the sign said, " the best town by a dam site."  There were open spaces, and there were lots of other children at loose ends ready to catch fireflies or to play auntie (anti or ante)-over or hide and seek.  Iowa itself is glorious in summer -- the jet-black earth producing a deep, lush green everywhere and all set  beneath an endless blue sky.  It was a sensuous place.  However, by the time that I was finishing high school, things had changed a bit.  The black, green, and blue were as dazzling as before; but the shops now seemed very small and much emptier; and one-time playmates had summer jobs and were little interested in "geekier," "nerdier" city folk.  I retreated into my grandparent's house - a large, old house built in 1870 by a retired farmer come to town.  It frequently smelled of ginger and clove from my grandmother's cookie baking or of coffee which endlessly brewed.  My uncle, a pianist, practiced eight or so hours everyday, providing every activity a soundtrack.  Family came together joyously and chaotically at mealtimes and in the evenings, but there were long spaces of time to be filled.  I found myself often in my uncle's room upstairs.  It was large and dark and quiet except for the Chopin or Rachmaninov wafting up and in.  There, in the bookcase, I found the 1936 copy of Untermeyer used by my mother in a college course she had taken at Drake.  It was the perfect place, the perfect time, to encounter the green freedom" of Stevens' "Sunday Morning," the most sensuous of all poems.  Later, I was dumbfounded to read a very different, longer version in my own modern poetry class at Davidson.  In Untermeyer, too, I first tried to read Marianne Moore, whom I later met, and many other singers perhaps smaller to whom time has not been so kind, poets such as Wylie, and Teasdale and Lindsay and Robinson and Brooke and Sassoon.  Reading these poems, aimlessly at first and then by choice, not because they were assigned or  because there was to be a test taken or because someone had suggested them, allowed them to do their magic slowly, to become richly musical; and maybe in some small way, it made them mine.  Of course, I still have mother's copy; and just in the last several years, I have included a couple of Peter Viereck poems into a WWII unit for American Studies -- poems I first happened upon decades ago in my own copy of the 1950 edition.

Clearly, this is a book that I love for both its contents and associations; it, certainly, is a book that I have spent many loose and glorious hours with.  I hope that you also find some pleasure in it as well as a few special friends to visit and revisit for as long as I have visited my own friends there.

Thanks once more for all you have done for me this year and for being yourself a good friend.