Our Time 1998

F our words can describe the life of a student at the Illinois Math– ematics and Science Academy: sleepless, challenging, manic, and action-packed. How do IMSA students live up to these descrip– tions? For one thing, the average time that IMSA students go to bed is one o ' c l ock in the morning, after t hey ' ve managed to finish "collaborat– ing" with other students on their problem sets, history papers, English essays, physics problems, chemistry equations, or biology facts. How do we fulfill "challenging?" One way: it would be well put to say that the Academy works us like dogs. "Man i c?" Answer this question, and you'll find the answer: How many times have you triple-booked meet– ings, just because they wou l dn 't fit anyplace else in your schedule? Now we turn to the final piece of the puzzle. How can the lives of IMSA students be action-packed when all we seem to do is complain about how there is nothing to do at the Academy? One reason: clubs. Clubs, with their after-school (and even during school) meetings, hours of planning for special events, and who can forget the colorful signs that abound the walls of the school, seemingly propagating like bunny rabbits, depicting various charicatures that capture the eyes and announcements that capture the schedules of all IMSA students? Some outsiders might say that for a math and science school, one supposedly for the development of the "leaders of tomorrow," IMSA has too many clubs, which may detract from a student's studies. IMSA students, however, would say that those outsiders have no idea what they are talking about and, perhaps, aren't very logical. Don 't the future "leaders of t omo r r ow" need to know how to balance many activities into a single, somewhat harmonious lifestyle? Besides, most IMSA students thrive off of a packed, fast-pace schedule that keeps them busy from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. For instance, Senior Ad am Van Den Boom commented, "Sometimes I don 't see my room from noon until late check at night. My duties as Copy Editor for Gallimaufry and my interests in Spectrum, Dr ama Club, Club Pseudo, photography, and the Escritorium keep me going most afternoons. And , I have seven classes and an independent study on top of that. Yet, being a senior, I have one of those great sched– ules that suddenly blossoms when just one class is cancelled. So, every– thing gets done. *blushing in remembrance* Sooner or later." The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy offers up a vast, all- you-can-eat buffet-type banquet of extracurricular activities in the form of student clubs. Individuals can choose to participate in culture clubs like the African-American Student Association (AASA), Asian Cultures Club (ACC), HanGuk Youth Association (the Korean Cultures Club), or European Cultures Club, where the planning of significant cultural holidays takes precedence over their time. The Academy has several awareness and education clubs, like Spectrum, Amnesty International, Peer Multicultural Educators; religious clubs, like the Jewish Student Alliance and IMSA Christian Fellowship (ICF); and creative clubs, like Art Club, Poetry Club, Dr ama Club, and Club Pseudo. Yet, any of these clubs can be a bit overwhelming. "While giving me something to do, the clubs that I am involved in have sucked away my soul. As editor-in- chief, the Ac r onym became my life this year. It replaced my will to live with a need to publish," commented Nooreen Dabbish, a cynical senior. < if) a a o o T h e M i s m a t : h e d S o c k s C k b - M e g h a n H a l l T h e B l a i n e C l u b . - P i t L a m b e , A m i y T o r r e s , N i c k M o r e y , J a s o n R< > h w e d c e r O — T h e nc U F o r i t w i o I s o c i e t y , u s I f g a m e s t h o s e r h n o g a h e - M i c h a e l Slew 166 C €U&