The Salemite
VolLXXNo.2
The Uncensored Voice Of The Salem Commmunity
September 20,1989
Everyone Plays Waiting Game
by Patricia Earnhardt
The Salemite Co-Editor April
Edmondson and Staff Reporter
Elizabeth Fennell also contributed
to this article.
The "refugees" of Strong dorm
have been busy holding regular
dorm meetings and working
together in order to endure their
present living arrangements. For
these women the privilege of
moving into a small dorm will be an
even greater pleasure than some
may realize.
The Strong residents decided to
give the student body the chance to
decide when the dorm would be
open. For three days during lunch
the residents sold guesses on when
the dorm would open.
Habitat for Humanity will be
the only group to benefit from the
slow progress on Strong. The
residents decided to raffle the dorm
to raise money for Habitat as a way
to bring some comic relief to what
has become a very confusing
situation. Advertisements have
been placed in The Salemite and
around campus bringing a humorous
hght to the subject of the now
darkened Strong dorm.
After an eighteen month survey,
completed last year, it was decided
that Strong dorm would be closed
for the summer in order to rewire it.
"The work on our buildings has been
ranked by the experts in order of
priority. That is to say that
*rratters of more immediate concern
have been ranked higher. The
Experts considered the wiring in
Strong to require immediate
attention," said Dr. Litzenburg.
Dr. Litzenburg also stated that
the primary delays on Strong were
caused by the storm and contractual
problems.
The company contracted to repair
fhe roof had to wait fifteen days
for the arrival of the slate tiles
*tecessary to restore the roof. The
hies are hand made by a company
ht North Carolitui, and take a great
heal of time to make.
After the electrical contractor
chosen, the administration
found that the company was not
certified to do the rewiring job
*'®cessary. This problem caused the
®hministration to rewrite the
Contract and then take bids on the
P^’oject.
continued on page 12
is***'
photo by Lesley Stokes
Strong Dorm awaits repairs and improvements while its residents
temporarly live separated across campus.
Communication Breakdown
by Patricia Earnhardt
The Salemite Co-Editor April Edmondson and Staff Reporter Elizabeth
Fennell also contributed to this article.
In the movie Cool Hand Luke the head sheriff "Boss" constantly told the
prisoners .that what they had was "a failure to communicate." Though
"Boss", Strother Martin, was only a character in a Paul Newnuin movie, he
could have very well been at Salem last week accessing the Strong dorm
situation.
Salem students have often discussed the feeling that the administration
has kept them in the dark about important administrative decisions
involving student welfare. This same discussion has come up once again
behind many closed doors on campus as students pass in front of the not-yet-
repaired Strong dorm.
In an effort to find answers to the questions continuously asked by students,
we began to dig through the political issues which typically would hinder
the informational processes. Our investigation exposed a large gap in
communication not only between administration and students, but also within
the administration itself.
continued on page 12
Lights
Out!
by Mary Bradley Thompson
On Wednesday evening,
September 6, much of Salem
College was literally in the
dark. A transformer located
under the infirmary which
supplies power to the infirmary,
Lehman Hall, Gramley, and
Clewell dorms was faulty,
causing partial power loss in
these buildings. Pike Electric
(with Duke Power) was called
and arrived on the scene at 9 p.m.,
however, they were unable to
restore power. The age of the
transformer was the main cause of
the breakdown. It was soon
determined that a new one would
have to be installed.
According to Bill Todd,
Maintenance Director, temporary
lights for halls and bathrooms of
the two dorms were quickly set
up. A spare transformer from
South Dorm was used to generate
power during this time.
At approxiamately 12 a.m. all
of the power to buildings on front
campus was turned off for two
hours to disconnect the old
transformer and replace it. All
other buildings on the college and
academy campuses maintained
power due to their connection to
different transformers. The fence
between Babcock Dorm and the
Infirmary was torn down in order
to lay roads for the Pike
maintenace crew to move the new
transformer in and connect it.
Many Thursday afternoon
classes and soap opera watchers
were burdened by the power
outage as it encompassed the
entire campus. By 6 p.m.
Thursday, all power was restored
and the roads were cleared by
nrtaintenance crews.
In addition, the fire alarms,
which are operated by battery
power, had to have new
batteries. The old batteries were
left weak and ineffective after
the tornado hit campus last May.
Steve Wright, Director of
Public Safety was "very pleased
with the cooperation and
understanding of the students."