Editorials
page 3
Letters to the Editors
Dear Editors,
As my final year at Salem comes to an end, I wonder why in the world we have to be
out by 3:00 on Saturday afternoon after Graduation and the Champagne Brunch. I
wonder if the administration is aware ol^the fact that we probably will not get out of
the Brunch until 1:00 or 2:00 and an hour is just not enough time to pack up four
years and say good bye to the best friends we have ever had. I live in Greensboro
and have already made 2 trips home with various things from my dorm and there is
just not enough time for me to get everything together between now and
Graduation. Some people have plans right after Graduation and have to take care
of that instead of trying to pack up four years of stuff from Salem. I just cannot
figure out what the problem is and why we cannot stay in the dorms until at least
5:00, after all we have paid-some $50,000 to come here and why in the world can't we
stay a little longer so we can enjoy our last few days at Salem College.
Sincerely,
Jenny Savage
The Oracle
The purpose of "The Oracle" is to involve faculty and administration in expressing
their views about pefUnent issues concerning students and today's world, around or
beyond the square.
We, the editors, pulled this idea from an old issue of The Salemite, let us know what
you think.
by Dean Eulalia Cobb
I cannot think of a student newspaper for which I'd rather write than The Salemite-
it has boldness and substance, and it is read by the students and faculty about
whom I care very deeply.
The past year has not been an easy one for Salem. The prolonged illness and death
of our beloved Clark left his friends exhausted as well as sorrowful, and the College
is undergoing change, with its attendant risks and anxieties.
I have a habit when things become hectic in the office, of suspending all perusing of
files, all writing of memos, all calling and holding of meetings, and taking a moment
to listen to the College. I listen to the thumbs of books being stamped at the
library's checkout desk, the squeak of chalk on blackboards, the whir of PC's being
turned on- all the rumblings and stirrings of the academic machine at work. I cock
my ear to catch the crescendos, pauses and accelerations of teaching and learning.
These are the sounds, in academic parlance, of students undergoing intellectual
change. In my school we used to call it "getting our minds messed up."
When I was a sophomore at my own small liberal arts college, a group of us would
sit around for hours in black turtlenecks and jeans drinking coffee and discussing
Sartre until we grew dizzy from the combination of caffeine and existentialist
despair. At those moments we felt that what we had come to college for was really
happening to us. We were, in the words of one of my friends, finally getting our
minds messed up.
Despite our naivete, I think we managed to define quite accurately the essence of
the college experience- getting our minds messed up. By that we meant that from
our lectures, readings, class discussions, arguments in the dorms, tete-a-tetes in
faculty offices, and especially over coffee and Sartre our minds were being rocked
from their foundations, jolted out of their ruts, smoked out of their lairs. What our
parents said, what our high school teachers had taught, what we ourselves had
believed to be clear and distinct ideas were suddenly tilting perilously over we knew
not what abysses. And quite literally we did feel dizzy, as one does when standing at
the brink of a peak, and seeing where one has come from, and measuring the
distance. , , . , , , , .
Throughout my time at Salem I have taken great comfort in the sounds of subtle
jostlings stirrings, turnings, and stumblings, the dramatic oscillations and
revelations that assure me that at this college students are hard at work getting their
minds messed up. In the last two years we have suffered tragic loss and various
kinds of storms. Through it all (remember last spring's finals?), the obligatory
gallops through Russian novels, the thinking so slow and difficult that the neurons
can be heard loaning in the quiet room, the pounding and plucking of keyboards
and harps have continued practically undisturbed, thanks to a faculty who know
that their single most important task is to be there in the classroom— or under a
tree— messing up students minds.
Your single most important task, in turn, is to be there too, getting your minds
messed up with all the intensity you can muster. That is the only way to get your
money's worth out of college-any college-and the very best way to ensure that this
college wiU sail triumphantly into ;reare to rame.
Dear Editors,
Monday, April 23rd was House
Council Appreciation Day. If you did
not take the time last Monday to say
thanks to your Hall Advisor,
Secretary/Treasurer, Dorm President,
and any other member of the
Interdorm Council; then do it today.
Students involved in residence hall
government at Salem share some
common characteristics: an above
average academic record, ability to
interact well with other students, active
involvement in campus life, and an
ability to be a good Mend and listener
24 hours a day.
House Cotmcil members make up
one of the most selfless, dedicated, and
giving groups on this campus. Your
House Council arrived at Salem a week
early last August to prepare for the
upcoming year. Once school started
they did everything from making sure
the halls were clear to planning hall
birthday parties to checking visitation
sheets at 1:45 am on Saturday. House
Council members take on a huge
responsibility for a strictly volunteer
position.
A lot of decisions made by House
Councils are unpopular and a lot of
their work goes unnoticed. For
instance, did you know that several
members of Interdorm were largely
responsible for getting 24-hour
visitation passed for the three big dance
weekends? These individuals worked
long hours researching, preparing a
proposal, and then presenting it to the
Board of Trustees. Without a few
people’s dedication Salem students
might not have been granted this new
privilege. The Visitation policy is just
one example, look around campus and
you will see numerous examples of
Interdorm/House Council influence.
For my part, I want to say thanks to
Gramley House Coimdl for making my
job easier and my life a lot more
interesting.
Sincerely,
Jodi Smith
RHD, Gramley Dorm
Dear Editors,
As the year ends I want to thank all of
my "daughters" for your smiles and
friendly conversations, which are the
most enjoyable part of my position at
Salem.
Although my primary job is to create
and maintain an aesthetically pleasing
environment, being able to help with
dances and special programs, to assist
with your well being and safety, to be a
part of your activities is especially
rewarding and I want to thank every
one. The kind words and compliments
mean a great deal, and I appreciate
each one.
Sincerely,
Sandy Tilley
Grounds Supervisor
Dear Editors:
In response to the last issue's
"Viewpoints" on the death penalty:
A society that condones execution
operates under the assumption that
human beings have the ability to
determine whether or not another
human being deserves to die. This kind
of morality minimizes the significance
of taking someone's life, and thus
creates a climate for murder. This, I
think, is one explanation for the
decrease of murder rates in countries
that have abolished the death penalty.
And as the United States' murder
rate steadily increases, so does the
probability that we are executing
innocent people. And with every
mistaken execution we are guilty of that
heinous crime which we are so
desperately trying to abolish.
Sincerely,
Sonya Cobb
Dear Editors,
A Paper Deficit?
It seems quite ironic to us that the
students receive all sorts of "junk mail"
from all over campus, and yet are not
sent a flyer announcing the new Dean.
The President's Office is worried about
wasting paper. Bravo!!! Did anyone
suggest recycled paper?
Perhaps we are being silly college
students, but do you think wasting
paper on junk mail is more important
than "wasting" it on our new Dean?
Sincerely,
WOODSY
Dear Editors:
I am writing to commend the editors
of this years Incanabula Kara Hayes
and Jennifer Wood, as well as the
wealth of submitting artists. What a
wonderful job they have done! While
the rest of us sit around and wish we
could create beauty — these artists
have.
Not only is the issue rich in sheer
amount of work, it is rich in talent.
Once I opened the issue I was
entranced - not putting in down again
until I had devoured it! I was taken on a
trip encompassing both the world of
Salem and the world beyond its
borders.
As a senior, I will be proud to take this
issue of the Incanabula with me into
the world beyond Salem as a testimony
to the talent found here — in our faculty
as well as in our students. Again, I
commend the staff and artists of this
years Incanabula. The diligent work is
apparent.
Sincerely,
Shannon Stone