The Salemite
December 3,1993
:evolutionary War Disrupts Salem Life...Again
fijUoBroeringandAUuna Giesbre-
■iluoughoutmost of November our
Ls was the location for a CBS
Leentitled‘TakmgLiberties”with
Liars as Sophie Ward and David
Len Stykes (of M.A.S.H. fame)
Ling the lead roles.
iTSalem’s own were even selected
kextras. Art professor Geoffry Bates
Led aBritish soldier, Gramley RHD
Ly Southerland and Dolores
Lke,President’sThrift’s secretary,
Least as townswomen.
IjSouiherland commented about the
fc, “The crew was very professional
jnd very gracious in allowing stu-
tnti and Old Salem residents to hang
bund."
Before filming, tlie production
bmpany Liberty Productions, part of
I Productions, gave a make-
Ivcr to the streets surrounding Salem
Larc, They deposited tons of sand
Ind leaves on the streets in order to
■give the area an authentic look of the
Revolutionary period.
Salem is to represent the city of
bsion in this film about the Ameri
can Revolution. This location was
chosen over Williamsburg, Virginia
and two other cities. The produciton
company chose Old Salem because
most of the buildings have remained
authentic in appearance without the
influences of technology.
Southerland thinks that Salem’s
exposure in the film will be excellent
in revitalizing the community and the
college.
The majority of the filming took
place in areas surrounding Salem
Square. The crew filmed several
scenes within the lobby of South
dormitory. Sisters dormitory, the Old
Tavem and in the bam adjacent to the
tavern. Two rooms within the Acad
emy were also used in the filming.
The film crew tried not to disturb
the everyday academic lifestyle of the
students and faculty of the college
and academy. Despite parking incon-
viences in the FAC parking lot for
several days, there have been few
complaints of the crew and the film
ing.
It appears as if the production of
the film here has been a pleasant
Cast and crew members of "Taking Liberties" watch as British Soidiers march on Saiem Square for
the second time in history. Photo by Anna Mansfield.
experience for all involved. Public The film is a pilot movie and CBS i* good- When the film will be aired
SafetyOfficerAndiMerciersaid,“We is hoping to create a weekly series is not definite, but it is said to be some
had a good time with this.” from it if national response to the film time next year.
m ui ulii iiuii dLAjui uiit; ui\- iiijii nv-'iv/ t
mbassador Speaks on Eurasian Religion, Government
\h Staff Writer
On a recent visit to Salem, former
mbassador to Bangladesh, Jane
bell Coon, advised women inter-
feted in careers in the foreign service
B “go for it.”
Coon, who was Ambassador to
Bangladesh from 1981 to 1984 ,vis-
Icd classes and spoke at a Fireside
ihat hosted by the Salem Lecture
nes.
The number of women in the for-
ign service has increased dramati-
ailly since Ambassador Coon entered
* ®^ly fifties. She said that
N)men were a “tiny minority,” but
*iay at least one third of every enter-
ag class is women.
^ fhe mles are more fair to women
a fee foreign service now than in
past. Ambassador Coon was
liiired to leave the foreign service
*ause of her marriage to another
^C'gn service officer. During this
"c she raised her new family of six
Fortunately, because she
tried a “ '
foriegn service officer, she
'•i'nued to travel. However, she
ssed working.
^ft^ssador Coon said that a good
arts education and the ability
l^te clearly, cohrently. quickly,
analytically are critical for a
foreign service. She
®ing at a women’s college is
“vantage in that it gives you
confidence in yourself and
opportunity for leadership.”
rtog the time that Ambassador
a served as Ambassador to B ang-
she and her husband had a
ntarriage. He had been
muter
f Ambassador to Napal.
She carried the traditional duties
of an ambassador — the representa
tive of the President of the United
States and leader of the American
community in Bangladesh. Specifi
cally, she dealt with issues concern
ing food, agriculture and population.
During Coon’s Fireside Chat in
the Library Assembly Room, she
spoke on religion and nationalism in
the New World Order.
She has spent a great portion of her
adult life in Muslim countries, Hindu
countries, and one partly Budhist
country. She says, “In most of these
countries, strong nationalist move
ments led the way to independence
from some form of colonial rule.
Five observations were made about
religion and nationalism in the Eura
sian land mass, the area in which the
world’s great religions originated.
The first observation was that “all
these religions (Hinduism, Budhism,
Judaism, Islam, and Christianity) are
trans-national extending beyond the
bounderies of one nation.
“Religion is seldom the basis for
any modem state,” was her second
observation.
Ambassador Coon pointed out that
on the map of Asia she could find only
two countries founded explicitly as
land for a particular religious group.
Israel was founded for the Jewish
Diaspora and Pakistan for Muslims
not wishing to be a part of India. Life
in these two nations has not been
withoutreligous strife. Orthodox and
secular Jews have come in conflict
over religious practices, and, within
25 years of Pakistan’s formation, the
east wing became the independant
Dansalem Performance
nation of Bangladesh.
Observation three was that “reli
gion can help define or reinforce na
tional identity without being explicit
of the state.” Poland, for example,
gives no legal authority to the church;
however, it has aided in preserving
nationalism during times of unrest.
This summer Ambassador Coon
made visits to soviet countries that
did not exist until the collapse of the
Soviet Union. These countries are in
the process of searching for national
identity. Some
countries feel
threatened by
the fact that
these central
Asian countries
are adopting
their Islamic
heritage. How
ever, the alarm
that the new na
tions will be
“swept by mili
tant Islam,”
may be un-
nessecary, ac
cording to Am-
bassadorCoon.
Observation
four dealt with
religion in
resistence
movements.
Few nations are
founded on the
basis of reli-
' gion, however
religion
coupled with
nationalism
“can fuel bitter
and sustained resistance to an invader
or to perceived colonial domination,”
said Ambassador Coon.
She dealt with Afghan affairs
during the time of Soviet-Afghan
conflict and has a great deal of knowl
edge on the Afghan issue. The guer
illas of Afghanistan faught the Soveit
army for almost a decade under the
banner of nationalism and Islam.
Her final observation was one
concerning states not founded on the
basis of religion, but which have come
to be identified with a particular reli
gious majority in the country. In such
cases, religious enthusiam combined
with nationalism may cause minority
rights to be endangered.
Ambassador Coon closed by say
ing that Americans owe a debt of
gratitude to the founding fathers “who
had the wisdom to enshrine inour con-
stituiton the separation of church and
state. Too often religion and politics
don’t mix very well.”