Page Two.
1 H E SALE M 1
Friday, November 14, 1941.
^alemitc
Published Weekly By
The Student Body of
Salem College
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CHICAGO • BOSTOII • LOS ANOELES * SAN FRAKCISOO
EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
Editor-In-Chief Carne I?onnell
Associate Editor Barbara Whittier
EDITORIAL STAFF
Ne^s Editor Doris Shore
Sports Editor Louise Bralower
Music Editor Alice Purcell
Faculty Adviser Miss Jess Byrd
Sara Henry, Leila Johnston, Julia Smith, Frances Neal,
Daphne Reich, Katie Wolff, Mary L. Glidewell, Elizabeth
Johnston, Barbara Lasley, Margaret Moran, Marie Van Hoy,
Helen Fokaury, Margaret Leinbach, Mary Lou Moore, Betty
Vanderbilt; Mary Worth Walker, Elizabeth Weldon, Mary
Louise Rhodes, Lucie Hodges.
FEATURE STAFF
Feature Editor Eugenia Baynes
Mildred Avera, Dorothy Dixon, Anita Kenyon, Nancy
Rogers, Nona Lee Cole, Elsie Newman, Ceil Nuchols, Mar
garet Ray, Dorothy Stadler, Elizabeth Griffin, Betsy Spach,
Kathryn Traynham, Reece Thomas, Marian Goldberg, Mary
Best.
BUSINESS DEPARTMENT
Business Manager Nancy Chesson
Assistant Business Manager Dorothy Sisk
Advertising Manager Mary Margaret Struven
Exchange and Circulation Manager Dot McLean
ADVERTISING STAFF
Flora Avera, BecW Candler, Doris Nebe|, Betty Moore,
Adele Chase, Mary E. Bray, Mary Lou Brown, Nancy Me*
Clung, Sarah Lindley, Allene Seville, Elizabeth Griffin,
Dorothy Stadler, Margaret Kempton, Sara Barnum, Jennie
Dye Bunch, Lib Read, Harriet Sutton, Ruth O’Neal, Yvonne
Phelps, Elizabeth Bernhardt, Edith Shapiro.
The Editorial Policy of the “Sale-
mite” is:
1. Better “light-cut” -conditions in
all the dormitories.
2. Improvement of the Student Cen
ter.
—The Editors.
OUR FRIENDLINESS
COUNTS
'Although through our editorials we usu
ally express our complaints and suggestions
for improvements of Salem, this week I would
like to mention one trait we Salem girls have
which never fails to impress all visitors. It
is the spirit of friendliness so ftredominant in
the atmosphere here that even the worst
grouch finds herself swept with it. Our “hel
los” that we toss to each other on our way to
and from classes and around the campus por
tray our sincere love and amity for each other.
Yes, we have many faults, but as a mountain
overshadows a molehill, so does human love
over.shadow human faults.
ESPECIALLY FOR
DAY STUDENTS
Have you ever wanted to study only to
find that the girl who always looses her own
l)ooks has bori'owed yours, or have you ever
started to eat those cookies you brought only
to find tliat the girl who is already too fat has
eaten all but one ? Of course you have, and
you weren’t veiy happy, were you?
To the gii-ls who would do these things I
Avould like to direct three questions: 1. Would
you go into the library, take a book out, and
not sign the card? 2. Would you go into a
man s store and eat a package of cookies with
out paying for them? and 3. What’s the dif
ference ?
Salem: School for Snobs?
In the December issue of Har
per’s for J941, Mr. D. A. Saunders
discusses The Failure of Propagan
da. He says that Amorica hag a
passive acceptance of the war which
nothing but the setting up of an
ideal can changed. To quote him:
“This state of affairs reflects
ominously upon American civilian
morale, which our new civilian army
shares. All the polls show that We
believe* in all-out aid to Britian—
but how hard do we believe in it?
We accept the draft and want the
training to be rapid and efficie^nt,
but it is obvious that the great
majority of draftees accept their
task with reluctant resignation.
And who can blame them when as
they walk from the Armory to the
railroad station on induction day,
in a straggling double line, the
crowds on the sidewalks give per
haps, now and then a word or two
of friendly raillery, almost as if
they were? off to a convict camp?
And when their friends at home
regard them with such a lack-luster
eye that they don’t want to go home?
in uniform, feeling that they will
be more acceptable in civilian
clothes?”
The girls at Salem College shame
facedly admit that if a friend from
the hometown dropped by on manu-
veurs they would not enjoy being
secfn with him if he wore the drab
Army uniform. This is partly the
fault of the wearers of the khaki.
The minority hav« given the majo
rity such a bad reputation that no
"nice girl” would be seen with
them. The attitude towards the
soldiers was manifested clearly
when the churches and dc^ins asked
the girls to help entertain the sol
diers over the week-end during
manuveurs. “Of course there are
plenty who have graduated from
Harvard and Yale and there are
millionaires’ sons, but then there
are the others who aren’t exactly,
well, you know what I mean—you
never can tell what you might get.
You’d better not count on me for
tonight.” Those who condescended
to entertain sighed, “Well, I’ve
done my bit for defense.”
All of the blame for this attitude
cannot go to the boys. There
are always going to be a few
who can’t resist standing on the
corner and whistling at every girl
that passes by, but their number
would decrease if the girls did not
aggravate them into such demon
strations. There have been thou
sands of soldiers on the campus at
Carolina for the past weeks but be
cause they are allowed to go and
come as normal persona they do
not feel that urge to give the girls
the “eye-ball”. It may bo possi
ble that Salem girls as a whole can
never while at school look at a male
without thinking of him as a pos
sible husband. If is is then the
hypothesis is proven that we are
leading an abnormal life which
warps our views. The male animal,
believe it or not, can bo a com
panion and friend, as well as some
one to ask to junior-senior dance.
Granted that so far America has
no ideal to raise the morale of its
people, there is much to be gained
from the training offered in the
army. True, we are not proud that
we are preparing for war because
We know that it is a despicable
thing, accomplishing nothing, but as
long as we must pepare to defend
our threatened freedom it is the
duty of college women all ov«r
America to forget for once that the
soldiers tEey have been asked to
entertain are male. They are pro
bably young boy.s, bewildered and
disillusioned, who have learned too
quickly the intimate qualities of
life from living in close contact
K'ith all types of temperaments,
who “gripe” about the food and
the hikes and Army life in gene
ral because it seems to be the ac
cepted thing to do. If every man
took advantage of the opportunities
for learning offered by the army
he would come out not only fitted
to fight for his country but also
able to win as well as being able
to fit into the pattern of life after
the war is over. Can we help ONE
man to understand this?—-B. W.
j£e QaUt
LE JOUE DES ACTIONS DE
GBACES
Le jour des actions de graces ap-
proache. II y a bien des ans que
nos ancetres ont inaugurS cette cou-
tume. Nous avons beaucoup de
choses pour lesquelles nous devrions
rondre graces k Dieu.
D’ abord, nous sommes Am6ri-
cains, et quand on considSre la sit
uation du temps, les dangers aux-
quels on fait face en Europe, nous
nous rendons compte que nous avons
de la chance en Amerique ou nous
avons droit a, la vie, la liberte, et
la poursuite de la felicity. Beaucoup
d’entre nous aliens chez nous pour
la fete. P'eut-etre irons-nous ^ I’eg-
lise avec notre famille. En faisant
ceci, nous exer^ons nos droits.
Nous vivons dans un pays oil
leducation prospere. Comme nous
devrions etre contents d’etre a Sal
em! lei, ou il y a un merveilleux
heritage, nous avons 1’occasion
d’acquerir de 1’experience €t du sa-
voir et nous pouvons trouver des
amis loyales et sympathiques. Par
consequent, cette annee-ci soyons
plus reconnaissants que jamais pour
les bienfaits et les plaisirs d’une vie
tranquille.
—Katherine Fort.
One of the bitterest and most
frequent complaints among the resi
dent students is about light-cut
conditions. It seems absolutely in
credible to us that whoever is re
sponsible for these conditions won’t
take a few active steps toward im
proving them.
In Alice Clewell there aje ap
proximately a hundred and thirty
students . . each one of whom at
some time must stay up later than
eleven-thirty to study. And W'here
must she study? ... in one little
room with at least ten or fifteen
other people. A few of her fellow
light-cutters chat about a forth
coming quiz, and she who isn’t chat
ting can’t possibly concentrate
against whispering and paper rattl
ing and moving about. And if she
could concentrate, are there any
provisions made to help her? . . yes
. . . there are two lamps, several
miserably uncomfortable chairs, and
ONE desk! Now by just applying
simple arithmetic, anyone can in
stantly see that the ratio between
lamps and people, chairs and peo
ple, or desks (pardon me for using
the plural, but elementary grammar
forbids comparison between the
singular and the plural) and people
is pathetically top-heavy ... at
least seven and a half people per
^lamp, two people per chair, and
there’s no point in wasting time
with the fifteen people per desk.
And the temperature of the room?
• • . well, when the light-cutter’s
natural exhalations looks like
smoke, it’s PLENTY cold!
In Society and Lehman there are
fewer girls, but ejually bad condi
tions prevailing. The houses aren’t
as well constructed as Clewell is,
and all gale's are cordially invited
to sweep under the doors and
through the halls where the light-
cutters are desperately trying to
study.
In the Sister’s House there are
more girlg than there are in either
Lehman or Society, and the attend
ing evil of light-cutting is proper
tionate. They, too, must burn their
mid-night oil in the hall ... a hall
which is ill heated ev.en when the
furnace is ON! And the sort of
thing they must contend with . . .
ONE sixty watt globe. Two chairs,
and ONE table which looks as if
it might have started with Salem
a hundred and seventy years ago!
Must we be PUNISHED for tak
ing light-cuts and trying to study?
Why else would anyone conceive of
letting us go on night after night
with conditions like these? We’ve
l^cgged to bo able to take light-cuts
in o\ir rooms, and we’ve been denied
the right because ... it would be
difficult to check on light-cuts!
Well honestly! MUST we be check
ed? Has anyone noticed the Senior
population dropping off because
they’re permitted to use their own
discretion about turning off lights?
After all, we’ve fi-xed our rooms
up to make them livable . . . WHY
can’t we live in them?
C. N.
THANK GOD THAT
WE THANK GOD
Cold, crisp autumn days . . . red leaves
upon the ground . . . grey skies overcast the
earth and mute its every sound. Steam heat
• • • foggy panes . . . persimmons bit by frost
... the mighty roar of football . . . ripe pump
kins on the ground . . . thousands of travelers
headed out from town. The world seems to
lose its vastness . . . adventure has left the
air . . . and man like a. cold-nipped bunny
would cuddle in his lair. We don’t feel as we
did in summer the swoop and boom of war;
yet we find our evening papers write in its
very gore . . . death, hunger, cold, fire . . . are
they too far removed ? have our hearts become
so hard, and our reactions correctly smooth?
Can we see the leaves for khaki? Can we be
light and free? Can we be truly thankful
dreading chaos, depravity? Thank God I’m
healthy? Thank God I’m young? Thank God
I’m brave enough to right every wrong? No!
They said that ’fore the other war, the blind
passionate fools. They marched . . . they sang
to the tune of a band . . . they restored free
dom to every land. So v/e wonder what we’re
thankful for with futures black as night . . .
we wonder if we’ll find the beam on this our
first blind flight. Are we thankful for the
babies that we’re afraid to have? or the home
with twining ivy, our castles in the air? Are
we thankful for the bread lines ... or days to
cold to bear? Are we thankful for the misery
that fogs the very air? No! We’ll thank man
for the hell we ’re in . . . the stink and stench
of death. We’ll thank God that we care to
live despite war’s foul breath. Most of all we
thank the God that our faith is guided by . . .
our faith in man, our faith in faith, the hope
for our children’s day . . . We thank God for
a vision beyond our shattered way. —M. B.
IS IT ASKING
TOO MUCH?
AVhy is it that some seniors do not march
to the stage in chapel ? Can it be that they do
not appreciate the significance of their cap
and gown ? Do not the honor seats of the hall
appeal to them? W^hy is it that these people
resent having their names put down on the list
for being out of place? When all the students
in the other classes have particular seats as
signed to them, is it asking too much to request
seniors to take tlieir respective seats? It seems
that the entire student body' is in favor of the
new chapel system involving the system of
cuts. If this is true, why then does a certain
number of students, seniors particularly, make
it difficult for chapel attendance to be check
ed? Seniors, the student body and faculty pay
resj^ect and honor to you by rising while you
march to the stage and assume the coveted
seats of the hall, so why not recognize this
honor and respect by marching? —M. W. W.
WHAT WE
DON’T KNOW
“The ignorance of college girls is appall
ing.” When I first heard someone make this
statement, 1 was puzzled, indignant, and in
sulted because anyone dared to assume that I
was ignorant. Heretofore, I had used that
word only to describe what most of our his
tory books term “the poverty-stricken masses.”
This surely could pot apply to college girls, but
gi'adually, as my wrath and indignation sub
sided, 1 began to realize that this statement
was, in part, true — not just of me, or of
Salem, or of girls, but of college students in
general.
We take each of our subjects as a separate
unit, see what good grades we can get for the
least work, and refuse to incorporate all of the
things we are learning into a complete pattern.
Most of us are ignorant of world affairs.
We seldom read a newspaper,' almost never
national politics; and yet, we speak as oracles
concerning the mistakes of the administration,
the strategy of Hitler, and the Russian winters.
We have an excellent collection of records; why
not listen to good music? ,We have a good
faculty; why not apply ourselves and learn
something?