Fridav/October 24,
Reh^i04i^ AciUuiif JlKj4>
t^\}t ^alemite
Was Spiritual Guidance Week a yardstick
by which we may measure the interest Salem-
ites have in religion? If so, we fall pitifully
short. Is there any need for such a program
on a church-affdiated campus? I
You say it’s hard to attend evening meet
ings for days in a row. Granted. Is it equally
difficult to attend morning devotions and Sun
day evening vespers? When yould you sug
gest we arrange such meetings maybe ajiter
lunch ?
Students are being asked questions—their
religious beliefs are being challenged in the
dormitory and in the classroom. Good. Few
of us can substantiate our beliefs and there
fore we become confused and often allow our
religious convictions to be torn from us be
cause of our own apathy, indifference, mental
sluggishness, or ignorance of the subject.
In politics one must have a firm knowledge
of events and a sound argument to back per
sonal convictions. There must likewise be an
objective, open, inquisitive mind—to survey
the field and weed the truths from the un
truths, to distinguish propaganda from fact.
Few of us can distinguish “propaganda from
fact” in the field of “our religious convictions.”
We rationalize and minimize and procrastinate
until the. question of one’s beliefs becomes of
little or no importance—to be easily pushed
aside from day to day until “a guide to live
by is shoved out by life itself.”
Are you an intellectual paragon whose mind
is closed to Christian concepts because you
cannot completely comprehend the infinite?
Are you indifferent—periodically exclaiming
you just don’t know what you believe—you’re
inixed up and don’t care to delve into the
matter because it’s an endless searcfi? Are,
you the steady church-goer who has had ideas
and concepts drilled into your heart until
you’re now a firm believer in something you
happened to inherit—in something you know
little about? The problem of developing one’s
philosophy and finding one’s religion is under
rated. Each of us, to be fair to ourselves,
must realize that the formulation of religious
beliefs is not an easy one—but a necessary one.
The opportunities for you to learn are here.
We suggest that you not allow yourself to be
lead “by the nose” into any beliefs—but that
each person equip himself with the knowledge
to discern—do a little probing into the prob
lem. Don’t under-estimate the matter of re
ligious beliefs.
—Mary Jane May hew
Published every Friday of the College year
by the Student Body of Salem College
OFFICES—Lower Floor Main Hall
Downtown Office—414 Bank St., S. W.
Printed by the Sun Printing Company
Subscription Price—$3.50 a year
Editor-in-chief Jeon Smitherman
Associate Editor Mary Jo Wynne
News Editor Nancy Jane Carroll
Feature Editor
..Erwin Robbins
Susan Foard
Managing Editor
Copy Editor Sallie Hickok
Headline Editor Sarah Ann Price
Business Manager Corky Scruggs
Advertising Manager Rosemary Laney
Circulation Manager Becky Smith
Asst. Business Manager —Betsy Gilmour
Columnists: Sandy Shaver, Mary Jane
Mayhew.
Faculty Advisor Miss Jess Byrd
Typists Irene Noel, Joanne Doremus
Asst. Advertising Manager —Lynn Ligon
U. S.’s Aim Good But Deeds
Questionable, Says Recamier
By Sue Cooper
“Oh wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursels’ as ithers see us!”
The “Square” Urges
Magazine Proposal
arm
By Mary Jane Mayhew
Mrs. Pyron was laughing unusually loud in
the library as she read the following:
“May I be so bold as to submit to the Stu
dent Council this idea. There is, in the lib
rary, a well furnished record room which I
enjoy very much.
But as one knows, the softness of a deep
chair and the relaxation of a smoke in
creases the rapture of the music
“I hope I am not asking for the moon, or
if I am, that it will be quickly heeded.
“Wishing that the Student Council will have
the kindness to take notice of my request . .
I remain—
Very sincerely yours,
Catherine Recamier
I want to commend our French lady for!
trying.
but Mrs. Pyron seemed to think the!
Fire Dept, would object strongly to smokingj
in the third floor record rooms, and that funds
We Salemiles are more fortunate than the lady m Burns poem for
the giftie has been given us—in the form of Catherine Recamier—a
special student at Salem from Paris. France. I think we might profit
from a look at ourselves from across the continent through the eyes of
one of our contemporaries (a member of our peer group, as we say
in education). I asked Catherine for the French attitude on American
policies, and she assured me that she could not speak for her entire
nation, but she consented to give me some ideas and impressions of her
own concerning America. She said—
First you are wealthy. You have dollars and a powerful army, navy,
and air force. You think that you have the role (almost God-given)
of making everybody happy and defending the poor and oppressed. With
a “big brother” attitude, you are looking in every direction—Far East,
Middle East, Greenland, South Pole, everywhere. Your aim is good, but
look at your deeds.
Esprit de corpis
Zzzlihb . . . snore
Hard benches
Lazy wenches
Announcements please
Cough, sneeze
Some speakers rant
Others can’t
Installation, Honor’s Day
Required, again? hooray.
The conductor’s getting fat
Three corners has my hat
During the prayer take forty winks
Singing the hymn will take out the kinks
“Give the speaker a round of applause
To let him know we apprecia—” (pause)
Yawn, yawn, time to eat.
Esprit de corps, that’s my meat.
Wliere, oh where, is the chapel committee
In Harry’s, Main Hall, or out of the city?
—Tendrils
As soon as there is a crisis you rush in to help apparently without
careful consideration of what is involved, and after some debate and
thought, you withdraw. The Suez Canal crisis is a good illustration of
this. You rushed in, pledged your support and rushed out again leaving
a very puzzled France and England to drift for themselves with Nasser.
This indecision may be interpreted by others as a sign of weakness.
At other times you failed to act when people sought your support.
The people of Hungary looked to you for help when they revolted, and
you did not support them in their struggle for freedom.
Sometimes you go too far in your actions. This is true in the instance
of your asking the U. N. to consider the Algerian question. This is a
French domestic affair, and you have no right to interfere. You have
so many military bases in other countries that the people there get
enough of America and begin to feel that they are being invaded by
foreign troops. ”
I realize that foreign policy is very difficult because it is to think and
after to decide which is the right thing to do at the right,time. Every
thing is a question of shades on degrees—
You have a very wonderful thing here in America and that is your
belief and faith in your country. You believe so strongly in something
and you should preserve this.
I heard the last call for Farmer’s Dairy, so I grabbed Catherine’s arm
and ran. Licking on a super cone of lemon sherbet, I kept thinking of
U. S. actions and how they would be regarded by someone in a small
country in the Middle East or an island off the Chinese mainland. I
decided that we all need more of these foreign students’ considerations
instead of our usual democratic, republican or southern way of looking
at things.
Salemite Editors Criticized
For Giving "Slanted Opinion”
Dear Editors,
In regard to the front page edi
torial which appeared in the Salem
ite last week, “ . . .The U. S.’s
Integration Problem”, we feel that
you went above your capacity by
using the paper for such slanted
opinion.
The first paragraph of 'the article
said that the Salemite is “the of
ficial publication of student opinion”
but since no concensu' was taken,
to our knowledge, the article did
not represent over a! student feel
ing on the matter.
The editors should certainly
have had the courtesy to obtain a
wider range of opirion on a major
policy such as this one with so
many people involved. With the
situation as it is today, a state
ment on integration involves the
board of directors, the administra
tion, the faculty and the student
body. What do these people think
about your statement on integra
tion or the “Southern Declaration’
which appeared on the second
page:
This letter is not to speak as
“White Southerners” but as the
“American Citizens” you seem to
be looking for. We speak as
American citizens who would like
to be consulted before an “official
publication of student opinion’
publishes a statement which is not
necessarily true for all of us.
Sincerely,
Joy Perkins
Audrey Kennedy
Lucinda Oliver
would not allow for the purchasing of soft]
deep arm chairs. !
Soup for lunch—for lunch . . . Mrs. Cumj
mings where is the usual Wednesday afterj
noon soup? Please, we miss it! |
There has been a group on campus who ha^
been batting around the idea of having aj
literary magazine. Does Salem need such ^
publication? We have our w-eekly Salemite-j
and our yearly annual. Do they serve thij
same purpose? I think not. A literary publij
cation would be a sufficient outlet for
“up and coming” young writers and artists
on campus. There are works which the papei
cannot publish due to the function of the papei
“to inform.” A literary magazine woul(
instill more interest in creative writing an(
composition. I hope interested parties wil
rally their forces and begin work on such
publication. I believe we need it.
Wake Forest opened its .Lecture Serie
last week with the presentation of a musica
comedy based on Voltaire’s Candide. Lilliai
Heilman,.the playwright, and Leonard Bern!
stein, who wrote the musical scores for thj
play, combined their talents to produce I
musical reincarnation of a satire on one man’
search for himself. The Wake Forest an
Salem Lecture Series Committees have conj
bined forces to have the famed British actoi
Sir Cedric Ilardwicke, on October 31st. Si
Cedric Ilardwicke was obtained after the cat
cellation of Raymond Massey.
Also the Wake Forest Dramatics Dept, i
presenting the ArthurMiller play All M
Sons. Tonight is your last chance to see tt
play. The general plot of the play is base
on the unethical business tactics of a wartim
airplane manufacturer and the effects th
man’s tactics have on his sons. It is dramatii
realistic and has much of the 1947 wartinj
hysteria in it.
■ A lack of coordination of activities or oi
ganization of projects has caused many of tl
campus denominational groups to become n
latively ineffective. This is unfortunate f(
those who lead the groups unci' expend waste
hours in planning programs and meetings !
have relatively no participation. It is eve
more embarrassing to engage the time of oa
side speakers only to have a turn-out of
handful in the auciienee. What shall be donf
Elizabeth Smith has devised a brilliant pk
whereby we can have at least one egg evei
morning for breakfast. The far end of t
athletic field is rarely used—we can purchai
some chickens and begin a hatchery. Bek
a college with a liberal arts degree the school
academic program wonld be all the more
versified by oHering an hour’s study in "ej
raising”. The department could then dona
all eggs to the dining hall.
'^e girls in South are debating as to wheth
or not they should evacuate their dorms ai
leave them to the rats—or fight it out. Fro
all I’ve gathered Frances Jennette should
given some sort of recognition for bravei
She has not flinched but has held her o'i
with the “wee-beasties”. That’s the spirit'
girls, you’ll win yet!