Newspapers / The Salemite. / Oct. 12, 1962, edition 1 / Page 2
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Page Two THE SALEMITE October 12, 1962 Why Don’t Students Use Campus Opportunities? Altliough the number (5f events sponsored by a school such as Salem seem overwhelming, one should remember that atter the college years these activities are almost totally inaccessible. To feel unity within one’s home, a person must be a contribut ing member -of her family. Does this not apply to life at Salem? To feel any real satisfaction of the time spent in col lege, a student should be willing to share whole-heartedly in its projects both as a spectator and as a participant. After college oiu' has the remainder of her life to sit and wonder what the rest of the world is doing, but it does seem inappropriate to begin that stagnating occupation while a inem- ber of an active, vibrating community. The opportunities afforded at Safem arc; interesting and diversified. One can take advantage of hearing and seeing things that will never again be offeriid to her. For example, evenin'g chapel and Sunday Vespers-enable students to share and express their ideas; the lecture series offers a chamm to hear fascinating, entertaining and sophisticated [)cople; recitals and plays alloiv the student to enjoy and admire her friends’ talents as well as enrich her own cultural life. Chapel, organizations, plays,■ recitals, lec tures ... is there nothing to stimulate your interests and active cooperation? • A. R. Letters To The Editor Discuss An nual FITS Day, Bulletin Boards Society DeterminesPeoples* Worth By Bonnie Hauch In his book, The Status Seekers, Vance Packard has successfully demonstrated the class-conscious ness of our American society. The book points-to the inevitable need for man, as a social animal, to select leaders and form a dehnite class structure. In a nation based on the equality of all men, we are denied the use of definite titles and positions which clearly determine class boundaries in England and other countries. The relative ease with which Americans may move from one so cial level to another, claims Mr. Packard, has led to an insecure so ciety which bases the worth of its people on whether one prefers lobs ter or mutton, and whether one’s hastes favor traditional or modern decor. An English servant is happy and -secure in the realization that he has found his place in life and can devote his energy to enjoying himself at that level. The American servant is constantly striving to reach a higher place in society. He doesn’t enjoy his peer group for he wants to be better than they. He feels uncomfortable in the group socially above him. Of his own choosing, he thus sets himself apart from everyone. The major portion of The Status Seekers is devoted to the trivial means by which we classify people. A person’s choice .of words, the car he drives, the house in which he lives, the friends with whom he associates, and even aspects of his se.x life all determine his social sta tus. Occupation plays a very im portant part in one’s acceptance by a particular group. The bank teller makes less money than the_ factory worker, yet the teller is more esteemed. Why? Because he wears a white collar to work and the fac- Dear Editor: Thursday night -- the/ culniin.'ition of .'ill the events of E'ounders’ Day: a "new song’’ from tlie soi)homores, the winning son.g by the seniors, ,'ind the traditional “We Love You, We Do” sotig by tire juniors to their “little sisters.” 'i'o the upper- chissnieti the songs, the cheers, :uul the laughter were familiar and rep resented the sinrit of “FITS” Day. During the week, upperchissmen had told freshmen about “Fl'l'S” Day and liad described the events like old hands. . “Gimme 'I'liat Old Stilern Spirit” echoed throug-liout the gym Thurs day afternoon. School spirit ap- [leared prevalent as cans rattled, stomping i)ersislcd, screams and whistles rcsf)undcd. The eyes of the upi)crclassuien vv.'itchcd the fresh men carefully to see how they would rctict to a Salem perhaps they rlid not realize existed. Had the spirit of Salem rctiched them? Little did wd know that the fresh men were filled with a spirit of .'salem th.'ii many of us have never known during our one, two, or three years here at Salem. .Per haps there are some girls here who have known it but have never found a real way to express it. It has taken a class which has been here less than a month to show us a tangible way of expressing some thing that is seldom really ex- l)ressed, because it is .so very in- t;ingible. This expression, as they have proven, does not have to take the form of competitive yells in the gytn. The .fresh m a n skit Thursday night deserves as many laurels as can ])Ossibly be given.. Aside from its colorfulness, its liveliness, and its humor, there lay, underneath the surface, real meaning for each and every one of us at Salem. Sentimentality can be so very trite, yet 1 am sure many students did not -feel it trite Thursday night at the close of the skit when upper classmen realized that some one htindred girls rvho have known each other for such a short dime and who have been exposed to Salem atmosphere for a much shorter time than ourselves, ,had grasped some thing in college life for which w'e are all seeking—perhaps it is pur pose ; perhaps it is a certain close ness to our college classmates. Who wx)uld win the skit competi tion? 1 doubt if anyone contested the decision of the judges. Surely the freshmen were excited about winning the blue ribbon, but I won der if they realized that the blue ribbon was a very small prize in comparison to the high prize of re spect they won from the upper classmen. 1, for one, will never forget the freshman presentation on “FITS” Day, October, 1962. A week ago a question was asked of Salemites in discussion groups: “What would you lose if you left Salem tomor row?” I think the freshmen have showed us and will continue to show us as they become one of the best classes ever to come to the “Never-Never Land” of Salem Col lege. Marty Richmond Junior. Dear Editor: These are the regulations con cerning student and organization use of the bulfttin- boards. We would appreciate students abiding by them. There will be places provided for certain announcements of organi zations : 1. Refectory bulletin board 2. Bulletin board in front of Day Student Center The notices cannot be over 7” by 9” and may be posted two days be fore the meeting but must be re moved immediately afterward in order to avoid a messy board. Any other announcements such as plays, programs, dances, etc., may be posted on the mirror or book cases as you enter the Refectory. For foreign correspondence the lower left hand side of the board in front of the Day Student Center has been provided. There letters and such may remain up for one week, then should be removed. Individuals who'wish to post any thing—whether they want a ride to Carolina, or they lost a pen—will please'do so in the upper left hand corner of this same board. It is'now up to you to see that our bulletin boards operate effi- iently. Thank you, Ann Dudley, Chairman of Bulletin Board Committee. tory -worker wears a blue collar. Mr. Packard has developed his book around purely factual mater ial. Three main ideas seem to do minate his work: (1) the need of man to have social structure; (2) the need of the individual to iden tify with a group; and (3) the pet tiness with w'hich we, as a society, determine the worth of a person. > Many of the facts brought out in the book are common knowledge. Most of us are aware of the habits and, possessions of the upper, mid dle, and lower classes'. The Status Seekers merely organizes these peculiarities and points to the ridi culous extremes to which certain individuals go in order to establish their position in the class structure j of American Society. Soliloquy By Diane Fuller I am a young boy of nineteen. All my life I have lived in this village with my family. I have al ways had the freedom to do as I wished—as long as I did what was expected of me. And my father expected much from me, as from all of his children, in the w'ays of good works and errands. His was not a concern for the arts, music, or poetry, but a life of comfort and plenty. Our table was never empty —always we had more than we could eat. Our bodies were always covered and we all had shoes for our feet. I was a good son, and my father loved me very much. My father loved people. He was per fect in my eyes and could do no wrong. Then one day I went away to school. There I was no longer known as my father’s son. I was known as myself. I learned of the arts and grew to love them. I learned of other villages and other lands. I could move freely and visit the cafes and talk to people of other things besides my home and my family. Sometimes I would stay there all night and drink and talk. I found a freedom that I had never known before—and there was a feeling of strength that went with it, and a great longing for this thing called Truth. And there were so many things to know. Everyday there was something new to know about, and I found I knew so little. My father had not told me of these things — and I slowly began to realize that he did not know. I thought often of my family and could not wait to tell them of these things I had learned, and that there were other villages to see and other lands to see and that I wanted to travel the road to truth and knowl edge. ■ After I returned from school, I told my father of these things—but he did not understand. He said, “No, my son, you must stay here with me. This is your home afid these are your people.” And I told him about the road and he said I would soon outgrow my longing to wander and would be glad to stay home with him. But T was unhappy at home and my longing to travel the road did not cease but grew. No,' I was not the same after I came back, and my father did not seem perfect at all now. And in my heart I secretly began to hate him and all that was around me. Why would he not let me go? Always before I had had my free dom. Why, could I not liave it no-w? And why must I always be his son and not myself? But I could not hurt him, and was afraid that I would if I stayed with him as I had done before. So I grew away from him and have found my way to the side of the road. Still, he will not let me out of his sight and I can go no farther. I feel helpless to do anything. And so I sit by the road and wait. And my father -vwaits for me to come back to him mid he continues doing for me as he has always done, and be cause he thinks he has not done enough, he tries to do more. And he blames himself for my unhappi ness. He cannot understand that he has done enough for me and now it is time for me to do for myself. I must leave, but I do not know how. Lederer Warns American Citizens Published every Friday of the College year by the Student Body of Salem College OFFICES: Basement of Lehman Flail 414 Bank St., S.W. Editor-in-chief Becky Boswell Business Manager Alice Reid Associate Editor Anne Romig Executive Editor Ginger Ward News Editor Patty Nash Feature Editor Bonnie Flauch Copy Editor Betty Lou Creech Assistant Copy Editor .. Connie Rucker Photography Editor .. Mary Alice Teague Advertising Manager Sarah Wills Headline Writers Tish Johnston, Irene Rose, Betsy Patterson Typists — Nancy Griffin, Susie Johnson, Jane Raynor, Trudi Schmidt. Proof-readers — Anne Gore, Joan Lukens, Jo Phifer, Jenny Fields, Dottle Davis, Marty Richmond, Frances Bailey, G. G. Sapp, Robbin Causey Asst. Advertising Mgr... Sara Thomasson Asst. Business Mgr. Mary Jane Harrell Circulation Mariager Sue Humphreys Cartoonists Jo Phifer, Betty Black R“writers Jerry Johnson, Betsy Hatton Managing Staff Anne Benson, Writers—Anne Gore, Elizabeth Sykes, Beth Prevost, Marty Richmond, Susan Steere, Irene Rose, Carol Weidner, Jerry John son, Diane Shull, Sarah Rupprecht, Linda .yon, Betty Bullard, Dottie Girling, Caro lyn Schmulling, Betsy Fowler, Pat Han kins, Brenda Bethel, Jane Hall, Ann Dozier, Kitty Smith, Nancy Smith, Betsy Fowler, Anne Heath, Louisa Wilson, Marty R'chmond, Diane Fuller. Faculty Advisor Miss Jess Byrd Printed by the Sun Printing Company Subscription Price $3.50 a year By Kay Kearns “The television screens may be bright, and our comfortable homes may be warm; but outside it is beginning to grow dark and cold.” William J. Lederer gives this warning in his book, A Nation of Sheep. This warning, however, is not a general one made to the typical good citizen. It is made person ally to everyone—even to the Salem student, warn ing her to look beyond the square. Lederer and Professor Burdick received more than eight thousand letters in response to their book The Ugly American. These letters were mainly from the average citizen asking what the ordinary person could do about the position of the United States in foreign affairs and how the man in the street could help prevent the. blunders that have caused areas of the world, where our influence used to be of maj'or im portance, to turn against the United States. In A Nation of Sheep, Lederer tries to answer these questions. The chief factor, as he sees it, is Ignorance—national ignorance of the facts about the rest of the world. The answer: become informed Lederer gives deeper meaning to his answer by giving reasons for our ignorance. In our United States, land of the free with freedom of speech and -freedom of the press, the truth is largely unavailable for various reasons. One ■ nobody Likes the time to find out what the facts really are Government officials warned of a crisis and American newspapers splashed across their front pages news of invasion and war in Laos. Because of this invasion excessive cash grants up in the millions of dollars”’ were rushed to Laos. There was not, however one American observer in the so-called combat area. Eventually, a United Nations team reported “no in vasion and precious little war.” The Laotian govern ment however had gotten what it wanted—American funds. A second reason is that the cult of government secrecy is growing. Information that should be open to the public is stamped “top secret” for security reasons.^ Even senators’ expense accounts are marked “secret.” Adam Clayton Powell’s recent trip with his two lady friends shows how this secrecy is dangerous. Thirdly, the press and informed persons are so con vinced that the American people don’t want the hard facts of foreign affairs that they make only a routine effort to relay them to the public. A speaker from Thailand explained why he had soft-soaped and actually lied to an American group to which he had spoken by saying, “I am a Buddhist. I don’t like to hurt the feelings of strangers. I told your friends what they wanted to hear—everything is beautiful. Now, at least they are happy. Is that not the Bud dhist way to heaven ?” There are other reasons for our ignorance, but these are more than enough to consider now. Why do we not demand that our pleaders become and re- rnain well-informed ? Why do we allow information public to be marked “top secret?” Why do we really not want to know the truth? No longer is the excuse valid that one person’s effort doesn’t matter. So many people are complacent and make, no effort to keep in'formed that the few per sons who do act are making the decisions. Several years ago Paul Hoffman was' in line for an appoint ment as a government official. A senator told Hoff man his appointment wis denied because six letters were written opposing it. Lederer begs each of us to reach for your writing materials, for your news paper, for the telephone—and take the first step of personal action. The results will come and they will be visible. I suggest that you hurry.”
Oct. 12, 1962, edition 1
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