Volutn®
LVIl
Salem College, Winston-Salem, N. C. - Thursday, November 21, 1974
Number 6
4.14 And January
Keep’Em Or Not?
By Sherrin Gardner
Tn a recent questionnaire dis
tributed among the students, the
i eTal effectiveness of the Janu
f Term and the overall worth
!('thp 4-1-4 were examined. Com
ments ranged from “totally
trthless” to “the best thing that
Salem offers,” Obviously various
individuals harbor feelings of di-
l/ersity on subject. As the
Irudal evaluation of this method
of education approaches, it is
valuable to discuss the merits of
This system as well as the dis-
'advantages so that those in the
Salem community can involve
Ihemselves in the most exciting
Academic experience possible.
A Not-So-Typical Frosh Comes to Salem
I
A vast majority of Salem stu
dents feel that the 4-1-4 system is
the best answer for a student’s
educational needs. Very few are
ictually opposed to the system.
^Yet, many conscientious students
lave concluded that certain ele-
nents of the January Term could
le improved upon. For example,
students feel that the criteria for
approving Independent Studies is
jntirely too lenient. The work load
is often incongruent with that of
3ther courses, and in many cases,
the place of study is obviously
lonsidered before the subject it
self is chosen. There should be
some sort of relationship between
the place and object of study.
Many students feel that there is
loo much free time and that the
courses themselves are not aca
demically challenging.
The added expense of an off
campus program automatically
excludes those who do not have
surplus funds in their travel bud
gets. Additionally, the rebate is
not sufficient as tuition, and room
fees for this month are non-re-
tundable.
Because only four courses are
taken per semester, a Salem
student has fewer electives and
has a more difficult time fulfilling
requirements for a double major.
Despite these criticisms, many
favorable attributes are associ
ated with the 4-1-4 program. The
January Term allows a small col
lege with a small faculty maxi
mum flexibility. If one examines
the catalogue of a large univers
ity, it is readily discerned that
many of the courses there are
more specific in subject matter
and do not cover such general
topics as those at smaller col
leges. Essentially, January allows
specialty courses to be offered
that satisfy specific interests of a
student.
January allows a student an
I opportunity for in depth study
land concentration in an area of
I interest that becomes oversha-
Idowed by basic distribution and
I major requirements. Many stu-
I dents engage in programs that
I serve as career exploration.
I Others achieve proficiency in a
I skill such as photography or com-
jmercial art that later enhances
I one s resume of job qualifications.
I The creativity potential of a
I student is afforded the opportun
ity of manifesting itself in the
(work done during January. The
I amount of knowledge to be gained
L[‘™g this time has no limits.
I are to be commended on
L^^^o’Jghtfulness obviously re-
L f ^ their comments. It is
0 reshing to learn that students
t teed for stimulating en-
li/ an academic area. It
exciting to realize that such
By Donna McDonald
Editor’s note: Donna McDonald,
a Salem student who waited a few
years before starting college dis
cusses the advantages and dis
advantages of college immedi
ately after high school.
I am very proud to be at Salem.
I have a reason to feel very
deeply about Salem because the
people here discovered a unique
way for me to continue my edu
cation. I owe a lot to Mary Scott
Best, Sue Hale, Virginia Johnson,
and Jim Barrett who believe in
women’s education. They put their
heads together and came up with
this idea for me: I would carry
a full load of courses in the
mornings and work in the De
velopment Office as Mr. Barrett’s
secretary from 1-5 in the after
noons. I would have dual status
as a full-time student and a staff
member. I am 22. I graduated
from Leominster High School in
Massachusetts four years ago. I
support myself and live off-
campus here in Old Salem.
When my classmates discover
that I am not a typical freshman,
they react with amazement and
curiosity about this state of af
fairs. They bombard me with
questions. Why didn’t you go to
college right away? What did you
do while you were out of school?
How did you get to Salem? Don’t
you have problems working and
going to school at the same time?
When do you study? Do you feel
out of place? I suppose you don’t
have to take field hockey? (Yes,
I do!)
One of the reasons that I did
not go to college right away was
that my parents did not support
my choice of college. My father
believed that in a family with four
boys the boys should have the
first opportunity to go to college.
It was alright for me to go to a
small, local teachers college. I
did not want to go there because
it offered only a limited course
of study. I wanted the opportunity
of a wider education so that I
could discover what I really
wanted to do.
My parents put me through
Katharine Gibbs Secretarial
School in New York City where I
lived at the YWCA with would-be
actresses and models, secretaries,
dancers, and girls who worked at
the UN. It is very difficult to
make roots in New York City,
and when I finished school I found
a job nearer home. For two
years I worked as a private sec
retary to the Head Football Coach
at Holy Cross College. It was a
pretty glamorous first job! During
the next two years I worked at
a nuclear medicine facility, and
for a while I was in the fashion
field as a buyer. I waitressed. I
got hung up on a man. I had my
own apartment. I bought a car.
I felt this drifting around was
senseless. Last spring I came
down to Martinsville, Virginia, to
visit my cousin and also to try to
find some way out of this boring
and frustrating trap I found my
self in: I could never go very far
as a secretary, and as a secre
tary I could never make enough
money to save to go to college.
With no financial resources, I
thought it was almost impossible
for me to go to the college I
wanted to go to. Ever since I
heard about Salem two years ago
in Mademoiselle magazine. I’ve
had my heart set on this school.
In desperation, I came down any
way to discuss my situation with
some key people here, and they
were eager to help. Salem is a
school that has a long and pre
cious history of women’s educa
tion. I am glad that such a school
exists. Every day w h e n I walk
past the lily pond and the pillars
of Main Hall, I am glad to be
here. I hope you appreciate Salem
as much as I do.
Meehan, Buzbee
Read Their Poetry
By Vickie Moir
Dr. Brian Meehan, a member
of Salem’s English department,
and Alton Buzbee, a faculty mem
ber at the School of the Arts,
each alternately read some of
their original poetry Wednesday,
November 14.
The reading, attended by 20-25
people, was held in the Library
Assembly Room at 3:00 p.m.
In opening remarks, Meehan
said, “The idea of this poetry
reading was conceived at a party
Buzbee and I were both attend
ing.” Meehan said that at that
party the two of them had ended
up yelling their poems back and
forth at each other.
One of Meehan’s opening poems
was “Clovis Pressed for a Serious
Answer.” Meehan, in a conversa
tion afterwards, said that the
poem was his favorite. Meehan
said he is “very fascinated by the
character of Clovis.” Clovis, he
said, “lives in a universe of
words.” In a portion of the poem,
Clovis said:
Now I pursue an innocent
vocation:
The call to artful, aimless
conversation.
My words preceding of a
private vision.
Though I disperse them with
a terse precision
My words the mirrors of my
own illusion.
Still good shepherds of im
mense confusion.
CHRISTMAS ASSEMBLY
DEC. 12
Salem’s traditional Christmas
candlelight service will be held
this year on Thursday, December
12 at 1:15 in Hanes auditorium.
The Choral Ensemble will open
the program with special selec
tions, followed by the Moravian
candlelight service, led by Dr.
Clark Thompson. It is one of the
truly special experiences of the
year. Don’t miss it! Watch for
special details in the next issue
of the Salemite, and the posters
around campus.
CANDLE TEA
Single Brothers House
Sponsored by the
Women’s Fellowship of
Home Moravian Church
Dec. 5, 6, 7; 2-9 p.m.
Dec. 12, 13, 14; 2-9 p.m.
Adults $1.00 Students 500
Age 12 and under 250
Library Extends Hours
Beginning December 1, the
Salem College library will extend
its hours to 11:45 p.m. An SGA
petition requesting the time ex
tension was recently passed and
Mr. Robert Woerner, head libra
rian, announced that later hours
will continue on a trial basis
throughout spring semester. At
the end of the school year, the
success of the program will then
be evaluated.
Mr. Woerner emphasized that
the extension will only apply to
Sunday through Thursday nights.
He also said that hiring personnel
for the later hours would be
somewhat of a problem but that
Salem scholarship students are
being considered for the positions.
Mr. Woerner also announced
the location of two smoking areas
in the building - the
room and a room m thejiase
ment. Furniture, trash cans, and
ash trays should be m place
around L middle of » he
said, but he promised to ry to
speed up the process so library
_ opportunity for creative learn-
rngSl present itself again this
an
users could use the smoking areas
sooner.
Regarding a recent letter to the
editor concerning library audio
visual aids, Mr. Woerner re
vealed that a record player is on
order and that he will soon send
out a purchase order for a cas
sette player. These, along with
earphones, will be located in a
room next to the main desk.
Woerner emphasized that audio
visual aids were originally in
cluded in the budget for the new
library but money problems and
the confusion of the move caused
the delay.
Woerner also said that the aca
demic dean and the Library Com
mittee are trying to work out an
agreement with the Wake Forest
library that is more favorable to
Salem students. As the situation
stands, Salemites are not allowed
to check out books from Wake.
In order to reclaim some long
overdue books, Mr. Woerner also
said that notices will be sent to
negligent faculty members before
Thanksgiving. He also urged stu
dents who have any suggestions
for new books to see the faculty
who, he says, have request cards
that can be forwarded to tne
library.
At one point, Meehan said,
“Buzbee and I have very different
styles.” Meehan began to explain
that those who liked his type
poetry referred to it as “formal
ized.” Dr. Michael Thomas, com
pleting Meehan’s thought for
him, quipped, “ ‘a bore’ by every
one else.”
Buzbee’s poems were on a num
ber of topics. In one of his poems,
Buzbee said:
Blessed is the man who keeps
his brothers pure at any
cost.
Happy is the man who kills
for the sake of Christ.
Beatitudes upon the man who
knows the mind of God and
writes it in his neighbor’s
blood.
God love us!
should maxi-
and strive
^rrinTviramrt'o'the traditional
ly bleak month of January.
January. Students
mize this experience
In a conversation after the
reading, Buzbee said that the
material in his published volumes
has been written since about
1943.
In answer to what he is writing
now, Buzbee said he had “about
three volumes ready to go.” Buz
bee said what he would do with
them depended on how his current
volume sells.
Buzbee said that he “writes
from time to time.” He said that
he “writes to talk to people.”
Meehan said that he began
writing seriously while he was an
undergraduate. He said that cur
rently he is “engaged in writing
a lengthy pastoral elegy.”
Buzbee’s newest book is The
Pain of the Joy. He is also the
author of a volume. Words by
Buzbee. To explain the title of
the later work, Buzbee said that
he “feared not all would consider
it poetry.”
Meehan has been published in
the Southern Review.
Lazarus
To Lecture
The Dale H. Gramley Library
of Salem Academy and College
will open its new Library Lecture
Series Thursday, November 21,
with a talk on “The Originality
of Greek Architecture” by Dr.
Frank M. Lazarus.
The lecture will begin at 8:15
p.m. in the Assembly Room of the
library and will be open to the
public without charge.
Lazarus, who has broad ex
perience and interest in arche
ology, is head of the department
of classics at Salem College and
has prepared an exhibit on ar
cheology to be displayed in con
junction with the lecture. Empha
sizing two facets — archeology
in the field and archeology in the
classroom — the exhibit will be
in the display area of the library
from November 11 until Decem
ber 14. Library hours are 8:30
a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday
through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday, and 2 to 5 p.m. and
6:30 to 10:30 p.m. Sunday.
“The Library Lecture Series is
one effort to make fuller use of
the library facilities,” explained
W. Robert Woerner, Salem li
brarian.
“A library should be more than
a place to store and check out
books, or to attend a meeting and
leave. We believe it should be a
place of continuing varied intel
lectual stimulation — for students,
faculty, and members of the com
munity,” he said.
In his talk, Lazarus will expand
on the theory that the originality
of Greek architecture depends
upon its acute sense of perspec
tive and the ability of the style
to combine diverse architectural
influences in a culturally distinc
tive manner.
Iron-age pottery from the digs
at Beer Sheeba (in the Negev
Desert of southern Israel) will be
included in the exhibit.
Lazarus, who recently ad
dressed the southern section of
the Classical Association of the
Midwest and South on “Fortuna
and Rhetorical Structure in Livy”
holds the Ph.D. degree in classics
from Cornell University. He also
studied at the American Academy
in Rome (Roman Topography)
and was with the 1972 Archeolo
gical Excavation at Tel Beer
Sheeba.
There will be a reception after
the lecture.