Page 2, The Salemite, March 5,1982
After the Banquet... | Letters to the
This is one of those emotional times when it is difficult to put
to words what the moment means. Seniors are bovmd to be
reminiscing endlessly about the past four years — orientation,
King Tut, freshman term papers, room drawing, Mary Pop-
pins, Camelot (is there such a place), TOG (and Max),
Oscar’s, Safari Room, Simo’s on Friday afternoon. Wake
Forest, Chapel Hill, Hampden-Sydney (oh, those road trips
and those “bear” necessities), dances, Kent’s place at the
lake, congratulations to Roberta, good friends, hard work and
many, many more happy, emotional memories.
These memories will no doubt become even stronger in the
next two months and 18 days. It will be harder to walk around
campus without remembering something, longing for a
moment past. As seniors, we hope you will feel toe same
emotions when you pass this way. As seniors looking back,
we’re glad to have been a part of it all. Allison Buice
The Oracle
by George McKnight
The purpose of “The Oracle” is to
involve faculty and administration in
expressing their views about pertinent
issues concerning students and today’s
world, around or beyond the square.
This week. Dr. George McKnight
addresses the topic. Career Opportuni
ties for Women in the Sciences.
At a time in the not-too-
distant past, a student ear
ning a Ph.D. or MS. in math
or science had a number of
career options open to her on
leaving toe university. She
could choose to teach and-or
do research at a college or
university; she could choose
to work for a government
agency at the state or federal
level; or she could choose to
work in industry or business.
The options open to today’s
graduate are much more
limited.
Teaching positions at
colleges and universities
have dwindled in number,
and competition for these
positions is extremely in
tense. The exception is
engineering colleges, which
have difficulty filling'
vacancies with qualified
individuals. At the high
school level, there is a
demand for teachers in
selected areas such as
physics and math and to a
lesser degree, chemistry.
The recent reduction in
spending at both the state and
federal levels has affected the
number of positions available
in this sector. Fewer openings
are expected; hence, com
petition for these openings
will be keen.
Unless a serious depression
overtakes us, the number of
openings in business and
industry will remain
relatively constant and may
even increase slightly.
However, due to the reduced
numbers of openings in the
other two sectors, com
petition for jobs in the in
dustrial sector is likely to
increase.
From what I have written
thus far, you might conclude
that you would be foolish to
major in math or a science.
Before you do so, let me
assure you that there are
challenging and interesting
jobs open to the student of
math or science. However,
since competition for these
jobs will increase, you must
prepare yourself well. Simply
majoring in math or science
is no longer an open door to a
rewarding career.
Employers can and will be
very selective in hiring.
Given the interdisciplinary
nature of modern day
science, employers will be
looking for graduates who not
only have a good foundation
in their disciplines, but who
also have a broad background
in mathematics and the
sciences. They will be ac
tively recruiting those
graduates who have learned
howto “solve” problems, and
to think critically, and to
communicate effectively,
both orally and in writing.
They will be looking for toe
individual who has demon
strated initiative in seeking
out education and ex
tracurricular experiences
which will be beneficial to her
development.
Given these new realities of
the job market, if I were a
student of math or science, I
would think twice before
avoiding that extra course in
math or chemistry;, and I
would definitely take that
computer science course. I
would seriously consider
squeezing in a creative
writing or public speaking
course. (You’d be amazed at
how much creative writing is
done in science.) I would seek
out positions of responsibility
and leadership on campus. I
would make good use of my
January Terms and summers
to gain experience
unavailable on campus.
Finally, I would explore non-
traditional career op
portunities in math and
science, and choose my
electives with the idea of
broadening my background
and acquiring expertise
which may be helpful in the
future.
There are a lot of
challenging and interesting
careers in science, and as a
woman you might have a
slight edge, but only if you are
qualified.
Don’t Complain
To The Editor;
There seems to be a con
cern among the student body
as to the cost and quality of
student publications. As
editor of Sights and Insights, I
would like to address these
concerns.
I think there are very few
students who realize the cost
of producing a yearbook. Our
S.G.A. allocation covers the
publisher’s cost. We must
rely on the sale of ad
vertisements, fund-raising
projects, and patrons to cover
all other costs. These costs
include film, processing of
color p'ictures, darkroom
supplies, artwork and special
effects, shipping, as well as,
general supplies. Xeroxing,
etc....This year we have also
had two additional costs; the
cost of two-thirds of the
publication’s darkroom and
the debt left by last year’s
book.
Obtaining the money
needed for the extra costs
presents a problem. There is
a limit to the number of ads
we can sell. Pages cost
money. Fund-raising income
is also low. It is difficult for a
group of 15 to raise large
amounts of money when toe
same 15 people are trying to
meet deadlines. I also find it
interesting that only 31 people
supported our last fund
raising project, the Ryan’s
raffle. At a cost of $18 per
student, toe staff must raise
an additional $4-5 per book.
That is where your $18 go.
As for toe quality of toe
publications, I have one
remark. If you don’t work on
the staff, don’t complain
about the quality of toe final
project. The staff works hard
and puts a great deal of time
and effort into doing their
best to produce a good
yearbook. For those of you
who have complaints, why
not put that energy towards
getting involved? Until I see
someone willing to do a better
job than the one that is
currently being done, I find it
difficult to accept complaints.
Sincerely,
Nancy Fuller
Solo Gripe
Dear Editor;
I’d like to say a word for
those of us who live and work
at the FAC; Salem students
are constantly encouraged to
take advantage of the
cultural opportunities in our
city, but why is there seldom
any publicity for musical
events here on our own
campus, such as student
recitals?
We music majors spend toe
majority of our time during
our sophomore and senior
years (sometimes even fresh
man and junior years)
preparing for our solo
recitals, only to walk out on
stage and see Shirley
Auditorium half-filled. It’s a
little depressing to spend four
or five hours a day preparing
for a recital, and then end up
performing to empty seats.
Now, granted, many of us do
have decent attendance
because our parents, friends,
and teachers come to support
us, but I’d like to encourage
the whole student body to
attend solo recitals this
spring.
Preparing a recital takes
much time, concentration,
and patience, but most of all
it requires a dedication to,
and a great love for music
and performing. We as
musicians enjoy sharing our
music with others - that’s toe
whole purpose of giving a
recital - and part of dur
satisfaction comes from
knowing that we are sup
ported and appreciated.
If you have a friend who’s a
music major, or even if you
don’t, you can understand toe
trauma and excitement of
giving a recital - it’s just like
taking an exam only it’s more
fun (and more pressure). In
fact, our recitals do count as
the exam for our per
formance credit, so you see,
we do need support - don’t you
need someone to encourage
you when you go take an
exam?
There are twelve solo
recitals coming up this
spring, and I’d like to en
courage each student and
faculty member at Salem to
attend at least one. It’s a fun
way to be exposed to classical
music, but more importantly,
it’s a way of saying that you
support your friends, and that
you appreciate • all toe time
and effort they put into their
major.
Your attendance means a
lot, believe me. Watch the
Salemite, and the bulletin'
boards in the refectory for
dates and times, and please
do take an evening to enjoy
some good music while you
support a friend. You’ll be
glad you did.
The Salemite
Printed by Lindsay Publishing Co.
King, N.C.
Editor Allison Buice
Associate Editor Mary Rogers
Business Manager Audrey Castellano
Assistant Business Manager: Pamela Sawers
Reporters: Carla Blakley, Terl Capshaw, Robin'Elmore, Beatrice Heath,i
Agneta Perman, Stephanie Vance, Virginia Wagenheim, Susanne
Weddle, Sunny Nolde.
Proofreaders: Kaycee Connolly, Pam Fargason.
Lay-out Staff: Alice Crawford, Laura Hester.
Cartoonist: Nina Anderson.
Photographers: Brynan Haddaway, Hollin Dwiggins.
Circulation: Ann Biswell
Advisors: Laura Edwards, Nancy Stephens.
The Salemite office is located in the basement of Lehman Hall.
Sincerely,
Robin Elmore
Abortion
To the Editor;
In reply to Barbara
Meskill’s pro-life campaign, I
would like to speak for toe
pro-choice conflict. Many
people do look at abortion as
an easy way to shirk toe
responsibilities that having a
child entails. However, what
if a 14 or 15 year old girl
becomes pregnant and cannot
obtain an abortion? How can
a child take care of a child?
Also, many people have
problems with their
reproductive organs and can
■ become pregnant but cannot
bear a child. In this respect, if
an abortion can not be ob
tained, is it up to the state to
take two lives where an
embryo could have been
sacrificed?
If a child is seen deformed
or handicapped as an early
fetus, abortion offers a choice
to the parents. Abortion
would be an easier aspect
rather than watching that
child grow through society as
a subject of society’s
mockery, cruel subjections
and constant references to
his-her handicap.
• Pro-choice is in no way
advocating abortion as a
means of alternate birth
control, or as an easy way out
of responsibility. It is offering
a choice to both partners
involved in a relationship, as
to whether either of them is
responsible enough to raise a
child and provide for the
child. It does offer medical
help, where a person has
problems with reproduction
organs.
Abortion is a common-
sense approach to people who
have only one choice, one
decision to make. To take
away that choice opens
channels to illegal abortions
with fatal side effects and the
unnecessary loss of lives. It is
not a choice to be made by toe
state. The choice must be
made by the people involved
in the relationship.
Alice Crawford