Newspapers / Salem College Student Newspaper / Nov. 21, 1983, edition 1 / Page 4
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Page 4 The Salemite @rack Honor Council Defends System For over an hour now I have been sitting here try ing to write an editorial in response to the past Oracle article “Honor (Mistrust) System”. I have been having trouble writing it because I was trying to write in strong defense of our system as if I were the sole defender of Salem’s Honor System. Unbeknown, it seems to me, to most students on campus is that this is THEIR Honor System, not mine and not Honor Coun cils. If they are unhappy about it, they should try to do something about it. For example, if someone is upset with the present structure of our exam system, why doesn’t she propose a new working system that we could follow, and present it for consideration? A summary of my first point is that the Honor System is formed, upheld, and maintained by the en tire Salem Community. Unless Honor Council hears a person’s com plaints and suggestions we can not even begin to make the changes that he or she would like to see. My second point con cerns the idea that our system is based on mistrust rather than trust. I think the problem is one of perspective. After being a Council Member now for 4 months, my perspective has changed. Now it is part of my responsibility, to deal with the violations of our Honor Code. I am faced with making very difficult deci sions, of deciding guilt of innocense, and it is not easy either. The people who come before the council are not bad people who have made bad mistakes. It makes me physically sick to listen to a student admit to a violation, to see regret written all over their face, and still know that if the system is to endure she must be penalized for her violation. My perspective is much different than it was before. These experiences have been so difficult for me that I try in every way I can to keep violations from occuring. My at tempt which might be con sidered based on a sense of mistrust is this rather bas ed on concern; I want fewer good people by way of a careless act to make bad mistakes. So when I get up in front of SGA and say “Don’t take your notebooks in with you during a testing situation,” I am not ex pressing a sense of mistrust. I am probably saying that I spent the previous night listening to a student tell me how she brought her notebook in with her to take a test, with no intentions of using it, yet in a moment of panic, without thought, she opened the notebook. She cheated, and the sad part of the entire situation was that it all could have been avoided if she had not brought the notebook in with her. Most honor viola tions are committed when a student has paniced and lost the proper perspective of the situation, and when the student has carelessly set herself up for an Honor violation. When I preface my statements with DON’T I do so because I don’t want another student to make the same mistake. I do not mistrust a single person on this campus. If I did, I would not go through the emotional stress of be ing Honor Council Chair man. I think it is times like this that give our Honor System its negative sense of mistrust. If I come across that way I do not mean to. If my advice of DON’T take your notebooks with you in a testing situation keeps just one student on Salem’s campus from committing an Honor violation, then I want to and will say it. You see without sacrificing the priviledges of a strong Honor System, the pro blems have been minimiz ed. Is not that our pur pose? Please reply. Gwen Campbell Chairman of Honor Council Math Poses Problems for Students ByCarla Blakely and Char Tipton The Salem College Math Department forsees an im provement in the math program. Students have expressed a concern in the difficulty of the basic math courses taught at Salem. A sophomore student com mented, “The teachers are so intellectual that it is hard for them to come down to our level.” In response to this, a member of the Math Department replied, “It is not our intention to teach on a difficult level. Students simply don’t come to us as much as they should when they are having problems.” Dean Russell, assistant academic dean, said, “The Math' Department has a large number of students dropping and receiving deficiency slips. Obviously there is a problem.” Russell also added that the math SAT scores of Salem student show that the stu dent should not have a pro blem passing Math 10. Dean Russell suggests that perhaps the problem is students enter college with math anxiety. Dr. Kurtz, head of the Math Department, said “Math is like typing. Unless you practice, you aren’t going to improve.” Kurtz stressed that class attendance isn’t enough. Because of the amount of deficiency slips given and the amount of students dropping basic math courses, Kurtz agrees that there is a problem. In one math skills class, 10 out of 38 students drop- Salem Aids Third World By Julie Mills On November 17, Salem faculty, students, staff and administration joined in a fast to symbolize their con cern for world hunger. The fast which was organized by Dr. Clark Thompson, lasted for one full day. Salem College donated money saved by students abstaining from breakfast, lunch and din ner to Oxfam America. In dividual donations and money saved by various forms of fasting such as refraining from cigaret tes, soft drinks, or sweets were also accepted in order that everyone could participate in this expres sion of concern. Oxfam America, an agency based in Boston, helps the world’s hungry in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Oxfam teaches people how to grow their own food, educate themselves, and learn new economic skills. Over the last 9 years, those who have supported Oxfam have contributed $2.5 million to help those who are unable to help themselves. Who’s Who at Salem Oct. 11, 1983 ped the class and others received deficiencies. Kurtz said that there shouldn’t be this many students dropping math. He belives that something happens to students after failure. He also added, “Not many students have strategies dealing with failure.” In a meeting of the Math Department on Monday it was decided that sometime in the next year, when funds are available, a student tutor will be hired. This tutor will available to aid all basic math students. Math study skills will also start being stressed in class. The question is: Will this be enough to solve the pro blems of the poor math student who is merely fill ing a requirement? The 1984 edition of WHO’S WHO AMONG STUDENTS IN AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES will in clude the names of 11 students from Salem College who have been selected as na tional outstanding campus leaders. Campus nominating committees and editors of the annual directory have includ ed the names of these students based on their academic achievement, service to the community, leadership in ex tracurricular ac tivities and potential for continued success. They join an elite group of students selected from more than 1,500 institutions of higher learner in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several foreign na tions. Outstanding students have been honored in the annual directory since it was first published in 1934. Students named this year from Salem Col lege are; I. Junior Angela Dean Bostrom-President of Strong Dorm 2.Senior Gwendolyn Campbell-Chairman of Honor Council 3.Senior Paula Marie Corbett 4.Senior Jodi Renee Critchfield-Senior class President 5.Senior Lori Susan Hobby 6.Senior Julia Ragsdale Holdford 7.Junior Lee Ann Luckenbach-Chief Marshall 8.Senior Lee Ann Manning-Student Government Presi dent 9.Senior Pamela Gene MUrrell-Chairman of Interdorm 10.Senior Montine Louise Pfohl II. Senior Virginia Pickens Suiter-Vice President of student Government.
Salem College Student Newspaper
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Nov. 21, 1983, edition 1
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