The Salemite
Vol. LKtX No. 10
The Uncensored Voice Of The Salem Commmunity
April 1989
Leaders Look Back At A Job Well Done
by April Edmondson
What do Interdorm Chairman,
Honor Council Chairman, SGA
President, The Salemite Editor, and Big
3+3 Chairman have in common? Responsibility and
commitment. Each of these offices demand dedication and a
persistent sense of involvement with the student body and
various other members of the Salem Community. By this time,
I am sure everyone knows Shelia Elliott, Mary Poole, Ginger
Saunders, Katie Thomas, and Mary Bryan Pierce. These
individuals represent the "heartbeat" of Salem.’ They provide^
the campus with vital information ranging from dance
weekends to issues concerning the administration and the
Board of Trustees. They worry about informing students of all
types of issues concerning the Salem community, and whether
the councils are being fair and just to an individual in a case.
Each year these individual offices demand the same
characteristics, however, each Chairman, President, or Editor
brings to that office many new ideas and varying levels of
enthusiasm which cause a ripple effect throughout the campus.
This year has been no different. These leaders, ready to turn the
reins over in a couple of weeks to the anxious "chosen" for next
year, have demonstrated their dignity, integrity, and loyalty to
the students, faculty, and administration, ^ch person has
brought a certain grace to her office which will be missed next
year, not because we do not have capable leaders, but instead because these people
have done such an excellent job!
We decided to take a brief glance into these offices held by seniors. Although they
by far are not the only leaders, their offices affect us campus wide.
Mary Bryan Pierce, the woman behind Big 3+3 dance weekends, says, "It's been fim,
but it's also been good...I'll miss it." Mary Bryan has worked hard this year to choose
bands that the student body wants to hear and will enjoy. She says her most pleasing
moments are "to get to the dance and see everyone else having fun - that's the
rewarding thing." She adds, "everybody seems to have a good time - I haven't heard
many complaints yet!"
While holding the position of Chairman she says many things have happened that
are so ridiculous one has to laugh. "For instance when the bands arrived with their
roadies following behind or. when there was a power shortage with the amps, at
Bermuda Run.
The scariest moments for Big 3+3 were the week before the formal. "I didn't think
the bands would show...I got stressed." Usually I take it in stride. I thmk for each
function I have gotten less and less stressed...! believe it will all work out for the best!"
"I believe the saddest moments are always Sunday because, the weekend is over,
but I think its that way for everyone." Mary Bryan continues by saying, "the last thing
Big 3+3 does will definitely be the saddest."
In retrospect Mary Bryan emphasizes, "I could not have done as good a job had I
not been able to chair the other organizations that I have been elected to in the past.
It has been a very challenging position."
Katie Thomas, the inspiration mobilizing the staff of The Salemite, says. This job
had a lot of challenges. The paper, to this point, was not an active aspect of this
campus. I have always felt it should be, so I decided to change almost everything and
hopefully make it something everyone would be interested in and excited about!
However, I didn't realize what I was getting myself into."
"Some of the funnest things have happened this year at 2:00 in the morning:
cranking Joy 100 to get everyone's energy level up, trying to come up with stories when
there is nothing going on, hunting people down (having staff members paged at
restaurants while they are on dates). I think one of the funniest things is when we get
so excited about the paper that by the time it’s all done we are almost crying because
of exhaustion. It can get very emotional. 1 believe the "fire" in Sister's had to be one of
the funniest times, when I went running outside in the cold rain without shoes to be
sure someone was going to get the story."
Although Katie has experienced many emotional moments with the paper, the first
issue was the most significant. "It was like your first day of school, or the first time you
get your hair cut and you walk around and wonder what people think!" Katie says the
last issue will be the saddest.
"I believe the BEST, BEST feeling is walking around campus the day we have put
out the paper and see people reading it and talking about it...that's the best thing!"
"It's been really great seeing all the people become so interested in the paper this
year. Everybody on the staff has done incredible work and really pulled together. It's
a 24 an hour a day job, but it's worth every minute."
Shelia Elliott, the one responsible for Interdorm's image, says, 'The greatest
challenge was to change the way people felt about Interdorm. We wanted people to
feel that we were there for them, the students. We wanted them to tell us problems
and then we wanted to help change them. We didn't want to be seen as just a
judiciary council."
The happiest moment for Shelia was last spring when she was told she had been
elected Interdorm Chairman. "I never thought about winning until Millie (Eubanks)
told me."
"The saddest things that happen occur when students cry when they call me to turn
themselves in or when I tell fellow students and friends penalties."
"I am going to miss the people that are on the council this
year, and I hope that they will continue to move into leadership
positions because they are all wonderful and have been
outstanding dorm presidents this year. The amount of dorm
and hall activities that have been planned this year are
incredible compared to years past, and I believe that the dorm
presidents deserve a pat on the back for all their hard work."
Mary Poole, dedicated to preserving and enhancing the
tradition of honor at Salem, says, "I have enjoyed the
opportunity of talking with various groups about the honor
' system and hopefully encouraged them to appreciate it’s
centrality to the way of life at Salem."
"I believe the most difficult thing is telling someone who has
committed an infraction of their penalty...there is such a fine
line that must be drawn between friendship and my job." Mary
says that, "although it is a strange way of meeting people I have
made several friends. It will be sad to leave this group because
they are so cohesive...they really work well together and wrestle
I with the issues."
Mary sees the greatest challenge for
Honor Council as "encouraging the
professors to respect the system and to
have faith in our ability to be just and
fair." Another area of concern has been
the CE's. "We have tried to make the
honor system more visible to the CE's
I Cont. on pg. 10