I
The Salemite
Vol. LXX No. 7
The Uncensored Voice Of The Salem Commmunity
February 9,1990
Strong
Finally
Opens
fcy Patricia Earnhardt
The waiting game is over for the
'vomen of Strong dorm. At the
beginning of January maintenance
aided the residents with moving,
the college established new phone
lines and Strong was occupied once
again.
On February 6, Strong residents
Sponsored an open house for "First
Tuesday," inviting faculty, staff,
^nd administration to visit the
•^orm and see the recent
renovations. For those who helped
the new residents while they were
"homeless" last semester (
administration, maintenance, and
house keeping) were given " Friend
Strong" tags. Residents gave
tours of the dorm rooms, bathrooms,
^ud lobby, and served wine and
cheese for their guests.
"We were very glad to welcome
the faculty and to be able to show
°ff our dorm," said Beth Brown,
Strong Dorm President. "Those of us
'vho lived here last year are the
**^ost excited because we are more
^Ware of the improvements,"
added Brown.
Strong has many new assets that
^the residents are very pleased
[;>ith. The bathrooms are greatly
iiluiproved, showers no longer leak
^ud the floors no longer flood, and
like the rest of the dorm have new
lighting and a fresh coat of paint.
The resident's rooms have fresh
paint, new lighting fixtures and
improved electrical outlets,
l^adiator thermostats have been
^placed with gauges to control the
heat, make the temperature much
^ore bearable.
The hallways are newly
Carpeted and have light fixtures, a
Welcomed new addition to the once
^ark halls.
"It was exciting to move in and
srnell the fresh paint and be able to
^e as we walked down the halls,"
Said Katherine White and Dena
l^ree, sophomores.
'^ont. on p. 8 - Strong
Dr. Thompson Remembered
by Catherine Davis
Dr. Clark A. Thompson, former
Chaplin and chairman of the
Department of Religion and
Philosophy at Salem College, died
Sunday night, January 14.
Dr. Thompson, 54, died from
complications of the AIDS virus.
He joined the faculty at Salem
College in 1964 after serving as
minister of Christian education at
Home Moravian Church and three
years as instructor of religion at
Salem Academy.
In addition to his contributions at
Salem, he was instrumental in
establishing the AIDS Task Force
of Winston-Salem according to
Garison R. Kaufman, the director of
the task force.
"As AIDS reached the Triad,
there was a person in need of
* housing and assistance. Clark
opened up his house to him and
provided him with a home. Clark
and Paul did that together.
"In the process of doing that,
they increased the community wide
awareness that some mechanism
was needed for dealing with people
with AIDS on a local level. That
served as the motivating force
behind the founding of the AIDS
Task Force," stated Kaufman.
Dr. Thompson's ability to openly
deal with the disease once he had
contracted it himself was
inspirational and helpful to others,
Kaufman said.
"A person like that who is
willing to be visible and vocal
helps to destroy some of the
stereotypes that still exist even
after so many years about AIDS and
join in the battle against it."
Dr. Thompson earned a bachelor's
degree from the University of
Rochester, a bachelor of divinity-
degree from Harvard Divinity
photo contributed by Alicia Stephens (Publications)
The late Dr. Clark Thompson served Winston-Salem with vigor and
enthusiasm as Salem College Chaplain and professor of Religion as well as
a dedicated community member.
School, a master of theology degree
from Duke University and a doctor
of philosophy degree from Brown
University.
Dr. Thompson's initiative in
working with the AIDS Task Force
is only an indication of this thirst
for knowledge and understanding.
Including the four degrees he
completed, he attended the
University of Edinburgh,
Winston-Salem State University,
and Appalachian State
University.
Dr. Thompson held eleven
academic positions including the
Clarkson Starbuck Chair in
Religion in 1981 and served as
Academic Dean of the college from
1980-81 and from 1987-88. Dr.
Thomas Litzenberg commented that
"the college was never served so .
well as when he was dean. I know
of very few people . . . who could
equal or surpass him in loyalty to
Salem. It was displayed in
everything he said and did." Dr.
Thompson won eleven awards in all
and had three publications, all
concerning the Moravian way of
life.
A Clark A. Thompson award is
being established to recognize a
Salem upperclassman who has
devoted herself significantly as a
volunteer outside of the Salem
College community. That award
will be presented at either the
Honors Convocation or the Awards
Banquet this spring.
Dr. Natasha Moehle, professor of
Philosophy, became fast friends
with Dr. Thompson when she began
teaching at Salem College in 1984.
One fond memory Dr. Moehle has of
him is that they met for coffee
every morning in the Green Room in
Main Hall. One time. Dr. Moehle
wore a hat to the morning coffee
meeting and Dr. Thompson didn't
recognize her. Unaware of her
frequent change of image, he sat
across the room without speaking to
her. "I got upset because I thought I
had done something terrible to
make him mad." Dr. Moehle said
they had a good laugh when he
realized it was she that he was
avoiding.
cont. on p. 3 - Thompson