Petition first draft, to be revised amongst other people at Salem
After speaking to alumnae about this retired tradition at Salem for the eightieth time, I've decided people are stupid and I'm going to fix this before I graduate next year.
Dear Administration of Salem College and Student Activities (and others concerned),
Salem is a college rich in traditions. We have a beautiful heritage that we celebrate in many ways: we incorporate the Moravian traditions (such as the community Love Feast), kick off the year with the energy of Fall Fest, and celebrate the Big Sis/Lil Sis dynamic throughout the year with events like Sophomore-Senior. We could name many other current traditions and their importance, but there is one particular retired Salem tradition that we feel needs to return. This tradition is simple, energetic, beautiful, and women-oriented, and until the late 60s was an important celebration as recognizable as Fall Fest. We are, of course, referring to the Mayday celebration and the May Court. There were reasons behind its retirement, but we feel these reasons were unwarranted. We would like to revise and re-initiate this time-honored tradition at Salem for a new generation of sisters. The reasons for doing so are as follows:
1. Alumnae can speak for how beautiful and fun the Mayday celebration was. The colorful dance of ribbons around the Maypole, the flowering Maydell in the Spring, and the excitement of choosing the May Court were an important part of the Salem experience.
2. Mayday is a far less financially strenuous tradition than Fall Fest, or even its so-called replacement, "Spring Fest." While these latter traditions involve special catering/food services, outside entertainment,etc., Mayday requires at its core a Maypole and ribbons. The springtime Maydell provides any extra scenic qualities.
3. Mayday celebrates the beauty not only of Spring, but also of our campus. We feel that a Spring tradition held in the Maydell recognizes the seasonal beauty of Salem's campus. The Maydell is a unique place and we should allow it to regain its former ceremonial importance as a Spring-related event location (hence, Maydell). This would also mean more gorgeous Springtime pictures of Salem Sisters in the Maydell in our yearbooks and publications (and perhaps even our admissions materials).
4. Mayday is one of the few seasonal celebrations at our college that comes from a matriarchal cultural background. There are so many seasonal traditions from patriarchal, Western religious traditions such as Christianity, etc, but Mayday comes directly from Goddess-centric cultures. It celebrates creativity, fertility, youth, and the the power of the reawakening earth during the Spring Equinox. This female spiritual and creative energy is at the heart of Salem sisterhood, and Mayday is a beautiful way of celebrating it.
5. While other colleges have standard traditions such as Homecoming in the Spring, the Mayday celebration is almost entirely unique to Salem. If we have an exciting and unique Fall festival at Salem, we should also have a Spring one.
Rather than follow the Homecoming model of only senior couples, we want to include all of our Salem sisters, both young and old. Keeping this in mind, the court would be as follows:
1. May Queen (Senior)
2. Junior Lady-in-Waiting
3. Sophomore Lady-In-Waiting
4. First Year Lady-in-Waiting
The Queen and her court should embody the characteristics of imagination, creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and Salem Spirit. The May Queen and her court are crowned at and preside over the Mayday celebration and festivities.
We understand that the selection of the May Court was one of the reasons for Mayday's retirement as a Salem Tradition. We want to revise the process for nomination and election of the May Court so that it more resembles the choosing of the Class Spirit awards. Nominations would begin in the last week of April in the refectory, with each class voting for their choice separately and anonymously via paper ballot. The court will be chosen from the highest nominees from each class and announced in the Refectory at the end of the week. In the event of a tie for the Ladies-in-waiting, that class will have two Ladies-in-Waiting. In the event of a tie for May Queen, we will have a final vote by the Senior class in the refectory. If the highest nominee does not wish to become Queen or a lady-in-waiting, the position goes to the next highest nominee, and so forth.
We hope you will seriously consider the reinstating of this beautiful Salem tradition,
The Undersigned
Dear Administration of Salem College and Student Activities (and others concerned),
Salem is a college rich in traditions. We have a beautiful heritage that we celebrate in many ways: we incorporate the Moravian traditions (such as the community Love Feast), kick off the year with the energy of Fall Fest, and celebrate the Big Sis/Lil Sis dynamic throughout the year with events like Sophomore-Senior. We could name many other current traditions and their importance, but there is one particular retired Salem tradition that we feel needs to return. This tradition is simple, energetic, beautiful, and women-oriented, and until the late 60s was an important celebration as recognizable as Fall Fest. We are, of course, referring to the Mayday celebration and the May Court. There were reasons behind its retirement, but we feel these reasons were unwarranted. We would like to revise and re-initiate this time-honored tradition at Salem for a new generation of sisters. The reasons for doing so are as follows:
1. Alumnae can speak for how beautiful and fun the Mayday celebration was. The colorful dance of ribbons around the Maypole, the flowering Maydell in the Spring, and the excitement of choosing the May Court were an important part of the Salem experience.
2. Mayday is a far less financially strenuous tradition than Fall Fest, or even its so-called replacement, "Spring Fest." While these latter traditions involve special catering/food services, outside entertainment,etc., Mayday requires at its core a Maypole and ribbons. The springtime Maydell provides any extra scenic qualities.
3. Mayday celebrates the beauty not only of Spring, but also of our campus. We feel that a Spring tradition held in the Maydell recognizes the seasonal beauty of Salem's campus. The Maydell is a unique place and we should allow it to regain its former ceremonial importance as a Spring-related event location (hence, Maydell). This would also mean more gorgeous Springtime pictures of Salem Sisters in the Maydell in our yearbooks and publications (and perhaps even our admissions materials).
4. Mayday is one of the few seasonal celebrations at our college that comes from a matriarchal cultural background. There are so many seasonal traditions from patriarchal, Western religious traditions such as Christianity, etc, but Mayday comes directly from Goddess-centric cultures. It celebrates creativity, fertility, youth, and the the power of the reawakening earth during the Spring Equinox. This female spiritual and creative energy is at the heart of Salem sisterhood, and Mayday is a beautiful way of celebrating it.
5. While other colleges have standard traditions such as Homecoming in the Spring, the Mayday celebration is almost entirely unique to Salem. If we have an exciting and unique Fall festival at Salem, we should also have a Spring one.
Rather than follow the Homecoming model of only senior couples, we want to include all of our Salem sisters, both young and old. Keeping this in mind, the court would be as follows:
1. May Queen (Senior)
2. Junior Lady-in-Waiting
3. Sophomore Lady-In-Waiting
4. First Year Lady-in-Waiting
The Queen and her court should embody the characteristics of imagination, creativity, energy, enthusiasm, and Salem Spirit. The May Queen and her court are crowned at and preside over the Mayday celebration and festivities.
We understand that the selection of the May Court was one of the reasons for Mayday's retirement as a Salem Tradition. We want to revise the process for nomination and election of the May Court so that it more resembles the choosing of the Class Spirit awards. Nominations would begin in the last week of April in the refectory, with each class voting for their choice separately and anonymously via paper ballot. The court will be chosen from the highest nominees from each class and announced in the Refectory at the end of the week. In the event of a tie for the Ladies-in-waiting, that class will have two Ladies-in-Waiting. In the event of a tie for May Queen, we will have a final vote by the Senior class in the refectory. If the highest nominee does not wish to become Queen or a lady-in-waiting, the position goes to the next highest nominee, and so forth.
We hope you will seriously consider the reinstating of this beautiful Salem tradition,
The Undersigned