SALEM

SALEM.

Society of Ateneo Literature and English Majors.

The first time I heard this, it came from Pam, my classmate in college. It was a club specifically for English and Literature majors in the Humanities Division. However, it was disbanded way before we came in the ADDU as college newbies. She was interested in opening up a club for us English majors (since the Masscomm pipz had one already) and we were to be the resurrected version of the club sans the Literature part (since Ateneo wasn't offering the course anymore).

The idea, however, never caught on with us. Looking back, I guess it was because no one had a good vision of what the club should be. Pam had floated the idea that we will be the ones responsible for "The Human Voice" from now on, the newsletter of the Humanities Division, but we all knew that was the Masscomm people's territory and responsibility. I had thought of the club as a starting point to galvanize and gather the English majors around, especially the younger ones, but, upon closer examination, I again thought that forming a club for that sole purpose is simply overkill.

 But the idea did live on, this time, with another set of protagonists. Sir Dom, another classmate of mine, the formerly genius interloper turned genius teacher, had set up the club all by himself. Soon, other students caught on and joined and SALEM was officially back in business. 

I have to give credit to Sir Dom. He had the tenacity to make it happen but, above all else, he knew what the club should be. He thought of the club as a nurturing ground for potential writers and built from there. Then, the camaraderie and friendship followed naturally. Looking back, I didn't think of it that way. That was how limited my vision was for the idea.

Right now, I'm part of SALEM's list in Facebook. Every now and then, I receive a notification from the group, as if I had any part of the club. Most of the time, I treat these notifications as a nuisance but, then again, I check the links out and admire the kids who made SALEM possible once more. 

All kudos to you. You guys are great.