
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 31, 1990                   TAG: 9006010352
SECTION: NEIGHBORS                    PAGE: S-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BOBBIE SLOUGH
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

SALEM HIGH SENIORS KNOW HOW TO SHOW THEY CARE

With about 230 graduates, Salem High School's class of '90 is "the last big class" at the school. The number of students, however, hasn't kept this year's class from being unified.

"It's not a big school," says senior Greg Smith. "Everybody basically knows each other."

This year's seniors rallied to support their football team, which was undefeated during the regular season, and led efforts to encourage environmental awareness throughout the school.

After graduation, many of the graduates will be moving out of the area, with only some of them planning to return.

"I'll probably come back to live here because I like it a lot," says Smith. "I'd want my kids to go to Salem."

Class president Forest Jones agrees. "I want to come back here and teach," says Jones. "The community is really strong."

"It's just a great place," says senior Maryellen Lilly. "It's accessible to lots of other regions."

This year's Salem seniors are committed to preserving the natural beauty of the valley.

Salem High School took the 20th annual Earth Day to heart, mounting a recycling drive that is still going on. In fact, two members of the senior class attended a School Board meeting to protest the use of foam containers in the school's cafeteria.

In explaining their classmates' concern for the environment, Smith, Jones and Lilly cited the recent focus on the environment in the media. "We've got more knowledge [about damage to the environment]," says Smith. "We don't want to grow up in a world that's going to be like that."

"We're all starting to think about the future," says Jones. "That's a big concern of all of us right now."

Salem High School's administration plans to use input from this year's class in planning the future of the school.

Through a long-term study of the 1990 graduates, this year's seniors will not only know and remember each other, but they may keep in touch with the high school long after graduation. The study, consisting of questionnaires distributed to 1990 graduates periodically after graduation, will keep up with how they're doing in college or in the job market.

The frequent contact with recent alumni will help the school evaluate its programs and even help the class organize reunions. "There are bound to be some people who won't keep in contact," says Lilly, "but I think most people will make an effort to make it work."

by CNB