Know Your State College English Departments Simply Based on Their Website, Part One: Salem State College

State schools are plucky. Massachusetts state colleges are pluckier than most. When you're the (sort of) next door neighbor to the Harvards and M.I.T.s of the world, you need to put your best foot forward to get recognized. It doesn't matter if that foot is wearing busted up Chuck Taylors while the Harvard foot wears Berluti leather loafers. It's all in the presentation. So, in an attempt to learn more about our Massachusetts state college brethren, it's time to examine the English department websites of all state colleges and see what they put out there to the general public for all to learn about them.

First up: Salem State College

The Salem State College English Department main web site grabs your attention with a stylish home page of orange and blue borders, which gives all the allure and intrigue of The Netherlands without having to travel there. Likewise, the main page offers color photography of a professor reading to students. It's a known fact that 75% of all college students don't read the assignment given by a professor, so Salem State's English Department is nothing if not practical with their photography choices.

The Welcome! refers to English majors as "knowledge-workers." What this means exactly isn't defined. I'll try that one the next time I'm in a job interview though. Likewise, right below the Welcome! we're told Salem State's English Department has declared Sarah Orne Jewett as their writer of the year. Considering that Jewett has been dead since 1909, this can't come a moment too soon.

Diving a little deeper, the News and Events page lets us know that...umm...err...well, no event is planned all year. That's okay though, because I'm sure they're just going for a very minimalist vibe, which is all the rage. They're like the Raymond Carver of web pages--cutting things down to just their core.

Salem State's English Department, like all good English Departments, runs a writing center, which they cleverly name The Writing Center. (Again, with the minimalist vibe.) They quote one happy user of The Writing Center, a gentleman named "Senior, Criminal Justice," who has this to say about his experience: "The Center can help all students, even the best of writers." I hope Cormac McCarthy is listening.

When it comes to their English Department In the Community...yeeeaah, about that. It's probably best if we skip that.

The real bread and butter of Salem State's English Department comes through with their Red Skies page. It's kind of like FSC's little Toolbox blog here, except with 50% more romantic title page photography, and 100% less blog-y sarcasm. Look at that photo. It almost inspires someone to spontaneously burst out into some Christopher Cross songs.

Ahh, that does the trick.

Red Skies isn't entirely run by the English majors at the college. Math and International Business majors apparently work on it, too, which is smart thinking on Salem State's part. It shows we English majors aren't an elitist bunch. Okay, so, sure, we are an elitist bunch, but it's good to be friendly to others. If anything, Red Skies actually has a pulse, and a steady one at that. It posts news-y type stories around campus, while also publishing poetry and creative writing pieces from those with the Salem State College community--AND lets you know about some local establishments in the Salem, MA, area you should check out. It's like a Zagat Guide, except it's actually readable. We would do that for Fitchburg, but all we have is McDonald's. Red Skies is also willing to post letters emailed in, except they "reserve the right to edit all letters for length, spelling, and usage." That's a mistake if you ask me. If some random person writes an angry letter full of typos, you should publish it all in its mildly illiterate glory. It only promotes the need for an English Department more.

So, here's to you, Salem State College English Department. Your Red Skies shall forever be the Toolbox's sibling. May your own Chuck Taylors never trip you up.

Now, get going on the Sarah Orne Jewett party. No rush though. She'll still be dead for another hundred years most likely.