Board Thread:Speculation House/@comment-96.83.77.89-20160531153516/@comment-26955524-20160531213954

Personally, I'm more interested in who Salem is on a SYMBOLIC level. Most (if not all) of the characters in RWBY represent or allude to fairy tale characters (such a Ruby being Red Riding Hood or Weiss being Snow White), mythological characters (such as Jaune being Joan or Arc or Ren being Mulan) or even historical and real life characters (such as Coco being Coco Chanel).

With this in mind, I can only think of one person Salem represents: -Ozpin= The Wizard of Oz
 * First, look at her name.  Salem.  One of American histories most famous (or infamous depending on how you look at it) events was the Salem witch trials of the 1600s, in which peoplewere accused of and executed for Witchcraft.  Because of this, the name Salem has ties to the occult and witchcraft.
 * Second, look at Ozpin's group; the one put together to secretly protect humanity.  Not counting the other two unnamed headmasters, let's look at their representations:

-Glynda Goodwitch= Glinda, the good witch of the South (in the original book.  In the MGM movie, she the good witch of the north)

-Ironwood= The Tin Woodsman

-Qrow= The Scarecrow (granted Qrow and Ironwood's representation is more fan speculation)

With these parameters in mind, I predeict that Salem alludes to and represents the Wicked Witch of the West