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THE PHOENIX 1 FEBRUARY 28. 2008 • THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE l9 I M*ipWM rt^O» Stroke of brilliance Jennie Lewis 'OB and Anne Miller 'lO set a conference record in the 100-yard butterfly and move on to the nationals. A walkthrough of David Kemp, scheduled to house students next fail, reveals that construction is nearing completion, p. 4. Comedian Margaret Cho, acclaimed for her defiance of cultural and gender stereotypes, performed in LPAC this weekend, p. 10 & 12. Yoshi Johnson laments lackluster observance of Black History Month and the disconnect between practice and principle, p. 19.
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Getting the cold shoulder... Wintry precipitation over the weekend drove some students into hibernation. Others stepped out for sledding and snowball fights, but not everyone was happy about the weather. David Mai Phoenix Staff February 21, 2008 BBEam BHHHHHHHHBIHHi PHOENtX.SWARTHMORE.EDU EDITORIAL BOARD lan Yarett Editor in Chief Mara Revkin Managing Editor Jack Keefe News Editor Rosario Paz Assistant News Editor Tiffany Llao Living & Arts Editor Alex Ho Assistant Living & Arts Editor Anna Zalokostas Assistant Living & Arts Editor David Burgy Opinions Editor Lauren Mendoza Assistant Opinions Editor Josh Abel Sports Editor Caitlin Adams Chief Copy Editor Elena Chopyak Assistant Chief Copy Editor Robert Manduca Photo Editor Eric Loul Assistant Photo Editor Meghan Downle Graphics Editor Ben Raphel Web Content Editor Andrew LeClair Webmaster BUSINESS STAFF Tally Sharma Director of Business Development Linda Huang Advertising Manager Hena Choi Circulation Manager STAFF Matt Bleiman Reporter Rosario Paz Reporter Sarah Peterson Reporter Mary Prager Reporter Hannah Purkey Reporter Yingjia Wang Reporter Liana Katz Living & Arts Writer Joan Kim Living & Arts Writer Leah Rethy Living & Arts Writer Natalie Bowlus Living & Arts Columnist Julian Chender Living & Arts Columnist Adam Daiva Living & Arts Columnist Alex Ho Living & Arts Columnist Meagan Hu Living & Arts Columnist Alexandra Israel Living & Arts Columnist Marin Odle Living & Arts Columnist Molly Plels Living & Arts Columnist Anita Zalokostas Living & Arts Columnist Abigail Graber Movie Critic Apolline Berty Living & Arts Artist Maria Khim Living & Arts Artist Diana Pozo Living & Arts Artist Alyssa Work Living & Arts Artist Greta Plttenger Crossword Writer Maryanne Tomazlc Crossword Writer Julia Wrobel Crossword Writer Benjamin Bradlow Opinions Columnist Yusha Hu Opinions Columnist Ybshi Johnson Opinions Columnist Lauren Mendoza Opinions Columnist Ben Van Zee Opinions Columnist Sam Goodman Op-Arttst Meredith Leich Op-Artist Kevin Friedenberg Sports Columnist Dheeraj Ravi Sports Columnist Jaymes Fairfax-Columbo Sports Writer Melinda Petre Sports Writer Lauren Walker Sports Writer Natalie Bowlus Copy Editor Eric Holzhauer Copy Editor Greta Pitteiiger Copy Editor Hena Choi Photogapher David Mai Photographer Katherine Koch Photographer Elba Lopez Photographer Yimei Zou Photographer Esteila Baker Graphic Designer Diana Pozo Staff Artist CONTRIBUTORS Nyika Corbett, Seth Green, Laura Keeler, Genevra Pittman TO ADVERTISE: E-mail: phoeniX_ads@swarthmore,edu Advertising phone: (610) 328-8172 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Direct advertising requests to Linda Huang or Tally Sharma. The Phoenix reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Advertising rates subject to change. CONTACT INFORMATION Offices: Parrish Hall 470-472 E-mail: phoenix@swarthmore.edu Newsroom phone: {6lo} 328-8172 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Mail subscriptions are available for $6O a year or $35 a semester. Direct subscription requests to Hena Choi. The Phoenix is printed at the Delaware County Daily Times in Primos, Pa. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. All contents copyright © 2008 The Phoenix. All fights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission. A swimmingly good season The men's and women's swim teams topped off an exhilerating season with numerous records and two NCAA qualifiers at the Centennial Conference Championships. Cover art: Meghan Downie Phoenix Staff Corner photo: Katherine Koch Phoenix Staff The problem of speaking out A string of fliers sparks issues of discussion that go beyond the question of anonymity - what defines open discourse on campus? Opposites really do attract A biology seminar has developed a t-shirt smelling experiment to test the hypothesis that hormonal dissimilarities increase the likelihood of attraction between individuals. ID Library conduct speaks volumes Molly Piels and Mairin Odle review the fundamentals of library etiquette and urge students to exercise discretion in decibels. 13 Middle Eastern Culture Week The Middle Eastern Culture Society is organizing an array of workshops and performances to celebrate cultural and culinary traditions from the Middle East. The fame factor Lauren Mendoza takes issue with the distortive influence of celebrity endorsements on the political landscape. An inappropriate appropriation Ben Brad low rejects the College Republicans' claim that their choice of terminology in a recent publicity campaign is an expression of the group's marginality. On track for the championships With the Conference Championships fast approaching, the women's track team cranked out numerous season-best and Conference qualifying performances at the Keogh and Princeton invitationals. Quote of the week "I am wondering why a merciful God would ever make me a distance swimmer... [Nonetheless] I am really glad with my performance last weekend. Add to that my love of big, shiny objects and you have a recipe for a great time." Andrew Frampton 'OB Editor's Picks graphics courtesy of: www.olympic.org, www.elitheman.com, www.garcya.us, www.zvrk.co.yu
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News Student Council tables ammendment to SBC process BY MATT BLEIMAN mbleimal@swarthmore.edu A controversy recently emerged between the Student Council and the Student Budget Committee over SBC's process of appealing decisions regarding receipts. Student Council is considering an amendment to their constitution to change the way such issues are handled, though they recently tabled the issue. Members of Student Council were concerned that cases have been brought up in which students were rejected reimbursement of large receipts because they bought small-cost personal items, such as coffee or a sandwich, on the same receipt that they bought materials refundable by SBC. According to the current regulations, SBC can either accept the appeal for repayment as stated or reject it. Student Council wants to change the language of the laws so that there could be partial receipt refunds for purchases if a student accidentally bought personal items on the same receipt. The right to an appeal is already an explicit part of the SBC bylaws, and those seeking reimbursement from SBC are reminded of that right. If an individual seeking reimbursement is unhappy with a decision made by any of the focus funding groups he or she can appeal to SBC and after that to Student Council. There are certain receipt issues that are unlikely to be successfully appealed to SBC, however. For example, if one disobeys the rules of the Social Affairs Committee, then SBC is obligated to refuse reimbursement of funds. Paul Apollo 'O9, who serves on Student Council as Student Groups Advisor and also on SBC, said that there is a rule against crossing items off a receipt before handing it in. "People do that occasionally, not very often, and SBC says you can't have your money so they appeal that to Student Council," he said. According to the Student Council's constitution, Student Council can either reimburse all of the money or none of it when they hear an appeal. This becomes a problem when Student Council mandates that SBC gives back all of the money to one person and then sets a precedent that others will see and may try to exploit. Apollo said that in the past students sometimes manipulated receipts to buy alcohol with SAC money. Student Council wants to be able to give back a portion of the money but not all of it in cases where personal items are on the same receipt as refundable ones, potentially to find a work-around for the problem of precedent. Council members recently discussed a system where students would be reimbursed for a portion of their receipt and be levied a fine, but not lose all the money for a simple mistake."Student Council would be able to change the amount on any funding decision that SBC made because it would have given Student Council discretionary power over how much money to give anyone [under the proposed ammendment]," Apollo said. According to Apollo, individuals seeking reimbursement would then be able to ask Student Council for more money if they were not happy with how much they received from SBC. The tenor of Student Council's current appeal-granting power suggests that this function is to ensure that any egregious mistakes by SBC, such as large breaks from precedent and SBC bylaws, can be corrected. However, SBC wanted to know that Student Council trusted them to make the right decisions. "We on SBC felt that we were better stewards and it was our job to make that kind of decision," Apollo said. Student Council President Peter Gardner 'OB said that he agreed with SBC, as SBC exists specifically to deal with the money issues and it would be "redundant" if Student Council also served this function. "From Student Council's point of view, the reason we didn't go ahead with [the ammendment] is because ... SBC made very compelling arguments ... [and] we don't necessarily want to take on that. There is a reason that we delegated that responsibility," Gardner said. Furthermore, Gardner worried that this would increase the time Student Council would have to spend overall on appeals. In addition to Council's worries about having too much power over SAC money, they also heard SBC's concerns. SBC sent an open letter to Student Council addressing their objections to the amendment, which indicated that the amendment undermined the purpose of SBC. The letter claimed that SBC is more knowledgeable of the budget and bylaws and better equipped to render fair judgments. In the concluding statement, the letter reads, "[The SBC bylaws] not only act as a 'checks and balances' system for student government, but also ensure that each specific decision is made with the utmost knowledge and objective judgment so that a diverse Swarthmore student life may flourish." In the letter, SBC encouraged further dialogue with Student Council. SBC Manager Giannina Esquivel and other SBC members did not reply to e-mail requests for comment on these issues. Student Council Vice President Sven Udekwu 'O9 said, "The SBC wisely brought up the issue that they are tied by institutional rules and policies that set them to be very fair. We would end up where future councils would be able to overturn SBC decisions right and left ... It would remove another check." Apollo explained that SBC is set up to ensure that they treat everyone equally, in that they must follow precedents according to their by-laws. He said that the ability of Student Council to look at other factors than fairness when making their decision would not necessarily be as fair. Instead of going through with an amendment, Student Council decided to take a different path. They will be meeting with SBC and SAC to discuss the best way to address the issue. One of the issues left to deal with is handing in receipts late. "We can't really give much ground on [crossing things off receipts] but since the two-week line is pretty much an arbitrary line as to when to turn in receipts because we need to pick some time ... we've decided to move to a system whereby you'll be fined a certain percentage of the receipt for every week you're late," Apollo said. The change is slated to take effect pending SAC and Student Council approval. SBC hopes that the revised policy will encourage students to submit receipts in a timely manner, as students who fail to meet the deadline risk forfeiting their reimbursements. "[The amendment] is worth talking about because it's not dead forever and all of the issues surrounding the amendment are still around," Apollo said. "Nothing has really been solved, we've just decided to go about the problem in a different way." "Since the two-week line is pretty much an arbitrary line ... [SBC] has decided to move to a system whereby you'll be fined a certain percentage of the receipt for every week you're late." Paul Apollo 'O9 Student Groups Advisor SBC Member NEWS IN BRIEF Bayer named Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations, seeks to increase donations to the college After a search process that began in October of last year, the college recently announced the promotion of Director of Development Stephen Bayer to the role of Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations. Bayer replaces Dan West, who retired last semester; In this role, Bayer will spearhead much of the college's fundraising efforts. According to Associate Vice President of Human Resources Melanie Young, Bayer was selected from a field of 22 initial candidates. Of these candidates, seven were selected for interviews and three advanced onto the final round of the selection process. Throughout the process, Bayer was the only internal candidate considered. Despite the seemingly inherent benefits of having Swarthmore experience, Vice President Maurice lldridge '6l, who helped review the candidates, said that being a familiar candidate is not entirely advantageous. "There is a disadvantage in that you are known better than the outside people because we know your strengths and your weaknesses," Eldridge said. Bayer's previous positions at the college include Associate Director for Planned Giving, Director of Capital Gifts, Director • of Principal Gifts, and most recently, Director of Development. Before coming to Swarthmore in 2001, Bayer worked in the legal and business fields. Following an abandoned entrepreneurial venture, Bayer came to Swarthmore after answering a job advertisement that sought someone with a law and financial background who had fundraising experience, three qualities that he possessed. The transition from working in the for-profit to the non-profit sector was a satisfying one for Bayer. "I had visions of grandeur, and working for a non-profit wasn't the first thing I had come to mind," Bayer said. "But then I stepped on campus and realized [that Swat was] a place with bright people who were passionate about what they do. It really drew me in and made me love this place." Bayer lists some of his greatest accomplishments in his seven years at Swarthmore thus far as fostering better commimication within the staff, hiring quality talent, strengthening ties with international alumni, raising significant amounts of money and attracting new donors to the college. He points to the importance of explaining to current and potential donors the reason that the school needs to fundraise as a major chaDenge in his role in the Development Office. "One of the greatest difficulties is elucidating that there is still a tremendous need to raise money despite the fact that we have a large endowment," he said. ''Helping alumni and friends understand that the large endowment that we have is generated largely from wonderful investment growth is difficult. We only spend about 4% of our endowment a year, and this enables us to make sure that the college can continue maintaining its excellence going forward," Bayer said. BY YINGJIA WANG "There is a disadvantage [in being an inside candidate] because we know your strengths and weaknesss." Maurice Eldridge '6l Vice President i ■* ■ "There is still a tremendous need to raise money despite the... large endowment" Stephen Bayer Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 3
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Kemp hall walkthrough suggests completion by Fall 2008 BY MARY PRAGER mpragerl@swarthmore.edu Members of the construction team (left) have been hard at work to keep the project on track for its scheduled completion in June. A floor plan of the ground level (right) displays the dimensions of rooms that will be available to student s in the upcoming housing lottery. David Kemp Hall will be complete and ready to welcome new residents in time for Alumni Weekend in June, and more importantly, for the upcoming fall semester. Construction is proceeding on schedule and without glitches, and The Phoenix took a special tour of the interior."We have 90 percent of the underground and the drainage complete," Project Manager Mike Boyd said as he took Phoenix news reporter Mary Prager 'll and photographer Katherine Koch 'OB on a guided tour of the hall. In addition, all of the heating, air conditioning, electric, and plumbing utilities have been completed. Furniture for the dorm rooms will arrive on May 15, and within the next two weeks, construction workers will focus on finishing up rooms, landscaping and building a stone plaza. "So we're well on our way," Boyd said. Boyd showed The Phoenix a spacious single with natural light flooding in on the second floor. "This might be an RA's [room]," he said. Electrical wiring, not yet connected to a bulb or other fixture, extended from the wall. The walls were painted white, the floor uncarpeted so that residents and maintenance will not have to deal with stains, he said. Other rooms were not as far along. The bottom third of a wall was covered in what appears to be black paint, but is actually waterproofing. In the same area a sediment of cement and sedum was visible, and above that was a material called green board, which is resistant to mildew and moisture. Later along the tour, Boyd led the staff to a single with wide windows overlooking the green roof— his favorite, he said. Boyd explained that the windows are thermal double-paired and filled with argon gas. "Probably the best energy value you can get out of a window," he said. "We're checking to make sure everything is [Americans with Disabilities Act] compliant," Boyd said. He walked the staff around another room. It was still dusty and not completely tiled, but it was unmistakably a bathroom. Boyd discussed the water system, a pumped water loop that circulates hot water near faucets to provide on-demand heat. According to Boyd, the construction team has managed to avoid any significant problems. "We have a fantastic architect, Rawn Associates," Boyd said. "And the construction crew is just amazing." Ensuring ADA compliancy is a meticulous task for the crew, because the regulations prohibit any deviation from the federal standards for handicap accessible design. Regarding the recent settlement between the college and the Department of Justice, Boyd discussed plans to hire a consultant firm to work with the college to help identify problems. "Overall, the construction's going great," Housing Coordinator Liz Derickson 'Ol said. On Wednesday, Derickson is scheduled to take her second tour of the dorm this year. As the housing lotteries approach, Derickson and the Housing Committee have been discussing next year's housing. Last week, they met to discuss how rooms in the new hall should be blocked. Projected to house 76 residents in the fall, Kemp is likely to be a popular choice for next year, although the RA application forms that Derickson has reviewed so far do not precisely reflect this. "I wouldn't say [David Kemp HallJ's been wildly popular ... but it also clearly hasn't gone unnoticed," Derickson says. David Kemp Hall is structurally related to Alice Paul, so the aesthetics of the building are not new future residents will know what to expect. There are no lofted doubles, but the dorm has the tall windows and minimalist aesthetic of Alice Paul, said Derickson, who added that Kemp is designed to function in tandem with Alice Paul including sharing the red lounge and a courtyard with a grill! While the dorm's completion and opening are sure to be exciting for all, residents of Alice Paul and Mertz will be particularly relieved once the construction finishes. Only 35 feet separate Kemp and the closest section of Mertz, and for Alice Paul, only ten, not nearly enough to shelter residents from the bangs and clangs of construction.According to second floor Mertz RA Susannah Gund 'OB, Mike Boyd gave Mertz and Alice Paul RAs a special tour of the dorm in the fall of 2007. Boyd also sends e-mail updates to residents regarding the construction. Like other RAs in Mertz and Alice Paul, Gund has had to deal with residents' complaints regarding the noise and other problems. Gund lives on the south side of Mertz, which is near the construction, but closer to the center of the dorm. "I've gotten fewer complaints now, but I think that's because the people who've had major sound problems or other concerns may have contacted Mike Boyd or Liz Derickson," she said. A more recent issue has been the closing off of the driveway behind Mertz. Gund said that people can no longer pull up their cars. Regardless, Gund was excited about the new dorm. A new circular driveway will lead up to the back of David Kemp Hall, facing Chester Road. "We're eliminating the circle that used to be behind Mertz, leaving a narrow lane for service vehicles," Boyd said. "Now that it's more interior work, I think there's been a fundamental shift," Derickson said with regard to complaints made by residents of Mertz and Alice Paul. The loudest construction was due to the exterior work, said Derickson, most of which was done in the fall, and particularly the masonry. The beeping sound emitted by vehicles backing up is still noisy, but necessary, and, she said, the more acute disturbances have stopped. As residents of Alice Paul in particular have noticed, rainy weather floods the path that winds around the stored construction equipment on Mertz lawn. When the weather clears up, the contractor plans to raise the path to prevent such flooding. One of the final steps in the completion of the dorm will be removing the equipment placed on Mertz lawn, and opening up that pathway. "To be able to use Mertz lawns as a storage place was a big help for the construction," Boyd said. The construction workers will reestablish the land as a lawn. Katherine Koch Phoenix Staff Courtesy of Mike Boyd Katherine Koch Phoenix Staff A stairwell in David Kemp Hall provides a view of Mertz lawn, which will soon be cleared of equipment and debris. News phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 4
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Rigger talks of interrelationship of Taiwan, US & China The Friends of Taiwan and the political science department hosted a lecture by Professor Shelley Rigger of Davidson College on Tuesday in which she spoke about the recent elections and their effects on future politics in Taiwan. The lecture, entitled "Taiwan's 2008 Elections: Breaking New Ground?" concentrated on the 2008 legislative elections as well as the legacy of the current president, and their effects on Taiwan's future. This was one ofFoT's first large-scale events since being chartered. Aleta Hong 'O9, a member ofFoT and an organizer of the event, considered it a success. "It was a great event," Hong said. "Rigger really knows her stuff. She is articulate and engaging, especially if you don't know everything about Taiwan already. It was very informative."Rigger is a Brown associate professor of East Asian politics at Davidson College and a leading expert on Taiwanese affairs, according to Tyrene White, professor of political science at Swarthmore. She is the author of two books, including "From Opposition to Power: Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party," as well as numerous publications. Phoenix staff writer Hannah Pur key recently sat down with Rigger to discuss the current political situation of Taiwan: Hannah Purkey: Why are you interested in studying Taiwan? Shelley Rigger: There are really two reasons. One was, when I was an undergraduate, I had a chance to do a research project in Taiwan the summer after my junior year. So I went over and just had a fantastic time. So I was always kind of interested, but I assumed when I went to graduate school I would work in the Mainland China field. I was just preparing to do dissertation research in China on minority politics, Islamic minorities in China, in June of 1989. But the Tiananmen crisis in June of 1989 made a lot of Americans think, we're just never going back there [China]; there was this strong emotional response that we can't continue to do business as usual with China. The dissertation I wanted to do was politically risky even before a big political crackdown in China. So I had to find another topic and someone suggested writing about Taiwan. Taiwan is an easy place to work, I already had some familiarity with the place, and I knew I could get the research done. Also at that time Taiwan was a really interesting case in the democrization field, so there was interest in political science as well as people interested in china in the Taiwan story. So that is how I ended up getting back in Taiwan again in the early '9os. HP: You spoke about the recent elections, but exactly how democratic is Taiwan? SR: It is really democratic at this point. People sometimes complain about vote fraud and things like that but I think there is actually very little of that kind of thing. The main problems with Taiwan's political system have to do with more how well the political system functions as opposed to whether or not it is democratic. There is a lot of static between the legislative and executive branches in Taiwan because the constitution doesn't make it clear enough whether it is a presidential system or a parliamentary system. You have problems like that, but those aren't problems with democracy as much as they are problems with government. But in terms of things like freedom of speech, there is almost too much. But there is this one problem, which is that there is one issue, and it is a huge and important issue to everyone, that can't be resolved in a democratic way. That is the question of what is Taiwan's relationship to China. That I think is the interesting point. If we take certain topics off the table, can you still be democratic? I think you can. We [the U.S.] have taken outlawing Islam off the table from our constitution, so I think that we always restrict ourselves in a democracy. We say there are certain things we will not decide; we will not let the majority rule because they are too important. For Taiwan the independence question is one like that, but it is hard for many people to accept. HP: What will be the long-term relationship between China and Taiwan? SR: The best case scenario, which I think is also the likeliest scenario, is that things will stabilize as they are and will go on that way for a couple more decades until people in Taiwan and China decide that neither one needs to be somehow under the other, but that maybe they can be together under a third flag. So something like the British Commonwealth meets the European Union. I think that is a very realistic prospect. What will prevent that from happening is if China loses patience, there is a crisis or collapse in China and the Chinese government needs to use Taiwan to prove its metal to the Chinese people. That is the most likely scenario for military conflict that would make this peaceful outcome not work. TP: So there will be integration? SR: There is already a lot of integration at the economic and cultural level, and we know from the EU that you can have separate political sovereignties and states that are very interconnected and think of themselves as meaningfully joined but are still also meaningfully separate. We do have models for that. TP: What is the nature of this political resistance of moving closer to China? SR: The Chinese government's position is that Taiwan needs to become part of the People's Republic of China under the communist party, and that is something very hard for the Taiwanese to understand, how they can continue to be democratic in the way that they are and also be under the PRC. That is why this idea of a union of equals is so important. The Chinese government sometimes says that is what they want, but they don't really mean it or they don't say it often enough or firmly enough for people in Taiwan to believe it. TP: How do you think the U.S.'s investment and dependence on China effects Taiwan and its future relations with China? SR: The funny thing is you might think that it would be bad for Taiwan and for the U.S. to have so much investment in China, but nobody has more investment in China than Taiwan. The Taiwanese have already committed their economy to China, so I think it is actually good for Taiwan if the U.S. and China have good relations. That will help Taiwanese business in Taiwan and China to prosper, and it also creates some credible opportunities. Americans trust Taiwanese managers more than PRC managers, and many Taiwanese managers have better English skills as well as better international experience. U.S. investors in China also rely heavily on the Taiwanese; it is good for them, too. TP: What has been the effect of the leak in the defense department about the U.S. selling weapons to Taiwan? At a talk co-hosted by Friends of Taiwan and the department of political science, professor Shelley Rigger gave an overview of the state of presidential politics in Taiwan. SR: I think the whole issue of arms sales and so on has become very complicated and politicized. The PRC has never wanted the U.S. to sell weapons to Taiwan; it has been a point of contention from the moment Nixon went to China, and it has never really been resolved. American policy makers have to manage that issue. The U.S. is resolved to help Taiwan defend itself, but it is sometimes really complicated when the Taiwanese don't seem resolved to help themselves. I think it is one of those issues that is always with us, but I don't think it has ever been fatal to any of these relationships. All three sides have decided that there are other things that are more important, so they will fuss at each other over arms sales, but the basic pattern is pretty set. "That is why the idea of a union of equals is so important. The Chinese government sometimes says that is what they want, but they don't really mean it." Shelley Rigger Professor, Davidson College "The U.S. is resolved to help Taiwan defend itself, but it is sometimes really complicated when the Taiwanese don't seem resolved to help themselves." Shelley Rigger Professor, Davidson College Hena Choi Phoenix Staff News phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 5 ADVERTISEMENT WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY ■ SUMMER LANGUAGE INSTITUTE Arabic French 2 semesters of language credit in 4 weeks of immersion June 2-27,2008 Wesleyan University Middletown, CT APPLY NOW! www.wesleyan.edu/summer For more information call 860-586-2900 or email summer@wesleyan.edu ft 508111 WESLEYAN
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Board raises 2008 tuition BY ROSARIO PAZ rpazl@swarthmore.edu At the Board of Managers Meeting held this past weekend, Board member Gil Kemp '72 pledged to support the recent "No Loans" decision with a donation of $lO for every dollar raised from current students or their parents for the cause. Other issues discussed at the semi-annual Board meeting were a 4.6 percent increase in tuition and student fees for the 2008-2009 school year, increases to the student activity fee, further development of the inn proposal and approval of the college budget, according to Vice President Maurice Eldridge '6l According to Eldridge, part of the discussion at the Board of Managers centered on the yearly budget of the college and potential fundraising initiatives to support the "No Loans" financial aid decision. In an e-mail, Eldridge wrote that the increase in tuition and student fees from $45,700 to $47,804 was "largely due to inflation and to meet the pressure of other priority needs." An excerpt from college treasurer Sue Welsh's summary of the 08-09 budget indicates that the "budget development process continues to make evident the limited flexibility within the College's operating budget." The approved SIIL9 million budget indicates that the approved plan has "virtually no additional funds" for any new needs that arise during the year, and identifies the 2008-2009's student charges as being in the "middle of a comparison group of peer institutions." Furthermore, the excerpt emphasizes that the budget reflects the recent shift to replace all Swarthmore loans within financial aid packages to equivalent grants. A previous comment by Welsh in The Phoenix estimated that the plan would cost at least SL7 million next year. One board member offered a matching contribution incentive to help finance the policy change. "One thing that will be interesting to students is that one board member has offered to match student gifts ten to one for supporting the no loans decision," Eldridge said. General consensus has been reached in following through with this fundraising initiative, though the process is still in its preliminary stages. According to Student Council Vice President Sven Udekwu 'O9, Student Council will work closely with the campus community to facilitate the implementation of Kemp's proposal. "The budget development process continues to make evident [the budget's] limited flexibility." 2008-2009 College Budget Antibodies: nature's cupids? BY ELENA CHOPYAK echopyal@swarthmore.edu The old love adage, "opposites attract," may hold true biologically, and more specifically, hormonally, as Hormone and Behavior students will soon find out from their seminar experiment. As part of biology professor Sarah Hierbert Burch's seminar, Helen Chmura 'O9, Zehra Hussain 'O9, Aleta Hong 'O9 and Melinda Yang 'O9 have developed a t-shirt smelling experiment to test the correlation between levels of hormones and biological attractiveness."There are a lot of couples on campus ... and sometimes people don't think about the biological reasons or the genetic and hormonal basis behind attraction," Hussain said. The biology students are testing the hypothesis that people will be attracted to others who are most dissimilar, in terms of the specific version of a major histocompatibility complex gene an individual possesses. According to the group's research proposal, "The [MHC] is a highly conserved genomic region known to code for many important immune functions." There are two main biological hypotheses which suggest why MHC dissimilarity is advantageous. "First, it would help organisms avoid inbreeding, because related individuals have more similar MHC genes than non-related individuals. Second, it would increase heterozygosity of offspring, thus increasing their immunocompetence against a wider number of parasites." According to Hussain, individuals with high testosterone and high Cortisol levels have scientifically been found to be most attractive to others. Hong stated that, for the experiment, the group is recruiting 101- shirt wearers to wear a designated t-shirt over night, with the stipulation of staying away from strong scents, such as perfumes or colognes. Also, the t-shirt wearers will be required to use unscented soaps to prevent contamination that would bring in additional variables. The experiment also requires 50 to 60 t-shirt smellers who will sniff the previously worn t-shirts and then rank them based on the intensity and pleasance of the odors. According to Hong all participants will provide saliva or cheek swab samples so that the group can obtain gene sequencing and DNA data. Hussain stated that in order to do so, they must amplify the isolated gene with primers, and all of the samples will be sent to an outside lab for sequencing. With that data, along with basic information garnered from participant questionnaires, the group will assess the validity of their hypothesis. The group will be examining, in particular, which version of a specific gene from the MHC is present in each participant and how that gene correlates with an individual's attraction to others. Chmura said that their experiment details have been sent to the Internal Review Board to make sure that their procedure complies with ethical standards since her group is using human subjects. "It is not approved yet," Chmura said. "Everything is contingent upon that." The group hopes to hear a verdict from the IRB within about two weeks. To the best of the group's knowledge, little to no undergraduate work has been done to explore the relationship between hormones and perceived attractiveness. The group cited previous studies conducted in Finland and Japan as examples of related past experiments. Previous experiments have found that "women associate the odors of men whose MHC genes are dissimilar from their own with their current or former mates more so than the odors of men with MHC regions similar to their own," according to the group's research proposal. Though past studies have focused on patterns of heterosexual attraction, this group's study will consider a spectrum of sexual orientations, as long as the IRB permits the collection of such information from participants. According to Hussain, the group plans to begin the study the Saturday after spring break. The student researchers encourage anyone interested in participating in the experiment, either as a tshirt wearer or a sniffer, to contact Chmura, Hussain, Hong or Yang via e-mail at hormones.behavior@gmail.com."Sometimes people don't think about the biological reasons ... behind attraction." Zehra Hussain 'O9 "Women associate the odors of men whose MHC genes are dissimilar from their own with... mates." Hormones and Behavior MHC Research Proposal News phoenix.swarthmore.edu See MANAGERS, p. 8 February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 6 ADVERTISEMENT SUMMER TERM 2008 What are you doing this summer? □ spending it in New York City □ taking a class Q, enjoying the Ivy League experience B all of the above What could be better than summer in New York City? Being part of the Columbia undergraduate experience in classes and residence halls. 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Flyers frame dialogue, pose questions of identity BY ROSARIO PAZ rpazl@swarthmore. edu Recent events surrounding the claims of appropriation of language specific to the LGBT community in the slogans of College Republican posters have initiated a series of responses and further dialogue in many areas of the college. According to Assistant Dean and Director of the Black Cultural Center Tim Sams, at the center of this dialogue lies the issue of the appropriation of language and the consequences of outer groups adopting words, phrases or whole languages that are specific to the experiences of a certain group of individuals. "In a pluralistic society where there is a lot of exchange of ideas ... appropriation is going to happen. It happens all the time," Sams said. "I would say that people of color create European language and dress and speech and style, and whites do it in terms of people of color. It does not mean that people have a full understanding of that which they are appropriating." The running dialogue on the claim of appropriation of language originated around the time the College Republicans were advertising for their group during which they used slogans like "Curious? Questioning?" and "It's Okay To Come Out" in order to attract "closeted conservatives" to their weekly meetings. These individuals are characterized as apprehensive to reveal their right-wing views on a predominantly liberal campus. "The Swarthmore College Repubicans used the terminology 'lt's Ok To Come Out' to bring forth the reality that stigmas exist against conservative students on campus," College Republicans President Justin Shaffer 'OB said. "Believe it or not many students at Swarthmore and elsewhere label themselves as 'closeted conservatives' due to the social consequences by being outspoken about a environment as polarizing at Swarthmore." Some days later, a group of students came together to discuss a situation which they believed to be a misappropriation of language that is particular to the sensitive coming out experience of queer people and an offensive act that wrongfully parodied the constant difficulties a queer individual must go through in his/her lifetime, according to Tatiana Cozzarelli 'OB. These group of students then proceeded to write a letter that was forwarded by Cozzarelli to the listserves of all the cultural groups on campus detailing their discontent with the posters. Since then, the three students have revealed themselves to be Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo 'OB, Nick Forrest 'OB and Shane Breitenstein 'OB. "We had noticed the fliers of the same campaign the semester before and had talked to people about it then, and when we saw it being used again this semester, we really thought that publicly people should know the way a portion of the campus feels about this," Duncan-Portuondo said. "We don't want to be exclusive by signing, we didn't want to speak for one specific group. Also, we chose this public way of addressing it because we were responding to a public display. It wasn't specifically about the College Republicans because that wasn't the way the posters looked to us. It looked like a national Republican poster." "There's a reason why we were anonymous," Breitenstein said. "On the [Daily Gazette] boards, they specifically attacked Tatiana. She has a very specifc identity here on campus ... and if we had signed, we would have been personally attacked as Tatiana was. We felt that our original actions were a legitimate use of public use and public display ... We're trying to exercise freedom of speech but our freedom is being silenced." Furthermore, in the letter, the anonymous posters revealed that some of their original posters had been removed and replaced with more College Republican fliers reading "If you believe in freedom of speech, do not deface or remove our fliers," suggesting that in the process of putting up the response posters, the anonymous posters were also responsible for removing the original College Republican fliers. According to the anonymous posters and Cozzarelli, though two posters were covered by the anonymous fliers, due to the lack of available space available on account of the numerous College Republican fliers, individuals who were responsible for putting up the fliers were specifically instructed not to remove any College Republican fliers. "When I did send an e-mail out to the SQU Board with the letter that was written, one of the people that put out the counter posters explicitly said to tell people not to take down the College Republican posters," Cozzarelli said. "The anonymous writers of the letter felt that the posters needed to stay up in the spirit of freedom of expression ... So, with that said, I can't imagine that those same people were taking down posters." "There is the issue of freedom of speech," Sams said. "I think we're all clear that we do believe in free speech but we're not settled on the freedom to hurt others ... So, if we find something that does that, we need to quickly respond that we don't have to damage, or be provocative to others." According to Shaffer, the act of utilizing the terminology in question was in no way intended to be an appropriation of language specific to the queer community, pointing out times in the past in which they and other groups such as "Geek Coming Out Week" and SCCS have used the terminology without any admonishment."We had posted the "It's OK to Come Out" signs to advertise our introductory event way back in November (The You Tube Debate Watching Party) and they were left alone. So our group did not did expect such a reaction that occurred this week," he said. "Further, dozens of College Republican groups nationwide ranging from schools such as Brandeis, Wellesley and University of Michigan have all sponsored "Conservative Coming Out Days" or "Conservative Coming Out Weeks" as academia has trended to be increasingly liberal recently and the speech rights of conservative students appear to be impinged upon," he said. The argument that Republicans, conservatives and moderates on campus share the same minority status as other cultural groups like the LGBT community is the impetus behind the language that was used on the College Republican posters in the first place. Due to the predominantly liberal status of the college, many conservative students feel that they must go "one against all" when debating politics over a Sharpies dinner, during a discussion in the classroom or even when constructing the argument for a paper. "Do professors impose their viewpoints on students through lecture and classroom readings? Many students have mentioned that at Swarthmore they feel the need to alter their personal views in papers, because if they espouse conservative viewpoints they might receive a lower grade. Again, we ask fellow Swarthmore students: "When was the last time you allowed a Republican to defend their views at Sharpies?," Shaffer said. According to Cozzarelli, the idea that Republicans on campus experience discrimination and silencing on campus to the same extent that individuals in the process of coming out is a parallel that is essentially flawed. "I think that certainly the Republicans are a minority on campus and no one is saying that they are not. But what we are saying is that the very painful, difficult, lifelong experience of coming out is not comparable to the experience of feeling uncomfortable in a couple classes at Swarthmore because you are Republican - and queer people feel uncomfortable in classes here all the time as well. I think that's a major difference," she said. "Last year, my queer safe space sign was burned off my door," Duncan-Portuondo said. "Another time, Shane and I were sitting in front of Phi Psi and one of the boys there got up and he started to walk toward us [and] yelled 'Maul them' at us. We felt pretty gay and no matter what it was it felt like gender variance of nonconformity." "That's like one of the things that's been frustrating," Breitenstein said. "People have accused us of being the PC Police and selfvictimizing ourselves, trying to argue that at Swarthmore it is pretty much okay to be gay. It's really naive to think that that's how people live their lives ... Whether it exists at Swat or not, the majority of the dominant culture is homophobic. I just wish that Swarthmore students sometimes think outside the bubble." Although their posters may have been interpreted as examples of injudicious appropriation of language, Shaffer argued that the fervor behind the anonymous posters' reaction seems to be more attributed to an inherent bias towards the College Republicans and not so much an offense with the wording of the advertisements itself. "It appears the culprit of this flyering seems to be possibly more motivated against Republicans in general rather than the supposed parallels of language," Shaffer said. "The Phoenix reported in November when a generic College Republican poster was hung in Willets it was defaced and torn down. Given this, we wonder whether such actions of defacement and flyer removal were truly about the Swarthmore College Republicans appropriating language used by LGBT groups or simply fellow students resenting a Republican group on campus." "One of the boys [at the frat] got up and he started to walk toward us [and yelled] 'Maul them' at us." Sebastian Duncan-Portuondo 'OB News phoenix.swarthmore.edu See FLYERS, p. 8 THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 7 ADVERTISEMENT One of the greatest universities, one of the greatest cities, one of the greatest summers of your life. THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO summer session Join us this summer and experience why the University of Chicago is rated "Best Overall Academic Experience for Undergraduates" by U. S. college students (prmum Ww'&i 361 Gj%«"). Choose from a wide array of undergraduate courses, Ask life's fundamental questions and improve your critical, analytical, and writing skills in the College's renowned Core Curriculum. 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"We're still in meetings about how we're going to approach this," Udekwu said. "It's going to be a community wide effort. What Gil specified ... is that he really wants for students to work together on this ... The more community wide input you have in it, the more people will be dedicated to making this happen." This is not the first time that Kemp has made a substantial contribution to the college. Kemp's generosity enabled the construction of a new dormitory bearing his name, David Kemp Hall. "His willingness to contribute time and time again is remarkable," Student Council President Peter Gardner said. "This is not a top-down decision ... This is a holistic decision of what the college stands for ... We have high hopes that students will recognize that, will approach it in that spirit and that it will be a successful campaign," Gardner said. Eldridge noted that liberal arts colleges cannot sustain institutional excellence in the absence of committed donors. "It's always a good thing, I think, for people to understand that private higher education is and always will be dependent on philanthropy to succeed," Eldridge said. "There will never be enough money in tuition and fees to pay for education."Another issue that was discussed included the increase of the Student Activity fee. To be initiated next year, the Student Activity fee will be increased by $l6, raising the total fee from $320 to $336, and would be responsible for raising approximately $22,000 more towards student activity funding. The fee is included in the yearly charges from the college, alongside tuition and room and board. Though the fee has been raised in the past in order to provide additional funding to the Student Budget Committee's budget for implementing student activity proposals, the fee has not been increased in the past few years, according to Udekwu. "The Student Council and Student Budget Committee several years ago decided not to increase the fee," Gardner said. "I totally disagree with that decision ... It has put us in the position of saying no to several groups. The number of groups has increased greatly over several years and Student Council keeps on getting proposals from several groups with broad student support, but we find ourselves in a tight budget because there hasn't been increases in the fee." "With this increase, it'll give us a chance to fund groups appropriately to start up off the ground," Udekwu said. "It'll give us more options to fund people that come in with extra requests ... for events that were not in their budget that would usually be able to be funded by SBC." Planning meetings also continued on the proposed inn project in which final proposal ideas were deliberated and the decision to continue discussion with the chosen developer was made. No official deliberations with respect to specific details about the costs of infrastructures and the proposed relocation of the college bookstore will occur until September, according to Eldridge. "I don't think there will be a decision to do or not do this inn until September," he said. "I don't think that enough can be developed and learned to be able to make a decision ... There are lots of questions that have to be answered still." Additionally, the theme for the Student Council lunch for this Board of Managers meeting was athletics, and a few of the college's athletes were invited. "That was a big success," Gardner said. "We heard numerous compliments from the board saying that they were interested in hearing what all the students present had to say about the experience of athletics at Swat." The next Board of Managers meeting will convene in early May. "It was specifically about the Republicans using 'Coming Out1. I don't feel offended with the 'Geek Coming Out' week. I think it's because those organizations don't incorporate a homophobic policy," Duncan-Portuondo said. "Also, a lot of the Republicans have backed up their campaign saying that it's part of the 'Conservative Coming Out' week ... Conservative to me in this contemporary discourse very much implies anti-queer sentiment."Another issue the College Republicans group felt was unwarranted was the generalization of the group's agenda to that of the homophobic tendencies of the national Republican party. According to Rafael Rivero 'O9, a gay student and a member of the College Republicans, the group's political beliefs have not been in conflict with his identity, despite the belief that the group is representative of the same issues that the national GOP supports. "I have been to a few of the College Republican meetings, but I, myself, am a homosexual. I am openly gay at the College Republican meetings, and I'm friends with some of them. When I stay around they discuss deficits, they discuss fiscal policy, they discuss policy that is for the most part unrelated to social issue," he said. "The Swarthmore College Republicans takes great offense by being grouped into 'homophobic organizations.' In fact, we've had discussions at several meetings and learned that our membership has little interest in the social conservative platform of the National GOP," he said. Although the College Republicans group has essentially divorced themselves from the homophobic agenda of the national party, there is still the issue of the denial of homophobia on campus and whether one feels that homophobia is still a prevalent sentiment among the student body. "We weren't accusing individual Republicans on campus of being homophobic," Forrest said. "We wanted to encourage people to think about the meanings of words specific to communities ... The whole critique of 'to not be anonymous is to be brave' ... Bravery is such a loaded issue. I'm just generalizing it a lot here ... You just want to say something without worrying that your individuality will be attacked." "I think it does point to a broader problem at Swarthmore of appropriating terms and pretending that homophobia doesn't occur on campus when it does," Cozzarelli said. "At Swarthmore, we think that we're so accepting and not homophobic that we think it's okay for people to do that... and that we can joke about it because we're post-homophobia and I think that that is not the case." The issue of anonymity and the idea that every individual has a varying level of privilege in terms of whether or not they have the advantage of being able to link their identities to their opinions without fear or apprehension is one that is great to the queer community, according to the response posters. By encouraging further discussion on this subject, opportunities for making individuals of these privileged groups aware of their ability to be unrestrained from the issue of anonymity and building trust between polarized groups is a possibility. "I hope we get to a point on this campus when every time that homosexuality is in the spotlight, we don't go through the same exhaustive narrative," Rivero said. "Queer people and our allies have to be vigilant and reactive to homophobia, but we shouldn't let our conviction let us get carried away. It's a matter of trust, and, at least on this campus, we've earned it. Now, let's give some back." "Going forward, we have a responsibility to have, in this case, Republicans understand a broader sense of what that symbol means and why it would be offensive to members of our community, both "queer" and straight," Sams said. "As we are committed to living in a multicultural society we are obliged to move beyond our immediate response ... to a point to be able to talk about it and grow as a community and talk about our differences, he said The College Republicans are openly expressing the desire to have more productive campus-wide discussions related to the issues surrounding this particular poster incident and expanding on the themes that will further explore what it is like to be a Republican on a predominantly liberal campus. The dates for such events are yet to be determined. "We think that we're so accepting and not homophobic ... and that we can joke about it because we're post-homophobia and I think that that is not the case." Tatiana Cozzarelli 'OB "I hope we get to a point on this campus when every time that homosexuality is in the spotlight, we don't go through the same exhaustive narrative," Rafael Rivero 'O9 News phoenix.swarthmore.edu Appropriation of language leads to campus-wide tension, debate From FLYERS, p. 7 Donor to match 10:1 for aid donations From MANAGERS, p. 6 February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 8 ADVERTISEMENT Villanova University Graduate Open House Tuesday, March 11,2008 Attend the Open House and we'll waive your application fee! 3:30 - 7:30 p.m., Connelly Center, Villanova campus • Meet with program directors for over 100 graduate and certificate programs offered in Liberal Arts & Sciences, Nursing, Engineering, Business and Law. •Attend seminars on career planning,testing and specific programs such as Nursing, Communication, Human Resources, Graduate Business Programs and Paralegal • Find out about our non credit Continuting Studies programs, including paralegal certification • Campus tours at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. Villanova University has again been ranked # 1 by U.S. News d World Report in the Best Universities— Master's category in the northern region. 610.519.5555 www.openhouse.villanova.edu VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY
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Harvard's "gossip girl" BY MAXWELL L. CHILD HARVARD CRIMSON (HARVARD AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION 1 (U-WIRE) Harvard University's got its own "Gossip Girl" and, appropriately enough, she's a geek. The title character of the popular TV show claims to be the "one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite," and a new website, "Gossip Geek," is trying to play the same role for the College's social elite. The blog, which launched during finals period, is drawing ire in some student circles and laughs in others, as Harvard becomes yet another campus roiled by online innuendo in recent months. The authors of the site, who purport to "blush crimson for the stars," post short blurbs on what they claim are the exploits of "campus celebrities," including Undergraduate Council President Matthew L. Sundquist 'O9 (he "used to have neon yellow hair," the site explains), and sex blogger Lena Chen 'O9. The posts are often accompanied by grainy, practically inscrutable cell phone photographs, and most contain information that is provably false, and often wholly ridiculous for example, a recent post claimed VES [Visual and Environmental Studies] and Physics concentrator Lewis Z. Liu 'OB would be trading one of his paintings with British billionaire Richard Branson for a ride on Virgin Galactic's first spaceflight. The authors also like to play fast and loose with names, final club affiliations, and other easUy-confirmed facts. While many of the "celebrities" on the site see the postings as innocuous "It's just fun and games at this point," Liu said others are less pleased. "I think it is stupid. The Internet has given writers tremendous freedom about what they can publish and the number of people that they can reach," said Christopher B. Lacaria 'O9, publisher of the Harvard Salient and a former "celebrity" on the site's "most wanted" list, in an emailed statement. "Some people, it seems, have used this freedom very irresponsibly."Despite the negative attention or perhaps because of it the site's popularity is growing, with over 15,000 hits so far and between 500 hits and 1000 hits a day, the authors said in an e-mail. The numbers appear to indicate, as the site's authors said, that "there seems to be quite a large void at Harvard where publications about students should be." Gossip Geek, they said, is filling that void. Still, the authors have thus far steadfastly refused to identity themselves. "Our anonymity is integral to the quality of our craft," they wrote in an e-mail. "Thus, it is impossible for us to talk to you via telephone, as we do not have the technology to conceal our voices." Most of the "celebrities" who appear on the site take a cavalier attitude toward their newfound exposure. "They say only nice things [about me], so at this point, whoever it is, Ihope I don't say the wrong thing around them," said Derek M. Flanzraich 'lO, a former member of the site's "most wanted" list for being a "sex symbol." "I think that anyone who takes it seriously is kidding themselves." UC Representative Andrea R. Flores 'lO, featured in the "most wanted" list for being "kinda awesome," said she found her presence on the site "weird," but was mostly unconcerned about invasion of her privacy. "As long as they don't say anything false about me, I'm OK," she said. "I think its a funny site ... it makes the UC look silly." The Gossip Geeks themselves said most of the feedback they have received has been positive, and that they have built a network of 'tiozens of tipsters" contributing to the site. "We've gotten the entire spectrum [of feedback], from 'this is retarded' to 'this is genius,'" they said. "We get lots of great emails, too, from students telling us how much they look forward to our new posts. And there's, of course, people who love the blog because it says nice things about them." Some "celebrities" are simply apathetic: Sundquist said he had only looked at it when his roommate showed it to him, and does not check it regularly. As might be expected, the blog has also angered students and administrators for its somewhat relaxed attitude toward the truth. While the site's creators claim that "everything we publish is 100 percent true," many of the students mentioned on the site argue otherwise. "I think its charm is that literally nothing on the site is true," Flanzraich said. Several of the students mentioned on the site have contacted administrators regarding potential recourse against the bloggers, said one student featured on the site. The student asked to remain anonymous to avoid provoking greater attention from the bloggers. According to the student, acting Dean of the College David R. Pilbeam said the administration is "making efforts" to protect students from the site. Secretary of the Administrative Board Jay L. Ellison has recommended that those affected file a police report with Harvard University Police Department in order to expedite administrative response. "I think these [blogs] are bad, and bad for the community," said Ellison in an emailed statement. "Indeed, even if what is said is true there is never enough context in these type of things to fully understand what happened." Jonathan L. Zittrain, a visiting professor at Harvard Law School's Berkman Center for Internet & Society, said that the law is murky regarding online blogging and photo posting. "Fabrications that hurt someone's reputation are technically actionable-the victim could sue for defamation," he said. "But again, that's an awfully cumbersome process and possibly Pyrrhic victory that may not do much to ameliorate the original harm." The bloggers themselves seem unconcerned, even amused about the possibility of action against them. "Everyone wants to have their picture taken, so we don't consider consent an issue. Same applies to blogging," they said. The identity of the Gossip Geeks remains unconfirmed, but some have speculated that the blog's quad-focused coverage is a telling clue. "It's straight out of Currier," said Flores, a resident of the House. The blog also seems strangely centered on UC representatives who rarely make large splashes in Harvard's social scene. The bloggers say no one has come close to revealing them. "There is some consensus as to who is behind the blog, but, fortunately for us, it's been way off base," they said. "This is obviously a cry for attention. Harvard has many inflated egos that constantly need to be reaffirmed and coddled," he said. WEEK IN PICTURES Hena Choi Phoenix Staff Dwight Smith and Brian Ratcliffe shoot out the funny on the fly at the traditional Screw Vertigo-go show this Saturday. Elisa Lopez Phoenix Staff Louis Jargow, Pat Kolodgy and Zach Weinstein jam and croon in Olde Club at the first Rose Tattoo Cafe of the semester. David Ma! Phoenix Staff Floutist Anne Searcy plays Copland, Ewazen, Handei and Prokofiev at her student recitcai this past Friday. News phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 9
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Living & Arts Cho's humor resonates with college crowd BY LIANA KATZ lkatzl@swarthmore.edu If Swarthmore were a comedian, it would be Margaret Cho. Known for her sassy wit and deep commitment to socio-political activism, Cho reflects the fearlessly outspoken nature (although not necessarily the politics) of the campus at large. Students responded enthusiastically to Cho's performance this past Saturday on the LPAC main stage, applauding and laughing their conscientious heads off throughout the evening. Cho was preceded by comedian lan Harvey, who lampooned careless hunters such as Dick Cheney and extolled the virtues of strap-on dildos. Although the dildo trope fell a bit flat, beneath the surface of Harvey's performance lurked a deeper discussion of queer and transgender issues. Harvey "came out to [his] parents twice:" once as a lesbian and a second time as a transgendered person. After coming to terms with his desire to "to pee [his] name in the snow," Harvey began taking testosterone. He will soon have chest surgery because, having measured one of his breasts on a supermarket scale, he realized that he was carrying "the equivalent of an Olsen twin not the fat one." Cho bounded on stage to Harvey's welcome and an intense wave of cheers and applause from the audience. Although she began her highly acclaimed stand-up career over nine years ago with the one woman show, "I'm the One that I Want," Cho's humor is still sharply insightful. What makes Cho's comedy so hilariously powerful is that she is not afraid to work more serious issues into blatantly ridiculous topics. While satirizing Paris Hilton's jail stint and Britney Spear's appearance at the VMA's, Cho also commented on female body image. "Britney did not look fat. She looked beautiful," Cho said. She later returned to this theme of perceived beauty on a more personal level. During a radio interview, Cho was once asked, "If you woke up tomorrow and you were beautiful, what would you do? If you were, blonde, blueeyed, 5'11", and weighed 100 pounds, what would you do?" Cho snarkily responded, "Well, I probably wouldn't get up in that case, because I'd be too weak to stand." Cho does not rant either. No matter how passionate she is about the often controversial issues her shows tackle, Cho never uses the stage as a pulpit. Instead, she wraps her messages in layers of impressions, funny faces and copious use of the words "pussy" and "dick." Many of these messages touched on subjects that Swarthmore students hold dear, genitalia included. "She was perfect for the Swarthmore crowd. Everyone around me was laughing so hard," Jessa Deutsch 'lO said. From abortion to "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," Cho left no issue uncovered. "I am not bi, I'm T," Cho said when explaining her queer identity to the audience. Even environmental sustainability had its moment in the sun when Cho said, "Dick is sustainable!" Most Swarthmore students took well to Cho's unique brand of comedy. "I thought that her ability to subvert the crude language usually used to marginalize minority communities to craft biting social commentary and satire was a clever technique that is uniquely suited to her brand of comedy. Also, she was really funny," Aaron Brecher 'lO said. Cho closed her performance with an original ode to oral sex, lyrically exhorting the audience to "eat me out." At this point in her sex-saturated show, the musical number pushed things a bit over the top. Although audience laughed and cheered, not all were fans of Cho's comedy at the end of the night. "The show was not really my style," said Melissa Cruz 'lO, who was working the door. Even though the performance was not suited to all tastes, the Cooper Committee deserves many thanks for bringing a comedian as blunt and flat-out hilarious as Margaret Cho to Swarthmore. For more on Margaret Cho's visit to Swarthmore, see page 12. Many of Margaret Cho's messages touched on subjects that Swarthmore students hold dear, genitalia included. Yimei Zou Phoenix Staff Margaret Cho at a Q&A session before her performance Singing, cell phones and You Tube in the library, oh my! The week before spring break is by far the second most stressful part of the Spring semester. Nearly every professor has assigned a major piece of work that is due right before we all go on vacation, which means that just when you most desperately need a quiet place to study, Cornell, Underhill and McCabe are the most crowded. So now seemed as good a time as any to review library etiquette. Let us briefly review the activities which, when performed in a library, are found objectionable. Singing, for example. Singing is best done where it can be properly appreciated, like a stage. While your rendition of "99 Red Balloons" might be technically perfect and soulfully brilliant, we find it hard to digest with our seminar readings. Also, if we may be so bold as to say so, did you know that wearing headphones does not mean that other people cannot hear you sing? That's a bit like wearing a facemask and thinking you are invisible. Additionally, wrestling, swing dancing or other performances which, if gone awry, might cause bodily or mental harm to standers-by should be avoided. Once-a-semester performances/interruptions (hello naked rugby players!) we will overlook. Singing and dancing are not the only kinds of performances observed in the libraries: radio broadcasting also seems to occur pretty regularly. Sometimes, when there is something that someone wants everyone to know, like that they just got the summer job of their dreams, or that they aren't at all upset that their ex-girlfriend is dating a spec, they will walk around in the library telling everyone with whom they are acquainted the story in a loud voice. The desire to make this kind of announcement is natural. In fact, it is largely responsible for the popularity of Facebook, which is exactly where it belongs. The most common form of broadcasting carries the message, "Hey, look, I have friends," and consists of having loud conversations with said friends in the library. We think it's great that you have friends. Bully for you. But if you continue to speak to them above a whisper, you'll soon have enemies, too. There is nothing wrong with talking on the main floors of the libraries (although quiet floors should stay, ahem, quiet), but there isn't any reason that anyone not sitting at the same table as you should be able to hear your conversation about what Jennifer Garner wore to the Oscars. Some people also try to play misery poker with everyone in earshot in a similar way: by keeping a running commentary on how difficult their work is out loud. Not only is this obnoxious, it also scares us. The urge to share You Tube videos and music with your friends without the benefit of headphones should be studiously repressed. If Mairin had her way, the entire world would be introduced to the joys of last year's Ukrainian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. That does not mean that she is going to make the entire library listen in on Verka Serdyuchka shouting "Ems, zwei, drei!" three hundred times, no matter how delightful. Cell phone ring tones are basically You Tube videos that begin playing of their own free will, and the same rules apply: they need to be put in silent mode in the library. Your phone calls are of no interest to the rest of the school. Everyone knows that if they were, you'd be having them in private. If you don't want to make the person calling think you are ignoring them, it is acceptable to answer, but only to say, "Can I call you back in five minutes?" in a hurried whisper. Pack up quickly, go to a stairwell, the talking floor, or outside, and call them back. If you are worried about losing your spot, it is acceptable to leave some books or your coat on the chair. With the rash of thefts in McCabe, we understand not wanting to leave anything valuable unattended for any length of time. At the same time, if you expect your seat back, you need to leave some indication that you intend to return. An empty coffee cup and a banana peel are insufficient to establish your right to an entire table. They could just as easily indicate that you're irresponsible with your garbage as that you're going to come back. Similarly, a single sheet of scrap paper and a gum wrapper won't cut it. We need to see some commitment. Despite occasionally wishing that the libraries were monastery-like refuges for the life of the mind (and wishing that the librarians were given cattle prods to discipline miscreants) we've come around to accepting that our libraries serve as social spaces as well, and that there are times when all bets are off. We're thinking specifically of McCabe from approximately 10:10 p.m. - 10:40 p.m. on weeknights, as waves of students hungry for animal crackers and human interaction stampede towards the magazine room. It's good to see everyone emerge from their dusty carrels and mingle for a brief moment in library love. But that doesn't mean it's time for singing. Molly and Mairin are seniors. You can reach them at mpielsl@swarthmore.edu Did you know that wearing headphones does not mean that people cannot hear you sing? MOLLY PIELS MAIRIN ODLE The Etiquette Fairy phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 10
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Gyil ensemble becomes a course Katerine Koch Phoenix Staff Students Kate Goertzen and Johanna Bond learn to play the gyil, a Ghanaian instrument similar to the marimba, in the newly introduced ensemble sponsored by the Fetter Chamber Music Program. The ensemble began as a series of workshops with musician Gina Ferrera last semester and is only now being offered for credit. Student enrollment in the ensemble has doubled this semester. Bigger Worthstock BY ANNA ZALOKOSTAS azalokol@swarthmore.edu Due to the cost of last semester's LSE, the Large- Scale Event committee has decided to combine this semester's event with Worthstock. "Based on the size of our budget, we thought that it would be the best use of our resources to combine the rest of our LSE money with Worthstock. If we combine them, then we only need to pay for tech costs once, as opposed to twice," head of the LSE committee Emily Sun 'O9 said. Though the details are still being worked out, the combined event is scheduled for May 3, the day after classes end. Sun explained that using money that is left in the LSE budget toward Worthstock would allow the committee to book bands bigger than those that Worthstock has typically seen in the past for a music festival similar to Princeton's Spring Weekend or Haverford's Haverfest. "Considering that it's pretty hard to book any good or relevant rock acts on a small budget, getting a few smaller, but very quality acts to headline Worthstock seems like a great idea," Olde Clube booking director Madalyn Baldanzi 'OB said. "For Olde Club I often get a lot of requests for bands that are maybe a little too big for Olde Club, but much too small for an LSE, and this is a great way to fill that gap," she added. "While I think that the great diversity of the acts usually present at Worthstock is a really important niche to fill, I also think that there is a large demand for slightly more popular bands, but who are on the indie side of the spectrum." Sun stated that this year's combined LSE/Worthstock event is not setting a precedent for future years; it's a one-time deal that's only being' arranged because of this semester's low LSE budget. Debut album by Atlas Sound introspective and ethereal "Once upon a time," stutters the voice of a young boy over the drone of cassette tape static, "there was a ghost and his name was Charlie. He died and then he came alive no, he was alive and then he died, and then he came up as a ghost." And that is how "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel," the debut full-length album by Atlas Sound (solo project of Deerhunter front man Bradford Cox), begins on a note that is hauntingly beautiful and eerily poignant, with a story of resurrection that sets the tone for an album that largely surfaces out of Cox's struggle and life with Marfan syndrome a condition that, at 16, forced him to spend a summer in a children's hospital, undergoing multiple surgeries on his chest and back. Otherworldly and surreal, "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel" floats in and out of a misty haze of consciousness; it drifts through childhood and adolescence to adulthood, mimicking one long dream, maybe one that's even nightmarish at times, the kind in which you're floating above yourself, looking down at your actions from a distance. It's often hard to tell when one song has ended and another has begun: the distinctions between them break down as each track blends meticulously into the next. This album is one of hushed sonics and introspection, of secret whispers and ambient meanderings; Cox, whose gangly physique has long attracted much attention, finally gives us a stark look inward. His lyrics are simple and elegant, tender and ghastly beautiful, and though they were improvised as the songs were being recorded on their first take, their power lies in their stark nakedness and honesty. Out of the clamoring static of the album's first track, "Ghost Story," emerges the swirling dissonance and spacey charm of "Recent Bedroom," where Cox's ethereal voice repeats "I walked outside / I could not cry / I don't know why" over the melodious cacophony of tangled distortions, misty ambience, and fluttering noise. "Recent Bedroom," in its nebulous reverie of sleep and wistfulness, marks one of the highlights of the album, and is soon followed by "Quarantined," a song whose jittery tinkering, fragmented vocals and quivering vibrations work together to evoke the nervous fear of the haunted hospitals and transformations of Cox's childhood. In "Quarantined," Cox carefully articulates every syllable of the line "I am waiting to be changing," in an almost desperate effort to communicate emotion, as if constant repetition and desperate begging will more quickly bring about the change that he has been so patiently awaiting. "Scraping Past," with its raucous chiming and fast pace momentarily jolts the dreamer out of a peaceful sleep, but with "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel," the last track of the album, Cox ends on an ambient note, just as he began, bringing the album full circle and returning to the precarious world of dreams. Pretty, ethereal, and dreamlike, "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel" can, on first listen, sometimes feel like one long blur of ambient noise. The seamless blend of songs, the perfect whole that they create, the lush sounds and hazy fog that they cast over the album can make the whole thing feel like one long track rather than a collection of 14 individual, differentiated songs, a dream that that never really ends but instead undergoes slight modulations, shifts of time, place and emotion rather than a group of individual episodes - until you realize that that's part of the point. I do think that this is an album that needs more than one listen to fully appreciate then again, I think most expertly crafted, beautifully whole albums are so don't write it off if you're not instantly impressed. The more I listen to Atlas Sound's debut CD, the more each song stands apart from the rest, and the more distinct each track appears from the next one, each brining something indefinably unique to the nebulous whole "Let the Blind Lead Those Who Can See But Cannot Feel" is a series of thoughts, images and sensations that float before you, surreal and transient, creating a whole you can barely get a grasp on, whose outline is faint and hazy and just as indistinct as the breaks between songs. Anna is a sophomore. You can reach her at azalokol@swarthmore.eduThis album is one of hushed sonics and introspection, of secret whispers and ambient meanderings. ANNA ZALOKOSTAS Notes from the Underground Hvmg&Arts phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 11 * J^L Courtesy of www.amazon.com
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the cho-sen one BY TIFFANY LIAO Controversy never looked so good in hot pink Nike sneakers and a smear of bright red lipstick. This past Saturday, the outspoken comedian Margaret Cho took Swarthmore by storm in a sold out LPAC show funded by the Cooper Grant. Cho, a Korean- American queer woman, spent time before her performance discussing issues of gender, race and sexuality in a Q&A session attended by students from the Nations and Migrations and the Introduction to Asian American Literature classes. "I'm a stand up comedian, I'm an author, I'm an activist, I'm a director," Cho said by way of introduction, "I do so many things because I don't limit myself. If I want to do something, I go for it." This is the same passion that Cho credits for her successful career, despite early admonishments that "Koreans don't do that" and the racism, sexism and homophobia she encountered. Cho said her path was doubly hard as a minority without "having any role models to inspire me." She now hopes that "people look to me as somebody that really paved the way for them." Cho began by talking about her writing process and how her current blogs on her Web site (www.margaretcho.com), the Huffington Post and CNN.com, help her generate ideas for shows. She added halfjoking that "people seek me out to write for them because then they think, 'Well, if we get her, we don't have to hire any more Asians, women or gays." A passionate political activist who was campaigning for Barack Obama before her peformance, Cho expressed excitement at how topics of gender and race have been brought to the forefront of the political arena with the recent election. Cho explained that her perception of America as "more sexist than racist" helped cement her decision to support Obama as someone who could win. Cho felt that currently there is a "fear among white people about being openly racist about black people" but that Hilary Clinton continues to endure the media scrutiny of her emotional state because sexism is not similarly condemned. Cho highlighted her frustration with the media's assumption that women of color are faced with the dilemma of voting along race or gender lines. "I found this idea very insulting, because straight white men are allowed to vote on issues. They're not thinking about their gender or their race. Why don't we have the luxury of that too?" Cho said. Influenced by memories of growing up in San Francisco in the aftermath of the assassination of openly gay Supervisor of San Francisco Harvey Milk, Cho was politically active for most of her life but initially hesitated to express her views through comedy. "I was surrounded by straight white guys and I thought they're the people that should be talking about politics, not me," Cho said, This changed as Cho grew older and eventually came out as queer. Now she is known for the often controversial but always sharp political and cultural commentary that flavors her comedy. However, Cho still struggles with "the sting of non-inclusion," such as when her performance at the 2004 Democratic National Convention was canceled because her "voice would invite controversy."Despite these instances, Cho hopes that her activism will inspire others, especially minorities, to find their own political voice. "If you're a minority, you have a responsibility to yourself and to the future to become an activist," Cho said. "You can't be just an observer at this point. If we want to go forward, if we want to truly experience what it is to be American, we have to get involved." Cho also spent time dissecting the less overt brand of racism that she feels Asian- Americans are more likely to encounter. This racism, she said, is difficult to identify and therefore difficult to discuss and move past. One example she raised was the emphasis the media placed on the race of the Virginia Tech massacre perpetrator Seung-Hui Cho, "implying somehow his race, his Asianness was somehow a contributing factor to his craziness," Cho said. A week later, Cho felt the backlash when her comedy special aired on television and people complained that it was "bad taste to show us any Chos." Still, leave it to Cho to be able to find the funnier side of being a minority comedian. Cho declared to roars of laughter that "I am a member of so many minorities that I can say what I want and white people cannot say a thing about it!" More seriously, she said that being a minority in Hollywood keeps her grounded and allows her "to speak on issues and say jokes without having anything, happen." However, she admitted that there exists the potential for comedians to be 'co-opted by the mainstream audience to get their message across." "It's like, strai g I■ A white men are not allowed to be racist 01 sexist anymore, so let's ge, somebody whc can be," Cho said, specifically referencing comedians Carlos Mencia and Sarah Silverman. Cho herself strikes a balance between embracing her role as a minority comedian without feeling limited to talking about these subjects by rejecting the "PC idea that you have to whitewash everything." "Why is my experience less valid because I'm Asian-American? That's bullshit," Cho said, "Sometimes people criticize me when I do my mother's voice in a very thick Korean accent. They say, how can you do a stereotype like that? Yeah, but my mother really talks like that!" Cho feels that editing her comedy this way is misrepresentative. "That's not what real life is, that's not real experience, that's not art," she said. Cho wrapped up the session by explaining that while her comedy can get "a little darker or raunchy or graphic," her main goal is always making "people feel good about their experience no matter what." Judging by the laughter that kept the theater seats rocking at her show later that night, Margaret Cho definitely succeeded. woment with margaret The Phoenix's Tiffany Liao interviewed Margaret Cho moments before she took the LPAC Stage this past Saturday. Here's what the comedian had to say about everything from burlesque dancing to being a gay icon. Tiffany Liao: You have mentioned that things are changing, that you are seeing more Asian American faces in the media. Why is this happening, why now? Margaret Cho: There's a growing consciousness around race ... more of a non-acceptance of the way things happen and the way that it's been really monochromatic. People are tired of not hearing their stories represented. It's become almost trendy to have different perspectives. There's a lot more gay characters, a lot more people of color out there. It's exciting, I don't think it's completely better but that it's better over all. Rfc TL: You have a very confessional style and you mention a lot of personal topics in your work such as your substance abuse and your body image issues. Why do you choose this style and is it difficult to put yourself out there like that? MC: I don't have a personal connection to it, my stories are just my stories. I don't feel like if it's not accepted or if people don't like it, I don't take it personally, I just kind of keep going. I've been doing this such a long time so I don't feel attached to every little instance or story that I tell. I feel okay about telling a story and just letting them go. TL: You've mentioned in your shows your struggles with the idea of beauty and accepting alternative forms of it. How have you been able to move past this? MC: As I've gotten older, I've embraced different hobbies like bellydahee, which is a great art form that helped mt|eel very beautiful and really good about myself j physically. Burlesque is another world, too, where the standard of beauty is very different and very wide open to a lot of different types of people ... it's a world that is supportive of women, of aging and women's bod- \ ies. For me, it's about plunging into this community.TL: You've worked in a lot of different mediums. You've written an autobiography, worked in film, had your own television show and blog. Has there been a favorite medium or one that disappointed? Kk MC: I really started to enjoy doing music pretty recently, I did it for a burlesque show "The Sensuous Woman" and I'm doing a little bit of music in my new show. That's something I'm learning about and trying to figure out. My mother's a singer so I'm hoping that it's handed down. I like directing but it's really difficult. It's something that I would like to do again but I know it requires a lot of preparation. I've really been lucky and I've been able to enjoy everything that I've come to do. TL: You've been called a gay icon. What does tha term actually mean to you and do you think of yourseli as a gay icon? MC: I don't really think of myself as a gay icon but people tell me that. I think it's really flattering and marvelous and exciting. I hope that I can live up to that, I hope that I can be a good queer activist ... and work towards queer issues and equal rights. Living & Arts phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 12
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Middle Eastern Culture Week BY ALEX HO J jSSaSSg When Neda Daneshvar 'lO and 3§iPt3 Christine Ernst 10 met each other at | the 2006 Tri-Co Summer Institute, they w|ipS were surprised to find that they were the only two self-identified Middle Easterners there. When it came time to frajjljgp, make skits among each of the repre•;£ sented ethnic groups, Daneshvar and SijH&p Ernst were instead separated into i other groups. "It made us aware that Middle Easterners still haven't got a JSBEP-s presence here," Daneshvar said. i;|§ Since then, Daneshvar and Ernst have worked to create a greater Middle Pig Eastern community and to increase g| the visibility of Middle Eastern culture 3| at Swarthmore. Their not-yet-charm> tered group, the Middle Eastern §j| Culture Society is holding an impressive number of events over the course •m of Middle Eastern Culture Week, which p*| is currently in full swing. The week /ill culminate in several Middle l[§3 Eastern music workshops and per- Sr formances this Saturday March 1 The week kicked off with the ] Tuesday opening of "Window Onto the > Middle East," a photo exhibit in Shane Lounge that featured pictures taken by Swarthmore students while in the l£Ky% Tuesday afternoon, MECS also ,/ invited Christine Hegel-Canterella from CUNY to lecture on Egyptian law from an anthropological standpoint in "Brotherly Love and Property Rights: Practices of Private Law in Egypt." Of course, what is a cultural week without its food? On Wednesday, MECS ran a takeover of Paces Cafe. The Cafe was overloaded with food, both catered from Philly's Aryan's Restaurant and freshly prepared by MECS members, from the seasoned greens of tabouleh and grape leaves, to chickpea staples like hummus and falafel, to desserts. The takeover also wouldn't have been complete without hookah and backgammon, two pastimes that have taken Middle Eastern eateries by storm. Middle Eastern Culture Week is continuing today with a discussion on Middle Eastern identity at 9 p.m., in Papazian 324. MECS will be performing several skits that dramatize the various issues that Middle Eastern Americans face. Ernst said, "We thought it might be nice if people saw something and then were able to discuss it." On Friday, MECS is showing a Persian romantic comedy "Pastry Girl" at 8 p.m. in Kohlberg 116. Refreshingly not about anything politicized, the movie centers around instead around the universal problems surrounding a couple's marriage and the differences between their two families.Saturday's two musical events are the centerpiece of the week. At 3:30 p.m., in LPAC's Boyer Dance Studio, you can try your hand at traditional Arabic drumming and be instructed on debkeh, a fast-paced line dance that's a must at Arabic weddings. For the workshop, MECS has invited the Al- Bustan Percussion Ensemble and dance instructor Nehad Khader. At 8 p.m., on LPAC's mainstage, UCLA professor and ethnomusicologist A.J. Racy, accompanied by the Philly-based Mid East Ensemble, will be performing classical and contemporary Arabic music. Ernst said that part of the aim for the week was to "let the campus know what Middle Eastern culture is about *«.*,% > and that we as a community are here, and also of course to let other Middle Easterners on campus, who don't real- %aBS| ly know about us yet, have a sense that there is a community here." Daneshvar added, "Our purpose in doing a lot of these events is to not only expose people to the culture ... but also *jr* to acknowledge the diversity in the region. Not everyone's Muslim, not f everyone's Arab." As a completely open group, MECS joins the ranks of Deshi and Friends of Taiwan at Swarthmore as an organiza- 33KES tion whose focus is more on celebrating the cultural aspects of its commu- .V. nity. Daneshvar said, "We wanted to also create a group where anyone could come and find out about our culture because all you here in the media y?#fßß is about mostly negative things going on there ... and that's not what the Middle East should be defined by. We have this whole beautiful culture that no one ever hears about." Ernst said, "I would say a good half of our members are not Middle Eastern in any way, shape or form. And we would love to have more people show u«sflM§ "We have this whole beautiful culture that no one ever hears about." Neda Daneshvar 'lO screw David Mai Phoenix Staff Faramir, also known as Ben Yesley, with date Jen Crick. David Mai Phoenix Staff Dan Hodson strikes a pose with Bond Girl Jonathan Shoop. David Mai Phoenix Staff Lonesome nun Jesse Hoff searches for his Screw date. living & Arts phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 13
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Peer to peer BY JOAN KIM jkim3@swarthmore.edu Various counseling groups speak to the different needs and wants of students on campus, but there has yet to be one that has not been limited to a specific issue until now. Officially started last Monday, Speak2Swatties is a new student-run peer counseling group that aims to cater to all students on campus. The group is run by co-founders Megan Jeffreys 'lO and Melissa Cruz 'lO as well as 12 other peer counselors. According to Jeffreys, other counseling groups on campus are very specialized in their focus and target certain groups, but Speak2Swatties is universal. The group is open to listen to and discuss anything and everything that goes on in the lives of Swarthmore students, added Cruz. Jeffreys and Cruz realized last year that the campus was missing a group like Speak2Swatties where students could go to their peers and talk about anything. "I've been at the college for 14 years and there have been several times when people have talked about peer counseling groups. This is the first time people have actually followed through," said David Ramirez, director of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS). Although Speak2Swatties is completely separate from CAPS, Ramirez was available to guide Cruz and Jeffreys through the organizational process and training. "My main focus was to answer questions, address any concerns and help them assess what some of the major challenges might be," Ramirez said. The group and Ramirez discussed how to handle confidentiality and other issues that are relevant on such a small campus. "We're strictly confidential. We're not going to talk about your problems to another peer counselor in any identifying way," Jeffreys said. Sexual Health Counselor Eric Glickman 'lO, who is not part of the peer counseling group, helped teach techniques essential in peer counseling. "I helped out with teaching peer counseling skills, helped them create workshops and generally organize the service," said Glickman, who also was a peer counselor at a community center over the summer. Cruz said that the counselors are not merely available to give advice but sometimes just to listen and be objective and neutral. "We're not intending to pose as professionals," added Cruz. The counselors have all undergone training since the beginning of the school year. "I was very impressed with the group and the thoughtfulness of the group. The preparation that they were doing they didn't just rush into this," Ramirez said. He added that Speak2Swatties would complement the other services on campus, which not only included CAPS, but the RAs, SAMs, Deans, Religious Advisors and student support groups on campus. Flyers will be going up around campus with the pictures of the counselors and their e-mail addresses. Their headquarters will be in Upper Tarble in 308 and 312 with drop-in hours from 9-11 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays and 2-4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. In addition to office hours, students can make appointments outside of office hours. If there are any additional questions about Speak2Swatties, please contact Cruz or Jeffreys at mcruzl@swarthmore.edu and mjeffrel@swarthmore.edu."We're strictly confiential. We're not going to talk about your problems to another peer counselor in any identifying way." Megan Jeffreys 'lO Co-founder of Speak2Swatties cartoon by apolline berty and maria khim Living & Arts phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 14 H;TimWi];K Across L origins of earthquakes 5. enter it and you are cursed 9. IHHI, GFFG, etc. 13. gelatin used in Micro 14. Aglio e 15. something found in your throat 16. sicknesses 17. Huck 18. shui 19. Ang, Bruce, etc. 20. mushrooms 2L what horses eat 22. saying yes with your head 24. blossom, a term used by Rove and Bush 26. lightweight cloth 29. skin after plastic surgery 30. the word doubled to described cadium poisoning 3L brewed from malted barley 32. Nickelodeon's green gook 36. short for what hit the Titanic 37. the Windsors, Captain Hook, lan Fleming, Hugh Laurie are all grads 38. - Chinese 42. it could be cash or investment 43. oen of the better news Web sites 46. to make a mistake 47. works hard 49. not decided yet abbreviation 5L 1998 Jolie TV program 52. Test Readiness Review, abbrev. 53. Kuk Won 54. upper left button on a Mac keyboard55. British company that signed The Beatles, Tina Turner, Diana Ross 56. Brit term for convertible 57. sign of disapproval 58. a Web feed format 59. restaurant Down L get an F 2. to gawk at 3. the Chinese go by the lunar one 4. feds who audit 5. it comes fried, fermented thousand layer, egg or stinky 6. a college for engineering 7.1368-1644 Chinese dynasty 8. pretty to Rosario 9. done with no work 10. to fear 1L I want it anyway 12. they're green and come with ham 20. they keep your food and meds safe 23. 0, 0 25. Periodic #UUS 26. Will Smith 1997 movie, abbrev. 27. already consumed 28. desert-dwelling creatures in Dune 29. White, Green, Black, etc. 33. _ a Wonderful Life 34. the stooge with a bowl haircut 35. heat content 40. doctor whose pictures have become a staple in anatomy class 41 god of life, death and fertility 43. formal way to say have children 44. the rite of circumcision 45. cocaine 48. for 49. a summer accessory 50. a crude person 53. rank above corporal, abbrev. BY MARYANNE TOMAZIC
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Around the Deaf World BY ALEXANDRA ISRAEL aisraell@swarthmore.edu This Friday, Feb. 29, and Saturday, March 1, Swarthmore will host a conference called "Around the Deaf World in Two Days (It's a Small World): Sign Languages, Social Issues/Civil Rights and Creativity." Don't feel intimidated by the lengthy name; the two-day conference is an exploration of deafness from a linguistic, cultural and artistic perspective and as such, it promises to be fascinating. According to Professor Donna Jo Napoli, head of the Linguistics Department and an expert on American Sign Language, this is a "mega-event" that "appeals on so many fronts." The talks, panels and workshops that compose the conference deal with three different aspects of deafness: the linguistics of sign languages, civil rights problems faced by the deaf community and deaf poetry. The conference kicks off on Friday at 8 p.m. with a talk by Carol Padden, one of the world's foremost experts on the linguistics of sign language. This talk, along with talks scheduled for Saturday morning, will deal with linguistic phenomena in sign language. "It deals with basic linguistic questions, some of which sign language allows us to approach whereas spoken language does not," Professor Napoli said. Anyone with an interest in linguistics should check out the talks on language beginnings in sign language; one of these talks will cover the gestural systems used by hearing parents to communicate with their deaf children, while another will discuss the birth of Creoles in newly formed deaf schools. The beginning of language is a topic that is difficult to explore with respect to spoken languages, many of which have been widely spoken for hundreds of years; an opportunity to glimpse the formation of a language is an exciting prospect for linguistics. The second issue that will be explored during the conference is the issue of civil rights, an important one for the deaf community. As Napoli put it, "Just ask yourself what in your life would be difficult to access if you couldn't understand others and they couldn't understand you - you will be floored by the wide range of things that would fall apart on you." Finally, for the all the poets out there, a discussion of creativity in deaf poetry will be held Saturday night to close the conference. This discussion will be accompanied by a performance of poetry written in British Sign Language and preceded by a dramatic performance featuring students at the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. The conference will feature talks by internationally recognized deaf scholars and will cover issues of deafness all over the world, including countries like Nicaragua, China, Japan, Germany and even a Bedouin tribe in Israel. For anyone interested in linguistics, social justice and creativity - and for anyone who is curious about the deaf community - the conference is an incredible opportunity. 'Vantage' without a point BY ABBY GRABER agraberl@swarthmore.edu This is a film about the digital age. This is a film about Current Events. This is a film about humanity. But mostly, this is a film about the same things blowing up, the same cars crashing and the same people frantically running around over and over again. "Vantage Point" wants to be a Relevant Political Drama, but where it really succeeds is as an averageto-good action thriller. It recounts the events surrounding the shooting of the American President at the inauguration of a counter-terror summit in Salamanca. The trick is that the film only covers about 15 to 20 minutes of time the plot gets going, then it stops, rewinds and repeats from the point of view of a different character, until everything comes together in a glorious orgy of confusion, panic and things blowing up. The film's construction can be frustrating, especially as it becomes clear that there are certain characters whose perspectives are, frankly, irrelevant. Forest Whitaker as an American tourist glued to his camcorder turns out to be almost entirely superfluous, although he does the kind of job of making concerned, frightened and panicked faces that only an Oscar-winner can do. Mostly he's there so that Dennis Quaid's Secret Service agent can look at his footage and shout, "Oh my God!" and then dash off maddeningly. If "Vantage Point" has more than its fair share of maddening dashing, it is the rare suspense/mystery/action extravaganza that actually earns them with its ending. Sure, after the second or third rewinding, a collective sigh went through the theater, and it seemed for a time that the proletariat might revolt. But then there was a lot of running, a lot of car chasing, and a lot of pieces falling into place. Unlike most thrillers with ludicrously complicated plots, it is possible to follow "Vantage Point," and it is possible to guess some (but not all) of the twists; an immensely satisfactory combination. Director Pete Travis falls into a few familiar pitfalls he's a little too impressed with the "rewind" function on the editing machine but he and screenwriter Barry Levy are instrumental in keeping this film afloat. Despite the brief interludes of useless characters, Levy generally knows whom to follow, and Travis uses the camera to pick out characters who, even for a brief instance, give a little more of the mystery away. Given that no one person has more than 30 minutes of screen-time, the fact that Travis and Levy help you to care for the fate of some is impressive. The skilled construction of "Vantage Point" takes the edge off of the repetitivenessrepetitiveness you may be surprised to find yourself fairly engrossed in action that you've seen replay four times. The problem is that while the puzzle fits together fairly nicely on paper, once you pick it up, everything falls off. In typical genre form, there's the Secret Service agent with clear mental issues put back on duty, the featuring of some unlikely technological advances, including the apparently adamantium-reinforced, indestructible consumer car that survives about five consecutive crashes and keeps on plugging and the evil mastermind whose extremely ingenious plot depends utterly on certain individuals out of his control behaving in very specific, unpredictable ways. "Vantage Point" also has minor pretensions to greatness that would really be better left on the cutting room floor. Most of the ten minutes that we spend with President Ashton showcase him sermonizing about the proper way to fight the War on Terror, which doesn't include bombing terrorist camps in western-friendly Morocco, as his advisors recommend. "We have the world's sympathy right now," emotes the President. "We have to honor that." This pointed criticism of George W Bush's post-9/11 policies would indeed be very pointy, if only "Vantage Point" wasn't a movie about Arab terrorists and their Plot Against America. Suicide bombers, hostage situations, Middle-Eastern villains not exactly the kind of radical new look at geopolitics that might give a film the moral high ground. Finally, the film is inconsistent within its own world. The gimmick holds that the audience must only see events from the limited point of view of successive individuals. But Travis can't stop himself from repeatedly cutting away from the perspective at hand to the same series of boring, omniscient shots you see the crowd in Salamanca from the same shot and square blow up from the same shot over and over and over again. Some might say that this is the auteur cleverly calling attention to the film's own subjective vantage point. I say, this is the kind of film that thinks that"auteur" is a new kind of coffee at Starbucks; it's sloppy direction. Still, most of these critiques could be made of nearly any stock action film, and "Vantage Point" is less extreme in its problems and more substantive in its plotting than most. Sure, the cell phone that transforms from a sniper's telescopic sight into a detonator may be a little ridiculous, but it doesn't nearly approach the level of ridonkadonk of Will Smith's alien-technology-compatible "Uploading Virus" computer in "Independence Day." If the biggest problem of "Vantage Point" is that it thinks it's more interesting than it is, its biggest plus is that it's more interesting than it has any right to be. ¥ * * JP A*«f phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 15 SUDOKU Hard 8 8 8 Puzzle by websudoku.com For the solutions, visit phoenix.swarthmore.edu.
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cartoon by diana pozo Fashion on the streets of London London is a city steeped in history. The winding, confusing mazes of roads that compose much of the city streets follow the paths that the Romans first constructed more than two millennia ago. It is still the residence of a much-loved monarch, who, while she now has only ceremonial significance, represents the oldest form of government in the UK. The Queen's guards, stone-faced under their bearskin hats (despite repeated PETA protests) as they watch over Buckingham Palace, are physical manifestations of this unwavering tradition. But perhaps the most prevalent and relevant persistence of the past is the deep-seated English penchant for eccentricity and irony. A recent Vanity Fair piece by Christopher Hitchens documented the prevalence of this particular brand of wit among the British upper class, a fitting reminder if any of the persistence and seeming anachronism of old English aristocracy in today's world. The Marquis of Bath, for example, is known as "Loins of Longleat" because of his 64 mistresses to whom he refers as "wifelets." And then there is Sir George Reresby, who according to the article, created a "miniature revolver for the special purpose of shooting wasps." Perhaps it is true, as the article suggests, that the British upper class can do this because cultivating eccentricity requires a certain amount of leisure time. And if it's leisure we're talking about, then of course we must look at the fashion. The late aristocratic fashion icon Isabella Blow, for example, was famous for the crazy hats she wore, which were created by the milliner whom she discovered, Philip Treacy. Almost daily, she wore eccentric sculptural displays atop her head (a pair of red lips the size of her face, a mini replica of an 18th century French ship, a lobster) that made her look like a living animation. She was responsible for discovering and mentoring the controversial designer Alexander McQueen, whose first collection in 1992 introduced a low-cut style of pants that he called "bumsters," which re-imagined cleavage for those other lady lumps. That same year, Vivienne Westwood, who brought punk into the mainstream, went commando in a dress, which people discovered when she twirled around in the courtyard of Buckingham Palace after being knighted by the Queen. It was an incident that the Queen herself apparently found amusing. Interestingly, Christian Siriano (fierce y'all) has worked for both designers while at fashion school in London. I hardly think it is coincidental that he is also one of the top contenders to win Project Runway. But this eccentricity and sarcasm is not just reserved for the upper crust. It exists in all levels of English society. Indeed, what makes British fashion so unique and unlike that of most other cities is the fact that there is less of a divide between street fashion and high fashion. For example, Gareth Pugh, Christopher Kane and Henry Holland, all emerging designers who are fast becoming big names in the fashion world, are all still closely tied to the youthful London party scene that inspired them before they made it big. Holland, for example, got his start when he and model/BFF Agyness Deyn decided to make t-shirts in his apartment silk-screened with dirty rhymes about fashion designers and models: "My Flies are Undone Lily Donaldson/' "Give us a Tickle, Richard Nicoll" (Racier slogans can be found on his website. Mummy reads this, after all). And just last week he established himself as a legitimate designer in his first show at London Fashion Week, in a collection that was filled with tartan prints that recalled an aristocratic English sensibility interpreted with street sense. Who knows how long Henry Holland's fame will last, but his sudden appearance onto the fashion scene, coupled with his humorous designs, are testament to the playful, do-ityourself spirit that make the streets of London a veritable runway in itself. People thrive on seeing and being seen in a way that shows the individualism that makes this a city of creations rather than copies. And perhaps the most unique aspect of this is that these changes and this sense of modernity do not outshine the past, but rather pay tribute to it and play alongside it. It's a respect for tradition in a whimsical sort of way. After all, everyone still reveres the Queen of England, but she's probably likely to get more attention and respect nowadays for the fact that she likes playing her grandson's Nintendo Wii (Sports Bowling, apparently) than for executing her monarchical duties. And for that, I say long live the Queen. Meagan is a senior. You can reach her at mhul@swarthmore.edu. MEAGAN HU It's a Scientific Lifestyle Meditation clears mind The great meditation teacher Chogyam Trungpa told me "the mind is like a crazy monkey, which leaps about and never stays in one place. It is completely restless and constantly paranoid about its surroundings. The training, or the meditation practice, is a way to catch the monkey, to begin with. That is the starting point." I began meditating regularly when I was a junior in high school. I wanted to catch the monkey, to train my mind. I found that through meditation, I could work with my mind and make friends with myself. When I came to Swarthmore, I wanted to continue my practice, so I was excited to see that the Student Wellness Committee had some meditation events. Rebekah Rosenfeld 'O7, Sunjay Barton 'O9 and I turned this into the Swarthmore Sitting Group, which Sunjay and I now run. The Swarthmore Sitting Group brings the teachings of meditation to the Swarthmore community. One meditation teacher I spoke to, Sakyong Mipham, noted that "meditation is a way to make the mind more stable and clear. From this point of view, meditation is not purely a Buddhist practice; it's a practice that anyone can do ... If we want to undo confusion, we're going to have to be responsible for learning what our own mind is and how it works, no matter what beliefs we hold." Catching the monkey has no religious affiliation and the Swarthmore Sitting Group is completely secular. Meditation is not a religious practice; it is just a way to work with one's mind that anyone can do. The Sanskrit word for meditation, shamatha, means "peacefully abiding."abiding." The mind is inherently "joyous, calm and very clear." When we meditate, we train the mind to rest in this natural state. "In peaceful abiding, we ground our mind in the present moment," Mipham said. "We place our mind on the breath and practice keeping it there. We notice when thoughts and emotions distract us, and train in continually returning our mind to the breath ... In the process, we get to know how our mind works." He added, "We see that wherever the mind is abiding in anger, in desire, in jealousy, or in peace that is where we also are abiding. We begin to see that we have a choice in the matter: we do not have to act at the whim of every thought. We can abide peacefully. Meditation is a way to slow down and see how our mind works." The Swarthmore Sitting Group meets three times a week (Wednesdays at 9 p.m., Thursdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4:30 p.m., all in Kohlberg 226). People attend different meetings according to their schedules. In each meeting we briefly review the meditation technique. We then meditate for ten minutes, after which we briefly stretch. Then we meditate for ten minutes more. At this point, we have a brief discussion about our experiences with meditation and we try to answer each other's questions. In the end, each meeting lasts about half an hour. One reason to meditate might be that we're tired of the crazy monkey mind. We're fed up with the confusion, stress, and fear. "Many of us are slaves to our own minds," writes Mipham in his national bestseller "Turning the Mind into an Ally," "Our own mind is our worst enemy. We try to focus, and our mind wanders off. We try to keep stress at bay, but anxiety keeps us awake at night. We try to be good to the people we love, but then we forget and put ourselves first ... We're left feeling helpless and discouraged." Through meditation, however, we can get in touch with the joy, clarity and stability that exist beneath the cloud of bewilderment. In peacefully abiding, we can train our minds to rest here, in this natural state. We have a choice between confusion and clarity, and meditation is a vehicle through which one fully realizes this. Julian is a junior. You can reach him at jchendel@swarthmore.edu. JULIAN CHENDER The Spiritual Scene Living & Arts phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 16
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editor's PICKS By Tiffany Liao review Kitao Gallery presents Entropy Come to the first show of the new semester! Featuring photography and mixed media by 13 students. Opening: Friday, Feb. 29 5-7 p.m. Kitao Gallery Additional hours: Saturday 1-3 p.m., Sunday 12-2 p.m. Swarthmore College Department of Theater presents , I Old Times Friday, Feb. 29 7 p.m. Saturday, March 1 10 -11:30 p.m. Sunday, March 2 7 p.m. LPAC Frear Ensemble Theater Sarah Sanford '99 directs Harold Pinter's play about a couple whose lives are thrown into disarray with the return of an old roommate. Starring Rachel Sugar 'OB Stephanie Duncan 'OB and Stephen Graf 'O9. watch | engage I "China Meets the World: Olympics, Modernization and Beyond" Friday, Feb. 29 2:30 - 6:30 p.m. LPAC Two discussion panels between seven students from China's two leading universities and eight Swarthmore students will cover topics concerning China and U.S.-China relations. Q&A session and refreshments to follow. Dwight Smith & Friends welcome MlT's Space Faces plus the debut of Typhon and Paco & the Irrelevants! Friday, Feb. 29 10:30 p.m. Olde Club listen phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 17
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Opinions Don't believe the hype On a recent Saturday Night Live segment, Tina Fey addressed several of the popular criticisms that have been made about presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton. Fey suggested that one reason Hillary's lead has recently dwindled is because women feel that feminism has progressed to the point where they needn't feel obligated to vote for a woman, and can rather vote for whomever Oprah Winfrey tells them to. I admit that I hate when people tell me to support Clinton because I'm a woman, and that not voting for the first serious female presidential candidate would be an egregious act against feminism. I also admit in advance that it's a little hypocritical to write an article against following the political advice of celebrities in response to something a celebrity said. But I feel that ultimately there was some truth in what Fey said, and that we need to recognize how outrageous it is when celebrities encourage their fans to vote for a candidate, and they listen. Shouldn't we primarily be concerned about who is best qualified to run our country and hesitant to agree with propaganda with no questions asked? Surely we have learned something in the past eight years. Ever since Oprah first vocalized her support for Senator Barack Obama, numerous other celebrities have entered the campaign arena to support their preferred presidential candidate with financial endorsements and opportunities for additional publicity. While it is hard to determine whether the opinions of public figures hr\ n significantly influenced voters to give further consideration to certain politicians, it's clear that Hollywood, government officials and even professional athletes are getting involved. Mike Huckabee has the support of Chuck Norris, Ron Paul has John Mayer and McCain has Arnold Schwarzenegger. And with the extremely close race for the democratic nomination between Clinton and Obama, a growing number of celebrity and political endorsements continue to arise. While some endorsements can be helpful to a campaign by putting a candidate in the spotlight, others might be damaging if the public allows itself to be dissuaded by certain endorsers. Obama's list of endorsers has continued to grow, and now includes writer Toni Morrison, Young Frankenstein and original Willy Wonka actor Gene Wilder, and even the Democratic Party Presidential nominee for the 2004 elections Senator John Kerry. Recently, however, the high-status publicity Obama has received has been criticized for taking focus away from the issues relevant to his campaign.While some prominent political figures such as Madeleine K. Albright, the first female to be selected as United States Secretary of State, have endorsed Clinton, so have many other less reputable celebrities. According to Newsweek, Jenna Jameson, who has won more than 20 adult film awards and is the author of the New York Times Best Seller "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star" endorsed Clinton in May 2007. According to Jameson, the adult film industry prospered during Clinton administration, and she is pleased to support Hillary. While financially the Clinton campaign benefited from the endorsement, there has also been hostile criticism from some of Clinton's more conservative supporters. Similarly to the wellknown Oprah endorsement, high-status supporters can have negative effects, with critics questioning the candidate's relation to the endorsers. How deep does the public's shallowness run? Both democratic candidates are intelligent and articulate leaders. Why do some of us opt to focus primarily on what the celebrities have to say on their behalf? As citizens, celebrities have the right to freely voice their opinions, but it is the voter's responsibility to not be distracted by the Hollywood glitz and glam on something as important as electing the person who will run our country for the next four years. Oprah isn't going to pay your bills, fix the illiteracy problem, or get our country out of the war, so why let her influence your decision? Celebrities will continue to try to persuade or discourage their fans to vote for certain candidates, and occasionally they may make substantial points. But ultimately it is the choice of the individual that will be counted, so don't believe the hype. Lauren is a sophomore. You can reach her at lmendozl@swarthmore.edu. Shouldn't we primarily be concerned about who is best qualified to run our country? Oprah isn't going to pay your bills ... or get our country out of the war, so why let her influence your decision? LAUREN MENDOZA The Big Guns op-art by meredith leich political cartoon Cartoon by Meghan Downii phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 18
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Swarthmore ideals fail to correct the problems of social justice Last week, while conducting an otherwise routine triage of my inbox, I happened upon a most unexpected email from Mr. Anthony Jack, the recent Amherst graduate whose New York Times story, you might recall, I referenced repeatedly in a column last semester on Swarthmore's financial aid and admissions policies. Aside from a congenial expression of camaraderie, Mr. Jack wrote to establish a rapport with me, interested particularly in my thoughts on the practices and policies of our all-too-similar institutions. His questions about the on-the-ground realities of race and class at Swarthmore, though, had me at a loss as to how I might best respond, especially given Swarthmore's precipitous capitulation on financial aid policies last semester, a commendable move in many people's eyes. And how fitting a subject to ponder the truths about race and socioeconomic status as they play out on Swat's campus since tomorrow the sun sets on yet another Black History Month. This February's commemoration, of course, is only the latest iteration of an innumerable many that have come and gone at Swarthmore. This time around, though, we are graced with one more 'tomorrow,' a twenty-ninth day of recognition. Even this additional time for celebration, however, has not saved the month from its predictable fate of lackluster observance by a campus too indifferent or too preoccupied with itself to reflect meaningfully on blackness and black people. Swarthmore's ill-conceived approach to honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., likewise, passed somewhat under the campus community's radar, and what's more, it left ambiguous exactly what the College's commitment to Dr. King's legacy of social justice might be, especially since the institution's effective stance was one of "observing without observance." (Haverford, Bryn Mawr and Penn could spare that day; what costs were so great that we, at the last, could not?) Still, in the end it is important to note that these efforts, while in no way commensurate with the causes and ideals they sought to honor, were commendable ones nonetheless ... right? I mean, why frame my reflections for Mr. Jack on race and class realities at Swarthmore with such a dreary assessment when, however inadequate, these attempts are attempts nonetheless at engaging race- and class-related causes of social justice? For the same reasons that I admonished Swarthmore and its half-hearted financial aid and admissions mandates do I now fault the institution for its failure to fully honor noble ideals in these past few weeks. My deepseated love for the institution and its ideals has once again gotten the best of me. It makes all the more disheartening the letdown of encountering apathy and poorly formed understandings about what these days of remembrance and commemoration should mean for us. As I have written before, at Swarthmore there is a way certainly we have the means to do a great deal more than we do but there is no will. The events leading up to last semester's abruptly announced "no-loans" policy prove as much, particularly since we were told only weeks before that "the way" (read: the money) just wasn't there. On the contrary, our "walking the walk" was not there, and it was merely that such a practice had suddenly become unfashionable. I could hark back to a commitment the institution made to its students and itself forty years ago next January to better illustrate how these seemingly disparate issues —admissions practices and an apathy about black people, that is are all symptoms of the same problem, but the word limit on this column unfortunately precludes me from such an explication. I have probably exhausted this excuse at this point, I'll concede, but with the exception of my last column, it has always been a legitimate explanation for why I cannot treat a topic with the thoroughness it demands. Suffice it to say, though, that I will report a good many more things to Mr. Jack, and I will revisit Swarthmore's historic crisis in 1969 to demonstrate how, then as now, a singular problem persists, unresolved: the 'good white liberal' mentality reigns still at Swarthmore. In predictable fashion, a smug sense of self-congratulation prevails at the expense of real struggle, meaningful reflection, and fully realized ideals. What we get instead is a paltry substitute for justice. As soon as I can, I will make available an extended version of this column on my blog. Dr. King, in his 1963 Letter from a Birmingham Jail, put into words what I and many others encounter when wrestling with the status quo and its keepers, not only at Swarthmore or Amherst, but everywhere. Dr. King, you see, also confessed his grave disappointment with a certain mindset, that of the "white moderate ... who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice." He concludes, "Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will," and admonishes those who believe that they can paternalistically set a timetable for social justice. For Mr. Jack and me, I think, this problem bears directly on the matter at hand: how our institutions choose to admit and aid students; how they treat issues of race and class; and how they honor causes of social justice more generally. * The way in which Swarthmore's no-loans policy came to be is representative of this larger problem. You will forgive me, then, if I wax discontent when, with the means to an end so obviously within grasp, our dream remains inexplicably deferred. Yoshi is a senior. You can reach him at ajohnsol@swarthmore.edu. Swarthmore's ill-conceived approach to honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., likewise, passed somewhat under the campus community's radar. As I have written before, at Swarthmore there is a way certainly we have the means to do a great deal more than we do but there is no will. YOSHI JOHNSON My Big Number! Republican appropriation of language distasteful It is easy to make too much of nothing at Swarthmore. The College Republicans blanket campus with posters urging students to "come out" as Republicans and a few queer students put up other posters denouncing the appropriation of queer terminology. Judging by the popular comments section of the Daily Gazette on articles about this issue, many students felt these queer students were taking things too seriously in getting up in arms about the original posters. Some of the critics were queer themselves. So were the Republicans really on sure footing, as the "bargainers" to use a term conservative social critic Shelby Steele used to describe an equivalent group among black activists argue? Or were their posters mocking and appropriating the use of queer terminology, as the "fabulously queer" posters claimed? The College Republicans pulled out all the petty stops. A letter by group president Justin Shaffer 'OB on the Gazette website took on Tatiana Cozzarelli 'OB, a potential lightning rod for criticism on the issue. Too bad she did not actually write the response to the original Republican posters. It is laughable to suggest that Republicans face the same kind of overt or implicit discrimination that queer students do on campus. In his letter, Shaffer made the claim that "academia has tended to be increasingly liberal recently and the speech rights of conservative students appear to be impinged upon." He has presented no evidence to back up such an argument. There is no reason to accept the notion that Swarthmore is part of a perceived oppressive liberal academy, as no one has even tried to put forth this argument besides half thought-out encouragements for Republicans here to "come out." The fact is that coming out as queer says a lot more about one's intrinsic place in our society than admitting to conservativeconservative views. Sure, some students here may find the idea that someone could actually be a Republican shocking. And yes, that aversion to Republicans does not foster the friendliest environment for those with minority political opinions. But such a quality is mutable, unlike the permanence of being queer. Distaste for a political opinion is not such a fundamental judgment about a person as is one's rejection of a person's sexuality. The question remains: was this really a fight about nothing? Maybe it was just a bunch of posters, all of which were offensive to varying degrees for different people. What could be most significant is not the issue of the posters, but how the debate transpired. Last week's Phoenix editorial gave a backhanded compliment to three queer students (the same students responsible for the anonymous response posters) for their signed op-ed on this issue, by arguing that the debate should not include anonymous voices. Shaffer first put forward this line of reasoning in his letter to the Gazette. Such arguments are calling for all queer students who want to participate in the debate to come out. One cannot enter the debate, the argument goes, unless one is willing to put one's name and one's identity on the line. There is a lot to be said for privileging the acceptance of responsibility for one's words. But it is a lot easier for dominant groups (in this case, non-queers) to make this claim, when revealing their identity does not give them a subjugated identity. The Republicans' posters stayed up, everyone had their say anonymously and self-identified and everyone went home feeling a little more self-righteous and marginalized. Queer activists will continue to fight from a position of weakness in a heteronormative society; Republicans will continue to fight against the non-oppressive, vaguely progressive academy. And at the latter group's meetings, members will claim to be "Rockefeller Republicans," opposed to the national party's homophobic social policy. Would we be so cynical as to absolve a supposed abolitionist Democrat on the eve of the Civil War sitting by smugly as his party defended slavery? Benjamin is a senior. You can reach him at bbradlol@swarthmore.edu. It is laughable to suggest that Republicans face the same kind of overt or implicit discrimination that queer students do ... BENJAMIN BRADLOW Clothes Line Saga Opinions phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 19
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SBC budget increase will benefit campus ■editorial This week, Student Council denied a request for chartering a student group, Punk-turn!!!, telling them to return next semester to ask for funding again. The reason given for the denial: money. The request is still hotly contested, however, among the members of the Student Council. Punk-tum!!!'s case is notable because students were asking for between $ll,OOO and $16,000 to fund a full color, high gloss art publication unlike any publication currently produced by students at the college. While many students perceive most entities of the college to be exceedingly well funded, SBC's budget is limited, and is being stretched thin by the needs of the student groups it funds. Each year, the student activities fee, which is paid by all students at the start of each year and is used to fund SBC, has typically been increased to keep pace with the monetary demand from students wishing to form new clubs, literary magazines and intramural sports. For the past three years, however, the student activities fee was not increased at all. As a result, the SBC has found itself in an increasingly difficult financial situation. The students seeking funding for Punk-tum!!! have been told to request a charter next semester when the SBC's budget will not be as tightly constrained. Fortunately, $22,000 more has been allocated for SBC starting next year, funded through an increase in the student activity fee. This was approved at last weekend's Board of Managers meeting, as part of the increase in tuition and fees for the next fiscal year. We applaud the Board of Managers for making the decision to increase the student activity fee, given the need to maintain funding for other student groups and the eight new student groups added this year to the college. The money raised from student activity fee is not actually controlled by the administration, but rather overseen and dispersed by the SBC, a committee comprised entirely of students. The system stands out as one of the few that allows student oversight of money spent at the college. The money allocated by the SBC is used entirely to fund the diverse array of student activities here at Swarthmore, ranging from SQU to Quiz Bowl. Such diversity of options is a privilege, and we must recognize it as such. We commend SBC for requesting the funding increase, as it would be regrettable for Student Council to be forced to deny chartering requests in the future due solely to fiscal constraints. All the while, we hope that the SBC will continue to spend its money wisely and frequently, as any money not spent each year gets put into the capital replacement fund and cannot be rolled over for use in the next fiscal year. Ultimately, the diverse range of groups and events on campus are free for us because of this system, and we feel that the small increase in the student activity fee of only $l6 per student is worth the benefit to all Swarthmore students. We applaud the Board of Managers for making the decision to increase the student activity fee, given the need to maintain funding for other student groups ... Opinions phoenix.swarthmore.edu 20 February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX We want to hear from you! Letters and opinion pieces represent the views of their writers and not those of the Phoenix staff. All letters and op-eds must be signed and have the writer's contact information. Letters cannot be longer than 400 words and must be submitted by noon on Monday. Op-eds cannot be longer than 600 words. Letters may contain up to five signatures of individuals only. Op-eds may contain up to two signatures. The Phoenix will not accept pieces signed on behalf of any groups or containing unfounded attacks upon a person's character. The Phoenix reserves the right to edit all pieces for content, length and clarity. The Phoenix editors reserve the right to withhold any letters from publication. To report a correction, e-mail phoenix@swarthmore.edu. Submit letters to phoenix_letters@swarthmore.edu or The Phoenix Swarthmore College 500 College Ave. Swarth more, PA 19081 ADVERTISEMENT wr \ Find your seat. Find your future. Introducing the HBS 2+2 Programs This is not your typical business program. But we're not looking for typical business school students. If you're a science, engineering, or liberal arts major considering an MBA in the future, this may be for you. Find out. We're accepting applications from college juniors now. Graduate college > Work 2 years > HBS 2 years > Earn MBA Learn more: Swarthmore College | Career Services Center, Workshop Room | 3/05/08 Register for the info session: hbs.edu/2+2/swarthmore 12:00-1:30 p.m. I'Vh'BKI ITAS.I HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL
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Women's track excels at Keogh, Princeton BY JAYMES FAIRFAX-COLUMBO ifairfal@swarthmore.edu With just one week left until the Centennial Conference Championships at Ursinus College, the Swarthmore indoor track and field women showed why they have a reputation for being graceful and gritty. The Garnet swept in numerous season-best and Conference qualifying performances, taking both the Greater Philadelphia Area and the state of New Jersey by storm. The action started fast and furious at the Haverford College Keogh Invitational, as Nyika Corbett 'lO and Bess Ritter 'O9 competed in the mile run. Corbett started in the back of the pack and worked her way up fluidly through the field, posting a season-best time of 5:19.36 in the process. This time also landed Corbett on the Swarthmore top ten list again. Corbett also happens to be Swarthmore's women's indoor mile record holder. Ritter also recorded a strong performance, dropping down in distance to place second in her heat in 5:3L49, well faster than the Conference qualifying standard of 5:59.56. The rest of the Garnet women were just as impressive. Lauren Deluca 'lO ran a strong race in the 800 meters, stopping the clock at 2:30.91 well inside the Conference standard of 2:38.83. Emma Stanley 'O9 and Faith Pampel 'O9 each had stellar outings in the 3000 meters, running together for most of the race to record Conference qualifying times of 11:23.21 and 11:28.31 respectively. Field athletes Heather Hightower 'O9 and Nathalie Degaiffier 10 both closed out their regular-season rookie campaigns with strong performances as well. Degaiffier sped down the track in the 200 meters and ran a leg of the 4 x 400 meter relay in addition to long jumping 3.98 meters, a mark that tied her personal best. Hightower was also in top form, launching the shot put 8.34 meters, a personal record and Conference qualifying performance. When asked about her Conference mark, Hightower replied, "It's my first season, so I was kind of surprised about making Conferences. I talked to Coach Carroll, Coach Noon and Coach Tom and they told me that it was my first season and so to focus on improvement. But I told them I'm gonna do it' and I did." Hightower's performance didn't surprise throws coach Tom 'Gladiator' Reynolds, however. Of Hightower's mark, he said, "I'm unbelievably excited. I don't think Heather has even tapped the beginning of her potential. This is just a sign of things to come." While the rest of the Garnet women's team was cruising through the competition at Haverford, Cait Mullarkey 'O9 had her sights set on some stiff competition at the Princeton Invitational. Mullarkey competed in the 800 meters, placing seventh among some tough Division I and 111 competitors. Mullarkey recorded an indoor best time of 2:19.58. The race also served as an indicator of what the Centennial Conference Championships will be like, as Mullarkey's two closest competitors were in the race and for those short of memory, it was Mullarkey leading the charge down the homestretch last year and to a gold medal. If this week's performances are an indication of the future, the Garnet women should be optimistic for Conferences. According to Andrew Vanßuren 'lO, a member of the men's team, "The ladies looked sharp on Saturday, but then again, they always look sharp... I'm excited to see what they can do at Conferences." The Garnet women will close out the indoor season at the Centennial Conference Championships, beginning at noon on Satuday at Ursinus College, March 1, and continuing at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, March 2. Disclosure Note: Nyika Corbett is a contributor to The Phoenix but had no role in the production of this article. "I'm excited to see what they can do at Conferences." Andrew Vanßuren 'ID "They told me that it was my first season and so to focus on improvement. But I told them 'l'm gonna do it' and I did." Heather Hightower 'O9 NYU women slip past Garnet By Josh Abel Both tennis teams opened up their 2008 spring seasons this Saturday in the Mullan Tennis Center against New York University. Both matches were played down to the wire, and both resulted in 5-4 NYU victories. The women took control early, going in 2-1 in the doubles matches. Jennie Park 'OB and Luann Cignavitch 'll won convincingly at second doubles, 8-3. The third doubles team, Marissa Lee 'O9 and Jamie Midyette 'OB, followed with an impressive 8-4 victory. The Garnet slipped in the singles competition, however. Despite threeset wins from Rachel Wallwork 10 (first singles) and Midyette (fourth), the Swarthmore women lost 4 out of the 6 singles matches, leading to a frustrating 5-4 loss. Coach Jeremy Loomis thinks it was a winnable match, but he is optimistic that the close loss will serve as a building block for the rest of the season. "Lots of team matches this year could come down to a few games and which team has a better team atmosphere," he said. Their next match will be this Saturday, as they open Centennial Conference play against McDaniel College. Hena Choi Phoenix Staff Rachel Wallwork pounds a backhand in the Garnet's loss to NYU. Men fall to NYU, smash Muhlenberg By Josh Abel The men went 1-2 in doubles play, with Jonathan Lo "08 and Kevin Shaughnessy 'O9 winning the first doubles match 8-0, while the Garnet dropped second and third doubles by 9-7 and 8-6 scores, respectively. The singles competition was extremely competitive. Shaughnessy won in three sets (second singles), as did Mark Greenburg 'O9 (fifth), coming back to win 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, while J.J. England won a tough 2-set affair, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7). However, NYU stood tall at the first, third and sixth positions, holding on for their 5-4 win. The team, though disappointed with the loss, did not hang its head. "I told the guys after the [NYU] match I was proud of the fight they had in them and that is what will have to be the trademark of this team," said coach Jason Box. The Garnet rebounded the very next day, slaughtering Muhlenberg College 9- 0 without so much as dropping a set. Greenburg and England kept up their play, combining to win the second doubles match 8-0, then splitting up to dominate their singles matches: England (third) won 6-4, 6-0 and Greenburg (fourth) won 6-0, 6-L The team is now 1-0 in the Centennial Conference. "I told the team I did not want to let leads get away from us like they did in the doubles on Saturday," Box said. "The whole focus of today's match was to put away the opponent and not let them back into the match. Our guys were able to execute this game plan very well." The men's team will not play again until spring break, when they will head to California for a few days of intense playing. With the first weekend of competition under its belt, the prospects look very bright for the men's tennis team, for as Box says, "If this team will continue to work as hard as they have the last few weeks, we have the chance to do some good things this season." Elisa Lopez Phoenix Staff Mark Greenburg bends for a shot in his second doubles match with JJ. England. Snorts phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 21
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Spread Champions League wealth a bit Last week I was so happy to see the Union of European Futbol Association Champions League, Europe's premier football competition, resume after a two-month hiatus. Naturally, a number of Europe's biggest, most talented clubs are going at each other. There were such highpowered match-ups as Liverpool-Inter Milan, Roma-Real Madrid, Arsenal-Milan and Lyon- Manchester United. The first leg of the knockout stages provided much entertainment, controversy and discussion for enthusiastic pundits and fans. The usual spats over whether a red card was deserved (Materazzi's was obviously not), the penalties not given, the blame placed on referees and the unfortunate missed opportunities (thank you Adebayor) set up an enjoyable round of matches next week. Now I realize I'm probably being a hypocrite by saying this, as I passionately support Milan, but it is slightly unfair that we see pretty much the same teams making it to the latter stages of the competition. While this no doubt will increase the number of fans watching the games as well as the publicity and media attention, it makes this game a lot more predictable and, hence, less exciting. Milan have remarkably won the cup twice and made it to the finals three times, semi-finals once and quarterfinals once, all in the last 5 years! Manchester United, Liverpool, Barcelona and Chelsea usually reach the quarterfinals stage as well. While the better teams will probably continue to reach for Europe's most prized footballing asset, there can be some changes made to the structure of the Champions League that can promote involvement among lower level clubs. I think much of the problem resides in the initial qualification set-up. Currently, Italy, Spain and England, the nations with the best domestic leagues, are allowed four teams to participate in the tournament, Germany and France three apiece, while the rest of the countries have two or one, some even having none. Michel Platini, currently running to be president of UEFA, asserts, "Four clubs are too many for the country itself, the fans and TV rights. Three should be the limit. There are not enough national champions in the last 32 of the tournament and that cannot be right." I agree. The Champions League should involve at least one club from every country in Europe with a domestic league. The more nations represented, the more there is a sense of pride and competition associated with winning the Champions League. It would be much more sensible because smaller clubs would have the chance to play with bigger fish and their global fan base would increase. In addition, it would also add to the intensity of domestic competitions as teams would be fighting much harder for the top three places to get the chance to qualify for Europe. Some of you might argue the Champions League is only for Europe's elite, which is why there is the less prestigious UEFA Cup for the lower level clubs. Unfortunately, the UEFA Cup doesn't bring nearly as much entertainment due to its lack of global appeal, hence it isn't as financially profitable as the Champions League. Isn't it wonderful how money makes our world go round? I'm tired of the same teams reaching the same stages. Remember the time when Porto (or Mourinho?) took everyone by storm and won the finals? In fact, their opponents were Monaco, another surprise contender. That was unpredictable and exciting to watch. But whatever, I guess for next week's deciders I'll revert back to the hypocrite that I am. Forza Milan! Dheeraj is a junior. You can reach him at dravil@swarthmore.edu. DHEERAJ RAVI Red Card Men's basketball falls to Fords in overtime in Senior Day game BY SETH GREEN sgreen3@swarthmore.edu This past Saturday, men's basketball took a hard-fought Senior Day game against Haverford College to overtime, before falling 78-70. Prior to the game, head coach Lee Wimberly thanked seniors Chris Nana-Sinkam 'OB, Noam Fliegelman 'OB, Steve Wolf 'OB, Matt Kurman 'OB and lan McCormick 'OB for their many contributions to the program. Kurman recently scored his I,oooth career point, while McCormick has been the recipient of numerous awards this season; he recently broke the Swarthmore record for career rebounds. The game, cheered on by an estimated 900 fans (many of whom had bused over from Haverford), was led by McCormick, who posted 20 points and 18 rebounds. Towering over Haverford's defense, McCormick made it look easy by sinking shot after shott from the paint. As long as the team got him the ball, he seemed capable of dropping it right in. Kurman said, "lan McCormick had arguably the best season ever in our conference, as he was the first player in the history of the conference to average 20 points and 10 rebounds. He will probably go down as the best player to ever play at Swarthmore." Kurman, who has a tight passing routine with Fliegelmann, often passing the ball back and forth multiple times to confound the defense, scored 17 points of his own, including five graceful three-pointers. The Fords established a 13 point lead at the 12:43 mark of the second half. Ryan Carmichael 'll closed the gap with two three pointers, leaving the game 58-56 Haverford, part of a remarkable 23-5 Swarthmore run that brought the Garnet right back into the thick of the game. Though the Garnet, led by Matt Allen 'lO, established a brief lead, Haverford proved up to the challenge and regulation finished with the teams tied at 63. The Fords established a lead in overtime and did not relinquish it. Swarthmore finishes the season with a 2-16 record in the Centennial Conference and 6-19 overall. Afterward, Wimberly lamented the unimpressive win-loss record the team compiled for the season. In many ways, the record does not reflect the team's level of play. The Garnet lost six out of its seven overtime games and suffered many narrow defeats against Centennial Conference powerhouses. However, he continued, "I was impressed by the fact that the team never gave up in any game all year and played very hard for 25 games." Kurman said that the game mirrored their whole season. "We were ultra-competitive in nearly every game, yet seemed to find a way to lose so many of the close games rather than win." Overall, he said, the season has been frustrating. "We came in with high expectations after missing playoffs by one game last year. With the amount of talent we had, we really should have won more games." Still, it's about more than basketball. Though they are sad to end the season, Kurman said the seniors will "continue being best friends off the court." "I was impressed by the fact that the team never gave up... all year." Coach Lee Wimbley David Mai Phoenix Staff lan McCormich shoots a foul shot late in the second half of Swarthmore's overtime loss to Haverford. Sports phoenix.swarthmore.edu February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX 22
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Women's basketball pulls out overtime win on Senior Day BY LAUREN WALKER lwalkerl@swarthmore.edu The women's basketball team finished its season with a thrilling overtime win against rival Haverford College at home in Tarble Pavilion on Saturday, honoring their seniors with the ultimate victory, 74- 65. Haverford got a quick jump on the Swarthmore women at the start of the game, taking an early 7-0 lead. Kathryn Stockbower 'll was the first to get the Garnet on the board, and her basket was quickly followed up by a beautiful nothing-but-net three pointer from Melissa Grigsby 'O9, putting Swarthmore back in the game. Haverford continued to maintain the lead as the half went on, but the Garnet kept them close, matching their baskets and keeping a tight margin. With 11:30 to go in the half, Laura Popovics 'OB brilliantly placed a behindthe-back pass into the hands of captain Pam Costello 'lO to cut the Fords' lead to one point. With 5:22 remaining, Grigsby put back an offensive rebound and Swarthmore took the lead 20-18. Haverford answered back hastily, however, regaining the lead and extending the gap between the teams to eight points. A last second shot from Ceylan Bodur 'll cut the margin to five and regained momentum for the Garnet going into halftime. After the half, the action continued as the two rival squads continued to battle it out on the court. Haverford again went on an early run, extending their lead to nine points. Kristen Traband 'OB cut off the streak, beating a Haverford defender with a powerful post move and putting two points on the board for the Garnet. Swarthmore continued to reduce the Fords' lead, and with 15:20 left in the half, a three-pointer from Popovics brought the Garnet to within two points of Haverford, 36-34. The rest of the second half was a back and forth fight to the finish. Bodur tied the score at 55 a piece with 3:25 left in the game, but Haverford went up again and with two minutes to go, Swarthmore was down by four. The Garnet women were not finished, however. Two completed foul shots from Costello and a jumper from Grigsby with 1:23 left in the game knotted the score once again, and the game was sent into overtime tied at 59. Led by Popovics, Swarthmore took over the overtime play with a vengeance. Popovics sunk a three with three minutes to go to claim a 63-61 lead for the Garnet. Costello once again came through with two foul shots, and Stockbower contributed two points of her own to bring the team's lead to 67-6 L Haverford tried to battle back, grabbing a basket of their own, but Popovics answered back once again with another three-pointer with less than a minute to go, and then with five seconds in the game, she made another three-point play, tallying a total of ten overtime points and leading the Garnet women to victory. The overtime win against Haverford was a perfect finale for Senior Day. "It really meant a lot to win the last game of my athletic career with a win," said Traband. "The fact that we won in overtime made it that much sweeter," she said. Captain Karen Berk 'OB agreed, saying that "clinching the win against Haverford was the best way to end the season." Before the start of the game, the Garnet stopped to recognize their three seniors, Popovics, Traband and Berk. Each of them has made significant-contributions to the team in their time at Swarthmore, and they will be greatly missed in the future. Coach Renee DeVarney said that all of the seniors will leave behind powerful legacies after their graduation in June. "Traband's spirit and leadership has left a deep impression on the team. She is an outstanding example of someone who perseveres daily, with a positive attitude, who left a very positive impression on the team. Popovics had the best year of her career. It was great to see her growth. Berk is irreplaceable. She had some amazing games in her career and her records will stand for a long time in the books. All will be sorely missed," the coach said. The Garnet also picked up a win at Washington College last Wednesday, 68-65. These two wins bring the Garnet's overall season record to 8-16 overall (6-13 CC). These wins provided Swarthmore's women's basketball team with a solid ending, and something they hope to once again improve upon next year. HAVERFORD 65 j SWARTHMORE 74 "Clinching the win against Haverford was the best way to end the season." Karen Berk 'OB Yimei Zou Phoenix Staff Ceylan Bodur sets up a play in the Garnet's tough victory on Senior Day. Men's track makes a run at Keogh invite BY NYIKA CORBETT acorbetl@swarthmore.edu Last Friday, the Swarthmore men's Indoor Track Team traveled to Haverford College to compete in the Keogh Invitational, their last meet before the Centennial Conference Championships. None of Swarthmore's hefty throwing squad qualified for conferences, but Max Wilson 'lO remained optimistic about the next phase of the team's development. "Now that winter season is over, we can all concentrate on javelin and discus events that favor the physique of our guys," he said. These outdoor events are also ones in which the throws coach Tom Reynolds, a previous Centennial Conference Champion, particularly exceeds. Other notable efforts from the field came with the performance of Brendan McVeigh 'll, who pole vaulted to a season personal record of ten feet and six inches. This height earned McVeigh a sixth place finish in the meet and a very near miss of the conference qualifying standards.On the track, many of the men had stellar days, with five runners posting Conferences-qualifying times. Connor Darby 'O9 ran a 54 second 400 m, clocking the first qualifying time of the evening. Teammates Chris Mayer-Bacon 'll and Kwame Osei 11 also gave solid efforts, though not quite running qualifying times. This race was Osei's debut on the track and an affirmation of his development as a runner. Asked what he thought about his race, Osei said, "For my first time racing, it was pretty good." Like the throwers, this freshman from California is looking forward to an exciting outdoor season. The next qualifying time came from Andrew Vanßuren 'lO, who ran a spectacular time of 4:42 in the mile. Teammate Seth Green 'lO ran a strong 800, posting a time of 2:10 that missed qualifying by tenths of a second.To finish the evening, a pack of Swarthmore's lean, mean, distance machines rocked the 3k, with three of the men running qualifying times. They were led by Ross Weller 'OB whose Cheshire-grin showed just how happy he was to be back on the track after a season plagued with injury and the imminent threat of life in the working world after Swarthmore. Pleased with his time of 9:13, Weller commented that he "probably would have gone faster if I were being chased by a rabid animal, but Shoopie was close enough." Jonathan Shoop 'OB and Micah Katz 'OB followed Weller with times of 9:20 and 9:28, respectively. At the end of the day, Coach John Noon was content with the team's solid performance. "We made some big improvements this week, with many of the guys qualifying or barely missing conference qualifying standards. The men's team is really coming together." With all of these encouraging performances, the track team is readying itself for the Conference Championships, which are to be held this Saturday and Sunday, March 1 and 2, at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. "[l] probably would have gone faster if I were being chased by a rabid animal, but Shoopie was close enough." Ross Weller 'OB "We made some big improvements ... The men's team is really coming together." Coach John Noon phoenix.swarthmore.edu THE PHOENIX February 28, 2008 23 Sports
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Swim teams finish second at Conferences BY MELINDA PETRE mpetrel@swarthmore.edu dgs»yi *V«PCTVC»;* - 'i.WWrFMgW* Jennie Lewis 'OB and Anne Miller 'lO tie for first, earn trips to NCAA National Championships The men's (6-4, 5-1) and women's (6-5, 4- 3) swim teams concluded an impressive season with second place finishes at the Centennial Conference Championships, held Feb. 22-24. Both teams brought home 24 medals and numerous records, and the women's team will send two swimmers, Anne Miller 'lO and Jennie Lewis 'OB, to the NCAA Division 111 championships. "Swimming is not a traditional team sport, but there is no way that we could have gotten second place without all of the team there. Every race matters, and I'm really proud of how the team rose to the occasion," Doug Gilchrist-Scott 'O9 said. "It shows the conference that we are a force to be reckoned with," added Sterling Satterfield 'IL Gilchrist-Scott (6 medals, 2 school records) led the men's team with a 50-yard freestyle gold medal and school record. "I really wanted the 50 freestyle record. I had been so close the last two years, and this year I finally got it. Also, because it was the first day, it was great motivation for the rest of the weekend," he recalled. Gilchrist-Scott also took bronze in the 100- yard freestyle, his second school record. Satterfield (5 medals) also brought in big points for the men's team, winning the silver in the 200-yard breaststroke and the bronze in the 100-yard breaststroke and 200-yard individual medley. "It is always good to see the hard work that you put in pay off, especially when you have a medal to show for it," he said. Distance swimmers Stephen Shymon 'O9 (2 medals) and Andrew Frampton 'OB (2 medals) contributed with a two-three finish in the 1650-yard freestyle. "I am wondering why a merciful God would ever make me a distance swimmer. I would kill to have Doug's schedule. [Nonetheless] I am really glad with my performance last weekend. Add to that my love of big, shiny objects and you have a recipe for a great time," Frampton added. The men's team picked up big points with bronze medal-winning finishes in four relays, the 200-yard freestyle relay (Santiago Lombo 'll, Tom Kelleher 'O9, Michael Ahn 'lO and Gilchrist-Scott), the 200-medley and 400-medley relays (Lombo, Satterfield, Brian Roth 'O9 and Gilchrist- Scott) and the 400 freestyle-relay (Ahn, Frampton, John Heagy 'OB and Gilchrist- Scott). Additionally, the women's side picked up silver medals in the 200-yard freestyle relay (Franny Zhang 'OB, Julia Wrobel 'lO, Chelsea Brett 'll and Jennie Lewis '08) and the 400-yard medley relay (Allie Jordan 'O9, Stephanie Su 'll, Anne Miller 'lO and Brett). They won the bronze in the 800- yard freestyle relay (Allison Bishop 'll Zhang, Brett, Miller) and the 200-yard medley relay (Jordan, Su, Miller, Lewis). Miller said that she enjoys the cooperative element of relays, which she described as her favorite events. "Swimming is viewed as an individual sport, but the team comes through [in relays]. To time your starts so you don't get disqualified, you really have to know your teammates," Miller said. Jordan said that the team's energy was immediately visible. "From the start, we were all on fire," she said. The women's team was led by strong individual performances from Miller (6 medals, 2 school records, 2 Centennial Conference Meet records, 1 Centennial Conference record and 2 NCAA qualifying times) and Lewis (4 medals, 1 school record, 1 Centennial Conference Meet record, 1 Centennial Conference record and 1 NCAA qualifying time). The two stars tied for the gold in the 100-yard butterfly, an outcome that was thrilling for both swimmers. "The best part [of the meet] was tying Jennie. I think after [the race] we were giggling for ten minutes," Miller said. "I've exceeded my goals and expectations for myself sharing the victory and records and NCAA qualifying time in the 100 fly with Anne was an amazing feeling, highlighted by the moments after touching the wall at the end of the race when Anne grabbed me into a hug and seconds later Casey and Allie joined the group hug," Lewis said. "I'm especially proud of Jennie," Casey Osborn 10 said. "She doesn't know this, but I've been looking up to her since probably before I even got to Swarthmore and read about her in the brochures," she said. Their time qualifies both Lewis and Miller to compete in the NCAA Division 111 Championships. Miller also qualified with her gold medal winning, Conference Championship record setting time in the 200-yard butterfly for the second consecutive year. The women's team continued to dominate in this event, sweeping the medals, with Osborn and Lewis finishing 2-3. "There are two results in a meet that I've always wished for: tying for the top spot with one of my teammates and sweeping the top places in an event. We did both this weekend, placing 1-2-3 in the 200 fly and tying for first in the 100 fly. These as well as uncountable other team successes this weekend made for a perfect finale for my last conference championship," Lewis said. "This year [going to Nationals] will be fun with Jennie. Training alone last year wasn't so fun. I was excited to have Jennie with me at a 6:45 a.m. practice [on Tuesday]," Miller said. "I hope to be in the office to witness [coach] Sue [Davis]'s frustration as she tries to fit two more All-American plaques on her wall," Osborn said. Allie Jordan 'O9 (4 medals, 2 school records) contributed silver medals in the 100-yard and 200-yard backstroke. "As coach Chris [Daly] said this weekend, 'rip your heart out and throw it into the pool.' That's what every single person did in every single race. I'm really proud to be part of the Swarthmore swim team," Jordan said. "Centennial Conferences is the highlight of the season, three days with the team, your best friends on campus, everyone behind your lane cheering, it makes you realize how much these people mean to you," Miller said, adding that the championships successes were rewarding "individually and for the team as a whole." Frampton expressed his hope that subsequent swim seasons will be as fulfilling as this one. "Swat swimming has been a blast, and I can only hope that the people who come after me can say the same," Frampton said. "After touching the wall at the end of the race ... Anne grabbed me into a hug and seconds later Casey and Allie joined the group hug." Jennie Lewis 'OB Robert Manduca Phoenix Staff Jennie Lewis and Anne Miller practice together in anticipation of the NCAAs. Robert Manduca Phoenix Staff Jennie Lewis and Anne Miller share a strong bond out of the pool. phoenix.swarthmore.edu 24 February 28, 2008 THE PHOENIX