The Official Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881 VOL. 136, ISSUE 13
Swarthmore’s Finances Slowly Recover
The Phoenix THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
TODAY: Sunny, along with a few afternoon clouds. High 44, Low 32. TOMORROW: Mostly cloudy. High 49, Low 44. Chance of rain: 10%
SWARTHMOREPHOENIX.COM
Yule Ball Receives Mixed Reactions from Students
By DANIEL BLOCK News Writer
When the “Great Recession” struck in 2007, colleges and universities were not spared. Endowments everywhere declined, and institutions were forced to make budget cuts in order to properly respond. Even now, as the economy is recovering, colleges are still announcing budget changes to cope with decreased finances, some which affect financial aid. Wesleyan University, for example, just announced that starting this year, admissions would no longer be needblind. Williams College and Dartmouth College have both reintroduced loans into their financial aid packages. Swarthmore, in spite of its sizable monetary resources, was not exempt from the difficulties facing colleges. The college experienced a decline in endowment, instituted a temporary hiring freeze to cope with decreased financial resources, and re-did the way it distributes tenure. According to the recently released 20112012 financial report, the school’s finances are beginning to look better. But just as the economic recovery has been slow, so has Swarthmore’s. “The endowment since June 30, 2011 has recovered to the level it was before the downturn. However, it is not yet back on the trend line,” said Suzanne Welsh, VicePresident for Finance and Treasurer. According to the report, the endowment generated a positive 2.2% investment return and remained above its highest prerecession level. The college also received $24 million in gifts and grants, $5.8 million more than what was received the year before. However, the value of the endowment dipped slightly because budget spending exceeded the return on the investment and new gifts. But overall, the college’s finances are in a better place, and the school is managing well. “Giving has increased in fiscal 2011 and 2012 and thus far, this year is running well ahead of last year,” said Karl Clauss, the Vice-President for Development and Alumni Relations. Welsh agreed. “Our current year budget is in balance and spending is an appropriate amount from the endowment given its current size,” she said. Indeed, the report indicates that the school now feels it is in a place that it can begin implementing plans that were previously tabled due to the economy. “This fiscal year we were able to restore budgets for maintenance to pre-recession levels,” said Clauss. As a result, the college was able to renovate Worth Health Center. Many such projects are outlined in the college’s Strategic Direction plan, which was approved in December of 2011.
SADIE RITTMAN/THE PHOENIX
Wizard rock guest star Alex Carpenter performed at this year’s Yule Ball, which saw high attendance from students, yet controversy surrounding the amount of money spent.
By ANNA GONZALES News Writer
In the wake of the recent Yule Ball, students have disagreed vehemently over the event budget. Supporters claim that the Yule Ball, which received $3,000 from the Student Activities Committee (SAC) and more than $4,000 from Dean of Students Liz Braun and Coordinator of Student Activities Paury Flowers, appeals to many students and, as the only large-scale dry event on campus, should be prioritized in terms of funding. Others believe that the Yule Ball caters to a small, select group of students and receives an entirely disproportionate and unjustified amount of funding. Many students expressed concern via Facebook comments in the week leading up to the Yule Ball that an excess of funding for a single party would deplete funding for other groups on campus. Christopher Geissler ‘13 heartily supports the Yule Ball, as he believes that funding a well-attended, fun, dry event is one of
the best uses of the existing party-funding structures at Swarthmore and should be a primary goal for SAC. “Whoever funds the Yule Ball — SAC, the Deans’ Office, or anyone else — should support this event generously as the only major dry event on campus,” Geissler said. Geissler also said that he was uncomfortable with the way in which Swarthmore parties were funded, as he feels that funding structures support events involving underage drinking with the implicit support of the college. He expressed major dissatisfaction with the number and scale of dry events on campus. While there are movie screenings and parlor parties (gatherings in Parrish Parlors involving food and drink) as social events for students who choose not to drink, the Yule Ball is the only large designated dry event with music and dancing. “Not everyone who likes to party likes to drink,” Geissler said. “Dry music-anddancing-type parties provide an opportunity for those students who enjoy such events but do not drink and/or prefer to
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avoid being around drunk people to enjoy themselves in a safe space open to all students,” he explained. Rose Pitkin ‘13 agreed with Geissler’s sentiments and regards the Yule Ball as a different type of dry party. “Honestly, we spend outrageous amounts of money throwing parties with alcohol, like Halloween, Sager, Pub Nite every week, and frat parties,” Pitkin said, adding that there are no comparable dry events. “People don’t want to have fondue in the parlors,” she said, referring to the existing dry events on campus. “They want to go out and dance.” Flowers said that the Student Activities office, which supports all social events on campus, has received many requests for funding from those who do not wish to participate in the events on campus which involve alcohol. In the last few years, Flowers said, the office has received grant money to support alternative and alcohol-free social events, such as the parlor parties. After this money ran out, Flowers said, the responsibility for funding dry events fell on SAC, which enthusiastically agreed to
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
NEWS SPOTTING PLAGIARISM IN THE CLASSROOM
LIVING & ARTS DORM DIVE: MAYRA VISITS ROBERTS QUINT
OPINIONS WORLD WIDE WEB OPENS SCIENCE TO ALL
SPORTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL ON ROAD TO SUCCESS
The College’s College Judiciary Committee (CJC) deals with approximately three to six cases of plagiarism each semester, many of which are in introductory Biology classes. Page 3
A Roberts quint occupied by sophomores Michael Fishman, Zoeth Flegenheimer, Erik Jensin, Alex Moskowitz, Ben Postone, and strategically creates space for high-tech lounging. Page 8
The internet has given the world access to scientific papers and research reports; Patrick Ammerman believes this “opening” is an important step for the scientific community. Page 13
The Garnet won the Swat Tip-Off Tournament and their first Centennial Conference game to open the season on an unbeaten streak, most recently defeating Widener by a 61-50 score. Page 20
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix MARCUS MELLO, Editor in Chief MENGHAN JIN, Managing Editor The News Section KOBY LEVIN, Editor AMANDA EPSTEIN, Assistant Editor News Writers ANNA GONZALES NEHMAT KAUR CHI ZHANG
WILLIAM BLACK DANIEL BLOCK SARAH COE-ODESS
The Living & Arts Section STEVEN HAZEL, Editor ALLI SHULTES, Assistant Editor GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE, Columnist AKURE IMES, Columnist DEBORAH KRIEGER, Columnist BRAD LENOX, Columnist VIANCA MASUCCI, Columnist KIERAN REICHERT, Columnist LANIE SCHLESSINGER, Columnist DAVID TOLAND, Columnist ZOE WRAY, Columnist SAM ZHANG, Columnist ELIZABETH KRAMER, Artist RENU NADKARNI, Artist PRESTON COOPER, Puzzlemaster Living & Arts Writers TAYLOR HODGES AXEL KODAT
JEANNETTE LEOPOLD MAYRA TENORIO
The Opinions Section PRESTON COOPER, Editor PATRICK AMMERMAN, Columnist TYLER BECKER, Columnist SEAN BRYANT, Columnist DANIELLE CHARETTE, Columnist AARON KROEBER, Columnist HARSHIL SAHAI, Columnist The Sports Section DANIEL DUNCAN, Editor JENNI LU, Writer DAYO FAYANJU, Columnist SCOOP RUXIN, Columnist JAMES IVEY, Columnist
Business Management ALLISON McKINNON, Circulation Manager AXEL KODAT, Social Media Coordinator CAMILA RYDER, Publicity Coordinator HARSHIL SAHAI, Business Manager Copy JOYCE WU, Chief Copy Editor Copy Editors ALEX BLOCKER SARAH COE-ODESS SOPHIE DIAMOND
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Please direct advertising requests to advertising@swarthmorephoenix.com. The Phoenix reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Advertising rates subject to change. Mail subscriptions are available for $60 a year or $35 a semester. Please direct subscription requests to Marcus Mello. The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing, Inc. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
Week in Pictures | Page 5
JULIA CARLETON/PHOENIX STAFF
News
Sesquicentennial Logo Contest Underway
Swarthmore community members are now welcome to submit logo ideas for the College’s 150th anniversary in 2014. PAGE 3
Environmental Studies Program to Expand Next Fall
Swarthmore will soon be offering more courses and a major option within the Environmental Studies Program. PAGE 4
Living & Arts
Haverford Exhibit Asks, What Can A Body Do?
Featuring multimedia exhibits created by handicapped artists, this exhibit challenges viewers to think about art in unique ways. PAGE 6
Warning: Small Craft Changes
The College’s literary magazine is implementing new changes this semester with the help of alumni and professors. PAGE 7
Think Theater: Shows to See Before the End of the World
Theater guru Jeannette Leopold highlights coming performances you don’t want to miss, even with finals
right around the corner. PAGE 7
Kitao Gallery Exhibit
Students use this on-campus space to display photographs, paintings and other projects in a laid-back exhibit enjoyed by friends and peers. PAGE 9
SmartSwatStyle: True Love at Aoika Boutique The search for edginess and fabulousity has come to an end at this small boutique near Rittenhouse Square. PAGE 10
Are finals growing into an unshoulderable burden? No worries! Sean is here with five ways for Swatties to reduce their exam week stress. PAGE 13
Sports
Despite Slew of Losses, Garnet Men Picks Up First Win
Brew’s Clues: When Winter Comes Calling, Offer it a Beer
After finding themselves winless six games into the season with Saturday’s loss to Ursinus, men’s basketball finally scores a win last night against Washington College. PAGE 14
Opinions
Dayo takes a look at which teams are hot (or not) through the beginning of the NBA season, so you know what stories to follow. PAGE 14
Columnist Brad Lenox explores seasonal brews to enjoy next to the fire as the holidays approach. PAGE 10
Staff Editorial
The Phoenix reaffirms that the sorority has a right to exist on Swarthmore’s campus; however, it should be honest about its intentions to exist mainly as a party group. PAGE 12
Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Stick
Danielle highlights that the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education gave Swarthmore a “red light” for free expression, and argues that our policies towards speech need revision. PAGE 12
Breathe, Stretch, Shake & Let It Go
Finals Review for the Start of the NBA Season
Why Hasn’t Soccer Evolved Like Other Sports?
Jamie says that for all of soccer’s beauty, it remains stuck in the Middle Ages when it comes to fan behavior. PAGE 15
Swimming Maintains Strong Start to Season
Led by strong swims across the board, the Garnet men and women take second place at the prestigious Swarthmore Invitational. PAGE 15
News
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
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The Phoenix
Spotting Plagiarism In Swarthmore Classrooms By SARAH COE-ODESS News Writer Swarthmore’s College Judiciary Committee (CJC), a group of deans, faculty, and students that deal with cases of academic misconduct and determine the verdict, encounters around three to six cases of academic misconduct each semester, mostly due to various forms of plagiarism. Plagiarism cases have a wide range of types and severities, including improper citing, sloppily copying and pasting without crediting the source, surreptitiously integrating someone else’s words into an academic paper and buying pre-written essays online, according to Associate Dean for Student Life Myrt Westphal. Westphal oversees the CJC, along with Dean of Students Liz Braun. The majority of the cases that professors bring to the CJC, Westphal explained, are valid incidents of plagiarism, since professors need substantial evidence before presenting it to the committee. The first floor of Parrish hall has a board with the last two years’ worth of cases, details stripped out. “Usually a professor will recognize something that they’re reading,” Westphal said. “They can type in a phrase or a couple of words into Google and will find something. Because a lot of the faculty is familiar with lots of sources, they can detect and investigate these cases pretty easily.” Westphal has found that most people are not aware of their sloppy and seemingly innocent mistake, though some students admit to the academic misconduct immediately. “The cases that I’ve seen have tended to be people who are in a jam,” she said. “They had to get something in, so they took some shortcuts, either by not checking their notes or not having quoted their notes. So part of it is a sloppiness.” Westphal recalls that most of these incidents occur around the time of midterms or finals, when students are under pressure and, usually, procrastinating. Director of the Writing Associates Program Jill Gladstein, who occasionally deals with cases in which a Writing Associate suspects a student plagiarized part of a draft of a paper, agrees that it usually transpires because of a time issue; in her experience, however, the issue could be a reason unrelated to school, such as relation-
ship issues. The consequences for plagiarism at Swarthmore vary depending on the situation, with a warning and expulsion at either extreme. Warning and academic probation are the most common punishments, with a second time resulting in suspension, either for the rest of the semester or for the following semester. “If we looked at three potential reasons why there’s a judiciary system, one’s punishment, one’s deterrent, and third is educational,” Westphal said. “It’s the education we really stress in these hearings. We want students to learn about mistakes and resources and how to avoid getting yourself stuck in a corner or making bad decisions. So the goal is not punishment, although you have to take responsibility for bad decisions.” In regards to a student’s grade in the class, there are several options for penalties. While the CJC can make recommendations on what the proper penalty for each case is, ultimately the professor of the class determines the consequence. Often depending on how much was plagiarized, punishments include a 0 on the paper, a paper redo with a grade automatically knocked off or failing the class. One of the most common types of plagiarism occurs in the introductory biology classes — Cellular and Molecular Biology (001) and Organismal and Populational Biology (002) — in which students sometimes copy each other’s labs. “Where it can be pretty confusing is when two students overlap,” Westphal said. “We don’t say in our handbook that the giver is guilty of academic misconduct, but obviously if the giver didn’t give it, the taker couldn’t take it. There have been some cases where the taker did it surreptitiously.” Course Coordinator for Biology 001, Kathy Siwicki, says there is an average of between one to three plagiarism cases in the course each fall. These usually occur when students “cut and paste,” either from an online source or from a classmate’s paper. “One factor may be that most students in Biology 001 are in their first semester at the college, and have never written a scientific paper,” she said. “While people are learning how to organize information in this structured format, they’re also trying to express new
‘Swat Finance, continued from page 1 “Strategic Directions frames a broad vision for Swarthmore outlining a series of initiatives that will impact almost every area on campus,” said Klauss. “Comprehensive in nature, the plan addresses challenges facing the college and builds upon our strengths by bolstering existing programs central to our unique educational mission,” he added. The plan calls for, among other things, the renovation and remodeling of the resources allocated to the biology, psychology and engineering departments. Some projects, like the newly formed Institute for the Liberal Arts, are already underway. However, the college’s financial aid resources are still being tested. Total scholarships given by the school, excluding external grants, increased by 7.8 percent and the percentage of students on financial aid rose to 54 percent, with a record 57 percent of this year’s freshman class qualifying for aid. But Welsh stressed that the school was not planning on moving in a similar direction to what Wesleyan and Williams have done. “Sustainability of the college’s financial aid program is a high priority and will be a central goal in our fundraising efforts,” said Welsh. “We have no intention whatsoever to cut back,” she added.
COURTESY OF COLIN PURRINGTON PHOTOGRAPHY
Students working on a Biology 002 laboratory.
concepts with new terminology — in a sense they’re learning to write in a new language. When people are struggling to find the words to express new concepts clearly, they may be tempted to think that someone else has already expressed it much better than anything they could write themselves.” The Biology 001 and 002 laboratory sections use Turnitin.com, a website that not only reports how much of a paper seems to come from other sources but also finds matching phrases from these sources. These courses discuss the idea of plagiarism at the beginning of the semester in every lab section. Additionally, information on plagiarism is in the Laboratory Manual and on the course Moodle. In fact, every course at Swarthmore is required to say something about plagiarism, whether in class at the beginning of the semester or on the course syllabus. “We hope that by having relatively minor penalties for late papers, students who run out of time will not get overly stressed and desperate,” Siwicki said. “Our goal is to encourage students to build confidence in their ability to express their own arguments in their own words.” Peter Schmidt, an English professor who served on the CJC in the early 1990s, also uses Turnitin. com, though primarily for the con-
venience of the commenting system the website offers. Separate from the website, though, he thinks there are simple ways to detect plagiarism. In Schmidt’s experience, sometimes two papers that the same student has written have completely different voices or maturity levels. Other times, an essay feels patched together, often cleverly. With the Internet, Schmidt explained, it is much easier to verify plagiarism suspicions than it used to be. “Compared to 30 years ago in the humanities, we have much more of an emphasis on collaborative learning and encourage students to do research together or work on a project together,” he said. “The thing with being strict about plagiarism is that it goes against other kinds of learning where we encourage people to borrow from others. It’s one thing to borrow, it’s another thing to steal.” Once professors experience plagiarism, according to Schmidt, they become paranoid and actively look for other plagiarized papers. To discourage the issue from reoccurring, then, professors try to encourage positive learning experiences. “We try to do it in a way that encourages students to think it’s great to borrow from other people’s thoughts,” Schmidt said. “This is all part of a conversation with generations of people who have all read the same texts. But to do that right, you
“I think given what has been demonstrated it is feasible to continue the college’s commitment to having strong financial aid,” said Natalia Choi ‘15, the financial policy representative on student council and a member of the college budget committee. Choi felt that given the circumstances and the way that the recession impacted other schools, Swarthmore has done a great job maintaining aid. “The college has been able to do an impressive job in spite of the recession,” she said. Still, the school has not ruled out changing financial aid policies. According to the Strategic Direction Plan, which created a Committee on Admissions and Financial Aid to review current practices, need-blind admissions “should continue, assuming continued support from our donors and from the endowment.” “The sustainability of it long term is a real worry, and that’s something we have to watch every year,” said Welsh, speaking about the college’s policy of being need-blind and not using loans in aid packages. “If the need for financial aid starts to escalate rapidly, that will be a concern,” she added. But for now, the college has been able to handle the increased demand for aid. “It’s been the fastest growing item in the college’s budget overall, but so far, we’ve been able to build that into our budgeting,” Welsh said. And the school hopes that as the economy slowly recov-
need to give people credit.” Gladstein, too, focuses on the positive ways to approach encouraging students to write with integrity. Although the Writing Center has no direct connection to the CJC, Gladstein spends one class talking to the sophomore Writing Associates in Training (WAITs) about the ethics of being a Writing Associate (WA). “We work with drafts, so we have no obligation to report potential plagiarism,” Gladstein said. “However, we work with students on how to write well, which includes proper citations, how to incorporate sources, all that stuff.” A few years ago, a group of WAs created a committee to explore a protocol and created a document on what to do if they suspect someone has plagiarized. No WAs have suspected plagiarism with students they have worked with in a couple of years. “If a WA comes to me and suspects plagiarism, we talk through the options of talking to the student or the professor,” Gladstein said. “Sometimes they feel an obligation to the professor or the department, and sometimes they feel an obligation to the student.” Gladstein plans to hold a conference in the spring about who owns an idea. So far, President Rebecca Chopp is already one of the speakers at the roundtable conference.
ers and families’ personal financial situations improve, the demand for aid will be reduced. Furthermore, the numbers are still no cause for great celebration. Prior to the recession, the college’s endowment and financial resources grew at an incredibly strong rate. And though they are beginning to recover, they are not expected to return to near those levels. The school has already made changes originally implemented to cope with reduced resources, like the shift in the way tenure is allocated, permanent. In fact, according to Welsh, the current budget does not allocate much room for developments beyond what was deferred. “We’ve been able to restore our existing budget. But we don’t have money for a lot of new things,” said Welsh, who added that the school would be looking for new sources of revenue. “We will be looking to a capital campaign to provide funds for new initiatives.” Thus, though the school’s finances have recovered, it is clear that Swarthmore will have to adapt to a post-recession world. “The investment and finance committees of the board expect endowment return for the foreseeable years ahead to be below our long-term trend,” said Welsh. As a result, she said, the school will continue to have to act with caution. “This will require us to be very careful with the budget.”
News
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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix
Environmental Science Program to Expand Next Fall By WILLIAM BLACK News Writer
It’s an exciting time for Environmental Studies (ENVS) at Swarthmore. Following up on an initiative from the spring semester, a dedicated group of students and faculty are making strides in an effort to increase the size and depth of the ENVS program. Presently, those interested in ENVS have the option of either designing their own major or, more commonly, participating in an ENVS minor program that consists of six required courses. The interdisciplinary minor shares resources with neighbors Bryn Mawr and Haverford and also allows for study abroad. The culminating experience is a Capstone seminar, in which students from various majors collaborate under faculty supervision on a single environmental issue. Professor of Physics Peter Collings is the head of the ENVS faculty committee, a collection of professors across departments who contribute to the ENVS curriculum. “It is time Swarthmore expanded its program,” says Collings. “Developments [over the past 20 years] have made it clear how studies involving the environment can fit into the liberal arts curriculum, adding a high quality interdisciplinary program that strengthens other programs of study across the institution.” Sophomores Ben Goloff and Julia Carleton are eager to see the program expand. In March, the then-freshmen duo hosted a student-faculty discussion entitled The Future of Environmental Studies at Swarthmore, which was well-attended and served as a springboard of sorts for what has followed. Goloff and Carleton, with the help of Megan Brock ’14 and Michelle Call ’13, then spent the remainder of the spring and the entirety of the summer writing a proposal that they brought before the ENVS faculty committee in early September. The proposal rode in behind a wave of momentum from last year, including the inauguration of a foundational ENVS course, and was welcomed by the committee. Each professor had individual concerns about how the growth of the ENVS program might pull resources from their own department, but, “By the end of [the meeting] everyone in the room seemed to be pretty excited,” Goloff said. Next up were President Rebecca Chopp and Provost Tom Stephenson, who both expressed interest and excitement about the progress. Stephenson admits that “Many of our programs suffer from the instability of relying exclusively on faculty who have a prima-
KATY MONTOYA/THE PHOENIX
Academic technologist Doug Willes explains software to students in the first-year seminar Imagining Natural History, an environmental studies course.
ry affiliation in a department. This year we are contacting a search for an environmental economist. This person will have a portion of their teaching load dedicated to ENVS. The program is now jointly offered across the Tri-Colleges. So our students can call on the resources of all three institutions to put together their minors. I hope that these two developments will provide the additional resources to assure the strength of the program well into the future.” Goloff and Carleton were able to compare 25 peer liberal arts institutions by looking at the number of tenure-track ENVS professors, the presence of a major, minor, intro and methods courses, a physical home and lastly annual lectures or conferences. Then, they scored the schools on a percentage basis, with the aggregate average coming in at 69.6 percent of the required components being offered. Swarthmore, comparatively, scored a 28.6 percent. Swarthmore stood alone with Connecticut College as the only institutions not offering even one full or joint tenure-track ENVS professor. Such a seemingly meager offering likely detracts applicants from Swarthmore. Goloff, admittedly, almost didn’t apply because of the comparative disadvantage. At a school where approximately 12 students a year
graduate with the ENVS minor and at least two or three design their own major, the evidence seems to suggest that it is time for Swarthmore ENVS to grow. In polling prospective ENVS students, Goloff and Carleton concluded that there exist at least 20 potential ENVS majors among freshmen and sophomores. Included in this statistic is Laura Rigell ’16, a member of Earthlust, the environmental issues group in which Goloff serves as codirector. Rigell sees the proposed development of a major as not only a gain for ENVS, but for all of Swarthmore. “I believe that the work to establish an Environmental Studies department is essential as interdisciplinary studies must define the future of the liberal arts. I hope that this proposal sets the stage for rethinking the silos that are Swarthmore’s traditional academic departments.” Provost Stephenson agrees: “Our interdisciplinary programs are critical to the continued vibrancy of the curriculum since many of the exciting developments in fields occur at the intersections with other disciplines.” The Provost says that the strategic plan in place describes interdisciplinary programs as a priority, with emphasis on recruiting faculty and acquiring grants. Despite all of the interest, this initiative
still faces large hurdles. “An ENVS major is not appropriate until the number of ENVS courses offered routinely is higher, which can only happen with an increased commitment to ENVS on the part of the faculty,” Collings said. Students have carried the baton to this point, and it now rests in the hands of the ENVS faculty committee to submit a formal proposal. The next meeting of the ENVS Committee is in early December. “If the ENVS Committee decides to request permission either to hire a full-time, tenure-track faculty member or to get a commitment to teach ENVS classes in newly created faculty positions, then it will be facing a huge hurdle. Tentative plans are for the College to hire more faculty in the near future, but the number of requests is going to outnumber the number of new positions by a factor of three or more,” Collings said. The earliest Swarthmore could see an established major is next Fall, however with the competition for faculty hires from different departments, the major could be a few years away from fruition. Julia Carleton is a photography editor for The Phoenix. She had no role in the production of this article.
Sesquicentennial Logo Contest
Students complete a classroom project in “Imagining Natural History.”
KATY MONTOYA/PHOENIX STAFF
Swarthmore will celebrate its 150th birthday in 2014. One way students can contribute to the celebration is to participate in the Sesquicentennial Logo Contest, for which they are encouraged to submit designs or ideas of a logo that represents the anniversary. Studentdesigned symbols will be incorporated into the final logo which will be put on celebration materials and used to publicize related events. Organized by the Sesquicentennial Planning Committee, the competition is mainly open to current students but anyone in the college community who has logo ideas is welcome to share them. Participants can design the logo or write down their ideas. The Committee requires the sketches, descriptions and advice to be submitted to 150years@swarthmore.edu by January 28, 2013 and it suggests participants to include “Swarthmore College” and “Sesquicentennial,” or “150” in the logo and make it creative, spatially compact and easily reproducible. After the Committee collects students’ thoughts, there will be volunteers from the Swarthmore community, faculty and students
making judgements on all the designs. The Committee already has a volunteer, Kathy Grace, who runs the college bookstore and has a lot of experience in designing things for the college, according to Maurice G. Eldridge ’61, Vice President for College and Community Relations and Executive Assistant to the President. “It is a really unique opportunity to have your voice, your ideas and your designs preserved in the college history,” said Lisa Bao ’14, one of two student representatives on the committee, “The materials from the Sesquicentennial are going to the college archives.” She believes people who see the logo might be inspired by what the logo represents graphically and it is a chance for students to make an impact on such a large number of people. Students’ ideas contributed to the design of the Phoenix mascot a few years ago. This time, “a wonderful eye-grabbing logo that we will all enjoy seeing for a year,” said Mr. Eldridge, is what the Committee expects to see. BY CHI ZHANG
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
News
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The Phoenix
Week In Pictures: Blind Brothers, Memorial, Orchestra Concert
SADIE RITTMAN/ THE PHOENIX
Blind brothers and musicians Dan and Dave Simpson perform for students in Parrish Parlors.
COURTESY OF AYA IBRAHIM
Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine constructs installation in memory of the victims of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.
Stephanie Wey, Sofia Gabriel and Ariel Hwang play at the Fetter Concert.
JULIA CARLETON/THE PHOENIX
‘Yule Ball,’ continued from page 1 continue the support. “There is no task force dedicated to increasing the number of dry parties of any scale on campus, but we do want to make sure that all voices, without regard for minority or majority opinions, are reflected … with regards to fun traditions and annual events,” Flowers explained, adding that she sees the Yule Ball organizers as model student leaders who work hard to bring together students, faculty, and staff for a community-building event. Pitkin believes that support and respect for dry events such as the Yule Ball are necessary for building an inclusive community at Swarthmore. “Being able to have a dry party is important, and it’s important that people respect that,” she said. While Mike Girardi ’13 believes that there should be dry events such as the Yule Ball at Swarthmore, and said that he understands that a group of students on campus view drinking culture negatively or apathetically, he is troubled by the scale of funding for the Yule Ball. Girardi feels that the Yule Ball caters to a select cross-section of campus and, as such, receives an entirely unjustified amount of funding. “Blowing eight grand on an event meant to satisfy a very select group of students on campus is not right and sets a bad precedent for later Yule Balls,” he said. “I just think the amount spent on Yule Ball is ridiculous.” Girardi took issue with the fact that the school spends twice as much money on the Yule Ball as it does on Halloweenww and questioned why the two events could not be conducted on similar budgets. “To say that the party’s only expenditures are music and alcohol is not fair by any stretch of the imagination,” Girardi said of Halloween. Girardi did not consume alcohol before or during the Halloween party, and noted that lighting, decorations, and other setup costs made Halloween a positive experience for sober participants as well. Girardi stressed that he does not harbor any resentment towards dry parties and said that the school’s support for a dry event to appeal to the part of the student body which chooses not to drink is entirely fair. He acknowledged that more wet parties than dry parties occurred on campus throughout the semester but attributes this to student groups, not to the party-funding structures which Geissler believes are at fault. “There are more wet parties during the year because of the student groups that propose them. To my knowledge there do not exist any barriers to dry parties on campus,” Girardi said. “The justification of, ‘There are no dry parties so we should
overfund for this one,’ is absurd,” he concluded. Pitkin was initially also frustrated when she heard about the spending on the Yule Ball, as she had been told numerous times when attempting to secure funding for a speaker, a spokenword artist who would cost $2,500 to bring to campus, that she should not go to SAC. “It’s hard to see so much money being put into one thing,” she said. Facebook comments by many students, such as SAC member Mia Ferguson ’15, echoed Pitkin’s opinions. “We are lacking in student funding right now,” Ferguson wrote, alluding to the tighter budget this year for SAC from the Student Budget Committee (SBC). “Yule Ball was provided a substantial amount of funding, both from SAC and the Deans. This allocation means that other student events or activities will likely be void of funding, so events with budgets of all sizes will receive less.” Ferguson also wrote that smaller groups such as the dance company Rhythm ’n Motion have struggled to secure funding, a frustration in the face of a party costing upwards of $7,000. Yule Ball Director Yana List ’13 is aware that some students take issue with the expense of the ball, but she thinks that the funding for the Yule Ball is entirely justified, as many students attend and enjoy the event. “I definitely believe that the Yule Ball is worth the funding, and this year’s event just proved it to me. Sharples was completely packed all night, especially after 10,” List said. “The reality is, the price of it is comparable to the Halloween party — we just spend the money differently … most of the cost is absorbed by the Deans,” she added. The Halloween party this year received around $3,500 from SAC, while the Yule Ball received $3,000. Like Geissler, Pitkin, and Flowers, List stressed the importance of holding a large dry event for the entire community. “It is important for there to be a major dry event that is inclusive of all the different people on our campus — many of whom don’t enjoy wet parties,” List said. As of Wednesday afternoon, a poll on The Phoenix website revealed that 61 percent of the almost 270 people who voted believe funding for the Yule Ball should be decreased and directed to other groups, while 39 percent felt that the event appealed to the majority of the school and was worth the funding. Clearly, the student body remains divided over the issue of whether or not funding for the Yule Ball is justified, though it appears that organizers will conduct the budget in a similar fashion in years to come.
Students dance at the Yule Ball last Saturday night in Sharples.
SADIE RITTMAN/ THE PHOENIX
PAGE 6
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2012
The Phoenix
Haverford Exhibit Asks: What Can A Body Do? Haverford’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, located on the first floor of the Whitehead Campus Center, is a wholly different kind of space than Swarthmore College’s own List Gallery. Where the List Gallery is brightly and warmly lit, with golden wood paneling and a pretty, light atmosphere, the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is a more intense, crisp, almost industrial space, with a molded concrete ceiling and a sharper black, white and gray color palette. This exhibit is a collection of works in all media from various artists with disabilities. Some artists in this exhibit created works that deal directly with physical handicaps, while other artists chose to channel their disability into their art-making process. Overall, this excellent exhibit made me DEBORAH acutely aware of my KRIEGER own senses and challenged me to stretch I On The Arts them to understand the artists’ points of view. This exhibit did not simply present itself. It directly interacted with the viewer, demanding attention and thought, forcing the viewer to seek its rewards. One highlight of the show is the collection of works by Joseph Grigely, a hearing-impaired artist. His contribution was three large reproductions of New York Times clippings about the singers Eartha Kitt, Faust’s female opera singer, and Sekou Sundiata. The clippings in question all featured large photos of the singers singing. What Grigely did was ingenious: he removed the captions under the photographs, compelling the viewer to take a really good look at the three singers singing. This particular set of works forced me, in a sense, to see the sounds the singers were making when the photographs were taken. It made me focus on using my imagination, combined with the poses and facial expressions of the singers in the photos, to create an idea in my head of what the music must have sounded like. According to the blurb about the works, Grigely aimed to create the sense of “music with the sound turned off.” He succeeds marvelously.
Another highlight of the show is Artur Zmijewski’s display “An Eye for An Eye,” which is comprised of three large color photographs and a video. This series displays abled bodies working as limbs for a disabled body. Two of the works depict one disabled man with his missing leg filled in by the body of one of the abled subjects, and a third depicting the three subjects bent over, the abled ones supporting the body of the disabled one in a literally nakedly beautiful way. The accompanying video shows the abled subjects helping the disabled man walk down stairs and do other tasks. This series depicts snapshots of genuine human connection and support that are quite moving and skillfully arranged. The works of Christine Sun Kim, another hearing-impaired artist, also are truly noteworthy in this exhibit. Titled “Speaker Drawings #1-10,” they are 10 wooden circles splattered with colored inks. The process behind these works is truly interesting. According to the blurb about this display, these works were created during a sound performance at the exhibit’s opening in October. The vibrations caused by the sounds caused the inks to move in different patterns on the wood circles, creating ten unique works. Like the Grigely display, this work challenges the viewer to see the sound, stretching the limits of the senses. I have only discussed a few of the excellent works in this show. By engaging not only my eyes but also my ears and my imagination, this exhibit made me acutely aware of myself and of my presence in the space. This outstanding and challenging exhibit is an important display of works by people who often lack representation, especially in the art world. It shows a range of abilities that are often overlooked. It should not be missed. I plan to return to see future shows at the gallery this year. Their lineup looks thought-provoking and will likely be worth the trips off-campus. “What Can A Body Do?” runs through December 16. The Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is open 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11 a.m. - 8 p.m. on Wednesdays, and 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. on weekends.
OUTSIDE
the
BUBBLE
By CAMI RYDER
125th Anniversary Open House at Penn Museum
Penn Museum, University City December 6 at 10 a.m. Penn Museum opens up its doors with free admission to all of its galleries, including the Egyptian, African and Mediterranean sections of the museum. In celebration of its founding, the museum will display conservators working on Egyptian mummies, interactive lectures on Mayan and Egyptian artifacts, and behind the scenes tours. Though some events may be catered to the younger crowd, it’s a great opportunity to see the museum’s extensive collection of artifacts and mummies for free. The Penn Museum’s current exhibition “Maya 2012: Lords of Time” will also be available for a discounted price of $10.50. For more information, including a list of events and the museum’s collections, visit http:// www.penn.museum/.
COURTESY OF FLICKRHIVEMIND.NET
Kimmel Center Presents Philadanco December 7-9 Kimmel Center
The contemporary dance company Philadanco will be performing “Back to Black” for their annual fall season show at the Kimmel Center. Philadanco is a nonprofit dance organization that has received numerous accolades and awards for its “innovation, creativity and preservation of predominantly African-American traditions in dance,” according to their website. The performance will include Milton Myers’ “ECHOES: A Celebration of Alvin Ailey” and the Philadelphia premiere of Matthew CO UR Rushing’s “Moan.” With shows running TE SY OF from December 7 through DecemPH IL ber 9, and tickets ranging from AD AN $29-$46, the dance performance CO .C OM is one not to miss. For ticket information, visit www.kimmelcenter.org.
Rittenhouse Square Menorah Lighting Rittenhouse Square December 9 at 5:30 p.m.
In celebration of Hanukkah, the Friends of Rittenhouse will host a menorah lighting on Sunday, December 9 within the center of Rittenhouse Square. The annual lighting event lights up the city’s largest menorahs, and includes prayers and festivities. Starting at 5:30 p.m. this Sunday, the first candle of the menorah will be lit. The cost of the event is free. COURTESY OF HAVERFORD.EDU
COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA.ORG
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
PAGE 7
The Phoenix
Warning: Small Craft Changes
Literary Magazine Provides New Design, Content in Coming Release By AXEL KODAT Living & Arts Writer In 1980, the campus literary magazine called the Null Set Review and staffed by, among others, Jonathan Franzen, voted to change its name to Small Craft Warnings after a Tennessee Williams play. Small Craft is now the campus’s oldest literary magazine, with a rich history of editors and contributors who have gone on to prolific careers in literature and the arts. But though its status as the primary print literary publication on campus has remained largely unaltered, in recent years the magazine has struggled with a stagnant design and a diminishing campus presence. “It kind of fell into disrepair in the last 10 years,” explains editor Trip Lenahan ’15. This year, looking to reverse this trend, the magazine is ready for an update. In an effort to revitalize the publication – to make it “more professional and competitive”, according to editor Danielle Charette ’14 – members of the magazine’s editorial board have spent the semester implementing several major changes. The overhaul has been spearheaded in large part by Lenahan. “I was really bored over the summer,” he explains. “Small Craft just needed some new life, some spirit, some energy. I feel like Swarthmore deserves to have a really cool literary magazine.” Changes have ranged from the relatively small to several major shifts in direction. In
the former type, the magazine is dropping the “Warnings” from its name; it will now be called simply Small Craft. And to encourage content diversity, the board is now limiting each individual author to one published piece, whereas previously the limit was three. Some of the most significant changes, however, involve new roles for and contributions by alumni and faculty members. In the past, content and design has been entirely student-generated, and, generally, the magazine has been composed purely of student creative writing and art (although the magazine will not contain any student artwork or photography this semester, the board hopes to reintroduce visual art in later issues). Now, however, the magazine is looking to integrate contributions from the larger college community, including students, staff and alums. While planning for this semester’s revamped issue, the board reached out to Linda Huang ’08 and Andrew LeClair ’08, both graphic designers currently based in New York. Huang, who is a recent graduate of the Parsons School of Design and currently works as a designer at Alfred A. Knopf, and LeClair, who recently graduated with an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, have been responsible for the vast majority of design changes in the upcoming issue. Other alums and staff also provided diverse content, including Adam Dalva ’08, an MFA candidate at NYU, and Professor of English
Literature Nathalie Anderson, who contributed a poem. In addition, the foreword for the upcoming issue was written by Adam Haslett ’92, whose debut book of short stories entitled “You Are Not a Stranger Here” was a finalist for the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Haslett was himself an editor of Small Craft Warnings in 1991; his piece recounts the experience of anonymously submitting to the magazine and then trashing his own piece during a board meeting. Huang and LeClair are also in the process of designing a new website, which the editors hope will include a full archive of past magazine pieces. The website launch will feature two poems from the first issue of Small Craft. The author of one is currently a librarian in Houston, while the other is professor at Grinnell, and the archive feature will actively aim to keep up and engage with former contributors, meshing well with the magazine’s efforts to enhance its role in the broader campus community. Overall, according to Lenahan, the response of alumni to requests for contributions has been overwhelmingly positive. “Every alum that I emailed responded, including Michael Dukakis,” Lenahan explained. “I wrote him, like, ‘Hey, would you be willing to provide an intro,’ and he wrote back two hours later, saying ‘Yeah, just follow up.’ And I didn’t, because I got Adam Haslett.” All alumni and faculty involved in the making of the upcoming issue volunteered their time to the project.
In another more practically-minded change, the board decided to change the magazine’s printer; whereas previous issues have been published at Sir Speedy, a large printing franchise, this semester’s issue will be printed at Linco, a small independent press in New York. According to Lenahan, the money saved from this switch means that they will likely be able to print around 500 copies this semester, up from 250 in recent years. While 250 will continue to be distributed around campus, the extra 250 copies will likely be kept available for alumni and other members of the broader campus community to order. Some things, of course, remain unchanged. The editorial board – this semester composed of Lenahan, Charette, Ben Ellentuck ’14, Sam Zhang ’13, and Henrietta Hakes ’13 and slightly smaller than in recent semesters – reviews all submissions anonymously. This semester’s issue, though still unfinished, will likely fall in a normal range, 50-100 pages. The board hopes to host a launch party in January, featuring various speakers and readings. Longer-term aims center around the hope that a fresh, new design and stronger alumni and staff involvement will push the magazine more prominently into campus and community awareness, and into a position of new relevance. Or, as Lenahan puts it in more down-to-earth terms, “when the magazine is released in January, we hope that more people will contribute and just know what Small Craft is.”
Week In Pictures: Fetter Concert, Mariachi Band, Orchestra Concert
ADRIANA OBIOLS/THE PHOENIX
JULIA CARLETON/THE PHOENIX
Jamal Dillman-Hasso and Lucy Peng perform in a recent fetter concert.
The mariachi band performed in Danawell trailer on Saturday evening.
ORA KATZ FOR THE PHOENIX
Ben Kapilow conducted his orchestral composition “Propulsive Behavior” during Sunday evening’s orchestra concert.
Shows to See Before the End of the World By JEANNETTE LEOPOLD Living & Arts Writer
Worried that there’s no more theater left in the semester? Wondering what on earth you’re going to do on Friday nights and Sunday afternoons for the next couple of weeks? Wishing that there was some way to fill that emotional void in your heart? Fear not! There are not one, not two, but three more on-campus theatrical events for your viewing pleasure this semester. First up is Senior Company’s show, “The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union,” by David Greig. Despite the somewhat obnoxious title, the play is a down-to-earth–or up in the sky?–series of interlinked stories that capture our struggle to communicate with those closest to us and the disconnect that we often feel in the moments when we most need someone to understand. It is an immensely powerful play. Of course, being in it, I may be biased. Senior Company is a mandatory course taken by senior theater majors in which
their sole aim is to put on a play. Last year’s show was “Fefu and Her Friends” by Maria Fornés, and the year before was Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses,” based on Ovid’s poem. The seniors in each of those years chose to cast some of the roles with non-seniors or non-theater majors. This year’s Senior Company preferred to cast only within the group of senior majors. This year’s group is sticking with past years’ tradition, though, in that they are using more than one director, and the directors are also acting in the play. Each actor in the show, with one exception, plays two characters. Thus: the show stars Sophia Naylor as a Russian communist cosmonaut, Meryl Sands as a homesick cosmonaut and a stroke victim, Kari Olmon as a flirty, feisty erotic dancer and a somewhat odd police woman, Sebastián Bravo as a powerful, rich man and a kind proprietor, Vianca Massuci as a trapped husband and quirky UFO researcher, and me as his bored wife and an erotic dancer. “Cosmonaut” will be performed in LPAC’s Frear this Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 p.m.
In the week following “Cosmonaut,” the Frear will host the Directing class’s Night of Scenes. The Night of Scenes is a showing of Directing I’s work of the semester. The whole night shouldn’t be more than an hour and a half, according to Professor Elizabeth Stevens, who teaches the course. There are five students in the class, and five scenes (or in two cases, whole, very short plays). Marta Roncada ’14 will show all of “Lures” by Jeanette Farr. Katie Goldman ’14 will present all of “The Other Woman” by David Ives. Sam “Swift” Shuker-Haines ’14 will show a few scenes from “Mud” by Maria Fornés (yes, the same one who wrote “Fefu and Her Friends”). Anna Russell HC ’14 will show a scene from “Proof ” by David Auburn. Josh McLucas ’15 will present a scene from“The Name II” by Jan Fosse. This group has a lot of talent. ShukerHaines and McLucas recently collaborated on “The Horizon (Line),” which hearsay called an unbelievable success. Roncada has stage-managed about half of the shows on campus since she arrived at the school; it should be interesting to see her work in a more strictly artistic setting. Goldman had
an excellent performance in Olmon’s “The Intense Fragility” earlier in the semester; she also appeared in the Night of Scenes her freshman year. Russell started a Tri-Co theater group, “United States of Play,” last fall, and her shows have been truly excellent. The Night of Scenes is not something to miss. Night of Scenes will take place in the Frear Wednesday, December 12 and Thursday, December 13 at 7:30 p.m. Finally, to give you something to think about as you fall into the pit of despair (or, for some, I’m sure, a wonderful week of showing how much you’ve learned) of finals week, the Acting II class will present their own Night of Scenes on Friday, December 14 at 7 p.m. in the Frear. Acting II, which is taught by Visiting Assistant Professor Elizabeth Webster Duke, is focused on Shakespeare, and so the scenes will be taken from his plays. It’s been a great semester for theater all around. Next semester will bring more theses, musicals, devised work, big productions, small plays, and don’t-miss shows in Philly. See you then.
Living & Arts
PAGE 8
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix
By MA RYA Living & TENORIO Arts W riter
DORM DIVE
Inside Roberts Hall
Ben Postone ’15 Erik Jensen ’15 Alex Moskowitz ’15 Zoeth Flegenheimer ’15 Michael Fishman ’15
The quint in Roberts Hall may be Swarthmore’s best-kept secret. Roommates Ben Postone ’15, Erik Jensen ’15, Alex Moskowitz ’15, Zoeth Flegenheimer ’15, and Michael Fishman ’15 reside in a spacious suite-style dorm that encapsulates the playful dynamic that exists between the five roommates. In the middle of a hallway on the second floor, a stack of tall steps lead up to the Roberts quint. “It’s as though we live on the second and a half floor,” explained Moskowitz. Inside, a large triple and a double are connected by a spacious living room the roommates set up. This is “where we all congregate,” Flegenheimer said. Decorating was a collaborative process as the five roommates brought objects from home and also shared the costs of new furniture. A rug lies under a number of couches, including two bought at Goodwill. To complement their sleek flat-screen TV, the roommates recently bought and set up new surround sound. Postone explained that the living room has become a “leisure space in the evenings.” There is an Xbox, and a Wii and a wide assortment of games, yet Flegenheimer admits their roommates usually “watch lots of TV and seasons of Scrubs together,” which is often accompanied by
Chinese food. Above the TV is a large Arsenal flag and on the opposite wall, there are two paintings made by Postone’s mom. Facing the two windows in the room is a cardboard cut-out of Windell Middlebrooks, who plays the delivery man in the Miller High Life commercials. According to Jensen, the cutout is “pretty divisive in Roberts,” adding that many students will get “completely terrified when they see him staring out of the window when they’re walking back late at night.” Fishman also noted that the Miller man has frightened the roommates themselves. “We kept forgetting it was there,” he said. Adjacent to the living room is a double shared by Postone and Jensen. Postone is an Honors Sociology and Anthropology major from the south side of Chicago. Near Postone’s bed is a Humphrey Bogart poster along with a painting “made with my mom before I left for school,” he said. The painting shows “my artistic expression”, he added. Above his dresser, Postone has a picture of Chicago’s skyline. “I identify a lot with the city,” he said. Jensen describes the room he shares with Postone as “exclusively a leisure space.” He claims the Doctor Who and Blues Brothers posters above his bed, along with the alu-
minum artifact he made for his final project in shop class last year, as “[tying] in pretty heavily to different parts of my personality,” further adding, “it’s always nice to come home and see John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd staring at you in sunglasses.” The unique feature of the double is its private bathroom, which is cleaned every day by EVS staff. Jensen appreciates cleanliness. “Ben is a great roommate,” he said. “He sleeps through almost anything … and he is pretty clean as well,” in comparison to “what Zoeth’s side of the room normally looks like.” Past the living room and across a small passageway is the triple shared by Moskowitz, Flegenheimer, and Fishman. The room has a skylight and is of impressive size, which has allowed the roommates to create their own space. In the left corner
ALL PHOTOS BY MARTIN FROGER-SILVA/THE PHOENIX
near the door, Flegenheimer has decorated his side with a “random assortment of things I thought were funny,” he said. His bookshelf is crowded with little knickknacks that he said have simply started “piling up” over time. Meanwhile, stacks of books cover every inch of Flegenheimer’s desk. “That’s more of a storage area,” noted Moskowitz. “I worked in my actual room once,” added Flegenheimer, mentioning that he and the other guys do most of their work at Underhill library. Fishman compared Flegenheimer to a “jovial … piece of gum that keeps us all together,” and roommates saw a clear description of his personality in Flegenheimer’s bunny slippers. Moskowitz said they are “comforting and very entertaining,” while Fishman simply noted “you can’t take them seriously.” Moskowitz’s bed is perpendicular to the right wall. He has a map “marked with places I’ve been to,” he said, which include Buenos Aires, Argentina, Spain, London, Kansas City, and many spots in Western Europe. He is a “big fan” of Harry Potter and has a poster near his bed. Directly above his bed is a plastic penguin fastened to the wall by tape. Since the beginning of the semester, the roommates “just started moving him around” from place to place until he ended up on the wall. The roommates also have fun with a squishy water toy named Leonard. “We like to hide him,” Flegenheimer said, who mentioned that he had hung from a chain in the middle of the room at one point. Fishman’s side of the room faces the door. He has a Barcelona soccer jersey and a postcard along with a picture of a painting from artist Michael Godard. There is a pool cue
laying near the ceiling that Fishman notes is now “internal design” and not used to play with. He also placed vinyl records on the walls, explaining “I like classical music.” Fishman has an acoustic and an electric guitar, but claimed his collection of books are most representative of him. “[They] display my passions,” he said, which include psychology, neuroscience, art history, and architecture. “My roommates are completely ridiculous, but we have all been good friends from the beginning of freshman year,” Jensen said. Most people block into Roberts, “so every room is a bunch of close friends living together,” he said. For Moskowitz, the best thing about Roberts is having the “ability to design our own space,” stating that the room “feels more like an apartment than a dorm.” One of the biggest advantages of living in Roberts is the large kitchen found on the first floor which is supplied with communal dish ware. The roommates regularly cook together and make pasta, fried rice, omelets, and Postone’s specialty, oatmeal with peanut butter and cinnamon. For Jensen, living in Roberts comes down to two things: having a great room but not liking being off campus. “Even though it is not too much of a walk”, he said, “there are times when I feel a little separated from Swarthmore.” For Postone, the relationship with his roommates makes it worthwhile. “We get along great,” he asserted, and with friends on campus, four roommates, a penguin, Leonard, an Einstein doll hanging over the door, and the Miller man, who could dispute that they “have lots of fun [together]”?
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
PAGE 9
The Phoenix
NITHYA SWAMINATHAN/THE PHOENIX
Kitao Gallery’s new exhibit presents the photos, paintings, and creation of a variety of Swarthmore artists, whether hobbyists or serious students.
An International Vibe Floods Kitao Gallery Exhibit Offers Space for Majors and Enthusiasts
By TAYLOR HODGES Living & Arts Writer
At their most stressed, Swarthmore students seem to pride themselves on being some of the busiest students in the country. To the busy Swattie who heaves an overstuffed backpack and holes up in Cornell basement, trading mugs of caffeine for sleep, extracurricular reading is a sad form of procrastination, and art projects, well, can you get credit for those? Some of the students are getting credit for their work on display this past weekend at Kitao, but many are just happy to have the opportunity to display their work. The gallery, in partnership with the Intercultural Center, is hosting a student art show featuring works by seven students. Some are showing works they’ve done this semester for studio art courses, but others are simply hobbyists. “These are just some figure drawings I’ve done in my studio drawing course,” said Eric Chang ’13, gesturing to a group of sketches across the room. The four pencil drawings are portraits of figures facing out from the page, or in profile. “These are just some things I’ve done this semester,” Chang said with a shrug. “I
chose them because I just liked them per- for the past year or so.” sonally. There’s a speed at which I was able Kim’s contribution to the art show is a to draw them, that made them special to painting with some mixed media elements. me. Then,” he demured, “that sketch in the The image is accomplished such that there’s upper-right corner is just one of my friend.” little way to understand how she produced Now a senior finishing his biology ma- it. It looks a bit like a watercolor visage jor, Chang has been a board member of whose facial features have been swirled and Kitao since his sophomore year. distorted. It’s a bit unsettling, but also very “I joined because if you’re not a studio warm. art major, it’s difficult to find a resource to “Of the pieces I’ve done this semester, show your work.” the piece I chose for the show most fit my None of the students are here to show fi- conceptions of my work. Also, I just liked nal projects or studio major theses. Instead, it the most.” the works on display are just the products of This kind of forthrightness was in line students who’ve made time within Swarth- with the unpretentious feel of the entire more’s academic exhibit. Artists constraints to weren’t standing produce visual by their works “I just feel a real compulsion art. looking to be “I do a lot of asked about the to make my art, which is nice art in my spare inspirations bebecause that’s something I’ve time,” said Sarah hind their forbeen trying to cultivate within malistic choices. Kim ’13. “At this moment I feel names myself for the past year or so.” Their like I’m doing were taped up on Sarah Kim ’13 more art than the wall by their schoolwork,” she works and that said with a laugh. was enough for “I just feel a real compulsion to make my the artists, who mostly hung around the art, which is nice because that’s something back of the one-room gallery and chatted I’ve been trying to cultivate within myself to friends who had showed up.
Daniel Cho ’13 submitted eight photographs to the exhibit, but the pictures work as a whole piece. Arranged in an array two photos high and four wide, lines throughout the images lead the eye around from one image to another. Many of the pictures are of stairs — including steps from the Philadelphia Art Museum and Swarthmore’s own McCabe Library — and Cho readily admits to a preoccupation with the motif. “I’m an architectural photographer, so I’m very often interested in staircases. Having them be a big part of this piece just made sense.” Like many students who contributed to the exhibit, Cho makes his art work part of his everyday life. “I take a camera with me everywhere and just take photographs of things that interest me.” The Swatties who contributed to the art exhibit were all proud to show some of what they’ve been able to make over the course of the semester and took the opportunity to chat with other student artists and the students who had come to see the show. But no one stayed at the gallery’s Thursday opening for too long. After all, the artists, too, had overstuffed backpacks to haul off to Cornell basement.
NITHYA SWAMINATHAN/THE PHOENIX
PAGE 10
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix
Found: Edginess and Fabulosity
Aoki Boutique Scores a Stylish Home-Run off Rittenhouse Square Although my arm had been tired from holding my Aoki is a small boutique located right by Rittenhouse Square and is dedicated to serving today’s funky and al- book-filled bag, it gained the motivation to keep flipping ways fabulous woman. It is a great place to find designer through the racks as the edginess factor in the tops I saw was going up. I peered down at a sequin top from Pink clothing that you are bound to use again and again. Yotto, a silk blouse from Yumi Kim, and well, you can see where this is going. Rating: 5 out of 5 My favorite aspect was the layout of the home décor, Price Range: $$$$ small notepads, and jewelry. They are all carefully placed 115 S. 22nd St. on shelves for customers to see. Necklaces with small (between Chestnut and Samson Streets) skulls, threaded motifs, and cute kitschy pendants (all Philadelphia, PA 19103 around $60 to $125) were on fabric necklace stands and 215.568.2024 in glass cases. The boutique’s cute factor came in with its Bulldog About a month ago, as I was walking with my class notepads, ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ water bottles, Betto the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia, I felt a slight but powerful gravitational force slowly pulling me in an- sey Johnson tights, interestingly designed matchboxes, other direction. A small but elaborate and scented candles. They made the trip so much more enjoyable and fun. display right off Rittenhouse GABRIELA window Aoki also has a long rack of sale items towards its far Square caught my eye, and little did I CAMPOVERDE know that this would be where I spent right. Although the boutique sells brands with high price points, the discounts are great in comparison, offering up the rest of my evening. Swat Smart After my class trip, I saw a group to 60% discounts from what I saw. Regardless, items typiShopping of my classmates gathered at the en- cally range from $30 to $150. I managed to find a high trance, and as we walked together, neck sleeveless tee with an awesome metallic skull design there was no doubt about our intentions. We were all for $17 from $34. While shopping here during a second trip, a few stylabout to pay Aoki boutique a visit. It was obviously the ists came in to pick out clothing for a local fashion show. popular choice. Walking in felt like transitioning into a made-up room, It was awesome to see this all in action because they tried if that makes any sense. The walls were comforting, with to pick out only what they really loved. Each one of them a hue similar to a Jamaican sea. Low, narrow wooden said they would return to do some personal shopping for shelves and dressers, filled with small goods, were filed the rest of the items in the store. The feeling of trying to against the walls. Racks of clothing were abundant and get everything in Aoki was apparently mutual. I would describe my experience as visiting a Scoop in filled with, but not to the point to intimidate you from SoHo without the snobbiness of some of the other clients going through them. As I walked towards the back, the owner, Alina Alter, in the store. Or for the better understanding of a Swatnicely offered to help me look for anything and to direct tie, let’s think about going to Urban Outfitters with more any questions to her. I was slowly falling for the boutique. daring clothing in a much more intimate setting. I am (Like one of my friends noted, fashion can, in fact, re- pumped. Pumped that I can now pay frequent visits to a new-found love. place a boyfriend.)
GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE/THE PHOENIX
Aoki boutique managed to be both fashionable and personal.
When Winter Comes Calling, Offer It A Beer The holidays are always decadent: we eat too much, we sleep too much and obviously we wind up drinking too much. Beer may be far from your mind when you want to warm yourself up after shoveling snow or a complement to a good book and a roaring fireplace. As a beverage, beer is obviously on the cooler end of the spectrum and its sparkly effervescence usually connotes crisp refreshment rather than the full-body warmth of spiced wine or liquor. But obviously this column is about the merits of beer, not of mulled port, grog or hot toddies. Though summertime-themed advertising campaigns by the likes of companies like Corona or Miller might cause you to forget, beer can and should be enjoyed in all seasons, even on those days when you drink out of a frosted glass whether you ordered it or not. First of all, as I have mentioned in my first column of this semester, seaBRAD sonal offerings add a great deal of variLENOX ety and weather-appropriate flavors to your normal palate. Generally, brewers Brew’s Clues will seek to complement the weather by putting out styles that trend towards the dark, the sweet and the spicy. For example, a personal favorite of mine and of many of my close friends is Wassail Ale from Oregon’s Full Sail Brewing Co. The name, taken from the Old Norse word, refers both to a wintery festival and the toast said during such celebrations. The beer itself is classified under the “Winter Warmer” style heading, which is about as ambiguous and broad as you can get. In general terms, a beer calling itself a “warmer” will contain a higher than average ABV — in a similar sense of the qualifier “imperial” — and “winter” is a catch-all way to describe flavors like nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves. Moreover, these beers tend to be malt-forward, focusing more on the savory and the sweet; the hops that are included will trend toward the subdued, spicy character of English varieties like Fuggles, and complement the malt rather than compete with it. Not all breweries follow this pattern, however. The venerable Sierra Nevada (a company I hope by now you, my
readers, recognize as one of the premiere national brewers) bucks the Warmer trend with their seasonal release, Celebration Ale. An American IPA clocking-in at 6.8 percent ABV, Celebration seems to be not too much different than Sierra Nevada’s year-round hop-bomb, Torpedo IPA, but the difference is in the details. For almost every beer made on a commercial scale, hops are either added to the boil in the form of compressed, concentrated “pellets” or as dry whole cones. Sierra Nevada, however, celebrates (Get it?) the changing of the seasons and the arrival of the hop harvest season by using “wet hops” — in other words, whole cones right off the vine — in Celebration’s boil. For those readers familiar with some technical brewing terms,
Although summertime-themed advertising campaigns by the likes of Corona or Miller might cause you to forget, beer can and should be enjoyed in all seasons. this technique is not necessarily related to “dry hopping,” which is when beer is fermented on top of a layer of hope cones to impart flavor and aroma without necessarily adding bitterness. “Dry” in this case refers to the hops exclusion from the boil, and one would easily dry hop a beer with “wet” cones. Regardless, Celebration is delicious and is perfect for hopheads that aren’t willing to go over to the dark side (that is to say, the malt side). Finally, the holidays are the perfect excuse to bring out those beers you have saved all year (or even longer) for special occasions. As I have alluded to in previous columns, beer has the ability, just like good wines, to develop new flavors as it ages under proper conditions. Known as “cellaring,” putting a beer in a cool, dry and dark place for
anywhere from six months to ten years can mellow out the heat and bite of alcohol, subdue the sharpness of hops and balance the sweetness of malts. Though I try to shy away from anecdotes in this column, my first experience with beer cellaring actually involved a Winter Warmer — Lakefront Brewery’s Holiday Spiced Lager — that I was given as a Christmas gift a few years back. At 11 percent, the Spiced Lager is one of the highest ABV lagers I have ever seen on the shelves period, outdoing German dopplebock behemoths like Weihenstephaner’s Korbinian in terms of alcohol. Moreover, the beer is heavily and heartily spiced, resembling Jaegermeister in terms of viscousness and pungency. After slurring my way through two of the six, I decided that this beer would be a perfect candidate to tuck away for a while to balance out what was a rather intense beer. The following Christmas I tried one of two bottles kept in my beer fridge/cellar. Ideally beer should be kept at 50-55° F in a dark, low-humidity environment. Most closets or basements in moderate climates are sufficient, but a dedicated beer fridge can double as cooler and cellar. Finally, Stone Brewing Co. has an event that makes this particular winter beer season especially exciting. A beer tasting designed by a mad scientist or magician, the Stone Vertical Epic series is an audacious project decades in the making. Starting on 2/2/2002, Stone has released a unique beer one year, one day and one month after the previous entry. There is no limit to styles, but all of the beers are above 7.5 percent ABV, and this December 12, a rather special day, Stone will introduce the capstone of the Epic Series. Though it is hard to find these beers on shelves anymore except most likely the last two entries, a more quotidian vertical tasting is still a great idea to bring in the New Year or spice up any other winter gathering when you have a bunch of people looking to drink a lot of beer. Try to focus your purchases on beers with higher alcohol content and that are malt-forward. Don’t be afraid to reach into the back of dusty shelves, because you might get lucky and find a beer that had the aging done for you. Cheers.
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
PAGE 11
The Phoenix
Christmas Songs at College Now That You’re A Swattie, The Holidays Just Got a Lot More Problematic By PHOENIX STAFF
Christmas is already an insensitive occasion. Who decided to celebrate a holiday that involves a fat Caucasian male who travels in a sleigh pulled by exclusively male reindeer and only gives gifts to Christian children? But while the whole holiday is problematic, there are several songs that we at The Phoenix find to be particularly egregious offenders. White Christmas “White Christmas” is, simply put, racist propaganda. Written by Irving Berlin and popularized by Bing Crosby in the 1940s, the song fondly reminisces about an oldfashioned, “white,” Christmas. Bing and Berlin are “dreaming” of this “white Christmas,” clearly referring to an earlier time when the civil rights movement was not beginning to gain steam and African Americans were forced into subordination. Don’t believe us? Consider these lines: “May your days be merry and bright And may all your Christmases be white.” By rhyming “bright” with “white,” Berlin is clearly connecting the notion that one’s days should be “merry” with them also being “white.” Real subtle, Irving. Real subtle. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town “You better watch out You better not cry You better not pout I’m telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town.”
individualism and freedom of expression? Is crying not a fundamental part of what makes us human? Why should we be penalized by Santa for this most basic expression? Furthermore, why are we allowing an old white dude who lives on the most isolated part of earth to make decisions about who is “naughty” and “nice?” Can you imagine a person more out of touch with society and contemporary values? We can’t. Lastly, any person who watches people when they are sleeping, awake, and knows when they’ve been “bad” or “good” (whatever that means) should be arrested and imprisoned for stalking, not celebrated. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus This song is heteronormative. Why can’t Daddy kiss Santa Claus? Believe Josh Groban’s “Believe” may seem like an innocent song about dreaming. But in reality, Groban is sending false messages and prescribing a deceitful plan for societal improvement. “You have everything you need If you just believe.” Really Groban? Really? Did we defeat the norm of racism in the United States by just “believing?” Are we going to tackle homophobia and sexism by just wishing it away? Absolutely not. At Swarthmore, we know full well that there’s only one way to get everything you need, and that’s through hard work. Soul crushing, death-inducing, hope-killing amounts of work....
What gives Santa Claus the right to trample on our
Happy Holidays from the Phoenix!
Holiday Music ACROSS 1. “This will serve ___ option” 5. Hard liquor from Sioux Falls? 10. With “phobia,” fear of heights 11. Those who plow 12. Ness or Lomond 13. Agricultural staple, especially in Settlers of Catan 14. ___ Ye Faithful (Christmas carol) 16. Chemist with a tedious name 17. Text from the Joker? 20. ___ up (overact) 24. Hanukkah song with last bit repeated 3x 29. Fla. city near Orlando 30. On a PC, they’re generally on either side of the space bar 31. Christmastimes 32. Words with carte or mode DOWN 1. UAL, Delta competitor 2. Detective Doo 3. π/2 - arcsin x 4. Saying of negative Santa? 5. Burmese dictator Than ___ 6. Qatar capital 7. Wheel of movie film 8. Russian mountain range 9. Denver time zone 15. Title for Dalloway or Doubtfire 18. 17th Greek letter 19. Yemen capital 21. With “Bean,” wife of popular
clothing retailer’s founder? 22. Not one ___ (not the tiniest bit) 23. Plasmas or flatscreens 24. Ingredient in milk for vegans 25. Greenville, NC campus
26. Kilmer of “Batman Forever” 27. In Paris, Notre Dame is on one 28. You go, in Uruguay BY PRESTON COOPER
For the solution to this week’s puzzle, see The Phoenix’s online edition at www.swarthmorephoenix.com under Multimedia.
Our National Pastime
James Earl Jones said it best in the movie, “Field of Dreams”, “The one constant through all the years has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game; it’s a part of our past. It reminds of us of all that once was good and it could be again.” Baseball has always been my favorite sport – I have been playing it since I was a kid. If my friends and I were not on a field playing baseball, we were playing stickball in the street. Growing up, I lived next to the woods. That is where we built our own baseball diamond and we would play rain or shine. That was our neighborhood version of “sandlot” baseball and we made memories to last a lifetime. I have been coaching my own children’s baseball teams for the past nine years. There is nothing better in the world than seeing one of your kids get their very first hit; it is priceless. One year, my son David’s team won the championship. It was totally out of control. The team had four different parties and we celebrated like we had just won the World Series. That same year, David’s team also won the batting title for the league. It was the icing on the cake. This past season, my daughter Hunter (a.k.a .BabyGirl)’s traveling softball team had an undefeated season of 17-0. To top it off, they won the championship. Along with their trophies and accolades, the team received jackets that were equal to any high school letterman jacket. The girls on the team were partying and having so much fun after their Can You Dig It? championship win. Let’s just say, nobody got out of there without being covered by silly string. Growing up as a Phillies fan, I went to a lot of games. There is nothing like being at a game with 50,000 wild and crazy Phillies fans. It is so great because now I take my kids to Phillies games just like my dad took me and my brothers to when we were young. My kids and I go to as many Phillies games as possible to keep the tradition alive. We included my girlfriend Jess in this tradition, even though she is not a baseball fan. She thought she would be bored but admitted that she was impressed by the Phillies fans and their passion. Last Christmas, I opened up one of my gifts from her and I was in total shock. It was an authentic Bad News Bears jersey.
DAVID TOLAND
“I have been coaching my own children’s baseball teams for the past nine years. There is nothing better in the world than to see one of your kids get their very first hit; it is priceless.” Speaking of classic baseball flicks, there are many baseball movies that have also withstood the test of time. There are so many classic baseball movies that it is hard to just talk about a few. You can go back as far as the movie, “The Pride of the Yankees,” to the most recent blockbuster, “Moneyball.” There is a movie room at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. These baseball movies play there 24 hours a day, such as “The Bad News Bears” and “The Sandlot,” to name a few. Saint Rita became the patron saint of baseball because of the movie “The Rookie,” which was based on the true story of Jim Morris. One interesting fact is that there are two people that were inducted into the in the Baseball Hall Of Fame who did not play baseball. Those two people were Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, for their classic comedy skit, “Who’s on First?” Over the years, there have been many great baseball players and many records broken. It is hard to say who was the best baseball player ever.You can put a hundred people in a room and they could argue for days about which player they feel is the best. I can tell you this. On April 15, 1997, major league baseball officially retired the number 42. No other player in major league baseball will ever wear the number 42 again. Fifty years prior to that date, Jackie Robinson played his first major league game. Some people say he was the best and I will not argue that. I will say that he changed the game. My personal opinion is that Ken Griffey Jr. was the best baseball player to ever walk on the field. As for the best baseball team in the history of the game, it is hard to disagree with mathematical statistics. The statistics show that the best baseball team in history would be the 1927 New York Yankees, known as “Murderers’ Row.” My grandfather, Andy “Gump” Toland, played semi-pro baseball for the Collingdale Cubs from 1935 to 1939. I have his team picture and contract in a frame at home. It is hanging up in my sons’ room along with all of their baseball pictures and awards. My grandfather passed away in 2000 at the age of 87. All the old timers at his funeral kept saying, “Gump had the best knuckleball they ever saw.” At the age of 78, my grandfather went to watch a baseball game and one of the pitchers did not show up. All the oldtimers said to my grandfather, “Hey Gump – why don’t you go in there and pitch?” Gump pitched a complete game at the age of 78. One of my favorite baseball quotes is, “We’re all told at some point in time that we can no longer play the children’s game, we just don’t know when that’s gonna be. Some of us are told at 18, some of us are told at 40, but we’re all told.” I guess nobody ever told Gump he could not play the children’s game anymore... This article is dedicated to Andy “Gump” Toland 1913 –2000
Opinions
PAGE 12
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix
A Letter from the LSE Committee Chair
Speak Loudly and Carry a Big Stick
Op-Ed
Does Swarthmore Fail the Free Speech Test?
students send us. Send your suggestions to swarthmorelse@gmail.com, as soon as posThough there is something masochisti- sible. Be vocal with this — I’m sure you guys cally thrilling about partying so hard that know some great underground, next-to-bethe floor of Upper Tarble caves in, it’s not famous bands. Otherwise, I’m just going to something we as a community should do book Sisqo as an opener. At this point the date will be April 6, a again, ever. Let me be the umpteenth person to say that last year’s Large Scale Event Saturday. The concert will be in one of two was a logistical nightmare, ultimately end- places: the Amphitheater or the Fieldhouse. ing in 300 Swatties doing a muted, gnom- Obviously, we would all love to see an Amish, waddle dance while Childish Gambino phitheater LSE, but we’ll have to go about this pragmatically. There’s a chance that the performed “Bonfire.” Let’s backtrack. Early last year, the cam- tech demands in the headliner artist’s conpus voted on three artists to headline the tract simply won’t be possible in an outdoor 2011/2012 LSE: J. Cole, Janelle Monáe, and space like the Amphitheater. There could Childish Gambino. The act that received be a nasty thunderstorm that could ruin the most votes was, unsurprisingly, Janelle equipment. We’re going to try to make it Monáe. Surprisingly, her management work, but know this now: it will be difficult. turned out to be unwilling to cooperate with Should it not work out, a Fieldhouse LSE us, and booking conversations ended. We would be undeniably fun. In the meantime, the LSE Committee is then turned to Childish Gambino. He was only free in late April, when all other spaces planning a Welcome Back Show on January on campus were occupied (notably, LPAC 26, in cooperation with a few other student was occupied by the Student Dance Con- groups. This will be a relatively low-budget cert—apologies to those of you who missed show that hopefully will offer musical dithe show because of that date conflict), so versity to the growing trend of hip-hop the committee turned to Upper Tarble. In and electro artists that have been coming to theory, this was an untapped concert venue campus. Expect more information from us that could solve our lack-of-party-space soon, but our list of priorities at this point problem. In practice, it was too small, too includes: How to not burn down the Amfragile, too small, and too goddamn fragile. phitheater when partying in it, how to walk down Amphitheater That brings us to stairs without breakthe summer (skiping anyone’s anping over, of course, kles, how to not get a thoroughly sucI’ll put it bluntly. Instead drunkenly lost in the cessful Worthstock). Working with the of voting on a headliner this Crum. There seems to be a trend here. administration, we year, the student body will On a more serious spent from about tone, the administraJune to August mullvote on a larger-than-usual tion is being immeaing over ideas about surably generous by how to fix LSE for opener. We are strongly potentially letting us the future. For a considering booking use its prized posseswhile, we had agsion to hold our congressively pursued Macklemore & Ryan cert with 500 people renting out the TheLewis for this year’s in the audience. As ater of Living Arts in a Community, I’m Philadelphia for the LSE and booking confident that we show. Though not conversations have begun. can and will respect for a lack of trying, that. this idea fell through One final note: because Swatties obThis article is part of viously have no clue how to act like adults in cities, no sense of our attempt at becoming a more transpartime to make it back to the busses by the ent committee. A lot of complaints in the end of the night, and no idea what the bud- past dealt with people not knowing about dy system is. Next idea: LPAC? No, still too what we are doing or more generally, what many chairs, too little dancing. Amphithe- LSE Committee does. Let me spell this out ater? No way, this school is an ancient floral briefly. We’ve got about $40,000 to spend museum that will wilt at the slightest de- on booking an act for LSE, assuming the tection of fun. Plus, there’s never any time lighting/sound/stage cost is about $20,000, during the year where hundreds of people which it will be. Usually, we plan to hold it in the fall, but as the booking process is a gather in the Amphitheater at once … We stand now in a difficult spot. In Sep- bureaucratic sludgefest of musical molasses, tember, we had a shortlist of three acts that this often gets pushed back to the spring. we were confident the student body would There is one LSE a year — don’t believe appreciate voting on: Fun., Frank Ocean, anyone who tells you differently. The LSE and Macklemore & Ryan Lewis. The prob- Committee also puts on Worthstock in the lem is that all of those artists were bookable Spring. Finally, plans, dates, and bookings in September, but as the music gods would all are subject to the whims of the artists we have it, they’ve all gotten more famous and are pursuing. Although I hope to offer you a thus more expensive. Only one of the origi- definite confirmation soon, I’ve been a part of LSE for too long to assume that things nal three artists remains bookable. I’ll put it bluntly. Instead of voting on a will go according to plan. For now, we optiheadliner this year, the student body will mistically wait. vote on a larger-than-usual opener. We are strongly considering booking Macklemore Sincerely, & Ryan Lewis for this year’s LSE, and bookBrennan ing conversations have begun. This would LSE Committee Chair leave us with about $6,000 dollars to spend on an opener (just to give you an idea, that P.S. I’ve also tried my hardest to poke much money could probably book acts in the ballpark of Freelance Whales, Mason fun at a lot of the processes involved in Jennings, Ryan Cabrera (lol), DJ Earworm, planning LSE. I do not mean to offend, misAdventure Club, Alex Winston, Murs, The inform, or misrepresent anyone. Questions, Knocks, just to name a few). Additionally, comments, and suggestions should all be we want to especially consider acts that the sent to swarthmorelse@gmail.com.
Greg Lukianoff’s book “Unlearning Lib- ous offense. But that means the accusation, erty” has generated a lot of recent press. when made, should be backed by clearlyFollowing a long line of publications wary written language and evidence of wrongdoof higher education’s drift away from clas- ing. Otherwise, the College runs into the sical ideals, Lukianoff is more effective than most. That’s because he calls college admin- problem of enforcement, where less sympaistrators on the carpet for no small offense: thetic student groups or persons are likelier to be held accountable violations such as First Amendment violations. I had the chance to hear Lukianoff, presi- inappropriate “sexual innuendos.” When dent of the Foundation for Individual Rights the policy language is vague, the adminisin Education (FIRE), speak at the University tration is bound to look the other way when of Pennsylvania last month, and his ca- some advocacy groups break the rules, while reer spent fighting other, less politically correct students have draconian college the book thrown at them. With enforceDANIELLE speech codes de- ment up to the administration’s interpretaserves our attention. tion and discretion, our overbroad speech CHARETTE FIRE is a civil liber- rules wind up encouraging more bias, not The Nascent ties nonprofit that less. In my experience, I’m unaware of any Neoliberal pressures American egregious censorship happening at Swarthhigher education to more. That’s a good thing, but we need clear uphold individual rights, free speech, free- and open speech policies that keep that the dom of association, freedom of conscience norm. Though harassment is not protected by and honest inquiry-- the kind of values historically associated with the marketplace of the First Amendment, it must meet a very ideas. FIRE litigates cases and makes egre- specific legal definition. Namely, the Sugious incident of censorship on American preme Court in Davis v. Monroe writes that behavior must campuses known to be “so severe, pervathe public media. sive, and objectively Lukianoff detailed offensive, and that it outrageous examples Many students and so undermines and at plenty of universidetracts from the ties. These Orwellian faculty celebrate our victims’ educational crackdowns include campus as a place where experience, that the Yale University’s atvictim-students are tempt to remove an they can personally effectively denied F. Scott Fitzgerald experiment and express equal access to an inquote from a football resources T-shirt and Norththemselves in a way they stitution’s and opportunities.” eastern University’s prohibition of any didn’t feel comfortable at Clearly this standard goes far beyond basic email the adminishome or in other outside rudeness or an offentrators deem “annoying.” The Yale quote, communities. This is why sive comment. FIRE works with if you’re curious, is “I it’s all the more disturbuniversities to revise think of all Harvard their speech policies men as sissies,” from ing that Swarthmore’s so that they are clear, Fitzgerald’s 1920 code earns a “red light” legal and consistent. novel This Side of It’s in our interest to Paradise. on FIRE’s website. do so not just from It’s true that a moral standpoint speech codes at pribut also for the advate colleges like ministration to avoid Swarthmore present somewhat trickier cases than at public liabilities. Hopefully Swarthmore and camuniversities, since the Bill of Rights only puses across the country will take up the applies to governmental power, not asso- challenge, because we are by no means alone ciations that students willingly enter into. in our problematic code. Of the 364 instituRegardless, America’s colleges ought to be tions of higher education FIRE surveyed in upholding the unbridled life of the mind. I 2009, 74 percent were found to have policies doubt Swarthmore and other elite private that curtail speech otherwise allowed under schools want to make a habit of restrict- the Constitution. Everyone here at Swarthmore, I’m willing student speech. Indeed, many students and faculty celebrate our campus as a place ing to say, desires a safe and respectful where they can personally experiment and learning environment. Part of that entails express themselves in a way they didn’t feel not wishing to be personally offended or to comfortable at home or in other outside willingly offend others. But we cannot be communities. This is why it’s all the more so paralyzed by fear of offensiveness that disturbing that Swarthmore’s code earns a we instead paralyze free speech. There is no guarantee against being offended in this “red light” on FIRE’s website. Lest you dismiss FIRE as some right- world, especially not in a place like Swarthwing outfit with a bone to pick, Lukianoff more which purports to engage and debate describes himself as a lifelong Democrat and some of life’s most heated questions in a rigrecently told the Wall Street Journal that he orous academic setting. As John Stuart Mill eloquently reminds a “passionate believer” in gay marriage and legal abortion. But these beliefs, Lukianoff us, “[T]he peculiar evil of silencing the exinsists, make him all the more defensive of pression of an opinion is, that it is robbing free speech and open conversation in the the human race; posterity as well as the existing generation, those who dissent from public forum. Swarthmore’s alarming ranking on the opinion, still more than those who hold FIRE.org stems mostly from our overbroad it. If the opinion is right, they are deprived harrassment policy in which even “leers” of the opportunity of exchanging error for or “jokes” can get you into serious trouble truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as “whether or not they were made about or great a benefit, the clearer perception and directed to the grievant and whether or not livelier impression of truth, produced by intended to insult or degrade.” Obviously its collision with error.” Speak your mind, harassment is a sensitive issue and a seri- Swatties.
Fellow Swatties,
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
Opinions
PAGE 13
The Phoenix
Web Opens Science To All The Internet is opening up new ways of sharing information on a mass scale all the time. This means scientists can share with others in many ways unthought of before, from blogs and personal web pages about their work, to contributing their findings to large aggregates of information available to their colleagues and to the public free of charge. A slew of activists and nonprofits have dedicated PATRICK themselves to making AMMERMAN free sharing of such Popular information the norm Science rather than the exception — arguing that the details and results of scientific inquiry should be made free and accessible to the general public. Proponents of open access have made great strides towards making it a reality, considering how young the movement is. Arguably the most important event in making open access a mainstream issue took place a decade ago, at a small gathering known as the Budapest Open Access Initiative. It was then that a groups of scholars and activists declared that the “old tradition” of publishing research in for-profit scholarly journals must give way to a new commitment to open access. However ambitious this aim may seem, it is nonetheless changing how many scientists publish their data. A handful of new open-access journals serve as sources of peer-reviewed research that are available free of charge. In lieu of charging for access to their articles, journals like the Public Library of Science (PLOS) rely on donors and fees paid by the authors themselves to cover their costs. However, the costs of publishing in these fee-based journals are often covered by the scientist’s funding agency, and the money is included in the scientist’s grant. These journals have also been known to waive this publishing fee in cases where the scientist cannot cover the cost of publishing. Other open-access journals may not charge any fee to the authors, and instead rely on other sources of revenue, such as subsidies from a research institution or revenue from non-open source publications. Scientists have also used a different route to make their data and findings open to all, one that is free and makes even more information available to the public. I’m talking about scientists who self-archive on the web — posting their own articles and information on the web on either a personal website or on a website set up by their institution. Again, it may sound unlikely that scientists all around the country would post their research information online without the incentives that come along with publication. However, this kind of information sharing has thrived in the computer science community since the 1980s, a recent survey of scientists across disciplines showed that 20-40 percent of scientific authors were already self-archiving. Scientists running big, expensive projects have been the most willing to participate in granting information to the public. These often are either so expensive that they must propose to share their data in order to get funding, or they gather so much data that it would be impractical and slow scientific progress were only one lab to have access to the information. For instance, the Sloan Digital Sky Survey has been utilizing one of the major multi-filter imaging cameras in the world for over a decade in order to produce de-
tailed maps of the night sky. In just eight years, the project covered a quarter of the night sky and created three-dimensional maps of more than 930,000 galaxies. All findings from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey are immediately posted on the internet, and have led so far to discoveries in a wide range of topics — the properties of galaxies, the evolution of quasars (distant objects that emit huge amounts of electromagnetic radiation), and the structure of our own Milky Way, just to name a few. The benefits to making a project like this open access are innumerable. Projects such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey benefit the scientific community by enabling the data to be processed as efficiently as possible by many research teams and by ensuring that precious research money is not spent duplicating data. The scientists involved benefit from collaborating with more universities that can contribute to funding the project. Similar projects have been used in fields like genomics, chemistry, geospacial, and others (this is not limited to the sciences either — large online databases and archives have tremendous value in the social sciences and humanities as well). The rapid spread of open access for scientific data and publications has not been without its critics, and a few critiques have been especially used as arguments against the spread of data. One is that scientific data is dangerous when in the wrong hands. Just last year, for instance, a Dutch research team created a version of the flu virus that could spread especially rapidly in mammals and planned to publish their findings in the journal Science. Their findings began a debate about whether it is would be appropriate for the group to publish how they created the viral strain, as some feared it could pose a biosecurity threat if terrorist groups could mimic their methods to create a biological weapon. Another critique is that too much data available to scientists will make scientists less efficient in making discoveries. Scientific data can lead to many insights about the world, but is not always telling, as confounding variables or poor scientific design can sometimes give the wrong result. Data can also be difficult to interpret, especially when dealing with large amounts of data taken on a broad scale. Some argue that for these reasons, scientists are best at what they do when they are able to ask their own questions and create their own protocols to find the answers, rather than trying to draw conclusions from sorting through copious amounts of someone else’s data. However, these complaints are small compared with the overwhelming power of a scientific community that pools its information and can produce more publications from running fewer tests or research projects. This information sharing also gives article access to more people who need it: students, teachers, and scientists in developing countries, etc. And what is astounding is the scientific community’s embrace of these practices: there are to date almost 1,000 open access journals, and 80 percent of scientific journals allow their authors to archive their data on the world wide web. Over the next few decades, scientists have the ability to change the culture of science for good — using the Internet to make science more accessible and more productive than it has ever been before — using the power of the Internet and the ideals of the open access movement.
Breathe, Stretch, Shake, & Let It Go Advice for Overstressed Swatties During Finals Week There have been multiple times at Swarthmore where I have literally felt like I’m under so much stress that I am legitimately going crazy. I wake up thinking, “Sleep was such a bad idea!” or “Shoot, I still have to finish these two papers, finish 250 pages of readings, and do a couple of journal entries.” I have even felt like, there is no possible way I can do all this work without my GPA going down the drain. I will offer you guys some helpful tips for everyone who is having or will have one of those days — hell — one of those weeks! 1. Take a deep breath. You’re beginning to think that your entire academic career is about to go up in smoke. But take a deep breath and remember that you will survive and get through this. Before you start to get annoyed by the little things your SEAN friends do — breathe. BRYANT Before you start freakReal Talk ing out about how you With Slam should be doing work instead of going to class — breathe. Before you start doubting how you can even do this because everyone else seems to be going for a walk in the park -– breathe. After you start freaking out you need to breathe and take a long look at the tasks that you have in front of you. After you have done that I bring you to tip number two. 2. One step at a time. Trying to write two papers, finish the mountain of readings, and do even more weekly assignments can seem incredibly daunting. However, I encourage you to take a step back and attack these tasks one by one. Maybe finish one paper at a time and if you know your other paper is going to be late, then it’s just going to have to be late. Communicate with your professors and let them know that you are really putting in the effort to complete their assignment but you also have other academic commitments to your other, equally important, classes. Once you are done with one, you can breath and attack another assignment. Take one step at a time and you will get to the place where you want to be. 3. Take about 20-35 minutes out of your day to not think about work. Thinking about all the commitments you have
is overwhelming and unhealthy. Whether that study break is writing poetry, or working out, or playing Dungeons and Dragons, do what will make you happy and take you out of your academic setting. It’s important to your mental health. I promise you that there isn’t a crazy amount of progress you can make in 20-35 minutes that you can’t make up by shortening lunch or dinner. Plus, you will just about always come back, to whatever you are working on, refreshed. 4. Do some serious work with a peer. Working with a peer and help distress because there is a solidarity that comes with knowing that you are with someone who is in the same boat you are. Every so often you can check in with each other but it is also really important that you put your foot down and get to work so you can see and ultimately feel the sunlight at the end of the tunnel. After all, you need to motivate yourself, first and foremost. 5. Remember that nothing is more important than your health. If feel yourself getting more and more physically ill, you need to take a step back, email some professors and get better. Nothing, absolutely nothing, is more important than your health. Along with physical health, your mental health is just as important. If you fear that you’re nearing a breakdown, take a moment, breathe, step away from you have to do and call a close friend and talk through some things. Not to mention, communicate where you are with your professors. Some may be more understanding than you think. It’s crucial that you realize that you will never put in your best work if you’re not at your best. You won’t have A+ ideas if your mental state is an F. With all that said, I know that is a hard week for so many people on this campus due to the fact that classes are almost over and professors may be getting more demanding with finals coming up, but keep reminding yourself that you will get through all the work you have to do. Have faith and confidence in yourself before you start to become so stressed out that you start thinking sleep is no longer important. Lastly, if all else fails, listen to some Beyonce and you will probably feel loads better.
COURTESY OF STATENEWS.COM
Sports
PAGE 14
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix
Despite Slew of Losses, Garnet Men Picks Up First Win By DAN DUNCAN Sports Editor
RAISA REYES/THE PHOENIX
Last night, the Garnet men defeated Washington College with a score of 87-82, earning them their first win of the season.
points) and Will Gates ‘13 (11 points) also lit up the scoreboard. Joe Keedy ’14 has yet to miss a beat The Swarthmore men’s basketball team since his transition from soccer season to came oh-so-close to winning their first basketball season, as he recorded his first game of the season against Ursinus on Sat- career double-double with 12 points and urday. Unfortunately, close only counts 11 rebounds. He said that the switch has in horseshoes and hand grenades, and the not been nearly as easy as it looks. “Coach Garnet fell 82-79 in overtime. As it turned Kosmalski and Coach McShea brought in a out, Swarthmore only had to wait until whole new system this season. I missed preWednesday night for their first win, taking season, so I’ve had a pretty steep learning down Washington 87-82 to improve their curve to catch up. The team and coaches have been very helpful through the promark to 1-6, 1-3 CC. The Garnet came out swinging against cess.” The close loss was not cause for celebrathe Bears (3-3, 2-1 CC), who look to be, according to Jay Kober ’14, one of the top tion, according to Keedy. “The team was teams in the Centennial Conference: “We disappointed in the final result against Urknow that Ursinus is one of the top teams sinus.” But, he added, there were positive in the league. They’ve nearly knocked off a signs from the game. “We are starting to few nationally ranked teams [like then-#4 see some dividends from our hard work. Everyone has bought Middlebury].” Thanks into the system and we to a solid all-around are confident we will performance, SwarthWe just need to work have a lot of success more found itself up by as much as 12 points in on closing out opponents this year.” To get there, the the first half, and led when we have leads whole team has work 33-29 at halftime. late in games. to do as the semester Entering the second ends, though. While half, the Garnet exJay Kober ’14 they have been playing tended their lead again, solidly, Kober said the but the Bears clawed Garnet need to execute their way back into the game. After some back-and-forth play over better late in games. “We just need to work the last few minutes of regulation, Swarth- on closing out opponents when we have more was down by two with just nine sec- leads late in games.” For Kober, this means onds left. The confident Garnet did not working hard throughout the week: “That back down, though, and Kober came up comes from competing hard every day in with a running layup at the last seconds. practice and fully buying in to the system After Ursinus missed a potential buzzer- that coach has put in place for us to be successful.” beater, the game went to overtime. Kober said that based on the way the In overtime, both teams struggled offensively, but Ursinus slowly pulled away team is playing, “We can play with anyto take a 76-71 lead with 1:11 remaining. one.” That may be true, but that means The margin proved to be too large for the that having gotten past one opponent, the Garnet to catch up, as the Bears made their next step is to continue beating people. foul shots down the stretch to ice the game. Their next chance comes on Saturday when It was an all-around team effort, with they travel to take on Gettysburg. The next five players scoring in double digits. Kober home game is next Wednesday, December led the way with 23 points, while Karl Bar- 12, against Delaware Valley. Tip-off from kley ‘15 (16 points), Jordan Federer ‘14 (13 Tarble Pavilion is at 7 p.m.
Finals Review for the Start of the NBA Season
With your externship meetings with possible VISFs fast approaching, The Phoenix has prepared an updated cliff-notes version of the trending NBA DAYO storylines, for FAYANJU the times you need a break Balls to the Wall from studying organic chemistry or the art of rolling natural tea. Enjoy!
Big (Unrotten) Apple? Knicks: with an under-control pass-first point guard managing their coterie of scorers, a silent and unmeddling James Dolan, an under control and suddenly disciplined JR smith and a motivated, conditioned Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks look tentatively, possibly, vaguely, tintinnabulatively … back. They’re not out of the woods yet: this is all happening without the Knicks 100-million dollar man Amar’e Stoudemire, and this is all still happening in December (The seasons ends in April). As many Swarthmore Students know, the first test isn’t a guarantee of
anything. Time will tell if the Big Apple has finally dispelled 40 years of loser’s lurgy or if the Knicks impressive victories over the Heat (at home) and the Spurs (on the road), and their 7-0 start were just Sandy fever. Looking at a Hollywood Ending Clippers: Chris Paul has morphed the hitherto toy-boat Clippers into an fearsome armada of high flying big men, conducting on the floor and (many say) coaching on the bench in spite of the famously incompetent Vinny Del Negro. Thus far, no visible signs of the Clipper curse are afflicting this highflying group that is finally looking like a functional Lob City. That said, the reckless abandon with which star Power Forward Blake Griffin plays and the aforementioned Clipper Curse make this bandwagon, like that of the Knicks, a difficult one to jump on. That said …
Praying for a Hollywood Ending … The Lakers have been as consistent as … well nothing
to tell the truth. Between their chronicled coaching Drama, the extended absence of Steve Nash, the uncertain recovery of Dwight Howard, the knees of Pau Gasol, and the discontent of Kobe, the Lakers look antithetically unhealthy. There’s still tests (and possibly a Final) for the Lakers to look forward to, and a team that should only get healthier as the season goes on. It must get better if the wishes of so many Kobe fans are to be met: that Kobe and the Lakers take on Lebron James … Hot (and Generally Not) Cold … And the Miami Heat. With the exception of their retrograde fourth quarter (circa summer 2011) fumbles against league worst Washington, the Heat look like what they said they wanted to be in the summer of 2010. Opponents of the Heat must choose between Lebron and Chris Bosh inside and wide-open Ray Allen threes from outside. The latter however, is symptomatic of defensive difficulties the Heat never had before. Such difficul-
ties might have explained the trouble the team with SI’s new Sportsman of the Year had with the reserves of …
(Still) The Big Reliable Fundamental … The San Antonio Spurs, who might have the best coach in the league. A beautifully engineered system, the Spurs have plugged nobodies into their system and taught them how to play with the best. Holding out their four best players, a team of Spurs reserves forced the Miami Heat to throw their best punches, when all evidence suggested that would be unnecessary. So far, the Spurs are playing to their script for the past two years: a sparkling regular season, marred by a postseason where sheer force of youth breaks their seemingly unsinkable system. The first such team to start this pattern? The (current) best of the west … Bear Run … The Memphis Grizzlies, who have solved their perimeter and wing logjams with the exit
of OJ Mayo and the resolution of Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay into an intimidating forward duo. Supplemented by Randolph’s compatriot in the post (and Pau Gasol’s younger brother) Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies have morphed from a scrappy underdog to a possible overdog … and one half of a nightmare Final for David Stern. Muggles of the Nation’s Capital With no John Wall, the Wizards normally look like squibs, in spite of their recent victory over the Death Eating (to Cleveland perhaps) Miami Heat. Things are looking up for the seemingly wandless Wizards, John Wall seems likely to come back. The same may not be said however … A City of Bynum-less Love … For the new acquisition of Philly, Andrew Bynum. After re-injuring his knee while bowling, the 76ers front office believes that Bynum may not return this season, making the city’s sports outlook as bleak as this weather is (somewhat frighteningly) not.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
Sports The Phoenix
Why Hasn’t Soccer Evolved Like Other Sports?
PAGE 15
Swimming Maintains Strong Start to Season By SCOOP RUXIN SportsWriter
The Redskins and Giants may be rivals, but at least their fans don’t fight each other.
COURTESY OF NFL.COM
There was a very interesting moment in the with certain elements of the clubs history or its Monday Night Football game between the Red- ancestral makeup, i.e., it was a proletariat club skins and the Giants when Bennett, having just of upstanding Christians. Then you look at the caught a touchdown, went to the fans and was other clubs and notice something about them cheered on by both Giants and Redskins fans, that doesn’t appeal to you, or you just hate despite the mutual dislike between the two di- them simply due to regional differences or to vision rivals. This is seemingly bizarre as both close proximity. teams are happy to acknowledge they are rivals One of the things about being a Fulham supand that they dislike each other but the fans are porter that used to happen, but is not common very happy to get along, in fact they sit in the anymore, is that Fulham supporters were called same areas. This is the same for most sports it Cottagers because Fulham plays at Craven Cotturns out: rugby, cricket, baseball, hockey, vol- tage. But a Cottager is an old term for a man leyball, in fact all major sports integrate their who likes to perform homosexual acts upon anfans together except for one glaring example, other man in a public setting, which means that soccer. for so many years Fulham was looked down But what makes soccer different from all upon because of this name. these other sports? Why should the worlds Tottenham is historically a Jewish club, a most popular sport be the one that segregates history that has led to them getting some unpeople due to their allegiances when other necessary abuse over these past few weeks. sports do not? Is this a historical thing? Be- The ultras, the fanatics of these tribes, identify tween 1314 and 1667, soc- so much with the club that they are willing to cer was banned in England take their hatred beyond the pitch and into JAMES by both local and royal law the streets. That is why soccer is so dangerous. because of the violence Because of the tribalism in the sport it fosters IVEY that occurred at the games, these groups like no other sport can. You don’t Out of Left Field both in the crowds and on see rugby fans beating each other in the stands, the pitch. It was not un- and there aren’t cases of Cleveland Brown supcommon for players to die on the pitch when porters ambushing visiting Vikings fans at the tackles went badly or there was a general brawl. local watering hole. Those things would seem Crowds from the local villages that were play- ridiculous. Fans of those sports aren’t fanatics ing one another would add to the general hos- like in soccer. They may be passionate but they tility by throwing objects at the opposing fans. aren’t jilted lover passionate. So began the long tradition of hooliganism Why have other sports managed to progthat has marred the sport ress while soccer plainly since. But that was half a is stuck in the Middle millennium ago, surely as Ages still? It is most It is the tribalism a species we have moved likely because people are on from that? to get away with [of soccer] that makes allowed Sadly, the answer is no. the sort of attitudes at a While it is great that soc- some groups of support- soccer game that they cer provides a new family wouldn’t be able to get ers so dangerous. for a supporter to join and away with anywhere else. a sense of community, it is Soccer provides an outlet this tribalism that makes for all these ancient stesome groups of supporters so dangerous. If the reotypes and the violence that society is desworld is constantly moving, as it is more and perately trying to get rid of. Plus when you get more, with people moving away from home and giant crowds its easy for the ultras to hide in living in new towns and cities there becomes a them, and also to rile up the other fans. greater need to identify with something. FamThe way that soccer has moved in the past ily used to be the group that we relied upon for ten years had been a good start. Until last year, stability but people typically move away from it appeared that the Premier League at least their families in the first world. Soccer, at least had really been stamping out racism (until Suin Western Europe, has become the new group- arez and Terry made idiots of themselves). But ing. this year all the progress seems to have been However, just having a new group of people undone and we appear to be moving back to to socialize with doesn’t make you into a psy- the Stone Age. Fans of both teams rubbing chopathic nut job does it? No, it doesn’t. If shoulders would do nothing at this early stage; that were the case, then the majority of games in fact it would probably create more violence. would end in mindless violence. That doesn’t So unlike in other sports, we should be thinkhappen, violence is the exception to the rule. ing about how much protection the segregaBut hooliganism does have ties to this tribal- tion of fans provides rather than the physical ism. The problem is that these groups identify and mental divide this segregation causes.
The Swarthmore men’s and women’s swimming teams each continued their strong starts to their seasons last weekend at the Swarthmore Invitational. Both teams finished in second place at the invitational, which featured teams from five schools. For the women, leading the way was sensation Kate Wiseman ’15. Wiseman took first place in the 200-yard individual medley (2:14.55) and 100-yard freestyle (54.68), and also led Garnet relay teams to a win in the 400-yard medley relay and second place finishes in the 200 medley relay, 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay. Wiseman was particularly satisfied with her winning performance in the 200 individual medley, saying, “It was exciting, especially since I probably won’t be swimming it again this season.” The team hopes Wiseman will continue to dominate the Centennial Conference by building off of a freshman campaign in which she earned all Centennial Conference First Team in the 50 and 100 yard freestyle, 200 and 400 medley relay and the 400 freestyle relay. Wiseman has high expectations for Swarthmore’s young relay teams. Wiseman leads each of the relay teams, and she is joined, depending on the event, by some combination of Supriya Davis ’15, Eva Winter ’16, Nikki Miller ’16 and Rebecca Teng ’14. She expects the relays to continue improving throughout the season, emphasizing that, “I want to see our relays really perform well at Conferences, hopefully breaking some records in the process.” The Garnet have added several freshmen to this season’s team, and the immediate impacts of several of them has made a strong impression on their teammates. Maggie Regan ’14 lauded the freshmen for their work ethic, commenting that, “They all work extremely hard in practice and are very dedicated swimmers who love the sport.” Regan echoed Wiseman’s high hopes for continued improvement, predicting that, “With the way that everyone is swimming now, the season will only get better.” Besides Wiseman, several Garnet won their events this weekend. Regan prevailed in the 200-yard breaststroke, with an impressive time of 2:34.59. Along with strong performances in the relays, Teng finished sixth in the 50-yard freestyle. Miller finished third in the exciting 50yard sprint, and won the 100-yard breaststroke (1:09.98). Finally, Davis was victorious in the 200-yard butterfly (2:10.15)
and finished a close third in the 200 individual medley. The men’s team continued their equally strong start to the season with a second place finish of their own. Highlighting the weekend for Swarthmore was Dan Duncan ’13, who narrowly won the 200yard butterfly (1:58.46) in exciting, comefrom-behind fashion. Trailing going into the final turn, Duncan came off the wall quickly to take a lead that he did not relinquish. “He seemed stuck on the wall while I was [turning], so I just went for it on the last lap,” Duncan said. Charlie Hepper ’13 also turned in a strong performance this weekend, finishing 5th in the 500-yard freestyle and 4th in the 200 butterfly. John Flaherty ’14 was impressed by the performances of Duncan and Hepper, saying that, “Both established themselves as Conference favorites in both of the individual medley events and the 200 butterfly.” Also helping Swarthmore to its second place finish were Josh Turek-Herman ’16 and Sam Tomlinson ’14, who grabbed third-place finishes in the 1650 freestyle and the 200 backstroke, respectively. Swarthmore relay teams swam to several second place finishes. The teams, which included Duncan, Tomlinson, Flaherty, Cyrus Nasseri ’14, Stan Le ’14, Max Krackow ’15, Jake Benveniste ’14 and Roger Chin ’13, finished second in the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle relays, as well as the 200 and 400 medley relays. Both Flaherty and Duncan have been impressed by the early-season performances of Satre and Turek-Herman. Duncan described the performances of each as “great,” especially since neither swimmer tapered off at the end of a grueling, mile-long race. Flaherty echoed Duncan’s sentiment, expressing his excitement to watch each “continue their dominance in the distance freestyle events.” Looking forward, Duncan and Flaherty both cited finishing in the top three at Conferences as the team’s goal. Flaherty expects the team to “improve on what was a bit of a disappointing finish” last season, and Duncan shares this expectation, saying that he feels the team “has a great chance at the top three finish at Conferences.” Led by stars Wiseman and Duncan, both swim teams project to be among the most successful Swarthmore sports teams this year. Swarthmore hopes to continue its strong season by remaining undefeated in conference meets. The team will travel to Ursinus on Saturday before breaking for final exams and the holidays. Daniel Duncan is the sports editor for The Phoenix. He had no role in the production of this article.
GARNET ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Kate Wiseman SOPH., SWIMMING, NASHVILLE, TN.
What She’s Done: Won the 200 IM (2:14.55), 100 Freestyle (54.68), and anchored the first place 400 Medley Relay to lead the Garnet to a second place finish at the Swarthmore Invitational. Favorite Career Moment: Our recordbreaking 400 medley relay at Conferences last year, and our win against F&M this year. Season Goals: I would like to get some NCAA B cuts, and for our team to crush it at Conferences. Least Favorite Event: Anything backstroke.
DAN DUNCAN/THE PHOENIX
Favorite Tofu Dish: In Sharples? Ginger Tofu with Bok Choy. Otherwise, General Tso’s.
Sports
PAGE 16
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 2012
The Phoenix
AKSHAJ KUCHIBHOTLA/THE PHOENIX
Katie Lytle looks for forward Abbey Deckard to get open during Monday’s clash with Widener.
Women’s Basketball Unstoppable, on Five-Game Winning Streak By JENNI LU Sports Writer
With a 66-56 win against Muhlenberg last Thursday, and a 61-50 victory over Widener on Monday, the women’s basketball team has now extended their winning streak to five games, and hopes to continue their undefeated path. The ten-point victory over Muhlenberg ended a seven-year, 12-game losing streak against the Mules, while the 11-point win over Widener marked the best start to the season the program has seen since 2001. Guard Eliza Polli ’13 was thrilled about her team’s strong start, saying, “This is the best team I have been on in all four years [...] starting off this strong, with so much energy, gives us confidence to keep going.” The Garnet played their best so far this season during the first half of the Muhlenberg game, leaping out to a 13-0 lead and remaining the frontrunners for the entire game. Perimeter shooting — which the team has been struggling with — was not an issue, as the team shot 50 percent from the field. Polli connected on four out of five three-pointers to reach 12 points on the day. Fellow guards Katie Lytle ’14 and Madeline Ross ’13 also put up impressive performances: Lytle ended the game with 20 points and
five steals, while Ross totaled 17 points and seven rebounds. “During the first half [...] we shot well, we rebounded well,” said Head Women’s Basketball Coach Renee DeVarney. “It was so exciting to see them make the athletic moves they did.” In the win against Widener four days later, they put up
some equally impressive statistics, with Lytle and forward Elle Larsen ’15 registering doubledoubles. Polli ended on another high note, with 16 points — 12 of which were from three-pointers — and three steals, while Ross added eight points, four assists, and two blocks. With two victories over two
Guard Katie Lytle ‘14 attempts to inbound the ball against Widener on Monday.
formidable opponents, the team is aware of many schools’ surprise at their success. “Everyone underestimates Swarthmore athleticsb because we historically haven’t had the strongest athletic programs,” Polli said. “After last week, we opened some eyes [...] really turned some heads,” said DeVarney. “It’s fun
AKSHAJ KUCHIBHOTLA/THE PHOENIX
beating people who didn’t expect to lose.” With their next conference game tonight against Washington College, the team is looking to to extend their record to 6-0. The win won’t come easily; “they have two of the biggest players in the game,” said DeVarney. Polli was not intimidated by the thought of facing them, saying, “They have some bigger post players who we have to focus on, but that means we’ll be quicker than them.” Despite a monumental season so far, DeVarney still believes her team has not reached its full potential. “I think we’re still a bit under-respected,” she said. “Quite honestly, we’ve played well, but not great.” Specifically, DeVarney is looking to continue working on her team’s perimeter shooting; despite putting up stellar numbers during the first half of the Muhlenberg game, the team struggled significantly during the second half, and their field goal percentage slipped to 21.1 percent. However, Polli has faith that the team’s shooting will begin to pick up. “We have a lot of really good three-point shooters [...] I am confident that our other shooters will get in rhythm soon,” she said. Tip-off against the Shorewomen is set to start at 7 p.m. in Tarble Pavillion.