3_28_13

The Official Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881 VOL. 137, ISSUE 9

The Phoenix THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

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SWARTHMOREPHOENIX.COM

Genderfuck Re-examined

By TOBY LEVY News Writer

DAN CHO / THE PHOENIX

The entrance to the Intercultural Center has been urinated on during three unresolved incidents on Thursday nights this semester, according to Dean Wong.

Urination on Intercultural Center Sparks Concern

By DAN BLOCK Assistant News Editor

Dean of the Sophomore Class Alina Wong made a rather unpleasant discovery at the Intercultural Center (IC) one Thursday night. “I was there cleaning up, and I noticed a liquid coming in under the door,” said Wong, who serves as dean of the sophomore class and director of the IC. That liquid, she soon found out, was urine. And it wasn’t coming from a leaky sewage pipe.

Over the past year, there have been three reported cases of students urinating on the Intercultural Center door. The incidents have all occurred on different weekends on Thursday nights.

This had led some to link the incidents to alcohol consumption at Pub Nite. But regardless of what the motivations might be, Wong’s conclusion about the incidents remains the same. “It shouldn’t have happened, and it needs to stop,” she said.

Wong is not alone in her bewilderment.

“My initial reaction was just confusion,” said Samiul Haque ’15, one of the co-presidents of Deshi. “It just seems really odd and I’ve never heard of it happening before.”

However, as Haque continued to consider the incidents, he came to the conclusion that they were completely unjustifiable. “I tried to kind of find ways to rationalize it,” he said. “Maybe this person was really intoxicated, and they just needed to go urinate somewhere.”

But, according to Haque, intoxication could not by itself cause this act. “This was on a doorstep,” he said. “Even if you were to use a place that wasn’t a bathroom, I don’t think a doorstep comes to mind.”

“They are not just choosing to urinate in the courtyard or a bush,” Wong said. She continued that while she could not speculate about the intentions or motivations of those involved, she imagined that the rea-

sons had to go beyond alcohol consump- she said. tion. “The unconscious bias or the thought Mehta also agreed with Haque and behind it has to exist in the first place,” she Wong that the act of urinating on a buildsaid. “The behavior or the thought is there ing itself is offensive. “What would people to begin with.” do if people saw people urinating on ParHaque shared Wong’s thoughts. rish Hall or right outside a dean’s office?

“There’s something deliberate, maybe even That would never be okay.” malicious, in what they did,” he said.

While the perpetrators were never Not everyone, however, feels the epi- caught, Mehta said that if they were idensodes were targeted at the IC. “I wasn’t par- tified, they would need to recognize how ticularly surprised their actions were that it had occurred distasteful. “I think mainly because peo“I wasn’t particularly the first thing is for ple get drunk and to understand surprised that it had them pee outdoors with how disrespectful some regularity,” the act of urinatsaid David Hill ’13, occurred mainly because ing on a building is one of the coordipeople get drunk and to people who feel nators of the Party very strongly about Associate program. pee outdoors with the space,” she said.

“As a somewhat Wong had a simsome regularity.” concealed area, the ilar idea. “I would IC door would natuDavid Hill ’13 want to sit down rally be a popular, and talk with them though inappropriand understand ate, place to relieve oneself.”

Anushka Mehta ’15, who is in i20 what motivated their behavior and acand the Middle Eastern Cultural Society, tions,” she said, adding how she would agreed. She said that while her initial per- emphasize to the people involved that “we spective was something to the effect of are all responsible for the kinds of com“wow, people suck,” it changed when she munities we create here at Swarthmore.”

Hill said more awareness is needed. “I discovered it was occurring on Thursday think the best way of dealing with the isnight.

Mehta believes that the act was not sue is more education about what the IC is directed against the Intercultural Center. and why peeing on it, or any structure, is “I don’t think I’ve spoken to anyone who wrong,” he said. “That said, if students obhas a personal vendetta against the IC,” serve individuals doing such, they should said Mehta, pointing out how the center report it to the PA on duty and we will incorporates many different campus or- take the appropriate measures,” he added. ganizations and their members. “I’m more But Wong also believes the response inclined to think that people have a bet- should go beyond just talking to those ter head on their shoulders than that,” she who committed the act and that the consaid. versation must go beyond the InterculBut Mehta felt that regardless of intent, tural Center. “This is not an IC problem,” the incidents are still unacceptable. “It is she said. “This is about a collective comstill happening and it is still a problem,” munity responsibility.”

Every spring, the college hosts a party known for its prominent and eye-popping title: Genderfuck. The term “genderfuck” refers to the deliberate effort to play with traditional notions of gender identity, which assume that one’s identity, role and orientation are determined by one’s assigned sex at birth. The party provides an opportunity for students to defy traditional gender norms. Although no longer officially associated with the Queer and Trans Conference, the party remains a college event in the same way that the Halloween party or Yule ball do.

“The party was once part of a larger event that was known as the ‘Sager Symposium,”Dean of Students Liz Braun explained. “While we still have a Sager speaker series there is no longer a Sager Symposium. Rather it is a student run Queer-Trans Conference. The party is now disconnected from the symposium and is independently planned by a student committee with support from various administrative offices.”

During the planning process, rumors arose of scheduling and monetary conflicts, but all issues seem to have been resolved. “There was a bit of a problem shortly before break because students were not stepping up to help plan the party,” said one of Genderfuck’s event planners, Jeanie Glaser ’13 “But I believe now we’re perfectly on schedule and on budget.”

One Student Activities Committee (SAC) member who requested to remain anonymous believed that money for Genderfuck had already been set aside and budgeted for before students had proposed it to the committee.

“On our end, I believe they still have to propose to us,” the member said, “but I think the amount they get is already planned for.”

Either way, the party is constantly evolving, and various initiatives are in the works. Following an assault incident prior to last year’s Genderfuck, campus safety procedures were heavily increased. According to Dean Braun, from the perspective of the deans’ office, last year was an example of students and administrative collaborating together to increase the overall safety of the party. She noted that in addition to the student planning committee, additional support that included Party Associates, Student Council representatives, members of the Sexual Misconduct Advisory Resource (SMART) and Drug and Alcohol Resource (DART) teams, Delta Upsilon and Phi Psi brothers, as well as Kappa Alpha Theta sisters worked together in terms of pre-planning.

Additionally, members from some of those groups were present to answer questions about gender—and alcohol—related issues, while others escorted overly intoxicated students back to their dorms. The party planners also worked closely with the dean’s office, the student activities office, Tom Elverson, the Worth Health Center, and Public Safety to think through logistics and planning to help ensure a fun and safe night for everyone.

But even though safety has been amped up, issues surrounding the true purpose of the event remain. With its apparent decline into a party known purely for the motto “guys wear a dress, girls wear less,” a veil of skepticism has fallen over Genderfuck. To counteract this, innovative policy moves from different campus organizations are in the works to restore the party to its original goals. One such organization, the SMART team, is working in conjunction with the head of the Worth Health Center,

Continued on Page 5

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE

NEWS

LIVING

OPINIONS

SPORTS

Cybersex has been the subject of much controversy across the country. Anna Gonzales investigates the presence sexting has on campus and how students get it on- online.

Never heard of Big Boi? Want to learn who he is before he comes to campus?

Axel Kodat reviews some of the LSE headliner’s top tracks.

The announcement that Robert Zoellick ’75, a Bush era appointee, will speak at commencement has caused controversy.

Tyler Becker argues that Zoellick deserves better treatment.

The #27 men’s team smashes Ursinus 9-0 in their Centennial Conference opener, while the women crush Muhlenberg by the same score.

Let’s Talk About Sex(ting)

PAGE 3

LSE Preparation: Big Boi 101

PAGE 6

Zoellick: A Serious Commencement Choice

PAGE 12

Tennis Crush Conference Foes

PAGE 16

PAGE 2

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix STEVEN HAZEL Editor-in-Chief KOBY LEVIN Managing Editor PARKER MURRAY Managing Editor The News Section AMANDA EPSTEIN Editor DANIEL BLOCK Assistant Editor ANNA GONZALES Assistant Editor SARAH COE-ODESS Writer COLE GRAHAM Writer AIDAN PANTOJA Writer TIFFANY KIM Writer TOBY LEVY Writer The Living & Arts Section ALLI SHULTES Editor TAYLOR HODGES Assistant Editor COURTNEY DICKENS Writer MIREILLE GUY Writer AXEL KODAT Writer JEANETTE LEOPOLD Writer MAYRA TENORIO Writer VIANCA MASUCCI Writer SERA JEONG Writer IZZY KORNBLATT Columnist DEBORAH KRIEGER Columnist CATHY PARK Columnist

KIERAN REICHERT Columnist DAVID TOLAND Columnist PAIGE FAITH SPENCER WILLEY Columnist ZOE WRAY Columnist DINA ZINGARO Columnist YENNY CHEUNG Artist ELIZABETH KRAMER Artist RENU NADKARNI Artist PRESTON COOPER Puzzle Master The Opinions Section AARON KROEBER Editor PATRICK AMMERMAN Columnist TYLER BECKER Columnist PRESTON COOPER Columnist CRAIG EARLEY Columnist Nathaniel Frum Columnist PATRICK HAN Columnist Nehmat Kaur Columnist HARSHIL SAHAI Columnist The Sports Section DANIEL DUNCAN Editor SCOOP RUXIN Writer JAMES IVEY Columnist IBIDAYO FAYANJU Columnist

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The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing, Inc. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.

CORRECTIONS On page 12 of last week’s issue, an article entitled “Baseball Surges During Spring Break Trip” misidentified the subject of one picture. Nick Constantino ’14 was pictured awaiting a pitch, not Tim Kwilos ’13, as was suggested by the caption of the print edition. We apologize.

ADRIANA OBIOLS / THE PHOENIX

The Women’s Resource Center caps off Women’s Week with a parlor party. Pictured, clockwise from top left: Raisa Reyes ’15, Sabrina Singh ’15, Zoeth Flegenheimer ’15, Michael Fishman ’15, and Kassandra Sparks ’15.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

News

PAGE 3

The Phoenix

Let’s Talk About Sex(ting)

Students Use Skype, Text, Snap Chat and Facebook to Share Sexual Content

By ANNA GONZALES Assistant News Editor

Despite horror stories splashed across the news on the evils of sexting and the life-ruining capacity of naked pictures, Swarthmore students who use technology such as Skype and texting to have sexual

interactions or exchange sexual content say they aren’t worried. Virtual sex is a normal part of long-distance relationships for some students, though they don’t believe that sexting is necessarily widespread.

Over winter break, Mary* was chatting on Facebook with another Swarthmore student, John, with whom she’d been having casual sex for the majority of fall semester.

John requested to video chat with Mary and she accepted the call. The conversation grew sexual when John asked if Mary missed having sex with him and took his shirt off.

“Then we both started masturbating, and then it progressed from there,” Mary recounted.

Video chat sex with John was not the first of Mary’s use of technology in a sexual capacity: during high school, she would send naked pictures of herself to boyfriends or those with whom she had hooked up.

“There are lots of naked pictures of me on people’s phones and computers,” Mary acknowledged, adding that she would often have phone sex with her boyfriend during high school.

Similarly to Mary and John, Sarah and her Swarthmore girlfriend, separated by a long distance, used Skype to have sex during breaks from school.

“We’d be Skyping, just normal videochatting and talking because we were far away, and then eventually, because it’s

someone you’re used to having sex with a lot, just talking to them makes you really horny, so I’d just say really forward things like, ‘I want to fuck you,’ and I’d bring my laptop upstairs to my room,” Sarah recounted.

Another student, Lorelai — a sophomore — used Skype for sex with her longdistance boyfriend, who graduated from Swarthmore last year. She said that mostly, she would engage in sex over Skype in Kohlberg classrooms.

“I’d be studying and Skyping him, and then…”

Lorelai trailed off. Sometimes, she said, her boyfriend would begin watching pornography while the two Skyped, making his desire for sex obvious, but other times, sex would result from Lorelai’s attraction to her boyfriend.

For Mary, Sarah and Lorelai, deciding to sexually engage with someone via technology is all a matter of comfort and trust, which eliminates the need to worry about sexual content going public.

Mary said that while she thought a boy might show a friend a photograph on his phone, she was never worried that her photograph would be sent to someone else’s phone or computer, even if she eventually had a messy breakup. “I knew that no one would actually do that,” Mary said.

For Sarah, Skype seemed to be a relatively safe form of having virtual sex.

“I feel like on Skype, the other person is more involved, and less likely to take a snapshot,” she said. “If I sent something via text, if someone has an iPhone they could just click ‘save’.”

Sarah said she had never exchanged naked pictures of herself, and didn’t plan on ever doing so. While Sarah said she trusted her girlfriend, she would still worry about a naked picture in the hands of an ex.

“I’d feel weird with that, because what if, one day, she was horribly mad at me?”

Sarah explained. “That would make me really paranoid.”

Lorelai echoed Sarah’s feeling of security with sticking exclusively to Skype.

“Skype is different from Snapchat or text,” she said (Snapchat is a photo messaging service).

“You assume that you can’t really record on Skype, unless you have some sort of special program, so in general it’s a safer thing. It’s not like your phone, where anyone can get onto it and look at the contents.”

Lorelai said she had once sent a naked picture to her (now ex) boyfriend, and regretted it after their breakup. Later, she wished she had not sent the picture,

partially because she included her face in the photo. “The one rule for dirty pictures is that they should not have your face in them, and I completely forgot that,” she said.

Lorelai also realized she had not trusted her boyfriend enough to send him the photo. “It comes back when you review the relationship,” she said. “You can’t actually trust someone that much.”

Though Sarah feels safe using Skype, she will not have virtual sex with just anyone — her willingness depends upon the relationship. “It requires a certain level of intimacy and trust,” Sarah explained. While she had Skype sex with her girlfriend after only a few months of dating, she never did so with her boyfriend in high school, whom she dated for over a year.

Mary agreed with Sarah’s assessment.

“There are people that I just don’t ever send pictures to,” she explained. While Mary hooks up regularly with a boy from her hometown, she has never sent him a picture before. “I don’t feel like I want him to see it. I’m not comfortable with it,” she said.

For Mary, exchanging sexual content through technology depends upon trust and comfort rather than upon the length of a relationship. “There’s another guy who

I’ve never dated — we’ve only hooked up a few times — but I find myself able to send him a picture, and not this other guy,” Mary explained. “It’s not like I can be pressured — some, I’ll say sure, and others, I’ll say no.”

Mary added that she wasn’t at all worried about having photographs or text messages made public, or being arrested on child pornography charges. Laws vary from state to state, but teenagers who have sent or received photos of themselves or others have been charged with distribution and possession of child pornography.

Instead, Mary said, she was most worried about being caught in the act by a parent or a friend. “I’d be worried that my parents would walk in while I was taking a picture, or while I was having Skype sex, or that they would hear [me having phone sex] or something,” Mary said.

Mary, Sarah and Lorelai don’t believe that using technology for sexual interactions is abnormal — in fact, Sarah said she was surprised at how normal Skype sex felt — though they agreed that it was not

necessarily widespread among college students.

Mary does not think she is the only person who engages in virtual forms of sex, though she believes that sexting is less prevalent than media portrays it to be. Sexting requires some degree of sexual liberation, she explained.

“I think some people do it, but I consider myself a fairly sexually-uninhibited person,” Mary said. “All the people I’ve dated are the same. I’ve dated horny-outof-their-mind guys, so we would do things that other couples may or may not have. It didn’t ever bother me or make me feel violated,” she explained.

Ultimately, Sarah believes there is no way of knowing how many people engage in virtual forms of sex. “Looking at me or [my ex-girlfriend] you would never expect that we had Skype sex all the time,” Sarah said. “I’d be surprised to hear that anyone does it, because you never know how other people like to have sex.” *Mary, John Sarah and Lorelai are pseudonyms.

News

PAGE 4

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

Admissions Hopes for Larger Yield for 2017

By COLE GRAHAM News Writer

For 929 teenagers worldwide, Monday April 1st will bring more than silly pranks and wacky jokes. It will bring an acceptance letter to Swarthmore College. Regular admissions decisions were sent out Tuesday morning, concluding a reading season that started when the first applications were submitted in December.

According to Jim Bock, vice president and dean of admissions, the college saw a record 6,614 applicants, up from 6,589 last year. Applicants hailed from 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and a slew of foreign countries including distant Mongolia and Bhutan. Overall, the number of applicants without US citizenship increased by 18 percent, said Bock, as did the number of applications from the states of Arizona and Washington. The most popular intended major of applicants was Engineering, continuing a trend from last year.

The number of students admitted, coincidentally, turned out to be the same as last year, although the Admissions Office hopes to yield a class of around 391, slightly more than in previous years. “We want to be at capacity and we are always replacing the leaving senior class,” said Bock. “If you go under capacity it’s less revenue. If you go over it’s a housing crisis.”

In the past, the college has been able to yield fairly close to their goal, however Bock did recall one year where the incoming class was overenrolled by 40 students, and another when it was under-enrolled by 75. “There’s always the joke, ‘What if all 929 say yes?’,” said Bock, although he does not expect that will happen. He also stressed the importance of yielding. A notable part of the yielding process are accepted student events such as Ride the Tide, the accepted students visiting program that will be held April 18-19. Ride the Tide offers prospective students an opportunity to engage in such activities as late night soccer with Dean Bock, meetings with cultural and student groups, faculty and alumni panels, and the Student Activities Fair. Beyond all of the activities on campus,

“Genderfuck,” Continued from Page 1 Beth Kotarski, in order to reestablish the initial intentions of Genderfuck. “We are helping to organize ongoing consent training around the party,” Kotarski said. “We are also having SMART members at the party to answer questions and be support for students.”

Perhaps the biggest potential change surrounding Genderfuck is a proposition requiring all students interested in attending the party to also attend a “consent” workshop.

Nora Kerrich ’16, a board member of the Women’s Resource Center (WRC), is helping to spearhead the movement, and believes consent workshops will help turn the event around.

“I’m a freshman, but it sounds like Genderfuck sort of devolved,” she said. “Last year was the tipping point, but we’re trying to bring it back with these workshops —back from ‘Let’s get naked,’ to more of a, ‘Let’s do something we’ve never done before.’”

In formulating such workshops, Kerrich and the rest of the WRC are attempting to bring Ben Privot to the college, the founder

COURTESY OF NINJAGRAM CAMPAIGN

Prospective students look on as Ninjas (who deliver Ninjagrams each year on Valentine’s Day) move through the activities fair. The college saw a record 6,614 applicants this year.

prospective students also get to meet each other as well as current Swatties.

“I would say, anecdotally, the thing that brings kids in most has more to do with the unstructured, spur of the moment conserva-

Every year we see the commitment to doing good, especially in the ‘Why Swarthmore?’ essays.

Jim Bock, Dean of Admissions

of the “Consensual Project.” The project partners with schools and universities to bring fresh takes on the meaning of consent.

“Privot goes to colleges and gives talks on consent,” she said. “He’s not very radical, and he’s not prone to victim-blaming.

He works towards understanding healthy relationships including how to have healthy, sexy relationships while including consent.”

Some students expressed concern that mandated workshops are not the most effective way to combat sexual assault.

“I think that an isolated workshop will either be tolerated, or worse, completely ignored by the target audience,” said Jesse Bossingham ’16. “The incredibly important problem of sexual assault does not seem to originate from a lack of education, so I’m unsure exactly what a workshop or series of workshops would do to reduce incidents.”

Still, many think it is a good idea.

“I like this idea,” said Ari Efron ’16. “People should be able to take the time out their day to do a short workshop.”

However, Efron expressed some planning concerns.

“The only questions I have are logistical.

How will these workshops be different from the orientation ones? There needs to be enough of them that even people with busy schedules can make one without putting too

tions they have with current students,” said Christine Costello, associate dean of admissions, who is in charge of planning the event.

Costello also noted that the importance of Ride the Tide lies in allowing accepted students to feel like Swarthmore students for a day. “We want to be able to showcase who Swarthmore is to the students,” she said.

The students seemed to share the same mentality and spirit in their applications as did those from previous years, according to Bock. “Every year, we see the commitment to doing good, especially in the ‘Why Swarthmore?’ essays,” he said.

For now everyone will just have to wait and see which of those 929 will continue to do good next fall here at Swarthmore.

Admissions 2013

much strain on them,” Efron said, adding he was unsure how the program would account for guests from other schools.

He added that it must be done in a way that makes everyone feel comfortable.

“For instance an assault survivor might not want to talk about these issues in a large

“My goal is for me and my staff to support the queer community in having this event be a fun, safe, celebratory, inclusive event that meets their vision and goals,” she said. “I think it is always important to continue to reflect on and create opportunities to continue to help events evolve to meet the needs of the community. New classes of students often bring new ideas and perspectives; this is part of what keeps the social life on campus fresh.”

Kerrich felt similarly but expressed the need for further work surrounding issues of consent, sexuality, and gender. Her goal is for workshops, as well as conversation and activism to move slowly away from party scenes like Genderfuck and into discussions in classrooms and amongst friends.

Kerrich made that point that everybody, regardless of sexual orientation, should keep in mind that while the workshops are mandatory, they revolve around issues that everyone should naturally feel strongly about.

“Whether you want to have sex or go to these parties, its something you have to deal with eventually,” she said. “My goal is to start with these workshops around the party scene, but to move the discussion away party scene overtime. We need more areas where this discussion takes place on a general playing field.”

It sounds like Genderfuck sort of devolved. Last year was the tipping point, but we’re trying to bring it back... from “Let’s get naked” to “Let’s do something we’ve never done before.”

Nora Kerrich ’16 group. Do we really want to force them to go? If so how can we assure that they can walk out at times that make them uncomfortable without a ton of the student body knowing?”

Reflecting specifically on the message that Genderfuck as a party sends, as well as on its changing nature, Braun, however, expressed continued support for the polarizing event.

929 admits (14%)

6,614 applicants

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

News

PAGE 5

The Phoenix

New Petition for Greek Life Referendum Introduced

By SARAH COE-ODESS News Writer

Following last month’s petition for a referendum, controversy and subsequent campus-wide discussions about the future of Swarthmore’s Greek life, Joyce Wu ’15, founder of the first petition, has created a second petition on the matter. The new petition, which received 172 signatures — well over the required 10 percent needed to present it to Student Council — consists of a proposition for a referendum with six questions, only one of which calls for abolishing Swarthmore’s Phi Psi, Delta Upsilon, and Kappa Alpha Theta. The other five questions concern making Swarthmore’s DU and Theta separate from their national chapters (Phi Psi already is not affiliated with a national organization); accepting all genders to sororities and fraternities; making the fraternity houses substance-free; merging the Greek spaces into one building; and having no campus space specifically for Greek life.

“There is a significant number of people from all over the student body who see the abolition position as too extreme, so the additions to the referendum take their suggestions for alternatives into account,” Wu said. “I’d also like to clarify that the solutions proposed in the referendum are by no means the only possible solutions. It’s only changes that involve major changes to the structure of the Greek organizations that should be put to referendum.”

Among these changes, according to Wu, could be mandating more workshops or creating new committees relevant to making the Greek spaces safer for everyone.

According to some of the comments on the new petition, other students agree that this movement is not necessarily about abol-

ishing Swarthmore’s Greek life, but rather about discussing what changes should be made. “[The petition] appears to be an effort to invoke change here on campus in a very democratic way — allowing the student body at large to voice their opinions on issues that repeatedly come up during discussions on Greek life,” Paul Cato ’14 commented with his signature on the petition.

“Whether or not one stands in favor of the presence of fraternities and sororities on campus, I urge them to sign the document and allow for such democratic efforts at reform to take place. The power to improve campus life is often taken out of the hands of the student body at large and placed instead in those of StuCo and the Dean’s Office. We now have an opportunity to shape our community as we see fit and I strongly suggest we take it.”

While representatives of the fraternities have remained relatively quiet throughout the entire movement, they acknowledge that changes to their institutions need to be made and are confident that the necessary modifications can and will happen.

“I do think this whole situation has caused DU to hold a mirror up to ourselves to examine where we can all improve,” DU President Rory McTear ’13 said. “DU guys have been making even more of a concerted effort to make sure our house and the campus as a whole is a safe place for all students. We recognize as an institution and as a group of individuals that we are far from perfect, and this situation has spurred us to try to rectify certain concerns people may have.”

Zach Schaffer ’14, president of Phi Psi, feels that not only do changes need to occur in the near future, but he also believes that progress has already been made within

YENNY CHEUNG/THE PHOENIX

The new referendum will ask students whether Phi Psi and DU (pictured above) should keep their spaces on campus.

Swarthmore’s Greek life.

“Through our weekly meetings with [Alcohol Education and Intervention Specialist] Tom Elverson and continued discussions among the Greek organizations on campus, I feel that we have definitely made progress in identifying the key issues and beginning to formulate solutions,” he said. “The Greek groups on campus will

continue to work together with the leaders of the referendum to figure out how we should proceed going forward.”

Wu plans to present the petition at StuCo’s meeting Sunday, March 31. StuCo then must hold a referendum no later than two weeks from then, meaning the future of Swarthmore Greek life will be determined by mid-April.

WORK FOR ITS! Information Technology Services is now hiring student employees for Summer and/or Fall 2013 positions.

All academic majors and experience levels are encouraged to apply.

If you enjoy working with technology and helping others solve problems, please consider working with us.

Please visit the online job descriptions and applications: http://www.swarthmore.edu/itsjobs.xml

Living & Arts

PAGE 6

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

LSE Prep: Big Boi 101 David Linde: An Interview

By AXEL KODAT Living & Arts Writer

With the announcement last week that Big Boi would headline this year’s Large Scale Event came some surprise, relief that we actually have LSE this year, and at least a couple blank stares and hesitant comments: “Who?” A grunted “He’s one half of Outkast” usually clears up any uncertainties and appropriately shames the questioner, but only stresses how popular recognition for BB’s recent solo work — ­­­ that is, recognition beyond an “Oh, that song” as the bassline of “Shutterbugg” kicks in — remains elusive. Strange, for the first line on BB’s new album — “If y’all don’t know me by now / Y’all ain’t gon’ never know me” — should, at this point, be more statement of fact than boast.

In preparation for BB’s April 6th show, here’s an inventory of some of the essential tracks from his two solo albums.

Sir Lucious Left Foot: The Son of Chico Dusty — released July 5, 2010 Shutterbugg ft. Cutty Big Boi’s only real “hit” as a solo artist, “Shutterbugg” is compressed, reverberating drum machine, a stuttering vocal bassline, intermittent stabbing space-synths, chicken-scratch guitar work, and not much else, leaving Big Boi space in the dense future-funk to do his thing. Cutty croons the simple R&B hook at the song’s core, but otherwise BB is left home free.

General Patton ft. Big Rube Massive, Verdi-sampling beat brings out the Southern hip-hop breakdown lingering dormant in (one can only imagine) all Romantic opera, but Big Boi’s here for more than just the ride, touching on everything from the power of Christ to (this is most of it) how shitty his competitors are. “Another battle won,” Big Rube confirms as the song winds down, and the General “rides off into the horizon of infinite regression, victorious.”

Be Still ft. Janelle Monae Janelle Monae delivers one of the most memorable hooks on SLLF over sparkling, twangy synths and laid back snare claps and plodding piano chords and cheesily cascading MIDI effects.

Big Boi only delivers one verse — precise and inventive but deliberately modest, yielding the floor to the momentary star of the show.

Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors — released December 11, 2012 Apple Of My Eye The kind of insistent funk that wouldn’t be out of place on, well, an Outkast album, with blistering horns, guitar curlicues, and a strangely infectious hook. It’s a moment of familiarity before a plunge into territory more foreign to Big Boi — even Wavves makes a guest appearance, albeit not one you’ll really want to listen to — and one to return to after some of the weaker attempts fade away.

By TAYLOR HODGES Living & Arts Editor

As Part of The Film and Media Department’s Friday Symposium on the future of visual media, David Linde `82, former president of Focus Features and Chairman of Universal spoke this past Thursday night in Sci 101 about the economic future of the film industry and his new production company, Lava Bear.

The Phoenix’s Taylor Hodges caught up with Linde to learn more about the Swattie’s illustrious career and his thoughts on the future of film.

Q: What advice do you wish you’d received when beginning a career in film?

A: I was fortunate in that I worked for some very supportive and inclusive people in my first few jobs. In retrospect, their willingness to let me take part in their work was the best advice I could have received. I try my best to do the same.

In the A ft. TI and Ludacris Rumbling, insistently serious horns drive this unapologetically anthemic beat, with sinister digital strings and plunging synth bass, while T.I., Big Boi, and Ludacris deliver uniformly ridiculous verses in honor of their shared hometown, Atlanta.

Thom Pettie ft. Little Dragon & Killer Mike One of the odder tracks on VLDR, with virtually every branch of the album’s dizzying eclecticism compressed into three and a half minutes, strung together with the core refrain “Thom Pettie that ho ho ho ho,” an undulating synth bass loop, and essentially nonstop moaning from Swedish electronic group Little Dragon. LD also contribute a slinky pop chorus, both utterly out of place and weirdly natural, which fades into an overdriven guitar solo before Killer Mike tears it all down.

Illustration by RENU NADKARNI

ly and artistically, but in different ways.

At a moment when the Studios are reducing production, as long as access to distribution continues, opportunities should continue to exist, and probably grow. But if access to distribution somehow is compromised, for instance by increasing in cost, then there could be real issues. For the moment, the existence of a growing overseas marketplace allows for independent (and major films for that matter) to harness advancing technology to reach audience via theaters but also in myriad other ways, expanding any film’s reach when other more traditional outlets are reducing in effectiveness.

Q: As you touched on in your talk last Thursday night, Netflix has become a titan in the film industry, and not in an entirely positive way for film studios. Do you think the company will continue to have such a large presence in the marketplace and such a big role in consumer consumption?

A: Netflix is a company built on the subscription model, which they share with companies as perhaps seemingly different as HBO and Amazon.

“The consumer” has clearly embraced this model and increasingly prefers it to a direct, purchase-to-own, model.

Subscription-based companies continue to increase their investment in content and until that were to slow down, we can expect them to maintain an important presence.

Q: You spent lots of time during your talk last Thursday night talking about predicted future directions for the film industry. So far in your career, have you seen predictions for the industry’s direction that never came to be?

A: There are always lots of grand ideas that never materialize and the film business has remained pretty locked into its specific distribution patterns, with a few very timely addiCOURTESY OF SWATMICROAGGRESSIONS.TUMBLR.COM David Linde ’82, a film industry executive, gave a talk about the tions (VHS, Pay Television, commercial futute of the movie business last Thursday.

DVD, Netflix, etc.) But with digital technology advancing so quickly, and audience’s preferences with Q: What do you consider your lucki- it, change is coming. Faster in some placest break in your career? es than others, but it’s still coming.

A: Undoubtedly, working at Miramax.

It was an intense, sometimes exhausting but really thrilling place to work. Before my six years there, I was always a hard working employee whose job it was to affect and improve upon specific things. At Miramax, you had to stand up for your opinions but you were given the chance to truly make things happen. I left there able to run things myself.

Q: The last few decades have been kind of a golden age for independent film and independent filmmakers. As the commercial structure of the film industry shuffles and restructures, how do you think the independent sphere will be affected?

A: Independent is, of course, a very broad definition. The latest James Bond film is an independent film, just as is the lovely but rather smaller “Safety Not Guaranteed.” Both succeed commercial-

Q: In the future, what sector of film revenue do you think will have the most potential for growth?

A: In the short-term, certainly the overseas theatrical business in the emerging markets and video-on demand and subscription servicing in the global home entertainment arena.

Q: What advice would you give to current Swarthmore students looking to break into the film industry today?

A: I would recommend trying any way to get a foot in the industry and try and experience whatever aspect of the business you’re interested in. Each experience will lead to others. These days Swarthmore offers more opportunities to educate yourself about film as an undergraduate, but there’s little training that will teach you the trade like what you’ll get firsthand. Jump on in.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

Living & Arts

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The Phoenix

Spoken Word Poets Sucker Punch Swatties

By COURTNEY DICKENS Living & Arts Writer Fatimah Asghar takes center stage to deliver the opening poem, “Pluto Shits on the Universe,” of the collaborative spoken word performance she and Franny Choi would present in honor of Women’s Week and API Heritage Month last Saturday. “Oops my bad,” it begins, and it soon becomes clear a personified Pluto is not happy with its victimization by scientists who just can’t seem to categorize it. “I chaos like a motherfucker!” Pluto screams. “My name means hell ... bitch. I am ... hell ... bitch!” she bellows. Her audience, a group of 30 Swatties and administrators, piled into the seats of old-school fold-out desks in the tiny Lang Center Presser Room, are silent, jarred. “Neptune?” she asks, “That bitch slow.” Her voice echoes against the hollow walls as she rants, “Fuck your order. Fuck your time!”

After a plethora of insults against time, Earth, the moon, scientific inquiry — the very ideals we cherish — she pauses, looks around at her audience, and ends without remorse, “Oops... my bad.” Breaking the persona, she flicks her hair, a curly pixie cut, and re-adjusts her purple blazer, as she humbly thanks her audience for listening. There was no doubt at the end of her poem that Pluto had just shit on the Universe. Much in line with her poetic style, one that is “austere ... and very straightforward,” Asghar, frustrated with how Pluto was too often portrayed as lonely and as a victim of displacement, twisted the story, granting the notso-planet agency. “Why would Pluto care about what the Earth thought about it?” she asks.

Franny Choi steps up in her hipster glasses and a fashionable poncho, and, delivers “Open Letter from Jessica Alba” to her snickering audience. Her delivery, in stark contrast to the fiery Pluto that preceded her, is informal, laid back. Inverting celebrity status, Franny constructs a dialogue between Jessica Alba and her father, Dr. Choi.

Franny’s Jessica Alba, the kind of actress who wears “sexually-repressed Nerd Chick glasses” in all of her “heroine” roles, marvels at the fame of Dr. Choi. Congratulating him on his winning of “Who Wore It Better: Lab Coat Edition,” Jessica laments her pointlessness and envies the strides he makes in science. Laughing at her herself midway through the poem, Franny becomes Jessica Alba. This poem, in its unique blend of a fun nature and satirical tone, is a bitter critique of popular culture. As an avid consumer of entertainment news and of all that is Hollywood, I at once possessed the cultural capital to understand her references, and thus share in the jokes, but was also overtly aware of how my obsession is misguided. Walking off stage, Franny left everyone wondering, Why do I know who Jessica Alba is and why is this funny?

Profane? Excessively. Silly? Arguable. Undeniably, these two poems, characteristic of the other poems performed, are not concerned with any notions of respectability and instead delve into the controversial, the private, the vulnerable, the taboo. Handling all from the sudden loss of a lover to the beauty of menstruating, these two little women in an hour-long slam explored, as Asghar puts it, the “ugly of something, as opposed to its beauty.” Encouraging us to emote with them, Asghar and Choi invited their audiences into the loss, grief, embarrassment, confusion, love, sex, disappointment, discovery, and regret that marked their childhood, their international travels, their families, their college lives, their lived experience. As the title of their workshop, “Sucker-Punching Your Audience,” suggests, both Ashgar and Choi play the game of poetry, masterfully

manipulating words to create politically-conscious works, meant to embody the “intersections of art, activism, and politics.”

Moving into darker themes, Ashgar, employing the same defiant and direct voice, proudly claims her own female body in a poem, “Red,” forcing her audience, whether male or female, to talk about and accept her menstruation.

Fatimah addresses a seemingly misogynistic lover: “Lover I am not ashamed of the red / drip budding between my thighs. Nor am I amused when you call it war / paint”.

Further proclaiming, “Lover, I am not afraid of the colors / my body dreams to produce.” It soon becomes clear, with the words, “I stop you, because you’ll taste metal and think me machine and wires,” that this is not only a poem about menstruation, but about female sexuality. Invoking images of oral sex, Ashgar invites her audience into the world of taboo, one that antagonizes feminine bleeding, the female body and sexual expression. Admitting this was hard to perform the first time — “it is a poem about my body and the guy it is written to is sitting in the audience,” she explains — Asghar continues to perform it for the

“[w]hen my boyfriend’s mother called to tell me he was dead / I was standing in a CVS, holding a bag of Halloween candy ... Lucky for me, the world is full of ghosts.”

Franny Choi very vulnerability she experiences when performing it and her audience experiences when hearing it. What Asghar strives for, as seen in the poem she wrote in letter form to the mother that died giving birth to her and another about growing up in poverty, is to tell something personal and in particular vulnerable. For her, the power of spoken word is to enact change and incite conversation to the exploiting of the “unsaid.” The only way to achieve this is in being the one voice brave enough to tell her (or his) story like it is.

Delving from the bodily to the disembodied, Asghar and Choi shared poems about death, about ghosts, about loss. “on those who kill” was a disturbing portrayal of a wartime journalist Fatimah met in Bosnia who painted homicide and massacre as natural evils. Adopting his voice, the poem opens with this question, “How many times have you spoken to a murderer?” With other haunting lines like “Living here, we all know murderers,” or “We know people who made massacres as fun as fireworks,” or even “When we spoke of genocide, we spoke of the job of it all. The occupation. The work that needed to be done,” Asghar gives us a chilling look into the mind of a man desensitized to violence and murder. When asked why she wrote it, Asghar insisted that it was necessary to give voice to alternative identities and ways of being. Exploring the “nuance in certain ways of being ... the different ways that you could be a person in the world” she wants to show there are “complications of identity and what you are born into and where you grow up.” Blurring the line of villain and victim, Asghar forces us to look at the world “from a completely different perspective,” to critically think about how living in a “fucked up context” could desensitize the human capacity

for compassion.

Choi, unlike the narrator of “on those who kill,” seeks to make sense of death and the imprints each life leaves behind in her “Notes on the Existence of Ghosts,” featured in her “Women Only Write Body Poems” collection. She writes, “[w]hen my boyfriend’s mother called to tell me he was dead / I was standing in a CVS, holding a bag of Halloween candy ... Lucky for me, the world is full of ghosts.”

In vivid imagery, Choi evokes the ghosts we see everyday, the “gray-green watermarks on the pavement” created by “leaves stained onto the sidewalk from yesterday’s storm,” “snow angels” that are beautiful “because of the power of an outline to name an absence holy” or the “warm afterbirth” left behind as a train you missed hurdles down its track.

She ends, urging us, “if nothing else, remember / the ghosts I leave behind.” Her prose is tactile. Her delivery is so darkened by grief that you cannot help but have a visceral reaction to the images she assembles. By the end of it, you understand her grief and even question, for a second, the existence of ghosts, of things we can’t explain but are very real.

Just when you thought you couldn’t handle any more, Choi thanks her audience for sitting through an hour-long performance of intellectual stimulation overload, and ends with “Pussy Monster,” subtitled “from the lyrics of Lil Wayne’s ‘Pussy Monster,’ arranged in order of frequency.”

There is an immediate uproar of laughter in the audience.

While in need of comedic relief, it was almost unfathomable that we were about to hear a poem that was a compilation of Lil’ Wayne lyrics. As its title suggests, this poem did not disappoint. The first line follows: “for flu food bowl stood no more soup remove spoon drink juice salt pepper.”

As she reads the first few lines of words that were only said once, namely those in his verses, she has a steady, nonchalant tone. However, as words begin to repeat themselves she increases her speed and shifts into a desperate tone.

Words like “girl,” “monster,” “my,” “I,” “like,” “me,” “you,” “la la,” appear 10 or 20 times. But the word that stole the show and was said a whopping 40 times was “PUSSY!” Imagine, Franny Choi yelling pussy at the top of her lungs. When asked why she chose to end on this note, Choi chuckled and explained that in her role as a “curator” of sorts of the slam, she “often moves from a darker place into something that is more empowering.” “Pussy Monster,” while obviously meant to incite and be outlandishly humorous, is very “revealing, exposing and empowering” in Choi’s perspective. “That is important to me ... empowerment in the face of pain.”

All in all, Franny Choi and Fatimah Asghar are two talented and passionate women of the word. Their work, written from a female, Asian American, and, as Choi admits, “queer” perspective, is creative and thoughtful. Arguably, the broadness of the themes of the poems they presented was overwhelming, resulting in their performance lacking cohesiveness.

Noel Quiñones ’15, a member of OASIS and one of Swarthmore’s featured poets in the College Unions Poetry Slam Invitational competition, admired their bravery, knowing first hand the vulnerability one can feel performing. Gauging their work not on the basis of individual lines, as the English major in me would, he proposes we consider the affective responses it drew from us. For him, the intimacy of the setting and the effort they put into engaging their audience in that setting made him “snap, sigh...and really think about the process.”

While Joan Huang’ 15 concedes this, she appreciated how aware both poets were of “how they fit into the sys-

COURTESY OF FRANNYCHOI.COM AND TIMEOUTCHICAGO.COM

Fatimah Asghar, left, and Fanny Choi, right, preformed spoken word poetry in the Lang Presser Room last Friday. The duo were brought to campus by Our Art Spoken in Soul (OASIS).

Living & Arts

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THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

Walking Through Handwritten Letters

Student Correspondances at Kitao 500 C Swa ollege A rthm v ore, enue PA 19 081

50 Sw 0 Co art lle hm ge or Ave e, PA nue 190 81 Mo 22 m a Ne Her nd P it o w Yo age p rk, Po Ne int w Yo rk

Recently, it seems as though most mail is from Amazon.com or is spam It has now become a treat to open your mailbox and find a letter or postcard waiting for you. An exhibit now on display at Kitao Gallery brings up this idea, as well as ideas of how we relate to each other and communicate through a display of letters written by Swarthmore students from the last 70 years.

The exhibit is thoughtfully laid out, with letters hung up on the gallery’s walls, grouped by author and distinguished from their neighbors by a colored cardboard paper background. The simplicity of this setup keeps the focus on the letter’s content, encouraging visitors to read their stories rather than to simply admire them from afar. The collection features letters by 11 different Swarthmore students and alums, and includes both original copies as well as scans.

“I wondered if the idea of letters might be a good way to capture the history of the school in some way. So I started sending out e-mails in September ... and I got a bunch of responses,” explains Abby Holtzman ’16, curator of the exhibit. “The themes from the past 70 years haven’t changed tremendously, even as these huge

By MIRIELLE GUY Living & Arts Writer

historical events were happening.”

The arrangement of the letters highlights the genuineness their content conveys. While reading them, it becomes very evident that this is a glimpse into people’s lives. It is not that what these letter’s authors are writing is on average so unique; however, one gets the sense that a certain amount of thought goes into writing them, more than would go into your average text, although the ideas might be similar (school’s hard, their friends are fun, books are too expensive). For example, letters by Elisha Hornblower Atkins ’71 are written on sheet music and letters by Hofan Chau ’03 include Buddhist meditations and poetry. A pleasure to read, letters such as these give visitors a sort of unique insight into the lives of past and present Swarthmore students.

One of the most interesting parts of the collection are the letters that feature historical events. For example, George Inouye ’44 was given permission to attend Swarthmore College, leaving his family behind in a Japanese Internment camp.

As Inouye’s son writes in the description of his father’s letters, there is a “cultural-

based reluctance to speak about these events. These letters offer a sense of what he may have told me [about it].” Another student who attended Swarthmore in the late ’50s writes, “[I] am now finally learning about the hidden side of Swarthmore i.e. the Bohemian life — men in people’s rooms, liquor.”

Another striking aspect of the letters is the relatability of the topics they discuss.

Many of the authors express thoughts similar to those of students today. One student explains how they had planned on being a biology major but were now considering majoring in philosophy instead—typical Swarthmore behavior— and another complains about textbook expenses.

“History I like and I don’t have nearly enough time for because of that damned chemistry,” writes Susan Washburn ’60.

Throughout the exhibit opening last Friday, visitors were enthusiastically reading the letters as if they were stories.

Although the handwriting was often difficult to decipher, visitors eagerly rushed through each line to find out what happened next, often laughing in amusement,

and sometimes surprise, at descriptions of Swat life that paralleled their own, such as rushing to catch the next SEPTA train or complaining about small dorms. It was clear that students identified with many of the letters.

This past spring and summer, members of the class of 2016, in anticipation of coming to Swat in the fall, organized a series of pen-pal correspondences between each other. A few of these letters were also on display in the exhibit. In these letters, rising freshmen discuss their fears and excitements about coming to college, as well as general ideas and questions in an attempt to get to know each other.

“Turning 18 has been a non event though you are an adult at 18. I haven’t/ probably won’t do anything. Like I could buy cigarettes but who wants those? Or a lottery ticket but I just got done with stat ... and I know I wouldn’t win so — poo” wrote one freshman this summer.

Although many of the letters are somewhat difficult to decipher (probably due to our modern reliance on typing), the exhibit has a dynamic variety of letters and is worth stopping by. The Kitao Gallery is open 12–5 p.m. and the exhibit runs through Saturday.

Living & Arts

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

PAGE 9

The Phoenix

SELECTIONS

When is the moment??

Photography by DANIEL Y. CHO

1 Light never stops informing our perception.

It is constantly at work. You take a step, it takes a step. You tilt your head, it shifts with you. Even when you close your eyes, it patiently waits for the moment you open them again to define your surroundings. Observing the ways in which light manifests itself in various forms are compelling. How do shades orchestrate depth, rhythm, and mood? When viewing images with a limited palette of color, light can be exposed by the ways in which it reveals subtle variations and complexities in our perception. (Images described clockwise).

Light & Playfulness—Is this image projecting light or receiving light? Light defines this contained space, but also questions where it originates from. They may be two different sets of light, but they give the illusion that they are one.

Light & Mood—Different types of moods are captured within one space in McCabe. Though it begins with a soft light in the upper right-hand corner, it quickly descends into the darkness by the next level. Light evokes feeling.

Light & Rhythm—The texture illuminated by recesses emphatically suggest a dynamic rhythmic movement.

“The scales” show how one’s eye can travel.

Should it slide down or up?

2

Light & Subject—Negative spaces aren’t necessarily a complimentary descriptor to the positive. It can be the main subject, and, in fact, mimic hand gestures (“A-Ok”).

When I discover light working in perspective —I click

4

LIGHT EXPOSED IN

3 1| ...McCabe

2| ... McCabe staircase

3| ... My backpack

4|... Magilll Walk

Living & Arts

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THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

‘How to Dress Well’: How to Perform at Olde Club

COURTESY OF PITCHFORK.COM

Tom Krell, known by his stage alter-ego How to Dress Well, brought his characteristic contemporary R&B sounds to Olde Club last Saturday.

By AXEL KODAT Living & Arts Writer Last Saturday indie royalty was in town as How to Dress Well, the fuzzy R&B alter-ego of Tom Krell, played Olde Club with New York electro-pop upstarts BLKKATHY opening.

BLKKATHY describe their music in a press release as “sad songs over very heavy bass beats, but dancey songs nonetheless,” and that’s about right. Dancey at times feels dubious, as some of their songs resemble rhythmically intricate dirges more than club anthems, but the two-fold classification of “beat” and “song” accurately reflects the incongruity of the smooth, “I don’t give a shit” vocal aesthetic with their anxious, industrial-influenced beats.

This tension can be quite exciting. Throw in fabulously unpretentious, usually sexual lyrics — “I’m not sad for my fat ass,” “You left me damp in your perfume / Of sex and beer,” “Imma shake you off boy / Imma lose your name,” etc. etc.

— sparse synth instrumentation, and some infectious, swinging choruses — “Shake You Off ” breaks out a swaggering bass line reminiscent of the distinctive hook from Cold War Kids’ “Hang Me Up To Dry” — and you get some great stuff.

“Fake B***h” is an eerie, throbbing head-nodder, while “Dem Bones” approaches the dance-floor end of the spectrum with subdued bass and a carefree handclap shuffle.

BLKKATHY’s live set was delayed by unknown technical difficulties, and they were ultimately forced to improvise around. As presented, their live set-up could use some improvements in order to reach the quality of their first recordings, though a more attentive crowd would have probably helped their performance.

As How to Dress Well, Tom Krell has accumulated con-

siderable acclaim in recent years for his reverb-soaking, mournful brand of R&B. Those two adjectives should be taken as literally as possible, with uncomplicated structures and distinctively airy R&B vocals buried below centuries of fossilized reverb, and lyrics exploring themes of death, depression, love, freely exploring the deeply personal.

His CV — philosophy graduate student “who splits his time between Brooklyn and Cologne” — reads like Pitchfork’s sweaty fantasy, and when his debut album Love Remains was released they and similar blogs reacted accordingly. Hype set aside (as much as it can be), his music remains compelling.

While his debut album was filled with almost indecipherably muddy tracks, fragile, pretty melodies ready to break apart, Total Loss combines his keen melodic sense with spacious beats and meticulous sound design. The result is necessarily more conventional, since much of the project’s strangeness came from the deliberately shitty package in which it was immersed, but the direct emotional style and tendency to lapse into blissful ambience remain there.

Krell insists that HTDW evades classification with other similarly inventive contemporary R&B acts, and traces his musical upbringing from `80s and `90s R&B through the experimental underground (no coincidence, perhaps, that he lists Grimes — an ex-experimenter [what a great word] similarly graduated to fractured pop — as a close friend). “If you take any of the other musicians that I’m usually grouped in with and compare any of our records,” he boasted in a Pitchfork interview last year, “you’ll find that I make much weirder music than any of them.” Sadder, maybe, and more inscrutable (if only because submerged in layers of reverb and tape hiss), but his description reads hyperbolic, particularly as his newer work eschews extremes of distortion and moves to-

ward more conventional pop. Place tracks like “Cold Nites” next to The Weeknd on a mixtape and this preening becomes a little ridiculous.

An inevitable dimension of Krell’s proudly experimental outlook is a similarly self-impressed eclecticism. This too can become tiring. The introduction of found sound into Total Loss’s mix — the first track is a William Basinski homage, though a somewhat superficial one — and the inclusion of a feeble Steve Reich imitation hardly place him at the front of contemporary music’s fragmented avant-garde. And Total Loss’s sole dance track “& It Was U” is a great song, but it really doesn’t need to be introduced with “This is a dance song,” as it was on Saturday; once the kick drum kicks in, we get it.

Despite frequent pretentions otherwise, Krell’s music is pretty stylistically homogeneous. In part, that’s what makes it great.

Krell’s self-consciously introspective personality has fed naturally into a reputation as a bit of a diva, and Saturday’s Olde Club show only reinforced this view. His evident initial excitement with playing an unannounced show in an intimate space (“Yo Philadelphia this is gonna b a very very rare performance tonight candle lit and sooooo lovely,” he tweeted, along with, “Hell ya we r playing in a cottage that used to be a frat and is now a women’s resource center vibinggggggg yesssss”) quickly faded to (loudly expressed) exasperation with technical difficulties, including persistent feedback, and, apparently, his inability to get any good whiskey around here.

He repeatedly paused in the middle of songs to yell things like “I can’t hear shit” or refer derisively to the sound system as a “bar mitzvah set-up.” Sure, there were technical and sound issues, but it’s Olde Club. There are always sound issues. The space isn’t much bigger than some dorm lounges. What could you possibly expect?

Complaining about the set-up’s limitations also risks ignoring its potential benefits. When Ben Vida opened for Tim Hecker last year his electronic blitzkriegs and swooping bass made Olde Club shake like an airplane during lift-off.

It was terrifying, but Vida kept twiddling his dials, savoring the thrill of imminent collapse. Similarly, once Krell stepped away from his mics, the cramped space made his a capella digression more powerful, immediate, close. Appreciating this sooner might have eased his frustrations.

And even the amplified, electronic stuff sounded fine.

Pissy attitude aside, it was actually a good show; his newer material in particular translates surprisingly well to a live setting, though even his most hushed, ambient pieces seemed at home in Olde Club. His dextrous use of two mics created an enthralling, warped effect, and his vocals were spot on. Setting the attitude aside is a bit hard, though, since one main issue was that it was, apparently due to Krell’s unresolved issues with the sound system, an annoyingly short set. It could have been shorter: towards the end, Krell’s travelling bandmate had to convince him to continue.

This show was the second big score for Olde Club this month, following up on Mykki Blanco, provocative, hypeladen pioneer of New York’s burgeoning “queer-rap” scene (speaking of dubious labels, this is one of them, for somewhat obvious reasons), who did her best to rev up a disappointingly small, sleepy crowd. This Saturday, rapper Mare Advertencia Lirika will take the stage.

All the World’s a Stage: Imagining Swarthmore as a Play

By JEANETTE LEOPOLD Living & Arts Writer I often sit in McCabe or Parrish Parlors for long hours pretending to do work (if a book is in my hands, but I’m not reading it, does that count as doing work?) and watching as tour after Swarthmore tour drifts by outside the window or crams into McCabe first floor lounge. As I listen irritably to the tour guide shout to the prospective students that no one cares if you’re loud on the first floor of McCabe, I wonder: what do people on the tours think of us?

I can see a nosy mother peering over at me, a father pretending not to listen to a student conversation, and I realize: each of our actions, from my unwrapping an Essie Mae’s tuna sandwich on top of my laptop, to the girl over there muttering Arabic words to herself with a three-inch stack of flashcards in front of her, is hugely magnified to these prospective families. If they’re only on campus for a couple of hours, then they

Make Your Summer Count Spend Four Weeks in Sunny California and Get a Certificate in Business

have to accept any Swarthmore student action as typical. How else will they form an opinion about the school?

Naturally, since it’s my school, I want those judgments to be positive. So when I see visiting parents look over at me, I try to do something that will reflect the school in a welcoming light. I’ll try not to spill tuna onto the floor. I’ll smile at the guy sitting next to me so it looks like we’re friends (this campus community is so tight!), I’ll screw my face into an expression of puzzled contemplation at the reading in my hand, which I haven’t started.

We all act differently depending on who we’re with and where we are. It’s not a new idea, but it’s one that we talk about often in theater classes. Essentially, we’re always acting. And this got me thinking — how does Swarthmore look to prospective students, through the lens of theater?

First of all, it’s huge. I know the big thing about Swarthmore is supposed to be how small it is, and how everyone knows everyone else, but if the school is a stage, that’s

a whole lot of actors. At a play, audience members are constantly trying to discern relationships between the different characters. Visiting families must be trying to figure out how the students know each other, if we like each other, what our objectives and obstacles are with each other.

The play of our school would look like we were trying to make a point. Look at the costume design: so many students dressed non-traditionally, with men wearing pink and purple, and sometimes skirts and dresses, and women with short haircuts and loose-cut clothing. The costume designer puts thought into every article of clothing, into every hairstyle and makeup choice.

“What is the play trying to say,” the learned prospective family will ask, “through these costume choices?”

Let’s move on to sound. Of course, there is the overwhelming sound of the tour guide’s (very lovely) voice, telling the truth about the school, especially when the truth is Swarthmore-friendly. Then, there’s the group of girls laughing outside McCabe—

how does that serve to amplify, or how does it alter the experience of the tour guide’s words at that time? Will the audience know to tell the difference between someone pretending to complain that they have too much work, and someone actually complaining about it? Do the groans wafting up from the Sharples condiments bar to the top of the stairs, where the tours peer down at us, reflect frustration or delight? These are difficult distinctions to draw.

Finally, what genre of play would we fall under? Are we a musical? The singing and dancing seems too confined to the Lang buildings for that (but if anyone’s interested in working out a flash mob act, let me know.) Are we a dark comedy? Maybe, depending on your perspective. A romantic comedy? The backpacks are a little too overstuffed for that. Avant-garde? Not enough drug use. A devised piece? That just might work. It’s not mainstream, and it works best with a lot of different kinds of people who somehow fit into a collective, wonderful whole.

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THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

Living & Arts

PAGE 11

The Phoenix

A Compass for Surveyors in Los Angeles Over spring break, I spent some time at my old haunt, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which boasts the largest permanent collection of art west of the Mississippi. While at the museum, my love for the art of curating increased tremendously. What I saw proved that sometimes a truly fascinating exhibit might not appear to be particularly complex at first glance, and that the best exhibits are those that are DEBORAH simply truly well planned and KRIEGAR clearly thought I Own the Arts out.

“Compass For Surveyors” is a small exhibit, contained in a single room in the Art of the Americas building. It is comprised of works from the museum’s permanent collection of late 19th century and early 20th century landscape photographs and paintings from both the east and west coasts of the United States.

As a museum and curatorial practices enthusiast, I was intrigued by this idea of combining permanent collection objects in a new way and exhibiting them under a new conceptual umbrella. In this case, this use of the pieces allows the viewer to see how the different works interact with one another and to consider what they say together about the subject matter. The exhibit seeks to highlight the differences and similarities in painted and photographic depictions of the east and west coasts during a period of major westward expansion and east coast urbanization—a time when the landscape of the United States was in constant flux.

The organization of the works is extremely relevant. Each wall is a completely different experience in terms of medium, location, setting, place and style. On one wall (the eastern wall of the gallery) east coast landscape paintings are exhibited salon-style; i.e. hung in many rows, covering nearly the whole wall.

The wall opposite (the west) features west coast landscape paintings hung in a more modern style: only one row across. The southern wall in-between features west coast photographs arranged salon style highlighted by a single row of east coast photographs.

Further highlighting the themes of exploration and change and expansion, a compass was on display in the center of the room. According to the exhibit blurb, the compass dates from 1856 and serves to reinforce and summarize visually the idea behind the exhibit. The blurb stated further that “the installation emphasizes the uneven and subjective nature of LACMA’s collection: the East Coast works, hung salon-style, dramatically outnumber the museum’s canvases portraying the West. Conversely, representations of the West abound in the museum’s holdings of early photography, while there are fewer photographs depicting the East.” As a patron of the museum, I found it interesting that the museum views this set of its own collections as “uneven”.

In addition to the juxtaposition of photographs and paintings, the exhibit features the Thomas Eakins masterpiece “The Wrestlers”, as well as a sketch for the work, which date from the same time period as the landscapes. At first glance, the inclusion of Eakins seems like an odd choice. Why does a painting of two men wrestling belong in an exhibit concerned with landscapes?

Incredibly enough, while I was viewing the exhibit, the exhibit’s curator, José Luis Blondet, was giving a tour to a group of art students. I had the chance to tag along somewhat surreptitiously and to have the eye-opening opportunity of hearing a curator explain his craft: what he conceived for the exhibit, how he went about arranging it to meet his purposes, and how he selected the works he included.

Mr. Blondet explained that with this exhibit, he sought to express the idea of landscapes as individual experiences and the museum as its own always-changing landscape. Each wall, with its different types of works featured, is a different visual landscape. He also explained that the photographs on display will change during the course of the show, creating an entirely new overall landscape: the exhibit itself is in a constant state of change.

Every person who views it will have a different experience.

When approaching this subject matter, Mr. Blondet explained that he thought he was going to see “progress” in east coast

photographs with expansiveness in west coast pictures, but what he found contradicted his previous conceptions. As a potential aspiring curator, it was personally interesting for me to hear how even the most seasoned museum professionals can approach an exhibit with preconceptions and have them challenged by the very pieces they are working with.

Mr. Blondet also discussed his process in setting up the exhibit itself. For example, he described how he laid out the east coast salon-style works on the floor before hanging them up to see how they played against one another. In a particularly amusing anecdote, he shared how he sought to find an appropriate color to paint the walls, finally deciding to match the color of the reflection on the water from one of the landscape paintings because he felt it would help to highlight the works without taking on a life of its own.

After Mr. Blondet completed his talk, I was left to consider the exhibit with a different set of eyes. The power of this exhibit depends on the viewer’s ability to recognize and appreciate the specific contrasts created by the juxtaposition of the paintings and photographs. Beyond the material level, there were thematic contrasts between the old and the new:

the older world of the east coast and the new world of the west coast; the old way of displaying art (salon-style) and the new way of displaying art; and, of course, the old way of creating art (painting) and a new way of creating art (photography).

So why did the Eakins fit into this exhibit? The painting, because of its almostphotographic, naturalistic qualities, serves to unite the worlds of photography and painting. In addition, in its subject matter, it shows the potential struggle between the east and west, and the old and the new. In fact, the painting provides a summary of the exhibit: the passing of the artistic torch, so to speak, from old ways to new beginnings.

This set of works may appear to be a simple portrayal of life in the 19th century United States, but their combination encourages the viewer to think more deeply. Being able to hear the curator describe his goal for the exhibit added a layer of understanding and appreciation for what, on the surface, may seem a simple landscape show. Rather than a simple set of beautiful paintings and photographs, this exhibit has been created to display the ever-changing nature of artistic styles and visual landscapes. Next time you are near LACMA, don’t pass up this room!

COURTESY OF COMMONS.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Thomas Eakins “The Wrestlers” was prominently displayed at the Los Angeles Museum of Art.

A Conversation with Professor X

I’ve jokingly stated many many times, “I’m pretty sure “Professor X” thinks that we only have work from his class. Do you see this? (holds up pack of readings that necessarily must be stapled with the big orange and grey stapler in McCabe).”

I’m guilty of perpetuating this narrative in the dark hours, lining up for a cup of coffee and hopefully, a pack of Oreos in McCabe. This go-to phrase has the merit of placing the blame of my procrastination onto the workload. It also displaces the guilt I feel of not CATHY finishing the entirety of the PARK work assigned via half-humor Through Rose-tinted and empathetic nods. HowevSwoggles er, this narrative doesn’t quite capture the understanding that Swarthmore professors have of their students. And the fact that Swarthmore professors do appreciate the rigor and intensity that we bring to our work and to the classroom.

There are some professors that I talk to more regularly than others. A recent conversation with a professor I describe as fantastically cool and insightful went (more or less) like this: Cathy runs up to the classroom door and gives a rapid knock. The door opens quite suddenly, as my

professor was rearranging something near her door.

Professor: Come in. How are you? (Both parties settle down quite comfortably, as would old friends, or an advisor and her student would after four years of both academic and non-academic advising during hours of crisis a.k.a. weekend Skype advising) Cathy: I’m doing okay. Though, every week, I feel like I’m falling behind.

P: Welcome to my life.

Chuckles ensue as she takes a sip from her coffee jar and I try to formulate my feeling of angst and unpreparedness in an articulate manner.

C: My lack of foundation, or the lack of confidence I have in my understanding of the foundations of my studies really bothers me. I really wish that I had a better grasp…

Professor nods but stops me.

P: Well, there’s a disjuncture in what you can achieve given the time and cognitive constraints that you have and what you’d like to do if you had no other responsibilities.

C: Yes… P: It’s okay that you’re not reading every review, every article assigned to you, right? It’s more that you acquire the necessary skills in order to delineate from the context of everything that we’ve read so far

how these sources speak to or about the issues that we’ve been discussing even if you’ve read one or skim through most.

C: (feeling rush of relief, a sense of comradeship, nods vigorously) I appreciate that. Sometimes I feel as though professors assign their work expecting every piece to be close-read and analyzed even though it’s not true.

P: (smiling) All you guys are perfectionists who don’t understand that you each hold each other and yourselves to a higher standard than possible at times.

So, do you want to talk about your future or your paper?

C: Both, both are definitely in the future.

Such interactions help ground me in the chaotic flurry of papers that I perceive myself to be lost in.

Despite what it may seem like when we look at our 40page syllabus with a reading list that seems inhumane, our professors understand that we’re not superhuman. They also want us to be healthy and successful.

Especially as I realize in my last year at Swarthmore that my professors here at Swarthmore probably care more about their students than will most other people who we meet in the “real world,” I do want to take a moment to recognize that sometimes, we need to take a step back and appreciate.

PAGE 12

Opinions

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

Zoellick: A Serious Choice

COURTESY OF Andreas Rentz/Getty Images

Robert Zoellick ‘75, former president of the World Bank, US trade representative, and deputy secretary of state.

Over the last week, the College’s decision to invite former World Bank President Robert Zoellick ’75 to deliver a graduation speech and receive an honorary degree has become the latest campus controversy this semester. Although selected by TYLER a predominantly libBECKER eral faculty, some of The Swarthmore my fellow students Conservative question having an individual they call “one of the major architects and strongest proponents of the Iraq war” speak at graduation.

Boiling down Zoellick’s impressive public service career to the Iraq War is not only a gross mischaracterization; it’s factually wrong. Zoellick was not involved in the execution of the Iraq War, period. Serving as United States trade representative from 2001-2005, Zoellick’s responsibilities included treaty negotiations and economic diplomacy. The mere attribution of Iraq policy to Zoellick suggests a tendency among my fellow students to equate anyone involved in the Bush administration with a war they dislike. Zoellick did sign a letter to President Clinton supporting the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 1998, and advocated for United States involvement in Iraq for many of the same reasons as Democrats did in the early 2000s.

Even if I agreed that an individual’s ties to the Iraq War should prohibit them from speaking at Swarthmore (a position I would never take), Zoellick would still not be disqualified. In fact, hearing Zoellick, a foreign policy realist who called for Hussein’s removal from power, talk about the war ten years later would be interesting. This is a reason to invite him rather than to disqualify him.

Numerous other arguments have been made for Zoellick being a “problematic” graduation speaker and honorary degree recipient. Some of the weakest arguments deal with Zoellick’s Republican politics. He has held many positions in Republican government going back to positions at the Treasury Department in the Reagan years. In George H.W. Bush’s administration, he served under Secretary of State James Baker and later became White House deputy chief of staff. Later, he served under President George W. Bush as trade representative and deputy secretary of state before being appointed to head the World Bank.

Politico reported last year that Zoellick would likely have been Romney’s choice for secretary of state.

All of these positions are influential and important, no matter which party controls the White House. Zoellick’s stature in politics shows that he is a serious individual whose accomplishments as a Swarthmore alum deserve to be celebrated. Graduating seniors could benefit from listening to his path after Swarthmore to where he is today at their graduation as well.

Zoellick has also been critiqued by Swatties for a 2000 Foreign Affairs piece he wrote entitled “A Republican Foreign Policy.” In reading the piece, I found his discussion of American power and the need to use international institutions to pursue American interests parallel to a number of international relations scholars’ thinking.

His free trade advocacy in the article and as president of the World Bank is also not unlike the Obama administration’s support of free trade. Zoellick’s positions are certainly not out of the mainstream on any of these points.

Never intended as a controversial graduation speaker, Zoellick is a phenomenal choice for a speaker and honorary degree recipient on many levels.

His experiences in politics have been influential and successful. He has a deep commitment to public service and would probably serve again if called upon. And, he shows that Swarthmore has ideological diversity even among the College’s best-known graduates.

The administration needs to make a solid defense of Zoellick and dispel the tension well before graduation. In the Phoenix article on Zoellick’s selection earlier this month, economics Professor Stephen Golub argued against those critical of Zoellick’s politics by saying, “He’s not an extreme rightwinger.” While Golub’s word choice is understandable, saying politics is irrelevant to the selection process would have been a better formulation. The administration should make this point in a strongly worded defense of Zoellick that makes crystal clear support for bringing Zoellick in as a graduation speaker and awarding him an honorary degree.

Students upset over the choice of Zoellick should take time to understand Zoellick’s career before rushing to a judgment. The meeting organized by seniors this Friday should dispel the notion that Zoellick is a “war criminal,” as some of my fellow students

Indian Women Still Waiting You know a country has a problem placate irate activists in the country when someone takes the time to name and abroad. The ordinance, which a culture-specific problem in a for- will soon be signed into effect by the eign language. The gathering of men President of India, calls for capital in public places to verbally and, some- punishment for convicted rapists and times, physically ha- advocates harsher punishment for the rass women is called perpetrators of acid attacks, sexual haNEHMAT “eve-teasing” in In- rassment, and stalking. In addition, dia; it’s as common the new law criminalizes a policeman’s KAUR a term as any to the refusal to register a complaint of sexDuniya average Indian but ual assault. It does not, however, acShuniya a random grouping knowledge that marital rape is a crime of words to anyone and defines rape as a gender-specific else. It’s indicative of how Indian men act that essentially negates the fact that feel entitled to judge and harass wom- men can be raped. en and this very impunity then lends While the passing of this law is itself to cases of acid attacks, stalking commendable for taking a step forand sexual assault. ward for women’s rights, it is a rather Indian men’s treatment of women small and largely ineffective step. The and the arguably pervasive culture of new changes and the existing laws put misogyny that plagues the country their faith in an effective law enforcehave been in the news since Decem- ment system that ought to be trusted ber last year, when a young woman by citizens. It blissfully ignores the was barbarically assaulted by a group problem of ill-trained policemen who of men in a bus and died as a result victim-shame, trivialize sexual assault of it. It shook the citizens of Delhi and rarely investigate reports of rape. enough that they took to protesting The social stigma that a rape victim in in the streets and question authorities India faces is so daunting that most about why an increasingly progressive studies assume that the majority never country suffers from rape as the fast- reports the occurrence of sexual asest growing crime within its boundar- sault. ies. Just as things were calming down I recognize that India can’t instantly and a momentous revision in rape offer its women a safe world of equallaw was expected, it happened again. ity, but it can, at least, make it easier Last week, a Swiss to redress such tourist who crimes. If you are was travelling the victim of any through a central illegal activity, This life of constant Indian state was your first action raped by a group vigilance and wariness should be reportof men, and, in a ing it to the pois a reality that separate incident, lice and helping a British tourist everyone but the Indian them catch the injured herself criminal. For this government can see. climbing out a reason, and for window to avoid the general good the advances of of civic order in her hotel’s manthe country, the ager.

Indian Parliament should have passed As Time magazine article questions the impact such events will have on a law that focused on training policeIndia’s tourism industry, the US State men to deal with victims of sexual asDepartment advises its female citizens sault appropriately and respectfully, to avoid Indian public transport after they should go through workshops to it is dark outside, ensure their hotel be sensitized to the nature of rape and rooms have functional locks and to taught not to victim-blame or blame dress conservatively to avoid unwant- a woman’s sexual history for her beed attention. These are maxims that a ing raped. The new law seeks to take woman living in India lives by, giving a broad, ideological step forward but a up the comfort of shorts in the Indian more effective way would have been to summer for a pair of long pants, en- execute changes on the small scale like suring her plans for an evening out in- changes in police training programs corporate a trusted male companion, and recruitment procedures, in addichecking behind her shoulder if she tion to retraining existing law enforceis in an unfamiliar part of town while ment officials.

It may be a while, maybe even declutching her cell phone, just in case.

This life of constant vigilance and cades before an Indian woman can wariness is a reality that everyone but walk down a street at night and not feel afraid, but it should not take so long to the Indian government can see.

Over the last few months, much has train a smaller number of people to be been said about the pervasiveness of more tolerant and more aware of the a patriarchal, misogynist culture and issues that surround sexual assault. A how it cannot be erased overnight law is only as effective as its enforcebut has to be changed over time. In ment makes it and as of now, Indian the meantime, the Indian Parliament rape law is supporting itself against a has dished up a bill that it hopes will pillar of apathetic ineptitude. have claimed and the group’s Facebook event insinuates.

While I understand some opposition will continue through graduation, the meeting is a step in the right direction to avoid student protests of Zoellick at the ceremony. After all, he is a Swarthmore alumnus and part of our extended campus community. The last thing that should happen at graduation, with friends and family present to

celebrate the accomplishments of our senior class, is a misguided demonstration that disrupts the entire event.

We should consider ourselves lucky to have a serious, accomplished, policy-oriented alum speaking at graduation this year. A celebrity guest may be attractive to many schools, but Swarthmore has chosen to showcase an alumnus dedicated to public service. Robert Zoellick ’75 deserves better treatment.

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

Opinions

PAGE 13

The Phoenix

The Keystone Mistake In Making Keystone Their Defining Fight, Environmentalists Picked A Losing Horse

Last week, the United States Senate together to defeat the conservatives, the cast votes on a large number of amend- quarrel between organized labor and ments to its budget proposal, many climate activists creates ugly optics.

There is an even bigger problem than unrelated to the actual budget. One of those amendments was a resolution that. Though activists insist otherwise, calling on President Obama to approve in picking a fight with Keystone, they the Keystone XL pipeline. It passed on also picked a fight with public opinion. a 62-37 vote. It has no policy effect, but Gallup and Washington Post polls from the numbers and the headlines are rich 2012 showed that about 60 percent of with symbolic value. Whether President the public supports the pipeline. GalObama will heed its will is unclear, but lup broke their poll down by party and found that even a plurality of Democrats the message is unmistakable.

Environmental activists were, natu- support it. It is unsurprising, then, that rally, outraged. The executive direc- a handful of Democratic Senators, most tor of the Sierra Club declared that the from red states, cast their votes the way “vague, non-binding resolution does they did. Keystone XL is just popular.

Fortunately, the pipeline is an anomnothing but show how eager these Senators are to please their Big Oil masters.” aly. Environmentalists enjoy strong The campaigns direc- public support on many other issues. tor of Oil Change In- An April Gallup poll found majorCRAIG ternational declared ity support for increasing industry and EARLEY that the “only thing vehicle emissions standards, imposthis amendment ing controls on carbon emissions, and The Pragmatic Progressive would actually do is government investment in alternative show which Senators energy sources. Some of those policies would rather follow even had support from a majority of ReBig Oil’s money rather than listen to the publicans.

Any of those ideas could have been people who elected them.”

Keystone XL has been the focus of the rallying cry of the environmental the environmental movement for two movement. It is not too late to pivot years now. In 2011, activists were ar- now. Climate activists would be wise to rested outside the White House while start pushing hard for more public indemanding the president block the vestment in green jobs. The 2012 Galpipeline. The fight has continued ever lup survey found 60 percent of Amerisince. Last month, the Sierra Club com- cans supported that idea, including 51 mitted its first act of civil disobedience percent of Republicans. Expanding the in its battle to stop the pipeline, and green jobs agenda would bind support its executive director was among those for the planet to support for labor, get jailed for it. Prominent activist Bill people back to work, and expand the market for alterMcKibben has denatives to fosscribed the Keysil fuels. If the stone fight as “the movement needs biggest environsingle unifying mental movement Being bogged down in the acause, expanding in recent history” Keystone XL fight diverts the clean energy and denounced the industry would pipeline’s potential resources from efforts to be a more pracapproval as “game create a greener economy. tical one than over for the clifighting Keystone mate.”

XL. This commitOf course, this ment has come in is all somewhat the face of a long series of setbacks, especially in the last speculative. Climate change is going to year. Before the Senate vote, the State have to be confronted in more limited Department gave the pipeline its seal of ways until Congress is friendlier to the approval. Before that, the Republican cause. Part of the reason the pipeline Governor of Nebraska switched from became so important was that activopposing to supporting the pipeline. ists recognized that. They wanted to Though the President has yet to make put pressure on President Obama to a decision, the political winds seem to take action without having to overcome be blowing in favor of the pipeline. It congressional inertia. That’s a fine apseems not many people believe this is proach, but to link it to a single issue obscures steps the administration has actually “game over for the climate.”

The Senate vote makes clear that the already taken. It has invested billions environmental movement made a mis- into the clean energy industry, enacted take when it chose Keystone XL as its new rules to reduce air pollution, tightdefining goal. Developing Canada’s tar ened fuel efficiency standards, and folsands may be bad for the planet, but the lowed the lead of climate-conscious focus on it at the expense of other causes officials in the EPA and the Energy Dewas counterproductive to achieving the partment. Environmentalists want the administration to prove its seriousness movement’s broader goals.

By emphasizing the pipeline, the about climate change, when in fact it almovement has driven a wedge between ready has.

Whether Keystone XL is built or not, itself and other members of the liberal coalition. Labor groups, long the core the larger problem of climate change institution of the American left, are di- will persist. It will take an engaged libvided about the issue. The AFL-CIO has eral coalition and clear public support not taken a side, but it has made gen- to make any progress. Being bogged eral statements indicating tacit support down in the Keystone XL fight diverts for the pipeline. America’s Building resources from efforts to create a greenTrades Unions and several construc- er economy and move away from detion unions have been quite vocal about pendence on fossil fuels. That is the real their support for it as a source for new goal, and the left and the environmental jobs. Though both groups always come movement should not lose sight of it.

Samsung: Bringing a Knife to a Gunfight

COURTESY OF BLACKBERRY

COURTESY OF SAMSUNG

The Blackberry Z10, left, and the Samsung Galaxy S4, right.

Samsung is looking not only to target Apple with their new S4, but also take to a premeditated jab at Blackberry. Blackberry, formally known as Research In Motion (RIM), has, in past couple years, dropped to battling Windows for third place in smartphone market share. Currently, their largest markets, and their original markets, are businesses and governments.

Blackberry’s new Blackberry 10 devices, most notably the Blackberry Z10, have seemed to reveal a bright spot in this company’s future. While Verizon, AT&T, and THARSHIL Mobile (Oh, come on Sprint) customers in the SAHAI United States still have Conservatively to wait until the end Liberal Economics of March to get their hands on this device, our friends across the pond have already had a month to try out the new Blackberry 10 operating system as well as the Z10 device.

Blackberry brings something timeless and paramount in today’s ever expanding technological world: security. Risks of cyber-theft, hacking, and software viruses are higher than ever before, and both private and public enterprises need fluid, secure software to prevent infiltrations. For the past decade, Blackberry has been the secure mobile platform of choice for those exposed to these risks.

Where Samsung comes in is their attempt to expand their reach into this business and government realm, where Blackberry still has a solid holding, with Samsung KNOX, a platform-enabled, dual-interface solution to balancing work and personal applications. With BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) becoming more popular with businesses and governments and the introduction of KNOX, some reviewers say that Blackberry should be “very, very scared.” I, however, believe the exact opposite. Here are two main reasons why the Samsung Galaxy S4 will not have much of an affect on the Blackberry 10 devices: The Galaxy S4 is Nothing New Samsung seems to have (not surprisingly) taken a page out of the Apple playbook in updating the specs of the Galaxy without doing anything truly innovative.

While features such as eye-scrolling and dual-picture taking are cool, I think that these features will be the first to be disabled once people start using this phone. Besides these “innovations”, it’s just a specs on specs on specs race, where reviewers have already stated that while the specs sounds great, they don’t feel as great in real world use.

Blackberry, however, caught the world’s attention with their completely new operating system created by QNX and the innovations with it. The most amaz-

ing of those is one that Blackberry handsdown does the best: the keyboard. A feature used extensively by businesses and governments, the Blackberry keyboard has been acclaimed across the board as the best virtual keyboard on the market. Period. While I have not had a chance to use it myself, many reviewers after having the phone for over a month stated that both the iOS and Android keyboards just feel outdated and inefficient.

Don’t Bring Toys to Work By the same token, Samsung seems to offer many features not necessarily appropriate or efficient in a professional work atmosphere. Many of the key attributes to the S4 are the expanded, colorful display, as well as the famed 13 megapixel camera.

Since when do CIA employees, government contractors, or finance professionals watch comedy movies or partake in casual photography? It seems to me that businesses concerned with performance and security prefer a more stable, user-friendly, no bull-shit platform.

As the Samsung hopes for businesses to utilize the phone for both personal and professional uses, this may lead to further security concerns. Further, it may lead to a difficult compromise between practical use and functionality that will disappoint both workplaces as well as individuals.

KNOX Is Just Blackberry Balance Blackberry is known for their security and reliability. It is still Obama’s phone of choice, and Blackberry Messenger (BBM) was the communication tool of choice for those in the 2011 London Riots. While KNOX is an attempt to do what Blackberry Balance is already doing, I do not see it having as big as an influence as its supporter’s expect. The German Federal Office for Information Security just ordered 5,000 Blackberry Z10 phones for its staff.

The U.S. immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency stated that it will give the new operating system a chance.

So far no outside government agencies or businesses have struck a deal with Samsung to have KNOX. Because firms and government organizations have gotten used to the platform, design, and functionality of the Blackberry software suite, this also presents significant challenges for them to shift if they chose to switch to Samsung. It is also unwise for Samsung, that historically provides for the individual consumer, to try to compete with Blackberry, a company that has focused so much on security and communication for businesses. Samsung is bringing a knife to a gunfight.

Steven Gu ’15, contributed in writing this column.

PAGE 14

Opinions

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

De-Extinction: A Possible New Scientific Frontier

The Possibility of Returning Species From Extinction May Change the Way We See the World Let’s imagine for a moment that we had the technology to recreate a species once considered extinct. Imagine that we could use the genetic information from those organisms’ DNA to create new individuals that have not roamed the earths for generations. Consider what it would mean if extinction weren’t permanent, and humankind could revive any species it wished at their own discretion.

These prospects were once science fiction — the subject of Michael Crichton’s novel Jurassic Park and the movies of the same name — but that will all soon change.

After all, it was 17 years ago that scientists first successfully cloned a mammal — Dolly the sheep. In that short time, cloning technologies have grown by leaps and bounds. While PATRICK Dolly was created after many failed AMMERMAN attempts and was plagued by health problems her entire life, scientists Popular today can create clones of organisms Science more easily and more quickly.

Bringing back dinosaurs today is still out of the question — fossils do not contain the all-important DNA for cloning and dinosaur DNA. But many species that have gone extinct more recently could be feasibly recreated, and perhaps even reintroduced into the habitats that were once theirs. The passenger pigeon, the great auk, and even the wooly mammoths of Siberia are among the species that have been suggested for early consideration to be brought back, once the technology is ready.

This idea of recreating species that have completely died off has been termed “de-extinction.” De-extinction does not just mean the recreation of a species for our own amusement, as in Jurassic Park. Rather, these species could invigorate ecosystems that have begun to deteriorate due to the rapid wave of extinctions that has been taking place over the past 100,000 years or so — around the same time as the origin of our species. De-extinction could also help to set right extinctions that are thought to have been directly caused by human activity.

Yet, just because we can bring back any species we chose does not necessarily mean we should. Whether it is correct for human beings to bring back some, or any, species raises significant ethical questions. My position is that de-extinction will be a powerful tool to restore some of the ecological damage human beings have caused, and

to do so I feel it is helpful to refute some of the arguments cells of rock pigeons, the de-extinction of the passenger pigeon is possible. His hypothesis is that this DNA, which against de-evolution One position that seeks to refutes any sort of de-ex- contains both rock pigeon DNA and carrier pigeon DNA, tinction at all is that it is not up to human beings to “play will be passed into the sperm and egg cells of the offspring god” in deciding which species do and do not exist. Spe- of the injected pigeons, and that this second rock pigeon cies have always gone extinct, and new species have come generation would produce rock pigeon-passenger pigeon about, due to changing environmental conditions and hybrids. By continuing to produce hybrid pigeons, and other normal ecological processes. This argument, how- selectively breeding just those pigeons with many passenever, ignores that human beings have been “playing god” ger pigeon traits, Church hypothesizes that the passenger to some degree in many of the extinctions that have taken pigeon DNA can be eventually reconstructed. However, place since the beginning of our existence. To prevent this approach has never been tried before, and it is unclear even more extinctions in habitats that are in flux because whether this theoretical approach will work in practice.

Finally, assuming de-extinction is possible and pracof human intervention, human beings should not refrain from using whatever tools are at our disposal to address tical, there is the question of what we will do with the the problem. It was, after all, human ingenuity that drove recreated species. Many natural habitats in which these species once thrived have been destroyed, and nearly all those species to extinction.

Another big question de-extinction raises is whether the world’s habitats are changing drastically due to human development and cliour ability to recreate exmate change. The passenger tinct life will make extincpigeon once lived in huge tion events less meaningful. tracts of forest in the EastIn other words, whether deIf done in combination with ern United States — forest extinction will give human ecosystem preservation and that has been mostly debeings an excuse to extermistroyed since its extinction. nate a species since that sperestoration, de-extinction If scientists are to devote a cies can always be brought offers the possibility of creating substantial amount of time back at a later time. While this point is very significant healthier, more vibrant ecosystems. and energy towards the recreation of these species, for ecosystem conservation, then it is important that it does not stand to reason those species can thrive and that the re-creation of a speare not merely re-introcies will ever be cheap and easy enough to make it a more practical option than the duced to become extinct again. If done in combination avoidance of extinction in the first place. Moreover, it will with ecosystem preservation and restoration, however, take, in some cases, the breeding of many generations of de-extinction offers the possibility of creating healthier, organisms to recreate a version of the species that can be more vibrant ecosystems than would have otherwise been possible. released into the wild.

The conversation about de-extinction ethics is likely Also, there remains no guarantee that all species will be equally capable of being cloned and brought back. For just beginning. Yet, as we get closer towards making deinstance, the carrier pigeon and other birds will be more extinction a viable endeavor, it is important that we undifficult to clone because their young develop inside hard derstand how to use this new tool responsibly. Bringing shells. While mammal clones, such as Dolly the sheep, can back once-extinct species gives us a tool that will help us be implanted into a surrogate mother to develop, there is restore environments to health in a way we once thought no way to do the same through the hard-shells of pigeon impossible, but it is vital that we recognize de-extinction eggs. Harvard biologist George Church has hypothesized as just one tool that will not eliminate the current ecologithat by injecting doctored DNA into the sperm and egg cal crisis.

Same-Sex Marriage as a Conservative It seems that every day at Swarthmore some new issue is being brought to light by a student group and within days that issue is the talk of Sharples. Right now, the Supreme Court’s debate of California’s Proposition 9 and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) are being argued over the waffle maker and the salad bar. Unfortunately, all too often these discussions focus on the opposition of extreme religious right to NATHANIEL same sex marriage and the members of the Republican party who are part FRUM of that cause. Phrases like “ConserConservative vatives are bigots” or “What can you View expect from Republicans?” are inevitably thrown around, in ways that if the same stereotypes were used against another group there would be protests and outcry.

I find this especially troubling as a conservative and a registered Republican. Yes, there are many prominent Republicans who oppose same sex marriage — but not for what I would call conservative reasons. That’s because the institution of same-sex marriage is a very conservative idea.

First let me make an important distinction. The idea that all humans are created equal and are entitled to their fundamental rights belongs to no party. These ideas are not liberal or conservative, Republican or Democratic.

However, from a purely political point of view, Republicans should be the party of gay marriage.

A fundamental aspect of being a conservative is the idea that a government that does less, costs less, and interferes less in our daily lives is better than a big, expensive and intrusive government. I subscribe to the this view, thus it seems ridiculous to me that some Republicans protest government intervention in the economy, private business, firearms possession, and airports, but in perhaps the most personal of all legal institutions,

marriage, defend the government’s right to decide who can and cannot marry. If there is one place where we shouldn’t want government intervention, it should be in our bedrooms.

In his book Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, Jonathan Rauch argues that marriage equality can be society’s way of saying to homosexual couples, “Thank goodness you’ve formed a family,” meaning that if the GOP is really the party of family values, it should support the formation of real families. It seems absurd that true conservatives would think that a partnership with really no legal responsibilities is better for society than a real and equal marriage. Furthermore, if we seriously concerned about kids being raised by gay couples, actually recognizing children’s parents as legally married would be much more beneficial than giving kids some vague explanation of how their parents are partners. As Rauch says, “Marriage now can be unique because it is the gold standard for commitment.”

There can be no greater champion of marriage equality than former Solicitor General Ted Olson, who argued against Prop 9 before the Supreme Court. There can also be no greater card-carrying conservative: Before serving in the Bush Administration, Olson championed, sponsored and wrote about many conservative causes. He is Exhibit A of a Republican who supports same-sex marriage, and is leading his own party to change its views.

Swarthmore students can help expedite this change as well. If, when talking about same sex marriage, people stop lumping all conservatives in with the nuts on the far right — if Democratic students can open their minds, drop their prejudices and begin to understand that “socially conservative” doesn’t automatically equal homophobic, we might make a lot of progress on the issue.

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Sports

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

PAGE 15

The Phoenix

Garnet Look to Build on Impressive Start

By DAN DUNCAN Sports Editor

Riding a 6-2 record from eight games during spring break, one could understand if the softball team needed a bit of a rest. But that will come later. For now, the Garnet has picked up where they left off, playing another six games in just five days in doubleheaders against Rutgers-Newark, PSU-Berks, and Muhlenberg. Swarthmore won half of those games to stay four games above .500, with a record of 9-5.

Against Rutgers-Newark, Melissa O’Connor ’14 continued her blazing start to the season on the mound, earning the win in both games, first in relief and then in a complete-game effort. She allowed just one run off six hits in the 2-1 victory to lower her ERA to a miniscule 1.20.

Co-Captain Sam Bennett ’13 said pitching has been a strength of the Garnet so far this year, and that “We’re expecting pitching to continue to be a strong-suit.” She added, “Melissa O’Connor was a force to be reckoned with in Myrtle Beach, and we are expecting great things from her in the next few weeks. Suness Jones ’16, Christen Boas-Hayes ’16, and Chelsea Matzko ’15 have all been doing a great job as well, forcing ground-outs and getting us out of high-pressure situations.”

Bennett added that the Garnet have been hitting well, in addition to “doing all of the little things correctly.”

While big innings have been possible thanks to, for example, Nicole Aaron ’14’s three-run home run in a win against PSU-Berks, Bennett pointed out that that was not the only aspect of the Swarthmore offense: “Our baserunning has been the difference-maker in many of our games.” This means that overall, “We have the perfect combination of power and short-game in our lineup, and everyone is contributing.”

O’Connor thought the recent games provided a good test before the Centennial Conference opener, although she pointed out that since the goal is to win, perhaps non-conference games aren’t too different from conference ones. “This past weekend we faced some really good competition that will prepare us for our conference opponents. I don’t think there’s much difference between conference and nonconference games —we are always striving to win and challenge all of our opponents to make every game competitive.”

Bennett was impressed with how the team has responded in tight games, considering it a huge improvement over recent years. “Several times this year, we have come back from rather large deficits to win it. These are games we would’ve lost last year, especially in conference play. When the pressure was on, we collapsed. But I think our attitudes have changed, and we have more confidence in ourselves to get the job done.”

Unfortunately, comebacks can’t happen in every game, and it showed in the Garnet’s Centennial opener

against Muhlenberg. Despite striking first with runs in the first inning of each game, the Mules slowly erased the early leads and pulled away, defeating Swarthmore 9-2 and 9-3. In both games, the Garnet rallied late in the game to threaten the Mules before falling.

Despite playing so many games in such a short span, Bennett said last week’s games were actually a bit of rest, and did not require much of an adjustment. “Especially down in Myrtle Beach, we played a lot of games in a very short period of time (and very early in the morning). Although people were aching, everyone stepped it up and gave 100% of their effort 100% of the time. With games being a little more spread apart than they were down there, I don’t think we will have trouble adjusting.”

O’Connor agreed, adding that “We worked very hard in preseason to prepare ourselves, and made the most of every practice and lifting session.” Above all, Bennett pointed out that games are fun: “We love playing games and testing the skills we practice.”

It’s good that the team feels they are prepared for so many games, as the schedule will not clear up until the end of the season. The Garnet play in a doubleheader roughly every other day between now and April 27.

The grind continues this afternoon as the Garnet host Cairn in a doubleheader at Clothier Field, with a first pitch scheduled for 3:00. The Centennial schedule picks up again on Saturday, when Swarthmore plays host to Gettysburg.

Leave the Qualifying Rounds to Teams That Will Qualify One thing that I know frustrates not only me but also international managers such as Joachim Low and Roy Hodgson (and yes, I am currently placing myself on the same level as them in this debate), is the continued admittance of quite a few useless teams to the World Cup and European Championships Qualifying groups. This week, Germany had to play Kazakhstan and England was forced to travel to San Marino, two matches that should never happen.

JAMES There are a number of IVEY problems in Out of Left Field the whole system of qualifying for international tournaments, but some make sense, while others do not. The fact that Israel qualifies as a European team makes sense because the other teams in the Middle East refuse to play against them, but Kazakhstan qualifying for the European groups makes no sense whatsoever. Firstly, the location of Kazakhstan makes it a little hard to justify it being located within Europe, especially when it is five hours ahead of Germany.

It’s located in the middle of Asia. It’s probably the only country that people can say, “Honey, what’s the name of that country right in the middle of Asia? Oh, Kazakhstan? Why are they playing the Faroe Islands then?” Though I honestly doubt that people will ever say that, it is fair to ask why Kazakhstan qualifies for European competitions while Lebanon does not and none of the other Central Asian Stans do. Why can’t the Uzbeks or the Tajiks join in? Apparently they aren’t considered to be quintessentially central Asian steppe people, even though they are next-door neighbours with European Kazakhstan.

There are certainly issues with location in some groups and time differences can affect both international teams and teams competing in European wide competitions like the Europa League.

With England annihilating San Marino 8-0, there was little point to the game other than trying to improve the goal difference. Three points should have been given to the England team before they even went on the field because it was only a matter of how much they would win by. Each team in that group will get six points from San Marino, just as each team in Group C will get three points from the Faroe Islands. There is

no point to the games because some of the teams are so bad that they field amateur sides: San Marino’s only goal scorer of the night was Allesandro Della Valle, a full-time bank clerk. Lets just look at some of the stats: San Marino hasn’t scored in an international game since their game against Slovakia (which they lost) in October 2008, they have conceded 121 goals since they last scored, they have lost 59 qualifying games in a row, and they sit bottom of the global rankings at place number 207. Nations that are above them include New Caledonia, Swaziland, Comoros, the newly formed South Sudan and war torn Somalia. What is the point of matches against teams like these? There were 203 places between these two teams.

Teams like Andorra, the Faroe Islands, and Liechtenstein shouldn’t be participating in the group stages of major competitions when the international teams are playing as much as they are. At the moment, there is conflict between clubs and FIFA over how many dates players have to go and play for their national teams and an easy way out of this situation would be to reduce the number of teams trying to qualify for each event, or at least to create a lower quality World Cup/European Championships for countries like Malta and Andorra to compete in.

It’s not like a cup competition where Bradford can get to the League Cup final to play at Wembley because even Bradford is not 203 places below the level of Swansea. In most competitions, it is

fun to have lesser teams that can provide a challenge to higher ranked teams or could provide an upset but in these qualification matches we have a scenario where they are simply too poor to provide competition. It would be better to just remove these teams from the qualification stages and to form a second tier of international football, something that could provide a chance to win for tiny island nations and principalities. There is a series of non-FIFA World Cups that already exist and it would be much more useful to place smaller teams in

these competitions (Faroe Islands used to compete in the Island Games and San Marino could qualify for the Europeada).

Sometimes it s just better to isolate the better teams and to prevent those who can’t compete from taking part: the top Olympic nations have qualification requirements, for example. Cricket teams will only play against other teams near to them in the rankings, and it’s time for football to do the same and remove some of the lower teams from qualification groups since they simply aren’t worth keeping around.

GARNET ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

JONATHAN COHEN JR., LACROSSE, SYOSSET, N.Y.

What He’s Done: Recorded 15 saves to anchor the Garnet defense in their 13-9 victory over previously undefeated Ursinus to open the Centennial Conference schedule.

Favorite Career Moment: Probably playing Muhlenberg as a freshman. This game was especially nerve-racking, not only because it was my first collegiate game but because it was a conference game. Anyway, I stepped up to the challenge making 20 saves, the team played excellent, and we got our first conference win of the season.

Season Goals: It’s easy to just say that I want to make playoffs and win a championship. On a personal level, I want to continue to elevate my game, so my team is confident in me to get the job done between the pipes. As a team, I want to take things one practice, one game at a time, improving every day in order to get the “W.” My Bracket Is...: My bracket’s alright. For more information, anyone can approach my Bracket Consultant Billy Gates a.k.a “The Napkin Bandit.”

DAN DUNCAN/THE PHOENIX

Mac or PC? I’m a Mac guy but I really prefer “RUDMAN!”

Sports

PAGE 16

THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 2013

The Phoenix

Men’s, Women’s Tennis Crush Conference Foes

By SCOOP RUXIN Sports Writer

Both the Swarthmore men’s and women’s tennis teams handily won their first Centennial Conference matches of the season this week, taking down Ursinus and Muhlenberg, both by a score of 9-0.

The men, ranked 27th nationally, improved their overall record to 4-5 in the win over the Bears. Contributing with particularly strong performances were James Wieler ’13, Anthony Collard ’14, Max Kaye ’14, Preston Poon ’14 and Max Sacks ’15. All five won both their singles match and a doubles match, while Matt Hirsh ’16 notched his first career conference win, 6-4, 6-1, and Daniel Park ’14 teamed with Wieler to win a doubles match, 8-3. The doubles sweep was particularly impressive for a group who struggled in doubles matches during its spring break tournament in California. Team captain Malik Mubeen ’13 recognized that “we need to improve our doubles play going forward” and described the Ursinus sweep as a “great combined effort by all three doubles teams.”

The team’s sub-.500 record is misleading, due to the incredibly difficult schedule the team faced in California.

Playing in a tournament at Pomona-Pitzer, Swarthmore was subjected to a gauntlet of top-ranked teams, making the team’s performance significantly more impressive than indicated by their sixth-place finish in the eight team tournament. As Mubeen explained, “This tournament consisted of the #1, 2, 4, 5, 12, 22, 25, 27 teams in the country. Getting a win in the tournament against such brutal competition was pretty cool for our program. The win over Pomona-Pitzer on their home courts in front of their fans is definitely one of the notable highlights of my tennis career.”

Head Coach Mike Mullan spoke about the importance of playing against such difficult competition: “During our spring break trip to Southern California, we have always tried to schedule the top competition in tennis. This year we played, for example, Kenyon and Emory, ranked 1 and 2 in Division III. Our students often rise to this level of opposition and learn from these matches.”

As the season continues, Swarthmore will look to approach its goal of qualifying for the NCAA tournament.

For Wieler, making the NCAA tournament would be a culmination of a successful career: “For four years, it’s been my dream to compete as a team in the NCAA tournament.”

The first step in this process for the Garnet will be to defeat perennial powerhouse Johns Hopkins on Saturday at Swarthmore. Mubeen described the match as “our biggest of the year,” adding that “we’re going to try to give them all they can handle.”

The women’s team opened its conference slate in equally dominant fashion, dispatching of McDaniel 9-0, bringing its overall record to 3-1. The team’s only loss came against Division I Navy, meaning the team remains undefeated against Division III competition.

NITHYA SWAMINATHAN/THE PHOENIX

The men’s team prepares to take on the Bears in the Centennial Conference opener for both teams. The Garnet won the match 9-0.

Like the men, the women recognized the value of playing such difficult competition. Kelsey Johnson ’13, explained, “These matches were good for us because there really wasn’t any pressure.” Head coach Jeremy Loomis added, “Having tough matches during spring break can really help us improve and be ready for the conference schedule.”

Swarthmore received strong contributions from several players in the win over McDaniel. Nine Garnet players notched victories, with Stephanie Chia ’13, Epiphany English ’14 and Gayatri Iyengar ’15 winning both their singles and doubles matches. Also victorious on the day were Katie Samuelson ’14, Brooke Wilkins ’14, Jackie Lane ’16, Emily Rosenblum ’13, Lia Carlson ’14 and Johnson. Loomis was impressed with his team’s ability to perform well in spite of the elements, saying, “We did a good job of coming out

on a rather cold day and played quality points despite our physical disadvantages.”

The team goals for the rest of the season are, in Johnson’s words, “to stay focused, play well and have fun.”

She highlighted Friday’s match against Mary Washington as a good test for the Garnet, explaining that “[i]t is a really tough match every year.” Loomis added that the team hopes to “qualify for the conference playoffs and make it to the championship round.”

Perennially two of the College’s strongest teams, the men’s and women’s tennis teams again figure to be competitive in the Centennial Conference and beyond this season. Upcoming home matches include April 6, 7, 9 and 13 for the women. The men play host to Johns Hopkins on Saturday March 30 at 12p.m., in a match that will have major conference implications.

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