The Official Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881 VOL. 137, ISSUE 7
The Phoenix THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
TODAY: Morning snow and wind. Chance of snow: 70%. High 46, Low 32. TOMORROW: Partly cloudy with wind. Chance of rain: 10%. High 47, Low 32.
SWARTHMOREPHOENIX.COM
Behind the Party Scene By ALLI SHULTES Living & Arts Editor
Double, Double, Toil and Trouble
ELENA RUYTER / THE PHOENIX
The Yellow Stocking Players performed Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” in LPAC’s Pearson Hall Theater last weekend.
Students Question Honorary Degree Recipients By TOBY LEVY News Writer
At the college’s 140th commencement, approximately 350 current students will receive diplomas. But undergraduates won’t be the only ones receiving degrees. At the ceremony, President Chopp will present honorary degrees to three others: entrepreneur and humanitarian Tralance Addy, novelist and social activist Lorene Cary and U.S. diplomat and former World Bank president Robert Zoellick. Nancy Nicely, the secretary of the College and vice president for communications, elaborated on the significance of receiving an honorary degree from the college. “The honorees are meant to deliver inspirational talks to the graduating seniors, and their remarks are often very uplifting. These are individuals who quite often have reached the pinnacle of their careers, or are on their way to doing so,” she said. Since awarding its first honorary degree in 1888, the college has had a long tradition of celebrating influential and groundbreaking educators, artists, thinkers and activists. Notable degree winners include theoretical physicist Albert Einstein, poet and essayist W.H. Auden, former president Lyndon B. Johnson, and author and Swarthmore alumnus Jonathan Franzen. Maurice Eldridge, the vice president for community and college relations, explained that various members of the college community as well as alumni were invited to nominate candidates, but that seniors were specifically included in the invitation to do so. Criteria for an honorary degree include distinction, leadership, originality in significant human endeavor, and an ability to speak well for a commencement
speech. Although one does not need to be a Swarthmore graduate in order to receive a nomination, preference is given to individuals who either attended the college or have an existing affiliation with it. Each of the 2013 honorary degree honorees has attempted to aid a specific community or group of people in a remarkable, lasting manner. Lorene Cary is not a Swarthmore graduate herself, but is a known activist, teacher and author, currently located in Philadelphia. Her first book and personal reflection, “Black Ice,” was chosen as a Notable Book for 1992 by the American Library Association and her first novel, “Price of a Child,” was chosen as the inaugural “One Book, One Philadelphia” selection by the City and its Free Library in 2003. In 1998 Cary founded the Art Sanctuary an African-American based art and literature program and institute. Art Sanctuary, hosts an African American arts festival where writers and students participate in panels, teachers’ symposiums and other events. Through art, culture, and literature, Cary has attempted to strengthen community bonds in Philadelphia. The other two candidates, however, carry with them a bit more controversy. Whether or not CEOs, businessmen, and Wall Street types are appropriate role models and commencement speakers for the college is a topic of debate. Kathleen Baryenbruch ’16 believes that the school would benefit most from choosing activists and educators as opposed to
business types. “I think the school should pick people whose work is connected to the roots of a liberal arts education, not corporate heads and big time businessmen.” Addy is a businessman, but he has sought to bring change and aid to communities worldwide. He is currently the first director of the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies (SEED). Created at Stanford University, the institute aids in furthering, growing, and fostering entrepreneurship to help build successful enterprises that can change the lives of many who live in poverty. Addy also became CEO of WaterHealth International (WHI), building a network of local professionals and NGOs to operate safe water areas as well as educating many communities about the importance of clean water. The organization has since established water purification systems in Ghana, Tibet, Mexico, El Salvador, Bangladesh and Haiti. Addy also served on the Swarthmore’s Board of Managers from 2003–2007. The decision to award Zoellick an honorary degree is perhaps the most debated. A Swarthmore graduate and former cross country runner at the college, Zoellick has worked at Fannie Mae and as a senior international advisor at Goldman Sachs. He served as a foreign policy advisor to George W. Bush during the 2000 election campaign, and was named Bush’s trade representative in the former president’s second term. Notably though, he “is cred-
“These are individuals who quite often have reached the pinnacle of their careers, or are on their way to doing so.” Nancy Nicely
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This weekend, students attended the final hurrah for a two-year experiment in EDM, laser lights and neon knick-knacks. Officially the last of the popular Poon parties, Saturday’s Paces event generated a crowd that stands as a testament to the niche filled by the project. The original Club Poon — thrown as a birthday present for its namesake, Preston Poon ’14, in the fall of 2011 — sought to revitalize what its founders saw as a floundering party scene. In the process, it’s helped to redefine small groups’ abilities to host high impact events on campus. Poon 5.0 marked the third event of the year undertaken by the team of friends, and the second of the spring semester. The parties have filled a springtime gap in Sera Jeong’s ’14 “Weekend Event” emails — fraternity row, where five major parties had been held by this time in the fall semester, has remained comparatively silent in the new year. Contrary to budding rumors, the lull is not a result of recent calls for the referendum on Greek life. According to DU President Rory McTear ’13, the springtime slump is an annual phenomenon, a result of events concentrated around fraternity rushing in the fall and the busier schedules of DU leadership — many of whom play on the varsity baseball team — in the spring. Phi Psi President Zachary Schaffer ’14 attributes his fraternity’s quieter weekend scene, as far as large-scale events go, to this semester’s change in leadership. With two of the three fraternity leaders returning from a semester abroad, he cited a need “to get our footing.” This spring isn’t atypical in the larger cycles of fraternity life. In 2012, the fraternities rang in the new year with DU’s “Pajama Palooza” and “Welcome to the Jungle” — an event held at Phi Psi but hosted by the Ladies’ Soiree Society (LaSS) — but remained quiet until Phi Psi’s Saint Natty’s Day celebration in March. So who fills the gap when the fraternities dip out? — or, rather, when the fraternities quiet down. Although there haven’t been large SAC-funded events this spring, both McTear and Schaffer emphasized that the fraternity houses are open every Thursday and Saturday to the wider campus community. Former Phi Psi President Mike Girardi ’13 believes the consistent weekend option provided by the fraternities to students looking to unwind is one of the more valuable services provided by the brotherhoods on campus. “My personal belief, and this can change by president … is that it’s always been about having the house open,” Girardi said. “We all know Swarthmore is a difficult place to be. It can be trying. We’re all drowning in work all the time … It’s not just about the awesome parties when everyone goes out and goes crazy. It’s providing an avenue for people to blow off steam.” For students missing the “awesome parties” usually held in the spring, larger groups like i20 step in to fill the gap. Hosting the Screw after-party “We No Speak Americano” and December’s “Arma-Get-It-On Apocalypse Party,” the international club has a reputation for its well-planned events, which it
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE
NEWS
LIVING
OPINIONS
SPORTS
BusinessWeek identified Swarthmore College students as having the highest average score on the GMAT (742.5), beating out Harvard and the Indian Institute of Technology.
Courtney Dickens reviews the Yellow Stocking Player’s “Macbeth,” which subverts gender roles with its three female protaganists.
In an Op-Ed, Eve DiMagno considers the ongoing Keystone XL pipline debate from an oft-forgotten perspective. What do Nebraskans think about having a pipeline in their backyard?
Basketball Seniors led the team to their first ever ECAC Championship with dramatic victories over Moravian, Washington & Jefferson, and Marywood.
College GMAT Scores Best in Business
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A World Ruled by Witches and Lesbians
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The Heart(land) of the Matter : Keystone XL
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Women’s Basketball Makes History
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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 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 NEHMAT KAUR Writer TIFFANY KIM Writer TOBY LEVY Writer The Living & Arts Section ALLI SHULTES Editor GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE Assistant Editor TAYLOR HODGES Assistant Editor COURTNEY DICKENS Writer MIREILLE GUY Writer AXEL KODAT Writer JEANETTE LEOPOLD Writer MAYRA TENORIO Writer JOSHUA ASANTE Writer VIANCA MASUCCI Writer SERA JEONG Writer IZZY KORNBLATT Columnist
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Swarthmore’s Mens and Womens’ Fencing team competed in the NIWFA Championships at Bryn Mawr College last weekend.
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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
News
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The Phoenix
StuCo and Cycling Club Revive Bike Share
The newly-fixed bicycles for the Bike Share Program will be located outside Parrish. Keys and helmets will be available for checkout in McCabe.
By ANNA GONZALES Assistant News Editor
The previously-defunct Bike Share program restarted this week, thanks to the efforts of Cycling Club and Student Council. The program allows students to check out a bicycle and a helmet from McCabe for up to 24 hours. Erin Ching ‘16, a member of Cycling Club, spearheaded Bike Share’s revitalization and did much of the work to ready the bikes for the program. Ching also worked with Cycling Club and Student Council member Tony Lee ‘15, who helped secure funding for the program from Student Council. His years as a mechanic at various bike
shops in Seattle, Washington (home to a vibrant cycling culture) Ching worked with Jonah Schwartz ‘15, also an experienced mechanic, to fix the bikes from the old program. Ching and Schwartz expect to spend about four hours each week voluntarily maintaining the bicycles for the program, which ended after its previous leaders graduated from Swarthmore. Ching hopes the Bike Share program will strengthen and connect to the Cycling Club. “In an ideal world,” Ching said. “people would use the Bike Share program a lot, and when they realize how convenient it is to have a bike, they would buy a bicycle at the Mary Lyon bike sale and then join Cy-
cling Club.” Ching’s vision is for Cycling Club to host frequent workshops where attendees can learn to fix flat tires and do other types of basic maintenance. She also hopes that Cycling Club will continue to run its occasional Sunday morning group rides, during which students who enjoy cycling exercise and socialize with like-minded peers. The rides leave from Parrish circle, helping students of all levels of ability learn about cycling, and, if they wish, train for racing. In addition to helping bring back the Bike Share program, members of the Cycling Club have competed in several Eastern Collegiate Cycling Conference races this semester, led by Robin Carpenter ‘13.
YENNY CHEUNG/THE PHOENIX
Carpenter also races professionally on the Hincapie Sportswear Development Team, which participates in elite races in Europe and America and feeds riders to teams which compete in events such as the Tour de France. Ultimately, Ching and Schwartz hope that bike share will provide the foundation for a cycling co-op. Schwartz, who has worked in multiple co-ops in his hometown of Los Angeles, California, also a cycling hotbed, said the co-op would be community owned and operated. Those who have experience with fixing bikes would volunteer their time to teach others how to maintain their own bicycles, sharing skills and knowledge with the broader community.
Swat Ranks First In World For GMAT Scores By NEHMAT KAUR News Writer
Last week, BusinessWeek published an article detailing its research on business school admissions and identified applicants from Swarthmore College as having the highest average score on the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), a standardized test mostly used for applying to business schools. The test has four components — Analytical Writing, Verbal, Quantitative and Integrated Reasoning. The average score of applicants from Swarthmore was 742.5; the maximum a test-taker can score is 800. This news surprised many at the school since the college does not offer a major in business. As the BusinessWeek article acknowledged, however, economics is one of the most popular majors on campus.
Professor of Economics, Garret Christensen, voiced his surprise. “I found it really surprising because when I think of a standardized test I don’t associate it with the kind of education a liberal arts college gives you,” he said. Nancy Burkett, Director of Career Services, was thrilled with the news but admitted that Career Services does not play a big role in helping students with business school applications and GMAT preparation. “Students usually apply to business school after working for a couple of years after graduation, so they don’t take the test or start preparing for it while at Swarthmore”, she said. She added that a student has never approached Career Services for help with preparing for the test. Post-Graduate Statistics from 2004 through 2012 shows that most Swarthmore graduates choose to go into employment
for profit. The report on the website states, “The majority of graduating seniors enter business careers, including consulting, investment banking, financial services, marketing and management.” The report also notes that “45% of our graduating seniors secure employment in the for-profit world.” Such jobs can be viewed as a step towards being admitted to a business school. Constance Mietkowski ‘16, who plans to attend business school in the future, is heartened by Swatties’ success on the GMAT. She said, “It’s great that we do so well. I think it has something to do with how Swarthmore teaches us to deal with academic pressure and stress.” Swarthmore’s academic rigor is a popular explanation for this particular accolade. Diane Anderson, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs at Swarthmore, voiced an opinion similar to Mietkowski’s in the
BusinessWeek article. She said, “Swarthmore is a very rigorous school and we have amazing students.” Provost Stephenson expressed a slightly different opinion on the news. In an email, he said, “I believe that our curriculum should prepare students for whatever challenges they might face, including a rigorous business school curriculum, but I did not necessarily expect to see our alumni necessarily performing well on standardized testing. Of course, many of our students did well on college entrance exams like the SAT and the ACT, so perhaps this ability to perform on such tests predates coming to Swarthmore. So, we may be a somewhat pre-selected population in terms of aptitude for these tests.” Swarthmore ranked higher than the Indian Institute of Technology and Harvard College for this distinction.
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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
A Look Inside the Women’s Resource Center By SARAH COE-ODESS News Writer
When most people decide where they want to study for the night, McCabe, Cornell, and the Science Center are among the top choices. When many students coordinate their Saturday night plans, Paces, Olde Club, and the fraternities are among the first options discussed. What some students might not know, though, is that the Women’s Resource Center is a viable option for both studying and socializing. Located next to Olde Club, the WRC is a three-story space that includes a study space, a kitchen, a library with feminist literature and artifacts from the 1970s, a television and DVD player and a computer and printer. While this space provides ample study areas, the WRC also offers a dry social space for Swarthmore students on Saturday nights. It is open from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturdays. “The WRC is most known for its Saturday night coffee hours and for being a dry space where a lot of baking happens,” WRC Intern Sabrina Singh ’15 said. “It’s important that the WRC is a safe space. For me, a safe space is one where people are tolerant of each other and people care to respect each other,” she continued. “You’re not disrespected or discriminated against because you are a certain way.” As an intern for the school year, Singh works with First-Year Dean and Gender Ed-
The Women’s Resource Center’s library, which specializes in feminist literature. It is located on the third floor of the building.
ucation Advisor Karen Henry to coordinate the WRC’s administrative work and event planning. Interns work with the WRC’s housesitters — students who act as hosts for the space and make sure all visitors are welcome. Each housesitter also has a theme for the house, which can involve a movie or food
dish. Other groups, such as i20 and Swarthmore Feminists, have also used the WRC as a meeting space or as an event location. Such groups are not the only ones holding events on campus, though; the WRC is also planning an entire women’s week from March
A panorama of the third floor of the Women’s Resource Center. The space, which is designatd as alcohol free, is availbale to different organizations as a place to hold events.
RAISA REYES/THE PHOENIX
21–26 in honor of Women’s History Month. In coordination with other groups on campus, this week will focus on how organizations such as i20, the Global Health Forum and OASIS interpret gender issues that people in the WRC may commonly discuss.
RAISA REYES/THE PHOENIX
Students Create Campus Satirical Newspaper By AIDAN PANTOJA News Writer In the midst of the Daily Gazette and The Phoenix’s reports on the recent social tension on campus, a brand-new publication has surfaced to voice its own perspective. The Scallion is Swarthmore’s newest student-run publication, claiming to be the campus’ “sharpest news source.” The Scallion is modeled after The Onion, a popular entertainment newspaper that features satirical articles reporting on international and local news. Similarly, a small staff of current students seeks to provide a humorous and thought-provoking look into campus life and community. The Scallion’s satire is focused exclusively on Swarthmore and its students, while simultaneously relating these specific problems to universal aspects of the human condition. This publication runs independent of the college’s administration and functions without any faculty involvement. Jacob Oet ’16 and Cara Ehlenfeldt ’16 are the publication’s founders, as well as its sole reporters and editors. Having successfully completed a similar project during her high school career, Ehlenfeldt wished to continue to bring her satirical voice to Swarthmore. With the myriad recent events on campus, mainly the discussions centered around a referendum on Greek life, Oet and Ehlenfeldt realized the need for a humorous perspective to contrast the serious, factual articles in other publications on campus. Oet and Ehlenfeldt did not wish to voice their opinions in The
Phoenix or the Daily Gazette because according to Oet, with The Scallion “we have more freedom; we can say stuff without worrying about whether it will have to be filtered.” Ehlenfeldt adds that there is a lack of publications on campus that deal “purely with Swarthmore-based satire.” These two students saw a certain void on campus and created a niche product. The two editors are interested in acquiring more writers for their publication, but as of now The Scallion is forged by Oet and Ehlenfeldt alone, late at night by the Mccabe printers. Each issue contains six pages in total and includes various short pieces that “ultimately get people to question certain issues around campus,” according to Oet. The editors want The Scallion to create conversation, to create dialogue among students. Due to their lack of experience in journalism on campus, the editors were unsure about how many copies to distribute around campus. In the end, 80 copies of The Scallion were distributed around campus — in Sharples Dining Hall, Parrish Parlors, the Science Center and McCabe Library, among other locations. Oet commented that Sharples and Parrish Parlors were tahe two most successful locations, and will most likely be the permanent destinations to grab future issues of The Scallion. These eighty copies have been floating around campus since the publication’s first issue released last Thursday, but it seems that few students are aware of The Scallion’s presence on campus. In talking with various students at the college, it is apparent that The Scallion may appear less innocent than the editors
intended it to be. Amanda Beebe ’15 perused the first issue of the publication, commenting that the articles are “actually quite funny on the surface, but then I realized that they are throwing punches at certain organizations on campus.” Similarly, another student, who preferred to remain anonymous, expressed his concern that the articles in The Scallion “lack intellectuality” and have “the potential to offend various people and groups on campus.” Between Beebe and the anonymous student, there was a shared concern that The Scallion is being run by two freshmen who are simply not aware of how sensitive students at the college can be when they are targeted in a news publication, regardless of whether the publication claims to express a satirical interpretation. On the other hand, another anonymous student does see the value in having a comical publication for “reading while taking a break from [his] studies” but he is also concerned as to whether this type of comedy is worth the risk of potentially hurting other students on campus. The Scallion is still in its infancy, and with the publication nearing its first week of circulation, the editors are excited to discover which aspects of the college they will satirize next. Only time will tell if the administration and the students decide to accept a completely uncensored, student-run publication floating around campus. Oet and Ehlenfeldt highly urge students to browse their blog posts and articles at swatscallion.weebly.com and to submit their own pieces for publication to swarthmorescallion@gmail.com.
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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
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The Phoenix
Student Senate Elections Take Place Today New Governing Body Expected To Eventually Replace Current StuCo By TIFFANY KIM News Writer
Today marks the first election for the newly-formed Swarthmore Student Senate, announced last Wednesday through a campus-wide email from the Student Council (StuCo) co-presidents Victor Brady ’13 and Gabriella Capone ’14. The Student Senate will be composed of delegates from the 31 active campus committees and ten unaffiliated student representatives, to be selected through today’s election. StuCo will operate as the executive body to the Senate, with four StuCo members, co-presidents Brady and Capone and campus life representatives Tony Lee ’15 and Jason Heo ’15, acting as moderators for the Senate’s monthly meetings. Like StuCo meetings, the Senate’s meetings will remain open to all who want to sit in on them and participate in the discussions that will take place. Students received the platforms of the 24 candidates for the Student Senate’s ten atlarge positions yesterday morning via email. Voting will take place on Moodle all day from 12:00 this morning until 11:59 p.m. Though the concept of a Student Senate had been brought up in the past by previous StuCo presidents, this semester is the first in which an official representative student assembly will be formed at Swarthmore. StuCo members began discussing the possibility of forming a Student Senate last semester. Capone had centered her December re-election campaign on the proposal. Many students remain confused about the purpose of the Student Senate — a number question the necessity of another student governing body. A senior, who wished to remain anonymous, referred to the Senate as simply a potential “resume-padder for Swatties,” while another unnamed student asked if the student body really required “another layer of bureaucracy.” In addressing these concerns, Brady and Capone envision the Student Senate as eventually overtaking Student Council as the main governing body for Swarthmore students. According to Capone, the current ten-student Student Council is “just not big enough” to take on as many projects as they would like. With its 41 members and 4 moderators, the relatively large scale of the Student Senate is designed to provide a diversity of opinions and campus experiences to discussions about the college’s policies, as well as bring increased manpower into student government operations.
JUILANA GUTIERREZ/THE PHOENIX
StuCo, which is currently a small group, sees the Student Senate as an opportunity to tackle more initiatives and include more students in administrative decisions.
“This isn’t really a case of ‘bigger is better,’ but ‘proportional is better’,” Capone said. The size of the Student Senate will allow for the body to front necessary initiatives on campus in a way that StuCo cannot. Brady believes that the Senate will be able to “[use] the individual capital and the forty person or so size to undertake even larger projects that maybe aren’t quite as possible with the limited resources that the ten people on Student Council have.” “The Student Senate will give us a much more representative body and a much larger body with a lot more capital than you have with Student Council,” added Brady. Not everyone is cynical about the introduction of the Student Senate. Marisa Lopez ’15 believes that the new Senate can only be a good thing for the campus, as it will result in more students contributing their opinions on college policies. “Giving more students a voice within the organization can impact the campus well,” she said. Candidate Louis Lainé ’16 agrees, “I think having a voice is always better than not having a voice, whether or not most people think it’s necessary. In the long term, [the Senate will] be a beneficial thing to have because representation is what we need.” Though she is hopeful about the Senate and believes that giving the committees a voice is “a good thing,” Vienna Tran ’13 has
a few reservations. “I think that the problem is that a large group of Swatties is always going to have a lot of different activities that they’re participating in so it’s going to be really tough to find a group of 40 students who are going to able to put in the full amount of time to make this an effective governing body.” The consensus among Senate candidates and members of StuCo is that the full scope of the responsibilities of the Student Senate will only become clear after the body has navigated through its inaugural semester. “I believe that’s kind of the way with any organization — any time you start a new group on campus, any time you start a new committee or something, you don’t know what’s going to happen,” said Dominic Rizzo ’15, who is also running for a position on the Senate. For the present, Capone and Brady hope that the Senate will explore more large-scale projects that StuCo has discussed. The two see having more than three-quarters of the Senate composed of various committee members as a largely positive aspect for this purpose. Brady emphasized the value of the committee members’ experience in working with the school administration. “We really think that that’s going to facilitate the interaction between administrators and the students, with students pushing their own projects and collaborating with
administrators to make them a reality,” he said. In addition to pursuing its own initiatives, the Senate will work with various members of the administration, including President Rebecca Chop and Dean Liz Braun, and provide student feedback on different administrative projects. Immediate issues that the Senate will address include the development of a strategic plan for Public Safety and the establishment of the goals of ITS in both the near and distant future. Brady explained that the Senate will act as a focus group for the administration, a function that will be greatly aided by the potential diversity of interests amongst members of the body. “Administrators can [send] out information [to the Senate] about the strategic plan or events that they want to get student feedback on and opinion for before publishing out and sending out to the entire community,” he said. Capone remains both enthusiastic and hopeful about the prospects of the Student Senate and dismissed concerns about student ambivalence towards the Senate, pointing to the number of candidates who submitted platforms as evidence of interest. In speaking on the long-term goals of the new institution, Capone said, “If everything goes as planned, [the Senate] would be the new student government.”
‘Honorary Degrees,’ continued from page 1 -ited with leading flexible, effective, and innovative responses to assist the World Bank’s developing-country clients during the food, fuel, and financial crises that arose during his tenure,” according to the Swarthmore College website. Zoellick also sought to aid in increasing the voices of many third world nations in the Bank’s governance and staffing. In addition, he spearheaded programs, leading to new initiatives that could, and have furthered global humanitarian development work, and increased social responsibility. Zoellick also served as President of the World Bank Group from 2007 until 2012. Some however, believe that Zoellick might not be the best choice for a commencement speaker. Tyler Welsh ’16 expressed some reservations and echoed sentiments similar to those of Baryenbruch. “I know he’s a graduate of the college, and I rec-
ognize that he’s done a lot of good,” he said, “But I’m not sure he fits the values that a liberal arts institute emphasizes.” Stephen Golub, an economics professor at the college, defended the Zoellick decision. “[Zoellick] is a distinguished public servant regardless of his politics,” Golub said. “Being the President of the World Bank is a position of major influence and accomplishment. The World Bank is a development agency whose goal is to alleviate poverty around the world. He’s not an extreme right-winger and the faculty who nominated him are mostly Democrats. I think it’s important for the college to hear perspectives from all walks of life and all points of view. I don’t necessarily agree with everything he says but I think it’s important to hear from him.” Golub, however, doesn’t believe that politicians
and ranking government officials are the only worthy candidates for commencement speakers. “I think he’s a good role model,” he said referring to Zoellick. “But we should also hear from activists and NGOs.” Eldridge explained that all decisions surrounding degree recipients were based purely based on merit and achievements, and that the candidates were all discussed and evaluated meticulously by the panel. Referring to Zoellick’s time as a member of the Bush campaign, Eldridge made it clear that even though committee discussions were confidential, “party affiliation [was] not a measure of honorable public service.” Despite the divided opinions on the subject, commencement weekend takes place between May 31 and June 2, at which time all three of these honorees will speak to members of the senior class as they prepare to officially graduate and leave the college.
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Living & Arts
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
A Review of “The Maids”
Performance by Senior Theater Majors manuelle Delpech, the three theater majors chose “The Maids” for its complex roles and themes. And the three actresses made wonThis past weekend’s performances derful work of their complex characof “The Maids” served as reminders ters, actualizing Genet’s multi-faceted that Honors Theater theses are one of women. During her limited time on the best-kept secrets within Swarth- stage, Huber-Weiss played a wondermore’s arts scene. These projects in fully twisted woman of the house, acting and directing present an op- conjuring an odd mix of privileged naportunity for Swatties to put on chal- ïveté and callous imperiousness. Her lenging and often deeply intellectual character, the play’s sole embodiment works as a culmination of their four of the entitled upper-class, is one the years of work in theater study and of- audience is designed to loathe and as ten amount to great performances of such isn’t an easy task. Huber-Weiss plays outside traditional university allows for her lines to beg for just theater repertoire. enough sympathy from viewers that “The Maids,” which ran in LPAC’s she doesn’t come across as a facile carFrear Ensemble Theater for four per- icature, but a character, too. One that, formances this past Friday, Saturday, if only for a few moments throughout, and Sunday, was not perfect, but was seems to deserve as much empathy as one of the more interesting artistic the maids themselves. performances Though the on campus maids, even as this past year. the play’s proIt featured pertagonists, aren’t Though the oddity of these s t r a i g h t f o r formances that were at once characters is easy to achieve, wardly empabombastic and thetic characters it’s their vulnerabiliy that nuanced and either. Before its 75 minthey switched makes them interesting. utes remained roles, Delpech tense in spite had originally of its limited cast Naylor as action. Claire and LeoThe play, a work of French existen- pold as Solange, but the switch was a tialism by Jean Genet that premiered wise decision. in 1948, is based on the infamous Though Leopold said that she’d Papin sisters, two maids who killed never been able to play a character so their employer’s wife and his daughter vulnerable before, she really excels at in 1933. Much like the way the Drey- it. Though like all else in the show, this fus affair heavily influenced Proust, vulnerability is complicated by several this murder entered the French zeit- other layers and emotional obfuscageist before Genet channeled it and its tions, it shines through during the enthemes into his work. tire play and becomes one of the most The play’s simple plot finds two compelling parts of the performance. eponymous characters, Solange (SoGenet—a criminal and homosexphia Naylor ’13) and Claire (Jeannette ual who felt othered by society—inLeopold ’13), plotting to kill their em- tended for the play to be a mediation ployer (Alexandra Huber-Weiss ‘13). on otherness. Though the oddity of Yet this simple plot only serves as the these characters is easy to achieve, it’s structure on which Genet hangs the their vulnerability that makes them play’s major concerns: class, other- interesting and sympathetic characness, and filth. ters. Thus, it’s the vulnerability that “When looking at plays, we decided Leopold is able to present through this was the perfect thing for a thesis,” her character that makes her characNaylor said. “It has a lot of layers, is ter work and makes the audience stay very intelligent, and offers three chal- with her throughout the show. lenging roles.” Naylor, however, doesn’t bring the Naylor, Leopold, and Huber-Weiss same sympathy to her character, and initially had difficulty choosing a play doesn’t need to. Her acting plays with for their thesis project, restricted by the same dichotomy of helplessness the dearth of plays with written for and disturbing malice that Leopold three actresses. presents, but leans much more toward “There aren’t many plays like that,” the former. Naylor said. “We could have done She closes the play with an eeire ‘Three Tall Women,’ but then they did monologue of significant length that that for a thesis just a few years ago.” ends the oft-disturbing play on an ap“I think there are about six plays propriately dour note. Naylor admits written for three women and we read that she was initially intimidated by them all,” said Leopold. Though she the lengthy and emotionally complex acknowledged that last year’s all-fe- monologue, but its delivery belied male production of “American Buffa- none of this. Delivered with the ballo” was “incredible,” she says that she, ance of menace and naïve sincerity Naylor, and Huber-Weiss didn’t want that makes that menace all the more to do a drag production of a play for menacing, the monologue is the crux three men. of the play and though it – like bits “For me, I’ve played a man in about of the play throughout – do get a bit half the productions I’ve done at Swat,” muddled – its performance is in conshe said. “Which is silly. I don’t look trol of multiple layers at once, achievlike a man.” ing a level of nuance well representaAt the advice of their director Em- tive of four years of theater study. By TAYLOR HODGES Living & Arts Assistant Editor
OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE BY TAYLOR HODGES
PHILADELPHIA FLOWER SHOW
Pennsylvania Convention Center March 2 - 10 An annual Philly highlight, the flower show’s display of beatiful flora is now at the convention center. This year floral artists have interpreted the theme Great Britian to build displays with an appeal from across the pond. The tri-state area’s best nurseries and merchants will also be on hand for those inspired to pick a boquet for someone special on their way out, or if you decide your dorm room would look better with a small potted cactus or miniature bonsai tree.
Courtesy of R. Kennedy for GPTMC
Dance-pop duo Disclosure will present their energetic live show the first Tuesday after Swarthmore’s spring break at Philly’s newest music venue. Brothers Guy and Howard have become Top 40 stars in the UK by blending old school New Jersey house and UK garage into a pop form. Their singles “Latch” and “White Noise” haven’t made it yet onto U.S. ariwaves, but that shouldn’t stop fans of pop or kids worried Disclosure will be imminently too mainstream from going to what will likely be one of Philly’s best shows of the month.
DISCLOSURE
Union Transfer March 19, doors open at 8 p.m.
NEW EXHIBIT ON THE SUPREMES The African-American Museum Now til June 30
Anchored by more than 30 gowns worn by the iconic musical trio, this new exhibit on one of American’s most important pop groups displays some of the group’s gold records, rare video footage, and other historic artifacts. Still, the gowns are really the collection’s centerpiece. Some of the gowns weigh in at over 30 pounds due to rhinestones and pearls that cover them. The New York Times has already covered the collection in their “On The Runway” blog and has been receiving significant press by the Philly media. Even though the girls once sang, “Beauty is Only Skin Deep,” the exhibit captures the effortless beauty and grace of the Motown trio.
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
Continued from Page 1 holds once a semester. What makes Club Poon parties different, however, is the comparative lack of available manpower. Whereas fraternity officers and groups like i20 can draw on an extensive network of members for support and, in some cases, extra funds, the five original Club Poon founders bear the full burden of party planning. The time commitment is certainly not negligible. For Saturday’s party, Poon planners embarked on a seven hour trip off-campus to round up lighting, knick-knacks and beverages. Committed from their inaugural party to combatting all-dark party venues and lackluster playlists, preparations included making the hour-long drive to ZeoLights for lighting pickup and agonizing over song selection for maximum audience impact. Although groups like i20 and the fraternities have a larger membership to draw from, both i20 co-president Ximera Anleu ’15 and Girardi noted that for most events, only a core group of members contribute actively to set-up — roughly ten people, in both cases. This small number, along with Club Poon’s success, seems to suggest a fertile scene for small group-run parties. However, the financial burden is no small obstacle for Poon. Although SAC typically provides $300 for their events — roughly the same amount it allots to larger fraternity parties like DU’s Hootenany and Phi Psi’s Disorientation — Padda said that party organizers spent an additional $250 on this
Living & Arts The Phoenix
weekend’s bash. While this is slightly more than the group usually supplements, it’s by no means the only example of the founders paying out of pocket. “We want to throw a great party, so we’re all willing to chip in more money,” Padda said. “We’re not spending the money for us, but for everyone on campus. We want everyone who comes to have a good time, especially [at Poon 5.0] since this week is midterms week.”
“We want to throw a great party, so we’re all willing to chip in more money.” Karan Padda’14,
According to SBC Chairman Jacob Adenbaum ’14, this year’s budget cuts are hitting SAC hard, and party funding is being cut to the bare minimum. However, a more formulaic funding system is being used to keep funding fair. “In past years, there have been anxieties about bias,” he said. “A lot of what SAC is doing right now — partly how formulaic
[funding requests are] — eliminates some of that bias ... SAC’s been trying very hard to avoid being biased towards one type of party versus others.” Although i20 tries to stick strictly to the money it’s allowed through SAC, Anleu noted that for the past two parties the group dipped into SBC funds to help cover lighting costs. In Anleu’s opinion, the bare-bones party budget, as described by Adenbaum, has also affected the quality of parties on campus this year. “Since they have less money, parties have become more focused on throwing the party, given what people expect of a party, and keeping to the basics like drinks and food,” Anleu said. “For example, if you want cool lights, you need to find a way to fund it yourself … [and] if you don’t have money for decorations, you can’t really play a lot with different experiences for your guests.” The fraternities, which use dues paid by members to supplement any school funding they receive for larger events, are able to distribute pocket payments across a greater membership than other groups. According to Girardi, SAC funding covered only half the cost of Phi Psi’s Swat Glow party this fall. On nights when the houses are open and no SAC-funded parties are taking place, parties are funded entirely by the brothers. This institutionalized funding system appears to be the biggest discrepancy between what smaller groups on campus, like the Poon organizers, and the fraternities can accomplish when throwing weekend events.
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A large portion of the supplementary funds used by groups on campus go towards making parties go above and beyond other events held during the year. For Club Poon, that means champagne showers, neon highlighters, shot glasses, and a whole bunch of glowsticks. For Phi Psi’s Swat Glow, the mandatory non-toxic paint supplies, plus water guns and two fully frosted cakes, capped off the event. Like Padda, Girardi sees the extra price tag as a small price to pay for “a kicking party.” “I didn’t drink at the paint party,” Girardi said. “I didn’t have to. It was enough to look out at the crowd at all the kids having fun. That’s personally what I want Phi Psi to be. We want to have fun, but we want everyone else to have fun with us.” The question, then, is this: does our fun depend on alternative sources of funding for party organizers? A solution to the diminished budget isn’t entirely obvious. Both Girardi and Padda said that having an option for a change of pace — and an overflow venue, in the case of overpacked venues — is an important part of a positive Saturday night experience. While party planners typically check to make sure their larger events don’t coincide with other groups’ major parties, the need for options and space concerns eliminate the viability of consolidating party efforts into one of the venues on a given Saturday. One thing, however, is clear: the party scene on this campus isn’t as “free” for all of us as students like to think.
Marley Newby: A Small Dog with an Outsize Personality Meet Josh Newby, professor of physical chemistry, and Marley, his Jack Russell Terrier. RESCUED AND NOW SAFE: Josh Newby decided to get a dog after receiving his postdoctorate. He researched shelters and later went to a rescue dog event where he found Marley, who was just 2 years old. Marley had been abused, according to Josh, and was terriHot Diggity Dog fied by Josh during his first weeks in his new home. He often followed Josh’s fiancé around the house. “It blew my mind that he had such a bad past,” Josh said.
GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE
MOVING ON UP, TO THE EAST [COAST]: Josh and Marley moved to Swarthmore from Indianapolis, where Josh’s fiancé currently lives. At first, Marley was puzzled, thinking that they would return home any day. Eventually, he noticed that both he and Josh were
not going anywhere. He enjoys the apartment they currently live in, which is the perfect size for a small dog like him. TRICKS UP HIS SLEEVES: One of Marley’s best tricks is to crawl on the ground. He will lay down on the ground, crawl with his two front legs and allow his hind legs to drag. Josh hopes to teach Marley to play dead and incorporate his crawling trick. Just like after any other trick, this terrier always expects a treat. LIKE NO OTHER: Marley is unlike the stereotypical Jack Russell Terrier, and the worst thing he does is to occasionally grab hold of Josh’s fiancé’s sandals to have a short chew session. In the apartment, Marley often has a lot of down time and enjoys watching television. Yes, you read it right. He loves to sit beside Josh on the couch and watch a football game!
GABY CAMPOVERDE/THE PHOENIX
Physical chemistry professor Josh Newby plays with his dog Marley in the Science Center.
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Living & Arts
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
Professors’ Work, Beyond the Classroom By MIREILLE GUY Living & Arts Writer
Starting March 5 and running lationship,” Meuinier explained acter I can pull out as an artist is through April 10, the Depart- how his French-Arcadian roots very important to me,” he said. “It’s not the subject that’s interment of Art Faculty and Staff are expressed. This is evident in “Bayou esting, it’s the design you put it exhibition will be on display at the List Gallery in LPAC. Dur- Song,” where a songbird with in.” This is perhaps most evident ing the gallery opening on Tues- beautifully carved out wings in “Margaret’s Chair 1,” which, day, most of the artists featured that seem to be in mid motion, at first glance, is simply a paintwere present at the opening and is on top of an elegantly carved ing of a chair in an empty room. partook in a discussion of their perch. In another piece of his, However, Exon discussed how “Caw,” Meuinier explains how the chair is really a portrait of a works. The exhibit displays works by the rounded tops of the pedes- woman named Margaret, and nine artists who are currently tal columns mimic the shape of says that if you know her, you teaching and working at Swarth- Mayan sounds, another example would see how this chair is truly more College: Jake Beckman ’05, of how an understanding of the a spot-on portrait of her. Jake Beckman ’05, visiting Syd Carpenter, Randall Exon, artistic process leads to a better Logan Grider, Doug Herren, understanding of the work itself. assistant professor of studio art The pieces “Danaus Plexip- (who is also responsible for the Brian Meunier, Andrea Packard, Mary Phelan and Ron Tarver. pus” and “Lielula Muerta” by Ron big chair on Parrish Beach!), has The works vary greatly in terms Tarver, visiting assistant profes- three pieces that come out of of media, but seem to come to- sor of photography, highlight the wall, and are a mix of wood, gether over a theme of nature the complexities that can go into graphite, as well as other mateand people’s role in the environ- producing a piece of art. At first rials. These pieces convey the ment, as well as their transfor- glance, these two works, both “in-between” state of nature; that featuring dead insects (a butter- is, the moments between when mation and interpretation of it. Andrea Packard ’85, one of fly and a dragonfly) might appear materials are in nature and when the featured artists as well as the to simply be photographed im- they are extracted by humans. gallery’s director, explained how ages printed on paper; however, For example in his piece titled the works “feature a diversity of as Tarver explains, the unique “Aggregated Line,” a sculpture style, media, and craft, but have style of these pictures is the result of a pile of some sort of fine raw material seems almost heavy, common threads in their themes of a more complex process. “These two pieces were done although the piece itself is very of nature.” “One of the things that I love without a camera, and I got to the small. Syd Carpenter, professor of about making art is a love of tex- point where I thought that evstudio art, has two ture, form, and trying pieces from her “placto create something es of our own” series. that manifests what The works vary greatly in terms of These sculptures are we love so much in nature,” Packard said media, but seem to come together over predominantly made of clay, and include during the lecture. a theme of nature and people’s role a fence covered with This is evident in bottles. Carpenter was the pieces featured in the environment, as well as their by farms and in the gallery, with transformation and interpretation of it. inspired gardens, and gives media such as print, identity to farmers, wood, and fabric. If who in today’s agrianything, this range cultural system have of artwork highlights common themes rather than erything that you could possibly become anonymous. Andrea Packard’s three pieces their differences. What is most with a camera has already been obvious when walking through done,” Tarver said. “So I sort of attempt to highlight the manthe gallery is the artists’ commit- hung my camera up and started made aspects of representing nament to craftsmanship and the playing with a scanner...I’m re- ture in art and her giant carved exploration of the transforma- ally intrigued by this process, and inked wood panel “Midnight tions of nature. With mixed me- I love how things work and the Glory” is breathtaking. A large dia, seeing the artwork in person way materials and chemicals in- picture of the forest carved into wood, the simplicity of its black allows for a greater appreciation teract.” In the case of these two piec- and white color scheme highof the texturally rich qualities and grandiose features of some es, Tarver scanned insects and lights the interweaving of the pieces and the subtleties and de- printed them onto rice paper. woods in an impressive manner. Doug Herren’s two ceramic tails of others. In fact, Packard This unique texture allows for a recommends to visitors that they slightly different variation of the and enamel painted sculptures come back to the gallery when it image each time that it is printed, impressively mimic metal. Alis empty, and see how the works reflecting his thoughts about the though sculpted out of ceramic, a material from the earth, he “visually rhyme” with each other uniqueness of each work of art. Logan Grider, assistant pro- is able to have it mimic a metal from across the space. One of the most fascinat- fessor of studio art, similarly dis- structure, highlighting the reing aspects of the collection is cussed aspects of how he makes lationship between nature and learning the processes that the his art. His two colorful abstract man. Mary Phelan, visiting assisartists went through to create paintings, both untitled, are en- tant professor of studio art, has these pieces. This sheds further caustic on wood panels. Encaus- two pieces in the exhibit, titled light on the meaning and repre- tic refers to a style of paint that “Arbustulum” and “Illuminsentations of the works, allowing entails mixing heated beeswax are.” These two works are digital for a greater understanding as with color pigments. He demon- prints, uniquely made to create well as appreciation. For Brian strated the unique texture of the an aesthetically pleasing as well Meuinier, professor of studio art, paints by literally scraping off a as striking image. The gallery opening was his inspiration for these pieces small bit of layer from the edge of are drawn from places such as one of his paintings, showing the abuzz March 5 with support for Turkey and Sri Lanka, as well as waxy element of the paint. With the exhibit evident. Students as from perfume bottles, the em- these special pigments Grider at- well as other members of the peror’s army in China and the tempts to hone in on a color re- Swarthmore community poured TV series “I Dream of Jeannie.” lationship that bends towards an into the space, highlighting the His sculptures of perched birds emotional register without quite strong interest in the work our teachers do outside of the classare some of the smallest pieces revealing it exactly. Other pieces include a series room. It is obvious that the art he has made yet (usually they’re of four paintings by Randall department is filled with creative approximately life size). “I’m always thinking about Exon, professor of studio art. and passionate faculty and staff some kind of fantasy land in my All oil on canvas, Exon sees his who are just as eager to share head that is a sort of swamp land work as an opportunity to place a their art as the Swarthmore comand so I like this sort of water re- character in a design. “The char- munity is to see it. JULIA CARLETON/THE PHOENIX
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
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The Phoenix
REVIEW
Macbeth in Yellow Stockings by COURTNEY DICKENS
M
acbeth,” the most recent Yel” low Stockings Player production, is an interesting twist on Shakespeare’s canonical play. As Director Patrick Ross ’15 explained and chuckled, “we are going to do it in medieval Scotland, but we are going to do it with witches and lesbians…[i]t’s like, this isn’t a real place at all.” Having “done a female playing a male in “The Importance of Being Earnest” and desiring to “try something different” and acknowledge his talented actresses, Ross casted “gender blind basically, and then changed the pronouns.” Stressing that the beauty of Shakespeare’s works is the room for interpretation they allow, Ross directs the 3-hour long tragedy of Macbeth’s rise and fall on the wheel of fortune, battling greed and ambition and finally succumbing to fate. Granted, Shakespeare is not the most —linguistically or philosophiaccessible cally—to a contemporary audience. But, committed to making Shakespeare understandable, and to be frank, keeping viewers in their seats for three whole hours, Ross inserts moments of visual pleasure: live sword fights and battle scenes, daggers flying into actor’s stomachs, lavish banquets with wine, laughing and dancing, and even holograms of the faces of the dead. Ross, on his creative license with Macbeth, acknowledged, “there’s no way Shakespeare meant this but this is where I am going with it.” It is undeniable that Ross’ various directorial leaps—the switch of gender, the remarkably creative witches’ scenes, the gaudy manipulation of dead Banquo’s body, and the borderline comical murder scene of Macduff ’s family—are all anachronistic and/or literarily inaccurate. Nevertheless, this crafted world of “Macbeth” is, in all its quirkiness and inconsistencies, visceral and rich. In fact, the complete bewilderment of his audiences is what gives him satisfaction; for Ross, these creative directorial risks allow for the contemplation of the line between good and evil, protagonist and antagonist, paranoia and manipulation, and ultimately, the imaginary and the real. What is most original about Ross’ rendition of “Macbeth” is his negotiation of gender in staging Shakespeare’s malecentered text. The tension between making male characters female is most read-
HOLLY SMITH/THE PHOENIX
ily seen in the relationship of Macbeth, “Lady M would be nude at this scene as played by Anna Ramos ‘13, and Lady because, as I mentioned, she is so powerMacbeth, as interpreted by Dinah Dewald ful, and feminine, and sexually charged ’13. that, by the end of the show, I wanted In his new vision, the relationship be- her to be completely broken,” Ross said. tween Lady Macbeth and Macbeth be- While there could have been ways that comes a struggle for power amongst “two “she was nude that were arousing,” his inequals … one of whom is very politically- tention was to reveal “Lady M as she is… minded and the other who is sort of ‘hedgy’ without her makeup, or lavish clothes or I guess,” Ross said. To try to distinguish her performance.” Macbeth from her Lady, Ross constructs It can be argued that in over-sexuala Lady Macbeth whose sexuality and wit izing and feminizing Lady M, and conare her greatest assets. Strutting onto the versely creating a sexually-androgynous stage in a green, form-fitting velvet dress Macbeth, their relationship is constructed and gold high-heeled shoes, Lady Mac- in a hetero-normative framework. This is beth sits on a stone and reads Macbeth’s an inevitable result in gender-switching letter. Her leg is exposed, her hair volumi- without modifying the text. It is clear, nous and bright red. Lady Macbeth com- though, that Ross wanted to de-emphasize mands the stage and her audience. Her their femaleness in order to emphasize the words are piercing as she climbs the stone universality of desire and ambition. castle propped on stage left, cursing her Ramos is of the same opinion. “If we sexual nature, yet relishing her domineer- did [free the text], it wouldn’t be as much ing presence. It is important that Macbeth of a triumph,” she said. “We definitely does not climb didn’t make this tower until the gender the she has dwelt focus. For me, Her words are piercing as she it’s more movin evil: this castle defines to ignore climbs the stone castle propped ing who wields the gender bipower. on stage left, cursing her sexual nary.” She does In Act 1, admit that at nature and yet relishing in her first it was difScene 7, it is clear Lady ficult to envidomineering presence. Macbeth domsion Macbeth inates Macas anything but beth: Ramos, a “gendered” hair tied back and wearing a uniform play and so spent a lot of time thinking jacket and jeans, sits as Dinah stands au- “how am I this character and a woman at thoritatively over her, convincing her to the same time? How do I make this work?” murder Duncan. Once Macbeth buckles Her solution was to pay more attention to under Lady’s pressuring, they passionate- being the character, “[n]ot this character ly embrace, kissing carnally and sexually. as a woman or this character as a male.” It becomes clear that Lady Macbeth has For her, the beauty in playing Macbeth as used her seductiveness effectively. Playing a woman is the realization that “it didn’t on her femininity, Lady Macbeth keeps matter whether or not the character was a up the façade of innocence, or as Ross de- female or a male … all Macbeth does and scribed, “[s]he’s just the hostess, she isn’t desires can be felt by a woman.” doing anything. It’s all in here [pointing to Despite making the guilt-ridden, his head].” coming-of-man Macbeth a woman, and The extent to which Ross commits the valiant, loyal, masculine Macduff a himself to establishing Lady Macbeth’s woman, too, Ross wanted to remain as power makes the final scene before her faithful to the text as possible. However, suicide entrancing: for the first time, we not changing “Macbeth” meant trying see Lady Macbeth nude, disheveled, ex- to impose very misogynistic characters posed. While some may argue the nudity on the bodies of women. Offput by the was unnecessary or even too sexually pro- faithfulness to the text, my initial reaction vocative, Ross sees this as an inversion of was to write the production off as probthis desire to sexualize her. lematic; I left wishing more of a statement
had been made about who women are and what relationships between women really look like. I wanted to see more scenes of lesbian love, more conversations between women that, in their very nonsensical nature, made a statement about the rigidity of gender roles afforded to women in texts written by men. It also incensed me that Ross wanted to at once equalize gender and provide a space where lesbians and women can rein. I got, as Allison McKinnon ’13 noted, a story that accidently “reaffirmed the patriarchy. Here is this king, a woman kills him and becomes queen. And in the end, I kill her and put another King in the throne.” Nevertheless, in casting women in these roles Ross has taken a risk that exposes the difficulty of representation, especially in how we categorize a genuine and sensitive portrayal of female and lesbian experiences. This raises many important questions: What statement is this “Macbeth” making about gender and sexuality? Is this play a meditation on the fluidity of gendered identities, and thus about how women themselves have internalized misogyny? Or, is this a play simply about exploring the subversive potential of Shakespeare’s works? Furthermore, can we claim this production is even making a claim about gender and sexuality if the switching of the pronouns was more a matter of practicality? Macbeth closes with Ramos kneeling in front of Macduff, stabbed. As Macduff backs away, Macbeth is surrounded by the dead bodies of those he has murdered. Suddenly, both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth fall to the ground as the dead watch over them and it fades to black. And that’s it. The actors rise and exit into the darkness backstage: the play ends as the play began, without flashy sound cues or lighting. Audience members look around at each other, wondering if they should wait around for a curtain call. But that curtain call never comes, and all leave feeling uneasy about what they just saw. For Ross, this feeling of discomfort, whether felt when the Macduff family was murdered or when Lady M and Macbeth kiss passionately, is what provokes thought. This ambiguity—of political alliance, of meaning, of intention—is what makes this Macbeth, despite its uneveness, unique.
Living & Arts
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THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
Practice Makes Permanent: Breaking Bad Habits As Swatties, we are perpetually interested in improving ourselves. We may or may not be actively trying to do this, but we certainly talk about it until we’re blue in the balls. One easy thing to attack in our quest for selfimprovement is bad habits. We all have some habit that our Moms and/or Pops incessantly pick on, attempting to nag us into reform. However, unlike biting your nails, bad sex VIANCA habits are not so freely discussed. MASUCCI For this reason, many of our bad Missing Parts sex habits persist, even for years. It’s hard to know what your habits are if they’re never communicated to you. So, I’ve made a list of the most common bad sex habits. If you have questions about something specific or think that there are couple that should be added to this list, please email me. It’s been awhile since I’ve gotten any readers’ requests: Not Committing …not to a relationship (that’s your choice!) but to any individual sexual act. It’s normal to feel vulnerable, awkward, or silly during sex. Unfortunately, these feelings sometimes cause insecurities that result in not fully committing to the task at hand (or at mouth) to avoid feeling inexperienced or “stupid.” This is especially a problem with dirty talk. The only thing that’s ‘stupid’ is this behavior — half-assing getting ass defeats the purpose of the ass in the first place. In order to be a good lover, you need to put your all into putting it all in. Both comfort and experience will be the result. Fantasizing Individually This is a vestigial habit from our teenage masturbation days — those days when one was singularly responsible for creating orgasm-inducing sexual scenarios. If you’re consistently fantasizing about other sexual scenarios while in an actual sexual scenario, it’s as though you’re masturbating with a living, breathing vibrator. In creating your own world of fantasy and excluding your partner,
you’re missing the “intimacy” of sexual intimacy. This is especially important if you’re in an ongoing sexual relationship. Tell your partner about your fantasies—share them verbally and see if you can incorporate them into your physical routine. Trust me when I say that the sex will improve. Not Expanding the Sexual Repertoire Twats, penises, asses, nipples, ankles, or whatever else makes your parts plop, are variant with variant tastes and preferences. They’re like fleshy snowflakes—where one may like it hard, another may like it soft, where one may like it licked, another may like it bitten. Be willing to change the choreography of your horizontal hokey pokey so that both you and your partner are enjoying the dance. Additionally, if you’re stuck in hit and quit mode, you may want to explore more sexual options. I will hate Hollywood movies forever for continuously depicting sex as a two-minute make-out session that ends in penetration. There are so many forms of sex and so many ways to have sex. Explore your own interests and don’t adopt an unsatisfying routine just because you saw Hollywood’s How To. Stock Noises Porn has done the injustice of giving the world a trademark soundtrack of pleasure. You don’t need to incessantly moan “yeah” in a high-pitched voice or grunt like bears rummaging campsites to show your lover that you’re having a good time. According to Christopher Ryan, coauthor of “Sex at Dawn: The Prehistoric Origins of Modern Sexuality,” moaning may be an adaptation meant to attract other potential lovers. It comes naturally and you should embrace it, however it comes. Don’t feel obligated to do it or do it a certain way to show your appreciation. Recklessness In the midst of all the pre-sex eagerness, sometimes we lose sight of our partner’s sensations. There’s (hopefully) a lot to be excited about during sex, I know. But one should always practice care (or careful un-care, if that’s what you’re into) when performing sexual acts on
Senior Spring Break To-Dos How erratic you’ve been, mistress weather. Your temperature tantrums have forced us to retreat; I wore two winter parkas in March on a walk from Wharton to McCabe. Despite your efforts to dispel thoughts of Spring from our minds, our academic calendar does not succumb to your whims. Spring break is upon us all. Sweet glory I taste, the thoughts of non-Sharples food awaken my hibernating taste buds. My heart pounds, no doubt aided by the caffeine intake, in double speed as I fantasize about the books I’m going to read, the countless hours of sleep I’ll have, the social conThrough Rose-Tinted nections I’ll form/re-form, Swoggles and the work I’ll get done to catch up with the past weeks I’ve procrastinated. After three years of the same prebreak determinations, I know that I’ll probably end up a sloth and succeed only in eating and sleeping but in a fictive world, I have the (will) power to do all. But alas, there are still a couple days, the loathsome beckoning of last assignments, to attend to. So here‘s a to-do list for the seniors, though the non-senior population may and probably should, do the same. 1. Stamp out of any insecurities and jealousies that may cloud the warmth and sincerity you harbor deep down and congratulate everyone who has heard back from graduate school, from jobs, from fellowships, etc. 2. Search experience.com for a job that will wake you
CATHY PARK
in the morning, giddy with the prospect of giving a 100%. It is not yet time to settle for a job that you will complain about. 3. Call/call back/go talk to your #1 support group whether it is family, frenemies that you’ve known since you were 5, someone you’ve met through counseling, or your classroom confidant. 4. Don’t blame the dorm if you’re getting small visitors. Vacuum up the crumbs that you’ve casually swiped off your lap while pounding out a paper due at midnight. 5. Don’t give in to the whisperings that lure you back to bed after you’ve slammed your alarm clock with the fury and frustration you’d project at people who don’t believe in global warming. Go to class. 6. Get the work done for Monday the 18th so that you will be pleasantly surprised and not have to stress about it when you’re absolutely exhausted on Sunday the 17th. 7. If you’re traveling, make sure that all your documents are prepared and that you know how and when you will be on the road. 8. Reactivate your social skills by having a thoughtprovoking, real conversation with someone before you leave the Swat bubble. 9. For the Honors population: your SHS papers are due April 30th. There are no extensions in real life. 10. Finally, there are no breaks until post-finals. You have 10 days…
Illustration by YENNY CHEUNG
your partner. If something won’t go in, don’t push it. If you’re touching a sensitive area, don’t handle it carelessly. If you’re on top, don’t ride it like your favorite carnival ride. Make your partner’s pleasure your priority and I’m sure you’ll end up riding the pleasure wave all the back to dry land, too. Fake Orgasm Unless you’re Kate or Leonardo fucking in a car on a boat on the open seas, cut the drama. You may think that this is a way to ‘flatter’ your lover or to keep from hurting their feelings. However, this really just makes it all the worse when they find out. And they will, when they keep doing all the things that don’t get you off and you finally tell them or they deduce the truth. Respectfully telling your lover the truth and showing them how you like it sounds like a lot more fun than deceitfully lying to them and having unfulfilling sex, right? I agree. Stoic Sex A problem that we Swatties have is taking everything too seriously. Sex is no exception. Remember that sex is something silly, outrageous, funny, and, sometimes, strange. Fucking can be fucking awkward unless you fuck the awkwardness. So, accept sex for what it is and give a chuckle with that orgasm. Communication I’ve said this like a billion times by now, I’m sure, but communication never stops being important. Don’t like the sex? Speak up! Enjoy the sex totally? Don’t assume that your partner is diggin’ it as much—as they say, when you assume there will be no good ass for you or me. Be open with your partner and to editing your sexual habits and techniques. Desiderius Erasmus once said that “a nail is driven out by another nail. Habit is overcome by habit.” Getting over your own individual bad habit can only be accomplished by working on or negotiating with your partner to put a better habit in its place. Just keeping driving and driving those nails in — you will overcome and overcome that habit. Hopefully multiple times.
Around the Corner at Kembral
This Philadelphia native boutique takes the shop-around-thecorner mentality to a new level, featuring independent, small and local clothing lines fit to the taste of a college student. Kembrel aims to provide easy, affordable, and always new merchandise both online and in-store. KEMBREL: Rating: 5 / 5 Price Range: $$$ 1822 Chestnut St Philadelphia, PA 19103 (215) 501-7085 www.kembrel.com From afar, Kembrel is very easy to miss -- surrounding stores like Boyd’s demand attention with large window displays while this shop has a small store front. If you do happen to overlook it from the street view, it is a shame. After entering the shop, you enter a new environment. Soft blue walls surround you and every clothing rack and shelf calls for attention. The shop is divided in half, one side dedicated to men, the other to women. Smart Swat Shopping Towards the front, there are accessories, bags and small goods. Clothing racks are located further to the back. I am especially fond of the selection Kembrel carries. I found various brands that I never heard of but immediately liked. There were eco-friendly wooden watches from Wewood and gorgeous jeweled collar necklaces from Kembrel. What made it all the more pleasant was the way everything was displayed. Ray Ban sunglasses, clutches, notebooks, bow ties and even coin purses cluttered the shelves, forcing you to take a look at everything individually. Every piece is worth a look. The variety of brands offered here is impressive. For both men and women, there are high end brands like Penguin, Members Only and Ben Sherman and also low end brands like Angie’s, Blu Pepper and 611 Lifestyle. There is something for every price range. Kembrel seeks to provide you with everything from loungewear to clothing for a night out. For women, you can find yoga pants ($24) and plain white t-shirts from Threads 4 Thought ($10), lace lingerie in the $8 price range, and dresses from Lucca couture. For men, graphic tees from 611 Lifestyle ($24), Fred Perry polo shirts ($115) and Dude boat shoes ($65) are available. Fantastic finds include a breathtaking light pink maxi dress with gold embellished straps ($115) from Ari and Kris, an affordable vegan leather jacket from Blank NYC ($85), and men’s Ben Sherman khaki chico pants ($95) and Penguin shorts ($79). I resisted temptation -- part of my New Year’s resolution is to slowly declutter my closet. I am excited to go back to Kembrel and find something for a special occasion (that decluttering resolution does not apply here).
GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
Living & Arts
PAGE 11
The Phoenix
The Galleries at Something “Special” Special Moore College of Customized Majors Give Students Flexibility Art and Deisgn By ALLI SHULTES Living & Arts Editor
Recently, I decided to leave the Swarthmore bubble for our exciting nearby urban metropolis of Philadelphia. Since it is my goal to know my way around the downtown area like a local, I decided I would visit the somewhat lesser known Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, along the way to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Moore College of Art and Design, located in an unassuming building on the Parkway, is a women’s art college with several galleries. When I visited, I saw two shows in these galleries. The overall experiences I had in each exhibit were varied. The first exhibit was an installation titled “Thomas Glassford: Afterglow.” The installation, placed in a cordoned off part of an atrium called the Levy Gallery for the Arts in Philadelphia, was comprised of a network of pipes and tubes with attached green glowing leaf sculptures. There was a consistent interplay between the industrial and the natural, illustrated by the manufactured pipes and the replications of leaves. The fusion of the manufactured and the sort of postnatural was visually interesting. But ultimately, due to its setting, this exhibit was rather flawed and was difficult to enjoy. Any and all backDEBORAH ground noise in the atrium, from footKRIEGER steps to conversations, could be heard, which lessened the immersiveness of I on the Arts the experience. I imagine that this installation would be much more effective in a more isolated and quiet space. In addition, there was no readily available information about this exhibit, be it in the form of a wall blurb or a press release, which, along with the setting, gave the installation exhibit a feeling of afterthought. The other gallery I visited, the Goldie Paley Gallery, hosted a much more thought-provoking exhibit. In contrast to the more makeshift setting of the Glassford installation, the Goldie Paley Gallery is a closed-off space and there was plenty of available information about the show, which was necessary due to the works’ complexity. Titled “Living As Form (The Nomadic Version),” this exhibit brought together artists and curators from all over the world, who, over a period of more than twenty years, created works in a variety of media that “blur art and everyday life”. The various posters, videos and photographs on display all sought to capture moments from ordinary lives from around the world. The ordinary, placed in this gallery context, became art to the viewer. Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art? The viewer sees these lives as art because of their contexts. In one noteworthy case, everyday life for people in a small Czech village became in and of itself a sort of performance art. For example, as described in the piece titled “There is Nothing There,” an artist helped organize a system by which the 350 inhabitants of said village conducted their everyday lives in perfect synchronization. They went shopping at the same time, opened windows in their homes at the same — total, immersive synchronization, becoming united through routine and order. This exhibit raised some penetrating issues for me as an art viewer and enthusiast. Several of the works, including photos of the 2011 Tahrir Square protests, a photo essay about the revitalization of a hillside village in Puerto Rico, and a small installation detailing architectural plans for the modification of an old military base in the West Bank were unsettling in particular. These works aren’t just depictions of everyday life. For the people in the artwork, these works are everyday life. The viewer in a Philadelphia gallery will experience these people’s everyday realities as something affixed to a wall, and I must admit that I felt like a voyeur during this exhibition. All art appreciation is inherently voyeuristic, but this commodification of the everyday struggles of people around the world was more unsettling to me than other exhibits have been. Therein lies the danger in this sort of documentary of everyday life presented as art. A video, entitled “Complaints Choir,” summarized the works in a manner that I believe conveyed the curators’ intentions for the exhibit. This video, by Finnish artists, showed people all over the world singing in practiced arrangements about their complaints, problems and everyday annoyances, from the mundane, such as bad drivers, to the more meaningful, such as sexuality. The pure sonic beauty of the singing drew a humorous contrast to the subjects being sung about. The video was very effective because it emphasized and interconnected all people’s commonalities, highlighting our basic humanity: everyone has petty grievances, everyone complains about something. This exhibit is consuming and a bit unsettling when one contemplates its treatment of people’s lives for our own consumption. I have only touched upon a few components of the exhibit; it’s worth a trip to Philly to see both and experience them for yourself. Both exhibits run until March 16.
Choosing a major is rarely a selection complicated by limited options. With over fifty academic departments on campus, many students wind up with an alphabet soup of major and minor combinations, a tongue-twisting double-honors-course title with few intuitive connections between the various parts. Some students, however, don’t find what they’re looking for in the course catalog. Unsatisfied with a mouthful of concentrations and minors — or, in some instances, with campus programs more generally — these individuals create customized programs of study that incorporate disparate interests under a single umbrella title. Special major designation isn’t just awarded to student-designed programs of study. The college lists several programs as “pre-defined special majors,” including educational studies, film and media studies, biochemistry and German studies. Dean of Academic Affairs Diane Anderson sees the difference between pre-defined special majors and student constructed special majors as a difference of degree: student-constructed majors get an extra “special,” by her delineation. “Special special majors are more complicated,” she said. “Sometimes, students come in to talk and realize they can accomplish [their academic goals] with a combination of normal majors, minors and special majors. Sometimes they can’t.” For Danny Hirschel-Burns ’14, the difference between a special major drawing from multiple departments and combination of majors and minors resides primarily in the thesis as a synthesis of convergent areas of study. “I wanted a culminating exercise of everything I’ve been studying,” Hirschel-Burns said in a Skype interview. “While my thesis will focus on mass atrocities, I only took the one seminar [on the topic]. I’ve had a lot of classes on social classes, a lot on how power works, and the special major gives me the ability to take a lot of different classes with a lot of different departments and finish with a culminating project.” As a sophomore, Burns received approval for an honors special major based in the history department called “Revolution, Oppression and Social Change.” However, upon returning from a semester abroad in Bolivia, he plans to apply for a second special major — this time, based in peace and conflict studies — called “Political Revolutions.” Hoping to write a theoretical thesis focused on nonviolent responses to mass atrocities, Burns feels the history department’s thesis requirement of archival research is irrelevant to what he hopes to accomplish; changing his special major will give him the opportunity to work under a different set of requirements. Applying alone doesn’t guarantee approval for a program of study. Anderson noted that approval for special majors more often than not rests on the depth of the proposed program and the resources available at the college — and within the Tri-Co.
For Carolyn Corbin ’15, Tri-Co courses in her area of interest proved critical in choosing to pursue her long-held educational dream of studying archaeology. Proposing a special major at the end of the month in geoarchaeology, Corbin will utilize Bryn Mawr’s department — along with select courses in Swarthmore’s political science and environmental studies programs — to fulfill requirements. Corbin attributes her interest in the subject at least partially to her grandmother, who often brought her books from travels abroad featuring objects once buried underground. “I knew I wanted to be an Egyptologist at age seven,” Corbin said with a laugh. Although excited to pursue an interest she had written off in high school as unfeasible, traveling back and forth between campuses can be a hassle — both in terms of time lost in transit and scheduling concerns, according to Corbin. However, she seems to feel it’s worth the trip. “[The special major] lets me choose what I want to study,” she said. “It helps me focus on what I’m interested in. I feel more in control, and I’ll graduate with something I won’t have wasted my time with at all.” Steven Gu ’15, an honors urban studies special major and political science course major, also plans to incorporate off campus work to pursue his special major. Drawing from a combination of five different departments at Swat, he will focus his inquiry into urban centers through three critical lenses: the interaction between places and people, the political and economic influences on city development and policy, and the aesthetic design of the physical space. Gu plans to complement his examination of the aesthetics of city design at University College London during his junior year. Barring acceptance, the University of Pennsylvania offers a large selection of courses to draw from that aren’t available on campus. In Gu’s opinion, designing his own academic track made tackling the sophomore plan a more affirming and personal process. “Since I was creating [my major] from scratch, I knew what I was getting myself into,” he said. “It made the writing so much easier. I was also able to reaffirm that this is what I want to do, and think through every single step.” Whereas special special majors like Corbin’s and Gu’s are based on pre-existing programs at other institutions, majors like “Revolution, Oppression and Social Change” may raise a bit more skepticism from friends and family. For Hirschel-Burns, the most resistance to his initial proposed major came from his father. “My dad did not like the name,” he said. “He really really wanted me to change it. He’s ultimately getting his way, not because I caved, [but because] changing the name is a lot more representative of what I’m studying and what I’m interested in.” “He thought future employers would think I want to be another Che,” he added. “I thought it would be obvious that I’m studying revolution, not how to become a revolutionary.”
Illustration by RENU NADKARNI
Opinions
PAGE 12
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
Administrative Opacity There is a disturbing lack of transparency in the Swarthmore administration. Several major issues have been brought up on campus recently — divestAARON ment, Greek life, KROEBER sexual assault — The Civil Libertarian and where the administration has responded, it has done so with no small amount of equivocation. How does the administration plan to act on any of these issues? I have no idea. Mixed signals have certainly been sent concerning divestment. The administration at once seems publicly receptive to the idea, yet at the same time unwilling to act. Swarthmore has gotten a good deal of publicity from the actions of environmentalist groups on campus, and the college website has promoted some of this. President Chopp sent a clear message about her personal politics by having her office fund buses to bring students to Washington in order to protest Keystone XL. But where is the strong statement on divestment? I am not accusing the administration of hypocrisy. They could at once support protests and other actions and oppose divestment. This is not contradictory. Many environmentalists do not support divestment, many people do not like to mix economic and political decisions. What I do accuse the administration of is a lack of transparency. There has yet to be an unequivocal statement of policy, or even a statement laying out what the administration’s concerns and questions that prevent them from coming to a decision are. This must end, the administration must be transparent, it must tell the students what their views are, and how they plan to act. The same is true on the question of Greek life. Dean Braun sent an email to all students encouraging civil debate on the issue. I agree, and have taken the same position. She, however, did not publicly answer the question that was put to her by Student Council: will the referendum be binding? There has been speculation that it will not be so, but there has yet to be a definitive statement from the administration stating what it’s position on the referendum is. I do not ask for the administration
to take a stand on whether Greek life should or should not exist, on the contrary, I think this should be left up to public debate and discussion among students. The administration must, however, make it clear to what extent they will accept student self-government. If the administration has not formed a coherent view, they should reveal what their concern are, what issues they are considering and what factors will motivate their decisions. The student body has a right to know the governing process of the college. Finally, in recent weeks numerous stories have come out about cases of sexual assault at Swarthmore. Many of them voice concerns with the college’s process in handling reports of such assault. The administration has yet to issue an adequate response. They have not made it clear whether they do or do not intend to change any policies, or whether or not they are working on the issue at all. All that has come is a restatement of policy, and vaguely worded statements about “striving to create a harassmentfree environment for everyone.” What is the administration doing to achieve this? I are not asking the administration to change their policy in any specific way, we only ask them to reveal what exactly their response to these issues is, and how they are tackling them. The administration should reveal their working process in full, reveal every issue they are dealing with, and when they come to a conclusion, express it unequivocally. There may be decisions that are more preferable than others, but this is not for us to say — that should be left up to the student body as a whole. But for the student body to be involved in the process at all requires that the administration be transparent, that they actually engage students in discussion. I urge the administration to immediately release their stances, or the issues they are discussing, on the major issues affecting the college, particularly divestment, Greek life and sexual assault. Additionally, we urge students to put pressure on the administration however they can to do so. Students cannot be left out of the governing process of the college, and can only be included in it if the administration is transparent.
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Woodward’s Frustrations Fighting Bob Woodward is an undertaking no administration has attempted. Few journalists garner the admiration and respect Bob Woodward enjoys from the New York-Washington media axis. Journalism graduate students sit in class salivating over Woodward’s work, hoping one day to stumble upon their own Watergate. Woodward has defined the investigative journalism of our age, no matter your perspective. From the TYLER Watergate scanBECKER dal through today, Woodward is a The Swarthmore Conservative Washington insider to his core. Administrations past feared Woodward’s reporting acumen and tried to court his ear. This makes Woodward’s recent public spat with White House economic adviser Gene Sperling all the more surprising. Woodward’s claiming he was threatened by an e-mail wherein Sperling wrote that Woodward would “regret” reporting on the sequester as an Obama administration-created disaster, faced criticisms from both the administration and fellow journalists. Former Los Angeles Times reporter Steve Weinstein called Woodward “senile.” While the e-mail has now been released and Woodward’s “threat” mantra discredited by many, we cannot look beyond the controversy without understanding why Woodward would have spent the better part of the last few weeks on the issue. My suggestion: frustration. Frustration with a government incapable of solving the vast problems facing the nation. Frustration with a sequester nobody in Washington imagined would actually happen. Frustration with an administration incapable of playing the political game, necessary to govern, that Woodward has come to understand. As neither a major proponent of Woodward, nor a real opponent of the sequester, I can appreciate Woodward’s perspective. Having insider knowledge of the operations of all administrations since Nixon, Woodward can likely see where the Obama administration’s governing strategy is failing. A deeper problem exists in the administration that Woodward’s detractors are missing. Woodward knows that how the White House is operating is causing the dysfunction in Washington that led to the sequester’s creation and, now, implementation, as he discusses in his latest book, “The Price of Politics.” In recent weeks, Woodward has called Obama’s handling of the sequestration “madness.” He has also claimed Obama “moved the goalposts” in his request that increased revenue be part of any final deal, an untenable proposition. In an interview with Politico, Woodward said of Obama: “I’m not sure he fully understands the power he has. He sees that the power is the public megaphone going around to these campaignlike events, which is real, but the audience he needs to deal with is on this issue of the sequester and these budget issues is John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi.” Foreshadowed by Woodward’s book last year, The Price of Politics, his frustration with the current administration is well-justified. Congress is blamed all the time for the nation’s political woes, but the presidential leadership on the behindthe-scenes politicking to accomplish com-
promise seems to be missing. Obama’s team appears content with absolving itself from any problems and resorts to blaming Congress. In the final presidential debate last year, Obama said, “the sequester is not something that I’ve proposed. It is something that Congress has proposed.” Politifact found this claim “mostly false,” since Obama’s team effectively created the sequester piece during negotiations on the Budget Control Act in 2011. At the time, no one imagined sequestration would become reality. The Budget Control Act mandated an equal cut in spending from defense and domestic departments to provide incentive for the bipartisan supercommittee to compromise on and reform the largest drags on our deficit. After the supercommittee failed, there were more opportunities for presidential leadership to prevent sequestration cuts by forging compromise on budgetary issues. Executive branch leadership has come more in the form of scolding Congress than putting forth a plan with a realistic chance of passing. Instead, more than three years have come and gone since the last official budget passed Congress. The deficit continues to balloon, and sequestration will do little to put us back on a track to fiscal solvency. Viewing these events from inside Washington, Woodward knows the inner workings of the administration in a way few others can grasp. And, he is likely frustrated with how problems and minor annoyances on the inside are contributing to a Washington looking ineffective to the outside world. Individuals in positions of power with very little understanding of the connection between their actions and serious policy implications are Woodward’s primary concern. Missing from the critiques of Woodward offered by other media types is the stark reality that the Obama administration shares a significant amount of the blame for the sequestration, despite the administration placing fault on congress. Woodward cannot imagine other administrations in the past acting in a similar manner to a serious situation like the sequestration. Appearing on MSNBC, he criticized the administration for allowing the Defense Department to not deploy the USS Harry Truman to the Persian Gulf due to the prospective cuts. Woodward asked, “Can you imagine Ronald Reagan sitting there and saying, ‘Oh, by the way, I can’t do this because of some budget document?’ Or George W. Bush saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to invade Iraq because I can’t get the aircraft carriers I need?’ Or even Bill Clinton saying, ‘You know, I’m not going to attack Saddam Hussein’s intelligence headquarters,’ ... because of some budget document?” Think about the lunacy of the administration’s responses to the sequestration. Sure, the administration is winning the public battle over the sequestration fight, but real governing needs to happen for any solution to be reached. Judging by the administration’s handling of the nation’s fiscal woes thus far, I would not count on the sequester going away anytime soon. And, that should be frustrating to anyone who cares about politics. Woodward’s reactions to the administration are not “senile” and crazy; they are a proper frustration with the White House’s inability to forge the compromise necessary for a deal to be reached.
“Real governing needs to happen for any solution to be reached.”
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
Opinions
PAGE 13
The Phoenix
Unraveling the Mystery of Right-Wing Extremism The Gamesmanship of the Republican Party Prevents Legislation Based On Compromise The mainstream political media — from top-rated television programs like Meet the Press to David Brooks and Thomas Friedman in the New York Times - tells America a story of perpetual partisan bickering. Democrats and Republicans are retreating to their extremes rather than trying to come together. Both sides are moving away from the middle. Both sides refuse to propose solutions. It’s both sides. That’s not true. The story of the American political parties in the last three decades has been of what is called, in political science jargon, “asymmetric polarization.” Democrats have remained a center-left party, while Republicans have drifted to the extreme right. Respected centrist and center-right analysts Thomas Mann of the Brookings Institution and Norm Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute wrote a book last year making this point. They called the Republican Party an “insurgent outlier” and slammed the “failure of the media” to report that it had become “ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, CRAIG and science; and dismissive of the legitiEARLEY macy of its political opposition.” The Pragmatic Liberal bloggers have been saying Progressive that for years, but many observers were shocked to see it stated so plainly by establishment figures. Unfortunately, they are right. Republicans are the biggest problem in American politics today — not because they oppose liberal policies, but because their tactics make basic tasks of government such as passing budgets and raising the debt ceiling to prevent a national default all but impossible. A brief examination of the parties should prove Mann and Ornstein’s point. The Democratic Party embraces both Blue Dogs and progressives alike. This is partially out of electoral necessity: it enables them to win elections even in places that lean Republican in most circumstances. In presidential elections, they can rely on a young, diverse, urban coalition. In other races, they nominate candidates who fit their districts, though they may be more conservative than the left’s ideal candidate. Therefore, legislation they pass is left-of-center but moderate. They are willing to compromise in the name of good governance. The relationship between progressives and Blue Dogs is
not always harmonious. The left gripes a lot about conser- theories about Benghazi, Solyndra, and the fictional closure vative Democrats blocking important legislative priorities. I of Jeep plants. Senator John McCain has played into parawas no fan of then-Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) push- noia about ACORN and voter fraud. Senator Chuck Grassley, ing health reform to the right in 2009. However, most liberals once thought to be a health care moderate, elevated fictional have learned to tolerate more conservative Democrats, if only Obamacare death panels from the obscurity of Sarah Palin’s to keep Republicans out of power. What’s more, even the Blue Facebook page into the issue debate. Dogs generally vote for most important Democratic reforms In short, Republicans have brought extremism into the that most liberals support. Those reforms are often weaker mainstream. Nothing is too conservative for the Republithan they could be, but even incremental progress is prog- can base. Indeed, nothing is conservative enough: the same ress. Liberal Democratic voters tend to recognize that: polls Pew polls indicating Democratic openness to compromise from Pew Research Center during the debt ceiling confronta- showed that almost half of Republicans preferred their leadtion indicated that the overwhelming majority of them favor ers to “stand by their principles” rather than compromise. compromise over sticking to principle. The Democrats’ large, Karl Rove and other establishment Republicans are loosely-ideological caucus has enhanced their strength in the scrambling to change this dynamic. They want to stop the Senate and enabled them to pass a lot of important legislation. base from choosing un-electable ultra-conservative candiIt is also the best hope for sucdates in key congressional cess in the 2014 election. races in the future, as they Republicans used to have have in Nevada, Delaware, a big-tent party as well. It was Indiana, and Missouri in the “Republicans have brought exstill largely center-right. It repast four years. This effort sisted the New Deal and the tremism into the mainstream. has encountered fierce hoswelfare state. It disliked the tility on the right. ConservaNothing is too conservative for left. Yet Nelson Rockefeller, tives like Mark Levin, Tony Dwight Eisenhower, George the Republican base. Indeed, Perkins, and Phyllis Schlafly Romney, and other moderate sent an open letter to Rove nothing is conservative enough.” Republicans were a strong, charging him with waging “a even dominant, force within war with conservatives and the party for many years. It the Tea Party.” was possible to be both liberal If repeated electoral deand Republican for much of feats and establishment moderation efforts have not forced the party’s history. Republicans to the middle, it is not clear what will. An imToday, Republicans have become strict and ideological. portant first step would be for the media to stop pretending Their DW-NOMINATE scores — used by political scientists that both sides are to blame for what Mann and Ornstein call to measure ideological trends in Congress — reflect a party that has moved to the right without interruption since the late “the politics of extremism.” Republicans cannot be allowed 1970s. The conservative movement has effectively taken them to keep getting away with zealotry, unthinking obstruction, over. Among the consequences are a willingness to use the and conspiracy theory just because the media is committed debt ceiling – and thus the full faith and credit of the United to false neutrality. Another possibility is that at least a handStates government – as a hostage in budget negotiations and ful of Republicans may choose to work with Democrats in an unofficial coalition in the House, as occurred during the a dramatic spike in use of the filibuster to block legislation. Another result is the Republican embrace of a raft of con- fiscal cliff and the Violence Against Women Act debates, in spiracy theories that are total gibberish to anybody outside the order to achieve some of their goals. Whatever it is, someconservative movement’s media bubble. During his presiden- thing must change their calculations. The American people tial campaign, for example, Mitt Romney touted conspiracy deserve better than this.
Scientific Pragmatism in “Functional Cure” for HIV An amazing piece of news this past week has been the announcement of a breakthrough in HIV treatment: a twoand-a-half year old girl from Mississippi has been declared “functionally cured” of HIV, after being diagnosed with the retrovirus at birth. The child, who underwent eighteen months of retroviral therapy after birth, has been off all medication for five months and shows no detectable amount of HIV in her blood. This is the first time a retroviral therapy has completely cured an HIV patient and the first time a child with HIV has ever been cured. If this treatment is effective on all infected infants, this could lead to a global breakthrough in HIV treatment. The girl’s mother was diagnosed as HIV positive after appearing at a MisPATRICK sissippi hospital in premature labor. She AMMERMAN had received no prenatal care, and was not being treated for her HIV while she Popular was pregnant. Doctors sent the newScience born to the University of Mississippi Medical Center to receive treatment almost immediately. Within 36 hours, the infant had begun a strong drug regimen to fight off the virus. The most important element in this case is likely speed with which the infant began receiving treatment. The decision to treat the infant was based off of the mother’s blood test results, which tested positive for the HIV antibodies present in individuals affected with the retrovirus. The standard approach to treat infants infected with HIV has been to wait until blood tests on the infant have shown signs of the virus — a process that can take six weeks or longer. Physicians hypothesize that the quick initiation of therapy in this newborn helped to prevent the build up of HIV reservoirs, or clusters of dormant HIV cells that subsist within the human immune system. These reservoirs can remain dormant for years, and modern medicine has no way to target the retroviral cells in this state. As a result, it has been impossible
for medical researchers to develop drugs that can completely wipe out the HIV in an infected patient’s system, and thus there are always a supply of HIV viruses present in the body that become active as soon as retroviral therapy is stopped. It is important to note that scientists believe the drug therapy offered to this infant did not wipe out HIV reservoirs, but rather stopped them from accumulating in the first place. Thus, if replicable, this therapy would only serve as a cure for newborns that can begin treatment almost immediately after birth. It is not a solution for the millions of children and adults already infected with HIV/AIDS, and or for the thousands of infants in developing countries born with HIV but without speedy access to an equipped medical facility. Of the 300,000 babies a year born with HIV, most come from developing areas of the world. Although this finding is amazing news and a surprising breakthrough in a thoroughly researched field, it is striking how slight a change in treatment plan led to it. The pragmatism of the attending physician at the University of Mississippi Medical Center to begin treatment before receiving test results of the infant made all the difference. The infant was also placed on a much stronger regimen of drugs from the beginning than is typically done. When test results finally came back, the girl did, in fact, test positive for HIV, and measurable traces of the virus were present at days 7, 12, and 20 as well. At day 29, the infant was shown to be clear of HIV, meaning that if there were still viruses in her system they were in their dormant state. Infants treated in the standard way would have been infected with the virus for months before they reached this state, which would have been long enough for them to remain infected for the rest of their lives. A great deal of science is conducted in very structured and regimented ways, especially medical research because it is conducted on human subjects. However, this case proves there is a place for pragmatism in the sciences -- even small adjustments to a standardized methodology can lend power-
ful scientific insights. Doctors and scientists should be free and encouraged to propose novel approaches to old scientific problems -- be it through changing the models and variables of an experiment or directly challenging an old set of assumptions that may be flawed. Doctors assumed therapy should not be started until the presence of HIV in an infant could be definitively proven, but given a situation where the infant was very likely to have contracted HIV in utero or during birth, University of Mississippi doctors prescribed an aggressive treatment and in doing so saved a life. There are many implications for what this breakthrough could mean for global heath. The most ambitious reporters and scientists are calling this a game-changing breakthrough for public health. However, it’s probably too early to go that far. The infant in Mississippi was an exceptional case before she was ever cured of HIV: the baby had very low amounts of the HIV virus in her system in early blood tests, and her treatments ended unexpectedly when the mother stopped bringing her in to her doctor. Further studies are needed to determine whether this treatment works on other infants more seriously infected, and precisely how long it takes to wipe out the virus using a strong drug regimen. Furthermore, this baby was born in the resource rich country of the United States, where testing and the beginning of treatment could be carried out in a matter of days. Most infants born with HIV are from developing parts of the world, and mothers may not have the same medical resources available to them. Prenatal treatments available to mothers who have been diagnosed with HIV have proved to be very effective in preventing transmission to the infant, and may continue to be the best option for preventing the passage of HIV from mother to child. Nonetheless, the story of this two-and-a-half year old from Mississippi is thrilling and rich in scientific questions one can draw from it. As HIV research advances and new treatment options are explored, thousands more will benefit from the aggressive treatment plan that functionally cured this child.
Opinions
PAGE 14
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
Keystone XL: Getting to the Heart(land) of the Matter
The Nebraska Sandhills, which the Keystone XL pipline was originally planned to pass through.
By Eve DiMagno Those of you who know me (and probably many who do not, considering my propensity to parade about in Husker apparel) know that I am from Nebraska. Go ahead; smirk a little bit about that vast, nebulous, unsophisticated, middleof-nowhere part of the country. It’s okay. I get that a lot. Nebraska is pretty far away, and like much of the Midwest, it is full of corn, and it’s mostly conservative. Mostly. Lincoln and Omaha both have Democratic mayors, and Obama actually got an electoral vote from Omaha in the 2008 election. On the other hand, in the 2012 presidential election, all but one county went for Mitt Romney. In the same election, we lost our only Democrat elected to national office. Mississippi currently has more Democrats in Congress. Still though, there are a few things that have consistently united Nebraskans across party lines over the past few years. One of them is the Nebraska Huskers’ failure to bring home a national championship since 1998. Nothing brings a state together in a sense of collective mourning like a once great, now mediocre college football team. (Still doing better than Mississippi, though. So at least there’s that.) But the other issue that has brought together Nebraskans of all political persuasions is their opposition to the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Give me a break. Haven’t you been paying attention? Everyone knows that this is about big oil interests versus global warming advocates, i.e. Republicans versus Democrats. And on a national level, you’re right to think that. Most national newspapers have run articles about how the tar sands oil refineries emit huge amounts of pollutants, and that America desperately needs jobs and to reduce dependence on unfriendly foreign oil. I’m sure we can find Chris Matthews and Bill O’Reilly screaming about it somewhere on the internet. But that’s not the whole story. While it’s true that at a national level, the debate is divided along party lines, back home the perspective is very different. In fact, the opposition to the pipeline is and always has been a movement that crossed party lines. Though it may seem ridiculous, given the enormously politicized nature of this issue at a national level, the first resistance to Keystone XL came from a bipartisan coalition of environmentalists and rural conservatives in Nebraska. Opposition to the pipeline has been growing in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Montana, and Texas for years. In Nebraska especially, a movement developed that largely transcended political affiliation, including liberal environmental organizations such as The Sierra Club, National Wildlife Foundation, and 350. org, local political organizations such as Bold Nebraska, rural organizations such as the Nebraska Farmers Union, and a largely conservative collection of ranchers and farmers. Though all of these factions became involved through different means, they have united behind several key issues. The first is the initial pipeline route proposed by TransCanada. Originally, Keystone XL would have traversed the Sandhills, an extremely environmentally fragile region in the northwest part of the state. The Sandhills got their name because
OP-ED
COURTESY OF BOLD NEBRASKA
they are literally hills of sand, covered by a very thin layer of issue, environmental issue, eminent domain issue,” said Mr. topsoil. Disturbing this topsoil would allow the sand to be Gotschall, “You need people passionate about all of the reaexposed and blown away, causing massive erosion. Digging sons, and to explain how their reason and perspective fits a route for the pipeline in this region would be hugely de- into the overall puzzle.” structive to the ecosystem. The danger is compounded by the But at a national level, this bipartisan, grassroots campresence of the Ogallala Aquifer in the region. The aquifer, paign is not the only thing to be discarded and forgotten. which lies beneath most of Nebraska, provides irrigation and Since coming to the East Coast, I have noticed that in addidrinking water for the entire state. The pipeline was slated to tion to the highly politicized nature of the debate, the conpass just southwest of Lincoln, about a twenty minute drive sensus is that the pipeline fight began in the summer 2011. from my house. A leak there could contaminate the water Although this may mark the beginning of widespread opposupply of all the smaller towns and farms in the area with sition to the pipeline at a national level, discontent has been tar sands oil. If the pipeline leaked somewhere near where growing in the Midwest since 2008. The Washington DC Omaha-Council Bluffs and Lincoln pump their water — the rallies in the late summer and fall of 2011 represented the new proposed route has it crossing the Platte River, not far culmination of the movement, not the beginning. The rise upstream from the water wells — up to half a million people of the opposition to the national stage was the result of years could be affected. This is without taking into account the of work on the part of local groups directly in the path of the farmers and ranchers throughout the state who depend on pipeline. But this work has been largely dismissed, though the groundwater to grow crops and feed their livestock. A without the years of cooperation between local environmenleak anywhere along the pipeline, even a small one, could be tal advocates and rural conservatives, the issue would never devastating for everyone in the community. have reached Washington. The second major issue that sparked outrage in Nebraska To me, this dismissal is insulting at best, and counterprowas the way in which Transductive at worst. By ignoring Canada went about acquirthe huge contributions of ing land in the path of the local activists, national pipepipeline. TransCanada began line opponents have written contacting landowners back “The first resistance to Keystone off the very real concerns of in 2008 and 2009 to acquire people directly in the path of land for the proposed KeyXL came from a bipartisan the pipeline. In addition, by stone XL project. Landowners coalition of environmentalists and making climate change the would receive a letter informfocus of the debate, national ing them that their land was rural conservatives in Nebraska.” adversaries of the pipeline in the path of the pipeline, have made the opposition and would be offered a finaneasier to dismiss. In turning it cial reward for giving up their into a single-issue movement, rights to the land. If the landopponents have cut off other owner refused, TransCanada threatened to seize their land under eminent domain and the angles of attack; angles which successfully turned a Republilandowner would be paid after an assessment of the property. can-dominated state against the pipeline. Which brings me to my final point. Here at Swarthmore, Not only was the legality of this questionable (it is unclear that TransCanada had the right to claim eminent domain we’re always encouraged to think about big ideas and big sobefore a pipeline was officially approved), but TransCan- lutions. The only problem is that sometimes, we forget that ada would continually harass landowners with letters and big ideas are made up of many different smaller ideas, each visits until they agreed to a deal. Most eventually did sign, with their own merits and each with their own power. The but TransCanada’s actions left a deep resentment across the fight against TransCanada and the Keystone XL pipeline is state. As Ben Gotschall, Energy Director for Bold Nebraska, no different. This is not a battle that can be won on the clia local group committed to “restoring political balance”, and mate change argument alone. Certainly it is an important one of the early groups opposed to the pipeline, put it, “[The aspect, but alone it will not be enough to stop TransCanada landowners] were not vocal, were not active, but they were from putting a pipeline down the middle of the country. This pissed off.” It was only after a few landowners refused to give movement is not and has never been a single-issue moveup the rights to their property (in 2009 and 2010) that the ment. It ascended to the national stage precisely because coalition was formed and the movement began. people of all political persuasions objected to it on many difInitially, the coalition formed around these two issues, but ferent levels; concerns about groundwater pollution, propit did not stop there. When it was revealed in 2010 that the erty rights, and campaign finance reform, to name just a few. governor and attorney general were taking campaign dona- If activists at Swarthmore (and throughout the country as tions from TransCanada, the public outcry was so great that a whole) truly want to stop this pipeline, they need to creboth men actually returned the money. At this point, the is- ate a politically transcendent, populist movement. And they sue had become much larger than either property rights or won’t find a better model than the one currently working to environmental concerns. “It’s a climate issue, property rights keep the pipeline out of Nebraska. issue, groundwater issue, land use issue, campaign finance
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
Sports
PAGE 15
The Phoenix
Women’s Basketball Makes History Team Sends Off Ross, Polli with an ECAC Championship By SCOOP RUXIN Sports Writer
The pair leave impressive legacies on the court as well. Ross averaged 11.7 points, four rebounds and two assists per game in The Swarthmore women’s basketball her senior season. Her ability to drive and team continued to surprise this week, roll- create shots for herself and her teammates ing over Marywood, Washington and Jef- at the end of the shot clock helped Swarthferson and Moravian en route to the pro- more earn crucial baskets throughout the gram’s first ever ECAC Championship. season, especially in the championship With the victories, Swarthmore concluded game. Polli had the best shooting season in its season with a 23-7 record, an astounding program history, sinking an incredible 71 14-win improvement from 2011-12. The shots from beyond the arc, averaging 7.9 team’s 67-62 championship game victory points per game. Polli made her final home Sunday over top-seeded tournament host game — Wednesday’s first round contest Moravian College ensured that the season, against Marywood — one to remember, as well as seniors Madeline Ross and Eliza sinking five three pointers and tallying a Polli’s careers, would conclude with a vic- team-leading 17 points, helping Swarthmore win 67-61. tory. Polli’s three-point record was one of The ending was fitting for a unit Ross described as “a team of champions”, and several single season milestones that Garit showcased the resiliency and commit- net players set this season. Lytle scored 452 ment that has characterized the underdog points in her MVP season, good for 11th in Garnet squad all season. After sustaining program history and putting her in position a heartbreaking loss to Gettysburg College to break the prestigious 1000 point mark in the Centennial Conference champion- early next season. Lytle’s 18 rebounds in ship game, Swarthmore narrowly missed the finals gave her a school-record 365 for earning an at-large bid to the NCAA tour- the season. The junior sensation put herself nament, resulting in a bid in the ECAC into the College’s record book in almost South tournament. While the close loss and every statistical category, tallying 109 free NCAA snub would likely have demoral- throws (7th), 74 steals (10th) and 32 blocks ized most teams, Swarthmore once again (9th). Other notable individual marks indemonstrated its ability to bounce back, cluded 96 free throws (10th) and 42 blocks (6th) by Second fighting its way to a Team All-Centenchampionship. nial Conference In the final “Not many people get to forward Elle Largame, the Garnet were led, fittingly, say they went to two cham- son ’15, 88 assists (8th) by Moritzky by Ross, who has pionships in one season, and 32 three pointbeen the team’s emotional leader and to win it all at the end ers (10th) by Jessica Jowdy ’16. all season. Ross is unbelievably special.” DeVarney retallied 22 points in flected on the her final collegiate Eliza Polli ’13 contributions of game, ensuring her “very versathat her and Polli tile lineup”, saying (3 points, 3 rebounds) would exit in style. Polli described that, “When teams focused on our ‘big two’ the meaning of ending the season with a (Katie and Elle), others often stepped up. championship, pointing out that, “Not We could not have gotten by without the many people get to say they went to two scrappy toughness and floor leadership of championships in one season, and to win Kayla, or the key skills of [Madeline] and it all at the end is unbelievably special. I am Eli, or the key moments in games when Jesso blessed to be able to leave Swarthmore sica Jowdy and Abbey Deckard ’16 hit some with the best of memories because of this big shots. Everyone stepped up at key times and it was very fun to watch.” amazing season.” While these individual records were unForward Katie Lytle ’14, in addition to winning Centennial Conference Most Out- doubtedly impressive, players chose instead standing Player was awarded the ECAC to focus on the team’s accomplishments. MVP despite playing through a sprained Ross and Polli both described themselves ankle. She spoke about the instrumen- as “lucky” to conclude their careers with a tal contributions Polli and Ross made to championship, and to have led such a cohethe team’s success: “They set the bar high sive team. “I have never been more proud of starting in preseason. They both have such a group of girls for working so hard”, Polli incredible work ethics and will settle for said, adding that, “I couldn’t have asked for nothing less than their best effort. I think a better senior season in terms of wins but the rest of the team really followed their also in terms of the girls on my team. I will example and worked hard to meet the stan- never forget the incredible high’s and low’s dards they set”. Point guard Kayla Mori- of the season that we have experienced totzky ‘14 emphasized the role both seniors gether”. Ross added that, “When I stop and had in fostering a positive environment on think about everything we went through and off the court, saying, “the most impact- this season, and then think about how it ful thing that [Madeline] and Eliza did for all ended for me, I can’t do anything but our team this year was that they cared about smile”. Although Swarthmore will miss both the each player as more than a teammate; they viewed each and every one of us as their on and off the court presence of Ross and closest friends. This mentality provided us Polli, the returning Garnet players hope to with the backbone for great team chemis- build on the legacy that the pair helped to create this season. In this sense, the impact try”. Coach Renee DeVarney echoed Lytle of the two seniors will continue to help the and Moritzky’s feelings. “This season’s team even in their absence. Lytle pointed success was a result of every team member this out, saying that, “because of their leadbeing on the same page, having the same ership this year, [Madeline] and Eli have goals and level of commitment,” DeVarney helped to create a program that expects to said. “We had great leadership from our be successful”. Next season, Swarthmore captains—[Madeline], Eliza and Katie—all will, in Moritzky’s words, “come out with of whom were hardworking, compassion- the mentality of proving to everyone in the ate, and kept us on task when needed”. conference that this was not a fluke year She called Ross and Polli the epitome of and we as a program are creating a legacy “the ‘hard working Swarthmore student- for greatness”. With Lytle, Larson and athlete’”, adding that the pair “will be sorely Moritzky returning, Swarthmore appears poised to continue to make history next missed next year.”
COURTESY OF SWARTHMORE ATHLETICS
Top: The team celebrates their ECAC Championship win over Moravian College. Bottom: Elle Larsen was named the Second Team All-Centennial Conference forward.
Garnet Athlete of the Week
KATIE LYTLE
JUNIOR., BASKETBALL, HARRISBURG, P.A. What She’s Done: Earned “Most Outstanding Player” honors while leading the Garnet to their first-ever ECAC South Region Championship. Favorite Career Moment: Beating Muhlenberg in the semi-final game of the Conference Playoffs. It was an incredible feeling to earn a spot in the championship game. Goals for Next Season: My goals for next season are to win a conference championship and make it to the NCAA tournament. Favorite Pair of Socks: Black basketball socks that have the Swarthmore “S” on them, I wore them for every game this season. Least Favorite Book: Crime and Punishment. NITHYA SWAMINATHAN / THE PHOENIX
Sports
PAGE 16
THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013
The Phoenix
Men’s Lacrosse Off to Promising Start
Garnet Gets to Goal Early in Game; Trouble With Following Through By DAN DUNCAN Sports Editor
The season may be young, but the Garnet have already made a habit of starting games fast and getting on the scoreboard early. In the season opener at Eastern, Swarthmore scored the first three goals of the game, and in last Saturday’s 320 Challenge matchup against Widener, the Garnet scored first yet again. Unfortunately, the fast starts are not translating into wins, as opposing teams have taken control late in games to not only catch up, but pull away from the Garnet. Take the game against Widener as an example. In their home opener, according to defender Zach Schaffer ’14, “We came out of the gate on fire. We were hitting on all cylinders on both sides of the ball. Our defense was sliding aggressively and our offense was wheeling and dealing.” Indeed, Swarthmore started hot. Ian Lukaszewicz ’15 opened scoring just three minutes into the game, and although Widener soon found an equalizer, the Garnet scored twice more to take a 3-1 lead at the end of the first quarter. Chris Thomson ’15 finished the quarter with a dagger, finding the back of the net with less than one second left on the clock. The Garnet kept up the pressure in the second quarter, scoring twice more early on to go up 5-1. Although at this point it appeared Swarthmore had the
game under control, there were still nearly 35 minutes to play, and the Pride made the most of them. The Garnet went cold after the fifth goal, but Widener was just warming up, going on a 3-0 run to close the half. The Garnet still led, but with just a one goal lead, the game had shifted to one of preserving the lead while it existed. The trend continued into the third quarter, as the Pride managed to tie the score in the final minute of the quarter at six apiece, despite an extra goal from Andrew Preiser ’15. Widener rode that momentum through the final horn, scoring five goals in the final 15 minutes to put the game out of reach. Steve Selverian ’13 scored twice in the Garnet’s effort to keep up with the Pride, but any hope of a Swarthmore rally was extinguished after a costly turnover with around 2:30 left in the game. Jonathan Cohen ’14 had a tremendous game in goal, recording eight saves to keep the Garnet in the game until the end. On the defensive end, Schaffer led the team with four caused turnovers. There were positive signs in the loss, as Widener was a quality opponent who had recently taken the defending national champion Salisbury to the wire in a close game. And, throughout the game, the Garnet proved able to hang with the best. Schaffer pointed out that “We have an extremely athletic team across the
board and will be able to turn ground
We came out of the gate on fire...Our defense was sliding aggressively and our offense was wheeling and dealing. Zach Schaffer ’14 balls in the defensive end into stick side high cheddar at the drop of a cap ...We have several players on the offensive end who can snag corners with the best of them and drop dimes like there are holes
in their pockets.” This certainly showed during the Widener matchup. Hanging with the best does not necessarily mean winning, though, and being able to finish games after taking early leads will be important. As Schaffer said, “The keys for the team going forward will be playing complete games, throwing fastballs and staying hydrated by drinking Motive Pure.” Even with the loss, Swarthmore still holds a commanding 8-3 lead in the 320 Challenge. The Garnet next face #12 Cabrini at home on Saturday at 1:00, before traveling to San Diego for spring break. In between “enjoying the world famous San Diego Zoo and SeaWorld,” as Schaffer said, Swarthmore will find time for games against Whittier and Keene State.
JUSTIN TORAN-BURRELL/ THE PHOENIX
Left, Braeden DeWan ’16 (#37) cradles the ball and advances up the field. Right, Brendan Conway (#3) spins to evade three Widener defensemen.
North London Derby: Arsenal v. Tottenham The game between Arsenal and Tottenham was built up this previous week as a test of Arsenal’s mettle and to see whether the Spurs under Villas-Boas JAMES had improved IVEY enough to beat their rival. Out of Left Field In the end it seemed fair that Tottenham walked off the field with three points considering their fast-flowing attacking play that seemed to startle the Arsenal defence for 90 minutes. But while this game showed that Tottenham is to be considered a top team in England, it shouldn’t be greeted as a shift in the balance of power. The first thing to consider when thinking about the game is which ground was it played at. Home field is a huge advantage to have. It is an even bigger advantage when you are playing your local rivals. The fans will be behind the team and the majority of the stadium will be filled with supporters cheering your team on and providing a hostile atmosphere for the visitors. When teams are on a similar level play,
then home field advantage has a huge role to play in the outcome of the match, so for Tottenham to only win 2-1 and to disappear during periods of the match, unable to cope with Arsenal’s passing game, showed that this result wasn’t as significant as some media outlets and commentators have made it out to be. The second thing to think about is the relative strength of both teams. Tottenham couldn’t really complain about not having their strongest eleven on the field: Tottenham was without Sandro but Scott Parker is an equally strong player. If you look at the Arsenal team, though, there was a problem from the first minute: the defence was tragic. The Arsenal defence was abused from the first minute of the game. Without Sagna, putting Jenkinson in the team, Arsenal was already one quality player down. Jenkinson isn’t a bad player, he just has flaws such as being unable to defend or put crosses into the box or to provide an outlet on the right hand side of midfield. The same thing is true with Mertesacker: he is a big, tall defender and useful in aerial battles, it just happens that when he
turns it takes him half a decade. Vermaelen has had his ups and downs this season and really hasn’t been the player this year that he was last year and Nacho is still trying to adjust to the English game but he did look like one of Arsenal’s best players. When you compare the Arsenal backline to that of Tottenham I think you would take Dawson and co. over what Arsenal fielded. So for Arsenal to only concede two away from home against an in form Tottenham side is really not a bad result and shows that there is not a huge gulf in class between the two sides. However, there is a huge difference when it comes to the running of the clubs. I know I rant about this all the time, and you may be frustrated with me, but victory is often found in the everyday running of the club rather than on the field. Tottenham recently has been a much better run club than Arsenal: their transfer policy has made sense, taking a gamble on a young manager paid off, and their lack of backroom discord has enabled the growth of a Champions League quality team. Arsenal, on the other hand, are plagued
by rumours of Wenger getting a new contract or being fired, of boardroom power struggles and mysterious bids from oil wealthy businessmen who want to buy the club for twice its value. These are signs of a failing club rather than a rising club. The battle is won before it is fought and Arsenal really needs to get its act together and solve the internal problems before they can start competing for trophies again. But really I shouldn’t take anything away from Tottenham: Bale and Lennon ran throughout the game like sheepdogs, splitting the timid Arsenal backline. I was impressed by the vision of Holtby and I still feel a pang of remorse when I see Dembele playing with his characteristic style and grace in a Tottenham shirt. This is a young, attacking, fluid team that is still learning to play with each other and in the style of Villas-Boas. They should be better next season as long as they don’t lose Bale and they solve their striking issue, but the gulf in class between these two teams is not as large as people have made it out to be, and next year, if Arsenal solve their backroom issues it could go the other way.