The Phoenix
The Official Campus Newspaper of Swarthmore College Since 1881 VOL. 136, ISSUE 4
TODAY: Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 74, Low 57. TOMORROW: Chance of rain, wind. High 77, Low 60.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
Let’s Make Some Noize
SWARTHMOREPHOENIX.COM
Nude Models Bare All Q&A with Nicholas Witchey and Jae-hyun Oh By ZOE WRAY Living & Arts Writer
JULIA CARLETON/PHOENIX STAFF
Julian Randall, Brian Foster, Jabree Reeves, Chris Hulk and Due Ho sit for a photo outside the WSRN studio. Ho, the current head of The Noize, has high hopes for the program’s future.
Interactive media project rebuilds for new semester
The Noize, a collaborative media friend familiar with hip-hop audio proproject between Chester High School duction to bring in Chester students and Swarthmore students that airs and instruct them in the production weekly on WSRN, will seek a charter studio. this semester, expand on-campus inWhile Symonds wanted to construct volvement and reinvigorate its original a program that balanced resource-sharoutreach aspect with on-site recruiting ing between Chester and Swarthmore, in Chester. he placed more emphasis on actual in“We’ve been kind of under the ravolvement in Chester by Swarthmore dar for a long time,” said Due Ho ‘13, the current on-campus students, primarily through a mentoring program. “I always head of The Noize. “But as soon as Student Council elects felt that it was paramount that Swarthmore students made a their Student Group Advisor, we’re going to try to bring it real commitment to their Chester mentees, that they went out there and get it chartered.” Ho also mentioned that The to Chester and learned about how these kids were living,” he Noize hopes to hold a concert in a space such as Olde Club to said. promote the group. Symonds saw this approach as different from the usual in“The outreach aspect has kind of died down and this year volvement of college students with Chester residents. “This we would like to bring that was opposed to the tradiback,” Ho said. tional one-sided dynamic Daniel Symonds ‘11, a and the frequently lopsided founder of The Noize, exuse of resources by Chester, Not only did we talk about hip-hop, plained, “Right now we’re at and not as much involvea big turning point and forbut we talked about world issues and ment in Chester by Swarthmalizing a lot of what we’ve more students,” he said. how we should approach them. They learned. We’re giving the Brian Foster, one of the program the legs it needs played their part in educating us about original Chester High School to survive in the years to students involved with The come.” Symonds continued, Noize who now studies film the world and how we should react. “Outreach is definitely goat the Art Institute of PhilaBrian Foster ing to be a bigger part now. delphia, certainly felt the We want to revitalize the impact of the mentoring initial mentoring aspect of program. “It was more than the program and bring back just a Swarthmore student a lot of that resource-sharing component.” hanging out with a Chester High student,” Foster said. “It was Symonds created The Noize during his freshman year. “I’d more of a big brother role, more like a family relationship.” always had a strong interest in music and radio,” he said. “I Foster described the role of Swarthmore students in Chessaw it as a vast shame that this studio was just sitting there ter as highly beneficial. “Not only did we talk about hip-hop, and no one was using it. Classic Swarthmore: so many re- but we talked about world issues and how we should apsources and not enough people.” proach them. They played their part in educating us about Symonds reached out to Lang Scholars working in Ches- the world and how we should react,” Foster said of the college ter to gain access to the high schoolers, who he saw as the participants in the program. The education and interaction opposite of Swarthmore students. “These are students who went both ways. “Chester kids put Swarthmore kids onto the are really neglected and don’t have the same opportunities or music from our city and what we would listen to. When we even half as many resources,” Symonds said. With the money would have events in our city, we would invite Swat people. from his Evans scholarship, Symonds hired a high school We definitely built relationships and friendships with each
“The human form is a very complex form [through which] to study light and value and volume… every drawing lesson you could possible desire to teach a student could be taught by that subject.” Such is the reason, according to Logan Grider, Assistant Professor of Studio Art at Swarthmore, for the Life Drawing Studio Art course and its employed student models, including Nicholas Witchey ’15 and Jae-hyun Oh ’15. Through the use of student models, which Grider emphasizes as “crucial” to the class, students learn to push past the notions in their heads of what human figures look like and to see the uniqueness of forms found in each and every individual. Using live figures that are actually present in the class is vital because if the students only drew from photographs, they would not be able to “constantly reevaluate what they’re looking at, because it’s always in a state of flux,” explained Grider. “What we’re all fighting against in the world is just seeing sameness.” By the end of the course, Grider hopes that students have a refreshed visual perspective of the world that demonstrates sensitivity to the fluctuations of figures. The class isn’t about technique, about achieving depictive perfection of the eyebrow; in fact, Grider approaches the class with the idea that “technique is a filter you put between yourself and the subject. Everything has to adhere to that filter, and, in my opinion, that makes for less interesting drawings because there’s always something that’s sacrificed to the filter, in order to make it the way that you were taught.” With this in mind, it becomes clear that the availability of student models isn’t just a nice accoutrement, but a vital, Continued on Page 10
JULIA CARLETON/PHOENIX STAFF
Nicholas Witchey and Jae-hyun Oh work as nude models for the art department’s Life Drawing class.
Continued on Page 5
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
NEWS MEAL PLAN PART II: CROSS COMPARISON
LIVING & ARTS PLENTY OF FISH: OUSIDE THE BUBBLE
OPINIONS LACK OF EDUCATION AND INDIA’S FUTURE
SPORTS CROSS COUNTRY AIMS FOR NATIONALS
We all know about Swarthmore’s meal plan options, but what about those at other similarly sized liberal arts colleges, such as Vassar, Sarah Lawrence and Amherst? Find out about them on PAGE 4
Seeking off-campus romance, Swatties turn to online dating sites to jump-start area love affairs. Hear from students who’ve successfully naviagted the ins and outs of first dates... outside Sharples. PAGE 11
Harshil draws attention to a fundamentally flawed education system in one of the world’s fastest growing economies, arguing that an uneducated population cannot sustain India’s potential. PAGE 14
The Garnet men’s and women’s cross country teams, each having run in two meets, have set their sights on qualifying for the 2012 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship. PAGE 19
PAGE 2
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix MARCUS MELLO, Editor in Chief MENGHAN JIN, Managing Editor
The News Section KOBY LEVIN, Editor AMANDA EPSTEIN, Assistant Editor News Writers SARAH COE-ODESS ANNA GONZALEZ CHARLES HEPPER
NEHMAT KAUR CHI ZHANG PATRICK HAN
The Living & Arts Section STEVEN HAZEL, Editor ALLI SHULTES, Assistant Editor GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE, Columnist AKURE IMES, Columnist DEBORAH KRIEGER, Columnist BRAD LENOX, Columnist KIERAN REICHERT, Columnist LANIE SCHLESSINGER, Columnist ELIZABETH KRAMER, Artist RENU NADKARNI, Artist PRESTON COOPER, Puzzlemaster
The Opinions Section
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The Sports Section
JEANNETTE LEOPOLD ZOE WRAY
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Men’s Soccer Enters National Rankings, PAGE 18 (Photo by Akshaj Kuchibhotla)
NEWS Paces: A New Café
After several transformations to the space, staff, and menu, Paces Café will be reopening its doors to students on September 30. PAGE 3
Remembering Dennis Archey
Associate Director of Annual giving Dennis Archey passed away on Sunday. He was an organizer of the Phone-a-thon and a loved member of Swarthmore’s campus as well. PAGE 4
ENLACE kicks off Latin@ Heritage Month ENLACE will host a variety of events this month to celebrate Latinos’ heritage and history in the United States. PAGE 5
LIVING & ARTS Music Munchies: The Evolution of HipHop
Columnist Akure Imes traces Hip-Hop from its roots and comments on the loss of power inherent in its evolution. PAGE 8
I on the Arts: Nightwish at the Electric Factory
Columnist Deborah Krieger details a trip outside the bubble to see one of her favorite groups perform live at the Electric Factory. PAGE 8
Center in Philadelphia. Kieran Reichert reflects and reviews. PAGE 9
Ra Ra Riot Fills House at Bryn Mawr
Didn’t make it through the doors last Saturday night? Not to worry—Axel Kodat recaps the performance. PAGE 9
Hot Diggity Dog: Computer Science Professor Ameet Soni and Oberon
Meet Oberon, a Jack Russell Terrier - Pug mix with a heart-melting smile and a penchant for peanut butter. PAGE 10
Why the 2012 Pulitzer Committee Got it Wrong
Bibbliobabble reviews the three works that were not chosen for the Pulitzer Prize this year, and concludes with her own recommendation of which of these outstanding novels is most worth your leisure hours. PAGE 13
Compendium Boutique Offers Top Designers and Local Products
Smart Swat Shopping’s Gabriela Campoverde gives this Chester Road clothing co-op 4 out of 5 stars for its chic interior, U.S.-made products and unique steals. PAGE 13
OPINIONS Fed Actions More Politics Than Policy
Preston Cooper’s Op-Ed argues that a third round of “quantitative easing,” the process by which the Federal The group drew on pieces from various albums during Reserve buys Treasury bonds with printed money, will an outdoor performance last Sunday night at the Mann undermine our long-term economic stability. PAGE 13
Review: Bon Iver at the Mann Center
On “The Innocence of Muslims”: Free Speech Covers the Unpalatable
Aaron argues that the violence in the Middle East doesn’t merit the censorship of the video blamed for touching off the uprisings. PAGE 13
America’s Middle East Problem
Tyler reprimands President Obama for a tepid response to the raid on the American embassy in Libya, saying he fails to address the wider problems in the region. PAGE 14
SPORTS Field Hockey Falters After Promising Start
The Garnet hit a rough patch after winning their first five games, dropping the first two games of the Centennial Conference schedule. PAGE 18
Men’s Soccer Enters National Rankings
The men’s perfect start to the season, including an upset of the #5 team in the country, sends them charging up the national polls. PAGE 18
Andy Murray: Tennis God
Jamie Ivey explains how Britain is reliving its glory days behind the strong play of Andy Murray at the US Open in tennis. PAGE 19
Women’s Soccer Clinches Conference Opener
Swarthmore is riding high after recording shutout victories in its last two matches. PAGE 20
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
News
PAGE 3
The Phoenix
Paces: A New Café
Student-Run Café To Open Its Doors on September 30 By NEHMAT KAUR News Writer
Since September of last year, Paces Café has been in a state of transformation, edging towards becoming an improved and more welcoming version of the café that has been around as long as anyone cares to remember. The process began with a repainting of the walls in bright shades of orange and blue to give the space a more vibrant feel, and it continued with a cleaning schedule to improve the grimy, sticky floor that has long characterized Paces. When the café opens its doors on September 30, students will see that this process of reinvention has progressed to bigger and bolder changes like expanding the menu to include new dishes, implementing a take-out and delivery system, and using Paces’ walls as a space to display student art and its floor as a stage for musically inclined students. Last year, Student Activities Coordinator Paury Flowers tried to divide the single post of café Director amongst four people. The rationale behind this move was that it was a job that required four people’s effort and time. While the change was not entirely unsuccessful, it left enough to be desired to encourage an administrative change to return to how things were run. “Last year was a mild disaster because there was confusion over who was in charge of what and there was a lack of hierarchy since we were all equally responsible. There was no accountability and many things got put off for too long,” said Mallory Pitser ’14, this year’s head director of Paces. One exRAISA REYES/PHOENIX STAFF ample of this is the mural that was supposed This past Sunday, Sarah Kim adorned a wall at the front of Paces Cafe with a mural, complete with a space for presenting the menu of the night. to be completed last semester but was postdays that Paces is open. get to know one band much better than they a skill-sharing session with the Knitwits and poned to this semester. For those who would still like to eat their would have in an open mic situation.” other student groups. Pitser considers her role to be one of This exhaustive and daunting list of When asked why Paces has chosen to “passing down the logistical knowledge meals inside Paces, there will be noticeable of running this café.” In addition to Pit- changes in the atmosphere and the billing changes concludes with the idea of “take- implement all these changes at once rather overs.” Pitser enthusiastically spoke about than a gradual process of phasing them in, ser, assistant director Treasure Tinsley ’15 system used by the café. Students will now be expected to order reading an article in a 10-year-old issue of Pitser seemed determined to see the changes is another driving force behind the café’s changes. The café’s management team also and pay up front at the counter when they The Daily Gazette about how Earthlust took through in one go and avoid the delays and includes Tayler Tucker ’13, who serves in the enter. This change is expected to quicken over the functioning of Paces for an event hassles that she experienced last year as one the infamously slow Paces service as wait- and last semester’s successful Cuban and of the four directors. newly created post of events coordinator. As Paces gets ready to hire for the semes“We want to diversify the groups of stu- ers will now be able to relay orders to the Middle Eastern Nights which included mudents who come in here,” Pitser said. “It kitchen quicker than in the past. Pitser add- sic, decor and a special menu. Paces is cur- ter, finish its mural and prepare for all the should be an open space for everybody to ed that paying up front is also expected to rently in the process of reaching out to vari- changes that it is aiming for, one can only enjoy and we’re trying to work on that by raise Paces’ revenue since the lack of receipts ous groups. So far, students going to Paces hope that most if not all of them prove to be trying to advertise more, which has always and a vague billing system has cost it a lot of can expect to enjoy a debate between the successful. Lauren Kim is a copy editor for The Phoebeen one of our weak points.” Advertising, money in the past since people would forget Republicans and Democrats, performances reaching out to other student groups and to pay or their orders would be hard to track by various acapella groups, a joint show by nix. She had no role in the production of this Boy Meets Tractor and Vertigo-go and even article. putting plans for the new Paces into motion down later. Pitser considers Paces to be a collaboraare what Pitser considers the events coorditive space, different from any other space on nator’s responsibilities. At the front of the room, the brightly campus in that it is run by students for stupainted walls will be accompanied by an ex- dents. “Our overarching focus is to showcase pansive yet affordable menu that ventures student talent and creativity whether it be in far beyond everyone’s favorite quesadillas cooking or painting or music,” she said. Starting this semester, Paces will give and nachos. The aim behind the new menu, says Pitser, is “to make sure that what you students a chance to display their work on the café’s walls for get at Paces, you the duration of a can’t get anywhere else.” The We want to diversify the groups week. “This will By KOBY Levin help non-art stuadditions to the News Writer of students who come in here ... dents have a venmenu will include for their work. spicy sweet potato It should be an open space for ue Dennis Archey, an Associate Director of Annual Giving, passed away on They’re welcome fries and a sandSunday. He was 60. Mr. Archey stressed the importance of students on camto bring in just wich, named the everybody to enjoy and we’re two pieces they’re pus, developing relationships with them alongside the alumni who were the Swiss Belle, contrying to work on that. proud of or an center of his professional life. His stewardship of the Phone-a-thon fundraissisting of portoentire collection ing drive put him in contact with many students who, like his colleagues, rebello mushrooms Mallory Pitser ’14 that they want and swiss cheese. member him for his vivacious personality, companionability and mentorship. Head Director, Paces Café displayed,” Pitser There will also be “Dennis was an adult on campus who truly cared how students were dosaid. The opening ice cream sanding,” said Lisa Sendrow ’13, who met Archey through the Phone-a-thon. She week’s exhibit will wiches made from recalled one particular fundraising drive for alumni on the west coast: “We all freshly baked cookies and an array of freshly feature Sarah Kim ’13. came in our pajamas and called alumni who we usually couldn’t reach because Last year’s system of open mic nights will baked bread as Pitser and Tinsley eagerly of the time difference,” she said. “First we went to Essie Mae’s and had breakalso see changes this semester. Pitser said, bring in Chris Magnano ’14 to be a baker at fast food together, which was a lot of fun, and then we went to the basement “Open mic nights will now be on Saturday the café. of Parrish to call alums.” and Sunday nights and we’ll shift to a differA common complaint about Paces is Archey’s co-workers also noted the respect and interest he harbored for its size. “Paces is very small and should be ent type of musical act during café hours.” his fellow Swarthmoreans. “His commitment to the College was exemplified The café directors are envisioning a system made bigger so that it can accommodate in the strong relationships he forged throughout the Swarthmore commuwhere an individual or group will be able to themed parties, because as it is when there nity, especially with students,” said Danielle Shepherd, Director of Annual are themed parties too many people come perform at Paces from anywhere between 30 and Family Giving. and it is too crowded,” Lauren Kim ’13 said. minutes to two hours. Among the people that have expressed Sharples appears to have been the locus of Archey’s interactions with the Pitser has been aware of this problem campus community. and is ready to try out a solution this se- interest in performing is an improv pia“My favorite memories of him are mostly from lunches at Sharples,” said mester. “We’ve decided that we’re adding nist, a student with a traditional set list and delivery and takeout to Paces. A lot of times a student who wants to organise jam sesKara McDonald, Associate Director of Annual Giving. “Walking down the there isn’t enough seating inside or people sions for his jazz band inside Paces every hill from Parrish with him felt like walking with a celebrity — everyone knew from ML and PPR find it inaccessible late at week. “We’re aiming for a flexible system,” him and we couldn’t walk more than a few feet without him shouting out a night,” she said. As of this semester, Paces Pitser said. “This model works for the café greeting or stopping to chat.” will be hiring one or two students for deliv- because it doesn’t have to continually book ery who will work from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. on for every week and it also allows students to
Dennis Archey, 60, Dies
Students, Co-Workers Offer Remembrance
News
PAGE 4
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Van Certification Process Updated By SARAH COE-ODESS News Writer
COURTESY OF AMHERSTSTUDENT.EDU
COURTESY OF ADMISSIONS.VASSAR.EDU
From top left to bottom, clockwise, Amherst, Vassar and Sarah Lawrence Dining Halls.
This summer, the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Environmental Health and Safety conducted an evaluation of the van certification process. With hopes to make the process more efficient and effective, Public Safety met with a college insurance representative, who helped create a new, four-step van certification process. As Director of Public Safety Michael Hill explained, in order to take the first step to be van certified, a college department, organization, or club, such as the Lang Center for Civic Responsibility, Department of Educational Studies, or Chester Fellows, needs to sponsor the individual. “The leadership from the respective group will provide Public Safety with a list of names of the individuals who will be driving for the group,” Hill said. “Those individuals will contact Public Safety and be given a link for an on-line driver’s test.” Once the prospective van drivers take this test, the next step is to contact Public Safety to fill out the required paperwork needed for a driver’s motor vehicle report.
Upon receiving an acceptable motor vehicle report, the individual will set up an appointment for a practical road test. Someone on Public Safety’s shuttle staff, all of whom are certified instructors, will conduct the road test. As the final step in the van certification process, completion of the road test and its preceding steps will needed before being granted permission to operate a college vehicle. Not only do new van drivers have to go through this process, but already-certified van drivers from previous years will also have to go through an abbreviated process. “They will conditionally be able to drive once they have completed the on-line test,” Hill explained of the certified drivers from past year. “If their driver record review is flagged, they will be contacted. Van road test will be scheduled at a time to be determined in the near future. However, the other two steps in the process must be completed in order for your name to be added to the list of authorized van drivers.” According to Hill, this is the standard process from now on for anyone who plans to operate a college owned, rented, or leased vehicle.
COURTESY OF SLC.EDU
Comparing Collegiate Meal Plans Swarthmore, Vassar, Sarah Lawrence and Amherst ... Which Students Eat Best? By AMANDA EPSTIEN Assistant News Editor
Apparently, not every liberal arts college student dines like Swatties do at Sharples. Vassar and Sarah Lawrence College have varying meal plans, menus, and facilities, despite their similar demographics and geographic locations. Vassar is located in Poughkeepsie, New York. Although it serves 2,300 undergraduate students, it has only one dining hall, called the ACDC, or the All College Dining Center. The Retreat is the closest thing to Swarthmore’s Essie Mae’s — hamburgers, salad bar, soups, muffins, and doughnuts are served almost all day. The UPC Cafe, open from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m., is a late-night version of the Kohlberg and Science Center coffee bars, and The Kiosk serves the same purpose during the day. On weekdays the school serves bagged lunches (on meal equivalencies), but unlike at Swarthmore, Vassar has a coffee bar in the library. The Poughkeepsie college’s four different meal plans are all set up with a particularly strong focus on points. The “Plus” meal plan, which is “recommended for students with big appetites” grants students 226 meals and 494.50 “dining bucks” per semester. This averages out to 15 meals and 33 dining bucks a week and costs $3,045 per semester. The “Minimum” meal plan, which is “recommended for the lighter eater and students who eat more than a third of their meals on their own” (or outside the college’s system), has 165 meals and 259 dining bucks per semester, which comes out to a weekly usage of approximately 11.7 meals and 22 dining bucks. It costs $2,370 a semester. These, and the two other meal plans in between, all come with 25 guest meals per semester to be used in the ACDC. The main difference here is that Vas-
sar’s meal plans all have a set amount of meals per semester, rather than per week. This way, students do not lose meals when they dine out or leave for a weekend. While the meals do not roll over from semester to semester, unused points do roll over from fall to spring (but not spring to fall). According to Executive Assistant for Facilities and Services at Swarthmore Paula Dale, “Meal plan points cannot roll over from fall to spring [at Swarthmore] because the current calculation of meal plan points, like the meal plan itself, is based on one semester’s use.” The fact that many students leave or come in mid-year before or after going abroad makes it hard for points to carry over from semester to semester. Swarthmore’s meal plans are all $40 more expensive than Vassar’s “Plus” meal plan (the most expensive of the four), which makes it apparent that Swatties get less bang for their buck. The 14-meal plan, which is the most comparable to the “Plus” plan, gets one fewer meal a week (on average) and 324.50 points fewer per semester to spend at the snack and coffee bars. Because they carry over from one semester to the next, Vassar students also have fewer chances of losing their points. Vassar students, like many Swatties, are not crazy about the food on campus, though. “The food is decent,” said Vassar student Teddy Fenster ’16. “There are lots of options so that’s fine ... [But] everything there [at the main dining hall] is pretty bland.” According to Fenster, however, the Retreat has basic, but fresh and delicious options. He is on the “Standard” meal plan, which has an average of 11.7 meals and 22 dining bucks a week. Sarah Lawrence College, in Bronxville, New York, has a total of approximately 1,400 students and one dining
hall (Bates Common Dining, or BCD). Hill 2Go “offers quick-pick salads and sandwiches, prepared take-out/reheat meals, and cooking ingredients,” working as a kind of grocery store. The Pub sells short-order food items, and the Atrium Café offers espresso, salads, sandwiches and sweets (much like Swarthmore’s coffee bars do). Sarah Lawrence offers five different meal plans. The first includes every meal offered and the second two meals a day. The other three plans offer different combinations of weekly meals and points – ten, seven, and one meal a week, combined with 275, 150 and 375 points per semester, respectively. The plan with one weekly meal is usually for students who live in housing with full kitchens and who want to cook for themselves. Although the first two meal plans do not offer points, all of the facilities on campus take meal equivalencies as payment. And while there is nothing too different about the way in which SLC’s meal plan works, the most expensive meal plan is almost $600 cheaper than Swarthmore’s. In essence, for 600 fewer dollars per semester, students can eat up to 21 meals a week. If students are not interested in eating that many meals, plans are even cheaper. Sarah Lawrence dining is well-liked among many of its students. “The dining hall provides a variety of options, a salad bar, pizza, international dishes, burgers, a vegetarian main dish and a meat main, which are all available every day,” said SLC student Zeneva Schindler ‘13. “For the most part, the quality of the food and cooking is great, especially for a dining hall.” Schindler is on the plan with 10 weekly meals. She uses her (275) points to buy “cheaper items like coffee” when she does not want to spend an entire meal, but sometimes she just uses her points to get into the dining hall.
Amherst College, in Amherst, Massachusetts, has a total of approximately 1,700 undergraduate students and one dining hall (Valentine Hall). Frost Cafe and Schwemm’s Coffee House are coffee bars, open on some days until two in the morning, and others until 10 and 12 respectively. Only two meal plan options are offered at Amherst. Under the “Full Meal Plan,” students have unlimited access to the dining hall all week during breakfast, lunch and dinner hours. Under the “Lunch & Dinner Meal Plan,” students have unlimited access to the dining hall only during lunch and dinner hours (hence the name of the plan) and are given $100 in “bonus bucks,” or points. Two guest passes are allowed on both meal plans. Amherst has the closest meal plan option to Swarthmore in this sense. Although students can swipe an unlimited amount of times during breakfast, lunch or dinner hours, the plans compare nicely to the 20 and 14 meal plans. All Amherst is missing is a plan similar to Swarthmore’s 17 meal plan. Reviews about dining at Amherst are mixed. College Prowler, a website for and by college students, outlines almost all universities in the country – it gives school descriptions ranging from academics to housing to dining to night life (and even gives girls and guys grades in terms of attractiveness). Although Amherst dining received a B (Swarthmore’s is a C ... ouch), students’ reviews complain that the one and only dining hall is not only bland but lacks variety. While many agree that students “will survive,” most of them are not happy about the food and recommend getting the plan with the most amount of points. Swarthmore recently implemented changes to the meal plan, adding 20 points and three guest meal passes to every student’s plan.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
News
PAGE 5
The Phoenix
‘Let’s Make Some Noize’, continued from page 1 other that lasted for years,” Foster said. Both the mentoring program and media aspect grew increasingly successful throughout Symonds’ time at Swarthmore. “Over the course of time, a handful of Chester students really stuck with it. We went through many different iterations and radio shows,” Symonds said. “For a couple of years we were the most popular community radio program in Chester, run by Chester students entirely, and we became the go-to free studio space for local musicians in Chester.” The college’s resources, along with the collaborative chemistry between students in the program, resulted in a music group, The Noize, and a mixtape, House of Cool, recorded and produced entirely in the Swarthmore studio. “We just disregarded the fact that we’re from two different parts of PA, you know?” Foster said. “We just vibed with each other and made great music. We’re focusing now on having our own show, and Swarthmore people opened the door for us to have that.” Symonds believes The Noize’s simple main principle will guide the program’s growth. “It’s not rocket science to put youths together of different ages and tell them to make music, to create the kinds of relationships and spaces for people to talk about not only the music but whatever else is going on in their lives,” he said. “It can be hard to create spaces of comfort for people, but music is a social lubricant and a good start to having people relax and share their stories. We try as hard as possible to make it an open space for all students.” With 29 sign-ups at the activities fair, a strong leadership core, and a wealth of nearby Chester students, The Noize seems bound to expand, continue to foster closer relations between the college and Chester High, and result in further collaborations like the House of Cool mixtape. Tune into WSRN this Saturday for the first show.
ENLACE kicks off Latino Heritage Month By PATRICK HAN News Writer
Most Americans today are familiar with Black History Month. Many know March as Women’s History Month. But have you ever heard of Hispanic Heritage Month? The Latin@ student organization ENLACE is hosting a variety of events this month in celebration of Latin@ heritage and commemoration of its rich history in the United States. Latin@ Heritage Month hit the ground running with a lecture on Wednesday in the Science Center by Professor Frances Aparicio entitled “Embodying Latinidad: Intralatino/a Subjects in Chicago.” Professor of both Spanish and Portuguese and the director of the Latino/a Studies Program at Northwestern University, she discussed issues surrounding Latino/ as with multiple Latin American identities in the U.S. She focused particularly on how one identity usually becomes more dominant than the other, as well as this Latin American group’s need for documentation and acknowledgement within the field of Latino
SADIE RITTMAN/PHOENIX STAFF
Professor Francis Aparicio, Professor of Spanish and Portuguese and Director of the Latina and Latino Studies Program at Northwestern University, kicked off Latin@ Heritage Month with a lecture on Wednesday.
Studies. In calling this month Latino Heritage Month, ENLACE registers its dissent from the U.S. Federal Government, which uses Hispanic Heritage Month. “Enlace calls it Latino Heritage Month because not all people identify as Hispanic,” said group member Dilcia Mercedes ’15. “Latino Heritage Month tries to represent the diversity within the Latino community.” The US Federal Government explains on its website that National Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated September 15 through October 15, “provides an opportunity to focus national attention upon the contributions of the Hispanic community to American society.” Additionally, it seeks to honor five of our Central American neighbors who declared independence on September 15, 1821, as well as Mexico, Chile, and Belize, who also celebrate their independence in September. The celebration was first enacted into law in 1988 by President Lyndon B. Johnson as “Hispanic Heritage Week” and was gradually expanded into a 30-day period by President Ronald Reagan. ENLACE’s firsthand experience with the diversity of the Latino community is reflected in the variety of events they have planned. “We take the input of our club members and try to include a little piece of everyone’s culture in the mix by planning events with themes and stories they can relate to, by bringing speakers that represent them and their communities,” said Mercedes. The next event will be “Mosquita y Mari”, which will take place in the LPAC Cinema on Friday and Saturday nights at 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. The film follows the coming-of-age of two queer Chicana high school girls and the way their relationship unfolds over time. The director, Aurora Guerrero, has also agreed to have dinner with a group of Swarthmore students on Friday from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Big IC Room to discuss both activism and film-making in the context of the Latino community. Based in Los Angeles, Ms. Guerrero describes herself as an activist first and a director second. Though students hoping to attend had to RSVP by Tuesday, Guerrero will also be available for questions during a talkback session following the 7p.m. screening of the film on Friday. Students can also look forward to the upcoming Fiesta del Barrio, a Latino block party, which will feature performances by salsa dancers, the Mariachi band, and spoken word artists. ENLACE aims to make Latino Heritage Month’s a welcoming and engaging experience even for those who do not identify as Latin@. Its stated mission is to educate the public about the contributions of Hispanic Americans to American society. Club officer Evelyn Fraga ’13 echoed this theme in a recent ENLACE newsletter, noting that “All of these events are free and open.”
SADIE RITTMAN/PHOENIX STAFF
Packing Sci199, students, faculty and staff gathered on Wednesday afternoon to listen to Professor Aparicio discuss intralatinas —Latin@s who are of two or more Latin American national heritages in the United States.
Living & Arts
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Inside A Phoenix Editorial Board Meeting
A Glimpse Into the Rarified World of the Phoenix Office In retrospect, the first clue that the meeting would not be an ordinary one came several hours before it began, in an e-mail from Editor-in-Chief MarSTEVEN cus Mello ’13. “You guys, we should really drink toHAZEL gether some time,” wrote The Squashed Tomato Mello. “I really think it would be a great bonding experience — maybe we could go to Pub Nite after the meeting?” The subject was quickly forgotten, and by 8 p.m., the office was filled with the usual complement of layout editors, photographers and writers who aren’t quite sure what their job is but are pretty sure that this isn’t the Daily Gazette office. A few minutes later, the doors burst open, and Mello catapulted into the room, a rosy smile on his face and a handle of Jose Cuervo clutched in his arms. “We’re
making some big changes around here,” said Mello, as he sat down on Managing Editor Menghan Jin’s ’13 lap. As Jin glared uncomfortably at the floor, the Editor-in-Chief outlined a plan to revamp the weekly newspaper, including a yearly swimsuit issue featuring Phoenix staff, a secret investigation into Rebecca Chopp’s love life and a fallback plan to outsource all writing to the New York Times. Around 9 p.m., events took a turn for the worse when Mello proposed a drinking game in which editors took a shot for each grammatical mistake in their section. Pride seems to have come before the fall. Dozens of comma splices and misused semicolons spelled certain hangover on Friday morning. Soon afterwards, Living & Arts Assistant Editor Alli Shultes ’15 was seen standing atop the conference table extolling the virtues of a columnist whom she described as “possibly the greatest living writer of our generation,” further declaring that “he’s not a writer, he’s an artist.” “Do you know if he’s single?” added a visibly intoxicated Shultes. The theme of awkward power dynamics reached its peak for the evening
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when Opinions Editor Preston Cooper ’15 proposed a game that creatively combined strip poker and his love of crossword puzzles, the full details of which cannot be printed here. As the situation continued to deteriorate, Mello donned a newspaper hat hastily folded from a century-old framed copy of the Phoenix’s inaugural issue. “The Daily Gazette has stolen one story too many,” declared an exuberant Mello. “I hereby declare war!” “May your columnists always fail to meet deadlines,” shouted Mello as he faced the empty Gazette office. The festive atmosphere of the evening was broken only once, when News Editor Koby Levin ’15 insisted on placing a call to a former writer. Despite the discouragement of his peers, Levin proceeded to leave a 15-minute voicemail in which he described the “pain of writing without you” and mentioned that “[my] heart beats more quickly when I see your name in print.” Meanwhile, Layout Editor Parker Murray ’15 alone remained focused on the task at hand. “Man, am I good at layout, or am I the best,” he mumbled to himself as he spent the next ten minutes staring carefully at the border of a textwrapped illustration. At press time, Shultes and Mello had ordered pizza and had begun to wonder why they had assigned writers to cover such innovative topics as “Sharples Granola Theft” and “Which Professor is hottest?”
.COM CARDSQUARE
MEALS IN ESSIE MAE’S: COMIC BY RENU NADKARNI
New Advice Columnist Seeks Submissions Dear Swatties: I am very excited to be your advice columnist for The Phoenix this year! In my day-to-day life, I have loved helping my co-workers, fellow students, friends and family overcome the many bumps in each of their respective roads. However, what I have struggled with is not being able to advise those who I share very little to no contact with on campus and beyond. As a result, I am thrilled to finally make my wish of helping all of you who I do not know a reality. This will work by you submitting an anecdote to “Nestor” describing a relationship, friendship, family, sex, academic, career or general life issue that you would like advice on. You can submit the anecdote electronically by emailing dearnestor@swarthmorephoenix.com. If you prefer to submit by hand, you can also turn the submission into The Phoenix via campus mail. Let me stress that if you decide to send an email, your comments will be ANONYMOUS. ANONYMOUS!!!! ANONYMOUS!!!! I want to conclude by saying that I do not think of myself as a relationship, friendship, family, sex, academic, career or life advice guru. However, I have experience working with friends, family, students and psychologists dealing with a number of different social issues. Whether these conflicts, dilemmas or inquiries were considered common or uncommon, I have gathered ways that I find work best to tackle the obstacles faced in our day-to-day lives. I want to stress that my advice is subjective, and stemming from my own experience. Oftentimes, there is no “right” way to deal with an issue; there could be multiple ways. I am looking forward to listening to and advising you on issues that you encounter in your life. Best, Nestor
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
Living & Arts
PAGE 7
The Phoenix
Orchestra 2001
Swarthmore’s resident ensemble closes the gap between visual and performing art frequency knob in accordance with the notated score. The result is a piece that is different each time it is performed, although it This Sunday, Orchestra 2001 will begin a is usually cacophonous. Yet experiencing the piece implants ideas performance of works by John Cage by tipping and turning amplified conch shells in about music and sound into the mind of the order to fill Lang Concert Hall with a whirl- listener. It becomes important to ask if any ing, gurgling sound. The piece, Cage’s Inlets, piece, even one with precise musical notamay befuddle audience members, but prob- tion, can ever be performed the same way ably won’t surprise those familiar with Cage’s twice. At the very least, Cage compositions like this one asks the listener where the difwork. Orchestra 2001, Swarthmore’s ensemble ference resides between sound and music. “I hope people come just open to having a in residence, is a group conducted by Professor James Freeman that, in addition to per- musical experience and open to having their forming across the country and abroad, has idea of what music is played with a little bit,” brought the music of 20th and 21st century said Swarthmore Professor Andrew Hauze. composers to Lang Music Hall for almost “I don’t want to discount the idea that a good twenty years. This year, when Cage would Cage concert can be emotional, but in this have turned 100, they’ll present a selection case what I hope they come out with is a new idealized sense of what music can be.” of works by the noted composer. Professor Hauze will perform a selec“It seems like John Cage ought to be celebrated,” Freeman said. “His work opened tion of Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes, one doors for all sorts of people in all sorts of of Cage’s more traditionally pleasant works. Though in Cage’s oeuvre, ways.” that doesn’t mean much. Most famous for his Sonatas and Inter1952 avant-garde comludes are performed position, 4’33”, Cage’s I hope people come with “prepared piano,” work often navigated the just open to having one with a meticulously territory between music and sound or noise. a musical experience altered interior. The first page of the 4’33” boils down to four and open to having musical score lists maminutes and thirty-three their idea of what terials (like screws, seconds of silence. Its score instructs that it music is played with a bolts, pieces of rubber, and pieces of plastic), may be performed by little bit. between which strings number of players on they should be inserted, any combination of inAndrew Hauze and how far back in the struments, as long as Associate in piano they should be their instruments don’t Performance placed. The notes of the make any sound. instrument are thus surThere are many ways prisingly altered. Some to interpret the piece keys produce not notes, for it has much to say, but Cage’s main intention behind the piece but tinny percussion, while others maintain seems to be to question the way that humans their expected tones. But despite this experiment, Sonatas and automatically transform notes into signifiers Interludes remains one of Cage’s most soniof human thought. “When I hear what we call music, it seems cally pleasant compositions. It’s repeated to me that someone is talking, and talking phrases and arpeggios make it seems like a about his feelings or ideas of relationships,” clear forbearer to the minimalist composihe said in 1991. “But when I hear traffic, I tions of late twentieth century composers don’t hear anyone talking. I have the feel- Steve Reich and Philip Glass. “You can’t listen for the small things in ing that sound is acting and I’m completely satisfied with that. I don’t need sound to talk this music,” Hauze said. “It’s much more about ideas evolving over long periods of to me.” “He’s really interested in making really time.” Nevertheless, Orchestra 2001 intends to nice sounds,” Freeman said. “I don’t think anyone goes to a Cage concert to experience present several challenging pieces as well. pleasant sounds. His music really gets into In conversation with Professor Freeman, he spoke fondly of the visceral negative recepyour mind.” Cage’s musical compositions often re- tion Stravinsky’s avant-garde Rites of Spring semble what we would call performance Received when it premiered in Paris. “I’ve always hoped that when people come art. Orchestra 2001 will also be presenting Imaginary Landscapes No. 4, a piece to be to a concert, sometimes they’ll act that way. played by 24 performers on 12 radios. Each Go ahead. Hiss. Boo. I’d rather that than performer turns either the radio’s volume or this,” Freeman said, miming polite clapping. By TAYLOR HODGES Living & Arts Writer
PHOTO COURTESY OF HOLLY SMITH
Orchestra 2001 rehearses for a performance in 2011.
OUTSIDE the BUBBLE Open Air Philadelphia
Conceived by new media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer,the 3D instalToday, September 20 lation project Open Air will literally Benjamin Franklin Parkway light up Philadelphia. In a mixture of audio, social media and light, Open Air connects 24 searchlights to audio messages, creating unique light formations. The public is invited to record 30 seconds of audio (on either the Open Air website or the smart phone app), whether it be reciting a poem, singing a song or dedications, and those with the most votes will trigger the searchlights into random light formations. Open Air will debut today, September 20, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, with a free opening night celebration. From 7:30 to 11 p.m., there will be food trucks, a countdown to the light show and a presentation by the artist. Open Air will run until October 14, lighting up the night sky. For more information, visit www.openairphilly.net
Life in Color
Saturday, September 22 Festival Pier at Penn’s Landing If you like neon paint and electronic music, then the popular DayGlow event, CO now known as Life in UR TE Color, is your ticket. HitSY OF CL ting the Philadelphia stage KE R.C this Saturday, Life In Color OM — the world’s largest paint party — mixes electronica, dance and paint into one huge concert, complete with aerial acts, fire shows and lots of other crazy things. Tickets start at $60, so if you’re really feeling the need for paint, purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.
Shipwreck! Winslow Homer and The Life Line Now — December 16 Perelman Building, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Opening this Saturday, September 22, the Philadelphia Museum of Art presents an exhibition of American artist Winslow Homer’s seminal work “The Life Line” and its representation of the act of rescue. Tracing the artistic tradition of “marine catastrophes,” the exhibit delves into the reoccurrence of the peril at sea within the work of Homer’s and other artists who depict shipwreck and heroism. The exhibit runs until December 16 in the Perelman Building. For ticket information, visit www.philamuseum.org.
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Living & Arts
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Nightwish Leaves Audience Hanging Band Delivers Everything But Encore
Hello Swatties! I On the Arts is back again, reporting for the venerable old Phoenix, this time switching it up with a concert review! For future reference, I am primarily a visual arts lover, but also enjoy reviewing music, books and films. Last Sunday night (rebellious, I know) two other Swatties and I took the SEPTA into Philly to see Nightwish (with Kamelot supporting) in concert at the Electric Factory. For those not in the know, Nightwish, my favorite band (for the past 4 years) hails from Finland and plays a brand of female-fronted symphonic metal/rock. They have released a total of seven albums, the two most recent of which feature Swedish chanteuse Anette Olzon, who replaced their former operatic singer DEBORAH Tarja. Their most reKRIEGER cent album, released in December 2011, I On The Arts is a bombastic conceptual affair called Imaginaerum. I had the fortune to see Nightwish kick off their most recent world tour in Los Angeles last January. I was overjoyed to learn that Nightwish would be playing in Philly when I was in town. I was not familiar with their supporting act Kamelot, a power metal band hailing from Florida, but I was reassured by my compatriot and fellow Phoenix writer Aaron Kroeber ’16 that they would be stellar, strong openers. After the speedy SEPTA trip and a brisk, lively walk through Chinatown to the Electric Factory, Kroeber, Rita Zevallos ’15 and I were bubbling over with anticipation and excitement. Entering the venue, we navigated the growing crowd, craning our necks to get good views of the fortunately wellelevated stage. As the openers, Kamelot proved a
most pleasant surprise. They started promptly and played a tight 45-minute set. The music was dramatic, technical and theatrical. The singer, a Swede named Tommy, sang cleanly and skillfully, with a slightly operatic flair. The sound quality of the instruments was slightly less than stellar, however; the bass through the speakers nearly threatened to drown out the singing, though later on in their six or seven song set the singer was able to combat this problem. I plan to purchase their upcoming album when it drops in a few weeks. After Kamelot took their bows, the crowd’s anticipation and exhilaration, as well as that of my fellow Swatties and myself, grew exponentially. We discussed amongst ourselves our hopes and our predictions for Nightwish’s set list as well as which of the band’s album covers was most aesthetically pleasing. When the lights dimmed and the prerecorded overture began to play, the audience erupted into enthusiastic, overjoyed applause. Nightwish, led by the charming lead vocalist Anette and rascally Viking bassist-vocalist Marco, took the stage and segued right into a catchy track from Imaginaerum. My companions and I sang along to nearly every song, fist-pumping or clapping in time as needed. (I even indulged in a little headbanging!) The concert was well paced, with a similar set list to that of the concert I had seen in Los Angeles. Nightwish demonstrated their ease with a variety of styles of music that all had that classic, emotionally satisfying “Nightwishy” feel to them. Nightwish lyrics tend to be abstract and poetic, dealing with themes of love, beauty, and innocence lost or regained. Beginning with strong, dynamic tracks from their last several albums, including the incredible, furious duet “Planet Hell” from their 2004 album
DEBORAH KRIEGER/THE PHOENIX
Once, the band transitioned almost effortlessly into their experimental jazzy ballad “Slow, Love, Slow” from “Imaginaerum,” a personal favorite of Zevallos’. They then continued with the ballads, creating a sense of intimacy within the venue. During the folksy acoustic sea shanty “The Islander,” from their 2007 album Dark Passion Play, Marco encouraged the audience to hold their brightly lit phones aloft. However, the band soon changed pace again, stirring up the crowd with many more fast-paced, incredibly melodic and enjoyable tracks, a mixture of duets and songs where Anette shined alone. The band played an acoustic rendition of their power ballad “Nemo” (from Once), a truly lovely and sensitive ode to loneliness and self-discovery. A particularly wonderful surprise to me was their inclusion of their 2002 classic “Dead to the World,” which they did not play in their Los Angeles show. They
closed the nearly two-hour set with an anthemic track from “Imaginaerum,” and, smiling, took their bows. Unfortunately for the crowd, the band neglected to give an encore. My fellow Swatties and I, as well as the majority of the crowd, stood in disbelief, chanting for the band to return, but were sadly disappointed by the lack of an encore. It was, in fact, my first concert experience during which the band did not come back after a “fake-out” for a few more songs. In addition, the venue’s sound quality was rather lackluster at the beginning and the bass once again drowned out much of the singer’s vocals. Overall, the concert was a success. My fellow Swatties and I enjoyed seeing one of our favorite bands perform live in such an intimate immediate setting. This is Deborah Krieger’s new column for the Phoenix, “I On the Arts: The College Years,” signing off. Until next time!
Hip-Hoppers Are Losing Sight of Genre Akure Imes Examines the Lost Value of Hip-Hop as a Social Art
Living in the midst of the major music hub Atlanta and growing up on almost every subgenre of Hip-Hop, I have always found it fascinating. The depth and breadth of Hip-Hop, from a sociological standpoint, is enough to compete with the expanse of our world’s ocean. Encompassed within the music are detailed personal stories of sadne mind, struggles with everyday life and everyday people. But don’t mistake HipAKURE Hop for a teary-eyed IMES pity fest -- it quickly and unapologetically Music Munchies flosses adrenaline rushing ‘vices’ that is also a part of life: parties, nightlife, drugs, sex, fast whips and big guns. All parts of life are represented. And since Hip-Hop has now shrouded almost every part of the planet that humans inhabit, it also contains influences from an endless amalgamation of cultures. Hip-Hop arose from the souls of Blacks and Latinos living the Bronx. Classic flicks like Wild Style and Beat Street detail the impetus for the heavily influential expression. They tell of the origins of Hip-Hop: how it came about as a way to confront another person peacefully and to escape turbulent circumstances of living in poverty. People took action to transform their hurt and struggle into something that they could cope with and spend their time on. Art as social change is not always done from a conscious standpoint. Hip-Hop, however, was certainly art for not only entertainment, but for uplifting people and changing one’s mindset. Many Hip-Hoppers of the era, like De La Soul and Nas, still churn out music today and refer to these unknow-
ingly world-changing events. Hip-Hop music, along with the other three elements (B boying, graffiti, DJing) first identified by Afrika Bambaataa, began as a movement in the Bronx in the early 1970s. Some say Hip-hop changed drastically when record labels began to anticipate the profits to be made and tug artists. Kurtis Blow was the first rapper to be signed to major record label Mercury Records (a subsidiary of Universal Music Group). Under the management of now-business mogul Russell Simmons, Blow was the first rapper to perform overseas and to reach gold with his single “Christmas Rappin’.” The way this bit of history is chronicled sounds harmless, but like always, I have my suspicions. Record executives sit in board meetings, surreptitiously planning the income of record profits ten and twenty years down the line. A similar practice occurred with Race Records in the 1900s. Artists recorded songs and were then forced to go through businessmen who controlled the airwaves in order to reach far-away audiences. Simmons and Blow probably didn’t anticipate what the state of HipHop would look like today. The Hip-Hop songs heard by the general public are often played in strict rotation over airwaves, as the theme songs at sports games, and on commercials. Now-
adays a few people pontificating on a limited variety of topics dominate Hip-Hop: money, material wealth, drug trafficking and women. Quite recently, there has been a shift to bring the stripper to your front door and Two Chainz has made the biggest contribution having released three back to back odes to the stripper. Flaunting of the lifestyle is powerful enough to control the so-called underground too. Record executives simply pluck when they need a new artist; ask Immortal Technique. What scares me is that I see the effects of the music and the way in which certain sub genres are masscommunicated. Mos Def explains the relationship in his song ‘Fear Not of Man’ off of his 1999 album, ‘Black on Both Sides’. He says, “I tell em, “You know what’s gonna happen with Hip-Hop? Whatever’s happening with us. If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out, If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright.” Well there are people back home in their communities trying to find some way to make it. I guess Drake wasn’t just flexing, they really can’t see cause the money is in the way. Many of my male friends are rappers and, with the hope of making it to the big stage, spend large amounts of time writing and going into the studio. When a friend of mine told me he was going into
I can’t help but wonder: if you were conscious of the state of your surroundings, would you really rap about the very things that really bring the community down?
the studio to rap about guns and drugs, I was shocked. While it’s obvious that he would know his topic before going into the studio, his unwavering ownership of his actions to talk about bad things, made me wonder: if you were conscious of the state of your surroundings, would you really participate in the glorification of the very things that have really brought communities down? Things like petty possessions charges that land people in jail for decades, buying things we can’t afford -- cars, clothes and other material goods -- and treating women like objects? I believe artists have responsibility to bring positivity to their communities. But I wonder if the art has been lost so much that it’s true inspirational power is being muffled by redundant choruses and beats so intricate that they function as the backbone of the song. To gain a more direct understanding of how Hip-hop artists feel, I decided to seek out expert opinions from The Noize, a visionary Hip-hop group here on campus seeking to reunite all elements of Hip-hop. Members in the group hail from various cities in America including New York City, Chester, Chicago, Swarthmore and Minneapolis. One Swattie in the group was right with me, “The responsibility of the artist is to the community of the artist, to say something that’s real and express it as beautifully as they can like W.E.B. du Bois says,” said Julian Randall ‘15. The cohesiveness of the group was very evident along with the fact that not once have any of them mentioned money. It stood as a testament to their dedication to the craft and to the music. I just wish we had more artists at the forefront like The Noize who strive to have a positive impact.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
Living & Arts
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The Phoenix
A Wintery Evening at the Mann: Bon Iver Live By KIERAN REICHERT Living & Arts Writer
“I’m up in the woods, I’m down on my mind” were the first words Justin Vernon, lead singer and founder of Bon Iver, uttered on a cool Sunday night at the Mann Center in Philadelphia. These words are not found on For Emma, Forever Ago — the almost mythical début Vernon recorded during one “good winter” in a cabin in Wisconsin — nor on last year’s Bon Iver — the album that marked a new direction away from the one forlorn man and guitar formula, a direction vindicated by his twin Best New Artist/Album Grammys. “Woods” is on the intermediate effort, 2008’s Blood Bank EP. The choice to open with this song was a clear statement of his artistry. It has the same hook that Vernon contributed to Kanye West’s “Lost in the World,” and caused controversy upon its release for its liberal use of auto-tuned vocals. As the electronically-steeped croon made its way around the Mann Center, Vernon’s confidence charged the air. The last time I saw Bon Iver live, back in 2008 at the Trocadero, things were a bit different. First of all, there were only three people on stage — one drummer and two other guys who played everything else. All three of them looked as though they had fallen asleep in 1992 and had woken up minutes before the show: beards scruffy and ill-trimmed, t-shirts loose and mangy, and each with their own wooly jauntily resting on their unkempt hair. Seconds later, however, any prejudice was dispelled at the first sounds emanating from the large and bashful member of the band. They were the acutely personal and emotional meditations on loss that permeate For Emma, and they have been present on my Recently Played playlist since that night. On Sunday at the Mann, after Vernon finished “Woods,” stage lights revealed a band of multiple percussionists, saxophonists, a trumpeter, and mu lt i-inst r umentalists like Vernon. Their stage was meticulously set, with shredded burlap curtains hanging down in irregular swaths and a curiously m o u nt a i n o u s candle arrangement framing the band. COURTESY OF THESWOLLENFOX.COM V e r n o n Bon Iver serenaded an appreciative audience last Sunday at the then led the Mann Center. band through “Perth,” “Minnesota, WI,” and “Towers” off his most recent LP. A few of the standouts, for me, were the songs he chose to play from For Emma and Blood Bank. After the opening four songs, each one quite boisterous and much louder than the older Bon Iver sound, Vernon moved on to “Flume.” As the opener to For Emma, “Flume” has held a special place in my heart for the past four years: as relationships swelled and crumbled in my life, I could always find a way to apply the lines “Only love is all maroon” and “Sky is womb and she’s the moon,” both intensely evocative yet vague, to a current yearning, past heartbreak or all future loves at the same time. Though his rendition on Sunday was louder than the cherished album version, it proved to me that he can still find the intimacy that burst into expression in a Michigan cabin years ago. Not only can he locate it, but he has found a way to convey it to his ever-growing audience and inside giant arenas like the Mann. This intimacy, which his wounded falsetto carries in each breath and is and has been Bon Iver’s signature since their conception, was at work on the loudest and quietest songs of the evening. Their rollicking “Blood Bank” was a highlight, and culminated with a lengthy guitar solo in which Vernon soared to heights reminiscent of Neil Young’s “Like a Hurricane.” This is a new band, his guitar proclaimed, a band that can achieve intimacy with any of the instruments on the stage: guitar, saxophone, keyboard, trumpet, and, of course, Vernon’s aching voice. As the sight of my own breath in the air reminds me tonight, winter is coming, and with it comes another season of Bon Iver.
This is a new band, his guitar proclaimed, a band that can achieve intimacy with any of the instruments on the stage.
Ra Ra Riot Fails to Inspire
Predictable performance not worth the hype By AXEL KODAT Living & Arts Writer
Last Saturday night, indie-pop band Ra Ra Riot, known for bouncy songs like “Dying is Fine” — a string-infused anthem with E. E. Cummingsderived lyrics, precisely calibrated to drive angsty fledgling indie-kids/amateur-poets to manic frenzy — performed at Bryn Mawr’s Rhoads Dining Hall. Philadelphia band The Hundred Acre Woods opened. Before doors opened at 9 p.m. a small line had formed in the lobby to the hall, which quickly reached capacity. The capacity issues for the second-floor area seemed reminiscent of the complications related to Upper Tarble during Childish Gambino’s LSE performance last year, as the number of attendees was capped despite considerable floor space in the back. A long line of students was denied entry or forced to wait for others to leave to get into the concert. Those made to stand in line outside may have been fortunate to miss the genre-confused and consistently mediocre country-twang-punkboy-band mess performed by The Hundred Acre Woods. The songs ranged from completely uninteresting to obnoxiously self-serious to cloyingly poppy. One song was entitled — you can’t make this stuff up — “Mississippi You.” The set was essentially one long, incoherent display of musical self-pleasuring. The final song instantly reached grand new heights of pseudo-intellectual self-copulation when the lead singer offered his introduction: “Who here likes reading? Does anyone here like Henry David Thoreau? This is a song about Henry David Thoreau.” Good thing he clarified exactly which Thoreau he was talking about, because otherwise the “rousing” chorus would have been awfully confusing, as the band yelled “Henry David Thoreau!” over thudding punk power chords. And in case you didn’t catch it, they repeated themselves (quite) a few more times. Any and all broader musical problems were aggravated by the hall’s acoustics, which were, to put it mildly, horrifically bad. The stage stood immediately in front of a set of windows that ran from floor to ceiling, with an identical structure on the opposite wall. The ceiling was high and arching. The giant mixing board in the back, with scurrying technicians struggling away, seemed largely ineffective at picking any specific sounds out of the reverberating mud. Guitar clang and bass instantly blended into an indefinite mass of sound.
COURTESY OF SAM GUTIERREZ
Ra Ra Riot’s violinist added to the band’s unique sound.
These issues, of course, didn’t go away when Ra Ra Riot took the stage, and certain bizarre requests by the band (“More snare!” was one, when the snare already rang out like a disruptive reverb-soaked gunshot every time it sounded) only made it worse. Individual instrumental lines, particularly in more midrange instruments like the violin and electric cello, were utterly lost to the ceiling. Wes Miles’ vaguely Morrissey-like vocals were generally impossible to hear. The acoustical problems only emphasized the general sameness of Ra Ra Riot’s sound. Thankfully, rhythm, alone among most other musical elements, penetrated the fog, and Ra Ra Riot’s set was danceable and pleasant. It was also an undeniable improvement over the opener, which is, I guess, one probably less desirable way an opener can do their job of setting up the main act. In short, while Ra Ra Riot may be markedly more well-known than acts Swarthmore gets on any semi-regular basis, they delivered an occasionally fun but mostly bland and predictable set (Olde Club’s show on Friday, for instance, featuring Color War and Helado Negro, was, while not mind-blowing, more reliably interesting than anything at Saturday’s concert). The openers offered a perhaps more engaging alternative: grating but occasionally entertaining badness. Issues with the space, potentially unresolvable for future shows, distracted and majorly detracted from the concert. Dinner in a Bryn Mawr cafeteria provided a more rapturous experience. Christopher Fortunado ‘14 contributed reporting.
COURTESY OF CHRISTOPHER FORTUNADO
Ra Ra Riot sets up before opening their set.
PAGE 10
Living & Arts
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Hot Diggity Dog: Ameet Soni and Oberon
Meet Ameet Soni, Computer Science professor, and his year-old Pug and Jack Russel Terrier pup, Oberon
GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE/PHOENIX STAFF
‘Nude Models Bare All’, continued from page 1 indispensable resource for this course and the education of visual arts in its entirety. Intuitively, it seems like the imperativeness of live models would lead the Studio Art department to seek out professional models. As it turns out, however, professional models are less reliable than student models; with the competition of downtown Philadelphia universities clamoring for models, it was often smarter for the professional models, who typically lived in Philadelphia, to ignore Swarthmore College in favor of closer institutions. Student models Nicholas Witchey ’15, who plans to major in Art History, and Jae-hyun Oh ’15, who intends to major in Psychology and Education, offered their perspectives in two separate interviews on the course and their choice to model. Q: So why did you decide that you wanted to model? Nicholas: The week before I got back to campus, I was talking to my parents and they said, “Nick, you should get an on-campus job this semester,” and so I got to campus and we all got the email with the application for nude modeling and I thought, “Well if I’m going to get an oncampus job, why not get paid to lay around naked? That wasn’t all the thought that was going through my head. But another big reason was that I actually feel very insecure about my own body, and I thought that doing that, the modeling for an art class, would possibly be a really good experience for me, just throwing myself in the deep end and putting myself out there and having a class of students look at my body. Jae-hyun: Most if not all of the extracurricular activities that I do are somehow connected to either psychology or education, and so as much as I love them, I feel like I needed a different perspective of looking at things because I acquired such a frame of mind from those disciplines that anything I look at, I think about them. So I thought I needed some kind of change and then I saw the [modeling] ad and I thought it was fascinating. Q: Did you have any prior modeling experience? Nicholas: No. Jae-hyun: I had some experiences back in Korea but not in here [the United States]. I am a novel writer, and I myself illustrate and design my novels through an internship at the official publishing company, and I use myself as a model to illustrate. I mostly ask other people to take pictures of me. They can be professional or amateur photo-takers, it just kind of depends. Q: How do you think the student modeling for Swarthmore is going to be different from what you did before? Jae-hyun: In South Korea, there is this notion about nudity that is different from expected, because you would think that since South Korea is kind of a rigid, Asian,
Confucianist society nobody will even want to discuss it. But actually, we are much more comfortable than Americans that I’ve seen about going to the public bathrooms together and stripping their clothes off when the samegender people watch. Hundreds of women would get naked together and it’s not awkward at all, although we wouldn’t verbally discuss it. So when I came here I felt more awkward having to drape my towels every time I go to the bathroom because that wouldn’t be necessary in Korea. I feel like that gave me recognition of how culture can give a very different perspective about the body and now that I’m in a different culture, I can see how culturally ingrained I was. So I feel like that part of this student modeling experience will make me look at my body and think about how people look at my body differently. Q: Do you think that people in America are more insecure and have more body image issues than people in Korea? Jae-hyun: Maybe I’m biased, but from what I’ve seen so far, American culture generally more often sexualizes the nudity whereas in Korea, it’s just a body that doesn’t have clothes on. Q: Do you think this has to do with the way that advertisements are? Because it seems like fashion advertisements in America aren’t about making people look beautiful, but about making them look sexy. Jae-hyun: I agree that people’s bodies, especially women’s, are sexualized and viewed as objects that are not their own. Q: What was your first modeling session for the class like? Nicholas: The class goes from 8:30 to 11:10 a.m. and I get there at 8:45. I modeled for four sessions, each about half an hour with breaks. I was terrified when I got there the morning of. I borrowed a robe from a friend because I don’t have a robe and I didn’t want to be just walking around nude at the breaks. The way it’s set up is that the art students have all their easels huddled around me and the place for posing is a makeshift table with some drapery on it in the corner of t h e room. So I walked into the modeling area and just
OEN E/PH VERD
OH, OBERON!: During the first few times alone at home, Oberon chewed through cabinets and doors. Nowadays, Oberon loves to chase cats and also loves to be the one being chased. He can run like a bullet, jump on top of rocks three times his height and still has a playful puppy
IX ST AFF
POOR BABY!: While still young, Oberon was rushed to Newton Square to a veterinary hospital at 2 in the morning. The pup suffered from a virus which caused him to get so ill a visit to emergency room was necessary. Thankfully, he made a quick recovery.
A CA MPO
A SMILE WILL MELT YOUR HEART: Besides looking more precious than anything you have ever seen, Oberon loves to curl up on anyone’s lap and give you a loving face lick. If you have yet to meet Oberon, get ready to see his killer smile. He has an
MUNCH ON THIS: If you are planning on becoming this pup’s best friend, do not hesitate to bring him food, but forget about buying Milkbones and Scooby Snacks. Oberon is a healthy eater and among his favorite snack are carrots and peanut butter. Sounds like my kind of treat!
personality. Earlier in the summer, when Oberon visited Swarthmore more frequently, he played fetch with Ameet in the hallway. This playful pup gets walked frequently by a Swattie dogwalker and loves his stay at his doggy day care, Barker’s Lounge.
RIEL
WELCOME TO THE FAMILY: Wanting a dog ever since living in Madison, Wisconsin, Ameet and his family finally got what they needed when they moved to Swarthmore. However, the search for a new loved one took a tad longer than expected. Most shelters had dogs which required around-theclock attention due to illness. However, after some research, he discovered Delaware Puppy Rescue. Oberon was just three months old when Ameet and his wife fell in love with him. He was in the shelter along with his brother and sister. Oberon quickly stole their hearts with his playful character and cuddly personality.
adorable overbite, which, let’s just put it this way, will put a smile on your face.
GAB
By GABRIELA CAMPOVERDE Living & Arts Columnist
dropped my robe which at that point wasn’t really terrifying anymore; I was already naked in front of these students and getting up on the table and staying in the same place. What I thought was going to be the hard part of it was actually the easy part because it’s not as if they’re staring at you and judging your body, I mean, they’re art students and they’re really there for their own edification and you’re just there to help them with them. The actual hard part of it is the physical part; it’s pretty physically demanding to stay in one shape for that long. Q: Being an art historian, what perspective does that give you on your modeling experience? Nicholas: Right now I’m focusing on Ancient Greek and Early Medieval art, and so it’s so interesting to be in a classroom environment that feels very sort of Renaissance-inspired, like “Let’s draw naturalistically, let’s get the human figure,” when that’s sort of different from what I’m studying. And there is this interesting debate in the art history world about the relative merits of classical versus expressive art. So it’s interesting to see what we teach in our art classes, because of course it’s important to understand the human figure in that medium. Picasso was amazing at drawing naturalistically before he moved on to more a b stract art.
ELIZABETH KRAMER/PHOENIX STAFF
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
Living & Arts
PAGE 11
The Phoenix
Plenty of Fish ... Outside the Bubble
Swatties Turn to Online Dating Sites to Find Love
By Alli Shultes The Quaker Matchbox, The Swat Marriage, The Sharples Run-In With Last Night’s Drunken Paces HookUp: for some, these relationships are an enduring facet of campus life, an inevitable consequence of the Swarthmore social scene. What other options are there? We’re hopeless intellectuals stuck somewhere on the upper end of the “nerd” spectrum, and we simply don’t have the time and resources to devote to long-term wooing. We date our dorm mates and Screw dates, screw our club mates and classmates, befriend our hall mates and teammates and often view the shortcomings of these various arrangements as unavoidable byproducts of attending a small liberal arts school. But this sad state of affairs needn’t be the norm. With a bustling metropolis of college singles just six dollars and a half-hour SEPTA ride away, the only question is how to connect with that fellow Franzen-reading, Arabic-speak-
ing piccolo player with a penchant for ’60s films. More and more Swatties are reaching the same solution, as match lists on the popular dating site OKCupid suggest. Online dating at the college level is rapidly growing, and Swarthmore’s notoriously small pond is driving students to seek relationships beyond its overfished waters. However, with an unspoken taboo on web-based romance, much of this alternate dating scene takes place under the radar, leaving would-be disciples to happen upon online communities by chance. Emily Richardson ’13, who met her current love interest on OKCupid, believes online dating shaming may come from stereotypes surrounding internet communities as a whole. “People may think online dating websites are where the socially awkward go to chat with their ‘online friends’ — on some levels, that might be fair, but there definitely is an online community that has everything a real-life community has,” she said. “There’s also this assumption that you go to online dating sites out of desperation,” she added. “People think you try it because you’re incapable of meeting someone in real life.” To the contrary, many students — Richardson included — are driven online by a wide variety of reasons, with “shits and giggles” typically topping the list. Richardson sought improvement in the art of first dates, a real-world skill that goes unpracticed in the bubble. Lisa Sendrow ’13, a current Plenty of Fish account-holder, created her first profile on OKCupid during finals week of her junior year to gain some confidence. “Guys at Swarthmore never tell you that you’re pretty,” Sendrow said with
a giggle. “It really makes you feel good when people tell you you’re cute or you’re beautiful.” While romance didn’t drive her to the site, Sendrow still believes there’s hope for cyber sweethearts. Her mom and stepdad met on Yahoo Personals, and “are very happy together,” according to Sendrow. A five-week relationship that blossomed in DC this summer, as well as a miscellany of pleasant first dinner dates and bar outings, kept her entertained and feeling connected while working in the capitol. OKCupid user Jonah Schwartz ’15 sees interactions on dating sites modeling other forms of internet bonding. Much like the “Class of 20--” Facebook pages, the perceived blanket of anonymity on dating sites creates a space for personal expression and forthright interactions. “You can think of it as a metaphor,” Schwartz said. “There’s a room filled with all these kids from the class of 2015. Some would be really comfortable in that setting, and others wouldn’t. Online, it doesn’t matter. You post… and people can either read it or pass over it. It feels a little safer, which is interesting, because you actually are more vulnerable, putting yourself out there in a way you wouldn’t do in person.” How do these virtual connections map onto the real world? Sometimes, quite successfully. Richardson and her partner are currently navigating a longdistance relationship — a frustrating experience, but one they’re used to, after six months of texting before meeting in person. Schwartz maintained a casual relationship with a girl he met online this summer in Los Angeles and Sendrow’s beau is a relic of her Cupid days.
All three students started messaging prospective meeting candidates online, afterwards moving to texts and calls. Meetings took place after periods ranging from two to four weeks, in most cases. While not all outings ended in love, Sendrow’s worst meet-up — ending with her walking out on an “asshole” of a dinner date — was a unique exception to what were generally described as pleasant, if slightly awkward, experiences. With online dating increasing in popularity for college-aged singles, a crop of new sites are targeting students as their main demographic. Although projects like Date My School, Coed Singles and University Love Connection are hogging headlines, Swatties seem to prefer OKCupid’s format. The site prompts users to answer questions on topics ranging from political views to literary preferences and assigns matches based on responses. “It’s nice to know that people I’m matched with are going to share some of the same values … and not hate abortion, for example, or gay rights,” Sendrow said. Schwartz’s faith in the site’s matching system stems from a compatibility rating of 98% with a former high school sweetheart — proof that the potential for romance exists in the numbers. Whether looking for romance or an excuse for free dinner, Richardson advises OKCupid user not to feel alone. “If you do decide to create [an online account], you’re definitely not the only one on campus,” she said. “I’ve had Swatties come up as matches — they’re definitely out there.” Alli Shultes is the Assistant Living & Arts Editor.
Living & Arts
PAGE 12
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Fall Theater Sneak Peak: Mark your calendars with this semester’s upcoming productions
By JEANNETTE LEOPOLD Living & Arts Writer
Some people watch plays at Swarthmore for entertainment. Some watch because they want to examine life through the lens of theater. Many watch because their friends — the actors in the play — force them to. Those who attend shows for one of the first two reasons will be pleased to know that, from full-length Broadway musicals to original collective creations, Swarthmore’s theater scene has something for everyone this semester. Those who go to plays for the third reason are stuck watching whatever their friends are in, whether it’s up their alley or not. Here’s what to expect: Students gearing up to see every student production on campus can expect to be very busy during the month of November, when Patrick Ross’s “The Importance of Being Earnest,” Kari Olmon’s “The Intense Fragility,” Yellowstockings’ “Night of Scenes,” Sophia Naylor’s “Always Towards the Heart,” Josh McLucas’s untitled devised piece and United States of Play’s “The Sparrow” will all premiere. Before that November maelstrom is “Merrily We Roll Along,” Swarthmore’s only full-length musical this semester, which will go up Garnet Weekend, October 27 and 28. “Merrily We Roll Along” is a musical by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth. “‘Merrily’ tells the story of Franklin Shepard, a successful movie producer in his forties who has abandoned his friends and his composing career for the glamour of Hollywood,” director Jonghee Quispe ’14 said. “The action moves backwards in time, allowing us a glimpse into the most important aspects of Frank’s life.” Quispe, who directed “Company” last year, is incredibly passionate about the production. “I believe it is especially effective for college actors to take on this show,” she said; “As the characters slowly regress to our own age, the naturally expectant nature of youth will shine through.” Anyone who enjoyed last year’s “Company” and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” should note that over half of “Merrily’s” 20-person cast appeared in one or both of those shows. The first of the November shows (Nov. 9, 10, 11) is “The Importance of Being Earnest,” directed by Patrick Ross ‘15 and stage-managed by Alex Huber-Weiss ’13. “This production of ‘The Importance of Being Earnest’ is about identity: social, sexual and personal,” said Ross. He continued: “Two men find themselves engaged to women who only love them because their name is ‘Ernest’: in reality, neither are called that at all. Or are they? No, they aren’t. Or are they?” The show is sure to be funny and moving. That same weekend will feature Olmon’s Honors Dramaturgy Thesis. For this project she has adapted Vaslav Nijinsky’s diary and the theater of Tennessee Williams into a new play that she has entitled “The Intense Fragility.” The
first reading of this play will be on Friday, October 5, and the final staged reading on November 9-11. The other theater thesis project this semester is Naylor’s Honors Playwriting thesis, “Always Towards the Heart.” Naylor described her plot in brief: “In the rolling, misty hills of Ireland… Kate, consumed by a fear of dying, searches far and wide for the fountain of youth. On one of her expeditions she is kidnapped by a fairy queen with fears of her own.” She added that it is “Full of whimsy, quack medicine, synesthesia and Irish folk songs.” The final staged reading will occur on November 16-18. Also that weekend will be the Yellowstocking Players’ Night of Scenes. Yellowstockings is Swarthmore’s only Shakespeare troupe. Dinah Dewald ’13, a key member of the troupe, described Yellowstockings’ mission as “Celebrating Shakespeare’s works and creating a fun, inclusive and low-pressure theatre experience for its members.” The Night will show scenes from “Othello,” “Coriolanus,” “Cymbeline” and “Measure for Measure.” At the end of the month and moving into December (Nov. 29—Dec.1st), the Tri-Co’s only drama club, United States of Play, will bring “The Sparrow.” “The Sparrow,” directed by Maddie Brady ’15 from Bryn Mawr College, is a thriller about the only survivor of a terrible bus accident and the blessings and horrors of that girl’s powers. “It’s a story about accepting ourselves, forgiving others, and knowing that sometimes you can’t always go home,” said Brady. United States of Play was founded last year by Anna Russell ’14 from Haverford College and always delivers funny, thoughtful plays in a low-key environment. The troupe is looking for two more men to round out their cast. If interested, contact Brady at mkbrady@brynmawr.edu. The weekend of “The Sparrow” will also house a devised work on the life of Salvador Dali. The as-yet-untitled piece, directed by Josh McLucas ‘15, will “feature an original score, elements of modern and postmodern dance, nontraditional theater, and a collaborative devising process,” McLucas said. “We seek to create a thought-provoking piece that is enjoyable and infuriating, calculated and chaotic, mysterious and in-your-face.” The final major piece of the semester is Senior Company’s “The Cosmonaut’s Last Message to the Woman He Once Loved in the Former Soviet Union” by David Greig. Senior Company is composed of the year’s senior theater majors. “Cosmonaut” is about the difficulties and failures of communication between a cast of characters that ranges from cosmonauts to erotic dancers. The play is co-directed by Meryl Sands ’13 and Sebastian Bravo ’13. The show will go up December 7 and 8. Also on December 8th will be the Directing class’s “Night of Scenes,” a cumulative project that represents the class’s efforts throughout the semester. “I feel like everything’s going to be all over the place,” said Marta Roncada ’14, who is in the class, speaking about the diversity of directing styles among her classmates.
“CAMPUS CRITTERS” ACROSS 1. Public affairs TV network 6. WALL-E’s love 9. Speech impediments 10. Cancel 11. “That’s ___!” (something Snoop Dogg might say) 12. Partly 14. Feline resident of east campus 16. Like Phineas 17. Bro benediction 18. Unwanted resident of west campus 23. Extraterrestrial 26. Disinterest 27. With a nosebleed, it’s black and white and red all over 28. Perennially pending workplace equality bill 29. Elite golf club 30. Show off DOWN 1. Pincer 2. Steve Jobs’ assistant 3. Sacred texts 4. Praised 5. Like SS or HU 6. Put into effect 7. Passport stamp 8. Leave 12. March conference on sexuality 13. Bob Hope org. 15. Spain, to Spaniards
19. Assist 20. U2 leading man 21. Karachi tongue 22. Beowulf is one 23. Submission
24. Something Swatnet tends to do 25. “Well, we’re ___ fix.” BY PRESTON COOPER
For the solution to this week’s puzzle, see The Phoenix’s online edition at www.swarthmorephoenix.com under the multimedia tab.
New Belly Dancing Club Shakes Up Upper Tarble By ALLI SHULTES Assistant Living & Arts Editor
For all you Pub Nite attendees who grin and bear the booze solely for the final half-hour of stressblowing shimmying, Thursday nights are looking up. A new belly dancing class, taught by the internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer Najia of Philadelphia Bellydance, kicks off tonight at 7:30 in Upper Tarble, offering the perfect warmup for pre-Pie dancing. Not ready to bare all? Not to worry — despite popular misconceptions, dancers are free to leave their tummies covered while taking part in what club board member Mariam Zakhary ’13 describes as “a great fat-burning workout.” Belly dancing is not a new phenomenon on campus: the Middle Eastern Cultural Society (MECS) held two workshops last year for interested students to work their hips. Photographing the festivities inspired Elena Ruyter ’14, who is spending this semester in Morocco, to seek funding for a weekly class last spring. MECS board members Zakhary and Marina
I definitely just put on my scarf and dance around my room sometimes ... It’s a fun part of my life and reminds me of my culture. Marina Tucktuck ’13 MECS Board Member Tucktuck ’13 are holding down the fort until Ruyter returns stateside. The seniors, who come to Swarthmore from Egypt and Palestine, grew up with the dance, and are excited to work their hip scarves outside the privacy of their dorm rooms. “I definitely just put on my scarf and dance around my room sometimes,” Zakhary said. Tucktuck commented, “It’s a fun part of my life and reminds me of my culture. I do it to not be homesick.” Tucktuck also describes it as a good de-stressor, as the hip movements require focus on the body and the beats of the tabla (the drum that typically accompanies the dancers). A major component of Middle Eastern culture, belly dancing is often associated with bra-baring women performing for audiences of men; the reality, however, is much different. “It’s how we dance at parties, at weddings — it is a huge part of our culture,” Tucktuck said. “We’re just born knowing how to belly dance.” Club members need not be affiliated with MECS — in fact, many attendees of the workshops last spring were not members of the group. If all goes well this year, the club tentatively plans to pursue PE-credit certification for the 2013-2014 school year. “We had so many students at the activity fair come up to us and say, ‘Oh my goodness, we’ve been waiting for this club for so long,’” Tucktuck said with a laugh. “We are just excited to begin.” MARIAM ZAKHARY FOR THE PHOENIX
Mariam Zakhary describes belly dancing as a “great fat-burning workout.”
Opinions
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
PAGE 13
The Phoenix
Fed Actions More Politics than Policy So-called ‘quantitative easing’ will do more harm than good
To do the same thing over and over again and expect different results is the definition of insanity. Thomas Edison didn’t invent the light bulb by trying the same design 2,000 times. Nor should the Federal Reserve expect the outcome of their third round of “quantitative easing,” better known as printing money to buy Treasury bonds, to be any different than the outcomes of the last two. The Fed announced last week that it would begin QE3, a program designed to inject money into the economy on a regular basis in hopes of giving a jolt to our anemic economic growth. But the last two times the Fed attempted such a program, in 2008 and 2010, growth stagnated. To the dismay of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, his program caused no miraculous fiscal turnaround. To be sure, stocks on Wall Street got a little jolt, but Real GDP—a much more accurate barometer of the long-term economic condition—remained unaffected. So why renew a failed program? It’s impossible to deny that PRESTON quantitative easing has no effect on the economy in the short term. COOPER Last week, stocks—particularly those of big banks—rallied. Over the next couple months, Wall Street will get a little buzz, then reOp-Ed turn to normal. But by the time things settle down, Election Day will have passed. It is no coincidence that Bernanke announced QE3 in the midst of the campaign season, as that little buzz might just carry President Obama to victory. Perhaps the thank-you cards he’ll get from Wall Street will have a few dollars slipped inside. Bernanke, a Republican, was one of the few Bush appointees retained by the Obama administration. A Romney administration, however, will not keep him around—Mitt Romney has said that if elected, he will not appoint Bernanke to a third term. Therefore, Bernanke’s job security depends on buoying the president’s chances in this dead-heat election. The truth is, though, that Obama and Bernanke are leading us down a dangerous road—far more dangerous than they or the public realize. Printing money, especially over a long period of time, has some drastic long-term consequences, most notably inflation. Our dollars will be worth less, and with them many of our more secure investments, such as savings accounts and treasury securities. The parents trying to save for their child’s college education will find tuition costs rising with the inflation tide, while their savings stay chained to the ocean floor. The worker building a nest egg for retirement will have to labor well into his golden years because the devalued currency will comparatively shrink his IRA. These are Main Street investors, the people we want to protect, but the Fed’s policies will leave them in the dust. To avoid the consequences of inflation, people (and banks) will resort to more risky ventures with higher returns, such as buying on the margin. Excessive risk-taking, though, by banks and other financial institutions, landed us in the crisis in the first
place. By printing money, the government is not only condoning, but encouraging, the sort of risky behavior that drove us off the cliff in 2008 and will drive us off it again. Not to mention that it will come back to bite the government, too. Devalued savings and worthless Treasury bonds will make the middle class more reliant on government programs such as Medicare and Social Security to fund its retirement. These programs have extensive solvency problems, and will be bankrupt by the next generation without serious reform. Making people more dependent on them, however, will stiffen public opposition to any sort of change, and the generation of students currently at Swarthmore—our generation— will pay for the collapse of these New Deal titans. Economic consequences aside, is it really ethical for the government to be able to print money whenever it pleases? This is COURTESY OF EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG our currency that the government is meddling with, but it is left in the hands of the unelected Federal Reserve Chairmvan and his Board of Directors. Ben Bernanke, or whoever may sit in his seat, has the power to manipulate our currency for political purposes or otherwise. Quantitative easing is somewhat like a jolt of caffeine, except that Obama, Bernanke and their Wall Street bedfellows will get the high, while the rest of us suffer the inevitable crash. With this program, perhaps the Obama administration is seeking to emulate its 2008 performance on Wall Street, when Candidate Obama received nearly $16 million in donations from bankers there, according to CNN Money. (John McCain, by comparison, received only $9 million.) It’s crony capitalism at its finest. What kind of an example does this set for the nation? The ultimate message is that in tough times, it is okay to produce money out of thin air. For the everyday person, this means borrowing obscene amounts of money on credit cards. But the consequences of such reckless action will always come back to bite you, whether in the form of a credit card’s debt collector or a mortgaged future for our children and grandchildren.
On ‘The Innocence of Muslims’ Free Speech Covers the Unpalatable
The violence that occurred in Libya and Egypt last week over a YouTube video, “The Innocence of Muslims,” has been rightfully condemned, but too often it has also been rationalized, justified, and given credence. The inciting video is seen as hateful enough, distasteful enough, to make these acts of violence, if not justifiable, understandable. Because the video is seen as hate speech, it has been the object of as much criticism as the violence, and its removal from YouTube in Libya and Egypt has been AARON praised. When did we get into the censorship KROEBER business? The Civil This video, no matLibertarian ter what lies it may contain, should not be the object of criticism for its mere existence, nor should we be proud of Google for censoring it. We are free to criticize what it says, and by all means to disagree with it, but shutting it out of public debate is not the way to go about addressing its speech. Freedom of speech means that sometimes people will express opinions that offend, and that this speech must be protected. If America is to be for freedom of speech everywhere, we can’t support censorship if it happens to suit us at that moment. Now, clearly, Google is a private company that can choose whether or not to host anything as it pleases, but this still smacks of hypocrisy. This is the company that refused to continue to do business in mainland China if the Chinese government demanded they censor their search results. This is the company whose motto is “Don’t be evil.” Why in the past have they acted on ideals, but now they act on realpolitik? Censoring the video wasn’t a commendable action, this was being forced to grapple with the realities of freedom of speech and backing down. Civil liberties are not easy things to have, much less protect. They result in chaos, in dissent, and sometimes in violence. They make a society harder to govern, for they reduce the power of the state. They make people free.
All of this is good, our doctrine goes, but with one caveat: only when it happens in America. For decades the US has preached democracy while establishing dictatorships, preached civil liberties while ignoring where they are stamped down. Be it in the guise of the King of Saudi Arabia or our good friend Mubarak in Egypt, we like order and stability in other countries, and so when faced with the uncertainty that comes from a fledgling free society, we panic and run for cover. We need to let Egypt and Libya, countries we had such high hopes for during their revolutions, understand civil liberties. Tantrums over religious insensitivity can only go so far. At some point people will realize that they are living in the age of the internet, that they will be insulted. Hopefully, this leads to freer societies. Our credentials as global peacekeeper and freedom-maker have been taking a shellacking for about as long as we’ve been touting them. We have a pretty bad record, but we could turn this around. We don’t need to support the easy course, we don’t need to be complicit in despotism worldwide. Censorship isn’t anywhere near the road to civil liberties, no matter how necessary it seems at the moment. Instead of allowing two worlds to exist - one where freedom is good no matter what form it takes, and another where freedom is some distant and ephemeral goal - we could stand for abroad what we live by at home. So let’s stand for what we stand for. Let’s really be for freedom of speech everywhere, and not just when it’s convenient. Let’s let people be offended, let them be outraged. Let’s let people begin to understand what freedom is, what its implications are. Freedom is a nice, happy, positive word, but in reality freedom hurts. Freedom is the freedom to say things that will hurt others, to act in ways that others find objectionable. It is at these extremes that freedom needs the most protecting. We must, if we stand for free speech, support the right of those we most
disagree with to speak. Yes, I found “The Innocence of Muslims” disgusting, but I would be outraged if YouTube decided to pull the video globally, and I bet I wouldn’t be alone. If this kind of censorship had happened in America, there would be public outcry, not support.
The fact that Google had cover because we in America don’t mind if censorship happens abroad is appalling. Censorship is censorship wherever it happens, whatever the circumstance. Somehow, we’re just more comfortable when the censorship happens somewhere else.
LETTER, OP-ED & COMMENT POLICY Letters, opinion pieces and online comments represent the views of their writers and not those of The Phoenix staff or Editorial Board. The Phoenix reserves the right to edit all pieces submitted for print publication for content, length and clarity. The Phoenix also reserves the right to withhold any letters, opeds or comments from publication. All comments posted online and all op-eds and letters must be signed and should include the writer’s full name. Letters are a minimum of 250 words and may not exceed 500 words. Opeds are a minimum of 500 words and may not exceed 750. Letters and op-eds must be submitted by 10 p.m. on Monday, and The Phoenix reserves the right to withhold letters and op-eds received after that time from publication. Letters may be signed by a maximum of five individuals. Op-eds may be signed by a maximum of two individuals. The Phoenix will not accept pieces exclusively attributed to groups, although individual
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PAGE 14
America’s Middle East Problem
Opinions
The first American ambassador killed in the line of duty since 1979, United States embassies in Yemen, Egypt, and Tunisia ransacked, and massive protests against the United States springing up across the Middle East. And, the Obama administration would like us to believe that this is all “senseless violence” due to a crooked individual making a movie and putting it on YouTube. I know what you’re thinking: this week, my column is going to make the argument that Romney’s initial statement on the violence was correct, and should be defended. It’s true. I was pleased with the campaign’s response to the Obama administration’s tepid response to the violence. My column, however, is not going to be about a debate that has been rehashed in the media for the past week. I want to talk about a different issue. I want to discuss America’s Middle East Problem, and why I am particularly concerned that individuals at the highest levels of our government do not understand the situation. In President Obama’s statement after the embassy attacks, Obama said: “There is absolutely no justification for this type of senseless violence, none” (emphasis added). Using the term TYLER “senseless violence” may have given us a BECKER window into the way our government is looking at the embassy attacks. The Swarthmore “Senseless” implies irrationality. Conservative While we would like to think of violence as “senseless,”in reality violence is a truly powerful coercive mechanism. Osama bin Laden and the Islamic terrorists at the helm of al Qaeda planned the 9/11 terrorist attacks with a political goal in mind. Al Qaeda wanted its voice to be heard, and created what they hoped would be a catalyst for other Muslims to join in a crusade against the West. The perpetrators of the likely premeditated attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi clearly had a political goal in mind. Seeking to fill a power vacuum in Libya as a new government is being assembled, the supposed al Qaeda affiliated rebels displayed a power of force the United States government was clearly not expecting. Debate continues over whether the attack was premeditated. The widely reported cause of the attack and protests across the Middle East was the trailer for an anti-Islam film made by an American. If we accept that this was the root cause of the attack, then we are missing the larger problem America faces in the post-Arab Spring Middle East. The U.S. embassy in Egypt’s original response apologizing for the film and criticizing the filmmaker was apparently “not vetted” by Obama’s administration in Washington. Technically, the embassy is part of the Obama administration, so it’s interesting that such an important statement was released after bypassing Washington. Reports that the statement was released while protestors were attacking the Cairo embassy have now been deemed false. After the attack on the embassy in Egypt occurred, the embassy again released a statement reinforcing its criticisms of a filmmaker exercising his first amendment rights. The administration’s tepid response to the violence is not surprising. Mentioning the movie at all was unnecessary, as the United States faces greater challenges in the Middle East that one movie trailer did not create. Writing in for National Review, Mark Steyn reinforces this point: “the 400-strong assault force in Benghazi showed up with RPGs and mortars: That’s not a spontaneous movie protest; that’s an act of war, and better planned and executed than the dying superpower’s response to it.” Knowing all of this, the President’s statement that the events in the Middle East amounted to “senseless violence” seems nonsensical. As President, Mr. Obama has a team of foreign policy advisers who probably huddled in a small office in the West Wing to craft Obama’s statement. Somebody had to put the term “senseless violence” in the remarks; otherwise, Obama would not have said it. I am concerned that our government really does not understand what is going on in the Middle East, and how America should react. Whichever group planned ransacking of the U.S. embassy in Libya was looking to make a statement, and succeeded. The Middle East is fractured into many different groups with disparate interests. Al Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood are two examples. Beyond the fracture of the Middle East at the macro level, leaders of these groups in various Middle Eastern countries do not always conform to the top leadership of the groups. Independent groups with “ties” to the larger organizations are semi- or fully autonomous. The groups compete with weak, recently installed governments for attention and power. These groups have a political goal, and violence is a means to achieve an end. Brutally murdering a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans stunned the world, and exposed the harsh reality that the immediate future of the United States in the Middle East is bleak. Groups with values diametrically opposed to American (and Western) values of free speech and freedom of religion are becoming powerful actors in the Middle East. The challenges we face in the Middle East are immense, but we have to rational goal in all this violence. While the individuals who carried out the attacks may themselves be irrational, and caught up in an anti-American furor, the groups responsible are using these individuals like chess pieces in their quest for influence. I hope there is someone with authority in our government who understands this rational violence.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Lack of Education:
A Threat to India’s Future The rise and fall of the Roman Empire is a magnifi- private schools. These teachers have “private tutoring” cent, burgeoning epic of ancient history, yet also a chill- services for which they tutor students one-on-one after ing ghost story of pity and demise warning all to heed classes to prepare for exams. However, they charge exand learn from its mistakes. As the Roman Empire grew orbitant fees for these tutoring sessions and often teach faster than almost any civilization before it, its pioneers minimal material during class sessions so that students grew complacent, ignoring the growing resistance be- are forced to pay for private tutoring. Even low-income yond the myopic fog clouding their vision. As the storm students who manage to break into the private schoolcame down as fast as lightning, the Empire reacted like ing system for slightly better education are then forced a threat against a lioness’s first- to spend even more to attend tutoring. born cub. In a surge of panic Naturally, as the workforce becomes more and more and paranoia, the Romans out- competitive, the need for education is a must. The IndiHARSHIL sourced duties to frantically de- an commercial sector has adapted to this trend in order SAHAI fend the vast empire, fragment- to realize profit. Hundreds of new “school” businesses ing a once united dominion. In are popping up around urban districts providing classConservatively the Barbarian raids that ensued es with private tutoring, and charging excessive school thereafter and brought the gi- fees. The system has turned into to a growing business Liberal Economics gantic beast to its knees, it was trend, extracting money from high-income students evident that the Roman Empire without improving education. This creates even less acwas pierced by the double-edged sword of hubris. cess for Indian students to education, and widens the Just as the allure of quick growth made the Romans gap between higher- and lower-income schooling. blind to opposition, an unseen barbarian is also threatThe key to enacting government policy to overcome ening the modern-day nation of India. As the coun- this challenge is as nuanced as the issue itself. In such a try’s population grows by over eight percent per year, state of growth for India, in terms of workforce, GDP, the need for a strong and educated human capital is infrastructure and globalization, the government is very becoming more imperative than ever. As GDP is suf- sensitive to international impressions and judgment as fering from decreasing marginal growth, an educated, well as short-term projects to attract votes, as it directly prepared workforce is necessary to reinvigorate India’s impacts international input in India as well as politieconomy. The “defense” of education is needed to pro- cal election, respectively. Thus, the only policies likely tect India from a demise as notorious as that of the Ro- to be implemented are those that will improve exterman Empire. nal opinion of India (and thus sustained or improved Unfortunately, only 15 percent of Indians reach investment in India) or garner more votes in the next high school, and of those, only seven percent graduate. election. This means there must be an economic, global, Moreover, of those that graduate and pursue tertiary or political reason for India to immediately adopt edueducation, only seven percent have the opportunity to cational policy reform. attend due to the number of seats. How will the counThis could be established using a variety of tactics try meet the increasing demand for jobs in the region? including sincere concern and voice from citizens, pleas How will a democratic society function without citizens with basic education? What will be the future of a nation with uneducated individuals and how Teachers at public schools [in India] are will India compete with China and the present in class only 50 percent of the time. U.S.? The structure of education is India Of the time they show up, they are only is divided primarily into two different “teaching” about 25 percent of the time. They groups: private and government education. Private, for-profit educational come and go as they please and often do not institutions are built to attract students from higher-income families, providfollow a set curriculum or assign homework. ing mediocre coursework, teaching standards and extra-curricular opportunities. Government schools, which educate about 75 percent of India’s population, provide from the World Bank, pressure from the IMF, or simply basic learning environments with poor quality of teach- aggressiveness on the part of the media to highlight the ing and curriculum structure. issues of education as well as its impact on GDP growth, Teachers at public schools are present in class only job growth, and overall well-being of India’s society, 50 percent of the time. Of the time they show up, they economy and image. are only “teaching” about 25 percent of the time. They Policy-wise, a valid strategy is to model the recent come and go as they please and often do not follow a set RSBY scheme set in India to advance national healthcurriculum or assign homework. Accountability stan- care. The policy involves the government paying an dards for these teachers are also not conducive to any annual premium to insurance companies, which in sort of quality control mechanism. Teachers are ten- turn provide reduced fees to beneficiaries for healthured and no punishments or rewards are given based care and hospitalization services across the country. on class performance. As a testament to the quality of The beneficiaries are free to go to whichever hospitals education of the public system, 75 percent of the faculty they prefer, which are mandated to meet national qualat government schools send their own children to pri- ity standards. The project was a monumental success, vate schools. providing healthcare to over 100 million people in four However, private schooling does not offer much sol- years. Likewise, the national government can provide ace to the low-quality education at public institutions. funds to private or government schools. The benefiFaculty at private schools and universities, regardless of ciaries are free to choose which schools to attend, and the merit of their students, accept positions as teachers the government regulates their quality. This ensures a as a result of necessity rather than choice. These indi- proper incentive structure as well as improved access to viduals cannot find jobs in the private sector and are education across the board. often hired as faculty without any industry experience. Hopefully the nation of India will become more Further, 57 percent of Indian school faculty lack either acute to the educational obstacles it will face in the near a master’s degree or doctorate degree. Thus, salaries for future. One hundred years from now, the world should teachers of primary, secondary and higher education remember India as a country that rose, humbly underare significantly lower than any salaries for an experi- stood and responded to its weaknesses, and kept growence-equivalent industry position. ing, rather than an Empire that lived in both glory and There are a few exceptions: namely, faculty at top infamy.
COURTESY OF TECHNORATI.COM
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
StuCo Platforms
PAGE 15
The Phoenix
MEET the candidates
Below are the platforms for the Fall 2012 Student Council elections. The open positions are: co-president, campus life representative, financial policy representative, educational policy representative and student group advisor. All platforms are also available on www.swarthmorephoenix.com. Voting will take place Tuesday, September 18 to Friday, September 21 at 5:30 p.m.
For Co-President: Hello! My name is Daniel Cho ’13 and I would love to be your next Student Council Co-President. I ran for Co-President last spring because I believed my ideas could improve our student experience at Swarthmore. I had hoped to organize a union to bring student groups on campus together, believing it could promote greater collaboration and inter-group exchange. Also, knowing that Swarthmore no longer maintained an online course rating guide unlike many of our peer institutions, I had hoped that a course rec book could serve as another resource to the SAMS so that students could select their courses with more information in hand. Ultimately, through these two proposals, I was interested in making Student Council more relevant to the student body. Several months later, I still feel the same way. Gathering from my experiences as Resident Assistant, Student Representative on Council on Education Policy, and the President of the Lang Center sponsored Student-Run Emergency Housing Unit of Philadelphia (SREHUP), I believe that I have the necessary patience, experience, and skills to be Swarthmore’s next Student Council Co-President. The following two (but not limited to) proposals are thoughts about how we can improve campus life via Student Council leadership. Proposals: 1. The need for a Swarthmore Education Forum: Presently, there is not a clear forum for students to articulate their thoughts and concerns about their individual Swarthmore academic experiences. Even though Student Council has deemed the area of Educational Policy important enough to create a position for it, assessing the student body’s academic needs and demands has remained a challenge. I believe that this is a concern also shared by student representatives of the Council on Educational Policy and those on the Cur-
Hey Swat! My name is Vic Brady ’13, and I am running for StuCo Co-President. As StuCo CoPresident, I will: 1. Expand the Small Steps Campaign that I created as Student Life Representative in 2011 to target more areas of contention on campus. 2. Create a Student Activities Forum with group leadership to increase awareness among organizations and committees with similar missions to collaborate and create collective projects. 3. Increase the accessibility of student, administrative, financial and support resources through the creation of organized and user-friendly resource-maps. 4. Create a student-access-only events calendar, in line with our peer institutions, so that all student events, from speakers to fraternity parties, are easily visible in one easy-to-navigate calendar. 5. Act. Debating which large project to address is a thing of the past. We can, and we will, tackle all of our large project ideas. It is not a question of spreading ourselves too thin – it is a question of living up to our positions on Student Council. Over the summer, I had a lot of time to think about my first three years here, about how much we have grown as a community and how much work we have left to do in
DAN CHO ’13 riculum as well. This difficulty is a big concern because current student representatives (unable to access a greater net of student experiences) cannot represent more than their thoughts and the experiences of their immediate peers. Concurrently, the old (created by Eric Zwick ’07) and the new class rec books (“Disguide”) have become inaccessible to the student body. Both were online databases that compiled course reviews for students to use as another resource (in addition to SAMs and word of mouth) when selecting their classes. And without a doubt, it was a helpful guide. For those unfamiliar with the class rec book, imagine a Swarthmore profile of “RateMyProfessor” full of reviews, maintained internally, and tailored exclusively to the Swarthmore student body. The class rec book was created by the students (Student Council and the Swarthmore College Computer Society) for the students. As a result, I believe this is a resource that needs great attention by Student Council again. If academics is one of the defining experiences of a Swattie, I believe that we need ensure that the student body is equipped with all the academic resources, so that students have a greater knowledge pool and context of courses when selecting them. My question to you: Do you ever feel like you have enough peer reviews during registration time? My proposal is to revive the class rec book. But, instead of limiting the site to only class reviews, I would like expand the purpose of the rec book and make it an education forum. This forum could include departmental reviews, advice about the Honors System, and a space for students interested in a particular interdisciplinary program to voice their needs and demands. Once the class rec book is back running (I have contacted Student Council and Mark Serrano ‘13 to potentially head this project next semester), Based on the performance of the old class rec book, I anticipate this new forum to have a significant user base based solely on its primary function. Because the class rec book already draws the attention of a significant portion of the student body, it could easily be expanded into a larger discussion space. By consolidating a diverse array of topics related to the student academic experience at Swarthmore to one lo-
cation, I believe that student voices about the academic experience here can be far better represented and actualized by student representatives. 2. Identifying ways to increase campus unity: The IC/BCC coalition’s goal of an overarching organizational structure to unify different groups on campus resonates strongly with me. Group leaders from organizations like SAO, Enlace, and others are brought together through the coalition to work towards a collective cause: building a community at Swarthmore that will both appreciate and understand the diversity of the study body. As Co-President, I hope to organize opportunities and spaces to build a greater sense of community on campus. Last year, I had the chance to talk to the leaders/members of close to two-dozen students groups about a proposal focused on campus unity (“Spring Festival”). Building on these conversations this year, I hope to identify meaningful ways in which student groups will be able to come together. BrynMawr and Haverford organize a “plenary session” each semester to provide students the opportunity to gather together, seek support from other groups, and debate campus-wide policies. Similarly, many larger state institutions have formal student unions and assemblies where group representatives can express their concerns and find support. When considering Student Council’s unique role on campus as the representative voice for the student body, I think it’s important that we work towards organizing a formal space for these voices to be heard and listened to. This will undoubtedly be a long-term project, but a worthwhile initiative that I believe Student Council should definitely prioritize. My hope is that as Co-President, I can actively seek out your ideas and solutions for campus concerns. Working closely with the deans, especially Alina Wong, the new Director of the Intercultural Center, I hope to not only build a stronger community on campus, but ensure that Student Council explores different and creative solutions to make Swarthmore a more enriching experience for you. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and if you have any questions, suggestions or thoughts, please e-mail me (Dcho1). I’d be more than happy to reply.
living up to the core I believe in acVICTOR BRADY ’13 values of the institution. When I served tion. As Co-Presion StuCo as a Student, I will work to ensure the implementa- dent Life Representative in 2011, I initiated tion of our collective ideas and that student the Small-Steps campaign to address and opinions and concerns are impactful in alleviate small points of contention that building this community through action. add up to larger frustration on campus. In reading through the Daily Gazette’s That campaign has been a resounding sucsummary of the last Student Council meet- cess. Class-registration has been adjusted ing, I was reminded of much that I see so that the MySwarthmore system no lonwrong with Student Council. The current ger freezes at midnight when the servers debate over what the “big plan of action” are overloaded by students logging in to for council should be this semester epito- pre-register. Meal-equivalencies in Tarble mizes the indecision, inaction, and culture have been adjusted so that a meal is actually of excuses that has handcuffed Student a meal. We will continue to utilize SmallCouncil. StuCo speaks of dreaming big and Steps to improve the quality of student life considering the following ideas, but those on campus. This is one of the jobs of Studreams are wasted without the hard work Co, to act as a facilitator in addressing conto make them reality. cerns that add up to a general frustration The planning of a new building should with student life. Our StuCo will tackle isbe addressed in relation to the implemen- sues that are important to this community. tation of our strategic plan. After-hour Swarthmore boasts tremendous finanfood should be addressed by Small-Steps cial, support, and extra-curricular resourcForward. The return of Quaker-style col- es but too often these resources are hidden lections has been addressed by student- in an intricate labyrinth of paperwork, adlife representatives in the Dean’s Advisory ministrative and departmental offices, and Committee. Determining the large issue confusion. Many of my ideas for Student around which to mobilize the community Council will address this sea of lost and should not be an either-or issue. Rather, inaccessible information. No one should the answer is a resounding yes to every miss out on our resources because they are single one. That is the responsibility of unable to untangle our overcomplicated Student Council – as opposed to spending networks. Club leadership from across the weeks debating which project to address spectrum of extra-curriculars should join only to run out of time in a semester as has together on a monthly or bi-monthly basis happened too many times in recent years. to develop community-wide initiatives and And if elected to Student Council, I prom- to join in smaller cross-cutting endeavors, ise that we will address all of these projects and this should be overseen, encouraged, and so much more, together as a commu- and facilitated by StuCo as the body charged nity. We will change this culture of excuses with chartering and overseeing the success and inaction. of our extra-curriculars. Such collabora-
tion will not occur for the sake of collaboration but to create tangible communitybuilding events. And Swarthmore should have a student-access-only events calendar so that groups can plan events without unnecessary overlap and we can actually figure out what events, educational, social, and everything in between, we want to go to. Our current calendar leaves much to be desired. And more important than any of the ideas I might have is my experience on StuCo and on the Dean’s Advisory Council. Invariably, semester after semester, urgent issues arise that were not on StuCo’s horizon at the start of the semester, from party permits, to the push for a sorority, to the creation of a Rollover Fund Grand Committee. When these issues come up, my individual ideas become secondary to these urgent campus concerns. But I have the experience of organizing fire-side chats, of raising concerns at Board of Managers meetings, of bringing student concerns to and addressing them with our Dean’s Office. And I will work for solutions. We will act, and we will find solutions that are rooted in our core values. Previous StuCo/SBC familiarity is critical to being a successful StuCo president, and I will draw upon my previous experience as student life representative. I am committed to building a moreaccessible, user-friendly Swarthmore. I am committed to increasing student input. And I am committed to action, not on a limited scale, but on the sweeping scale that we should expect of our Student Council. My ears, and my door, are always open. I am eager to serve as StuCo Co-President.
StuCo Platforms
PAGE 16
The Phoenix
For Campus Life Representative: My name is Tony Lee, I’m a sophomore and I would love to represent you as your CAMPUS LIFE REPRESENTATIVE! For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a real happy, energetic guy who likes to have fun but also likes to get things done. As your CLR, I will act as a direct line of communication between you and StuCo. I would be responsible for organizing and publicizing campus and TriCo events, and voicing your opinions and ideas for events at StuCo meetings. But most importantly, I would be another friendly, hard-working StuCo member who cares about what you have to say and is willing to work my ass off for what you want. A little about me: I’m Canadian-Chinese with two little brothers, I swim for Swat, and I like to bike, run, and play ice hockey on the side. I like the applied sciences, but I am also interested in economics, envi-
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
ronmental and Asian TONY LEE ’15 studies. I tremendously enjoy Sharples’ yucca fries and squishy bread, and Thursday is my favorite day of the week. I was a co-treasurer of i20 (Swarthmore’s international club), and am actively involved with Motherpuckers, Yoga, and saving lives down at Ware Pool. There are a few initiatives that I’d want to push for as CLR. My first goal is to reduce barriers between StuCo and the student body by creating more opportunities for communication, such as introducing weekly StuCo lunches at Sharples where students can share their ideas with council members. Other areas that could be addressed include: - continuing to expand the Small Steps Forward initiative. - expanding the wellness options available to students. - further publicizing of Tri-Co events here at Swat. I’m really excited about this coming year – I like the positive vibes so far and would love the chance to work with you. So, vote for … me?
JOSEPH RIZZO ‘15 My name is Joseph Rizzo, and I am interested in running for Swarthmore Student Council Campus Life Representative. I believe that I will thrive in this position because my mission, like that of the Campus Life Representative, is to further improve the relationship and communications between Student Council and the Swarthmore student body. I am a member of the baseball team and a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. In DU I have worked regularly as a liaison between the fraternities and administration. I have made it my goal to make the fraternity a safe and welcoming a place on campus. Beyond the fraternity, however, I have supported a variety of groups at the college. My enthusiastic personality is contagious. It extends from the classroom, the athletic field, to my role as a student at Swarthmore. I view my role as a student here to contribute to a thriving campus, from the administration those enrolled. If elected, I would contribute positively to a thriving campus through dedication, enthusiasm, and love for all things Swarthmore.
For Financial Policy Representative: NATALIA CHOI ‘15 Hello fellow Swatties! My name is Natalia Choi ’15 and I’d like to urge you to vote for me as the Financial Aid Policy Representative this year! I’m running for the position not because I’m an economics expert but because I’m a student truly concerned about equity and access. I believe that the most important aspect of this position is to be the mediator between the administration and the student body in order to get the students’ voices heard in the college’s financial decisions. Transparency is the key to this process. And in my opinion, transparency is not just a matter of having the data reports posted somewhere where people may find if they’re really interested and able to decipher complex figures;I believe transparency is about having dialogues thatlead to abetter mutual understanding. I’m an eager learner,curious about our financial policies and priorities, andI will strive to decipher the jargon and numbers in order to make information about our school’s financial processes more accessible and understandable for all. And, with my experience with publicity as the Publicity Coordinator for the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility this current and past year, I know the way to keep you all posted so that you can be involved! As a Financial Aid Policy Representative, I will hold forums to allow questions and concerns about our school’s financial policies to be brought up and answered. I would also like to explain clearly the process for requesting funding so that all students can take full advantage of the available resources. And most importantly, I will open venues for students to bring up any other issues they would like to see addressed. Please feel free to contact me with any questions (nchoi1)!Thank you for your time!
Hi, my name is Jacob and I’m running to be your StuCo Financial Policy Rep. The way that the college budgets for student life and other activities is both one of the most complicated and one of the most important thing that happens on this campus. I hope to use my experience as treasurer for several groups and a member of the SBC in order to better represent the student body in this process. The most important job of any StuCo member is to listen to what the student body is saying, and I will do just that. I will represent your interests as faithfully as possible to the administration, and I will make myself available (through in-person meetings, email, and possibly weekly office hours) to listen to anyone’s concerns or help people navigate the funding structures of the college. In particular, I will work with students who are planning large-scale events in order to help them avoid some of the funding pitfalls that have plagued other groups in the past. But these general principles aside, there are three major policy issues that I would like to address: 1. The student Activities Fee: Over the past few years, almost every student group has felt the impact of budget cuts. These cuts were entirely unnecessary and were primarily the result of a misguided effort to cut the student activities fee (the part of tuition which funds almost every group on campus). I spoke out against it when it was happening because the activities fee is one of the most important ways that we keep Swarthmore an open environment for students of all means. By having an activities fee that is high enough to make most activities on campus free and open to all students, we can ensure that Swarthmore stays accessible for everyone. Students on financial aid should not be asked to pay exorbitant fees to join a club sports team. Cultural groups should not have to dramatically scale back their major events because of budget cuts. The movie committee should have enough money to show fun and popular movies so that students don’t have
to go off campus to see them. JACOB ADENBAUM ’14 There is no reason these budget cuts should happen, and I promise to make it my number one priority to have the student activities fee raised (we only need about $20-30 more) and the draconian budget cuts of the last few years reversed. 2. The Organizational Structure of the Student Budget Committee: The SBC is the group that has possibly the most immediate impact on student life at Swarthmore. By making decisions about what to fund and the level at which to fund it, the committee has the ability to dramatically shape what kind of events and activities happen at Swarthmore. But astoundingly this body is not democratically accountable to the student body. Although StuCo appoints its members, there are no elections to keep the SBC’s decisions accountable. As a result, there is remarkably little public debate about the very important policy questions it deliberates. As Financial Policy Rep, I will begin exploring the idea of making at least a portion of the SBC elected by the student body at large. This is a complicated and delicate issue, but it is one that we must address if the SBC is to maintain its legitimacy in the long run. 3. Our Relationship With the Deans: As much as we wish it were not so, the deans have not always been on the level with the student body regarding issues of funding large joint ventures. Time and time again, they have foisted large expenses like the Yule Ball, the screening of The Graduate, and their fair share of parties like Genderfuck onto the student body. However, part of the reason that they have been doing this is because they have been experiencing tough budget cuts of their own. As Financial Policy Rep, I will try to serve as an intermediary between the Deans and the student body on issues of our jointly funded projects. We will all be better off if the SBC and the deans stop fighting over who pays for what part of student life and just work to get things done. But even more important than any of these policy ideas is the simple fact that I will always be open to new ideas. As John Maynard Keynes said, “When my information changes, I alter my conclusions.” I will not be afraid to innovate and work to find new and creative solutions to the many challenges facing the student body. Together, we can make Swarthmore a place that is open and accessible for everyone. I hope you will vote for me for Financial Policy Rep on Student Council.
For Student Groups Advisor: Hi, my name is Lanie Schlessinger, and I’m running for a second term as Student Groups Advisor. Throughout the past year of experience as Student Groups Advisor, I learned many necessary skills that will enable me to be a more effective SGA in my second term, if elected. The role of an SGA is to facilitate the chartering and maintenance of student groups on campus, which requires a great deal of administrative effort. I learned to be proactive about chartering groups, to efficiently schedule chartering meetings, and to make myself completeyavailable to interested students. But the most important lesson I learned from my year as the head of the chartering com-
mittee is that there is recall receiving an LANIE SCHLESSINGER ‘15 plenty of room for imemail about it. Having provement in the charopen dialogue among tering process. groups is vital to forgLast year, student council passed a ing a vibrant extracurricular atmosphere chartering referendum that I drafted at Swarthmore. Since many students dabto help improve some of the more ma- ble in different groups, they are already jor issues. A copy of the referendum is naturally brought together. Creating adavailable on the StuCo website if you are ditional forums in which like groups can interested in the details, but the general communicate, as well as increasingly idea was to make the chartering meet- publicizing the groups that already exings more meaningful. Previously, these ist on campus so interested students can meetings mostly consisted of groups get involved, are important initiatives to coming before the committee, briefly undertake. This is the work I would conpresenting the group idea, answering a tinue to forge ahead with if elected for a few questions, and leaving with a charter second term as SGA. in less than five minutes. The referendum My final goal as an SGA would be to moves to transform that meeting time work to improve StuCo as a whole. Last into an informational session for group semester, under the effective leadership leaders to learn all about starting a new of Co-President Gabby Capone and with group on campus. Adding a guidance the collaborative efforts of many qualicomponent to the meetings has proven to fied and dedicated leaders, StuCo made be a useful, even necessary measure. enormous strides toward this end. With But there is more work to be done. the creation of the online suggestion box, Last semester, I began to compile a Stu- we were able to easily and constantly poll dent Groups Master List – you may the student body, and we fought hard to
accomplish the tasks the student body asked that we pursue. This was an enormous step for StuCo, and there are more, similar steps to be taken in that direction. A few of the major changes I would like to work towards implementing in StuCo are: 1) Holding a training day for new members. As an incoming SGA, I knew little to nothing about the chartering process. I received some guidance, but no formal training, and I found that this made me a predictably less effective groups advisor. 2) Increasing dialogue among Student Council members. If StuCo members know what other members are doing, we are more prepared to help them accomplish the bigger tasks. Each member should share a brief update at each meeting. 3) Establishing a general council at large to provide a greater resource base for StuCo. These changes, if implemented, would certainly help StuCo run smoother and more effectively.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
StuCo Platforms
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The Phoenix
For Educational Policy Representative: Thank you for reading this. My name is Rachel Stein, and I am hoping that you will grant me the privilege of being your Educational Policy Representative. I am a sophomore from suburban Chicago. But far more importantly to you, if elected, I am eager and able to make this position a top priority. Besides being a SAM, I am currently not involved in clubs or sports. Therefore, I have the time to commit to this position, and I would be grateful for the opportunity to do so. I would like to work on your behalf to make Swarthmore more student-oriented and “user friendly”. Despite my class year, I think that I am well qualified for this position. I have been fortunate enough to grow up with professors for parents, uncles, and a grandfather. I spent days off of school in the back of my parents’ classes, and Friday night dinners with university faculty, visiting speakers, and graduate students. From these experiences, I gained not only a great deal of knowledge about higher education around the world from the perspectives of faculty and administrators, but also a fascination with educational policies. And in addition to watching, I was lucky enough to work with the new principal of the Sunday school where I taught for two years, to create and modify their policies. As I sat down to write this, the following reforms came to mind. These are far from the only changes that I would push for. More important than what I think should be addressed, I want to push for the educational changes that you, the student body, want to see. Rather than specific topics, I hope that the suggestions below will illustrate the thoughtful approach that I wish to bring to the position. Online teacher evaluations All courses should have evaluations available online from previous semesters and years. This would be useful to all of us and would not be hard to do. For example, before Northwestern University’s returning students can register for classes they must complete their
BEN GOLOFF ‘15 Thank you for considering my candidacy for Educational Policy Representative! A few quick words about me:I’m a sophomore from New York City and a prospective Biology/Environmental Studies major. I’m a co-facilitator of Earthlust, and I love playing the violin in Swat’s orchestra and chamber music ensembles. I am currently leading a student-run effort to revise and expand the Environmental Studies Program to hire tenure-track ENVS professors and offer our first-ever ENVS major. We’ve talked with other students, presented to the ENVS faculty committee, and look forward to meeting with President Chopp and Provost Stephen-
LETTER TO THE EDITOR To the Editor: I am writing in response to Rendering Swarthmore Politics. Danielle Charette made sweeping claims with no substantiation. I cannot speak to Ms. Charette’s personal experiences on campus as a politically conservative student but I can say that I have taken an American history course every year for the past three years and am familiar with courses in the Political Science department, Sociology and Anthropology department, Art History department, English Literature department, and Philosophy department that deal with issues in American political and cultural history. In addition there is only one professor in the Gender and Sexuality department and the notion that discussions of sexuality that take place in other disciplines are somehow inherently liberal-leaning is offensive. By setting up an opposition between American History and Gender and Sexuality Ms. Charette suggests that the study of American History is a politically conservative enterprise. I believe that these are dangerous and narrow-minded assumptions and I hope that in the future more thought and research will go into these articles. Sincerely, Sarah Diamond
teacher evaluations on their equivalent of My RACHEL STEIN ‘15 Swarthmore. There, students can also easily access every single evaluation, for every instructor. My vague understanding is that we, as Swarthmore students, could technically request to see teacher evaluations, but let’s be realistic, how many people would want to do that, let alone for every class that they are considering? I agree that student evaluations can be misleading, unfair, and that nothing will replace you attending the class. However as a SAM, I find that it is not uncommon, especially for freshmen, to look at Rate My Professor. That site is biased by a few students with strong feelings, and so is far less accurate than reviews accumulated from many students. Further, the evaluations tell about many aspects of the course and instructor –teaching style, accessibility during office hours etc.- helping students consider the courses in the context of their own learning styles. Writing a thesis should count as a W course in all disciplines First, I would like to make it clear that I have no personal stake in this; I took four W courses my freshman year. I am also aware that several thesis/capstone classes are W courses, however many, such as philosophy, education, and political science, are not. I realize too that making capstone classes W courses may encourage some students to put off fulfilling the requirement. However, writing a thesis encapsulates the heart of what a W course is intended to be, namely focusing on the process of writing and revision. Many students’ theses will be used to judge them in applying to graduate schools or jobs, so they have strong encouragement to make their theses the best they can be. Therefore, it seems foolish to have them divert some of their scarce time and energy to take a class that they often have no interest in and put in as little effort as possible. It is also not fair to the W class and its professor to have an unwilling and disinterested student. I am hoping that you will vote for me because, as you read this, you gained a sense that I am genuinely invested in learning about and trying to improve Swarthmore’s educational policies. But even if you decide not to vote for me, I hope that you will consider my proposals. Whether or not I am elected, I would love to hear your thoughts about what I said and more. For a college underclassman, I have a unique perspective on academia, but I am not foolish enough to think that I know all.
son next week. Like many of us, I was drawn to Swarthmore because of its unparalleled commitment to applying academics toward social change. Our community of students, staff and faculty prides itself in responding to our most pressing issues of global injustice and in being at the forefront of critically rethinking established paradigms. From our vibrant group of activist student clubs to the Lang Center’s community-based learning courses, Swarthmore has in some ways already succeeded in realizing this creative vision. We must highlight these strengths and ensure their continued vitality. But Swarthmore lags critically behind our peer institutions in probing and reassessing the old barriers wedged between traditional academic disciplines. While we have a solid array of interdisciplinary “programs,”few offer a major and virtually none possess the authority to hire tenure-track faculty. Most programs cannot offer a regular suite of courses because participating professors’ primarily responsibility is to support their disciplinary home department. As Educational Policy Representative, my first priority will be to work with students, faculty, and the administration to-
ward abandoning our antiquated exclusive emphasis on traditional, disciplinary “departments.”In addition to ensuring that our traditional departments receive the resources they need to continue their record of excellence, we must breathe new life, autonomy and authority into our most innovative, crossdisciplinary programs, from Gender and Sexuality to Peace and Conflict Studies.This means revising the definition of a “program” to include the full tenure-track hiring authority of a “department,” generating new cross-listed courses, sharing resources between and across programs and departments, and amplifying opportunities for fieldwork, community action, and extra-Swarthmore collaboration. Traditional departments like Chemistry, Economics, History, and Philosophy will only gain from the wealth of new courses and perspectives ushered in by these steps. I believe that amidst all the complexity of the 21st century, there is nothing more crucial than synthesizing discourse across disciplines and applying new ideas toward creating solutions for real-world problems.I hope you will join me in pushing Swarthmore to embrace this approach through immediate curricular action.
AROUND HIGHER ED
Thank you for not surfing Computers in class offer a window into your personal life
By ADAM SILVER www.thedp.com Sept 19, 2012 Professors that ban laptops from their classrooms argue that MacBooks and PCs detract from learning. But in reality, I have learned some very interesting things by looking at the glowing screens of the people in front of me in lecture. In the fall of my sophomore year, I learned all the rush targets of an off-campus fraternity. One of its members, who sat in front of me in a political science seminar, spent more time on Facebook, stalking freshman dudes than he did taking notes on what the professor had to say about Edmund Burke. Last semester, in my gargantuan psychology lecture, I learned that the girl who sat in front of me was also in two of my other classes. Instead of hanging on to Professor Connolly’s words, she spent all of her time on Penn InTouch. (P.S. If you are reading, are you happy with your course selection this semester? I saw you picked “Introduction to American Politics” with DiIulio — isn’t it great?) In the introductory Communication courses I have taken — with a
gender ratio that could get a freshman guy into an open party even post-NSO — I learned which online shopping websites offer the best deals on nail polish and rain boots. The most egregious case occurred in my Econ 001 class freshman year, where I learned a lot about myself, as the girl a few rows in front of me was checking out my Facebook. (It was very unfair of you to click left on my profile pictures and start your cyber judgment with 8th-grade-brace-face Adam). So yes, laptops certainly detract from learning, but at the same time, they enable a whole new level of learning — about people’s personal lives. It’s nearly impossible for a student to be on his or her laptop for a full hour and not check Facebook at least once. I still hate watching classroom surfers. And it’s not just because I am a nerd or a stickler for the rules (anyone who knows me well knows that I am, in fact, both of these things), but also because it’s distracting and makes me uncomfortable — especially as I watch you check out my senior prom pics. But even nerds and sticklers succumb to the temptation of email, Facebook, fantasy football and live streaming soccer games on ESPN3 (I still feel really bad about that one — I
swear it was just once). Sure, there are some wonderfully annoying students out there (read: freshmen) who put their Microsoft Word on full screen and diligently type every single word that comes out of the professor’s mouth. However, these students come few and far between. The main reason I try not to surf the web in class is privacy. I don’t want people behind me to know that the only person who ever chats me online is Sara Silver (my mom). I’m not advocating a ban on laptops in the classroom. As someone who can’t read his own handwriting, I definitely need my laptop for note taking. I don’t even think that professors need to enforce “no surfing” policies. A simple solution is for students to become aware that their brigades into the cyber world reveal way too much about their personal lives. So to all the strangers out there that have given me a window into your life: thanks, but no thanks. It is distracting for me and really embarrassing for you. Next time you meander away from your notes and onto the internet, worry less about how you detract from what you learn in class and more about what I learn about you.
Sports
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THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Men’s Soccer Enters National Rankings Team Off to Impeccable Start, Now 5-1 Overall
By SCOOP RUXIN SportsWriter
The Swarthmore men’s soccer team continued its impressive run of early season play on Saturday, beating fifth ranked Franklin and Marshall 2-1. In the process, the Garnet improved to 5-1 overall, only losing to Stevens 2-1 OT on Wednesday night, and secured an important first conference win. The win vaulted Swarthmore into the top 25 for the first time this season. As the team morphed into a perennial national powerhouse under head coach Eric Wagner, the national polls have become a familiar place for the Garnet over the past few years. While receiving votes in polls last week, Swarthmore jumped in at 14th in the D3Soccer.com poll and 18th in the NSCAA/Continental Tire National Poll. Last season, the Garnet opened the season ranked in the top 10 and faced high expectations. However, mid-season struggles led to the Garnet missing the Centennial Conference playoffs. Though missing the playoffs was, in the words of cocaptain John Pontillo ’13, “a disappointment,” Swarthmore managed to rally and win the ECAC championship, and though it was a far cry from the team’s NCAA Final Four aspirations, the experience was nevertheless valuable. “We made the best of our situation,” Pontillo said, adding that it “allowed us to get valuable game experience for freshmen and [for] guys who normally didn’t see a lot during the regular season.” That experience has paid off in the early going this year. Having graduated a senior class that Pontillo described as “the best in the history of the school,” it was clear coming into the season that the Garnet would need its returning players to step up in a big way. Wagner cited the leadership experience of Pontillo and midfielders Noah Sterngold ’14 and Jack Momeyer ’14 as well as strong play from Cam French ’14, who has “stepped up really big” when Pontillo has been injured. Several other Garnet upperclassmen have thrived with increased playing time this season, including Geli Carabases ’14 and the goalkeeper tandem of Peter Maxted ’14 and Jake Tracy ’13. The goalkeeping play has been especially impressive, as the two have filled in admirably for graduated starter David D’Annunzio ’13, having allowed just three goals in the first five games of the season, with Maxted earning Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors. Younger team members have been equally impressive, none more so than Mike Stewart ’15. The forward has embraced his starting role, tallying four goals. Stewart attributed his improvement to his maturation and to the team’s improved chemistry. “I think that anyone’s second year of college soccer is going to go better than their first. I will say that the environ-
ment that we have on the team this season is conducive to success. Everyone is very encouraging towards one another and I think my performances are a product of that positive atmosphere that we have created,” Stewart said. Stewart was not alone in pointing to the team’s increased cohesiveness as a major reason for the early season successes. Pontillo said that the team is “hungry” and that “we benefit from a very unified, collective mindset.” Wagner also was quick to highlight the “huge change” from last season, adding that “everybody is really willing and trying hard and focused on executing one game plan.” Swarthmore appears confident about the benefits that their strong team chemistry will bring. Having lost so many standout players from last season, the returning Garnet understand that rallying around one another will be crucial if the team hopes to contend for a conference championship. Swarthmore’s upperclassmen seem to have successfully passed this team-oriented mindset to a strong and hungry first-year class that has wasted no time in adjusting to the college game, with several players making early season im-
pacts. Devon Baughen ’16, David Geschwind ’16 and Wyatt McCall ’16 have all received regular playing time, leading a freshman class that has been “tearing it up,” according to Coach Wagner. The team supplements practices with Budokon, which Wagner describes as “a yogic-based program with a martial arts aspect that is really unique.” This training conditions the athletes not only physically, but mentally as well. Pontillo lauded the program, saying that “it has helped us maintain what we believe is a mental edge on the field.” The Garnet will look to channel this mental toughness into continued successes over the rest of conference play. Swarthmore’s conference home opener will take place Saturday against Dickinson. The Red Devils, ranked 13th in the NSCAA National Poll, are undefeated, and the game will undoubtedly be a tough test for the young Swarthmore squad. The Garnet, however, will not back down from the challenge, and they are setting their sights high for the season. “We want to get to the final four,” Pontillo said. “We believe we have the talent, personnel, and drive to do so.”
Field Hockey Falters After Promising Start By DAN DUNCAN Sports Editor Following a soaring start, the Swarthmore field hockey team had its wings clipped in its latest matchup. The Garnet stand at 5-1, 0-1 CC after a 7-0 loss in their Centennial Conference opener to number nine Franklin and Marshall. After cruising through the early season, the Garnet began Centennial play with one of the tougher series of games, beginning with road matches with highly ranked F&M and Ursinus, a team that has reached the NCAA semifinals for four consecutive years. In Saturday’s game, the Diplomats unleashed shot after shot, putting an impressive 15 of 18 total shots on goal. Gabby Capone ’14 stood strong in goal, recording eight saves, but F&M had more than enough offense to go along with its stingy defense. The Garnet were held to just one shot on goal for the whole game. Even though, as Capone acknowledged, “We were thoroughly outplayed on Saturday,” she remained optimistic, adding that “it was a great reminder of how much work we still have to do.” The slide continued Wednesday afternoon at No. 16 Ursinus, where the Garnet fell to the Bears 4-2. Katie Teleky ’13 scored two late goals to keep things close, but they were not enough to overcome a trio of second-half Ursinus goals. Capone made 6 saves in goal to keep Swarthmore
in the game. Despite the setback, the Garnet are off to their best start since 1997, when career points leader Danielle Duffy ’98 was still a student. With a 5-0 nonconference record and only games against Eastern and Lebanon Valley remaining, Swarthmore has a chance to go undefeated in nonconference play this year. During the winning streak, the Garnet outscored their opponents by 11 goals, including a 4-0 romp over 320 Challenge foe Widener. Swarthmore was able to win the close games as well, taking a close 2-1 decision over Arcadia and a back-and-forth 7-5 win over Richard Stockton. The strong nonconference play means the team is on pace to have their winningest season of the past few years. The Garnet need just three wins to match last season’s total of eight wins, which is easily doable considering the remaining schedule. Conference wins matter most though, and the goal remains to make the conference playoffs. Even with the early losses, Swarthmore still has a shot to qualify with some strong play in the coming weeks. According to Capone, “A lot of it is just taking care of fundamentals and showing up to games with the right mentality. We are ready to get back to work and our goal remains to meet F&M again [in the playoffs].” The Garnet continue Centennial play on Saturday, when they host the Red Devils of Dickinson at Clothier Field. The game is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m., kicking off a full day of Garnet home games.
AKSHAJ KUCHIBHOTLA/PHOENIX STAFF
Men’s soccer fights Stevens at home Wednesday night, but the visiting Stevens team rallied back with a 2-1 OT win, serving the Garnet its first loss of the 2012 campaign.
Sports
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
PAGE 19
The Phoenix
Cross Country Looking to Reach Nationals By ROY GREIM SportsWriter
With two meets already under their belts this fall, the Swarthmore men’s and women’s cross country programs are busy preparing themselves with one goal in mind: to qualify for the 2012 NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship on November 17. In 2011, the men’s squad, which finished third in the Centennial Conference, behind Haverford and Dickinson and ahead of Johns Hopkins, seemed poised to qualify for nationals for the first time since joining the conference in 1993. A seventh place finish at Mideast regionals, however, left the Garnet on the outside looking in as the three aforementioned Centennial teams earned a spot at the national meet. Without a doubt, the memory of last year’s shortcoming has provided strong motivation for the team’s runners. “While we were happy with the finish at Centennials last year, finishing out of the qualifying spots for nationals at the regional race was a big disappointment,” Dan Kalamarides ’14 said. “This year, we are focusing our efforts entirely on that regional race to make nationals. I think all of our personal goals are geared towards getting us there.” The Garnet, which is currently ranked seventh in the Mideast region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA), returns four of its top five finishers from last year’s conference championship, including Jacob Phillips ’13. Phillips, who was named second team all-conference in 2011, finished seventh at last year’s Mideast regionals and qualified individually for the national meet, making him the first Garnet runner to do since Marc Jeuland ’01. Joining Phillips at the head of the pack this season will be Aidan DuMont-McCaffrey ’13, who finished 20th in last year’s conference championships with a time of 28:13.3, Robert Fain ’14 (31stt/28:44.8), and Jonas Oppenheimer ’15 (43rd/29:21.7). So far, the Garnet has been dominant, owning the competition in its two early-season meets. At the Bryn Mawr Invitational on September 1, the team swept the competition in the 5,000 meter race as it posted the top 11 times on the day. Phillips (1st/18:05.00) led the way, but DuMont-McCaffrey and (2nd/18:05.01) and Fain (3rd/18:05.02) finished close
on his heels. Rounding out the top five were Kalamarides (4th/18:06.00) and Stuart Russell ’14 (5th/18:06.01). A week later, the Garnet claimed victory in its annual Alumni Meet, again a 5,000 meter race, after taking the top four spots behind performances from Phillips (17:25), Kalamarides (17:34), Russell (17:46), and Dominic Castro-Wehr ’16 (17:58). Although these early results look promising, it is difficult to get a sense of the team’s overall standing given the lack of serious competition so far. “We don’t really have a way to gauge this season because we haven’t had any competition yet. However, the team looks to be in great shape,” Phillips said. “This looks to be the strongest team that Swat has fielded in many years, but we’ll have to wait until the races start to see that for sure.” The Garnet will face its first true test this week as it travels to Haverford on Thursday for the Mainline Invite. There, the team will find itself in the field with some of the best runners from Division I and Division III; Haverford, which has claimed the Centennial title a staggering 17 out of 19 seasons, is a perennial contender on the national stage as well. The women’s squad, which finished sixth at last year’s conference championship meet, will have to regroup after graduating Melissa Frick (22nd/25:38.9), Stephanie Beebe (35th/26:07.1), Katie Gonzalez (40th/26:28.1), and Margaret Lenfest (51st/26:47.6), its top four finishers at that meet. Despite this turnover, the return of Emma Saarel ’14, the fifth Garnet finisher at championships (52nd/26:49.7), Rebecca Hammond ’13, who nearly qualified for the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the 800 and 1500 meter races this spring, and Becky Painter ’13, coupled with a talented crop of underclassmen, has the Garnet looking towards nationals as well. “We’ve decided that our season goal is to qualify for the national championship meet by finishing top three or four
in the region,” Painter said. “In my four years here we’ve never qualified and it’s frustrating because I know we have the talent.” The team, which is currently unranked in the Mideast by the USTFCCCA, will face stiff competition within the conference in its quest for nationals; currently Johns Hopkins, Dickinson, and Haverford occupy the top three spots in the regional rankings, while Gettysburg and Muhlenberg are fifth and seventh, respectively. The early season results have been promising for the Garnet as it prepares to compete in Thursday’s Mainline Invite as well. At the season-opening Bryn Mawr Invite earlier this fall, the team had six runners place in the top ten in the 5000 meter race. Hammond (21:12.21), Painter (21:12.47), and Saarel (21:12.74) took third, fourth, and fifth, respectively, and the trio of first-years Jenna Cody (6th/21:13.13), Katie McMenamin (8th/21:27.71), and Sarah Nielsen (9th/21:33.00) also had strong performances on the day. Kate Crowley ’16 finished just outside the top ten, placing 12th in a time of 22:44.87. The Alumni meet brought more of the same success for the Garnet as it bested the alumnae 17 to 48. Saarel (21:01) and Hammond (21:02) finished the race close together, capturing first and second respectively, while Cody (3rd/21:16) and McMenamin (5th/21:46) also placed in the top five. “I have been really encouraged by our performance at the first two meets. I think the returning girls were nervous about having such a small team this year, but I have been really impressed by the incoming freshmen,” continued Painter. “They look extremely fit and have a great work ethic. I’m really optimistic about what we can all do together.” Like the men’s squad, the women’s team will face its first true test this Thursday at Haverford. The race is schedule to begin at 5 p.m.
“This looks to be the strongest team that Swat has fielded in many years . . .” Jacob Phillips ’13
Andy Murray: Tennis God
James Ivey Dissects Murray’s Game, Admires His Prowess I know that Britain gets blamed for a lot of bad things. I know that because I spend at least half my time being personally blamed for the British Empire even though I was born after it had collapsed. But whatever, I like to suffer (it’s a British thing). But it all gets better from here because Murray has managed to win a grand slam after having a number of chances fall by the wayside. The British nation can finally being to heal. The real problem that Murray has is not that people care more about tennis than any other sport: in Britain, tennis would JAMES come probably fifth to football, rugby, IVEY cricket… and lots of Out of Left Field other sports that the British seem to have created but now can’t play because we didn’t keep them in house and create franchises that prevent other people from playing. We shared with the world all the joys of regulated sports with rulebooks and everything. Britain likes sports and having people to play with. We’re like the child on the playground who hands out cake on their birthday to make friends (even though the other kids in the class aren’t really that nice to us). Since Fred Perry won his last grand slam in 1936, Britain has looked in vain for a hero to pick up his mantle, to lead the great islands in search of international glory in bat and ball form. But the long search is finally over and glory has returned to the island that oversaw the creation of modern tennis and its predecessor rackets. Yes, glory has returned to the nation that invented the sport. A sport designed for people with large back gardens and flat ground that could be painted on in white paint. Murray has had to deal with an entre nation placing its hopes on his broad Scottish shoulders. But what does this mean for the future of tennis, and, more importantly, to the future of British tennis. In tennis, all it means is that Murray has finally proven to all his competitors that he is a winner. He had plenty of attempts to win and has plenty of failure in his career to win at the top level. It became a little harder for him when Djokovic sudden-
ly became good a year and a half ago. Mur- more money than almost any other sport in players, and that weighed heavily upon him. ray and Djokovic started on the professional investment from the government. So much But with his victory there will be a winning circuit at the same time given that they are is expected from the investment and Murray culture again in British tennis, hopefully a the same age, and though it appeared early may well be the catalyst that transforms the culture that will infect the young ones that on that Murray would be the one of the two investment from just money into success. are just picking up a racket now and that will to shine, it was Djokovic who turned grand Because of a lack of winners in the past and turn them into future greats. slam final appearances into grand slam titles. persistent failure/pessimism, British tennis For now, however, we have Murray to Up until the US Open, it seemed that Murray players have never been able to go out and thank for finally winning something and for was just not as good as any of the top three. hold their heads high. Part of Murray’s prob- bringing some pride to British tennis and the He could beat them in minor competitions lem was getting his head in the game and nation. We may not see the benefits of his or in grand slam knockout stages, except in avoiding all the pressure that was put on his great achievement for decades, but the 2012 the final. The final appeared to be his wall shoulders. Only Murray could win a grand US Open will live long in the British collecthough. This was his fifth appearance in a slam for Britain in this generation of tennis tive memory. final of a grand slam and his first victory. Murray is tied for most appearances in a final without a win, not a good record to be able to claim. But it proves that he has moved past his losses and into the light of victory. In the past year Nadal has What she’s done: been struggling once more with Led the team to their best start this milinjury and Federer is beginning, SR., FIELD HOCKEY, ELLICOTT CITY, MD. lennium with 5 goals and 3 assists in six a little bit, to show his age. Maybe, just maybe, we can see Murgames. ray winning another grand slam just because the competition at Favorite career moment: the top is thinning out a bit. Even It’s a tie between upsetting Hopkins though Djokovic will still be at last year and starting this season 5-0. the top with Murray every tournament the 3-2 victory should Her season goals: give Murray some confidence that he can win against his rival. To give 100 percent in every game, creThe experience should drive him ate lots of scoring opportunities for on to better this achievement our offense, and win some games in and to prove to the world that he Conference playoffs. I want us to show is not an Andy Roddick. everyone that they shouldn’t underestiBut what will happen to Britmate Swat Hockey. ish tennis after this? The Prime Minister reckons that this vicFavorite pizza topping: tory combined with the OlymThai peanut chicken from California pic legacy should inspire a new Pizza Kitchen. generation of sportsmen and women that will carry the counIf I Wasn’t Playing Field Hockey, I’d try into the future. God knows Play … : that British sport associations Definitely either basketball or softhave invested heavily in getting ball—I’ve played both of them for as children to play sport and funded those that are considered to long as I can remember, including earhave futures in their game with lier in my time at Swat. DAN DUNCAN/PHOENIX STAFF a generous amount. Tennis gets
GARNET ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
KATIE TELEKY
Sports
PAGE 20
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2012
The Phoenix
Women’s Soccer Clinches Conference Opener Key Win Against Neumann Instills Confidence, Boosts Morale By JENNI LU Sports Writer
After an overtime heartbreaker, the Swarthmore women’s soccer team is bouncing back in a big way. Riding a potent offense, the Garnet rolled to a an overwhelming 8-0 victory against Neumann on September 9. That success only continued as they beat Franklin & Marshall 2-0 on the road in their first conference game last Saturday. Rebounding from a tough 1-0 loss in overtime against the Widener Pride, the team prepared for the game against Neumann with one goal in mind: get the W. “If we played the way we were capable of, and attacked the goal, we would have success,” said coach Todd Anckaitis. And sure enough, his formula worked, with the Garnet scoring their first goal within the first seven minutes of the game. Despite leading 4-0 at halftime, the team had no intention of coasting through the remainder of the game. Against Widener, in Anckaitis’ view, “We weren’t aggressive enough going at the goal. We wanted to show up against Neumann and make sure people were [attacking] . . . not waiting for someone else to do it.” The final score was the team’s largest margin of victory in Anckaitis’ coaching career, along with last season’s 9-1 victory against the City College of New York. Even with that victory under their belt, the Garnet could not relax going into the conference opener. “Conference matches are always heated. It doesn’t matter who we’re playing, it doesn’t matter what our standings are, they’re always heated and they can go any way,” reminded Anckaitis. His players shared similar thoughts: “We were excited going into the game against Franklin & Marshall. As our first conference game it was important to win and start out strong in conference play,” said Emma Sindelar ’15. Whatever pressures the team might have been facing, they certainly did not appear preoccupied. Within the first twenty minutes of the game, the Garnet launched their first shot on goal—and found the back of the net. They repeated this routine in the second half of the game, extending their lead to the final 2-0 score on their first shot attempt of the half. The victory route was trying— “Franklin & Marshall came back in the second half and pressured hard so we had to remain composed and finish out the game,” said Sindelar. But she pointed that the win came in impressive fashion: the Diplomats are a team that “only [gave] up two goals to three teams in the last year.” This game saw the return of some familiar faces. Sindelar, who has been dealing with muscle strains since the start of the season, was finally able to hit the field on Saturday. “The game at Franklin & Marshall felt great be-
Elyse Tierney and Julia Murphy show their intensity against Widener, topping the Pride 3-0 two weeks ago.
cause I was finally able to be back on the field and was able to contribute to our win,” she said. One of the leading scorers of the team last season, her absence during the beginning of the season has been felt. “It was good to see Emma get some points,” said Anckaitis. Ending the game with an assist in the first half and a goal in the second, it was clear that Sindelar was recovering quickly.
COURTESY OF SWARTHMORE ATHLETICS
Support and flexibility from the bench was a key component to the team’s success. Aine Schanche ’16 found herself playing more than her normal position as defense. Anckaitis explained, “She had been playing in the back for us, and we played her as an outside midfielder . . . she’s not usually playing back here. She did a really nice job. She was very threatening in her attack.” With three upperclassmen missing the game due to injuries (Cassie Strawser ’13, Mariam Vonderheide ’13 and McCleary Philbin ’13), the nine freshmen on the team have found themselves shouldering new responsibilities. “They have [had] to learn quickly . . . [but] they’re doing a nice job, being thrown into the fire,” praised their coach. Defense supported the Garnet offense throughout the game, easing off some pressure and allowing the scorers more freedom to focus on their aggressive attack. Ellen Bachmanhuff ’15 was a vital player in this role. “She just [held] down the fort back there…she was unbelievable. I don’t think a 50/50 ball (a ball in the air) came close to her—she dominated them back there,” said Anckaitis. Bachmanhuff was more modest about her game, saying “there is room for improvement. I am happy with the way I am playing and how the team is playing, but I also see our potential. I know that if we continue to work hard and do our best we will become better and we will continue to grow individually and as a team.” The players agree that winning the conference opener was crucial. “This game was key for us . . . our 2-2 record before didn’t matter because conference games are what gets us into conference playoffs and ideally the NCAA playoffs. This win was key in giving us the confidence that we are good and that we can win conference [games] and move into the post season,” said Bachmanhuff. The Garnet continued Centennial play at Ursinus in a late Wednesday night game. Their next match comes Saturday at Clothier Field against the COURTESY OF SWARTHMORE ATHLETICS Red Devils of Dickinson. Play starts at Emma Sindelar and Melissa Trofa stepped up their game against Widener two weeks ago, contributing to the Garnet overshooting the Pride 25-2. 7 p.m.