DECEMBER 1, 2011 • THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SINCE 1881 • VOLUME 134, ISSUE 13
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PHOENIX
Inside: Strategic Plan revised to include McCabe library College decorations respect religious diversity Jacob Phillips competes in XC nationals
The Science Behind Swarthmore’s Even Keel
Despite national trends, the number of Swat students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math have stayed relatively stable since the ’80s p. 5
The Phoenix
Thursday, December 1, 2011 Volume 134, Issue 13
The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881. EDITORIAL BOARD Amelia Possanza Editor in Chief Menghan Jin Managing Editor Marcus Mello Managing Editor Adam Schlegel News Editor Patrick Ammerman Assistant News Editor Preston Cooper Living & Arts Editor Reem Abdou Opinions Editor Tim Bernstein Sports Editor Allegra Pocinki Photo Editor Peter Akkies Webmaster Eric Sherman Webmaster
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Jenny Koch, who played the role of Belinda in Henry Purcells’s opera “Dido and Aeneas,” performed a solo in the Swarthmore College Chorus concert held on Saturday, November 20 in the Lang Concert Hall. PAGE 8
News
dancing
The Swarthmore Jazz Ensemble showcased hot tunes from the twenties and thirties that brought audience members onto the dance floor. PAGE 8
Phoenix hopes to provide its reflection on this defining social campaign and what it means for Swarthmore. PAGE 14
Library talk enters planning The social networking discussions future thanks to National Novel Writing Harshil Sahai provides Facebook Concerns over structural issues in McCabe his analysis of have prompted talk of the need for adding Month is admirable in its Facebook’s current reign as social networklibrary renovations to the Strategic Planing giant and explores whether that status insanity ning document. is transient or here to stay. PAGE 3
ITS continues to struggle to solve wireless issues
Recurring wireless and connectivity issues and network outages have aroused mounting frustrations within the student body with regards to the ability of ITS to address technological maladies. PAGE 4
Susana Medeiros examines “NaNoWriMo,” an event in which thousands of aspiring novelists attempt to write a 50,000-word manuscript over the course of the month. PAGE 9
Johnny shares the very best of TV holiday episodes
From “The Simpsons” to “Modern Family,” modern holiday TV is not just “A Charlie Brown Christmas” anymore. PAGE 9
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Swarthmore Conservative: Romney for US president
Tyler offers an explanation and support for his endorsement of Mitt Romney as the next, and best, president of the United States. PAGE 16
Pool irritants to be allievated by new UV cleaning sys- Swat celebrates the holitem day season: finding the balBoth casual and routine swimmers in Ware Pool have noticed strange physical symp- ance between religious and McDaniel comeback sends toms from continued pool use, hopefully to secular be alleviated by a new UV system for chlo- Sharples has a Christmas tree. Willets women’s basketball to loss rine management. PAGE 6
Living & Arts
is embroiled in a competition to find out which floor can be the most festive. Beneath the lights, though, the college must consider how to make members of all religions feel comfortable and included in the fun. PAGE 10
Holiday shopping in Center For those who stay at Swat, City, Philadelphia Jen Johnson takes us into the heart of Philways to have Thanksgiving adelphia to find the best deals on gifts for Students who don’t have the ability to go home for Thanksgiving are finding other options closer to campus, including going to professors’ houses to have the biggest meal of the year. PAGE 7
Senior Company to perform ‘Fefu and Her Friends’
Each year the Senior Company of theater majors puts on a production. This year’s play is “Fefu and Her Friends” by Marie Irene Fornes, which will be performed in a house off-campus. PAGE 7
Jazz ensemble concert offers evening of history,
family and friends this holiday season. PAGE 12
Sports
The Swarthmore women’s basketball team was up late against conference rival McDaniel, but let the game slip away in the final minute for their second loss of the year. PAGE 17
Men’s basketball can’t find answer for D-I Columbia
It got late early for the Garnet in New York, as the size and shooting ability of the Columbia Lions carried them to a rout. PAGE 18
Daring to dream: my 2011 Hanukkah wish list Tim Bernstein gives his present requests for this year’s Hanukkah celebration, including resurgences for the Tiger, the Yankees and the Swarthmore football team. PAGE 19
Opinions
Volleyball seniors leave Occupy Colleges shows behind a program changed Genny Pezzola, Lisa Shang, Hilary solidarity with Occupy Wall With Santana and Anthony Yoshimura wrapStreet ping up their volleyball careers, Victor From Zuccotti Park to UC-Davis, the Occupy movement has found traction in one of the most socially active demographics in America — college undergraduates. The
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Brady reflects on the team’s journey from a six-win team in 2008 to a perennial contender today. PAGE 20
December 1, 2011
STAFF Koby Levin News Writer Chris Nam News Writer Sera Jeong Living & Arts Writer Steven Hazel Living & Arts Writer Chi Zhang Living & Arts Writer Brad Lenox Living & Arts Writer Nolan Gear Living & Arts Columnist Jen Johnson Living & Arts Columnist Lauren Kim Living & Arts Columnist Vianca Masucci Living & Arts Columnist Susana Medeiros Living & Arts Columnist Johnny Taeschler Living & Arts Columnist Naia Poyer Living & Arts Artist Tyler Becker Opinions Columnist Danielle Charette Opinions Columnist Olivia Natan Opinions Columnist Peter Gross Opinions Columnist Shimian Zhang Opinions Columnist Harshil Shai Opinions Columnist Sam Sussman Opinions Columnist Sam Zhang Opinions Columnist Emma Waitzman Political Cartoonist Ana Apostoleris Sports Writer Paul Chung Photographer Simone Forrester Photographer Cristina Matamoros Photographer Elèna Ruyter Photographer Holly Smith Photographer Julia Carleton Photographer Justin Toran-Burrell Photographer Renee Flores Chief Copy Editor Sophie Diamond Copy Editor Conor Heins Copy Editor Taylor Hodges Copy Editor Margaret Lawlace Copy Editor Brian Lee Copy Editor Vija Lietuvninkas Copy Editor Shashwati Rao Copy Editor Allison Shultes Copy Editor BUSINESS STAFF Business Manager Ian Anderson Advertising Manager Paul Chung COVER DESIGN Amelia Kucic CONTRIBUTORS Victor Brady, Amanda Epstein and Yi-Wei Liu, Allison Shultes OPINIONS BOARD Reem Abdou, Menghan Jin, Marcus Mello and Amelia Possanza EDITOR’S PICKS PHOTOS COURTESY OF: (clockwise from top left) austinpost.org academy252.blogspot.com cornbreadandbeansquilting.wordpress.com christmaslightsetc.com COVER PHOTO CREDIT nytimes.com TO ADVERTISE: E-mail: advertising@swarthmorephoenix.com Advertising phone: (610) 328-7362 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Direct advertising requests to Amelia Possanza. The Phoenix reserves the right to refuse any advertising. Advertising rates subject to change. CONTACT INFORMATION Offices: Parrish Hall 470-472 E-mail: editor@swarthmorephoenix.com Newsroom phone: (610) 328-8172 Address: The Phoenix, Swarthmore College, 500 College Ave., Swarthmore, PA 19081 Web site: www.swarthmorephoenix.com Mail subscriptions are available for $60 a year or $35 a semester. Direct subscription requests to Amelia Possanza. The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing, Inc. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association. All contents copyright © 2011 The Phoenix. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
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Events Menu Today Guzheng Performance Musician Qiu Zhong will be giving a performance of his music on a Guzheng, a musical string instrument with two thousand years of history. The performance begins at 4:30 p.m. in SCI 199.
Library talk enters planning discussions
Fefu and Her Friends Watch your fellow Swatties from the Senior Company workshop as they present their final project, “Fefu and Her Friends” by Marie Irene Fornes, at 8:30 p.m. in an off campus house. Those interested in learning more should email Tara Webb at lpacevents@swarthmore. edu. Tomorrow Sports, the business of Swat alum and sports industry executive Tom Spock ’78 will be speaking about the less visible side of the sports world through the lens of his own experiences in the business and management aspects of the industry in Kohlberg 116 at 12:30 p.m. Careers: International Development Come hear Jorge Munoz ’84, Lead Rural Development Specialist for Latin America at The World Bank, discuss his experiences in the field and answer any questions you may have in Parrish 159 at 1:30 p.m. Fall 2011 Student Dance Concert Head over to LPAC to enjoy dance performances by your peers that will include a wide range of styles, such as African-Brazilian, Kathak, Taiko, Tap and Swing beginning at 8 p.m. in Pearson Hall Theater. Saturday, December 3 Yule Ball Join your fellow wizards and witches for a magical experience of music, vittles and dance at the annual Harry Potter themed Yule Ball in Sharples beginning at 8 p.m. The Masked Ball If witchcraft and wizardry aren’t up your alley, an antiformal to the Yule Ball will be held in Olde Club at 10 p.m. as part of an effort to raise funds for the free education of underprivileged children in Ghana. Masks will be handed out at the door. Sunday, December 4 Gamelan Concert Come hear Swat’s very own classical Indonesian percussion orchestra, Gamelan Semara Santi, perform the sounds of traditional Balinese music along with the Taiko Ensemble, directed by Kim Arrow, at 3 p.m. in Lang Concert Hall. Swarthmore College Orchestra The Swarthmore College Orchestra will be performing pieces by Golijov, Haydn, and Mussorgsky/ Ravel tonight in the Lang Concert Hall, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Email submissions for the events menu to news@swarthmorephoenix. com.
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Stacks of books in the rare book collection of McCabe are currently being protected from potential leakage by plastic tarps, a solution the library staff implemented initially as a temporary measure but has now become a permanent fixture on the third floor.
By Koby Levin jlevin1@swarthmore.edu The next edition of the Swarthmore Strategic Directions Draft Plan, sent for approval to the Board of Managers this week, contains far more language about Swarthmore’s library system than the previous one, which contained the word “library” once, in reference to funding for databases to be housed there. Students, faculty members and library staff had expressed concern that the McCabe Library, which they consistently described as “the heart of the campus,” did not receive more attention from the Strategic Planning committee, pointing to potential improvements in McCabe’s infrastructure, accessibility and learning spaces that they said would bring the library into the 21st century. The library-related language in the new version of the Draft Plan will be located in a new prologue section as well as in a section on the importance of “spaces,” which cites the library as one of the most important spaces on campus. The Plan will also present a vision of a new library, according to Garikai Campbell ’90, Associate Vice President for Planning. “The plan we have sent to the Board for approval this week makes clear the need to re-envision our libraries, McCabe most specifically, in order to provide space that allows a full spectrum of collaborative work, individual study, and engagement with material and information,” said Campbell in an email. While the vision presented in the new Draft Plan jibes with that of the library staff, the new version will not specifically lay out a plan for renovation, leaving some of the concerns they and others have voiced unaddressed for the time being. “The library is not [in the draft plan] in specific, but as the very best way to realize the principles the plan commits to,” said Timothy Burke,
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History Professor and a member of the Strategic Planning Council. Concerns include infrastructural issues which have undermined some collections in McCabe, notably the Peace Collection and the rare books. The library is also running out of storage space, forcing librarians to store parts of Swarthmore’s Peace Collection, among other resources, at a University of Pennsylvania facility. For every book that comes into the Peace Collection, another must be sent to remote storage. Though materials can be requested from remote storage, that process is not the same as searching for a book on the shelf. Chris Geissler ’13, a Linguistics and Religion double major, expressed concern that these issues were not being addressed. “The Peace Collection, the world-renowned Peace Collection, is relegated to a dark corner and is completely unknown to so many students, and the librarians have resorted to covering the rare books with plastic tarps,” he said. “Academic matters, such as adequate facilities for the library system, ought to be a priority of Swarthmore as a whole and therefore prominent in the Draft Plan.” The constant search for more shelf space in McCabe has cut into open areas in the library. The skylight room in the north-west corner of the third floor, once a student lounge, is now full of bookshelves; the areas around the main stairwell have also been changed from lounge spaces into storage. In 2005, compact shelving was installed in the basement, making room for more growth. In spite of these efforts, librarians say they are bumping up against the library’s storage capacity again. McCabe’s stacks, or bookshelves, are also situated close together, which can hinder accessibility. “A new building would bring us more in line with current standards of accessibility,” said
December 1, 2011
Luciano Martínez, Assistant Professor, Coordinator of Latin American Studies and Spanish Section Head. “It would require that we space stacks more, which would be extremely useful to people who need to access the stacks and who now may be limited.” The latest Draft Plan’s vision of an updated library system reflects the vision of Peggy Seiden, Swarthmore’s College Librarian, who sees her vision as grounds for a library renovation. “The way people use libraries and do research has changed significantly, especially since the advent of online information resources,” she said. “This library is just not designed to facilitate the way people engage and do research.” Librarians have noticed an increase in collaborative work by students in the library. This phenomenon, along with the rise of multimedia technology, demands an increased variety of study spaces at McCabe. Seiden envisions group study spaces, individual carrels, and “media spaces” rife with technology, a vision consistent with the models of modern libraries being built around the country at colleges like Williams, which published a video of its president outlining plans for a new library, espousing a vision similar to Seiden’s and the Draft Plan’s. Seiden had expressed particular concern about the paucity of language about the library in the soon-to-be-replaced edition of the Draft Plan. “If we don’t change the library … I’ve seen it happen where the library becomes marginalized, becomes moribund, and I think the library should very much be at the heart of what this institution is about,” Seiden said. Pamela Harris, Outreach and Instruction Librarian, offered a simpler reason to update the library. “[The library] was built to be a book box,” she said. “And that’s not what we need anymore.”
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ITS continues to struggle to solve wireless issues
Week in pictures
ings of the ITS department itself. ITS has denied that causes such as lack of funding or failure of commuThe frequency of campus-wide nication between members of the deIT problems, including crashes of partment are central to the problem. Swarthmore’s Mac network, outages “ITS at Swarthmore is well supfor college websites and services such ported by the college. No small college as MySwat and reduced or blocked can afford the level of staff and system wireless Internet connectivity for se- redundancy required to ensure that lect users, have led to mounting stu- there are never any outages — even dent frustration over the ITS depart- Google and Amazon have rare outagment’s capabilities in maintaining es,” said Chief Information Technolthe college’s technology services. ogy Officer Gayle Barton. Around a month ago, from midThe department said that this fall to late- October, a series of network was particularly challenging, and failures that lasted intermittently for that a key issue is not lack of commutwo weeks caused many problems nication within the department, but for students trying to work or simply between students and ITS members. use college websites. At that time, in “Some problems are easy to fix an October 28 Daily Gazette article, once the cause is discovered, but we Information Security Analyst Nick know that we can’t catch everything. Hannon called the network problem With the wireless connectivity proba “brain buster.” lems, we did “It seems not respond as like one of those quickly as we With the wireless things where could have, had there are mulwe had better connectivity problems, tiple things information we did not respond as sooner,” Barton causing this one symptom, not quickly ... had we had ... said. any one thing According to we can point at,” information sooner. reports by the Hannon said. In ITS Help Desk, Gayle Barton some cases, a once it was delaptop could contermined that Chief Information nect to the InterMonday night’s Technology Officer net in one buildproblem was ing, but could widespread, netnot in another work and telebuilding. Hannon found no problems communications staff made solving using his own laptop, but could not the problem their highest priority. identify the problem with laptops of When they were not able to identify other users. the source of the problem, they conAfter applying a series of network tacted the relevant manufacturers maintenance procedures and vendor to get additional technical support. upgrades, ITS had fixed many of the Typically, problems are prioritized by college’s network problems. Yet the the number of people affected and by problems were not permanently re- whether there are alternative shortsolved. Based on student reports to term solutions. ITS, wireless problems and issues In this case, the first set of calls with college Mac computers had re- received by the Help Desk were hanturned again Monday and Tuesday dled as individual, one-off, situations. night this week. However, it took ITS a while to have Director of Networking and Tele- enough information to determine that communications Mark Dumic be- the problem was widespread. lieved that this time it was likely that Students can help the ITS staff ima bug in the network had caused con- prove its response to network probnectivity problems. lems by “immediately letting us know “ITS has been attempting to re- when, and where, problems occur,” solve intermittent problems with the said Barton. This includes problems wireless network that drop device such as slow wireless speed, inability connections and prevent devices from to connect to the campus Wi-fi, or inconnecting. ITS will be installing new ability to log on to desktop computers wireless controller software,” said around campus. Dumic in a campus-wide email. “It is essential for us to be able to The apparent inability for network resolve them. The preferred method issues to be permanently resolved for giving ITS this information is by has led to many student complaints using the “Send a Request” button directed at the ITS department, Es- on the Dash, or sending an email to pecially because it seriously harms help@swarthmore.edu,” he added. Swarthmore students’ ability to work As of Wednesday morning, the coneffectively. nectivity problem appears to have Some have speculated that net- been fixed after the installation of work problems have their root cause new wireless controller software on not in technological maladies but in the previous night, but it is unclear institutional or structural shortcom- how permanent these fixes will be. By yi-wei liu yliu2@swarthmore.edu
Holly Smith The Phoenix
Lang Center Research Associate George Lakey plays the piano as student Nina Serbedzija sings along at Broadway Sing on Tuesday afternoon in Parrish Parlors.
Holly Smith The Phoenix
Students Will Lawrence and Aden Tedla discuss concerns over life on campus at the general assembly planning meeting in Kohlberg.
Julia Carleton The Phoenix
Political scientist Robert Putnam, speaks in LPAC about his new book “American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.”
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Swat bucks national trend of decline in science majors By Chris Nam knam1@swarthmore.edu
Based on observations from members of the Swarthmore community, the college seems to be defying a perceived nationwide decline in the number of successful math, science, and engineering majors. On November 6, 2011, The New York Times printed an article titled, “Why Science Majors Change Their Minds (It’s Just So Darn Hard)”, which addressed the perceived difficulty of math, science and engineering major tracks in American colleges. Studies conducted by various schools nationwide have found that more students drop out of majors in the natural sciences and engineering than in the humanities and the social sciences, and that science majors often graduate with lower GPAs than their classmates from other departments. Various faculty and staff here at Swarthmore have been eager to attest, however, that this trend has not been observed at the college. “From the statistics we have on each year’s graduating class, we see that the proportion of students majoring in the sciences has remained about the same through the years, as has majoring in the other divisions,” said Martin Warner, Registrar of the college. According to statistics available online at http:// www.swarthmore.edu/factbook.xml, students at Swarthmore have consistently excelled in the sciences and have ultimately bucked the nationwide trend. In every one of the last ten graduating classes, the number of majors in the natural sciences and engineering has surpassed that of majors in the humanities. In the last three years, biology has consistently been the second-most popular major among graduating classes, second only to economics. In addition, mathematics was the sixth-most popular major for the Class of 2011, with 22 successful majors; this figure is followed by 15 physics majors, 14 engineering majors, 11 computer science majors, and 7 chemistry majors. Even more startling a statistic is how these majors have all grown on average in the past ten years in light of the increasing attrition rates observed amongst many other institutions of higher learning in the United States. Students in premedical tracks have also excelled in spades. Only once in the last ten years has the college’s acceptance rate to medical schools dipped below 80%; only twice in the last ten years has the college’s average MCAT score dipped below 32 out of 45. These figures include fresh graduates as well as older alumni who apply to medical schools after graduation. Faculty members from various corners of the natural sciences were also at hand to echo Warner’s thoughts. “Throughout my time at Swarthmore, I think the number of chemistry majors has been about the same as it’s always been,” said Paul Rablen, Chair of the Chemistry Department. “It’s quite natural that students change their minds regarding what majors they ultimately opt for, especially since majors are not declared until late in the sophomore year at Swarthmore.” At Swarthmore, students make their initial selection of individual majors through the sophomore paper during the second semester of sophomore year. This policy was originally constructed in order to prevent students from making rash or regrettable decisions concerning their majors. It also limits any perceived decline in majors to the first two years of classes, a time when students regularly explore their options before settling down on a major. Eric Jensen, Chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department, similarly attributed any perceived attrition amongst underclassmen science majors to the flexible nature of the liberal arts curriculum. “Part of the point of a college education — and a liberal arts education in particular — is to find out what you like to do, and exploring the sciences before settling on another field is not all bad,” said Jensen. Jensen also observed that it was difficult to generalize the abilities and priorities of physics students in the Physics Department, especially in the introductory courses that many non-majors attend for the sake of exploration. “A student in PHYS 005 [the in-
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troductory course of the physics major track] may intend to major in physics, but the student in the very next seat may have taken the course simply to learn more physics, with no intention of majoring,” Jensen said. “So it’s not clear how to define or measure ‘attrition’ when we don’t know students’ intentions coming into these courses, and when the courses themselves are designed to serve multiple goals,” he Paul Chung The Phoenix added. Lynne Molter, Swarthmore’s annual number of graduating students who major in the natural sciences has Chair of the En- seen no major decrease in recent years. gineering Department, agreed with Jensen that students entering research opportunities to peer support groups is Swarthmore might not know what they really want to as strong as possible. This goes for the natural scido. “Here at Swarthmore, students often initially de- ences and engineering, but it also applies equally clare their interest in engineering on their college ap- to the social sciences and humanities, and should plications,” said Lynne Molter, Chair of the Engineer- engage our entire community — faculty, staff, stuing Department. “But as we all know, such a choice dents, and where appropriate, alumni,” Campbell is not always well-informed … only when they come said. to Swarthmore and start taking classes do they realize the program’s requirements,” she added. Molter mentioned the stringency of the engineering major, which requires the completion of 12 engineering credits, four math credits, and four science credits, as a major contributor to disinterested freshThe weekend before Thanksgiving, Delta Upsilon’s Graffiti Party was men dropping out of their shut down early after Swarthmore police voiced concern that the party engineering track early on. was growing unruly. Their concerns were sparked when, on routine patrol Building upon Jensen’s behind the frat house, they witnessed a group of rowdy individuals who point, Molter also menhad just stepped off of a bus. tioned the nature of the libAccording to Swarthmore Police Chief Brian Craig, the police report eral arts education and the indicated that “the people leaving the bus were unruly, causing a disturaccessibility of other acabance and throwing bottles.” The police officers found Public Safety in demic fields as additional the process of dealing with the individuals throwing the bottles, and apreasons for any perceived proached the scene to assist them. decline in science-related According to David Hill ’13, a Party Associate (PA) coordinator and a graduates. “At a larger unipledge to the DU fraternity, their intervention was the appropriate thing versity where there is a septo do. “I think they’re there to make sure everything is safe and under conarate engineering school, trol, and I think that at the point at which people are throwing beer bottles, the college application neeven if they weren’t at the police cars, that’s a danger that shouldn’t be cessitates the student to make a larger commitment allowed,” Hill said. to his engineering program According to Hill, the police were not acting out of character in inter… such a commitment is vening in the fraternity’s party that night. “The police on the weekends a barrier of sorts that stuoften patrol on the road … in the back of the fraternities and going towards dents here don’t have,” the dining hall, and since it is a public road they have every right to do Molter said. that,” Hill said. From the Strategic PlanAccording to Craig, the police approached one of the individuals throwning point-of-view, these ing the bottles, who was highly intoxicated and acting recklessly. The stuobservations have led the dent was sent to Worth Health Center by the officer and received a citation Strategic Planning Commitfor drinking underage. tee to reassert the college’s Another individual, who was identified as a student from Bryn Mawr dedication to providing College, was also cited for underage drinking because she was highly inquality education in every toxicated. Many later thought that it was the Bryn Mawr student who was field. “We are, of course, deresponsible for throwing bottles, but the official police report does not invoted to the same excellence dicate that she was involved. in the sciences that we are After a conversation between police, the PAs on duty, and the fraternity devoted to in the social scipresident Matt Lamb ‘12, a decision was reached to end the party early and ences and humanities,” said send everyone home. Although many were unhappy that the party was Garikai Campbell, Associending earlier than expected, there were no further incidents. Hill is glad ate Vice President of Stratethat the night ended without further problems for partygoers or the school. gic Planning. “The amount of restraint they showed in just picking up the one individu“Part of that means enal, who was severely intoxicated, is laudable and commendable,” he said. suring that support for evby Patrick Ammerman erything from pedagogical innovation to lab and
News IN BRIEF
DU’s Graffiti Party ends early due to police concerns
December 1, 2011
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Pool irritants to be alleviated by new UV cleaning system air movement over the pool surface. This is then compounded by air recycling devices used to control heating costs. Sue Davis, Head Swimming Coach, says that After months of complaints about a UV system will be installed over winter uncomfortable swimming conditions by break. These systems have been proven Ware Pool users, Swarthmore athletic effective at removing chloramines from administrators have finally settled on a pools. date to install an ultraviolet (UV) sterilAccording to Marian Ware Director of izing system — one that promises to re- Athletics Adam Hertz, the problem was duce the level of chloramines, the chlo- actually caused by a power-outage in the rine by-product that causes eye and nasal pool last year, after which the existing irritation and difficulty in breathing for system added the chlorine, that hadn’t swimmers. been released earlier, during the outage According to the Center for Disease in large volumes and resulted in higher Control and Prevention (CDC), chlora- than optimal chlorine levels. This hapmines are a build-up of irritants, formed pened again several times after. Because as by-products associated with disinfec- installing a new controller will allow for tion through chlorine use. These by prod- lower usages of chlorine and therefore ucts result when chlorine, sweat, urine, lower levels of chloramines, the UV sterand other waste combine. As the concen- ilizing system will most likely solve the tration of problem these comswimmers pounds inhave been I can’t get enough air into my creases, the facing for air becomes months. system since there are so many infected as These chemicals circulating. well. sporadic Breathpower outKatie Warren ’15 ing air ages and “loaded consequent with irririse in chlotants can cause a variety of symptoms ... ramines in the water have indeed made [ranging] from mild symptoms, such as this long season a tough one for swimcoughing, to severe symptoms, such as mers. wheezing or aggravating asthma ... and “I have always had exercise-induced may increase sensitivity to other types of asthma, so it’s always been hard for me irritants such as fungi and bacteria” ac- to breathe when I swim, but I noticed it cording to the CDC’s website. more when I came here,” swimmer Katie These irritants in the air build up as a Warren ’15 said. “I tie up in all my races result of an insufficient amount of fresh because I can’t get enough air into my
BY AMANDA EPSTEIN aepstei1@swarthmore.edu
Jakob Mrozewski The Phoenix
Swimmers have noted the effects of high chloramine levels in Ware pool, including hair thinning, as well as respiratory and skin irritation, since the start of the fall semester. system since there are so many chemicals circulating.” Warren also noted that there is a lot of coughing during practice, and that swimmers often need to step outside to get fresh air. Tony Lee ‘15, also a swimmer, has noted that his hair has thinned since he began using the Ware pool at the beginning of the year. “I never had this problem in high school,” Lee said. Chlorine levels also rise and fall depending on the amount of activity in the pool, according to Hertz, so it is not unusual to get higher readings when there are open swim meets or practices. In fact, for that reason, the levels are often higher than they are supposed to be — especially during swimming season. While the system is detecting the level of need to protect the water, it does not necessarily
AROUND HIGHER EDUCATION
U.S. medical school apps reach all-time high
BY JIN PYUO LEE thedp.com, Nov. 29
Medical school applications reached an alltime high this year, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. 32,654 people applied for the first time to medical school, an increase of 2.6 percent over last year. The total number of applicants also jumped by 2.8 percent this year to 43,919, up from 42,741 in 2010. This is the largest first-time applicant pool since it began tracking in 1989, according to AAMC. Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine has not yet released its application numbers for this year. “This demonstrates without a doubt that medicine remains a very attractive career to undergraduates,” AAMC President and CEO Darrell Kirch said in a statement. “We are very pleased that medicine continues to be attractive at a time when our healthcare system faces many challenges.” The growth in number of applications has also been fueled by an increase in the number of schools and spots available to future doctors. In 2006, AAMC advised medical schools to increase their enrollment by 30 percent. This figure was produced by a report from AAMC’s Center for Workforce Studies, which estimated that the United States would be short 90,000 physicians by 2020. Pre-med students at Penn attribute the increasing number of applicants to various reasons. “Although hard work is needed, being a doctor is ideal because you are looking to help out other people and that’s motivating other people,” said Engineering and Wharton freshman Jackie Chow, who is studying a pre-med track. “And it’s a secure job.” College senior Grace Ha, who is gearing up
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to apply to medical schools, agreed that the job security that comes with being a doctor is especially appealing. “I think the economy is bad, and people who are pre-med want to find stability in their profession when becoming a doctor,” said Ha, a former contributing writer to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “It is more stable [compared to other jobs].” Ha and Chow plan to take different strategies to stand out in an increasingly competitive admissions process. Chow isn’t too worried about the all-time high in applications, since she believes this is something she will love to do in the future. “I believe people who get into the medical school are deeply passionate about what they do,” Chow said. “There are several steps involved [in the admissions process] to show efforts to make sure that it’s what [I] would like to do.” But Ha, who will take a year or two off after her graduation, hopes to find more opportunities to enhance her candidacy. “Higher competition does affect my strategy. While taking a year or two off, I will try to find opportunities that will be more attractive to medical schools,” Ha said. “I think I will apply to more schools in order to increase my chances.” This year, 11 medical schools increased their class sizes by more than ten percent. Three new medical schools — Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine in Michigan and Hofstra University School of Medicine in New York — opened this year, admitting a total of 154 students into their charter classes. In additions to existing medical schools, two more are expected to open in 2012 and several others are currently undergoing the accreditation process.
December 1, 2011
protect the swimmers themselves, whose well-being and performance are consequently at stake. The pool will be put to the test this weekend at the Swarthmore Invitational, an annual swim meet in which approximately 10 teams will compete. The event will take place on both December 2 and 3. “We continue to monitor the pool, checking the levels twice daily,” Hertz said. This will have to do until the new system comes in, which will not only monitor but also control the chlorine levels. After a year of researching various systems and their benefits, Hertz said that the UV system seems as though it will be the most effective in fixing the problem the Ware Pool and its swimmers face.
Who are you going to be? “The community of teachers formed at the Warner School has had a lasting impact on my career. We share a common language, goal, and dedication to meeting that goal.” Margot Blazak MS in Teaching, Class of 2011 Teacher, Rochester City School District
The Warner School of Education at the University of Rochester offers graduate programs in:
Teaching Counseling Human Development Higher Education Educational Policy School Leadership Health Professions Education Part-time, full-time, and non-matriculated study available. Grants and scholarships available to qualified applicants.
www.warner.rochester.edu admissions@warner.rochester.edu 585.275.3950
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Living & Arts
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Students staying at Swat celebrate Thanksgiving
come an annual tradition. “Lena said, ‘We have to have Thanksgiving!’ Last year, we didn’t [have dinner with Swarthmore students] because I was on sabbatical, so For many families, tradition dictates the holiday sea- I had no way of inviting students. We went to a sons. Whether it’s the breaking of the wishbone, cook- friend’s house instead, but Lena really loves ing a special family recipe or cheering for favorite foot- the Swarthmore students.” ball teams, Thanksgiving traditions tend to make the Much of the company at this year’s holidays feel cozier, maintaining an air of familiarity dinner was comprised of international in the festivities. Associate Professor of Anthropology students; for two, it was their first Farha Ghannam has developed her own tradition for Thanksgiving. Sabrina Singh ’15, who the Thanksgiving holiday: inviting Swarthmore stu- is from Nepal, enjoyed her first exdents far from their families into her home for dinner. perience with the American holiday. While some Swarthmore students can traverse the “Honestly, I was more homesick over country to spend time with their families over the fall break. We don’t have the holiday in Thanksgiving holiday, others, separated by hundreds Nepal, so I called and talked to my parents of miles from their relatives, have no way of going about it, but they didn’t know what it was home. Ghannam found herself in a similar position — it isn’t a part of our culture,” Singh said. as these students in her first few years in the United The mood around the dinner table this States; originally from Jordan, she couldn’t spend the year was far from academic, as guests shared holiday with family. She and her husband, who came what they were thankful for, discussed different to the United States from Sweden, began opening their elements of their own cultures, and played charades. home to Swarthmore students six or seven years ago, “We laughed a lot, which I think is good. It’s important after their daughter, Lena, was born. “I think it’s a real- not to be serious all the time,” Ghannam said. ly nice holiday in the UnitWhile options to dine ed States that celebrates with professors appealed the good things about life, to some students, others and it became particularly opted to spend the holiI think it’s a really nice holiday in important for us when we with friends’ families the United States that celebrates day had our child,” Ghannam in the area. Senior Marsaid. garet Lenfest, who lives good things about life. Lena, now 10, served 40 minutes outside of Farha Ghannam as a motivating factor beSwarthmore, has hosted hind this year’s Thanksfriends for the past two Professor of Anthropology giving dinner at the GhanThanksgivings. “It’s way nam household. Professor more fun to have friends Ghannam, busy with concome home, because ferences in Canada and D.C. in the weeks surrounding they’re my favorite people. So I get to eat good food, be the holiday, said her daughter insisted on the gather- with my family, and be with my favorite people from ing, while she tried to find a way out of what has be- Swarthmore,” Lenfest said. by allison shultes ashulte1@swarthmore.edu
Additional mouths to feed don’t seem to faze hosts, who often put the extra hands to use. Students arrived early to help Professor Ghannam prepare some of the side dishes, and Lenfest’s guests contributed to a potluck dessert. Here at Swarthmore, Sharples staff came together to provide students who remained on campus during the break with a special Thanksgiving feast. Beginning preparations at nine in the morning, kitchen staff worked to cook a traditional dinner with turkey and ham, as well as customary side dishes and options for vegans and vegetarians. In addition to providing students with a specially cooked meal, Sharples staff also set the tables before opening the doors, offering a welcome departure from the typical meal trays. Along with the approximately 130 students who attended the dinner at Sharples were members of Public Safety, who joined in the celebration. Following dinner, students were offered hoagies for later in the day, should they work up an appetite before bedtime. Many of the students attending the dinner were international, according to Sharples staff, and were greatly impressed by the spread offered at the buffet-style meal. Said Dining Services’ Don Thomas, “You should have seen their faces!” The variety of options open to students far from home helped ensure good company, good food, and a restful break for all on campus as finals week approaches. It’s a testament to the Swarthmore community that regardless of how far from home you are, doors — and tables — are always open to you.
Senior Company to perform “Fefu and Her Friends” by steven hazel shazel1@swarthmore.edu From a night of Shakespeare’s scenes to a performance of “Company,” Swarthmore’s drama groups have already had a significant impact on campus entertainment this semester. The groups have used spaces from Upper Tarble to Olde Club to showcase their dramatic talent. However, this weekend, audiences will find quite a different location for Senior Company’s 2012 production. Instead of lining up and taking seats in Swarthmore’s performance spaces, the audience for the latest production on campus will be taken by bus to an apartment building on North Chester Road, which has been specially decorated for the play, “Fefu and Her Friends.” The play, hosted by the Department of Theater, will run today at 8:30 p.m., tomorrow at 8 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. The performance is free, but reservations must be made ahead of time. “This year the four members of the class chose a mysterious, lovely and challenging play,” said Professor Elizabeth Stevens of the Theater Department, the faculty advisor. “And they decided to give themselves the additional challenge of both acting in and co-directing the production.” “Fefu and Her Friends” was written by Marie Irene Fornes, a Cuban-American playwright born in 1930. Fornes has written dozens of plays, including “Promenade” for which she won her first Obie
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Award (an award given by The Village Voice for off-Broadway productions in New York City), “Mud” — another Obie winner — and “And What of the Night?” which won her a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize. “We [the directors] had [gone] through a lot of scripts, but this one intrigued us; the script was going to be a staging and aesthetic challenge that many of us had not yet faced — site-specific theater,” said Michelle Fennell ’12, an actor and one of the directors. “Fornes also wrote strong roles for females,” Fennell added. “It really is surprising how few scripts have more than, say, two enticing and full female characters. And even more frustrating, the dialogue — and sometimes the whole plot — often revolves around a male character. ‘Fefu and Her Friends’ deviated substantially from this norm.” Senior Company is a theater group made up of all the senior theater majors — Ryane Disken-Cahill, Michelle Fennell, Lori Barkin and Jessica Cannizzaro. The group directs and performs a play every year which counts as the thesis for drama majors. For “Fefu and Her Friends,” the play includes all the members of Senior Company acting as well as members of other classes who were casted during an open audition. In past years, Senior Company has performed “Metamorphoses” by Mary Zimmerman, “Melancholy Play” by Sarah Ruhl and “Vinegar Tom” by Caryl Churchill, among many others. “Senior Company is a required class for all senior Theater Majors and always
has a faculty member assigned to help pertains to furniture and props.” The directors chose to perform “Fefu the students produce the play,” Professor Stevens said. “They get to pick it, cast and Her Friends” for a variety of reasons, it, direct it — everything. The advisor is including the feminist themes of the play. available to help solve problems and give “The audience gets to ‘live’ in the house advice, which the company members are with the characters for two hours, to see them up close. It’s sort of like a live film. free to take or leave.” One of the most unique things about It is also a haunting, beautifully wrought “Fefu and Her Friends” will be the set- story exploring the relationships among ting. The play is set in the main charac- a group of eight women,” Stevens said. The senior directors were all also cast ter’s home in the 1930’s and centers on a group of women who met in college. In as women in the play. “I have the role of Emma, the very addition to bedramatic, theatrical ing set in an offand earnest friend of campus house, Fefu” Fennell said. the play will The scenes are being “When the other feature a rotaplayed with audience directors and I were tion of the authrough and dience, so half members up close and reading trying to figure out of the audience the casting, Emma will view some as part of the natural was not everyone’s scenes while environment. first instinct for me. the other half However, I wanted a will see others. Laila Swanson real challenge, and “From a set Professor of Theater for me, this meant designer’s point handling a character of view this I was typically never is different in that the play takes place outside what we cast as: the boisterous and presentational consider traditional theater space,” As- woman of the world,” she added. The play should attract students insistant Professor of Design Laila Swanson, the set and costume designer, said. terested in drama, feminism, or simply “The scenes are being played with audi- a good story. “I hope the students enjoy ence members up close and as part of the the break from the traditional black box natural environment, like visitors to an theater,” Swanson said. “I also hope they event in this particular home. This is a find the story intriguing and can identify naturalistic setting from the 1930’s and with some aspects of it as it relates to ismust have a realistic feel of that era as it sues they may experience in 2011.”
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Living & Arts
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Jazz Ensemble concert offers evening of history, dancing by chi zhang czhang1@swarthmore.edu
“We provide the music, you provide the dancing.” The tagline of this semester’s Jazz Ensemble concert perfectly summed up the performance on November 19 in Upper Tarble. Audience members not only enjoyed the beauty of the jazz music but also enjoyed a night of dancing. The performance was composed of twenty pieces, with an intermission after the first ten. The pieces ranged from “Blue Serge” written by Mercer Ellington in 1944 to “Take the ‘A’ Train” by Billy Strayhorn in 1940. According to Drew Shanefield, the director of the Jazz Ensemble, these pieces were drawn from the Harlem Renaissance, a cultural movement in 1920s and 1930s; the Jazz Age during the 1920s when Jazz music and dance emerged; and the Swing Era, a time in the 1930s and 1940s when big band swing music became the most popular musical style in the U.S. Wanting to produce the concert for about a year, Shanefield hoped that this performance would help the audience better understand the academic connection to jazz music. “It was a grand time in the history of jazz,” Shanefield said. “It was the only time in the music’s history where it was the popular music of the country. It provided a bit of relief from the Great Depression, WWII and tense social times in the country.” Before the ensemble performed each piece of music, Shanefield spoke briefly about the setting, the composer and the performers. He shared the context of and stories behind the music to help the audience to more easily understand the emotions the ensemble wanted to convey through its performance. He said, “It was my hope to at-
tempt to capture what it may have felt like in the great New York City dance halls of the time, the Savoy and the Roseland.” Shanefield also wanted to introduce the two different types of bands of that period, the “Hot Bands” and the “Sweet Bands.” “The Hot Bands were African-American bands and the Sweet Bands were white Bands,” he said. Shanefield selected music predominantly of the Hot Bands of the era, because the Hot Bands were what many would consider to be real jazz, though both types made some excellent music. “With this in mind, the course was able to tie in more of the musical, societal and related issues making it worthy of study in an academic setting,” he said. Besides providing audiences a chance to learn about jazz music, the ensemble also presented a creative way for participants to relax and to have fun by connecting their performance with swing dance. The ensemble chose to perform in Upper Tarble as opposed to a regular concert hall because they wanted to make the show more interactive. “The idea of connecting music and dance is central to [the Music and Dance Department of the College]; faculty are committed to the notion that music and dance do not exist separately,” Shanefield said. Jazz music from 1920s to 1940s is characterized by its close connection to dance. Ashley Banks ’13, a dancer at the concert and the copresident of Swarthmore Swing Dance Club, expressed her appreciation for this concert and her passions for dancing. “It was amazing,” she said. “A lot of people from the club are really familiar with the music, so I feel like we would be biased against their performance. But we were all really blown away. They were fantastic.” In
hopes of telling people how much joy they can have in dancing, she, together with her partners from the club, pulled audience members from their seats to dance with them. “Dancing is a communal experience. It’s not just about your partner. It’s about everybody who is in the room, the musicians, the dancers and the people who are just watching it, everybody feeling the same energy,” Banks said. Hannah Jones ’12, who was singing and playing saxophone on the concert, is passionate about jazz because “you can dance to it and it makes you just want to move.” Audiences felt the energy from the performance. Sachie Hayakawa ’13, an audience member, said, “I thought it was really great. I haven’t been to an event like this at Swarthmore before. And it was a lot of fun to see lots of different age levels and members of the community dancing and having a good time.” Similarly, according to Kara Stoever ’12, the concert really reflects its origins by having dancing for people who are already good at it as well as for who even don’t know much about swing. Nancy Burnham, whose grandchildren were performing in the concert, also enjoyed seeing young kids dancing and felt the whole performance very professional. Performing outside the concert hall was not easy to accomplish. Shanefield mentioned, “There was a very long list of logistics that went along with [performing in Upper Tarble]. The first time we played in Upper Tarble was the night of the concert.” However, it proved to be successful. He said, “I was told the concert drew well over 200 people, students, faculty, administration, alumni, performer’s families and community members. It was a great vibe.”
Swarthmore Chorus brings Mozart and opera to campus By brad lenox blenox1@swarthmore.edu
On Saturday evening November 20, the Swarthmore College Chorus wowed audiences with an impressive performance, showcasing both the range and power of the human voice. Presented by the Swarthmore College Department of Music and Dance, the chorus, accompanied by Swarthmore’s orchestra, performed two pieces, “Vesperae Solennes de Confessore” by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and “Dido and Aeneas” by Henry Purcell. The chorus is composed of students, faculty and members of the local campus community and is directed by John Alston, Professor of Music at the college and also the founder of Chester Children’s Chorus. The first performance was of Mozart’s “Vespers,” which translates roughly into English as “Solemn Vespers for a Confessor.” Generally, the word “vespers” refers to evening prayers in a variety of Christian liturgical traditions. Composed around 1780, the piece belongs to a selection of Mozart’s oeuvre known as the “Sacred Works” because the “Vespers” are musical adaptations of Christian and liturgical writings. The works that were set to music for a chorus and orchestra were five of the Christian Psalms as well as the “Magnificat,” also known as the canticle of Mary. Mr. Alston introduced the performance by describing the “Vespers” as “a conversation and an argument, an absolutely fiery 25 minute piece of music with two of the most beautiful soprano solos ever written.” He said, “Mozart is often not concerned with words. Musical dialogue is in the composition.” Though “fiery” is not often the word one thinks of when talking about evening prayers, Saturday evening’s performance demonstrated precisely how it was possible. Hunter Bayliss ’12, who has been involved with the Chorus for four years and who performed in Saturday’s concert, gave his take on the “Vespers.” He noted
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that the piece, composed relatively early in Mozart’s career, is a concerto, a specific variety of musical composition (usually in musical three parts) in which a solo instrument — in this case a harpsichord — is accompanied by an orchestra. Far from “solemn” as the title suggests, the “Vespers” offered a soaring and invigorating performance. The words, spoken in Latin, did indeed fade into the background as the chorus joined with the orchestra to produce a remarkable piece of music. Four out of six of the psalms/canticles featured solos, ranging from soprano to bass parts. Performers included Nina Kokegar ’13, Daniel Cho ’15, Gautam Mohan ’15, Eugene Prymak ’13 and Psychology Professor Julia Welbon. Darien Sepulveda ’15 and Holly Kinnamont ’12, also sang two solos. Sydni Adler ’13, Chris Magano ’14 and Julia Finkelstein ’13 all made their first of two appearances that evening, returning for the second piece later that evening night. Eric Rodriguez ’13, who was in the audience Saturday evening, noted that Finkelstein and Kinnamont were especially “expressive and engaging” in their performances. “Though I was not reading along with the words, they almost didn’t matter. I only realized near the end of one part that they were even singing ‘Amen,’” Rodriguez said. The second piece of the evening, “Dido and Aeneas,” was a shift both in tone and musicality. Composed by seventeenthcentury English and Baroque organist Henry Purcell, the opera is a musical adaptation of ill-fated love between Dido, Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas. Consisting of three acts, the piece oscillates between humor and tragedy. Director John Alston framed the performance by noting in his introduction the humorous singing of “the Witches” in the Chorus interpretation of the opera and that it contained the “world’s greatest pickup line.” Mr. Alston challenged the audience to try it themselves and see if “Aeneas has no fate but you” translates
well offstage. Bayliss, who sang Aeneas’ part, noted that these fate-spinning and malevolent witches are an example of an interesting influence of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” on the opera. Unlike the tragic witches of that play, Adler and Sophia Naylor ’13 turned up the humor in their performances by singing their lines in a high, nasal tone and cackling like something out of “Hocus Pocus.” Moreover, Bayliss described the music as “fun” to Scott Young for The Phoenix perform, and while the arias of Aeneas Julia Finkelstein ’13 and Holly Kinnamont ’12 perform Mozarts are not flamboyant, “Vespers” at Saturday’s performance “the innuendo and bravado of the lines make it hard not to showcasing his incredible vocal range. Additionally, Jenny Koch ’13 played the find comedy in the writing.” Molly Siegel ’12, who went to last year’s part of Belinda, Dido’s attendant, and JuChorus concert but has never seen an op- lia Finkelstein ’13 as The Second Woman, era at Swarthmore previously, noted, “I another of Dido’s attendants. Harry Aposespecially enjoyed the piece’s sexy second toleris ’12 and Chris Magnano ’14 also half, which truly showcased the violent made appearances as sailors. Overall, the Swarthmore College Choand lustful relationship between Dido and rus offered an approachable and varied Aeneas.” Indeed, the second half of the opera showcase of both vocal excellence and takes a turn for the tragic, and the death of musical ability. The appearance of a harpDido — accompanied by the famous musi- sichord was refreshing and incredibly incal piece “Dido’s Lament” — concludes in teresting, and the “Vespers” were an apa much different mood. Siegel noted that propriate piece for its performance. Also, the performance of Genevieve McGahey in terms of opera, “Dido and Aeneas” was ’12 as Dido was excellent. “I would have around 45 minutes long, offering a digestbeen crying by the end of the opera if it ible but emotionally complex piece. Chorus concerts are performed twice a year, wasn’t for the witches,” she said. Other performances of note included once each semester, so the spring should solos by Steven Barrett ’13, who sang both offer an equally compelling performance the parts of the Sorceress and the Spirit, for those unable to attend this time.
December 1, 2011
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Living & Arts Johnny shares the very best of TV holiday episodes
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Now that it’s the beginning of December, the holiday season that starts with Halloween and culminates in the Hallmarksanctioned lovefest of Johnny Taeschler F e b r u a r y 14, is curViewer Discretion Advised rently in full swing. While some people bemoan this annual occurrence for its forced cheer and seemingly incessant strain on one’s bank account, television fans recognize this period as the time of year when showrunners trot out their “very special holiday episodes.” Thus, entertainment writers have received continual fodder for their discussions of the best and worst holiday episodes of all time. In this column, I’d like to continue this trend (after all, the holidays aren’t exactly a time when people buck tradition) and nominate four wonderful shows for their contributions to the constantly increasing pantheon of holiday episodes. ‘The Simpsons’ — ‘Treehouse of Horror V’ (Oct. 30, 1994) Admittedly, this episode is Halloweenthemed, a topic that I already discussed this year, but its witty skewering of horror conventions places it firmly within the realm of comedy. In the first (and funniest) of the episode’s three segments, the Simpson family members serve as standins for the family of hotel caretakers in
“The Shining.” In short, Homer goes all Jack Nicholson and terrorizes Marge and the kids with a comically endless supply of axes. The segment manages to work so well by juxtaposing moments of horrifying violence lifted straight from the movie with the characters’ deadpan reactions. When a cascade of blood comes rushing out of the lobby’s elevator, Mr. Burns nonchalantly comments that this is usually supposed to happen on the second floor. In another scene, Marge drags a post-rampage Homer into the pantry, declaring, “You stay here until you’re no longer insane … ooh, chili would be good tonight.” As a result, the episode functions as a perfect example of the show’s biting awareness of pop culture phenomena and its own satiric place within this continuum. ‘Dexter’ – ‘Hungry Man’ (Nov. 22, 2009) While television fans generally nominate a dramatic show’s early seasons as its strongest, a time when the novelty of a great idea has not yet worn off, I consider the fourth season of “Dexter” to be my personal favorite. Much credit goes to the stellar acting combination of Michael C. Hall as the title character, a serial killer who only murders other killers, and John Lithgow as the Trinity Killer, Dexter’s season-long antagonist. For several episodes, Dexter had forestalled taking out Trinity because he wanted to learn how such a remorseless murderer could satisfy his dark urges while maintaining the facade of a normal family man. In the Thanksgiving episode, however, viewers find out that there is nothing normal about Trinity’s home life. “Hungry Man” expertly ratchets up the tension throughout the episode as Dexter finds out that Trinity has been
secretly abusing his son, browbeating his wife and forcibly confining his daughter to her room. These revelations eventually climax in the most uncomfortable domestic confrontation since George and Martha invited an unsuspecting couple over for some late-night drinks. Before this moment, both Dexter and the viewers had seen Trinity as a bizarre kind of father figure. By the episode’s end, however, everyone can clearly recognize him as the monster that he is, leaving us simultaneously awed at the elaborate nature of his deception and terrified at the thought of ever upsetting John Lithgow. ‘Seinfeld’ – ‘The Strike’ (Dec. 18, 1997) As a show that focuses on a quartet of hilariously self-centered characters, it was only a matter of time before “Seinfeld” upended the tradition of warm-andfuzzy holiday episodes by inventing its very own holiday. And so Festivus, “a festival for the rest of us” according to founder Frank Costanza, was born. Ostensibly created as a reaction to the rampant consumerism that dominates the month of December (trust me, it’s nowhere near as noble as it sounds), Festivus represents a holiday celebration stripped of any traces of significance or redemptive meaning. Its only decoration is a single aluminum pole, and its climactic event involves Frank challenging his son George to defeat him in a wrestling match known as “The Feats of Strength.” It’s fitting then that such a nonsensical event serves to unite the main characters who spend each episode dissecting the minutiae of superficial social interactions. Even in their own holiday episode, however, these characters don’t remain immune from the comeuppance that normally accompanies
their petty behavior. Jerry’s girlfriend leaves him, Kramer gets fired, Elaine loses her punch card for a free captain’s hat at a submarine sandwich shop, and George’s boss uncovers his fake charity bearing the eerily plausible name of “The Human Fund.” I guess the writers must find some meaning in the holiday season after all.
‘Modern Family’ – ‘My Funky Valentine’ (Feb. 10, 2010) Although “Modern Family” typically balances its storylines among the three families, “My Funky Valentine” clearly belongs to Claire and Phil, who decide to spice up their usual Valentine’s Day plans with a bit of role-playing. While Claire literally slips out of her own clothes and into the trenchcoat of the seductive Juliana, Phil becomes Clive Bixby, designer of high-end electro-acoustic transducers (“It’s a fancy way of saying I get things to make noise”) and decked out in an appropriately awkward turtleneck. I will never cease to be entertained by their faux-sexy barside banter, but the episode’s crowning moment comes when the otherwise naked Claire gets her trenchcoat stuck in the hotel’s escalator. Throughout this scene, Claire’s trademark composure gradually collapses as she endures a seemingly endless series of embarrassing help offers from neighbors, her children’s principal, and finally, her father. Not only does this episode manage to reach the apex of uncomfortable humor, but it conveys a theme that also appears in the three previous episodes: even the most elaborate plans cannot escape the unpredictable maelstrom of the holiday season. Johnny is a senior. He can be reached at jtaesch1@swarthmore.edu.
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December 1, 2011
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Swat celebrates the various holidays of this season by preston cooper pcooper1@swarthmore.edu As the semester winds down and the days grow shorter, many students anticipate the approach of the three major December holidays — Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. The three holidays, which all land over Winter Break this year, extol the values of peace and joy, but in a modern, secular society, holidays which have their origins in religion (namely Christmas and Hanukkah) have the potential to incite controversy. Many a Supreme Court case has dealt with religious symbols such as a Nativity scene or a Menorah being placed in public spaces, which are supposed to uphold the separation of church and state. Swarthmore is a secular campus which prides itself on welcoming students of all faiths. Therefore, when the holidays come, students, organizations and the administration must find a delicate balance between the religious and the secular in order to make everyone feel comfortable. Hosting events The ways in which students celebrate their respective December holidays are many. The student religious groups on campus host annual events in honor of Christmas and Hanukkah. Hillel, Swarthmore’s main Jewish student organization, plans to host a “Hanukkah-themed study break with latkes” sometime during the reading week, according to Hillel leader Rebekah Judson ’12. Judson maintained that this and any other Hanukkah events that Hillel may host are more secular in tone. “Hanukkah is a holiday that many relate to simply from a cultural per-
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spective, regardless of their religious observance, so our event focuses more on the shared cultural traditions of the holiday,” she said. Swarthmore Progressive Christians (SPC) and Swarthmore Christian Fellowship (SCF) will jointly sponsor an “Advent Lessons and Carol Service” on December 4. SCF leader Andrew Cheng ’12 stresses that this annual event is open to the entire campus, but past years have largely seen only SPC and SCF members attend. In addition, the Student Protestant Advisor, Joyce Tompkins, hosts a Christmas party for members of the two organizations at her house. “Since these events are sponsored by the student religious groups, they are religious in content,” said Tompkins, therefore, none of the events receive sponsorship from the College. Because of this, Tompkins notes, there has never been a controversy arising from administration support for religious activities, thus maintaining secularity. “Having been founded by Hicksite Quakers, who did not observe religious holidays,” noted Tompkins, “the institution does not have any specifically Christian traditions around the holidays.” Getting into the spirit December is also a time that many choose to put up decorations to commemorate a certain holiday. Perhaps the most visible decoration at Swarthmore is the two-story Christmas tree in the condiments bar area of Sharples. According to Linda McDougall, the head of Dining Services, as well as Joyce Tompkins, the tree has been up in Sharples during every holiday season for the last twenty years. “The tree is decorated with golden bows and white lights, not with any religious symbols,” said Tompkins. She notes that if explicitly religious symbols such as Nativity scenes were put up in public spaces, “that would be a problem.” Some argue that the tree itself is a religious symbol. However, Cheng counters that the Christmas tree is part of the secular aspect of Christmas, which he believes is divorced from the holiday’s religious aspect. “[The Christmas tree] started off as a Pagan symbol, became a Christian symbol, and now [is] just a commercial symbol,” said Cheng. “The religious and commercial aspects of Christmas are getting more and more separated every year.” Eleanor Glewwe ’12, one of the leaders of SPC, agrees. “In American public schools there’s a strong secularist bend because they don’t want to offend anyone. They don’t want to decorate for holidays, which I think is appropriate. But at Swarthmore … no one seems to mind [the tree in Sharples],” said Glewwe. She attributes this to the fact that Swarthmore is a private college, as well as an institution of higher education. In addition to the Christmas tree in Sharples, some individual dorms have decided to put up decorations of their own. Residents of the basement and second floor of Willets have turned decorating the halls into a competition. In the Willets Basement common space, residents have set up a Christmas tree and a light-up snowman, hung hundreds of lights and paper snowflakes from the ceilings and set personalized stockings on residents’ doors. Willets Basement resident Mickey Herbert ’15 contends that the primary impetus for decorating was to outperform Willets Second. “We are by far the most festive hall on campus,” he said, adding that the decision to put up decorations came from the entire hall. Treasure Tinsley ’15, another resident of Willets Basement, agrees that the motivations for putting up decorations had nothing to do with religion. “[The decorations] are definitely secular. There are no religious symbols. The whole point is to include everyone in the hall, Courtesy of www.abc.go.com and we don’t want to make anyone
December 1, 2011
feel uncomfortable,” she said. According to Tinsley, the act of putting up decorations was more a hall bonding activity than anything. “Christmas isn’t about religion for me; it’s just about getting together with your friends and family and having a good time.” Herbert, who identifies as Roman Catholic, mentioned that he was likely to buy a portrait of Jesus to put on the tree, and had considered also putting up a Nativity scene. His hallmates countered that the inclusion of such an explicitly Christian symbol warranted also buying a menorah, a distinctly Jewish symbol, to make everyone feel welcome. “We’re trying to be religiously diverse,” said Tinsley. Noah Weinthal ’15, a member of Hillel, argues that holiday decorations in Willets and elsewhere cannot be divorced from religion. “Just because [there is no] cross or Jesus doesn’t make [decorations] secular,” he said, adding that putting up any kind of religiously associated decoration in a public space runs the risk of making someone uncomfortable. Kwanzaa Since Kwanzaa’s roots lie not in religion but in cultural tradition, Kwanzaa is something of an anomaly in the world of December holidays. Should Kwanzaa, therefore, take the same status as other holidays in that events commemorating it should not receive funding from the administration? Cheng says yes. “It’s not a religious holiday, but it is a cultural holiday, so it just gets [the same amount of] support from the administration as Christmas or Hanukkah,” he said. On Friday at 4:30, the Black Cultural Center (BCC) and Swarthmore African-American Student Society (SASS) will host an event, which is open to the entire campus, in honor of Kwanzaa featuring traditional music of the African Diaspora and reflections on the meaning of Kwanzaa. Unlike Christmas and Hanukkah events, the Kwanzaa event is sponsored by the BCC; thus it is indirectly sponsored by the administration. Paul Cato ’14, president of SASS, believes that Kwanzaa is fundamentally different from other celebrations. “I don’t think you can compare [Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa],” he said. Cato, who celebrates both Kwanzaa and Christmas, explains that the two fall so close together (Christmas is on December 25; Kwanzaa lasts from December 26 until January 1) because “it was one of the few times of the year that slaves had time to themselves.” For Cato, Kwanzaa is “a way for us to recognize these black culture values and to remind ourselves that we are part of the diaspora and connected to other blacks throughout the world.” Unlike Christmas, he notes, there is no commercial aspect to Kwanzaa. “Kwanzaa’s not a holiday,” he said. “It’s a community celebration.” “A festival of lights” Despite the doldrums of exam season, Swarthmore is a community bursting with energy for the holidays, be it in hosting events or putting up decorations. Judson said, “Students should just exercise basic levels of respect, listening to others’ responses to their decorations to ensure that they’re not making anyone uncomfortable.” Tompkins expresses her desire for students of different faiths to be able to celebrate the December holidays together. “I have often thought it would be nice for Swarthmore to have some kind of interfaith winter holiday event — a festival of lights or something like that. Many religions have a festival at this time of year, when the days grow short and cold. There are ways this could be done that highlights no particular faith, but celebrates light, warmth, and the human spirit,” she said. “Who knows, maybe someday.”
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Living & Arts
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CAMPUS PANACHE
Photos by Elèna Ruyter
Bring in the Bags Toting your belongings up a steep hill on a cold winter’s morning to get to an 8:30 class doesn’t have to be a complete slog. Even backpacks, those modern-day collegiate beasts of burden, can be a fashion statement. Whether you go for the traditional model or an entirely unique design (see the brown leather with the buckle?), your bag should always make you feel confident and proud to bear it Kohlberg-bound every morning.
National Novel Writing Month is admirable in its insanity NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) is one of those things you know about if you’re a writer and don’t give a flying fart about if you’re not. It is a “competition” that had upwards of 300,000 participants in 2010, challenging individuals to write 50,000-word novels in 30 days during Susana Medeiros the month of November (anyone who does so wins Four-Eyed Literati a certificate, the option to print the finished work, and bragging rights). The goal is to encourage “quantity, not quality,” and to serve as a self-imposed litmus test: success proves that you have determination, diligence and at least one finished work under your belt. It can transform stayat-home moms, hobbyists and Brooklyn yuppies into bona fide auteurs. Staying the course requires a certain measure of insanity. Think about it. On average, these individuals must, by the end of November (all the while going to work, living their lives and partaking in a turkey and cranberry sauce extravaganza), write 1,666 words on average a day — the equivalent of a three-page singlespaced paper. Though I’ve never participated myself, I’m known to be judgmental of those who have … and jealous. I simultaneously wonder who would waste their time on this and whether, if I chose to waste it accordingly, I could really go the distance. I’ve had writers’ block for the past four years, and have come to a point in my existence (yes, existence) where I’m not really able to call myself a writer anymore, because a sentence a week in a story full of sickeningly-flowery sentences does not a writer make. If you hie on over to Kohlberg lounge most nights, however, you’ll find a small group of night owls work-
ing dutifully on their ‘manuscripts’ who are willing to go the distance. Not everyone’s keeping up — even a few days into the competition — but whenever I stop by to hang out and ask questions with the pretense of writing a column about it, the stragglers are still there, plugging away. There are different ways people go about writing these crazy, errorfilled novels: some start with a game plan (you’re allowed to prepare a plot outline before November 1), while others go with the flow, burning the midnight oil to the tune of word vomit. A friend of mine at Yale is working on a “Firefly”-esque saga about a crew of smugglers who learn to teleport speedily through space (thus avoiding the feared Republic!) with the aid of an idiot savant; another at Swat has a similarly intricate plot involving a rebellious heroine. Both are veterans of the competition (which bespeaks a different kind of insanity/stamina) and both are enviably skilled storytellers. Among Swarthmore’s NaNoWriMo participants, concentrated typing sessions are often interspersed with chatting and chilling. Writing is one of those solitary activities that can really lead you to depression if you’re not careful, as you know if you’ve taken into account the histories of every famous author/poet ever. Like running with your cross-country team, you don’t need the company, but it’s always welcome.
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December 1, 2011
In my column, which has discussed the finer mechanics of the publishing world, with a focus on technology, marketing, genre and readers’ preferences, I have often neglected to consider one important topic: authors themselves. Truly, the people who write the works we read are in the daily habit of committing their soul to the page. As much as literature attempts to reflect the real world (and distort it and challenge it and reimagine it), it also exposes the inner workings of the very tortured human being attached to a book’s byline. I bring up NaNoWriMo because, as much as I find a competition like this slightly ridiculous and navel-gazing in its predilection for dominating the Tweets and blog posts of writers everywhere (seriously guys, get a grip on yourselves, your word counts are as interesting as my baloney sandwich), the competition represents the Writer’s eternal struggle from page to press. Some self-published authors make millions, and rejected books at times deserve their fate, but all the same, publishing a novel in a saturated era is hard. Therefore, to all the writers with loans and leases, working as baristas or parents or CEOs, finding time between jobs or paychecks, between work and play, to those of you who attend law school and admire John Grisham, or attend med school and admire Michael Crichton, to those who read their starving, depressed predecessors but yearn for fame and recognition: I raise my glass to you. Susana is a sophomore. You can reach her at smedeir1@swarthmore.edu.
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Living & Arts
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Holiday shopping options in Center City, Philadelphia In the recent past, it has become the widely adopted view that the term “Black Friday”— applied to the (shopping) day after Thanksgiving — got its color from the effect it has on retailers, pushing them out of the red and into the black for the year. But its usage with regards to this specific Friday has a much more local hisJen Johnson torical context: the PhilaIn-town, Off-Campus delphia police department coined it in the mid-1960s to describe the day between Thanksgiving and the Army-Navy football game, a day notorious for horrible traffic and pedestrian congestion throughout the city. Nowadays, more than traffic, the mention of Black Friday conjures images of department stores and behemoth malls besieged before sunrise by patrons so consumed with sleep deprivation and the spirit of the day that they might trample someone. Thankfully, The Philadelphia Inquirer is not reporting any incidents of this kind in the area. “Black Friday” may have its roots in Philadelphia traffic, but it has become a popular bellwether for the trajectory of the U.S. economy. This year, as the country continues wending through an economic funk, the main question is: Will this holiday shopping season return better sales figures than the past two years? From their Black Friday investigations, major newspapers around the country are reporting significant sales increases over last year. Consumers describe themselves as both spending more and being more willing to spend. If the stock market is driven by optimism and pessimism, things are looking up. How should you spend your holiday dollar? As locally as possible. Buying local keeps significantly more cents on the dollar in the community where you spend. If you order from a national online retailer, you’ll feed the national economy, as well as the economy of whatever country manufactured what you bought online — which may or may not be the U.S. If you buy a Shellbark Hollow Farms crottin de chevre cheese ($7-$9) at the Swarthmore Co-op, the money you spend will stay concentrated within a 20-mile radius. In a non-food sense, “buy local” is also taken to mean, “shop at small businesses in your community.” If you just want to pick up a fancy package of biscotti or a lovely pair of candlesticks, shopping in Swarthmore will suffice. However, if your holiday shopping list is more extensive or more eclectic, pick up a SEPTA Independence Pass ($11), hop on the train, and let it take you where you want to go. There are plenty of shopping districts in Philadelphia, depending on your
cartoon by naia p
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tastes; here are details on two of the most accessible areas in Center City.
Rittenhouse Square The area roughly between Walnut and Spruce Streets and west of Broad has it all, and is home to some of Philadelphia’s most expensive restaurants (Le Bec-Fin, 1523 Walnut Street) and penthouses. The area around Rittenhouse Square Park is Philadelphia’s version of 5th Avenue in New York; if you’re looking for Zara, Armani Exchange, BCBG, H&M, Coach, etc., this is where to come. Premium Steap (111 S. 18th St.) has tea and everything tea related, as well as clever housewares. On the same block, Di Bruno Brothers’ largest location (103 S. 18th St.) is a gourmet food emporium — if you like cheese, it’s worth stopping in just for samples. For hand- and locally-made jewelry and accessories, stop by Tselaine (1927 Walnut St.). Knit Wit (1718 Walnut St.) has a well-curated collection of beautiful and expensive women’s clothes; if you go in with a few hundred dollars to drop, the saleswomen will be very helpful to that end. Right on the Square are Anthropologie and Barnes & Courtesy of http://teeshirtandpearls.blogspot.com Noble. If you want to pick up a book at a Urban Outfitters is just one of many offerings on Walnut St, the premier large bookstore downtown, this one has shopping district of Philadelphia. a better atmosphere than the somewhat chaotic Borders near City Hall. home goods store; Verde, a florist’s, chocolatier’s, and If you like Urban Outfitters and have never been in accessory shop all in one; Barbuzzo, one of the city’s to Brooklyn Industries, check out the new branch at hottest restaurants at the moment (try the budino for 1525 Walnut St. For years, Brooklyn Industries was a dessert); and Lolita, a modern-Mexican-BYOT (bring New York-only chain; now they have locations in Port- your own tequila). land, Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia. Omoi (1608 All of this and more make the 100 block of 13th Pine St.) carries men’s and women’s clothes, statio- Street a destination in its own right. A great resource nery and Japanese knick-knacks very popular with for moderately priced handmade jewelry, bags, and young adults in Philadelphia. other accessories, Verde is possibly the star of the Just off of Broad Street at 1428 Walnut is Lush Cos- block. At the back of the shop, watch Turney and her metics, a British company that sells handmade bath assistants make sumptuous chocolate truffles destined & body products made with high-quality natural, of- for the display case near the register. Chocolates are $2 ten organic and Fair Trade, ingredients. Some of their a piece; flavors change seasonally, and many ingrediproducts bear the V for certified vegan-safe. (If you ents are sourced locally. The seasonal mix for Turney’s have a problem with perfumes or other strong odors, chocolate barks — topped with fleur de sel, granola, steer clear of this store.) dried berries and other wonderful things — would To get to Rittenhouse, get off the train at Suburban make excellent small gifts. Station at 17th & JFK; walk south on 16th, 17th or 18th Across the street, Capogiro Gelato and Stephen Street (the first street you cross should be Market–if Starr establishment El Vez boosts the neighborhood’s it’s Arch, you’re going the wrong way) until shiny bou- culinary offerings even further. tiques dominate. The park itself is between 18th and Another destination in the City Hall area is Cen19th, between Walnut and Spruce. If it’s freezing or you ter City’s premier commercial-historical destination, want to do maximum shopping with minimum walk- Reading Terminal Market (51 N. 12th St, between Filing, the Liberty Place Mall at 17th & Market is home to bert & Arch). The famous indoor market opened in the major national brands that don’t have boutiques in 1892. Only open until 5 or 6 p.m. depending on the day, the Rittenhouse area, like J. Crew & Express. Reading Terminal Market buzzes at lunchtime as the downtown work crowd pours in to choose from a wide Midtown Village/City Hall variety of delicious, inexpensive food. If you’re lookoyer Just a few blocks east ing for a gift that’s smaller than a breadbox and not of Rittenhouse is the Mid- electronic, there’s a good chance it can be found here. town Village or City Hall The market offers free live music, among other events; neighborhood. Granted, check ReadingTerminalMarket.org for a calendar. there are the shops at To get to the City Hall area, get off the train at Marthe Gallery at Market ket East Station. The nearest exit from the train tends East and the Burlington to be the Philadelphia Convention Center, which will Coat Factory, but when put you on Market Street between 11th and 12th. Wheryou emerge from Market ever you emerge, you will be in the City Hall neighEast Station, the area borhood. As you stand on Market Street, City Hall and doesn’t scream, “Shop higher street numbers lie to the west; Penn’s Landing, here.” Explore beyond Old City, and New Jersey lie to the east. If you stop to Market Street, however, shop in Rittenhouse first, just walk a few blocks east and there are a growing to get to the City Hall neighborhood. Whether you number of small shops have an Independence Pass or just a roundtrip ticket, worth exploring. Cross it won’t matter which train station you use to return Market at 13th and keep to Swarthmore; the fare zone is the same, so get off at walking south until you Market East and back on at Suburban Station if it’s find Marcie Turney and more convenient. Valerie Safron’s little emJen is a junior. She can be reached at jjohnso4@ pire: Grocery, a gourmet swarthmore.edu. For more information about train grocery with both hot tickets, maps and directions, as well as more recommenand salad bars to trump dations of places to eat, shop and explore, please visit Whole Foods, at least in In-Town, Off-campus on The Phoenix website at swarthquality; Open House, a morephoenix.com. December 1, 2011
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Living & Arts
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Over the River and Through the Woods A Tri-Co Performance Sunday, Dec. 4 at 8:00 p.m. Upper Tarble
Ye Olde Yule Ball
Saturday, Dec. 3 at 8:00 p.m. Sharples Dining Hall
editor’s picks
By Allegra Pocinki
Student Dance Concert Friday, Dec. 2 at 8:00 p.m. LPAC Pearson-Hall Theatre
Holiday Green Sale Saturday, Dec. 3 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Wister Center
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December 1, 2011
THE PHOENIX
Opinions
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Staff Editorial
Occupy Colleges shows solidarity with Occupy Wall Street The past several weeks have seen Occupy Wall Street movements die in cities across the country, with headlines of violent clashes between protesters and police riddling the news media. Just yesterday, Occupy Philadelphia found itself evicted from its encampment at City Hall. At the same time, it seems that these weeks have also seen the birth of Occupy’s offspring — new movements on university campuses around the nation. Still, students from Harvard to the University of California Berkeley have staged sit-ins and walkouts shaped by concerns that are reminiscent of Zuccotti Park’s broader grievances about economic inequality. But with the rising costs of tuition, suffocating student debt and feeble job prospects after graduation, college students are expressing disquiet about issues that are incredibly unique to them. The ripples of inspiration have even stretched to Swarthmore, allowing us a virginal experience with the Sharples General Assembly (complete with the functionally democratic yet continually controversial Human Mic) and other campus events tinged with the fervor of occupation. Yet our catalog of injustices varies considerably from those of students coordinated by Occupy Colleges, a national group that is working to mobilize college-based protestors against insurmountable tuition hikes. For instance, our objections against sororities as trans-phobic establishments pale in comparison to fellow college students who will graduate with nearly $200,000 in debt — a price virtually unknown to many of us thanks to Swarthmore’s generous financial aid (though not far off considering murmurs from the administration that economic stress might stifle aid to students). This is not to say that our concern with potential gender discrimination on campus is not a legitimate one, just that it doesn’t find consonance with larger Occupy interests. All the while, it still manages to maintain an activist zeal that imbues the protests at Dartmouth, Brown and Boston Universities. Nonetheless, Swarthmore’s commitment to social equality has found an outlet in a sweeping civic movement that promises to herald tangible change. Perhaps our role is to join the ranks of the disenfranchised, but instead fashion our complaints into conversations, ones that start at the door of members of the administration. For worthwhile reform to be made on a campus that only houses some 1,500 students, there must be sincere attempts to engage those that we consider our version of the “one percent.” Ensuring that tuition doesn’t increase, aid is still provided and facilities are continuously renovated are considerations that would be welcome in the spaces Swarthmore provides for open dialogue, and that most other campuses don’t seem to enjoy. After all, it doesn’t look like the deans have pepper spray pointed at us.
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Emma Waitzman The Phoenix
Letter, op-ed and 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 inDecember 1, 2011
dividual writers may request that their group affiliation be included. While The Phoenix does not accept anonymous submissions, letters and op-eds may be published without the writer’s name in exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the Editorial Board. An editorial represents the opinions of the members of the Opinions Board: Amelia Possanza, Marcus Mello and Menghan Jin. Please submit letters to: letters@swarthmorephoenix.com or The Phoenix Swarthmore College 500 College Avenue Swarthmore, PA 19081 Please report corrections to: corrections@swarthmorephoenix. com Letters, corrections and news tips may also be submitted online to the paper by clicking “Contact” on the Phoenix website. THE PHOENIX
Opinions The social networking future thanks to Facebook
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Facebook is planning its much anticipated IPO (Initial Public Offering) later next year, symbolizing its inauguration into the big leagues, which has led to much discussion about its future. Think about social networking one year from today. Now five years. Twenty. What is the fuHarshil Sahai ture of Facebook? Will we still be using the big Conservatively Liberal blue Internet behemoth Economics to update our friends, share photos and stay in touch with acquaintances? Or will there be an even more advanced version? Will LinkedIn ever merge with Facebook to create the ultimate network, for both social and professional purposes? Technology analysts throughout the world, reflecting on past occurrences as well as current trends, are attempting to answer these questions. Some feel that such a technological boom may go on to survive for the long haul, reigning as our primary social network for decades to come. There has been a recent movement of dozens of firms trying to capitalize on Facebook’s 800 million user network, including gaming companies and music sharing firms. One of the most anticipated IPOs this year is Zynga, the corporation behind the popular Facebook game FarmVille. A recently formed company based in New York is trying to facilitate merging Facebook profiles with LinkedIn ones — if a demand for such a union is demonstrated, this could be a multi-billion dollar venture. Furthermore, Facebook has shown its strength through a multitude of actions. In its incubation, it took down former social network giant MySpace, offering a new, flashy and user-friendly social database
and community. Such a small start-up overwhelming competition within the social networking industry, a multi-million-user network needed to have at least expanding this newly formed 2011 bubble. The success of Facebook in recent years has not couple things right. Facebook has even learned from MySpace’s mis- all been of thicker wallets and heavier purses. The takes, instituting frequent updates, newer features online gathering of hundreds of cultures and indiand a continuously-enhanced interface. Pleasing the viduals has become a marketplace for exchanging scientific community with a recent mathematical ideas. News is spread like wildfire, even to those research initiative entitled “4.74 degrees of separa- who don’t commonly follow it. Opinions are shared tion” that showed that there are not six, as originally and movements are initiated, from political and economic debates to social, thought, but 4.74 degrees environmental and huof separation between manitarian initiatives. any two people, FaceThe online gathering of Regardless of whether book hasn’t harmed its this exposure to international appeal either. hundreds of cultures and national and domestic With such a large netindividuals has become a issues is juxtaposed work, the possibilities against a picture of a are unlimited. marketplace for exchanging ideas. friend “planking” atop a Other analysts, howrandom structure, Faceever, feel that the posbook has still managed sibilities are few and diminishing. If 2000 was the dot com bubble, and 2007 to disseminate knowledge and promote opinionated was the housing bubble, 2011 is perhaps the social dialogue in addition to bringing together friends and networking bubble. Back in the 1990s, the first In- friends. After a revolution within the social-networking ternet browser was Netscape. Its success persuaded analysts to believe it was the best and only web industry, what is certain is that the coming years are browser. However, soon came Internet Explorer, going to be filled with new Facebook-esque ventures. Firefox, Chrome, Safari and numerous alternative Having the firm publicly traded will only excite the browsers. Netscape failed. Could this possibly hint market further and lead to greater investment. The at a similar fate for Facebook? Several firms, like success of Facebook, through the IPO, will likely conRenren of China, hope to create flotation in America, stitute the success of Zynga, “XBookers” and other instituting a different user interface and networking firms that accessorize the social network, leading to architecture that may threaten to steal Facebook us- further entertainment, innovation and lots and lots of money. ers. Yet what might not be set in stone is the long-term Economist Mark Giles said, “Facebook’s flotation will excite the tech world. Watch out for XBookers.” future of such an organization. Yes, everything is This statement could not be closer to the truth. When temporary, but given today’s growing technology Google had its IPO, dozens of Google executives who and industrialization abroad, there may be another landed huge amounts of cash through the endeavor Mr. Zuckerberg in the making in China, India or left the giant search engine to start newer firms. Europe, waiting to transform social networking as These “Xooglers,” as they were called, led new ven- we see it today. Harshil is a first-year. He can be reached at hsatures that changed the industry. Facebook’s IPO in 2012 may lead to a similar result, leading to more hai1@swarthmore.edu.
Swarthmore’s ongoing struggle with its Quakerism BY ERIK HEANEY eheaney2@swarthmore.edu
Since I arrived on Swarthmore’s campus barely a year ago, I have noticed that this institution is undergoing a struggle with its identity and heritage. Much like that of an individual who struggles to reconcile conflicting cultural identities, it appears that Swarthmore has trouble reconciling its Quaker heritage and its adherence to multiculturalism. On the one hand, Swarthmore has its grounding in Quakerism. It was, in fact, a school where young Quakers could receive a “guarded” education. On the other hand, Swarthmore is in the twenty-first century. It must (for good reason), be open to a multi-cultural student body and be careful not to step on the toes of students who self-identify as non-Quaker. Since 1906, when Swarthmore first allowed non-Quakers to be allowed onto the board of managers (and probably even before then), Swarthmore has struggled to maintain this balance between its unique Quaker heritage and its commitment to multiculturalism. By no means is this balance easy to maintain, and there is bound to be plenty of give and take. However, throughout the past couple of decades, the Quaker heritage that has undeniably defined Swarthmore as an institution has been eroded. Both the student body and the administration have failed to maintain its Quaker identity. If you ask
OP-ED
anyone on campus about the Quaker roots of Swarthmore, they will oftentimes recognize it sheepishly, if not begrudgingly. I believe that this is a shame. We should be proud of our Quaker roots, and the Quaker values that have definitively shaped this school. Just as much as I would respect and honor an individual who struggles to defend their cultural identity against the powerful assimilative force of American culture, I would respect and honor Swarthmore so much more if it tried to defend its Quaker identity. If Swarthmore does not defend its Quaker identity, then it will simply slip into the colorless mush of modern American culture. Swarthmore would be indistinct from any other college campus. Perhaps what amazes me the most is the rich, powerful Quaker history that is embedded in this school, but too often is ignored. Swarthmore was founded by a group of Hicksite Quakers to offer coed higher education to Quaker students. While clearly this is no longer the case, these founding principles have had longlasting effects on the campus culture. If you just do a little research into the names behind each of the buildings on campus, you will find that many are named after social crusaders: abolitionists, suffragists, civil rights proponents. John Woolman, John Whittier, Elias Hicks, Samuel Willets and Edward Parrish were all prominent 18th and 19th century abolitionists (also, both Willets and Parrish were founders of Swarthmore College). Another founder of Swarthmore
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was Lucretia Mott, who also initiated the Seneca Falls convention in 1848. Alice Paul, a Swarthmore alumni, selflessly devoted her life to instate women’s suffrage. Paul was far ahead of her time; she had originally authored the Equal Rights Amendment in 1923, which was not passed in Congress until 1972. There should be little reason to be ashamed of this history. In fact, Swarthmore should be celebrating this history more. Quaker history, and the values that underpin it, make Swarthmore the beautifully unique institution it is today. With this heritage in mind, the main challenge for us today is how we recognize our Quaker identity without compromising the individual identities that comprise the student body. With this balance in mind, I strongly recommend the reintroduction of a weekly, campus-wide collection. This was a mandatory practice at Swarthmore all the way up until the 1960’s (I’m not quite sure when the practice actually ended; I will have to look into this more). Weekly collection made students sit in silence for a given period of time every Friday. You may notice that there are no assigned classes or office hours or meetings during early Friday afternoon — this originates from the weekly collection practice. Obviously, I do not want this practice to be mandatory; that would be intrusive and impractical on many levels. However, I do believe that having a space that is open to the whole campus to come to every Friday to collect in silence, if they feel compelled to, would be beneficial in a
December 1, 2011
lot of ways. First, it would strengthen the sense of community on campus. It would serve as a space specifically designed for the campus to gather as a singular community. Secondly, it would allow a healthy time for students to simply relax, reflect and/or separate themselves from the relentless cycle of work. I know that I need to do that from time to time. Finally, it would maintain a wonderful Quaker practice that has fallen by the wayside. I hope that both the student body and the administration recognize that it is necessary to reflect on how to best balance Quaker identity and non-Quaker identity on this campus. Moreover, both students and administration should recognize that this balancing act is not an easy task. It takes time and energy. It takes dialogue and openness. And mistakes will be made; the scale will lose equilibrium from time to time. That is inevitable.However, it would be a far greater mistake to sweep our Quaker identity beneath the rug than to over-celebrate Swarthmore’s Quaker heritage. In doing that, we would be sacrificing much of Swarthmore’s history, culture and values for the sake of accommodation. The sad irony of this possibility is that Quaker identity and multi-cultural accommodation need not be mutually exclusive. Quakerism, in fact, places a high value on openness, cooperation and cultural awareness. My greatest hope is that in the coming years, we can maintain an open dialogue about the role of Quaker identity, and to continually work to maintain this Quaker identity.
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Opinions
swarthmorephoenix.com
Swarthmore Conservative: Romney for US president
For what it’s worth, I endorse Mitt Romney for President of the United States. The 2012 presidential election will be a defining moment in the course of American history. Two competing visions of America will be presented, and the choice voters make will determine the direction America will take for far Tyler Becker longer than the next four The Swarthmore years. One vision calls for Conservative more government, complete with more taxes, regulations and directives that stifle business growth. It calls for the full enactment of Obamacare, a job-killing piece of legislation placing more mandates on small businesses already suffering from the current economic climate. It asks Americans to allow the government to borrow more money on the backs of my generation, without providing concrete solutions for spending less. Rather, it asks to spend more. The second vision will put America back on the right track to a better future. This vision is about smaller government, reducing the deficit and restoring America’s number one position in the world. The candidate who will best present this vision, and, once elected, will carry out the necessary change to get America back on track, is Mitt Romney. A businessman and former Governor of Massachusetts, Romney has the experience in both the private and public sectors needed to turn the economy around, the number one issue on the mind of Americans today. President Obama has failed to craft government policies that encourage investment and, in turn, create the jobs America needs. Nearly three years into his presidency, job growth remains stagnant, and the unemployment rate is still nine-percent. We need someone who has worked and created jobs in the business world to be President. Romney is a competent leader who confronts obstacles head-on and gets results. He understands that issues are
more complex than a five-second sound bite. Romney’s plans for the country are well-thought out and, most importantly, attainable. His 59-point economic plan lays out realistic solutions to get our economy growing again. He proposes cutting the corporate tax rate to 25 percent and eliminating capital gains taxes for people making under $200,000 a year. He also proposes capping federal spending at twenty percent of the economy. All of these ideas can be crafted into legislation and actually passed by Congress. Romney’s plan to eliminate the individual mandate in the Obamacare legislation is the most workable idea of all the candidates. He proposes using an Executive Order to exempt states from the mandate, making the most unpopular portion of the legislation optional for states from day one of his presidency. Other candidates’ plans are more about raising money and gaining votes than actual solutions to our country’s current issues. These include Perry’s no-so-flat “flat tax” and Cain’s “9-9-9” plan, neither of which would be able to be implemented. Mitt Romney has the character necessary to lead America. As a young American, I am tired of the abhorrent behavior of some candidates and politicians in their personal lives. Romney is not that kind of politician. He has been married to his wife Ann for a solid 40 years, and raised five sons with her. Romney has never been plagued with scandals such as affairs, and a Romney administration will be free of these unnecessary distractions. Romney also has the ability to argue conservative positions in a way that brings us together, rather than dividing us. There has been no other figure able to articulate conservative ideas in this way since President Reagan. I am aware that many label Romney a “flip-flopper” and question his authenticity. It is true that some of Romney’s positions have evolved (for genuine reasons), particularly in the case of abortion. But each of these changes has moved Romney in a more conservative direction, a fact that should be embraced by conservatives. After all, Romney was running for office in Massachusetts, the most liberal state in the nation. While Governor of Massachusetts, Romney stayed true to conservative government and created a surplus in a state long known for overspending. Romney managed this while still keeping Massachusetts schools performing as the best in the nation. He passed a complex healthcare
reform bill aimed at eliminating the free-rider problem where taxpayers were responsible for people going to the hospital without insurance. Romney’s plan may have been complex, but at the same time it was simple in that the legislation only required individuals to purchase insurance or face a tax penalty, as long as the coverage was affordable. Romney did not try to restructure health insurance and delivery as Obamacare does. The program was also implemented on the state level, and Romney has said that while it worked in Massachusetts, it would not work on a federal scale. This is one stain on Romney’s record that is unsettling to conservatives, including myself, who worry about any more involvement of the government than is necessary. I believe Romney has explained this issue well enough, and I recognize that Romney kept healthcare coverage in the private sector with this legislation. I am not sure what impact an endorsement by one writer in the bubble that is Swarthmore will have on the Republican primary. My aim here was for you to understand where I am coming from as a conservative, as I have done in each of the columns I have written this semester. I was asked early on this semester if I was a Swarthmore Conservative (a moderate Republican), or “The” Swarthmore conservative (a solid conservative who for some reason ended up here). I have thought about this a lot this semester, and I have determined I fall into the latter category. This makes my Romney endorsement more complex, as you might imagine. My support for Governor Romney dates back to 2008, when Romney was considered the conservative candidate who could win. He embraced an ideology that fits my own, and offered the most competent enunciation of conservative ideas out of any of the candidates. Romney still is this candidate to me today. I believe that, as president, Romney will be able to pass conservative reforms that make sense for the country. I also believe he will be able to stop the out-of-control spending in Washington, and ensure that actions in Washington do not inhibit further economic recovery. We need a Republican on the top of the ticket who has the principles and character necessary to beat President Obama and actually lead this country. That person is Mitt Romney. Tyler is a sophomore. He can be reached at tbecker1@ swarthmore.edu.
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Goodbye, Goodbye Occupy: encampment undercuts Occupy By BRIAN GOLDMAN dailypennsylvanian.com, Nov. 28, 2011 Call it Occupied Philadelphia. The present tense of “Occupy” may be misleading. On Friday, Mayor Michael Nutter announced that then-“Occupy” Philadelphia protesters had until 5 p.m. Sunday to pack up their belongings and remove encampments from the area surrounding City Hall, known as Dilworth Plaza. As a conciliatory gesture, Nutter offered protesters the ability to demonstrate across the street from City Hall, as long as they did not erect tents or stay overnight. Nutter’s office did not draw up the eviction note without purpose. Among other problems were “serious health and safety issues” magnified by “intolerable” living conditions, according to city officials. The fact of the matter is, however, that Nutter had no other choice. Occupy Philadelphia should have seen this day coming, and the mayor had the authority and justification for mandating that the 24-hour encampments morph into 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily protests. There exists no right — inalienable, fundamental, implied or otherwise —
that permits a group of citizens to per- space such as our Dilworth Plaza renmanently “occupy” public space. Any- der that realm an essentially private one who tries to argue otherwise has a residence? Restricted access to a public space warped sense of the First Amendment by definition makes the space more and the shared public sphere. Yet, this line of thought has perme- private. Pitching dozens of tents and ated Occupy Philadelphia as the group encampments works to narrow or supweighs whether to heed Nutter’s edict. press otherwise general access to a Protesters at the heart of the Occupy public zone such as City Hall. Ironically, Nutter’s actions were movement in Zuccotti Park, Manhattan, attempted to argue exactly this two spurred by a civic project that should weeks ago, in an attempt to defy New be applauded by the Occupy protesters. The reason York Mayor Mifor the 5 p.m. Sunchael Bloomberg’s day “eviction” similar efforts to There exists no right deadline is that dismember the Plaza is encampments. that permits a group of Dilworth scheduled to unAs Manhattan citizens to permanently dergo a $50 million Supreme Court that Judge Michael “occupy” public space. renovation has been in place Stallman confor months. cluded, “The [proThese refurtesters] have not demonstrated that they have a First bishments are expected to put 1,000 Amendment right to remain in Zuc- people to work over a multi-month timetable, exactly the sort of job crecotti Park.” He went on to note that “protected ation that Philadelphia needs and the speech is not equally permissible in all lack of which Occupy protesters have lamented. places and at all times.” As Nutter said, the remaking of DilLegal rulings aside, the logical extensions drawn from a permanent oc- worth Plaza is intended to be “built by cupation of City Hall beget further rea- the 99 percent for the 99 percent.” Or, as he stated more resolutely, “Occupy soning for expulsions. At what point does permanently Philly is now purposefully standing in and completely occupying a public the way of nearly 1,000 jobs for Phila-
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delphians at a time of high unemployment.” The mayor’s call for removal has evidently fallen on deaf ears, legal rulings and public renovations as motivation aside. As of Saturday, The New York Times reported that roughly 250 tents were still up in defiance. The same charade is being played out across the country, most analogously with Occupy Los Angeles, whose Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has recently sought to evict the protesters from L.A.’s City Hall. Like Nutter, perhaps even more so, Villaraigosa expresses unabashed sympathy for the movement, saying it has “awakened the country’s conscience.” And like Occupy Philadelphia, the removal of protesters in Los Angeles has been met with fierce resistance and defiance. In Nutter, Occupy Philadelphia had a vocal ally and political support. Yet they continue to fight, ally be damned. Like in one of the memorable passages from Don Quixote, Occupy Philadelphia — at this stage — seems to be fighting windmills. As Don Quixote soon realized, battling windmills only makes them churn faster. Battling a sympathetic mayor for permanent occupation of City Hall will only undercut the movement further. THE PHOENIX
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McDaniel comeback sends women’s basketball to loss by timothy bernstein tbernst1@swarthmore.edu The Swarthmore women’s basketball team has only lost twice on the young season, but both losses have come complete with a knife that waits until the final minutes to stick itself into the team’s back. On Tuesday, the visiting Garnet, who have already lost a one-point game in overtime this year, let a 15-point second-half lead slip through their fingers to fall to McDaniel 77-76. For Swarthmore (3-2, 1-1), it was their first conference loss of the season, while the Green Terror (4-1, 2-0) remain undefeated in Centennial play. “The game was an eye opener for us,” Kayla Moritzky ‘14 said. “We had some strong moments, but we need to stop letting the last play of the game decide our fate.” Guard Katie Lytle’ 14, who has come out of the gate as the team’s go-to scorer, once again led both teams by tying a career high with 22 points. First-year forward Elle Larsen ’15 was next with 21 points, while Moritzky rode 14 points and a teamleading 11 assists to her first career double-double. Guard Eliza Polli also added nine points for the Garnet. The Garnet got hot early against their conference rival, taking the lead in the first minute of the game and holding it until the final twenty seconds. Behind solid perimeter shooting and layups from Lytle and Larsen, the team went into the half leading 42-30 despite actually being outshot by the Green Terror 50 to 47 percent. The aggressiveness of the Swarthmore defense paid dividends as well, as they forced a total of 30 turnovers including 16 steals. “Our press was working,” Head Coach Renee DeVarney said, “but when they did shoot, we allowed them too many second chances.” In the second half, while McDaniel failed to slow down the Garnet offensively, they closed the gap behind solid three-point shooting — 4 of 7 after failing to hit one in the first half — and overall 55 percent shooting from the field. “They raised their intensity,” Lytle said, “and I don’t think we really matched that. We couldn’t really find a stop. “I don’t know if we were content with the way things were and saw our lead disappear.” With under twelve minutes left to play, however,
Cristina Matamoros The Phoenix
(Clockwise from top), Eliza Polli, Katie Lytle and Kayla Moritzky combined for 45 points, but the Garnet fell to McDaniel in the final minute by the score of 77 to 76.
it looked like Swarthmore’s cushion would simply prove too big. The Garnet scored to take a 61-46 lead, and the game appeared to be iced away, and Swarthmore would improve to 4-1 on the season. From there, however, the Garnet shot just 4 for 17 as the Green Terror outscored the Garnet 31-15 for the rest of the game. This included a 9-1 run in the final 1:37 to close it out. Swarthmore lost one of their key players in the final minutes, as Larsen fouled out of the game with just over two minutes to play. For Larsen, Tuesday was the third time this year that she had fouled out. “She [has been a] stalwart player so far this year,” DeVarney said of Larsen, who started at center on Tuesday night. “She is too good of a player to not be in the game at those key times.” With thirty-one seconds to play, following a free-throw from Brittany Schmelz ’12 that put the Garnet up 76-73, McDaniel tied the game on a three-pointer from Emillee Bosley off a Steph Perez assist. Following a turnover by Schmelz — one of 19 by the Garnet — and a foul on Perez by Moritzky, McDaniel sent their guard to the line with a chance to take their first lead since the opening seconds of the game. In front of her home crowd, Perez sank the free throw, and after McDaniel’s Allie Eader grabbed the rebound off a missed jump shot by Moritzky, the comeback was complete. “It’s the little things that are going to matter when our games are going to be close,” Lytle said. “Having a lot of turnovers in the first half, not getting as many rebounds as we should. Knowing it’s going to be close, we need to try to limit those mistakes in the first half.” Off the bench, Genny Pezzola ’12 and Stephanie Lechich ’14 combined for 9 points and 3 rebounds. As a team, Swarthmore was out-rebounded 41-29 by McDaniel. DeVarney summed up the game as, “our best offensive performance of the year and our worst defensive rebounding performance of the year.” The Garnet resumes conference play tonight at home against the Muhlenberg Mules. The game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
XC runner Phillips first in ten years to go to Championships
Courtesy of Hannah Rose
Phillips, pictured here in a race earlier this year.
Cross country’s Jacob Phillips ‘13 finished a tremendous junior season with a strong performance at the Division III NCAA National Championships. The event, hosted by the University of Wisconsin in Winneconne, took place on Saturday, November 19. “It was something I was working toward all year,” Phillips said of the accomplishment. “I was excited and had a really good race at [the NCAA Regional Championships], so I knew it would happen then.” Phillips finished with a time of 25:23.68, which was good enough to place 114th out of 279 individual runners in the 8K race. Other schools that featured qualifiers included Wesleyan, St. Lawrence, Johns Hopkins, Dickinson and Haverford. Although the Garnet as a team did not qualify for the Championships, Phillips felt their support regardless. “I think generally the team was excited to have someone go,” Phillips said. “We were hoping we might have had a shot to go as a team, which we think we will next year.” Phillips’s seventh-place finish at the NCAA Mideast Regional Meet on November 12 was enough for him to qualify for the National Championships, an accomplishment not seen at Swarthmore since Marc Jeuland ‘01 qualified ten years ago. Jeuland now works as an Assistant Professor of Public Policy and Global Health at Duke University.
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Ben Sathre, a senior from St. Thomas in Minnesota, won the individual race with a time of 23:44.27. Coming in second was senior Lee Berube of SUNY Genesco (23:49.60) and John Johnston, a senior from St. Lawrence, rounded out the top three with a finish of 24:06.78. “[It’s] a great accomplishment, and well-deserved,” Head Coach Peter Carroll said of Phillips’s selection. “The great thing about [cross-country] is that what you put into it is the reward that you get out of it. I know how hard Jacob worked, and for him to do this as a junior is really great to see.” In addition to his National Championship qualifications, Phillips has enjoyed a 2011 season replete with highlights. Among them are his first-place finish at the Dickinson Invitational, 10th-place finish at the Centennial Conference Championships, being named the Centennial Conference Runner of the Week and multiple finishes at the top of the Garnet leaderboard all year. His participation in the championships is only the latest in a long line of accomplishments that have confirmed his position as a leader of the cross country team. “The goal for next year,” Carroll said, “is for the rest of the team to join Jacob [at the NCAA Championships], with him leading the way.” BY TIMOTHY BERNSTEIN
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Men’s basketball can’t find answer for D-I Columbia by timothy bernstein tbernst1@swarthmore.edu
Swarthmore’s season-opening losing streak continued on Monday night in New York City, as the Garnet fell hard to the Division I Columbia Lions 104-42. “I was extremely disappointed at the way we played on both ends of the floor,” Head Coach Lee Wimberly said. “It was also unfortunate that Columbia was red hot and we couldn’t buy a basket. It was an embarrassing night for [us], but we will try to get healthy and try to improve as the season progresses.” From the opening tip-off in front of a crowd of about five hundred, Columbia (2-4) was able to capitalize on the three-point shooting from Rosenberg and guaranteed a runaway victory almost from the start. Halfway through the first half, the Lions had already opened up a 32-14 lead behind three three-pointers from the forward. On the night, Rosenberg went 3 of 4 on three-point attempts. “They shot the ball really well tonight, there’s not much we can do about that,” forward Marc Rogalski ’12 said. “We started off the game in a zone, that didn’t work well at all, then we switched to man, and it seemed to work better.” It only got worse from there for the Garnet, who shot 30 percent from the field for the entire game. By the time the first half was over, the score was 60-26 in favor of Columbia and the smaller Swarthmore team was being dominated at the perimeter and under the boards. The Garnet only managed to grab four rebounds in the first half — they added four more in the second half — while Columbia had 20 in the first half alone. For the game, Swarthmore also struggled with ball control, turning the ball over 18 times to Columbia’s eight. “One thing they were able to do that we couldn’t was
rebound efficiently, because they have 6’8”, 6’9”, 6’10” “I think, for us, this game was sort of a wake-up call,” guys,” guard Jordan Federer ’14 said. “Our guys fought Federer said. “It shows us how much more efficient we hard, but it’s pretty tough against guys who are much need to become in terms of shooting from the free throw bigger and stronger.” line and from the field. “Columbia was a very good team,” senior guard Mi“We were shooting the ball terribly, we had too many chael Giannangeli ’12 said in an email. “Losing by as turnovers and we need to be more efficient. I think it’ll much as we did is definitely frustrating, but we try to definitely motivate us that now we’ve seen what a [Ditake positives from it and apply that to our conference vision I] team is like, and we’ll be able to make some games because those are the ones that really matter.” progress against the teams in our conference.” “Our goal from the beginning of the season was to Off the bench, Giannangeli added six points off two make the playoffs and that converted threes, while has not changed. We are forward Davis Ancona going to refocus ourselves ’14 had four points and and stay mentally tough.” led the team in rebounds Losing by as much as we did is In the second half, six. definitely frustrating, but we try to with“For Swarthmore was only everybody, it was able to add 16 more points, a disappointing loss,” Rotake positives from it and apply although its switch to a galski said. “Our coach that to our conference games. man-to-man defense from put a lot of the blame on the zone appeared to slow himself, just in terms of Michael Giannangeli ’12 down the Columbia attack our game plan and more somewhat. The Lions’ importantly the execution shooting percentage was that just wasn’t there. 45.5 percent in the second half, down considerably from “There are some changes that need to be made, and their 60 percent first-half clip. hopefully our coach can address that, and hopefully we Federer, a New York native, was the only member of as players can respond to that in a positive manner,” the team to score in the double digits with ten points. he added. Federer added two assists while center Jordan Cheney Swarthmore resumed Centennial Conference play ’14 led the team in assists with three. on Wednesday night when it hosted conference rival Forward Will Gates ’13 was slowed down after a fast Muhlenberg. Unfortunately for the Garnet, they were start to the season, scoring only eight points and going denied their first win of the season, falling 79-56 to the 4 of 20 from the field. Mules to drop their record to 0-6 on the season and 0-2 Four different players on Columbia scored double- in conference play. digit points, led by guard Meiko Lyles with 17. Forward The Garnet plays its second straight conference game Alex Rosenberg scored 15 points and starting center this Saturday on the road against the Ursinus Bears. Mark Cisco added 12. The start time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
Garnet athlete of the week
SPORTS IN PHOTO
Katie Lytle
SOPH., BASKETBALL, HARRISBURG, PA. WHAT SHE’S DONE: Lytle led her team in scoring in games against McDaniel and Dickinson. FAVORITE CAREER MOMENT: “Beating Gettysburg at home last year. It was a great feeling to rise to the occasion and beat one of the top teams in the conference.” WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO: “To make it to the playoffs. I think we are underestimated in the conference this year. We just want to play hard each game and prove that we are one of the top teams.”
Paul Chung The Phoenix
TOUGHEST PART OF HER GAME: “Definitely my shot. I grew up practicing my shot in my driveway pretty much every day. Once I learned the form, I continued to practice to get better through a lot of repetitions.”
Do you: A. Like writing about sports? B. Want your own column? C. Love the Garnet? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then apply to be a sports writer for Spring 2012. Applications and job descriptions can be found at www.swarthmorephoenix.com/hiring. 18
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Both the Swarthmore men’s and women’s swim teams defeated the Ursinus Bears on November 22nd. The women’s team won 111-95, while the men’s team won 110-95.
December 1, 2011
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Daring to dream: my 2011 Hanukkah wish list As holidays go, Hanukkah falls short in several respects. “Let’s all listen to that great Hanukkah-themed song!” says no one. Where it excels, however, is in its ability to sustain the pleasure of gift-receiving for eight days, while Christmas blows it all in five minutes. It’s like the tantric sex of holidays, my own personal Timothy Bernstein eight-day window into how Sting lives, or some other ceBullet Points lebrity who also does that (a quick Google search brings up Chelsea Clinton, which is so perfect it must be made up). This year, I’m making my list a little earlier and submitting it to the world at large. You have nineteen days. Night 1: For Swarthmore to Bring Back Its Football Team Hanukkah begins on the first night with the lighting of the ‘Shamash,’ a special candle that will then be used to light all eight regular candles. This is usually the night where the biggest present gets handed out, along with the implicit warning to expect seven considerably worse gifts for the rest of the holiday (“It’s a PS3!!!! And seven packs of spearmint gum!!!!). I can think of no gift from the sports world I would rather have than to see the vaunted Garnet football program rise from the ashes, kind of like that bird whose name I can’t remember. Night 2: For Timothy Richard Tebow to Go Down In Flames Before My Very Eyes: He’s an unconventional quarterback who wins games, provides unfailing leadership and seems like a genuinely decent person. And all of that makes me wish Ndamukong Suh would come along and maybe stomp on his face a few times before continuing on to Radio Shack. Can I justify this hate rationally? I cannot, but that’s what Tebow does to people: he brings out the extremes. He’s like kettle corn or the movie “Lost in Translation”: you either love him or want to watch him die slowly like a squirrel on the road. Holidays! Night 3: For Tiger Woods to Win Another Major Championship: The numbers tell a story unfinished: 14 majors. 15 mistresses. Destiny says he has another title in him, and I don’t mean the stripper Woods was texting at Pebble Beach 2006. If only so that Jim Nantz’s manila folder of Tiger-related victory lines in his home office does not go to waste (On the 18th green to win it: “Tiger … WILL ROAR AGAIN!” If he ever ties Jack Nicklaus’s record: “Tiger and Bear … OH MY!”), the fates must align for Woods’s resurgence. Night 4: For Andy Reid To Make It to Super Bowl XLVI And Totally F**k It Up: “On the fourth night of Hanukkah, Jewish Santa gave to me... Four needless timeouts Three time-wasting drives Two fake-punt attempts and a TWELFTH MA-A-N PE-E-NAL-TY!” Night 5: For the New York Yankees to Win the 2012 World Series … For the Children:
Over the years, being a Yankee fan has taught me the exact same lesson that the hippies in Zuccotti Park are having beaten into them by police batons at this very moment: The one percent tends to stay on top. Yet, even the elite of the elite must face their share of adversity, and the past two championship-less seasons for the Yankees have certainly proved trying. It was all I could do to hold in a sob on my Sag Harbor veranda over Thanksgiving when I realized that, come next September, there will be first-year preschoolers who have never gotten to see Derek Jeter hoist the Commissioner’s Trophy. Blame poor front-office decisions, an aging player core, or the Curse of Situational Lefty Phil Coke (traded after the 2009 World Series, took his 5.00 ERA and the team’s good fortune with him), but like the one percent, it is clear the Yankees have been victimized by the unwashed lower rungs of the caste system. Specifically, Miguel Cabrera. He appears to reek of tequila and poorness. Night 6: For Mad Men to Not End In Present Day: If you follow the show, you might have heard that series creator Matthew Weiner has apparently announced his intention to bring the series up to the current year in which the show would end, most likely with Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce hard at work on a campaign that brings out the psychological subtext of eTrade.com that makes women feel secure in their femininity. While I would never count Weiner out on anything, and the idea of Don ruminating on the visceral pull of LMFAO is appealing for obvious reasons, the jump-the-shark potential of this is off the charts. Mathematically speaking, think of it as the Sopranos ending in a blackout multiplied by “St. Elsewhere” taking place in a snow globe divided by the cast of “Seinfeld” spending a year in jail. Not to mention that a world where Hillary Clinton exists and Roger Sterling’s head doesn’t explode is a world that ceases to make sense. Night 7: For Major League Baseball to Get Out of Its Own Way: Many, many years ago, back in the year 2001, baseball was actually ahead of the curve in realizing that while Zima’s days were likely numbered, this Internet fad was here to stay. They launched MLB.com, used it to sell tickets and subscription packages, and basically started printing money right away. Fast-forward ten years, and while every football and basketball highlight from the last twenty years is a YouTube search away, the MLB remains completely uninterested in letting people remind themselves why they love baseball. Instead, we get the same fifty clips on their website, which promptly get replaced two weeks later never to be seen again. Remember hearing about David Freese’s home run to win Game 6 of the World Series? It sounded dramatic, right? Try searching for it on YouTube and you’ll get ten people filming it from their seats at the game, ten people filming their TV screens, and a TV news clip of Freese’s teammates talking about how great it was to see. We can only imagine. Night 8: Spy Gear Spy Night Goggles ($15.49): Not for me, of course. For my much younger cousin. Maybe I’ll ironically use them once to pretend that I’m a secret agent before I give them to him. Tim is a junior. You can reach him at tbernst1@swarthmore.edu
Photos courtesy of wikipedia.org
Andy Reid, Don Draper, and Tiger Woods are all on Tim’s Hanukkah list. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
GARNET IN ACTION THURSDAY, DEC. 1
SATURDAY, DEC. 3
Women’s basketball vs. Muhlenberg, 7:00 p.m.
Swimming, Swarthmore Invitational, Session 2, 9:30 a.m.
FRIDAY, DEC. 2
Swimming, Swarthmore Invitational, Session 3, 4:30 p.m.
Swimming, Swarthmore Invitational, Session 1, 6:30 p.m.
Women’s basketball at Ursinus, 1:00 p.m.
Track and field, Villanova Pyrah Invitational at Haverford, 4:00 p.m.
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Men’s basketball at Ursinus, 3:00 p.m.
December 1, 2011
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Volleyball’s seniors leave behind a program changed
games, which really got the rest of the team amped up may have been her versatility with an uncanny ability and motivated. They were three significant players, to make a play — offensive or defensive — on any ball physically and mentally, who were on the court at all in the same area code. For every lined-up rocket was a This wasn’t how it was supposed to end. After suf- times and came through in key wrong-handed tip to save a point fering three five-set regular-season losses to the top plays.” from outside the antenna, runthree seeds for the 2011 Centennial Conference tournaThe leadership and improvening lob to allow the defense to ment, the Swarthmore volleyball team ended Confer- ment has driven the rest of the reset or full-stretch acrobatic fist, The culture around ence play with a resounding 3-1 victory at Haverford to team to match their intensity and all with a smile, making every Swarthmore volleyball set up a rematch between the rivals at Tarble Pavilion commitment. Take Pezzola, who player on the court — on their in the first round of the Centennial playoffs. by her sophomore year was no best day or worst day — better. has changed. This was supposed to be Swarthmore’s year. Hav- longer a scouting-report mystery For the most accomplished and Head Coach ing lost in the Centennial final in 2010, the Garnet re- to opponents, yet still surpassed decorated player in program histurned every player except Sarah Lambert ’11 and had her career average for kills and tory, team success meant everyHarleigh Chwastyk added five talented first-years. The team had matched hitting percentage in her senior thing. up point for point with the Conference’s best all sea- year. Or Shang, who had 50 more Since arriving at Swarthson long and was peaking at the right time, ending the digs as a senior than her fourmore 10 years ago, Chwastyk has regular season with nine consecutive wins. year average while joining with Santana to help form emphasized defense first: there is no effective volleyBut then came the rematch, and two minutes in, it the best defense in the Centennial Conference. That’s ball offensive without a clean and organized defense. was 8-0 Haverford. An hour in, Haverford led two sets the Santana who went from a hitter as a first-year to the Chwastyk has coached many superb back-row defendto none. Swarthmore would take the third set and force best libero in program history as a senior with a stag- ers at Swarthmore but the Santana-Shang combination extra points in the fourth, but Haverwas especially dynamic. ford won the last two to close out the According to Lobichusky, Santana fourth set 26-24 and send the Garnet and Shang were “two of the most impacking without a third-consecutive portant people on the court at any time. trip to the Centennial semifinals. Without a good serve-receive pass, you This wasn’t how it was supposed to can’t run a successful offense. They end for the Garnet seniors. In 2007, the really hustled on defense and played year before the current senior class of “scrappy.” They were key in close Genny Pezzola ’12, Lisa Shang ’12, Hillgames when we needed to get the ball ary Santana ’12 and Anthony Yoshimuback and make a play.” ra ’12 had arrived at Swarthmore, the Then there is Yoshimura, the man team’s Centennial season had ended with the jaw-dropping vertical, feathwith a loss to Haverford. In 2011, the ery set and quiet composure on the team’s Centennial season ended with a bench who worked with the team for loss to Haverford. In four years, what each of his four years at Swarthmore. had changed? After Shang invited him to practice Well, everything. during first-year preseason, it took It takes a rare confluence of facassistant coach Nicole Kelly, who in tors to create a transformative class. It her fourth season at Swarthmore will takes a program on the cusp of taking see her first class graduate, just three the step to become a contender. It takes minutes to see his skill and volleyball a skilled group of players who make the know-how. He is truly the ultimate teammates around them better. It takes teammate, there every day in practice leaders, not just on the court but also in but without the glory of match play, the locker room and weight room. and a man Chwastyk sees as a future Games, players and even coaches head coach. come and go, but the team, and the proAccording to Coleman, all four segram, is sacred. And in four years, Peniors played first and foremost for the zzola, Santana, Shang and Yoshimura love of the game and their teammates. transformed the Swarthmore volleyball “The best example of this is Anthony. team from a six-win squad looking for He obviously had to be unselfish bean identity in their 2008 freshman year cause he couldn’t play in the games, to a fast-paced exciting juggernaut as but still, he worked so hard to help Justin Toran-Burrell The Phoenix seniors with the foundation to contend (from left) Pezzola, Shang and Santana have watched the volleyball program reach new make each person a better player in year after year. whatever way he could.” heights during their Swarthmore careers. In the class of 2012, Head Coach Added Chastity Hopkins ’15, “Even Harleigh Chwastyk found volleyball though he got no personal gain through junkies who continue to absorb, learn and breath the gering 565 digs to shatter the program single-season statistic or playing time, he always worked the hardest. game. There’s Shang, from just 20 miles away, an early record. He went after every ball and gave it all he had with evdecision applicant. There’s Pezzola, whom Chwastyk Then there are the moments that the seniors helped ery point ... He was definitely a key player on the team. didn’t meet until December of her senior year of high to create, bringing excitement and fans to a team that Volleyball season will definitely not be the same withschool. And then there is Santana, who didn’t contact had 24 wins this past season. out him.” Chwastyk until after she was admitted to Swarthmore. Team moments? How about the come-from-behind Maybe that loss to Haverford wasn’t really an end at “We gained a really strong support network, not just victory over Haverford in the 2010 Centennial Confer- all but rather part of the start of an era of ongoing sucfrom the players who are passionate and committed ence finals to end the Ford volleyball dynasty. Or the cess. Sure, it will be without the 2012 seniors, but the but from their families as well. Everyone is 100 percent straight-sets win over Richard Stockton over 2011 Gar- program sits in a position hardly imaginable four years committed and we are really going to miss that pas- net Weekend when Swarthmore held the leading-hitter ago. And the seniors, through each and every match, sion,” Chwastyk said. in all of Division III to a shock- each and every practice, always put the team first. The Setter Allie Coleman ’13, who ing .091 hitting percentage. team, the program, is sacred. has played with the seniors for Individual moments? San“The culture around Swarthmore volleyball has rethree seasons, said, “I think The [seniors’] leadership tana’s 22 aces against Wesley. ally changed in the last four years. The seniors have that Genny, Lisa and Hillary all Shang’s full-extension pancake really tried to instill an understanding in the underand improvement has improved every year that I’ve to keep a point alive against classmen about where the program was four years ago played with them. They have all Muhlenberg. Any number of and what still has to be done,” Chwastyk said. driven the rest of become better players in terms Pezzola chick-chick-boom putLobichusky reflected positively on the past season. the team to match of physical skills, but perhaps aways. Or Santana, Shang and “[It] did not end ideally for any of us, but the seniors more importantly, they’ve bePezzola sprawling digs. The still encouraged us to take that loss and turn it into a their commitment. come better leaders and role three each possessed dynamic win next year and have no regrets on the court. They models.” play-making ability to energize told us to keep things in perspective and enjoy our volBrone Lobichusky ’14 shared the entire squad. leyball careers because they come to a close faster than a similar sentiment. “The seniors really lived and Though Pezzola’s thunderous attacks were a night- you expect. It was great advice and I’ll never forget it.” breathed volleyball,” she said. “[They] were always mare for opponents, she was initially recruited out of What did four seniors help to change in four years? pumped up and ready to go for practices or before high school as a defensive player. Her greatest asset Everything.
by victory brady vbrady1@swarthmore.edu
THE PHOENIX
December 1, 2011
20