APRIL 12, 2012 • THE CAMPUS NEWSPAPER OF SWARTHMORE COLLEGE SINCE 1881 • VOLUME 135, ISSUE 12
THE
PHOENIX
Inside: Class of 2016 most selective in Swat history ‘21 Jump Street’ brings new laughs to old material Taking a crack at cricket with James Ivey
Did You Know?
Campus Group Exposes Low Diversity Rates Among Swat Faculty p.4
The Phoenix
Thursday, April 12, 2012 Volume 135, Issue 12
The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881. EDITORIAL BOARD Marcus Mello Editor in Chief Camila Ryder Managing Editor Adam Schlegel News Editor Koby Levin Assistant News Editor Brad Lenox Living & Arts Editor Steven Hazel Assistant Living & Arts Editor Reem Abdou Opinions Editor Tim Bernstein Sports Editor Allegra Pocinki Photo Editor Peter Akkies Webmaster Eric Sherman Webmaster
Julia Carleton The Phoenix
Tasha Lewis’ senior thesis display, titled ‘Naturea Curiosa,’ is the first of the senior exhibits on display at the List Gallery.
News
local the food really is, and even includes a Paces recipe for those who want to try local cooking on their own.
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Lectures highlight develop- ‘21 Jump Street’ makes comedy of self-awareness ment, perspective The student-organized Progress Paradox Conference is currently in session on campus, bringing together notable scholars in the field of development to discuss alternatives to mainstream conceptions of economic growth and progress.
“21 Jump Street” is a remake of an 80’s TV show with a shallow plotline, but it offers light comedy and self-deprecating humor. Is it worth seeing? Read the review to find out.
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Student exhibit colorfully Speaker addresses radio explores the animal form Tasha Lewis’ senior thesis display, “Najournalism, WNR reflects PAGE 3
Swat alum and Luce Scholar Charles Mayer provided insights on careers in radio journalism from his time spent at NPR. Members of WNR assess the state of radio journalism on campus.
turea Curiosa” transformed the boundaries of the List Gallery with cyanotype sculptures that seemed to jump out of the walls themselves.
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Perhaps the ‘new jobs’ Act
Harshil provides an overview of the J.O.B.S. Act recently signed by Obama, as well as potential rewards and caveats of the institution of such a policy. PAGE 16
Supreme Court ‘partisanship’ severely overblown
Danielle explains why, if the Court overturns the Affordable Care Act (ACA), it will not be as partisan or unprecedented as some — particularly the President himself — think. PAGE 16
Sports
One, two, three: Spice Class of 2016 be- up your threesome and F&M pulls away in 4th quarter to beat women’s comes most selective in avoid disaster lax This week, Missing Parts answers a The Garnet played tough against eighthSwat history
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The release of statistics for the admitted students in the class of 2016 illustrate that this year’s incoming class is going to be the most selective in the college’s history, with an admit rate of 14%.
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reader question about threesomes, with advice on who to approach for a threesome, how to make the experience enjoyable, and how to communicate effectively with your partner. PAGE 12
Living & Arts Opinions Spring play brings ‘Spelling The unspoken violence in Bee,’ humor to Upper Tarble the college greek system This weekend’s Spring Musical, the “25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” brought audience members a comedic and nostalgic look at childhood. PAGE 8
Late night hunger? Paces offers local food specials
The Locavore goes extremely local, taking a trip to Paces Café to see just how
With the recent attention poised on Dartmouth University’s perverse fraternity practices, The Phoenix considers the opportunity for reflection and reform of a mainstream culture which fetishes and condones violence. PAGE 15
The
new
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J.O.B.S.
Act:
ranked Franklin & Marshall, but the Diplomats finally got their offense into gear at the end to defeat Swarthmore 17-10. PAGE 17
A beginner’s guide to the world of cricket With summer fast approaching, cricket is back on the international agenda. For the uninitiated, however, there is no cause for alarm: James will take you through the basics of the world of cricket just in time for the opening of the Indian Premier League.
STAFF Amanda Epstein News Writer Charles Hepper News Writer Yi-Wei Liu News Writer Sera Jeong Living & Arts Writer Samme Sheikh Living & Arts Writer Allison Shultes Living & Arts Writer Chi Zhang Living & Arts Writer Nate Blum Living & Arts Columnist Gabriela Campoverde Living & Arts Columnist Amelia Dornbush Living & Arts Columnist Dylan Jensen Living & Arts Columnist Vianca Masucci Living & Arts Columnist Lanie Schlessinger Living & Arts Columnist Renu Nadkarni Living & Arts Artist Naia Poyer Living & Arts Artist Tyler Becker Opinions Columnist Danielle Charette Opinions Columnist Harshil Sahai Opinions Columnist Shiran Shen Opinions Columnist Emma Waitzman Political Cartoonist Roy Greim Sports Writer James Ivey Sports Columnist Axel Kodat Blogger Julia Carleton Photographer Cristina Matamoros Photographer Raisa Reyes Photographer Holly Smith Photographer Justin Toran-Burrell Photographer Sophie Diamond Copy Editor Taylor Hodges Copy Editor Jaimi Kim Copy Editor Axel Kodat Copy Editor Margaret Lawlace Copy Editor Vija Lietuvninkas Copy Editor BUSINESS STAFF Business Manager Paul Chung Circulation Manager Di Yan Circulation Manager Osazenoriuwa Ebose COVER DESIGN Amelia Kucic COVER PHOTOS COURTESY OF: home.comcast.net CONTRIBUTORS Victor Brady, Pendle Marshall-Hallmark, Joyce Wu OPINIONS BOARD Reem Abdou, Marcus Mello and Camila Ryder EDITOR’S PICKS PHOTOS COURTESY OF: (clockwise from top left) sofreshandsogreen.com poemsbyvaibhav.blogspot.com flickr.com obscureinternet.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 Marcus Mello.
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The Phoenix is printed at Bartash Printing, Inc. The Phoenix is a member of the Associated College Press and the Pennsylvania Newspaper Association.
Nearly matching its worst output of the season, Swarthmore could manage just four goals against the Diplomats as they were blown out on Saturday in a 12-4 road loss.
All contents copyright © 2012 The Phoenix. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without permission.
Offense fizzles as men’s lacrosse falls to F&M
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April 12, 2012
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Events Menu
Lectures highlight development, perspective
Today Is “Sustainable Development” a myth? In the second to last event of “The Progress Paradox: Critical Perspectives on Development” (see right), a political ecologist and a youth media group will team up in Sci. 101 at 4:30 p.m. to tackle the relationship between economic development and sustainability. Tomorrow Student art on display in List Gallery The second of six weekly exhibits of senior art majors’ culminating art projects will highlight the drawings and paintings of Thomas Soares ’12 and Anthony Yoshimura ’12. At 5 p.m., Visiting Professor of Art History Laura Holzman ’06 will lead a discussion on the works alongside the artists. The gallery will be open all weekend. Chorus Concert Associate Professor of Music John Alston will lead the Swarthmore chorus in a rendition of J.S. Bach’s St. John Passion in the Lang Concert Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday, March 14th Student Poetry Reading Students in the English Deprtment’s “Lyric Encounters” poetry class will share the poetic results of their explorations of lyricism at 1:30 p.m. at the Kohlberg Coffee Bar. Art Studio Open House From 2 to 4 p.m., the student art centers in Old Tarble as well as Beardsley Hall will be open for public viewing of the many student paintings, ceramics, and sculptures. Faculty will be present at both locations to answer any questions and host discussions, with a final reception at 5 p.m. in Beardsley 201. Gospel Choir 40th Anniversary Concert After 40 years of — in the words of a founding member — “speaking in ways that only words could not,” current and former members of the gospel choir will gather in the Friends Meeting House at 6 p.m. for a reunion and commemorative concert. Rhythm & Motion 10th Anniversary Dance Performance The pulsating, African-influenced motion of RnM is by now familiar to the Swarthmore community, but it remains no less a favorite. LPAC main stage. 9 p.m. Don’t miss it. Sunday, April 15th Gamelan Semara Santi Philadelphia’s only Indonesian percussion orchestra will perform in the Lang Concert Hall at 3 p.m. Twenty-five musicians will produce traditional Indonesian music using bronze-keyed xylophones, suspended gongs, bamboo flutes, and drums. Submissions for the events menu may be sent to: news@swarthmorephoenix.com
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Renowned world-systems analyst and senior sociological research scholar at Yale, Immanuel Wallerstein served as the keynote speaker for the Progress Paradox Conference. By koby levin jlevin1@swarthmore.edu
Development is an axiom of economic theory, the holy grail for policymakers around the world, the criterion by which nations are placed in the “3rd world.” Its significance is tacitly recognized in the United States, where the media treats the growth rate of the economy as a key yardstick of the country’s wellbeing. Throughout this week, however, a series of talks titled “The Progress Paradox: Critical Perspectives on Development” has sought to challenge the accepted the concept that growth is good. The organizing committee for the conference is made up of a group of seniors who share an global perspective: four of the organizers — Mary Jean Chan ’12 of China, Min Sern Teh ’12 of Malaysia, Majandra Rodriguez ’12 of Peru and Lizah Masis ’12 of Kenya — are international students, and the fifth, Aden Tedla ’12 of California, was born to Ethiopian parents. How many? studied abroad. Teh said that the things he learned outside of the U.S. gave him a new perspective on the meaning of development. “I’ve done a lot of work with indigenous communities in Malaysia and in Ecuador during my study abroad,” he said. “Working with the communities, I saw that people actually had very different needs, and those needs were not being answered by these grand ideas of what a developed economy or country looks like.” The organizers’ abroad experiences, however, have come from the classroom as much as first person experience. Chan began to question the idea
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of development when she took “Globalization,” a political science class at Swarthmore taught by Ayesh Kaya, which submerged her the in the ideas of William Easterly (pro development) and Jeffrey Sachs (questioning development orthodoxy). She continued exploring the topic during a semester abroad at Cambridge University in England, where she took a class titled “Politics of Security of Development,” which took a critical view, tracing the concept of development to the colonial era. When she returned, she found that she shared many of her newfound views with Rodriguez, who told Chan she was planning a conference on the topic. Chan came on board, and the rest of the committee followed suit as they happened upon discussions of the conference; the organizers are all friends. That the organizers shared an international connection of sorts was a coincidence that became an important characteristic of the conference. According to Chan, the talks represent an “international aspect on issues” that had been missing on campus. “Even though Swarthmore is a very international and global institution,” she said, “there is still this tendency to take an American-centric view on things. As international students we feel the effects of American foreign policies, which puts us in an interesting place to talk about them.” In the case of this years conference — and the organizers hope there will be more — an “international aspect” has largely meant the introduction of perspectives not widely espoused in the United States. With the exception of the Mexican activist Gustavo Esteva,
April 12, 2012
who provided a prelude to the conference with his March talk titled “Beyond Development and Globalization,” no international speakers were able to make the conference. This is perhaps explained by the short notice: planning for the conference began in February, and the organizers did not begin to send e-mails out to potential speakers until March. Even then, the e-mails were sent to potential speakers using addresses scrounged up online. Perhaps due to Swarthmore’s academic reputation or maybe some superior powers of persuasion, the planners encountered a high level of enthusiasm and a willingness to participate among some of the most respected minds of our society. Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz responded saying he would have loved to come but he was out of the country; Gustavo Esteva, of course, agreed to speak; Immanuel Wallerstein, a preeminent world-systems analyst, signed on as the keynote speaker. Add that to several other activists and professors and a pair of Swarthmore students who presented papers they wrote for class “Development and its Discontents,” and a full speaker list was in place. Paradox of Progress received funding from myriad sources, most prominently the Rollover fund, but also including the Presidents Office and the Communication Office. Two talks remain in the conference. The first, called “Is ‘Sustainable Development’ a Myth?,” is scheduled for today at 4:30 p.m. in Sci. 101. The final talk, titled “End-note: Community Alternatives and Looking Forward, Exploring the Solidarity Economy in Philadelphia,” will be presented at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, also in Sci. 101.
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‘Did You Know’ questions faculty diversity at college
Week in pictures
By Charlie Hepper chepper1@swarthmore.edu
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Members of the Global Health Forum organized a parlor party in Shane Lounge to raise funds and awareness for the “Minus Malaria” project.
Raisa Reyes The Phoenix
Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine organized the art exhibit entitled, A Child’s View from Gaza, held in the Kitao Gallery over the weekend.
Raisa Reyes The Phoenix
Nashville locals Natural Child performed their country punk styled sounds at Olde Club this past Saturday, along with Work Drugs and The People’s Temple.
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In the past months, the enigmatic “Did You Know?” group has taken to periodically posting information sheets in the McCabe bathroom stalls amongst other campus locations, ostensibly as part of a strategy to stimulate greater discussion on issues of diversity within the Swarthmore community. The most recent postings address the racial makeup of the Tri-Co colleges by presenting a range of statistics concerning minority groups in instructional faculty positions. Previous flyers have provided a gendered and racial breakdown of Swarthmore faculty salaries. The group set forth its intentions in a February e-mail to the Phoenix, referring to itself in the third person. It described its mission as one devoted to creating a more informed community and catalyzing greater discussion of critical issues. “The purpose of ‘Did You Know?’ is to encourage people to ask questions about our college community. ‘Did You Know?’ sets out to expose information about Swarthmore and other similar institutions that is hidden and unknown in order to spark conversation and raise awareness. As individuals who are encouraged to be critical thinkers it is also important to be critical of our present environment,” the group stated in an email. From its inception, the group has been steadfast on maintaining its anonymity, only listing its Gmail address on their flyers as a means of contact. When asked about this choice, the group indicated that its main priorities are to provide information. “An advantage to the ambiguity of ‘Did You Know?’ is that it is not group affiliated and therefore the focus is on the information presented rather than the people ‘behind the curtain,’” the group said. In regards to their choice of the McCabe bathroom stalls to display their flyers, the group responded; “‘Did You Know?’ has chosen no permanent space in which to exist,” further stating that the group intends to be as “visible and accessible as possible.” According to the group, 17.79% of Swarthmore faculty members are minorities and 7.1% are black, compared to the 23.19/7.6% and 13.81/3.7% observed respectively at Haverford and Bryn Mawr. The recent postings also display the percentages of black instructional faculty members in the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences divisions at each college in the Tri-Co. One prominent trend observed in the data was the low representation of black instructional faculty in the natural sciences, contrasting with their more noticeable presence in the humanities and social sciences. Black faculty members currently compose 9.3 and 9.4% respectively of Swarthmore and Haverford’s instructional faculty in the humanities. However, there are currently only four black natural sciences faculty members out of the 165 natural sciences faculty in the entirety of the Tri-Co consortium. Only one of them, Dean Garikai Campbell, teaches at Swarthmore. The college continues to employ some of the highest percentages of black faculty in American higher education. In a recent survey of the nation’s liberal arts colleges, The Journal of Blacks in Higher
April 12, 2012
Holly Smith The Phoenix
Flyers calling attention to faculty demographics have been placed across campus.
Education ranked Swarthmore fourth, with 6.2% black faculty. Haverford led the field by a broad margin with 9.0% black faculty. These numbers contrast significantly with the statistics printed by “Did You Know?” College faculty lauded the school’s diversity. “After having returning to Swarthmore after a decade and having taught here for the last thirteen years, I feel like the school has made terrific and wonderful advances in terms of faculty diversity since my undergraduate experience. I have yet to meet a group of people as diverse, talented, intellectually engaging and creative as the Swarthmore faculty,” Associate Professor of Political Science Keith Reeves ’88 said. Reeves stated that faculty diversity is critical to ensuring that the college remains vibrant and competitive. “In order for Swarthmore to remain competitive, the school must seek the best and the brightest faculty of all stripes. Diversity both in faulty and students is important in pushing students’ conceptions to train them for the complex global community,” Reeves said. However, Reeves also indicated that fulfilling the school’s mission requires a broader view of diversity that extends beyond racial classifications. “I also hope that the college remains sensitive to the less ascriptive aspects of diversity, such as logical and class diversity, in the future. These factors also contribute heavily to the diversity of the Swarthmore experience,” Reeves said. Although “Did You Know?” indicated in late February that it had no set membership, recent postings in McCabe stated that it will be forming a group in order to discuss and present information. No specific officers, places of meeting, or website are known to exist, although the group did provide a Gmail address. They stated that they intend to be “inclusive of all contributions, suggestions and criticisms.” Contributions from members of the Swarthmore community are hoped to play an important role in future postings from the group. “‘Did You Know?’ hopes that the campus community will participate in diversifying the topics that are raised by contributing ideas, facts, and questions,” the group said.
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News Speaker addresses radio journalism, WNR reflects
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By amanda epstein aepstei1@swarthmore.edu
Charles Mayer, a 1998 Swarthmore graduate, came to campus on Monday to speak about his long-standing career in NPR News. He met with several different groups of students throughout the day to talk about careers, internships and the job process (specifically in radio journalism) and his experience as a Luce Scholar in Mongolia. Mayer also met with War News Radio (WNR) to discuss the future of radio journalism and the group’s own model of operation, which is being redeveloped. According to Caroline Batten ’14, a journalist for WNR, Mayer talked about how he got into radio journalism, his current job as the “go-to-guy” for logistical challenges in production, and the future of NPR, given the steadying decline of traditional media. At the beginning of this semester, WNR replaced their 30-minute radio show for a multimedia online platform. “NPR is moving towards the internet, into podcasts and more web content because people like convenience and control over their news. That’s what he pointed out to us,” Batten said. “We have also moved to the internet. We are doing multimedia — a lot of video reporting, we are doing interviews by Skype and recording them, we are writing blog posts and trying to get pictures up with audio pieces.” Although WNR has made the shift towards the internet more completely, Mayer seemed to approve of the results given by the recent changes. According to Batten, he advocated for news entities to provide “control, convenience and variety” to their audience. The model established by WNR seemed to grant just that. According to Jim MacMillan, the journalist in residence at War News Radio and professor of the Peace and Conflicts Journalism course, the new model is still being developed. “Independent news startups generally go through four iterations before they land on their mission... It feels very much like this here,” he said. After the initial transformation in January, the core group of journalists at WNR decided to change directions even more by shifting their focus towards local news. “After a while [covering local news], things started sputtering a bit and there might have been a sense of uncertainty about identity and community. The students have refocused primarily back on international relations, or maybe more than that, on international conflict. That focus has lead to more production in the past couple of weeks, but now we are addressing these topics across more media,” MacMillan said. According to Batten, it has been a struggle to find the balance between being innovative and sticking to the traditional standards of journalism. While it is im-
Allegra Pocinki The Phoenix
Swat alum and Luce Scholar Charles Mayer spoke on Monday regarding career opportunities for Swatties as they relate to the field of radio journalism.
portant to get things out as quickly as possible onto their website, it is just as important, if not more so, to cover the things that make them passionate – foreign affairs, particularly conflict. Still, she is certain that it has been a good transition. Improvements have been made, and the new website is getting consistently more hits. “I think we might see more change before we really land on a final model... Maybe the model is constant change,” MacMillan said. Some of the pieces covered by WNR in the recent weeks include the treatment of PTSD since the Gulf War, the blurring line between journalism and activism (especially in Bahrain), and the bounty placed on Hafiz Saeed. Housed in Lodge 6, WNR is constantly looking for new members.
Class of 2016 becomes college’s most selective
By yi-wei liu yliu2@swarthmore.edu
While the Class of 2016 has yet to be formed, Swarthmore College has already sent letters of admission to 929 prospective students. In the most selective year of the college’s history, only fourteen percent of the 6,589 students who applied were offered a position in the first year class. Last year, for the Class of 2015, 987 students out of 6547 of those who applied were admitted, an admittance rate of 15%. Based on historical patterns, the college expects an incoming freshman class of about 372 students. “This year was a record year for applications, and we also wanted a smaller incoming class, so it’s our most selective year ever. The demographics were similar as the Class of 2015, but the big change this time was it was a paperless process. It’s a much more efficient process and good towards our green and sustainability efforts,”Dean of Admissions Jim Bock ‘90 said. This year’s smaller class size is primarily a product of the presently-strained resources for students (e.g. housing, dining) on campus. Given that dorm capacity has not been expanded since the opening of the Alice Paul/David Kemp complex in 2008, and that there are no immediate plans to pursue further construction, the administration has viewed this reduction as the most apt reflection of the college’s capabilities. “It’s a balancing act of meeting budget needs, but also meeting housing needs on campus,” Bock said. Admitted students continue to show high academic achievements: of those attending high schools reporting class rank, just under a third of students are valedictorians or salutatorians, fifty-three percent are in the top two percent of their high school class and ninety percent are in the top decile. California, which showed the largest application growth this year, is the most highly represented home
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state of the prospective students, followed by New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts and Texas. Internationally, 10 students from China makes it the most represented nation among non-U.S. citizens in the admitted class, followed by eight from India, five from Korea and the United Kingdom, four from Canada, Ghana and Singapore. Other countries represented include Hong Kong, Pakistan, Brazil, Egypt, France, Myanmar, Palestine, Bhutan, Senegal, Switzerland and many more countries. The Class of 2016 Facebook Group is already filled with first impressions and hearsay about the college campus, as well as questions to others who have been accepted on whether they should choose to attend Swarthmore over any other college. One student, Rachel Yang from Minnetonka High School, has made her dilemma public on the New York Times-hosted blog “The Choice”, on which several high school students post about their application process. Swarthmore, which was her first choice, initially waitlisted her during the early decision period, but sent her a letter of acceptance last week. She was also accepted into Medill at Northwestern, and writes “this is definitely a dilemma I never anticipated... Swarthmore has always been my top choice, so I’m leaning more in that direction than any other...and I feel as if you just don’t say no to Medill.” In the comment section under her blog, the Swarthmore community posted many comments, either encouraging her to visit both colleges and follow her heart, or simply advising that she attend what it deems to be the superior college, Swarthmore College. ‘Sarah’, who said she was a sophomore at Swarthmore, commented, “I hope you can come to Ride the Tide later this month. I encourage you to also visit Northwestern if you have the chance. For me, the first time I stepped on Swarthmore’s campus...I could tell that this it was the place where I knew I would be April 12, 2012
Holly Smith The Phoenix
The heightened selectivity of admissions this year is a reflection of the college’s strained resource capacity.
happy and have the college experience that I was looking for.” ‘Andrew’, claiming to be a professor at Swarthmore, put it more bluntly. “I didn’t attend Swarthmore, but for me, there’s no contest,” he said. Ride the Tide, the college’s admitted student program, will be held on April 19 and 20, with 350 students registered. The program is intended to help some admitted students make a decision in choosing whether or not to attend Swarthmore College.
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around higher education
Penn’s Amyvid creates unease after FDA approval By lalita clozel thedp.com, April 10, 2012 On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration approved a drug representing over a decade’s hard work for two Perelman School of Medicine faculty members — but not everyone is proud. Amyvid was created by assistant Radiology professor Daniel Skovronsky and Radiology professor Hank Kung. College junior Mateen Moghbel doesn’t think the drug should enter the market, and he is backed by Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania professor of Radiology Abass Alavi, as well as other Penn faculty and researchers. The FDA approved the drug as a tool to help diagnose Alzheimer’s disease by indicating the level of amyloid plaque deposits in patient’s brains. Amyloid plaque was first discovered by German doctor Alois Alzheimer when he looked inside the brain of the first Alzheimer’s disease patient. There, he found abnormal clumps of a protein, the amyloid deposits. Alzheimer’s is characterized by these deposits: if they are not found in a patient’s brain then that patient does not have the disease. And in 1991, two British scientists suggested the accumulation of amyloid plaque actually causes Alzheimer’s. This theory, called the amyloid hypothesis, has fueled research in the field of Alzheimer’s for the past 20 years. Abnormal levels of amyloid plaque can develop in Alzheimer patients several years before other symptoms appear, such as memory loss. Until now, the only way to observe the plaque was to perform a post-mortem biopsy of the brain. So Penn researchers Daniel Skovronsky and Hank Kung decided to develop Amyvid. It is a dye, or tracer, that reveals amyloid plaque. A radioactive compound in the drug binds to plaque particles and makes them visible in PET brain scans. Seeing amyloid plaque in living patients could allow scientists to test the amyloid hypothesis, better understand Alzheimer’s and maybe even diagnose the disease earlier on. But there are many skeptics and some of the most vocal ones come from Penn. They have raised doubts on Amyvid’s ability to trace amyloid plaque as well as the scientific theory that underpins its use. Moghbel, a biological basis of behavior major, is one of them. Last summer, he drafted a scientific editorial disputing the drug’s reliability and its usefulness in diagnosing Alzheimer’s. It was published in October in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging. Moghbel’s editorial was co-written with Babak Saboury, a clinical research fellow at HUP, and then reviewed and signed by a handful of leading researchers in the field, including Alavi. Not only was it downloaded about 1,200 times in only three months — breaking a record in the modern history of the
journal — but it also triggered a rebuttal from 24 prominent scientists defending the drug, though among them, 18 had a recorded conflict of interest. According to the editorial, the tracer is not specific enough — it binds to particles other than amyloid, distorting the results from PET scans. The editorial argued that results obtained with Amyvid identified amyloid in areas that typically contain low levels of the plaque. “They haven’t done the tests to show this binds specifically to amyloid,” Moghbel said. Furthermore, the editorial argued, amyloid imaging is not viable because the plaque particles are too small for PET scans to pick up. In other words, the technique’s ability to map the plaque could be limited by its spatial resolution, since the scans cannot detect the individual plaque particles. Finally, the authors questioned the key assumption underpinning the tracer’s utility. According to them, the amyloid hypothesis “is still a matter of debate and has recently been challenged” by a series of ineffective anti-amyloid drugs. Moghbel does not want to see families hurt by drugs that may be unnecessary or even harmful. He knows from personal experience that patients are eager to treat the disease at all costs. His grandfather passed away from Alzheimer’s, and if the tracer had existed while he was alive, he said, “he would have done it, no questions asked.” Moghbel’s family history motivated his research project, and he said he still hopes to participate in diagnosing or treating Alzheimer’s. He also sees potential in amyloid imaging. “It’s a very exciting approach,” he says. He believes, however, that these techniques are not yet ready for widespread use. “We’re not disagreeing with them,” he said, “we’re asking for more research to be done.” For Amyvid, the path to FDA approval was a long and bumpy one. Twelve years ago, Kung met then-Ph.D. student Skovronsky, and found they shared a common interest in amyloid imaging. In 2004, they founded a start-up, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, with the goal of creating a marketable tracer. In the beginning, Skovronsky, Avid’s CEO, had a hard time finding research funds. “I got some small business grants [at first,]” he said. Then he received $2 million in start-up funding and eventually raised $70 million in investments. Skovronsky also had to license from Penn the ancestor of florbetapir, a compound Kung helped develop while he was a graduate student. “Dan Skovronsky deserves a lot of credit because Penn’s environment is not really set up to develop new drugs,” Kung said. The tracer was developed by Avid in conjunction with Kung’s lab at Penn, which is across the street. It took them a few more years to come up with a final version of the tracer. “We ended up testing 12 different compounds on humans to pick out the best one,” Skovronsky said. And that became, in 2005, florbetapir — the compound for Amyvid. Avid was now on its way up — in 2010, Eli Lilly pharmaceuticals acquired it.
Now welcoming applications for fall 2012 and winter 2013 entry! NCNM ‘s School of Classical Chinese Medicine (CCM) offers two programs tailored to meet the needs of students seeking classical training in Chinese medicine: Master of Science in Oriental Medicine (MSOM) and Master of Acupuncture (MAc). MSOM students are immersed in the classical foundations of the medicine, receive a holistic education in Western medical sciences, and are trained in the clinical application of the major modalities of Chinese medicine—herbal formulation, acupuncture, moxibustion, bodywork, qigong and nutrition. The MAc program is designed for students having a special affinity for classical acupuncture and moxibustion, and wanting a more streamlined graduate experience. An increased emphasis is placed on the refinement of palpation and perception skills used in acupuncture diagnosis and treatment. Please contact us for more information. admissions@ncnm.edu 503.552.1660 www.ncnm.edu 049 SW Porter Street Portland, Oregon 97201
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STAFF POSITIONS
Section editors are responsible for ensuring the completion of their section, reading and editing all copy submitted for publication in the section, coordinating their staff of writers, writing items for publication and laying out pages in QuarkXPress. The section editors must be present in the office for their respective deadlines until the Editor in Chief is satisfied with their completed section. Additionally, the section editors must attend all weekly editorial board meetings on Monday and Thursday evenings, and they must communicate regularly with the writers of their sections to assess their progress and to develop story ideas. The responsibilities of a section editor may be divided between two individuals.
Managing editor (2) The managing editor(s) are responsible for the completion of the newspaper and for delegating tasks to other editors and staff members, to support the role of the editor in chief. The managing editor(s) have significant involvement in the editorial, design and layout processes, and must be present in the office during production on Tuesday nights and Wednesday. Approximate hours per week: 25. News editor The news editor must have a current and comprehensive knowledge of events, people and issues on campus. Job duties include reading and editing all news copy, leading a staff meeting on Monday nights to work with reporters and develop future story ideas, working with other editors to select news content and directing reporters. Frequent communication with reporters, photographers and senior editors is essential. Applicants should be competent reporters, willing to write last-minute news stories and take photos. Approximate hours per week: 18. Living & Arts editor The Living & Arts editor must be able to develop creative feature and art ideas for the section each week; maintain familiarity with the art, music and theater scene, both on campus and in the Philadelphia area; and select events to feature as editor’s picks. The living section allows for more creativity in design than do other sections in the paper. Approximate hours per week: 16. Chief copy editor The chief copy editor of The Phoenix is responsible for the factual and grammatical aspects of all copy in the newspaper. Responsibilities include reading all copy, reading proofs of all pages, coordinating the schedules of a staff of copy editors, maintaining and updating The Phoenix stylebook and providing editorial feedback to the writers and editors. Approximate hours per week: 12. Graphics editor Responsibilities include working with the editors and staff artist(s) to conceptualize and create cover art and graphics within page designs. The graphic designer should coordinate art and is responsible for ensuring completion of graphics or photo-intensive pages. The graphic designer will also attend editorial board meetings. Previous work with Photoshop is required. Approximate hours per week: 8. Photo editor Responsibilities include taking, uploading and editing photos; maintaining a staff of photographers; coordinating the use of the paper’s digital cameras; and communicating with editors at editorial board meetings and throughout the week. Approximate hours per week: 10
Opinions editor The opinions editor’s primary job is to ensure that a diverse range of views relevant to the campus are represented on the editorial pages. Responsibilities include soliciting op-ed pieces, working with staff columnists and cartoonists to develop and carry out ideas and ensuring completion of the staff editorial each week. The opinions editor must also keep abreast of relevant campus and world events. Approximate hours per week: 12. Sports editor The sports editor should maintain a comprehensive knowledge of all varsity and club teams on campus. Duties include reading and editing all sports copy and assigning sports photos. Applicants must be competent sportswriters who are willing to write and take photos as needed. Approximate hours per week: 12. Assistant section editors Assistant editors in news, living and arts, sports and opinions may be added as training positions. Assistant section editors are responsible for helping the section editor in all duties and learning all aspects of production essential to the section, including layout design and editing. Assistant section editors are also responsible for writing for their sections as necessary. Approximate hours per week: 8–10.
BUSINESS POSITIONS Advertising manager (2) The advertising manager(s) work to recruit local and national ads. Responsibilities include keeping up-todate advertising records, sending out invoices and tearsheets to the advertisers, documenting paid invoices; providing up-to-date advertising income figures and attending weekly business staff meetings. Approximate hours per week: 6. Circulation manager (2) The circulation manager(s) must distribute copies of The Phoenix to areas across campus early Thursday mornings, stuff faculty and administration mailboxes, maintain subscriber lists and ensure that subscriptions are mailed out each Thursday on a weekly basis, deliver extra copies to The Phoenix office and answer subscription requests as they are received. Approximate hours per week: 3. Advertisers (3) Advertisers sell ads for The Phoenix website and print edition to local businesses. This position pays a commission for ads sold. Having access to a car is preferable but not required. Approximate hours per week: varies.
Reporters / staff writers (8 news, 6 living, 5 sports) Reporters write at least one story a week for their section. Writers must attend weekly meetings. Approximate hours per week: 6–8. Columnists / Bloggers (6 opinions, sports, 8 living & arts) A columnist receives a biweekly column. The columnists are expected to work closely with their respective section editors in developing topics and improving their writing styles. Approximate hours per week: 3—4. Copy editors Copy editors check facts, style and grammar and proof pages. Approximate hours per week: 3—5. Photographers Photographers are expected to fulfill weekly assignments. This includes taking photos at the assigned time and uploading the photos onto the Phoenix server in a timely fashion. Approximate hours per week: varies. Staff artists (3) Staff artists are required to submit at least one illustration per issue, for various sections of the paper. Approximate hours per week: varies. Cartoonists (4) Cartoonists may apply to work as either an op-artist or a living & arts artist, and will be required to submit pieces biweekly. Approximate hours per week: 2.
WEB STAFF (NEW!)
Web Editor (2) The Web Editor(s) edits all stories that appear only on the web, moderates comments, posts to and moderates the forums, and coordinates the newly created Phoenix Web Staff. The Web Editor will hold a weekly or twice-weekly meeting with the Web Staff to ensure there is plenty of fresh content to keep the website as lively as possible. Approximate hours per week: 5-7.
Web Staff (4) Web staffers are in charge of keeping The Phoenix website up-to-date throughout the week. Staffers will write stories, post blogs and/or take additional photos for the website. Staffers are required to attend weekly meetings to discuss the content to be placed on the website and will be required to post several items every week. WIth much less time commitment, it’s a great way to get started on The Phoenix. Approximate hours per week: 3-4. Assistant Webmaster / Ruby on Rails Web Developer The webmaster is responsible both for maintaining the website and for improving it in ways that engage our readers. Expect to post content, tweak styles, optimize the server configuration and maybe even build entirely new sections of the website. A wemaster must have experience with Rails or an avid interest in learning Rails as an extension of some existing web development background. Knowlege of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript is required.
FOR HIRING RULES, FULL JOB DESCRIPTIONS AND TO SUBMIT AN APPLICATION FOR Fall FALL 2012 2011:
h t t p : / / w w w. s w a r t h m o r e p h o e n i x . c o m / h i r i n g
THE PHOENIX THE PHOENIX April 12, April 201228, 2011
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Living & Arts
swarthmorephoenix.com
Spring play brings ‘Spelling Bee,’ humor to Upper Tarble By chi zhang czhang1@swarthmore.edu
A spelling bee is a familiar childhood competition for most people. Last weekend, “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” a musical comedy originated by Rebecca Feldman with lyrics and music by William Finn, came to Swarthmore. This theatrical performance, through the efforts of nine performers, eleven production team members and nine orchestra players, brought the audience many laughs through six touching and unique stories. “I find the story lines about each child’s past moving and meaningful,” Alexandra Huber-Weiss ’13, the director of the performance, said. The musical, far from simply being an elementary school spelling competition, contains deep emotional messages about the difficulties of beginning puberty and shows the transformation of kids into teenagers. This spelling bee is a life-changing experience for most of its participants. William Barfee, played by Henry Kietzman ’14, changes from a rude, harsh kid who puts up walls around himself to avoid being hurt to a soft and gentle guy who eventually learns to care and love. According to Kietzman, William is alienated by people around him because of his serious nasal problem. To compensate for the pain he feels from people’s rejection, he refuses to show the friendly and lovable part of himself. “He’s so sweet and does actually care about others, but has been stepped on so many times that he just doesn’t want to deal with it anymore,” Kietzman said of his own (and favorite) character,William. Olive Ostrovsky, played by Kate Wiseman ‘15, is one of the first people to gi, starred in the ve William a chance. At the end of the competition, Olive and William are competing for the champion. Olive spells the word for her wrong. Then, it comes to William and he knows how to spell the word for him. However, he is afraid that he will lose Olive, his first friend, if he wins the contest. “That’s why he has so much difficulty nearing the end of the play deciding whether he should win or give it up for her,” Kietzman said, “the dichotomy there almost eats him alive during the last songs.” It is this sense of William’s ambivalence that Kietzman finds especially challenging to portray. William ultimately decides to fight for himself and to avoid being stepped on by others as usual. According to Kietzman, another difficulty in playing the character of William was “creating this air of disgusting repulsiveness while still keeping him likable.” Unlike William, who experienced such an enormous change because of this contest, Ms. Rona Lisa Perretti — played by Jennie Gauthier ‘15 — has always kept a sense of passion. Her passion lies with the Bee. Having hosted the Spelling Bee for nine years, Ms. Perretti is excited about every moment of the competition. “I think she is really hard-working and takes her jobs very seriously, both as a top realtor and as the Bee’s host,” Gauthier said. Considering Ms. Perretti a zealous spectator
in the play, Gauthier believes she and her character have certain personality traits in common: they both enjoy their work and hobbies and everyone around them can feel this passion. The 2005 Broadway production of this musical exerted a certain impact on the performance at the college. Huber-Weiss tried to incorporate several elements she liked about the Broadway show, such as the choice of costumes, into the college production, while also changing some other aspects. She considers the Broadway version to be slightly darker, especially for the protagonist, William Barfee, who “is much less likable and meaner than the way I wanted him to be,” Huber-Weiss said. Kietzman also sensed the difference between his character and the one in the Broadway version. Under Kietzman’s portrayal, William was less self-confident and much more self-conscious. “the original character is much more of a caricature than what I wanted to present with my take on William. I wanted him to be realistic, a little silly, and hilarious without sacrificing his validity,” he said. A special aspect of the show is the participation of the audience. Four members of the audience are able to go on the stage and join in the Spelling Bee and compete with other players. HuberWeiss thinks this part is important “because it allows the audience to connect viscerally to the characters they are watching.” The audience members who participated in the play were able to feel the real pressure placed on them by the competition. Huber-Weiss believes some moments of the play also require that the audience cry. “I know that I was moved to tears on a regular basis, even after watching the play countless times,” she said. Kana Matsumoto ’14, who came to see a Swarthmore theater production for the first time, regretted that she had not seen any in her freshman year. She enjoyed several aspects of the play, one being “the way [the director] used the stairs of Upper Tarble as part of their performance,” she said. She especially liked the part of the performance that involved audience participation. “I bet that they practiced a lot with the consideration of how many questions audience participants can answer,” she commented. David Lin ‘15 agreed. He found the interaction between the audience and the performers really hilarious, saying “seeing people you know acting as themselves and being a character is awesome.” Danielle Delpéche ‘15, an audience member who participated in spelling bees when she was little, thinks the show is very realistic in showing the stress the competitors have and the reasons they are so motivated and determined to win. This performance of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee brought its performers and its audience back to their time in elementary school, when carefree children begin to learn the meaning of the emotions in life. It leaves people not just laughter, but beautiful and precious memories.
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Justin Toran-Burrell The Phoenix
Henry Kietzman, performing as William Barfee, starred in “The 25th Annual Putman County Spelling Bee” along with eight other Swarthmore students.
Justin Toran-Burrell The Phoenix
One of the Spelling Bee contestants, a boy scout played by Jeffrey Moore, performed in Upper Tarble this past weekend.
April 12, 2012
THE PHOENIX
Living & Arts
swarthmorephoenix.com
Late night hunger? Paces offers local food specials It’s midnight on a Wednesday night and you are hungry. Really hungry. Serves you right for eating at Sharples at 4:30. And the stash of granola bars in your room is just not looking appealing. Besides, for some reason, you really want to eat good food, food that makes you feel betafter eating it rather Amelia Dornbush ter than just merely full. Local Swarthmore Locavore food. And you only have six dollars in your wallet. Shocking though it may seem, there is a place on Swarthmore that you can go to at midnight on Wednesday and address all of the above needs. That place? Paces Café. I feel like there are times in every Swattie’s life where you cannot simply make it to Sharples by 7:15, or 6:30 on weekends. And there are those times where you eat at 5:00 and find yourself hungry later. Sure, in that situation there is usually Essie Mae’s (unless you just realize you are hungry at midnight or after 10:30 on Sunday), but a chicken wrap gets a bit tiring after two meals. It was during one of those stretches where I found myself perpetually feeling hungry as a result of early dinners that I truly began to appreciate the wonder of Paces Café. Before I get to the food — which, of course, is the reason I am writing this column — I would like to take a moment to comment on the atmosphere of Paces Café. The lighting is warm, there are candles on the tables and good music (music I like at least) plays in the background. For whatever reason, something about the place causes me to become less stressed and focus on work. For those who have only experienced the space during Pub Nite, the transformation is quite distinct. Anyway, during this week of odd eating habits I asked one of the waiters what she would recommend and she suggested a turkey burger. I was quite skeptical. The waiter sensed this skepticism and she assured me of the deliciousness of the burger. She was absolutely right. It was divine, a full meal, and inexpensive. Then came the
sad day when it was Thursday and Paces Café was no longer open (and would not be again until Sunday) and I could not get real food on campus at midnight. At the time, my feelings toward Pub Nite were less than kind. Sometime after the revelation of the wonderful turkey burger, which was one of their chef’s specials, I was talking with Mallory Pitser ’14, one of three directors of Paces Café, who told me that the chef specials at Paces are almost exclusively local and I learned that they all contain at least some local ingredients. Paces now gets much of their food from Winter Harvest, an organization which describes itself as “a buying club from which you can order locally produced food during the winter and spring months.” Paces bases the meals they cook for their specials from what is in season. “We’re lucky because we have chefs that are willing and able to cook that way,” says Pitser. Next year, Paces Café is going to try to be even more local. They are hoping that their bakery specials will be able to be based off of what is seasonal, in addition to their chef’s specials. Pitser also seeks for Paces to have food from the Good Food project that they can use as ingredients for their dishes. Paces is striving to be able to find ways for people to go without paying in cash next semester. They are investigating using an iPhone app to process debit and credit cards and instituting a tab system where people can put down a certain amount of money up front and then spend it at their leisure in Paces over the course of the year. Any money not spent would be returned to the student. Next week, Paces will be serving up specials like vegetarian shepherd’s pie and tuna corn chowder. Other past chef’s specials include a sun-dried tomato, feta and artichoke quiche, a tuscan tomato soup, and pear, honey and cheese crostinis. I think that it would not be remiss for me to restate, or perhaps more clearly state, exactly how remarkable Paces is. Not only does Paces Café provide a wonderful atmosphere to hang out with friends and study, it also provides incredibly high quality local food akin to that of a restaurant in a venue that is centrally located on campus and often charges less than six dollars for its food. Ameila is a first-year. She can be reached at adornb1@ swarthmore.edu.
Sun-Dried Tomato, Feta and Artichoke Quiche Treasure Tinsley ’15, Co-Head Chef Ingredients:
6 large eggs 3 cups heavy cream 1 cup milk ¾1 cup feta 1 onion, sliced 1 large leek, chopped ½Jar Sun-dried tomatoes, roughly chopped ½Jar artichokes, roughly chopped Handful of kalamata olives, chopped Pinch of thyme Salt and pepper 1 9in. pie dough
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 °F. Pre-bake pie dough, weighed down with pie weights or raw beans, for 30-40 minutes; remove weights and bake for another 15, or until golden on edges. Sauté onions and leeks in olive oil with the thyme, salt, & pepper until onions are transparent. Allow to cool, mix in the Sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, and olives. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs briefly, add cream and whisk until thickens a bit. Pour onion mixture into bottom of pie dough, top generously with the feta and then cover with the egg mixture. Bake 1 ½ hours, until filling has just set. For Pie Dough Recipe, I recommend “The Joy of Cooking” (available in McCabe).
‘21 Jump Street’ makes comedy of self-awareness “ 2 1 J u m p Street,” a remake of the ’80s television program now starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum, Nate Blum is exactly the movie Movies Now! you think it is, and that’s what makes it great. It is not deep, nor complex, nor is it even original, but it honestly delivers on the laughs and holds up as a completely adequate piece of filmmaking. Perhaps the best moments are the film’s moments of ironic self-awareness, using its nature as a remake as the punchline of the joke. Overall, if you are looking for a fun, stupid (and I mean that in a good way) comedy, “21 Jump Street” delivers. The film begins in the heady days of 2005. Schmidt (Jonah Hill), a nerdy high schooler, tries to ask out his dream girl to the prom. She rejects him much to the amusement of Jenko (Channing Tatum), a cool football player. Jump to the present day, and both Schmidt and Jenko are in the Police Academy. Despite their differences in high school, they help each other through the academy. As cops,
they become partners on park duty. They how comfortable they are in front of think they have a great first bust when the camera. The humor comes from this they catch a notorious drug dealer, but confidence. Simply put, Hill and Tatum they fail to read him his Miranda rights. both land their jokes consistently, and As punishment they are sent to a special “21 Jump Street” really benefits from it. undercover squad, located at 21 Jump The intended audience probably has Street, where they will go undercover no memory of “21 Jump Street” the teleas high school students to infiltrate and vision program, but that does not stop bust a drug ring. Jenko sees this as an the film from making some rather hiopportunity to relive his glory days, and larious inside jokes. In this era with the Schmidt sees it as an opportunity to redo constant litany of sequels and remakes, what he saw as a failure. They both soon it is a breath of fresh air to see a movie learn that high school has changed (in a at least acknowledge this ridiculousmere 7 years). Schmidt ends up running ness. When Schmidt and Jenko get reaswith the popular crew, while Jenko rolls signed, the chief says something to the with chemistry nerds. Somewhere in effect of, “This is an old project from the between throwing parties and trying to ’80s.” Even Johnny Depp and Peter Deget the girl Jenko and Schmidt solve the Luise, the stars of the original television crime and bust the drug ring. series, get cameos. These What really keeps the whole film are great little moments together is the humor. It’s just funny, that set the otherwise and would not hold up if it were other- pretty unremarkable wise. Do not expect dry, witty humor, “21 Jump Street” apart. of course. It’s slapstick, but it knows The film itself is when to go over the top and it knows a good remake, when to hold back. Yes, there is gross- staying true out humor, but only just enough to get a to the spircringe/laugh without getting too weird. it of the Yes, there are plenty of physical gags original, and people falling over, but this is bal- w h i l e anced by genuinely quick and entertain- having ing banter between Hill and Tatum. The a voice chemistry between the two leads is actu- of its ally worth noting: a fine example of what own. our society has deemed a “bromance.” In the Even though neither has a reputation end, it’s as being a serious actor, they both demonstrate Courtesy of http://tiny.cc/zrbmcw
THE PHOENIX April 12, 2012
hard to call “21 Jump Street” a great film. It is even hard to say that I will remember it several months down the road. Overall, it’s pretty thin all around: plot, composition, and characterization outside the two leads. But all of this is fine, because “21 Jump Street” does what it set out to do: it makes you laugh and provides entertainment you do not have to think about. The repartee between Hill and Tatum is genuinely funny, and the film is riddled with moments of gleeful slapstick. Guilty as it may be, “21 Jump Street” is honestly a pleasure. Nate is a junior. You can reach him at nblum1@swarthmore.edu.
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Living & Arts
swarthmorephoenix.com
Swat Style Snapshot Name: Jennifer Marks-Gold
Department: International Students & Scholars Advisor
What She’s Wearing:
Marks-Gold dons a color palette of black, white and grey with eye-catching prints and sparkle. Marks-Gold’s white pants are from Banana Republic while the black silk camisole is by Diane von Furstenberg, her favorite designer. She purchased the rest of her outfit at thrift stores, including her silver studded belt and animal print scarf, which she paid no more than $1 a piece for. In keeping with the color palette, Marks-Gold wears a pair of grey silvery high heels and her trademark accessories of three bracelets and earrings.
Thifting:
Described by her colleagues as being “thrift shop hip,” Marks-Gold frequents stores such as Goodwill and Salvation Army. As a seasoned shopper at thrift stores, Marks-Gold can gauge the quality of the garment by looking at the fabric without needing to weed through racks of clothing. “I eye everything down,” Marks-Gold said. Recently, she purchased a Ralph Lauren Black Label blazer, typically sold with a quadruple figure price tag, for a mere $9. Procuring fine garments typically sold at upscale retail stores is an activity that she describes as an addiction. “It’s almost compulsive sometimes,” Marks-Gold said. Work during the week and family commitments during the weekend sufficiently mitigate her urges to shop, according to Marks-Gold.
From Design to Higher Education:
Marks-Gold’s creative flair runs in her blood, as many of her family members are artists. The development of her sense of aesthetic can be traced to her undergraduate college career as she took many design and art history classes at Drexel University, her alma mater. Post-graduation, Marks-Gold worked at Macy’s dressing mannequins, honing her skill in creating cohesive outfit combinations. Although she enjoyed the design aspect of her job, working with plastic dummies was unfulfilling. “I was working with inanimate objects; they don’t talk back to you,” she said. For this reason, she decided to go pursue a Masters in Education. Marks-Gold presently works as a staff member of the Dean’s Office where human interaction is plenty abound. Marks-Gold’s colleagues often turn to her for advice on style, her honest opinion on their outfits, and for shopping excursions. Although her career path has diverted from design, she maintains creative outlets. Marks-Gold designs jewelry and has invented beadatz, an ear-bud accessory that is copyrighted in the Library of Congress. For both these ventures, she is in the process of distributing them to retail stores.
ld o G s k r a M r Jennife
Personal Style at Swarthmore:
Improvising and never adhering to a strict formula when dressing herself, Marks-Gold produces a unique combination of clothes, shoes and accessories, daily. “I’ll never wear the same [outfit] twice,” she said. Yet Marks-Gold approaches style with a simple manner, believing clothes should also be comfortable. “Fashion is supposed to be fun,” she said. Although MarksGold makes more of an effort to dress up for interviews and meetings, she appreciates the leniency of the dress code at Swarthmore College. “I think [faculty and staff members] have a lot of freedom to dress how we want here … the same [can be said for] the students,” she said. Working with international students brings Marks-Gold plenty of perks, such as the unique gifts from overseas that students present her. Many of these gifts have added to her collection of jewelry, such as earrings from Thailand, beads from Ghana and a medallion from Egypt. ”I work with the best students … they are so appreciative of what I do,” she said. Do you think you (or a professor) have great style? Then submit a photo of you in your best outfit to sjeong1@swarthmore.edu. Please include your name and contact information. PHOTOS & TEXT BY SERA JEONG
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April 12, 2012
THE PHOENIX
Living & Arts Student exhibit colorfully explores the animal form swarthmorephoenix.com
Julia Carleton The Phoenix
by allison shultes ashulte1@swarthmore.edu
Crashing through walls and breaking from bell jars, Tasha Lewis’s senior thesis “Naturea Curiosa” transformed the List Gallery this past weekend into a collector’s catalogue of movement and vitality. Subverting traditional taxonomy while drawing from 19th century photographic methods, Lewis provocatively deconstructed the sterility of preservation in her manipulation of form and image. Andrea Packard, Director of the List Gallery, found both Lewis’s pieces and gallery arrangement inventive and evocative — a fantastic kick-off to the senior honors thesis gallery exhibitions. “Her work is full of big ideas,” she commented while looking about the exhibition. “She’s been very successful in implying a rupture in the gallery space, and causing viewers to suspend disbelief … it’s lyrical, and it’s superior work.” The forms on display — created using newspaper, wire and tape — featured hides of quilted cyanotype photographs. According to Lewis, the cyanotype process was one of the earliest approaches to “capture” botanical species. Silhouettes form as an object, like a plant or a leaf, shadows the chemically-treated cloth directly beneath it from sunlight; the exposed cloth turns bright blue while the silhouette remains white. Once the images are formed, Lewis stitches together a patchwork skin of pictures. She has been working with the cyanotype process for five years, introduced to the medium during a summer program at Maine Media Workshops before her senior year in high school. A return to the Workshop as a teaching assistant this past summer prompted exploration in escapist natural forms. Lewis’s experimental sculptures evolved from breaking through walls to rupturing glass confines. While engineering a way to hang small hooves on the wall for her piece “The Herd,” featuring deer crashing through a barrier, Lewis discovered the small, powerful magnets she later exploited in freeing her sculptures from glass boundaries. “Tarantula,” “Octopus,” and “Fish Tank” feature their respective critters partially escaping from glass bowls and jars into the List Gallery. “A lot of my earlier pieces have this magical lyricism I tried to push,” Lewis said of pieces like “The Herd.” “Once I discovered [the magnets], I could take that [lyricism] even further.” The discovery of the magnets also shaped Lewis’s future visions of what she hopes to do with this form. “The magnets have no impact on the environment I’m working in,” she said. “I’ve thought about creating a whole flock of birds coming through a window, or a whole school of fish. It allows me to create things which inhabit but are never bound by their environment.”
THE PHOENIX
The challenge Lewis faced in creating her honors thesis wasn’t limited to creating the sculptures, but instead extended all the way to conceptualizing and designing the exhibition space in the List Gallery. Modeled after a curiosity cabinet, the exhibit seeks to explore human fascination with collection and preservation while also maintaining a subversive vitality in the forms. “I love the gallery installation,” Packard said. “She did a great job — she’s created a symphony here. The installation is a work of art, because she’s taken the gallery and transformed it into a modern cabinet of curiosities … not many transform the gallery to this extent.” The question of whether the sculptures succeed in deconstructing their imposed taxonomic structures is up to interpretation. “[Lewis is] trying to show these natural forms breaking out of the rigid display classification of science,” Alexander Noyes ’15 commented, considering “The Herd.” “On the wall you have these deer which are usually presented as trophies, that are now kind of like writhing and trying to escape from the wall, but even though the art can show these forms trying to escape, they’re still ultimately pieces of art that are still on display … the art can give this illusory attempt of natural forms escaping, unlike science which shows things being very overtly trapped by human beings, but even in art, there isn’t freedom. These forms are still overtaken by human subjectivity and oppressed in that way.” In addition to her cyanotype creatures, Lewis’s exhibition also included cyanotype prints and panels, as well as pottery designed with the medium. A segment of the front of the gallery was devoted to whaling, featuring the prow of a ship breaking into the gallery and prints depicting the whaling era, found in the Friends Historical Library. The inspiration for this part of the exhibit came from senior Amelia Possanza’s poem “Afternoon with a Sociopath,” which was displayed on silk in the gallery. Lewis plans to eventually create whole environments with her cyanotype creatures. After graduation, she hopes to enter the corporate world, designing window displays for the women’s clothing store Anthropologie, before going on to graduate school. Now that her honors thesis in art is complete, she’s working on finishing up her English Literature honors thesis for a double major. “I’m definitely really excited about the show,” Lewis said. “It’s amazing, the level of professionalism we can have here at Swarthmore.” To learn more about Lewis and her art, visit her website at www.tashalewis.info. Stop by the List Gallery this weekend to see the Studio Art honors theses of Anthony Yoshimura ’12 and Thomas Soares ’12, which will be on display from the 13th to the 15th and feature oil landscapes and drawings of the human body. There will be a fast turnover in exhibits as senior studio art majors install and display the culmination of their experience in the department at Swarthmore, so be sure to catch each exhibition while it’s here!
April 12, 2012
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Living & Arts
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One, two, three: Spice up your threesome and avoid disaster I found one neglected question from last semester lying in my inbox today. My v-box was excited by the forgotten e-box letter. So, I decided to dedicate this week’s column to the topic examined in that question — introducing the almighty threesome into a twosome. A threesome, according to me, refers to any Vianca Masucci sexual action shared between three people. This Missing Parts can range from having a third watch a twosome get nasty to mutually masturbating amongst three partners to three-way penetration. It’s up to you, your partner, and, eventually, your third to define ‘threesome’ for yourselves. This is the place where fantasy meets practicality and it is established with some communication. Setting ground rules: The first thing that you must do is sit down with your partner (or on your partner) and define what you guys want from the experience. Discuss your hesitations, your expectations, your comfort level and what role you would ideally like the third to play. Based on this conversation, proceed to make a list of ground rules for the threesome that you can both agree on. Get into the nitty-gritty details with this one. One of the biggest pitfalls of the threesome is making assumptions about what your partner is comfortable with. Sex is dynamic; lots of situations (among other things) pop up during the act. Talk about all of them — even if you have to do a blow-by-blowjob evaluation. Things to consider would be: what sex acts are okay to receive from the third? Who can receive them? What sex acts are okay to give to the third? Who can give them? What is the role of the third? What contact will you have with the third post-sex? Remember, a threesome does not have to be an all you can eat buffet. You can decide what direct and/or indirect sexual contact with the third are appropriate for you and your partner. Further, remember that your list of rules does not need to be ‘fair’. What is available on the menu for one person does not need to be available for the other person. You may feel comfortable watching your partner lay the pipe, but he/she/ze may not feel comfortable watching you do the same. The point of this process is to make a rubric that is conducive to both your and your partner’s interests and comfort. Once these rules have been established, don’t jump on an opportunity for third person contact if the action is not one of your partner’s expressed “OK’s.” Respect your partner’s requests. This is especially important the first time. Any small divergence from the agreed upon terms can hurt your partner and/or ruin your relationship or, at the very least, any chance for future three-
somes or other unconventional sex. If you’re a student in the “let’s just go with the flow and see what happens” philosophy or if you’re fortunate to stumble upon an impromptu threesome with your partner, be attentive to your partner’s comfort level. Watch for signs of discomfort as you proceed and verbally check-in with them if you are unsure. Looking for a third: The hardest part about getting it going may not be getting it hard but finding a third. You and your second should discuss what type of person would best cater to the intent of the threesome. For example, if you wanted to use the threesome as an opportunity for bi-curios sexploration, you shouldn’t invite Rick Santorum to the party. In fact, you shouldn’t invite that asshole to any party. You must find a third who will be down for your interests and will make you both comfortable. Do you want to know the person you’re gonna sleep with? Get to know them? Not even know their last name? Their first name? Should they have certain sexual interests? Do they need to be mutually sexually interested in you and your partner? Just your partner? Just you? Is privacy an issue? Is jealousy? Establish what things are mandatory in the third and what things are preferred. Use this as a guide for picking a third, but be flexible.
Sex is dynamic; lots of situations (among other things) pop up during the act. Talk about all of them — even if you have to do a blow-by-blowjob evaluation. Hashing out these details is very important. A mutual Swat friend always seems like a good choice. But, keep in mind that you will see this person again, maybe multiple times a day if you run in the same Swat currents, and they will probably still be social with you and your partner. Awkwardness, jealousy and improper flashbacks are common side effects of the friend-third. Privacy may also be a concern. The Swat grapevine is more extensive than the New York City subway system. Any on-campus happening can be known by all, even the Chopp, within the matter of hours. Choose the right friend — someone trustworthy and respectful that you both feel comfortable with. If you decide to go off campus to find someone, you have the added pleasure of the hunt. Swingers clubs or swingers websites are always good places to find a lone third, but those places usually attract an older crowd. I don’t know what the scene in Philly is like, but, its definitely worth a try if you’re interested. Wherever you look, make sure that you use your sense of judgement. Get to know the new person a bit before inviting them
for the three. This is a process that can take one night to many months. It all depends on who you find and how drunk you are. Whether you find your third at Paces or in Philly, it is essential that you fill him/her/hir in on all your rules and find out what theirs are. If you have time before the bed-rumping starts, talk about your expectations and listen to your third’s as well. Good articulation will end in good three-way formulation. Pitfalls of threesomes: Threesome are notorious for being relationship Raid. This, I would argue, is the fault of the user, or should I say abuser, and not the product. Threesomes are easily abused by those who think that it will revive/ignite a failing sexual relationship or greedy partners that desire the polyamorous-play over the stability of their relationships. Some pieces of advice: if you are in a committed relationship with your partner, do not go down the threesome route if you and your partner are not mutually happy with the relationship or if your sex life is rocky. This is a sure way to introduce mistrust, insecurity, and negative jealousy into the relationship. A threesome should be a shared interest of both you and your partner. One partner could ignite an interest in the other, but never never never impose your interest on the other. Regret and bitterness are usually the outcomes of the pressured sex scenario. Threesomes can only be a positive experience if both partners are partaking to satisfy their own sexual curiosity and are completely comfortable. Be honest with yourself. If you are not comfortable with or not interested in a threesome. then avoid it. It is not appropriate for your current situation. This is always something that can change, but don’t push it. Processing feelings of jealous: Jealousy is a by-product of the threesome. When you are with someone you care for, it’s easy to feel a little (or a lotta) threatened by a new person. You can fall into the trap of measuring yourself up against this third. This is natural for the majority of people. Know that and allow that fact to pacify some of these negative thoughts. The only way to effectively manage jealousy is to keep honest communication open between you and your lover. Make it a point to share your feelings, doubts, desires and insecurities with your partner. Be honest with your partner and trust that what your partner tells you is true. If you are open to one another, these feelings of jealousy will amount to minor issues. Whoever said “two is company, three’s a crowd” obviously had a history with bad threesomes. Be open to the new experience and communicative with your sexual partners and you will find yourself disagreeing with this old miser’s words. I find that, when respect and honesty are a main component of any sexual situation, the phrase “the more, the merrier” holds true for everything except STDs. Vianca is a junior. You can reach her at vmasucc1@ swarthmore.edu.
living IN BRIEF
Newly chartered group picks apart locks, gains popular interest Break in! Locked Out, one of Swarthmore’s newest student groups, focuses on providing basic lock picking instruction to interested Swatties, whether they dream of sleuth-like detective work or simply making it back into their rooms at night. Conceived as a mealtime joke between friends, the group has since grown to include somewhere between 40 and 60 interested members. Armed with only rudimentary knowledge and “The MIT Guide to Lock-Picking,” founders Linda Hou ’13 , Susanna Pretzer ’12, and Charles Armstrong ’13 aim to teach the essentials while also providing ethical groundwork — ensuring that group members use their powers for good and not evil. “So far we’re just learning the very basics,” they assured The Phoenix. “We’ve talked about ethics, and beyond
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that, there’s a big difference between the locks you can pick starting out and the sorts of locks [that lead to] trouble.” They further attested that lock-picking is perfectly legal, so long as it isn’t used to accomplish illegal ends. The recently charted group uses its funds to invest in a plethora of locks, so members can practice without encroaching upon others’ locked-up spaces and belongings. “We hope to get a very large collection of locks over the years, so we’ll move onto harder ones. We’ve also thought about making our own lock picks [in collaboration with] the engineers,” Pretzer said. Additionally, some members of the club will be attending a lock picking conference at the end of this week hosted by the Philadelphia chapter of The Open Organization of Lockpickers (TOOOL).
April 12, 2012
The founders are enthusiastic about the level of interest shown already, noting that some potentially interested Swatties may not have seen their advertising efforts yet. Between 15 and 20 students attended the first interest meeting on Apr. 2, and more expressed interest via email. “It was pretty cool that people showed up [to our first meeting] and we’re really excited about it,” Pretzer said. “We certainly thought there was a possibility that there would be interest.” While weekly meeting times have not yet been established, the founders hope interested Swatties will add themselves to the listserv at https://secure.sccs. swarthmore.edu/mailman/listinfo/lockedout. BY ALLISON SHULTES THE PHOENIX
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Public Art class challenges tradition with spontaneity By samme sheikh ssheikh1@swarthmore.edu What would you do if you saw a bunch of students emerge from the Crum, dressed in fisherman’s garb, holding fishing poles, and carrying what appeared to be fish? Even for Swarthmore, that’s pretty weird. Well, it happened. A group of Swarthmore students went into the Crum and down into the creek, wearing waterproof boots, paper hats, and masks with the intention of fishing for words — words that they, the class, fashioned out of food and potatoes, put into tin cans, and dropped into the water so that they could pick them up again with homemade bamboo fishing rods with microphones attached to the end. Before this goes on any further, it should be stated that the students did all this as part of a class requirement. The class is designated as a studio arts course in Swarthmore’s art department. It’s called Art in Public and it’s taught by visiting professor, Jake Beckman. If the idea of students earnestly fishing for words in the Crum is still utterly bizarre to the reader — even upon learning the name of the professor who bid his students to do this — then you, reader, do not know the name Jake Beckman. Beckman was a student at Swarthmore between 2001 and 2005, and during his time here, he served to enliven the campus’ relationship with art by bringing other students into contact with his often unannounced and random public art installations. These greatest and most well known of these pieces is the huge white Adirondack chair that used to be out on Parrish Beach — a sight that has now become integral to the image and iconography of Swarthmore’s. Beckman’s other, more
temporary on-campus installations have included a huge replica of red converse sneakers that he placed on a Swarthmore chimney and an over-sized light switch that Beckman placed at the front of McCabe. Jake Beckman went on to hone his craft and received his Masters in Fine Arts from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and he now is sharing his penchant for spontenaity with his students — an element that’s especially visible in his class’ fishing adventure. “We [the students] came up with it,” Ruben An ’13 said, referring to his class’ expedition into the Crum. “We did it during the part of the class when we focused on the performance aspect of public art.” As humorous as the exercise sounds, it expresses and showcases a defining element of art designed for public exhibition. “The class deals with art that has a component of public displaying. This leads to an awareness and focus on the nature of a public space,” An said. The Crum is technically a public space, but without anyone to interact with this temporally constrained, performance art piece is it still art? Laughing, An addressed this concern. “If a tree falls right? We talked about that aspect for a long time and there’s a lot of stuff said about that, but I don’t know.” Creating meaning for and expressing emotion toward the viewer is a less critical element of public art than producing those same feelings in the artists themselves. Many of Beckman’s works on campus were random, nameless, and for a while, no one knew who was making them. This ethos of whimsy and being true to ones impulses seems to be something Beckman is passing on to his students.
Courtesy of photography.colinpurrington.com
The Big Chair is Swarthmore’s most recognizable Public Art project, created by Professor Jake Beckman when he was a student himself in 2004.
Matching up to comparable LACs in Planning goals In previous columns covering the Strategic Directions plan released this winter, I have focused on the problems and weaknesses Steven Hazel of the strategic plan, Swat in Sync from the lack of a community center to the inclination towards boosting Swarthmore’s ranking over more substantive changes. However, with this column I would like to focus on areas where the strategic plan identifies an admirable goal, but then fails to suggest some simple ways to achieve that goal. In particular, this column will look at several best practices of our peer institutions that many of our competitors have adopted successfully that would also serve Swarthmore’s stated goals and recommendation in the strategic plan. Orientation One of the most consistent recommendations is that “Swarthmore should draw on its traditions and strengths as a community to serve as a model for purposeful communities in the 21st century” and that we need to further focus on wellness and leadership development. The strategic plan lists a new fitness center and more holding collection more frequently as methods to meet this goal, but missing is an obvious improvement: orientation trips.
Usually known by some variation of “Orientation Adventure,” many of Swarthmore’s peer institutions, including Amherst, Bowdoin and Williams, offer trips that last from three to seven days prior to the start of classes. Usually, as is the case with Bowdoin’s PreOrientation program, students can sign up for outdoor hiking trips with around eight other freshmen and an upperclassman trip leader, while students who would prefer housing can do community service trips in the college community. These trips are advertised as chances to develop group bonding and leadership before classes actually begin. Why is Swarthmore not already pursuing such a program? Perhaps the most important moment in students’ time at Swarthmore is orientation, when firstyears either begin to feel comfortable or get lost in the sea of activities and advising meetings available during the first week before classes. For a fairly low cost, an adventure orientation program would further the goals of the Strategic Plan from students’ first moments at Swarthmore, creating a sense of community via shared experiences hiking and orienteering in Pennsylvania parks, while allowing upperclassmen group leaders to practice leadership and encouraging all students in such a program to engage in wellness and outdoor activities during their four years at Swarthmore. Winter Term Another key area of focus in the strategic plan is the need for new and creative ways of teaching, including interdisciplinary work and high value learning experiences, which include the recommendation to “Support curricular innovation, especially interdisciplinary teaching and programs, with helpful structures and additional faculty posi-
tions.” To fulfill this recommendation, the plan suggests that visiting faculty members be hired to focus on interdisciplinary work and programs. However, a program present at Amherst, Middlebury and Williams, among others, called winter term, allows students and professors to form classes that meet for a few weeks in January in between semesters. These classes are designed to allow students and faculty to explore interests and topics that would not be suited to a semester length class and to test out new curricular concepts. A look at some of William’s winter term offerings — called “Winter Study Projects” — reveals that these classes cover an incredible range of subjects, from Public Speaking classes to Medical Apprenticeships to explorations of forgotten classics. (A list of the 2008 courses offered is here: http://web.williams.edu/registrar/ winterstudy/courseinfo/courses08.html) In the case of Williams, these programs are mandatory all four years, although the flexibility of the program — students can design their own projects, do internships, or work on research projects — means that the program is more forgiving than the word mandatory would suggest. At Swarthmore, a similar program could be launched that allowed professors to offer month long classes in January to interested students while allowing students to propose their own projects, which could be related to future jobs or their current interests. Even without making a winter term mandatory, such a program would advance the recommendation of allowing for interdisciplinary work, while also creating a way to integrate service projects, work and academics in a way that isn’t possible in the less flexible semester format.
THE PHOENIX April 12, 2012
Summer Stipends Right now, Swarthmore offers generous grants to students doing summer research projects with faculty on campus, and recently the career services office has begun to offer a limited number of stipend for students pursuing entrepreneurship internships with selected startups over the summer. These are fantastic programs that help students pursue meaningful projects over the summer. However, we could be doing more. The Strategic Plan recommends that “Swarthmore should invest in research and independent work experiences for all students, including travel to research sites, student stipends, and [more]” in order to provide high-impact learning experiences. To achieve this, Swarthmore could begin offering more stipends for students undertaking unpaid internships with the goal of eventually being able to guarantee every student a stipend for one of their four years. As unpaid internships become more prevalent, stipends would allow students who could not otherwise have afforded such an internship the chance. In addition to helping students jump from liberal arts to career, this would allow students return after the summer with diverse experiences, not just research. As an aside, it’s easy to imagine such a program that guarantees summer funding drawing many new applications for admissions. The Strategic Plan contained some good ideas, but seemed curiously lacking when it comes to many services for students. When we do try to achieve the plan’s many recommendations, Swarthmore planners shouldn’t be afraid to steal our peers’ good ideas. Steven is a sophomore. You can reach him at shazel1@swarthmore.edu.
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Mr. Swarthmore
Rhythm & Motion 10th Anniversay Show
Friday. April 13 8 p.m. Upper Tarble
Sat., April 14 9:00 pm LPAC
editor’s picks
By Brad Lenox
The Room @ The Trocadero
SAT., APRIL 14 10 p.m. — 2 a.m. OLDE CLUB
SASS Presents: Hot n’ Bothered 14
Sat., April 14 * 12 a.m. * $8 * 21+ April 12, 2012
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Staff Editorial
The unspoken violence in the college greek system In the “bubble” that is Swarthmore College, it’s often easy to forget that the vast array of higher education options don’t all subscribe to the same sort of unique progressive cultural assumptions that we do. Not all universities and colleges — in fact, barely any — purport Quaker values and its accompanying noble virtues. We do, however, share some semblance of the stereotypical, yet not to say ideal, college experience: greek life. With the modest existence of only two inclusive fraternities on campus (Delta Upsilon and Phi Psi) and the absence of sororities (save from the tangential all-female Ladies’ Soiree Society and the newly formed Not Yet Sisters), to say that Swarthmore has a thriving greek life would be a severe overstatement. But perhaps that is a good thing. In the Mar. 28 Rolling Stone article “Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy,” Janet Reitman writes about the savage hazing rituals that happen at Dartmouth fraternities. Andrew Lohse, a Dartmouth student and former Sigma Alpha Epsilon brother, detailed those rituals, exposing the unpalatable subculture that seems inherent, at least in popular discourse, to fraternities and sororities. Keeping with the College’s mission of justice and respect, Swarthmore’s frats have broadly managed to avoid tolerating a culture of what Lohse accuses Dartmouth’s storied greek system of perpetuating — “pervasive hazing, substance abuse and sexual assault,” as well as an “intoxicating nihilism that dominates campus social life.” Yes, there have been the incidents of excessive drinking and assault, but on balance, Swarthmore’s brotherhood is a well-meaning reflection of the College’s larger campus community. And now, with the potential for the livelihood of a Swat sorority, Not Yet Sisters has an imperative role in encouraging and exercising itself primarily as a collection of ethically-sound Swarthmore women. But the issue of violence in mainstream culture is not limited to just frats and sororities. It’s not even in the confines of college life. The violence and cruelty on par with Dartmouth’s ostensible cultural dysfunctions is evident in a multiplicity of organized institutions. From sports to war, human aggression is not just made manifest, but it is also reinforced and reproduced time and time again — the New Orleans Saints pay athletes who injure players on opposing teams more money, and a United States soldier kills 16 Afghan civilians while another burns the Qur’an. The problem with violence at schools like Dartmouth, or even Swarthmore, is somehow more acute, though. It’s also more consequential. The students who witness and partake in these sorts of sadistic ceremonies are inevitably the same students who graduate from elite universities and go on to hold high positions in the bureaucratic order of this country and abroad. College is not the most formative developmental period, but it’s certainly early enough to instill the sense that “good people can do awful things to one another for absolutely no reason.” Moreover, this psychological precedent that Lohse describes is set specifically for men — the same men that run our country and companies and, essentially, our dominant culture. So what do the inhumane practices of other college’s frats and sororities have to do with Swarthmore exactly? Perhaps it points to the deafening silence experienced by not just Dartmouth, but Swat as well. The silence about issues that matter in a way that far exceeds the spatial and temporal limits of this campus. Only when we are honest with ourselves that sexist gender dynamics and blind entitlement are characteristic of many elite educational institutions, ours included, can we begin to initiate a process of accountability, but also change. Pledging a frat at Swat isn’t fatal, but our tolerance of even the most mild forms of violence are.
Emma Waitzman The Phoenix
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Courtesy of rollingstone.com
Andrew Lohse, a Dartmouth student, has recently come forth about the ruthless hazing rituals of his former frat, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, to severe ostracizaiton by his peers and alums.
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April 12, 2012
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Supreme Court ‘partisanship’ severely overblown T h e Supreme Court is a tempting target. It’s easy to spot the justices, their black robes g i v i n g them away against Danielle Charette W a s h i n g ton’s white The Nascent Neoliberal marble. Two-thirds of Americans can’t name a single justice, and most of Constitutional law is too dense for waiting-room reading. The justices have all the making of tailor-made scapegoats. Even so, most Americans recognize the Court as an important institution, curbing excessive legislative and executive power and ensuring equality before the law. As one of the top musical hits of 1966 my mom often hums makes clear, “I fought the law and the law won.” President Obama created quite the stir last week when he, unprompted in a press conference, announced that should the Supreme Court overturn his signature health care legislation, it would be an “unprecedented” example of “judicial activism.” For me, this was a moment of political deja vu. Several weeks earlier, I attended a Liberty Fund conference
at which some of the assigned readings featured Theodore Roosevelt’s contempt for the Court. Teddy, America’s 26th president and outspoken early progressive, denounced judicial supremacy because it was “both absurd and degrading to make a fetish of a judge or of anyone else.” The tyranny of the majority was a non-issue, he insisted. Should minority rights come under siege, this testosterone-rich leader would ride to the rescue. Thankfully, the executive is not the guardian of individual liberties; the Constitution is. At the time, I highlighted the passage as an unnerving, old-fashioned joke on America’s tradition of checks and balances. But President Obama’s remarks last week were eerily similar to the Bull Moose spokesman himself. On some level, I know where Teddy and Obama are coming from. The nine Supreme Court justices, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, are indeed unelected and unaccountable. But do we really want to subject the highest court in the land to endless election push-backs? Look at the countless referendum and recall initiatives that plague historically progressive states like California and Wisconsin year in and year out. Democratic uprisings make for good protest signs and drum choruses, but not the best guaranteed rights. It’s time to reemphasize that the United States is a constitutional republic, not a direct democracy. Throughout its history, the Supreme Court has overturned hundreds if
not thousands of federal and state legislation on Constitutional grounds. For the Court to label the ACA an overreach would be as about as “unprecedented” as Sharples serving Pasta Bar. According to the collective consciousness of the mainstream news-cycle, the Court’s “conservative” justices will earn a nasty election-year retaliation should they strike down all or part of the Patient Affordable Care Act (ACA). Supposedly the Court is so fraught with partisan puppets, that any legal objection to the ACA will symbolize nothing but dislike for the President, veiled in a Constitutionally-transparent cloak. Commentators have already taken to calling this the “same court” that handed us Bush v. Gore. Hold on a second. Justices Roberts, Alito, Kagan and Sotomayor were far from the Supreme bench back in 2000. Yes, the Court decides 22 percent of cases along 5-4 ideological lines, with Justice Kennedy seesawing back and forth between the conservative and liberal wings as he sees fit. However, over 40 percent of cases are decided 9-0, meaning the justices are cooperating more in those hallowed halls than outsiders may think. Comparatively, the ACA initially passed the House without a single vote from the opposition party. You can say a lot about the ACA, but it definitely wasn’t passed by a “strong majority,” as the President suggested. Unfairly, but perhaps predictably, the four more “liberal” justices on the bench have been almost entirely immune to the
bad press. Most everyone agrees that Solicitor General Verrilli, who phlegmatically coughed and sputtered through much of the oral arguments, did not put on a good show. Why, then, is it assumed that Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan and Sotomayor will side with the Administration? Isn’t it partisan to think these justices, whose foremost obligation is to uphold the text of the Constitution, will automatically back Verrilli’s team? Following Mr. Obama’s comments, the Fifth Circuit, in an unusual move, demanded to know if the President in fact believed in judicial review at all. Suddenly, news anchors around the country were pronouncing Marbury v. Madison (1803) and calling Con Law professors as experts. I might have been elated at all this talk of the Constitution, except few are quoting United States v. Lopez (1995) and United States v. Morrison (2000), where the Court confirms the Commerce Clause does indeed have outer boundaries. Verrilli was unable to cite any such boundaries. Forget the election-cycle. Shouldn’t all justices, who have literally dedicated their lives to the Constitution, be a little nervous about this one? The Justice Department has confirmed that the President honors judicial review. Last time I checked, middle school kids still talk about checks and balances. Let’s not abolish a perfectly good lesson plan. Danielle is a sophomore. You can reach her at dcharet1@swarthmore.edu.
The new J.O.B.S. Act: perhaps the ‘new jobs’ act The Internet is revolutionary. From finding information about the chemical interactions of sodium bicarbonate to buying that coveted Balenciaga Giant City bag from the latest fashion blog you read earlier, the World Wide Web brings the most far-fetched abstractions to our fingertips. But even beyond Harshil Sahai such timely conveniences, the Internet has changed Conservatively Liberal the world for the better. Economics Increasing awareness of global issues, communication between different continents and fresh, new technologies have all impacted the way we live. Much like the Internet, the stock market was also revolutionary. It was first introduced to allow corporations to receive shareholder’s equity, and to allow consumers to invest in firms they felt were profitable. This multifaceted exchange allowed users to own shares of a company of their interest, and sell those shares when their value would increase. However, such a system was exclusively for established enterprises that had the sustenance and financial-backing for an Initial Public Offering (the formal process for entering the stock market). Start-ups were left out. Long since, the only way for entrepreneurial ventures to acquire initial capital was to either self-fund or to pursue venture capital and angel investors, firms that provide funding for startups. However, venture capital and angel investing is often very competitive, usually selecting only the best of the best start-ups (or those with the best of the best connections). Self-funding, also, is very unfeasible, as only wealthy entrepreneurs could finance such a venture. The issue here is that only 5-10% of the many start-ups
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that are hoping to establish themselves are being funded. The other 90-95% is never seen, never heard of, and ignored. This majority of ventures that do not acquire start-up capital is an untapped market; more importantly, it is allegedly a lost oasis of potential jobs. When start-ups gain capital and establish their businesses, they hire various staff and spur job growth. The loss of start-ups is, naturally, a loss of jobs. Back to the Internet. Well, then, how are we to fund these otherwise unfunded start-ups? Obama, and many bipartisan government officials, believe that the solution lies in the Internet. Because the Internet is able to access a network of over 2 billion individuals, these users can view various start-up ideas and choose to invest in them. This idea of “crowdfunding” was illegal due to many conflicts with the Securities and Exchange Commission (abbrev. SEC, the government agency that regulates stock markets) and Wall Street; however, the JOBS Act proposed by Obama to allow such crowdfunding looks politically promising. Just when we thought we had taken the Internet for granted, it has allowed us a new innovation, both in finance and technology. This Jump-start Our Business Start-ups Act, abbreviated JOBS, aims for start-ups to upload their ideas, videos and proposals online and allow everyday users to invest in such start-ups. This acts almost as an informal Internet “stock exchange” whereby users can purchase a stake in these start-ups and profit from their success. President Obama as well as the Republican Party have endorsed the act, foreshadowing a possible enactment of the bill in coming months. Such a revolutionary platform also comes with its handicaps and caveats. Firstly, a major concern is simply regulation behind such an endeavor. Having an online portal for users to feed money through introduces the inevitable threat of investment fraud. Individuals could potentially place phony ideas and videos, acquire funds from consumers and exit with the money. However, Obama plans to solve this by plans to increase funding to the SEC in order to limit such risk, having websites that act as these online start-up investing marApril 12, 2012
kets securely maintained and regulated by the SEC. However, this also creates a conflict of interest. The SEC’s prideful regulatory motto has always consisted of the “accredited investor” being the bona-fide investor. That is, an investor that is knowledgeable and not easily taken advantage of. This “crowdfunding” strategy opens investing to any and all individuals, even those that are not finance-savvy. This is a battle that the SEC will have to face: finding a balance between allowing only well-equipped investors and allowing investors from all walks of the Internet. Also an issue is the threat to venture capitalist (VC) and angel investor firms. These firms have always been the leading source of startup funding, granting money to startups they believe have potential for repayment. However, the process to get funded by a VC and/or angel investor is lengthy, complicated, and difficult. With such easily accessible crowdfunding, many startups may bypass these preliminary sources of investment and pursue capital from the Internet. This could potentially threaten the VC and angel investor market, and possibly lead to a loss of jobs in that sector – working in the opposite direction as the acronym “JOBS” suggests. Nevertheless, the JOBS Act represents a marvelous stride in both the use of the Internet as well as the ingenious ways we can conjure up investment tools. Crowdfunding looks to be a new and exciting program that may (even if marginally so) decrease unemployment, creating jobs not only through its direct funding of start-ups, but also within its own infrastructure (such as the funding websites themselves, companies that help market start-ups for crowdfunding and more). Further, such an easy, intuitive way to acquire startup capital may give individuals that extra push to start even more entrepreneurial ventures, leading to more potential employment — at least in theory. Regardless of the small stature of such an act, its bipartisan endorsement does give hope to a seemingly stagnant Congress, representing the kind of collaboration that can lead to broader policy reform. Harshil is a first-year. You can reach him at hsahai1@swarthmore.edu. THE PHOENIX
Sports F&M pulls away in 4th quarter to beat women’s lax swarthmorephoenix.com
BY TIMOTHY BERNSTEIN tbernst1@swarthmore.edu
Playing eighth-ranked Franklin Marshall on Saturday, the Swarthmore women’s lacrosse team came on the losing end of a road contest whose final score belies its competitive nature. The second-place Diplomats (10-2, 5-0 in conference) broke open a close game near the end of the second half to pull away and defeat the Garnet 17-10 behind five-goal games from seniors Cat Serpe and SWARTHMORE 10 Erin Dunne. “Saturday’s F&M 17 game was a big test for us,” Marie Mutryn ’12 said, “and unfortunately, we didn’t come out with the win.” In the first half, the Garnet pulled ahead quickly, as Annalise Penikis ’13 and Corinne Sommi ’14 scored within the first four minutes to give Swarthmore a 2-0 lead. For Penikis, the team’s leading scorer, it was the first of four goals on the afternoon, while Sommi would score three times. F&M, however, didn’t let the Garnet hold the lead for very long. Back-to-back goals from Ali Kelly and Mary Mitchell evened the score at 2 before ten minutes had gone by in the first half. The rest of the half was a back-and-forth battle between two powerful offenses. After the Garnet briefly regained the lead on Sommi’s second goal, the Diplomats scored three times in succession to take a 5-3 lead, only to lose it when Penikis and Sommi went back-to-back once again to pull their team even. In the final four minutes of the half, however, Dunne scored
two goals and Serpe one to send their team into the locker room with an 8-5 advantage. “They were playing at our pace,” head coach Karen Borbee said of the Diplomats through the third quarter. “We were setting the tempo, which is key.” Swarthmore kept pace with F&M through most of the second half, as Penikis’s fourth goal of the afternoon made the score 11-8 with fifteen minutes left to play. From there, though, the Garnet failed to stay with their opponent, as the Diplomats went on a 6-0 run over the next nine minutes to make the score 17-8 and seal the Garnet’s fate. Late goals from Mutryn and Elyse Tierney ’15 served only to make the score look more respectable.
If we play with composure and intensity for the full sixty minutes, we can beat every team in our conference. Nicole Vanchieri ’13 For Swarthmore, Nicole Vanchieri also added a goal and an assist, while Sommi contributed an assist to go along with her three goals. Goalkeeper Michelle Ammerman ’14, starting and playing most of the game, tallied five saves. “Our game against F&M was a battle,” Vanchieri said, “[but] we proved it to ourselves that we can play with the best teams in the league. However, our ten minute lapse in the second half where they scored
Courtesy of Swarthmore Athletics
Senior Marie Mutryn added a late goal in Swarthmore loss to the Diplomats.
six unanswered goals killed us in the end. This game showed us that if we play with composure and intensity for the full sixty minutes, we can beat every team in our conference.” Afterwards, the Garnet reflected on how quickly it all fell apart near the end, as F&M piled on goal after goal to put the game away. “We were looking around, kind of like ‘what’s going on?’ We’d lost our energy,” Tierney said of the game’s final minutes. “Up until that point, we’d been able to play with [F&M], but then we slacked off for a bit [near the end].” While the team was disheartened by its play at the tail end of the game, there is no denying the positives to be found in its performance against the Diplomats. “We played really well and stuck to our game plan and we put a lot of pressure on a top ranked opponent,” Mutryn said. “I think our performance really shows how good we can play and I hope we can take the momentum into these last four games.” “We came out of the game feeling really strong,” Tierney added. “We played one of the best games we’d played this season, and I definitely think it’s going to help us [in the future].” On Wednesday, Swarthmore (9-4, 3-3 in conference) returned to Clothier Field to take on Muhlenberg, another conference rival. The game proved to be one for the ages, as Penikis scored two goal in the final 90 seconds to bring Swarthmore from the brink of another loss to a dramatic 15-14 victory. Penikis had five goals on the afternoon, while Sommi followed suit with three. Mutryn also scored three goals, while Annelise Mowry ’12 netted two. Swarthmore’s next matchup comes this Saturday when Dickinson comes to Clothier Field for Senior Day. The start time is slated for 3:00 p.m.
Courtesy of Swarthmore Athletics
Corinne Sommi, the team’s second-leading scorer, added three more goals against F&M.
GARNET IN ACTION THURSDAY, APR. 12 Softball vs. Arcadia, 3:00 and 5:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, APR. 14 (CONT.) Women’s lacrosse vs. Dickinson, 3:00 p.m. Tennis vs. Dickinson, 1:00 p.m.
FRIDAY, APR. 13 Women’s tennis vs. Mary Washington, 3:00 p.m. Baseball at Muhlenberg, 3:30 p.m.
TUESDAY, APR. 17 Women’s lacrosse at Washington College, 7:00 p.m.
SATURDAY, APR. 14 Track & Field at Moravian Invitational, 10:00 a.m. Men’s lacrosse vs. Dickinson, 12:00 p.m.
THE PHOENIX
WEDNESDAY, APR. 18 Men’s lacrosse at Washington College, 8:00 p.m.
April 12, 2012
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Sports The basics of the IPL and the world of cricket swarthmorephoenix.com
It seems, with the opening of the Indian Premier League last week that cricket is back on the agenda. The sign that the summer has arrived in England is that the cricket season has begun. This column piece will be a brief overview of what is happening in the world of cricket from the domesJames Ivey tic game to international matches. This may get a Out of Left Field little confusing to those who really don’t understand cricket, but there is no other way around it since the terminology is built around the game. To start with, I think it would be good to look at the start of the Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The IPL started in 2008 as a high-paying cricket league. India is the most populous country that plays cricket and is consistently one of the best teams in the world. In most countries, domestic cricket is not very popular but packed stadiums watch international cricket. The IPL has changed domestic cricket in India and the
world because it has brought large amounts of money to the sport and created a format that people can get behind. Essentially, each team is given a salary cap, like in American football, and they can use this salary cap to buy top international players at auction before the season begins. Most players can declare themselves for auction and basically sell themselves to the highest bidder. This can range from some receiving only $20,000 while others get $2,000,000 for the season. These players will play for the season for one team but can declare themselves for auction each year and play for different teams. The tournament consists of a series of over 20 games lasting only about two and a half hours each, so that games can finish in one day or can be viewed after work by fans. This makes the tournament incredibly popular and brings in crowds of up to 90,000 per game. This, in turn, makes cricket much more accessible to the general public, which is great for the game. The season is too early to make any certain predictions and it won’t really become clear for another week who is going to make a strong run for the title. I really enjoy watching cricket and the fast-paced nature of the game, which is code for “I have no real preference for who is going to win and I am not going to support a team just because they are winning.” I
just like following certain players, mainly England’s Kevin Pietersen of the Delhi Daredevils. On the international front, England has only managed to draw their series with Sri Lanka 1-1. It has been a very disappointing winter for the England national team, who has not performed well since beating India last summer. They have the West Indies and South Africa coming to visit over the summer and hopefully they can dominate at home. While India is currently preoccupied with hosting the largest cricket tournament on the planet, Australia and the West Indies are battling it out in a hard-fought contest. Canada has been playing Namibia in the Intercontinental Cup, not a very important match mind you but at least it shows the variety of teams that are playing. Though what is worth looking out for this winter is going to be the 20 over Cricket World Cup where the top teams and some lower teams will battle for the title. It is always worth a watch because sometimes, usually against England, the lower teams-let’s say the Netherlands and/or Ireland-manage a rare but all too common victory. Its one of the many surprising things about cricket and a good reason not to be an England supporter. James is a sophomore. You can reach him at jivey1@ swarthmore.edu.
Around Higher Education
State of the NBA: The Success of the Philadelphia 7(Sleep)ers by BAUTISTA RICO yaledailynews.com, March 29, 2012 Last Wednesday night, I watched my beloved New York Knicks match up against the Philadelphia 76ers. I was dreading this game. As I sat down, I turned to my fellow Knicks fan and said, “Sure, the Knicks are on a four-game winning streak. Sure, they’re being led by a defensively-minded coach. Are they going to beat the Sixers in Philly tonight? Absolutely not. The Sixers are going to give them the shaft.” I said it, and I meant it. I’m probably one of the most die-hard Knicks fans you’ll ever come across, but I’m also one of the most die-hard NBA fans you’ll ever come across, so I wasn’t going to fool myself. I didn’t believe the Knicks had a chance. But as they held the Sixers to 11 points in the first quarter, I let myself hope. Ultimately, I wasn’t disappointed — the Knicks held the Sixers to 79 points and extended their winning streak to five. However, rather than excitement, I felt relief. Relief because I knew that we had just dodged a bullet and that in this particular season, eight times out of 10, Philly would beat us on their home court. As someone who makes it his hobby to follow the careers of promising college basketball players’ transitions to the NBA, no other team has personally been more fascinating to follow than the Sixers — Jodie Meeks, Jrue Holiday and Evan Turner were some of the brightest stars among their collegiate peers in the past four years. Jodie Meeks scored 54 points his senior year in a game against Tennessee — as a shooting guard. Evan Turner, also known as “The Villain,” played one through three in college and averaged 20–9–6 his junior year. Holiday … well, I couldn’t really find anything that popped out from his one-and-done at UCLA, but his coaches always had great things to say! Anyway, with performances such as these, I would have thought an NBA team featuring all three of these players would be unfathomable. But somehow, the stars aligned to place all of this tremendous upside (keyword being upside) on the Philadelphia 76ers. The Sixers have five scorers all averaging 10+ points per game. At times, this has proved to be a double-edged sword. When maintaining a sufficient lead of seven or more points in the last few minutes of a game, the Sixers tend to close out. However, in games decided by four points or less, without a “go-to-guy,” they often find themselves struggling to decide who gets the ball. The problem isn’t that they don’t have the talent to close out games: the problem is that they have too much. To whom do you give the ball? To Evan Turner, the number two pick of last year’s draft who began to show glimpses of greatness in February? To Lou Williams, your team’s leading scorer and possible sixth man of the year candidate? To Andre Iguodala, your All-Star veteran and team leader? The average age of the Sixers is 25, so while the ceilings of most of their young talent are still unknown, it is impossible to say which player will emerge as the closer, crunch-time option. There is also the very real possibility that this player will never emerge and that the selfless play of the Sixers will dictate who gets the ball at the end of games — they certainly have enough players who can shoot the ball. The biggest reason I’ve noticed the Sixers this season is that most basketball columns I read have unwisely overlooked them. It is easy to lack appreciation for a team that lacks any true standout superstar. This is a league loaded with teams that have multiple star-collaborations (The Heat, the Clippers, the Knicks, the Thunder, etc.). And this is exactly why I appreciate the Sixers this season — they’ve been winning games without a “Big Three” or “Batman and Robin” dynamic. Though his presence has been pivotal on both ends of the floor, Andre Iguodala’s averages of 12–6.5–5.5 (and 1.8 steals) this season were probably the weakest statistical submissions of any of the 2012 All-Stars. Yet, he was still attributed All-Star status because his team is winning games, and he’s their most impactful player. I was similarly
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surprised when the Indiana Pacers’ Roy Hibbert was named an All-Star reserve while averaging a modest 13–9–1.5 (and 1.8 blocks … although he’s 7’2’’.). These are simply not All-Star statistics. However, this is what makes the Sixers’ season so impressive — they’re holding their opponents to 94.5 points per game through a combination of clever drafting and superb coaching. If you were to add up this year’s contracts of their four most important players (say Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Evan Turner and Jrue Holiday), the Sixers are paying no more than $27 million. Let’s compare that to my Knicks: Melo and Amare alone are making a combined $37 million. And frankly, for the production Philly is getting out of Iggy, Williams, Turner, and Holiday every night, I would gladly swap them for Amare and Melo. Clearly, you can put a price tag on guys who play both ends of the floor. Seriously though, with what Doug Collins has accomplished with the Sixers this season, just imagine him coaching talents as rare and unique as Blake and CP3. Or for that matter, imagine him having just any superstar.
Garnet athlete of the week
April 12, 2012
Annalise Penikis
JUNIOR, LACROSSE, SWARTHMORE, PA.
WHAT SHE’S DONE: The team’s leading scorer this season, Penikis recently scored her 100th career goal, then added four more last Saturday against Franklin & Marshall. FAVORITE CAREER MOMENT: “Beating McDaniel for the second straight year (this season).”
WHAT SHE WANTS TO DO: “Win the rest of the regular season games (all of which are conference opponents).” FAVORITE TV SHOW TO WATCH RERUNS OF: “How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs.” Holly Smith The Phoenix
THE PHOENIX
Sports Offense fizzles as men’s lacrosse falls to F&M swarthmorephoenix.com
by VICTOR BRADY vbrady1@swarthmore.edu After a double-overtime loss to Centennial-unbeaten Gettysburg on the last of March, Saturday’s trip to Franklin & Marshall was an opportunity for the Swarthmore men’s lacrosse team to reassert itself as a playoff contender and take out frustration on another Conference SWARTHMORE 4 opponent. But the GarF&M 12 net came out flat, surrendering the first four goals and going down 10-2 after three quarters before an even fourth made the final score 12-4. The four goals was the second-lowest single-game output for Swarthmore this season just higher than a 7-3 loss to Cabrini in early March. It was the latest in a series of offensive struggles for the Garnet, which managed just 21 shots total against Gettysburg while surrendering 36. Though Swarthmore is fourth in the Conference in shooting percentage, the Garnet has taken the fewest shots per game in the Centennial. After scoring 48 goals in its first five games this year, Swarthmore has scored just 33 though the next five. That scoring drop began with the start of Centennial Conference play when teams are more familiar with one another and have extensive film available for scouting. The Centennial is also rated the second-best men’s lacrosse conference in the country by the Massey Ratings after the NESCAC with four Centennial teams, including Gettysburg and Franklin & Marshall, ranked in the Massey Top 20. “The quality of teams that we are playing right now is definitely higher quality than we were facing in the beginning of the season,” said Ian Lukaszewicz ’15, who scored two goals and added an assist against the Diplomats. “Now that we have played several games [in Conference], teams can see our offensive tendencies and try to gameplan against that, just as we do for the teams we are going to play.” Added Geli Carabases ’14, “It is a testament to the quality of teams as well as how important it is to stay healthy.
We have guys playing offense, defense, taking wings, and it has been hard to maintain the same level of play for 60 minutes as we did in the beginning of the year with a healthier team.” But as the team showed against Gettysburg, the difference between the perennial powers like Gettysburg is shrinking. “Consistency is the difference. If we play a full 60 minutes of good lacrosse, we can play with anybody and we know that,” Carabases said. The Bullets have never lost to Swarthmore since the formation of the Centennial Conference, but after winning by 16 goals in 2010, the teams have played a two-goal and a one-goal game in the last two years. “There aren’t too many differences between us and a Gettysburg or Franklin & Marshall. We all have certain people that have certain roles and may be better at certain things than others,” Lukaszewicz said. “I don’t see us being any less confident than other teams like Gettysburg or Franklin & Marshall. We have a lot of talented guys on the team and I think the Gettysburg game definitely showed that we can play with anybody. Our coaches have us well prepared going into each game and we know that we have the ability to win every time we step on the field,” the freshman added. Despite dropping to 1-3 in Conference play with the loss to the Diplomats, Swarthmore remains in the thick of playoff contention with four games remaining in the Centennial schedule. Three of the four are against teams currently in the playoff picture creating an opportunity for the Garnet to move up in the standings. “We have to set obtainable goals and work at them each day,” head coach Pat Gress said. “As long as you are showing improvement every day, you are always on a positive path even if you lose a game. It is certainly disappointing but you have to keep chipping away at the to-do list and hopefully, the positives collectively build to the point that we can win our next game.” Prior to the Garnet’s non-conference game against Drew on Wednesday, Lukaszewicz said that “It will be really important for us as a team to rebound, play a solid game, and get a win at home. A good game Wednesday will put us in a good position to start preparing to face a strong Dickinson team on Saturday.”
Our coaches have us wellprepared going into each game and we know we have the ability win every we step on the field. Ian Lukaszewicz ’15
Against the visiting Rangers, Swarthmore dropped a heartbreaker, 11-10 in overtime. Drew scored just before the end of regulation to tie the game, before Scott Humphreys netted the game-winner with three minutes left in overtime. The Garnet will host Dickinson at noon on Saturday looking for its second win in the series since 2003.
Courtesy of Swarthmore Athletics
Grayson Roze and the Garnet are now 1-3 in conference play.
Courtesy of Swarthmore Athletics
Yesterday, the Garnet fell 11-10 in overtime against Drew.
sports IN BRIEF
Garnet softball is swept by F&M, then sweeps PSU in retaliation
The Swarthmore softball team went 2-2 over the past week, but still seeks its first conference victory. The Garnet was swept by Franklin & Marshall over the weekend, but rebounded on Tuesday with a sweep of PSU-Berks. In Game 1, F&M took an early lead with two runs in the second inning, one of which came on an error. Swarthmore cut the Diplomats’ lead in half in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Elizabeth Cushing ’12, who drove in Danielle Seltzer ’13. However, F&M came right back in the bottom of the fifth, when another error on a line drive from Julianne Whitleigh allowed the ball to go all the way to wall, giving the Diplomats a 3-1 lead. In the top of the fifth, the Garnet took the lead with a threerun rally in which Chelsea Matzko ’15 doubled home the tying runs, and later scored on a single from Seltzer. Unfortunately, Swarthmore couldn’t hold the lead for long. In the bottom of the fifth, F&M’s Alicia Kukoda homered to tie it, and the Diplomats took the lead for good in the sixth inning when yet another fielding error put a runner on third base to set a up game-winning RBI single from Megan Pauley. In the nightcap, it was the Garnet who struck first, scoring a run in the second and two in the third, highlighted by a Rose Pitkin ’14 triple, to take a 3-0 lead. In the fourth however, F&M’s Laura Wagoner hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run off Melissa O’Connor to tie the game. In the sixth, the Garnet regained the lead on an RBI single from outfielder Kate Smayda, only to lose it in the bottom of the frame. After an error by Smayda on what would have been the third out of the inning, Julianne Whitleigh hit a two-run to give the Diplomats a 5-4 lead. Down to the final out in the top of the seventh, Cushing tied the game on an RBI double to send it to extra innings. After the team traded scoreless frames, Franklin & Marshall won in walk-off fashion in the bottom of the eighth inning when Nicole Casey singled in Samantha Ginder for the winning run. With Casey up, Ginder stole second to put herself in scoring position for the eventual game-winning hit. O’Connor pitched all seven in-
nings of regulation, allowing five runs (three earned) on ten hits with just two strikeouts. Sarina Lowe ’14, who came on to pitch the eighth inning, took the loss. On Tuesday, still without its first conference victory, the Garnet fared much better in a twin bill against non-conference opponent, the Penn-St. Berks Lions. The Garnet pulled away early in the first game, an eventual 9-3 victory, as they jumped out to the 4-1 lead after three innings. Cushing set the tone for the rest of the offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and a home run, driving in four runs in the process. Her double in the second inning marked her 100th career hit in a Swarthmore uniform, making her just the fifth player to reach that milestone. Smayda, Pitkin, Nicole Aaron ’14 and Emma Madarasz ’15 also tallied RBI doubles, as Melissa O’Connor ’14 cruised through six and two-thirds innings, allowing just one run while striking out four. In Game 2 on Tuesday, the Garnet took control early once again in an 8-4 victory. The team took advantage of five Lions errors over the first three innings to go up 6-1. So costly were the defensive miscues that, despite Swarthmore scoring eight runs, Aaron’s two-run single in the second was the only run-scoring hit by the Garnet until Laurie Sellars ’15 singled in Marley Spector in the top of the seventh inning. On the hill for Swarthmore, Lowe went all seven innings, allowing four runs on nine hits while striking out seven. Following Cushing’s example, Smayda also picked up her 100th career hit on Tuesday night. Now with a record of 12-14, the Garnet will host Arcadia this Thursday in a doubleheader (games times set for 3 and 5 p.m.) before resuming conference play this weekend. Dickinson comes to Clothier Field for an afternoon doubleheader, giving the Garnet a good opportunity to pick up their first conference win of the season. The time are scheduled at 1 and 3 p.m. BY TIMOTHY BERNSTEIN
THE PHOENIX April 12, 2012
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Sports
swarthmorephoenix.com
Baseball hits rough stretch to dim playoff hopes
Julia Carleton The Phoenix
Starter Kyle Crawford defeated Muhlenberg on Tuesday.
Trevor Shepherd went 1-for-3 with an RBI.
Pinch-runner Zach Schmidt sliding into third.
by roy greim rgreim1@swarthmore.edu With little more than of half of its 18 conference games remaining on the schedule, the Swarthmore baseball team (16-10, 2-6 CC) suddenly finds its postseason chances in jeopardy due to an unfortunate mid-season slump. The Garnet, which dropped a game to Washington College last Thursday and was swept in a weekend doubleheader by Johns Hopkins, has now lost five straight and six of its last eight games, all in conference play. On April 5, the homestanding Garnet lost to Washington by a score of 12-10 after a five-run rally in the final inning fell short. After a scoreless first, the Shoremen jumped out to a commanding 6-0 lead, scoring four runs in the second and two more in the third. The Garnet, meanwhile, struggled on offense in the beginning of the game, collecting no hits and reaching base only twice off walks during the first three innings. I n the fourth, the Garnet finally got on the scoreboard after a two-out double from centerfielder Rory McTear ’13 scored first baseman Spencer Ross ’12 and right fielder Tim Kwilos ’13. After a scoreless fifth and a two-run outing in the top of the sixth by the Shoremen, the Garnet trailed 8-2 entering into the bottom of the frame. Down but not out, the team showed life as it fought its way back into the game behind a three-run, two-out homer from third baseman Mike Cameron ’12 that cleared the right field wall and drove in Ross and pinch runner Gregory Cox ’15. The Shoremen, however, answered with more offense of its own, scoring two runs off two hits in the seventh. The Garnet had no answer in either the seventh or the eight innings as the offense faltered again, reaching base only once in that span. In the ninth and final inning, Washington piled on two more runs to widen the deficit to a seemingly insurmountable 12-5. In baseball, however, no lead is truly safe, especially against an offense with as much potential as the Garnet’s. An error and two walks to begin the bottom of the ninth loaded the bases for Kwilos, who leads the team with a .436
batting average, and his single drove in Zach Schmidt ’12 for a run. Two wild pitches advanced Kwilos and left fielder Nicko Burnett ’14 and scored shortstop Danny McMahon ’15 from third. A one-out double by Ross to left center field scored two more runs and brought the Garnet within three of the Shoremen. A walk by McTear and a groundout advanced two runners into scoring position for the Garnet, which was down to the final out of the contest. Consecutive walks brought in Ross and loaded the bases with the tying run on second with McMahon, who is third on the team with 31 total hits, at the plate for the second time in the inning. The comeback fell just short, however, as he grounded out to end the game at 10-12, leaving three runners on base. On Saturday, the Garnet traveled to Baltimore. for a doubleheader against defending conference champion Johns Hopkins, whom they swept last year at home. This year, however, the roles were reversed as Hopkins won both games by scores of 6-3 and 13-3. In the first game of the twin bill, things got off to a rocky start after the Blue Jays scored two runs in the first. Despite this early hole, the Garnet stayed in the game thanks to strong pitching from Zach Weiner ’12, who settled in and held Hopkins scoreless for four innings. In the sixth, the Jays scored off an unearned run to increase their lead to 3-0 Offense was again an issue for the Garnet, as the team was only able to amass three hits, all singles, in the first six innings. In the seventh, singles from Kwilos, third baseman Mike Waterhouse ’12, and McTear brought in a run, but the inning ended with two left on base. The eighth frame saw the Garnet even the score after an RBI sac fly from Burnett scored Ross and a single by Kwilos brought in McMahon. Entering the bottom of the eighth, it appeared that the game was poised to be competitive and had the possibility of going into extra innings, but an untimely defense lapse dashed Swarthmore’s hopes. With two outs and a man on third for Hopkins, the team committed a costly fielding error that scored a runner and prolonged the inning. The Jays took advantage of this opportunity, bringing in two more runs behind three
hits to end the inning 6-3. In the ninth, the Garnet reached base once off a walk, but were unable to mount a comeback and lost its fourth game in a row. The woes continued into the second game of the doubleheader, as Hopkins thoroughly dominated the Garnet, winning 13-3 after a seven-run outburst in the fifth. No Swarthmore player collected more than one hit and the team had only six total in the game. “There isn’t really one specific thing that has caused this slump; I think it’s the combination of a lot of different things,” Montalbano said. “There really isn’t some secret formula to get us back on track either, we just have to keep moving forward, keep practicing and most importantly we need to stay positive. With the loss, the Garnet extended its losing streak to five and found itself tied with Muhlenberg for last place in the conference. With ten games remaining against Centennial competition, the team, which had its sights set on a conference championship, is now in jeopardy of missing the postseason entirely. On Tuesday, the Garnet took a step in the right direction, beating conference foe Muhlenberg 8-6 at home. Kwilos had a two-run homer in the first inning and starting pitcher Kyle Crawford ’12 had a strong showing, striking out four and allowing only two earned runs in eight innings. “The biggest difference in our win today was our execution on offense,” said Benjamin ‘Scoop’ Ruxin ’15, who went 2-3 in the game with two runs and one RBI. “We converted on every chance we had and kept the pressure on them the entire game.” With the postponement of Wednesday’s non-conference home game against Desales, the Garnet has a three-day break before traveling to Allentown on Apr. 13 to complete its series against Muhlenberg. The team will look to complete its first sweep of a conference opponent all season. “I expect them to come out and play like a different team,” Crawford said. “They are going to be more aggressive, have better pitching and want to beat us. I think we just have to keep playing each game one inning at a time.” The opening pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.
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April 12, 2012
THE PHOENIX