Swarthmore Phoenix, September 12, 2019

Today in OPINIONS: Clay Conley on Non-Binary Athletes A7, CAMPUS JOURNAL: Madeleine Palden on Occasionally Yours A8

THE

PHOENIX

Learn about Swat’s Art Resources

VOL. 148, NO. 1

A4

September 12, 2019

Athlete of the Week Meet Kim

Kockenmeister of

Future of Party Scene Remains Uncertain Gidon Kaminer News Writer

T

he weekend after the first week of classes has traditionally been a time when one of the fraternities hosts a “disorientation” party. These parties have had a history of dangerous alcohol use, with a track record of hospitalizations that, similarly to Halloween Party or Worthstock, was cause for alarm, which is why the Task Force on Student Social Events and Community Standards recommended that they be eliminated.

Though the frats are no more, there were still open parties on the night of Saturday, the biggest ones being a party hosted by numerous sports teams in Worth and a S.A.S.S. party hosted in Olde Club as well several closed parties. The path between Willets and Sharples on the

The week ahead

Today Sigma Xi Poster Session 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Science Center - Eldridge Commons Friday Democratic Debate Watch Party with YDSA 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.

Science Center 199 Latinx Heritage Month Kick Off 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Parrish Lawn Sunday Women’s Soccer vs. Penn State Berks 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Clothier Stadium Turf Field, Clothier Stadium Walter T. Skallerup Jr. Track Monday “Building a Just Peace in the Middle East: Jewish and Muslim Perspectives” 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Hormel/Nguyen Intercultural Center, Room 201 Tuesday Apply to Law School 4:00 to 5:30 p.m.

Kohlberg Room 226 Wednesday Israeli/Palestine Film Series Fall 2019 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

LPAC 101 Cinema CONTENTS News A1-A3 Arts A4-A5 Campus Journal A6-A8 Opinions A9-A10 Sports A11-12 Read more at swarthmorephoenix.com Copyright © 2019 The Phoenix

A12

women’s soccer

The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881

night of Saturday, September 7 was crowded with throngs of students wandering between Worth and Olde Club and to various places in between, uncertain of where the main party of the night is located. This uncertainty was a departure from the nights when the frats were the constant mainstays for partiers.

The events of last year, from the dwindling attendance at Pub Nite to the closing of the frats, will undoubtedly serve as the backdrop of the new Swarthmore party scene this year.

Frat parties have long been an inevitability, a constant offering one could stumble to with the reassurance that they would be there. Pub Nite has also been such a constant option in the past, ensuring that on any Thursday night there were bound to be at least a few dozen partiers in Paces. Over the course of last year attendance at Pub Nite dwindled and organizers encountered funding issues, reaching a critical point at which people

could no longer count on Pub Nite even happening, thus driving attendance down even more.

With the success of the Coalition Against Fraternity Violence and Organizing for Survivors in leading to the frats voluntarily dissolving, these parties ended as well.

In general, even before the dissolution of the frats, the year saw a trend towards more private parties, which the creation of new party spaces in NPPR contributed to. On this unexplored landscape some students are blazing trails to forge a revitalized party scene, and masses of students are scrambling to understand the lay of the land.

Among these are Sophie Gray-Gaillard ’20, Fay Blelloch ’20, Maria Ingersoll ’20, and Nicole Distinto ’21, who have taken upon themselves the task of revitalizing Pub Nite, to ensure that at least one night a week (Thursday), there will be a safe and reliable environment for students looking to party in a

regular location on a weekly basis.

Ingersoll explained the problems that Pub Nite has faced in the past, and how the quartet plan to address these issues.

“In the past couple years, Pub Nite has struggled with two things: funding and attendance,” she said. “Funding is hard because we cannot purchase alcohol with any money from the school, and the rules are complicated around soliciting donations at events with alcohol.

We really rely on the virtue of our peers to give us the monetary capabilities to purchase that keg of natty [Natural Light] and those boxes of Franzia for each party.”

Gray-Gaillard expounded on the monetary issue, agreeing with Ingersoll: “Getting enough funding will probably be our biggest challenge this year. However, we hope that with the help of student and alumni donations and a few fundraising events that we have planned, we will be able to bring back

First Stage of Singer Hall Complete Naomi Horn News Writer

For faculty and students in the biology, engineering, and psychology departments, this fall brings the excitement of a new building. So far, only the engineering department has moved into Singer Hall The building, donated by the Lang family, named for Maxine Frank Singer ’52, a molecular biologist and champion of ethics and diversity in science, is one of only a handful of science buildings in the United States named for a female scientist.

The inside of the building also honors other female scientists from Swarthmore.

The psychology seminar room is slated to be named for Carol Gilligan ’58, H’85, and the “front porch” of the biology department will be named in honor of Professor Amy Vollmer, a Swarthmore faculty member since 1989.

Greg Brown, Swarthmore’s vice president for finance and administration, is excited about the new name.

“The building is evolving into a testament to the vital

role of women in the sciences,” he said. As the largest academic building on campus, Singer Hall will enable “pathbreaking research and hands-on teaching for generations to come.”

Marion Carr ’22 enjoys having class in the new space.

“The labs are spacious and have a lot of natural light, and the new engineering student lounge seems great for group projects. The classrooms are also spacious and comfortable.”

Prior to the announcement of the new name, the building was known as BEP during its construction. For Carr, the new name is meaningful. “The rationale behind the name inspired me personally to change the way I refer to the building in conversation, and I think a lot of other community members share that sentiment.”

For Daniel Quintans ’21, Singer Hall is a wonderful upgrade from the previous building.

“It’s huge and the second floor looks amazing… all of us are still adapting to it, so we’re always lost, the profes-

sors included,” he said. “We only have one floor [for engineering]... and the floor itself is like twice as large as the previous building. There are also specified labs for each type of engineering, there’s like a robotics lab, electrics, lab, robotics lab, it has so many resources. It’s actually really cool, and I’m really excited to get into one of those labs.”

There is still work to be done before the biology and psychology departments can move in. Biology Department Chair Nick Kaplinsky said that only three biology labs have moved into Singer Hall so far, because many facilities in the building are not yet operational. After the biology department has moved, the old biology building, Martin Hall, will be renovated into new spaces for the computer science and the film and media studies departments.

Carr also noted that there is still work to be done even in the more complete parts of the building, such as a lack of lighting in the bathrooms.

In addition to such finishing details, construction is still

Pub Nite in full force.”

Ingersoll explained that the amount of student donated money available to is dependent on how much people donate and when they donate.

“At this point in time, we have enough money to throw about two and a half pub nites, without removing the funds used to pay for the one this coming Thursday,” she said. “We hope that people continue to donate throughout the semester as we advertise for more parties, so that we don’t have to cancel for lack of funds.”

The Pub Nite committee is currently accepting donations through their Venmo, @pubnite.

In addition to problems with funding, there is also the attendance issue, which Ingersoll explained as well.

“Attendance has dwindled in the past couple years due to one huge factor: the crack down on drinking games,” she said. “This year, we are continued on page A2

in progress on Phase Two of Singer Hall, which includes building student common areas on the former site of Hicks Hall. The common area will host workspaces similar to those in the Science Center Commons, as well as event space. Phase Two is scheduled to be completed

by Fall 2020.

For members of the biology and psychology departments, there is much anticipation for new lab and classroom space.

“The new building will give us access to modern facilities that will significantly expand opportunities for student research both in our courses as well as independent research projects,” wrote Kaplinsky.

Students and faculty alike will have the opportunity for interdisciplinary communication and work in the new space, as well as increase the caliber of research possible at Swarthmore.

Student Protests, Hunger Strike Follow Phi Psi Sit-In Bess Markel News Editor [Editor’s note: This article addresses events that happened in the Spring 2019 semester after our last regular issue of The Phoenix was published. Now that the school year and our coverage has resumed, we are covering these events now because they are significant and important to our community, as well as to be comprehensive in our coverage.]

On May 6th, five students stood on Parrish steps holding empty dining hall trays as they announced their decision to start a hunger strike to protest administrative response to sit-ins and student activism around fraternities. In a solemn speech that was divided among the five students, they thanked the activists who had come before them. The strike, which started among four students on Swarthmore’s campus and two abroad, grew to be as large as seven and went on for 103 hours. The strike ended only when administrators communicated that fraternities were permanently banned from Swarthmore.

While the strike was not led by O4S or the Coalition to End Fraternity Violence, the group discussed the events of the protests led by O4S and the Coalition, and said that the administration had left them no choice but to put their bodies on the line.

On April 18th, 2019, The Phoenix and Voices published documents from the leaked “Phi Psi Historical Archive” which contained references to violence, sexual assault, racist, sexist, and homophobic language. The files described fraternity brothers engaging in disturbing acts around campus and suggested evidence of hazing. After the documents were released, on April 27th at 4:00 p.m. members of the Coalition to End Fraternity Violence and Organizing for Survivors gained access to the Phi Psi house and staged a sit-in. Over 100 students took part in the sit-in, which lasted four days and gained national media attention. On day four of the sit-in, in response to the sit-in, both Phi continued on page A3

THE PHOENIX NEWS

PAGE A2

Parties, continued from A1 working closely with OSE staff to get water pong to Pub Nite. We believe that being able to provide alcohol and games (where there is no pressure to drink) in a controlled environment is important to the social scene at Swarthmore because it allows for some level of supervision that is simply not possible when drinking and drinking games are forced behind closed doors in dorm rooms.”

Ingersol’s concern comes up in many discussions about the party space, the claim that increased enforcement at parties coupled with decreased public party opportunities drives parties towards the more insular, private end of the spectrum, where such rules are not en-

forced.

Gray-Gaillard spoke of this trend as well.

“With the closure of the frats, we are anticipating parties moving into dorm rooms and being closed events,” she said.

The four organizers are eager to hear opinions and advice from anyone. Gray-Gaillard expressed optimism for the future of Pub Nite, end emphasized its importance as a part of the Swarthmore social scene.

“We are really hoping to offer a safe, inclusive party space for all students at Swarthmore and to carry on the Swarthmore tradition we all love so much.”

The first Pub Nite of the year, a “back-to-school themed” event, will occur on

Thursday, September 12, at 10:00 p.m. in Paces.

For many people curious about what the party scene might look like, the first piece of information came in the form a Facebook poll posted

by Grace Dumdaw ’21 in the Swarthmore College 20192020 group on August 24.

Dumdaw’s poll asked “What do you want Swarthmore parties to be like? Feel free to add your own options.”

The poll garnered almost 600 non-unique responses, proof of the interest in this subject among the 1000 or so members of the Facebook group. The options, which were mostly added to the open poll by other users, ranged from the most popular “a fuck ton of dancing” to “themes that people stick to”

to “more spaces for talking, standing” and “things to do beyond dancing.”

Dumdaw is not currently involved in any official capacity in any initiatives to revitalize the party scene, but she was inspired to reach out to the student body to find out what kind of parties people would like to attend in the future, and plans to throw a “pilot” party based on the information, which she has been planning alongside Inna Kimbrough ’21, Patrick McAnally ’21, and Erik-Stephane Stancofski ’21.

Like many others, Dumdaw has been disheartened by the state of the party scene and expressed concern with the trend towards private parties. She is hoping

to change it for the better and wants to maintain the welcoming dynamics of large open parties.

“There are definitely people who don’t have large groups of friends throwing private parties, people who just want to flail about and dance, and there are incoming freshmen who won’t know upperclassmen and won’t have parties to attend unless we heal Swarthmore’s party culture. Someone has to try to initiate this healing so we can all at least say that we tried.”

The party, “Moves and Grooves: A Disco Dream,” will take place on October 5th in Olde Club.

“For now, I just want to see how this first party will go.

After seeing people interact

with this poll, I think I want to see more of a … democratic process in party planning,” said Dumdaw. “I just hope that people from all corners of the campus can just come together to dance their stress away on a regular-ish basis …

I just hope people bring the energy.”

College Releases External Reports, Next Steps To Follow Naomi Park Managing Editor

On August 30, 2019, Jim Terhune, dean of students, released the reports of two separate investigations that the college initiated last May in response to events last semester. One examined the fraternity documents which were reported on by The Phoenix and Voices last Spring as well as the Tumblr page “Why the Swarthmore Fraternities Must Go”. The other investigation was centered around multiple events and protests that took place throughout April until the beginning of May. On May 14, Dean Terhune informed the campus of the external investigation intended to potentially identify violations of college policy.

According to Dean Terhune, “there were a number of really serious charges/allegations from students, from staff members, from others about potential violations that may have occurred during the whole period of protests… we felt like it was important to use somebody from outside as a neutral observer, who could come in with fresh eyes on this subject and real experience in conducting these kinds of investigations.”

The college hired Christina Riggs, a Partner at the law firm of Saul Ewing Armstein & Lehr LLP who has experience with conducting investigations at higher education institutions. She acted as lead investigator throughout the entire process. In the campus events report released to the community, she noted that they only spoke with three students

despite reaching out to an additional 32.

The report states that “the Investigators interviewed 26 individuals, including College administrators, employees, Public Safety Officers, the Swarthmore Borough Police and three students… the Investigators also reached out to an additional 32 students… but despite multiple attempts to reach each student, these students did not agree to meet or speak with the Investigators”.

Organizing for Survivors released a statement last May in response to the investigators reaching out, stating they would not participate because they viewed the process as a means to punish students for nonviolent protests.

“We, student protesters at the heart of this matter, are writing in order to update the community that we have decided to decline to participate in this external investigation, understanding that this process will be used for further punishment of nonviolent protest,” wrote O4S. In the same statement, O4S expressed concerns over the choice of Riggs as the lead investigator because of her past work as an attorney.

“An initial Google search into this firm and these staff members show that their advertised expertise is primarily in defending universities against students who complain that their Title IX cases were mishandled, defense against hazing claims and risk-management for universities,” wrote O4S. According to Dean Terhune, however, Riggs provides an external, experienced perspective.

[When looking at firms],

“we looked at people who had experience doing this kind of investigation. And, you know, I think we felt very strongly that Christina Riggs brings real experience doing this in a variety of settings. I don’t believe in any way shape or form, that the work that she does is tilted in one direction or another” said Terhune.

In a new statement from O4S in response to the reports being published, highlighted concern and lack of clarity surrounding the purpose and potential outcome of the investigation, including disciplinary action. They consulted with a lawyer and decided not to participate due to lack of communication surrounding the consequences of the investigation.

“Last semester, after much discussion and consultation with a lawyer, we decided not to participate in the Campus Events Investigation which was, from the outset, intended to intimidate us. We attempted several times to contact and meet with administrators to determine what the potential consequences of this investigation would be, and did not receive an answer beyond that all disciplinary measures were on the table, up to and including suspension and expulsion.”

According to Dean Terhune, the investigations were not intended to determine if a member violated college policies, but provide facts for the college to make conclusions on its own.

“The investigator’s job was to gather the facts — including information about behavior that may have violated Swarthmore

student or employee policies. The college is assessing those findings and will make appropriate decisions based on the facts and in accordance with our policies and procedures,” said Dean Terhune.

Dean Terhune also emphasized that the investigations were not meant to explicitly examine protest activity, but the events that occurred concurrently.

“I just want to be clear, we’re not interested in investigating protest activity. It’s behavior that may have occurred or around them that’s separate from protesting,” said Dean Terhune.

The other investigation focused on the unredacted documents with the intent of fact finding to update alleged reportable offenses of hazing, sexual misconduct, fraternity culture, and follow up with resources for those identified in such activities.

Christine Wechsler from Elliott Greenleaf, P.C. was selected to investigate the contents of the fraternity documents in addition to Tumblr page.

“Christine is conducting a review of the unredacted documents in order to identify any current student who may be implicated in violations of college policy, as well as to identify any activities that may be ongoing or are otherwise reportable offenses such as those pertaining to Title IX, Clery, and hazing.

As part of her review, she may contact individuals who could have relevant information,” Terhune wrote in an email on August 30th to the campus.

The report from this investigation also noted a lack of participation with sixteen people cooperat-

ing and nineteen individuals failing to respond or declining a request to be included. Additionally, the investigation did not, “discover any direct evidence of hazing incidents, and/ or occurrences that constitute potential violations of applicable Pennsylvania statutes and/or college policy by or against current students at the college,” as written in the report.

Wechsler noted that the individuals who cooperated in the investigation did not contribute much information regarding the misconduct of fraternity members or the identities of students who potentially violated college policy.

The lack of information affected the conclusion of the investigation regarding fraternity culture and its member’s behavior.

“The failure of witnesses to identify peers alleged to have engaged in conduct that potentially violated policies and/or the College’s code of conduct, impeded the investigation and resulted in an inability to appropriately and fully gather information to assess whether escalating reports on campus regarding poor “culture” at fraternities could be corroborated or the result of anecdotal and/or cursory, unsubstantiated, and speculative insinuations and allegations regarding fraternity members’ “behavior.”

The report stated that Wechsler was unable to find direct evidence policy violations at the college, and broader issues of “culture” within the community were to be handled by the Task Force and President Valerie Smith.

O4S in their statement reaffirmed their decision to not participate, and

condemned the report as inauthentic to their work throughout last semester.

“It is important for us to reiterate the reality of the situation: Swarthmore College is afraid of protests and will take specific measures to prevent, intimidate and punish those who wish to engage in them. Their redefinition of our narrative is just another attempt to erase the harm they have caused and the obvious success of our work.”

O4S has plans going forward to continue their work and strengthen their connection with the Swarthmore Community.

“Organizing for Survivors still has plenty of work to do in the coming months, and we intend to redouble our efforts to be in collaboration with the greater community. We continue to change and grow as a group and appreciate the time and energy individuals and groups take to talk with us about this growth.”

For Dean Terhune, the reports establish a clear narrative that will help the college move forward in their response to what happened last Spring.

“The reports are helpful in establishing a clear set of facts that will allow us to make determinations about what policy violations may have occurred.

We will then determine how to address them fairly, in accordance with our procedures and our educational mission,” said Dean Terhune.

The college has still not announced how these reports will be used going forward.

THE PHOENIX NEWS

PAGE A3



Protests, continued from A1 Psi and Swarthmore’s other fraternity, Delta Upsilon, announced they had voted to disband at 8:00 p.m. that night in a Facebook post.

The next day, O4S and the Coalition announced their plans to move the sit-in to President Smith’s office plans to move the sit-in in an attempt to urge the administration to permanently ban Greek life on campus.

In a statement released on May 1st, the Coalition put forth their demands for the college: “The fraternities can disband themselves now, but only the College can make this change permanent. We need the College to institutionalize this change in order to end fraternity violence for good. The leases must be formally terminated, and DU and Phi Psi must be banned.”

In their pursuit of administration confirmation that the fraternities would be formally banned, protesters moved into President Valerie Smith’s office in Parrish around noon on May 2nd. When initially entering President Smith’s office, protesters stated that they had a letter to give to President Smith, according to Dean of Inclusive Excellence and Community Development Shá Smith.

“The students in the President[’s] suite said they wanted the other students to come in to hold space and deliver a letter to President Smith,” she said.

That afternoon, President Smith sent an email to the community stating that she was not in the office because she was caring for her mother at home. President Smith wrote that she offered to meet students at the rose garden, but that she would have to bring her mother.

Smith also wrote in her email that the students reportedly had a letter to give to her but had not produced it.

O4S said in a statement that they were not attempting to meet with President Smith, but were sitting in her

office to remind the college of the needs and wishes of marginalized students.

In their initial response to the President’s email, O4S did not dispute President Smith’s claim that the students entering her office supposedly had a letter to deliver. Instead, the organization released a statement about their intent of being in her office.

“We have no need to speak with President Smith at this time, we did not request a meeting, and we very much respect her need to care for her mother. We have heard her decision to wait for the task force, and we are not protesting her absence in the office,” O4S said in a statement on May 2nd.

Tiffany Wang ’21, one of the students who sat in President Smith’s office and later participated in the hunger strike, reiterated that the protestors were not trying to meet with President Smith.

“I heard from a lot of people that the President’s first message about offering to bring her sick mother to the rose garden to meet with us really turned them off to what we were doing because it [made it seem] like we had no concern for her family and her mother’s health. The fact of the matter was that we needed to make it clear that we expected a decision on the fraternity leases and would be waiting for those to be released. That did not necessitate a meeting, and we certainly were not trying to force her to bring her mother out of the house,” wrote Wang.

The protests became even more contentious when a physical altercation occurred between a protester and a Public Safety officer inside the president’s office.

O4S posted a video of this confrontation. In the video, while three or more students stand outside the office, attempting to push the door open to enter the office, a student inside grasps for

the handle in an attempt to pull the door open. A Public Safety officer is between the student and the door. Director of Public Safety, Mike Hill and Dean Smith are seen standing behind the student.

Hill is seen tugging on the student’s arm as the student yells, “let me go.” A Public Safety officer then appears to have a physical altercation with the student. Protestors and administrators disagree over the extent of the altercation. Administrators said that the student lost their balance, while protesters said the student was pushed by the Public Safety Officer.

Hill described the incident as an accident and said that students had been instructed not to open the door.

“When a student tried to pull open a hallway door to allow more students, who were pushing on the other side of the door, to gain access to the President’s office, an officer intervened to keep the door closed,” Hill said.

“We had already made very clear no one was allowed to open that door. From my perspective, the student fell backwards when he released his grip on the door handle.

In the video, you can see and hear me trying to deescalate the situation.”

Dean of Students Jim Terhune witnessed the protest and described the conduct of the protesters as physically forceful.

“A handful of students have employed deceptive or physically forceful means to gain entrance to spaces where they knew they were not permitted. At all times, senior administrators, including President Smith, have been ready to engage in a productive exchange.

We took every step we could yesterday to minimize safety hazards or situations where students could get themselves into trouble,” Terhune wrote in an email.

Lilly Price ’20, who was at the protest, believes that the protester was pushed. She

faults Public Safety’s handling of the situation.

“It is important for me to say how disturbing it was for me to see [the student] handled that way.

He is not a physically scary dude… it was especially painful and uncomfortable for this to be done to him...

Meanwhile, Public Safety seemed to stress the idea that WE are violent and/or deserving of use of physical force, but not once has a violent tactic been employed by associated student demonstrators. It is absurd for [the student] to be treated like a physical threat,” she wrote, adding that to her “it seemed like he was ripped away from the door by Mike Hill and a Pub Safe officer, and their force threw him onto the ground when he inevitably lost contact with the door he was holding.”

The Coalition released a statement stating that it was the college administration that escalated the situation to violence.

“Despite our commitment to peaceful protest, we were met with violent and forceful attempts to end the sit-in, both enacted and directed by College officials.”

The Coalition also condemned the college’s decision to call the Swarthmore Borough police and have police officers in the President’s office with the protestors, a decision that was later investigated during the external investigation.

Dean Smith said that during the protest she encouraged the student protesters not to engage with Public Safety, because physical engagement can be construed as using force.

“When we were in the office after I spoke to some of the students about the incident and said, ‘because this is a peaceful movement we cannot engage with public safety and the police in any way that can be misinterpreted or misconstrued as a sign of physical escalation,’”

Dean Smith wrote. “My primary goal was to make sure everyone was safe.”

At the end of the business day, the bathroom in the President’s office was locked.

Throughout the protest, the students who were in President Smith’s office were not allowed to have food or water brought up to them. The students were permitted to leave the protest; however, they would not be allowed to re-enter. Dean Smith brought multiple students medication after negotiating with Public Safety.

“I connected with a few students delivered some medication to a student upstairs in the president’s office and in the hallway that leads up to a kitchen is a cabinet and next to it was all the water coolers to change out the water. There were like ten of them so I grabbed one because evidently no one saw them sitting in there (it’s a bit dark in that little corner) and I took it to the office,” she wrote.

O4S and the Coalition alleged that the restrictions on using the bathroom in President Smith’s office were an attempt by administrators to force them out of the space.

“The locking of the bathroom and refusal to bring food to us was a deliberate tactic to force us out of the space. While we were told many times we could leave to use the restroom, it was also confirmed to us that we would not be allowed to return,” the groups said in a statement to The Phoenix.

The sit-in ended several hours after the student protesters in the president’s office were told that the college had obtained warrants for the arrest, at which point students immediately vacated the space.

It is unknown whether or not such warrants existed.

In the external investigation conducted by an outside law firm, the external investigator found that the only references to arrests

were comments a Pub Safe officer allegedly made at an on-campus party. The officer according to the report said that he believed that the college could obtain arrest warrants, but he hoped that the situation would not get that far. The report said that there was also a rumor that the Public Safety officer outside the door mentioned warrants, but that the officer in question denied this upon questioning.

One of the protestors within the President’s office told The Phoenix that the protestors received a text from someone who was communicating with a lawyer who advised them to leave immediately.

In a statement released at the end of the protest, the Coalition explained their decision to end the strike: “We are leaving both due to our belief that we have succeeded in our goals and our want for our movement to have time to heal from the pain of yesterday and return, stronger and with even more conviction. We will continue to keep the community updated.”

Three days after these events in the President’s office, the hunger strike was announced by a group of students independent of O4S and the Coalition. Kenny Mai ’21, one of the students involved in the strike, said that he was inspired to join because he wanted to take action after the sit-in in the President’s office.

“I think ultimately, I felt like I needed to do something. I really didn’t think that all of that could have been left unaddressed and both slowly hidden and narratively distorted by admin,” Mai said.

Mai also noted that he wanted to address what happened before students went home for the summer.

“One of admin’s favorite tactics, which has been continued online

Renovated Sci Coffee Bar Offers Greater Space Christine Mason News Writer

On September 2nd, the newly renovated Science Center Coffee Bar opened with greater space and more food and drink options. Renovations to the space began after last year’s commencement and were completed this past summer in an effort to more efficiently serve the volume of students and to create a welcoming and convenient place on campus for students to study, socialize, and grab something to eat.

“The renovated space at the Café will add to the welcoming environment we hope to create in all of our dining venues. The Café at the Science Center will continue to encourage students

to gather and have a space for community and studying in Eldridge Commons,” Amanda Karpen, the Associate Director of Dining Services, said.

Dining Service administrators see the decision to expand both the space and menu at the Science Center Coffee Bar as part of a greater initiative to provide more accessible dining options to the members of the Swarthmore community.

The Director of Dining Services, Linda McDougall, said, “If you’re in a hurry, it’s a great option to get something and take it somewhere.”

McDougall and her colleagues recognize the importance of providing a variety of food and drink options at

the coffee bar. Some of the additions to the menu at the Science Center Coffee Bar include Goba Bubble Tea, Bubba’s granola, Oh Snap!

Pickles, La Colombe canned beverages, as well as more sandwiches, salads, and soups.

One significant product change to the Science Center Coffee Bar’s menu is the replacement of Chestnut Hill Roasters coffee with La Colombe coffee, a different local roaster.

“We originally had Chestnut Hill Roasters there last year. And they were also at Kohlberg Coffee Bar and Essie Mae’s Snack Bar, so we thought it’d be really nice to differentiate what’s at each location,” McDougall explained.

A number of members of the Swarthmore community have responded positively to the change in coffee and the expanded menu.

Grace Dumdaw ’21 stated, “It’s great to see that a few more food and drink options were added, including La Colombe.”

“The display looks really nice and the fact that we have more selection is definitely aesthetic to the eye, ” Woodjerry Etienne ’20 said.

While students are grateful for the greater variety of food options, some students are skeptical about how the renovations will affect the efficiency of the café. Dumdaw expressed concern about the new walk-in aspect of the space.

“Space-wise, I think the

renovation did more harm than good by creating a tight bottleneck effect that slows down the flow of Sci Bar during rush hours,” Dumdaw said.

Matthew Lucker ’21 also questioned the new architectural set-up of the coffee bar.

“I cannot imagine how that space will be able to successfully handle a rush without clumsily passing through,” Lucker added.

Dining Services, however, considered these layout details among others in their planning process.

“The process was multifaceted in that many factors came into play. Some of these factors included product mix, storage, enhancing and complementing the Science Center’s environment

and aesthetic through architectural and interior designs, and improving our ability to serve large volumes of guests in a welcoming and more efficient manner,” Karpen said.

In the coming weeks, Dining Services and the Swarthmore community will be able to gauge the effects of the renovations of the Science Center Coffee Bar definitively.

As Karpen said, “Swarthmore students and dining staff alike are still ‘getting to know’ the new cafe, and as the weeks and months go on, the space and how it will be used will continue to evolve.”

ARTS

PAGE A4

Philadelphia Arts Resources

N

otes from the Arts section editors: When we were preparing for this issue, especially in anticipation of our new readership from the class of 2023, Rachel and I discussed the arts experiences at Swarthmore that moved us deeply, and what we can do to (re)introduce this campus and the larger Philadelphia region to first years and upperclassmen.

Recruiting the veteran writers in the Arts section cohort, we present to you two compilations: one, “Swarthmore Arts Secrets,” contains Swarthmore artistic locations and events that our writers consider meaningful or underappreciated; the other, “Philadelphia Arts Resources,” includes some of our writers’ favorite museum spaces in the Philadelphia area as well as the benefits they offer to students.

Philadelphia Art Resources: Barnes Foundation Lijia Liu The Barnes Foundation is a sleek glass and concrete building that intimidated me when I first approached it. I entered expecting some strange, sterile, postmodern pieces that fully reflected its

contemporary facade, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Each room exudes a warm glow from its orange light and walls. Beautiful impressionist paintings in golden frames of varying sizes cover the walls.

Interestingly, the Barnes Foundation is an art collection, so it displays its paintings differently from a typical art museum. Instead of hanging paintings side by side on every wall, the Barnes Foundation groups similar paintings together, and fills up every wall from top to bottom and from side to side.

The entire museum felt cozy and welcoming, with plenty of benches in every room for weary visitors to sit and admire the paintings. An afternoon strolling through the Barnes Foundation is a meditative experience, best enjoyed solo or with a few close friends. Come with an open mind and imagine yourself in Renoir’s sunny meadows or Matisse’s colorful mansions.

On the first Sunday of each month, the Barnes Foundation offers free entry to all visitors with priority given to those with children under 18 years old. Alternatively, to beat the crowd, Swatties can visit anytime and present

their OneCard for a $5 student ticket, which is much cheaper than the regular $25 adult ticket.

The Barnes Foundation is a great starting point for those hoping to explore Philly’s rich art scene. Its intimate setup and extensive collection are sure to impress even picky art connoisseurs.

Foundry at Fillmore Madeleine Palden If you’re a fan of seeing up-and-coming musicians perform in an intimate, modern setting, then the Foundry at the Fillmore Philadelphia is the place for you. The industrial chic aesthetic of the venue, originally a metal factory, perfectly balances its small 450-person cap. With lofty ceilings, a blasting air conditioner, and large bar in the back, the Foundry evades the claustrophobic and sometimes sweaty experience typical of smaller venues. And with arguably the best sound system of any venue in Philly, the Foundry boasts a first-rate concert experience with big indie names like Tom Misch and Half-Alive.

If you end up going to a show, make sure you bring layers — that AC can be brutal — and take ad-

vantage of the Foundry’s highly trendy (read: highly gentrified) Fishtown setting by grabbing dinner at one of the excellent local restaurants beforehand.

Acts I’m looking forward to this season include Amber Run, a British indie rock band (Nov. 1st) and Braxton Cook, a Juilliardtrained progressive jazz saxophonist and vocalist (Oct. 28th).

Philadelphia Museum of Art Emmie Wolf The most robust and diverse collection in Philadelphia is the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Luckily for Swatties, the PMA has a lot of resources for students.

The PMA has a large collection of works by Marcel Duchamp, including the famous Bride Stripped Bare, as well as many Impressionist works, which they recently compiled in their exhibition “The Impressionist’s Eye” Some of my personal favorite works are Morning by Raphael Collin and A Multitude of Mountains and Accumulated Snow by Jin Jie. The museum has their collection online in a database, which can be used to gather inspiration for

artwork, classes, and freedrawing. The database is completely free, and one does not need to visit the museum to explore the works; however, I always recommend viewing works in person. Additionally, the database makes it easier to plan your visit to the museum. While we all wish that we could spend an entire day getting lost in the vast collection and architecture of the museum, Swatties are often busy and on the go, and being able to plan what you want to see in advance always helps.

The PMA also has a library, which is open to the public. Their library contains over 280,000 print and electronic resources dating as far back as the 16th century, as well as a collection of over 190,000 digital images. It’s a great option if you are tired of studying under the bright fluorescent lights of Cornell.

Although the $20 entrance fee can seem daunting, there are actually several ways to visit the 240,000-work collection for a very small fee.

The museum offers a discounted student ticket for $14, and every Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. and the first Sunday of ev-

ery month is pay what you wish. Also, if you ever visit the PMA, or any museum or collection, for a class, the department at Swarthmore will reimburse you.

PAFA James Sutton Located on Broad Street between Arch and Race, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art’s collection contains an amazingly diverse assortment of American painting, focusing on Philadelphian art of the Revolutionary period, American Realists and Impressionists from the late 19th century, and contemporary regional artists. The building itself is incredible: all marble columns and vaulted, colorful ceilings. There’s a painting there for everyone: from the terrifying and monumental neoclassical work “Death on a Pale Horse” by Benjamin West (of Swarthmore fame), to presidential portraits by Charles Willson and Rembrandt Peale that you’ll recognize from history books, to my personal favorite: the stark, Darwinian “Fox Hunt” by Winslow Homer.

PAFA is a short walk from Jefferson Station, and free continued on A10

I’m Watching You, Now On Video: Tech and Partying in Shanghai in the Age of Surveillance Chili Shi Arts Writer

Step into Shanghai’s ALL Club and be greeted by the sight of bleached mullets galore, avant-garde deconstructed designer pants featuring tongue-in-cheek graphic design, and hypermodern accessories straddling the aesthetic subcultures of techwear, kitsch, and what can only be described as a spacey it’s-so-ugly-it’shot sentimentality. ALL Club is the hub of Shanghai’s new alternative youth clubbing culture, with an “underground” following of chic digital creators and hightech neo-modern style gurus pushing the boundaries of what’s cool, what’s weird, and what’s aesthetically displeasing and thus stimulating. Weekends feature D.J.s veering steeply into niche experimental genres — next wave U.K. bass offshoots, darker techno — paired with a big screen playing video art of deepfake simulations (falsified videos and other media using artificial intelligence) and kitschy threedimensional graphics ranging from cyborgs copulating

to bondage-clad aliens tattooed with traditional Chinese characters crawling through negative space. As one review puts it: “It’s some austere, art-damaged shit.”

What ALL demonstrates is that technology, fashion, and art are not untangling anytime soon.

Every summer, I visit Shanghai, the city of my mother’s family, to take classes, meet up with art school classmates, and pay respects to my grandparents’ graves. Each trip leaves me with a deep impression of Shanghai’s incredibly rich urban landscape, newly budding art scene, and fastchanging socio-political zeitgeist. Growing up as a queer woman of East Asian descent in an economically downtrodden and politically corrupt country like Hungary has equipped me with a deep-seated interest in the marginal narratives often ignored by dominant groups positioned in power.

In Shanghai, youth subcultures supported by places like ALL are deemed alternative because they demonstrate an increasing interest in the hedonistic, nihilistic,

and even fetishistic artistic spaces denied young people by mainstream Chinese culture. Alternative subcultures have always occupied a marginal space within any cultural ethnography: they appeal to their participants by offering an escapist way of life via unfamiliar aesthetic pleasures and cultural codes, inhabiting a delicious gray space between established mainstream taboos and a self-defined cultural language of freedom. Frequenters of places like ALL accessorize in unconventional and perhaps jarring ways, bop to music that is essentially “un-danceable”, share themselves on social media apps outside the reach of mainland Chinese censorship, and communicate an alternative way of expressing their body and beauty. In doing so, clubgoers offer a glib response to the increasing pressures of an outside world that seeks to control them both in taste and in self-expression: take yourself less seriously and please, have a look.

As of 2018, the People’s Republic of China has equipped nearly 200 million surveillance cameras around

the country, amounting to a one-to-seven camera-tocivilian ratio, with Comparitech reporting Shanghai to be the world’s third most surveilled city per capita (nearly three million CCTV cameras for twenty-six million people) following Chongqing and Shenzhen. Consequently, the Chinese public serves as a prime example of Foucauldian self-surveillance, where the knowledge of being watched and therefore policed underscores day-today life. A would-be scenic walk down tourist-thronged Nanjing East Road towards The Bund is accompanied by a dozen policemen, traffic lights, and surveillance cameras equipped with facial recognition technology. Anybody who jaywalks is captured on screen and displayed with a message in red lettering warning against disorder. A surveilled public body is a body encouraged to mold into the image of the collective and reject the very individuality that Shanghai’s alternative youths display, both in appearance and comportment. To pierce an unusual orifice, dye one’s hair, or resuscitate a hairstyle

long deemed too ugly to keep around requires a certain exhibitionist streak — a desire to be looked at and a pleasure in being viewed, whether the attention is positive or not. Though it may not be intentional on the part of altShanghai, to take pleasure in being looked at in a state which encourages public modesty and social collectivity — to revel in one’s individual exposure — is a form of rebellion.

This flamboyant exhibitionism is highlighted in the video art reels playing on loop behind the elevated D.J. platform on the laserstreaked dance floor. The videos embrace wacky and arrhythmic jump cut editing, eyeball-bleaching neon colors, and flashy A.I. dance moves that come off a tinge unpredictable, combining elements of horror, experimental, and video game genres. A sardonic kind of humor thrives within these videos: they’re over-thetop, visually compelling in unconventional ways, and self-consciously embracing a technology that is increasingly omnipresent in quotidian Chinese life. D.J.s, film-

makers, and visual artists with aliases such as “BurgerSuicideClub”, “Iglooghost”, and “nyoROBOtics” generate art in a manner that is lighthearted and unapologetically self-indulgent; they seem to say: You want to watch?

So watch.

Art, in this way, has always resonated with me as a means of self-invention and regenerative production; through the labor of creating original work, we may create our untold truths and add dimension to an otherwise monolithic understanding of shared human experience.

To that end, at an academically-oriented college like Swarthmore, where pockets of little artistic hubs exist in their own small orbits, any person partaking in creative generation is subject to a kind of marginalization that renders their practice radical solely because it exists.

To Swarthmore: support and fund the creative arts!

PAGE A5 5

THE PHOENIX ARTS

Swarthmore Arts Secrets Notes from the Arts section editors: When we were preparing for this issue, especially in anticipation of our new readership from the class of 2023, Rachel and I discussed the arts experiences at Swarthmore that moved us deeply, and what we can do to (re)introduce this campus and the larger Philadelphia area to first-years and upperclassmen.

Recruiting the veteran writers in the Arts section cohort, we present to you two compilations: one, “Swarthmore Arts Secrets,”contains Swarthmore artistic locations and events that our writers consider meaningful or underappreciated; the other, “Philadelphia Arts Resources,” includes some of our writer’s favorite museum spaces in the Philadelphia region as well as the student benefits they offer.

Swarthmore Arts Secrets: “Back from Rio” (1959) Nicole Liu One of my most treasured Swarthmore memories involves Alexander Calder, a prominent 20th-century artist famed for his historychanging kinetic statues.

When I was but a timid freshman dipping my toes into the swirling, chaotic world of modern art history, my professor, the uber-cool Constance Hungerford, pointed a nonchalant finger outside the window during lecture one morning and said something along the lines of, “Oh yeah, Calder, We have one, it’s right there.”

Indeed, situated in the middle of Sci courtyard, virtually invisible to the students rushing from classes or to Chinese food, “Back from Rio” (1959) has been a fixture in the college landscape since its donation in 1967. Learning about it, however, makes the work much more salient to me. When the wind picks up, the white and red vanes of the statue criss-cross, creak, and spin.

When the weather is terrible, the white and red vanes are removed, leaving the triangular black base on the grass like a solemn, barren anchor.

I especially enjoy days when the vanes and rods are entangled together, and I take a savage, frustrated joy in seeing how they struggle against the wind and themselves.

My amazement regarding the Calder statue actually has less to do with my appreciation of either artwork or artist; rather, my excitement stems from the magical feeling of learning for the first time about someone who changed the world without me ever knowing about it, and then to realize that the iconic subject of my textbooks and flashcards has also been existing in my life in this other immediate and accessible way. To this day, the joy of this unexpected coincidence still grips me as I trek past Sci courtyard and

anchor my mind to the statue. When I am in that space, I feel like I become the hand of a clock with the statue as my axis: I am always aware of my physical presence in relation to “Back from Rio.” Consequently, I marvel at how the process of my discovery transformed my experience of Swarthmore’s campus so unexpectedly and so completely.

As I was researching Calder for this piece, another uncanny and magical piece of information surfaced. I have always known that Calder is a Pennsylvania native, yet I had no idea that he hails from a family of artists whose fingerprints are all over Philadelphia. Most prominently, Calder’s grandfather, Alexander Milne Calder, constructed the golden statue of William Penn that perches on top of Philadelphia City Hall. I recall all the moments I walked under the statue and felt the pull of its gaze anchoring me to it as the axis of a clock anchors its hands.

Calder’s work can be found all across the country. In areas closer to Swarthmore, he is proudly and prominently represented in the halls of Philadelphia Museum of Art. The ethereal and majestic “Ghost” (1968), a mobile piece of white scale-like sheets arranged in an almost musical sequence, sprawls permanently atop the second hall balcony of the museum.

More information about the open-air artwork on Swarthmore’s campus can be found here.

Njideka Akunyili Crosby Emmie Wolf Njideka Akunyili Crosby is not only a prominent art alum of Swarthmore College, but also fanatically cool and infinitely kind. After graduating in 2004, she received her Post-Baccalaureate at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) in 2006 and her MFA at Yale Arts in 2011. Crosby has shown her work in renowned galleries and museums such as SF MOMA, The Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Her art has hung in London, Venice, and my home town of Los Angeles. In 2017, Crosby was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. Last year, Crosby was given the honorary degree at Swarthmore College and came back to speak at commencement.

In the autumn of my sophomore year, riddled with jitters about getting through high school, I met Ms. Crosby. I introduced myself at the opening of her solo show at Los Angeles’ Armand Hammer Museum. Walking in the forest of her large, colorful, magnificent pictures, I felt like I was tumbling into a kaleidoscope of family, friends, living rooms and kitchens between different worlds and

cultures. Her work is unique because it combines prints, collage, photography, drawing, and painting to convey stories about growing up in Nigeria and then moving to the United States for school.

Ms. Crosby’s attention to detail, texture, clothing, and textiles in each picture wove me into the canvas as I stood there. When I pulled myself out of the pictures to meet Ms. Crosby, I was awestruck.

To me, Ms. Crosby was equal parts pop star and magician.

She was warm, encouraging, and humble. My conversation with her inspired me to apply to Swarthmore and study art.

Before starting my freshman year at Swarthmore, filled with nerves about moving across the country and starting a new school and new life, I once again found Ms. Crosby’s influence calming and warm. Just about once a week over that summer, I went to downtown Los Angeles and stared at Ms. Crosby’s enormous mural that wrapped around MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). The pictures were almost like movies. Rich in texture, color, and message, the pictures enticed viewers to think about living in and among different cultures and different artist styles. None of Ms. Crosby’s subjects look out at the viewer. Viewers are not challenged by the people in the paintings.

Viewers need to challenge themselves. As I flew from Los Angeles to Philadelphia to begin school, I looked down at the slowly receding landscape and thought about Ms. Crosby’s paintings.

Rose Garden Rachel Lapides Trekking to class, it’s easy to overlook the landscape of the Swarthmore campus.

Whether I’m running late to a class in the Science Center, walking home with an armful of books, or getting ready to spend a long night in McCabe, cutting through Parrish Circle is often a speedy, distracted, frustrating task. As such, it took me an embarrassingly long time to actually take some time to look around me.

The cul-de-sac on the east side of Parrish is bordered by the Dean Bond Rose garden, a breathtaking collection of hundreds of roses. As someone trying to keep a pot of roses alive in my dorm room, I can only begin to appreciate the serious effort that has gone in to keeping the wide variety of flowers blooming.

The roses intertwine and contrast in their various types, creating a colorful, delicate mosaic.

sometimes, “that house with a boat in front of it.” People know it by many names, and rightfully so. In its nearly 300-year history, the humble stone edifice that stands facing North Chester Road has worn a hefty number of not only practical but also symbolic hats. Today, draped in the knots and petals of the surrounding magnolia trees, it thrives in its virtual immortality as a landmark of not only Swarthmore College but also the fleeting scraps of genuine artistry in early American society.

Given his legacy as one of the first distinguished artists of European descent in North America, Benjamin West bears a surprisingly sparse presence on the college other than lending his name to his birthplace and the surrounding parking lot. Other than a few lesser-known paintings and sketches of his that remain in the Friends Historical Library and his “Benjamin Franklin Drawing Electricity From The Sky” in the Philadelphia Museum of Art, few physical artifacts of his remain in the area where he grew up. Then again, Pennsylvania, too, bore little influence on him; after his birth in 1738, he only stayed in the colonies for a measly twenty-five years when he traveled to Europe in 1763, never to return to the New World.

Though we generally remember so little of him other than his name, his influence on the era of painting and portraiture remains — not only through his own pieces, but through his tutelage of the other greats during that era of American painting.

We see his influence every time we pick up dollar bills, because Gilbert Stuart, who painted the immoral “Athenaeum,” studied under him.

We see his influence every time we visit American museums, because Charles Willson Peale, a pioneer of mu-

seums, studied under him. It is nearly impossible to study American history without absorbing information through historical paintings, through the lenses of people who mastered oil and canvas under his watchful eye.

His house itself, with its robust history spanning centuries, represents countless values and sources of motivation to countless people.

Above all, however, it serves as a representation of the struggle that many of us face when we come to Swarthmore — whether we stay home or whether we leave, and how we and our places of origin will remember each other.

More information about the Ben West House can be found at https://swarthmorephoenix.com/2018/11/01/ west-of-the-old-world/ NP(P)R Tiny Desk Concerts Esther Couch In response to a lack of artistic outlet at Swat over the summer, co-founders Clay Conley ʼ20 and Lauren Savo ʼ20 hosted NPPR Tiny Desk Concerts, weekly concerts in which any performer was welcome to sign up for a spot to showcase their talents at the NPPR Apartments. All performances over the summer can be found on the NPPR Tiny Desk’s YouTube channel.

The original National Public Radio Tiny Desk Concerts series are videos of live concerts that take place at host Bob Boilen’s desk in Washington, D.C. Though NPR Tiny Desk focuses on finding artists interested in musical endeavors, NPPR Tiny Desk welcomes any type of performance, including stand-up and poetry readings. Conley elaborated on the objective of the concert series and the reason for the assorted performances.

In an interview with Con-

ley, they explained the inspiration behind the Concerts’ creation.

“The mission of our club is to provide an audience and recorded material for any performer. We do not care if you are good or bad because we have no concept of good or bad. All performers are welcome. We have had singer-songwriters, bands, comedians, and classical musicians … [Tiny Desk] is trying to make performance at Swarthmore finally accessible. Hegemonic masculinity and virtuosity have run the Swarthmore music scene for too long, and frankly there aren’t enough performance opportunities for people to get their voices out.”

Anyone who stayed at the Apartments over the summer saw Luca Poxon ʼ22, assistant manager and coordinator, religiously papering NPPR with customized flyers that advertised the performing artist on the Tuesday before a performance. On Wednesdays, Conley would, in a frighteningly subtle way, manage to plug the upcoming show in all conversations.

And on every other day of the week, all NPPR residents were left with door decs reminding them to attend Tiny Desk.

Though Conley is no longer advertising in this way, they included a note to those who may not necessarily be interested in performing.

“We are also still looking for people who want to be involved in the behind the scenes administrative work. Our most important job, I think, is to get people to come. Half of the performance is the audience. Our performers have something to say/express and they deserve to be heard.”

During the school year, the Tiny Desk Concerts will take place every Friday night at 9 p.m. in NPPR Apartment 303.

Ben West House Ash Shukla The Visitor Information Center, the Pub Safe House, the Ben West House, and

Ashlen Sepulveda / The Phoenix

OPINIONS

PAGE A6

Giorgia Piantanida Op-Ed Contributor

I

am a cis woman, so I have never had to give much thought to my choice of bathroom. In fact, it wasn’t until I got to Swarthmore three years ago that I even encountered the idea of genderinclusive restrooms, which are bathrooms that are not separated by gender.

My first year hall in Wharton originally had gendered bathrooms, and then transitioned to gender-inclusive. When my then-RA asked the residents what we preferred, I distinctly remember looking at him and shrugging, as if to say, “What’s the difference, really?”

Looking back, I see the privilege I had in giving that answer, because I had never before had to think about my bathroom choice. Today, I am a firm believer in the idea that we have to do away with gendered bathrooms and switch them all out for gender-inclusive ones.

Gendered bathrooms provide a difficulty for nonbinary and trans individuals. Whether it’s because they feel compelled to use a bathroom others might expect them to use, or because they pick a bathroom they might be able to blend into more, it forces individuals to make a decision they might not feel completely comfortable with. On top of that, it may force people to choose a bathroom that does not align with their identity, and after making a decision, they can

still face discrimination for their careful choice.

While trans and nonbinary individuals may identify in a certain way in their daily life, they might feel the expectations of those around them force their hand when it comes to choosing a bathroom.

Sometimes, if an individual wants a gender-inclusive bathroom, they may be forced to go very far out of their way in order to find it, thereby cutting into the time they might have to do other things.

Gender neutral bathrooms give more individuals a chance to feel comfortable when using bathrooms, and stop imposing gendered and superficial expectations of what a certain gender might look like. Neutralizing bathrooms would allow for a safer experience for trans and nonbinary people when using bathrooms, and ultimately allow for more equality within our society. Bathrooms should also be gender neutral because female-identifying people should not be forced to wait for an absurd amount of time to use the bathroom while the male-identifying people are in and out in five minutes, tops.

Just because I, and many others, identify as women does not mean that we should be forced to waste hours over the course of our lifetimes waiting for access to a toilet.

One night this summer, when I was leaving a concert with my family, all four of us decided to run to the bathroom before

heading home. My family consists of three women and a man, and we split off accordingly. While the female lane snaked out into the hallway, the male line was about three people long. By the time my dad was finished, my mom, sister, and I had moved up about a foot in line. By the time I was actually able to get to a stall, at least fifteen minutes had passed, and in that time, my dad had managed to do about two full laps of the stadium floor we were on.

This was immensely frustrating not only because it was late at night, but also because I was wasting my time in a line that maleidentifying people were able to completely evade.

A study at Ghent University found that male bathrooms tend to have more toilet options, and that men generally take less time to use the bathroom.

Due to this, male lines are much shorter than female lines. And over the course of a lifetime, those precious minutes add up for female identifying people.

Interestingly, the study then tried to come up with a solution for this disparity, and found that the most sensible solution was implementing gender neutral bathrooms.

Although men would still have an advantage in unisex bathrooms due to urinals, the average wait time would decrease by 63 percent.

While this study has clearly illustrated that gender neutral bathrooms would drastically reduce the disparity in wait time

between sexed bathrooms, it still advantages men. In order to create a more fair and balanced society, we have to remove gendered bathrooms completely, and make every bathroom gender-inclusive. This is the only way we can increase inclusivity while also creating a more equitable society across the board. Not only would neutralizing bathrooms even out time spent waiting on bathroom lines, but it would also allow for trans and nonbinary individuals to feel more at ease when choosing which bathroom to use. It would actively create a society that is more fair and just for all people, no matter how they identify in terms of their gender.

My journey through Swarthmore has certainly taught me that if one of us is suffering in any way, then we are all as a community suffering. The oppression of one person deeply impacts us all, and it’s important that we move forward as a community to ease such systematic oppression. If we are to work and live as a community, when one person is harmed in any way, we are all harmed and impacted by that pain. We cannot hope to move forward and achieve the peak happiness and success within our community if individuals within that community are harmed.

And gendered bathrooms are one of the most blatant ways we as individuals in the same community are oppressed.

Bathrooms today are

w

PHOENIX

THE

It’s Time to Get Rid of Gendered Bathrooms

Laura Wagner, Editor-in-Chief Katie Pruitt, Managing Editor Naomi Park, Managing Editor NEWS Bess Markel, Editor Trina Paul, Editor ARTS Nicole Liu, Editor Rachel Lapides, Editor CAMPUS JOURNAL Clio Hamilton, Editor Dylan Clairmont, Editor OPINIONS Laura Wilcox, Editor SPORTS Joe Barile, Editor Neel Gupta, Editor

sexist and oppressive, and in order to have real equality across the board, we cannot keep our bathrooms gendered. Not only that, but they also create an exclusive and often uncomfortable space for transgender and nonbinary people when trying to use a bathroom. Creating a world that is accessible and welcoming to all people includes changing habits we’ve built up over the course of our whole lives, and it definitely means we need to start replacing gendered bathrooms to gender-inclusive bathrooms. As a femaleidentifying person, I refuse to waste more time than necessary in order to use the bathroom while male-identifying people are able to use the bathroom quickly. And as a human being, I refuse to keep living quietly in a society that is actively ignoring

In PA, Oil Pollutes More Than Just Water Robert Zigmund Op-Ed Contributor

The Mariner East 2 pipeline in Pennsylvania has already leaked multiple times during its construction. Despite the enormous risk it poses to surrounding communities, including water, agriculture, and native land, state and federal authorities have not stopped its construction. The pipeline is designed to serve as an extension to the original Mariner East pipeline, and would cut right through our own Delaware County.

The environmental risks of the pipeline have been ignored, largely thanks to contributions from Energy Transfer Partners (of whom Sunoco, the owner

of the pipeline, is a subsidiary). The donations that Pennsylvania state politicians and regulators have received from the fossil fuel industry have demonstrated the stranglehold that corporate power has on our government.

Mariner East 2 is a risk to water sources, including wells and aquifers.

Construction of the pipeline has allegedly caused E. coli bacteria to leak into a Berks County resident’s water well.

The estimated pressure of the oil as it travels through the Mariner East pipeline has also been partially fabricated by Sunoco. The calculations for emissions and destructive risk used a PSI that is

over 700 units lower than the number used in the most recent documentation from Sunoco. This means that the numbers claimed by Sunoco for risk and emissions vastly underestimate the threat.

In regard to danger, the increased pressure means that the pipeline is more likely to fail (potentially explosively) as it ages.

The Mariner East 1 pipeline, with a lower pressure than Mariner East 2, already leaked over twenty barrels (over 800 gallons) of ethane and propane in April 2017 — well after completion, demonstrating that the construction process is not the issue, but rather the pipeline design itself. Sunoco paid a fine, but no further action

was taken, and the extension to this already volatile pipeline has been receiving all of the permits and approvals it needs to finish construction and become fully operational despite the problems with Mariner 1 East.

Given these problems, state regulators should be extremely hesitant to approve further construction by Sunoco/Energy Transfer Partners, especially without any concrete demonstration that the extension would be any safer. Donations from the industry, however, have compromised the integrity of the regulators. Let’s look first to the office of the governor. A Philadelphia Inquirer piece from earlier

this year by reporter Will Bunch revealed a series of communications between an aide in Governor Wolf’s office and the Environmental Protection Agency chief. The communications show that Wolf’s office urged the EPA to delay a report showing that Sunoco’s planning and estimations of pipeline construction and safety were flawed and underestimated risk and impact.

The state then approved the permits for the pipeline, and the EPA did not finish its review.

Governor Wolf has taken hundreds of thousands of dollars from the fossil fuel industry, and in this past campaign cycle alone, he took $5,000 directly from Energy Trans-

PHOTOGRAPHY Isabelle Titcomb, Editor LAYOUT Catherine Zhao, Editor COPY Anatole Shukla, Chief Editor BUSINESS Emma Chiao, Manager SOCIAL MEDIA Abby Diebold, Editor DIGITAL OPERATIONS Bayliss Wagner Daniel Chaiken EMERITUS Shreya Chattopadhyay

the changes we should be making in order to let all people be more comfortable in bathrooms. Gender-exclusive bathrooms have created an uncertain, uncomfortable and often unsafe space for trans and nonbinary people, and they thrust an unnecessary burden upon them to change the conversation.

Right now, bathrooms are just another exclusive space for people who are privileged enough to be comfortable with the gender the door shows them, yet for some reason, they aren’t an area where we are willing to make real changes. It’s time to take down gendered bathrooms — if not for common human decency, then for the fact that we should all have to wait the same amount of time to reach a toilet.

fer Employee Management Company PAC (the political lobbying wing of ETP), as campaign finance documents from the Pennsylvania Election Commission reveal.

Given that the Governor’s Office is too compromised to intervene, we must turn to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission. The regulatory body responsible for the permitting and regulation of pipeline should, in theory, be safe from any sort of interference, as the commissioners are appointed, not elected. This, however, turns out to be far too optimistic a mindset. While it is true that the commission is not directly influenced by campaign donacontinued on page A7

THE PHOENIX OPINIONS

PAGE A7

Showers, Uniforms, Pronouns: Testimonials of Non-Binary StudentAthletes Clay Conley Op-Ed Contributor On a cold February morning, I walked from my dorm, Dana Hall, to the Field House. I was bundled up in my down-lined canvas overalls and the vintage Carhartt coat that my butch heart holds so dear.

Slightly tired, but pumped to practice the weight throw, I had my headphones on and strutted into the fieldhouse from the side door. Because it was about 7:50 a.m., many EVS technicians were finishing their shifts. I said hello to one of the techs I had seen many times before. As I began walking into the side door for the women’s locker room, he exclaimed to me, “Sir! That’s the women’s locker room.” He was right; I did not belong. As a non-binary person, I continued reluctantly into the most gendered space in athletics.

My least favorite part of Swarthmore Athletics is the gendered locker rooms. Whenever I walk into the women’s locker room, I am surrounded by female-bodied people.

This reminds me that, regardless of how I dress, what my name is, what my pronouns are, and how I identify, I am still a woman. In the locker room, the body is central. The locker room’s purpose is to store your clothing and gear, to change, and to shower.

Though non-binary athletes’ dysphoria does not come directly from the locker room, this environment certainly does not help.

Regardless of your gender identity, changing in front of people can be difficult, and it can be even more challenging for people of non-binary gender identities. Alum lacrosse player Taylor Chiang ’18 noted, “I’ve never been uncomfortable about getting changed in front of others in the locker room, but when I had my [chest] binder, I would go to a bathroom stall to change into a sports bra because I didn’t want people to see me struggle with it, or ask what it was.”

Similar to Chiang, I am a female-bodied person with chest dysphoria and would change out of my binder in my dorm room before practice because I thought people would be suspicious or judgemental that I was changing in the stall. This discomfort largely came early in the season last year, before I owned a proper binder, when I wore a binderesque sports bra into the locker room. One of my teammates complimented it and I said, “Thanks, I like it mostly because it is the closest thing I have to a binder.” After that comment, she was silent, presumably out of discomfort and confusion. After that, I decided to never come to the locker room with any sort of chest binder. I had a similar fear with wearing boxers. While I was transitioning into wearing boxers, I would go home and change into women’s underwear before I headed to the fieldhouse. Eventually, I came to terms with wearing boxers into the locker room. Still in fear of scru-

tiny from my teammates, I change out of them quickly, hoping no one notices me take off my Hanes.

As a female-bodied person, I am not familiar with the men’s locker room, but Vaughn Parts ’20 mentioned that one of the saving graces of the locker room is the lack of mirrors. Coming out of the shower at home or even in a dorm room, where full length mirrors are a common room accessory, can be painful because genderqueer people often see a reflection that does not match what they feel.

When I change or go to the shower, I am surrounded by majority cisgender people. If my reflection does not come directly from a mirror, a reflection of what my body should look like is seen in the bodies of women in the locker room.

Track and Field alum Kayla ’19 noticed that a large part of women’s locker room culture is exercising femininity and heterosexuality, and said “My experience with gender difference on the team is pretty inextricable from my experience with sexuality difference. Almost everyone I was sharing a locker room with was talking about being attracted to men, and that was as alienating to me as talking about femininity/female presentation and what is and is not acceptable within that (what looks good, flattering, slimming, etc).”

Both Kayla and I do not remove body hair, which is a common practice for many feminine-presenting and heterosexual cisgender women. Lifting my arms in

the shower always seems to draw eyes, and even having pubic hair can be alienating. It feels like everyone in the locker room is watching you, even if they aren’t. Regardless of judgemental eyes, my dysphoria and discomfort in the locker room are at the forefront of my mind every time I get ready to practice or compete.

I am blessed with a relatively flexible uniform for competition. When I throw, I can present androgynously and be addressed by my chosen name, Clay. Kayla, however, had to wear the Swarthmore-issued women’s uniform for the sake of uniformity and team representation. Kayla notes that Swarthmore’s track uniforms tend to exaggerate the binary: “I think track uniforms for women are horrible. Our uniform bottoms are the size of underwear. Also, there is no reason the men’s and women’s uniforms should be different, especially because we have the same coach and are essentially one team in every way except in scoring.” The women’s uniform tops for track and field tend to have more slimming effects, which also highlights Kayla’s comments about the femininity norm on the team. As a distance runner, Parts wears the more gender-neutral men’s uniform and shorter shorts, which feels comfortable for them. Chiang, a lacrosse player, had to wear a skirt as a part of their game uniform. Chiang acknowledged their slight discomfort regarding this

convention, though they noted that it was not a dealbreaker for their participation in the sport.

As an athlete on a women’s team, I am repeatedly misgendered. The second I get to the track for a competition, the only words to describe me are “she,” “her,” “girl,” “lady,” and “woman.” It makes my stomach turn, but my sport is divided by gender.

Even the implements we throw are different. Within Swarthmore Athletics, however, I have noticed good reception towards genderless language and the fluent use of they/ them pronouns. It is already difficult to ask people to use new pronouns, a request that is even more challenging with a coach because of the inherently unbalanced power dynamic between coach and athlete. My coaches and teammates, however, have been very good about using the proper pronouns and using my new name.

Kayla, Parts and I all have the same coaches, and they have been relatively good with pronouns with all of us.

Still, Swarthmore Athletics and media coverage continue to hang a little behind. For one, the locker rooms are gendered, so I have had to come to terms with that discomfort. A further challenge is that the awards for the athletic department are all gendered. In addition, I have never had a pronoun used for me in media coverage, and Kayla rarely does. If the writers did not know what our pronouns are, they could just ask,

or find this information on mySwarthmore. Avoiding my pronoun altogether makes me feel profiled and does nothing whatsoever to affirm my gender identity. It wasn’t until May 14, when I qualified for Outdoor Nationals, that Swarthmore Athletics publications began using they/them pronouns for me in their articles. The publications show Swarthmore Athletics’ ongoing reliance on my coaches for information, including photos, stats, performance updates, and now, apparently, pronouns.

Non-binary athletes exist at Swarthmore. We are a little uncomfortable, but, at the end of the day, we love our sports. What could make athletics a better experience for us? Consider making the uniforms more gender neutral. Host a training where coaches and fellow athletes learn the experiences of LGBTQIA+ athletes, including the use of preferred pronouns and gendered language in athletics. Ask athletes what their pronouns are for media coverage. As I head into my final year competing in women’s shot put, I am reminded that, for this sport, I am cis, and that is the way it is going to be, because, y’all, I like winning.

He previously worked at the EQT Corporation, a pipeline transport corporation, as the corporate director for energy and environmental policy.

It is worth noting that policy related titles are often associated with lobbying and governmental outreach efforts. To further cement this lobbying background, Place also helped establish the Center for Responsible Shale Development, an organization that seeks to provide funding and selfregulation from within the natural gas industry.

Additionally, Commissioner Norman Kennard, an attorney, previously worked at the law firm that is now representing Sunoco in court proceed-

ings against the state, and a previous partner of his at the firm is serving as counsel for Sunoco.

The Public Accountability Initiative has found even further conflicts of interest and that four of the five commissioners have clear ties not only to the fossil fuel industry but also to Energy Transfer Partners or its subsidiary, Sunoco. The ties of the commissioners to the fossil fuel industry make it impossible for a lack of bias in their duty as regulators. The commission cannot regulate the industry that it was once itself a part of, and further, it cannot effectively regulate an industry that it is invested in.

With such deep levels of

corruption and corporate influence, it can be easy to feel hopeless, but despair is never the answer, especially in the case of such a tangible threat.

Each of these commissioners was approved by the Pennsylvania State Senate, and the members of the legislature are elected and are bound by Pennsylvania’s Campaign Finance laws, weak as they may be. Pennsylvania should revoke permits for the Mariner East 2 pipeline, and halt construction immediately. If you want to help change campaign finance, so that the resistance to this pipeline is not only heard, but also transformed into action as well, then I strongly urge you to join the Penn-

sylvania chapter of WolfPAC, a political organization devoted to getting money out of politics.

This is a movement that can win. This is a movement that must win. If we want to stop pipelines like Mariner East and protect people and the environment, not to mention our democracy, then now is the time to step up. If you are interested, you can find more information at: https://wolf-pac.com/ states/pa/.

Oil, continued from A6 tions, Governor Wolf, who has taken large amounts of money from the fossil fuel industry, was tasked with their appointment.

Examining the commissioner’s backgrounds will reveal whether or not the commission is truly independent.

Commissioners have obvious ties to the fossil fuel industry. Commissioner John F. Coleman Jr. has been reappointed to the PUC on three different occasions, by three different governors. According to the Pennsylvania Utility Commission, he previously worked as the CEO of the Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County, which represents several natural gas corporations. He is an investor

and corporate Treasurer for SilcoTek Corporation, which makes coatings and provides services to pipeline construction companies, as well as oil refineries. He also worked as the co-chair for the Natural Gas and Expansion Task Force, a wing of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners Committee on Gas. It is likely that this background in the industry was viewed as beneficial work experience, but it also poses what many would view as a clear conflict of interest, especially considering he is still financially invested in the natural gas industry.

Commissioner Andrew G. Place was appointed

by Governor Wolf in 2015.

PAGE A8 

Campus Journal ARTS FASHION FOOD LIVING PHILLY PROFILES ST YLES

Tea Time: Hot Girl Summer to Swat Girl Fall Lijia Liu Campus Journal Writer

D

early beloved, after three whole months of work, adventure, or relaxation, we’re gathered here today for some good old Swarthmore education and frisbee-tossing. On our wedding registry are discounted pen bundles, notebooks, and Command hooks readily available from Springfield Mall.

Now, are you ready to take your vows?

Fall semester can be a difficult transition beyond hauling ten boxes to your new Mary Lyon room. Freshmen are plunged into a flood of unfamiliar faces, student activities, and Martin Warner emails. Returning students contend with new class schedules while bemoaning the old Essie Mae’s dining hours and lack of summer vacation freedom.

But fear not: Tea Time is here to help you manage these challenges as you settle in to the flow of things. In this article, I will offer some quick tips on how you can get through the first few weeks

of classes while keeping your health and sanity more or less intact.

Amidst a period of change, no matter how big or small, it is crucial to keep an eye out on your schedule. Some Swatties use applications, such as Google Calendar or iCalendar, to keep track of their classes and extracurricular activities. Others may prefer to carry around a paper planner to pencil in their daily tasks.

Whatever your weapon of choice, it always helps to note down all of the major dates throughout the semester, such as exams, competitions, or performances. Most professors will include exam and homework due dates in their syllabus. Setting up reminders for these dates helps reduce the chance of being caught off-guard in future.

While you’re working out your schedule, try to set aside some blocks of time for your hobbies outside of academic work and student organizations. These could be used for exercising, taking walks in the Crum, cooking a delicious meal using a family recipe, or organizing a Par-

rish Parlor Party for a close friend’s birthday.

You may enjoy your classes, labs, and involvement in student groups, but it is also important to define your life outside of Swarthmore. Most Swatties spend so much time on campus that it is easy to forget that Swarthmore is only part of our identity. Taking time whenever possible to indulge in nonSwarthmore related hobbies can help remind us that we have not yet sold our souls to the college, even if it sometimes seems that way when you get rudely kicked out of McCabe by the 2 a.m. buzzer.

Once you figure out your schedule, reward yourself with a good night’s sleep. Try to go to bed and wake up at around the same time daily, even on the weekends, since this will help your body establish a sleeping routine. If you’re a light sleeper, consider using memory foam ear plugs or noise-cancelling earphones, along with an eye mask.

It will take some time for you to figure out the optimal bedtime and waking hour because everyone is differ-

ent. Some people need seven to eight hours of sleep per night, whereas others may survive on just four to five.

Do not view the amount of sleep as a race to the bottom — listen to your body instead.

Coffee may temporarily tide you through sleepless days, but in the long run, you have to make up for your sleep deficit. Whether that’s through sleeping in on the weekend or napping between classes, a sleep-deprived student’s body will find ways to get what it needs. Perhaps it feels less miserable to maintain healthy levels of sleep except in urgent situations.

Besides sleep, you need one other thing to thrive — a balanced diet. Dining hours are posted on The Dash, and if you get tired of the food on campus, there are a few establishments in the Ville that provide a little bit of variety.

If you want to treat yourself, Media and Philly are great places to seek out cafes and restaurants.

Swarthmore itself does not have an extensive selection of food, but it is possible to eat healthy. Sharples has

some pretty decent vegetarian options, such as the Tuscan three bean bake, roasted cauliflower, baked Cajun tofu, and sun-dried tomato quinoa. The Co-op has a lot of snacks, including veggie dips, dried fruit chips, and dark chocolate, that may be slightly healthier alternatives to potato chips, sodas, instant ramen, and other college staples.

Although it can be tempting to skip meals, try to resist the urge to do so. Skipping meals may seem to save time but it is probably not worth the risk of stomach ulcers.

If you are in a rush, grab a sandwich or piece of fruit from one of the snack bars.

Alternatively, keep some snacks in your bag on days that you know you will be busy, just in case you have no time for a proper meal.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs dictates that after you have satisfied yourself with food, water, and sleep, you must acquire a sense of familiarity with the Swarthmore campus. Even though we all claim that our campus is miniscule compared to U Penn, there are so many

buildings for us to explore.

Some Swatties never venture beyond the Science Center or Trotter, which is a shame because they miss out on so many pristine bathrooms hidden in Pearson or Singer.

The first few weeks of fall are wonderful for walking around campus under beautiful blue skies. Picture yourself wandering among the shade of tall trees as you attempt to sneak up to Val Smith’s house and invite her to sit on the Whispering Bench with you. Maybe you prefer to walk down South Chester Road, admiring the immaculate lawns on your way to scout out some amazing bargains at Goodwill.

Regardless of how you choose to spend your semester, remember to take care of yourself, whether that means sleeping enough, exercising regularly, or practicing the Worm in the privacy of your room. New beginnings can be overwhelming, but Tea Time is always here for you.

presentation.

We all take our first bites and look at each other. I think this is probably the best french toast I’ve ever had. It is moist without being soggy, as is often the case with the thicker varieties of sourdough french toast.

What’s the secret? Scott says it’s the real maple syrup.

Scott grew up in western New York, where as a child he’d watch the local syrup farmer, Mr. Barney, “come down the street with his horse and wagon, and a big vat.”

“In the old days,” said Scott, “you’d walk up to the trees and see Mr. Barney out there and yell ‘Hey, need some help? Need some help?’ And he would drill a hole in a tree, reach into his vest, take out a little spout ... do the tapping, and then he just went up the road; he never stopped.”

“So you’re running over, sloshing, dumping it, going back,” Scott’s voice rises with excitement and he swings his arms as if running again. “If he got on ahead of you and you had a full bucket — man,

it was brutal ... All that for just one dollar a day!” Scott laughs. His childhood gig seems to have ingrained in him a deep appreciation for maple syrup.

“I have never been able to eat pancakes or anything like that that doesn’t have real maple syrup, you know, like the Aunt Jemimah or corn syrup things.” It’s the pure syrup, Scott says, that makes the french toast his personal favorite on the menu.

“Throw the banana-berry foster on it, and that just tops it right off.”

The french toast is a timehonored item on the menu of the long beloved eatery, originally founded as a catering-only business in 1989 by Scott and his wife Theresa, who shared a passion for and extensive experience in the food industry.

After ten years, Occasionally Yours added in-house dining to their repertoire and became “Occasionally Yours: Catering and Eatery”.

The Richardsons brought head chef Nathan Moore on board last year. An infantry veteran, Nathan found

that “cooking, and the fastpaced, high-stress environment [of cooking management] was therapeutic” for him. He came from another cooking management position at Avenue Eatz, a hot brunch spot in Wayne, PA, for students from Villanova, Cabrini, and Eastern Universities. His experience there gave him “insight into what the more millennial and college student crowd wanted,” explained Scott.

“The big drive was to add in the trending type foods,” said Nathan. “The food has always been pretty topnotch. When I first came, I saw the menu was all of your classic, home-style, American favorites, just done extremely well. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but I can remember in the months leading up to us closing, nearly daily, someone bringing up: ‘Do you have any gluten-free options? Do you have any vegan options?’And actually, we did — it was just a matter of phrasing things differently on the menu, so that the language used would jump out

at people.”

Additions of avocado toast, vegan black-bean burgers, and sriracha aioli to the menu might appeal to a millennial crowd, but the more timeless choices have been rew What were once mere “Omelettes” are now “Unforgettable Omelettes”, and their “Cheese,” “Sausage & Cheese,” and “Chef’s Special” varieties have been replaced with the more appetizing “Farmhouse,” “Norway,” and “Backyard Garden”.

“Nate has put in a tremendous amount of energy to redesign our menu,” said Scott. “You know, this is Nate’s baby. The wording of the menu, the items on the menu, how they are done — that’s all Nathan.”

“With Nate on board, we started experimenting with different specials and saw that the people really liked it,” said Scott. “He is much more knowledgeable than I am regarding the mixing of different ingredients and what it does for the overall omelet or sandwich. What we’re trying to do is take our

tradition of good food, and elevate it.”

Before long, Nathan’s adjustments to the menu led to physical renovations. “We built a menu, and built the kitchen to fit that menu,” explained Nathan.

Both the gastronomic and physical renovations were not done without sensitivity to the wishes of loyal customers.

“Scott had this whole vision of what he wanted it to be: ‘urban chic,’” Nathan recalled. “We had this customer who would come in and eat with us, and it turned out after talking to her that she was this design architect, getting into this new space of her own with interior design, and helping people bring concepts together.”

The customer was Samina Iqbal, an alumna of Columbia School of Architecture. I met with her for breakfast at Occasionally Yours to learn more about her involvement in the renovation.

“My family and I moved here a couple years ago.

Occasionally Yours Is About to Be Yours More Often Madeleine Palden Campus Journal Writer

I’m at brunch with friends at Occasionally Yours. It’s only been about a week since they’ve opened after renovating the place, but you’d never guess it from how smoothly the kitchen and service is running. Coldplay plays quietly in the background as we wait for our food, and Scott Richardson, the owner, sits down at each mahogany table and introduces himself. He is warm and personable, one of those people who can connect with just about anybody, and it’s clear that he loves Occasionally Yours and everyone who walks through its doors.

“Here’s your first plate!”

Scott comes out beaming and places the first course, banana-berry foster french toast, on our table. The toast is topped with whipped cream, a light dusting of cinnamon, and a colorful mix of fresh, carefully sliced fruit that brings the whole plate to life. The berry compote, tastefully spread on the side, adds a touch of class to the

continued on page A10

THE PHOENIX CAMPUS JOURNAL

PAGE A9



Aesthetic in Equilibrium: a History of Esoteric Meme Groups at Swarthmore Gidon Kaminer Campus Journal Writer Many (if not most) students are familiar with Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens, the de facto Swarthmore meme page that supplies 2,259 contenthungry members with fresh memes every day. But for those consumers looking for more refined, particular, or artisan content, there exist alternative Facebook groups that more than make up for their small size with quality (or garbage) posts produced for and consumed by a devoted tight-knit following.

The development of these tertiary meme groups is intertwined with the history of the main meme group — they have always cohabitated in a shared closed system, where seismic shifts in either one lead to reverberations in the other and vice versa, maintaining equilibrium in the system as a whole.

The beginning of Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens was a confusing time.

It was founded in September of 2016, in the wake of the demise of the previous meme page (Swarthmore Dank Meme Stash) and during a time when another meme page (Swarthmore College Dankest Memes Society) was also active, having been founded just a few months before, in July.

“It was a turbulent time — the meme page was super normie, mostly just for casual memers,” said Dakota Gibbs ’19.

By the end of the semester there was a group of students that wanted to post more niche, obscure content but felt like such posts would not fit well in the Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens atmosphere.

“There was a subset of

people who wanted to post some really weird stuff, really funny stuff that the Swarthmore campus community wasn’t ready for at the time,” said Gibbs.

This need led to the creation of a new meme group called “Swarthmore shitposting.” Founded by Nora Hikari Shao ’19 and Byron Smith ’19, the group provided a new environment for devoted memers to post content that might not have appealed to the large majority on Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens.

Thus began a continuing ebb-and-flow dynamic between the main meme page and the secondary meme page. Users would occasionally switch from one to the other as the quality and type of content changed and evolved in each community, thus only increasing the population exchange and furthermore changing the dynamics of which type of content was posted to each group.

Smaller communities are conducive to users creating a more cohesive, thematic collection of posts. While the line between Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens and the niche groups is sometimes blurry, there is a general unspoken guideline that describes most of the posts in each respective category.

Most posts on Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens make a clear distinction between form and content.

These memes use a certain recognizable format to convey a particular (typically relatable) experience. For example, a recent meme by Cielo De Dios ’21 features a screenshot of Spongebob waiting apprehensively, superimposed with “Me waiting over an hour for the McCabe scanner.” On the other

end of the spectrum, memes on Swarthmore shitposting blur the lines between form and content. They are shitposts — they are not meant to be enjoyed at face value.

The layers of meaning are what give these memes value.

“There’s an aesthetic, there’s a shitpost/anti-shitpost aesthetic at the same time,” said Gibbs. “It’s a shitpost since it’s on the weirder side but also anti-shitpost because they are meta shitposts, they know that they are shitposting. But the thing tying them all together is really being into it, it’s highly specific, and it has a theme they try to stay within.”

Aesthetic is obviously an actual field of philosophy and art history, but in the realm of the internet it is a movement born of Tumblr blogs and “mood boards” wherein a collection of posts comes together to create a feeling, a vibe that might not be describable with words but is nevertheless palpable.

Such a particular kind of aesthetic posting requires its own isolated community, so Swarthmore shitposting was fertile ground for people looking for an aesthetic environment.

“Swarthmore shitposting grew over time and basically became a second Swarthmore meme page,” said Gibbs. “All the big memers in my sophomore year [2017] moved to Swarthmore shitposting, which only made the main meme page worse.”

But as Swarthmore shitposting became more prominent, it opened up to more (“normie”) students and naturally became less niche, losing that vital culture that made it so unique in the first place. “All meme groups eventually become normified, and that’s what

happened to Swarthmore shitposting.” said Gibbs.

Eventually though, by late 2017 and early 2018, the tables turned again as the once-fledgling, lawless Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens over time established itself as an organized community for quality posts, attracting users back from Swarthmore shitposting.

“The meme page [Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens] became more established, with an organized system of content moderation, so Swarthmore shitposting started dying out because the memers there were finding their home on the main meme page,” said Gibbs.

In addition to the increased organization and moderation, Gibbs credits users such as Shani Mahotiere ’21 with changing the culture of Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens, opening the doors to more “shitpost” style memes that would otherwise be confined to Swarthmore shitposting.

“Some of [the memes posted by Mahotiere and others] bordered on raunchy or shitposting, which injected a lot of meme diversity to the group so lots of other people started posting memes that didn’t have to be Swat-related,” said Gibbs.

Having become an administrator of the group by this time, Gibbs, along with the rest of the moderation team, was faced with the question of whether to allow such content on the group. After a poll on the group showed that most users prefered Swat-specific memes, the moderators made a decision to nevertheless allow general interest memes and most shitposts, as long as they are posted by Swatties (and

The Signs As: Mitski Madness Amal Haddad and Clio W. Hamilton Campus Journal Writer and Campus Journal Editor

How early is too early in the semester to take a break from Swarthmore?

This is a trick question, the answer, of course, being never.

After a week of experiencing “Slumdog Millionaire” style flashbacks to last spring every time we were forced to walk through Parrish, avoiding Sharples as avidly as Nathan Miller avoids students, we two authors decided that taking the Megabus to New York to see Mitski and Lucy Dacus was a much needed act of emotional catharsis (if you haven’t already heard of these sirens of the indie-rock scene and enjoy either A)

songs to imagine smashing your ex’s belongings to, B) songs to sing in the middle of the woods under a full moon, or C) songs to cry to on public transit, consider giving them a listen).

So this past weekend, with Clio’s high school friend Ana along for the ride, we set off on a whirlwind trip involving Hungarian pastries, goat sightings, questionably legal activities, and entirely too much public weeping. As two queer women who spent our entire weekend reading each other’s tarot and taking Enneagram tests, naturally our next step was — while riding back to Swarthmore at two in the morning, our first classes only seven hours away — to do some hardcore astrological analysis. This article was, unfortunately, inevitable.

Below you can find each sign represented both as a moment from our weekend experience and as a Mitski song; if you disagree with your placement, remember first to check your moon and rising as well as your sun sign, and second, that astrology, much like this article, is mostly bullshit.

AQUARIUS: The six-footfive giant shirtless man who was jumping up and down and screaming all the lyrics to Mitski’s closing number.

Anthem: “Nobody” PISCES: The wide-eyed boy standing next to Ana, clearly at the concert by himself, who gasped whenever Mitski did anything and mouthed along to every song.

Anthem: “Thursday Girl” ARIES: Ana very nearly

starting a fight in the entrance line about the difference between King Princess and boygenius, calling boygenius “the holy trinity” and King Princess “an industry plant.”

Anthem: “Townie” TAURUS: The girl who left the crowd right before the set started and came back midway through the concert, stepping on at least ten people’s feet and carrying two massive orders of fries.

Anthem: “Come Into the Water” GEMINI: The three of us in a 24-hour Ukranian restaurant after the concert, devouring plates of potato pancakes and pierogies and blintzes with raspberry sauce, charging Amal’s phone and laptop, and doing tarot readings on the table.

under harsh scrutiny to ensure that the character of the group is preserved).

“What matters is that you are a Swattie, not that you post about Swat,” said Gibbs.

By the end of the 20172018 year, Swarthmore shitposting was no longer an active group, but users began again to ache for smaller, niche communities to post and engage in. This desire led to an explosion of new smaller groups, each built around a highly specific theme or vibe that tied all of the posts together. Most of these fizzled out fairly quickly and never reached a large audience, but even in their brief lifespans these groups fostered spaces for quality niche content. Among these was a socialist meme group, a feminist meme group, and a “beach community” group (for a particular genre of memeing known as “Jim posting” that seeks to emulate and make fun of Baby Boomers online).

One cannot discuss Swarthmore niche meme groups without recalling the history of the “can’t opener.”

On the Summer 2017 Facebook group, one student kept asking for various things all summer long. One day they asked for a can opener, and on impulse Gibbs responded “Sorry i only have a can’t opener.” They reacted in visceral annoyance, which Gibbs found entertaining because the two were acquaintances and he knew that they were not usually liable to such outbursts. So, for the rest of the summer, Gibbs commented that on every one of their posts, and a few other people joined in as well. He decided to keep this meme confined to the summer group, so when the semester began, he stopped commenting in this way.

By the time the Summer 2018 group was in full swing, the tale of the can’t opener had traveled far and wide, and people were eagerly anticipating its return. So Gibbs brought it back, commenting “sorry i only have a can’t opener” on various posts asking for items. It blew up and became its own hugely popular meme — people even subverted the format by making posts asking if anyone has a can’t opener.

But all good things must come to an end, so Gibbs brought a stop to the can’t opener meme at the end of the summer. That is, until someone brought it to the Swarthmore 2018-2019 group, where it spread like wildfire, like a stowaway animal brought to a new land with no natural predators.

“Once it made it there I had to keep doing it,” said Gibbs. “It became a big thing, I had to comment it on other people’s stuff. Freshmen would look at me and say ‘Oh you’re the can’t opener guy!’”

When Gibbs set out to create a personal meme page for himself (an honor reserved for only the worthiest memers), he knew there was only one thing he could name it. Thus on October 21 2018, Gibbs created “sorry i only have a can’t opener.”

Like many other niche meme groups, the can’t opener group focuses on a particular aesthetic theme. This group also serves as a “tagging group,” meaning that users tag the link to the group in the comments of posts on other groups (such as the main school page, or Swarthmore Memes for Quaker Teens). No longer needing to type out the full “sorry i only have a can’t opener” re-

Alternately (because Geminis, of course, can never be just one thing), each of us independently choosing the exact same outfit to wear to the concert.

Anthem: “Why Didn’t You Stop Me?” CANCER: The three of us fully sobbing at the beginning and end of Lucy Dacus’ set.

Anthem: “Class of 2013” LEO: Mitski slapping her own ass onstage in front of 5,000 people.

Anthem: “Francis Forever” VIRGO: Us bringing two absurdly giant backpacks on this trip, not doing any of the work we’d brought, and being forced to carry those backpacks throughout the concert.

Anthem: “Geyser” LIBRA: The three of us

walking around Columbia and Barnard’s campuses and feeling feral.

Anthem: “Me and My Husband” SCORPIO: Mitski flipping the entire crowd off during “Drunk Walk Home.”

Anthem: “My Body’s Made of Crushed Little Stars” SAGITTARIUS: A concertgoer yelling “SARAH LAWRENCE WHERE YOU AT?” into the crowd and absolutely nobody answering.

Anthem: “Drunk Walk Home” CAPRICORN: The elaborate meals Amal’s grandmother fed us while we stayed with her in Yonkers, NY. Anthem: “Lonesome Love”

continued on page A10

THE PHOENIX CAMPUS JOURNAL

PAGE A10

Occasionally Yours, continued from A8 We’ve been coming here ever since we moved here and we’ve always felt very welcomed by Scott and Theresa,” said Samina. “I saw this as an opportunity to help them make their place more appealing to more communities of people — specifically, I think they were really interested in attracting students.”

According to Samina, Scott approached her about the renovation early last June.

One of the first things they discussed was surfaces, starting with the ceiling.

The copper’s warmth balances the coolness of the blue beadboards’ navy, which Samina suggested to replace the country charm of the white beadboards with a more industrial look.

“My main focus was to bring the design of [Occasionally Yours] to appeal to a more modern sensibility,” she said.

Her design expertise here is clear: The caramel-colored leather seats, the silver, weathered oak flooring, the navy beadboards, together with the richness of the ma-

hogany tables, complement each other perfectly in texture and color.

“In modern design, surface and texture are really the key elements,” Samina explained. “You have less overt ornamentation and then you deal with the richness of surface and texture.”

She is interrupted by the woman eating next to us.

“The coolest thing in this whole place is that that ceiling is copper,” she says enthusiastically. “You know when you think of a specimen tree in a yard? This is the specimen tree of this place.”

Our neighbor is right. The crown jewel of the renovation is the copper ceiling — a revision in fact suggested by Scott. The copper strikingly accentuates the high ceiling, a classic feature of Swarthmore architecture.

“The existing ceiling was painted white, and so it blended in with the surrounding soffits,” said Samina, pointing as she takes a sip of her coffee. “You didn’t necessarily notice that it was

this great, metal-stamped tin ceiling.”

Once everyone — the whole Richardson family and their many loyal customers — was on board with the copper ceiling and navy beadboards, Scott asked Samina about seat and table materials. Creating and sending him mood boards, Samina helped him come up with a palette.

The goal was “balancing the warmth of the copper, reflecting that in the tables and the seat materials, and then balancing that all with the cooler tones of the floor and walls,” Samina said. “Social media platforms like Instagram and Pinterest have increased everybody’s design awareness, and so there’s a lot more visual acuteness [for people in general].”

The renovation increased not only visual but also physical accessibility to customers. The Richardsons moved the wall of the dining area back eighteen inches, sacrificing precious kitchen space to make room for more customers at the eatery.

One of the most distinctive parts of the new space is the open kitchen concept, suggested by Nathan in order to give an experience of the cooking of the food.

“Now customers can look you in the eye afterward if they don’t like [the food],” Nathan said with a chuckle.

Though the transparency of the visible kitchen increases pressure for the staff, they are well rewarded with the natural light of the dining room and its large windows.

“To have natural light from our end — I just can’t believe we used to be in a dungeon for thirty years!” said Scott. “From our end of it, there’s this window, and it’s like a movie screen! The people are walking by, and it’s so cool.”

Occasionally Yours isn’t only trying to make Swarthmore a better community, but have also extended their goals to the world beyond Swarthmore through their efforts in more environmentally conscious practices.

For years, Occa-

sionally Yours has used plastic cups for its drinks.

“We could only do so many dishes,” explained Scott. According to him, $6,000 of their investment (—“not counting china”—) in the project went towards a new, more energy-efficient dishwasher.

“A whole rack of dishes is done in a few minutes with only two gallons of water instead of [the previous] 40 or 50 gallons . It’s insanity! In my mind, with all the plastic we’ve eliminated and the water savings, it’s a win for everybody: it’s a win for our customers, it’s a win for us financially, and it’s certainly a win for the environment,” Scott said with enthusiasm.

Other new, greener practices at Occasionally Yours have been instituted with busy Swarthmore students in mind. “The takeout containers are now in a compostable, clam-shell container — the takeout sandwiches now don’t get wrapped in plastic, and we’ve got compostable forks ... If the students get things to go, they can now

take things back up to campus and put it in a compostable unit. You know, I don’t have to be here much longer, but my children and grandchildren do.”

Scott, like Samina, said he hopes the renovation helps him give back to the community that has served him well.

“Swarthmore and the College have given my wife and my family and me thirty years of a wonderful, wonderful life here,” he said.

Though Scott admits that prices are on the higher side for college students — one meal is around $15 — he added, “You’re not just coming for the food. You’re coming for the combo of everything that makes the experience worth it.” He has a point — for all that the restaurants of Swarthmore boast, ambience is rather lacking.

Experience aside though, I’d easily pay fifteen Swat points for that french toast any Sunday.

“Tag yourself: I’m sad” is a tagging group as well.

These groups are living, breathing organisms, multicolored coral reefs built by dedicated communities of people, each contributing just a few individual memes that come together to create an ingenious quilt. Like any living system, these groups experience natural fluctuations and changes. Normification might be as inevitable as entropy, but it does not necessarily doom the entire system to a gradual decrease in creativity. Every meme group is an open system, exchanging users and creativity with other meme groups and brand new meme groups as well. Their beauty is in their spontaneity, the carelessness and thoughtlessness with which they come into being and disappear from existence. Perhaps writing this article breaks the fourth wall, thrusting these groups out of the shadows and into the public eye, an environment for which they are not suited

and in which they would not survive. Will this speed up the process of normification? Will it ruin the finely tuned climates that exist in these microbiomes, upset the gentle balance of vibes that memes thrive in? It is possible, but nature will correct itself. Will there be a massive influx of new users? Probably not, because most people don’t care. But for those who do care - the groups mentioned here are just the tip of the magical iceberg of secret Swarthmore meme groups. Go out and find them, pursue these obscure communities, peruse their posts, identify each individual aesthetic, and build on it just a bit more.

“Sorry i only have a can’t opener” is still active to this day. Similarly, “Pictures of Keanu Reeves and/or Whoopi Goldberg,” is still an active community where 53 members still post pictures of Keanu Reeves and/or Whoopi Goldberg to this day.

Niche shitposting has

enjoyed a renaissance all throughout last year, a trend which continues to this day.

The mantle is being carried by recent newly formed groups such as “Tag yourself: I’m sad,” which was founded

by Chase Smith ’22. The group, where “Posts must be sad” as per rule #1 of the group, has been a home to 104 active members since May 2019.

These groups are living, breathing organisms, multicolored coral reefs built by dedicated communities of people, each contributing just a few individual memes that come together to create an ingenious quilt. Like any living system, these groups experience natural fluctuations and changes. Normification might be as inevitable as entropy, but it does not necessarily doom the entire system to a gradual decrease in creativity. Every meme group is an open system, exchanging users and creativity with other meme groups and brand new meme groups as

well. Their beauty is in their spontaneity, the carelessness and thoughtlessness with which they come into being and disappear from existence. Perhaps writing this article breaks the fourth wall, thrusting these groups out of the shadows and into the public eye, an environment they are not suited for and would not survive in. Will this speed up the process of normification? Will it ruin the finely tuned climates that exist in these microbiomes, upset the gentle balance of vibes that memes thrive in?

It is possible, but nature will correct itself. Will there be a massive influx of new users? Probably not, because most people don’t care. But for those who do care - the groups mentioned here are just the tip of the magical iceberg of secret Swarthmore meme groups. Go out and find them, pursue these obscure communities, peruse their posts, identify each individual aesthetic, and build on it just a bit more.

for burgeoning artists.

Swarthmore’s own Tasha Lewis ’12, whose swarming inky-blue butterflies can be found in the corridors of Beardsley, recently exhibited her works from a series titled “Ebb Tide” there. Lewis’ sculptures, inspired by Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and the deteriorating classical sculptures found on the ocean

floors of the Aegean Sea, were submerged in wallto-wall mosaics whose glossy colors frequently shift with the changing sunlight.

Over two hundred of Zagar’s mosaics can be found across Philadelphia and especially in the South Street neighborhood. Student tickets to the Gardens are $8.

Memes, continued from A9 sponse, users can simply tag the group.

“The theme was that it was only memes that I would like and understand,” said Gibbs. Though the group was just meant to be a curated collection of memes that Dakota Gibbs might enjoy, it ballooned in popularity until eventually boasting over 270 members.

“People would come up to me and say ‘yo your memes are so relatable!’ But it wasn’t meant to be relatable.

It was just supposed to be for me, and everyone else was along for the ride,” he said.

Eventually the can’t opener brand became so ubiquitous and solidified that it itself fueled new content for the group. It spawned an entire genre of “can’t-openerism,” syntactically just the noun form of the concept of can’t opener memes, but in reality something between an art movement and a religion.

These memes spilled over even to Swarthmore Memes

for Quaker Teens, most prominent among them being a meme made by Gibbs himself of Bruce Banner/ Hulk saying “that’s my secret Captain, I’m always angry,” with the text changed to “sorry, I’m always only having a can’t opener.”

“Sorry i only have a can’t opener” is still active to this day. Similarly, “Pictures of Keanu Reeves and/or Whoopi Goldberg,” is still an active community where 53 members still post pictures of Keanu Reeves and/or Whoopi Goldberg.

Niche shitposting has enjoyed a renaissance all throughout last year, a trend which continues to this day.

The mantle is being carried by recent newly formed groups such as “Tag yourself: I’m sad,” which was founded

by Chase Smith ’22. The group, where “Posts must be sad” as per rule #1 of the group, has been a home to 104 active members since May 2019. Similarly to “Sorry i only have a can’t opener,”

ARTS

Philadelphia Art Resources, continued from A4 to Swarthmore students.

Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens Nicole Liu Across the street from a gigantic Whole Foods Market and a CVS, concealed in the shade of a PNC Bank, the Magic Gardens is quite literally a hidden gem in Phila-

delphia’s historic South Street neighborhood. The Gardens, located on 1020 South St., used to be the living quarters of its creator Isaiah Zagar and his family. While the two galleries were converted from Zagar’s house, the otherworldly outdoor sculpture garden was originally a parking lot Zagar did not own but obtained permis-

sion to decorate. Using broken pottery, glass, wine bottles, weathervanes, mirrors, and even bicycle wheels, Zagar lovingly adorned the dilapidated walls and rough concrete floors. On the fractured, assembled tiles, one can see bold brush strokes tracing human faces and bodies, large and small, unabashedly staring at

the passers-by; poems by Mallarmé and Appolinaire are juxtaposed next to statuettes of sly, urinating boys; in the outdoor corridors, stray glass flowers swim with blue mermaids.

Out of the rubble, Zagar conjures beauty.

The indoor galleries, equally decorated in kaleidoscopic colors, provide unusual exhibition spaces

SPORTS

PAGE A11

Women’s Soccer Begins Season Ben Lau Sports Writer

T

his fall, Swarthmore women’s soccer enters their season ranked fourteenth in the nation following last year’s NCAA tournament run to the Sweet Sixteen and Centennial Conference title.

After graduating five seniors, the team welcomed twelve first years to the roster and are looking forward to another fruitful season.

Last season Swarthmore tallied 54 goals in 22 games.

So far, the team has already scored seven after their games against TCNJ and Eastern Connecticut. Four of these seven were scored by forward Kim Kockenmeister ’22, who won player of the week after tying the Centennial Conference record for most goals in a single game.

Junior midfielder Grace Taylor ’21 is proud of her team and the work the players have committed during the off season. “I think that the freshmen have added a lot of talent to the team and the sophomores have really stepped up this season,” Taylor said. “I’m really looking forward to spending another year with them.”

Coach Todd Anckaitis seconded Taylor’s thoughts. “My sophomores are making that transition nicely from their first year through spring to the start of their second season,” said Anckaitis. “The

spring season really helps the first years and sophomores to find and solidify their roles on the team and improve individually to feel comfortable and confident at the college level. I really like how they’ve come along.”

The team already has several returning players with All-Conference and All-Region accolades.

Last year, Sydney Covitz ’20 was nominated for the All-Mid-Atlantic Region second team, the Philadelphia Inquirer Academic AllArea team, and Centennial Conference first team. Brittanny Weiderhold ’20 was a Centennial Conference honorable mention.

The team is led by captains Seneca Kinn-Gurzo ’20, Brittney Weiderhold ’20, Emma Tapp ’20, and Sydney Covitz ’20. They hope to follow in the footsteps of last year’s dynamic duo of captains, First Team All-American Marin McCoy ’19 and Second Team AllMid-Atlantic Region Yasmeen Namazie ’19.

Weiderhold ’20 strives to be a good leader and strong support system for her teammates like McCoy ’19 and Namazie ’19. “If I can contribute in any way in making this group a cohesive, tight, and on point group, then I think I can end my career on a high note,” she says.

Weiderhold ’20 hopes to win the conference for a third consecutive year and then go for the program’s

Photo courtesy of Swarthmore College Athletics

first ever national championship. “It all starts with how we play in practice, so we’ve been trying really hard to stay focused as well as on point during our practices, which is especially important with school just starting up,” she said.

So far, the first-year class has already contributed to the success of the program. The healthy players have all seen the pitch and have even gotten on the scoresheet. “They have shown a lot of promise for the future of the program,” Anckaitis said. “They’ve got a ways to go but they’ve found a good starting

NFL Season Kicks Off Grace Dignazio Sports Writer

The first week of September at Swarthmore College is always full of excitement. Not only did classes resume this past week after three months of summer break, but the National Football League returned to screens for its first week of the 20192020 season. The week was full of dramatic matchups and was a great preview of the upcoming season.

On Thursday, Sept. 5, the Green Bay Packers traveled to Chicago, Illinois to play their long-time rivals the Chicago Bears to kick off the 100th season of the NFL. The game resulted in a 10-3 victory for the Packers, who lead 9895-6 in overall matchups against the Bears.

It’s fitting that the first game of the 100th NFL season was between the Packers and the Bears.

This historic rivalry between the two teams began in 1921 and celebrates

the traditional competitive spirit of the NFL. On Sunday, September 8, thirteen games were broadcast including fan favorites such as the Philadelphia Eagles, the Baltimore Ravens, and defending 2019 Super Bowl champions the New England Patriots.

The Patriots defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers with a decisive win 333. During this game, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady covered 341 yards and threw three touchdown passes to kick off his 20th season. Wide receiver Phillip Dorsett scored two touchdowns and wide receiver Josh Gordon scored one touchdown for the Patriots during the game.

At 42 years old, Tom Brady is considered one of the most fearsome players in the league. After joining the Patriots in 2000, the team has found great success and are entering the 2019-2020 season as defending Super Bowl champions. The Patriots

are also predicted to be serious contenders to win the Super Bowl this year.

Another Super Bowl victory would earn them most Super Bowl wins overall in the league.

One of the biggest NFL controversies of the season so far has been initiated by Patriots’ wide receiver Antonio Brown. After starting with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010, Brown left the team amid controversy in December of 2018.

Brown was picked up in 2019 by the Oakland Raiders only to cause a fiasco over the team’s new helmets. Brown was adamant that he should be allowed to wear his helmet from the previous year, causing multiple practice interruptions and disagreements between him and his coaches.

Brown was benched indefinitely after multiple other squabbles regarding the use of his old helmet as well as skipping practice multiple times. He then took to Instagram to

point.”

First-year outside back Rebecca Putnam ’23 was impressed with how close the team is and how hard everyone works at practice.

“I’m most excited to become a part of such a strong group of women and players,” she says.

Fellow first years Ana Michels ’23 and Anwyn Urquhart ’23 haven’t seen the pitch due to knee injuries, but they play an important role in supporting their teammates from the sideline. “Anwyn and I are trying our best to reciprocate all the support we’ve received,” Michels says. “Al-

ready we’ve both lost our voices from screaming in practice and in the weight room.”

The transition from high school to Division III soccer can be quite intimidating. First year Alice Onyango-Opiyo ’23 has eased through this transition, and has already played 71 minutes, the most of any freshman. “The biggest adjustment was learning how to fit into the dynamic of a large, already established team,” Onyango-Opiyo ’23 says.

The team is now out of preseason and has started the season with three wins

so far. The Garnet host Stevens this Friday at 7 p.m. at Clothier fields as they look forward to the rest of the season and continuing their success this year. “In my past years here, I’ve never been on a team with this much depth,” Weiderhold ’20 says. “I am so confident in every single one of these players and I am so happy I get to play alongside them and eventually, end my collegiate career with them.

It’s a privilege I get to have working with these spectacular ladies!”

ask for the termination of his contract with the Raiders publicly. After his hasty release, Brown was immediately picked up by the Patriots this week on Saturday, September 7.

The controversy did not stop there. Brown was just recently accused of sexual assault by a former personal trainer of his. He has denied the accusations and countersued the alleged victim. It is unclear whether or not Brown will suit up this upcoming Sunday.

One of the most devastating defeats of the first week resulted from the Baltimore Ravens playing the Miami Dolphins.

The Ravens annihilated the Dolphins with a 5910 victory, going up 42-10 by halftime and setting an NFL record for number of points scored during the first half of an opener.

This was certainly a disheartening first game of the season for Dolphins fans.

Next week the Dolphins

will have to face the Patriots and this matchup could result in another devastating loss for the Dolphins if their playing style from this previous week carries over.

2018 Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles narrowly pulled out a win for their first match of the season against Washington 32-27. The Eagles are Swarthmore’s home team and spirits are high for the beginning of the season. Eagles’ quarterback Carson Wentz threw two touchdown passes to wide receiver DeSean Jackson to clinch the game and close a 17-point gap against Washington.

This is Jackson’s first game back with the Eagles since 2013 after he was cut by the Eagles’ former head coach Chip Kelly. The Eagles now play under head coach Doug Pederson, who has been with the team since 2016 and helped lead them to their Super Bowl victory in 2018. Pederson is reported to be signed on

as head coach for the Eagles through the 2022 NFL season.

The results of this game were closer than expected, since the Eagles were projected to win much more easily. However, this is only the first game of the season for the Eagles, and it seems like they’re off to a great start.

After this disappointing loss to the Eagles, Washington will have an opportunity to redeem themselves when they go up against the Dallas Cowboys this upcoming Sunday, September 15.

So what’s next? This week was only a preview of the upcoming season, full of unexpected wins and a couple of heartbreaking losses. Although it’s only 1/17th of the way through the season, there will be plenty more exciting matchups to watch for this upcoming weekend as we transition from week one of the NFL to week two.

THE PHOENIX SPORTS

PAGE A12

Men’s Soccer Hot Through First Games

Photo courtesy of Swarthmore College Athletics

Francis Eddy Harvey Sports Writer The Men’s Soccer team has had the best start to the season in years, winning their first 5 games.

Captained by seniors Oliver Steinglass and Joseph Bradley, the Garnet are looking to challenge for the Centennial Conference Championship and a bid to the NCAA tournament — a feat the team last accomplished in 2010. The Garnet, with a core of returning players and the addition of new faces, are optimistic and looking forward to the chal-

lenges that lie ahead.

Led by forwards Joseph Barile ’21, Bless Tumushabe ’23, and Ayo George ’22, the team has a lethal attack.

This attack is balanced out by an experienced midfield consisting of seniors Trevor Homstad and Omri Gal and juniors Charley Ward and Woojin Shin. This collection of players has been efficient through the first games of the season, dominating the midfield and creating goal scoring opportunities. The team has scored at least two goals a game. Barile leads the team with four goals, while Shin has three apiece

and Homstad had two.

It should be noted that the last time the men’s soccer team went 4-0, in 2014, they ended up going 4-6-1 in their last eleven games, winning just three conference games in the process, and not making it the Centennial Conference playoffs.

Senior midfielder Joseph Bradley tries to keep things in perspective for the younger players, who have not experienced losing seasons. Bradley, although happy with the team’s success, thinks they can do better:

“We just have to work on being more consistent, there’s no denying the potential but it’s a grind day in and day out. The good thing is that every guy on our roster is ready to work for anything and everything. We’ve had a couple rough seasons in the past couple years and you can tell that this group of guys isn’t settling for that this year, it’s something you can feel throughout the team.”

Likewise, Steinglass the starting goalkeeper, is happy with how the season has gone so far, but realizes there is much room for im-

provement.

“I think we’re off to a great start but still need to work on our defensive organization,” added Steinglass.

“Conceding [a goal] in every game so far is disappointing and I think once we work out a couple of things we’ll be much harder to beat.”

Like Bradley, three-year starter Steinglass notes the change within the team over the years: “There are a lot of things that are different between this year and the last few years. I feel like our team mentality has changed a lot and now we play with a big chip on our shoulder …

We’re also much more prepared for matches than we were in the past few years.

The coaches have done a great job making sure we know all of our roles in the system that we play.”

The team’s head coach is Eric Wagner, who is in his seventeenth year. He is assisted by Ciaran Dalton, Tor Hotham, Harry Ischiropoulos, and Brendan Grady.

Each coach with their specific skill set, brings something unique and valuable to the team. For example, Coach Grady’s expertise in set pieces seems to have paid off thus far, as the Garnet have scored three goals from these positions.

Due to injuries and suspensions, Swarthmore’s defense has been shuffled around a number of times this season. All-Conference left back Felix Lanyian ’20 came into the season with an injury, as did right back Michael Gross ’21, who started a majority of the games last season.

In their absence, paired with a combination of Ben Lau, Harry Nevins, and Jason Mueth in the backfield, Derick Mueth ’23 and Sean Nolan ’23 logged significant minutes. Their ability, as first years, to compete at the varsity level illustrates the depth the Garnet possess — depth that has been lacking in years past. Typically five to six players come off the bench each game.

The Garnet will look to continue their winning ways this next wednesday on September 18th against St. Mary’s College. This will be a tough challenge, as St. Mary’s hold a 4-0 record through their first games.

Men’s soccer, however, are looking forward to the challenge, hoping to improve in every game leading up to conference play.

Athlete of the Week: Kim Kockenmeister ’22 Joseph Barile Sports Editor Swarthmore’s first Athlete of the Week for the 2019 fall season is Kim Kockenmeister ’22 of the Swarthmore women’s soccer team. She was voted Centennial Conference Offensive Player of the Week for women’s soccer after netting four goals in Swarthmore’s 7-1 win against Eastern Connecticut State on September 1st. Kockenmeister is a Greenwich, Connecticut resident majoring in computer science, and also plays on the women’s basketball team. Kockenmeister scored her first goal about four minutes in, added her second just after the ten minute mark, and scored two goals in the second half of the game. Kockenmeister and the rest of the Swarthmore women’s soccer team will be in action at Clothier Field on Friday evening vs. Stevens University.

Joe Barile: What was your confidence level at in a game where you scored four times?

Kim Kockenmeister: I really focused on putting myself in the best position where I could get the rebound or follow my teammates’ shots. That’s how I scored two of my goals; I was just simply in the right spot at the right time. The other goals were from different angles but were shots I’ve practiced many times.

[Head] Coach Todd [Anckaitis] has been helping me to find my shot and working on my attack which I really appreciate. It helped that my teammates were supportive of me and kept feeding me the ball. It made me feel as though they trusted me led to more confidence, so I couldn’t have done it without them.

JB: How does it feel to tie the Centennial Conference record for goals in a game?

KK: It’s still a surreal feeling for me, but to say the least I feel proud because I worked really hard this summer. Especially to see it show up so early in this season makes me optimistic for what’s to come. While I feel more confident going in, this also makes me want to keep working hard. I have a new standard for myself and want to continue to improve and play for my teammates. None of the goals could have happened without them.

JB: How has playing a season of college soccer already helped you?

KK: I definitely think coming in as a sophomore, I was able to be better prepared for the year.

I now know what the intensity level Division III soccer is and I have been able to adapt my mental and physical game. I learned from some of the best players in the conference and changed

over the summer to make myself better.

JB: Do you think that your experience/skills on the basketball court benefits you in any way when you play soccer?

KK: Basketball has allowed me to think faster because the game is constantly moving and your transitions from defense to offense can be within seconds. I have learned to think faster in decision making and adapting to different situations. Basketball is all about plays and working with your teammates on the court so I see that component on the soccer field.

JB: How has the group of forwards on the team responded to the graduation of All-American forward Marin [McCoy ’19]?

KK: Marin is definitely one of the best forwards I have been fortunate enough to work with.

She left such big shoes to fill, but I think all the forwards have been working really hard to fill that void. We are still learning to work with one another and getting used to working in different pairs and learning each others strengths and weakness. I have no doubt that we will figure out a system that works best for us.

Nara Enkhtaivan / The Phoenix