Swarthmore Phoenix, September 13, 2018

Today in OPINIONS: Sydney Covitz on underpaid students A7, Giorgia Piantanida on studying abroad A7, Laura Wilcox on economic policy claims A5

PHOENIX

THE

Athlete of the Week

Meet Sarah Girard of Women’s Volleyball

VOL. 140, NO. 1

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Photo Essay

Mexico: a Symphony of Colors

September 13, 2018

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The independent campus newspaper of Swarthmore College since 1881

Working at Swarthmore, part 1

Interim Dean of Students Jim Terhune hired

The push for an undergraduate union Bayliss Wagner News Editor Note: This story is part of an ongoing feature series on labor at Swarthmore. Stay tuned for more about the WA debate, work-study at the college, Swarthmore’s employment policies and the challenges UUWS will face in next week’s Phoenix issue.

The United Undergraduate Workers of Swarthmore held their first event, a “Mass Training,” on Saturday, Sept. 8 in the Intercultural Center. As a get-

The week ahead

to-know-you exercise, attendees — of which there were about 16, including eight first years — arranged themselves in the room around the center, approximating a meaningful location relative to Swarthmore. In the north stood Will Marchese ’20, a UUWS leader.

He chose Chicago, where he organized for higher wages and health insurance for restaurant workers two summers ago. Other students in the room took turns sharing their stories. Some voiced concerns about fair compensation in their future careers, such as teaching. Some were from small

towns where family members faced poor working conditions.

Some had worked at unionized businesses; others, factories. All aimed to change working conditions for students at the college through unionization.

The group first appeared on August 16, when they created a website, Facebook page, and video featuring Jissel Becerra ’20, Grace Dumdaw ’21, Marchese, Sara Laine ’21, SGO President Gilbert Orbea ’19, and Faith Booker ’21, and an unnamed alumna. Their concerns ranged from payment

of Resident Advisors to unpaid WA training to wages and student debt. The next morning, they announced their position in a Voices post sent out to the student body, which followed Dean of Admissions Jim Bock’s announcement on Aug. 11 that students who hosted prospective students would no longer be paid.

They cited this as emblematic of a deeper problem.

“Drawing on this nation’s history of worker violations, Swarthmore College has been complicit in underpaying and mistreating

undergraduate workers for far too long,” the post stated. “We face skyrocketing tuition costs, insurmountable student debt, and stagnant wages — forcing us to navigate Swarthmore College as both its students and its workers.

We know that Swarthmore College can afford to pay us what we deserve and treat us with respect, yet time after time, the college has deliberately chosen not to do so.”

Though they did not publicize their efforts until the hosting continued on page A2

BEP construction continues, phase 1 to be completed in 2019

Thursday How to Read in College (and Grad School) 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.

Kohlberg Hall Scheuer Room Multi-Purpose Room Talk by Prof. Tim Burke (History Department) on how to read in college and grad school.

SwatDoulas Interest Meeting 8:30 - 10:00 p.m.

Kohlberg Room 115-Classroom Interest meeting for SwatDoulas, a chartered student organization committed to educating the campus community about reproductive/ birth justice and empowering students to become doulas who support clients in all realities of pregnancy and birth.

Friday Drop/Add ends 12:00 a.m. - 11:59 p.m.

Drop/add ends. Last day to delete a course from or add one to permanent registration Saturday Consulting Bootcamp 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Science Center Room 199-Cuniff Hall Tiered Classroom Attend our Consulting Bootcamp, led by Management Consulted, on Saturday, September 15. You can also use our school subscription to access the Management Consulted site for additional resources and tutorials.

Sunday Resistance to Anti-Semitism: Past and Present, Local and Global Lang Performing Arts Center Room (LPAC) 101 Cinema “Resisting Anti-Semitism: Past and Present, Local and Global” is a symposium to be held at Swarthmore College’s LPAC Cinema on September 16th, 2018, co-hosted by Dr. Sa’ed Atshan of Peace and Conflict Studies and Rabbi Michael Ramberg of the Interfaith Center and the Office of Religious and Spiritual Life.

The subject of anti-Semitism has sparked heated debate in colleges and universities and we hope to model productive dialogue and engagement on this important issue.

WEATHER Somewhere between hot and cold

CONTENTS Campus news A1-A3 Arts news A4 Opinions A5 Sports A6 Read more at swarthmorephoenix.com Copyright © 2016 The Phoenix

Andrew Zhu / The Phoenix

Laura Wagner, Keton Kakkar, Ganesh Setty Senior Editorial Board On August 30th, The Phoenix’s senior editorial board sat down with Interim Dean of Students Jim Terhune. Terhune took on this role on July 30th, just under a month before incoming first-years arrived on campus for orientation. The position of dean of students was left open by H. Elizabeth Braun, who resigned amid protest and controversy over allegations that she mishandled sexual assault cases.

Before taking on the year-long position, Terhune worked in education consulting. Prior to that, he was a dean at both Colgate University and Colby College. Terhune started his career working in student activities at his alma mater Middlebury College.

Terhune secured his current role at the college following a months-long search process by the Selection Committee for the Interim Dean this summer. The search committee included Professors Nathalie Anderson, Ben Berger, and Nsoki Mavinga; Emily Almas from admissions, Zenobia Hargust from human resources, Isaiah Thomas from the dean’s division; and Margaret Cohen ’19.

Cohen described what she was looking for in the interim dean.

“I was looking for somebody who would make an effort to get to know the students as an entire body and somebody who would, in general, be forthcoming and someone who the students would be excited about,” she said.

Ben Berger, director of the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility and associate professor of political science, was another member of the interim search committee, and also part of a committee solely consisting of faculty that considered candidates as well. Berger said that he was looking for a candidate who would be thoughtful about

Walls are being added to the new BEP building as well as heating and cooling systems, an essential stage for workers to continue building during the colder months ahead.

Dining services shortens Essie’s hours, faces backlash from student body George Rubin News Writer

At the beginning of the semester, Swarthmore’s Dining Services significantly decreased the hours of Essie Mae’s Snack Bar as a part of a larger plan to shift late-night staff from Essie’s to the dining hall and Science Center coffee bar. The decision quickly sparked outrage on social media; an online student petition received over 450 signatures, prompting Dining Services to extend weeknight hours by an hour and a half. The Dining Services Advisory Committee, a group of students and administrators representing student interests, had pushed for extended hours at the coffee bar but wasn’t aware that the Dining Services team would reduce Essie’s hours to accomplish that goal. Dining services did not communicate the changes to students until Friday, Aug. 31, three days before the start of classes.

At the end of this past summer, Dining Services revealed that Essie’s would close at 9 p.m. on weekdays, instead of 12 a.m., close completely on the weekends, and that students would be given less flexibility in terms of the options available for a single meal swipe. They also announced that Swarthmore’s student-run cafe, formerly known as Paces, would be relocated to Sharples, renamed The Crumb Cafe, and would now accept meal swipes.

Students have a certain amount of meal swipes which they can use in the dining hall, and points which they can spend at the cof-

fee bars or at Essie’s. In previous years, students had the option of using a meal swipe for a “late night snack” at Essie’s, which allowed them to purchase seven dollars’ worth of food items after dinner closed.

Alex Jin ’19 was one of the first students to find out about the change when it was announced during his Residential Assistant training. Jin immediately created a student petition over social media to oppose the change.

“Some of my fellow RAs were saying things like ‘someone should start a petition’ and I said to myself, ‘yes, someone should, so I’m gonna do that,’” said Jin. The petition ended up receiving over 450 student signatures, and administrators extended Essie’s hours from 9 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. due to the overwhelming student support. However, students still lack flexibility in what they are allowed to purchase for a single meal swipe.

Jin cited a variety of concerns arising from the curtailing of Essie’s hours, including that student-athletes and members of other student organizations that meet during normal dinner hours would be unable to find meals on campus. Because of the way teams must share field space and the nature of their practice schedules, some athletes have to eat both before and after practice, their post-practice meal happening after Sharples closes, said Jin. Kevin Hudson ’21, a member of the cross country team, confirmed there were certain times when his workout extended past Sharples

operating hours and he relied on Essie’s for his evening meal.

“There have been times when I’ve been on the track on my own, into 7 to 8 p.m.,” said Hudson.

Sharples was closed by then, so if I didn’t have Essie’s, I wouldn’t have had anything on campus to eat.”

Jin was also concerned about how students with dietary restrictions would cope with the change in what could be purchased for a single meal swipe.

“We still don’t know what it’s going to be like if you are vegetarian or vegan,” Jin said. “The flexibility of those seven dollars used to mean you could get a bunch of options.”

He also mentioned that firstyears, who must choose between the two meal-plans containing the most meal-swipes, would have less flexibility when using their meal-swipes at night.

Assistant Vice President of Auxiliary Services Anthony Coschignano attributed the change of Essie’s hours to a need for extended weekend hours at Science Center coffee bar as well as the expanded operation of the Crumb Cafe to seven nights a week.

Natasha Lodhi ’19, who served on the Dining Services Advisory Committee since its inception last semester, confirmed this reasoning, saying that cost-consciousness and staffing shortages played a role in the changes. She also said the committee had pushed for extended science center coffee bar hours, and the Dining Services team had good intentions in trying to act on student feedback.

“It wasn’t that they didn’t know we wanted the Sci coffee bar to be run longer, they just had an issue with the staffing,” said Lodhi.

“That’s been on their minds for a really long time and this was their way of solving it.”

Dining Services created the Student Dining Advisory Committee midway through last semester as a way to incorporate the perspectives of an expanding student body. The committee was involved in the decision to rename the student-run cafe and move it to Sharples and to extend the Science Center Coffee bar hours.

Lodhi also made clear that the Student Dining Advisory Committee played no role in the decision to close Essie’s early. In fact, the committee wasn’t made aware that Dining Services would need to reduce hours at Essie’s to ac-

continued on page A2

commodate the change.

“When we discussed as a committee that we want to extend our Sci coffee bar hours, we didn’t say that in exchange we should slash Essie’s hours,” said Lodhi.

She cited cost effectiveness as the main reason administrators sought to reduce Essie’s hours.

According to Alex Jin, who along with Guin Mesh ’19, met with members of Dining Services and Interim Dean of Students Dean Terhune, Dining Services are operating at a higher cost than during the 2017-2018 school year because of the changes.

According to Jin, the Dining Services implemented the reduction of hours at Essie’s and the expansion of the Crumb Cafe as part of a master plan to move continued on page A2

Andrew Zhu / The Phoenix

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THE PHOENIX NEWS

September 13, 2018

Fall construction updates: BEP, Sproul, dining, Mertz, steam plant

by Bess Markel News Writer

According to a press briefing on Sept. 6, construction plans for a new Sharples Dining Hall and a student union are well underway and will continue throughout the semester. In addition, progress continues on Biology, Engineering, and Psychology building and the Sproul Intercultural, Interfaith, and International Student Center, which will be completed by fall break. The college is also looking to find a way to use sustainable energy sources to reduce carbon emissions.

The school is looking to create a new dining hall space that can accommodate all students more efficiently, as well as turning Sharples into a student union space for various student groups to meet.

“This would enable a better student dining experience … we think about student commons and where students want to spend time,” Greg Brown, vice president for finance and administration, said at a press conference on construction updates.

As the student body continues to grow, so do lines at Sharples.

When Sharples was originally built in 1964, it was only designed to hold 900 students. Due to student body growth over the past 50 years, the college now has to fit 1,577 students into the dining hall and feels that it’s time for a bigger space.

“The board has agreed this is indeed a project. We have done a lot of extensive background work over the last year. There was a programmatic committee with students, faculty, and staff to talk about what our overall dining program should be,” Brown said.

The process to renovate Sharples is already underway and Brown is hopeful that construction will start in the summer of 2020. Currently, the college is working on finalizing design and architecture plans. The process began with the college requesting qualifications from 18 firms that specialize in dining hall design.

“We invited seven to make proposals to us. In probably October

or so, we will be inviting three of them to come. We will want to have some students involved in that conversation. The program committee is reforming this year so that the committee will be involved in this,” said Brown.

Construction of a new dining hall is expected to take two years.

After the completion of the dining hall, the college will then begin transforming Sharples into a student union. This is expected to take an additional year.

“One of the challenges of this project is we need to feed the student body. We can’t do any work on Sharples until [ the new dining hall] is finished,” said Brown.

Many students are excited about the new plans for Sharples.

“I think it’s honestly great that they are going to do something.

I just hope that they design the space in a way where it doesn’t get as crowded. I almost wish that they would keep Sharples and just have two dining halls,” Amelia Tomei ’19 said.

Nearby, the Sproul renova-

tion is almost complete. The old Sproul observatory was transformed this summer into the Sproul Intercultural, Interfaith, and International Student Center.

Interfaith staff members moved from Bond Hall, the former Interfaith Center, to their new offices in Sproul before classes began; the full space will open after fall break. Their former office spaces have been converted into spaces for CAPS appointments. The building opening is delayed because the college is waiting on a custom wood ceiling for the main common space which includes a kitchen, a large dining area, and a lounge area.

“There’s also a meditation space [in Sproul]. There’s a collaborative space downstairs that students have already been excited about. There is going to be a wall down there [in the collaborative space] that’s all whiteboard,” Associate Dean of Diversity, Inclusion & Community Development Shá Duncan Smith said.

Across campus, the new BEP

building is on schedule to open phase one in 2019. Walls are being added to the new building as well as heating and cooling systems.

This is essential for workers to be able to continue building during the cold winter months.

The college is also looking to turn away from steam energy and find a more sustainable way to power this building and other building on campus. The college currently generates its energy at a steam plant and funnels it to different buildings around campus, a process that produces a large quantity of carbon emissions.

Swarthmore is working with an engineer to create a master plan for sustainable energy.

“The steam plant will eventually be decommissioned. Some of our other work is very focused on energy and carbon reduction. We have our carbon neutrality goal of 2035 and part of that goal, in order to meet it, is getting rid of the steam plant,” Andy Feick, associate vice president for sustainable facilities, operation, and capital

planning, said.

Next summer, work will begin to renovate Mertz residence hall, which was built in 1980. The college is still working on a final schedule for that project as they are not sure if all of the work will be able to be completed in one summer.

“We have to replace the windows and the roof on the building.

All of the interior finishing would get replaced. We have a lot of cooling and piping work to do.

The back steps that go into Mertz need to be rebuilt and redone. [It is] a lot of small work and some pretty major mechanical work,” Feick said.

The college hopes that with the new buildings, they can better meet students’ needs.

To Terhune, part of that goal of transparency includes ease of access to senior administration.

“I think it’s important for students to have access to whatever member of senior staff has oversight over a particular area of focus and interest. I also know for a fact that the folks on senior staff want to have access to students and want students to have access to them in those ways. So I wouldn’t want to be seen as an obstacle to that, and to the extent that it’s appropriate in certain circumstances I could facilitate making those connections for students,” he said.

He stressed, however, that his role is not to act as an intermediary between students and senior administrators. “I actually feel fairly strongly that the dean of students shouldn’t get in between students and the other members of senior staff who have direct oversight over particular areas.”

Terhune also noted he would not only reach out to student organizations through “traditional ways” like meetings and community discussions, but also potentially by inviting student groups to dinner at his home, Sharples, or Essie Mae’s.

“I think there’s an awful lot of interesting things that one can hear and learn from students if you’re just able to just kind of figure out a space where you can get them in a place and let them start talking,” he said, also indicating he would work with the college’s Student Government Organization as the dean of students has

traditionally done.

SGO President Gilbert Orbea ’19 emphasized his expectation that the dean make an effort to be informed of the campus climate and his interest in Dean Terhune’s goals for the semester.

“I’m looking for awareness, and when I say awareness I mean I want someone who is conscious of what is going on on campus.

And not just what’s going on in terms of, ‘I’m having a coffee talk,’ not consciousness of ‘Sharples is salmon night tonight,’” said SGO President Gilbert Orbea ’19. “I mean consciousness of what is gripping campus, what are people talking about.

[I want to know] what is he going to do with the staff that he has, the resources that he has, and the pull that he has, little as it be in his one year, to respond to that, to whatever the climate may be.”

Terhune was cognizant of the challenges that come from attending an elite institution, particularly for those who are less financially privileged.

“The sort of hidden inequalities that probably in many ways when you stop and think about it really are never all that hidden, right? … The notion for a long time I think was if we just give people access, then they’ll have an equal experience. And we know that’s not true. … It’s a little bit like peeling an onion, you peel back one layer, and you discover there’s several more to go. And so I think we’re not even half-way through the onion.”

Additionally, Terhune affirmed

that the dean’s discretionary fund, which is used to help students from less privileged financial backgrounds navigate difficult situations, would continue to exist.

Crucial, though, will be how Terhune and his successor fare with Organizing for Survivors, the organization that conducted the sit-in that preceded Dean Braun’s resignation and the subsequent hiring of Dean Terhune.

Olivia Smith, ’21, a core member of O4S, feels that the dean should avoid repeating mistakes she felt Braun made.

“Just speaking for myself, but with the values of O4S in mind, we really lacked transparency and accountability with Liz Braun, and we want those goals to be elevated in a new dean,” said

Smith. “[...] I think that approachability is another big deal. And that means students who feel angry, harmed, are seeking change, but also hopefully students who are happy with what’s going on can feel like they can reach out, and it can be civil and we can not have to come to these big ... I don’t want to call them extremes, but I want dialogue to be easier and I want structures of change to be better facilitated by the dean’s office.”

O4S has an upcoming meeting with Terhune scheduled.

Dean Terhune will only be a member of the Swarthmore community for a single academic year. This transition will culminate in the college hiring a permanent dean of students.

plications of being at a place like Swarthmore and how influential it is,” Booker said. “Last year, O4S, they were in the Associated Press and ... there were TV [news] references and there would be Fox News anchors very angry about snowflakes at Swarthmore College.”

Thus, with their three-phase plan and organizing strategies, UUWS seeks to set a precedent for colleges nationwide to unionize.

“When we thought about this, we thought about modeling a campaign and a unionization drive that can be replicated across colleges throughout the nation,” Becerra said. “So our plan is obviously centered on meeting Swarthmore students’ needs, but we also want to have our campaign be replicated.”

UUWS organizers have been in contact with students involved in the Union of Grinnell Student Dining Workers, a group that successfully unionized in 2016.

UGSDW was the first undergraduate workers’ union to sign a contract with a private college or university — in this case, Grin-

nell College, a small liberal arts college in Iowa. Since signing its first contract, UGSDW has successfully negotiated pay raises for student dining workers, instituted mandatory health and safety training, and introduced a system to process workplace grievances.

Cory McCartan, a Grinnell senior who was the first president of UGSDW, believes that UUWS’s biggest problem going forward will be to figuring out how to communicate with the college without provoking legal action.

The college choosing to fight the unionization effort could have tremendous repercussions if the case reaches the National Labor Relations Board, whose decision could affect the fate of undergraduate workers’ unions at all private institutions. The Board’s members, a majority of whom are Trump appointees, are unlikely to be sympathetic toward student workers.

“I think, for undergraduate and graduate unions, that’s the first and foremost what they’re going to be focused. How can we ensure a level, fair playing field before we

start getting the NLRB election rolling? UUWS is going to face those same challenges as they go through this process because I doubt Swarthmore will be happy to welcome them on campus,” McCartan said.

As of the Mass Training, UUWS had not been in touch with college administrators but organizers expressed that they are willing to speak with the administration.

However, SGO discussed the group and its concerns during their executive board meeting on Sept. 9. They had planned for Orbea, who is a UUWS member and the President of SGO, to discuss UUWS at his meeting with Vice President of Finance and Administration Gregory Brown and Financial Aid Director Varo L. Duffins on Sept. 11. However, they instead discussed JobX, the online job application site, and possible changes to undergraduate employment that the college is considering. In addition, SGO will be appointing representatives to a student employment committee led by Brown.

we get the best of both worlds.”

Students expressed mixed feelings about the changes. Ollie Tenenbaum ’21 said he was most affected by the lack of flexibility when using late-night meal swipes at Essie’s.

“I just go for snacks, nothing else. Why are they making it more complicated?” Tenenbaum said.

Other students communicated a neutral view of the changes.

Ben Stern ’20, who lives off campus, said that while most of the changes didn’t affect him, the extended Sci coffee bar hours came in handy when studying late at night.

Whether or not students support the changes, Coschignano

confirmed that Essie’s current hours would remain. He did mention, however, that Dining Services would be responsive to feedback from the Dining Services Advisory Committee.

Terhune, continued from A1 the role of the dean’s office and facilitate meaningful, rather than superficial, conversations across campus.

“I think everybody on the committees approached this by thinking to ourselves, ‘Is there a way that we think the dean’s office ought to work so all of the different consistencies on campus are satisfied.’ [...] Our questions were partially informed by wanting to know ‘what does this candidate think about what a modern dean’s office should do,’” he said. “[…] A lot of our questions were informed by a desire to figure out [if the candidates] would be able to convene different kinds of conversations and listen to multiple constituencies, really listen, not just make people feel good, but hear them, and implement some of the things that they’re talking about.”

The final selection was announced on July 24th, a little over a month before the senior editorial board sat down with Terhune.

In the interview, Dean Terhune described some of his goals for the year, like wanting to examine the work of the dean’s division and make sure that the permanent dean of students is in a good position to serve students next year and beyond. Though Terhune was certainly aware of specific issues students have raised with the college’s administration, such as Title IX policies, alcohol policies, dining hours, and student labor, he did not speak to specific questions on student priorities, explaining that he was reluctant to speak definitively on

the topics without first having an opportunity to listen to students.

“My goals really are to work with this staff, in terms of thinking about the work of the dean of students’ office, both in terms of what’s happening on the ground, but also kind of taking a step back and thinking broadly about what the mission and purpose is for the program, with the idea that we can help position things nicely for whoever comes into the role as the next permanent dean to be able to take it in any number of different directions,” Terhune said.

Terhune also expressed that communication between senior administration and students was a priority for him, adding that he would be as transparent as possible with information that did not involve student privacy concerns.

“My orientation is really to be focused more on ‘what can we say’[…] When things bubble up on campus it’s because they’re important issues they are significant issues that impact students in really important ways. When students are expressing interest in learning more about that, it’s because they care,” he said. “[I]t’s easy on August 30th in the afternoon in a hypothetical here to go, ‘This is how I approach these things.’ It gets trickier sometimes along the way.

But I can easily say and comfortably say, like I said, my default position is going to be on the side of ‘How can we convey what is going on, how can we be as open as possible,’” Terhune continued.

Undergrad union, continued from A1 decision came out, Marchese and Becerra conceived of the idea to start an undergraduate workers’ union at the college in May 2018.

They had both been hired to work as Writing Associates and were dissatisfied with the program’s compensation during the first semester of being a WA. They began pitching the idea to friends and eventually expanded their network. UUWS draws on a long tradition of labor-related movements at the College in the past, such as a Living Wage Campaign that led the college to adopt a living wage for its staff in 2002 and the Swarthmore Labor Action Project (SLAP) in 2014.

Many members of the group have also engaged in other forms of campus activism. Marchese is a leader of Students for Justice in Palestine and was also a core member of Organizing for Survivors (O4S), a group that staged an 8-day sit-in in Parrish Hall in May 2018 to protest the school’s handling of Title IX cases. Becerra is a leader of Swarthmore Sunrise, a campus divestment group.

Pearce, who also participated in

O4S, connected previous campus movements’ unfulfilled goals with the constant shifts in membership due to students graduating. “[The administration makes] small concessions rather than meeting the actual [demand],” she said. “‘Oh, we have a lot of Spring of Discontent activism, okay, we’re gonna change the alcohol policy. Fixed it!’ And then a few years later, we have to go back and be like, ‘No, you didn’t actually fix that.’ And they rely on that student turnover to wear people out, ‘cause they’re staying here forever. They live here. They have a million-dollar house right over there.”

According to Pearce, UUWS both draws inspiration from these past movements and hopes to circumvent some of the problems they’ve faced.

“Say when we get a contract and everyone’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, cool,’ there’s still going to be a union that exists and can renegotiate or fight for the contract to be honored when people try to break it,” she said.

However, according to UUWS,

their movement is distinct in its goal to provide a long-term, selfsustaining structure for students to voice labor concerns.

“The difference between [the Living Wage Campaign] and what we’re trying to do — We’re thrilled that it was successful, but that instead of just being a campaign that just reaches a goal, a union provides the structure to outlast and to continue,” Marchese said.

At least 50% of student workers have to vote in favor of building a union in order to authorize it.

The group is hoping for a 70% majority. After that, according to another Voices announcement

by UUWS, all members of the union will vote on their demands and work towards negotiating a contract with the college.

“I would describe it as a leadership structure building another leadership structure,” Becerra said.

According to Booker, recent protest movements at the college have garnered national attention, and UUWS hopes to do the same.

“Sometimes it feels [that] people take for granted the im-

Dining Services, continued from A1 late night meals to a new dining center, for which an architect and consultants will be hired this fall, according to an email from Coschignano.

“During this academic year we will be working with a dining consultant to develop a Dining Master Plan,” Director of Dining Services Linda McDougall said.

“This plan will help guide the future programming for dining at Swarthmore for the following years and with the construction of a new dining hall.”

The Dining Services Advisory Committee also pushed to relocate The Crumb to Sharples.

Members of the committee felt that Sharples was underutilized

and decided to shift The Crumb into that space would help solve the problem, said Lodhi.

“Paces itself, and the committee that runs it, wanted more hours, more space, but there’s also the issue that paces is a party space,” said Lodhi. “That was the main reason the hours were prevented in many ways. In this way

ARTS

September 13, 2018 PAGE A3

A Singaporean’s take on “Crazy Rich Asians” Lijia Liu Arts Writer

If you asked your barista or Uber driver to name a New York icon, they might say the “Statue of Liberty”, “Central Park”, or “the Empire State Building.” Ditto for London – “Big Ben” or “London Bridge” — or any other prominent city in the Western hemisphere.

Now, ask them about Singapore, and they might draw a blank. I know I still do, even after living there for almost all my life. I never knew how to explain the city’s most iconic features because unlike New York or London, Singapore hardly served as the backdrop for the hottest films or television shows.

But this summer, “Crazy Rich Asians” changed that. The film catapulted my country into popular culture – it was the backdrop for the hilarious yet touching romantic comedy.

There were beautiful aerial shots of the financial district, tantalizing spreads of street food, and of course, dramatic displays of opulence in the mansions of the ultra-rich.

For a small country often associated with corporal punishment and a ban on selling

gum, “Crazy Rich Asians” lent Singapore an air of desire and wonder so unlike its austere reputation. A good part of the film features real locations, blurring the line between fantasy and reality.

After the protagonists, Nick Young and Rachel Chu, land at Changi Airport, their friends take them to Newton Food Center, one of the biggest street food markets in Singapore. They drive along the well-maintained highways, breezing past public housing estates and tropical bougainvillea blooms. Rachel meets her friend Peik Lin in the hip area of Tanjong Pagar, where eclectic cafes are nestled among two-storied colonialera houses.

Of course, nothing screams “crazy rich” like a wedding party in Gardens by the Bay, a park set in the heart of the city with massive, purple, avantgarde “Supertrees” – giant tree-like sculptures with lush vines twirling around their metal frames. In the distance is Marina Bay Sands, a luxury hotel and casino with the world’s highest infinity pool on the 57th floor.

Perhaps the most absurd display of affluence was the

Young family’s enormous estate. In land-scarce Singapore, where more than 80 percent of the population lives in highrise public housing, having a massive property symbolizes nothing but obscene wealth.

Unsurprisingly, scenes in the Yungs’ mansion were filmed in Carcosa Seri Negara, a house in Malaysia where the British High Commissioner used to live during colonial times.

Unlike Singapore, Malaysia has far more land for the rich to relax in their giant mansions and beach hotels, so that they need not be cramped into their Singapore penthouses. (Full disclosure: I think Malaysia is a great place.)

All these vibrant scenes bring the allure of high society to my humid little island and I am more than happy to see Singapore making a splash on the silver screen. Some, however, have criticized the film for its superficial depiction of Singapore, which reinforces the stereotype that it is full of wealthy, educated, mainly Chinese individuals.

Indeed, “Crazy Rich Asians” does not portray all that makes Singapore unique — not its industrious working-class folks;

Accessing the arts in Philly Shelby Dolch Arts Editor

Philadelphia is often cited as an easy, fun resource for students to utilize during their time at Swarthmore by various officials of the administration.

And, though Philly is a seven dollar SEPTA ride away, it is not necessarily accessible to low-income students, especially when it comes to the arts. There are ways to obtain SEPTA tickets from the college through student groups or the Lang Center, but the costs for art museums can’t always be completely covered. Art museums and exhibits can sometimes cost close to thirty dollars just for one person.

For some low-income students, myself included, this is not a feasible amount. There is no lack of incredible arts and activism in

Philadelphia, but it can be hard to find things that won’t empty your bank account. However, there are places in Philly that are much more affordable and accessible to everyone — if you know where to look.

The Institute of Contemporary Arts, located on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus, is a great place for art lovers to go, for example, and is completely free to the public. Throughout the year they have a variety of changing exhibits and themes for visitors to explore. The ICA has hosted emotional exhibits around queer identity and other more educational exhibits such as “Broadcasting: EAI at ICA,” a piece around the history of broadcasting in relationship to the ICA. What made these pieces so emotional to me when I discovered the ICA for the first

Crossword​ b​ y Ziv Stern Across:

1 - Mathematician whose life inspired “A Beautiful Mind” 5 - Brahmin or Untouchable, e.g.

10 - Tourists’ paradise in Indonesia 14 - Resound, or re-sound 15 - Breakout sci-fi horror film for Ridley Scott 16 - Country that neighbors Yemen and the Strait of Hormuz 17 - Potential name for 60-across's enraged equestrian club?

19 - Object adjacent to a hard place, proverbially 20 - Traditional tents of the Great Plains 21 - Wisecracking 23 - Hooter 24 - Fuss 25 - Command from a dentist 28 - Potential name for 60-across's breakaway beekeeping club?

35 - Composer of “Hamilton,” to his friends 36 - Title for Macbeth or Beowulf 37 - Fencing style without right-of-way 38 - Not pro 40 - Clear (of) 41 - "Nuts!"

42 - The addition of Arts makes it water vapor?

43 - Prequel to Nintendo’s “Brawl” 45 - Release on Wall St. 46 - Potential name for 60-across's anti-architecture club?

48 - Too 49 - Word with ‘-ly’, in the OED 50 - Hamilton’s bill 52 - Words before “Go!” 55 - Be taken in by 59 - Pasta sauce type and brand that only differ in an accent 60 - Home of the Earthworms and Warmothers, or a hint to 17-, 28-, and 46-Across 62 - Henchman with a hunchback 63 - Hint of color 64 - Keister 65 - Amigo, to an Aussie 66 - “The Simpsons”​ ​bus driver and the Iron Chancellor, for two 67 - Divulge to the Phoenix, e.g.

Down:

1 - Amphibian used in a witch’s brew, maybe 2 - Traditionally, the area of land that could be plowed by two oxen in one day 3 - Pump or heel, e.g.

4 - DIY East Asian meal

time, was the rawness that made up the pieces of art that filled the exhibits. There is a tangible intensity surrounding every exhibit that causes you to think deeply about the world around you. The ICA is a powerful place for students to connect with a variety of artworks and escape from the stress of Swarthmore for a few hours.

Contemporary artwork can also be found at the Philadelphia Art Alliance, which was established in 1915 and presents a variety of artworks created in different forms. PAA strives to explore the word ‘craft’ as a verb, especially in relation to the works it hosts, some of which include ceramics, jewelry, textiles, and sculptures. PAA is part of the the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and works to connect its history to that of

Most of the film’s main characters are Chinese, with the occasional non-Chinese Asian serving as masseuse or security guard. This grossly underrepresents the 36 percent of non-Chinese Singaporeans, especially Malays and Indians, and perpetuates stereotypes that minorities cannot be rich, educated, or worthy of starring in a film supposedly about Asians.

But the film is not meant to be a documentary. It is supposed to tell a compelling fictional story about how insanely wealthy some people are. The fact that the Youngs are “crazy rich” is an indicator that this is not the way most people, Singaporeans or not, live.

Beyond the glitz and glamor of old money is an emotional vulnerability that all of us, regardless of wealth or social status, can sympathize with.

When Astrid cries in the car, we feel sorry for her because she is a woman whose husband has betrayed her, not because

she is a wealthy socialite about to ruin her makeup.

Even Nick’s mother, the formidable Eleanor Young, who opposes her son’s relationship with Rachel, is not immune to human emotion.

In the expertly-shot mahjong sequence, where the game’s progression symbolizes the tussle between love and family, Rachel explained to Eleanor the sacrifice she was willing to make for Nick and his family.

She gives Eleanor the winning tile to represent Eleanor’s victory in the tussle between marrying for love and being loyal to one’s family duties.

Despite her initial misgivings, Eleanor relents in the end, giving Nick her own emerald wedding ring for him to propose to Rachel. She put her son’s happiness above her notions of family honor, an exceptionally difficult thing to do for a Chinese matriarch who believes that family comes before self. We see beyond Eleanor’s harsh exterior and discover the loving mother within.

These touching moments remind us that the film’s namesakes are not simply defined by power and privilege, just as Singapore is not defined by

high-end boutiques, expensive hotels, or wealthy Chinese families. At their very core, even if we may believe otherwise, the ultra-rich are people with emotions and feelings like all of us.

“Crazy Rich Asians” is not meant to be a perfect representation of Asian culture or Singapore, and there are definitely issues that it neglects. If we focus on what the film covers, however, we see that its value lies in building a compelling and emotional storyline. Understandably, after the chronic under-representation and tokenization of Asian actors in Hollywood, there are lots of of high expectations for the film, but I do feel that asking a rom-com to satisfy all kinds of demands is impracticable.

Rather, I hope that the film provides a start for normalizing Asians in American popular culture, whether that happens though starring a more diverse Asian cast in other films, or showing mahjong tournaments in television shows. Of course, I also hope that my city, much like New York or London, will be featured in more mainstream films and not just on inflight magazines.

the university. Though I have never been to the PAA, it is still is an interesting place to visit as a century-old museum that is free to public.

Powerful art can also be found at the Asian Arts Initiative located in Chinatown. AAI hosts a variety of exhibits and performances surrounding issues of race, gender, sexuality, identity, and a wide range of other topics. The center aims to uplift the stories of the diverse communities of Philly and use art as a tool for social change.

This is the second place in this list that I have personally visited and can attest to its beauty and power. When I visited, the main exhibit was “Those Who Talk Back.” It was a collection of signs and banners that spoke about immigration and struggles of the marginalized. AAI, besides host-

ing incredible works of art, is an incredible resource for the community — offering workshops for young people, residencies for artists, and a space for community gatherings. AAI also makes itself accessible in that it also is free to the public for general admission.

For those who would like to not only view artworks, but also would like to actively learn more, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts is a wonderful place to explore. PAFA is a museum and school that costs twelve dollars for students with a valid college ID. The academy also hosts free ‘Art at Lunch’ lectures on Thursdays, as well as free family development arts academy projects on Sunday afternoons.

For those who love performing arts, Philly also has a very active dance community. One

place for students to view beautiful performances without paying large costs is Ballet X, a premier dance company in Philly. Ballet X allows free viewing of student dress rehearsals for the public. Estilo Dance Company, another great dance organization,specializes in Latin dance and hosts Salsa Tuesdays at Lucha Cartel with a free salsa lesson.

There is no shortage of things to do in Philadelphia, especially for free. It is important to note, however, that this article is by no means a complete or fully comprehensive list of some of the more accessible art museums and exhibits in Philly. But you can still enjoy the beauties and cultures of the city without even having to pay (sometimes).

not its endearing vernacular of Chinese, English, and Malay words; not its stellar public transportation systems; most certainly not its racial and ethnic diversity.

5 - Setting for a round table?

6 - Shakespearean outcry 7 - Honorific never used with the last name alone 8 - Plain White ____ 9 - Catch, as in a trap 10 - Something, in a wedding rhyme 11 - Run ____ 12 - Delicately frilled 13 - Octopus emission 18 - Take an axe to 22 - TV spots 25 - / 26 - Companion of the Nina and the Santa Maria 27 - Put six feet under 29 - Chucked 30 - Rastafarian messiah Selassie 31 - Genocidal hero created by Orson Scott Card 32 - Month that is also a given name 33 - Harvests souls 34 - Era-defining hashtag about harassment

39 - Sophomoric, like freshmen 43 - Sways with, as music 44 - Clergy, nobility, commoners, and press 47 - NFL six-pointers 48 - Word before house and kingdom 51 - Biblical verb ending 52 - Lady known for her Poker Face?

53 - Showbiz achievement in four media 54 - Knob-head 55 - Therefore, in the cogito 56 - Ripped 57 - Word with Major or Minor 58 - Sneak a look 59 - Lip 61 - Animal one would expect Vince Formica to study?

PAGE A4

THE PHOENIX ARTS

September 13, 2018

Mexico: a symphony of colors

by Carrie Jiang Arts Writer During this summer break, I went on a trip to Mexico and Cuba. These countries, so foreign compared to my home culture in China, enchanted me. I felt that my horizons were broadened by these feasts of the senses.

In Mexico, my visit was mostly focused in Yucatan peninsula, which consists of coastal cities and historical sites related to Mayan culture. Since this was my first time in central America, the scenery and culture felt overwhelming to me. I would like to share all the different and beautiful colors I recorded during my stay there, which reflect my personal perspective of Mexican culture.

During my trip, I learned that Mexican traditions are largely connected to ancient Mayan culture and religion. Surrounding the Mayan pyramids, there were souvenir stands selling handmade products that, I was told, show traditional Mexican religious symbols. Interestingly, skeletons, considered to be a taboo in China, are popular symbols here. When I first saw the colorful skeletons on sale, I was slightly shocked, because according to my culture skeletons are mostly ominous, representing fear and death. However, what I saw during this trip, as well as what the famous movie “Coco” has portrayed about Mexican culture, tell me that skeletons sometimes carry people’s buried memories with their deceased families and friends, which add a layer of love and tenderness to the cultural symbols.

Besides the culture and religion-related products, Yucatan cities that I visited were also vibrantly colorful. In a gift shop near the historical site Tulum, I found everyday objects such as carpets and cloth dyed in extremely bold colors by the locals.

These carpets shined their hues and patterns under the summer sunlight joyfully.

In Merida, another Yucatan city, even the ordinary streets take on the most spectacular colors. Walking in the streets that form a fairy-tale world, I felt that this was how a summer day should be.

This picture was taken in a coastal Yucatan town, Campeche. Perhaps because of the unique city structure and appearance, everything reminded me of a theater stage. In such a vivid and lively setting, commonplace, daily interactions also seem to take on a vibrant, story-like beauty.

The second half of this essay, detailing Carrie’s experience in Cuba, will be published in the next issue of the Phoenix: “Cuba: The Many Shades of Music”.

Profiles in art: Yixuan “Maisie” Luo, piecing life together Nicole Liu Arts Editor

Above the restless heads of students waiting in long lunch lines that extend beyond the double stairs at Sharples, three paintings — “Man Eating Crispy Chicken,” “Man Eating Greasy Pizza,” and “Woman Eating Juicy Wrap” — silently loom. True to their straight-forward titles, the individuals in these paintings seem to be focused — devoted, even — to the act of eating and nothing more. The eyes of these eaters, sometimes downcasted towards their food and sometimes directed ambiguously into the distance, never meet their viewers. These individuals are self-enclosed, their desire — hunger — and its need to be satiated, pure and frontal.

“I’ve always be interested in food, consumption, and the physical body gesture of eating,” said the artist Yixuan “Maisie” Luo (she/her/hers) ’19, who is majoring in studio art and minoring in religion. “For the paintings in Sharples, I found three of my friends from Swarthmore to model for me. I bought them food and they ate as I painted them.

I want to capture the activity of physically consuming food — eating in a very ‘primitive’ way: the gesture [of] how people chew

their food, how people bite into their food. This performative act of eating — it is a very natural thing for us to do.”

Luo created these paintings during her sophomore year, after she transferred to Swarthmore from art school. A lot of Luo’s recent projects, however, continued her interest in close reading and presenting what she calls “all things related to people.”

“I am very interested in ideas such as raw human needs, natural ways of living, and being present at the moment, ” Luo said. “It’s something that in the fast-paced, modern living style, people don’t really notice or pay attention to or appreciate.”

Food items, being integral to human life, often occupy important and unexpected roles in Luo’s art. A recent collection of self-portraits Luo created, bearing titles such as “Watermelon Baby” and “Watermelon Looking At Me,” captures her interest in learning about pregnancy, womanhood, the self, and different physical perspectives. Gradually looking from the bottom frame of “Watermelon Baby” upwards, the viewer seems to gaze out of the artist’s own eye — looking down at a pregnant body, with wisps of long, dark hair hanging at the edge of vision. As the gaze travels up the painting, however, the viewer will realize that the

baby bump is actually a watermelon tucked inside a loose, blue sweater. The viewer’s gaze not only travels up the different spaces of the painting (and the different spaces of the artist’s studio depicted in the painting), it also travels through time where the reality of the artist’s pregnancy is slowly unveiled.

“During [my recent creative thinking] process, I’ve been reflecting on what’s most meaningful to me and realize that I can speak the most confidently about myself,” Luo recalled. “I started reflecting on my identity and the things around me and trying to use arts to capture my surroundings and thoughts. My recent reflection surrounds my identity as a woman, my interests of becoming a mother, learning about the process of pregnancy and giving birth, and the emotional physical connection between [a mother and her child] — knowing that I am not a mother and I’m not experienced on this topic at all.”

Luo chose to use the watermelon as a symbol because of its rich connotations across different cultures, among which are “fertility” and “freedom.”

“In Frida Kahlo’s last painting, she painted a watermelon to symbolize life,” Luo said, “It’s also red and very fragile — that reminds me of a living being.

Also, the patterns on the watermelon are actually the stretch marks of a watermelon, which is similar to how a baby grows and stretches the skin of their mother. Another reason why I use a watermelon instead of fake pregnancy tools that you can buy on Amazon is to show that this is only my [personal] interpretation of the pregnancy process of women. I’m just trying to learn about it. “ Luo embraces all artistic mediums that allow her to express herself creatively. Besides oil painting, she also focuses on craftwork and folk art because she is deeply fascinated by how these disciplines integrate art into everyday life. Over the summer, she and Catherine Williams ’19 visited the famous quilt-making communities at Gee’s Bend, Alabama, to document the oral history of community elders. The month of researching, learning, and recording Gee’s Bend art and artists has inspired Luo to produce quilts of her own — featuring an apple core from different angles and degrees of oxidation.

“I know that the apple can have a lot of symbols, especially in the Christian tradition. It can even be seen as a symbol for evil desire, but I wasn’t interested in that aspect,” Luo explained. “The apple core is the leftover part of an apple that people [usually]

throw away or compost. But it [contains] the imprint of how our teeth is biting into it — biting the apple is also a very ‘primitive’ act without any forks or knives. Every time you bite into it, the apple core is always different, so I’m very interested in the physical form of an apple core.”

“Also, the apple core has a shape that kind of looks like a body — maybe that’s also another reason why I’m interested in that.

I find a lot of beauty in the form — it also changes color so quickly.

I had an apple core model — a real apple core model — as I quilted and its color completely shifted. I kept putting it in the freezer because it took a long time to hand-sew that quilt. And every time I bring [the apple] out it just gets soggier and nastier and browner and browner. It changes all the time.” To Luo, the many, unexpected hues naturally developed by the apple core poetically echo the quilting process, where scraps of many-colored clothing, old and new, get pieced together.

Despite her knowledge of and creative works in multiple artistic disciplines, Luo hesitates to label herself an artist. “I think sometimes when I give myself a title, it limits myself into just focusing on one thing and [abandoning] any other possibilities in the arts. One of the things I learned

here at Swarthmore is that I can do so many different kinds of things: being an art conservator, research about crafts, research about art in religious context or body space.”

“This reminds me of one of my questions to an elderly member of the Gee’s Bend community: if she ever considered herself as an artist — she has been handsewing all her quilts for her whole life,” Luo recalled, smiling.

“And she just said ‘no, that’s just simply what I like to do. And I do it every day.’”

(The new exhibition “Piece Together: The Quilts of Mary Lee Bendolph,” which features work by a Gee’s Bend artist Luo studied and interviewed over the summer, is currently on view at List Gallery till October 28. A corresponding exhibition “Responses to Gee’s Bend,” which features 17 pieces of art (including Luo’s apple core), is also currently on view in McCabe Library’s Atrium.

Multiple panel discussions about the List exhibition will be hosted in the coming weeks, the earliest of which is happening on Thursday, September 20 from 4:305:30 p.m. in the adjacent Lang Performing Arts Center Cinema.

The McCabe exhibition will also have a Curator’s Talk on October 23 from 4:30pm to 6:00 p.m..)

Campus Journal

PAGE A5 September 13, 2018

ARTS FASHION FOOD LIVING PHILLY PROFILES ST YLES

Reflections on coming back from abroad Julius Miller CJ Writer

The last assignment I had in my abroad class was to practice coming up with a thoughtful and mature answer to the inevitable question: “How was your time abroad?” After having spent five months in Seoul, South Korea I thought that I could come up with a direct answer.

I had plenty of time to answer it, too. Afterall, 69 was the number of days I had between coming back home from Korea to Swarthmore.

Now as I sit down in McCabe, typing my response close to midnight, I realize that the words that I had in mind can’t fully encapsulate the breadth and depth of my experiences in Korea. To say that it was incredible, challenging, and life-changing for me might be the understatement of the year. Suffice to say, so much happened that I can say that while I’m not different, I’m also not the same.

Let me elaborate — I blogged about my experiences as they happened to me while I was abroad. I called it “Finding my Seoul” (cheesy, I know, but I thought it was genuinely clever and would make Dakota Gibbs ’19 proud) since I wanted to discover who I was without Swarthmore.

See, I’ve noticed that the longer that you’ve been at this campus, the easier it gets to fall in line with the pack and develop a “herd mentality.” Now that I’m a senior I can confidently say that people are genuinely concerned about saying the wrong thing to the wrong person. Word travels fast around campus, and you don’t want to become the pariah for the next week (or rest of the semester depending on how bad you f***** up). It’s hard to let go of a grudge, Lord knows that I’ve tried.

That was what was refreshing about Korea. I had the opportunity to make mistakes — you know, those things that everyone makes and what makes us human. As a result, I developed a better sense of myself as I weighed and considered issues everyone back home debated on my own terms.

This was invaluable since, as progressive and positive the Swat bubble is, the real world isn’t like that. It’s messy, complex, and oftentimes dismal. I discovered this through learning about the #MeToo movement in Korea, the North Korea-US Summit, and the history of Japanese military sexual slavery.

In regards to that atrocious history, I learned that sometimes the world operates in cycles. Back in high school, I learned about the horrors of the Japanese internment camps during WWII. In Korea, I learned about the history of “comfort women” (women forced into prostitution) and how the Japanese government set up that abominable institution for its soldiers.

To me, it was simultaneously ironic and mind-blowing that one group of people could inflict so much trauma onto others while receiving pain at the same time (in this case the same time period during WWII). It was troubling, but impactful since it forced me think of the ways I’ve been hurt by people in my past while thinking of the pain I’ve inflicted on others.

I focused primarily on engineering and economics while abroad, but history has been my best teacher. I’ve learned the importance of recognizing your own flaws and striving to be better on a daily basis. More importantly, I’ve learned how powerful an apology is and the importance of forgiveness. The biggest hope I have coming back from Korea is to right the wrongs that I’ve made and to forgive myself when I fail.

Before, I had set for myself a high bar for academic performance and personal interaction among my peers.

There were always people on campus who I admired because to me they had it all together. I wanted to be like them because I thought they were the shit. Now I feel that no one really is, which is why I’m more elated to be my own person, flaws and all.

Being outside America, I disengaged from current affairs and political issues to focus on living my best life.

While I was able to reach new levels of personal growth, I also experienced a unique existential crisis. I purposely detached myself from the visual onslaught of the lives robbed by the police. I don’t remember which video it was, as I’ve seen so many black bodies lay lifeless and become a Twitter hashtag that they’ve all blurred to me, but when I watched it the full reality of what it means to be Black hit me at full force. Waking up from a blissful dream into an awful night was made even more bitter when I didn’t have the community I fostered back at Swarthmore to help me process my emotions.

For a period of time, I fell into a repeating cycle of fear, rage, and sadness. Interspersed within these stages was guilt stemming from the

fact that I had been given a wonderful opportunity from God to learn, grow, and enjoy what the world had to offer — forgetting the fact that my own community was suffering.

When you’re far away from your parents (like other side of the world far), they tend to worry a little more. When I called my father and told him about my recent lows, he gave me the same advice he’s been giving me all my life: “Whatever you do, don’t fall into despair.” In the past when he’s said this I’ve always had some sort of community to fall back on: either family or Swarthmore African-American Student Society (SASS).

However, since I was on my own I had to rely on myself to get out of my own funk, and in so doing, realized an inner strength that I didn’t even know I had. Getting out of that depression, I realized the significance of having a dream. Up until going abroad, I was going through the motions of trying to get two degrees and then landing a job afterwards.

It’s different, when you finally realize your passion.

It gives you vision which in turn empowers you to push through dark days. For me, it’s honestly refreshing knowing the path that I want to take after graduation and the man that I want to be. Once you realize your gaps, you have nowhere to go but up.

Maybe this newfound purpose I’ve had for the past few months carried over into the way I am now. I don’t feel like I’m significantly different or “brand new,” although it’s nice to see your friends gas you up when it comes to your taste in fashion. I have to give credit where credit’s due and thank the friends I’ve made in Korea for opening my eyes to what style could be.

Despite the numerous cultural differences and the language barrier, I strongly believe that we as people are one in the same. We want to belong in a community, we want to have the space to express our dreams and fears without fear of judgment, and we want to contribute in some way that makes an impact — whether that be for your family, community, or nation. I’ll never forget the incredible experiences and wonderful memories I’ve made in Korea. I’m grateful to Swarthmore College for giving me the opportunity to study abroad, and I’m eager to finish my senior year and start the next chapter in my life.

Freshman vs. Sharples Clio Hamilton CJ Writer

When I pulled into the Wharton parking lot two weeks ago for the start of my first year here, sweating and trying to concentrate long enough to tell a mob of helpful Swatties where my room was, my main concern was trying not to melt in the heat. Any first-year or transfer student can tell you that getting used to Swarthmore is hard enough — anyone you’ll meet will probably be an expert in five things you’ve never heard of, people are always referencing someone named Jellow, and all the trees are labeled but there are three separate buildings called Lang.

It’s even more difficult to acclimate to Swat when the temperature sticks to emergency levels for what feels like the entirety of orientation week.

Nevertheless, after seizing the last fan in Worthmore and

mentally mapping out every building on campus with AC, I managed to put the heat aside and deal with an issue I’d been worrying about ever since I committed to Swat: food.

During my senior spring, bored and sick of telling parents, friends, teachers, and random encounters at an ice cream shop that no, I didn’t know where I’d be going to college, I started scrolling through old issues of the Phoenix and trying to figure out how Swatties think. The people here were scary-smart, but also seemed weird enough for me to fit in — enough references to ‘Dactyl Hunt, Bird Club and a now-defunct party called GenderFuck (sidenote: we need to bring this back) clued me into that — and I thought that yeah, Swarthmore could be good for me. But then I started seeing a string of references I didn’t get: ski lodge, big room, pasta bar, all

written in tones that ranged from weariness to disgust, all going back to one dread word: Sharples.

Sharples! That baffling combination of consonants I’d heard way back in August when I toured campus, accompanied by a rare grimace from our otherwise cheerful tour guide, as he gestured to a squat brick building to our left. The only dining hall on campus, and, as I discovered reading article after article in the Phoenix that April, the most hated thing at Swarthmore. This seemingly universal dislike for Sharples freaked me out, enough that I almost considered committing somewhere else. Did I really want to go to a school where everybody complained about what they ate? If the food was truly that horrific, was my digestive system going to suffer permanent damage? But, swayed by the promise of financial aid and an Continued on A6

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix

Swat Ed: First Base

By P. Afdersex ’69 Swat Ed is the Phoenix’s biweekly sex education Q & A. We accept all questions and they are kept completely anonymous. If you’re looking for medical advice or a diagnosis for that weird thing on your genitals, get in touch with a medical professional! For everything else, email swatedquestions@gmail.com. Today’s subject matter includes condoms, sex toys, and butt stuff.

I’ve heard conflicting accounts about whether it is safe to have sex with only a condom for protection - with no other forms of birth control. Is that okay?

-Wrap Alone The short answer is yes, it is safe! With regards to STIs, condoms and dental dams are your main options for STI prevention.

For pregnancy prevention, condoms are 98% effective in preventing pregnancy when used perfectly. The average real life statistic is 85%. So if you have PIV (penis in vagina) sex a lot, you might feel more comfortable with another birth control method like the pill or an IUD (that way, if you do have trouble with a condom, you’ll have a backup method working). If you don’t have PIV sex often and you’re conscious of safety every time, then you’re probably good to go using just a condom. For more exact instructions on using condoms perfectly, you can check out plannedparenthood.org’s section on putting condoms on.

Sex with my partner is fine, but I've been thinking about trying sex toys. I'm worried that it'll upset my partner. How do I bring this up? And where do I even go to buy them?

What should I look for?

-Toys “R” Us Let’s start with where to buy them. Adam and Eve is a good online resource for sex toys as well as Shevibe, Njoy and Come As You Are. When buying a sex toy, look for body safe materials. 100 percent pure silicone (food-grade or medical-grade), medical grade stainless steel, aluminum, glass, glazed ceramic, and ABS plastic (although it is porous - more on that later). Avoid jelly (gel), rubber, impure silicone, vinyl and PVC, and silicone blends. Look for the word nonporous: as long as the material is nontoxic, it isn’t

the end of the world to have a porous toy, but you can never fully clean it and as a result you’ll have to always use a condom over it with different partners. Clean sex toys between uses and disinfect them completely between partners. If you’re sharing sex toys with someone whose STI status is unknown, use a condom over the toy, the same as if you were having sex with them. Good quality sex toys can be had for relatively good prices ($30-50). Avoid using Amazon as a starting point for purchasing sex toys, although if you find a toy on a legitimate website that you like you can sometimes find that same item on Amazon for cheaper.

As far as bringing it up to your partner, a good thing to keep in mind is emphasizing how you want the toy to augment your shared sex lives. For example, a man in a heterosexual relationship might interpret his partner’s desire to buy a vibrator as an indicator of his sexual inadequacy.

Simply put: it’s not. You might consider purchasing a toy that is compatible with both you and your partner’s bodies to start, so that each of you might use it.

Tell your partner that you think it would be a fun addition to sex, and if your partner is amenable, try online shopping for them together. It’s a fun and sexy activity — sex toy names are often hilarious. If your partner is less enthusiastic about getting toys, then it might not be a good fit for your dynamic as partners — but remember that you can always get one for your personal use. Your partner might end up curious or wanting to use it with you, or it could simply be a pleasant addition to your personal life.

My partner and I want to try anal, but we have no idea how to start. I wanna be prepared before trying anything, and it's a little scary.

-Excited Butt Nervous The main thing to remember about anal sex is that, unlike vaginal sex, anuses don’t produce lubrication and are not designed for penetration. So you need two things, in large quantities: lube and patience. It’s easy to go a little too fast and end up with an uncomfortable or possibly negative experience. So try to go into it without any big expectations and just with the mindset of fooling around and having a good time.

With regard to hygiene, it’s pretty straightforward: don’t do it post Taco Bell or Sharples meatloaf, and if you’ve had a bowel move-

ment in the past few hours you’re probably good. Some people prefer to use an anal douche to feel cleaner; it’s up to what makes you more comfortable. A disclaimer about fecal matter: being into anal accepts the risk of encountering fecal matter because bodies are bodies. Freaking out about it might make your partner extremely embarrassed, and it’s like getting mad about sand when you’re at the beach. You knew the risks when you chose to enter.

Okay, so, I'm straight. Probably. I've been with my gf for a while. Sex is fun. Lately she's been asking me to do more stuff with her butt. She seems pretty into it. And I was wondering, what's the hype? And then I started thinking, what if I wanted to try? Help.

(For context, one time she jokingly played with my ass during sex and it felt really good. So I know I like some of this stuff. I just don't know how to do it or talk about it.)

-Backdoor Boy This is a great question. Before I address it, I’d like to quickly say that sex acts are not linked to sexual orientation, which is a thought that pops up frequently around this topic. Men enjoying butt stuff does not indicate that they are homosexual, any more than straight women giving oral sex means they’re gay men.

It’s a terrible thing that there is stigma around it, because malebodied people are uniquely suited to enjoy anal play through prostate stimulation. The prostate is a walnut-sized organ between the bladder and the penis that is accessible through the rectum — it has a lot of nerve endings and has been compared to the G spot in terms of sensitivity.

So, beyond the background information — you can experiment by yourself, in the shower or with gloved fingers if that makes you more comfortable. That way you’ll know what stimulation (internal, external) feels good before you talk to your partner.

When talking to your partner, you can start small and ask her if she could stimulate your anus during oral — this is pretty common, and if she’s enthusiastic about it it should progress pretty smoothly from then on. If she’s more reticent, emphasize how much you enjoy it. As always, some people just don’t enjoy certain activities, but you can always explore it on your own.

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix

PAGE A6

THE PHOENIX CAMPUS JOURNAL

September 13, 2018

Corner of the campus map A first year’s perspective on Mary Lyons Eva Baron CJ Writer About a month after all my other friends from different colleges got their room assignments, I finally got mine (through Cygnet, of course). I didn’t know what any of the Swarthmore dorms were called, so when I saw “Mary Lyons” under my name, I instantly turned to Google to scour for pictures. At first, the building looked strangely out of place in comparison to the other dorms I saw on campus during Swatstruck: it resembled a bed & breakfast with small, slanted windows that dug into what looked like a thatched roof.

While surprising at first, Mary Lyons still seemed quaint and cozy, so I could only assume the experience of living there for the next year would be just that.

But then, in the next picture I scrolled by, I saw the driveway.

Do other dorms at Swarthmore have driveways? Panicked, I couldn’t think of one off the top of my head. Why would a dorm on campus need a driveway, anyway? Setting my computer aside, I scrambled through various letters from Swarthmore (too many, really), and found a campus map. I looked through the dizzying list of names –– why are there so many buildings named after this Lang guy? –– and eventually, after some effort, found Mary Lyons… in the bottom left corner of the map.

Figuring Mary Lyons was some sort of off-campus housing for seniors, I texted my mom laughing the dorm assignment off: can you believe they put me in off-campus housing?

We figured out together, though, after some more intensive Googling, that first-years are very much allowed to live in Mary Lyons. It may be considered off-campus housing, but the childish novelty of that title swiftly wore off. I realized I’d probably have to walk through the sinister, fluorescent-lit tunnel underneath the SEPTA train tracks every night just to get back to my dorm (this was before I knew there was a shuttle). At least there were single-occupancy bathrooms on my floor.

Once the much anticipated move-in day finally arrived, it became increasingly clear that ML really was off-campus housing. My dad even refused to walk from ML to campus just because Google Maps claimed it would be a 15 minute walk.

Considering the 95°F weather, I admittedly understood his reluctance, and half-heartedly agreed to be driven back and forth between “Alaska” and “mainland America,” a joke a friend on my floor coined after just one day of living in ML. Orientation week, however, kept me primarily on campus until midnight. During that week, learning about roommate contracts and alcohol, the distance to ML didn’t even seem that bad (even though it was a sluggish, 20 minute walk in the heat). In fact, I honestly didn’t mind retreating to ML after seemingly being forced to mingle for hours on end, and appreciated the lounge not only for its AC, but also the community it fostered.

That Monday after orientation was different. Setting my alarm for 7 a.m. to catch my 8:30 class (my first class at Swarthmore ever), I was surprised to be jolted awake at

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix 6:15 a.m. instead. Quickly realizing the fire alarm was wailing, I thought I had somehow set it off with my non-existent microwave or candle, and that it was All My Fault that the alarm was going off in the first place (it wasn’t).

When I rubbed some of the grogginess from my eyes, I slipped on my sandals and reluctantly made my way downstairs along with the other equally disillusioned members of my floor. Finally making it down three flights of stairs, I saw the ML lounge out of the corner of my eye and knew that I’d soon find salvation from the blaring fire drill. In this excitement, however, I skipped the very last step of the very last flight of stairs and landed

uncomfortably on my foot.

And it hurt. I had landed strangely on my foot countless times in the past, sure, and I figured the pain from this little (badly-timed) incident would end relatively quickly, even though my foot was clearly protesting underneath my sandal. But once I got up to my dorm, still bitter that I woke up just to get hurt, I saw there was a bump on my foot about the size of an avocado pit. Alarmed, I tried to call my mom, who, like me, couldn’t think of how I would manage hobbling down the stairs and crawling to campus from ML. To my luck, I somehow did manage to hobble down the stairs and catch the morning shuttle. For some reason, I

thought getting to my first ever 8:30 class on time was far more important than squirming to the health center to check on my avocado-sized foot, so I got ice from Sharples and crept LPAC instead. And now, a week later, I’ve got a blue-andpurple stripe down my foot, covering two of my toes. To be fair, it’s a badass bruise, and at least the swelling is completely gone.

While I’m sure the experience of spraining (and badly bruising) my foot during the first week of classes would probably be much more convenient if I lived in, say, Parrish, ML somehow defined and added some humor to the whole accident. Coming home at night with the shuttle, I was

able to laugh about my foot in the lounge with other fellow students as we all simultaneously complained about how annoying that fire drill really was. We’d always conclude our conversations, though, by laughing it off, admitting how much we all actually loved ML, the community that the distance from “real campus” inherently created, and the fact that we’d be able to brag about having crêpes here on Sundays for ML breakfast (even though we don’t know when that’ll come into effect).

I think I actually really like this corner of our campus map.

Seizing the action for my potential A freshman’s exploration on mental health at Swarthmore

Dvita Kapadia CJ Writer Your brain is a mesh of complication — a mess of information forming microscopic three-staged structures that fold in a specific way to create long, weaving bodies that don’t really ever touch each other but still send electrical signals that control your every movement, breath and thought.

It is a tangle of electrical signals called action potentials that send positive or negative signals and are controlled by little channels in the brain made by a selective sieve that serves as a gatekeeper for molecular organelles. It’s a chaotic swirl of these action potentials which then, with their positive or negative signal, form little puzzle pieces that float across the gap between the bodies and latch on to their matching puzzle piece on the other end.

Only then do they release another action potential, another puzzle piece, another latch on and once again, another action potential.

Your brain is a mesh of complication, and with a complication as big as this one,

it is inevitable that mistakes — sometimes vital ones — occur.

In these mistakes lies the basis of mental disorders: perhaps too few puzzle pieces cross the gap, perhaps incorrect positive or negative signals are released, perhaps the channels don’t open up as they are supposed to. Mental disorders form in those moments of disruption that the chaotic logic our grey matter follows.

For a while now, I have obsessed over the brain and its abnormalities. I’ve learned about when and why and where the channels open and close.

I’ve wondered about the different puzzle pieces: GABA and dopamine and serotonin and how they affect the brain.

I’ve amazed over the complex transfer of information or touch, sound, smell bursting through neurons rapidly and, most importantly, I’ve fallen in love with action potentials—intricate, essential and sprouting just as I press my fingers against the keys to type this.

However, falling in love has its drawbacks, and falling in love with action potentials made me hyper-aware of every thought that floated across my

brain. It helped me realize that my brain fell short of reaching its potential because of dysfunctional parts that stopped its action. Falling in love with action potentials made me prepared to plunge face first, eyes shut into recovery.

Depression and anxiety have plagued me for a long time now, and with time and hard work, my mental health has been improving. I have swallowed SSRI after SSRI, made psychotherapy my religion and self-care my God. I have obsessed over making sure my neurons were working like they were meant to be. I have even considered deferring college for a year to mend all the self-hate that infested my brain.

But, I was so enthralled by Swarthmore that my heart wouldn’t let me wait another year to jump into college.

Instead, I decided to engulf myself in all the mental health care resources Swarthmore provides.

In the midst of the bustle of orientation week, I made my first appointment with CAPS, fingers shaking as I filled in the relatively easy form — I was determined to be in control of

my mental health so I could focus on friends, academics and clubs. Classes began in a swirl of busy upperclassmen, expensive textbooks and fast-paced lectures that made clear notetaking close to impossible. The significant stench of stress was already in the air. On my first day of classes, I spent hours in McCabe (not really sure how productive I was truly being, considering it was only day one and then headed off to Worth Health Center for my first appointment with a counsellor.

Admittedly, my first time in CAPS was a little intimidating, I didn’t know what to do — whether to check in, knock, or just wait for someone to come get me—but, as my counsellor welcomed me into the room, I felt myself release a breath I didn’t know I was holding. I’m not sure if it was the cosy room or the soft couch, but I instantly felt comfortable opening up about the happenings of my brain. The initial session was around 45 minutes long and we talked about my situation, why I decided to come to CAPS and what I hoped to get out of the session. I felt so at ease that I found myself vomiting all my

worries out without hesitation or the fear of being judged — something I never felt in past therapy sessions back home.

The conversation made me feel like I could not only tackle the rest of the week, but conquer it.

I made an appointment on the way out of the door.

My first week of classes was good — I felt productive, inspired and ready to embrace all the new experiences that were hurled at me. For a couple of days, all my worries during international and all-school orientation subsided, so I could focus on expanding myself — I let my creativity run wild in new poems. I made new friends and I soaked up the information in class. Then, the thing I feared most happened — I relapsed into self-harm. It happened so fast that I didn’t have the opportunity to rethink my decisions — I woke up in the morning with a weight on my chest and a mission to return to CAPS to stop myself before I felt worse.

Walking into Worth after a rough day was exponentially hard, but to my surprise — I found just what I needed. Izzy, a fluffy therapy poodle stood

waiting there for me. As I petted her soft fur, she curled into my legs, pushing her back against me. I suddenly felt a soft calmness spread around me. I spent half an hour, sitting on the floor of Worth, petting Izzy who seemed to love being scratched. Playing with Izzy was so simple but it gave me a break to think and assess my situation while indulging in her adorableness. For those thirty minutes I only focused on her soft fur between my fingers, how she looked like a fuzzy rug when she flopped on the floor, and how she looked up at me, begging me to pet her everytime I stopped. It was relaxing and a needed break in my stressful day.

My first two weeks in Swarthmore have been a rollercoaster of emotion, but I’m so thankful for the resources that I have found, and others I may find in the future. It’s comforting to know that I have a support system in the paws of CAPS to fall on when my neurons refuse to carry out the action in the potential I know they have.

from Camp Rock. Yes, there isn’t a lot of variety in the dishes offered; leftovers turn up in unexpected places the day after they’re served (see: jerk chicken pizza), the frozen yogurt is usually the texture of concrete, and I’m positive the “fried plantains” I ate the other night were actually bananas.

The big room is as socially overwhelming as I imagined it to be, and I can’t eat in the soon-to-be Crumb Café without feeling like the mural characters in there are trying to steal my soul.

But, for the most part, my meals at Sharples have been fine. They’re fine! The staff there are lovely, and don’t deserve to be berated along

with the food. There’s always some sort of legume and rice combination to be made that’s filling and tasty, the salad bar is fresh and has a good variety of toppings, and the desserts are delicious. On top of that, my roommate and I are on the verge of launching a campaign to have Butter Brickle ice cream available every day, and once they were serving this combination of toffee, chocolate, and cookie which was so good that I took a handful of pieces out with me, stashed inside my water bottle. Last Sunday morning, half-asleep and homesick and looking for comfort, I went to Sharples and had chocolate chip pancakes covered in some sort of magical

cherry-based goop that tasted like candy. It was basic food, food that wasn’t trying to impress me or sweep me off my feet, and it was what I needed to get up and get through the day. I left full, and feeling more like myself than I had in awhile; I left happy.

So okay, Swarthmore: if you don’t like Sharples, I get it. God knows that if I could revamp the Sharples menu I’d ask for something spicier than jerk chicken, for vegetables at breakfast, for an East Asian dish that’s more creative than protein and green things and a soy-saucey goop. Although the dining hall is entirely peanutfree (thanks, WOW Butter!) it’s still difficult to navigate

with food sensitivities, and the space is just too small to offer a choice of dishes that’d please even the pickiest of Swarthmore students. These complaints are justified — but y’all, there’s no reason to make Sharples out to be the hellscape I thought it was before I came here. Our dining hall may not have much in the way of culinary masterpieces, it’s true.

But I’ll still be there tomorrow morning, choosing from the rainbow of melamine plates, snagging a donut before they disappear, and settling into a quiet-ish seat for a meal that’ll get me where I need to go.

Sharples, continued from A5: arboretum full of ubernerds, I decided to commit and to brave what by this point seemed to me like some dining hall from a lower circle of hell.

Fast-forward several months to the first day of orientation: I’ve said goodbye to my family and braved a series of meetings and awkward introductions in blessedly air-conditioned rooms, and now my hall is walking down from Dana to dinner. I’m yelling something incoherent about One Direction to a friend when I realize that tonight will be my first time eating at Sharples as a Swarthmore student. Freeze.

Nobody I’ve met at orientation has said anything terrible about the food here yet, but

what about those articles? The endless complaints of blandness and mysterious dishes!

The weird murals! The pasta bar! Was I about to suffer a culinary betrayal, the likes of which I hadn’t seen since my elementary school cafeteria?

Well, no, as it turns out.

Maybe it’s another one of those #justswarthmorethings, a close relation to misery poker and how much we complain about the weather, but the Sharples of Swat’s collective resentment is not the Sharples I’ve been eating at for the past few weeks. Sure, the interior does look like someone crossed a 1970s ski lodge with an elementary school classroom and added a dash of the cafeteria

OPINIONS

September 13, 2018 PAGE A1 A7

On Aug. 9th, Swarthmore College Dean of Admissions Jim Bock, sent out an email to the student body informing us that they are no longer paying students to host prospective and accepted applicants. In the email, he detailed that instead of getting an hour of pay per prospective student hosted, Swarthmore students will now be compensated in the form of a “one-of-a-kind hoodie.” This

SYDNEY COVITZ OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR change prompted many students and student workers, including myself, to look into the issue of student employment on campus, comparing our situation with those of our closest competitors.

The conclusion I arrived at is that this school can and therefore should increase wage rates for student workers.

This school has a nearly 2 billion dollar endowment and is in the top 10 colleges for endowment per student in the country, yet our student workers receive considerably less pay than those at comparable institutions.

At Swat, there are three student employment payroll

rates for the 2018-2019 academic year ranging from $9.70/h to $10.40/h. Williams College has 11 different classifications for various undergraduate on campus jobs. The wages rates for these positions range from $11.00/h to $15.00/h. The fact that the highest pay rate at Swat is 60 cents less per hour than the lowest at one of our closest competitors for America’s top liberal arts institution is inexcusable, especially considering the fact that Swarthmore’s endowment per student ratio is nearly $7,000 greater than that of Williams.

Other colleges and universities in the top 10 for endowment per student include Amherst College, whose undergraduate pay grades range from $11.00/ hour to $12.50/hour, Stanford with $13.95/hour to $19.75/hour, Harvard with $11.00/hour to $20.00/hour, and MIT at $11.50/ hour.

Disparities in student pay can also be found just across the Tri-co. Although Haverford only pays their student workers between $9.00 and $9.75/hour, Bryn Mawr, with their 797.1 million dollar endowment, is able to set their pay grades at $10.00/ hour to $10.75/hour.

It goes without saying that our institution’s new policy of not paying hosts, along with our embarrassingly low pay grades, disproportionately impacts lowincome students and students enrolled in work-study programs where holding a job is a condition of their ability to study at Swat.

With our institution’s wages for student workers already lagging behind those of our competitors, the decision to stop paying hosts caused students to mobilize and ignited a movement to protect the exploitation of student workers. In response to Dean of Admission Jim Bock’s email, student workers Jissel Becerra ’20, Gilbert Orbea ’19, Amorina Pearce ’19, and Will Marchese ’20 came together and formed a union titled United Undergraduate Workers of Swarthmore.

UUWS first gained momentum through their Facebook page, where they publish powerful videos and posts telling stories of different students with jobs on campus. Here, students have written and spoken about anything from egregious pay to the number of jobs they had to hold in order to remain at this school.

The group had its first organizational meeting on September 8th.

According to their recently launched website, UUWS was founded on the principle that “Swarthmore College has been complicit in underpaying and mistreating undergraduate workers for too long.” The site also underscores the fact that this fight for fair treatment of student workers is not at all new.

They reference the “rich history of labor activism” on campus and underscore that although “Swarthmore College can afford to pay us what we deserve and treat us with respect...time after time, the college has deliberately chosen not to.”

For a college that claims to foster a welcoming environment for students coming from families of all income brackets and financial situations, the college reverts on this promise by underpaying student workers and decreasing the likelihood that students graduate with minimal debt.

In an email sent to the student body from hosting@swarthmore.edu, “One of Swarthmore’s strongest values is that of equal access to resources.” These wage

PHOENIX

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Swarthmore should pay its students more

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Ganesh Setty Laura Wagner Keton Kakkar Kwate Quartey

Editor-In-Chief Managing Editor Managing Editor Editor Emeritus

NEWS Bayliss Wagner Editor Katie Pruitt Editor ARTS Shelby Dolch Editor Nicole Liu Editor CAMPUS JOURNAL Naomi Park Editor Dylan Clairmont Editor OPINIONS Lisa Shen Editor

rates and policies are detrimental to the realization of this promise. These numbers, publically available on the school’s student employment webpage, could also impact the decisions of prospective students who know they will have to work during their time at Swat.

Swarthmore, if you are going to stop paying hosts, the least you can do is take that money and increase the student

SPORTS Max Katz- Editor Balmes Jack Corkery Editor PHOTOGRAPHY Emma Ricci-De Editor Lucca LAYOUT Trina Paul Editor COPY Dan Siegelman Editor BUSINESS

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employment wage rates so that Swatties who relied on that source of income will benefit from it elsewhere. Don’t replace monetary compensation with free sweatshirts. Swat students deserve to get paid.

How to see through politicians’ claims about the state of the economy Many Swarthmore students will decide to pursue careers in public service, including some as economists at agencies such as the Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, or Bureau of Labor Statistics. These Swatties will have the responsibility of interpreting economic data, such as periodic reports on employment, economic growth, and inflation, to determine how the economy is doing. However, they will often have to rely on politicians

LAURA WILCOX OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR

to communicate this information to the public, even though most politicians are not trained in economics. Some politicians, particularly the current presidential administration, have a nasty habit of using economic data to mislead, exaggerate, or make downright false claims about the state of the economy.

Particularly when employment

data is released, the Trump administration claims that the strong economy is a result of its policies, rather than where we are in the business cycle.

Whenever the unemployment rate or gross domestic product growth is released, my Twitter feed is filled with economists pushing back on some politicians’ skewed interpretation of the data and adding caveats and nuances to the administration’s outlandish claims. Given the frequency with which politicians deliver misleading claims about the economy to the public, here are some things to keep in mind when you hear politicians talking about how the economy is doing.

First, remember that the presidential administration’s policies often have little effect on the state of the economy. How the public perceives the economy is doing, which is largely shaped by politicians’ spin on the economic data, could drastically affect

how the public feels about the president. However, the president does not have direct control over fiscal and monetary policy, and other channels of shaping the economy’s trajectory such as regulation take time to implement. The current presidential administration inherited a strong economy; much of the economic growth it takes credit for can be attributed to the fact that the administration was lucky enough to take office during an economic expansion. The Trump administration may boast about many consecutive months of job growth, but if you look at a graph of total employment since the Great Recession (available from Federal Reserve Economic Data), you see a steady increase that has barely budged since the Trump administration began.

Economic data is often revised before being released, sometimes changing interpretations of it significantly. For example,

the monthly employment report is revised twice and has a 90 percent confidence interval of approximately 115,000 jobs. A small increase in employment could be revised the next month into a small decrease in employment. This doesn’t mean that the initial figure was wrong; agencies such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Bureau of Labor Statistics provide timely estimates of economic indicators and then later update them with more complete information.

However, this process does mean that the initial estimate receives the majority of the attention and revisions that change the economic implications of the data may be ignored.

Remember that changes in economic data that seem negative on face value might actually be signs that the economy is doing well. If the unemployment rate ticks up one month, it could be a result of an increase in the labor force participation rate,

meaning that discouraged workers or people previously out of the labor force were drawn back into the labor market. Politicians may miss nuances like this when communicating to the public about the economy, so it helps to get the perspective of economists by following them on Twitter or reading their columns in the newspaper.

Lastly, fiscal policies that are ultimately ill-advised could have initial expansionary effects on the economy. According to the Tax Policy Center, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, a tax reform passed in 2017, would increase GDP by 0.8 percent in 2018 but have essentially no effect on GDP in 2027 and 2037. Additionally, economists almost universally agree that it benefits higherincome taxpayers much more than lower-income taxpayers.

Politicians could spin the short term expansionary effects of the TCJA to their advantage, potentially causing the public to

view the legislation positively and not recognize its negative distributional and budgetary implications.

The vast majority of Swatties will not pursue careers that require them to interpret data about how the economy is doing.

Still, it’s important for the public to think carefully about what their representatives are saying about the economy and whether the administration’s economic policy really has as much as an effect on the economy as it claims.

Swat Global: Australian daydreams It’s September of 2018, and I am officially a junior at Swat. I feel a little queasy just seeing that in writing honestly. Being a junior in college always seemed like that thing my friends who are now graduates would be (I met them as a freshman and they were juniors), a foreign title I would never be able to own. But

GIORGIA PIANTANIDA OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR here we are.

I suppose I always expected junior year to be very different. I always assumed that hey, I would be 20 and, having lived an entire two decades, I’d really have my life together. I thought I would have a boyfriend to whom I would essentially already be engaged, be a lowkey instagram model, and know what I wanted to do post-college. Unfortunately, those daydreams stayed that way — as dreams. Being a 20 year old in their junior year as a Swat student has turned out very differently. First off, I’m writing this piece from my apartment in Brisbane, where I have been studying since mid-July (I know, it’s been a minute). And second,

I feel less like an adult than I ever have before. In writing this, I want others, as well as myself, to understand that everything has not been and continues to not be sunshine and rainbows, but rather hard work and lots of teeth-gritting. Often, I use writing to make something pretty out of something painful, but there’s no space for that right now — we need to evaluate this experience as clearly as possible, even if it includes some painful and hard to admit truths.

I always knew I would want to spend time abroad in college.

I thought I would spend a year studying in Australia. So I guess I did nail at least one of my dreams. But the minute details are where I ended up slipping a bit. I saw myself studying in Cairns, the town right off the Great Barrier Reef, doing marine biology research and essentially living on the beach. However, things have not worked out that way. To begin with, I hate science. Actually, not hate. Just strongly dislike it, and I have been especially averse to it since my brilliant decision to take Bio 2 (don’t listen to STEM majors my fellow non-STEMs — it’s a

hard class).

Clearly, I did not end up in the tiny coastal town of Cairns, where I probably would’ve bored myself to death by the lack of life around. I also (thankfully) am not doing biology research.

Instead, I came to Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland, a ‘city’ by international standards (it’s so small, and hey, I’m used to New York City). I’m also trying to complete my Environmental Studies requirements, so I’ve been taking classes on the marine and terrestrial environments of Australia, thankfully with a healthy mix of ‘fake’ science (classes that have no labs and actually easy to handle after Bio 2) and political science.

I think I was expecting a lot.

When I applied back in October of last year, I wanted the university experience, to meet a bunch of Australians, date one as an excuse to return, and become a well groomed surfer. I wanted a job, I wanted to travel extensively, and I wanted, most of all, to come back to Swat in January feeling like a brand new person (spoiler alert — I’m studying in Northern Ireland in the spring,

so that can’t happen).

Sure, my expectations started shifting a bit as sophomore year kept going, with sophomore slump hitting me right where it hurt most. The problem is that as my life at Swat felt like it was falling apart, I started making Australia an unrealistic fantasy in an effort to find something better to look forward to.

As I lost myself and my closest friends, I started expecting to find a million Aussie friends to make up for it. As I watched my motivation fall apart for classes, I started expecting Australia to provide me with answers for what I really wanted from my studies. I expected to love each and every class and see my grades return to the levels they had been in high school.

I rarely shared these expectations, but people could read them when I told them about my upcoming semester. Most people just shrugged and wished me luck, but there was one boy who slightly stifled my excitement, thankfully. He told me about his experience, and how it wasn’t exactly everything he’d been hoping for. He tried to make me

come back from the wild dreams I had, but I refused to listen. My fantasies were way better than the reality he had been trying to construct for me.

Now, I am not, by any stretch of the imagination, saying I regret my decision. I’m not even saying I hate the experience. I just want to say that honestly, the expectations and fantasies saved me my sophomore spring.

They gave me something real to look forward to, something new and completely unrealistic — something that, perhaps, my stifled writer’s brain had been starving for.

Studying in Australia turned out to be very different. I haven’t made a million Aussie friends, mostly bumping into new acquaintances and friends-for-thenight kinda people at bars and clubs. I still don’t really know what I want from my studies, but I think maybe, ironically, getting back in touch with Swat from across the world has been more helpful. However, on the bright side, my grades are essentially back to high school levels — here, a Swat B- is actually a full A, which is really helping me out. Not sure how the culture

shock will work upon my return, but that’s a senior-year-Giorgia problem.

Brisbane is good — no, Brisbane is great. It’s nothing like I thought it would be. In fact, it’s almost the exact opposite. But the completely unique and special moments I have been able to experience here are unparalleled, and I’m beyond grateful for them.

So Swatties, if I can leave you with anything, it’s that I hope you can have a hard look at your choices, your reason behind being at Swat (or not being at Swat right now) and see through the misery poker and the endless hours spent in Cornell, or even worse, McCabe. Find something real to help you through the worst of Swat, but even through the worst times, find some reason to grow and improve. We’re still so young and have so much life ahead of us and we forget that so easily, but one thing I’ve learned so far is that there’s no use in getting mired in our fear, but rather, we should be facing it head on.

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THE PHOENIX OPINIONS

September 13, 2018

Swat Global: Perspectives from Japan Anyone who studies abroad will tell you that it involves no shortage of misunderstandings. If they claim otherwise, they are lying to you or to themselves. I, however, am under no delusions of complete competence and will gladly inform you that I have stepped on plenty of toes in my various misadventures with public transit. These anecdotes will be dutifully bookended by profound messages about building bridges, establishing a foothold in your environment, and learning the indispensable bow-apologize-tiptoe combo

GINA GOOSBY OP-ED CONTRIBUTOR required to navigate a crowded train at rush hour. The minutiae of everyday life are best understood through such tight squeezes, as I have come to learn the hard way.

Four hours ago. A tiny, bright 7-Eleven next door to my homestay at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday evening. Afro frizzed out in the high humidity, I stepped through the glass doors and set my jaw in the blinding light.

Mission: three 70-yen stamps.

For those who don’t know, Japanese convenience stores — 7-Eleven being one of the larger ones — have everything from lunch sets to cosmetics to manga to stamps. (You can even pay utility bills at some of them!)

You know that aimless wandering you do in small stores, where you don’t want to look lost because you don’t want a staff person asking you what you’re looking for? I was doing

that. No fear, I thought. If I only looked harder, I could find them. Definitely. Indubitably.

For sure. By the time I scanned the envelope stand in vain for the fourth time, I had to admit defeat. Time to practice my language skills. One fear.

No customers at the counter, just a young guy who was trying his best to look attentive. At least if I completely bungled this, nobody else would have to be hurt by the intense awkwardness. A small comfort. With each step, the air grew thick, my shoes stuck to the floor, and sweat beaded on my brow. The green stripes on the counter took on a sinister shade. The attendant, who must have been shorter than I, positively loomed once I stood before him.

“Excuse me,” I said quietly, “do you have stamps?” The air cleared, if only a bit. The humidity dropped from 97 percent to 96.5 percent. I can do this, a little voice cheered in my head.

“How much would you like?”

Some stiffness melted from my shoulders as I mumbled, relieved, “Three, please,” with three fingers raised and a smile beginning to creep onto my face.

We all know nothing lasts forever. Some things, like that ghost of triumph, live for so short a time that they leave a negative impression on the things around them. For instance, when the clerk gave me a quizzical look, I did not simply deflate, but I wilted in spectacular fashion. I was still in the process of my supreme wilt as he hurried to the other

end of the counter to retrieve a small binder. He opened it before me and, lo and behold, here were the stamps!

If thoughts could raise their eyebrows, my thoughts then certainly had one eyebrow raised in a classic Jack Black impression: Ah, I see I cannot merely ask for three stamps, but must specify an amount.

Child’s play. Easy peasy. Time to get my stamps and add this to my list of things I didn’t completely screw up.

A few problems arose, as problems are wont to do.

There were no 70-yen stamps. Simple fix — one 50-yen and two 10-yen. I was silently grateful to the clerk for pre-empting my suggestion.

He started ringing up exactly 70 yen of stamps. Solution: “Ah, sorry, I’m trying to send three postcards…” What a masterful move! Such grace, no grammatical errors, decent volume, and perfect subtlety to convey that I need three — where is he going? The stamps are all here. Oh. Oh, dear.

The clerk presented me with three pre-stamped domestic postcards.

Ah, misunderstanding. The most critical point of cultural exchange, this most logical precursor to understanding is also one of the most painful things I have had the displeasure to experience. Forget people glancing at my hair, or speaking with me initially in English — I have been most struck by the moments when simple day-to-day activities go horribly awry. Getting on the wrong bus. Running out of money on my subway card

SwatGraphics

and having the gate close on me. Failing to properly ask for stamps.

My sheepish smile belied my desire to sink into the floor or be crushed by an asteroid.

Perhaps I even could have been coaxed into instantly disappearing and being replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable (perhaps it had already happened). As it was, none of these things happened, and I was forced to deal with the situation at hand myself.

“Um, I bought some postcards myself…”

In another life, maybe we could have both connected over our miscommunication, had a laugh, successfully completed the transaction, and gone on our ways content in knowing that we had one of those travel blog “transcending cultural boundaries” moments. Maybe.

But in this life, he balked and tucked the postcards under the counter.

Time to wrap this up. If it went on any longer, I may have just sublimated out of sheer embarrassment. I took a deep breath and said slowly, “I would like… 210 yen of stamps.

The 70-yen… three of them?”

His eyes lit up with understanding.

Finally! With whispered apologies for the trouble on both sides, I dug through my coin pouch while the clerk rang up the stamps. Coins firmly in hand, I looked up and saw him tearing the stamps individually with unshaking but slick hands. I’ve learned — the hard way, of course — that customer service in Japan is extremely

important, so I refrained from saying anything. The coins in my palm felt heavier with every passing second. Watching his face contorted in concentration and his hands beginning to tremble ever so slightly was somewhat of an out-of-body experience, in that I wanted to be out of my body, away from the harsh white lights and garish green-orange decals on the counter and floors.

Stamps down. Total achieved.

Money in payment bowl to avoid awkward hand-touching.

Just have to get the stamps and go…!

I already had one stamp in hand when the clerk softly asked me to wait. I watched, bemused, as he pulls a tiny plastic baggie from the binder’s inside cover. Without thinking, I dropped the stamp in. Almost imperceptibly, he tensed. My job: bring things, pay money, leave with things. His job: ring up things, accept money, bag things. Defeated, I drew back and let him place the rest of the stamps in the bag.

But it was over. I heaved a sigh of relief and reached for the bag, ready to be done with my day, with 7-Eleven, with talking.

The clerk again asked me to wait.

He tore off a tiny strip of bright orange 7-Eleven tape.

He sealed the tiny bag of stamps worth 210 yen, two tablespoons of sweat, and enough awkwardness to last through a run-in with that person you see every Tuesday and Thursday in Kohlberg (you know the one).

He proffered the bag with a

look akin, I imagine, to someone who, having never really run before, decided one day to run a 5K. Able to function but in need of some recovery time.

As I re-entered the horrendously humid September night, a warm breeze sought to renew my discomfort. The streets of Kyoto seemed too loud. On my way back to my homestay, I narrowly avoided collision with two businessmen and a bicycle.

Nevertheless, I could not help but feel somewhat victorious. Painful though the process was, I understand it now. As for the street noise, I am slowly learning to tune it out. And I’ve come to find that people will often swerve around me, so I don’t usually have to sidestep into another world of embarrassment. In these moments, I strangely find solace in memories of similar moments in America; on several occasions, I have made a fool of myself trying to order at a restaurant or buy something at a store. Why would Japan be any different?

My time abroad will be full of moments like tonight.

Moments where I am struggling to do something simple, complicated by the language barrier and the sort of miscommunication that truly transcends language barriers.

But from these moments, I can learn how to navigate those interactions and others like it.

Consider it a different sort of “study” abroad.

What you need to know

This year, the editorial board is embarking on a semester-long project to visually explain how various aspects of the college work. Swarthmore, despite its advantages as a small campus community, is certainly no stranger to bureaucracy. We hope this series will start to fix that. This week, we found it fitting to first explain how we the Phoenix operate in a regular week.

Welcome to Fall 2018. A lot happened at Swarthmore last year, and here’s some of what we think you need to know.

EDITORIAL

Last spring, a group of students called Organizing for Survivors conducted a sit-in in the office of then Dean of Students H. Elizabeth Braun.

Citing violations of Title IX policy, they called for the resignation of Braun, as well as that of Associate Dean of Students Nathan Miller and then Associate Director for Investigations Elizabeth Pitts.

Additionally, O4S demanded change in the Title IX process. Approximately 175 students came to the sit-in and the protest garnered national news attention, making it onto the radar of the Associated Press.

After 8 days, O4S ended their sit-in. Dean Braun resigned on May 16th, and over the summer Elizabeth Pitts became Associate General Counsel of the College. O4S has met with President Smith to discuss demands and is still active this semester.

We encourage you to read

more about this movement and the history of campus Title IX reform on our website.

Last fall, Swarthmore Voices formed as a result of student outrage over an oped published in The Daily Gazette, the former daily, online newspaper of the College by the then managing editor.

At the end of the spring semester, The Daily Gazette, which was founded in 1996, announced they would be merging with The Phoenix.

That merger is now complete.

At the end of the semester, members of the student body, as well as members of the faculty, fasted for divestment over the span of three weeks. This followed a change in structure of Swarthmore’s divestment campaign. In late September, Mountain Justice, the student organization that pushed the college to divest, merged into Sunrise, a national movement fighting climate change.

Later that same month, Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine called for a boycott of Sabra Hummus as part of the group’s effort to help end the Israeli Occupa-

tion of the West Bank and Gaza. The boycott resulted in the addition of Sun-Ni brand hummus to Essie’s as well as the campus’ coffee bars.

Also in February, students became able to input their gender pronouns into MySwarthmore. This information appears on faculty rosters.

Administratively, the College underwent some structural shifts, as the tenures of both the Chair of the Board of Managers and the Provost expired. Salem Shuchman ’84 replaced Tom Spock ’78 as Chair, and Professor Sarah Willie-LeBreton replaced Professor Tom Stephenson as Provost. You can find extended interviews with each of these individuals on our website.

Following the resignation of Dean Braun, over the summer Swarthmore announced that Jim Terhune, former dean of students at Colby College, would be assuming the role of Interim Dean of Students. Read our coverage of Dean Terhune in this issue.

A thank you Keton Kakkar Managing Editor

The merger of The Daily Gazette and

Celia Caust-Ellenbogen and Nabil Kashyap

The Phoenix is complete. From a digital

for diligently archiving both publications

perspective that process entailed exporting

and for guiding me through the digital

We would like to thank a few people for

archiving process.

their help in making this happen. Thank you to Professor Buurma for convincing me

Graphic by Emma Ricci

A special shout out goes to Navdeep

of the logic of this decision, and to Profes-

Maini ’19, our webmaster, whose thorough

sor Burke for connecting me with Gazette

competence made the technical aspects

alumna Lauren Stokes ’ ‘04, whose histori-

of this merger bearable. Last and most

cization of Swarthmore journalism assured

important, I want to thank Leslie Leach in

me a merger was a sensible choice. Thanks

Information and Technology Services (ITS)

to the chat support folks at Pantheon.io

and Jonah Langlieb ’ ‘20 for their unyield-

for responding to my endless inquiries.

ing patience and willingness to help.

Additionally, I am grateful for librarians

SPORTS

September 13, 2018 PAGE A9

Women’s soccer dominates early competition Jacob Brady Sports Writer In the last half decade, Swarthmore athletics has seen a renaissance of sorts, with four team sports competing in the NCAA tournament last year, three of them reaching the Elite Eight, and three other sports sending athletes to NCAA individual championships. One of the leaders of this renaissance has been the women’s soccer team, which has competed in the NCAA tournament for the past four seasons, including an appearance in the 2015 national quarterfinals. And this season is looking like it should be no different than any of those past seasons, as the Garnet have been blistering hot to start the 2018 season, going 4-0 and scoring eight times while only conceding one goal.

It would not have been particularly surprising had the Garnet stumbled out of the gate this season, having lost a number of key seniors. The “Big Three” of Hannah Liechtenstein, Katie Dougherty, and Marin McCoy ’19 was finally dissolved as both Dougherty and Liechtenstein graduated. Liechtenstein scored 33 times during her time wearing the garnet and white, good for third in school history, and is now playing professionally in Sweden. Katie Dougherty was right on her heels in scoring prowess, having found the back of the net 32 times. “[It’s] hard to replace that much experience but we’ve got a lot of players with goal-scoring potential on our team who’ve been working, competing and ready for their chance...even several of our defenders were forwards before they arrived at Swat. We have tons of speed as well and there are goal scorers in the first year class as well, regardless of where they’re playing on the pitch,” said Head Coach Todd Anckaitis on replacing the two forwards.

The Garnet also graduated Clare O’Brien, their starting center-back from last season, and Sarah Hancock, who only failed to start once in the midfield in her final two seasons for the Garnet. Converted keeper Sommer Denison, the hero of the Garnet’s penalty shootout victory over Johns Hopkins in the Centennial Conference Championship, also graduated.

Instead, Marin McCoy has flashed her individual scoring ability to help the Garnet maintain their hot start to the season. She has netted five times and assisted on another goal, and she earned Centennial Player of the Week honors for last week. This is the best start to the season for the twotime All-American since her freshman year, and she is only two goals away from her 50th career goal. Brittany Weiderhold ’20 has also scored twice in limited minutes as a reserve, already bettering her one-goal tally from her injury shortened sophomore season. She flashed plenty of goal-scoring promise as a freshman, scoring three times, and finally looks to cash in on that talent as the Garnet look to replace the offense of Dougherty and Liechtenstein.

Sydney Covitz ’20 has also scored for the Garnet and turned provider on a pair of goals.

Seneca Kinn-Gurzo ’20 has also assisted on two goals, and her development as a distributor from the midfield been one of the biggest improvements for the Garnet, perhaps best exemplified by a perfectly placed through ball to Weiderhold that set up her first goal of the season against Stevens. She has also proved threatening from distance with a couple of near misses, adding an additional dimension to the Garnet’s offense. The Garnet also bring back Lizzie King ’21, an AllCentennial selection last season, although she has been quiet to start the 2018 season.

The defense for the Garnet remains solid as ever with

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix Yasmeen Namazie ’19, an AllCentennial selection last season, anchoring an experienced starting back four, along with Melissa Curran ’19, Caroline Coats ’19, and Eleonore Moser ’20. The Garnet defense has, on average, conceded less than a goal per game over the past four years, and has so far only allowed one goal this season. This stellar defense has allowed Coach Anckaitis to get a good look at the Garnet’s potential goalie of the future, Chantal Reyes ’22, as she has played three halves of soccer so far. This has also kept

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix

Men’s soccer kicks off new season Joseph Barile Sports Writer

Cold morning practices and grueling gym sessions defined many Swarthmore men’s soccer players’ spring semester in 2018.

As unappetizing as it sounds, these workouts were not mandatory or organized by the coaches.

Every session was designed and run by players, as NCAA Division III rules mandate that no official practices can be held in the offseason. Players rolled out of bed at 6:30 a.m. on Mondays in order to be ready to go at 7:00 a.m., all on their own accord. Technically, these sessions were “voluntary.”

However, to many players, there was nothing more important than being on the field before the sun rose, ready to improve.

This type of an offseason, where there were almost no days off, was new to the soccer program according to some veteran players.

“In the past, we haven’t really done much in the offseason.

Players would workout on their own, but we didn’t meet often as a team to play and lift. This year, we looked to change that and the results are showing now,” said Nick Ambiel ’19, a captain on the team. After the 2017 season ended in disappointment

for the Garnet, a fierce desire started burning in the team.

With a mix of anger, belief, and resolve driving them, the Swarthmore men’s soccer team put together their most active offseason ever, all in the hopes of delivering a successful season in the fall semester.

When the spring semester ended and players went off to their respective summer destinations, there was an expectation that everyone would continue to work hard on their own. Each member coming to the two-week preseason in good shape was going to be imperative for the team’s suc-

veteran Amy Shmoys fresh, and she is yet to let in a goal.

“Our goalkeeper corps really pushes each other and Amy is providing great leadership to both Syd [Sydney White ‘22] and Chantal,” said Anckaitis.

The Garnet are coming off of a pair of victories at the Engineering Cup in Hoboken, their second consecutive year winning the tournament. A McCoy brace led the squad to a 2-1 Friday victory over Vassar, and the scoring turned more democratic on Sunday against NYU, with McCoy, Covitz, and Weiderhold all

finding the back of the net.

As part of the Garnet’s early season success, they have been able to play with a wide open bench. All rostered outfield players have seen the pitch for the Garnet so far this season (including six freshmen). The early season rotation plays into the Garnet’s goal of a long run in the postseason.

“We have realized over the last few years that [with the possibility of] playing back to back games in the postseason for four straight weekends, we need to not just get players in when the

game is “comfortable” but to create a bigger rotation of subs that is comfortable coming in even in critical moments and not just biding time but making an impact,” said Anckaitis.

The Garnet look to continue their early season dominance with a road trip to Carlisle, PA on Saturday to take on the Dickinson Red Devils, and then another game on Sunday against Penn State Berks. The Garnet beat Dickinson 3-0 last season but have never faced Penn State Berks.

cess. Finally, after months of preparation, the fall season has arrived for the Garnet, and there is a feeling surrounding the team that this could be the year they put together a run into the playoffs.

“I think that there is a different kind of a belief in us. From starters to people that don’t play at all, everybody is invested and thinks that we could go all the way this year. Everyone is on board, and it hasn’t always been like that in the past,” says Zach Viscusi ’20, a three-year varsity soccer member.

This year, the team is comprised of 29 players: six freshman, eleven sophomores, seven juniors, and five seniors.

Ambiel’s co-captain is midfielder Joey Bradley ’20, while Jason Meuth ’21 and Ben Lau ’22 were voted leaders of the sophomore and freshman classes, respectively. This year, the team has new members from all over: Ethan Witkowski ’20 is a junior transfer from Monroe Community College, Ian Withy-Berry ’22 has come all the way from Hawaii, and Harry Nevins ’22 journeyed from London, England to join the squad.

The team has begun the season 3-2, with wins against Methodist (SC), Widener (PA), and Alvernia (PA). This Saturday, they begin Centennial Conference play away from home at Dickinson. Then, next Saturday, the team plays their first conference game at home against Muhlenberg at 7:00 p.m. Other conference games in the coming months include Ursinus, defending conference champions No. 12 Franklin and Marshall, nationally ranked No. 20 Johns Hopkins, McDaniel, Washington College, Gettysburg, and Haverford. The top five teams in the conference based on points (three points for a win, one point for a draw, no

points for a loss) make the Centennial Conference playoffs. The fourth and fifth seeded teams play one another for a spot in the semi-finals against the first seed, while the second and third seeded teams play each other in the other semi-final. The playoffs are single elimination, winner takes all. Last year, Franklin and Marshall defeated Dickinson in the final, while Johns Hopkins, Gettysburg, and Haverford all fell short in the tournament.

This year, every team is a threat.

“Every game is tough. Every game is decided by really thin margins. Last year we were on the wrong side of a lot of those results, but this year we know we have a lot more quality and are looking flip the script,” says Oliver Steinglass ’20, starting goalkeeper on the team. In last year’s regular season, Swarthmore fell to Washington College and Franklin and Marshall 1-0, while tying McDaniel and Johns Hopkins 0-0. A couple goals here and there would have booked Swarthmore a trip to the playoffs in one of the toughest Division III conferences in the country.

However, despite the competition, Swarthmore feels more than up for the challenge.

The team returns last year’s leading goal scorer Woojin Shin ’21 and Swarthmore “savage” player of the year Trevor Homstad ’20. The “savage” player of the year is not a replacement for the Most Valuable Player award, but it does typically go to one of the top players on the team. The award is given to the team member that consistently displayed hard work, toughness, and talent throughout the season. Although Shin and Homstad are poised to have big roles this season, every player is expected to contribute. Besides being a technically, physically, and tacti-

cally better team, the Garnet have made efforts to keep every player involved on game day, even those who do not see much playing time. Anybody who has attended a Garnet men’s soccer game this year will have seen every player on the bench standing up, shouting encouragement to players on the field.

“Personally, I’ve taken a little bit of a bigger role on getting the bench more involved this year. I think there’s a lot of respect within the team. Everyone wants everyone to succeed, and when that’s the case, it’s easy to root for one another,” says Viscusi.

In the preseason men’s soccer poll conducted by the Centennial Conference, Swarthmore was ranked sixth in the Conference along with Muhlenberg. However, the players are not worried about that. The Centennial Conference has underrated Swarthmore athletic teams before: Swarthmore’s baseball team, conference champions and Division III World Series participants, were ranked fifth last year in the preseason poll.

Rankings aside, the only thing the team is concerned about is winning, and they don’t care who scores the goals to make it happen. Currently, five different Garnet soccer players have scored; Yuheng Wang ’19 leads with two while Witkowski, Viscusi, Shin, and Meuth each have one. The contributions from multiple goal scorers, a strong back line and goalie, lively substitutes, and enthusiastic reserves has Swarthmore geared up for its best season in years. In regard to winning, captain Joey Bradley said it best: “It’s not an option, it’s an expectation.”

PAGE A10

THE PHOENIX SPORTS

September 13, 2018

Volleyball serves up early victories Elizabeth Curcio Sports Writer Swarthmore students cannot remember a time that Swarthmore’s volleyball team did not have a winning record, both in and out of conference. For the last three falls, the student body can count on Volleyball to dominate their competition and provide exciting matches.

Last fall the team set a new program record by making it all the way to the Elite Eight after beating Johns Hopkins in the Sweet Sixteen to win the NCAA Regionals. This victory was made even sweeter because Swarthmore had lost to Johns Hopkins a week prior in the Centennial Conference Championship. Many on campus were watching and cheering along as Swarthmore volleyball edged out Johns Hopkins in a 3-2 victory that won them the NCAA Regionals and got them into the Elite Eight for the first time.

Even after such a historic season last year, and losing five instrumental seniors,

Swarthmore volleyball has come out this season stronger than ever. They began their season 4-0, which is a feat they have not done since 2005.

Currently, after playing eight non-conference games, they have a record of 7-1 improving from their last year record of 4-4. With conference play right around the corner, starting this Saturday at Dickinson, Swarthmore volleyball hopes to continue the momentum they have built these past few weeks and bring that drive into conference play with the hopes of once again setting new program records.

With preseason behind them and the necessary adjustments made to compensate for the loss of last year’s seniors, Swarthmore volleyball seem to be well on their way for another year in the record books. Belle Andrews ’20 gave insight into how her team has adjusted.

“Losing five seniors can feel like a lot at first but we’ve become closer as a team and the current senior class is doing

an excellent job leadershipwise on and off the court. The team as a whole has had to step up in different ways but we’ve welcomed these new challenges and hope to continue improving as the season progresses,” said Andrews.

Their current roster of twelve, a noticeable decrease from last year’s roster of seventeen, has allowed the team to utilize all of their talent.

Three seniors currently lead the team: Guin Mesh, Emily Kibby, and Sarah Girard.

These seniors have each made stellar contributions as leaders and players both on and off the court. Recently, Girard became Swarthmore’s all-time leader in digs with 1,585 on her career. She accomplished this feat only two games into her senior year, showing what an extraordinary player she is, as well as making one wonder how many all-time career digs she will get in her final season. Girard has not focused on her own records but instead is looking forward to this season, especially after their incred-

Emma Ricci / The Phoenix

ible season last year. When asked about current team goals for the season Girard responded with: “After such an amazing season last year, one of the things we've really been focusing on is being in the present. We know it would be a dangerous mindset to continuously focus on our success from last year and forget that this season could be just as successful if we put in the work.”

The team’s current mindset of being in the moment seems to be working favorably

for volleyball, allowing them to dominate most of their competition so far. While they have not yet played any conference games, their hard work and continued focus should be enough to support their goal of having another extremely successful conference season. Andrews expressed her thoughts on how their current 7-1 record going into conference play has affected her team’s confidence.

“We are very excited about our first conference match.

We've worked so hard over

preseason and in these first few weeks, which definitely shows in our current record.

We are ready to put in the work this week and play hard on Saturday.”

Swarthmore’s volleyball team continues to shine; their hard work and commitment to their sport can be seen in both their raecord and their general excitement for each game.

Although their first conference game is away, you can catch them playing Ursinus in Tarble Pavilion at 7p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 18th.

by disrupting passes or simply attacking the quarterback. All in all, the potential this rookie class has is limitless, and someday, it might translate into all-time greatness.

But for the time being … the champ is here! If the two references up top didn’t alert you to it, the Philadelphia Eagles are the reigning, defending N.F.L. Champions! But with the taste of championship gold comes the ire and jealousy of 31 other teams in the league, all with one goal in mind — knocking off the champs.

Not that the Eagles aren’t prepared. On the defensive side of the ball, they have a shutdown starting secondary that is able to lock down receivers all game. The rest of the defense is more concerning — certainly above average, but also liable to being exposed by top-flight offenses (like the Patriots last year, who piled on 613 yards and 33 points on the Philadelphia defense), especially come playoff time. Offensively, they are nearly as set as anyone can be, with a dominant offensive line allowing their quarterback plenty of protection, and a solid trio of running backs

in Jay Ajayi, Corey Clement, and Darren Sproles. This is, of course, all before tacking on their quarterbacks, who just happen to be young superstar Carson Wentz and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.

The Eagles also have their concerns. After losing Timmy Jernigan (injuries) and Beau Allen (joined Tampa Bay) from their dominant defensive line, the Eagles could be vulnerable to strong run games. In addition, the lack of consistently healthy top receivers could allow teams to keep Wentz and Foles in check. But all around, the team looks to be in fairly good shape. Only time will tell if the Eagles’ weaknesses will doom them or fade on the way to a championship repeat.

Are you ready for some football?

Kevin Liao Sports Writer As autumn ushers out the last remnants of summer and Swatties swap out beach outfits for textbooks, one thing is still heating up — the National Football League’s 2018-19 season! After a thrilling finish in February that saw the Philadelphia Eagles capture their first N.F.L. Championship, all 32 teams are now ready for the next round, hoping to capture glory and earn the title of Super Bowl champions. In preparation for the coming season, here are summaries of the top stories from the previous season and offseason.

Not surprisingly, I will start with the Super Bowl runnerups, the New England Patriots.

For most football fans, the mere mention of the team draws shudders, grimaces, and words not fit to reprint on a newspaper. The Patriots are the Evil Empire of the N.F.L., the gridiron equivalent of the New York Yankees or the recent Golden State Warriors for basketball fans. In other words, everybody hates them for their consistent success, but

also their fanbase’s insufferable arrogance.

New England’s leaders don’t do much to help that cause either. Quarterback Tom Brady is essentially a preppy high school jock, tight end Rob Gronkowski is the human equivalent of an athletic cheat code, and coach Bill Belichick draws frequent comparisons to Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars. Hence, when the Philadelphia Eagles marched into Super Bowl LII and emerged with the win, the vast majority of the league rejoiced. Ding dong, the Patriots were dead!

The long N.F.L. nightmare was over, and the franchise that had been in three of the last four Super Bowls finally looked mortal.

But with the focus no longer squarely on them, and an unquenched thirst for championship gold, the Patriots may have the perfect opportunity to strike. Though they’ve lost quite a few pieces — namely offensive lineman Nate Solder, cornerback Malcolm Butler, and receiver Danny Amendola, all key role players in their Super Bowl trips — they’ve retained their potent core of Brady,

Gronkowski, and Belichick.

Brady, in particular, has shown no signs of slowing down as one of the game’s top quarterbacks, even as he gets further from his prime. And even as a slightly weaker team on paper, the Patriots continue to be a free agent draw as a championship contender, as players like Corey Coleman and Dez Bryant have indicated interest in joining New England. So while New England may have lost the battle, the Patriots may still end up winning the war.

Meanwhile, as the Patriots look to extend their era of dominance, the future of the league looks bright. The 2018 N.F.L. Draft Class was one of the most anticipated classes in recent memory, headlined by a few stars in particular.

The quarterbacks in this year’s class, namely Sam Darnold (USC), Josh Rosen (UCLA), Josh Allen (University of Wyoming) and Baker Mayfield (University of Oklahoma), are all regarded as potential franchise faces, with Darnold already starting for the New York Jets.

Each, of course, has their own strengths and weaknesses that make them unique. For

Darnold, a powerful throwing arm and athleticism put him above the rest, but questionable decision making and high turnover rates are something the Jets will hope to improve on. By contrast, Rosen will aid the Arizona Cardinals with sharp passes and split-second reactions but may hold himself back with a weaker arm and less mobility under pressure.

Allen, drafted by the Buffalo Bills, has both tremendous throwing strength and accuracy, but his weaknesses are a lack of focus and game planning. Finally, Mayfield seems like the total package — strength, accuracy, response time, and athleticism — but offfield cockiness and arrogance could doom him like former Cleveland Browns quarterback Johnny Manziel.

Outside of passers, Saquon Barkley, a Penn State running back widely considered as a generational talent, went to the New York Giants with the second overall pick. On the defensive side of the ball, stars like defensive end Bradley Chubb, linebacker Roquan Smith, and cornerback Denzel Ward promise to make an impact, either

With these stories and so many others to follow this season, there's only one way to see how things turn out. For the players, it means putting on pads, gear, and helmets and charging out onto a field. But for us, the solution is a lot simpler — grab some snacks, plop onto your favorite couch, and watch some football!

Athlete of the Week: Sarah Girard ’19 Max Katz-Balmes: What is your major, and what led you to pursue that area of study?

Sarah Girard: I am double majoring in math and political science. I care deeply for social justice issues, which is why I decided to pursue a major in political science, and math has always been a subject I found interesting.

M.K.B.: Why and how did you decide to attend Swarthmore?

Max Katz-Balmes Sports Editor Volleyball is off to one of its best starts in program history. After beginning the season ranked #21 in the nation, the team fired off seven straight wins before finally falling to Stevens Institute of Technology this past Saturday. Volleyball’s 7-0 start marked the first time the Garnet had won more than four straight games to open a season under 17th-year head coach Harleigh Chwastyk. Crucial to the team’s success is their starting libero, or defensive specialist, Sarah Girard ’19. Hailing from Woodbine, Maryland, Girard has earned All-Centennial Conference First Team honors in each of her three years at Swarthmore. This year, Girard has continued her stellar defensive play, earning Most Valuable Player honors at the Moravian Premiere Tournament. In addition, during the team’s Sept. 1 match against Wesley, Girard broke the program’s all-time record for digs, and she currently leads the team with 125 on the season. Girard and the rest of the Garnet return to action Sept. 15, when they face Dickinson in Carlisle, PA to open Centennial Conference play, and again on Sept.

18 when they host Ursinus in their home opener at Tarble Pavilion.

finals was absolutely incredible, but there have also been so many weird and quirky moments over the years that have made my experience with this program unforgettable. My team is amazing. Whether we’re singing Disney songs in the shower or doing broccoli dances in the Hopkins gym, we’re always having fun and that’s probably what I’ll remember most about my time here.

M.K.B.: What was it like to be a part of the first Swarthmore volleyball team to make the NCAA Tournament?

S.G.: Honestly, I had never heard of Swarthmore until my senior year of high school. At that point, I had pretty much given up on the idea of playing volleyball in college, so I was hesitant to visit Swat while I was being recruited. Once I got here, though, I fell in love with the community that this little school has built over the years. The people here are truly unique, and I’m so thankful that I’ve gotten to play volleyball alongside some of the most incredible women.

S.G.: It was like a dream. We were so amazed that we even made it into the tournament to begin with, so we just played our hardest and kept beating teams that were ranked higher than us.

I don’t think it really even hit us how amazing our victories were until way after the fact.

M.K.B.: How did you begin playing volleyball?

S.G.: There were a lot of nerves on our team before the match. We were playing in a huge facility unlike anything we’d experienced before. The other teams were all tall, beautiful and blonde, and we were ranked last out of the eight teams there.

Yet, we were also happy just to be there.

It was the most amazing opportunity, so we were excited to step onto the court and just play some high-level volleyball against an incredible opponent.

S.G.: My parents actually met playing volleyball! They tried to get me and my sister into the sport for years, but it wasn’t until 7th grade that I actually decided to give it a try.

M.K.B.: What is your favorite volleyball memory at Swarthmore?

S.G.: I mean winning the regional

M.K.B.: Describe the emotions you experienced during your unexpected run to the NCAA quarterfinals.

M.K.B.: How does it feel to be

Swarthmore’s all-time leader in digs?

S.G.: My teammates were instrumental in my success because they have always pushed me in practice and helped to keep me motivated when I started to lose focus during the school year. A dig record is an individual accomplishment, but volleyball is a team sport and I couldn’t have done it without my best friends picking me up along the way.

M.K.B.: Do you have post-graduation plans?

S.G.: Eventually I want to go to law school, but I want to take a few years off to work. I’m applying for a few things, but nothing is set is stone right now.

M.K.B.: What is one thing that you would change about Swarthmore?

S.G.: There has been a surplus of activism on campus this past semester, and students are calling for change. I love the Swarthmore community, but it can only function as a community when mutual respect exists between the administration and the students. I feel like last year, there was far too much resistance on the part of the administration in response to students asking for reform. If I could change one thing about Swarthmore, it would be this lack of responsiveness.